Chapter 231 – The Fate of the Evenhart Family

Nathan Evenhart:

"Why? Why did you let Chloe and Kinue return on their own? This is madness—even without a damn assassin after us!" I shouted, unable to contain my frustration and anger.

"They weren’t alone," Sifu replied firmly. "A carriage of maids accompanied them to the Royal Capital. Even while traveling with other noble students, we never left them unprotected. In the capital, a team of duchy soldiers stationed at the local office took over their guard. The maids returned to meet your mother with another group because we couldn’t risk anything happening on the road, so they went as reinforcements. This group of soldiers boarded the same ship as Kinue and Chloe. Before departure, the passenger list had already been thoroughly checked. But the assassin was clever. He disguised himself as a crew member and spent the entire trip monitoring the ship. He knew who the soldiers were from the list and eliminated them one by one. Fifteen men... all killed by poison."

A lump formed in my throat as I listened, the gravity of the situation sinking in.

"He probably spent days analyzing the remaining passengers, ensuring there were no other undercover agents. In the end, he didn’t risk a kidnapping or serving them poisoned food. Instead, he broke into their room and tried to kill them directly."

We entered the carriage, and as it moved, I sat in silence. A deep pain consumed me, crushing my chest. Every word from Sifu felt like a blow, amplifying my guilt and helplessness. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all my fault.

When we arrived at the castle, I rushed straight to the medical wing, the weight of the last few hours pressing down on me like an anchor. Sifu’s words echoed in my mind as he recounted what had happened. Chloe and Kinue had been attacked by the third assassin, a mage determined to eliminate them. Chloe fought him at the port, but the situation turned chaotic when he began threatening the innocent people around them. In the end, my cousin was gravely injured, and Kinue managed to kill him, but the cost had been far too great.

Chloe had been in a coma for days, receiving constant treatment. If not for the healing potion Kinue had managed to give her at the last moment, Chloe wouldn’t have survived. The injuries were horrific, but the worst was her lung, pierced multiple times. Even after taking the potion, Chloe used the last of her mana to induce a deep sleep and freeze her body from within, preventing herself from drowning in her own blood.

"Nathan!" My mother’s voice pulled me from my dark thoughts. She appeared the moment I entered the infirmary, rushing to embrace me. The warmth of her touch was like a spark, trying to ignite something within me. I tried to hold myself together, but my emotions were on the verge of collapse.

"Mother..." I whispered, my voice trembling as I held her tightly. I desperately wanted her to say everything was fine, that Chloe was stable, but I knew that wasn’t the case.

My gaze was drawn to a group of maids gathered in silence around a bed. That was where Chloe was. My heart began to race, and the legs that had carried me this far felt too heavy to take another step.

"How is she?" I managed to ask, my voice breaking as my eyes remained fixed on where Chloe lay.

My mother lowered her head, and her words came like a blade, cutting through any lingering hope. "She’s receiving the best treatment possible, but... now it’s up to her."

It felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath my feet. A suffocating pressure gripped my chest, and drawing breath became an impossible task. My vision blurred as I absorbed her words. Helplessness and guilt consumed me, each breath a monumental effort against the despair growing within me.

"Chloe…" I murmured, tears finally escaping, my voice barely audible as I approached, dreading what I would find.

Charon’s words echoed in my mind: "A hell in which your suffering will be fearing to lose it"

I rushed past the maids, my heart pounding, my mind consumed by a single thought: seeing Chloe. When I finally laid eyes on her, my world crumbled. Chloe lay on a stone bed that resembled a shallow pool, her body submerged in healing water up to her neck. Around her, water healers worked tirelessly, their focus unwavering as they clung to the fragile thread of her life.

Her body was a map of suffering. Bandages covered extensive areas of her most damaged wounds, while severe burns marred her left arm and one of her legs. Deep cuts and scorch marks were scattered across her skin, visible even beneath the water. One of her fingers was reduced to bare bone—a horrific testament to the hell she had endured. She was motionless, locked in a deep coma, her pale, serene face a stark contrast to the devastation of her body.

