Altair Isadora-Braveheart heard a soft yet distinct knock upon the manor door. One that he had come to recognize, to associate with a certain doctor whose assistance he had not required in some time now.

Nocturne’s gaze came alive, the disappointment she felt upon being told that Mother would not be accompanying them to the Dungeon Town blown back by a newfound vitality. She left the comfort of the plush diwan she was seated upon at Altair’s side, venturing forth with long strides that carried purpose.

Isadora watched the scene play out calmly, seated upon an opposing diwan that stretched out vertically to Altair’s horizontal one, offering her an uninterrupted panorama of the Manor’s drawing room, including the residence’s sole entrance.

Nocturne’s small hands reached for the lacquered door handle, a faint creak sounding out as she leveraged her body weight to pull the handle downwards. Once that was accomplished, she pulled inwards, forcing the ornate wooden door to slowly groan open; revealing a person on the other end.

“Hilde!” Nocturne exclaimed joyously, her expression ecstatic as she caught the older woman in a hug that barely reached her abdomen. Her warm chestnut hair was still tied in the same timeless bun Altair remembered her sporting the very first time they had met. Her eyes, an inviting, earthy shade of hazel, sparkled with affection as she lowered her posture to meet Nocturne’s hug. The heartfelt smile that blossomed on her visage was devoid of any deceptions, the curvature of her lips revealing a set of perfect, unblemished front teeth.

“Little Nocturne,” Hilde acknowledged, her tender hand gently patting her upon the head. “I hope you haven’t been giving your mother too much trouble now,” She playfully chided.

“Nope!” Nocturne exclaimed as she pulled back a little from the hug, letting Hilde see the beaming smile she had on her face. “Nocturne loves mother!” She declared without any hesitation or embarrassment, her eyes sparkling with unabashed affection.

Referring to herself in third-person was a habit Nocturne had picked up, a bid to quell the dissonance between her past life and her present. She had disclosed her nightmares to Altair, how she found herself dreaming about being back in the hospital bed, her limbs failing to heed to her commands and her vitality too drained to let her stay awake for more than a few hours at a time. How fragments of the past would fuse with snippets of the present, blurring the boundary between Sophie and Nocturne.

That was the reason why she had taken it upon herself to constantly reinforce her identity, to the point where the habit had become ingrained in her speech.

“What a precious child,” Hilde murmured, giving Nocturne another gentle pat on the head before her gaze shifted to Isadora.

“Hilde,” Isadora greeted, her tone genial and welcoming.

“It has been a while, Lady Isadora,” Hilde answered, her reply accompanied by an elegant curtsy.

A brief flicker of hesitation flashed upon Isadora’s visage at the formal gesture and the note of respect in Hilde’s tone, but she managed to reign in her expression before Altair or Nocturne could notice.

“I trust that everything has been well,” Isadora exchanged the courtesy with a light smile directed towards the older woman.

“It has. I have spoken to the guards in advance and received the necessary permits, so there should be no issue in ferrying Altair and Isadora to and fro the residential district. Speaking of, how have you been, young one?” Hilde’s gaze shifted to Altair, who had stood up from his seat on the diwan as a form of greeting and a mark of respect to his elders.

“I have been doing well, ma’am. Much in part due to your care,” Altair’s reply came across as measured and succinct, but it lacked the uncertain hesitation of a child parroting his parents.

“Always so well-spoken,” Hilde sighed lightly as she walked over to Altair. Without warning, she gave his hair an affectionate tousling before continuing, “I have known your mother since the first day she arrived here, you know. Being a little less formal around me won't hurt.”

“Okay Auntie Hilde. I’ll try,” Altair preferred to gravitate to honest responses where he could, especially amongst people that he cared for. He had naturally debated if and whether he wanted to put on an act that leaned towards the proclivities of an innocent, upbeat young boy, but had ultimately decided against it. Even after his eighth birthday, most of his medical knowledge remained sealed away behind the void; while the core aspects of his personality continued to develop in the backdrop.

