Chapter 32 - CHAPTER 31

"Aunt!"
"Oh thank the goddess, you're safe!"

2 days after the letter from Historia was received, the guild leader and her assistant, Raul, both came to Orien's main city, Poculum, to check and just arrived at sunset of the 3rd day.

Ren tried to stop her but he failed as Eleanor ran towards the newly-arrived people in the academy. Historia prepared herself for the impact as the running girl launched herself towards her, giving her the biggest hug she can give her.

"It's a relief that you guys got here safely, Historia", Historia smiled at Meridia as the alchemist gave Historia her very own smile back. Eli then turned towards the man who came with Historia to the academy. Raul chuckled when the girl gave him a huge bear hug as well. Meridia smiled at the heart-warming scene in front of her.

Historia and Raul were both busy with their reunion with Eli, Daniel, and Ren when Meridia interrupter them, "Why don't we go inside first?"












*sigh*, the whole room fell silent as Historia and Raul looked at Meridia who's sitting in front of them after she explained everything to them. "So, did you guys really confirmed that little Eleanor really is the long lost child of the duke and duchess Donati?"

Meridia nodded, "We used a potion brought by Daniel secretly from the royal palace to check it, and it was indeed legit. She really is the daughter of the duke", Historia glanced at the door of the office of Meridia where the 3 of them; Raul, Meridia, and Historia, are right now. Outside of that door are Eli, Ren, and Daniel who are all waiting for them to talking to each other.

"And we are sure that the plan the Duke thought of can really help in keeping her safe for now. But it will all depend on…."

"On Eli to decide for herself", Historia finished Meridia's sentence. The alchemist nodded before looking at Raul who's still glancing towards the door of her office. "What is it?", she asked.

"If little Eli chooses to come with the duke back to the south, how can we be sure that she'll really be happy in there? With all the stuffs regarding nobility, noble children, and other stuffs regarding those, we know that Eli, who's very different from those prideful elites, will have a hard time coping up with that kind of life. What's worse, is that she might be forced by the duke to act like a noble even if she doesn't want to in order to not sully the family's clan/ the dukedom's reputation"

The door suddenly opened up and Lucian came in with a very cold aura. The 3 adults inside the office all rose up and looked at him who went inside the room. Behind him is the young master, Lucius, with Eleanor peeking from behind him.

"Umm, the duke and the young master just arrived, and umm, they asked for you master and well umm…", Meridia sighed as she signalled Ren and Daniel to take Eleanor away as Lucius, who entered the room last, closed the door.

"So you heard everything your grace", she sighed once again and looked up at the duke who only stared at Raul. He slowly came close to the male wizard who didn't budge at all and stared at the duke as well who's a few inch taller than him.

"Your grace", Lucius stopped Meridia from talking by shaking his head.

"No. It's okay Meridia. It might seem rude but your grace, please understand that we only wanted what's best for little Eli. She's VERY important to all of us, and we care for her greatly. So we want to make sure that she'll be fine and happy no matter where she is"

Lucian just stared at Raul as Historia back him up. "That girl already went through so much even before we met her, so we want her to at least have a happy life even if it's not a luxurious one", and with that, Lucius sighed and held his father's arm.

"Father…", but Lucian cut him off and started speaking. "First of all, I want to thank you for your concern and for taking care of my princess during the time she's all alone. I…we're not forcing her into doing things she don't want. As her father, I wanted her to be safe and happy as well. We promised to wait for her to decide whether she'll come with us back at the South or not, and we also promised that no matter what her decision will be, we'll always respect it and we will still try our best to protect her", Lucius talked after his father.

"And regarding the rules when it comes to nobility. You don't have to worry about that. Our family….our family, we won't push her to do things just to keep the image of the family clean. Besides, SHE'LL be VERY mad at us if we ever do that to her precious daughter", Lucian then felt nostalgic just thinking about his late wife while listening to his son talk about her.

Historia smiled, putting her hands on Raul's shoulders, "That's enough Raul", she then bowed to Lucian and Lucius in apology. "We're sorry for being rude to the both of you, your grace…young master", the 2 nobles just shook their head, understanding how important their daughter/sister is to the people present in the room that's why they're this worried.

Outside the office, Eli leaned on the other side of the office's door. Ren and Daniel both watched her. Worry etched on both of their faces. After hearing what the adults inside stated, she sighed and stated walking towards the door of the lab.

"Wait Eli! Where are you going?!"

"I'm going back to my room, I'll be right back", the two guys were about to follow her when the office door opened. "Huh? Where's Eleanor?", Historia asked, "She went back to her room, she said she'll be back later though", the adults nodded.

"Should we follow her?", but Historia just shook her head. "Let her think to herself for now. Let's all give her space first"





















"I didn't notice that it's been 3 hours already! Oh no! I'm sure they're all worried by now!", Eleanor grumbled to herself as she tied her shoes up while still sitting on her bed.

