A Peacock Husband of Five Princesses by day, a Noble Assassin by Night-Chapter 163: Leaving the cave

Kael shrugged slightly, trying to downplay the magnitude of what she’d just witnessed. "You could say that. I can store my beast companions there."

Artemis’s gaze sharpened. "So that wolf of yours I saw last time... It’s been with you the entire time? You weren’t summoning it from another dimension?"

"Yes," Kael answered plainly. "I don’t have mana, Princess. I’m not reckless enough to wander the world alone without a backup plan."

"So, you are not a summoner, huh... I guess I was wrong about you..." Artemis went quiet for a moment, turning that over. Then her brows drew together in curiosity. "But my tattoo doesn’t function like that..." she murmured. Her eyes narrowed at the design etched into his skin. "The pattern... it’s different. Did your mother find a way to upgrade the Ancient Mystic Seal of Moonstone?"

Kael slowly shook his head. "It’s not the Seal of Moonstone."

Artemis’s expression shifted—surprise mixed with confusion.

"This is," Kael continued, "the Seal of House Raiden."

Artemis’s eyes widened. "House Raiden? I’ve heard the name. But... that house is long gone, isn’t it?"

Kael nodded once, firm. "It is. My father is a direct descendant of House Raiden."

Artemis exhaled softly, as if fitting a missing puzzle piece into place. "I see..."

But then a moment later...

"Anyway, the dungeon is already cleared," she said, voice cool and composed again. "I’m leaving. Do you want to come with me... or stay here?"

Kael gave her a small, tired smirk. "I was about to leave earlier anyway."

Artemis nodded slowly—not quite an invitation, not quite dismissal—then turned toward the shimmering portal behind her.

The currents of fate between them, once distant, now pulled just a little closer. "Then let’s go."

As they walked side-by-side through the damp corridor of stone, the only sounds were their footsteps and the occasional echo of distant water droplets falling from the cavern ceiling.

Artemis finally broke the silence. "So... what brings you all the way to Mayan Island?" she asked without looking at him, her hand lazily trailing along the wall as they walked.

Kael responded honestly, "I came with my sister. We’re traveling—collecting powerful beasts. I want to grow stronger... worthy enough to stay by them and not be someone who needed to be constantly protected by his wives and put them into danger."

Artemis scoffed lightly. "Worthy?" She shot him a sideways glance. "Why should a man have to be worthy of anything?"

Kael blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

Artemis stopped walking.

With a graceful step, she moved closer into his space—too close. Kael stiffened as she tilted her head slightly, her silver-blue eyes glinting with playful mischief.

"All a man needs," she said as she lifted a finger and gently traced it beneath his chin, "is to stay handsome... and keep a good physique and have high stamina to satisfy his wife."

Her voice dropped, her breath close enough to graze his skin.

"If my future husband looks even half as good as you," she murmured, "I’d gladly keep him in my palace. He won’t need to work hard at all..." Her lips curled into a slow, dangerous smile. "He would only need to serve me... wholeheartedly."

Kael’s throat tightened. He could feel the heat of her proximity, the faint vanilla scent clinging to her skin. But beneath her teasing tone, there was a subtle pressure—like a predator testing how prey reacts.

He gently shifted a step back, putting a respectable distance between them. "That sounds... like a tiring life," he managed.

Artemis chuckled, amused by his discomfort.

Without another word, she resumed walking ahead.

Kael let out a slow breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. Her presence was overwhelming—not because she was a princess, but because she carried the aura of someone used to owning everything she desired.

While he had no intention to be teased around by her, he still kept silent to preserve his secret and acted as a vulnerable, weak man, as he had always been, and quietly followed her out of the cave. Best not to provoke the Nymira Empire’s Princess any further.

They finally reached the cavern’s exit — a jagged archway overlooking the underwater abyss.

Right then, he paused. His heart sank as the realization hit him: to survive the ascent, he would need to transform into his humanoid demon form again.