"We're doing everything we can," Martha said, her voice weary, sweat dripping from her face as she continued to channel her healing magic.

I turned to her, desperation consuming me. "Please… tell me the truth. Will Chloe survive?" My voice trembled, threatening to break.

Martha took a deep breath before answering, her expression heavy with burden. "We’re administering healing potions daily and treating her with water magic. But the potion alone isn’t enough. Summoning the golem took more than she could give. Beyond the severe injuries, her mana has been completely drained. The coma is her body’s way of preserving what little energy she has left."

I sank to the floor, my legs shaking, overwhelmed by the crushing weight of helplessness and loss.

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Beside Chloe, I noticed Kinue lying on another stone bed, curled up and silent. Parts of her body were burned, and one of her ears had been partially severed. The suffocating weight of reality pressed down on me.

"Kinue…" I murmured, my gaze fixed on her as guilt clawed at me.

A maid approached, her voice calm but laced with exhaustion. "Kinue is stable. However, transforming at her age without proper bodily control has taken a severe toll. She’ll need to sleep until her body fully recovers. The healing potion has already repaired much of the damage. Her burns are about 60% healed, and her ear is regenerating, but slowly."

My gaze returned to Chloe, and the weight of the moment became unbearable. Each breath was a struggle, each second a reminder of the price they had paid for something I should have prevented.

Nikolaus Wolves was behind this. The assassin was Eliza’s brother. All of this… was because of me.

I slumped into a chair, the weight of guilt crushing me.

I’m losing the people I love again…

I stood abruptly, unable to contain the despair consuming me. The air in the infirmary felt suffocating, too heavy for me to endure another second. My body moved before my mind could catch up, and I ran out, emotions spilling over in a storm of guilt, pain, and desperate hope.

My legs carried me instinctively toward my room. I knew there was one last hope, one person who could help me. As I turned the corner, my heart clenched at the sight of her collapsed on the floor, her eyes shimmering with tears.

"Cylla!" I shouted, rushing to her side.

She lifted her tear-streaked face toward me, her eyes brimming with anguish that mirrored the torment burning inside me. Her expression—a mix of pain and exhaustion—was like a reflection of my own suffering.

"Nathan…" she murmured, her voice hoarse and broken, as a tear slipped down her cheek.

I dropped to my knees beside her, the impact reverberating through my body. Gasping for breath, I locked eyes with her, my voice trembling as my words poured out in a desperate plea.

"Please, Cylla, I know we’ve talked about this before, but I need your help. Please… save Chloe."

Cylla looked away for a moment, taking a deep breath as her tears continued to fall. It seemed as if she were waging an internal battle, one that reflected the turmoil raging within me. She lowered her head, her tears flowing more freely now, and when she spoke, her voice trembled with the weight of her words.

"I can’t, Nathan… I can only heal you. I’m not strong enough yet to heal someone whose soul isn’t linked to mine. I can only heal myself… and my beloved."

Her words hit me like a crushing blow. The faint ember of hope flickering within me was snuffed out. I slumped to the ground, the weight of despair making it impossible to move. Hiding my face between my knees, I let my tears fall freely.

"I can’t lose her… I can’t go through this again," I whispered, my voice weak and fractured.

Cylla tried to move closer, her expression laden with pain and guilt. But the anguish inside me was overwhelming. I stood abruptly, as if something inside me had snapped. Without thinking, I began to force the activation of the Celestial Eyes, my last desperate attempt to save Chloe. I needed to awaken the Aspect of Life.

"Don’t do this!" Cylla cried, her voice filled with panic. "If you force it, it’s dangerous!"

"I have to try!" I yelled back, my voice breaking with grief as my eyes burned, the pressure in my head intensifying.

