NOVPUB"Do not make the same mistake I made."
Lavinia spoke as her cold, emotionless eyes looked right into Kael's. Kael stared right back at her, his emotions were currently a mess, so he could no longer hold himself back like he had planned to.
"…Why?"
He questioned after a minute-long silence.
Lavinia tilted her head and Kael asked properly,
"Do you know why… that man did what he did…?"
"…"
Lavinia turned silent.
"He had been keeping up the act for decades. He fooled everyone, even the most intelligent minds I know.
Why would he ruin all that in an instant?
Why did he… target you?"
"…"
Again, Lavinia stayed silent as she stared at Kael.
Lavinia was no ordinary girl. Ever since she was born, she was different from the people around her.
She was a true genius.
She was loved by Magic Beasts. Most Beasts, even the ones who usually preferred to be by themselves, showed some sort of affection to her.
She was also blessed with an inherent talent that—before Kael—was said to be the greatest. Not just in Magic, even as a Warrior, she was more talented than normal warrior apprentices.
The only reason she chose the Path of Magic was because of her love for books.
She had always been interested in various subjects other than Magic as well. Be it history, geography, tactics, battle strategies, Beast knowledge, she knew it all. Her intelligence was so high that she rarely forgot what she read.
The speed at which she consumed and absorbed knowledge was quite frightening and because of all that,
Lavinia, without a doubt, was one of the most knowledgeable beings in the entirety of Nerathis. And other than that, she had more sets of skills.
One of them was her ability to read people.
Something she had long stopped believing in since the person she thought she knew the most turned out to be exactly the opposite of what she believed him to be.
After that day, Lavinia understood that in this world, emotions like love, care, compassion, and empathy did not exist.
The only thing that did exist… was Power.
Power was what made and broke people. Power was the reason people did what they did. Be it the most heinous of crimes, to the most noble of sacrifices, in some way, in one form or another, all of this was done for some sort of Power.
Of course, this Power came in different forms for different sorts of people. To some, Power was a means to survival. Some simply lusted for more power.
But no matter what, every situation, every person, moved according to the Laws of Power.
Or at least…
That was what Lavinia believed, until…
She saw Kael's eyes again.
He looked like he was… worried about her.
Or was it empathy?
Lavinia didn't know, but whatever it was, it was a look that made her question her theory for a moment.
Yes, only for a moment. Soon, however, Lavinia shook her head.
Kael was worried, yes. But he wasn't worried about her, he was worried about himself.
Lavinia firmly believed that Kael didn't care about her, and he had no reason to. There was nothing to gain from it. The only reason he even saved her was because he had a use for her in one way or another.
All these questions he was asking, it wasn't because he felt empathy, he simply wanted to know more about the King, his enemy.
There was a selfish desire behind every single one of his actions and honestly, Lavinia preferred it that way.
It was much better if she already knew what Kael wanted; she would be much more comfortable that way.
Kindness for no reason made her sick and placed her in a constant cycle of doubt and uncertainty.
"Lavinia."
While Lavinia was lost in her thoughts, Kael called her again, pulling her out of her reverie.
"You do not have to tell me if you do not wish to."
Kael spoke up, his face showed genuine concern, something Lavinia didn't believe for a single second.
Kael wanted something and… she was the same.
She wanted something as well.
Revenge.
If this man was indeed the Hero like he said he was and had betrayed the King by running away, then the two of them had the same enemy.
This man…
He was a possible ally.
And even though Lavinia still did not trust him, she decided to reveal the truth. The truth she wanted to scream out loud and let the entire world know anyway,
"I was chosen by a Phoenix."
"What…?"
Kael blinked.
"The reason he targeted me was because I was chosen by a Phoenix."
"But you are a—"
"Dragonborn.
I am a Dragonborn, but instead of a Dragon, the one who chose me was a Phoenix."
"Is that a bad thing? Is it because Phoenix is Xenthalor's Guardian Beast?"
Kael questioned.
"How do you know that?"
Lavinia questioned back, confused.
"The King told me."
Kael answered honestly, making Lavinia narrow her eyes. Kael, however, just shrugged.
"Don't look at me like that. You weren't the only one who was fooled by him. I had started to trust him as well, so we conversed a lot.
It is only now that I realize that he was doing this to know more about me, making it easier for him to control me."
"…"
At those words, Lavinia couldn't say anything anymore.
That man had fooled the entire Kingdom. Fooling a naïve man who knew next to nothing about this world was hardly a challenge, so instead of doubting pointlessly, she decided to answer.
"It is not dangerous.
Phoenix might be Xenthalor's Guardian Beast, but it does not mean that beings from other nations cannot form a Bond with it. A Mythical Beast chooses its Tamer, not the other way around.
So though Xenthalor might find it annoying, they wouldn't have been able to do anything."
"Then why…"
"That man wanted my Phoenix."
"Huh…?"
"The Phoenix who chose me gave me her egg. I excitedly went to my father. I was so foolish that I wanted him to be the first person to know about this.
But…
When I revealed the Phoenix's Egg…
That man's eyes changed and I was framed as a corrupted human and the egg I received was confiscated."
