Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 93 - Anti-theft

"Right. They'll just cut it off instead!" Kiel snorted, his body shaking with suppressed anger.

Elaru rolled her eyes. "This again?" She sighed. "If it ever comes to the point where you have no choice but remove it to retain your limbs, I'll just telepathically tell you how to remove it."

Kiel breathed in and out deeply for a while, trying to calm down. He pinched the bridge of his nose and stood still for a while.

Even though he was angry at Elaru for teasing him like this, even though that the idea of wearing something he can't remove made him uncomfortable, he had to admit it made sense. If his grandfather suspected that his ring was worth something, he would surely force Kiel to hand it over. The only way that Kiel could peacefully keep his ring would be if he didn't know how to remove it.

Venric Rroda was a heartless bastard, but he wouldn't go as far as to cut his finger off. At least not while Kiel's father was alive.

Elaru could be obnoxious, but her plan was well thought out. It was so well thought out that Kiel was convinced that hiding his mark wasn't the only reason why she made him wear the ring on his right hand. The little redheaded vixen probably also wanted him to conceal the future influx of mana that Kiel would be transferring through their marking. This way, everyone would think he was channeling mana through the ring to purify it. It wouldn't be strange if there were a lot of mana around the ring.

No matter how displeased Kiel was with her, he couldn't quite bring himself to hate her. After all, Elaru Wayvin was doing all of this for his sake. She spared no effort to make him this ring.

Also, no matter how much he hated to admit it, Elaru Wayvin was absolutely brilliant. She was brilliant to the point of him being unable to stifle the respect that was blooming inside of him, making his heart beat rapidly.

* * *

◈ Zelaih, Capital City of Halnea, Rroda manor ◈

Inside the Rroda estate within Zelaih, there was a large office.

Within that office sat an extremely handsome, middle-aged man whose face looked as if he didn't know how to smile. His short black hair speckled with vividly azure strands, coupled with his icy blue eyes, gave him a sharp look that could chill a person to the bone.

The aura the man exuded wasn't oppressive or chilling, but it still left one feeling like an insignificant wyrm in front of him.

The man stared seriously into the icy blue eyes of a young man standing on the opposite side of his desk. "What do you want?"

The young man's face fell, and his stance suddenly changed to make him look like a hurt and vulnerable little tiwi. "What? Can't I just visit my father?"

His pitiful appearance invoked no sympathy from the middle-aged man. "Cut the crap."

Rhur Rroda sighed. Alaric Rroda was a no-nonsense kind of person. Although he wasn't as cold-hearted as Venric Rroda, he wasn't easy to deceive either. There was no point in playing the sympathy card.

"Little brother came to Ashar a few days back. I took him to Black Pearl for lunch earlier today." Rhur Rroda spoke out, a soft smile playing on his lips.

Alaric's eyebrow instantly jumped up. Kiel came to Ashar? How come no one notified me of this?

Rhur's soft smile suddenly turned into a sad smile, and he let out a soft sigh that clearly expressed how depressed and pitiful he felt. "However, it seems that little brother held some resentment towards me inside his heart, because he played a trick on me." Rhur again sighed sadly as if the events that transpired pained him greatly.

Alaric's eyebrow rose even further up, almost reaching his hairline. However, he remained silent.

Rhur continued. "When I asked him what wine he would like to drink, he ordered Lileron Passion."

Alaric's pupils widened, and suddenly he let out a raspy cough, designed to mask the laughter that was threatening to erupt.

Alaric Rroda, as an esteemed councilman of Halnea, often had business dinners and attended all kinds of high-class parties. He naturally knew of Lileron Passion.

Alaric's solemn look still adorned his face, but the corner of his mouth kept twitching. Lileron Passion! Good one!

Rhur Rroda didn't need to continue with his story. Alaric had already caught on to the main point. Nice try. Alaric barely contained himself from rolling his eyes. He spoke up, interrupting Rhur's tear-jerking play. "A man's debt has to be paid by his own hands. What is the point of you taking your brother out for a meal if I'm the one paying for it? It would make your entire gesture of brotherly love meaningless."

Brotherly love? Rhur's eyebrow twitched. The old man was clearly mocking him.

Rhur smiled wryly. Of course you wouldn't help me out. You are always on his side.

But I expected as much.

* * *

Coming up in the next episode:

"You are not lying to me, are you?" Alaric couldn't help but exclaim. He'd be more inclined to believe that his younger son was gay than he would believe that he got himself a girlfriend. In fact, Rhur had even tricked him into coming to a brothel once, yet he still walked out without as much as touching a woman.

Alaric's glared at him icily. What blatant extortion! You little brat! So this was your plan all along!

As soon as Rhur exited his father's office, his mouth broke out into a smirk. Your weakness is glaringly obvious making you too easy to manipulate, father.

She looked at him with a solemn expression and spoke out in grave tone. "Let's talk about sex."