Kamila tried to use magic to clean up but after almost dropping a pot again, she lacked the confidence to continue and tried to fix her own mess the old-fashioned way.
Yet it was now a mammoth task for a single woman and due to her rush, she was spreading the dirt rather than cleaning it. Soon her hands and clothes were covered in milk, egg yolk, and grease stains from the food whereas the floor was still a mess.
‘Gods, I’ll never make it in time. How am I going to clean this and myself? How could I be so stupid? I should have known that I can’t do anything on my own.’ She fell to her knees, sobbing.
She tried to muffle her voice by covering her face with her hands, achieving solely to dirt herself more and crying harder as a result.
Her wails, however, were one of the triggers of the tower alarms and the arrays covered the entirety of the Mansion.
‘Dammit, something must have happened to Kami!’ Solus thought while reminding herself of Lith’s words about Kamila’s depression and the potential withdrawal syndrome.
Solus made sure to keep everyone away and Warped herself to the scene of the crime, finding the culprit grease-handed and riddled with guilt.
“Good gods, Kami are you alright?” Solus kneeled in front of Kamila, using Invigoration to make sure that she hadn’t gotten hurt.
At first, Kamila was humiliated at the idea of having been discovered and annoyed by Solus’ touch. Yet the warmth of her hand broke the coldness of the shell that had smothered Kamila until that moment.
She hugged Solus tight, bawling her eyes out while speaking with a voice too broken to make any sense. Solus could have used a mind link to understand Kamila or a spell to calm her down but did neither.
Solus just returned Kamila’s embrace, caressing her back until she vented all of her pain and frustration.
“Okay, once more, but this time with a little less feeling.” Solus said, making Kamila chuckle amid her hiccups.
“I’m just useless.” Kamila weaved at the mess surrounding them. “I had deluded myself into thinking that I had learned something from your lessons. That I could use magic like you guys do. I was wrong.
“It was always Elysia, never me. I’m just a baby carrier.”
“Don’t you say that.” Solus restored the embrace and blew Kamila’s nose on a handkerchief. “You were great. You are great. I know because I taught you and I’ve seen what you can do.
“Do you mind showing me what happened?”
Kamila was hesitant to use Spirit Magic again, but their teacher-student bond gave her the confidence to know that even if she were to mess up again, Solus wouldn’t judge her.
A quick mind link told Solus everything she needed to know.
“Okay, I know what went wrong here and I can tell you are still plenty capable of making breakfast.” She said.
“Reality begs to differ.” Kamila sniffled, pointing at the dirty pile of pots.
“Look, you have a yellow core now which is enough to attend one of the minor academies. Also, Lith helped Elina back when he was three and with an orange core so there’s no reason for you to doubt your skills.” Solus replied.
“Then why did this happen?” Kamila was confused.
“Let me show you.” Solus established another mind link, projecting the answer into Kamila’s mind. “The only problem is that you are too used to having a stronger core so you tend to power through stuff rather than use finesse.
“You used thick tendrils where thin ones would suffice, wasting mana and focus. Also, instead of doing everything at once, split the various tasks based on the element you need to control.
“It takes barely a few seconds longer but it costs much less mana. Your core is too weak for hexacasting. Come on, follow my lead.”
Solus used the telepathic bond to conjure a game-like interface in front of Kamila’s eyes, creating an active time tutorial for her. Kamila only had to use the suggested element and create tendrils of the shown shape and size to put the pots on the table with Spirit Magic.
Then, she conjured darkness magic to clean them and the floor.
In barely two seconds, everything was sparkling and in perfect order.
“Did I really do this?” Kamila said in awe.
“Yes, now, I can guide you in putting the pots on the stoves and the ingredients in the pots, but after that, you are on your own. Unless you want to eat my cooking.” Solus lowered her gaze in embarrassment.
Solus Elphyn Althena Menadion-Verhen, genius Forgemaster and candidate Ruler of the Flames, despite countless attempts and hours spent in the kitchen with Elina, could still barely prepare a broth.
“Gods, no.” Kamila chuckled as she started to make breakfast. “No offense.”
“None taken.” Solus sighed while projecting another tutorial about the Spirit Magic tendrils and the best sequence to activate the elements. “I’m not going to lie, it’s humiliating. I’ve watched Elina and Lith cook for years.
“We fused our minds lots of times and yet I still suck!”
“Speaking of that, do you mind keeping my little fit a secret from Lith?” Kamila asked, blushing in shame.
“Well…”
“Of course you can’t.” Kamila sighed. “I should have known that I can’t compare with the bond you two-”
“No!” Solus cut her short. “Don’t say that. Don’t you ever say that. I can’t keep it from Lith because he already knows. Why do you think I arrived here so fast?”
“Do you mean he’s already awake?” Kamila looked around in confusion, trying to find Lith.
“No, just that he knew something like this would happen.” Another quick mind link and Solus shared with Kamila Marth’s withdrawal symptoms after merging with the White Griffon and Lith’s worries that Kamila would feel the same after childbirth.
“Oh.” She said, lowering her gaze.
“Kami, I hate saying this, but you are being a Lith. How can the people who love you help you if you cut us off? How can we understand what you are going through if you silence wall us?” Solus asked.
Kamila thought about all of Lith’s secrets, his silences that had put so much strain on their relationship in the past, and how things had become so much simpler once he had finally opened up to her.
“You are right.” Kamila sighed. “I’ll tell everyone myself after breakfast.”
***
Everyone pretended to be shocked and surprised by the news but even in her depressed state, Kamila’s Constable training allowed her to spot such blatant lies.
“I swear I had no idea you felt like that.” Elina said, as fake as a three-dollar bill.
Now Kamila understood why during the past few days her mother-in-law had been so patient with her, explaining every trick Elina knew about babies to Kamila and teaching her every secret she had learned.
Sometimes, Elina even faked being incapable of solving a problem just to let Kamila put the teachings together on her own and “save” the day. Other times, they both failed because babies are sometimes a mystery, giving their mothers a massive headache.
