"The fireworks appeared to have been a great success," Leo remarked.

"Oh, did you get a glimpse of them after all?" Elda grinned.

"Yes, I was watching from the tower," Leo replied. He grabbed a bowl of potato salad and scooped some onto his plate.

"I doubt you could take in any of the scents from where you were," Jarvis noted. He accepted the bowl from Leo and took a scoop for himself as well.

Leo shook his head of golden curls and gave a wistful smile. "No, I was too far away and too high up for any of them to reach me."

The three children and I were seated in the dining room, with traditional Adovorian food spread across the table in the spirit of the Summer Festival. Plates of steaming, aromatic dishes adorned with colorful spices and herbs promised a feast that rivaled whatever the palace could cook up. Father and Mother were away today, and Micah was at the palace banquet, so the feast was meant for us and us alone. It might have been too much food, but with Leona's presence, I was confident that every plate would be swept clean.

"Where's Fin?" Elda asked, looking around as if expecting him to appear from behind one of the curtains or the dining room doors. "I only saw a glimpse of him before Ridley took him away. I assumed he'd be here."

"He ate dinner earlier," I replied, having asked about him upon my arrival. "He's in the training grounds. Having gotten caught, he's begun taking his mage training in full seriousness."

"Good," Jarvis nodded thoughtfully. "He's been slacking off."

"What do you mean 'slacking off'?" Elda playfully thwacked Jarvis on the back of his head. "You were the one distracting him with your plants and trying to enlist his help in your research."

"Speak for yourself," Jarvis retorted, but his words lacked bite. "I know you had his help putting the final touches on your fireworks."

"Peep!"

You know, Lisa's bookshop did have many books on magic. It would be worth a visit to let Fin learn from the material if he's looking to grow as a mage.

I nodded in agreement and was again reminded that I still did not have my Whispering Necklace and needles.

I motioned one of the servants over. "Is Jasper back yet?"

The woman shook her head apologetically. "No, I'm afraid not."

Tch. Knowing Jasper, he was probably at the palace banquet swindling some noble out of a castle, a favor, or perhaps another mage tower. He wasn't even invited, but he could weasel himself into any party.

"Please let me know when he's back," I requested.

"Understood. The servant bowed and moved away.

"If there's anyone I need to thank, it's Leo. And Luca for recommending him," Elda said. She then sighed, her excitement still evident. "Leo reverse-engineered the blueprints Micah sourced for me. Without his help, I would've postponed the fireworks show to another year. Thus, it's a real shame you didn't get to see the show in its full scope."

Leo chuckled. "I'm sure there will be plenty of instances where I'll be able to see them in the future."

"Of course! They were a hit." Elda's face brightened. "There'll be substantial demand for them, and we'll recuperate the investment easily, seeing as people from all over were in attendance and saw the show. Soon, there will be fireworks going off across the continent!"

She roared with excited laughter.

I smiled and took a spoonful of the buttery corn, fresh basil, and green onion salad.

My sister and her love for explosions.

Another thought occurred to me.

Her and Jarvis's birthdays were coming up soon. I could source something unusual and explosive from the Game Store for her.

Unfortunately, as nothing living could be sold through the store, I would need to look elsewhere for Jarvis's gift.

I gazed over at my siblings, happily conversing with Leo and making a decent dent in the spread of delicious food.

Today's festival would have ended with someone's death. However, with the warning provided by Chase and Micah's swift intervention, today was instead concluding with a feast.

Not to mention, Fin and Leona were safely retrieved, and just my luck, Grandov had returned from the Celestial Mountain in one piece and had agreed to a partnership.

It was a good day.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

My right hand reached into my pocket and pulled out the card from Orla Rex.

I frowned as I reread the message.

The only trouble was this.

'Unfortunately, I have recently sold the item you have mentioned. I will check if they are open to selling it, but I wouldn't hold out hope.'

It was fantastic news that the artifact I was interested in could be sourced. The trouble was that it was just out of reach, with my fingertips barely missing it.

Hopefully, I'll be able to strike up a deal with whoever owns it now. Otherwise, I'll need to source another means of hiding Leona's presence.

I watched Leona, in her small form of a yellow chick, clean off the last bit of food on my plate. I was quick to scoop up more food for her before she could lunge toward the rest of the dishes.

BAM!

My head swiveled to the dining doors flying open. A servant rushed inside.

"Young masters and mistress, a royal carriage has arrived in the courtyard," the man said. His eyes locked onto mine. "It's Prince Chase Daylan. He wishes to meet with you, young master Luca."

"Is he still inside his carriage?" I raised my brow.

"He is indeed," the servant said.

That lunatic had finally learned some manners.

"Fine. I'll see to him." I wiped my mouth clean and tossed my napkin on the table. "Please have him brought to the Rose Room.

"Understood," the servant bowed and rushed away.

"Leona, you stay here," I instructed her.

