The explanation did nothing to quell Cassia's disbelief. A genius mind? In a male? The concept was a biological and social contradiction.

Valerie, however, was now even more impressed. Her eyes lit up, her earlier curiosity solidifying into genuine fascination. "Wow, that's impressive! You really are an anomaly, then."

From behind them, General Rostova's gruff voice cut in, her tone one of pure, military-grade skepticism. "That is unheard of. A genius mind... from a male?"

Sage simply tightened her hold on Zaeryn's arm, her smile unwavering. "Yes," she said, her voice full of pride that dared anyone to challenge her. "First time I realized it, I couldn't believe it either. And also, he is indeed an anomaly. In more ways than you can imagine."

The declaration hung in the air. Valerie's fascination only deepened, her eyes sparkling. "Wow, now I want to get to know you better Zaeryn. And I'm pretty sure we will get the chance."

Cassia's expression, however, soured further, her disbelief warring with her daughter's blatant pride.

But the next voice to cut through the moment was unexpected. General Eva Rostova, who had been observing the entire exchange.

"What does an academy trainee do when he's not accidentally tackling royalty in corridors?" she asked, her voice a gruff, resonant baritone used to commanding armies, but now laced with pure, unadulterated amusement.

Zaeryn was momentarily thrown. He'd expected the question from Valerie, but from the legendary General? He met her stare, seeing not a cold test, but a direct, confident challenge. He decided to meet her energy with his own.

"Mostly trying to figure out which of my new classmates wants to kill me and which just wants to ask me out," he replied, his tone just as direct. "It's a delicate process of threat assessment."

A short, barking laugh escaped Rostova's lips at his answer. Her smirk widening.

Zaeryn was about to say something else. But then Rostova's words from moments before echoed back in his mind, snagging on a thought he'd pushed aside. "...tackling royalty..."

Royalty.

He'd heard Cassia call her "The Princess." He'd dismissed it, filed it away under "noble family," a common enough title for the daughters of sector Matrons. But Rostova used the word with a different weight. A singular weight.

His mind flashed back to Cassia's introduction. 'Princess Valerie…'

Zaeryn's smile faltered. His blood ran cold.

He realized something. "Wait," he said, his voice suddenly losing its easy confidence, the word cutting through the light atmosphere. "You said royalty… as in…"

The shift was instantaneous. Rostova's smirk faded, her eyes sharpening with analytical focus. Sage's hand tightened on his arm, her expression clouding with concern. Valerie's smile wavered, replaced by confusion.

"As in... me?" she asked, her brow furrowing. She thought he was just now getting intimidated by her. "I told you, it's not a big deal that you bumped into me. I'm Princess Valerie Lumina, yes, but...."

Zaeryn's mind snagged on the title. The princess? He turned to Valerie, looking at her, "The princess?" He asked.

Cassia smirked, seeing his confusion and savoring the reveal. "Yes, the princess. This is Princess Valerie Lumina and her entourage, General Rostova and Captain Nyx."

The name hit him like a physical blow.

Lumina.

The world tilted. The air in his lungs turned to ice. Lumina. The name of the royal family. The name etched into the secret history of his life. Athea's family. His family.

The playful woman in front of him, the one with the familiar blue eyes and the easy laugh, was not just some stranger. She was his cousin. Blood.

Suddenly, it all clicked into place with horrifying clarity. The strange resonance he had felt, the inexplicable sense of recognition, it wasn't just his power. It was blood calling to blood, a connection that ran deeper than Vitae. The features he'd found striking now seemed like distorted reflections of his own, of Athea's.

The flirtatious banter, the casual touch, the charged air that had crackled between them—it all curdled in his stomach, turning into something sour.

A cold shock raced through him, extinguishing the pleasant warmth of their interaction.

At this moment, he was nervous, worried about his secret coming out. What if somehow, Valerie learned about his lineage right now? She couldn't sense that they all had the same blood flowing through them right? Lumina blood. Seeing as she hadn't killed him and was actually being friendly, then that meant he was safe.

He stared at Valerie, truly seeing her for who she was for the first time, and the weight of what she represented, everything he was, everything he was hidden from, crashed down on him with the force of a physical blow.

It was in the eyes. That specific shade of piercing blue, so much like Athea's from the few pictures Ysmeine kept and showed him. It was in the elegant line of her jaw and the regal set of her shoulders.

