CHAPTER 37: CH 37: YOUR CHOICE - PART 5

Lysera was not having a good day.

When she woke up that morning and realized Kana wasn’t home, her breath caught in her throat.

For a brief moment, her mind flashed to the worst possibilities—had Kana been taken, hurt, disappeared again without a word?

She practically leapt out of bed and stormed into the hallway only to find Irielle lounging against the doorframe with a yawn and an unimpressed expression. That only soured Lysera’s mood further.

With no Kana around to buffer them, she and Irielle could barely be in the same room without tension crackling in the air.

But it wasn’t just Irielle that had her temper on edge.

When she arrived at the station for work, something immediately felt off. People moved around her like shadows—stiff, tense, too quiet.

They weren’t gossiping. They weren’t making eye contact. They were hiding something, and it didn’t take a genius to guess what.

No one dared bring it up to her directly, of course.

But the awkward pauses in conversation when she entered the room, the subtle glances traded between coworkers—she could feel the weight of it pressing on her chest.

By the time Irielle strolled into her office and casually dumped an unconscious man on the floor like she was delivering takeout, Lysera’s nerves were frayed thin.

’I should have never gotten out of my bed today.’

Lysera groaned and crouched beside the unconscious man. She started checking his badge, and the moment she saw the name Delran flash across his credentials, her stomach dropped.

Of course. Of course it was her.

"Found your answer yet?"

Irielle asked from behind her, voice lilting with amusement.

Lysera didn’t reply right away. Her hand clenched around the man’s ID before she set it down and straightened her back with a deep breath.

"It’s Sergeant Delran."

She said, her voice stiff.

Irielle’s smile vanished in an instant.

"Then we have a problem."

"No, we don’t."

Lysera said quickly.

"I can fix it. It’s really not complicated. We just kill her."

Irielle offered, her tone disturbingly cheerful.

Lysera shot her a glare.

"You’re not laying a hand on her."

Something in her voice cracked—earnest, protective, desperate.

For a second, she thought her usual look would work. It always had before. That pleading glance. That quiet, subtle way of saying please without saying it aloud.

But this time, Irielle only gave her a half-smile.

"You know, that used to work on me."

She said quietly.

Lysera’s throat went dry.

Irielle leaned forward, her eyes gleaming.

"That face of yours used to make my knees go weak. It used to make me stop whatever I was doing, no matter how furious I was."

"Then stop now."

Lysera muttered.

"I can’t. Because ever since I met Kana, something’s changed. Your hold on me? It doesn’t feel the same anymore."

Irielle said.

The words were sharp, but not cruel. Just honest. Painfully so.

Lysera looked away, her hand tightening into a fist on her desk.

Why did that bother her so much? Why did the mention of Kana—of her sway over Irielle—make her blood boil?

She didn’t want that kind of control over Irielle, did she? Or maybe it was about Kana.

She hated that Kana had that kind of sway on anyone else who was not her...

"The only person I want to listen to is Kana...woah, look at that face. You look angry."

Irielle said, as if reading her thoughts.

The words made Lysera’s chest tighten.

Her only leverage left was Kana. And that realization hit her harder than she expected. It wasn’t about power—it was about something else. Something messier.

She didn’t like this. She didn’t understand this.

And that, more than anything, made her want to scream.

But as jealous as she felt of Kana, she also felt jealous of Irielle, for being able to express her love for Kana like this.

"...Leave Delran alone."

She said quietly.

"Why? Because she’s your superior? Or because she scares you?"

Irielle asked.

"Because if you kill her, this won’t end. There’ll be another one. And another. And eventually, someone we can’t stop.""

Lysera snapped.

Silence followed. Irielle didn’t respond immediately.

But Lysera could feel the heat of her gaze.

Finally, Irielle stood up, brushing imaginary dust from her pants.

"Fine. But don’t think I’ll wait around forever."

With that, she turned and walked toward the door.

Lysera didn’t stop her.

She couldn’t.

Not anymore.

______

Lysera hefted the unconscious man over her shoulder with a grunt, ignoring the curious glances from the few soldiers still loitering around the hallway.

Her mind was spinning, not just from the audacity of one of her own subordinates tailing Kana, but from the deeper unease curling in her gut.

Something about this didn’t sit right.

Sergeant Delran might’ve tried to pass this off as routine, but Lysera had known the woman long enough to recognize the subtle signs of manipulation.

Sending someone to follow Kana without telling her, without notifying the chain of command? That wasn’t routine. That was something else.

She reached the office at the far end of the corridor—Sergeant Delran’s office—and raised her fist to knock.

The door opened before her knuckles could connect.

A soft rustle of fabric reached her ears as a woman turned from her seat in front of the desk. She was young, her robes pristine and embroidered with gold.

A delicate veil rested over her shoulders, and her posture radiated calm authority. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was.

A priestess-to-be.

Lysera’s eyes narrowed.

Sergeant Delran, seated behind the desk, smiled like she’d been expecting this exact interruption.

"Lysera, come in."

She said, gesturing toward the empty chair beside the girl.

Lysera stepped forward, but didn’t sit.

"We need to talk—"

"Of course we do. But first, allow me to introduce Sister Evaya. She’s from the Temple of Beginnings. The temple is the one that submitted the request for Kana."

Delran cut her off smoothly.

Lysera blinked, stunned.

"What request?"

"The one asking for her placement. They’ve come to pick her up."

Delran said, her tone far too pleasant.

For a long moment, Lysera didn’t respond.

Her jaw tightened, and she shot a glance at the priestess-in-training. Evaya sat quietly, hands folded in her lap, with the kind of serene patience that made Lysera’s skin crawl.

Of all the organizations to get involved, the Temple of Beginnings was the last one anyone wanted to deal with.

They were powerful, untouchable in every sense of the word.

More than religious figureheads, they had influence woven through nearly every level of society—politics, military, even education.

You didn’t say no to them.

Not without consequences.

Lysera let out a quiet curse under her breath, just loud enough for Delran to smirk.

And in that moment, she understood something that made her blood run cold: Delran hadn’t just sent someone to keep tabs on Kana.

She was preparing to hand her over.

Sister Evaya rose gracefully from her seat, brushing down the front of her pristine temple robes.

She offered a polite nod, her silver pendant glinting in the light as she turned toward Lysera and said.

"I’m Sister Evaya. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Lysera narrowed her eyes. There was something off in the way the priestess moved—controlled, polished, but a little too rehearsed. As if she was trying too hard to look calm.

"I was sent here as a representative of the Temple of Beginnings. My superior... she’s already gone ahead to retrieve the girl. Kana, correct?"

Evaya continued.

Lysera’s jaw clenched. "What do you mean, gone ahead?"

"She’s on her way to your home. To collect Kana for her service."

Evaya said, her voice still soft, but there was a faint tremor to it now. Her hands were clasped too tightly in front of her, and she avoided meeting Lysera’s gaze for more than a second.

That caught Lysera’s attention. The priestess was nervous. Why?

Even Sergeant Delran, who normally spoke with rigid confidence, shifted uncomfortably behind his desk.

"I assure you. Kana will not be harmed. The Temple holds her in high regard. This is... purely procedural."

Evaya added quickly.

But the unease in her tone made Lysera’s skin crawl.