CHAPTER 149: FAREWELL, NANA

William and Emma were preparing to leave. They would return to the County, stay there for the night, and head back to the academy the next day. It had already been three days since they left the contest venue, and absence could no longer be justified.

And now came the hardest part.

They had to leave Nana behind.

The decision was Emma’s, but William agreed without hesitation.

The situation at his home had not turned out as he’d hoped. In just a few months, his brother had grown sharper, pettier, the kind of man who would hurt someone close to William simply to spite him. The Count could not always be present to protect Nana, and the lady of the house was far too consumed by her own affairs to notice the quiet suffering of a child.

Nana was small and gentle, the kind of child who would swallow her tears so she wouldn’t trouble anyone around her.

Leaving her there was unthinkable.

Outside Nana’s new room, once Emma’s own, she was speaking with the red-haired woman who would be caring for the child in their absence.

"That’s... horrible," Venessa said quietly. Her expression darkened as she listened to Nana’s past. Whatever had happened to her parents, witnessed with her own eyes, must have carved deep scars into the little girl’s heart.

And instead of being met with warmth or comfort, Nana had been offered a cell by the Great Hall.

A place to be locked away.

All because she had signed a contract with a Devil.

Those people treated her like a plague. Crazy bastards.

"These past few months have been nothing but hell for her," Emma muttered, her gaze drifting to Nana. The little girl was looking at William, who had knelt in front of her, speaking softly, his eyes level with hers.

Venessa pressed her lips together before asking, "Have you tried healing her... speaking problem?"

Emma shook her head. "It’s not physical. It’s emotional. Her wound is closing her voice. I can’t heal that." She paused. "Only time can."

Venessa let out a slow sigh and stepped closer to the doorway, watching the child in silence for a moment.

Then she asked, "Have you figured out what she can do? Something that made a Devil of that rank want her so badly?"

Emma shook her head again. "No. And I don’t want to know." Her voice was firm. "To William and me, Nana is just a little girl. A child who deserves happiness. Nothing more."

In their eyes, Nana was only that.

A child.

The Great Hall was desperate to uncover her value, her potential, the reason behind the Devil’s interest. If not for William, she would have already fallen into their grasp.

Venessa smiled, warmth softening her features. "I’m proud of you, Emma."

The silver-haired woman blinked in surprise and turned to her.

Venessa exhaled, her voice quieter now. "I met your mother a few times." She smiled faintly. "And I’m glad you’re nothing like her."

Emma stiffened for a heartbeat before shaking her head. "I could never be like her. The wound she left on my father still makes my blood boil."

Venessa laughed softly and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Look at you. You argued with the same old man just yesterday, and now you’re getting angry on his behalf."

Emma grumbled before she asked, "You are going to take care of her, right?"

Venessa exhaled a sigh as she rested her hands on her waist and said, "I can’t promise to be the best parent but yeah, she is surely going to have a lot of fun from here on."

Emma smiled in response, "I expect no less from you, Aunt Ness."

...

On the other side, William was speaking with Nana through telepathy.

The little girl was, naturally, overwhelmed after learning that she would be staying here from now on.

After months of confinement inside a narrow cell, the first warmth she had felt came from these two people. They became her safe haven. Proof that the world was not made of cruelty alone. That she was not cursed. That she deserved happiness.

She had only just begun living with them, begun to feel secure.

And now, they were leaving her behind.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she hurriedly wiped them away, unwilling to worry him.

William noticed anyway.

He sighed softly and spoke to her.

[You know you can’t hide them, right?]

He gently stopped her hand and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his fingers.

[We’ll come to meet you regularly. I promise. Sometimes it’ll be just me, sometimes Emma, but we’ll see you once every week.]

[What’s a week?] she asked, her large eyes shining with fragile hope. In her heart, she wished a week meant just one day.

That hope quietly shattered when William replied,

[Seven days. But don’t worry. You won’t be alone until then. That lady over there—she’s very fun to be around.]

He pointed toward Venessa.

Nana lowered her head, her small fists tightening at her sides.

William let out another breath and held her hands gently before continuing,

[Nana... this isn’t easy for us either. But we can’t take you to the academy. There’s a very scary uncle there who scolds your brother and sister all the time.]

She sniffled.

[But Nana would be a good girl.]

William’s shoulders sagged. He couldn’t find the heart to say anything more.

It was clear that Nana didn’t want to part from them. And neither did they. But they couldn’t abandon the academy, nor could they break its rules.

And Nana wasn’t a bird to be locked away in a room.

The moment that thought surfaced, it was dismissed just as quickly.

After a brief pause, he heard Nana’s voice in his head,

[Will you promise me something if Nana agrees to stay here?]

William hummed and looked up at her.

Nana held his finger and said,

[Please don’t fight with my big sister again. She was crying last night.]

William was taken aback as he asked her,

[Really?]

Nana nodded, [When she returned to the room, I was awake and saw her wiping her eyes. And in the morning you two weren’t talking...so I thought you must have fought with her.]

William’s lips parted in shock...he didn’t think that the little fight they had last night would affect her this much.

He couldn’t remember if he has ever seen her cry...and to think...

[Big brother.]

Nana’s voice broke his trance before he warmly smiled at the girl and promised her,

[I won’t. Ever. I promise.]

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.