"I'm so sorry, dear." Jirni patted Friya's hands with an odd motherly tone.
"I thought you already knew, otherwise I wouldn't have been so blunt." Phloria didn't believe a word coming out of her mouth.
"Not everything is lost, dear. The Ernas household is always looking for talents, me and my husband would be more than happy to adopt you both."
"What?" Phloria blurted out, incapable of holding back anymore.
"Are you crazy? How can you say something like that so abruptly?"
Jirni clicked her tongue in disapproval.
"Because is the perfect moment. Miss Quylla, despite her great talent, has no roots or backers. Our family is full of soldiers and no healers, I'd say is a match made in heavens.
She could carry on our name, even if not our blood, and will be much easier to marry compared to a certain tomboy!" Her cold gaze made Phloria swallow her reply.
"As for Miss Solivar, having her in our family, will make much easier for us to beat the competition for the Solivar's lands, while at the same time giving her a place to call home and avoid her mother's action ruining her future career.
With a figure and talent like hers, finding suitors will be a snap.
It's a win-win situation for everyone."
***
Going back to Lutia from Derios (**) took Lith only half the usual time. Between his core's breakthrough and the constant practice of magic under Small World, Lith felt the mana flow with unprecedented clarity, enhancing all his spells.
- "Cr*p! If only I had the time to practice dimensional magic, by now I would be able to Blink. I bet everyone else is at least able to open Warp Steps." –
For once, his pessimism was right.
On his way home, he was flying over the village when his heightened hearing perceived a familiar voice screaming.
Tista was suffering once again from Garth's unwanted attentions. He was the son of the richest merchant of the village, which made him feel entitled to do whatever he wanted.
He had courted her for over a year, obtaining only rejections and spite in return. Since Tista had always said no but never roasted his a*s, his father had convinced Garth that her 'no' meant 'yes', and that it was time for a more manly approach.
"Garth Renkin, let go of my arm immediately, or I swear that…"
"Or what? Without your gestures and gibberish, you are just a woman like any other. If even your mentor does not step in to stop me, who do you think will?"
From her office, Nana was sighing, facepalming herself every time Garth spoke and Tista didn't kick him in the nuts or hit him with chore magic like she had instructed her countless times.
"Why are you doing nothing?" Said Elina, Tista's mother holding an axe and barely resisting the temptation to split Garth's skull in half.
"Because your daughter is too kind. This is a learning experience. Sometimes violence is necessary, words aren't going to stop all the idiots out there. She needs to learn to stand up for herself before it's too late.
I mean, look! She saved half the passers-by's lives, help the other half being born and no one is doing anything. Too much kindness will make her die young."
Since Garith was dragging her away and Tista still refused to act, Nana decided to step in, before Elina turned into a murderer, the street into a mess, and then she would be forced to clean everything up.
She was about to open the door and give the youngster the beating of a lifetime, when suddenly the sky went dark, the temperature dropped by several degrees, and a thunder roared in the distance.
It was like the shadow of death was befalling Lutia.
"I swear, I was willing to take care of him." Nana said in an apologetic tone to Elina.
"But it seems that the shadow of death has returned home."