Kaine stared at the two beds right in front of him, silently looking at his three Summons.
The Dragon was on the right bed, folded blankets and soft pillows supported her broken limbs and torn wing.
The Fox was on the other bed that was placed right next to the Dragon’s bed, together with the third woman, who was curled into her arms, with her entire body hiding beneath a blanket and one hand gently holding the Fox’s sleeve even as she was asleep.
Despite being exhausted to their limits, they each woke several times throughout the day and all three of them had a different reaction.
The Dragon instantly looked for the other two, her deeply exhausted body only managed to overwhelm her mind when she saw they were right next to her and she passed out again.
Whenever the Fox woke up, she fixed the third woman’s blanket and made sure the pillows supported the Dragon’s limbs properly before going back to sleep without doing anything for herself.
The third woman looked for him and whenever she found him, she lowered her head, showing absolute obedience, then only when Kaine told her to go back to sleep did she close her eyes again.
It was... strange.
To observe them like this.
But Kaine knew it was important. They wouldn’t tell him anything about themselves, they didn’t know how to interact with the world outside of the three of them, he needed to look for answers on his own and he needed to observe them very very carefully, making sure he didn’t miss anything.
Kaine thought about all of this as he continued staring at them. All three of them were asleep right now. Outside the window, it was already dawn, morning dawn.
Almost an entire day had passed since he summoned them. Kaine glanced at the clock, then at the written instructions on the table beside him.
He brought the women to his room while the Protection Period still prevented pain. Moving them afterward would have made the journey far worse, and he knew he couldn’t keep them in the ward since it would soon become a service he would have to pay for.
Here, at least, he could stay beside them.
Knock Knock
While Kaine was going over things in his head, he heard a knock.
"Come in."
He spoke calmly as he turned around.
The door opened and a woman stepped inside.
"Mother."
Kaine looked at her.
Helena smiled at him as she stepped inside. Her hair was tied neatly, and her dress showed no sign of the long day she had spent.
She closed the door quietly.
For a moment, she looked at the two beds that were now in her son’s room. Then her eyes fell on the tray beside him. Three covered cups, bowls and spoons, small labels marking each portion, and the physician’s written instructions beside them.
"You had their medicine prepared."
She spoke as she approached the table.
"Yes."
Kaine nodded.
Helena then moved the spoon away from the edge and studied one of the labels.
"And this is enough?"
"For a day."
"And afterward?"
"I have the prescriptions."
She looked at him.
"They won’t give you what you want because of who you are anymore, you know?"
"I’ll pay them. I have some money saved."
Kaine answered.
Helena stared at him for a moment.
"Sit with me."
She spoke gently as she sat down and pointed at the second chair. Kaine nodded and sat down. For a few seconds, Helena just looked at him, Kaine didn’t say anything either. The three women’s quiet breathing filled the room.
Then, Helena spoke up.
"Your father is still in the Summoning Hall.
He heard what the physicians found."
"I assumed he would."
Kaine nodded.
He wasn’t expecting the physicians to be discreet.
"He is upset."
"I know."
Helena took a small pause, then, her tone became even gentler.
"It’s not simply because you refused him."
She spoke as she smoothed a fold in her dress.
"He spent years preparing for your future, Kaine, and so did you. Yesterday, he thought he was about to see all of that work rewarded but now you are giving it away."
Kaine remained silent.
"I spoke to the physician as well."
Helena mentioned, her eyes then moved to the three women on the beds.
"He told me what happened to them."
Kaine looked at her, she looked back at him.
"I understand why you could not do it in that chamber. People were speaking carelessly, some of the things they said should never have been said in front of you."
"The chamber made no difference."
Kaine was very clear about this.
"I know you care about them."
Helena spoke gently.
"But caring does not mean you must accept every burden placed in front of you."
Kaine didn’t say anything. Helena then reached into her sleeve and placed a scroll on the table.
Kaine recognised it very quickly.
The Severance Scroll.
"You still have time."
Helena spoke in a calm tone.
"I already gave my answer."
"And you’ve learned more since then."
Helena countered as she leaned forward slightly.
"No one whose opinion matters will think less of you for reconsidering after hearing the physicians, you made your decision before you knew the full extent of their condition."
"I am not doing this because I care about what others will think of me."
"I understand that but—"
"You saw their state. You should be able to tell where they came from before I summoned them. Severing their contracts means sending them back to that hell."
Kaine interrupted in a stronger tone than he normally used.
Helena, however, did not lose her calm like Gareth did, she looked into his eyes and spoke as if she was giving him the world’s wisdom.
"What happened to them is unfortunate, I understand that, but you cannot destroy the future you worked so hard for for their sake. Their predicament is not your fault, Kaine. Please don’t punish yourself for something you didn’t even do."
"It is not a punishment."
Kaine shook his head.
"I want to do it.
I will not send them back to that hell, they are my summons now."
"The next Companion you summon will be your summo—"
"I will not Sever the contracts, mother."
Kaine interrupted her again, this time, with an even sterner tone.
Helena looked at him, then, her eyes fell on the clock behind him and now her urgency became clear.
"Kaine, you cannot expect your father to continue supporting you after everything you are doing, the family has other children to provid—."
"I do not expect him to support me."
Kaine answered directly.
"As I said, I have some money saved up."
"Your savings will not last forever."
"I will work."
"And their care?"
"I will arrange it.
I will arrange everything."
Helena turned silent.
It felt like talking to a wall, no matter what she said, he didn’t listen.
She didn’t remember her son being so stubborn. He always accepted what he was told to do. In fact, Helena did not notice, but this was the longest conversation she had had with Kaine.
She stayed silent for a while, thinking about how she could reach him, how to make him understand the consequences of his choice. Then her eyes returned to the clock and the urgency set in again and she pushed the scroll a little closer.
"Kaine, listen to me."
Kaine did not even look at the scroll.
The clock continued to tick.
Helena glanced at it again.
"There is very little time left."
"I know."
"You need to—"
"Mother, I will not do it."
Kaine repeated and Helena...
She waited.
Perhaps she still expected him to move. To reach for the scroll at the last moment, when the choice began slipping away.
Kaine didn’t.
He kept looking at his mother in silence, until he felt a strange warmth spread through his chest.
The Contracts were settling in, this time, permanently.
He also noticed how the glow that came from the Severance Scroll started fading away.
Helena noticed it as well and her face hardened.
She remained silent for a while, as if processing what just happened, then she closed her eyes.
"You’ve made your decision."
She spoke in a low voice.
Helena stared at it in shock.
Kaine didn’t hear her, more accurately, he couldn’t hear her.
His focus was somewhere else, on the magical words floating right in front of him.
[Severance Period expired.]
[Contracts permanently established.]
[The host refused to abandon his companions despite their assessed inability to recover or provide power.]
[Suitable host found.]
[Search concluded.]
[Search duration: 1,487 years.]
[Total candidates evaluated: 412,467,318,642.]
[The host has accepted responsibility for those beyond salvation.]
[Authority to overturn their fate has been granted.]