[LUCIELLE’S POV — TWO DAYS LATER]
"Greetings to the Grand Duchess."
The voice was smooth, far too smooth. It was the kind of voice that probably made people forgive men for arriving late, stealing their desserts, and possibly setting their curtains on fire.
I looked up.
A man stood before me with long brown hair falling loosely around his shoulders and striking green eyes that sparkled with the kind of mischief that usually came with a long criminal record.
He bowed barely, just enough to technically qualify as respectful. Then he straightened, flashed me a lazy smile, and I immediately understood the problem.
He looked like a man who had never encountered a woman he couldn’t charm, a boundary he couldn’t cross, or a terrible decision he couldn’t somehow turn into a funny story.
I stared at him; he smiled. I stared harder; his smile widened.
Fine.
I didn’t need to guess, with those ridiculously bright clothes, the long brown hair, the green eyes and the infuriatingly handsome face (not more handsome than Cassian’s, obviously)
I had eyes and, guess now, standards too.
Then there was the shameless smile and, most importantly, the ridiculous number of female attendants behind me who were giggling like they’d just discovered the Empire had invented a cure for ugliness.
Apparently, dignity had left the building; there was only one man who fit the description.
Archmage Aurelius Vaelmont.
The fourth fish.
The man Cassian had hated enough to kill and possibly...the man who had supposedly killed...me. Or at least, that was what I suspected.
I glanced beside me. Cassian stood there, silent, motionless, and completely unimpressed. His blue eyes were fixed on Aurelius with an expression that could probably make flowers wither.
He didn’t look angry; that would have been comforting, he looked like he had already classified Aurelius as an unnecessary object and was now deciding whether throwing him out the window would create too much paperwork.
Finally, Cassian spoke. "Let’s get to business."
Aurelius blinked as his smile faltered. "But...I just arrived."
Cassian didn’t even blink. "I noticed."
Aurelius stared at him. I stared at Cassian, and the room fell silent. The archmage slowly looked around the chamber as if searching for someone who might rescue him from his cold gaze, then Aurelius cleared his throat.
"Well... since I’ve traveled all the way here, perhaps you could at least offer me a cup of tea—"
He stopped mid-sentence because Cassian was looking at him. Just looking, there was no threat, no raised voice, and no dramatic gesture.
And somehow, that expression was more terrifying than all three combined. Cassian’s face remained perfectly straight, completely emotionless, but his eyes carried a very simple message.
You have approximately three seconds before I regret inviting you.
Aurelius stared back and sighed, saying, "Fine, let’s get to business."
I pressed my lips together. I couldn’t tell whether I wanted to laugh or pray for Aurelius; probably both. Aurelius walked toward the table and pulled out a chair, saying, "You really haven’t changed."
Cassian sat opposite him. "I wasn’t aware you knew me well enough to make that observation."
"Oh, I know you well enough." Aurelius smiled; that playful glint returned to his eyes.
Cassian’s expression didn’t change. "Then you should also know that I don’t have patience for unnecessary conversation."
Aurelius leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other.
"All right," he said, looking between Cassian and me. "Tell me something. Why has the Grand Duke personally summoned me all the way to his territory? It is such an extraordinary occasion that I had to use a portal to get here."
Cassian’s expression didn’t change. "Even with a portal, it took you two days?"
Aurelius’s smile faltered. "I saw the letter today; I was busy."
"You were busy."
"Yes."
"With what?"
Aurelius’s grin returned as he leaned farther back, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "I was saving a poor, innocent-looking noble lady."
Silence.
. . .
. . .
He already met Lily Eisenhart.
The fourth male lead had already encountered the heroine because apparently the plot had no intention of letting me breathe.
This was how Aurelius and Lily had first met: the mysterious archmage rescuing the beautiful noble lady, and now he is completely fearless around Cassian, or perhaps he was simply insane.
I wasn’t sure which was worse. I glanced between the two men; one looked like a tyrant who could order an execution without changing his expression, and the other looked like a man who would probably flirt with the executioner on his way to the gallows.
And somehow...these two were going to have a very, very bad history together.
Aurelius suddenly snapped his fingers. "Anyway, enough about my heroic deeds; tell me why Grand Duke Cassian has summoned me here""
THUD!
Cassian slammed the stone onto the table. Aurelius looked at the stone as Cassian said, "I need you to examine this."
. . .
. . .
"You summoned the Archmage of Aerath—"
"Yes."
"Used an official summons—"
"Yes."
"Made me travel across the Empire—"
"Yes."
"...To look at a rock?"
Cassian’s face remained perfectly straight. "Just examine it."
Aurelius stared at him and then at the rock. The rock stared at absolutely nobody because it was a rock and had no responsibilities in this conversation. Aurelius slowly picked it up; he turned it over, tapped it with his finger, held it closer to his face, and then he glanced at me.
"Did the Grand Duke perhaps hit his head recently?"
Cassian’s gaze snapped toward him.
"I heard that."
"I intended for you to." Aurelius chuckled. "Anyway, what’s so special about this rock?"
Cassian had glanced at me, just for a second, but Aurelius noticed it too as his eyes moved between us, and then his brows lifted.
"Oh? What? Why are the two of you looking at each other like that? Did something happen?"
I sighed, saying, "We believe there may be Heat Mana Stones beneath Ashcroft territory."
