Gunmage-Chapter 206: Unnatural minds

Lugh’s gaze drifted toward Aveline. She returned it steadily, not a single flinch or twitch in her posture.

Her lips curled into a faint, knowing smile that unnerved him more than he cared to admit.

She carried herself with a calm confidence he hadn’t noticed before—not arrogance, not flamboyance, but something cold, collected, and deeply rooted.

A kind of assurance that she knew she was dangerous. That she didn’t need to prove it.

He’d brought her here for a reason. The question had been on his mind since they’d boarded the carriage. Manipulation. Influence. Control.

He needed to learn. Not just battlefield tactics or swordplay—he needed to understand people, how to move them like pieces on a board. That was the real game. And Aveline, young as she was, had shown herself an uncanny player.

That ballroom scene still echoed in his mind. But if Lugh truly wanted mastery in such things, there was another candidate. A more terrifying one.

Selaphiel.

A long-lived elf who had spent centuries weaving her way through courtly intrigues and power struggles, to whom political chess was second nature.

If anyone could teach him how to dismantle a person’s will with a whisper, it was her. But he hadn’t asked her.

Why? Because Lugh had grown very reluctant when it came to asking the elf for favors—or even just answers. Something about her reminded him of Xhi, that nothing they offered you was truly free.

She was also, without a doubt, a formidable obstacle standing directly in the path of his goal, and she knew it

Her words from that earlier meeting—the one they’d had the very day he regained consciousness—still ringed in his ears:

"You can’t become the leader of the family if you do not marry me. It’s either this or that, you do or you don’t. The conditions are clear and uncompromisable. There is no exception."

No choice. That’s what had unsettled him the most. She framed it as a decision, but he knew better. She had never given him one. She had simply laid out a path and dared him to stray from it.

Was there a reason for him to say no? Probably. But that wasn’t the point. It wasn’t about the marriage—it was about control. About being forced into something he didn’t want.

Selaphiel wasn’t going to relent. Even if he stepped down, renounced his claim, faded into obscurity, she’d follow. She’d find ways to put him under her control.

That was just who she was.

This was the same woman who’d once threatened a powerful noble house with annihilation unless they handed over their daughter, all against the will of the groom—her own son.

People like her... they didn’t take "no" for an answer. She was used to always getting what she wanted, and this could cause some serious issues later down the line.

Lugh exhaled through his nose and turned back to the carriage. Another bridge to cross later. For now, caution would suffice. Caution, and pretending everything was normal.

Noticing his lingering gaze, Selaphiel smiled serenely, offering no words. Aveline, too, remained quiet.

The carriage bumped softly along the dirt path, the silence inside thick and oddly comfortable.

Then Lugh remembered why he’d brought Aveline here in the first place. He turned slightly, studying the 13-year-old sitting across from him.

Without ceremony, he spoke.

"How do you manipulate people?"

The words dropped like stones in water. No sugarcoating, no build-up. It was just plain and blunt.

Aveline blinked in surprise. For a moment she looked genuinely caught off-guard, then glanced at both her companions watching her. She cleared her throat lightly, straightening her back.

"I don’t manipulate people."

Lugh arched a brow.

"Who are you trying to fool?"

He hadn’t meant it harshly, but after what he saw at the ball, her answer was as believable as a penguin getting a tan. Ridiculous.

"I mean it,"

Aveline insisted, her tone careful.

"I’m not manipulating. I just make them... very dependent on me."

"Oh?"

Lugh tilted his head. Now that was interesting.

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes,"

She answered without hesitation.

"A big one." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"Can you explain it properly to me?"

Aveline leaned forward slightly, but instead of answering, her eyes narrowed with playful mischief.

"And why would I do that?"

"...What?"

He blinked. Was she really refusing?

"Because... because..."

Lugh stalled, brain scrambling.

"Because I’m your long-lost brother?"

Aveline snorted. She tried to stifle a giggle, but it burst out into full laughter.

"Pfft—hahaha! Please explain which it is. Lost... or escaped?"

He huffed, cheeks warming ever so slightly.

"If you don’t want to tell me, just say so,"

He grumbled, looking away.

"But I did say so."

He had no comeback.

"Hmph."

He turned his face to the window, hiding both frustration and the faint trace of a smirk threatening to surface.

Then Aveline spoke again, her voice lighter this time.

"So... you joined the army, huh?"

He didn’t respond. The answer was obvious.

Still, she pressed on.

"Did you ever shoot someone?"

"...Yes."

The reply came evenly. No hesitation, no tremor in his voice.

"Did you ever... kill people?"

This time, he turned to her, and she met his gaze unflinchingly.

"...Yes,"

He said again, slower.

"Ah. Gotcha. Cool, cool."

She leaned back, as if mentally checking a box. Then silence returned—only briefly.

"How many?"

That made his eyebrow twitch.

What was with this girl? Who asks a soldier that?

He said nothing, but she caught the shift in his expression.

"Oh, come on,"

She said, rolling her eyes.

"You expect me to think that’s a big deal? A few days ago you were beheading beastkin with your hands."

He stilled.

She was right.

That night had been a blur of chaos and blood.

And yet... no nightmares followed. No shakes.

No nausea. No sense of guilt. Just silence.

His expression slowly changed, a flicker of realization tightening his jaw. Concern edged into his thoughts. Was something... wrong with him?

Then, for the first time during the ride, Selaphiel spoke.

"You don’t have to worry too deeply about it."

Her voice was cool, serene as ever, but something in her eyes gleamed as they locked onto Lugh.

"What do you mean?"

He asked, eyes narrowing.

"I mean,"

She said, brushing a lock of silver hair from her shoulder,

"The more one practices magic—the deeper one delves into it—the more their mind unravels. Magic is, by its nature, a deviation from the natural. And those who grasp it fully... are never really sane afterward."

Lugh stared.

"What the fu—"

He bit his tongue.

He had never heard this before!

Aveline frowned.

"Are you serious? Because you seem perfectly fine to me."

Selaphiel tilted her head slightly. That smile of hers face widened.

"Do I?"

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om