"What do we do?" Emma sighed heavily as Rose sat across from her. Between them was Lucy, resting in relative peace. The two were at a loss to the truths that may forever change their and Lucy’s lives. If Lucy truly were the missing lady of the Larum dukedom, they would have no other choice but to turn her over.

If they were lucky, the dukedom would leave them alone as if nothing ever happened. If they were not, they would be executed for the scars Lucy possessed. Though they did not harm nor do anything wrong to the lass, the nobles had done worse for far less.

Emma had witnessed far too many times how these supposed 'nobles' harass and frame the common folk for their own incompetence. Though Emma had yet to meet the heir, she was not confident he would be fair after she saw what had come to Lucy.

"We can't just hand her over, sister Emma," Rose replied.

"I know that, but what of the others? I'm fine if I were the one to receive their wrath... but the children?" Rose bites her lips as a curse escape from her tongue.

"Kalva damned aristocrats." Emma grunted at Rose's rough tone but did not say otherwise. The sentiment was shared, though her reservation for cursing was far greater than Rose's. The two deliberated what to do when the door suddenly opened. It was Iva.

Iva was surprised when she saw the two but did not react otherwise as she brought a wet towel for Lucy. "Excuse me..." Iva said softly as she began to wipe Lucy. Emma could not help but give a small smile to Iva.

She changed so much after the attack. Just weeks ago, Emma could still remember seeing the little girl glaring at Lucy whenever she did her chores. Now, she was the one taking good care of her when the sisters were busy.

"...We cannot give her back," Emma whispered as Rose perked up.

"Then what of the heir?" Rose asked as Emma shook her head.

"We will cross the bridge when we get there, but we can't just abandon her. Not after what she had done to all of us." Rose smiled at Emma's answer.

"I guess that settles it then?" Emma nodded as Rose rises.

"I will tell the others what we should do, until then-" Rose stopped when she noticed Lucy beginning to squirm. Emma caught her gaze just in time as Lucy let out a small whimper. Another nightmare.

Emma hurriedly begins to caress Lucy's forehead, trying to soothe the little girl’s impending nightmare. It did little to ease her pain as she began to kick and cry. Her once tranquil rest slowly twisted into agony as the cries grew louder.

“N-not me.” A whimper involuntarily escaped Lucy’s lip. “It… was not… m-me”

At that moment, Emma prepared herself for the worst as the symptoms were far too familiar whenever her young charge broke down. Her hunch was soon prove rightt as a bloodcurdling scream escaped from Lucy.

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"Murderer!" The faceless shadows howled as Lucy clutched her ears desperately.

"N-no! I am-"

"Killer of your own mother! A devil like you should not exist!" Tears muddled with her cry as Lucy tried to speak.

"I didn't do anything! I did not mean to-"

"Lies! All you have ever spoken are lies demon!" The shadows began to enclose as Lucy tried to run but failed as the ground rooted her in place.

"A demon like you should have never been born!"

N-no I am not a demon. I am just-

"Kill her kill her!" The shadows screamed as Lucy let out a voiceless scream.

I didn't do anything! I haven't done anything! Why do you hate me so?! Just tell me why?!

"A filth like you should have never been born." Lucy froze as she slowly looked up. The shadows were gone now, replaced by a figure, one that she had dreaded for as long as she could remember.

"B-brother..." Lucy softly called out in hopes of finding understanding.

Sadly, it never came. "Don't call me brother you vermin. I will never be your brother." Lucy felt the tears crept up once more as the heir turned his back, allowing the shadows to consume her once more.

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"Lucy it's us! It's just us!" Lucy blinked several times as her vision slowly cleared. By the time her vision was restored, Lucy was already pinned against the ground by Rose as Emma and Iva stood in anticipation.

Lucy was confused about what happened at first but the memories from yesterday came crashing down on her as she began to fiercely resist. "Let go of me!" Lucy shouted but Rose did not budge so much as an inch.

"Sister Lucy wait-"

"I have to get out of here..." Lucy whispered as she wildly tried to shake Rose off. There was some success, but it was quickly cut down as Emma helped Rose with her hands. "W-what are you doing sister Emma!" Lucy screamed in horror as she flailed.

"Unhand me! Unhand me damn you! I need to leave! I need to get out of here before-"

"My lady, please calm down..." Emma whispered as Lucy blinked in confusion. The sudden shift of formality made her pause as her blood began to freeze.

"Lord Elias will be coming much later, midnight to be exact. There is no need for-"

"You know..." Lucy whispered to her horror as Emma's firm eyes were all Lucy needed for an answer. Silence encapsulates the room as Lucy paled by the second.

"We just learned yesterday..." Emma finally replied as Lucy stared dumbfoundedly. They know... they're going to turn me in, aren't they? Lucy's thoughts clouded whatever Emma was saying as her panic only grew.

