Stahlia, Ten Years Old, Eighth Month of 947

With a gasp, I felt my body relax and once again became aware of the cool night air on my exposed back. I really can’t tell if it’s getting any better at all… I wasn’t sure what was worse, the experience of being confronted by my guilt in such a blunt manner, or the trepidation throughout the day leading up to it. Jacqueline was once again with me, and I gratefully accepted the towel she offered, pressing it against my forehead until my chest stopped heaving.

When I had sufficiently calmed, my attendant produced from her hidden pocket the letter we had been given earlier today. So, I was right, she did refrain from sharing the real content. That was both good and bad news. The good news is that it meant there was actually something substantial. Bad, in that it meant Jacqueline knew about it. Given Dominic’s influence, I had to be extremely careful with what I told her.

Even these nightly excursions, of which this was the fourth, I had to be careful with the reasons behind them. Jacqueline did not know about my [Cold Hearted] Skill; I had told her that I was practicing a new Blood Magic technique. It was a flimsy excuse, but one that she had accepted. I feel like she knows I don’t trust her anymore… Whether or not she realizes why though… The fact that Dominic had stolen away my one true confidant was just one more entry to add to the list of all the infuriating things he had done.

As if fighting back on his behalf, I suddenly had the memory of that kiss, not the one on my hand, but the real kiss, thrust into the forefront of my thoughts. I felt my cheeks heat up a little before I forcibly squashed the memory. Both to sate my curiosity and to distract myself, I flipped open the letter and read the contents aloud into the night air.

Dear Noble Girl,

I am leaving this with the old man in case you should ever find your way back to Fess in search of me. If you are reading it, then it likely means that you have stumbled upon, or are approaching, the truth. I cannot give you all the answers you probably seek, indeed, I am sure this letter will likely only offer more questions. In your moment of greatest need, ask for me at any guildhall, and word will reach me. Your road is hard, but you are by no means without recourse.

Do not trust the gods, they never hold the interests of their champions at heart.

~Aaron, the Reviled and Cast Down

The letter was correct, in that it did in fact raise far more questions than it answered. I crumpled it up and used [Ignite] to burn it away. Once it was ash, Jacqueline spoke to me, “I take it you were able to read it, my lady?” I froze and felt a bead of cold sweat run down my spine.

“You were not?”

Jacqueline shook her head, “Indeed, it looked like gibberish to me. Staring at it made my head hurt a bit. I figured you might be able to read it, so I came up with some random excuse and stored it away for when we were alone tonight.” I turned my gaze to the pile of ashes. Fuck… yet another question… Thankfully, Jacqueline seemed like she did not plan on asking what the letter had said.

After resting a few minutes longer, as well as eating something, I got to my feet. If anything good is coming of this, I’m at least able to recover faster now… It was small comfort in the face of the knowledge that I would be going through this many more times. We made our way through the very light snow and back to where the carriage was set up for our camp.

I allowed the sound of crunching footsteps to lull me into a steady rhythm while I pondered the contents of the letter. The biggest question is who the hell Aaron is. From Jacqueline’s reconnaissance, I know he has some kind of past relationship with the Francois family. But now… “the Reviled and Cast Down”… He also knows that I’m one of the champions for this “game” and knows enough to know about how the gods are assholes.

I could think of a few possibilities, but none of them had quite enough evidence for me to feel confident in calling them the correct option. I feel like the fact that he gave his Epitaph was supposed to clue me in, then there’s the fact it was written in a language that “only” I could read… My first thought was that it had been written in English or some other Earth Language and that Aaron was reincarnated.

I marked that as unlikely after a bit more consideration; it was frankly too risky on his part. Earth had so many different languages, that for him to have properly guessed one I could speak… well English was a good bet in that case; about twenty percent of people spoke English as at least a second language. But that still left him with an eighty percent chance I couldn’t read it. There was the fact that looking at it had given Jacqueline a headache; she had only been looking at it for a minute.

I had heard of some people who got headaches from seeing text, but never with only specific languages, and never so quickly. The next conclusion that I arrived at, was that he was the thirteenth; the god who had rejected their divinity. This one I also quickly threw out as being simply fanciful. Basically, the only things that led to that conclusion were his knowledge of my status as Winter’s Champion, and his Epitaph sort of fitting the public perception of that god.

I came up with a dozen more potential identities, ranging from him being another demon to a foreign agent working under deep cover, trying to recruit me to their cause. Each new theory was more fanciful than the one before it, but in the end, I simply lacked information.

