Kai slowly sat down. Without a care, he let his eyes sweep around the room. He was quite surprised.

Unlike what he’d imagined, the room didn’t look that different from other affluent chambers he’d passed on his way here. If anything, it was tamer in comparison. Even the paintings were tasteful but subdued, and the furniture leaned toward comfort over opulence.

He knew that this was a place that pretended peace. Because there was Regina, seated gracefully on the blood red sofa across him. She looked every bit the gentle, elegant queen—older, serene, her smile soft and composed like she was greeting an old friend. Her hands rested lightly on her lap, and her posture was the very picture of grace.

But her eyes—those eyes were wrong.

They didn’t shine. They didn’t reflect light like normal eyes did. They absorbed it. Pools of icy void that seemed to pull and judge and peel you apart with every glance. If not for those, he might have been lulled into believing there was no danger here.

He almost shifted his mana to run through the room just to confirm—almost. But he didn’t risk it.

Instead, he stared back at her. She said nothing for a while, so didn’t he. She looked at him from head to toe, and Kai sat there, trying his best not to feel awkward.

And after what felt like forever, she broke the silence.

“You’ve grown up a lot, Arzan.” Kai felt another rush of mild shock at how warm her voice sounded. Her eyes softened as if she was recalling an old memory. “The last time I saw you in person… It was during my journey to Veyrin. Duke Kellius had requested I visit. You were just a child then. Hmm, look at you now. You are a Count who reached the heights with your own achievements, you truly have grown so much.”

Kai couldn’t help but feel the distaste on his tongue at her attempted compliments. But well, he had no intention of playing coy with her.

“Was it then,” he said evenly, “that you decided to block my mana veins?”

Her smile didn’t falter. Not even a twitch. She maintained the same soft expression on her face and the gentle blue eyes squinted as if in confusion.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Count Arzan,” she said lightly. “I’ve heard of your condition, of course. Mana vein blockage is… unfortunate. But I always assumed it was natural. Was someone intentionally moving against you?”

Kai almost frowned, but caught himself. He saw it clearly now—the mask. She wore it well. Soft words, plausible deniability, just enough concern to make it seem like she truly didn’t know. He grunted internally, knowing her type very well; the type that never admitted to anything they did.

Even if he brought a mountain of evidence and carved it into stone before her eyes, she would still deny it with that same calm smile and pretend she didn’t even know what he was talking about. Kai had met people like her before and he had never liked them. But he could play the game. If she wanted to keep up the charade, he’d wear the mask, too.

“Yeah,” he said with a faint shrug. “Lots of people are moving against me lately. I believe they’re all just parts of the same thing. Different limbs of one body that sees me as quite the eyesore,” he said in an extremely casual voice, though nothing about the conversation was that.

“It seems your explosive rise has offended a great many people.”

“Just some,” Kai replied. “They’re afraid I’ll get bigger than them. That their hold over power will be dragged out into the open. That would be… unfortunate for them.”

“Are you going to go against them?”

Kai met her gaze directly. “I believe we follow different paths to our goals. And clashes are a part of that. I also believe I’ll come out on top.” He let the words hang for a moment, then leaned forward slightly. “But why did you call me here, Queen Regina? I imagine your time is far too valuable to waste on a Count like me. Especially one that so much of the nobility dislikes.”

He added, almost as an afterthought, “Your son especially.”

Regina gave a soft sigh, almost motherly. “My son’s just doing his best,” she said, still smiling. “I don’t know what differences the two of you have, but I believe you can sort it out. After all, the future of this kingdom rests on nobles like you.”

You definitely know everything, Kai thought, but you pretend not to. You sure as hell sound like someone who’s always pretending.

“As for why I’ve called you here, let’s get to that…”

Her head turned toward the large doors, where the young attendant who escorted him stood still. His bony hands were folded in front of him and he leaned forward, as if waiting for a command.

“But first…” she pointed a long nail at him.

The boy nodded at Regina’s silent command and moved toward Kai without a word. But as he walked forward, something changed.

In a blink, a white porcelain teacup with a golden rim and a lacquered container appeared in his hands, straight out of thin air. He poured the tea with practiced grace, steam rising in elegant coils, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

Kai didn’t let the surprise show on his face, but he knew exactly what this was. A show of strength.

His gaze flicked to the man’s hand—the subtle shimmer of a band on his finger.

A spatial ring.

As a matter of fact Kai knew that a spatial ring was extremely rare, especially in this era. Regina wasn’t just showing him that her servant was a Mage—she was telling him that even her tea pourers carried artifacts that most nobles would kill for.

He understood the message she was trying to give, you’re in my court now.

Kai didn’t mind power games. He was used to them. But that didn’t mean he’d play by their rules.

