CHAPTER 71: MOVING FORWARD

Arthur leaves Theo’s room carrying the head-sized clear heartstone while whistling. His heart is light, his mind is clear, and he’s very happy.

Julian, seeing this, frowns.

"Look at you, all happy and whistling. Is Thea awake? And what is that?"

Arthur smiles at Julian.

"This is supposed to be the azure heartstone, but Thea said Aldriana absorbed all of the energy, turning it into a useless crystal. And yes, Thea is awake. And yes, I’ve talked to her about Aldriana and her conditions."

"Well done, Mr. Happy Face. What did she say? And what? Aldriana absorbed all the energy out of the heartstone? Art, that’s impossible! Have you ever known a heartstone to turn into a useless crystal after its energy is gone?"

"She said ok, and no, I’ve never known a heartstone that does that."

Julian keeps nodding while Arthur is explaining, but then he stops.

"Wait a minute. Something’s not right. You said... you’ve told Thea about Aldriana’s conditions?"

Arthur nods.

Julian continues, "And you said she said yes?"

Arthur nods again.

Julian frowns, confused.

"Then why aren’t you upset? In fact, you’re not upset, you’re happy. Which is the opposite of upset. Which doesn’t make any sense, since Thea said yes, you should be upset. But you’re not. So why aren’t you—"

"Julian, you’re rambling."

Arthur passes him and pats his shoulder.

"Where... where are you going?" Julian turns to follow him.

"To contact Liam. We need to prepare for the press conference."

"Ah, we need to prepare... what? What press conference? Arthur! Explain it first! Don’t just leave!"

Arthur tosses the clear heartstone to Julian, who almost falls to the ground catching it.

"Arthur Montrose!"

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Theo steps out of the bathroom, a towel covering his hair. He puts on a t-shirt and jeans over his undergarments.

He quickly dries his hair with a hairdryer. He prefers his magic, but currently, he has none.

Once his hair is dry, he notices that it falls just below his waist.

This is way too long. I can’t clear dungeons like this. I need to cut it shorter.

Then he looks at his reflection in the mirror.

Don’t worry, I won’t cut it too short. Shoulder length is the shortest. I promise.

He stands up and steps closer to the mirror.

Thank you for showing me your past. It wasn’t your fault, or your family’s fault. It was no one’s fault, Thea. I’ll make sure your family knows that. I’ve told Arthur. I’ll tell the rest of them in time.

And Thea... Theo’s face darkens.

I’ll make sure Bradley pays.

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"Sir, we just got word. Arthur Montrose and Liam Monfort are holding a joint press conference, about forty minutes from now, at Montrose HQ in the city."

"Smug little bastards!" The man shatters the glass in his hand against the floor.

"They think they can outsmart me?! We’re going there!"

"Yes, sir!"

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"Please everyone, take a seat. We’ll start the conference in a few minutes."

At such short notice, Sam managed to arrange a press conference at Laurent Hall, inside Montrose Corporation’s main building in Arvion.

Reporters and media crews are already pouring in, filling the massive hall in no time. Most of them suspect this conference is about the mining rights of the dungeon that appeared almost a week ago.

Public speculation has been spiraling, and news outlets have spun the story in every direction they can, but the rightful owner, a woman named Aldriana, still hasn’t come forward.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We’re sorry to interrupt your regular programming with breaking news. We’re reporting live from inside Laurent Hall at Montrose Corporation headquarters. In just a few minutes, a joint press conference will begin with Arthur Montrose, CEO of Montrose Corporation, and Liam Monfort, heir to Monfort Industries."

"We received the invitation less than an hour ago. It doesn’t specify the topic, but we’re guessing it concerns the mining rights of the mutated dungeon that was cleared about a week ago."

"The mining rights for this dungeon have been under heavy debate since Liam Monfort — the only surviving Sentinel from that expedition — told the public it wasn’t him who cleared the dungeon, but a woman."

"A few days later, another survivor, Ms. Megan Lambert, identified this mysterious woman and provided a description. Her name and a sketch are on your screen right now."

"Since then, the city has launched a large-scale search for this woman, but so far, it’s yielded no results."

"With no one coming forward to claim the mining rights, the city continues to lose millions in security costs to protect the cleared dungeon from thieves."