No, calm yourself, Lucy. Lucy thought as she began to breathe slowly to a steady rhythm. Sister Emma and the others might be intimidated by my title. I can still pass this if I use it right. You can do this. You have to do this!

Lucy soon shook off her initial shock as her rational mind soon took over. "T-then you know the price for touching me?" Lucy injected as much steel into her voice but to no avail, as Emma and Rose did not even flinch.

"Listen to us, my lady! We can-"

"No, you listen to me." Her heart began to beat wildly as she tried a different approach. "If lord Elias manages to find me here, all of you, including the children, will be executed! You have to let me go." Rose and Emma's eyes widen for a moment as the threat certainly exists.

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Lucy thought it would work this time when Emma replied with a single question. "But where will you go?" The question landed a heavy blow behind Lucy's head, finding no answer to her inquiry. ...Where... I'll go? The very question begins to choke Lucy in fear as Emma continues.

"You have no money in your name, you don't have friends nor relatives willing to take you in. There is no one you can rely on, so let me ask you again my lady, where will you go?" Lucy had no answer to Emma's simple question as she slowly grounded to a halt.

I…I can run… yes, that will do! I have done it once; I can do so again! I just need to get out of this town and then… a-and then…. a-and t-then… and then what? Her chest tightens as her mind slowly comes to a horrifying conclusion.

I… I have nowhere to go. Tears begin to choke Lucy as if she had never considered leaving the orphanage. Though she had planned to leave a week or two when she first arrived, the warmth the orphanage provides had changed everything.

While they were always on the brink of destitution, Lucy never truly realized until now how much she had changed under their care. The nightmare, while still persistent to break her, had rarely appeared now. The fear of someone watching over her shoulder had dissipated.

The stale yet warm porridge, the cramped yet welcoming room, the sweet laughter of the children. A peaceful life. Things she had always craved during those dark days. All the little things that helped Lucy forget that terrible war was now being threatened.

Then... do I have to fight again? The thought almost made her mad as she bit her lip so hard that blood trickled in. I don't want to. I don't want to! I don't want to!! I DON'T WANT TO!!! I can't keep doing this! I can't! I just can’t- Something warm encapsulates her.

Lucy blinked out of her crazed state as Emma was hugging her this time. The grip Rose made had been released as they comforted the terrified girl. "It's alright my lady. We are here for you. We are here for you." Emma whispered with the warmth Lucy thirsted for.

"Ah..." It was the only reply Lucy could give as tears trickled down.

T-that's right! I-I could still ask for sister Emma's help!... but would they even help me? Would they even help a runaway noble? What can I even give?? I have nothing! They would even be executed if they did... but I don't want to go. ...I don't want to be alone again...

Lucy suddenly embraced back to Emma as she began to plead like her life depended on it. "P-please help me, sister Emma. I don't k-know what to do. I don’t know what I can do. I don't know w-where else to go.”

Lucy whimpered as she tried but failed to control her voice from breaking. “I d-don’t want to go b-back. I-I don’t w-want to. A-anywhere else b-but there…” The embrace tightens as Lucy finally spoke her desperation. “…but I don't want to leave h-here." The embrace tightens as Lucy continues.

"I-I do-don’t w-want to leave everyone h-here. P-p-please help me. I'll do a-anything. I'll do anything y-you ask s-so please h-help me." Lucy whimpered as she reached for the lifeline Emma had provided so many days ago. Please God, Goddess, whoever you are. Please... just let me be selfish. Just this once.

"I don't want to g-g-go back to that h-house.” Whatever control Lucy commanded was gone, only a desperate girl remained. “I don't want to see them again. I-I just want to be here. P-please, sister Emma, don't send me back to that h-hell." Lucy cried as the dreadful memories of the past haunted her.

"I w-want to eat your stale porridge. I want t-t-to hear the laughter of the children. I w-want to sleep in that cramped room. I... I just want a home. I ju-just want to stop. I am so damn tired. Please s-s-sister Emma, I-"

"Of course you can." Emma cut off as her voice contains sadness and anger. "Of course you can dear, is that even a question?" Lucy blinked as if she could not believe her ears. The warmth within Emma's words was something Lucy had only felt from her men. So full of love, so warm. Lucy always regretted how she let the first one slip by.

Now, she clings tightly to the warmth. As if she was afraid someone or something in the world would steal it from her again. "Th-thank you... thank you s-so so much..." Lucy croaked softly as she cried on quietly until sleep claims her once more.

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"Lord Elias! Lord Elias if I may!" Elias blinked calmly as a tired horse hurriedly catches after him. On top of it rode a man that Elias and his retinues wanted to avoid the most. He was some backwater aristocrat from the town Elias had been ordered to help. Neria was her name if memory serves.

