A Letter for Zani

Zani stopped and looked at her innocently. "But my Tacet Mark is on my back. How am I supposed to show it without taking my clothes off?"

"Oh, I see." Carlotta breathed a sigh of relief.

"All right, go ahead." Zani turned her back to Kexi, her tone as casual as if she were asking him to pass her a document, but the red at the tips of her ears betrayed her nervousness.

Kexi swallowed, took two steps forward, then stopped.

He looked at the glowing Tacet Mark on Zani's back.

Last time, he had been forced to do it to Cantarella, and things had been so chaotic that he hadn't had time to think.

Now, standing there properly, facing the back of Zani, whom he saw every day, he found he couldn't quite bring himself to do it.

"Um..." He scratched his head. "Sorry for the offense, Zani."

"Stop talking and hurry up." Zani's muffled voice came from in front of him, as if she had buried her face in something.

[Resonance Synchronization-Zani.]

Kexi took a step back. He could feel two different kinds of Resonance Power flowing through him now-Carlotta's sharp crystal and Zani's heavy steel. They did not mix, each occupying its own territory like two neighbors observing a temporary truce.

Zani silently pulled her clothes back into place and turned around. The blush had spread from her ears to her cheeks, but her expression had regained the composure and calm expected of a secretary.

"How does it feel?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Great." Kexi flexed his wrist, feeling the heavy power inside him. "With this, the next time I go to Porto-Vino Castle, at least I'll be able to take a few hits."

"How ambitious," Carlotta said, rolling her eyes beside him.

Despite her disdainful words, a hint of relief flashed in her eyes as she looked at Kexi.

"Zani, are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

"Oh, no, wait. I feel dizzy, and my hands are weak. I want to lie down on the floor."

"Is it that serious? Then I'll give you a week off. Get some proper rest."

"Paid?"

"Yes."

"Really? Thank you, Second Miss! I'll be going, then."

Carlotta: "???"

When Kexi chased her out of the room, Zani was walking briskly toward the end of the corridor.

Her steps were far too light for someone whose Resonance Power had just been drained and who was supposedly "dizzy and weak." She looked more like a lucky lottery winner hurrying off to claim her prize.

"Hey! Zani, wait!" He hurried after her, his long legs carrying him in front of her in just a few strides.

Zani stopped and looked up at the panting young master. Her usual professional smile was on her face, but the trace of delight she hadn't managed to hide from her eyes betrayed how she really felt.

Seven days of paid leave. It was the first time she had gotten that since joining the Montelli.

Sure enough, stumbling upon a superior's secret didn't just leave her alive-it came with benefits.

She silently revised her professional code: she would have to stumble upon more of them in the future.

"What is it, Young Master?" Her tone returned to its usual calm, and she even made a show of rubbing her temples to maintain her "feeble" persona.

Kexi, however, suddenly grew awkward, like a child caught sneaking candy, or someone who had worked up the courage to say something but couldn't get the words out.

His gaze wandered from the ceiling to the floor, then to the half-dead pothos at the end of the corridor. He looked everywhere except at Zani's face.

Zani tilted her head, puzzled.

"Young Master?"

"Um..." Kexi took a deep breath, as if making some momentous decision.

Then he reached inside his clothes and pulled out an envelope, moving as slowly as if he were defusing a bomb. Every frame could have been screenshotted for a meme.

His face red, he held out the letter.

His posture was as stiff as if he were handing over a surrender document. His arm was stretched straight out, but his body leaned slightly backward, as though he were ready to turn and run at any moment.

"This... is for you."

Zani froze.

Her gaze fell on the envelope, then on the familiar handwriting. Something seemed to explode in her head with a buzz.

Of course she recognized the handwriting.

Over the past twelve years, she had sorted Kexi's letters countless times. She was the one who dealt with the couriers, the one who made sure every letter arrived on time, and, on the occasions when Kexi was too lazy and asked her to mail them, the one who secretly took an extra look at the recipients' names when he wasn't paying attention.

She knew who all those letters were for. Jinhsi, Changli, Sanhua, Yangyang, the second young lady of a vocal-music family, Lynae and Mornye from the Star Torch Academy, Sigrika from the Forest of Tranquility, and even Phrolova of the Fractsidus-she remembered every one of them.

But she had never imagined that one of those letters would be addressed to her.

