334 Father Darius
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“L-Lucia was tortured harshly... Her tongue was cut off because she was always a big talker...” Sighed Mary. “Those people of the past... I don’t know where they are right now, but I still do recognize some of them, they’re still soldiers and knights in this town, living with what they had done, having families and children, and enjoying their lives, fully knowing of the atrocities they committed... Sometimes I wonder if these people are really... people at all.”
“Ahh... Ah...”
Lucia suddenly tried to speak, but only soft and dry moans came out of her mouth, as she seemed to want to tell Mary to not concentrate in those things. Mary knew about it and seemed to sigh and hug her friend again. This was harder for them than I imagined, I felt guilty thar we were being given such a long explanation of their past. It felt like we were doing something they were uncomfortable with, and I really wanted them to stop... But I also knew this information would be useful for us at the end. Nonetheless, I couldn’t help but question the methods of my parents, especially my mother who was the one to first speak about this.
I feel like they used these gifts as a way to give them the obligation to speak, even though it wasn’t forceful, nor through any ill means, it felt slightly manipulative. I can’t help but think that, and I feel terrible the more I think about manipulating these people to talk about their traumas and past. But if I talk, I might be ignored anyways... but I can try to stop this before the two nuns go through any more pain.
“I-I think we should stop this...” I said, the first time I spoke through the entire conversation. “Mom, dad... They’re in pain, they really don’t want to... talk about these things. I feel like we are manipulating them into saying such things.”
“Sylphy...” My mother looked at me, as she seemed considerate. I do remember that yesterday when I found Mist, she had reacted in various different ways, but something about demons had impacted her greatly.
“I-I am trying to learn for you... What you said yesterday really impacted me.” My mother told me. “I am sorry if this seem manipulative to you... Mary, Lucia, you can stop if you want to. I-It wasn’t my intention to make you feel forced.”
“Not at all...” Said Mary shyly, mustering her strength to smile. “I am happy to find such nice people... If you need me to share my past, I will. I feel indebted, but I don’t feel manipulated to do this... I’ve always wanted to sit down and speak a bit about this, even as painful as it is... I cannot keep it inside of my chest forever.”
.....
“Mary... You’re really doing this...” Sighed Celeste.
“Nonetheless, I wanted to tell you that... W-We don’t think ill of these people anymore. Resentment against them seems meaningless... It has been many years, trying to find them and attempting to hurt them will only brew more violence at the end. I want to... move on.” Said Mary, as she looked into the tea. “After I was thrown into a slave market, I met Lucia once more, in there, we felt slightly better, accompanied by the other, and covered in scars. It felt like we barely recognized one another back then, we had changed so much, and we had gone through too much... We were both different, too different... but our past connected us together, and made us rely on one another to survive. Eventually, we were sold to someone... a mysterious old man, a human.”
“A human bought you two?” Asked Shade. “Are you two still slaves?”
“No... He freed us the moment he bought us. He wasn’t someone with enough money to buy every slave available, but he was a good-hearted man. He was Priest Darius, the original owner of this orphanage.” Said Mary. “He was... an incredible and gentle man. He used all his savings to save us, and when we asked him why he did it, he merely said: “I did it on a heartbeat, I couldn’t stand you children standing there, like items... I felt like I had to do it, or maybe nobody would had freed you.”... Since then, we began to work in this orphanage.”
“Father Darius was a kind soul, he was very old, but energetic. He taught us many things, and took care of us, slowly healing our large wounds and scars with medicinal herbs and low-tiered magic...” Sighed Mary. “He was... like a second father for the two of us. He taught us so much and he showed to us that not all humans were evil, that there were many good people out there... He showed us that there’s always good people everywhere, in any race...”
“He had started this orphanage because he pitied the children left by the survivors of the war. Many half-demons and beast-kins were left. Some beast-kin were often treated like citizens, but there were many of their tribes mixed in our army, so they were just as discriminated as us.”
“Father Darius opened an orphanage for these children that the other orphanages ignored. Of course, he also took humans, but most of the humans, elves, and dwarves were welcomed by the other four orphanages in this city, which are being maintained by the government. Our orphanage is in fact something different, we used to receive a monthly income to help us raise the children, but the last years they stopped, ignoring us...”
“That’s awful... Is that not illegal? You could complain for that.” Said Nepheline. “But I guess... you don’t want that trouble to reach you, don’t you?” She sighed.
“N-No, I would prefer to not bring us trouble, our existence is problematic enough for these people...” Sighed Mary. “Father Darius taught us to not find trouble and to be cautious with people, to learn how to read their hearts as well through a special spell he learned named [Heart Reading] which I used in all of you when we first met...”
A magic that can read a heart’s intentions? So is that similar to Aquarina’s mysterious ability to see through the intentions of others as well? How interesting...
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