An uneasy tension lingered in the gala hall even after Tericon’s departure, like a wound that refused to close.

  Yuki lowered her weapon, and with that simple motion the ice that had swallowed the hall vanished. It didn’t melt, nor did it crack or crumble, it simply ceased to exist, as if it had never been there at all. The sudden absence felt almost louder than its presence had been.

  Vale remained still for several long moments, his breathing slow and deliberate as the world around him gradually resumed motion. The gala recovered in fragments. Chairs were straightened. Servants hesitantly resumed their duties. Soft music returned, uncertain at first, then steadier.

  Whispers followed.

  Low, confused murmurs rippled through the crowd, questions layered atop disbelief. Why had Tericon come? How had he entered? What had he wanted? It was common knowledge that the tyrant despised galas, detested ceremony, and avoided gatherings unless they served a direct and brutal purpose. His appearance had never been accounted for because no one had ever imagined he would bother.

  Yet he had come.

  And worse, no one knew why.

  Vale exhaled slowly and began moving through the thinning crowd, his gaze fixed on the far edge of the hall where Eskar and Caesar sat on a pair of ornate couches. He approached cautiously, stopping a few meters away, unwilling to intrude on whatever fragile moment they were sharing.

  Their voices were low but strained.

  Caesar’s words were sharp, clipped, steeped in barely restrained disgust. Eskar’s responses were quieter, fractured, uncertain, carrying the hollow disbelief of someone still struggling to process what they had just witnessed.

  Minutes passed before either of them noticed Vale.

  At the same time, Ember finally pushed himself free from the wall. With two powerful beats of his wings, the wyvern descended gracefully, landing beside Vale with a muted thud. The countless ravens that had filled the hall moments earlier collapsed back into three familiar forms, Illu, August, and Hurricane, each landing lightly near Vale and immediately circling him.

  They checked him instinctively.

  Vale felt it before he consciously registered it, the subtle emotional probing, the shared concern. Ember’s awareness brushed against his own, warm and steady. They shared fear and relief alike, bound by a symbiosis that required no words. Ember knew when Vale was afraid or hurt. Vale knew when Ember was anxious or calm.

  It had saved them both more than once.

  Vale reached out, gently patting August atop the head before resting his hand against Ember’s scaled neck. Only then did he look back up and meet Eskar’s gaze.

  “Are you alright?” Vale asked softly.

  Eskar stared at him as if the question itself had startled him. His eyes widened, then blinked rapidly, several times in quick succession, as though reality were only now snapping back into place. He swallowed and nodded.

  “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I’m… alright.”

  After a brief pause, he added, almost as an afterthought, “Thanks.”

  Vale offered a small smile.

  Before he could respond, a blonde girl passed beside him, Nova. Her expression was conflicted, tinged with worry and something sharper beneath it. She stopped near Eskar and asked the same question Vale had moments earlier.

  Eskar gave the same answer.

  And the same smile.

  Nova’s eyes narrowed immediately.

  “Don’t smile like that,” she said under her breath. “It’s not real, so what’s the point?”

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  Eskar froze.

  His smile faltered, eyes widening just slightly as the words settled. He said nothing.

  Vale’s attention shifted as Caesar stood and walked toward him. As he passed, Caesar placed a hand on Vale’s shoulder, his expression composed, but artificial.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” Caesar said.

  Vale hesitated only a moment before nodding. “Sure.”

  They walked in silence, weaving through the thinning crowd until they reached the balcony. Cool night air greeted them as they stepped outside, carrying the scent of salt and distant waves.

  Caesar leaned against the railing, staring out over the vast ocean beyond the cliffs. The silence stretched, heavy, deliberate.

  Finally, Caesar spoke.

  “You’ll be transferred back to the academy after this gala,” he said. “Tomorrow will be your first official day there.”

  Vale raised an eyebrow, surprised. He had expected, perhaps foolishly, that Caesar would address what had just transpired inside the hall. But the avoidance made sense. Whatever lay between Caesar and Tericon was not something he wished to dissect tonight.

  “I see,” Vale replied. “Any idea what we’ll be doing tomorrow?”

  Caesar let out a quiet chuckle. “Thanks,” he said suddenly.

