The hallways echoed with elegant and rhythmic footsteps. Morning light streamed through stained-glass windows, casting golden reflections that danced around Lígia as she walked calmly, hands in her sweatpants pockets and an expression... distracted.
Behind her, Vael followed at a perfectly calculated distance, as any proper Carmesim butler would. Silent. Rigid. Watchful.
But there was something he couldn't see.
Floating beside Lígia, with the weightlessness of an inconvenient thought, the system projected a discreet hologram in her field of vision, which she read with dramatic intensity.
"I told you he was a dragon in disguise" she whispered through her teeth, eyes glued to the floating page
"He HAS horns Lígia" grumbled the system proudly
She replied with a vague flick of her finger, somewhere between approval and "let me finish this chapter"
The world around them might be a political game board or a battlefield full of golden pieces... but right then, Lígia was in full compulsive reader mode.
The stained glass indicated they were nearing the Solar Hall.
Lígia had barely crossed the threshold of the hall when something small, warm and out of control collided with her waist.
"LÍGIAAAAA"
The impact nearly made her stumble back, but her reflexes were quick — even with her eyes still locked on the last line of her webnovel.
"Clarisse" she murmured, blinking to focus on the real world
Before she could react, tiny arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Lígia closed the reading window with a lazy flick and looked down to meet a pair of violet eyes sparkling.
Her little sister, dressed in floral tones, hair tied in messy braids and a smile as wide as a solar eclipse.
Lígia broke into a genuine smile and without a second thought, lifted the little girl into her arms as if she weighed nothing more than a magical feather.
"Come here flower of the North"
She spun Clarisse around making the girl's braids fly in circles around her face and her laughter echo like enchanted bells.
The heirs, already seated at the table, raised their eyebrows in unison.
Neran Ferrosin set down his glass simply observing
Elira Sun tilted her lips slightly between surprise and contemplation
Eliron Verdanel let out a light theatrical sigh
Caelion didn't move his neck at all but his eyes were fixed on Lígia as if she had just crossed the hall wielding a sword
Lígia spun with her sister as if the rest of the world were just background
When she stopped she kissed both of Clarisse's cheeks noisily
"Who's the sweetest-smelling flower in the whole empire"
Clarisse laughed clutching her arms tighter around her sister's neck
"I am"
"Of course you are" Lígia began fixing the girl's messy braids pulling stray hairs back behind her ear and adjusting the crooked ribbon on her collar
"I had a dream" Clarisse announced dramatically while Lígia's fingers worked "We were flying on a blue dragon You were taking me to see the moons up close And there was a floating castle between them"
Lígia widened her eyes as if it were the most serious story she had ever heard
"Really And did the dragon have a name"
"Yes His name was Sparklehorn"
Lígia coughed to hide a laugh
"Strong name Clearly noble A dragon worthy of our house"
The system purred low near her ear murmuring "That child has more charisma in one sentence than the four heirs combined"
Meanwhile on the other side of the hall the silence lingered in uncomfortably civilized fashion
That's when Vael cleared his throat — a discreet polite cough but perfectly timed
A reminder: the heirs were there And they were being ignored
Lígia took a deep breath glanced over her shoulder and met Caelion's impassive stare Elira's contained smile Eliron's ambiguous expression and Neran's bored gaze
Ah...
"Clarisse" Lígia said gently still fixing the last stray lock of her sister's hair "why don't you go to the garden and find Mom Tell her I sent a kiss that tastes like a dragon dream"
Clarisse pouted hugging her sister's neck tighter
"But I want to stay with you"
Lígia smiled thoughtfully She needed a magical solution
She leaned in and whispered something in her sister's ear — too low for the heirs to hear but Clarisse's eyes widened and she giggled
"Really You promise you'll tell me later"
"I swear on blood pact and honey cakes" Lígia replied crossing her fingers in front of her heart
Satisfied Clarisse gave one more kiss on her sister's cheek and ran off leaving the hall with light cheerful steps — and an important mission in her heart
Lígia turned back to the table with regal calm as if she hadn't just turned the imperial hall into a playground of sisterly affection
She walked to her chair
And smiled like she owed no one anything
"Good morning"
The table remained silent for another second
Then Eliron Verdanel murmured
"And they say the d'Argênteas are cold... What a delightful illusion"
Lígia slid her fingers along the edge of the floral tea glass and raised an eyebrow toward Eliron Verdanel who still smiled with that polished charm of someone eternally bored
"And how is House Verdanel these days" she asked with the soft tone of someone merely making conversation
But her eyes fixed alert rotating slowly like hidden gears
Eliron who clearly hadn't expected to be addressed went silent for two seconds too long
Then the smile returned
"Ah perfectly stable Lady Lígia" His voice flowed with impeccable elegance "Enrollment at the Imperial Academy of Life has increased 470% in the last lunar cycle A blessing of course... and a bit of administrative headache but nothing unusual"
The phrase was clean Polished A perfectly diplomatic delivery
But Lígia… wasn't just listening to words
She listened to the margins
She felt his blood shift
She sensed the metallic hint of saliva swallowed too quickly The tense vibration under his chest
Apprehension
Caution
And… fear
Not the kind of fear that shows in the eyes But the kind that camouflages in intention
She sipped her tea slowly hiding her analysis behind a casual gesture
"That's great" she said with a small nod "After all knowledge is one of the rare magics that doesn't rust"
"As poetic as it is dangerous" replied Eliron raising his glass as if toasting his own rhetoric
But Lígia didn't respond
Because her focus was on what hadn't been said
Neran Ferrosin crossed his arms eyes locked on Eliron but said nothing
Elira pretended disinterest pushing food around her plate — but her posture had subtly shifted leaning in to hear better
And Caelion Sun… just watched Like someone who hears all the sounds but shares none
They heard
But Lígia felt
Eliron was hiding something The news was true The Academy of Life was thriving But it wasn't about the numbers It was about what was causing that sudden success And why that seemed to trouble someone like Eliron Verdanel so much
She set the glass down calmly her nails tapping the porcelain like someone marking an invisible rhythm
"Interesting…" she murmured low enough not to challenge but loud enough to be remembered
And for a moment just one Eliron's smile wavered
But returned
Polished
Impeccable
As if nothing had faltered at all
But for Lígia — who now read hearts like pages loose in the wind — the story behind the answer had already begun