Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls-Chapter 471: Reporting on the conversation, and going to sleep.

Chapter 471: Reporting on the conversation, and going to sleep.

The agreement wasn’t celebrated with enthusiasm, nor sealed with grand formalities. There were no toasts, no words of mutual trust, just a silent understanding between three minds who knew exactly the weight of what they had just built. Kael didn’t stay in that room any longer than necessary. He wasn’t someone who valued ceremonies or prolonged conversations that had already served their purpose. As soon as the conditions were established, he simply turned and left, leaving behind a pensive emperor and an archmage clearly entertained by the course of this new game.

The corridors of the imperial castle were quieter than before, or perhaps it was only Kael’s perception that had changed. Now, every detail seemed more calculated, more laden with meaning. Guards positioned at strategic points, servants circulating with measured steps, glances that shifted the moment he passed. Nothing there was by chance. It never was. And now, more than ever, he knew he was on a chessboard where every move would be watched closely.

He kept his hands in his pockets as he walked, his expression neutral, but his mind working with almost surgical precision. The agreement with the emperor was only the first step. An important step, undoubtedly, but still fragile. Everything depended on what would come next. It depended on Elizabeth.

And, above all... it depended on how she would position herself in the face of it.

When he left the castle, night had already completely dominated the sky. The absence of sunlight not only made the environment more comfortable for vampires, but also amplified Kael’s abilities. The shadows lengthened, connected, creating invisible paths for anyone who didn’t know what to look for.

For him... that was territory.

He didn’t walk back.

He simply disappeared.

His body dissolved into the shadow cast by one of the castle towers, as if swallowed by the darkness. And then, in an instant, he reappeared a considerable distance away, reappearing among the shadows of an empty street, far from prying eyes and the formal structures of imperial power. The movement was natural, almost instinctive. It required no apparent effort, only control.

And, that night... he had control to spare.

He repeated the process several times, advancing through the city without actually traversing it, until he reached the residence where Elizabeth was staying. The place remained discreet, protected, far enough away not to attract attention, but close enough to allow quick access to the center of power.

As soon as he entered, he immediately realized he wasn’t alone.

There was no need to search.

Her presence was... evident.

Elizabeth was seated near one of the windows, partially enveloped by the soft moonlight filtering through the thin curtains. Her posture was erect, but not rigid. There was control there, a clear attempt to remain calm, but her eyes betrayed something deeper. Expectation. Perhaps even... tension.

She already knew he had left to deal with something important.

And she knew that conversation would define many things.

Her eyes turned to him the instant he entered the room. There was no surprise, only recognition. She observed him for a brief moment, as if trying to read his expression, to find some clue even before he said anything.

"You took your time."

Her voice came out controlled, but there was a slight weight behind the words. It wasn’t an accusation, but it wasn’t casual either.

Kael closed the door behind him with a calm, unhurried movement. He didn’t answer immediately. He walked a few steps into the room, his eyes quickly scanning the space, as if confirming that everything was as it should be.

Only then did he look at her.

"I’ve decided."

The answer was simple.

Direct.

Unadorned.

But the impact was immediate.

Elizabeth moved slightly in her chair, her body leaning forward almost imperceptibly. Her eyes narrowed slightly, not out of distrust, but out of focus.

"I decided... how?" she asked.

Kael didn’t answer immediately. He walked to one of the nearby chairs, pulling it out slowly before sitting down, resting his elbows on his legs while interlacing his hands. His posture wasn’t relaxed, but it wasn’t rigid either. It was... calculated.

He looked directly at her.

"The emperor accepted."

Silence.

Short.

But dense.

Elizabeth didn’t react immediately. Her eyes remained fixed on him, as if she were processing those words, fitting them into a larger context. Because this... wasn’t something simple.

"He agreed... to keep me here?" she asked carefully.

Kael nodded.

"Under direct protection."

Elizabeth’s fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her dress, a small but revealing gesture. This changed everything. It wasn’t just shelter. It was political positioning.

It was... exposure.

"And what does he want in return?" she asked.