  Vale frowned slightly, confused, but before he could ask what Caesar meant, the man continued.

  “You’ll be going on a joint expedition,” Caesar said. “With the research department. To a gate.”

  Vale’s eyes widened subtly.

  He stepped closer to the railing, resting his forearms against it as he gazed out at the ocean. “I see,” he said again, keeping his response brief.

  The conversation fell silent once more.

  The quiet lingered, awkward but not uncomfortable. Vale shifted his weight, searching for something, anything, to break it. After a moment, he glanced sideways at Caesar and spoke.

  “So… Yuki, huh?”

  Caesar turned sharply, eyes widening in surprise. He glanced over his shoulder to ensure no one was nearby before lowering his voice.

  “Yeah,” he admitted. “Believe it or not, she made the first move.”

  Vale blinked. “Really? That’s… surprising.”

  Caesar laughed softly. He turned back toward the ocean, a genuine smile forming, one untouched by bitterness or pretense.

  “Yeah,” he said. “She can be incredibly kind, when she wants to be.”

  Vale smiled as well.

  And for the first time since Tericon’s arrival, the tension eased, if only a little.

  Silence settled between them once again, but this time, it carried no unease.

  It was simply silence. Empty, neutral. A pause without weight.

  Vale looked at Caesar, knowing he would soon leave to find Nym and Korin again. One final question lingered at the back of his mind, tugging at him with quiet insistence. He hesitated, weighing whether it was wise to ask at all.

  In the end, he did.

  “So,” Vale said carefully, “what will happen to Eskar?”

  Caesar glanced at him, then looked away, his gaze dropping toward the ocean below. For a moment he said nothing, as if sorting through thoughts that had only just begun to form. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm, almost resigned.

  “I suppose I’ll be taking care of him from now on.”

  He let out a quiet chuckle under his breath, not amused but reflective.

  “He must be surprised,” Caesar added. “That was the first time he ever heard I’m his uncle.”

  Vale’s eyes widened slightly.

  'That wasn’t already known?' he thought.

  The realization shifted his expression into one of open confusion. He hesitated only briefly before speaking again.

  “Was it really alright for you to say all that?” Vale asked. “About Tericon, I mean.”

  Caesar studied him for a long moment, searching Vale’s face as if measuring his intent. Then he smiled, not the forced kind Vale had seen earlier, but something genuine and steady.

  “Yeah,” Caesar said. “It was about time anyway.”

  Vale held his gaze, absorbing the weight behind those words. Silence returned once more, lingering for several seconds before Vale finally let out a small chuckle.

  “I see,” he said, stepping back toward the hall. “Then let’s hope everyone else sees it the same way you do.”

  With that, he turned and headed back into the gala.

  As he walked away, Yuki emerged from the crowd, her expression visibly annoyed. She spared Vale a brief glance as she passed him, then stopped at Caesar’s side. Vale caught the faint shift in Caesar’s posture when she arrived, subtle, instinctive.

  Vale smiled to himself.

  Then he was swallowed by the crowd once more.

  Finding his friends took time. The gala had lost its warmth; Tericon’s presence had shattered whatever illusion of safety or celebration remained. Conversations now carried sharp edges, hushed speculation, nervous laughter, theories traded in low voices.

  Vale did his best to tune it all out.

  'I shouldn’t worry about this right now,' he told himself. 'Not tonight.'

  Questions could wait. Answers would come later.

  For now, he just wanted something normal.

  He wandered for a while longer, weaving through clusters of guests, until a familiar metallic voice echoed softly in his mind once again.

  “Vale,” Chrome said, “if you’re looking for that girl, she isn’t far. Head west. She’s at the drink area, with the tall boy.”

  Vale smiled.

  “Thanks, Chrome,” he replied quietly. “I’ll head there now.”

  He pushed gently through the crowd, and before long he spotted them, Nym and Korin seated at the bar just as Chrome had said. Both wore unusual expressions, somewhere between thoughtful and drained.

  Vale felt a small sense of relief wash over him.

  He approached them with an easy smile, hoping, perhaps foolishly, that the night could still end on a lighter note, even after everything that had transpired.

  And for the first time since the chaos began, he allowed himself to believe that maybe, just maybe, it could.