4.11.

"Leticia."

Repeated knocks rang out against her door.

"Leticia, are you really not going to come out?" Nynim's voice could be heard, muffled on the other side.

"Is she fine in there.. she's not going to commit suicide or anything like that, right?" next was Quora's voice.

"Don't think so."

"Leticia, you have class to attend you know…"

"What do we do about this?"

"What's wrong with her in the first place?"

"If things don't work well, simply report it to the teachers," Dorry's voice was crisp.

"It's not like we can just leave Leticia alone like this."

Leticia who had remained unmoving flinched a little.

"Maybe we need to get Sequencee."

"Should we kick down the door? I'm in agreement, any votes?" You could almost hear Nynim raise her hand.

"Then someone will have to fork out the repair fees," Daizo said.

"No way."

"Why can't you just use teleport?"

"Oh right. I forgot."

""...""

"Then I'll be intruding, Leticia."

Light flashed in the room like lightning. Leticia who had been curled up in a ball raised her head a little. Hidden behind her messy hair, her hazy eyes looked upon the concerned figure of the elf Nynim.

"Dear Leticia," Nynim reached out to tuck Leticia's hair behind her ear, "Won't you tell me what's wrong?"

Leticia did have the courage to tell her off even if she wanted to. Nynim was her friend, she didn't want to destroy what she had built up all these months.

These times she had spent together– the freedom she gained which sprouted from an accident–

Recalling those times in the past, had Sequencee not come to save her then, her life now would be..

Leticia stretched out her arms and pulled Nynim close to her. She didn't resist, allowing Leticia to curl her body up on her.

Drip.

Nynim felt something wet on her shoulders. She began to stroke her back.

"Quora, Daize, Dorry, you three can go first. I'll accompany Leticia for a while," Nynim said.

"Alright," Dorry's voice came in response.

"I'm here for you Leticia. I'll not leave if you're not willing, alright?"

Leticia could only respond with tears for the next few minutes. It was long before she regained herself enough to speak.

"My brother.. is here."

Nynim, eyes widened a little as she digested the significance of Leticia's short responde.

"I'm scared I'll lose everything," Leticia's voice trembled.

"Why? We're not going to leave you, remember that we're a party?"

"I'm still.. scared.."

"So, tell me what your brother has to do with this? He did bad things to you? In that case we just need to beat him to a pulp."

"He.. is the fiance of a noble.."

"So what? I'm from a noble house myself. It's not like I can't die."

"Is that.. so?"

"Yes, yes. So don't worry so much about your brother, and don't be so scared.. no, you can be scared. But then, don't forget that you still have to face it even if you're scared."

Leticia clenched her fist.

She didn't want to meet her brother. She didn't even want to acknowledge his existence.

Whose fault was it that she ended up a slave in the past? It would be easy for her to put the blame on the Stravince family– the military house which assimilated Estia barony into their own territory after the calamity. Or how her brother had neglected to consider the danger she was in, being so busy trying to protect himself and keep his relationship with his fiance.

Though ultimately, Leticia knew deep inside it was her stupidity that led to her enslavement. She was the one who fell into a trap– a trick that wasn't even part of the Stravince family's ploy to harass her.

With all things considered– what did her brother feel back then? What did he do when she disappeared? Did he become concerned? Did he try to find her? Did he find the traitor and kill her?

Leticia pressed her head deeper into Nynim's shoulders, her breathing grew ragged, recalling all these unpleasant memories.

Three years– it had been three years. By now she should've reconciled with her past, accepting that it was already passed.

So what was she so afraid of?

– That her brother would be angry at her for worrying him.

After all, the only thing she did back then was cause him trouble. The source of his headache.

If she only knew how much of a spoiled child she was back then.. maybe things would've been different.

– That she would have to return to live in that hell hole.

The Stravince family did everything to make her life miserable. She recalled how her food was most often laced with some medicine which would cause her to fall sick– how the eldest son of the family tried to harass her–

"You see Leticia. I regret many things myself, and that's alright. Feel it, learn from it. It's what makes us part of who we are," Nynim said.

"Is it.. really alright? Even though I was so stupid.." Leticia swallowed back her tears.

