Chapter 135: Confrontation
As soon as the words were spoken, the room fell into a silence so profound that one could hear a pin drop. Although the Norse siblings had already learned from Asael that their sister was alive, hearing it directly from him while she stood in front of them brought a whirlwind of complicated emotions — joy, confusion, doubt, and suspicion.
Lara’s accusing gaze bore into Asael. Didn’t he promise not to tell anyone of her identity?
Asael lowered his gaze, his heart racing. He felt guilty; he had promised to keep her secret but had broken it.
"You came here with the identity of Kane Mendel, a man and not a woman. Who wouldn’t doubt your intention, Mr. Mendel?" Odin spoke with the authority befitting that of a general. His gaze lingered over Lara’s face, and she noticed it softened. But when she blinked and looked again, his gaze returned to that of the stern commander.
General Odin’s thoughts were complicated. He dared to hope that his daughter was alive, but he was scared that, indeed, it was a ploy of his enemies who wanted him destroyed. If that happened, then his family would even be more devastated; his wife and he would have no way to recover.
Lara understood where they were coming from. She had studied psychology and psychiatry. She knew how to read faces, how to tell when people were overly cautious, and when to tell when people played mind games. She would be as skeptical as them if she were in their shoes.
But still, she felt a little disappointed. Only Asael and Bener seemed excited to have their sister back. Was it because she spent time with them?
She lowered her gaze, and when she looked up, her face was a mask of indifference. It was the same face she wore when she faced her father, mother, and siblings after she embraced the truth that she, the eldest daughter, the chosen one to carry out the vendetta, would always be regarded as a dead person in the family.
Asael panicked when he saw the shift in Lara’s facial expression. He felt that if he did not do anything, he would lose his sister forever. He scrambled and pushed Galahad away. The force caused him to wince in pain.