Chapter 64: The Winterhart Envoy (2)
Chapter 64: The Winterhart Envoy (2)
Elise met her aunt’s eyes.
"You can disinherit me. You can exile me from family gatherings. You can tell the elders whatever you wish. You can strike my name from the Winterhart records and pretend I never existed. But I will not marry Lord Calmfield. I will not return home. I am a Climber of Celestial Peak, and this is my choice. It is final."
The silence that followed was absolute.
Maris’s composure cracked. It was a small thing... a tightening around her eyes, a slight thinning of her lips. But Nathan saw it. Everyone saw it. Beneath the polished surface, Lady Maris Winterhart was furious.
"You’re making a mistake, Elise." Her voice was cold now. Truly cold. "The family will not forget this. Your mother will not forget this. When your ’climbing career’ fails and it will fail, because all flimsy careers like that fail eventually...there will be no Winterhart waiting to catch you. No safety net. No inheritance. Nothing. You understand that?"
"I understand." Elise met her eyes without flinching. "That is a price I am willing to pay."
Maris stared at her for a long moment. Then her gaze shifted to Nathan.
"You’re Nathan Cross. The ’Bunny King.’" She said the title like it was a joke she’d heard at a dinner party and hadn’t found funny. "You’ve done well for yourself, considering your origins. F-Grade aptitude. Academy’s most unremarkable student. And yet here you are, leading a guild party, making a name for yourself. Impressive, in its way."
Nathan didn’t respond. He’d learned enough about verbal traps to recognize one being laid.
"But do you understand what you’re enabling here?" Maris continued. "Elise is throwing away her future for what? Tower climbing? A guild? A party that failed its first High Class mission? You lost at the Tower of Ash. I read the report. summons shattered, extraction, penalty. Is that the kind of future you’re offering her? More failures? More retreats? More risks with no reward?"
Nathan held her gaze. "Lady Maris. Elise made her choice. I support it. The party supports it. Celestial Peak supports it. Whatever you think of me, whatever you think of this guild, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s one of the best Climbers I’ve ever fought beside. She’s not throwing away her future. She’s choosing it."
Garrett stepped forward. His voice was steadier than Nathan expected. "She’s our party member and Our friend. So, We stand with her."
Dillon pushed off the wall. "She’s the best mage I’ve ever climbed with. And I’ve climbed with a lot of mages. We’re not going anywhere."
Valerie spoke for the first time, her voice casual but carrying the full weight of her authority. "Lady Maris, your niece is a registered Climber under guild protection. Celestial Peak doesn’t take kindly to outsiders threatening our members. I’d suggest you accept her decision and leave peacefully." She paused, taking a sip from her TUFF GRANNY mug. "Boris gets grumpy when I’m stressed."
In the corner, Boris the Yeti rumbled. It wasn’t quite a growl. It wasn’t quite not a growl. The Frost Wolf near the door flattened its ears.
Maris stared at the assembly. At Elise, standing tall with frost still spiderwebbing the window behind her. At Nathan, meeting her eyes without flinching. At Garrett and Dillon, positioned like guards. At Valerie, casual and immovable. At the two bunnies on Nathan’s shoulders, silent and watchful.
She rose. Her movements were still graceful, still controlled, but the fury beneath them was palpable.
"Very well." Her voice was clipped. "The Winterhart family will remember this, Elise. And you..."
her gaze swept Nathan and the party.
"I hope you’re worth what she’s giving up."
She walked out. The Frost Wolf guard followed. The attendants scurried in her wake. The door closed behind them with a soft click.
Through the window, Nathan watched the Rolls Royce glide out of the courtyard and disappear into the capital’s streets. The Frost enchantments left a faint trail of mist that evaporated in the morning sun.
The room was silent.
Valerie took a long sip of tea. "Well. She was unpleasant. Boris, remind me to send her a gift basket. The most passive-aggressive one we can find."
Boris rumbled in what might have been agreement.
---
Nathan found Elise at the observatory’s upper window an hour later.
The window faced east, toward the outer regions, toward Ashwick and the Tower of Ash and all the other Towers waiting to be climbed. The sun was high now, the morning mist burned away, the sky a pale, cloudless blue. Elise stood with her arms crossed, her staff still absent, her posture still rigid.
She didn’t turn when Nathan approached.
"It’s done," she said quietly. "I just severed every connection I had with my family. My mother will never speak to me again. My aunt will make sure the elders blacklist my name. My Cousins will be told I’ve abandoned the family. I’m effectively an exile."
Nathan stood beside her. The window was cold, the frost from earlier hadn’t fully melted. "Are you okay?"
Elise was quiet for a moment. "No."
Another pause.
"But I will be. I made the right choice. I know I did. I’ve been dreading this for months. Ever since my mother first mentioned the Calmfield proposal. Every message, every letter, every veiled threat—I’ve been carrying it all, and I didn’t realize how heavy it was until it was gone." She turned to face him. "I feel lighter. Like I’ve been holding my breath for years and I finally let it out."
"You’re not alone. You know that."
"I know." She held his gaze. "You said I wouldn’t be facing this alone. You meant it. Everyone meant it. Garrett stepped forward. Dillon stopped joking for once. Valerie threatened my aunt with her Yeti."
A faint, almost invisible twitch formed at the corner of her mouth.
"I’ve never had people do that for me before. Stand up for me. Not because I’m a Winterhart, but because I’m their... friend."
"Or course we would"
"Yes." She was quiet for a moment. "Thank you, Nathan. For meaning it. For all of it."
Nathan didn’t answer with words. He just stood beside her, watching the sky, letting the silence be comfortable.
After a while, Elise spoke again. "I should go. I need to process this. And we have another Tower to clear soon."
"We do."
"I’ll be ready."
"I know you will."
She turned to leave, then paused at the top of the stairs. "Nathan."
"Yeah?"
"Whatever comes next—the Tower of Ash, the Elite Class Tower, whatever’s waiting for us out there... I’m with you. All the way."
She left before he could respond. But he didn’t need to respond. She already knew.
---
The party gathered at the cafe that evening. No one said much, but there was a quiet understanding that filled the space more completely than words could. Something important had happened today. Not a Tower climb. Not a battle. But a victory nonetheless.
Elise sat with them, her expression more relaxed than Nathan had ever seen it. She had been burdened by her family’s expectations since before any of them met her. Now that weight was gone, and the difference was visible in the set of her shoulders, the unclenched line of her jaw.
She was still processing. She would be processing for a while. But she was here. She had chosen to be here.
Garrett was retelling a story from an old climb, his voice animated in a way it hadn’t been since before the Tower of Ash. Dillon was actually listening, teasing him and making jokes as usual.
Nathan caught Elise’s eye across the table. She nodded once, a small, private acknowledgment. He nodded back.
The Party of Four sat around that table like a family.
Tomorrow, another Tower. Tomorrow, the climb continued. Tomorrow, whatever was stirring in the outer regions would still be there, waiting.
But tonight, Elise’s mind and heart were free from worry. And that was a victory worth more than any Floor clear.