"As if I’ve just woken up from a long, sad dream." She replied. "You have no idea how many times I called for you, Master Jadon, yet you never replied. No one ever did."
"Is there someone else here with us?" Keyla asked after Jadon pinched her hand thoroughly. "Is Dad still here?"
"No, there is only me." Hilya shook her head. "There were others with me at first, but they all disappeared after a while. I wanted to go with them, but I couldn’t leave until I warned the Count.
"Now, I can finally move on. Forgive this useless servant of yours, Young Master and Lady. Maybe, if I were a bit faster, your father would still be alive."
"Why are you apologizing?" Lith asked. "Didn’t you hear what I just said? Trequill’s death is my fault."
"I heard you all right, Young Master, and it was all hogwash!" Hilya referring to Lith as "Young Master" again brought a smile to everyone’s face. "You didn’t fail anyone. Poltus, the Count, and I were happy none of you were there, or that madman would have killed you as well."
Lith had e to terms with Count Lark’s death for a long while now, yet those words lifted a weight from his conscience.
’See? What did I tell you?’ Solus said. ’There was no way that Lark or any member of his staff blamed you for what Meln did.’
’What can I say?’ Lith replied. ’I love it when you are always right, Solus.’
"Before you go, Hilya, can I ask you something?" Keyla asked.
"Anything you want, Young Lady." Hilya gave her former mistress a perfect curtsy.
"Do you think Father is angry with Jadon and me for the current state of the Lark Household?"
"I couldn’t move from this spot or talk with your father since the day Meln attacked, Young Lady. Yet I’ve seen and heard quite a few things from here. Even while the Lark Household was still in shambles and you were overwhelmed with grief, the gardeners always praised your dedication to your subjects.
"You and Young Master Jadon have put the safety of your families and the well-being of the people of your fiefs above yourselves, upholding the Lark family name with honor at great personal cost.
"I’ve known your father for decades, and I can tell you that if he were here, the Count would ask you to forgive him for the mess in which he left you and be proud of you two beyond what words can express.
"His greatest fear wasn’t death, but to have failed as a parent. The Count was afraid that his mistakes in raising his children might have ruined your lives and caused the fall of the Lustria County that his ancestors had entrusted to him.
"Yet I’ve seen the Lark Household thrive thanks to your hard work, and the Count would be overjoyed knowing that his spirit lives on in your hearts, children, and every good deed you perform."
"Thanks, Hilya." Keyla gave the head chef a deep bow, to which Hilya replied by falling on one knee.
"I also have a question." Jadon said. "Now that you are on the other side and know everything, can you tell us if Lith really carries the Lark blood?"
On the one hand, the idea that his father might have been unfaithful, even to Jadon’s wretched mother, upset the young Count Lark. On the other hand, he needed to know if the bond he felt towards Lith could be deeper than he thought.
"It doesn’t work that way, Young Master, or I would tell you who your enemies are and where you can find them." Hilya chuckled. "Yet I can answer your question. A few years ago, your father grew so tired of the rumors about his alleged affairs that he missioned a deep background check on Young Master Lith.
"No connection was found between the Count and the Verhen family, yet no one believed the report when he shoved it in our faces. We thought your father was just embarrassed and was trying to cover his tracks.
"So, the house staff raised the money for a background check of our own, and sadly it confirmed everything the Count had shown us. Young Master Lith is not your relative, Young Master Jadon, but I like to think he is.
"Please, don’t resent this old fool for her silly quirks." She said while giving the two true Larks a deep bow.
"I could never resent you, Hilya." Keyla replied. "Please, when you see my father, tell him that we are okay and that we miss him every day. Our children love to hear the stories about their grandfather more than any bedtime story we’ve ever told them."
"I will, Young Lady." The head chef nodded with a smile.
"Please, also tell Count Lark that I miss him as well, and that I’ll never forget our friendship." Lith said.
"I can do better, Young Master." She replied. "If you allow me, I’ll share with the Count everything your black chain showed me about you. Even though indirectly, the Count would get to meet your children and Solus."
"Please do." Lith nodded, and Solus cried with joy from inside her stone ring.
"If there isn’t anything else..." Hilya looked around, giving the others enough time to speak any last words to her before it was too late. "I’ll take my leave. I’m tired, and I need to rest. I haven’t had a moment of peace in over two years."
The head chef touched the chain in her chest, and her will severed the connection with Lith. Hilya’s soul released a blinding light that dispelled the pitch-black figure of her Demon form for a heartbeat before it collapsed into a brilliant sphere that bolted towards the sky.
The air in the park suddenly felt clearer, and everyone’s chest felt lighter.
"Now tell me what’s going on in Ghishal." Lith said as soon as his chains confirmed there was no lingering spirit left in the Lark estate. "Don’t leave out any detail."
***
Jadon and Keyla brought Lith inside the main building and into the family tea room. They walked in silence, using that time to collect their thoughts and savor the bittersweet feelings left by the brief reunion with Hilya.
Lith said nothing as well, even after the Larks remained silent for several minutes after the tea had been served.
He adjusted himself in the red silk-padded chair, wondering for the umpteenth time whether there was anything he could have done differently to prevent the late count’s demise.
For the umpteenth time, he reached the same conclusion. There was nothing he could have done.
"There isn’t much to say." Jadon cleared his throat, snapping Lith out of his daze. "It’s just as we’ve told you earlier. After you’ve bee a Magus, even wilder rumors about you started to spread across Lustria.
"After the attack on your Train, the reveal of your Indech Bloodline, and that little stunt you pulled in the temple of the All-Father after your birthday gala, the criminal cartels started to leave Lustria in search of less deadly pastures.
"You see, the first thing that crime needs to prosper is fear."
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