Chapter 208 - Recovering (9) - Sienna's POV

I dropped my notebook as the boy finally stirred from the sound of Rika's footsteps. I quickly picked up my notebook from the carpet when I came back to my senses. The tension increased from Rika's sudden appearance as everyone stayed cautious under the owner of this mansion. I shivered as a mass of cold air hit me from Luke.

I turned away from Rika as she took a long glance at her surroundings. I felt lucky I had Cillian as my partner since Luke was scary whenever I looked into his eyes. And he was especially merciless when it came to his partner. I still remembered his pressuring stare to let go of Rika right after we came from a drink catering place. I continued taking down more notes while I avoided Luke's presence.

But the boy suddenly opening his eyes like he was conscious quickly gathered everyone's attention. Did the last bottle really work on him? I poked him with my pen before gasping when his eyes were clear and aware of the surroundings around him. By then, Rika was already in front of the metal table, ignoring the stale atmosphere warning her to stay away. The boy grabbed her hands as soon as he got up.

"Can you please be my sponsor, my goddess?" He held her hand against his cheek.

We all knew that Luke tried to hide the true purpose of the existence of an orphanage from Rika. However, it was common sense that it was actually a place where orphans were trained to become future soldiers once they reached a.d.u.l.thood. My parents always tried to scare me into studying hard if I didn't want to visit the orphanage. The children there had to go out, all alone, begging our neighbors to sponsor them in the future.

In a free weekend before I entered middle school, I watched my parents coldly watching them as they pleaded for their sponsorship to get better supplies and political support. It couldn't be helped as they had no choice but to enlist in the military soon. The first district had the problem of monsters to deal with while they couldn't let people with mana to reside outside the district.

If not for the great war a few centuries ago, we would have all lived in a world full of fear and horror. My parents would tell me not to feel sorry for them as we gave them the opportunity of having good employment prospects for carrying out their duty. I nodded my head as I ran away from the fact that it was our fault that monsters existed in the first place. Everyone knew how monsters were products of failed experiments in the labs.

The first district always needed to be the most advanced compared to the rest of the districts. To do so, there was an equal price to pay. A tear fell from my eye as I read the horrible history book given by my tutor. I understood that there was no other way to control the failed products as I continued flipping the pages.

"Why are you crying, Sia?" Cillian came into the library.

"Why are you here Ian?" I wiped the tear from my eye.

"We have to go back to school soon," Ian offered me his hand.

I accepted his hand as he helped me get back to my feet. After I got up, I placed the book back into the bookshelf. I had no power to help them until I turned into an a.d.u.l.t. It was only then, I could sponsor one of them, hoping they would live long enough to retire from their duty. Sponsoring a single soldier required lots of investment in terms of money, training and time.

"Is it that sad? It couldn't be helped," Ian commented when I stared at the book.

"Without them, this land wouldn't be inhabitable. You know how dangerous these monsters are and how many lives they claimed," Ian patted my back.

"I know," I whispered as we left the library in my family mansion.

And now, I was witnessing an orphan, begging for Rika's sponsorship in front of my eyes. My friend Rika, who I have recently gotten close to from being part of the same fraction. Although I wasn't close to her enough for her to call me by my nickname, I considered her to be a part of the inner circle in which I could rely on. It was hard not to get close to her as we both had similar thoughts.

She didn't ever judge me for yawning the first time we met, nor did she try to get close to me for my connections. In the neutral fraction, we all shared our weaknesses to cover them up, meaning that no one dared to expose my true personality. But, only a handful of people like Delia and Ben faced me for who I truly was instead of my family name even inside the neutral fraction. The Sienna who liked to eat cakes or encounter something new in her boring world.

The boring world where she was struggling to maintain her perfect lady-like in the political society she lived in. Where she couldn't even slouch, eat cakes or her favourite cookies as others preyed upon every mistake she made. Well, it was expected since cuteness was a weakness in a cutthroat world like hers.