Aldina’s Divulgence

Acting upon Zephyr's indirect words, the girl was holding her father, rubbing his back when he was sobbing.

"Papa, please, don't cry, for me," 

She couldn't help but to cry as well, watching her father so miserable and in so much pain.

"Look, Janessa, look what happened?!"

"Don't cry, Grandpa has found redemption after all," Whispering, she kept him in her embrace.

She wanted to do anything to reduce that so she stayed with him for consolation as they buried his body.

After the burial, the man and his daughter stayed at the grave for the next few hours, sharing their moment of grief.

All of them were patiently waiting for him to recover from his painful state as he returned in the evening to his empty home.

"Please come with us," Janessa whispered.

Motioning to them to follow her and stopped at Zephyr with a sour look.

"You too,"

"Hmph,"

Lady Red smiled tenderly, sitting beside the man who was hanging his head low.

"There you go, are you feeling better?" 

Delvin gave him a glass of water, standing with him in this harsh time.

"Thank you, if you guys weren't here, they would have burned his body," He whispered sorrowfully.

Hugging his daughter closer to his chest.

"It's alright."

"I am sorry for asking late, who are you? Why did you help me? I am Andy, the mayor of his village," Andy introduced himself in a gloomy voice.

"We are travelers, we needed to see your father,"

"For what purpose?"

"What made him… like this? If you don't mind us asking." Lady Red, using her charming tone, asked. 

"What mind? Didn't hear what the villagers said? He was crazy." He scoffed, curling his hand in a fist.

Yor questioned, narrowing his eyes, "Was he? Really?"

Taking a deep breath, knowing it was no use in hiding when he was no longer alive.

Though he doubted they would believe it but started telling about the day which devastated their lives.

"My Father was a wise, the most educated person in the village, a scholar but it was fell apart when I was too young,"

"What happened?"

"Someone named Aldina came… her face was hidden. She- she… killed my aunt who was babysitting me and… threatened Father to write a book,"

Shaking in dread, he hid his face in his hands, voice cracking in the middle.

The images from that day, the horror of it, traveled to his core. 

"And make it look like an ancestral one, right?" 

"I don't know. I was hiding under the bed, I was too scared, soaked in my aunt's blood. I only knew it was a book," He whispered.

They gave him a compassionate look when he continued to tell them about the horrific day he barely survived. 

"After that, he started having random attacks, he started screaming out of nowhere and even… killed my mother…" 

Breaking into a low, miserable wail, tears streamed down his face. 

His chest clenching in anguish, breaking into a cry at this point.

"He said Aldina was making him do this, she is behind all this,"

Janessa rubbed her father's back, making a sour face. 

"And those bastards started calling my grandpa crazy, they never cared, they just neglected his state." She whispered sadly.

Lowering her head in dejection of what they had to go through.

"This Aldina has ruined our lives, she killed my father, she killed my mother and aunt too… She has cursed us," Andy growled, slamming his hands down.

"Sounds like a strong case of mind control," Yor mumbled.

Talking to Marcus and Jay, trying to apprehend the situation. 

"But if he was a scholar then control is extremely hard," Marcus added.

It was a difficult state as manipulating a sound mind was too hard.

When they were discussing the matter, Zephyr questioned, not bothering to know the name of the man too.

"I want to ask you something, man," 

"Yes?" 

"Did you see any number on that woman?"

Their mouths gaped at this serious question. 

It was a strange thing to ask at a moment like this.

"Young Lord-"

"A number…?" 

He paused, narrowing his eyes in perplexity, giving it a deep thought.

"I.. I.. Ah- Yes, yes! She had a number on her left calf," 

He spoke hastily, gaining their attention at the information. Exchanging a distressful look, they turned back to him.

"What was it?" 

Holding his chin, he thought and spoke vaguely. 

"...2," 

A gasp of astonishment escaped their lips accompanied by horror. They witnessed the terror of an upper commander already and to think.

Number 2 was present, and for what purpose? 

"You've got to be kidding me… 2?!"

"Yes, do you know her or anything about it?" Janessa asked worriedly, their expressions slightly scared them.

Sighing, Yor placed his hand on Andy's shoulder. 

"Can only say that you should be grateful for being alive,"

They all looked around, being worried but also staggered in the middle of nowhere, in a measly town.

Second commander of the Abyss came? 

"What should we do now?" Delvin asked, turning to Zephyr who was submerged in thoughts.

He seemed to be lost in something. 

"We are going to spend the night. Is there any inn nearby?" Yor asked so they could allow the family to mourn together peacefully.

"You can stay here with us. We have facilities unlike any other place in the surrounding," Janessa suggested.

Also, because they were frightened of what could possibly happen if they were alone in the cursed place.

"How? The cursed money you mentioned?" Zephyr smirked dryly.

As if to piss her off, making her scoff and nod with visible discontent, mentioning about that wealth made them enraged.

"Yeah. After ruining our lives, she just left nothing but money for us," She muttered, resting her hand over her waist.

"The Church you saw was made from that money and the unpaved roads too," Andy spoke from behind, forcing himself to stand.

"I see,"

"Don't worry, we will look into this matter and solve it for all of our betterment," 

Lady Red reassured the gloomy family, gesturing to them to be relaxed as they were here now.

They didn't look convinced, not after witnessing the death of a loved one right before their eyes.

"Please," 

Andy's voice broke, curling his hand in a fist due to powerlessness.

There was nothing he could do after all.

Their only hope was the people who had arrived and helped him in the burial.

Who believed in his words unlike the people he called his own but never bothered to listen nor helped.

"Thank you." 

Janessa smiled faintly at her father and motioned to her guests. 

"Come with with me, please,"