The fireplace crackled softly at the back of the spacious room, casting warm light on the ancient stone walls of the Ainsworth mansion. Despite the recent destruction in the courtyard, this inner hall remained intact—solid, silent, almost ironic in the face of the chaos that had unfolded minutes before.
Kael sat in the center of the room, in an armchair far too wide for soone who clearly hadn't asked for it.
In front of him, Adalric Ainsworth rested almost indecently in a high-backed chair, a glass of ruby wine swirling slowly between his calloused fingers. The Sword King seed perfectly comfortable, as if observing this scene was just another rare pleasure in his day.
To Kael's right, Alia sat too close for any minimally formal standard. One of her arms was around his right arm, her face resting on his shoulder, her eyes closed. The cold aura that had previously frozen half the courtyard was now completely silent, replaced by a restrained, almost possessive warmth.
To the left, Irelia was no less swaying.
She embraced Kael's other arm with equal ease, her head slightly tilted against him, her eyes closed, breathing deeply as if finally at peace. Her sword rested against the nearby wall—abandoned without a second thought.
Kael didn't move.
Not because he was uncomfortable.
But because he knew that any false move could be interpreted as a declaration of war.
Adalric took a long sip of wine, observing the three with a smile too lazy for soone with so much power.
"So…" he began casually. "At what point exactly did you manage to make them both fall so deeply in love with you?"
Kael blinked. "…What?"
Alia and Irelia didn't react.
Not a word.
Not a movent.
Both remained with their eyes closed, clearly listening to every syllable.
Kael swallowed hard. "I… didn't do anything," he replied, choosing his words with extre care. "It just… happened."
Adalric raised an eyebrow.
"It happened." He repeated, savoring the word as if it were cheap wine. "Of course. Things like that always 'happen' to you."
He chuckled softly, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair. "You know, Kael… for the prince of the most powerful continent, you're absurdly modest."
Kael let out a nervous laugh. "I prefer to call it prudent."
"Nonsense," Adalric retorted. "Just admit it. You have charm. You're a man. Accept it. Be proud."
Kael looked away.
"If I admit this…" he began, sighing, "and worse, if I start using it… I'll probably end up attracting even more won."
Alia's arm tightened slightly around his.
Irelia's did too.
Kael froze.
"…And that," he concluded, with a tense smile, "ans these two here are going to kill ."
The silence lasted exactly half a second.
"Hm." Alia murmured, still with her eyes closed. "Probably."
"Very likely," added Irelia, with a slightly dangerous smile.
Kael sighed, defeated. "See?"
Adalric burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!" He almost spilled his wine. "Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
He leaned forward, pointing the goblet at Kael.
"You have no idea how rare this is, boy. It's not power. It's not title. It's not fear." He smiled slightly. "It's the fact that they trust you enough to let their guard down."
Alia opened one eye, casting a cold glance at Adalric.
"Don't overinterpret."
"Oh, I do interpret," he replied calmly. "And I like what I see."
Irelia opened her eyes too, staring at her uncle.
"He's not a trophy."
"I never said he was," Adalric replied. "I'm just saying that if he sses up…" his smile sharpened, "…I'll cut his legs off myself."
Kael slowly raised his hands. "I'm right here, you know."
Alia shifted slightly, adjusting her position to get even closer.
"Then behave yourself," she murmured.
Irelia nodded. "Don't go anywhere," she added.
Kael closed his eyes for a mont.
Surrounded.
Defeated.
…Safe.
"Alright," he said, surrendering. "I promise to survive."
Adalric raised his glass. "To survival, then."
Adalric swirled his glass one last ti before drinking, his attentive gaze landing again on Kael. The playful tone gradually faded, giving way to sothing more serious—not heavy, but genuinely interested.
"So," he said, placing the empty glass on the side table. "And now? What do you intend to do from here on out?"
Kael opened his eyes slowly. Alia and Irelia were still leaning on him, but neither seed tense anymore. Just present.
"I wanted to see Sylphie," he replied sincerely. "I needed to confirm a few things… to feel that she was okay."
Irelia tilted her head slightly, curious. Alia remained quiet.
Adalric nodded slowly.
"I wanted to," he repeated. "But it won't happen anyti soon."
Kael let out a short sigh.
"I know. She's already left… with that dryad." His eyes wandered for a mont. "When two creatures of that level decide to follow a complete cycle together, we're not talking about months."
"Years," Adalric finished. "Several."
"Exactly," Kael confird. "So, for now… there's nothing I can do about it."
Alia squeezed his arm a little tighter.
"And does that bother you?" she asked, without opening her eyes.
Kael thought before answering.
"Yes," he said. "But not in the wrong way. Sylphie made her choice. I trust her." He took a deep breath. "What bothers is that, while she evolves… I've been standing still for too long."
Adalric crossed his legs, intrigued. "So your plan is simple?"
"Brutally simple," Kael agreed. "To get stronger. To stabilize my foundation." He brought his free hand to his chest. "What happened to wasn't just an awakening. My body changed. My core changed. Chaos… reorganized itself."
Irelia opened her eyes now. "Reorganized itself how?"
Kael hesitated for a split second.
"As if it had been broken and hastily rebuilt," he replied. "It works. But it's not solid. If I force it now… I could lose everything."
Adalric let out a low whistle. "Hm. That explains a lot."
"What?" Kael asked.
"The fact that you're still alive," Adalric replied with a half-smile. "And the fact that you didn't blow up half the capital."
