"Beep! Beep! Beep!" My alarm clock went off.
"Just in time," I dismissed my alarm clock.
"Stella!" I called.
"Yes, Papa?"
"Take care of Ella later when I'm off for work," I said.
"Yep, Papa!"
I walked down the stairs to the kitchen, and Stella followed me. "Tell Ella she can cook her own food today," I opened the fridge. "If not, she can eat this bowl of porridge from yesterday," I told Stella. She nodded eagerly.
Step step step.
Ella walked down the stairs and yawned, her eyes half closed. "You're up early," I smiled. "It's 11.30 a.m."
"Aren't you late for work?" Ella rubbed her eyes, dragging her oversized pyjamas across the room as she sat lazily on the island and stirred the bowl of cereal I had taken out for her earlier.
"I'm taking a night shift today, so I only need to be there by four for a briefing." I poured some fresh milk from the fridge into her bowl of cereal. Stella crawled into her lap and took a nap.
"Then why are you wearing such formal clothes so early?" Ella said groggily.
"I'm not," I sighed, looking at my t-shirt and shorts. "You sure need to get glasses soon," I teased.
"Brother!" She puffed her cheeks, fully awake now.
"Hahaha," I laughed and patted her head. "Since you've awakened, Stella can teach you how to use it properly." I looked at Stella, and she nodded eagerly. "I'll be overseeing your training," I said.
"Ok…" Ella stirred her cereal even more slowly.
After her training, I figured that her control of Astralis was about the same as mine when I was four, which was pretty good, I guess. Well, I can't be with her every day to train her… but she does seem to have potential…
Ah! That's it! I'll just send her to school!
"Ella, listen," I cleared my throat. "I was thinking about sending you to elementary school."
"..." Ella wiped the sweat off her brow and stared at me blankly.
"I happen to know that my tutor when I was young is now working in Celestara's elementary and middle school. Since you are a Celestial, Celestara is the best choice for you." I paused to look at Ella's reaction. She seemed quite reluctant. "The best part is that they do not have dorms, and thus you can come home every day after school, just like any normal kid," I concluded.
"Fine," She said slowly. "But I'd like to join any club activities I like, is that ok?"
"Sure," I nodded. Now that's one less thing to worry about.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Wow, Ace, you sure arrived early," Artemis commented.
"An early bird, aren't you?" Jasper patted my back.
"Yes, I already collected our mission materials from Matron." I gestured to a table in the cafe. "Take a seat," I sat down opposite Tyler, Artemis to my right, and Jasper on my left. "Tyler, barrier," I raised an eyebrow.
"Ye–yes! Wait a moment," Tyler closed his eyes and chanted a spell. When he finally opened his eyes, he winked, giving us the signal to start our conversation.
I opened the confidential file and began the briefing. "Today, our mission is to assassinate Lord Hastings, a well-known politician for his corrupt deeds," I started. "He is in charge of bringing in artefacts from Durnhal. This is crucial to striking up a conversation with him." I looked at Tyler. "As for this mission, Jasper and I will attend the Royal Ball as we are nobles. Artemis and Tyler, once we lead him to the location where you will be hiding," I pointed to a point on the map. "You will kill him." I let my words sink in. I turned to Jasper. "Jasper, to capture his attention, you must converse with him about artefacts you are interested in."
"Then, of course, you will drag him to the location Artemis and Tyler are to hold a 'private conversation'."
"But won't the crowd notice us leaving?" Jasper asked.
"Do not worry about that part, I will handle it," I said calmly. "Doing your job is key."
"Tyler and Artemis, the rules of this mission are not to use Astralis," I pointed at the small print at the bottom of the sheet of paper. "Remember that."
They all nodded.
"In this mission, absolutely nothing must go wrong, got it?"
"Yes, sir!" They said unanimously.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Brother, you're back early," Ella said, her eyes fixated on the TV, gaming nonstop.
"Yeah," I placed my coat on the sofa and watched her. "These few days, I need to bring you to see Celestara Elementary School," I said quietly. "Though it's not as competitive as the High School, so don't worry, Ella, there'll be no entrance exams," I smiled at her.
"Yippeee!" Ella waved her hands and danced around the living room.
"But, you're on your own for today's dinner." Her smile faded as she froze and looked at me. "I have to attend the Royal Ball today," I said. "The consequences of taking a noble's name," I sighed. I haven't really told Ella about the nature of my job yet, but I definitely told her about Kaori, who has 'kindly' adopted us as her 'siblings'. For now, we can't do anything except obey her. If this ever gets leaked out…things would probably go south.
"Is that so…" She looked down glumly. "In that case, I want to come with you too!" She looked at me with a big smile, her eyes even sparkling.
"But, you don't even have a formal dress," I said.
