Lyra, with Chika close at her side, walked straight toward Vio and Hiro.

  "Sorry for interrupting you two."

  Hiro jolted as Lyra suddenly approached them.

  "L-Lyra?! Ah, s-sorry, I mean, Y-Your Ladyship!"

  Lyra lifted one hand in a small, elegant wave, her expression calm and unreadable.

  "It is fine."

  Vio swallowed hard, her fingers tightening around the strap at her chest as if it could anchor her nerves.

  "U-Um… Y-You are the lord from the north, right? T-Thank you for saving us!"

  Lyra shook her head once, neat and decisive.

  "I did nothing. It was my sister who commanded the knights to save you."

  Vio blinked fast, then bowed again, deeper this time.

  "I-I see. T-Then please send her my thanks."

  "I will."

  Lyra’s eyes softened a fraction as she studied Vio’s face.

  "So… Vio, was it?"

  "Y-Yes. My name is Vio!"

  Lyra’s voice stayed smooth.

  "Do not be nervous. I only wish to ask a few questions."

  Vio nodded quickly, too quickly.

  "Y-Yes. I will answer honestly."

  Lyra tilted her head slightly toward Chika.

  Chika stepped forward, her long red hair shifting over her shoulder as she offered Vio a polite nod, the kind given to someone worth taking seriously.

  "Pardon me, Miss Vio. I am Chika, Executive of the Starlace Order. I would like to ask, what is your mother’s name?"

  Vio was stunned for a heartbeat.

  "My mother…?"

  She tilted her head, confusion knitting her brows, but she still answered.

  "My mother’s name is Letia."

  Chika’s crimson eyes widened, then narrowed, as if the world had just confirmed something she had been afraid to hope for. She glanced at Lyra.

  Lyra met that look, then gave the smallest nod.

  Vio looked between them, her lips parting.

  "U-Um… Do you know my mother?"

  Chika drew a slow breath.

  "To answer that, may you look at this?"

  From within her gear, Chika carefully brought out an old monochrome photograph, its edges worn, the surface slightly bent as if it had been taken out and put away many times.

  She held it out with both hands.

  In the photo were three young women with bright smiles, standing close like sisters. One was Chika, younger and less guarded. Another wore a priest’s robe, her posture gentle and steady. The third wore a violet mage’s robe and a pointed hat, her expression proud in a playful way, as if she already knew she would win any argument.

  That mage had long amethyst hair and eyes that matched.

  Vio stared at it, and the air seemed to leave her chest.

  "This… This is my mother…"

  Chika’s mouth trembled into a faint smile, the kind that carried warmth and old pain at the same time.

  "No wonder. You look exactly like her."

  Vio’s hands hovered near the photo without touching it, as if she feared the image would crumble if she breathed wrong.

  "So you are… my mother’s friend?"

  Chika nodded slowly.

  "She was my childhood friend. She was the oldest among us, so I treated her like an older sister. We were in the same mercenary party for several years."

  "I see…"

  Vio lifted her gaze to the gray sky above the ruined village, then closed her eyes, and for a moment she looked far older than she should have.

  "My mother once told me she used to be a mercenary and had two best friends. I never imagined I would meet one of them here…"

  Chika’s expression softened, then her eyes drifted, as if she was looking at someone who was no longer there.

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  "Is she… Letia… still alive?"

  Vio’s shoulders dipped. Her hand reached down to rest on Lavin’s head.

  "My mother died six years ago, when Lavin was still one year old."

  Chika’s breath hitched, small but sharp.

  "I… see… I am sorry."

  "It is fine."

  Vio’s voice stayed steady, but her fingers stroked Lavin’s hair with a tenderness that betrayed the ache underneath.

  "She would probably be happy knowing her best friend is still alive and well. If only she had not given us all her food, she might still be here…"

  Chika’s eyes sharpened again.

  "Gave you all her food…?"

  Vio nodded, looking down as if she could still see the cramped corner of a room that no longer existed.

  "We lived in poverty. Every day, she sold her body just to buy food and milk for us."

  Hiro’s grin vanished as he listened next to her. His mouth fell slightly open, then he looked away, jaw tight, as if he could not stand the image.

  Vio kept going, her voice quiet but honest, the way someone speaks when they have already cried all the tears they had.

  "We never knew who our father was. Maybe we even had different fathers. But even so, I loved her deeply."

  Chika’s crimson eyes widened, shock rippling through her composure, her hand reached her head, as if she was confused with the story.

  "No… No, that cannot be…"

  Vio blinked and tilted her head.

  "Hmm? Do you know something about my mother?"

  Chika’s gaze turned heavy as she nodded, and when she spoke again, the words came out like they had thorns.

  "She… our leader left us and disbanded the party because of the Crown Prince… no, the current king of Arkavia."

  "The king…?"

  Vio’s confusion deepened, her brows drawing together as if the world had twisted under her feet.

  Chika’s red hair swayed as she continued, and her tone grew firm, almost protective.

  "His Majesty discovered her talent as a mage and made her his seventh concubine. I also once heard that she gave birth to a daughter."

  Chika’s eyes locked onto Vio’s, crimson meeting amethyst.

  "Miss Vio… no, Your Highness. You are… the princess of the Arkavia Kingdom."

  The words landed like lightning.

  For a moment, everything stopped.

