133.Hobby
BACK AT MARCELLINE'S VILLA – HOLLOWMIST CITY
The evening in Hollowmist City was cold enough to make the windows shimmer faintly, a familiar hum of ancient magic lingering in the air. Inside Marcelline's villa, the atmosphere was calm yet sharply focused — the kind of silence that only existed in the homes of people who carried too many responsibilities on their shoulders.
Marcelline sat at her glass desk, her eyes scanning through several important documents that Adele had sent her via encrypted email. Adele never made mistakes — and even though she was the youngest among all of them, she carried a professionalism sharper than most seasoned officials. Still, Marcelline insisted on double-checking every detail; she couldn't afford even a single oversight now.
When she finally finished the paperwork, she rolled her neck slightly, releasing the tension that had settled over the last hour. She pushed herself up from the chair and headed toward the back courtyard — the place where the faint glow of enchantment symbols danced against the stone floor.
Leo was there, kneeling on one knee, surrounded by swirling, silvery sigils hovering in the air. He wasn't installing a machine. He was weaving a high-tier teleportation enchantment, connecting Hollowmist City directly to Shadowline City — a route normally restricted, monitored, and absolutely forbidden for anyone outside recognized clans.
But rules had never stopped them before.
Marcelline stopped behind him, arms folded, watching the glowing marks shift and lock into place like pieces of an ancient puzzle.
Marcelline:
"How's it going, Leo? At this pace, you'll set half the villa on fire before dinner."
Leo didn't turn around.
Leo:
"If your villa burns down, that's on you. You're the one who wanted a cross-city instant teleportation gate in a residential courtyard. Do you know how insane that is?"
Marcelline smirked.
"I'm insane? You're the one doing it."
Leo finally turned, glaring — but with that warmth only siblings by heart ever shared.
"You'll thank me when Adele needs to escape the Council inspections. Or when Victor decides he's done pretending to follow the rules. Or when Mia and Amara get into trouble — again."
Marcelline walked closer until she stood beside him, both of them staring at the floating rune circle.
Marcelline:
"It needs to withstand long-range jumps. Hollowmist to Shadowline without touching any boundary points. Adele especially… if the clans have truly intensified their watch, she needs a safe route."
Leo nodded, more serious now.
Leo:
"That girl… she works too hard for someone her age. And for all of us. If her clan ever catches her helping you, she'll be in danger."
Marcelline's eyes darkened — a quiet, lethal expression.
Marcelline:
"They won't touch her."
Leo suppressed a smile.
"Overprotective as always."
Marcelline:
"She's my sister. Just like you are my brother. Not by blood — but by the choices we made. And I protect what's mine."
Leo's expression softened.
"Well, then this teleportation enchantment will protect us all. Once it stabilizes, it'll allow direct travel even if we're banned or restricted by those old fools in their clans."
Marcelline raised an eyebrow.
"You mean when we get banned."
Leo chuckled.
"With our track record? Please. It's not 'if'. It's 'when.'"
Their laughter echoed lightly through the courtyard — serious, tired, but warm. The kind of laughter found between people who had survived too much and still chose each other every time.
Leo lifted his hand again, runes swirling back into motion.
Leo:
"Give me another hour. Then you'll have your doorway home… or your escape route. Depends on how much trouble you'll cause next."
Marcelline leaned against the pillar beside him, watching the sigils pulse like living stars.
Marcelline (quietly):
"In Hollowmist… trouble always finds me first."
This time, Leo couldn't argue on this..
--
CALL FROM VICTOR — SUPREME LEADER OF THE VAMPIRE HIGH TABLE
Leo was adjusting the last layer of sigils when Marcelline's phone vibrated on the courtyard railing, the low, melodic ringtone echoing through the stone corridor.
Leo didn't look up, but he smirked.
Leo:
"…If that's Adele, tell her she needs sleep. If it's Mia, tell her I'm not helping her hide another pancakes..."
Marcelline glanced at the screen.
Her expression didn't change — but her silence said enough.
Victor .
