The oil lamp in the inn room had burned low by the time Kai opened his eyes again.
Only a faint orange glow remained, casting long shadows across the wooden walls.
Outside the window, the twin moons had shifted position, and the distant noise of the capital had quieted into the deep stillness of late night.
Through the Claim bond, he could feel Elara’s breathing—steady, but not fully relaxed.
She was asleep, yet her mind remained restless.
Kai sat in the same chair as before, elbows resting lightly on the table.
The system interface hovered silently in his vision.
[New Thread Analysis] Distance: 4.7 km (Northern Noble District) Thread Strength: High Estimated Rank: S- Emotional Signature: Cold, restrained, high mental resistance Current Status: Stationary Preliminary Identity: Unknown (Insufficient data) An S-rank thread inside the capital.
Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Elara’s original thread had been A+.
This new one was stronger.
Whoever the second heroine was, her fate was bound more tightly—and to someone more powerful—than the Crown Prince.
He closed the interface and stood.
Elara stirred the moment he moved.
Her silver lashes fluttered, and she sat up slowly, still fully dressed in her white robes.
The black-and-gold threads in her halo pulsed once in response to his proximity.
“You’re leaving?” she asked softly.
“I need to confirm something,” Kai replied.
“You will come with me.” Elara did not argue.
She rose from the bed, smoothed her robes, and followed him to the door.
The barrier he had placed earlier dissolved with a quiet flicker of light as they stepped into the hallway.
The inn was silent.
Most of the other guests were already asleep.
Kai led the way down the narrow stairs and out through a side entrance that opened into a quiet alley.
The night air was cooler now, carrying the faint scent of rain that had not yet fallen.
They moved through the outer streets of the merchant quarter with careful steps.
Kai kept their path irregular, avoiding main roads and well-lit intersections.
Every few minutes he checked the position of the second thread.
It remained stationary in the northern noble district—an area filled with high-ranking mansions and heavily guarded estates.
After nearly forty minutes of silent travel, the streets began to change.
The buildings grew larger.
The stone pavement became cleaner.
Private guards in family colors appeared more frequently at gates and corners.
Kai slowed his pace and pulled Elara into the shadow of a tall garden wall.
[Thread Proximity Alert] Distance: 0.8 km Warning: Multiple high-level detection arrays present in the area.
Recommendation: Approach with caution.
Kai studied the surrounding rooftops and walls.
Several of the estates ahead were protected by layered sensing formations.
A normal infiltrator would be discovered within moments.
He, however, was not a normal infiltrator.
He placed two fingers against Elara’s wrist.
A thin stream of Claim energy flowed between them.
“Stay close,” he murmured.
“If I tell you to run, you run.
Do not look back.” Elara nodded once.
Her blue eyes were calm, though the bond revealed the tension coiled beneath the surface.
Kai led her along the outer edge of the district, using narrow service paths and the cover of ornamental trees.
Twice they were forced to stop and wait as patrols of private soldiers passed nearby.
Each time, Kai’s presence remained below the detection threshold of ordinary mana sensors.
The Claim ability suppressed his existence in a way that ordinary stealth techniques could not match.
Eventually they reached a high stone wall covered in flowering vines.
Beyond it stood one of the largest mansions in the northern district.
White marble columns, wide balconies, and glowing crystal lamps marked it as the residence of a high-ranking noble house.
The second golden thread shone clearly from the upper floors of the main building.
Kai stopped beneath a thick cluster of vines and extended his senses.
[Partial Identity Unlocked] Name: Seraphine Valestra Title: Young Lady of House Valestra Talent: Frost Sovereignty (S-Rank) Personality: Cold, prideful, highly disciplined Fate Bond: Duke Alaric Valestra’s chosen successor / Political engagement to Crown Prince Lucien Bond Strength: Extremely High Kai’s expression remained unchanged, but a faint interest flickered in his eyes.
Seraphine Valestra.
The daughter of the most powerful duke in the kingdom, and—according to the system—politically engaged to the same Crown Prince whose saintess he had already stolen.
