The group broke up after that.


    Orion had a lot to think about as he began to roam aimlessly the corridors of the castle, Karteira had to check on the sisters, since they were pretty shaken up the previous day, and Olivia still had her duty has a Lord to uphold.


    That left Amelia, who had her sight set on someone. Her mother.


    With a mix of happiness and anger, she knocked on the door Olivia told her to.


    "Yes, I''m here!"


    A pink haired woman opened the door. She looked rather beaten up here and there, but she was still happily smiling.


    "Oh~ if it isn''t the grown up Amelia!"


    "Yes?"


    She didn''t knew how to answer, and only barely said a word, but it was no concern for the woman.


    Tia-Norun grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside before she knew it. The door closed behind her.


    When she stepped inside, she noticed her mother, Henrietta, her right hand on her forehead and her left hand in a fist on the table in front of her. She looked tired, and done with life itself.


    In fact, she was simply enraged at Tia-Norun. Her supposed friend completely disregarded her own feelings, and forced her to meet her daughter which she tried to distance herself from at all costs.


    For what reasons, even Tia-Norun didn''t knew.


    With a gentle push from Tia-Norun, Amelia approached her mother and swallowed her saliva.


    She was a little stressed about this. What if her mother didn''t like her anymore? She had Orion and Karteira, but that would still devastate her.


    Right now, the person she missed the most was in front of her. There was a lot of questions she had to ask.


    So, she got closer and placed her hand on her mother''s fist.


    Enri-Ann removed her hand from her face, and opened her eyes. They opened slightly, before she realized who was next to her.


    She opened her eyes wide, before her hand began to tremble. Then, she looked away.


    "Enri, stop being reserved about it. It''s too late for that."


    Tia received a death glare coming from her. She accepted it completely, and even ignored the warning.


    "Amelia, your mother is just stubborn. Give her time to open up. She''s been through a lot, forgive her."


    With a nod, Amelia answered her.


    "If mom doesn''t hate me, that''s more than enough to me."


    Enri-Ann twitched and hastily shouted.


    "I don''t hate you! How could I?!"


    Both Amelia and Tia-Norun looked at her, surprised.


    Realizing that she inadvertently let out a loud voice, Enri-Ann looked away again.


    "That''s how it is. You shouldn''t have to worry about a thing. Anyways, I''m going to have a few words with Orion."


    Amelia suspiciously stared at the pink haired woman and was about to warn her.


    But that was unnecessary.


    "Don''t worry, don''t worry."


    She waved with both hands.


    "I won''t go after him. He''s not the one I love anyways."


    With a heartbreaking smile, Tia-Norun walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving the mother and daughter alone.


    "..."


    Enri-Ann kept looking away, so Amelia moved first.


    She took a chair, and sat next to her. When she removed her hand from her mother, she noticed a reaction.


    It seemed as if she was already missing the warmth of her daughter.


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    "Mom."


    Amelia, now sitting next to her, placed her hand back on Enri-Ann''s hand.


    She relaxed, and slowly turned to look at Amelia.


    "W-What is it?"


    To say that she was stressed would be an understatement.


    "Why did you left me alone?"


    The question she wanted to ignore the most was the first one she heard.


    "That''s... not something I can tell you."


    "Why not?"


    -


    "In exchange, we''ll tell you everything we know."


    -


    The words Tia-Norun spoke the day before echoed in her head.


    "It''s something that I can''t tell unless Orion accepts to protect us. I''m sorry, I know I shouldn''t hide things from you at this point."


    Amelia shook her head.


    "I said it. If you don''t hate me, I''m fine with it. Though, I knew Orion had suspicions about your supposed death, but to think you were still alive, and that you look exactly the same as my memories. It''s very troubling."


    With nothing but happiness, she smiled.


    "Can I ask you something else then?"


    Enri-Ann nodded slowly.


    "You are a Remnant, right?"


    "Yes."


    "I knew it. What does that make me, then? Am I not human?"


    Amelia feared the answer to that question. She wanted to know, but she was terrified of everyone''s reaction.


    "You are closer to a Remnant than a human, but basically, you are human. A very resilient human. I made it so."


    "I see. But how did you create me?"


    "I had my sources. Mainly Varellia..."


    "Varellia? Is that another Remnant? Wait... ''had''?"


    She nodded.


    "She passed away a few years ago. I''ve discussed ways of birthing children with her a long time ago, which helped me greatly in having you."


    The picture of a brown haired woman with a smile as warm and bright as sunshine popped in her head.


