Chapter 157

Jan 16, 2024

“Well, haven’t you always hated these meetings?”

“Ah... So that’s what you meant. No, not exactly.”

Cassis’ reaction had been dry at best, and his face showed no signs of suspicious intentions.

Orka’s lips twisted before he continued, “I mean, I do fancy all the lovely ladies who show up at these things, so they aren’t a complete waste of my time.”

The subtle, yet unexpected response prompted Cassis to glance sideways at the White Heir.

“If I had known Yggdrasil was such an abundant garden of flowers in bloom, I would have come to the gatherings far more often to at least take a whiff here and there.”

A dark smile spread across his face as he saw the reaction he had invoked from the Blue Heir.

“Of course, I would still have to say that the butterfly taking up residence in Pedelian last winter was the true beauty. Now that it’s out of its cage, I do hope you’ll take special care to ensure that it doesn’t flutter away to a new owner.”

The implications were so overt that they were almost insulting. It was an amateur provocation at best and one not even worth Cassis responding to. “Wherever a butterfly decides to fly or sit is completely up to itself. Though I am quite certain it wouldn’t waste its energy choosing to be near one who treats it as a mere pet to be tamed and domesticated.”

The Blue Heir’s tone was as emotionless as his facial expression. For a moment, Orka could not think of a response. His eyelids even began to twitch as the words seemed to take a direct jab at his pride. A sinister thought soon began to brew within him. Well, if it won’t fly to me of its own accord, I’ll just have to capture it by force.

The two arrived at the conference room just as the thought manifested.

“White Demon Tamer,” Cassis said softly as he stepped forward to open the door. Despite retaining his composure during their walk, Orka lost the ability to play it cool upon hearing what the Blue Heir said next.

“Call me old-fashioned, but the next time you set out to hunt those demons, I suggest you use both a tracking removal and a tracking sensor spell.” The condescending tone left the White Heir transfixed in front of the door as the blood inside his entire body seemed to freeze over. “Of course, relying too heavily on sorcery stones to begin with isn’t anything I would recommend, but...”

Creeeaak.

The old, rusty hinge of the heavy door cried out as Cassis pushed it open for them.

“...for demon tamer of the White clan to make such a rookie mistake leaves me to believe that perhaps your reputation has been... slightly exaggerated.”

His tone was obscenely calm as if he was addressing a child, but it was enough to shake Orka to his core. He stood still as he watched the silver-haired man turn his back to him to head into the conference room first.

“So is that...” Orka’s dry lips finally parted in order to confirm his suspicions. “...your way of telling me that... you really...?”

Cassis turned around to meet the White Heir’s gaze with his calm demeanor still intact. A sudden suffocating aura swept over him as if it had flown forth from the Blue Heir to lunge forward and swallow him whole. It reminded him of the same dark shadow he had sensed overcome him in the Pedelian forest that past winter.

The proceeding smile that came over the golden-eyed man’s face sent shivers down his spine. It resembled a pale crescent moon and appeared as cold and dry as a lone, brittle branch exposed to a blizzard.

“All the same, I do hope the rest of your stay here will be enjoyable, Orka.”

* * *

How amusing.

Roxana took a swig of the champagne in her hand as she watched the scene through her poison butterfly. They had been unusually tame over the last week, so she supposed they had found a new creature to torture. A glow seemed to illuminate in her scarlet eyes then reflect off her glass.

“Hey, Sis.” Jeremy suddenly appeared at her side.

“What’s the matter?” She smiled softly as she asked the question. It had been such an unexpected yet apt greeting that he couldn’t help but tilt his head toward her as she seemed to have read his mind. He glanced around the room before answering.

“Both the enemy master and heir were eyeing us just moments ago, but now they’re gone.”

Her red eyes appeared to shimmer as he continued.

“You’ve been wary of the Castros for a while as well, haven’t you?” His wandering blue eyes finally returned to stare into hers as he decided to come forth with the next bit of information. “I’ve actually been keeping an eye on them, so... If you need me to do anything, just let me know.”

Without warning, she placed her hand on his head.

“Uh... What’s up, Xana?”

She ruffled his neatly combed hair and wasn’t at all surprised that Jeremy didn’t push her away. Jeremy had always shown himself to be sharp-witted, but for him to take notice of his surroundings and the situation to that extent since arriving at the castle was truly impressive. Not only that, he had become more and more at ease while speaking with the other clan masters recently.

Between what she had seen through her butterflies and the way he had been carrying himself at the castle, she was more than certain that her younger brother had taken almost full control of the Black clan. If he could only make their troublesome half-siblings fall in line more consistently, she was positive his growth would be deserving of the highest commendation. She suddenly felt a wave of remorse as she recalled how callously the Fipellions had insulted him.

“Jeremy, should anyone ever try to bother you in any way, you just let me know.” Her soft voice tickled his ears as she cupped his face in her hands.

“And what’ll happen if I do?” he asked as his blue eyes beamed, then her response sent him over the moon.

“I’ll teach them a lesson they won’t soon forget.”

“You will?!”

“Of course.”

His face lit up with delight at hearing his sister speak of coming to his defense, which made her smile in turn. It was only then that she realized those around them had begun to openly gawk at the two of them.

Hmm... Did I go too far? I seem to have compromised Jeremy’s image. She supposed it was best if they didn’t act that way in front of others now that her brother was becoming more of an authority figure to both the Agreces and other clans, so she pulled her hand away from his head quickly. He looked at her in confusion as she did so.

“There are too many eyes watching us here.”

“Who gives a damn?!” Jeremy’s face scrunched up to emphasize his discontent in her withdrawing her affectionate touch.

