164 Tai Shan's Confession

When he returned to the camp, it was about midnight. He entered the guild's barracks and expected to find Macha, but she had not come back yet. He told the rest of the guild that he would catch up with them later and used his ring to track her. The red line glowed in the night and he followed it to the infirmary.

The strong smell of death and decay hit him before he opened the doors. As he passed a pile of dead, decomposing bodies, he averted his eyes. Before he glanced away, he saw the white maggots which nestled in the rotting flesh. In his heart, he wished he could have done more to end the war quickly.

Tyr entered the ward that Rana set up for the Marseille troops. When he searched around, he noticed that most of the people were soldiers hired by Freyr or slaves from the slave guild. As he peered across the ward, he saw Macha's animated face talking with Lord Swat. The door to Tai Shan's room hung open and their merry laughter faintly drifted into the room.

A prick of jealousy annoyed him, so he stalked quietly towards them. He moved along the walls, staying out of their view. Although he trusted Macha, he still wondered what they were conversing about.

He could hear Tai Shan's rich voice, "Then I begged my father to let me have one too. It was only after I put it in my mouth that I realized it was too spicy. My lips were red and my tongue burned. Unfortunately, it would have brought shame on my family if I spit it out, so I ended up swallowing it as fast as I could."

Macha laughed, "I hate spicy food too! I can totally sympathize with you." After a few more chuckles, she added, "Also, I can't handle it if my food is too hot either, temperature wise that is."

"I noticed. You always blew my soup until it was lukewarm, but I didn't say anything." He appreciated her help earlier when his arm had been broken, so he kept his displeasure to himself. The food already tasted terrible, so it was not as if he missed much from sipping lukewarm soup.

These were new facts to Tyr. He did not know that Macha disliked spicy cuisine. When he reflected on their many meals together, he could not remember a single dish she made that was spicy. He furrowed his brows, realizing that she catered their meals according to his preferences.

Then his mind wandered to the temperature of their meals. He crossed his arms with annoyance because she never mentioned to him that she avoided eating food while it was still steaming hot. Whenever he fed her, she always accepted it willingly. She always rolled it around in her mouth or commented that it was very hot, but never said she did not like it.

The mood changed and Tai Shan's voice became serious. His caring grey eyes gazed at her cute face, "Macha, you are an amazingly kind, intelligent, and moral person..."

As soon as he heard this, Tyr's athletic form filled the doorway. Blinding rage began to build, and he cursed the Carnelian Kumas guild. He did not understand what it was about that damn guild and their Captains. He swore if Lord Swat chose the wrong words, the man would be in this infirmary longer.

Tai Shan reached out and held Macha's hand, "I really enjoy being around you and think you light up a room whenever you're in it. I remember you said you don't have any family here..." He looked down and hesitated, "Would it be too forward of me to treat you like a sister? I feel so connected to you and would love if you would allow me to be your brother."

Hearing Tai Shan ask her to be part of his family caused Macha's eyes to become watery. She felt a deep connection with him and she deeply wished to have a family member here. Not wanting to say anything, for fear of bursting out with tears, she nodded her head, "Mmm!"

After a few seconds, she calmed down. A wide smile spread on her face and she gave his hand a squeeze, "I'd love for you to be my brother, thank you."

He got out of bed and wrapped his arms around her. "If you want, you can take on the Swat family name. It isn't as prestigious as the Valois or Lichnowsky names, but it's still respectable. I realize your family name is unheard of here, so at least you would have some protection if you're ever in trouble."

Tyr's eyes became wide when he heard Tai Shan comment about Macha's family name. It never occurred to him that Macha even possessed a family name. At no point did she ever reveal it to him. She always introduced herself by her first name, so he assumed her world did not have last names.

Panic made his heart beat faster. This man discovered so many things about the woman he loved that he did not even know. They had only met for a few days too. Before he stepped into the room, he heard her reply.

"I'd love to, but you don't think it would be troublesome?" Over the past three days, she had really enjoyed and bonded with her new brother. The notion of having a family in this world made her happy and excited, but she would never want it to cause problems for him.

Back in her world, she was extremely close to a man who she referred to as her older brother. They had met in college and he was the only reason she survived when her relationship with her fiance had ended. Having someone like that here filled her with joy.

Tyr stared, slack-jawed, as Tai Shan cut his palm open and took Macha's hand. He gently did the same to her. He then held her hand and had their blood mingle. He closed his eyes and their bodies glowed briefly in a warm white light.

It was not unheard of for families to adopt members, but he never thought someone would adopt her. He barely talked with Lord Swat throughout his entire life and worried what sort of man he was. The Swat family did not have any Magnis in it as far as he knew, but they were not rich or prestigious either. They were so average that he hardly even noticed them.

After the light faded, he let go of her hand. His voice was affectionate, "Now when you sign documents you can use the family seal. Remember, you have to visit your niece when you get back." He used his other hand to muss her hair up lovingly.

Upon seeing him touch Macha's dark brown hair, Tyr snapped out of his stupor. "Macha," he called.

Macha beamed when she saw him and ran over to pull him inside. "Tyr, guess what happened just now." Without letting him say a word, she continued, "Tai Shan allowed me to become a Swat, so he's my older brother now. I have a family here!"

The excitement was evident in her voice, and he did not have the heart to bring her good mood down. Tyr nodded his head at her new brother. "Captain Swat, nice to meet you in good health. I heard you received some lethal wounds earlier." He had nothing against the Swat family, but he grew suspicious of why Tai Shan accepted Macha into his household so quickly and easily.

Tai Shan gave Tyr a wide smile. "Lord Valois, good to see you too. My injuries are doing much better now. Little sister took excellent care of me while I was crippled. I envy you, she must take wonderful care of you." He wanted to make a favorable impression on this man. From all Macha's accounts, he knew Tyr was important to her.

Macha could tell Tyr seemed perturbed. "Please, call each other by your first names. You don't have to be so formal Tyr." She tugged on his arm, pleading for him to loosen up. He always acted so stiffly when talking with others.

A forced grin spread on Tyr's face. His cold green eyes challenged Tai Shan barely containing the feelings of possessiveness he had right now. He pulled Macha's small body against him, "My girlfriend thinks we're being too formal. Please, call me Tyr. After all, if Macha is a Swat, then you're not a stranger." He wanted to remind Lord Swat that she was his.

"My apologies as well. Please, call me Tai Shan." He sensed that Tyr seemed on edge, so he added, "Don't worry, I won't ask her to join the Carnelian Kumas. I didn't have her enter my family so I could snipe her from you." He truly enjoyed being around Macha and wanted to have someone like her in his life. She also showed an active interest in his child and hoped she would enjoy being an aunt.

A little while later, on the way back to the barracks, Tyr held Macha's hand and asked, "Do you think you can teach me your language? I admit I didn't have time to learn the words you sent me. A lot was going on."

He realized that they spent more time apart than together. There were many things he still did not know about her, and he wanted to be the one who understood her the most. He was bitter that someone she just met recently discovered secrets about her that he was not aware of.

Macha's face lit up at his interest in her language. She ran in front of him and lifted her arms in the air. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked up her up into a hug, she kissed his cheek, "Of course. I would love to share it with you."

He had never shown an active interest in learning English before, and she wanted to teach it to him ever since Freyr and Ullr learned how to speak it. It felt wrong for them to share that side of her while Tyr did not.