As Liam spoke those words, Mabel stilled.

It wasn’t an obvious reaction—nothing in her posture gave it away at first—but there was a subtle shift. Her hands, which had been resting on Nyxie and Smoke, tightened unconsciously.

Liam noticed.

And without quite realizing it himself, a faint hint of concern surfaced in his gaze.

"You alright?" he asked, his tone still calm, though there was a quiet sincerity beneath it—subtle, but present.

That was enough to pull Mabel out of her brief lapse.

"What?" she responded, blinking once as if returning to the moment.

"You’re holding them a bit too tight," Liam said, gesturing lightly toward Nyxie and Smoke.

Mabel lowered her gaze.

He was right.

Her fingers had curled more firmly into their fur than she intended. Almost immediately, she loosened her grip, her touch returning to something gentler.

"I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to," she murmured softly to them.

Nyxie and Smoke only pressed closer in response, rubbing against her as if to reassure her that nothing was wrong.

’Is something about what I asked bothering her?’ Liam wondered silently, his eyes studying her more closely now.

For a short while, neither of them spoke.

Then, Mabel let out a quiet breath and lifted her gaze back to him. Her composure had returned, though there was a faint trace of something more guarded beneath it.

"About what you asked," she said calmly, "I apologize, but I can’t teach it to you. I’m sorry."

Liam tilted his head slightly, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

"I see," he replied. "Could you at least tell me why you can’t? I’m... curious."

Mabel held his gaze for a few seconds before exhaling softly behind her mask.

"Truth is, it’s not that I don’t want to teach you," she said. "In fact, I’d actually like to see how it would look with you using it—especially combined with your dark magic."

She paused briefly.

"However... I can’t teach it because it’s my family’s sacred sword art," she continued. "And more than that, it isn’t something that can simply be passed on to outsiders. It’s performed through the bloodline. A family-bound style—tied directly to lineage and myst resonance."

A family art? Liam repeated inwardly.

"I see," he said aloud. "So it’s strictly kept within your family."

"Not necessarily," Mabel replied, causing Liam’s brow to lift slightly.

"Even though it’s primarily kept within the family," she went on, "there are certain circumstances where it can be taught. For example, if a mentor who belongs to the family has a student they consider worthy, they can request permission from the head of the family to pass it on."

"I see..." Liam murmured.

He leaned forward slightly, his interest clearly piqued.

"Is there something special involved in the teaching process?" he asked. "From how you described it, without being part of your bloodline, it sounds like it shouldn’t even be possible."

"You’re right," Mabel said with a small nod. "For an outsider to learn it, their myst has to resonate with the Arkwright biological myst first."

"Arkwright..." Liam repeated under his breath.

"That’s my family name," Mabel said simply.

Liam hummed softly.

’That’s... kind of a cool name,’ he noted to himself.

"So how does someone outside your family achieve that kind of resonance?" he asked.

Mabel fell silent for a moment, clearly choosing her words more carefully this time. There was a brief pause—just long enough to suggest hesitation—before she finally spoke again.

"Normally, there are two ways," she said.

"The first is usually meant for those in an intimate relationship... or those planning to marry into the family. With approval, they’re allowed to share an intimate connection, which naturally intertwines their myst. That process allows them to align with the family’s resonance enough to learn the art."

She paused again, her eyes briefly studying Liam’s face to gauge his reaction.

As expected... there was none.

He remained completely neutral.

"This method," she added, "is the most effective."

After a moment, she continued.

"The second method isn’t as effective as the first, but it still works—especially in mentor-student situations."

She adjusted her stance slightly as she spoke.

"It doesn’t require anything intimate," she clarified. "But it does require direct physical contact. Both individuals have to synchronize their cores, their breathing, even their heartbeats... perfectly. Only then can the resonance be established."

Liam remained quiet for a while, taking in everything Mabel had said. His expression didn’t change much, but beneath that calm surface, his thoughts were already beginning to unravel and reorganize themselves.

’Aesmirius is a piece of shit, Liam cursed internally,’ directing the thought toward the godlike entity within him as he processed the implications.

’He definitely knew it would be impossible for Mabel to teach me her sword art... and yet that bastard still told me to ask for it,’ he continued, irritation threading through his otherwise composed mind. ’Intimate connection. Physical contact. Why does it all have to involve that?’

