Duke Thaddeus remained still. His sharp gaze bore into the young man before him, not in a glare, but in assessment. The cavern walls flickered with the eerie glow of the bioluminescent rock, casting shifting shadows along the stone and water—but none of that mattered now.
Because this Luca was standing right in front of him.
Alive.
And that—
That was the most impossible thing of all.
Thaddeus’ expression remained unreadable, his voice slow, deliberate.
“Yes,” he said at last. “I have heard of you.”
Luca’s smirk widened slightly, his posture still relaxed, casual—but there was something unspoken lurking beneath that amusement.
The Duke continued.
“Eryndor vouched for you.”
Luca blinked, his smirk tilting slightly, as if caught between curiosity and genuine surprise.
“Did he now?”
Thaddeus didn’t stop. His voice remained steady, but there was a distinct weight behind each word.
“You fought alongside my men during the expedition. You stood against the Kraken. And despite being only a 4-star, you—” His eyes narrowed slightly, scrutinizing every subtle reaction. “—fought as if you were much stronger.”
Luca let out a quiet chuckle, tilting his head slightly.
“Ah.” He exhaled, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. “So that’s what they told you.”
Thaddeus’ expression didn’t change.
“They said you broke through to 4-star in the middle of battle.”
Another pause.
A flicker of something strange passed through Luca’s dark eyes before he grinned again, stepping away from the cavern wall.
“Ahh, now that was a good moment,” he mused, rolling his shoulders as if reminiscing about a casual spar rather than a battle against death itself. “Nothing like a good life-or-death situation to push past your limits, right?”
Thaddeus didn’t smile.
Instead, his voice hardened.
“And yet,” he said slowly, “Eryndor also said that even as a 4-star, you felt like a 5-star. That you were holding your own against knights far above your rank.”
Luca stopped moving.
Just for a second.
His smirk was still there, his body still held that same effortless ease—but Thaddeus saw it.
The way his fingers twitched slightly.
The way his breath hitched, ever so subtly, before smoothing out again.
It was small. Barely noticeable.
But to Thaddeus?
It was everything.
He had commanded soldiers for decades, watched the best of warriors, knights, and mages rise and fall. He knew what it looked like when a man was choosing his next words very, very carefully.
Luca let out a short chuckle.
“Well,” he finally said, tilting his head with an exaggerated sigh, “I suppose that’s quite the compliment, isn’t it?”
His black eyes met Thaddeus’ directly—unwavering.
“An elite knight thinks I’m stronger than I actually am? I feel honored.”
Thaddeus didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
He simply stared.
Because he knew.
That reaction—that phrasing.
He hadn’t denied it.
Hadn’t agreed.
He had sidestepped the entire thing.
And that was more telling than any answer could have been.
Aeliana, standing just beside them, watched the exchange carefully. She had known Luca was hiding things, of course. That much was obvious. But watching him now—seeing how he handled a man like her father—
That was something else entirely.
For the first time, she realized something.
Luca wasn’t just avoiding the truth.
He was playing a game.
And Duke Thaddeus knew it.
The cavern remained still.
Neither man moved.
Neither looked away.
Until finally—
Thaddeus exhaled slowly.
“…Eryndor called you dangerous.”
Luca blinked. Then, his grin returned, a little sharper than before.
“Ah. Now that’s an interesting word.”
And then, with infuriating ease, he shrugged.
“Can’t say I blame him, though.”
His smirk widened.
“I’ve been told I have that effect on people.”
Duke Thaddeus felt something strange.
Not anger. Not offense.
But something close.
Something that demanded acknowledgment.
Because this young man—Luca—stood before him, speaking with such ease, such boldness, that it was almost unnatural.
No fear. No hesitation.
Not even the slightest sign of deference.
It wasn’t arrogance. No, Thaddeus had seen arrogance before—he had crushed men who spoke too highly of themselves, who dared to wield empty pride in front of him.
This wasn’t that.
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This was something else.
A disregard.
As if his title, his power, his very presence did not demand the respect that it should.
And that—
That was not normal.
Because Thaddeus was not just a Duke.
He was the Duke of Thaddeus Duchy.
The Ruler of the Eastern Seas.
A Pillar of the Arcanis Empire.
There was no one in the Empire, save for the Royal Family itself, who stood on equal footing with him.
Even they showed him the respect he was due.
Even they acknowledged the weight of his name.
Yet this young man, this adventurer, spoke to him with neither reverence nor caution.
It was almost insulting.
Thaddeus let out a slow, measured breath. His golden eyes darkened, his mana pressing just slightly into the cavern. Not enough to be a threat—but enough to be felt.
His voice, when he finally spoke, was calm.
Cold.
Steady.
“Are you a fool?”
Luca blinked.
The cavern air thickened.
Thaddeus’ presence, his authority, weighed down—not in a crushing wave, not in a show of force, but in a reminder.
A reminder of who he was.
Of what he was.
“I have tolerated much today,” Thaddeus continued, his gaze sharp, his tone cutting through the silence like a blade. “But you—” He stepped forward just slightly, his voice lowering, “—either lack understanding or lack respect.”
Luca didn’t move.
Didn’t flinch.
Didn’t bow.
Instead—
He grinned.
And then, he spoke.
“I had assumed,” Luca said, his tone light, as if the weight of Thaddeus’ presence did not exist, “that you were not here as a Duke, but as a father looking for his daughter.”
His head tilted slightly, his smirk widening just slightly, his black eyes unreadable.
“It looked like so in my eyes, at least.”
The air tightened.
But Luca didn’t stop.
“But—” he lifted a hand, as if offering a choice, “—if you want me to treat you as a Duke, then just state that.”
His smirk curled, his eyes dark with amusement.
“Your Majesty Thaddeus.”
Luca did not break eye contact. His smirk remained, his posture unwavering, as if Thaddeus’ presence, his authority, was nothing more than a passing breeze.
And then—
He spoke again.
“Of course,” Luca said smoothly, tilting his head, his voice carrying that same infuriating lightness. “I could certainly bow, offer my due reverence, and ensure my words are laced with proper decorum.”
His smirk widened, mocking but not hostile.
“But tell me, Duke Thaddeus.”
His black eyes gleamed.
“Is it proper for you to act like this in front of your daughter’s savior?”
Silence.
Once again.