And Artemis was still beside him.

She already didn’t ask him how he managed to make it this deep into the waters without any mana. He doesn’t want to give her any answer. Best to leave it to her imagination, like maybe, he possessed a water-type beast...

"Well?" she asked, hands on her hips. "Aren’t you coming?"

Kael forced a casual smile. "You go ahead. I... uh... remembered something."

Artemis’ brow arched. "Remembered... what?"

"My beast companion," Kael replied quickly. "I left it behind while exploring. I can’t leave without it."

"That cat?" she asked.

Kael shook his head. "No. It’s some other beast. It’s invisible... You wouldn’t be able to detect it, even with your senses." He hoped his voice didn’t sound too strained. "We’re connected mentally, so we’ll find each other."

Artemis studied him with her piercing silver eyes — suspicion flickering there.

"Fine," she finally said.

But she stepped closer, her tone lowering. "You are hiding something, Kael Raiden. And one day... I’ll figure out what."

With a final, unreadable look, she turned and dove upward through the shimmering blue darkness.

Kael exhaled — long and slow.

He remained still.

He suppressed every trace of his demonic aura, every ripple Cleo or Levy might give off — completely veiling his presence.

Then he waited for a while.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Twenty.

A full hour passed.

Only then did Kael breathe in relief that Artemis might have gone already. He then allowed his body to shift again into a partial demonic formation before exiting the cave and swimming toward the surface without being seen.

Meanwhile, at Imperial City, Queendom of Elyria;

Far from the mysteries of the Mayan Island, a storm brewed silently within the heart of the empire.

The Queen leaned back on her throne with a thick stack of parchments in her hands— each one stamped with a clan seal and a candidate’s name.

The Queen’s expression soured as she flicked through one after another.

"This boy is only sixteen," she muttered under her breath. "A child can’t take the mantle of K. Next."

She tossed the parchment aside.

"This one served time in prison. What kind of assassin gets caught? Getting caught is the same as death..."

"This woman is a fire elemental user. Too flashy."

"This one’s a necromancer. Absolutely not. We don’t need a walking disaster."

Her tone grew harsher — each judgment a swift execution.

Finally, she stopped at a page about a woman with impressive combat stats — only to scowl again. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"She sold her fiancé for gold to a noblewoman? Hah. The moment K becomes corrupt, the empire falls." She couldn’t stop herself from tearing the parchment in anger.

She slammed the table with the back of her hand. " ’K’ is not just another assassin we use against our enemies. It is a..."

"I know, mother..." A voice cut her off from the side. It was Athena who sat nearby. "K is the guardian angel of the capital city; the Queen’s shadow who follows the will of the throne and yet who acts outside the law while still having noble qualities."

Meanwhile, Queen reached the end of the stack and tossed the last parchment aside with visible irritation. "You can’t have a successor who is a lot worse than a predecessor. None of these can inherit his title."

Athena exhaled, folding her arms. "You can’t find someone like K, mother. He was super skilled, unwaveringly loyal, and most importantly, never failed a mission. You and I both know no assassin in history has matched him."

The Queen’s expression softened — not with nostalgia, but with a twinge of pain she tried to hide. Athena noticed. She stepped closer. "But why did he suddenly retire? And without choosing a successor? That isn’t like him."

A long silence followed.

The Queen clenched her fist over her heart, eyelids lowering. "Because K... lost his mana."

Athena’s eyes widened. "Lost... his mana? How?"

"In a battle with a demigod." The Queen’s voice was low, bitter. "His mana core shattered — utterly destroyed. No method can repair such damage. So he withdrew from the shadows... permanently."

Athena touched her own chest — imagining that kind of emptiness, that kind of fall from power. "Kehhh... that explains the mysterious retirement..." she murmured before her gaze sharpened. "But if we can’t repair his core... why not create a new one?"

The Queen lifted her head sharply.

"Athena. That is—"