Cursed Heir System: Revenge Against the Gods-Chapter 38. Punishment and Reward

"Hey, kid... why are you shaking?" Sharra asked slowly, her tone is more concern than command. She stepped closer and lifted his chin up with her gentle fingers. His wide blue eyes met hers.

He’s breathing shallow, and sweat stick to his brow. He didn’t flinch from her touch, but his whole body trembled.

She held his face tenderly. Her amber eyes was calm as she looked at him.

This wasn’t the first time she’d seen him like this. She remembered the same trembling just before the duel with Janine.

"Take a breath," she murmured. "Calm your heart."

He nodded slowly. Then inhaled through his nose, holding it, grounding himself. He straightened his back by instinct. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and the trembling subsided. But the hollowness in his eyes remained same.

"Do you have some kind of health problem?" Janine asked with concern while placing a hand on her hip and raising an eyebrow. "You always seem to freak out for no reason."

Moriko scratched her hair as she looked at him in worry. "Yeah... he does this from time to time. I don’t know why."

Alan gave a sheepish smile as rubbed his nape like a kid caught daydreaming. "Relax. I’m fine—I Just spaced out for a moment," he said lightly like he hadn’t just relived being cut clean in half.

Anna stepped forward with her gentle voice. "Alan... if something’s wrong, you should tell us. I can help you."

The sincerity in her voice made his chest ache.

He wanted to say something but he couldn’t. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

How could he tell them that he had killed a duke—and then got himself killed?

Before anyone could press Alan further, a voice sliced cleanly through the tension from behind.

"Your Grace," came a familiar, steady tone.

Sharra’s gaze lifted. Alan turned as well, his thoughts still swirling, only half tethered to the present.

Yulder approached flanked by a retinue of Nocelle guards. "The meeting is going to start," he said with a slight bow of his head.

Sharra gave a small nod, her expression shifted into that calm mask that she wore so easily. Whatever emotions that she had before were folded neatly away. "Lead on, then," she commanded.

The guards bowed at the same time and turned around. Without wasting any time, they began leading the group to the grand hall on the third floor where the meeting would take place today.

Yulder walked in front with the guards. Sharra followed behind, walking beside Anna and Janine. Alan and Moriko walked at the back, their footsteps quiet, their positions decided by protocol.

Alan walked like someone who had lost all energy. He kept staring at the stone steps. Every step he took felt heavy. His body was moving, but his mind was still stuck in the past...

Then—

"Oh, we’re not done talking about your little stunt, Sir Alan," came Sharra’s light voice as she glanced back over shoulder at him with a fox’s grin.

There was amusement in it, but also a test, like flint waiting for a spark.

Alan looked up.

Anna’s posture stiffened thinking he might get the punishment for disrespecting Paul. The tanned beauty only smirked as she know about the Duchess.

"So," Alan said flatly, "I’m getting whipped for my action?" he asked bluntly without any fear, as if consequences were the least of his concerns. His gaze remained on Sharra’s back, which was still elegant and graceful despite the age she is. A back that would turn most men’s heads.

Sharra’s smile widened. She turned back around, continuing her descent as if he hadn’t spoken at all.

"You think you made a grave mistake, kid?" she asked casually, as if talking about the weather.

"I did what I had to do as Lady Anna’s knight," Alan said without pause. His voice was calm, sharp, and entirely unrepentant. "So no—I don’t think I made any mistake."

Moriko gave a small laugh next to him and lightly bumped his side with her elbow in a playful way. Janine laughed too, but Anna looked between them with growing worry—she looked like she might faint.

Yulder walking ahead tried not to smile, but the other guards didn’t even try to hide their grins. They’re amused at what Alan had just done. Most knights would’ve panicked under the pressure of a duchess staring them down. But he boldly claimed he’d done nothing wrong, with a confidence that was almost reckless.

The green haired Duchess suddenly let out a small chuckle and it grew into a rare, full laugh that echoed off the corridors.

The guards were caught off guard and looked at each other in surprise. Even Anna’s eyes widened in shock as she never saw her mother laugh so openly like that.

"I’m not giving you any punishment, Sir Alan," the older beauty said as she looked back at him with her amused eyes. "Actually, I should praise you."

Anna let out a quiet sigh of relief, but it didn’t last. Her face tensed with worry again as she realised. "Mother, you can’t just encourage him," she said softly but seriously. She didn’t want Alan to get punished. But giving him a reward? That might make him act even bolder next time, and that worried her.

Sharra turned to her daughter with a gentle but serious look. "Anna, you’re a Monarch candidate. You may become Queen one day. No one, not even a Champion or a Bishop has the right to disrespect you. Alan showed that truth to everyone standing there."

Then she turned back to Alan, a playful spark in her eyes again. "You know what? Since I’m not punishing you, I’ll give you a reward instead."

Alan raised an eyebrow with a small smile tugging at his lips, like he was thinking over a clever trade. "A reward, Your Grace?" he asked lightly, almost teasing.

"Name it," Sharra replied. "As long as it’s reasonable."

The guards chuckled again, their armor clinking as they walked. Janine smirked, clearly expecting Alan to say something funny or outrageous. Moriko tilted her head and popped another bite of meat into her mouth, watching him with curiosity.

But Alan’s smile slowly faded. His eyes drifted away from the group and scanned the hallway, then up to the high ceiling with its old stone carvings. He stepped a little closer to Sharra and spoke quietly.

"Then I’d like to ask something. Just one thing, Your Grace."

Sharra’s eyebrows lifted slightly, clearly curious, though she still smiled a little.

Alan’s next words cut through the light mood like a knife. "That... thing you captured twenty years ago. Demon called the Truth Seeker."

He paused.

"Is it still alive under this very building?"

Sharra suddenly stopped walking. The sound of her boots echoed in the silence and she turned to face him completely. The smile disappeared from her face.

The guards tensed up and their smiles were gone too. Janine’s smirk faded too. Anna held her breath, her red eyes jumping between Alan and her mother, clearly feeling that something serious had just changed.