The next morning when I woke up, the first thing I did was head out to find a certain someone. I stealthily climbed out of bed without either Isabella or Selthia noticing. My neck was sore, which told me Isabella must’ve woken up for a midnight snack. I hardly noticed anymore.

As for Selthia, she proclaimed that she would not be beaten by Isabella, so she practically slept on top of me, cutting off most of the circulation in my body. Maybe that was why I didn’t feel Isabella nibbling on me.

I spotted the person I was looking for the moment I went downstairs. She was dutifully doing the chores while humming a nice tune. The moment she saw me, a kind smile appeared on her face.

"Uh, Liam, good morning."

"Good morning, Kaela. I hope you slept well after what happened last night."

"Oh, uh, yes..." she responded a little awkwardly. "I’m sorry again about how Kaelen and Lyanna acted. It’s just that they are a bit broken up over what happened to our father."

"What about you? Aren’t you broken up?"

"Me?" She looked a little taken aback by my question. "No, I’m fine. I just have to make sure that Kaelen and Lyanna are alright."

"What about yourself? You have to make sure that you are alright too."

"I’m fine, honestly."

"When was the last time you cried?" I asked, and immediately her face went pale from my question.

She looked as if she wanted to run away.

"I’m sorry, but I have to go," she said, trying to walk off, but I casually stepped into her path, blocking her.

At this point, I had to be careful. I didn’t want to intimidate her. I wanted her to see that my words and actions were coming from a place of concern.

"You’re a kind girl, Kaela, and a hard worker too."

"I’m really not..."

"Yes, you are. I’ve seen how hard you’ve been working to help your family. Even pushing aside your own feelings."

In my time here, I’ve gotten to know Kaela quite a bit. She is a kind and earnest girl.

"You wake up early every morning and complete all the chores in the house. After you’re done, you go to the kitchen to help make breakfast for everyone in the village using the meat the hunters bring back. You also make sure that everyone receives an even share. After that, you spend the whole day running around the village helping anyone in need. Every time someone would skip out on their duty, you would pick up the slack for them. You help children, the elderly, and just about anyone in need."

She does all these things, but at the end of the day, no one notices. She irons and washes everyone’s clothes and makes sure the house is kept tidy, but no one even notices. In my time here, I’ve never seen her get a single thank you. But still, she never complains; instead, she keeps all her feelings buried deep so she doesn’t burden anyone with them.

"How do you know so much about me?" she asked, and her voice cracked from the heavy emotions she was holding back.

But the truth was that there was a hidden motive behind everything she did. She did all these things so she could earn a certain person’s attention. So she could hear a certain word from them...

I smiled at her and rested my hand at the top of her head.

"I’m proud of you, Kaela."

Immediately as I said those words, tears began to accumulate in her eyes. She tried to fight it by wiping them away, but in the end, the dam broke, and in the next second, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly as she sobbed.

"I wanted to... hic... hear it from him... hic..."

Her motives weren’t complicated at all. All she wanted was her father’s approval.

I didn’t say anything; only comforted her and stroked her head as she cried.

"At the rate things are going, I’ll lose Kaelen too. I agree with Lyanna, we can’t just charge at that monster, but Kaelen is angry. All he cares about is avenging our father. The only way I can see out of this is if we listened to our mother and leave."

"You should try to convince Kaelen of that."

"He won’t listen. He’s just too stubborn."

"Then make him listen. You have to make him understand that it is in his best interest to leave. That’s what Roran would’ve wanted. Up until his death, that was all he wished for. Remember, that was the whole reason he traveled to the Nyx pack territory in the first place. He sought peace, and maybe we can make his final dream come through."

"His final dream?" Kaela looked up at me with questioning eyes.

This girl, who so desperately wanted to please her father, couldn’t help but be curious when she heard me mention his dream.

"Don’t you remember? He wanted us to merge with the Nyx pack. He wanted Kaelen and the moon princess to be married. That was the peaceful resolution he sought."

Kaela’s eyes widened.

"But Danzo killed our father. Is it even still possible for them to be married?"

"Your father thought it was possible," I said. "And that’s what he fought for up until the very end. Having this all end in bloodshed would make his death meaningless."

"But... I..."

Kaela tried to refute, but her mind was slowly giving way to the idea. She was thinking that if her father thought it possible, then she, as his daughter, could make it come true. Besides, it was the perfect fairy tale ending she was hoping for deep down inside.

"Think it over, and if you agree with the idea, try speaking to Kaelen about it," I said.

She nodded and forced a smile.

"Thank you." She bowed her head slightly. "Your help means a lot. Just this small moment with you, and I feel like I can continue fighting a little longer," she said.

I watched her cheerfully leave, feeling a bit satisfied.

"Now that that’s over with, I wonder what I should do now," I pondered, but just then I heard someone call my name from behind.

"Liam."

I turned around to see Kaelen standing behind me. He was in a sour mood as ever.

"Come with me; we need to talk."