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Her heart jumped to her throat as she stared at the prince's outstretched hand. She shot a look over her shoulder to see Corvan's rock-hard face. His face was indifferent, however, his eyes were smouldered with their usual icy fire. Merely looking at them made her shiver.

But she could not reject him.

"Yes . . . of course." She nervously took his hand and he dragged her to the middle of the room, the violins singing in chorus with the bass.

"Calm down," he said. "It would seem I made a big mistake asking you to dance since I can feel holes being burned on my head." He laughed softly as he placed one hand on her waist. They swept across the floor, her dress fluttering delicately.

"Somebody else already had my first dance. I'm guessing he somehow anticipated this," she said. The prince seemed curious but decided not to ask. "Anyhow, he's always like that," she answered. "How did you know it was my birthday?"

"It's Lady Tamara's doing."

She shot a look over her shoulder when she caught a flash of red hair and coincidentally met Tamara's bright blue eyes as she winked.

"This blabbermouth," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"I would like to use this opportunity to greet you and thank you as well," Bertram told her. "As I am sure I will have no chance to do so for the rest of the night. I owe you this day. If it were not for you, standing here would not have been possible."

"I was doing what I should, there's no need for that," she replied. "Although I would've appreciated it if you were more discreet with your greeting since it's really embarrassing. I mean, people would think I sort of stole the show even though it's supposed to be your birthday being celebrated."

"Nonsense." He shook his head. "You have no need to be embarrassed, you deserve it. I have a big cake at the back of the room for you and your friends to eat later."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." She smiled at him and he returned it.

The music came to a pause so they bowed and stopped.

"I thank you for giving me the first dance." Bertram retreated. "Have a good time, Valeriana. And joulle draey once again."

"Joulle draey, Your Highness," she told him.

Valeriana retreated as well and inserted herself into the crowd where Aneeka, Genevieve, and Elfre were waiting for her.

"How about that?" Aneeka elbowed Valeriana playfully.

"You guys, you put me on the spot!" she gave them a glare.

"Because . . ." Genevieve started. "You can keep all other secrets but not this one! We respect your privacy, but at least let us celebrate with you!"

"She's right," Elfre stated, nodding. "This is what you get for not telling us it was your birthday!"

"I guess it can't be helped. Thank you all." She hugged Elfre tenderly, who was stumped when she did. Even so, the current sixth-ranker returned the embrace with a smile.

She did the same with Tamara and Genevieve, who returned the gesture with much affection as she gave.

"Come on," Tamara said as she pulled the girls with her to the corner of the room where the buffet was. "Since this is when you officially come of age, we should grab some wine! I've been itching for a glass since I came in. After that, there's still that treat at the back room."

Valeriana's stomach churned with excitement. This would be the first time she'd taste wine. All she had before were fizzy fruit drinks. She tasted a bit of beer and punches during her rebellious phase but nothing like wine.

As they approached the rows of wines on the table, they caught Keelan picking food from the buffet as a bevy of girls crowded around him. His face was pleasant and he smiled as he gave them short replies just to be polite, but he was more interested in his food rather than talking.

"Yes, I'll have a bit of that," he told the server behind the table.

"Lord Keelan, I heard you wielded the spear," said a woman coquettishly. "You must be really good at it!"

Tamara rolled her eyes as she opened her mouth to mime what the woman just said, her fingers wrapping around the stem of a glass as she held it up to her mouth to drink. Val and the others giggled at her action, but picked up glasses for themselves as well.

When Valeriana tasted the wine, Aneeka looked her way with a smile. "So how is it?"

"It's . . . not the disgusting sweet I hate," she said. "It's actually really good. And light." She sipped from her glass again.

They tuned in to Keelan's dilemma. "Indeed, I do practice the spear. However, I'm afraid I'm not as good as my brother." His smile was so charming that the girls could not help but pause to subtly sigh in admiration.

