Concept: World - Chapter 17: Mother (3)

"But I still joined."

Ethel forced a faint smile, hiding the sorrow buried beneath it.

"Compared to Captain Tia's noble resolve..."

"...my little problem hardly seemed worth mentioning."

After hearing Ethel's story, Yinbing remained speechless for a long time.

Even the bartender, who had quietly listened from a distance, wore a complicated expression.

At this moment, Ethel didn't need empty words or anyone's sympathy.

What he needed...

...was simply someone willing to stay by his side.

"Ethel."

"We're here."

"All of us."

Yinbing's words quietly gave him a little strength.

He still hadn't escaped the shackles of his past...

...but speaking about it was the first step forward.

For the first time in years, the weight crushing his heart seemed just a little lighter.

Meanwhile, Oenone and Tia sat at the table they had seen from the rooftop.

A steaming cup of tea rested before each of them.

When Tia had tried to run away, Oenone had grabbed her before she could escape.

Having only just recovered, Tia lacked the strength to resist and could only obediently follow her downstairs.

"Drink it while it's still warm."

The elderly woman spoke with a gentle smile.

From the moment they entered, her eyes had never left Tia.

Meanwhile, Tia kept her head lowered, staring at the floor, too afraid to meet her gaze.

"What a comforting cup of tea."

Oenone smiled.

The old woman's smile grew even warmer.

"Thank you."

"It was always this child's favorite."

Tia still refused to look up.

"Tia."

"Aren't you going to greet me?"

Something in the woman's gentle voice carried an irresistible warmth.

Before she realized it, Tia slowly raised her head.

"...Mom."

"I'm home."

"Welcome home..."

"...my child."

The elderly woman stood and walked over.

She gently cupped Tia's cheeks, carefully studying the face of the girl she had raised.

"You've grown into such a beautiful young woman."

That aged yet kind face held Tia's gaze completely captive.

The woman's slightly clouded eyes seemed to see far more than appearances.

She leaned forward and softly kissed Tia on the forehead before pulling her into a warm embrace.

"My child..."

"You've worked so hard all these years."

Those words, overflowing with maternal love, shattered the last wall protecting Tia's heart.

She buried herself in her mother's embrace and sobbed like the little girl she once was.

"Mom..."

"I'm so scared..."

"I'm really... really scared..."

She poured out everything she had buried over the past several years.

All the pressure she had carried finally burst like a broken dam.

Only in her mother's arms...

...could she become that little girl again.

She no longer had to be afraid.

She no longer had to stay strong.

Wrapped in her mother's embrace, nothing in the world could hurt her anymore.

The old woman quietly listened.

She gently stroked the back of Tia's head...

...silently telling her that she had always been there.

Seeing the scene before her, Oenone quietly rose to her feet.

She slipped out of the room and gently closed the door behind her.

She left the entire space...

...to Tia and her mother.

Though they shared no blood...

...the mother's love was unquestionably real.

Tia talked for a very long time.

She spoke of Posius dying before her eyes.

She spoke of the vow she had made to ensure no one else would ever suffer the same fate.

She spoke of everything that had happened after becoming captain.

She had so much she wanted to say.

But consumed by self-loathing, she had never dared return.

No matter how lonely...

No matter how much it hurt...

She endured everything alone.

She had convinced herself...

...that she could never come back.

Even though she visited every month and sat quietly upon the rooftop...

...she never dared take that final step.

She had forgotten something important.

No matter what she had done...

...she would always be her mother's child.

The matron quietly listened as Tia cried.

Her presence slowly breathed life back into Tia's withered heart.

Little by little...

...the pain that had accumulated inside her finally began to flow away.

Perhaps what Tia had truly needed...

...had never been the strength to protect others.

Perhaps all she had needed...

...was a chance to begin again.

Not to change the world...

...but to change herself.

And now...

Having finally returned home...

Tia remembered once more...

...that she was never alone.

Three hours later, the door finally opened.

The elderly woman invited Oenone back inside.

"I'm terribly sorry."

"I kept you waiting outside for so long."

"It's alright."

"I don't mind."

Tia still held the now-empty teacup.

Her eyes were swollen from crying for hours.

"Oenone..."

"I'm sorry."

"I made all of you worry."

"Well..."

"That's what friends are for."

Oenone wrapped Tia in another embrace and whispered into her ear.

"Tia..."

"No matter what people outside think of you..."

"No matter what mistakes you've made..."

"You'll always have somewhere to come home to."

"This place..."

"...will always be your home."

"So don't try to carry everything by yourself anymore."

"Okay?"

"...Okay."

Perhaps because she had finally relaxed...

Tia quietly fell asleep in Oenone's arms.

Oenone carefully lifted her up.

Following the matron's guidance, she carried Tia into the room where she had once slept as a child.

She gently tucked the blanket around her...

...just as someone had done countless times before.

Returning to the sitting room, Oenone and the matron continued chatting.

"That child has always been stubborn."

"Once she decides on something, she throws herself into it completely."

"And sometimes..."

"...she goes too far."

"Thank you for taking care of her all these years."

"No, not at all."

"If anything..."

"...we've been the ones relying on her."

"After that tragedy..."

"She never came back."

"Not even after becoming captain a year and a half later."

"Actually..."

"She did."

"I know."

"Every month on the thirteenth..."

"...she'd sit on that rooftop watching us."

"I was simply waiting for her to come down on her own."

"Why the thirteenth?"

"Cookie Day."

"We can't afford to give the children delicious food very often."

"So once every month..."

"...they get to enjoy some cookies."

"She loved cookies?"

"Oh, absolutely."

"She always ate the most."

The old woman chuckled softly, as though it had happened only yesterday.

"Thank you..."

"...for bringing her down."

"If she'd known I noticed her..."

"...she probably would've stopped coming."

"It was nothing."

"I'm deeply grateful."

"She did everything she could to become the light of an entire city..."

"...yet forgot to shine upon herself."

"Please continue taking care of her."

"Of course."

"She's my best friend."

"Knowing she has a friend like you..."

"...puts my mind at ease."

"It's getting late."

"Why don't you stay the night?"

"Then..."

"...thank you for having me."

That night...

Tia slept more peacefully than she had in years.

As though she were once again resting safely in her mother's embrace.

That same night...

Ethel also slept more peacefully than usual.

As though, at long last...

...he had loosened the chains his mother had left wrapped around his heart.

ns216.73.216.67da2

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