At the podium, there’s a table with three seats, that are now empty. There are staff members that are still setting the table with microphones and water.

"As you can see behind me, a long table is set with three seats. I assume the two seats would be for Arthur Montrose and Liam Monfort. But that leaves an extra seat. Who would sit on that seat? Is the mysterious woman, this Aldriana character will show up? Has she really finally decided to come forward and put an end to this debacle?"

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In the room next door, Arthur is waiting with Liam and Theo. The three of them are watching the live feed of the hall on the TV. They can see the hall quickly filling with reporters and cameras.

Liam asks Arthur, "You invited this many media outlets an hour ago?"

Arthur smiles. "I didn’t." He gestures to Sam. "He did."

Sam bows slightly.

"Wow! All of them?" Liam is obviously impressed.

"I dare not take all the credit, Master Liam. I only invited a few outlets friendly to us, and a few that are neutral. As for the rest..." He smiles. "I let them come."

The hair on the back of Liam’s neck rises. "Your smile is very creepy, Mora."

Sam’s smile doesn’t change. "I apologize, Master Liam. But this smile is for those sharks and vultures out there."

Liam frowns. He turns to Arthur, who stays silent, then to Theo, who shrugs with amusement, and finally back to Sam. "Explain."

"Master Arthur deliberately invited our media friends on such short notice, making it nearly impossible for those who are not our friends to notice, let alone attend. Unless..."

"Unless?" Liam presses.

"Unless they were already watching us. With the number of media outlets that turned up, it’s safe to assume they were." Sam ends his explanation.

"Huh?" Liam still doesn’t understand.

"It’s a bait, Liam," Theo suddenly speaks up. "Arthur is baiting them — checking if the enemy is really watching. And they are. They took the bait."

"Ah! So, what’s next? We’re not doing the press conference?"

"Of course we are. Why shouldn’t we? Isn’t a press conference our next step in the alliance with Aldriana? To claim the mining right?" Arthur asks.

"We can just go to the City Mining Department and apply for it without all of this circus!" Liam says, his tone making his preference clear.

Arthur chuckles and pats Liam on the shoulder. "Where’s the fun in that?"

While Liam is questioning his life choices, Arthur turns to Theo. "Nervous?"

Theo shakes his head. "No, I’m not."

"Good. Don’t worry, I’m here," Arthur says.

Theo chuckles. "I said I’m not nervous." He looks at the TV. Humans are all the same. In Caelthorn or here. They are all consumed by greed.

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Sarah, Arthur’s second assistant, takes the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our media friends, thank you for coming on such short notice. We would like to begin by apologizing if Montrose Corporation is lacking in hospitality. We’ve arranged this press conference as best we could under the circumstances."

"Without further delay, please welcome Mr. Arthur Montrose, Mr. Liam Monfort, and Ms. Theodora Montrose!"

The flashlights explode like fireworks, lighting up the room in bursts of white. As the three of them walk up the stairs to the stage, Theo can hear the constant clicking of what sounds like thousands of cameras firing at once.

As a man from an ancient time, this is the first time he’s ever faced so many lenses pointed at him, and it catches him slightly off guard. Liam, walking behind him, notices the small stagger and quickly steadies him with a hand.

"You okay?" he whispers.

Theo just nods.

All three of them take their seats. Arthur puts on his public face, cold and distant. Liam, the heir to Monfort Industries, is long accustomed to being watched and photographed; his expression remains neutral, neither warm nor cold.

That leaves Theo. He’s never stood in front of cameras before, but he’s used to being the center of attention. As the only Archmage in Caelthorn who came from a poor family instead of nobility, he was always under scrutiny. He’s calm, composed, and unshaken.

But he forgets one thing: his physical appearance.

Now appearing as Theodora Montrose — a delicate sixteen-year-old girl just stepping into adulthood — his straight, snow-white hair, tied neatly, falls just below his waist, framing his softly featured face perfectly.

For the press conference, under Leila’s firm suggestion, he wears a plain spaghetti-strap tank top with a white knee-length A-line skirt. Over it, a silk, transparent, light-yellow blouse with balloon sleeves. He looks strikingly innocent and utterly fragile.