Alex and Luna turned toward the voice in unison and saw Arthur approaching them with a sly smile.

  “You imagined it,” Luna replied dryly, pretending nothing had happened. “And in general, eavesdropping on other people’s conversations is impolite. Although… manners and you, Arthur, rarely meet.”

  For a moment, a shadow of irritation crossed Arthur’s face, but he almost immediately hid it behind a smile.

  “You slept for twelve years, and you still know exactly how to annoy me.”

  “And you missed it, admit it,” Luna shot back, smiling as sincerely as if she’d just been praised.

  “Me? Never,” Arthur waved it off, snorting slightly with affected superiority.

  Luna narrowed her eyes and looked straight at him, as if trying to burn a hole through him with her gaze. Arthur merely clicked his tongue, adding a touch of pride to his voice.

  “Well… maybe a little. But only because you truly have a talent for it.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Luna smiled even wider. “Even if I had to practically drag it out of you.”

  “And for the record, I wasn’t eavesdropping,” Arthur finally said more calmly. “I was just walking by. And precisely at the moment when you whispered my name. And if you were whispering, I doubt you meant to say anything nice about me.”

  Luna crossed her arms over her chest in indignation.

  “How could you think I would ever put my dear friend in a bad light?”

  She turned her gaze to Alex.

  “Right, Alex? I only said that Arthur would like to meet you.”

  Alex barely managed to hold back a smile that was already threatening to break free, and answered with an almost imperceptible laugh in his voice,

  “That’s exactly how it was.”

  Alex looked at Arthur and added,

  “Miss Luna was just about to excuse me so I could properly meet you and Miss Celeste.”

  Arthur scrutinized Alex first, then Luna, trying to read deceit on their faces. Finding nothing suspicious, he let out a heavy breath.

  “Perhaps I really did overreact.”

  “Finally admitted it,” Luna said with satisfaction, taking a step back. “Well then, I’ll leave you two to talk.”

  She gave Alex one more warm smile, then turned and headed toward Astarion, Celeste, Emma, and Gabriel.

  Alex followed her with a brief glance, but immediately looked away when he heard Arthur’s light laughter.

  “I don’t want to upset you, kid,” Arthur said with a sly grin, “but Luna is a married woman. No matter how hard you try to charm her, you don’t stand a chance.”

  Alex was so taken aback that his eyes darted about, as if searching for any possible response. But Arthur clapped him on the shoulder and burst out laughing.

  “I’m joking! Relax. What, don’t you understand jokes?”

  Alex quickly pulled himself together and replied evenly,

  “I understand jokes perfectly well. It’s just that your comment… stunned me rather than amused me.”

  “Hm. Looks like we didn’t start off on the right foot,” Arthur clicked his tongue again. “Let’s pretend none of that happened.”

  He extended his hand.

  “Arthur Ravenford.”

  Alex shook it with a slight nod.

  “Alex Bledhart.”

  When their hands parted, Arthur finally smiled for real.

  “Now that’s a proper introduction.”

  Arthur narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, as if studying Alex.

  “So you’re the one teaching Aria…” he said slowly. “I’ll admit, I never imagined that my daughter would be taught one of the most difficult forms of magic by a seventeen-year-old boy.”

  Alex met his gaze calmly.

  “And so… are you disappointed?”

  Arthur repeated the word, as if weighing it, then snorted.

  “Disappointed? No. When Aria first told me about it—rather angrily, at that—I was more confused than anything. I couldn’t understand what Elizabeth was thinking when she decided to make you my daughter’s teacher. But no matter how you look at it, she’s the Academy’s Headmistress. She knew exactly what she was doing. So I decided to trust her and wait for the results.”

  Alex inclined his head slightly.

  “And how do you find the results?”

  A satisfied smile appeared on Arthur’s lips.

  “Impressive. In one year, Aria achieved what took me two. Yes, Elizabeth laid the foundation, but you… you managed to realize her potential properly. Which means you truly are worthy of being my daughter’s teacher.”

  Alex answered with a warm smile.

  “It means a great deal to hear that from you. If you’re satisfied with Aria’s results as a father, then my efforts haven’t been in vain. She has talent; I’m merely guiding it in the right direction.”

  “Talent,” Arthur stretched the word smugly. “Of course. She inherited my genes. They’re what awakened that gift in her.”

