NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25: Family & Ruin
Yue was once again awoken by a maid with tea. The second he opened his eyes however, he was hit with a throbbing headache and the overwhelming sense that he had done something he might regret. He asked for the maid to bring him a pain killer as he struggled to get up without feeling nauseous or without his headache killing him.
He tried his best to bear through it as he got himself dressed but he only felt some relief after the maid came back with the pain killers. Even then he still felt pretty terrible. He walked to the dining room, thinking hard about the pieces of his memory that were missing. He couldn’t remember anything after they opened the second jar of Huangjiu.
In the dining room, Mai and Huy were sitting next to each other while Viktor sat in his usual place at the head of the table. Mai looked to be feeling as miserable as he was but Huy and Viktor were just fine.
“Good morning…” Yue murmured and sat down at the dining table.
“Yue, did I do anything bad while drunk? I can't remember anything as Anh won’t tell me!” Mai asked with an embarrassed and worried expression.
“I don’t know...I can’t remember anything after we opened the second jar.” Yue murmured and felt a bit embarrassed.
Viktor almost dropped his fork as he heard Yue say that but no one seemed to notice.
‘I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing…’ Viktor thought to himself and continued eating as if nothing happened.
“I don’t know about after Mai and I left but nothing too crazy happened,” Huy said and chuckled a bit.
Yue and Mai both froze but for very different reasons. Mai was brimming with glee at the idea of drunk Yue and Viktor being alone in a room together. Yue on the other hand was absolutely terrified of what might’ve happened while he was drunk. Every other time he got drunk he just ended up making other people drink or just being restless and making Fei Xiang have to deal with his messes.
Yue, Mai, and Huy all turned to Viktor, wondering if he was going to say anything but he just smiled silently and continued eating.
“Please just tell me if I did something improper,” Yue said, he felt incredibly anxious as he thought of all of the bad things he could’ve done.
“You didn’t do anything improper...you were just a bit silly.” Viktor chuckled. He was lying but no one except maybe the maids knew that.
Yue let out a breath of relief and they all focused on eating their breakfast. He did feel a little bit skeptical but he was usually quite silly when he got drunk so he didn't question it.
After breakfast, they went to the entrance to the manor to say goodby to Mai and Huy who were going to return to the hotel they were staying in.
“The auction we wanted to go to is in two days, don't forget!” Mai said and hugged Yue.
“I won’t,” Yue said and smiled before letting go of Mai so she could go into the carriage with Huy.
Yue and Viktor watched the carriage leave and then looked at each other.
“So? What should we do for the rest of the day?” Viktor asked and placed his hand on Yue's waist as he walked back into the manor.
“W-We have to check the magic item we bought yesterday and I want to look over the catalog for today’s auction…” Yue said, trying not to pay too much attention to Viktor’s hand.
“Alright,” Viktor said and chuckled as he looked at Yue’s red face. He figured that Yue wouldn’t remember what happened the night before so he just decided to move on like it never happened. If Yue had remembered he’d make more of an effort to make their relationship more official but that wasn't the case.
—
Mai and Huy sat in the carriage on their way to the hotel they were staying in when Huy decided to have a serious talk with Mai.
“During expeditions...listen to Yue, even if she isn’t captain…” Huy murmured and held Mai’s hand.
Mai was confused but she nodded regardless, she knew Yue had good judgment so he didn’t really mind listening to his orders but Huy acted like it was a necessity. She was curious if Huy’s impression of Yue had something to do with how their eyes seemed to react to one another.
“I wish you had just gone to a cultivation sect...There’s so much going on in this side of the world and I know you’re going to end up being involved and I hate that..” Huy murmured and made Mai blush bright red.
“I-I'm going to be fine, don’t worry!” Mai stuttered and tried to assure Huy that she was strong enough to deal with whatever came her way. Huy sighed helplessly and decided to just believe in her.
“If you go to a ‘ruined’ area keep your lifeline ring on…I need to be able to help you...” Huy murmured and kissed Mai’s hand.
“...I wish I could say that I won’t be going to any of those places but it is uncertain...The second tier class went to a ruined area and half their team died...they were inside salvaged land too…” Mai murmured. Her words didn’t help Huy’s worries but she felt that she couldn’t voice her fear in front of anyone else.
