Chapter 63: A Quiet Walk (Bonus)

Neo’s POV:

From across the ballroom, Neo watched the exchange unfold, his eyes narrowing as he quietly took in every detail.

’Personal knight? Already? This is happening way sooner than I remember from the anime.’

According to the story, Kael’s first real connection to the royal family wasn’t supposed to happen for at least another year, and even then, it had come through a far more complicated series of events involving a border skirmish rather than a simple carriage ambush. The story he remembered was slowly drifting further and further away from the original script, and that realization left him more unsettled than he wanted to admit.

’Guess the butterfly effect really is spreading further than I thought.’

Curious, and more than a little wary, Neo focused inward, calling up the familiar system prompt.

[Ding!]

[Do you want to Appraise Kael?]

[Y/N]

He clicked yes immediately, watching expectantly as the interface attempted to process the request.

[Appraising begins...]

Nothing happened.

Neo frowned and waited a few more seconds before trying again.

[Appraisal Failed.]

[Reason: The target is affected by conflicting system interference. Data cannot be retrieved.]

Neo’s frown deepened considerably.

’Conflicting system interference? That’s never happened before. Just what exactly is going on with this guy?’

He’d appraised his own parents, his grandfather, Nora, even random nobles and servants throughout the years, and never once had the system failed to return at least some kind of readable information. The fact that it couldn’t even manage a basic reading on Kael told him something significant.

’He’s got his own system too. That has to be it. That’s the only explanation that makes any sense.’

The realization settled uncomfortably in his chest. If Kael truly possessed some kind of parallel system, similar in nature to his own Karma Exchange System, then whatever advantages Neo had been quietly accumulating over the years suddenly felt a lot less unique, and considerably more concerning.

Across the room, Kael stumbled awkwardly through his acceptance of Elaine’s offer, scratching the back of his neck with obvious embarrassment while the surrounding nobles continued their excited murmuring.

"I mean, sure, yeah, I guess I could do that, Though I should probably mention I have no idea what being a personal knight actually involves."

Elaine laughed softly, clearly charmed despite his obvious lack of proper noble etiquette.

Neo watched a moment longer before finally pulling his attention away, glancing instead toward Nora, who stood quietly beside him, her lavender eyes studying his expression with quiet, careful attention.

He leaned closer, making sure his lips were clearly visible for her to read.

"I think we should leave."

Nora tilted her head slightly, though she nodded without argument, allowing him to gently take her hand and lead her away from the crowded ballroom.

They slipped out through a side entrance leading toward the palace’s private garden, the cool night air a welcome relief after the stifling warmth and noise of the ball. Soft lantern light lined the winding stone pathways, illuminating neatly trimmed hedges and rows of pale, moonlit flowers stretching out on either side.

"Sorry, I just needed some air. That whole scene back there was giving me a headache." Neo said once they’d put some distance between themselves and the ballroom, slowing his pace to match hers.

Nora watched his lips carefully as they walked, her expression thoughtful. "The boy who spilled the drink?"

"Yeah, him," Neo said, his tone carrying a faint trace of lingering irritation. "There’s something off about him. I can’t really explain it properly, but trust me, it’s better if we stay far away from whatever’s going on with that guy."

"You seemed angry, More than the situation called for." Nora observed, studying him carefully.

Neo hesitated slightly, unsure exactly how much he could safely explain without revealing details he still wasn’t ready to share, even with her.

"Let’s just say I have a bad feeling about him, Call it instinct."

Nora accepted his vague answer without pressing further, though her sharp gaze lingered on him a moment longer than necessary, clearly filing away yet another quiet mystery to add to the growing list she’d been keeping about him over the years.

They continued down the garden path in comfortable silence, the soft crunch of gravel beneath their feet blending with the faint, muffled music drifting from the ballroom behind them.

"This garden’s pretty nice," Neo said, glancing around. "It actually reminds me a little of Grandpa’s place."

He looked over the neatly arranged flower beds, their colors softened by the pale moonlight.

Nora nodded, her gaze settling on a small cluster of pale blue flowers growing beside the path. "The flowers are different, though."

"Yeah." Neo smiled faintly. "Still, I don’t think even the royal gardens can compete with Grandpa’s."

He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful.

"There was just something different about his garden. It felt more... genuine, I guess."

They reached a small bench tucked beneath a low, sprawling tree, its branches denser with delicate white blossoms that drifted lazily down with each passing breeze. Neo gestured toward it, and they both settled down together, the quiet ambiance of the garden slowly easing away the earlier tension still lingering from the ballroom.

"Feeling Better?" Nora asked, watching him carefully.

