Her long legs and soft curves had made the noble dame attractive even during their first meeting, when she wore a grey prison jumpsuit, let alone now that she wore makeup and a gorgeous evening dress.

"Nindra Luce? Is that you?" Lith asked.

"Yes, I am. Do I know you?" She replied with a voice as surprised as Lith's, trying to remember how could have she forgotten about meeting an Archmage.

'Right. You forgot about Red but you still remember about her.' Solus said with a sneer. 'Does it have anything to do with having seen her naked?'

'No, I just remember my patients and students that I met multiple times, whereas I always feel free to forget about random guys who stand in the background while I fight.' Lith replied.

'Prove it.' The jealousy in her voice surprised them both.

'I remember the nice overweight lady as well, Niha Zeir, and that asshole of Garith Senti.' He said.

"Yes, you do. We met in peculiar circumstances back when I was this tall and I wore a plague doctor mask." Lith's exploits had long become public, making the revelation of his active role during Kandria's plague old news.

"Back then, you called me doctor and invited me to visit you in Kandria. Unfortunately, my travels never brought me there again."

"Wait. Aren't you Archmage Lith Verhen?" Nindra had noticed him when the valet had announced his coming.

"Correct."

"The same Archmage Verhen who turned nineteen just a while ago?" She said while turning as red as her dress, to the point that it was hard to guess where the fabric finished and the skin started.

"Correct again." Lith nodded.

"Doesn't that mean that I- you know, when you were still-"

"A fourth-year student at the White Griffon." Lith finished the phrase for Nindra to avoid her any further embarrassment.

Nindra suddenly became as pale as a ghost as she realized that seven years back, she had made her move on a twelve years old instead of on a short, charming, talented Healer.

She saw the ground coming closer as if Mogar was swallowing her but it was actually her knees buckling up since the planet had no care for her embarrassment nor for that of anyone else.

Lith grabbed Nindra by the waist, helping her to stand and drawing a lot of curious looks since they were basically holding each other to keep Nindra from falling.

"Faluel, this is Nindra Luce, the overseer of Kandria's branch of the Mage Association. Great Mage Luce, this is Faluel Metina Riseta Nyxdra, my date for tonight." Lith said, hoping to relieve enough of her stress that she could stand up on her own.

"Nice to meet you." Faluel gave her a small curtsy before offering Nindra her hand.

The Great Mage shook it, but she remained glued to Lith as all the raw emotions for seven years back resurfaced.

"The pleasure is all mine." She replied while trying to fix the mess that her brain was.

'Okay, Nindra, be cool.' She thought to herself. 'The good thing about having hit rock bottom is that it can't get any worse. Things are already awkward as heck. You must choose your next words carefully to salvage the situation.'

"You two aren't together, then?" Nindra said, making her wonder if her brain and mouth had been disconnected from the shock.

"Actually, no. But I'd like you to keep the information for yourself." Lith replied cursing his slip of the tongue. "I don't want to spend the night being bothered by suitors. I recently broke up with my girlfriend and I'm not looking for another, yet."

"Most reasonable." Nindra managed to get her hands off him and patted her dress as if there was something to fix or some dirt to dust. "If you need someone to talk to or you just want some company, this is my contact rune."

Only after she gave Lith her card did Nindra realize what she had said and done, running away in embarrassment before he could give her an answer.

"What did I say? Lust all around us." Faluel clicked her tongue. "Are you really keeping that?"

"Why not?" Lith put the card in his breast pocket, for later. "I'm not interested in her as a date, but I could use someone inside the Association."

"I don't think that woman is interested in giving you political support so much as playing doctor again." Faluel said with a sneer.

"I don't see why I shouldn't combine business with pleasure if I feel like it. I'm fucking single." The coldness and the pain in his voice made the Hydra drop the subject.

Losing Lark had been hard, but losing Mirim, his humanity, and Kamila in the space of a few days had scarred Lith. He now lacked both political and emotional support, leaving him in a psychologically unstable status.

"Do you think that woman wants to give you her card as well?" Faluel nodded at a noble dame with a beautiful face but a furious expression that was stomping her way to them.

Brinja Distar, daughter of the late Mirim, was 22 years old, about 1.63 meters (5'3") tall, with silky blonde hair that almost reached the floor looked like a golden waterfall and sky-blue eyes.

She wore a golden gala dress embroidered with several precious gemstones and that left her arms, neck, and shoulders exposed.

"Good evening, Archmage Verhen. Lady Nyxdra." Brinja said while giving them a deep curtsy to make up for her breach of etiquette.

She could barely contain her emotions and wanted to go straight to business. There was no trace of her usual bright smile and her face was a mask of cold determination.

"Allow me to introduce you to Ainz Flemstar Distar, my husband and soon to be Headmaster of the Black Griffon." She said as the man that followed her gave them a small bow.

Ainz was a man in his early thirties, about 1.8 meters (5'11") tall, and wore an Archmage high uniform identical to Lith's. He had long fingers, pitch-black hair and eyes, with some odd black shades that seemed to devour sunlight on contact.

He had sharp, and intelligent features, with a blood-red gemstone embroidered on the white scarf around his chest.

"Husband?" Lith echoed in surprise.

Because of his personal pursuit of Mirim's killer, he and Brinja called each other often to exchange their respective list of suspects and leads, yet he had heard nothing about their marriage.

"I'm sorry for not inviting you. I decided to go for something simple and private. I didn't feel like celebrating after burying my mother." Brinja clenched her fists hard, but aside from that, she still looked like a lovely lady having a conversation with an old friend.

"I needed to marry Ainz because once he gets the seat of Headmaster, between the two academies in my Marquisate and the Black Griffon, half of the six Great Academies will be under my control."

"What she means to say is that with the Marchioness' seat empty and her father crushed by grief, my Brinja needed to step up to the occasion, but she couldn't make it alone. That's why we have decided to marry." The Marquis looked embarrassed by Brinja straightforwardness.

"As for me becoming a Headmaster, I'm still young and I lack qualifications. There's no way to be sure-"

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