As though he sensed them looking, he looked up and saw Tamara and the girls. His face lit up. He carried his full plate with him and excused himself.

"Pardon me, my friends are over there," he told them. Calmly, he made his way over. "Hey, guys. Joulle draey, Val!"

"Thanks, Keelan. You're such a chick magnet," Valeriana teased.

"They came on their own."

"Which is why you're a chick magnet."

"Nah. My love is with food," he said, holding up his fork as he pointed to a table on the far side. "I'll be over there eating."

The girls nodded and watched the eleventh-ranker busy himself with his food. Valeriana watched the couples dancing in the middle of the room, enjoying the soft orchestral music playing in the background. The flurry of colors from the women's dresses swept like rainbows under the soft glow of the chandelier. They blended with the suits of their partners and left a strange feeling in Valeriana's stomach.

One by one, the girls left her side. Rowe came forward to ask Aneeka for a dance, which she wanted to turn down at first. Eventually, the second-ranker managed to coax her into accompanying him to the dance floor and they left to join the sea of bodies that waved with the music.

Elfre was approached by a few guys which she all turned up her nose at and declined. When Raziel came in, she was unable to open her mouth as she was forcefully pulled by the tangerine-haired lad. Having no choice, she went along. With it sparked a new argument about how Elfre sneakily slipped away when the new seventh-ranker wasn't looking.

As promised, Zevlin had stood by and blocked the guys coming for his sister. He asked Genevieve for her first dance and joined with the others, leaving the younger twin with a protruding pout on her face.

Tamara, on the other hand, left her side to go back to Charles. Apparently, she forgot about her promise to her brother about helping him after throwing his glasses away. Valeriana tapped on her foot impatiently. Left alone by the buffet, she felt alienated to a certain degree. She stared at Aneeka and Rowe dancing, watching their lips move.

Inwardly, Valeriana wished she could tune in and hear what they were talking about.

"Is this really alright?" Aneeka asked, looking up to the second-ranker's eyes as they waltzed.

"Why not?" the lord replied with a smile. "It's been a while since we danced like this."

"But that was when we were kids, we're adults now. People will put meaning to it." She lightly bit on her tongue as she looked past his shoulder. She caught Lady Lerda watching them as she talked with a young lady who then glanced their way with a pair of mesmerising eyes.

Aneeka swallowed.

Seeing her look uncomfortable, Rowe squeezed the hand he held and firmed his hold on her waist. "I hardly care," he told her. "I'm dancing with someone so beautiful, how can it not be acceptable?" His bright smile eased the heaviness in her heart.

She took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she spoke, "Rowe, you're . . ."

"What?" he cut in.

"Maybe I shouldn't have asked you to accompany me . . ." she trailed off.

He frowned. "Sometimes, I tire of telling you that these matters should not bring you down. I see that you still have not found your resolve."

"I have not lost anything! The reason why I'm like this is because of my resolve. I cannot—"

Rowe broke the rhythm and began to drag her away.

Valeriana, who was watching, almost choked on her third glass of wine. She covered her mouth as she tiptoed, trying to catch a glance at Rowe and Aneeka as they retreated out of the doors that led to somewhere she did not know.

"Yes!" She pumped her fist. "I ship Roweeka! Let's Rowe this ship! Row it, Rowe!"

"Valeriana."

She jumped at the sound of the voice and saw Corvan frowning as he looked at her. "Oh, it's you. What's up?"

"How many have you drunk?" He pulled the wine glass from her hand and put it down.

She held up a fist with three fingers sticking out. "Three!"

"Stop drinking. Looking at you, you have no tolerance for alcohol at all."

"Yeah, I remember drinking one bottle of Smirnoff before and I fell flat right afterwards. I'm amazed I actually lasted three glasses, but it's just so good." She stared at the wine glasses in utter disappointment. She was starting to feel a bit tipsy.

"You will not drink any more wine for the rest of the day," he said, his frown deepening. "Come."

"Oh, yeah. Aneeka and Rowe!" she exclaimed and pointed to the door they went through.

