Rean and the rest of the boys of Class VII were fast at work to take the disposed items from the Schwarzer household to the communal garbage bin at the center of the town. While his mother said they could take a gander and grab whatever they wanted, most of the boxes were stuffed with old and ripped clothes, broken toys and all other matter of useless crap. The vinyl record of Vita Clotilde's first performance was truly the only valuable item in there and Rean had the sneaking suspicion all of this was an excuse for his mother to not look too petty when throwing the record away. Not that he could blame her.

Despite being tired from using the spirit path and the fight against McBurn, Rean did his job with relative ease and he had to admit it was a welcomed change of pace from all the chaos, just doing normal stuff for a while.

They were about done and there was one last box to be disposed of, with Gaius taking the rest of the packages to the trash, when Machias let out a resounding "What the hell is this!?" that drew the attention of the rest of the group. From the last remaining box the bespectacled student pulled out a thing Rean thought he had done away with, a dark secret from his past that should never see the light of day, something unspeakable.

In his hands Machias held up a long, black coat with holes and tears along it that seemed not the result of regular wear and tear but part of its design. Complementing the questionable piece was a belt buckle that closed at the chest.

"And there's also this thing…?" While Machias looked at the strange coat, Elliot pulled an even stranger item from the box: a pair of red headphones with a small antenna with a visor with mirrored lenses attached to it. Both looked at each other in utter bafflement, trying to make sense of what this thing was, before shooting a look at Rean.

Jusis watched while saying nothing.

Cold despair settled in Rean's heart and he started to feel incredibly sweaty. How in the name of Aidios was that thing still at his home and why did his mother have to choose now of all times to throw it away? He could see the others starting to connect the dots, Jusis' pupils dilating just enough to tell him the noble recognized it.

Out of every secret he had this was simultaneously the most innocuous but also the most destructive. He would never hear the end of it if anyone else found out, Fie, Millium, Instructor Sara and Alisa would never let him live it down. Angelica would bury him in mockery if she ever found out.

Why are so many of the women I know so evil?

But that didn't matter right now, he had to deal with this problem. Well, if studying at Thors had taught him anything was that you can only get teased and made fun of if you fight it, so Rean knew exactly what the first thing to do had to be if he hoped to salvage his dignity. Never let it be said he never took anything useful from his school life.

"Haha oh man, I can't believe it!" Rean startled them by laughing and talking out loud. "I thought I had thrown this thing away! Oh yeah, that brings back some memories alright."

"Is this…?" Elliot reluctantly started and he slowly pulled out a pair of heavy boots from the box but Rean was fast to put his hand over his push it down while telling to keep them there.

"Yeah, I used to be a big fan of the Dark Prince Chronicles comics. I was obsessed with it honestly, to the point I even convinced my parents to get me this costume. You know how it is, kid's stuff," Rean shrugged with a blasé attitude, doing a pretty good job at sounding just self-deprecating enough while keeping up his good humor to make it believable he wasn't totally freaking out.

"Aren't they quite recent though, I don't think they are more than three years-"

"Kid's stuff, Elliot."

"I knew I recognized it from somewhere, some kids in my street used to read them," said Machias.

Jusis still kept himself silent.

"But yeah, you know, I had a phase, that's how it is. Do they even publish those anymore? Anyway, since this is the last box, how about we take it to the back? I wanna show you guys something."

Confused and honestly weirded out by Rean's behavior, the trio didn't have much choice but to accompany him and the raven haired one shoved the items back into the box and made his way around the Schwarzer manor.

With a casual expression on his face, Rean made his way towards a tree stump that was used for chopping wood, judging by the many ax wounds on its surface, where he promptly placed the box before backing away.

"Uh, what was it that you wanted to show us, Rean?

A humorous laugh escaped Machias' mouth. "What, are you going to put these on or-"

Suddenly, Rean reached for his ARCUS and cast a fire bolt Art at the highest possible intensity, setting the box and its contents ablaze. The fire cracked and flickered for a while as they watched in silence, the smell of burning fabric, cardboard and plastic filling their nostrils.

"O-oh, so that's-"

Another fire bolt hit the already charred items, Rean emptying his ARCUS of its EP reserves as he stared at the burning pile of trash through narrowed eyes. The proof of that dark period of his life was turned to ashes and it was their word against his now. "You never saw anything," Rean turned to his friends with a look that promised retribution in case word of what they saw made it out of their small circle.

