Kael sneezed, rubbing his nose. "Is someone talking behind my back?"

"Maybe you caught a cold," Lyria muttered, handing him a towel.

"Could be." Kael shrugged, wiping his face.

The others glanced at him who talked nonchalantly, then at Cedric, who was tied down and barely holding himself together.

Kael didn’t bother asking questions—he just beat him until the bastard pissed his pants twice. Kael found himself wondering where the hell he kept getting all that water from.

Handel stepped forward, nudging Cedric and pulling the rag from his mouth. "Talk. Why did you do this?" His voice was calm, measured.

"If you want to live, start speaking before that demon gets impatient," Vic added with a smirk.

Kael rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, I’m not that bad."

Cedric gasped for air, his whole body shaking. "I did it... because that old man wanted to pass everything to Stephen."

Kael raised a brow. "Stephen?"

Valen stepped in and spoke looking at Kael "Stephen is Lord’s second son. He’s in the Imperial Academy, training as a knight. Only the best get in. Even Princes can’t enter without passing the test."

Kael shot Valen a glare. "Where the hell are you looking, dickhead? Want me to snap your neck?"

"Do you really think he is a hot shot just because he went to the Academy?"

Valen paled. "No! No, I was just explaining."

Kael leaned back, nodding to himself. He had heard about the Imperial Academy more times than he could count. Every time someone looked down on him, it was always the same damn thing—he hadn’t trained there, so what could he possibly achieve? The way people worshiped that place made him sick.

Hearing again from Valen, made a mental note. He was going to wreck that damn Academy so badly no one would ever compare him to it again.

His gaze snapped back to Cedric. "So you did all this because you’re a worthless sack of shit who got jealous. Blah, blah, blah. Skip to the real part—who’s the group you’re working with? And what the hell is Ice Devil?"

Cedric twitched violently, fear seizing his body. "I... I don’t remember their names. A few months ago, some people approached me. They asked for my support and told me to cut supplies to the Northern Gate and to stop reinforcements. In return, they helped me curse people."

Kael’s eyes darkened. "That’s it? You sure you’re not holding back?"

"I swear!" Cedric nearly sobbed. "They said they’d contact me again after they took down the Monster of the North."

Kael frowned. "Monster of the North?"

"I don’t know whom they are talking about," Cedric spoke, trembling violently as he met Kael’s gaze.

Kael then looked only to see them shaking their heads.

Gare answered calmly, arms crossed. "He might mean the Northern Commander. An S-ranked warrior though I am not sure."

Kael turned back to Cedric. "Do you know how to cure the curse?"

Cedric’s lips trembled. "I-it’s not a curse. It’s a poison that slowly eats away life. But I used voodoo on my father along with... and I was going to do the same to you. I invoked the name of the Malefic Serpent God—the deity the Serpent Fang group worships to curse you and then I would use poison."

Kael’s patience was razor-thin. "Do you have the antidote?"

Cedric shook his head violently. "N-no! They said they’d give it to me after I became Lord!"

Kael clicked his tongue in irritation. "Tch! Do you at least know how to contact them?"

"No!" Cedric wailed, eyes darting around in terror.

"You don’t know this...You don’t know that..."

Kael sighed, running a hand down his face. But something in the way he exhaled made everyone freeze.

A deep silence prevailed, broken by Kael frightening murderous intent.

"Fucking hell." His voice was dangerously low.Then he snapped.

"Strip him naked and hang him from the Damned Fort of Sparves."

Gare hesitated. "My Lord... he’ll die."

Kael’s eyes burned with fury. "I don’t give a fuck if that motherfucker dies. Just do it before I lose my patience."

Cedric’s eyes widened in horror as he heard Kael’s judgment.

"No... no, please!" he screamed, struggling against the ropes that held him. "I-I can change! I’ll do anything! Just don’t hang me! Please, Lord Kael! Mercy!"

Kael felt disgusted and kicked Cedric brutally and scoffed,"You don’t give a shit of the people who worked for you and believed in you so how can I."His voice cracked as panic took over.

He squealed, high-pitched and pathetic, sounding more like a pig than a man. "Please! I’ll tell you everything! I’ll serve you forever! I don’t want to die like that!"

Kael didn’t even blink.

Valen stepped forward, unable to stay quiet.

"My Lord... maybe we can lock him up instead? Question him more later? Hanging him like that... it might be too much..."

Kael looked at Valen with a deadly gaze.

"Spare your breath, Valen. This punishment fits the crime. He poisoned his own father, tried to kill me, and let hundreds die cruelly without any remorse."

Valen swallowed hard, but said nothing more.

Kael’s voice dropped, calm and quiet, but deadly. "There’s a seventy percent chance the curse on the old Lord will weaken once the one who cast it dies. That’s good enough for me."

He turned his back to Cedric."Take him. Strip him. Hang him up by the city gate. "

"My Lord,dont be hasty," Gare shouted.

"Yeah, you are right?"Kael nodded with a thoughtful look and order.

"Let’s do a public execution then. It will appease the public and the bastards who question me later."

Cedric howled, thrashing in terror. "NOOOO!! PLEASE! I’M BEGGING YOU! I WAS USED! I WAS TRICKED! PLEASE!! DON’T DO THIS! I’M YOUR BROTHER’S SON!"

Kael didn’t look back.

"My Lord, you can’t.."Valen pleaded in shock and horror, feeling sorry for Cedric.

"SHUT UPPPPP!"Kael screamed.

"I don’t give a shit. And if I see you running your mouth again, I won’t hesitate to rip that neck of yours too."

He stomped his foot on the ground, the sheer force sending a loud, echoing boom through the room. Cedric let out a strangled cry, his body going limp from pure terror. No one dared to argue.

And with that, he walked away, his cloak dragging through the snow, leaving only silence behind except for the broken cries of a man who never imagined he’d fall so low.