Exiled Prince: I'm the Unexpected Extra in the Novel-Chapter 140: The Pawn That Isn’t a Pawn

"I’m alone again," Cassian had whispered, holding the necklace around his neck.

However, the moment this sentence echoed in the depths of his mind, it was shattered by an angry and resentful voice.

"What do you mean you’re alone!"

Nivelle’s voice echoed in Cassian’s mind.

"Ahh..." Cassian said, speaking internally. His voice was weary but carried an underlying acceptance.

"Pardon, great Nivelle. I forgot your existence for a moment as I thought you were in your deep sleep. Excuse me."

"Okay, my prince," Nivelle said, her voice still sounding like she was throwing a tantrum but softened. "I accept your apology for this time. But if you ignore me again, I’ll sing ceaselessly in your mind!"

Cassian slumped his shoulders. That word again.

"You too..." he sighed, his voice mingling with the howling of the wind.

"Did you fall for those witches’ nonsense too? I’m sick of hearing the word ’Prince’ now."

"What?" Nivelle said, her voice in a prickly tone. "Aren’t you their prince? They treat you like one."

Cassian straightened up on the rock he was sitting on. His eyes fixed on the mountains lost behind the fog.

"I am no one’s prince or anything," he said, emphasizing every word.

"I am just me. I am Cassian. Neither am I Zevstyle’s toy, nor the slave of the Crown of Madness inside my head, nor the chosen one of that whatever-she-is Lilith. I am just me."

There was a short silence in his mind. Then Nivelle’s voice returned, this time in a more serious, more questioning tone.

"Hmm... Even if you say so," a short silence fell. Nivelle seemed to hesitate about whether to voice these thoughts.

"You came to the North just because Zevstyle wanted it, because of the orders spilling from her purple lips. Just because that woman told you ’go and get the sword’, you are in this frozen hell right now, tearing yourself apart to seize Mordret’s Sword."

Cassian’s brows furrowed. This accusation triggered his defense mechanisms.

"Because I have a reason," he said quickly. "It’s not just her wish."

"What reason, brother?" Nivelle asked instantly. Her voice was sharp and questioning. "The person who needs that sword is Zevstyle, not you."

Cassian opened his mouth. He expected logical explanations to appear in his mind.

His lips parted, words should have come to the tip of his tongue.

But he couldn’t speak, no answer came to his mind.

His mouth remained open, a knot formed in his throat.

His mind suddenly turned into a blank slate. Why did he want that sword? Zevstyle had told him "you must do this" and he had done it. That was all.

"See?" said Nivelle, her voice holding a sad observation rather than a victory.

"This is exactly what I mean. You don’t even know why you want to seize that sword! You have no purpose of your own. You are just doing the tasks given to you."

Cassian gritted his teeth. "That’s not true..."

"What if Zevstyle has different plans?" Nivelle insisted. "What if she desires something completely different from yours and uses you like a pawn on a chessboard? Did you forget what Kaiser told you? What did that dragon advise you with his last breath?"

That moment revived in Cassian’s mind. Kaiser’s silhouette, that cave, that agreement... And those last words: "Never trust a god one hundred percent."

This memory pierced his heart like an arrow. He bowed his head, his white hair shadowing his face.

"I know she is using me," Cassian replied, his voice full of pain and acceptance. "I know, Nivelle. I’m not stupid."

"Then why do you still act according to her wishes!" Nivelle shouted in his mind. "Why do you let her use you?"

Cassian’s voice came out so faint that it would be lost in the cold wind.

"I don’t know."

Following this confession, that familiar emerald green light radiating from Cassian’s chest shone.

The beam of light rose dancing on the snowy ground and condensed at Cassian’s eye level.

Nivelle’s physical form appeared with her tiny, delicate body and transparent wings.

Despite the freezing cold and the intensity of the wind, she hovered in the air and looked straight into Cassian’s eyes.

In her eyes, there was a kind of seriousness and fear Cassian had never seen in Nivelle before.

"Brother..." Nivelle said, her voice trembling. "Who are you?"

Cassian was bewildered by this question. He blinked his eyes.

"What is this question?" Cassian frowned.

Cassian became uneasy at the absurdity of the question.

"I am Cassian!" he said clearly. "You know this too."

Cassian sighed.

Nivelle shook her head.

Her green hair waved in the air. Her question this time felt much heavier, much stranger than the previous one.

"Okay," said Nivelle. "Who is Cassian?"

Cassian hung his head low, his white hair covering his face.

He said nothing for seconds. The only sound heard was the howling of the cold wind gliding through the mountains.

Finally, Cassian mumbled:

"Since when do you know?"

Nivelle fell silent. For a while, they just listened to the sound of the wind.

