Legacy of the Dark Sage

Kyran sighed in his heart.

As much as he wanted to avoid causing further misunderstandings, he knew it would be difficult with Stella's temper turning 180 degrees because of him.

He was suddenly reminded of when she tortured the psycho bastard after speaking ambiguously and provoking him. He still had doubts as to why she would help him without reservations. But if she kept on doing things like this, it would hinder his plans.

In the first place, Kyran did not want to be indebted to her, nor the Conclave. He preferred to work with them properly and without any special treatment.

Besides, he did not want to go through another situation where he was censured just because of a 'girl'. He had enough of that during his time at the military school. And compared to the situation from before, Stella's involvement would pose a bigger problem to him. Because this time, he would have to deal with mages with higher magic attainments, like Sigma, compared to when he was at military school where he only had to deal with a few senior students.

'First, let's deal with this.' Kyran decided and finally made a move.

He gently pulled Stella closer and whispered to her ears, "Are you really going to make a scene here and expose me?"

His voice was just loud enough for her to hear, and he tried to sound as stern as possible.

Stella's ear tingled the moment Kyran spoke. She turned to her left and reddened after realizing how close her face was to his. Her mind suddenly gone haywire as an emotion so familiar yet so foreign swept through her.

It was too sudden and confusing that her magic pressure abated at once. Even her eyes returned to their original light blue color.

"What..." '...is this...?' She half said aloud and half thought to herself as she stared into Kyran's dark gray eyes.

Raising his brows at Stella, Kyran replied, "What do you mean 'what'? This is the infirmary, if you suddenly make a move here, how many of your people do you think will witness it? They will also wonder what happened. If they see me here and recognize me wouldn't that expose me as the man who attacked this place?"

Stella snapped out of her reverie after Kyran's words finally registered to her.

"That's..."

"When you took me to the training ground, didn't we use a transmission array? Am I wrong to think you did that to make sure I am not seen by your people?"

"Y-Yes, you're right." She replied in a soft voice.

"I don't need you to act on my behalf," Kyran continued. Still retaining a stern voice. "And for the record, I broke my arm because of you."

"Me?" Stella asked in confusion.

"Yes. I'm confident with my physical defenses, but if I have to defend against attacks strengthened by magic, I needed my coat. You still have it right?"

"Oh," Stella suddenly remembered this and felt uneasy. "I'm sorry. I'll have it ready as soon as possible."

"That's fine. Now, can you get off?"

"Get off...?" Stella belatedly realized she was practically sitting on Kyran's lap and immediately moved to the side. Her face was burning bright red.

"I-I'm sorry!" She blurted.

Seeing that Stella had returned to normal, Kyran turned his attention to Malia and Sigma.

The two had been silently watching their exchange in silence—both wearing bewildered expressions.

"Will you leave us for a moment?" He asked.

Sigma scowled at once. He growled at him, "Who are you to order us-."

"Leave us," Stella interrupted.

"Yes, Milord." Sigma answered at once.

Malia could not help but sweat at Sigma. Shaking her head disapprovingly, she looked at Stella with a smile, "Then we will leave now and see you at the meeting."

Stella smiled and nodded. "Yes, thank you."

The two bowed and left.

Of course, Sigma gave Kyran a death glare before closing the door.

Once the two had left the room, Kyran turned his attention back at Stella.

Stella also turned in time to see him looking at her intently, and she immediately flushed.

"W-What is it?" She asked.

"Can you not do that?" He started.

Stella looked at him in confusion, "Do what?"

"Overreact," he curtly replied.

Stella laughed uneasily, "Ahaha...s-sorry. It's just you are wounded again and-."

"Wounds are normal in fighting," he replied matter-of-factly. "Besides, I understand that your people hated me for what I've done. And I am prepared to face anything they throw at me. If they wanted to teach me a lesson so be it. I don't even mind if you gave your consent as my punishment."

"I will never do that," Stella replied.

"And that's the problem," Kyran told her.

"But I know your reasons."

"They are your people. I am an outsider," Kyran replied while shaking his head.

"You're not..." Stella replied in a small voice.

She understood what Kyran wanted to tell her. She was not biased when she decided not to punish him.

...

Okay, maybe she was. But she understood his circumstances.

Kyran was suddenly forced to fend for himself on the outside world all on his own. She only wanted to lessen his burden by helping him in any way she could.

Kyran took a deep breath and continued, "In the meeting later, let me deal with them. I don't need you to cover for me."

"But I wanted to help," Stella started.

"If you really want to help, stop being like this. You will only cause a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding?" Stella asked in confusion. "That shouldn't be the case. They all know that the Conclave and the Regis Clan has a business-."

"That's not what I meant."

"No?"

Kyran sighed and looked at her with a deadpan expression. He answered, "That guy. You know what he said about me?"

"What?"

"He said I 'blinded' you and am taking advantage of you and your magic."

