Chapter 116: Tempted
Kael had always been confident about his strength, his ability, and his skills, even after forgetting how exactly he had gained those strengths in the first place. Back at the Silent River, after learning that some pieces of his memories were missing, he didn't react the way one should in such a situation. He was rather calm; it was as though he had long been used to it, as though losing parts of himself was nothing new to him.
He never really thought it through.
He knew that after forgetting his past, he had also lost a portion of his power. Take wind magic, for example. Perhaps from the very beginning he had been using wind magic, but about a month ago he had completely forgotten everything about it due to that splitting headache. The proof was simple, since whenever he used any spell related to wind, it came so naturally to him that it felt as though he had done it thousands of times before.
He also knew that if he had never encountered the Silent River, he would have never even realized that his memories were missing. And because of that strange tattoo on his stomach, he was still aware of the truth... he suspected that if the tattoo were ever removed, he would immediately forget that he had lost anything at all.
It wasn't a comforting thought, though.
However, more than his missing memories, what truly concerned him was his strength. If he could forget about using wind magic, then there was a high chance there were other abilities or elements he had once mastered but had now completely forgotten. Each time he tried to remember his earlier assassinations, there were moments that always appeared foggy and fragmented, as though parts of those memories were erased or sealed. That could only mean that during those times, he had used skills or powers that he no longer remembered. And of course, his impossible reflexes against the Hollow-Tongue were another proof of this theory, but those reflexes belonged to Kael, not the masked man though.
During the battle with Effie, he had been so sure of himself, certain that he could defeat her even though she was an S-ranked mage. But now that he thought about it, that confidence had not been blind arrogance. It had been something refined, something born from long experience and years of fighting, something deeper than simple pride. It was not the kind of confidence that comes from empty words, but the kind that is carved into the bones after surviving countless battles. And the most terrifying part was that he had almost killed her.
But when the Queen appeared, all of that confidence shattered like fragile glass. The amount of mana she possessed was beyond comprehension. It was vast, immense, suffocating. Of course, it would be, since she had fully saturated her mana core and mastered all seven steps to become an Archwitch. He had no idea what came after Archwitch or what sort of strength they sought beyond that point. In fact, it was a miracle he even knew about the seven steps at all, since he had never attended the Academy or whatever noble children called that place where they trained.
Regardless, when the Queen arrived, Kael learned his lesson. He had always believed himself to be strong, but she had proven him wrong in an instant. He couldn't even predict what was happening around him before the events had already taken place. Her movements were so fast that his eyes could not follow them at all. She reminded him of the reality he had long ignored... the reality that he had become weak.
Indeed, he had become weak, not that he had always been weak. He knew for a fact that he had been far stronger a few years ago than he was now. Maybe it was because of the peaceful life he had lived, or maybe it had to do with the recurring headaches that had plagued him, but one way or another, his edge had dulled. He had even allowed her to take control of his mind and awaken his deepest desire, whatever that was supposed to mean. At that moment, he had forgotten everything... his surroundings, his purpose, and worst of all, Seraphina. If not for Serelina, he might have never been able to escape that illusion. What would have happened to him then?
He knew very well that the Queen might have turned him into one of her slaves, just like Effie. The things Effie had done to Eska made no sense at all, neither her reasons nor her actions. Kael doubted any ordinary person could have done something like that. It would only make sense if the Queen had controlled her mind, just as she tried to do his.
What had he even been thinking back then?
[Oh, can't you remember? Let me remind you… she was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen. No woman could match her beauty. She was captivating, like—]
Kael coughed and turned his attention away from the voice echoing inside his mind. He activated Liquid Chest in the roof below and took out a pale shirt and a pair of black trousers, his usual change of clothes for moments like this, just as he had done yesterday before meeting Arwyn. Then, he threw his black coat, mask, hood, and the longsword into the roof as they dissolved, making the roof ripple like water. The longsword he had managed to take from the water with a little help from Eska.
He was about to unbutton his torn and bloodstained shirt when the same teasing voice came again.
[Tsk, damn it! I can't see you undress. What a shame. But… are you really sure you want to get naked in front of a sleeping girl beside you? If I were you, I'd rather die.]
Kael sighed deeply, ignoring the voice as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it into the chest before pulling on the new one.
[Good thing I'm not you.]
He muttered in his mind and then reached for his trousers, but hesitated. The image of the girl in his mind and the one lying beside him overlapped for a brief moment, and his expression turned uncertain.
"Well… they can't see me at least. It'll be fine. If I value my life, I have to do it."
[Ahm... I guess we girls aren't fortunate enough to see you naked, but someone else can though... did you forget the Queen can see wherever she wants? So, what if she was gazing at you right now? Ah, my poor brother-in-law would definitely lose his sanity, wouldn't he? I pity you.]
