Chapter 40

Outdoor tables offered a simple lunch for guests. Sitting at an empty table, well-trained royal attendants brought light soup, salad, sandwiches, and fish dishes.

Academy pre-students even got a bonus chocolate.

People at nearby tables chatted in refined tones about intellectual topics.

Helio began to understand what it meant that Brinita’s biggest magic promotion project was this achievement conference.

He disliked nobles and Ridblon, but today’s atmosphere stirred something in him.

Sabina’s presentation was scheduled for 3 p.m. She seated Helio in the audience of Hawkeye Hall, then disappeared around 2:30 to prepare.

Left alone, Helio sat with a bit of a prickly attitude. Without Sabina, he gave off a vibe that made him hard to approach. He avoided eye contact, making even greetings difficult.

But some people didn’t care about such things.

While waiting for Sabina and listening to the earlier presentations, someone sat next to Helio.

Glancing sideways, Helio’s expression froze.

Blue eyes smiled beneath sandy hair.

He mouthed a greeting.

‘Hel-lo.’

Helio instantly felt anything but well.

He sat boldly and shamelessly beside Helio, almost as if standing in for Sabina.

Helio’s gaze became combative. Ashton, annoyingly relaxed, leaned in and whispered mischievously,

“Is someone already sitting here?”

The boy wanted to say ‘yes.’ But instead, he decided it was wiser to ignore the man completely, turning forward and keeping his face blank.

But he couldn’t focus on the presentation at all. The content was too difficult, and the man’s presence too distracting. Ashton leaned toward Helio’s ear and whispered something even more irritating.

“You’re wearing gloves today?”

Helio jumped, hiding his hands behind his back. He heard a low chuckle by his ear. Anger and embarrassment filled him to the brim.

The boy disliked Ashton, but didn’t realize the man was deliberately teasing him every time they met. After all, it made no sense for Ashton to have a reason to torment Helio.

“Good, you’re listening. Have you been well?”

Helio stayed silent.

“You must be angry. You have to reveal all my dirty secrets to your master, but you’re under a binding spell.”

Finally, Helio couldn’t stand it and turned to face Ashton. The handsome face was smiling.

“If I kill you, the binding spell will break, right?”

“You’ve been studying hard?”

Ashton laughed, unfazed by Helio’s sharp words.

“There’s one more way.”

Helio frowned.

“The book doesn’t say that.”

“Oh, come on. How long will you stay locked in a book? Break out of the text and see the world.”

“Shut up. It’s rude to the presenter.”

“Just surpass me.”

Helio’s lips clamped shut. He tried to keep his face blank, but Ashton could see his chest heaving. If he moved closer, he could probably hear Helio’s pounding heart.

“Can you do it? Become a much stronger mage than me and break the binding spell?”

Ashton whispered mockingly and leaned back. Helio, pupils dilated, took a deep breath. Ashton loosened his tie and leaned on the armrest, glancing at the boy. The reply came in a trembling voice.

“Why are you telling me this? Because it’s a lie?”

The low chuckle made Helio bristle. Ashton shook his head.

“Because I don’t think you’ll ever manage it.”

Helio deliberately fixed his gaze on the stage. The 2:45 presenter finished, and Sabina walked out steadily. Her eyes swept the audience, lingering a little longer on Helio sitting with Ashton.

Seeing that, Helio’s gaze slowly shifted to Ashton’s smug face. He was barehanded again today. For the first time, Helio smiled at this annoying man.

“From now on, you should wear gloves when you meet me.”

“Haha.”

The young man laughed, looking completely unafraid.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

* * *

“Well then, that’s all for questions. If you have further inquiries, please submit them in writing; all answers will be published within a week.”

With so many people needing to present within two days, achievement conference presentations were kept short—just 7 to 10 minutes for an overview, with 5 minutes for questions.

Deeper review was done by the Royal Council, and research grants were assigned around early winter.

Additional presenters went up to the hall’s rooftop or found a spot in the garden, or like Sabina, promised public answers and stepped down.

Sabina walked through the applause, her hair fluttering. The ovation was brief, quickly quieting out of respect for the next speaker.

She climbed the auditorium steps toward the door. In front, Ashton and Helio waited for her. Ashton bowed and pushed open the soundproofed door. As they stepped beyond the magic barrier, the sound of people chatting drifted in.

