Chapter 19: Little mouse

"A Drakion, he corrected, annoyed. And your scent is driving my beast half wild. Please tell me you have a companion."

"Wait… since when does Blanche know about our world?! " Eva exclaimed, complaining to her father.

"Since last night, " the redhead answered before Kiyan even opened his mouth." And not thanks to you, she added with a pointed look."

"What?! "Eva repeated.

The other three ignored her.

"Dad forbade me from telling you, " Eva admitted, sheepish. "But… how do you know now?"

Blanche shot an accusing look at Kiyan. He pinched his lips, avoiding her gaze.

"She doesn’t know? " she sighed.

"No, " he admitted.

"I see. Well… I’m a Drakion too."

Eva gaped before turning a deadly glare at her boyfriend.

"You just called my best friend a female?!"

Blanche was about to continue eating her scone, set on the bar by the Drakion, but Kiyan snatched it away and tossed it in the trash.

"The floor was clean! " she protested.

"Eat this one, " he ordered, handing her another.

It wasn’t the floor that bothered him.

She bit into it, eyes closed.

Gods, these scones were lethal.

"If you could avoid doing that again, I’d appreciate it, "Sean murmured.

"Doing what?"

"Your scent says you’re single, and my beast… is not opposed to correcting that."

Blanche blinked, stunned.

"Oh. Charming. It’s the first time someone’s hit on me this fast. Actually no — second, " she corrected, thinking of Fenrir.

She raised an eyebrow, a predatory smile on her lips.

"So… you don’t value your life?"

"Cute, "he replied mockingly.

" I wasn’t talking about Eva, " she shot back. But flirting with her in front of her? That’s already suicidal.

Kiyan growled.

Eva wiggled nervously on her stool.

Oops.

The game was up.

" I was going to tell you one day, " she murmure to her father.

" Who are you talking about? " Sean asked, intrigued.

" My grandfather, " Blanche answered. " He’d tear you apart before you even got close."

"If not me," added Kiyan, icy.

And in her head, the voice returned.

Or me.

Blanche shivered. It still wasn’t Fenrir.

"Your grandfather? Who’s that? "Sean insisted.

She bit into another scone.

"Who exactly are you? "he asked. "There’s no Callahan among us."

"Naturally. I’m not a Callahan."

Eva blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"My mother told me my real name last night."

"And… what is it?"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Go ahead, I’m ready."

Kiyan rolled his eyes at their antics.

"Elizabeth V. Blanche Drake, "he announced.

Silence. Then a scream.

"NOOO! YOU’RE KIDDING!"

"If only, " Blanche sighed.

Sean, pale, stammered:

"Drake? Like… the royal lineage?"

" Pleased to meet you, " she replied, mock-modestly. "Everyone calls me Blanche."

"Incredible… When I tell Will…"

Kiyan, unruffled, wiped his hands on a towel.

"If you want to cool off, the pool is heated."

"Thanks, Dad! " Eva exclaimed, leaping into his arms.

Blanche smiled.

So that’s why the pool was always scorching at their place.

She’d learned that djinn were fire creatures who loved heat.

Sean, meanwhile, was still in disbelief.

"If Winter Drake had an heiress, everyone would know! Your name would make the DarkWeb headlines!"

Blanche rolled her eyes.

"My mother wanted to protect me. Anonymity, you know? But maybe it’s time to say hello to Grandpa Winter. With a camera, to capture the moment."

"He doesn’t even know he has a granddaughter?!"

"Apparently, you only half listen."

"That’s insane… So I’m the first Drakion you meet?"

" Apart from my mother, yes."

" And you’re keeping this to yourself, kid," Kiyan intervened.

"Kid?! I’m three hundred years old!"

Both girls whistled in unison.

"Seriously? " Eva gasped.

"Exactly, kid, " Kiyan repeated, sharp.

Sean clenched his fists, then met his companion’s eyes. He sighed, surrendered, and turned to Blanche.

"Sean Oswalds, at your service, Your Majesty."

Blanche flinched. Majesty? Seriously?

She smiled. After all, she already carried a title in another world.

"Forget it. Call me Blanche, that’ll be just fine."

"No wonder my beast likes you," he said laughing.

"You reek of power."

"Alright, enough, " Kiyan cut in. " Évanescence, go put on your swimsuit. Blanche, you stay here. And you… come with me."

Eva grimaced, tossed a quick “good luck” to Sean, then hurried off at a run.

Her departure felt almost rushed, as if she preferred not to linger a second longer in the atmosphere that had just settled in. Her footsteps echoed briefly before fading, swallowed by the distance, leaving behind the impression of a deliberate escape—lucid, almost strategic.

Blanche watched the two men walk away toward the pool, thoughtful.

The contrast between them stood out immediately, impossible to ignore. Kiyan, tall and imposing without ever being bulky, moved with that refined elegance that defined him. His lean silhouette was sharply outlined, every movement precise, controlled, almost silent. Dark-haired, he seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it, reinforcing that sense of contained presence, of quiet power.

Beside him, Sean brought a completely different energy. Shorter, but with a much broader build, he occupied space differently—more grounded, more solid. His strong shoulders and slightly rougher posture contrasted with Kiyan’s fluidity. Blond, he caught the light instead, his hair picking up reflections with every step.

And yet, despite their obvious differences, they walked side by side without discord, like two opposing forces that fit together perfectly. One defined by finesse and restraint, the other by a more pronounced physical presence.

Blanche followed their movements with her eyes, noticing every detail without even realizing it. The way Kiyan seemed to guide their direction naturally, without imposing, without speaking. The way Sean adjusted, without truly yielding. A silent dynamic, yet unmistakable.

Finally, a bit of calm.

Or at least, that’s what she told herself.

Because beneath that apparent stillness, something continued to hum—subtle but persistent—as if this calm were only a pause… before something else.

Or not.