Chapter 105: The shadows and the blade

Olivia remained frozen, her soul seemingly trapped back in the hallway.

The throbbing in her wrist slowly subsided, but the remnants of her tears made her eyes feel hot and sore.

Suddenly, the firm sound of someone approaching echoed from the corridor.

Olivia looked up slightly and saw a man whose face bore a striking resemblance to Avvion’s, yet his aura felt different younger, but equally sharp. It was Avelvion, Avvion’s younger brother.

Avelvion stopped right in front of Olivia. He showed no empathy for the servant’s disheveled state outside his brother’s office. With a piercing gaze the kind typically reserved for subordinates or palace staff he questioned her in a flat, yet pressing tone.

"Do you intend to enter or not?"

Olivia jolted, immediately bowing her head so low that her headscarf partially obstructed her vision.

She did not know who this man was, but the aura of authority he projected was just as terrifying as Avvion’s. She had to be careful.

"Forgive me, Your Highness,"

Olivia said, her voice trembling as she struggled to pronounce the title correctly, her heart racing wildly.

Avelvion did not immediately reply. He stood tall, studying Olivia from head to toe with a cold, suspicious glare. His gaze felt like a blade dissecting every secret Olivia was trying to hide.

"Were you crying?" Avelvion asked, his voice flat yet sharp enough to make Olivia’s skin crawl.

Olivia quickly wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks with hands hidden behind her long sleeves. She tried to steady her breathing.

"No, Your Highness. I... I just got dust in my eyes."

Avelvion scoffed cynically; clearly, he did not believe the trivial excuse.

However, he had no intention of prolonging the matter. He did not waste time on low-level servants.

"My brother is waiting," Avelvion stated emotionlessly.

"Do not keep him waiting any longer, or you will regret it."

He stepped aside, giving Olivia room to open the office door. Olivia did not wait.

With her heart still pounding as if it might shatter, she pushed the heavy wooden door open and stepped into Avvion’s office.

As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Olivia leaned against the wood for a moment, breathing deeply, trying to calm the anxiety that remained.

Inside the spacious room, Avvion sat behind his desk, waiting with a dark expression.

Yet, Olivia’s mind remained fixated on the servant’s earlier conversation. The name ’Javien’ seemed to be the only thing giving her a sense of purpose in this foreign palace.

Who are you, really?

Avvion did not look up from the scroll of maps on his desk. He acted as if he were unaware that Olivia had just entered, or perhaps he was intentionally letting her stand there in terror.

The room was deathly quiet, save for the crackling of the fire in the hearth.

"Late," Avvion remarked curtly, his voice cold and emotionless.

Olivia approached slowly, treading on the wooden floor as if walking on cracked glass. She bowed deeply, not daring to meet the eyes of the man who now controlled her life.

"Forgive me, Your Highness. I... I got lost for a moment," Olivia answered, offering the safest excuse.

Avvion finally set his pen down. He slowly looked up, staring straight at Olivia’s face. His sharp gaze seemed to be searching for something beneath the headscarf she wore.

"Lost? Or were you looking for something?" Avvion stood up from his chair. His calm, heavy footsteps sounded ominous as he began to walk toward Olivia.

Olivia tried to retreat, but her movement stopped when her back hit the neatly arranged bookshelves behind her. She was trapped.

Avvion stopped directly in front of her. He did not touch her, but his dominant aura was enough to leave Olivia breathless.

Avvion’s hand rose, slowly pulling at the edge of her headscarf, causing her to shrink away in fear.

"The name Javien," Avvion whispered suddenly, his voice very low yet clear to Olivia’s ears.

"Did you overhear that name from the servants outside?"

Olivia’s blood seemed to stop flowing. How could Avvion know? Could this man read her mind, or did every corner of this palace have ears?

"I... I don’t know who that is," Olivia lied, her voice trembling.

Avvion released the edge of her headscarf and let out a short, cynical laugh a sound void of any warmth.

"It is good that you don’t know. Because in this palace, if you start asking about what is buried underground, you will end up in the same place."

Avvion turned back to his desk, leaving Olivia trembling violently.