"Y-yeah."

"Right. We don't even know what we're doing here actually."

"We should get going."

"Right."

Message promptly received, Elliot and Machias made their way back to the front of the house where a confused Gaius asked them what they were doing back there. "Nothing," they readily replied while urging their friend to follow them.

With that done, Rean used an EP capsule to recharge his ARCUS and doused the burnt mass with water. What remained were just blackened ashes and melted plastic that didn't resemble anything at all, especially not his embarrassing teenage phase. Rean turned to go join the others when he saw that Jusis was still there, watching him.

Oh he's going to be a problem… Jusis wasn't one to be easily intimidated or sweet-talked. Bribes were out of question as well. Could Rean be so low as to say Jusis owned him for what his father did?

As Rean ruminated on how to deal with the situation, Jusis took a couple of steps towards him and with a solemn look on his face put a hand on his shoulder. "Your secret is safe with me… brother of the night."

Rean audibly gasped. It was the same thing the Dark Prince would call other vigilantes he encountered in his adventures and the only way Jusis would know that would be if was an avid reader. "No way."

Then again, that made complete sense. Back in his home, when the younger Albarea wasn't studying or practicing his more socially acceptable hobbies, when he was just by himself at his home, a place where he sometimes could feel isolated from others, it would be natural for him to be drawn to fiction books and even comics and a story about a noble who went around dispensing justice against a corrupt society, including other nobles, made total sense for Jusis to be drawn to.

Rean and Jusis gave a respectful nod to each other as a new level of understanding was formed between the two of them.

"What are you two idiots doing?" Both jumped and turned to the source of the noise to see Fie trying to look behind the duo to see what she was pretty sure was a pile of burned trash.

"Nothing!"

"Don't talk to me like I'm Regnitz."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Food's ready and you guys were taking too long so your mom asked me to check on you then Elliot said you were back here."

"Sure, let's go…" Rean had taken the first step when he stopped and took another look at the silver haired girl. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Fie let out an exasperated groan as both boys looked at her. Under her long black coat, the girl was wearing a big red sweater decorated with patterns made up of green pine trees, white snow crystals and brown pine cones. "Your mom gave it to me and insisted I wear it so I wouldn't get a cold," and it was very warm and comfy but she wasn't about to say that.

"You look ridiculous," Rean snickered, bold words for someone who just set fire to something even more ridiculous, and Jusis snorted, leading Fie to actually get a little red in the face.

"Well, it's your sister's and it was your mom who knitted it," she tried to retort. How dare Rean make fun of the sweater his mother had lovingly made for his sister? Take that, smartass.

"I know, I have one that's just as bad and she also made one for dad and for herself. We all wore them once."

Damnit.

"I do have to ask, Fie, was the situation so dire you couldn't find actual fitting clothes for yourself?" Jusis said. "You might as well have been running around in your underwear."

Why was everyone harping on her clothes all of a sudden? It was just clothes, they fit her and let her move freely. Also, she thought she looked cool. "Did you like what you saw? Machias is going to be jealous," Fie replied with a sly smirk on her face, glad at being able to turn the tables.

Jusis groaned and Rean laughed. "Alright, let's get going, I'm starving."

Rean made sure to check on his father first but seeing as the man was fast asleep his mother insisted that he didn't hang on much and that he should relax with his friends instead.

With Sharon's assistance, Class VII was served a delightful brunch by Lady Schwarzer and much to Rean's relief his mother was more than content to keep the conversation away from embarrassing topics, she never even commented on his relationship with Laura despite being incredibly excited to meet the girl.

Firstly they all caught up with what they were doing in the month that passed and general topics regarding the war, how things were going in Ymir after the jaeger attack and Teo's state of health.

The RMP's presence had concerned Lucia at first, just like Rean she didn't want to attract more unwanted attention to the town, but Captain Claire was nothing short of respectful and accommodating when explaining their actions, delineating precisely what their stay would entail and how long it would be, and besides assisting with securing the town they also offered to help with repairing some of the damage. Lucia had even offered to let the officers stay at the Phoenix Wings but they declined it, saying they could keep a better watch of the town by camping outside.

"The captain is truly a wonderful woman," Lucia commented, much to Sara's chagrin.

Eventually the topic shifted for their days at school as the lady of the house was incredibly interested in the students' day to day, their clubs and classes and field exercises. Lucia's sincere interest even in the most mundane subjects was delightful and helped them feel welcomed and relaxed.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention, Rean, some Thors students had just arrived earlier today."

