Chapter 77: The Warsaw Crisis
Asher walked inside the room, his gaze never leaving Sara, who walked back to her bed, sat down and started reading again. The sheer discipline she possessed to instantly return to a state of absolute calm fascinated him.
’Seriously, what’s in that book? Now I am getting curious.’ He thought.
For the last weeks they had lived together, Sara was always with that book; it wasn’t even huge, with the size, there should be at most a hundred Chapters in it, and a day has never run out without her reading. Even the slowest readers could finish a hundred Chapters in two weeks.
He exhaled, and brought out his pen; with the increase in Affection, it shows Sara believed him; but she hadn’t eaten anything.
After writing down on the page, he showed it to her, gently moving it closer to her book. Sara raised her head to him, then at the words on the page. The silence between them was no longer oppressive, but rather a fragile bridge of understanding.
["Please, you haven’t eaten dinner... Should I get it?"]
Sara was silent, lost in thought, then nodded her head. The subtle softening of her gaze was a victory greater than any dungeon clear.
’Phew.’
Asher walked towards the door, and opened it, staring at the two maids who had been standing there from the start. When he started his mission, he instructed the two to wait with Sara’s food, ensuring it remained perfectly warm regardless of how long his apology took.
"Thank you." He took the trays from the two, moving back inside, and closed the door. The heavy oak door shut out the rest of the villa, isolating them in a bubble of peace.
She watched him, as he placed the trays on the bed, and opened each plate of food. The savory aroma of the meticulously crafted meal filled the room. Then he stared at her, asking her with his eyes if she needed help.
Sara shook her head, picked up the spoon, and started eating, while Asher sat some pace from her, watching in silence. He observed the elegant, refined way she held herself, a stark reminder of her high-born origins before the crippling injury that stole her voice and powers.
The next moment, he saw Sara gesturing to the other tray with her spoon. He blinked, confused.
Sara exhaled, took the notebook and pen from his hand, then handed him the notebook after she was done.
["Sorry for getting upset for such a small matter... Now that I thought about it, I don’t know what came over me. I don’t even know why your actions bother me... Anyway, I know you haven’t eaten yet, so eat the food on the second tray, I can’t finish all this."]
Asher read the words in silence; he could only nod his head, picked up the second spoon, and started eating. Beneath the ink on the page lay a profound admission: the cold, unfeeling shell she had built around her heart was finally beginning to crack, allowing his presence to actually affect her emotional state.
For the first time, the two sat in silence, sharing a meal together. It wasn’t a grand banquet of lords, but a quiet communion between two broken souls finding solace in one another.
__
[Warsaw Family’s Estate.]
"THAT BASTARD!!"
The old patriarch smashed his fist on the table, destroying it into dust. The explosive release of his SSS-Rank Earth aura pulverized the solid mahogany, sending a shockwave of localized gravity through the ruined sitting room.
"Because I let him go he thinks I am a pushover! Hurting everyone in the estate isn’t enough, you went ahead and hurt my second grandson!! This debt must be cleared!" He yelled. The dismantling of his bloodline’s future by a supposed ’waste’ was a humiliation that threatened to collapse the Warsaw family’s standing in Silverspire’s vicious hierarchy.
The two bodyguards stood silently, none daring to say a word. Their survival instincts screamed at them to remain absolutely still while an SSS-Rank predator threw a tantrum.
"I wonder why my dog missed our meeting, I didn’t know the Warsaw family is in a crisis."
"...?!"
The three men in the sitting room turned to the shattered door, seeing a beautiful lady with long silver hair, dressed in all black, holding an umbrella. The two guards were stunned; it was 10 pm at night, and the sky was clear, then why the umbrella? To an untrained eye, it was an eccentric fashion choice, but the patriarch could feel the dense, suffocating dark-elemental energy dripping from the parasol’s fabric.
"Dog? Are you Luna?"
Luna flashed the old man a dangerous smile: "Is that how you address the first chosen star of the Starfire family?" She asked, her smile on. The title wasn’t just honorary; it was a mandate of overwhelming power, signifying her status as an apex talent backed by one of the most terrifying families in the continent.
"Tell me, Tanaka." She added. Her casual use of his first name was a calculated insult, stripping away his patriarchal authority and reducing him to a mere subordinate.
The old patriarch grimaced, but still bowed: "My apologies Lady Luna... As you can see, my family isn’t in the best shape, whatever you wish to discuss should be carried out tomorrow, I will personally attend to it." He tried to buy time, desperate to conceal the crippling vulnerability his family had just been subjected to.
"Oh... So formal, no worries, I came to get what Caleb promised, nothing else."
’I called your name, you warned me. What do you want me to say...? Wait, what did Caleb promise her?’ He blinked, a deep sense of dread pooling in his stomach as he realized his foolish grandson had bargained with a demon.
"May I know what you’re after?" He asked.
"I need the War Ring... Just as Caleb promised, hand it over." She said, stretching her left hand out.
’The War Ring?! No way, that is our family Heirloom! Not only that, it’s an upper grade Divine-Tier equipment. I can’t just give it away.’ He thought, his teeth gritted in rage, then looked up at Luna. The ring wasn’t just a trinket; its passive stat boosts and unique skills were the very foundation of the Warsaw family’s might, the only reason they held their rank among the nobles.
"My apologies, but I can’t hand over the ring, it’s too precious to my family!"
"Oh, are you refusing me? Remember, your grandson made a promise to a chosen star, do you know the consequences of failing to fulfill this promise to me?" She asked, her smile still on. The unspoken threat hung heavy in the air; defying a Starfire meant inviting an absolute, uncompromising war of extermination.
"I am sorry lady Luna, but my words stand! Giving you that artifact is akin to giving you our lives!! As the family head, I can’t bear to make such a mistake!!" He said, looking up at her. He gathered the last remnants of his pride, prepared to defend his family’s legacy to the bitter end.
"Oh well." Luna folded her umbrella, her smile turning into a devilish smirk. The suppression on the umbrella deactivated, allowing her terrifying, unrestrained aura to flood the room.
"I will just take it from your ashes then."
"...?!!"