CHAPTER 245: DINING SHADOWS

The long dining table gleamed under the glow of the chandeliers, bowls of steaming soup and roasted meat spread neatly across the polished wood. The Caelum family always dined together in silence, but tonight, the silence was... heavier.

Because for the first time in two years, the missing piece of the family walked in.

Zane strolled through the doors in nothing more than his wrinkled pajamas, blinking lazily as the morning sunlight slipped in behind him. His hair — messy but freshly combed — carried strands of dark purple that shimmered faintly, betraying him against the line of blond heads at the table.

The maid who’d guided him scurried away, whispering to herself.

Every gaze turned toward him.

Lord Caelum’s blue eyes hardened. Lady Caelum’s cup rattled faintly in her hands. Lyra, who had only recently returned home, leaned her chin on her palm, her lips twitching into the faintest smirk.

Zane pulled out his chair and sat down like nothing was strange.

"...What’s with all the stares?" he muttered, grabbing a piece of bread. Then he glanced across the table at his sister. "Oh, welcome back, sis."

Lyra arched a brow. "That’s it? Two years without showing your face and all I get is ’welcome back’?"

"Yeah. What else do you want, a parade?" Zane tore into the bread, crumbs scattering.

Lady Caelum cleared her throat softly. "Zane... how have you been?"

He shrugged. "Same as usual."

"...Eating well?"

"Sure."

"Sleeping?"

"Uh-huh."

Each vague answer only deepened the weight in the room. His father’s stare was cold and sharp, but Zane acted like it wasn’t even there. He leaned back, chewing slowly, and let the silence stretch until even Lyra’s smirk faltered.

Then, with a mouth still half full, he spoke:

"Oh, yeah. I want to join the academy."

The words hit the table like a dropped blade.

His mother gasped. Lyra straightened in her chair. His father’s jaw clenched.

But Zane just reached for another slice of bread, as if he hadn’t just shattered two years of silence in one sentence.