19th of March, the Year 1202
15:59
Laeon Federation, City of Alexandria

❈

“Um…”

“Hm?”

Cordelia stared blankly at a cute little girl who had called out to her while she was perusing goods in the market. Standing at 4”5, she was quite the adorable little thing with long golden hair, sky-blue eyes and pudgy cheeks. Is she a Recommended Student? The academy wouldn’t accept someone this young otherwise.

   Chloe stared bashfully at a young ‘woman’ who she had seen at ‘Howards Home’ during that scene. She admired her long, silky black hair, piercing crimson eyes and streamlined body. Wahh! She’s so cool! I wanna be like her when I’m older. Chloe did not know that Cordelia was not that far from her age; she just had a more mature body compared to her peers.

   Recommended Students. They were individuals who were identified for their aberrant power and strength and could enter the Cheiss Academy without an entrance exam, with some of the youngest ones being at 10 years old. Only Heads of Department could appoint such students with the Headmaster’s approval to prevent nepotism.

   Cordelia was taken aback when the girl suddenly looked up with determined eyes as if she was about to sacrifice her own life.

“Miss, you’re really cool!”

Fwooo~…

   The wind blew loudly after her compliment, followed by furiously blushing and stony face. On one hand, Cordelia was quite shocked because nobody had ever complimented her like that before and on the other hand, Chloe was beside herself in embarrassment since those words were quite… well, embarrassing. Cordelia turned her head to Kuro standing at her side who was cooly gazing at the admiration-filled girl with almost indiscernible pride and approval, to the point where she herself didn’t notice. I was supposed to be shopping for a weapon…

   It was the afternoon, and Cordelia had woken up a few hours ago before taking Kuro with her to comb through the wares and commodities of Alexandria for a good sword. She had been already been searching for many years and while Auster had their fair share of excellent craftsmen, they weren’t on the level of legendary. Cordelia wanted a special sword, a sword that could carry her throughout her entire life. If that meant having to travel to faraway lands in search of some possibly fake legend about a sword, she would do it and had done so many times. Even though she held little hope for Alexandria, there was no harm in searching anyway.

   “Well, thank you. But my maid was the one who did all of the work.”

She gestured towards Kuro who merely stood still, causing Chloe to be discouraged at her cold attitude.

“But, but, you’re way stronger! I bet so!”

In reality, Kuro was much stronger than Cordelia. Kuro completely outclassed Cordelia due to the 3 year age gap in which Kuro had developed the majority of her mana veins. 

      Cordelia, for some reason, couldn’t bear to disappoint the child even though they were only 3 years apart and nodded per her question. Bursting with joy, Chloe smiled so brightly that Kuro felt like squinting.

“Then what is your name? You look quite young to be attending Cheiss.”

The black-haired girl questioned her with vague curiosity.

“I’m Chloe Auburn! And I’m 10 years old! What about you, Miss?”

“My name is Cordelia Auster, and I am 13.”

“Heh?”

Cordelia scratched her cheeks, knowing that the girl had mistaken her for 15 or 16. 

“Where are your parents then?”

At her words, Chloe’s face stiffened for a split second before animating itself again, but both Kuro and Cordelia just barely caught it.

“Mum and dad are really busy so they sent me with my butler! I don’t know where he is…”

“I see. We’ll go and find him, alright?”

Cordelia held out a hand to her, which Chloe accepted heart fully with an overjoyed expression. Sparkles and light seemed to radiate from her very being. Too bright, way too bright. Kuro shielded her eyes.

   For two hours, the three searched for Chloe’s butler as she gave them his characteristics. However, it was a fruitless endeavour as they were unable to find any trace of him whatsoever. Disheartened, Chloe’s steps seemed more like trudges as more and more time passed with no progress to speak of. Kuro could only separate from them to cover a wider area while shopping at the same time, so Cordelia had to take care of the girl. 

   “W-what if they abandoned me… I don’t have the key to the rook either…”

Eyes gentle, Cordelia rubbed her head affectionately as she reassured her.

