Elin stood agape as she entered the room where the master was waiting. She couldnât believe that this day would come where she could see them again.
âHello, muffinâ, Nera smiled like a warm sun.
âWhy? How?â, Elin just stood there unable to grasp the situation. Instead of the guild master, the one that was infront of her was the family that cared for her when she was young. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
Elin wasnât able to save them when a rampaging beast trampled the town. She couldnât possibly escape immediately especially when she was always with Prince Ansel as his fiancee. She could teleport immediately to their location with the help of Nero but it will take a few minutes to finish everything up. Her absence, even for a bit, will make her suspicious in the eyes of the prince. He might think that Elin was communicating with the Duke of any plan the prince might be plotting against them.
She was completely devastated when she arrived at the scene where everything was destroyed. Elin immediately asked Nero to search for them. Fortunately enough, everyone was safe. Few were injured but every townspeople was alive. She didnât ask Nero for the specific location. As long as she knew that theyâre okay, it was enough. Elin decided not to see them unless her goal was achieved. She aimed to live with them peacefully after everything. But right now, such family was present right before her eyes. The family that she yearned for since the time when she gave up everything.
Elin ran towards them with arms wide open. Callahan knelt down with an open arms and a teary eye, ready to receive the lovely child. As soon as Elin was about to hug him, Nera pushed Callahan aside and hugged her instead.
âHoney, why did you have to do that?â, Callahan crouched with his forehead resting in the wall sulking over the fact that he was not the first one to hug Elin.
âAraaa, who told you to hug our daughter first?â, Nera chuckled at the sight of the pitiful man.
âMaaa, thatâs unfair. I want to hug Elin tooâ, Fynn enthusiastically appeared at Neraâs side.
âDidnât I tell you to act your age, Fynn. How many times do I need to tell you that?â, Lucian sighed.
âWelcome homeâ, Ailana patted Elinâs head smiling radiantly. Elin just nodded while looking down.
"So this guild is yours? You're the guild master?", Elin asked. Both Nera and Ailana looked at each other.
âMuffin, letâs sit down for awhile. We need to tell you something. No matter what you hear right now, I hope your thoughts towards us wonât changeâ, Nera led Elin to the nearby sofa and sat across her. Elin was certain that they will not allow her to become an adventurer. If they will decline her registration, she planned to go to another guild instead.
'It would be better to do that. The people, especially the adventurers, might think that they gave me a special treatment. I don't want to tarnish their names', Elin thought to herself while making a decision to transfer.
âYour eyes have changed, I seeâ, Nera noticed.
âOh, this. Yeah. I donât exactly know why. But it's still me but with a different eye colorâ, Elin touched the side of her cheek bone while smiling akwardly.
âI know, muffin. We're not doubting you or anything since you are our childâ, Nera dropped a sudden peculiar news.
âUhhhhh. Yesss. Thank you for taking care of me back then. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for treating me as one of your own", Elin smiled at them.
âNo, muffin. You really are our daughterâ, Nera looked at her with certainty.
"So, youâre going to adopt me?â, Elin was happy about the idea but her heart began to palpitate.
âNo, dear. What I meant to say was you are, without a doubt, our child. Try to look at Callahanâs eyesâ, Nera looked sideways directing Elinâs attention to her husband sitting next to her.
âTh- theyâre the same color as mineâ, Elin was more perplexed at the direction of such conversation.
âAnd do you know that such color is rare and can only be found in the Kingdom of Carisâ, Nera was getting more serious.
âSo youâre basically telling me that Pops had an affair with a human and I was born?â, Elinâs sweat trickled down. The room was awfully quiet. Not a single sound was heard. Elin thought that what she said was definitely true considering that the atmosphere had become so heavy that it was quite unbearable.
Pfft....
âHAHAHAHAHHAHA, POPS! She said you had an affair. An affair! I canât. I really canât take thisâ, Fynn broke down laughing so hard.
âThatâs so harsh of you muffin. I didnât have an affair. I love Nera my whole lifeâ, Callahan was sulking again. Ailana rubbed the back of the poor man to console him.
âIâm sorry. Itâs just that ---â, Elin looked down again unable to grasp the situation.
âIt seems you canât accept such information from us immediately considering what you have been throughâ, Nera sighed.
âIt would be best if he would be the one to explain in our steadâ, Nera shushed them before continuing.
âNeroâ, Nera spoke a name that made Elin flinched.
âHow could someone know Nero? Or maybe itâs a different person with the same name as Neroâ, Elin thought to herself. However, the small black fairy appeared at their side. Neroâs body began to emit a blinding light. What appeared before them was no longer a fairy but a fully grown young man.
âNero?!â, Elin was stunned by the sudden turn of events. She was certain that Nero was hiding something from her but not to this extent.
âMy Ladyâ, Nero was expressionless but deep inside, he was anxious that Elin might hate him for hiding the truth.
âI---â, as Nero was about to start explaining, a loud laugh was heard again.
âHAHAHAHAHA, What was that, Nero? That cute little fairy was you? It definitely doesnât suite youâ, Fynn started to laugh again.
âCould you stop that already? Canât you read the mood?â, Lucian smacked Fynnâs head.
âOuch! That actually hurts brother. I just canât help it. Iâm pretty much anxious as everyone else. I donât want Elin to hate us. I waited for this day but such a thing was still uncertain. Yet here she is, right before our eyes. You know how much I wanted to snatch her from that dreadful place. You know how much I wanted to save her. You know how much I wanted to massacre all those people hurting my sisterâ, Fynn scratched his head. Everyone fell silent again. Nero approached Elin slowly. He knelt to the ground infront of her with one knee while his head bowed down.
âWelcome home, Elin, second princess of Caris and the fourth child of His Highness, King Callahan and Queen Neraâ, Nero declared.
****
PS.
I am so happy that you chose to read my novel and that you place a vote in chapters you deemed good. I really am thankful for the readers. I'm having a hard time sorting my plot and I can't seem to put it into words. I'm trying my best to stay on board but my desire to finish this story is starting to fade. Where did my will go? ð¥