Chapter 176: Shy?

’The Archduke is... shy? The Vanguard accepts apples? The psychological operation is a catastrophic failure.’

"Seraphina, please," Kaelus rasped, a desperate, muffled plea from behind his hands. "Close the window. My dignity is bleeding out on the pavement. I am the Reaper. I cannot be associated with daisies and flower crowns."

Seraphina pulled her head back inside, her face flushed with excitement, her dark eyes sparkling with absolute, triumphant mischief.

"But Papa, they love us!" Seraphina beamed, holding out a handful of flower petals she had caught. "You said they would be scared! They aren’t scared at all! Sir Boris is wearing a flower hat! It’s highly tactical!"

Kaelus dropped his hands, staring at her with an expression of exhausted and defeated awe.

He realized what she had done.

She had been acting cute; but subconciously, she had analyzed the political trap and disarmed it using the only weapon that even the Emperor couldn’t counter: her own overwhelming, unadulterated innocence.

The citizens didn’t fear the North anymore; they adored the tiny Sovereign, which meant they would view any political attacks against Kaelus not as protecting the Empire, but as bullying a little girl’s father.

It was a masterstroke of geopolitical manipulation. And she had executed it while wearing a dress with sunflowers on it.

Kaelus slowly shook his head, a dark, amused, and deeply proud smirk fighting its way through his embarrassment.

"You are a terrifying creature, Seraphina," Kaelus murmured, reaching out to pluck a stray rose petal from her dark hair. "The Emperor is going to have an aneurysm when the reports reach the palace."

"I hope he likes ducks," Seraphina grinned, sitting back down as the carriage continued its slow, floral-strewn march toward their final destination.

***

The Nacht Capital Estate was located in the highest, most exclusive tier of the Imperial City, nestled near the base of the Emperor’s floating palace.

As the carriage finally pulled away from the cheering crowds and ascended the winding, private marble roads of the noble district, the chaotic energy of the parade faded, replaced by the quiet, oppressive tension of high-society territory.

The estate itself was a manor built of pale gray stone, completely lacking the harsh brutality of the Obsidian Gate or the black-iron dread of the Northern Bastion. It was elegant, cold, and meticulously manicured, surrounded by high iron fences and perfectly sculpted hedges.

The carriage rolled through the open gates, coming to a halt in the circular cobblestone driveway.

Sir Lucas, currently chewing the last bite of his candied apple with a look of profound, secret shame, dismounted and pulled the carriage door open.

Kaelus stepped out first, his dark cape sweeping over the cobblestones. His aura instantly snapped back into place. He was no longer the embarrassed father hiding from daisies; the terrifying, untouchable Archduke had returned. He turned back, offering his hand, and lifted Seraphina down onto the pavement.

Waiting for them at the top of the sweeping, white marble staircase leading to the manor’s entrance was a single figure.

It was not a ghost.

Seraphina’s Spirit Sight confirmed it immediately. The man standing at the top of the stairs possessed a solid, vibrating, brightly colored living aura.

He was an older man, perhaps in his late fifties, dressed in the immaculate, tailored black tailcoat and silver-buttoned vest of an aristocratic Head Butler.

But unlike the ghostly Bartholomew, who possessed a slender, athletic build, this man was built like a retired brick wall. His shoulders were broad, his posture was rigidly military, and his hair was a stark, iron-gray cropped close to his scalp.

A thick, faded scar ran vertically down the left side of his face, crossing his pale blue eye, entirely ruining the refined, polished aesthetic of a high-society servant.

He looked less like a butler and more like a veteran general who had simply put on a fancy suit because he lost a bet.

Kaelus stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the man.

The cold, arrogant sneer on Kaelus’s face softened by a microscopic fraction of a millimeter. It was a gesture of respect that Kaelus offered to almost no one in the Empire.

"Sebastian," Kaelus greeted, his voice a low, acknowledging rumble.

The butler did not bow with sweeping, theatrical grace. He snapped his heels together with an audible click, placing his right fist over his heart in a flawless, crisp military salute.

"Welcome home, Your Grace," Sebastian replied. His voice was a deep, gravelly rasp, sounding exactly like two stones grinding together. "The estate has been secured. The wards are active. The servants have been vetted and confined to the lower quarters."

Seraphina peeked around Kaelus’s leg, staring at the scarred, intimidating butler.

"Sebastian is not a traditional servant," Kaelus murmured softly down to Seraphina, sensing her curiosity. "He was my personal sworn knight when I was a child. He fought alongside my father in the Glacial Abyss. He lost his eye ensuring I survived a political assassination attempt when I was twelve. When his injuries forced him to retire from active combat, I placed him in charge of the Capital Estate. He is the only man in this city I trust with my back, Mushroom."

Seraphina’s eyes widened. ’So he is Papa’s bodyguard. He is a retired badass pretending to be polite and serve tea!’

Sebastian’s single, pale blue eye shifted downward, moving from the terrifying Archduke to the tiny, yellow-clad girl hiding behind his greaves.

The grizzled veteran stared at her. He looked at her dark hair, her bright eyes, and the daisy tucked behind her ear.

Sebastian slowly raised his gaze back to Kaelus. His scarred face did not express shock, joy, or confusion.

It remained completely, utterly deadpan.

"It seems like you brought a child with you this time, Your Grace," Sebastian stated, his gravelly voice completely devoid of inflection.

"I did," Kaelus replied smoothly. "She is Seraphina von Nacht. She is my daughter, and the Sovereign of the North."

Sebastian looked back at Seraphina once again.