Zora stiffened slightly, clearly aware that her face was burning hot, yet she stubbornly raised her chin. "You’re overthinking."
"Oh..." Prince Kael drawled softly, his brows lifting with deliberate amusent, his voice stretching lazily through the quiet air. "So that’s how it is..."
"Enough already!" Zora snapped, both embarrassed and annoyed.
Truth be told, she had already wanted to shove him off the bed the mont he leaned too close. But she restrained herself for two reasons.
First, any excessive movent might alert the people lurking outside the walls, and that would bring unnecessary trouble.
Second... she simply couldn’t push him away.
This man’s strength was far beyond what his relaxed posture suggested. No matter how hard she tried just now, it was like trying to uproot a mountain with bare hands.
When Prince Kael caught the faint irritation and fluster in her eyes, the smile in his gaze deepened instead of receding.
Normally, Zora was distant, composed, and almost untouchable, like frost beneath moonlight. Seeing her flustered like this was sothing he had never witnessed before.
And sohow, he found it irresistibly endearing.
Without warning, his face slowly leaned closer.
Zora’s heart leapt violently. She instinctively raised her hands to push against his chest, but it was utterly useless. He did not budge in the slightest, as solid and unmoving as a stone wall.
This man was clearly enjoying watching her struggle.
Just as his face was about to brush against hers, she abruptly turned her head away.
His warm breath swept past her cheek and brushed against the sensitive skin of her neck instead. Her entire body trembled faintly.
Then his low voice slipped softly into her ear.
"Darling... you’re really cute."
His tone was sincere, without the slightest trace of mockery.
That single sentence made her earlobes redden instantly.
"If you keep going," she ground out between clenched teeth, "I won’t hesitate to cripple your hand."
She was not joking.
If he dared to keep pushing his limits, she truly would act.
For a brief second, Prince Kael sensed danger.
He felt the subtle shift in her knee, the tense coiling of power beneath her composed exterior. This woman... was absolutely capable of carrying out her threat.
A low chuckle escaped him.
Then he suddenly moved.
With one swift motion, he wrapped an arm around her waist and rolled them over, instantly reversing their positions. In the blink of an eye, Zora found herself pinned beneath him, his hand braced beside her shoulder, his silhouette blocking out the faint moonlight above.
"Darling," he said with a wicked smile, "you’re getting fiercer by the mont."
Zora reacted imdiately.
Her fists struck his chest one after another, swift and unrelenting. Though she was holding back, every hit carried real force. This man was far too infuriating.
Only then did Prince Kael finally release her wrists, laughing softly. "Alright, alright. I won’t tease you anymore."
He loosened his grip and rolled aside, withdrawing back to the ground with an ease that showed he had never intended to force anything from the beginning.
Zora sat up, adjusting her clothes with a slightly dark expression.
Inwardly, she felt a trace of frustration.
If this had been the past, with her forr strength intact, she would never have allowed herself to be pinned by him like that. Yet now, she was undeniably at a disadvantage.
Just as the two of them regained their composure, sothing slipped loose.
The white jade pendant hidden beneath Zora’s clothing slid out quietly, falling against her collarbone with a faint glimr.
The mont Prince Kael’s gaze landed on that jade—
His entire body froze.
The casual amusent vanished from his eyes in an instant, replaced by pure shock and disbelief. His pupils tightened sharply, as if he had seen sothing utterly impossible.
"Darling..." His voice dropped, no longer playful, but tense and grave. "Where did this co from?"
The drastic change in his tone made Zora’s heart sink slightly.
She followed his gaze and looked down at the jade pendant resting against her chest.
Seeing that unmistakable reaction, a sharp glint flickered through her eyes.
"You recognize it?" she asked slowly.
Prince Kael blinked once and then twice before nodding. "Yes."
"What?" Zora’s eyes widened.
This jade had been the only clue she possessed about her true origins. For a long ti, she had carried it rely as a fragile hope, never truly expecting it to lead anywhere.
And now...
Soone finally reacted to it.
Prince Kael watched Zora in silence for a long mont before finally speaking. His voice was low, steady, and far more serious than before.
"This jade is a family token. I once saw the exact sa one."
"A family token?" Zora paused slightly, her brows knitting together. "Which family?"
"House Griffin," Prince Kael replied without hesitation.
Seeing the faint confusion in her eyes, he continued, his tone turning solemn.
"Not the House Griffin of Elysia. I’m talking about the House Griffin of the upper realms. One of the top martial families on the Holy Mystic Continent."
The words landed heavily in the quiet room.
Zora’s heart trembled.
As soone who once stood at the peak of power in her previous life, she understood very clearly what a top-tier martial family ant. Such families were giants that controlled entire regions, their roots spanning countless generations. Their disciples walked the world like sovereigns, and even emperors treated them with reverence.
Such an existence...
Had nothing to do with a small border nation like Elysia.
And yet this jade, the only clue she had left of her origins, was now suddenly connected to such a terrifying family.
"This doesn’t make sense..." she murmured softly.
If her true background really involved House Griffin, then how could her biological parents have been forced into such a miserable state, unable even to protect their own child?
Why would an infant connected to a supre martial family be abandoned at the back door of a general’s residence?
The contradiction made her chest tighten.
Prince Kael studied her expression intently, his gaze sharp yet gentle at the sa ti.
"Only direct mbers of the House Griffin possess this kind of jade. It is not sothing outsiders can obtain. If this pendant is truly yours from birth, then your connection to the House Griffin is unquestionable."
He paused for a mont before adding quietly, "Which only makes your situation even stranger."
Zora slowly lifted her eyes to et his.
Moonlight poured in through the window, bathing his features in pale silver. In that light, she saw not mockery, not calculation, but a seriousness that made her heart tighten faintly.
"Can I trust you?" she asked suddenly.
The question was soft, but it carried the weight of countless doubts and buried secrets.
Prince Kael was visibly startled.
Then, a small, helpless smile curved at his lips.
"You and I are already husband and wife in na," he said gently. "If you still cannot trust , then who can you trust?"
She stared at him for a long mont without speaking.
Then she turned to leave.
Before she could take even one step, his hand caught her wrist.
The pull was not forceful, but it was firm.
She was drawn back effortlessly, her body turning toward him, the distance between them shrinking once more.
"I ant every word," he said, looking directly into her eyes. There was no teasing now, no playful ambiguity. "No matter what your identity truly is, no matter what kind of storms are hidden behind it, I will never be the one who harms you."
For the first ti, his words sounded like a vow.
The tension in Zora’s eyes slowly eased.
She had asked that question not because she doubted him completely, but because this secret was too heavy. Once spoken, there would be no retreat.
After a long silence, she finally spoke again, her voice low and calm.
"In fact... I am not General Helius’s biological daughter."
The air in the room seed to freeze.
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