The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 344: Chapter 339 — How Dare You

Simply opening the door, Zephyrion could already feel the unusual coldness filling the room. But even more unsettling was Ingrid’s icy gaze as she turned towards him.

It had been a truly long time since he’d seen that look in her eyes.

’She’s angry.’

Zephyrion suppressed the unease beginning to stir in his chest and quietly shut the door behind him.

’What did I do?’

He’d just won the House Wars and become First Prime. He’d even used the Titan Form she taught him. This was not how their meeting was supposed to go.

”Ingrid?” Zephyrion called, his brows furrowing slightly.

”Hm. You’re finally here.”

Somehow, Ingrid’s voice was even colder than her eyes.

Zephyrion’s unease only grew.

”I am. Were you waiting for me?”

Ingrid gave a curt nod, regarding him silently for a moment. Her silence made him tense slightly. He had no idea what was going on, which meant he had no control over the situation.

”I watched your final fight with Arcturus,” Ingrid finally said. ”You used the Titan Form I taught you well.”

”I did.”

”You struggled quite a bit when I first taught it to you. If I remember correctly, you only managed to get it right a week ago.”

’So that’s what this is about.’

Zephyrion silently nodded, but inwardly, his mind was already moving.

”So help me understand something, Zephyrion. It took you months to learn the first Titan Form, yet somehow, in a single week, you created an even stronger one and perfected it well enough to use against Arcturus. How?”

Zephyrion’s first instinct was to lie. But then he noticed Ingrid’s clenched jaw and suddenly remembered Lumi and Fiona, both of whom had suffered because of his need for control and his tendency to avoid difficult, genuine situations.

’Lying won’t solve anything. It’ll only delay the problem. I need to tell her the truth.’

Zephyrion slowly curled his hands into fists.

”I... was pretending. I never actually had trouble with the Titan Form.”

”...what?”

”I could already use it. I was pretending.”

He didn’t miss the way Ingrid’s eyes instantly widened, or the slight twitch in her cheek as her jaw clenched even tighter. A moment later, though, her fists slowly loosened, and the anger in her eyes gave way to something pained and almost disbelieving.

”...why?” she asked.

Zephyrion felt a painful ache settle in his chest at her reaction, but he’d already made up his mind to be truthful. Besides, it was too late to stop now.

”I thought teaching me made you happy, so... I pretended I still needed your help.”

”Ha...” Ingrid suddenly chuckled as she rose from her seat. ”So that’s what it was... pity.”

There was not a trace of amusement in her eyes.

Zephyrion immediately frowned. ”Pity...? No, that’s not—”

”What else am I supposed to call it?” Ingrid began walking towards him, slowly shaking her head. ”You already knew how to use it. You never needed my help. You just stood there for months, pretending to struggle, pretending to listen to me, pretending that I was actually teaching you something because you thought it would make me feel good?”

’That’s not what I meant.’

He’d questioned why he’d pretended to need Ingrid’s help almost immediately, even convincing himself at first that it had simply been another attempt to control her. It was only after they grew closer in the academy that he finally realized the truth.

’I just wanted to make her happy.’

Zephyrion immediately shook his head, about to explain, but Ingrid had already reached him. She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward until their faces were only inches apart, forcing him to suppress the instinctive urge to react.

”How dare you?” Ingrid stared directly into his eyes, her grip tightening around his collar. ”Do you have any idea how hard I’ve worked for everything I have? Mom spent most of her time with you because you were the divine child. Dad barely gave a shit about me. Then you disappeared with Mom, and Father didn’t show his face for a single fucking second. I was alone for seven years, Zephyrion. I spent every fucking day fighting those idiot house heads, trying to hold the entire house together by myself.”

Tears were streaming down Ingrid’s face now, her voice trembling with every word.

”My power, my position, everything I have, I fucking earned it. Me. Not Dad. Not Mom. And definitely not you. I worked for every single fucking thing I have, and after all of that, you still think I need your pity?”

Her grip tightened.

”What? Was I not good enough to actually teach you something? Was the great Zephyrion Calderalth so far above me that the only way I could ever feel useful was if you lowered yourself and pretended?”

Zephyrion couldn’t understand.

He’d told the truth. Like with Lumi and Fiona, weren’t they simply supposed to get past it? After all, he’d meant no harm.

But she was crying.

She was...

Ingrid seemed to notice his stare and finally became aware of the tears running down her face. She immediately shoved him back and hastily wiped them away, her expression twisting with shame and anger as though the fact that he’d seen her cry only made everything worse.

Zephyrion reached out to her. ”Ingrid, I—”

”Stay the fuck away from me!”

He froze.

Ingrid continued wiping at her tears, but no matter how many times she did, more simply took their place. Eventually, she seemed to realize it was pointless and clicked her tongue, turning her gaze towards the door instead.

”You know, for a moment there, I actually thought you’d changed. I thought maybe these past seven years had finally changed the way you looked at people... the way you looked at me.”

She walked towards the door and gripped the handle, but before opening it, she turned back to him with trembling eyes.

”But I was wrong. You’re still the same. The golden child standing above everyone else. No one is ever good enough for you, are they? We’re all just ants beneath your fucking feet, and every once in a while, you come down and humor us because it makes us feel better.”

She pulled the door open, wiping once more at the tears on her face.

”Well, I don’t need it. I don’t need your pity, and I don’t need you pretending I’m capable just to make me happy. So go back to looking down on everyone from wherever the fuck you think you belong. Just do it far away from me.”

She slammed the door shut behind her.

Zephyrion remained where he was, staring at the trembling door for several long seconds, his eyes wide with disbelief.

What the fuck just happened?