Chapter 63

“Feels like it’s been a while. How’ve you been?”

It really had been a while.
Keith had been so busy with Laila’s constant demands, I barely saw him over the past month.
I replied weakly.

“…How do you think I look?”

“Well, you look better than you did two months ago.”

Back then, I didn’t even look like a human.
Of course I looked better now.
And yet—I was smiling at his joke. That probably meant I wasn’t entirely sane anymore.

Keith chuckled and pulled out a chair, sitting across from me.
He placed a letter on the table.

“Is this from Marie?”

“She’s just starting to learn how to write, so it’s messy. I offered to help, but she insisted on doing it herself.”

“That’s so like her… Marie’s a genius.”

“You two talk the same even when you’re apart.”

“What did Marie say?”

“That you’re an angel for writing her letters even though you must be busy.”

Keith grinned.
His teasing gaze was obvious, but I didn’t care.
I picked up the letter with both hands and gently pressed it to my lips.

Marie.

“You love her that much?”

“Yeah. I really do.”

I never thought I could miss someone this much—someone I hadn’t even known that long.
I missed her like I missed Grandma.

I didn’t know how to explain what I felt for Marie.
It wasn’t just because she helped me.
What I felt for Marie was different from what I felt for Keith.

Was it because she lost her arm for me? Or because she lost her comrades?

Maybe—but this feeling was even more instinctive.
Like water flowing downhill, I loved Marie without needing a reason.

Even if she hadn’t loved me first… would I still have loved her this much?

I didn’t know.
I fell for her because she was kind.
But at this point, it didn’t matter anymore.

The version of me who didn’t love Marie… doesn’t exist.

I carefully opened the envelope.

“Florens nim how are you I am fine eat food”

“…Only ‘eat food’ is written properly.”

So cute.
I started laughing.
My appetite, which had vanished, started coming back.
Keith rested his arms on the table and leaned his face on them.

“Marie’s been eating well and gaining weight. I’m working on getting a magical engineer for her prosthetic. If we can manage it, it’ll grow with her as she grows.”

“A magical prosthetic…”

“It’ll cost a fortune. But hey, it just adds to your debt, so it’s fine, right?”

“Right. No matter the cost, I don’t care.”

“You say that too easily. You’ve never actually suffered under debt, have you?”

I stared straight at Keith.

“So Enoch’s not the only one I owe?”

“…When a poor baron wants to send his kid abroad, he has to borrow money. We were barons only in name. My father spent his life as a rural doctor—no savings. I told him it was fine, but my mother’s dream was for me to be a mage. She pushed me to study abroad.”

“So that was your money?”

“Basically. While I was abroad, I got word my father died suddenly. When I came back, I found we had a mountain of debt.”

I blinked, unsure how to respond.
Keith rarely talked about himself—so I hadn’t expected any of this.
Especially not about his father dying.

While I hesitated, Keith gave a crooked smile.

“That was three years ago.”

“But still…”

“I managed to pay it back thanks to Enoch. He found out somehow, contacted me, and helped out.”

“What happened to your father…?”

“I don’t know…”

I wanted to say he passed away peacefully—but I suddenly felt like I couldn’t say anything.

Keith tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

“Someone murdered him. We never found out who.”

“Even you couldn’t figure it out?”

“You think mages are gods or something? When I got back, it had already been days. And it was such a rural area—there was barely anything to investigate. You know how empty Dagreba is.”

“Dagreba…”

That’s where Grandma spent her final days.
I looked up at Keith, startled.
He continued quietly.

“That noble lady’s villa was the only stone building in town. That’s how backwater it was.”

“Wait, Keith!”

“Who’d have thought a noblewoman, known even in Redamas, would die in such a remote place? That night, my dad took me to the villa because he didn’t want me left alone. That’s when I saw you. I didn’t learn your name until much later. And back then… it wasn’t even really you.”

“We met… back then?”

“Told you—we met once.”

“You could’ve said more! I had no idea! We didn’t even talk!“

“I tried to greet you. You didn’t even look at me.”

I had no memory of that.
I was seven when Grandma died.
I was too busy crying beside her frail, fading form.
The room had been full of people, but I couldn’t recognize anyone.

All I remembered was Grandma.
Her fading voice, her sorrowful eyes, the wrinkled skin, the low body temperature, her last words clinging to my eardrums…

“You could’ve said something…”

“What’s the point if you didn’t remember?”

“But if I’d known you were her doctor’s son, I could’ve…”

“Could’ve what? Been nicer to me?”

“…”

“You followed some stranger just because you heard he saved your life—and now you want to say it would’ve changed something?”

Keith ruffled my hair roughly.
He was right.
Even if I’d known, nothing would’ve changed.
But still—I felt regret.

Grandma was that important to me.
Just having a connection to her gave things meaning.

“That was my first time at the villa. My dad never let me follow him to work.”

“…”

“My mom and Enoch’s mom—my aunt—both worked at that villa once. My mom married into the Brien Barony, but the family collapsed and she died struggling. Enoch’s mom married a spirit user who was a friend of your father’s. That’s why the Marquis took Enoch in.”

“I see…”

“We couldn’t afford to raise another kid back then. Found out too late anyway. But I guess I owe something to the Seymour family too. Grandma paid my dad well—that’s how he could fund my studies.”

“So Grandma… did that for you…”

“She was a kind woman.”

But Keith’s tone was dry.
I asked quietly:

“You’re still investigating, right?”

“I am. But there’s no lead. Dad was found dead in the forest at night. No one knows why he went there. Strangely enough, everyone in town had solid alibis. No signs of strangers either. It’s a complete mystery.”

“What if someone used magic to get in?”

“Then anyone who can use teleportation—6th class or above—is a suspect.”

“…”

“He was a poor country doctor. No special talents, no secrets. All he had was a debt-ridden son. So why would someone kill him…?”

I held my breath.
I couldn’t think of the right words.
So I just reached out and placed my hand over Keith’s.
Maybe touch could carry more emotion than words.

He didn’t pull his hand away.

“…Thanks for telling me.”

“I figured you’d find out when we get to Dagreba anyway. Didn’t want you throwing a fit about being ‘deceived’ later.”

“When have I ever thrown a fit at you?”

“Enoch said you used to go silent for years if you got upset.”

“That was when I was a kid! Ages ago!”

“Oh, right—it’s been, what, five months? No, seven now. You must be sooo mature now.”

“….”

“Don’t pout, okay? I wasn’t hiding anything.”

It was a hard story to share.
Even if he hadn’t told me, I could never have blamed him.

Suddenly, something flashed through my mind.
As Keith turned to leave, I grabbed his hand.

“Keith, that thing!”

“What? Did you forget something?”

“No, that thing! The mirror!”