Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!

Chapter 225 -: 224 A possible war?

On the other side of the chamber, Cassian’s teeth clenched violently as the final traces of Crypian’s figure vanished completely into the swirling blue transportation stream.

The unstable portal distorted heavily for a few moments, ripples of mana spreading outward across the underground chamber like waves striking stone, yet despite that, the commander did not hesitate even slightly.

The instant Crypian disappeared, Cassian moved.

His armored body crossed the chamber in a single explosive step before appearing directly before the transportation gate.

The violent pressure radiating from him caused the loose debris across the floor to tremble beneath his boots as he immediately attempted to step into the portal after him.

However....The moment his foot touched the edge of the transportation stream, an invisible force erupted from the gate itself.

Boom!

Cassian was forced backward several steps as the unstable mana violently rejected his entry.

The blue currents inside the portal twisted sharply before dimming almost instantly.

"Tsk." The commander clicked his tongue in irritation while stabilizing himself.

His cold eyes narrowed toward the transportation gate as faint streams of mana flowed around his body once more, testing the portal carefully.

Then his expression darkened further, "the coordinates were shut down from the other side..." His voice carried restrained anger.

Once the receiving coordinates were disconnected, the transportation stream became incomplete.

Without a stable destination point, forcing entry into the gate would be no different from throwing himself into a collapsing dimensional current.

Even someone like Cassian would not risk that recklessly. Which meant there was now only one possible way to pursue Crypian.

The receiving side would need to reconnect the coordinates manually.

And if Crypian truly escaped to the Thorne Family Estate as suspected, then reopening those coordinates now would be nearly impossible.

No noble family would willingly expose their internal transportation network to the Church after an incident like this.

The realization only worsened the frustration boiling inside Cassian’s chest.

Slowly, he turned away from the transportation gate.

However, the first thing that greeted his eyes was a corpse.

Count Kalan’s body lay motionless across the cracked stone floor, blood still spreading faintly beneath him.

Cassian’s brows furrowed immediately. "Count Kalan...?"

The commander quickly lowered himself beside the body before pressing two armored fingers against the count’s neck.

No pulse. Not even the faintest trace of life remained.

His gaze shifted downward toward the wound near the chest, and almost instantly, Cassian understood what had happened.

The heart had been completely shattered.

A clean and decisive kill. The count had died instantly.

For several moments, silence filled the underground chamber except for the faint hum of unstable mana still lingering around the transportation gate.

Then Cassian slowly closed his eyes. The anger inside him grew heavier.

Count Kalan was not merely a noble. He was one of the Church’s loyal supporters and a man personally devoted to the Saint himself. For him to die here while the heretic escaped...

The commander’s jaw tightened sharply.

Without speaking further, Cassian reached beneath his chestplate and pulled out a long white cloth embroidered with silver markings of the Church.

He carefully spread it across the count’s body before clasping both hands together in prayer.

"May the Goddess show compassion and mercy upon your soul." His deep voice echoed solemnly through the underground chamber.

Then he clapped his hands three times softly, completing the traditional funeral prayer of the Church before finally rising to his feet once more.

And the moment he turned around....His cold gaze landed directly upon the prince and Duke Rayene.

The pressure in the chamber immediately changed.

Neither man spoke at first. Truthfully, both of them already understood how disastrous the situation had become.

From the very beginning, neither the prince nor the duke had truly intended to interfere with Crypian. Their objective had been simple.

The Thorne Family.

An alliance with the Thorne clan carried enormous political value, especially now that the influence of the Church had begun expanding more aggressively throughout the empire.

If they could secure even a conditional relationship with the Thorne Family through Crypian, it would become a powerful counterbalance against the Church’s authority in the future.

And when Crypian himself offered an unconditional alliance...Neither of them had possessed the resolve to reject it.

That was why they had followed him here.

That was why they had watched silently when Count Kalan suddenly attacked Crypian like a madman while screaming accusations of heresy.

At the time, the entire situation had appeared chaotic and irrational.

However, the moment Crypian killed the count and fled through the transportation gate, both the prince and the duke immediately realized one thing.

This situation was far more serious than they initially thought.

And now...Commander Cassian was staring at them with eyes cold enough to freeze blood.

"Your Highness."

Cassian finally spoke. Even now, his posture remained perfectly straight, carrying the pride and authority befitting the Commander of the Paladins.

"May I know why neither you nor Duke Rayene made any attempt to stop the heretic?"

The question instantly caused tension to spread throughout the chamber.

However, to Cassian’s surprise, genuine astonishment suddenly appeared across the prince’s face.

"What...?" The prince stared at him in disbelief. "A heretic?"

Even Cassian frowned slightly at the reaction.

"You were unaware?"

"How could I possibly be aware of something like that?" the prince replied immediately, his voice filled with shock. "What exactly did he do?"

Before Cassian could continue pressing the matter further, the Duke suddenly stepped forward calmly.

Unlike the prince, whose expression still carried visible confusion, the duke’s face had already regained composure.

"The situation happened too suddenly, Commander," he said in a measured voice. "Crypian claimed his illness had worsened and stated that the medicine capable of treating him existed only within the Thorne Family Estate. He appeared extremely desperate at the time, so we escorted him here believing the matter to be urgent."

The duke paused briefly before allowing a faint crease to form between his brows.

"So... he was actually attempting to escape?" The timing of his reaction was flawless.

Not too fast nor too exaggerated. Just enough delayed realization to appear believable. Even the slight tightening in his voice sounded natural.

Beside him, the prince slowly covered his mouth with both hands as if the truth had only now begun settling inside his mind.

"No wonder..." he muttered quietly. "No wonder Count Kalan suddenly lost control like that..."

Duke Rayene also frowned deeply, though unlike the prince, his expression remained far more restrained.

Cassian watched all the two of them silently. His instincts immediately picked apart several flaws in their explanation.

The first half was likely true. Crypian probably had used his illness as an excuse to reach the transportation gate.

That part aligned too naturally with the current situation to be fabricated entirely. However...The latter half of the explanation was another matter entirely.

Count Kalan was many things, but he was not insane.

The man’s reputation throughout the empire was built upon discipline and intellect in trade.

For nobles like the prince and Duke Rayene to claim they simply assumed the count had gone mad in the middle of the confrontation...

Cassian did not believe that for even a second. Especially Sebastian. The prince was far too intelligent.

There was no way a man like him would fail to realize the severity of the situation after hearing words like "heretic" repeatedly during an active battle.

Which meant only one possibility remained. They had chosen neutrality intentionally....or worse.....they had already reached some form of agreement with Crypian beforehand.

Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly."...I see."

For several moments, silence lingered heavily throughout the underground chamber before the commander finally exhaled slowly and dusted the fragments of dust particles from his armor.

"Then there is nothing we can do right now."

The moment those words left his mouth, both the prince and Duke Rayene unconsciously released faint breaths of relief.

"However.....we cannot allow a heretic to go unpunished."

Cassian’s voice suddenly echoed through the chamber once more, calm yet carrying an oppressive weight that instantly froze the atmosphere again.

"The Saint is currently very angry." He did not continue further.....and honestly, he didn’t need to, the meaning behind those words was already more than clear enough.

If the Church truly decided to pursue the matter fully...then this incident could very well escalate into something far greater than a mere escape.

A conflict between powers.....perhaps even war.