Deafening silence roared through the room. The only sound defying its oppressive authority was Elijah's pounding heart—each beat echoing like war drums on a quiet night.
He sat frozen, panic strangling his lungs, making every breath shallow.
He didn't know what to say.
He didn't know what to do.
Calvin had seen him. With his own eyes. There was no way around that.
His cover was blown.
'He knows I'm not a real expert.'
'Should I run for it?' Elijah thought. 'I'm no track star—then again, scholars weren't exactly known for their athleticism either. How far would I even get before some other guard caught me?'
'And where is Rohan? His sudden disappearance couldn't have been a coincidence.'
'So this is a trap. It must be. Calvin is a genius, after all. It's very likely there are a dozen guards outside the door on standby.'
'What choices do I have?'
His body had surrendered to full-blown panic, but his mind—his most loyal ally—kept turning. Spinning through every possibility, every angle.
There was no guaranteed way out… yet.
But… there was a thread. A thin one, but a thread nonetheless.
And maybe, just maybe, if he pulled it the right way, the path would reveal itself.
"I'm nobody," Elijah said, voice almost cracking.
Calvin's expression remained unchanged.
"That's funny," he said. "I liked your first response a lot more—and I didn't accept that one."
He paused for a moment.
"So what makes you think I'll settle for this one, Elijah?"
Elijah attempted to mimic Calvin's calm demeanor, layering false confidence over his fraying nerves.
"If you suspect me—think I'm dangerous—why bring me before your king?" he asked. "What if he was my target?"
"Dangerous?" Calvin echoed, his unreadable expression remaining glued to his face.
"I never said you were…"
He leaned in ever so slightly, eyes narrowing.
The calm authority In his voice booming through the room
"Are you?"
Elijah's mask faltered. "I—I'm…"
But Calvin continued before he could finish.
"Regardless of how dangerous you potentially were…" His voice rang neutrally, as if just stating a simple fact.
"The safest move in that situation was to rob you of any chance at using the element of surprise."
"If you were extremely dangerous and we chose a confrontation, you could've easily dispatched me and Rohan, then gone about your business undiscovered. The smart decision, then, was relocating you to somewhere more advantageous to us—creating as little fuss as possible in the process."
"Ironically, the most secure spot ended up being right beside the king, where all the pieces gathered."
He paused for a moment and smiled
"On top of that… with me putting the spotlight on you for being a potential expert, there wasn't much you couldve done that would've gone unnoticed."
As the realization hit him, a tight heaviness swelled in Elijah's throat.
He swallowed hard, trying to force it down.
'He's been playing me from the start.'
Just like that, Elijah's thread of hope unraveled.
After finding out that Calvin had seen him, he'd been banking on the idea that his silence meant hesitation. That his curiosity and hunger for knowledge had outshone his duty to protect the crown.
Elijah had planned to use that to his advantage.
If Calvin was being risky because of greed, or was in any way influenced by the prospect of personal gain,it wouldn't have been too hard to placate and convince him he wasn't a threat. Worst case scenario—even using the knowledge that Calvin knowingly placed a potential danger right next to the king—as leverage to coerce him.
But now? That was all up in smoke.
He was wrong.
It wasn't some angle for him to play.
It was a deliberate scheme from the start.
That was all it took to realize it—he was no match for Calvin.
The man was two steps ahead. He always had been.
Elijah slumped further into the seat. The fight was draining out of him.
And yet…
He still had a wildcard. A card he never thought he'd ever play.
His most dangerous move.
The truth.
But Elijah didn't even know what the truth was.
He had no idea how he ended up here. No explanation. No logic.
Just his dream becoming reality, while dressed up as a nightmare.
He sighed, shoulders sagging—
all pretense of control or deception slipping from his fingers.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."
Calvin studied him silently for a bit. Then responded, almost casually:
"Try me, it's been said Im the most open minded person in the kingdom."
Elijah let the mask fall. No clever lies. No backup plans.
Just confusion, raw and exposed.
"I'm not from here," he began. "I'm just… a nobody who stumbled into all this."
Calvin listened and watched, measuring Elijah's words.
But eventually, he responded.
"It's quite obvious you're not from here. The only question in that regard is which kingdom you're actually from. However, it's unreasonable to believe that someone truly uninvolved—a nobody, as you put it—would be this knowledgeable about… this phenomenon."
"Unless…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Is the kingdom you're from that advanced in magic, that even its nobodies are this far along?"
"You're not getting it, genius," Elijah interjected, voice low. "I'm not from any kingdom."
Calvin blinked, just once.
"What exactly are you saying? That you're not from any known kingdom?"
His tone darkened.
"I'm disappointed, Elijah. To think you'd try to take me for a fool just because of how I look. I'd think you'd realize by now it's not wise to look down on me because I'm a child… Who else but one of the great kingdoms could have the insight, power or the motive to plant someone like you here. Worst of all in that manner?"
"You're asking the wrong questions," Elijah said, rubbing the back of his neck, frustration peeking through. "And even if you asked the right ones… I still wouldn't have the answer."
Calvin was quiet again.
But this time, it wasn't a still silence—it was the silence of thoughts racing behind his calm exterior.
He was analyzing Elijah . Not just his words, but how he said them. Measuring everything. Calculating.
"…Fine," he said at last. "Let's try a different approach."
His voice sharpened.
"Are you a threat to this kingdom? Whether on behalf of another nation or as an independent actor?"
Elijah met his gaze and didn't flinch.
"No."
"Is it truly your intention to use your expertise for the development of the Richmond Kingdom?" Calvin asked, voice even but laced with weight.
"Yes," Elijah replied without hesitation.
There was no doubt in his voice. For once, that answer felt like something he was certain of.
Calvin sighed.
"I figured as much. But your very existence is too much of an enigma… and that makes you a threat that needs to be contained or eliminated, whether you mean to be or not."
He folded his hands, eyes narrowing.
"So I need clarity. Real clarity. As assurance. Give me something useful."
He leaned forward, gaze piercing.
"If you didn't appear here due to the actions of another kingdom… then how did you appear here like that?"
"I don't know," Elijah said—truthfully, helplessly.
It was the first time the words felt like surrender.
Calvin didn't react. He just moved to the next question, like checking boxes on a list.
"Then how do you possess such knowledge of magic?"
Elijah hesitated. Just for a moment.
Then he said slowly, carefully:
"Where I'm from… magic is widely known."
He met Calvin's eyes.
"But only as fiction. Stories. Myths. Entertainment."
Calvin didn't blink, but their was a small flicker in his composure almost imperceptible
"Which brings us," he continued firm and quietly, "to the number one question."
He let it hang in the air a moment before asking:
"Where exactly are you from?"
Elijah swallowed.
"I'm not sure how to answer that. But my current theory…"
He paused, matching Calvin's piercing gaze.
"…Another world."
Like a returning wave, the subtle flicker from earlier washed over Calvin's face once more, this time much stronger than before
For the first time, his perfectly crafted shell of unchanging and unreadable demeanor was coming undone
Calvin's composure finally cracked