Return of the Legendary Runesmith

"Mm…" Adrian groaned softly as he slowly drifted out of sleep.

As his eyes adjusted, he saw Ariana watching him with a warm smile on her lips.

Then it hit him—the events from yesterday came flooding back. He sat up abruptly. "I messed up, didn't I?"

Ariana chuckled. "Why are you panicking? You were tired, that's all. You just fell asleep."

Adrian ran a hand through his hair, frustration tugging at his face. "Tch… I had everything planned for last night. I wanted it to be special, but I must've been more exhausted than I thought."

He'd been looking forward to making their night memorable. After all, it had been the day they officially got engaged.

But the moment he touched the bed, sleep had taken him completely.

"It's alright, Adrian." Ariana sat up and gently cupped his cheek. "We have our whole lives ahead of us. There's no need to push yourself."

Adrian sighed, feeling a little guilty as he looked at her. "What time is it?"

"It's still early. You can sleep a bit more."

He shook his head. "Nah, I've slept enough." He stood up, slid his feet into his slippers, and stretched his arms with a small yawn.

"Mm… I love that ass," Ariana said with a teasing grin.

Adrian gave her a helpless smile. "You're really full of energy this morning."

Ariana laughed softly as she stood up too. "Want some coffee? I'll bring it out to the garden."

Adrian leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Thanks."

They made their way downstairs, passing through the hallway as the servants moved about, busy with their morning tasks.

"Hm? The others are already awake?" he asked, noticing the quiet stir of activity.

A maid paused to answer, "Yes, Master Adrian. They're in the garden."

Adrian nodded and glanced at Ariana before heading outside.

In the garden, his father and father-in-law were seated at a round table, sipping their morning tea and reading the newspaper as they exchanged a few quiet words.

"Morning," Adrian greeted, pulling out a chair and sitting with them.

"Adrian, I was just talking about you," Adam said, folding the paper slightly.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Victor slid the newspaper toward him, pointing at a particular headline.

Adrian's eyes narrowed as he read:

[The genius Runesmith of this generation to become Runebound's new team mentor—Could this change the fate of…]

He didn't read the rest. A puzzled frown crept onto his face.

"How did they find out about that?" he muttered under his breath.

"Forget the article. I'm more curious about something else," Victor said, turning toward him. "Just how good are your armaments, really? What's all the hype about?"

He had noticed it clearly during yesterday's gathering—many people had approached Adrian, eager to talk to him. The fact that Adrian had ties to the Vermillion family and was being approached by the Tower said enough about his growing reputation.

The Adrian Victor remembered had always been a bit of a nerd—smart, sure, but quiet and buried in books. When did he start making tools that could shake the world?

Adam grinned. "Why don't you show us, then?"

Victor raised an eyebrow. There were no weapons in sight.

Adrian simply nodded. Then, with a casual motion, he reached toward his pocket—but what he actually summoned was his runic pencil from the Time Chamber.

"Let's do it, Dad," Adrian said, waving his hand in the air.

Behind Adam, several glowing symbols lit up and began to float—delicate yet powerful, forming a trail of shimmering runes.

Victor's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of the floating insignias, but his shock deepened when Adrian picked up something simple—a saucer from the table.

Adrian already knew his father's element, but a quick glance confirmed it once again: wind.

His fingers moved quickly, dancing over the ceramic surface. A single rune was etched into the saucer, glowing faintly as he finished.

He handed it to his father. "Here, Dad. Use a basic spell."

Victor took a step back, confused. "Wait a minute! That material shouldn't be able to hold runes!"

Adrian shrugged. "It's only meant for one-time use."

Adam was already up, facing a thick tree at the edge of the garden. Without a word, he stepped forward and flung the saucer like a frisbee.

It spun through the air, gathering speed—and then it changed.

The saucer thinned mid-flight, twisting into the shape of a blade, and—

CREAK

The thick tree split cleanly down the middle, its top half collapsing with a thud onto the grass.

Morgana and Ariana soon rushed out of the house and were shocked to see the tree fallen.

Adam laughed aloud, "That was one heck of an armament, son! Make me a few of them."

Adrian wryly smiled.

"That tree was a hundred years old…" silently mumbled a crestfallen Morgana.

Victor was stunned by the fact that Adrian could use even such a trivial and easy-to-find thing as a weapon.

'No wonder he is being sought by so many important entities.'

The father-in-law was in awe.

Ariana soon approached Adrian and asked, "Did you read the article?"

Adrian's brows drew closer, as he asked, "Who would leak that?"

Ariana shrugged, "Can be anyone. Maybe Professor Gilbert or maybe your favorite student?"

"...don't joke around. Neither of them would do such a thing."

Ariana chuckled, "Well, Gilbert is a cautious man, so I don't expect this from him, but I can't say about Elana. She might just have wanted to confirm your participation in the contest."

Adrian heaved a sigh and shook his head.

Elana was intense at times but she won't go that far.

…right?

"What are your plans today?" Morgana asked, once she gave a final goodbye to the tree, and asked the servants to clean the place.

The two brothers have already headed back to the house while discussing something. Well, it was mostly related to Adrian.

Adrian glanced at Ariana before shaking his head, "Nope."

Morgana nodded, "Good. We are going shopping today."

°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Tell me honestly, the pace doesn't seem slow right?