novelraw Chapter 80 : Eyes of the Revingale
Chapter 80 : Eyes of the Revingale
Seris’ POV
Elara pulled me forward with a grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Seris,” she said proudly, “this is my little brother. Rooga Valemont. Your fiancée.”
I blinked. “...Fiancée?”
It was one thing to hear whispers of the arrangement from her. But to have it said aloud — here, in front of everyone — was different.
My eyes slid down to the boy. He was small, his hair falling soft over his face, his cheeks still round with youth. A toddler, barely able to walk straight. This is the one?
He looked up at me with calm eyes. Too calm.
Then he spoke.
“Fiancée?” He tilted his head, then shook it. “That’s not fair.”
I frowned. “Not fair?”
He nodded, his little voice firm in a way that made my chest tighten.
“It’s not fair for you. To have your life fixed before you even know what you want. You should be free to choose who you love.”
The room went silent.
I blinked once. Twice. Those weren’t the words of a three-year-old.
Even the maid standing by gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth. Selene’s eyes narrowed, just slightly, as though she too had been caught off guard.
It wasn’t just what he said. It was how
he said it — steady, deliberate, like a revelation handed down from the gods.For a heartbeat, I forgot he was a child.
I stared at him, my throat dry. Who exactly are you, Rooga Valemont?
Next day,
The first time I laid eyes on Rooga Valemont, I expected… more.
Stories followed this family. Whispers of Selene Valemont, the “Flame Witch” who had burned armies to ash. Of Darius Valemont, the fallen Sword of the Empire. Of their exile, forced to live at the borderlands where corruption swallowed lesser men whole.
And then there he was — a small boy, barely three years old, with soft features that made him look more like a girl than a warrior’s heir. His eyes were bright, curious, untouched by cruelty.
He didn’t match the house’s fearsome reputation. Not at all.
Selene Valemont herself was exactly what I imagined: cold, composed, terrifying without saying a word. When people whispered about that flame pillar, they always tied her name to it. Not a shred of doubt — Selene had done it.
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So when I saw the lush fields, the impossibly healthy crops, and the towering tree glowing faintly with mana, I naturally assumed it was her magic at work. Who else could achieve such things?
Yet… something didn’t sit right.
Elara was too quick to move me away whenever Selene stood near her brother. Edmond, ever gentle and timid, always tried to keep me distracted if I lingered too long near Rooga.
As if they were hiding him.
Then my gaze shifted.
A little girl sat under the tree, legs swinging, nibbling on something Rooga had given her. She looked almost like a doll come to life — tiny, delicate, hair faintly green.
“That’s their guardian?” I whispered.
If she was meant to protect this house, then the Valemont were far too reckless. She radiated no threat, no power — only a strange, playful presence that felt oddly out of place.
Still… her curious gaze lingered on me. And for reasons I couldn’t name, it unsettled me.
I folded my arms, eyes narrowing.
Maybe the land wasn’t Selene’s work. Maybe it wasn’t Darius’, either.
But if not them…
I glanced back at Rooga.
The boy looked ordinary. But the way his sister and Edmond guarded him, the way even Selene’s eyes softened when he toddled close…
No. He wasn’t ordinary at all.
And I intended to learn why.
I had always been good at slipping past notice. My tutors called it dishonorable; I called it survival. Stealth was my gift, sharper than any sword.
So when Lady Selene left for one of her so-called “quests,” I knew my chance had come.
The Valemont estate was quieter than usual. Darius was out in the fields, his movements precise, powerful — far stronger than a man who was supposed to have lost to my father. His shoulders no longer sagged. His sword hand looked unshakable.
Strange, I thought, but not my concern.
I moved past him, swift as shadow, until I reached the back.
And there, I saw it.
Rooga stood with both tiny hands pressed against the great glowing tree. Dozens of shimmering spheres of water floated in the air around him. Larger than buckets, they turned slowly, catching the sunlight.
The light refracted through them, bending, scattering, until it poured back onto him in radiant beams. It was like the world itself had chosen him as its center.
Beside him, the strange green-haired doll-girl — that so-called guardian — hopped up and down with glee.
“Yes, Rooga! That’s it! This is how you feed a goddess!”
The words struck me like thunder. My breath caught in my chest.
I had heard tales, of course. Whispers in old songs, myths my tutors dismissed as fairytales — of caretakers who fed divine trees, who held the favor of goddesses. Things that no one in our time had ever seen.
Yet here it was. Alive. Breathing. Unfolding before me.
And him…
Rooga Valemont. The boy I thought soft, ordinary. He wasn’t ordinary. He wasn’t even just gifted.
With the sunlight crowning him, with the water spheres orbiting like jewels, he looked… magnificent.
I whispered without meaning to, “It seems my second choice just became my first.”
But before I could take another step—
A shadow flashed behind me.
“Seris!”
The crack of wood on my skull, the world spinning into black.
When I opened my eyes again, I was on a mat inside the house. Elara hovered over me, her wooden practice sword leaning against the wall.
“You okay?” she asked, too casually. “You collapsed during training.”
I sat up, heart pounding. Training? No. I had seen it. I knew what I saw.
“Elara—your brother. The tree. He was—”
“No,” she cut me off sharply. Her voice shook, her eyes fierce. “You dreamed it. That’s all.”
I stared at her. She couldn’t even lie well.
But her determination was iron. She would guard her brother’s secret, no matter how clumsy the act.
And that told me all I needed to know.
Rooga Valemont was no ordinary child.
And I would not stop until I uncovered everything they were hiding.