The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1581

They paused just long enough to see her shake her head, "I am not- It's not-"

She was having trouble finding the right words and their cumbersome gazes were not helping.

Lady Yuki took a deep breath to gather her thoughts before looking at Aunty Vei.

"I am looking for someone, aunty. This person might know something about what happened at the estate."

All the anger in the room was quickly replaced by uncertainty with sprinkles of hesitation as they exchanged knowing glances with one another.

Aunty Vei caught them looking at each other and threw them a harsh glare as a warning to keep their mouths shut.

She ushered Lady Yuki to a nearby chair and sat down across from her while the others sat on the counter behind her out of her sight.

Aunty Vei's voice was as soft as fresh snow when she spoke to her.

"Little Yui, are you still looking into that matter?" she asked with a heavy heart.

She nodded with her head hung low, "Yes. I know I shouldn't but I NEED to know what happened. I will never be able to move on if I don't find out the truth."

Aunty Vei sighed and leaned back in her chair while a long silence hung over the room. They were obviously trying to hide something and Lady Yuki knew that.

After what felt like an eternity it was Poli who spoke up first.

"She has a right to know. They were her parents before the movement even began!"

"It's dangerous!" Aunty Vei stressed, "You know that better than anyone Poli!"

"If she hasn't stopped looking after all this time then she won't stop now. It's a miracle 'they' didn't get wind of her already but it is only a matter of time that changes. It needs to be done correctly for which she needs our help."

And unfortunately, no matter how much Aunty Vei wanted to keep Lady Yuki out of these matters Polina's words made sense.

She gestured towards Aunty Shun who got the hint and swiftly activated her ability.

The entire building glowed with a dim blue for an instant before everything inside was sealed. All the distant noise immediately died down.

Even though she trusted these people for a very brief moment Lady Yuki stiffened at the thought of betrayal because she had come to accept one painful truth after countless sleepless nights of deliberation.

'I don't know why, father didn't have any enemies but someone betrayed us. The estate's defenses were disabled from the inside before the attackers even got there. And that someone could be in this very room...'

She glanced at the people behind them who were willing to kill for her just a moment ago.

'It couldn't have been Aunty Vei so there is a good chance it was one of them...'

Once Aunty Vei was sure no one could listen in on their conversation she turned to Lady Yuki with a defeated expression.

"I had hoped you could continue to live blissfully in ignorance till the end, but something tells me you have other plans. Yui, do you know what your parents used to do? What was their occupation?"

Lady Yuki racked her mind but couldn't come up with any definitive answers so she shook her head once.

"That is to be expected," Aunty Vei nodded before meeting her gaze, "They wanted to keep you away from all of the case- well, what happened happened. Your ama and apa were the leaders of a movement that was trying to change the status quo. They wanted to bring some semblance of order to the Abyss but most importantly, raise the standing of the half-humans."

This was a surprise to Lady Yuki but it wasn't the first time she had heard that word.

"Half-humans?" she questioned.

"My, where are my manners. I meant to say Demihumans," Aunty Vei clarified, "Although it is not so bad over here but in most other places demihumans are seen as the lowest of the low. They are treated like cattle, forced to breed endlessly while their offsprings are sold to the highest bidder. There used to be a saying, 'There is a half-human for every job'."

Lady Yuki turned to the three behind her and they couldn't even look her in the eye out of embarrassment.

"It is an ugly truth," Aunty Vei continued, "But that is the world we live. It is the world your parents were trying to change. They fought and bled for the right of demihumans to be treated equally but it was a tough fight and even after many years we saw little change. So they created a sanctuary, the Estate, where all were welcome."

She stopped for a moment to let Lady Yuki digest everything and after thinking it over only one question came to her mind.

"But...why would someone attack us? We weren't doing anything to anyone. Is giving someone a safe place to exist a crime?"