A few days passed.
Every night, Cassius visited me, whispering through the door with new information about what was happening around the house and new lessons about Transmutation. The current topic was Emotion—how feelings fueled the power.
As the sun roared high above my head, I heard a knock on my door.
Just as I tried to get up from my desk, the door opened unexpectedly.
It was Adel.
Adel, who had never shown any expression, yet this time… somehow I could sense something wrong. A wave of sorrow emanated from her. However, her face didn't show it; she was as calm and blank as usual.
"My Lady," she said quietly. "His Grace and Madam want to meet you. They are waiting in the living room."
I followed Adel downstairs.
As I entered the living room, I saw my mother sitting on the couch, her face pale. My father was pacing back and forth, his steps heavy.
The room was filled with suffocating tension. I could tell something serious had happened.
Was it about the Orphanage? I wondered, my heart beating faster.
"Aurelia, you need to sit down…" my mother said softly.
I obeyed immediately, taking a seat in front of her.
As I sat down, my father stopped pacing. He stood in front of me, his expression grave.
"Tell me, Aurelia!!!" he demanded, his voice cracking. "From who or where do you know about the Orphanage?"
I couldn't tell him the truth about the Book. I still didn't understand what was going on.
"What is going on?" I asked, looking between them. "May Father tell me???"
My parents exchanged a dark look.
Finally, my father spoke. "What you told us about the Orphanage is true… The maid your mother sent there saw it and came back to tell us everything…"
He stopped.
I felt a rush of relief. Thank goodness. With that, Bo's daughter should be safe.
However, why was the room so tense? It should be a relief that the truth was finally out and the children were being rescued.
Suddenly, my father continued.
"However... by seeing it, it means… that she witnessed something…"
"What do you mean, Father?"
My father hesitated, looking away. "She saw something heinous…"
"Heinous?" I was confused.
"I can't go into more detail about it, but I will try to say it to you as best I can. She found there were no children in there…"
I could see my father struggle to get the words out. I couldn't wait.
"What do you mean by there are no children in there? It is the Orphanage…"
My father showed a pained expression before finally whispering, "There are no children because they became lifeless…"
The word lifeless immediately sent a chill down my spine.
Unbelievable.
It wasn't supposed to happen. The Book didn't say anything about that.
"Lifeless? What do you mean by lifeless? Are they sick or something?" I asked desperately.
"No…"
My father turned away, unable to face me. I saw my mother show an expression of deep empathy toward him.
"Let me say it to Aurelia, my dear," my mother said gently. "You may need some time in the courtyard. Take some alone time. Maybe it will make your head cool down a bit."
With that, I saw my father leave the room, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
Once my father was out of sight, my mother turned to me.
"The reason your father couldn't say it to you is because of his vision," she explained softly. "You know that the Orphanage is based on your father's vision and ideal for the city. Knowing his vision is being stained… he couldn't be himself right now."
"So what is happening inside the Orphanage?" I pressed.
"As your father said, there are no children because they are lifeless."
My mother took a deep breath. Her expression changed to one of horror.
"The maid I sent found the Orphanage empty. There was no one there—the children, even the people who worked there, were nowhere to be found. As she looked around the building, she stumbled upon a secret door camouflaged within the floor, leading to an underground chamber."
She stopped, hesitating. Finally, she spoke, her voice trembling.
"The chamber was burnt to a crisp. Ashes scattered everywhere. It was as if a fire had ravaged the underground, leaving nothing but destruction. As she walked around the chamber, she found some charred b…bodies."
She closed her eyes. "From the size of them… they were the c…charred bodies of children."
My mother finally revealed it, a tear slipping down her cheek.
With that revelation, my heart sank. A chill ran down my spine, freezing me in place.
"No… no… no… that mustn't be true…"
I immediately remembered Bo's words. What will happen if we are too late because we are waiting two or three days?
At that time, I should have listened to him. I should have acted immediately.
"That wasn't supposed to happen…" I whispered.
Was it my fault?
"I… I… I ki…lled them…"
The guilt and self-blame consumed me. I struggled to come to terms with the devastating reality. Tears streamed down my face as I realized the weight of my inaction.
"I thought they wouldn't do that," I whispered to myself, clutching my chest. "It was entirely my fault…"
The guilt crushed me. I slipped off the chair and kneeled on the floor, burying my face in my hands.
As the feeling of guilt consumed me, I couldn't focus on anything around me. Even my mother's face blurred in front of me. The sounds of the room faded away, replaced by the screaming thoughts of my own regret.
You should have acted immediately. You were so naive. You believed the Book too much. And now look at what has happened.
As I lifted my head to look at my mother, suddenly everything around me was gone.
I found myself alone in Emptiness.
I kept looking around; there was nothing there. Just the void.
Feeling the familiar sensation of this place, I decided to stand up. I started to walk around.
I prepared for the worst. What will this emptiness show me?
I noticed this wasn't the Dianoia from Gena. This felt different. This was a manifestation of my guilt.
Suddenly, the emptiness shifted. It showed me the despair and pain of the children in the Orphanage. It was like being in the underworld, a full inferno.
I could hear their screams echoing in my mind.
Help us! Why didn't you come?
I tried to cover my ears with my hands, but the screams only grew louder and more haunting. I closed my eyes tightly, whispering over and over that it wasn't my fault.
It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault.
But it was.
As time passed, the screaming subsided.
I tried to open my eyes, preparing for the worst.
In a second, I opened my eyes and saw… a familiar ceiling.
It was the ceiling of my room.
I sat up and looked around. Yes, it was my room. A bright beam of moonlight streamed through the window.
Was I unconscious? From the afternoon until now?
I got up from my bed and walked to my desk. I opened the drawer and picked up the reddish Book. I sat down and started flipping through the pages.
Out of the blue, I saw the ink smudging.
A tear had dropped onto the page. I realized I was crying again.
I tried to control my emotions. But as I wiped the page, I realized the tear had dropped onto the name of the Perpetrator.
Despite the smudge, I could still read it.
It was the name of my acquaintance's family.
The Alliena Family.
Lady Clara's family.
This family was the one doing the trafficking. But was this family the one who burnt it?
Or was Lady Clara one of the Paragons? Did she order it burnt so I couldn't alter the fate? Or was someone in Lady Clara's circle the Paragon?
Creak.
It caught me off guard. The door to my room opened slowly.
I turned around.
There was no one there. No indication of someone coming inside.
I stood up and went to the door. I looked around the hallway to check if someone had been there.
When I looked down, I saw a piece of paper on the floor.
Without hesitation, I picked it up. There was writing on it.
"Meet me at the courtyard."
I wondered who was behind this note and what their intentions were. Curiosity piqued, I decided to head to the courtyard.
Was it Bo? Or was it Cassius?
I walked quietly through the silent house.
Once I stepped out into the courtyard, the cool night air hit my face.
I saw someone standing in front of the biggest tree in the garden. I couldn't see the person clearly; the shadow of the branches covered them, and the moonlight couldn't reach their face.
I cautiously approached. Step by step, I walked toward the figure.
As I got closer, I could make out the silhouette. It was small.
The mysterious person turned around slowly, revealing a familiar face that I hadn't seen in years.
Not a person, exactly.
I gasped, relief washing over me.
She was here.