The path out of the marketplace didn't lead into the village like I was expecting. Rather, we went further out into the village outskirts and kept on walking. We were on a dirt-trodden path that had grass and plants growing here and there, indicating that this path was seldom taken.

I was confused where we were even going, and I wasn't alone. Alise appeared to be lost as well, looking around with a look of utter bewilderment.

"Mom, where are we going?" She asked worriedly. "I haven't been around here before."

Instantly, my guard rose to its maximum, and I silently looked right at Amelie. She seemed a bit concerned and worried. Whatever she was planning had to be bad.

"Don't worry, Alise. It's fine, we're just going to visit a friend of mine." That was the tone of a complete liar. I could tell, and now I felt that I had to get away before whatever was going to happen.

I wanted to get away, but my wicked stepmother's grip was too strong. Maybe if I could wriggle my way out, I could slip out and start running back h-

"Ah, hello. What are you doing here, dear ladies?" A calm, soothing voice stopped us in our tracks, and we all turned to figure out what the source of that noise was.

A man stood there, with a massive beard and long hair. He was rough with a large fur coat, with a large basket strapped to his back. He seemed to be surprised by our appearance, as there was a look of utter shock on his face.

Immediately, his expression reset to neutral, then gave a nod to Amelie. "Ah, I recognize you! You're the one that requested an appointment today, correct? Follow me, and we'll reach the doctor's workspace in just a moment."

Amelie nodded, and all three of us started to follow this stranger. I couldn't understand what was going on at the moment.

Were we heading to a doctor? But why? There wasn't a reason for us to do such a thing. As far as I knew, everyone in the family was positively healthy and doing well, so what was a visit to a physician supposed to do?

Maybe father had some kind of condition that he kept secret from the rest of the family? Or maybe my stepmother wanted to get some kind of medicine to help in the future? Or was there something devious for this visit, and she figured we were too dumb to bother trying to figure out why we were here?

Whatever the case, I was going to find out in a moment. After all, I needed this to be solved, otherwise, I may just feel threatened living in the same house with Amelie.

The walk to the doctor's place wasn't long at all, it took a few minutes for us to reach our destination. However, I couldn't help but feel tensed throughout that time, as I continued to think about what Amelie was planning.

There had to be some kind of malicious reasoning for this, I knew it. I would have to keep my eyes open, and my ears alert to spot any kind of suspicious behaviors.

The place we arrived at wasn't grand, fancy, or even beautiful. It was a simple log cabin that had vegetation growing on top of the roof, with a chimney that was going strong.

In front of the cabin, there was a well-dressed man sitting on a rocking chair, relaxing and letting himself be moved by the wind. He had a bishōnen face, with dark purple eyes and long light green hair.

Upon noticing our appearance, he got off the rocking chair and walked steadily towards us. He gave us a gentle smile, before turning and slightly bowed towards the big man.

"Thank you for bringing them here Alexander, I'll do the examinations from here. If you could be so kind, could you go and grab some more firewood? We could use some more for later." This doctor's voice was pretty mellow and soothing and sounded similar to a creek that was calmly flowing.

The large man only grunted in response as he went and grabbed an axe, before heading off into the wilderness. The good doctor turned towards me as he crouched down, putting a hand out to shake.

"Hello, you are Feliza, right? Your mother told me all about you." I shook his hand, and I couldn't help but feel confused. What was it that she told this man about, and why were we here exactly?

To my surprise, the doctor's face turned from gentle to somewhat worried, as he silently stared at me. I didn't know why he seemed so concerned, at least until he let go of my hand and turned to Amelie.

"This may be worse than I thought. Go ahead and sit down in front, I'll go and examine Feliza more inside." Alise looked horrified as she quickly grabbed the hem of the man's pants, looking up at him with a pained look.

"What's going on with my sister? Is it serious? Please tell me she's going to be all right!" I couldn't react or respond to that. My body was too busy being controlled by shock as I could only realize that there was a possibility that my night training would be exposed.

