Chapter 26: Esme’s Game
The explosion shook the sub-cellar with a deafening roar that vibrated through Esme’s bones. But the stone ceiling stayed intact. Instead, a thick cloud of dust, small pebbles, and crumbled mortar fell over the cage.
Eveyr’s dark magic pooled at his feet and flared violently, looking for an enemy to destroy. As the echoes of the blast faded, Eveyr’s mind quickly assessed the situation.
The Keep wasn’t falling apart. There was no follow up artillery, no sounds of boots marching towards the keep or war horns. The explosion wasn’t the beginning of an Imperial siege. It was a targeted strike against the Keep’s outer wards.
"Sylas," Eveyr snarled, his voice filled with venom.
Sylas was too clever to bring imperial army to his gates. He had used his escape to set a delayed magical detonator just to see Eveyr’s reaction time and breach his security.
Eveyr turned his gaze back to Esme. The cold calculation on his face made her stomach drop to her feet. She could clearly see what was going on his mind.
Eveyr was planning to leave her locked inside that heavily guarded cage while he went to hunt Sylas and bathe the capital in blood.
Esme’s heart raced. She knew that if he left her there, the system’s point starvation would resume. The moment he walked up those stairs, her vitality would again begin to reduce. And eventually, she would die quietly in the cage.
I have to speak up. I have to provoke him.
"Are you going to leave me in this cage while Julian throws bombs at our house, Your Grace?"
Esme didn’t cower. She stood up, brushing the dust off her robe as if she were merely inconvenienced, instead of being scared.
Eveyr froze, his eyes widening slightly. She had finally spoken.
"Or are we going to go upstairs and deal with him together?" Esme continued, lifting her chin to look down at him. "Because if you leave me down here like a forgotten toy while you play soldier, I will never speak another word to you again. And that’s a promise."
Eveyr was struggling. A brutal war raged in his eyes. The cage was his most beautiful creation. It was his sanctuary, the only place he felt completely sure she was safe from the world. But the thought of leaving her alone repulsed him.
If Sylas breached the courtyard, what else could slip through?
And Esme’s threat was the final blow. The pain of her silence for just a few hours was still lingering in his mind. He couldn’t bear it anymore.
Reluctantly, Eveyr turned to the cage door. He placed his hands on the silver bars and channeled his bloodline magic into the glowing runes of the door. The door swung open immediately.
Before Esme could even smile at her small victory, Eveyr grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her close to him.
"Walk with me," Eveyr ordered, almost threatening her. "If you leave my side by even an inch upstairs, Esme, I will create a collar right now and chain you to my belt. Do you understand?"
"I understand," Esme nodded, hiding her happiness.
I am finally out of the cage.!
They hurried up the spiral staircase, Eveyr shielding her behind him all the time. As they reached the ground floor, they realized the extent of the damage.
The explosion had blown a massive, jagged hole in the eastern wing’s courtyard wall. Dozens of Eveyr’s guards rushed into the courtyard with their weapons drawn, securing the area. But there was no one to fight. The attackers were long gone.
It was a hit-and-run tactic. Julian was intentionally provoking Eveyr. He wanted to push Eveyr into a reckless rage, wanting him to storm to the capital so he could declare him a rabid madman and execute him.
As they stepped beyond the range of the cage’s suppressing magic, the familiar red interface of the system flickered back into Esme’s vision.
[SYSTEM REBOOTING...]
[WARNING: Isolation Penalty is still Active]
[Host must engage with high tier targets to resume point generation]
Esme stared at the red text. She needed to escape this heavily warded Keep. She had to return to high society, to the dangerous politics of the Empire, to earn the points she needed to survive Eveyr’s obsession. Nothing had changed. It didn’t matter whether Eveyr knew her true identity or not.
Eveyr stood in the ruined courtyard, staring at the smoking rubble. The dark magic pooling at his feet began to rise, swirling around him like a hurricane. The ground cracked under his feet due to the weight of his wrath.
"I am going to kill him," Eveyr announced with so much fury that made his guards step back in fear. "I will march to the capital tonight and rip Julian’s heart out while his father watches."
He turned to summon his generals, completely ready to start a civil war. But before he could open his mouth, Esme stepped into his path to block him. She pressed her hand right over his pounding heart.
"You can’t," Esme said calmly.
Eveyr looked down at her with his jaw clenched.
"He attacked our home," he growled. " He attacked you."
"Can you prove it before the Emperor?" Esme asked. "Do you want to murder the crown prince without any proof? What do you think the consequences will be? You will only be the rabid traitor he claims you are."
"Proof?" Eveyr laughed coldly. "I don’t need proof."
"Exactly," Esme replied calmly. "And that’s why Julian wins. The moment you go there without proof, you become the madman he has spent years telling everyone you are."
Silence fell between them. She took another step closer and slid her hand up to his shoulder.
"You will walk into his Imperial Gala next week. You will walk into his ballroom with your wife he just tried to kill on your arm. Let him wonder why we aren’t retaliating. Suspicion is more dangerous than open war."
Eveyr’s magic paused. He stared at her, captivated by the cold, tactical cruelty in her eyes. It was the same modern cruelty he had summoned her for.
"We are not hiding in a cage, Eveyr, but we won’t be foolish to start a war without any proof," Esme whispered as a dangerous smile appeared on her lips.
