Volume 6 Chapter 22 Beyond Master and Disciple, We Are Already Family
That night after being thoroughly trained by Keith...
"I can't take it anymore. I don't want to move for a while."
Liz sighed dramatically at Randy, who was sprawled on the sofa.
By the way, Liz had just heard about the relationship between Keith and Madame.
And also about how badly he had been trained afterward.
Liz's words, upon hearing that, were the ones from earlier.
"It's Randy's fault."
Liz, sitting across with puffed cheeks, seemed a bit down since Randy started talking.
"Don't worry."
Randy, still lying on the sofa, opened his mouth to reassure Liz.
"Even if you don't worry, it's not for the reasons you think."
"*Do you understand*?"
Liz tilted her head, her words carrying 2 meanings.
One was her concern about Madame and Keith's relationship.
And the other was the cause of their breakup.
Could she understand both?
Randy sat up, seeing the expression on Liz's face that asked, "You get it, right?"
"I can tell what you and Ellie are thinking just by looking at your faces."
Randy laughed heartily, and Liz blushed, quickly averting her gaze, saying, "T-that's not important right now."
"Sir Keith's──"
"It's all good."
Randy interrupted, picking up a steaming cup of coffee from the table.
"He's not the kind of guy to leave a woman he fell for without a reason."
As Randy tilted his cup, he smiled and looked toward the entrance, saying, "Right?"
There was only a door there, but as Liz turned around, it slowly opened.
On the other side of the opened door was, of course, Keith.
He stood straight, his usual demeanor, but he looked a bit less energetic than usual.
In fact, even when Randy asked him, he merely muttered, "Who knows."
Seeing Keith's unusual demeanor, Randy's previously cheerful expression changed completely.
"Am I seeing things? He looks like he wants to talk."
Randy snorted, and Keith sighed, "We must talk... don't you think?"
According to Keith, if we are to invite Madame in the future, the relationship with Keith, which might be an obstacle, should be known...
"I don't care. Why would I care about the *details* of some old geezer and granny's lovers' spat?"
Liz frowned at Randy, who was lounging on the sofa, and said, "Randy."
"It's fine. This guy is a monster. I don't know why you're getting *sentimental* now, but he's not that kind of person."
Randy, staring at Keith, sighed, "I have a general idea of the reason."
Liz was surprised by Randy's statement.
After all, the only information she had was that they were former spouses, yet Randy seemed to have a clue.
Trying to hide his astonishment, as he glanced between Randy and Keith, Randy settled back on the sofa and said, "It's not a big deal."
"I know how it was that Keith came to serve us."
Reaching for his coffee cup, Randy looked down at the trembling coffee and began to speak.
"Forty years ago... maybe that's too much. When my mother was still small, she *picked up* Keith rolling on the roadside."
Randy spoke as if he were talking about a dog or cat, but Liz, intrigued by the story, didn't interrupt.
What followed was about young Grace rescuing Keith.
He had a wounded but sharp demeanor, like an unsheathed blade.
Even when a hand was extended to him, he would reject it, saying, "I don't want to be a burden."
Reflecting on the past, Volcan believed that seeing the battered Keith showed he was definitely a man with a story.
Normally, one would have left a man with no ties, especially a man burdened with trouble, to fend for himself...
"My mom threw a tantrum. In the end, the two *old men* softened."
Randy shrugged, and Liz looked at Keith, saying, "That's how it was..."
Straight-backed, just as when he entered, but his usual composure was gone, replaced by a troubled expression.
"According to old man Volcan, after protecting Keith for a while, it seems they were attacked by some nonsensical group... Most likely, he was targeted by strange folks and hid to avoid involving his wife."
Randy let out a deep sigh and muttered, "Or the other way around──"
"He might have drawn the attackers toward himself to handle it all alone..."
Ahead of Randy, Keith had his eyes closed, looking slightly upward.
His expression seemed to say he had resigned himself, as Randy took a sip from his cold coffee, saying, "Not far from the truth, I guess."
"...This is bad."
The sound of Randy placing down his cup echoed through the room.
"Then, the blame lies with the organization pursuing Sir Keith──"
"That's not it."
Randy shook his head at Liz's words.
"Sure, those guys are at fault, but how does that seem to Madam?"
Relying back against his chair, Randy looked up at the ceiling and muttered, "He disappeared suddenly, didn't he?"
Keith didn't respond, but both Randy and Liz understood that this was an affirmation.
Regardless of the circumstances, suddenly vanishing must have been a significant shock to Madam.
So within their discussion, it couldn't solely be blamed on the mysterious organization.
"If that's the case, we need to hear Sir Keith's story and explain it clearly to Madam."
Liz leaned forward eagerly, but Randy shook his head, saying, "No way."
"I won't hear Keith's story. Rather, I can't *hear* it."
Randy snorted, and Liz furrowed her brows, pressing for an answer, "Why not?"
"If we do that, Keith will *end up feeling like he was absolved of his guilt*."
Under Randy's unwavering gaze, Keith slightly trembled his shoulders.
"It's about Keith. There's no doubt he acted thinking of Madam. But if we heard it, we'd say, 'You're not at fault' and 'It couldn't be helped.'"
Randy continued to look directly at Keith.
"You too. You want to say to us, 'It's not bad, right?' You just want to confirm it wasn't bad, huh? No... Could it be that *you want me to tell Madame instead*?"
Keith slightly averted his gaze from Randy's straightforward eyes.
The mere gesture made Randy mutter, "Gotcha," and click his tongue softly.
"You think I'll *let you* pull such a lame trick? You're one of my mentors, after all."
Randy kept staring directly at Keith, who continued to look away.
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