Chapter 29 – Heirs' Meeting [2]
The three carriages arrived at the same time—like fate itself was directing the scene.
One by one, the heirs stepped out. Each one different. Each one striking. Beauty carved its own way into them—unique, unforgettable.
Nuke stood waiting, a gentle smile stretched across his lips. The kind of smile that made you believe he was the happiest man you'd ever meet.
That kind of smile.
"Hello," he said, voice smooth. "I'm Nuke Cerveau, heir of the Cerveau Family. The one who invited you all here for this little meeting."
He paused, eyes scanning them like pages in a book.
"Meris Elamin, heiress of the Elamin family," Meris said with nonchalance—calm voice, cool eyes. But those eyes kept flicking toward one person.
Kaden.
'Those eyes... 'Her heart skipped. Blood-red, deep and haunting. Stunning in a way only something violent could be.
Beautiful in the same way blood is beautiful when it splashes warm across your skin.
Bloody beautiful.
"Rea Thornspire, heiress of the Thornspire family. It's a pleasure," Rea said next—polite, composed, precise.
But behind her calm voice, her gaze was locked on Kaden too.
Not because of fascination. Neither of attraction.
It was shock.
Her face stayed smooth outwardly but her mind didn't.
Then came Kaden's turn.
And here's the thing—
"Kaden Warborn. Youngest child of the Warborn Family," he said, voice low but steady.
He wasn't the heir.
Kaden was just the youngest and spoiled child of the Warborns.
But did that mean he stood beneath the others?
Hell no.
He smiled softly and added, "Also known as the Child of Blood."
And as he said it, his red eyes gleamed—like the name stirred something wild inside him.
Meris was caught.
Couldn't stop staring.
Couldn't look away.
'He..he is really handsome,'she thought, lips curling with interest.
Nuke watched all of it unfold, eyes far too sharp for someone so young.
He saw Meris's curiosity. Rea's inner jolt. The tension beneath their frozen expressions.
He saw how Meris carried herself—like excitement was the only thing worth chasing, and everything else was noise.
Rea moved like still water. Quiet. Controlled. Calculated.
And Kaden?
'Just like I thought,' Nuke mused, smiling warmly as his thoughts turned colder.
"Please," he said, gesturing toward the doors. "Follow me. Let's continue inside."
...
They sat around a round table. Food already served—steam rising, scent rich enough to make a starving man sob.
But no one cared about the food.
Nuke didn't speak. Didn't try to play host. Hr just watched.
What a lousy fucking host.
But Meris didn't care. She leaned forward and spoke to Kaden like they were long time friends.
And Rea?
Rea's mind was screaming.
Because of her origin skill, the one that let her see fear.
She couldn't read Nuke. Couldn't read Meris. Something blocked her.
'Artifacts,' she thought grimly. 'Of course. So they know about my origin...'
But Kaden?
Kaden wore nothing to block himself.
No enchantments. No relics. No charms.
Maybe it was arrogance—the Warborn kind that bled into everything they did.
Or maybe... maybe it was because she was his fiancée.
But still. If he wasn't hiding his fears—
Why couldn't she see anything?
Nothing at all.
No fear of death.
No fear of failure.
The two most common fears, she saw in everyone.
She was sure even Nuke and Meris had them.
But Kaden?
Only one thing surfaced.
The fear of being scolded by his mother.
Maybe slapped around by his sister.
That was it.
'How is that possible...?' Her heart thudded in her chest.
'Such... ordinary fears? From someone like the Child of Blood?'
It didn't make any sense.
And yet... it fascinated her.
"What's your origin?" Meris asked suddenly, her silver eyes gleaming. She leaned in closer, her voice playful.
The question cut through the room like a whip.
Rea froze. Even Kaden blinked.
That wasn't the kind of question you asked a stranger.
"Do you really want to know?" Kaden asked, his voice calm, but stripped of all the warmth he used with family.
This wasn't the little brother anymore.
This was the Child of Blood.
Meris didn't even flinch, her smile became even more playful, " Yes, of course."
Kaden tilted his head, then turned—slow and deliberate—toward Rea.
Their eyes met for the first time.
Ruby-red and blood-red.
And just like that, Nuke sensed something.
And Kaden proved him right.
"What do you think, Rea?" he asked, soft smile still on his face. "Should I tell her?"
Like they were old friends.
Like this wasn't their first meeting.
No hesitation. No shame.
Rea blinked.
She should've been thrown off. And she was—just a little.
But instead of pushing her away... it pulled her in deeper.
She smiled.
Then turned to Meris.
"Lady Meris, I don't think it's proper to ask someone's origin when you've just met them."
Meris tilted her head, annoyed, just about to retort—
But Nuke, who had been eating with slow, perfect grace, finally spoke.
"You two seem to know each other," he said.
Rea answered instantly.
"Yes. We're engaged."
Silence.
Then Nuke looked up, eyes flicking between the two of them.
He was surprised.
Genuinely surprised.
Because even his family didn't know this.
And his family had spies everywhere.
'This... this is interesting' he thought, eyes gleaming behind the warmth of his practiced smile.
Because that was the point of this entire meeting.
Not alliances. Not peace. Not friendship.
Observation.
To see how they moved.
Who they gravitated toward.
How they responded when poked.
He hadn't seen that last one yet.
But he would...soon.
He smiled again, that same harmless smile.
The kind that whispered I couldn't hurt a fly.
But then—
"The famed Child of Blood," he said softly, "of the illustrious Warborn... engaged to the heiress of a fallen house?"
He smirked.
Eyes cold under the mask.
"How... curious."
—End of Chapter 29—