Surprise and Judgment
Gerald did not speak right away. His violet gaze swept over his son, lingering for a moment on the bandaged hands, the tired stance, the dried blood still clinging to his hands.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You’ve been training.”
It wasn’t praise, but rather an observation. Kain didn’t answer. Gerald continued after the pause with a quiet kind of calm that felt more dangerous than shouting.
“Why?”
Kain held his gaze.
“…Because I needed to.”
Another long silence. Gerald leaned back in his chair, his head rested on his left hand.
“Interesting,” he said flatly.
“You’ve ignored training for years after your duel with Eira while tarnishing our house name in every banquet and gathering you've attended. Refused responsibility, shamed your retainers, alienated your step-sister, humiliated your fiancée…”
His voice did not rise, but each word landed like a strike.
“…And suddenly, you ‘needed to train.’”
His aura pulsed once, heavier now, pressing down into Kain’s bones.
“What changed, Kain? What sudden revelation drove you out into the cold in the middle of the night? Was it guilt? Panic? The fear of punishment? Or…” His eyes sharpened, “…is this simply another tantrum disguised as effort?”
Kain stayed quiet as his knees shake unable to handle the pressure. An unawakened dealing with a Grandmaster is like an ant dealing with mountain at this point. The old Kain would have snapped, shouted, cursed him or spat something bitter. But instead, he simply listened and allowed the weight of his father’s words to rest on him without denial.
Gerald’s gaze hardened further.
“You humiliated the Third Princess of Celestria,” he said, voice firm now with a controlled anger in his tone. “Your own fiancée. You called her a whore in front of witnesses. A royal. A warrior. A woman who once tolerated your existence out of duty.”
His eyes grew cold enough to freeze fire. Eira eyes opened in shock at the revelation and looked at Kain with confusion. The knights in attendance also was shock, while Henry was smirking with a face that stated that he expected this.
“Tell me, Kain.” Gerald said while leaning forward.
“Do you understand what you’ve done?”
Kain didn’t look away.
“Yes”
It was calm, almost too calm. There was no defensiveness in his voice, no hesitation. No fear even with the continuous pressure, either. Kain’s eyes showed a quiet resilience that was never there before. Just a quiet acceptance that felt unfamiliar in his mouth, yet real.
Gerald’s brow lifted slightly.
“I humiliated the princess,” Kain continued. “I insulted someone far above me in standing, someone I was bound to by name and duty.” He paused briefly. “I was petty, jealous, and pathetic.”
His voice didn’t waver.
“I was everything she said I was.”
The hall fell silent. Eira continue to look at Kain with a state of shock and awe. As if she did not recognize with this person was. This maturity to acknowledge ones mistakes and weakness was something Kain would never say. Gerald’s aura didn’t immediately lift but it no longer felt sharpened to kill. However, it lessen as though it was surprised by the words that Kain had said.
Kain sighed before lowering his eyes briefly to his bandaged hands.
“Sophia Celestria was not wrong to hate me. I gave her reason to...I failed to understand her circumstances, her background, and my narrow minded perspective led me here.” There was a faint bitterness in his voice, not at her but aimed at himself.
He lifted his gaze again, meeting Gerald’s piercing stare with steady resolve.
“I won’t justify what I did as there is no excuse.”
Gerald tapped his fingers once against the armrest, a small movement, but in their years of silence, even that spoke volumes. He sat back into his chair and looked at Kain, his son. His gaze remained stern, but something unreadable had flickered beneath the surface.
“Strange...who are you?” Gerald muttered.
“You speak as though you already been condemned.”
“I have been as I know what comes now.”
His words were not dramatic, but simply factual. A long silence followed. For the first time in years, Gerald Valemont truly looked at his son as not the failure, not the burden, but the person standing before him. His eyes narrowed again, but now with something colder and more official.
“Then you understand,” Gerald said at last, “that punishment is inevitable?”
Kain nodded once. “Yes.”
Gerald stood from his seat, cloak shifting like a shadow behind him.
“Then hear my decision.”