“Don’t give up so fast. We still have some more time left, alright?”

Although she said that, the sun was already setting and there was noticeably less bustle on the bland streets of Alexandria. Frowning, she had long since realised that this search was most likely hopeless. Even if Alexandria was quite big, Kuro had high perception. It may not be as high as the top-tiers of the world but her skills were perfectly suited for this situation as she could use her skill Eagle’s Eye to gain a bird's eye view of the city with miles of range. With its high level, she could even search for specific people if she wanted to… but the butler was nowhere to be found. 

   Could it be, she was really abandoned? That preposterous thought had run through her head multiple times but she had dismissed it previously. But now, it was quite plausible. Why would they abandon a child who was a Recommended Student? They are on a different level compared to normal students and usually become more powerful in the future. Looking at Chloe’s downcast appearance made Cordelia’s heart ache with resonance.

   “If we can’t find your butler, you can stay in my room for the night, okay?”

Her expression made a complete 180 as it shone even brighter than when she and Kuro had offered to search with her. 

“Okay!”

❈ ❈ ❈

As expected, they were unable to find the butler after all. The sun had already set with the last echoes of its incandescence remaining on the horizon. Rendezvousing with Kuro, the trio headed back to ‘Howard’s Home’ to search for the butler tomorrow. Kuro idly noticed that Chloe did not seem as sad and scared as a 10-year-old child should be.

   “Young Miss, this is the child you were talking about?”

Having informed her two other mage roommates ahead of time with telepathy, Cordelia had brought Chloe up to her room 315, to which the mages responded quite magnificently. After she went to take a quick shower, they both proceeded to hug, embrace and squeeze her cheeks, causing Chloe to cry out in surprise. As soon as Cordelia came back, she hid behind her like a scared little animal. The two mages had temporarily forgotten etiquette and their fear of their Young Miss as they swooned over Chloe, maternal instincts dominating their thoughts. Seeing this, Kuro’s mouth formed a straight line, though it was always a straight line.

   “Alright, alright, calm down. She’ll be staying in here tonight since her guardian cannot be found. We’ll go searching for him tomorrow morning.”

Cordelia’s words poured a bucket of cold water on the two’s spirits as they meekly responded and sunk their necks as if expecting she would punish them for their outburst.

“Go to sleep. Chloe will be sleeping in my bed since I’m the smallest out of all of you.”

Cordelia’s body might be developed beyond her age but it was still immature compared to the other women.

“Chloe, do you want to take a shower and brush your teeth? I can lend you a set of pyjamas, though they might be a bit big on you.”

She turned to the girl who was still hiding behind her, asking her so. Nodding, Chloe went to the bathroom with her clothes while Cordelia sighed and sat down on her bed. It was considerably small, so she and Chloe would be a tight fit even with their small sizes. Well, it’s not like it’s a problem.

   By the time she had finished showering and brushing her teeth, Cordelia had already settled herself in bed, reading the tome she had brought at the Mark’s Trade Union branch with a lamp switched on next to her. All of the other inhabitants had long fallen to sleep, so it was only she who was awake, waiting for heer. 

“Come. Are you tired from all of that walking?”

She patted the small space next to her as Chloe sat down, trying to squeeze herself in. She nodded, her eyes droopy already from not only the walking but also the warm shower.

“Mm, it looks like it’s tighter than expected. Do you want me to go and sleep on the sof-,” Cordelia shut her mouth as Chloe clung to her like a koala while shaking her head. Smiling helplessly, she lied down with a small child clinging on to her (though she herself was also a young child).

   “We can sleep like this then.”

She didn’t bother to ask why Chloe refused to sleep alone but just went to sleep peacefully, turning off the lamp and putting away her tome. Pulling the blanket over them both, Cordelia closed her eyes, feeling exhaustion take her over. She was too deep in of a sleep to notice that a wetness had soiled her pyjamas where Chloe’s face stuck to.

❈ ❈ ❈