It has been three days since the incident with the Gou has passed.

It was eerily quiet that night and that was because the people from the town had no idea what happened.

One of the reason why that was was because Mom and Dad had spoken with their business partners and the Reim government about setting up a festival on one of the large provinces of Reim, particularly, one that was far away from Napolia. They had set up a meeting the day I left to stay at Remano and after fighting rigorously for the festival to be approved, they fortunately approved. But came with a literal cost.

Ahsteria had to fund the festival and took a good chunk out of our savings. We had never had such a huge spending in a small amount of time or even in just oe go. It didn't necessarily crippled us or anything since said savings were basically just extra funds but… it was still something we were not used to doing.

Besides, between human lives and money, the former still takes priority than the latter one. And Gou definitely wouldn't have problems killing anyone that happens to cause trouble for them later, even if it meant starting a war with Reim. Logical reasoning wa never really part of the Gou Royalty's strong points after all.

They knew that they were going to be attacked at any moment so they made arrangements to have a three day and night festival to keep people's attention away from Napolia. So that they would be safe.

And I watched as those same people came inside the company with everyone's lifeless expression and their fake smiles welcoming them like nothing ever happened. Granted, their smiles are always like that to customers but it was different still as they're tense and some of them tend to snap, starting arguments with almost anyone. It was clear that everyone was falling apart.

And I could understand them. Since I was the main reason why we lost a lot of lives that night. It was because I was born.

Mom had survived, as well as Dad, and they sat me down to tell me, no, everyone, about why the Gous had attacked us then. All of us, even Dad, got to know her much more than we had already been. And we understood all of the reasons why she had been why she was. Why she acted like she was. Everything.

And what a life she has lead so far.

Mom, Midel Reinhardt, was previously known in Gou as Anei Hekishoku (暗翳 碧色)*.

In Gou, since it was an eastern country like Kou and Kai, everyone had dark hair with black dominating than most. No one has blonde hair like hers. And that was because she was known as an albino. A rare breed.

They're special and that was a big deal because in that country, almost everyone has the same powers; shadows.

Everyone has it. Royalty, soldiers, commoners, farmers, slaves, everyone. It was amazing for me because a whole country has that kind of power. Mom said that those powers are hereditary and that means that place is one big family. They were all connected by blood.

But the means of using it was what sickens me.

In order to use it, you would have to fall into depravity. None of Mom's listeners understood what it meant but she and I does. Falling into depravity means that you are giving up hope and you start hating the world for being unfair.

Why were you born poor and not rich?

Why did your family have to die and leave you?

Why did everything have to be against your happiness?

Losing hope is bad because it makes people do things they will regret later and in doing so, they start to lose one important part of themselves; love. People forget that and then they never would escape the clutches of the black Ruhk.

And almost all of the people in Gou are like that. They could've used that power for good but they didn't. Because the hierarchy in Gou uses the ability to use shadows as the basis for it.

If you were unable to use Kage or were weak in it, you will live a life of a peasant. If you could use it in a fight well, you get hired as a soldier or would live a life as a noble. If you were powerful however, you get to rule the country.

That was why those who were born powerful outside the Palace are forced to marry royalty, so that the current household ruling Gou would get to stay in power longer. Because it means that their children are born more powerful than their parents, thus, will have the chance to become King.

Those who are different, albinos, were known only in legends as only three had ever existed in the history of Gou; the second prince of the 3rd King, the son of a farmer living near the borders, and the daughter of a soldier.

The second prince had grew up to be the 4th King of Gou, the farmer's son as the 8th King, and the soldier's daughter as the 11th Queen. They had proven their powers' strength on the days that they had fallen into depravity and had been known as heroes by most as they either defended Gou or successfully won wars with neighbouring countries.

Mom was a special sort because not only was she born powerful outside royalty, she was also albino.

And the royalty wanted her no matter what. But because of some circumstances, she left Gou, took in a new name, and gave birth to me, Je'hel Ahster Reinhardt. If I had been born in Gou, my name would've been Anei Meirou (暗翳 明朗)** and I would've married into royalty.

I was the last hope for Gou to survive another war with Kou and Kai.

Mom knew I wouldn't agree to such a thing so she refused them herself and... got punished for it. They injected a black substance into her that made her vision go dark. After that, all she could remember was how she killed our men one after the other and she woke up to see Dad infront of her about to die by that woman's, Shijima Kurenai's (静寂 紅)***, hands.

Then, that was when I interfered.

I closed my eyes as flashbacks from that night came back and started haunting me. Even though I had cleared my head and was calm, rage was still clouding my heart as I struck one Gou after another.

Even now, I closed my hands and opened it, repeating the action again and again. I looked at my hands and instantly felt sick, I could still see blood in my hands.

I stood up, the chair I was sitting on scraping the floor as I did so, and silently walked out of the store front and into the streets. None of the members of the Ahsteria said goodbye to me like usual or even acknowledged my presence as I got lost in the throng of people.

"Eh? She's not here?"

