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I spent the evening composing myself in my room before taking Lia up on her invitation. Idling outside her room, I wore an ersatz beam and tried maintaining a friendly countenance.

Ka-chak!

The door was unlocked, welcoming unlike Melyn's.

「Hey Lia... you wanted to see me?」

My mentor reposed in her bed like a tranquil log. Gently, she swiveled her head towards me and smiled.

「Ah... Lorenzo. Sit by my bed, I need to discuss something with you.」

I quietly bobbed my head and sauntered to her bedside. No chairs were lying around, so I settled for her mattress.

Lia was swathed in bandages and wore a splint on her arm. Thankfully she was changed out of her tattered armor and into some fresh woolen clothing.

Sitting down, I could feel the heat radiating off her.

She had a high temperature. Undeniably because she was rudely awakened by the fight next door. I couldn't look her in the eye upon realizing that.

At that moment, I felt her hand lightly stroke the length of my back.

「If you're going to fake a smile, remember to hide your breathing. You're practically an open book.」

「Lia...」

She levered herself up against her pillow and greeted me eye-to-eye. There was an admirable tenacity in the way she conducted herself.

But it worried me to no end how surprisingly reckless she was capable of being.

「Should you really be speaking right now? You're burning up.」

「This is nothing. Back in the military, we soldiers were forced to work through sickness. It was a way of training discipline... or so my superiors said.」

「This isn't the military you know? You need to take better care of yourself.」

「I know, I know. It's just a bad habit of mine... staying awake while bedridden. I'll grow past it eventually.」

It was somewhat of a spectacle, me scolding the strict and relentless Lia. Never in a million years did I think the day would come.

But that was just how much things had changed. Our everyday lives were flipped upside down in an instant. A single day was all it took for calamity to strike.

It was laughable how unforgiving the world could be at times.

「Besides Lia... you were on the brink of death yesterday. How is it that you're awake so soon..?」

「Oh. I think Maksa explained it to me once. "Healer's Syndrome", I think it's called.」

「Healer's Syndrome?」

「Well, to keep it short, it's the same reason you appear older than you actually are. The more you're healed with magic, the faster your body recovers naturally. It has to do with the overstimulation of your hormones... though I can't really recall the details right now...」

My mentor was visibly dazed. It probably wasn't a good idea to visit her while she was still recovering, let alone ask hard questions.

I was almost compelled to up and leave.

Yet, there was a part of me that feared having her out of sight. She was the type to overexert herself without being asked to. I often wished her self-preservation would kick in.

As I wrestled with these thoughts, Lia had noticed the lour on my face. And abruptly, she decided to address it.

「Is what Melyn said still bothering you?」

Caught off guard by her question, I immediately tried setting the record straight.

「O-of course not..! I was just thinking about your wellbeing!」

Her inquiry did unfortunately remind me of the thief girl though, and Melyn's sorrowful words clawed their way back into the forefront of my mind.

「I get that she's in a less-than-ideal state of mind, and what she says doesn't necessarily reflect what she thinks. I'm just... a little shocked is all...」

Lia weakly sighed and folded her arms.

「That girl... She bore those same lifeless eyes when I first met her eight years ago...」

「Eight years ago..? Weren't you still in the military then?」

「I'm amazed you kept track, Lorenzo...」

Not to brag... but I had an unusual knack for retaining the most obscure of things. Infinitesimal details would come to me in an instant.

Though by this point... you probably already knew that.

「Uh... you should really keep your ego in check. Your breathing is making it painfully obvious how happy that comment made you...」

「Geh!」

My tendency to react so candidly was one of the rare few details I'd overlook.

「At any rate... I was acquainted with Rysef long before I'd joined the slum dwellers. He'd help on many an occasion while I still served the crown.」

「Ah right... he was a renowned traveler in those days wasn't he..?」

「That he was. And it was during a trip of his that he stumbled across Melyn.」

Now, this was a story I was familiar with. It was years ago when I'd asked Lia about Melyn's past. She answered quite honestly, and it opened my eyes to how ruthless the Church could be.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

「The tragedy of Arnou and Betriss Lotierre... right..? And their son, Soryn...」

The thief girl's late parents and younger brother. After they'd fallen victim to one of the Church's many plots, Rysef took the now-orphaned Melyn into his care.

