Chapter 103: It Was An Opportunity
- Reira ☾⋆⁺₊✧ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
- Nov 5, 2025
- 7 min read
“What’s going to be over?”
“Those tiresome problems.”
“Sometimes I don’t understand what you’re saying, Mister.”
"I feel the same way."
Cabelenus nodded lightly and returned his gaze to the documents.
Michael leaned back against the sofa, sulking as the tedious wait began again.
He wasn't sure how long he had been staring blankly at the ceiling when he finally heard footsteps outside.
Michael darted out without a moment’s hesitation, like a little guard dog.
“Mis… oh?”
Michael’s shoulders slumped as he spotted the unexpected green eyes.
Sadly, the visitor wasn’t Gazeff as he had expected.
“…Um, hello?”
Fenrir cautiously observed Michael, who was openly showing a disappointed expression, unaware of the reason.
“You’ve finally arrived. Sit.”
“Am I allowed to sit?”
“Stand if that’s more comfortable.”
"No, it’s not that I’m comfortable, but…"
Fenrir glanced down at Michael.
He didn’t know what happened, but the child’s expression was extremely dark.
“Your Highness, the child—”
“It’s Michael.”
“Pardon?”
“I told you my name is Michael Nus last time.”
Michael muttered weakly, his expression sullen.
Fenrir, feeling guilty for no reason, awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“Sorry.”
“I’ll forgive you this time, but please call me properly from now on.”
“O-okay.”
Though he wasn’t sure why he was apologising, Fenrir nodded awkwardly anyway.
Michael looked far too gloomy to question the situation, while, on the other hand, Cabelenus just calmly reviewed his documents.
After glancing around once more, Fenrir followed Michael, who was trudging along, and sat down on the sofa.
“If there’s no space, just push the things aside.”
"Is that really okay?"
“Michael wouldn’t play with them anyway.”
"In that case…"
Fenrir’s hand paused as he carefully tried to move the toys aside.
On the table were not only toys, but also a pile of cookies.
‘Could it be… that she baked these?’
Fenrir’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
He had received cookies made by Alicia as a gift, but he hadn’t taken a single bite yet since they felt too precious to eat.
“Your Highness.”
“I’m listening, so just give your report.”
“I haven’t eaten yet, so if it wouldn’t be a discourtesy, may I have some of these cookies?”
“Go ahead if you want.”
He had expected a refusal, so he was surprised.
Fenrir glanced sideways at Cabelenus, still focused on the documents, and at Michael, who looked gloomy, before picking up a cookie.
It was the first time he had tasted Alicia’s cookies.
“This is really good.”
“Is that so?”
The documents Cabelenus had been looking at shifted slightly downward, but Fenrir, completely oblivious, focused solely on the cookie.
Baking wasn’t considered a noble skill, but it didn’t matter.
Just thinking that Alicia had made it herself brought an involuntary smile to his face.
“Even though I don’t usually like sweets, this is delicious.”
“That’s good. You can eat as much as you want.”
“Am I allowed to eat it all?”
“Michael said he’s already tired of chocolate cookies. They would’ve been hard to deal with otherwise, so this works out well.”
“Your Highness, you’re not having any?”
“I’m not fond of sweets.”
Cabelenus drew a firm line.
In fact, Michael wasn’t the only one tired of chocolate cookies.
Having tasted it throughout the baking process, Cabelenus found he couldn’t face chocolate for a while.
“They were made with care, so in consideration of the baker’s effort, they should be enjoyed. What do you say? Would Your Highness like one as well?”
“I’ve already had enough, so I don’t need one.”
“In that case, I’ll just eat them all without hesitation.”
Fenrir tutted silently to himself at Cabelenus’s refusal.
If it were him, he would have eaten anything without complaint, so he couldn’t help but feel annoyed at Cabelenus for so easily disregarding her sincere effort.
“So, what is it that you want to say?”
“For the past few days, we haven’t been able to get in touch with our unit."
“That’s not good news.”
Cabelenus put down the documents he had been reviewing.
Fenrir’s elite unit was doing their utmost to avoid any friction with the Imperial Army, spreading only rumours, but the enraged Zerpheus would not stand by idly.
Zerpheus personally raised an army to deal with Roaquin, and the army’s pursuit grew more relentless with each passing day.
“What do you want me to do? Are you asking for support?”
“No, I don’t need any support.”
“Then what?”
“I’m thinking of taking action myself.”
“That doesn’t seem like a very wise choice.”
Cabelenus commented in a calm, matter-of-fact voice.
His well-trained body, evident even beneath his clothes, was enough to make the young lord overconfident — but it offered no guarantee of survival.
“Are you concerned for me?”
“I’m concerned about our alliance.”
“Well, it is rare for a Roaquin to put their trust in an Imperial.”
Fenrir spoke playfully, giving a light shrug.
“It doesn’t matter if you die after the alliance ends…”
Cabelenus fell silent under a piercing gaze.
When he turned his head, he saw Michael’s frightened face.
“...There's no way you’ll die.”
Though his words were tossed out carelessly and didn’t really fit with what came before, the child’s expression brightened.
Cabelenus let out a sigh and pressed his hand to his forehead.
Just thinking about having to weigh every single word before speaking already made his head ache.
He could only hope that Gazeff would return soon.
