As the most prosperous city in Eseriel, a day in the Holy Capital is always busy.
Shop vendors loudly hawk their wares, nuns in the church begin their midday prayers, adults hurry past with serious expressions, and children gather together to play—men and women, old and young, tall and short, fat and thin, all bustling about for their lives.
Elian was clearly not among them.
She had just come out of the grand cathedral, having completed a prayer in her female form, but her heart was anything but calm now—where could she even go?
‘After this, I’ll just find some random village in the countryside to live out the rest of my days…’
Elian wandered aimlessly.
She didn’t know how long she had walked.
The vendors’ shouts gradually grew weaker, the tightly packed houses lining the streets began to thin out, and one luxurious manor after another started to appear.
The number of pedestrians on the street also decreased, replaced by the rumble of carriages rolling past.
Elian snapped out of her daze—she had unconsciously walked all the way to the east side of the city.
This was the residential district for the Holy Capital’s nobility, its quiet environment feeling like a completely different world from the commoner district she had just come from.
Since she was here…
She might as well bid a final farewell to her home.
The silver-haired girl pulled up her hood and quickly walked along the familiar path she used to take home.
Elian was home.
She saw the familiar Valrsil Family Manor.
The manor wasn’t larger than those of other nobles, but it excelled in being neat and dignified.
At the main gate, a flag engraved with a white dove fluttered in the wind—that was the Valrsil family crest.
She saw her family—Talia, Nora, and Lila, all dressed in beautiful gowns.
Each held a parasol, seemingly waiting for someone.
Elian wanted to go say goodbye, but looking at their figures, only painful memories echoed in her mind.
Those memories kept tearing open the scars she had buried deep in her heart, forcing her to act like a coward, hiding in the roadside bushes to spy.
After a short while, a carriage bearing a griffin flag sped over from the distance, coming to a steady stop at the gate.
A nobleman with an imposing and handsome appearance stepped down from the carriage, also Elian’s recurring nightmare these past few days—Voss Aurelian.
“Sorry to keep you waiting! My dear ladies—”
He performed a perfect gentleman’s bow.
‘His manners are indeed impeccable, but that deliberately drawn-out tone is truly detestable.’
‘Why isn’t he wearing his Knight Order uniform?’
Elian noticed Voss was in casual clothes.
‘So irresponsible… He couldn’t be sneaking out during his duty shift for a date, could he…’
“Hypocrite… Disgusting…”
The lurking silver-haired girl gritted her teeth, mercilessly judging her former colleague in her heart.
She had long seen his true colors—after all, when Voss was flirting with them before, she had overheard every single insult he directed at her.
Thinking of this, Elian’s right hand, clenched around the sword at her waist, tightened even more.
After Voss exchanged a few pleasantries with the three, they giggled and boarded the Aurelian family carriage.
‘Even though I’m an adult, I haven’t been home for three days… Aren’t they worried at all? Aren’t they curious about what happened to me?’
She watched the men and women board the carriage.
She watched their smiles.
Despair began to grow in her heart once more.
The girl’s spying gaze turned fierce and venomous, unintentionally tinged with hatred, even a trace of envy—she envied that her family was so happy right now… to the point that they seemed to have forgotten about Elian’s life these past few days; she envied Voss for being so greedy, clearly already having Lila, yet still wanting to claim the affection of Talia and Nora…
But when she came to her senses, she was horrified—how could she think that way?
A pang of bitterness welled up in Elian’s heart: After all, they were her family…
Even if one man held the affection of three women…
As long as Voss truly acted like a man and took responsibility for them, giving them his love unreservedly… shouldn’t… shouldn’t she wish for their happiness too…?
The carriage gradually faded into the distance.
“Huh… It’s already noon… How come we still haven’t seen Brother Elian come out…”
A childish voice came from not far away.
“It’s all your fault, Clara! I told you Brother Elian is a very busy man! There’s no way we’d just find him like that! Now look—we snuck out, didn’t find him, and we’re definitely going to get scolded by Grandma when we go back!”
Now Elian was sure; the voices were coming from the bushes not far from her.
When she crept closer, she found a boy and a girl, two children crouching in the grass, peering towards the Valrsil family’s main gate.