Supreme Leader of the Vampire High Table.
Breathtaking enough to make ancient gods reconsider their standards.
And the most annoyingly flirtatious creature to ever walk the night.
Leo paused mid-enchantment, looked up — and groaned.
Leo:
"Oh, him. Reject the call. We don't need that level of unnecessary… seductive chaos."
Marcelline rolled her eyes and answered.
The holographic call projected above her palm — and there he was.
Victor reclined in a velvet chair, shirt unbuttoned at the collar, moonlight painting silver across his cheekbones.
That wicked smile tugged at the corner of his lips the moment he saw her.
Victor:
"Well, well… look who finally remembered she owns a phone."
Marcelline:
"I was working."
Victor placed a hand over his heart dramatically.
Victor:
"You wound me. Truly. Here I am, suffering from a grave heartache, and you didn't even check on me."
Leo muttered under his breath.
Leo:
"He doesn't even have a heartbeat…"
Victor heard him — he always did — and grinned wider.
Victor:
"Ah, Leo. Still guarding her like an overgrown golden retriever."
Leo hissed:
"Say that again and I'll—"
Marcelline raised a hand.
Both men immediately shut up — one out of respect, the other out of fascination.
Marcelline:
"What do you want, Victor?"
Her voice wasn't rude.
Just direct — the only language Victor never managed to twist.
Victor leaned forward, elbows on his knees, eyes glinting a dangerous crimson-gold.
Victor:
"I received a report that Hollowmist's wards flickered today. Someone is setting up high-level enchantments. Someone with your signature… unless my senses are fooling me again."
Leo stiffened.
Marcelline didn't flinch.
She simply held Victor's gaze like she always did — unwavering, unimpressed, immune to his charm.
Marcelline:
"You called me to interrogate me?"
Victor chuckled — a low, warm sound that always carried a hint of seduction, intentional or not.
Victor:
"No, sweetheart. If I wanted to interrogate you, I would have sent an envoy.
I called because…"
He tilted his head, eyes trailing over her face through the projection — slow, deliberate, intimate.
Victor:
"…I missed your voice."
Leo nearly choked on air.
Marcelline blinked once.
Calm. Stoic. Unmoving.
Marcelline:
"You're bored. That's why you called."
Victor's grin sharpened.
Victor:
"You see through me too easily. It's unfair, really."
He lounged back, brushing silver strands of hair away from his face.
Victor:
"Tell me, Marcelline… when are you visiting the High Table again? The council has been unusually dull without your… attitude."
Marcelline:
"I'm busy."
Victor:
"You're always busy. Let me give you a reason not to be."
His voice dropped an octave — velvet, honeyed, dangerous.
Leo:
"Oh for Heaven's sake—"
Marcelline:
"Victor."
Just her saying his name made him sit straighter.
Marcelline:
"I'll come when I have business there. Not before."
Victor didn't look disappointed — he looked thrilled.
Victor:
"You're the only woman who rejects me so effortlessly. I should reward you for it."
Marcelline narrowed her eyes slightly.
Victor (smirking):
"Tell Leo to finish that enchantment carefully.
The High Table isn't thrilled about cross-city portals… but I am."
Leo froze.
Marcelline's jaw tightened.
Victor leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that felt like cold silk.
Victor:
"And Marcelline… call me before you get into trouble."
A slow smile curved his lips.
"Or when trouble gets into you."
Leo:
"THAT'S IT—"
Marcelline hung up before Leo could explode.
Silence returned to the courtyard.
Leo stared at her.
Leo:
"…Why do you let him talk like that?"
Marcelline brushed imaginary dust off her sleeve.
Marcelline:
"Because he doesn't cross the line."
Leo scoffed.
Leo:
"He invented the line."
Marcelline simply turned toward the villa door.
Marcelline:
"Finish the enchantment. Victor won't be our only problem if the clans notice."
Leo watched her walk away, shaking his head.
Leo:
"You attract chaos like it's a hobby…"
And yet — he couldn't hide the tiny, fond smile tugging at his lips.
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