The Karsain Villa was known not just for its grandeur, but for the ancient magic woven into its very stone. Every window shimmered faintly with defensive runes. Every hall whispered with echoing silence, a silence that served the family well—especially when secrets were traded like currency.
Harvey Arclight stood alone in the outer garden, waiting.
He'd received the letter an hour ago. A sealed envelope with no signature, just a crest—Karsain. He could have ignored it. He almost did. But instinct—honed through regression and sharpened through years of betrayal—told him this was necessary.
The heir of Karsain didn't invite people lightly.
Footsteps echoed across the stone path behind him.
"You came."
Harvey turned slightly. Celestine Karsain stood in the moonlight like a statue carved of glass and flame. Her long silver hair caught the soft glow of the lamps, and her amber eyes were unreadable.
"I was curious," Harvey replied. "What does the first daughter of one of the Twelve want with a nobody from Class F?"
Celestine smiled—not mockingly, but like a player laying down her first card.
"You're not a nobody. Not anymore. And don't insult my intelligence by pretending otherwise."
He said nothing.
She walked toward the center of the garden, stopping by a low stone bench etched with ancient sigils. "Sit."
He didn't move.
She glanced back. "If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't be this obvious."
Harvey stepped forward, each move deliberate, and sat across from her. The air between them shimmered faintly—an active barrier spell. She was cautious.
Good.
"I watched the footage," she said. "From the western corridor last night. What was left of it."
"There's nothing left."
"I said 'what was left.'" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Three attackers. Unknown runes. No facial recognition. But you were nearby. Too nearby. And then the interference spiked. Power levels off the charts. I won't ask how you survived. I want to know something else."
"What?"
She leaned forward. "Why are you still pretending to be weak?"
Harvey didn't answer immediately.
Celestine continued, her voice quieter now. "You have talent. Real, dangerous talent. That spell barrier in the training hall—don't think I didn't recognize it. Multi-layered weave, hybrid-anchored. That's at least Third-Sequence design. Class F doesn't teach that."
"And yet I'm still in Class F," Harvey said coldly. "Maybe the system is broken."
"Or maybe you're hiding."
He looked her dead in the eyes. "Everyone hides something, Celestine."
Her expression didn't change. "I don't."
He laughed once. "That's your first lie of the night."
She didn't deny it.
For a moment, silence returned. Then she pulled something from her pocket—a crystal shard, flickering with faint light. She tossed it to him.
"Mana signature fragment. From the attacker who cast the detonation rune. I extracted it before the scene was cleansed."
Harvey caught it, brow furrowing.
"Why give this to me?"
Celestine stood, her voice cool. "Because I don't want to play this game in the dark. I want to know who's pulling strings behind the curtain—and I think you do too."
"So you want an alliance?" Harvey asked.
"No," she said. "I want leverage. And so do you."
He rose. "What makes you think I'll trust you?"
"I don't. But I think you're smart enough to realize that the people who sent those men last night weren't targeting the Academy." She paused, eyes narrowing. "They were targeting you."
Harvey's expression didn't change, but inside, alarms rang.
"I can help," Celestine added. "If you let me."
He turned away.
"Maybe," he said over his shoulder. "But don't mistake caution for obedience. I'm not a tool."
"I don't want a tool," she replied. "I want a weapon pointed at the right enemy."
He stopped, then smiled faintly.
"I'll consider it."
---
Later, back in his room
The moment the door locked behind him, Harvey activated his private barrier and dropped the crystal onto his desk.
> [System Notification]
Analyzing foreign mana signature…
Thread identified: Nightshade Executioner Class. Affiliation: Unmarked. Spell Core: Corrupted Flame Variant.
—Cross-referencing with known blacklisted spell networks…
Match Found. Source: House Vandrel.
Harvey's eyes narrowed.
House Vandrel. One of the old magus families. Enemies of House Karsain. Rivals of nearly every reformist faction.
And they'd sent assassins into the Academy under stealth?
No. Not just assassins.
Executioners.
So the game had already started.
And Celestine… she'd taken her first real step into the field.
He opened the system panel and tapped the next active quest.
> [Quest: Threads of Treason – Part II Unlocked]
Objective: Uncover the traitor linked to House Vandrel inside Arkwell Academy.
Reward: Sequence Key – Tier III.
Failure: System penalty lock for 3 days.
Harvey exhaled slowly.
It was time to start hunting the snake in the garden.
---