Though he knew better not to judge anyone by their appearance alone, Elias could not help but feel revolted at the man. The man had a stout stomach and unkept hair that did not help his image. What made it worse however was his eyes.

Elias throughout his life had interactions with lesser nobles, wealthy merchants, and the likes. He had seen the look of greed from his fellow men that he could spot one from a mile away. It approached him as he calculated his values, gains, and risks. Those eyes did not care for anyone but for himself and himself alone.

"What is it lord Jhavik?" Elias whispered passively, indicating to leave him alone yet the man persists.

"I apologize for the poor accommodation, truly I do. If I had known the heir of the dukedom himself would be leading the hunt, why I would have gladly joined in as well!" Jhavik replied.

Elias almost snorted back in reply as his words were utter garbage, yet the years of training drilled into his mind taught him a better response otherwise. "Worry not lord Jhavik. I am only in need of your men. Everything else will be dealt with accordingly." Elias replied coolly.

Elias made sure to emphasize he was not needed, yet the man shamelessly continued to speak as if he did not understand.

"Ah, but I insist lord Elias! After all, what kind of a vassal would I be if I simply let my liege go through this alone!" Jhavik said as Elias frowned from within.

"...Then by all means lord Jhavik..." Elias said, no longer wishing to speak even a word to the filth. The somber silence reigns back in his mind as they travel. Elias... no, the estate never was the same ever since their lady suddenly abandoned them.

The gnawing and crippling loneliness came back to haunt him. A mistake he should have known, should have realized, and changed. No, he did know! He knew from the very moment he returned home... but he was a fool. He believed it was nothing, deluded himself into a lie.

All of it changed, however, when the captain of the guards reported on one fateful night. The young heir silently wished the guard would have never arrived that night. Elias could still remember how his body went cold from the news. How his father, duke Erfast, exploded in panic, in rage... and fear. The duke had sent everyone to search for her.

Still doubtful, Elias believed she would come back. After all, where would she go when she barely went out of the house? She had no friends nor the connections to run to. It had been a month since then. No tracks that might lend him a clue, no traces of where any noblewoman would go. There was nothing. There was utterly nothing.

It was as if she had been preparing for this day for months, perhaps even years. When the high prince heard of the news, Kier had to be restrained by the emperor himself as he was on the verge of sending every single royal guard to find her.

As a compromise, the emperor allowed a company of royal guards to be sent. An unprecedented decree as a single guard was a champion of its own right. They mastered almost practically everything from blade mastery to deception and espionage.

They are even sharp in politics as they always have up-to-date information within the noble circle. The nobles who have learned of the secret decree wagered finding her might as well take minutes if not hours as 15 champions are actively searching for her. That was a month ago.

Elias was utterly at a loss on what to do. Even with the power of the dukedom and royalty combined, they still haven't found a single trace of her. The duke went into a deep depression as the high prince slowly began to grow desperate. The young heir had received 7 letters of inquiry about her in this week alone.

Elias was not faring any better. He felt confused and angry at first but as time went by, more and more did he realize just how much he wronged her. How much they wronged her.

Her usually cheerful attitude, her upbeat persona, all of it. It might as well have been a mask as they finally realized the breaking point far too late. They had broken her. Whatever sins they committed against her; it pushed her to the brink. Every meal was heavy with silence, every day was dull and monotonous.

Emma was the life of the estate and they had ignored her despite her loud cries for help. Regret was soon born out of his heart as he never really did spend any time with her, never asked what she liked and what she disliked. He had simply wasted it.

"Oh right! That reminds me, is there any news for the young lady yet?" The entire entourage went deathly silent as it was the one thing Elias wanted to avoid, yet the man beside him clearly did not understand and kept on rambling.

"What a mess she made, running away for an entire month without even a word. How could she be so heartless to let the duke and you worry for-" The man finally stopped when Elias stared coldly at the man. His pale cobalt eyes trembled as if a blizzard was raging violently from within.

At that moment, the retinue and Jhavik knew Elias was considering cutting the man's head off. Jhavik was frozen in fear. He was sure he was within good graces. He has heard rumors about how much the young lady caused trouble. The disdain they had for her. He was convinced he could leave with a good impression if he followed along.

Yet it backfired spectacularly. "...I will let this one slide Jhavik but know this. If you ever speak so much as a damn word of my family ever again, Kalva be damn, not even a champion would stop me. Am I understood?" Elias spat out each word slowly in a measured, controlled, but undeniably enraged tone. Eyes blazing in gold. Ready to kill.

Jhavik sweats profusely as he hurriedly replied. "Y-yes my liege! I-I understand!" The man stuttered as Elias turned his horse to walk over again. The entire journey was silent from then on until they finally reached the town.