He paused briefly, his gaze shifting slightly as he considered it more carefully.

’Not that it bothers me, at least not the physical contact,’ he admitted inwardly, his eyes settling on Mabel. ’But still... it’s obvious there’s more to it. She’s trying too hard to hide it.’

His eyes narrowed just slightly.

’In theory, it doesn’t sound intimate. But in practice... it’s close enough. Even if it’s not the actual thing, it still carries that weight.’

Liam stayed silent for a few seconds longer before a new thought surfaced.

"Tell me something," he said aloud.

Mabel looked at him, attentive.

"With the physical contact method for myst resonance... does gender affect the effectiveness?" Liam asked calmly. "Is there a difference in the level of synchronization between a mentor and student of the same gender... and those of opposite genders?"

The question caught Mabel off guard.

It wasn’t what she had expected.

If anything, she had assumed Liam would lose interest entirely the moment the explanation leaned toward anything remotely tied to intimacy or emotional connection. That had always been his pattern—detached, uninterested in anything that required that kind of involvement.

But this...

This felt different.

It felt like he was still interested.

Like he was trying to find a way around it.

Around her.

And for reasons she couldn’t quite explain, that realization annoyed her slightly.

"Yes... there is a difference," she answered after a moment. "From what I’ve seen and learned, opposite genders tend to have better synchronization than those of the same gender."

That settles it, Liam concluded internally. I don’t really care about anything else beyond that.

"If that’s the case," he said without hesitation, "can you be my mentor and I be your student? I’m genuinely interested in learning your family’s sword art."

Mabel’s eyes widened slightly.

’He... still wants to learn? From me?’

Even as the thought crossed her mind, her outward composure barely shifted.

"Wait," she said, regaining her footing. "Even if I agreed, we’ve only known each other for—what—almost a year now?"

She crossed her arms lightly.

"The duration of the mentor-student relationship also matters when it comes to gaining approval from the family head. And just under a year... isn’t enough to justify that kind of permission. Not for something like this."

Liam looked at her for a moment, his expression steady.

"If we’re being honest," he said, "we’ve built a certain level of trust between us, haven’t we? Because if that wasn’t the case... you wouldn’t have told me all of this."

Mabel held his gaze.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

They had, in some way, come to trust each other.

And while it would’ve been easy to assume that bond had formed during or after the Gaia War, she knew that wasn’t entirely true.

It had started before that.

Much earlier than she had realized.

"You may be right," she admitted. "But that still wouldn’t be enough to convince my father."

Liam’s brow lifted slightly.

"So your father is the family head?" he asked, more for confirmation than curiosity.

"Yes," Mabel replied plainly. "And he’s a pain to deal with."

’Well... guess I won’t be learning anything anytime soon,’ Liam thought as he pushed himself to his feet.

"If that’s the case," he said, "then I might as well drop it. Honestly, I have no intention of meeting your family. That could give the wrong impression."

Mabel tilted her head slightly at him.

"So you’re just going to give up on learning it?" she asked.

"For now," Liam answered simply. "What? Are you planning to break your family’s rules and teach me without your father’s approval?"

Mabel stared at him for a moment.

Then she chuckled softly.

She had seen through that.

"No, I’m not," she said. "I might bend rules here and there, but not when it comes to something like this."

Her gaze lingered on him a moment longer.

"Though... I could have considered it," she added lightly. "But since you said ’for now,’ it sounds like you’re planning to extend the time we spend together before asking again."

Liam held her gaze, then allowed a faint smirk to form as he realized she had caught onto his intention.

"Yeah," he said. "That seems like the most logical approach, doesn’t it?"

"I suppose it is," Mabel replied, her expression carrying a knowing look.

"Well," Liam said, turning slightly, "let’s wrap this up. I need a bath."

With that, he dismissed Nyxie and Smoke, their smaller forms dissolving back into shadow. Darkness gathered around his body, rising from the ground like a living veil, and in the next instant, he sank into it completely—vanishing without a trace.

Left alone in the hall, Mabel stood in silence for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle.

"If I’m ever going to break a family rule for you," she murmured to herself, "you’re going to have to convince me a lot more than that, Liam."

Then, with a subtle shift of space around her, she blinked out of the training hall as well.