"Really? Did you catch their names?"

"Oh yes, one of them is the son of Baron Lakelord, Kenneth, he said he's your fishing buddy and he made sure to personally introduce himself. Along with him were a pink haired girl, Linde was her name I believe, and a boy named Rex that wouldn't stop taking pictures of the town as soon as they arrived."

Well, that was surprising. Rean had completely forgotten about meeting Annabelle at the Phoenix Wings and how she said Kenny would be meeting with her there. That he paired up with other students made sense and he was glad some of his other friends had managed to flee Trista and get to safety, although it was weird that Vivi wasn't with her sister. He made a mental note to go check on them later.

Of course, the shadow of war still loomed over all of them and although they knew they had their own part to play on it, Class VII decided as a group to at least take the rest of the day off and table a discussion of the next day.

With their bellies full and brains switched from the fight or flight mode from the previous ordeals, Rean offered to give a brief tour of the town while his mother headed to the Phoenix Wings to make the proper arrangements for them. Not being a big town, the tour didn't exactly last long but Rean made sure to point out where the stores were, showed the footbath, the ski and snowboarding course and, of course, the inn where they would be spending the night at. Unfortunately, the other Thors students were nowhere to be seen, "They went fishing," the inn's receptionist said.

Over the course of the tour the group slowly diminished. Jusis and Gaius returned to the Schwarzer manor to check the stables when Rean mentioned his father's horse and Millium followed because she wanted to see the animal with the promise she wouldn't scare it, Instructor Sara stayed on the inn to drink, and Alisa suggested the rest of them they really needed to go to the stores and buy supplies, which was true but also to let Rean and Laura alone by themselves.

"I have to get in touch with Klaus. Maybe I should ask Captain Claire to relay a message?"

"I'm on it," Fie said promptly, the last one remaining alongside the two swordsmen.

"Are you sure, Fie?"

"It's no bother, you two are free to go on ahead and have sloppy make outs with each other," the silver haired girl waved dismissively as she made to look for the RMP officer, leaving a very red faced Laura gasping.

That was the set of circumstances that led to Rean Schwarzer to be in his bedroom with his girlfriend, both standing in front of the small counter placed in the corner where an eastern sword was propped up under a scroll with a big, hand drawn kanji written on it. Next to the sword was an incense holder and under the piece of furniture was his meditation mat neatly folded. What could be cooler than showing that to your girlfriend you've brought to your room? Obviously nothing.

"This is fascinating," Laura agreed, a hint of awe in her voice as she admired the ornaments. Rean's room was modest, much like hers, nothing extravagant and it made the small pieces of eastern decoration stand out much more but in a good way.

With extreme amusement, Rean watched as she leaned closer to the scroll, first following the lines with her eyes then tracing them with her finger in the air, not daring to actually touch it in fear of damaging it even slightly. "I must admit I know nothing of eastern calligraphy but this is very beautiful. The lines are so soft and perfectly drawn, the fruit of a steady and firm hand. Master Ka-fai's work, I imagine?"

"Uh, it's mine actually. I did that."

"Oh goodness, I'm sorry, Rean, I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't-"

"It's fine, it's fine. And… thanks," he blushed at the compliment. "This was part of Master Ka-fai's training, it was meant to assist me with hand-eye coordination, improve how I hold my sword, not too loose but not too tighter either, and work on wrist movements. It's an exercise in dexterity, patience and muscle control that helps you learn to focus. Let me tell you though, I went through dozens of scrolls before getting it right then a dozen more after that until I proved I could do it consistently."

And then his parents insisted on keeping a copy for themselves like they were keeping one of his childhood drawings.

"Hmm, I see. I've heard tales that eastern martial arts circles sometimes incorporate unorthodox training methods besides combat."

Rean nodded. "There was that and there was fishing too. Both focused on preparing an ideal state of mind for training and combat, and a lot of meditation as well. But don't take it too seriously, it's meant to be a side thing, Master Ka-fai told me some schools and masters let that image of mysticism and mystery get to their heads and ended up trying to one up each on what sort of unconventional training they could come up with to be seen as deeper than the others, like pouring tea and painting fences."

"Really? Pouring tea?" Laura couldn't help but think the image humorous, especially when compared to her own training.

