Aether is it?

The Lumire estate hadn't changed. Towering columns framed the great hall, pale stone polished until it gleamed like ice. The familiar gold-and-silver crest—two wings crossed over a torch—still loomed above the hearth, eternal and cold.

Yet everything felt different.

To Vale, the walls no longer seemed impossibly tall. The heavy silence of the corridors didn't press against his chest anymore. Even the way the servants moved around him had shifted. There was no overt deference—only glances that lingered too long, steps that slowed as if adjusting to his presence.

Whispers. Curiosity.

Recognition.

He'd been back for less than two days, and still the change was impossible to ignore.

But he couldn't decide if that made him feel stronger… or like a stranger in his own home.

That evening, dinner passed in practiced nobility. The Count, their father, presided at the head of the table, ever expressionless, carved from the same stone as the estate. His salt-grey hair and hard eyes betrayed neither approval nor disdain. Lady Lumire, Vale's mother, was warmer—but restrained. She asked a few polite questions about Aethercrest, complimented how he carried himself now, and even let a genuine smile slip when he complimented Elise's recent harp recital.

Selene was the quiet tactician. She spoke little, watched much.

Elise buzzed like sunlight, breaking the tension with her usual innocence.

Yet beneath the surface, something stirred.

After the meal, Vale stepped away to the north balcony, the stars clearer now than he'd ever seen them from the academy dorms. The wind tousled his hair as he leaned on the railing, looking out over the distant forests and valley below.

His thoughts drifted—back to the academy, back to the whispers of strange dreams, back to the way Ava had looked at him when they both realized their connection wasn't just fabricated data, but part of a deeper design.

He exhaled slowly. This place doesn't feel like home anymore.

Footsteps approached softly behind him.

"Brooding alone under the stars? That's new."

It was Selene, a crystal glass of dark wine in one hand.

Vale gave a faint smirk. "You keep tracking me down."

"I'm still not convinced you're not some changeling in disguise," she said dryly. "The Vale I knew used to dodge eye contact with the portraits."

"That Vale's still here," he said. "Just… a little less afraid of being seen."

She sipped her wine and studied him. "Whatever happened to you—it was needed. I won't ask if it was a teacher, a lover, or a secret quest. But you've changed."

Vale stayed silent. She didn't press. Selene never asked questions she knew wouldn't be answered.

"Mother noticed it," she added after a moment. "She mentioned it to me privately. And Father… well. That flicker in his eyes tonight? That was approval. For a second."

"That's all I get?" Vale scoffed lightly. "A flicker?"

Selene smiled. "You got more than most."

They lapsed into silence, watching the lights flicker across the valley.

Eventually, Selene spoke again, voice softer. "You ever think about what you want to do after Aethercrest?"

Vale blinked, caught off guard. "Why?"

"Because people are watching you now," she said. "And I don't mean the staff. The household. The distant cousins. The retainers. They've seen the shift. Sooner or later, someone's going to suggest you take on more responsibility. Maybe even ask where your loyalties lie."

"…I haven't thought that far," Vale admitted.

"Well," she murmured, "you should."

Then she gave him a look that wasn't cold, but wasn't entirely gentle either. "Power doesn't stay neutral forever, Vale. Especially not in this family."

With that, she turned and left him to the stars.

Later that night, Elise appeared at his door in slippers and a blanket around her shoulders. She crawled onto the foot of his bed the way she used to when she had nightmares as a kid.

"You're still you," she said suddenly.

He looked up from the book he wasn't really reading. "What?"

"Just… you're different. But not in a scary way. Selene's always been perfect. Father's always been distant. But you—you were always the one who listened. Even if you didn't know what to say."

"…And now?"

Elise smiled. "Now you know what to say. That's what's new."

Vale didn't know what to make of that.

"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope. Just wanted to talk. I missed you."

He reached out and gently messed up her hair. "I missed you too, tiny monster."

"Rude," she huffed, swatting his hand. "I'm twelve now."

"Terrifying."

She beamed.

And for a moment, Vale let himself breathe.

Let himself be the younger brother again, not the puzzle piece everyone was suddenly trying to figure out where to place.

Outside the estate, the night stretched deep and wide. And within the stone halls of House Lumire, the winds of legacy stirred.

But for now, at least, Vale was no longer invisible.

He was seen.

And soon, the whole noble world would come to know it.