Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls-Chapter 435: Let’s enjoy ourselves and then come back.

Kael stretched in his chair, cracking his neck and shoulders slightly, as if finally allowing his body to acknowledge rest after a long time living in a state of alert. He leaned back, closed his eyes for a brief moment, and slowly exhaled, a tranquil half-smile that contrasted sharply with the Kael of just a few days ago, always tense, always calculating his next move.

"In the end…" he began, opening his eyes again and looking at Eva across the table, "…everything is fine. Strangely fine."

Eva tilted her head, watching him attentively as she finished eating, clearly curious about his almost serene tone.

"That doesn't quite fit someone who just discovered they're at the center of a gigantic imperial mess," she commented.

Kael shrugged, relaxed.

"Maybe I'm just too tired to panic right now." He paused briefly, then added, almost casually, "Besides… I got a lot stronger."

Eva immediately raised an eyebrow.

"Stronger how much?"

He thought for a second, as if doing an internal calculation, then answered with too much nonchalance for something so absurd.

"Five times stronger, at least. Maybe more."

She stopped the movement of her fork in mid-air.

"…What do you mean?"

Kael smiled slightly, that smile that always appeared when he knew something he didn't intend to explain anytime soon.

"The coma wasn't just… sleeping." He crossed his arms, relaxed. "A lot happened in there. Things I'm still figuring out." He tilted his head slightly. "Even I have my own secrets, after all."

Eva stared at him for a few seconds, assessing him with that sharp gaze that usually dismantled lies with ease. This time, however, she didn't press. Instead, she smiled slightly, resting her chin on her hand.

"Fair enough," she said. "It would be hypocritical of me to demand immediate explanations."

Kael returned the smile, grateful for it.

For a few moments, only the distant sound of the forest and the soft creaking of the house's wood filled the comfortable silence between them. Then Kael leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on the table.

"And you?" he asked. "What are you going to do now?"

Eva looked around the kitchen, at the light streaming through the window, at the still-laden table, at him there, alive, whole, present. Her gaze softened before she answered.

"Now?" She smiled. "Now I'm going to enjoy the moment. Finish the meal with my husband." She said it with a dangerous nonchalance, as if she were simply stating a fact. "After that… we return to the capital."

Kael chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"Speaking like that makes it all sound very organized."

"It's not," she replied. "But for a few hours, we can pretend it is."

He nodded, accepting it without resistance. Then he sighed deeply and leaned back again.

"All right," he said. "Especially since…" He made an amused face. "…those two must be completely ready to murder me as soon as I show up."

Eva smiled, amused.

"Amelia and Irelia?"

"Themselves." Kael ran a hand over his face. "Disappear without warning, reappear days later, stronger, full of secrets, and on top of that, involved with you?" He let out a short laugh. "I'm practically asking to get beaten up."

Eva rested her elbow on the table, clearly amused by the image.

"You're exaggerating."

"No, I'm realistic." He pointed at her with his thumb. "You kidnapped me."

"Technically," she corrected calmly, "it was a coercive invitation."

"Which caused problems," Kael continued, ignoring the correction. "And guess who's going to deal with the consequences?"

She pretended to think for a second.

"You."

"Me." He sighed, but there was a smile there. "Always me."

Eva rose from her chair and approached, placing her hands on his shoulders from behind, leaning slightly to kiss the top of his head, a simple, intimate, surprisingly domestic gesture.

"Consider this part of the price for getting involved with me," she murmured. "It comes with drama, political persecutions… and unexpected breakfasts."

Kael laughed, closing his eyes for a moment under her touch.

"Interestingly," he replied, "I still think it's worth it." She smiled, satisfied.

She remained there for a moment, her hands still resting on his shoulders, as if reluctant to leave that small bubble of normalcy. Kael slowly opened his eyes and turned his face just enough to meet hers, his smile still tranquil, but now laden with something more attentive.

"So it's decided," he said. "A few hours pretending the world doesn't want to swallow us whole… and then we face everything head-on."

Eva nodded, sliding her hands down his arms before stepping away and returning to her chair.

"Exactly." She picked up her cup again. "The Empire can wait until we finish our coffee."

Kael watched her for a moment, as if saving that image for later—Eva relaxed, barefoot, with the morning sun touching her white hair. Then he stood up, picking up his own glass.

