I Died and Became a Noble's Heir-Chapter 382: Chain of the Soul Warden

"Exactly." Jack resumed walking, his pace steady as they approached Chiron’s location. "Which brings us to your original question. What am I planning to do with Rhys and you? The answer is simple: exactly what I said. He works for me, I support his claim to the throne, we both benefit from the arrangement."

"And if he wants out?" Sylph asked quietly.

"Then he shouldn’t have signed," Jack replied without sympathy. "The terms were clear. He agreed. The contract is sealed. Whether he regrets it now is irrelevant. He made his choice, and both of us are bound to honor it."

Sylph fell silent for several heartbeats, her tiny form outlined against the darkening sky. Finally, she spoke with something that might have been resignation. "You’re not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"A monster," Sylph admitted. "Someone who’d look at Rhys and see a tool to be used and discarded. Someone who’d enjoy the power over us, who’d use the contract to make him suffer just because they could."

"You must thought of me as a vile beast," Jack observed.

"It sounds like every other Soul Mage in recorded history."

"Maybe that’s why they’re all dead," Jack said. "Using power for cruelty tends to make enemies. I prefer useful allies to terrified slaves."

He stopped walking, his attention finally focusing on the structure ahead of them. Chiron Stormblood stood before Draven’s pantheon. Torchlight flickered across carved surfaces, illuminating symbols and inscriptions.

The memorial he’d built for his patron god.

And Chiron Stormblood was examining it with the focused attention of someone reading a story written in stone.

"I need to go," Jack said to Sylph. "Tell Rhys that his first task will be helping Father Caelen prepare materials about Caeloria’s political situation. Maps, noble houses, anything relevant to understanding the kingdom’s internal dynamics. I’ll need that information before I leave for the investigation."

"That’s it?" Sylph asked. "That’s his first order as your bound servant? Help compile information?"

"Did you expect something more dramatic?" Jack’s grin returned. "He’s an elf prince with intimate knowledge of Caeloria’s politics. Using that knowledge is the obvious first step. Now go, unless you want to be present for my conversation with the Lightning God."

Sylph didn’t need to be told twice. She vanished in a swirl of wind, leaving Jack alone in the gathering darkness.

Chiron Stormblood stood before the pantheon, white lightning flickering along his arms. His eyes tracked Jack without surprise, one hand resting on the stonework.

"You built this," Chiron said.

"I did," Jack confirmed, stopping a respectful distance away.

"For Draven." Chiron’s fingers traced over carved inscriptions. "Your patron god. The one who chose you."

"You’re well-informed."

"I don’t waste time on people who aren’t interesting." Chiron turned fully to face Jack. "And you, Jack Kaiser, are becoming very interesting."

Jack met that gaze without flinching. "I’m flattered."

"Don’t be." Chiron’s tone carried that edge of someone who never had to prove himself. "Interesting people attract my attention. And my attention means I involve myself in their lives whether they want it or not. Case in point, my daughter has become obsessed with you. That makes you my problem."

"Charlotte is her own person," Jack replied carefully. "I’m not responsible for her feelings."

"No. But you are responsible for how you handle them." Chiron’s grin was sharp. "That little show in the garden with Duchess Veyra. Making eye contact with Charlotte while another woman pressed herself against you. That wasn’t accidental."

Jack’s expression didn’t change. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Bullshit." Chiron laughed. "You knew exactly what you were doing. You wanted Charlotte to see. To have her understand you’re not some prize she can claim just by wanting you. Cruel, but smart."

"I’m just a hospitable host."

"Of course you are." Chiron’s attention returned to the memorial. "Sentiment is weakness. Common sense keeps you breathing. Someone taught you that for your age, or you’re a lot older than sixteenyears old."

Jack’s jaw tightened.

"So," Chiron said, his tone shifting to something more direct. "Did you approach me just to stand here looking uncomfortable? Or did you actually want something?"

Jack’s eyes dropped to Chiron’s left forearm. To the chain wrapped around it.

Dark metal links formed a band that appeared decorative. But Jack’s awareness, along with Death’s information, told him what this was.

The Chain of the Soul Warden. Second piece of a three-part set.

"That chain," Jack said. "It’s been in your family for generations?"

"Passed from patriarch to patriarch since before Draconia existed," Chiron confirmed. "My father wore it. His father before him. Goes all the way back to House Stormblood’s founder, who took it off some enemy whose name nobody remembers anymore."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Family heirloom. It holds sentimental value." Chiron shrugged. "Inscriptions are in some dead language none of our scholars could translate. Metal doesn’t respond to lightning, fire, or any other tested element. It’s just old. Important enough that every Stormblood patriarch wears it."

Jack’s mind worked through the information. Chiron didn’t know what the chain actually was. To him, it was tradition. Nothing more.

"I want it," Jack said bluntly.

Chiron’s eyebrows rose. "Direct. I like that. Why?"

"Because it’s important to me."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only one you’re getting," Jack countered. "The chain has significance you don’t understand. I’m not explaining. But I’ll negotiate fairly for it."

Chiron stared at him for a long moment. Then he laughed.

"Hahaha!!!"

"You want my family’s chain. Won’t tell me why. But expect me to hand it over anyway." His grin widened. "What exactly are you offering?"

"I’ll come to Draconia after I finish in Caeloria. King Eric asked for some favors from me, so I have business to do," Jack said. "You want to test me. See what I can do with white lightning. I’ll give you that fight. One spar, no holding back. You and me testing our limits."

"That’s it?" Chiron’s tone carried genuine curiosity. "One fight for my ancestral chain?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Yes."

"I could demand that fight anyway." Chiron crossed his arms. "You’ll be engaged to my daughter. Or there’s a proposal on the table, at least. I have leverage."

"You have a proposal Charlotte made without my agreement," Jack corrected. "That’s a complication, not leverage. And you could demand the spar. But then you’d get me at my current level. Strong, but not motivated to show you everything."

He stepped closer.

"Give me that chain? Hand over something I actually want? Then you get me at my best. No holding back. No hiding techniques. Pure combat. Two people with white lightning testing their absolute limits."

"You think you can challenge me." He said bluntly.

"I think I’m the most interesting opponent you’ve had in years," Jack replied with absolute confidence. "And I think you’re curious enough about white lightning to want that fight more than you want a piece of metal you don’t understand."

Chiron was silent. Only the sound of lightning crackling between them could be heard.

Then he smiled so wide it became frightening, if anyone could see him now.

"You’re right," he said. "I do want that fight. But you need to understand something about this chain."

His fingers touched the metal.