The Red Thread of Destiny

Old friend

During such a grueling quest, the entire capital was already Orfeo ruffled. However, instead of finding the existence of the Sister, Orfeo actually get a lot of unpleasant news.

The knights who were deployed with their disguised looks came in turn. Always getting word that the marked auction place had already disappeared, Orfeo did not find Stella anywhere. He did not get a single trace of Stella in the place that the Emperor had marked.

"Where are you Stella!?"

Orfeo ruffled his blonde hair full of frustration. An hour of searching that still did not produce this result, further magnified the bad feeling he felt. Before looking at Stella's face, Orfeo could not feel relieved. Before pinching his sister, he should not just give up.

Am I too late?

That bad thought that flashed, Orfeo tepis as fast as he could from his head. As long as there was no definitive news, Orfeo had to trust his troublesome sister's escape ability.

He must be hiding somewhere. Due to fatigue, Stella must be resting.

Orfeo tried to convince himself. After all, Stella is a smart girl. Reading the situation and knowing what to do, Orfeo tried to believe his sister might be hiding somewhere.

"You can stop this search now, Orfeo."

Someone's calm words, distracting Orfeo from the knights who blend in with the crowd.

"But, Master! My sister, di—"

"Look at 3 o'clock. Young Miss Vandesca is back with the tower witch" the man interrupted while glancing at the figure in question. Patting Orfeo's shoulder gently, he gestured for Orfeo to immediately approach the two people who had just joined it.

"I will take command of the knights. Go awayl. Make sure you gather information from the witch and come back when you find a clue."

The man gave his permission. As Orfeo's superior, he showed a fairly generous attitude.

"I'll be right back. Thank you for your generosity, Prince."

Feelings of relief, pleasure, and worry that are now mixed into one make Orfeo no longer care about the changing call. Immediately running right after lowering his head as an expression of respect, Orfeo left the prince alone shaking in disbelief behind him.

"When he was with his brother, he was like everyone else" the prince said, still watching his running right hand.

Far inversely proportional to the serious effect that always sticks closely, only this time the prince saw another expression of an Orfeo who had been famous for his cold attitude.

...~o0o~...

Stella who continues to vomit blood even though she is unconscious, a little makes Davion difficult to bring her.

No matter how hard Davion tried to heal Stella with the healing magic she mastered, Davion did not succeed in stopping the invisible wound that was on Stella.

"Why can Stella be like this, Davion?!"

"He was like this when I found him" Davion replied to Orfeo's question.

The blonde-haired man Davion had noticed since he had moved, Davion could see wearing the same anxious expression as him. No less than Davion's chaotic appearance filled with Stella's blood, Orfeo's appearance could even be said to look worse.

Dressed in sheer casual clothes and also home-made sandals, Orfeo did not look like a second prince's right-hand man known for his professionalism.

It seems like the Emperor's letter got to him slower.

Judging by Orfeo's messy appearance, Davion was able to figure out how rushed Orfeo was trying to find his sister. However, no matter how anxious Orfeo was when he found out that Stella had disappeared, Davion thought it was a little overwhelming to go out without having the time to take the mantle on this cold night.

Well, he never changed.

With a lethargic face filled with traces of sweat, accompanied by disheveled hair, compared to someone the Emperor had appointed to settle the mess, now Orfeo looked like the cause of a new mess for Davion. Very troubling to the women who were still passing by, Orfeo's current chaotic appearance managed to provoke unnecessary attention towards them.

We just met, but he gave me a new job.

After a long time of not exchanging greetings, Davion did not believe he had to clear up the rest of Orfeo's carelessness at their meeting. No matter how great Davion was at using magic, manipulating the memories of many people at once was quite troublesome. Had Orfeo not been someone he knew and their new mission had not been a secret, Davion would not have voluntarily disposed of his mana.

If there's a chance, I'll ask for a separate payment later.

Davion looked at the two Orfeo blue netra with a flat look. He complied with Orfeo's request to hand over Stella who had been in his lap to the man.

"You don't mind me stopping by your house, do you? I think we need to talk about this further" Davion said as he made sure Stella was in a safe position in Orfeo's arms.

"I don't want to procrastinate either, so you can take us away now."

"alright. Let's go."

Once permission was obtained, Davion just activated his magic. Carving out a circle containing enough patterns to fit five people with mana, Davion sent them all to the Vandesca residence in the capital in one blink of an eye.

...~o0o~...

The padded texture of the mattress can feel Stella well behind her back. Now it has begun to recover, although there are still some stabbing sensations left in the body, Stella's condition is now clearly much better than before.

I fainted.

What has happened in the auction room ... Stella can't remember everything.

I'm sure my body felt strange at the time.