"If someone had told me I'd wake up stronger, married, and threatened with death by my own allies… all before noon," he remarked, "I would have laughed."

"And now?" she asked, with a slight glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Now I just accept it." He gave a half-smile. "Apparently, this is my life."

Eva smiled back, in that calm, confident way that always disarmed him.

"It's a dangerous life," she said. "But not exactly boring."

"Definitely not," Kael agreed. He raised his glass in an almost solemn gesture. "To chaos, then. But only after coffee."

She clinked his glass with hers, a silent toast.

"After coffee," she repeated.

...

The Ainsworth mansion was far from peaceful that morning.

The main hall, spacious and elegantly decorated, seemed too small to contain the energy emanating from Irelia. She paced back and forth, heavy steps marking the marble floor as if each movement were a promise of imminent violence. Her light hair was haphazardly tied up, a few loose strands betraying that she hadn't even bothered to properly style herself, and her eyes burned with a fury bordering on uncontrollable rage.

"I'm going to kill him."

The phrase came out low, restrained, dangerous.

"Not all at once," she continued, clenching her fists. "That would be too merciful."

Amelia, sitting calmly on the sofa, watched the scene without moving. Her legs were crossed, her hands resting in her lap, a posture too relaxed for someone listening to a detailed list of hypothetical tortures. She had learned over the years that interrupting Irelia at the height of that state only made things worse.

"First," Irelia continued, turning on her heels to stare blankly into space, "I break his legs. Slowly. Then his arms. One by one. I want to see that smug look on his face disappear."

Amelia sighed deeply.

"Irelia."

"No," she retorted immediately, pointing a finger in the air. "Let me finish. After that, I let him recover just enough to understand what he did. Show up, promise to stay… and then let himself be kidnapped." Her voice faltered for a split second before hardening again. "As if that were normal."

Amelia tilted her head to the side, studying her.

"Are you finished?"

Irelia stopped walking. She stood motionless for a few seconds, breathing heavily, before answering through gritted teeth:

"No."

Even so, Amelia spoke. "None of this will change a thing." She said in a calm, almost weary tone. "You can be nervous, furious, murderous, or all of the above at once. Kael will still do what he thinks he needs to do."

Irelia turned slowly to her, her eyes gleaming with anger.

"You should be on my side."

"I am on your side," Amelia replied, without changing her tone. "That doesn't mean I'm going to feed your massacre fantasy."

Irelia let out a short, humorless laugh.

"Fantasy? He disappears. Again. And this time with her."

Amelia kept her gaze steady.

"With Eva."

The name hung in the air like an invisible blade.

Irelia looked away for a moment, her jaw clenched.

"Exactly."

Amelia leaned back a little further on the sofa, crossing her arms.

"Do you really think you have the courage to contradict Eva?" "A woman who has the same level of strength as my uncle?" she asked directly.

The silence that followed was heavy.

Irelia opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. The anger on her face began to crack, giving way to something more raw, more honest. She ran a hand through her hair forcefully, as if trying to tear out her own thoughts.

"I hate when you make sense," she murmured.

"I know." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Irelia exhaled all at once, as if she had held her breath for too long. She walked to the sofa and let herself fall onto it without any elegance, throwing her head back and staring at the high ceiling of the mansion.

"This isn't fair," she said, her voice now lower. "He can't just decide these things alone."

Amelia observed her profile, the rigidity of her shoulders, the tension that hadn't yet gone away.

"He always decided," she replied softly. "It's just that now the consequences are greater."

Irelia brought a hand to her face, covering her eyes.

"I just wanted…" She paused, swallowed hard, and then let the words escape, stripped of pride or anger. "I just wanted him to have stayed."

The silence that followed was no longer explosive. It was dense, heavy with unresolved feelings.

After a few seconds, Irelia murmured, almost in a whisper:

"I want my husband."

Amelia felt the tightness in her chest even before she realized she was breathing slower.

She stood up from the sofa, walked over to Irelia, and sat down beside her, unhurriedly. She didn't try to touch immediately. She just stayed there.

"Me too," she said finally. "I want him here. Whole. Alive. Even if it means putting up with all the idiotic decisions he thinks he needs to make."