CHAPTER 543: BACK HOME FOR A VISIT (4)

Left alone in the familiar quiet of his room, Liam allowed his gaze to drift across the space, taking in every corner with a muted sense of recognition. Eventually, his attention settled on the window, and he walked toward it, stopping just before the glass as memories slid unbidden through his mind. For a long moment, he simply stood there, watching the city from above as life continued its usual hurried rhythm below.

’Just like everything so far, this hasn’t changed either,’ he mused, his eyes tracing the movement of carriages and pedestrians weaving through the streets as though he had never been gone.

After observing the busy scene, he finally stepped back. He shrugged off his coat and let it fall across the bed before making his way into the bathroom. Inside, he rolled up his sleeves and turned on the tap, leaning forward as he splashed cool water across his face and along his forearms. He had no desire to shower again—not after the long ride.

"That should be enough for refreshing," he murmured as he reached for a towel and wiped his face dry.

Once done, he stepped out again and sat at the edge of the bed, elbows resting lightly against his knees. He lingered there before finally letting himself fall back onto the mattress, eyes closing as he exhaled slowly. A faint smirk ghosted across his lips—small, subtle, almost serene.

In her invisible form, Mabel stood quietly in the corner, watching him with an expression more contemplative than she intended. She had seen everything that had transpired only minutes ago—the raw warmth of Dain and Rose’s embrace, so heartfelt it could have belonged to parents reuniting with a lost child. Yet it was Liam’s response that truly caught her off guard.

She had witnessed him tense, then force himself—awkwardly, stiffly—to return the gesture with what little familiarity he had with affection. It wasn’t perfect, nowhere near matching the couple’s overwhelming relief, but the effort... the effort was something rare from him.

Liam often spoke of the Silverharts as family, but she hadn’t expected such tenderness to slip through the cracks of his typically guarded composure. Seeing him nearly sentimental, even for a breath, had been a sight she never would have imagined.

He really is something, she admitted privately as she watched him lie back, sinking deeper into the bed.

After resting for a few moments, Liam’s eyes opened again, and a thought pressed itself into his mind strongly enough to make him sit upright.

I wonder where exactly Elsie is, he wondered silently. And more importantly, which friend she’s with. Though... it’s likely Alice. Aside from those other kids she introduced me to, Alice was always the one she stayed around the most. He pictured them both, clearer than he expected.

His expression shadowed slightly. I wonder if she’s being watched over by one of the Royal Corps members.

His gaze shifted toward the corner. "Hey, Mabel?" he called out calmly.

At once, her form materialized, the shimmer of invisibility fading as she stepped forward. "Yes?" she replied.

"Would you mind checking if Elsie is being watched over?" Liam asked, voice steady but carrying an undertone of concern he rarely revealed.

Mabel’s slight flinch was immediate, accompanied by a faint frown. "Sorry, but I can’t just leave and do that. And we’re talking about the Royal Corps—they know the necessary precautions better than anyone. So... Elsie is definitely in safe hands right now." Her tone remained level, gentle, but firm.

Liam held her gaze for a moment before looking away. "Yeah, you’re right," he said quietly. "I’m probably just being over concerned because of those vexing triplets who bullied her back then." The words slipped out under his breath, almost too low to catch.

Letting the thought fade, he pushed himself to his feet and reached for his coat.

"You hungry?" he asked lightly as he slipped it on.

The question caught Mabel off guard long enough for her eyes to widen. When she recovered, she cleared her throat. "Uh... no, I’m fine. I have food I can eat. So don’t worry about me."

"I never said I was worrying," Liam replied in his usual even tone as he headed toward the door. "Just making sure my protector isn’t low on energy."

Mabel stared at him for a second, the faint twitch at her eye betraying her reaction. "Yeah, whatever," she muttered as she activated her invisibility again, vanishing from sight.

As her form faded, Liam opened the door, and she followed closely behind, silent and unseen.

As he stepped out of his room, Liam wandered the halls until he managed to find his way back to the kitchen. It took a handful of wrong turns and a few redirected paths—courtesy of the maids he encountered—but eventually he arrived. Just as he expected, Ms. Rose was there. Ever since she’d told him to come eat once he was done resting, he had known this was the only place she would be. She had always insisted on being present in the kitchen personally whenever there was a visitor. And although he wasn’t exactly a guest, Liam understood she would still treat him like one.

The moment she spotted him standing by the doorway, Ms. Rose didn’t give him the faintest chance to breathe before pulling him out of the kitchen, insisting he had no business being in there. She dragged him straight into the dining room, where she immediately had the maids swarm him with a full buffet—enough food to feasibly feed a small squadron rather than one teenage boy.

Despite not having much of an appetite, Liam knew better than to refuse. Even if the experience was unfamiliar to him, he had a strong suspicion that enduring a mother’s scolding wouldn’t be as easy to brush off as he did with most things. So he sat obediently and ate.

From nearby, Mabel watched the entire ordeal unfold, her amused laughter muted by her Silent spell to avoid detection as she took in the rare sight of the usually stoic, withdrawn Liam being thoroughly humbled by a motherly force he had no hope of resisting.

Once he had eaten enough to satisfy Rose—and survive the meal—he was finally allowed to breathe again, settling in his seat while the food began to digest. Not long after, he asked if he could head to the clinic where Dr. Dain was still working with his nurses.

The clinic had undergone a few changes since his last visit. It was a little more advanced, though not dramatically different. Liam walked beside Dr. Dain for a while, listening quietly as the man issued instructions to the nurses and addressed various patients. Eventually, however, a nobleman arrived demanding personal attention, forcing Dain to step away. Left without a guide, Liam soon found himself following another familiar presence—Mila, Dr. Dain’s assistant.

They walked together through the clinic, falling naturally into conversation. Mila asked about Liam’s life at the academy, while Liam listened to her talk about her travels, a dream she’d always mentioned back when he still lived here. Time slipped away easily between them.

By dusk, Liam left the clinic and wandered the estate, eventually drifting into the courtyard. He walked along the cobblestone paths at an unhurried pace, taking in the quiet ambiance of the household. His steps eventually brought him before the line of horses tethered in their stables. He stopped there, gazing at them for a long moment as the memory of a past conversation flickered through his mind—the one he’d had with Mila the day before he ventured into the Outskirts for the Ember Flower.

"Well... that night was a pain," he murmured under his breath, the corner of his mouth twitching faintly with the ghost of amusement as he turned to head back.

But halfway through his first step, he paused. A familiar presence—one he hadn’t felt in quite some time—crossed the threshold of the home.

A faint smile tugged at his lips, subtle but undeniably there, and he started walking toward the house.

Quietly, almost fondly, he muttered to himself, "I hope she isn’t still the same as then."