01.44 - The Party After The Afterparty

The afterparty had long since concluded when Luc, Hannah, and the others returned home for the first time in almost a week.

In the living room, Ann was curled up next to Lily in their basket, as a faintly glowing ember in the fireplace cast a warm flicker across the room.

Stirred by the noise of the new arrivals, Ann slowly awoke from her slumber.

“Hannah!” echoed through the minds of everyone present as Ann jumped out of her basket, landed on Hannah’s arm, reached Hannah’s shoulder, and rubbed her small cheek against Hannah’s.

“Ann, I missed you too,” Hannah said as she gently stroked Ann’s ebony fur.

Luc, remembering their past interactions, kept his distance. He walked towards the living room table, carefully placed a small container on it, and gradually opened it, revealing some of the leftover cakes from the afterparty.

He put two of them on plates, then closed the container again.

“We brought some treats,” Luc said. “Mom said you could eat them without problems. I’ll put the rest in the fridge.”

At first, Ann seemed skeptical of the offer, but her curiosity got the better of her.

She jumped off Hannah’s shoulder and closed in on the treats.

She carefully licked a small amount of cream from the chocolate cake, then took a larger bite, then another. Soon half the slice was gone, and some of the remnants stuck to Ann’s face.

Luc returned from the kitchen not too long after.

“Guess Mom was right,” he said as Ann cleared the plate and returned to her basket.

Lily helped her clean the remaining cake from her fur, then gently poked Ann.

The two of them seemed to communicate in silence.

Ann looked back at Luc, then left her basket again and slowly tumbled toward him.

“Thank you,” echoed through their minds.

Luc crouched and extended his right arm.

For the first time, Ann did not immediately flee.

Luc slowly and gently patted her head.

“Huh?” his father Aurelius’s voice was audible from across the room. “Looks like she finally trusts you a bit.”

“Honestly,” Luc nodded while stroking Ann’s back. “It feels like she was harder to win over than the hunter license.”

“Well,” said Aurelius, as he walked over and ruffled Luc’s long white hair. “Congratulations. To both.”

---

The following days were filled with formalities and paperwork.

All nine of them finally got their physical hunter licenses, albeit under their respective aliases.

The week culminated in the official party welcoming them all as new official retainers to House Stellaris.

The celebration took place in one of two great halls within the Stellaris estate. The room was filled to the brim with people. A classical band played in one corner, and a lavish buffet was about to be served on various tables to the other side.

The nine kids, in their black specter disguises, stood on a platform next to Mary.

The event officially began with a comparatively short, but still somewhat long-winded, speech by the head of the House, Draco Stellaris, Fleet Admiral of the Arcane Empire, also known as Ophiuchus, one of the 13 Apostles of Lucius Artorius Castus.

He was still in surprisingly good shape. His real age was not officially known, but it already far exceeded a century, given his involvement in the Great War over a hundred standard years ago.

His appearance was dangerously similar to Luc’s father, Aurelius.

So much so that Luc could easily be fooled if they decided to switch places one day.

The manner and tone of speech, even some of the smaller details of how he carried himself, were identical.

Then again, Aurelius had been Draco’s body double for many decades. To the point where he must have picked up on even minor tells and made them his own. It was impressive in its own way.

The event itself was a rather boring affair.

The hall was filled by other retainers and the heads of some allied noble houses.

Everyday politics.

Not the kind of thing Luc cared much about.

At least the food was decent, even though eating while keeping the disguise intact was a pain.

Luc used the first chance he had to fill his plate and escape to one of the less-lit terraces to eat in peace and quiet.

Hannah and Sascha joined him not too long after.

The view was filled with the gardens, the other side of the estate, and the starry sky above.

Suddenly, the lights in one of the top-floor rooms on the other side of the building went on.

“That’s weird,” said Hannah.

“What?” asked Luc.

“I think that light comes from Draco’s study,” said Hannah.

“Maybe he was bored of the party too?” asked Sascha.

“Doubt it. He was talking to Mom a minute ago,” said Hannah.

“Maybe a servant?” asked Luc.

“Could be,” said Hannah. “But maybe someone is using the event to stick their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Should we look into it?” asked Luc.

“Why not? I more or less know the way,” said Hannah. “Sascha, could you inform our Mom and the fleet admiral?”

After a quick nod from Sascha, Hannah and Luc jumped off the terrace into the garden and rushed to a side entrance to the building's opposite wing.

It took them another couple of minutes to finally reach the room.

Just as they opened the door, the hint of what could have been a black tail and a pair of wings disappeared into a nearby shadow.

“Lily? Ann?” asked Hannah before realizing the state of the room.