Aurelius’s amusement disappeared; his attention returned to the stone. "Heat Mana Stones?"
"Yes." He examined it again, then his brow furrowed. "But this isn’t radiating any heat."
Aurelius turned the stone over; he closed his eyes as a faint shimmer of mana passed through his irises. Nothing happened.
Cassian leaned forward. "Can you determine what it is?"
Aurelius looked at the stone again. "I can determine that it is a stone."
. . .
. . .
Cassian’s expression became murderous. Aurelius chuckled, and I scoffed and folded my arms, saying, "Aren’t you an archmage? Then shouldn’t you have figured out whether it’s a mana stone already? Don’t you have magical eyes or something?"
He stared at me. I stared back. "Your Grace...I am an archmage, not a divine being."
I stared at him blankly. "Potato, tomato."
Aurelius slowly curved upward. "Potato... tomato?"
"Yes."
"I don’t think those words mean what you think they mean."
"They mean you’re supposed to be useful."
Aurelius laughed, actually laughed, as he leaned back in his chair, clearly entertained, as he looked at me with an amused glint in his green eyes. "This is my first time speaking with Your Grace, and I have to admit...I think we’re going to have a very interesting time together in the future."
Interesting?Oh, yes. Absolutely, a very interesting time, especially when you eventually kill me.
SLAM!
Cassian’s palm struck the table; the entire room went silent, and his eyes locked onto Aurelius, cold, sharp, and deadly.
"FOCUS. ON. YOUR. WORK."
Aurelius froze, his hand slowly lowered as he glanced at Cassian, then at me.
"Right." He cleared his throat. "Work."
He sighed and turned his attention back to the stone, and for once, he stopped talking. That alone was suspicious.
Aurelius closed his eyes, blue magic slowly gathered around his palms, swirling like mist before wrapping itself around the stone. His expression changed; the playful archmage disappeared. For the first time since he’d arrived, he looked like what he actually was: a genius mage.
His brows drew together and his fingers moved slightly as he examined the stone from every angle.
The mana around his hands intensified,, and then he suddenly stopped. His eyes shifted toward the fireplace behind me.
He stared at the flames, then at the stone and then back at the flames. His brows furrowed even deeper, and neither of us understood what was happening.
Aurelius stood and walked toward the fireplace. I followed him with my eyes; he stared at the flames for several seconds. Then he threw the stone into the fire.
THROW!
My mouth fell open. Cassian’s head turned toward me, and we stared at each other as I whispered, "Do you think he’s actually useful?"
Cassian stared at the fireplace. "I...hope so."
We both looked back at Aurelius; he had simply sat down beside the fireplace, crossed his arms, and stared at the burning stone.
No explanation, just a man, sitting and staring at a rock that he had thrown into a fire, and just like that, the sky darkened, and Aurelius remained beside the fireplace, still staring at the stone.
***
[The Night—Later]
Aurelius was still sitting in exactly the same position, same chair, same expression, same terrifying concentration, and same stone. At this point, I had developed several theories.
Theory one: He had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Theory two: He had forgotten how to move. Theory three: The stone had hypnotized him.
Theory four: He was, in fact, completely useless.
I leaned toward Cassian. "He’s useless."
Cassian nodded. "Very."
Aurelius didn’t even react; he continued staring into the fire, and I sighed, "Can you throw him into the portal yourself?"
"I wish I could."
And then Aurelius suddenly shot to his feet.
"FOUND IT!"
I nearly fell out of my chair. Cassian immediately stood, and we rushed toward him as my eyes sparkled. "Did you find it?!"
Aurelius pointed dramatically toward the fireplace.
"Yes!"
I looked with excitement, but it faded as there was...a lump. A very ugly lump, a blackened, melted piece of something sitting among the ashes.
My excitement disappeared.
"...That’s it?"
Aurelius nodded enthusiastically. I stared at the lump. "And here I was thinking we found treasure."
Cassian remained silent as Aurelius smiled. "Your Grace, that’s the Heat Mana Stone."
He picked up the hardened piece carefully. "The stone you found was not the final form of the mana stone; the heat beneath Ashcroft isn’t simply warming the water. It’s creating an environment hot enough to alter the mineral composition of the stone. The stone melted at this temperature. Once the material cools and hardens completely, it will crystallize into a Heat Mana Stone."
My mouth fell open. "So...we really found it?"
Aurelius smiled.
"You did."
My eyes sparkled. I immediately grabbed Cassian’s hand. "Cassian!"
He looked down at our joined hands as I was practically bouncing. "We found treasure!"
A small smile appeared on his lips. "Indeed."
I shook his hand excitedly. "It means we’re rich! No more freezing winters! No more buying expensive heating materials and most importantly—"
I grinned.
"Baron Baldy is going to lose his mind."
Aurelius blinked. "Baron... who?"
"Don’t worry about him." Cassian’s smile deepened slightly. "We have more important things to consider."
I looked at him.
"Like?"
He glanced toward the fireplace. "This changes everything."
His voice had become serious; the Heat Mana Stone wasn’t merely a source of warmth. It was power. Economic power. Political power.
And now... It belonged to Ashcroft. I looked at the strange lump in Aurelius’s hand. Something that had looked like an ordinary rock only hours ago. Something that could change the fate of an entire territory.
I smiled.
We had found a treasure, and neither Cassian nor I yet understood just how much trouble that treasure was going to bring with it.