The rays of sunlight peeked through the gaps in the blinds behind Nero’s bed, illuminating the room in the soft yellow of morning. Nero could see tiny motes of dust drifting lazily in the pillars of light, though his focus was primarily on the sight of the hazel-skinned girl sitting right opposite to him.
She had tied her black hair in a professional bun, though a couple of locks of hair had come loose, hanging across the side of her face. Her dark, bewitching eyes were focused downward, locked onto the lucky file that held her attention.
Her petite yet graceful fingers twirled a pencil, making it dance lightly in the air beside her face. They demonstrated the effortless dexterity that came with endless practice, and the perfect mastery of a small weapon. Nero could almost see a small blade in the place of a pencil, dancing according to her whims, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.
Silence. The room was filled with a soft, comfortable silence - the kind that made one reluctant to break. Through the closed door on the left, Nero could hear the muffled sounds of people walking by, yet the sound was so subdued that one would barely register it if they did not focus. From behind the windows, the faint sounds of patrols could be heard, yet that too faded into the background.
It was as if everything outside this room was in a different world, and everything within this room was in a different world - a world with just him and Vanessa.
Nero watched her in complete stillness, as if even a breath might break this moment, while a gentle warmth began to stir within his chest. It couldn’t be the warmth in the sunlight - no, this late in the year even the sun held no warmth. It had to be something else.
A strange thought cropped up in Nero’s mind: did he actually like her? Did he... like Vanessa?
The thought was so foreign and alien, because thoughts of girls and crushes had never had a place in his mind. He had always only focused on strength, and more strength.
Maybe it was a silent consequence of his grandmother dying when he was nine, fighting against the monsters that emerged from the Stygian Rift. Back then, he had not allowed himself to feel any sorrow or pain, and instead only pride in her noble sacrifice. But had he really not been affected by it? Was it then that he became so obsessed with spear and soldiers, and the fight against this cursed world?
For so many years already, the only thing that dominated his thoughts was growing stronger, whether it was through actual power, through his network, through his reputation, or anything. Now that something different crept into his thoughts, he almost couldn’t believe it, nor could he understand it.
Then again, he did come from a family of romantic men. Despite how ridiculous his father acted, no one could deny the breadth of Edward’s love for Marilyn. Simultaneously, Patrick too was a hopeless fool, marrying Irene right before being shipped off who knows where. In Nero’s opinion, that act was foolish and pointless, only causing Irene more pain.
The logical thing would have been to break things off with her so that, longterm, she would have suffered less. But that was just it - emotions had no correlation with logic. Maybe only those involved could say if all that suffering had been worth it.
Nero couldn’t imagine himself doing something so pointless... and yet, he could not stop himself from staring at her. If one were to judge based on appearances, she looked exactly like someone who had grown in the lap of luxury. Her skin was soft and smooth, her hands were without callouses, and her brows did not have the marks of someone who went through intense training. Yet behind her seemingly docile appearance hid a surprising amount of ambition and lethality.
Nero had, on occasion, mentioned over the top goals and ideals to her to resonate with the kind of exposure and upbringing someone like her would have - goals and ideals that anyone and everyone with the most basic level of common sense would scoff at. Yet she had not flinched at them. If anything, her only reaction was that he himself was not taking those goals seriously, which betrayed the depth of her aspirations.
So was that it? Was it her lethality, her thorns, her unrealistic, almost childish ambitions that attracted him so?
Nero truly, genuinely didn’t know. All he knew was that he did not want this moment to end too soon. In the perpetual chaos that was his life, this moment was an unexpected oasis of calm and peace. It was not something he had ever yearned for, and yet it was not something he could give up.
Eventually, Vanessa scrunched her brow, as if she noticed something unusual, and looked up to find Nero staring at her.
"You’re finally awake," she said in a complaining voice, as if she had been waiting for a long time.
"It can’t be helped. It’s so warm and cozy in here that I just kept on sleeping," Nero answered casually.
