Chapter 133. Warmth?

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    Tamon and Asha were able to lead the deer out of the canyon with the help of Mirah and Lucentia.?

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    During the seven-plus months that Asha was gone, the deer had dwindled far below the numbers she had known.?

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    There were about 70 deer, and now only 50 left.?

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    “Six months ago our oldest, Nici and Mima, died together. They loved each other so much that they wanted to be together in death.”?

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    Mirah, who loved Nichi and Mima, said in a somber voice.?

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    Lucentia added as she hugged her brother’s shoulder.?

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    “Then there were three deer that died of illness. And some died fighting in this canyon. Han, Toure, and Mouchard, who went looking for the cub a few days ago when he was lost, also died.”?

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    “Three deer? When I found that deer cub, there were only two of them……..”?

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    “Yes. The cub said that one of them fell while luring the terrible beasts.”?

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    “Oh, I see.”?

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    Since more than 20 of them died in just a few months, the number was bound to decrease sharply.?

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    Moreover, five of the remaining doe were now pregnant and some had just given birth.?

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    It must have been a harsh adventure for the deer to move at such an acute time of year.?

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    Asha looked around the entrance to the canyon they had just passed through.?

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    Largon’s incense burner was already burned out.?

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    The black jewel smoked for about an hour, then closed its own entrance and reverted back to its square shape.?

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    The beasts who smelled the incense, however, were still dreaming in their cowering, as if they had not yet awakened.?

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    Perhaps it was Tamon’s medicine, or it was because their mouths and noses were tightly sealed, but the knights made it out without a single one of them collapsing.?

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    For some reason, Mirah and Lucentia did not notice the scent of the incense at all.?

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    Thanks to this, they were able to pass through the canyon safely without falling into the hallucination of the incense burner.?

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    Whooooooo…….!?

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    Grrrrrrrrr!?

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    The cry of fallen beasts, seen in passing, echoed terrifyingly in the canyon.?

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    The mutants, who had been cowering on the floor as if in a deep sleep, were crying.?

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    Some sobbed and moaned as if in a sad dream, while others giggled and chuckled, flapping their wings as if in some happy dream.?

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    For some reason, these were the beasts that became monsters without ever getting out of this place.?

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    …… What are those beasts dreaming about??

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    Glancing back, Asha stared at the canyon occupied by an eerie black fog.?

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    She vowed to try to uncover that monstrous canyon someday.?

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    * * *?

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    “The Empress didn’t send any letters. I thought it was strange from then on.”?

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    “Once or twice I thought it was possible. But when I received a letter requesting a larger quantity of leather than it was originally requested, I thought something was definitely wrong.”?

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    “They asked for more leather?”?

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    The children, suffering from hunger, hurriedly drank the warm soup that Asrell had handed them and brought up the story.?

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    After Hannah and Arsene had brought food to Mirah and Lucentia curiously, they quietly sat down close to them and ate bread together.?

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    Strangely enough, the silver deer had not yet let their guard down, and they had just taken up a position behind Mirah and Lucentia, looking around the area.?

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    As a result, Mirah and Lucentia could not enter the barracks and sat down near the bone fire.?

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    However, seeing Mirah and Lucentia laughing as if to say that this was still good enough, Asha’s heart felt heavy.?

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    ”I’m sorry. I know you were anxious because I disappeared without a word……”?

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    “No, we know it’s not the Empress’s fault.”?

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    “It’s all the fault of that evil emperor!”?

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    Mirah, who had put some well-cooked meat in his mouth, clenched his fists in frustration.?

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    “We felt strange, so we hid ourselves and came down to the capital.”?

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    “I felt fortunate that the Empress had shown me the capital several times. We walked around carefully, remembering what you showed me.”?

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    “Fortunately, we didn’t have to go far to hear what was going on during that time. Everyone was talking about the Emperor, the Empress, and that woman Natasha.”?

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    Mirah and Lucentia joined the deer herd when they were young.?

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    Naturally, they never received a proper education, and their memories of mingling with people were also limited to their childhood.?

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    Already, everyone who knew Mirah and Lucentia treated the siblings as “beasts.”?

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    It was Asha who taught the siblings letters and numbers.?

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    Of course, she couldn’t teach them difficult words or amazing calculations, but she took the time to teach them basic letters and numbers just in case.?

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    That was very helpful in this escape. Like when they counted the number of deer scattered about and bought what they needed as they passed through small towns.?

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    “We could not believe that the Empress had died ….We had been in a daze for a month, and then one day I suddenly had the feeling that the bad emperor would kill all the deer and us if we didn’t do something about it.”?

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    “That’s why we knew we had to escape…. we came to the canyon looking for a place where we could avoid the emperor’s eyes.”?

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    They were driven to the place closest to death to avoid death.?

