Nero couldn't help but let his eyes widen slightly. The memory of the fight faded, and the pain receded into the back of his mind as he began to think frantically. He looked at Koal. "You have a mage visiting?" he asked.
"Yes," Koal replied immediately, "If you want, I'll introduce you to him, but we have to hurry. The noble lord doesn't like to wait."
Together, they entered Koal's house. The messenger withdrew without saying another word. Nero watched her go, frowning. "Who was that?" he asked, since, as far as he knew, Koal had no servants. "A friend of the family, just like you," he said, evading Nero's question. Nero looked at Koal; he was hiding something again. Why would a family servant accuse him of having a mage visit? How would she even know that?
But before Nero could press the matter further, she had already stepped through the front door and was now standing in front of the beautiful wooden door leading into the living room, which was directly behind the entryway.
Koal hesitated briefly, "No offense, Nero, but it wouldn't be wise for you to come in right away. He doesn't know you, and I don't want to startle him. You wait here while I go in with Magrett and Christina to greet Julian. Once the formalities are out of the way, I'll steer the conversation toward you. If he's willing to meet you, I'll send Christina to fetch you. Is that okay with you?"
Nero nodded, without changing his expression. Christina cleared her throat, "Father, I think I'll stay with Nero. I can never join in your conversations anyway, and you'll just end up playing chess again. Besides," Christina leaned forward slightly, "I feel very uncomfortable in his presence."
Koal glared at his daughter, "Saying something like that is very dangerous, Christina," he admonished his daughter with a kind of vehemence that Nero hadn't seen in the old District Leader before. Christina took a step back, "I'm sorry," she replied, somewhat intimidated by her father's harsh tone.
"Christina," said Koal, "it's not bad that you feel that way, but don't you understand, we're just mortals. He's a mage; we don't know what he's capable of. We don't want to anger him, okay?"
Christina nodded sadly, "Yes, Dad."
Koal sighed heavily, "But you may go up to your room with Nero and work on the last math topic. According to Nero, there are still a lot of areas where you're struggling."
Christina opened her mouth slightly, shooting Nero an angry look, "Fine. Come with me, my oh-so-esteemed teacher."
As Christina dragged Nero along behind her, Koal called after them that Magrett would come get them.
Then Christina led Nero up the stairs.
Nero had been at this camp for quite some time now, during which he had become quite friendly with the Koal family. He had gotten along well with Sebastian Koal from the start, and despite initial difficulties, he had also become friends with his daughter, Christina. Of course, Nero had no real bond with any of them, but working for them was easy and lucrative, so he played the role of the quiet but kind tutor.
Still, he had never been to the second floor, despite his almost daily visits. He marveled at the beautiful banisters on either side of the staircase, carved from pure white marble. The railing, too, must have been carved from a beautiful dark wood by a true master craftsman.
He had noticed before that this house was strangely high-quality, nothing like the makeshift buildings of wood and stone that the other mortals lived in.
"Do you know who built this house?" Nero asked Christina out of curiosity. She shook her head, "Not exactly; this house was already here when we first came to the camp. But according to my father, this house was built many decades ago, or even longer, by the camp's original inhabitants. If you go to the First District, you'll see many more high-quality buildings like this."
"The original inhabitants?" Nero asked, confused.
Christina nodded, "The camp was once a thriving city of some mages, but during the war, they were all killed or something. After that, it was converted into an Ascension Camp, with the former houses used as homes for mortals.
Of course, this is now just a tiny part of the Ascension Camp, since it has continued to expand over time. Every four years, the outer wall is torn down and replaced with a new one created by magicians. I witnessed it once; it's a real spectacle. But anyway, that's how they make room for new houses."
Nero pondered those words, but before he could ask any more questions, they reached the door to Christina's room. It was a beautiful, heavy wooden door that Christina opened silently, no squeaking of old hinges, no scraping of dirt beneath the door.
Together, they stepped inside. Christina's room was a spacious area filled with shelves crammed with books. In one corner stood a large bed big enough to fit four Christinas. In the middle of the room stood a large round table, on which all the notes she and Nero had written so far were carelessly tossed.
"Welcome to my room!" said Christina, and like a polite hostess, she stepped aside, bowing slightly, gesturing for Nero to enter.
Nero marveled at the vast collection of books. "Have you read all of them?" he asked in surprise.
Christina laughed. "Goodness, no. Of course not, but most of them."
Nero ran his hand over some old volumes, feeling slightly transported back to the time when he and Eleanor had done nothing but read for hours on end.
"What kind of books are these?" he asked, genuinely curious. Christina shrugged, "All sorts of things my father could get his hands on. From history books to epic tales and tragedies."
Nero looked at the girl with a strange expression, "You're actually smarter than you let on."
Christina grinned, "Well, I like to read, but I hate math. Speaking of which," she sat down at the table, "shall we continue? My father will be asking me about my progress later, and I don't really want to disappoint him."
Nero tore his gaze away from the books before sitting down at the table with his student. "Of course, it's just been so long since I've read a good book."
"If you ask my dad, I'm sure he won't mind if you read in his library. As long as you don't steal any of the books," Christina said as she went over her notes. "Aha," she said, "This is where we left off." She groaned, "Ugh, I still don't understand what you scribbled here. To me, they're just lines."
Nero raised an eyebrow and went over the material with her again.
This went on for nearly an hour and a half. Nero was already beginning to fear that the magician had no interest in meeting him when footsteps were finally heard outside. Magrett walked through the door without knocking. Christina was bent over her study materials, her brow deeply furrowed in concentration, but she paused in her thoughts and looked at her mother. "Nero, you can come with me. Christina, you should also come downstairs for a moment and say hello to Julian."
Christina raised her eyebrows, "Me?"
Magrett nodded, "Both of you. Come on!"
Grumbling, Christina followed her mother, but she didn't talk back again. Nero, on the other hand, said nothing, but simply followed silently behind.
They went back downstairs; the door to the living room was open. The comforting scent of wine and roasted meat wafted from inside. Apparently, Magrett had cooked for her guest while Koal had been talking with him.
They entered. Nero's dark eyes immediately focused on the stranger sitting in the armchair that was actually Koal's seat as the master of the house. Koal, on the other hand, was sitting on the sofa across from him. Julian was a man in his early thirties, dressed in fine clothes. He had a handsome face, dark as chestnuts; his teeth were perfect, white and straight; his nose was symmetrically placed right in the center of his face; and his eyes were a deep, light brown.
As the two entered, his gaze fell briefly on Nero before immediately shifting to Christina. For a split second, barely a heartbeat, desire flashed in his eyes. But that brief moment was enough for Nero to read the man's thoughts. He wanted Christina, not as a woman, but as an object, as his property; after all, she was merely a weak mortal, while he was a high mage. This was the reason he was a friend of Koal's; this was the reason he was here. Any thoughts that this might be a good-natured man vanished immediately. Nero knew this kind of person all too well. He himself was similar, yet instead of a person, he craved power. The only reason this mage didn't simply take what he believed was rightfully his was the position Koal held. Perhaps this obstacle was, in fact, exactly what made him crave Christina even more. After all, in his eyes, she was already his to take.
This realization came in a heartbeat, from a glance that was even shorter, yet Nero smiled and even bowed slightly, not showing any of his thoughts.
"This is Nero Davis, sir, whom I have already told you about," Koal introduced Nero.