"This... is for me?" Zani's voice sounded a little faint. Both hands hung stiffly in the air, unsure whether to take it.

"Yes." Kexi scratched the back of his head, the tips of his ears so red they looked ready to bleed. "I wrote it a long time ago, but I never dared give it to you. You helped me so much today, so I thought... I should give it to you."

Zani reached out and took the letter. She moved slowly, as though afraid of damaging something precious.

The envelope was thin, but it felt heavy in her hands, as if it contained not a sheet of paper, but something she had believed for twelve years would never belong to her.

She looked down at her name on the envelope. The two characters had been written with care, every stroke neat and precise, just as carefully as in any letter he had written to anyone else.

So this was how he wrote her name, too.

"Can I... open it now?" Her voice was soft, without the slyness she had shown while pretending to be ill or the briskness she used when reporting on work.

Kexi's face grew even redder. He turned and walked away, almost as fast as if he were fleeing for his life, leaving two words hanging in the corridor:

"Up to you!"

Zani stood there, watching his figure disappear around the corner in a fluster. She couldn't help laughing.

She leaned against the corridor wall and opened the letter, her fingertips trembling ever so slightly.

The moment she unfolded the paper, the familiar handwriting filled her view, and her breathing grew a little quieter without her noticing.

"Zani,

I've thought about this for a long time. Every time I pick up my pen, I feel like I have a thousand things to say, but I always stop before signing my name.

It's not because I have nothing to say. It's because there's so much I want to say that I don't know where to begin.

Do you remember? I was only five when I first gave you a letter to send for me.

Back then, I didn't even know how to address an envelope. You guided my hand as you taught me how to write an address, fold the paper, and seal it with wax. You were only in your teens yourself, but you were more capable than the adults.

I secretly watched you make the wax seal. You softened the wax first, then pressed the stamp down squarely, every movement meticulous, as if you were doing the most important thing in the world.

I learned how to do it myself later, but whenever I seal an important letter, I still think of the way you did it.

You know more of my secrets than anyone else in this world.

You know how many people I've written to. You've covered for me, helped me keep things from Second Sister, and sent every one of those love letters that couldn't see the light of day.

For twelve years, you've never asked me why, and you've never said a single unnecessary word.

But I've always wondered-was there ever a moment when you thought one of those letters might be for you?

If there was, would you have been troubled, or would you have been... happy?

I regret it. I regret giving you so many tasks and asking you for so much help over these twelve years, yet never once sitting down and writing you a proper letter.

You're the head of the Montelli intelligence network, Second Sister's most capable assistant, and the greatest intelligence expert in all of Ragunna.

To me, none of those titles matter.

What matters most is that you're Zani, the first person in my life I learned to rely on.

The flowers at the estate are blooming. Many people have received invitations, but you don't need one. This is your home too.

Let this letter be my answer. And my apology. Taking so long to put it in your hands is probably the least efficient thing I've ever done in my life.

I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long."

She slowly lowered the letter. The corridor was so quiet that all she could hear was the faint sound of the estate's bell in the distance. Sunlight slanted through the corridor windows onto the paper, making the handwriting glow faintly.

"Idiot," she muttered, though her voice trembled a little.

She raised a hand to wipe the corners of her eyes and cursed again. "It's just a letter. Why did you have to make it so long?"

She carefully folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, then held it against her heart and stood there for a while.

Back then, she had still been fighting in underground matches on the black streets when he, so little at the time, had sought her out and recruited her into the Montelli. She had stayed for twelve years.

She had sent his letters for twelve years. Every one of them had passed through her hands, and she remembered every recipient's name.

She always said, "Young Master, please show some restraint," but in her heart she had secretly envied the people who received those letters.

Now she didn't have to envy them anymore.

Zani composed herself and put on a professional secretary's standard smile again, though its curve was a little softer than usual.

She tucked the letter safely against her body, patted her cheeks to make the stubborn blush fade, then walked briskly toward her office.

Halfway there, she suddenly remembered something. She stopped, a meaningful expression appearing on her face.

"Wait," she said to herself. "He sent everyone an invitation. That means Jinhsi, Changli, Sanhua, Yangyang, Lynae, Phrolova... will all be at the estate at the same time."

She counted them off on her fingers, her expression growing more and more colorful with each name.

"That scene... might just explode."