The tension in the room was palpable. Seeing my parents with unreadable expressions made me nervous about what they were going to say. My eyes couldn't look directly into their eyes, so I kept my gaze down and around, anxiously awaiting their words.
After a few seconds, I could see my mother would begin to speak. "You have been living in the capital for just two weeks," she said, pausing to take a breath. "However, in those two weeks, it somehow felt like a year... This means what you have done should take a year. Honestly, I don't know where to start talking about you." Her words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications.
As my mother finished, it was my father's turn. I could see the concern in his eyes as he struggled to find the right words. Finally, he spoke softly, "What we want is simple: your safety. Of course, you will feel left alone by everyone around you because it was my order. We kept your transmutation hidden to ensure your safety. However," he continued, his tone changing, "it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and cross some lines. The first thing is about your betrothal. I knew the Queen would announce it at that party, but why did the Crown Prince announce it across the kingdom? That's not how we wanted things to unfold. The Crown Prince wouldn't do it because of his mother's order; it must have been someone who could corner him into doing that—so it was you. Now, we must deal with the consequences of your actions. The other side of the four powers will start to question our intentions."
My father paused for a moment before continuing, "Next is your approval of sparring matches between Lady Octavi and Sir Kaeso Antia. This sparring is dangerous. We know Lady Octavi is more capable than Sir Kaeso, but allowing them to spar could lead to the exposure of our family techniques. It must be the palace's plan to push Lady Octavi to use them and expose them. If this happens, it will create a faction war. And lastly..." He looked at my mother, "I don't want to talk about it. You may tell her, my dear."
My mother took a deep breath and clapped her hands. Immediately, Valerie, Cassius, and Bo were escorted into the room. She said, "So you hired these people?"
After that, I looked at Bo and remembered my promise to confront my parents about the orphanage. I knew this was my chance to finally bring it up. I took a deep breath and spoke, "My apologies, dear father and mother. May I have a chance to answer?"
My father and mother looked at me, surprised by my sudden request. My mother said, "You must have a great reason and great answer for this…"
I calmly replied, "I won't deny what I've done, but I will stand by the people I've hired. I want them to stay around m—"
"Aurelia!" My mother interrupted sternly.
My father asked directly, "Give me one good reason why we should allow those people to stay around you!"
I answered calmly, "The reason is simple, dear father. I feel they don't leave me alone. As you said, the people around me left me alone to ensure my safety. Somehow, I felt Adel and Lady Octavi were not for me, but for you. This led me to hire these people, wanting people around me who I know and who care for me."
"Care? You just met these people once, and you say they care about you?"
"Dear father, I understand your concern, but I have a gut feeling about them. I believe that sometimes intuition can be more powerful than logic. You must trust me about these people." I looked into my father's eyes with determination, knowing that these people were the ones who could prevent my death.
"Aurelia, you... Argh! I can't say anything bad about you, but your gut feeling is not always reliable. Our family's stake is at risk if these people reveal our transmutation to other families. Do you even consider that?"
"It isn't entirely my fault, dear father and mother. My idiocy and ignorance led to this, not me. As you said, the people around me kept everything hidden, so I didn't know anything about it. If only I had known sooner, I would have taken action to protect our family's secret. However, even if I had known sooner, I would still have hired these people."
My father sighed, realising the impact of keeping everything hidden from me. He looked at me with a mixture of disappointment and understanding. "Fine, I will let you have these people under you, but you are still in big trouble. The grand sparring between Lady Octavi and Sir Kaeso is next week, and the hunting event is the week after. As punishment, you must stay in your room. You will be allowed out only for these two events."
"I understand, dear father." As my parents stood up to leave, I continued, "Before you leave and I go to my room, there is one more important matter."
My father remained standing, while my mother sat back down. She asked, "What is it?"
"I want this matter to be heard by father."
"Is there a difference between your mother and father on this matter?" my mother asked.
"Yes, because this matter is connected to father's vision of Florence."
My father looked intrigued, while my mother seemed puzzled.
I took a deep breath and began to explain my thoughts about the orphanage being a ring of traffickers. My father's expression changed to one of concern, while my mother's eyes widened in shock.
However, my father said disbelievingly, "I find it hard to believe that such a thing could be happening in our city. There is no way the orphanage operates that way..."
I said, "As you look at Alecia, Aelia, Alicia, and Felix here, seven years ago, they were living on the street. At that time, Lady Octavi told me they shouldn't be there; the orphanage should take care of them. However, that wasn't the reality. I beg you to investigate this and send someone to the orphanage."
"Aurelia, there is no way the orphanage would do such a thing..."
"I am really begging you, dear father, because I promised the person over there," I said, looking at Bo, "that his precious daughter is probably in the orphanage." My eyes pleaded with my father, hoping he would understand the urgency of the situation.
My father, who had already stood up, began to walk back and forth. He finally stopped pacing and turned to me, "It's still impossible..."
"It's possible," I answered. "We have an example of it in this room."
My father looked at Alecia, Aelia, Alicia, and Felix, then turned to me and said, "However, it's a different case. Operating a ring of traffickers inside the orphanage, where..." He continued, "Lady Laura Claudi, mother of Lady Octavi, oversees it. It's impossible she wouldn't notice."
"Or she let it happen right under her nose," I finished his sentence.
"That's still impossible. Lady Octavi would never allow such a thing to happen," my father responded firmly.
