Somewhere near the main academic buildings…
A red-haired female student walked with slow steps, her head lowered, her expression still—yet the sharpness in her eyes alone was enough to warn anyone nearby not to approach.
No one dared to start a conversation with her.
Her appearance by itself suggested she would tolerate no disturbance of any kind.
But… as always, there was no place entirely free of a fool who chose to act against common sense.
A friendly voice—
uncomfortably so—
cut through her thoughts.
"I haven't seen you in a while, miss."
The girl slowly raised her head toward the source of the voice, casting a piercing glare his way.
It was a young man with a familiar appearance.
His long, brown hair fell loosely over his forehead, and his gaze… was far too friendly.
It was Ethan.
He opened his mouth again, adding in a mocking tone
"You look like you're about to kill someone. Relax a little—you really do resemble a thorny rose."
Alice took a step back, exhaled slowly, then gave him a brief look as if reassessing his very existence before replying sharply
"You still spew nonsense every time I see you…
You really never change."
He smiled faintly.
"Neither do you…"
He paused for a moment, then added
"That expression always shows up whenever you meet members of your family."
Her eyebrow twitched—
just for a single moment—
before all traces of that disturbance vanished from her features.
"Do not lump them and me under one name."
Then she continued, her tone growing sharper
"Now, enough of this ridiculous nonsense. Tell me why you're here. I already told that girl everything that woman needed to know."
Ethan pushed himself slightly away from the wall.
In that moment, it felt as though the surrounding sounds had faded—or perhaps Alice had simply stopped paying them any attention.
He took a step forward, standing directly in front of her.
"I was merely curious,"
he said calmly.
"How you would deal with Gilbert's presence after all this time…"
He let out a forced smile, resuming his sarcasm.
"But you treat him as if he doesn't exist, as usual."
She didn't respond.
She simply stared at some point behind him, as though his words had never reached her.
"I can't help but feel a bit of pity for him…" he said, stepping closer.
He reached out and caught a strand of her red hair between his fingers.
His forced smile vanished, replaced by a calm expression as he murmured in a low voice
"It seems you still haven't gotten over his existence."
Alice's eyes widened slightly. She slapped his hand away, an unreadable look flashing in her eyes as she stared straight at him.
"That person… don't call him by that name."
Ethan didn't add a single word. He looked at her calmly, betraying none of what he was thinking, content to listen.
"That name belongs to my brother," she continued.
"And my brother is dead."
There was no visible sorrow in her voice, nor explicit anger.
Only something heavier than both.
Two seconds passed.
Three.
Then Ethan spoke, his tone eerily calm.
"Even if you reject the role he plays, it won't change anything…"
Alice lowered her gaze, clenching her teeth in irritation.
Her fists tightened until her knuckles turned white.
After a few moments, her hands relaxed, and she sighed, adding in a low voice
"Yes. My opinion won't change a thing… He's free to choose what he wants to do.
He always has the option to leave—while some people don't."
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
He remained silent for a moment, then drew a strained smile devoid of warmth before replying neutrally
"But he chose to stay."
Alice raised her eyes to him, watching his expression.
An uneasy feeling crept over her—one she couldn't quite decipher.
Was he being sarcastic? Or was this some kind of indirect advice directed at her?
She nodded, pushing those exhausting thoughts aside, then walked past him.
Yet something crossed her mind and stopped her for a moment.
She turned back toward him and asked, in a low, hesitant voice—more like she was thinking out loud than posing a direct question
"As far as I understand, you're not someone who easily submits to anyone's orders. So who are you, really?"
Ethan's eyes widened slightly. He smiled and looked at her with a friendly expression.
"Then… who does the young lady think I am?"
His expression and manner of speaking carried the presence of someone who imposed himself on others whether they liked it or not—and that was precisely what Alice felt in that moment.
A subtle tension settled in her chest, prompting her to take the situation far more seriously than she should have from the very beginning.
