Chapter 3. A Mother's Simple Wish. [RotDE] (Patreon)

Four years had gone by since the Dravory Family gained a new child. By now, the entire town knew about the mysterious girl that appeared in their house.

However, Salia was having a slight headache over something. 'Those women sure are persistent…'

She sat at the dinner table by the warm fireplace while thinking about these matters and waited for her family to arrive.

Soon, the creaking sound of a door opening entered her ears, and the laughter of a group of three uplifted her mood.

Turning to the side, she saw a tall, healthy middle-aged man walking side-by-side with two girls. With muscular arms and healthy bronze skin, even when his facial features were not extraordinary, he was a rare, handsome man in the town.

Their clothes were made of cotton and a bit thick, while their noses were reddish because of the cold, and a few snowflakes had attacked their hair.

It was the middle of winter, after all.

The oldest girl was relatively tall for her tender 13 years of age; she usually had healthy, lightly tanned white skin because of the Sun that poured on their town most of the year. However, because of the winter's lack of Sun, her skin color had a much lighter shade, making her look more delicate even when her attitude was usually very energetic and playful.

However, compared to the smaller, four-year-old child, she was very different.

A snowy white, healthy skin with rosy colors. Even when the Sun had fallen on her, she maintained an unreal doll-like appearance with beautifully round cheeks, supple and soft skin, and petal-like lips.

Her big, round, expressive eyes were the highlight besides her raven black hair. The child's eyes, with irises as beautiful as rubies, looked as if they could speak because of how expressive they were.

It was clear that while the mother, father, and bigger girl were related, the fourth resident was from another family.

However, there wasn't anybody who mistreated or shunned her. On the contrary, the little child was the Little Darling of the family, or better said, the town.

The extraordinary facial features of the child and exotic red eyes, even when she was young, gave away that she would grow into a mesmerizing beauty.

Salia, being her guardian, was bombarded daily by the other mothers who had similarly aged sons. So, the poor woman was tired. 'Can't they wait until she is a bit older? For Haeven's sake, little Tatyana is still four!'

Of course, appearance wasn't the only extraordinary thing about the red-eyed child; her senses were extremely sharp.

Before Salia, the child's stepmother realized, the woman felt the little bun diving in her arms and looking up at her with her beautiful red eyes and doll-like face. "Mommy, are you upset?"

Salia's brown eyes flashed with surprise, and then a tender smile spread on her lips as she picked her up with surprising ease, showing that her strength was beyond what she looked.

"Don't worry, Little Jewel. I was just thinking of some things."

Terrance, the woman's husband, laughed. "Are they still bothering you?"

Salia sighed. "They are so persistent. Always asking things like, 'Have you decided at which age you will send her to the town's school?' or 'Have you decided who her playmates will be?' or 'My son is very strong for his age, I'm sure he can protect little Tatyana.'"

Tatyana laughed when she saw Salia making faces as she imitated those women.

When Salia saw her laughing face, she couldn't help but rain kisses on her. "You are so cute, Little Jewel. No wonder those women are so desperate."

Tatyana hugged Salia's neck, feeling happy about her mother's kisses.

Loreia, the other child, snorted at this time. "What can they protect, either way? I'm more than enough to protect my little sister. A bunch of snotty brats are not worthy!"

Terrance and Salia laughed.

Salia suddenly asked. "By the way, Terrance, how is the investigation about Tatyana doing? Do we know where she is from?"

Loreia paid attention; she knew Tatyana wasn't her real little sister. Of course, she didn't mind.

Loreia loved little Tatyana as much as Salia and her father, Terrance.

She still remembered how weakened little Tatyana was when she first saw her, wrapped in the bloody sheets and her face a little pale.

Still, her charming red eyes seemed lively as they looked around, not bothered by it.

This was an impactful image for a nine-year-old at the time, and learning that the child was going to be her little sister made her awaken a protective instinct toward the fragile life wrapped in that bloody cloth.

At first, Salia had never wanted to show that scene to the young Loreia. It was a coincidence that they met when she arrived at her office with Tatyana to check on her.

But in the end, it all ended well, and Loreia even gained a very defensive nature with Tatyana, taking care of her whenever she couldn't, something Salia was grateful for.

The relationship between the two sisters was closer than the relationship between some blood siblings she had seen in their small town.

Terrance said with a sigh as he placed the plates and food on the table. "I haven't found anything; she doesn't seem to be from a nearby town or city. I went to the two closest towns and even used a few hundred bronze coins to try and collect information. However, there were no results. She should not be from a nearby town."

If anybody from their town had heard Terrance, they would've probably winced at that price. In their village, a family of five could live comfortably with ten bronze coins for monthly expenses.

Spending a few hundred was similar to spending more than a year's worth of living expenses.

Like the other two, Terrance was also very fond of Tatyana. When he married Salia, although the usual in towns like theirs was hoping for a boy who could inherit the land, he personally had always wanted a daughter who resembled his wife.