The familiarity that his Vitae had sensed wasn't a spark of attraction; it was the chilling echo of his own bloodline.

Male or not, he and Valerie were still related.

This woman, this princess, was a living, breathing embodiment of the life he was denied.

She walked freely with a name that he could only whisper in the dark, a member of a family that would have snuffed him out at birth had they known he existed.

'System,' his mind screamed, a desperate, silent plea for confirmation in the sudden storm. 'Is this true?'

A familiar, clinical interface materialized in his vision, its text a stark contrast to the chaos in his chest.

[ANALYZING... VALERIE LUMINA.]

[LINEAGE CONFIRMED: SUBJECT IS A MEMBER OF THE LUMINA ROYAL FAMILY. GENETIC MARKERS INDICATE A COUSIN-LEVEL RELATIONSHIP TO HOST VIA PRINCESS ATHEA.]

[BOND POTENTIAL: HIGH. NOTE: BONDING WITH A BLOOD RELATIVE IS RECOMMENDED AND PRESENTS NO SYSTEM-LEVEL CONFLICTS.]

The confirmation slammed into him, and for a single, terrifying second, his composure shattered. The world narrowed to a pinpoint, the sounds of the corridor fading into a dull roar. Cousin. The word was a brand, searing itself into his consciousness.

Cassia noticed his abrupt stillness and the way the colour drained from his face. A flicker of cruel satisfaction ignited in her eyes, her lips starting to curve into a faint, cruel smirk. The arrogant boy was finally showing the fear he ought to.

But she didn't know the reason for that reaction. Hell, no one here knew, not even Sage, because he hadn't told her yet.

But from Cassia's perspective, it was perfect.

The arrogant boy who had the nerve to be in a relationship with Sage, who was leagues and leagues above him, and had so brazenly been intimate with her without any shame, was finally being put in his place, silenced by the sheer weight of true power and authority. A faint, cruel smirk touched her lips.

Sage, noticed the change immediately. Wrapping her arms around him from behind, she felt the muscles in his back go rigid, the easy warmth in his body turning to stone. "Zaeryn?" she whispered, her voice a low murmur of concern against his ear. "What's wrong?"

Her voice was the anchor he needed. With a monumental effort, Zaeryn wrestled his shock back into its cage. 'Play it cool,' he commanded himself silently. 'Act normal. If you freak out, they'll ask questions you can't answer.'

He took a slow, deliberate breath, forcing the tension from his shoulders. The mask of the easy-going, charming anomaly slid back into place just as Valerie, completely misinterpreting his momentary freeze as intimidation, offered a warm smile.

"Hey," she said, her tone deliberately light, trying to disarm the fear she saw in his eyes. "I hope I didn't scare you. I promise, I might be royalty, but I'm not stuck up."

She took a small step closer, her gaze gentle, offering a truce he hadn't known he needed. "I can assure you that you're among friends here," she continued, her voice soft but firm. Her eyes flicked briefly to Sage, then back to him. "And your... being male doesn't mean anything to us."

Zaeryn blinked once, as if clearing a stray thought, and the roguish grin he was known for returned, easy and practiced. He relaxed back into Sage's embrace, patting her arm reassuringly before turning his full attention back to Valerie.

"Sorry, I was just processing everything.A princess?" he said mock surprised all over again, "Well, that explains a few things."

Valerie's playful smile faltered, replaced by genuine curiosity. "Oh? Like what?"

"I was wondering where you got that 'I could probably run a small country without breaking a sweat' vibe," he replied smoothly. "It all makes sense now." He offered a slight, charming bow of his head. "It's an honor. I'm just glad I didn't actually spill a drink on you. I get the feeling the dungeons in the royal palace are drafty."

Valerie burst out laughing, a bright, genuine sound that eased the last of the tension from the air. Cassia's smirk vanished, replaced by a flicker of annoyance that he'd recovered so quickly.

It wasn't just that, it was also the way he'd done it. She watched him, knowing with a cold, maternal fury that this was the very brand of effortless charm he'd used to ensnare her own daughter.

And now, it looked like he was at it again with a Lumina princess, who didn't seem at all immune to him. Her jaw tightened, the brief moment of his perceived weakness now replaced by the galling sight of him succeeding all over again.

Sage, feeling him relax, squeezed him gently, though her eyes held a new, questioning curiosity.

The moment of crisis had passed.

But beneath the surface, the knowledge of who Valerie was settled in his gut like a cold, heavy stone.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.