Last Gun Alchemist

Only a few minutes passed after Duke Valentine ordered everyone to return to their conversations and enjoy the party.

His plain response had left many guests stunned.

Some had stared at him as though they were waiting for him to take back his words, while others had struggled to hide their amusement.

But the Duke had already returned to his seat, showing no interest in explaining himself further.

Eventually, the guests resumed their conversations.

The Golden Matching Order Band continued playing, its musicians moving through the familiar melody as servants carried refreshments between the tables.

Crystal glasses clinked softly, and the sound of conversation gradually spread through the Grand Royal Hall again.

The nobles who had been standing around the earlier commotion returned to their companions, while several wealthy Non-Nobles continued discussing the incident from a distance.

Before long, the hall had regained much of its usual atmosphere.

It was almost as if the commotion had never happened.

Almost.

There were still people who had their own thoughts about the matter.

Some continued glancing toward Ezra, while others discussed the revelation in quieter voices. However, none of them seemed eager to challenge the Duke’s words.

He had openly stated that he knew about Ezra’s situation and that everything had happened with his awareness.

That alone was enough to make many people reconsider how far they were willing to take their curiosity.

After all, the Duke of Ashenlocke had made his position clear.

At the section where Selena stood with her close group of admirers, the conversation had taken a slightly different direction.

”So, then it’s really true that Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke killed his own family.”

One of the girls spoke while holding her glass with both hands.

Her expression was complicated, and she seemed unsure whether she should believe the accusation or feel sorry for the person involved.

”I’m hearing that it’s because he was treated badly in the household.”

”That’s what my friend, who knows a member of the Ashenlocke family, told me just a little while ago.”

”I actually watched the whole Unveiling Party. I saw everything happen.”

”Poor Ezra.”

Another girl lowered her voice.

”But it’s quite scary, knowing that someone our age was able to kill his own blood relations just like that.”

The conversation continued around Selena.

The girls had different opinions, but none of them could completely ignore what they had learned.

Some felt pity for Ezra after hearing about his past, while others struggled to accept that someone their age could have been involved in such a terrible incident.

They had gotten to know a bit about Ezra throughout the first semester.

Some had seen him at the Royal Academy, others had watched his performances, and a few had even witnessed his unusual behaviour during the events surrounding the Ashenlocke Unveiling Party.

He had never seemed like an ordinary boy.

Yet the accusation had introduced another side of his life that many of them had never considered.

Selena listened without interrupting.

She stood with her usual elegant posture, her emerald eyes resting on the girls as they spoke.

Her face remained composed, though her fingers shifted slightly around the glass in her hand.

I already knew about Ezra’s past with his family after researching his background.

I also knew that he had lost his family in a massacre.

Her thoughts moved back to what she had learned before the party.

At the time, she had assumed Ezra was not a member of that family anymore.

Since, during the Ashenlocke Unveiling Party, he had revealed so much about the treatment he had received in the Sterling House that it had seemed as though he intended to cut ties with them completely.

The way he had exposed the truth had left little room for doubt about how badly he had been treated.

Because of that, Selena had believed the massacre was something that had happened to his family without him being responsible for it.

She had never expected the truth to be so different.

I just didn’t expect that he had murdered his own family in cold blood.

Selena lowered her gaze to the Zphone 14 in her hand.

The screen displayed the article that had been circulating among the guests.

She had already read the information, but her attention returned to the photographs attached to it.

The pictures showed the bodies of Zara, Zavier, and Helen.

There was nothing peaceful about their injuries.

Selena’s eyes lingered on the images for a moment.

She did not need to look at every photograph to understand why the article had disturbed so many people.

The sight alone was enough to make the accusation feel more real than the rumours circulating around the hall.

The article contained photographs of several dead bodies, presenting the aftermath for anyone willing to look.

That had been one of the main reasons people found the entire matter so frightening.

It was one thing to hear that someone had killed their family.

It was another to see the bodies displayed on a screen while standing at a party where the accused was present.

Selena’s thumb hovered over the screen.

She did not scroll any farther.

Is this the reason Ezra seems so detached from his emotions?

Her eyes lifted from the Zphone.

Across the hall, Ezra stood among the people he had been speaking with.

