The Extra Who Stole the Hero's System
Chapter 16: Lord Sapphire - 2

Chapter 16: Lord Sapphire - 2

"Tell me, Kai. Do you find me... intimidating?" Lord Sapphire’s voice was a probing murmur, his eyes fixed on mine in the ever dimmed moonlight.

My mind quickly raced. It was surely another test. He wasn’t asking if I was afraid of him in this moment, but if his general presence, his aura, his past behavior, had intimidated me.

Olberic’s diary had complained about Lord Sapphire’s silence, his tendency to ignore the adopted son. This was my chance to address that, to play the part of a son who felt neglected. It was a risky move, but honesty, or at least a calculated version of it, might be more disarming than a polite lie.

"I wouldn’t call it intimidation. If I may say so, not to sound out of bounds..."

"You may," he permitted.

"Father," I continued, "you always act strange around me. As if I don’t exist. You usually ignore my presence... you don’t talk to me. That alone makes me feel unwanted."

I already knew enough about Obleric’s relationship with Lord Sapphire to craft a convincing answer, one that sounded just believable enough to pass.

Immediately I said those words, Lord Sapphire’s expression, usually so impassive, changed. There was a subtle widening of his eyes, a slight move of his lips. It wasn’t anger, or even surprise, but something akin to... intrigue. He hadn’t expected that. He had expected deference, or perhaps a polite evasion. Not a direct statement of how his actions had made me feel.

He turned fully towards me, his gaze genuinely curious. "Unwanted," he repeated. "That is... an interesting perspective. Most would simply say I am a man of few words, preoccupied with the affairs of the household."

"Perhaps," I said, trying to maintain my composure. "But even a man of few words can acknowledge the presence of his son. Your other children... you speak with them. With me, it has always been... silence." I pushed a little further, hoping to solidify the persona of the neglected son. "It leads one to wonder if I truly belong."

Lord Sapphire remained silent for a long moment. The cool night air swirled around us, with it came, the leaves and blossoms of the garden.

"You speak with a frankness I did not expect, Kai Lorne," he finally said, his voice softer now, having an almost contemplative tone—but I knew it was all fake, a facade.

"Perhaps... I have been remiss. My duties are indeed vast, my thoughts are often elsewhere. But that is no excuse for neglecting any member of my family." He took a slow, deliberate breath.

As we continued to stroll on the night porch, Lord Sapphire kept talking, asking me questions, trying to understand me more and more. I answered carefully, blending my own observations with what I knew of Olberic’s personality, trying to portray a thoughtful, and loyal adopted son. He listened intently, his eyes never leaving my face. It was a dangerous game, but I was gaining valuable insight into the man who was now my father, the man who might had just ordered my execution.

~~~~~~

THIRD PERSON POV

~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, back in Kai’s room, Evelina paced restlessly. Her heart still pounding with relief that Kai was safe. She had watched him leave with Lord Sapphire, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Why had Father taken Kai for a stroll? It was so unlike him, she thought."

Lord Sapphire rarely engaged in such casual conversations, especially not with Kai. He was usually so distant, so absorbed in his studies, or whatever secretive affairs kept him cloistered in his study late into the night.

She walked to the window, peering out into the gardens. There they were. Two figures, one tall and imposing, the other slightly smaller, walking side by side on the gravel path of the porch. Her father, and Kai. A soft sigh escaped her lips. "Kai looked so... serious. So....."

Her face blushed, a familiar flutter that always accompanied her thoughts of Kai. He was her brother. Her adopted brother to be precise. But sometimes, when he looked at her with those his eyes, or when he spoke with that quiet intensity, she felt... something more. Something that made her cheeks flush a delicate pink.

"Kai is my brother," she murmured softly, tapping her cheek with a gentle finger, as if to scold it. "I shouldn’t have such thoughts."

Her gaze began to sweep around Kai’s room. She walked over to his desk, her fingers idly tracing the wood. She sat in his chair, and leaned back, letting out a small, contented sigh. The chair wobbled slightly as she shifted, a comforting, familiar motion. She closed her eyes for a moment, She was surely daydreaming, possibly picturing Kai’s face, his quiet smile, the way his eyes would move when he was amused. Her cheeks flushed again.

Her eyes was wide open, and her gaze now fell upon the journal on the Kai’s desk. The one Kai had snatched from her earlier, claiming he found it in the arena. Olberic’s Diary. She most had remembered the name Olberic on the cover page. A fleeting thought.

"It’s personal, Evelina. I just don’t think it’s right for us to look into someone else’s private thoughts without their knowing". She whispered Kai’s words to herself.

"It wasn’t a good idea," she murmured to herself again, her fingers hovering over the worn cover. Her conscience pricked her. It was wrong to read someone else’s diary. Especially someone she didn’t know. But... curiosity, a powerful, insistent urge, filled at her. "Why was he so secretive about it? What was is so ’personal’ about a diary found in the arena? And who was Olberic?" She said at loud.

As she opened the first page of the diary, her eyes quickly scanned the first line.

"If you’re reading this, that means that I’m dead. The Sapphire family... They aren’t who they say they are.."

Quickly her gaze then dropped to the next paragraph, her heart beginning to pound with a sudden, icy dread.