King Philip looked at all of us, his face unreadable for a moment. Then, slowly, he gave a small nod. "The Romero blood does show. Strong, proud…and well-raised."

Sia didn't say anything at first.

Her eyes moved across each of our faces—calm, sharp, analysing.

But then her gaze landed on me again, and for just a second, the corner of her lips twitched.

"We're a handful," Aurelia said, smiling. "But we clean up nice."

That made King Philip chuckle slightly, and for the first time since entering, the tension in the room really seemed to ease.

Venus leaned back on the huge sofa, arms folded. "Told you they weren't just loud brats," he muttered to King Philip, earning a smirk in return.

Aurelia stepped back beside us cousins, her job done.

I couldn't help but glance at the girl with some respect.

She always knew how to handle situations like these. If it had been up to Dario or Erza, things would've gone very differently.

For a moment, everyone stood quietly again.

But this time, it wasn't awkward.

It felt…natural.

The room had found its balance.

And with Venus, King Philip, and the Romero kids all under the same roof again, I had this strange, nagging feeling that the real story was only just about to begin–

There was no applause.

Only a deep, mutual silence.

Venus smiled faintly, leaning back. "You always did have a silver tongue, Aurelia. If I were a few centuries younger, I'd hire you to handle all my introductions."

She smirked, then tilted her head slightly. "Let's just say it pays to be socially fluent."

"And connected," he added knowingly.

Aurelia offered nothing more than a wink.

The tension finally cracked—not with laughter, but a gentle exhale from all of us.

It was the kind of calm only family could create when they remembered they were still on the same side.

For now.

Venus stood again, brushing imaginary dust off his robe.

"I've delayed long enough," he said. "The next round will begin shortly—and yes..."

"...the final item up for auction once belonged to the Hollow King himself."

***

In between all of this, I realised that the so-called smartypants had forgotten to introduce me, then, glaring at the girl, beside me, I nudged at her.

"And this is Noah," she said, slower now, "eldest grandson of Venus D. Romero."

King Philip tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing just a bit. His stare was sharp, like he was trying to see through me.

I gave a short nod. "It's good to see you again…your Majesty."

He smiled faintly. "You've grown."

That caught me off guard.

"You remember?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He chuckled. "Of course. The boy who hated rain and used to hide behind his father's cape. You didn't say much back then either, Noah."

I could see the gaze of all my cousins turn towards me shocked as they realised that I already knew the lot.

Well, even Damien seemed to be flabbergasted, since he was absolutely quiet, it seemed that he was going through my memories with King Philip and Sia right about now to decipher something.

To be very honest, I did not know how to feel about this all, back then...King Philip and my dad were best friends, and we used to meet quite often-

My fingers trembled slightly as everything came back to me...

I could not help but think about how we would have been had Dad not died.

Would I have been a different person then?

I scratched the back of my neck, embarrassed. "I say stuff now. Sometimes."

"You definitely do," Dario said, a little more chirpy than usual. "Especially when you're telling me to shut up."

Venus leaned back in his chair, resting his elbow on the armrest. "Now that everyone's reacquainted...shall we speak like people instead of diplomats?"

The room seemed to collectively sigh. Seraphina uncrossed her arms. Dario slouched a bit, finally dropping the 'calm noble' act. Even Erza's grip on her knees loosened.

"Finally," Dario muttered. "My face was starting to hurt from pretending to look serious."

"You're never serious," Erza said, flicking his forehead.

"Ow! Proof."

Venus waved a hand. "Talk freely, all of you. This isn't a royal court, and that man's not just as easy-going as me here."

"That's debatable," Seraphina said under her breath as she saw King Philips eye twitch but he didn't say anything and simply nodded.

I looked at everyone, then at King Philip and Sia. They didn't seem bothered anymore. Philip looked more curious than anything else, and Sia…well, she still wouldn't meet my eyes. But I wasn't going to push it.

"So…" I began, resting my elbows on my knees. "What brings the King of Jade to this grand auction along with the princess?"

Meanwhile, King Philip raised an eyebrow, while I swear a cold stare followed me from Sia's figure, making me realise my mistake.

The girl seemed to have totally changed from the one in my memory.

"I could ask the same about you lot since this grand auction is not one for the kids. I only brought Sia here to experience what it feels like itself."

I shrugged. "Guess we got tired of castle walls. Plus, we've got Erza. She's basically a walking army."

Erza grinned, cracking her knuckles. "Damn right."

Philip chuckled softly, giving the girl a stare as if he could see through her stare. "Fair enough."

It was quiet for a second—one of those pauses that didn't feel awkward, just…waiting.

I glanced over at Sia. She hadn't said anything since we'd all relaxed, but I could tell she was listening. Her posture was straight, hands resting lightly in her lap. She looked like a statue.

A really, really pretty statue.

But there was something off.

She wasn't looking at me, or anyone really. Just off to the side, eyes narrowed slightly. Not in anger exactly…more like she was thinking. Or annoyed. But trying not to show it.

I could not just understand what the fuck was happening here.

WhenDamien had first told me that a girl named Sia of the Jade Kingdom would be my doom and death both, I hadn't recalled anything.

It was almost like after my parents died, I had sealed off all my memories of my childhood away.

If anything, had I not seen Sia and King Philip's in person right now, I might not have even recalled back all these memories I had buried inside my head.

A melancholic smile rested on my face as my heart began to hurt, my parents...were everything to me...and the day they died?

A part of me died then.

***