Chapter 207: Welcome Back

The front entrance of the Ashborn manor opened for them in silent welcome.

And for the first time in many, many years... no family member stood there to mock him.

No one waiting with a venomous grin.

No one rolling their eyes behind a curtain of smugness.

No one tilting their chin as if sniffing something rotten.

Just the tall, silent manor.

But when the household maids appeared from within, there was no hesitation. No sidelong glances or muttered whispers behind gloved hands. They bowed low, deep, and formal. Heads down. Eyes averted.

"Welcome back, Lord Kaiden!" they intoned in perfect unison.

Aria blinked.

Nyx gave a low whistle.

Even Luna seemed briefly startled.

It was no empty gesture. It was a complete shift in how the Ashborn servants viewed him. These same maids had more or less ignored him a few hours ago, like a stray dog who snuck in through the servant’s door. Now they addressed him with the same reverence they reserved for Vespera herself.

And the reason was simple.

Vespera had spoken.

In front of dozens of witnesses, the Matriarch of the Ashborn had struck her three favored children down with her cruel shadow magic, declaring that no one would ever mock her disowned son again in her home. Not if they valued their lives.

Whether or not Kaiden carried the family crest... didn’t matter.

He was still her child.

And that was all the staff needed to know in order to decide the attitude they’d show to him.

Kaiden didn’t care about this fanfare much because it wasn’t his home. Vespera welcomed him with open arms, but he desired to make his own legacy. He was not a man who would be fulfilled to be the ’pampered young master’ of a rich and powerful family. So, Kaiden gave a short nod of acknowledgment and moved on.

They stepped through the grand entryway into the opulent halls of the Ashborn estate.

"Let’s go see the little sis!" Luna said excitedly. The purple-haired, delicate beauty had taken a liking to Alice as soon as the two met. She’d only ever seen such a down bad bro-con in anime before, so seeing it in person made the girl very amused.

"I’d like to see Lux and Damian! I didn’t get to say hi to them as we ran off to delete the internet stuff... They should be here somewhere..." Aria cheered as she looked around. Finding them in this giant home was easier said than done.

"I know where Alice’s room is. Let’s go, maybe they’re there as well," Kaiden replied.

Soon, they rounded a wide corner framed by tall columns. And there, they came upon someone standing still in the center of the corridor.

A teenage boy with pale, silvery-white hair. His frame was thin, delicate even, and though he looked to be around sixteen, he was probably one of the smallest boys in his class. His uniform was tidy, elegant even, but the expression on his face was not.

Aria’s eyes lit up immediately.

"Damian!" she gasped, breaking into a run, arms wide, voice bright with affection.

But the boy didn’t return the smile.

When Aria reached out to hug him, he twisted away, refusing her touch.

"What...? Damian...?" Aria blinked, stunned. "What’s wrong?"

He didn’t answer her.

Instead, he glanced past her—past the warmth in her voice, past her confused expression—and focused on the others behind her.

His ice-blue eyes narrowed.

First at Luna, then Nyx, then Bastet... and finally, Kaiden.

There they lingered.

Longer.

Deeper.

Until the emotion behind them was undeniable.

Hatred.

"You must be the man who made my sister become a pornstar. The one who made her sell her dignity and soul for money. The one who convinced her that putting herself on display like a cheap whore was empowering."

Aria’s mouth parted in disbelief. "W-What...? Damian, no. That’s not what happened!"

She took a step forward again.

He tried to dodge again.

But this time she didn’t let him. She was faster. Stronger. Awakened.

Her hand caught his wrist, gently but firmly.

"You can hate me if you want for the choices I made," she said softly, her voice carrying the trembling strength of someone determined to be heard. "But don’t blame Kaiden. He saved me in my darkest hour. You already know that. You also know that I chose this path; we’ve been through this many times already. I gave my consent to everything we did together. Every. Single. Thing. We’re walking this path together, and I’m incredibly glad for it."

Damian’s lip curled upwards with scorn.

"Consent, huh?" he muttered, yanking his wrist back when she let go. "Was that before or after you started moaning his name on camera?"

Aria flinched.

His voice changed again, high-pitched and mocking. A cruel imitation of her soft-spoken, loving sister.

"’Damian, you have to meet him! Kaiden’s such a good person! You’d become good friends instantly!’ ’What do you mean he uses me for my body? He isn’t a man like that!’ ’He saved me from a fate worse than death!’ ’He’s the love of my life!’"

His voice deepened, returning to its original tone. "Yeah, I remember."

Then he turned his gaze back to Kaiden, his icy stare full of venom, awaiting his response.

Kaiden met Damian’s glare without flinching.

No twitch of the brow. No curling of the lip. No aura flaring to intimidate.

Just calm. Steady. Quiet.

And that was what made Damian pause.

His heart skipped a beat. Not from fear of power, but from the absence of emotional retaliation. No fury. No cold arrogance. No patronizing smirk asking what a teenage boy like him knows about the world of adults.

Just a man standing in front of him... entirely grounded in his own truth.

)

That rattled Damian perhaps more than any threatening glare could have.

He blinked, suddenly unsure how to proceed.

Aria’s panicked voice sounded all of a sudden. "Kai, I’m sorry! I’ll talk with Damian, just give me a second, I’m sure he doesn’t mean it-"

But Kaiden didn’t respond.

He didn’t even look her way.

Instead, he began to walk.

Straight toward the boy.

Damian’s breath caught.

His first instinct was to retreat. His muscles tensed to step back. But he bit down on that instinct with all his might. He refused to run.

Instead, he raised his fists. Awkwardly, like someone trying to remember half-forgotten lessons from childhood sparring.

He knew Kaiden was stronger. In every possible way. Stronger, taller, faster, and that’s not even mentioning his abilities.

But still... he wouldn’t run.

Kaiden stopped only a short distance away. Not close enough to invade personal space, but close enough to speak as one man to another.

He studied the teen’s guarded posture, then nodded.

A small but genuine gesture of acknowledgment.

"You’re right."

"... What?" Damian didn’t know how to take that response.

Kaiden’s voice remained level. Unapologetic. But also, not defensive.

"If I didn’t exist, your sister’s life would be different. Vastly so. Maybe better. Maybe worse. No one can say for sure."

Bastet spoke up suddenly. "But Master~ Didn’t we just delete all of Aria’s content from the weird web thing-"

"Don’t," Kaiden cut in.