Chapter 42: Dinner

The dining room was warmer than the rest of the house.

A fire burned quietly inside the marble fireplace at the far end of the room, its orange glow dancing across the polished wooden walls and the framed portraits of ancestors who had long since stopped caring about what happened beneath them.

Several gas lamps hung from the ceiling, their pale flames steady enough to illuminate the table without drowning the room in brightness.

I sat in my usual place, with Sera across from me and my parents at either end of the table.

For once, there was nothing immediately threatening my life.

And, judging by the amount of food on the table, enough dinner to feed a small army.

The first course had been a thick chestnut and leek soup, served in deep porcelain bowls with a small swirl of cream floating across the surface. It was surprisingly good. The chestnuts gave it a mild sweetness while the leeks added enough earthiness to keep it from becoming dessert disguised as a starter. A little black pepper lingered at the back of my throat with every spoonful.

Beside it sat thin slices of buttered bread, still warm from the kitchen.

Sera dipped hers into the soup without the slightest concern for etiquette.

Mother noticed but said nothing.

That somehow felt worse.

The main course arrived soon after.

There was roasted pheasant with crisp golden skin, its meat tender enough that the knife practically slid through it. It was served with glazed carrots, mashed potatoes mixed with roasted garlic, and small green beans covered in butter.

There was also a strange dish I had never seen before—a baked pastry filled with minced beef, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and a little smoked cheese.

I had asked Cook what it was.

She had proudly called it a Hearth Pie.

Apparently, it was her own creation.

I took a bite.

It was excellent.

The pastry was flaky and buttery, the beef rich without being greasy, and the mushrooms added a deep, almost smoky flavor. The caramelized onions were sweet enough to balance everything, while the melted cheese tied the whole thing together.

I immediately decided that whatever happened in the next few days, the Hearth Pie deserved to survive.

"This is good," I said.

Mother smiled. "Cook will be pleased."

"She’ll be unbearable for a week."

Sera glanced at me over her fork. "Only a week?"

I laughed and father did too.

Mother merely shook her head.

For several minutes, the conversation remained harmless. Father spoke about an issue involving one of the tenants on our estate, Mother mentioned that one of the neighboring noble families had apparently begun renovating their townhouse, and Sera complained about one of her instructors assigning an absurd amount of reading.

I mostly listened.

After everything that had happened recently, sitting here almost felt unreal.

This was what ordinary families did.

They ate, complained, laughed and discussed insignificant things.

They existed without expecting the world to collapse around them.

I had almost forgotten what that felt like.

Then Father placed his fork down.

"I heard something rather concerning this afternoon."

The atmosphere changed immediately.

Mother looked at him.

"What happened?"

Father’s expression became slightly more serious.

"There was an incident this morning in Kingsmere."

My hand paused above my plate.

Sera looked at me.

I already knew where this was going.

Father continued. "Apparently, someone believed to be associated with Navaja was spotted there and cause quite a commotion."

Mother’s face lost some color.

"Navaja?"

The name itself seemed to make the room colder.

I swallowed the food in my mouth.

"I encountered him."

Three pairs of eyes turned toward me.

Mother’s eyes widened.

"You what?"

"It happened this morning," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "On my way to the academy. I encountered someone who was suspected to be affiliated with Navaja."

Mother’s hand immediately went to her chest.

"Edmund."

"I’m fine."

"You encountered a terrorist?"

"I said I’m fine."

"How can you say that so casually?"

Sera leaned back slightly, watching the exchange with an expression somewhere between amusement and disbelief.

Father raised one hand.

"Let him explain."

I continued eating for another moment before telling them what happened.

I explained how I had encountered the man, how he was invisible and how he regenerated himself with a flick of his wrist. I left certain details out. For example, the one that concerned Voice of Death.

But I told them enough.

By the time I finished, Mother’s appetite had disappeared entirely.

"You fought him?" she asked.

"Briefly."

"Briefly?"

"Yes."

"You fought a member of Navaja before going to class?"

"When you say it like that, it sounds worse."

"It is worse!"

