Knock. Knock.

"Young master Luca?" Denise's voice sounded from outside. "Can I enter? It's time to get up."

I blinked my eyes awake and pulled the fluffy blanket off my face.

"I'm up. You can enter," I called back.

"Peep!"

It's about time, human. I've been stuck in this room for over an hour now, waiting for you to wake up.

Leona fluttered atop one of my pillows and stared down at me with her golden eyes.

"You could have just awoken me," I mumbled and rubbed my eyes.

It felt like there was a film over them and the light coming through the window was blindingly bright.

How long did it take me to finally fall asleep?

"Peep!"

Hmph. You looked so dead asleep; I didn't wish to bother waking you.

I smiled at Leona.

Cute.

"Good morning, young master Luca." Denise entered my bedroom with the usual tray of items. She set down the washbasin and tea on my side table and adjusted the wide blue band holding her short brown hair in place.

A smoky fragrance emanated from the cup of tea that she set down. I scrunched up my nose. My memory recollected how Natalia Ashford had perished in a fire yet again. It also reminded me of the smell of ash from the burned-down Frey Manor from my original life.

I stayed up late, tossing and turning. My mind worked through all the possibilities of what I might have changed in this and the previous round.

Just what would cause Harley Whitmore to burn down the Ashford Bakery?

But even that was a presumption. For all I knew, her being at the Ashford Bakery the same day it burned down may have merely been a wild coincidence.

But it's such a convenient coincidence. The woman who loves burning buildings goes to see Natalia, and then the bakery burns down shortly after that? It was too neat a coincidence. But that only brought me back to my main question. Why?

"This is Keemun Black Tea from Zarez," Denise explained.

Leona hopped over to the freshly poured tea cup and took a sniff.

"Peep!"

Bleh. That's so smoky smelling. It's like someone smoked a pipe into it. How do you drink this stuff?

I chuckled.

I suppose I wasn't the only one that had a distaste for Denise's tea, albeit Leona's was more based on personal taste, while for me, each of her cups distinctly reminded me of some unpleasant memory.

"Your father has gone out of town on business, so breakfast will be with just your siblings," Denise said. "Will you be coming down to eat?"

"Yes, I might as well," I said.

I missed Fiona's cooking. I realized I hadn't yet had breakfast in the Frey Manor because I was so busy this round.

I got out of bed and cleaned my face off in the washbasin. The cold water felt refreshing against my tired eyes.

Hmm?

I was drying off my face when I realized that Denise was standing still and gazing at something on my desk. Her lips were pursed together, and her hands were clenched into fists.

I followed her gaze toward the golden envelope with the invitation from the Spider's Syndicate to their underground auction for mages.

Ah. Of course, that would be her reaction.

It was stupid of me to leave something like that in open view. Especially in front of Denise, given her younger brother was secretly a mage.

"I don't plan on buying any mage," I said.

"What?" Denise turned. Her hazel eyes were wide, clearly surprised to have been caught staring. She usually had the air of a fox and one that did not care about anything, but I knew one thing she certainly cared about more than anything else in the world: her younger brother and my good friend from my original life, Fin.

"I'm against the practice," I said and walked over to her. "I'm especially against how the Spider Syndicate kidnaps and develops mages to be sold off in places like this. It's repulsive."

I tapped the golden invitation.

"Ah." Denise nodded her head and looked away. "That's good. What the Spiders do is quite repulsive indeed."

"How is your brother, by the way?" I asked.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I didn't know Denise all that well from my original life, but Fin used to tell stories about how hard she worked to raise him. Their parents had passed away when Fin was just a tiny tot, so Denise wasn't just an older sister but like a mother to him. She was fiercely protective of him and gave him anything he wanted.

Fin would have grown up to be quite the spoiled rotten child had Denise not passed away and he had been taken away by the Spiders. I was curious what the young Fin was like in this day and age. Unfortunately, I only knew the Fin from my original life, who had undergone excruciating pain and torment under the Spiders while being taken to his limits as a mage.

"Brother?" Denise's eyes widened again.

"Fin?" I suggested.

Did she have a second brother? I thought Fin was the only one.

"How how do you know about him?" Denise's fox-like air was gone. Instead, she resembled the scared-wide-eyed Fin that I knew.

I blinked.

Something was wrong. I realized I might have messed up just now.

Wasn't Denise fiercely protective of Fin? She knew how dangerous it was for anyone to discover that he was a budding young mage, especially the Spiders. Hence, it was probable that she had never even mentioned him within the Frey household, especially given our own dark connections and involvements. And here I was bringing him up directly after she saw an invitation directed to me to buy up a young mage.

Damn it. That was really stupid of me.

"There was a background check on you when you were employed," I said.

It was the truth. Anyone hired by the Frey Manor underwent a background check of some sort. And Fin's existence was unlikely to come up during that time. Not that I would have known either way.

"Since I'm going to be having breakfast with my siblings, it reminded me that you have a sibling of your own," I hastily added. I tried to break the connection to why I'd mentioned Fin directly after Denise saw the invite to a mage auction.