    From the bottom of her heart, she was thankful to her.


    "What happened to her?"


    "She died for her own goals. I have no idea what they were, and if she succeeded, but I hope she did. Without her, nothing would have gone the right way."


    Unable to understand what she said, Amelia ignored the last part, as she guessed that it was related to the topic her mother wanted to avoid for now.


    Whatever she wanted to learn about, it would be meaningless if she bothered her mother and made her angry.


    "She rarely opened her eyes, and when she did, it was from excitement over her many ideas. I really liked her ruby colored eyes."


    Thinking that she might have been great friend with that ''Varellia'' person, Amelia smiled.


    But she had other questions.


    "I heard you were spying on us. How much did you see?"


    She was a little embarrassed to ask, not knowing how much she watched of their life.


    "Besides your training and fights, we avoided seeing your everyday interactions. We only cared about your next actions anyways."


    "I find it already of bad taste to spy on someone, though it was necessary, but to go and observe every single details of your life, that might be too much."


    Satisfied, Amelia nodded. While she was trying to find another question, Enri-Ann asked one instead.


    "Amelia... are you happy? Have I made your life miserable by leaving you behind?"


    With sorrow in her voice, she looked away.


    "Not having a mother is certainly hard for a child. But what you haven''t given to me as a mother, I received from Orion."


    "Even though I have twenty years to catch up with you, I''m happy to have the chance to see you. You being a Remnant doesn''t change much, because I''m used to be around various types of people. So yes, I''m happy."


    "And you still protected me from that man''s flames before disappearing, isn''t it?"


    Her mother looked at her with a warm expression.


    "But you''ve had it rough too. That guy kept pestering you to go with him, right?"


    Amelia began to berate Kelvin, the man who tried everything to get Henrietta''s affection, but splendidly failed.


    "You have no idea. If not for him, we could''ve lived a lot longer together."


    The two began to talk about various things, like a mother and daughter should.


    About the past, about their likes and dislikes, about Orion being Amelia''s lover, Karteira being her first true friend, how strong she became, whatever they could during the time they had.


    ~


    When Tia-Norun exited the room, leaving her friend and her daughter alone, she breathed a long sighed.


    "What do I do now? Where''s Orion?"


    She looked left and right, and picked a random direction. Choosing right, she walked aimlessly for ten minutes, until she bumped into someone''s back.


    "Kya!"


    The person she bumped into turned around and grabbed her wrist before she fell down.


    "Easy there."


    Orion pulled her toward him and helped her stand up back on her feet.


    "Thank you. I wasn''t looking, but I still managed to find you."


    "What was your name again?"


    Politely asking for her name, she had no reason to ignore him.


    "Tia-Norun. Just call me Tia."


    He nodded before quickly checking her up and down.


    Pink hair, a very feminine face like a teenager, a healthy skin color, and rosy lips. She wore a low one-piece pink dress with pink jeans under it. This was to wonder where she got that fashion sense from.


    She also had quite a large pair of assets, compared to the other women around, also contrasting with her slim figure.


    "Done looking at me already?"


    Tia smiled seductively, but Orion ignored her.


    "Checking you out doesn''t mean I am attracted to you. I simply have a troublesome trait I have to deal with at the moment that forces me to enjoy beautiful things."


    "And I''ll be honest, you do look beautiful. Not too childish, nor too mature. I guess this is your own balance?"


    Surprised, she looked straight in his eyes, before laughing heartily.


    "Hahaha~ Great! That''s just great. You''re the second one to tell me something like this. Do you prefer something like this maybe?"


    Her body began to radiate a pink mist that covered her, until it vanished and revealed a person Orion knew all too well.


    "So it was you. I should have known."


    The merchant lady was in front of him, with the same smile Tia had a second ago.


    "Well, yes. Sorry I couldn''t tell you everything. We can''t really move freely on the continent unless we completely seal our magic."


    She returned to being the pink haired woman.


    "You''ve used my items well. At first, I had not much hope, but you''ve still made contact with all of them nonetheless. Good work out there saving the few that survived."


    Tia bowed slightly, to Orion''s astonishment.


    "I wasn''t expecting you to thank me, but sure, thanks."


    Straightening her back, she stared in his eyes again.


    "Now, to the main reason I was looking for you."


    ''What would you say about that?''


    Orion took a step back, and looked at Tia with a shocked expression.


    "Don''t tell me... Ego too?"


    She smiled.


    ''That''s how it is.''


    This was only the tip of the iceberg for Orion and Amelia.