By the time Viola’s birthday finally arrived, Meronia looked like a different city entirely. The usual steady rhythm of merchants and travelers had exploded into a full festival pulse. Carriages of every size rattled down the cobblestones, some lacquered in bright colors, others bearing the crests of distant noble houses. The streets were packed, vendors shouting, musicians playing, children weaving between crowds. Banners in Torvares red and silver hung from balconies, flickering in the midday breeze.

  Even the mages had gotten into the spirit. High above the roofs, a pair of flamboyant spellcasters kept launching slow-spinning fireballs into the sky, letting them burst into bright blossoms of red and silver . The crackling echoes rolled through the avenues like thunder, drawing cheers every time.

  Ludger made his way through the bustling streets, looking like he had been dragged against his will into someone else’s parade, which, technically, he had. He wasn’t wearing armor, wasn’t wearing his earth mask. Instead, he was dressed well by Elaine’s standards and “begrudgingly tolerable” by his own.

  More importantly, he wasn’t traveling alone. A tiny pair of fists thumped lightly against the sides of his head as Elle leaned too far forward from her perch on his left shoulder, yelling something unintelligible but enthusiastic at the fireworks. On his right shoulder, Arash clung like a determined gremlin, gripping Ludger’s hair with zero mercy every time a fireball boomed overhead.

  “Don’t pull,” Ludger muttered, voice flat.

  Arash responded by pulling harder, because he was a toddler with no moral compass.

  Behind Ludger walked Elaine, calm, composed, and actually smiling for once. Not the terrifying smile she reserved for interrogations or threats. A real one. She wore a clean, elegant cloak and kept pace easily, looking more like a noblewoman enjoying a festival than the monster who could out-intimidate half the Empire.

  A day off suited her. Meronia seemed safer for it. Ahead, the Torvares manor rose above the crowd like a fortress dressed for celebration. Servants and guards directed the flow of carriages, while nobles and wealthy merchants stepped down with carefully wrapped gifts. The scent of baked sweets and roasted meats drifted from the courtyard. The whole city had turned out for the heir’s party.

  Ludger spotted Arslan near the entrance, straight-backed, calm, offering polite bows to arriving guests. But beneath the calm was the watchfulness of a veteran warrior and protective father.

  Arslan wasn’t just on guard duty today. He wasn’t just the Guildmaster. He was Viola’s father. He was welcoming guests to her birthday.

  Ludger could feel the shift in energy. This wasn’t just a political event. This was personal, for Torvares, for Arslan, for Viola.

  And for that reason alone, even Ludger, who disliked crowded events and sentimental gatherings, kept walking forward. He had a job to do. A promise to keep.

  Elaine shifted closer as they walked, her eyes narrowing in that quiet, surgical way she used when she dissected someone’s mood without saying a word. The twins were still happily perched on Ludger’s shoulders, oblivious to anything except the next fireball in the sky, but Elaine’s attention was fixed entirely on her eldest son.

  “Ludger,” she said, tone casual, but her gaze sharp. “Where is your gift for Viola? You didn’t leave it at home, did you?”

  Ludger exhaled through his nose. “It’s ready.”

  “Ready,” Elaine repeated slowly. “Then why aren’t you carrying it?”

  “Because Torvares told me to only show it at the end of the party.” Ludger kept walking, adjusting his grip on Arash’s leg as the boy tried to climb his head like a tree. “He thinks it’ll leave a… memorable impression.”

  Elaine blinked. “Torvares saw it?”

  “Yeah.”

  Her eyes softened, not much, just enough for Ludger to notice. “And he liked it enough to make it the final gift of the evening.” She hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose that he loves a dramatic finish. Ending with something meaningful… for Viola, and for the guests.”

  Ludger shrugged one shoulder, careful not to topple Elle. “It’s fine. I don’t care if it looks sentimental.”

  “That’s unlike you,” Elaine replied quietly. Not accusing. Not even teasing. Just observing.

  Ludger didn’t answer right away. His gaze drifted across the festive street, over the families laughing together, the guards checking carriages, the subtle movements of agents blending into the crowd, the nobles trying to look important while sweating in their formal wear. And beyond that, somewhere deeper, he seemed to be looking at something only he could see.

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  Elaine watched him with that unreadable calm of hers. She wasn’t fooled by the dry remarks or the practiced neutrality. Something had shifted in him.

  He was still her sarcastic, sharp-witted, unimpressed-with-everything son. Still the kid who hid behind smirks and understatement whenever emotions got too close.

  But beneath that… something had grown heavier. A quiet understanding. A sense of burden. Something that only came from difficult choices, choices she suspected Torvares had involved him in. Choices he wasn’t telling her about.

