'This voice!'
Anasthasia dawned over to the broadsword's glistening edge and wanted to turn around, but halted from the stern tone of the man who held the hilt firmly.
"Ana, please don't move. We will talk about the details later." Liam's voice slightly rattled, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Wait, you guys knew—?" But Anasthasia received an acute hush from Levi and Liam. Both of them removed their weapons away from her and stowed them by the hips.
Soon enough, the patrols came to their direction. Anasthasia peered down, embracing Lucy on her arms. She never saw what transpired beyond these twins. Two of them practically blocked her body from unwanted attention near the crime scene. She could only rely on her hearing senses from now on.
Heavy thuds rang clearer, perking up her ears. The knight quipped with frankness and courtesy in his voice.
"Sir Liam, we investigated the dead bodies of the mercenary. There are considerably great armors and weapons with them, except for one that looked like a little white rod. How do we approach this?"
With his lengthy report, Liam scowled in response. "What do you mean? Just hand them over to the authority and throw the useless ones—!" Suddenly, Liam sensed a sharp pain that bloomed from his arm. Turning back, he saw how Anasthasia pinched him hard.
"Liam, I need that weapon." Anasthasia hissed.
"Which one?"
"The—the 'measly white rod,' he mentioned!"
Levi cleared his throat as it deemed his cue to talk, "You may hand over the 'measly white rod' that you mentioned."
"Without delay!" The knight responded, bowing to them, and then hurried away.
Anasthasia heaved a sigh of relief. She slowly pondered in her thoughts.
'Thank goodness; I'm able to—to get it with my hands!'
"Thank you... Levi, Liam."
"You're welcome, Ana. For all the things you did, we can only repay you this much."
Anasthasia nodded, but she staggered a little when Lucy's squirms and moans alerted them. She stood upright as her muscles tensed in frozen solid; she didn't know what to do at this point.
"Don't worry; we know Lucy is safe in your hands."
"Y—You know her?" Her eyes widened, staring at them with enthusiasm.
The twins smiled, eyes gleaming brightly. "She is our little sister."
'I knew it!'
"Such—such a small world we live in!" Anasthasia bobbed her head.
"She's not feeling well—"
Liam interrupted her hoarse voice, asserting, "Yes, and so are you."
"Me?" Anasthasia rolled her eyes, scoffing, "I'm more than fine that you think—"
"We saw what happened earlier. Please, drop it, Ana." Levi rang a stern tone.
"...Levi, How—how much did you see?"
"We—"
Anasthasia stopped her utterance, noticing the sudden thuds that headed their way, which had the twins turned around and saw the same knight with the ceramic rod in his hand.
"Sir Liam! Here is the item you requested!"
Liam nodded; he was about to ignore the rest when the knight slowly approached in such proximity. With quickness, he shoved his hand as his deep voice boomed, "Stop, just throw it over here."
Anasthasia's eyes lit ablaze, thinking, 'What the heck is he saying?! Throwing it—'
"Yes!" The knight tossed the ceramic rod over, Liam caught it after that. He chuckled under his breath, "A piece of cake—" He shuddered from Anasthasia's cold gaze.
Levi nudged his glasses, clearing his throat while he talked to the knight in patrol, "Anything else?"
"There are no more problems with the carcasses as they are dealt with accordingly. However, the mana fluctuations caused erratic responses to our tools."
"That's alright; you're dismissed!"
Which earned a curtly farewell from the knight, and sprinted back to the scene. The tension gradually relaxed in their area.
'Goodness! They are so close to me! I can hardly breathe!'
Anasthasia's eyes turned wide as she pressed her lips thin. She found her arms further embracing Lucy. Lowering her head, she let the silence loom over her.
Liam huffed out. "Finally, they're gone."
Glancing to Liam, she nodded accordingly. "That's true. We're safe for now."
"Ana, just what is this?"
"What is it, Liam?"
"This is half the length of my arm, and its width is around two fingers combined. Incredibly lightweight, but its features deemed lackluster. What is this even?"
"Don't sweat the minor details; it won't change the fact that this item is close to my heart."
