Rise of the White Devil

Chapter 76 Alaric Darkcrest

Standing in front of a cafe in Shield was Lucas and Seraphina, where they would meet her father.

He left Luna, who had finally woken up, with Sylviette, since after hearing a bit about how overprotective Seraphina's father is, it would be best for Luna not to be there if something went wrong.

Walking inside the shop, he could see that it was empty, and the staff who noticed their presence froze in shock.

One of the staff members, snapping out of their shock, bowed his head while greeting them.

"L-lady Seraphina and Master L-lucas, please follow me. Lord Alaric is already waiting for you!"

As he spoke, Lucas and Seraphina both nodded and started following him under the nervous glances of the staff members.

'I feel bad for them...'

Glancing to his left, he could see Seraphina being nervous as well, fidgeting a little.

Arriving in front of a table, he could see a man with black hair and red eyes sitting on one of the chairs, sipping his tea casually.

Alaric Darkcrest.

'Seraphina looks a lot like him.'

The staff member, after guiding them, instantly ran away fearfully.

Though no one blamed him; being in the presence of a great duke and two of the most famous people currently in Myrniel would make almost anyone nervous.

Putting his cup back on the table, Alaric looked first towards Seraphina with a gentle smile and eyes.

"My princess, how was the entrance ceremony?"

"I-it was fine, Dad... just a little boring," she said.

Lucas could tell she wasn't expecting that he would ask this first, but hearing his question, Lucas could see she released a small smile.

'Looks like she at least is enjoying her new life while being loved... I am happy for her.'

As Lucas thought this, he heard Alaric speak again.

"That is understandable, though I would like to ask if I can have some privacy with your 'friend,' princess."

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"But..."

Seeing her glance at him as she was nervous to leave him alone with her father, Lucas smiled slightly.

"It's fine, I don't mind."

Reassuring her, she finally relented and sighed as she started to walk away. Lucas could feel a cold gaze piercing his side.

'...She has become much less stubborn. Back then, she would hardly listen to Aushburn properly.'

He thought as he warmly gazed at her back leaving the shop until a cold voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Are you going to keep looking at my daughter's back or finally sit down?"

'Fuck, I forgot about him...'

"Sure..."

Saying that, his face became neutral, and he sat down in front of him as he picked up a tablet and ordered a chocolate cake for himself.

'At the very least, I should take advantage of this.'

Alaric didn't interrupt him or get offended seeing his behavior of ignoring him while ordering food.

Putting the tablet back, Lucas finally looked at him with neutral eyes, as Alaric did as well.

At least 10 seconds went by as both didn't talk to each other and merely stared into each other's blood-red eyes without blinking.

'Am I supposed to talk? He is the one who invited me and wanted to talk to me alone.'

As he thought this, Alaric finally spoke up, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

"So... tell me, Lucas Nightstar, what exactly is your relationship with my daughter?"

Lucas tilted his head a little in confusion at hearing his question.

"Didn't Sera tell you that we are friends?"

Hearing his answer, Alaric narrowed his eyes.

"Sera, huh... And what type of friend would pin the other against a wall after meeting each other?"

Lucas's right eyelid twitched at hearing his question.

'Fuck... I panicked back then, okay... ugh, what do I say.'

"Well... I could feel her watching me since the fight against the first calamity, so when I confronted her, I wasn't sure if she was an ally or not. For the exam, it's not like we couldn't kill each other."

Lucas said, hoping that he would buy it, but... of course, he didn't.

"Then why the sound barrier? And the amount of different expressions the both of you made while talking in the sound barrier didn't seem like just a confrontation. Also, on the skyscraper before you both fought against the other calamity together."

"Well fought, by the way... To think the both of you know each other so well to the point a mere glance at each other was enough to understand the other."

'Fuck.'

Lucas had no words this time and just decided to stay quiet.

Seeing him reluctant to talk about it, Alaric decided to ask another question, which made Lucas narrow his eyes.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Are you really just a friend of hers, or are you just using her for something?"

Lucas clenched his hands under the table, annoyed at hearing his question, but didn't show anything on his face. However, his voice did get colder, as did his eyes.

"And why would you think that I am using your daughter?"

As Lucas asked, a waiter came and placed his chocolate cake in front of him with trembling hands before running away as fast as he could, sensing the atmosphere.

"Don't take me for a fool, Lucas Nightstar. You have fooled most, but you can't fool me. Those eyes of yours gave everything away. They aren't the same as those foolish, naive eyes of that of the second hero of humanity or the other students. I have seen you battle with those eyes, hiding something cold and dangerous deep within you."