Gerald stood from his seat, cloak hanging over his shoulders like a mantle of judgment. The knights stood in attention when the Duke stood up and held their right arm cross their chest. Kain got down on one knee.
“Kain Valemont...you have disgraced our name. You attacked a princess of the royal line, your own betrothed, and stained our very standing in the eyes of the kingdom.”
His words were not delivered like a decree from a Duke to a criminal, but as a father who had hoped more but was disappointed a long time ago.
“I can no longer shelter you beneath this house. And to do so would not be a mercy, but a weakness. The actions of a son reflect the father. And your actions have left only disgrace.”
Kain listened in silence.
“You will be exiled from House Valemont” Gerald stated.
“Your name and status will be revoked. You will leave these grounds within three days. After that…” his expression hardened, “you will no longer be recognized as my son.”
The words fell like a hammer as silence followed soon after. No one spoke as fear of being reprimanded. Kain slowly nodded, accepting the judgment without protest. But then he spoke.
“There is one thing I would ask before accepting exile.”
Gerald’s eyes narrowed. “A plea?”
“An appeal...by Valemont tradition.”
Gerald regarded him carefully now.
“You speak of the Right of Redemption Trials?”
Kain nodded once.
'This is my only chance to change things...the Right of Redemption was an old Valemont custom that was rarely invoked, nearly forgotten. It allowed a disgraced blood member one chance to regain standing through proving their worth in grueling trials of strength, endurance, and honor. Basically a challenge or some sort of trial. The challenge is up to the decision of the Duke. Most who attempted it failed or died.'
“You wish to remain in this house? After everything? Why?”
“Not as I am,” Kain said, voice steady.
“I want to earn it. From nothing, if I must.”
Gerald’s gaze sharpened.
“Why should I accept such an offer? I have nothing to gain from it while you have everything to gain. This house owes you nothing.”
Kain did not deny it.
“You’re right...there is nothing for you to gain.” He lifted his chin just slightly, lavender eyes unflinching and smirked.
“…But maybe you will see something you didn’t expect.”
His voice lowered.
“Is that not enough for you… Father?”
The word lingered between them like a quiet strike. Gerald said nothing. But for the first time in years, he did not look away. Gerald remained silent for a long moment after Kain’s final word. Then, only barely, something in his gaze shifted.
“Very well...I will allow it.”
Kain met his eyes steadily.
“You will invoke the Valemont Right of Redemption...but you will not face this trial in ritual isolation. You will face an opponent.”
His voice sharpened. “One who has trained properly.”
Kain waited.
“Your opponent...will be Henry.”
Kain nodded but did not flinch.
‘Henry, he already out for my blood. I can feel it, his gaze, his jealousy. He looks at me like how I look at Eira. The boy who admired Eira and the boy Kain had tormented in the past. The same Henry who now trained earnestly each morning in pursuit of strength and honor.’
It was both a sentence and a test of character.
“I accept”
Gerald nodded once, as though he had expected no less.
“Then the match will be arranged. Upon defeat, your exile will be immediate and irreversible.”
“On one condition”
Gerald raised an eyebrow.
“I want one month to prepare as this body is out of practice. I will not enter a duel unprepared. Postpone the exile until after the match.”
The request hung in the air. Gerald’s aura swelled slightly, testing him. Kain did not waver as the silence between them felt like a battlefield standoff. Finally, Gerald exhaled.
“…One month,” he agreed.
His voice grew low, not cruel, but heavy with truth.
“In one month, we will see if you rise and stir something I once believed in… or fail as expected.”
Kain inclined his head slightly.
“Understood.”
He turned to leave. As he walked toward the doors, Gerald called out once more, voice steady but quieter now:
“Kain...a few more things…”
Kain paused, glancing back.
Gerald continued “...the duel with Henry will not be fair. You will be tested...even if you are an unawakened. Henry will not hold back. Second, Sophia will be coming tomorrow to discuss the engagement with you. I am sure you know what to do.”
Kain nodded once and left without another word.
