Chapter 252 - 248 — Bait

"How about handing over the water, hm?"

The figure’s face and physique were blurred, his voice distorted. It was impossible to tell who he was. Still, the chill in his voice, coupled with the fact that he had bothered to conceal his identity in the first place, made one thing abundantly clear.

He was here with bad intentions.

Horus shifted the water flasks behind him, watching the figure warily.

"The Prime asked me to bring the water myself."

The figure let out a weary sigh.

"Listen, man. I’m stronger than you, alright? The more you resist, the uglier this gets. You’re only supposed to walk away with a few bruises. That way, you can still go back and tell everyone what happened here."

The air seemed to grow colder.

"But... that can change if you make my life difficult. You’ve seen what I did to the other cadets. You saw the state I left them in. You really want to be next?"

Horus swallowed, his eyes instinctively flicking around. The figure caught the movement and chuckled.

"Don’t bother, Horus. I sealed this place off with a barrier. Scream all you want. Shout until your voice gives out. Nobody’s coming."

The color drained from Horus’ face.

After letting the silence linger for a moment, the figure spoke again.

"You’re a smart kid, Horus. Honestly, I’ve been where you are. Looked down on. Treated like I was weak. Guys like us? We survive by using our heads. So make the smart choice. Hand over the flasks, take a couple of punches, then walk away. Easy, right? My problem isn’t with you."

"...You’re after the Prime."

"Was that not obvious?" His voice turned colder, then the figure stretched out an arm, a metal gauntlet sliding over his fist. "So... what’s it going to be? Are you smart? Or are you about to do something really stupid?"

Horus stared at the gauntlet, seemingly petrified. He remained silent for several seconds, yet his grip around the flasks only tightened.

"Unfortunate." The figure sighed, shaking his head. "I actually thought you had some sense. Oh well... let’s get this over with."

The figure took a step forward.

Immediately, Horus suddenly straightened, fisting his chest with his free arm before bellowing,

"Prime!"

Through his blurred face, the figure’s frown was unmistakable.

"Prime? What are you talking abou—"

"Well done, Horus."

The figure froze.

Just beside Horus, the tall, purple-eyed Zephyrion had suddenly materialized, as though he had been there all along.

"H-how?"

"It’s my honor, Prime!" Horus straightened before bowing apologetically a moment later. "I’m sorry, Prime. I couldn’t get him to show his face."

"That’s fine. You did enough."

Zephyrion calmly fixed his eyes on the figure.

"I already know who it is."

"You do?" Horus’ eyes widened in shock. The blurred face, voice, and even lack of physique made it nearly impossible to identify the figure. Yet how had Zephyrion figured it out?

"Isn’t that right... Kaelith?"

The figure flinched at those words, his fists silently clenching.

For several seconds, he said nothing. Then, with a deep sigh, he released his camouflage. As it faded away, the medium-height, fierce-eyed Kaelith was revealed.

Horus gasped.

Zephyrion, however, remained unnaturally calm.

Kaelith scoffed, glaring at him.

"How did you know?"

"You made it painfully obvious. Things like this are easy to figure out... especially when the person behind them is an idiot."

Kaelith’s eyes turned cold.

He gritted his teeth, exhaled slowly, then forced himself to calm down. When he looked at Zephyrion again, his expression had already settled.

"Then I assume this was all a trap. You set this up just to catch me."

"Good. You’re finally using your head." Zephyrion gave a faint nod. "I was beginning to think that wasn’t possible."

He saw the anger flicker back into Kaelith’s eyes, but the latter said nothing.

A moment later, Zephyrion continued.

"Like I said, you’re obvious. You wanted to drive a wedge between me and the other cadets, so of course you’d go after something they desperately needed. So I gave you a target. Water. Take the water, make me look incompetent."

That was why he had made it clear from the outset who handled it, painting a nice target on Horus. The instruction he had given Horus just before they entered the canyon had been exactly that, bait.

An ambush was expected, so the cadets would naturally be exhausted after the battle. It was the perfect time to strike, seizing what they all needed.

Zephyrion shook his head.

"Simple. If you’d actually used your head, you would’ve seen this coming from a mile away."

"Don’t start acting like you’re smarter than me!" Kaelith snapped, his eyes blazing. "If you’re so smart, if it was that obvious, then why didn’t you catch me sooner, huh? Why’d you let all that happen to those cadets? Come on... admit it. I fucking played you."

"You’re right." Zephyrion nodded, a slight frown touching his face. "That part confused me at first. Then I thought about it, and it made sense. You’re an Heir. Obviously your inheritance was doing all the thinking for you."

"That’s bullshit!" Kaelith thundered. "I came up with everything! Spreading the rumors about you in the fortress, trashing your table, beating those cadets, I did all of it! Me! Not some fucking inheritance. Me! You hear me? You didn’t figure it out because I’m smarter than you!"

’Got him.’

"So..." Zephyrion tilted his head slightly. "You’re admitting responsibility for everything?"

Kaelith’s eyes widened. Only then did he realize he’d walked straight into the trap.

"Fuck." He growled under his breath. A moment later, he let out a slow breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"So what if I admitted it? You can’t prove I did any of that to the cadets. It’s your word against mine."

Zephyrion fell silent.

Kaelith smiled.

In truth, the cadets trusted Zephyrion fiercely, so his words would carry weight. Yet without concrete proof, there would always be a measure of doubt, and punishing him could easily be seen as unfair, especially by the cadets of House Korrath, who would naturally want to defend their heir.