"Ah." Denise nodded her head and collected herself. "He is doing well."

She didn't divulge anything else about him.

"Young master, I'll take care of a few things and come back to clean up. I assume you don't want help getting dressed for breakfast?"

"No, I can do that myself," I said.

"Enjoy your tea, then." Denise bowed and left the room.

"Peep!"

What was that about? She looked terrified.

Leona fluttered atop my messy hair and began brushing it out to make it comfortable for herself.

"I touched on a sore spot by accident," I said. "I need to be more mindful of what I should and should not know at this point. Revealing that I know too much might cause problems."

I picked up this morning's cup and poured the tea into my potted leafy plant.

***

The taste of buttered crust and spiced baked apples filled my mouth.

The Ashford bakery produced some delicious pastries, but Fiona cooked up a mean apple pie and other dishes.

"Peep! Peep!"

Leona enthusiastically fluttered around the table in the form of a round yellow fluff ball, gobbling up food and making nonsensical comments into my mind about how delicious everything was.

I licked my fork clean and gazed up at the others sitting at the table.

Jarvis was busy thinking, his head low and picking at his food. He was undoubtedly continuing to brew on how his research had been stolen.

I should look into that myself. If Kathy's visit is related to it having been stolen then I'm responsible.

Even if the connection was coincidental, given how this was a new event in this lifetime compared to my original life, I felt responsible regardless.

"No—no, no. The point is that it must explode," Elda tapped her fork against a quiche on her plate while making her point to Leonard.

"But if it completely explodes, how will it be retrieved to comprehend any learnings?" Leonard retaliated and bit into some cooked carrots on his own plate.

I was pleased to see that Elda and Leonard were getting along well. Their two heads of red and golden curls bounced as they enthusiastically argued about whatever invention or creation they were working together on.

Sarka Jarbez, Leonard's mother, looked pleased that her son made a friend as well. She smiled and looked over at the two children conversing while enjoying her breakfast.

"How is the mini-portal coming along?" I asked Sarka Jarbez.

I doubted it was near completion, but gauging the timeline would help me understand when I could potentially utilize it for a few needs I had.

Sarka looked at me and opened and closed her mouth. She instead tapped Leonard's shoulder to help translate.

"The initial testing will begin in a few days," Leonard said. "She is pleased about the resources the Freys have been supplying her with; it has made putting the mini-portal together fast."

I smiled at Sarka.

Had Sarka been taken in by the Spiders Syndicate, the mini-portal wouldn't have been invented for two more years. They had other ideas about what her talents were good for.

Not that I don't have my own ideas on what inventions she should work on next. But perhaps that was limiting in its own way.

"Leonard, could you ask your mother if there are other projects she would like additional resources for? It would be best to get ahead of the curve and have them supplied ahead of time."

Leonard translated, and his mother began enthusiastically speaking to him. He, himself, looked less than enthusiastic, however. He sighed and turned to me to translate back the avalanche of projects and materials each would require.

As my conversation with Sarka continued, Leonard looked less and less eager. Still, he continued speaking dutifully on his mother's behalf.

Elda also looked annoyed at me, clearly impatient to return to her conversation about exploding devices with Leonard.

"You should learn to speak Sorvagurian," Elda suggested.

Huh. She had a point. And it gave me an idea.

"Please excuse me one moment." I stepped away from the table and towards one corner of the room with a mirror. I pretended to adjust my hair while whispering to the System.

I was going against my advice earlier this morning, but as I was with family and friends, it felt that it would fare fine.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Which syndicate is behind the theft?

Jarvis wrapped his fork continuously around his vermicelli.

One of the guards reported to him this morning that no traces were found of the intruder.

Whoever it was that broke in was incredibly powerful and capable. They must be backed by one of the top syndicates, but who?

The Silver Eels came to mind first. Jarvis could think of a few nobles that would have gained from obtaining his research. Then there was the Hogshead Syndicate, whose interests might have aligned with increasing the production of their most valuable goods. A few more organizations came to mind, ending with the Spiders. The Spiders had no direct benefit that he knew of, but that didn't mean they weren't involved.

He felt a kick from Elda.

"Ow. What was that for?" He looked up from his plate at her.

"It's Luca," she whispered. Her green eyes were wide.

Leonard, who sat beside her, was also staring open-mouthed at Luca.

Jarvis gazed across the table to see what the fuss was about and dropped his fork in surprise.

Luca was conversing with Sarka Jarbez in her native tongue, Sorvagurian. Except he used two languages to speak.

"And what about the metal type? Should it be copper or brass for that to work?" Luca asked, and then his eyes gazed at something invisible in front of him as if recalling something and repeated his words in Sorvagurian.

"When did he learn Sorvagurian?" Jarvis asked.

"No clue. He hates studying," Elda whispered. "Perhaps what Micah has been telling us all along about him is true."

Jarvis watched Luca continue to converse with Sarka and had to agree.

Perhaps Micah was right like he usually is: Luca is capable of far more than he normally lets on. I should send a letter and inform Micah of this development.