"What are they doing, training swordsmen or house servants?" Rean made an attempt at an impression of Yun Ka-fai, deepening his voice and making it hoarse while putting both hands behind his back, a posture the eastern master normally adopted. Though she barely remembered the Eight Leaves master's mannerisms from his passage through Legram, Laura still found it funny. "So it's not like you need to learn eastern calligraphy to master the Eight Leaves One Blade but it has its uses, it did help me get in the right mindset and taught me some discipline. And it was kind of fun too, doing something different."

Rean gestured with his arms as he talked and, following the motion of his wrist, Laura realized he was subconsciously repeating the movements necessary to draw the eastern character, which she found very endearing.

"I suppose it's similar to what you said to Kurt Vander back then, doing something different and thinking outside the box."

"Yeah, something along those lines. It's the only thing I know how to write by the way, I can't even read individual words, nevermind full sentences."

"What does it mean, by the way?"

"Void, the form I was assigned to master."

"Right, it seems rather obvious now that I think about it. And this, I imagine, is your first sword. May I?" She pointed to the sheathed tachi propped in its support under the scroll, gesturing that she wished to take it in her hands and Rean responded with a nod of his head. Gently, Laura placed both hands under both ends of the sword and lifted it from its wooden support.

Laura's actions brimmed with respect for the Eight Leaves and Rean as a swordsman, as she carefully removed the wooden scabbard and placed it back on the support. Her eyes moved across the weapon analyzing the wear and tear on the instrument, from the dulled edge of the blade and its many scratches along it to the worn down leather that covered the hilt. The sword told a story of blood, sweat and tears across years of training.

As Laura studied the weapon, twirling it in her hands to feel its weight and chancing a feel swings, Rean was utterly captivated by her fascination. "Master Ka-fai sent me my current tachi a couple of months before I started school, he said it would be fitting for my new path in life but I couldn't throw the old one away."

"I understand, I also keep the first sword my father gave me in my room. It serves as a reminder of where I started and how much I've grown. Hmm, I just realized I never took the time to properly wield your sword before despite all of our training together."

"Right, you've never…" Rean ran the sentence on his mind once, twice and thrice, and the seriousness of their conversation faded away. "Y-you've never… grabbed my… sword…" He cracked and snorted, putting a hand over his mouth.

Slower on the uptake, Laura was confused and thought she had committed some sort of faux pas before her own words caught up to her. "I don't… Oh, really, Rean?" She shot a deadpan stare at him, annoyed at the turn the discussion took. "That's where your mind went to? Hmph, I suppose it is true that men's brains mature more slowly than women's."

"Hey, come on, I think I deserve some credit, all this time I've kept a straight face when you've commented on how expertly I handle and swing my sword…"

She groaned and covered her face with a hand to hide the ghost of a smile starting to form.

"Or that time while sparring when you said you were struggling to account for my blade's length and curvature…"

"Oh Goddess, please, stop it," Laura sputtered, losing the fight to keep her seriousness.

"Or when you complimented my thrusting technique."

"Stop it!" She cracked a laugh and, foregoing her previous reverence she had for the weapon, smacked Rean's hand using its flat side. That only succeeded in making him laugh more and it was infectious, forcing Laura to place the sword down haphazardly back on the counter.

"Hey, don't be so rough, my sword is very sensitive, you know?"

"You're terrible!"

Laura didn't know for how long they stayed there laughing at those incredibly juvenile jokes that normally wouldn't get a raise out of her, but by the time they recovered her face was buried on Rean's shoulder where she dried her tears on his jacket and he was pretty much the same, with his arms wrapped around her waist and breath tickling her neck.

Both looked at each other's reddened faces and eyes shimmering with tears of laughter and suddenly they were on his bed with Rean on top of Laura, hungrily kissing each other and for what experience they lacked, they made up with eagerness. His jacket laid on the floor as Laura's hand moved under his shirt and up his back and their legs interlaced with each other's.

Rean's hand grabbed her thigh, Laura's beautiful, strong and perfect thigh, groping and caressing her, his fingers slowly moving up and up her skirt, reaching the bottoom of her spats and tentatively continuing on its way up. She moaned into his mouth which Rean interpreted as permission to keep going, his hand moving upwards to her hips and his fingers grabbing the waistband of her shorts and underwear.

Rean's touch was firm but not rough, everything he did he was filled with equal amounts of gentleness that signaled how much he adored her. It was a level of attention that Laura never felt before, it was something she wasn't aware of how much she wanted until that moment, but at the same time the direction it was quickly leading towards scared her and she did something she immediately regretted. "Rean… This is… Rean, please stop!"

