"So what did doctors say about Sophia?" Erionella sat for dinner with 'her' family. She couldn't avoid them and it wouldn't be reasonable to do it.
She was genuinely concerned for the little girl who was 'Erionella's' younger sister. She had to at least be a good family member after taking over this body.
"Sigh The doctors still say they have no idea on how to make her better. They say it seems she was just born like that" The Count said sadly as he was worried about his little daughter.
There were dark circles under his eyes which showed how many sleepless nights he had after running to the best doctors in the middle of the night, for his little daughter.
"I'm sure Sophia was never this frail when she was almost one. I'm her mother and I'm sure of it" The Countess said just in passing but those words were surprisingly ingrained into Erionella's mind.
"Uncle" The voice from before whispered to her. Uncle? But the words immediately left her head before she could be done processing them.
"Don't worry mother and father, Sophia will soon be alright" Johan said holding his mother's hand.
Count Renowarin sat at the head of the table. Johan at his right hand side. The Countess to his left, and Erionella beside the Countess.
"We hope so. Anyways, Nella, Johan, how have you both been. Johan have you decided which family knighthood your training with. And Nella, how have you been with the Duke?" The Count inquired about the well being of his two older children.
They had a conversation while they ate. Erionella felt happy at this moment. The atmosphere was warm.
It would be nice to spend all her days like this till it was time to leave this world. But fate had far more bigger plans for her.
***
"Good night sister" It was night time and Johan greeted her a good night.
"Good night" She replied gently. She turned around to go to her room but was called again by Johan.
"Wait" He abruptly called her then paused. He seemed to be hesitating about something. He came a little closer and said in a hushed tone. "Um. Have you ever been to the Empress' library at the imperial before?"
Erionella was a bit confused at the topic. She didn't have all of 'Erionella's' memories so she wasn't exactly sure.
"I can't really member. Why do you ask?"
"Because..." He paused then shook his head. "No reason"
Erionella wasn't convinced that was all he had to say but didn't pry further.
Their conversation ended their and they said good night to each other.
But Johan had a lot that was on his mind to tell his sister. He turned around towards the direction of his room and murmured.
"He was right. You aren't actually my sister" Today he had just confirmed it. There was a day he could never forget throughout his entire life. It had been fourteen years ago when he was five and Erionella six.
That day wasn't really eventful but he remembered every second of what happened.
Let's play hide and seek Johan!" The little child with titian hair and green eyes laughed happily as she ran away from her younger brother who had white hair and similar green eyes.
The little girl was named Erionella and the boy who was her younger brother, Johan. They were both the children of Count Renowarin.
Out of boredom they began to play a game of hide and seek. The little boy counted to ten and began to find traces of were his sister had ran too.
He cleverly found her foot prints and followed them. Having their game at a part of the imperial palace that was large and opened publicly to the nobles wasn't a wise idea but the two children had not thought that far.
Eventually he found his sister standing in front of a door "We can use him as our puppet" A deep voice said in the room.
He tapped his sister on the shoulder.
"Hey, whose their?" He ran away with his sister after hearing approaching foot steps.
They ran away because their parents had taught them eavesdropping was bad and they were scared by the angry voices of the man in the room.
They ran and eventually got lost somewhere. Their location was a library.
"Sister, we need to find our way back to mum and dad" His sister didn't reply so he shook her a bit. "Sister Nella?" Her eyes were dark and life less.
Like a puppet she walked away from him. He found her behaviour strange then followed her.
"Book" She muttered. "It's here. My diary. I left it here on the 28th of July 5th year of the Florentine Empire. Where is my diary?! It's been only over a thousand years right"
"What?"
She completely ignored him. Her eyes were still empty and life less. She turned to the wall and as if talking to it she spoke "Haha. You think you can enjoy your reign as the first Emperor of the Empire? Impossible. I'll break your bones the same way you broke my heart"
"Duke Garcia of Blue. Duke Landon of Red. Duke Exion of White. Duke Elbry of Black. I pick Gacria! Let your descendant come from Garcia so that I can break your heart then. Haha. You'll be so helpless once I become your fated one"
"Anyways, were is my diary? I spent eight years writing it! I wrote it before this Empire was even founded!"
