SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant-Chapter 485: Waiting in Velkaris

When Trafalgar arrived in Velkaris, the first thing he saw outside the place that now belonged to him was Rhosyn’s face.

She was seated at one of the outdoor tables with her arms crossed, looking deeply unimpressed by life itself. Across from her sat Caelvyrn, entirely at ease, one arm draped over the back of the chair, violet eyes bright with quiet amusement. He looked like a man enjoying a pleasant afternoon. Rhosyn looked like someone thinking about murder.

That alone was enough for Trafalgar to understand how the waiting had gone.

He stopped in front of the table and looked between them once. "What happened?"

Rhosyn turned her head toward him immediately. "He happened."

Caelvyrn let out a soft laugh, unbothered. "Such hostility. I was only keeping you company while we waited."

"You call that company?" Rhosyn said, her annoyance sharpening at once. "You’ve been talking for the last half hour like this is some charming little outing."

Caelvyrn rested one hand against his chest with false offense. "And what would you have preferred? Silence? Brooding? Should I have stared into the distance like a tragic old warrior waiting for fate?"

"That would have been an improvement."

Trafalgar pulled out the empty chair and sat down without hurry. "So you were bothering her."

"I was speaking," Caelvyrn corrected smoothly. "The fact that she reacts like this to my presence is hardly my fault."

Rhosyn gave him a flat look. "Your existence is irritating."

Trafalgar reached for the glass already set on the table and took a small drink before glancing at Caelvyrn properly. The dragon still looked relaxed, still wore that polished ease of his like it belonged to him more naturally than skin, but there was something under it today. Something watchful. He was enjoying himself, yes, but not carelessly.

He knew exactly where they were going.

Rhosyn clicked her tongue and leaned back in her chair. "Tell him to stop smiling like that. It’s making me want to throw something at him."

Caelvyrn’s smile only deepened. "You wound me."

"No," Rhosyn said. "Not yet."

For the first time since Trafalgar arrived, the corner of his mouth moved faintly.

Then the moment passed.

He set the glass down and looked at both of them again, this time without the lighter edge from before.

"Enough," he said. "Vivienne should be here soon."

The shift was immediate. Rhosyn’s face lost its irritation. Caelvyrn’s smile remained, but it thinned slightly.

For a few seconds, none of them spoke.

The street around them still carried the usual noise of Velkaris. People passed by, voices rose and fell, someone laughed farther down the road, and from inside the place came the muffled sound of dishes and movement. But none of it seemed to matter much once the subject settled properly between them.

Trafalgar rested one arm over the table. "Let’s say the obvious part first. We don’t know how this is going to go."

Rhosyn’s gaze was already on him. "No, we don’t." Her voice had lost all of its earlier dryness. "He may recognize you the moment he sees you. He may not. He may look at you and see Magnus’s son." She paused briefly. "Or he may look at you and see her."

Neither Trafalgar nor Caelvyrn interrupted.

Rhosyn continued, quieter now. "And if that happens, then bloodline won’t be the only thing in front of him. He could see the son of the woman who brought ruin to our people. The one whose name would still carry hatred if enough of us were left to say it openly."

Trafalgar held her gaze without looking away. "I know."

"Do you?" Rhosyn asked. There was no challenge in it, only weight. "You’ve wanted to meet someone like this for a long time, Trafalgar. To stand in front of someone from your bloodline and see what is really there. But that doesn’t mean you’ll like what comes from it."

A brief silence followed.

Then Trafalgar gave a faint nod. "I know that too."

Caelvyrn, who had let the exchange sit without interrupting it, finally spoke. "She isn’t wrong." His voice came as smoothly as ever, though the amusement from before had thinned into something quieter. "My old friend was never easy. If anything, he was one of the most difficult men I knew."

Rhosyn looked at him. "And yet you’re calm."

Caelvyrn’s mouth curved slightly. "Calm does not mean ignorant." He rested one elbow on the table and glanced toward the street before returning his eyes to them. "He was hard. Severe, at times. The sort who respected very few things, and respected them completely when they proved worthy. Strength. Blood. Combat. Resolve. If a man lacked substance, he lost interest quickly. If a man had it..." His smile changed just slightly. "Then things became more interesting."

Trafalgar studied him. "You fought him before?"

Caelvyrn let out a soft breath through his nose, almost amused by the simplicity of the question. "Many times."

That made Rhosyn’s eyes narrow faintly.

Caelvyrn noticed and continued without hurry. "Not as enemies. But we crossed paths often enough, and whenever we did, one thing usually led to another." His fingers tapped the table once. "He was one of the few people I could fight without feeling bored halfway through. That should tell you enough."

Trafalgar said nothing for a second. Then, "And if he rejects me?"

Caelvyrn looked at him directly. "Then you’ll know it quickly." There was no softness in the answer. "He was never the sort to hide his judgment behind politeness."

Rhosyn’s hand tightened once over her arm. "That’s exactly the problem."

"Yes," Caelvyrn said. "But it is also the advantage. True men like that don’t waste time pretending."

The words settled over the table.

Trafalgar looked down briefly, then back at them. Outwardly, very little had changed in him. But under that, he could already feel the weight of what was coming. He had wanted to meet someone like this for a long time, yes, but not because he was carrying some endless list of questions. More than anything, he wanted to see him with his own eyes, understand what kind of being stood at the other end of that bloodline, and find out why someone like that wanted to see him in return. If this meeting went well, it might open a door. If it didn’t, then at least he would stop walking toward something half-hidden.

Before either of the others could say more, footsteps approached from the street.

Rhosyn’s eyes shifted first.

Caelvyrn’s smile returned, though only faintly this time.

Trafalgar turned his head toward the sound.

Vivienne had arrived.

She came into view without drawing attention to herself.

Long blue hair, light eyes. The same quiet beauty Trafalgar remembered from the Council, though there was nothing uncertain about her now. She looked more focused today, more grounded, as if whatever hesitation had existed before had already been left behind.

Vivienne stopped beside the table and looked at them in turn. Her gaze lingered on Rhosyn for a moment, then on Caelvyrn, where it sharpened slightly with surprise before settling again.

"I’m Vivienne," she said. "It’s a pleasure to meet both of you."

Rhosyn gave a small nod, still studying her. "Rhosyn."

Caelvyrn smiled with polished ease. "Caelvyrn. So you’re the disciple."

Vivienne held his gaze. "I am."

There was enough in his eyes to unsettle most people. She noticed it, but did not step back.

Trafalgar rose from his chair. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes," Vivienne said. "My master is waiting."

Rhosyn stood as well, her caution still plain. Caelvyrn followed a second later, calm as ever, though the look he gave Vivienne made it clear he was measuring more than her words.

Then the four of them set off together, and with each step, Trafalgar drew closer to someone from his bloodline.