Chapter 222: Back To The Lab
Aveline looked down at Hamilton in quiet amazement.
To her, he still looked like the same silly little creature who chased his own tail, stuck out his tongue whenever he was excited, and demanded scratches beneath his chin as though they were his birthright.
Nothing about him had changed.
Yet to every creature gathered in the sanctuary...He was something entirely different. They looked upon him with reverence. With devotion.
Almost... As though they were standing before a king.
Her thoughts drifted back to the night he had been born. Helena’s desperate struggle. The way she had thrown herself before every attack without the slightest hesitation.
And Noctyrr... It had ignored Helena whenever it could. Again and again, it had lunged for the baby instead.
At the time, Aveline had thought it was merely hunting the weakest prey.
Now... She wasn’t so sure.
Did it know?
Was Hamilton already important before he had even opened his eyes?
A quiet breath escaped her lips.
She crouched and gently set Hamilton upon the grass. His tiny legs wobbled for a moment before he found his balance. He toddled forward with all the grace of an overconfident hatchling.
To Aveline, it was still unbearably adorable.
To the creatures surrounding him... It changed nothing. Every head remained lowered. Every gaze followed him with unwavering respect.
Hamilton wandered from one creature to another, stopping before each of them as though conducting his own solemn inspection. Every now and then he chirped softly, tilting his little head from side to side.
The larger beasts answered with low, respectful rumbles. The smaller ones lowered themselves even further. It almost looked as though they were speaking.
Or perhaps... Listening.
Aveline watched the strange exchange in silence. An unfamiliar warmth settled in her chest. She had worried they would reject him. Instead... He belonged here more naturally than anyone else.
A small smile curved her lips.
"Maybe..."
She folded her arms, watching Hamilton proudly wobble past a wolf-like creature nearly a hundred times his size.
"...you’re the one who knows where you came from."
Her smile softened.
"And when you’re finally ready to tell me...I’ll listen."
Hamilton turned at the sound of her voice. The regal air vanished instantly.
His tail began wagging so hard that his hind legs nearly left the ground, and with an excited chirp, he sprinted toward her as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.
Aveline laughed as she caught him before he could tumble over himself.
"...There you are."
Perhaps the others saw a king.
But to her... He was still Hamilton.
------
The following days passed in unusual peace.
Aveline quietly excused herself from her classes and kept away from the Arcanum whenever she could. She spent most of her time inside her room, reading or simply enjoying the rare luxury of doing nothing at all.
Whenever the walls began to feel too confining, she made her way to the sanctuary, where Hamilton had somehow become the unquestioned sovereign of every creature despite continuing to behave like an overexcited hatchling whenever she was nearby.
Elsewhere, Theron scarcely found time to rest.
Together with Lord Sylvarien, he oversaw preparations to move the recovered cotton throughout the kingdom before winter tightened its grip. Caravans were assembled, routes planned, supplies counted and recounted. It was painstaking work, but every completed list meant another village that would not freeze.
Meanwhile, Aelion wandered the capital as he often did, hands tucked behind his head while he drifted through crowded streets with no destination in mind.
Experience had taught him one immutable law of life.
Whenever he least wanted to see his father... His father appeared, almost as if summoned by fate itself.
Aelion had once spent three weeks deliberately avoiding every estate, council hall, and merchant district where Hector Sylvarien was known to frequent.
Naturally...
He had walked straight into him outside a bakery.
Today was no different.
He rounded a corner.
"...Ah."
Hector rounded the same corner.
"...Father."
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Aelion briefly considered pretending to have suddenly remembered an urgent appointment somewhere on the opposite side of the kingdom.
Unfortunately, Hector had already seen him. Escape was no longer an option.
"You’ve grown difficult to find," Hector remarked.
"I’ve been told that’s one of my better qualities."
A sigh escaped Hector that sounded suspiciously practiced.
"I’ve come to ask you something."
Aelion raised an eyebrow.
"The Crown Prince has entrusted our family with distributing cotton throughout the kingdom."
"I know."
"It will take nearly two months."
A brief pause.
"I want you to come with me."
Aelion stared.
"...What?"
"I could use another pair of hands."
Another silence settled between them.
Aelion searched his father’s face, almost expecting to discover this was some elaborate joke.
There wasn’t one.
"You... want me to travel with you?"
"Yes."
The answer came so simply that it almost irritated him. A laugh escaped Aelion before he could stop it.
"After all these years..." His smile held little amusement. "...that’s your invitation?"
Hector frowned faintly. "It is important work."
"I don’t doubt that."
"It will help people."
"I don’t doubt that either."
Hector waited.
So did Aelion.
Neither seemed willing to cross the distance between them.
Finally, Aelion looked away. "...No."
Hector’s expression barely changed. "No?"
"I won’t go."
"You have no obligations at the Arcanum for the next several weeks."
"I said no." His voice remained calm, but firmer this time. "I hope the journey goes well." He gave a shallow bow. "...Safe travels."
Without waiting for permission to leave, Aelion turned on his heel and walked away. His pace quickened with every step. He didn’t trust himself to look back.
Because some foolish part of him still hoped... His father would stop him.
But he didn’t.
By the time Aelion disappeared into the crowd, Hector was still standing where he’d left him. The older man watched the empty street for a long while before lowering his gaze.
"...Stubborn."
The word carried neither anger nor mockery. Only quiet disappointment.
-----
On the fourth day, Aveline finally gathered enough courage to return to the laboratory.
Whether she wished to admit it or not, she missed the old man.
Lucien Caelvaris had never demanded anything from her. He had given her a room when she had nowhere to go, fed her without asking for repayment, and taught her things simply because he wanted to. Perhaps he had his own secrets. Perhaps there had always been another reason for his kindness.
But despite everything she had learned... she still cared.
When she stepped inside, however, the laboratory was empty.
"...Old man?"
Only silence answered.
She looked around before her eyes wandered toward the basket of golden stones stacked against one wall.
Hamilton had changed after eating one.
Would the others?
Curiosity quickly chased away her disappointment. She scooped several glowing stones into the pockets sewn inside her skirt.
"They’re useless to everyone else anyway," she muttered. "The little ones will probably enjoy them."
Satisfied, she made her way toward the hidden staircase.
The latch creaked open.
She descended into the underground chamber once more. Empty. Lucien was nowhere to be found.
Only the great metal contraption remained, standing in the center of the stone room like the skeleton of some sleeping beast.
Aveline walked around it slowly. Her eyes lingered on the exposed gears, the interlocking shafts, the pistons... the strange cylinders joined together with riveted plates.
Then... She stopped.
There.
A hollow compartment near the center. The space where the energy source should have rested.
Without realizing it, she reached out, brushing her fingertips over the empty housing.
Her breathing slowed.
The gears... If power entered here... It would turn this axle first. Then the second wheel. That would multiply the force before sending it through the drive shaft...
Her brows furrowed.
"...No."
She blinked.
How...
How did she know that?
She had never built anything like this. Never studied machines. Never even seen one before Lucien had shown her this place.
Yet every piece before her felt...familiar.
Pain blossomed behind her eyes. A whisper brushed across her mind.
"No, no... if the torque escapes there, the pressure will break the housing."
Her heart stopped.
That voice... Warm, patient, gentle...
Her father’s.