Ethan's POV
Virelle nodded in agreent. "Exactly. He has both the influence to recruit soone as dangerous as the crazed Blood Countess and the cunning to orchestrate such a ticulous plot.
I've always suspected he intentionally acted foolish and impulsive around you, presenting himself as soone who wore his emotions on his sleeve to lower your guard around him."
She paused briefly her gaze narrowing before continuing.
"But I still don't understand why he would risk exposing himself just to claim the moon elf girl. While a slave moon elf is rare, it's not impossible for soone with his family's power to obtain one even from a prestigious clan like the Lunaris Veil. There has to be sothing more to this, sothing deeper than what we're seeing."
Virelle rambled on, her voice trailing off as she beca lost in thought. She was clearly grappling with the enigma of the devious prince's motives.
Her focus was unwavering as if she were sifting through countless possibilities, trying to discern the hidden truth behind his actions.
I glanced at Victor. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, his jaw rigid as he absorbed her words.
The dawning realization that the man he had always dismissed as foolish might actually be a cunning manipulator was clearly difficult for him to accept. Yet the evidence was too compelling to ignore.
The three of us stood in heavy silence, the weight of our shared realization pressing down like an invisible burden. If Lucien truly was the mastermind then this wasn't just a simple ambush but it was the opening move in a far more dangerous ga.
Suddenly, Victor's eyes turned cold, and a fierce, almost predatory aura radiated from him.
"Fine," he said in a vicious tone, his voice sharp as a blade. "If that's what he wants, then I'll show him the price of scheming against Victor Eralith." His chilling red eyes glead like a devil's in the pitch-black darkness.
I stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt though I couldn't help but be impressed by the deadly aura Victor exuded. It was the kind of presence that could only co from surviving countless life-or-death battles.
Today's encounter had already proven that he was no stranger to such fights. I had seen him being calm despite being at a disadvantage but that was most likely due to so trump card he might have.
After all, a ducal prince has to have so extraordinary thods of survival that was outside the realm of comprehension of normal beings.
Still, I was troubled. No matter how I tried, I hadn't been able to sense any danger from Lucien. This struck as odd.
In my previous life and currently, in this one, I'd spent countless hours on battlefields and in perilous situations that have honed my ability to gauge a person's threat level, especially soone of similar strength. Yet, with Lucien, there had been nothing.
This left only two possibilities. The first was that Lucien was so strong that my senses were simply inadequate to perceive his true nature. However, I dismissed this idea almost imdiately.
Even my overlord-grade talent was the result of rare coincidences—a unique bloodline from a great world that had most likely mutated and refined within . The possibility of sothing like that happening even with soone of Lucien's apparent background was very minuscule and felt far-fetched to .
Even with world-shaking opportunities, I knew I wouldn't reach the higher grades of divine ascension likely grade 5 or 4 in such a short ti of a decade, even with my hardest efforts. Those realms required far more than raw talent.
All the factors like comprehension, fortune, and the perfect convergence of circumstances were necessary to ascend to those heights.
That left only one other possibility that Lucien wasn't the true mastermind behind all this but a scapegoat or tool being manipulated by soone else. The thought sent a chill through my heart but I chose to remain silent.
Trusting my instincts alone without evidence would sound absurd to Virelle or Victor and there would be no way they would believe in the experience and instincts of a sixteen year old, however extraordinary my strength was in reality.
As we began our ascent back to the mountain's surface, a grim expression flickered in my eyes though I masked it with an outwardly calm deanor.
If there truly was a mastermind pulling the strings then they had most likely anticipated Virelle's intelligence and her ability to trace the clues back to Lucien. Perhaps all of this was part of their grander design.
Then, as soon as the realization crystallized in my mind, an eerie premonition washed over . It felt as though soone or sothing was watching us from the shadows.
For a brief mont, the darkness I had always found solace in felt oppressive and nacing. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end but I refused to show any sign of unease.
Instead, I maintained my confident facade drifting with ease and style as though nothing was amiss. We pressed on, climbing steadily until the bright cave opening ca into view.
The sight of sunlight pouring in filled with an unexpected sense of relief. For that fleeting mont, I was genuinely glad that light and warmth existed in this world.
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******'s POV
I followed the younglings with a watchful gaze until they vanished into the cave opening above, leaving the underground behind. Their retreating figures disappeared into the light but I lingered in the shadows, my mind whirring with unease.
Was it just or did that weird boy sense sothing? , I was confused as if my instincts were true that would be too unbelievable.
It must be his monstrous dark affinity, I shook my head and concluded that he must have sensed sothing weird but not exactly as his dark affinity and corresponding strength were too overpowered for such a young age.
To tell the truth, I was shocked at the strength and calmness he displayed in the fight previously.
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