00.37 cycle fifteen, Ca’thir, of calendar Moonrachia

  When all of us reached the first floor, there were Maya and Rheya waiting at the front door

  “Go say your goodbyes. You don’t have much time left.”

  After Noah said that, I walked toward Rheya slowly and unsurely. The moment I stood in front of her, I could see that she looked away from me

  “Uhh… I’m not really good at saying goodbye or farewell.” While scratching the back of my head, “But you know, I’m truly grateful for you and your family.”

  “I know how often I trouble you—I always seem to.”

  “But thank you for everything.” Slowly, I bow my head a bit, “Could you also tell your parents that I’m grateful to them for taking care of me ever since I lost my parents?”

  And when I lifted my head, I could see Rheya still looked away from me and wiped a single tear from her eyes. “What an idiot you are.”

  “… It’s not like we wouldn’t see each other again.” She continued, “What’s the point of all of this gratefulness? You’re my family.”

  “And my parents surely think the same thing, too.”

  Then, the moment our eyes met, both of us just smiled at each other like usual, and she hugged me

  “I know you’ll be fine, so don’t try anything stup*d.” Despite still lecturing me, I could feel how tightly she was holding me

  “Well, if I ran into trouble, I could just ask for your help again as usual.”

  And then she throws a playful punch into my stomach. “You idi*t.” And finally, she pulled away slowly

  Then I turned around and walked toward Maya

  “Thank you for everything. I know how much trouble I was bringing to you these past few days.” But before I could bow my head properly, she held it

  “It’s fine, it’s one of my jobs.”

  “And no, I don't need a formal farewell.” After she lifted my head, “Since we will meet sooner than you think.”

  I don’t really know what kind of plan Noah had for Maya, but I still keep wondering it myself, especially after this

  Does Noah really want to continue the Orlier family or not? These noble matters are so confusing

  Then I just realized something…

  After turning my head to Noah, “Am I supposed to leave through the front door?”

  And he clapped his hand once. “Oh, right, I forgot to tell you the actual plan.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  So… there’s actually a plan? I thought I was going to brute-force my way out

  “Kiara.” The moment Noah said it, Kiara walked and stood by my side

  “Huh?” I was glancing at Noah and then at Kiara a few times

  “She will be your personal maid from this moment, and no, don’t worry about her payment or such things.”

  “Wait a minute.” It’s become more and more confusing for me, “Why did you even go this far just for me?”

  “Why is it so confusing?” Noah slightly tilted his head while holding his chin. “Didn’t we discuss this earlier? That you will become Alias's guardian?”

  That… actually makes sense

  “But still, isn’t this too much?”

  “It’s too long to explain. To sum it up, Maya will handle all of the family-related work, and you will babysit Alias, plus Kiara will assist you.”

  Wait… Will Maya and Kiara still be the Orlier family's maids? Why did both of them go this far…?

  “You should leave now. I’ve explained everything to Kiara, she’ll guide you there.”

  “If only I had more time, I could prepare you a better potion, such as invisibility or something similar.”

  He’s right, I got a countdown, I should leave now or never

  Then I wore my hooded cloak and walked to the front door and held its knob. I turned to look at them again

  Rheya looked at me with a subtle smile, despite hiding it behind her, I could see that she was grasping her hand. For Maya, she said, “Be careful out there, you two.”

  For Noah, he just stood there with his usual smile

  “Is it really the last time we could see each other?”

  “Yeah, it is.” And he answered that without a change in his expression

  “I see.”

  I know well that Noah still hides some secret, but I’m truly grateful for this person… Well, an angel, I guess

  “Thank you for everything.” I know he did a lot of things for me, and yet that’s all the thing I could say to him

  “Sure thing.”

  After lifting my head, I nodded to him and left the house with Kiara, without looking back again

  “Master Kaleth, this way.” As Kiara led me toward the market area, or perhaps a port district area, she said, “Also, please don’t use any magic.”

  “Okay, also just call me by my name.”

  “Understood.”

  We ran from the central area toward the port

  I've wasted at least 10 minutes already. I never really run around the city, but from my experience, the horse carriage takes at least 40 minutes from the residential area to the port, so it might take at least 25 minutes from the central area to the port

  Even without physical enchantment. Anyone who wields magic or aura is stronger than the average person who hasn't reached the first level, which is petal

  “So we’re leaving through the ship?”

  “That’s correct, based on the information I’ve gathered, there should be 3 ships that will be departing.”

  “2 will go to Luminara, and the last will go to Vaelthoria.”

  “Do we have the ticket, though?”

  “We do.”

  Okay, despite how quiet Kiara is, she’s indeed capable—well, perhaps beyond that?

  We were running through the alley and the shortcut, trying to make as little noise as possible

  Kiara was scouting first in front of me and checking the surroundings to make sure there were no guards patrolling

  When we entered the port district’s market area, you couldn’t see your path properly, it’s just how little light there is, and also The light sources were few and far between

  We just need to head into the harbor and enter the ship… but the problem is, guards are patrolling there, but I’m glad there isn't much light

  “Kaleth, could you lower your hood?” While she stood in front of me, “Otherwise, we would look suspicious.”

  “You’re right.” Slowly, I lowered my hood

  “And also, please play along with me.”

  I couldn’t understand what she was trying to do, but the moment we reached the harbor…

  The two guards are blocking our path. “Identify yourselves and state your business.”

  “Hello, we’re a married couple that bought a ticket on the ship that will be going to Vaelthoria,” Kiara said softly and expressively, which gave me pause for a moment

  Kiara's act was so… perfect, to the point I wondered which of her personalities was the real one

  And then Kiara showed the ticket to the guards, and both guards checked it properly before looking at us again

  “… Why do I feel I’ve seen your husband's face before?” And the guards stared at me intensely

  “Oh? He travels often to the Arnentia kingdom, given that he runs a business here and is a pretty well-known person too.” Then she hugged me around my waist

  “He doesn’t really like talking a lot, so I’m sorry for that.” And then rubbed her cheeks into my chest

  The guards shared a look, then quickly averted their eyes, while the other cleared his throat, “Just go already.”

  “Thank you, we will take our leave then.” While both of us walk past them

  Her acting is scary…

  Before entering the ship, after walking a bit far from the guards, Kiara slowly pulled away from me. “I apologize for my behavior.”

  “It’s fine, I’m just glad we could bypass them.” And a ticket master was waiting in front of us

  Kiara then showed our ticket to him, and after a while, he stamped it and let us board the ship

  There are only a few lanterns across the entire ship as light sources, and also, there aren’t many people

  A ship officer then walked toward us, again, after checking our ticket, they showed us our room, which is one big bedroom

  I never really saw the ticket, but I guess it must be pretty expensive

  “So how long before we reach Vaelthoria?”

  “It takes around 7 cycles, depending on the weather.”

  “That’s too long…” As I let out a heavy sigh, I could feel how light my shoulder became

  When I look through the windows, the only thing I could see was the market area. I really do wish I could see the Orlier house from here, perhaps then I could at least glance at them again

  A lot of things just happened today… And I wonder how Alias will react when she knows I was gone? The thought alone sends my mouth curling into an unsightly, wry smile

  “I hope she doesn’t throw a tantrum.” Well, I would be lying to myself if I said I won’t miss her

  ---END---