Aurora didn’t take long to check the girl over.
Maybe it was because Aurora was a kid right now, or maybe because the black-haired, blue-eyed girl was a kid as well, but there was nothing sexual about the check-up.
Thankfully, Aurora’s inability to do magic had not affected her system’s storage feature. It was still working properly and Aurora was able to take out the potion.
It felt awkward to use the potion on someone this young but Aurora knew she had made the right choice when she saw the red back of the child.
The girl was not bleeding from her back the impact had left a huge reminder on her back. Even lying down on one’s back would be painful with such a huge injury.
“Don’t worry. You will be alright soon”
Aurora spread the diluted golden liquid all over the patient’s back. The injuries begin healing visibly.
[A top-grade healing potion was used. The healing effect will begin in 3…2…1…]
Every time Aurora touched the red back, the girl flinched away due to pain. But she endures the agony for the sake of treatment.
Thankfully, the injury did not require immediate advanced treatment and the potion was enough to heal it back up.
“T-Thank you for helping me. I should leave now to save you both some trouble.”
The girl looked tired but determined to leave the bed. However, her body was too weak to comply with her demand.
Although a healing potion had healded the child, it could not relieve the mental fatigue.
“I cannot allow you to leave until you are alright. Can you tell us how to contact your parents? I will call them to pick you up.”
Rita’s words caused the girl to panic a little.
“I don’t have parents. And I don’t want to go back for now. I escaped because I didn’t want to live with my guardian anymore. Please don’t make me go back.”
Aurora considered the child in front of her with a careful look.
There had been no sign of physical abuse on the girl’s back so she ruled that possibility out. But mental abuse seemed like a likely factor the child was facing.
As such, sending the girl back into a toxic environment did not sit well with Aurora.
And Rita seemed to agree with her decision.
“Hey kid, if you don’t want to go back then you can join us. I am from the Rocx academy and I’m here to retrieve one of my students. You can join us on the way back and enter the academy as well.”
“There will be a lot of kids your age and you can befriend them.”
Aurora could see the girl look at them with interest. It was difficult to see but Aurora did spot the hint of interest in the girl’s eyes at the mention of ‘Rocx Academy.’
It seemed like this child was no ordinary person.
“I don’t want to impose on you so I’ll have to decline. Besides, I am waiting for someone here and I want to continue waiting for them. I hope you both are not too disappointed with my decision.”
Aurora could see the internal struggle the child was going through.
“Alright. Since you have decided upon this, then I won’t force you. But you are free to join us if you change your mind. My name is Aurora and this is Rita. You can join us for now.”
“M-My name is Natasha. It is nice to meet you both.”
Aurora had known there was something familiar about those cold blue eyes and shiny black hair of the child. And now she knew why the girl felt so familiar to her.
That name confirmed the identity of the little girl for Aurora. She was the Northern Princess and it seemed as if she had run away.
No wonder the guards had been trying to stall Aurora and the others from the Rocx valley. It was because the princess had run away.
===========================
“M-My name is Natasha. It is nice to meet you both.”
The Northern Princess could not help but flinch as she introduced herself. It had been so long since she had said her name out loud.
For a long time now, she had simply been the princess of the royal one. The maids were too afraid to take her name and the head maid just called her the princess.
As such, Natasha had almost forgotten her name.
But saying the name out loud brought back memories she did not want to remember.
“Natasha? Got it. So about our offer of joining us for the next few days? How about it? Want to come along with us for sightseeing?”
Aurora offered her hand out to the other girl. Natasha eyes it with suspicion before realizing that there was no utter motive for using her.
Besides, the one offering her the hand was just a child not even ten years old.
Natasha turned her attention toward the elder female in the room. It was normal to think that she was the real authority here.
Even Natasha had to defer to her head maid while deciding for the country and herself. Adults were the ones in charge.
“Are you alright with it, miss? Won’t I be a problem at your party?”
Natasha wanted to join the duo. This was the first time someone had not been afraid of her and her cold tongue.
She also could not help but feel like the younger girl understood her emotions even without expression.
This was the first time Natasha had found someone like this. She did not want to make light of this feeling.
“I don’t mind. Aurora can make her own decisions. If she decided to trust you then I will defer to her on this matter. Welcome to the gang little miss.”
Natasha felt her eyes become wet at the confirmation. She had never felt this accepted before. She could not help but bask in this feeling.
“H-Hey, don’t cry now. You are alright. You don’t have to come along with us if you don’t want to. It is perfectly alright.”
“N-No. I want to come along with you. Please allow me to come along with you.”
Natasha could not help but feel like something inside her had burst open at the easy acceptance.
Even Lord Karan had not accepted her out of the blue like this. But these people did accept her without even asking her about who she was.
Natasha was sure that the pair had their suspicions about her real identity and rank but they did not ask.
Everyone else that had tried to come close to Natasha had wanted something from her. They had never taken what Natasha wanted to do into account and had forced her to befriend them.
But these people felt different from all the others Natasha had met before.
“Alright, if you are sure then we can go once we freshen ourselves up. Besides, your clothes are not suited for people to wear in this weather. And also, is your back alright now?”
Her back? Weirdly enough, it no longer hurt.
The magic potion the little girl had used had to be of the top quality and expensive to be this effective. And she had used it without hesitation.
Natasha could not help but feel like she was a gullible idiot. And to think that she had used the potion before she had known Natasha’s name.
“My back no longer hurts. I will repay your kindness one day.”
“Don’t worry about it. You just enjoy yourself with us for now.”
Natasha felt the first tear leak down her cheek but she did not stop it. A few more followed before her face was fully wet.
“Huh, Why did you start crying? I did not do anything wrong, right? Rita, help me out a little here.”
Aurora sounded a little panicked. It was like she was not even aware of what she did to cause this reaction from the Northern Princess.
And that caused the first sob to hit Natasha’s frame.
She had never been treated with this much care before. People didn’t come close to her to allow her to feel like this.
This slaughter of emotions was new for her. But her cold face did not change despite the tears flowing down her cheek.
===========================
“Aurora, don’t ever change. Your kindness is a weapon in itself and you don’t even realize it. Well, looks like we have a new brat to look over.”
Rita’s words went unheard by the pair in front of her.
Not that it mattered much right now. Things were just as they were supposed to be. And Rita would make sure nothing wrong happens to their party.
But she could also not help but feel worried about the future.
They were poaching the Northern Republic’s princess. Surely not everyone was going to take kindly to the Rocx Valley’s action. They will need to be prepared to face some extreme backlash at least.
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