Chapter 49 – Public’s reaction [2]

"Is it true, father?" Keisha asked, her voice strained, standing in front of her father at his work desk buried under documents of every size and colour.

She was holding her Runic Phone, thrusting the screen in his face, showing him what was going viral on the Net, her silver eyes trembling lightly with disbelief.

Her father, Norman Silver, watched his daughter with a tired sigh from his pale lips, then loosened his suit to be more comfortable, already knowing she was about to give him a terrible headache over something that had been discussed a million times before.

"You have eyes, don’t you, Keisha?" He retorted, leaning back in his chair, his silver eyes locking onto hers. "What do you see?"

"But father," Keisha began, strands of silver hair falling over her restless face, "isn’t Cassius too young for marriage? Why so hasty? And isn’t the first daughter of Amaris too old for him? He... he..."

"Enough, Keisha." Norman cut off his daughter’s endless stammering. "Why are you even asking me this? Why are you troubling yourself with this at all?" He tapped his finger rhythmically on the icy surface of his desk. "We live in Desde City, yes. We once had a relationship with the Desdemona, yes. But not anymore, Keisha. Not anymore."

His eyes hardened, frost steaming from his mouth. "How many times must I repeat this? Don’t forget what they did. Don’t forget they let your mother die, indifferent to our pleas, indifferent to you, despite you being a close friend to that bastard."

"Don’t call him—!"

"I will call him whatever I please, Keisha." Norman grated, his voice so cold the silver-coloured room was frosting over, ice creeping up the edges slowly. "And I will not repeat myself on the subject of the Desdemona. We are too weak to do anything to them, I acknowledge that. But I want nothing to do with them. Not anymore."

He paused, looking at his daughter’s forlorn face, the features of his late wife so plain there that Norman almost softened, wanting to ease her pain.

He knew he shouldn’t. He had to be firm. Keisha was too gentle for her own good.

’My greatest mistake was letting you get close to that spawn of devils.’ He thought, clenching his jaw. ’But no more. You are the only one I have left. I cannot let you get closer to those monsters. They care about no one but themselves.’

He knew it all too well. But his daughter...

"This is my life, father." Keisha retorted, her face determined even as tears welled in her pure silver eyes. "And Cassius has done nothing wrong. Nothing! It’s his family, not him!"

"Have I fathered a fool, or am I hallucinating?" Norman said, exasperated. "Did that bastard come here to comfort you or even be with you when your mother died? Huh, Keisha? Answer me."

Keisha’s body trembled. She lowered her head, her hair falling like a silver waterfall. "He didn’t know, father." Her voice was shaking. "No one told him. I know that. Cassius was always gentle with me. He was there for me. I know him. And don’t call him a bastard. Cassius is my frie—!"

"He is not." Norman cut in. "Not anymore." He dragged an exasperated hand over his face, wondering where he had gone wrong.

Keisha pressed her lips together stubbornly, turned sharply on her heel, and walked toward the exit of her father’s office.

"Don’t make me increase your security, Keisha." Norman called after her. "Listen to me and stay out of the lives of those—!"

"He is my friend, father." Keisha didn’t wait for him to finish. She slammed the door behind her.

She ignored the angry sound that followed, walking through the corridors of her house, heels slapping the blue-carpeted floor.

Her mind drifted to when they were just children, when they were innocent, she and Cassius playing together endlessly.

She tightened her fist at those memories, her eyes flooding with sadness.

"How can you get married without telling me?" Keisha whispered, tears falling. "Am I... am I no longer your friend?"

The world blurred. She walked faster, heading straight to her room, her heart heavy with grief she didn’t know how to put down.

...

’Oh, would you look at this bastard.’ Klaus thought, and then, unable to stop himself, burst out laughing.

He was lying in the grass of his personal realm, hands behind his head, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, his toned body on full display.

Green grass stretched endlessly in every direction. The wind swatted his long green hair around, his black eyes curving with amusement.

"Is this actually real, Nao?" He asked the tall yellow-haired, dark-skinned maid holding the Runic Phone toward him, still grinning.

"Yes, Young Master." Nao replied respectfully. "Published directly on the Amaris and Desdemona’s personal Net pages."

"So that bastard Cassius is really marrying this woman?"

"Yes, Young Master."

"She looks older than us, doesn’t she?"

"She is a Third Year. Isolde Amaris of the Tier Three Amaris Family, ranked third in the Academy."

"Ohhhh." Klaus barked another laugh, teeth so white they looked artificial. "The bastard’s marrying a Tier Three? Is that because of that low Birthright Capacity I heard about?" He shook his head immediately. "No, no, no, no! That doesn’t make sense, Nao. The Desdemona are strong enough to get a Tier Two Family to agree. Especially with their ties to the Hood Royal Family."

"Ties," Nao added, "which are quite strained, from what we know."

"Which makes them even more interesting." Klaus shrugged. "Don’t you think?"

Nao smiled with quiet pride, looking at her young master. Klaus Silicin Handoff was unreasonable and arrogant most of the time, but he was no fool.

"Still," Klaus said, his smile threatening to collapse into more laughter, "I wonder how Natalia is taking this. Hahahah, that stupid girl. I bet she’s crying her eyes out. Good for her. And Keisha? That annoying little crybaby. Tsk. Stupid girls, both of them."

"And what about you, Young Master?" Nao said, straightening, watching him with a small smile.

"Me?" Klaus mirrored the smile, free and easy. "Isn’t it obvious? I don’t care. Though, now that you mention it, I have been thinking about something lately." He closed his eyes, lips spreading with mischief. "I’ve decided, Nao, that... I want to get married."

Nao suppressed a laugh. "And what are your criteria, Young Master?"

"Older than me."

"I thought you didn’t like older women, Young Master."

"Nao, we are human beings, alright? Beings of change. My taste has changed. Now go tell that to my mother and leave me alone. I was training and you interrupted me with that bastard’s love life. Who even cares about him?"

’Training or sleeping?’ Nao almost said, but she stopped herself.

She bowed, murmured a yes, and exited Klaus’s personal realm to deliver the message to his mother.

"Vorn’s cursed breath, now I’ve lost my sleep." Klaus complained, then cursed Cassius under his breath for the loss of it.

"Might as well actually train. I need to be ready for the Academy anyway." He muttered, not particularly motivated, aware that he no longer had Cassius to measure himself against.

"Useless bastard getting a wife instead of getting strong." He cursed his lost rival again, rising reluctantly, already promising himself to teach Cassius a lesson when they met in the Royal Capital.

On his feet now, Klaus looked up at the green sky rolling with clouds, and muttered:

"Windy."

Instantly, a green whirlwind erupted around him. A sweet voice rang out, and a small green fairy-like creature appeared, snuggling immediately into Klaus’s hair with unbridled affection.

"KLAUS!" The voice was ear-splitting.

"Don’t scream in my ears, damn it, Windy!"

"KLAUS!"

"Are you messing with me, you stupid spirit? Let me go find my father. I want to try the Bloodline Spirit Summon again."

"NO KLAUS! I AM SORRY!!!!!"

"THEN SHUT UP!"

—End of Chapter 49—