Chapter 166: A Bloodline Hidden in Ashes
A Bloodline Hidden in Ashes
Victor said in a calm, amused tone, his golden eyes carrying the kind of quiet certainty that made people doubt their own disbelief before they doubted him.
"...the true blessing of your inability to harness mana is that it is proof that you are part of the royal family."
The words dropped into the chamber like a stone thrown into a still lake.
And the silence after them was violent.
Oil lamps crackled.
Somewhere in the back of the hideout, a chair creaked.
No one moved.
When Victor said this, aside from Videl everybody looked at him dumbly.
Even ever-stoic Lane was actually showing a rare look of confusion, her dark eyes widened, lips parted just slightly as though her disciplined composure had been struck through.
Clara’s thoughts outright stalled.
Brinda blinked twice.
Eon stared.
And then, as if they had somehow rehearsed it—
they all shouted in sync with each other.
"WHAT?!"
The cry slammed through the room hard enough to make the air seem to tremble.
Even the hardened gang members standing guard near the walls turned toward one another, faces stripped of their usual bravado, disbelief flashing naked in their eyes.
Shock felt too small a word.
This was absurd.
Impossible.
And yet... coming from Victor...
Impossible things had an infuriating way of sounding disturbingly plausible.
The same thought surged through every mind at once.
A relative?
Eon... a relative of the Queen?
The man known as the Ox King... blood of the royal family?
The idea was so outrageous it should have been laughable.
But no one laughed.
Clara’s fingers unconsciously tightened against her lap until her knuckles paled.
Lane stared at Eon as though seeing him for the first time, trying to fit the brutal underworld king before him with the image Victor had just shattered into existence.
Brinda’s purple eyes flickered sharply, no longer merely surprised but calculating.
Because if this was true...
This was not a buried family secret.
This was a political earthquake.
A bomb dropped beneath the kingdom itself.
For a heartbeat, the room seemed suspended in stunned silence.
Then Eon moved.
Or rather—
something feral rose inside him.
His breathing came rough, chest lifting heavily as if something violent fought to claw its way out.
When he finally spoke, the words came out almost like a beast forcing itself through human speech.
"Are you kidding me?"
It was less a question than a snarl.
A growl wrapped in words.
His eyes locked onto Victor, murderous intent leaking from him so thickly even the room seemed colder.
Several men near the walls instinctively stiffened.
A lesser man might have flinched.
Might have stepped back.
Might have feared that look.
Victor did none of those things.
He only sat there, unbothered, wearing that maddening composure of his as though Eon’s killing intent were no more than wind brushing past his shoulders.
Then he gave a faint shrug.
Casual.
Almost insulting.
"Do you think I’m the kind of person," he said evenly, each word deliberate, "who jokes around about these kind of things?"
And somehow...
that calm was more unsettling than Eon’s rage.
His voice was mild.
But beneath it sat iron.
The people present unconsciously began recalling every conversation they had ever had with Victor.
His threats.
His promises.
His madness.
His schemes.
His strange brutal honesty.
After thinking for a while...
they came to the same conclusion.
It was true.
Victor did not tell lies of this kind.
He manipulated.
He provoked.
He concealed.
But he did not fabricate truths this large for amusement.
Clara realized that with an odd chill.
That somehow made this even harder to dismiss.
Eon’s jaw flexed.
His hands opened and closed.
Part of him wanted to laugh.
Part wanted to punch Victor through the wall.
And some deep hidden part...
wanted desperately for it to be true.
Because if it were true—
then every humiliation he suffered for being ’broken’ had been a misunderstanding of blood itself.
Brinda stepped forward slightly.
Her robe shifted in the lamplight, purple silk brushing her toned leg as curiosity overtook seduction for once.
"How did you figure this out?" Brinda—asked, a bit excited. "What’s your source?"
Her voice carried a different energy now.
Sharper.
Hungry.
If it was true Eon was an actual royal...
then doors she once never dared dream of touching might open.
At that moment she was genuinely happy to have joined Victor’s group.
Lane noticed that gleam.
And frowned faintly.
Videl noticed too.
And smiled to herself.
Victor leaned back into the large chair as though presiding over some imperial court.
Then, with deliberate slowness—
he lifted one hand.
And pointed.
"This..." he said.
"...my love over here told me."
He pointed at Videl.
For a breath no one reacted.
Then all eyes turned.
Videl, who had looked almost serene till now, blinked.
And actually flushed.
A faint rose touched her cheeks.
"My... love?" she repeated under her breath.
There was surprise in it.
And unmistakable delight.
Lane instantly narrowed her eyes.
"Convenient way to introduce her," she muttered.
Victor heard.
Of course he heard.
A small dangerous smile tugged at his mouth.
Brinda laughed softly.
"Oh? So that is how we are defining things now?"
Lane shot her a look.
Clara, watching all this, felt a weird irritation she did not want to examine.
Victor ignored all of them.
He kept his attention on Eon.
Videl straightened and finally spoke, sapphire eyes serious again.
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Authors Notes: Dear Readers, Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure! Your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement really keep me motivated to keep bringing *Journey to Become the Zenith* into existence. If you’re loving the Chapters, I’d love it if you supported my book with a Powerstone, review, or even a Golden Ticket—it helps me develop as a writer and lets more readers enjoy the story. I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!
With love,
Scorpio_saturn777
Creator of Journey to Become the Zenith
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