—
Yue waved goodbye to Mai who was getting off the carriage with Huy at the hotel they were staying in. The auction they went to together had ended without any issues. They bought a couple of items and went home soon afterward.
The carriage started on its way to the Ivanov house and Yue sighed. It felt like the days were just flying by and he found himself wishing for more time to just be calm and rest as he had been. Soon he and Viktor would receive information about their next expedition and about their grades for their work in Wolfsstadt and then it was just a matter of time until they’d have to go and risk their lives again.
He looked down at his turquoise dress and sighed. In reality, he knew that even if they stayed in Paris where everything seemed peaceful, things would start to go wrong. He had already taken note of suspicious people walking through the streets or lurking inside auctions. He would’ve dealt with them himself but he didn’t have his sword with him and he was too eye-catching and would cause a big scene if he did.
As the carriage rolled into the manor Yue noticed an unfamiliar carriage waiting at the door. He was curious who it might be since he didn’t recognize the family crest on the carriage. He stepped out of the carriage and went on his way to the manor. The coachman of the carriage seemed confused as he saw Yue and seemed like he was going to say something before he noticed the servants trailing behind Yue and recognized them as servants of the Ivanov family.
Yue walked into the manor and saw Viktor standing in the center of the main entrance with a white-haired boy hugging his waist. He was speaking in Russian to a white-haired woman and a blonde man who both seemed to be older than him. Yue assumed that they were Viktor’s older sister Natasha and her husband and son but he still hesitated before continuing to walk forward. The head maid who was standing beside Viktor alerted him of Yue’s presence once she noticed him.
“Miss Yue has returned.” The head maid said in Russian and made Viktor immediately turn toward the door. He smiled and motioned for Yue to come over.
“Oh? You have more guests?” Natasha asked in Russian, immediately curious about Viktor’s relationship with Yue who seemed like an elegant noble girl just judging by his current outside appearance. The turquoise gown and neatly styled hair made Yue seem very mature.
“She’s my classmate and a good friend,” Viktor explained.
“To think that Vitya had female friends…Father must be pleased,” Natasha said and giggled as she linked arms with her husband. She was clearly insinuating things that had nothing to do with friendship but Viktor chose to ignore them as he paid attention to Yue.
“Yue, this is my older sister Natasha and my brother-in-law Alexei Chernyshevsky,” Viktor said and introduced the two to Yue.
“And this is Nikolai, my nephew,” Viktor added, patting the head of the boy who was hugging his waist. Nikolai turned his head and smiled sweetly at Yue, nodding a bit as a greeting as he had noticed Viktor calling his name and figured that he was being introduced. He looked a lot like his mother but he had Alexei's green eyes. Yue almost gushed at the boy’s cuteness but he remembered that he was being observed and stopped himself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, My name is Yue Xia,” Yue said and curtsied a bit.
“I’m happy to see that Vitya has good friends in his class. I hope that you’ll continue to watch out for him.” Natasha said and smiled, patting Viktor’s shoulder.
Yue nodded a bit, silently noting that Viktor was usually the one watching out for him rather than the other way around. They all ended up going to have tea together in a lounge room and Yue felt a little stiff since he didn’t know Russian. They didn't really include him in the conversation until Natasha had finished observing him.
“Miss Xia, Are you aware of the situation in the United Kingdom?” Natasha asked, deciding that she wanted Yue’s opinion on the topic they were discussing.
“Yes...All of Scotland and around half of England has become ‘Ruined’...” Yue said and took a sip of tea.
When a country or Area is ‘Ruined’ it means that a dungeon has appeared somewhere that mages can’t reach it. It’s usually when a dungeon appears underground or very high in the atmosphere but can also happen if a dungeon appears in a volcano and deep in the ocean, since mages can’t reach the dungeon to enter it and clear it, the dungeon’s creatures start leaving the dungeon and attacking the outside and the people would start being affected by magic intolerance and demonic energy. An open dungeon leads to a lot of different calamities and would eventually cause the area to become devoid of non-demonic life.
“Yes, Well recently there have been talks in the European Mage Association about abandoning London. A class from the academy went to protect Northampton and failed, luckily most of the civilians were able to flee but the people are now being pushed back and they’re running out of places to run.” Natasha explained, recounting what she had been speaking to Viktor and Alexei about.
