Arthur had been ignoring everything so far but it was at a point where he was unsure whether keeping his ignorance up would be smart.
"You are a newborn Mystic and you somehow managed to survive going up against an Apostle?"
Alex pursed his lips. "It’s almost like you aren’t happy to see me safe."
"It’s nothing like that, Alex and you know it." Arthur harshly replied before sighing. "Hah, how did you escape?"
"Lady Ana helped me."
"That crazy lizard saved you?"
"I told you... our meeting ended on a good note."
Arthur revealed a complicated expression, still not completely buying into the idea of Anastasia going out of her way to help a nobody.
’Surely, he would piss his pants upon realizing she’s my subordinate.’ Alex mused inwardly.
Just then, Nadia spoke up. "I think that’s enough for now."
Arthur sighed in response before turning to leave.
"Get some rest. I’ll make something for you to recover."
After addressing Alex, Nadia didn’t wait for a response before leaving the room as well.
Taking a moment to breathe, Alex closed his eyes and quickly went over the battle with Basar.
His first battle against a fellow mystic, and a powerful one at that.
It was short but precise.
No wasted movements and just one mistake could have disrupted the other party.
There were no winners but that was only because both were trying to feel the other out.
If Basar had known Alex was a normal Mystic, chances are he would have attacked with the intent to kill from the beginning.
Of course, most likely because of what he had seen, he wasn’t able to exercise his full power.
But Alex wasn’t dumb enough to think that what he saw yesterday was all Basar was capable of.
"I need to prepare for our next meeting," Alex muttered after opening his eyes.
He had carried out a few simulations on how he could have defeated Basar in their encounter but none were in his favor.
At the end of the day, Basar’s ’Eyes’ were the key problem and since he didn’t have to worry about aether, Alex couldn’t entertain the strategy of tiring him out.
Massaging his temples, he sighed. "This is going to be tougher than I thought."
However, he didn’t feel too bothered and instead, relished the challenge.
Getting into a lotus position, Alex began to formulate a plan.
Nadia busied herself in the kitchen, making a cup of tea for Alex with a somber look.
At a certain point, she stood unmoving with her gaze fixed on the window, revealing the garden outside.
Beside her, the kettle whistled but she remained silent as her mind wandered off.
Just as she was about to fall completely into despair, Nadia felt someone grab her shoulder causing her to gasp and turn.
Arthur revealed a wry smile as he turned off the cooker before meeting her gaze. "Noticed you were making a cup of tea, so I thought I’d ask you to make it for me as well."
Nadia pursed her lips before nodding. "Mn, alright then. I will do that now."
Turning away from Arthur, she took a deep breath and attempted to move only to pause as Arthur spoke up again.
"What’s on your mind?... The last time I saw you was when you first arrived in BoneHaven."
Nadia stood still, her lips quivering and her eyes shaking.
Twisting her fingers gently, her expression was enough to tell her mental state.
"You are worried about Alex."
"... I don’t know what to do, Uncle," Nadia spoke up after a brief hesitation.
Nadia slowly turned round and found that Arthur was already pulling a chair over and with the regality of a noble, casually took his seat.
"Well then, I’m listening," Arthur added with a casual smile.
Nadia sighed. "Ever since the Evergarden incident, everything’s changed. Alex changed and the incidents happening in BoneHaven each day... hah, you know I was upset with him this morning."
"Yeah... I blamed him for not coming home early and even planned to scold him. But when I saw him... he looked so pale."
Arthur remained silent but his expression showed that he was listening.
"I hate that I can’t do anything to help. If only all these troubles could come to an end, maybe the Alex I love would return to me."
"Is that what you think?"
"Do you think if the troubles go away, everything would go back to normal?"
"I don’t consider you a weak woman, Nadia. So don’t have such weak thoughts."
Nadia bit her lower lip. "So what do I do?"
"What do you want to do?"
"I..." Nadia paused upon starting.
For the first time, she decided to ask what she wanted to do.
It didn’t take long before an answer came to mind.
"I’m tired of waiting at home, hoping that he’d return to me in one piece."
"..." Arthur only looked on.
"I want to help him and stand by his side but... even though I know what to do to achieve that... I don’t know if I have the will to go ahead with it."
"And what’s stopping you?"
Nadia clenched her fist. "It would be like I’m going back to what I was running away from."
"Would it?" Arthur rose to his feet and with his cane, took a step forward. "You are trying to run away from your mother’s shadow but if you keep trying to avoid these things, you’d never fully escape."
"Nadia, you come from a long line of Mystic arts practitioners. No matter how much you try to ignore it, you were destined to become a Mystic. So if you truly want to escape your mother’s shadow... do so but do one thing differently."
"Never forget the importance of family."
Nadia’s eyes flickered briefly as she pondered Arthur’s words.
"So..." Arthur took another step forward. "What will you do?"
"I..." Nadia bit her lower lip before revealing a resolute gaze. "I’ll do what has to be done."