Kael let out a soft sigh, tilting his head to the side for a moment.

"Control."

He looked at her again.

"You will be under his rules while you are in this territory. Any movement you make will be my responsibility."

Elizabeth kept her gaze steady.

"That doesn’t worry me."

And, in fact, it didn’t seem to.

But there was another issue there.

"And besides that?" she insisted.

Kael observed her for a moment.

And then he answered.

"He wants to see you."

This time, the reaction was clearer.

It wasn’t fear.

But it was... awareness.

Elizabeth leaned back slightly in her chair, her eyes drifting for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts. This was inevitable, she knew. There was no way to remain in the shadows forever, not in that position.

Still... the meeting with the emperor carried a different weight.

"When?" she asked.

"Tomorrow."

Immediate answer.

No room for postponement.

Elizabeth exhaled slowly, running a hand through her hair before looking at him again.

"And what did you say about me?"

The question came faster than before.

More direct.

Kael didn’t look away.

"The truth."

She raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What truth?"

A brief silence settled.

And then he answered.

"That you are the target."

Her eyes didn’t waver.

But they grew... colder.

"He already knew that."

"Not completely," Kael replied. "Now he knows enough."

Elizabeth held his gaze for a few seconds, as if trying to gauge how far this exposure would go.

"And you trust that?" she asked.

Kael tilted his head slightly.

"No."

The answer came without hesitation.

Without any attempt to soften it.

"But it’s the best-case scenario available."

Silence again.

But different.

Less tense.

More... accepted.

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a brief moment, as if solidifying an internal decision. When she opened them again, there was something different there.

It wasn’t just caution.

It was... determination.

"So what do I have to do?"

The question came firmly.

Without beating around the bush.

Without hesitation.

Kael watched her for a moment.

Then he stood up.

"First..."

He took a few steps toward her, stopping at a comfortable distance, but close enough to make it clear that this wasn’t just a casual conversation.

"You’re going to present yourself as what they already believe you are."

Elizabeth frowned slightly.

"And what is that?"

Kael looked directly at her.

"A princess."

Silence.

But this time... laden with meaning.

"Not a fugitive. Not a survivor," he continued. "A leader."

He tilted his head slightly.

"Because that’s what will define what happens next."

Elizabeth held his gaze.

And slowly...

She nodded.

Without words.

Without apparent doubt.

The decision was made.

And at that moment... they both knew there was no turning back.

The game had changed.

Kael didn’t wait for any more questions from Elizabeth after explaining the essentials. As soon as he finished, he simply gave a brief nod, as if officially ending the conversation, before walking down the corridor with firm, yet silent steps. His expression, which until then had remained controlled and calculated, began to gradually unravel as the distance between him and any attentive gaze increased. There was an invisible weight on his shoulders, a weariness that didn’t come from his body, but from his mind, and which accumulated with each strategic decision he was forced to make.

The walk to his room seemed longer than usual, not because it actually was, but because his mind was too occupied to perceive the space around him. Every word spoken in the emperor’s room repeated itself in his head, every possible consequence being analyzed and re-analyzed, not out of insecurity, but out of instinct. He had always been someone who acted with precision, who anticipated movements, who survived because he never underestimated the impact of his choices. But that... that wasn’t just a combat decision, nor a direct confrontation where strength and skill decided the outcome. It was a slower, more complex game... and, for him, much more irritating.

When he finally reached the room, Kael opened the door unceremoniously and entered, closing it behind him with a light push of his foot. He didn’t bother to turn on any lights. The room remained bathed in soft shadows, illuminated only by the diffuse light coming through the windows. He took a few steps inside, removing his gloves as he went, and dropped them somewhere, not caring about organization or order at that moment.

And then... he simply let himself fall onto the bed.

The impact was muffled by the mattress, but the feeling of finally stopping, of not needing to maintain posture, of not needing to sustain a controlled expression, was immediate. Kael ran a hand over his face, closing his eyes for a moment longer than necessary, and then let out a heavy, deep sigh, as if releasing something he had been holding back for hours.

