Chapter 25
After watching Eldern vanish down the corner, Elyra bolted, her small shoes slapping a frantic, uneven rhythm against the polished marble floor. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Each hurried step shattered the quiet evening silence of the estate hallway as she fought desperately to close the distance. Ahead of her, Eldern's retreating figure continued down the corridor toward his quarters, marching forward without slowing, without a single hesitation, and without glancing back.
The sight twisted her chest into a agonizing knot. For reasons she couldn't fully articulate, watching him walk away like that felt as though a vital piece of her soul was being ripped away, slipping further out of reach with every second that ticked by.
Not this time...
I won't let him go.
"Eden!"
Her voice rang out through the corridor—desperate, fragile, and breaking entirely on the final syllable.
Eldern froze. His foot hovered mid-step.
Slowly, agonizingly, he spun around. "Wha—"
The words choked in his throat as his eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated shock.
Elyra had collapsed onto her knees, her tiny frame trembling uncontrollably as she pitched forward against the floorboards. Hot, heavy tears streamed down her cheeks in an unceasing flood, her face twisted in such raw, desolate anguish that it looked as though her entire universe had just collapsed.
"Young Lady!" Sasha shrieked, sprinting forward with her heart in her throat. The two nearby royal guards reacted with military speed, closing the distance instantly. "Young Lady, are you hurt?" one blurted out in a panic, while the other echoed, "Are you alright?!"
But Elyra heard none of them. Or perhaps she simply didn't care. Through her tear-blurred vision, her sapphire eyes remained locked onto a single target: Eldern.
The moment she saw him standing there, frozen in remorse, Elyra scrambled back to her feet, shoving away the hands reaching out to steady her. She nearly tripped over her own skirts in her frantic rush, hurtling across the gap with fresh tears pouring down her flushed cheeks.
"Eden!"
Her voice cracked, trembling violently as she threw herself forward. "I'm sorry!"
More tears spilled over her lashes. "Eyya is sorry!"
She didn't even know what she was apologizing for. Had she crossed a line? Had she offended him somehow? She had no earthly idea. But if whispering an apology was the magic spell required to keep him from leaving, she would chant it a thousand times over.
"Don' weave Eyya…"
Her voice dissolved completely, trailing off into a pitiful, broken whisper.
Eldern's heart clenched with the force of a physical blow, a suffocating wave of guilt crushing down on his chest. Without an ounce of hesitation, he broke into a run, his small boots pounding against the floor as he met her halfway. The instant he reached her, he wrapped his arms tightly around her small frame, pulling her into a fierce, desperate embrace.
"I'm sorry," he choked out, his voice shaking.
Elyra trembled against his chest, her tears soaking directly through the fabric of his tunic. "Why awe you ignowing me, Eden?"
The question was soft, but the raw hurt hidden beneath it pierced straight to his core. "Did I do somethin' bad to you?"
Eldern shook his head frantically. "No."
"Den why?" Fresh moisture welled up in her eyes. "Why do you wan' to weave me?"
All the bottled-up confusion, fear, and sorrow she had fought against all day finally breached her defenses, spilling over in an uncontainable wave.
Eldern hesitated, a faint blush creeping up his neck. "M-Mama."
Elyra blinked through her tears, momentarily derailed. "...Mama?"
Eldern swallowed hard, his guilt catching in his throat. "This is all because of Mama."
Several hours earlier...Near Natle Village, Valdwess Region...
Elina had gently cupped Eldern's flushed cheeks, offering a warm, conspiratorial smile. "Eldern, your little sister still loves you more than anyone. If you don't believe me..."
When the boy still wore a look of stubborn doubt, Elina leaned in close, bringing her lips to his ear. "There is one very simple way to find out."
"Just ignore her for a little while."
Eldern's eyes had gone wide.
Elina had continued smoothly, as if suggesting a game of tag. "Let's see what she does when you aren't constantly right beside her."
Back to the present...
Eldern tightened his arms around Elyra, holding her as though terrified she might evaporate into thin air if he loosened his grip by a millimeter. "I will never leave you," he whispered fiercely against her hair.
Carefully, he reached up with his small hands, gently wiping away the remnants of her tears. "I'm sorry, Elyra."
Elyra sniffled, her cheeks burning red and her eyes swollen from crying, but she didn't push him away. Instead, she buried her face deeper against his chest, letting the familiar, comforting warmth wash over her and anchor her racing heart.
This damn kid... Elyra grumbled inwardly, her overwhelming sense of embarrassment beginning to elbow out the panic and grief that had just drowned her.
At that exact moment, Elina and Damnern rounded the corner. Both of them stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing Eldern cradling a tearful Elyra.
Elina blinked twice, then slowly, deliberately, offered Eldern a sly wink.
A wink that translated to a very clear message: See? Mama was right.
Elyra caught the exchange instantly. Her eyes narrowed into lethal slits, shooting a glare so sharp and venomous it could have pierced steel straight toward Elina.
Elina instantly began to whistle, staring up at the ceiling molding and pretending she had absolutely nothing to do with the unfolding disaster.
Slowly, Elyra's glare shifted sideways toward Damnern.