"It's going to be alright, it's just a check-up, dear." The man said as he patted her head, giving her a warm and welcoming smile. "Just relax and take a seat, I'll get you some nice, cold tea to help you relax after this is all done."

Alise could only nod, before being lead by Amelie towards some chairs. I couldn't help but notice that my older sister enthusiasm and joy was being lowered by the second.

"Alright Feliza, come and follow me." I really didn't have a choice in the matter, did I? If I tried to run, that big guy would probably come rushing up to me and bring me back.

I obediently followed the doctor, trying to think of a strategy to try to avoid having my night training being discovered.

There was nothing that I could come up with that could assist in this situation. An idea sprouted in my head. I just needed to lie and be sure that I didn't give off any nervous tics at all.

That was something I could do easily... right?

The doctor opened the door to his cabin, and the smell of mint softy brushed up against my nose. The cabin seemed to be neat and tidy, with a fluffy rug on the ground and a nice, long yarn blanket over the couch. There were some potted plants scattered around, which I could deduce were the source of that pleasant smell.

I honestly did not expect this cabin to have such a nice scent and have a homey atmosphere. I was expecting something more basic and empty.

"Have a seat on the couch, Feliza, and we can begin the examination." I sat down and took a deep breath. I started to prepare myself for the upcoming event, and I needed all of my mental power to be ready for this heavy task.

"Alright, please hold out your hands." I did so obediently, almost as if I was a puppy being ordered by their master. The doctor casually undid my bandages, before grimacing at my wounds.

I looked down at my hands... and I was shocked to see how bad those injuries were. The skin of my hands was completely gone, and there were large scabs growing to try to heal the damage.

Unfortunately, because of my night training, these scabs were somewhat cracked and broken, which explained why my wounds kept bleeding after the fact.

"It's worse than I thought." The doctor said as he poked the scab, looking at me with a careful eye. I showed no reaction, primarily because there wasn't any pain nor reason to be worried.

"Stay there for a moment, alright?" The physician walked on over to a random shelf that contained some mysterious jars that seemed to contain some kind of liquid. He picked up two of those jars: one with a light red liquid, and the other that had a dark purple liquid.

As he walked on over, I could notice the consistency of each liquid. The red one was bouncing constantly, almost as if it was a hyperactive water, while the other one just sloshed around, as though it was a somewhat thin jam.

"Alright, I'm going to apply both of these to your wounds. If they sting or hurt, just let me know, okay?" I nodded to his words as the man placed both jars on the ground.

He took the red jar, unscrewed it, and started to massage the liquid onto my scabs. His touch was rather nice, and I felt myself feeling a bit relaxed from his masterful touch.

This guy really knew how to use his hands. He could probably just give up being a doctor and probably become the best masseuse in this village. I'd definitely pay him for a good back massage.

"That's odd. Why are your hand muscles so hard and rigid?" Uh oh. I looked at him in confusion, acting dumb and trying to appear as if I had no clue what he was talking about.

He looked into my eyes for a brief moment, before stopping his massaging. I looked down at my hands, and to my surprise, the scabs were completely gone. All that remained was my normal hand, almost as if I didn't have any kind of injury before.

"I have to say, your eyes are pretty unique. They're completely black, like what your mother had told me previously. I haven't seen such a thing before in my life, to be honest." I couldn't care less about my eyes, just hurry up with the procedure so I don't have to worry anymore!

The doctor then took out the purple liquid and spread it over my hands as well. This time, he didn't bother doing any massaging, he just plastered it on as though he was spreading jam on a piece of toast.

Once again, I didn't feel any kind of sensation as this mysterious ooze seeped into my body and did whatever it did.

The doctor proceeded to scratch his head and closed up the jars. He looked right at me, before putting the stuff away.

"Alright, I've healed your wounds. Now, I'm going to test you for any oddities in your body." He said as he took out a blue and red stone, and place it in my hands.