Their family had farmland and such, but their primary income came from the medicine his wife practiced. Therefore, he wasn't worried about the gender.

Luckily, he got his wish with his first child, and he doted on Loreia a lot. Then, one day, another precious little princess appeared, so now he had two little princesses to pamper!

If it wasn't for Salia's slightly more stern education, both of them might've become spoiled.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason Terrance was accepting of Tatyana. He had seen Salia's face when looking at Tatyana and saw her determination to bring this child up.

He had always supported his wife in whatever she wanted to do, as much as Salia had supported him during his endeavors. Therefore, he took her in as if Tatyana was his real daughter.

Since that day, Terrance had been using the things the maid carried to find her origins. Still, no matter how much he searched in the surrounding towns, he didn't find anything during these four years.

Loreia was a little disappointed when she heard what his father said. She wanted to know which beast dared abandon her precious little sister and beat them up until they cried for their mom!

However, it seemed like her wish wouldn't come true.

Salia frowned after he heard him and got thoughtful for a while. In the meantime, she fed the porridge with meat to the silent Tatyana.

Then, she spoke with confusion. "It shouldn't be like that, right? For the maid to be able to carry her here in that condition… They mustn't be from very far away. I can't imagine someone lasting more than a few minutes with a hole in their chest."

Terrance asked, a little hesitant. "What if they were Respected Immortals? I've heard that they can turn over rivers, flatten mountains, and soar in the sky. Sending their child far away to a remote place wouldn't be too far-fetched, right?"

Loreia's courage to find the culprits and beat them up deflated like a balloon, "A-Are they that strong?"

Salia and Terrance looked at her and chuckled. Terrance said, "Don't worry, princess. Immortals live in the mountains and faraway cities and rarely come down to the mortal world. Moreover, our town is very remote, and if you want even to see a young Immortal, you would have to go a few towns north."

Loreia sighed in relief. "That's good! I don't think I can protect little Tatyana from them. However, I can protect her from normal things!"

Salia and Terrance also sighed and looked at the munching little Tatyana.

Seeing her bulging cheeks as she chewed slowly made them smile and dispersed any negative feelings in them.

"Daddy, Mommy, why are you talking about so many things?" Tatyana asked, her big, red eyes blinking in confusion.

Salia smiled at her and picked her up. "We're just talking, Little Jewel. Don't worry about it."

Tatyana looked at her parents with a puzzled expression. "Talking about what?"

Terrance chuckled. "Oh, just grown-up stuff, princess. Nothing for you to worry about."

Loreia, the older sister, joined in. "Yeah, Tatyana. We're just happy you're here with us."

Tatyana smiled, feeling reassured by their words. She didn't understand everything they said, but as long as they were happy, she was too. Seeing another spoonful before her, she opened her mouth and bit on it.

Salia smiled and kissed her bulging cheeks. "Is it tasty, Little Jewel?"

Tatyana smiled and nodded. "Mhm!"

Salia turned toward Terrance and spoke softly. "Stop searching for it, dear. Let her live a normal life without worry between us. We can protect her from harm in this town without any problem and help her find a family to settle down."

Terrance got thoughtful, and Loreia agreed. "That's right! Daddy, little sister is now our family, and we will protect her!"

Terrance thought briefly and nodded, "Okay, let's forget about it. Since she is with us, she will be our family unless her real parents come to get her back. Even then… They will have to give us an explanation."

Seeing the stern face on her husband's face, Salia smiled softly, love filling her gaze. 'I didn't marry the wrong man.'

The dinner ended shortly after, and they all went to bed. Tatyana and Loreia slept together in one room, and Terrance and Salia rested on another.

Like they agreed on that dinner table, they never searched for Tatyana's origins again.

The next year, Tatyana went to the school for the first time, accompanied by her big sister.

The town had very few families, so there were only three classrooms and one teacher for each one.

The classroom with the youngest teacher was for children 3 to 7 years old. This class taught them how to write and speak. Once a child knew how to write, they went to the second class.

The second classroom was for children younger than 14 and taught very simple things like the geography around them, dangerous places, and essential math skills like addition and subtraction.

If a child learned everything they taught, then they would go to the third class, which spoke about general knowledge of the world. An older lady taught this class, and it was for children below 16.

When Tatyana went to school, she went to the second class directly because Salia had taught her how to write, and she participated with Loreia. Even at just five years old, Tatyana showed deep intelligence and aptitude for learning, soon leaving behind other children of her age and catching up even to Loreia.

In just a year, when she was a bit older than six, Tatyana was already done with the contents of the second class, finishing it at a similar time to Loreia. Both moved to the third class simultaneously, making Salia don't know whether to laugh or cry, as her door was knocked on at least once a day by one mother of the town.

Salia sighed, showing a helpless but doting smile. 'My little darling is too excellent.'

Then, a worried look flashed in her eyes. 'Just… I wish you were a little less excellent so that you could live comfortably, Tatyana.'