First Target

(Cera's Point of View)

It seems like I'll be going hungry another day. On top of that, it seems like I'll have to suffer through the cold again. I really don't understand why those kids hate me so much. They always treat me like I'm going to hurt them. They sometimes push me and then run away. I've never done anything to them, so why do they treat me like this? I really hate them.

Huh? What's happening? Why is the Alm trembling? Is someone fighting inside the slums? Are they crazy? Should I get up and leave? Before I could even finish my thoughts, I heard a few footsteps coming from the entrance of the alley. I'm scared. I didn't realize it before, but isn't the Alm pointed at me? There's no way I can defend myself against that. Why are they looking for me?

Suddenly, a really pretty girl stood in front of me. She was wearing a white blouse that formed a ribbon by her chest and dark blue pants with white shoes. why would such a rich girl come into an alleyway? Not to mention, that the way she's looking at me, feels incredibly painful. I can feel her Alm influencing my emotions, but her eyes… her orange eyes… are so beautiful… I can tell just how sad she feels from her eyes…

"Hey, what's your name?"

She also has such a nice voice… why did she put her hand out in front of me? Does she want me to give her something? Is she after me? If she is, and even if I'm beaten up, I'll at least get a bite in.

"Cera." I'll look for an opportunity to attack before she makes a move.

"You have a really pretty name, Cera. My name is Zara Valentine, and I came here to find someone who would be willing to become the lady of my house. I would like you, Cera, to be that person. W-would you please come home with me?"

Huh? Did I hear that right? Did she just ask me to go to her house? More importantly, did she just ask me to marry her?! Does this rich girl even know what she just asked?! The Alm coming from her is really warm though, I don't think she's lying, but how can I just say yes to something like that? Is she crazy?

As I was about to say no, I clearly saw her eyes become cloudy and sullen. Ah… I can't say no if you look at me with those really pretty sad eyes... I tried to fix my answer, but it came out a bit awkward and shaky.

"O…kay…"

I don't know why, but I reached out for her hand and the sudden warmth made me feel fuzzy inside.

"Alright! Let's go home, Cera!"

I was still out of sorts when she pulled me into her embrace. I was a bit stammered by her sudden actions and I was about to move away but… she suddenly whispered in my ear.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. The floor is just a bit cold, so please bear with it until we get home."

Her soft voice made my entire body feel warm and ticklish. No one's ever whispered in my ear like that… and no one's ever cared about me touching the cold floor… She's holding me so tightly that I can feel her heart beating. This feels really nice.

"Miss, what about the other children?"

I suddenly heard someone else's voice. I didn't even realize she was there. Was she hiding or were my thoughts too muddled because of everything that's happening? I looked up to see what Zara would say about those kids. I really hate them. I hope she doesn't say she wants to bring them along... I don't want her to help them…

"Who cares. Let them freeze together."

Oh. My heart's beating really fast.

I didn't even notice when we got into the carriage… what's happening… Did I lose consciousness? And why am I sitting on her lap! I know I'm dirty and she's already carried me all the way here! I can't let her hold me like this, what if she gets angry later?!

"Maddy, sit next to me and hold the lunch with extra meat that I told you to bring. And hand me a fork."

…

"It's not too extravagant, but I hope you like it. I'll get you whatever you want to eat in the future, so don't hesitate to tell me. But for now, please eat this. I brought extra meat just for you, so make sure you eat it all."

I watched everything she just did and said. I know what I just saw. I know what I just heard. But I can't believe it. I don't understand it. Even now, I feel extremely fuzzy and warm inside. Is this a dream? I don't want this to be a dream…

"It's not poisoned, see? You can eat it without worrying about it. Just let me know if you like it. I'll prepare some more for you in the future."

The future? Were you serious about marrying you?! I just don't understand! What should I say? What do I ask? I need to know why…

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

She's looking at me with a troubled face, but her Alm is still calm and warm.

"Maddy, seal your ears with Alm for a few seconds."

She suddenly pulled me up and started whispering in my ear again… I don't understand what this feeling is… it feels really nice… I don't want her to stop…

"This may be hard to believe, but I am willing to bind myself to a Alm oath, if that's what it takes to convince you. The reason I'm being nice to you, is because I fell in love with your eyes from the moment I saw you. I want you to look at me. I want you to see what I'll do for you. I want you to see the world with me. I want to experience the life you want to live. I want to be there for your sad moments and be part of your happy ones. I want you to see how much I love you. I want you to look at me, the way I look at you."

Oh… my whole body feels light… my head feels fuzzy and she smells really nice… I don't know what an Alm oath is, but I can tell she's not lying. Does that mean she really wants me to marry her? You want me to look at you the way you look at me? I looked up at her face and I felt my heart starting to beat faster and faster.

"Here, Cera, I hope you like it."

She's feeding me… and this is delicious… is this what happiness feels like?

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, thank you, Zara."

"N-no need to thank me, this is just a selfish request of mine, so please, let me keep feeding you."

I also don't want you to stop. I looked up at her to see her pretty orange eyes again.

"Okay."

"Maddy, hand me the blanket."

She suddenly started wrapping me up in a light blue blanket and I couldn't help but notice how good it smelled… it smells like one of those fruits they sometimes sell at the slums.

"Once we get home, I'll draw up a hot bath for you."

A hot bath?

