Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls-Chapter 431: Passing Talk

The night wore on without them noticing.

The music changed a few times, but Kael had stopped keeping track of time. At some point, dancing ceased to be a challenge and became simply… natural. Eva no longer led; she followed. Sometimes she moved away, sometimes she moved closer again, as if testing the space between them just to confirm that it was still there.

When the moon was high, silvering the rooftops of Veirona, they moved away from the courtyard. The streets were emptier now. The lanterns swayed gently, and the distant sound of the sea mingled with the occasional echo of late footsteps.

Eva walked barefoot, her shoes dangling from the fingers of one hand. The red dress now seemed less imposing, more intimate, as if it had adjusted to the tranquil rhythm of the night.

Kael noticed… "Do you always walk like this?" he asked.

"Only when I don't need to run, fight, or kill someone," she replied. "Then… rarely."

He laughed. They walked in silence for a while, until they were near the shore again. The harbor was calmer, the ships swaying gently, masts creaking in an almost hypnotic rhythm. Eva stopped near a smaller pier, away from the busier areas, and sat on the stone edge, letting her feet almost touch the water.

Kael sat beside her. "What happens now?" he asked, not as if demanding an answer, but as if accepting any.

Eva watched the moon's reflection on the water before answering.

"Now… nothing urgent." She tilted her head, resting it on his shoulder. "And that's rare."

Kael felt her gentle weight against him and, instinctively, put an arm around her shoulders. Eva didn't comment. She just adjusted herself a little more, comfortable.

"I've been thinking about the future," he said after a while, "for some reason, I know things are going to get difficult soon, and I'm going to have to make big choices."

"I know." She commented, smiling slightly, "I know exactly what that feeling is." She smiled again, "That's why I asked you out on a date. It might be the first and last." Her words came out sad and tired.

Kael looked at the sky, "I understand… so this thing in the empire is worse than I imagined."

She simply nodded, her smile still slight, but her gaze serious enough to make it clear that this was no joke.

"I can't say," she explained calmly. "Simply because we have a soul pact. If I say anything beyond what I've already said, the Emperor will know instantly. And, in that case, I would be considered a direct enemy of the Empire." She shrugged, as if commenting on the atmosphere. "Depending on his mood… I could die instantly."

Kael felt his stomach clench, but Eva continued before he could react.

"Choosing to serve this kingdom has brought some side effects of that kind," she added, with a wry smile. "Still, I understand the description you gave. It's… strangely accurate."

They were silent for a while after that.

The wind continued to blow from the sea, carrying the salty smell and the constant sound of waves crashing against the rocks below the cliff. Kael kept his arm around Eva, but his mind was far away. Too many things were falling into place too quickly—kings gathered in the capital, pacts he didn't know about, secrets big enough to threaten people he cared about.

Eva.

Amelia.

Irelia.

Adalric.

The thought of any of them being in danger made something clench inside him.

Kael sighed, long and heavy, staring at the dark horizon.

"What a mess…" he murmured, before letting out a crooked half-smile. "Looks like I'll have to go see the Emperor after all."

Eva tilted her head, attentive.

"I really didn't want to meet that guy," Kael continued, now in a lighter tone. "But Amelia's aunt had practically forced me." He let out a short laugh. "And now you show up with all this soulmate drama, practically implying that I need to go there to understand what's going on… to help."

He glanced at her sideways.

"What a convenient coincidence, don't you think?"

Eva smiled, satisfied.

"I knew it would work," she said, without any remorse, laughing lightly.

Kael shook his head, defeated, and pulled her into a tighter hug.

"Manipulative," he murmured.

"Strategic," she corrected, settling against him.

After a few seconds, Kael spoke again, in an almost casual tone:

"Looks like I'll have to buy a house in the capital."

Eva pulled away slightly, just enough to look at him with a genuinely confused expression. "Buy?" he repeated. "Why?"

Kael blinked.

"Huh… to live in?"

She frowned, clearly trying to understand where he was going wrong.

"They didn't let you use the Eternal Moonlight Palace?"

Kael stood completely still.

"…What?"

He turned to face her, his face displaying such pure confusion it was almost offensive.

"What the hell is the Eternal Moonlight Palace?"

