"Sister Lucy! Sister Lucy come and play with us!" One of the children excitedly called out as he continuously pulled the hem of her clothes. Ever since the incident, the children completely warmed up to Lucy as they now viewed her as their savior.

Her scars no longer scared them as the monster's claws and glee were far scarier. Besides, it was those scars that shielded them from those monsters, it was those scars that fought ferociously when they needed it the most. Lucy had found herself accepted by the children with open arms.

"Y-yes?" Lucy said in a flustered tone as she was in the process of drying clothes. The sudden warm-up from the children caught Lucy off guard as she was still awkward interacting with them. Though deep inside, Lucy could not be happier than she was right now.

"Let's play let's play!" The children said as they surrounded Lucy with puppy eyes.

"J-just a moment. I still need to finish this." Lucy said as the children began to whine.

"Ehhh? Come on sister Lucy! Just this once pleaseee?" The children said as Lucy had no words to say.

"Just go with them, sister Lucy," Emma said as Lucy looked back, confused. "We can finish things up here, you can go and play with them instead." Emma said with a smile as Lucy hesitated.

"Umm, that's-"

"Yay! Thank you, sister Emma! Come, sister Lucy!"

The children cut Lucy off as they began to drag her by her hands. "W-wait! Slow down!" Lucy panicked as the children continued to drag her. The sisters who had seen this spectacle could not help but chuckle in delight. This was especially true for Emma.

Just a month and weeks ago, Lucy had a hopeless dead look in her eyes when she first found her. It did not radiate joy and curiosity from someone of her age, but rather pain and trauma as she desperately devoured a molded bread.

She had always been jumpy from the smallest of things as if they would hurt her. Always putting a distance as if she was going to leave at the first sign of trouble appeared. Emma feared those days when she woke up one day to see her gone. Thankfully it did not happen.

Perhaps a feeling of loneliness, maybe a desire for companionship that made her stay. Now she was much brighter than before. The fear and trauma still linger in those eyes but not as intense as it was before. Lucy, or rather, lady Emma was beginning to recover from the wounds of the past.

"I can't believe how far she has gone through." Rose whispered as she stood beside Emma. There was a hint of joy and relief in those eyes as they watched Lucy awkwardly try to play with the children. Emma found herself nodding back in agreement as she whispered back.

"It's a relief she's beginning to open up with us. I thought she would leave without saying a word three days ago, glad I was wrong." Silence envelops the air as the sisters expression slowly hardens.

"He's here isn't he?" Rose whispered as Emma nodded her head.

"Just this dawn. Delays made his arrival longer than expected." Emma said as Rose nodded her head.

"...Should we tell her?" Rose asked but already knew the answer.

"Can't you see sister Rose? Lucy is beginning to heal. She is finally beginning to recover. I can't let her revert back. Not when she is... this happy." Emma paused as they saw Lucy smiling after the children. Not the awkward and forced one, but a genuine smile. Even with all the scars that ravaged her body, Lucy looked like an angel.

A broken yet unmistakable angel who smiled and played with the children. Rose's hesitation was gone at that moment as the desire to protect her overwhelmed her worries and fear. "...We have to protect her... even if it cost us our lives." Emma whispered as a silent agreement was formed.

Emma was about to return and continue her chores when she noticed Iva staring from a distance. Emma traced her gaze and smiled. "Do you want to play with them?" Emma asked. The little girl seemed to consider the thought for a moment before she shook her head.

"No... not really..." Iva whispered back in reply. Her eyes were clouded by something, though Emma did not have the time to know what it might be as Iva walked back towards the mansion.

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"Sister Lucy sister Lucy! Come on let's play!" The children said as Lucy blinked confused.

"Eh? Didn't we just play?" Lucy asked incredulously as the children shook their heads.

"Let's play more! Let's play more!" The children shout back in reply.

"B-but it's almost your nap time?" Lucy asked as the children began to whine.

"No! We don't want nap time! We want to play!" The children protested as Lucy looked conflicted.

"Umm..."

"Please sister Lucy? Just one more time!” A child begged.

“Yes, just one more time! We promise!" Another voiced out in agreement as they soon began shouting in reply.

Lucy could not help but soon capitulate under their relentless attack as she sighed heavily. "Ok, but just one more time ok?" The young sister declared to the rejoicing children. Lucy could not help but smile beneath the children's laughter.

