Chapter 291 – Layered feelings
How ironic, Sora noticed.
Golden Voice...
It was a na she had despised at the beginning, especially with how confident and calm Kaden’s voice always was when saying it. But over ti, during their trials together, she grew accustod to its tone, to the calm it carried amid the sea of blizzards, and ca to no longer mind the sound of it. And later, by the end of the trial... she ca to like it.
Deeply.
It was even the title The Will had given her, confirming things she would rather have left unthought for the sake of her pride.
And yet now, as she heard that nickna again from Kaden — who was smiling so freely, waving at her with that sa infuriating ease — Sora couldn’t help but feel her heart tighten in sudden pain.
She hated it. She hated what she was about to do, and the knowledge of it tore through her mind like shards of glass.
She had dreaded this day for months, praying to Celeste that it would never co, or at least be delayed far into the future, far enough for so miraculous path to reveal itself in the anti.
But as you can see, her prayers were not answered.
That’s how life works, unfortunately.
The man who hopes for the future delays its arrival. And the one who dreads it... summons it to his door.
Sora had summoned it.
And now, she had to take responsibility for it.
But none of those turbulent thoughts were visible. She only exhaled sharply, forcing an arrogant huff as she t Kaden’s gaze with her usual condescending expression.
"Blackmailing bastard. I see your smile is still as infuriating as ever," she said, while Kaden approached her, each of his steps drowned out by the noise around them.
He chuckled. "And here I was hoping you’d be happy to see again. Why are you looking at like you still want to kill ?" he said jokingly, before pausing mid-step, his tone turning playfully suspicious. "Assure ...it’s not that, right?"
Sora barely suppressed a smile and answered back, "What if it was?"
Kaden shrugged. "Then I’m afraid you’d have to chase after again." He smiled teasingly. "But I’d advise against it, golden voice. What if you get too used to chasing ?"
"People might get the wrong idea," he added mockingly, making Sora’s knuckles tighten until they cracked.
She had almost forgotten how insufferable his mouth could be, but now she rembered. And she knew that if she retorted, she’d only dig herself deeper, so she simply hmphed and flung her head to the side, feigning disdain for his face...
...a face she found disturbingly more attractive than before.
’Sora! Don’t think that!’ she scolded herself internally. ’He’s a bastard. A blackmailing bastard, not a handso one!’
Kaden stifled a laugh as he walked past her, entering the building. Behind him, Sora’s lips twitched violently.
Once inside, Kaden halted mid-step, his brows furrowing slightly. The reception hall was empty. There were no voices, no footsteps. Only a few tables and chairs sat idly to the left and right.
Even the people who worked the counter were gone. Lisa, if he rembered her na correctly, wasn’t there either.
His eyebrow twitched, and he resisted the instinctive urge to glance toward a certain direction in the hall.
He tilted his head slightly to the right. "Is this your work, golden voice?" he asked.
Sora removed her mask once she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "Yes," she answered, trying not to let her stress bleed into her tone.
She barely managed.
It had cost her more than she expected to rent this hall for only an hour. And even then, she had only managed to rent the reception hall, not the whole building. She couldn’t do that, she wasn’t nearly rich or powerful enough to force the alchemists, blacksmiths, and runesmiths to vacate their workshops just because she needed to talk with...
...she didn’t finish the thought before Kaden’s voice sliced through her restless mind like a knife through butter.
"You have sothing to tell ?" Kaden asked, walking forward and sitting on a wooden table, facing the standing Sora.
She suddenly felt the weight of his crimson gaze pressing against her, but she bit the inside of her lip, forcing her restless heart to remain calm.
’This is the only way,’ she repeated to herself.
It was indeed the only way she had left.
The past months had been filled with difficulty and unwanted self-discovery. She had tried to find another way around this, anything that would spare her the feeling of betraying a friend, but it was too late. As now, her brother saw her as a true rival for the throne.
At the beginning, he hadn’t considered her worthy of attention, but that changed the mont she succeeded in securing the support of the Fireborn.
That had unsettled Sirius deeply, especially since he had once tried to win over the Fireborn himself and failed.
Now, he held the Moonborn’s suppor, their mother’s family, while Sora held the Fireborn’s. Two of the empire’s hands, divided between two heirs.
