Chapter 33: Power Hungry

"Why did you not stop him then?" Elias asked.

Stella looked at him quietly, and Elias’s brows remained furrowed as he tried to understand the reasoning behind Damien Crimson’s coup.

The Crimson Duke was the greatest and strongest swordsman of the Dracarian Kingdom, as well as one of the seven Paragons. Contending against him was no different from committing suicide, yet Damien Crimson had still chosen to challenge him, regardless of how impossible his goal seemed.

Most of the deep western regions of the Dracarian Kingdom were ruled by the Crimson Ducal Clan, and seven cities fell under their authority. Perhaps greed or ambition had blinded Damien to the truth, but Elias still couldn’t understand why someone would knowingly throw himself against an opponent he could not defeat.

"It was inevitable," Stella said with a bitter smile.

Elias frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Stella walked over to the bed and sat down before continuing, "There can only be one strongest swordsman of the kingdom. The coup was not to take over the Duke’s position; it was to prove himself and save his people."

Her words only made Elias more confused.

’Save his people? What people?’

Everyone in the Bloodfang Clan had been killed by the Crimson Duke after the failed coup. If Damien had supposedly been trying to save his people, then why had he thrown them directly into the maw of the lion?

It made no sense.

Elias furrowed his brows as he tried to make sense of her words before finally muttering, "I do not get it."

"I expected that much," Stella said.

She looked at him for a moment before asking what seemed like a simple question.

"Why do you think the Crimson Duke can increase his influence so easily?"

For Elias, however, it was an extremely difficult question.

Most of his childhood had been spent swinging a sword, training his body, and trying to improve his swordsmanship. He had never paid much attention to politics or the relationships between the major factions, and the exact influence of the Crimson Ducal Clan was one of the many things he knew very little about.

"I do not know," Elias admitted, knowing that he had no other answer.

Stella shook her head and mumbled, "What kind of idiot did I marry?"

Elias’s expression twitched slightly, but he didn’t bother responding.

Stella sighed deeply before continuing, "The Dracarian Kingdom is one of three great kingdoms, and the holy land of the swordsmen lies here. Thus, the strongest swordsman is considered the zenith, and the Dracarian Royal Family has always kept that zenith close so they do not stab them in the back."

Elias listened carefully.

"Your father’s influence can increase so easily because he is supported by the royal family," Stella explained, "which means he can remove anything or anyone that he considers a threat. My father was one of those threats; he was, after all, reaching the realm of a Paragon."

Elias was left stunned by the revelation.

He blinked several times before muttering, "What?"

A Paragon.

Since there were no longer any Transcendents, Paragon was the highest realm of power a being could achieve. Elias had already known that the seven Paragons stood at the absolute peak of the world’s power, but Stella was now telling him that Damien Crimson had been approaching that realm.

His expression gradually became more serious.

But why would the Duke kill someone about to become a Paragon?

With the increasing number of spatial rifts appearing throughout the kingdom, eliminating such a powerful swordsman was no different from deliberately creating another great danger for the Dracarian Kingdom.

A Paragon was greater than any ordinary army. Their power was enough to shape the world according to their will, yet the Duke had killed one simply because he didn’t want anyone else capable of challenging his influence.

That didn’t sit well with Elias.

"You are weird," Stella commented.

Elias furrowed his brow and looked at her with a frown.

"Why do you think so?"

"You are not reacting the way you should have..." Stella said as she studied his expression. "You should be rejoicing about what your father did, but you seem displeased."

Elias glanced at her before shrugging.

"I am not good at politics, but one thing I know is that killing a Paragon should not go unpunished."

A surprised smile appeared on Stella’s face as she looked at him.

"Now you know why our clan was annihilated," she said.

"Hmm?" Elias asked.

Stella’s smile faded, and she looked at him with a quiet, serious expression.

"He simply did not allow anyone to know that my father was about to become a Paragon."

Elias fell silent and simply stared at Stella for a while. Then he took a seat beside her and asked, "What do you feel about this?"

"About what?" She feigned ignorance.

"Do not act like you do not understand me."

Stella lowered her head. Her crimson hair covered the sides of her face.

"I do not know..." she said.

"I do not even know if all of this is real or just a hallucination... Learning that my clan is no more is a hard pill to swallow, but in a corner of my heart I still believe that all of this is a lie and everyone still lives."

Her shoulders trembled as she said those words.

Elias’s expression turned worried, and he slowly wrapped an arm around her, his hand folding her left forearm.

She raised her head and turned it to him. "I do not want your pi—"

Before she could finish, he placed a finger on her lips and whispered, "Shh..."

However, it only seemed to anger her.

He deliberately ignored that and said, "You do not have to linger on my words or things you are unsure of."

She fell silent.

"Is there anything you want to do?" He asked curiously.

"I want to spar with you," she answered immediately.

A troubled smile appeared on his face.

"Anything other than that?"