"Since the moment I met you..." said Nivelle, her voice sad.

She paused for a moment. "But back then I wasn’t sure. Your soul was already merged with other beings, I thought you didn’t even have a consciousness of your own. But you were there... You were protected from all of them by a dark mana. Your darkness kept them all away from you; Zevstyle, the Crown of Madness, Lilith, or other things hidden in your soul."

Nivelle floated a bit closer to Cassian.

"But right now, your barrier has long been breached. You opened the doors of the barrier to Zevstyle with your own hands. I can’t even look into your soul anymore, Zevstyle blocks me."

Cassian spoke, his voice ice-cold. "This was a price I had to pay."

"A price?" Nivelle’s voice trembled with astonishment and anger.

Cassian continued, every word like a confession. "When this war is over, in any case, I won’t be the same person anyway. I will have lost all my memories and my lifespan."

Cassian smiled forcibly. "Who cares who manages an empty shell? Zevstyle or the Crown of Madness... I don’t care who it is. After reaching my goal, everything is meaningless."

"I care!" Nivelle screamed with her small body. Tears were flowing from her eyes.

"I found you after losing all my family, you are the only family I have!"

"Did you never love me at all!? Do you really think I will be happy after you are gone too?"

"Nivelle..." Cassian wanted to speak, but Nivelle wasn’t finished.

"I don’t want to lose you, brother!"

Cassian caught the flying fairy in the air and pressed her to his chest. Even though he wanted to console her, there was nothing he could say. The truth was ruthless.

"Why are you crying as if I’m going to die, you gluttonous fairy?" said Cassian, trying to add a bit of his old confidence to his voice.

"Do you really think I am that weak? Your brother is the strongest person in this world. Gods or mystical beasts, witches... I don’t care what they are. This body is mine, this life is mine too, and I will fight to the end to protect it."

He felt Nivelle’s trembling body. "So don’t cry and trust your brother."

"What if you don’t succeed?" asked Nivelle in a whisper, her voice choked.

Cassian stroked her small head.

"Then find me and remind me who I am," he said. "Tell me you are my little and sweet sister and stay with me forever."

The two spent time just hugging each other on the rock in that freezing weather. The howling of the wind was the only witness to the silent agreement between them.

_ _ _

After somehow finishing his conversation with Nivelle, Cassian decided to push the chaos inside him aside and return to the witches.

He had spoken quite harshly to them, but he didn’t regret it. Still, staying outside in this cold was not an option.

In the snow-covered village, he walked crushing the snow to the house he left.

When he arrived in front of the small house, he paused at the door for a moment. The light and warmth leaking from inside was like an invitation against the freezing cold outside.

Cassian reached out to the door and took a confident step inside.

However, the moment he stepped inside, he felt the danger approaching him from above his head.

Something ice-cold... His reflexes kicked in and Cassian immediately leaped aside.

SPLASH!

The bucket filled with ice-cold water spilled onto the floor along with the water. The place where Cassian stood just now was soaking wet.

Cassian looked at the bucket on the floor, then inside the room. The witch sisters were looking at him with disappointed faces.

"Ehhh..." whined Ivy, hanging from the sofa. "How did he dodge that? It was going to be a direct hit!"

Roxy raised her head without closing her book. "Did you really think he would fall for this little trap?"

Ivy turned to Roxy angrily. "Haa? What does that mean? You told us we should set a trap for him! You even suggested putting the bucket on top of the door!"

"Did I do that?" said Roxy, diving back into her book indifferently.

Cassian stood on the threshold of the door, watching this absurd scene.

He didn’t know how to react. Should he get angry? If he got angry and left, he would have to spend the night outside, and that was the last thing he would want. The weather outside was cold enough to freeze one’s breath.

Eula was sitting at the table drinking her tea. She looked at Cassian and just smiled, continuing to drink her tea as if what happened was the most normal thing in the world. This calmness tensed Cassian even more.

At that moment, Ivy got up from the sofa and came towards Cassian, standing face to face with him.

The green-haired girl was 10 centimeters taller than Cassian and looked down on him. There was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"So your reflexes are strong, huh?" said Ivy.

And suddenly

THWACK!

Her knee hit Cassian’s groin, that sensitive spot, hard.

Cassian’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

His breath was cut short. He doubled over in pain and slowly sank to his knees. While holding his groin with his hands, he rested his forehead on the floor.

"Vile witch..." he mumbled with a choked voice.

Ivy stuck out her tongue with an air of victory.

"You deserved this, my prince!" she said cheerfully.

Then she turned around, opened a room door, went inside, and closed the door.

While writhing in pain on the floor, Cassian began to understand that the price of warmth and safety inside would be heavier than he thought.