At the sound of Laura's raised voice, Rean jolted up and he promptly lifted himself up and away from her. The only sound in the room was of their labored breaths as the two stared wide-eyed at each other, each feeling guilty for a different reason.

"I… I'm sorry," she finally said. Catching her breath, Laura lifted herself up to sit next to Rean and, noticing his reluctance, grabbed his hand. "I didn't mean to startle you, you didn't do anything wrong," with her other hand she cupped his cheek and gently turned his face towards hers, planting a soft kiss on his lips. "I repeat, you did nothing wrong."

"Okay…" He breathed out the word, still unsure.

"I've enjoyed every bit of what we just did and I love being like this with you, Rean, please don't misunderstand it. It's just that I felt a bit overwhelmed at how fast things were going. Our first time, I want it to happen, eventually, really, but the way things are right now I…" Laura trailed off with a frustrated sigh and rubbed her face, feeling difficulty in properly explaining how she felt and fearing sending a wrong message to Rean.

Laura's words barely qualified as a sentence but Rean caught the gist of it. He had thought he was being too forceful, too pushy, and looking back he could see that he got too excited, but her constant reassurances and attempt to explain herself calmed him down, at least in that regard.

"Right, sorry, I was getting too ahead of myself," Rean sighed and ran a hand over his face, feeling the blood returning to the rest of his body. "It's just that things have been so messed up, the festival was a month ago so part of me wants to think we've been dating for a month but at the same time we've been apart for that whole period, and can what we're doing even be considered dating? I guess I got a little… desperate, like something could happen that would separate us again for who knows how long. It sounds silly when I say it out loud."

"The war has made the concept of a normal relationship complicated," Laura said with sad resignation in her voice. At that moment, they were taking a breather in Ymir but what about tomorrow or the days after. Rean was clearly having the same thoughts. "We took too long, didn't we?"

"Not like we could've predicted things would turn out this way," closing his eyes, Rean took a deep breath and braced himself for his next words. "If you want, Laura, we can take a break from-"

"No. I'll not accept putting our relationship on hold until the war is over, Aidios knows how long it will last or even if both of us will… be here for the ending. For the time being, we may not have the chance to go on dates or do other couples activities that we might have planned but I still want to be with you Rean, just…"

"A little bit slower, gotcha," despite the darker implication Laura proposed, the mood in the room lightened as both got to understand a little more about their own relationship. Laura placed her head against his shoulder and they stayed there in comforting silence for a while, simply appreciating each other's presence. This is nice too, Rean thought.

Maybe she was being too idealistic, Laura thought to herself, a bit selfish even, waiting for the right moment. They couldn't be sure of what tomorrow would hold for them or if such a moment would ever come but at the same time it felt almost too desperate, as if only darkness awaited their future. Laura wasn't child dreaming a fantasy of a bed covered in rose petals after a perfect romantic night, neither was she against pre-marital sex, she just didn't want it to be the way thing were at that moment. Her own conflicting feelings frustrated Laura immensely.

"So, did you have any plans in mind?" Rean asked, whisking her away from her inner turmoil.

"I must confess I haven't put much thought into it," Laura replied shily. "I suppose I pictured mostly doing what we already do in our day to day but holding hands."

Rean let out a laugh that only served to further embarrass his girlfriend. "Goddess, that's the cutest thing I've ever heard."

"Oh stop it," she chided him playfully with a slap to the shoulder. "And what about you, how did you imagine our relationship being like were it not for the war?"

"Every free day we'd hop on the orbal bike and go to Heimdallr and each time I would take you to dinner in a different place. Sometimes we could just ditch Trista for a whole day and spend our time exploring the city, just the two of us."

It sounded lovely and Laura said it as much as she snuggled against him.

"Also we'd switch between spending the night in each other's room. Sneaking in after everyone's gone to bed and out before they wake up."

"They'd all figure it out eventually."

"Sure, but it would be fun anyway."

"Agreed. Anything else?"

"Well, when we are not doing anything special we'd just do what we normally do but holding hands."

Mimicking Rean's previous reaction, Laura giggled while turning to him with a sweet smile on her face. "That really is a very cute thing to say."

"Learned from the best."

