lina spent the better part of the afternoon talking to Gilbert. It was an awkward feeling, suddenly referring to him as grandfather, instead of Master. But she learned about her family. For example, she discovered that her father was a rchant from Tuvia who t lina's mother during his travels. The two hit it off almost imdiately, married less than half a year later, and then two years after that, lina was born.
It gave her conflicting feelings. She was happy to learn more about them, but also bitter. Not just because they had been taken from her. But because they were still young, barely in their mid-twenties, when the Church killed them. lina's life would have been very different if they had survived.
For a mont, a dark thought crossed her mind—what if she were to rewind ti and prevent their death? But she quickly dismissed it. One shouldn't ss with ti unless there is absolutely no other choice. Not to ntion that as a five-year-old, there wouldn't be much she could do to save her parents and grandmother anyway.
So instead, lina switched the topic to things she could do, naly, the bakery. She and Gilbert discussed whether it would even be possible for lina to prepare enough bread and pastries to open the bakery, and concluded that—no, she would not. Not without dramatically reducing the amount of products sold.
"I think we need to change the approach," lina muttered thoughtfully. "Traditional thods will not work."
"What exactly do you have in mind?" Gilbert questioned.
lina smiled. "I just regained my magic. I will put it to good use."
Gilbert cocked his head quizzically when a knock resounded on the door. Alistair and Sienna, who had been napping through their conversation, stirred, glancing at the door with groggy eyes.
"Seems you have a visitor. I've been here for too long anyway. I'll return to the bakery. Got to check on that monster egg of yours. Knight must also be anxious, waiting for . He's been sowhat restless since I gave up the System," Gilbert said.
"Will everything be alright with Knight?" lina asked.
"Eventually. Not like he is a freshly tad monster. We've been together for years. Even if the System doesn't link us anymore, it doesn't change the fact that we're lifelong friends," Gilbert said, and after bidding lina and Alistair goodbye, left the infirmary.
As Gilbert left, Leliana peeked inside the infirmary.
"Hey, lina," she greeted her with a wave of her hand, but didn't step inside.
"Hello, Leliana. Co in," lina said.
"I would, but I brought sobody else with . Can he co in, too?" Redhead asked, eying Alistair nervously.
It didn't take much to conclude that she had brought Elowen with her. Alistair's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched.
"It's alright. He can co," lina said, shaking her head at Alistair.
He slumped back in his chair, but kept a close eye on the situation.
Leliana nodded and opened the door wider to let Elowen inside. The elf looked sullen, his pristine appearance ssed up–a few stray hairs, slight bags under his eyes, and a few wrinkles in his clothes. But knowing how tidy elves usually were, this instantly stood out.
Elowen looked at Alistair, and the two n stared at each other for a while. Leliana and lina observed them nervously, wondering whether a fight would break out again. But Alistair remained seated, even if his expression grew rather sour. Sienna also looked at the elf with judgntal eyes. That seed to resonate with the elf more, and he hung his head in sha.
"lina… I have co to apologize for my actions. I was too hasty in my judgnt and didn't trust you or Alistair to make the right decisions. I see that my rashness has nearly brought about a tragedy. While I don't expect your forgiveness, and I do hope you will not think poorly of my kin because of this incident," Elowen said and bowed deeply before lina.
lina and Alistair blinked in surprise. They'd never seen Elowen apologize for anything. Elves in general were rather proud, and Elowen was the pri example of that. She never expected that he'd co and apologize for what had happened.
"See, that wasn't so hard," Leliana said smugly.
Did Leliana convince him to do this? But why would he listen to her? This is rather odd. The other day, he was also asking whether we knew Leliana from before. What is her role in all this?
lina glanced at the satisfied redhead, then at Elowen, but couldn't understand it. Was it all because of Leliana's charm? She could also be rather insistent on the things that she wanted.
"I never intended to hold this incident over other elves, nor did I hate you for it. However, I do ask that in the future, you trust Alistair and , instead of reaching for the most extre solution," lina said.
"I promise," Elowen said firmly.
She wasn't sure if the elf would keep his word. Elowen never hesitated to act according to what he believed to be right. But perhaps, if he was willing to listen to Leliana, she could leverage that to keep him sowhat in check.
"Good. Would you please let rest now? I still haven't recovered fully," lina said.
Elowen opened his mouth, his eyebrows twisting in confusion. However, he closed it, glancing at Leliana. It was likely that he wanted to ask lina sothing about her magic returning or sothing else related to their mission. She'd explain it so other ti, when the redhead wasn't around.
"See, everything turned out all right. Thanks, lina. I knew you'd understand. I'll take him back to his room," Leliana said with a satisfied smile, and then left the room together with Elowen.
"I don't trust him…" Alistair grumbled, glaring at the door.
"I think he won't be as rash in the future anymore," lina said.
"I don't know… I'd prefer if we could work with a different elf."
"But he's the one who has
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