“Aurora, once I graduate, I’m going to become a wandering witch.”
“When that day comes, I’ll definitely come find you!”
Avila hugged Aurora tightly, clearly reluctant to part.
Though she had only known Aurora for less than three days, she truly liked this wild, mysterious maid—kind-hearted and beautiful, what’s not to like?
“I’ll look forward to that day.”
Aurora gently returned the hug.
To her, Avila was like an innocent girl yet to grow up—timid, yes, but full of dreams and the determination to pursue them.
She admired that.
Aurora was quite a bit taller than Avila, so when they embraced, Avila’s face was nestled right into the softness of Aurora’s chest.
“Hehe…”
The girl in her arms suddenly let out a silly giggle and began rubbing her face playfully against the pillowy softness.
But just as suddenly, someone grabbed her by the collar from behind and yanked her out of Aurora’s embrace.
“Keep that up and I’ll arrest you for indecent behavior.”
Rosabelle’s cold voice came from behind, sending a shiver down Avila’s spine.
“I just wanted to hug Miss Aurora a little longer, hehe…”
After a few more goodbyes, Avila climbed onto her broom and took off.
Before disappearing into the distance, she turned and waved.
“See you again someday!”
Her figure gradually faded until she was out of sight.
“Now then, Miss Aurora, let’s return to our earlier conversation. There’s still something that’s been weighing heavily on my mind.”
Rosabelle was referring, of course, to Aurora’s claim that they knew each other.
It bothered her deeply.
From the moment they met, she had felt an inexplicable familiarity with this fairy.
And yet—why couldn’t she remember anything?
Once they were back inside, Rosabelle got straight to the point.
“Where exactly do you know me from?”
“When we first met, you asked why I didn’t remember you. But I have no recollection of ever meeting you.”
Her red eyes locked firmly on Aurora, waiting for an answer.
Aurora had a thousand words of longing she wanted to pour out, but when faced with such a direct question, she had to swallow them all back down.
She parted her lips slightly—
But didn’t know where to begin.
“Holy Knight… before I answer that, may I ask you a few questions first?”
After a long pause, Aurora finally spoke.
“As long as it doesn’t concern the kingdom’s interests or cross my bottom line, I’ll answer.”
“In that case, Holy Knight… do you remember your hometown? Your family?”
As Aurora asked this, her deep black eyes locked onto the red-haired woman in front of her, full of hope that she might remember something.
“From the moment I became aware of myself, I was already in the kingdom. The former Holy Knight, Lord Crohn Burt, raised me into adulthood and then passed his title onto me.”
“I have no family. Lord Crohn Burt told me that I had been abandoned by my parents and that he found me.”
“He gave me a name—Crohn Rosabelle. So in my heart, Lord Crohn Burt is my father.”
After hearing this, Aurora’s heart clenched with a sharp pain.
No family?
How could she not have a family?
She had loving, caring parents, a mischievous but affectionate little brother, and an incredibly silly—but deeply devoted—older sister.
How could she possibly not have a family?
But then… why didn’t she remember?
Could it be that those damn bandits had erased her memory?
But such a forbidden magic… how could those nameless lowlifes have learned it?
Or was it—
“My answer’s finished. Now it’s your turn.”
Rosabelle, after speaking, noticed the expression on Aurora’s face—grief and rage mingled together.
That alone confirmed her suspicions.
This fairy named Aurora definitely knew something.
“I…”
“Holy Knight,” Aurora began, “your hometown is in the village of Nor, north of the Third Kingdom. Your family were tailors. You had loving parents, a naughty little brother, and… an older sister who adored you.”
“Your last name isn’t Crohn. It should be Eve. Eve Rosabelle—that is the surname of your parents, and yours as well.”
Aurora’s voice grew more urgent with every word, as if trying desperately to rewrite Rosabelle’s assertion that she had no family—eager to tell her that she had once belonged to a warm and loving home, anxious for her to remember it all.
“Holy Knight… your family didn’t abandon you. It was a gang of vile thieves who destroyed everything. They killed your parents and brother—and they took you away.”
By the end of that sentence, Aurora’s voice had grown much quieter.
Even after all these years, the memory still haunted her.
Every time she thought of it, it felt like her heart was being torn apart.
“Do you… remember anything?”
Aurora looked at Rosabelle, who had lowered her head, her expression unreadable.
Hope flickered in her eyes, desperate for some sign of recognition.
But the next sentence shattered her completely.
“So what does this have to do with your identity?”
Aurora’s breath caught in her throat.
Rosabelle’s tone was calm—too calm.
It was as if none of what she’d just heard mattered in the slightest.
But to Aurora, it meant everything.
“Your Highness, don’t you even—”
“I asked about your identity, not some baseless story. And even if what you said is true, it happened two hundred years ago. I stopped caring about my origin long ago.”
Rosabelle’s voice didn’t waver once.
Her only reaction to the story was mild curiosity—nothing more.
“I… I am Eve Aurora. I’m your older sister.”
Aurora’s voice trembled as she spoke her name, as if those words drained the last of her strength.
She knew it deep in her heart—this Rosabelle was no longer the little girl who used to cling to her.
Now, she was Crohn Rosabelle, a noble Holy Knight.
A warrior for the glory of the kingdom.
Someone who no longer needed things like family bonds or sibling love.
“My sister? You’re a fairy, and I’m human. How could you possibly be my sister?” Rosabelle replied, suspicion in her voice.
Though she had lived for over a century thanks to the kingdom’s magic and arguably no longer counted as fully human, she had still been born human.
There was no way she could have a fairy for a sister.
“I was found. The Crohn couple gave me a name. That was before you ever existed.”
Her words sounded dismissive—absurd even. But deep down, even Rosabelle couldn’t completely shake the strange feelings she had about this woman… about Aurora.
Still, she asked, “When will I be allowed to leave?”
Aurora slowly rose to her feet.
She looked exhausted.
Her once beautiful, silver-white hair now seemed dull and lifeless, like the strands of an aging soul. Her eyes no longer held their gentle light.
Rosabelle was no longer the girl Aurora remembered.
And when she heard her say “I don’t care”, half of Aurora’s heart had already died.
She had clung to the hope that the lost Rosabelle might still remember her, that once reunited, they could return to the closeness they once shared… that those memories would become treasured jewels.
But now?
Now, those memories had been shattered—scattered like broken glass by that cruel phrase.
And all Aurora felt now was unbearable sorrow.
“I beg you… Holy Knight… please let me leave.”