They kissed again, not with the same intensity from before but still passionately and Rean pulled Laura down along with him as he laid back down on his bed, letting her be on top of him this time. He held her gently and was careful as to where he touched her, so it came as a surprise when Laura kissed his neck and sent shivers along his spine with a brush of her tongue against his skin.

"Holy-" He gasped. "I thought you wanted to take it slow?"

"This is my apology for my reaction earlier and my way of showing I still want to be with you, actions do speak louder than words after all. Let's compromise to keep our hands over our clothes for now and I promise to communicate my limits in a less startling fashion. Is that okay for you?"

"Absolutely," any lingering doubts were crushed right then and there and Rean allowed himself to relax with the beautiful girl in his arms as Laura traced a trail of kisses from down his neck up to his jaw and then his lips. Reciprocating the attention he was being given, Rean's hand moved behind Laura's head and pushed her closer to deepen the kiss and scratched her scalp, drawing a delightful moan from her into his mouth.

They would have stayed like that for who knows how long, lost in their own little world of deep and slow kisses and caressing each other, were it not for the hurried knock on the door that woke up the young couple from their making out session.

"Huh, what?" Rean sounded lost, his mind hazy.

"Rean, are you in there?" It was his mother. "Your father is awake!"

"Hey, Rean," Teo Schwarzer's voice was strained but there was still a merry tone to it as he saw his son entering the room. Despite his hurry, when he got there Rean moved hesitantly, holding himself to not hug his father. From the foot of the bed, Badeux got up and greeted his master with a soft whine before returning to his previous position.

Rean could count on one hand the times his father had gotten sick and even in those instances it had been nothing more than a cold. Now, Teo Schwarzer was awfully pale with dark circles around his eyes and Rean could see the bandages around his body under his shirt, so seeing him lying in there, struggling to lift his body to sit on the bed, was heartbreaking. He attempted to help him but his father waved him away.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," the baron said.

"Don't listen to him, Rean. He is not fine and the doctor said he should avoid pushing himself," said Lucia as soon as she arrived.

"You can't expect me to talk to Rean while lying down, Lucia," Teo winced as he pushed his body and this time he couldn't stop his son from helping him out. When Teo was finally properly positioned, a rain of questions rained on him from Rean, about his health, if he needed anything, what Rean could do to help, all pertaining to his massive worry about his father.

"Calm down a bit, son. First things first, I'm relieved to see you're doing well," more than well, actually. That messy hair, those wrinkled clothes and that flushed face. Lucia did tell him that Rean had managed to get his friends over, so that meant… "What were you doing anyway?" He asked with a sly grin, knowing exactly what the answer would be.

"He was in his room with his girlfriend," Lucia chimed in.

"Ah, I see. Should we be expecting a grandson anytime soon?" The baron said, laughing as Rean got flush in the face and said no, nothing like that had happened and also that really wasn't the time for that kind of talk. "Come on, son, I'll be stuck here for Aidios knows how long, let me have my fu-" A coughing fit hit Teo, each time sending pangs of pain across his body.

It was agonizing to see his father like that and be unable to do anything to help him. Rean felt completely useless, there was nothing he could do, all he knew was to fight and there was nothing he could cut down with his tachi that would make his father better.

"Do you need me to fetch the doctor, Teo?"

He shook his head and coughed once more before clearing his throat. "No need, Lucia. I'm… I'm okay. Just… part of the recovery process."

Rean thought he was prepared to see his father again, that the news his mother had shared earlier about his state had calmed his heart sufficiently that seeing him again, hurt and bedridden, wouldn't be so painful, and he had allowed himself to relax and put that worry off his mind. He was wrong. It was crushing and sent Rean to his knees, clutching to his father's hand to feel the warmth of his body and feel his pulse, assurances that he was alive.

"Your mother told me what happened after I got shot. Rean, I'm sorry that things ended up like that, that you were forced to do what you did. I should have handled the situation better to avoid putting you in that position but unfortunately we were caught by surprise."

Rean could see the regret in his father's eyes and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Dad, what? No, you don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault, if anything… I'm the one to blame for everything."

Both parents shared a knowing look, as they knew it would come to this, that Rean would put the blame on himself, and it was as if the universe had conspired to create an ideal set of circumstances for him to feel that way.

