"Disciple Tyr," Owen approached Kyran as soon as Millie left the locker.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Owen hesitated for a second, then steeled himself and said, "Do not take offense, but I hope you will not ask Lady Millie to do...um... anything inappropriate."
Noir and Vaness's expressions turned blank at Owen's implication.
On the one hand, Hamish paled and was about to say something. However, Owen suddenly lowered his head at Kyran and shouted, "I'll accept any punishment for speaking out of line!"
When he was greeted by silence, he looked up and almost twitched when he found Kyran looking at him with a slightly gaping mouth.
"D-Disciple Tyr—?"
".... When you say inappropriate things, you... didn't mean that, did you?"
Owen laughed uneasily, "Ahehehe... Well, you had a scary look when you said it. Your expression reminded me of a pervert looking at his prey— ack! H-Hamish! W-What was that for?"
Owen complained when Hamish hit his head with a knifehand strike.
"What are you even thinking? Disciple Tyr is not that kind of person! Yes, he is arrogant and may act like a scoundrel who plays around with women—."
"Oi."
"—but in truth, he is an honorable man who respects them and will never do anything disgraceful!"
"If you don't stop, forget about teaching you two the arrays I deciphered back there, I won't even teach you other arrays I know!" Kyran scowled at them.
Owen and Hamish's countenance changed instantly as they faced Kyran and laughed uneasily.
"We are just fooling around, Disciple Tyr."
"Right. Right, I suddenly went serious there but it was just to lift the mood. Really."
Noir and Vaness, who watched their exchange in silence, chuckled.
"You three seemed relax," Noir commented.
Owen and Hamish looked at them both looking a little embarrassed.
"Since we finished early, let's go watch the Alchemy competition," Vaness suggested.
"That's right, the Alchemy competition is still on going," Noir agreed.
"I'll have to excuse myself, Master Noir and Head Chief Vaness," Kyran said apologetically. "I'll take advantage of this time to rest and prepare for tomorrow's matches."
They all looked at him, their expressions turning sober.
"You always appear in control we keep forgetting you are feeling unwell. Tomorrow, you'll also participate in two events," Owen recalled. "Will you be alright? I mean, you probably can survive tomorrow but the day after tomorrow, the Solo Competition's quarter finals will happen at the same time as the Array Competition."
Kyran smiled, "I'll manage somehow. Hopefully, the rules in the Array competition remains the same, and we don't get a random advance array mixed in on the circles we are assigned to."
"Hm" Vaness nodded his head. "What happened earlier is our mistake. We did not confirm the level of the arrays used in the match."
"Yes," Noir agreed, "To be honest, I did not notice that array beforehand. At most, there had only been mid-tier arrays. To think they actually hid those advanced arrays. It was unacceptable. We will not allow anything like that to happen again."
He looked at Kyran and smiled apologetically, "Go and rest. Later, I'll ask Malia to concoct a potion for you."
Kyran bowed his head toward Noir, "Thank you, master. I'll take my leave."
After exiting the locker room. Kyran returned to his room. Of course, the exchange between him and Noir had only been an act because he was not really sick. Noir and Vaness knew he had other things to do, so they did not insist on him staying.
Because the Array competition ended early, Kyran took this chance to visit the Montgomeray's secret residence. He was supposed to return last night, but because of the Beast Hunt incident yesterday, he had to postpone.
Though he did not inform Ezra, Zuri already informed the latter of what happened and knew Kyran would not be able to come.
In any case, Kyran sent a message of his coming, using the token Ezra gave him.
The token worked as identification and a communication device. With it, Kyran could contact Ezra anytime and enter the Montgomeray residence without being questioned. It also allowed Kyran to warp anywhere inside the residence so long as he had already stepped foot there.
As soon as Ezra received Kyran's message, he called for the elders and asked about the progress of the first five talents whose fae blood had been reawakened by White Lily.
So far, the five talents were adapting well to their contracted Spirits. White Lily had also been there to observe them while checking the rest of the Montgomeray members for more prospects. To date, she identified 23 talents who had weak fae blood but had powerful innate magic.
