Chapter 2215: Emilia and Moon Bay

Chapter 2215: Chapter 2215: Emilia and Moon Bay

Not accepting food from strangers was something Emilia had told the Little Unicorns more than once during their "education." So even though Miss Belindel’s smile looked lovely, the little beast instead took a small step back, looking as if it had been badly frightened.

"Oh, Miss, you scared her."

The Maids behind her couldn’t help reminding their mistress, and the Countess didn’t blame them for speaking up; instead she became even more intent on offering her Apple.

Her time with the Little Unicorn had been quite pleasant overall. In the end she still couldn’t get that pure-white little beast to accept any food, but at least it didn’t mind her stroking it. And when, half an hour later, Miss Matilda came to inform the Countess that Shard had returned, the Witch, who was using a small comb to brush the fur of the Little Unicorn lying on the cushion with half-closed eyes, was suddenly startled to realize Time had passed so quickly:

"I’ll go welcome them. Since it’s a Pureblood Elf who’s going to be lodging here, I can’t let a descendant of that ancient Race look down on me."

She said this and stood up. Miss Matilda glanced again at the little beast with the water-blue eyes. It also slowly got to its feet, looking at them in a daze, so the Witch thought for a moment and said:

"Let her come down with us to greet Shard and the others. Matilda, send away the Maids who shouldn’t be seeing her. Oh, isn’t it almost lunchtime? Have the girls go arrange the table."

Thus, when the Witch, the Head Maid, and the Unicorn stepped on the red carpet and came down the stairs to the first floor of the Noble Manor, they happened to see Shard, in a black trench coat and carrying two large suitcases, entering the main hall of the manor house. Behind him followed a Golden-haired Girl with pointed ears, clutching at the hem of his coat, looking timid and shy:

"Ah~ Little Liana!"

Emilia looked up at the wide staircase and cried out in delight. The little beast that had been slowly following at the Witch’s side also happily cried out, "Ang~", then set off at a trot, its four hooves clopping down the stairs into the spacious hall, where Emilia stretched out her arms and wrapped them around its neck.

"Little Liana, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you these past half month. Just look at you, after not seeing you for so long you’ve actually... gotten fat?"

"Ang~"

It struggled out of Emilia’s arms, wanting to go closer to Shard, but then it saw the cat on Shard’s shoulder.

Shard laughed and patted its head, then took the Elf Girl’s hand and, together with her, walked to the foot of the stairs to meet up with the Witch, who was coming down slowly from above:

"Emilia, let me introduce you. This is Countess Bella Belindel, the owner of this manor. You’ll be staying here these next few days; I’ve already discussed it with Miss Belindel. Lodging, three meals, baths, laundry—everything will be taken care of here. This lady is my friend, so just relax and settle in."

"Hello, ma’am."

Seeing such a stunningly beautiful Human noble, Emilia greeted her softly. All the while, her hand was tightly holding Shard’s. The Countess glanced at their joined hands and, for some reason, felt something odd:

"Hello, Miss Sianod. Since you’re his friend, just treat this place as your own home."

Emilia blinked. She felt that oddness too.

But the Witch didn’t care:

"Go take a look at your room first. Put your luggage down and then come to the dining room. I Hope you’ll like the cuisine of Moon Bay City. Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

A Maid led Shard and Emilia toward the room where Emilia would be staying temporarily, and of course the Little Unicorn went with them. The Witch guessed Shard had things he wanted to discuss with Emilia alone, so she had already instructed the Maids not to follow them into the room. Thus, when the Little Unicorn trotted in behind the two of them, the Maid closed the door from the corridor.

Emilia didn’t feel that there was anything improper about being alone in a room with Shard. She happily looked around her new room, ran to the window to look out at the manor’s garden, then gazed into the distant view of Moon Bay, and turned back to Shard with a smile:

"When I saw you at the train station coming to pick me up, I knew you must have arranged everything for me. It’s just a pity Mr. Ensil and Miss Dras had other missions and couldn’t come with me."

As she spoke, she stroked the Little Unicorn’s soft white fur as it came up beside her.

"As long as you like the living conditions here, that’s what matters. Spend the next few days getting used to life in the manor. I’ll handle your share of the mission."

Shard also smiled and said:

"I heard from Miss Danester that you’d eventually be coming to Moon Bay City and was quite surprised, but this works out well—I get to look after you again. But you know, my being in this city means that dangerous things may happen here. It shouldn’t be a big problem. Emilia, I Hope you’ll stay in the manor for a week and not go out. Once I’ve taken care of everything I’m dealing with, I’ll go out and have fun with you."

"Go do what you need to do, don’t worry about me."

The Elf Girl said sensibly, then again smiled and hugged her Unicorn:

"Not going out is fine with me; the manor is huge. I can at least go for walks in the garden, right?"

After getting Shard’s nod, she went on:

"Shard, is there still something wrong with me, and you’re specifically protecting me?"

The forced smile on Shard’s face faded. Emilia might be innocent, but she was far from stupid.

