“Oh, bishop Ian…thank you... thank you so much…”

The woman knelt to the ground, grabbing onto the bishop’s clothes as she wept. The bishop quickly wiped the blood off his mouth.

“Please ma’am… don’t thank me.”

The bishop crouched down and helped the woman stand up. 

“I’m afraid I…I was unable to erase the dark mana completely.”

Ian confessed, with a pained expression on his face. 

“Wh-what do you mean? Her face has completely returned to normal!”

“The caster behind the black magic is more powerful than I anticipated… only the saint has the capacity to channel enough of the goddess’s power to erase it completely.”

“Then- “

“However I’m afraid the saint is currently…”

“…”

He looked up at me.

I could tell from his expression that he was uncomfortable with an outsider hearing the internal affairs of the church.

“Let us take this conversation outside.”

The quiet nobleman spoke up, opening the door and leaving the room with the bishop and the lady.

Harry stood by the bed while looking at his sister sleeping peacefully.

“Mother and father… they never gave up on you.” 

As Harry spoke to his sleeping sister, I looked at Faye.

‘Faye. If you can hear my thoughts… Can you let me hear what the bishop is saying?’

For some reason, I had a feeling it would work.

The more Faye used magic, I could feel the connection between us growing stronger.

I was able to understand her emotions with more detail, so I thought perhaps it was the same for Faye. 

Faye opened up and drew a magic circle on an empty page. 

“Saint Sophia has fallen into a deep slumber, and no one has been able to wake her. The church is still trying to figure out what caused it..."

“What does this mean for my child?”

“Right now… I’m afraid there is no one who can completely erase the dark mana. I have purified most of it but the lingering effects will continue to keep her in a weakened state. She will not be able to move or eat on her own. I- I’m sorry…”

“…” 

“Bishop Ian, please don’t lower your head. Nothing changes the fact that you have saved her life. Thank you-"

“Vyn, what are you doing staring at the wall?”

I looked down to see Harry tugging at my sleeve. He looked much brighter than before.

I patted his head. He reminded me of myself and the effort I put into helping my sick grandmother.

I didn’t want Harry to go through what I did.

“Harry, what’s the first thing you want to do when Sara wakes up?”

“Hmmm I don’t know, I’d be happy doing anything! Maybe a tea party! It was always Sara’s favorite hobby.”

Harry said with a bright smile on his face. Just the thought of playing with his sister again brought him joy.

I knelt down to meet Harry’s eyes.

“Harry, can you keep a secret with me? Just between the two of us.”

“...Ok I promise!”

 Harry stuck out his pinky finger, and I reached over with mine. With my other hand I grabbed the floating Faye.

Harry’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of a book. 

“You’re a magician!”

“That’s right, and I’m going to cast a spell for Sara so that she can grow up healthy and strong and never fall sick again. Can I do that?”

“Of course!”

I smiled softly as I looked at Faye.

“Faye, can you do it?”

I asked but I already knew the answer.

Faye emitted a soft glow, different from the ones I had seen before.

This one was a pure white, close to the light that came out of the bishop’s hands.

The light slowly came together forming itself into a small cube.

The cube floated over to the sleeping girl, and stopped above her forehead where the black dot was. 

The cube dissolved into the girl’s head and when it came back up, there was a darkness inside.

It was constantly shifting in shape, unable to keep one form. 

As the cube floated back in front of me, I stared closely inside. 

Within the darkness I could make out the red eyes I had seen before.

They were still glowing with strength, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

By concentrating, I could even hear a small sound.

“Kikikikiki ahahhaha KAHAHAHA”

It was still laughing. I could tell it wasn’t aware.

It didn’t know it was removed from the host, and now trapped within this cube.

It just continued to laugh… waiting for the moment.

I felt a shiver down my spine, in awe at the magic of this cube.

What kind of magic can trap such an evil mana without it even knowing?

I looked at Faye. Faye was floating up and down.

It was happy that I recognized its powers. It was exciting to show me more.

“Wow…”

Harry was following Faye around the room.

“You can still see Faye?”

“Is this book’s name Faye? What a pretty name!” 

Faye floated around Harry in a circle.

With this I was able to know that whoever sees Faye once in my hands, was also able to see Faye back in the air.

As I thought about this, I decided to be more careful when holding Faye. 

“Faye. Can you hold on to this?”

I asked, as I pointed towards the cube.

Faye floated over and opened its pages.

Then the cube slowly dissolved into a blank page, leaving behind a drawing of the cube.

“That thing it took out… that was what made Sara sick?” Harry asked.

I nodded and immediately after, Harry lunged and gave me a hug. He was digging his head into my shirt. 

“Thank you… I promise I won’t tell anyone about Faye or the magic cube.”

I could feel my shirt getting soaked, so I patted Harry on the head.

***

Before the Lady and her husband returned to the room, I quickly left the villa.

To my surprise, the butler was waiting for me at the front gates.

“Why in such a hurry, mister..”

“Vyn.”

“Mister Vyn.”

He was still looking at me with suspicion, but his brows were slightly less furrowed.

I think he was also in a good mood due to the news of Sara. 

“Cough cough I don’t know how you managed to get on the young master’s good side… but the lady has instructed me to give you this.”

The butler handed me a small pouch. Inside was a handful of gold coins and a letter.

“But why…?”

I asked, but the butler shrugged.

“The lady didn’t explain. I’m sure the letter inside will tell you.”

I felt uncomfortable accepting money, but accepted when I realized I was completely broke.

After bidding the butler farewell, I walked back into the forest making my way to the marketplace.

On the way, I took out the letter and read what was inside.

***

Dear Good Sir,

First, allow me to apologize for my behavior in the room. I was informed after, that you were a guest brought in by Harry to help Sara. Thank you for your kind intentions. Thank you also for being there for my son. With our sick daughter, my husband and I have rarely been home desperately trying to find a cure for her. This unfortunately has made Harry very lonely.

Harry has always been close with Sara, so when I found out Sara had been infected with dark mana I had to find a way to protect him from getting infected and also to hide the fact that she may die. The truth would have been too painful to bear for our young son. So I asked my brother to cast a spell in the room that will hide the truth from him and block the dark mana from spreading. 

When I entered the room I noticed the spell was broken, and the only people inside were Harry and yourself.

“…”

From that, it was not difficult for me to know who broke the spell. 

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to fault you for this.

As the lady of house Dacre, I would like to extend my hand to you in friendship. My brother is one of the few masters who teach at the Acadia, so for someone to break his spell, he must be of the same level. 

I’m sure one day, we can be of help to each other. 

Sincerely,

Lady of house Dacre

***

“Ha...”

I unknowingly let out a sigh. I tried to be careful, but it seems I underestimated the lady’s insight.

She was only half right though. I was no master, I just had a powerful friend. 

I folded up the letter, and put it away in my pocket.