The alchemist takes off his top robe and introduces herself, "Hello there, it was rude of me not to say hello up until now….. My name is Amelia Robbin, and as you can see, I'm an alchemist."

"Amelia is a friend I met when I was out in the capital doing some business. She may be a woman, but she's a skilled alchemists."

"I see. I thought you were a man by the way you dressed."

"Rosald, you don't seem surprised?"

"I knew from her physics that she was a woman... man or a woman doesn't matter as long as they're useful."

"Oh, I see..... And why are you standing up?"

"I'm heading back for a while. What are you guys going to do after this?"

"I'm heading back to my guild."

"I'm going back to the forest to find some ingredients."

"Hm? I guess I'm going to the guild. We still have some issues to solve, and it hinders my work."

"Tomorrow, then..."

The wide field of grass, the laughter that could be heard from afar, and the joyous celebration, her silhouette brushed off by the wind, her calm and gentle demeanor could draw people to her. She looks back and gently smiles as she calls her name, "Della, my lovely child..." Her world then blackens and everything can't be heard. The flames that devour her wake her from her sleep. She was gasping and sweating, and even her clothes were wet and slaggy. She looked around but saw nothing, as her surroundings were dark and only the sound of people talking could be heard.

"Big bro, what is the boss trying to do with her?"

"I don't know either….. We shouldn't question anything, just do your job."

"Hayss... This child is so unlucky... tch, tch."

Someone came in and asked, "Is the child awake?"

As Della hears the voice of the man talking to the people outside the door, she quickly pretends to be asleep. The man opened the door and walked towards her, taking off the blindfold over her eyes. Then he said, "You're awake, am I right? Why are you pretending to be asleep?"

She then opens her eyes and looks at the man in the eye, who is also looking at her with an intimidating look. She cowered in fear, and her body trembled. The man touched her face tightly and said, "Hm.... She is indeed beautiful.... She will be bought at a higher price than expected."

"Transport her tomorrow….. Don't let anyone notice you. If ever you get caught, just pray that the four of you will be alive the next morning."

"Yes, sir!" The man then walks out and disappears into the dark.

"Such an unlucky child."

"It's no use pitying her... She will be sold anyway."

"Such a waste..."

"Don't dawdle here, get back to your work. We can't be lazy or our heads will fly."

"You're right, big bro. We will get back to work now."

Della was left alone in the dark room, trembling in fear. The light in her eyes disappeared as she remembered all the bad things that had happened to her in the past. She was in a trance until the morning came. When the four brothers were done preparing, she was carried by one of them inside the carriage with her eyes and mouth covered by a cloth, and she was then put inside a box to hide her from the guards in the village.

*Village inn*

"Dad, has Sir Roswald yet to arrive?"

"Yeah, *sigh*. How could we let this happen? That child's mental state is bad as it is."

When Roswald was on his way back to the inn, he suddenly stopped at the jewelry shop and bought an accessory to give to Della. He arrived at the inn and saw the closed sign on the door and decided to enter through the back door of the inn. As he entered, he saw the tense figures of the people inside, then he asked, "What's wrong?"

As soon as they heard his voice, they quickly apologized. He was confused at their behavior and when he asked again, "What happened while I was gone?"

They apologized again and explained the situation. As soon as he heard that Della was gone last night, he quickly headed to the guild and asked the guild master to help him find her as quickly as possible. Geld was surprised by his sudden behavior. He found it strange that Roswald cared about someone this much.

Geld asked his subordinates to help Roswald in search of Della, and he ran to the entrance of the village to ask the soldiers guarding it. He arrives and questions them, but all they say is that they didn't see any suspicious people or people passing through and out of the gate, only some hunters and mercenaries.

When he was about to head back to the guild, he saw a carriage nearby the gate, and one of the people in it was staring at him. As he glanced back, the person aborted his gaze. The people in the carriage were all black and acting suspiciously. He walked near it, but as he got closer, someone walked in front of him and stopped him by diverting his attention away from the carriage.

The person in front of him was talking nonsense that he didn't pay attention to. He pushed away the person in front of him and came near the carriage, but another person stopped him and said, "Is there something you want to talk about with us, sir? We're going to head out soon, you see."

