The Next Morning
The sun had barely risen when Fiona felt something small and warm tackle her.
"Big sis!"
Fiona grunted, barely managing to keep herself from falling out of bed.
"…Lily?"
she groaned, blinking blearily.
"What are you doing?"
Lily grinned at her, bright-eyed and full of energy.
"Marianne said you were sad last night, so I came to cheer you up!"
Fiona groaned into her pillow. "Marianne, I swear i will kick your butt today..."
Marianne, standing in the doorway, smirked with raising her shoulders.
"You looked like you needed it afterall, so i just want to try to help."
Fiona shot her a glare but couldn't exactly argue.
Lily beamed. "So! What do you wanna do today?"
Fiona blinked. "What?"
Lily tilted her head. "You always take care of me, but you never do anything for yourself. So today, I'm picking for you!"
Fiona stared at her, completely lost.
"Uh… okay, i guess?"
Lily clapped her hands.
"Great! Let's go to the market!"
Fiona groaned.
"Why?"
"Because I want to buy sweets!"
Fiona blinked her eyes in confused.
"…Then that's not for me, it's for you."
Lily grinned.
"Yeah, but if I'm happy, you'll be happy too! Am i right?"
Fiona sighed with a soft laugh, running a hand down her face.
"That's not how that works, sweetie."
Marianne snickered. "I don't know. I kinda want to see you struggle through a shopping trip."
Fiona glared.
Lily tugged at her sleeve. "Pleeease?"
Fiona opened her mouth—ready to refuse.
But then she looked at Lily.
Her wide, innocent eyes. This pure excitement. Who could refuse such a gril?
And suddenly, she remembered how alone she had been before. She had never taste something like this.
She did not even have someone who would accompanied her along, just wanting to spend time with her.
She gave a tiny smile at Lily.
"…Alright,if you really want it that badly, fine then.." she muttered.
Lily cheered.
Marianne smirked. "I'll come too."
Fiona sighed. "Oh ..off course you will. You just want to tease me around.."
"Oh my! You really know what i'm thinking! How clever you are!", Marianne replied her with a small joke.
'I will punch this woman!', Fiona cursed her internally.
Seeing Fiona's expression, she was laughed and then became a bit calmer.
"Alright. Just joking. I will ask the knights to guard our tents. We come to the town today also to investigate the news about the Rogue knights. So be careful, okay?"
Fiona really looked at her in unreadable face.
"I get it. You said that many times since yesterday."
Soon they began to prepare to came to the town nearby.
As they left, Lily grabbed her hand, swinging it slightly.
Seeing this innocent girl felt excited, Fiona felt a new feelings inside her. It was warm and some kind of peace.
'This is my family...and i will make sure everything goes well.'
---------------------
The town was already bustling when Fiona, Lily, and Marianne arrived. They took a visit at the marketplace. Stalls lined the streets, vendors calling out their wares, and the scent of fresh bread and roasted meat filled the air.
Now, walking alongside Lily who was practically bouncing with excitement, she felt like an outsider in a life that wasn't hers.
It wasn't unpleasant, just a strange thing.
'I should try to adapt to this kind of life. Otherwise, Lily would be upset at me..', She kept trying to remember it in her mind.
Lily tugged at her hand, dragging her toward a stall filled with colorful candies.
"Look! Look! They have honey tarts today!" Lily gasped, pointing at the golden pastries.
Fiona raised an eyebrow. "And what do you want, Lily?"
Lily pouted. " I love honey tarts!"
Fiona sighed. "I see."
Lily gave her the most begging expression she could ever Made.
'Oh no!! Why this girl was very cute and adorable? This is dangerous!!'
Fiona immediately turned to Marianne. "Hey! Help me."
Marianne smirked. "No way. Why don't you buy it for her? I'm not your mother, and i'm not her sister too."
Fiona sighed, rubbing her wallet. "Fine,then."
Lily cheered and rushed to buy the treat.
As Fiona handed over the coins, she muttered to herself, "I used to command legions of demons, and now I'm buying pastries for a kid."
Marianne heard and snorted. "Heheh. Guess you've fallen that far, huh?"
Fiona glared.
Lily, completely oblivious, happily bit into her honey tart.
"Mmm! Big sis, you should try it!"
Fiona blinked. "Huh? Try what?"
Lily broke off a small piece and shoved it into her mouth.
Fiona almost choked. "L-Lily?!"
Lily grinned. "Good, right?"
Fiona swallowed, about to scold her—until she actually felt the taste.
It was… sweet and warm.
The honey melted on her tongue, mixing with the flaky crust.
"…Yeah," she muttered. "It's good. It's really delicious..."
Lily beamed.
Marianne smirked. "I should've had a bet going on how fast she'd make you spent your money."
Fiona groaned. "Shut up."
As they wandered through the marketplace, Fiona's eyes looked over the people around her.
A father and mother, bought sweety for their kid.
A group of children ran and played around
Merchants who sold their goods—all living ordinary lives.
She really Amazed with how peaceful this kind of life was.
Her childhood had been spent alone.
No warm hands to hold. No laughter ringing in her ears. No one to miss her when she was gone.
Her fists clenched at the thought.
Then, suddenly, a small hand slipped into hers.
Fiona blinked, looking down.
Lily was holding her hand, swinging it back and forth as they walked. Completely natural and innocent.
Fiona started to smile and began patting Lily 's hair.
"Big sis, why you pat me so sudden? I'm not a kid anymore!", she said.
"Oh really? Now what are you doing by grabbing my hand,hmm?"
Lily began to looked a bit upset, but ended up being adorable in Fiona's eyes.
Marianne, watching silently, smiled to herself.
"Hmm?!..."
Just as Fiona was beginning to enjoy the moment, she felt it.
'A presence...'
Her eyes darkened.
"Marianne," she muttered with low voice.
"We're being watched."
Marianne was surprised and then began serious.
"Where?"
Fiona casually grabbed a loaf of bread from a nearby stall, pretending to browse while scanning the crowd.
'There you are...'
A hooded figure, standing still, watching them from far away on the rooftop of the someone's house.
It was one of the rogue knights.
Her fingers twitched. If they were here, that meant trouble.
But before she could act—
"Jeannie?"
Lily's voice cut through her focus. She looked and see Lily staring at her, wide-eyed.
Fiona realized her grip on the bread had tightened enough to crush it slightly.
She forced herself to relax.
"I'm sorry,sweetie." she muttered, smoothing Lily's hair. "It's nothing."
But she and Marianne exchanged a glance.
As they looked each other, from far away, the hooded figure was a bit surprised.
"Oh! She really notice my presence? Interesting...She's really a dangerous one.."
He began to walk away with a calm expression.
"Heh! This will be fun..."