The Mysterious Lover

"Mr. Jorgen." As the funeral was nearing its end and people were almost gone, Holmyr's son Henrik came over and said. Seeing that Jorgen did not respond, he called again.

"What is it?" Jorgen, who was originally staring absentmindedly at the row of tombstones in front, turned around. 

"Are you planning to go back?"

"Actually, yes."

"I can see that you are not very comfortable with occasions like funerals."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Sorry, don't get me wrong. I'm already very grateful that you came. Because I know you and my father were not very close friends. But I'm becoming quite the expert on this kind of thing, since I also handled the funerals for my mother and an uncle. If I don't continue as a blacksmith, I might be able to make a living in the funeral business."

"The death rate in Stormwind is on the rise. But most of the additional dead are too poor to arrange for their own affairs, so don't rush to change careers." 

Henrik laughed drily, more like a grunt from the bottom of his throat. "Mr. Jorgen, have you ever had to see your own parents off?"

"You're asking too many questions."

This time Henrik showed no intention of apologizing, as if he hadn't heard Jorgen at all. "When I was little, I was always afraid of this, wondering what I would do if my parents died. Children have no real concept of death, can't imagine how to react. I even fantasized about my parents dying before I was independent, so I could avoid the hassle of arranging their funeral. But now...things just happen naturally, don't they? I handled their funerals very well."

"You should go and rest for a bit."

"Maybe I should."

"If there's nothing important, I'll be going now."

"Are you going to work?"

Jorgen frowned. "Henrik, I can tell you have something to say. That nonsense just now, maybe you're trying to arouse my sympathy. That's not a good way to do things. Just be direct."

"Actually...there is something." Henrik looked at the ground, used his left index finger to wipe his nose ridge, then looked at Jorgen. "You still take personal investigation requests now, right? I'd like to ask you to look into something."

"Depends on the situation. Tell me first."

At this point, Henrik's wife came to her husband's side. She looked at Jorgen apprehensively, then asked Henrik, "What are you two talking about?"

"None of your business." Henrik said. "Go keep an eye on the kids." 

"This is your father's funeral, relatives haven't all left yet, you can't just talk to strangers like this. What will others think?"

"He's not a stranger. He's Mr. Jorgen, my father's friend."

"At least I don't know him." She glanced at Jorgen again. "Are you two done talking or not?"

"Can't you stop pestering, do you want to get hit in front of a guest? If not, then back off." 

Henrik's wife didn't speak again, just stood there with her arms crossed before leaving.

"I'm really sorry, this woman is always like this...not a shred of sense."

"You said you had something you wanted me to look into."

Henrik stroked his chin and shook his head. "I really shouldn't bring this up in a setting like this...I mean, not far from my father. I don't want him to hear it. Would you be willing to come to my house and sit for a bit? It'd be more convenient to talk at home, and I could explain in more detail. Of course if you have something urgent, we can talk another time."

"Perhaps there won't be another time. I have no special reason to pay you a visit at your smithy in the future. Just give me the main points here, and I'll decide if it's necessary to continue the discussion. Does it relate to Holmyr?"

"Yes." Henrik paused for a moment. "I think if it wasn't for a certain person, my father's illness wouldn't have deteriorated so quickly in such a short time. It was a woman. Their relationship...probably started when my mother was still alive."

"What's her name?"

"Gythra. I'm not sure if that's her real name, just what my father called her before."

"So I take it you've never seen this person either."

"No. In fact, if it wasn't for my parents' arguments, I might not have known about this until today. I'm not clear on how they started fighting originally, my mother didn't seem to have any solid evidence either...she relied on so-called woman's intuition I guess. Anyway, they fought, and my father didn't deny it. After my mother passed away, I noticed some abnormal patterns in my father's outings. He had fixed two or three days every week when he would neatly trim his beard, wash the ash off his face, change into clean clothes, then head out. I asked if he was going to see 'that woman' and he didn't deny it either. The situation became very strange - although I never had a chance to meet Gythra, my father was willing to show his feelings about her to me, and I was willing to listen. Of course, he wouldn't reveal any details to me, like where they spent time together and such."