After Kyran arrived, Ezra, the rest of the elders, and White Lily held a meeting. They discussed future plans on how to strengthen the Montgomeray's overall military strength.
During their meeting, Kyran noticed the elders acting docile and timid around him. It was understandable. He did leave a mark on all of them.
Still, having them act like this was a little unsettling. They acted like servants rather than subordinates, which did not sit well with Kyran.
In the end, Kyran decided not to do anything and let Ezra change their mindset.
When the meeting ended, Kyran left and returned to the cottage.
By the time Kyran got there, Cyneah was already asleep. He stood at the side of the bed and silently watched her sleep.
Calculating the time difference in Noser, it had only been an hour from when Cyneah returned home after working in the hospice. Seeing how soundly she was sleeping, Kyran guessed they had a busy afternoon.
Kyran sighed and sat noiselessly at the side of her bed. He intended to come early to speak with her about healing Hugh's magic core. Alas, he was a few minutes late.
Just as he was thinking this, Cyneah stirred in her sleep, and her eyes fluttered open.
Kyran straightened and held his breath, waiting to see if she would wake or go back to sleep. A part of him wanted to wake her but felt she was probably tired, so he decided to remain still.
"Nar...?" Cyneah called out sleepily as she turned her head toward Kyran.
Kyran's brow creased slightly. Lately, he felt slightly irritated when she called him 'Nar,' and found his behavior unreasonable. After all, he was the one who told her his name was Nar.
He initially thought it was unnecessary to tell her the truth because he did not plan on keeping her. But the situation had changed. He could have told her the truth when Anette took her as a disciple, but he ended up dallying— actually, he just did not want her to know.
Back then, Kyran saw her existence as a big risk, wherein if she ended up in the hands of the Royal Army, she might unnecessarily leak information about him. This thought came after the Special Ops got hold of her back in Hanaan.
But now.
"How did you know it's me?" Kyran asked, reigning in his irritation.
Cyneah smiled sleepily and slowly sat up, "Your smell."
Kyran raised his brows and unconsciously smelled his clothes, "Do I smell?"
"No," Cyneah replied with a giggle. "You don't smell like medicinal herbs, like master, or like a cool breeze like Zephy so I know it's you."
Kyran frowned, "I can understand your master entering your room unannounced but Zephy? Does he enter your room too?"
Cyneah nodded, "Yes, when master asks him to." She tilted her head to one side and asked, "Why?"
"Don't let him in from now on. He can wait outside your door. Make that everyone except your master."
"Everyone? Does that include you?"
"Obviously, I'm exempted."
Cyneah chuckled, "Exempted, huh? To be honest, you're the only one who suddenly comes into my room unannounced."
"...."
She was right.
"As I said, I'm exempted."
Cyneah laughed, "Fine."
Kyran's expression softened after hearing her laugh. "Sorry for coming again."
"It's okay," she replied, shaking her head slightly. Then her expression turned sober as she asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"You sound like I only come here when something is wrong."
Cyneah did not respond and only looked at Kyran in silence.
Kyran looked at her eyes, which seemed to glisten even with minimal light in the room. Her line of sight was a little off, but her gaze bore on him.
Kyran sighed inwardly. Honestly, he did not want to start their conversation by asking her for help. Though he did not like beating around the bush, he had been asking for her help whenever he returned to the cottage and felt bad.
After a moment of silence, Kyran said, "You're right. I... need your help with something, but I—."
"Then tell me," Cyneah cut him off as she reached out to him. "You don't have to hesitate."
Kyran reflexively raised his hand and took her hand, and said, "You should."
Cyneah raised her brows, "What...?"
Kyran smiled slightly, "You're the one who should show some hesitation."
"Why should I hesitate? I am blind, Nar. I can never help you with other things. Only through my abilities can I be of help, so why should I hesitate?"
"Because I may end up taking advantage of you."
pan,da n<0,>v,el "Then take advantage of me," Cyneah replied with a smile. "Without you, I would have died in that place. I wouldn't have met my master and learned about many things. You are my savior, Nar."
Kyran frowned again after hearing her call him Nar. Yet, he did not try to correct her.
"So don't hesitate to ask. I'll do anything in my power to help you."
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om