Chapter 140: Chapter 138
The twins immediately shook their heads.
"No."
"Absolutely not."
"We suddenly lost interest."
"Completely lost interest."
"As a matter of fact, who is Miss Blanca?"
"I’ve never heard that name before."
"Sounds fictional."
"Very fictional."
Before Gawain could decide whether murder was worth the paperwork, a familiar voice echoed through the hallway.
"Gawain Delacroix."
The darkness vanished instantly, the shadows crawling across the walls retreated, the pressure suffocating the corridor disappeared, and even the twins visibly relaxed.
Gawain turned around to see at the end of the hallway standing was a tall man dressed entirely in black.
His lips immediately curved into a polite fake smile.
"Kayden Cartiere."
The twins took several steps backward, not because they feared Kayden, they feared being caught between these two.
That was a completely different category of danger.
"I’m surprised you managed to find us before I could devour these two."
The twins looked offended.
"That’s rude."
"Very rude."
"We’d taste terrible."
"Extremely terrible."
Neither man acknowledged them.
Kayden studied Gawain for a moment then smiled faintly. "I’m guessing you finally found your sister."
For the first time, Gawain’s smile twitched.
"Why are you still asking about that?"
His voice remained pleasant.
"You already know I retired because I wanted to find my sister."
The twins exchanged a glance.
Uh oh.
Family topic.
This was getting dangerous again.
Kayden nodded. "I’m also guessing you noticed that I’ve already met her."
Silence.
The twins immediately took another step backward.
Then another.
Just to be safe.
Gawain’s smile finally disappeared. "Don’t you ever think about hurting her."
Kayden looked genuinely puzzled.
"Why would I hurt her?"
The tension eased before Kayden smiled.
"...Brother-in-law."
Gawain snorted before he let out a single laugh.
"You’re the most ruthless, cold-blooded man I know—"
Bang!
One second Kayden was standing normally. The next, Gawain had him pinned against the wall as cracks spread across the stone behind him.
The twins immediately hid behind a decorative pillar.
That’s not their problem anymore.
Gawain leaned closer. "Say what?"
Kayden didn’t even flinch. If anything, he looked amused.
"Brother-in-law."
The smile on his face widened slightly then, without warning, Kayden drove a kick straight into Gawain’s stomach.
Boom!
Gawain was launched backward as the wall behind him exploded, dust filling the hallway while the twins screamed and dove behind another pillar.
"THEY STARTED!"
"THEY ACTUALLY STARTED!"
Gawain stepped out of the debris completely unharmed, his expression blank now.
"Touch me again," Kayden straightened his coat. "And the next thing that disappears will be your head."
Gawain rolled his shoulders. "And here I thought retirement made me less violent."
"You were never less violent."
"Fair point."
Gawain narrowed his eyes. "Explain."
Kayden raised an eyebrow. "Explain what?"
"Why you called me brother-in-law."
"Because," Kayden said casually, "if everything goes according to plan..."
The twins already knew they weren’t going to like this.
"...your sister is eventually going to become part of my family."
The entire hallway shook as the twins immediately turned around and started running.
"NOPE."
"NOT STAYING FOR THIS."
"GOOD LUCK."
"WE’RE TOO YOUNG TO DIE."
Fortunately for the academy, Gawain eventually managed to restrain himself although the damage had been done.
The walls were still cracked, few windows were broken, and one unfortunate decorative plant had ceased to exist.
Several minutes later, the twins cautiously peeked around the corner.
Seeing that neither Gawain nor Kayden was actively trying to kill the other, they slowly returned.
"Let me guess you’re one of my sister’s mates?"
"I am."
Kayden frowned when he finally processed Gawain’s words.
"What do you mean one of your sister’s mates?"
For a second, Gawain stared at him before his shoulders started shaking.
"Hahahahaha!"
It was the kind of someone else’s life is becoming a disaster and I’m enjoying it laugh.
The twins looked horrified.
They had seen Gawain calm, angry, murderous, destroy entire organizations but they had never seen him laugh this hard.
"Poor you! Hahahaha!"
Kayden’s expression darkened. "What is so funny?"
Gawain pointed at the twins. "Those two." Then he pointed at him. "Especially YOU hahaha!"
The twins froze.
"What?"
"What did we do?"
Unfortunately, that only made Gawain laugh harder.
"Poor bastards."
Kayden’s eye twitched. "Explain."
Gawain finally managed to straighten himself.
"Unfortunately..."
His grin widened.
"...my lovely sister doesn’t feel that stupid mate bond."
Kayden’s expression remained calm. "What do you mean she doesn’t feel it?"
"Exactly what I said."
Gawain folded his arms.
"Not with you."
He held up one finger.
"Not with the fox."
A second finger.
"Not with the dragon."
A third finger.
"Not with anyone."
The twins immediately started laughing.
"Oh that’s tragic."
"Absolutely tragic."
"Imagine finding your mate."
"And your mate doesn’t even know you’re her mate."
"Or care."
"Or feel anything."
The twins high-fived.
Kayden slowly turned towards them.
The laughter died instantly.
"Continue."
"No thank you. We’re done talking."
Gawain looked entirely too pleased.
For the first time in years, someone else’s situation was more complicated than his own and he was enjoying every second of it.
