Chapter 33: Elysia Sylvaris
"You stay here."
Caelus stopped with one hand still near the door.
He glanced over his shoulder.
Veyra hadn’t raised her voice, yet the command carried enough weight to make him reconsider reaching for the handle. There was nothing threatening in her expression, either. Somehow, was what made it worse.
She stood at the center with her arms folded, watching him with the same calm expression she had worn throughout the duel. Only now, Caelus noticed, her attention wasn’t on his injuries. It was on him.
Caelus turned fully toward her.
The training chamber still carried the evidence of the duel. Scratches scarred the stone beneath their feet, dust clung to the edges of the room, and a few dark stains marked where blood had fallen.
Veyra said nothing.
He studied her expression, looking for some indication of what she wanted. He found none.
That was hardly surprising. Veyra had a habit of making silence feel like another weapon.
He could leave the silence intact and wait for her to explain herself, but something told him that was precisely what she wanted.
She was waiting for him to make the first move.
Fine. What are you trying to get out of me?
"What is this about?"
His voice remained even, though he already suspected this had nothing to do with training.
Veyra’s gaze stayed on him.
"You still owe me three answers."
Caelus’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly.
Right. The payment from the labyrinth.
He had known she would eventually collect it. He had simply hoped she’d be interested in something less inconvenient.
"How did you know what was inside the labyrinth?"
Veyra didn’t sound accusing. She sounded genuinely curious. And somehow, that was worse.
"I had studied the labyrinth before entering."
Veyra’s eyes narrowed slightly.
It was the safest answer he could give without lying outright.
Caelus kept his expression neutral.
"There was enough information available if you knew where to look."
She raised an eyebrow. "Studied?"
"Enough to know how the creatures behaved?"
Caelus said nothing.
"Enough to know the Eclipse door would open for you?"
Caelus’s gaze hardened as he looked at her.
"That’s not one question."
Veyra tilted her head slightly.
"It’s one question with two clarifications."
"Still two questions," he said. "I answered the question."
"You answered the convenient part."
He held her gaze.
"You knew where to go."
Caelus remained silent.
"You knew when not to look."
Her voice remained almost conversational.
"You knew which doors mattered."
Caelus’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.
None of those things were impossible to explain individually. Together, they were another matter.
He had been careful inside the labyrinth, but apparently not careful enough.
Veyra had been watching him from the beginning.
"I told you why."
Veyra’s expression barely changed.
"You did."
She didn’t sound convinced.
"How much do you actually know about this place?" she asked finally.
Caelus studied her.
"More than most people."
"And what are you really trying to accomplish?"
The question landed differently.
"As I said, I know enough from legitimate sources. You don’t need to concern yourself with where they came from."
Caelus kept his voice even.
"I mean no harm to you or your people."
Veyra didn’t interrupt.
That silence made him continue.
"If you think I’m a threat, you can kill me."
Her eyes sharpened.
"But you’d lose an information source that may be useful."
She studied him. "Legitimate sources."
"Sources."
"Which you won’t name."
"I can’t."
It wasn’t entirely a lie.
Even if he wanted to explain, how exactly was he supposed to say, I wrote this world before I died?
He’d already told her that, but she simply hadn’t believed him.
Veyra held his gaze, weighing the answer in silence.
Caelus didn’t look away. He had given her as much as he could without exposing the truth, and there wasn’t much more he could safely offer.
"I’ll take that as an answer for now," she said.
For now?
Somehow, those two words bothered him more than the questions had.
Veyra’s attention shifted toward the door.
Caelus followed her gaze, though he heard nothing at first. Then faint footsteps reached him from beyond the corridor, approaching quickly.
Veyra had noticed them before he had.
The training-room door opened abruptly, and the Viscount hurried inside. His breathing was heavy, his usually composed appearance disrupted by the pace at which he had arrived.
He straightened as soon as he saw Caelus and Veyra, then bowed.
"Pardon my intrusion, Lady Veyra, but..."
"Lady Elysia Sylvaris is here."
His gaze shifted toward Caelus.
"She’s asking specifically for Young Master Caelus."
Caelus stared at him.
Elysia?
Here?
The timing was strange enough. The fact that she was asking for him specifically was worse.
Their last conversation should have settled matters. Elysia had approached him about the engagement, and he had rejected it plainly. There had been little reason for her to seek him out again.
Unless something had changed.
"How did she know I was here?"
The question slipped out before he could stop it.
Veyra answered without turning toward him.
"She bought the information."
Caelus turned toward her. His eyebrow twitched.
"You sold information about me?"
"I didn’t." Veyra answered without hesitation.
"MIST did."
Caelus stared at her.
That’s the distinction you’re going with?
He slowly exhaled through his nose.
"How much did she pay?"
"That’s confidential."
He stared at her.
"You’re unbelievable."
"And yet you’re still alive."
That was difficult to argue with.
He turned toward the Viscount.
"Take me to her."
The Viscount blinked, then quickly nodded.
"Of course, Young Master."
Caelus followed him out of the training chamber.
The corridor outside felt strangely quiet after the violence of the duel. His body had recovered enough from the potion to move normally, and his thoughts had already moved beyond the pain.
Elysia Sylvaris had come looking for him, somehow learning exactly where he was and paying for the information in the process.
What does she want from me?
He followed the Viscount through the corridor, his expression settling into its usual calm.
Whatever Elysia intended, he had no intention of letting her see him caught off guard.
They stopped before a set of tall double doors.
The Viscount turned toward him.
"She’s here."
Caelus nodded, drew a slow breath, and steadied himself before entering.
Elysia Sylvaris sat inside.
She wore an elegant, off-shoulder dress that framed her figure without sacrificing the refined appearance expected of a noblewoman of her standing.
Her presence seemed almost deliberately composed, as though she had walked into the room already knowing exactly how the meeting would unfold.
Caelus’s gaze met hers.
Her pink lips curved into a faint smile.
"Nice to see you again, fiancé."
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A/N: About time you give me a review 👉 👈
Plz be gentle XD