Concealment

The stubborn afternoon sunlight forced its way through the half-drawn curtains, spilling into the room, trailing down the windowsill, flooding across the thick, shaggy carpet, climbing up the frame of the classical four-poster bed, and quietly caressing a lean, bronze back—

In the reddish-brown four-poster bed lay a slender, wiry man, his deep bronze skin smooth and unmarred, exuding the freshness of youth. Silver hair clung close to his cheeks, outlining the elegant arc of his features. His long lashes cast a shadow into the hollows beneath his eyes, making it hard to tell whether the dusky shade there was the result of shadow or of sleeplessness.

As time ticked by, the sunlight slowly “climbed” up the curve of his spine, nearly reaching his handsome face when, still deep in sleep, he turned over. His eyelids trembled, then fluttered open just a little, revealing pale gray eyes, still misty from long slumber, as enchanting as the morning sea.

Staring blankly at the canopy overhead for quite some time, Pedia finally came fully awake. Remembering the three days and nights of relentless work before, he couldn’t help but give a wry smile—that had truly been a disaster, a catastrophe… He had thought that, being younger than most, both he and Avis would have an advantage when it came to all-nighters, but who could have guessed that even compared to those “old veterans” in their forties and fifties, they still came up short…

Experience, after all, is a class of its own.

After this idle sigh, Pedia languidly got up, took a hot shower to revive himself, changed into loose, comfortable home clothes, and left his room in search of something to eat.

As he descended the stairs, he was surprised to find Theresa sitting at the very foot of the staircase with a chair, clearly keeping watch for someone. Curious, he asked, “Tess, why are you sitting here?”

Theresa gently closed the thick tome in her hands, looked up at him in silence, scrutinizing him from head to toe with such intensity that Pedia felt a little uneasy.

To break the tension, he glanced at the alchemy manual in her hands and continued, “Studying should be a gradual process. Don’t push yourself too hard; it’s important to rest.”

Theresa smiled, then turned his words back on him with a few key changes: “Work should be gradual too, big brother. Don’t rush—balance is important.”

Pedia couldn’t help but laugh. He crossed the last two steps to her, reached out, and tousled her hair until it was a chaotic mess.

“All right, what is it you’re waiting to tell me?”

Theresa looked up at him, her gaze lingering on the faint shadows beneath his eyes. “A few days ago, I went to the Adventurer’s Guild for a career assessment. First-rank Alchemist.”

“Oh?” Pedia was genuinely surprised. He had personally sent Theresa to study under Carol, so he knew exactly how long she had been learning alchemy—barely a few months. Yet she had managed to skip the standard two-year apprenticeship and become a full-fledged alchemist. Such progress was nearly unbelievable.

Once the surprise faded, pride took over, and Pedia said generously, “That’s wonderful news. If you want a reward, just name it.”

“A reward is a must,” Theresa replied with a giggle, then steered the conversation back to her real concern. “The day I got my guild card, I accepted a commission—a military one.”

She paused, noticing that Pedia’s youthful, handsome face showed no reaction whatsoever. Unable to restrain herself, she pressed on, “I submitted every alchemical potion I could make and found that the Focus Potion earned double the points of any other, with the Cold Resistance Potion just behind. Big brother, Cervantes is a key military stronghold in the northwest of the Empire—if they’re suddenly this short of basic supplies, don’t tell me nothing’s wrong. I wouldn’t believe it for a second.”

After those words, she watched Pedia intently, hoping for even the slightest change in his expression. But after a long moment, there was nothing. She couldn’t help but grumble internally about the Aubrion family’s “stone-faced” genes—at this moment, Pedia looked exactly like Amos: the same handsome features, just younger, softer, more boyish…

“You’re overthinking it,” Pedia finally replied, giving her head a gentle pat, his tone as casual as if discussing the weather. “If something serious was really happening, the military wouldn’t dare issue such public commissions at the Adventurer’s Guild—the mere accusation of undermining morale isn’t something they could afford.”