She's been in her room for the past 3 hours, thinking about the plan the duke, her…Eleanor's father, thought of. She knows that the moment she's officially announced as the duke's daughter she'll be entering the stage where the spotlight she's been trying to avoid all this time is.

But, on the contrary, in order for her to be able to safely catch the INTRUDER, she'll need this opportunity. There is a high chance she won't be able to capture the INTRUDER all on her own since the target of that said INTRUDER now is her, but, there is also some risks/ dangers on her plan to catch HIM or HER by making herself the bait, and if she accepts the offer of the duke, the chances of risks might lessen or not depending on the course of action she'll do next.

It's up to her, if she wants to gamble and have the opportunity to lessen the dangers and risks that she already has now or stick to her original plan.

"….really am thankful to you my dear", she stopped on what she's doing after hearing someone talking outside her room. She stood up from sitting on her bed and took a glance outside her room which is located on the second floor of the building where they're in.

There she saw a very beautiful scene. Not far from her is where the academy's newly built garden is, right in the center of that garden stood the duke of Donati, Lucian, looking up at the starry sky with a smile on his face. The flowers and other plants surrounding him, and even the petals of the flowers from the trees made the scene even more enchanted for Eleanor.

"That child, our daughter, why didn't I realize it earlier? Her eyes, they're the same as yours. She got them from you, my most favorite part of you…her shimmering purple / lilac eyes. I'm dumb aren't I? I haven't realize it up till now", the duke said like telling someone a story.

Eli looked everywhere in wonder. 'Who is he talking to? No one is in there'

"I…I'm sorry", the smile on the duke's face faded and soon, his expression turned into a sad one. He looked down and murmured some more, but Eli still heard it since he's not really that far from where she is.

"I'm sorry it took me this long to find her. I…I promised you before that I will protect both of you, but I failed to do that, I'm sorry my duchess", the duke saying these intrigued Eleanor.

'Oh! He's talking to the duchess…duchess?! But the duchess is already dead thou….wait…come to think of it, the duchess of Donati was only mentioned at least once or twice in the novel, she was only mentioned as the wife of the duke who died during an accident, but what accident? The duke and the young master died, and the story ended but it was never included in the story…the story of why or how the duchess died nor the reason of the duke and young master for joining the rebellion'

"I failed to protect you from THAT accident, and not only that, I also took this long just to find our missing child. I failed you. But this time, this time for sure, I won't promise but I will make sure….I WILL MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE CAN EVER HURT OUR DAUGHTER EVER AGAIN. I will protect our children just like what I promised you before, both her and Lucius", the duke lifted his head up and there, through the light coming from the bright full moon, Eleanor saw the man's tear-stained face with a determined expression now etched on it.

Eleanor sat back down to her bed, staring at her shoes as her mind started to wander again.


.....
"Prepare yourself child, this world is not the one you know previously. So you should expect that some things might change as well. When the spotlight started coming towards you, will you still avoid it?"
....


'When the spotlight starts coming towards me huh. Eleanor is an extra who was supposed to be dead by now, but the moment I came to her body, her role changed…wait…the story already changed because of what the INTRUDER did to this world, but I….I am the one who changed her role in the story. Because I befriended Daniel?...No….it's because I took her body when she's originally supposed to be dead by that time'


.....
"I'm only a fortune teller but I can still give you one advice based on the cloud of obstacle that I saw in your future. Don't just look back at where you came from, remember your past but for you to be able to look forward to your future, you also need to accept the reality of the present"
.....


'Even after accepting the mission the goddess Anchora gave to me, I still haven't completely accepted the reality that I am no longer….that Eleanor is no longer an extra, and this world is not the original world of the story anymore. I just thought to myself that I did accepted everything, because I was able to recognize the main and the supporting characters like Daniel and the others as my friends, but deep inside I know I haven't fully accepted it yet. Because if I already, REALLY, accepted everything regarding this reality, then why am I still hesitating? Why am I still afraid in stepping on the spotlight? Why am I still afraid of that so called spotlight?'

Eleanor stood up and looked at the moon shining in the sky. "I already promised to myself, I made an oath…that I will live this second life of mine to the fullest. That means I have to accept that this is my reality now. I have stop thinking about how I am an extra, how my friends and other acquaintances are characters, and, how the places and the events happening all around the world are all part of the story's settings. And in order for me to be able to live a peaceful life and repay the second chance that the goddess gave to me, I have to finish this quick. And there is already an opportunity that opened up that can help me do that…in additional…"









"Are you sure?!"
"Mhm"

Ren and Daniel looked at each other before looking back at the girl whose expression remained serious. "I thought about it a lot, and I think this will be my best option for now. Besides, I…", Eli looked down at her lap, her fingers started playing with each other.

"You want to try to get to know your family, right?", her shocked purple eyes met Daniel's green ones after he finished what she was saying. The young man came close to her and held her hands, squeezing them.