According to Lia, Melyn was asleep during their murder. Upon waking up, she was cruelly greeted with the remains of her loved ones. Anyone would be traumatized.

「You know how the tale goes. Following the death of Melyn's family, the Ashen Thief brought the young girl along on his journey back. It was the least he could do for the Lotierres.」

Rysef was ostensibly close friends with the thief girl's family.

The origins of this close-knitted relationship were unknown, but it was a determining factor in his decision to take in a noble girl as his protégé.

The slum dweller tenets made it clear how outsiders were to be dealt with.

But the Ashen Thief, in failing to save those he knew dearly from impending doom, made a conscious move to upend these rules.

As a being with the ability to peer into the future, the guilt he experienced must've been great.

「My first encounter with Melyn was in the port city of Illinox, a municipality on the northernmost tip of the Jazgan continent. I was tasked with picking Rysef up.」

「Tasked? By the Hendoza military?」

「This was long before Merulea had fully proven itself an ally to Jazga. They had only established a defense pact with us a year prior. The Church's name carried no influence in those days. And back then, Rysef was seen as a legendary figure by all of Velatya.」

「So... the only reason Rysef was wanted here...」

「Pressure from Merulea. In all fairness, he was an infamous thief who would steal from the rich and give to the poor... Logically, he was to be held accountable for his crimes.」

Lia uttered a quiet snort and stared up into the ceiling, reminiscing about a bygone past.

「But Jazga was an illogical place. In a country beset by inequality and strife, it was normal to idolize lawbreakers like the Ashen Thief. Even the government, to some extent, had his back...」

「He was that influential huh?」

「Often what is right and what is lawful don't always align. I remember him once telling me that...」

It was a fair adage.

To praise heroic outlaws was not uncommon in the old world. I could understand why the people of this economic backwater would romanticize Rysef so much.

But the fact that his fame had reached every corner of this world, was a testament to how powerful the man truly was. The Ashen Thief was a one-in-a-million character.

I couldn't even imagine how his passing would be received by the public.

「Melyn however, wasn't acquainted with Rysef before he fostered her. And that came with its own set of problems.」

「They didn't get along?」

「Initially, yes. For the first few weeks, she was uncooperative. She wouldn't eat, drink, or even sleep. Rysef would have to give her nutrients directly to keep her alive.」

「Using ani magic huh? Such a spell would be useful right about now...」

「I highly doubt we'd find a caster capable of performing the spell. It was a taxing procedure, even for Rysef. And very few possess the unbridled mastery he wielded.」

Well, that was another plan thrown out the window. If Maksa was still out there, I figured we could utilize his knowledge of ani magic to fix Melyn up.

Restoring her mental health is a whole other can of beans though...

「How did Melyn move past her grief..?」

「That I do not know. When I encountered her in Illinox, she was still a shell of her former self. Dark rings had formed underneath her crimson eyes and she was all skin and bone...」

「I-I see... She's headed down that path again unless we do something...」

「But...」

Lia paused for a second and cast her gaze on the blanket she was wrapped in, before continuing. She was definitely scouring through her memories for answers.

「By the time we'd arrived at the outskirts of the Jazga county... she'd already reverted to her bubbly self. It was as though she miraculously transformed overnight.」

「Seriously..? That damned Rysef was one hell of a talker...」

「And I believe that's the answer you're looking for...」

I glanced at her, then swiftly did a double-take.

「What?」

「Talking to Melyn. It's your only solution.」

Registering her response, I was quick to dismiss her.

「Lia... I've tried talking to her. She simply won't listen. You weren't there when I attempted to engage in dialogue with her but...」

「No Lorenzo... you didn't talk to her.」

I presumed a feverish haze had enfolded her. Unable to follow her line of thinking, I was prepared to tuck her in and call it a night.