Ignoring her words, he quickly changed his pants without caring about shame or hesitation and then sat against the wall beside Arwyn, waiting quietly for Seraphina to return.
Nevertheless, what he wanted to know now was simply what kind of strength he had lost. There was no possible way to find it out if his memory could not remember it, and that fact alone felt irritating. Though he was sure of only one thing, and that was that he had once been a dagger user, even though at present he possessed absolutely no knowledge of how to wield one. He decided to abandon that thought for now, but even while doing so he could not help but wonder if he had once been an expert at using daggers. Of course, he had no idea.
He sighed quietly, his breath leaving his chest with a weight that lingered.
"Why am I feeling a little disappointed though?"
Then came Serelina's voice, light and teasing as usual, echoing in his mind.
[Is there a reason not to? If you had thought about me before today, then I might've known something about those forgotten memories of yours and could've told you now. But you didn't... so stay disappointed.]
Kael's gaze moved toward Arwyn's body that lay near him, her form untouched by the water. He was glad it hadn't soaked her, since that could have been terrible if not for the holes in the roof letting the rainwater flow away. It was an abandoned house after all.
Exhaling slowly, he replied with a flat tone that carried faint annoyance.
[Uh-huh.]
He tried to think further about how to regain that lost strength, pushing his mind to its limits, yet there seemed to be no answer, no clue, not even a trace of a path leading toward it. The only way, he supposed, was to retrieve his memories, but unfortunately, he had no understanding of what that strange headache truly was or why it erased parts of his past. It felt as if before him stretched a vast canyon while behind him lay a boundless sea, trapping him between two impossible ends. But somewhere in that hopeless space, there existed a small boat in the sea... a little means to survive.
That small boat, indeed, was the sword. To learn sword techniques, to build something from the ground up, to craft his own path where his old one had vanished. He already had a rough foundation, but he was still far, far away from what could be called mastery. He understood very well that there was a great difference between learning something and creating it from nothing. The journey ahead would be painful, exhausting, and uncertain. And if that sea truly symbolized his struggle, then steering a boat across it was no less than a deadly task, but he was determined to sail it regardless.
He stayed quiet for a while, lost in thought, then asked in a calm but slightly amused tone.
[Hey, brat.]
A long silence followed before an irritated voice shot back in his head.
[Who are you calling a brat?]
He sighed, sounding weary but a little bit amused.
[Who else but you, of course. Now tell me the truth, will you, my dear sister-in-law?]
Her tone softened slightly.
[What do you want to know?]
Kael rested his hand under his chin and let out a low chuckle.
[You can read people's minds, can't you?]
There was another silence, longer this time, before she answered in a normal tone.
[I can. What's the problem here? Didn't you already suspect that I could? It was obvious.]
Kael leaned his back against the cracked wall and let out a slow breath.
[I knew that much. But tell me something... do you really need someone to think about you in order to form a connection in their mind so that you can talk to them? Or was that just a lie?]
She lingered again, and when she spoke her voice was even, carrying a strange calm.
[It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either. To understand it properly, you'd have to know how my element really works. When someone thinks about me, I can feel it. It's difficult to explain in plain words, but it's somewhat like how you can sense a strong presence nearby without seeing it. The difference is, I feel those thoughts instead of sensing physical presence. Of course, I don't literally hear every thought of every person who thinks about me. If I did, my mind would have exploded already. You didn't think that, did you?]
Kael rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
[Actually... I did think that way.]
She should have laughed, but instead, her voice turned softer, almost reflective.
[In any case, when I sense those thoughts, I can choose to react to them or hear them more clearly. That's how I create an invisible link between two minds. Once that link forms, if I wish, I can listen to what the other person is thinking or talk to them in mind. But to create that connection in the first place, I have to feel their presence — their mental presence — first. That's all there is to it.]
Kael understood a little of it, though he was certain there were parts she was hiding or perhaps simply could not put into words. Still, his curiosity deepened.
[Then how exactly do you know the identity of the person from that thought alone?]
She was quiet for a moment before replying evenly.
[Oh, didn't I mention? I can also sense the nature of their thoughts... the emotions hidden within them. I can tell whether it's hatred, passion, desire, lust, fear, admiration, or even love. I can tell what they feel toward me, what they want from me, who admires me, who despises me, who pretends to be kind but isn't, and who truly sees me as a friend. I can see through them all. And, of course, I know what you think of me as well. And trust me, there isn't a single soul out there whose thoughts toward me are as pure as yours. How should I describe it... your presence feels like a pure white radiance.]
Hearing that, Kael chuckled and let her continue, though part of him already felt that was a mistake.
[Oh, that's exactly how I also knew you had no ill intentions toward my mother when you thought about how young she was.]
