Nick paused for a moment when she spoke, then shook his head, his eyes holding a mysterious look. "Nope, I haven''t touched potion development."


    Mirabe nodded and stepped aside. "You better get going, Nick."


    Nick gave her a curious look, but he was in a rush, so he decided not to dig deeper. Soon, the door clicked shut behind him.


    Mirabe snapped out of her thoughts and slowly made her way inside.


    In the kitchen, Marian was still busy cooking. Instead of heading upstairs, Mirabe plopped down at the dining table and pulled out her phone to text As.


    Maybe As was tied up with something, because there was no reply right away. Mirabe absentmindedly twirled her phone. When Marian brought out the food, she noticed Mirabe''s distracted look and couldn''t help but ask if everything was okay.


    Mirabe snapped back and gave Marian a reassuring smile. "You and your brother seem a bit out of it today," Marian remarked while serving the food, making small talk.


    Mirabe paused, her hand hovering over her fork. "Does my brother seem... different?"


    Marian thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Not really, but he''s been extra concerned about you. He made me promise to take good care of you."


    Hearing this, Mirabe''s brow furrowed slightly. "Did he say anything else?"


    "No, your brother''s always been a man of few words. That''s about it," Marian replied with a smile, then returned to the kitchen.


    Mirabe''s gaze hardened a bit as she checked her phone again, still no word from As. Normally, he''d reply right away... Lost in her thoughts, she barely touched her dinner before getting up from the table.


    As she walked past Nick''s room on her way back to her own, she paused for a second. Just then, her phone rang.


    Seeing As''s name, she quickly picked up. "Hey, Miss Mira here. Sorry, I was caught up with some stuff and missed your message. What''s up?" As''s voice came through.


    Mirabe walked into her room and closed the door. "Do you know where Nick went?"


    As hesitated for a moment, seemingly surprised. "Uh... Nick''s not home?"


    Mirabe''s eyes narrowed. "No."


    "Can''t reach him by phone either?" As asked.


    Mirabe gave a quiet affirmative.


    "I''ll have someone check it out right away," As said after a pause. "Don''t worry, Miss Mira. Nick should be alright. I''ll keep you posted."


    "Okay." Mirabe''s reply was short, giving nothing away. She quickly ended the call.


    On the other end, As let out a small sigh of relief after the call disconnected. He put away his phone and turned to Nick, who was lounging on the couch. "Miss Mira''s not easily fooled."


    Nick, dressed in all ck, his pale skin catching the cold light from themp, was idly spinning a small scalpel in his fingers. "It''s fine, just need to keep it under wraps for a few days."


    As, though he didn''t know Miss Mira inside out, was sure she wasn''t someone you could easily pull one over on. "I''ll do my best. But I still don''t think you should go on tonight''s mission alone. If anything goes wrong..."