This was it. This was the moment where all my mental power was held up, to be used for this exact moment. I began to clear my mind of any kind of thoughts and kept it completely clear. I meditated there, trying my best to prevent this stone from doing whatever its job was.

The stone started to glow in random colors, almost as it had compressed a rainbow within, which was attempting to burst open and escape its confines.

I began to sweat as I watched this scene take place, and quickly looked up at the doctor. His face was not one of complete shock and awe, rather, he seemed to be watching intently and waiting for something to happen. I turned back to look at the stone, terrified of what may happen.

And then, it ended. The stone relaxed and began to glow a bright red. The doctor gently took the rock out of my hand, and then silently held the item in his grip for a while.

Then, he sighed, and put the strange rock back to its original position, before looking right at me with sad eyes.

'Did he figure me out? What was with that face for? What was going on?' All these thoughts ran through my head, filling my head with anxiety and terror. I couldn't help but feel a bit nauseated from this stress, and I wanted to just get back home.

That was when I felt them patting my head gently, almost as if I was a sad dog. I looked up, and I looked at the doctor who was looking down at me with a gentle look.

"Don't worry, it isn't as bad as you think." He said as he held out his hand. I took it as softly as I could, and he helped to lift me up. "Calm down, alright? I'll go tell your mother your situation, and she'll help out."

This was the end. I know it. My night training was over. This was it.

In an attempt to soothe me, this man had given me the words that solidified my position in the executioner's block. I would be found out, and my plans would all be turned into dust.

He led me outside, where my mother and my sister were waiting. Surprisingly enough, the big guy was there, and he had apparently made tea for the both of them to drink.

"I've finished my analysis, and there's just one problem I've found, Miss Nali." I could see Alise grip the hems of my stepmother's skirt harshly, while Amelie quietly looked at the doctor with a stone cold look on her face.

"It's her nerves." He said sadly. "She seems to have some kind of strange disorder that makes it incredibly difficult to experience pain."

The two of them looked confused, and I blinked. How was that bad? If anything, that makes living life easier, right?

The doctor didn't think this was the case at all. "I know what you're thinking, and you'd be wrong. If she can't experience pain, then she would probably get severely injured and can't detect the problems due to this disorder. I can only recommend keeping an eye on her and making sure that she's fine every day, but that's it. There's really nothing I can do about this."

Amelie looked at him and sighed, before putting down her tea and picking up Alise. "Alright, thank you for the help. It's nothing that's life-threatening then, right? There wasn't anything else?"

"There was some stiffness in her hands, but I'll assume that they're from the injury." He replied, "And nothing else, only the messed up nerves. Don't worry, she'll still be able to live a normal life."

My stepmother seemed to be relieved, and all three of us began to leave. "I may come next year for my children's' check-up again. Is that fine?"

"Yes, that's absolutely fine. Say hello to Darcon for me." The doctor said as he waved goodbye.

We all walked down the hill, heading back to the village in complete silence. The only thing that I could hear at this moment was the wind blowing in our ears and our own breathing.

Then, the depressing silence was cut short and brutally by Alise. "This... this is good, right? That just means Feliza has trouble recognizing if she doesn't get hurt. That won't impact her life, so she can still be happy. Right, Mama?"

I watched as Amelie casually stroked Alise's head, and gave her a warm smile. "I was just thinking. It's hard to know that Feliza isn't as normal as we'd like, but in the end, this is still the best outcome that I could ask for. How about we go and get something to eat at the inn?"

Immediately, the atmosphere brightened up completely. Alise had a big grin on her face now, and I couldn't help but think about what I wanted to eat at the inn.

The news we got at the doctors was shut down quick, which was pretty easy: The information wasn't that bad. Just meant I wouldn't be able to feel pain, and who really cared about that?

I was just glad we were finally able to get over that, and the fact that my night training wasn't found out. Today was such a big success, that I felt like I was on cloud nine.

This day had its rough moments... but in the end, I could only be happy that it ended on a good note.