The next morning, with the sun already high in the sky, a knock echoed against the door of the small cabin. Veil jolted awake as Kaela pulled the blanket over herself.

  “Mom, someone’s knocking. I’m too sleepy… can you go see?” Kaela grumbled.

  Veil pushed himself up and headed for the door, rubbing his half-closed eyes. He stumbled over the leg of a chair, barely catching himself on the table before falling. Outside, the knocking came again. At the same moment, Veil placed his hand on the handle and opened the door.

  “Big Brother Veil! Mom made cookies for your lunch!” Eleanor said cheerfully as she jumped straight into his arms.

  “Eleanor, be a little gentler. You can see you’re waking them up,” her mother said softly. “We brought you something to eat. We thought it’d be better for you to have a full stomach before you leave.”

  Veil bent down and picked Eleanor up properly, the little girl wrapping her arms around his neck to hold on, beaming at him. He then walked toward the bed where Kaela was still lying.

  “Hey… want to wake her up?” Veil whispered with a mischievous smile. “I’ll put you on the bed and you jump on her.”

  Eleanor looked at him hesitantly for a few seconds, then nodded her head furiously.

  “I can hear you, you know! I’ll remind you that, like Alynia, my hearing’s sharper than yours,” Kaela replied as she sat up.

  She stretched deeply, letting out a long yawn that Eleanor immediately copied.

  “We’ll let you get dressed. I forgot how cramped it is in here,” the young woman said. “If you’d like, we can have lunch at my place. We’ll wait outside. Come on, sweetheart.”

  “Thank you very much. And, uh… sorry to ask only now, but what’s your name, actually?” Veil asked, a little embarrassed, as he set Eleanor down.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m Elinalise. But you can call me Elin—it’s simpler,” she replied as she opened the door.

  She stepped outside with Eleanor and closed the door behind them. Kaela, now on her feet, began putting her gear back on, her gaze noticeably evasive.

  “Hey… I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to… talk about that. I thought that by showing him he wasn’t the only one who’d lived through horrible things, he’d understand. But I guess I was wrong,” she sighed, eyes lowered.

  Veil stepped closer and placed his hands on her cheeks, gently lifting her face so she would look at him.

  “Don’t apologize. You didn’t even have to do that. I understand why you tried, but that didn’t give him the right to react like that. I won’t pretend to understand your pain, but I know it must be a heavy burden to live with. Unless you want to talk about it, we’ll forget it, alright? But don’t apologize,” Veil said sincerely.

  Kaela leaned into him, murmuring her thanks, and closed her eyes for a few seconds at his words. But just then, the cabin door burst open, Eleanor rushing in, clearly tired of waiting. When she saw Veil and Kaela like that, she froze for a moment—then bolted back outside.

  “Mom! Mom! Big Brother Veil and the lady in pink are making a baby!” she shouted as she ran toward her mother.

  Kaela straightened up, and she and Veil stared at each other, stunned and mortified at Eleanor yelling that in the middle of the street. They laughed awkwardly, not quite knowing how to react, then stepped outside to join Elinalise.

  Along the way, Eleanor grabbed Veil’s hand, casting dark, suspicious looks at Kaela.

  Once inside the small house, Eleanor rushed toward the table and pulled out a chair.

  “Come sit here. I’ll sit here,” she said, looking at Veil.

  Veil thanked her and took a seat. Eleanor sat beside him, while Kaela settled in across from him. Elinalise placed the small box of cookies on the table, then headed to the kitchen, returning a moment later with several cups and a pot of warm milk.

  She poured the milk into the cups and set them down in front of everyone. Veil and Kaela thanked her, but Elinalise cleared her throat when she noticed her daughter’s silence—Eleanor was staring at Kaela with narrowed eyes.

  “What’s bothering you so much that you’ve forgotten your manners, young lady? And it’s not polite to stare like that,” she said softly.

  Eleanor then turned her gaze to Veil, her expression sad, almost on the verge of tears.

  “If… if you make a baby with the lady in pink… does that mean I won’t… be your little sister anymore?” she asked in a trembling voice. “You… you’re going to abandon me too?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  An uneasy silence spread around the table at her words. Everyone looked at Eleanor. Kaela was visibly embarrassed and unsettled, while Veil felt his throat tighten once again.

  Abandon her…? She… she thought I was going to stay? How am I supposed to explain this without making her cry? he thought, closing his eyes.

  “My sweetie, we already talked about this yesterday. You know very well they can’t stay. They have to return to their village. Even if you want them to stay, they need to leave to save other children like you,” Elinalise replied, her voice perfectly calm.

  “But… but what if a monster comes back? If Big Brother Veil isn’t here, I’ll be scared again, and you’ll cry again, Mom,” Eleanor stammered, her eyes filling with sadness.

  Elinalise didn’t answer. She simply stood up and pulled her daughter into her arms. Veil, troubled, searched for a way to ease the tension without hurting Eleanor.

  “Listen… if another monster comes after you, you can ask the guild. And I’ll come as soon as I can, okay? If you’re a good girl, I promise I’ll come see you once a year, alright? That way, you can tell me everything you’ve done and show me how much you’ve grown,” Veil said, doing his best to keep his voice gentle.

