Chapter 569 - Bid Goodbye

Many nobles were already on the way back to the Capital excluding two families who were still in their respective fiefs.

They each had their own reasons for not beginning their travel.

While the noble families were traveling, the commoners were also beginning to return to their normal routine.

The plague had been a devastating incident for them and many of them had lost their dear ones to this deadly disease.

Due to the mercy of their King, the kind acts of the other noblemen, and finally the sharp minds of the men in the Royal Medical Association, they had succeeded in eradicating this plague from their Kingdom.

While the number of deaths was great, the survivors were grateful that they were blessed enough to be given a chance to live.

The fiefs most affected by the plague were the three southern fiefs of Wescott, Lumex, and Jorbin.

Among these, Wescott was the place where the first cases had been reported and every single one of those people had perished due to the plague.

Thankfully, after months of hard work and research, a cure had been found and even a preventive measure to stop any further spread of this disease.

Now that they were completely rid of the plague, the people were trying to return to their usual circumstances just as what was the norm before they had been tormented by the plague.

People all over the previously infected fiefs were seen mourning the death of their close ones and rejoicing the gift of life they had been bestowed.

They reunited with their relatives who had been taken over to the Royal Hospitals in different fiefs to obtain treatment.

To see their ill relatives now appearing healthy was a blessing that was worth rejoicing for.

However, in a certain fief, among those celebrating the lives of their near and dear ones, there was a little girl who sat with her eyes brimming with tears.

A couple of men passing by the premises of the Royal Hospital in the Wescott fief noticed the girl who sat on the steps which led to the large establishment.

"She's still here?" One of them questioned as he shot her a compassionate gaze.

The other sighed and nodded but said nothing as they soon walked away.

This was a familiar sight for the people living in this town for they had seen her in the same place for months now.

The little girl sat outside the hospital every day as though she was waiting for someone.

At first, a few sympathetic people had inquired in the hospital regarding the person for whom the child seemed to be waiting outside.

However, they learned something shocking from the people working in the hospital.

This girl had accompanied her parents to the Royal Hospital at Wescott from another fief to get them treated for the plague.

When they had arrived, the cure had not yet been found.

The parents were admitted but the child wasn't a patient so she could not enter the hospital too often and only got to see them a few times a week.

However, even those opportunities came to an end after a few weeks.

The couple had been in bad condition when they were brought to this hospital and thus, could not persist until the cure could be created by the Royal Medical Association.

The surprising part was that they had succumbed to the illness one after the other.

It was as though the couple could not bear to part with each other and had chosen to enter the afterlife together.

Sadly, their child was left behind with no one who could care for her.

The hospital staff would cremate the bodies of those who died from the plague as they could not risk burying the dead victims, fearing that it could lead to a new disease being spread.

This left the child with no remains of her parents nor a grave she could visit whenever she missed them.

The hospital staff fed the child out of pity and she also helped them out with odd jobs.

She seemed skillful as she was willing to tend to the other patients but the physicians refused as she could contract the same disease due to close contact with them.

The lockdown was still ongoing and she was not someone from Wescott, nor did she know anyone here.

This left her with only one option and that was to sit outside the hospital as she waited in silence for the lockdown to end.

Her parents' dream was to run their lodge, Cozy Inn until they turned grey and old but they had failed to do so.

Thus, it was her dream now to run that place and make it popular just as her father had aspired to do in the past.

The little girl who appeared to be around nine years rubbed her eyes, wiping the tears from them as she rose from the step which had become her home for many days now.

Just like her, many had been left orphaned due to the plague so she could not act like she was the only one who was experiencing the pain of losing her parents.

The streets were regaining their hustle and bustle once again and she had noticed this for a few days now.

She had overheard the conversation of a few old men who were passing by the hospital and knew that the borders were now open for travel.

Her plan now was to return to the fief that she had come from, the Lumex fief, a neighbor of the Wescott fief, and restart the Cozy Inn which had been shut ever since she had come over to the Royal Hospital with her parents.

'I should ask for directions.' Hilda, the little girl with fluffy brown hair sniffled as she decided on what to do next.

She had no money nor did she bring with her a change of clothes.

The clothes on her back right now had been donated by some generous noblewoman for those struggling during the plague.

Though she wasn't a patient, one of the women working in the hospital had given her this dress as it was of her size.

Discarding her previous tattered dress, Hilda had put this one on and was grateful to both the worker woman and the noblewoman for their generosity.

Looking back at the hospital which had become her home for the last few months, the little girl bid goodbye to her parents whom she had lost in this place.

'Bye, Maa... Paa…' She bit her lip to stop the tears which were threatening to flow out at any second.

She did not wish to be weak as her goal was to return to her inn and reopen it to fulfill her parents' dreams.

Thus with determination now enveloping her heart, Hilda smiled at the hospital building through her tears before looking away.

Her feet stepped forward and for the first time in so many months, she left the hospital premises and made her way into the town she had last seen when she had arrived here with her parents.

Alone and with no one to call her own, the little girl made up her mind and trudged along.

Her town in Lumex was her destination and she was determined to reach it at any cost.

___

High up in the sky, a snicker was heard as a pair of golden eyes watched the child walking ahead on her journey.

"Master, now or later?" A soft voice came from behind but it did not disturb the man with silver hair who continued to view the scene before him.

They had been watching this scene for a while now but his master did not appear to be bored with it as he continued to watch without pause.

Silence filled the room where the two were but the silver-haired man broke it soon enough.

"There is no need to rush. Let her work hard a little." His languid voice echoed all around.

The other person bowed, lowering his neon-green eyes before he tactfully stepped out of the room and left his Master alone with his thoughts.

Now left to his own devices, the man laid on the couch and stared at the sky outside his window where he continued to watch the scene of what that child was doing.

'Asmo… You have no idea what happens next~' He smirked mischievously before letting out another snicker, imagining the look on his friend's face when he realized what had taken place in his absence.