  Elaine didn’t press. Not yet. Instead, she walked at his side, studying the thoughtful expression he wore as if she were seeing a piece of him he rarely showed.

  Something happened during those ten days…

  And whatever it was, it wasn’t simple training or scouting. But she would wait. When Ludger was ready, he would speak. Until then, she would keep an eye on him, on Viola’s party, and on whatever storm might be following quietly behind her son.

  He looked forward again, jaw set in that determined, almost distant way. The torches of the Torvares manor flickered ahead. The party, and whatever came next, was about to begin.

  The twins spotted the bakery first, tiny fingers jabbing wildly toward the window display, but Elaine was the one who actually froze in place, eyes widening at the sight of the elaborate cakes stacked behind the glass. Layered pastries glazed with honey, tiny fruit tarts arranged like jewels, cream-filled breads dusted with powdered sugar… She stared so intently that Ludger suspected she was mentally dissecting the recipes, calories, and structural integrity of each dessert at once.

  Elle squealed. Arash reached both arms toward the cakes like a starving gremlin.

  Elaine, maintaining the dignity of a grown woman and mother of three, simply cleared her throat and said, “We should, ah, sample a few. For quality control.”

  Ludger snorted lightly. “Right. For the children.”

  “Yes,” Elaine said firmly, already stepping toward the door. “For the children.”

  But just as Ludger moved to follow, his foot stopped cold at the threshold. His body stiffened, subtle but unmistakable, his posture shifting like a blade locking into place. One of the twins tugged at his hair, but he didn’t react. For a split second, his mana flared ever so slightly beneath the surface.

  Elaine noticed immediately.

  She paused at the entrance, one hand on the door’s polished brass handle, her eyes narrowing. “Ludger?”

  He kept staring down the street, past the crowds, past the noise, past the cheerful chaos of Meronia.

  Something, or someone, had brushed the edge of his Seismic Sense. Not close. Not dangerous yet. But familiar in a way he didn’t like. People arriving in the city with footsteps too light for common travelers. Too controlled. Too purposeful. Eventually, Ludger exhaled through his nose and stepped inside the bakery as if nothing had happened.

  “It’s fine,” he said.

  Elaine didn’t look convinced. “You sensed something.”

  Ludger shrugged, shifting the twins’ weight on his shoulders. “Just some troublesome people arriving in the city.”

  “Troublesome,” Elaine repeated slowly.

  “Yeah.”

  He didn’t say more. He didn’t need to. Because Viola’s birthday had drawn nobles, merchants, guards, and dignitaries… But it had also drawn people who thrived in the shadows. And Ludger had just felt the first ripple of them entering Meronia. Troublesome indeed.

  Ludger waited until the twins were sufficiently distracted by Elaine pointing out a pastry shaped like a flower before he leaned slightly toward her. His voice stayed low, steady, pragmatic as always.

  “Mom. During the party… stay near Kharnek and Freyra.”

  Elaine’s eyes shifted from the children to him, sharpened in an instant. “Because you’ll be working.”

  Ludger nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be moving around a lot, and if the twins are too close, my focus gets split. I can’t afford that if something happens.”

  Elaine didn’t argue. She understood the weight behind his tone. “I was already planning to walk with them during the afternoon anyway,” she said, smoothing Elle’s hair as the little girl tried to reach for a tray of mini tarts. “After they eat well at the party, they’ll fall asleep early.”

  “No naps!” both twins declared with surprising unity and absolutely no conviction.

  Elaine patted their heads with a soft smile. “We’ll see.”

  Her gaze slid back to Ludger. “And you,” she added, voice gaining that motherly edge he could never block out, “don’t try to hide for the entire party. It’s your sister’s celebration too. You should at least be visible for some of it.”

  Ludger exhaled. “I’ll do my best.”

  Which, in Ludger language, meant he would appear at least once before vanishing into a shadowy corner to hunt problem-makers.

  Elaine gave him a skeptical look, but didn’t push it. While he spoke, a familiar vibration rippled through his Seismic Sense, soft, controlled, the footsteps of someone who walked with practiced confidence. Ludger turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing as a polished, ornate carriage rolled past the bakery window.

  Lucius Hakuen.Too curious for his own good. Too connected not to be suspicious.

  And right behind him, another carriage, this one marked with the sigil of the Dalmoren family. Rufas Dalmoren himself sat inside, posture rigid, expression cold.

  Elaine followed Ludger’s gaze. “Those are…”

  “The troublesome people I was talking about,” Ludger finished, voice flat.

  Lucius and Rufas, both present in Meronia at the same time, meant complications. Politics, secrets, maybe even the ripple of Roderick movements starting to surface again. Or maybe they just wanted to enjoy the party… The party hadn’t even started, and already the hard to deal guys had arrived.

  “Alright,” he muttered. “Let’s get through today.”