“It has been a while,” he said, his gaze fixed on his father.
“You’ve grown,” his father spat, the words dripping with scorn.
The growth he spoke of was certainly not physical.
Jayden had gained a little weight, but his height remained unchanged.
“So, what is your purpose?” Jayden demanded.
He had fulfilled his promise to Elena by meeting his father.
He was free to leave, yet the man had summoned him without stating a reason.
‘I want to leave right now.’ But if he simply turned his back, this man would undoubtedly send his hounds after him again.
He was not the type to act without purpose.
‘And then Elena would tell me to leave again.’ He would never again allow a situation that kept them apart.
He had to settle things with this man, once and for all, so he would never be sought out again.
“Your purpose,” Jayden repeated firmly.
“State it.”
His father merely continued to watch him, his stare a blatant, invasive assessment.
“We will eat first.”
“I don’t have time.”
“We will waste even more if we continue to bicker.”
His father’s downcast eyes conveyed a clear threat—he could keep this up indefinitely.
The headache pounding behind Jayden’s eyes intensified.
A volatile storm of powerlessness churned within him.
He wanted to tear the entire place down and leave.
‘Yes, that’s it.’ He had no reason to be careful here.
He made his decision, muscles coiling to act.
“And if possible, try not to get angry.” But Elena’s voice surfaced in his mind again, forcing him to a halt.
Jayden’s gaze swept the room.
Anyone who met his eyes flinched away.
This was the largest mansion he had ever seen, home to a man who commanded countless people and hoarded mountains of treasure.
A man of power.
Such men moved others with words alone.
It had been the same on the most brutal battlefields.
“Kill that bastard.”
When a man of power gave an order, soldiers charged, again and again, knowing full well it meant their deaths.
This man could torment him with a single word, just like all the others.
If they all rushed him, he could handle it as he had before, but… Elena’s voice stopped him again.
“Jayden, you promised me.”
“What promise?”
“That you wouldn’t attack people recklessly.”
It seemed Mister Paul had told her about the scuffle with the other hunters.
He had told the man to keep it a secret.
“There were circumstances.”
As if refusing to hear any excuses, Elena had planted her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed fiercely.
He knew it was best to stay quiet at times like these.
The moment he fell silent, the sharp set of her eyes softened.
“Jayden, do you know how strong you are?”
“Yes.
I do.”
He knew perfectly well.
Even on the battlefield, he had never once felt his life was truly in danger.
Only two people had ever made him feel he couldn’t win: his father and Elena.
The feeling each of them inspired was slightly different, but he knew they were opponents he would struggle to defeat.
“Jayden.” Sensing his mind had wandered, she cupped his cheeks, gently turning his face toward hers.
It was a signal to pay closer attention.
“No.
You don’t.
You’re stronger than you think.
In fact, you’re incredibly strong.”
But he was well aware of his own capabilities.
“What would you do if you hit someone and they accidentally died?”
Jayden had spent more than half his life on the battlefield.
The days he had struck people far outnumbered the days he hadn’t.
‘I beat them while controlling my strength now, so they don’t die…’
He kept his mouth shut, certain he’d be scolded if he voiced that thought.
Jayden was slowly learning how to read the room.
“I don’t like it when anyone gets hurt, and I hate it when anyone dies.”
‘As long as I’m not hurt—no, as long as Elena and I aren’t hurt, then everything is fine.’
But again, Jayden was learning, and he kept that thought to himself as well.
“So don’t bully people weaker than you.”
“…I didn’t bully them.”
“Hitting someone with such a vast power difference is bullying.”
‘Her gaze was stubborn, unyielding.’
“Promise me.
From now on, you’ll think three times before attacking someone.”
“Three times?”
“Yes, you heard me.
Think it over three times.”
Truthfully, Jayden despised promises.
He’d learned early on that they were nothing but shackles.
But Elena often demanded them.
Living with her, he had come to realize the world wasn’t a perpetual battlefield.
He didn’t have to be constantly on guard, waiting for the next enemy.
As long as he stayed by her side, nothing could go wrong.
“I understand.”
As Jayden replied, the aura around them shifted.
The energy that typically clutched his heart felt loose, lenient.
Just like Elena.
He had learned something from their many ‘promises.’ The aura’s binding force was dependent on the other person’s will.
His mother, for instance, had desperately wished for him to obey his master, making it impossible for him to act against the man’s wishes.