"Well, you don't either!" She countered.
"I was planning to get one this afternoon since it's only three," I said sheepishly and looked away.
"Ah hah! I knew it!" She held up a finger as if she knew it from the start. "I'll come along with you then! Time to meet Kaori, then. I'm sure she will be there since we are representing the House of Nightfall." Then she skipped upstairs to look for jewellery and makeup.
"You ready?" I looked at dressed-up Ella.
"Yes!" Ella wrapped her hands around my arms and exclaimed.
"Here we go!" And we stepped into the blinding light.
"This is where I wanted to buy my clothes," I pointed to the shop in front of us.
"But it's the most expensive shop! Out of all the shops here, you just had to choose this one?" Ella gasped.
"It's not like we don't have the money," I frowned internally.
"But…" Ella protested.
"No 'but's," I said firmly. "It's a Royal Ball, Ella. No shop, no ball." I stated.
"Fine…" Ella said reluctantly, though her eyes were sparkling.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Isabella! I didn't know you were coming today, you too look gorgeous!" Artemis exclaimed, and Ella dashed into her arms. Since when did they get so close?
Jasper raised an eyebrow. I gave him a look that said it all. He laughed, then nodded, understanding my pain. I guess this is the so-called 'bro bro' connection.
"You two are definitely a pair of elegant siblings! Look at how you two fit perfectly with the elegant gown and suit!" Tyler complimented.
The three of them looked at how well we were dressed and nodded.
"It's not just the two of us," I said softly. "Our eldest sister, Kaori, is inside."
"Kaori?!" Jasper gasped, his jaw dropping. "She's your sister?!" Jasper asked.
"Yeah," Ella and I looked at Jasper incredulously. "Why? Did she do something?"
"No," Jasper shook his head. Then he started to shiver, "Th—they say…that there's this seemingly warm and gentle girl in 1S that's…" He trembled. "...dangerous! Very terrifying!" He stammered.
"Tyler, do you know Kaori, too?" I asked him.
"No, I am only attending Celestara next year," He replied.
"Ah, I see," I looked closely at him. "You two seemed quite close when we first met, so I assumed you two were friends at school."
"Oh! Tyler scratched his head. "Actually, we're childhood friends, so we've known each other since young. The houses of Grayson and Frostworth are quite close." He chuckled.
I see. Ella and I looked at each other. At least now we know one more thing about this mysterious girl, Kaori.
"I should have known that Kaori was your sister," Jasper laughed and patted my back. "You three share the same surname after all." He chuckled.
"Though," He leaned closer towards us. "You two look quite different from her."
Crap! He's going to find out!
Suddenly, a warm hand was gently placed on my back. "They look more like our father, though I look more like our mother," I turned to see Kaori standing behind me, dressed elegantly, a dangerous smile on her face. "So, can you please stop harassing my siblings?" Her smile felt off, as if behind that seemingly gentle smile of hers was an overprotective sister wanting to kill Jasper.
A warm sensation filled my heart as I felt like I had known her for years, as if I had reunited with my family at last.
Ella quickly caught up with the act and exclaimed, "Big Sis!" And bolted right into her arms. As Kaori hugged her back, I commented, "Big Sis, you're so late. This is our first ball, you know? You promised to introduce us to everyone!"
"Sorry…" Kaori scratched her head.
I could hear Artemis, Jasper, and Tyler whispering behind us about what a great trio we were in terms of our looks, and….
"Elements!" Ella exclaimed. "Our elements are really compatible with each other! See, I have Light…"
"I have Shadow…" I continued.
"And I have Regeneration!" Kaori ended.
"Mm," Artemis looked at us. "You all are really a great trio. Close combat is Ace, middle range is Isabella, and long range is probably Kaori."
I used my right hand to touch my blindfold, signalling them.
"The party is starting, I have to go now," Tyler said almost immediately.
"Yeah, me too," Jasper and Artemis added.
"Bye then," Ella waved to them. "Hope to see you guys soon!"
And we all headed in different directions.
"Astra Nocturne, off!" I commanded my eyes in my head. Instantly, I felt the tiny constellations in my eyes fading until my eyes were back to normal. I see, I can finally control it.
I immediately pulled off my blindfold,d and my white hair fell near my eyes, and some even hovered around my eyes.
"Brother? You took off your…?" Ella was rendered speechless.
"Yeah, I can finally get the hang of it."
"Ara ara, Alistair, you look quite handsome like this," Kaori complimented.
"Yeah, it's best not to greet the Lords and Ladies like this," I replied. Then a sudden realisation struck me. I stood defensively in front of Ella and questioned Kaori, "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Ara ara, Alistair, even I don't know," Kaori smiled. "Though I'd like to know…" she whispered sadly.
"What do you mean?"
