“...I might have a fancy title but I am just 'Rhoselyn', please don't change your attitude toward me after learning this" Rhoselyn confessed and then she smiled at her humble request.

"Not at all, I will keep that in mind, Miss Rhoselyn" I answered that but in truth, it was quite overwhelming for me. Still, seeing how friendly she treats us. I see no reason to refuse this relationship. Having to be acquaintance with someone that powerful will be surely benefitting me. But, I have to be extra careful about our identity. I can't afford to let her know that we were actually the criminals the King is searching for. She’s part of the royalty after all.

Hmm... since she's related to the King. I might be able to snoop for some information about 'The Hell Gate' and the people that went missing... It's not that bad after all...

Not long after that, another maid walked into the hall holding a silver tray with glass teacups and teapot. She had her ash brown hair tied into twin braid lying down on her shoulder. She walked to the small wooden table between me and Rhoselyn. The maid then puts down the teacups and excused herself away to stand beside the couch Elly and I sit.

"I will assign Muria to serves you both. Please don't hesitate to ask for her assistance" Rhoselyn gestured at the ash brown braided maid and she stepped forward.

"Hello, I am Muria. I will be at your service while you are here, Mister Yuu and Miss Elly" Muria introduced herself and bowed.

A while later, the butler, Mr. Pierr came into the room to where we were sitting with a white wooden long staff on his hand. The staff is crowned with silver frame and a sparkling blue stone on the top while the wooden handle is esthetically engraved with letters of this world. Although I don't know the standard of this world, the staff sure looked exquisite and thus should be expensive.

"Thank you Mr. Pierr" Rhoselyn took the white staff as she thanked. The butler bowed and excused himself out. That's when the quiet Erol suddenly spoke.

"I will excuse myself too, Miss Rhoselyn" He said his parting words and then he followed after the butler, Mr. Pierr, with a serious looking face. They are now out from the room.

"Elly..." Rhoselyn called as she is now holding the staff straight, her eyes looking straight to Elly. "Can you pull up your pants leg? I will commence the healing" Rhoselyn asked.

"Ehh? Why?" Elly looked surprised.

"I have to closely inspect the injury in order to heal" Rhoselyn answered.

"Huh? But, why do you have to see my l-leg?" Elly started to look anxious as she stuttered at the end. Rhoselyn stared for a while before she finally realized something.

"Hmm? Ahh... I see. Elly doesn't know how healing magic works, right? Let me explain for a bit..." Rhoselyn assumed and started explaining.

"Healing magic isn't as spontaneous as it sounds. In fact, the healer needs to inspect and learn the scope of the injury with mana firstly. So, the healer will know which part that's need to be reconstructed because the spell will vary depends on the injury. Hence blindly shrouding the injury with healing spell without knowing where and what to fix specifically, will not work, if worse... could cause more harm than good... except..." Rhoselyn explained to Elly who's now staring intently at her.

"Except?" I repeated her last word. Rhoselyn took a breath in.

"...except for the people who are a natural magic user. They can directly manipulate their mana to their own heart desires. They will not need any magic tools like my staff here, to control their mana nor need to inspect the receiving end first. But, there is one person in the Tesoviel Kingdom who is able to do it as though she skipped the inspection although she's not a natural magic user" Rhoselyn smiled while she explains. Her eyes filled with determination and admiration as though that is her goal.

“Oohhhhhhhhhh” Elly monotonously answered as she blinked at her.

Although still calmly facing Rhoselyn, Elly nervously grunted into my head ["Yuuuu! I can’t let her see the scales! Heellppp!!”] Elly peeked at me from the corner of her eyes and then back to Rhoselyn. Her sudden silence had confused Rhoselyn. But then, Rhoselyn stood up from her seat. She’s probably coming for Elly.

[“I will be captured!!”] Elly added.

Huh? Captured?

“…Let me see the injury, Elly” Rhoselyn walked toward our side with her long white staff. Elly turned her face to me while her eyes glinted with anxious.

[“Ahhhh…. I didn’t expect this. Yuuuuuu!!”] Elly wailed again with a trouble looking face.

“Elly?” Rhoselyn has realized Elly being anxious and reluctant about exposing her leg. I can see Rhoselyn started to frown and confuse by her reaction.

She better explain to me why...

“Miss Rhoselyn, please wait” I stopped Rhoselyn from advancing and now she looked at me quizzically.

Elly also looked at me as she gulped and hid her legs away from the light. She stared at me and Rhoselyn, back and forth.

“I am sorry, but Elly can’t show her leg…” I spoke and glanced at the anxious Elly. Rhoselyn heard and now back to her seat. “Why is that?” She curiously asked.

“You see… actually, Elly has scars on her leg that she doesn’t want people to see. That’s why… I hope you understand” I explained while looking straight into Rhoselyn’s kind golden eyes. She’s listening without blinking and now glancing at Elly.

“Ah, I am sorry Elly… I didn’t know” Rhoselyn gasped with her hand in front of her mouth.

“It’s okay, Elly doesn’t feel hurt a-anymore! Elly heals fast… Hehehe” Elly went along with me as she stood up. The earlier anxiousness she showed has faded. She spun around in place, showing how fine she can now move, despite still hurting. But, she masked the pain behind her bright smile.

