"Hmmm? I didn't expect you to bring a... friend, I suppose?" A woman in her early thirties, with an amused expression playing on her lips, asked as she watched her daughter, Penelope, walk in with a rugged-looking boy—Aether.
Her voice held a mix of curiosity and playful teasing.
Penelope's cheeks flushed a delicate pink, and she quickly averted her gaze, gently pulling Aether further into the warmth of the house. "He got a little hurt, Mother," she explained, her voice laced with concern as she shot a glance at Aether's bruised face.
"Oh dear~" The woman's tone shifted to one of genuine worry as she approached Aether. Her sharp eyes immediately zeroed in on the bruises marring his face and the cuts on his knuckles.
She gently took his hand, inspecting the wounds with a mother's care. "What happened, dear?" she asked, her voice softening as she looked into his eyes.