"Let them be. Whatever they talk about is their business."

"I wanna peep!" she said.

"I wanna peep, too," followed another voice.

Looking up, Tamara had Charles by the arm as she grinned knowingly at Valeriana. With a wink, they clasped hands and started going.

"Wait a moment," said Charles. "What you're doing is utterly unacceptable!"

Tamara let his arm go and turned to Corvan. "Since you two don't seem to want to come along, then, Corvan, watch over Charles. Valeriana and I will do some peeping!" she said in a singsong voice. "Come on, Val!"

With that, they ran off, leaving the fourth and first-ranker together, looking irked beyond measure. Valeriana hiked up the skirts of her dress as she increased her pace to keep up with Tamara. The door led to a spacious garden, riddled with hedges, cobblestone pathways, trellises, and archways. There was a glass dome ceiling above tinted green somewhat.

A greenhouse!

Valeriana and Tamara looked around for Rowe and Aneeka. They trod the cobblestone pathway which curved like a snake and rounded a corner where they heard voices. Both girls stopped and shrank to the ground as they hid behind the hedges to 'peep' on the two.

It felt wrong, but the curiosity was unbearable.

"If you don't tell me, of course I won't understand!" Aneeka's voice resonated. "I do not understand. I do not understand why you're acting like this!"

Rowe's voice was calmer than Aneeka's, however, he had lost his usual composure. "You ask me why? You should ask yourself!"

"Stop being cryptic and just tell me! For Aether's sake, Rowe! What is it exactly that I forgot?"

"Recall it then," the second-ranker began. "How it all began."

"Ooh." Tamara's eyes lit up.

Valeriana put a finger against her lips.

There was a sigh. As they peeked past the corner, they spotted Aneeka with her palm against her forehead and a look of frustration on her face.

"Twenty years ago . . ."

Valeriana did the computations and concluded it was ten years in human time. Until then, the current fifth could not wrap her mind around the difference in the time flow of Valemnia. Double the time of Earth and the lives of Valemnians were doubled as well? That meant they would live twice longer than humans? Did that principle apply to Valemnians?

"After my mission with the covert corps, I was taken in by your lord father . . ." she trailed off. "And was assigned to serve by your side."

"Covert corps?" Valeriana turned to Tamara.

"It's an assassin's guild," Tamara told her, which made her eyes go wide.

"Someone so young in something like that?"

"That's how it works. They take orphans as young as a few months old and raise them to become top-tier assassins. Aneeka's shooting accuracy was and still is unparalleled. The training she must've gone through . . ." The third-ranker's eyes narrowed. "Anyhow, I didn't know she was taken in by the covert corps—this is very interesting to know."

"Shhhh!"

Aneeka covered her face and muttered something intelligible. ". . . father . . ."

"Aneeka," Rowe prodded.

"I killed your father," she whispered.

Tamara and Valeriana staggered back in shock. "Holy shiznits!" they whispered in chorus.

Rowe's face visibly softened. "So that's how it is. Your guilt has drowned out everything else. What am I to do with you?"

Valeriana grabbed Tamara's wrist and pulled her back. It took a good coercion to get the other girl to cooperate, but she conceded in the end. They retreated to the doors as quiet as a mouse and slipped back into the party.

Both girls had mixed feelings about what they saw and heard. Valeriana, in particular, could not wrap her mind around the concept of Aneeka being part of an assassin's guild—raised to be an assassin and trained to kill. What more, she actually killed Rowe's father?

"What exactly is this covert corps?" Valeriana turned to Tamara with her brows bunched up in confusion.

"Like I said, they're an assassin's guild," Tamara said with a low voice. "They're not exactly ran by the government, but when times call for it, they're hired. They do all the dirty work that knights can't do upfront. Besides, they're too powerful to be taken down, so we avoid unnecessary conflicts with them as much as possible."

"How'd you know that?"