"You were safe until I got here, until I put a target on our town and led the Noble Alliance here. If Valimar… If I hadn't come here then you and Elise and the Princess would all still be okay," a heavy feeling of guilt gripped Rean's heart, the images of his family in danger surging strongly in his mind as he circled through scenarios where any of this could've been avoided. "If only I hadn't run away back in Trista or if I wasn't the Awakener. If only I hadn't… gone to Thors… If I… If only I…"

His voice lowered more and more until it became a whimper coming from his face resting against his father's hand and Rean choked a sob and squeezed his eyes shut. It was too much for him to be saying these things and he couldn't break down like that, he promised he'd bring his sister back and how could he do that if he were a weak kid crying in front of his parents? So he recentered his mind and stopped himself from talking and saying what he really wanted to say. That is until his father said it for him.

"If only you had run away from home like you planned none of this would have happened. Is that what you want to say, Rean?"

The baron's words were like a gunshot that made him jolt up. "H-how do you-"

"What kind of parents would we be if we didn't know our own son's heart?" His mother said, her comforting hand coming over his shoulder.

"Rean, I have many regrets in life, that comes with growing up and thinking back on the things you wish you had done differently, but accepting you into this family will never be one of them."

The baron moved his body, throwing his legs outside his bed so he could sit down and Rean was too shocked still to try to help him.

"My only regret in regards to you is that I was never able to fully grasp your feelings of inadequacy and properly help you, even in the times you've come to me to talk about them. I thought simply keeping a positive attitude, telling you not to worry and reassuring you, would've been enough, but when you told us you wanted to go to Thors I realized that there was something beyond what you said back then about wanting to get to know the world outside our town. Behind those reasons was a longing to be away from Ymir and from us and I saw that I failed to reach you."

Teo's words were painful and heavy and they didn't make any sense to Rean. His father didn't fail him, he had saved him, he gave him a second chance and raised him despite… "If I wasn't here you wouldn't have been ostracized by other nobles, you wouldn't have been ridiculed and humiliated and mom wouldn't have been shunned by her own family. And you wouldn't have that thing, my power, looming over your heads, never knowing if one day I'd just…" He swallowed another sob.

His mother sighed and knelt down next to him for a hug. "Oh Rean, none of that was your fault. You can't blame yourself for the things you can't change, not other people's close mindedness nor your power."

"Rean, listen to me," his father's voice was severe as he held him by the head, forcing Rean to look at him in hopes to get through to him. "I won't sugar coat it, your unique set of circumstances was difficult to deal with initially, but we pushed through it and it never crossed my mind that we weren't doing the right thing. You were a child that was left on our doorstep, hurt and alone, and we willingly made the choice to raise and care for you and damn anyone who has a problem with that. Do you honestly think I care about what other nobles say? I will turn my back on the entirety of Erebonia, nobles or otherwise, before turning on my family, and that includes you, my son."

After a moment of silence to allow his words to sink in, his father continued. "You're growing up and eventually you will want to build a life of your own, I understand that. Whether you wish to take up the title of baron or become a Bracer or join the army or whatever you want, even if that takes you away from home, know that I will always support you. But what I cannot, will not accept is the idea of disappearing from our lives for our sake."

"You are our son, Rean, and we love you, and no-one, not even yourself, can change that."

Each word spoken by his parents filled Rean with feelings of guilt and shame. All this time they had seen through him, all this time they had figured out his intentions behind going to Thors. The love he felt coming from them was overwhelming, suffocating, it hit the deepest spots of his lack of self-worth in such a way he simply didn't know how to deal with.

And thus, Rean did the only thing he could. He ran away. He bolted out of the room without looking back, not seeing Laura standing next to the doorway and not hearing her calling his name, his mind too occupied to process anything else.

[Awakener, you seem distressed. Do you require-]

"SHUT UP!"

The front doors of the manor were flung open and he vanished.

"Rean, wait!" Laura called out and made to follow him just for a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She looked back to see his mother's kind smile but sorrowful eyes.

"He is going to a place where he can be alone for a while. I think it's best that way, he has much to think about."

"Lady Schwarzer, I-I am so sorry for listening in, I didn't think your conversation would be so-" The swordswoman stuttered, nervous for involving herself in such an intimate moment between parents and son.

"It's alright, dear. Would you be so kind as to sit down and talk with me for a while?" Lucia stepped back a little and looked inside her bedroom to see her husband give her a thumbs up and he started to lie down on the bed again. "Teo will get back to resting and I so wanted to have a more private conversation with you."

Lucia's kind and gentle words somewhat placated Laura's anxiety at that moment, although she was still reeling from the conversation she heard and Rean's reaction. "I… I would be honored."