In Search of Kasena (ONC 2024) | ✓

Chapter 12

Once again, Niel was waiting all alone in one of the lavish salons of the Ravillet Manor. This time, however, the occasion was completely different than before.

He was glad that Kardin wasn't truly mad at him—he put on quite a show back there in the training room—but he still had no idea how to wrap his mind around the idea that Alarie has been Kasena all along. Her magical powers were a closely guarded secret, and even if he had suspected she had magic after that whole scene with Rohan, he would never have guessed she could shapeshift. Still, the realization left him feeling utterly stupid for not figuring it out sooner. He should've seen the signs—or, at least, tried harder to see them.

Someone entered the room, and he bolted from his seat like the soft couch cushions he sat on suddenly turned into a pile of scorching coal.

"Hey," the very subject of his worries awkwardly said. He still couldn't get used to her different appearance, despite it being the real one.

All the descriptors he knew from before matched—the wavy red hair, falling right below her shoulders, paired with bangs that framed her heart-shaped face. Hazel eyes—now slightly reddened—also matched, as well as the height. And yet, she seemed so strange to him, like a figment of his imagination distorted by reality.

"Um, hi," he finally replied, perhaps even more tense than she was.

"Look, I'm sorry for lying to you. And for getting you in trouble multiple times." Should he even accept the apology? Was there still some room for him to do that? "If I could go back in time, I can't guarantee I wouldn't do it all the same, but I just want you to know I felt really bad about tricking you after I learned more about you and your financial situation. But don't worry, I'll make sure my brother pays you as much as he promised."

At least she was somewhat honest this time. But he hated that feeling; the pity that everyone gave him, especially those of the higher class. With or without the Ravillets' money, he would still make ends meet somehow, he was sure of it. He didn't need the pity of someone who lied to his face for weeks.

Noticing his silence, she added quietly, "I completely understand if you're mad at me."

"Was anything you told me true?" he asked instead. "Even the tiniest detail about yourself and your feelings? Or did you invent a whole new person just to deceive me?"

Kasena sighed. "I understand why you're so suspicious, but most of the things I talked about were true. Obviously, I had to change some details and names of people so you wouldn't figure out the truth too soon, but other than that, I wasn't lying about anything." She faltered for a moment. "It was really nice to finally open up to someone, you know. I consider you the first real friend I've ever made."

Was that all there was to it? He had no idea how to feel about her anymore. The sting of betrayal still hurt, like a fresh wound that constantly reminds of its presence, but perhaps the person he got to know wasn't completely fake, after all. An altered version of reality, maybe, but less fabricated than he initially thought. And that brought him some relief.

Should he tell her what was on his mind? She would probably ridicule him—especially now—but she saw at least something in him, even if that something was a friend.

"Tell me something," she interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Hm?"

"You evaded the question when my brother asked you earlier," she said, and his brows furrowed. "Did you ever suspect me?"

There was no point in lying anymore. "I did. I mean, the timing was pretty suspicious, and I was sure you had some ulterior motive because you were so persistent to join me... but in the end, I decided that no disguise could be that good." Each new word felt more and more stupid as it left his mouth. He was truly an idiot for not pursuing that idea any further.

"Good. You were using your head, after all. I like that." Niel believed she was trying to give him a compliment, but instead, her words felt like a burning insult to his intelligence. "And it's not your fault my abilities are that good. I spent a whole year honing them in secret."

They fell into a strange kind of silence—not quite uncomfortable, but not as comfortable as it used to be, either.

"What are your plans now?" he decided to ask her.

"I'll stay in the Manor until the engagement party. Then I'll roam around the kingdom until Kardin's wedding. After that, I'm probably going overseas."

Something about her words felt like a punch to the gut, but he couldn't figure out why. "You're... leaving Nurea?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed, like that was the most natural course of action. "I'd like to travel the entire world. I'm not sure if I'll live long enough to visit every single place, but what else is there to stop me?"

He admired her bravery—he truly did. If he tried to imagine himself leaving the kingdom and traveling around the world, his imagination would probably lead him to being dead in a ditch after a year or two at best. Luniar was his home. He might leave it occasionally, but he could never go that far. There was always something pulling him back, his roots calling out to him wherever he went.

But Kasena seemed to be more akin to a gust of wind, untamed and shapeless, going wherever it desired.

She took something silver out of her inner pocket. "Remember this?" She let the necklace with a key-shaped pendant dangle in front of him. It was the necklace that Kardin instructed him to keep an eye out for because it was gifted to Kasena by their mother—yet another thing he failed to notice in time. "My mother said she was giving me a key because only I hold the key to my fate. She wanted me to achieve anything I set my mind to. So I will. Whether that's leaving Nurea, winning another tournament, or climbing the tallest mountain in the world—although that last one doesn't sound particularly fun to me at the moment."

That remark lured a brief chuckle out of him, but his thoughts were quickly overtaken by something else as she put the necklace back into her pocket.

"Stay," he blurted out before he even realized it. As soon as she looked at him, he knew that she heard him perfectly well. It was too late to pretend he didn't say anything and forget about it. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "Stay here. I don't want you to disappear from my life just like that." Even though her eyes softened a little, he still struggled to say those final words, so he redirected his gaze to the floor. "I... I like you."

Kasena did one of the things he would expect the least—she laughed.

It wasn't a malicious, mocking laugh, but rather an innocent, friendly chuckle of amusement. "No, you don't," she stated simply, shoving both of her hands in her pockets.

Now it was Niel's turn to be speechless again.

"You're a very simple man, Niel. You like mysteries, especially the ones that are difficult to solve. And whether as Kasena or Alarie, I was just another mystery for you. Soon enough, you'll realize that is all there is to it."

He stared at her with his mouth agape. Even if he tried, he probably wouldn't be able to think of a colder rejection, the frost biting into his heart despite her genuine, warm smile. She could've just punched him in the face instead. To hell, even if she was completely right, it still felt miserable to hear it like that.

She turned around and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Niel yelled out after her, finally regaining his senses.

"I'm going to get my sword back." She looked at him over her shoulder and greeted him with a quick wave of her hand. "See ya."

And just like that, Kasena was gone.

Niel still stood frozen in his spot, staring at the direction of the door completely dumbfounded. That's when he noticed it—an odd lump on the floor close to the door.

He approached it, and realized it was a crumpled piece of paper. It probably fell out of Kasena's pocket when she was leaving. He unrolled it and read the familiar words written in a neat, elegant handwriting.

"Oh, blessed are the wanderers! Those who seek adventures even in the smallest of things! May their souls never rest, for rest is the end of every great adventure."

THE END