I Got Married to a Yandere Queen
Chapter 59 - 58 - An Affinity Unannounced

Chapter 59: Chapter 58 - An Affinity Unannounced

Riven turned his head.

From the cobblestone path that cut through the yard toward the estate’s back gate, a woman stood with her arms crossed, displeasure written clearly across her face. Her pale blonde hair was neatly tied back. She wore a deep blue dress adorned with silver patterns on the chest—clearly noble attire. From her haughty posture and scrutinizing gaze, she was no ordinary person.

A short distance behind her trailed a quiet servant, keeping pace. It seemed she was the woman’s personal maid.

The noblewoman approached with firm steps. Her shoes struck the gravel lightly, but each step carried the air of someone confronting an intruder, not greeting a guest.

"Answer me!" she barked again. "Are you a new servant? Or a thief sneaking in at dawn to steal? If so, you’ve chosen the wrong estate."

Riven frowned. But he didn’t respond right away. His breathing was still heavy, and more than anything, he was trying to calm his emotions rather than react to the woman’s arrogance.

"I’m not a thief," he replied flatly.

The woman narrowed her eyes, then glanced at the sword still in Riven’s hand. "Then why are you swinging a blade in the Valderacht family’s courtyard as if it were your own? Who are you?"

Riven raised an eyebrow and replied coldly, "Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first before demanding someone else’s name?"

A twitch crossed her brow. She hadn’t expected a common-looking man to talk back.

"I am Lyrienne Valderacht," she said curtly. "Daughter of the current head of this house. And you... don’t look like someone who belongs here."

Riven had suspected as much.

From her haughty demeanor and presumptuous tone, he had guessed she must be part of the Valderacht family—and he was right. Still, he wasn’t intimidated. He let out a slow breath and answered calmly:

"I’m a guest. I came here with Her Majesty the Queen."

For a split second, Lyrienne’s expression shifted. Her brow creased ever so slightly, though she quickly masked it behind a sharpened gaze.

She recalled her conversation that morning with her older brother. He’d told her—confused and a little amused—that Queen Ashtoria had arrived unexpectedly last night... with two commoners in tow. Even stranger, the queen had requested that all three of them be placed in the same room.

Like her brother, Lyrienne had assumed the mad queen was simply toying with them—perhaps some twisted personal amusement. But if this man was still alive, sweating and very much intact... maybe she had been wrong.

Her eyes shifted to the shady tree at the edge of the yard. There, sitting cross-legged, was a young girl. Her eyes were closed, her breathing steady and deep. A faint ripple of energy swirled slowly around her—she was meditating, absorbing mana.

Lyrienne looked back at Riven and said curtly, "I see."

She paused for a moment, her gaze trailing up and down his body—his sweat-drenched shirt, his tensed muscles from rigorous training, the breath still uneven in his chest.

"Commoners like you must work quite hard, huh?" she said in a flat tone that carried a trace of false sympathy. "You must be very... diligent."

Riven didn’t reply. He simply stared back in silence. Inwardly, he sighed and muttered:

’This is exactly why I hate nobles.’

Even their insults were polished. Soft-spoken, elegant, wrapped in backhanded compliments that made the sting worse. Correct content is on NovelFire

But he didn’t let it show. His face remained unreadable, unmoved. He stood still like stone, letting the words pass over him like the wind.

Lyrienne seemed to notice that calm. She squinted slightly, then gave a faint smile—one that didn’t reach her eyes.

"If you’re training that hard... you must have quite the talent, don’t you?" she asked, clearly fishing for something.

And then, with a confident tone, she added, "May I ask—what’s your Talent and Affinity rank?"

She didn’t wait for a reply before boasting of her own.

"As for me, my Talent is B-Rank, Resonant level," she said proudly. "And my Affinity... is Wrath."

That last word came heavier than the rest, clearly intentional. The Valderacht family’s affinity was well-known across the kingdom as one of the most powerful. She saw no reason to hide it—especially not from a commoner like Riven.

To her, he was just some stranger brought along by the queen for reasons unknown. But if the queen had personally escorted him and even housed him in her chamber... there had to be something special about him. Maybe a rare gift. Maybe hidden strength.

After all, though rare, there were cases where commoners were born with extraordinary talent.

And Lyrienne wanted to know, was he one of them?

Riven, meanwhile, let out a long breath, unimpressed.

Praising a peasant for working hard, then asking about his natural gifts—it was just another form of mockery, dressed up in civility.

It was a subtle jab, designed to make the victim feel small without ever raising a voice. If the one questioned admitted to a low talent rank, shame would do the rest. The thought would creep in: Why bother training so hard? You’ll never catch up to the gifted.

But Riven had long grown used to this kind of world. A world that didn’t care for fairness.

"I don’t know," he replied curtly. "I’ve never taken a Talent test."

He said it without shame, as if it were a trivial matter.

Lyrienne didn’t laugh, as Riven had half expected. Instead, she opened her folding fan and raised it just enough to cover her mouth—a refined gesture that only half-disguised her satisfaction.

Riven could already picture the smirk behind that fan. That smug little smile of a noble delighted to find the "commoner" unaware of his own rank.

But a wave of boredom was starting to wash over him. He had no desire to waste more breath on some noble’s empty pride.

So he responded in the same formal, measured tone she had used:

"Lady, are you so free that you can spend your time loitering here?"

The fan clicked shut. Lyrienne lowered it, her mocking smile gone.

"I’ve just finished my Eldoria history class," she replied gracefully. "And soon I’ll be resuming training to attune my affinity."

She turned slowly, her steps graceful as ever.

"I still have matters to attend to. So, if you’ll excuse me."

Riven sighed in relief. Finally. He hoped he wouldn’t have to see her again today.

But Lyrienne had only taken two steps when she suddenly turned back.

"Even if your talent is... unremarkable," she said softly, "if you keep working hard, you might still become a Mage one day. But here’s a word of advice, don’t push yourself too far."

Her words sounded sweet. But Riven knew better. That wasn’t advice. It was the final blow in her string of insults.

He watched her walk away, and though he couldn’t see her face, he could guess exactly what she was thinking.

’Because no matter how hard you try... it’ll never be enough.’

Riven merely snorted. He wasn’t angry. Not even offended. After years of surviving in a world that favored the elite, he had learned to ignore noise that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that the woman was finally gone.

But just as he turned back to resume his training, a gust of wind swept from beneath the tree where Mira sat in meditation.

Riven instinctively turned—

And his eyes widened.

A faint whirlwind was spinning around his sister. Dry leaves floated up and danced in the air. The tips of Mira’s hair lifted gently, as if caught in an invisible field wrapping around her small frame.

Lyrienne, who had turned slightly from sensing the energy fluctuation, narrowed her eyes toward the scene.

It had started as a small breeze, but then something strange happened. Both Riven and Lyrienne blinked at the same time, realizing—

This... wasn’t normal.