Chapter 48: A Bruised Ego (Review Bonus)

Chapter 48. A Bruised Ego (Review Bonus)

Rey’s PoV

"Luckily, I can enjoy my life. Because that sounds boring."

I said it without thinking too much.

Darius’s smile tightened.

Elia went strangely quiet.

And I took another sip of wine, wondering whether the king’s chefs had prepared anything with chocolate.

Priorities.

The original Rey might have believed their little performance. The dutiful Holy Knight, the chaste Saintess, two shining pillars of virtue who were far too busy saving the world to entertain something as frivolous as romance.

Me?

Oh, I’d read the history books.

Two years after Rey Valen’s death, Elia left the Light Temple to marry Darius.

A touching love story.

She’d retained her influence over the temple, too, despite stepping away from her position as Saintess.

The official explanation involved a child.

A miracle child, apparently.

A blessing conceived through the Light itself.

How inspiring.

Thousands of years later, I, Evan Veyr, had uncovered the truth myself.

I’d examined their remains, conducted the genetic analysis, and confirmed that the so-called miracle child was Darius and Elia’s biological son.

No divine intervention required.

Just two people who’d apparently been considerably less devoted to chastity than their public statements suggested.

Unfortunately, I never got to announce my discovery.

The modern Light Temple preferred to preserve the official history exactly as it was. The miracle child was a sacred symbol, and they had no interest in letting some researcher ruin a perfectly profitable legend with inconvenient evidence.

Their response to my findings?

"Shut your mouth, Evan."

Not in those exact words, of course.

They’d been much more polite about it.

Which somehow made the whole thing even more irritating.

I glanced at them over the rim of my glass. ’You magnificent hypocrites.’

Not that I particularly cared who slept with whom.

That was their business.

But watching Darius lecture me about sacred duties while standing beside the woman he’d secretly father a child with?

Please, at least have the decency to be an entertaining liar.

Darius must have mistaken my silence for something else, because his smirk returned. "Well," he said, "you were a commoner, Rey. Killing the Dark Lord was your only responsibility. We understand that."

I lowered my glass.

Oh, so that’s how we’re playing?

I looked at him.

He looked back.

His expression was perfectly pleasant.

Mine probably was, too.

A wonderful exchange between two old comrades who would’ve happily watched the other step on a particularly vicious magical trap.

A herald announced a name. "Lord Garr Holt!"

The final member of our delightful reunion.

Garr entered as though he expected the chandeliers to bow.

He looked as gallant as ever, broad-shouldered and imposing in formal attire that did very little to conceal the fact that he was built like a fortress with opinions.

His enormous sword hung at his back.

Garr could attend a wedding, a funeral, or a royal tea party, and that sword would come with him.

Perhaps he tucked it into bed at night.

I wouldn’t judge.

He carried a small chest in one hand.

A gift for the king, presumably.

Garr smiled proudly as he crossed the hall.

Then his eyes found me.

His smile disappeared.

Instantly.

I almost raised my free hand to wave at him, just to piss him off even more. But he looked away before I could.

Garr approached the throne and bowed."Your Majesty! Happy birthday!"

King Aldric greeted him warmly. "Garr. Welcome."

"My apologies for arriving late."

"Think nothing of it."

Garr straightened, his proud smile returning. "I was delayed because I wished to bring Your Majesty a worthy gift." He lifted the chest.

The king nodded with interest. "That’s very thoughtful of you."

Garr opened the chest.

Inside sat a polished mana crystal.

Blue-white light glimmered across its surface.

An A-grade crystal approximately the size of a marble.

Garr held the open chest higher. "An A-grade mana crystal!" His voice carried through the hall. "I obtained it personally. That is why I arrived late."

He paused.

Then looked around.

Waiting.

For admiration, perhaps.

Applause?

A spontaneous musical number?

Unfortunately, the hall remained quiet.

Not completely silent.

A few guests murmured politely.

Someone coughed.

A servant continued pouring wine.

