Chapter 398: Chapter 397- Young

“So you’d be busy for the time being,” Ariana said with her arms crossed, a faint complaint showing on her face.

Adrian gave her a wry smile as he kept hammering down large chunks of Heartstone from the massive crystal Albec had sent earlier. Sparks danced off the stone with every strike, filling the small workshop with a dull clinking rhythm.

He was preparing materials to build the runestones and reflectors for Raven’s farm. There was a lot to make—twelve runestones and seventy-two reflectors in total. After all, it wasn’t just one plantation that needed them. There were six farms in the capital alone.

Each plantation would need two runestones and twelve reflectors to cover the entire area properly. Once he finished preparing everything, Adrian planned to visit the sites himself to supervise the installations.

But the timing couldn’t have been worse. In just four days, the second phase of the final exams would begin. That gave him only three days to finish everything and set it all up before he had to focus on the students and the assessment.

That also meant the day he had promised to spend with his wife had vanished into the pile of urgent work.

“I’m sorry, Aria… but this is really important.” He had already explained the situation over lunch—Raven’s land was facing famine, and people were growing desperate. He had told her everything.

And even though she looked upset, he could tell that she wasn’t actually mad at him. There was no sharpness behind her glare—only quiet understanding.

The silver-haired woman sighed softly. “Being the partner of a charitable person is not easy. Your kind heart always comes between us.”

Adrian chuckled under his breath. “You should be the last person I hear that from, Warden Ariana.”

Ariana scoffed and shot him a small glare. “I’m no longer a Warden.”

He smiled and shook his head. “You might’ve returned your license, but your heart hasn’t changed. You still have that same sense of duty toward people. I mean, didn’t you stop by a village on your way back to the academy because the governor wasn’t doing his job and people were starving?”

Ariana blushed slightly. “Now you’re going to use that against me?”

Adrian shrugged with a teasing grin. “I’m just saying, it’s not something to be embarrassed about. Your kindness is beautiful, Aria—it’s part of who you are.”

She grumbled and crossed her arms again, pretending to be annoyed. “That sweet tongue of yours… always gets you out of trouble.”

Adrian laughed as he pried another large chunk of Heartstone loose and set it on the worktable. The light caught the stone’s faint, glowing veins, painting their faces with a soft pinkish hue.

“Can I help?” Ariana asked after a moment. Since he was busy, she didn’t want to just stand there watching.

Adrian looked at her, then pointed to the nail and hammer on the side. “Hmm… can you break big pieces of the stone like this one? Don’t worry about being perfect, just be careful of flying shards. Collect them and keep them in that pouch over there.”

“I understand,” Ariana said with a nod. She rolled up her sleeves, picked up the tools, and started working beside him. The sound of her hammer joined his, echoing in rhythm.

Adrian began polishing the rough stone he had finished, trimming away sharp edges so no one would get hurt while handling it later.

Next, he would have to make the metal brackets that would hold the runestones in place. Glancing toward the corner, he noticed something unexpected—tools, an anvil, and a small furnace.

“Wait, why… did you set up things for blacksmithing?” he asked curiously. He had only recently taken interest in smithing, and Ariana shouldn’t have known about it.

Ariana smiled sheepishly. “Well, when I mentioned turning this room into a workshop, the project manager assumed I meant blacksmithing. He brought all this before I could say anything. And once it was all set up, I didn’t feel like sending it back.”

She paused, then added lightly, “Don’t worry, though. I’ll sell it if you need the space for something else.”

Adrian chuckled, shaking his head. “No, Aria. You actually did the right thing. These tools will come in handy.”

His smile was so bright that it made her pause for a moment before she asked with a small grin, “Are you into blacksmithing too now?”

Adrian nodded, and Ariana almost missed the nail she was about to hit. “What? How far are you planning to go?”

“I’m still too young to limit myself,” Adrian said with a shrug, his tone light and playful.

Ariana let out a tired laugh. “And here I was groaning about my back pain this morning. We’re only two years apart, but somehow it feels like we’re from different generations.”

Adrian burst out laughing at her comment.

Ariana tried to keep a straight face but soon giggled too.

After a brief pause, Adrian broke the silence, his tone turning more serious. “Did you hear the report Annabelle brought?”

Ariana hummed in response, keeping her eyes on the stone she was chiseling. “Just vaguely… something about ancient creatures lurking too close to the surface, right? What’s going on with that?”

Adrian set his hammer down with a soft clang and let out a tired sigh. “I might need to go and inspect the site myself. Thankfully, there’s a teleportation point not far from there, so it won’t take too long.”

Ariana looked up, concern flickering in her silver eyes. “For you to personally go there… is it that serious?”

Adrian’s expression darkened a little as he replied, “The venue for that celebration you mentioned earlier—it’s being held on the northeastern island owned by Mister Clark. The creature was sighted roughly two hundred miles from that very place.”

Ariana’s brows shot up. “You think something might happen? Or…” she hesitated, “does this have anything to do with Mister Borodicus?”

Her question made Adrian chuckle softly, though the smile that followed carried a hint of unease. “No mortal alive has the power to summon an ancient being. So, no—I doubt he’s involved.”

Realizing how absurd her question sounded, Ariana gave a small, embarrassed nod. “Right… I suppose that makes sense.” She paused for a moment before asking, “Then do you think the creature could be moving toward the venue?”

“At this point, it’s just a suspicion,” Adrian admitted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I can’t be sure until I see what exactly it’s guarding.”

Ariana tilted her head. “Maybe… it’s protecting its eggs?”

Adrian nodded slowly. “That’s very possible. But if it’s only guarding eggs, why hasn’t it been searching for a mana source nearby? Ancient beasts are drawn to energy—they don’t just stay still without reason.”

“Unless,” Ariana said quietly, her voice almost trembling, “it’s waiting for something… maybe another guardian to watch over the nest. Or…”

Adrian’s eyes widened as he finished her thought. “Or someone’s already gone hunting for it.”

The air grew tense in an instant. Without wasting a second, Adrian reached for the communication artifact resting on the shelf beside him. The crystal embedded within it glowed faintly as he activated the link.

“Annabelle,” he called, his voice calm but urgent.

The response came almost immediately, bright and energetic through the magical connection.

’Yes, coming right away!’ Annabelle’s voice rang out before the crystal dimmed again, ending the transmission.

Ariana glanced at Adrian, who was already gathering his things, his mind racing ahead to whatever they might be about to uncover. The gentle sound of hammering from earlier had vanished—replaced by the quiet hum of tension that filled the room.

Not so long after, a familiar raven-haired woman stepped into the workshop and first glanced at the two. Looking at their frowns, Annabelle couldn’t help but mutter, “You two are still fighting? Guess, I have to step in after all.”

Adrian blinked in surprise before he glanced at Ariana and both chuckled at the same time.

Annabelle was caught off guard, the words of comfort she prepared were replaced by confusion, “Eh? What happened?”

Adrian told her, “We made up, Bella. But thanks for the thought though.”

Annabelle heaved a sigh of relief, “I am glad to hear that. Darling fighting with Ariana feels so out of place.”

The two of them again exchanged glances, words being exchanged through their gazes.

Annabelle then finally asked, “What happened, Darling? Is there a matter of concern?”

He called her out of nowhere and told her to bring her reports on the Barren Lands along.

Adrian nodded at her before he asked, “Do you have a means of communication with Umbral members?”

Annabelle glanced at the two in confusion, before she realized it must be something related to the ancient creature.

After a brief pause, she nodded, “Yes, the artifact for long distance communication you built for them, Jean has one.”

Adrian nodded, “Ask her to meet me here by this evening or by tomorrow.”

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.

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