Kael would have tripped on his feet if he were standing or choked if he were eating, but at that moment he was doing neither. He was simply sitting there in disbelief, frozen as if struck by lightning.
[W-what? What kind of ill intention are you talking about?]
She lingered for a moment, the silence stretching long enough to make him feel a bit more irritated, and when she finally spoke again, there was a grin in her voice that only made it worse.
[Ah, there's actually no fun in teasing you when you don't know anything. Hey, I have an idea for you, why not buy a book about those things... I think there are countless books out there with vivid details, some even with pictures as well.]
Kael tilted his head slightly, not knowing how to respond to that. Should he really buy a book like that? When he was a kid, he used to read a lot of books, but somehow, as he grew older, that habit had quietly faded away, and now he barely even looked at them.
[No, thanks. I'm actually fine the way I am.]
She didn't answer right away, which could only mean she was disappointed, and Kael could tell that just from the faint silence between them. Still, he had no plans to get spoiled or rather ruined by his sister-in-law, since that would have been a disaster he did not wish to imagine.
Come to think of it, he had always wondered why every member of the Valthrone family was strange in their own way, except for Seraphina, of course. Nobles were supposed to be arrogant, proud, and full of themselves. He had thought that way; in fact, he had expected it. He believed that aside from the old man, all the other family members would surely hate him because who in their right mind would want a nobody, a weakling, a homeless commoner to be their son-in-law or brother-in-law?
He had prepared himself for insults about his background, his lack of family, and even his lack of money, but none of that ever happened. No one ever said a single thing about his origin. In fact, if he remembered correctly, none of them had even brought it up once. They just accepted him as he was. Even Seraphina, despite her sharp tongue, never mentioned anything about his background. It almost felt strange. Were all nobles like that, or was the Valthrone family simply different from the rest?
"I think the Valthrone family is the different one. Seraphina still hates me, and of course, that brat wants to get me divorced and marry her instead. Ah, I guess I really am a womanizer despite having such an ugly face."
After a long silence, she finally answered.
[Uh-huh.]
He fell silent for a moment, noticing that Seraphina had just arrived, and then something suddenly struck him.
[Wait, something doesn't add up. You told me you can sense the nature of thoughts that are aimed at yourself, so how come you knew what my thoughts about your mother were back then?]
She replied evenly, her tone carrying no hint of guilt or hesitation.
[Did I say something like that? Oh, it seems I can't remember... then, I must have just misspoken.]
Kael's brows twitched slightly.
[You... brat. So you can sense the nature of any kind of thought, regardless of who someone is thinking about.]
He could almost feel her grin through the air, even though there was no way to confirm it.
[Indeed. Do you know what that means? You were just thinking about my big sister. Want me to describe how pure your nature of thought toward her is? What you really feel toward her? Huh?]
Kael looked up at the sky where the half-moon bathed everything in its soft, dim light.
[No need. I already know what I think of her.]
She giggled playfully.
[Do you really? Ah, what a Tsundere you are. Who in the world thought of marrying two Tsunderes together... I think I'll grow old by the time you two finally realize the truth.]
Kael looked down with a confused expression and asked slowly.
[What's a Tsundere?]
She replied almost instantly.
[Oh, it's definitely nothing... forget I said anything.]
For a brief moment, his tone changed, becoming distant and more serious.
[Jokes aside, do you perhaps know a little thing or two about sword techniques?]
There was a short pause before her voice returned, now tinged with irritation.
[I do. Wait... what do you mean by 'a little thing or two'? I'll have you know that I'm the only one who inherited all of my father's sword techniques. For your kind information, that means I know everything there is to be known about them.]
Kael blinked a couple of times.
What did she mean by that? Who in the world had taught her the sword techniques of her family? He could not even imagine her holding a sword properly, let alone swinging one. The image alone was almost funny to picture.
[I can hear you... you know.]
He didn't respond, his mind drifting toward a different thought entirely. Something about what she had said earlier felt strange. Why did she claim to be the only one who inherited her father's sword techniques? What about Seraphina? Wasn't she supposed to inherit them as well?
Serelina's voice became quieter, as if she could sense the confusion forming in his mind.
[No, my big sister didn't inherit our father's techniques. In fact, he never trained her even once in his entire life. Not even how to hold a sword or how to feel one's mana. He never even bothered with her. I don't know why he did that, but he truly never taught her anything. When I think about it now, I feel like he made a terrible mistake with her... and knowing that, I even feel guilty about it sometimes.]
Kael froze for a moment.
That didn't make any sense at all.
If Seraphina had never been trained by her father, then how did she know sword techniques so well?
How was she able to master both sword and magic at the same time?
Was she self-taught?
Did she create all of those sword techniques by herself?
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(Chapter Ended)