Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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​​

~ Italy, Genoa ~

I returned home in good spirits.

After their fiasco at the Darkest Hour, Adele, Ruby, and Willow were punished by their families.

All three of them got their finances taken away, including the credit cards, which signified that their families don't want to support them.

Adele and Ruby were kicked out with only one suitcase each, while Willow was sent to her aunt in Australia.

Duke assured me that he will hire men to watch all three of them, so if they try anything fishy, we will know. In addition, Willow's aunt and all neighbors in Australia will get the video of Willow's performance.

He really thinks about everything.

Duke suggested that once they become truly desperate, I show up and see if they are willing to reveal anything about Magda. At that time, I can decide how I want to deal with those three backstabbers, but before that, they might be useful in sabotaging Magda further.

I didn't know what to do with them, but Adele, Willow, and Ruby are mean bullies who didn't care if I lived or died, so maybe my father can use them for his experiments. Now that would be a good time to reveal how I'm the one responsible for their demise. I was thinking that maybe I should apply white makeup and pretend to be a ghost. Make it fun. Krob can help.

"Where is Zeiroi?", I asked Aldus when I found him in the study.

"In the back house where staff is."

Well, it's better than leaving him outside, but I thought that Zeiroi will be treated as a guest. "You put him with the staff?"

"He stinks."

I stifled a laugh. "I'm sure he doesn't stink after a bath and a fresh set of clothes."

"What will you do with him?"

"I don't know.", I responded honestly. "I want to talk to him and figure out what he wants. Ideally, we can send him to his family, if he has any."

Aldus looked at me with a complex expression. "He said that he grew up with faes, but the bloodwork I did, confirmed he is an elf."

I was surprised that Aldus already did tests on Zeiroi, but more than that, I was shocked to hear that he is an elf.

Books describe elves in many ways. From thumb-sized delicate creatures with wings, to human-sized ones with dark skin and assassin-like skillsets.

But in my mind, I imagined Legolas from The Lord of the Rings movies. Tall, handsome, long white hair, mystical eyes… great swordsman and a master marksman with gracious movements, and steps so light that he can walk on the fresh snow without sinking in.

"A real elf?"

Aldus hummed in confirmation while nodding. "There are no faes or elves in the vicinity. That boy traveled a long way. To make things worse, he was stuck in a cell from before he became a teen. He has no skills other than imbuing items with magic."

I can imagine that magical items are expensive. "Maybe we can help him set up a shop."

Aldus disapproved. "If the word spreads that he can do that, he will become a target and it's only a matter of time before he finds himself in another cell."

"What do you suggest?"

Aldus smirked. "You picked him up. You deal with him. I'm only telling you about a few things you should keep in mind."

I noticed that Aldus is enjoying this. He wanted me to take responsibility. "Can we use his skills somehow?"

"Neither of us needs items that he can make. We could sell them, but we are not really short on money. Putting a few items on the market won't make any difference, and if we have a larger quantity, we will attract unwanted attention."

I understood what Aldus was saying. "So, he is useless to us."

"I didn't say that."

Yeah, he did.

"Alright. I will talk to him. Anything from kobolds?"

Aldus shook his head and told me that it was just as I suspected. They didn't know squat. But Aldus was excited about this batch of lab specimens.

…

I found Zeiroi in the back of the garden, behind a row of rose bushes.

He was lying on the grass with his hands under his head and his eyes were closed.

"Zeiroi…", I called.

"Young Miss!", he called back while standing up with haste.

I was surprised by the way he addressed me. "My name is Seraphina and I thought I told you to call me Serina."

"Everyone here calls you Young Miss, so I thought to blend in."

I didn't want to argue about that. He was clean and in fresh clothes. I could see some bruises and cuts on his face and hands. He was skinny and other than pointy ears, he was nothing like Legolas from my mind.

"How are you doing, Zeiroi?"

"Very well.", he said cheerfully and patted his stomach. "People here are nice, I'm full, and I get to come out. Life is good."

My heart cracked. I guess after a decade in a cell, food and fresh air with a dose of humanity were all he wanted.

"I'm glad to hear that.", I said honestly. "What are your plans?"

His smile fell. "I don't have any. I was hoping you will suggest something. Can I stay here? I don't eat much, and I won't make noise. I can create items for you, if you provide me with materials. I'm confident you can sell them for good money."

"We don't need such items, Zeiroi, and you shouldn't talk easily about what you can do. The last batch of people who found out about your ability put you in a dungeon."

He pressed his lips into a line and eyed me reluctantly. "So… are you telling me that I can't stay?"

I looked at his pitiful expression and my heart cracked. Damn it! Calista was right, I was thinking about adopting him.

"That's not what I said. However, staying here and doing nothing is not a long term solution. You are welcome to stay, but I hope you will come up with an idea of what you want to do. Whatever it is, I will do my best to help you out so that you can become independent. OK?"

He nodded.

His innocent expression didn't match his age and it showed that he has no experience in dealing with the world.

I wondered how much he actually knows, so I had to ask, "Zeiroi, do you know how to read and write?"

Zeiroi nodded with confidence. He took a stick from the side and started etching into the dirt under the rose bush.

I looked at the strange symbols that were somewhat familiar. I saw them in a book about arcane glyphs.

"This is my name.", he said proudly.

I took the stick from him and wrote under the symbols, "Z E I R O I".

"Can you read this?", I asked, and he shook his head.

Ah, I will need to teach him how to read and write. There was no way I can let him go without some elementary knowledge.

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