  Alex almost laughed at the comment but managed to restrain himself, while Arthur continued,

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “And your work shouldn’t be underestimated either. Especially considering that Aria is your very first student.”

  He took a short breath and then added in a completely different tone—lively, animated,

  “My daughter has become much stronger. At times our duels turn into a real trial even for me. I have to push myself harder and harder, and I’ll admit, it makes my blood run cold. And do you know where I’m going with this?”

  Alex looked at him attentively.

  “You want… a duel with me?”

  Arthur’s smile took on a clear note of challenge.

  “Exactly. Of course, not right now. But in the future, I want to personally test my daughter’s teacher. So, Alex… are you ready to accept my proposal?”

  An ironic thought flashed through Alex’s mind: In one evening, I’ve already received an invitation to a conversation from Luna, and now a duel challenge from Arthur. Still, I perfectly understood a father’s desire to test the one teaching his child. Refusing would be foolish.

  “I accept your challenge,” he said confidently.

  “Ha!” Arthur laughed. “For a moment, I thought you might refuse. I’m glad you didn’t disappoint me.”

  He inclined his head a little more seriously.

  “Even though we’ve agreed, we won’t be able to arrange the duel in the coming days. Too much work. But as soon as I have some free time, I’ll contact you myself.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” Alex replied calmly.

  Arthur gave a short laugh.

  “I like your attitude, boy. I’m glad we met. But now…” He narrowed his eyes slyly. “Now you need to meet my wife. Otherwise, Celeste will eat me alive if I keep you for even another minute.”

  Alex shifted his gaze to the woman who was speaking with his mother at that very moment and said with a faint smile,

  “She looks rather busy. I doubt she’d be offended if you kept me a little longer.”

  “Ha! You only say that because you don’t know my wife,” Arthur laughed. “Believe me, I’ve already caught her formidable glare more than once. If you feel even a little sorry for me—go and save me from her wrath.”

  Alex replied with light mockery,

  “Well, otherwise Aria will eat me alive instead, so I suppose I’ll have to save you.”

  With that, he left Arthur and headed toward Emma and Celeste, who were standing slightly apart from the rest of the group. Emma was telling Celeste something, and judging by the latter’s warm smile, they were genuinely enjoying the conversation.

  “Mom,” Alex said softly as he approached. “Am I interrupting?”

  Emma turned to him with a kind smile.

  “Oh, dear, not at all. We were just talking with Mrs. Ravenford about the Academy.”

  Celeste, who had been listening attentively to Emma, shifted her gaze to Alex. There wasn’t a trace of tension in her eyes—only a warm spark of interest.

  “So this must be Aria’s teacher, the one I’ve heard so many good things about,” she said in a gentle voice.

  Alex bowed politely.

  “Alex. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Celeste.”

  “The pleasure is mine.”

  Emma smiled at her son, then placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “I think I’ll leave you two alone. Otherwise your new acquaintance might think a mother won’t let you out of her sight.” She nodded lightly to Celeste. “And in the meantime, I’ll go find Elizabeth and Astarion.”

  Celeste inclined her head politely.

  “I’d be happy to continue our conversation later.”

  “Of course,” Emma replied, casting one more warm glance at her son before calmly heading toward the group where her husband, Elizabeth, and the count himself were standing.

  “So,” Celeste said, studying the boy carefully, “this is what my daughter’s teacher looks like.”

  There was neither irony nor doubt in her voice—only gentle interest, as if she wanted to learn not about Alex’s power or status, but about him as a person.

  Alex sensed that tone and answered with a warm, sincere smile,

  “I hope Aria hasn’t complained about me too much?”

  Celeste laughed lightly—quietly, but very sincerely.

  “You know my daughter. She could complain even about the sun if it were shining at the wrong angle. But this time… there were fewer complaints than I expected. She’s always complained about the various teachers we found for her. The only exception was Elizabeth… and you, which truly surprised me. And that’s enough for me to understand that my daughter is in the right hands.”

  Alex tilted his head slightly, a bit embarrassed, but smiled.

  “To be honest, I think Aria is very strong on her own. She has a talent for manipulating blood. I’m only helping her unlock it properly.”

  Celeste looked at him longer than was customary in casual conversation. There was a distinctly feminine wisdom in her gaze—the kind that makes one feel as though they’re being seen straight through.

  “You speak like a grown man, Alex,” she said quietly. “But you’re only seventeen, aren’t you?”