Warm? Cozy? Vanessa looked at Nero oddly. It had snowed last night, causing the base to be freezing. Then again, considering Nero’s odd flames, she doubted he felt temperature in the same way as everyone else. She dismissed his statement, not paying too much attention to his random twaddle.
"Or maybe you sensed the good news coming your way, which put you in an especially good mood," she said with a smirk. "I should congratulate you - you’re officially someone of status now."
Instead of explaining her words, she closed the file she was reading and tossed it to Nero, not bothering to get up from her chair. Reading the title on the file cover, Nero was taken aback.
Grant Family - Great Family Status Approval
Nero looked at Vanessa, and then looked back at the file.
"Go ahead, no need to hold back," Vanessa commented. "There’s a barrier around your room, no one can spy on us while it’s up. If we talk inside your illusion every time, people will begin to notice. It’s good to shake things up from time to time."
Nero did not comment, and instead opened the file and quickly went through the documents inside.
Great Family Status: Approved
Main Applicant: Marilyn Grant
Aetherian Rank: Redacted
Family Size: Redacted
Family Rank: Redacted
Family Member: Edward Grant
Aetherian Rank: Redacted
Status: Redacted
Family Member: Redacted
Aetherian Rank: Redacted
Status: Redacted
Family Member: Redacted
Aetherian Rank: Redacted
Status: Redacted
Family Member: Nero Grant
Aetherian Rank: Initiate
Status: Cadet(Pending final approval)
There were many documents in the file, many of which detailed the many privileges, as well as responsibilities that the Grant family had now received owing to their official status being raised to that of a Great family.
Truthfully, all of this was new information for Nero. He had no idea that the status of a Great family was something officially recognised as well as integrated into the framework of the country. He always thought that it was something unofficial that people used to recognise certain families with enough members with a sufficiently high Aetherian Rank.
But no, this was official. More importantly, while the perks were genuinely great, the responsibilities were similarly heavy. According to the rank that the Grant family had achieved which, for the sake of confidentiality, was set to the most basic rank of Mystic, they needed at least 30% of the family to serve in the army. Their draft ranking had also been increased, which basically meant that in case of emergencies they would be more likely to get drafted compared to ordinary citizens.
In exchange, they were afforded better food rations, access to a certain tier of Eldrim cards through the army and government, could apply for restricted, government controlled careers and so on.
Everything was explained in the documents in exceptional and meticulous detail, though Nero’s focus was on none of that.
Instead, he was wondering since when his family had five members, and why he was the only one whose information wasn’t redacted. It almost seemed like he was the least impressive or important in his family.
Counting himself, his parents and his brother, there were only four people in his family. Were they counting Irene? Or maybe one of his grandparents was still alive? Or... wait, Nero remembered his fathers threat of having more kids since his mother was healed now.
Was that maniac genuinely planning on expanding the family?
No, no that wasn’t possible. It was too soon. Not enough time had passed since his mother was healed for her to have a kid.
Nero breathed a sigh of relief as he had that realisation, confusing Vanessa who had no idea what was going on in his mind.
Nero put the file aside for now, and returned his gaze to Vanessa. He noticed that she had more files on the side, including a sealed envelope. It seemed they were about to have a long conversation.
"Henceforth, you may address me as Sir or Lord Nero Grant," Nero said jokingly, a wide smile on his face.
Even he hadn’t realised that... he was genuinely cracking a joke without any ulterior motives or plans. In front of Vanessa he was revealing the goofy side of himself that he had solely reserved for his closest relatives - a side very few people had seen in the last few years.
Vanessa snorted.
"That’s your Royal Highness, Madam President to you, soldier," she responded with a haughty voice. Without realising it, she too had been pulled into a rather relaxed mood.
Author’s Note: Henceforth, the various realms of power (Neophyte, Initiate etc.) will be referred to as Aetherian Rank. I will update older Chapters to reflect this change.