…
*Clack*
The door of the room unexpectedly opened. And it was Ran, who had entered without knocking, catching El and Gill amid a conversation that seemed to be an argument about some topic. They stopped abruptly at her entrance.
"Oh, how boys easily become friends with each other," came the voice of Aunt Celine from behind Ran, who smiled at the two of them. A small, orange cat lounged on her shoulder.
As she and Ran approached the bed, the cat jumped down and walked slowly to El, who was already sitting on his bed. The cat subsequently leaped onto El's lap and settled in, causing his heart to palpitate for an unknown reason.
"Here, eat this first," Ran said, handing El a bowl filled with a brown porridge made of unidentified ingredients.
"Thank you!?"
Without hesitation, El took the spoon and ate it with relish. It felt as if it was a heavenly, scrumptious meal, with El quickly devoured it until there was nothing left.
Aunt Celine faintly smiled at El's behavior of finishing his food, even though it was supposed to have an odd taste because of the medicine she put inside.
She moved to sit on the bed and then looked over at Ran and Gill.
"Can you two leave for a moment? There is something I wanted to discuss with him."
"Alright…"
"Okay, Aunt," the two take turns replying, immediately leaving the room after Gill took his book with him.
…
"So, I heard your name was El, right?" Aunt Celine inquired softly.
Despite wearing a black dress along with that weird single-eyeglasses perched on one side of her face – that El had never once seen before, El felt a warm, gentle ambiance radiating from her, making him subconsciously comfortable in her presence.
This day though, was the day, El had woken up with his senses dulled to the point where he could barely feel the emotions of others. He sighed in relief at this state of his, as it was never enjoyable for him to be affected by the feelings or nuances of those around him. It felt like, he was constantly peeking into people's minds without their permission, which was awful to him.
"Yes, my name is El. May I know your name, miss?" he asked politely, still feeling shy and uncomfortable around her who he just met for the first time.
"Call me Aunt. Auntie Celine. Remember that, alright?"
"Alright then. But you do look really young, though... Aunt," El said, hesitating slightly as he addressed her as an 'Aunt'. Because Aunt Celine appeared very much younger compared to his 'late aunt,' who had taken care of him in the village before.
"Oh, hahaha, good boy. I see you already know how to talk to women being this young," she replied, with a teasing smile playing on her lips.
"Ahhh. Is it wrong to be honest, then?" El asked, a hint of concern in his voice as he recalled how Ran had reacted angrily when he praised her for being pretty. He wondered if calling someone young would provoke a similar response too.
"Oh, so you are being honest? Aha, I see what kind of boy you are, young man. Anyway, we're getting sidetracked here. So, back to the topic. I wanted to ask you a few questions, El. Do you mind?"
"Not at all, Aunt Celine," El began to feel more at ease with her.
"Good," she smiled and continued. "I heard briefly about you from Ran, but I wanted to know more so we wouldn't need to be so wary of you here. Is that fine with you?"
"Of course, it's fine, Aunt. Ask away. As long as it isn't a secret, I'll tell you."
"So, where do you come from? How did you arrive here? You told Ran you weren't born in this place, right?"
"I… um…"
"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine. We can move on to the next question," Aunt Celine said, noticing El's hesitation.
"No, I think it's fine. I don't believe there will be a problem if I tell you. I was born in a war-torn village named Belburn. Many people died from starvation there. Until one day, some people dressed in black attacked the village. I was the only one who survived. After they left, they for some reason returned again to find me and abducted me. After that, I lost all of my memory. When I awakened, I found myself here, brought to a house by a man who didn't want to tell me his name."
"… I see…"
"You knew that man, didn't you, Aunt…?"
"Yes. He must have told you before to never dig into his identity, right?"
"Yes."
"Then don't. Listen to your aunt here. Knowing that man's name was very much dangerous here, understood? He was someone from The Central Region, and famous at that. His job was rather dangerous, so it was better if no one ever caught wind of the news that he was with you."
"I see. But we were out in the open at the restaurant. Wasn't I already in danger then?"
"Don't worry about it. That man never used his real face when he walked around. Ran knew about him because, um, that kind of a secret, though, so I can't tell you."
"Oh, that's fine. It seemed Ran had many secrets with her. Even Gill," El said while tilting his head, unaware that the topic was turned toward a dangerous side of this base secret.
"Oh, why did you think so?" the corner of Aunt Celine's lips raised.
"I didn't know, just a feeling…"
*Knock, knock, knock*
The knocking echoed in the room, originating from the door.
"May I come in, Celine?"
Meanwhile, Aunt Celine's demeanor swiftly changed into that of a respectful person. She quickly stood up and hastily walked toward the door. After carefully patting her dress from below to her shoulder, making sure there were no creases, only then did she go to answer.
"Yes, sir. You may come in," she then proceeded to open the door.
*Cklek*
The door opened, revealing Sir Giles, who looked over helplessly at Aunt Celine, who bowed slightly like a servant.
"Sir…"
"How many years had it been? I told you to treat me like the others."
"Sir???"
Her head was still directed to the ground, without answering his question.
"Sigh… whatever… oh, hello there, lad. Nice to see you well and fine, young champ…"
Sir Giles then approached El with a big smile on his face.
"Oh, hello, sir," El replied politely, nodding. He then tried to move his leg to stand on the floor, only to be stopped by Sir Giles.
"No, no, no. No need. Stay in your bed, lad! Don't move…"
Taking the chair where Gill had earlier sat, he brought it to face El as he sat on it, while Aunt Celine followed from behind. As Sir Giles sat on the chair, she stood behind him at a respectful distance.
"Yo, my boy. You are good," he then patted El's shoulder, intending to be light, only for El to grimace at his unintentional strength.
"Uhh…"
"Nah, you're hurt because you're weak. Next time, come with us. Train together! A man must be strong, you know? Muscle, muscle!!!"
Not knowing what to answer to his enthusiasm and overtly expressive energy, El could only reply, "Uh, yes, sir…"
Aunt Celine's lips twitched as she observed Sir Giles's behavior; however, her expression remained plain and dutiful.
…