'Why should I?' the young girl asked.
Neither of them was in any state to plead for their lives. They were just children who lost too many things in a short span of time. Their everyday peaceful lives, their family and even the orphanage.
But Serika remembered it vividly, the snowfall, the black smoke, the dead bodies and men clad in dark armor. If it hadn't been for the mistress... who knows where they would've ended up?
'Why? Indeed… what reason is there to save them?' Carmillia's mother muttered gently.
Unlike her daughter, her hair was white as snow, said to be caused by an illness. Her features were nearly identical to Carmillia's but softened by a faint, ever-present smile and gentle gaze.
'If you don't save them,' she said, the orphanage's flames reflected in her eyes, 'then it will be hard and painful for them to survive here. Don't you think so too, Carmy?'
'Yes.' The girl answered. 'They'll probably die.' Snow had piled in thick layers across the street, unperturbed even by the burning orphanage being them. The walls crackled and collapsed in on itself, but the cold would not be driven away.
It would claim what the fire couldn't, two small, helpless lives.
'Yes. They'll die. Frozen perhaps… buried beneath snow… or maybe torn apart by hungry beasts'
She crouched to meet the girl's eyes.
'Don't you think it would be painful? To freeze? To be bitten and bleed?… And sad?' She pointed a finger towards the kids chest.
'When something terrible happens to us, when there's no one to help, something rises from here, from the heart. Do you know how that feels?'
'… It's sad… and painful.' The kid whispered as if recalling those emotions herself.
'Then, do you hate that pain, Carmy?'
'… I do.'
'Good. They're the same.' She said softly and caressed the child. 'Just like you, they hate it. Everyone does. That's why, if you can, save them from their pain. Even for a little bit.'
'How should I save them?'
'Simply, give them your heart. If they're cold, cover them with warm clothes, if they're hungry, feed them warm porridge. If they're hurt, tend to their wounds. If they have nowhere to go…'
She took Carmillia's hand and extended it to the other two children, along with hers, as if reaching out a helping hand.
'Then take them under your wing. Make them live with you… and—' Serika couldn't make out the last part as the mistress had whispered something else into Carmillia's ear with a smile.
The girl jolted, as if she had a realization.
That was when the other guards on standby started to move towards the burning orphanage. They other attendants covered them in fabric and brought them to the carriage.
That was how they first met Carmillia, whom at that point, was still guided by her mother.
Serika was grateful to both of them. And Lucinelle even more so, to the point she pledged her life to them the very next day, saying it was a custom of her family, a line that earned their position through knighthood and honor.
But for Serika… the cost of freedom was too heavy to part with. She chose to be here because of Lucinelle. While she felt grateful to the mistress and the young lady, she inwardly had some qualms about this path.
Especially after the duke's wife had perished. The once kind young lady lost her 'anchor' and became what she is today. She schemed, humiliated, and antagonized any nobles she found unpleasant… Only after some time did she finally calm down upon reaching her coming of age.
"So, how is he doing?" Lucinelle shifted the conversation, seeing that Serika was lost in thought.
"I made sure that his bones is on the verge of breaking." Hearing that, Lucinelle chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"Don't be so rough. He might develop grudges."
"So what? He's not catching up to me no matter what."
The two of them were indeed strong. To the point that they were considered geniuses among their age. And they will continue to be, under the wing of their master, Carmillia.
There was no way that Xian will surpass either of them.
Meanwhile, the person in question…
Xian woke before dawn the next day. His body ached everywhere, but he could tell the injuries were gone. His clothes had been changed somehow, though he didn't bother wondering how. The last thing he remembered was Serika striking him.
The first thing he did was smash his hand against the table beside him.
'I need to get stronger. I need to learn how to fight.'
An idea bordering on madness began forming in his head. Xian had always wished to garner strength quickly, and now that desire burned more than ever.
'If I can regress, I can fight as much as I want.'
That was the plan, at least. But he needed a special situation, one that would throw him somewhere he could fight to the death each time he regressed. If he could somehow reset near a monster area or a battle event that could kill him quickly enough to avoid prolonged suffering…
'There's one. A possible one.'
The Destruction of this very estate. During some of his runs, he discovered that once it was time for Carmillia and the twin swordmaiden to leave for the academy, the estate they lived in got deserted by servants, and the next day, it was found thoroughly destroyed.
Then it became the usually known high level area where scattered and unsupervised ghouls roamed wearing the Montagne's classic armor. Former humans that underwent transformation to solely eliminate intruders in the vicinity.
It's an area that is extremely hard to go through because the enemies constantly chased the player who skipped the tutorial and killed him. As if the game was trying to prevent anyone from discovering anything.
Although a lot of players have attempted to go through the area, they only found the closed Montagne estate that forbid outsiders from going in. No npc, no items, nothing.
It was thought to be a dead end.
That's why Xian was so surprised to find an attendant who asked if he's the special butler. Somewhere in the game, a condition must've been triggered.
But then, there's the problem of regressing only if Carmillia dies, not when he dies.
Xian considered other methods but decided to think about them later. Today he had to go to the training grounds again, even if what awaited him was that damned brat of a woman.
