"Well, what about that time when you embarrassed yourself in front of Julia?" Kamila snickered, lightly pushing Wade into the water.
Wade sank into the water, his body disappearing, as if he was trying to avoid the question. However, Kamila knew him well, as she patiently waited for him with a smile that Wade found very irritating even while being under the water.
A few minutes passed by and Wade resurfaced with a reluctant expression.
"Well! I didn't expect for someone to be here when I first found this spot. I was even careless enough to forget to bring extra clothes or even a towel, but isn't it fine? Everyone learns from their mistakes. Look, there is my towel right there!" Wade defended himself, pointing at the other shore.
Kamila could only chuckle at his reaction, which she found quite adorable.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Come to think of it. It is almost time for you to return back to the estate." Kamila suddenly spoke with a serious expression.
Wade didn't answer and chose to remain silent. Usually, he wouldn't care even if the time to return came since he would be eventually kicked back into the forest.
However, this time it was different. It was his coming-of-age ceremony. A time when he would be introduced into noble circles and a pivotal moment when his life would be decided.
Whether he would keep living as an outcast or become a true member of nobility.
Nevertheless, he also didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Perhaps make his Uncle acknowledge him and finally drop that emotionless face? Or break free from all constraints and start off as an ordinary commoner…he didn't know.
This forced him to feel somewhat anxious, as he lost all the mood to bathe and simply dived into the water and resurfaced on the other shore.
After wrapping himself in the towel, he simply left without offering a goodbye to Kamila, or perhaps the final farewell.
Kamila could only watch from a distance with a complicated expression, as the boy she watched grow up his entire life might never come back in her life…It made her incredibly sad…
"Perhaps…if fate wills." she muttered, looking up at the sky and Wade's leaving figure one last time, before she too, abandoned this spot full of memories.
-—-
Wade walked to the hut with his head hung low, his eyes looking dejected and unwilling.
SNAP!
Suddenly, a sharp sound echoed from behind, as Wade duck-rolled to the side, slithered through the ground like a snake and swiftly approached a figure from behind. Eventually, trapping their neck in a firm headlock.
"Kgh-!" the figure struggled for a moment until a pleasant voice giggled near his ear.
"G-Got you!" the figure appeared to be a young girl in her late teens, with light brown hair and amber-colored eyes.
"...Julia." Wade sighed helplessly, clearly fed up with her actions.
"What? Fell for the trick again? Did I tickle the senses of our great hunter?" Julia teased with a mischievous grin.
Wade's eyes narrowed, as he spat out:
"Your words don't match someone whose neck is about to be snapped just like that twig that you stepped on!"
"Oh? Our little hunter finally set his eyes on his first human prey? Me? This is such an honor!" Julia seemed to be unconcerned with everything, even though a boy shorter than her was forcibly lowering her to his eye level.
Wade couldn't retort with anything, or rather to say: he was just fed up with this and simply dragged her and pushed her down to the nearby pile of leaves.
"Hey! You are dirtying my clothes!" Julia darted up to her feet, shaking off the dust from her clothes.
However, Wade was simply unbothered and turned to leave.
"I said hey!" but Julia was intent on pestering him to death, as she quickly jumped forward and hugged him from behind.
"You are not even going to bid goodbye to your big sis?" she spoke while taking his neck in the headlock.
"What do you want?" Wade finally gave up and stood motionlessly.
"Are you deaf? I came to say goodbye!" Julia grunted, as if she were the one being wronged.
Wade in turn quickly slipped out of her weak headlock and turned to face her, staring straight into her eyes.
"W-What? You are not going to kill me, are you?" Julia spoke somewhat nervously, backing up a few steps.
Wade didn't reply and simply spread his hands out, but didn't move an inch.
Julia seemed to understand his intentions and quickly jumped to hug him in a tight embrace, akin to a big sister doting on her younger brother. She then held his shoulders and looked deeply into his eyes. Her playful attitude was gone, replaced by sadness and sorrow.
"You know, I and Aunt Kamila are going to miss you a lot…"
"We know that this might be the last day we see you, but we want to remember it for the rest of our lives…"
"You treated us well despite being from a noble family. You showed us that this world still holds warmth and acceptance, that it still depends on the people, whether they turn out to be spiteful or understanding. You became our family…a close kin in such a cruel world…"
Julia spoke about the times they laughed, bickered and shared stories. The moments that they were happy to see each other, to appreciate each other's presence and also the trust they held in their hearts.
She spoke not only for herself, but also for Kamila. She spoke about every trivial moment they had…together…the three of them.
Time passed and with the sun almost about to set, Julia tightly hugged Wade for one last time, separating with a reluctant expression.
"This hug is from Aunt Kamila…"
"and this is from me…"
Her lips met his for the briefest of moments, yet this expressed her emotions to the fullest.
She then quickly turned around, trying to hide the light blush that adorned her face and swiftly sped off into the distance.
"Keep yourself safe…for our sake…"