As we entered the camp, I opted to just not think about Aaron’s identity. At the end of the day, who he was wasn’t important to me; I would be mindful of him as a potential ally and at the same time be vigilant of potential risk. Short of calling him out, I had no way of verifying any of my theories. I’ll just keep the idea of calling for him in the back of my mind as an absolutely last resort… as the letter says “In your moment of greatest need…” though, I can’t say I’m exactly thrilled when I think of how this is probably exactly what he wanted my reaction to be.

I climbed up into the carriage and into the cot that had been set up for me. Watching my every move was a five-year-old adopted little sister, who had once again refused to go to sleep until I came back. Even if the cot was too small for her to actually sleep clutching my arm. Apparently, she was still required to confirm that I was back safely before sleeping herself. Once I was secured under my covers, I felt a soft pressure. Through half-closed eyes, I could see Pet gripping at my forearm from her spot on one of the benches.

★★★★★★

Three days later, I found myself fidgeting in the seat of the carriage. This was the day I would be making my return to Ris Village. We had taken the trip back a bit slower, taking advantage of the fact that I had been let go a couple of months early, and thus did not have to race the snow. Still, this would be the first time I had seen my mother and father in just over half a year. The same applied to my brother, though I didn’t really know what to say about that.

Rosin had been two when I left home and would be three now. I had taken a distance from him in the wake of Rosial’s kidnapping. Of course, that wasn’t fair to him, but at the time I had been afraid of forming another attachment only to see it lost. Now… Now, I at least want to know my own brother. It might seem counter-intuitive, given how much I had to do towards my primary goal, but I felt like I should at least try.

Pet was sitting next to me on the bench; she had been getting more and more excited as the trip went on, but this final leg she was behaving in a very subdued manner. I imagine Claire must be responsible for that, probably pointed out that she’s going to be meeting my “real” family… though likely, in a more diplomatic way than that. The thought of introducing Pet to them was a worry of mine; my parents had never done or said anything outright discriminatory that I could remember. I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.

Indeed, I was out of time; The village had been visible for a little while now, and we were now close enough that I could see my mother, father, and a little boy that looked like an older version of Rosin from my memories.

The carriage came to a stop and I took a deep breath. Standing, I approached the doors of the carriage. One of the knights came back from saying something to my father and put their hand on the door. Right. I forced a serene smile that hid my internal anxiousness and waited for the door to open.

The door swung open and the knight offered his hand to me. Graciously, I accepted it and disembarked. After giving the man a respectful curtsy, I turned to face my parents and began walking towards them. As I got closer, I was able to make out more detail. My mother appeared thinner than I remembered but otherwise seemed healthy. My father was the opposite, a bit on the heavy side, though he too seemed otherwise healthy.

Of course, the person I paid the most attention to was Rosin. My brother was clinging to my mother’s skirt and watching me approach with widened eyes. Finally, I stood before them. I quickly curtsied and greeted them, “Father, Mother, I have returned safely. As I said in my prior letter, I was granted an early leave…” I trailed off, my father had held up his hand indicating for me to stop.

Suddenly, I was enveloped in a hug, “Hmgmff!” Pushing and clawing my way up, I managed to get my head above my father’s arms and out of his chest. Still otherwise stuck in his embrace, I peered up at his face; According to my memory, I had never received a hug from him. He had been a good father for certain, but he had been distant. Almost keeping me at an arm’s length. It had been my mother who was more overtly affectionate, but even she had been distant to an extent. The feeling I had gotten, especially after we received peerage, was that as their daughter, I came second to their duty.

“F-father…?”

I felt his hand on the back of my head, pushing me back into his chest. “I cannot tell you how glad I am to have you back safe. When we received word that you had fought a demon… Stahlia, forgive me for being so blind.” His tone was hard, but there was an underlying warmth to it; I could tell that he meant what he said.

Wha…? I was struggling to compute the current happenings. That’s when I felt a more feminine touch on my shoulder. I stiffened, expecting to be scolded by my mother for not comporting myself as a proper lady in public, but instead of scolding, she gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, “As your father says, Stahlia. I am ever so grateful to have you back safe and sound… It must have been terrifying.”

What… what’s this now? I could feel a strange warmth welling up from their words. And before I knew it, I was crying. I… I was so alone! Indeed, I hadn’t realized it, but I had been shouldering so much by myself, with no real support. Of course, my parents didn’t know the full extent; from their perspective, I had merely been tossed into an arranged marriage and shipped off on my own. They didn’t know anything about what had really happened to Rosial.