"From today on, you are forbidden from leaving this room without permission. All your tasks will be here. And if I hear that name come out of your mouth again... or if I see you trying to walk far from this area..." Avvion paused, his eyes glancing sharply at the fireplace where Olivia’s shoes had been destroyed.

"...you know what will happen."

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut. She realized that her every move was now being watched. Yet, deep in her heart, a greater resolve began to take root.

Avvion’s warning was proof that ’Javien’ was a massive secret capable of threatening this family’s power.

What happened between him and the man he mentioned earlier?

Is he afraid?

Olivia thought in silence.

This cold Avvion... is he afraid of something?

With that realization, Olivia knew she could no longer just sit still. She needed to find a way to communicate with ’Javien.’ She would meet the man Avvion feared... even if it meant risking her own life.

The room was silent for a moment. Fear and confusion mingled in Olivia’s heart. However, it didn’t last long.

BANG!

The office door, which had been tightly shut, swung wide open. A pair of eyes darted between the two of them. It was Avelvion. He glared sharply at Avvion.

However, that look did not even make Avvion’s knees buckle. He simply scoffed while closing the map he had been studying.

What conflict is this now ?

she whispered to herself. The office door shut tight, locking in the tension between the two brothers now standing face-to-face in the suffocating atmosphere.

Avelvion stepped forward quickly.

One step.

Two steps.

Not toward Olivia, but toward Avvion, who looked casual.

Grab.

He grabbed Avvion’s collar roughly.

Olivia jolted. She took a step back, not wanting to disturb the scene.

Avelvion still gripped his brother’s collar tightly, his knuckles turning white as he restrained his rising anger.

Avvion, on the other hand, did not look threatened in the slightest. He simply allowed himself to be pulled close, his face remaining calm with a cynical smile that never faded.

"Don’t you ever think anything strange about her!" Avelvion said in a suppressed, warning tone.

Avelvion’s eyes were glassy with rage, but beneath that, there was deep fear...fear that the secret he kept about his best friend would be uncovered by his cunning brother.

Olivia, still stiff in the corner of the room, could only cover her own mouth. She could hardly believe she was standing there, witnessing such a private and dangerous exchange. Yet, both men ignored her presence entirely, as if she did not exist in the room at all.

Avvion laughed softly, a sound like grinding metal. He raised a hand and, slowly but with pressure, pushed his brother’s hand off his collar.

He then straightened his clothes casually, as if nothing had happened.

Avvion inhaled from his opium pipe again, enjoying the sensation of the smoke filling his lungs.

With a very slow demeanor, he blew the thick smoke directly into Avelvion’s angry face.

"Calm down, little brother," Avvion said with a cynical smile, his eyes glancing briefly toward the corner of the room where Olivia was hiding, though his face remained nonchalant.

"I am not interested someone who already dead."

The words were like a dagger stabbing Avelvion’s heart. However, to Olivia, listening from the corner, those words felt like a question.

As Avvion spoke, his eyes kept flickering toward Olivia with a cynical smile.

’ Dead?’ Who is actually dead?

Avelvion bit his lip, the muscles in his neck tightening. He knew his brother was baiting him, trying to see how far he would go to protect his friend’s memory.

"You think you can control everything, Avvion?" Avelvion whispered, his voice now as cold and sharp as a sword blade.

"But remember, every game has an end. And when the time comes, do not be surprised if you are the one destroyed in the fire you ignited."

Avvion only responded with a longer laugh, his eyes now locked onto the shadows where Olivia was standing. He seemed to know she was there, hearing every word.

"We shall see," Avvion replied shortly.

"Now, get out. Handle the border defense before the outside army tears down our gates. I have other work to finish... with my ’assistant’ here."

Avelvion glared one more time toward the corner of the room, looking directly into Olivia’s eyes before he turned and strode out of the office, his emotions still in range

As soon as the door closed, the room grew silent again. Avvion set his opium pipe aside, then looked toward the bookshelf in the corner where Olivia stood frozen.

"Come here," Avvion commanded, his voice suddenly shifting to something chilling and powerful.

"Is it enjoyable, watching a debate between harmonious siblings?"

Olivia’s tongue felt paralyzed. She could not utter a word. Her hands began to tremble. She knew that if she answered ’yes’... her life would end that very day.