"Hmmm..." Arion moaned blissfully in his sleep.
Clara watched him from her seat below, her expression as aloof as ever.
"Wake up," she said.
She didn't move. She didn't need to.
Still half-asleep, Arion suddenly sat up—only to grab his pillow and fling it straight at her face before collapsing back onto the bed.
"Damned alarm clock…" he muttered, already drifting back into sleep.
The pillow hit her unceremoniously. It was soft and slid down into her lap.
Clara looked at it.
Then at him.
"What is an alarm clock?" She asked herself. It was their third and final day of their train journey to Stonehaven, Arion woke up yesterday just fine but today...He hit her with a pillow.
'Bastard..'
Standing up, she went to another smaller room inside the VIP room, it was the bathroom though there was only one...
She sighed locking the door, and turned back to see the beautiful bathtub as she began for an early bath.
* * * * * * * * * *
A few minutes later, Arion stirred. His eyes opened lazily, only to pause when he noticed something strange.
His pillow…wasn't under his head. 'What the hell?'
As he looked around, he found his pillow. It was on Clara's seat.
He stared at it.
'…Did it walk there?' He shook his head and suddenly went still.
'It's not like she has some Bonus related to making harmless things harmful...Right?' He asked himself and gulped nervously only now noticing Clara's absence.
He momentarily paled as his eyes darted throughout the room for traps, weapons or Clara herself, right when he was about to manifest one of his swords, he heard the sound of a door opening to his left, and saw a gorgeous teen of his age coming out of the bath.
Her hair was silver and he could see faint glistening drops of water in them shining the already shining hair of hers. Her violet eyes held steady on him—deep, unreadable, and as pretty as always.
For a moment, he said nothing, looking at her, his face was heating more and more as time went, he felt his face reddening as he looked at the beautiful.
"Hey there!" He said brightly, trying his best to not show the fact that he was ogling her. Though it seemed harder than defeating that damned Iron beast.
Clara didn't return the smile.
She simply stood there for a moment, water still tracing faint lines down strands of her silver hair, violet eyes fixed on him with that same unreadable calm.
"You threw a pillow at me." She said flatly.
Arion was almost amazed by her uncaring attitude. 'Is she used to these things? No wait, when did I throw a pillow at her?'
"Uh...Sorry?"
'Do children in the great noble clans have classes dedicated to having a poker indifferent expression on their face at all times?'
He briefly looked at Clara and silently nodded to himself, patting his back internally he let a proud smile slip onto his face, he had found a secret of the Great Noble after all, who dared to wrong his right to smile.
Though for Clara, it was obvious he was ogling her, but the proud smile?...Why in the world did he smile?
She almost thought he had sneaked up on her while she was bathing but shook her head. That was simply impossible. But then, what was that smile for?
The train began to slow long before it stopped.
The rhythmic clatter that had filled the air for hours softened into uneven beats, metal grinding faintly against metal as if reluctant to end the journey. Outside, the darkness had thinned—replaced by a dim, ashen light that clung to the horizon. Stone structures emerged through the mist, jagged and silent, like they had been waiting.
The train was no longer singing.
"…We're here," Clara said.
"I know." Arion said somewhat rudely, his mind was on turmoil now. Now that he had reached his hometown, he would soon meet his family.
Normally he wouldn't worry about it much but this time there were two important factors that made him worry.
First being the fact that he had unlocked his Bonus and the second was the beautiful princess next to him. He had already come to a decision about what to reveal regarding his Bonus to his family and Clara who would undoubtedly try to learn it.
If his family were not satisfied with only details and actually wanted the name of the Bonus. Then he had to go with another way, still he was prepared, he had years to prepare for this moment after all.
But the second problem, the Crystal Princess was his main problem, she would definitely bring attention, he didn't know what reasons the girl came here for, and the fact that she came with him made it more worse in case she did something bad.
Saying she had followed him would only make things worse. No one would believe him anyway. Why would the Crystal princess follow a brook, especially one as disappointing as Arion.
Walking behind her and getting out of the train, he couldn't help but find himself smiling. It was a natural and sincere smile. He had returned to his hometown after all. He had returned to the place he was born and raised.
Stonehaven.
The town was the same, and yet it had changed.
He remembered the city from six years ago when he left for the academy, at that time the place was mesmerising, powerful looking and had a strong resemblance to the houses of the stone age.
Now they were still there, but they seemed more modern, more like a town ruled by a noble. His clan had continued to rise in power after all, it was obvious that his town would change, he just was shocked on how fast it did.
