The weight in the room shifted.
Aeliana could feel it—the way her father’s presence, cold and steady as ever, sharpened with unspoken intent. He had let the argument pass, let her words sink in without retaliation, but now?
Now, he wanted answers.
“You will tell me what happened,” Thaddeus said at last, his voice calm, unwavering. “From the beginning.”
Aeliana exhaled slowly, crossing her arms tighter, bracing herself.
“Be specific,” he continued. “What happened when you left for the expedition? What happened when the Kraken appeared? What happened when you were swallowed by the Vortex?”
His golden eyes did not waver.
“And what happened with that man—Luca?”
Aeliana’s fingers twitched at her sides.
She had expected this. Knew that eventually, she would have to explain exactly what had occurred beneath the sea.
But still, hearing him ask so directly, so utterly focused on uncovering the truth, left her feeling strange.
********
Aeliana held her father’s gaze, her pulse steady despite the storm of emotions swirling beneath the surface.
This moment had always been inevitable.
Duke Anthony Thaddeus did not ask meaningless questions, nor did he allow evasions. He wanted answers, and he would get them.
She inhaled slowly, measured, before speaking.
“What happened at that time…”
“That is right.” His voice remained firm, expectant. “I want to know everything.”
Aeliana studied him for a moment longer. The way his golden eyes, so much like her own, reflected nothing but quiet demand. Not impatience, not anger—just an unyielding need for truth.
She wasn’t against revealing it.
She had never planned to keep it hidden.
But saying it out loud, recounting everything as it had happened, meant reliving it.
Still, she straightened, tilting her chin slightly, and began.
“It all started on the second day.”
Her voice was clear, unwavering.
“The first day passed without incident. The waters were calm, and we proceeded as planned. There were no signs of anything unusual—no disturbances in the current, no warnings in the wind. If anything, the voyage felt… normal.”
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Her father gave a slow nod, indicating for her to continue.
“But then, on the second day—everything changed.”
Aeliana could still feel it, the sudden shift in the air, the eerie stillness before the storm had descended.
“The storm came without warning. No time to prepare, no time to change course. The waves rose like walls around us, and before we could even begin to react, we saw it.”
Her fingers curled slightly against the fabric of her dress.
“The Kraken.”
The very name sent a phantom shiver down her spine, though she refused to let it show.
“It came from the depths,” she continued. “It was massive—larger than any creature I had ever seen, with tentacles that could crush entire ships like they were made of paper. It didn’t just attack—it tore through us, systematically, as if it knew exactly what it was doing.”
She could still hear the screams, the splintering of wood, the deafening roar of the ocean swallowing everything whole.
The chamber was silent, save for the low crackle of the lanterns burning along the walls. The weight of Aeliana’s words hung in the air, thick and unrelenting, yet Duke Thaddeus’ expression remained unchanging.
He absorbed everything—every detail, every nuance, every carefully measured sentence. But his focus had already shifted to something more critical.
“Then what about you?” His voice was calm, level, demanding.
Aeliana inhaled slowly, lifting her gaze to meet his. She had expected this question. Waited for it.
Because this moment—this very moment—was inevitable.
For years, her father had been the one holding all the power, all the knowledge, all the control.
Now?
It was her turn.
So, instead of answering immediately, she leaned forward ever so slightly, her amber eyes burning as she locked onto her father’s gaze.
And then, she asked—
“What do you know about it?”
The Duke’s fingers twitched slightly against the armrest of his chair.
Just barely.
A movement so minuscule, so controlled, that no one else would have noticed.
But Aeliana did.
And in that split second, she saw something she had never seen before.
Hesitation.
Not uncertainty. Not fear. But hesitation.
Duke Thaddeus was a man who never entertained things he did not fully understand. He was a ruler, a warrior, a master of the battlefield, a commander who dictated the movements of both men and warships alike.
But this?
Still, he did not let it show.
His golden eyes remained locked onto hers, unreadable as ever, and his voice—when he finally spoke—was measured.
“…The vortex.”
For a moment, silence reigned.
Then—
Aeliana laughed.
A sharp, sudden sound, full-bodied and rich, echoing through the chamber like a blade slicing through still water.
“AHAHAHAHA—!”
It wasn’t just a chuckle, not a restrained amusement, but something raw, something genuine. A laugh pulled straight from her chest, untamed and utterly without restraint.
Duke Thaddeus’ golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly, his expression remaining unreadable, but there was an unmistakable shift in the air between them.
Aeliana’s laughter faded into a breathless hum, her lips curling into a smirk.
“That woman…” she exhaled, shaking her head. “She said that?”
The amusement lingered, but beneath it, something dark stirred.
Of course, she had expected it.
Madeleina was a liar, a masterful one at that. A woman who had spent years weaving deception with a grace that was almost admirable—almost.
But hearing it from her father’s mouth?
That was truly something else.
“…..What is it?”
His voice was calm, unwavering, but she knew better.
She straightened, her gaze meeting his once more, but this time, there was no more amusement—only cold, seething truth.
“It was not that I simply got caught in the vortex.”
Her voice lowered, her words deliberate, laced with something dangerous.
And then, with slow precision, she smiled.
“It was Madeleina who pushed me.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
The Duke did not react—not immediately—but Aeliana didn’t miss the way his grip on the armrest of his chair tightened, the barest twitch of his jaw.
CRACK!
The armrest of Duke Thaddeus’ chair shattered beneath his grip.
Aeliana watched as the splintered wood crumbled between his fingers, jagged edges pressing against his palm—but he didn’t seem to notice. His golden eyes, sharp as a predator’s, locked onto her with something unreadable.
“What did you say?”
Aeliana’s smirk didn’t waver. If anything, it deepened.
“I said,” she repeated, slow and deliberate, “it was Madeleina who pushed me.”
The words settled in the air like a blade pressing against skin, sharp and undeniable.
“I didn’t just get caught by the vortex,” she continued, tilting her head slightly. “She made sure of it.”
The Duke’s expression remained unreadable, but his silence was telling.
Aeliana leaned back, crossing her legs with practiced ease, the very picture of calm.
“What?” she asked, amusement flickering in her tone. “Are you hesitating now? You’ll believe some random woman’s words over your own child?”