  Vio went utterly still, as if she had forgotten how to breathe. Lavin’s small fingers clutched tighter at Vio’s clothes. Hiro stared like his brain refused to accept the sentence. Frostina, Silica, Cryssa, and the others nearby stiffened, their eyes widening in the same stunned rhythm.

  Then the silence shattered.

  "EEEHHHHHH?!"

  The scream rose in a chorus, overlapping voices bouncing off broken walls and burnt beams.

  Vio waved her hands frantically, cheeks flushing as panic and disbelief tangled together.

  "Wait, wait, wait! I have never heard anything like that!"

  Lyra, who had been silent until now, remained calm, as if she had expected this storm. Her gaze did not waver.

  "I once met you and your mother, Her Majesty The Queen, when you were three years old. It is no wonder you do not remember. Honestly, I would not have remembered either if Chika had not mentioned it."

  Vio’s lips parted, then closed. She looked down, breathing unevenly, and her hand slid back to Lavin’s head as if that simple touch could keep her from falling apart.

  "I… I do not know how to take this. I think I need some time alone. Besides…"

  She looked around at the ruined village, at collapsed roofs and broken carts. A faint, tired smile crossed her face.

  "I do not think status matters much in this world."

  For years she had fought for scraps, bled for strangers, and endured hunger that made the nights feel endless. Now she was told she was a princess, and the kingdom she belonged to had already fallen. The truth felt too large to hold.

  Lyra did not press. Her voice stayed respectful, steady.

  "I understand. We of Stelluna are working to reclaim the country from the monsters. Remember this, Your Highness. You will still be the rightful ruler when that day comes."

  Lyra bowed to her, precise and noble.

  "I apologize for disturbing your time. You must be exhausted from your journey. I will arrange a place for you and the children to rest tonight. We will return to Selini tomorrow morning."

  Chika stepped forward too, her eyes softening with something like grief, and something like resolve.

  "I owe Letia more than I can ever repay. So to me, you are like a niece. If you ever need help, I will be there."

  Vio’s throat bobbed as she swallowed.

  "T-Thank you…"

  She bowed back, clumsy but sincere. Lyra and Chika turned and walked away, leaving Vio with the weight of a new truth she never expected.

  When they were gone, Vio let out a long sigh, as if she had been holding her breath since the moment the photo appeared.

  "Haa… That was more tiring than fighting monsters."

  The children swarmed her at once, eyes sparkling as if the ruined world had just gifted them a fairy tale.

  "Big Sis is amazing!"

  "Princess Big Sis!"

  "You guys…!"

  Vio flicked their foreheads one by one, trying to look stern, but laughter slipped into her voice anyway. The kids laughed too.

  "Ehehe~"

  As the giggles settled, Lavin tugged on Vio’s skirt, eyes wide and earnest.

  "If Sis Vio is a princess, does that mean I am a princess too?"

  Vio was stunned.

  She knew the truth, the ugly truth of their survival. Their mother had sold herself for food even before Lavin was born, and Vio had long accepted that Lavin’s father was different from hers, an unknown stranger among countless men, countless clients of their mother. A father who could never be found.

  Vio looked at Lavin’s innocent face, and her chest tightened, hesitating to tell Lavin the truth.

  Before she could answer, Hiro crouched down to Lavin’s level, a grin returning like a shield he chose to raise. He met Lavin’s gaze and spoke with easy confidence, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

  "She is your sister. So if she is a princess, then you are one too."

  He looked up at Vio and winked at her, playful warmth softening the heaviness in the air.

  "Right, Your Highness~?"

  Vio understood immediately. Her cheeks puffed as she pouted, trying and failing to hide how grateful she felt.

  "G-Geez! Not you too, Lord Hiro! Just call me Vio, or I will get angry!"

  Hiro laughed under his breath, and Vio’s expression melted.

  She turned back to Lavin and smiled warmly, patting her head with gentle certainty.

  "He is right. You are my only sister. No matter what others say, if I say you are a princess, then you are."

  Lavin’s face lit up like morning sun and giggled happily.

  "Hehehe!"

  ……

  Far from Stelluna territory, where the wind carried the smell of rot and old smoke, a ruined church stood like a broken tooth against the night.

  Inside, a woman in a nun’s habit knelt before a shattered statue of the goddess. Her hands trembled as they clasped together in prayer, knuckles pale, fingers tight enough to hurt.

  "I am sorry… I am sorry… I am sorry…"

  No one knew who she was apologizing to. But if Chika saw her, she would definitely recognize her right away. The priest she had not met for years.

  The church floor was littered with monster corpses, twisted bodies piled around broken pews and fallen candles. Yet more monsters forced their way in through fractured doors, cracked windows, and holes in the roof, their claws scraping stone as they poured inside.

  Still the nun did not move.

  She kept whispering, over and over, as if the words were the only thing holding her together.

  "I am sorry… I am sorry…"

  The monsters lunged.

  And then black tears slid from the nun’s closed eyes.

  Her body began to glow.

  It was not holy.

  It was dark.

  A black radiance swelled under the moonlight and flooded the church, swallowing every shadow and every scream of the monsters, until the ruin became a single, pulsing void.

  When the light finally faded, every monster lay dead, scattered like broken dolls.

  The nun remained kneeling before the shattered goddess.

  Her lips still moved.

  "I am sorry… I am sorry…"