"N-no wonder!!" Gruis stared at the mirror in his hand, despite clutching it firmly and softly, his quivering hand still made it rattle.
Fearful of breaking it, he slowly placed it on the table with both hands and backed off against the wall.
His eyes fell atop Mugam's squatting back as she squeezed Enix into her embrace.
Suddenly, as Enix started to hear the soft burbling of his sister turn into suppressed sniffs, his wandering thoughts cleared off and withdrew to his mother, 'This is it huh?'
The gentle clenching of his mother's hand on his shirt seemed as a sign of affirmation to him.
She broke off and shot toward Fria. As she croaked, wreathed in her mother's warmth, Mugam's hushed words found way to his ears through the silence, "I am sorry, my dear."
A little while after, Fria was holding Mugam's cherished mirror while glimpsing in between Enix's opened interface and at his inscouciant expression.
"Are you not at all surprised?" She couldn't help but question.
"Why would I be?" Enix chuckled and shook his head.
Mugam smiled and patted his head, "Of course. What you know and see, you have seen since your birth, but that's not the case for others."
Her eyes shone gently like flickering embers in a dark forest, and her lips parted like some horizontal ray of blinding light.
She leaned down and whispered in his ear, "It's only for you and I! All those beautiful colors... they are for me and you alone, Enix!"
His eyes fluttered, his chin rose up till his eyes fell upon her's, "What do you..."
"Your skill... is accquired from me. Its a unique skill to me, and you managed to inherit it!" Her lips parted to reveal a smile capable of melting iron.
"Then–"
"Yes... with that skill, it doesn't matter whether you have talent or not, you are destined to be a great mage." Her expression churned ironically, "I am the living proof... or how else could a person born into a commoner's family grow so huge as to become a marquise? And then be betrothed to a duke?"
Enix's eyelids flapped like a wounded bird's.
She patted her head, "I am glad you at least took something from me too... and weren't wholly in line with your father."
Enix smiled, 'And I am glad I followed the advice of the three during our last meeting and altered my interface... it also means their words don't completely stand. They do have some amount of influence over this word to be able to know the mirror was also capable of something of this...'
"No fare! Why does this only show Enix's interface?" Fria whined, her cheeks puffed out into a moue.
Mugam patted her gently before proceeding to touch the mirror. Soon, the frozen screen started and reflected Fria's face before her interface mirrored into it.
"Oh! You have a skill too!" Enix's eyes widened, he swallowed hard and ogled at the stats in ardor.
Ardor he never showed before. His eyes scanned the slightly above physical stats and the skills, hoping to find some kind of clue to her identity, 'Fria... are you that person or not?'
But his eyes soon dried in dismissal. 'Well, I don't have the words reincarnated written on my interface either... I shouldn't be so hasty.'
Thankfully, Fria was the same as him, enthusiastically apprasing her stats, so she didn't notice his flucating emotions, while Mugam had an odd, sarcastic expression. "Juggu... that's Juggu's unique skill."
"Sword... Aura?" Enix muttered the name aloud, just before his eyes could drift to the description, a knock came from the door.
Not waiting for a response, Gruis walked in and bowed gently, "Sorry for the intrusion, madam!"
"Speak." Mugam's expression darkened. Nobody followed the etiquette more than him... the only time he disregarded courtesy was when he was receiving orders from someone higher than her— her husband.
"Master has summoned young mistress."
Mugam's eyes fluttered, just as her lips parted, Gruis continued, "And young master."
Like seeing the sky collapse onto the ground, Mugam's breath froze. She stared at Enix and Fria before turning toward Gruis, "Let's go."
Enix's eyes fluttered, for some reason, he could hear his heart drumming right next to his ear. 'C-calm down... he's just fa-father.'
His consolidating words turned to appal him instead. Casuing his cheeks to hollow, and his body to turn cold.
Though his intrinsic pallor bearing didn't serve to betray him. He looked natural, if not exceedingly so, as always.
The four descended to the first floor and to the living room, in which Juggu was going through a file, ensconced on a sofa.
Gruis moved behind him, while Mugam went to the single seater and Enix and Fria settled across their father.
"You called, father?" Fria started, making Juggu slowly close the file and look up.
After settling his daughter's ever so unchanging plain face, he turned toward Enix, "You created quite the noise yesterday."
"...I am sorry." Enix's fingers splayed and pressed onto his thighs tightly, holding them firm as he sat upright.
"I didn't say that was a bad thing." Juggu chuckled, resting his chin on his hand, his eyes scrutinised Enix, "Though... it seems that instructor had a part in that?"
Mugam's eyes fell atop Gruis, and she secretively had a sigh, 'I had the same thought too... I thought that instructor had channelled her own magic into Enix, after all, where could my poor kid possibly be hiding such a tremendous reserve of magic?
'But that wasn't the case... he was, in fact, truly packing all that magic. My worry was for naught that day... but still, I believe it was correct that I had her fired.'
She sighed again, 'I am glad Gruis didn't reveal everything.'
"Hmm!" Enix nodded after a while, his eyes falling to the ground.
Fria peeked at him from a corner of her eye and remained mute.
"Fria, my dear, I had summoned you because of your uncle."
"Uncle?" Her tense face broke, "Uncle Ululus?"
"He was quite vexed when he talked to me... saying my son wasn't fulfilling his promise." He stared at Fria and her scowl before continuing, "I did tell him to speak to me if he wishes to invite you to his place, not you directly."
"Hmm, so?" Fria's squinted eyes stared into the distance, she stretched her arms and leaned back.
"And complying to my words, he said he would like you over tomorrow..."
Fria's brows knitted tight. Just as she was about to speak up, Juggu continued, "Alongside his niece Enix."
With the final chord having ended, silence brew out of its buds.
And Juggu took the three widened pair of eyes plastered to him as the applause he deserved.