"When I woke up from my coma, I couldn't remember anything and was told by the hospital staff that my name was Kaori Nightfall and my family had died during a tragic fire outbreak," She looked away. "Then a voice kept telling me in my head to find the two of you and adopt the two of you so that we'd both have a family!" Kaori's eyes lit up.
I could tell she wasn't lying.
I lowered my guard. Both Ella and I smiled sadly at her. We knew what it felt like to lose family like that.
"You can call me Ace then,"
"And you can call me Ella!"
"Welcome to the Nightfall family!" We both smiled.
"Honestly, you two," Kaori wiped away a tear. "I should be the one doing that," She chuckled.
"Now," Kaori clapped her hands. "Let's get the Royal Bao started!!"
"Yes!"
And we stepped into the ballroom.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Kaori! I heard what happened to your family. We're so sorry," A middle aged couple walked over to us, though I use the term generously. They both hugged Kaori, and Kaori hugged them back. "Oh? And who's this?" They eyed Ella and me.
Kaori smiled. "Ace, Ella, this is Lord and Lady Blackwood," She looked at them and introduced us, "Lord and Lady Blackwood, this is Alistair and Isabella, my siblings." On that cue, we took a bow.
"Oh? I never knew you had siblings; you never mentioned them," Lady Blackwood looked shocked.
"Haha, of course not, Lady Blackwood, they were too young then to attend these balls," Kaori laughed.
"Now that I look closely," Lord Blackwood adjusted his glasses. "You two do look very much like your father. It is really a pity for a great man such as him to go. He and his wife looked at us with pity.
Ella and I looked down, remembering what a great father we had.
Lady Blackwood clapped her hands. "Well, today is a joyous day, so let's think of happy things!" She peered at the three of us. "You three really look elegant! Ah, what great genes you have got from your parents. This one's extremely attractive, just like his father," She looked at me, her eyes sparkling. "You and you are both gorgeous today! Isabella, you look so cute! And Kaori, you look stunning! Anyone would fall onto their knees for the three of you!" She complimented.
"Haha, that's very kind of you," Kaori bowed. "Now it's time we get going,"
"A,h yes, us too!" And Lady Blackwood waved goodbye.
"The Princess is up there," Kaori whispered in my ear after they left. "Go do what you must." She winked at me.
How did s————?
Without waiting for me to respond, Kaori beckoned Ella, "Come, Ella, let me take you to the pastry section! Alistair wants to talk to his friends."
"Aw…" Ella sulked. But the minute she heard the word 'pastry', her face immediately lit up, and she exclaimed, "Yay! Let's go! Right now!" And she dragged Kaori to what seemed like a mountain of macaroons.
I put back on my blindfold and observed the Princess. She was currently talking to a crowd of Lords about political matters.
No matter what, I will stick to my plan.
It's almost time for the Royal Ball to start. In the last five minutes, the sons of these Lords will court her soon. I just have to stay a little far away from her and stand out from the men later.
I looked for Jasper in the crowd. He was in position, near Lord Hastings, but not quite conversing with him yet. Of course not. Jasper saw me and winked, signalling that he was in position. I glanced at my digital watch. Artemis and Tyler were making their way to their positions. From the crowd, I could see that they were caught up in conversation with Lord Sterling and Lady Blair.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
"Welcome all to the annual Royal Ball!!" The lights dimmed as the spotlight was pointed at a decent gentleman standing on the stage. "I am Sebastian Sinclair, and I will be your host for today!"
"Firstly, let's give a warm welcome to the King and Queen!" All of us bowed towards them. He looked at the King and asked, "My King, do you have any words to say?" The King shook his head.
"Now then, find your dance partners!"
"Princess Arielle-sama, would you do the honours of having a dance with me?" A fine young man knelt on one knee.
I watched from afar, observing her as more men swarmed around her. Her beautiful hair was silver-white, which looked soft platinum blonde, giving a creamy pearl glow, quite different from Ella's hair colour. Her eyes were blue, but not the icy type. They were gentle, warm, knowing. The tiara that rested on her head was light gold with some sky blue gems. Her skin was clear and pale, which almost seemed perfect. She had the perfect figure that all men crave.
Arielle's cheeks reddened as she grew flustered by the crowd swarming around her.
"Princess, please dance with me!"
"No! Princess, please dance with me!"
"Princess!"
"Princess!"
"Princess!"
"5," The host counted down.
The words kept being repeated over and over again. I looked over my shoulder. Jasper was in position. Judging by the movement of their lips, they were currently discussing the importation of the artefact. I glanced at my watch. Artemis and Tyler were currently in position, near the exits of different parts of the ballroom.
