I Died and Became a Noble's Heir-Chapter 348: Reunion

"You’re beautiful," Jack murmured, his voice carrying intimate warmth that made her melt. "Truly breathtaking. One of the loveliest women I’ve ever encountered."

"Jack..." she breathed his name like a prayer.

His grip on her chin tightened fractionally. Not painful, but firm. His red eyes bored into her with a dangerous intensity.

"It’s a shame," he continued, his voice shifting from warmth to ice in the space between heartbeats, "that you chose such poor men to serve you." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Starfell froze. Her eyes widened fractionally, confusion replacing anticipation. "What?"

"I’m going to bankrupt you," Jack said subtly, his tone was so bland it caught her off guard. "By the time we’re finished here, House Starfell will be so deeply in debt to House Kaiser that your great-grandchildren will still be making payments."

The color drained from her face. Her hand against his chest tried to pull back, but his grip on her wrist held firm. Not painful, just strong enough that it was absolutely immovable.

"I don’t... I don’t understand..." Her voice came out small; she was frightened.

Jack released her chin and stood in one fluid motion. He walked to the center of the study, his back to her, and made a gesture with his left hand.

Reality tore.

A portal ripped open in the air, edges crackling with purple and blue lightning that cast the study in eerie light. The gateway pulsed with power, causing the furniture to vibrate and sending books tumbling from the shelves.

Through the portal stepped Loryn, the mad scientist. His robes were dark, obscuring his features, but his presence radiated menace, making her tremble.

He dragged something behind him.

A figure crashed to the floor at Lady Starfell’s feet. Thin to the point of skeletal, skin pale from years without sunlight, clothing reduced to rags. But it was the hands that drew attention.

Or rather, the absence of hands.

Where hands should have been, there were only scarred stumps wrapped in crude bandages. The figure’s breathing came in ragged gasps, and when he lifted his head, recognition flashed in sunken eyes.

"M-my lady..." The emissary’s voice was broken; desperation was the only thing he could cling to. "Please... please help me..."

Lady Starfell stared at the broken man at her feet, her mind clearly struggling to reconcile the emissary she’d sent about a month ago with this... wreckage.

"Do you recognize him?" Jack asked, his voice blank as he turned back to face her. "I imagine he’s changed somewhat. Spending two years in a dungeon is a long time. Although it’s technically only been about a month here. Time dilation is fascinating, isn’t it?"

Starfell’s mouth worked soundlessly. Her amber eyes tracked from the maimed emissary to Jack to Loryn and back again, her mind clearly racing to understand what trap she’d walked into.

Jack moved closer, crouching down so he was at her eye level. His red eyes held no warmth now, just cold calculation wrapped in absolute certainty.

"Now then," he said quietly, "let’s discuss what happens when your men abandon their posts and leave my city defenseless."

Jack caressed her face as he stared at the broken woman before him.

The emissary began to sob, broken, desperate sounds that filled the study.

And Lady Starfell froze in absolute terror, finally understanding that she hadn’t been hunting at all.

She’d been the prey from the moment Jack’s hand touched her waist.

-----

Before the situation could deteriorate further, footsteps approached from the gardens. Duke Alaric strode into the hallway with Lady Genevieve at his side, followed by Annabelle clutching her sketchbook and Celeste carrying a wine bottle like a trophy.

"Cassius!" Alaric’s voice boomed with genuine warmth, his golden eyes brightening at the sight of his oldest friend. "You made it! I was beginning to think the roads had swallowed you whole."

Cassius clasped Alaric’s forearm in the warrior’s greeting, his weathered face splitting into a grin. "The roads were fine. My wife insisted on changing her dress three times before we left."

Lady Sunblade smiled serenely, completely unrepentant. "Presentation matters, dear husband. One doesn’t attend a victory celebration in traveling clothes."

Little Violet bounced on her toes, her energy barely contained. "Uncle Alaric! Uncle Alaric! Is brother Jack here? I want to see him!"

Annabelle drifted forward, offering Violet a shy smile. "He’s... busy right now. But you can draw with me while we wait?"