Altair Isadora-Braveheart’s personality, while influenced by Ryan Kimura’s, was not limited to it. He was his own distinct person.

Bottling up his emotions and projecting a facade of contentment had been how Ryan Kimura had chosen to face the world. Sheltering his true emotions from the world had been a form of self-protection; an admission perhaps, that he had been too afraid to confront the world and its injustices. Altair had no inclination to follow in his footsteps.

He intended to live his truth. There was no reason to hide his intellect as long as it did not overshoot his age along with the other facets of his personality from the people he held genuine love for— even if it meant that they would find their way to his identity one day.

For a love founded on deceptions was no love at all—that was the conclusion he, as Altair, had come to.

The minutes passed by as Mother and Hilde cycled through a variety of topics— life in Nereus Aquillion, how Altair and Nocturne’s home study had been progressing, a glimpse into Hilde’s life as a healer, going into a little detail about the medical exploits she was most proud of and the possibility of her reaching the Tier 2 stage as a Light Mage. There was also some discussion of recent potential breakthroughs in healing spell forms that were designed for greater mana efficiency, something that Altair was extremely interested in but… he didn’t miss the manner in which Mother seemed to zone out of the conversation when the conversation inevitably drifted towards magic.

Altair also wasn’t oblivious to the way Hilde deftly avoided any mention of Nereus Aquillion specifically, not broaching any topics related to the recent happenings in the town or even harmless gossip about prominent townsfolk, as if it were a conversational landmine that wasn’t to be broached.

“Is everything in order then, Lady Isadora? I shall have Altair and Isadora back in your care by Shadrava, before nightfall,” Hilde politely asked, offering to return the twins to her care by the sixth day of the week, which happened to be a working day in the Vortera Veilands.

Isadora’s expression wavered a little, her gaze flickering to Altair, followed by Nocturne. The resolve she had been garnering in her heart for weeks now oscillated between her motherly desire to protect her children from the ills of the world and the sagacious realization that if she tried to dictate every aspect of their lives her children would grow up to resent her. Her mind had been made up, but she had not expected to be confronted by such a deluge of overwhelming, overpowering emotions.

“Altair, Nocturne,” Isadora gave voice to their names, her normally confident tone now sounding a little forced. “Come here,” she commanded, her voice cracking a little near the end.

Obeying their mother’s beckoning, Altair and Nocturne walked side by side until they were standing before mother.

Before either of them could react, Isadora pulled them into an incredibly tender, soothing hug.

Their separation would only last six days, yet Isadora felt her cheeks fill with strong emotion.

Her words came out thick and syrupy as the Aura Master of Clan Enferi struggled not to break down into tears, “You both must listen to Auntie Hilde while you are in the Dungeon Town, you hear me? And Altair,” Isadora paused, trying her best to sound stern upon the verge of tears, “I know how much you want to explore the town, but don’t you dare try and go anywhere near the Dungeon’s Entrance, young man.”

Children were hypersensitive to their parents' emotions. This was a phenomenon that Altair had personally experienced in this life, so he wasn’t quite surprised when Nocturne burst into tears as she hugged Isadora back while calling for her ‘mama’.

A mother’s intuition could be transcendentally sharp, too. Altair was caught off-guard when Mother revealed his ambition so casually, as if she had known from the start. Being read like an open book… it was, oddly enough, not a bad feeling.

Perhaps more so than ever, Altair realized how blessed he was to get to experience a bond that Ryan Kimura had yearned for his entire life.

“Yes, Mother,” Altair hugged his mother back, his words spoken with an honest determination. And if one were to peer closer, they would realize that Altair had buried his head in his mother’s shoulder because of the single, solitary tear trickling down his right cheek.

Ten minutes later, the final preparations were done and the heartfelt farewells were exchanged.

“Bye, Mama!” Nocturne yelled out a final time, her tone, while still tinged with a little sadness, was also rejuvenated by a new-found excitement.

As Isadora saw Nocturne’s expression from her Manor’s porch, waving her hand back at her daughter…

She knew that she had made the correct decision.