Neo exhaled slowly and leaned back against the bench. "Yeah. Much better."

For a while, neither of them said anything. They simply sat there, enjoying the peacefulness of the garden. The gentle rustling of leaves overhead mixed with the distant music drifting from the ballroom on the cool night breeze.

Then, quietly, Nora spoke again, her lavender eyes fixed steadily on him.

"You never actually answered my question from earlier."

Neo blinked, glancing over at her in confusion. "What question?"

"The engagement." Her eyes remained fixed on him. "Did you actually mean what you said, or not?"

Neo’s breath caught slightly in his throat, the earlier tension from dinner suddenly resurfacing all over again.

He opened his mouth to respond, though for a long moment, no words came out at all.

Neo took a slow breath, forcing himself to finally answer the question that had been sitting heavily between them since dinner.

"What I said back then, about not meaning it, that part was true," he said carefully, choosing his words with more caution than he usually bothered with. "I really did just say it in the moment to get out of that political trap. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you, Nora. You’re my closest friend. Probably the closest person I have in this entire world, if I’m being honest."

Nora watched his lips carefully, her expression giving nothing away as she absorbed each word.

"But marriage, that’s just... that feels like something way too far off to actually think about right now. We’re still young, technically. I don’t think either of us should be making that kind of decision based on something I blurted out in a panic when I was five." Neo continued, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly,

For a long moment, Nora said nothing at all, her gaze drifting away from him toward the pale blossoms drifting slowly down from the tree above them.

"I understand."

Neo studied her carefully, searching for any hint of what she might actually be feeling beneath that calm, composed exterior. "You okay?"

Nora nodded once, though something in the stiffness of her posture told him the conversation had settled far less comfortably than her simple response suggested.

"I want to go home," she said after a moment, standing up from the bench without waiting for his reply.

Neo blinked, caught slightly off guard by the sudden shift, but nodded regardless, rising to follow her. "Yeah. Sure. Let’s head back."

They walked together in silence through the quiet garden, retracing their steps back toward the front of the palace where their carriage waited. Neither of them spoke as they climbed inside, the driver quickly setting off once informed of their early departure.

The ride stretched on in heavy, uncomfortable quiet. Neo glanced at Nora more than once, searching for some way to break through the silence, though every attempt at conversation died somewhere in his throat before he could actually voice it. Nora, for her part, kept her gaze fixed steadily on the passing scenery outside the window, her expression unreadable in the dim, flickering lantern light.

Eventually, exhaustion from the long, eventful evening began pulling at both of them, and the gentle sway of the carriage lulled them slowly into an uneasy, restless sleep, Nora curled quietly against the corner of her seat, Neo slumped against the opposite window.

Hours passed in the darkness.

Then, without warning, a sudden, blinding flash of light tore through the night sky.

*BOOOOOOM!*

The explosion hit with devastating force, the entire carriage lifting violently off the road before crashing down hard onto its side, wood splintering apart in every direction. Neo’s eyes snapped open just as the world around him tilted sharply, his body slamming hard against the interior wall as the wrecked carriage tumbled off the road entirely, rolling down the steep, rocky slope of the hillside beside them.

"Nora!"

His voice tore from his throat, barely audible over the deafening roar of splintering wood and grinding stone. He caught a brief, terrifying glimpse of her body thrown violently across the collapsing carriage interior before everything spun into chaotic, disorienting darkness.

The world lurched again, another impact slamming through his entire body, pain exploding sharply along his side as the wreckage finally crashed to a jarring stop somewhere deep within the darkened forest below the road.

For a long, terrifying moment, everything remained utterly silent, save for the distant crackle of flickering flames licking hungrily at the shattered remains of the carriage.

Neo forced his eyes open, his vision swimming, his ears ringing painfully from the force of the blast. Smoke curled thickly through the wreckage around him, the acrid scent of burning wood filling his lungs with every ragged breath.

"Nora," he croaked out again, forcing his battered body upright despite the sharp, protesting pain radiating through his limbs. "Nora, where are you?!"

His eyes darted frantically through the smoke and debris, his heart hammering violently against his chest as panic began to override the pain still throbbing through his body.

Then, through the drifting haze of smoke, he spotted her.

Nora lay motionless a short distance away, half-buried beneath a fallen section of the carriage’s shattered roof, her violet hair splayed messily across the churned, blood-streaked earth beneath her.

"No, no, no—"

Neo scrambled desperately toward her, ignoring the sharp pain still lancing through his side, his hands trembling violently as he began frantically clearing away the debris pinning her down.

"Nora, please, wake up, please—"