Kael chuckled. "Still."
Adalric then leaned back in his chair.
"In that case," he said, "the best place for you to stay for a while is the Empire."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Because of the political stability?"
"No," Adalric replied promptly. "Because of the controlled violence."
Alia opened one eye suspiciously.
"Explain."
"Simple," he continued. "The four Sword Kings are here right now. All of them. And when that happens… the Empire becos a walking testing ground. I don't know what the Emperor is thinking, but they're all in the capital, which is rare. Sothing might be going on."
Kael blinked. "All of them…?"
"All of them," Adalric confird. "Including two people you know very well."
Kael's heart raced slightly.
"Eva… and Erika?" he asked.
Adalric nodded. "Eva's been around for months. She's still more of a rcenary than a Sword Queen, but nobody questions her when she shows up on a battlefield."
Kael smiled slightly. "That's just like her."
"Always has been," Adalric agreed. "As for Erika…"
His smile changed.
It beca more nostalgic. "Erika is teaching at the Royal Academy."
The silence that followed was thick.
"…What?" Kael asked, genuinely surprised.
"Professor," Adalric confird. "Officially registered. Advanced combat disciplines, aura reading, and living sword fundantals."
Kael frowned.
"But why?" He shook his head. "She hated teaching. She said students were 'swords without edges and too egotistical.'"
Adalric chuckled.
"Keep saying that," he replied. "But the world has changed, Kael."
He stood, walking slowly to the high window of the hall, observing the capital's sky. "Azalith has changed."
The na hung heavy in the air.
Irelia looked away. Alia stiffened for a second.
"After so many incidents," Adalric continued, "wars, mana collapses, awakened entities, dinsional rifts…" He sighed. "Azalith is no longer the center of the world."
Kael felt a strange tightness in his chest. "Are you saying that…"
"That today," Adalric concluded, "Azalith is just another city."
Silence.
"The Academy has fallen in prestige," he continued. "Not through incompetence, but through saturation. The world has beco more dangerous than it could handle."
Kael closed his eyes for a mont.
"So Erika stayed," he murmured, "to hold onto what's left."
"Exactly," said Adalric. "To train a new generation that doesn't repeat the sa mistakes."
He turned back to Kael.
"And you, boy…" the smile returned, sharp, "…will be an excellent problem for her to deal with."
Kael let out a low laugh.
"I'm sure she'll try to expel in the first week."
"She will," Adalric agreed. "And when you can't…"
"She'll try to break ," Kael finished.
"Then," Adalric raised his glass again, "you'll start to stabilize that foundation."
Alia's eyes widened now.
"And us?" she asked. "Are you planning this… alone?"
Kael turned his face to her.
"Never," he replied without hesitation.
Irelia nodded silently.
Adalric watched the three of them for a long mont.
Then he smiled, satisfied.
"Hah…" he murmured. "The world really won't get any rest anyti soon."
The comfortable silence that had settled in the hall was short-lived.
Adalric was the first to break it again, now with that strategic glint in his eye—the sa one that always appeared when he decided to push soone into an abyss "for fun."
"Well," he said, crossing his arms. "Since you're going to be in the Empire for a while… you'd better go see the Emperor."
Kael slowly turned his face to et his.
His gaze was empty.
Perfectly empty.
"Not on your life," he replied without hesitation.
Alia opened one eye, curious. Irelia suppressed a smile.
"Oh?" Adalric raised an eyebrow. "So emphatic?"
Kael let out a short, almost relaxed laugh.
"I survived wars, cults, ancient entities, and you two," he pointed with his chin, without looking. "I'm not going to get involved in politics. Not now, not ever."
"You know that's not a choice," Adalric retorted calmly. "The Emperor wants to see you."
"Then let him co," Kael replied. "Or else…"
He shrugged. "Only if he kills and takes my body."
The air shifted.
Not dramatically.
But in a… wrong way. "Oh… what a pity."
The voice ca from behind.
Very close.
Very casual.
Kael's body reacted before his mind.
The chaos within him recoiled violently.
Alia opened her eyes instantly, the room's temperature dropping a few degrees. Irelia reached for the hilt of her sword without realizing it.
Kael paled.
Slowly, he turned his face.
Next to the armchair, leaning too casually for soone who clearly shouldn't be there, sat Hela Valroth.
Tall. Elegant. Dressed in dark colors with silver details that betrayed her position, the smile on her lips was polite—the kind of smile that preceded diplomatic tragedies.
"My brother would love this," she continued thoughtfully. "He always liked things… symbolic."
Kael swallowed hard.
"…Hela."
"Kael," she replied, tilting her head slightly. "I see you're alive."
"Blindly," he murmured.
Her smile widened.
"That's good. It makes everything more interesting."
Adalric watched the scene with a dangerously satisfied smile.
"You entered unannounced," he comnted.
"I always enter unannounced," Hela replied, without even looking at him. "Especially when the subject is a foreign prince sitting comfortably in the heart of the Empire… without even formally introducing himself."
She then leaned in a little closer, bringing her face near Kael's. "Now tell …" she whispered, her voice too sweet. "Should I kill you and take the body to the Emperor?"
The chaos within Kael stirred, but he didn't move.
"Or," she continued, raising a delicate finger, "rember that you are the prince of another Empire… within our borders… and that ignoring this would be an unpleasant diplomatic incident?"
Kael looked at her. "Haaah…" he sighed.
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