Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra

"If this makes us foolish, then perhaps you, Your Majesty, are the most foolish one of all."

The King's gaze darkened slightly, but he said nothing, waiting for Adrian to elaborate.

"A foolish man," Adrian continued, his voice dropping to a dangerous murmur, "who thinks he can hide the truth by getting rid of my parents."

For a moment, the King's expression didn't change. But there—a flicker of something passed through his eyes. Surprise? Doubt? Adrian couldn't tell for sure, but it was enough to confirm his suspicions.

"What are you talking about?" the King said, his tone carefully measured. He chuckled lightly, but the sound lacked sincerity. "You're spouting nonsense, boy."

Adrian took a step closer, his smirk widening. "Am I?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. His tone was mocking, taunting. "Don't you remember, Your Majesty? Why you sent my parents away... to meet their end?"

The King's jaw tightened ever so slightly, but his face remained composed.

"Didn't you want to hide your secret?" Adrian pressed, his voice dripping with disdain. "Being the coward that you are, you even tried to manipulate and 'take care' of us—two orphaned children—later as well. But you couldn't even do that properly, could you?"

Adrian's eyes burned with a cold, unyielding fire as he leaned in slightly. "Tell me," he said, his voice a sharp blade cutting through the stillness. "Who is the coward? Who is the idiot now?"

The King's smile vanished completely. For a moment, there was nothing but silence between them. The once-composed ruler now regarded Adrian with an intensity that could have shattered lesser men.

Yet Adrian stood firm, his confidence unshaken.

Finally, the King let out a low, humorless chuckle. "You've grown bolder than I expected," he said, his voice steady but carrying an undertone of menace. "Your father was the same. Always so sure of himself. Always so ready to accuse."

"And yet," Adrian interrupted smoothly, "he was right, wasn't he?"

The King said nothing, his gaze boring into Adrian's with a sharpness that could cut steel. But Adrian wasn't done.

"You sent my parents away under the guise of duty," Adrian continued, his tone calm but deadly. "Claiming it was for the kingdom. But we both know the truth. You feared what they knew, what they could reveal. And when they were gone, you thought you could manipulate me and my sister into your hands, mold us into something you could control. But I escaped your grasp. And here we are."

The King's expression was unreadable, but the tension in his posture betrayed him. Slowly, he crossed his arms, the faintest hint of a smile returning to his lips. "You've always been clever, boy, I admit that," he said. "But cleverness alone is dangerous without wisdom."

Adrian's smirk didn't waver. "And wisdom without integrity is just cowardice in disguise."

The King's eyes narrowed.

For a long moment, the two men stared at each other, the tension between them palpable. Then, unexpectedly, the King laughed—a deep, booming laugh that carried through the enclosed space of the barrier.

"Fearless," the King said again, shaking his head. "Just like your father."

Adrian watched him silently, his expression unchanging. But beneath his calm exterior, his mind was racing. He had provoked the King intentionally, testing the waters, searching for cracks in the man's armor. And while the King's laughter might have seemed genuine to an outsider, Adrian saw it for what it was—a carefully constructed mask hiding something far darker.

"Perhaps," the King said, his voice returning to its usual composed tone, "we should speak more plainly, you and I. There's much we could learn from each other, don't you think?"

Adrian's smirk widened ever so slightly. "Oh, I agree," he said. "But only if you're ready to stop pretending."

"Alright, but this is how I usually speak. And, you speak of their deaths with such conviction," the King said, his voice carrying the practiced smoothness of aged wine—pleasant on the surface, but with hidden bite. His lips curved into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "And yes, you're right about one thing. I wanted them gone."

He began to move, each step measured and deliberate, like a predator circling its prey. But Adrian noticed something else in those movements—a subtle tension, a barely perceptible unease that betrayed the King's carefully maintained composure.

"But their deaths?" The King spread his hands in an elegant gesture of innocence. "That, I'm afraid, is where your certainty fails you. I truly don't know if they died." His eyes flickered with something—amusement? Or was it uncertainty? "They could be alive somewhere, living peaceful lives far from here. Or perhaps they did meet a tragic end. Who can say?"

He clasped his hands behind his back, his tone taking on a condescending lilt. "And it's not as if I used force to send them away. You should know how powerful your parents were. They could have easily refused me. And yet, they went. That was their choice."

The King leaned in slightly, his piercing gaze scrutinizing Adrian. "As for the truth…" He let the words hang in the air, heavy and ominous. "Are you just bluffing, or do you truly know it? Did your father tell you, or did he leave something behind for you?"
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Adrian chuckled softly at that, shaking his head in quiet amusement. '

Look at him,

he thought.

Trying to manipulate again. But this is really just his usual style.'

A flicker of sardonic humor danced in his mind. '

He even speaks to his own children like this.'

The corners of Adrian's lips quirked upward into a smile—cold, calculating, and laced with meaning. "No, Father didn't tell me anything, nor did he leave behind anything related to your secret," he said, his tone as light as if they were discussing the weather. Then his voice dropped, carrying the weight of a hammer about to strike. "But it is indeed true that I know your secret. The truth."

Adrian's smile widened as he delivered the blow.

"The fact that Aurelius isn't your real son..."

"And that you… aren't the true king."

The summer night, once warm and gentle, seemed to plummet into the dead of winter. A chilling silence descended, heavy and suffocating. The faint chirp of crickets vanished as though even nature itself had been silenced by Adrian's revelation.