Same Town, New Tale

Charlotte opened her eyes. She had a slight pain in her neck. She tried to move her head in many directions to crack her neck, but it was no use. Unbeknownst to her, the girl in the bed was watching her intently.

“Oh, sorry. I was just trying to crack my neck.”

The girl didn’t say anything.

After a few seconds, it finally dawned on her. “Wait, you’re finally awake. I’m so happy you’re fine!”

The girl shrugged timidly, and her hands clasped around her body.

Charlotte noticed her reaction. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The girl remained silent.

“My name is Charlotte.” She lowered her voice. “What's your name?”

The girl turned away to avoid her gaze.

“It’s alright, take the time you need.”

“I-it’s… S-Sybil…” Her voice was barely audible. It was soft and tender.

Charlotte’s eyes began to sparkle.

“Nice to meet you, Sybil.”

Suri walked through the door.

“Good, you’re awake.”

“Good morning, Miss Suri.”

“Morning?”

Suri opened the curtains in the room, and a bright light streamed in, blinding Charlotte and Sybil.

“It’s past two o’clock.”

“What? How could I have slept so much?”

“Don’t worry, you deserved a rest.”

Charlotte scanned the room.

“Where are the kids?”

“I was playing with them.”

Charlotte chuckled. “You, Miss Suri, playing around?”

Suri gave her a cold look.

“Get ready, we're going to meet up with the others.”

“What about the kids?”

Suri was finishing making her bed. It was the only one that was made, aside from Charlotte's, who hadn't slept in it.

“Everyone is fine. We'll drop them off at the orphanage.”

“What? We weren't going to ask them about the hero.”

“Already ahead of you.”

“What did they say?”

Suri ignored her. “We’re leaving now.” She left the room.

Charlotte turned back to Sybil.

“She's my tutor. She seems bitter, but she has helped me a lot.”

Again, no answer.

“I have to go… But don’t worry, I’ll come visit you.”

Sybil tilted her head.

Charlotte felt as if her heart were shrinking. She couldn't say anything else. She simply stood up and turned away. Before she could take a step, Sybil grabbed her by her clothes again.

She was forced to turn around again. Her eyes reflected a helpless and confused girl. Charlotte came closer again and took her hand.

“I promise no one will harm you here,” she said softly. “I'll be right back and bring you a gift.”

Sybil looked downcast.

With nothing more to say, Charlotte left the room. She ran down the hallways. Suri was already waiting for her at the entrance with the children.

They were in a better mood than last night and seemed to be singing a children's song.

“You took your time.”

“I'm sorry, I'm not good at saying goodbye.”

Charlotte was still trying to catch her breath when she noticed Suri staring at her intently.

“Is something wrong?”

“Charlotte…I think it's best if she stays and rests.”

“Huh?”

Charlotte turned slowly, and there was Sybil behind her. She jumped, which startled her as well.

“I didn't tell her to come. Maybe she misunderstood my words.”

“Excuse me, Miss…”

“Sybil,” Charlotte said.

“Miss Sybil, I need you to stay here.”

Suri tried to approach her, but she immediately hid behind Charlotte.

One of the healers who had been treating her stepped in.

“Maybe it would be best to take her with you.”

“Why?”

The healer leaned close to Suri's ear.

“She seems to have been through a lot, and you can tell she trusts her.” The healer nodded toward Charlotte. “She feels safe around her.”

“Her injuries were serious?”

“Not really, but she had a lot of scars.”

Suri remained silent.

“That poor girl needs someone.”

Suri's heart sank after hearing that.

“Fine, she comes with us,” Suri announced out loud.

Sybil peeked out from behind Charlotte's back and simply gave Suri a grateful smile.

Unable to help herself, Suri smiled at her, too.


The nuns couldn't stop crying and thanking them over and over again. They welcomed the children as if they were celebrating a major global event. Even the other children jumped for joy when they saw them.

Some of the children rushed up to Charlotte, begging her to stay and play. But Suri helped her say no. Amid tears and words of thanks, they said goodbye to the orphanage.

“Everyone did a great job, so this is on me.”

Everyone ate as if there were no tomorrow. After several days filled with terror, they could finally catch their breath. Suri even made a toast to them.

When they were done, they went back to talking about what was important.

“Now, we have new information.”

“Miss Suri, before we start,” Zoe said, raising her hand. “Who is she?”

All eyes turned to Sybil.

The poor girl noticed their glances, lowered her gaze, and shrugged shyly again, wrapping her arms around herself.

“She'll be staying with us for now, so please take good care of her.”

One by one, they introduced themselves. Zoe and Arthur were polite. Alysia and Gerald were more reserved. Leif was a little awkward.

“M-my n-name is Sybil… I-it’s a pleasure.”

Charlotte let out a sigh of relief.

“With that set. Let’s start.”

The seven of them summarized what had happened, without omitting a single detail or overlooking anything.

“So what happened with the children?” the prince asked.

“They're in excellent condition, with just a few marks on the arms.”

“Marks?”

The group listened intently to Suri.

“Several puncture wounds.”

“Puncture? Like needles?”

“That's right, Prince. One so small that it barely left a mark”

“That’s impossible. Injections are extremely painful.”

Suri took another sip.

“The kids themselves said it just felt like a little prick, and that was it.”

“Why would he do that?”

“F-for our blood…”

Sybil said, almost in a whisper, with her head bowed.

For a second, everyone got goosebumps.

“What do you mean, Sybil?”

Her hands began to tremble.

“I don't know why, but he kept it and studied it.”

“Wait, Miss Sybil, to draw blood, you need to perform a bloodletting procedure,” Arthur questioned.

She shook her head vigorously.

“T-the kids are right. He used different things that were less painful.”

“Like what?”

Her hands were shaking even more.

“I-I don't know… T-things I'd never seen before…”

Her mind filled with memories. She closed her eyes at the same time she covered her ears.

When Suri saw her, she stood up and hugged her.

“Everything is fine.”

Sybil started to cry, but she accepted the hug. In fact, she didn't want to let go of Suri herself. It seemed like she needed it.

After a long hug, Suri nodded to Charlotte. She obeyed and led her out of the room.

The others remained.

“I can't imagine what she's been through,” Zoe said, looking downcast.

“That’s why we need to end the hero.”

“End? I thought we were going to help him.”

Suri took the last sip of her drink. Her silence spoke volumes.

“So, Sybil is an orphan?”

Arthur changed the subject.

“Yes and no.”

“What do you mean?”

“The nuns don't remember anyone like her.”

She paused.

“They say she's probably a runaway.”

“Runaway?”

“Not all children like the orphanage.”

“So she ran away and... ended up in the worst possible place.”

“That’s most likely.”

Alysia slammed both hands on the table.

“I'm fed up! Every clue leads us to other unresolved clues.”

“Don’t worry, Alysia, we’re getting closer to resolving all of this.” She paused. “And that girl might help us.”

Outside, Charlotte was comforting Sybil. Although she didn't know what to say, she stayed by her side the whole time.

“Wait for me. I won't take long.”

Charlotte ran over to a man's booth. She picked something out and ran back as fast as she could.

Charlotte tied her hair back with a hair accessory. It was shiny, and even though it wasn't real, it looked like a precious gem.

“I will protect you. I promise.”

Tears welled up in the young woman's eyes again, and all she could do was repeat the words...

“T-thank you.”