Ersia: Raven Dawn

"A super royalty that also works as a medevist? But I thought Papa says royalty mostly spends their time meeting important people and making deals?"

"Well, that bears truth to a certain degree - Huh? Wait, how do you know that I'm also a medevist?"

Viena caught the purple lady by surprise once again, and this time, she couldn't help but smile a little. 

"Your hands are rough, and even though you tried to cover it with your perfume, I can still get a hint of blue rasmun and apple cider coming from your fingers."

"Well, judging by only that information, I could be a chef, don't you think? But even then, I would have been a famous one of course."

"Hmm, that’s true. I thought of that possibility at first. However, it doesn't take long to pick my guess when you take a closer look at my eyes. When you stared at me, I stared back at you, you know?"

Viena then pointed at her own eyes and the purple lady's.

"Oh ho? How interesting. Why do you think so?"

"Because I’m quite sure that your right eye is partially blind right now, right? Papa said excessive use of Arnazolla ointment can lead to temporary blindness. It's indicated by the denser color spectrum in the iris and the fading color of the pupils. Pretty much like yours, I bet."

The purple lady cracks a laugh again. She then bends her knees and rests her chin on her palm, staring at Viena. The little girl reminds her of her years of age. The fiery confidence, curiosity, and exuberance that Viena exudes gave the purple lady a quick flashback of her academic years.

"Well . . . What can I say? You are correct."

"Right?! Right?! Of course, I am! I wonder if I can be a medevist too now?"

“However it was Erucite, not Arnazolla. The side effect of excessive use is that it renders your eyeball unmovable for quite a while. Well, technically, I can still blink though.”

Viena and Lily gasped since they only realized that ever since the first time they talked with Laura, the lady always moved the entirety of her head rather than glancing. Laura grins and reaches for her pocket. She takes some coins from her purse and calls for Lisabelle, asking for her pouch.

"I like you both, kids. Here, take this. Think of it as a capital to help you two with the bet's limit," the purple lady poured some coins into Lisabelle's pouch.

"Wow! That's a lot of coins! Is betting that expensive?"

"Why, of course! But don't let it get over your head now, kid. Let's see how much you can make with that much, shall we?"

". . . You're not going to take this back, right?" Lisabelle grasped her pouch.

"Hey, why would you think so low of me? Those coins are yours now. You can use it as you see fit. It would be super okay - or maybe - even better if you use them for other things than betting."

At first, Lisabelle hesitates a little, but eventually, she takes up the gift and stows the pouch back down in her pocket. Then, she smiles at Laura and offers up a handshake.

"Guess we'll grab every penny we can. Nice to meet you, Laura. My name is Lisabelle Arbona."

This time, it's Lisabelle's turn to catch Laura by surprise. She still clearly remembers the name of Arbon Company even after all those years behind. Thus, in the midst of his reminiscent of the past, she accepts the handshake offer.

"So, it's you. Graham's granddaughter."

"You know my grandpa?!"

"Silly girl. The more proper question is; which noble doesn't?"

Laura takes off his fur coat. Then, she shows Lisabelle that there's a little trademark sitting on the inner side of the coat. It shows a brand logo intricately and beautifully sewn with the letters A and C, the abbreviation of Arbon Company.

"My dad commissioned this fur coat years ago. However, since mother is a very shy person, it doesn't fit very well with her. Thus, it's been handed down to me ever since. It's your grandpa's - Graham's personal design."

Laura hands it closer to Lisabelle as if telling her to observe carefully and touch it. The girl did so, and she gasped. The material is heavenly soft and sturdy at the same time. However, one thing that surprises her the most is that it's as cool as the first spring breeze.

"It's chilly! But how?"

"Touch the buttons, sweetheart," Laura instructed.

"T-This is?! A metagraph?!"

"Genius, isn't he?"

Viena, feeling left out by the conversation, puts her hand on the fur coat buttons also. There she feels a cooling and refreshing sensation coming out of it.

"Wow!"

Lisabelle takes a step back. She smiles with a very sincere smile. Tears are building up in her eyes. She flashbacks the old days with her grandpa. Albeit very brief and hazy, she can perfectly remember how curious and happy she was whenever she saw her grandpa working with his workers, trying new outfits, and talking about his next designs.

