There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 383 - 375. Together

Chapter 383: Chapter 375. Together

"Mother, are you going to keep holding onto that?" Hana looked back worriedly at her mother in the back seat, who persistently hugged the box containing the blue urn against her chest.

"Yes," the retired guide answered without hesitation.

Ria and Sherri had been holding onto it throughout the journey, although the esper who came to pick them up had offered to secure the box to one of the seats with cords. But no; Ria knew she wouldn’t be able to visit Lucia after this--at least not as often--so this journey felt like a farewell.

When Zein called them yesterday morning and asked them to bring Lucia’s ash over, they had no hesitation in agreeing. The moment Zein found them, they knew the right over Lucia’s remains belonged to Zein, and if the son wanted them to bring his mother’s ash over, it was the least they could do.

So, when Zein sent over an esper and a comfortable car to pick them up--and not just the ash--they were eager to comply, and willing to make the journey right away, even if they had to travel all night. Due to the strains of traveling with a car, however, the esper accompanying them, Fianna, insisted that they take a rest in a hotel halfway there. It was the young master’s order, the esper said, and so the two retired guides couldn’t help but accept it.

Still, despite their eagerness to fulfill Zein’s wish, the closer they got to their destination, the heavier their hearts felt. Knowing that they wouldn’t be able to visit Lucia every other month like before, and knowing that they would have to travel far if they wanted to do it...

And that was why the both of them had been carrying the box religiously. They didn’t even know if they would have another chance to visit Lucia again in the future, so this might be their last. If that were to be so, then they would rather have a sore thigh and arm than a broken heart.

As the car passed through the gate’s checkpoint, their heartbeats quickened significantly. But it wasn’t even because it would be their first time entering a green zone. It was because they would meet Zein soon, and right after, they would have parted ways with their little sister.

But their nervousness turned into confusion when the gate’s guards led the car to the side--a different way from the one used by civilians. Fianna, however, told them not to worry. She drove the car slowly, and stopped beside two espers in black suites, who proceeded to talk to her quietly through the window.

"Would you be alright to continue heading to where Young Master is?" Fianna asked the three ladies with a gentle smile on her lips. "Or would you like to stop and take a rest first?"

"It’s alright, Miss. We shouldn’t let him wait too long," Sherri replied politely.

Fianna looked at their determined faces. She knew they must have been exhausted from the long travel, even if they stopped in a hotel to sleep and have breakfast. Unlike her, they didn’t have an esper’s constitution after all. And for that, she admired their eagerness to heed the young master’s call.

But...

"The place we will go to...it might be rather exhausting there," she warned them kindly, as much as she could without revealing too much. It was, after all, a private and sensitive matter.

But of course, the two guides answered with a determined nod, while Hana was just following them. They already felt guilty about delaying it with a comfortable night’s sleep in the nice hotel that Zein provided; they weren’t that thick-skinned to delay it even longer--even if they wanted to be with Lucia’s ash a bit longer.

No. Their own greed should not precede their only nephew’s wish, who only got to meet his mother a month ago.

With a soft sigh, Fianna turned to the two espers waiting outside and gave them an affirmative nod. The two espers retreated, and that was when the Eiyuta ladies realized there were two other cars upfront. One of the cars drove first, probably as a guide, and the other one followed behind them, which made it seem like they were given another layer of protection.

Ria and Sherri blinked and glanced at each other, the nervousness earlier coming back for a different reason; they had forgotten that Lucia’s son was not just a regular guide. He was a treasured Saint-candidate, and the patriarch of an Old House.

Was that why the esper lady told them it would be exhausting? Would they head to an important establishment upon which certain standards of etiquette would be imposed?

They drowned in their own speculations as the car drove by calmly. None of those speculations, however, prepared them for a mourning house. Certainly, they didn’t expect they would head to a memorial service. And they didn’t know that they were bringing one of the main characters to the event.

"Thank you for agreeing to my sudden request," Zein greeted them at the entrance of the mourning hall.

The building itself was vacant—or quite possibly vacated—except for this particular one. There were not a lot of people there, just a bit more than twenty, who looked like relatives. In fact, they looked like they would be related to the esper who accompanied them from Eiyuta.

"N-no, it’s what we’re supposed to do," Ria shook her head, bowing her head slightly. She would have bowed deeper if it wasn’t for the urn in her embrace.

"Nevertheless, I’m thankful," Zein said softly.

They looked at the man, who was no longer wearing his mask--unlike the last time. For that, his beautiful face was for all to see, still mesmerizing even if he was clad in black clothes. But as she was looking past Zein’s shoulder, Hana caught the sight of a picture; a portrait of a man surrounded by white flowers, and she gasped.

Immediately, Hana clasped her mouth, bowing profusely to apologize for her blunder. "For-forgive me, I’m...it’s just..."

She was rather different from the feisty lady who was ready to defend her mother and aunt the last time they met. "It’s fine," Zein smiled as he understood what caused such a reaction. For those who didn’t know, especially looking from afar, it would look as if it was Zein’s picture on the altar. "You must be...confused," he shifted his gaze toward the two retired guides, who had just then seen the pictures on the altar.

Pictures. It wasn’t just Alteroan’s portrait; there was also Lucia’s.

"Luzein..."

"We hadn’t decided on a memorial service when I called you yesterday, so I failed to mention it," Zein said, looking toward the altar. On the shelf above the portraits, was a simple, unadorned urn, and there was an empty spot beside it.

Zein reached out his hand and put it on the box in Ria’s embrace, looking into the other guide’s eyes. "May I have her, Aunty?"

"Is...is that..."

Ria was so dazed that she easily let go of the heavy box she had been carrying. "My father," Zein said calmly. "Let’s get inside. I’ll explain things further."

Fianna, who was still there, helped the Eiyuta ladies to take a seat around a table. But they couldn’t sit yet; their eyes were following Zein as he brought the box to the altar. A middle-aged esper took the box so that Zein could open it, bringing out the blue urn and, with a slightly bitter smile, put it beside the pearl-white one.

"Just for a little bit," he whispered. "I’ll let you be together in a little bit."

Ria and Sherri, instead of taking a seat, approached the altar. They looked at the young man who bore an uncanny similarity with Zein, except for the solemn grey eyes, thicker neck, and slightly sharper features.

"This is...Lucia’s husband," Sherri muttered quietly, almost in a whisper, as tears welled up in her eyes. As her gaze shifted to the other picture, her cheeks could no longer stay dry.

Oh, their beautiful, innocent little sister. The little sister they had failed. She could feel Ria’s arms around her, and they consoled each other in the tears only they could know the weight.

Zein let them grieve for a few moments. His heart, however, was at ease. He had poured out his sorrow, and it was enough. Rather than sadness, he saw the two urns above the altar with a relieved heart. He had promised himself that he would find their remains, even if he had to do it all his life, or spend all of his money for information.

But suddenly, before he could even begin, his father came to him, almost like a reward. A reward for what he had to go through in the past month.

"We found him--his remains--two nights ago," Zein said after a while, when the sobs had reduced. "I...don’t want them to be alone."

"Luzein..."

Zein turned his head to his two aunties, a simple yet beautiful smile adorned his lips. "I would like to unite them. You’d permit it, wouldn’t you?"

"Oh, Luzein," Ria raised her hand and softly touched Zein’s cheek. "It’s your right. You don’t need to ask for permission."

"I know," he smiled. "But I want you to know, and I want you to be there to see it," he said, looking at his mother’s best friends--no, sisters. "In the house where they spent their last time together."

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