Chapter 56: The Arrogant Fool
"I’m coming," Lucien replied, shaking off his thoughts.
As he walked off, he suddenly brushed into someone with his right arm.
"Sorry," Lucien hastily apologised, not looking at the person as he walked towards the carriage.
Suddenly, a wave of ill intent washed over him. Lucien’s instincts flared as he turned behind him. His gaze became sharp as it landed on someone.
A tall young man with silver-white hair and piercing crimson eyes stood before him, dressed in ornate black and gold robes. His expression was one of haughty disdain, his lips curled into a mocking smirk.
Behind him were several attendants in matching uniforms, standing with their gazes sharp and haughty.
But the apology was met with silence. Then, a cold voice dripped with arrogance.
"Did you just walk into me and think a simple ’sorry’ would suffice?" The young man said, his voice dripping with arrogance.
"I said I was sorry. It was an accident," Lucien replied with a calm voice.
The young man let out a derisive snort. "An accident? Do you know who I am? I am Kaelen Voss, third son of the Voss Clan, one of the most influential families in Draktharion. And you, with your sickly appearance and weak aura, dare to touch me and expect to walk away?"
Lucien’s eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed he had met an arrogant fool. He looked around and saw the crowd that was already gathering due to this commotion. He had no desire for conflict, not now, but that didn’t mean he would simply take things lying down.
"I’ve already apologised. What more do you want?" Lucien asked, his voice still calm, but one could notice that he was already getting irritated.
Kaelen’s smirk widened, seeing that Lucien made no move or change in behaviour. He licked his lips as he said, "What I want is for you to kneel and beg for forgiveness. Perhaps then I’ll consider letting you leave with your life."
The crowd that had gathered around them murmured in shock. Some seemed to recognise Kaelen and began whispering among themselves, while others watched with curiosity, wanting to see how this would unfold.
Before Lucien could respond, a presence descended that shook everyone. Seraphina had stepped out of the carriage, her golden hair bright like the sun, her expression unreadable. But her eyes, they were cold, dark, and burning with anger.
"Lucien, is there a problem?" Seraphina asked, her voice soft, contrary to the expression she wore.
Kaelen’s gaze shifted to Seraphina, and for a moment, his arrogant expression faltered. There was something about her, her beauty, her presence, the sheer weight of her aura, that made him hesitate. But his arrogance quickly returned.
"Ah, another one. And who might you be? His protector? His lover?" Kaelen sneered, his crimson eyes gleaming with mockery. "Perhaps I should teach you both a lesson in proper manners."
The air grew still. The murmuring of the crowd died down as a suffocating pressure descended upon the area. It was cold, absolute, and suffocating, like being trapped in the depths of a frozen abyss.
Seraphina’s lips curled into a smile, but there was no warmth in it. It was the smile of a predator who had just found its prey.
"Do you want to die?"
Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, but an immense aura fell on Kaelen, who felt he was in the midst of an abyss. The crowd felt the chill. A dark, obsessive aura leaked from her like a tidal wave as the pressure intensified. Her eyes locked onto Kaelen. When Kaelen looked into those eyes, his entire being shut down as he felt he wasn’t looking at a woman but a monster.
Who had he offended? He realised he had stumbled into an iron plate.
Kaelen’s face paled as his arrogance crumbled, replaced by primal fear. Even his attendants stumbled back, their faces drained of colour as they couldn’t muster any strength. Even the crowd who weren’t targeted, most couldn’t move; all they could do was watch as this scene unfolded.
"I... I..." Kaelen stammered, his voice trembling. He couldn’t even speak; his body was failing to obey his commands. His clan was from the Dragon race, but what was this power, this aura that made his bloodline freeze in fear?
Seraphina took a step forward, her smile nonchalant, as if she was looking at an ant. "You dared to speak to my darling like that? You dared to demand he kneel?"
Her aura flared, dark and suffocating, and Kaelen dropped to his knees involuntarily, his body betraying him as the pressure crushed his will.
"I... I’m sorry... I didn’t know..." he gasped, his voice stammered, barely a whisper. The intense fear had gripped his soul.
Seraphina tilted her head, her eyes still fixed on him. "Sorry? That’s not enough. But..."
She glanced at Lucien, her expression softening for just a moment. "My darling is kind. He would not want me to stain my hands with trash like you."
She turned away, her aura receding as quickly as it had appeared. The crowd gasped as the pressure lifted; some collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
"Let’s go, darling," Seraphina said, her voice warm and gentle as she took Lucien’s hand, as if nothing had happened.
Kaelen was surprised by the sudden change of attitude. Lucien just glanced back at Kaelen, who remained on his knees, trembling, his face pale and his body and clothes drenched in cold sweat. Then he turned and followed Seraphina into the carriage as he said, "I hope you become wise."
As the carriage door closed, Lucien looked at Seraphina, who smiled at him as if she hadn’t just crushed an arrogant young master with nothing but her presence.
"Why did you stop me?" Seraphina questioned with a pouting face. It turned out that Lucien had stopped her with a voice transmission. She tilted her head as her golden eyes gleamed with that familiar obsessive light. "Since he dared to disrespect you, that alone is a crime punishable by death. So why did you stop me?"
Lucien sighed, but a small smile tugged at his lips as he shook his head. "You should know that we are in Draktharion City, one of the cities that have powerful experts. We want to stay low-key, so it’s best not to garner attention, especially you."
When Lucien ended his words, he looked at Seraphina with a strange light. Seraphina, hearing this, finally calmed down. She could feel Lucien cared for her in this, and her lips curled up into a smile.
"But such people wouldn’t give up. I’m sure he would bear ill intent against you," Seraphina said.
"I know, but taking his life there would provoke many experts, as the city is his turf. The Mercenary Association wouldn’t watch this happen in front of their doorstep, and also I’m sure you can feel that there are a few guards of worthy cultivation protecting him."
"If he’s a fool, the opportunity of this assessment would be his chance to kill me, but that would also be the best moment to erase him too, and no traces can lead to us. For his guardians who would like to stir trouble later, that will be left for you to take care of," Lucien said without batting an eyelid, calmly reading a book he had just taken.
"You really thought that far," Seraphina said, a bit surprised.
Lucien just smiled, glancing at the window as he saw Kaelen, whom his attendants were trying to help up. "I hope he has a bit of reasonable intelligence. That would help him keep his life. But if he’s a fool, there’s no need to keep him."