Eva blinked once.

Then again.

And again.

"…What?" she asked slowly, as if testing if she had misheard. "You came to the Empire… without knowing that your grandmother owns one of the most absurdly luxurious properties in the entire Kingdom?"

Kael opened his mouth.

Closed it.

"My… what?"

Eva stared at him for a few seconds, in absolute silence, until something broke inside her.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

She bent forward, laughing loudly, without any attempt to contain herself.

"No… it's not possible…" she said between laughs. "Dude… HAHAHA… how could you…" She took a deep breath, trying in vain to compose herself. "…how could you be so unprepared?! HAHAHA!"

Kael remained still, with the same blank expression, while Eva laughed as if she had just heard the best joke of the decade.

"You just came here," she continued, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes, "without asking anything? Without investigating? Without suspecting absolutely anything?" She pointed at him, still laughing. "You just thought: 'I'll go to the Ainsworth's house, I'll manage on my own,' and that's it?!"

She let out another laugh.

"That's incredible… irresponsible, but incredible."

Kael sighed deeply, crossing his arms.

"Is it over already?" "Would you please stop laughing at my misfortune and explain to me what palace this is?" she asked, with forced patience, as she tried to catch her breath.

Eva took a deep breath, still smiling.

"Ah, Kael…" she said, shaking her head. "Sometimes I forget that you are incredibly powerful… and absurdly uninformed." She leaned back beside him again, looking at the sea. "As I said, your grandmother has an incredible property here. Just go there and the witches who are there will recognize you and you can use the house; what a hassle buying things. Especially now, everything will be expensive if a war breaks out."

Kael let out a low laugh, almost a grumble, looking away at the dark sea ahead.

"Funny…" she murmured. "My grandmother. The same one who, by the way, is the Queen of Witches." He shook his head, incredulous. "She didn't say anything about that at all. No palace, no property, no witches waiting for me in the capital. She herself told me to come to the Empire, as if it were just… an irrelevant detail."

There was more than irony in his voice. There was that familiar feeling of always being two steps behind in a game that everyone seemed to know better than he did.

Eva watched him for a few seconds before laughing, a light, innocent, almost affectionate laugh.

"Of course she did," she said. "She always does that."

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"Does what?"

"Pushing you to the center of the board without explaining the rules," Eva replied, shrugging. "Ancient witches have this annoying habit of thinking that 'time' solves everything on its own. Spoiler: sometimes it does… sometimes it just makes everything more chaotic beforehand."

He let out a resigned sigh.

"Great. Perfect. I'm being tossed around by an immortal queen, a paranoid emperor, and soul pacts that can kill people if they talk too much." He glanced at her sideways. "My life was much simpler when I only had to survive the next day."

Eva smiled slightly.

"But also much more boring," she commented. "Admit it."

Kael didn't answer immediately. He just watched the dark water of the harbor, the broken reflections of the moon moving with the waves. After a few seconds, he nodded slightly.

"Yeah… maybe."

Eva rose from the edge of the pier with a calm movement, putting on her shoes without haste. Then she held out her hand to him.

"Come."

Kael took her hand and stood up.

"Where to?" he asked, more out of habit than genuine curiosity.

"A hotel," Eva replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Kael blinked. "A… hotel?" he repeated. "Why?"

She stopped walking and turned slowly to face him. Her face was completely neutral. No smile. No teasing. Just a blank, almost bureaucratic expression.

"Sex, of course," she said, without changing her tone. "We've already had a date."

Kael's brain took a few seconds to process.

"…Ah." Eva watched him, assessing every microexpression, until the corner of his lips curved slightly.

"Relax," she added. "You don't need to look like you're about to face an ancient dragon. It's just… an honest end to the night."

Kael let out a short, nervous laugh, running a hand through his hair. "You really don't mince words, do you?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I waste too much time measuring other things," she replied, already starting to walk again. "Your mother said your thing down there is big. She was bragging about having it all to herself. Seriously, a mother who gives her son everything she has, even sex, is too much." She spoke calmly, making Kael blush.

"W-wait, don't say things like that," Kael said, following her.

"Oh, were you listening? I hope you're in the mood, I'm going to destroy you." Eva said calmly, as if it were nothing.