Take Me Away, Dark Lord!

Instead, he casually dropped onto the floor, crossing his long legs, putting himself at eye-level with Seraphina. ”I hear we’re plotting a paper-fowl rebellion.”

For the rest of the day, the infirmary ceased to be a room of healing and transformed entirely into a sanctuary of childhood fluff.

Baron Vance eventually excused himself to finalize the arrangements with Kaelus, leaving the three kids alone. It was exactly what Leo needed.

Seraphina sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, organizing the origami army, while Cedric took on the role of the ultimate, entertaining older brother.

He didn’t treat Seraphina like a terrifying magical anomaly, nor did he treat Leo like a fragile glass jar.

He treated them like normal kids.

”So, what is the Academy like?” Seraphina asked, taking a massive bite of a sweet bun, her adult mind practically vibrating with curiosity. In every fantasy novel she had ever read, the Imperial Academy was the epicenter of drama, magical tournaments, and ridiculous romantic subplots. ”Do you have to fight monsters? Are there evil professors who give you bad grades because they hate your dad?”

Cedric laughed, a rich, booming sound, leaning back on his hands. ”You’ve been reading too many penny-dreadfuls, Lady Seraphina. It’s mostly just a lot of reading, sweating, and trying not to accidentally blow up the alchemy labs.”

”You blew up a lab, Big brother?” Leo gasped, his eyes wide with hero-worship for his older brother.

”I did not blow up the lab,” Cedric defended himself, though a highly suspicious flush crept up his neck. ”My lab partner, Roger, miscalculated the mass of a Fire-root extract. I simply... happened to be holding the beaker when the windows shattered. I didn’t have eyebrows for three weeks. Father was furious.”

Seraphina giggled uncontrollably. ”You had no eyebrows?! Did you draw them on with charcoal?”

”Worse,” Cedric groaned, covering his face with his hands in mock despair. ”The magic professor took pity on me and cast a glamour. But he had a terrible sense of humor. For an entire month, my magical eyebrows would change expression independently of my actual face. I would be trying to ask a girl for a dance, and my eyebrows would be actively forming a look of angry disgust, or a flirty dance.”

Leo burst into a fit of laughter, clutching his bandaged chest, but the pain didn’t stop his giggles.

Seraphina was entirely entranced.

’He is literally the protagonist of a slice-of-life academy spin-off,’ she thought, her heart swelling with pure, uncomplicated joy. ’No demons. No assassinations. Just exploding beakers and rogue eyebrows. It sounds so wonderfully, beautifully normal.’

”But we do learn combat,” Cedric added, his emerald eyes twinkling as he picked up the spiky paper Kraken. ”We have elemental dueling. You stand on these massive floating platforms over a lake, and you have to knock the other guy off using only your primary affinity. I’m a Wind-user. We’re the fastest, obviously.”

He flicked his wrist, and a tiny, controlled gust of wind picked the paper Kraken out of his hand, making it do a lazy loop in the air before landing gently on Leo’s head.

Seraphina watched the magic.

It was so light and breezy.

It lacked the heavy, suffocating, gravitational crush of her Dark Core, or the blazing, toxic heat of the demons.

It was magic meant for playing, for learning, for living.

”Will I go to the Academy?” Seraphina asked aloud, the question slipping out before her adult mind could filter it.

She thought of her dark mana, of Kaelus’s overprotective, homicidal paranoia. Would the Reaper ever let her leave the Bastion? Would he ever let her stand on a floating platform and throw wind and water at other kids?

Cedric looked at her, his expression softening into a gentle, knowing smile.

”Of course you will,” Cedric said firmly. ”You’re a high noble of the Empire. When you turn ten, you’ll get your acceptance letter with the wax seal. And by the time you get there, I’ll be a senior Knight-Commander. I’ll make sure none of the snobby Capital kids bother you. You’ll be the coolest girl in the courtyard!”

”And I’ll be there too!” Leo chimed in, holding up his paper duck. ”We can sit at the same lunch table!”

