Chapter 7: A new home

These overwhelming emotions were something new to Ray. He lost hope in people, in the world and most importantly he lost hope in himself. For a child, getting hit with the fact that his parents died and he will be sentenced to the same fate is nothing short of ridiculous. Now he found someone willing to help him, that doesn't mean he trust Galdof but still, he found a ray of hope in this long dark path and he will make full use of that ray of hope to advance faster towards his goal.

As for Galdof, he just stood there looking at Ray silently waiting for him to calm down. Then he spoke with a calm voice "For how long are you going to hide, Flora?" the old man looked at the closed door that opened just seconds later and a silhouette of an extremely beautiful young girl. She nervously peeked inside and then said "Mmm...I-I didn't m-mean to spy on you two. I'm sorry." with a plate in her hands filled with food for Ray she walked slowly and put the plate on the table. When Ray saw the food, his stomach grumbled asking for some fuel.

So he looked at Galdof asking for permission, the old man just nodded. Ray ran to the table and started wolfing down the food. Even though he was starving, he didn't eat like an animal but he kept his etiquette that hit refined with years of living in aristocracy.

"Thank you for the food. That was so delicious." He honestly thanked Flora with a slight smile that can barely be seen after getting satisfied. His compliment seemed to work as Flora smiled sweetly and said " I'm glad you liked the food."

"Now, Flora that you heard the whole story, you know he will love with us for now. Show Ray an empty room, he can stay there." Said Galdof and left the room going somewhere.

The two young kids, now left alone didn't know how to strike a conversation and they just awkwardly sat in silence.

"Mmm...so your name was Ray, right? Welcome to our house. I live here alone with my grandpa so feel free to make yourself at home." Said Flora with a light smile.

"I really appreciate your hospitality, and I will be grateful for the rest of my life." His voice was filled with determination. He made an oath that he will pay back this kindness and he will help them as much as possible.

"It's not that big of a deal. Anyways, follow me, I will show you the room. It's never been used and we basically forgot about it for a long time now. I guess it came to be useful, who thought? fufu." Giggled Flora elegantly. Her beautiful smile and sweet giggles really captivated Ray. For some reason, he felt a strong connection with Flora. It's like they were companions for the longest time. 'But it's weird, I've never met her before. Why do I feel like I know here somewhere?' Thought Ray.

It was really something weird and confusing, but he couldn't bother to exhaust his mind any further and he just threw that to the back of his head and walked slowly behind Flora while she showed him around the house. It was considerably small, for Ray who lived in a mansion for all his life, it was very small but he didn't mind that. In fact, he liked the warm feeling coming from this house even though it was in the middle of the woods surrounded by all kinds of dangerous things.

"This is the room I was talking about, it's quite dirty but with a little bit of cleaning it's as good as new." As she talked, she opened the door to a room in the corner of the house. The room was of average size with a bed, a wooden table and a chair. It was like the rooms you find in ins, simple yet neat.

"I Don't mind that, I will clean it myself. You don't need to do that." Said Ray as he inspected the room, touching the table and checking the bed. But for some reason, Flora kept quiet and stood there looking at him conflicted.

"Umm...I'm sorry if this will offend you but, do you even know how to clean?" Ray didn't expect the question and that made him laugh. He didn't expect that he will ever smile again, but here he is laughing carefreely.

"Hahaha.....Yes, I do know how to clean. To be a worthy heir to my family I had to learn all kinds of things, even those that were meant for maids and butlers. My father always said to me 'If you don't live like commoners, you will never be their ruler.'" Said Ray with a melancholic look on his face. Flora heard his story while spying on them and so she knew what happened.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you remember." she hurriedly apologised. She didn't mean to harm the boy in any way. Even though she trained under her grandpa from when she was a toddler, she was still a softy in the heart.

"You don't need to apologise." And so the little girl left Ray alone inside the room. He sat down on the bed and then threw himself on the pillow. He was exhausted mentally and physically, his chaotic mind was still processing all the events that happened to him, so in normal cases, he wouldn't be able to sleep. But his fatigue got him and he fell into a deep slumber unbeknownst to what kind of future awaiting him.