On the way back, Caelum Valtaris was unusually silent.
Though he was rarely talkative, tonight his silence was suffocating, like an early winter frost descending upon the sunlit city of Vescalen.
Even the usually oblivious Aurelia Delensar noticed something was off.
She kept glancing at him, her eyes scanning him up and down as if he were a new toy she’d just discovered.
—His skin was already dark, but tonight it seemed even darker, as if it could drip ink if squeezed.
How amusing.
“Pfft—”
Aurelia suddenly burst into laughter, her crescent-shaped eyes sparkling. “Nini, are you upset?”
Her voice was light and melodic, accompanied by the soft jingling of the bells at her ankles.
Caelum didn’t respond.
He continued to sulk, glancing at Aurelia’s radiant smile, which in his eyes was
