Chapter 45: By the Pond

Once the last of the guests had finally departed and the grand hall fell quiet, Neo excused himself briefly from his parents to search for Nora, who had slipped away sometime during the final arrangements without anyone noticing.

He checked the sitting room first, then the long hallway near her old bedroom, but there was no sign of her anywhere. He was about to ask one of the servants if they’d seen her when a small memory surfaced in his mind, something she’d mentioned in her letters.

I fed the fish again. One of them is missing.

Neo turned quickly and made his way toward the back of the estate, pushing open the garden doors and stepping out into the cold. Snow crunched softly beneath his boots as he followed the narrow path winding through the frozen hedges, searching until, finally, he spotted a small, familiar figure sitting alone on a bench near the edge of the pond.

He approached slowly, his steps quiet against the snow.

As he got closer, he noticed several small shapes floating motionless along the surface of the water, their scales dulled and lifeless. The fish, left uncared for over the past several days, hadn’t survived the neglect.

Nora sat perfectly still, staring blankly at the pond, her expression exactly as unreadable as it had been throughout the entire funeral.

Neo lowered himself onto the bench beside her without a word, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched. For a long moment, neither of them said anything at all, the quiet winter air settling heavily around them.

He reached over slowly and placed his hand gently on top of hers.

Nora didn’t react. She simply continued staring at the dead fish drifting lazily across the water’s surface, her lavender eyes distant and hollow.

Neo watched her for a moment longer before carefully reaching up, guiding her head gently to rest against his shoulder. He began stroking her hair softly, the same way he’d seen Sylvia do countless times whenever he himself felt upset.

Still, Nora remained silent, unmoving, though she didn’t pull away either.

After a while, Neo reached into his coat pocket and pulled out her notepad, the same one they always used, and began writing carefully.

[I know I can’t fix this. I know nothing I write is going to make it hurt less. But I need you to know something.]

He held it up in front of her. Nora’s eyes flicked down toward the words, though her expression remained unchanged.

He wrote again.

[You’re going to stay with my family from now on. You’re not alone. You’re already part of our family, whether you realize it or not.]

Nora’s gaze lingered on those words a moment longer than usual.

[Yuki is going to be so happy if you stay. She’d probably cry if you left, if dragons could even cry.]

A ghost of something flickered faintly behind her eyes, though it vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

Neo hesitated slightly before writing his next line, chewing the inside of his cheek.

[And soon, there’s going to be a new baby joining our family too. My little brother or sister. We can help take care of them together, if you want. You don’t have to go through any of this by yourself anymore.]

He held the notepad steady in front of her, watching carefully for any reaction at all.

Nora stared at the words for a long, long moment; her breathing slow and quiet.

Then, without warning, her eyes widened slightly.

She turned toward him slowly, closing the small distance between them, before burying her face directly against his chest, her small arms wrapping tightly around him.

Neo froze for half a second, caught off guard, before gently wrapping his own arms around her in return, holding her carefully against him.

She didn’t cry. Not a single tear fell from her eyes. But he could feel her small body trembling faintly against him, a quiet, hidden fear finally breaking through the surface, the fear of losing yet another person she’d come to care about, the fear of being left entirely alone in a world that had already taken so much from her.

Neo simply held her tighter, resting his chin lightly atop her head, staying perfectly still as the cold wind drifted softly through the quiet garden around them.

"I’m not going anywhere, I promise." he murmured quietly, even though he knew she couldn’t hear the words.

They stayed like that for a long while, wrapped together on the small bench beside the pond, the dead fish drifting silently across the still water, while somewhere above them, the sun slowly began sinking behind the distant mountains, casting the entire garden in soft, fading light.

Neo slowly pulled back, keeping his hands gently on Nora’s shoulders. Her violet hair had fallen messily around her, with a few loose strands resting against her cheeks. She didn’t bother brushing them away. Her lavender eyes remained fixed on him, carrying their usual blankness, but beneath that empty gaze, Neo could still see the grief she was trying to hide.

"Nora..."

She remained silent.

Neo hesitated for a moment before asking, "Tell me... will you come home?"

Nora continued staring at him without saying anything. The question seemed to linger between them. She thought about her parents. Their voices still remained in the back of her mind, along with the words they had told her before: Wherever you go, just be happy.

Even now, those words felt warm... and painful at the same time. Her fingers slowly tightened around the edge of her dress.

She didn’t want to leave them behind. But she also knew that staying here wouldn’t bring them back.

After a long silence, Nora finally gave a small nod.

"Yeah..."

Her voice was quiet, almost like a whisper. Neo’s expression softened, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Then let’s go."

He stood up from the bench and gently held out his hand to her. Nora looked at his hand for a moment before placing hers into it.

He carefully pulled her to her feet. Neither of them said anything after that. They simply stood together for a moment before beginning to walk back toward the mansion.

For Nora, the grief hadn’t disappeared. It was still there. But at least... she didn’t have to carry it alone anymore.