Hearing him speak, Lucas was surprised as his eyes widened.

"You... you have killed before, haven't you? And not just once or twice, but many, many times..."

He said with a small smile on his face as he looked at Lucas as if he were proud of himself.

"What..." Lucas didn't know how to respond to what he was saying in the slightest.

He was already on high alert and was ready to summon the blade of chaos and fight his way out of here if he needed to.

He knew fighting him would result in his loss, so all he could do was probably run away.

'I can't reveal my chaos element and being a half-dragon no matter what...'

"Relax, I won't harm you. All I am is just curious how someone so young has those eyes and is so strong."

Though he said that, Lucas wasn't relaxed in the slightest.

"Though curious, I am not one to pry deeply into one's life and secrets. But since you are someone who is close to my daughter, all I want is for her to be safe and happy..."

As he said this, his red eyes suddenly started to glow, making Lucas even more alert but not doing anything as his [danger sense] hadn't been activated yet.

"Answer me these questions truthfully, and I will let you off. If you lie, I will know because of the skill I just activated, and trust me... I wouldn't recommend lying to me."

His voice became cold at the end, but Lucas, hearing the threat, wasn't happy in the slightest.

The entire atmosphere just felt like it dropped beneath 0 degrees, making the staff members inside the shop tremble out of cold and fear.

Lucas's eyes became extremely cold as he spoke in a voice so cold it surprised Alaric for a second.

"Speak then."

"Very well... Lucas Nightstar, are you intending to harm my daughter?"

Hearing his question, Lucas responded in a cold voice.

"I would never harm her no matter what, since she is one of the few people I care the most about in my life."

Hearing his words and sensing no lies, Alaric widened his eyes in surprise.

"I see... then are you planning to ask my daughter for revenge against the demons who kidnapped you and tortured you?"

'Right, he fucking knows... calm down, Lucas... calm down, he is still Seraphina's father.'

"No, I won't allow anyone to intervene with my revenge against the demons that tortured me. Not even my own family."

Sensing again no lies, Alaric's eyes became softer, as did his voice.

"Then are you planning to get close to her so you can have connections with us?"

"Don't ask questions you know the answers to, Alaric Darkcrest. I don't give a shit, nor do I need anything from your family. If I do, I can simply ask mine, and you know the reason perfectly well why."

Hearing the answer with no lies again, he sighed as he closed his eyes for a second and opened them again as they weren't glowing anymore.

Lucas sighed as well, as the atmosphere was still tense but eased up a little.

'Seriously, first it was Sylv's dad and now Sera's. Why can't I ever have a good first impression with people's fathers?'

"I would like to apologize, Lucas, for my rude behavior. It is just I want the best for my daughter and sometimes can go overboard... I don't want her to get hurt, you see."

'I can't blame him, I guess... I did just come out of nowhere from his perspective, and seeing me so close with Sera must have made him suspicious.'

Sighing again, the cold and tense atmosphere was gone as Lucas looked at him.

"It's fine. I forgive you. I understand your reasons perfectly well. But... just know that I would never do anything to harm Sera in the slightest."

A small smile formed on Alaric's lips as his eyes softened considerably.

"I am glad to hear that she has found a good friend like you... I am sorry once again."

"I told you it's fine."

As Lucas reassured him, he finally started to eat his chocolate cake as it melted in his mouth, making him unleash an unconscious smile.

Alaric, surprised at seeing him smile, suddenly looked at him with a warm gaze.

"It seems you really love cake, huh?"

Looking up at him, Lucas tilted his head at the question before narrowing his eyes.

'Don't tell me I am smiling again...'

Touching his face, he noticed that he actually was.

Embarrassed at how easily he smiled from some cake, he looked back down and started eating his cake again, ignoring his question.

Alaric merely laughed a little at seeing him.

'Ugh... well, this is better than almost getting into a fight with him.'

Thinking that, he finally finished his cake.

Checking the time on his phone, he saw that he had only 15 minutes left before his first class would start.

Standing up as both decided they had to leave since Alaric had to go back to Crest City before tomorrow, they shook hands.

"I hope you continue to stay good friends with my daughter, Lucas... Please make sure you visit Crest City with her once you find the time."

"I'll take you up on that offer then."

Lucas said with a small smile on his face before both finally left the shop, making all the staff members fall on the floor out of relief.

As they finally separated after exiting the shop, Lucas decided to head to his classroom.