From here on, the throne could only be decided by rit, strength, and popularity among the people. After all, the citizens of the empire had their say in this ga of thrones. They were the ones who would suffer under a poor ruler, and none of them were willing to choose blindly.
But for now... Sirius had the hearts of the people.
He was the eldest, the strongest, already standing at Grandmaster rank. He knew how to speak, how to shine before a crowd. He made appearances not only in the capital but also in the three great cities under the empire’s dominion — Silver City, Morningstar City, and Green City — all governed by Crusaders of Asterion, knights whose strength rivaled the Silver Crowns and even the Red Crown of Waverith.
After the Fireborn and the Moonborn, these Crusaders were the most powerful influence in the Empire and they held the power to tip the balance of succession.
Rumors whispered that Sirius had managed to win over Lord Silver of Silver City, along with the loyalty of its people, which only deepened his popularity.
In every sense, Sora was at a disadvantage. And rembering what her father had told her... she knew that losing this ga for the throne would an losing her path to ever achieving her dream.
Luminary and Sirius would make sure of that.
So now...
’I have no other choice. I need my Mythical Artifact if I’m to stand against Sirius. Support alone won’t be enough, and even in that, I’m already losing.’
The thought pressed down on her like an ocean. The weight of it was suffocating, yet she parted her lips and t the gaze of the seated Kaden.
"You know, I’ve heard of your family before, blackmailer," she said with a humorless laugh. "But the most recurring thing about your family is that you’re a troubleso bunch."
She walked unhurriedly toward Kaden and sat on the sa table as him though, a little farther away.
They both fixed their gaze on the sa void, as if by silent agreent not to look at each other. The scene strangely reminded them of that mont back in the dungeon, in that cold cave, where it had been just the two of them, a flickering fire between them for warmth and for cooking.
Sora still rembered Kaden’s cooking. It had been an insult to her royal tongue, one refined by delicacies the plebeians would believe were ant only for angels and yet, sohow... she felt the urge to taste it again.
But she knew better.
"My family?" Kaden finally retorted, his voice tinged with confusion. "Well, I an, we’re quite known for being problematic." He finished with a soft chuckle.
"But I’ve also heard that you’re known for your honor," Sora added, tapping her fingers rhythmically on the table, soundlessly, deliberate, like the faint beat of a restless heart. "I’ve heard that you don’t bother yourselves with petty politics, that you aren’t hypocrites who backstab others for gain, nor thieves who take what isn’t theirs."
Here, Kaden already knew sothing was wrong. No, he had known it from the very beginning, but only now did the realization start to whisper into his mind.
A whisper. Nothing concrete yet.
That’s why...
"We are indeed none of those things. We might be many things, but not oath-breakers, nor thieves." He smiled faintly. "But don’t take as the best example of a Warborn. I might be the least Warborn of all our history."
"On that," Sora stifled a laugh, "I do not doubt it."
Then she paused, searching for the right words, sothing that wouldn’t sound too harsh or threatening. But it was useless. Subtlety was not her craft.
That was her brother’s domain.
She was not one for layered words.
For her, truth was always best spoken as it was.
"Then I wonder, Kaden... why did your brother, Dain Warborn, steal sothing from us?"
For a brief second — one too fleeting to na — Sora nearly collapsed to the floor as a boundless murderous intent exploded through the hall with such sheer intensity and cruelty that the world itself seed to bleed crimson, the wailing of the dead echoing through the air.
But it didn’t last even a second.
And yet, sweat slid down Sora’s spine. Her golden flas flared instinctively to life, her body snapping into perfect stance, ready for a lethal strike against Kaden.
Around her, multiple soldiers in golden armor appeared, their gilded swords pointed toward Kaden in killing formation.
Sora’s searing golden eyes stared at him with shock and subtle horror.
Kaden, anwhile, was simply smiling at them all.
A lifeless, empty smile.
"I’m sorry," he said, his voice dreadfully calm, utterly unfazed by the killing intent suffocating the room. "I lost control of my intent for a mont."
Then, with a gentle tone that made Sora’s skin crawl, he tilted his head slightly.
"But could you repeat yourself again, golden voice?"
He leaned forward slightly, his hand resting on the table, veins slithering beneath his skin like serpents of restrained rage.
"What did my brother do again?"
—End of Chapter 291—
User Comments
0 comments from readers