Out of the blue, my mother said, "I am with Aurelia on this one. Whether Lady Laura knows it or not, we need to send someone to the orphanage immediately."
I didn't expect my mother to agree with me so quickly. However, my father persisted in not jumping to conclusions or acting immediately.
"It's not about concluding everything, dear," my mother said. "It's about saving someone. Even if Aurelia's information is false, and there is no trafficking ring, it's alright; there is no harm. However, if we don't act immediately and Aurelia is right, those children at the orphanage are in grave danger." She continued, "If you don't want to act immediately, I will send someone from my people."
Despite my mother's insistence, my father remained hesitant. However, my mother immediately called one of her maids and instructed her to gather more information discreetly about the orphanage. The maid quickly left to carry out her orders, and I could see the determination in her eyes. I turned to Bo, who looked relieved, knowing we were taking action to help his daughter and the orphanage.
This was the second time I altered the fate of the book. I hoped this alteration would lead to Bo's daughter being rescued, like Alecia, Aelia, Alicia, and Felix. After everything was done, I immediately left for my room, as punishment from my father. However, this punishment didn't feel like one because I had been in the same situation for seven years straight, not just a week.
~
While relaxing at my desk, I heard a knock on my door at night. I knew it wasn't Adel bringing dinner, so who could it be? I cautiously approached the door, wondering who could be visiting me at this late hour. As I tried to open the door, a voice suddenly said, "You don't need to open the door, my lady."
From the sound of the voice, I recognised it—it was Cassius. "What brings you here at this hour, Cassius?" I asked.
He replied, "I thought you need someone to talk…"
"Well, it's still just a day, I am in the room... I don't really feel like that."
"I thought you might feel lonely, my lady."
"I've done this before, not just a week, but a year," I continued. "However, since you're here, I want to ask about the house situation."
"What about it?"
"How are you and the others since yesterday?"
"Nothing has changed, yet our room has been relocated to another quarter. However, we are grateful that your family is still accommodating us."
"How about my little brother and sister? Are they here?" Yesterday, I didn't see them, even in the room with my parents. However, the presence of Aelia, Alecia, Alicia, and Felix was there. If they were here, so should my little brother and sister.
"Honestly, I don't know about your little brother and sister, but I saw someone sparring with the one who has black hair and a maid girl. I think they were in the living room that day."
"You mean Felix and Alecia?"
"Well, I don't know their names, but I assume it was them. They were sparring with someone with the same hair colour as you, and they seemed to be getting along well."
"That must be him, Aurelio, my little brother. He loves to spar with Felix or Alecia."
"Alecia?"
"One of the triplets—you saw them in the living room yesterday. They are triplets; to identify them, you can see their ribbon colour. Alecia has a red ribbon, Alicia has a blue ribbon, and Aelia has a green ribbon. It's based on their personalities."
"I'll keep that in mind," he continued. "However, my lady, your little brother seems to exceed my expectations for a kid of that age."
"What do you mean?"
"It's not just your little brother. The person you called Felix and Alecia are also remarkable. Even, I would lose to one of them. They are all very talented and intelligent for their age. Yet, your little brother is beyond them."
"Well, since he was a kid, he loved swords. I think it's because he saw Lady Octavi demonstrate her sword skills. How about my little sister? Is she here?"
"I didn't see her in the courtyard, so I can't say anything."
That was odd. "How about the other triplets, Aelia and Alicia?"
"I saw them with your parents, one with your mother, and one with your father."
So Aelia and Alicia weren't with her. It would have been impossible if she wasn't here and stayed back home. I didn't have any thoughts about her whereabouts. It was strange she wasn't with one of the triplets. However, I hoped she was fine.
Cassius said, "Since I'm here, how about I tell you some information because we can't have any sword practice?"
"Sure," I answered.
Cassius started to explain the basics of transmutation. Transmutation was weapon mastery, and every person had a different weapon mastery. Cassius believed it was from birth that every person had this weapon mastery, so it was like destiny for someone to have a specific weapon mastery. Cassius's transmutation was a greatsword with blue transmutation. If he used a shortsword or longsword, he couldn't use his transmutation, and in some cases, the transmutation would decrease from blue with a specific weapon to red with other weapons. Adel's transmutation was a dagger, Lady Octavi's was an armsword, and Valerie's was dual-wielding.
I asked him about dual-wielding, and Cassius explained that it was basically using two shortswords. Many people felt a shortsword had many disadvantages compared to an armsword—the reach, the power, and the versatility—so it was rare for someone to pursue shortsword transmutation. Yet, many people used dual-wielding with shortswords. I asked if it was possible to dual-wield with an armsword. He explained it was possible, but it had more disadvantages than dual-wielding shortswords; an armsword was heavier, so the maneuverability would be bad. An armsword was common as a single sword, especially with a shield. There was a reason why Lady Octavi used an armsword because it was the standard for knights. I asked about my little brother, Felix, and Alecia, and what their weapons were. Cassius answered from his observation: My little brother used a longsword, Felix was the same as Valerie, and Alecia used a greataxe. I was surprised Alecia used a greataxe, which was so heavy.
After all the explanations, Cassius excused himself and told me he would visit me again. I thanked him for the information and the time he spent with me, even though the door separated us. With that, I heard his footsteps fading away as he walked down the hallway. I immediately went to bed and took a rest.