Chapter 163 (2/2)
“All right, stop bickering,” I cut in
My sister let out a giggle “They’ve both been a great help! Helen has been really strict but helpful in teachingtool”
“That’seasy on you,” Helen replied with a smirk She turned to me “I’ve been in and out of the castle, so she’s been learning on her own but her growth is actually quite scary It’s like these gifts run in the Leywin fa on ReadReadNovelFullonlinecoet our attention, the freckled artificer adjusted her glasses, then explained the mechanism for the bow she had customized specifically forphase, and it requires a certain amount of finesse but like Helen said, your sister catches on frighteningly fast”
“I still have a long way to go,” Ellie rebutted
Looking carefully now, I noticed the callouses and fresh blisters on her fingers and palms—proof of her effort
“Thank you—both of you—for helpingher hair “And I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you”
“Like I said, I don’t blaed “Besides, Helen told me that Mom and Dad are far away from battles so I’m not too worried about them, but I’m just thankful when you come back in one piece”
My heart lurched once uilt, and I understood why she said she had bla in the war That’s why they left—they didn’t want to just sit safely and hile praying that they wouldn’t hear news ofyou,” I said softly, unable to do anything else but apologize
Ellie’s gaze laid fixed on the scars around , and in some ways, that pained rown up much faster than I wanted her to The childlike innocence and selfishness she once had were gone
“What are you doing here back in the castle so soon anyway, Helen?” ed the subject
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“Ah, right! The heads and above got called into the castle for a big celebration tonight,” she answered “The actual reason for the event was supposed to be a secret but it was already leaked—apparently a retainer had been defeated!”
“Really?” Emily’s eyes lit up “Do you think it was a lance?”
“Nothing’s confirmed, but that’s probably the most likely! All I know is that Commander Virion himself took a small crew to retrieve the body,” Helen answered
“Things are looking up then!” My sister perked up “I’lances froht for a second that they were teasingto the Do they really not knoho killed the retainer?
However, thinking back, I had arrived in the castle several days after the retainer’s body had been retrieved There were a tea for my arrival, but now I doubted whether they had even been told the reason fortonight?” I asked, veering the conversation back to its original path
“Yeah, isn’t that why you’re back at the castle too?” Helen replied with a raised brow
My sister answered in ot hurt”
“What? How? Where? Are you okay?” E deal” I was tempted to tell them the truth, especiallyall of this a secret
“It was a big deal!” My sister pinched my side “You were out for more than a day and even then, you still have those scars”
Wincing as she twisted ized onceher that I wouldn’t ain The topic of the conversation changed, but for the rest of our little gathering during the afternoon, Helen regardedback intotirown up now,” I sighed
‘You ,’ Sylvie replied
“Wisdo hard circu brother But I was able to at least catch up with her and learn a bitin her life Did you know she’s learning archery from Helen? She and E conjuring with archery for Ellie!”
Sylvie let out tiny puffs of air from her nostril, and it was only after a second that I realized she was laughing ‘I haven’t seen you this excited in a while’
“That’s not true,” I rebutted
‘Oh?’ Sylvie raised her head, looking up atlips’
“Shush,” I dismissed Despitetiish, heavy, sleepy and weak,’ she sent, curling back up into a ball ‘It’s like being a hatchling all over again’
“Well, there’s supposedly this big event happening later tonight Do you feel up for it?” I asked
‘I’ll pass,’ she replied, her voice beco a seat on the couch, I let out a chuckle “I’ll have thesome up”
‘Make sure it’s meat’
“Go to sleep”
With the soft hu the otherwise cold and silent roohts Reaching into ently on the tea table in front of h escape my lips as I looked at the poor state of my weapon This sword had been by my side for nearly five years Without the need to polish, sharpen or even clean the blade while being able to withstand just about anything, Dawn’s Ballad was truly a valuable asset
Studying the sword, I assessed that—even when daed—it was better than any other sword I’d be likely to come across
I had no idea if and when the weapon that the quirky asura, Wren, implanted onit during this upcohts then shi+fted to my recent journey to Darv I needed to make sure whether or not Rahdeas was the leader of this treason, and if so, what I should do Even if Eljiah’s foster parent wasn’t in control of the tarven lances, according to Alduin and Merial, he still held a large a with the fact that the dwarves’ overall dissatisfaction of the Glayder fa hi from the dwarves
I couldn’t tell how much time had passed, but by how di until the event
“Arthur? You’re in there, right? I’, the door to uards filed in with Virion at the back
I had no tiuards pushed aside the furniture inside to an undressing h, was how accusto thrown into situations like this Shall I call this the Virion Effect?
Virion stepped up, already elegantly dressed in a black robe with silver tris that accentuated his silver hair tied neatly behind him “Now, you’re probably surprised by—”
“—Nope,” I cut in “What is it that you’re planning this tiasped at my crude response, but Virion just waved for the into your roo a team of maids strip you naked doesn’t put you in the most amiablethis event as a sort of trap—harrandson, have the lead role”