Chapter 965: Alternate Timeline: My Handsome Fiance

Meanwhile...

Back at Nexus Weapon Store;

Business continued peacefully.

Completely unaware, customers still walked in and out normally.

Inside the lobby area, Arceus Silver quietly observed Kiara for some time.

Something felt strange.

Kiara appeared to be in an exceptionally good mood.

Far too good today.

Then suddenly...

"Oh come on!"

Kiara groaned dramatically while staring at the table.

"Another wall game?"

Mahjong tiles filled the table before them.

Instead of working seriously during the quieter evening hours, Kiara, Arceus, Zion, and Alucard were currently playing Mahjong together, a game from the Eastern Continent that became popular here in the Xynnar Continent a century ago, but over time, it has evolved to adapt to the culture here.

Behind Kiara, Noah sat silently, reading a book while occasionally observing the others. More specifically, Kiara alone.

There were technically no gambling stakes.

However...

Kiara had casually announced earlier that every winner would receive ten gold coins.

The moment Alucard heard those words, his entire attitude changed instantly.

He now treated Mahjong like a battlefield, deciding the fate of kingdoms.

Every tile placement carried terrifying seriousness.

Arceus could not help but secretly wonder whether Kiara’s cheerful mood came from the earlier transaction worth over ten thousand gold coins.

Unknown to him...

Money was not the reason.

Kiara’s happiness came from something else entirely.

A massive obstacle had nearly been solved today.

To complete the hidden quest and awaken the second Spirit Path, several requirements needed to be completed.

One such task required selling at least one unit of every weapon model.

Originally, Kiara believed this process would consume weeks or months.

She even considered forcing either Alucard or Arceus to handle the losses from expensive demonstrations.

Yet thanks to Ares Frost’s massive purchase earlier, only a few items remained unsold now.

Howitzer.

Advanced C4 model.

LMV.

Destroyer.

The problem was no longer selling weapons.

The problem became identifying customers capable of buying such dangerous creations.

Inside Kiara’s mind, only three names currently qualified.

First...

Emperor Alexander Phoenix.

Second...

King Caleb Crescent.

Third...

Icarus Veyne.

As for Magnus Phoenix...

Kiara immediately dismissed him.

Unlike the others, the Second Prince lacked complete authority.

The Emperor or Supreme Commander could easily seize the weapon from him whenever necessary.

Meanwhile, the Mahjong game continued.

Time gradually flowed onward.

The orange evening sky slowly darkened into deep crimson.

Still... Serestia never returned. Eventually, nighttime arrived. After the store closed, Alucard was invited upstairs for dinner.

The moment he tasted Noah’s cooking, tears nearly formed in his eyes.

For a homeless orphan who spent years surviving on scraps and cheap tavern meals...

This dinner felt almost heavenly.

When he finally left for home later that night, a deeply satisfied smile remained plastered across his face the entire way.

Once Alucard finally left the residence with a satisfied smile, and the store shutters were closed from inside, a strange silence slowly settled across the Store.

The noisy footsteps of customers were gone.

The metallic clicking of displayed weapons being inspected had vanished.

Even the air itself felt quieter now, carrying only the faint scent of polished wood, warm food, and the cool breeze drifting through the half-open upper windows.

Only then did Arceus Silver suddenly realize something important.

They were alone.

Well... almost alone.

Noah and Zion still existed inside the residence, yet after learning their true nature, Arceus could no longer instinctively view them as ordinary humans the way he did before.

Three nights ago, his emotions had been too unstable to think clearly about such matters.

Back then, fear, exhaustion, humiliation, relief, loneliness, and confusion... all of them had crashed together inside his heart like waves striking against a cliff during a storm.

But tonight was different.

Tonight, his mind was calmer.

And because it was calmer, he became painfully aware that he was currently living under the same roof as a young woman.

Not just any young woman.

A dangerously beautiful one.

His heartbeat suddenly became restless.

Every little thing began entering his awareness far too clearly.

The quiet sound of Kiara walking across the wooden floor.

The loose strands of dark hair falling beside her face while she casually spoke.

The relaxed way she leaned against the sofa as though nothing in this world could truly trouble her.

Even the faint smell of soap and smoke clinging to her clothes after spending the entire day around firearms somehow became noticeable to him now.

Arceus immediately felt embarrassed by his own thoughts.

"What is wrong with me..."

He silently scolded himself inwardly while pretending to focus on the teacup in his hands.

Thankfully...

Kiara behaved exactly the same as before.

There was no awkwardness in her expression.

No strange intentions.

No teasing.

