"Lu, what you said just now…?"
Viola, Margie's mother, looked at Lu with teary eyes.
Lu huffed and crossed his arms as he sat down.
"I don't have any proof, and I'm pretty sure he's gone to clean up any that could be found at the scene. But Hector has pursued Margie like a dog ever since she first rejected him, and his methods haven't exactly let up over the years. As much as it sucks, I wouldn't be surprised at all. Besides, he lied to our faces. He did it."
Viola's eyes turned sharp, and she wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. She nodded resolutely.
"Fucking mongrel of a child. I'm talking with the mayor as soon as we know Margie is safe."
Viola didn't even accept the possibility of Margie not making it.
'Like that's going to do anything…'
Lu shook his head but didn't say anything, even if he knew talking to the mayor about his perfect, golden boy Hector would be as effective as putting out a wildfire with a sneeze. Viola needed something to focus on to keep herself from spiraling.
Lu and Viola sat in the waiting room with heavy stomachs. They had no idea how it was going for Margie and Magnola.
But eventually, Klum and a sweat-dripping, exhausted Magnola left the treatment room with relief on their faces.
"She's going to be all right."
Lu and Viola almost collapsed from the relief.
Lu gave Viola a look, asking her not to tell Klum about Hector just yet. With his fragile emotional state, it would be all too obvious he would charge straight at Hector and end up in a state similar to his daughter.
Since he knew Margie would be okay, Lu went home to prepare clothes and food for the Mittens family, who stayed at Magnola's for the night. After that, he rested. He needed to prepare himself for the night and make sure he was fit for what he had planned.
Lu woke up after dusk as the moon began rising.
'Perfect.'
With the moon at an angle, Lu could put what he had practiced the previous night to work.
He quickly made his way through town to the Mayor's house. He could feel his back grow wet from cold sweat due to his nervousness. He kept telling himself it was just like any other job, just with one more hurdle than he was used to.
But even his usual cat burglary was relatively dangerous, so it didn't help much.
However, Lu's mind cleared when he was in front of the mayor's house.
'Yes! Thank the heavens.'
The moon shone right onto and through Hector's window on the second floor. So, Lu climbed onto a nearby house, the straw roof dampening the sounds of his footsteps. He knelt next to the chimney while looking into the window.
Hector was still awake and training his Blessing like the training addict he was. There was a reason why he was among the strongest in the village, despite being only three years older than Lu, after all.
Ambushing him when he had his blade out didn't seem like a sharp idea, so Lu waited. He didn't want to miss the window that the moonlight gave him, but he had to be careful. Otherwise, this would all be for naught.
And finally, it seemed that Hector was getting tired and finishing up for the evening. Not a moment too soon.
Lu unsheathed the dagger in his belt and sheathed it before hefting the rope around his shoulder. He took a deep breath and looked at the floor of Hector's room, where the moonlight shone.
The same moonlight also shone on the roof Lu lured on. When he stepped out into the moonlight, he saw a bridge of light connect him with his target. Lu closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. A few moments later, he turned into a streak of light that found its way through Hector's glass window and into his room.
"Eh? AH?! HUH?!"
Hector felt the air change and exclaimed in slight surprise before turning to see a crouched Lu with a mask covering his face. He then exclaimed twice in shock and outraged surprise. However, Lu was already moving forward.
Lu tossed the rope like a lasso around Hector's head before he could react and tightened it, strangling the latter. Of course, it wouldn't hold against Hector's Blessing, Sharp Blade. But before Hector could conjure his blade and cut the rope, Lu charged at him, knocked him to the floor, and knocked him on the head with the butt of his knife.
It wasn't enough to knock him out, but it was enough to disorient him long enough to tie him up. Lu bound Hector's hands and feet to a chair. After that, he went to work.
Unfortunately, Hector recognized him. And death would be too merciful for Hector, so Lu's only option was to lay low for a while.
After finishing up and disposing of what he had removed from Hector to make sure he wouldn't recover or repeat his mistakes, Lu headed to Magnola's. It wouldn't take long until people discovered what had happened, and it wouldn't take much time for people to find Lu unless he bade farewell and disappeared.
Fortunately, Margie had recovered enough to wake up and eat and drink a little.
"Oh, hey, Lu. Did you make this soup?"
"Hey, guys."
Margie, Klum, and Viola recognized Lu's outfit as the one he wore when he was up to no good.
"Oh, no, you don't."
Viola gave Lu a warning and moved to block the door.
"It's too late already."
"—"
"Ahp!"
He held up a hand to stop them from talking so he could say what he had to say.
"I've come to say goodbye. While I didn't kill Hector, I did make sure that he regrets his actions. You'll find out the rest later. For now, I just want to tell you that I love you all, and I will miss you. But I will also make sure to come back now and then."
The atmosphere was heavy. But Klum eventually spoke up.
"We love you too, Lu. It might have been obvious, but even if you aren't our real son, we always treated and love you like one. You are always welcome back. And good. Hector needed to be dealt with. If you hadn't done something, I would have."
Klum nodded with a huff.
"Group hug!"
Viola pushed them all into a group hug that made Margie groan and squirm. But she hugged Lu the hardest.
When they separated after a comfortingly long hug, Margie looked at Lu.
"Where are you going to go?"
Lu shrugged.
"I've always wanted to explore the world and, you know, its treasures. I've also been thinking about looking for something related to this…"
Lu tugged on the thin silver necklace around his neck and held out the symbol of two circles with a dash through them.
"Who knows, I might even find the one or ones who abandoned me."