She stood slowly.
"Until then... try not to let curiosity kill the Kael."
Kael just snorted, quietly.
Nyra busied herself with the cooking, the soft sounds of chopping and stirring filling the quiet room.
After so ti, Selene and the general returned.
They gathered around the dinner table and began eating.
Kael cleared his throat and shared, "Today at the court eting......"
Nyra smiled warmly, a little bashfully.
"You’re really impressive, Kael. Defeating the prince and getting those scrolls... that’s no small thing."
Selene’s praise followed, sharper and more confident.
"Indeed. Not many could pull that off."
Nyra hesitated for a mont, then added more cutely,
"You make it sound almost easy..."
Selene smiled again, a faint edge in her voice as she said,
"Kael, you’re proving yourself beyond expectations."
From the outside, it sounded like simple praise—but Kael felt a cold sweat prickling down his back. Sothing in their words unsettled him.
He quickly shifted, his voice steady but serious.
"Selene... what happened on your side today?"
Selene spoke calmly, her voice echoing faintly through the quiet chamber.
"We’ve recovered all the relics and treasures from the underground vault. The general rembered every passcode and rune—nothing was lost."
She glanced at Kael.
"By selling them, we’ve gathered enough gold to rebuild. A new ducal house—better, stronger. This ti, it’ll be etched with runes that ward off prying eyes."
Kael gave a slight nod. He wasn’t surprised.
In a world of magic, construction moved at an unnatural pace.
Selene continued,
"The work has already begun. In two weeks, it’ll be ready. From there... we can form an army again. Feed them, arm them—swords, armor, everything. We’ll build training grounds. The general can lead them."
Her gaze drifted toward the worn stone church.
"This place... we’ll turn it into an orphanage too. The children need shelter."
Nyra gave a soft nod, a flicker of lancholy in her eyes.
But Selene’s voice lowered.
"Still... after all that, we’ll only have enough rations for a year. After that, we’re back to the edge."
Kael nodded slowly, then again with firr conviction. "Good," he said, his voice carrying a rare warmth.
"You’ve both done an excellent job."
He looked at the general and Selene in turn. The general responded with a respectful nod, silent but proud.
Selene’s eyes lit up—subtle, but unmistakably pleased.
Kael turned to Nyra.
"Alright... you can finally join the Night Goddess’s church now."
Nyra nodded. Her expression was resolute, no hesitation in her voice.
"Yes. I’m ready."
Selene leaned slightly forward, her curiosity piqued.
"And... will you be joining the Church of the Night Goddess here, in this kingdom?"
Nyra didn’t hesitate.
"Yes. I’ll start here. I’m hoping to rise to High Priestess—after all, I trained at the royal academy."
Everyone in the room nodded in agreent, acknowledging her ambition.
There was a pause—then Kael spoke, slower this ti, as if weighing each word.
"There’s sothing I’ve been aning to ask for a while..."
He looked at the group.
"The Seven Gods... They’re worshipped across many organizations, right?"
Before Nyra or Selene could reply, the general spoke first, his tone steady and instructive.
"Yes. Across the continents, there are countless organizations that worship the Seven—each at different levels of power and reach. In our kingdom, we have the War God’s Temple and the Church of the Night Goddess.
These are kingdom-level institutions—aning, they move slowly, with limited influence."
Selene added,
"But if you ever travel to the Empire... things are different. There are greater structures there—sectarian orders, noble clans, grand churches, and massive temples.
So are ancient. So... not entirely human in their reach."
The room fell into a thoughtful silence as her words hung heavy in the air.
###
Southern Province
The moonlight slipped softly through the tall windows of the ducal manor, casting pale silver patterns across the velvet carpet.
In the candlelit sitting room, Duchess Selvaria sat gracefully on a carved rosewood sofa, a silver comb gliding through her daughter’s dark, perfud hair.
The fire crackled quietly nearby, the only sound breaking the hush of night.
"So... in today’s court eting..." Selvaria began, her tone unhurried, each word deliberate.
She continued in a low voice, recounting everything—Kael’s presence, the ripples he stirred and the titles that now clung to him like prophecy.
Her daughter listened in silence, eyes flickering with curiosity... and sothing darker.
She was beautiful—poised like a princess from a portrait—but there was greed in her gaze, the sa greed that lived behind her mother’s calm smile.
"He’s important," the girl said at last, her voice soft but sly.
"He has the divine general behind him, the War God’s temple calls him chosen, and now he’s a duke too."
A pause. Then she tilted her head slightly.
"Should I try seducing him?"
The comb stilled.
Selvaria’s eyes glinted in the candlelight. She, too, had thought of it.
If her daughter could bind that boy to them, their influence would soar. A connection to Kael ant leverage over court... even pressure on the king himself.
And Kael—young as he was—surely wouldn’t be immune to her daughter’s charm.
"Oh, you must, dear," she said quietly, resuming the combing.
"You must."
Her daughter’s eyes glead with cold resolve.
"Alright," she said softly, "I’ll et him tomorrow."
She paused, a faint smirk touching her lips. "For ... many boys have died already."
Selvaria’s gaze t hers, sharp and knowing.
A slow, low laugh escaped them both—soft but edged with sothing darker than amusent.
In that quiet room, beneath the flickering candlelight, their laughter echoed like a warning.
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