But even given what they were privy to, it was still a lot. I hadn’t even been a noble three years ago; now I was living on my own, with a fiancée, and doing work for the kingdom that was usually assigned to teenagers. It was, frankly, a really big ask. Even for the so-called Prodigy.

I didn’t realize how stressed I was… I didn’t know how long I had spent crying in my father’s arms like that, but eventually, I managed to compose myself. As my father let me go, I pulled back slightly and realized there was now a long string of mucus connecting me to his torso. My eyes also felt incredibly itchy, and I could only imagine how puffy they were.

I looked up at my mother, and her smile cracked almost immediately. Seeing such a reaction from her, I couldn’t help myself but giggle. This caused my mother to let out a sardonic grin while shaking her head in an exaggerated manner, “Indeed Stahlia, just look at you! No daughter of mine should let themselves be seen like that in public.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Her words sounded harsh, but her tone and mannerisms were overblown with sarcastic intent. Clapping her hands, my mother waved for Silvia, the second maid we had hired when Jacqueline became my personal attendant. Silvia seemed to have mastered the maid’s role, as I had not realized she was even present until my mother beckoned her.

Silvia stepped forward and offered me a veil. Evidently, my reaction was predicted. I turned my head and allowed Silvia to affix the cloth so that my ruined face was not visible. The entire time, Silvia was incredibly stiff; it would seem Jacqueline was studying her actions very closely. Just like with Lucy and Frieda, apparently, Silvia got so good at being a maid in a quest to get Jacqueline’s approval… The thought of my attendant being so fixated on the minutia of maid work and so highly critical of other maids, despite the position being a literal falsehood for her, brought a smile to my face.

Once I was properly hidden, I stepped back a little way and motioned towards the carriage. A head peeked out from inside, with two little fuzzy triangles twitching nervously on top of it. Alright Claire, nice touch with the ears. Pet slowly came out into full view, her tail tucked between her legs, and eyes flicking back and forth between me and my parents.

My mother crossed her arms and gazed at Pet appraisingly, while my Father simply gave her a once over then returned his own line of sight to me. Right, here goes… I opened my mouth to make introductions when I was cut off by a pained yowl.

Facing Pet, I saw that the toddler in the room had apparently been feeling left out. Rosin had slipped away from my mother while I was being pampered and had seen something fascinating; a long soft furry thing that twitched in a mesmerizing pattern.

He had then latched onto that long soft fury thing and pulled. Pet had not appreciated this at all and was presently scrambling to get to my side, dragging Rosin behind her via tail link. In spite of myself, I laughed. This slowly spread to my mother, who allowed a warm smile to spread across her face, and my father who gave a snort before quickly recomposing himself. Really dad? Are you trying to say “that’s enough emotional display from me for one day”?

Pet was not amused, giving me a reproachful stare as I detached and gently chided Rosin, “Rosin, you must not pull her tail; it hurts when you pull on your finger right?”

My brother nodded, though he looked upset at being reprimanded, “It’s soft though! I want to touch it.”

I gently shook my head and beckoned Pet to come closer; she probably realized what I was doing, because when she arrived, she bent slightly at the knees, lowering her head.

“Yes, it’s very soft, but it also hurts a lot. You can ask permission to rub her ears instead, but only do it if she says it’s ok.” Rosin looked up and saw that I was now rubbing Pet’s ears, much to her delight. After a moment of indecision and staring at her now swaying tail, he seemed to make up his mind and asked, “Can I pet them too?”

I removed my hand, and Pet nodded, tilting her head a bit so that he could reach her easier. As Rosin discovered the joys of giving head-pats, I turned and addressed my parents. Doing my best to keep any lingering worry out of my voice, I began the introduction.

“Father, Mother, this is-” this time it wasn’t a yowl that interrupted me, but Pet’s, or rather, Felicity’s normal voice. Albeit a very stutter nervous version of it.

“F-Felicity… Felicity’s n-n-name… is… was, F-Felicity.” I shot a glance back at Felicity, wondering for a moment if Claire had seized control to say that. But based on Felicity’s current nervous behavior, as well as Claire’s aversion to doing that, I determined that it had very likely been Felicity that had spoken. Of course, that didn’t rule out Claire urging her to speak, but they had most likely been Felicity’s words. Ugh, just thinking about the two of them gives me a bit of a headache…

Still, if Felicity was just now choosing to reveal her original name, I was sure it had some significance. Let’s roll with it. “-this is Felicity. She’s technically my slave, however, I have been viewing and treating her as a little sister. I hope that you can come to treat her as a close friend of mine, at the very least.”