"Remember what our goal is when we started our journey before?", Eleanor nodded. Their original goal was to find who they really are, and figure out who their parents are. But after Elea…Ammiel, found out that this world is the world of one of the books she read in the past, everything changed. Her goal changed into surviving this world as an extra that might die any sec. But when she met the goddess Anchora, her goal changed yet again. And now, her primary goal is….

'To live this second life to the fullest, no dying early this time, I want to experience things I never did before. And in order for me to do that, I have to catch the INTRUDER to stop them from ruining this world any further. If this world becomes more ruined than now, then how can I live peacefully? So this will be my primary goal, to live my life to the fullest AND to do that, I first need to catch the INTRUDER'

"Mhm. And you know, now that I found who my parents are, I wanted to help you find yours as well", she said staring at the young wizard's eyes with her determined ones.

Daniel sighed but still gave her a gentle smile. "Okay, we'll respect your decision", Eleanor then felt a hand on her head. She looked up and saw Ren smiling too with his left hand still on top of Eli's head, "And never forget that we will always be here for you. As long as you're happy and safe, we'll be satisfied with whatever you decide on"

Eli smiled at the two of them, each of her hands held theirs as she whispered a small but genuine, "Thank you"


















"A-are you sure?", both Lucian and Lucius can't help but tremble in joy as they stared at the young girl who just nodded her head to confirm what she just said earlier.

"So you really decided to step into a new world huh?", Eleanor felt a hand grip her left shoulder, looking back, Historia's worried face greeted her. "If you go with the duke, yes you will indeed be safe through the Donati's protection, but that would also mean something else right?", the girl nodded.

"That also means I'll be entering a new world, the world of nobles and aristocrats…."

'The world of the spotlight'

"Yes, that's right. But I guess, you already figured that out and thought it through as well. So your decision is final now right?", Eleanor nodded at Raul's question. "I did think a lot about it, but, I think this will be for the best" 'Hopefully'

"Then, the Donati Dukedom will wholeheartedly welcome you", Lucian kneeled and stretched out his hand to Eleanor. The girl stared at his hand, 'If I accept this hand, there will be no turning back'

She looked up, glancing at every person present on the room; Historia, Raul, Meridia, Ren, Daniel, Lucius, and finally, she glanced back to the person kneeling in front of her with his hands reached out towards her, Duke Lucian Donati.

'Goddess Anchora, I hope this is the right decision', she slowly reached out her hand and gently put it on top of Lucian's outstretched one that soon enveloped her smaller hand.

"Please take care of me"





















"Please put it there"
"Be careful of that one please"
"Oh, how about trying to fit that in there?"

Everyone has been buzzing all morning as many people prepared the stuffs needed for the journey back to the South. It's been 3 days since she decided to come with the duke and the young master back to the Donati Dukedom, and so far, the preparations for their journey back to the South are going smoothly.

That evening the same day….

Eleanor's bedroom door burst open as a girl with peach hair came running inside, "We're here!", Eli laughed as Anette immediately attacked her with the biggest hug she can muster up. She patted her friend's back like consoling a kid as her gaze went to the two guys who came inside right after the jolly priest.

"We already set up everything outside. Let's go", Daniel smiled as he held Eli's right arm, pulling her towards him.

He was about to pull her out of the room when he was stopped by someone. "Can't you see we're still busy? We've just had our reunion after a long time you know", Anette said, pulling on Eli's left arm.

"And can't you see how excited Eli is to proceed with the activity?", Daniel retorted as he pull on Eli's right arm in return. Ren facepalmed as he watched the both of them started bickering again with Eli in the middle looking at him.

'Hey, I'm kinda stuck in between the both of them you know. Help me Ren!', but even with that kind of look Eli gave to him, he just jokingly shook his head at her and stuck out his tongue like a little kid.

'Sorry but, goodluck with that Eli'
'You traitor!'












"Woah! Haha! Now I know why you said Eli's excited for the activity!", Anette's eyes sparkle as she ran towards where a very big checkered purple and green picnic mat was neatly placed on the grass.

They are currently in the garden of the academy. The same garden where Eleanor saw and heard the duke talking a few nights before she decided to come with them to the South. Eli looked up at the night sky as a bright smile was brought onto her face after seeing how enchanting the sky is lit up with so many bright stars that she can't see that much before when she was still Ammiel due to her poor eyesight.

Ever since she arrived at this world, she can't get enough of how amazing and pretty the sky is especially at night, with all the sparkling stars decorating it. This is the 'activity' Daniel's been talking about earlier. They're going to stargaze at the academy's garden not far from where the building where Eli and Meridia are staying. This is the final night that she'll be staying here at the academy. Tomorrow…they're going to start their journey back to the South. And thus, her friends, decided to spend her last time here like this, they even exerted effort just to be able to bring Anette here from the temple.

"Eleanor! Come on, sit here!", Anette who's already sitting down the picnic mat together with Daniel and Ren who's still standing called her.

"Mhm!"