Damnern froze, breaking out into a cold sweat. Why am I suddenly in the crosshairs?!
Elyra felt her face incinerate from the inside out. The brutal realization hit her full force: I just lost my composure and cried like a baby in front of an audience over my brother.
Her legendary dignity had been thoroughly executed, dragged through the dirt, and set on fire.
What are you staring at? Elyra clicked her tongue sharply in sheer mortification. "Tch."
Damnern blinked, utterly bewildered. "W-What did Papa do?"
Elina immediately reached over, clapping Damnern gently on the shoulder with a sympathetic, encouraging smile—the exact kind of smile one offers a condemned man marching bravely toward the gallows.
Damnern frowned. "Hey—why am I catching strays?"
From a few paces down the hall, one of the royal guards finally lost his battle for composure.
"Hahaha—!"
"E-Eiler!" Sasha hissed, swatting at his arm in a panic.
The guard coughed violently, his face turning purple as he tried to swallow his amusement. "S-Sorry—HAHA—!"
Damnern stared at him with deadpan, terrifying neutrality. "Is my misery humorous to you?"
"N-No, Count Damnern!" the guard stammered, snapping rigidly to attention. "W-We'll take our leave now!"
Moments later, the sound of muffled, hysterical laughter echoed down the stairwell as the guards made a tactical retreat. Damnern's eye twitched with murderous intent. He didn't even need to guess who was funding their amusement; Elina was still covering her mouth, shoulders shaking with silent giggles. After everything that had transpired over the past twenty-four hours, his paternal dignity had unquestionably suffered the most catastrophic damage of all.
With a soft, affectionate sigh, Elina stepped forward, opening her arms and pulling both children into a warm, encompassing hug—draping one arm over Elyra and the other over Eldern. The gentle, familiar embrace enveloped them, sweeping away the lingering tension as though a storm had finally broken. In that quiet stillness, the air felt right again, sliding smoothly back into its natural rhythm.
"Well then, Elyra..." Elina murmured softly after a moment.
Elyra tilted her head back, peering up through tear-swollen lashes.
Elina's lips curved into a mischievous, teasing smile. "Between Ryker and Eldern..." She dragged out the pause deliberately. "Which one of them would you choose?"
The question hit Elyra like a physical slap. What kind of ridiculous psychological warfare was this? She stared at her mother, completely dumbfounded.
Ryker is nothing more than an information asset to cultivate for the future, she reasoned sharply, whereas Eldern is... Her mental gears hitched briefly before settling into absolute clarity. Eldern is the one I swore to shield.
"Of couwse I choose Eden."
The declaration was instantaneous, devoid of even a microsecond of hesitation. To Elyra, that equation had never possessed a second variable.
Hearing the absolute conviction in her voice, Elina's smile melted into something infinitely tender. She turned her gaze toward Eldern.
The boy stared down at Elyra, every trace of his earlier insecurity, jealousy, and toxic doubt evaporating like morning mist. The hollow ache in his chest vanished, replaced by the quiet certainty he had been desperately craving.
"I'm really sorry, Elyra," Eldern whispered again, his voice carrying a new depth of sincerity.
Elina mirrored his posture, bowing her head in theatrical remorse. "Mama is deeply sorry, too, little princess."
"Mama never imagined you would cry this much," she added, her tone filled with tender apology.
Elyra crossed her tiny arms over her chest, trying her best to maintain a stern, offended front. "Fine. But don' you ever do dat again."
"Okay," Eldern agreed instantly.
"Okay," Elina echoed right beside him in perfect synchronization.
Elyra gave a proud, stiff nod. Justice has been served.
Beneath the surface of her stoic exterior, however, a quiet crisis was raging. My dignity is dead. Please bury it.
She wanted nothing more than to dissolve into thin air and never be seen again. She had broken down in howling tears simply because a nine-year-old boy gave her the cold shoulder.
Damn this child's body, Elyra cursed inwardly, for the hundredth time lamenting how thoroughly hormones and immature neural pathways sabotaged her adult emotional fortitude.
At that exact moment—
"Papa is sorry too—" Damnern chimed in, attempting to clumsily insert himself back into the family reconciliation circle.
Before he could finish his sentence, Elyra whipped around, her sapphire eyes suddenly locking onto him with a strange, intense gleam.
Damnern's internal alarm bells screamed at top volume.
Over the past few days, amid the syndicate raids and royal escorts, she had been forced to witness her own helplessness far too many times. Her expression hardened into grim, unyielding determination. She had sworn an oath to grow stronger—strong enough to shield Elina and Eldern, strong enough to never again be crippled by her own weakness or paralyzed by the terror of abandonment.
And there was only one path forward that could forge her into the weapon she needed to become.
Training.
Her unblinking gaze remained riveted on Damnern.
Damnern felt a cold sweat break out across the back of his neck.
"Pa... pa..."
"E-Eyya wan' to twain too."
The declaration dropped into the hallway—small and slightly trembling, yet carrying the weight of an absolute decree.
A heavy, stunned silence swallowed the corridor, settling over the space with a sudden, suffocating gravity that no one dared to break.
To be Continued...