My mother was the first to react, giving Felicity another once over with her eyes. After a moment she murmured to herself, “She does indeed bear a strong resemblance…” After which, the corners of her eyes lifted up in a warm smile and she stepped up to Felicity.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Felicity. I have heard some very good things about how you have helped my daughter cope with her situation after my failure as her mother.” She then reached down, without hesitating, and pulled Felicity into a short hug. It wasn’t a lingering hug like I had gotten from my father, more of a brief squeeze really. But considering Felicity’s species and my mother’s position, it was much more than I had expected, leaving me at a loss for words.

We’re in public still too… It was only just now dawning on me, that while there wasn’t exactly a crowd, we were not exactly in a private place; simply standing on the road as we were. Thankfully, it seems my father had the common sense to relieve the knights while I wasn’t looking. But my mother, who was so obsessed with “appearing as a lady ought” is now doing things like hugging a beast-kin slave in public. I must not have been the only one who had a significant change of heart over the past three years.

My father greeted Felicity next, though he refrained from hugging her, “Indeed, I hear you have been looking out for my daughter. I am incredibly grateful that you would do what I did not.” It was a touching scene, just… Mom, Dad, she’s five. Not every child is going to be as advanced as me… Thankfully, in Felicity’s case, even if the heavy dialogue went over her head, Claire would be able to translate for her so she was unlikely to miss anything important.

Speaking of which, it would appear that Claire had either just finished translating, or Felicity understood more than I thought because she perked up and smiled happily. Then dropped a bombshell.

“Kaasan, Tousan, Thank you!” …Mother and father? Well, I’m not opposed to her calling them that, I mean I already consider her a little sister of sorts, but maybe it’s best I don’t tell my parents what those words mean…

As if to sabotage me, my mother looked in my direction and raised an eyebrow. …no, I have enough lies with my parent’s already, I’ll not add another one for this. Well, a small one, but only to keep the bigger one. “The words are a dialect unique to her tribe of cat-kin. If I understand correctly, she just called father and you… well, ‘father’ and ‘mother’.”

As expected, my parents both showed a bit of surprise towards that revelation. Now it’s in their hands, how will they react I wonder? It was one thing for my parents to accept Felicity as my friend. It was another entirely for them to accept the label she had just bestowed them with; doing so would be essentially accepting a beast-kin slave as their adopted daughter.

After a moment, my father shrugged as if to say he was unconcerned. My mother took a moment longer, before, to my surprise, picking Felicity up and setting her on her knee. Though she was only five, and not much larger than Rosin, she still weighed a fair bit. Enough that my mother let out a soft grunt of effort. Felicity pressed her ears flat, or at least Claire did. Honestly, Claire has gotten pretty good at making the reactions naturally.

After a moment, and once Felicity had clasped her arms around my mother, Claire allowed the ears to perk back up. My mother kept a stern expression the entire time, and turned about before rapidly making her way into our house. My father shrugged as if to say “there you have it” and followed her in, leaving me outside with Lucy, Jacqueline, and Rosin. Silvia had disappeared at some point, causing me to question which of my family’s maids was really the ninja. Giogi had been dismissed along with the other knights and had gone to find his own family, or perhaps to find Sark and the other boys he had left behind.

I asked Jacqueline to unload the luggage with Lucy, and then show her around the grounds of our much-smaller-than-the-Francois estate. This left me alone with Rosin. My brother seemed a bit upset at Felicity having taken the attention away from him, something I knew I needed to address right away in order to prevent any trouble later on.

“So… Rosin, I haven’t seen you for a while huh?” I cringed at myself internally. I didn’t need to be able to feel regret to regret having started the conversation off like that.

Rosin nodded, still acting a bit glum and not really acting like he cared to talk. Let’s see, I need something to catch his interest… I could call Stil, he probably doesn’t remember him very well… No, Stil needs to leave with me, and I still haven’t decided if I should leave Pe- Felicity here or not. Considering her name change, I’m leaning towards leaving her in Ris. Much less likely to make a mistake that way… I’ll miss her though…

Focus. Stil Isn’t an option. I could do some simple magic, he ought to like that… but again, that’s no good. He would want to learn himself, which I doubt mom and dad would allow. Plus, if he then finds out Felicity can use a bit of magic herself we’re back to square one.

After thinking for another moment, I couldn’t come up with anything better, so I simply leaned over, poured some mana into my muscles, and picked Rosin up the same way our mother had picked up Felicity. I recalled how I used to carry Rosial around the living room at speed, much to her delight and our mother’s chagrin.