"Miss, you seem to have visitors. There's a carriage right outside the entrance."

"It seems to be the young lady from the Marks family."

"She's the one that's learning Alm with you. I don't know why she's here though. There's no training session today."

"I see."

"What do you want to do, Lady Zara?"

"Since Lady Cera will be the new lady of the house, it's my duty to address you properly."

She held me closer to her as soon as she heard I was going to become the new lady of her house. My heart's beating really fast again…

"Whatever. Ignore her. If she's blocking the entrance with her carriage, let's just walk in. Cera's bath takes priority over whatever nonsense she wants."

"Understood."

I know she said until we got to her house, but aren't we there already? Why's she still carrying me?

"Stop right there, Zara! Today's the day I settle things with you!"

I don't like the way this girl's Alm feels like. It feels corrupted. Huh? Why does Zara's Alm feel so different? It feels dangerous. No. It's sending chills down my spine, this feels extremely frightening.

"Die."

"Lady Zara, if you kill her, there will be a lot of consequences. For now, please calm down, you're making Lady Cera uncomfortable."

It didn't seem like she forgot about me, I don't feel bloodlust coming from her. I think she blocked it so I wouldn't feel it, but maybe she did it unconsciously?

"I'm sorry Cera, are you okay? I know you're cold and I made a bit of ice. You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm okay. The blanket helped." I managed to get a few words out, but she's not calming down at all… What happened to her warm Alm from earlier? Why does she suddenly feel so cold?

"Maddy, take care of the annoying guests, I'll be taking a bath with Cera, so prepare a few sweets and something to drink."

We walked inside and the massive house…? Can this even be called house? This place is huge. 100 people can probably live here comfortably.

"From now, this is your house. You can sign the deed with me later. I don't really like how big it is, but if you like it, then that's all that matters."

She keeps getting colder… I feel like if I talk… something bad will happen.

"Come here and lift your arms up, I'll rinse you down first and then we can get you into the tub."

Even though she's undressing me, and looking my way, I don't think she's looking at me. It's as if she's distracted. I don't know why, but I feel a bit hurt and sad... you said you wanted to see the world with me and you're not even looking at me…

"Close your eyes, we don't want water or soap getting into your eyes."

Every time she touches me I feel like I'm going to die. My body is reacting to her Alm and my mind is reacting to her warm touch. I don't know what to do…

"Do you like it? it smells nice, right? In the future, make sure you don't scrub too hard, especially when you're injured. It's bad for your skin to scrub too hard and since your skin is already really smooth, it'll damage it and make it dry."

It smells like the blanket you gave me.

"I'll wash your hair so enjoy the hot bath."

I can feel that the temperature of the water is nice and warm, but the freezing Alm she's exuding is insane. Is she doing this on purpose? No, I don't think so. She's being super gentle with me and she's still being nice to me. What changed? Is she still angry at that little girl that we saw outside?

"Here, I'll get you something that fits you better tomorrow, for now you can use my pajamas."

I put on the undergarments she gave me and let her button up the night gown she prepared for me.

"It might sting a bit at first, but it'll feel cool and better after."

My instincts are telling me to run away, but… even so… the way she's tracing her finger through my body feels really nice, it's making me lightheaded and giddy.

"I'm sorry, Cera, I can't hold it anymore… I wanted to get you something to eat… Let Maddy know if you need anything…"

So you knew something was wrong, but why are you in so much pain? Why are you like this? I slowly placed my hand on her face and brushed off her humid white hair behind her ear.

"Hey… I don't know why you're in so much pain, but if I'm going to be the new lady of the house, you have to tell me when you feel bad. If this happens again, I'm going to get really mad at you."

I placed one hand on her chest and the other on her back and I started injecting my Alm inside. I don't know why your Alm suddenly got super cold and dangerous. I'll try to disturb whatever is going on inside your body with a little bit of my Alm.

"I don't know how much this will help, but I hope it makes you feel a bit better."

After a few minutes I started getting exhausted, but it seems she's feeling much better. I wonder if she overused her abilities, making her body reject Alm, causing it to go berserk.

"What happened?" The maid from earlier suddenly knocked on the open door and stood there looking at me. I don't know why, or where I got the courage to speak up, but I knew it was her fault that Zara ended up like this.

"Why didn't you stop that little girl from earlier? Zara wouldn't be in pain if you had stepped in and stopped her." I glared at her and kept injecting Alm into Zara's body.

"I wanted to see what she'd do if someone attacked you. Lady Cera, I'm sure you felt it, but she was about to kill her. I had to step-"

"So what? She attacked her first. Are you saying that it would have been okay if Zara got hurt or died?" This stupid maid is getting on my nerves.

"Please leave. I'll call you for you when she wakes up." Zara, you need a new maid. This one is useless.

"Cera…" Zara whimpered my name as she shifted her body and hugged my legs.

"It's going to be-" I tried to say something before she interrupted me.

"Don't leave me."

"I'm right here, Zara. Don't worry, I won't leave you." I stopped transferring Alm into her body and started lacing my fingers through her hair.

I heard the door close as I was focusing on combing Zara's hair with my fingers while my thoughts began to drift. I didn't want to fall asleep while she was still passed out in pain so I bit my tongue and the sharp pain shook my brain awake. Did that stupid maid try to put me to sleep with some sort of powder or Alm control? Just wait, I swear I'll kill you.