And I stared at the crystal.

Every accessory my wives wore today contained A-grade mana crystals.

Some were larger than Garr’s gift.

Several were considerably larger.

And King Aldric had just received an S-grade crystal from me.

An enchanted S-grade crystal.

Set in a royal signet.

With three functional enchantments.

And a frankly unreasonable amount of Light Mana that had nearly made my curse eat me alive during construction.

Garr, my former friend.

Your timing was catastrophic.

I almost felt sorry for him.

Garr’s gaze swept across the guests again.

His smile faltered.

He seemed confused.

Why wasn’t anyone applauding?

Why weren’t the nobles gasping?

King Aldric, bless his kind heart, saved the moment. "Thank you, Garr. It’s a generous gift."

He gestured to an attendant.

The attendant accepted the chest and stepped aside.

A perfectly graceful conclusion.

An opportunity for Garr to bow, retreat, and preserve his dignity.

Naturally, I decided to make the situation worse.

Not for Garr.

For Darius.

I leaned slightly toward the Holy Knight without taking my eyes off our confused warrior. "Don’t you want to check Garr’s mana crystal?"

Darius turned. "What?"

"Just to make sure it isn’t corrupted."

His expression froze. Oh, I loved that.

"Garr..." Darius began. Then stopped. "I believe Garr has already checked it himself."

I huffed. "Ah." I nodded slowly. "So mine could be corrupted."

Darius’s jaw tightened.

"But Garr’s couldn’t."

"Rey—"

"Understood." I took another sip of wine. "Good to know."

The double standard was so blatant it practically deserved its own royal crest.

Unfortunately, Garr had apparently missed the entire exchange. He was still standing near the throne. And he still hadn’t understood why his grand entrance had failed.

"This crystal is exceptionally rare," Garr announced.

Oh, for the love of all the gods.

He was continuing.

I closed my eyes for half a second.

Please, someone, stop him.

"It is difficult to obtain even a specimen of this size!" He gestured toward the chest in the attendant’s hands. "And this one is pure!"

I huffed again. Louder this time.

Garr.

Please.

There was no need to escalate.

The king had thanked him.

The gift had been accepted.

He could still walk away with his pride mostly intact.

But no.

Garr looked around as though the audience had simply failed to understand the significance of his achievement.

I glanced at Darius.

The Holy Knight was staring at a point somewhere beyond Garr’s shoulder.

Elia had lowered her gaze.

Secondhand embarrassment.

A truly powerful force.

I almost laughed. And I didn’t even like the bastard.

A noblewoman near the front finally spoke. "Lord Garr?"

Garr turned toward her.

She smiled awkwardly. "Lord Rey has just presented His Majesty with an S-grade mana crystal."

Direct hit.

"And it was crafted into a signet," she added. "With Light Mana enchantments."

Garr stared at her.

His expression went blank. "That’s impossible."

I pressed my lips together. Not because I was offended. Because laughing at a man in front of the king would be terribly impolite.

And I was making an effort.

A tremendous effort.

Garr turned toward Aldric. "Your Majesty?" His voice carried genuine disbelief.

The king, still being considerably kinder than any of us deserved, simply gestured toward the attendant holding my gift.

"Show him."

The attendant approached Garr and opened the box.

Golden light spilled across his hands.

Garr looked down.

And stopped breathing for a moment.

At least, it seemed that way.

His eyes widened.

He leaned closer.

The polished S-grade crystal glowed from the center of the royal signet, its refined inscriptions shining with pure Light Mana.

Finally, he lifted his head.

And searched the hall.

For me.

His expression darkened.

Displeasure.

Disbelief.

A little outrage.

Possibly the realization that his carefully prepared birthday surprise had just been run over by a magical carriage.

Our eyes met.

I raised my wineglass.

And smiled.

Well.

I forced myself to smile. A dignified smile. The smile of a man who absolutely wasn’t enjoying another man’s public humiliation. Because I refused to look petty in front of King Aldric.