Warlock Ch 234. Special Protection
He kept walking, his thoughts swirling faster than he could keep up with. The more he thought about it, the more everything began to click into place. The obsession, the way Victoria sought him out after all these years, her insistence on keeping him close despite the ssy history they shared—it wasn't random. It wasn't just so emotional attachnt or lingering guilt. No, it was sothing much deeper than that.
He frowned, his footsteps slowing as he tried to steady his breathing. His heart was beating faster, not out of fear, but from the realization crashing down on him.
"She's looking for because she owes ," Damian muttered to himself, his voice barely above a whisper. Kaelan paid the price. He protected her. He gave her his blood, and she bound herself to him in return.
A bitter chuckle escaped his lips as he rubbed the back of his neck. 'So despite what I said—what Kaelan said—that she shouldn't look for , she still did. Of course, she did.'
It was starting to make sense now, painfully so. He had told her not to seek him out until the day he returned to her, and she had agreed. But she had broken that agreent, hadn't she? And why? Because she had a debt to pay. No matter what Kaelan had said, no matter how much ti had passed, Victoria wasn't the kind of person who ignored a promise. She had waited, yes, but when she found an opportunity to repay what she owed, she had taken it.
And not just taken it—planned it.
Damian stopped in the middle of the hall, his eyes narrowing as a new thought struck him. "That's why she decided to bond herself to ," he said slowly, working through the logic. 'She wanted to repay what she did. She knew she owed … and she knew I'd need her protection if I ever ca back.'
His gaze drifted to the window, where the dawn light was beginning to brighten the sky. Everything clicked into place now. He could see it so clearly—the pieces of a plan Kaelan must have put into motion without even realizing the full extent of it.
"She knew that after I was reborn, I'd be vulnerable. I wouldn't have the sa power or reputation. I'd be starting from zero," Damian murmured. 'And with her status… with her position as queen, she could protect . Shield from people like the senators or my old enemies.'
The senators. That thought alone made Damian's blood boil. Those bastards would've torn him apart the mont they got a whiff of his past life. Kaelan's reputation as the biggest villain of this world wasn't sothing that would just disappear. Even if Damian had been reborn with a clean slate, the mont soone connected the dots, it would've been ga over.
'But if Victoria protects , no one will question it,' he realized, his heart racing again. "No one would dare. She's the last person who should have a reason to protect Kaelan, right? Everyone would expect her to hold a grudge because I killed her husband. So if she suddenly steps in and says I'm under her protection, it won't look suspicious. It'll just look like… like she's being strategic. Like she's using ."
Damian's eyes widened as the full scope of the plan hit him. "Holy shit…" he muttered. "That's why she ca to Cassius. That's why she offered this mission. It wasn't just about eting again—it was about creating a reason. A reason why she could protect , Cassius, and Evelyn without raising any eyebrows."
The mission. The battle. Their victory. It was the perfect setup. They had completed a dangerous mission on behalf of Victoria, one that required her personal involvent. Now, she had every reason to offer them her protection. She could claim it was a reward for their service, a strategic move to keep valuable allies close.
And no one would question it. Not the senators. Not the nobles. Not anyone who might otherwise be suspicious of her motives.
"Damn…" Damian whispered, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips despite the whirlwind of emotions inside him. 'She's sharp. That's… a damn good plan.'
He started walking again, his mind racing with a mix of admiration, frustration, and sothing he couldn't quite na. He didn't know whether to be impressed by her foresight or annoyed that he hadn't seen it coming sooner.
"Of course, she planned this," he muttered. 'She's Victoria. She's always ten steps ahead.'
But as much as he wanted to be annoyed, he couldn't help but respect the brilliance of it. She had found a way to fulfill her promise while keeping everything above board. She hadn't just sought him out blindly—she had created a scenario where protecting him wouldn't just make sense; it would be expected.
"She didn't just co back for ," Damian realized. "She ca back to fulfill her end of the deal… and to make sure no one could touch without going through her first."
That thought stirred sothing deep inside him—sothing complicated. On one hand, it pissed him off. He hated being manipulated, hated being part of soone else's plan without knowing all the details. But on the other hand… wasn't this exactly what he had wanted back then? A way to protect himself? A way to ensure that if things ever went sideways, he wouldn't be alone?
He stopped again, staring out the window at the rising sun. A reminder that a new day had begun. And with it, a new understanding.
Damian let out a slow breath, his mind still spinning with everything he had figured out. The plan, the bond, the protection—Kaelan had played a long ga, and now, here he was, picking up the pieces. He couldn't deny it was a smart move.
"I guess the old planned everything well, huh?" he muttered, a faint smirk playing at his lips. He didn't hate it, not entirely. He could even appreciate the foresight.
But what he couldn't understand, what bothered him the most, was why he had lost his mory in the first place. Why was he being forced to figure everything out bit by bit, as if fate was dangling pieces of a puzzle in front of him, waiting for him to put them together?
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