Chapter 109 - Company

Chapter 109: 109 - Company

The following morning, Adrien returned to the clearing behind Greymoor, though this time he wasn’t alone.

Amelia sat beneath one of the trees bordering the training ground while Adrien stayed cross-legged in the grass. He had been meditating for half an hour, tracking the mana moving through his Core and body with Absolute Mana Sense turned inward.

The two star-like structures around his Core were clearer now that he knew what to look for, and he could feel the same slow improvement he had noticed the day before. Nothing dramatic had changed overnight, though he hadn’t expected it to, since Core advancement took time. Amelia had stayed quiet for most of it, letting him concentrate, though neither of them cared much about silence.

"Your mother looked happier yesterday."

Adrien opened his eyes without moving. "She did indeed."

"I don’t think she expected any of it."

"She didn’t even remember it was her birthday until she walked into the room."

Amelia turned toward Greymoor. "That doesn’t surprise me. She seems like someone who always has something else in her head."

Adrien understood exactly what she meant. Evelyne rarely stopped. If she wasn’t going through reports, she was speaking with Garrick, organizing the estate or handling whatever problem had reached Clairmont that day, and yesterday was one of the first times Adrien had seen her sit for an hour without work in front of her.

"I forgot too," Adrien admitted.

Amelia looked back at him. "Ariane reminded you?"

"She wanted me to go to the market with her. I didn’t know why until we were already there."

Adrien lowered his hands into his lap. Thinking about it still left him uncomfortable, even though the day had gone well.

"I should know things like that."

"You know now."

"That’s true."

Amelia didn’t try to reassure him beyond that, which Adrien appreciated. He had forgotten, Ariane hadn’t, and next year he intended to remember. He closed his eyes and returned part of his attention to his Core, where the mana kept flowing steadily.

Amelia stayed quiet another minute before speaking. "The earrings suited her. She was still wearing them at dinner."

"They were mostly Ariane’s choice."

"You still helped."

"With the important part."

"What important part?"

"Paying for half."

Amelia nodded as though that made perfect sense, and Adrien kept his eyes shut while the conversation drifted on.

melia told him Vael had spent the previous evening complaining that the tea at Greymoor wasn’t prepared the way he liked it, though he had still drunk three cups, and that Lucien had vanished after dinner and ended up with the younger soldiers until late.

Adrien told her Garrick had returned to work that morning despite Evelyne telling him to take things slowly, and neither of them expected that argument to end soon.

Amelia shifted against the tree. "Do you always train this early?"

"Most days. It’s the only hour nobody needs anything from me."

"Even after yesterday?"

"I didn’t do anything yesterday."

Amelia weighed him for a moment. "You really don’t know how to stop doing things, do you?"

Adrien opened one eye. "I’m sitting completely still right now."

"While cultivating."

"Still counts."

Amelia didn’t answer straight away. He liked this. Having somebody nearby while he trained, without needing them to take part, was new to him. Amelia wasn’t asking questions or trying to understand every detail of what he was doing, and the clearing felt less empty for it.

"How long are you staying in Greymoor?" Adrien asked.

"Probably another two days."

"Only two?"

"Vael still has things he wants me to help with in Elyndor. The barrier is stable now, but there are other things that were neglected while everything was happening."

Adrien nodded. "And Lucien?"

"He’ll probably stay here today and come back with us. Vael pretends he doesn’t care where he goes, but he notices when Lucien is gone for too long."

That sounded accurate. Adrien let his concentration sink deeper, following the mana through his Core and outward into the rest of his body. The Draconic Physique made the circulation feel natural now, with less resistance than he remembered from his first weeks after awakening.

Amelia caught the change in his breathing. "Can you actually feel yourself getting closer to Three Stars?"

"Not directly. I can tell the Core has developed, though. I’d say I’m somewhere around sixty or seventy percent through Two Stars."

"That’s fast."

"I thought so too."

"You’ve also been fighting things you probably shouldn’t be fighting."

Adrien opened his eyes again. "That might have helped."

"It probably did. I’m still not recommending it as a cultivation method."

Amelia’s expression suggested she wasn’t entirely convinced. Adrien stretched his legs out. He had been sitting long enough for the muscles to stiffen, and there was no point forcing another hour when his concentration had wandered. Amelia stood and brushed the grass from her clothes.

"Done?"

"For now."

They started back toward Greymoor at an easy pace. The morning was clear and the estate was already busy.

Soldiers crossed between buildings, servants carried supplies toward the kitchens, and somebody near the lower yard was repairing a wagon.

Adrien had almost reached the main path when Absolute Mana Sense caught a familiar presence coming from the house.

Vikir appeared a few moments later, and his expression made clear he hadn’t walked out here to greet anyone.

"My lord."

Adrien stopped. "Vikir."

"Lady Evelyne asked me to find you. There’s an issue she wants to discuss with you."

Adrien checked Amelia before answering. "What kind of issue?"

"Something involving the roads in the former Arquenay territory. Several reports arrived this morning."

That shifted Adrien’s attention completely. "I’ll come now."

Amelia turned toward the house. "I’ll let you deal with it."

Adrien nodded. "I’ll find you later."

"I’ll be around."

Vikir was already heading back toward Greymoor, and Adrien followed a moment later, leaving the clearing behind. The quiet morning had lasted longer than most, and for Adrien that was probably enough.