“Why are you here?”

As soon as she left Hawkeye Hall, Sabina looked up at Ashton and asked directly. He winked and patted Helio’s back.

“No matter what, he still needs a guardian, right? Helio’s still young.”

“That’s not what I meant. Today’s a festival for mages. You’re not a mage—how were you invited?”

She pulled the uncomfortable Helio behind her, but since he was taller than Sabina, he wasn’t completely hidden and it looked a bit funny. Ashton smiled.

“I’m not a mage, but—”

Helio’s eyes narrowed. Ashton continued, undaunted.

“I do business closely related to mages. Chancellor Madden’s presentation at Certanon Academy was quite impressive. I thought the price of solvents might drop and ruin my business, so it gave me chills.”

“You were at Lionheart Hall?”

“Of course.”

Sabina couldn’t tell if she should scold or praise him for not greeting her and Helio.

“Anyway, that’s how I got an invitation.”

Ashton pulled out his admission ticket from his jacket pocket, grinning.

“From His Majesty himself.”

“When did you earn that much trust from the King…?”

Before Sabina could finish her question, someone called out from behind.

“Sabina D’Vialis!”

The voice was silky, charming, so clean and direct that passersby turned to look. Sabina turned and placed her right hand near her heart, bowing her knee in greeting.

“Child of the one blessed by the Sun…”

“Today, let’s skip all that.”

Kenneth looked in high spirits. Sabina calmly bowed her head.

“You were at Hawkeye Hall, Your Majesty.”

“As a joint researcher, it was only right to listen. I left the presentation to you alone, didn’t I?”

The King’s voice was a unique, clear tenor that drew attention. The gazes of the crowd naturally lingered on the spot where four dazzling people had gathered.

“Anyway, Miss D’Vialis, you’re remarkable. Usually quite reserved, but eloquent when needed. Not that I didn’t know.”

“You flatter me.”

“Your personal research was intriguing as well. Have you considered trying to mitigate the side effects of time travel?”

Sabina smiled faintly. She had absolutely no intention of pursuing such research. If she ever developed a technology to lessen the side effects, it would surely lead to all sorts of troublesome situations. She also disliked the idea of people manipulating time as they pleased.

“If you would set standards for legal time travel that I can accept, Your Majesty, then I’ll consider it afterward.”

“Indeed.”

Kenneth, for once, fell silent and simply smiled, patting Ashton’s shoulder, who was standing like eye candy.

“Miss D’Vialis is famous for insisting on non-attribute magic, even with her great and rare attribute.”

“As expected of a righteous person. One must be cautious when moving something so great, don’t you think?”

Even though Ashton’s words weren’t particularly amusing, Kenneth laughed heartily.

In fact, his attention wasn’t on Sabina, who had finished her presentation admirably, nor on Ashton, who attended the mages’ festival as a Retona. The King bent down and greeted the frozen boy.

“So you’re Certanon Academy’s new talent. I hear you have an unprecedented attribute?”

To Helio, the King’s image was fixed as the man who had asked mischievous questions at Ashton’s carnival. The boy nodded, his face tense. The stiffness in his eyes and mouth revealed a different kind of caution than when facing Ashton.

“May I speak with you for a moment?”

Kenneth smiled gently. His face was truly identical to Reyes’s.

Helio, confused by the King’s sudden kindness, instinctively looked to Sabina. Sabina looked down at Helio and answered as his guardian.

“It would be an honor, Your Majesty.”

“Ah.”

But Kenneth raised his hand, blocking between Sabina and Helio. He reached out and naturally put his arm around the boy’s shoulders, smiling.

“At fourteen, you’re grown enough. I’d like to talk just the two of us.”

Helio’s face paled from the pressure. As he shot a pleading look at Sabina and she was about to speak,

Ashton gently took Sabina’s hand.

Sabina looked up at him. Ashton shook his head slightly with his eyes closed, signaling she should let Helio go.

“That child is too dependent on you.”

His words cut straight to the heart. Sabina couldn’t help but flinch.

Because of Helio’s various special circumstances, Sabina had always overprotected him. It was hard to deny. What guardian turns down an audience with the King just because a boy nearly fifteen is nervous?

In the end, Sabina lowered her eyes and spoke.