Perhaps ever since she rescued Iris, White Night had been holding back a certain breath, and it was only now that she finally released it.
She had thought that slave trading had vanished from the Empire, but the reality was that while it no longer existed on the surface, such transactions had likely never stopped in the shadows.
This was still in the Royal Capital; if it were in remote cities far from the capital, such slave trading businesses would definitely not be few in number.
White Night felt a deep sense of powerlessness. She was strong—strong enough not to be bullied by anyone, and strong enough to protect everything she wanted to protect.
Yet even so, when facing this world, she was still powerless.
White Night hated slavery. She had the ability to wipe out any organization that dared to defy Empire laws by trafficking slaves privately, but she was human after all, and humans have limits.
Setting aside the fact that slavery was still legal in most countries on the continent, even within the Holy Radiance Empire alone, the underground slave trade was not something she could eliminate by herself.
This sense of powerlessness was exactly like how she felt when she was locked in a cage as a slave. Even though her circumstances were now completely different, this feeling of being stuck in a quagmire struck her heart again today, many years later.
"How strange, I'm clearly not supposed to be such a sentimental person..."
Not all problems have answers, and not all emotions can be resolved. Even if this sense of powerlessness still troubled White Night, she had to focus on the tasks at hand.
She had been out long enough; it was time to head back.
Perhaps it was the favor of the Goddess of Luck, or perhaps there simply wasn't much danger in this forest, but the defensive and early-warning magic White Night had placed on the carriage had not been triggered.
To White Night's surprise, however, when she returned to the carriage, she found that Iris was not asleep but was sitting inside with her knees pulled to her chest.
"I-Iris?"
White Night was a bit surprised. She had been very careful before leaving and shouldn't have woken Iris up. How did she wake up?
"Sister White Night!"
Seeing White Night return, Iris hurriedly threw herself into White Night's arms.
"Waaah~ Iris is so useless. I clearly didn't want to cause trouble for Sister White Night, b-but I was so scared being alone..."
"It's okay, Iris, I'm back..."
Looking at Iris, White Night felt a pang of heartache. She gently stroked Iris's back and comforted her for a long while before Iris gradually calmed down.
"Iris, you were clearly asleep before I left. How did you wake up?"
Iris rubbed her reddened eyes and spoke with a trembling voice.
"I... I woke up when you called my name before you left, Sister. It's just..."
"Just what?"
White Night was confused. Since Iris had woken up before she left, why didn't she call out to her? She must have been very scared staying here by herself.
"I... I didn't want Sister White Night to think I was too useless, so..."
In fact, Iris had noticed the moment White Night was about to leave, but she didn't want White Night to feel that she needed to be looked after for everything, so she had pretended to be fast asleep.
But staying alone in the carriage, Iris was indeed still terrified.
The dark and enclosed environment always brought back the fear of being locked in a cage. This fear was suppressed deep in her heart and burst out all at once when White Night returned, causing Iris to throw herself into White Night's arms and start crying.
"I... I'm really too useless. Sister White Night has to take care of me for everything!"
Iris pinched the corner of her clothes, not daring to look White Night in the eye. She was afraid of seeing disappointment and disgust in the other's eyes. If White Night truly felt repulsed by her, Iris feared she really wouldn't know how to go on living.
"It's okay, Iris. You can rely on me as much as you want."
"S-Sister White Night..."
"I can't promise much else, but as long as I'm by your side, feel free to rely on me. I will absolutely not be repulsed, because being relied upon is also a kind of happiness for me."
White Night's words were not false. She could understand Iris's psychological state of wanting to rely on someone while fearing being a nuisance, because she had gone through a similar period when she was first rescued from the slave camp by Angelie.
She understood Iris's feelings very well, and therefore, she could fully accept Iris's dependence.
Just as White Night had told Iris, being relied upon was itself a form of happiness.
"Sister White Night, I... I like you."
White Night's words were like warm sunlight spilling into Iris's heart. Moved, Iris unexpectedly blurted out these words that sounded like a confession.
"Mhm, I like Iris too."
Hearing White Night's response, Iris's heart trembled, but she immediately understood that the 'like' in the other's mouth had a fundamental difference from the 'like' in hers. The emotion of 'liking' someone is multifaceted.
Iris's 'like,' which was full of deep meaning and required immense courage to say, was completely different from White Night's thoughtless, offhand 'like.'
To Iris, her 'like' was profound, unique, and singularly focused.
However, White Night's 'like' was something she could say to many people. She would say it to family, to friends, and of course, she could say it to Iris.
For White Night, those two words merely reflected her kindness and held no practical significance beyond that.
Iris naturally understood this logic. When she heard White Night say 'like,' she felt happy at first, then disappointed, and then finally felt it was only to be expected.
Iris also felt she didn't have the capital to make the other fall for her. Besides being cute, what else did she have?
She was timid, cowardly, and useless. How could Sister White Night possibly fall in love with someone like her?
The 'like' from her mouth probably just meant she considered Iris an important person. There might even be many such important people in her heart.
"Sister White Night, you said before that you left the Royal Capital because of a very important person. Would you be willing to tell me about them?"
"Do you want to hear?"
"Mhm."
Iris nodded obediently. She wanted to hear Sister White Night's story to deepen her understanding of her. If she did, she might also get a slight idea of what kind of position she held in the other's heart.
"Alright then, I'll tell you slowly."
White Night extended her palm and summoned a tiny bit of black magic power in her palm.
