I watched Ariana eat her soup. It was a terrifying sight.
She ate with perfect etiquette, but her violet eyes behind those glasses were dissecting Clara von Marigold like a frog in a biology lab. Every time Clara giggled or tried to offer me a macaron, Ariana's spoon would clink against her bowl—a sharp, metallic warning bell.
'Did I… change her too much?'
I recalled the Ariana from the game lore and my early memories. She was supposed to be a timid, stuttering girl with low self-esteem who hid behind her bangs. A genius alchemist, yes, but socially invisible.
The girl sitting next to me now was… a boss.
She radiated a silent pressure that kept even the boisterous Clara in check. It was a Domination aura that I hadn't taught her. Or maybe I had, simply by being the only person she felt safe enough to unleash it on.
"Well then," Ariana wiped her mouth elegantly. "Lunch is over."
She stood up, picking up her tray.
"Lucien. Walk with me."
It wasn't a request.
"Uh, right."
