"It would be a ss," Ariana muttered, sinking into her seat as she let out a long breath.
"True, but we can’t avoid this," Adrian reminded her. "If what we were told is true, ignoring it now would only lead to a disaster far too widespread to contain."
They were talking about Borodicus Clark’s creation, sothing they needed to assess and eventually suppress.
Ariana frowned. "What if the general masses interfere? The idea would sound appealing to those who can’t use mana."
Mana was the tool that made one self-dependent. Those who lacked it would, without a doubt, grow desperate to get their hands on Clark’s creation.
"That’s exactly why I’ll need to make a tough decision," Adrian said thoughtfully. "One that might make Mister Clark hostile toward ."
Ariana grinned. "Well, that was always a given."
Adrian shrugged before asking, "How do you feel now?"
Ariana sighed. "Normal, I guess... just a little tired."
He nodded. "Your body is recovering. Co, let take you to bed."
She shook her head. "No, I can manage. For now, why don’t you go et Raven?"
Adrian paused. "Um... well—"
Ariana stood and walked toward him, stopping at his side.
eting his gaze, she said softly, "She must be worried, Adrian. Last ti, you rushed off without properly explaining anything to her."
Adrian nodded. "You’re right, but..." He cupped her cheek tenderly, almost nervously, and murmured, "...the fact is, you were attacked both tis when I wasn’t around."
Ariana narrowed her eyes. "Don’t tell you’re starting to see Querella as so kind of bad on."
He corrected her at once. "No, that’s not it. I believe soone inford Nytharos that I wasn’t around, and that’s what allowed him to target you."
Ariana could feel his anxiety. It wasn’t in his eyes; his entire body radiated the hesitation he carried at the thought of leaving her side.
There was a ti when he had relied on her, sought her protection, and now their roles had reversed.
It made her smile.
"Adrian, look at ," she said, both hands firmly holding his face. "I’m safe, and the danger is gone now."
"But another version of him has appeared, one I can’t trust at all."
"I know, but you can trust , right?" Ariana asked, her eyes warm and persuasive. "I’ve recently been forced to acknowledge my limits. If I believe I can’t face an enemy, I’ll simply escape."
She tilted her hand slightly, her gaze falling to the ring on her thumb. "You didn’t make this artifact just for show, did you?"
Adrian gave a small shake of his head.
Ariana smiled. "Then trust . I can protect myself, Adrian."
The man lowered his head and fell silent.
Ariana let her arms drop, then gently took his hands. "Querella needs you just as much as I do. She’s your responsibility too, rember?"
Adrian slowly nodded before lifting his gaze to et hers.
"I’ll tell Annabelle to co over, at least for today. Tomorrow, the three of us will go to the exhibition together."
Ariana knew he wouldn’t be convinced otherwise, so she simply nodded. "Do whatever you think is necessary."
....
Ruby was in a daze. Waking from a midday slumber, she found it hard to focus.
Her thoughts kept drifting back to what she had seen in her dreams.
As a grown woman, she felt a little embarrassed to have had a wet dream, though part of the bla lay with her fiancé, who had left her with quite a morable parting gift a few days ago.
They kissed!!!
"Look at that silly grin of yours."
A grumpy voice snapped her out of it. Ruby turned to see her friend standing there with her arms crossed.
"What’s with that jealous look? And... where are you going?" Ruby asked. Annabelle wasn’t wearing her usual oversized clothes.
"First of all, I am not jealous, okay. My relationship with Darling is much stronger and more sacred than you could ever imagine." Knowing a sarcastic remark was coming, Annabelle quickly added, "And secondly, I’m going back."
Ruby humd in question. "Why so suddenly? Weren’t Ariana and Adrian coming over tomorrow?"
Annabelle sighed. "Change of plans. Darling is going to see Raven, so he asked to stay with Ariana."
Ruby felt a slight heaviness in her chest at the thought of Adrian spending ti with Querella. Still, he had already been honest about how much Raven ant to him.
Though she couldn’t shake the feeling right away, Ruby tried her best to accept this new reality.
"Do you want to co along? I don’t have any more work to do."
Annabelle grinned. "Pajama party?"
Ruby tilted her head. "What’s that supposed to an?"
Annabelle let out a small "ehehe" before replying, "I ca across the term recently. It’s nothing special, just girls gossiping all night in silly nightgowns."
Ruby smiled wryly. "So there’s a dress code too?" Humming thoughtfully, she added, "I can do that, but can you convince Ariana as well? With her personality, I can barely imagine her agreeing."
Annabelle rested her hands on her hips. "Leave that to . You just grab your things and let’s charge to Runebound right away."
....
"Thanks a lot, Sylvie. I couldn’t have finished my papers without you." Olivia said, her head bowed slightly as the two sat across from each other at the table.
They were in Sylvie’s room. Olivia had arrived earlier with an urgent request to help revise history lessons for the upcoming exams.
Sylvie smiled faintly. "You helped with anatomy and botany too, so it’s not like I did you a favor or anything."
Olivia was quite smart. As the current President of the Student Council, it was only natural. So, they often help each other in studies.
Just then, Sylvie’s gaze fell on a letter she had earlier stuffed into her jacket, now hanging on the rack.
"Hey... are you free tomorrow?" she asked. "My father wants to attend so kind of exhibition by Sir Borodicus. I was thinking of taking you and Allen with ."
Being a rune enthusiast, Sylvie was slightly excited to see what it was. And if it’s Borodicus she believes she would see Professor Adrian there tomorrow as well.
Olivia tilted her head. "Are you sure? The invitation seems to be limited to specific individuals."
"Don’t worry about that," Sylvie assured her. "If you two want to co, just bring Allen and wait for at the entrance early tomorrow morning, before breakfast."
°°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading. If you have been enjoying the story so far, please drop a comnt or review. It helps.
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