Seeing her in front of me, without any hesitation, I ran towards her. Slowly, the moonlight illuminated her, and it was Gennaia in her human form. Immediately, I stopped in front of her, overwhelmed with emotions and guilt, I showed my tears in front of her and started crying a little bit. While I was crying, I said, "I…killed…them…It was my fault…I…wa..s…so naive…"
Gennaia reached out and embraced me, whispering softly, "It's not your fault. You didn't know." Her comforting words eased some of the weight of guilt that had been consuming me.
As I had stopped crying and regained my emotion, I asked her, "Why??? The fate of the book was different this time…"
"It was different because you tried to change it…" Gennaia looked at me with understanding in her eyes and replied, "As I had said, Nona would do anything to keep the flow of fate the same. However, you had changed some of the flow, and you altered the fate of the four children seven years ago, the fate of two mercenaries, and the fate of the former retinue.".
"BUT, without me, the four children wouldn't have their name, their own interests, their own life…".
"No, they will…".
"Yes, I KNOW, in a few years later, they will have it. However, to let them live on the street for a few years when you have a chance to save them is a bit of a cruel fate to impose on them.".
"That was their fate from Nona's flow of fate. The more you try to alter fate, the more Nona will retaliate for the change…You need to know that the book is the book, not real life. You will see a difference between the book and real life. When you see the book as real life, you make a big mistake because it doesn't have something controlling it. As you live in real life, something is controlling it. It's Nona. "
"Well, if Nona is controlling it, why doesn't she take my own life right now and right here?"
"Controlling fate doesn't mean dictating someone's fate; controlling fate means protecting the flow of fate. The flow of fate in you is going to die at this certain time because of this reason. As you tried to alter fate, like recruiting the two mercenaries and helping the four children, and now that you have recruited Bo, you have altered the flow of your fate and these people. In that altering, there will be retaliation, which comes from who controls it. However, this retaliation isn't directly coming from Nona, instead, it's coming from another mortal, her paragons. These paragons have the same book as you and will try to make the course of fate the same as in the book."
"Does it mean the perpetrator of this incident indirectly is Nona?"
"You can say it like that…Because it's the retaliation from Nona…"
"THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS FROM GODDESS…HOW DID SHE—"
"Nona doesn't try to change the flow of your fate only; instead, she is trying to protect the flow of the fate of this world… You may see your actions as just for yourself, yet, your actions are affecting others. You may change the course of someone's love, and this person will never meet his soulmate because of you. You may change the destiny of a family, where generations to come will be impacted by your choices. Or you may make a newborn never be born. That's why I call you an anomaly in this world. In just three weeks after the book started, you made much impact, yet this impact isn't as visible as you can see."
"What must I do then? Not altering it? And waiting for the doom…"
"That's the answer; you must find it by yourself. Sometimes waiting is the best, and sometimes taking action is the best…" She continued, "I can't be here for any longer…"
"Wait, I thought you would be here with me…"
"No, there is something I need to do. Do you remember the time Delios perished??? The moments before she perished, she said, 'Who are you?' to Nona. That was odd…Nevertheless, I come here to tell you something."
"What is that?"
"There is another paragon or anomaly that I have encountered; I could say this person is the paragon of Nona and an anomaly at the same time because it's like you but a different problem. This person knows the whole book, yet this person discards it and follows a different path entirely. When you tried to follow the other path not to die, this person tried to follow the other path to pursue love."
Suddenly, I saw her body start to emit a glow of lights. Slowly, her physical body started to fade away like a wind.
At the last second, I could hear her voice saying, "Just believe in yourself, Aurelia!"
As she disappeared, I heard some footsteps rushing towards me, immediately I turned back and it was Cassius. As the mother lunar was above me, I was wondering why Cassius was in the courtyard right now. Did he see everything? Cassius looked at me with a mix of confusion and concern, "What are you doing here at this time, my lady?"
I tried questioning him with the same question.
He answered, "Well, usually, I walk in the courtyard at this time to get some fresh air…"
"At the middle of the night?"
"Yeah…So what are you doing here? I heard you are not feeling well…Yet, you are in here with your bed attire, I guess, and without any footwear."
"Same as you, I guess…"
"Same as mine? If my lady wants to get some fresh air, is barefoot really necessary? You are just—" Suddenly, Cassius walked closer to me, as close as possible, and he…carried me with his two hands.