Midel stared at the young red-haired boy infront of her, a professional smile in her lips. Inwardly, she was assessing the boy who was her daughter's martial arts teacher and 'friend'. To think that someone of his status would come by himself here just to check up on her daughter who failed to show up in their daily trainings. Not to mention, the boy was a Fanalis himself. Didn't he know of the dangers that comes with that fact? "Yes. I was told she left just awhile ago."

"I-I see..."He looked down, saddened by what he heard. "Then I should get going. I'll look for her for a bit. Goodbye." He bowed then walked away.

"Take care of yourself." Midel waved at the boy as her farewell and watched as he made way through the busy afternoon streets. Then suddenly, there was a hand who grasped her arm. She barely was able to hide a wince from how it hurt and she looked beside her in surprise. "Oh, Sinbad! You surprised me."

Said teen wasn't looking at her but at the redhead currently walking away. His expression was serious. "Aunt Midel, who was that?" He asked.

Midel followed his gaze and at the boy before laughing lightly. "Him? That's Je'hel's teacher. The one I told you about before." She removed Sinbad's hand from her forearm and turned to go back inside the store. "What a cute boy, don't you think?" She said in passing, not noticing that Sinbad had long since left.

"Hey, you! The one with the red hair!"

Sinbad continued on running but the boy who was only walking seemed to be getting farther and farther away. What was up with that? And just when he thought he was about to caught up, the other turned a corner.

The future High King gritted his teeth in frustration and pushed himself to go faster. He was not about to let that boy go.

That was what he thought until... he rounded the same corner and found nobody at the dead end. He stared at the high walls on either side and in front of him, barely holding back a curse.

There was no way a boy like that could've escaped a place like this.

"Dammit!"

Muu looked down from where he was perched on the roof of a house beside the alley, watching as the person left. He was curious as to who the purple-haired teen was.

He had known he was being followed and purposely turned into the dead end he saw earlier. His hearing had picked up the yell directed towards him and the fast pace of someone running, getting closer and closer to him.

And he had picked the other's scent, a mix between different fragrances with the smell of the sea dominating than most. His nose has scrunched up when he first smelled him. It was exactly what Je'hel had told him he would smell like.

Don't mistake him. He had never met him but Je'hel had warned him about staying away from a guy who has purple-hair and smells like multiple fragrances.

"Listen. Stay away from that guy no matter what, okay?"

"Why? What's with him?"

"He's dangerous. He's gonna be pretty hostile with you if he ever saw you because I'm sure he knows how to recognize you now."

"Even though I haven't met him?"

"Yes. Because I haven't told him either yet... he knew. Stay away."

It was weird, what she said. Because how could someone like him be dangerous that he needs to stay away from him? Muu doesn't know but he's trusting Je'hel's word and would stay away.

With that, he stood up and turned away, opting to hop from roof to roof until he got to the city edge. With a threat just looming the place and looking for him, he decided to go home for now and resume looking for Je'hel at a later date.

I sighed, finger combing my wet hair as I walked through the dark hallway leading to my room. Bathing in one one of the bathhouses never ceases to clear my mind. Now, I could actually think about things straight. The dark was bothering me and the candle I was carrying wasn't helping much because it was reminding me of what happened before.

I looked beside and into the bright full moon. Compared to before, it was a lot brighter as there weren't that much clouds in the sky and frankly... "It's beautiful." I muttered to myself.

From the dark, just barely across the illuminated area around me, multiple sets of footprints sounded. I tensed. More enemy? was my thought then.

It wasn't. It was just the triplets. I was so relieved that I instantly put my guard down and smiled. "Good evening." I greeted but they just went past me without even glancing at my direction. My smile fell.

Everyone had been like this to me ever since I...

Unable to control my frustrations, I turned around and yelled, "Hey!" The three of them stopped but they didn't face me. I scoffed, though inwardly I was hurt. If it was any brighter here, it would've been obvious by the mistiness of my eyes. "Is this how things are going to be now? Ignoring me? What? Just because I accidentally stabbed Mom-"

"Exactly."

I stopped short at that and I looked towards the girl in the middle of the three; it was May, the youngest. "W-What?" I said, not knowing what else I could've said. I knew that that was the reason why. I knew right from the very start.

But it still hurt to hear it come from them.

"You hurt Lady Midel. From all the wounds we got from that night, that one has hurt us the most..." she wiped at her eyes. "How could you?"

I rapidly blinked my eyes to get rid of any oncoming tears. I looked at all three of them. "Have you all thought of my side then? Do you think I know all that there is in this world? Do you think I knew that that was Mom?"

Mary opened her mouth to speak her thoughts but I spoke before she could, already knowing what she was going to counter to me.

"I know crucial things about the world but I don't even know things about my family! Do you know how that makes me feel!? To not know that the creature I attacked to protect everyone was my own mother!" Suddenly, something warm started cascading down my cheeks and and I touched them to realize that they were tears. "I cried a lot after that night, too. We lost so many because of me and I know that. There wasn't a single moment I spent not thinking about what I did wrong."