She laughed at his reaction, which only served to sour his mood that much more. As a way to console him, she reached for his head again and gave it one last gentle pat. A sheepish smile instantly took the place of his frown. Then a familiar face caught her eye, so she turned toward it to get a better look.

Upon doing so, the beautiful light-blue hair and onyx-black eyes of Pandora Fipellion came into focus. Once their eyes met, she stood rooted in place. As luck would have it, neither of their schedules had overlapped, so the two women had managed not to see each other for the entire week since the White clan’s arrival.

Pandora initially looked around as if she was trying to find a hiding spot, but she soon regained her composure and approached the two siblings.

“Greetings, Miss Fipellion.”

“Good evening. Beautiful night, isn’t it?”

Although the three were exchanging pleasantries rather smoothly, Pandora appeared somewhat ill at ease under Jeremy’s gaze compared to how she spoke as Roxana looked at her. The blond tilted her head in contemplation at the curious behavior.

With some slight hesitation in her voice, the Fipellion addressed her again. “Miss Agrece, would it be possible to have a moment alone with you?”

She had not been expecting such a question to come from Pandora of all people.

“Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to at the moment.”

“Oh... I see.”

The blue-haired woman slurred the end of her sentence as she appeared to believe that the refusal was an overt rejection to meet with her in any way.

“Perhaps we can meet tomorrow morning. I’ll be sure to send a formal invitation for you then.”

Pandora’s eyes widened before she quickly nodded her head.

“Yes, very well. I shall await your invitation.”

Once their plan was set, she left as calmly as she had approached them.

“Hey, Sis, are you close with that woman?”

“We met once before.”

Her brother furrowed his brow and muttered under his breath.

“I see... It’s just sort of strange. I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before as well.”

“Is that so?”

He squinted at Pandora’s retreating back while scratching at his head in hopes of digging up the lost memory, but to no avail. Roxana also stared at her as she continued to walk away. Her scarlet eyes retained the curious glow from earlier as she finally looked away.

* * *

That evening yet another unexpected encounter took place in an unexpected location.

“Good evening, Miss.”

“Good evening to you as well.”

Luzark Castro and Sylvia Pedelian exchanged awkward, yet cordial greetings. He hesitated for a moment as he deliberated over a seat that would be at an appropriate enough distance from where she was already sitting.

In hindsight, I should have grabbed a book before coming to sit down. Sylvia, in turn, appeared more focused on looking out the window than looking at any of the books. Seeing that she was distracted, the Red Heir leaned back in his chair and relaxed a bit.

“One of the attendants mentioned that a certain individual made a habit of visiting this library regularly, so it seems they were referring to you, Red Heir.”

The shallow voice had taken him by surprise and compelled him to look her way. At some point, she had turned away from the window to cast her golden gaze on him. She sounded audibly surprised that he made use of the castle’s library.

In truth, most everyone who saw him would have asserted that Luzark Castro was a young man more befitting of an arena than a studious space. He was also surprised to see the Blue Princess in such a secluded area rather than surrounded by a throng of guards and admirers.

“Well, I was in need of a quiet place, so here I am.”

“Oh, is there an issue with your private quarters?”

“Visitors tend to come and go whenever I’m there.”

She nodded in agreement as if she immediately understood the burden he was under. On top of that, her reason for hiding in there was probably not all that different. As she continued to speak, her voice seemed to reverberate in his ears to the point of causing him to appear panicked, which was a rare sight in itself.

“I noticed you frown at me the moment you walked in and thought perhaps you did not wish for us to be in the same space.”

“D-Did I... frown at you?”

“Yes. In fact, today wasn’t the first time. You do so whenever you see me.”

He was at a loss for words as his expression hardened from hearing her speak so bluntly. His face began to stiffen in an entirely different manner as he reflected on his behavior upon arriving at the castle.

“Forgive me. It was never my intention to offend you, Lady Sylvia. I am simply unaccustomed to interacting with women in general. I do hope you didn’t take my carelessness to heart.”

“Oh, no! I’m... I’m fine.”

She immediately began to panic at hearing how surprisingly sincere his apology sounded. The awkward tension they had briefly cast aside resumed its hold on the book-filled room to take its place in the void directly between them. Unable to bear the silence any longer, Luzark decided to address Sylvia first.

“The hour is rather late. Is it not yet time for you to return to your room?”

It wasn’t until after the words had already left his mouth that he realized she could rather easily misinterpret their meaning as him wanting her to leave right away. He suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of self-loathing for his lack of sufficient social tact. Luckily for him, the Blue Princess seemed unbothered by his somewhat pushy question.

“My brother will come for me if it gets too late.”

“You two have always appeared to have an exceptionally strong familial bond.” He had actually felt that way whenever he spotted the Pedelian siblings.

She smiled shyly at hearing the compliment. “He does tend to be a bit overprotective, but I suppose he gets that from our father.”

The reason for that was actually common knowledge among the different clans, so Luzark needed no further explanation. On top of that, Cassis also seemed to keep an especially close eye on a specific Agrece as well. Thus, her normally attentive older brother had failed to notice that his younger sister was battling with a personal issue in silence.

As it were, she had refrained from attending any of the other events at the gathering after the first few days. Her parents and other members of the Blue clan had taken notice of her lack of flare as well, but none of them seemed to know how to approach her on the matter. For whatever reason, she kept feeling a sort of longing sensation that she was unfamiliar with outside of Pedelian.

It didn’t help that the sensation seemed to grow stronger around a specific individual by the name of Jeremy Agrece.