  “Seventeen,” he confirmed with a faint smile. “Though I suppose the past year forced me to grow up faster.”

  Celeste nodded, as if acknowledging his words, and something warm—almost maternal—flickered in her smile.

  “I’m grateful to you,” she said. “For the fact that Aria is learning from you not only magic. I can see she’s changing. Becoming calmer. And at the same time—stronger. As a mother, that means a great deal to me.”

  Alex was a little taken aback by such a frank confession, but he replied sincerely,

  “Thank you for the compliment, Miss Celeste.”

  She lightly touched his hand with her fingertips—a gesture free of formality, filled only with sincerity.

  “Just keep being the guiding presence for her that you already seem to have become.”

  Alex wanted to respond, but at that moment Aria’s clear, ringing voice sounded nearby,

  “Alex!”

  She was approaching together with Adam, smiling.

  “I hope you’ve talked enough with my parents and are now ready to spare a crumb of your precious time for us.”

  Adam, smiling lightly, turned his gaze to Celeste.

  “Sorry for interrupting so abruptly, but we really need Alex for something.”

  Celeste smiled warmly and stepped aside.

  “All right, all right,” she said. “I won’t interfere. But, Alex, I hope we’ll still have time to talk again.”

  “Definitely,” he replied with a smile, after which he left together with his friends.

  When they had moved a safe distance away from Celeste, Alex looked at both of them with curiosity and said,

  “So why did you need me so urgently?”

  Adam shrugged carelessly.

  “Honestly? For nothing. We just decided to pull you out of that endless line of formal conversations with adults.”

  Aria added with a sly smile,

  “You should be grateful to us. If we hadn’t done that, someone else ‘important’ would have intercepted you and buried you under boring questions again. And that’s it—the evening would’ve passed you by, and you wouldn’t have had a chance to actually enjoy it.”

  Alex laughed.

  “To be fair, talking to your parents was quite pleasant.”

  Aria rolled her eyes theatrically and sighed heavily.

  “I have no doubt.”

  Hiding his smile, Alex changed the subject.

  “By the way, where’s Demian?”

  Adam smiled faintly and nodded to the side.

  “The poor guy is stuck in a conversation with Luna and Arthur. Now we need to rescue him too. He’s literally caught between two fires over there.”

  Alex’s smile spread wider than it had all evening. For the first time, he allowed himself to drop all the formal manners he had been holding onto and simply laughed out loud.

  “Well then, let’s go,” he said, feeling a pleasant lightness. “Let’s free our hero.”

  He followed Adam and Aria, with every step feeling that the evening was finally becoming a real celebration rather than a formality.

  While laughter and the clinking of glasses filled the backyard, while voices and conversations intertwined around the long table and an atmosphere of warmth hung in the air, no one even suspected that the celebration was not private at all.

  High in the night sky, among a scattering of dim stars, a small magical sphere drifted silently. Its transparent surface rippled with gentle waves, like a reflection on water, transmitting every movement, every smile, and every spark of light from Astarion’s estate to somewhere far away.

  In another place, hidden from prying eyes, a man leaned over an artifact, peering intently at the image. His lips slowly stretched into a smile, and his voice drawled, savoring every word,

  “What a pleasant evening… Everyone is talking, celebrating, drinking, and laughing. And all of it thanks to the awakening… of Luna.”

  He repeated her name several times, each time changing the intonation—now saturating his voice with poisonous admiration, now with mocking sarcasm.

  “Luna, Luna, Luna… And how did it happen that she didn’t invite me to this little family celebration? Did she forget? Or did Astarion insist again?”

  The man laughed, and his laughter was hollow, echoing, as if there were nothing inside him but malice.

  “Too beautiful a picture,” he whispered, squeezing the artifact in his hand. “So beautiful it’s almost sickening.”

  His eyes flared with cold fire.

  “I suppose it’s time to remind old friends that I still exist…”

  For a moment, he fell silent, as if truly considering his own words.

  “Although… am I really ready to ruin a celebration held in honor of my childhood friend’s awakening?”

  Then he suddenly burst into laughter again—loud and wild.

  “Ha-ha-ha! Of course I am!”

  His laughter echoed through the darkness for a long time, while the magical sphere continued to transmit the image of a happy evening, one that was about to be interrupted by the interference of an unwelcome guest.