Chapter 209: Quite Amusing

"Coraline?"

Coraline swallowed, feeling her mouth go dry for a moment as she heard him call her name. For an instant, she forgot that the person looking at her was someone she despised.

"What happened? Did you fall in love with me, since you keep calling my name so many times?"

Cassian raised an eyebrow.

King Oreon was ready to apologize on behalf of his race.

Zakaer was annoyed; he had not cared much about the woman before, but she had clearly crossed a line.

However, laughter filled the dining hall, leaving everyone confused.

By the time he stopped, everyone thought the man had gone mad: he had just been insulted so openly, yet he showed no sign of anger.

But reality could not have been further from the truth.

The laughter stopped.

His violet eyes began to close.

Adela’s concerned voice could be heard again:

"Master?"

But when Cassian’s eyes opened once more, the indifference in them only served to confuse everyone further.

"Father!" Lumia’s voice escaped before she could contain herself. "Coraline has to be punished. She can’t do something like this to a guest and get away with it as if nothing happened."

His Majesty lowered his eyes, hesitating, while the woman who had caused the whole mess raised her chin arrogantly, giving Cassian mocking looks, although the drops of wine running down his face were beginning to bother her far more than she wanted to admit.

He returned her gaze.

"I still haven’t received an answer. Is your name Coraline?"

"Huh? Do you really care about that right now?"

"Mmm, perhaps you’re right. I shouldn’t care about the name of someone who is already dead."

The woman’s shining eyes widened at his words, but this time, she was the one who laughed loudly, her voice filling the hall.

"Dead? Do you really think you can do anything to me here? His Majesty may respect guests from other races, but he would never hurt one of his own for the sake of an outsider."

In a flat voice, he replied:

"Mmm, perhaps he can’t do anything, but..."

Before he could finish the sentence, Cassian turned his head.

At that very moment, footsteps began to echo through the hallway leading to the dining hall, stopping when the silhouette of a woman appeared there.

King Oreon’s order had been accomplished.

"You’re awake," Cassian said, changing the subject as he addressed Thalassa, who had just arrived.

But the woman who had entered looked toward him in confusion.

His dirty clothes with a stain, the broken glass scattered around, and the trails of wine marked across Cassian’s face made it impossible for her to tell whether he himself was injured, although she quickly denied this possibility with a shake of her head. Instead, she began searching for an explanation.

"Thalassa..." King Oreon hesitated, unsure whether to continue.

The mermaid’s gaze shifted toward the princess, but she seemed uncertain too.

Thalassa was becoming increasingly impatient, sweat running down her face, anxiety building up.

"What happened?" she finally asked, directing the question toward the man at the center.

"We were talking, you know?" he began, deliberately pausing to send her a shameless smile.

It made Thalassa take a step backward and blush in embarrassment, unconsciously pressing her legs together even more. Only then did he continue:

"We were talking with Coraline, you know? And she says that her regent won’t punish her for throwing a glass of wine at me. Truly, it has been quite a demonstration of judgment on her part, don’t you think, Thalassa?"

The long, straight-haired woman swallowed, beginning to understand what had happened.

She glanced at Coraline and shook her head internally.

She stepped forward, took out a handkerchief she had been carrying, and began carefully cleaning him.

Ereon watched the interaction and abruptly stood up, but bit down hard on the inside of his lip and restrained himself.

Coraline, meanwhile, was sinking deeper and deeper into doom herself.

"You finally arrived, Thalassa. Nereon has returned, you’re back as well, and you’ve even brought guests; and yet, you were sleeping until now. I hope you enjoyed the little welcome gift I gave one of them."

Cassian smiled even more broadly, though no one could see it. He stood up, approached Thalassa’s ear, and whispered a few words to her.

The woman listened, and her body tensed.

She pulled away, raising her gaze and fixing it on his.

Many memories flashed through her mind, from the moment she had met the person standing before her, to that very morning, and then to now. She clenched her fist tightly, separated herself completely from him, and walked toward Coraline.

For some reason, her footsteps felt heavy to everyone present—except one person.

"Thalassa?" Ereon Maris’s doubtful voice sounded at the same time that Princess Lumia also called out:

"Master?"

King Oreon narrowed his eyes, while Zakaer began to wear an amused smile, looking between Thalassa and Cassian, and then toward Coraline, as if he were predicting what was about to happen.

By the time Thalassa reached Coraline, the hall had fallen into an uncomfortable silence.

Many believed that Thalassa was going to apologize; others thought she would slap Coraline.

But when the two were finally standing face-to-face, the royal tutor’s words froze everyone in place.

Thalassa mobilized her mana, infusing it with the magic that was her specialty... hypnosis.

And her words were:

"Kill yourself."

Coraline’s eyes became cloudy.

She took a knife from the table and precisely slashed her own throat before anyone could react.

King Oreon was the first to react:

"THALASSA!" he shouted, standing up and striking the table with such force that he split it in half. The plates and other objects crashed to the floor, adding to the uproar.

Nereon blinked, confused.

He hadn’t been able to say a word since Thalassa walked in. He thought he was going to see something funny, something like lowering her head and apologizing, or simply ignoring what had happened but what actually took place left him completely frozen.

Zakaer covered Lumia’s eyes just in time, although she began struggling when she heard the screams of terror and her father’s furious voice.

Cassian rose from his seat and smiled with satisfaction.

Adela and Xana positioned themselves at his side, remaining alert to their surroundings.

The young dragon looked toward the trio with indifference, focusing on the person in the center. He raised both eyebrows and smiled.

The violet-eyed man seemed to notice, because he turned his head toward him, returned the smile, and shrugged.