Uruja felt confused when she returned to the hut. Everything was quiet. She wondered if her son had lost his mind and killed Cana instead.
She slowly poked her head inside but saw no one in the living room where Cana had been crying earlier. She was about to imagine something indecent when she heard metal clanging from the kitchen. Uruja peeked into the room and could not believe what she saw. Cana was eating while Erus sat one chair away from her. He was busy inspecting the black box.
Uruja sighed, thankful her shabby hut was still intact and there was no blood spilled everywhere.
"You're almost gone of spices. How are you cooking here?"
Uruja was not surprised when Erus noticed her. Hiding was useless. She showed herself and entered the kitchen. She even set down some of the spices she found while strolling.
"I got some. The mountain here is full of high-level monsters. I can't risk my life for spices." She stopped when her eyes landed on the cooking pot. "Oh, you cooked," was all she could say. She did not want to ruin her son's way of bonding with Cana. This was her first time seeing Erus cook for someone. She wanted to scream inside and demand a celebration.
"There are monsters here?" Erus asked, sounding excited.
"Yes, but those are not ordinary monsters. They are level five hundred and above, almost considered mythical creatures. You can't just pass the boundary. No one dares."
"Dare me."
Uruja just hissed. "As if I could stop you." She then gestured toward Cana, who had stopped eating.
Erus was taken aback to see Cana staring at him again.
"M... monsters are real?"
Erus hesitated to answer. Cana was asking a question only a child would think of. "Yes?"
"Don't die," was all Cana had to say before she continued eating.
That was unexpected for him and also for Uruja, who thought Cana might try to stop Erus from leaving.
"But before that, we need to talk."
"About you accidentally marking me and me becoming your slave? No need. I heard everything," Cana said as if her energy was drained by those words.
"Cana," Uruja tried to offer comfort, but there was no right word in her head.
Erus felt the guilt even though what happened was not intentional.
"Sorry about the fuss earlier. I misunderstood everything. And I have to be honest. I don't really understand what is happening to me. You did things that were new to me and I don't know how I will live with it. At least, I know that I'm safe now," Cana said, her eyes fixed on the bowl of food. "And, uhm... I did not eavesdrop. It is just that my hearing became weird. I could hear you talking from a long distance." She looked at Erus and Uruja with a bit of guilt too.
"So, that was the reason you slapped your face," Erus stated.
"Ah, you don't have to be sorry. It was partly our fault too," Uruja butted in to stop whatever nonsense her son would say. "But at least you already know what he did. That enhanced hearing might be because of the mark. Whatever ability Erusiel has, you will eventually learn it too."
Cana dropped the spoon into the bowl, her eyes going wide. "Really?" Her focus was entirely on the last part of what Uruja said. "Will I be able to learn the healing too?"
Uruja gestured toward Erus. Cana followed the movement and looked at him, hopeful.
"Only healing? I have a lot more to teach you," Erus said. He had not intended to say it, but seeing how Cana's eyes lit up at the thought of healing magic, he could not stop himself.
Cana nodded frantically. "I want to learn everything." She felt excited by the thought of learning, but her mind was entirely focused on the healing magic. She liked its look and feel.
"Are... are you sure, Cana?" Uruja became agitated and deeply concerned. That request was essentially asking for death.
"Learning takes a lot more than just energy. You need to eat a lot and strengthen your stamina," Erus added.
"Really, Erusiel?" Uruja's tone was sharp with sarcasm. She could not believe her son was just going with the flow. She knew he was not joking, and the realization made her want to hide Cana away immediately. But taking Cana away was far harder now than making them at peace.
Uruja just wanted to sulk in a corner and think about how things had come to this. Was it the mark? But why did she feel like something was not right?
When Cana was done eating, Erus took her used plate and utensils, then washed them along with the things he had used for cooking.
Uruja chose to shut her mouth and pretend that she did not see anything unusual.
"The next ownership marking will be in forty-eight hours. You can't just force it, or it will absorb your life force," Uruja said when she noticed Erus sitting in the living room while staring again at the black box that refused to open.
Erus just sighed. To him, it felt too long, even though he had nothing to do for the next five days.
"Is that the thing you were supposed to mark instead of me?" Cana asked, intrigued after a while of watching Erus flipping the black box. It was her pure instinct.
"Yeah," Erus replied shortly.
But Cana was confused. Why would such a box need an ownership marking? What was the value of an empty box? Was it something sentimental? She was more valuable than it.
"Weren't you trying to open it?"
"I think it couldn't be opened until the countdown for the next marking is done."
Cana, feeling no hostility from Erus, got near him and reached for the box only to knock lightly on top of it. Then, it opened.
Erus and Uruja were stunned by what she did.
"Mom, the heirloom is missing!" Erus panicked. There was something tingling from his back, but he did not mind. His focus was on the missing heirloom.
Uruja peeked and had the same reaction as Erus. "Where did it go?"