Her talent, Frost Sovereignty, was a rare ice-based authority that could freeze both mana and life force.
An S-rank heroine bound by both bloodline and political destiny.
A perfect second claim.
Elara, standing close beside him, suddenly stiffened.
Through the bond she had caught a fragment of the information.
“House Valestra…” she whispered.
“Lady Seraphine is said to be even more distant than the northern ice mountains.
No one has ever seen her express genuine emotion in public.
Why is her thread so strong?” “Because she was never meant to belong to herself,” Kai answered quietly.
“Her fate was written by her family and by the royal house.
That makes the thread pure… and valuable.” He studied the mansion for another long moment.
Guards walked the outer walls in regular intervals.
Detection arrays shimmered faintly at key points.
Taking her tonight would be reckless.
The kingdom was already beginning to search for him.
Creating a second major incident so quickly would draw every high-level expert in the capital at once.
Patience was required.
Kai was about to withdraw when the system suddenly pulsed.
[Sudden Change Detected] Target Seraphine Valestra is moving.
Direction: Toward the eastern balcony.
Emotional Spike: Sharp increase in mental pressure.
Kai’s eyes sharpened.
He guided Elara higher along the wall until they reached a position with a partial view of the upper eastern side of the mansion.
A wide balcony came into sight, lit by soft blue crystal lamps.
A young woman stepped out into the night air.
Seraphine Valestra.
She was tall and elegant, with long pale-blue hair that fell like a frozen waterfall down her back.
Her eyes were a piercing ice-gray, and her expression carried the kind of cold beauty that made most people look away.
She wore a simple yet refined night robe of white and silver, and even from this distance the pressure of her talent was noticeable—the air around her balcony felt several degrees colder than the rest of the night.
She stood at the railing in silence, looking out over the capital.
Her posture was perfect, her face expressionless.
Yet the golden thread connected to her pulsed with unusual intensity, as if something inside her was struggling against the weight of the destiny placed upon her.
Kai watched her without blinking.
Through the Claim ability, he could sense the structure of her bond more clearly now.
It was not a romantic thread like Elara’s had been.
It was a political and bloodline chain—heavy, cold, and almost absolute.
Breaking it would require more than emotional words.
It would require shattering the foundation of her identity.
A difficult claim.
And therefore a highly rewarding one.
Elara’s voice reached him softly.
“She looks… lonely.” Kai did not reply.
He continued observing until Seraphine finally turned and walked back inside the mansion.
The balcony doors closed.
The second thread returned to a stable, stationary state.
Kai stepped down from the wall and gestured for Elara to follow.
They retreated the same way they had come, moving carefully through the shadows until the noble district was far behind them.
Only when they reached a quieter section of the merchant quarter did Kai finally speak.
“We will not take her tonight.” Elara glanced at him.
“Because it is too dangerous?” “Because the claim is not yet ripe,” Kai corrected.
“A thread that strong cannot be stolen with force alone.
It must first be weakened.
And the best way to weaken a political destiny is to create cracks in the structure that supports it.” He looked toward the distant palace, where lights still burned in several towers despite the late hour.
“Lucien has already lost his saintess.
If he also begins to lose the support of House Valestra… the pressure on him will become interesting.” Elara remained silent for a while as they walked.
Finally she asked, “Do you ever feel guilt for what you do?” Kai’s answer came without hesitation.
“No.” He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
“The world wrote their fates without asking them.
I am only rewriting the pages.” They returned to the inn without further incident.
The barrier was restored.
Elara sat on the edge of the bed once more, while Kai took his place at the table.
The system updated quietly.
[Second Target Locked] Seraphine Valestra – Claim Priority: High Recommended Approach: Indirect pressure + controlled contact Estimated Time to Optimal Claim Window: 3–5 days Kai leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.
Three to five days.
Enough time to prepare.
Enough time for the kingdom’s counterattack to begin in earnest.
And enough time for the second heroine’s perfect, frozen world to start cracking.
Outside, the first drops of rain finally began to fall on the capital of Luminara.