The attendant set the teacup gently before him, bowing his head and stepping back in silence.

Across from him, Regina smiled and took a sip from her own cup, watching him over the rim with that same unreadable calm. It was almost an invitation. See? No poison.

Kai didn’t touch his. He let the tea sit. Let it grow cold. Regina didn’t comment at first. But eventually, she set her cup down and spoke again.

“The tea is quite good,” she said, her smile faintly amused. “It’s unfortunate you don’t seem to like it.”

“I just had some before coming here,” Kai replied smoothly.

She tilted her head slightly, the smile sharpening at the edges. “With my husband?”

He didn’t answer. Not because he was caught, but because it didn’t matter. He hadn’t gone out of his way to hide from Mages. The castle guards had been easy to slip through quietly, but Regina? She had scrying arrays, no doubt—woven carefully into the very bones of the castle. She saw more than most.

So instead, he just said, “No. Before coming here.” His tone was crisp now, cutting through the air. “So why don’t we stop circling around and you tell me why I’m here. With the Assembly approaching, I’d rather not lose sleep.”

Regina chuckled softly. “I believe it’s already quite late.” She leaned back slightly, folding her hands. “As for the reason… it’s actually about the Assembly. You’re clearly not pleased with being called to it, especially when you believe you should be rewarded for killing your tyrant brother.”

“I didn’t kill him,” Kai said immediately. “He poisoned himself.”

Regina shrugged, just like it wasn’t her who just said he did it. “I’m just saying what others think.”

“And I’m correcting it.” His gaze didn’t waver. “I’m not happy being here, scrutinized for doing what no one else could. But it’s what King Sullivan decided. And I’m okay with that.”

Regina raised an eyebrow, but the chill in her gaze remained unchanged. Those pale, emotionless eyes made her look more of a statue than a woman. “Are you really okay with getting a death sentence over the fief war?”

“That won’t come to me,” Kai replied.

“You’re awfully confident,” she said, swirling her tea with a diaphanous motion. “Especially for someone all three Princes oppose. And there are many nobles who don’t like your rise to power, Arzan.”

“What about it?”

Regina sighed softly and took another sip of tea. Then she placed the cup down and leaned ever so slightly forward.

“I actually called you here to give you a way out. I hope you know how things work, and I don’t have to lay it out for you. A word from me,” she continued, “and all of my son’s followers will vote in your favor. You could even be granted the title of Duke. I’ll make sure of it.”

Kai felt his heart thud in his ribcage. There was no way Regina wanted to do all that as an apology for trying to kill him all these years.

“What will it take?”

Her smile returned. “I know you’ve received your mother’s inheritance. I don’t want any part of it. But among her things, there was a medallion. I’m sure you know the one I’m speaking of.”

Kai nodded slowly, already seeing the strings she was trying to pull.

“You want it?”

“Yes,” she said simply. “Give it to me, and I promise you’ll have no more problems. Not from my son. Not from the other princes. You can return to your land and thrive—not as a Count, but as a Duke. The same as your father.”

Kai almost laughed. He didn’t, but it took effort to keep his expression from cracking. Because there it was. The real Regina.

Her sweet words were filled with demands and offers coated in honey but reeked of venom. She wasn’t offering safety—she was offering chains. Beautiful, golden chains with titles and peace as the bait.

Had Regina really called him here for this? To barter for the medallion like it was just another trinket in a noble’s vault?

She had to know its value—had to understand what it represented. And yet, she looked at him like she was offering him a lifeboat. A generous, merciful gift. Why?

Something felt off. He kept thinking, peeling it back layer by layer, and then—finally—it hit him.

She thought of him as Arzan. Not Kai, obviously.

She’d heard of his victories, his rise, his survival, but all secondhand. They’ve never met properly. It was only the words that passed through the mouths of subordinates she probably considered barely competent. A woman like Regina would think herself above everyone, even her own allies. It wasn’t arrogance alone—it was certainty. The kind that came from too many years of getting her way.

She probably assumed everything he had accomplished came from his inheritance. That he might have gotten competent subordinates. That he’d gotten lucky.

She didn’t see him as someone with a real plan or spine. In her mind, he was a young upstart playing politics—scrambling to win over lower nobles with meaningless gestures, desperately clinging to relevance.

She was underestimating him. Massively. And strangely, Kai didn’t feel insulted by that. If anything… he was amused.

He leaned back, loosened his posture, and let out a small laugh.

For the first time ever since he got here, Regina’s calm exterior shifted. Her eyes widened a fraction, her smile faltering just slightly as she registered the unexpected reaction.

Kai grinned at her, settling deeper into the cushions as if he were lounging in his own home.

“It’s not going to happen,” he said.

