“I hear you’ve said some quite arrogant words.”
Theron stood in silence, not replying.
“Mm,” Dean Thistle chuckled, but he only leaned back in his chair. He didn’t feel like he had a need to display his power again. “You know, if you would like to ingratiate yourself with me, you should get more used to lowering your head.”
“If you want to use me, use me. If you want to keep losing, feel free to continue flexing your superior age.”
“Oh?” Dean Thistle burst into laughter. “If you get old enough to flex your superior age as well, you’ll realize just how hard that was to come by. You have little idea just how many of those like you die too early because they don’t know how to control themselves.”
“Or aren’t born into prestigious noble clans. But I’m sure it was all your self-made genius that got you to this point.”
There was a flash of cold in Dean Thistle’s eyes, but he knew if he lashed out now it wouldn’t be in the best interest of his image. He had to admit, though, the child had a sharp tongue and he knew how to use it.
In the end, he chuckled once more.
“You know, commoners like you really do think it’s very easy to be born a noble. I find it quite amusing. I don’t think it’s very impressive to be born with nothing and force yourself to strive for something—what choice do you have?
In the corner of the room, Burne’s eyes burned with an endless fanaticism.
Theron stood across from Dean Thistle’s desk. What must have been at least three meters separated them, and yet it felt like a beast had opened its maw right before his face, its roar blowing his hair back and shattering his aura.
And then it was gone.
Dean Thistle was still reclined in his chair. A file had appeared in his hand at some unknown time and he tossed it onto the table.
It slid across, coming to a stop right at the edge.
Theron had no choice but to take a step forward to grab it, a sizzling scent of death prickling against his skin as he did so.
He opened the file and read it.
’Thessa. Predictable.’
His eyes narrowed as he read. His speculations seemed correct. She was, indeed, a Spirit Mancer that followed a unique Elemental Path. However, what was entirely unexpected…
’Thessa Firewing
Firewing. The Firewing Clan.
Trouble.
Theron had thought of a lot of things, adjusted for countless possibilities. He was already close, and everything was in the palm of his hands. But this… this felt like a wrench being thrown into the spokes of the wheels.
The Firewing Clan wasn’t technically correct. They were instead known as the Firewing Imperial Clan, an Empire directly adjacent to the Nightingale Imperial Clan’s territory.
As far as Theron knew, the relationship between the two Clans had never been good, but they hadn’t necessarily been at the point of war either. The idea of marrying two of their talents together, though… that was unheard of.
Especially since the Firewings were obviously marrying Thessa into the Nightingales. There was no way the Nightingales would do the reverse for a young man they had already given the title of crown prince to.
What was happening here?
At this point, killing Thessa wouldn’t just be a matter of pissing off the Nightingales. He would be fragmenting the relationship between two entire Empires. If he was also found out on top of that, then he would have to somehow escape from not just one Imperial Clan, but two of them.
This also wasn’t in line with his plans.
Had he planned to kill Thessa? Yes. But the turmoil it would cause now was far more than what he was aiming for.
His best guess for Thessa’s identity was either the daughter of a powerhouse without a noble house backing them, or a commoner born into a great amount of talent. These were the two that made the most sense.
He hadn’t even considered this third possibility.
He knew that the Nightingale Empire didn’t have any extremely powerful Fire Mancer Clans because such existences would have long found a way to ingratiate themselves with the Firewings—much the same with the Nightingale Empire having quite a disproportionate number of Dark Mancers.
All things considered, his conclusion back then made sense. But this…
According to the original plan, he would kill Thralix as River and then kill Thessa as Rain. He would play both sides, and because both characters were hiding in plain sight and both far too similar, the odds people would choose to connect them before it was too late were minimal.
Instead, it would look as though Rain was created in retaliation of River. Thessa’s subsequent death would only make that feel more real.
As for the purpose of this, that much was obvious.
Chaos.
He would force both sides to suffer losses, weaving through them until they suffered to the point they couldn’t continue to tiptoe around the issue.
Soon, they would have to make a decision to either back down or go all out, and the odds of doing the former were minimal.
By taking over the Imperial Academy Branch, though, the Thistles were clearly planning to play a long game and wouldn’t be ready for something so acute. They would be forced to rely on him more and more, especially as he continued to improve.
He would take advantage of their resources to improve, making use of them all along the way.
Had they already planned to kill him? Almost certainly.
Would they dare to when push came to shove? Almost certainly not.
He would prove too useful.
But if Theron killed Thessa now, let alone getting a chance to take advantage, the war would start right here and now. His plan would fail and all the intricate details of it he had glossed over would collapse.
So, Theron threw the file back onto the table.
“You want me to kill a noble of the Firewing Imperial Clan? What an idiotic plan.”