The little Johan was so confused by his sisters weird rambling.
Strangely, each word had she said, weighed down on his mind. Even days after this weird event with her, every night those words she uttered echoed in his mind. Even till he turned nineteen. But one day it stopped replaying in his head.
It was the day Erionella attempted to jump from the gates tower. From then on Erionella changed. So he went to ask the person who had appeared to him told him truths no one else in this world knew off.
This person who he asked was the demon king labelled as 'Lord of Nightmares'
***
"You don't have all of Erionella's memories?" A voice in her head, which she knew was Harlyn's spoke out to her.
'Can you read all my thoughts?' Erionella internally asked.
"Yep" Harlyn replied. "So you don't have her memories?"
Not all of them. Most of them are muddled"
"Hmm. Strange" Harlyn muttered. She was silent and after a few minutes she spoke up. "Do you have any dreams that seem to be her memories?"
"Yes. I've had one"
"Can you recall it"
"Yes" The dream which had seemed to be Erionella's memory had been in a dream about two weeks. It was still fresh in her memory and she could recall every single secind like a recorded movie.
"Let's play hide and seek Johan!" The little child with titian hair and green eyes laughed happily as she ran away from her younger brother who had white hair and similar green eyes.
The little child ran into an unknown destination and eventually got lost. The place the little girl was in was a grand building. The pillars and ceilings designed with gold and a simple white interior.
"Duke Landon was a big enough sacrifice" The voice belonged to a man.
"He's not going to be a sacrifice too. I know how to use Crinoel. Though he seems invincible, he's very sentimental about that mother of his. We can use him as our puppet" A deeper voice spoke back to the other one.
That was all she saw in the dream. But it kept on replaying in her head sometimes.
"Hmm" Harlyn didn't comment further. And said nothing after that.
Erionella finally reached her room and opened it. She was shocked for a second after seeing two people in the room but calmed down after realizing who they were. But she was surprised to see the second person of the two people.
One was Irliona her maid. The other was Sophella who she sent on a vacation.
"Sophella? What are you doing here?" She had given Sophella a month off, but only a week had passed by and she was back in the mansion.
"Well I couldn't leave my job for a whole month and still be paid so I had to come back..."
"Don't worry. Amanda is standing in for you so tomorrow go back to your family tomorrow"
"I thank my lady for her continuous kindness" Erionella only smiled as a reply.
Kindness? Truthfully, the reason why she gave Sophella a month off was because of her own intentions. She wanted to test something she had been very suspicious off.
Before she had been feeling a bit guilty for using Sophella but after the magic regeneration, she had been feeling a bit strange.
To be more precise the way she had been thinking had changed.
"My lady, I've brought the medicine Lady Mareeonel gifted to you. I've prepared it for you" Irliona held a tray which carried a bowl and spoon then placed it before Erionella after she sat on a chair.
The liquid in the ball reflected the moonlight and appeared to be a silvery colour.
According to Mareeonel it would help her regain her physical strength quickly. And she needed to attend the Empress' tea party.
She picked up the spoon then scooped a spoonful of the silvery liquid and put it into her mouth.
She swiftly dropped the spoon and covered her mouth. The metallic taste was bearable but it felt so sour on her tongue.
But miraculously, after she took only a spoonful she felt that she had regained small strength in her bones at unbelievable speed.
She did her best to finish to finish the bowl but could only end up going half way. Her stomach felt too full to accept any substance.
"Ugh. It tastes so metallic yet so sour"
"I didn't know my lady had a problem with medicine. You remind me of the children I see in hospitals" Sophella commented. Then she took the tray away from Erionella before proceeding to greet Erionella good night with a curtsy according to maid etiquette.
She stumbled a bit and did her best to stay balanced and not fall. In the process, the bowl slightly toppled to the side were Irliona stood.
But with super fast reflexes Irliona caught the bowl. The liquidated medicine splashed a bit on Irliona. The faint smell of charcoal could be perceived on her due to the medicine.
It splashed mostly unto her hands and arms. Erionella watched the scene and was about to speak in concern when she suddenly paid her attention to something.
This world was a fantasy novel, she learnt that it was impossible to have fast reflexes, without the use of 'mana' which was magical energy.