His question wasn't as superficial as it appeared.
And Alice's question, in turn, held another meaning altogether.
They both understood exactly what the other wanted.
But which of them would concede and confess first?
________________________
Several hours later, in one of the residential districts on the outskirts of the capital, in front of a restaurant called Lapis Nocturne—
Ray stood before the door of an old restaurant, staring at it for a few moments.
From the outside, the place looked deceptively simple—no flashy signs, no lights to draw in passersby.
Yet the moment the heavy wooden door opened, an entirely different world awaited inside.
Ray pushed the door open, and a wave of sounds and scents poured over him, as if the place itself welcomed him before anyone else did.
Familiar laughter, warm voices, and the unmistakable aroma of seafood—one his memory never failed to recognize.
He didn't need to search for long.
Mikael had already arrived, seated at one of the nearby tables.
His back was straight and his expression unusually calm… until his eyes landed on Ray.
In the very next instant, all that composure vanished.
"Ray!" Mikael called out dramatically, raising his hand as if waving at a lost child, then added far louder than necessary
"You took too long—come over here!"
A warm smile spread across Ray's lips as he received the enthusiastic welcome he had grown used to.
Before he could respond, a booming voice rang out from behind the counter
"Look who finally showed up!"
Chairs scraped back as several men gathered around him, greeting him with bright laughter.
"We haven't seen you in a while, lad! How have you been?"
One of the men raised his hand, trying to measure the height between them, then grinned.
"Did you grow taller since the last time we met?"
Ray's eyes widened briefly before he smiled and replied in a calm, good-natured tone
"It's only been five months since our last meeting, Uncle Albert."
"Really?! Has it been that long already?"
Another man asked
"I heard you've been attending the academy. How are your days there, young man?"
"Is that so? Then have you made any friends? Found yourself a girlfriend, perhaps?"
Ray's face flushed slightly.
Before he could respond to the barrage of questions, the restaurant owner's voice cut in
"Gentlemen, let the boy catch his breath first before you bury him in questions. Though if you ask me, I doubt he'll get a girlfriend anytime soon—especially since he turns red just from a simple compliment."
"S-Sir Ron!"
Ray protested in a flustered tone as his face grew even redder.
A brief silence followed—then the men burst into laughter, gently pushing him toward the chair opposite Mikael.
Ray lowered his head, raised a hand to cover his face, and sighed.
Mikael watched him with a mischievous smile before adding
"I see you haven't changed even one millimeter during all this time, Ray… Still an easy target. That's why these men can't resist teasing you like this."
Ray lowered his hand and looked straight at his brother, then finally decided to surrender to this overwhelming warmth—realizing, despite his embarrassment, that this place and these people were among the few who had never looked at him as something dangerous… but simply as family.
He lowered his gaze for a moment, smiling contentedly before saying
"I don't think I'll ever get used to these fellows' antics."
Mikael smiled mockingly, just as one of the travelers behind him spoke up
"It's fun teasing you, lad… your reactions are hilarious."
Ray turned toward the man and said in a weary tone
"You really do enjoy making fun of me, don't you?"
As laughter filled the air, plates of seafood were brought to Ray and Mikael's table.
By the nature of the restaurant, stories never ceased flowing from the mouths of travelers and wanderers—tales of distant seas, strange ports, and ancient legends, told as though plucked straight from memory.
The kinds of stories elders tell children before bed, forgotten as soon as the next tale begins.
This place was Ray's refuge… a fragment of a childhood untouched by rumors.
Here, he wasn't the cursed child whispered about among aristocrats—
but simply a boy sitting beside his brother, smiling, listening, and feeling accepted without conditions.
Among these people, who measured others neither by bloodlines nor by superstition, his small happiness found a place to settle.
After a while, Ray set his fork and knife aside and finally asked Mikael
"I heard something that piqued my curiosity… Brother, do you know what sorcerers are?"