Other than the pain and heat like burning, everything that happened after that felt faint in memory. Why he survived, how he got to safety, or who saved him, Stella herself, was eager to get an answer to her question.

I gotta get up. Otherwise—

"So? Are you saying that the monster that attacked was controlled by someone?"

The voice of the conversation that had just been heard was clear in the ears, undoing Stella's intention to open her eyes.

No. gabe. Stella didn't mean to eavesdrop. Quite familiar with the heavy voice, one question Stella who had filled her head, answered already.

Ah, it was Brother Orfeo who saved me.

Judging from the surrounding air that felt quite heavy, Stella was sure that her brother was being with someone. Discussing the peculiarity of the monster attack pattern in the capital, upon hearing her brother's opinion, Stella realized they had one common suspicion.

The assault on the capital has a high probability of being someone's doing. It is still unclear what the purpose is, although the movement of the monster attacks is currently still limited behind the shadow–not blatantly. The movement is unusual, a little difficult to ignore just by assuming what has happened is just a coincidence.

"Before we discuss the attack further, isn't there another important thing to be resolved first?"

The stranger, whom Stella did not know her identity, changed the subject. Feeling a bad feeling from her overly calm tone, Stella's disturbing emotions were immediately evident when the man said, "I didn't know that you had a habit of eavesdropping while pretending to sleep. If you are conscious, wake up. Don't keep up that ugly habit."

Stella believes this is the first time they have met. However, as if there were no boundaries between them, the man greeted Stella as familiarly as an old friend who had just met after a long time apart.

"Sister, who is he?" stella asked, when she was in a sitting position. Unable to hold herself back from asking, Stella was completely confused by the familiar attitude that the man had shown her.

"Well .. Did you forget me? How can you be that mean to me, Stella?"

That dark curly-haired boy, Stella ignored. Still glaring flatly at the nightly netra not far in front of him, Stella's serious look managed to wipe the silly expression off the man's face in an instant.

"I thought you were kidding. Apparently not, huh?"

What the man said, Stella could not understand at all. Noting in silence the two men who looked at each other with a surprised twinkle in front of him, Stella could only furrow her eyebrows in surprise when she saw her brother also put on an expression full of disbelief, it also shows as if he does not know what has happened to Stella.

"Is my question wrong?"

"No, no. Sorry for being so disrespectful."

"If you know, introduce yourself quickly" urged Stella.

Although the man's familiar attitude towards her felt confusing, now figuring out the relationship between the two of them was not an urgent matter to know. So, just want to know just the name, Stella hopes this introductory session ends soon.

I have to leave before Brother realizes.

The longer they delay, the longer Stella can get out of this place.

Not wanting to be stuck in her brother's study any longer, Stella hopes she can get out unnoticed. As long as Orfeo was busy with his work, this was a golden opportunity for Stella to slip away. Before Orfeo realized Stella was in trouble, Stella did not want to waste this rare opportunity that came to her just like that.

Hurry on!

Stella clutched tightly onto the blanket that covered part of her body. Bad shadows trapped in a long scolding, felt more and more haunting Stella when accidentally caught the surprised expression of her brother began to fade, now it has turned to calm again.

"I'm Davion Jovaan, the tower witch. You can–"

"It's nice to meet you, Davion!" sela Stella half-screamed, as she brushed away the blanket she was wearing violently.

I have to get out!

Stella ran as fast as she could. However, only halfway through did Stella attempt to escape, Orfeo who was standing swiftly at the door while cross-crossing, stopped Stella's steps completely.

"Sir ...."

The sweet smile that was painted on Orfeo's face. Now no longer able to avoid having lost the opportunity, Stella can only return the smile of her brother with a smile that is no less sweet.

"Yes? What's the matter, my dear sister?"

No matter how gentle Orfeo's call was right now, Stella could not help but shudder. Feeling goosebumps at the hospitality her sister showed, before the odds were really bad for her, Stella immediately sat down obediently beside Davion without being asked.

"It's okay. I'm glad Big Brother looks healthy" Stella replied, then forced herself to laugh.

Now, Stella's trapped. No longer able to escape unnoticed and get caught, Stella has no choice but to sit obediently on the guest sofa in her brother's study.

"I'm grateful you haven't changed a bit, Stella."

Davion said, Stella ignored. Now completely worried about his future fate, Stella no longer cares about Davion's familiar attitude towards him which still feels awkward.

Die, I ....

As much as possible to hide the anxiety he felt behind a mask called calmness, currently Stella behaves like a rabbit stuck in the middle of a herd of lions alone. He who pretended to be tough even though he was agitated half to death, did not realize Stella, instead of making the two men in the room increasingly want to scold her, instead invite her brother and Davion to secretly laugh behind her.