'There a reason why the White Griffon is called 'the cradle of the healing arts.' Lith thought. 'The five best Healers of the whole Kingdom have studied and worked there. Once those three come to Lutia, four of them will be assembled in the Verhen household.'
'If the four of us can't find a solution, then no one can. For Rena's and the Kingdom's sake, I hope we won't need Manohar. Otherwise the next time we meet, I'm going to kill that bastard.' Lith thought.
He spent the rest of his free time compiling a detailed report of his findings and observations that he forwarded to Headmaster Marth so that the Healers would come prepared, knowing exactly what they would be looking at.
The following day, Marth, Vastor, and Quylla knocked on Lith's door. One of the few perks of the cold season was that the academy was closed, so their social call didn't arouse suspicion.
"Headmaster Marth, I was expecting you later. I remember well how even when most students are gone, the paperwork must go on." Lith had announced their visit to his family to avoid making them worry.
"That makes the two of us. I was afraid that something would come up at the last moment and force us to reschedule, but here I am." Duke Marth was a man in his mid-forties, about 1.78 meters (5'10") tall, with thick blonde hair.
Aside from his goatee, his face was perfectly shaven, giving him a calm and youthful appearance. Marth had less grey hair than the last time Lith had seen him and had the relaxed face of a man who was at peace with the world.
That or he had simply resigned to the unjust fate of being Manohar's lightning rod.
The two shook hands and then Zogar Vastor came in. He was a short man in his mid-sixties, barely over 1.55 meters (5'1") tall.
The top of his head was completely bald while the hair he had left on the sides was snow-white and so were his waxed handlebar mustaches. Between his temporary role as Headmaster of the White Griffon and the undead invasion, he had lost a lot of weight.
He was still quite round, but he didn't look like a living egg anymore. Together with his jovial attitude, it made him resembled a kind grandpa straight out of a fairy tale.
"Lith, my boy, it's so good to finally see you outside a life or death situation. If you keep ignoring my calls, I might start to believe that you're avoiding me on purpose." Vastor said.
"I'm sorry, Professor, but when you are on active duty, your life isn't your own anymore. I can't even remember the last time I could stay for more than one day in the same place without someone trying to kill me." Lith shook his hand as well before greeting Quylla.
"Call me 'little one' and you are a dead man, Lith Verhen." She ignored his hand and gave him a big hug. She was a pretty young woman the same age as Lith, 1.65 meters (5'5") tall with long brown hair with shades of silver which proved her affinity for light magic.
"Fine. Nice to see you again, Assistant Professor Ernas. Have you made any breakthrough with your research since Laurel?" He gave her a polite bow before letting her in.
"On second thought, 'little one' sounds just fine. My students and parents are more than enough to make me feel old already. I missed you, tall one." She giggled.
"Thanks, little one. I really missed your house staff during my travels as well." He said while finally returning her hug.
"You son of a…" Quylla pushed him away with fake anger, but she was cut short.
"Language! There are children here." Vastor's voice was so stern that it reminded them of their first day in the light magic department, back when they were still fourth-year students and the Professor had yet to pick his favorites.
Thanks to his appearance, Vastor was quickly gaining popularity among the kids, especially Zinya's.
"Frey, Filia, say hello to Professor Vastor. He's one of the Healers who gave me sight and took care of me during my stay at the hospital." Zinya said and the children politely obeyed.
"You are too kind, Miss Yehval. I merely fulfilled my duty as Director of the light department." Vastor said.
"And you are too humble, Professor. I will never forget your help in court. Without you, my in-laws would have given me a hard time with child custody."
"Miss Yehval, if you keep calling me so often, I'll be forced to introduce you to my two nieces. Ever since they moved to my house after my divorce, they are bugging me to know you." Vastor looked really embarrassed by receiving so much attention from a woman much younger than him.
"Miss Yehval? Divorce? How much did I miss?" Lith asked while trying to keep his voice as low as possible.
"Nothing much." Kamila said. "After Fallmug's arrest, Zinya disowned both our parents and her in-law, taking my family name. Fallmug's parents tried to get custody of the children, claiming that, with Zinya's disability and no source of income, she couldn't take proper care of them.
"Vastor was asked to testify about her condition and he got so pissed off that after destroying the Healer of the counterpart, he had his accountant take care of all her possession. Now Zinya can live off a trust fund."
"It doesn't end there." Quylla said. "They have exchanged their communication runes and speak regularly. Some say that it was the last straw that made Vastor's wife ask for a divorce."
Lith was shocked by the events unfolding in front of his eyes. He didn't hear so much gossip since he had left the academy.
"Vastor is a nice man." Elina chimed in. "When he learned that both you and Tista couldn't follow her recovery, he started to come here from time to time to check on Zinya's condition."
"Oh, gods. Let's hope he is not having a midlife crisis." Lith whined.
"After Fallmug, I don't care who my sister is with, as long as it's a good man." Kamila said.
"Besides, wouldn't be cute if, after all he did for you, the Verhens and the Vastors become in-law?" The situation was dire, but Elina still pursued her own agenda. If there was one thing that the unborn baby issue proved, was that a Healer's place was with their family.
Lith ignored his mother's latest attempt at getting him married and brought Marth over to Rena. The Headmaster had already cast all the spells he needed before knocking on the door so he only needed to make contact with his patient to activate them.
One after the other, the three Healers found a pretext to approach Rena and took a thorough analysis of the child. Only an hour later, when the visit was over and Lith walked his guests to the door, did he ask for their findings.
"I'm very sorry, Lith, but there's nothing I can do." Marth gave him a deep bow of apology. There was no way to soften to blow without giving Lith false hope so Marth preferred a direct approach.
"Both the pregnancy and the disease are at a too advanced state for the prognosis to not be terminal. The only option I can suggest you is to keep your sister calm and then tell her that the child is stillborn."
