After three days, Elluka and Gumilia made another unexpected visit to our house. This time, on a more permanent note.

It was a rainy day, again. But me, Aile and Shaw were having fun with Bruno and Gerda in the kitchen making cookies. As we cut out various shapes of dough, a strangled cry from the garden sounded, alerting all of us in the kitchen.

"I can't imagine a visitor in this rain... and through the backyard!" Gerda exclaimed. Her flabby mounds of voluptuous flesh jiggled as she spoke in a thick accent.

"I'll check," Bruno grabbed a decorative rifle off the wall. I don't think he knew it was for show because he actually tried shooting randomly out the window to scare whatever was outside. When that failed, he took an umbrella with him to examine the garden.

I followed instinctively with a frying pan in hand. Whatever was out there, Bruno couldn't handle it with that toy gun. Gerda tried to retract me back inside, but she ended up retreating when a bolt of lightning flashed.

We furtively made our way around the tomato plants and saw the outline of a messy lump in the pouring rain. Bruno pointed his gun as a bluff, and I was poised to strike.

"Who dares intrude the Freesis House?!" bellowed Bruno.

The lumpy figure came closer until we could see that it was a tarp covering two people. One pulled off her hood and I saw Elluka's face, drenched in rainwater. The other tried her best to cover Elluka with the majority of the tarp. I assumed that was Gumilia. Her foot was stuck in a deep mud puddle, probably the cause of the scream.

"Yukina Freesis," Elluka bowed slightly, "Might we come in?"

The slightly comedic scene was so strange. Elluka didn't mind being standing up to her ankles in dirty water in pouring rain to speak of formalities. Bruno laughed heartily and apologized, leading them inside to dry off.

Gerda made a big fuss about catching a cold in such conditions and continuously cocooned us in thick blankets. Elluka and Gumilia accepted with weak smiles. Bruno ushered them into the drawing room while Gerda made some hot stew for a rainy day. We followed.

I sat on the armchair closest to Gumilia. She carried her body erect and in a most curious of forms. I could feel a strange aura of something indescribable surrounding her. Yet, there was also a measurable sadness behind the cold exterior.

"I'll call the master." Bruno hurried away to the master library where father was calculating tax returns. I took this moment to banter with the guests.

"So, you're Gumilia. How's it to be Elluka's apprenti-"

She waved her hand to cut me short and bored into me with her stern, languid emerald irises.

"I'll take no such tone from you, Yukina Freesis," She said brusquely, "Being a child of a high status, you must know your manners to address your elders formally. It's to be 'Miss Gumilia', understand?"

This created a bit of dislike for this uptight character. But I was not one to judge entirely on first impressions. So I continued corrected,

"Okay... Miss Gumilia... How is it to be Elluka's apprentice?"

"Hello, ladies," Father interrupts the scene upon entering with Bruno at his side, "And to what do I owe this lovely honor?"

"Ah, yes, Keelio. We've come to drop off our payment from before, though there's something else..." Elluka and Father closed the door to the study, concealing their affairs. Gerda promptly bought out a steaming meat pie and ladled out bowls of hearty stew.

My spoon had barely touched my lips when a loud slurping sound echoed throughout the room, followed by incessant crunching. All eyes turned to Gumilia, who ate in a voracious manner, as if starved. She crunched on the freshly baked crust of the meat pie, sipping stew directly from the bowl in between bites, meat sauce dribbling down her chin. Her small meal disappeared in mere minutes, and she let out a loud belch of satisfaction. We all stared, stunned.

Almost as if summoned by the sound, Elluka emerged from the study with an embarrassed smile on her face. Father trailed behind, wiping his glasses.

"I apologize for any... messes my apprentice may have caused. She's quite starved. We traveled for three days from Lucifenia to get here without stopping."

Gumilia looked about with a confused look on her face. Then she unbelievably proceeded to take seconds and started on a second slice of pie.

And she judges me on manners! The nerve!

…

It turns out the thing Elluka discussed with Father was nothing more than a boarding issue. She and Gumilia requested rooms in the manor. They wouldn't tell me why they were suddenly moving in, but Father assured me it wasn't permanent.