It was a fair point, but it didn’t dispel all of Theresa’s doubts. Still, Pedia clearly had no intention of discussing it further. “Just focus on earning points. Public commissions like this are rare opportunities.”

With that, he turned and strode toward the dining room, not giving her a chance to respond.

Theresa watched his departing figure, tilting her head with a childlike pout. But after a few seconds, she shrugged and let it go.

***

Mu Fei slipped silently into Library No. 4, the room so peaceful and bright that even the faint scratch of a pen on paper seemed loud—

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

He glanced up and immediately spotted Theresa by the large window, dressed simply in a white shirt and black trousers, diligently engrossed in her studies. The sight was familiar to Mu Fei. Since he’d arrived at the old estate, seven times out of ten he would find Theresa here whenever he came to Library No. 4—especially since she’d begun studying alchemy. She was like an indefatigable machine, capable of sitting here for an entire day…

Mu Fei didn’t particularly admire her relentless work ethic. For him, quality of life was paramount. Even if he sometimes had to toil for ten days or half a month on a project or mission, afterward he would always spend twice as long enjoying life to the fullest, rewarding himself. Theresa’s day-in, day-out grind was something he couldn’t imagine, much less endorse.

With a hint of laziness, he gave her a cursory glance and then made for his target shelf in the geography section.

Wait. Of the five books he needed, three were missing from the shelf.

He didn’t need to think twice—they must be with Theresa, since only the two of them used Library No. 4.

Having identified the culprit, Mu Fei immediately turned on his heel and walked toward her. Even from several meters away, his keen half-elven eyesight allowed him to make out the pile of books at her side—not a single one of her usual alchemy texts, but rather tomes on geography, climate, military affairs, history… all sorts.

Some books were marked with slips of paper and stacked neatly in one corner, while others lay open on the desk, frequently referenced and compared. Beside Theresa’s hand was a sketch: half a map, half a diagram of interconnected relationships.

A single glance told Mu Fei that all of this pointed to one theme—cold and snow.

It was clear Theresa had become deeply interested in all things relating to cold and snow.

On a whim, Mu Fei stood at a distance, using his excellent eyesight to take in her notes and sketches.

“Don’t go courting trouble with cold and snow. If you accidentally summon something unlucky, you’ll regret it.”

His cool voice startled Theresa so badly that her pen tore a long gash in the map she’d been annotating.

Biting her lip in frustration, she looked up and asked, “What do you mean by that? What unlucky thing?”

Mu Fei gave a soft, almost mocking laugh, his eyes—strangely alluring—regarding her with a hint of mischief.

Demon, she thought, mentally adding the label. Mu Fei was a bundle of contradictions: indolent and aloof, yet inherently captivating, and charming to both men and women. Even when he looked at you with that icy gaze, you couldn’t help but be drawn in.

Fortunately, Theresa’s self-control was strong. She quickly regained her composure and pressed on, “Besides the Orcish Alliance and magical beasts, is there something even more troublesome on the frozen tundra? Is that why you all were sent back because of some ‘unlucky thing’?”

Mu Fei let out a low chuckle, said nothing, and strode over to grab the books he needed, then turned and left with not the slightest courtesy.

Theresa gaped after him in annoyance, pulled a face at his retreating back, and shook her little fist in mock anger. But she didn’t dare chase after him for a confrontation—after all, the difference in their combat skills was enormous. Besides, he was Master Mu’s own great-nephew, the rightful young master of the estate, and naturally outranked her in status.

After venting her frustration with a bit of good-natured self-pity, Theresa looked at the books left on the table and sighed helplessly as she began to tidy up. With the main resources taken by Mu Fei, there was nothing more she could do. Rather than waste time here, she might as well head to the lab to brew more potions to exchange for points at the Adventurer’s Guild. After all, at her career and adventurer level, the tasks she could take were pitifully few. Now that she finally had one, if she didn’t take the chance to rack up some experience and points, she’d only be cheating herself.