"Grammi is back?" Layla's hands paused for a beat. She released Lucy's hand and gently instructed the maid, "Quickly—please show her in."
Not long after, a set of hurried footsteps drew closer.
The door opened, and a woman with her hair tied into a neat bun hurried in. Her features were gentle and composed, but her face right now was full of anxiety.
"Milady! Grammi is late!" She barely had time to catch her breath before she rushed to pull a beautifully ornate golden key from her clothes and offered it with both hands. "This is the Aquarius key—please take it!"
Grammi looked travel-worn, her eyes filled with unease.
She explained that she'd only heard on the western continent that Layla urgently needed the keys, and she'd raced back day and night—she just didn't know if she'd already delayed something important.
Layla looked at her, warmth rising in her chest, but she shook her head lightly.
She gently pushed Grammi's hands—and the key—back.
"Grammi, thank you. But it's no longer needed. What I had to do… has already been done."
As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Shane, who was quietly reading to the side. "Thanks to Shane, everything went very smoothly."
Shane felt a little annoyed at being dragged into this master-and-servant reunion when his reading had been interrupted—but he still kept a polite, socially acceptable smile and nodded to Grammi.
"Hello. I'm Shane."
His tone was slightly perfunctory.
But Grammi's reaction caught him off guard.
She stepped forward, eyes instantly reddening. "Thank you, Shane-san! If I'd delayed milady's matter, that would have been— that would have been—"
She grew more flustered with every word, her thoughts tangling, until she couldn't get anything out at all.
Seeing the raw gratitude and lingering fear on her face, the last of Shane's irritation dissolved, replaced by a quiet sense of regret.
He could tell Layla truly regarded Grammi as an old friend, yet Grammi still clung tightly to the old boundaries of master and servant.
Shane scratched his head, his voice softening without him meaning to. "Layla wouldn't blame you for that. And everything's already been resolved. If anything… being this formal might make her feel lonely."
Grammi froze, then looked to Layla.
Layla was watching her with a warm, gentle gaze—no blame at all, only uncomplicated longing.
Grammi grew embarrassed, realizing she'd overreacted. She hurriedly wiped the moisture at the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry, milady. I lost my composure."
Layla smiled. She had the curious Lucy go play with Shane for a bit, then affectionately took Grammi's hand and led her aside to sit and catch up.
They talked about everything since their separation. Gradually, the conversation drifted from greetings into memories.
Layla seemed to remember something and said to the maid standing by, "Ah, right—Zoldeo is also on the estate to return the Capricorn key. Please invite him over to sit with us."
At the name "Zoldeo," Shane's brow twitched.
He'd been curious for a while: with Layla's strength, why had she chosen to completely step back into an ordinary life?
Later, Layla had explained that around thirteen years ago, due to health reasons, she resigned from active mage work and entrusted the three Zodiac keys she held at the time to three servants she trusted:
Grammi, far away on the western continent, kept Aquarius; Aunt Spetto, still working at the estate, kept Cancer; and the last key—Capricorn—was entrusted to Zoldeo.
Shane had already met the first two and liked them both. He couldn't help being curious what the third person was like.
Before long, Zoldeo was led in by the maid.
He was a man with thick black curls, deep-set eyes, and an aura that felt faintly sinister.
The moment he entered, his gaze swept rapidly over everyone—lingering for a fraction of a second on Lucy, who was playing near Shane—then he suddenly dropped to one knee, voice thick with unease and restraint.
"Layla-sama… you summoned me urgently. Are you taking back the Capricorn key?"
Layla blinked at the abrupt question, then laughed softly. "No, Zoldeo—you've misunderstood. I only wanted to invite you over for a chat. Look, Grammi has returned too."
But Zoldeo shot to his feet, emotion flaring without warning. He pointed at Lucy—who was looking at him curiously—and his voice spiked.
"But didn't you agree with Capricorn that if your descendants ever walked the path of mages, Capricorn would protect them?! Lucy-sama is already learning celestial spirit magic, isn't she?!"
Lucy was startled by the sharpness on his face. She instinctively clutched Shane's clothes and hid behind him.
Layla's brows knit. She couldn't understand why Zoldeo was reacting so violently.
As far as the keys went, she hadn't planned to take them back at all.
She had always believed the bond between spirits and mages was mutual—if there was fate, Lucy would meet the spirits meant for her. There was no need to force an inherited key into her hands.
"No, Zoldeo, actually—" Layla tried to explain, worried he'd misunderstood her intentions.
"Milady!" Grammi spoke up then, as if Zoldeo's words had reminded her of something. "Since Lucy-sama has begun learning celestial spirit magic, please take back my Aquarius key as well and give it to her.
My family is on the western continent now. I'm afraid that if you ever need Aquarius's power again in the future, I won't be able to return in time."
As she spoke, she pulled out the key she hadn't been able to hand over earlier and, without giving anyone time to stop her, pressed it into Lucy's hands.
Layla hadn't expected Grammi to bring it up again—much less hand the key directly to Lucy. She was caught completely off guard.
And that single action detonated whatever Zoldeo had been holding back.
The agitation on his face boiled over. He nearly snarled, voice rough with suppressed rage:
"I only brought it back because I heard you needed the keys! Why are you suddenly teaching Lucy-sama celestial spirit magic?!
Capricorn is mine! I'll never give it to you! Give me my key back!"
The violent look in his eyes was something Layla had never seen in this former servant—someone who used to revere her. It startled her.
But she steadied herself quickly. Even though something in her felt hurt, she immediately pulled out the Capricorn key—one she'd already intended to return—and offered it to him.
"Zoldeo, calm down. I truly only asked you here to catch up… and to return your key."
But the Zoldeo trapped in obsession couldn't hear a word. He'd lost patience even with the mistress he once respected.
He roughly snatched the key from Layla's hand as if terrified it might be taken, clutched it tight, and then bolted—without a backward glance—out of the library.
A brief silence fell over the room, heavy and tense.
"Layla… is this really okay?" Even as an outsider, Shane could sense how unstable Zoldeo's state was.
Layla stared at the empty doorway, her eyes unfocused. "I don't know…"
"If you want," Shane offered, "I can still 'invite' him back right now." It was his way of repaying the hospitality she'd shown him these days.
Layla shook her head again, a weary note in her voice.
"Let him go."
~~~
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