Lynette still remembered the atmosphere when they first joined the House of the Hearth. It was far from harmonious.
When Arlecchino was present, the children would suppress their innermost emotions—except for Luna. From the very beginning, Luna showed no fear of Arlecchino.
This earned Luna the children's admiration.
Some saw it as the fearlessness of a newborn calf, while others considered it reckless audacity.
Little did they know, Luna simply liked Arlecchino.
Luna left a profound impression on them, and Lynette, too, made a "profound" impression of her own.
"Lynette, you've broken the house's machinery again!"
On her first day, Lynette ruined the shower system.
By the fifteenth day, she'd inadvertently ruined the mansion's water pump, cutting off the water supply for half a day.
These were actually minor incidents. The equipment was already old and prone to breaking down; even if Lynette hadn't touched it, it would have broken down eventually.
This was merely an excuse.
An excuse for exclusion.
The inherent wildness of wild animals drives them to fiercely defend their territory once they've claimed it.
This same principle applied to the House of the Hearth, a place entirely populated by the homeless.
They would never have said such things while Arlecchino was present.
But once "Father" left, their petty intentions would surface.
"I'm sorry..." Lynette said, her voice tinged with grievance.
Her cat ears drooped, and she hunched her shoulders.
"I... I'm not good with machines."
"Then don't touch them!"
"Yeah, why not just have your brother help you?"
Lynette could only fall silent.
Since joining the House of the Hearth, Lyney had worked tirelessly, even more diligently than the other children.
How could his sister burden him with such trivial matters?
"Enough."
The one who spoke wasn't Lynette, but Luna.
She strode forward, her voice tinged with displeasure. "You're arguing over something so trivial?"
"Hmph... You might think it's trivial, Luna, but the rest of us don't."
"Then step forward!"
Luna drew her sword. "Anyone who has a problem, step forward! According to our family's rules, the victor gets to decide. I'll take you all on alone. If I win, you'll listen to me properly!"
"Gathering like a rabble—how unsightly!"
"What did you say?!"
The children erupted in fury!
Lynette watched in panic as the children drew their weapons and charged at Luna, eager to teach her a lesson. But Luna traded blow for blow, systematically dismantling them one by one.
Despite having only recently begun her training, Luna had mastered considerable combat techniques at an astonishing pace. She had also mastered the family's written and unwritten rules, using them—and even exploiting loopholes—to her advantage.
But this only happened when she or Lynette were involved.
Don't provoke her, and nothing will happen.
Luna surveyed the fallen children around her, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and stabbed her sword into the ground.
"I'll fix the broken machines."
"So let's end this here."
With that, Luna took Lynette's hand, turned, and walked away.
"Luna, doing this..." Lynette hesitated. Is this really okay?
We're just new additions to the family. Is it right to try and leap ahead like this...?
"'Father' said that any disputes can be resolved through duels. I made my choice within the rules."
Does a ten-on-one fight really count as a duel? Lynette wondered, confused.
"Besides, they were the ones in the wrong, not us," Luna said earnestly.
Luna tightened her grip on Lynette's hand.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you, Lynette."
Lynette's heart quickened slightly. She lowered her head and murmured, "Mm... I'll bandage your wounds later."
Though Luna had won against the other children, she had still sustained quite a few injuries.
Lynette disinfected the wounds and carefully wrapped them with bandages, covering Luna's arms, legs, and head.
The children of the House of the Hearth each possessed their own unique talents. Some favored poisons, others slingshots, and still others resorted to throwing concealed weapons. Fortunately, they exercised restraint, avoiding anything too lethal.
"Why aren't they welcoming us?" Lynette murmured softly.
Luna shook her head. How could she possibly know what each of them was thinking?
"But I find it all so distasteful," Luna whispered.
"Distasteful?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Distasteful towards them?"
"Distasteful towards this whole situation."
Luna pulled open a drawer and retrieved her pistol. "Forcing others to conform like this... I hate it."
Lynette sat beside her, swishing her cat tail. "Don't you hate them?"
"Why would I feel hatred toward puppets of another's will?"
Not hatred, but indifference.
Luna's eyes held no trace of the enemies they had just faced—enemies who barely qualified as such, merely meaningless opponents.
"They couldn't defeat me because they were nothing more than a disorganized rabble."
Lynette swung her legs. "That sounds a bit arrogant."
"Does it?"
Luna's face flushed slightly.
"A little," she admitted.
But Lynette thought to herself, It's true though.
Perhaps these children's xenophobia was influenced by the words of an older child, but regardless, they could never defeat Luna.
Because Luna wielded her sword with her own will.
Afterward, Luna and Lynette ran off to try repairing the equipment inside the House of the Hearth. Luna did most of the work, while Lynette primarily handed her tools and offered encouragement.
But after tinkering for ages, they still couldn't fix anything.
Just as they were at their wits' end, a timid voice drifted over.
"Um... this is my job..."
"Yo, Luna, Lynette!"
The two turned to see Freminet and Lyney standing before them.
This was the initial spark that led to the formation of their four-person team.
"Wait, Luna, that's not how you fix it—"
BOOM—!
Lynette: "Mhm..."
Lyney: "Well..."
Freminet: "Ah..."
Luna: "..."
Seeing Luna's flustered expression, Lynette couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Don't laugh!" Luna protested, her face reddening further.
The morning birdsong roused Lynette from her slumber.
Another dream?
She sat up and instinctively glanced beside her. As expected, Luna was nowhere to be seen; their shared bed had been a thing of childhood only.
Lately, Lynette found herself constantly thinking about Luna.
"...Why did she choose to leave us?"
Arlecchino had said it was because Luna realized her own weakness.
But Luna had never revealed the truth to them.
"...I wish you could protect me by staying here," Lynette murmured, touching her palm. Luna had promised to protect her, and she had indeed kept her word.
She had rescued Lynette and Lyney from false accusations;
She must have done something when the tide rose after Furina's Judgment;
And even earlier, to save them from certain death when they were surrounded by enemies, she had used the power of her Delusion.
"But I would have preferred you protect me by my side," Lynette murmured.
Knock, knock.
A sudden knock echoed at the door, followed by Lyney's voice.
"Lynette, 'Father' is about to return. It's almost the anniversary of the House of the Hearth's founding. We need to start preparing."
For the children of the House of the Hearth, the founding day of the House was an extremely important festival.
Lulu... Lynette lowered her head.
"Of course, we'll invite Luna too," Lyney said.
Lynette perked up her ears.
"Mm-hmm!"