The next morning was the funeral ceremony. First was Lilith's speech, followed by Thalorin's speech, followed by Liebe's speech, and finally it was Licht's turn. At dawn, the ceremony was beautiful, even though it was full of tears. Everyone except Lilith and Thalorin shed a tear.
After the ceremony, Olivia's parents came to talk to Liebe and Licht, yet Licht and Mia were gone. After the ceremony, while Liebe was talking, Isurugi came and whispered, "Licht and Mia are gone."
Liebe said, "OK then."
Later, Licht and Mia came to the Vaude estate.
Mia said, "Is this your house, sir?"
Licht said, "Well, it's my parents' house. And it may not be as grand as the Faust or the Vale Estate, but it's home, I guess."
As they came back home and knocked, Elodie opened the door and said, "Licht, you are back!"
Licht said, "Yeah, Mom. I'm back."
Elodie said, "Come in! It has been so long."
Licht said, "Mom, I brought a friend. This is Mia."
Mia said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. I'm Mia Myers, a Vice Admiral under Admiral Licht."
Elodie said, "Just call me Elodie. I'm Licht's mother. And come on in."
Elodie said, "Licht, you two go to your room. I will get you two something to drink."
Licht said, "Sure, Mother."
Mia said, "What are you planning, sir?"
Licht said, "Planning what?"
Mia said, "You know, sir, like what to do next?"
Licht said, "I don't have a plan, honestly. I'm going to stay here for a while. For the first time in a while, I don't know what to do. And it's OK. You can stay in the room next door, since it's best if you don't leave right now based on the current situation."
Mia said, "I understand."
Mia said, "Sir, this is your childhood room? Yet everything looks so new. How?"
Elodie entered and said, "It's mostly because he used none of it. Since he was a kid, he would always be playing at the Faust Estate, and most times he would fall asleep there. So he would be there, and moving him would mean he would cry, and his father was too lazy to deal with that after work. And by the time he was old enough, well, the thing is, he wouldn't be home whenever we would have something planned. He would just run off to one of his missions that Liebe planned. I swear, his father doesn't know what to do with him at this point. Whenever someone wants to see him for marriage, he just runs off. He is 7 for God's sake."
Mia said, "I see."
Licht said, "Mom, I don't run off that much. But now I'm home for a while, so marriage isn't so bad."
Elodie said, "Really? OK, so let's get you married!"
As Mia looked at the photo frames, most were of him, Liebe, Alysa, and Elizabeth. As she looked at the photos of infants:
Mia said, "Sir, what photo is this?"
Licht said, "Oh this? It's the photo of when Liebe and I first met. I was barely 3 days old. Liebe was 6 months. And when we met, he slapped me. I cried, and he smiled. And when I stopped crying, he stopped smiling and slapped me again. I don't remember this day as I was a newborn, but my parents fondly remember this photo."
Mia said, "You seem to be quite close to the Fleet Admiral."
Jewel entered the room and said, "Well, yeah. They have basically been brothers for life. And now then, how is the record holder for the fastest man to become 1st Class Knight of Fire, even besting my record of 5 years?"
Licht said, "I'm good, Dad."
Mia said, "Wait, are you really Jewel Vaude?"
Jewel said, "Well, yeah."
Mia said, "Sir, I have about 900 items I need your signature on. Can you please do that? I'm a huge fan of your work. It was quite hurt when you decided to retire. You are my childhood hero. You literally protected the north of the Black Rose territory during the Rebellion of the 2 Captains incident 10 years ago."
Licht said, "Mia, please. That incident is just BS."
Mia said, "Umm, sir—"
Jewel said, "Well, during that incident, Liebe's father and grandfather died. So that's why they don't prefer talking about it."
Mia said, "Wait, the Fleet Admiral is the grandson of the late Domr Faust, the previous Black Rose Captain?"
Jewel said, "Yeah. I lost my arm during the incident, but it was one hell of a fight."
Mia said, "I'm sorry. Who did you lose that arm to? Wait, let me guess. Was it Elaar? Or was it Herald? What enemy took that arm?"
Jewel said, "No, it wasn't an enemy. It was a friend. It was Lilith."
Mia said, "Sorry, what?"
Licht said, "Yeah."
Mia said, "You were right, sir. The topic really was BS. Whoever brought up this topic is an idiot and should be executed immediately."
Jewel just laughed and said, "Damn, your told me you brought a bride, but who knew your bride was such a big fan girl?"
Mia and Licht were embarrassed, red.
Jewel said, "Now then, Mia, can you please go to the living room? I need to have a word with my son."
Mia said, "Of course." As she left the room.
Jewel said, "So how is the 1st Class Knight of Fire doing?"
Licht said, "Fine, Dad."
Jewel said, "When your mother said you were unexpectedly back home, I was quite shocked. I assumed you came in for a glass of water before running into your next mission."
Licht said, "Is that so?"
Jewel said, "So did you get kicked out of the academy or something?"
Licht said, "I guess no."
Jewel said, "Come on, tell me what happened. Last I heard was from Mia about how bad things were in Baledia."
Licht said, "Yeah."
Jewel said, "You aren't letting your one failure define you now, are you?"
Licht said, "I don't know."
Jewel said, "You do know that I can only use my old age wisdom if you tell me what's wrong. I mean, your mother and I did go to CKH to see that girl, and she seems in a pretty bad shape."
Licht said, "Yeah."
Jewel said, "What happened?"
Licht said, "Liebe and I had a fight. A nasty one."
Jewel said, "I see. Must have been the toughest fight of your life."
Licht said, "I regret every moment of it. It hurts. I just don't know anymore."
Jewel said, "Well, think about what you fought over. I know what's said can't be taken back. A fight between brothers isn't about what's right and what's wrong. It's about why you can't look each other in the eye."
Licht said, "I'm hurt, and I hurt him too. None of us were in the right."
Jewel said, "Yeah, I heard the story about the devil and not seeing Alysa anymore. It's hard."
Licht said, "Dad, you knew?"
Jewel said, "Just this morning, apparently someone is here to get you. What is her name? Oh right, Mavia."
Licht said, "But I'm not part of Team Liebe anymore."
Jewel said, "Well, talk to Mavia. Maybe she can change your mind."
Licht said, "But why? It's all just shattered ashes."
Jewel said, "Who knows? Maybe it can change. Sorry is the hardest word of them all. Even if you don't agree, not knowing the story hurts more. Maybe she can say something to change your mind. You know what Liebe is planning, not why. And she seemed pretty confident she can drag your ass back."