Like last time, Carmillia was there with the other swordmaiden while Moris was nowhere to be found.
Serika, already in her training clothes, stood with her sword planted in the ground, both hands resting on the pommel like a general surveying the battlefield.
"I thought you'd chicken out, butler."
"… The name's Xian. And who'd chicken out from a brat like you?"
That earned him a glare from Serika as veins bulged from her forehead. She briefly looked at the young lady and Lucinelle who didn't react at all.
"… To dare call me a brat. You must have a death wish."
She took the same stance during the battle with the coachman. Xian realized he's about to get battered this time too.
But somehow unlike before, Xian felt he had a better chance.
If his sense of time is right, by this time, the protagonist were choosing skills to learn. Each days spent in the one-month preparation was used to teach the player and pick their preference when coming to the academy.
Right, even now the system hasn't introduced everything to the player. Skills that can be trained, magic that can be learned and lastly, unique supernatural power either obtained or awakened.
If he gets past this, the full pledged Rozenfall player experience is awaiting him.
And the pain will only grow stronger. The situation's will turn even more absurd and cruel.
Characters will manipulate each other left and right, making a confusing maelstorm of intrigue in the academy.
It's all in head his, although jumbled apart, he will remember what to do when the time comes. What to keep from happening and what to let transpire.
Thus, Xian met Serika with mad zeal. He didn't care whether he got hit or ended up in an embarrassing position. He simply fought back with the raw will to destroy the opponent before him.
At the end of it all, he was left kneeling with one eye shut. This spar had been bloodier than yesterday's. Serika, who had fought effortlessly the day before, had begun to sweat.
Damn, he sure is tiring to beat up, Serika thought as she stared at Xian, who looked like a wild beast. With gritted teeth, a blood-soaked face, and a wounded body, he looked like a soldier fresh from war.
"Isn't this enough? Why not give up?" Impatience clouded her desire to carry out the orders given to her.
"What? Don't tell me you're scared?" Xian only taunted her. It hurt, his whole body ached, but so what? Somewhere in his mind, a line had already snapped.
"Fine. Have it your way." Serika steeled herself to beat this man again, her very own savior. She still hadn't conveyed her gratitude because the young miss hadn't left yet, but she hopes that in this way, he will leave the household away from the affairs they'll have to face in the future.
And what was the point anyway? He would still hate her once he disappeared.
That day, Xian fainted from blood loss. A familiar maid and two others healed him and poured potions into his mouth.
Their spar had lasted twice as long as the previous one, a full three hours.
Serika thought Xian was being reckless. Even she hadn't trained with that level of intensity during her beginner days.
"Serika." Carmillia's smooth voice reached her ears.
She sat with her legs crossed on the specially prepared seat overlooking the training grounds. Her gaze remained fixed on the trail of blood left behind as the maids carried Xian out of the arena.
"…Young miss?"
"You need to stop holding back."
"What? No—I mean… If I do that he'll—"
"He's going to die? Is that it?"
"…"
Serika's mouth hung open for a moment before she swallowed her words. The order she had received was clear: make Xian give up under the pretext of testing his abilities. But she took no pleasure in beating him half to death when he could barely fight back.
"He's just more stubborn than I expected," she admitted quietly. Her voice lowered with uncertainty. "So I thought… maybe he might actually prove himself."
Carmillia finally turned her gaze toward Serika.
Slowly—like the hand of a clock sliding into place.
"Oh?"
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, her lashes casting thin shadows across her porcelain skin.
She brushed her fingers through her hair and tucked a stray lock behind her ear with practiced elegance.
Serika tightened her grip around the wooden sword resting in her hands, as if drawing reassurance from it.
That simple habit of Carmillia's meant displeasure.
"But Serika…" Carmillia murmured softly as she lifted her hands forward, cupping the empty air as though she were gently cradling Serika's face from across the distance.
"I never said to give him a chance."
In that quiet gesture, Serika felt the illusion of choice pressing down on her shoulders, the weight of control that always followed her lady's words. It felt as though she had unknowingly stepped into the hollow of Carmillia's palm.
"So tell me…" Carmillia continued, her voice calm and almost curious.
"What exactly are you doing?"
The silence that followed stretched longer than it should have.
"Young miss."
Lucinelle's muffled, metallic voice cut through the tension.
"Please allow me to handle it."
Serika's eyes widened the moment she heard those words.
If Lucinelle stepped in, she would not hold back. She would not stop at broken bones or battered pride. Lucinelle would simply end the matter decisively.
Despite what she had said the night before, Serika knew her sworn sister would cripple Xian without hesitation if ordered.
"No!" Serika blurted out before she could stop herself.
"I—please give me until next week. I can do it." Her voice lowered as she bowed her head deeply. "I beg you, young miss."
Carmillia did not respond.
Instead, she rose gracefully from her seat and turned away, Lucinelle already moving to follow at her side.
They left the training grounds without another word.
But Serika remained where she was, still bowed toward the empty space Carmillia had occupied.
Because she understood what the silence meant.
Permission.