Chapter 80: Chapter 80: The Shadow-Blood Legion

Adonis and group returned to the Academy by the next day.

And the first person Adonis had to confront was Mariana.

The heavy oak doors of the dormitory suite clicked shut, sealing out the whispers of the Academy hallways. The air inside was cool, but it carried the faint, lingering scent of jasmine and expensive fragrance of the First Princess.

​Mariana stood by the window, her silhouette framed by the afternoon sun. She turned as the group entered.

Her eyes immediately landed on Adonis, and the sharp, regal inquiry she had prepared died in her throat.

She saw the hollowed-out look in his eyes, the way his shoulders seemed to carry an invisible, crushing weight.

​She glanced briefly at the two girls flanking him. She saw the black-haired maid, Millia, whose eyes were red from crying, and the ethereal, dangerous presence of Valentina, who watched her with the predatory gaze of an ancient beast.

In any other circumstance, Mariana would have demanded names and explanations.

​But not today.

​Mariana crossed the room in a few swift, elegant strides. Without a word, she stepped into his space and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek against his chest.

​”I’m very sorry for your loss, Darling,” she whispered, her voice losing its royal edge and softening into something purely human. “But everything will be alright. I am here for you.”

​The room fell into a stunned, suffocating silence.

​Millia’s jaw dropped, her hands trembling as she looked at the scene. She had spent her life in the Kingsbane estate, where the Royal Family was a distant, god-like concept. To see the First Princess of the Fernis Kingdom, the woman whose face was on every document and whose word was law, hugging Adonis so intimately was a reality she couldn’t process.

​Valentina’s eyes also widened, her red pupils constricting. She felt a sharp, icy spike of possessiveness ripple through her bond with Adonis. She had lived for centuries, but the sight of this “mortal” princess claiming a piece of her Master’s heart made the blood in her veins simmer with a strange, new heat.

​Adonis didn’t pull away. For a moment, the cold, draconic armor he had built around his soul cracked. He rested his chin on the top of Mariana’s head, closing his eyes as her warmth seeped through his tunic.

The smell of her, something like sun-warmed fire and royalty, bound him to the present, dragging him back from the dark abyss of his grief.

​”Thank you, Mariana,” he murmured.

​Mariana pulled back just enough to look up into his dark eyes, her hands resting on his biceps. She could feel the density of his muscles and the hum of the Ether Net beneath his skin.

He was stronger than when he had left, frighteningly so. But she knew his heart was bleeding.

​”The news reached the palace this morning,” Mariana said, her expression hardening as she glanced toward the door. “The ’burglary’ story is a lie that wouldn’t fool a child. My father’s advisors are already whispering, and the Gratis Kingdom is watching closely. But they forget one thing.”

​She turned her gaze back to Adonis, a flash of draconic fire igniting in her orange eyes.

​”You are mine. And anyone who strikes at what belongs to me will find that the Magnus bloodline doesn’t just rule with crowns, it rules with fire.”

​Millia and Valentina exchanged a glance.

The hierarchy of the room had shifted. They weren’t just looking at a princess, they were looking at a woman who had just declared herself a participant in a war for Adonis’s heart.

Adonis gently stepped back from the embrace, though he kept a hand on Mariana’s shoulder. The air in the room was thick with unspoken questions and the clashing auras of three very different, very powerful women.

He knew that if he were to build an army, the foundation had to start here, in this room.

​”Mariana,” Adonis began introduction, “There are people you need to know. They are the only ones I trust with my life right now.”

​He gestured first to the black-haired girl whose eyes were still misty. “This is Millia. She was my mother’s closest confidant and a close friend to me in that house of vipers. She knows the layout of the Kingsbane estate better than anyone, and she has a heart of iron.”

​Millia bowed a little, “It is an honor to meet the Light of the Kingdom, Your Highness.”

​Adonis then turned to the shadows where Valentina stood, her ruby eyes glowing with a faint, mocking light.

“And this is Valentina. She is… a unique existence. My sword and my shadow. Her strength is ancient, and her loyalty is bound to my soul.”

​Valentina didn’t bow. She merely inclined her head, her gaze lingering on Mariana’s face longer than necessary.

​Mariana’s eyes narrowed at the title, but she nodded regally. “If Adonis trusts you, then for now, so do I. But do not mistake my kindness for weakness.”

​

​Adonis then walked to the center of the room, his expression turning cold as he laid out the grim reality of their situation.

​”Commander Silva confirmed my suspicions. My mother didn’t die in a random burglary. Duchess Clementine orchestrated it to sever my father’s last connection to his humanity. Right now, the Duke is a puppet, held under some form of mental restraint or curse. He is a prisoner in his own mind, and the Kingsbane name is being used as a shield for the Gratis Kingdom’s interests.”

​He looked at Mariana, then at the others.

​”I am not just going back to classes. I am going to build an army. But I won’t do it with coin or empty promises. I will do it by breaking the status quo of this Academy.”

​”An army?” Mariana asked, her brow furrowing. “To march on a Dukedom? That is civil war, Adonis.”

​”Not just a Dukedom,” Adonis countered. “To rescue my father and kill the Duchess, I have to dismantle the ’Black Rose’ knights and the backing of the Gratis Kingdom. My plan is simple: The Shadow-Blood Legion.”

​Step 1: Recruitment through Domination.

He would target the disgruntled geniuses of the Academy (the commoners with high talent like Rai Calder, and the prodigies who loathe the current system.) By defeating them or solving their “unsolvable” problems, he would bind them to him.

​Step 2: Resource Accumulation.

Using the Harem Shop and the Inventory, he would provide his followers with gear and elixirs that don’t exist in this world.

​Step 3: Intelligence & Infiltration. Millia would coordinate a network of shadows, while Valentina would act as the silent executioner.

​”I need to reach the top of the Nova class within the month,” Adonis stated firmly. “I need the authority that comes with being the ’Rank 1’ student. From that position, the Faculty cannot touch me, and the students will follow me, either out of admiration or fear.”

​Valentina gave a dark, sultry laugh. “And when the army is ready, Master?”

​”Then we won’t just prepare. We will erase. We will rescue the Duke, we wiill execute the Duchess, and we will show the Gratis Kingdom that the ’bastard’ they tried to bury is the dragon that will burn their borders.”

​Mariana watched him with pride. She saw the boy she loved transforming into a conqueror.

​”If this is your path, Adonis. Then the Royal family’s internal secrets are yours. I will be your shield in the court while you build your sword here.”

​

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