In a flash, Cylla lunged at me, knocking me to the ground with the weight of her body. Her claws pressed into my shoulders, pinning me firmly. "Don’t do this, my beloved. Please!" she pleaded, her voice cracking. "If you force it before the time is right, you’ll die. It has to happen naturally, or your body won’t survive!"

I trembled with frustration and despair, tears streaming down my face without end. "I can’t lose her…" I whispered, my voice heavy with pain. "If she dies… I won’t want to live either."

Cylla grabbed my face with both paws, her eyes blazing with emotion and resolve. "And I can’t lose you!" she shouted, her voice echoing down the corridor. "If you die, I’ll fulfill my promise. I’ll unleash my full power and destroy everyone, even if it kills me in the process. This world will die with you, Nathan!"

Her words stopped me in my tracks. The pain in Cylla’s heart was palpable, but my own was still suffocating.

Cylla took a deep breath, struggling to hold back the tears shimmering in her eyes. Her voice softened but retained a firm edge. "You need to pull yourself together," she commanded, almost like an order. "I’ve already assessed her condition. If the maids keep taking care of her, her body will stabilize over time. The healing potion is working on the critical areas while the water magic stabilizes the other severe injuries. They’re in a constant battle, like a tug-of-war. As the potion heals one major area, it moves on to the next. It’s like putting out a massive fire. But it’s possible."

Cylla’s words echoed in my mind, bringing a sliver of rationality to the chaos consuming my heart.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached, and soon my mother appeared, her face etched with worry.

“I went to get you something to eat, and suddenly you were gone,” my mother said, kneeling beside me, her voice trembling between relief and worry.

“Where’s my aunt?” I asked, trying to suppress the whirlwind of emotions, though the anxiety slipped into my voice.

My mother let out a deep sigh. “Your aunt is in terrible shape. She stayed by Chloe’s side for days and eventually collapsed from exhaustion. We had to take her to her room to rest.”

Anger bubbled in my chest, intensifying with each passing second. I stood up, feeling the heat of indignation coursing through my body.

“What are we going to do about this? Our family was attacked!”

My mother hesitated, her eyes carrying the same frustration that burned within me. “The nobles of the duchy have been informed, and, as a result, so has Nikolaus Wolves. We only disclosed that there was an assassination attempt on Chloe. The news has been confined to the political nobility. The kingdom has asked us to wait for an investigation,” she explained, bitterness lacing every word.

I laughed, a dry, incredulous sound. “They asked us to wait?” I repeated, as though the words were some kind of sick joke.

My mother nodded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Yes… we told them what we discovered, but all we have is the name provided by an assassin who’s already dead. It’s not enough for them… unfortunately.”

“Fuck the kingdom,” I declared, my patience slipping away like sand through my fingers. “We’re handling this ourselves.”

My mother grabbed my hands, her gaze sharp and burning with restrained fury, mirroring my own. “That’s exactly what I want! Those nobles attacked my children. But I can’t. I’m not the duchess of this duchy to order such actions.”

Before I could respond, a firm voice emerged from the shadows of the corridor, laced with authority and unshakable resolve.

“But I am!” said my aunt Margie, her presence dark and commanding. “Nathan is right. Fuck the kingdom.”

“Margie,” my mother called, surprised. I could see plainly how devastated my aunt was. Her face bore the marks of exhaustion, her eyes swollen from endless crying. She looked on the verge of collapse, her trembling hands betraying that she likely hadn’t eaten or rested in days.

“We’ve lost our husbands, Katie. And now they’ve tried to kill Nathan and my Chloe. I’m done being the good duchess. The time for the Evenharts bowing to the rules of diplomacy is over.”

“Are you taking an army?” my mother asked, her tone heavy with both concern and anticipation.

“No... I’m bringing something worse. It’s been over 15 years since this was last done. I’ve summoned the Legacy of Evenhart. We’re all going together. I'm going to knock on those sons of bitches' door personally.”