Sera quietly took another bite of pheasant.

Father sighed.

"Your mother has a point."

"I know."

"Do you?"

I nodded.

He looked at me for several seconds before finally saying, "I was informed about the incident this afternoon."

I looked up.

"By whom?"

"A member of the Twilight Order."

That caught my attention.

"They contacted you?"

"Yes."

Father leaned back in his chair, his expression becoming thoughtful.

"They gave me a rather detailed account of what happened. Apparently, you were quite useful during the confrontation."

’I was what kind of saved them... ugh they took the credit...’

I suddenly became very interested in my mashed potatoes.

Father smiled.

"They said you were quick-thinking. Observant. You noticed things others overlooked."

My ears grew hot.

"I merely did what I could."

"You did more than that."

He paused.

"I couldn’t help but feel proud."

I looked away.

’Damn it.’

My face was getting warm.

Sera noticed.

A tiny smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Edmund is blushing."

"I’m not."

"You are."

"It’s warm in here."

"The fire is behind you."

"Then it’s a very impressive fire."

Sera laughed.

Father chuckled beneath his breath while Mother smiled despite herself.

I focused intensely on my plate.

After a moment, Father continued.

"Navaja is not an organization the crown can underestimate."

The humor disappeared from his face.

"Navaja consists of only eleven confirmed members."

I listened carefully.

"Their leader is known as Navaja-0. Their vice leader is Navaja-1. The remaining members are numbered from Navaja-2 through Navaja-10."

"So they’re ranked by number?" I asked.

"More or less. The lower the number, the stronger the individual is believed to be."

I frowned.

"Then the person I encountered was..."

"Navaja-9"

My fork stopped.

Father continued, "That’s the current assessment from the Twilight Order. They believe Navaja-9 is most likely either an Inferior Awakened or a Superior Awakened."

I leaned back slightly.

That explained a few things.

"He was strong."

Father nodded.

"Navaja-0 is more concerning. The Twilight Order suspects that he is at least a True One."

Mother’s expression tightened.

"At least!?"

Father didn’t answer immediately.

That was answer enough.

I stared down at the table.

’A True One.’

Even hearing the words made the scale of the organization clearer.

Navaja wasn’t some group of ordinary criminals with fancy names.

If my fight with Navaja-9 fight had continued for much longer, I had little doubt about the outcome.

The only reason I had held the upper hand was because the confrontation had been short. I had been able to exploit the moment before he fully understood what I could do.

Even then, he had escaped.

Not from me alone.

From me and the Twilight Order.

That bothered me more than I wanted to admit.

"He was stronger than me," I finally said.

Mother looked at me.

"Edmund..."

"If we had fought for a long time, I think he would’ve won."

Father’s expression became serious, but there was no disappointment in his eyes.

"Knowing that is important."

I nodded.

"Strength isn’t just about winning one exchange. It’s also about understanding your limits."

"I know."

"And now you know one of yours."

I considered that and he was right.

The rest of dinner passed more quietly after that.

Eventually, the final course arrived: warm cinnamon apples baked beneath a thin layer of pastry, served with cold cream. The sweetness was comforting, almost painfully ordinary after the conversation we’d just had.

We talked about smaller things.

Then, one by one, we left the dining room.

I wished my parents good night before heading upstairs.

Sera disappeared into her own room.

I entered mine and closed the door behind me.

The silence was immediate.

I changed into my sleeping clothes, folded my clothes over the back of a chair, and climbed into bed.

The blankets were warm.

The mattress was soft.

For several minutes, I simply stared at the ceiling.

’Navaja. The Twilight Order. A True One.’

I tried to push the thoughts away because tonight, I wanted to sleep.

I closed my eyes and eventually, the world disappeared.

My eyes opened around mid-night.

I didn’t move.

For a moment, everything seemed normal.

The room was dark.

The fire in the hearth had died down to embers.

The house was silent.

But then—Something inside me stirred.

My Spiritual Intuition had been triggered.

I sat upright.

... My heart began beating faster.

There was something wrong inside the house!