"Do you suspect this woman did anything to your father?"

"No...all I know is that around six to eight months ago, Gythra stopped seeing my father."

"Six to eight months is a long range. It seems Holmyr still kept too much from you." 

"I can only estimate this, because it was around this time that I first noticed him coming home very depressed on the days he was supposed to meet her. It didn't matter much that he was breaking dates, so I didn't ask about it, moreover deep down I didn't want father to meet that woman anymore. But later father couldn't stand it anymore, and took the initiative to tell me that Gythra was not coming anymore. He stopped working, smashed things in the house, and even hit his grandson - something he had never done before. Not long after, his illness became more severe and his health quickly deteriorated."

"You know, these things could be complete coincidences." 

"Of course I understand this, but I really can't get these thoughts out of my mind. I don't truly hate this 'Gythra', it's just... if it weren't for her, my life might be completely different. Perhaps my parents could still be alive. I feel that for a long time, there has been an invisible ghost controlling my life. I hope you can help me find her, or even just some clues."

"Since Holmyr is dead, Gythra is no longer connected to your life. Sometimes it's better not to know the truth."

"I just don't want it to remain so unclear. Will you help?"

"You're making trouble for yourself," Jorgen said. Investigating a dead man's affair? Not very appealing.

"I know. You don't need to spend too much time or effort, just pay attention when you have time. I can wait, in fact as long as I'm alive I can wait."

"If you find Gythra, what do you plan to do? I don't want to enable a murder."

"No, no. That won't happen. Do I seem like the kind of person who would dare do that?"

"Not really. But who knows."

"Then... oh, I forgot to mention the most important thing. I will provide compensation. I know you...need money."

"Who told you that?" Jorgen looked at him.

"The key is just that I will pay compensation, right? And all you need to do is pay attention when you have free time. I will give you all of the inheritance that belongs to me." He then named a considerable figure.

"That doesn't sound like the amount of inheritance a blacksmith from the dwarf area could leave behind."

"My father was not a law-abiding man. A considerable portion of this was income from gambling and bootlegging. There were other things, I shouldn't say, and am not completely clear."

"Are you really willing to do this? This request is very unfair to you."

"It is unfair. But to be honest with you, I don't want to accept my father's inheritance. I hated him since I was little, and hate him even more now, hate him for neglecting my mother for the sake of a woman like a ghost, hate him for allowing the same person to torture himself. I already have my own business, I don't want to rely on him anymore. But I don't know why, I feel bad about the torment he suffered. He told me a lot, like how Gythra made him care but also suffer, and how he regretted betraying my mother, but couldn't stop doing things like this. The more he told me, the more I hated him, but at the same time sympathized more with him. I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I just want to get rid of this matter once and for all, along with the money he left behind. Before getting rid of them, I just want to understand a little bit the origin of all this. That woman."

If it was just Henrik, it still wouldn't arouse enough of Jorgen's interest. Even adding that payment, it would be the same - it was far from enough to fundamentally resolve Jorgen and Dalia's problems. But Jorgen thought back to everything he saw and heard three months ago at Holmyr's sickbed. Jorgen remembered Holmyr's eyes deeply sunken, as if to avoid the fear of death; remembered his hoarse voice that was hard to recognize and even nauseating; remembered the black smoke slowly climbing the stone wall outside the window; remembered him saying "When I came to my senses, regret emerged from beneath anger. But it was already too late." He also said shameful emotions. At the time, Jorgen felt Holmyr perhaps wanted to entrust him with something. Now he understood.

"I have to go to Holmyr's room first to take a look," Jorgen said, "and find useful things. If you have anything else you want to add, tell me as soon as possible."

"I'll take you there now." Henrik did not express gratitude.

After staying at Henrik's home for about an hour, it was already past lunch time, and Jorgen had to hurry to his job at the seventh district. He had previously promised Dalia that he would go back to have lunch today, but now he couldn't fulfill that, let alone the "come back as soon as possible after the funeral." He wanted to write a short note to explain and have someone pass it to Dalia, but he couldn't find anyone willing to help him do that.