Her eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Me giving you the medallion,” Kai said, still smiling. “I’d rather die than do that.” He let the pause hang—just long enough—then added, “And trust me… me dying won’t happen for hundreds of years.”

Regina took another sip from her teacup.

Kai doubted there was even any tea left in it, but she still went through the motion—elegant, composed—as if sipping would somehow help her mask the chill growing behind her eyes. But it didn’t. He saw it. The faint narrowing, the subtle gleam of something flickering behind her gaze.

Her voice, when it came, was smooth, but colder than before.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked. “You’re kicking a gift in the mouth.”

“I don’t take poisons as gifts,” Kai said calmly. She must be insane if she thought he’d just accept it and give it to her. If it wasn’t any clearer, he knew he should explain further. After a beat, he added, “Do you really think I’d make a deal with someone who’s actively tried to sabotage me?”

He huffed. “Actra. The beast wave. Even the fief war. You want me to believe those all happened—one after another—by coincidence?”

Regina’s smile didn’t falter, but it was thinner now.

“Fate,” she said with a shrug, “has a way of giving a man many trials.”

The audacity of this woman, Kai wanted to roll his eyes at her. At the absurd words she was throwing nonchalantly. It made anger simmer, but he calmed down.

“So you’re the trial maker? Huh… It’s fine.” He leaned forward slightly. “It’s fine. You don’t have to admit it. You treat this like a game—I get it. But remember: every game ends. And at this stage? My victory seems much more likely.” He smiled faintly. “And I don’t show mercy to the losers.”

The words had barely left his mouth when he felt a sharp flare of mana to his right.

Kai didn’t even need to turn. He could feel the pressure blooming from the direction of the attendant, he assumed—his control unraveling like a thread drawn taut and ready to snap.

But then Regina raised a hand without looking. “Selwin,” she said mildly. “You don’t have to do that. We’re just having a civil conversation.”

The tension paused, and the mana pulsing from the attendant slowly dimmed.

Kai kept his eyes on Regina coolly.

“I’m sorry about him. He doesn’t like people speaking ill of me.”

“It’s fine,” Kai said, tone dry. “I don’t think he could harm me.”

Regina gave him a long, slow look—like someone staring at a painting that didn’t make sense.

“You’re oddly confident, Arzan,” she said.

Kai didn’t look away. “You become that way after facing the kind of enemies I did.” He let the silence hang for a heartbeat, then added, “Ah, before I forget to give my condolences. I’m sorry about the loss of Shakran. I think he must have been one of your best subordinates.”

Regina didn’t even blink.

“Huh? I don’t know who that is,” she said.

Her voice was as calm as before, but her fingers paused on her teacup—just slightly, barely noticeable. The air around her had changed. She was still smiling, still playing her role, but Kai saw through it. That small, frozen moment said everything.

“Surely you don’t,” Kai said with a smile that didn’t touch his eyes. There was humor in it, but the kind that left a sting. Then his voice shifted, quieter but firmer. “Either way, if you called me here only to offer that deal… I’m not interested. I won’t give you the medallion. Not now, not ever. Even if I did, it would be by my choice—not yours. And I have the right to it. You know that.”

He stood up, not rushed, not angry, just steady. He didn’t touch the tea. He didn’t look back. With a nod that was more formality than respect, he turned and walked past the attendant, his footsteps soft but certain on the carpeted floor.

The room was quiet. Too quiet. Like something holding its breath. And then, just as he reached the door, her voice drifted out behind him.

“I hope you understand… every decision has consequences, Arzan.”

Kai stopped, hand on the door. He turned slightly, just enough for her to see the look in his eyes—clear, unwavering.

“I hope you do too,” he said.

Then he left.

No assassins jumped out. No dark tendrils of magic reached for his throat. But he didn’t relax. He doubted Regina was foolish enough to make such a move in her own chambers, especially with the Assembly so close.

This had never been about giving him a way out.

It had been her way out.

She didn’t want to keep wasting time, resources, and pawns trying to corner him. She had hoped he would quietly step aside, take the title, return to Veralt, and keep out of her path. She didn’t believe he could win. She didn’t believe he mattered.

But now?

Now that he’d refused her offer, he knew what came next. She’d sharpen the blades. Rally the nobles. Tighten her grip on the Assembly. Maybe even try to make the trial itself his execution.

He expected it all. And he didn’t care.

Even if the Assembly branded him guilty for killing his own kin, even if they tried to strip him of his title or his freedom—Kai was already ready. He had plans in motion, contingencies laid out. He didn’t need their approval.

Sullivan had been right. The kingdom was teetering. The peace was thin, brittle. Civil war wasn’t just possible—it was coming.

And while Kai hated war, hated the cost of it, if that’s what it took to end these petty games… then so be it.

He would fight.

And, as always, he would win.

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep