Transmigrated Into a Cannon Fodder Phoenix, Stuck With the Ice Dragon-Chapter 146: Severin’s Scheme

"You know," Arienne said slowly, "the fact that Aelira came to you, came to us, asking if we could take care of the child..."

She frowned, then carefully lowered her legs from the chair. With visible effort, she pushed herself up to stand, steadying her balance before continuing.

"You rejected her."

Her voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to.

"Even after she explained that she was only asking us to look after the child for a short while," Arienne went on. "Until her life was settled. Until the conflict within the Phoenix Clan had calmed down."

She looked straight at Severin.

"But instead of helping her," Arienne said coldly, "you suggested the fairies."

Lucian’s fingers curled at his side.

"You told her it was the best place," Arienne continued. "The safest. That the fairies could hide the child better than anyone else."

Her gaze hardened.

"And now," she said quietly, "you stand here pretending this was never your idea."

The room fell silent.

Severin let out a slow breath, almost amused.

"I only suggested it," he replied calmly. "Whether she followed that suggestion or not was entirely her choice."

Arienne’s eyes narrowed.

"But here’s the fact," Severin went on, his tone turning sharp. "She didn’t go back for the girl until she was seventeen."

Vivian stiffened.

"And why?" Severin continued, his gaze flicking briefly toward me. "Because she needed her."

The words sank deep.

"She needed the girl close," he said quietly, "to protect her own daughter, before the Leviathan’s mark fully awakened."

Thalor’s breath caught and when he wanted to move to Severin, Lucian stopped him.

"The bride’s bond was always meant to surface at eighteen," Severin added. "She knew that."

His eyes lifted, cold and deliberate.

"So ask yourselves," he finished softly, "was the child brought back out of love..." A pause, "or because the time had finally come?"

Arienne let out a short chuckle. "You really love twisting things," she said coldly. "She couldn’t. It’s not that she didn’t want to come back all those years."

I felt the air shift.

Severin stared at her, then stepped closer. "I didn’t know you enjoyed talking so much," he said lightly.

My breath caught when he raised his hand, reaching toward her hair.

But Arienne moved faster. She slapped his wrist aside.

Frost bloomed instantly over his arm, ice crawling up his skin and locking it in place midair.

The room went deathly still.

Severin burst out laughing. "You’re freezing the Ice Dragon King?" He tilted his head, clearly amused. "Come on, wife..."

Arienne didn’t release the ice.

Watching her stand there, unmoving, unshaken, I suddenly understood the story I heard from Ena the other day about her.

"Touch me again," she said calmly, "and you’ll lose more than your pride."

The laughter faded, just a little.

"What?" he scoffed. "Do you think that after being revived, you suddenly overpower me?"

He turned abruptly, his gaze snapping straight to me.

"Did you give her some kind of illusion?" he demanded. "Make her believe she’s stronger than me now, just because you brought her back?"

The accusation made my stomach twist.

I didn’t step back.

"I didn’t give her anything," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "She was always stronger than you thought."

Severin’s eyes narrowed. "Careful."

I met his gaze anyway. "You’re confusing power with control," I continued. "And you’ve been doing that for a very long time, I believe."

The temperature in the room dropped even further.

Arienne’s frozen grip didn’t waver.

"Really?" Severin tilted his head slightly upward.

In the next instant, the frost encasing his arm shattered. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Ice cracked and fell to the floor in sharp fragments, dissolving into mist before they could even touch the ground.

"Want me to show you," he said calmly, flexing his freed fingers, "the difference between frost and ice?"

My heart slammed hard against my ribs.

The pressure in the room changed, like standing beneath a glacier that had just begun to move.

Arienne finally released her hold, stepping back half a pace.

Lucian moved at once, placing himself slightly in front of me. I could feel the restrained fury rolling off him—cold, lethal, barely contained.

"No," I said quickly, pushing at his back. "Go. Protect your mother."

He hesitated, just for a heartbeat before rushing to his mother’s side.

"I dare you," Lucian said coldly, his voice cutting through the tension, "use your power here." His eyes locked onto Severin. "You know exactly what I’m capable of."

He held his mother’s arm firmly, guiding her back toward the wheelchair with care that contrasted sharply with the threat in his tone.

Severin didn’t move.

"Useless..." he muttered under his breath.

Lucian turned his head slowly.

When he met Severin’s eyes, the air seemed to tighten around us.

"So that’s it," Lucian said quietly. "Just because I didn’t follow your rules. Just because I didn’t become what you wanted." His voice didn’t rise but it cut deeper that way. "That makes me useless in your eyes."

Severin didn’t respond.

Lucian took a single step forward.

"You know," he continued evenly, "that if I wanted to, my ice could shatter your core." His hand flexed slightly, frost curling along his fingers. "Not the surface. Not the armor you like to show off."

His gaze was unwavering.

"The core," Severin muttered under his breath.

For a moment, I thought he might laugh again.

He didn’t.

Instead, a thin smile curved his lips. "And yet," he said calmly, "I’ve survived until now." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Or is it that you’re not truly confident in your own power?"

Lucian’s jaw tightened. "No," he replied evenly. "It’s because I’m not like you. I don’t use power for my own benefit."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Severin clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "You can lie out loud if it helps you sleep."

He took a slow step forward.

"But you know the real reason you keep limiting yourself," Severin continued softly. "You’re afraid."

Lucian didn’t flinch.

"Afraid," Severin went on, his voice lowering, "because you know you can’t fully control your own power."

The air grew brittle.

Lucian’s eyes darkened. "Wrong," he said quietly.

He took a slow breath, frost rippling faintly beneath his skin before settling again.

Severin shook his head, a smirk plastered across his face. "I remember," he said lightly, "how you hurt several people the first time you went mad." His voice was almost conversational. "And that was when your power wasn’t even fully awakened."

He lifted his hand, shaping his fingers like a pistol.

"Who knows," Severin went on calmly, "you might aim for me..." He flicked his wrist toward himself, "But lose control."

His hand shifted.

"And hurt your own mother, Bang," he said softly, pointing toward Arienne.

Then, "Or maybe your wife." His fingers angled toward me. "Bang."

The word hadn’t even finished leaving his mouth when I could feel something pierced my chest.

I stumbled back as if I’d actually been shot, my breath tearing out of me. My hand flew to my chest, fingers trembling as pain bloomed deep beneath my ribs.

"Lucian..." I gasped. "He—he shot me."