Questions To Answer

Chapter 13

"Without a doubt, mademoiselle Selina, you are truly his daughter. Just listening to your assumption, I feel as if I were listening to Gary Hayes' excuse for losing to me." Joan explains his source of laughter to Selina.

The pouting face has disappeared from Selina's face. Her distended cheeks are now becoming red with a slight pink color. A response to the French man's compliment about the resemblance between her and Gary.

"Are you doubting me in the first place? You should be ashamed, elder, for failing to recognize your friend's child." Selina replied in an upset tone.

"I have good reason to raise my suspicions about you. I was not in Norland City, the moment you were born or the last time I got in touch with your father. The news of Jason Hayes taking in a child under him was the only thing I heard. You should also be aware of trickery within Black Circle as well, and I'd like you to call me Joan from now on, like how your father did"

The two of them go into silence; they seem to be divided by an invisible wall in the middle. Until the waitress came to serve the meals they had ordered on the table.

"Here are your orders, dear customer: a pumpkin pie with warm lemon tea and a tomato soup with wheat bread and hot tea. Please enjoy the food!"

"Thank you, mademoiselle Amanda." He expresses his gratitude to the waitress, who is already on her way back to the kitchen.

"Now, shall we have a taste of this delicious food while we continue the talk?" Joan asks Selina.

"I'll be more delighted to taste the food while listening to my father's story from you." She answers the question while touching the bread and spoon.

Joan's mind is simply focused on dividing the pie on his plate into three pieces neatly. It was all to minimize the unnecessary crumbs splattered on his shirt.

"Let me have one bite of this pie and we can continue the conversation, Selina; besides, it is rude to the one who made this meal if we don’t eat it as soon as it is served to us."

As one bite of the pie enters his mouth, the French man cannot stop himself from humming a happy melody.

"Still tasty like always!" he mutters.

After seeing how much Joan enjoys his pie, Selina can't stop gulping her own saliva. She moves the spoon and takes a sip of the tomato soup.

Slurp…

"Cough… cough! What kind of tomato soup is this?" Selina whines. "It's way too sweet, like a dessert. I can't understand why my father likes this food."

Looking at how Selina had reacted badly to her soup, Joan could not hold his desire to tease her.

He starts with a smile before teasing her, "Do not ask me, mademoiselle Selina, it is also an unsolved mystery for me too, understanding why Gary takes a liking to this place’s tomato soup."

She pushes the bowl away from her and says, "I guess it's about time you continue the story, elder Joan."

"I will continue the story if you finish the meal, Selina."

Selina cut Joan's words and hissed at him, "Why does it matter to you whether I finish my meal or not?"

"Because Gary Hayes thought me I should be grateful and not let the food that was served go to waste. He said, back in his childhood, letting alone a proper meal to even have something to eat was really hard for him. Hence, I expect you to do the same thing, Selina Hayes." Joan replied with a cold tone.

There are no responses from Selina; she just slowly takes back the bowl she was pushed into and continues eating her meal.

"As promised, I will share what I know about your father, one of my respected friends, Gary Leonard Hayes. My relationship is growing closer after the little competition we had. He even introduced his younger brother, Jason Hayes, and invited me to have meals at this place." 

"How do they look in their younger days elder?" she asks with high curiosity.

To be honest, with little concern about appearance, they looked like unapproachable thugs. Unlike Gary, who was easier to communicate with, Jason was much quieter and always seemed to have trust issues."

The French man stops his story in the middle because he cannot pretend to ignore the fidgeting gestures that Selina tries so hard to keep hidden.

"If you have something on your mind that is bothering you, I'll gladly listen and maybe I can help."

"I-it's not a problem, elder, I mean Joan. I'm just curious about something else. Perhaps, you have met with my mother too?"

'I guess hearing the origin of her mother has taken all the interest she has had in hearing Gary's past right now. It can't be helped given how she doesn't have a chance to know her own mother.'

"Yes, I have. Gary had introduced her to me, once before the wedding. Your mother's name is Catherine. She is the one and only woman whom Gary Hayes has loved in his entire life. It's truly unfortunate that I had to return home back then and was unable to attend the sacred ceremony."

"H-how does she look?" Selina asks pathetically.

"You have inherited your mother's appearance, and those greenish eyes of yours are from Gary's. My explanation may be lacking, but that is the best I could say, to answer your question."

"I see…" Selina replied. "I never have a chance to meet her, even in my dream, and my father has no interest in talking about it."

Selina, you might be sick of hearing this from me, but, as far as I know, Gary Hayes does everything with strong reasoning. If he chose to never speak a word about your mother, I suggest you not think negatively and assume that your father might be waiting for the right time to share everything."

The talk keeps going on between the two of them until the meals they had been left with only an empty plate and bowl.

"One last question, Joan, where were you when the car accident happened?"

It has been ten years since the accident happened, yet Joan still feels a spark of guilt within her heart. Especially when Selina, who knows nothing, asks about it.

"It took me almost twenty years to return to Norland City, I could only hear the news of that tragedy together with the notice of my removal as an elder from far away. That is one of my regrets, Selina. Mademoiselle, I hope you keep the promise and tell me the location of Axel Brainer."

"His house is located two hundred meters away from a bar near Black Circle. I'm sure Shadow will find him."

"Non! Selina, I will personally look after him."

"As you please, Joan. I guess it's time to part ways and I really hope we can have another talk in the future."

"Bien sûr nous pouvons, Selina! Don't treat me like a stranger, we can always talk whenever you want."

Joan's response marks the end of their meeting. He does not leave his spot after Selina has gone, but instead, he continues to enjoy the remaining warm lemon tea while leaning on the chair.

"What might you be doing here, mon ami?"

"I just happened to be here earlier than you, Joan, no more than that. By the way, that's a nice speech you have there about me being grateful and not wasting any food. We both know I threw out that dreadful tomato soup as soon as I tasted it." Gary replied.

"But you did share your story about how difficult it is to earn proper meals before you joined Black Circle. Am I wrong, Gary?"

A delayed response to his little mockery manages to make Joan slightly turn her head behind him. Gary is still there, taking his silence.

"I… have to thank you, Joan, for telling Selina how she resembles her mother, words that are hard to come from my own mouth."

"Age really changed your personality, mon ami. The old Gary Hayes I know has mellowed into this munch. Are you not going to object to my decision, that I intentionally missed the chance to give Selina clues to your last will?"

"No! Truth be told, I was glad you didn't do it yet. When Selina comes again to ask more about her mother, please take her to Catherine's graveyard. I will hide the envelope there along with a little farewell gift for her."

'I thought I was imagining things, but now Gary sounds more distant as if he were someone else. Could one of the elders have managed to brainwash him?'

"When I regained my memories, there were two things that lingered in my mind: the first was to kill Jason with my own hands, and the second was to return to Selina's place as a family again. Now I just want to seek forgiveness from the young Brainer and wish that Selina would have a new life and stay as far as possible from this dark world."

"Mon ami, you could also choose to meet your daughter and tell her everything that has happened to you!"

"I trust you to escort Selina to her mother's graveyard, my friend."

In frustration, Joan looks back to have some words with Gary, yet what he sees is only an empty table and no traces of his friend.