Chaos' Heir-Chapter 1132: Ultimate sacrifice

Monica had mentioned that long ago, and Khan fully understood why.

Princess Rachel Montares was a far better fit for Khan. She was a successful and prized Princess, and their union in marriage would bring two noble families closer, creating a super force that could affect the power balance in the Global Army's upper echelons.

Time also wasn't on the nobles' side. Khan seemed to grow stronger and more popular by the day, so it would come to a point when even Excellencies would struggle to have any influence over him.

That had actually already happened inside the Nognes family, but the other nobles only had relatively accurate hunches. They knew something significant had occurred before Khan's departure, but the Nognes would never publicly disclose that.

Moreover, those practices often involved conflicting parties. Families at odds with each other usually used marriages to fix hostile relationships, turning potential enemies into stable allies. Khan had no shortage of those among the nobles, and basically, all of them were considering that political move.

Princess Rachel Montares was exceptional, but the other noble families had equally valuable or superior candidates. The Montares family was actually terrified the Virrai family might eventually offer their crown jewel, Princess Edna, in marriage to seal an alliance. The Montares felt they had to strike first and true, and their hopes rested on the good relationship between their Princess and Khan.

To Khan's helplessness, he couldn't find any real downside to the offer. From a political standpoint, marrying Princess Montares would multiply his finances and assets, reducing the weight of his mission on his family by letting another share that burden.

The benefits didn't only involve money, either. Nobles had their monopolies and countless secrets, and gaining access to what the Montares family had accumulated for centuries would greatly expand Khan's opportunities.

Khan would have more techniques, spells, scientists, specialized structures, manpower, and general support at his disposal, and each could benefit his mission. Even if they didn't help him directly, all his projects and organization would improve with them.

Princess Rachel was also quite easy on the eyes, to say the least. On an instinctive and primitive level, Khan couldn't deny how much he wanted her. The hand that clung to his was a simple appetizer of the pleasure Racher could give him, and he felt tempted beyond reason.

There was another point, too. Khan had decided to put love aside, throwing away everything else in his life to focus on his mission. The universe had shown him he couldn't have anything until he solved his curse anyway, so it was pointless to consider anything but his desperation.

On that note, marrying Rachel purely for financial and political reasons could be worth it. Khan wouldn't do it out of love. He wouldn't betray anyone except himself. He would make the ultimate sacrifice, disregarding his idealistic feelings for the sake of his mission.

That would even be the last thing Khan had yet to sacrifice or lose. He had never gone back to the way of experiencing feelings he had learned on Nitis. Khan had never tried to betray that lesson, but Liiza wasn't there. She hadn't been there for over eight years.

'Is it time to give up that, too?' Khan considered, noticing the shyness behind the serious, beautiful face before him.

Khan was genuinely conflicted. On the one hand, deepening his desperation had summoned his element's true power, giving him the strength he needed to hold his ground at the highest levels of the evolved realm.

Yet, Khan's element was also unreasonable. It would rather burn the world than go back on its nature and the main drives in Khan's life. Giving up on how he experienced feelings could finally break him, turning him into a stronger version of Jack.

Khan didn't even know whether he was capable of that, which could lead to an unhappy and toxic married life. Khan didn't care what that could do to him, but he didn't want Rachel to suffer because of him. Princes and Princesses were ready for that eventuality, but Khan didn't want to inflict any more pain on those dear to him.

Luckily, one problem existed in that seemingly perfect situation. As attractive and enticing as Rachel was, she was only a third-level warrior. Monica had been in the fourth level, and Khan had still found her brittle, so that sensation was several times more intense with Rachel.

Of course, that didn't really matter in those kinds of unions, but Khan valued it nonetheless. He couldn't even ignore it since his eyes and senses instinctively spotted flaws his element could exploit. His recent transformation only worsened that issue, and he didn't want Rachel to endure that curse.

Rachel put up a strong front before Khan, but his eyes' bright light gradually carved away that façade, exposing her true feelings. She was obviously shy about the matter but also slightly ashamed and hopeful. The former was due to her family's disrespectful plotting, while the latter was because she genuinely liked Khan.

Khan couldn't come up with an answer while pondering inside his head, so he decided to add data. He left the table to face Rachel while still holding her hand. Meanwhile, the other rose toward her face, slowly approaching her cheek.

Rachel warily watched the approaching scarred fingers but let them land on her cheek. She inhaled loudly, bathing in the gentle affection that expanded on her face's left side. She blushed, feeling hot, and her temperature only increased when Khan pulled her closer.

Khan leaned forward until he could put his forehead on Rachel's. He made sure to avoid touching it with his silver crown before closing his eyes, experiencing his potential partner as much as possible.

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Rachel also closed her eyes, letting Khan do as he wished. Her grasp on Khan's hand tightened when the thumb on her face rubbed down, descending over her cheek to reach her lips. They slightly parted under that gentle touch, but Khan limited himself to exploring their edges, softness, and smoothness.

That intimacy was almost magical. It was slow and gentle but also intense. Rachel nearly forgot about her inexperience during it, letting the moment draw her deeper into thoughts she had never dared to hope could become real.

However, reality eventually hit Rachel in the form of simple, almost silent words that she didn't want her ears to capture. "I can't."