Lys and Mira rounded the bend when Mira's fingers dug into his sleeve hard enough to pinch skin.
"Is that…"
"Yeah," Lys muttered to Mira.
John was walking ahead of them on the same dusty lane, coat buttoned to the throat, hands locked behind his back like he owned the road. While Selene walked at his side in her mother's faded blue dress, the fabric swayed with each step. Helga trailed one pace behind them, clutching her small bundle while trying to wrestle Selene's bag from her grip. Though Selene was refusing to let go.
Lys and Mira slowed down without thinking. The air suddenly felt thicker for them, seeing all three of them walking toward their house's direction.
"I think he's walking her here himself," Mira whispered, voice tight.
"I can see that."
They reached the gate of their yard together. John glanced back and spotted Lys. The five of them stood frozen, John on the outside, Lys almost on the inside, Selene and Helga half a step behind John, Mira half a step behind Lys.
The gate creaked in the breeze. But nobody spoke.
Lys reached out and swung it open. "Come in."
John stepped through without a word, boots thudding on the packed dirt.
When they came inside the house together, Elara looked up from the kitchen the instant the front door opened. Her eyes tracked each person: Lys first, then Mira, then Selene, then Helga, and then John. The bowl in her hands stopped mid-air, seeing so many people coming inside all of a sudden.
Her gaze locked on John. John's eyes swept the room slowly, measuring the table, the shelves, the worn floorboards, the whole size of the place. Although he had seen them yesterday, he wasn't in the mood to look around back then. So now he was reevaluating the house, where his daughter was going to live.
Mitsu, on the other hand, was kneeling in the far corner of the house, scrubbing the floor. She heard the door and lifted her head. The second she saw John, her eyes snapped back down. Her rag cloth kept moving, but slower this time, like her arms had forgotten the job.
John stared at her. "Is that the girl?" He spoke straight to Lys.
Lys waited half a beat to answer his sudden question. "Yes, she is Mitsu."
John kept staring for a while. Mitsu's cloth slowed even more, almost still, noticing the gaze at her.
"Good," John said. "She would've lost that job she had after the mess. At least she has work now."
The kitchen went dead silent at this.
Mira's mouth fell open a fraction. Elara's hand froze above the counter. Helga's face smoothed into careful blankness behind John's back.
Lys, though, said nothing. He just watched John, jaw tight, waiting for his after-remark. But then there was no remark. John really had said something out of character. Which was really shocking to not just Lys now, but to everyone.
John turned away from Mitsu and scanned the room once more. His eyes landed on Selene, still standing just inside the door, bag in her grip. He crossed the kitchen in four heavy steps, took her free hand, and placed it firmly into Lys's.
No warning. No speech. He pressed their hands together and held them there a moment with both of his own before letting go and stepping back.
"Her care is yours from here," John said, voice flat. "Though we haven't made anything official yet. But you know what I mean."
Lys knew, and that's why his stomach dropped hearing it suddenly.
Selene's fingers felt cool and still against his palm. His own pulse also hammered there. Till now, he had treated the whole engagement like a smart fix for the blunder he had made. Something public and practical so as not to get in trouble.
But her father had just put her hand in his and said the words out loud, and now suddenly, it felt heavy as stone for him.
Selene felt him stiffen. She turned her head and caught the blank shock on his face. Something shifted behind her eyes, not soft, but less guarded. She looked back at John.
"Thank you, Father," she said quietly.
John gave her one last look, then scanned the frozen room.
"I have a council meeting before evening," he said, already turning. "So, I can't stay here for long. I'll let her be here for now. Let's talk later, Lys."
He walked out. The door clicked shut. But nobody moved for three full seconds, like something was yet to happen.
Mira finally breathed, "Did that just happen?"
"Yes," Elara said, voice tight as she set the bowl down hard.
Helga dropped her bundle by the door. She glanced at Lys and Selene, still standing in the middle of the room. Lys hadn't let go of Selene's hand, and Selene hadn't pulled away either, so she then looked at Elara. "Umm, Miss Elara, right? Is there tea?"
"Oh, yes, of course. I'll put the kettle on, wait a minute," Elara answered, a little stuttering, getting out of her haze quickly, already moving.
Selene glanced down at their joined hands. Then she looked up at Lys. His face had settled, but barely.
She eased her hand free and picked up her bag again.
"Which room?" she asked calmly.