Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 175: What did he do to me?
Chapter 175: What did he do to me?
Just as she was about to reach the door, a soft knock sounded against the heavy wooden door before it opened without waiting for a response.
Celeste stepped inside with quiet, measured steps.
The office felt smaller when she entered, though she was barely over five feet tall. There was something about her presence, cold, contained, refined, that shifted the air in any room she walked into.
“Oh, hey, Celeste!” Liora greeted brightly, as if they were meeting in a café rather than in an office.
Celeste gave a small hum in acknowledgment. It was neither warm nor rude.
Liora quickly began explaining what had happened with Elion earlier that day. She described the public accusation, the dramatic sobbing, the trip to the infirmary, and the truth that had unraveled under Nurse Beatrice’s examination.
Celeste listened in silence.
Her posture did not change. Her expression did not crack.
But when Elion’s name was mentioned, when Liora casually said, “He handled it calmly, like always,” — Celeste’s fingers twitched slightly at her side.
Her crimson eyes trembled for the briefest second.
It was subtle and barely noticeable.
But Evander noticed.
He always noticed when it came to her. He had been watching her closely.
His gaze sharpened, though his expression remained neutral. He leaned lightly against his desk, watching her the way a predator watches faint movement in tall grass.
Celeste never reacted like that to anything, and yet, she seemed to be acting more and more out of character when it came to this Elion.
When he spoke, she treated him like background noise.
Even with their families pushing for their betrothal, she never showed embarrassment, anger, or excitement. She simply endured him like one would an annoying bug flying around their face.
But just now, she reacted dramatically.
He stored that observation carefully.
’I’ll ask her about that later,’ he thought.
When Liora finished her explanation, she clasped her hands together lightly.
“Well,” she said, glancing between them, “I need to inform everyone about the meeting in two days.”
She gave Evander a playful wink on her way toward the door.
“Try not to miss me too much.”
Then she slipped out, humming cheerfully, leaving the office quiet. The silence that followed felt heavier.
Only Celeste and Evander remained.
“You called?” Celeste asked calmly.
Her voice was smooth and cool, like still water at night.
Evander cleared his throat and straightened from his relaxed posture. He set his teacup down carefully before walking toward her.
He stopped right in front of her.
His tall, broad frame cast a shadow over her smaller figure. She barely reached his chest. He was solid, imposing, built from years of discipline and power.
She did not step back.
But she did not step forward either. He reached for her hand. She withdrew it immediately.
A faint crease formed between her brows.
“What do you want?” she asked flatly.
There was no fear in her tone. Only annoyance.
Evander’s jaw tightened slightly.
“You know what I want.” He was tired of pretending. Tired of circling the subject like some nervous boy.
Why did he, The Great Evander Kletis, heir of a powerful house, have to tread carefully around a junior years younger than him?
“You’ve been avoiding me?” he asked.
Celeste did not answer or deny it.
“So?” she replied evenly. “You are annoying as hell,” she continued. “Especially lately. Any sane person would avoid unnecessary annoyance.”
Her calm, almost clinical delivery made the insult worse.
Evander frowned. “So you’re really not considering what our families want?”
Silence.
“I don’t think I need to remind you,” he said slowly, lowering his voice, “that your clan needs us more than we need you.”
That was the blade beneath the silk.
“Yes, my father proposed the marriage,” he continued. “But he did so to help your people.” He paused a bit before adding. “Then why are you so against it?”
That time, she reacted.
Only slightly.
But it was enough.
Her crimson eyes flickered.
He was right about the facts.
The vampires were not numerous. They were not a sprawling empire like the humans or elves. They were closer to a clan than a kingdom — powerful individually, but limited in number.
And their bloodline had been declining. A progenitor-level vampire had not appeared in centuries.
Their strength, though still formidable, was thinning.
The tensions with the dragons along their border were growing. Skirmishes had already occurred.
There was no formal treaty guaranteeing assistance in war despite cordial relations with the other races like elves and dwarves.
A marriage alliance would change that.
If she married Evander, the Kletis family would be bound to support the vampires. The Kletis alone rivaled some of the strongest vampire elders.
It would not guarantee peace.
But it would shift the balance.
Celeste knew this.
Evander knew she knew.
Despite her father’s message telling her she could refuse if she truly wished, the pressure was there. From the elders. From nobles. From those thinking of survival rather than personal choices.
No doubt most of them thought it was her duty as their next monarch.
Evander stepped slightly closer.
“So why refuse?” he asked quietly.
Celeste looked up at him.
Her gaze was steady now, and resolute, as if she had just reaffirmed herself, despite the doubts clawing at her.
“I said it before,” she replied. “I’ll say it again.”
She replied coldly, “Not a chance.”
His expression darkened.
Impatience flickered through his eyes.
It did not help that his father contacted him every other day through the communication artifact, asking for updates.
His father urgently needed something from the vampires’ ancestral holy land, and of course, that required some sort of justification.
And a marriage alliance could be that justification.
“You seem rather invested in that Elion,” Evander said slowly. “Is it because of him that you are hesitating so much?”
Her pupils narrowed. The smallest contraction. But he saw it.
“I thought so,” he murmured with a sigh.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Evander,” she replied quickly.
He gave a short laugh.
“The great Celeste Chronos. Falling for an orphaned human boy.” He laughed louder, “How scandalous.”
It was her turn to snort.
“It seems your ambition has made you delusional.”
She turned sharply and walked toward the door. “There’s no reason for me to stay here.”
“You’re running away,” he said, his voice colder now. “That tells me everything I need to know.”
She did not respond.
“I wonder what your father would think,” he added.
The threat was quiet.
But she did not look back.
She opened the door and stepped out, closing it firmly behind her.
The moment she was alone in the hallway, she stopped.
Her breath escaped slowly.
She inhaled again, deeper this time.
Her ears were red.
She pressed a hand against her chest.
Her heart was beating faster than it should.
Not from fear.
From something else.
She frowned faintly. This feeling, she could not put her hand on it.
’Why am I reacting like this?’
She had always been composed. Always controlled. It had always been so easy to reign her emotions in.
But lately…
She had been thinking about Elion more often than she liked.
The way he smiled at her.
The way he looked at her without fear.
The way he did not bow to anyone despite his humble origins.
Her fingers curled slightly against her chest.
’What did he do to me?’
It unsettled her that she felt this way about someone she had only met recently. She had even told him that he was now her official mate!
’What was I thinking!?’
She walked away quickly, eager to dispel her thoughts, ’A bit of training should help clear my mind.’
