Cursed Heir System: Revenge Against the Gods

After the nobles left, Kaelen stood silently at the window, gazing out at the manor's garden.

Velmira Loos sat under the white-laced pavilion along with a few noble daughters around her and she laughed softly with them. Her golden hair fell in gentle waves over her shoulders, glinting in the afternoon light.

Her graceful appearance was enhanced by her exquisite blue robe, which held her in place and had the power to influence any man in the kingdom.

The thought of claiming her as his wife sent a predatory smirk across Kaelen's lips, his fingers brushing the glass as if he could reach her from afar.

Soon, you, the crown, and all will belong to me.

Then the door clicked open behind him.

"What is it, Alas?" Kaelen asked without turning his gaze from Velmira as he knew only his trusted knight would dare interrupt.

Alas, a handsome elf wearing the House Fitzgerald knight's robe entered the room, bowed slightly, and his silver hair caught the light.

"My lord, I bring news from House Nocelle," he announced.

"Go on," Kaelen said with a dismissive tone. "What's so urgent?"

"They've assigned Anna Nocelle a new personal knight," Alas said while still bowing.

Kaelen's fingers paused on the glass with irritation. "Is that all?" he muttered, his voice sharp. "Some nobody sworn to a weakling candidate? Hardly worth my time."

Alas hesitated, then spoke again. "This knight… he managed to draw blood from the Earth's Champion in a duel."

Kaelen froze, his hand dropping from the window as he spun to face Alas, his blue eyes wide with shock and his mouth widened slightly. "Janine Nocelle?" he asked with disbelief. "The Earth's Champion? Someone bled her?"

Alas nodded, rising from his bow, his green eyes meeting Kaelen's with a flicker of intrigue. "Yes, my lord. The report names him as "

"Alan."

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At North Verdelane Dukedom.

"Ohhh, Louis…" Cecily, Verdelane's fiercest knight moaned in sluttery tone. Her back bent beneath him, her eyes half-lidded with heat and mischief.

She's having the good time with the Verdelane's Knight leader, Louis.

The bed creaked softly as Louis gripped her hips from behind, his touch firm but reverent, worshiping the curves of her body and thrusting her with his breath ragged. Cecily's fingers clenched the sheets, her breasts swaying with each thrust, her body moving in sync with his.

He leaned in, his lips brushing the nape of her neck one hand sliding up her spine to tangle in her hair. He tugged gently, pulling her head back. "Not planning to stop," he murmured with hunger voice. "You're not getting a moment of peace until I'm gone."

She chuckled breathlessly but it broke into another moan as he drove deeper. "You're only going away for a week," she teased between pants, "and you think this'll hold me over?"

"I know it will."

She was close, her body trembling, her moans turning into desperate whimpers—

"…Louis."

An soft, chilly voice came from their behind nonchalantly which they froze.

Cecily stiffened. Louis cursed under his breath and pulled away, both scrambling for cover as reality slammed back into the room.

Zoe stood in the middle of the room as if she'd materialized from the shadow. They didn't heard a knock or her footsteps. She was simply there, as if she had been the entire time.

Her black-and-gold mask gleamed as she looked at them without any expression—no judgment, no reaction. Just... cold indifference. As if she were watching insects mating.

"Gods, Zoe!" Louis barked, yanking his shirt over his head. "Have you ever heard of knocking?!"

Cecily groaned as she dragged the sheet over her chest before swiftly reaching for her shirt. "You're like a damned specter," she muttered while shooting Zoe a glare.

Zoe tilted her head faintly, expression unreadable. Her voice was the same: soft, steady, and colder. "The Duke's calling."

That was it. She didn't apologised for barging in, didn't gave any explanation and have no reaction.

She turned silently with her cloak trailing behind her like a shadow given form, she vanished without a sound. Her presence lingered even after the door had shut behind her, like frost left on a windowpane.

Louis exhaled harshly as he tugged his belt tight with a jerk. "Unbelievable," he muttered. "She always shows up like the bloody wind."

Cecily, halfway into her bra, let out a dry laugh. ""She's like a damn horror story with better reflexes." She glanced at him with a smirk. "Next time, we bar the damn door."

Louis paused, eyes sweeping over her one last time, even half-dressed. He smirked back, the heat not entirely gone from his eyes. "Next time," he said slowly, "I'll make sure no one interrupts."

Cecily gave a wink as she fastened her gauntlets. "You'd better," she said. "Don't keep me waiting, commander."

Louis held her gaze for a beat longer before finally turning and walking out with frustration.

He followed Zoe through halls of Verdelane Manor. The echo of his boots bounced off stone, irritation with the earlier interruption. He'd expected she'll take him the Duke Danel's office. But instead, Zoe veered off-course, heading toward the estate's rear grounds.

"Zoe," he called, frowning. "Where the hell are we going?"

She didn't answer. She never did when she didn't feel the need.

He followed anyway with his curiosity sharpening as she approached a massive warehouse of dark stone and rune-sealed iron—a structure rarely accessed by anyone outside the Duke's inner circle.

