Chronicles of Forgotten Extra-Chapter 312: Pieces on a Silent Board.

"I’m sorry, Seles... I’m so sorry." A blonde woman sobbed desperately as she clung to her daughter. "It was a mistake... something that never should have happened."

Seles looked down at her mother’s trembling form, her expression twisting as she spoke the truth between broken sobs.

Tch...

So he really is my father.

Her mother had been staying on the artificial island to watch Cedric participate, so meeting her and confirming Jeremy’s words hadn’t been difficult.

And yet... Seles still couldn’t understand one thing.

Why tell her now?

Was it truly some belated sense of fatherly love?

Or did Jeremy want something from her?

She wasn’t naïve enough to believe that a man as cold and calculating as Jeremy would reveal something like this without reason. She couldn’t understand his true intent and that made her more frustrated than ever but if he really planned to stage a coup... if he truly intended to replace the Emperor... Then that would benefit her as well.

If Jeremy became Emperor, then Seles as his daughter would gain far more power than she ever could otherwise.

Then there was the technique he promised to give her as well and all she had to do for that was to kill a single person.

With those thoughts swirling in her mind, she turned and walked back toward her room, leaving behind her mother, still crying and begging her not to tell anyone.

Seles didn’t look back.

...Pathetic.

The moment she entered her room, Seles activated her ManaSync and made a call.

"Prepare the highest-grade soul contract you can find." She said quietly.

The response came without hesitation."Yes, Ma’am."

She ended the call immediately.

Even if Jeremy was her biological father, Seles knew one thing better than most, betrayal hurt the most when it came from one’s own blood and she had no intention of taking that risk.

—

Meanwhile, back in the stadium, Lucien stared at his opponent, though his gaze kept drifting toward the spot where Seles had been seated when he entered.

But she was nowhere to be seen now.

He bit his lip.

Half an hour had already passed since the battle began and he hadn’t attacked even once as he had been waiting, hoping she would return so he could show how much he had grown stronger.

But now... he knew for sure.

She was ignoring him.

Did I do something wrong?

His opponent kept attacking relentlessly but not a single blow landed as Lucien was simply too fast, being always one step ahead and just out of reach.

Finally, as the boy lunged at him again, Lucien moved. He didn’t draw his spear. Instead, he stepped in and drove his fist straight into the opponent’s solar plexus.

The third-ranked student from Horizon Academy was launched backward like a ragdoll, slamming into the mana barrier with a deafening roar before his body was teleported away to a healer.

The announcer looked at Lucien for a brief moment before raising his voice. "Lucien Celestrian is the winner."

The words had barely left his mouth before the arena exploded into cheers. Cameras flashed endlessly, capturing every angle of him and girls screamed his name, some openly fawning while others blushing as they watched him leave the platform but Lucien felt none of it.

In this sea of noise and false admiration, he searched for only one person who felt real to him in this world.

Seles.

But she wasn’t there.

Just then, his gaze paused as seated within the audience was a crimson-eyed boy, looking at him with faint amusement. His expression was calm and indifferent but the way he looked at Lucien carried complete disregard as if Lucien stood beneath him.

Lucien clenched his jaw.

I’ll show you your place... by the end.

The thought appeared with quiet resolve and there was still one more person he hadn’t forgotten.

His twin sister.

Amyra.

She was the one who had injured Seles before the tournament, stripping her of the chance to participate in the tournament.

He had already sworn it to himself that day.

Whatever pain Seles had suffered... Amyra would repay it tenfold.

And he intended to keep that promise.

With those thoughts, he walked out of the arena, going back to his accommodation to train.

—

Meanwhile, seated among the audience, Alden watched the white-haired prince disappear from his sight.

Yeah... that guy is already far gone.

He had been observing the match for the past thirty minutes and throughout it all, he couldn’t miss the way that pathetic simp kept glancing toward the spot where Seles had been at the beginning.

Before, Alden might have thought there was still a sliver of hope for the guy at redemption but after seeing that behavior... even that thought evaporated.

Just then, someone tugged lightly on his sleeve.

Alden turned.

Nyx was sitting beside him, dressed casually in a white shirt and blue jeans. Her blue eyes were fixed on him with quiet determination, though her stiff posture and nervous expression made it look like she was preparing herself for a bloody battlefield.

"I’ll go back now." She said mechanically as she stood up and then she paused, meeting his eyes once more. "Remember... dinner at Silver Dream Restaurant at eight o’clock tonight."

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Alden staring after her for a moment longer than he intended.

Alden, still seated, let out a quiet sigh.

He had promised to have dinner with her but more than that, he felt like he needed to clear the awkward tension hanging between them.

Just when he thought he had finally gotten closer to Nyx after the day when she cried, she had suddenly become strangely formal and awkward around him.

Alden wasn’t stupid and he knew exactly what that usually meant.

Either...

She was in love with him.

Or...

She was just embarrassed about breaking down in front of him that day.

Both possibilities made things complicated in their own way but in any case, one thing was certain that tonight, he was going to ask her directly.

With that thought in mind, he also got up to leave as most of the interesting matches were over and all his other friends had left as well.