Even then, he smiled. The beautiful stone age-like town he had grown and loved had gone, transforming into a modern beauty with subtle hints of the town it had been before, somehow the mix of modern and past just made it more beautiful in his eyes.
They knew, the entire town knew he was coming, of course they knew. All of them knew him, the only son of Darius Brook, and so there had been a lot of expectation on him.
He didn't know their view on him now though, he was almost sure that they knew he had not unlocked his Bonus, he hadn't shared it with anyone, Clara figured it out because she met him.
Bonus users let out a unknowing presence, so two Bonus users could easily figure out the other had a Soul Rune too, and now that he had awakened his Soul Rune, even he could unconsciously differentiate and identify a fellow Bonus user.
Of course, normal humans who had no Soul Rune could not do that, and so ,most probably he would still be seen as someone who had yet not unlocked his Soul Rune.
However the moment any Bonus user saw him, it won't be a secret any longer.
As he and Clara walked through the roads of Stonehaven, many greeted and smiled to Arion, of course he wouldn't meet his parents with some normal civilian looking clothes, as much as he hated to admit it, his parents would probably disown him if they saw him in such non-noble clothes especially now that he had unlocked his Soul Rune.
Arion wasn't dressed like a typical noble. He wore a full-sleeved crimson t-shirt, the fabric plain and slightly worn, the color deep and muted rather than bright. It fit him comfortably—not tight, not loose—just enough to move without restriction. There was nothing refined about it, nothing that tried to stand out.
His black pants were simple, made for movement rather than appearance. No insignias, no ornaments, no polished shine—just functional clothing.
Arion's father had already booked a magical vehicle which looked similar to a car to bring him back home. The MV-Magical vehicle soon stopped in front of him and Clara. Opening the door, he moved aside and smiled at Clara.
"Ladies first."
Soon, they were halfway to his home-or rather, to his mansion. Well it was his dad's mansion but again could be considered his too.
Currently in the mansion were his parents, sisters, and workers.
And in other big houses around it were the other people of his clan.
All of them were excited at his return. At least he hoped they were but again they will after they see Clara beside him. Not all members of the clan knew the true reason for his departure to a academy of another city when his own city had an academy too.
The true reason was known to only him and his father, he wasn't even sure if his mother knew it too.
So well, all others would see this as a chance of possible alliance between the Brooks and the Crystals.
"How was the six years in Ashford, my lord?" The driver asked, Arion didn't know who he was but again he didn't know much people, and as being the prince of Brooks, it was only obvious he would be recognised in his own city.
"It was...good, I think..." He answered, and paused as he took in the sight outside the window. "There was not much to do yes, but again...the purple academy has been teaching me well and despite that I miss this place." He had wanted to say more but stopped himself from doing so.
The driver chuckled. "I feel happy...to know that at least one noble is humble." He said quietly, Clara shifted but mostly didn't comment or do anything. However the young man only continued.
"At first we thought you were being kind and humble only because of your circumstances but now, now I know that the kindness is not a mask." The man said with a smile.
"Umm, what do you mean?" He asked confused, the young driver only chuckled and grew silent for a while. Arion knew why he was silent.
'Clara...' He thought glancing at her, though she didn't say or do anything, her presence alone was enough to startle the young man.
Arion was silent for a while and then smiled at the driver. "You mean to say you thought I was acting kind because I hadn't unlocked my Soul Rune back then?"
The driver nodded. "If a noble clan member fails to unlock his Soul Rune there's a high chance he would be disowned and so, we first thought your act of kindness was nothing but an act. But now, as I am a Bonus user myself, I can sense it. You have finally unlocked your Soul Rune and yet, your behaviour hasn't changed. In fact you look more humble than before."
Arion didn't know how to react but still, he managed to let out a soft chuckle.
"Then I guess I'll have to improve my acting if you guys were able to see through it briefly." He joked and the man just laughed with him nodding his head.
"I hope you don't take my words as an offence to nobles, and your family. We respect them. We truly do." The first part was sincere, the man seriously hoped that Arion hadn't taken his offensive words to heart.
The last part was added due to the presence of Clara.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence with Arion staring outside and contemplating his soon meeting with his family.
He was finally snapped out of his thoughts by the driver's voice.
"We have arrived, Lord Arion."
Arion was the first to step out, as he smiled at the driver. Immediately after Clara stepped out he closed the door, and gave the driver one more smile.
"You call me humble, and yet address me as Lord, is that normal?" He asked.
However, the young man did not answer, he only smiled and bowed...and then left.
'Poor guy...' Arion thought before turning away, towards the entrance of the mansion.
Soon he would meet his parents, and soon he had a feeling something massive will change.