Zoe pressed her gloved palm to a sigil etched into the vault door. With a hiss of steam and the groan of turning gears, the gateway yawned open.

Louis stepped into shadow and heat. Alchemical lanterns bathed the cavernous interior in a flickering green glow. The air reeked of scorched herbs, metal, and something raw and feral.

Rrrrrrrhhhhkk

He heard a familiar raw screech and turned to see it.

Caged at the center of the hall was a creature that didn't belong in any sane world, eyeless, pallid, and long-limbed, its waxy skin stretched tight over bones that bent in all the wrong places. Fingers like spears clung to the bars. Its lipless mouth writhed in perpetual motion, mouthing soundless things that scraped at the mind.

"The thing from the mines," Louis murmured.

"Took you long enough, Commander." He heard a familiar, amused voice from behind.

He turned to see his long-time crush and his breath caught, just a little.

Janet Verdelane. Heir to the dukedom. One of the top contenders for the throne. And the one woman, other than Zoe, who'd never once fallen for his charm till now.

She leaned against a steel workbench like it was her throne, short blue hair tousled around her sharp, lovely features. Her grey eyes sparkled with dangerous intelligence. She wore dark riding leathers and Louis's chest tightened in spite of himself.

Janet smirked. "Sorry to interrupt your training session with Cecily," she said with mock sweetness. "Sounded… intense."

Louis exhaled through his nose, managing a wry smile. "You really know how to kill a mood," he said, his tone light but his eyes searching hers. "What's this about? Why drag me out here?"

A rustle of paper drew both their attention. Duke Danel sat in the far corner on a leather sofa, his powerful frame leaned back as he folded a newspaper. His presence alone was heavier than the monster in the cage.

"I'm assigning you to escort Janet to Terranse," he said simply, rising from his seat.

Louis arched a brow. "That's already my duty."

"Not just as her knight," the Duke replied as he nodded toward the cage. "You're not protecting her from politics."

The monster inside let out a sharp clang as it slammed against the bars which Louis stiffened as he remembered the battle.

Janet pushed off the table, her hips swaying as she approached a sealed letter resting on a low table. "We're testing a theory," she said lightly with a razor sharp smile. "With the right tools, the right control… this creature can be guided. Directed."

Louis's gaze snapped from the beast to Janet. "You're going to unleash it on the other candidates?"

"Of course not," she said sweetly. "We'll lose control of it in the chaos of the journey. Nobody knows we have this pet and we'll capture it again after it finishes its work."

Louis's jaw clenched. "This isn't just about thinning the field. You're planning something else."

She didn't confirm or deny it, just lifted the letter and broke the seal with a nail. "Speaking of thinning," she mused, "Anna Nocelle's picked up a new knight. The weakest candidate might have found herself a sharp little edge."

Danel nodded with a grim expression. "Yes. And he managed to draw blood from the Earth's Champion in a duel."

Louis's jaw dropped as his voice rose with disbelief. "He bled Janine Nocelle? That's impossible. Who the hell is this guy?"

Janet glanced at the letter, her lips curling into a faint, intrigued smile. "They say his name is Alan."

At the mention of the name, Zoe stiffened, her black-masked face betraying a fleeting tension before she straightened, her composure seamless. No one noticed or so she thought.

Danel's eyes narrowed as he turned to the K'Night Queen. "Zoe, when we reach Teranese, you'll keep a close eye on this Alan. I want to know everything, who he is, what he wants, and what he's capable of."

Zoe nodded silently, her masked face unreadable, but her fingers twitched slightly at her sides. Louis caught the movement, his instincts prickling, but he said nothing.

Janet handed Louis the letter, stepping close enough that her perfume briefly dulled the stench of the monster.

"Stay close to me during the trip, Commander," she said with a velvet soft voice that stirred his heart. "We're not just playing politics anymore."

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Back at South Nocelle Dukedom.

As the wyvern shifted its wings and settled back into a doze, Alan turned away, looking across the garden. The sky above was a calm wash of blue. Every quiet moment only made the silence more ominous.

Footsteps approached from the stone path behind him.

Janine's voice broke the stillness. "So…" she drawled, resting a hand on her hip. "You ready, Sir Knight?"

Alan turned to see both Janine and Anna approaching side by side. One grinning like a mischief-loving older sister, the other watching him with soft curiosity and something warmer, quieter, in her crimson gaze.

Janine jerked her chin toward him. "Your first official duty, Alan. Protecting my beloved Anna for an entire week in Teranese." She leaned in, narrowing her violet eyes playfully. "No screw-ups. Anna's too precious for that."

Alan held her gaze for a moment. Then he smiled, it's not a wide grin, not a smirk. Something smaller and sincere.

"I won't let anyone touch her, even a single fly," he said quietly. "Even if I die a hundred times, I'll make sure she gets through this."

Anna blinked at his words, her breath catching faintly by his sincerity.