Chapter 29: Another Letter

Days passed since Neo had arrived at the Celestia estate. His parents had already returned to the Draven estate, buried under mountains of work that couldn’t wait any longer, leaving him behind so he could spend a little more time with his grandfather.

Cassian had been restless about leaving him there, muttering under his breath the whole way to the carriage, convinced that the moment they left, the old man would find some secret way to scold Neo behind their backs. Sylvia had simply patted his cheek and told him to stop worrying so much, though even she couldn’t fully hide the small, teasing smile on her face.

Once they were gone, Neo settled into a much more relaxed rhythm. With no one around to hover over him every few minutes, he was finally free to wander the mansion however he pleased, without a single restriction on where he could or couldn’t go.

Most days, he ended up in one of two places: the training ground, or the garden.

His grandfather had mentioned once, in his usual short, clipped way of speaking, that his late grandmother and Sylvia had planted most of the garden together with their own hands, years ago. After his grandmother passed away, and after Sylvia eventually left to marry Cassian, the old man had taken over tending it entirely by himself.

Neo hadn’t really known what to say when he heard that. His grandfather had simply told him the story and walked off afterward, offering no explanation for why he’d bothered sharing it at all.

’Was he expecting me to Praise him?’

He had no idea. Unlike with his parents, he had no special trick for reading his grandfather. Even the bracelet he wore, the one that let him sense the emotions of everyone around him, was completely useless here. There was no way something so simple could ever work on someone that strong. Whatever the old man was feeling stayed locked up tight behind that same stiff, unreadable face, no matter how hard Neo tried to catch even the smallest hint of it.

After wandering around for most of the afternoon, Neo finally made his way back to his room, only to find another letter waiting for him on his desk, delivered quietly by one of the maids.

He didn’t need to guess who it was from. It was none other than his unwanted... Fiancée.

He sat down, picked up the small knife from his drawer, and carefully sliced open the seal. Pulling the letter free, he noticed it was thicker than the last one, folded twice over instead of just once.

He unfolded it carefully and began to read.

---

[Neo,

Mother says I write too much now. I don’t think that’s true. I just have more to say.

I awakened yesterday. Mother cried. Father cried too, but he pretended he didn’t. I don’t understand why they cried. Nothing hurt. It just felt warm, like drinking something hot when it’s cold outside.

I can see the sparkling bubbles clearer now. They come to me faster than before. Mother says that’s rare. I don’t know what rare means, but she said it like it was a good thing, so I think it is.

I tried to talk more today. It’s still hard. My voice sounds strange to me, even though I can’t hear it. Mother says it sounds fine. I don’t know if she’s lying to make me feel better.

I have a question. You said friends care about each other. Do friends fight? A boy in the village threw mud at another boy today, and Father said that’s not what friends do. But you pushed me once. Does that mean we aren’t friends? I want to know so I can stop thinking about it.

I fed the fish again. One of them is missing. I think a bird took it. I didn’t like that.

Write back soon. Mother keeps asking if you replied yet. It’s annoying.

—Nora]

---

Neo read through it once, then a second time, slower.

He couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him halfway through, especially at the part about the mud-throwing boy. Leave it to Nora to bring up something so simple and turn it into a real, serious question.

"So she awakened already," he murmured, setting the letter down gently on his desk. "That’s way earlier than it should have been. Guess I really am changing things faster than I thought."

He thought back to the conversation by the pond, the one where he’d first explained mana to her using nothing but a notepad. That single conversation had already pushed her timeline forward once. Now it seemed like whatever came after had pushed it even further.

’At this rate, she might end up stronger than she was in the original story. Maybe a lot stronger.’

He wasn’t sure yet if that was something to be worried about or something to be glad for. Either way, there wasn’t much point in overthinking it right now.

He pulled open his drawer, grabbed a fresh sheet of paper, and reached for his pen, already thinking about how to answer her question about the mud-throwing boy without accidentally making things more confusing than they already were.

"Alright, Nora, just wait for my reply."

Neo stared at the blank page for a while, chewing lightly on the end of his pen, trying to figure out the best way to answer her without making things worse.

’Okay. She’s asking if pushing her that one time means we’re not friends. If I mess this up, she’s probably going to bring it up in every single letter from now on.’

He finally started writing, going slow at first, then picking up speed once the words started coming easier.

---

[Nora,

First, congratulations on awakening. I’m really happy for you. I know your parents cried because they were happy too, not sad. Sometimes people cry when they’re happy, even if it doesn’t make much sense. My mother does that a lot.

About the mud-throwing boy. That’s different from what happened with us. Throwing mud at someone just to be mean isn’t something friends do. But what I did wasn’t the same thing. I pushed you because I was frustrated, and that was wrong of me. I already said sorry for it, and I meant it. Friends can still make mistakes with each other. What matters is that they try to fix it after. So no, we’re still friends. You don’t have to keep thinking about it.

Also, don’t worry about your voice. I think it sounds fine too. Mother isn’t lying. She doesn’t really know how to lie about things like that.

Sorry about the fish. Birds are annoying like that. Maybe we should get a fence for the pond next time.

I’m still at my grandfather’s place. He’s strange. He doesn’t talk much, but yesterday he handed me a chocolate for no reason and just walked away. I still don’t understand him at all.

Write back whenever you want. I don’t mind reading long letters. Actually, I like getting them, since I don’t get many.

—Neo]

He read it over once, frowning slightly at his own handwriting compared to hers, which always looked far neater no matter how young she was.

"Well, that should cover it, Hopefully she doesn’t come up with ten more questions after reading this."

He reached for a fresh envelope, slid the letter inside, and sealed it with a small dab of wax, pressing the edge of his ring against it just like before.

Setting it aside for the servants to send out in the morning, he leaned back in his chair with a quiet sigh, glancing toward the window where the evening sky was slowly turning a soft shade of orange.

"Guess I’ve got another few weeks before her next one shows up." He stretched his arms above his head, letting out a small yawn. "At least this one’s a little more interesting to write back to."