Moving Forward

-----Yui's POV

I couldn't see her wings that well last night, but looking at Kaede now, her wings stretched wide open for everyone to see. There were no feathers at all on her wings as they were similar in appearance to bat wings in a way, with the tips of her wings pointed sharp. To me, the way Kaede spread and moved her wings looked beautiful and elegant, but as I look around to gauge everyone's reactions, most of the soldiers looked to be skeptical, with some even reaching for the hilt of their swords.

Iris: "Now-"

I was about to say something, but seems as though mom beat me to it.

Iris: "I ask all of you to keep this to ourselves. Kaede wanted to open up about it, so I figured before we move forward, everyone should also know the truth. Just as long as Kaede herself was okay with it."

Soldier1: "You knew about this, milady?"

Iris: "Yes."

...

Everyone went silent at that brief exchange. Most likely, the soldiers are still in the midst of processing what's happening in front of their eyes.

Kaede: "I didn't ask to be born like this. All that I ever wanted, even now, is to live a normal life like everyone else here. It's... Been difficult, to say the least. I'm sorry for deceiving everyone, but I promise I mean no harm."

...

Again, silence spread over everyone. I move my gaze to Rupert and his family as they're also in disbelief. However, Violet seems more puzzled than the rest of her family. Gabriella seems to be thinking over stuff in her mind while Olivia seems to be whispering extra details to her.

Iris: "I know that vampires have been a massive threat hundreds of years ago, but Kaede is not like that."

Alice: "I've fought with her before, and I can testify that she isn't the monster that we all know vampires are. Plus, have you ever heard of a vampire possessing light magic?"

And with Alice's words, Kaede proceeds to conjure up a sword of light in her left hand, now wielding both her blood magic, and light magic in her hands. The way she did that so effortlessly is beyond my comprehension, especially since all I can still do is just make my hand slightly wet.

Sicily: "She also saved us from goblins!"

Mell: "Mom even healed countless soldiers during the battle in Azalea!"

As if because of Alice, Sicily and Mell both jump in to aid Kaede's image, causing Kaede herself to smile before retracting her blood scythe back into her palm, along with her wings, and her light sword vanishing in the air.

...

Iris: "Does anyone here have any problems?"

Gabriella: "Yes!"

It was Gabriella who shot her hand up. On the surface, she doesn't look to be mad at Kaede, but she sure was quick to say something.

Gabriella: "When we first met, you did something to me, right? I thought it was just the intensity of your aura, but was that actually something to do with your powers?"

Ah, okay that's fair. With Kaede now exposing herself like this, she'd obviously be concerned about that, and Kaede herself seems to be anxious about answering.

Kaede: "...It... Might have been. I'm not sure. If it was, then it was not intentional."

Gabriella: "You sound like you're not familiar with your body. How can you not know?"

Soldier2: "She's right. What if something like that happens again? Will we all be at risk?"

I don't know if this was Gabriella's intention, but she's now sparked more murmurs between the soldiers by her inquiry.

Kaede: "I-"

Mai: "Let me point out something important."

Suddenly, Mai appears out of nowhere beside Kaede, startling everyone in the process. I'm reminded every time how much those two look alike as they both have long white hair and elegant figures, developed figured.

Mai: "Vampires don't bleed, correct? So then why was Kaede able manipulate her own blood? You humans won't know, but she's what I call, a half-vampire."

More chatter could be heard from the soldiers, all questioning the term "half-vampire." From my experience growing up and attending school, not once have I heard of the existence of half-vampires, so I doubt anyone else here knows as well. And Gabriella herself seems to be deliberating over something with Olivia.

Kaede: "My mom is a human, just like everyone here. I never knew my father as he was killed, but yes, he's a vampire. I just want to live a normal life, or as much of a normal life as I can. So please."

...

Gabriella: "...Okay!"

And with a smile on her face, Gabriella breaks the silence with a smile. Seems as though she's happy with the explanation. The soldier's also seemed to have calmed down as well which alleviated the tension that has been steadily building up inside me.