While I was leaning on his chest, "What….what…are you doing right now?"
"It's not appropriate for my lady to walk barefoot, it can hurt your feet and spoil the beauty of them."
I was blushing at his words, and then he carried me towards a nearby bench, where we both sat down.
"You really didn't have to do that, I can walk by myself that distance…" I said, feeling a mix of embarrassment and gratitude.
After that, he put some stretch in front of me as he said, "Sometimes, you need someone, my lady, even though you can do it yourself because it's not always about capability but also about care and consideration."
"Well, if that's the case, does it mean you really care about me?"
He chuckled softly and replied, "Perhaps I do, my lady. Perhaps I do." He turned at me, "So what's the root that makes my lady like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"You may keep it as long as possible, and the people around you will consider it your secret; however, if you keep it like that, there will be no one to help you, my lady." Suddenly, he leaned his face in front of mine, "Right now, I could see a hint of something, your cheeks show a trace of a fountain of sadness. The biggest hint is in your eyes. The eyes that always show your innocence, kindness, and determination, however this time, was different, your eyes were filled with a feeling of deep sorrow…"
His word was…"Ha…ha…ha" I softly chuckled at it as I looked down, avoiding his gaze, "How do you know me so well, Cassius?"
"Maybe, because I love to pay attention to you…"
While I was still looking down, "Have you received the news???"
"What's news?" with a tone of concern and curiosity.
I finally met his gaze, and said, "I…I…I have killed some people…"
His eyes immediately opened as wide as possible, and his expression turned from concern to shock. "What do you mean, you've killed people?" he asked…
"I…have known about a place where there was a place for the trafficking of children, however, I did not choose to act quickly, instead, I waited for my parents to…to take action…" I continued, "With that, it was too late, and the children had already been harmed," as I looked at both hands, "and their blood feels like it's in my hands right now…"
Cassius said softly, "However, it's not your fault, my lady. You did what you thought was the best at the time."
"I KNOW THAT!!!" I exclaimed, "Yet, I was so naive… to think that waiting for my parents to take action would solve the problem. I should have acted sooner and taken matters into my own hands…and now, I…I…I don't know how to tell or say it to Bo…"
"Why do you need to tell Bo?"
"Because his precious daughter was in that place, and I promised him with my determination to save her, but I failed miserably…"
"At least you have tried, yet fate speaks in a different language…"
Fate huh? Felt it wasn't fate. I said, "May you deliver the news to Bo?"
"Are you sure about that, my lady? If I am the one who tells him the news, it will show your weak-mindedness. It's better for you, the one who tells him the news, to show that you have tried your best…"
"I don't care about that. I…I…just…I don't know what to say…Just tell him, okay!!!"
"If you insist on that, I will deliver the news…"
I expressed my gratitude towards him, and tried to walk back inside…However, as I stepped for the second step, Cassius immediately carried me in the same position…
"You know that I can walk by myself…" I said while Cassius was carrying me…
He didn't say anything and just walked towards the door…
When we were in front of the house's door, the door was suddenly being opened…Shockingly, it was Adel who opened the door. With a plain expression, she showed it to us…
I said, "Uhmm…Cassius, just try to carry me to the house because I am barefoot…"
Adel answered, "If that's the case, he can take my lady down right now, because…Cassius and the others are forbidden to be inside…"
At Once, Cassius dropped me. Before he walked off, he told me to have a great night. He walked away while I watched it.
As Adel and I were inside the house, we walked towards my room. Immediately, I was confused by Adel's words. If Cassius was forbidden by my parents to come inside the house, how did he go to the front of my room and have a conversation with me?
While we were walking back towards my room, in the hallway, I stopped and called her. At once, she stopped in front of me.
I asked, "Did you let him in, Adel?"
She answered, "Pardon?"
I was walking towards her, and I said, "Did you let Cassius in? Did you let him be in front of my room?"
"I can't recall anything about that, my lady…"
"Come on, Adel! There is no way he could have gotten inside without you knowing. You must have let him in. And there is no way Cassius overpowered you, so there is no other way than you were letting him in."
She started to walk without saying anything, and I followed her as I said, "You are the one who warned me to take a distance from him, and now you let him in this time."
Adel's expression was unreadable as she continued to deny any involvement. As we reached her room, she turned to me and said, "I just believed that what I did was best for you, my lady…I hope you have a great night…Sofia will check on you tomorrow