Chapter 31: The Little Calamity Returns [Bonus]

Today, a new day arose, and unlike most other days, his parents seemed especially busy. The festival was drawing near, bringing with it not only the excitement of the new events planned around the city, but also a wave of problems that came along with it. To keep everything balanced, Cassian and Sylvia had been working day and night, sacrificing their own sleep just to keep up with the growing pile of work, all while still trying to make time for his lessons.

Neo felt a small pang of pity watching them rush from one meeting to another, barely stopping to eat properly some days. There wasn’t much he could do to help, other than admire them quietly from a distance. He already knew that one day, he’d likely be sitting behind that same desk, buried under the same mountain of paperwork.

Just the thought of it was enough to give him a small headache.

He pushed himself up from the couch when he noticed several guards and maids hurrying toward the grand entrance. Word had already spread that the carriage had arrived.

Neo quickly grabbed a thick sweater and pulled it on before stepping outside, the cold winter air biting at his cheeks the moment he crossed the threshold. Snow drifted down lazily from the sky, settling over the estate in a soft, quiet blanket.

He made his way to the front steps just as the carriage rolled to a stop. A crest of a crescent moon wrapped in thorned vines was painted along its side.

The Valentina family had arrived.

The carriage door swung open, and familiar faces stepped out one by one. Neo stood there waiting, his eyes searching for one particular figure. He didn’t have to wait long.

A girl stepped down from behind her parents, about the same height as him now, dressed in a pretty winter coat wrapped snugly over her dress to keep out the cold.

Nora hadn’t changed much. Her eyes were still the same distant shade of lavender, cold and unreadable as ever. Her expression remained just as blank as the very first day they’d met.

But strangely, Neo didn’t feel that same nervous edge he used to feel whenever she looked his way. Three years of letters back and forth had quietly worn down whatever awkwardness once stood between them.

Nora walked forward on her own, closing the distance between them without waiting for anyone to guide her. Neo simply stood there, caught slightly off guard, noticing how much cuter she’d grown since he’d last seen her in person.

She stopped right in front of him. For a long moment, she didn’t say anything at all.

Then she finally spoke.

"You said you missed me. So I came."

Neo felt his face warm up instantly. He hadn’t meant to write that in his last letter. It had just slipped out somewhere in the middle of writing, the words flowing before he could stop himself.

He quickly looked away, clearing his throat, and turned his attention toward her parents instead, greeting them properly.

Elara stepped forward immediately, patting the top of his head before squeezing both his cheeks between her palms.

"Aww, look at you, you’ve gotten so handsome! Are your parents around? I wanted to say hello."

Neo shrugged lightly, gently pulling his cheeks free from her grip. "They’re busy with work right now. Something about the festival preparations."

Elara pouted playfully before turning to follow liam along with the rest of the group heading inside to find Sylvia and Cassian, leaving Neo and Nora standing alone by the front steps.

The moment everyone else disappeared inside, Neo suddenly felt oddly stiff. In his letters, words always came easily to him, flowing out without much thought. But standing here in front of her now, his mind had gone completely blank.

After a moment of awkward silence, he finally gathered enough courage to speak. ℯℯ𝘭.

"Let’s go to the garden."

He gestured toward the path leading around the side of the mansion. Nora didn’t answer right away. Instead, she simply reached out and wrapped her small hand around his, looking up at him as if waiting for him to lead the way.

Neo blinked, caught slightly off guard by the sudden gesture.

’This little calamity has gotten bolder.’

He gave her a small nod, and together, they made their way toward the garden.

The path was quiet, the snow crunching softly beneath their boots as they walked side by side. The garden itself looked different covered in winter, the flower beds dormant beneath a thin layer of frost, the pond frozen solid at its center.

Neo led her to the same bench they always used to sit on, brushing off the light dusting of snow before sitting down. Nora settled beside him without a word, her hand still loosely holding his, though she made no move to let go.

For a while, neither of them said anything, content to simply sit together, watching their breath fog up in the cold air.

Neo then pulled out the small notepad from his coat pocket, the same one he always carried whenever Nora visited. He flipped it open to a blank page and began writing.

[You have gotten taller. Almost caught up to me.]

Nora tilted her head slightly, studying him with the same calm curiosity she always carried.

"I am... I will grow taller than you."

Neo let out a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

[Right, of course you’ll try to compete with me on that too.]

She looked back toward the frozen pond, her expression as unreadable as ever, though there was something softer in the way she leaned just a little closer against his side.

"I like your letters, They’re better than talking."

Neo smiled faintly at that and immediately wrote the words with practice easy, as he showed it to her. [Why’s that?]

"Because you think longer before you write, You don’t rush."

He couldn’t really argue with that. Writing did give him time to choose his words carefully, something he never quite managed whenever she looked at him directly like this.

They sat there for a while longer, the quiet between them comfortable rather than awkward, the soft crunch of snow settling gently around the garden the only sound left to fill the silence.