To be honest, I hadn’t thought this through. Yes, I had delivered my ssage successfully, but on the other hand, I got caught.
’What do I do? Withdraw and call Maggie? Or Kassie?’
I weighed my options while staring at the cat with a blank expression. Neither option was fast enough. If this thing wanted dead, I’d be dead before the summoning circle finished forming.
Which ant the only weapon I had right now was my mouth.
My mouth ca open.
"What? I have no idea what you’re talking about."
The cat sat perfectly still, its carved smile never wavering, its eyes barely blinking.
"Moving straight to lies? How shaless."
I jabbed my finger at it.
"What is shaless is you accusing of causing trouble. I am here as an esteed guest, and you dare point such accusations at ?" I straightened, letting a note of warning settle into my tone. "Can you bear the consequences, Sovereign of Illusions?"
The cat’s smile froze. For just a mont, the lazy amusent in its eyes gave way to sothing sharper.
"Oh, oh... looks like I underestimated you."
I smiled and nodded.
"That’s fine. A lot of people make that mistake."
The cat tilted its head, studying the way one might study an insect that had done sothing unexpected.
"Being able to recognize ... either you’re very inford, or you are not to be trifled with." Its tail flicked once against the floor. "I doubt the forr. If you were inford enough, you would have known better than to ss around with the representative of the Eternal Light Church."
It played with its chin using one claw, the gesture unnervingly casual for sothing that could flatten this entire floor with a thought.
"Which ans you’re soone not easily trifled with. That alone would explain the arrogance, doing such a heinous act despite knowing who I am."
I shrugged and smiled indifferently.
"Whatever conclusion you co up with, sure. But did you see do anything? Do you even have surveillance in here? No."
The cat blinked at . Sothing in my phrasing had tripped it.
I waved a hand.
"Point is, your accusation is annoying. I just might decide that this place is a bad place for to do business."
’Co on, Hue. Any ti now.’
At that exact mont, the door behind opened and Lady Hue stepped out. She took one look at , then one look at the cat, and her composure flickered.
"Lord Cade, the preparations are ready. I’ve been waiting for you."
The cat turned its head to her.
"Oh? So you know this man? Little Hue."
Lady Hue bowed politely. She hurried forward, bent close, and whispered into the cat’s ear. Whatever she said, it landed. The cat’s eyes widened, and the next mont, a cold, cunning smile settled across its mouth.
"Hmm... so that’s why. I see."
I raised my brows.
The cat’s gaze returned to , and the weight behind it had shifted. Not lighter. Different. The look of sothing that had just recalculated how much trouble I was worth.
"Well, if that’s the case, I suppose nothing you do here matters. There’s nothing to see." Its voice dropped a register. "But young Sovereign, if you intentionally cross next ti, I will prepare myself for the worst. You should too."
The cat turned and walked. It hadn’t taken five steps before its figure turned transparent and vanished into thin air.
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
Lady Hue turned to . I could see it in her expression, the look of soone who had a thing or two she wanted to say but was choosing not to. She bowed instead.
"Lord Cade, the preparations are complete. Co in, let walk you through the final process."
I followed her in. She explained everything I needed to know, helped withdraw a sum of money from the proxy account, and I kept that to myself. Eventually, she escorted away from the Night Auction after all was said and done.
At the ti we were leaving, the place was in chaos. People were searching for whoever had attacked the representative of the Eternal Light Church.
Initially, I had wanted to kill the man. Burn him to death. But I’d had to be cautious and think about Hue’s position too. If soone had died, the consequences would’ve fallen on more heads than just mine.
All three of them had survived, though two carried grave wounds.
’This is just the beginning. I will burn the entire church down. Watch , Lightfuckers.’
I returned to the castle after leaving the Night Auction and was surprised to find dawn already rising. The place was in a better state than when I’d left it. People had smiles on their faces, walking around freely.
As the elevator lifted upward, Colonel Atlas and Captain Kael were waiting at the top. They both bowed. Through the window behind them, I glimpsed the ruins, and what I saw stopped for a mont. No one was fighting. The battlefield was barren. Just craters and broken stone stretching out beneath the pale morning light.
I turned to the Colonel. The surprise only lasted a second before I pieced it together.
"I guess things ended quickly in your favor."
Colonel Atlas smiled, and for once the expression wasn’t asured or political. It was genuine.
"Oh, Lord Cade, you have no idea. Tonight, for the first ti in the history of this battle, the Night Fall Order was given a humiliation so thorough that I seriously don’t think they would be shaless enough to return next Auction." He pressed a hand to his chest and breathed hard. "That nun of yours. She’s such a fierce warrior in a nun’s robe. Amazing."
Then he was scratching the back of his head, and the warmth in his voice dipped.
"Although... we suffered devastating losses of our own. We should have pulled back our forces and let her deal with things alone. But we were stubborn about it." He t my eyes. "We lost nearly as many soldiers as the Night Fall Order did. It wasn’t until I finally called the retreat that we managed to save ourselves from further losses."
He looked at keenly.
"Lord Cade, I apologize. I should’ve listened to your words back then. Not listening cost the lives of my soldiers."
I waved it away.
"Whatever. It’s done now. Mourn your losses, and next ti I speak, it pays you to pay attention."
He nodded with sincerity.
"Yes, Lord Cade. I will."
Then his tone dropped.
"However... there’s a bit of an issue."
I raised a brow.
"Your summon is refusing to leave the battlefield."
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