It felt strange. For so reason, the Prince was paying extra attention to Ariana, and both she and Adrian felt it.
But since he wasn't acting out of line, they couldn't really say anything and just kept walking alongside him.
When they reached the reception area, the Prince turned toward Adrian—the one he'd practically ignored until now—and said,
"I'm sorry, Sir Adrian, but you'll need to wait here." His voice was polite, and Adrian understood why.
Only Ariana had been invited by the King because they needed her help with security. Adrian didn't have the clearance for those details.
Adrian turned to Ariana and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
She offered him a soft smile and nodded, then slowly let go and stepped away.
Ariana and Edward continued on toward the eting room, where the Commander General and other key mbers of the security team were waiting.
As they walked, Edward said, "You look different than the last ti I saw you. It seems you've finally been getting so rest."
Ariana let out a small laugh. "Did I look that tired before?"
Edward smiled and shook his head. "You just look… more like yourself now. The sa Aria I once admired."
At his words, the smile slipped from Ariana's face.
What is he thinking? She wondered. He was speaking as if they were still close, even though she had turned him down long ago, and they had drifted apart.
They'd seen each other since graduation, but he'd never acted like this before.
She chose not to call him out, and thankfully, he didn't push it further.
When they reached the eting room, five people stood around a square table.
A large map of the capital lay spread before them, marked with red flags showing the different checkpoints.
Seeing so many marked in red, Ariana's chest tightened. The situation was worse than she had imagined.
-----**-----
Adrian sat in the reception area, feeling a bit uneasy about the Prince's behavior.
What had changed that made Edward suddenly pay so much attention to Ariana?
He never doubted Ariana for a second. He knew if the Prince tried anything foolish, she would handle it without hesitation. But he didn't want things to get that far—because if they did,
'I will have to kill the Prince and take Ariana away from this place,'
After all, before any mission or duty ca the person he loved.
"Excuse , Sir Adrian," a butler interrupted his thoughts, bowing slightly. "Count Lockwood has requested a eting with you."
"My father is here?" Adrian asked, surprised. Then it dawned on him that it made sense—of course, the Count would be at a eting like this.
"Yes, sir. Please follow , I'll show you to his room."
Adrian nodded and stood up. He needed to see his father anyway, so this was a good opportunity.
They walked in silence for a while until the butler stopped outside a room and gestured toward the door.
"He's waiting for you inside," the butler said.
Adrian gave a short nod and waited for the butler to leave before knocking on the door.
It opened after a mont, revealing a face he didn't particularly like.
"lissa…" he muttered, seeing the woman standing there.
She seed prepared for his arrival and kept her emotions hidden as she nodded and stepped aside to let him in.
Adrian walked in and saw his father sitting there, smiling at him.
As Adrian approached, his father got up and wrapped him in a big, warm hug.
Patting his back, the older Lockwood said, "It's been so long. I can hardly believe it's really you."
More than two years had passed since they'd last seen each other.And at the sight of his eldest son, Adam's heart lted, and all his worries seed to fade away.
The lady couldn't help but smile seeing her husband so delighted. But her heart was still restless about what Adrian would say.
As the two n sat down to chat, lissa took the role of pouring tea for them.
With a smile that never left his face, Adam asked, "So, how have you been, son? I've been hearing quite a few things about you lately."
He hadn't gotten the full report about what happened at the Tower, but he knew his son had done sothing impressive. The Tower Masters had been asking Adrian to join their ranks, and that made Adam proud. At last, his son's talent was getting the recognition it deserved.
Adrian let out a sigh and, while cleaning his glasses with a handkerchief, said, "Just trying to make myself useful."
Adam chuckled. "You sound so mature now. Aren't you going to tell about your ti at the Tower? Or the offer you got from the Prince?"
Adrian shook his head with a small smile. "It seems like, instead of focusing on your own work, you've been spying on ."
Adam grinned. "What father wouldn't want to know what his son's been up to when he's been away?"
Adrian's smile faded a little at that. He lowered his eyes and asked gently, "How are you now, Father? Does it still hurt?"
His father's face softened, the smile slipping as he looked down at his hands. He'd been dealing with a rare skin disease that even Adrian found hard to watch sotis. The pain was written in the lines of his father's face, but Adam always tried to hide it.
Adam sighed, "Thanks to your mother's care," he said as he held lissa's hand, "...I was able to recover and get a new life." He finished with a kiss on the back of her hand.
lissa's cheeks were red as she smiled beautifully at her husband.
Adrian's suspicion about the woman's changed behavior was confird. She was just a woman mad in love.
Turning back to his son, Adam asked, "What about the ambush? Were you injured in it?" There was a frown on his face as he rembered the report he received about the incident.
Although no one died, more than a dozen Acolytes attacking surely had put the teachers in danger.
Adrian assured him, "Ariana and the others saved us. I wasn't injured." He didn't get into details.
Adam's brows elevated, "Talking about Aria, how is she? I will call her today for dinner." With a fond smile, he added, "It has been a while since I saw that little girl."
Adrian felt slightly nervous about this. To gain Ariana's father's permission, Adrian first has to get his father's blessings so he can convince his older brother.
'I will talk to Aria first and then talk to him in the evening....'
°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.
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