That was until she expanded on her initial statement...

「Talking doesn't mean single-mindedly flapping your gums. It also means to listen... to understand. It means to open your heart and accept what the other has to say.」

She fastened her amber eyes on me, a solemn expression painted on her flushed face.

「You need to talk to Melyn, as Lorenzo. The real Lorenzo.」

「The real... Lorenzo..?」

「Your words rarely ever match your emotions. The lip service may work on impressionable strangers... but not on Melyn. She's no stranger.」

And a lopsided smile lined her quivering lips.

「And if the real Lorenzo is an awful person? What then? Is that really what she needs now?」

「It is. What Melyn needs is you. She's confused about a lot of things right now. Hearing the real you, no matter how awful you may be, will bring her back. I'm sure of it.」

Her confidence was relieving, even if it was a byproduct of her fever. I giggled at her uncharacteristic tenderness.

「Heh... How do you say all that with a straight face..?」

「I may be a seasoned veteran who's seen her fair share of tragedies... but deep down I'm pretty idealistic you know?」

「Idealistic eh..?」

「I'm guided by hope... as naïve as that sounds...」

This time, she held her fist against my arm. It was a mere fraction of the damage her real punches were capable of inflicting.

「Learn about Melyn... Not from me, but from her.」

「What good will that do?」

「The tale I'd told you two years ago was a rough retelling of Rysef's version of events. And even then, the Ashen Thief wasn't fully aware of what happened that fateful day.」

「Melyn was asleep though wasn't she..? What would she know?」

「Rysef had reason to believe... she knows more than she lets on... But for fear of agitating her, he'd refrain from pursuing the subject further.」

I was reminded of Rysef's request two years ago.

「For that, you should ask her yourself.」

It was in regards to Melyn's past. He probably saw me as the perfect private investigator since the thief girl immediately took a liking to me.

Alas, I was unwilling to risk agitating her myself. Hence, his otherwise flawless plan fell apart like a late-game Jenga tower.

「Better late than never I suppose...」

I thought out loud to myself.

Lia sunk into her pillow and took a deep breath. She was on the cusp of drifting off—I could tell.

「Ahh... I think this is where our conversation ends... I'm sorry I couldn't be of any more use to you Lorenzo...」

「Nonsense. You've helped me in more ways than you could imagine.」

「I-Is that so..? In that case, I'll leave the rest to you...」

Finally, I faced her and promptly nodded. It was a nod accompanied by a warm gleam of appreciation in my emerald eyes.

She was truly on my side. A thought like that was comforting.

「Oh... and one more thing. It nearly slipped my mind.」

Lia feebly rolled over to the other side of the bed and grabbed a sanguine-stained envelope from the nightstand. She then turned back to me.

「Apologies for the sordid condition. Some of my blood had seeped through...」

「A letter..?」

「The Ashen Thief told me to give it to you in the event of his death... It apparently contains sensitive information, so Rysef asked that you burn it immediately after reading.」

I took the canvas envelope from her hand and inspected it.

It had a plain red wax seal and no visible writing on the outside. Either it was covered by the dried blood or Rysef didn't bother signing it. Both explanations made sense to me.

「Have you read it?」

「Heavens no, Lorenzo. It was meant for your eyes only...」

The letter in my hand suddenly felt heavier than normal paper.

Does this hold the answers I'm looking for? Will I finally learn about Rysef's past? That Tyton guy seemed to know a lot about the Ashen Thief's heritage...

I gingerly lifted myself off the bed and clutched the envelope tightly.

「Alright... I'll give this a read and briskly destroy it thereafter. And by the time you wake up, I'll have saved Melyn from her plight. That I promise you—!」

She had already passed out. I scratched my cheek, embarrassed by my own enthusiasm, and exited the room.

The message in this envelope had the potential to enlighten me on so many things.

What secrets awaited me behind this sealed flap? And how drastically would it change the way I viewed this world?

The Ashen Thief, beyond the grave, had the potential to shift the gears of fate. Through me, the prideful oaf clueless as to how his actions would impact Velatya.

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