"What's going on here?"

I sucked in a breath at that voice and I quickly turned the other way, wiping away my tears and calming myself. Of all times that he has to appear, why now?

"Je'hel?" Sinbad called out to me and he glanced at the triplets who bowed at him, blocking his way. "What's with you?"

There was a pause before they answered. "...nothing, Lord Sinbad."

"I can't believe this." I looked upwards, determined not to let my tears fall again from the hurt that I felt.

I can't believe that they couldn't even understand me. These people who some I knew my whole life and others I knew for half. To me, they are like my family. Now I realized that to them, I'm probably nothing compared to my parents who took them in. That not even a single speck of care that I spared them for the past years wasn't even able to move them.

Just for what reason was the sacrifice I did was for?

"I'm sorry I'm useless, okay? I'm sorry I'm stupid. I'm sorry that my first instinct in battle was to protect you guys." I said, not looking back as I placed the candle at the floor beside me. "...I'm sorry I even cared."

I started running straight at the darkness, ignoring even Sinbad's enraged voice as things clattered behind me.

"Hey. What did you do to her?"

The tears that I held in came back and I didn't care that they hindered my vision. I just wanted to get out of there. I don't want to see them. I don't want to see any of them. I don't mind where I end up, just...

I clenched my eyes tight as my fingers curled around the necklace I wore, continuing on running even as I tripped. There was light coming from the staffs that I didn't notice in my haze.

Please... take me away from here.

With a flash of light, my wish was granted and I disappeared.

Walking through the dark, tired and bruised all over, the figure wanted nothing more but to sleep the rest of the quiet night away. Perhaps it was a bad idea to mess around with his brother? But he was always cooped up in his room with his... birds of evil that polishing his sword skills would actually do him good. Even if it's just mentally wise.

He sighed, stopping infront of his room and waving away at his retainers. They bowed towards him before leaving and he moved to open the door.

HIC!

His hands stopped just an inch shy from it at the peculiar sound he just heard. What was that?

He looked around him at any potential thing that may be causing the sound. Not finding any, he looked towards his door with a contemplating look. He moved closer to his door and hesitantly, pressed his ear against it.

"Uuuhh... *hic* *hic*"

He moved away from his door in surprise. He took one last look around the place before unsheathing his sword, and getting ready to open the door. Maybe he was just getting a bit uneasy or was just hearing nonsense because of his brother taking a liking to the supernatural. But that doesn't mean he was about to let his guard down.

Slowly, as to not make any sound, he opened the door leading to his bedroom and held back his breathing. His heart was thumping quite loudly against his chest. Then, as if shocked by an electric current, he let go of the handle and stared at his bed.

There, in the middle, was a girl. She was hunched and was hugging her knees as her shoulders shook. Her long ashen blonde hair was covering her form just like the light of the moon currently showering down on her. He realized then that the sounds he had just heard was coming from her.

He held his stance, sword pointing at the girl. "You. What are you doing here?"

At the sound of his voice, she jumped in surprise and raised her head. Their eyes connected and he paused, recognizing who it was infront of him. And it seemed that... she knew, as well.

"R-Ren Kouen..."

With wide eyes, I watched as the older red-haired boy sheathed his sword and relaxed his tense posture. I hurriedly wiped away my tears and looked away, ashamed that I was seen crying. Right. I ended up here, huh...

"Eh..? Where is..." I looked around at the eastern-styled room, a sense of discomfort pooling in my chest. I have a feeling that this place is...

My eyes then caught the metal pauldron in one corner of the room. The moonlight was just barely illuminating the room but I could still see the outline of a lion's maw on it. I stood up and went towards it and dragged it back to the bed.

There was only one person who owns something like this. I closed my eyes and hugged my knees to my chest. Ren Kouen.

"It's been awhile." He nodded his head towards me and I hesitated before standing up.

I made my way towards the window and grew Sheba's staff, intending to leave. I was just a few steps away when a hand caught my arm and stopped me. I tried removing his hand but he didn't budge.

"What are you doing?" My voice was still not in great shape so I wasn't all that surprised that it cracked. His hold on me merely tightened and I looked up at him. I regretted it immediately.

"Stay," was all he said as his eyes stared at my own.

A/N: So, we guys meet again after… almost six months. Wow, has it been that long? Jesus. Well, I don't really know how to explain myself aside from the fact that updating my unedited chapters took more priority. Yep.

Well, good news is I had chapters for up until chapter 29 and if all goes well, I would have chapter 30, too. Don't worry, too. The chapters up to chapter 26 and up are all really long. Really long. Just a little tweaking here and there and I'll be ready to post them here~

*暗翳 碧色 - 暗翳 meaning 'shadow' and 碧色 meaning 'emerald'.

**暗翳 明朗 - 暗翳 meaning 'shadow' and 明朗 meaning 'bright'.

***静寂 紅 - 静寂 meaning 'silence' and 紅 meaning 'crimson'.

As always, let me know what you guys think. There'll be another update on sunday so look forward to that?