The next day, my parents came into my room along with Sofia after I had finished my morning routine. At once, Sofia checked on me as usual, just like she did seven years ago. She reassured me and told everyone in the room that I would be okay. After that, Sofia showed everyone my medicine and gave it to me. However, I saw that the medicine she gave me was slightly different from what she had given me seven years ago.
I asked her, "Is the medicine different than before?"
"You recognise it, my lady…Yes, the medicine is different…"
My father immediately asked, "Why is it different?"
"The medicine is different because the cause is different. Right now, the cause is your mental, this medicine reduces my lady's stress level and relaxes her."
My father nodded in understanding, and Sofia excused herself from my room. As she left, my father started moving closer to my bed and me. He asked me about the orphanage, how I knew everything circling the orphanage, especially the trafficking site. I couldn't answer his question straightforwardly because I knew it from the book. I tried searching for an answer but couldn't think of anything else. With that, I just told him that I knew it because of the four children I encountered seven years ago, since then, I have questioned myself that there must be something wrong with the orphanage.
My father's expression turned serious as he listened to my explanation. He nodded slowly, before finally speaking again. "So it's your guts, who told there was something wrong about the orphanage. Maybe your guts actually lead to the right path, and hope your guts are on the right path about the people that you have hired."
As he received my answer, he excused himself from my room. As he left, my mother went to me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, telling me to get well soon. She excused herself from my room, but before she stepped out of my room, I called her, "My dear mother…"
She answered, "Yes, darling?"
"Is Ophelia staying here?"
"Your little sister?" She paused, looking slightly puzzled. "Yes, she is coming with us, and she is in here…" She seemed to hesitate, continuing, "Just take a rest, Aurelia, you need that…" Then, she left my room.
That was odd; my mother seemed to be trying to hide something about Ophelia. As I remembered my conversation with Cassius, Cassius told me that he didn't see Ophelia around the house. It was strange that my mother was being evasive about Ophelia's whereabouts; if she were here, Cassius would tell me she was around the house because Ophelia, whom I knew, wanted her presence to be known like a lady. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, but I decided to trust my mother for this time.
As time passed for two days, there were some knocks on my door. At first thought, it must be Cassius, however, for these past nights, Cassius didn't visit me. I walked slowly towards the door from my bed. Once, when I was in front of my door, a voice could be heard. It wasn't a voice of Cassius…It was Bo…Why did Bo come here?
He called me thrice in front of the door. I answered, "Is that you, Bo?"
He answered, "Yes…It is me…"
"What's the matter that you are coming here?"
"Cassius came to me and told me to come to you…"
"Cassius? Why did he tell you that?"
"He just told me that there is something you want to talk about for me…"
A spike immediately went through my heart, as Cassius didn't do what I just ordered. Instead, he told Bo to come here; it made me tell him by myself. I knew the best way to tell him was by myself, however, telling him about my failure to save his precious daughter. I couldn't do that…
While I was thinking about what to do, Bo said, "Is it about the orphanage? If it's about that, what has happened? Are the children safe? And what about my daughter?"
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice before responding, "Bo, it is hard to tell you about this, however, I hope you can take it with strength and as calm as possible. I regret to inform you that despite my best efforts, I was unable to save all the children in the orphanage."
After that, I couldn't hear anything from the other side of the door. The silence was deafening, and I could only imagine the anguish Bo must be feeling. I waited, and suddenly a smashing wall sound could be heard, followed by Bo's muffled sobs. Out of a sudden, I could hear his growling of despair.
"WHYYYYYY!?"
I knew that Bo was devastated, and it was entirely my fault. I said something to him, "I am really sorry, Bo. You
Out of nowhere, "You are really naive, young lady…" Said Bo, and I was taken aback to hear it from him, "You have known it all along, that the orphanage was the ring of traffickers…" Bo's words hit me like a ton of bricks, "You have a lot of opportunity to take action…HOWEVER, WHY DID YOU NEED TO WAIT YOUR PARENTS TO RESOLVE IT??? WHY DID YOU NOT CONFRONT IT WITH YOUR PARENTS BEFORE LONG AGO??? WHY??? WHY!?" Suddenly, his tone softened, followed by his sobs, and some knocked on the door, "Why, why, you just took action as I was in front of you…It was like you…you…you…were using me…or…there must be another intention towards me for you…"
Separate with only a wooden door, it was like separating from another world. I realised then that Bo felt betrayed and hurt by my inaction, and I knew I had to make things right. I said, "Bo, the reason why I couldn't confront my parents earlier is I don't see any path or I feel uncertainty in that path…As of right now, I…I…I…I don't know how to tell you…However, right now, I am facing something bigger than myself. To confront my parents sooner, could lead to my own danger…As I heard the news about the orphanage and the unfortunate children, I could see a despairing path in my eyes, whether I told my parents sooner or not the path would be the same… I need to figure out how to navigate this situation in a way that doesn't put myself or others at risk in the future…Yet, this was the first time I failed, which led innocent people and children, especially your precious daughter, to lose their lives. Again, Bo, I am very sorry."
For a few seconds, I couldn't hear anything behind the door. Suddenly, I could hear footsteps stepping away from the door. At once, I opened the door. I could see Bo walking away, his shoulders slumped in defeat. I felt Bo would never be here again, so I said, "The house of Aurelius will always be open to you, Bo. My offer is always at the table for you, no matter what happens…Ple..ase… come back soon." With a heavy heart, I watched as Bo disappeared around the corner.
—-
Two days later, my feeling was right, Adel brought me a message that Bo had never been seen in his room or around the house. While Adel was in my room, I wanted to know the situation around the home, so I asked her about it. She told me after the incident at the orphanage, my father was still in his solitude and had not come out of his room. In return, my mother took control of the situation, she organised everything on behalf of my father and pursued everything to know what had happened at the orphanage, who was the preparator, and what the motive was. The grandeur sparring was close to two days away, and I asked will my father come to that event to Adel. She didn't know whether my father would attend the sparring or not.
As my morning routine was almost done, I asked about the thing that always lingered in me, it was Ophelia. I wanted to know her situation and her whereabouts. First off, Adel showed a lot of hesitation in answering my question about Ophelia. I pressed her more and more to tell me about her…
I asked her, "If you don't answer my question, I will assume Ophelia is in a frightful situation."
Adel finally relented and said, "It isn't in a frightful situation, my lady. Your parents don't want the young lady being a target…"
"Being a target?"
"Yes, His Highness and Madam believe after the hunting event, there will be court presentations. As you know, after the event there will be a feast and ball in the palace. His Highness and Madam don't want to take the risk of the young lady, Ophelia, being the subject of court presentations."
"So Ophelia isn't in here?"
"I believe yes, she is staying at home…"
"If that's the case, my parents are afraid there will be another betrothal, beside me."
"You are right, my lady. If the young lady, Ophelia, is in the court presentations, it may attract unwanted attention and potentially lead to another betrothal being arranged. It's a delicate situation that His Highness and Madam are trying to navigate carefully to protect Ophelia's future."
"What's about Aurelio? Why did my parents allow him to come?"
"I believe His Highness and Madam want to introduce the young master, Aurelio to the court not as a potential suitor, but as a young power of Aurelius. If the young master could win the hunting event, it would solidify his power and his influence. Especially, this is the first time, the court and the nobles will see the young master."
"I hope the plan will be going well with the sudden event of the orphanage…"
—-