In the grand dining hall reserved for the delegates and honored guests, Professor Vask sat at a table of familiar faces and newer ones. There were old colleagues she hadn't seen in years, and a few figures she was only just beginning to understand.
The main course had long since passed, and the last act of the evening now sat before them: dessert.
A delicate apple cream sorbet, accompanied by a small slice of chocolate lava cake, still warm enough that a trickle of dark richness teased from its center.
The professor leaned back slightly in her chair, arms crossed, eyeing the plate. But her attention wasn't on the food itself, but on the thought. "Do I really want more sugar tonight? As if it matters at this point…"
Beside her, Leif Winters raised a brow, fork already in hand. "Are you planning to eat that, or stare it into submission all night?"
Professor Vask turned her head fully toward him, one brow arching higher. "If you want it, you can take it."
Leif shook his head, holding up both hands. "Oh no, I wouldn't dare."
"And why not?"
Leif angled his fork to the other side of him, gesturing toward the lion-folk seated there, a brown-haired woman whose eyes were fixed on her plate as she happily tore into a piece of roasted fish. She had clearly saved it, letting it cool just enough so she could eat it alongside the sweets now arriving at the table.
"That's why," Leif explained. "The second you hand me your dessert, my graceless goblin of a sister here will just snatch it from me."
The professor let out a dry sigh before she leaned slightly past Leif, raising her voice just enough. "Ardyn, slow down with that fish. Show some table manners."
The female lion-folk looked up mid-bite, unbothered, and shrugged. "Sure," she said, then went right back to chewing.
Professor Vask pinched the bridge of her nose and looked back at Leif. "You should rein in your sister's appetite."
But Leif only shrugged. "Give her a break. She's been wandering around town all day, scribbling notes for her novel again. She probably hasn't eaten properly since morning."
"That makes it worse. She's starting to look less like a company president and more like… a random hungry lion."
Leif chuckled. "This time it's different."
Professor Vask tilted her glass toward him. "Different how?"
Then he leaned closer, keeping his voice low enough not to draw the entire table's attention. "Ardyn sulked half the night after botching another face-to-face with Kir Wolfe. And mind you, I warned her. But you know how stubborn she is."
The professor winced. "Seriously? She went at him head-on?"
Leif nodded grimly.
"What were they even discussing, if I can ask?"
"From what I gathered, she wanted to expand the company's reach, some property on the south side of Westwyn. But that entire strip? Everyone knows it's under Kir Wolfe's thumb. Always has been."
"And?"
"And he gave her a counteroffer," Leif said with a wry twist of his mouth. "Don't know the details; she wouldn't say. But judging from the way she stormed out, it wasn't just business numbers. Must've been tough enough to rattle her."
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small card, setting it discreetly beside Professor Vask's plate. She looked down at it, recognizing the neat print of business details, and the bold signature at the bottom.
"His personal seal. The boy's got the gall to hand those out like party favors. At least Ardyn walked away with his autograph. Unbelievable, that kid."
Professor Vask tapped the edge of the card once, then looked back at Leif with a smirk. "You really do hate that kid, don't you?"
Leif gave a short, humorless laugh. "Can't help it. He's just… way over his head."
"But, hasn't he done plenty of good already? Steps most of those greedy politicians wouldn't even dream of taking?"
Leif's ears twitched as he stabbed his fork into the lava cake. "I know! That's what makes it worse. I hate that he isn't like the old Wolfe brass, the ones who dragged their empire into the dirt before him. I hate that I can't find an excuse to properly ridicule that sly fox. He just… he just gets under my skin in a way I can't stand."
Despite his rant, Professor Vask wasn't looking at him anymore. Her eyes had drifted upward, past his shoulder. And so had the eyes of nearly everyone else at the table.
Leif blinked, noticing their weird silence. "What?"
Standing directly behind him, dressed in silver and orange, was Kir Wolfe himself. His hands were behind his back, smiling as he looked down at Leif as though the entire scene had been staged for him.
Kir tilted his head slightly. "I get it, I've been somewhat of a sore spot for you, Mr. Winters. But I'm afraid I don't plan on toning that down anytime soon."
Leif jolted, going rigid as he turned to look over his shoulder. Even Ardyn, halfway through another bite of fish, froze mid-chew, her eyes widening in shock.
Leif cleared his throat sharply. "M-Mr. Wolfe! I… didn't see you there. That was quite the shock you gave me," he said in a suddenly polite tone.
"Oh, sorry about that. Not my intention to spook you," Kir chuckled.
Leif quickly straightened. "Still, I must remind you, shouldn't you be seated? The banquet isn't quite over yet."
As she watched the exchange, Professor Vask nearly choked on her sip of wine. She turned her head slightly, staring at Leif in disbelief. "Unbelievable. One second he's snarling, the next he's bowing."
Kir laughed outright this time, flashing teeth as he waved a hand. "Relax, all of you. I'm still just a guest here, like the rest of you. But you're right, I shouldn't be wandering. Truth is, there's a matter that couldn't wait. I'll be taking my leave right after this banquet, so I thought I'd get it out of the way now."
Leif swallowed. "…Well then. Forgive me for reacting the way I did."