"4,"
Well, guess it's almost time I used that trick up my sleeve. They are all in positionan d they all rely on me to succeed. I must not let them down. After all, this was one of my requirements to get us a big bonus. I'm not here for the big bonus, though…
"3,"
I pulled off my blindfold. I am here for the challenge.
"2,"
I walked toward Arielle, my left eye shining a star-shaped gleam. The light from my eyes was directed at her; it was no mistake. She looked out from the crowd, and her eyes widened.
Time seemed to slow down. At that moment, there was only her and me.
Her eyes met mine.
A faint sparkle swirled around her eyes as she locked her gaze onto mine
Her soft, pink lips curled into a small smile, as if saying I choose you.
"1,"
Arielle reached out her hand from the crowd and grabbed mine. She pulled me close to her and apologised, "Sorry everyone, but I am dancing with him," Then she gave me a dunchenne smile shyly. I smiled back awkwardly.
"0!" The host announced. "All those participating in the dance, please head to the centre of the room!"
The crowd parted to reveal the dance floor between them.
"Please greet your partner,"
In the middle of the ballroom, where crystal chandeliers scattered light like fallen stars and every gaze naturally drifted, Arielle and I took a bow. The applause distantly washed over us, as though it belonged to another world. Standing beside me, Arielle reached just up to my lips—not too short, I noted absently, my thoughts already elsewhere.
"May I?" I asked, extending my hand with practised grace.
"Yes." Her answer came a heartbeat too fast, and her cheeks bloomed pink as she placed her smaller, slender hand into mine. Her fingers trembled slightly before settling, soft and warm against my palm, as if she feared the moment might vanish if she held too tightly.
The Waltz in C sharp minor began.
It was slow and rhythmic, a melody that seemed to breathe—each note lingering gently before fading into the next. I stepped closer, guiding her into position, one hand resting at her waist. She inhaled softly, shoulders tensing for an instant before easing beneath my touch, her trust flowing into me as naturally as the music itself.
We moved.
Our first steps were careful, almost hesitant, but we quickly found our harmony. The marble floor reflected our figures as we glided across the hall, our movements smooth and unbroken, as though the dance had been etched into us long before this night. Her dress whispered with every turn, pale fabric catching the light and drifting around her like a soft halo.
When I led her into a slow spin, she followed without question, her hair fanning out before settling back against her shoulders. As she returned to me, our eyes met—and in that instant, the ballroom dissolved.
There was no audience.
No titles.
No expectations.
Only the warmth between us, the steady rhythm of our steps, and the unspoken understanding that neither of us wished for this moment to end.
She grew more confident as the dance carried on, her movements lighter, freer. Her hand no longer trembled in mine, and when our fingers brushed during a turn, she didn't pull away. Instead, she looked up at me, eyes shining beneath the chandelier's glow, as if silently asking me not to let her fall.
I didn't.
With every step, I drew her closer, guiding her through sweeping arcs and gentle turns. The world seemed to slow, each note stretching into something almost tangible. Time itself felt suspended, wrapped around us like a dream we were afraid to wake from.
As the music swelled, I spun her once more, slower this time, savouring the way she trusted me completely. I caught her at the end of the turn, one arm steady at her back, her breath warm against my chest.
The final note lingered.
We stayed like that—too close, too still—long after the music had faded. The applause returned in waves, distant and unreal, but neither of us moved. Arielle's gaze dropped, her face flushed as her fingers tightened around mine, as though she were afraid that letting go would shatter the fragile magic we had created.
Reluctantly, I stepped back, but her hand remained in mine.
"Your name?" She looked up to me, her hand still in mine as she stepped forward.
"Alistair Nightfall," I replied as she drew closer to me. She looked up to meet my eyes. "Yours?" I dared to ask.
"You don't know?" She laughed. "My name is Arielle Fontaine, First Princess of Lucarion. But for you," She tip toed such that my eyes could meet hers perfectly. "It will be just Arielle,"
"Lord Nightfall, you are like Prince Charming, a dream come true." She spoke softly. "Though I know that you are here to kill Lord Hastings, my heart cannot help but ache for you. May you return my feelings someday?" She looked up at me.
"Lord Nightfall," She whispered into my ear. "Will you have a duet with me?" She then pulled away from my embrace and slowly made her way towards the stage.
I hurried to catch up with her and slipped my hand into hers. "For tonight, my heart is yours only," I smiled at her.
"La Campanella, then, let's do La Campanella," She rested her head onto my shoulder as she clung onto my arm. From the corner of my eye, I could see Jasper and Lord Hastings heading towards the exits.
Arielle Fontaine, I see that you differ from the Royal family. You do not turn a blind eye to what is evil and stand strong on your beliefs. You do not turn a blind eye to what is evil. You, Arielle, have truly what it means to be Queen.
Though I feel sorry for you, for you have no power.