Elian was surprised.
She wasn’t surprised that people were hiding here, but that she recognized these two children.
The boy was named Eli, the girl Clara.
They were both children from the orphanage on the city outskirts.
The orphanage took in many orphans.
To show its care, the Church would symbolically send church nuns or paladins to visit and show concern every month.
It was during one such assignment that Elian met them.
During their first meeting, all the children were playing games with them.
Upon noticing the arrival of the paladin, Clara and Eli excitedly ran over.
Unlike the timidity and inferiority in the eyes of the other children, they greeted Elian warmly.
Elian had thought it was just a routine duty, but those two children seemed to like him.
When it was time to leave, they begged him to come visit often in the future.
Even though he hadn’t known these children before, perhaps unwilling to disappoint them, Elian eventually agreed.
From then on, he would go to the outskirts every three or four days to see these children, pure as blank sheets of paper.
Eli and Clara’s parents had died in the line of duty, killed in battles against the remnants of the Demon King.
Elian later learned from the headmistress that these two seven or eight-year-old children had only been at the orphanage for a little over a year but had adapted very well, lacking the sensitivity and fragility of other orphans, which surprised him.
His thoughts returned to the present.
“You two, what are you doing here?”
Staring at the two ‘thieves’ spying on her family’s gate, Elian felt both annoyed and amused.
“Wahhh—Sorry, we didn’t mean to—”
The girl was the first to stand up, bowing frantically in apology.
“We didn’t mean to! We were just looking for Brother Elian!”
“Wait, Clara!”
The boy also scrambled to his feet.
“Don’t be afraid of her! She’s not wearing noble clothes; she’s just a passerby!”
“It’s not good to stay here either. Let’s hurry back to the orphanage, or Grandma will worry about us—”
Eli tugged at Clara’s little hand.
“But we haven’t found Brother Elian yet! He hasn’t come to see us in over a week! He always keeps his promises—something must have happened!”
Clara muttered, shaking off Eli’s hand.
“I know the Elian you’re talking about…”
Perhaps unable to bear seeing the anxious look in the children’s eyes, Elian responded instinctively.
“Really?!”
The girl cried out in delight.
“Mhm… I’m his… friend…”
“Wait—Clara! Headmistress Grandma said not to trust strangers so easily—”
“Where is Brother Elian now?”
Clara completely ignored Eli’s warning.
“He… The Pope sent him away from the Holy Capital on a mission… He won’t be coming to the orphanage for a while…”
“How could that be…”
“W-wait!”
Seeing Eli and Clara about to leave dejectedly, she called out to them.
“I… I’ll take you back, okay? It’s not safe for two children to go back alone.”
“No need… We can go back ourselves—”
Eli looked somewhat warily at this hooded woman, but upon seeing the face beneath the hood and those golden cross-shaped pupils, the little boy’s words caught in his throat.
‘So… so pretty…’
He awkwardly glanced at Clara, only to find the child already looking infatuated, holding Elian’s hand while practically drooling.
“…”
“Hehe… Then we’ll trouble you… pretty big sister!”
……
The three walked slowly along the small path leading to the outskirts.
Clara was especially lively, holding her pale hand and asking question after question.
Eli, however, wasn’t as lively as usual—the boy was strangely silent today.
He followed shyly behind Elian, his big eyes restlessly watching her beautiful hair, which seemed woven by the heavens themselves, deliberately keeping his distance.
“Oh right! Pretty sister, we haven’t asked your name yet!”
“My name is El…”
Seeing the somewhat puzzled looks on the children’s faces, she panicked a little.
“Elena. My name is Elena,” the girl corrected herself in time.
“That’s such a pretty name! So shiny… like the morning light! It suits gentle Sister Elena’s vibe perfectly!”
‘I just made that up on the spot…’
“You’re quite the sweet talker…”
“That’s because Sister Elena is just too beautiful—”
Eli said from behind, his face red, his words completely lacking their earlier wariness.
“…”
Elena didn’t speak, just smiled helplessly, quietly watching the noisy children.
But this time, her smile seemed genuine.
Watching the children happily chatter around her, seeing this peaceful scene, a long-lost warmth actually began to rekindle in Elena’s already deadened heart.
……