The Kaelin mansion hadn't changed much. Even though the aesthetic has changed, the cold feeling still lingers the same, drenched in marble, silence, and an air of superiority thick enough to choke on.
The maid led me through the echoing halls like I was some unwelcome guest. Which, to be fair, I was.
I stepped into the study and found him already seated. Theron Kaelin, seated like some great beast guarding a hoard of pride and unfinished business.
I didn't bother to sit until he gestured. He didn't bother with pleasantries.
I got straight to the point.
"Where is my mother's ashes?"
His lips curled into something that might've passed for a smirk if it wasn't so hollow. "Why so hurried, Lucien?" he said, voice smooth. "You'l have just come."
A knock interrupted. The maid entered, carrying a tray with two steaming cups.
She placed them between us, quietly retreating like a shadow. He picked up his cup.
I didn't touch mine.
He noticed. "Why aren't you drinking?"
I stared at the cup, then at him. "Who knows? Maybe you poisoned it."
The air snapped.
He slammed the cup back onto the saucer, ceramic clinking hard. His voice came low, sharp.
"Even lions don't eat their cubs."
I leaned back, folding my arms.
"That's the problem," I said. "You're no lion. Just an old jackal dressed in extravagant."
His eyes narrowed. But he didn't explode this time. He was trying restraint today. For now.
He smoothed a wrinkle in his cuff, then said, "Let's not waste time. You know why I called. The engagement with the Ruxin heiress stands. It's time you fulfill your duty."
I scoffed. "Duty? That was with Lucien Kaelin. I'm just an ordinary Lucien now. No surname. No ties with Kaelin."
"That agreement was made between families. Blood doesn't get to walk away just because it feels inconvenient."
"No," I said, loud enough. "But it does when you disown it. You cut me loose. Remember? That was your call."
For a moment, something flickered behind his eyes. Regret? No, just pure calculation. His mouth twitched again.
Then he turned, sharp. "Crawford!"
The butler appeared almost immediately, as if summoned by a Demon.
"Bring it," Theron ordered. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a weight that filled the room.
Crawford nodded and left.
A few minutes passed in taut silence. Then the butler returned, carrying a simple black box. Sealed.
Theron took it with the reverence of a man handling power, not memory. He didn't even look at it when he set it on the desk between us.
My chest tightened the moment I saw it. An ache bloomed somewhere low in my ribs. A strange, sharp grief that didn't belong to me—but it lived inside me now.
She wasn't really my mother. She was the original Lucien's mother. But the pain, I felt it anyway as if it was mine.
That unbearable tenderness. That sorrow pressed between silence and bone.
Why? Why did it hurt like this?
He tapped the box once with a finger. "This is what you want."
I looked up.
He looked me square in the eye.
"If you refuse to meet Cordelia Ruxin tomorrow, forget ever seeing what's inside this box again. I'll scatter it in the dumpster. Whichever comes first."
My fists curled on my lap, fingernails pressing into my palm.
"You're using her as leverage," I said.
He smiled faintly. "I'm reminding you of responsibility. Of what you owe."
I stared at the box.
Felt the weight of a promise I'd never made but still couldn't ignore.
Fine. Play the game, old man.
I was just about to say no. The word was halfway to my lips, when it a cold beep sliced through the room.
Everything froze in the room.
The ceiling fan stopped mid-spin. The breeze from the open window halted like it forgot how to move. Even the dust in the air seemed suspended. Only the damn wall clock kept ticking. Mocking. Like it was the only thing in the universe unaffected by this madness.
Then Pokolo appeared. The tiny, floating nuisance materialized beside me. Before I could ask what the hell now, a system notification blinked to life in front of my face.
[SYSTEM TASK ISSUED]
Accept Theron Kaelin's proposal.
Meet Cordelia Ruxin.
[Reward: +500 points (Player)]
[Bonus: +1000 points (Host: Pokolo)]
[Penalty for Decline: -1500 points (deducted from your previously earned total)]
I stared at the screen, my chest already too full of grief to process anything else properly. But this damned system that had the nerve to gamify my pain.
So basically, if I refused? They'd rip 1500 points from me like punishment. If I accept? I'd get a pathetic 500 Points.
Then the notification bar disappeared snapping back to motion. A bird cried out from outside the window, as if picking up where it left off. I was back in the study, but the weight in my chest hadn't lifted.
"Alright," I said. "I'll meet her."
Theron smile widened. Smug. Triumphant. "Good. Here's the address."
He slid a folded card across the table like it was a royal decree.
I didn't touch it.
"Just remember something," I said, eyes fixed on the ashes. "You can hold that box hostage, but don't think for a second you can control me."
He arched a brow.
I stood.
"Trust me," I said, turning for the door, "you haven't seen dramatic yet."
---
Back in my study, the lights were dim, the silence thick but with cozy environment.
"Mr. Moreaux, are you seriously planning to meet the Ruxin heiress?" Shan asked, his voice low but edged with concern. "If you just snap a finger, we could bring back Madam's ashes in no time. You don't have to play their game."
I leaned back in my chair, gaze fixed on the glass of untouched whiskey on the table.
"No," I said quietly. "If we do that, they'll know I'm Lucien Malric Moreaux. And right now, I need them to think I'm someone else—just a pawn on their board."
Shan's jaw tightened. "So, you're really going to walk into their den alone?"
"I have to," I murmured. "No one knows what billionaire Lucien looks like. That's my only advantage. I'll play their game... who knows, I might even uncover the shadow mastermind who wants me dead."
Shan hesitated, then nodded. "You're right. We need to find out who's pulling the strings."
"Exactly." I stood and finally picked up the whiskey, letting the chill bite my fingers before setting it back down, still untouched. Maybe I just liked the illusion of indulge
My gaze sharpened. "Arrange four shadowguards to tail me. Starry Night included. Keep them close, but unseen. We can't alert anyone. Not yet." I so much as sneeze wrong, I want them in position."
"Yes, sir."
--