CHAPTER 77: THE BLAZE

Vaylen Blaze.

This was the third time I’d met him.

But unlike the first two, when he was accompanied with an entourage and a spine, this time he was alone.

He sat timidly on the sofa, shoulders hunched, head bowed so low it looked like he might fold into himself at any moment.

"What is it?" Lucian’s cold voice sliced through the air, chilling the entire living room.

Vaylen gulped, the sound audible even from where I stood.

Slowly, he lifted his head. I could see him trying to gather whatever scraps of courage he had left before looking Lucian in the eye.

"I... I need to talk to Celeste..." he finally said.

His voice was low, wavering.

Already defeated before the conversation even started.

"And... what for?" Lucian asked, leaning forward. He tried to sound casual, but it still came out intimidating.

Vaylen gulped again, this time louder, more obvious. "H-her mother is having a fever because she’s... missing her."

Lucian slowly turned his head toward me, then chuckled under his breath before facing Vaylen again.

"Why would she miss someone who isn’t even her daughter?"

Vaylen’s eyes widened instantly, panic flashing across his face as sweat gathered at his temples.

"W-what do you mean, Lord Lucian?"

"I mean..." Lucian clasped the hand I had resting on my knee, his grip firm, "my wife is not your daughter. And she is not Celeste."

"My lord!"

He lurched forward and dropped to his knees in front of us, trembling.

"I— I didn’t mean to deceive you... please, let me explain..."

"Then explain," Lucian said calmly. Calm in a way that made the air feel thinner.

Vaylen swallowed hard.

"T-The truth is... I hid Celeste."

My breath stopped.

Lucian’s eyes narrowed slightly, "You hid her from me?"

Vaylen bowed deeper.

"I did. I admit it. I didn’t want to marry my daughter to someone with your reputation, my lord. You were..." he gulped, "cold... ruthless... unpredictable. Every clan warned us. Everyone said marrying the Blaze’s daughter to an ice dragon like you was the same as offering her to a storm."

Lucian’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t speak.

Vaylen continued, trembling harder.

"So I... panicked. I hid Celeste far away where no one could find her. Then you demanded to proceed with the ceremony and everyone said the alliance had to happen... so when I saw her..."

His gaze flickered to me, shame twisting his features.

"She looked exactly like Celeste. Same face. Same height. Same age. I thought... I could get away with it. Just for the engagement ceremony. Only one night."

Lucian’s voice dropped lower, "And afterward?"

Vaylen swallowed again, "You were supposed to reject her. Immediately. That was the plan."

His voice cracked, "But you didn’t."

Lucian’s eyes sharpened. "Because I had no intention of rejecting her."

Vaylen’s breath hitched, he looked like the floor had just been pulled out from under him.

"And yet," Lucian continued, voice calm in a way that somehow felt worse, "you still came here today. Why?"

Vaylen’s fingers curled against the floor, shame swallowing his voice.

"M-my wife..." he began, struggling for air, "Celeste’s mother... She collapsed two days ago. She has been crying for her daughter ever since. Her fever won’t break."

He lifted his head slightly, only enough to meet my eyes for a second before flinching.

"She keeps calling Celeste’s name. Refusing to eat. Refusing medicine. I—I came to beg for the lady’s presence... just for a moment. To ease her suffering."

"And what," Lucian said, brows lowering, "does that have to do with my wife?"

The entire living room tensed.

"You have your daughter. The real Celeste."

Vaylen’s breath hitched.

"I know..." he whispered, shame flooding his face. "Celeste is home. She’s been sick as well. Very sick. She hasn’t left her bed for days."

Lucian’s expression didn’t shift.

"Then why are you here," Lucian asked, voice cold enough to frost bone, "bothering mine?"

Vaylen swallowed, fingers twisting nervously.

"A-actually... I heard about the incident at Caelora Garden..."

Lucian’s eyes snapped up.

Instantly, the air shifted.

He didn’t speak. He simply turned his head, just slightly toward the guards by the door.

Just a glance.

But it was enough.

Every guard straightened in terror.

One instinctively pressed a hand to the weapon at his hip.

Another bowed his head, already knowing what that look meant, Find the leak. Erase the problem.

Vaylen saw it and all color drained from his face.

Panicked, he threw up both hands, shaking his head frantically.

"T-the man... the man your lady saved!" he stammered. "H-he came to me! That’s all! He wanted to express gratitude... he thought she was my daughter, Celeste... I didn’t ask him anything, my lord, he just—he just spoke!"

Lucian’s jaw flexed, irritation sharpening every line of his face.

Vaylen scrambled to explain before anyone disappeared permanently.

"I swear he didn’t mean harm!" he babbled. "He only came because she saved his life... he thought she was Celeste... he didn’t spread this to anyone else! I swear on my position!"

Lucian remained silent. Silent... but dangerous.

Vaylen trembled.

Lucian finally tilted his head, just enough to look down at him.

"And you expected," he said slowly, voice like carved ice, "That coming here... would make me agree to let you use my wife again?"

The word ’use’ sliced through the room like a blade.

Vaylen’s face crumpled, panic flooding his eyes.

"I—I didn’t mean to use her, my lord!" he protested, shaking his head violently. "I only—only hoped she could... ease my wife’s suffering. H-her fever won’t go down, and Celeste—she’s getting worse—"

Lucian didn’t blink. His expression didn’t soften and he didn’t move.

He just stared. Unmoving, cold and unyielding.

Vaylen trembled under the weight of it, shaking his head weakly as if he could shake off fear itself.

"I know I was wrong from the start," he whispered, voice cracking. "But please... I beg you, Lady—"

He stopped. Uncertain and hesitating.

Like even saying the wrong name might get him killed.

"Seraphina," I finally spoke, my voice cutting into the heavy air. "My name is Seraphina."

Vaylen’s head snapped toward me, eyes wide, not with recognition, but with raw desperation.

He... didn’t even know my name.

Of course he didn’t.

He hired me to replace his daughter for one night, used me as a stand-in, a placeholder, a convenient face and he didn’t even remember my name.

A broken scoff slipped from my lips.

I actually found it darkly funny.

But beneath that... I had questions of my own.

Questions only he could answer.

So I inhaled slowly, ignoring Lucian’s sharp turn toward me, his stare instantly narrowing.

"I will help you," I said.

Lucian’s entire body stiffened beside me.

Vaylen’s face lit up with desperate hope.

And the air, already tense, tightened further, drawn like a bowstring ready to snap.