Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 282 - Taming Promises in the Shadows

”The evacuation began very shortly after the last attack on the academy.”

Lin frowned, processing this information. ”Do you think it has something to do with what they were looking for here?”

”Itʼs possible,” Zhao responded. ”Julius suspects they found clues... or didnʼt find what they expected and changed strategy. I believe what Selphira assumes might be part of that perception.”

He stood up, subtly stretching the tense muscles in his back. ”In any case, with the Goldcrests scrutinizing this mystery, it wonʼt stop them forever. I must depart at dawn. The King must return, and with the current situation, any small perception that the King has moved will be crucial for them to think weʼve gained an advantage.”

Lin also rose, studying her colleague with poorly disguised concern. ”Take care, Zhao. And keep your eyes open.”

”I always do,” he replied with a smile. ”Besides, I have a new trick up my sleeve thanks to our young genius, possible thief-guardian of artifacts.”

As Zhao walked away, Lin remained contemplating in the training field. Something about this entire situation seemed strangely connected by timing. Yinoʼs withdrawal, Renʼs disproportionate powers, the political movements of the noble families...

All were pieces of a larger puzzle that was refusing to take shape, its final contours still remained in the shadows.

♢♢♢♢

Kleinʼs room was plunged into darkness. He had refused to turn on the lights after returning from the arena, preferring the shadows to hide the humiliation etched on his face. He hadnʼt even allowed Astor and Feng to accompany him... their loyalty was valuable, but today he needed silence and solitude.

Or so he had thought.

The soft click of the door opening didnʼt surprise him. He knew who it was without needing to turn. The characteristic scent of deep earth that always accompanied his older brother filtered into the room, preceding Kassianʼs physical presence.

Klein remained motionless, sitting on the edge of his bed, staring fixedly at the wall. He waited, almost with resignation, for the storm of cutting words that undoubtedly approached.

But the silence extended.

A full minute passed without either saying anything. The only sound in the room was Kleinʼs increasingly altered breathing. Waiting for the verbal punishment proved more agonizing than the punishment itself.

He had sent Astor and Feng far away so they didnʼt witness the humiliation… but he was regretting it a lot now.

Finally, unable to bear the tension any longer, Klein turned to face his brother.

What he saw left him frozen. It wasnʼt the cold anger he was accustomed to. It wasnʼt the calculated contempt that Kassian habitually showed him.

It was pure, absolute, and raw disappointment.

Kassian Goldcrest, heir to one of Yanoʼs most powerful families, observed his younger brother as if contemplating something irreparably broken, something no longer worth the effort to repair.

Klein instinctively retreated, still expecting the verbal attack that never came. The silence and that look were worse than any words Kassian had used before. Klein, for a second, saw his father in him…

Anxiety grew in his chest, an oppressive sensation that threatened to suffocate him. His breathing accelerated, shallow and insufficient. The lion within him reacted to his distress, partially manifesting, claws emerging from his fingers, a slight golden glow tinting his skin.

Klein clenched his fists so tightly that his claws sank into his palms.

And just when it seemed that silence was the worst thing in the world... Kassian spoke.

”Itʼs over,” he finally said, his voice as cold and distant as if speaking to a stranger. ”We donʼt need you anymore.”

The words hit Klein harder than Renʼs fist knocking him down that day.

”Forget about father ever speaking to you again,” Kassian continued, each syllable perfectly articulated to maximize damage. ”Never again.”

Klein fell to his knees, as if his legs could no longer support the weight of those words. The mention of his father brought with it the memory of the day when family attention had vanished.

It wasnʼt gradual. One day, simply, his father stopped speaking to him directly. His questions remained unanswered. His achievements, unrecognized. As if he had ceased to exist for the Goldcrest patriarch.

The memory felt like acid corroding his mind. Unconsciously, Klein dug his manifested claws into his own thighs, piercing the fabric of his uniform. He should have felt pain, but his body was numb, disconnected.

Kassian observed the self-harm with a calculating expression. His eyes registered the blood beginning to stain his brotherʼs pants, and something changed in his face. A barely perceptible smile curved his lips for an instant before being replaced by an elaborately compassionate sigh.

”However...” he said, strategically pausing to capture Kleinʼs desperate attention, ”perhaps there is a way.”

Klein looked up, his tear-filled eyes reflecting a flash of hope so raw and naked it was almost painful to witness.

”Iʼll help you eliminate the mushroom boy,” Kassian declared, his voice adopting a conspiratorial tone. ”So that the matter of first place honor becomes irrelevant before the interschool competitions.”

He approached, kneeling to be at his younger brotherʼs level. This gesture, which might seem fraternal to an unsuspecting observer, had the evil precision of someone perfectly manipulating the strings of a broken puppet.

”But you must continue obtaining a good score,” he continued, slightly hardening his tone. ”And if possible, you or your allies must defeat him in the early phases of the competition... Make sure they accomplish it, whatever it costs them.”

Klein nodded frantically, clinging to every word like a shipwreck survivor to the wreckage.

”Your beasts are Bronze,” Kassian pointed out, placing a hand on his brotherʼs shoulder. ”His is still Iron, no matter how much heʼs become a double. You shouldnʼt be defeated if you donʼt let yourself be overcome by his tricks.”

He lowered his voice, although they were alone in the room. ”I will take care of analyzing the commonerʼs life, and prepare his... unfortunate accident afterward.”

The promise floated in the air between them, dark and tangible. Klein knew exactly what it meant.

”Do you promise?” he asked in a barely audible voice, aware of how pathetic he sounded even as the words left his lips.

Kassian smiled, and for a fleeting instant, Klein glimpsed something in that smile that should have alarmed him. Something predatory, something that transcended simple familyʼs honor ambition and entered more dangerous territory.

But desperation clouds judgment, and Klein chose not to see what would have complicated his fragile hope.

”I promise,” Kassian responded, his voice acquiring a warmth that never reached his eyes. ”We are Goldcrests, after all… Family.”

He rose with the feline elegance characteristic of his family, smoothing imperceptible wrinkles in his impeccable uniform.

”Drink this and rest, little brother,” he said, heading toward the door after placing a small vial on his hands. ”Tomorrow the team battles begin. Youʼll need all your strength.”

When the door closed behind him, Kassianʼs mask of compassion vanished. His face regained the calculating expression that was natural to him, as his thoughts turned toward more important matters.

Klein, meanwhile, remained kneeling in the darkness, his hands now holding the potion with as much gratitude as submission. Blood stained his uniform, but a trembling smile had replaced his expression of desperation.

The mushroom boy would pay for his humiliation. He just needed to be patient. He just needed to keep trying.

He just needed to trust his brother.