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The boy reached his target, drew his sword, and diagonally swung it.

"Kheak!" The man, with a scarf around his face, released a pained shriek before falling down. His back was slit and that was enough to take down a non-awakened.

Ethan didn\'t wait to finish the man off, relying on the wide beast spread around the forest to do the remaining work.

He continued his feet in the direction of the final bandit. His aim was precise and he actually had no struggle catching them until now. He was well set on his intentions and had long forgotten to waver.

*SQUELCH*

"Aghhh! You bastard!" The last survivor also ate dust as he fell down after getting the back of his knee stabbed.

In these few days, doing work as a mercenary has helped him realize the vital points of a human and an ether-user. Ethan only takes jobs that he can fulfill and those that he cannot; he simply runs away with the advance and leaves the town to escape from the client.

The bandit crawled forward once Ethan plucked his sword away. However, Ethan was not going to fail this mission as well. He had to take the head of the bandit leader with him.

"D-D-Don\'t co-come n-near me! P-please! I-I have a f-family to feed..." Those words, for a moment, brought Ethan to a pause.

Family....

He took a deep breath. No, no, no! He can\'t let those memories hinder him once again. He shouldn\'t think about her at all! He had already decided to move on, so why was he swaying from his path now?!

"---!!!"

Ethan\'s eyes widened as he found the tip of the bandit\'s dagger inches away from his throat. However, before the dagger could claim his life, someone grabbed the man by his neck and in the next instance, the bandit began to freeze...

No, literally. His body began to get encased inside a thick layer of ice. The crystalline formation made even the ugly one look like a beautiful sculpture.

Ethan leaped back, shaking himself off from the previous shock before he raised his sword toward the third person, "Who are you?!"

The iced sculpture was thrown away—only after its head was plucked off.

Ethan felt his heart racing seeing the figure of a lithe girl appearing once the dead bandit was thrown away. Her skin was snow white, her hair reminded him of the ice crystals he had just seen, and those sharp violet eyes gave a very warm look. But her prominent feature that made him startled was her long elongated ears. Elf? But why here?

The beauty was about 168 cm tall and had a thin and supple body. She gave a very bleak aura that told Ethan that she wasn\'t someone to be wary of. However, roaming around places and coming across people have taught him a very valuable lesson.

Never judge a stranger based on their aura. A sleeping snake can be the tail of a dragon.

The girl threw the head of the bandit in Ethan\'s direction, which he caught easily.

"It seems you got lost in your thoughts there. What were you thinking of?" The sweet melodious voice of the girl extruded with slight amusement and curiosity. It was like a breeze of autumn that threatened to calm his racing heart but Ethan resisted.

"Why do you care? And who are you?" His tone suggested wariness which made the girl look sad.

But only for a brief moment before she crossed her dainty arms behind her back and suggested, "Killing people for money, I think that\'s not the job you would generally prefer. What forced you?"

The overly familiar approach from the girl was creeping him out now.

Gritting his teeth, he persisted, "Unless I don\'t know your identity and how you found me, I won\'t tell a single thing."

The girl tilted her head, before she offered her name, "I am Yulan. The tribal chief\'s daughter. I come from the far North. Now, does that make any difference?"

Ethan frowned, "Why would a noble lady like you approach me?"

Hearing his words, Yulan smiled elegantly before she stepped forward.

Ethan tensed up instantly, kept his stance steady, and prepared to attack.

Yulan showed no suspicious movement and once she reached near him, she gently spoke, "I have come to rescue you. Your pain and misery are not for you alone to bear, " Her eyes gave a radiance that made his shoulders drop as he heard her concluding, "You aren\'t alone anymore, Ethan...and now, you don\'t need anyone else either."

-----------***----------

"How are you?" Inside the room only two people were present.

Richard had Lilia in his arms, and her head pressed against his chest. She weakly held him back and his question made her clutch his shirt in a bit uneasiness.

"I am better. What troubles me is Mother\'s situation."

Richard softly ran his hand on her back and assured her, "Give her some time. She is the lady who has sacrificed her duty, her fame to be with your father. You can imagine the immense love she carries for him."

"....yes...and that\'s what makes me more worried."

Richard sighed. He could understand what Cristina must be feeling now. After separating from Bella Richard also suffered from several sleepless nights. He hallucinated her calling out to him on several occasions, only to find that it was just his desperate self calling out to him.

"Is there someone with her at the moment?" Richard asked and found Lilia moving her head up and down,

"Aunt Carol arrived this morning. Uncle Sibette would also be there by tomorrow."

Richard suggested, "You could have stayed with her for some more days, you know?"

Lilia\'s eyes moistened as weakly she mumbled, "...that house...r-reminded me of Pa..."

His hold on her tightened as Richard felt her shoulders trembling. He couldn\'t say something flashy like \'everything will be fine\' or \'you\'ll get over it with time\' since some people are irreplaceable. And getting over their loss is not a feat one could ever achieve if they truly loved them.

Richard kept hugging her for a few minutes before asking, "Have you eaten? Want me to ask something for you?"

"No, Richard. I had soup on the way here. What about you?" She tried to sound casual as she separated herself from him.

Richard didn\'t say anything about her forced casual approach, knowing that it wouldn\'t bring any good to Lilia if he kept on reminding her of that incident.

Shaking his head, he said, "My beloved cook was absent, so I was just living off of bread."

Lilia\'s lips stretched in a genuine smile as she uttered, "Give me a few minutes, master. I will make something good for you."

Richard nodded as he saw Lilia walking away.

One might think that making a girl work at these times when she was still recovering from her father\'s death, was cruel. However, more than anyone, Richard knows how keeping oneself busy is the best source of recovering from one\'s grief.

-----------***---------

Lilia made her way to the kitchen while getting greeted by many fellow servants. Many of them gave their condolences, and some of them tried to cheer her up. It warmed her heart.

Reaching the kitchen, she found three chefs working to prepare the meal for dinner when Lilia arrived.

"Good evening, "She greeted, and after sharing the greeting, she started preparing dinner for Richard.

The house chef, prepared dinner for the servants per the Duchess\'s orders, so the meal wasn\'t wasted when Lilia said she was making dinner for Richard.

Lilia was well aware of her master\'s preference and his allergies. She chose the ingredients carefully and began to finely chop the vegetables.

She was going to prepare all his favorite things today after so long. During training, she only made what was required for his body, not his taste buds. So this meal could be regarded as a reward for all the hard work he did back then.

She was silently chopping the vegetables when suddenly someone approached her from behind, and upon sensing the person, Lilia twirled on her feet with the knife raised in alarm.

There stood a beautiful girl with enchanting eyes, and in an instant, Lilia knew she was holding the knife against an aristocrat. And the following words of one of the chefs confirmed her doubts,

"Lady Amelia? Did you need something?"

Amelia\'s eyes never wavered, and while keeping her gaze on Lilia, she answered, "Yes...and I think I have found what I needed."

------------***-----------

A/N:- Catfight? I don\'t think so. They are tame enough to compromise with their role in Richard\'s life. But we all know who would be the main wife~

Drop some PS and if you have read this far, I guess it\'s time for a review?!!!!!