'I can't tell them not yet. I remember I gave this to Wallace as some treasure—Wait! Is there a possibility some of my treasures were…'
Anasthasia's vision obscured from the sudden dizziness; she shook her head to relieve the doubts cast in her heart.
'This will be the starting point of my goal. Anasthasia, remember what you need the most: information. You promise you won't let Sir Edward down! Good, girl, get a grip!'
"You seemed so focused. Here, please take this."
"Thank you so much, Liam... means a lot to me." She grabbed the ceramic rod and kneaded her fingers against the shaft. She stared at it for who knew how long, nostalgia surging her body.
'I finally have you, Seraphine. I shall rely on you the most in this new era.'
By the twins' reactions, they looked at her with skepticism. It turned into something they never expected, which had Liam blurted out tactless words.
"You look like a child who just received a gift from the winter season."
"Excuse me?" Anasthasia barked.
"Please nevermind it, Ana." Liam coughed.
"By the way, you two look good with that outfit."
"This? It's just a plain black vest and some gray trousers."
"Looks, good on both of you. I'm impressed."
Anasthasia's hand, with Seraphim in her grasp, slowly placed in the leather dress's cleavage as there was a hidden pocket enough to accommodate its length.
"...So, how did you find out?"
"We decided to check Lucy right away, but then we got caught up by the illusion barrier. We had to be cautious, using such a tool is deemed illegal."
"I agree with Liam. Most probably, those who are brazen would dare bare their fangs despite the laws of the kingdom. We're a hundred yards away at that time."
"Yet, none of you charged and helped?" Anasthasia rolled her eyes, jeering, "At least you could use the skills you got for Lucy's sake." Her words drew stares from both of them.
"Wait, that is—!" Levi tried to retort, but Liam extended his arm sideways, blocking him. His eyes narrowed, glinting so brightly in the solemn night sky.
"We apologize, Ana. I hope you can forgive us. We're too cautious as to who's with Lucy hanging out and not until you revealed."
"But things happened so fast. Those mere screams thrashed us away."
"Levi is right. We're pretty much alright, so please rest assured." Anasthasia pried her mouth open, her face screamed with concern, wanting to speak once more. But halted from Liam's assertions. "Allow me to carry Lucy from now on, Ana."
"Very well."
Liam's brows knitted as he witnessed the smear of blood from her blue cloak, which made him inquire, "Are you, perhaps, wounded, Ana?"
Anasthasia shrugged and lied through her teeth, "This? It's not mine."
'I must not let them worry further. But, I'm in no position to be independent, this time around, either.'
"Do you need help, Ana?"
For a moment, a chill ran down her spine. She huffed, responding, "Indeed, Levi, I need help."
Anasthasia rose her arm, attempting to hook by Levi's neck to find out he disappeared from her vision. Gaze—downward and witnessed him lowered down. He positioned himself as though how she carried Lucy earlier.
She hummed softly, which had Levi looking up with the beet-red face. He leered down, standing and clearing his throat before he began, "So this shall do then."
Once hooked, Anasthasia tried her best to contain her giggles. Inevitably, this reached Levi's ears, which had him flustered further.
'Despite his serious facade, he's such a cute baby.' Anasthasia contemplated, prodding his cheeks.
"Ana, please don't tease me." Levi sighed.
"It's funny; I can't help it!"
Unbeknownst to them, Anasthasia's head throbbed for worse, and her chest burned, but she decided to keep such a facade. Continuing, she asked the twins.
"Where's Michael?"
"His Highness..." He staggered a little, then walked back seamlessly, murmuring, "He's doing fine."
Anasthasia never said further as she called it a day. From their walk, she could hear their calm rhythms contrasted with Lucy and her ragged breaths. Her vision turned vivid as they got close to a pedestal. There, the light shone comparable to the moon's brightness in the still night.
For a while, Liam quipped with excitement in his tone, "We're almost there!"
Anasthasia glanced. But then, she saw the man, donned on the same gallant armor and cape, leaned against the wall of Lucy's residence and crossed arms.
"Your Highness, we're here."
Michael caught up to them, nodded, and then stared at Anasthasia's eyes, smiling.
"You're here."