"Fifty-seven?"
"Yes, fifty-seven!"
Alia's voice was a low growl. Her face was a mix of hurt and anger, and her shoulders shook as she clenched her fists.
"And instead of a simple 'hello' or an apology, you ask if I've been seeing soone?"
Belle, who had been stifling a laugh, couldn't help but snicker.
"I think I'm gonna go. Uh…."
Belle vanished off sowhere.
As if he had forgotten all of his issues the past few months, Brandon cleared his throat.
He had no idea where to even begin.
"Look, I… I didn't an it like that. I wasn't accusing you, Alia. I was just… worried."
He mumbled, trying to keep eye contact but failing miserably.
At the mont, it was as if he was pulled away from his internal struggles.
The only ti he had actually felt sane in nearly two months.
"Worried?"
Alia echoed, folding her arms tighter.
"Worried that after nearly two months of complete silence, I'd imdiately move on? Do you even hear yourself?"
In the first place, they never even broke up. Not like Brandon wanted to either.
He just needed a little space for the ti being. But it was clear that he ssed up by not communicating properly.
"Okay…. yeah, that sounds terrible when you put it like that."
He admitted, scratching the back of his head.
From a few distance away, he could hear Belle mumble, "Go Alia! Dump him! Dump him!"
Alia covered her face with her fists.
"You hurt , Brandon. Sob…. Sob…."
"Alia, I…. Uh…."
Brandon's hands fidgeted, unsure if he should hug her or not, maybe she would swat his arm away or sothing.
"Sob…. Sob…."
Alia's shoulders shook again, and for a second, Brandon's heart nearly stopped.
"Kht…."
Enjoy new adventures from empire
But then, he caught the faintest sound of muffled laughter.
She was…. laughing?
"...."
"Now we're even."
"I…."
Brandon blinked his eyes. The situation escalated from here to there. The hell was even going on?
All of a sudden, Alia softened, reaching out and taking his hand.
"Look, I was hurt, yes. But I get it. You thought disappearing would help. I just wish…. you'd let help you too."
Brandon let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
The weight of the past two months lted, at least a little, under her touch.
From a few feet away, Belle's voice rang out once again.
"Ugh, fine, take him back! But if he does it again, Alia, I'm giving you permission to dump him!"
Brandon turned around, but Belle vanished once again.
"Hug ."
Alia's soft voice echoed, causing Brandon to turn around.
Brandon hesitated for a heartbeat, then wrapped his arms around Alia, pulling her close.
As he held her, Brandon felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
He'd pushed himself past his limits for the past months.
Each contract, every Wraith cultist he'd hunted—it had all been a way to drown out the voices in his head, the mories he couldn't escape.
They were still there, and he wasn't sure how to escape it at all.
***
"If soone's been approaching ? Would you be jealous?"
"Huh?"
That wasn't what the question was about at all.
"Kidding. But no, no one's trying to approach . After the Archbishop attack, there had been nothing recently."
Brandon sighed in relief. While Illya was still watching them, on the off–chance that Lust, or any of the other Archbishops escaped her perception just like what happened last ti, he needed to confirm.
"Good."
He muttered, averting his gaze.
"But I'm not that insecure to be jealous."
He tried to brush it off, but his voice betrayed him.
Alia smirked, noticing.
"Oh, really? So I guess it wouldn't bother you if soone did try?"
"...."
No.
Regardless of their intention, Archbishop or not….
"I'll kill them."
"Ah…."
Alia's eyes widened, noticing the displeased expression on his face.
His answer caught her off guard, and she felt her face heat up, causing her to look away.
The look on his face as he muttered those words….
'That was hot….'
She thought internally.
***
"You should ask him to help you, Alia."
Belle was well aware of how flawless Brandon's magic circuits were.
She had heard a while back that her brother had imrsed himself in magic, even locking himself in his room from day til dawn, according to the maids in their previous estate.
And so, she wasn't surprised by how effortlessly he weaved his magic circuits.
"Help in what?"
Brandon asked, eyeing the ss of papers scattered across the ground.
"Alia's been trying to apply Quidell's theory to her circuits."
Belle explained, flipping through her own notes.
"It's mostly used for wind-based affinities, but she's hoping it can boost her casting speed."
"Quidell's theory…."
Brandon nodded slowly, even as the explanation flew right over him.
He was completely clueless!
Theories? No idea at all!
"Yes," Alia added, glancing at her notes.
"Quidell suggested that wind mages could achieve near-instantaneous spell activation by refining circuit pathways. But for earth-based affinities, the rigidity makes it harder to implent."
She gestured to a diagram showing intersecting circuit paths.
"I thought, maybe if I could realign these core channels, I could still improve my casting ti."
Belle chid in.
"Right. But the trick with earth affinity is that it's naturally grounded and dense, so it doesn't flow the sa way. The idea is to reshape the circuits without losing stability."
Brandon nodded, letting the words in and out the other ear, while Belle and Alia continued.
"If we shift this pathway here," Alia pointed, "the mana flow would be shorter, but it might disrupt the structure. It needs stability while staying flexible."
Belle considered.
"Or maybe if you redirect here—though, without losing that focus point, it'd still be rigid."
Brandon's eyes darted between the notes, barely catching onto any of it.
As the two continued, lost in their theoretical back-and-forth, he finally leaned back and closed his eyes.
"I see…."
Their gazes flicked towards him, curious about his thoughts. To them, Brandon was a genius, evident in his diverse array of skills.
The chains, the threads, the flas, the mist, and so on.
They wanted to peer into his brain, to dissect his knowledge regarding circuits and such.
Brandon opened his eyes then. The two stared back intently, waiting for an answer to the questions that lingered in their minds the past month.
"I totally have no idea what you're talking about."
"...."
"...."
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