"Yes. I was stupid too. Sometimes I wonder if running away from home was a good idea. I regretted so many things, I was so naive. But now I think– if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have met you or everyone else for the matter. That would be such a shame, wouldn't it?" Nynim said gently, reminiscing.

"You're right.."

"So, whatever trauma you may have incurred in the past, stand strong for the future. I know my Leticia can get through this. Take as much time as you want, then strike."

Nynim pulled away a little. With the morning sun now peeking through the curtains, it painted the room in a gentle glow of orange. Leticia's tears glimmered.

"Are you feeling better? How about we go to class?"

Nynim asked with a motherly smile.

===

Sequencee was at the training theater, making rounds on the parameter of the fields, it didn't seem like Leticia was present. Neither was Nynim or anyone else on the matter.

'That's odd.. aren't they normally early? Did something happen?'

Fortunately, the two heroes were already present, doing light stretches. When they noticed Sequencee, they waved.

"Morning, what brings you here?" Shiro's voice boomed.

"Good morning~" Risa's bright voice rang.

"Morning Shiro, Risa."

"Anything?"

"It's about Leticia. I still hadn't told her about when to meet her brother and the related details."

Sequencee didn't dare say anything more about it last night, seeing how Leticia broke down just like that.

"Leticia had a brother?" Shiro sounded surprised.

"Didn't I tell you about it yesterday night?" Risa said.

"No, you didn't."

"Okay, now you know."

"If you need, we can pass on the message."

To Shiro's offer, Sequencee told them about the meeting. The time being later in the afternoon, right after class; venue is at the bakery.

"So how is Linzy now that she's found her brother? Or maybe her brother herself."

"It's like seeing water and oil mix. I don't know how to make sense of it, but her brother is good at telling what Linzy wants without needing her to open her mouth," Risa said.

"It's one burden off my shoulders," Shiro said with a relieved sigh.

"Yes, and that too. But it's not like that girl didn't try to fight me yesterday–"

"At least things are fine on your end. By the way, just a heads up. Linton is being chased by people from the beastking territory. Likely.. they want to drag him back home? You'll have to ask for the details from him."

""...""

'What's up with the faces.'

"Then I'll be going back first. Please tell Leticia about it for me–"

"Yo."

"Morning Sequencee."

"Quora, Nynim, Dorry. Morning."

He was stopped by an unexpected encounter.

"Are you trying to find Leticia?" Dorry asked.

"Yup."

"What happened to her this morning? You know something, do you?" Quora questioned.

Sequencee went on to explain how Leticia's past resurfaced thanks to meeting her brother which she hadn't seen for the past 3 years.

"Ah, so that's why.."

"Why appear now of all time, such coincidence.."

"In that case, I don't recommend you have them meet."

"Why?"

"Leticia is in a precarious state. While I may not know much about their affairs, things like these should be taken slowly." Dorry explained.

"I also agree with that," said Shiro.

"Really?" Risa had other thoughts though.

"Yeah, really," Shiro patted Risa's head, a smile bloomed on her face.

'Give her some time huh..?'

===

"Where is she?" Lancet's voice dropped a few tones.

Sequencee pulled his chair before sitting down.

The venue chosen was the bakery near the lobby of the apartment complex.

There were two steaming drinks on the table, Sequencee hadn't ordered his yet, which meant that there was a third person here.

"I'll just say that it'll take some time for her to accept the situation. So, until she's able to open up, I'll act as the mediator. I'll answer what questions you have to the best of my abilities, though, there's no guarantee I know the answers to them all."

Sequencee's objective was to observe for Lancet's reaction since Leticia wasn't in a good state to actually meet him. When Leticia is ready, Dorry, or anyone for the matter will notify him. So for now, Sequencee had no choice but to tell him to wait.

Lancet silently lowered his head– shoulders quivered.

"Fine," he spat.

"Oh. So this is the person you were talking about?" a puerile voice boomed.

Turning to the source, he noticed a girl with blazing red hair and a pair of bright indigo eyes. She took her place rightfully beside Lancet.

'I never told him to not bring someone else didn't I?'