In the next few days, I uncovered some strange facts about Mama Ruth's past.

Number one, Mama Ruth found Sven fighting a cat behind a bush.

Don't believe me? Read this…

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The 5th of Adared,

Elric and I got married a couple days ago with the blessings of a local priest. It wasn't the most grand occasion, but Lissy was there and so were Johanne, her daughter, Elric's parents and my friends...and that's all that matters.

Elric thought that it'd be better if we moved in with him so he could take care of us but I refused, for that meant I wouldn't be able to take care of the inn.

He's currently moved in with me and is helping me run the business, all the while taking care of little Lissy like his own daughter.

But apart from all of this, something strange happened today that I have yet to relay to Elric. It was Market Day so I thought getting some foodstuffs for the daily dinner would be a grand idea when I heard faint cries behind a bush. Human cries.

I quickly ran to check and lo and behold, I found a silver haired boy, probably around the young age of 12, trying to snatch meat from an alley cat. I was rendered speechless for a while or so.

And what nerve did the boy have to have said, "Mind your business, old hag!" The absolute bloody nerve! I haven't even hit my middle 30s yet!

So I told him what an insolent boy he was and that I hoped the cat better get the meat instead of him. That shut him up quickly. But I hadn't yet taken a couple steps when the boy reached out and tugged my sleeve with his puny fingers. Now that he stood up in the light, I saw how absolutely gorgeous he really was. Like clear quartz, his hair shown under the sunlight and his large hazel eyes looked up at me with a subtle mix of eagerness and hurt.

I remember how he muttered something and I didn't quite catch it so I told him to speak up. The next time he spoke, his voice was afraid and mouse-like:

"C-Can you spare me a few coins for bread?"

Even though the lad had called me an old hag, I dropped a few coppers in his curious, callused palm and he ran away without another glance. I had just sighed and completed my shopping, the thought of the boy dismissed from my mind.

But then again, when I was heading back to the inn after getting the shopping done, I saw him sitting by the side of the road. By the looks of how he beamed when he looked at me, he was most probably waiting for me to pass by.

I avoided his gaze and walked as fast as I could but he still snuck up on me.

"Hey lady, thanks for the money!" he mumbled as he tugged on my sleeve again. "It's the first thing I ate after a couple days."

I frowned, pausing in the street. "Why, where are your parents?"

His face had drooped and he shook his head. I nodded solemnly. Maybe that's when I got the idea to bring him to the inn with me.

And here he is, sitting on the counter beside me in the kitchen, attacking a bowl of custard.

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That's it. The entry just stops abruptly.

So Sven has been under Mama's care ever since that very day? I hadn't known at all. To be honest, I had expected him to be Mama's orphan nephew or something, but this is a bit... strange.

Anyways, during the span of the few next days, I kept reading Mama's diary with great interest as if it was a novel. And the weird thing was, novel reading was never my forte and I was still strangely enjoying this.

Though I didn't know what all these Isorele, Adared words meant. Could they be... months? Huh. I have no idea what date it is.

I was about to open the ACCOUNTS book to another page when a knock came on my door. Quickly, I hid the diary under my sheets and turned my face lazily to the side as if I had been sleeping.

I heard the door creak open. Whoever it was wasn't saying anything or coming in, making me curious as to who it could be. My neck ached to turn to the side and see who it was, but I kept on the façade that I was fast asleep. In the middle of the day.

"Oh, she's not awake..." someone muttered from the door, voice gruff and low. It was Sven.

My eyelids twitched and I clenched and unclenched my hands under the sheet. So he had finally decided to make an appearance out of his little hole, huh? I longed to dead-stare at him, scrutinize and raise my eyebrow as if to say, 'Back already?'

But I kept my face towards the wall.

Soon, Sven shut the door and I straightened my back as I sighed a sigh of relief. As I stretched my arms, the door opened abruptly and Sven stared at me from the doorway, a slight smirk on his face.

"I knew you were kidding," he muttered so low that I barely caught his words.

I frowned and leaned back against the headboard, my arms folded at my chest. Nonchalantly, Sven walked in and sat at the foot of my bed. Thankfully, he had left the door open, probably in case I started getting any wrong ideas about his intentions. (Which I totally didn't!)

"So," I started, looking cautiously into his face, "done crying?"

He clenched his jaw, and looked at me defensively. "I wasn't crying."

"Well, of course," I scoffed. Then I looked at him somberly. "I'm sorry for your loss."

He shook his head and sighed. As he looked at the wooden floor, his eyes searched for ways to say what he wanted to relay.

"I-It's fine." I raised my eyebrows and he caught the look, getting flustered as he said with a voice crack, "I-I really am! It's just… I had waited all my life, you know..."

I nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"It's so, so strange, knowing and not knowing someone at the same time. The way you described her, I felt like she was already in front of me… But at the same time, it felt like you were describing a total stranger. How strange is it that you know somewhere in the world, your sibling is probably alive and living a life totally different to yours? And somehow, you can't get in their world. You feel... alone. I'm sure you don't get what I mean, after all, I understand that you're an only child.``

I pinched the folds of the white bed sheet into small mountain peaks. "I do, actually. Understand, I mean."

I heard him sigh. Even though I wasn't looking directly at his face, I knew he was staring at me. It seemed like he wanted to say something, and that he did.

"Who are you?" he asked curiously, his eyes wide.

I looked up, a little shaken. What did he mean, 'Who are you?'...? Did- Did he not know? How could he not know? Should I tell him..?

The big question was, what if he betrays my trust after finding out and leads the guards straight to me?