Chapter 48

I was already starting to regret every single decision that led me here, now that I’ve brought Silvia into Kaelon’s home. Elysia was completely baffled when she first saw her— after all, for the first time in my life, I’d brought home a girl.

In fact, she seemed so shocked that she burst into tears right then and there. Even hours later, I could hear her gossiping about it with the other maids she’s befriended 

Well, either way, my sister seemed to have instantly taken a liking to Silvia, as they quickly drifted off into conversation like old friends. All I could do was stand there and hope she doesn’t end up exposing anything humiliating about me. Knowing her, it’ll only take a few minutes.

As for Kaelon… I could tell he wanted to give me a beating, but after some thorough convincing, he just looked defeated and, in the end, seemed to accept it. I honestly felt a little bad for him. 

“I think… I think I need to go away for a bit,” or so he says, he was already halfway gone by that point, so I couldn’t be sure.

Coincidentally, as I was walking through the courtyard, I bumped into him again. He stared at me, wearing the face of a man whose entire worldview had just been completely shattered.

“Fuck… you scared me for a second there. What the hell are you doing?” I asked.

“Can’t a man walk in his own home without a reason?.” he shot back.

He sighed, rubbing his face, his tone weary. “Shouldn’t you be with—what’s her name… Silvia, right now?”

“Unfortunately for you,” I replied, “she’s with my sister at the moment.”

“Hm… well, that’s fine,” he muttered. “You know, I’m surprised someone like her was even managing to live by herself out there. Especially considering all the wraiths roaming back there.”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” I admitted. “Feels like there’s more to her than she lets on, but I’m not about to grill her about it right now. Besides, my gut tells me she’s not a threat.”

Kaelon scoffed. “Your gut. Right. As long as your gut is confident we won’t get murdered in our sleep.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Uh… I wanted to apologize again. For treating your home like a hotel.”

“Wow,” he said flatly. “So you do have a conscience, huh?”

He gave me a long look, then shook his head and looked away, clicking his tongue under his breath like he’d already given up on saying whatever he was thinking. In the end, he just waved it off.

“Forget it. If anything, I should be thanking you.”

I frowned. “For what?”

A slow realization set in, I added, “Did something happen while I was gone?”

Kaelon’s jaw tightened. He looked around him before leaning closer.

“Some thugs came demanding money,” he said. “Claimed they were from the Central bank. They even brought their men, looking for trouble—unfortunately for them, your aunt was here.”

I stayed quiet. Not that I was worried about Auntie Shira—if anything, it was bad news for the people who decided to mess with her. Kaelon basically confirmed it with what he said next.

“You know… that aunt or master of yours can be pretty damn terrifying.”

‘If only you knew how many beatings I’ve gotten from her…’

“Once they realized who she was, they all cowered like dogs, tails tucked, shaking, and ran for their lives.” Kaelon continued, a smirk finally appearing on his weary face, “My father was extremely grateful to her for that, but she insisted she didn’t do it for him.”

He glanced toward the manor, then shrugged. “Honestly, having your aunt around was probably the most peace this place has had in a while.”

“Well, at least that takes some pressure off your back.”

Kaelon exhaled, this time more like a tired laugh than a sigh. “Yeah… I won’t complain about that.”

“Oh, right—there’s something else I wanted to ask,” he snapped his finger like he just remembered. “My father asked your sister if she wanted Yuna to be enrolled in preparatory schooling. What do you think?”

“You should probably ask Yuna that yourself,” I replied.

Kaelon chuckled. “Haha, you think so too?”

Still, I couldn’t deny, it was definitely a rare opportunity for Yuna—I doubted many kids her age even get a chance to receive. But as I thought about it, a nagging concern settled in my chest.

“Wouldn’t enrolling Yuna in a school meant for nobles basically be sending her into a lion’s den?”

“… Right,” Kaelon said after a beat, rubbing his chin. “I may have somewhat overlooked that slight issue.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be that big of a problem,” he continued. “Lilith will be with her anyway—and considering she’s got us backing her, if anything like bullying happens, we could easily shut it down.”

He paused, his gaze drifting over me with a slow, assessing nod. I didn’t need to read his mind to know exactly what he was picturing.

“Do I really look like someone who beats up kids for fun?” I pointed to myself with a dry laugh.

“No. But you might want to see yourself in a mirror when you’re pissed. That alone would scare most kids straight.”

I sighed. “Yeah… whatever you say, man.”

With the midday sun burning high in the sky, Kaelon took a deep breath and looked at the manor.

“Well, I’ve got to get moving,” he said, his voice carrying a hint of mock tragedy. “The ledgers call, and the people cry. Duty is a demanding mistress indeed.”

He started to walk away, then paused to look back over his shoulder with a smirk. “Try not to play around too much and wake up early tomorrow—I’d rather not be late waiting for you.”

“In your dreams.” I muttered, watching him disappearing into the manor. 

That’s when I noticed Silvia stepping into the courtyard. The instant her eyes met mine, her face lit up, a small smile spreading across her lips as she quickened her pace.

