676,
After some time, Xier finally stopped crying.
Once Cyclone and the others had pieced together what happened, they could only feel helpless.
As the head of the household, he hadn’t just beaten his wife—he’d even stabbed her with a small knife in a fit of anger.
And in the process, he’d injured Xier too.
As a husband and a father, he was the absolute worst.
But things had already gone this far. There wasn’t much more Cyclone could do.
The only concern now was that Xier’s mother had just undergone surgery and needed plenty of rest.
To keep that man from getting violent again, they should move Xier and his mother to a Water Shrine church for the time being.
That would give them somewhere to stay, and the sisters could look after them.
“Thank you, Doctor…”
As the woman thanked Cyclone, someone else came in through the door.
It turned out that after the surgery, Hilmirya had also gone to find some of Allen’s guards nearby.
Hilmirya seemed to have plenty of experience with this sort of thing as a follower of the Water Shrine. She knew how to respond quickly.
After speaking with the two guards, they promised to find Xier’s missing father and arrest him for assault.
Hearing that her former husband would be arrested and imprisoned, Xier’s mother showed no sign of displeasure.
At last, Cyclone went up to the two guards and asked,
“Could you give us a hand?”
The two guards exchanged a glance. Cyclone gave them a rueful smile.
“The lady just had surgery, so the injured area can’t be jolted. If she has to use the stairs…”
At that, the two guards immediately understood.
With everyone pitching in, they safely carried Xier’s mother up to ground level.
Afterward, the guards called for more guards, and with everyone escorting them, Xier and his mother safely made it to the Water Shrine church.
It was a small incident, but it left them both moved and relieved.
Cyclone had no father. His mother had raised him all by herself.
He had no memory at all of what his father was like.
But when someone’s gone, there’s always a reason.
His father had chosen to abandon Cyclone and his mother back then. He probably hadn’t been a good person.
Cyclone wondered what his mother must have felt as she carried on with her life back then. The thought suddenly made him miss her.
She was living alone in Plantain Village now, and he hadn’t seen her in two years.
Ever since King Allen had driven him out of his territory, Cyclone had had no desire to go back.
But seeing the mother and child before him now brought that thought welling up from deep inside.
“I hope they can live here in peace…”
Elyse said uneasily.
“We’ll see. It depends on whether they can catch the father.”
“What do you mean?”
Elyse didn’t understand what Hilmirya meant.
“I’ve seen this before. There’s a good chance someone like that will get violent again. Last time, they couldn’t catch the abuser, so they had no choice but to secretly send the victim away to start a new life somewhere else.”
“Why…? They chose their partner themselves, so why keep doing this to them, again and again…?”
Hilmirya had no answer to Elyse’s question.
It might be the central question behind every broken family—and one that countless people ask.
Whatever the reason, you should never take your anger out with violence on someone you once loved.
By this point, Cyclone, Elyse, and Hilmirya had done everything they could to help Xier.
Xier had smiled as she waved Elyse goodbye, but on the way home, Elyse was still feeling down.
Seeing this, Cyclone took Elyse’s hand.
“It’s true that Hilmirya and I managed to save that mother and child today.”
When Elyse looked at him, Cyclone smiled at her.
“But you’re the one who made Xier smile!”
Cyclone tried to comfort Elyse, and Hilmirya added from beside them,
“Exactly! Saving someone’s heart is even more amazing than saving their life!”
“Is that so?”
Elyse looked at Cyclone and asked.
But this time, Cyclone didn’t immediately agree.
Instead, just like Elyse, he went quiet for a few seconds at the words “saving someone’s heart.”