"Where do you think I came from?" she asked. "My father's the Lord of Larkovia, of course I know these things. However . . ." she paused. "I heard that it was impossible to break it off with the covert corps. The only way you can leave is when you die."

"Shiznits, is that true?"

"But Aneeka has a special status now as a family knight of the Aetherian nobles. The high family of Aetheria is a force to be reckoned with for they hold an entire continent under their name. Not to mention the mining sites. The covert corps controls one of the corporations for the mining of minerals. If the Nevans wanted it, they could close it down with just a word. It would create a large impact for the assets of the covert corps for they rely on those mines to facilitate their movements. A large number of valuable weapons are either traded off or used for their activities."

"I get it now. Perhaps Aneeka served as a compromise," Valeriana suggested.

"However," Tamara began. "I did not hear of the Aetherian lord being assassinated. I can't seem to recall any issues that tied the Nevans to the covert corps. Of course, there have been connections but nothing to the extreme—like this. If Aneeka did kill the lord, then how come she was taken in by Rowe? Rowe may be kind, but he is as ruthless as a demon. He may not look like it, but he's harsher than Corvan. If someone owes him a debt, he'll take back ten times what he's owed."

"Holy crap, are you telling me the truth?"

"He looks like a gentleman, but he's a wolf in a sheep's clothing. Don't let his smiles fool you."

Valeriana opened her mouth. "I—"

"Don't think about it, he wouldn't let you see that side of him unless demons start turning back to their old selves."

"Uh . . ." She chuckled a bit. "Anyway, aren't you going to dance?"

"I don't prefer it. I have this tendency to step on my partner's feet." She flicked her hand dismissively. "Why haven't you and Corvan danced?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Val, are you that dumb? I just asked you a question even a two year old can understand!"

"No." She shook her head and laughed nervously. "It's just that . . . why are you asking?"

Tamara looked at her knowingly and elbowed her side. "You're embarrassed?"

"Er . . ." Valeriana looked away and looked at the skirts of her dress. "Ugh, stop talking to me like that."

"But you are!"

"Stop being so annoying."

Tamara frowned at Valeriana and turned her nose up. "What? If you tell me to stop being annoying, you're basically telling me to go die."

The current fifth-ranker snorted at the third's joke and they exchanged a smile.

"Ha! I like that one! High-five! I'll steal that line of yours later for my own use."

They clapped their hands together.

"Oh, I know." She clicked her tongue and grinned. "Come on. This stuff won't end for a few more hours. What do you want to do?" she asked. "We can grab our food and all and eat with Keelan over there." She pointed at the distance to the table where Keelan was sitting—and surrounded by girls. "Since I haven't had anything to eat so far. But Keelan looks busy at the moment."

"I can't believe you. You had like . . . how many glasses of wine," Valeriana began, trying to recall just how much the third-ranker drank a while ago.

"I don't know how much I drank either, but I'm not feeling tipsy at all," she boasted. "Anyway, this hair is killing me. I want to rip off whatever's keeping these all together."

"You can't do that."

"My head feels like it weighs tons, okay?" She brushed back the red curls with discomfort.

"You're just not used to it."

"Anyhow, let's stop with this nonsense, I spot a familiar person—look!"

Valeriana looked to where Tamara was pointing and indeed recognized who had attended. "Lady Seraphina! And Headmaster Kylon! Those two came together?"

However, it wasn't just Kylon and Seraphina. There were others in their group and they all seemed like close friends. They stuck to one another like glue as they talked leisurely. The atmosphere they emitted was similar to that of the Twelve's—close comrades of some sort with deep bonds of friendship.

"Larkov, it's the unprecedented batch!" Tamara exclaimed. "Lord Eres is even present, this is big!"

"The unprecedented batch?" Valeriana looked up at Tamara as they walked.

