Chapter 26 - Family Suffering
"Arf! Arf! Arf!..."
Sophia was crying as she ran through the corridors, leaving the guards confused because—even amid her tears—she was also smiling, and smiling broadly, as if she were overflowing with joy.
"Miss...?"
"W-Wait, miss...!"
The guards in the main hall didn't have time to try to stop her—Sophia is normally polite and never ignores anyone—but now they felt as though they hardly existed before her.
She pushed open the doors to her parents' room, which slammed shut—Arthur startled awake, raised his arms, and immediately positioned himself in front of Alice. His eyes swept over the room, searching for the threat. But, much to his surprise—and relief—it was Sophia who leaped toward him.
"W-W-what happened, dear? What is it?" he asked, worried to see her in tears.
No matter how hard she tried, Sophia couldn't get the words out; her chest felt as heavy as if it were about to burst, and her throat tightened with every tear that fell—she could do nothing but cry. But when she saw her mother wake up and, worriedly, stroke her face, Sophia managed to choke out the words that had been lodged in her throat:
— O-O Noah, he...! He knows about alchemy, Dad...!