"Iris, you know what this black magic power signifies in the legends of the Holy Radiance Empire."
"Mhm, I know."
Iris naturally knew. Almost all citizens of the Holy Radiance Empire knew that black magic power was a symbol of ill omen, and those who possessed it would bring misfortune to those around them.
Iris used to believe this too, but after being rescued by White Night, her perspective had completely changed.
Not only did this black magic power not cause Iris any misfortune, it had actually pulled her out of the abyss of despair. If this black magic power was truly so ominous, how could her own experience be explained?
It was just a foolish legend after all.
"But that's just a legend. Sister White Night is a kind and good person, how could you bring misfortune?"
Hearing Iris's words, White Night dotingly patted her head.
"That's right, it's just a legend. But..."
At this point, a trace of sadness actually surfaced in White Night's eyes.
"Not everyone thinks the same way as Iris... Like my family, for example."
"F-Family!"
Hearing those words, Iris couldn't help but be stunned. Did White Night's family actually not accept the fact that she possessed black magic power?
"My talent for manipulating magic power was discovered when I was seven years old. At first, my family was very happy, thinking that the family finally produced someone who could use magic; it was a huge blessing. But before long, my family wasn't so happy anymore. Not only were they unhappy, they were even a bit fearful and disgusted, because they discovered... my magic power was black."
"What happened after that?"
Iris's tone was urgent. For a mere seven-year-old child to not be accepted by their family was truly terrifying.
"Afterward, I was kicked out of the house."
At this point, White Night smiled, but her smile seemed so bitter to Iris.
"I remember it was winter. I was told by a servant that I was being kicked out of that home. I wanted to see my parents, but they wouldn't give me the chance. They used brooms to hit me and forcibly drove me away."
"M-Maybe the servants took it upon themselves? Maybe your parents..."
Iris wanted to comfort White Night, but White Night gently shook her head.
"My original family was also a noble family. Though not high nobility, we managed a piece of territory for the Empire. My father was usually very busy and would go out several times a day. Yet during the few days after I was kicked out, I stayed by the main gate almost every moment, but I never saw my father even once. Later, perhaps because they really couldn't tolerate me staying at the gate, they sold me to a slave camp and wouldn't even let me use my name anymore."
Hearing this, Iris's eyes turned red. She began to feel aggrieved on White Night's behalf. Why did such a kind Sister White Night have to suffer such treatment?
"Was your family all like that?"
"Not necessarily. At least there was one person who was very good to me."
"Is she the very important person you mentioned?"
White Night nodded. When she spoke of this person, she showed a smile from the bottom of her heart.
"That's right. This person is my younger sister."
"So Sister White Night has a younger sister."
"Yes, her name is Ariel. Only she didn't change her attitude toward me at all after knowing I had black magic power. Perhaps in that house, she was the only one who still treated me as family."
If White Night had to choose the two people she cared about most, the first would be Angelie, and the second would definitely be her sister, Ariel.
"Is your departure from the Royal Capital this time also for your sister?"
"Yes, she is entering the Holy Radiance Academy next month, and I plan to enroll as well."
"That's wonderful! If your sister can reunite with you, she will definitely be very happy!"
"..."
White Night fell silent. Would meeting her really make Ariel happy? After all, she had changed her appearance, no longer used her old name, and even her gender was... A reunion might be better left alone; it was enough just to silently protect her.
"Sister White Night, what's wrong?"
Seeing White Night's silence, Iris was a bit confused.
"Did Iris say something wrong?"
Hearing Iris's words, White Night finally snapped back to her senses.
"No, it's nothing. Iris is right, it would be great if Ariel could be happy."
"Don't worry, Sister White Night, your sister will definitely be very happy."
Looking at Iris doing her best to encourage her, White Night smiled. She truly was a kind child.
She patted Iris's head and said to her,
"Alright, Iris, it's time to sleep. We have to travel tomorrow."
"Mhm."
Iris nodded very obediently. In front of White Night, she had to be a well-behaved child... The night was already deep, and even White Night couldn't resist the sleepiness.
Although she could go several days without sleep if she wanted to, there was no need for that right now. White Night still followed her biological instincts and lay down in the carriage to sleep peacefully.
Iris was also lying by her side, sharing the same blanket, but Iris wasn't asleep at the moment; she was thinking about other things.
"Holy Radiance Academy... that academy must be very hard to get into, right?"
The Holy Radiance Academy was the finest academy in the Empire, only recruiting students who could manipulate magic power.
In the past, this academy only recruited nobles, but later, through Her Majesty the Queen's reforms, it gradually opened to commoners as well.
But even so, ordinary people like Iris who couldn't manipulate magic power still had no way to enter the Holy Radiance Academy to study.
Of course, if one possessed strength like White Night's, entering the Holy Radiance Academy wouldn't be difficult at all. After all, the purpose of the academy's existence was to gather talent for the Empire, so they naturally welcomed powerful people to enroll.
"I really don't want to part with Sister White Night."
Iris looked at White Night's profile beside her. She knew that before long, she would have to part ways with White Night.
Her kindness, her smile, her meticulous care—all of these would no longer have anything to do with Iris.
Iris was ultimately just an ordinary child. She couldn't manipulate any magic power, nor did she have any prominent status. Someone like her simply couldn't keep up with White Night's footsteps.
"The only chance to be close to her is now..."
Iris gently sat up and gazed at White Night's sleeping face.
White Night was indeed a beauty, but unlike her gentle personality, her face always appeared somewhat cold when expressionless, as it was right now.