"But before they could even begin to mourn, the double-edged sword finally decided to swing backwards.
The head was stunned because he couldn't fathom their motivation. He had, after all, already given up on the most important thing they desired.
But he was crushed when he saw their king's most trusted minister walking alongside the force with which they had struck a deal. Only then did he realize where the king's anxiety had come from. The situation made it clear that the outside force that had assisted them in repelling their own kingdom's attack was the one who had arranged for this setup.
And it was evident that they would not be willing to share the fruits of their plan with anyone.
So ended the history of two great forces in a kingdom, one of which was the royal family itself.
But, in the face of all the decisions he might have considered foolish, the family head's one decision proved its worth.
He had already sent all of the family's direct and gifted descendants away as soon as the agreement was made, because the situation was too volatile to rule out any of the possibilities.
Regardless, their adversaries were clearly hesitant to allow any seeds of trouble to sprout.
As a result, they pursued them all until, according to Lady Faustina, only she remained."
"Mom, we were talking about you," Crystal asked as Loreana paused. "How did we get diverted there?"
Loreana gave her daughter a gentle smile before responding.
"When I heard Lady Faustina's story, I was as confused as I was sad for her. But she obviously had a reason for telling me.
When she saw my confusion, she said, "You think it was a great tragedy, right?" But, to me, our situations are identical. I told you about it to show you that when life decides to put you to the test, your social standing doesn't matter. It is unconcerned about your age, race, gender, or anything else. It simply happens. But does this mean we should give up on life? No! You may fall, but you should never stop because you will only be arriving at the final destination, regardless of the outcome. The only difference is whether you reach there without regret. Furthermore, my situation was better than yours because I had someone to support me; Benny was with me. He was a source of comfort and support for me. But you were by yourself. So I've decided not to become your parent, but to be the pillar of support you need to grow and advance in your life..."
That's why, Crystal, I'm telling you the story so you can understand what she was trying to say and what I'm trying to say."
When Crystal heard what her mother had said, she fell silent before nodding, "Don't worry, Mom. I see what you're saying. I'll grow brave and strong enough to care for you."
"Silly girl." Loreana took her hand out of our joint grip and stroked her daughter's face before saying, "I just want you to take care of yourself."
No, Mom." However, Crystal stated solemnly. "Anom had already informed me of your intention to abandon me. You were going to solve all of the problems on your own.. I won't allow that anymore!"
"Not at all, Crystal." Loreana attempted to explain. "I was never going to do that..."
"It was all the same to me!" Crystal almost shouted, her voice adamant, tears gathering in her eyes.
Loreana had already grabbed her in an embrace before she could start crying and began consoling her, "I'm sorry, child. I only considered it for your safety. I had no idea I'd end up hurting you so badly.." Loreana shifted down before resting her head on a pillow, feeling a little uneasy with the weight in her current position. She then grabbed her daughter's face and pressed it against her bosom.
"You're not going to leave me alone any longer?" Crystal snuggled up in her mother's embrace, looking like a child who was afraid of her parent's absence even for a moment.
"No. I won't." Loreana nodded solemnly. "I promise."
"You said it yourself. Don't forget it." Before Crystal could respond, Anom had already opened his mouth as he said to Loreana.
"Sigh! You're not going to let it go, are you?" Lorena sighed as she looked at him helplessly.
"No, Mom. He is correct! You just made a promise to us!" Crystal decided to join in as she laughed, no longer looking depressed.
"Fine, fine. You win." Loreana shook her head helplessly as she surrendered to her daughter's whims.
Suddenly, she felt some movement. When she turned her head to the left, she was met with a pair of dark black eyes staring back at her.
A warm breath touched her face, jolting her out of her trance.
"Ah?" She jerked her head back in surprise before asking Anom, who was now lying next to her on the same pillow, "What now?"
"Nothing." Anom shrugged before shifting his weight to find a more comfortable position.
"I was just feeling a bit tired." Anom explained before asking, "You don't mind, do you?"
Loreana rolled her eyes and replied, "You've already made yourself at home. Why ask now?"
Anom smiled without any shame before asking, "Do you mind telling us the rest of the story? That is, if you are fine with it."
Crystal, who was amusedly staring at the two, nodded as well.
"I was about to anyway," Loreana agreed.
"I won't go into much detail this time and will just skim over to the part when I arrive here," she mused.
"Why?" Crystal couldn't help but ask. She didn't get why she wanted to skip it.
As Loreana was finding the right words to give a reason to her daughter, Anom had already guessed it and stated in her stead.
"She's afraid that, given the disparity between the beginning and end of her remaining story, she won't be able to contain her emotions."
Loreana was a bit surprised before she nodded. "You guessed it."
Then she took a long, deep breath before continuing.
"As I previously stated, I will not go into detail about my time with my new family. Just remember that it was the most wonderful and peaceful time of my life.
Three years flew by in the blink of an eye. Lady Faustina decided to teach me how to gather my inner energy as I turned eighteen.
As you might be aware, it is not recommended that anyone practicing energy arts begin condensing their energy until their body and natural spirit have fully developed. The age of eighteen is essentially the standard... Some forces with more resources may be able to reduce it by a couple of years, but that is irrelevant for the time being.
As I previously said, I had reached the age that Lady Faustina deemed appropriate for me to begin my training in energy control.
Previously, she taught me some basic breathing exercises, poses, and other essentials to lay the groundwork for my future practice. That made it easier for me to absorb the new information she was imparting.
We went on like this for a few days before I felt the first sliver of energy within my body.
Lady Faustina had praised me at the time, saying I was very talented.
I was overjoyed to take my first step towards freedom. Lady Faustina shared my joy, deciding to celebrate after we returned home.
We usually trained in a relatively safe and quiet area behind the village; it was ideal for my training.
We walked for an hour, and I couldn't help but feel excited about telling Uncle Benny and hearing him praise me. I wanted the day to be memorable for me.
But I couldn't have guessed that fate would save me from that effort. That day did become memorable, but not in the way I had hoped.
I once again saw the face I didn't want to see even in my nightmares."
______________________________________________________________________________________________Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you are enjoying the current arc. Don't worry, the action and adventure that you've been craving will be back soon. The Nulic City arc will end around Chapter 90. So, not too long now.
So please bear with me for a few more chapters. I have included additional information that I could have introduced in different ways. For example, information about the age and physical requirements of energy training, the fundamental outlook of life within and outside a kingdom, and so on. Most importantly, I have hinted at a story that will be continued in subsequent chapters.
Thank you for your patience, and please don't forget to share your thoughts on the story's progression.
- lemmewrite