SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant

Chapter 495: Chapter 495: A Truth for Aubrelle

The celebration thinned little by little after that.

Zafira was among the first to leave, quiet as ever. She said goodbye properly to Aubrelle, then to the rest, and stepped away with the same calm she carried into everything.

After that, more of Aubrelle’s friends began leaving as well. Cynthia got up with her usual composure, while Bartholomew took a little longer, as if even saying goodbye properly required him to gather courage first.

Vivienne stayed a little longer than some of the others, though not by much. When she finally rose, there was still that faint awkwardness around her whenever Xavier looked her way. It had not been there at the start of the night.

Bit by bit, the table emptied.

In the end, only Trafalgar, Mayla, Aubrelle, and Rhosyn remained.

The restaurant had grown much quieter by then. There were fewer voices now, fewer footsteps, and the staff had already started clearing some of the other tables. The warmth of the evening was still there, but softer. The celebration had already ended. What came after it felt smaller, more private.

Aubrelle turned her face slightly through Pipin’s sight and said, ”They’ll be closing soon. We still have classes tomorrow.”

Trafalgar looked at her. ”Can we go to Mayla’s house for a moment? There’s something I need to tell you.”

Aubrelle paused at that.

She had already noticed the shift in him. This was not some casual comment to leave for later. Whatever it was, it had weight.

Still, she nodded. ”Of course.”

Trafalgar inclined his head once

The nice part of the night was over.

Now came the part he had already decided he would not avoid any longer.

A little later, the four of them were walking through the north of Velkaris.

Even at that hour, the capital had not gone quiet. Lamps burned steadily along the streets, carriages still passed now and then, and people moved through the night in expensive coats, fitted dresses, polished boots, jewelry that caught the light when they turned their heads. Merchants were closing late, nobles were returning from dinners, and servants trailed half a step behind their masters. Different races mixed through the streets as naturally as ever. Velkaris never really slept. It only changed pace.

Trafalgar walked with Aubrelle and Mayla near him, while Rhosyn followed a little farther back.

After a while, Trafalgar stretched one arm and rolled his shoulder lightly. Then his hand went to his hair. He ran his fingers through it once and clicked his tongue under his breath.

Mayla noticed first. ”What is it?”

”It’s longer than I like,” Trafalgar said. He caught a strand between two fingers and looked at it with open dissatisfaction. ”Can you cut it for me later? I don’t feel like going to class tomorrow looking like this.”

Mayla smiled faintly. ”Of course. We can fix it once we’re back.”

Beside him, Aubrelle turned her face slightly through Pipin’s sight. ”It suits you like that too.”

Trafalgar glanced at her. ”It’s not bad. It just takes effort every morning. I’d rather have it shorter.”

Mayla’s smile deepened a little. ”So that’s the real problem. Laziness.”

”I prefer efficiency.”

”That sounds nicer.”

”It is nicer.”

Aubrelle let out a small laugh at that, and the sound fit easily between them.

The conversation itself was simple, almost domestic, the kind that only came naturally between people who had already made room for one another in their lives. That was what made it feel strange and good in equal measure. For a few minutes, they were only four people walking through the night while discussing hair, classes, and tomorrow.

A few steps behind them, Rhosyn said nothing.

Her attention returned to Trafalgar and Aubrelle more than once before shifting ahead again.

This would be easier once Aubrelle knew.

That much had become obvious to her days ago. With Mayla, things flowed better because she already understood what surrounded Trafalgar, what kind of truths could not be explained with ordinary logic. Aubrelle still stood outside that circle. Not because Trafalgar wanted it that way, but because the moment had not come until now.

Tonight it had.

Rhosyn’s fingers curled once at her side, then loosened.

She hoped Aubrelle would take it well. She truly did. She liked her. She respected what she meant to Trafalgar. She had seen enough by now to know the girl was not weak.

But if she could not carry the truth, if fear turned her into a danger, then it would have to be done.

And if that moment came, Rhosyn would do it herself before Trafalgar ever had to stain his hands with it.

By then, Mayla’s house was already ahead. Not long after, they were inside.

The change was immediate. The noise of Velkaris stayed outside with the night, the passing carriages, the distant voices, the lamps and movement of the street. Here, everything felt smaller and quieter. Familiar.

One by one, they took off their shoes near the entrance.

Mayla was the first to speak once they were inside. ”Make yourselves comfortable.”

There was something simple in the way she said it, and that alone changed the mood more than the walls did. This was not a restaurant, not a celebration, not a place borrowed for a few hours. It was hers. A space where no one had to think about posture or appearances before sitting down.

Trafalgar looked at her and said, ”Sorry. I know you wanted to talk to me.”

Mayla turned her head toward him.

”We can talk while you cut it,” he added. ”That should be fine.”

A faint smile appeared on her face. ”That works for me.”

He gave a small nod and moved farther inside.

The room itself was warm, lived in, orderly without feeling stiff. Aubrelle and Rhosyn sat down first while Pipin drifted quietly through the space before settling where he could still see them all. Mayla disappeared for only a moment to get what she needed, and by the time she returned, the whole place had already fallen into that softer silence that only came when the outside world stopped pressing at the door.

Trafalgar took a seat.

Mayla stood behind him with calm familiarity, fingers already moving through his hair to gather it lightly, measuring how much she would take off before touching the scissors.

Nobody spoke at first. The silence did not feel empty. It felt like the kind that came before something important.

Aubrelle noticed it too.

Through Pipin’s sight, she let her gaze move from Trafalgar to Mayla, then to Rhosyn. There was something in their faces she had not seen clearly before, not because they had hidden it badly, but because until now she had not known what to look for. Tonight, it stood out.

They already knew.

Not all of it, perhaps, but enough.

Enough that whatever was about to be said did not belong only to her and Trafalgar. Mayla was inside it. Rhosyn too. That realization left a faint crease between Aubrelle’s brows,not hurt exactly, but genuine confusion. For the first time, she could feel the edge of a truth she had not yet been allowed to touch.

Then Trafalgar looked at her.

”Aubrelle,” he said, his voice quieter now. ”There’s something I need to tell you.”

And with Mayla’s hands resting lightly in his hair and Rhosyn already waiting in silence, Aubrelle understood that whatever came next was going to change more than the rest of the evening.