After the lavish dinner had concluded and the golden plates were cleared away, silence slowly crept over the obsidian estate. A soft goodnight left Rina's lips—directed gently toward her mother and Leona—and she disappeared into the silent corridors of House Rochey.
Each footstep echoed faintly against the polished stone floor as she made her way back to her guest room. The hallways were dimly lit by silver lamps enchanted with soft lunar essence. Their glow shimmered faintly like moonlight frozen in glass.
When Rina entered her room, she locked the door behind her and let out a long, quiet breath.
The space smelled faintly of lilies and fresh parchment—clean, cool, and untouched. Like the rest of the estate, the air carried something else too, something more *alive*. Mana. Thick, potent, almost sacred. It lingered not just in the water and food, but in the very *walls*. Even the silence pulsed with it.
She made her way into the marble-clad bathroom. The tub was already filling, responding to a soft spell embedded in the room's design. Warm water swirled with shimmering trails of mana—liquid light that pulsed faintly beneath the surface.
Rina undressed slowly. Her crimson dress slipped from her body like flame dissolving into shadow. She stood still for a moment, bathed in the pale light of the mirror. Her fiery red hair fell loosely down her back, dampening with the steam. Then she stepped into the bath.
The mana-rich water wrapped around her body like a second skin, seeping into every pore, every breath. It wasn't like ordinary water. It soothed and pulsed. It *communicated*. As though it *recognized* her bloodline.
She sighed, leaning back.
As the warmth soaked into her muscles, she began to feel… different. Her body had been changing. Slowly. Subtly. But now she could see it more clearly.
After her bath, she stepped from the tub, wrapping herself in a soft towel. The large mirror on the opposite wall caught her reflection—and she paused.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Her body… her chest in particular, had grown noticeably fuller. Her curves more pronounced. Her skin more radiant. The transformation wasn't drastic, but it was undeniable.
*Mana,* she thought silently. *Or the food. Or maybe the house itself.*
Everything here was *alive*. Not in the way plants or animals lived—but in the way gods dreamed. The obsidian walls were etched with glowing, ancient sigils—lines she hadn't noticed during the day. Now, under the light of the full moon, they shimmered faintly with a silvery hue, pulsing like a heartbeat.
She had noticed it earlier, too—how the mansion responded. How it *welcomed* Naoko and Jin. How the air seemed to bow before them. As if the estate knew its masters. As if it loved them.
Wrapping her towel tighter, Rina stepped back into her room and began dressing for sleep. Her nightgown clung to her still-warm skin. The soft cotton caught slightly on her chest—tight, more than before. Her usual undergarments no longer fit properly.
She glanced down again.
*E… no, it's probably closer to F now,* she thought, expression blank. *I'll need to get enchanted bras. Ones that shift with mana flow. Maybe Leona knows a good shop.*
She turned off the lights and sat on the edge of the bed. Her reflection in the window stared back at her—pale, flame-haired, golden-eyed.
But her mind… her mind wasn't calm.
She leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
*Why… am I thinking of him so much?*
Jin Rochey.
He had spoken so little to her—yet his presence lingered louder than thunder. She could remember every word. Every breath. Every emotion he *didn't* show. That cold voice. That sharp gaze. That overwhelming loneliness beneath his perfectly-formed mask.
She once thought about Shin all the time—his smile, his laughter, his warmth. But now… Shin was a warm memory in a fading book. Beautiful, yes—but increasingly distant.
*Why doesn't it bother me?*
She should be worried about drifting away from the one who cared about her. She should feel guilt. But she didn't. Instead, something else had started to bloom in her heart—a dangerous, inexplicable fascination.
*Maybe I like boys like that,* she thought. *Quiet. Distant. Broken. Dangerous.*
She closed her eyes, and his image came again. That shiny black hair like cold coal Those crimson eyes—empty, yet burning.
*What if he was with me at the academy?*
It was a foolish idea. Jin would never set foot inside the walls of the academy. He didn't belong there. He didn't belong *anywhere*. The academy was now on a seasonal break, and the second semester would begin soon. But Jin… Jin seemed like he belonged to the shadows of this estate, to its silence and its stone.
*Still… what if?*
She imagined him sitting beside her in class. His deadpan expression. The way everyone would either fear him or worship him. How the professors would never dare challenge him. How Shin might react.
*Would I… still think of Shin?*
The answer came quickly.
*No.*
The thought was terrifying. Yet… it comforted her.
Her mind briefly drifted to Sarafina Frost—her rival. Her arrogant smirk. Her frost magic. Her obsession with outshining her. And how Rina had *beaten* her, fair and square, before the semester ended. It had been personal—not just because of school ranking, but because of the *name* they carried. Amberheart vs Frost. Their families had competed for generations.
*I wonder what she'd think… if she knew who I'm being forced to marry.*
She smirked faintly.
Then, her gaze returned to the window. Moonlight bathed the floor in a river of silver.
And far beyond, somewhere in the dark wings of the estate…
She wondered if Jin was training again.
Alone.
Bleeding, maybe.
Pushing himself to the brink, with no one to watch. No one to care.
No one but the living walls… and the girl who couldn't stop thinking about him.