Even from a distance, his expression appeared as calm as ever.

He did not look like someone who was troubled by the conversations taking place around him.

Perhaps that was simply how he had always been.

But Selena could no longer look at his behaviour without thinking about what might have happened inside the Sterling House.

What did he truly go through in that house?

Her fingers tightened around the glass cup she was holding on another hand.

She did not notice the pressure she was applying until a familiar voice spoke from behind her.

”You’re going to break that cup if you aren’t careful, Selena.”

Selena’s right hand loosened at once.

She looked down at the glass, then turned her head toward the speaker.

A woman stood behind her with an expression that suggested she had noticed the problem long before deciding to mention it.

Her appearance was familiar, and the girls surrounding Selena immediately brightened when they recognized her.

”Professor Liliana Galehart!”

Several of them greeted her together, lowering their heads respectfully.

Liliana waved at them.

”Hey, cuties.”

Her greeting was casual enough to make a few of the girls smile.

She did not seem bothered by the attention, and she moved closer to Selena with the ease of someone who was already familiar with the group.

Selena turned fully toward her aunt and lowered her head in an elegant greeting.

”Professor Liliana.”

Liliana accepted the greeting before placing her right hand on her waist.

”What’s with all the standing around? Why aren’t you moving about and enjoying the party?”

She looked from Selena to the girls gathered around her.

Her expression suggested genuine curiosity, but she already knew the reason.

The conversation they had been having was not difficult to guess.

The article about Ezra had spread through the hall, and the girls had spent the past few minutes discussing it.

Liliana had seen enough of the gathering to understand what was happening.

Still, she waited for one of them to answer.

The girls exchanged glances.

A few seemed ready to speak, only to hesitate when they realized they did not know how to explain their thoughts without sounding insensitive.

Selena eventually answered for them.

”It’s obvious that many of us First Years who have gotten to know Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke during our first semester can’t get over the fact that something like this could have happened, and that he was involved in it.”

Her voice remained light and calm.

She did not attempt to make the girls sound more accepting than they were.

They were still trying to understand what they had learned, and there was little point in pretending otherwise.

Liliana listened.

”Ehn...”

She let out a drawn-out breath and turned her gaze toward the rest of the Grand Royal Hall.

The adults had mostly returned to their conversations.

Some were laughing with their companions, while others had begun introducing their children to friends and acquaintances.

A few seemed interested in using the gathering to establish new connections between their families, perhaps even hoping to encourage future relationships among their children.

The party was moving forward.

The Royal Academy students were also returning to their usual conversations.

Some had already forgotten the commotion, while others were discussing it in quieter voices between sips of their drinks.

Liliana’s gaze eventually settled on Ezra’s group.

He was busy talking with Vera, Willow, Cyrus, and Veda.

Diane was the exception.

She was sleeping peacefully behind Vera, seemingly unconcerned with the atmosphere around her.

The conversations, the music, and the recent accusation had done little to disturb her rest.

Liliana’s eyes moved from one person to another before returning to the wider hall.

Not everyone had returned to normal.

There were still stiff expressions scattered among the guests.

Some people still glanced at Ezra with uncertainty, while others seemed uncomfortable at the thought of approaching him.

A few kept their distance altogether, preferring to watch him from where they stood.

Liliana could easily identify the people who felt that way.

Because their reactions were hardly surprising to her.

The First Years had spent only one semester at the Royal Academy.

For many of them, their understanding of Alchemists was still shaped by lessons, demonstrations, competitions, and the achievements of the people they admired.

They had yet to see enough of the world of Britannia to understand how ugly things could become outside those familiar surroundings.

Liliana looked back at Selena and the girls.

”All you First Years are still greenhorns. That’s why many of you are reacting like this. It’s to be expected.”

She spoke without scolding them.

”I would be shocked if none of you reacted this way, but it’s fine. You’ll learn soon enough when your second semester begins.”

A simple smile appeared on her face.

The girls listened, though some were still thinking about the article.

Liliana’s smile faded slightly.

”You’ll soon experience the true dark life of an Alchemist.”

Her tone had changed.

There was no playful note in her voice now.

She spoke as a professor who had seen enough of the world to understand that the life of an Alchemist was not always about talent, recognition, or the excitement of mastering a new technique.