"Are you nervous about the guests?" He inquired with a twinkle in his eye.

"No," I reply indignantly, "I think it shall be a nice change of pace around here."

And I meant that.

Gumilia spent an awful lot of time in my room. I think it's weird she spends so much time away from Elluka, who doesn't seem to mind. We do play a little bit of games in my room, but her mind seems to constantly drift off else where.

"Gumilia?"

"Huh, oh... yes? I'm sorry, my mind is... let's continue." She moved her chess piece.

I look at her suspiciously. She shot back a glare, clearly annoyed at my curiosity.

"What?"

"Uh..." I fumbled my mind for an adequate answer, "I was just thinking how Miss Gumilia..."

I tripped over the "miss", "...always looks so sad."

She seemed stunned by my words. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned to the window overlooking Marlon port.

Her next words came out slow and slightly pained:

"Michaela...died..."

I remembered what was said about Gumilia and Michaela being forest spirits. If it was true, then maybe...

"You and Michaela knew each other back then, as spirits, right?"

She turns to me, initially shocked at what I blurted out. Then she bristled her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes.

"I forgot... You were listening that day. What a little brat."

He last words were horrible distasteful. I couldn't let that slide.

"Excuse me for trying to know what's going on! I'm stuck here, having run away from my friends, shut away from the world! And is it wrong if I wanted to ask for your feelings in this?! Well, I'm sorry then!"

Having burst out like that, I hightailed out of the stifling room. I didn't look back to see her stunned expression. Our board game was left unfinished.

For the next few days, a strange veil of impatience had fallen upon the house. Father's absence made things harder. Mother always paced and was constantly up on her toes without father's comforting presence being there.

I had made a barrier between myself and the guests. But I wasn't sorry. Father's visit had just reignited a spark I needed to continue writing.

Father had gone to Lucifenia. Apparently, he'd gone to the peace conference there to meet with the victorious Resistance leaders. I hope things have smoothed over. Then I could probably visit Clarith sometime...

As for my next book, I'm thinking of an insider's view of The Daughter of Evil herself. The tragic play of events is too scrumptious for a writer to resist. There are also a lot of holes here and there, and it's my job to fill them in.

…

A week later, we receive a note from father. It's comforting to know that he's alright. But the news he bought was also startling.

I went to check the mail, and I found it strange he'd written three individual letters. One for me exclusively, another for Elluka, and the last for mother. I stashed my letter and delivered the other two.

Elluka looks her's over brusquely and is about to put it down when she looks back and her eyes widen. I wouldn't know what was so surprising in the letter, but she bit her upper lip and promptly stood. Her face was a mixed expression and she thanked me for the letter. The tone told me that I should leave her alone.

After I listened to Mother read her letter out loud to the household, I noticed Elluka's face cloud over. Then I realized that the letter's words were a bit too happy and light. Definitely not capturing the somber tone after a bloody revolution. I go to read my letter in my room.

My dear daughter Yukina,

Lucifenia is annexed by Marlon under the new king Kyle. It doesn't look like we'll

be visiting Clarith anytime soon. It's still too dangerous, even with us supporting the Marlons

as our old friends. I'll bring you back some more Lolam pens, I know you're

running low.

And I don't know how to tell you, but the Queen was executed just yesterday. Only,

her servant died.

Sincerely,

your Loving Father Keel

I didn't understand. The Lucifenian regime of the D'Austriche was toppled by the resisatnce. So it was no surprise the Queen was beheaded for her crimes. What was this about her servant? And Kyle? The nerve of that conceited, self-serving...

Father's letter left me with questions. The "servant" was most likely the "Servant of Evil". But what was this about the Marlon occupations? And the way the servant is implied, it's almost as if the servant died INSTEAD of the queen.

These thoughts wracked my brain as I tried to come up with a new story to write about while I gathered details on the Daughter of Evil. This process was only further interrupted when Elluka and Gumilia unexpectedly announced their leave from Marlon. When Mother asked where might they go, Elluka only smiled mysteriously.

Gumilia and I exchanged stares before Elluka told her to depart. She tossed one final glance over her shoulder, directed at me.