My heart felt heavy upon hearing Anatole's story. Sai couldn't stop crying, so she had to cover her mouth.
"That's why I'm so glad to meet you two! Thank you for saving me and my art!" Anatole stood up and hugged us.
Iseul... If only you could see your daughter right now. She loved art just like you used to. But she grew up thinking that she was a bad kid just because people hated painting. She didn't deserve to grow up in a harsh world. Plus, Anatole didn't even notice that she drew an anima perduta. But because of that, she was able to see Iseul, although they never knew each other.
"I feel so happy about the fact that dad's art workshop made someone like you so happy. You're not a bad kid, okay? If someone ruins your art again, I'll smack the--"
I covered Sai's mouth to prevent her from talking more. She cried instead, and I felt her tears on my hand. I removed my hand and caressed her hair.
"I think they left already." Anatole peered at the small space again. "We can go out now." she gave us a thumbs up.
"Now that you mentioned it, should we just go to their house and stop searching, Yohan?" Sai asked. "It's easier for us to go to Iseul's home."
"I thought about that too, but Iseul's old home was, you know..." I gave her a meaningful look, and she understood immediately.
"Anatole, did your grandma mention that Iseul used to live at your house too?" Sai carefully asked.
"Not really. Grandma and mom lived in a different area before. Every year, grandma and I would always visit their old place. Would you like me to bring you two there?" she asked.
I gasped. "You know where she used to live... wait, is it far from here? Your grandma might get worried about you." I was reluctant.
"It's fine! Besides, I want to return your kindness too. You two seemed very close to my... mom. Well, it's not that far from our house. We just need to cross a river, and then we'll see a hill. That's where my mom used to live."
I nodded. "That's a big help! Thank you, Anatole. But let's go now; it might get dark sooner."
We made sure people had already left before leaving the tree. We started moving, following a path to the right. We didn't have to walk through another neighborhood because of this. It's a good thing Anatole knew secret paths.
"Don't expect too much, though; mom's old home is a wreck. There's literally nothing to see," Anatole said while leading the way.
"It's perfectly fine, kiddo," Sai said, holding her hand.
We already knew what happened to her house before; we just didn't mention it to the kid. It's better if she has no clue about how cruel Iseul's past was.
Anatole laughed. "The funny thing is that, every year, grandma and I would go there. Then grandma would just shout and curse at my mom. She'll say things like 'Iseul, you idiot!' and then leave the place. Grandma is so weird sometimes."
I pursed my lips. I don't know how her grandma's going to react if she finds out that we're going to Iseul's old home. Anatole mentioned that her grandma got angry at Howard for showing up and reminding her about Iseul. We are literally searching for something to help Iseul and the others break the curse. We need to play it safe, or else everything will be ruined.
"Are we near?" I asked when we crossed a river. I'm very conscious of the time; we should move fast.
"Yup! There's the hill!" she pointed forward.
"Finally! We are now reaching the top!" Sai exclaimed.
We are now climbing up. My heart started pounding again. After a few steps, Iseul's old home is now in front of my eyes. After all the trouble that we encountered, we were able to reach our destination.
This one was never on my list of places that I wanted to visit on Techne Island. But reaching this made me the happiest.
"This is mom's house... And it's nothing!" Anatole laughed and even gestured her hands. "Welcome to my mom's home."
"Woah, her old house was built here," Sai said with her eyes wide open.
Purple hyacinth flowers surrounded the majority of the area. There were traces of old woods, but plants have completely covered them. You can't really tell that there was a house in here before because of it.
I let out a huge amount of air and felt Sai's hand tapping my back.
"Shall we start?" She asked me.
I slightly nodded. "Let's not waste our time. We'll stop immediately before it gets dark; we need to bring Anatole home."
"Roger that!"
'Go where it's forbidden.
Burned into ash'
This is the place that she's referring to. Her old home that was burned by her mom a decade ago. I'm here, Iseul.
'But there's something hidden.
To break the curse at last'
I started searching the area. I didn't care about the plants that were higher than my knees; I searched through them anyway. To leave no stones unturned was my goal.
"C'mon, what is it that we need to find?" I said to myself while looking under the woods. My hands were dirty and I could feel some stings on my arms, but it didn't matter. It was a race against time.
Anatole was also helping us search, despite being clueless about it. After a few minutes of searching, I couldn't find anything.
"Damn it," I cursed through my breath.
"I've got nothing," Sai told me. "I really tried everything; I'm sorry."
"Me too," Anatole said and pouted.
The sun is starting to set. It will be more difficult if we search at night. Sadly, this is our only opportunity to search. I wanted to stay here longer and search thoroughly, but people might discover my hidden agendas in the East.
We tried a bit more, but we got nothing.
"Let's bring you home, Anatole." I decided that we stop searching. We can't find anything.
"Hey, are you sure? I can bring Anatole to her home; you can stay here longer if you want, and then I'll go back here," Sai suggested.
I shook my head. "We're not that familiar with this place; it's not safe. Let's head back."
We were about to go down, but someone was standing behind us with an enraged expression.
"ANATOLE, YOU LITTLE BRAT! WHO ARE THEY AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
I took a step back, I stopped breathing for a second. Holy shit!
"G-grandma!"