"They're the best batch of graduates from the Celestial Twelve so far ever since the originals a few thousand years ago—and also the most successful," said Tamara excitedly. "Lady Seraphina and Headmaster Kylon were almost tied to the position of first-ranker! If they were in different years, they would've been hailed as both first-rankers. The competition was so tough between those people, it's like war in Celeste Academy every day!"

"Shiznits, really? Who's the first-ranker again?"

"It's Headmaster Kylon. Lady Seraphina is second. They were all in different years like us, but Lord Eres should third at that time and he graduated a year ahead or something! I can't really remember and I don't care. It's just that when they were complete, they dominated everything."

"Oh."

"Then there's also those guys you see, they are all certified high-ranking Celestes while Lord Eres is the current commander of the Earthian Army—Denovegasia's continental knights!"

Valeriana was struck with awe as she looked at the group bearing very high prestige. They exuded power and maturity that the current Twelve could not hope to have—yet.

"Who are the others?" Valeriana continued to ask, her attention latched to the familiar young man who stood beside Kylon—baby-face, blue eyes, blond hair and all.

"Oh, that's Lord Claude, the eldest brother of Queen Ayslia. He's currently the Duke of Larkovia and the commander of the Marine Battalion."

"Oh yes! I remember! It was that guy who took away Lady Seraphina at the first day I started classes." She shook her head at the memory. "What was his rank, then?"

"Same as Charles. Like uncle like nephew." She chuckled.

"So he's fourth."

"That one over there is the crown heir of Preluresia and also Courtney's eldest sister, Manilla. She was fifth-ranker during that year, but she later graduated as third, I think." Tamara gestured to a woman with the similar shade of auburn hair and eyes as Courtney. She didn't emit the same kind of aura as her younger sister. Instead, she was warm with a cool, minty-feeling from the eyes. Her gaze was strangely soothing and would, in a way, compel anyone who approached her to relax. "Which is also the same as Courtney's but, trust me, that girl is nothing like her."

"Looks like it." Valeriana nodded. "But I still have a vague understanding of how the graduating works in the academy. If you don't finish the entire eight years of training, would that mean you wasted your time?"

Tamara shook her head. "No, of course not. There are different hierarchies in the military, much like the sovereign and justice systems. In this case, trainees who last at least a year in the academy can become sentries—they're the lowest form of a knight, really. Two to three years is required to become a guard, four years is enough to become a soldier, five years for a common knight, six years minimum for a continental knight, seven years to eight years for Celestes, and a full-blown training for a Celestial Knight. Positions in the Twelve can determine your position after graduation, but there are series of promotions in those ranks as well. However, if you want to be really successful, the academy will save you a lot of time."

"Oh, I get it now. So if I quit this year, I can still become a sentry—cool!"

"Nah, since you're a part of the Twelve, you're probably, more or less, a common knight."

"So high?"

"The Circle has prestige. Even if you held the position for just a week, it says a lot. What more a few months."

"But I don't get it. If Headmaster Kylon was practically the best and he graduated as the first-ranker at the end of his year, then how come he became just headmaster?"

"Now that you say . . . I'm sure that, with his abilities, he could've become a Celestial Knight so easily. However, he really loved the academy and became the headmaster instead—which I don't really understand. Unless, there is something more to it than being said."

Valeriana glanced at Tamara who seemed thoughtful herself. She was well aware of the existence of King Friedel's tomb in the chamber from before. It was already made clear to her that the academy was being used as a cover to justify the existence of a barrier and people in the middle of demon lands. Headmaster Kylon ranked first in the Celestial Circle during his stay in the academy. Why would such a person who had so much potential to become a Celestial Knight become a mere headmaster? Unless, of course, there was something more to it than being said.

"Oh," she whispered.

At the train of thought, an idea popped in Valeriana's brain. Perhaps this was all because of Ouranos. It all made sense.

"Come on, since you're so eager, let's go and greet them!"

"What? Are you kidding m—no way!"

"Don't be shy—these people are, in no way, condescending. They're really good people."

With, that Tamara brought Valeriana to approach the group, never minding her protests.