?“If… if anywhere is fine,” I had whispered back then, my voice barely audible against the wind of Isenvale.

  ?There was only one place in this vast Empire that I wanted to go. Only one place that held a sliver of the warmth I had lost.

  ?“Can we go to Oryndel?”

  ?I wanted to see her.

  ?At the beginning of our journey, I was filled with a small, fragile hope. I knew the journey had other meaning; it was for training, for me to become a Hero, but in my heart... All I thought was her. Maybe I could fix the one thing that had been broken for six years.

  ?But on our way, I learned something else. Something I knew all along.

  ?People hate us. No… they hated me.

  ?The name Viremont didn't bring respect or awe; it brought only cold, sharp hatred. People didn't care who I was or what I felt. To them, I was just a walking emblem of the family—a stain on their lives.

  ?Even the color of my hair was enough to make people hesitant and distant towards me. Nobody wanted to give us a seat. Nobody wanted to sell us anything.

  ?I finally understood why my grandfather and the others placed so much faith in the 'Hero.' They weren't looking for a savior; they were looking for a shield. They hoped a Hero’s reputation could fix the things they were too afraid to touch.

  ?Sensei… he didn't explain things to me. He didn't warn me. Maybe he wanted me to see the world’s ugliness with my own eyes. I just wish he had spared me the cruel surprise.

  ?Why is our name hated so much in the first place? I don't know.

  ?Arriving in Oryndel felt like stepping into a dream. The air was filled with a peace I hadn't seen elsewhere. It was calm. It was a happy place, so different from the rest of the world. Just like how she described it to me during my bedtimes, back when the world felt safe.

  ?In that momentary peace that I felt in here, I allowed myself to hope again. I wanted to find her and ask the questions that kept me awake at night.

  ?Why did you leave?

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  ?Why didn’t you write back to me?

  ?Was I not enough of a reason to stay?

  ?I even thought, foolishly, that I could take her back with me. That we could be just like before. But…

  ?I was standing in front of Flora's house; I had just asked about her daughter.

  ?"L-Lassandra?"

  ?When I spoke her name, I saw life return to Flora’s dull eyes. For a split second, there was a sheer, desperate expectation rising within her. She was waiting for me to say she was right behind me.

  ?"Yes. If you could tell us..."

  ?My voice faltered. It was nothing more than an optimistic wish. A cruel one.

  ?"I’m Aelira. Aelira Viremont."

  ?The moment I introduced myself, the watering can slipped from her trembling hand.

  ?Clatter.

  ?The sound echoed in the garden like a death knell. Her eyes… they weren't just angry. They were filled with horror. Pure, unadulterated hatred.

  ?Who could blame her? The last time she heard from her daughter, Lassandra was trapped in our manor. To her, I wasn't a girl seeking her nanny. I was a monster’s cub, a suspicious shadow responsible for her daughter’s disappearance.

  ?"Get out!" I can still hear her scream. "You monsters... haven't you taken enough?"

  ?Monsters.

  ?She held us responsible. She held me responsible. Yet, she gave us a chance. She let me in. She showed me the letters and the gold. She trusted me with the only pieces of her daughter she had left.

  ?And what did I do with that trust? I gave her a hollow promise. I told her I would find the truth. It was the same lie I had been selling to myself.

  ?"It means nothing."

  ?Zaek’s voice now plays on a loop in my mind, cold and final.

  ?"The magic. It's just mana she unconsciously poured into the ink. That sometimes happens with people under stress."

  ?No... it couldn't be just that, I wanted to scream. It felt like a cry for help. It felt like a clue.

  ?"Sorry to say this, kid," Zaek had said, his gaze fixed on the dark, uncaring horizon. "But we have nothing. Just guesses. You have to give up."

  ?I don’t know if he was right. I don’t know if the world is just too big for me. But I didn't want to give up. Flora trusted me. She looked at me with those tear-filled eyes and gave me her daughter’s letters.

  ?And I... I did nothing. I could do nothing.

  ?I can't change Zaek’s decision. I can't find the truth. I can't bring Flora peace. I have so little power to change anything.

  ?I looked at a gold coin I had picked up earlier. One of the many from Tobias's vault—the thing that held everything in its place. I stared at its polished surface until I saw my own reflection.

  ?Could this thing solve everything? The people who tried to kidnap me did it for this. If anyone harmed Lassandra, they did it for this.

  ?Was it really worth enough to kill and hurt other people?

  ?If I had enough, could I bring people back from the dead?

  ?I don't know. Maybe I should give up on thinking about it.

  ?Why do we need heroes? All the harm I've seen so far is caused by people inflicting it on each other. What is the point of having one?

  ?Whom am I protecting, and from what?

  ?There's no monster to be slaughtered. Just pent-up hatred and anger. I can't cut that.

  ?I don't know anymore. Maybe... I should just give up on that, too.