Chapter 273 - 268 — Complicated
"Agrh! I’m going to die!"
"My chest is burning! Why the hell did I drink that much!?"
"Iron Father, this is absolute hell!"
"For one glorious second I thought the Prime had finally gone soft! Why did he have to change his mind!?"
The thousands of southern cadets had gathered in the courtyard of the fortress, running around in continuous circles. With heavy weights bound to every limb, they had been running nonstop for several hours now.
Due to the earlier party, and the regrettable decision several of them had made to drink, they were in a terrible state. Some were practically dragging themselves across the ground, looking as though they were on the verge of collapse.
Yet, though they complained, it was only through hushed whispers. None had the guts to complain out loud, especially not when their Prime sat calmly atop the central podium, his gaze seeming to bear down on every one of them. Under those eyes, every cadet who even thought of slacking off instinctively picked up the pace.
Regardless, since none of them could openly direct their dissatisfaction toward their Prime, the target of their resentment naturally shifted to the person who could arguably be considered the cause of their current misery.
Draven.
The giant had been responsible for riling the cadets up to such an extent that they had all gone on a drinking spree.
However, despite having drunk what was probably more than the cadets combined, Draven seemed perfectly fine. Bare-chested, he flexed his hard muscles as he ran with a wide grin plastered across his face.
In fact, he looked like he was enjoying himself, having already let out several booming cheers praising Zephyrion for choosing to do this.
Even worse, he had been responsible for the weights strapped to all of them. Claiming that real men trained with weights after celebrating to remind themselves they were still men, and that only pussies ran without them.
The fact that he was in such good condition while they were barely dragging themselves onward only caused their glares to burn even hotter.
However, Draven, seemingly oblivious, or simply uncaring, only laughed with booming force.
"YES! This! This is what it means to be a real man! Brothers, your bodies will scream! They’ll beg! They’ll tell you you’re dying! Don’t listen to them! Your bodies are weak, but your spirits are not! Now quit crying and pick up the pace!"
The cadets’ glares became so murderous that a chill seemed to settle over the vast courtyard. Draven, on the other hand, only laughed even louder and quickened his pace.
As the one setting it, with every cadet required to follow, they had no choice but to speed up as well. However, they did so with countless thoughts of gutting Draven running through their minds.
Seated atop the podium, Zephyrion inwardly nodded.
’A few more hours, and they should be okay.’
Unfortunately, given the circumstances, if he wanted to convincingly create the impression that they had let their guard down, then everything had to be real. Several of the cadets had truly gone on a drunken spree and overeaten. Luckily, at this pace, they would burn through everything and return to their optimal condition, ready for battle.
’They can’t stop staring.’
Standing beside him were the head cadets. Even now, each of them continued throwing him curious glances, looking as though they wanted to ask him something.
It was only natural. After all, Zephyrion hadn’t told any of them about the attack until the very last moment, after the party had tapered off.
Eventually, Nedra, who no longer seemed able to hold it in, finally broke the silence.
"I’m sure everyone’s wondering the same thing. When the fuck did you know we were going to be attacked?"
Zephyrion turned toward her. Her face was stiff, filled with bewilderment. There was also a trace of regret and embarrassment lingering beneath it. Clearly, she hadn’t expected things to unfold this way.
"From the start," Zephyrion finally said.
"...The start?"
"When Horus found the crate with the Sarakhel waiting."
Nedra wore a look of confusion, and the others shared it. Zephyrion sighed, deciding to explain.
"Everything felt off from the beginning. The resource landed in their territory instead of between ours. Fine. But the Sarakhel reached it far too quickly. It was like they were already waiting for it. If that was the case, why didn’t they just grab it and leave? Also, why send only a handful of weak cadets? It didn’t add up."
What truly put the icing on the cake was the question he had asked Horus.
Whose house were they from?
The moment he heard Sarakhel, who were enchanters, he knew it was a trap.
After hearing the explanation, they all wore looks of realization and surprise. However, Nedra gritted her teeth.
"So... this whole damn party... it was a setup from the very beginning..."
Zephyrion nodded.
"What? You thought I threw a party just because we got one resource crate?"
"Hwek."
Nedra’s face twisted, but she remained silent as she stepped back. It was exactly what she’d thought. Zephyrion could only imagine how shitty she must currently feel. She had thought he was running the fortress into the ground, only to be proven wrong in such an overwhelming fashion.
"I get why you kept it from everyone else... but... why us?" Kaiden suddenly asked.
He was staring at Zephyrion in silence, one hand hidden behind his back. Yet Zephyrion caught the subtle flex of his arm. He was clenching his fist. His eyes, too, were trembling slightly.
He was upset.
’Why?’
Zephyrion allowed a moment to pass before replying.
"I wasn’t sure how heavily we were being monitored. I didn’t want to take any chances."
"So... it wasn’t because you didn’t trust... us?"
Zephyrion noted the slight strain on the last word. Rather than us, he definitely meant ’me’.
’He feels betrayed.’
In a way, he should have expected this, based on who Kaiden was. He was someone who valued power above all else, which was why he pursued it so relentlessly. But Zephyrion had also noticed that Kaiden was someone who craved recognition, especially from those he respected. In this case, that person was the one who had defeated him multiple times.
Him.
Which was why he was always trying to prove himself whenever he got the chance.
But now, he felt shitty that Zephyrion had planned around him. It was as though Zephyrion hadn’t even acknowledged him, hadn’t trusted him.
In essence, Zephyrion hadn’t viewed him as an equal.
The others fell silent, their gazes shifting between Kaiden and Zephyrion as the tension steadily mounted. The fact that Zephyrion hadn’t responded immediately only made it worse.
However, after letting several moments pass, Zephyrion shook his head and lied.
"No."
Kaiden held his gaze for a moment before finally speaking, his expression complicated.
"...Okay."