Chapter 7: Do You Know Who My Father Is?
Lucian slowly raised trembling fingers toward his neck.
His fingers met a thin crimson line. Blood.
He froze.
I would have died.
For the first time since awakening his Sacred Affinity, he came within a hair’s breadth of death.
The realization settled into his bones like ice water.
He stared at his fingers and at the red staining his skin. At the blade that had been torn from Caelus’s hand at the last possible moment.
To him.
To Caelus Vespera.
The man everyone said was worthless.
---
The arena was completely silent, stunned to the point where they had no words for it.
Thousands of witnesses. All of them processing what they’d just seen. contemplating whether it’s true or not.
The Hero had almost died.
The Cardinal had intervened. A Sacred Duel had been interrupted.
Whispers began. Low at first, then uncertain.
"Didn’t the Hero almost die?"
"Why did the Cardinal interfere?"
"Wasn’t this supposed to be a Sacred Duel?"
"Can a Sacred Duel even be interrupted?"
The whispers spread through the stands like ripples in water.
They were uncertain, confused.
Nobody knew whether the Cardinal was justified and they were beginning to question it.
---
From the VIP balcony, the Saintess face had gone pale. The perfect smile was gone, replaced by a look of complete surprise.
Her golden-green eyes were fixed on Caelus, wide and unblinking.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She had already seen the future. Caelus had died. The Hero had won. Everything proceeded exactly as planned.
It was a prophecy that was meant to happen. That future was absolute.
Yet—
Lucian almost died instead.
She dug her nails into her palm until blood appeared. The pain grounded her. Kept her from screaming.
Her confidence cracked. Something inside her splintered.
Then—
Faint whispers emerged from inside her mind, spreading like an infesting curse.
...Kill him.
...He must die.
She shook her head and tried to dismiss them. They didn’t stop.
She gritted her teeth.
Elysia quietly stood.
A tiny smile appeared on her porcelain face.
She glanced at the Saintess. Noticed the panic beneath the mask. And felt a small, private satisfaction.
"It was entertaining," she said calmly. "I believe I’ll be leaving now."
She turned and walked away. The nobles parted for her like water. No one dared speak.
The Saintess barely noticed, her eyes still locked on the arena below.
---
The Cardinal floated above the arena, his expression unreadable.
His mind was already calculating.
The Hero almost died.
Thousands witnessed it.
If word spreads that the Hero lost, everything the Church built around Lucian begins cracking.
A dark thought flashed briefly:
Let’s silence everyone.
He dismissed it immediately.That was Impossible.
Too many nobles. Too many witnesses. Too many powerful families.
He could not cover this up even with a full scale assistance from the church.
Caelus stood in the center of the arena.
His body was exhausted, every muscle hurt to keep him just standing. His chest was still bleeding. The wound where Lucian’s blade had pierced him throbbed with every heartbeat.
But his voice was perfectly steady when he spoke.
"What is the meaning of this?"
It echoed across the arena, the crowd, and reached even the vip balcony.
"This was declared a Sacred Duel." His voice carried across the arena. "The Cardinal himself witnessed it. The Church approved it."
He paused.
"Now the Church interrupts it. Then declares a draw."
He let the silence stretch.
"Does the Church stand above its own sacred laws?"
The crowd stirred. Whispers began again. Edgier this time.
"He’s right..."
"He’s making sense..."
"But... it’s the Hero."
"The Church wouldn’t interfere without reason, would they?"
"Still... the Cardinal did interrupt..."
"I... don’t know anymore."
The Cardinal descended. His robes billowed around him. His presence radiated authority.
"One life carries the hopes of humanity." He paused, "The other carries only personal pride."
"I chose accordingly."
he said. His voice carried effortlessly. "Lucian Ashborne’s life is too valuable to lose in a petty squabble."
Petty squabble.
Caelus almost laughed.
"Petty squabble," he repeated. "You just called a Sacred Duel a petty squabble."
The Cardinal’s jaw tightened.
"He is humanity’s greatest weapon against the Corrupted," the Cardinal continued. "Without him—"
"Without him, I was about to win."
Silence streched.
Caelus stepped forward, his muscles filing a compliant in the form of pain with each movement. Blood dripped from his shoulder, He didn’t seem to notice.
"If you were going to interfere why proceed with this?"
"Then why call it a Sacred Duel?"
"Just call it a Church-sanctioned execution next time."
The crowd murmured. Voices rising.
"He has a point..."
"The Cardinal shouldn’t have..."
"Who decides when it’s convenient?"
Even the Priests present looked uncomfortable.
