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She turned slowly to look at him, the lingering traces of her admiration replaced by sheer disbelief. Surely, this had to be a joke. Lucavion couldn\'t have been serious—not after everything he\'d just said. Not after hinting that he understood the advantages, the opportunities she was offering.

"What?" she managed, her voice caught between incredulity and shock.

But as her gaze met him, all hope of him jesting vanished. His face held none of the lighthearted mischiefs he often wore; instead, his expression was dead serious, his eyes gleaming with a cold amusement that bordered on cruelty.

Lucavion tilted his head to the side, his one foot suddenly raised onto his seat.

"One of the things I, Lucavion, love doing most… is saying \'No\' right to the faces of those who think they have an absolute advantage!"

His face was menacing, his eyes were cold.

\'What?\'

He was dead serious, really saying that.

Her jaw clenched, the warmth she\'d felt just moments ago evaporating into a simmering resentment. "You…" she stammered, struggling to keep her composure, her voice low but filled with venom. "So you were just toying with me?"

He shrugged, utterly unbothered by the anger simmering in her eyes. "Bingo!" he echoed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Lucavion\'s smirk only widened, his eyes glinting with a dark amusement that twisted the atmosphere into something razor-sharp. He leaned forward, his gaze never leaving Zerah\'s, a mocking glint dancing in his expression as he spoke, voice low and dripping with disdain.

"Oh, did you really think I\'d make deals with people like you?" he asked, his words laced with cruelty. "I\'m not interested in bending to the whims of two-faced schemers who parade their arrogance as if it\'s worth anything to me." He paused, letting his words sink in, each one sharpened with malice. "I\'ve got standards. A little dignity, if you will. Something you might want to consider yourself."

Zerah\'s face flushed, a mixture of humiliation and fury boiling beneath her calm facade. The lingering warmth she\'d felt before was gone, replaced by a deep, simmering resentment. Her composure wavered, her hands clenching at her sides as she fought to maintain her expression, but the venom in her gaze was unmistakable.

"So this is what you call \'dignity,\' then?" she hissed, her voice barely containing the resentment flooding through her. "Mocking people who have shown you respect?"

Lucavion raised an eyebrow, the smirk never faltering. "Respect? Let\'s not kid ourselves here. This was never about respect," he replied coldly. "It was about leverage. Influence. A trade-off, where you saw me as some tool to fit into your grand schemes." He chuckled darkly, leaning back as if to savor the bitterness in her gaze. "But unfortunately for you, I\'m not one of your lapdogs. And I never will be."

For a brief moment, a silence stretched between them, taut and heavy, the tension simmering in the air. Zerah\'s face hardened, her anger barely restrained. She knew that any outburst here would only give him satisfaction, but his words had left a mark, cutting through her usual resolve.

"Fine," she said, her voice like ice. "Play your little game, Lucavion. But don\'t be surprised when this arrogance costs you dearly."

He gave a mocking little bow, smirk still firmly in place. "Can\'t wait to see you try," he replied smoothly, eyes flashing with taunting amusement. As she turned to leave, he added, loud enough for her to hear, "And make sure to bring that so-called dignity with you. You\'ll need it."

Zerah didn\'t turn back, but the tension in her shoulders told him his words had struck deep. She disappeared into the crowd, leaving Lucavion to watch her retreat with a satisfied glint in his eye, wholly unbothered by the storm he\'d just unleashed.

**********

As Zerah and her disciples exited the inn, leaving a wake of whispered ire, Lucavion\'s mocking smirk lingered, practically daring anyone to challenge him further. The room\'s tense air gradually dissipated, and the patrons resumed their quiet, private conversations, retreating to their own lives.

Across the table, Valeria watched Lucavion with a narrowed gaze, her earlier composure replaced by an unfamiliar agitation. She found herself holding onto memories of Zerah\'s brief, intimate gestures toward Lucavion—like when she had boldly draped herself over him. Despite herself, Valeria\'s mind kept circling back to it, a stubborn irritation gnawing at her thoughts.

