Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls-Chapter 448: Strategy, huh?

The dangerous silence stretched for a few more seconds, until Kael broke it.

"So, Elayne," he said, his voice calm, almost casual, "if all this works out... if you really do get the throne... what do you want?"

She blinked once.

It wasn’t surprise. It wasn’t hesitation. It was almost... boredom.

Elayne walked to the empty chair and sat down without asking permission, crossing one leg over the other in a way that was too relaxed for someone who was, in practice, being evaluated. She picked up Hella’s wine glass unceremoniously, smelled the contents, and returned it to the table without drinking.

"Honestly?" she replied. "There’s not much to think about."

Kael tilted his head slightly, intrigued.

"Everyone who wants a throne usually has a huge list of ambitions," he commented. "Reforms, glory, legacy, a name in history."

Elayne shrugged.

"That’s something someone who wants to be remembered would do," she said. "I just want to stop one thing."

Hella remained silent, watching intently. She didn’t interfere.

Kael leaned back in his chair.

"Your brother."

Elayne nodded.

"Cassian," she said the name without any reverence. "He doesn’t want to rule. He wants to be worshipped. He wants the world to constantly confirm that he is special, superior, untouchable."

She looked up at Kael, now devoid of any trace of the initial mockery. His gaze was cold, too lucid for someone her age.

"People like that shouldn’t have real power over a nation," she continued. "They don’t handle limits well. Or criticism. Or consequences."

Kael was watching her with genuine attention now.

"Too much narcissism for a throne," he concluded.

"Exactly," she replied. "An empire isn’t a mirror."

Hella finally spoke:

"And you?" she asked her niece. "Aren’t you afraid of becoming what you criticize?"

Elayne tilted her head, thoughtful for a moment.

"Of course I’m afraid," she replied. "But the difference is that I know it. Cassian thinks the world is wrong when it doesn’t bow to him."

Kael let out a low, almost imperceptible sigh.

"You don’t want power," he said. "You want restraint."

Elayne stared at him for a second... and smiled slightly.

"Finally someone understood."

The atmosphere in the room changed. It didn’t become lighter—it became more defined.

Kael ran a hand through his red hair, thoughtful.

"Empires usually fall not for lack of strength," he said, "but because leaders confuse their own ego with the fate of millions."

"Then you understand why my aunt is desperate," Elayne replied.

Kael looked at Hella. "I understand," she said. "And now I understand why you’re betting on her."

Hella held her gaze, serious.

"She doesn’t want to be adored," she said. "That, in itself, makes her dangerous... and necessary."

Elayne leaned back in her chair.

"So?" she asked, looking at Kael. "Are you going to stop me from saving the empire from myself... or from my brother?"

Kael smiled slightly.

"I haven’t decided yet," he replied. "But I can say one thing."

He leaned forward slightly.

"You don’t sound like someone dabbling in politics."

Elayne raised an eyebrow.

"Nor do you sound like someone who’s going to stay out of it for long."

Hella closed her eyes for a brief moment.

Kael let out a slow sigh, as if finally reaching an uncomfortable, yet inevitable, conclusion.

"I have no interest in that," he said simply, almost wearily. "Not in the throne. Not in the empire. Not in your intrigues."

Hella blinked, clearly taken aback.

"Kael," she began, leaning forward.

He was already standing.

The chair slid smoothly back, the dry sound of the wood against the floor seeming too loud in that suddenly silent room. Elayne opened her mouth, her eyes wide, searching for the right words—something rare for someone who had seemed so sure of herself until then.

"Wait, you can’t just—"

"You can," Kael interrupted calmly, adjusting his cloak over his shoulders. "And you will."

He paused for a moment, looking directly at Elayne. There was no contempt in his eyes. No irony. Just an honest assessment.

"You’ll figure this out yourself," he said. "You’re quite capable."

The silence that followed was absolute.

Elayne felt breathless for a second. Not because she disagreed... but because, deep down, she knew he was right. Still, that wasn’t what she expected to hear. Nor what she wanted.

Hella stood motionless, like a chess player who had just realized her most unpredictable piece had simply left the board.

"Kael..." she tried again.

But he was already leaving.

Kael walked to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. The instant he turned it, the wood swung open—revealing someone standing on the other side.

A tall man. Very tall.