No unnecessary closeness.

That alone eased Arceus greatly.

Slowly, the atmosphere became natural again.

Most of the conversation consisted of Kiara narrating stories about her past adventures in the Second Prince’s camp.

As she spoke, her hands casually moved through the air while explaining how certain soldiers reacted to firearms, how some nearly blew themselves up experimenting with grenades, and how one noble nearly fainted after firing a sniper rifle for the first time.

Arceus occasionally laughed despite himself.

The tension inside his chest gradually loosened.

Time quietly flowed onward.

The wall clock eventually approached ten at night.

Then suddenly, after a brief silence, Arceus gathered courage and spoke.

"Miss Kiara..."

"Hm?" She looked toward him.

"I want to train with firearms."

Kiara blinked once in surprise. "Eh?"

Then she tilted her head slightly. "You want firearm training?"

At first, she genuinely looked caught off guard. But after thinking briefly, she naturally assumed the reason.

Arceus was now alone.

Without House Silver’s protection.

Without servants.

Without bodyguards.

Without the comfortable cage nobles called status.

Wanting strength at such a time made perfect sense.

"My great-grandfather purchased several weapons from here, right?" Arceus explained calmly. "There is also a Panzer among them."

The moment he mentioned the word Panzer, a faint light entered his eyes. "That is the thing I wish to master the most."

Kiara did not overthink the matter.

"Alright."

Her agreement came immediately.

"We can train every morning for two hours."

Arceus visibly brightened. "That is wonderful."

Then, out of habit, he lowered his head slightly.

"Thank you, Miss Kiara."

Kiara instantly waved her hand dismissively.

"Even though it is fake, we are still supposedly getting engaged. So, I think it is time you should just call me by my name."

Then she added casually, "No girl would want her handsome fiancé to be overly formal with her, right?"

The moment those words entered his ears.

Arceus froze. His ears instantly turned red. Even his legs felt strangely restless.

Kiara noticed the sudden reaction immediately.

"Hm?"

She frowned slightly in confusion. "What happened?"

"N-Nothing." Arceus quickly looked away, rubbing his ears. "I am just exhausted."

Only after speaking did he realize how weak that excuse sounded.

Kiara scratched her cheek awkwardly. "Ah... sorry."

She genuinely thought perhaps she accidentally exhausted him with too much conversation.

"You should sleep early then."

Arceus hurriedly nodded before quickly retreating toward his room.

The moment the door closed behind him and the lock clicked shut, he immediately placed one hand over his chest.

His heartbeat was absurdly fast. The room suddenly felt too hot, even though the temperature inside was as cool as 18 degrees Celsius.

"What are you getting embarrassed over? It was only a simple sentence."

He scolded himself in frustration while pacing beside the bed.

Then he paused. His ears grew even redder.

"You are not some little boy to be all affected by such little words."

After taking several deep breaths to calm himself, Arceus finally lay down and forced himself to sleep.

Three days passed quietly afterward for both Arceus and Kiara.

Yet outside Nexus Store, the Imperial City had already exploded with rumors.

By now, almost everyone knew that Arceus Silver was staying together with Kiara, and currently, he was staying there, managing her business.

Since House Silver could not forcibly drag him back without provoking greater public backlash, the elders instead chose damage control.

And thus...

A brand-new story began spreading across taverns, markets, noble gatherings, and tea houses.

According to the newest rumor carefully crafted by House Silver, Kiara and Arceus had secretly fallen in love sometime after the public trial.

However, Wester Silver supposedly opposed their relationship due to his hostility toward Kiara and the fact that she is a commoner.

As a result, Arceus had escaped in the middle of the night nearly ten days ago and had been living together with his lover ever since.

The most dangerous thing about rumors was silence.

Neither Kiara nor Arceus denied the story publicly. Because Kiara lived in the modern era of the internet, and she knew more than anyone, the power of rumors. The best thing is to stay silent, neither confirm nor deny, and let the people go on with their wild imagination.

And because of that, the rumor slowly transformed into accepted truth.

Among commoners, the story became wildly popular.

Many praised the romance openly.

"A noble and a commoner standing together despite opposition..."

"Is that not like the old legends?"

"Love does not ask about status."

Such discussions filled streets and marketplaces daily.

However, among the noble clans, reactions were far less pleasant.

House Drake.

House Vale.

House Mist.

All three were furious.

Especially because Kiara appeared to grow bolder with each passing day.

First public humiliation.

Then firearms.

Then influence over princes.

And now...

Even the heir of House Silver had seemingly fallen into her hands.