\'Why is this bothering me so much?\' she wondered, her eyes flitting away from him as she tried to gather herself. \'It\'s not as if his choices should matter to me.\'

Her attention shifted back to Lucavion as he leisurely adjusted his coat, his expression radiating pure satisfaction. He seemed entirely unfazed by the hostility he\'d just incited as if he thrived on the challenge.

Unable to hold it in, Valeria spoke, her tone laced with restrained frustration, "So, is humiliating others your way of… fun?" She half-sneered, but the bite in her voice carried an undertone of genuine curiosity. This Lucavion—the one who seemed to relish in cruelty—was one she could hardly stand.

He met her gaze, a trace of amusement flickering in his eyes. "Only when they\'re foolish enough to try to pull one over on me," he replied, almost dismissively. "She thought she had the upper hand. I simply reminded her otherwise."

Valeria exhaled sharply, leaning back as she struggled to contain the discontent simmering beneath her calm facade. \'What kind of person derives joy from someone\'s embarrassment?\' she questioned internally.

And then she remembered how he was before.

\'Well…..he is indeed like that….\'

But as she observed the satisfaction in his smirk, another thought surfaced, unwelcome and unsettling: \'Did he actually enjoy her attention before all this?\'

Valeria\'s jaw clenched subtly as the image of Zerah wrapped around him flashed again in her mind, unbidden. Her irritation solidified, taking root like a splinter she couldn\'t ignore.

"Why does it even matter?" she muttered under her breath, more to herself than to him.

Lucavion caught her quiet words, his smirk widening. "Troubling thoughts, Valeria?" he asked, feigning innocence. "Jealousy, perhaps?" His gaze danced with a knowing mischief that only fueled her frustration further.

"HA! Who is jealous of whom?!"

The instant the words left her mouth, Lucavion\'s laughter erupted, loud and unrestrained.

"HAHAHAHA!"

His head tilted back before he doubled over, clutching his stomach, laughing as if he\'d heard the most hilarious joke in the world. The sight of him bent over, nearly choking with amusement, only added to her simmering anger. Her cheeks burned, partly from embarrassment, though she wouldn\'t admit it, even to herself.

"You! YOU!" she spluttered, fists clenched as her voice rose above the hum of the inn. Nearby patrons glanced over, some curious, others amused. But Lucavion didn\'t even seem to notice the looks; he laughed on, completely unabashed.

Finally, she couldn\'t take it anymore. "What exactly is so funny about any of this?" she demanded, her tone sharp as steel. Her eyes locked onto him with barely contained frustration.

Still chuckling, Lucavion straightened up, letting out a few final, breathless laughs before his gaze settled back on her, his expression a blend of exasperating amusement and genuine interest. "What was so funny?" he echoed, tilting his head mockingly, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Your reaction, Valeria. What else?"

Valeria\'s eyes were still narrowed, her frustration simmering. "And what\'s so funny about my reaction, then?" she pressed, her voice sharp with barely veiled irritation.

Lucavion shook his head, the last traces of his laughter fading into a smug smile. "It tells quite a lot of interesting things," he said, with a gleam in his eye that only deepened her irritation.

Her expression turned skeptical, her voice tight. "What exactly does it tell?"

"Oh, that\'s for you to figure out," he replied, waving off her question with infuriating casualness.

Valeria\'s gaze narrowed further, piercing and skeptical. She opened her mouth, ready to fire back, but Lucavion leaned in, shifting the mood with a subtle but disarming ease. Resting his chin on his hand, his elbow on the table, he fixed her with a look that was both knowing and unexpectedly gentle.

"But whatever you\'re worrying about," he began, his voice quieter, the smirk softening at the edges, "didn\'t happen. So, you really don\'t need to worry." His eyes held hers for a beat, intent and unwavering. "Even if a hundred women like her lined up, Valeria, I\'d still choose dining with a beautiful knight who upholds her honor a hundred times over."

And that…..

That was something she couldn\'t answer.