“Hold on tight, Rosin”

He got off a panicked “Wai-!” before I started moving. Of course, I was careful not to drop him, so he didn’t actually need to hold on tight, but it was the appearances that mattered. Before long, Rosin had overcome his initial fright and was gleefully waving his hands in the air and calling out in excitement as I ran short laps around the garden.

This really does remind me of playing with Rosial. The thought was a little sobering, but Rosin was able to banish it with his next cry of “Faster! Faster!”

I picked up the speed a bit, but not enough to where he would be endangered, and did another couple of laps before slowing to a stop. I made a big show of putting him down and gasping for breath, “There, are you happier now, Rosin?”

Without missing a beat, he nodded and excitedly exclaimed, “Mhm! That was fun!”

I reached out and tussled his sandy blonde hair while peering through my veil into his silver-blue eyes. I should do it. I know if I don’t and something happens, I’ll regret it… assuming I ever get to the point where I can regret again… “Damn it all. Rosin, can I check something real quick? I promise it won’t hurt.”

Rosin cocked his head, not really understanding, but nodded his assent after a moment. I took a deep breath and poured mana into his body through my hand that was still tussling his hair. Rosin stiffened as he felt my mana enter, but after a moment he relaxed after it became apparent that it really didn’t hurt. His dedication is during the first month of next year, so let’s see what the gods will, shall we?

After a moment, the mana stream returned to me, and a picture, though one lacking detail, appeared in my head.

Name/Age: Rosin von Ris, 3

Level/Species: Human[Pureblood], 2

Ability Values:

* Strength C: 55

* Endurance D: 33

* Dexterity D: 33

* Intelligence D: 33

* Charisma D: 33

* Mana D: 33

Skills: Language Proficiency[Central Human]

Well, It doesn’t look like he has a class. If he does, it’s a pretty shit one since all his ability values are at the human baseline. I wish he had a class though, not having one as the heir to a noble house… I winced as what felt like a knife stabbed me through my skull. My vision blacked out for a moment and I swayed on my feet. When my vision returned, Rosin was looking up at me with concern. Between me and him, however, was a new menu entry. One that made my heart pound in my chest.

What the FUCK!?

“Request of Authority Holder to Bestow Target with Class Received.

Valid Authority: {Divine Authority[Class Features]} Confirmed.

Target of Action [Rosin von Ris, Human[PB],3y] Has 570 Life Points Available.

Browse Available Classes? Y/N”

I was torn for sure. Of course, having a Class would make his life much easier. On the other hand, I have no idea what the side effects would be like. No. There is no way I’m going to test something like this on my brother...

As I focused on the letter “N”, the new menu closed. Accompanying it, my headache abated. What caused that though? Was it me wishing he had a class while I was appraising him? If that’s the case… what else can I wish for…? I had the distinct feeling I had been underutilizing my abilities. I’ll have to start experimenting later, for now though...

Rosin still looked worried, given my brief standing blackout. I clapped his shoulders, “Come on Rosin, let’s go inside. I’m sure mother will be having Lucy go through a gauntlet of tests. Dinner ought to be something special tonight.” The mention of food sufficiently swayed my brother and he turned and darted inside the house. Before following him, I glanced around to make sure nobody was watching me, then used the veil to quickly wipe the thin trickle of blood that was coming from my nose.

I need to experiment, but I need to be super careful. I only had that menu open for a moment, and I got a headache and a nosebleed. Actually using it to bestow a class… I imagine there’s going to be a cost associated with it… I only had to look as far as my own [Cold Hearted] to understand that the system would absolutely extract its pound of flesh.

Once my nose had stopped bleeding, I entered the house and was greeted by my mother giving me a judging look. At first, I panicked, thinking she had noticed me hiding the nosebleed, or that Rosin had said something and I was now suspected of doing lecherous things. As it turned out, Rosin had in fact said something, but rather than be about when I appraised him, it was about how I had run him around the garden.

“Stahlia, I won’t say anything this time, since it seems you were able to bond with Rosin, but in the future, if you plan on running around like that… do it inside like you used to with Rosial. That way nobody will see you and start strange rumors.” My mother’s tone was resigned as if she had given up on something. But there was a hint of warmth as well.

I gave my consent readily, I hadn’t realized how much I missed it, but having my parents so close was something amazing. Overcome, I stepped forward and gave my mother a hug. Felicity saw this from wherever she had been and glomped onto the two of us. Rosin must have felt left out because he quickly clambered into the group hug with a cry of “No fair!”

I looked up to see my mother’s flustered face, “W-what’s come over you Stahlia?”

I shook my head, “Nothing, mother. I just love you is all.”

I’ve got a lot of work to do, but for just today… It’s good to be back home.