(Aria Pov)

Who is he?

Someone from the branch families, maybe. But she had memorized every face worth knowing in the northern noble circles. This one wasn’t there.

Her gaze was cold. Calculating.

If he was arriving here, he was here for her birthday. That narrowed it down. But it didn’t explain the face.

And who is she?

Her gaze shifted to the girl in the carriage window. Silver-blonde. Small. Watching the mountains like she had never seen them before.

Tsk.

Then she noticed a butler opening the door.

Sebastian.

She knew Sebastian Crowe. Knew what he was, what he did, who he answered to. Sebastian didn’t escort guests. Sebastian didn’t ride up front for anyone who didn’t matter.

So he matters.

When he stepped out of the carriage.

She ran through every person she could think of with that build, that posture, that particular kind of stillness that didn’t come from training alone but from something older.

The carriage door opened.

He stepped out.

And something in her chest did something she didn’t have a name for yet.

Is that...

My brother?

She hadn’t seen Kael in months. The last image she had of him was not this. Was nothing like this.

Why does he look like that?

Her eyes moved back to the girl. The way she stood half a step behind him. The way her hand found his sleeve without looking.

Did he fall in love or something?

The thought arrived flat and uninvited.

She filed it away.

Her expression didn’t change.

But her gaze wasn’t missed by Kael.

***

(Kael’s POV)

"System," I muttered.

[Yes, Host.]

"Show me her profile."

[10 PS.]

Huh.

Fine.

Unlike Kael, who had been the embodiment of waste, Aria was something else entirely. Cold. Like an Emperor.

A girl who understood every cruelty the world had to offer and carried it without showing the weight.

And yet.

Something in Kael’s body reacted before I could stop it. Not mine but his. Old emotions buried in borrowed muscle memory, surfacing without permission.

Is it because it’s only been a month?

I thought I had full control of this body.

Apparently not.

Aria was one of the first heroines introduced in Descendant from Heaven. A prodigy who would eventually reach a strength that made even gods cautious. I knew that. I had read it. I had planned around it.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Aria Ardyn

Age: 18

Race: Human

Affinity: Ice (S)

Mana Heart: Silver, Mid Tier

Favourability: -10 (Worry)

I stared at that last line.

What? She is worried? I did not expect that... or maybe I should have expected that much at least from her. She was a character like that anyway.

"System, why is her profile more detailed than Lina’s?"

[Money matters, Host.]

Tsk.

***

The main mansion was larger than the estate I had been staying in. Obviously. Everything about House Ardyn was built to remind you of the distance between yourself and it.

A woman was waiting at the entrance.

Seraphina Ardyn.

Former prodigy. Current duchess. The kind of presence that made a room rearrange itself around her without her doing anything at all.

Behind her, slightly to the left, stood Aria.

I stepped forward.

"Greetings, Mother."

Kael’s smile. Small. Practiced. I wore it without thinking.

Then I turned.

"And you as well, dear sister."

A powerful aura pressed in from the side before I finished the sentence.

Duke Lucian Ardyn. Tenth Swordmaster of the empire. He hadn’t moved but the weight of him had.

"Are you up to something again?" His voice was controlled but the agitation was underneath it. "We have already decided what happens after you both finish the academy. What is the meaning of this duel?"

I kept Kael’s cadence. Unhurried. Slightly dismissive.

"Was I unclear in my message? Or has age finally caught up with you, Father?"

Lucian’s jaw tightened. He didn’t move.

This was how Kael had always spoken to him. It had never changed.

"Dear." Seraphina stepped between us, her voice carrying that particular warmth that made the tension lose its footing. "Your father is right. After the academy it will be fair for everyone. Don’t you think so?"

Even her voice is enough to destabilize a room, I thought.

"I understand, Mother. But there is nothing fair here anyway."

I let the words settle before continuing.

"Everyone in this region knows Aria’s potential. If you asked anyone living under this house’s name who should be the next heir... not a single one would choose me. I am what I am. She has been destined for this since the awakening ceremony."

The awakening ceremony. Held at fifteen. The ritual that opened the senses to mana for the first time.

My voice had gone quieter without me choosing it. Kael’s grief was strange, not sharp.

Seraphina couldn’t watch her son being so sad; her motherly affection immediately took over her.

"Don’t say that," Seraphina said softly. Her expression had shifted into something maternal and unconditional. "Potential isn’t everything. You can still work hard. Mother will always be there."

"Use those resources on Aria instead," I said. "The gap will only grow. Let me do this now, while it won’t feel as embarrassing."

I turned towards Aria.

She had been silent the entire time. Watching.

"Brother...?"

Barely a word.

I moved towards her and stopped at a reasonable distance. Close enough to speak quietly. Far enough that it didn’t feel like a confrontation.

"I know I haven’t been a good brother," I said. "For any of it. I want to apologize for that."

A pause.

"The reason I treated you the way I did... was that I have never been able to see anyone as my equal."

The apology was real.

The last line was Kael.

But by the end, it turned cold. His narcissistic personality was coming out.

Aria was looking at me like she was trying to solve something.

Can a person change this quickly!

I could almost hear her thinking it.

***

"Mister."

Every head turned.

Lina stood at the entrance, a few steps behind where she had been told to wait. Hands clasped. Expression patient. Like she had simply run a calculation and determined that the acceptable waiting period had elapsed.

"What are you doing in there?"

Complete silence.