"Now you can come in." Zinya said.
"Leave us alone and close the door. I'm not to be disturbed until I get out of this room." Vastor said to Nola, looking her straight in the eyes.
"What do I have to say if someone has an urgent message for you?" The maid asked.
'Tell them to go fuck themselves.' He thought.
"Tell them that one of my patients has an emergency and that I'm currently operating them." He actually said.
Nola gave him a deep bow and then left.
The Master listened to the children's snoring, making sure that they were fast asleep before Hushing their ears. They had already suffered enough and he didn't want to add any more to their burden.
"Frey and Filia are right. The death of their friends is not on their hands, but on mine." He said. "Everything you three went through today is only my fault."
"What do you mean?"
"Back when the Balkor copycat dealt his cards, I found this under your door." Vastor handed Kamila a small piece of paper with the word Future written on it.
"Why did you take it without telling the Kingdom? Or at least Lith?" She looked from Vastor to Lith, incapable to know what to feel.
Suddenly she wanted to punch Vastor instead of thanking him for saving her sister. On top of that, the joy of her reunion with Lith had just been poisoned by the realization that if not for him, none of that would have happened.
'Lith warned me that by becoming his girlfriend I would have been dragged into the mess that his life his, but I never thought that my choice would endanger Zinya as well nor that his enemies would target us even after our relationship ended.' She thought.
"To what end?" Vastor shrugged. "Zin- I mean, your sister had already been a target during Night's attack just for being his neighbor. Did the Kingdom worry about either her or Selia after that? No.
"That's because that kind of protection takes time, money, and plenty of resources. Before Lark's death, the cards were considered but a sick joke and after that, who do you think the Kingdom would have rather protected?
"A group of powerful nobles and Archmages that are the backbone of the Royal Court or a country housewife? Even if they assigned you a detail, would have they kept it after your break up? More importantly, would you have even broken up with Lith?" Vastor asked.
Kamila opened her mouth to reply multiple times, but the only answers that came to her mind sealed her lips tight and made her swallow a huge lump of saliva, making her look like a goldfish.
'He's right. Even if he told us, today's events would have likely happened anyway. To make matters worse, the only way Lith had to protect us would have been to have us move into his house.
'Even after he revealed to me about Solus's existence, I would have never had the courage to leave him. Not because I still loved him but because I would have been too afraid for Zinya and the kid.
'We would have been forced to marry despite our relationship going sour and Lith would have taken care of us out of guilt. By not telling us anything, Vastor did more than protect our lives from the shadows, he also protected our happiness.
'Zinya and the children lived freely until today, unaware of the danger, instead of like caged like animals, fearing the next attack of the copycat. Gods, why things can never be simple?' Kamila was now even more torn than before, wondering whether to slap the Master or thank him from the bottom of her heart.
"He's right." Lith said, taking the words out of her mind and rekindling for one second the feelings that Kamila had never been able to let go of. He stared at the ground out of guilt, incapable of looking Zinya in the eyes.
"Even though I knew nothing about the Balkor card, the death of Volgun and Brionac is only on Vastor and me. I dragged you into this mess. That bastard targeted you only because of my relationship with Kamila.
"It's only because of me that you have lost your home, your safety, and have suffered the events of today. I swear that I'll do everything in my power to help you and-"
"Thanks for your offer, but it's not your fault." Only once he felt the soft warmth of a finger pressing against his lips did Lith notice that Zinya had gotten out of the bed and was now in front of him.
"You didn't send those men there. You didn't taunt the Balkor copycat nor did you intentionally involve Kami in any of your business. You didn't murder Volgun and Brionac, that horrible man did.
"Those beasts weren't your slaves. Despite your orders, they were free to run away the moment they realized how dire the situation was. They did it of their own choice and I'll never forget their sacrifice.
"As for the reason why my family was attacked, the copycat wanted to inflict you the maximum amount of pain and turn you into an outcast. Kamila has never been in danger. The kids and I were his targets all along." She said.
"What do you mean?" Lith asked.
"Back when he thought that my life was in his hands, that man appeared in front of me and pretended to be Fallmug. Once I exposed him as a fake, he told me that he was going to kill me and the kids to make an example out of us.
"To make sure that no woman would date you ever again and to destroy your relationship with Kamila. His plan was to make her hate you and everyone else to distance themselves from you, leaving you alone out of the fear of suffering my same fate."
"What?" Lith said in outrage.
'This guy might be deranged, but he is truly cunning.' Solus thought.
'Even if Lith and Kamila married, unless they kept Zinya with them 24/7, nothing would have changed. Zinya will always be the weak link and the easiest target since her existence is irrelevant to both the Kingdom and the Council'
"I'm actually glad that he attacked me because otherwise, the copycat would have targeted Phloria's sisters, if not the families of your previous girlfriends." Zinya said. "Quylla already almost died once and those poor people would have had no chance of survival."
"What the heck are you saying?" Vastor chimed in. "How can you be glad of anything that happened today? You almost died! Your children almost died. You have seen things that no one ever should."
Despite his initial fury, he was incapable of looking at her in the eyes as well. His voice turned from a roar into a whisper the moment the Master saw Zinya step back in fear at his outrage.
"I know that it may sound crazy, but it's the truth." She replied. "If not for Lith, those people would probably have a long life whereas I would be already dead.. I'm aware that I'm living on borrowed time and that if Kami didn't date Lith, Fallmug would have beaten me to death."