"Draw what?" Violet asked bluntly.

"Whatever you want," Annabelle replied gently. "I’m sketching the celebration. Would you like to help?"

"Yes!" Violet shouted.

While the youngest girls bonded over art supplies, Alaric’s expression shifted fractionally as he noticed the crowd of nobles streaming toward the garrison in organized clusters.

"What’s all this?" he asked, gesturing toward the exodus. "Did someone announce free wine?"

Octavia seized the opportunity gratefully. "There’s been... a development."

"What kind of development?" Cassius’s brow furrowed.

"Rhys Luffiel arrived," Genevieve said, her voice carrying disdain that could strip paint. "Uninvited."

Alaric’s expression darkened immediately. "Why is that pointy-eared parasite still in my home?"

"He challenged Jack to a duel," Octavia continued quickly. "In the garrison. One hour from now. And he’s here to be a footstone for Jack."

Cassius’s eyebrows rose. "Again? Didn’t Jack already thrash him once?"

"He did," Celeste chimed in cheerfully, taking a swig from her bottle. "Apparently, Rhys has a very short memory. Or perhaps elven pride is thicker than their skulls."

Alaric’s laugh was dark. "The fool challenged my son twice! What did he use as justification this time?"

"He claimed Jack’s previous victory was due to borrowed divine power rather than skill," Octavia explained. "Said he wanted to prove Jack got lucky."

"Lucky," Alaric repeated, his voice dripping with contempt. "The boy who killed Spiralus got lucky. The sheer arrogance of elves never ceases to amaze me."

Cassius nodded grimly. "Their entire culture is built on the assumption that longevity equals superiority. A human achieving in months what takes them centuries? It offends their worldview."

Little Violet tugged on her father’s coat. "Papa, is brother Jack going to beat the dumb elf?"

The question came out with such innocent certainty that several adults struggled not to laugh. Clearly, the Sunblade family’s distaste for elven arrogance had been passed down even to their youngest.

"Yes, little flower," Cassius said, scooping his daughter up easily. "Your brother Jack is going to teach that arrogant elf a comprehensive lesson about challenging people above his station."

Aurora’s hands moved in quick, elegant patterns. Her fingers danced through gestures that carried unmistakable mirth.

Lady Sunblade watched her daughter’s signs, then translated with poorly concealed amusement. "Aurora says she’s looking forward to watching Rhys get humiliated. Again. She finds his persistent foolishness endearing in the way one might find a foolish dog endearing."

Genevieve’s smile was sharp as broken glass. "Jack will accommodate her entertainment needs thoroughly, I’m sure."

"Speaking of humiliation," Alaric said, his grin widening with malicious glee, "you should have seen what happened when Rhys tried to approach Charlotte Stormblood earlier."

Cassius’s interest sharpened immediately. "What did the Stormblood girl do?"

"She punched him in the gut so hard he nearly passed out," Alaric said, barely containing his laughter. "Didn’t say a word. Just walked up, smiled sweetly, and drove her fist into his stomach with enough force to lift him off his feet. The elf collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut."

Even Lady Sunblade’s composure cracked slightly, a genuine smile replacing her diplomatic pleasantness. "Charlotte always did have excellent instincts about people."

"The best part," Celeste added, her eyes dancing with mischief, "was watching Garrick Stormblood hold back Rhys’s bodyguard while his sister just stepped over the gasping elf like he was furniture. Didn’t even break stride."

Violet giggled with childlike glee. "The stupid elf got punched! Did he cry?"

"Almost," Octavia confirmed, her own amusement breaking through professional composure. "His eyes watered quite impressively."

Aurora nodded enthusiastically, her ethereal beauty somehow enhanced by the mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

The conversation flowed easily, as the Sunblade and Kaiser families fell into a comfortable rapport built on decades of friendship. But Octavia noted that not once did anyone mention what Jack was actually doing behind that closed door.

Violet squirmed in her father’s arms. "Can we go watch brother Jack beat the elf now? Please?"

"Soon, little flower," Cassius promised. "First, we wait for Jack to finish his negotiations."