Warrior Training System-Chapter 464: Succession Before the Funeral

Cassian’s hand slipped toward Lumine’s waist, fingers teasing the edge of her belt. She immediately slapped his hand away, breaking the kiss with a sharp look.

"I’ve got duties," she said firmly.

"Can’t you ditch them?" Cassian asked, not quite giving up, his hands still hovering like he was tempted to try again. He caught the hesitation on her face—she clearly wanted to—but duty won out. She shoved him back and quickly put some distance between them before he could pull her in again.

"Ditch them?" she snorted. "If I skip my rounds and something goes wrong, my head’s the one ending up in a ditch."

She grabbed her sword and buckled it around her waist. Cassian watched her, disappointed but not stopping her this time.

"Guess things are serious around here," he said.

"Why wasn’t it like this... back there in the cult?" she asked quietly.

"It was," Cassian said, stepping out of the tent beside her. Then, like it was an afterthought, he added, "So tell me—are we still dealing with those summoned monsters, or have cultists finally started showing their faces?"

"Both," Lumine replied. "We’ve had a few run-ins. Mostly small skirmishes over the past week—nothing decisive, but enough to keep everyone on edge." She paused, then added, "Robert got caught in one of them a few nights ago too."

Cassian lifted an eyebrow, keeping his tone easy."Oh? He did?"

"Yeah, but nothing serious," she said. "A few blows traded, that’s all. No deaths—at least not on our side." She smiled a little as she went on. "Actually, casualties have been dropping lately. Between our reinforcements and the ones Princess Aria’s uncle arranged, things have stabilized a bit. Though... it’s caused some headaches inside the Karmen household."

Cassian’s interest perked up. "That sounds like good gossip."

He cut her off before she could launch into it properly. "Mind if I do the rounds with you?"

Lumine nodded instantly, clearly pleased. As they started walking, she filled the silence without hesitation—catching him up on everything he’d missed since he’d been gone, starting with the latest drama swirling around the Karmen family.

From the looks of it, the princess and the prince had already started fighting over who’d take the family head seat—even though their father was still very much alive. The uncle had thrown his support behind the mage prince, having personally trained him and pushed him down the path of magic.

Meanwhile, the father and a handful of older officials—the ones still loyal to the traditional Karmen line—stood firmly behind the princess. She was a Circle Warrior, same as her father, and just like every true head of the Karmen family before her.

"Who do you think’s better?" Cassian asked, genuinely curious about how it might all shake out.

Lumine hummed softly. "I don’t really know the prince that well, but Princess Aria seems... decent. And competent. A lot more than the rumors make her out to be. From what I’ve seen, she wasn’t losing battles because she’s weak—she just didn’t have the support to uproot enemies she couldn’t face head-on. That’s where the Magisterian reinforcements helped."

She frowned slightly, clearly tangled up in the politics. "But honestly, it’s all gotten confusing. There’s talk that the earl was against bringing in reinforcements, and that his brother went behind his back and asked the uncle instead. But before things escalated this badly, Princess Aria had already been asking for help—and both brothers were against it back then. Only when the Karmen army started bleeding heavily did the uncle agree."

She sighed. "And then Shera told me it was actually Aria’s people who pushed for the reinforcements, not the uncle. But who knows at this point? Could all be rumors. Maybe the earl himself asked for them in the end."

Cassian nodded slowly. "Yeah... hard to tell where the truth ends and politics starts."

He paused, then added casually, "Actually, I’ve gotta bail on the rounds. Just remembered something important I need to take care of. I’ll catch up with you after you’re done."

With that, he peeled away, Lumi­ne’s words already turning over in his head.

Something was definitely wrong inside the Karmen family. With one spy already confirmed, he could start trimming the list—figure out who really asked for reinforcements from the beginning and who resisted them. That alone could narrow things down fast.

Decision made, Cassian headed straight for Naset Lawk. The commander was busy juggling reports and people, but getting some time he waved him in, "Forgot something to mention this morning?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Cassian shook his head with a faint smile and dropped into a chair without waiting to be offered one, earning an annoyed glance from the butler hovering nearby.

"No," he said casually, "but I did forget to ask a few things."

Naset didn’t even look up from the pile of papers spread across his desk. "Ask," he said flatly. "Just stay away from anything personal."

Cassian glanced at the paperwork, briefly confused why a war needed this much writing. Apparently, he still overestimated his own grasp on command logistics.

"Alright," he said. "Who asked for reinforcements from Magisteria in the first place, who opposed it—and which branches of the Karmen family have been taking losses... and which haven’t?"

Naset finally looked up, an amused glint in his eyes. "Trying to sniff out the cult’s spy that way?"

Cassian nodded, clearly pleased with himself.

The smile didn’t last.

Naset leaned back, unimpressed. "What do you take me for—an idiot? I’ve already gone through all of that. I’ve got my own list of suspects." He tapped the desk lightly. "But suspicion isn’t enough. I need proof. Not clever patterns and gut feelings."

Cassian let out a slow breath, his earlier confidence dimming just a notch. "It’s not like that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was just planning to snoop around a little. Needed a few starting points, that’s all."

"I thought you said you already had someone in mind," Naset replied, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, I do," Cassian said quickly, somehow managing to look even more embarrassed. "I just wanted to know who you were watching too. Figured it’d be better if we were on the same page."

Naset studied him for a long moment, then sighed. "Fine." He reached to the side, pulled out a thin stack of files, and slid them across the table. "Read these."

Cassian’s attention snapped into place.

"I know the mission I sent you on was important," Naset continued, tone heavier now, "but a lot more has come to light since then. I can’t afford to give this particular problem more attention than I already am."

Cassian opened his mouth, about to ask what could possibly outrank hunting down a cult spy—

"Don’t ask," Naset cut in flatly. "Just take these. If you get confirmation—real proof—then come back to me."