The Cardinal raised his hand. "Silence."
Before Caelus continued,
The Saintess descended.
She landed beside the Cardinal. Her face was composed again. The perfect smile was back.
But her eyes were wrong.
She didn’t speak immediately, her eyes searching him, his wounds, his breathing, the blood and she found nothing resembling corruption.
Nothing...except the outcome.
Her fingers trembled.
There had to be an explanation.
There had to.
"Caelus Vespera," she announced. Her voice carried across the arena. "You are hereby sentenced to an execution for being a Corrupted Contractor."
The crowd gasped.
Caelus blinked.
What?
"No noble with Water Affinity should defeat the Hero," she continued. "I pray i’m mistaken, lord Caelus. However, the church cannot ignore an outcome this unnatural."
The audience murmured. Considering her declaration.
"Contractor..."
"That would explain it."
How else could he win?
They searched for another answer.
Because accepting what they’d witnessed...
was far harder.
So Caelus must have cheated.
The whispers spread in aceptance and relief. They needed an explanation and this was easier than believing the hero lost.
Caelus watched the crowd shift. Watched them accept the accusation.
He sighed.
Then he spoke, his voice stone cold.
"Are you certain?"
The Saintess’s smile remained. "Absolutely."
He nodded slowly.
"A false Contractor accusation carries execution," he said calmly. "You’re aware of that?"
The Saintess’s smile flickered.
"The Church will investigate—"
"The Church will investigate me." He let that sit. "And if I’m found innocent..."
He paused.
"What do you believe House Vespera will think?"
The Saintess stiffened.
"Will my family quietly accept that the Church publicly branded his bloodline as traitors?"
His voice was calm. Almost gentle compared to her brazen accusation.
"Do you know who my father is?" He said leaning in, looking at her in the eye.
I’ve waited a lifetime to use that line.
The Saintess’s composure cracked.
"You’re threatening me," she said. "This is the behavior of a Contractor. This—"
She was about to continue, solidify her claim. To bury him.
Caelus sighed.
Then—
Slap.
Nobody breathed.
The Saintess stumbled. Her perfect smile was gone. Her eyes were wide and disbelieving.
The sound seemed to echo forever, even the winds howling ceased.
She slowly turned, her hand touching her burning cheek, and looked at Lucian.
Waiting for him to explain.
He didn’t.
Silence sretched across the arena.
The younger nobles exchanged uncertain glances.
"Did the hero just..." someone was about to continue before the cardinal silenced them with a glance.
Caelus raised an eyebrow. He never expecter the hero to be this...forward.
Seems like his words got into him.
He cheered internally.
I’m proud of you.
Didn’t know you had it in you.
Lucian lowered his hand. His expression was tight. Controlled.
"If you truly carried corruption," he said quietly, "I would’ve sensed it."
He looked at the Saintess.
"And I would’ve killed you myself."
He turned to Caelus.
"So I apologize."
Caelus looked at him.
The Hero just slapped the Saintess and apologized to me.
It should go down the history.
A lifetime was worth it.
He almost laughed, but Instead, he spoke.
"My victory was stolen."
His voice was quiet but heavy, echoing across the colosseum.
"My kill was stolen." He paused letting that settle. "My reputation was stained."
"And all I received..." He let the words hang. "...was an apology."
He turned to face the crowd.
"I don’t believe my father accepts apologies as currency."
The Cardinal stepped forward.
"What do you want?"
Caelus turned to him.
"Compensation for interrupting the duel." He paused. "What is the Hero’s life worth to the Church? We’ll have to discuss that behind closed doors."
The Cardinal’s expression tightened.
"Every donation I made to the Saintess," Caelus continued. "I want it back returned, not a single penny left."
"And the Saintess punished under Church law." Caelus’s voice was calm. "False Contractor accusations normally carry execution."
He paused.
"But you see, I’m generous."
He let that sit.
"House arrest inside Church grounds until the Academy begins. That will suffice."
The silence that followed was absolute.
The Cardinal hated every second. He knew refusing would make everything worse. Accepting humiliated the Church.
His fingers curled beneath his sleeves. mana stirring around him before settling again.
His jaw tightened.
It felt like swallowing broken glass.
"Very well."
The crowd didn’t speak.
Nobody said it but it was clear.
The hero lost.
"He..."
"Did the Hero..."
Nobody finished the sentence.
The cardinal moved to leave.
His mind was already calculating. How to explain this. How to spin it. How to protect the Church’s reputation.
House Vespera just forced the Church to compromise publicly.
This complicates things.