Chapter 193: Plan? Hell no

Eren, Aria, and Norelia were currently residing inside the faculty office of Norelia.

The petite genius sat behind her desk, her spectacles pushed high up her nose as she looked at the images of a butchered torso of the aide to the severed jaw, her tiny hands clenching around the glossy papers.

On the chairs opposite her, Aria leaned in close to Eren’s ear, shielding her lips with a manicured hand.

"Care to explain why your genius is being read into a secret investigation?" Aria whispered, her golden eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Did that loose mouth of yours spill secrets in pillow talk again, darling?"

Eren whispered back behind his own hand with an easy, unbothered smirk. "Relax. She was somehow involved with The Substance just like the princess. And having the strongest mage in the empire on our team is a good thing."

"I can hear every single word you two are whispering, you know," Norelia muttered, clearing her throat sharply. A faint red bloomed across her pale cheeks at his compliment.

She tapped the edge of the desk, tossing a third photograph onto the pile—a candid snapshot of an overweight, balding noble, walking toward a private carriage under heavy guard.

"So," Norelia continued, forcing her tone back to serious, "this pathetic excuse for a border noble is the linchpin of your entire operation? Baron Kiliyan?"

Eren reached forward, picking up the picture between two fingers. He studied the smug, soft face of the western march lord, his blue eyes turning cold.

"Apparently so," Eren murmured, tossing the print back onto the desk. "A nobody with no military leverage—a disposable middleman. But if someone is already killing his inner circle, we can’t say this as an assumption anymore."

Aria crossed her legs, leaning back against the chair. "The good news is that our dear Baron is still in the capital."

Eren turned to her, one dark brow arching. "And I’m guessing there’s bad news too."

Aria let out an annoyed sigh, blowing a stray sapphire lock from her forehead. "Naturally. Cinon’s shadow scouts confirmed that Kiliyan departs the capital tomorrow evening. Back to his territory."

Norelia’s brow furrowed, her fingers tapping against the desk. "If he leaves the capital, and once he reaches the jagged mountain passes near his territory, capturing him cleanly becomes nearly impossible. And if the syndicate strikes him on the open road, they’ll slaughter his entire entourage and burn the evidence."

Eren leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Then we don’t let him leave," Eren said flatly. "We are moving tomorrow."

Both women froze.

"Are you insane?!" Norelia gasped as she shot upright in her chair. "Tomorrow?! We don’t even have a plan and you want to ambush a noble inside the capital?!"

"He’s completely lost his mind," Aria agreed. "Eren, a strike against an imperial peer inside the capital requires political cover we haven’t secured yet. If this operation backfires, Seraphina gets dragged, and House Volsver gets pinned with treason. You can’t just kick the door down on pure impulse!"

Eren didn’t raise his voice. He simply met Aria’s fierce glare, the dangerous, unhinged chill returning to the depths of his blue pupils.

"And what’s our alternative, Aria?" Eren asked quietly. "Sit back, sip afternoon tea, and wait for those people to rip his throat open?"

He rose slowly, towering over the desk, the authority in his posture silencing both women instantly.

"Kiliyan is the only living clue we have," Eren said, his voice dropping into a hard, unforgiving gravel. "He is the only lead we have to the source of The Substance. If he dies, we spend the next six months picking up the pieces from the beginning again."

Aria looked down at the letter in her hands, written by Serphina. Her fingers tightened on her skirt.

Eren was right. As reckless as his proposal sounded, waiting was a death sentence. If Baron Kiliyan was dead, the trail to The Substance would vanish into thin air. Without that thread, Seraphina’s position in the palace would unravel. And worse, Violet would become a threat to the whole world by that lethal drug.

Aria lifted her chin, her golden eyes burning with determination.

"Fine," Aria said, her voice crisp. "I’ll send a reply to Seraphina immediately. We hit him tomorrow. But understand this, Eren: not a single outsider can tie this back to us. The entire capture must be a secret operation."

"Agreed," Norelia chimed in with a determined huff. She crossed her small arms over her chest, glaring at Eren. "And I’m coming along. Someone had to keep an eye on this idiot."

Eren’s demeanor instantly shattered, replaced by that trademark grin.

"It is always a pleasure having your support, Professor."

He leaned across the desk and ruffled her brown hair with shameless affection. Norelia let out an indignant squeak, swatting fruitlessly at his hand, but she enjoyed his touch.

***

Later that evening, Eren walked toward his private dorm, rolling the stiffness out of his neck. The evening air bit lightly at his skin, carrying the scent of pine and oncoming autumn frost.

"Man, what a day," he muttered to himself, letting out a breath that fogged white in the chill. "Between desk blowjobs and conspiracies. I need a recharge."

A fond smirk formed on his lips as he pictured Mira waiting for him inside. His gorgeous, overloving, delightfully busty sugar baby would probably already have a hot feast simmering on the stove, ready to smother him in a suffocating, tender embrace the second he stepped through the door.

Yet as he approached the pathway leading to his residence, his steps slowed as he spotted a purple-haired silhouette.

Violet was pacing in tiny, nervous circles in front of his door, her breath puffing into the cold air. Her hands were tucked tightly into her coat pockets, her shoulders hunched slightly, looking as if she had been waiting in the chill for hours.

The moment Eren’s boots echoed through the hallway, Violet froze, her purple eyes widening in a mixture of relief and panic.

"E-Eren..." she whispered, the sound barely louder.

"Have you been standing out here freezing this whole time, Violet?" Eren asked softly.

Violet kept her gaze downward on the tips of her boots, nodding faintly.

"I... I wanted to talk to you," she murmured, her voice fragile, earnest. "About... earlier. About what happened."

Eren’s gaze softened. He stepped forward and gently laid a warm, reassuring palm atop her soft violet hair, giving her a gentle, comforting pat that seemed to warm her entire body.

"Don’t stand out here in the freeze," Eren said, his voice quiet and welcoming. "Come on. Let’s head inside first."

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{Image of Empress}