Chapter 243: A Little Stretch
The servants in Cassandra’s wing moved with quiet efficiency, bowing as Kael passed. Unlike the main family quarters, where servants avoided eye contact and whispered behind hands, Cassandra’s staff operated with military precision.
Kael navigated the corridors until he reached the door to Cassandra’s personal office. Before he could knock, it opened.
Margaret stood in the doorway, her silver hair pulled back in a severe bun.
"Good to see you’re well, my lord."
Kael smiled. "Margaret. Still as stunning and terrifying as ever."
The corner of her mouth twitched. "The Lady is expecting you. She mentioned you would come crawling back eventually."
"I’m not crawling."
"Of course not, my lord."
She stepped aside, and Kael entered the office.
Cassandra sat behind a massive desk covered in holographic displays. Her black hair was in its usual severe braid, her dark violet military uniform pristine, her cold eyes flicking up from her work.
"Congratulations on breaking through to the Origin realm," Kael said, dropping into the chair across from her without invitation. "I hear Victor threw a party that lasted three days."
Cassandra set down her pen. "Victor doesn’t throw parties. Victor held a mandatory assembly where everyone was required to congratulate him. There’s a difference."
"Sounds like the same thing to me."
"That’s because you’re uncultured."
Kael leaned back, draping one arm over the chair.
Cassandra’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You seem awfully happy. It seems you had quite the fun on your mission to Lumethia."
Kael grinned. "It seems my dear sister is keeping tabs on me."
"I keep tabs on everyone." Cassandra steepled her fingers.
She paused, her lips curving.
"With that cheeky personality of yours, I won’t even be surprised if the Zorath Patriarch’s daughter already lost her virginity."
Kael’s grin didn’t waver. "My sister knows me too well."
"Spit it out," Cassandra said, her expression flat. "What do you want?"
"Can’t I just come to see my dear sister?"
Cassandra snorted. "You? The day that happens, I will think you might have either been possessed or you ran mad."
Kael clutched his chest as if wounded. "You wound me, my dear sister. Truly."
"Get to the point."
He dropped the act, his posture shifting from lounging to attentive. "Alright, sis. You got me."
"I wanted to ask about the territories surrounding Starfall City. You know the Vorn territories better than anyone—probably better than Father at this point. I need to know what I’m dealing with before I start expanding."
Cassandra’s pen stopped moving. She set it down deliberately and leaned back in her chair.
"Now that," she said, "is not a difficult quest to embark on."
She reached for a display and zoomed in on a map of the eastern continent. Starfall City blinked at the center, surrounded by four distinct territories.
"Start with the North," she said. "Greymoor City."
The map highlighted a mid-sized city surrounded by fertile plains and scattered forests.
"The city lord is a man named Aldric De Vorn—Shadow Rank 12, been in position for fifteen years. He’s not stupid and he’s not useless, unlike your predecessor in Starfall. Greymoor has some of the most fertile land on the continent, but Vance doesn’t have the resources to develop it properly. His tax revenue goes almost entirely to the family, leaving him with scraps."
Cassandra’s finger tapped a shaded region on the map.
"He’s also hiding something. My intelligence suggests there’s a valley in Greymoor’s northern territory filled with rare alchemical herbs—the kind that high-tier alchemists would kill for. He’s been keeping it off the official records and selling through black market channels. If you move on Greymoor, that valley becomes yours."
Kael filed that away. Rare alchemical herbs meant leverage with people like Kelvin.
"To the East," Cassandra continued, highlighting a different region. "Darius De Vorn. Sword Number Three."
Kael’s expression flickered. Darius was one of the family’s elite combatants.
"While Darius manages his own planet now, that city to your east is still officially his territory. He visits twice a year to collect taxes and maintain his claim. I advise you—strongly—not to mess with his territory. Darius doesn’t forget slights, and he has the combat ability to back up his grudges."
"Understood."
"South." Cassandra highlighted the largest territory on the map—a sprawling urban area marked with warning indicators. "Trevor City."
The city was massive—easily three times the size of Starfall City—but the map showed it in shades of red and black.
"Unclaimed territory. No official city lord. Trevor City has become a haven for bandits, outlaws, and anyone who wants to disappear from family oversight. There are at least three major bandit organizations operating within the city, plus numerous smaller gangs. It also has several legitimate guilds—mercenary, merchant, information brokers—which means taking the city isn’t just about killing criminals. You’d need to establish order without destroying the existing economic infrastructure."
Cassandra glanced at him. "You could clear them out. The question is whether it’s worth the resources."
"And the West?"
"Isabella." Cassandra’s expression softened almost imperceptibly. "That territory belongs to her. She should be there now, managing affairs. I don’t think you’ll attack your sister’s territory—which leaves you with Greymoor to the North and Trevor City to the South."
Kael studied the map for a long moment. Greymoor was the safer option—established infrastructure, a city lord who could be coerced or replaced, and that hidden valley of alchemical herbs. Blackhollow was the higher-risk, higher-reward play. A larger territory meant more revenue, more soldiers, more resources—but it also meant a bloody conquest and complex political maneuvering afterward.
He stood up.
"Alright, sis. Thanks a lot."
"Is that all?"
"For now."
Kael turned toward the door.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
He paused. Cassandra had risen from her desk, her aura beginning to simmer beneath the surface—dense, oppressive, Origin realm.
"Fight me first," she said. "I need to stretch my bones a little."
Kael turned back, his smile fading. "Cassandra, I just got out of bed after nearly dying. I don’t think—"
"Don’t worry. I’ll reduce my cultivation base to match yours."
"That’s not the—"
Her aura exploded.
The pressure hit Kael like a physical wall—crushing, suffocating, dominating. Despite being suppressed to match his Mana Heart Rank 3, the quality of Cassandra’s aura was something else entirely. It pressed against his soul, his mind, his will to fight.
"You would choose your next words wisely."
Kael’s throat went dry.
"On a second thought," he said quickly, "I think we should have that fight."
Cassandra’s lips curved into a bright smile.
"Good answer."
Kael sighed internally, already regretting every decision that had led him to this office.
Why did I come here in the first place?