Chapter 387 His Late Wife
Zara had been covering the red cord, but the moment Lucian's wing appeared, her attention shifted and her hand moved away.
The cord was exposed.
As soon as Cyranth saw it, unmistakable killing intent flashed across his face. "Where did you get that?"
At the same time, an overwhelming pressure rolled off him, making everyone nearby tremble.
His hand shot toward Lucian, clearly aiming for the red cord around his wrist.
The force behind the attack was almost suffocating.
The phantom wing inside Lucian appeared again, reacting instinctively as though it intended to protect him.
But Zara moved even faster.
She pivoted in front of Lucian and blocked Cyranth's path.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The tension between them turned explosive. Their combined pressure was so immense that nearly everyone else struggled to remain standing.
Lunelle's face went deathly pale, and Valerius was not doing much better. His pupils contracted sharply, and he seemed to activate some kind of artifact just to keep himself upright.
Lunelle and Sylphra could not withstand it at all. Both collapsed to the floor with heavy thuds.
Cyranth kept his eyes fixed on Zara. When he realized he could not get past her, his eyes slowly turned bloodred. "That red cord. Where did you get it?"
Zara immediately realized what had set him off.
Lucian closed a hand around his wrist and replied without changing his expression, "We found it."
Zara fell silent.
Not even a three-year-old would have believed him.
Then again, it had been given to them by a three-year-old.
Cyranth clearly did not believe him either.
He stared coldly at Lucian, a sinister edge entering his faint smile. "I'll ask you one more time. Where did it come from?"
Lucian met his gaze without flinching.
Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, Zara stepped in. "Just because you ask doesn't mean we have to tell you. You want the answer? Pay for it."
Cyranth asked without hesitation, "How much?"
Zara fell silent.
Lucian tugged her back. "Have you no dignity at all?"
Zara was speechless.
[Does dignity pay better than money?]
At that moment, Valerius, unwilling to remain ignored, seemed to realize something. He gritted his teeth and said, "That is the Myriad Spiritweave Chain."
Zara had originally taken it from him. Although Valerius knew he should not reveal its origins, Zara clearly had no intention of explaining anything herself.
And perhaps he hoped to provoke a conflict between her and Cyranth.
Cyranth's narrow eyes instantly locked onto Valerius. Only an icy gleam remained in his golden gaze.
"The Myriad Spiritweave Chain?"
The ruler of a forbidden zone was every bit as terrifying as the legends claimed. Even Valerius could not raise his head beneath that pressure.
Shaken to his core, Valerius nevertheless forced himself to continue. "The Myriad Spiritweave Chain is a sacred treasure of the Imperial Clan. She stole it from us during her last visit."
"Stole?" Zara immediately objected. "Watch your accusations, Uncle. I took it fair and square. How does that count as stealing?"
Valerius fell silent.
Cyranth no longer seemed concerned with asking Zara where she had obtained it. Instead, he turned fully toward Valerius, his voice colder than ever. "How did that artifact come into the possession of your clan?"
A thin layer of cold sweat formed on Valerius's forehead. "My apologies, my lord. I was never the Holy Sovereign, so I don't know the chain's origins."
"You don't know where it came from," Cyranth said, "yet you used it against her."
He raised a finger and pointed directly at Zara.
Lucian fell into thought, then asked Zara quietly, "Was this what they used against you last time?"
No wonder Zara had taken piles of gold and jewels yet still insisted on keeping a seemingly useless red cord.
So it had been another priceless treasure that Zara had conned them out of...
At that thought, Lucian gave Valerius a pitying look.
Why did he keep doing this to himself?
Valerius, meanwhile, was suffering in silence. He suddenly regretted revealing the matter so recklessly, but now he could only grit his teeth and continue.
"The Myriad Spiritweave Chain is a sacred treasure of the Imperial Clan. It was kept under constant guard, and the ancient records of our clan documented how to use it. We had no choice but to bring it out at the time. Who could have known..."
Zara scoffed. "That's not quite how it happened, Uncle. Didn't you bring it out specifically to use against me? If I hadn't taken the chain from you with my own abilities, I might be your prisoner right now. Who knows what you would've done to me or what lies you would've spread about me?"
Valerius fell silent.
Cyranth was growing impatient. He had no interest in listening to the Imperial Clan air its dirty laundry. "Your disputes are none of my concern. But that chain..."
He looked at Zara. "I must have it. Name your price."
The sheer confidence in his tone made it clear that resources meant nothing to him.
Whatever Zara demanded, he would give her as much as he could.
All he wanted was the red cord.
Zara had originally thought it suited Soraya perfectly. Although she had already suspected there was some history behind it, seeing the ruler of the forbidden zone react this way all but confirmed her theory.
Soraya was most likely the wife of this unfortunate forbidden-zone ruler.
But...
She was currently a three-year-old girl.
No matter how shameless Zara could be, she was not about to expose Soraya to him now.
"I can give it to you," she said. "And getting it back is simple. First, I want to know where this red cord came from."
Cyranth looked at her, a shadow passing through his eyes.
On the floor, Sylphra was trembling uncontrollably.
After a long silence, Cyranth finally said, "It belonged to my late wife."
Zara's eyebrows rose. "Wow."
Lucian fell silent.
His wife.
Noctilion had mentioned that Cyranth had once had a wife, but Lucian had never been told anything about Soraya. It had only come up briefly in a conversation with Zara.
Now, hearing Cyranth call the cord his wife's possession, Lucian's eyelid twitched.
Unless he remembered incorrectly, Soraya had always worn that red cord. Zara had also said it belonged to her.
Lucian fell silent again.
Soraya usually called him Dad.
A chill suddenly shot from the top of his head all the way down to his feet.
This damn world.
Seriously.
Zara put on an astonished expression. "Really? Since it belonged to your late wife, I suppose I have no choice but to return it. By the way, who was your wife?"
Anyone else would have realized they were pressing directly on an old wound.
Zara possessed no such awareness.
She asked as though it were the most natural question in the world.
Cyranth's expression darkened further.
For the ruler of a forbidden zone to react this strongly, his wife was clearly someone extraordinary - and someone whose name was not to be mentioned lightly.
However, Cyranth quickly regained his composure.
"My wife has been gone for a very long time. You would not know her. All you need to do is tell me what you want in exchange for the red cord."