Chương 287: Chapter : 287

"Insolent? That's a big word," Ken said.

"Did you learn that in your fancy Royal Advisor school? Because the only thing fancier than your vocabulary is your complete lack of basic human decency." The words landed like a slap across Niro's face. A collective intake of breath rippled through the lobby. Corporate employees who had been pretending to work stopped pretending entirely, their eyes fixed on the confrontation with undisguised fascination.

He took a small step forward, and despite his slouched posture and lazy smile, there was something in his eyes that made Niro take an involuntary step backward. Something cold and sharp that didn't match the goofy exterior at all.

"Here's the thing about family," Ken said, his voice dropping to match Niro's.

"You can be disappointed in someone. You can wish they were different. But when you stand in front of a room full of strangers and try to humiliate the person who shares your blood, you're not showing strength."

"You're showing everyone in this room exactly how weak and small you really are." The silence in the lobby was absolute. Corporate employees stood frozen at their desks, their eyes darting between the slouching young man and the furious Royal Advisor. The receptionist's hand had abandoned the alarm button entirely. Behind Ken, Ira stood perfectly still. Her face remained an unreadable mask, but something in her posture had shifted. She stood a little straighter. Her hands had stopped trembling.

The crack in her armor was still there, but it was no longer widening. Naomi's hand found Ira's shoulder and squeezed once, briefly. The gesture was small but deliberate, a silent message from one warrior to another: you are not alone. Ira didn't acknowledge it, but she didn't pull away either. Laxmi stepped closer to Ira on her other side, flames still flickering faintly around her knuckles. She didn't say anything either. She just stood there, radiating heat and protective fury like a furnace with a grudge.

Niro's jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles in his neck stood out like cables. He opened his mouth to respond, but Princess Iris chose that precise moment to step forward.

"We are here on official Upper Council business," Iris announced, her voice carrying across the lobby with royal authority. She held up the sealed letter.

"This investigation has been authorized by the Crown. Anyone who interferes is obstructing justice." She looked directly at Niro.

"Including Royal Advisors. The law applies to everyone within the borders of this Empire, regardless of their title or their connections. That is the foundation upon which our nation was built." She looked directly at Niro.

"Including Royal Advisors." Niro's mouth snapped shut. He glared at Iris, then at Ken, then at Ira. For a long, tense moment, it seemed like he might escalate the confrontation further. But the presence of an Imperial Princess and the official investigation warrant gave him no room to maneuver. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Niro was many things, cruel, arrogant, calculating, but he was not stupid.

Starting a public confrontation with a Princess of the Imperial bloodline would accomplish nothing except making himself look foolish. He had already lost more face in this encounter than he had anticipated.

"This isn't over," Niro said through gritted teeth. He turned on his heel and walked toward the elevator, his perfect posture slightly less perfect than before. As he stepped into the elevator, he glanced back over his shoulder one final time. His eyes found Ken, and for a moment, the contempt in his gaze shifted to something else. Something colder and more calculating. His highly trained magical senses had detected something during the confrontation. Something that didn't make sense. Something terrifying.

Beneath Ken's messy exterior, behind the lazy posture and the goofy smile, there was a power. A deep, inexplicable power that he couldn't comprehend. It was like sensing the ocean beneath a frozen lake, vast and dark and utterly beyond measure. The kind of power that shouldn't exist in someone who looked and acted like a lazy buffoon. The kind of power that made experienced mages take a very careful step backward. The elevator doors closed, and Niro was gone. Ken turned around and flashed Ira his usual grin.

"So, your brother seems nice. Very chatty. Great hair. Terrible personality, but you can't have everything." Ira stared at him. For a long moment, her face was completely unreadable, her silver eyes searching his with an intensity that would have made most people uncomfortable. Then, slowly, the corner of her mouth twitched upward.

"Thank you," she said quietly. It was the first time any of them had heard Ira say those words with anything other than robotic formality. Ken shrugged.

"Hey, what are teammates for? Besides, he insulted my hair, and I take that very personally. This mess takes effort, you know." Ira's tiny almost-smile grew just a fraction wider. It was the closest thing to genuine warmth that any of them had ever seen from her, and it lasted exactly two seconds before her composure reassembled itself like armor clicking into place.

"You didn't have to do that," she said, her voice quiet but steady.

"I can handle my brother."

"Oh, I know you can," Ken replied, his grin softening into something more genuine.

"But handling things alone is overrated. Trust me, I've tried it. Much more fun to handle things with people who have your back." Ira looked at him for a long moment. Then she nodded, once, and the conversation was over. But something between them had shifted, a wall that had been lowered just slightly, a door that had been opened just a crack. Behind them, Laxmi fell into step on Ira's other side, still radiating faint heat from her suppressed flames. No words were exchanged. None were needed.

Laxmi leaned over to Naomi and whispered, "Did Ken just verbally destroy a Grandmage in front of an entire corporate lobby?"

"I believe he did," Naomi whispered back, a small, proud smile on her face.

"And he didn't even raise his voice."

"Our Ken is growing up so fast," Laxmi said, wiping an imaginary tear.

"Next thing you know, he'll be breaking walls on purpose." Ira watched Ken from across the lobby, her expression unreadable as always. But something had shifted in her eyes. A faint trace of respect, perhaps, or recognition. She had always known there was more to Ken than the lazy facade, and today he had proven it beyond any doubt. Risa stood near Ira, her green eyes wide with amazement.

"That was incredible," she whispered.

"He didn't back down at all. Not even a little bit." Iris cleared her throat, bringing everyone back to the mission.

"The Vice Director. Now. Before anyone else decides to make a scene." The receptionist hastily activated her communication crystal. Within minutes, the team was being escorted toward the executive suites. As they walked, Ken fell into step beside Ira. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. His presence was a silent barrier between her and any more cruelty that the day might bring.