The Ex-Fiancée's Proposal
Ring gazed at Kael with anxious eyes. "Lord Kael, are you sure you'll be all right?"
Ming stood beside her, wearing the same worried expression. Kael smiled softly and stroked both sisters' heads with gentle affection.
"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it."
He turned to Serenity next, giving her firm backside a light pat. "Serenity, you wait here too."
"Yes, Master."
Kael's gaze returned to Irina. His voice carried casual authority. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't waste my time, Irina."
Irina felt a surge of indignation flare inside her at his tone. Before entering the academy, she had regarded Kael as nothing more than a stain on her perfect life. The mere thought that she had once been tied to such a talentless man had filled her with shame. Yet now the situation had completely reversed. She was the one who desperately needed to reconnect with him.
I have to endure this. Just for now.
She understood her position with painful clarity. Kael's power within Tartaros Academy had already grown formidable, and it would only grow stronger. She needed to act quickly.
I can't afford to let pride delay this any longer.
While those thoughts raced through her mind, Kael approached Professor Galen.
"Professor, I'd like to speak with Irina privately for about five minutes."
Galen laughed heartily and waved his hand. "Haha! Five minutes? Take thirty if you need! Go on, Student Kael, talk as long as you like!"
"Thank you."
Kael smiled and led Irina away from the clearing toward a quiet corridor some distance away. Since classes were in session, the hallway stood empty. Only the echo of their footsteps broke the silence.
"This should do."
Kael stopped walking. Irina stood facing him and drew a deep breath. Her legs trembled from the strain of trying to complete ten laps in twenty-five minutes, but sheer stubborn pride kept her from showing any more weakness before him.
"Duke Aberwin's second son," Irina began.
She opened with the subject of their broken engagement. "Last year, you were truly a worthless, incompetent man. That's why I ended it."
Kael crossed his arms, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "You called me out here just to throw insults? So, what exactly do you want to say?"
His overwhelming confidence made Irina hesitate. But eventually, she forced out the words she hated admitting.
"But things have changed. You've demonstrated remarkable power here. So... I believe we could consider resuming our engagement."
She spoke as if granting him an enormous favor. Kael listened in complete silence. Irina pressed on.
"For now, we'll restore the engagement temporarily while inside the academy. When vacation arrives, we'll officially re-register it outside."
Kael let out a soft chuckle as he studied her. "Vacation? That would be three years in this place's time. Can you really wait that long?"
Irina nodded. "Yes, it doesn't matter. And... if necessary, I can apologize right here for my misjudgment last year."
In truth, Irina felt no real regret about ending their engagement. Even now, she believed it had been the correct decision. Her only mistake had been failing to anticipate that Kael would acquire such an extraordinary ability.
Kael raised his hand, cutting her off. "No need for an apology."
Irina felt a flicker of relief. At least she wouldn't have to humiliate herself further by apologizing. But Kael's next words shattered both her relief and her hopes.
"Because I have no intention of accepting."
Irina's face hardened. She tried again to persuade him. "Duke Aberwin's second son, are you serious?"
"I am."
Irina looked genuinely puzzled. "With your insight, you should understand. If you re-engage with me, it will benefit you greatly once we leave. Consider the support of the Rosengart Duchy."
Kael laughed under his breath, then stared at her with pure contempt. "Why? Is Tartaros Academy too harsh for you to endure, so you want to latch onto me?"
"Duke Aberwin's second son! How can you say such a thing!"
Irina trembled with rage at the insult. No one had ever dared speak to her this way.
"Your intentions are painfully obvious, Irina. Or should I call you Duchess Rosengart's daughter? You always hated when I used your name, didn't you? You said we were finished. You said it right here in this academy, of all places."
Irina's face burned with humiliation. She had indeed said those words to him at Tartaros Academy. But now his words cut like knives, treating her as if she were some parasite.
"This is a mutually beneficial offer, Duke Aberwin's second son!"
Her voice rose, but inside, anxiety clawed at her. Kael's power grew stronger by the day. Leaving it unchecked would be too dangerous. She hadn't swallowed her pride for nothing.
Desperate to sway him, Irina tried again. "Do you really think your power here will last outside? Your ability dominates inside the academy, but it will be far more limited beyond these walls."
She began by trying to plant fear in his heart. When Kael said nothing, she continued with growing confidence.
"But if you re-engage with me, no one will dare look down on you once we're outside."
Kael chuckled again. "Really? You think so? You seem to have forgotten that my background is the Aberwin Duchy. With this ability, do you honestly believe my family would still see me as that same useless son? Besides..."
He stepped closer, looking down at her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. His voice turned icy.
"Shouldn't you be more worried about how long your influence will last? Right now you still have your followers and those desperate to curry favor with you, Irina."
He toyed with a strand of her pink hair. Irina flinched at his touch but didn't pull away, interpreting it as a sign that he still held some interest in her. She saw this as a battle of wills.
But his next words made her expression waver.
"As of today, I've decided to sell only half as many Frank sausage sticks as yesterday. But what do you think will happen if I cut that amount in half again because of you?"
Irina immediately understood his meaning. She had suspected something like this, but she hadn't expected Kael to be this resolute. In her mind, Kael Aberwin had always been nothing more than a powerless, incompetent fool.
"I happen to hold all the good cards. Irina, do you remember that humiliating broken engagement last year? That day, countless nobles witnessed it. More than half the students here at the academy—from first-years to fourth-years—saw the entire spectacle with their own eyes."
Irina could only remain silent, biting her lip hard.
If that happens...
The outcome was painfully obvious. The resentment toward her among the first-year students would explode. Having witnessed what happened to Finit, she understood exactly how devastating it would be.
"Duke Aberwin's second son! Please reconsider! With the Rosengart Duchy's backing..."
She couldn't finish. Kael had seized her lips, forcibly silencing her.
"Be quiet and listen. I'm the one making a counter-offer now. Irina Rosengart, become my lowest-ranked slave."
Irina's eyes widened in shock. She had never imagined Kael would suggest she become his slave—much less his lowest-ranked one.
"If you become my slave, I'll treat you kindly. Well, as the lowest rank, you'll still suffer quite a bit... but it'll be better than the hell you'll experience otherwise, won't it?"
As he spoke, Kael slid the hand from her shoulder down her arm in a slow caress.
"I think I'll only be able to dote on you properly after I see the proud Duchess Rosengart's daughter fall to the lowest rank of slavery and suffer for it. After all, the humiliation I endured was rather severe, don't you think?"
Irina's face twisted with utter humiliation. "You expect me to accept that? Duke Aberwin's second son! Even as a joke, that's going too far!"
At that moment, Kael's expression changed completely. His eyes grew cold and terrifying, filled with deep, simmering rage.
"A joke? Do I look like I'm joking? Fine. Truthfully, I never expected you to accept my offer anyway. So let's do this instead."
He suddenly contorted his face, beginning to act like someone deeply wounded.
"Irina, making me remember that day of our broken engagement... it hurts my heart so much. Damn it, because of this emotional wound, my ability has weakened today. It was already cut in half because of Finit... and now it seems it's been halved again."