SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant-Chapter 480: The Formal Union [II]

The words had barely finished settling when Trafalgar moved.

It was slight at first, enough that a few people near the front noticed before the rest. Then he stepped closer, lifted one hand to Aubrelle’s face, and kissed her in front of everyone.

The reaction around them was immediate, even if most of it stayed hidden behind noble discipline or etiquette.

It was not the sort of thing usually done in a formal union like this, certainly not in front of both houses and an Elder of the Council standing only a few steps away. Even so, Trafalgar did it without hesitation. Aubrelle seemed surprised for the briefest instant, then her fingers rose lightly to his sleeve and she answered the kiss with the same warmth she had given him the night before.

By the time they parted, a faint flush had already touched Aubrelle’s face again, and the silence around the garden had changed shape.

The Rosenthal side softened first.

The twins looked delighted, already half ready to run forward if not for the hands that kept them in place. Renia’s smile was impossible to hide now, and even Marie, composed as always, looked at Aubrelle with a gentler expression than before. Thaleon said nothing at first, but the look in his eyes held something close to relief. Pride too. Eldric stood quieter as ever, though some of the tightness in his posture had eased, while Idran looked at Trafalgar with a steadier approval than before.

Around Aubrelle, the Rosenthal warmth gathered quickly, natural as breathing.

The Morgain side was different.

Their expressions stayed measured. Their posture hardly changed. Yet the shift in their eyes was there for anyone who knew how to look. Trafalgar’s position had risen again, and every one of them understood it. His recent growth, the war, his talent, and now this formal union with House Rosenthal... together they made him harder to dismiss than ever.

Lysandra was the first from his side to step forward. She stopped before him and gave a small nod.

"Congratulations, Trafalgar."

Her voice carried sincerity, which made it worth more than most of what had been said around him that day.

"Thank you," he answered.

A little farther back, Rivena had already shifted as if she meant to approach, the curve of her smile promising nothing good. She only took one step before Caelum appeared behind her like a shadow dressed in black. His hand came down lightly over her shoulder, polite in form, final in meaning.

"I would recommend that you do nothing, Lady Rivena," he said quietly.

Rivena’s smile thinned.

For a second, her eyes flicked toward him with bright annoyance, but she held herself where she was. Whatever she had intended died there.

Trafalgar noticed it and let it pass. Today was not the day to waste words on her.

The garden settled again after that, though the atmosphere no longer felt the same as before. The union had been sealed, and now everyone present had begun adjusting themselves around what that meant.

Then another figure moved toward him.

Helgar.

Helgar stopped in front of them with the same broad frame and rough presence he always carried, his formal clothes doing little to hide what he really was beneath them.

"Congratulations, dear brother," he said, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth. "It seems you found a fitting match for yourself."

Aubrelle stood beside Trafalgar, one hand resting lightly near his arm. She turned her face toward Helgar with perfect grace.

"A pleasure to meet you, Helgar."

Helgar looked at her for a second.

There was something in his eyes Trafalgar caught immediately. Pity. As if Aubrelle had ended up tied to something unfortunate. As if she had been lowered by standing beside him.

Trafalgar’s gaze turned cold at once.

Helgar noticed it when he looked back and, for the briefest instant, a chill ran down his spine. He had not expected that look from Trafalgar.

Still, he pressed on.

"We haven’t had many chances to talk, little brother," Helgar said, voice lowering as if trying to make the exchange sound almost sincere. "So I wanted to say you did well in the war. Everyone’s been talking about you." His smile sharpened. "Though honestly, I suppose even a mongrel gets lucky if enough people die around him."

Trafalgar stared at him.

For a second, he said nothing at all.

’Well,’ he thought, almost bored, ’I’m going back to the academy soon. Valttair said he wouldn’t drag me back here again for a while. I can cause a small disturbance, can’t I?’

Then he turned his head toward Aubrelle and leaned slightly closer, speaking low enough that only she would hear.

"Aubrelle. I know we’re formalizing our union today and it’s an important day." A faint pause followed. "Can I do something?"

She looked startled for half a heartbeat. Then, from Helgar’s tone and the edge in Trafalgar’s voice, she understood well enough.

Aubrelle smiled.

"Don’t embarrass me too much, husband."

That was enough. Trafalgar looked back at Helgar, and whatever softness had remained from the ceremony was gone.

Helgar let out a dry laugh. "What? Did I hit too close? That’s the problem with strays. Give them a sword and one victory, and they start forgetting what they—"

"Keep talking," Trafalgar said, his tone flat, "and you’ll end up like Darion."

Helgar’s mouth stopped.

The air between them tightened.

Trafalgar took one step closer. He did not raise his voice. He did not need to.

"You talk too much for someone who still isn’t at my level." His eyes held Helgar’s without wavering. "The war made that obvious enough. When it actually mattered, when House Morgain needed someone worthy of its name, it wasn’t you most people talked about. It was me."

Helgar’s jaw hardened. "Watch your tone."

"You should watch yours." Trafalgar’s mouth curved faintly, but there was nothing warm in it. "You’re standing in front of my wife, trying to look down on me with that empty pride of yours. If you want to act like a fool, do it somewhere else."

Helgar’s hand twitched at his side.

Around them, heads were already beginning to turn. The others were too far away to hear the words, but they could see Helgar’s face darkening, could see Trafalgar standing there without giving an inch.

"You think one war makes you superior?" Helgar muttered.

Trafalgar’s eyes sharpened. "No. I think results do." He tilted his head slightly. "And yours are poor."

Helgar took a step forward—

"Enough."

Valttair’s voice cut through the moment like a blade.

Both turned at once.

The patriarch had approached without either of them noticing, his expression severe enough to kill whatever remained of the confrontation. His gaze moved first to Helgar, then to Trafalgar.

"This is neither the place nor the day."

Helgar’s teeth clenched, but he lowered his head first.

Trafalgar said nothing. He simply held Valttair’s gaze for a second, then stepped back toward Aubrelle’s side.

Valttair looked at them both one last time before turning away, leaving the warning hanging there like frost.

A few seconds passed in silence after that.

Then Aubrelle leaned slightly toward Trafalgar and whispered, her voice soft enough that only he could hear it.

"Well done. You protected your name and your wife’s."

That made the corner of Trafalgar’s mouth lift.

Helgar saw it, and the look on his face turned even darker.