Warlock Ch 317. Thread of Patience
Damian was holding onto his patience by a thread.
His fingers twitched at his side, magic thrumming under his skin like a wild, caged beast begging to be let out. His jaw clenched as he exhaled, long and slow, trying—really trying—not to let his rage take over. Not yet.
Because he knew this guy.
Ralvek.
Oh, he knew him.
The bastard had been playing the sa ga for years. Acting righteous, upholding the "balance," preaching about the laws and justice—while behind the scenes, he did whatever the hell he wanted. Whatever suited him. He twisted truths, manipulated rules, and made it so that by the ti people realized they were his pawns, it was already too late.
Damian hated people like that.
His past self, Kaelan, had encountered plenty of n like Ralvek—n who wore their righteousness like a cloak while dragging others into the mud. And Kaelan had learned the hard way that people like Ralvek didn't break easily. They slithered. They adapted. They survived.
That's why Damian exhaled again, trying to keep his expression neutral. 'I really want to kill him,' he thought, his cold gaze locked onto the senator.
And of course, Cassius noticed.
Cassius, who had known him for far too long, who had seen him reach his breaking point before. Who had seen what happened the last ti Damian lost control—when Kaelan had finally snapped.
Cassius shifted slightly, just enough to put himself subtly between Damian and Ralvek, like he was preparing to grab him if things went south. His sharp eyes flickered to Damian before turning to the senator.
"Senator Ralvek," Cassius spoke, voice calm but laced with steel, "I believe you should be the one who understands best how important it is to keep the balance."
Ralvek's expression didn't shift, but there was sothing in his posture that stiffened slightly.
Cassius tilted his head, his voice carrying across the arena. "Yet, here you are… treating this like it's nothing. Like it's trivial." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "I wonder—is this one of your plans?"
The murmurs turned into silence. It was a dangerous accusation. A direct one.
Ralvek smiled. But it wasn't a pleasant smile.
"Oh, Cassius," he said smoothly, like he was mildly amused. "You always did have a flair for the dramatic."
Cassius didn't smile back. "And you always did have a way of avoiding the question."
Ralvek chuckled, shaking his head slightly before his gaze slid to Aria. "Aria," he said, voice almost… familiar. "Surely you can see reason in all this?"
The shift was subtle, but Damian caught it.
He was trying to pull her into this.
Trying to shift the focus.
And Aria knew it too.
Her arms were crossed, her expression unreadable, but her eyes? Cold as hell. "Oh, I see a lot of things, Ralvek," she said, voice sharp and unforgiving. "Like how you showed up at just the right ti to try and clean up this ss."
Ralvek's smile didn't falter, but there was a flicker of sothing behind his eyes. "Is that what you think I'm doing?" he asked smoothly.
"I think you're stalling," Aria said flatly.
The air grew heavier.
Because Aria wasn't just anyone. She was a senator too. She held power, influence, knowledge. And unlike Ralvek, she wasn't the type to play gas when the stakes were this high.
Cedric teleported forward, to the arena. His expression was sharp, unwavering. "Tell sothing, Senator," he said, his voice colder than before. "Why do you look more concerned about covering this up than about the fact that my sister was almost killed?"
Ralvek's eyes flickered to Cedric, but his expression remained calm. "You misunderstand , Prince Cedric. I am concerned."
"Then act like it," Cedric said bluntly.
More murmurs from the crowd.
Ralvek sighed, shaking his head like he was dealing with children. "We must be careful not to make baseless accusations—"
Evelyn let out a sharp, amused laugh. "Oh, don't worry. It won't be baseless for long."
Ralvek's gaze snapped to her, and Evelyn smiled, slow and sharp. She lifted the rune in her palm, tilting it slightly. "We have witnesses who saw everything—everyone here is a witness. But since you love evidence so much, I have a recording rune." Her eyes glead. "You can watch it later. See exactly how incompetent your little setup was."
Ralvek's smile finally faded.
Just for a second.
Then it was back, carefully composed. "I see," he murmured.
"You will see," Cedric said, eyes narrowing. "And that's going to make excellent evidence for our investigation."
Ralvek's fingers twitched at his side.
Damian saw it.
The first crack in his mask.
For the first ti since stepping into this conversation, the senator looked cornered. Ralvek's posture shifted. Just slightly.
And Damian knew.
Sothing was coming.
Sothing planned.
Ralvek wasn't a man who let himself get backed into a corner unless he wanted to be.
The shift was subtle—shoulders loosening just a fraction, fingers unclenching like he had just co to a decision. His face was composed, unreadable, but his eyes? They flickered with sothing cold, calculating.
He was about to turn the tables.
"Oh, a recording rune," Ralvek said smoothly, almost lazily, like Evelyn had just handed him sothing trivial. "That's certainly… interesting."
Evelyn raised a brow. "Interesting?"
Ralvek nodded, his voice asured, calm. "Yes, interesting. Because magic can be altered, can it not?" His gaze swept across the room, locking onto certain people—council mbers, a few examiners, even so of the more cautious audience mbers. "Runes can be tampered with. Rewritten." He sighed, shaking his head. "And in cases like this, where emotions run so high, where people are already so eager to bla, one must ask—how reliable is such evidence?"
Damian almost laughed.
This guy. This fucking guy.
Evelyn's smirk didn't waver. "Oh, don't worry. It was sealed the mont I activated it. No tampering. Just pure, unfiltered truth."
Ralvek exhaled a dramatic breath. "Yes, well… I believe the senators should be the ones to investigate this matter first. Thoroughly." His gaze flickered to Aria as he said it, like he was daring her to oppose him. "We'll review all available evidence, including this rune, and co to a fair and objective conclusion."
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