"Politics isn’t for me..." he murmured, his voice low, laden with a sincere weariness that he rarely let escape.

He turned his head slightly, looking at the ceiling, as if searching for some invisible answer among the shadows forming there. His gaze, normally firm and determined, now carried an almost childlike frustration, an honest irritation with the situation he found himself in.

"I just wanted to freeze, kill, and destroy the others," he continued, without any trace of humor, just a direct statement of who he really was. "That makes sense. That’s simple."

There was a pause between his words, not out of hesitation, but because that was the closest he came to admitting something personal. Combat, violence, quick decisions... that was the territory where he moved naturally. But negotiation, alliances, political manipulation... that required a kind of patience he simply didn’t possess, and worse, it forced him to rely on factors he couldn’t directly control.

"This..." he let out a small, dry laugh, devoid of any humor, "this is hell."

Silence settled in the room again, heavy, strangely comfortable. For a few seconds, it seemed he would finally have a moment of peace, however brief. But Kael wasn’t the type of person to stay alone for long... not really.

"How cute."

The voice came softly, almost a whisper that fit perfectly into the silence, without breaking it abruptly. It was familiar. It was... inevitable.

Kael didn’t move immediately, but his eyes slowly opened, already anticipating exactly who he would find.

"You solving kingly problems..." the voice continued, now closer, carrying a light, almost playful tone. "Something you’re not even officially yet."

When Kael turned his head slightly, she was already there.

Inari was lying beside him, as if she had always been there, resting her head on one hand, watching him with a soft, curious smile. Her eyes shone with that constant, almost provocative interest, as if every reaction of his was something worthy of appreciation. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

She made no sound as she appeared. She never did.

It was simply... part of the space.

Kael let out a short sigh through his nose, closing his eyes again for a moment, clearly unsurprised, but also unenthusiastic.

"You always show up when I’m annoyed," he said, his voice carrying a slight tone of disapproval, though without real force.

Inari tilted her head slightly, her smile widening a little more, as if that observation were, in fact, a compliment.

"Of course," she replied, sliding a little closer, lying on her side to be aligned with him. "That’s when you’re most interesting."

Kael opened one eye, looking at her sideways, without moving much, keeping his body relaxed against the mattress.

"Interesting?" he repeated, clearly disagreeing.

"Yes," said Inari, without hesitation, her fingers distractedly tracing the bedclothes between them. "When you’re fighting, you’re predictable. Cold, direct... efficient." She paused briefly, examining him more closely. "But when you’re forced to think... to negotiate... to deal with things you can’t simply destroy..."

She moved a little closer, her gaze more intense now.

"You look... human."

Kael let out a small sound of disdain, turning his face back to the ceiling.

"That’s not a compliment."

Inari chuckled softly, a gentle, almost musical sound that contrasted with the weight of the conversation.

"It depends on the point of view," she replied, resting her head closer to him now. "To me... it’s fascinating."

He remained silent for a few seconds, letting her words pass without an immediate response. Not because he had nothing to say, but because, in part, she was right... and that was something he didn’t like to admit.

"I shouldn’t be doing this," he said finally, his voice lower, less irritated, and more reflective. "This kind of game... isn’t for me."

Inari observed his profile attentively, as if analyzing every nuance of that confession.

"And yet... you did it," she said, without judgment, simply stating the obvious.

Kael frowned slightly, without taking his eyes off the ceiling.

"Because it’s necessary," he replied. "Because someone has to."

Inari smiled again, but this time there was something different in her expression. It wasn’t just amusement... there was approval there.

"And you hate it," she added.

"Yes," Kael replied, without hesitation.

"But you did it anyway."

He didn’t answer this time.

He didn’t need to.

The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable. It was... shared. Inari continued lying beside him, watching, while Kael remained motionless, staring at the ceiling as if trying to organize everything that had begun that day.

Because, deep down, he knew.

What had started as a conversation... wouldn’t end there.

And, like it or not...

He was now inside a game that he couldn’t simply freeze, kill... or destroy.

At least... not yet.