The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 345: Chapter 340 — Oh...

Lumi burst into the room immediately after Ingrid left, and her eyes narrowed the moment she saw his expression. She hurried over to him with a concerned expression as her hands moved rapidly, asking what had happened.

Zephyrion wasn’t quite sure what his expression looked like at the moment, but he knew it couldn’t be good. He turned towards the wall-mounted mirror at one corner of the room, and the moment he saw his reflection, his already twisted expression darkened even further.

He’d spent years maintaining a perpetual cold mask, never allowing his emotions to show on his face, but all that effort had just shattered in a single moment.

’Calm down. Get a fucking grip.’

Lumi was watching him. He had to bury his emotions, had to remain unshakable. Rule three, emotions cloud judgement.

Zephyrion curled his fists tightly, but the trembling in his arms refused to stop.

’Stop shaking. Bury it. Kill it.’

His heart pounded violently against his chest, and no matter how hard he tried to suppress everything he was feeling, it only seemed to grow worse.

His expression twisted further, and when Lumi reached for him, he abruptly pulled away and sat on the bed, shutting his eyes as he tried to force himself back under control.

Years of hard work and consistency, undone by a single moment. Now he was reduced to a mindless shell overflowing with emotions, barely able to think, barely able to act. All he could feel was that horrible ache twisting through his chest.

’I fucking hate this.’

This was precisely why attachment was dangerous.

...

It took several minutes before Zephyrion’s pounding heart finally settled, though it had more to do with Lumi’s gentle touch than anything he had done himself. He refused to talk, but she didn’t press him. She simply settled beside him on the bed and gently rubbed his back, remaining there in silence.

His eyes were closed, but he could still feel her concerned gaze on him, along with the curiosity she was clearly trying to suppress.

He knew she wanted to know what had happened, but Zephyrion had never been the type to share his feelings with anyone, and even if he suddenly decided to start now, he understood what had just happened about as well as he understood how pigs could fly.

He’d stated nothing but the truth and had been as genuine as his cold, stone-like personality could possibly manage. It was supposed to fix everything, yet somehow, telling the truth had only made things worse.

Now he was regretting ever opening his mouth. If he hadn’t decided to come clean, maybe none of this would’ve happened.

’My protege... sometimes you truly amaze me. A once-never-seen-before genius, capable of figuring out things that would leave old monsters scratching their asses for centuries, and yet somehow, when it comes to people, you’re a fucking idiot.’

Zephyrion paused, realizing he’d allowed his thoughts to remain on the surface rather than burying them deeper. The ancestor had heard everything.

’...what are you talking about?’

’What am I talking about? Everything!’ Demorian sounded unusually serious, with a hint of disbelief, as though he genuinely couldn’t comprehend how Zephyrion could be so intelligent and still somehow miss something so obvious.

’All that happened, and somehow you’ve reached the conclusion that everyone is wrong except you. It’s honestly impressive.’

’...I’m the one at fault? I told her the truth. I explained everything and tried to be genuine. She was the one who reacted irrationally.’

’Oh, boo-fucking-hoo. Stop trying to be the victim, protege, it’s unbecoming of a man. You stab someone in the heart, admit you stabbed them, and now they’re supposed to smile and thank you for your honesty?’

Zephyrion frowned. ’That’s completely different, I—’

’Is it? Because it sounds pretty fucking similar to me. You didn’t even apologize, and somehow you’re sitting here wondering why she’s upset with you.’

’But I did—’ Zephyrion stopped, his frown deepening as he realized he hadn’t actually apologized. ’I was going to. She didn’t give me the chance.’

’Of course she didn’t! You just stabbed the poor woman in the heart and expected her to politely stand there while you searched that frozen brain of yours for an apology?’

Demorian scoffed.

’I’ve broken many hearts in my time, protege. Beautiful hearts. Magnificent hearts. Some attached to truly magnificent breasts. And do you know what I never did when those women tried to stab me, poison me, maim me or curse my descendants?’

’...I’m assuming you’re going to tell me.’

’I didn’t blame them! You’re the one holding the knife, protege. You don’t get to decide how the person bleeding reacts.’

It was the first time Demorian had ever spoken so seriously about something that wasn’t related to banging women, and Zephyrion couldn’t help but be reminded that beneath all the shamelessness and stupidity was an ancestor who had lived for centuries.

’The problem is painfully obvious,’ Demorian continued. ’You see everything through your own eyes and then act surprised when the rest of the world doesn’t see it the same way. Maybe if you stopped fucking brooding for five minutes and used that terrifying brain of yours on another human being, you’d understand. Everything Ingrid said to you, how much of it was actually about what you did tonight?’

Zephyrion considered the question for a moment, only to be surprised by the answer.

’...none of it?’

’Good. The brain still works. And what does that tell you?’

’...that tonight wasn’t really what she was angry about. It was something else.’

’Beautiful! Look at that! My protege understands human emotion!’ Demorian sounded genuinely proud. ’Go on then. I’ll shut up and let the miracle continue.’

Zephyrion ignored the ancestor’s jab and genuinely thought about everything Ingrid had said. Most of it had been about the past, about mom and dad, about her life growing up in the house, and as he slowly pieced her words together, Zephyrion tried, for the first time, to look at everything from her perspective.

When he did, a deep ache settled in his chest.

’...oh.’