“Anyway, I’m against it. I don’t know about the hands or feet, but the head, hmm…”
Fenrir quickly covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle a laugh that was slipping out.
He knew he shouldn’t laugh, but watching Cabelenus carefully choosing his words for the child was rather amusing.
“I understand why Your Highness is opposed.”
“That makes things easier.”
“However, I didn’t bring it up thoughtlessly.”
Fenrir took a leisurely bite of the cookie.
Even though contact with his unit had been cut off, he remained calm — because he trusted himself.
“My unit is made up of elite soldiers I personally selected, and they’ve all been trained to handle any unexpected situation.”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“What I can say for certain is that my unit will definitely be safe.”
Fenrir wiped the cookie crumbs from the corner of his mouth.
What his foolish elder brothers tried most often to resolve the succession issue was assassination.
For him, who survived the repeated attacks of his five swarming elder brothers, staying alive was as easy as breathing.
“Then wouldn’t it be better to wait?”
“I don’t mind waiting, but I’ve started to notice some things that are beginning to irritate me. It’s about time I showed an opening.”
“An opening?”
“It’s a word traitors are fond of.”
Fenrir’s eyes curved even more gracefully.
Cabelenus let out a short, sharp breath.
“So there was another scheme behind taking my hand.”
“It’s true that asking for Beltein was greedy. But I simply like to be efficient. If I could get two things done at once, all the better.”
“What’s the hidden scheme?”
“To be honest, this plan wasn’t originally meant for Your Highness. I simply planned to observe for now, intending to make the most of it depending on how things unfold."
“...”
“Don’t look at me like that. From the start, it was never a plan meant to harm Your Highness. Besides, I think you’ll be pleased once you hear what I have planned next.”
Fenrir smiled, boldly — almost shamelessly.
To be honest, even he hadn’t expected to go this far.
“But why the sudden change of heart?”
“Something unexpected happened.”
Fenrir placed his clasped hands on his knees.
His heart pounded wildly.
This was an opportunity.
A chance to let go of the guilt he’d been carrying all this time.
Fenrir took a deep breath and spoke slowly.
“…You’re not in very good health, are you?”
"Let’s talk about that later."
Cabelenus, realising what Fenrir meant, hurriedly cut him off.
Michael didn’t know about Alicia’s condition.
“Don’t worry about it. Surely a little joke like this is fine between us, isn't it?”
Fenrir remained unfazed and smiled with practised ease to reassure Michael.
Seeing Michael’s face light up so instantly, Cabelenus rubbed his forehead.
Fortunately, the innocent child seemed to fall for it quickly when told it was a joke.
“So, you intend to keep this little joke going?”
“I want to help Your Highness.”
“There’s no need for you to go to such lengths, is there?”
Through his fingers, golden eyes flashed sharply.
He couldn’t easily trust such readily offered goodwill.
Even if they held hands now, the alliance could still break at any moment.
It was foolish to be perfectly devoted to one another.
All that mattered was doing what needed to be done and taking what one wanted.
“I once accompanied my guardian to a delegation in a neighbouring country. Of course, I was just a child back then, so I wasn’t anyone important.”
“…A delegation?”
“There, I met a child. She was so small and so filthy that I couldn’t even recognise who she was.”
“...”
Cabelenus’s jaw tensed.
It wasn’t difficult to realise who the child Fenrir was talking about.
Moreover, it was equally clear that Fenrir wanted to help someone else, not him.
・・・・・
“Looks like Michael isn’t here anymore.”
“I want to hear your story properly.”
“You don’t have to look at me like that. I may have selfish motives, but I harbour no ill intentions.”
Fenrir raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Even if you have ill intent, I wouldn’t give you an opening.”
Cabelenus replied coldly, crossing his legs.
“You’re quite confident.”
“That’s only natural, seeing as I was the one she chose.”
“How cruel of you.”
“I already told you, I have no intention of giving you an opening.”
Cabelenus stared intently at Fenrir.
Fenrir couldn’t withstand the sharp gaze and let out a deep sigh.
Cabelenus didn’t seem willing to back down until he got the answer he wanted.
“This happened a long time ago.”
“I know that without being told.”
“You’re impatient.”
Fenrir scratched his head at the cold response.
“I hate dragging out the conversation for no reason.”
Cabelenus spoke firmly.
“Nothing much happened; it was just a bit of a commotion. I got bored, sneaked out past the adults, and happened to see her by chance.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all there is to it.”
“...”
Cabelenus’s eyes were sharp, but Fenrir didn’t flinch and smiled.
The abuse she suffered in the past might feel humiliating to Alicia.
He couldn’t speak of it carelessly in her absence.
“Rather than that, aren’t you curious about my plan?”
“Don’t try to change the subject.”
Cabelenus’s eyes hardened.
“Couldn’t you just pretend you don’t know?”
Fenrir grinned slyly once again.
“Why should I?”
“Because it’s for her sake.”
“...”
“I’m not trying to conceal it for any bad reason. I simply wish to keep her from being hurt.”
She had already been through enough hardship.
At Fenrir’s words, Cabelenus pressed his lips tightly shut.
He was annoyed by the other man’s selfish motives, but he couldn’t say a word.
He, too, wished for Alicia to remain unharmed.
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