“Finally found you! I was starting to think you were trying to hide from me.”

A shiver ran down my spine at the way she said it, but somehow… Just talking with her felt strangely comforting. I think there might actually be something wrong with me at this point.

“Oh, hey Silvia. I thought you were still with my sister.” I said, clearing my throat. “What brings you here?”

Silvia tilted her head, eyes glinting with amusement, and took a step closer, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. 

“I just wanted to see you, that’s all. Anything wrong with that?”

My mind went blank at her words, not sure how to handle someone this forward, and I found myself glancing away. “No… no objection. But I am curious—did my sister say anything about me to you?”

Silvia tapped a finger against her lips, a sly smirk spreading across her face. “Depends on what you mean. For example, she did mention how you’d always cling to her like a cat when you were younger and—”

“Alright, just stop right there.” I muttered, running a hand across my face. “No need to continue,” 

She chuckled softly at my reaction, clearly enjoying how easy it was to get a reaction out of me.

“Hmm… alright, if you insist~”

As it turned out, this was only the beginning. For the rest of the day, she seemed to pop up everywhere I went, seemingly never letting me out of her sight.

I seriously had no idea how to deal with someone like her—or maybe I just wasn’t great with women in general.

Should I be happy about this… or what?

…

The day had finally arrived. 

We hadn’t been long on the road before the view of the capital slowly grew larger. As we passed through the gates, I took in the sight—compared to Eldreth, this place was on a completely different scale. Even the busiest street of Eldreth couldn’t compare to a random street here.

The massive central building of Ascalon academy loomed over the academy district, its marble-clad walls gleaming in the sunlight and numerous towers stretching skyward. Rising from its center was a towering clock tower, its face shining brightly, with a bronze bell visible within like a sentinel overlooking the campus.

It certainly lived up to the Academy’s reputation as the most prestigious institution in the Empire, but for some reason, I felt nothing—no awe, no excitement. Instead, a strange numbness settled over me, a quiet sense I couldn’t explain no matter how long I stared.

“Hey! Caelith, you alright there?”

I flinched at the sound, realizing both Kaelon and Auntie Shira were looking at me.

“Oh—sorry. I was just… spacing out. Did you say something?”

Kaelon raised an eyebrow skeptically but seemed to decide against pressing the matter.

“Do you think it was a good idea leaving Silvia back at my place?” he asked. “I’ve got a feeling she’s going to get into something.”

“It’s not like she could have followed me here into Ascalon, even if she wanted to,” I replied.

I couldn’t help but remember this morning—when she found out I was leaving for the Academy, she seemed relaxed at first. But the moment I told her I wouldn’t be back for a while, she panicked, quickly insisting that she wanted to come with me. It felt like I was trying to take catnip away from a cat.

When I finally managed to convince her that she couldn’t come, even if she wanted to, I noticed her eyes had taken on a strange, scheming look. Luckily, she seemed to have understood; she let go and even waved us goodbye as we left, albeit gloomily.

“She should be fine… at least with my sister around her” I muttered to myself.

Dropping the thought for now, I turned back to the carriage window. The wheels slowly crunched over the gravel as we pulled up to the Academy’s front entrance, where other students were already gathering.

Hundreds of students were gathered, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Up ahead, I noticed an instructor guiding part of the crowd toward a nearby building.

Alistyr bowed his head slightly toward Kaelon and me as he bid us farewell. “I wish you the best of luck, young master Kaelon—and the same to you, Sir Caelith.”

“Thanks. You can go back now, Alistyr,” Kaelon said.

With a nod, Alistyr climbed back into the carriage before it disappeared from view.

The moment we stepped out of the carriage, I could feel countless eyes on me—but it didn’t take long to realize who their real target was. Their attention was fixed on Auntie Shira. It didn’t surprise me, considering her rare silver hair and crimson eyes, not to mention the attire she wore, which subtly accentuated her curves.

Given all that, it wasn’t surprising she was drawing so much attention.

“Hey… who is she? I don’t think she’s one of the professors.”

“Don’t know, but have you ever seen someone that striking? She could give the Academy’s Unobtainable Flower a run for her money.”

Some upperclassmen didn’t even bother hiding their leering glances, openly gawking at her. Auntie Shira finally stopped and turned toward me.

“Alright, we’ll part ways here for now. I have some matters to attend to with that Pendragon. See you at the opening ceremony.”

Before she left, she reached out and gave me a light pat on the head. Her crimson eyes met mine for a brief moment, a faint smile on her lips.

“Don’t go around causing too much trouble, alright?” she added casually.

I rolled my eyes, pulling back slightly. 

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry—I won’t go around beating people up for fun.”

I watched as she disappeared toward the opposite end of the courtyard. The second she was out of sight, all the eyes on me soured. Students whispering and staring, some burning with jealousy. At first, I had no idea why everyone was staring… and then it clicked—oh, right, that head pat from Auntie Shira.

“Wow, seems like you’re popular already,” Kaelon chimed in, smirking.

“Real funny,” I muttered flatly, walking toward the grand building for the opening ceremony.