“Uhm… But” Rhoselyn doubted.

“Just give me some medication, I will treat the injury myself” Elly added again. Rhoselyn sighed and finally nodded.

“Although not as quick as healing magic, I think we got some magic made medicines stocked in the house. The medicine will also aid in the healing process… I will tell Mr. Pierr to hand you some of it” Rhoselyn offered.

I think what Elly need now is a big tub of water and alone time though…

“Thank you!” Elly happily accepted and then she looked at me smiling awkwardly. [“Ahh… Thank you. Didn’t think of that”] Elly confessed. I guess she was too anxious to think straight. Which made me realize.

Mermaid isn’t supposed to be here huh...

“Fetallina, please tell Mr.Pierr to prepare the medicine” Rhoselyn ordered the ginger-haired maid who was standing behind her the whole time. The maid called ‘Fetallina’ immediately answered and quickly moved away from the room. Rhoselyn focused back on me. “By the way, Yuu...”

Rhoselyn looked at me straight. Her every movement is delicate and she’s also very well behaved, unlike Elly who is blunt and forward about everything she does.

“What will you do after Elly’s recovery?” She casually asked. I glanced at Elly who’s now sitting beside me.

“To be honest… I am not sure yet. We’ve been staying in our homeland for too long. Now that we are outside. As you can see, we don’t even know the common knowledge of just a healing magic. I want to learn as much as I can.” I answered to her question.

It was partly true anyway…

“I see… So, you are interested in magic?” Rhoselyn assumed.

“Yes, I am” I replied without hesitation. Magic is something I took great interest from this world too.

“If you want, I can teach you the base knowledge” Rhoselyn humbly offered.

This is a great opportunity she offered. But why would she do that? Insisting to heal the injury of strangers who aided the bad side… It was already weird enough. But now, she’s offering to teach me magic. Are the royalties in this world all that kind?

Elly started to bore and so she walked around the room, poking at things that caught her interest.

“Why are you being so kind toward us? ” I bluntly asked. Although, she said that she felt sorry for Elly’s injury caused by Erol. I don’t think it was necessary to give us such a hospitality. It makes me wonder if she had other motives or is she just a plain friendly lady.

Rhoselyn looked surprised but then she chuckled a bit as she spoke.

“I don’t think there should be any reason for a person to treat others with kindness… that’s my belief” She answered as she now looked at Elly who’s standing at the tall bay window, looking out at the beautiful garden.

“…I think every meeting has its own meaning. I believe it is a work of fate…” Rhoselyn now turned to me. She stared into my eyes, straight. “Do you believe in fate, Yuu?” She asked.

“Fate?” I repeated the word. But, not as a question to her. It was to myself. “… I don’t know” I answered after a slight pause.

I believe every event is caused by chain reactions from previous actions. But, getting summoned to another world… Was that ‘fate’?

“I believe meeting Yuu and Elly is a work of fate. It is more romantic to think this way, isn’t it?” Rhoselyn gently smiled at me as she spoke. So, I returned a smile too.

I believe she’s sincerely kind but… Well, I will make use of her kindness then.

After a while, her maid, Fetallina came back and told us that our room is ready. Rhoselyn told us to get a rest as she will be attending some works first. Rhoselyn said that she will visit us after her works done. Meanwhile, Muria, the ash brown braided maid will be guiding us to our room and also get us changed. Elly and I parted with Rhoselyn and now walking to our room with Muria leading us.

If I looked closely, Muria, she's quite young. Probably around my age. While walking in front of us, she turned frequently and peeked at us every few minutes. As if she wanted to talk to us. Elly and I looked at each other when we realized Muria's weird behavior.

"Uhm..." I mumbled right at the moment she turned and peeked again. She was shocked and now fully turned around.

"Y-Yes, Mister Yuu?" She questioned while being a little fidgety, she doesn't feel like the same person as when we were in the guest hall. She had a calmer demeanor there. It could be caused by the presence of her master, Rhoselyn.

"No, I was wondering if there's anything you want to say..." I answered.

"Ahh, I apologize if I caused you to feel u-uncomfortable" Muria quickly bowed on us while putting an awkward face. After that, she hastily walked to the door nearby and opened it. It seemed like we have arrived at our room. Inside the elegantly decorated room, two comfortable looking single beds were placed. The tall bay window granted the sunlight to brighten the entire green and brown hued room.

"Uwaaaa!! Bed Bed Bed!!" Elly happily shouted and rushed into the room with bursting excitement. She threw herself on the bed and roll on it while keep squeaking in joy. Muria was secretly chuckling at Elly behavior. When our eyes met, she awkwardly tilted her head down.

"There are some clothing placed inside the wardrobe too, Mister Yuu, please feel free to change into them. I will be waiting outside the room." Muria explained and excused herself out. She closed the door and probably now standing in front of it. I turned and look at the lying lazily Elly. I moved further into the bedside.

"Elly" I called on her who's face burying on the bed. She tilted up while staring at me with a satisfied expression.

"Yesss???" She rolled over and now facing up, looking at me while back still lying flat on the bed like a magnet.