The hallway seemed too small to contain him. Broad shoulders, rigid posture, overwhelming presence. Dark hair fell to his shoulders, carelessly tied back. His eyes... cold. Not attentive like Elayne’s. Cold in the sense of someone who believes, with absolute conviction, that the world owes him something.

Elayne paled.

"...Cassian," she murmured, almost voicelessly.

Hella reacted immediately, taking a step forward, her body subtly placed between her brother and niece.

Cassian Valroth smiled.

It wasn’t an amused smile. Nor a polite one. It was the crooked smile of someone who has just confirmed a suspicion.

"You two are quite bold today," he commented, his deep voice echoing down the corridor. "Plotting behind the family’s back... inside the palace."

His gaze slid over Hella, then Elayne, lingering on her a second longer than necessary.

"Disappointing," he added.

Then his eyes fell on Kael.

Cassian frowned.

"And you?" he asked. "Who are you?"

Kael replied with a smile too calm for the situation.

"Nobody important."

Cassian let out a short laugh.

"Everyone irrelevant thinks that," he said, taking a step forward.

Kael tried to pass him.

Cassian blocked the way.

The next instant, something changed.

Cassian’s aura exploded.

The ground trembled beneath his feet, fine cracks spreading across the corridor’s stones. The air grew heavy, almost oppressive, as if space itself were being compressed by the force of his presence. A hot, violent energy pulsed around him, pushing everything back.

Elayne felt her heart race.

"Cassian, no," she began.

Kael stopped.

Slowly, he turned his head to Hella, completely ignoring the overwhelming pressure around him.

"You’re quite the strategist, aren’t you..." he commented, with a crooked smile. "Using me like that... almost convinces me to help you."

Hella didn’t answer. For the first time since Kael had met her, she seemed genuinely tense.

Then the air shifted again.

It wasn’t an explosion.

It was worse.

The cold first came as a whisper—a shiver that ran down the skin of everyone there. Then came the feeling of emptiness. The warmth was ripped from the air as if it had never existed.

The ground began to freeze.

A layer of crystalline ice spread from Kael’s feet, advancing quickly, covering the stones, climbing the walls, trapping the air in a cutting silence. The vapor of breath became visible.

Cassian’s warm aura wavered.

Kael turned slowly to him.

His eyes were different.

Not furious. Not exalted.

Frigid.

"Spoiled brat," Kael said, his voice low, but echoing like blades in the frozen corridor. "You look more than twenty years old."

Each word made the ice crunch.

"Either get out of my way..." he took a step forward, and the ice spread even further, swallowing the space between them, "...or I’ll kill you."

Elayne felt her blood run cold.

"Cassian, get away!" she screamed, fear finally breaking through her composure. "Now!"

Cassian gritted his teeth.

His aura grew again, fighting against the cold that tried to overwhelm it. The ice began to crack under the pressure, but it didn’t recede. It was like trying to extinguish winter with fire.

"You think you can intimidate me?" Cassian growled. "This is my empire."

Kael smiled.

It was a small smile. Almost gentle.

"No," he replied. "I think you asked for it."

The cold advanced.

The walls creaked. The ceiling groaned under the abrupt change in temperature. The air became so thick that breathing hurt. Cassian’s aura began to be pushed inward, compressed against his own body.

He took a step back.

Then another.

His eyes, once full of arrogance, now blinked with something new.

Fear.

Kael slowly raised his hand.

"Last chance," he said. "Step back."

For an eternal second, Cassian hesitated.

Pride fought.

Instinct won.

He retreated.

The pressure ceased almost instantly. The cold remained, but did not advance further. Kael lowered his hand.

Elayne released the breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding.

Cassian breathed heavily, his fists clenched, his gaze burning with hatred... but without enough courage to advance.

Kael passed by him without even touching him.

As he crossed the threshold, he spoke one last time, without looking back: "My name is Kael Scarlet. And you’d better show some respect next time. Or I’ll kill you."

Kael walked past him calmly... but stopped, "Ah yes, Hella. We’ll talk another time. I found it audacious of you to use me to kill two members of the royal family. I’d love to have a meeting with you and understand why you’re destroying the Empire from the inside out." He smiled, but she didn’t even stop to see that smile.

Cassian’s face was white, but a contained rage clashed in his gaze with Hella’s and Elayne’s.