Since Zaccheus hadn’t gotten here with his car, he accompanied me as we both went our way to my Mother’s. It had been an adequate amount of time since I left the Custody Agency, so I assumed Ylene had already brought her home. Despite attempting to rubber duck the situation by coming up with a reasonable excuse, Zaccheus placated my mind with his confidence that my occupation would be the right approach, considering the risks of Mother being curious, and wanting to know what I was dealing with.

***

We stepped out of the car and made our way inside thanks to the secondary house key I had in possession. Zaccheus announced himself in a friendly tone as we took our shoes off.

She was seated at the main empty dining table, dressed in a long-sleeved dark brown robe. As I opened the door, I caught her expression changing from miserable to bittersweet in an instant. She tilted her head to the left and smiled with closed lips, watching us take our seats. I sat right next to her, whilst Zaccheus sat at the head of the table to her left. After our opening conversation, asking how Zaccheus and Mother were, I began addressing the elephant in the room.

“We… thought it would be best to have Zaccheus here alongside me. I told him about our prompt plan we had in mind regarding the letter.”

“Mhm,” she nodded, turning towards Zaccheus. “What are your thoughts, Zaccheus?”

“It would definitely be a good way to scan the area, just to ensure that the boys are safe. I assumed that you took the duration of their training into consideration, in addition to other letters that parents, or guardian figures of the other students may send in this week.”

“Yes, I did,” she nodded. “More specifically, I considered Phineas’ cautious nature, and came to the conclusion that if he were to do something with either Caelum or Vaelen, he would have to plan things out, and not rush things at all in order to keep his name safe.”

“Indeed,” Zaccheus said. “It wouldn’t make much of a difference given he is the Head Master of the Inquisition, but this letter sent to the boys will let him know that we are still around and that we won’t let his actions go unnoticed.”

“Three days…” she murmured, as I gradually began to feel more emotional. Not allowing any sort of craving to tell her about the recent circumstances arising from the summit, I averted my gaze from them both, aimlessly staring into the wooden facade of the table.

“…Do you think something will happen?”

“I doubt anything will happen, Aurora,” he responded. “The Gaian Administrative Office will notify the Masters about the letter, which will correspond to Phineas, as the Head Master, being given notice in some way, I assume. Things would have been a lot easier to calculate if the Inquisition had a designated time period…

…That, as well as the possibility of the boys failing really doesn’t help at all. But, assuming how long it takes for their letter to be sent back, we’ll be able to deduce their safety.”

She chuckled gracefully beneath her crestfallen voice.

“No, they will succeed. They’re both naturally gifted. Caelum is someone who seems like a good for nothing, but, when he actually tries to set his mind onto something, he is able to surpass even his older brother; someone who is naturally talented when it comes to pretty much everything.”

“…I agree with you, Mother,” I said softly, having mustered the courage to face her again. “There is nothing that will be able to tear them apart. And together, they are as strong as an insurmountable alp. I trust that… they will be fine.”

“Thank you, dear,” she smiled, as Zaccheus chimed in.

“Alright, then. Let me share an idea we might want to use as a plan B.”

“Go ahead.”

We didn’t really have a proper chance to come up with a solid plan to tell my Mother, so Zaccheus was quite literally improvising, operating from seemingly his short-term memory. During our car ride, he made sure that he was going to at least try and propose a different plan if this one went wrong. And thus, was I as curious to what he had to say as my Mother.

“Let us suppose that Phineas does something over the course of a month. We will have to do something that will corner him without the help of any governmental force, granted he has already some sort of connection, or alliance with them, not to mention the three assemblies.”

“That is true,” I responded. “But, how would we virtually be able to stop him directly?”

“That is always possible, Helvega,” he responded. “Nothing besides people like Wilfred, or security, would pose a challenge against us when it comes to actually reaching him. However, the real problem lies in himself; He currently owns a grade-zero Divination Tool called ‘The Law’. That single Tool will be our biggest obstacle.”

“The Law…” I muttered, squinting my eyes. “I think I know what you’re talking about. A Divination Tool that is classified as an ancient relic. It allows its user to manipulate cause and effect at will.”

“Precisely,” he nodded. “Because of this, we’ll have to come up with a way to at least temporarily nullify its effects.”

Mother held her head low in silence, as I responded to him.

“…So, in other words, the man is basically impenetrable. If I recall correctly, for one to actually use The Law, they must utilize a significant amount of mental fortitude in order to rewrite the effect inflicted upon them, depending on the severity of the wound.”

“Correct,” he said. “Depending on the severity of the wound or any form of negative effect, it takes a toll on its user’s mind. This goes up to the point of risking losing your entire mind if you’d want to save yourself from a seemingly inevitable death.”

“Then, why won’t we go for the kill, then?” I asked. Zaccheus, frowned silently towards me, prompting me to realize that I may have said something stupid. Despite Phineas being someone I would love to smash into tiny pieces of flesh, considering our encounter with Emon and the masked man, if I were to actually succeed in killing Phineas, I could potentially bring their plans into danger, which could potentially correlate to our danger.

“Helvega, let’s not get too bold, okay?” he spoke. “There are many consequences that will come as soon as people find out about his death. Additionally, I would advise against kidnapping him, or the sort, either, since that would only make things worse. There’s also a very high chance that he owns other high-graded relics, as well.

He isn’t someone you can simply kidnap, or kill, without expecting something dire to happen to you. If you end up getting caught, you can say goodbye to your association with the Monlay Assembly, as well as your role within Ventoria’s main Library.”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“…I didn’t think this through. My apologies.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry. Since our reputations will be on the line, we might have to come up with ways that will indirectly stop him.”

