A smooth warning, but a warning all the sa.
He was telling them that they were being watched.
That their rise had already attracted attention.
That perhaps they should be careful how far and how fast they moved.
Isabella, who had already guessed as much from the beginning, nearly rolled her eyes.
These city people truly liked wrapping threats inside pretty paper.
She rested back against Kian’s throne and looked at the man as if he were mildly entertaining at best.
"How troubleso," she thought. "Even when warning people, they must talk in circles."
Still, her face remained composed.
After all, if he wanted to perform, she could let him perform.
When he finished, he bowed politely again and signaled to the two people behind him. Clearly, he had decided that staying longer would not get him much more than he already had.
Kian moved at once.
"I will escort our visitors out," he said.
The sentence itself sounded proper.
Polite even.
However, anyone with functioning ears and a little common sense could hear the real aning.
He was saying, "I do not trust you enough to let you walk through my territory alone."
The visitor understood.
Of course he did.
But he only smiled and accepted it as if he had heard nothing but courtesy.
That was how these people played.
So Kian stepped down and led them out.
The guards followed.
The two city n behind the ssenger also moved.
The hall slowly emptied.
But the tension they left behind did not go with them.
The mont the visitors were fully gone and the sound of footsteps faded outside, Osiris turned and walked out too.
He did not say anything.
Not to Isabella.
Not to Zyran or Cyrus.
Not to anyone.
He simply left.
That alone made the room feel heavier.
Isabella watched his back disappear through the doorway and let out a slow sigh.
Then she slumped slightly into the throne and said, "Now he’s upset."
To be fair, she herself did not have the energy to chase after him imdiately. She was tired. Her feet were cold. Her stomach felt heavy. Her back was already complaining. And now there was an upset phoenix in the village.
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
For one brief mont, Isabella truly wanted to ask whether her life would beco peaceful if she simply pretended to faint and lay down for two days.
Zyran, who had been mischievous almost all day, finally spoke in a tone that surprised everyone.
"I’ll go talk to him."
Isabella turned her head slowly and stared at him.
It was a suspicious stare.
A very suspicious stare.
Out of all the males in the village, this was the one volunteering?
Zyran?
The sa man who could turn a normal conversation into nonsense in three breaths?
The sa shaless black panther who seed to treat irritation as a hobby?
Even Cyrus looked at him for a mont.
Zyran lifted both hands. "What? I can be serious."
That statent was so unbelievable that Ophelia nearly laughed.
Shelia had to cover her mouth.
Luca looked like he was trying very hard to be respectful and failing.
Isabella narrowed her eyes. "Whatever. If he kills you in the process, that’s one less problem for ."
Zyran clicked his tongue. "Cruel woman."
Even so, he left.
And since he actually left without adding five extra shaless remarks, everyone in the room imdiately understood that he truly ant it.
Once he was gone, Isabella finally turned her eyes toward Cyrus.
He was still standing there with his altered look, half-veiled, black-haired, dark-eyed, looking like so mysterious stranger who had wandered into the wrong story.
Isabella stared at him for a mont before asking, "What? Do you plan on being like that all day long?"
Cyrus smiled awkwardly.
Then, perhaps because the city people had already gone and there was no longer a reason to keep up the disguise, he let the false appearance fade.
The dark hair shifted first, slowly returning to that soft pink color that suited him too well. Then the altered eyes changed back into red. Finally, he reached up and removed the veil that had been hiding half his face.
The transformation was smooth enough to make anyone stare.
And stare they did.
Ophelia was the first to react, exactly as expected.
"Wow!" she cried, her whole face lighting up. "Cyrus, is that magic? How much cultivation power do you have? Can you teach us?"
Shelia’s eyes also widened. "That was really useful. If I knew how to do that, I would scare people for fun."
Luca looked impressed too. "Can all snake beastn do that?"
Cyrus, who had only just returned to his normal appearance, looked slightly helpless under the sudden flood of questions.
Isabella watched all three of them with a tired face.
Honestly speaking, serious things had just happened, but these three were already gossiping like hens in spring.
Unbelievable.
She shot them a side eye and then turned to Cyrus instead.
"Help up," she said. "I’m sleepy."
Cyrus imdiately forgot everyone else and stepped toward her at once.
That was how easy he was to control.
Ophelia, Shelia, and Luca stayed behind, exactly as expected, already whispering among themselves.
"Do you think he can change into other faces too?"
"What if he changes into Kian’s face?"
"That sounds dangerous."
"Actually, that sounds funny."
If Kian had still been there, they would never dare.
Unfortunately for the dignity of the hall, Kian was outside escorting the visitors, so the three of them were having the ti of their lives.
anwhile, Cyrus carefully helped Isabella up from the throne, supporting her as if she were made of sothing precious.
Which, in his eyes, she was.
And while the hall behind them filled with soft gossip and leftover tension, Isabella let out another quiet sigh in her heart.
Her life was truly becoming more and more lively.
Too lively.
Still...
As she leaned slightly against Cyrus and let him guide her away, she could not help thinking that although it was troubleso, at least it was never boring.
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