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    The silver deer and the siblings were that desperate.?

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    “Now that I think about it, I thought this could be the end of us…….”?

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    Lucentia sniffled and laughed.?

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    “It seemed that this was not the end of us, but the end of waiting.”?

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    It was heartbreaking to see the siblings still smiling with pale faces which were obvious they hadn’t had much to eat.?

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    While Asha was frustrated that she did not have a single thing left to offer, these children were left alone.?

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    These were the children who were sacrificed because of imperial greed, the siblings she promised to protect them herself.?

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    “……I’m sorry.”?

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    The siblings hugged Asha with their heads together.?

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    “Empress, it really is all right. You said so yourself, Empress. Our lives belong to us.”?

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    “Yes. So don’t think of our impending difficulties as yours. You have always done your best.”?

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    When did they grow so much??

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    Over the past few months, the siblings had grown just as Roselyn had become Aranrosia.?

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    As the siblings had grown, they must have experienced a lot. And they became stronger.?

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    She was also not the Roselyn who was caught in Gillotti and Natasha’s trap.?

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    She was going to be stronger and work harder for a better future.?

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    For no reason at all, Asha’s nose twitched and she laughed.?

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    The siblings laughed as they faced Asha.?

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    * * * *?

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    “I’m going to go over there for a while. Hannah, Arsene. Can you talk to Mia and Tia?”?

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    “Yes!?

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    “Yes.”?

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    Roselyn left to where Tamon and the knights were, leaving only the children by the fire.?

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    In fact, on the surface, the siblings were already close to adults, but they were still unfamiliar because they had not experienced enough people.?

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    While the other knights, especially Tamon, had yet drawn hostile stares when looking at them, Hannah and Arsene seemed a bit different.?

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    In particular, they showed great curiosity about the light color of Hannah’s hair.?

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    Lucentia, who had glanced at Hannah, spoke up first.?

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    “How did you do this?”?

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    “Hmm? What?”?

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    “The ends of your hair are pink.”?

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    “Oh, this…..”?

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    Hannah laughed as she fiddled with the ends of her hair.?

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    “This was my original hair color. But one day it gradually turned white. Then it became like this.”?

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    “……changed suddenly?”?

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    The siblings opened their eyes curiously.?

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    “You are peculiar too.”?

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    As the siblings looked at Hannah curiously, Hannah raised her hand and pointed to one of the people coming and going and said,?

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    “Look at that. His hair color is rare too.”?

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    “…….”?

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    “It’s just that we all have our own colors. You two just had it white. It’s not too different or strange.”?

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    “It’s not strange…..?”?

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    “No. We are all the same people anyway. We are all just the same red-blooded people.”?

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    Hannah said so and leaned her head against Lucentia’s arm.?

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    The sudden action of Hannah startled Lucentia, and she froze like ice.?

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    But Hannah did not care and hugged Lucentia and said.?

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    “I miss my sister. My sister is very beautiful, just like you. She is also very kind. Whenever she felt anxious, I hugged her like this. You look anxious too, so I’ll hold you.”?

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    Arsene looked at Hannah in surprise.?

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    To him, Hannah was bright and cheerful. She was not the kind of child who would casually touch someone like this or ask for help.?

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    How could such Hannah suddenly embrace Lucentia, whom she had never met before??

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    He had been with Hannah for quite a long time, but he couldn’t help but be surprised.?

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    Lucentia, who was frozen, looked at Mirah.?

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    Mirah looked at Hannah and Lucentia in astonishment, and quietly stared at Arsene.?

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    When his eyes met Mira, Arsene was at a loss as to what in the world to do about the situation.?

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    ”No way…”?

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    Arsene flinched and looked at Hannah.?

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    From the look on Hannah’s face, Arsene knew what she wanted him to do.?

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    “Oh, um, …….''”?

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    The tips of Arsene’s ears turned red.?

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    Growing up a blacksmith and being treated as an orphan, Arsene couldn’t have been used to being in contact with strangers.?

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    There was no one to hug him when he had a hard time, nor was there anyone he could hug.?

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    It was only awkward because the boy who had grown up that way suddenly began to embrace someone next to him.?

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    “Arsene.”?

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    Hannah quietly called his name and urged him on.?

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    Mirah’s face was becoming more and more expectant.?

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    “Oh, my.”?

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    Arsene, his eyes tightly closed, hugged Mirah with a bright red face.?

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    With his stiff arms, Arsene lightly patted the shoulder of Mirah, who was also bigger than him.?

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    Mirah also hugged Arsene as if he had been waiting for him.?

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    “Well done, Arsene.”?

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    Hannah giggled and praised Arsene.?

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    The group, which was already harmonious, became even warmer.?

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    Asrell watched from afar with amusement as the children embraced each other unexpectedly.