Ri stood off to the side with tears in her eyes. It wasn’t the first time she had seen a situation like this. War Orphans were becoming more and more common place in the Elvin Kingdom.
What hurt Ri the most was that there should be laws put in place to help the families of those who lost their lives fighting for peace… but instead, orphans were treated as nothing better than slaves to be sold and traded. Whether that be because they had powerful potential and could boost the strength of a family, or because they were extremely beautiful or handsome and could warm their beds.
Dyon turned around, holding the sobbing little girl and gently rubbing her back. But, despite his delicate actions, his eyes were filled with fury.
“Because you’ve decided to be a slightly less than absolutely disgusting creature, I’ll give you five seconds to leave this place immediately. If you test my patience, I will kill you. If you speak, I will kill you. If I see you in my line of sight after these five seconds, I will kill you. If I can hear you after these five seconds, I will kill you. Five….”
Ri was stunned by what she heard. She knew perfect well which family this young man was from, and the Grimbold family didn’t take kindly to threats. But, despite what she thought was going to happen, the young man’s tiger shivered, feeling Dyon’s sovereign air. His will was obsolete.
The tiger, against the wishes of his master, immediately turned tail and sprinted away, disappearing in a blur of white light. Maybe it was because the young man never had any intention to fight, or maybe it was because he himself was embarrassed by his actions, he made no move to stop his beast from running.
Dyon didn’t blink an eye at this as he focused on comforting the little girl. Soon, the little girl stopped shivering. She felt a gentle flow of will enter her. Dyon mixed his aurora and celestial will to give her a comfortable feeling, allowing her emotions to calm.
‘You can use your aurora like that too?…’ Ri was surprised, but this allowed a small smile to grace her lips.
The little girl looked at Dyon with her adorable little hands resting on his broad shoulders. Her eyes blinked, with a purity that you couldn’t help but smile about.
Dyon smiled, “What’s your name?” 𝑖𝘦.𝘤𝑜𝘮
“L- Lyla…”
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
“N-no… my parents…” the girl was threatening to start crying again.
Dyon gently wiped her tears with his thumb, holding her steadily.
“My parents died too,” he said softly, “I don’t have family either, do you want to be part of my family?”
Lyla looked at him with her large blinking eyes. Her little arms wrapped around Dyon’s neck.
“Yes…”
Dyon smiled. “Okay, from today on, you’re my little sister. I promise to protect you like a big brother would, okay?”
Lyla’s small voice echoed in Dyon’s ear, “Big brother, what’s your name?”
“My name is Dyon Sacharro.”
Her next words made Ri break down in tears, unable to control herself.
“Okay, from today… I’m Lyla Sacharro.” .
Dyon held the little girl in his arms like he was holding the most valuable thing in the world. Her fragile, petite frame soaked in his warmth.
He saw too much of himself in this little girl… So much so that he didn’t regret his impulsive actions in the slightest.
**
Laughs filled the forest as Dyon held Lyla in his arms while walking along with Ri.
“You’re so beautiful big sister Ri, I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you.”
Ri smiled pinching the little girl’s cheeks. “You shouldn’t lie to your big sister you know. I’ll end up with a really big head.”
The little girl giggled as Ri tickled her.
Soon, they arrived at a small village on the outskirts of a large city they could see in the distance. Actually, there were many villages around the city in the distance. They were continuous with each other – it seemed that the Elvin Kingdom didn’t find it necessary to build walls around their main city.
“Little Lyla, I probably can’t take you into the city with me. But, I’ll leave your other big brother with you, okay?” Dyon’s ring flashed as Little Black jumped out.
“Well… I guess he’s actually much younger than you,” Dyon said with a laugh.
Lyla seemed really excited to see Little Black. She immediately jumped on his back, happily patting his head.
“I’ll make you a house and hire some maids for you, okay? Then, we can visit the big city together.”
Lyla looked up at Dyon with her wide blinking eyes. “Could you… make a house for the other orphans too, big brother?”
Dyon’s heart warmed when he heard this. “Of course, I’ll make a really big house for all of you.”
Ri was a bit confused as to how Dyon was going to make a house for them. But, she assumed that he just meant that he’d find a big house to rent, so she went to warn him about the expense.
“You know Dyon, houses are really expensive. If you don’t have at least tens of profound stones, it’ll be impossible to find one big enough to buy.”
Dyon grinned. “If it’s just about profound stones, I’m not lacking in that at all. But, I was being literal when I said I’d make a house. Little Lyla, take Little Black and bring all of the orphans here. Ri, can you find me a few trustworthy people who would be willing to be paid to take care of them? Tell them I’ll pay a profound stone a month.”
Ri was shocked. “An entire profound stone per month?! These people might not see ten common stones in an entire year, but you want to give them ten times that in a single month?”
“Of course, I never want them to have a reason to betray my little sister and her friends.”
Ri shook her head but complied. As she was walking away she suddenly remembered that Dyon was an array alchemist, how could he be lacking in money?
Although profound stones didn’t matter to the upper echelon of royalty in the Elvin Kingdom, the standard form of currency for the poor folks was in common stones, so, to use profound stones at this level would only be done by the rich.
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