A few moments have passed since Sherryl brought up the past she shared with Renne. Emma and Fie also knew about it as they too were there for the events of Nemeth Island.
But Emma and Fie didn't know the brunt of what took place inside those caves. As for Renne, she, thankfully, avoided the worst possible outcome without having a need to describe what took place. But that didn't stop the DG Cult from tormenting Renne before Naoto came into the picture. Just like how Sherryl was before she encountered Naoto back then, Renne had it much worse. The one thing that Sherryl doesn't know about Renne was the trial of reflection Renne partook in back at the top of Amberl Tower not too long ago.
On top of everything else that had happened, it was then Renne resolved herself to stay at Naoto's side and protect him, either from the shadows, or from the sidelines. And by rarely participating upfront in events to come, unless one of them happens to interest Renne. Renne has zero intention of fighting alongside Naoto in the Vermillion Trials. Those were Trials Naoto is meant to overcome. Renne already did so with hers, so she felt like she would be butting in if she helped Naoto during that.
Sherryl saw how strong Renne felt about her own resolution, and knew it wasn't good to linger on the matter any longer. They didn't directly speak of the DG Cult since it was still a sensitive topic overall. The two were students at St. Astraia now, and it is much better to look toward the future, rather than to dwell on the past.
A subtle change occurred inside Sherryl, and Renne managed to notice after Princess Alfin's outburst. The two silently nodded at each other before they turned around to let their backs face the rest of the girls. Loosening the skirts of their uniform, their skin was soon revealed. Sherryl's was a lot healthier thanks to what Gnosis had done to her body from the inside out. She's akin to that of a walking beauty parlor without ever having a need to visit one, on top of gaining what is equivalent to Luffy's Gear Second from One Piece. She has a unique physique now, a physique Sherryl has yet to name.
Now that their backs were in sight, it was pretty scar-free from the shoulders and up. But the moment the girls saw faint, whip-like scars that were mostly around Renne's and Sherryl's backside and abdomen from the front, they became shocked to their core. There were even a couple of puncture marks, likely from the injection of Gnosis. Their eyes turned wide-eyed. While the scars were much more faded on Sherryl's body thanks to how she can freely adjust her skin, blood, and such, they were still faintly visible. But that was enough for the girls.
"Oh dear Aidios...", Princess Alfin spoke out in disbelief as she observed several faint whip-like marks over both of their backs.
"How awful...", Musse muttered. Today was full of surprises for Musse but this one might have topped the rest of what she had encountered earlier.
"Even if we were to account for bullying since you two recently transferred into St. Astraia, this is taking it rather far...", Elise murmured, feeling saddened at the sight before her. Even Emma and Fie had frowns on their faces, not expecting to see it play out like this.
'...Did you go through this too, Naoto?', Emma wondered whether or not that was the case, but remained quiet. She felt it wasn't right to speak right now.
Sherryl and Renne didn't say anything, they just looked at each other once more, and nodded again. This time, they turned around allowing the girls to see the frontside of their bodies. It was pretty much the same thing. Thankfully, the upper portion was left mostly untouched, but the scars were clearly visible to them. It was mostly around their abdomens and backs.
"We can't say much about the matter, but it was a kidnapping. You recall those series of events where many children were kidnapped over the continent some years ago, right? Renne and I were part of that.", Sherryl explained, keeping a calm look in her eyes. Considering they had to change and all, the girls were bound to see this side of them, they couldn't run away from the past forever. "We are extremely grateful for His Royal Highness to pull us out from that hellhole. That was how we met His Royal Highness too."
"A kidnapping...", Musse uttered. It was rare for her expression to turn serious as she did here. "I do recall that happening. For a period of time, there really were several incidents that involved different police agencies, attempting to search for those kidnapped children. To think you two were a part of that..."
"Heehee, it looks like you connected the dots pretty quickly. You're a rather sharp-witted girl, aren't you? Musse, was it?", Renne asked with a playful grin, despite bearing her body at the girls. Unlike Sherryl, her whip-like marks were still in the process of healing. Naoto did use some healing magic back when he was aboard the Glorious, but even with that, it wasn't enough to make it all go away. Besides, it's not like Magic could make someone forget past trauma.
