A short while later, they arrived home.
As Kondo pushed open the front door, he called out,
"I'm home."
The three maids had been waiting for Lawine and Kondo's return.
"Welcome back, Young Master."
Lawine entered right behind him, while Vold followed carrying several bags. The maids quickly took the bags from him and went to put everything away.
Lawine was completely exhausted. She dropped onto the sofa with a sigh.
She hadn't expected her luck to be so good today. Not only had she bought plenty of things at low prices, but some of them had even been free. Thinking about it made a satisfied smile appear on her face.
Kondo sat down beside her on the sofa.
Lawine called out,
"Hina."
The maid immediately approached.
"Yes, Madam?"
Looking at her with tired eyes, Lawine said,
"I'm exhausted. Please make me a nice cup of tea."
Hina nodded and headed toward the kitchen.
Lawine then turned to Kondo, who was still sitting beside her.
"Kondo, you must be tired after all that shopping. Why don't you go freshen up? Or I can take you."
Kondo looked at her and shook his head.
"No, Mom. I can go by myself."
He stood up from the sofa and headed upstairs.
Entering his room, Kondo began taking off his clothes one by one until only his underwear remained. Grabbing a towel, he walked into the bathroom.
Near the bathtub were two switches. One had a flame symbol, while the other had a snowflake engraved on it.
Kondo turned on the upper faucet and began filling the tub. Then he adjusted the switch marked with the flame symbol, warming the water slightly.
After placing his towel aside, he removed his underwear and stepped into the tub.
The pleasantly warm water immediately relaxed his body.
"Ahh..."
A contented sigh escaped his lips.
"This feels amazing. All the exhaustion from today is just melting away."
As he soaked in the bath, his thoughts slowly drifted toward his previous life.
"(Every day was the same. Getting shoved around on crowded buses just to go to work, then taking the same bus home. No social life. No real interests. And somehow, a single stab completely changed my life.)"
He stared at the ceiling.
"(I worked nonstop back then. The bathtub I'm sitting in right now... I'd only ever seen things like this on television. I wanted one, but I never had enough money. Something always came up and took whatever savings I managed to gather.)
(I had dreams too. Dreams that were left behind with that body. I wonder if my parents and my brother still miss me. But there's no point dwelling on it. I'm so far away from them now that returning is impossible.)
(Still... I'm truly lucky to have this life. I have a wonderful mom and dad who care about me. I have friends who make me happy. This is the kind of life I always wanted—a peaceful life without troubles.)"
The moment he thought about troubles, Kondo suddenly froze.
Then he shot upright inside the tub.
"Wait!"
His eyes widened.
"The exam results are coming out soon! How did I forget something so important?!"
All the fun he had today had completely erased it from his mind.
Quickly stepping out of the bathtub, Kondo turned off the water and dried himself with the towel.
Once he was mostly dry, he wrapped the towel around his waist and returned to his room.
Walking over to the wardrobe, he took out a fresh set of clothes.
After putting on his pants, he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"(Tomorrow I need to talk to Shin. How can she say things like that so casually? And Kim... I can't really say anything to her, but she's seriously strange. What exactly did she see in me that makes her so obsessed?)
(Whatever. I'll just ask her directly tomorrow.)"
Kondo picked up his shirt from the bed.
But the moment he did, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his chest.
The shirt slipped from his hands and fell onto the floor.
Kondo grabbed his chest in alarm.
"What...?"
His face twisted in pain.
"Why does it hurt so much all of a sudden?"
Kondo suddenly began coughing.
One cough.
Then another.
And another.
As he continued coughing violently, he glanced at his hand—and froze.
Blood.
His hand was stained with blood.
A moment later, another mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.
Fear gripped his heart.
His body felt unbelievably weak.
Unable to remain standing, he collapsed to his knees.
The pain was unbearable.
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
Kondo let out a piercing scream.
As his scream echoed through the room, faint black lightning began crackling around his body.
The lightning rapidly intensified before exploding outward.
BOOM!
A bolt of black lightning shot through the window, shattering the glass before soaring into the sky.
Downstairs, everyone heard Kondo's scream.
The teacup slipped from Lawine's hands and shattered on the floor.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"Kondo!"
Without hesitation, she ran toward his room.
The three maids and Vold quickly followed behind her.
Reaching the door, Lawine threw it open.
The sight before her made her heart stop.
Kondo was lying motionless on the floor.
Blood was scattered around him.
For a moment, fear completely consumed her.
She rushed to his side and quickly lifted him into her arms.
Frantically, she examined his body for injuries.
Then her eyes shifted toward the shattered window.
Meanwhile, Hina checked outside to see if someone had entered or escaped through it.
There was no one.
Only the broken glass remained.
Kondo had already lost consciousness.
Lawine carried him to the bed and gently laid him down.
At that moment, Sam and the butler arrived in a hurry.
