Tale of a Hedonistic wizard

On the other side, Jaegar, maintaining his calmness, made less eye contact with her as he talked to his aunt.

She took the opportunity to engage Jaegar in conversation, her tone casual but inquisitive. "So, my sister tells me that you are studying abroad?"

Jaegar nodded, his gaze shifting between his aunt and the woman before him. "Yeah, I\'m currently pursuing my degree in architecture."

"How long will you be here?"

"Until fall."

She leaned on the table and said, "Can I ask you a question?"

\'You already asked one, why bother now?\' he thought inwardly.

Jaegar frowned slightly in doubt, but he nodded, "Yes."

Jaegar\'s furrowed brows and cautious responses didn\'t escape Francesca\'s keen scrutiny.

She leaned back in her chair, her eyes locked on his, a subtle tension hanging in the air between them.

"Where were you in the morning?" she inquired, her voice carrying a note of intrigue.

Keeping his expression stoic, Jaegar replied, "Here, at home."

Francesca persisted, her gaze unrelenting. "I thought I saw you somewhere in the city today."

Jaegar felt his guard rise, but he remained resolute. "You must have seen wrong then."

Francesca\'s suspicion was palpable, her tone unwavering. "Are you sure? Because I could have sworn it was you."

Jaegar held his ground, maintaining his calm posture. "I can assure you, it wasn\'t me. Perhaps it was someone who resembled me."

Francesca let out a sigh, her demeanour shifting slightly. "It might be true, I must be getting old."

Jaegar attempted to lighten the atmosphere with a compliment, "Now, why would you say that? You\'re still looking beautiful and young to me."

Francesca\'s eyes narrowed, and her gaze intensified.

\'Damn me! Why did I say that?\' he thought to himself inwardly.

Francesca\'s lips curled into a rare smile at his words. "Why, thank you."

This unexpected change in her expression unsettled Jaegar. In their previous encounters, Francesca had always maintained a stern and serious demeanour. Her smile, though pleasant, sent an eerie feeling down his spine, as if something dangerous lurked beneath it.

Their conversation was interrupted when Diana returned with a tray of tea, effectively dispelling some of the tension in the room. She placed the tray on the coffee table and took a seat, her observant eyes noting the unease that lingered.

Addressing the apparent tension, Diana inquired, "What are you guys talking about?"

Francesca responded cryptically, "Nothing, Diana."

Diana excused herself to use the restroom and headed upstairs.

As she made her way upstairs, she took out a small device from her right-side pocket. She saw the doors in the hallway.

During her brief absence, Francesca discreetly conducted a scan of the rooms with a small digital metre, room by room. As she came down the stairs, there was a slight spike showing in the metre. She stopped going down, standing on the stairs.

The aftereffects of the portal appearing in the hall still lingered, and she stepped down, holding the metre in her hand. It was getting more intense, rising and stopping. The invisible force of energy was slowly disappearing. Soon, the metre showed the normal reading; nothing amiss again. But her suspicion rose regarding Jaegar and Diana.

She didn\'t take any action, as she knew about Diana and thought about dealing with this matter carefully without rousing their attention.

Returning to Jaegar and Diana, Francesca engaged in some polite conversation with Diana before deciding to take her leave. She assured them they would meet again, and with her departure, an uneasy feeling lingered in the air.

Jaegar couldn\'t shake the sense that Francesca had been suspecting him, and he hoped that they would never cross paths again, but it was wishful thinking.

It was not that he was afraid, but he thought it would be a hassle to deal with them, attracting unwanted attention.

Jaegar had just seen Francesca leave his home, but her presence had left an unsettling feeling in the air.

He remained seated on the couch, deep in thought, while his aunt, Diana, watched him with concern.

The room was bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the curtains.

Diana couldn\'t hide her worry any longer and decided to break the silence.

She leaned forward, her eyes filled with maternal concern, and asked, "Now, Jaegar, tell me what happened with her? She was looking at you like you did something."

Jaegar sighed, his gaze fixated on an old family portrait on the wall.

He began to explain the series of events that had unfolded when he first saw Francesca. He described how he had initially encountered her and the group in the warehouse, as well as the peculiar abilities they displayed. Diana listened intently, her eyes widening in surprise as he recounted the story.

"She said she was working for the government, but I didn\'t know this was what she was doing." Diana gasped in surprise. Megan never really talked much about her with Diana, and she started visiting her sister recently.

Diana\'s surprise deepened. "I think I\'ve heard of something about the group here and there. They\'re said to be a very discreet organization, functioning separately and reporting directly to the ministers."

She pondered the implications of Francesca\'s visit after what Jaegar said, a sense of unease settling in the air.

Diana nodded, her worry evident in her expression. "They are basically magic-hating people."

Jaegar reassured his aunt, "Well, I will deal with her if she comes for me. Don\'t worry, Mom." He could sense her concern.

Humans weren\'t particularly fond of magic or wizards, often labelling them as evil or dangerous. Diana had created a life for herself in this city, and it was her home. She had deliberately distanced herself from the past, from the place where their family had been tragically killed.

But now that staying here could threaten Jaegar, she didn\'t want anything to happen to Jaegar, especially with that mysterious woman and the group she was associated with potentially posing a threat.