  At first, Eleanor looked sad as she accepted that Veil really was leaving. But little by little, a smile replaced it. She slipped out of her mother’s arms and stood up on her chair.

  “Okay! I’ll be all grown up when you come back then. And if Mom is scared of monsters, I’ll beat them up myself—just like you!” she said brightly.

  Though her words made everyone laugh, Eleanor’s expression soon fell again. She climbed down from the chair and walked over to Kaela, tapping her leg before climbing up.

  “Sorry, miss… I wasn’t nice. I’m sorry,” she said, resting her head against her.

  “You can call me Kaela, you know. That’s better than ‘miss,’ don’t you think?” Kaela whispered.

  Elinalise sat back down as Veil reached into his satchel, pulling out his coin pouch and placing it on the table. He took out three Zirn coins and put the rest away.

  “Come here, Eleanor. I’ve got something for you,” he said, hiding the coins in his hand.

  Eleanor slid off Kaela’s lap and returned to her chair, waiting expectantly for Veil.

  “Here. I’m giving you this. If monsters come back, you can ask for help so I can come, alright? And if I’m not there, another adventurer will come save you instead. But only if they’re big monsters, okay? You mustn’t call someone for nothing,” Veil explained as he placed the coins into her small hand.

  Eleanor nodded eagerly, smiling brightly as she turned toward her mother, proudly showing her the coins in her hand.

  “That’s far too much, Veil. You know no one here owns coins like these,” Elinalise replied gently. “Give them to me, sweetheart—we’ll put them away. And you mustn’t tell anyone about them.”

  Veil had meant well, but he hadn’t considered that this could cause them trouble. Now that she mentioned it, given the state of the village, it was painfully obvious.

  “Alright then, shall we eat?” Elinalise continued, serving the cookies. “I doubt you want to be heading back after nightfall.”

  The rest of the meal passed in a lighter mood, Eleanor’s laughter filling the house as they talked. Deep down, Veil wished this moment could last forever. But a knock at the door pulled him back to reality. Elinalise stood and opened it, letting Elzyna in.

  “Ah, there you are. Once you’re done eating, the chief would like to see you to give you the papers and everything,” she explained, slightly out of breath. “We’ll be waiting at the main building.”

  Before anyone could respond, she turned around and left without another word. Veil and Kaela exchanged a silent glance. Their meal finished, they headed for the door—but Eleanor tried to follow them.

  “No, Eleanor. You know we can’t go there,” Elinalise murmured, taking her daughter’s hand. “We’ll see them again afterward, alright?”

  Veil and Kaela stepped outside as Eleanor protested about not being able to come along. They crossed the village and reached the large building, entering as usual until they reached the center of the hall.

  As always, Esmeth was seated in the middle, with Elzyna beside him. The opposite seat, however, was empty—Melrone still absent since the previous evening.

  “Good to see you both in good shape,” Esmeth said with a smile. “Everything has been taken care of for your mission. Here are the papers for the guild. As explained, we detailed what happened. Whether you tell them everything or not is up to you now.”

  “I… I can’t accept what you did, even if I understand your reasons,” Veil replied firmly. “You could have led adventurers to their deaths. I understand now why ranks exist.”

  Esmeth’s smile faded, the weight of Veil’s words sinking in.

  “However,” Veil continued, irritation creeping into his voice, “I also can’t accept that, just because of a lack of money, no one would come to help you. Yes, you’re responsible—but money shouldn’t decide whether a life deserves to be saved or not. Eleanor doesn’t deserve to die just because you can’t pay.”

  “If more people thought like you, my boy…” Esmeth said sadly. “But the world wasn’t built on such ideals. I know that if things had gone wrong, your deaths would’ve weighed on my conscience. But what else could I have done?”

  Veil didn’t answer. He simply stepped forward, picked up the papers from the small table, then approached Esmeth and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “Nothing. And that’s why I won’t say anything to the guild,” he said quietly. “But remember this—new adventurers like me aren’t ready to face everything. And some of them… some of them probably have families waiting for them too.”

  His thoughts drifted back to Elinalise and Eleanor.

  He turned and motioned for Kaela to follow. They looked back one last time, bowing slightly in farewell. Though the tension lingered, Esmeth watched Veil with an admiring gaze. Elzyna remained still—until she realized they were leaving the building, quickly standing to see them out.

  Outside, near the exit, Eleanor was sitting on the ground, drawing shapes in the dirt with a stick. Her mother called her softly, a small pssst, and gestured toward Veil. Eleanor stood and ran to him.

  “Don’t forget me, okay? You promised you’d come back,” she said, sobbing.

  Veil knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder, his heart tightening at the sight of her tearful face.

  “I’ll come back as soon as I can. And you be a good girl, alright? Thank you for everything,” Veil replied gently.

  He pulled her into a hug. Eleanor rested her head against his shoulder, her breathing uneven as silent tears ran down her cheeks. After a moment, she straightened up, wiped her face, and looked at him.

  “I promise, I’ll protect Mom just like you,” she said with a smile.

  She returned to her mother as Veil and Kaela headed toward the exit. Elinalise thanked them once more, waving goodbye. The sunlight bathed the forest in warm brilliance—but deep inside Veil, an emptiness he couldn’t quite explain began to take root.