It was hard to see what had happened to those who were kidnapped by the DG Cult in the games, considering censorship and all of that whenever scenes like bath scenes took place. They all wore towels. But this wasn't the games. There was no censorship involved here. The girls saw the brunt of what happened to Sherryl and Renne, and they were having a hard time grasping the full picture. Just that alone took the resolution the two had reached.
"Teehee.", Musse giggled. "I could say the same thing to you, miss little grade-jumper. You even jumped one grade higher than what I previously did to be placed in Her Highness's class. I likely could have done the same, but if I did that, I wouldn't have met such lovely friends here~"
Hearing that, Princess Alfin's shock subsided, and a smile formed on her lips. Unexpectedly, she approached Sherryl and Renne, and wrapped her arms around the two, giving them a big hug. The two didn't expect Princess Alfin to do that.
"Well, the past is the past. The most important thing now is you two survived that. In my eyes, you are just normal girls attending St. Astraia, much like we are.", Princess Alfin said, smiling at them.
"Her Highness is right. Whatever was taken from you two, you can definitely lead a better life here at St. Astraia. As part of the Student Council, I will assure your safety and make sure no harm comes to you. If there is even a single notion of bullying, I will take swift action on it.", Elise said, nodding her head at Princess Alfin's words. Both Sherryl and Renne smiled after Princess Alfin said that. Even a happy teardrop appeared in one of Sherryl's eyes.
"Thank you, Your Highness.", Sherryl happily responded. "Since then, I've been away for other reasons, mainly travelling across the continent with my Teacher, who has shown me many sorts of things with how the world works as a whole. I do not think I missed out on too much, but hopefully for these next couple of years, I hope to learn a thing or two while attending St. Astraia."
"I am pretty much in the same boat, I just happened to do a different set of tasks that Sherryl here didn't do. I cannot be privy to such a matter. Only time will tell if you can understand what I am referring to.", Renne said, smiling at the girls. "And besides that, I have a certain place I have to go to in two years' time. I hope we can stay under your care until then, Your Highness."
Hearing that, Princess Alfin's eyes lit up as she ended her hug. She then happily clapped her hands together.
"Oh most certainly we can let that happen!", Princess Alfin happily said. "I will make sure your time spent at our school will be most enjoyable. We are friends now, and if you ever need me to lend an ear, I am all for it."
"Thank you, Your Highness.", Sherryl responded, feeling gratitude from the new friends she has made since coming here to Heimdallr. Emma and Fie stayed silent during this but a warm smile appeared on Emma's face. She had known the two for being survivors of the DG Cult, but she didn't think it was this bad. She was happy for them.
"It is no problem!", Princess Alfin said, smiling at them. "It would seem I have one more thing to be grateful of Naoto too."
"Heehee.", Renne giggled again. "I'm sure if you decided to ask Naoto of the past that happened to us, I'm more than sure he'll explain it to you, given the time. It's not like we're trying to keep it a secret anymore."
"As much as I would like to hear how all of that went down, that would require time, to which we currently do not have. We still need to fit into our dresses for tonight's dance!", Musse happily said. "And if some of the dresses are too revealing, we can try to put some make-up on to hide those scars of yours. Thankfully, they don't seem to be too revealing from the top down, and are hardly noticeable anymore."
"Yes, I think so too. Adding to that, this is actually the first time I will be wearing a dress, so I might need some help putting it on.", Sherryl said, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.
"Then we'll just have to pick the perfect one out for you~", Princess Alfin responded. Seeing that, the tension around them eased, and the girls shared a round of laughter.
During this, Fie actually tried to sneak out of the changing room a second time, obviously not wanting to partake in this. But Emma was quick enough to catch Fie again, and Fie ended up pouting. The exact same scene played out, causing Fie to land on her butt. They were all going to wear dresses tonight, and Fie wasn't going to be left out.
Because of that, a playful smile appeared on Emma's face. She became determined to pick out the most frilly dress she could get her hands on to have Fie try out. Seeing Emma's smile, a sense of dread trickled down Fie's back. Fie was seeing her fate now in store for her. Thanks to that, everyone shared another round of laughter, making the tensions non-existent at this point.
With the help of the maids, time began to pass as the girls spent time fitting into dresses that they would eventually wear for tonight's ball!