"The Witch’s Redirection"

"The Witch’s Redirection" 10

Chapter Ten:

Puppeteer's Threads and Broken Shackles

Elisia Raven did not wait long to prove that her release from prison was not for the sake of peace. The following morning, the corridors of the Imperial Palace were filled with southern nobles who had arrived to celebrate her "innocence," while she sat in her new wing, wearing a pristine white gown and a scarf tightly wrapped around her neck to conceal any alleged traces of interrogation. She smiled softly before everyone, but behind the masks, her eyes gleamed with a ravenous desire for revenge and the absolute destruction of House Etherion.

In the Crown Prince’s office, Cassian stood before the grand window overlooking the courtyard, his hands locked behind his back with his customary military rigidity. He was not thinking about the southern reports or the pressure from the nobles; instead, his mind was entirely consumed by the imagery of the previous night—the sight of Seraphina standing coldly amidst blood and dark magic, and how she had peeled his hands away with that infuriating indifference that struck his pride to its core.

His thoughts were abruptly cut short as an officer rushed inside. "Your Highness, the magical scrolls recovered from the ambush have been transferred to the lower arcane archives, and Lady Seraphina has already begun inspecting them alone."

"Alone?" Cassian’s golden eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, a sharp surge of fury igniting within his chest, threatening to burn away his legendary stoicism. "Did I not issue a explicit command that she is not to move without an escort?"

Without waiting for the officer's reply, Cassian moved with dominant charisma and stormy strides that rattled the stone corridors, heading directly toward the lower archives. His pride dictated that he was doing this to preserve the "security of the empire," but the erratic acceleration of his heartbeat betrayed his newfound fixation and his hidden terror for her safety.

When he slammed open the massive iron door of the archives, he found Seraphina sitting calmly amidst thousands of ancient volumes, the brilliant blue light of her pure mana enveloping the black scrolls. She did not startle at his tempestuous entry; instead, she slowly raised her blue eyes with an infuriating, marble stillness.

"Did I not tell you yesterday that you are not to take a single step within this palace without me?" Cassian said, his voice dropping to a deep, low vibration that carried a sharp threat. He advanced until he cornered the table she sat behind, leaning his massive frame forward to impose his absolute power and royal presence.

"And I never agreed to your commands, Your Highness," Seraphina replied, her velvety voice icy as she stood up to meet his gaze eye-to-eye without a single inch of retreat. "I am not one of your soldiers, nor am I a puppet you can maneuver as you please under the guise of your palace security."

Cassian took a sudden step around the table. With a lightning-fast motion and peak combat efficiency, his powerful hand shot forward, capturing both of her wrists together and pinning them firmly against the wooden surface. He leaned down until his dark hair nearly brushed her forehead, his grip as unyielding as an iron shackle, his golden eyes blazing with a fierce hunger and possessiveness he could no longer restrain.

"This is not about palace security, Seraphina," Cassian whispered in a dark, quiet tone that seemed to vibrate through the room, his fingers maintaining a heavy, steady pressure against her soft skin. "This is about you... even if your monumental pride refuses to acknowledge it. Elisia has returned, the Shadow Guild is targeting you, and I will not allow you to gamble with your life merely to prove your detachment to me."

Seraphina looked down at his locked hands upon her, feeling the overwhelming heat radiating from his body and the familiar scent of sandalwood that threatened to breach her psychological armor. Though her heart rebelled, hammering violently in a betrayal of her deep-seated feelings for him, she maintained her frozen gaze. She spoke in a wounding murmur, deliberately throwing back the way he had treated her before her exoneration:

"Your concern is entirely too late, Cassian. For years, I pursued your shadow, begging with my eyes for a fraction of your attention or protection from those who marginalized me, and I found nothing from you but neglect and administrative coldness. But now? I protect myself. Release my hands."

Her words struck Cassian's pride directly in the center. The memory of how he used to treat her past devotion as a mere "troublesome behavioral file" resurfaced, and a searing pang of regret tore through his chest for the very first time. He did not release her wrists immediately; instead, his thumb pressed with a firm, deliberate friction against her skin, catching the frantic acceleration of her pulse that exposed she wasn't as entirely frozen as she claimed, before slowly, possessively uncoiling his fingers.

At that exact moment, the magical communication crystal on the table vibrated violently, and Leon’s voice emerged, uncharacteristically tense and sharp: "Seraphina! Move immediately... The Emperor has just issued an executive order, instigated and pushed by House Raven, to strip you of your supervision over the investigation and transfer the scrolls to Elisia’s personal southern sorcerer!"

Cassian and Seraphina’s eyes locked instantly, his burning fury clashing against her enigmatic coldness.

Seraphina offered a beautiful, chilling smile beneath the blue glow of her magic, looking at Cassian with absolute defiance. "Do you see it now? The vipers of the south are instinctively moving to cover their venom... Now, Your Highness, will you follow the laws of your empire that serve traitors and strip me of my right, or will you step aside and let me burn the entire forest down in my own way?"

Cassian turned, his hand tightening around the hilt of his broadsword with a tempestuous pride, his features darkening with a terrifying royal wrath that entirely consumed him. "The southern sorcerer will not touch a single parchment from this room... This time, you and I will run this game together, on my terms and yours, not on the terms of House Raven."

However, before either of them could take a single step toward the heavy doors, Seraphina noticed a sudden, anomalous shift. The serene blue light of her magic surrounding the black scrolls abruptly warped into a dense, necrotic violet. The encrypted characters upon the ancient parchment began to shift and slide across the paper on their own accord like nesting vipers, rapidly rearranging themselves to form a completely new sentence that had never existed before.

Seraphina leaned forward sharply, her blue eyes narrowing in a state of genuine shock that caused the blood to freeze inside her veins.

The sentence written in black blood upon the scroll did not belong to the Shadow Guild, nor did it belong to House Raven... It was—

------------------------------