Yue figured that it was Anika’s class that failed to protect Northampton. It felt odd that the strongest class was told to deal with werewolves while the second strongest was sent to protect a salvaged area in a ruined country. He knew that there was probably a good reason for it but he couldn’t stand the thought that someone in the academy had set the second tier group up for failure.
“That is only one of the options though, the other option that the Association is talking about is sending the top-ranking European mages into the Abyss in Scotland where the dungeon is,” Alexei added.
“That might cause a lot of casualties...I heard that Abyss is around the size of the one in Saudi Arabia…Even people who had advanced to the first and second stage of immortality died back then.” Yue murmured. Abysses created by dungeons cause a variety of anomalies that make it hard for even the strongest of mages to deal with even the easiest dungeons, although abysses were usually caused by high-level dungeons. The Abyss in Saudi Arabia that Yue was mentioning had appeared 6 years ago and took 3 years to 'ruin' the whole country. The country was only saved when a Spanish Mythic level mage and his squad entered it.
“That is the main worry right now but the mage association has been reaching out to mage families like ours to assist them since most of the major family leaders have reached stage 3 of immortality.” Viktor murmured and watched Nikolai stare aimlessly into space.
“Scotland took 10 months to be completely ruined but England is on its way to complete Ruin in only 5…that could mean that either it’s much stronger than we think or...that there’s another dungeon in England…” Yue murmured, he had only ever been to one ruined area. A small town in Malaysia had almost caused the whole country to become Ruined but Fei Xiang brought some acquaintances and brought Xia Guiren, Lian Bai, and him to the abyss and they destroyed the dungeon. He recalled how amazed he was to watch Fei Xiang's friends fight and how desperately he wanted to get stronger after witnessing an abyss.
“That might very well be the case. It might explain how people in London are beginning to show symptoms of magic intolerance despite being so far away.” Alexei murmured.
They talked for a while longer in English now that they knew that Yue was as astute as he looked. After talking for a couple of hours it was time for Natasha and her husband and son to leave, they were going to an auction later in the evening so they needed to return to their own manor.
“It was wonderful speaking with you Miss Xia,” Natasha said as she walked beside Yue to the main entrance.
“You’re a very interesting person,” Natasha’s blue eyes narrowed a bit as she said this, she seemed like she was still trying to figure Yue out.
“Your mana reminds me of my mother...Almost unsettlingly so.” Natasha murmured and paused a bit as she watched Viktor put Nikolai, who he was carrying, down in front of the carriage. Yue was confused and Natasha just smiled.
“I’m sure you’ll meet her someday, she’s pretty amazing. Steel Lady Elena Ivanov, the strongest female mage in Russia.” Natasha said and smiled before going to her son.
“Kolya, say goodbye to Miss Xia,” Natasha said in Russian to Nikolai, patting his back before going to hug Viktor.
“Bye Bye,” Nikolai said quietly to Yue who just smiled softly, in his mind, he was gushing at how cute Nikolai was. Nikolai ran over to his father straight away after saying goodbye but kept glancing at Yue who had immediately become engrossed in his own thoughts.
“She’s a good one,” Natasha said as she let go of Viktor, “although I’m a bit puzzled, I thought you liked men?”
Viktor froze as he heard these words and glanced at Alexei who seemed unfazed. He rarely saw Alexei so it was hard to remember that he had been around all his life and had probably heard all the gossip from his sister.
“Knowing you, you might’ve just said that because you knew it would make dad livid though.” Natasha laughed and messed up Viktor’s head.
“I’m surprised he ever got over that. I thought he’d disown you on the spot.” Alexei murmured.
“He wouldn’t, Mother would kill him if he did. Vitya is also his favorite so the thought wouldn’t cross his mind.” Natasha said, causing Viktor to let out a shocked sound.
“Me? The favorite? Have you not seen how that man treats me?” Viktor asked incredulously.
Natasha just laughed, knowing that Viktor wouldn’t understand no matter how she explained it. His distaste for their father was probably unfixable at this point. Natasha took Alexei’s hand, about to enter the carriage before she turned to Viktor one last time.
“I want her to be my sister in law, so work hard!” Natasha said with a grin ignoring the embarrassed glare that Viktor was sending her.
Yue looked confused but waved them off with Viktor after they all got into the carriage. Once the carriage disappeared Yue turned to Viktor who just smiled sheepishly and guided him back into the Manor.