"My lady, are you a gift? Why are you so wrapped up by a scarf?" Leione said and fixed the scarf around my neck and I glared at Derick who's now making a little snowman.

And Leione noticed it, so she started talking about their lives.

"Derick grew up in the north, and I grew up in the south. The northern and southern empires or continents are allies, but I migrated there and met him. He never had gone outside, I met him a few times but this time was the time he spent longer outside rather than working inside. So, the outside world must be new to him." Leione said and smiled.

It's quite a story, but just look at him. It doesn't seem like it's new to him, but he's really focused in making that small snowman.

"So who's that snowman?" I asked after he made it, but later on he crushed it.

He stomped his foot on it and glare at it.

Oh, poor snowman.

"N-nevermind."

"It's my brother." He said and still glaring at the stacked of snow that was still a little snowman earlier.

His glare doesn't looked like anger, it's annoyance.

"It seems you had a quarrel?" Wait, why do I care anyway?

He didn't answer and just stood up.

"I won't be back till evening, I might be back tomorrow morning."

He's so weird, he just left like that without even saying goodbye.

"He's always so rude. But it's not new anyway. Lets go, Charlie."

And we walked back to the village, and greet people again.

When we came back to the house, Leione bath me on warm water since I played on snow and changed to warmer clothes.

"Does Derick really had a brother?"

Leione stopped on what she's doing but a moment later she continued on preparing the meal and answered.

"I don't know much about that, but he really does have a conflict with a family member of his that's why he was with master. But I don't know the full story, since it's confidential. And I don't want to pry on master's affairs if he doesn't want me to."

Maybe he had issues like mine.

"Do you have a sibling too Leione?"

"Hmm, I do. We only had each other, so we're always together but now it's fine even though we're separated, still, we're in the good hands now." And she smiled.

I didn't pry more into since it seems a lot private.

—

'Why did I even said that it was my brother? Geez, this mouth. Argh, where's that bastard?'

Derick kept on walking on a dark alley, it was nighttime that's why it was dark but also the moons were covered by dark clouds.

'It'll snow heavy this night too.' He thought as he kept on searching.

He then spotted the rare color white hair and blue eyes. Eyes that shines on that darkness, even the white hair seems contrasting in the dark even though he looked dirty. Those pair of eyes were glaring at him, like a wild dog on guard ready to bite.

"Who thought that his distant relative would looked like a wild dog?"

"Grrrr."

Derick approached him slowly, and the child slowly stepped backwards, still glaring at him.

"I don't want violence, so you must come with me. You're also hurt and weak, you can't do anything now."

The boy just howled at him, and charged at Derick.

Derick just smiled, before the boy could reach Derick. The boy lost his strength and was now out of breath.

"You're so stubborn, Cloud. Does stubbornness really run through your veins?" He isn't just pointing to the boy, but also to the other white haired gals he knew. He then picked up the boy, the boy isn't short, he's quite tall but skinny so he wasn't heavy.

Derick didn't had any difficulties in bringing Cloud with him. Instead, he was quite satisfied. He had finished things quite early.

After leaving the alley, on that alley. Bunch of injured bodies scattered, mostly are unconscious and the others are barely alive.

Those men was aiming for the child, the one Derick's holding. And Derick made a mess that no one could know on that alley that night.

"I hate cleaning up, you can do the rest."

A woman with eyes like sunset, it was orange but lifeless, slowly appeared and is wearing a maid's outfit. She's expressionless and doesn't had a glint of emotion on her face.

"Yes, please take care of the young master."

"Tsk, I know."

The woman left and started her job.

Derick also left, and came back to the village in the middle of the night.

He walked in without a sound. The boy he's holding is still out of breath.

"Is he fine?" Leione silently opened the door for them and asked. She slowly took the boy out of Derick's hand.

'He's so light and he's skinny. They have similarities with the lady when I found her.' She took the child to an empty room and started to treat him.

"I really didn't expect that I would find him this fast, but in the past he wasn't found in here. I don't know why things changed." Derick exclaimed as he examined the boy's condition.

"The lady looked like this a day ago, if we hadn't found them earlier. I don't know what will happen to them." Leione said while wiping her tears.

"Tch, the only problem now is that guy. He would let this boy in but I don't know with that squirrel."

Leione gasped as she realized what he meant.

'Right, he only said is to bring his heir. He didn't said who, but it was obviously this guy.'

"She's still his child, master won't be stingy. And if he did, I know you'll help. Right?"

Derick just sighed and was now deep in thought.

'If I could just do it, I would've done it. But he made that choice, it's up to him now.'