She chirped back happily, clearly relieved that I wouldn't take her away from the feast.

I turned my gaze toward my siblings. "It's late, so I don't expect anyone needs to leave the grounds now, but please make sure that my bird remains inside the manor. Don't go taking her out ever again without my knowledge."

The kids replied they understood.

I disliked the idea of letting Leona out of my sight, especially given how recent her kidnapping was. However, as long as she remained within the premises of my home, it was unlikely to pose a problem. Besides, I disliked the idea of Chase Daylan potentially taking a more keen interest in her. Currently, he was still under the assumption she was an Awakened like us. I didn't know if her being a phoenix would change his attitude toward her.

It wasn't like I understood how that lunatic's thought process went.

I stood up from my seat and walked out of the dining room.

Chase Daylan might not have barged inside the manor like he did at my grandmother's residence, but I suspected he was still behaving like quite a nuisance to the staff.

Just what did that lunatic need to discuss now?

The last time I saw him was more than ten days ago, and back then, he left as abruptly as he had arrived. The only explanation he gave was that something had occurred. As to what that something was, I had no idea, and I had more pressing matters to attend to, so I frankly forgot about the whole thing.

But perhaps this is related to it?

I could only assume.

My steps echoed in the hall as I walked over to the Rose Room.

"I–I apologize, young master Luca," the same servant greeted me at the room's entrance. "He made his way inside before I could properly escort him."

I glanced inside the Rose Room and saw that Chase Dylan was sitting comfortably with one leg over another, gazing outside the window at the dark gardens full of Jarvis's twisted black roses.

Chase turned and smiled brightly at me, waving his hands.

At least he's in a good mood.

I sighed in relief.

"Bring us a pot of tea, please. Something relaxing, preferably," I instructed the servant and entered inside.

Chase wore a garb of flowing white silk with purple detailing. Glistening golden jewelry decorated his ears, neck, and hands. And, of course, a pair of his classic reflective circular shades covered his eyes.

"Luca! My friend, how have you been?" Chase continued to smile brightly.

Suspicious.

"I've been well," I replied, not caring to go into much detail. I sat down across from him. "What brings you today?"

"Two matters, really," Chase replied, leaning across the table. "And only you can help."

"What are they? Is either one related to why you rushed out so urgently the last time I saw you?" I asked.

Chase laughed. "Yes, indeed. But I'll get to that once we're alone."

He paused and turned his head toward the room's exit. The door opened, and a trolley arrived with a white pot and a pair of white cups with a gold trim.

"It's chamomile tea grown in our greenhouse," the maid that brought it explained. "It was modified by young master Jarvis to have stronger apple notes and more potent effects against inflammation. I had only just prepared it, so I suggest waiting a few minutes."

With that, the maid set an hourglass on the table, and the pink sand fell, indicating the time remaining for the tea to be fully brewed.

"Thank you," I said

As soon as the door closed again, Chase picked up the pot and tapped it with his index finger. "No use in waiting around."

He poured himself a cup of the golden yellow tea, with the chamomile having wholly brewed.

"Was that dark magic?" I asked.

Chase nodded and poured me a cup as well. "Obviously."

"Doesn't it chip away at your life with use?" I asked.

"Of course," Chase replied and sipped his tea. "Wow! This might be the best chamomile tea I've ever had."

A smile spread over his face, and he took another sip.

"You seriously brewed a teapot in exchange for some of your life force?" I asked.

I picked up my cup and lifted it to my mouth. The warm liquid had a mellow honey-like sweetness with notes of juicy apples. It was as if I was drinking summer itself.

"You're overreacting." Chase took off his eye shades and set them down on the table. "It cost maybe an hour of my life. Besides, we're in a time loop until Adovoria is saved. My use of dark magic hardly matters if the longest I'll live is another seven years, after all."

I frowned.

His logic was sound in the illogical state of the world.

"How did you learn it anyhow?" I asked.

There were few warlocks in existence, and it wasn't just because the price of using dark magic was too steep. I suspected if the Spiders Syndicate could, they would have attempted to monopolize warlock creation as they did with mages.

Chase shrugged. "I came across someone that knew it, got curious about it myself, and so I studied it."

I blinked. "Just like that?"

He was oversimplifying it.

"It's not like there are books lying about teaching you how to become a warlock," I said.

A grin spread across Chase's face, and he sipped his tea. "Who says there aren't?"

I scoffed. But Chase's expression remained unchanged.

He's serious.

"If you're curious, there's an odd little shop in East Genise. It's owned by an old lady who does nothing but read and drink tea," Chase replied. "You can read them in the shop, but she won't ever sell her books."

I blinked.

It can't be.

"But that's not the reason I came to see you." Chase set down his cup of tea. His facial expression changed to one that was uncharacteristically serious.

"What is it?" I asked and gulped down the rest of my tea, hoping it would help take down whatever request Chase had in store for me.

Chase clasped his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table.

"Luca, I need you to die."