The meaning of his words was too obvious for Stella to miss, and her face burned bright red, "Y-You're not-!"

"I know. But to them, that is how they see it."

Stella fell silent and started to wonder.

Why did they think of that? They clearly knew the dealings of the Conclave with the Regis Clan. Helping the subject of their 'dealings' with the Regis should not cause any misunderstandings.

Besides, she and Kyran were the same; both of them possessed forbidden magic. It was normal for her to help someone who was in the same boat as him.

Noticing Stella's thoughtful expression, Kyran finally relaxed a bit. The sooner she understood the situation, the faster they could clear any misunderstandings and avoid future ones.

"Now that you understand, let me deal with them later." Kyran told her again.

Stella looked at him. After hesitating for a moment, she finally nodded and replied, "Alright."

"We're good then," Kyran said with a slight nod.

Now that he had one less thing on his mind, the fatigue he felt when he controlled his magic earlier finally took over his senses.

"I'll rest a bit. Can you wake me up before the meeting?"

Stella smiled and nodded, "Okay. Do you want me to change the time here so you can rest longer?"

"No," Kyran rejected at once.

Stella pouted after hearing his blunt rejection, but she just replied, "Fine."

Kyran lay on the bed and turned to the side, his back facing Stella.

A smile escaped Stella's lips as she watched Kyran's back.

She had gotten used to his presence that it felt so natural seeing him like this.

Once again, she felt that familiar yet foreign emotion, and she could not help but frown in confusion.

====================

After leaving Stella and Kyran in the room, Malia and Sigma stayed outside.

Both of them wore thoughtful expressions.

They did not hear much during the exchange between Kyran and Stella from when they were still inside, but whatever it was, it effectively calmed Stella.

The two were grateful for what Kyran did. If not, they could only imagine what would happen if Stella really unleashed her magic.

However, they also worried for her.

Sigma was dissatisfied with Kyran because he easily smeared the Conclave's dignity by attacking rampantly. On top of that, the Lord did not order any punishment. To him, Kyran was taking advantage of them because of his clan's deep relationship with the Founder. And while it was the truth, it did not mean he could do as he pleases within the Conclave's turf.

From a personal perspective, Sigma also hated how Kyran could affect the Lord's actions as well as her decisions. He was overprotective of the Lord, and he was aware of it. Who could blame him? He, just like the rest of the Conclave Council members, practically watched her grow up.

To them, the Lord was like a daughter, a little sister, and a master altogether.

However, because of the exchange between the Lord and Kyran, Sigma finally understood that her lenient attitude towards Kyran was not that simple. That was why he was worried.

Malia also thought the same. She was closest to Stella, but it was because of this that she was blinded.

She was suddenly reminded of how Stella took an interest in Kyran.

More than sixteen years ago, before Stella's magic manifested, the previous Time Keeper and Stella's aunt, Sophia, used to tell stories about their ancestors. When Stella came across the story about the Dark Sage, her aunt reprimanded her and said not to address him as such. When Stella asked why, her aunt did not answer her question but instead told her to address him as the Void Master.

Malia remembered how Stella, as a child, became curious about the previous Void Master's story. She also remembered how Stella believed the previous Void Master had a good reason for turning evil, and she cried when she found how he 'died'.

Malia simply smiled at how young and pure Stella was at that time.

And finally, when Stella was about to turn six, she showed signs of becoming the next Time Keeper. In turn, her aunt Sophia suddenly fell ill. On her deathbed, she told Stella that all previous Time Keepers of the Tower Family had waited for the day the new Void Master would appear. Because they, as the Time Keeper, had a mission, and that was to fulfill the Founder's last wish.

Malia was present at that time and knew she had heard a secret she should not have. To ensure that what she heard was kept secret, she voluntarily made a Soul-binding oath with Stella and did not inquire about the Founder's last wish.

Not long after that, Stella became the new Lord of the Tower. She was barely eight years old, yet she had to shoulder the responsibility of running the whole Conclave.

Then twelve years ago, they found out about young Kyran.

Stella was thrilled, knowing that it was during her time that the new Void Master had appeared. She had vowed to fulfill the Founder's last wish.

That was why Malia understood that Stella's recent actions had something to do with fulfilling that wish.

However, after what Malia had seen from Stella's expression just now, she realized that maybe Stella's childhood curiosity about the Void Master had grown to the point she developed strong feelings for the new Void Master. However, she had not realized it yet.

Both Malia and Sigma exchanged glances. The two had a tacit understanding that they had to keep what they had seen for themselves no matter what, especially to Malek.

If Malek knew about this and realized the Lord's feelings, being her official guardian, he would definitely not approve. Not because he deemed Kyran unworthy of her. But because, to Malek who had an aversion to wasting the Conclave's resources and wealth, Kyran was his mortal enemy.

After all, Kyran was a human-sized walking calamity.