"Let me guess."
He smirked at Kayden.
"You felt the pull."
"..."
"You instantly knew."
"..."
"You’ve been trying to figure out why she didn’t react."
Kayden remained silent.
Gawain’s grin widened. "I knew it."
The twins were openly laughing now.
"That’s brutal."
"The rejection happened before the confession."
"Before she even knew there was a confession."
"That’s advanced rejection."
"Elite-level rejection."
"Legendary rejection."
A dagger suddenly embedded itself into the wall between their heads.
The twins immediately stopped laughing.
"Understood."
"Very sensitive topic."
Gawain, meanwhile, looked happier than he had all day.
"Welcome to the club."
Kayden narrowed his eyes. "The club?"
"The club of men whose entire emotional stability depends on my sister."
Before Gawain could answer, movement at the end of the hallway caught everyone’s attention.
Three figures were approaching.
The moment Gawain saw who they were, his smile became positively demonic.
"Oh."
He folded his arms.
"Speaking of members..."
Varek took one look at the destroyed hallway and nearly had a heart attack.
Again.
At this point, it was becoming a daily occurrence.
"Gawain?"
He pointed at the destruction surrounding them.
"What..."
His eye twitched.
"...happened?"
Nobody answered.
Varek slowly turned in a circle.
The farther he looked, the worse it became.
"The other side of the academy isn’t even finished being repaired yet!"
His voice rose.
"Now THIS side is in ruins too?!"
Silence.
Varek looked seconds away from retirement.
"I’ll pay for the damages."
Everyone turned towards Kayden.
Varek’s face immediately paled. "Why are you still here?"
The question came out much faster than intended.
Kayden raised an eyebrow. "To visit Miss Blanca."
Silence.
Kayden, Soren, and Vesphyr stared at one another.
Before either of them could speak, Gawain casually stepped forward. "What brings you here, Principal?"
Varek looked like a man being forced to choose his own execution method.
"Well..."
He laughed nervously.
"General Soren and Duke Vesphyr wanted to check how Miss Blanca is—"
Gawain’s eyes narrowed. "Family members are only allowed visitation privileges."
"Those two," he glanced at Soren and Vesphyr. "Including this one," he pointed at Kayden. "Are clearly not family."
"Besides," Gawain continued, "visiting students in their dormitories is prohibited."
Varek started sweating. "Well, you see—"
"No."
"But—"
"No."
"Perhaps—"
"No."
Varek looked ready to cry.
Refusing these three was terrifying and agreeing with Gawain was also terrifying. His career was somehow being held hostage from both directions.
"Please escort these distinguished guests out, Principal."
Gawain smiled.
"Before I kick them out myself."
"GAWAIN DELACROIX!"
Varek immediately pointed at him.
"These are still guests!"
"Oh, Principal," Gawain looked wounded as he placed a hand over his chest. "I was simply joking."
No one believed him.
The man was about as convincing as an assassin claiming he was just borrowing a knife.
Gawain sighed dramatically.
"Although..."
His gaze swept over the three men.
"I do wonder what My Lady would think if any of them laid a hand on me."
All three froze.
Gawain’s smile widened slightly.
"If you’ll excuse me," he continued pleasantly, "I still need to prepare Miss Blanca’s dinner and make sure she gets proper rest before our combat examination."
He turned toward Varek.
"I hope the guests are gone by then, Principal. Have a wonderful day."
His footsteps disappeared down the hallway.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
The moment Gawain was completely gone, the three men looked at one another.
The twins immediately grabbed popcorn from somewhere.
"It’s starting."
"The actual fight."
Soren was the first to speak.
"It’s a surprise seeing you walk around after disappearing for almost a decade, Duke."
Vesphyr crossed his arms. "That’s thanks to Blanca."
There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in his answer which irritated Soren.
"Who are you to Blanca?"
"Client." Vesphyr smiled. "So why is the empire’s most famous general looking for a woman when he’s supposedly already engaged?"
The twins gasped.
"Oh."
"Direct hit."
Soren’s expression didn’t change but Varek visibly stepped backward.
"I didn’t know the Duke was gullible enough to believe gossip."
Soren’s smile was equally dangerous.
"Besides."
His gaze sharpened.
"I’m Blanca’s benefactor."
The twins looked between them.
"Oh no."
"They’re measuring titles."
"That’s never a good sign."
"Very primitive behavior."
Soren and Vesphyr shifted their gazes towards the last person.
Kayden had remained silent the entire time.
Vesphyr narrowed his eyes. "So why is the leader of RU-108 District here?"
Soren folded his arms. "You decided to visit Blanca too?"
Kayden looked mildly uncomfortable. "I wasn’t here for her at first."
Soren and Vesphyr exchanged a glance.
"So who are you to her?"
"..."
Kayden couldn’t answer.
What exactly was he supposed to say?
Potential mate?
Not officially.
Future husband?
Too early.
The man who accidentally discovered she was his mate and then spent the rest of the day having an existential crisis?
Probably not.
So he answered them with silence.
The twins finally couldn’t take it anymore.
"He genuinely doesn’t know."
"The man has no title."
"No position."
"No relationship."
"No progress."
"He hasn’t even started and he lost."
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