"Good job!" Aunt Clara gave Soren a thumbs-up. "You passed the test with flying colors. But let’s hear what the lady herself has to say." She turned to Ethea and smiled. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your husband’s performance today?"
Ethea looked stunned, the heat quickly returning to her face.
"...T.."
Her voice was so low Clara had to lean down to listen.
"Two?"
"...T...Ten." Ethea corrected.
"Aha!" Clara clapped her hands together. "A perfect score! Now that’s what I call a successful student. Well done, Soren."
"T-Thank you." Soren rubbed the back of his neck, his own cheeks warming. "I... I still have a lot to improve."
"That might be true, but you’ve come a long way since that first lesson. I still remember how you fumbled with the simplest tasks, your face redder than a tomato the entire time." Clara chuckled at the memory. "Now look at you, doing everything by yourself. Ethea is lucky to have you."
Soren glanced at Ethea, a soft smile crossing his face. "I’m the lucky one."
Ethea’s cheeks flushed deeper, and she looked down at her lap, unable to meet his gaze.
Clara watched the exchange with a knowing smile. But it soon turned into a reluctant and sad one, as she realized this was their last day together. Because tomorrow, Soren and Ethea would leave Kalmira, and she would probably never see them again...
"You two..." She paused, searching for the right words. "Take care of each other, alright? And... Please... Don’t forget to contact me from time to time too."
Ethea raised her head and exchanged a glance with Soren. Then they both looked at her and nodded. "We will."
"..." Clara’s lips curled up once more. A few tears slipped down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand. "A-Anyway, let’s go. The breakfast is gonna get cold if we stand around any longer, and I didn’t wake up early just to let my cooking go to waste."
"Alright, let’s go." Soren played along with her, and they all went into the kitchen to eat. The table was set with more food than three people could reasonably finish, as if she had tried to pour everything she couldn’t say into the meal itself. She had even prepared Soren’s favorite dumplings and special cookies for Ethea.
"Auntie..."
Soren and Ethea looked at her in unison, both of them at a loss for words.
Clara waved a hand, already taking her seat. "Don’t just stand there and take a seat."
Soren nodded, placed Ethea near the table, and sat down beside her. For a while, the only sounds were the clinking of utensils and the occasional comment about the food.
The dumplings were perfectly seasoned, and the cookies melted on Ethea’s tongue. Soren ended up eating more than he usually did, partly because it was delicious and he didn’t want to waste them, and partly because he knew this might be the last time he would get to eat her cooking.
Halfway through the meal, Clara set down her spoon and looked at them.
"You know... when I first met you two, I thought you were just another young couple I would work for and part ways without any attachments. It turned out to be wrong. Because somewhere along the way, you became something more." She smiled with eyes that shimmered. "You became... family."
"..."
Soren set down his own spoon and met her eyes. "Auntie, we feel the same way as well."
"You are family," Ethea added in a gentle voice. "And it won’t change, no matter how apart we are."
"...Hick... Y-You... You two are... making me cry again." Clara sniffled as she spoke.
A few tears escaped from Ethea’s eyelids as well.
Soren quickly took out tissues and handed one to Clara, then turned to gently dab at Ethea’s cheeks.
As for why he didn’t cry, well...
He stopped doing that many years ago, back when he was still a child. Because crying only brought more beatings and trouble. But, looking at the two women beside him, he could feel the sensation coming back again.
Fortunately, he managed to hold it back till they calmed down. In fact, it disappeared soon after when they started laughing when Aunt Clara tried to make an excuse that it was because her tea was too bitter, which made her cry.
Since the mood was lifted, the rest of the meal passed with lighter conversation and promises to stay in touch.
"See you tomorrow~"
Clara waved as she got into the car.
Soren waved back with both hands in place of Ethea. "Take care."
He then nodded at Uncle Ben, who had finally recovered and got back to being Auntie’s ’exclusive driver’.
"Let’s head out as well, shall we?"
Soren smiled and led Ethea back into the villa. They soon came out in a car and headed to their own destination: Ryan’s house.
After much discussion, they had finally decided to go to the Temur Empire first. The Tower would come after. They also agreed to travel separately from Ryan and his family, since there was a real chance that Soren and Ethea could be attacked along the way. If that happened, having Ryan’s family nearby would only put them in danger. It was safer for everyone if they moved on their own.
However, they still wanted to bid them farewell before leaving.
There were also two weeks before Ryan finished this semester, so the timing didn’t match properly either. They also wanted to give Ryan enough time to wrap up his affairs in Kalmira and travel at his own pace. Rushing him would only cause problems for his family, and that was the last thing Soren wanted.
In fact, this was a kind of test too.
To see if Ryan could manage on his own. He had grown a lot in the past two months, but traveling to a foreign empire was different from clearing gates together. He would need to handle things without Soren watching his back, and this separation would give him the chance to prove himself. Especially to his parents.