Chapter 78 - 79. Two Children
I was just silent when I saw him judging me, "I did not think there was a human who-," I did not know what he would say because he did not continue his speech.
"Tha is a descendant of Youenha," Azalea explained.
I was just silent after hearing her words. I did not want to talk much which might cause a lot of trouble. Moreover, I did not really understand the character of that male, either.
The Elder looked like he wanted to say something, but for some reason, he stopped and chose to call one of his servants to pick up something from his carriage.
Not long after that, the maid came out with a shield and a sword with a very small size compared to the ones I ever saw so far, "You are a guardian now. You are indeed a descendant of the wizard, the granddaughter of the former Elder. but since you have no magical abilities at all, I feel that the title of guardian is more appropriate for you," He surprised me.
I kept silent, unable to say anything when the Elder handed me the jet-black shield and a sword in my hands.
I just gained my consciousness after one of the people called us straight to the banquet. After thanking us, they walked ahead of me. Azalea asked one of the maids to keep my sword and shield.
As I left the yard, I kept thinking about the unexpected incident. I flinched when Naar approached me out of nowhere and half-whispered, "Congratulations, Tha! You are the best." He said quickly and then walked past me to escort them.
I just glared, looking at his back that was in front of me, "Is he insulting me? How come a guardian is only 160 cm and who even does not know how to fight?!? I cried for myself by heart.
…
At the banquet, I received a lot of compliments from the wizards who came. Not only receiving compliments and gifts, but I could also see other things that they showed me, fear or something they tried to hide from me.
I did not want to get high with pride in response to all of those things. I just smiled and kept myself low. I remembered well what Yoru warned me not to get too much involved with, so I would not overstep the boundaries.
I did not know for sure when my father came, but I saw he had already sat on one of the chairs far from the Elder. He was enjoying himself a lot and pretended I did not exist.
"So, as a matter of fact Youenha descendants is not just Lord Rumpa. Are there any other descendants?" one of the wizards asked in curiosity.
"I have two children from my first marriage," I was quite surprised when my father acknowledged our existence. I was expecting the opposite though, that he would say my brother had died or he would say that he would never acknowledge his existence seeing that he never introduced his children to anyone else as well.
"How could you hide them both?" Asked the other wizard.
"Both of them are not wizards, just like me. What can they do here?" From his words, I still felt that he insulted me and my brother.
"She is not a wizard, but for you to know, she has killed the master of illusion, which even Azalea had a lot of trouble doing." Said the first person who asked my father, "Can you look down upon someone who is not a wizard by hiding her?" the next second every eye looked at me.
"It seems like, even though she does not inherit her grandmother's abilities, she can be so horrifying," added the other.
Father did not even flinch to respond. He kept enjoying the dishes being served on the table. He considered me non-existent, and I got used to such treatment. It did not even bother me at all.
On the other side, the wizards who were there at the banquet were confused seeing our relationship. They might think that we were not like father and daughter but two strangers who just met at that banquet.
"Be more polite, please!" Azalea rebuked me, "Can you just say hi and chit chat with your father? At least ask him how his wellbeing is." She was quite nosy with my ignorance.
I smiled at him, although it was really hard for me to push a smile, "He never cares for me and my brother. No matter how good I behave to him," I argued to her, "What kind of a father who never admits his own children? What kind of father who worked together with his new wife to kill his own daughter? That if he married her legally," Azalea could not speak anything. .
I tried to behave normally, reaching a bowl of soup and enjoying it. When I was about to take the first spoon, I saw a shadow-reflected from the soup surface- a black spider hanging over me. I tilted up to check, but no creature could be seen.
It happened several times. Anytime I looked at my soup surface I could see the reflection of that creature getting closer, but when I looked up, I saw nothing.
There was something odd, I knew. So I decided to get up from my chair and excuse myself. Heading to the restroom and having some fresh water on my face would help me. I might be a bit sleepy so I got difficulty recognizing illusion and reality.
"Don't go back!"
Distinctly I heard someone warn me when I was splashing my face with some water in the restroom.
"Don't go back to that room!"
I turned around to check where the source of the voice was from. But there was no one in the restroom. I was totally alone.
"Don't go back. They will kill you!"
Now, I saw a swirl of black sand on the restroom floor, not far from where I was standing. I was silent in confusion when the sand slowly formed someone's body.
"Stay here, don't go back!" Said one Manji. She was walking toward me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Why can't I go back?" She did not reply to me. Her expression was very cold, she bent her head down.
"Azalea has brought the wrong persons, " She paused in her words. "She has invited danger." She said again.
I stood still, bewildered, unsure with Manji's words. Not long after we both were silent, vaguely I could hear things fall on the floor, and someone shouted. "What is happening? Why is it so noisy outside?" I asked fast.
When the Manji did not even answer me, I pushed her body away and walked out of the restroom. People lying on the floor with their mouths bleeding were the first sight I saw. White threads that felt a little sticky under my shoes, spread throughout the hallway I passed through.
Hurriedly I looked for Azalea, fearing that something bad might happen to her. When I got to the banquet hall, I did not see that woman, not the few people who attended the banquet earlier that day.
Quickly I walked out of that room followed by Manji, each of them carrying a sword. On the other side of the banquet hall, I saw Kerberos bark loudly in front of several objects that looked like they were made of the same white thread spools that were scattered on the floor. I approached it and the scroll was squirming, something was moving in it.
"open it?" I asked Kerberos when he said yes, I immediately took out the dagger that was in the bag, the tore the package made of thread. Once it was torn out, I could see a guard in armor, hurriedly I freed him from that wrapper. And I asked Manji to come to help me.
"I can't breathe inside," Said Azalea's guard.
"Where is Naar?" I asked him, feeling confused when I could not see any sign where the man was from the man who was trapped in that white wrapper.
"He might be with Miss azalea," One of the guards said.
"Where is Azalea?" a second guard said they might be in the prison room, I rushed to go there. I was so much panicked when seeing white threads scattered all around the hallways I went through.
My eyes were alerted to see my surroundings, some maids were lying in the same conditions, but I did not see Hana. It was a really confusing situation. I wondered what had happened to them. I just left the room for some time, but everything ran wild and uncontrolled.
"I Azalea alright?" I was wondering, trying to reach the prison room as soon as possible, But even running, it felt so much farther than usual. "Naar is with her, right?" I was hoping Yoru was also with her.. At least they could help each other when bad things happen.