‘!!!’
Kael widened his eyes in shock as he saw the King standing in front of him. He was wearing black-red armor and had a bloodied sword in his hand.
He looked down at Kael with a cold, emotionless look on his face, completely opposite of how Kael would expect him to react if he saw his beloved daughter in this state. It was a sight that made Kael frown in confusion.
The Future Kael, however, was different.
The moment his eyes fell on the King, his anger flared up to a degree that Kael never thought was possible and then,
“You…”
He called out, his voice sounding similar to a demon.
“You will pay for this.”
Future Kael spoke, his voice laced with unbearable rage.
‘What…?’
Kael, who heard those words, frowned even more. He wasn’t a fool, his mind had already put two and two together, he just… didn’t wish to admit that the answer was four.
Not the King…
The King was one of the few people he had begun trusting, especially after the conversations he had with him this past week.
But,
“You will pay for what you did to my Lavinia!”
Kael raised his voice as he stood up.
“I swear it on her name…
I will tear you apart—limb by limb—until you beg for death!! I will make you regret being bo—”
Before the Future Kael could express all his anger, carry his sword, and rush towards the King to tear him apart,
“Haahh!”
Kael woke up.
The Vision ended.
“Father…?”
Igni, who woke up the moment he noticed something strange, called out with a worried look on his face.
His father’s breathing was ragged and he seemed a bit shaken. It worried Igni.
“Is everything alright?”
The Dragon questioned. At his voice, the rest of Kael’s children woke up as well, instantly noticing their father’s strange behaviour.
“It was the King…”
Kael, who had been denying the truth all this while, spoke it out loud.
“The King…?”
Igni frowned.
“The acceptable thing?”
Cirri tilted her head.
She had met that ‘thing’ more than a few times now, and since it had allowed her to always be by her Father’s side, she found that thing comparably more bearable than others.
“He… killed Lavinia, his daughter.”
“What…?”
Cirri’s expression changed.
“But didn’t the King love that girl?”
Igni tilted his head in confusion. It was a fact everyone knew, even Veylara seemed pretty sure about it. The King spoiled his daughter; more than once, the ministers had used it to their advantage, but the King loved the Princess so much that he just didn’t care.
Some say he always knew when his men tried to fool him using his daughter, he just let them go because he wanted Lavinia to stay happy.
Kael had heard about it thousands of times now; Elira and Arlan wouldn’t shut up about it. They sometimes even mentioned how jealous they were that Lavinia had such a loving father, while their mother was used to hitting them till their faces were all swollen.
Then how could the King, who loved his daughter so much… kill her?
“I do not know…”
Kael shook his head. His breathing had calmed down; his expression, however, was grim.
“I will never know, not in this place.”
He shook his head again, recalling everything that happened here ever since he got here. How the King welcomed him, how he bowed his head and sought his help, how his body trembled every time he talked about his daughter, Lavinia’s picture in his bedroom…
He recalled everything and clenched his fist in disgust.
“No one in this place can be trusted.”
He spoke out loud.
“Father…?”
Imperia called out, worried.
“We need to leave.”
Kael declared.
“What?”
Igni frowned, but Kael seemed sure about it.
“We need to leave.”
He repeated.
“This place is not safe. The person with the most power here is an enemy. He has not harmed us yet, but now that we know the truth, I do not know how long I can hide it.”
Kael had seen it with his own eyes. People here had an uncanny ability to read others’ thoughts, and while Veylara had been teaching him how to hide his expressions, he still needed time.
Time he did not have.
The King comes to meet him regularly ever since he found out about Cirri. Now that he knows the truth about him, it wouldn’t be hard for the King to read that from his expressions.
“Staying here will only be more dangerous from here on out.”
Kael muttered out loud.
The decision was final.
He was going to leave the Royal Palace.
“But Father, if you escape and the King is indeed the enemy, he will send men after you.”
Imperia pointed out.
“That is correct.”
Igni nodded as well.
“Father may be strong now, but there are still humans stronger than Father and… I am not strong enough to protect Father from everyone.”
The Fire Dragon lowered his head.
Kael patted his eldest’s head and smiled lightly,
“Don’t worry.
The King is powerful, yes, but he is not absolute.
He has an appearance to maintain, he cannot send people to hunt me, not without a proper reason.”
Kael had been to the Royal Council once, he had seen how much influence the King had, and he also somewhat understood how the power dynamic worked.
Now, he was going to use that power dynamic to his advantage.
With his thoughts strengthening in his mind, Kael walked out of the Sanctuary and returned to his room.
“Igni.”
He spoke out loud.
‘It is safe, Father.’
Igni answered, sensing no eyes on them.
Kael nodded, satisfied. He looked around, his once cosy room now felt like a cold prison—a prison he was going to escape from.
He walked towards his window and looked out.
It was around 4 at night. It was silent, the Moon was still out and shining brightly, not the best time to sneak out, but Kael was desperate.
He lightly opened the window and suddenly, his Aura flared up as his body started turning into Mist.
[Ascendent of the Ancient]
Yes, he had activated his trump card.