Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece Chapter 195: Burning Secrets [3]

The door burst open with a sharp crack. Shattering the tense silence in the room.

"Eleanora, have you seen my—oh."

Anastasia stopped mid-sentence as she took in the scene before her.

Her sharp crimson eyes darted between Kyle and Eleanora.

Who sat stiffly on opposite ends of the couch, trying too hard to look casual.

Eleanora’s face was flushed deep red. The color nearly matching her crimson eyes.

Her fingers gripped her skirt so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

Kyle wasn’t faring much better. A faint pink tint colored his cheeks as he avoided eye contact with anyone in the room.

Anastasia’s perfectly shaped eyebrow arched upward. "What were you two doing?"

"Nothing!" Eleanora answered too quickly. Her voice an octave higher than normal.

She imdiately bit her lip, realizing how suspicious that sounded.

’Damn it all,’ she thought, willing her face to cool down. But the heat stubbornly remained.

’Of all the tis for you to walk in, Sis...’

Her mind raced back to what had almost happened just monts before.

She’d been so close to have her way—

Wait.

No.

That wasn’t—

If possible. Her cheeks burned even hotter at the direction of her own thoughts.

Anastasia stepped gracefully into the room. Her designer heels clicking against the hardwood floor.

The door clicked shut behind her with finality.

"Hello, Kyle," she said in that smooth, unreadable voice of hers.

"You are looking better. I heard Aurelia finally allowed you to return to classes."

Kyle cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, yeah."

His fingers drumd a nervous rhythm on his knee before he glanced at the ornate clock on the wall.

"It’s getting late," he said, already moving to stand up. "I should probably head back—"

Anastasia’s sharp gaze landed on the half-finished chocolate latte sitting on the coffee table.

"Wait."

Kyle froze halfway between sitting and standing.

She tilted her head slightly. A ghost of a smirk playing on her lips. "At least finish your drink."

After a beat of silence. She added in that deliberate way of hers, "So you like sweet chocolate lattes too. Interesting."

Kyle blinked. "You... drink these?"

His disbelief was almost comical.

Anastasia D’Argent.

The famously cold Crown Princess. The woman who looked like she would bite the head off anyone who dared suggest she had a sweet tooth—liked chocolate lattes?

She gave him a look that clearly said ’try ’.

Raising an eyebrow, Kyle said, "Huh. I would have guessed you as a black coffee drinker. Like Aurelia."

Anastasia scoffed as she elegantly settled onto the couch between them, crossing her long legs.

"Black coffee is for people who hate themselves."

Kyle couldn’t help but snort at that.

Eleanora, still fuming from her interrupted mont and her sister’s intrusion. Shot Anastasia a glare that could lt steel.

Anastasia, of course, ignored it completely.

"Ellie," she said, waving her hand toward the kitchenette, "make one too."

"I’m not your maid," Eleanora snapped, crossing her arms.

Anastasia didn’t even blink.

"But you do make the best latte."

That tone. Sweet like honey but sharp enough to cut. It made Eleanora’s eye twitch every ti.

She muttered sothing under her breath. The kind of words that would’ve earned her a week’s worth of extra etiquette classes if her sister had heard them.

Then, with a frustrated huff. She stomped toward the kitchen. The mugs clinked as she grabbed them a little too hard, her movents quick and jerky.

—

Back in the living room.

The air shifted, like a storm had just passed.

Kyle let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

’Man, this is awkward’, he thought, rubbing the back of his neck.

His eyes darted around. Looking for anything to focus on besides Anastasia’s gaze. It felt like she could see straight through him.

Then he spotted it.

Down on the bottom shelf of the entertainnt unit.

Two gaming controllers, sleek and shining. Right next to a console with a blinking blue light.

The huge flat-screen on the wall reflected the fireplace’s soft glow.

Kyle blinked. "You... play gas?"

The words slipped out before he could stop them. Gar instincts, probably.

Anastasia’s crimson eyes followed his gaze.

And then, surprisingly—she smirked. "You do too?"

Their eyes t. And just like that, sothing clicked.

The silent agreent only fellow gars would understand.

By the ti Eleanora returned with two mugs of steaming coffee, she froze in place.

Kyle and Anastasia now sat side by side on the couch. Controllers in hand. Eyes locked on the screen.

The opening the of ’Elden’s Legacy’ echoed through the room.

Loud, dramatic, and totally unexpected.

Eleanora stared.

"...What." Her voice was flat. One word. Full of disbelief.

Neither of them responded.

On screen. Kyle’s character, so buff dude in full plate armor, stood at the edge of a ruined bridge.

Anastasia had picked a nimble rogue. Fast. Quiet. Deadly.

"You sure about this?" Kyle asked, focused on the screen. "Strength build’s the way to go."

Anastasia scoffed. "Dexterity is objectively better."

"Objectively wrong, you an."

Eleanora set the mugs down a little harder than necessary. The spoons rattled.

Neither noticed.

Then the boss appeared. A massive knight riding a skeletal warhorse. Its halberd glowed with cursed energy.

[BOSS: THE GOLDEN SENTINEL]

Kyle grinned. "Oh, this guy’s gonna regret existing."

—

First Attempt:

Kyle charged in like he had sothing to prove.

The Sentinel didn’t care.

One clean hit, and Kyle’s character was toast.

[YOU DIED]

Anastasia smirked. "Strength build, huh?"

Kyle scowled. "Warm-up."

—

Second Attempt:

He dodged the first swing.

Rolled like a pro.

Then got run over by the horse.

[YOU DIED]

Anastasia sipped her latte. "Mmm. Tastes even better now."

Kyle didn’t answer.

—

Third Attempt:

He learned the boss’s patterns.

Dodge. Swing. Dodge. Step back.

He got a few hits in. The boss actually staggered.

Then ca the surprise shield bash.

Kyle’s knight flew off the bridge like a sack of potatoes.

[YOU DIED]

Anastasia chuckled softly. It was almost worse than a full laugh.

—

Fourth Attempt:

No trash talk this ti.

Kyle was serious.

Focused.

Dodge. Strike. Dodge. Strike.

Bit by bit, the boss wore down.

Then, one last heavy swing.

[VICTORY ACHIEVED]

Anastasia raised an eyebrow. "...Huh."

Kyle leaned back, smug. "Told you. Strength wins."

Anastasia said nothing. Just grabbed the controller, reset the ga, and made a new character.

[STRENGTH BUILD SELECTED]

[GREATSWORD EQUIPPED]

Kyle watched, half-shocked, half-impressed. As she went through the early enemies like a machine.

Then she reached the Sentinel.

No hesitation.

Four brutal, calculated tries.

On the fourth attempt—

[VICTORY ACHIEVED]

Kyle narrowed his eyes. "Oh, it’s on."

And just like that. The war began.

Trash talk flew.

Controllers were almost stolen mid-ga.

And sohow... they were both having fun.

Eleanora stood there.

Completely forgotten.

She stared.

Then sighed.

———