The sheer bliss and joy it had brought her were immeasurable. Their small laughter drowns out the voices that had always assaulted her mind but what made the children so special to Lucy was the warmth and comfort she had always wished to hold.

At some point in time, Lucy dreamed of having a child of her own. She dreamed of a day to hold her very own little bundle of joy whenever she walked past families during festivals. Even when she fought in the military, Lucy did not let go of the wish to hold her very own child.

Sadly, however, she never had the chance. For a brief bitter moment, Lucy remembered Kier. She had always thought that he would be the one to sire her the family she always wanted. In a sick twist of life, it was the very same man who robbed her of that dream.

"Yay! Let's play tag! Tag you're it!" The children, however, revived that long-forgotten dream. Their persistent nagging and loud laughter filled a family she once dreamed of. Though they were not of blood, it matters not to Lucy as her own blood could not even love her at all.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The sisters, the children, the orphanage, everyone, and everything related to them became her home, her family. Not of blood but of kinship. Lucy would never trade them again for a second time. She had everything she could ever ask for... well, maybe there was one more thing she seeks, but it was simply not worth pursuing. After all, who would fall for a scarred woman like her?

"H-hey that's cheating!" Lucy exclaimed as the children were already running with a head start.

"Come catch me!" The children shouted after as Lucy soon found herself giggling alongside the children. "Come catch me, sister Lucy!” A young boy shouts.

“No, me!” A shout echoed from another.

“No, me!" Soon enough, the children took turns shouting.

"H-hey you're going too far!" Lucy shouted after when one of the children began to drift farther and farther away. Lucy soon realized who the child was. It was the one who had given her a flower before. It was Adam.

"Come catch me! Come-" A looming shadow almost envelops the child.

"Adam!" Power flickered within her in reflex, coursing through her legs. Lucy manages to snatch the boy a hairsbreadth away from being trampled upon by a horse. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips as she glared at the horse for a moment before turning back to her charge.

"Are you ok?" Lucy asked in a warm loving tone as she checked for wounds.

The boy begins to sob in fright as Lucy smiles and pats his head. "There there." Lucy whispered when a sharp voice grated her ears.

"Watch where you are going, filthy wretch! This is not a place for you paupers to play!" A hateful voice booms as everyone else goes silent.

The people near her recognized the voice all too well as everyone soon began to shuffle past the scene. Lucy turned to see a stout, rancid-looking man glaring at Adam and her. The man flinches as his face soon contorts into disgust.

"By the Gods what is that thing?" The man cursed beneath his breath as he eyed Lucy with revulsion. The young lady felt a heavy pang in her heart. She was bitterly reminded of what she had lost for a moment, though it quickly disintegrated as she shoved the insult at the back of her mind.

Lucy's brows slowly furrow into disgust as her glare meets with his. The man flinches beneath the harsh gaze before it shouted back in an ear-grating tone befitting more of an animal than a man. "Y-you insolent wretch! Do you not realize who you are standing before you?!" The man angrily shouts as Adam quaked in fear.

"I am the mayor of this wretched town of yours! Jhavik Ervost! Show me some Kalva damn respect you plebians!" Jhavik loudly proclaimed as it all soon clicked to the sudden reclusive nature of the people.

Though the town of Neria had become somewhat prosperous under the leadership of the vice mayor, the mayor, Jhavik Ervost, had been nothing more than a bloated cancer. Lucy heard of his infamous deeds through rumors and those certainly did not fail to portray him.

Lucy could not even bother to show common courtesy to the man as she simply snorted out and took Adam into her arms. "Shh, it's ok Adam. No need to cry, ok? Come, I’ll warm you a cup of milk." Lucy whispered as Adam slowly calmed down.

"Y-you dare?? You dare ignore your lord and even snort at my presence?! I should hang you and that filthy street urchin you-" Lucy snapped back her attention to the man. Cold cobalt eyes bearing down as harsh and cold as steel.

Her cold cobalt eyes looked eerily familiar though the filth could not recall where. Lucy did not let go of the stare as her eyes dangerously flickered to gold for a moment when a sudden interruption rudely cuts in.

"My if it isn't lord Jhavik! How nice to see you here!" Seth sarcastically bows as Jhavik snorted back in annoyance.

"If it isn't that greedy merchant." Jhavik growled as Seth laughed and began conversing with the filth.

Lucy could not bear to endure his presence any longer and began making her way toward the mansion. "H-hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Jhavik suddenly shouted as Lucy barely spared a glance at the filth. "Don't you know whose mansion this is?? This is-"

"That man lend it to us, you ask him." Lucy coldly replied as she slammed the door to a close.