Cana looked back and forth between the two. She could see the panic in their faces. Wasn't the box supposed to be empty?
"Did it fly away?" Erus asked.
"It never did with the past holders before."
An heirloom that can fly? Cana became even more confused. She was thinking the heirloom might be a toy. But what would a grown man do with a toy? She was in deep thought trying to help the two when the itchiness on the right part of her back acted up again. This had happened before, after the two left her to talk outside.
She went into the kitchen and tried finding anything that could be useful for back scratching. The utensils there were too short. She found one ladle, but the edges were too smooth. Her patience was almost gone, then she remembered she could just get a stick from outside.
Though busy with the missing heirloom, Erus noticed Cana went outside wearing an annoyed face while scratching her back. It was funny to look at, but Cana's face showed otherwise. He followed her.
Erus observed Cana checking the plants in a rush while she kept on scratching her back. She even slapped her back. Then, she stared at the trunk of a tree which was bristly. He saw her shake her head.
"The hell! Why is it so gnawing? Did I stumble into something I'm allergic to, or some filthy bacteria? I wanna burn it!" He heard her grunt. "And why are there no sticks I can pluck? Even the trees are too stringy. Is this some kind of punishment?"
"Why do you look like you are about to cry again?"
Cana immediately turned her gaze toward him. There was hesitation in her eyes, but the irritation was also visible.
"I'm... Could you help scratch my back, please?"
Erus was about to complain because he was not used to touching women, but seeing Cana almost reaching the end of her patience, he chose to shut his mouth. He walked toward her. Full of hesitation, he placed his hand on the spot that Cana pointed out. He felt his heart beating crazily again even though there was a cloth between his hand and her skin.
Cana looked back when his hand didn't move. Her brows were pulled into a single line. Only then did he start gliding his palm over her back.
"Hey, that is not scratching. Can you do it a little harder?" she complained.
He looked at her but didn't complain. Erus followed her instructions, but Cana groaned out of frustration.
"Can you like make it even harder and use your fingers? The itch is really gnawing. It's so irritating that I want to wound it."
"Are you asking me to peel you alive?"
"Err—No!"
"Stay still."
Erus used healing magic, but instead of yellow light, his hand emitted purple lights while Cana's back responded with white lights. He became anxious. Where did he get this kind of ability? It was not even healing magic, but he could feel that Cana had relaxed. The odd thing was he could feel something tingling on the left part of his back.
"How do you feel now?"
"All better now. Thanks. You used healing magic again?" Cana asked. She even released a sigh of relief. She should have asked him from the very start to just heal her instead of going through all that trouble.
While Cana was feeling all better, Erus was starting to scratch the left part of his back. At first, he thought it was normal, but Cana noticed him scratching. She gave him a confused look, but there was also a hunch behind it. Without a warning, Cana immediately raised his shirt to check his back.
"You really like my body, huh?" He wanted to tease her, but he got a different reaction from Cana.
"You have a black butterfly wing tattoo! It's emitting purple light and... and my hand has white light." She even traced with her fingers the way the half-wing was marked fully on the left part of Erus's back.
Erus felt the itch subside completely, but his mind was clogged with what Cana had said. He was getting a hint about the missing heirloom, but he did not understand the logic of having only half the wing marked on his back.
"What?" Cana asked, being attentive when he stared at her like a predator.
"Can I check your back?"
Cana's eyes followed Erus like a doubtful cat when he turned her around. His hand was on her head and the other was holding the edge of her clothes like it was some dirty thing.
"What do you think you're doing?" She tried to protest. "Are you done?" she asked again when he didn't move.
"I can't see it."
"Are you asking me to undress?"
"You wish!" Erus was again taken aback by Cana and immediately released her. What she just said was like a war declaration to him. He turned his back and was about to go back to the hut.
"Erus."
Just one word from Cana and he abruptly stopped. He waited for whatever she had to say, but he only heard her steps toward him.
"Your shirt is tucked upward." Cana fixed his shirt. "I'll ask your mom for a change of clothes. I want to confirm this thing on my back too."
Erus was stunned by such a bold movement. It was as if she were a different person for a moment.
The moment Cana's flawless back was shown to Erus and Uruja, the mother and son froze. They could not believe what they were seeing, especially Uruja, whose mouth was ready to stretch to the ground. They could clearly see the magnificent white carving of the other wing on her right back as if Cana owned it. But it was not the butterfly mark that made them freeze—it was the familiar tattoo of a golden scepter drawn on her back, exactly aligned with her spinal cord.
Erus clearly remembered the scepter from the 98th floor of the Knighthood Trial, but he could not remember a face if there had been one. While Erus had the memory, Uruja had the definite knowledge of the scepter's image. Every design was exactly as described in the forbidden books of gods. She almost stumbled on the floor but chose to remain composed. She did not expect to see this mark. Her eyes were full of horror looking at the girl whose back was facing them.
Someone must have almost killed her son!