And just now the speed Irliona caught the bowl with was inhuman.
Erionella's life so far had been quite mundane for sometime. She spent her time educating herself in all area's of knowledge, especially fighting and magic, as she'd have to fight against the Lord of Nightmares in less than a year.
Her magic had fairly improved and she could faintly recognise the flow of mana around a person. She didn't see any mana around Irliona but there was...something else.
Once again something told her to pry further on Irliona another time.
"I'm so sorry, Irliona!" Sophella regained her balance and immediately apologised to Irliona.
"Be careful. For a day and a half whatever you touch will be stained black and you'll smell like charcoal"
Irliona's still had her forever expressionless face and calmly said. "Well then I need compensation for damages"
We'll talk about that in the morning" Erionella had gotten accustomed to Irliona's ways and expected her reply.
She continued "I'm feeling very sleepy and I have to attend the Empress' tea party that's held tomorrow" She was truly feeling sleepy but she'd use this method to make Irliona forget about the money.
Sophella and Irliona diligently cleared up the small mess then bid Erionella a good night.
Erionella laid cosily on the bed and slept peacefully. At this time she didn't know in the days ahead, she wouldn't be able to sleep this peacefully ever again.
***
"Haaah" He took a deep breath after the whole process had been completed. He stood up from the chair but staggered backwards and fell.
He was profusely sweating. Making his clothes soaked at an unbelievable rate. It was truly a miracle that he had survived the 'magic resignation'
"Your Grace" The butler directed the maids to set the table for the Duke's meal. After they were done they all left.
He turned his attention to the pile of delicious food.
"Lady Mareeonel just returned. She inquired about your whereabouts"
"I see" Crinoel felt grateful that his sister was okay. For her to be okay, he concluded that she didn't inherit much of the Garcia family blood. "Make sure she has dinner and goes to bed on time"
"Yes, Your Grace"
"Where is Harim?"
"He left"
"Okay" The butler bowed respectfully as he was dismissed.
The door clicked close and he was alone in his office with dinner containing almost every delicacy in the Empire.
Despite the weak state he was in, he paid no attention to the food and instead focused solely on his thoughts.
Why was it that today he didn't go to kill Erionella? If she was a demon then it could mean she had evil intentions towards him.
He didn't even find out more on the matter or confront her. He thought deeply on the matter and realised a hidden emotion. He was scared.
Scared to find out that Erionella was evil. Because if she was a threat, he had to kill her. But...he was hesitating.
He wanted to believe that she wasn't a danger. He wanted the friendship she spoke about to be true.
Once upon a time, five years after his mother died and he had turned eleven, he was given a sword and thrown out into the borders were thieves and barbarians attacked. Were demons looking to devour people, roamed.
There his father Duke Julius Garcia, pushed him out of the carriage and said. "Kill to survive. I'll pick you up after one year. Remember your sister is with me"
The eleven year old Crinoel was frenzied at the unexpected situation. "Wha-
Before he could understand what was happening, the carriage door was closed shut and it wheeled away from him.
After a day, the eleven year old Crinoel who was smarter than his mates realized his situation.
At night a bear attacked him. The bear lunged towards him threateningly.
He clutched the sword in his hand and attacked on reflex. With inhuman strength for a child, he stabbed the bear.
The bear stumbled backwards then fell. It groaned a bit then it eventually became quiet.
The little boy looked at his clothes that were stained with the bears blood. And at his hands that had held a sword and killed something.
"Kill to survive. I'll pick you up after one year. Remember your sister is with me"
Kill to survive. That bear was the first thing he killed on his journey to survive.
Humans. Animals. Demons. He never hesitated to kill them. He had watched as people died due to hesitation. So he never hesitated.
There was this feeling that had began. An emotion he didn't understand when he was with Erionella. It was currently just a little bit, but... he was curious about the emotion.
"I guess it's time I began to deal with this emotion" Fine. He accepted how he was feeling and decided to venture further into these feelings.
"People born into the Garcia family always have their 'fated one'. No matter what they do they will end up falling in love with the person. One day you too will become a fool for someone else too" He recalled the words of his dirt bag father and couldn't help but laugh.