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Seth could not help but smile deeply inside as the loud obscene words of Jhavik erupted by his side. Lucy who had been dangerously classified as unstable just days ago had somehow managed to recover back to normalcy. Her craze and paranoid gaze had lessened significantly in such a short span of time. If Seth can be honest, he was frankly disturbed.

Whatever the sisters did to calm her down in such a short time, Seth was inclined to learn as it would probably prove most useful for his hobby. "-you indignant wench!" Although Seth wishes the man before him to shut up as his ears were on the verge of falling.

"Anyways, lord Jhavik, don't you have places to go?" Seth gave his usual merchant smile.

"...Tch, I would remember that wench! Do you have a name on her?" Jhavik asked as Seth sadly shook his head. "Tch, useless bastard." Jhavik cursed as he reigns his horse to move.

Seth continued to smile all the way as he slowly disappeared onto the horizon. As soon as he did disappear, however, Seth's eyes wrinkled to disgust. It was a miracle how someone did not end his life for so long, especially with that vile tongue of his.

Seth let out a sigh as he turned to walk towards the mansion when he noticed Lucy. She had a particularly troubled look on her face as she eyed warily from side to side. Seth could not help but let out a grin as he gritted the sister.

"Looking for someone?" Lucy turned her gaze for a moment before it became impassive.

"N-no one in particular, why?" Lucy replied as a mischievous smirk made its way to Seth’s lips.

"Oh? Could it possibly be me?" Seth asked as Lucy stared directly into his gaze and replied plainly.

"Yes." Lucy replied.

"O-oh! Really?" Seth asked, surprised as it was actually true.

"No." Came the monotone reply.

"..." A heavy silence passed through the air before Seth let out a chuckle. "Well, unluckily for you sister, I do have business with you." Seth replied as Lucy furrowed.

"With me?" Lucy asked, making sure if she heard him right.

"Yes, you." Seth said with confidence as Lucy raised her guard. "...Come now, is that really how you treat someone who let you stay in his own house?" Seth asked as Lucy hesitated.

"Ah before we begin, let us go somewhere more private. It's just a small coffee shop that I know well. We can talk there without trouble." Seth said as he began to walk. Seth made sure to move at a steady pace within a reasonable distance. The best way to invite someone unwilling was to offer them something in exchange while leaving them with a choice.

Forcing Lucy to walk with him would only heighten her guard so he wagered this would be the best option instead. Though there was a chance of being declined, it was far better than dragging the person unwillingly with him. And surely enough, after a quick glance, Lucy begins to follow at a distance as Seth smiles.

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How dare that miserable wench speaks to me like that! Just you wait, I will make you and that brat pay for this insolence! Jhavik cursed deep inside his heart as he was already in a bad mood. Just hours ago, Jhavik managed to draw a negative view from the heir.

He was sure to offer the best support, made sure that he would be seen him useful and capable, and even go as far as to use the rumors to his advantage. Yet it had all gone up into smoke when he had mentioned the lady.

Jhavik felt wronged and frustrated as he was simply following what the rumors had taught him. Unfortunately for him, the rumors were far from the truth and had cost him greatly. The heir who he had thought of easily currying his favor had now threatened his life.

And now there are peasants who dared to even snort at him?? Unforgivable. Don't they know I am a noble?? Jhavik thought as he passed through several vendors. They are just peasants! Meant to serve under my boot until they die! How dare they disrespect me so! Just you wait! I will make sure- "Whoa!"

His horse neighed loudly once again as several posters conquered the skies. "Watch where you are going peasant!" Jhavik barked loudly as he was on the verge of exploding. One of the posters blinded his eyes as he was about to explode.

He would have exploded then and there when he saw the poster he was holding onto. His eyes widened and bulge in disbelief as he stared blankly at the poster. It was the same wench who dared to snort at him before, only she looked radiant and beautiful.

Though there were no colors to be seen, her beauty could simply not be obstructed by the mere loss of color. Emma La Larum, the missing lady of the Larum dukedom. And there was an eye-watering sum of reward to whoever could find her. Endorsed by the high prince and the dukedom itself.

Jhavik did not care about the reward as there was something more to be gained. An insidious smile slowly crept onto his face as he yet again found a brilliant way to elevate his position but not only to the dukedom this time, now with the royalty themselves!