Her voice echoed throughout the theatre, reaching from the front of the house to the furthest depths of the backstage. She issued mandates to the entire staff, demanding alterations to every detail according to her vision.
The theatre moved with fluid agility under her adjustments. Both the crew and the performers scrambled to obey, according her their fullest respect. It wasn't fear that drove them, but a profound, unshakeable trust.
Seraph stood by the hall doors, watching her with a gaze filled with quiet admiration. He hadn't imagined that a woman only a few years his senior could exert such control, commanding those far older and managing an enterprise of this magnitude with such finesse.
He held absolute confidence in his own mageia power, yet if he were tasked with overseeing a business like this, he suspected he'd drive it to ruin within the hour.
While Sophia was entrenched in rehearsals for the grand opening, a tumultuous clamor erupted from the entrance. The grand hall doors behind Seraph were violently slammed open. The massive wood struck the walls with such ferocity that the entire edifice shuddered, as if on the brink of collapse.
[Crash!]
A surge of blistering heat was thrust into the theatre. Arvid came sprinting after a man, desperate to restrain him, but he was nearly in tears, utterly powerless to deter the intruder. A deathly silence fell over the crew as they witnessed the man's violent entry. Yet, strangely, throughout the entire ordeal, Seraph's white cloak remained perfectly still, not fluttering in the slightest.
"Sophia!! What is the meaning of this!!!" the young man bellowed, his roar echoing through the rafters. "When you chose my brother... I was willing to step aside!! But why are you being so intimate with another man? You even let him share your carriage!! I've never been allowed to touch so much as your fingertip!! You will give me an explanation, here and now!!!"
His voice was so deafening that even the commoners outside could hear his rage. The staff retreated behind the curtains with practiced speed; they acted as though this were a routine disaster, knowing exactly how to handle the fallout.
Seraph turned to face the boorish intruder. In an instant, their eyes locked. They stared at one another with unyielding intensity. Though paces of distance separated them, the air between them began to boil. Between their locked gazes, it was as if sparks of hostile lightning crackled through the void.
The man before him had cropped, flame-red hair and eyes of burnished gold. He stood nearly as tall as Sophia, his physique formidable and brawny, his skin a deep bronze—he looked like a holy warrior out of legend. He appeared to be eighteen, the same as Sophia. One glance at his stature was enough for Seraph to know: this was a warrior of no small strength.
The flame-haired man wore the semi-armoured garb of a knight, a crimson cloak draped across his back. His attire mirrored his hair, embroidered with intricate golden clouds. Steel bracers encased his forearms, iron boots his legs, and at his waist hung twin blades, their hilts encrusted with gemstones.
Though he lacked full plate, he looked like a true Knight of Embers, as if one of the knight-golems from the Sanctus had stepped into the flesh.
"My Lord..." Sophia spoke, her voice chillingly calm.
"'My Lord'?!!" Arthus bellowed, his eyes trembling with agitation. "Does our childhood friendship mean so little that I'm reduced to a title? Have you forgotten my name entirely, Sophia?!"
Seraph could sense the underlying pain and the turbulent mageia swirling within the man.
'Another personal relationship entanglement... I really don't want to be here,' Seraph mused, letting out a silent, inward sigh.
"I'll... I'll take my leave now—"
"This is Magis Seraph," Sophia interjected, ignoring Seraph's attempt to escape. "Lord Seraph is the one who saved Nahreb's life. Lord Seraph... allow me to introduce you to Lord Arthus."
"I... what did you say?!!" Arthus stammered, his eyes widening in shock.
"Seraph is the benefactor who rescued Nahreb. He shared our carriage to ensure our protection. Nahreb is in his chambers now; go see him yourself if you don't believe me," Sophia stated with utter indifference.
"Is this... is this the truth?" Arthus asked, his voice wavering with uncertainty.
Within the vast, cavernous hall, the three of them stood in a silence so thick it was suffocating. Arthus remained motionless, his face flushed a deep, burning crimson with shame; he kept his gaze fixed on the floor, as if he wished the opulent red carpet would simply swallow him whole.
"But... you still let him board your carriage, didn't you?" Arthus asked, refusing to back down. "I—along with every other man—have never been granted the privilege of sitting so close to you. You always used the pretext of 'preventing misunderstandings'... So, what makes this man so exceptional?"
"Err... I'll—I really should take my leave now—"
"Arthus... you are of noble birth... but I don't love you. Please, let this go," Sophia murmured, averting her eyes.
Her initial words were heavy with hesitation. Yet, in the moments that followed, her gaze and her voice hardened into stone. She made it clear: she intended to sever their ties with absolute finality this very day.
"Why? Is it because of him? Or is it because of my wretched brother?" Arthus asked. The flame-haired man kept his head bowed, his face a mask of immeasurable sorrow. He looked like a man whose world had just been shattered. "In all these years, you've never been this cruel... Is it because of him?"
Sophia gritted her teeth. "It's because I'm weak!" she declared, her entire posture radiating a bitter resentment.
"If you choose me, I'll protect you! I'll never let anyone hurt you!!" Arthus proclaimed, his voice booming through the rafters.
"Enough!! Don't you understand yet? Do you really think I have a choice?!!" Sophia cried out.
Their dialogue was saturated with a history Seraph couldn't begin to comprehend. He felt like an intruder, a superfluous entity who had no business standing there.
The young magis scanned for an exit, but the flame-haired man stood firm, obstructing the path like a titan guarding a forbidden gate.
'I should have walked away from this mission the moment I saw the scroll…' Seraph mused, a headache beginning to thrum behind his eyes.
"I love you!!" Arthus bellowed, the sound thundering through the hall.
"And I don't love you!" Sophia shot back with instantaneous finality.
"Why?!!!" The word was torn from Arthus's throat, a raw, jagged roar.
"You're the one person in this world who should least ask that!" Sophia struck back, her voice laced with an agonizing edge.
"I will never accept this fate!!" Arthus declared with grim resolve.
He turned and marched away, his presence like a rampaging wildfire. Each heavy stride sent a tremor through the floorboards. But at the threshold, Arthus spun around, thrusting a finger toward Seraph in a booming proclamation.
"You are my enemy now! Don't think I'll let this go easily!" he vowed, before storming out into the distance.
"Sigh..." Seraph let out a heavy, weary exhale.
He pressed a hand to his temple, utterly baffled. He understood nothing of their history, yet he could feel that every word they'd traded had only served to cut each other deeper.