The Baron's declaration echoed through the chamber, each word a hammer blow shaping Kael's new reality. He was no longer an orphan; he was a "ward." He was no longer a zero; he was a "weapon." The change was dizzyingly fast, a promotion that felt suspiciously like a gilded cage.
Valerius stared, his face a canvas of disbelief and fury. "Father! You can't be serious! This... this thing humiliated us! He stole Lion's Fang!"
"He did not steal it," Baron Thorne corrected, his voice lethally calm, though his eyes never left Kael. "The sword chose a new wielder. An ancient, if inconvenient, magical precedent. You would do well to remember that, Valerius. Power is not an inheritance; it is a weight one must be strong enough to carry. Kael has proven he can carry a weight you, it seems, cannot."
The verbal slap was so sharp and personal that Valerius flinched as if struck. The hatred in his eyes as he looked at Kael intensified, burning with the promise of future retribution.
Kael, for his part, felt the sword in his hand. It was light, perfectly balanced, and thrummed with a power that now resonated with his own. He ran his thumb over the hilt. He had no attachment to House Thorne or its legacy, but the sword... the sword was a useful tool. He gave the Baron a slight, almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgment. He understood the game. The Baron sought to control him by binding him with favor and scrutiny. It was a smarter play than open hostility.
"Guards," the Baron commanded, his authority returning. "Escort Lord Valerius to his chambers to... reflect. And have someone attend to Assessor Magnus. It seems the day's events have been too much for him."
The guards quickly and efficiently removed the fuming Valerius and the unconscious Magnus, leaving only Kael, the Baron, and the now-purring Ravager in the vast chamber. The silence that descended was thick with unspoken threats and calculations.
"You will be given the finest quarters in the citadel," the Baron stated, his tone now that of a strategist discussing a new asset. "You will be given tutors, resources, anything you require. Your journey to the Royal Academy in the capital, Veritas, will be arranged for the start of the next term. You will go as my proxy, a symbol of House Thorne's power."
"And in return?" Kael asked, his voice even.
"In return, you will learn to control... whatever it is you have," the Baron said. "You will become stronger. And when the time comes, you will use that strength for the benefit of this barony. For the benefit of my house." He leaned forward, his S-Rank aura pressing down, a final reminder of who was in charge. "Is that understood?"
Kael looked at the code flickering around the Baron. He saw the man's [Aura of Command] skill actively trying to influence him, but it was like a gentle breeze against a mountain. He could, with a thought, add a line to the Baron's own code: STATUS: [Uncontrollably Fearful of Kael Virein]. The temptation was a sweet, dark poison.
He suppressed it. For now. Openly dominating the most powerful man in the region was not a wise move. Acceptance was the path of least resistance.
"Understood," Kael said.
The Baron seemed to relax, though the tension in his shoulders remained. "Good. Alaric!"
The Guard Captain from before entered, his expression carefully neutral.
"Show... our ward... to the Azure Wing chambers. See to his every need."
"Yes, my Lord." Alaric bowed, then turned to Kael, his gaze a mixture of fear and newfound respect. "This way, young Lord."
Young Lord. The title was so new, so alien, yet it rolled off the Captain's tongue with practiced ease. Kael handed Lion's Fang back to the stunned Baron, the blade's blue-green aura fading back to gold as it returned to its master's bloodline, a silent, final display of his absolute control. He then turned and followed the guard, his pet Ravager trotting happily at his heels.
The Azure Wing was a level of opulence Kael could scarcely have imagined. Rich tapestries depicted the triumphs of House Thorne, the furniture was carved from dark, polished wood, and a balcony offered a breathtaking view of the entire barony. It was a far cry from his straw-stuffed mattress in the orphanage attic.
As he explored his new gilded cage, a soft knock came at the door.
"Enter," Kael called out, expecting a servant.
The person who entered was not a servant. It was a woman, or rather, a vision of aristocratic perfection. She was tall and slender, with a posture so straight and disciplined it seemed carved from ice. Her long, silvery-white hair was braided intricately, and her piercing, intelligent blue eyes seemed to analyze everything with a cool detachment. She wore the pristine white and blue uniform of a high-ranking knight or noble student, adorned with the crest of a silver wolf.
