Nico frowned. He did not expect it to be suddenly end like that. He stood up to chase after the man, but Beverly gripped his arm before he could fully rise.
He sent her a puzzled glance. The ginger-haired woman merely shook her head in response.
"But Leon-"
"You'll only be making things worse for him," Beverly sighed, pretending not to notice the hurt expression on her nephew's face. She clarified, "If you stay here, it'll reduce the chance of any discrepancies in your accounts showing up. It's better this way, trust me."
The priestess left out the fact that Vesaf wouldn't have allowed Nico to get near Leon. His excuse would be something like having to maintain the integrity of the investigation.
Her face darkened briefly at the thought of the man.
Nico, who saw his aunt's face crease in displeasure, bit his bottom lip before plopping back down on the sofa. His feet unconsciously tapped the ground in worry, his mind going back to the conversation he had just had with the hulking man.
He wasn't sure if the investigator fully believed him. He felt the man was still a little suspicious of him but had no way to prove that he had carried out any sort of wrongdoing.
That he had also 'passed out' must have helped him tremendously.
Nico also revealed the existence of the pin-prick of green light to focus Vesaf's attention on something else, rather than what had happened after he had become ensnared.
A low buzz assaulted his mind. He groaned softly under his breath and rubbed his temples. It felt as if his mind was trying to tell him something… something shocking, so appalling that it would turn his world completely upside down.
Nico's brow furrowed as a beat of sweat slid down his face. Eventually, the strange phenomena passed, and his shoulders sagged back into the furniture, now relieved of their tension.
His aunt merely sat silently at his side, her gaze studying a particular section of the far wall.
'Phew looks like she didn't notice.'
Unknown to Nico though, she had very much noticed. She was intently surveying him through the corner of her eyes.
The boy's anxiety steadily rose as he waited for the muscular man to appear. A few minutes later - just when Nico had decided enough was enough - Vesaf came into view, an inscrutable expression plastered on his face.
As he passed through the sitting room, his gaze lingered on Beverly, his face darkening ever so slightly. Nico swore the crimson in the man's eyes had burgeoned.
A shiver crawled down his spine.
Vesaf continued forward without breaking his stride and motioned for William and Phantom to follow him out. Beverly rose to usher them out with a wary expression.
Nico gazed at his former instructors. His lips stretched in a small smile.
His former Head instructor nodded back, his lips curling ever so lightly. The man with the eyepatch, meanwhile, stared at his student intently, trying to discern something.
The brown-haired boy sensed Phantom's gaze linger slightly on his birthmark. A sense of apprehension crept in his heart.
A moment later, however, the Spear instructor shook his head and sighed. He looked Nico in the eye and winked, "Goodbye, my little hen."
The ginger-haired priestess blinked and turned round to raise a curious eyebrow in her nephew's direction. Nico flushed, heat rushing up to his cheeks.
He groaned internally, gritted his teeth, and waved to the departing Phantom. He secretly prayed that Beverly would let the matter go.
However, knowing her, he knew that would never happen.
Nico buried his face in his hands, a muffled, exasperated groan escaping through his fingers.
***
"How did it go, honey? Did that b— scoundrel do anything to you?" Cynthia embraced her son tightly once Vesaf had left.
She quickly stifled the curse that almost left her mouth and switched to a more appropriate word.
Charlotte was right beside her awaiting her turn to hog her brother's attention. She did not want to teach her daughter such an uncouth word.
"It went alright, Mom. Nothing bad happened." Nico hurried to reassure his mother.
The silver-haired lady unconsciously released a sigh of relief.
She parted from her son and allowed her daughter to jump straight into his arms.
They gathered in the corridor that connected the living room to the stairs, recovering from that abrupt and stressful experience.
Beverly had invited the half-blood to run an errand with her after he had finished with the interrogation - not that he had anything to worry about since he was only a victim - so it was back to old times for them… temporarily.
"Brother, I want to show you something!" Lottie's high-pitched voice resounded. Nico merely chuckled as his little sister dragged him by the hand, leading him towards the stairs.
Cynthia smiled warmly at the sight. A comforting hand on her shoulder announced the presence of her husband. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.
Listening to her breathing, Ross gently smiled, before moving his hand down her spine to rub her back. "What's got you so worried?"
The silver-haired woman lifted her head and stared at her partner; her jade-green eyes dim with unease. "That was too close. I thought that bastard was going to take our son away after we'd just got him back," her eyes glistened slightly.
"I know..." the man sighed, still comforting his wife. He grimaced and shifted a little, at the same time doing his best not to dwell on his own weakness.
He was grateful Beverly had been there to help. Otherwise, his wife would not have been able to deal with the hulking man with just her status alone.
Cynthia allowed her gaze to roam toward the painting of the chaotic portal that hung on the far wall. She leaned her head on her husband's shoulder as she bit her lip.
A worried expression appeared on her face.
"I can feel it… change is on the horizon. And It's coming faster than any of us can handle," her voice echoed softly throughout the empty corridor.
Ross joined his wife's hands with his. A determined light flashed within his maroon pupils.
"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it together. As we always do," he gazed at his wife lovingly.
Cynthia smiled in response.