"Don't worry about it." Kir grinned. Then he switched his focus to Professor Vask. "Professor Junna Vask, isn't it? I'm here to have a word with you. In private, if you wouldn't mind."
The professor's brow furrowed as she glanced around the table. Every face nearby had turned toward her, curious as to what Kir may have in store for her.
"…Yes, of course," she answered.
As she pushed back her chair, Kir lifted one hand lightly and smiled. "Only if you're free, all right? No pressure. If you've got to finish that dessert, I'll try to wait."
Professor Vask shook her head as she continued rising to her feet. "No. It's fine. I wasn't planning on eating sweets tonight, anyway."
She then lifted the plate with its sorbet and slice of cake, setting it down between Leif and Ardyn. "Here. You two can have it."
Leif looked at her, but before he could say something, Ardyn's hand shot out like lightning, swiping the plate and pulling it to her side. She dug into it without hesitation, chewing as if swallowing down the stress Kir's presence had stirred in her.
"Alright then, please follow me," Kir said, nodding.
After she straightened her jacket and stepped away from the table, she followed Kir closely as he strode out of the delegates' dining hall.
Eventually, Kir led her down a quieter corridor, stopping before a polished oak door. When it opened, they both stepped into what looked like a parlor designed for one-on-one dealings. There were two upholstered chairs facing each other with a low table between them, and a small crystal lamp on top.
Inside stood a lean cat-folk with pale fur and neatly pressed attire, and Kir gestured toward him. "Professor Vask, this is Willow, my assistant. And Willow, this is Professor Junna Vask."
The cat-folk bowed politely. "An honor, Professor."
The professor gave a curt nod in response. "Nice to meet you."
"Please, have a seat," Kir said as he slid onto one chair casually. Naturally, Professor Vask followed and sat on the other seat.
Once they settled, Willow stepped forward, handing Kir a slim paper folder. Kir accepted it, flipping it open. "Now, let's get to it."
One by one, he laid documents across the table. Handwritten specifications, sketches, and notes. Finally, he unfurled a folded sheet of vellum, spreading it flat to reveal a professionally drafted blueprint.
As Professor Vask leaned forward to examine the design, Kir tapped on the blueprint and began explaining.
"This is something we pulled from Westwyn's Academy for Arcane Engineering. A prototype of a steam-powered medical nebulizer. Efficient, easy to assemble, and cheap enough to be accessible to just about anyone. Impressive, isn't it?"
The professor then took one of the loose papers from the table, her eyes scanning the diagrams and scrawled notes. The machine itself was fascinating, but what made her wonder wasn't the blueprint. It was the handwriting.
It felt… familiar, like she'd seen it before.
She set the page down, then looked at Kir. "And what exactly does any of this have to do with me?"
Kir leaned back in his chair, his palms up in a show of disarming honesty. "First off, forgive my bluntness. I know you once taught at Westwyn's Academy, Professor Vask, and I don't mean to step on old pride. But let's not sugarcoat it, Westwyn's Arcane Engineering faculty is crawling with scumbags. That much was confirmed when I went poking around myself."
"Poking around?" Professor Vask tilted her head.
"I was there to see if anything new was brewing, any industrial work worth a second look. That's when I stumbled upon this little gem," he smiled as he tapped the blueprint again.
"Okay… so what's special about this?"
"The kicker? The design was stripped clean of its name. No credit on the notes, no signature even on the specifications. Whoever came up with it didn't leave a single mark. Which makes me think that someone higher up lifted it. Passed it off. Wouldn't be the first time in that den."
"Lifted? As in… a stolen invention?" she thought. Then, she searched her memory for why the handwriting felt familiar.
Then her eyes widened upon remembering something that her sister brought up one time a year or two ago.
"Wait, Raveena…? Could this be the one Aldra mentioned?"
After staring at Professor Vask's reaction for a moment, Kir simply spread his hands again. "Naturally, that got me curious. So, I dug. Didn't take long to find out that the inventor already built a prototype. Even entered it into one of those innovation contests Westwyn parades around every year. It lost, somehow. Doesn't that just reek?"
The professor nodded. "Yes… Westwyn holds those contests regularly. And losing doesn't surprise me. Favoritism tends to weigh heavier than merit. So? Did you find a clue as to who you're looking for?"
Kir chuckled and grinned. "Yes. I did find a clue. Enough at least to know who I'm after. And I want you, Professor Vask, to bring her to me."
"Her?" Professor Vask's jaw immediately tightened. Because she knew that there was no mistaking what he meant. What he had said about this design so far aligned well with what Aldra told her about Raveena.
"Ugh… it had to be you, Raveena," the professor thought as she placed her fingers against her forehead and pressed in frustration. After a moment, she composed herself and tried to give Kir a smile. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."
Kir chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Oh, come now. No need to play coy. I know that you know who I'm talking about. This is for the sake of accessible healthcare, isn't it? I'm not here to make trouble. I just want to meet the inventor. And I know you can reach her."
Professor Vask clicked her tongue. "And how do you know that?"
At that, Kir laughed shortly before placing his chin on his hand as he smiled daringly.
"She's your niece, after all… isn't that right?"