Hence, even the usually hard and strong-willed Lisabelle shed a tear.

"Are you crying?"

"I-Idiot! It was the dust getting in my eyes! There are just too many stupid carriages passing by today!"

Laura smiled and took out her handkerchief. She wipes Lisabelle's tears and snot albeit she insisted her to keep her hands away.

"Oh! By the way, I won't be giving this fur coat no matter how much you cry, okay? It's super expensive," Laura put on her fur coat back.

"N-NO ONE IS ASKING FOR IT!" Lisabelle snapped.

"Hmm. But you can have this instead. It's hardly fits my shine anymore anyway."

"WELL, THANK YOU THEN!!" Lisabelle snapped in embarrassment again as Laura gave her the handkerchief.

The three tease each other for some more, and a few moments later, Goldun the dwarf comes back to them. He looks slightly irritated, but he does nothing about it, let alone bear any ill will toward Laura. It is, after all, nothing more than the daily caprice of their master-servant relationship.

"Well, as much as I wanted to spend more time with you two, I'm quite a bit behind my schedule and must take my leave. You may fight and disagree among yourselves, but make sure to be there when your sister needs you. Be kind to each other, okay? Two is always better than one, after all."

Viena glanced at Lisabelle. She's expecting her to correct Laura about the whole sister thing.

"Yeah. I don't need you to tell me that. You better watch yourself out there, Laura. There's a lot more people than usual this year. A flashy noblewoman with heavy pockets walking down the street is basically a buffet in the desert for them."

Laura strokes both the girl's heads excitedly before leaving them with a wave of her folded fan. The two girls looked at her and waved back as she vanished into the bustling street of Rosmayne.

Now the girls are alone by themselves once again. Viena is still thinking about Lisabelle's answer. The more she thinks about it, the more she feels awkward and doesn't know what to say. Although the feeling isn't entirely unpleasant for her.

Lisabelle eventually realized that Viena had been stealing glances at her for a while now.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"H-Huh? Nothing . . . ."

"If you have something to say just spit it out. It feels weird now that a noisy chatterbox like you is suddenly being quiet."

"Uhm . . . why didn't you tell Laura that I was just a guest in your house?"

Lisabelle didn't answer right after, and she kept walking instead. Then, she holds Viena's hand out of nowhere.

"Because it doesn't feel that way to me now."

However, that moment only lasted for ten seconds since Lisabelle quickly became embarrassed by what she just said. With her face reddened, she aggressively scratched her head. She then stopped in her tracks and turned to Viena.

"That was a stupid question. I am utterly disappointed! Nobody cares about that you know!"

"S-Sorry? What?"

"That's why . . .! I will ask a better one; Are you hungry, Vivi?"

Upon hearing such a question, Viena instantly smiles and nods repeatedly.

"Oh, yes! Do you know the best food in town?"

Lisabelle smiles at Viena's challenge, and it changes the entire mood and air between them.

"Of course! Just follow me and I'll have you drooling on the floor!"

Thus, they spend the rest of the day strolling around the town and buying whatever snacks they feast their eyes upon. Though, they ended up spending almost half the money that Laura gave them, the time that they spent together is utterly priceless.

---

 

Meanwhile, in another part of the streets.

"Goldun."

"Yes?"

"Have you heard of a medevist named Ran?"

"Why? Is he special?"

"Apparently he is quite skilfull."

"Ran, huh? Hmm . . . No. Does he have a surname?"

"I know right? That was my first thought. But apparently, no he did not."

Laura stopped in her tracks and folded her fan. She looks back in the direction where she left Viena and Lisabelle. A gentle gale sends a greeting to her wavy brunette hair, fluttering the tips solemnly. Elegant fragrance floods the street and people turn their heads to find the flower where it came from. However, they only find a woman with cold and calculating eyes frozen still, encapsulated in time by her own thoughts.

"Did something happen, my lady?"

Laura pointed at her eye, hinting about the ointment in her eyes.

"Thanks to the Erucite, I sensed something about the smaller sister . . . It was subtle, but I can tell that she is troubled with Yarna."

"Y-Yarna?! Surely you are mistaken!"

"I hope so. That's what I need you to find out. An unregistered medevist and a kid enveloped in black magic . . . I can't help but only think of the worst."