Eldrin looked at Kaiser.
Eldrin breathing was uneven.
Something inside him was still burning.
The warmth.
That strange sensation beneath his chest.
It had failed twice already.
But now...
Eldrin understood something.
He had been trying to force the command.
Trying to make the other person obey simply because he wanted them to.
That wasn’t how it worked.
There had to be something else.
A thought.
A certainty.
Something he could make the other person accept as their own.
Eldrin looked at Kaiser.
The man was standing only a few steps away.
His sword was still in his hand.
Eldrin swallowed.
Just once.
He reached for the warmth again.
It came.
Weakly.
But it came.
His eyes met Kaiser’s.
"There is no reason to kill him!!!"
They didn’t sound like an order.
Then Kaiser’s hand loosened around the sword.
His eyes narrowed.
He looked toward Zarian.
Something flickered across his expression.
Kaiser lowered his blade.
Zarian slowly pulled himself upright.
He staggered toward Eldrin.
As he passed Kaiser, he glanced at him.
"Interesting."
Zarian reached him and caught his shoulder for support.
"You’ve gotten better at using it."
Eldrin looked at him.
"I didn’t even know if it would work."
Zarian gave a faint, tired smile.
"Neither did I."
Eldrin looked back at Kaiser.
The man hadn’t attacked.
He simply stood there, watching them.
His gaze was fixed on Eldrin now.
"You."
Kaiser looked directly at him.
"Eldrin of Novaryn, .....So that’s what you’ve been hiding!!"
Eldrin said nothing.
Kaiser sheathed his sword.
"You still have a lot to learn."
His eyes remained on Eldrin.
"But..."
A faint smile appeared.
"...you might actually be worth the trouble."
Eldrin frowned.
What kind of man is this?
Kaiser turned away.
"I’ll give you two years."
Eldrin stared after him.
"Two years?"
Kaiser stopped.
Then looked back over his shoulder.
"Use them well, Eldrin of Novaryn."
"Whatever you become in that time will be your choice."
Eldrin stared at him.
Kaiser continued.
"If you’re no different from the rest..."
He paused.
"...then I’ll come for you myself."
The words weren’t a threat spoken in anger.
They sounded almost like a challenge.
"But if you can show me that you’re different..."
Kaiser’s gaze hardened.
"Then I’ll consider the time I spent looking for you an investment."
Eldrin’s eyes widened slightly.
"You mean..."
"Two years."
Kaiser repeated.
"That’s what I’m giving you."
For several seconds, the three remained still.
Then Kaiser turned away.
"Don’t waste it."
He began walking in the opposite direction.
Kaiser didn’t look back.
He didn’t need to.
He already knew what the boy would do.
The surviving heir of House Novaryn.
He had expected a frightened child.
Instead, the boy had come back for an injured man when he could have escaped.
Foolish.
Perhaps.
But not meaningless.
Kaiser had always respected House Novaryn.
As a child, before he’d ever worn Royal colors, he’d dreamed of serving beneath their banner.
The Novaryn knights had been the warriors he’d looked up to.
Their discipline.
Their loyalty.
Their reputation.
He had once imagined himself standing among them.
Then the order had come.
Novaryn was to fall.
Kaiser had never believed the official explanation.
Too many things had happened too neatly.
The king had wanted House Novaryn gone.
That much had become obvious to him long ago.
The rest...
He still didn’t know.
But he knew enough not to blindly celebrate their destruction.
Kaiser glanced once toward the road behind him.
The boy was gone.
Good.
He had given him two years.
Not because Uthren had ordered it.
Not because Eldia had commanded it.
For once...
The decision had been his.
And perhaps that was worth more than another promotion.