Lys walked toward Mira, who was working on the ground. The sword hung heavy at his hip, the borrowed sheath creaking softly with every step of his. He'd barely crossed the yard when Mira's head snapped up from the tomato vines. She was on her knees in the dirt, dress hem filthy with mud soil, but the second her eyes landed on the black hilt poking out from his waist, she dropped the handful of weeds like they'd burned her.
"Huh?" She stood fast, brushing soil from her palms. "What the hell is that? Where did you find it?"
Seeing her curious about the sword, he started telling her the short version of it, while walking toward her. "Oh, this. Got it from Madam Vesper. She gave it to me as a gift. It's nice, right?"
Mira's eyes stayed glued to the sword. "Yeah, it is. Can I hold it a little?"
"No." Lys refused flat.
She tilted her head, getting up and walking toward him, leaving the work behind. "Huh, why not? What's the harm in holding a little?"
"Because it's dangerous. I'll tell you later about it. Let's go inside."
She stopped, hands on her hips, voice dropping like she was bargaining with a stubborn kid. "Come on, just for a second. I'll just hold it a little. I'll be careful. I promise."
"Will you knock it off, Mira. I said no."
Mira groaned, but after getting caught up to him, both of them walked together toward the house. While walking beside him, she was muttering under her breath the whole way to the door. "Fine. Be like that."
Inside, Elara looked up from the kitchen table where she was chopping herbs. Her knife paused mid-slice when she saw them coming in while arguing about the sword. She continued chopping herbs and asked one quiet question from across the room.
"Is that sword safe, Lys?"
Lys met her eyes. "Yeah, Mom, for me, it's okay to use." He didn't explain anything, knowing she wouldn't suspect anything.
Elara studied his face for a long second, mouth pressed into a thin line. She didn't look convinced, but she still went back to chopping without another word.
Helga stood in the kitchen doorway, holding a laundry basket, watching them both enter. She said nothing as they passed by her. The silence from her was not that unexpected, as she doesn't talk much when it comes to anything about Lys.
-----
Dinner passed in the usual rhythm, bowls of stew, bread torn by hand, quiet talk about the garden behind the yard, and the guild. Mitsu sat beside Mira, still a little shy but smiling more than before, clearly getting along with everyone at this house. Selene ate across from Lys, eyes flicking to the sword hung high on the wall beside the kitchen room every few minutes but still saying nothing.
When the plates were cleared and everyone drifted off to their rooms, Lys stayed at the table, fingers tracing the wrapped hilt of the sword, trying to clear a stain of some kind from it.
The house grew quiet. Lanterns dimmed after a while, and soft footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Selene came back down, nightdress loose around her shoulders. She pulled out the chair beside him and sat without asking. For a long moment, she just looked at the sword lying on the table between them, as Lys was now busy sorting some documents from Sara.
"Just so you know, there's a curse on this sword. I can feel the evil magic from it," she said quietly. "Father's library had books on enchantments. That's how I can tell what an active curse signature looks like. Especially a strong one like this."
The table went still.
Lys kept his voice even. "Don't worry, it won't hurt me. I knew about the curse when I got it from Madam Vesper. It's… different for me."
Selene didn't tell him to get rid of it or anything at all. She didn't even try to argue about its danger with him. She just studied the blade a moment longer, then stood up.
"Just be careful with it, cursed items don't always work the way they look," she said and walked back upstairs without looking back.
Lys sat there alone for a while, thinking about what she said over and over again in his head, while the lantern flame flickered low in the empty room.
After staying there for a while and finishing the document sorting, he slipped into Selene's room as usual. For two to three days, he has been sleeping in her room. Not for anything more, just sleeping beside her, the way they'd started doing after her first night in this house.
As he climbed up the bed, she was already under the covers, facing the wall on her side. He eased in behind her.
He had brought the sword with him inside the house, unless Mira tried to touch it without him knowing. It was now propped against the bedside table, where he could reach it anytime.
The room was dark and quiet. As he lay down thinking she was asleep, her voice cut through the silence, soft but direct.
"Lys."
He got a little startled, eyes opening.
She didn't turn around. "From the moment I met you, all I've seen is you acting strange. You were not like any other people as far as I knew. Too precise. Too well-timed for almost all the work you do. When I asked Mira, she even said you've changed a lot from before your injury from the wolves. Had something happened back then? Is there something we should know that you aren't telling us?"
The question hung in the dark between them, heavier than the sword on the table. After all, hearing her say all of it suddenly made even Lys a little surprised at her observation ability.
He stared at the back of her head, heart suddenly loud in his chest, not having any answer to her question right now.