The words seemed to settle over the girls.

One of them shifted closer to Selena.

Another glanced at Liliana, searching her face for some sign that she was exaggerating.

Liliana offered none.

The girls gradually moved closer together.

Her serious tone had unsettled them, and the warning carried a weight they had not expected from a conversation that had begun with a few remarks about Ezra.

It was almost as though the incident they had just discussed was an ordinary example of the sort of thing an Alchemist might encounter.

And now their professor was telling them that they would experience the darker side of that life themselves.

For a moment, no one seemed eager to speak.

Liliana watched their expressions.

Then she waved one hand from side to side.

”Let’s put that aside.”

Her serious expression disappeared, replaced by a playful smile.

”The Dance Core is starting, girls. You should hurry off with your dance partners.”

She sounded excited again, as though she had not just warned them about the dangers waiting beyond their first semester.

The girls blinked.

A few glanced toward the musicians, while others looked around the hall to see whether the dancing had begun.

The party’s atmosphere was gradually shifting toward the next part of the event, and the young guests were beginning to make their way toward their partners.

Liliana seemed pleased with the change.

”I need new pictures for my hidden stash...”

She stopped.

A brief cough escaped her mouth.

”Cough.”

Her expression remained innocent as she looked at the girls again.

”We need to capture the beautiful moments of parties like this, right, girls?”

She smiled sweetly.

Selena narrowed her emerald eyes.

She knew that expression.

It was the same look her aunt wore whenever she had said something she probably should not have said aloud, only to pretend that nothing unusual had happened.

The other girls, however, seemed to have missed the meaning behind Liliana’s earlier words. Several of them nodded, accepting her explanation without questioning what she had almost revealed.

They were members of the Duke House of Galehart, after all.

They knew Liliana well enough to be comfortable around her, but that did not mean they could always keep up with her train of thought.

Liliana paid little attention to their innocent agreement.

She moved closer to Selena, lowering her voice so that the other girls would not hear what she was about to say.

Her smile remained in place.

”Hope you’ve already booked Ezra Ashenlocke to be your dance partner, niece.”

Selena’s expression did not change.

”I haven’t.”

She answered calmly.

Liliana stared at her.

For a moment, she seemed to be waiting for Selena to add something else. When no explanation followed, her smile began to look less genuine.

”Then what are you waiting for? Do I have to do everything myself to help your love life?”

She narrowed her eyes at Selena, clearly displeased.

Selena remained composed on the outside.

Aunt!

The word rang through her mind with all the embarrassment she refused to show on her face.

Her aunt had a remarkable talent for bringing up such matters at the worst possible time.

Selena could be standing among a group of people, discussing something serious, and Liliana would still find a way to turn the conversation toward her love life or something different, that could cause her embarrassment.

And she did it without the slightest hesitation.

Selena drew a quiet breath.

”Of course. I will ask him to dance.”

Her answer came with confidence.

The change between her thoughts and her expression was almost complete. Anyone looking at her would have seen a composed young lady who had already made up her mind.

Only Selena knew how embarrassed she felt.

Liliana’s displeasure vanished.

”That’s more like it.”

She looked satisfied with the answer, as though she had just completed an important task.

One of the young ladies from the Duke House of Galehart, however, had been listening closely enough to catch Selena’s words.

”Lady Selena, why is it you asking a gentleman to dance? And don’t tell me it’s Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke you’re talking about.”

Her expression was full of confusion.

The question drew the attention of the other girls.

They looked at Selena, waiting for her answer.

It was not that they found the idea of dancing with Ezra strange in itself.

He had become a subject of interest throughout the Royal Academy, and his name had been mentioned in more conversations than most students could manage in a year.

The surprising part was Selena’s intention to approach him first.

She was a Flower of the Royal Academy, as well as a precious young lady of the Duke House of Galehart.

Young gentlemen usually flocked around her with requests for dances, and there was rarely a need for her to seek out a partner herself.

Yet she had just stated that she would ask Ezra Ashenlocke.

The young lady looked at Selena as though she had misunderstood what she had heard.

More girls turned toward her.

Their curiosity was plain.

Selena remained standing among them, her emerald eyes calm despite the attention she had suddenly attracted.