But Elena’s will had leeway.
If he could manipulate the situation to his advantage, the binding force wouldn’t activate.
I just have to make them attack first.
The solution came to him in an instant.
“And if possible, don’t kill them, either.”
This was something he’d learned from books.
Jayden now understood that most people disliked the taking of a life.
“I will be careful about that as well.”
Funnily enough, the aura remained inert at the words ‘I will be careful.’ The phrase was too ambiguous to determine whether the promise had been kept.
Elena beamed.
He didn’t know what she was so happy about, but she was clearly pleased.
“See?
Jayden is a good person.”
Whenever he did something right, Elena praised him gently.
Jayden loved her praises.
Her voice would grow more affectionate, and her smile would gain a special sparkle.
“Yes, I am a good person.”
When he agreed with her, her eyes would widen in surprise before she burst into even brighter laughter.
Watching her, the corners of Jayden’s own mouth would lift automatically.
Since making that promise, Jayden had been careful to avoid conflict.
Even if his father ordered a fight with the men here, it wouldn’t technically be breaking his promise, which was fine, but…
“You should know, Jayden.
Violent men aren’t charming.”
“Violent men?”
“Yes, men who are always getting into fights.”
Elena must never find out that a battle took place.
He suppressed his roiling emotions.
To truly become her lover, he had to behave, even when she wasn’t watching.
That was the only way he could confidently report his good conduct.
“Let us eat,” Jayden conceded.
Sighs of relief rippled through the room.
His father stared at him for a long moment before finally turning away.
“I will guide you to the dining hall,” an old steward standing nearby said, stepping forward as if he had been waiting for his cue.
He was led to a dining hall where a lavish meal was served, a world away from the simple food he shared with Elena.
But nothing tasted as good as what she made.
Throughout the entire meal, his father remained silent.
His observant gaze was the only thing directed at him.
Jayden couldn’t fathom the purpose of this pointless exercise.
After the meal, he was finally left alone.
Jayden opened the pouch.
As he’d suspected, there was a note inside.
‘Jayden, I hope you are well there.
I cannot accept you as my lover.’
The words were impossible.
Elena would never write this.
He had to see her, to talk to her.
Jayden shot to his feet.
“Where are you going?” someone asked as he strode from the room.
“Home.”
“Pardon?”
He paid no mind to the man’s confusion.
He had to leave.
Now.
“Where do you think you’re going at this hour?” His father appeared, blocking his path.
“I’m leaving,” Jayden stated flatly.
He knew his father might try to stop him, just like last time.
But he had to go, no matter what.
“Leave tomorrow.”
“I’m going now.”
‘If you block my path, I will break you.
I will go, no matter what it takes.’ Jayden let his intentions show, his aura flaring.
“If you leave tomorrow, I will provide a guide.
If you go alone, it will take five times longer than your journey here.”
His father’s dose of reality was enough to make him stop.
Thankfully, he had just enough reason left to assess the situation.
“You must send me off tomorrow without fail.”
“I promise.”
He stayed up all night, consumed by an anxiety he had never known.
It was a completely new emotion for him.
Not even on the eve of a bloody battle had he felt such an ominous, nerve-shredding dread.
His head felt like it would split open.
True to his word, his father provided a guide.
After another long journey, he finally arrived at the village where he had lived with Elena.
“Elena, I’m back,” he called out as he entered the general store, but only a hollow echo answered him.
Elena had never been diligent about running the store anyway.
She must be at home.
She was probably just being lazy.
Suppressing the knot of dread in his stomach, he burst into the house.
“Elena!
I’m back!”
The moment he saw the empty rooms, Jayden knew.
Elena was gone.
‘Jayden, I hope you are well there.
I cannot accept you as my lover.’
The words from the letter he had refused to believe had become his reality.
As the realization that she had abandoned him sank in, his heart hammered against his ribs.
A glacial coldness seized him, freezing him from the inside out.
Jayden frantically grabbed the blanket from the sofa and wrapped it around his shoulders.
It was the one Elena always draped over him when he felt cold, but it offered no warmth now.
It only deepened the chill that had taken root in his bones.
A world without Elena was this cold.
‘Why?
Why did she abandon me?’ No, there was no point in asking that.
It didn’t matter where she was or for what reason.
They could not be apart.
His place was by her side.
If he had been abandoned, he would simply chase her down and chain her to him.