"Miss Lucy, you're back."
"Hey, Nicolas. How's the smithing going?"
"It's going well..."
Lucy returned to the Jaeger household, looking somewhat exhausted. Nicolas took notice and immediately offered her a seat.
"Here! I'll clear this up so you can sit." he said, rushing to the couch and gathering all the blacksmithing research books piled on top.
Lucy offered a small smile. "Thank you, Nicolas. You're very kind."
Nicolas's cheeks flushed red. Every gesture from her had him flustered, but who could blame him? He had never interacted with someone of the opposite sex who was close to his age.
After a few minutes, the silence made nervous. He tried to start up a conversation, but Lucy wasn't making it easy for him.
"How was the stroll? The lake's nice, isn't it?"
Lucy stared down at her knees, seemingly lost in thought. "Yes, it is."
"The water's really clear, and when the sun sets, it's a sight for sore eyes!"
"Yes, it is."
Her short responses left Nicolas scrambling.
Miss Lucy...
It wasn't his place to pry, but he could tell something was weighing on her. She desperately ran through the forest to reach them, to the point of barely being able to stand.
I'm not the only one carrying a burden...
Everyone has skeletons in their closet, Lucy was no exception. He saw himself in her, someone who didn't want to drag others into her problems, afraid it might bring them misfortune.
He wished he could do something, anything, to cheer her up. He just wanted to see her smile again. Like the way she did the first time they met.
"Hey, Miss Lucy, take a look at this."
She glanced at him, eyebrows furrowed, as he gestured for her to open her hands. He carefully placed a dagger he'd been working on into her palms in hope of distracting her, even if just a little.
Her eyes lit up in awe. "Mister Nicolas, did you make this? It looks amazing!" She examined the blade, gently running her fingers along its edge.
He puffed out his chest proudly. "Yep! Nailed it on the first try!" he said, scratching his nose.
Lucy's gaze drifted toward the pile of daggers Nicolas had promised William he'd clean up. After William left, Nicolas decided to leave the mess for later, thinking he'd deal with it before his master returned. He didn't expect it to come back to haunt him so soon.
"That is—uh—don't look!" He flailed his arms to block her view, trying to distract her.
She laughed. "You're an odd one, you know that?"
Nicolas smiled.
There it is... That beautiful smile I was hoping to see.
It warmed him in a way he didn't understand, stirring something unfamiliar in his chest.
What is this weird feeling?
"It's impressive," she said, still examining the blade. "Didn't you just start smithing a few days ago?" Her fingers glided over the metal. "You even managed to imbue it with magic…"
"Miss Lucy, are you familiar with blacksmithing?"
"Oh, just a little," she replied, quickly averting her eyes.
"I see... Well, I've got to thank my master for that. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have come this far."
William had been relentless with his training. He'd taught him everything, from crafting a simple bell to forging a dagger, and more recently, how to infuse magic into his work.
He glanced out the window. The sky was already darkening, "That reminds me! I need to get back to work."
Nicolas returned to the task his master had given him. Sitting down at his workbench, he focused on forging the remaining daggers. Without lifting his eyes from his work, he asked a question that had been on his mind for a while.
"Mind if I ask when you met my master?"
Lucy smiled at the back of the young man, finding it endearing how curious he was about William, "Not at all. Let's see…" She paused, thinking back. "When I first met him, I was in a bit of a pinch. Some kids were chasing me through town."
"What? That's awful!"
She leaned back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling as she took a deep breath. "They chased me all the way into the forest. I managed to lose them, but I got completely lost in the process." She fidgeted with her thumbs, embarrassed. "Then I heard a scream. I rushed toward the sound and saw the same kids. One of them was badly hurt, and the other two were holding sticks, trying to fend off the beasts."
"They were fighting the beasts?!"
She shook her head slowly. "It looked more like they were cornered."
"What happened next?!" Nicolas had stopped to lean in, his eyes wide with anticipation, hanging onto every word as if she were telling him a grand heroic tale.
"Hmm… I can't remember."
"Huh?!"
Lucy furrowed her brow, trying to recall, but the effort gave her a headache. Nicolas noticed and began to rise, but she held up a hand to stop him.
"I think I blacked out. The next thing I remember… I was being carried out of the forest by William."
Nicolas's eyes lit up. "Then maybe Master saved all of you!"
"Yes… I believe so."
It was the only explanation that made sense and yet, something had always bothered her. She was the only one who left the forest with William. As for the children chasing her... she couldn't remember what became of them.
The only one who could possibly know what happened was William Jaeger, the man she woke up to, the only person left from that day. Surely he knew something, but even after all this time spent by his side, she never asked or perhaps… she was too afraid to know.
Back then, she followed him everywhere. Most people would've been irritated by a child trailing after them, but not William. He always greeted her with a smile. He was the first person to show her real kindness.
She still remembered when he barely recognized her at the bar, despite all their time together, but that was just William's laid-back nature.
Just thinking about him made her cheeks warm.
I'm a terrible person. Will he be able to forgive me when he finds out?
As if reading her thoughts, Nicolas spoke up.
"Master is a really kind person."
Lucy blinked, startled. "Huh? Ni—"
"I don't have a family," he interrupted gently. "As far back as I can remember, I've always been alone. Even when I thought I wasn't."
"Nicolas…"
He held up one of the finished daggers, looking into the reflection on the blade with a faint smile.
"In the short time I've lived with my master, he's given me something no one else ever has, not since the day I was born."
Lucy tilted her head. "What did he give you?"
Nicolas turned to her with a soft, sincere smile.
"A home."
As much as Nicolas tried, he couldn't recall his parents. Whether they were alive or dead, he had no idea. His childhood felt like living in a locked room, separated from the world. The only comfort he had were fairy tales and old history books he scramble from time to time.
He barely survived until he ventured to the town of Aoba. The moment he met the blacksmith, he knew that if anyone could change his fate, it was William Jaeger.
Day after day, he begged to be taken as an apprentice and day after day William refused. Nicolas never gave up because he knew if he did, he'd be surrendering his dream.
Even after turning him down, William still cared for him. Nicolas felt truly seen by him and that's when he realized, William was different from everyone else. He didn't ignore him or treat him like a burden, he was there if Nicolas needed it.
Nicolas clenched his fists, filled with renewed resolve.
I won't let my master down!
"Sorry I can't entertain you any longer, Miss Lucy," he said, returning to his work. "I need to finish these daggers."
Lucy smiled, "It's alright. And… thank you, Nicolas. For cheering me up."
His face turned bright red, and he quickly hid it by burying himself in his work.
Lucy glanced toward the window. "Before I leave you to it… do you know where William might be? It's getting late."
"Hm? He came by earlier but left again. Said he was meeting a friend. My master doesn't sit still for long," Nicolas added with a sheepish grin, scratching his head.
"A friend..."
Lucy turned to the window. The moon was high in the sky, bathing the forest in silver. She could feel it, the beasts crawling in the darkness.
"Then, I'll be right back too!"
"Wait—Miss Lucy!" Nicolas called, but she was already out the door.