Noble had nearly forgotten that Aether had wanted to speak with her.
Now that the situation was handled, at least for the moment, there was no longer any excuse to delay.
Noble nodded, and they made their way to the least used corner of the lawn. While they were still encased by retainers of valor, the soldiers backed up to give the Saint and the provost a wide berth.
"Thank you again for the help today," Aether began. "It is very impressive that you could lift so many people and carry them that distance. That couldn't have been easy."
"I did what I had to do." Noble hadn't even thought about it at the time.
She had acted to preserve life.
"Indeed, it's a bit unreasona-bel for a Master to have that kind of power. It was, in a word, magnifi-saint." Aether held out his hand. "My ability to use puns has improved in recent months. I can keep going, if you prefer, ma'am."
Noble didn't prefer it one bit. She sighed as sparks formed in her hand. She passed half of the Memory into Aether's waiting palm. He smiled at her as he slipped the Other's Voice behind his ear.
'So, I was right. I knew it was quite a gamble, and if I were wrong, I would have been embarrassed to say the least.'
'I am surprised your Flaw let you make that kind of demand.' Noble adjusted the piece of jewelry behind her ear.
'I made no demand, ma'am,' Aether grinned. 'I simply allowed you the opportunity to come clean about your identity. Someone told me to embrace my Flaw and learn to work with it. I have taken that advice to heart.'
'So I see.' Noble wasn't sure that she liked her own help being used against her, but it also warmed her heart to know that she had made a difference in the young man's life. 'I don't feel any anger coming from you. I did deceive you. I would have thought you would be quite upset that I faked my death.'
'My relief at finding that a comrade has not become a victim of the Spell has overcome any anger I might have felt. But also, you risked being revealed just to save my life and the lives of my family. It would be very impolite of me not to extend grace to a heroine such as you.'
Aether nodded slowly.
'I was worried about you…' Noble's primary goal in visiting the House of Night had been to make sure her former cohort member was safe and to warn him of the danger.
'It seems your worry was justified. Thank you.' Aether glanced past Noble for a moment. His mother and sibling sat there quietly talking on the lawn. 'Thank you very much.'
'You would have done the same for me.' Noble knew the man well.
The polite Saint was too honorable to let a friend be harmed without some intervention.
But the man across from her frowned deeply.
'I am afraid that wouldn't have... because up until today I did not know you were alive.'
'Ah, I suppose that is true. I am sorry about that.' Noble looked down. The hurt and confusion in her companion's eyes was more than she could bear.
Aether frowned. 'If I may ask, why are you hiding your Sainthood and pretending to be a Master?'
'I want to protect my family and my home without being conscripted into war. I knew I had no Clan to protect me, and I wasn't confident in the government's influence to prevent my participation. The other unaffiliated Saint in the Song Domain was approached, and he was only able to deny them because he had no way for them to apply pressure and convince him. I have too much to lose if I said no. So I decided to hide my power instead.'
'You must have planned to conceal yourself before going into the Nightmare, or why else would you change your name and appearance…' Aether watched his companion nod slowly. Taking a deep breath, he smiled sadly. 'I understand. Even having a Clan does not guarantee protection, if today is any indication. I am glad you hid your sainthood to avoid being dragged into the conflict, or else that attack would have ended very differently back there.'
The words were a weight off of Noble, and she unconsciously floated a little higher from the ground.
'I am having a hard time processing how you are hiding your power in plain sight. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't believe it.' Aether looked toward the Dream Gate. 'Does Lady Helie know?'
'No. Roan knew when he asked me to join the cohort, but Helie only knows me as Master Noble. You cannot tell her for her own safety. Please don't tell anyone that you know!'
Noble had been selfish in not wanting to share her plans and faking her death. But it had also been to spare her former teammates from having to lie on her behalf.
That could have rubbed the young Saint opposite her the wrong way. What if he assumed that she had found him untrustworthy?
That wasn't the case!
Now that Aether knew her secret, he had the power to expose her. Thankfully, that did not seem to be his inclination.
'It's your secret to tell, not mine.' The polite Saint nodded. 'I will not reveal it to any soul. It's the least I can do.'
'Thank you.' Not only had Noble been forgiven for her deception, but she was certain that Aether's Flaw would help him keep her secret. 'I do have a question, though. I am very curious. What gave me away?'
'Aside from your similarity in powers to Master Bel, you mentioned being polite during our escape. That was curious in and of itself. I also felt myself trust you almost instantly, which is very uncommon, especially lately. But it was your suggestion that I control the Saint with a net of starlight that betrayed you. No one has seen me do that except in the Nightmare. So either you had some Ability that helped others maximize their skills, or you had seen it in action.'
'Ah…' Noble had acted on instinct in the heat of the moment, but now that she looked back at it, her face flushed.
It was easy to keep her Sainthood from most of the world, but when it came to fighting side by side with a cohort member from her last Nightmare, she had quickly let her guard down.
Yet, Noble didn't regret it. Aether was safe, and the survivors of the House of Night would hopefully be taken care of by Valor.
She had become a Saint to protect people, and she had succeeded in that goal today.
'It's a good move that you have there, Saint Aether. I hope you won't hesitate to use it next time the need arises.'
The other Saint smiled softly. 'I won't, but hopefully that won't be for some time yet.'
'That would be nice…' Noble had no delusions.
If these people were seeking safety from the King of Swords, he would certainly ask for something in return.
Noble only hoped it wouldn't cost Aether, Naeve, and the others too dearly.