PHENEX MANSION – RECEPTION HALL
"That's exactly what you heard, mother." Ravel kept her gaze firm, without any hesitation in her own decision.
"Ravel, have you lost your mind?" Lady Phenex answered at the same instant, her voice harsher. "Have you forgotten your position? Not only do you want to abandon your brother, you want to join the man who humiliated him."
Ravel didn't look away. The image of Riser was still clear in her mind, but it wasn't enough to make her back down.
"Mother, Gasper-kun is strong." She answered with precision. "He has those flames that can harm our Phenex regeneration… and he's connected to the Gremory. He's the perfect candidate."
"My daughter, you are a noble and—"
"Mother, please." Ravel interrupted, without raising her voice, but imposing her decision. "I've already made my decision."
Lady Phenex remained silent for a moment, observing her daughter. The firmness wasn't momentary, it wasn't impulse. It was a consolidated choice.
'When a Phenex sets their mind on something… they don't go back.'
"Even if I agree…" She resumed, now more restrained. "Your father will never accept it. Besides, there are the Gremory… and the dhampir may simply not want you in his peerage."
"And that's why I told you first." Ravel took a step forward, reducing the distance. "Help me talk to father… and convince the Gremory."
Lady Phenex let out a long sigh, the weight of the situation evident.
"Alright, Ravel." She answered, still analyzing. "I'll do my best… but I guarantee nothing."
The effect was immediate.
Ravel couldn't contain her reaction. Her body relaxed all at once, and a smile slipped out without control, completely breaking the rigid posture she had been maintaining until then.
She turned around, stepping away a few paces, her energy completely different from before.
"It will work." She said softly, but with conviction. "It has to work."
The thoughts came in sequence, now without conflict.
'If I join his side… I can guarantee a position for the family… and…' she paused for a moment, the smile remaining. 'And he isn't weak… quite the opposite.'
Ravel placed a hand on her own chest, holding her excitement for a second before letting the air out slowly.
"I'll succeed." Her voice came out firmer. "I know I will."
Behind her, Lady Phenex watched in silence.
'Gasper-kun… Gasper-kun…' her thought formed clearly. 'Has my daughter… fallen in love with this boy?'
Her gaze shifted slightly, more analytical now.
"And how do you plan to deal with Gasper-kun?" She asked, with a slight mocking tone, testing.
Ravel turned her face toward her mother, without losing control of her posture.
"Leave it to me, mother." She answered with confidence. "I have everything planned in my mind."
Lady Phenex rolled her eyes, already knowing two things about her daughter with absolute clarity. The first was her unshakable stubbornness. The second was her complete lack of practical skill when it came to dealing with men, especially someone like Gasper, who was surrounded by far more experienced women.
"Well, my daughter…" She crossed her arms, her tone slightly provocative. "Why don't you go back to your room and think more carefully about how to put this plan into practice?"
Ravel narrowed her eyes at the same instant, clearly bothered by the tone.
"Mother…" She let the air out through her nose, crossing her arms as well. "Stop playing with me."
Lady Phenex didn't answer.
Ravel took a step forward, maintaining her firm gaze, now fully entering her own reasoning.
"All men are the same." Her voice came out with conviction. "You just have to show a little skin… and they already start losing control."
She tilted her head slightly, as if that were obvious logic.
"Gasper-kun won't be any different." Ravel continued, confident. "I just need to make him pay attention to me… after that…" She gave a small smile. "He'll be eating out of the palm of my hand."
Lady Phenex remained looking at her for a few seconds.
No reaction.
No interruption.
No belief whatsoever in any of that.
"My daughter…" She began, calmer now, but still with a clear undertone of skepticism. "Let's take this step by step."
Ravel didn't change her expression.
"First, I'll speak with your father." Lady Phenex continued, maintaining control. "Then… I'll explain a few things about men to you."
Ravel let out a small, impatient sigh.
"As you wish." She answered, shrugging. "If you want to waste time."
Lady Phenex didn't respond this time. She simply turned her body and began walking toward the exit of the hall, without looking back. Her decision had already been made.
The destination was clear.
Lord Phenex's office.
The door opened.
And closed right after.
The hall fell silent.
Ravel remained alone in the center of the space, her expression still carrying confidence, but now without the need to sustain it in front of anyone.
She let the air out slowly.
"It will work…" she murmured softly, keeping her gaze ahead.
LORD PHENEX'S OFFICE
Lady Phenex entered the office and closed the door behind her, keeping her gaze on her husband seated at the desk. He didn't raise his head, his eyes still fixed on the papers in front of him, as if nothing around had greater priority.
"Husband." Her voice came out direct, without detours.
"You may speak, my dear." He answered without looking at her, his tone neutral, almost uninterested.
Lady Phenex approached the desk, reducing the distance before continuing.
"Our daughter wants to leave Riser's peerage."
"Fine." The answer came immediate, simple, as if it carried no weight at all.
The silence that followed didn't last.
"That's not all…" Lady Phenex began, organizing her words. "She wants to marry… and enter Gasper-k—" she paused for a moment before correcting, "—the dhampir's peerage."
The effect was immediate.
The sound of papers being dropped on the desk cut through the room.
Lord Phenex raised his gaze.
And this time, there was a reaction.
"She wants what." His voice came out low, but carrying something heavier.
He stood up from the chair without hurry, but the change in posture already made it clear that this wouldn't be ignored.
"My daughter wants to abandon her own brother…" He began, his voice rising slightly. "To join the man who humiliated this house."
He took a step forward from the desk, now fully focused on his wife.
"She wants to bind herself to the one directly responsible for the fall of the Phenex name in public." His jaw tightened for a moment before continuing. "And she still calls that a decision."
His breathing became heavier, the control maintained at the limit.
"I do not allow it." The statement came firm, leaving no room for dispute. "There is no negotiation for this."
He turned his face for a second, as if organizing the rest of his thoughts before returning.
"That dhampir…" His tone carried direct disdain. "Was elevated because the Gremory decided to turn a humiliation into a political spectacle."
His hand clenched slightly.
"And now my daughter wants to offer herself as a piece to them?" He looked back at Lady Phenex. "This is not strategy… this is submission."
The silence that followed was not light. The tension remained in the room, sustained by the weight of his words.
He took a deep breath once.
Then another.
His body relaxed little by little, not because his opinion changed, but because control returned.
"…No." He spoke again, now more contained, but no less firm. "This will not happen."
Lord Phenex returned behind the desk, placing his hand on the surface before sitting down again, resuming his initial position, but without returning to the papers.
"If Ravel thinks she can decide this alone…" He continued, his voice lower. "Then she still doesn't understand what it means to carry the Phenex name."
"As long as I am the head of this family, this will not happen." The statement came firm, definitive.
Lady Phenex didn't respond immediately.
She began unbuttoning her blouse calmly, without hurry, as if making a decision parallel to the conversation.
"My dear…" Her voice came out lower, controlled. "I think I have something to make you see this situation from a different perspective."
Lord Phenex turned his gaze.
The movement was automatic.
"Have you lost your mind?" He answered at the same instant, interrupting his own flow. "I will never—"
"You will change your mind." Lady Phenex cut in, without raising her tone, but leaving no room. "We'll see about that."
The silence that followed was not absence.
It was direct confrontation.
Lord Phenex held her gaze for a few seconds, as if trying to keep his position intact.
But this time, the conversation was no longer in the same place as before.
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