Chapter 129 - The Girl With Purple Hair

"Welcome to my humble home, Princess Venedette."

"It is my pleasure, Sir Graham," Venedette responded respectfully to the owner of the house that they were staying for the night and Venedette's friend for a long time now.

"Do we also greet?" Gem whispered to Fily that caught Sir Graham's attention.

"Who are these lovely kids, aside from Von and Lei, of course," Sir Graham said, meaning that Von and Lei had already been acquainted with him before.

"This is Gem and Fily, Sir. Recruits for my team for the tournament." Venedette said to the old man with white hair and beard. He was fit, but also a little bit on the chubby side if you look at his tummy. A typical Lord, if you must say.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir.." Fily responded and signaled Gem to make a slight bow with her.

"Oh," Gem whispered and followed Fily's instructions immediately.

"Are you saying these girls will also fight alongside your boys outside of the borders?"

"Yes, Sir." Venedette said.

"Why would you put these pretty little girls out there?"

"We may look small and weak but we know how to fight, Sir." Gem suddenly responded which was then followed by the boy's concerned look at her.

But instead of getting angry, Sir Graham only laughed at what Gem said as if he was amused by the kid's innocence.

"You're pretty brave for a little girl your age, I can see my girl in you, she was also that small with deep purple hair but she had always been as brave and strong on the outside." Sir Graham chuckled.

"But where is she?" Gem whispered to Fily first out of courtesy.

"She's dead, or so they say." Fily whispered back which they thought the lord heard.

"Sadly she's not here anymore. Should I show you to the dining room now?" Sir Graham said as if avoiding the topic.

And as much as Gem was sad to hear about Sir Graham's daughter, they just respected Sir Graham's privacy and followed along.

"I thought there would be a party or some sort because of our clothes," Von whispered to Lei while walking in front of the girls which they also heard.

"But there is a party over there." Fily said which stopped Von and Lei for a moment.

"A formal party? For what?"

"They always party during dinner, especially now since they heard about Venedette's arrival." Fily explained briefly which made Von and Lei cautious of their crossed arms.

"Do you want to be my partner?" 

"Do you want to be my-?" Von and Lei simultaneously said and offered their arms to Gem who was immediately flustered by the sudden moves.

"Uhhh,"

"Back off, she's mine." Fily said with a pout and moved Gem away from the two of them.

"Girl's can't go with girls to a party, Fily!" Von said and shoved Fily away from Gem by parting them with his hands.

"You're so childish!" Fily complained when Von pushed her and almost bumped onto the wall, but thankfully, Lei was there to shield her.

"T-Thanks,"

"I guess it'll be just the two of us, then?" Lei said and offered her hand to Fily which Fily accepted reluctantly.

"As if I have another choice." Fily said and continued walking to the huge dining room which turned out to be a ball at the Manor's huge hallway.

"Introducing, Princess of Yvandir," the announcer said as soon as Venedette stepped inside of the door with Sir Graham as her partner.

"And Leviathan," Venedette whispered to the announcer, which he then followed immediately after clearing his throat.

"Introducing the Princess of Yvandir and Leviathan," he said.

"And the Prince of Yvandir too!" Von complained but Gem held his arms and stopped him from coming to the announcer's side. 

"Why?" Von asked him calmly but Gem only shook her head as if being embarrassed.

"What's wrong?" Von asked again while trying to uncover her face that she was burying unconsciously with her face.

"N-Nothing. Just go on," Gem said while slapping Von's hands away from her face softly.

And even though Von was hurt by Gem's sudden coldness, Von only shrugged it off and brought Gem directly to the stall full of sweets and a chocolate fountain.

***

"I didn't know the party's going to be this big." Venedette said to Sir Graham after arriving at the table where most of the elderly were seated.

"They heard about your arrival so it's only natural for them to attend, please feel at home, you seem nervous." Sir Graham said with a calming tone that Venedette couldn't help but miss.

Sir Graham was Venedette's father figure down here whenever she needed a place to go after running away from the Queen. He used to be the coolest warrior among the royals but decided that he wanted to go away from all of it and ended up here.

"How's life in the countryside, Sir Graham?"

"Oh it was fine, I even got a kid for myself. You know how I wanted to have my own kid back in the days, right?"

"Yes, your kid is surely lucky to have you as their father, Sir Graham." Venedette said with a laugh that immediately disappeared after remembering what happened to Monica, Sir Graham's first daughter.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Monica."

"Don't be," Sir Graham said with a little smile that Venedette can surely recognize as the fake smile that he always uses when saying something like 'I'm still hurting but I'm already used to it.' Which he also always used whenever he got injured during battles.

"I'm also sorry about what happened to your child, Princess Demi."

"I'm sure they're in a good place now." Venedette added, trying to stay positive for Sir Graham even though she's not really alright with it, at all.

"I hope so too." Sir Graham said, ending the conversation about Venedette's daughter that died two years ago and his daughter that he loved so much and was said to have passed away at the age of twelve because of an unknown chronic disease.