The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 320: Chapter 315 — Heartbreak

”You have romantic feelings for me, don’t you?”

The words caught Fiona completely off guard, causing her to blink several times.

”W-what? Where did that come from?”

”You don’t?”

Fiona blinked once more, slowly realizing that he was completely serious. Then, she clenched her fists, gathering enough courage to meet his gaze.

”...I do.”

She watched his expression closely, clearly trying to gauge his reaction to the confession. Zephyrion knew this. The easiest thing would have been to act surprised, perhaps even flattered, but that would simply be him falling back into his old habits.

’If I’m going to end this, I need to do it properly.’

In simpler terms, he needed to be harsh.

Slowly, Zephyrion’s expression hardened.

Fiona noticed the change immediately, and the light in her eyes visibly dimmed. Whatever expectations she had seemed to crumble in that instant.

”...right. Of course you don’t feel the same way.”

Shaking her head with a wry smile, she wiped at the tears gathering in her eyes, visibly annoyed at herself for crying in the first place. ”It’s fine. Really. I understand. So, if that’s all, then—”

”Wait.”

Zephyrion closed the distance between them and gently wiped away the tear slipping down her cheek. Fiona instinctively tried to pull back, but he stopped her, keeping her in place as he stared into her eyes for a moment before sighing.

”Fiona... I don’t want you walking away thinking there’s something wrong with you. There isn’t. You’re a great woman. The problem is me.” He paused briefly. ”I’m chasing a goal that already demands more from me than I can give. I can’t add a romantic relationship to that, not without sacrificing something, and I’m not willing to sacrifice my goal.”

To his own surprise, every word that left his mouth was genuine. No manipulation. No carefully chosen half-truths. No deceit.

It had been so long since Zephyrion had spoken this openly about himself that he had almost forgotten what it felt like. There was a strange sense of relief to it, like some of the weight that constantly sat at the back of his mind, growing heavier with every lie he told, had finally loosened.

Though Zephyrion suspected most of that feeling had less to do with honesty itself and more to do with Fiona. If he hadn’t felt comfortable enough around her to reveal this much, he never would have.

Zephyrion expected Fiona to nod in understanding. After all, his reason was genuine, and more importantly, true.

However, instead of understanding, Fiona frowned.

”...That’s it?”

”...what do you mean, that’s it?”

Fiona narrowed her eyes slightly, studying him as though searching for something in his expression. A few seconds later, she seemed to find whatever she was looking for and pulled back, shaking her head in disbelief.

”Oh, Iron Father... you really don’t know, do you?

”...know what?”

”Lumi...”

”Lumi...?” His frown deepened. ”What does Lumi have to do with this?”

Fiona stared at him for a moment before letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, shaking her head as though Zephyrion were some particularly hopeless creature.

”Never mind. I refuse to be the one who explains this to you. Figure it out yourself.” She turned away from him. ”Now, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to be alone.”

Zephyrion wanted nothing more than to question her further. However, the gloom that had settled over her expression made it clear that now wasn’t the time.

”Alright. I’ll leave you alone.”

He walked out of the forge, but rather than leave, Zephyrion slipped back inside just before the door closed behind him. A thin barrier immediately spread around his body, concealing both his presence and appearance from Fiona.

Thinking she was finally alone, Fiona’s composure crumbled. She covered her face with both hands as the tears she had been holding back finally spilled free, quiet sobs escaping her.

Zephyrion felt something twist uncomfortably in his chest.

It was a terrible sight, enough to make him question whether he had handled things correctly, but only for a moment. As painful as this was, it was still better than the alternative of leading her on.

At least her feelings hadn’t progressed too far yet. Given enough time, she should be able to recover.

’Speaking of recovery...’

Zephyrion glanced toward the door.

’They should be here soon.’

It took exactly five minutes for what Zephyrion had been waiting for to arrive.

The forge door suddenly swung open, causing Fiona to hurriedly wipe at her face and straighten herself, doing her best to look as though she hadn’t just been crying.

”Lady Fiona...? Are you okay?”

Standing at the entrance was a tall, bulky cadet dragging an enormous shield behind him. One of the Hartvain.

”H-Haa... y-yes! I’m fine. Something just... got in my eye, haha.”

The Hartvain stared at her.

Fiona’s eyes were swollen and red, her cheeks were still damp, and anyone possessing even a single functioning neuron should have been able to tell that she had been crying.

But luckily for her, the Hartvains had never been known to possess neurons.

”Oh. Okay, Lady Fiona!”

”...you really don’t have to call me Lady. Just Fiona is fine.”

”No! Absolutely not!”

The Hartvain shook his head vehemently before gesturing excitedly at the massive shield.

”You made this, Lady Fiona! Look at it! It’s fucking amazing! I hit things with it, things hit me with it, I even charged straight into those fucking northern lines thinking, ’Yep, this is where it breaks.’ But it didn’t! It just kept going!”

Fiona blinked, momentarily taken aback by the sudden barrage of praise.

”I-I’m... glad you like it.”

”Like it? I fucking love it!”

The Hartvain slammed the shield against the ground with enough force to shake the forge.

”This is my signature weapon now. I’ve decided. But it got a little beaten up during the battle, so... think you can fix her up for me?”

”...alright, let me see.”

Fiona had barely placed her hands on the shield when the forge door opened again, and several more bulky cadets came filing inside.