The moment Sam entered the room and saw the blood on Kondo's face, his expression darkened.
He quickly approached Lawine.
However, Lawine was so focused on Kondo that she didn't even notice Sam standing beside her.
"Lawine."
No response.
Sam grabbed her hand.
Only then did she return to her senses.
She turned toward him.
"What happened here?" Sam asked.
"And why is there blood on Kondo's face?"
Lawine tried to explain, but even she couldn't understand what had happened.
"I was downstairs drinking tea when suddenly..."
Her voice broke.
Tears began flowing from her eyes.
Without saying anything, Sam pulled her into a hug.
Then he looked toward Vold and the butler.
"Vold. Butler."
"Yes, Sir!"
"Bring the best doctor you can find. Immediately."
"Understood!"
The two quickly left.
Shila hurriedly brought a chair for Sam.
He sat down and waited.
As he thought about everything that had happened, his eyes drifted toward the shattered window.
Then he looked at Lawine.
"When I was returning home, I saw a black bolt of lightning rise from this house."
His expression became serious.
"Does anyone know anything about it?"
Everyone shook their heads.
No one had an answer.
Just then, Vold and the butler returned with a doctor.
Sam immediately stood up and approached him.
"Doctor, please look at my son."
The doctor nodded.
"Please don't worry, Mr. Sam. Let me examine him first."
He moved to Kondo's bedside and carefully checked his condition.
Five minutes passed.
Finally, the doctor stood and walked toward Sam.
"Externally, everything appears normal...but"
The moment Sam heard the word "but," his heart tightened.
The doctor continued.
"But that's not all. Your son's heartbeat is rapidly slowing down, and his magical energy is rapidly fading as well
Everyone froze.
"And the blood that should be reaching his brain is no longer circulating properly."
The room fell silent.
Lawine's face turned pale.
It felt as though her entire world had shattered.
Sam clenched his fists.
"There must be a treatment."
The doctor lowered his gaze.
"There is only one."
Everyone immediately looked at him.
"Your son himself."
"If he regains consciousness, he will survive."
"But if he doesn't..."
The doctor hesitated.
"He will fall into a coma."
The last bit of hope in Sam's heart crumbled.
The doctor saw the despair in his eyes and quietly left the room.
Vold accompanied him outside.
Sam slowly sat back down.
He lowered his head and pressed a hand against his forehead.
The room was filled with silence.
Lawine sat beside Kondo and gently stroked his hair.
Tears continued flowing from her eyes.
Sam looked at her.
Then he stood and walked over.
Placing a hand on her shoulder, he forced himself to remain strong.
"Everything will be alright."
Lawine leaned against him and broke down.
"Why...?"
Her voice trembled.
"Why does this always happen?"
"It always feels like everything will finally be alright..."
"But why...?"
She could no longer hold back her tears.
Sam wrapped his arms around her.
"Everything will be alright."
The maids, the butler, and everyone else quietly left the room.
The door closed behind them, giving the couple some privacy.
Downstairs, the others waited anxiously.
Inside the room, Sam looked toward Kondo.
Then he turned to Lawine.
"Should we give it to him?"
Lawine slowly looked up.
Her eyes were red from crying.
"I don't think it will change anything."
Her voice shook.
"And giving it to him again means seeing Kondo suffer like that once more."
She lowered her gaze.
"I can't watch him go through that again."
Sam tightened his embrace.
"But we don't have any other choice."
His voice was heavy.
"We have to try."
Lawine looked at Kondo.
After wiping away her tears, she nodded.
"You're right."
"There is no other option."
She walked toward the wardrobe.
Opening it, she revealed a hidden safe.
Stretching out her hand, a key appeared in her palm.
She inserted the key into the lock and opened it.
Inside was a large bottle.
The bottle looked ancient, as though it had existed for centuries.
Carefully taking it out, she returned to Kondo's bedside.
She looked at Sam.
Sam silently nodded.
Lawine opened Kondo's mouth and gently poured the contents into him.
When the bottle was completely empty, she returned it to the safe and locked it away once more.
Then she returned to Sam's side and held his hand.
Sam's gaze remained fixed on Kondo.
Suddenly, something caught his attention.
His eyes narrowed.
"Kondo's locket..."
He looked at Lawine.
"Where is it?"
Lawine immediately checked.
Her expression changed.
She searched around the room.
The floor.
The bed.
Every corner she could see.
But it wasn't there.
"I don't know."
"When I entered the room, I didn't see it anywhere."
Sam fell into deep thought.
"Could all of this have happened because the locket is gone?"
Lawine gently placed her hand on Kondo's head.
A painful smile appeared on her face.
"I never thought I would have to witness this again."
Tears once again streamed down her cheeks.
Sam placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Everything will be alright."
But even as he said those words, neither of them truly knew if that was the truth.