"Why didn't you tell me beforehand about the sibling thing and what's with this 'We came from North'. Why will you be captured when you show the scales? Didn't you say you lost your memories?" I started bombarding her with questions I've been wanting to ask as we got alone time. Elly scrutinized her eyes and pursed her lips while thinking for a while. Then, she let out a long seemingly tired sigh. She sat up and stared at me with an uninterested looking face.

"I lied to you" She confessed.

Elly stared at me while saying those words, solemnly. Her masked flat face now slowly turning into a guilt-ridden face. She hopped down from the bed and stood in front of me. Then, she pulled her long dangling sleeve up and showed me the blue scales on the back of her hands. She raised both hands close to her face. I stayed quiet to observe her next move.

"You know that I am a mermaid, right?" She asked the obvious. I nodded. Then, she continued as she dropped her hands down again.

"Do you remember the children corpses back in 'The Hell Gate' caves?" Elly suddenly mentioned the previous incident. I nodded again. That's what I wanted to ask too. But, I will let her explain first.

"We were the sacrifices for a summoning spell at that place” She uttered while looking at me with a pained gaze.

“…It seemed like they had been trying those for years. Maybe not every year. Probably once a decade from the skeletons I observed" Elly paused again. She took a deep breath in and now looked away from me while clenching her fists tight. She shuddered.

"I was one of the sacrifice children and probably their best offering of decades. I've heard of them talking about my race being the key of the sacrifice. My earliest memory was when I've already been captured and chained inside a dark, cold underground cell. I remember nothing before that place" Elly tilted her head down. Her face is clouded. Her body tensed up. I thought about stopping her but my curiosity ceased that.

"Every few days, a child will be thrown into the same cell as me. They all seemed to have retained their memories unlike me. We were kept as though livestock. Worse than that, we didn't even get enough food and water. Some died from dehydration and starvation. It lasted for a long long long time... I had lost count of days" Elly smiled bitterly and now sitting on the bed again. I walked to the bed beside her and sit down, face to face. But, Elly avoided my eyes as she continued.

"Despite scared, those children are strong. We comforted each other and also tried thinking on the positive side. Seems like, most of the children came from smaller villages or slums. They were kidnapped when they were wandering alone at a quiet place. It was all so sudden. When they woke up, they were already in the cell... We believe... That we will be rescued... That's what kept us going on. Until that day..." Elly is about to be in tear. Her lips wavered.

"Are you alright?" I asked. Elly inhaled and exhaled to calm herself down. Although unpleasant, she nodded as an answer and continued.

"We were knocked out and brought to that hall they called 'The Hell Gate'… We have aligned nearby the edge of the cliff with a paralyzed body. There are rows of black-masked people in a black cloak standing before us while muttering some sort of spell. I was standing in the middle of the group. One of the black-cloaked mages stepped forward while holding a pot of purple liquid with one hand. He crept up to the most corner child first...

With another hand, he dipped a needle-like blade into the liquid. He pierced through the child's skull in one hit... The paralyze spell was broken but at that moment, the child was squirming in pain and had lost his sanity. He screamed and threw up blood before he was pushed down the cliff by the cloaked person. Another cloaked person then collected the blood on the floor. Tears rolled down from children eyes but we couldn't move. There's... N-nothing we can... do..." Elly started sobbing and tears falling down. Whether it was from fear of the regrets she had back then. She sniveled.

"I am sorry... for what happened to you and your friends" I tried calming her down. I patted on her hair. Her face still looking down. Her tears dripped down and wet the carpeted floor.

"...If only I had the power back then... uwaaaaaa" Elly started howling sorrowfully. The room is now filled with her cry. She didn't hold back at all.

I guess she's been enduring it all the time alone huh...

"Mister Yuu?? Is everything alright?" Muria knocked the door and questioned from outside. She was concerned by Elly's loud crying sound. I was surprised.

"Ah, yes! Everything is fine!" I shouted from my place hoping she will hear my voice beneath the loud cry Elly produces. But, I guess she didn’t hear me.

The door slowly opened. Muria gasped at the chaos happening in the room. She stared at me as though I was the cause of Elly's cry. I awkwardly tried calming Elly down.

"Elly, Elly? Please, don't cry?" Instead of stopping, Elly wailed louder than ever. I helplessly looked at Muria who's still standing astounded. A moment later, she quickly shuffled into the room and crouched beside the crying Elly.

"Why is she crying?" Muria asked.

"Ah, I-" I haven't yet finished my answer. Muria raised her hand up and 'poof' a butterfly suddenly appeared into existence. It surprised not only Elly but also me. Elly now noticed Muria in front of her face. She has calmed down, whether it was because of the butterfly or because she has finally noticed Muria thanks to the butterfly. The nearly transparent butterfly hovered for a while but then disappeared into thin air. That’s when I realized. It was not a real butterfly. I can see the mana dispersing as the butterfly faded.

Elly has stopped crying. She calmly wiped her tears with her hand and now stared at the maid, Muria. The maid proudly smiled and spoke.

“This is how you calm a crying child Mister Yuu” She glanced at me with an awkward smile put on her face.