Iris: "Right! Thank you all for understanding. Like Kaede said, she wants to live a normal life. So treat her just like any other."

Kaede: "Thank you."

And with a bow from Kaede, this whole situation finally comes to a close. The soldiers slowly went back to their respected areas, leaving just Rupert and his family, along with Olivia and Gabriella with us. Almost immediately after the situation had died down, Mell runs up to Kaede before wrapping her arms around Kaede's waist.

Mell: "I'm glad."

Kaede: "You were nervous as well?"

Mell: "Of course I was. I was ready to beat everyone up if they weren't gonna accept you."

Kaede: "Hehe. Thank you."

I honestly wanted to be the one to comfort Kaede, but seems as though Mell beat me to that yet again. Just as I was walking up towards the two of them, I was joined with Violet and her brother, along with Olivia and Gabriella.

Yui: "Your wings were beautiful, Kaede."

Kaede: "You think?"

Mell: "She's right! They were so cool!"

Mell and I share a smile with Kaede. Seems as though Kaede was a little nervous about the wings as it feels like from our words just now, a lot of tension just got washed away from her body.

Violet: "So... You're a half-vampire?"

Kaede: "...Yes. I'm sorry again for deceiving you all this time."

Collin: "It definitely came as a shock, haha. But I don't think that changes how we feel about you. Maybe if you were a stranger then I'd be more cautious, just like those soldiers before. Right, sis?"

Violet: "...Mhmm."

Gabriella: "So then that whole situation with the murder of that noble earlier this year. That was you?"

Kaede: "...Ye-"

Sicily: "Actually~ That was me, technically. Kaede just helped me."

Gabriella: "Sorry, who are you?"

Sicily: "My name's Sicily, and this here is my sister Lillian. Like I mentioned before, Kaede saved us and she even went as far to help us take our revenge."

Collin: "Revenge?"

Sicily: "By-"

Lillian: "I don't think we need to explain that much."

Suddenly, Lillian quickly cuts her off from continuing any further. I'm not entirely sure on the details myself, but all I can tell is that it's a touchy subject, hence why I never brought it up with them or Kaede.

Kaede: "But I did play a role in it, so yes."

Gabriella: "Don't worry about it. I was just curious is all. I never really liked that noble's family."

Interesting, so she doesn't like George then? Might be a silver lining in all this since we never got to bring George or Mark along with us.

Violet: "...What about that girl?"

Wanting to change the subject, Violet points to Mell who's still clinging to the side of Kaede.

Kaede: "Her name's Mell. To put it simply, I'm-"

Mell: "She's my mom."

Everyone had puzzled expressions on their faces besides the people who already knew.

Kaede: "Pfft. It's not what you think. I've taken on the role of her mother. I recued her alongside Sicily and Lillian. After some time, it just sorta happened."

With a smile, Kaede rests her hand atop of Mell's head. Everyone also started to calm down from the explanation. I could only imagine that all of them thought that Kaede actually gave birth to Mell.

Natalie: "Uhm. I actually have a question regarding that. Vampires age differently, right? Is that the same for half-vampires?"

Kaede: "I'm not sure. But I do know I'm young. Roughly around the age of 17."

Violet: "So a year older than us..."

Collin: "Here I was starting to think you're actually like 500 years old or something, haha."

Kaede: "I really hope not. I hope I can die at a normal age like everyone else."

Even when it comes to dying, Kaede still wants to be regarded as human. Although I have doubts that she'll die of old age like that. I thought about this exact problem before, thinking that Kaede will live longer than me, maybe even keeping her youthful appearance for centuries. Meanwhile we're all slowly rotting away, until eventually passing. I can only imagine how painful that'll be for Kaede, having to slowly let go of everyone.

Kaede: "Fufu~"

I don't know when, but I found myself wrapping an arm around Kaede's. It's selfish of me to do this, but I want to at least give Kaede fond memories between us if her fate does become something like that...