The smile on the Elf Girl’s face faded as well. She patted the Little Unicorn and stood there, looking up at Shard with a faint sadness on her face:

"When I first saw you at the train station, I was thrilled, but I also knew something was off. How could it be such a coincidence that I just happened to be assigned to the very city where you’re on an adventure? It’s not as if the Tree Father really heard my wish... When you quietly handed the letter to Mr. Ensil and asked them whether we’d run into anything else on our train journey, I actually heard that too..."

The Elf Girl’s eyes were fixed on Shard:

"Is it that those Cultists still haven’t let me go? Or is there something even more terrifying than the Cultists around me?"

Before Shard could answer, she pressed her lips together and looked at the pure-white little beast beside them, which had no idea why the atmosphere had suddenly grown so heavy:

"You just told me in the carriage that my family didn’t feel at ease about me, so they sent Little Liana over. But this isn’t my first time leaving the Academy—I know that sending Little Liana here is no different from sending a Dragon. Our Clan may have some reputation at the Academy, but it’s absolutely impossible for us to pull off something like this so easily. If my family really were worried about me, calling me back directly would be much simpler."

When she looked back at Shard, her gaze carried a stubborn edge. The Outlander often marveled at how the girls he met were all clever and strong, and Emilia once again confirmed his view:

"Just stay at the manor for a week; I’ll take care of everything else."

Shard hadn’t lied to her, but he also hadn’t laid out the Truth:

"If you’re still willing to trust me, then leave everything to me."

The Elf Girl fell silent for a moment, then finally spoke in a low voice:

"Can you tell me why you’re trying so hard to protect me? And this time you’re not allowed to use ’repaying me’ as an excuse. Back in Tobesk, you already paid off that favor."

Shard replied:

"Do you need a reason to help someone?"

"Just because of that?"

She lowered her eyes as she asked. Shard really couldn’t think of what else to say, so he could only continue:

"Also because you believe in the Tree Father."

She still wanted to ask "and what else," but when she saw Shard’s eyes she suddenly fell quiet for a long time. Only then did she give in, and softly say:

"Thank you, Shard."

"There’s no need for thanks between us. Besides, I already told you in the carriage, my name right now is John Watson."

She bit her lip lightly:

"I don’t want you getting hurt because of me. So if you really run into something even you can’t handle, please don’t force yourself. You worry about my safety, and I worry about you too."

Only then did Shard truly smile:

"Got it. Just look at how serious you are—if it were really dangerous, would I have brought Mia along?"

As he spoke, he rubbed the cat’s small head. The orange-and-white cat cooperatively let out a cry:

"Meow~"

Only then did Emilia nod, though she was still worried inside:

"It’s not like I’m completely powerless. If necessary, I can help too—or you can even use me as bait."

"All right, all right, now go eat. If you don’t feel comfortable living here, you can tell me anytime. Your Casenric Language is very fluent, which will save us a lot of trouble. I’ll come over here every day... Also, about Earl Belindel, it’s enough that you know. Don’t mention it to anyone when you go back."

Emilia nodded heavily and followed behind Shard, heading for the dining room:

"Then what exactly is your relationship with Earl Belindel?"

"A very close friendship."

The Elf Girl nodded again. After a brief hesitation, she proactively reached out and took Shard’s hand.

"Aang~"

The pure-white little beast chirped happily, as if it were delighted by the scene.

Although Emilia understood Casenric Language, she was still far more comfortable with Delarion. At lunch, she barely spoke at all, just sat beside Shard and ate her food, occasionally nodding to show she agreed with Shard’s opinions. This made the manor’s master and the Maids all take her for a cool, cautious girl.

And in order to keep Emilia from feeling bored here, Shard had specially gone to Dorothy before leaving home that morning to get a batch of Delarion-language novels. Thanks to Lecia’s "Object Transference" Talent with Dorothy, they had been able to send over quite a few pieces of writing material prepared for Dorothy in the early days of their soul-swapping, without Shard even needing to leave the house.

It was said that quite a few of those novels were things Lecia had collected from Angelina... though of course, they were all perfectly decent works. Shard was already considering whether, once Angelina arrived in Moon Bay with Tifa, he should arrange a meeting between Angelina and Emilia.

In short, after lunch Shard handed that batch of novels over to Emilia, and told her that if she needed anything else, she could always come to him.

The Elf Girl laughed as she pounced on the little beast lying on the soft cushion beside the bed, hugging it happily as she said:

"This is more than enough. What could be better than this summer?

First I had two weeks of thrilling, dangerous adventure, and now, before going back to school, I get to hide away in a luxurious Noble Manor with no one managing me, reading novels for a whole week, with Maids taking care of meals and laundry. This summer is truly wonderful!"

Shard didn’t know whether she was saying this just to comfort him, or whether she really was happy:

"Mm... just don’t stay up all night reading, that’s bad for your eyes... All right, Elves are Gifted, there’s no chance of you getting nearsighted. Still, the natural scenery around Moon Bay this time of year is actually better than Tobesk’s. Once everything’s settled, let’s go for a walk along the seaside together."