The Importance of the Mind

Manus had never considered it from that angle. Mainly because his parents had told him since childhood to hide the existence of magic from Muggles and never mention it.

It was best not to have much contact with Muggles in daily life either, lest magic be exposed. If it was exposed, it was against the law.

Manus did not understand it, but he obeyed. That was why he had never imagined Severus's mother would marry a Muggle.

"What happened to it being illegal?"

Though he knew laws had all sorts of loopholes and unspoken rules that could be exploited, he had never expected Severus's parents, given their circumstances, to be able to break the law so openly.

Could it be that Eileen Prince lived so poorly and miserably because she was already wanted by the Ministry of Magic?

As the fog surrounding the past was peeled away, a new fog began to rise in Manus's heart as well.

He had originally thought Severus's parents were evenly matched: neither was skilled enough at casting spells to make a living in the supernatural world, and neither had learned any knowledge outside magic. That was why their lives had turned out that way.

Manus had seen apprentices with poor skills before. He had simply never seen two such apprentices end up together.

But now Severus was saying that his father was a Muggle?

Other than making the man seem even more useless in Manus's eyes, the news raised only one question in his mind—why?

How could such a useless man, one without any spellcasting ability, argue with Severus's wizard mother so fiercely?

Mm, wait. It seemed Severus had never said his mother was abused. Manus had even thought before that although Severus's father was useless, he at least had some bottom line.

Now it seemed it was because he could not beat her?

But that was not right either. Severus's mother was far too patient. Even if she did not kill Severus's father, she could at least divorce him, couldn't she?

Since they were not evenly matched, why was Severus's mother still clinging so desperately to Severus's father under such circumstances?

Even if he had been a little handsome back then and sweet-talking, that illusion should have shattered completely after all these years, shouldn't it?

Could there be supernatural professions other than wizardry in this world?

That should not be possible. In four years, he had never encountered any trace of other supernatural professions in his life. Could different supernatural professions have secrecy laws between them too?

Or perhaps the condition under which the law allowed wizards to marry Muggles was that they could not divorce afterward?

Hiss—that was harsh.

Looking at Severus's family, wasn't that punishment far worse than prison?

Halfway through his gossip, Manus began furiously brainstorming. Eileen Prince's actions, and even the world itself, had become somewhat incomprehensible to him, to the point that he ignored Severus's confused question.

"Manus!"

Severus grabbed Manus by the shoulders and shook him.

"Hm? What is it?"

Manus came back to his senses, his expression perfectly natural.

"..."

Severus looked at him and clenched his fists. In the end, he chose to selectively forget that he had called the other boy three times without receiving a response, and instead continued with his question.

He did not understand why his father had argued with his mother so fiercely over something he had known for a long time, even calling them monsters.

If he could not accept it, why had he not simply refused his mother back then?

"..."

Manus blinked, considering which version of the explanation he should give Severus.

The prettified version, or the realistic one?

After a second of thought, Manus decided to tell Severus the truth—

Although Severus was young, his past experiences had given him a maturity beyond his years. He could basically understand the causes and consequences of the realistic version.

Besides, Severus's father was not dead.

If Manus spun a fairy tale for Severus about his father, it would not change the kind of life Severus would return to. It would only make him continue enduring pain while clinging to false hope.

He might even entertain the idea of reforming the man?

Doing so would only give Severus false hope and make his life even more painful. It was better to let him see the truth sooner.

Perhaps... Severus could even ask Manus's question for him: what exactly was his mother thinking when she chose not to kick that man to the curb?

It was not something Manus could say himself. Severus... uh, perhaps it was still too early for him to say it as well?

"...Anyway, based on my observations, that is how things seem to be."

Manus shrugged.

"Of course, that is only my guess based on my own perspective. The truth may not be like that. You should go back and ask your mother about the specifics."

For all he knew, the truth might differ greatly from his guess. After all, Manus's understanding of this world's supernatural system was limited, and when the supernatural was involved, anything was possible.

"..."

Severus was still absorbed in Manus's explanation. This analysis, stripped of emotional factors, laid his parents' relationship bare before him.

There was no love, not even affection. It was completely different from what he had imagined in the past.

Yet... it matched reality.

It was his past imaginings that reality had shattered again and again, which was why he had been so sad.

After confirming that Severus had indeed understood his words, Manus closed his eyes and gave him time to process them.

He could have stayed entirely out of it, just as his parents had known about Severus's family for years and had never said anything about helping.

He knew very well that interfering in someone else's family relationships was somewhat overstepping, and a thankless burden at that.

But in Manus's view, whatever kind of lives the Snape couple made for themselves was their own choice. Severus was innocent, and no matter what, Severus had been his only friend over the past four years.

Manus knew deeply how much a child's upbringing could affect them. It could be said that the greatest turning point in his life before transmigrating had been when his teacher took him back to her mage tower.

If he did not help Severus now, Severus's future life would very likely head toward a tragic end.

Especially since Severus would become a spellcaster in the future... the importance of one's mental state to a spellcaster was beyond question.

Thinking back to Severus's demeanor when they had first met, it was undoubtedly the result of being shaped by that kind of family environment. Though Severus had improved a little now, there was ultimately only so much they could do as neighbors.

Manus simply did not dare imagine what Severus would become if he continued growing up in the same way as before...

Probably someone who, at a glance, would make people certain he was proficient in necromancy, right?