Seraphina looked at the two brothers.

She felt a sudden, massive, incredibly warm lump form in her throat.

In her past life, she had never had a lunch table, an older brother to protect her, or a younger friend to share ducks with. She had been a solitary, struggling artist. And in her current life, she had spent five years hiding in a gray orphanage.

But sitting here, surrounded by pastry crumbs and origami, she realized something profound.

She was making friends.

Real, actual, normal friends.

”Okay,” Seraphina beamed, her dark eyes shining with unadulterated happiness. ”It’s a promise. We’ll share a lunch table. But I get to pick the seats. And if anyone is mean to us, I will have Sir Boris crush their kneecaps!”

Cedric blinked, then burst into another fit of laughter. ”A sound strategy, Little lady. I look forward to it.”

The rest of the day passed in a warm, golden blur of shared stories, sugary treats, and childhood games. For those few hours, the terror of the catacombs was banished, replaced by the healing magic of simple, human connection.

.

.

.

The next morning arrived with the crisp, humid brightness typical of the Verdant Reach.

The Black Bastion was fully assembled in the grand courtyard of the Emerald Crown. The mythril carriage gleamed in the sunlight, the warhorses stomping their hooves, eager to return to the road.

Duke Kaelus von Nacht stood by the carriage door, a picture of dark, brooding perfection, his violet eyes scanning the perimeter with customary paranoia.

Standing in front of him were Baron Elian Vance, Cedric, and a bandaged but cheerful Leo.

Seraphina stood at Kaelus’s side, holding his black-gloved hand.

”Your Grace,” Baron Vance bowed deeply, his voice thick with emotion. ”The debt we owe the North can never be repaid. The House of Vance is forever your ally.”

Kaelus offered a single, curt nod. ”Ensure your city guards tighten their patrols, Baron. The syndicates are broken, but they are not eradicated. Do not let your guard down.”

Elian nodded solemnly, stepping back.

Cedric stepped forward, dropping to one knee in front of Seraphina. He didn’t offer a formal bow; he offered a warm, incredibly fond smile.

”Farewell, tiny terror,” Cedric said, reaching out to gently, playfully ruffle her dark hair, completely ruining the perfect braids Sir Gallahan had woven that morning.

Seraphina didn’t swat his hand away. She giggled, fixing her hair with her free hand. ”Farewell, eyebrow-less wind boy.”

Cedric laughed, tapping the tip of her nose. ”Remember the promise. The lunch table.”

”I remember,” Seraphina nodded fiercely.

Leo stepped forward next, clutching the silver paper duck tightly against his chest. He looked at Seraphina, his hazel eyes wide and earnest.

He didn’t have big words or flowery noble speeches.

He just threw his uninjured arm around her, pulling her into a tight, awkward, genuine hug.

”Thank you, Seraphina,” Leo whispered into her ear. ”You’re the bravest girl in the world.”

Seraphina hugged him back, patting his shoulder gently. ”Eat your vegetables, Leo. They help your bones heal.”

When they pulled apart, there were no tears.

Seraphina’s mind felt a strange, profound sense of peace. In the novels she used to read, goodbyes were always drawn out, dramatic, and weeping.

But she didn’t feel the need to cry.

As she looked at Cedric and Leo, a deep, resonant intuition settled in her chest. This was not the end of their story.

The universe of this world, the narrative threads of magic, nobility, and fate, would inevitably weave them back together.

She knew, with absolute certainty, that when the time came to walk through the grand doors of the Imperial Academy, the Vance brothers would be waiting for her.

”It is time, Seraphina,” Kaelus rumbled softly, breaking her reverie.

”Coming, Papa,” she chirped.

Kaelus lifted her into the carriage, stepping in after her and closing the door.

As the convoy rolled out of the courtyard, leaving the Verdant Gate behind, Seraphina pressed her face to the glass, waving wildly at the three figures standing in the sunlight. They waved back until the carriage turned a corner, entirely obscuring them from view.