As he said this, Mother slowly turned her head towards Zaccheus with an emotionless expression, as if she had never smiled ever since the dawn of this day. Her voice sounded tired as if she could not bear pretending to be fine anymore.

“Zaccheus…”

“…Yes, Aurora?”

“I couldn’t care any less about my reputation anymore. I’m starting to grow old, my children are doing well enough, and I’ve done what I could do in my life.”

She then lowered her barren eyes, and continued.

“It is said that, when you truly want to acquire something, or succeed in something, you will eventually get it, no matter what…”

I gulped, staring at my Mother’s depressed figure with my mouth slightly left ajar. I clenched my right hand into a fist which grew tighter with every word she uttered…

“For almost two decades have I been searching for answers, yet I never got them. I lost my willpower to fight this through, Zaccheus. So, whatever plan you may come up with, may it cause me consequences or not, I will engage.”

I was thankful that she was still facing him because it would only take a single moment of eye contact for me to break down into tears. I closed my eyes, fighting back every urge to pour my heart onto her, as Zaccheus responded with a heavy heart.

“…I understand. But, I think it would be best for you to stay indoors, in case we do something more contentious. See it for your own safety, Aurora…”

“…I’m getting tired.”

She slowly raised from her seat, and walked towards the door, which she gently swung open. With her gaze still fixated towards the dimly lit hallway, he said to us with a solemn tone,

“I’m going to try and get some sleep. Since our original plan stays, I’ll wait patiently to be enlightened about our next plan.”

“…Okay,” Zaccheus said calmly. “Have a good rest.”

With no afterword, she closed the door behind her; the closing sound reverberating calmly throughout the dining room, acting like a final breeze of melancholy brushing against my face, the final push that finally made my tears stroll down my eyes.

Zaccheus took a seat next to me, and gently rubbed my back. The tears could not be held back anymore, and I repeatedly cursed Emon under my breath. Sensing as though my Mother could have heard me, he took a gulp as he scanned the room and suggested for us to head outside.

“No, you can go.”

“But-”

“You can trust me,” I interjected. “I won’t tell her anything.”

He closed his eyes and nodded, as he raised from his seat. He threw his coat over his back, opened the door, and looked back at me over his shoulder for the final time.

“…Meet me tomorrow morning. At the same place.”

As he closed the door, as well as the front door, I regained control over my breath and wiped off the tears with my sleeves. I asked myself, what was I doing? Why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for?

My own mother was miserable to the point of not bothering to hide it from me anymore. At most times, she pretended to be okay, and when it seemed obvious that things weren’t going as we wished, she knew she could always depend on me. There were times when she would just let herself be embraced in my arms, silently crying her heart out…

She knew about the hardships we both faced, she knew that, despite how daunting things may have seemed, we always had each other. Caelum and Vaelen were in similar positions as I; they, too, could always make sure that Mother was feeling well, and let her know that she would never be alone.

Then, why could I not do this again?

I wanted her to cry, and have me embrace her, whilst telling her that everything would be okay… Just… why could I not do this for her? Why did I decide to place trust in Emon’s words like that? He betrayed her, and made her life miserable… Why did I listen to Zaccheus, and stop myself from killing him with my own hands?

I hated myself.

I had the urge to just… hurt myself in one way or another, because of how guilty I felt.

The man decided to just appear… right in front of me, with no foreword or warning. He looked at me, as if I was someone unimportant to him…

Whatever bloody reason he may have had for revealing himself to me in such a manner, it could never excuse the betrayal he committed against my Mother.

Get yourself together, Helvega…

…Alright, I’ll just… try and talk to her once more.

I can… do it.

I can…

With a heavy sigh, I slowly raised from my seat and made my way to the second floor, where her bedroom was situated.

I gently knocked on the door and announced myself before swinging it open; revealing the dark wood-walled bedroom. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, facing the large window that overlooked the small neighbourhood. I once again felt relieved knowing she could not see my face. She spoke in the same solemn tone to me.

“And? Did it work out?”

“…We will be trying again tomorrow. Though, Mother…

…I have to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

Don’t tell her, Helvega.

Do it for our safety…

He will know whether or not you have told her.

…You are much more collected than he is, right?

But…

…she has to know!

No, Helvega.

She’s my Mother! Why can’t I…

You can tell her everything after the meeting. As long as you remain composed, nothing bad will happen.

…

I promise.

“…That… letter, will you be sending it yourself?”

“Well, yes. That’s what we agreed on, right?”

“Yes… yes, we did,” I responded carefully. “Then, could you please let me know if it has worked out or not? I will assume that it is going to take three days or so before the letter will be sent back, so around a week.”

“…Won’t you be around?” she asked, making me feel even more nervous. It would take only one mental slip and I would have stumbled over my words. Nevertheless, I gulped and chose my words carefully.

“Sadly not, no. I’ll be extremely busy for the upcoming two weeks, or so. But, I will try my best to visit you every now and then, just like usual.”

“You know, Helvega…”

“…Hm?”

She took a moment before responding. As if she was reconsidering her words in her head.

“It’s okay, do what you have to do.”

…I was convinced that she wanted to say something else. Her response didn’t feel genuine.

Even though she didn’t realize I was blatantly lying to her, I knew that she was protesting against my words…

She needed me. She needed some form of company. Tears were running down her face, I could already tell from her tone.

This would have been the perfect moment to just step inside and hug her… my own Mother…

…And still, I did not.

If I were to do so, I would have opened my heart to her. I would have told her that everything was going to be okay… that Emon, that bastard… that betrayer, was still alive…

I grinded my teeth as a shadow fell over my eyes. I began to lose control over my breathing again, yet I could still manage to utter clear words.

“…Okay, Mother. I will be going now.”

I turned around, about to close the door, as she responded,

“Take care, dear. I love you.”

“...I love you too.”