Roswald glared at him and said, "Nothing, but can I look inside your carriage?"

"We can't do that. We are busy, you see."

"Busy? You lot are acting suspiciously though. I'm just going to inspect inside, not steal."

"That can't do….. Were out of time."

Roswald let out a menacing aura, and the person in front of him was petrified. He walks near the carriage, and the two people on the side bring out their swords and point them at him, trembling in fear. Then their big brother, who was at the back, shouted, "KILL HIM!"

The two of them then jumped at him with a sword, and he brought out his scabbard and hit their stomachs, letting out a scream. As the two were knocked to the ground, he continued to walk in the carriage. The older brother of the two then brought out his sword and ran at him at the back, stopping him from opening the carriage door. Their swords collided with each other, and the big brother said, "What's wrong with you? We were just transporting some goods to the capital." As he struggles to take Roswald's sword.

"Transporting goods? If you're just transporting goods, then why are you stopping me from looking inside your carriage?" Roswald said, as he oppressed him.

"Are you crazy?! I said that it's only some stuff, nothing else."

"Get out of my way, you pig....."

"What did you say?! Aaahhhhh!!" The older brother of the two, swings his sword hard and then breaks when it collides with Roswald's sword. He was then hit in the stomach and vomited. Roswald stood in front of him with a menacing and furious look on his face, and then, before he knew it, he was laying on the ground with his eyes closed. The two that were on the sideline watching ran to escape, but unfortunately, they were caught by the people of the guild, and the guards that were at the gate arrested the four of them.

With the hindrance out of the way, Roswald gets near the carriage and opens the door. He sees the big box at the side of the carriage chair. He moved the box and put it on the ground, and when he opened it, he saw Della inside with her eyes and mouth covered by a cloth that enabled her to not let out a sound.

Geld comes into the scene and talks to the guard about how one of the mercenary faces has become dishevelled and the others are on the ground unconscious. Previously, when Roswald opened the box and saw the state of Della, he'd gone mad and released a menacing aura that made everyone near him kneel onto the ground and lose their breath.

The pressure reached miles away through the village and forest. It was only after a while that he calmed down and released Della from her restraints, but as he removed them, all he could see was the eyes of someone who'd lost their hope in life. Then, due to the pressure he felt in the air, Geld dashed to the scene, and when he arrived, the four known mercenaries had been knocked to the ground, and their carriage had been wrecked.

The soldiers that were moving their bodies were shocked when they heard that the four of them were mercenaries despite their appearance like a bandits, but they just ignored it and decided that they didn't know them, so they wouldn't be an enemy to the one they offended.

After seeing Roswald carrying the fragile body of Della, Geld kept quiet as he knew that the atmosphere that Roswald was giving out would not be in a situation that would allow him to talk. He ordered his people and the soldiers that were nearby to clean everything up and let no evidence be seen, and he ordered them to forget all about this day. All of them agreed.

*Village Inn*

Roswald walk in to the inn in silence, resting her on the bed. He then departs for the guild to further investigate and interrogate the perpetrator who put Della in that situation. Ramy stands in front of the door hesitantly. She knocks once and opens the door and sees Della sitting on the bed with a distant look. When she comes near, Della looks back and puts on a bright smile. Ramy cried and apologized when she saw her brightly smiling with pain in her eyes. Della reached out her hand and wiped Ramy's tears away, and then she said, with a gentle smile on her face, "It's not your fault….. Sorry if I worried you all... please don't cry."

Ramy's tears kept flowing down her cheeks. Della didn't know what to do in that situation, so she embraced her in her arms and comforted her. Despite the fact that she was the one in pain, she was the one who consoled.For some reason, tears flowed down her eyes. She didn't understand how she felt. Her chest was tight, as if someone was squeezing it out of her. She held Ramy tightly and cried in silence. 

Ramy was trying to break out of her arms but stopped as her back was wet, and that was when she knew that Della was crying behind her. Ramy patted her head in a way to comfort her and stayed quiet as Della didn't want to be found crying. The two of them keep crying and comforting each other that the night will pass. The two of them hold each other on the bed while sleeping, their eyes closed in tears.

To be continue....