Kael's vision flickered to life instinctively.
=== ENTITY: Lyra von Argentis ===
CLASS: Frost Sovereign, A-Rank
LEVEL: 42
SKILL: [Glacial Dominion, Lv. 8], [Iceheart Veil], [Mana Sense, Lv. 9]
...and 8 more.
STATUS: Intrigued, Wary, Arrogant
-------------------------------------
THOUGHTS: 'So this is the anomaly Baron Thorne spoke of. A Skill-less orphan who tamed a Ravager? Impossible. There must be a trick. He looks... disappointingly plain.'
================================
This was the Duchess Lyra that Guard Captain Alaric had thought of. The woman on the poster, the "Ice Queen." And she was looking at him with the same expression one might use to examine an interesting but slightly distasteful insect.
"You are Kael Virein," she stated. It was not a question. Her voice was like the chiming of distant ice crystals—beautiful, but utterly devoid of warmth.
"And you are trespassing," Kael replied, his tone flat.
Her perfect eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. She was clearly not used to being spoken to in such a manner. "I am Duchess Lyra von Argentis. I am here on a diplomatic mission from the capital. The Baron saw fit to inform me of the... unusual circumstances of your awakening. I confess, my curiosity was piqued."
"Is it satisfied?" Kael asked, turning to look out the balcony.
Lyra's cool composure finally cracked with a flicker of annoyance. "You tamed a C-Rank Ravager. A feat that, on paper, is impossible for one without a high-level taming skill or overwhelming power. Yet you are documented as Skill-less, and your mana signature is negligible." She took a step closer, her [Mana Sense] skill actively probing him. "You are an enigma. A puzzle. And I do not like puzzles I cannot solve."
Kael turned back to face her, a faint, ghost of a smile on his lips. "Perhaps some puzzles aren't meant for you to solve, Duchess."
The Ravager, which had been dozing in a corner, lifted its head and let out a low growl at the perceived challenge in her tone.
Lyra's eyes narrowed, a frost-like chill emanating from her that lowered the temperature in the room by several degrees. It was the passive effect of her [Glacial Dominion] skill. "Do not mistake my curiosity for tolerance, boy. Your parlor tricks may impress provincial barons, but in the capital, power is measured on an entirely different scale. Whatever artifact or trick you are using, it will be uncovered at the Royal Academy. And then your fleeting moment of fame will be over."
She was trying to intimidate him, to put him back in the box of a "cheating commoner" that her worldview required.
Kael found it... amusing.
He focused his will. Not on her, but on the air in the room. He saw the code for her [Glacial Dominion] aura, the lines that dictated its temperature and effect. It was an elegant piece of work, a complex magical algorithm.
He simply added a single line to the room's environmental code.
PROPERTY: [Immune to Cold-based Magic]
The effect was instantaneous. Lyra's palpable, oppressive aura of cold didn't just vanish—it hit an invisible wall and ceased to exist within the room. From her perspective, her A-Rank power, an extension of her very being, had just been turned off like a faucet.
She gasped, her eyes widening in genuine shock for the first time. She tried to push her power out again, a visible shimmer of blue mana gathering around her, only for it to dissipate harmlessly. It was like trying to light a fire underwater. The very laws of magic were refusing her command.
"What... how...?" she stammered, her icy composure completely shattering. She stared at Kael, her mind racing. He hadn't cast a counter-spell. There was no surge of mana from him. He had just... looked at her.
"The capital sounds interesting," Kael said conversationally, ignoring her crisis. "I look forward to attending the academy. Maybe you can show me around when I arrive."
The casualness of his tone, contrasted with the impossible feat he had just performed, was a psychological blow more potent than any spell. He hadn't just matched her power; he had nullified it with contemptuous ease. He had treated her A-Rank, hero-class skill as a minor inconvenience to be toggled off.
Lyra von Argentis, the pride of the Argentis duchy, the untouchable Frost Sovereign, stared at the "disappointingly plain" boy. Her arrogance was gone, replaced by the same dawning, terrifying awe she'd seen on the faces of the Baron and the guards.
The puzzle had just become infinitely more complex. And for the first time in her life, she felt a sliver of something she had never experienced before.
Fear.