The path back to the city was long and quiet, winding through fields of golden grass and trees whispering in the summer wind. Rayan walked ahead slightly, Lina following beside him with a steady, quiet pace. For a while, neither of them spoke. The events of the engagement ceremony still lingered in the air between them like unspoken dust.
But eventually, curiosity stirred.
Rayan glanced sideways.
"I heard… some things about your family. What really happened?"
Lina looked ahead, eyes distant.
"My parents used to run a small restaurant," she began softly. "My mother was a wonderful cook, and my father took care of customers with a warm smile. We were never rich, but… we were happy."
She paused, lips trembling slightly.
"But one day, my mother passed away. Illness. Everything changed after that. Our regular customers stopped coming. My father tried to keep it going, but debts piled up."
Her voice lowered.
"Eventually, he… took his own life. Left everything behind. And I became a maid."
Rayan was silent for a long time. A cold wind passed.
Inside, his thoughts churned.
"Everyone has problems in this world. But taking your own life... That's not the way. Instead of escaping responsibility, he passed it to his daughter. Did he even think what would happen to her?"
He spoke at last.
"So… you became a maid because there was no choice left. Do you have any goals? Any dream?"
Lina managed a small smile.
"At first, I thought I'd reopen my parents' restaurant… but I'm not a good cook like my mother. When I was a child, though… I wanted to be a mage."
"A mage?" Rayan raised an eyebrow. "Do you have magic power?"
She nodded, a little bashful.
"Yes. I have a Water Magic Crest—Level One."
That caught him off guard for a moment.
"Then why aren't you pursuing it?"
She looked down at her hands.
"I don't know. Maybe… I'm afraid. What if I fail again?"
Rayan stopped walking and turned to her.
"Sometimes, if you wait too long, the opportunity will never come. You have to take the chance when it's there. Move forward—even if it's hard."
She looked up at him, his conviction catching her off-guard.
"So how… how do I become a mage?"
Rayan answered without hesitation.
"There's a place—Arkwyn Crest Academy. They train gifted magic users. If you already have a crest, you might be eligible. They test for potential."
He added with a faint smile,
"Having Water Magic is more than enough to start. All you need now is the courage to try."
Lina said nothing for a moment, only nodding softly. The wind carried the unspoken emotions between them.
Soon, they reached the city borders. The gates loomed ahead, and the scattered clamor of merchants and travelers filled the air.
Rayan led her through a few winding streets and into a quiet, modest building. Inside was a single room with a bed, a small table, and a shelf half-filled with worn books.
"It's not much, but… this is home," he said with a shrug.
As night fell, they prepared to rest. Rayan gestured toward the bed. "You sleep there. I'll take the couch."
She shook her head. "No, I'll sleep on the couch. It's your room."
He insisted, gently but firmly, and she eventually relented. As she lay on the bed, she glanced at him curled up on the couch, already half-asleep.
She smiled softly. "He's kind… even when the world hasn't been kind to him."
And with that thought, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.