The room went deathly silent.

General Ithris stared at Jax with disbelief. Nerith's mother, seated beside her husband, covered her mouth in shock. Nerith herself had gone pale, her hand reaching for Jax's arm.

But Jax wasn't done.

"You sit there on your comfortable chair, mocking me for having no background. No bloodline. No family name."

His voice was cold. Controlled. Far more terrifying than if he'd been screaming.

"But tell me, General. Where was YOUR prestigious bloodline when your daughter was being sold to a monster?"

Ithris opened his mouth to respond.

Jax didn't let him.

"Where was your noble background when Eryndel was planning to break her? To torture her? To turn her into a toy for his sick pleasures?"

He stepped closer. Aggressive. Inches away from the General's face. Close enough to beat his ass into the ground.

"And you knew that, right? Of course you would. I only had some friendly talks with him for mere minutes and I understood his intentions perfectly. And you heard what he said. What would have happened to her if I had lost?"

"I had no choice—" Nerith's father said, guilt flooding his features.

"BULLSHIT."

Jax didn't give him a chance to speak again. Didn't let him put forward his point.

"You had every choice. You could have fought. You could have fled. You could have done ANYTHING except stand there and watch your daughter cry in that sacred hall."

Jax's hands trembled with rage.

"I saw her face, General. I saw her begging. Pleading. I saw her eyes constantly falling on YOU during that absurd scene. As if you could protect her. As if you could save her from a fate worse than death."

His voice turned mocking.

"Oh, and not to mention what you said back. 'Nerith, at least this way you will be alive.' What rubbish. I wanted to punch that failure face of yours right there."

He leaned even closer.

"But I held back. Guess you need to receive what I was saving for later."

He pulled back slightly. "Oh wait, I went too far. Let's forget that part for now. But where was I? Ah yes. Your own daughter begging to be saved."

His voice dropped to barely a whisper.

"And you looked at the ground. Like a coward."

Nerith's mother reached for her husband's hand. Held it tightly. She could feel the tears forming in his eyes, threatening to spill.

But Jax wasn't some emotional fool.

He didn't give a fuck about sympathy. About someone breaking down. About offering condolences.

They were all foreign concepts to him.

Adding one more broken person to the list wouldn't add much to his karma. He had broken many people back on Earth. Made adults cry like children. Shattered Lysandra, the so-called strongest. And poor Harry? Don't even mention him.

General Ithris was just a small fry in that long list.

So Jax added more.

"You call me a nobody?" He laughed bitterly. "You're right. I AM a nobody. A stranger with no name. No power. No army behind me."

He spread his arms wide.

"And yet this NOBODY did what the great General Ithris couldn't. This nobody stood in front of your daughter when blades were at her throat. This nobody took beating after beating while you watched. This nobody challenged the son of an Arc Demon to single combat for a woman he'd known for mere hours."

His arms dropped to his sides.

"So yes. Mock my tragic past. Laugh at my lack of bloodline. But at least I FOUGHT for her. Which is more than a scum father ever did for his own daughter in his entire pathetic life."

Nerith watched the scene with her hands clutching her lap until her knuckles went white. She knew Jax was partially right. At least about this incident. But she couldn't utter a single word. The rage burning in his eyes terrified her.

Then she looked at her father.

The tears that had been forming were now fully pooled in his eyes. Unable to fall. Trapped by pride or shame or both.

Then his head tilted. He opened his mouth to speak.

And they fell. All at once. Streaming down his weathered face.

He looked at Jax with nothing but guilt.

"I... I tried my best."

His voice cracked. Broke. Rebuilt itself just enough to continue.

"I tried whatever I could. But failed. Just like you said."

A shuddering breath escaped him.

"Yes. I am a failure. A loser of a father who watched his daughter suffer like that."

Nerith's mother witnessed something she had never seen in all their years together. Her husband crying. The mighty General Ithris, reduced to tears.

She knew how much he loved Nerith. She knew the lengths he had gone to behind the scenes.

She turned to Jax with tearful but steady eyes.

"Son, you only know half the picture."

Her voice was firm despite the emotion.

"I know how desperately he was trying to find a way out. He didn't sleep for days. Weeks. Poring over documents. Searching for any loophole. Any weakness."

She squeezed her husband's hand.

"He does care about her. He loves her more than anything. That's exactly WHY he didn't want to take any risks."

She looked at Jax intently.

"Do you know what he was planning? He was going to murder Eryndel. Himself. With his own hands."

Jax's expression flickered.

"He pretended to accept the marriage to avoid suspicion. Every handshake with the Arc Demon family. Every smile. Every agreement. All an act while he secretly plotted to end Eryndel's life."

Her tears fell freely now.

"He became a villain in his own daughter's eyes. Let her hate him. Let her feel betrayed. All so she wouldn't accidentally reveal the plan. He carried that pain silently."

She gripped her husband's hand tighter.

"He planned to kill Eryndel right before the marriage ceremony. In those final moments before the binding completed. That monster would die. And Nerith would never be bound to him. She would live freely."

She turned to her husband. Cupped his face gently.

"You're not a failure. You were willing to become a murderer for her. To stain your hands forever. That's not weakness. That's love."

General Ithris shook his head. His voice came out shattered.

"But I couldn't even do that. A stranger accomplished in one day what I couldn't in months. My plan meant nothing."

Nerith rushed to her father's side. Embraced him tightly.

"Father, stop. Please."

Her voice was thick with emotion.

"You were always there for me. Always. I knew you were planning something, I knew from the start. I never hated you as I knew you would be the last person in the world to let me be hurt like that."

She pulled back to look at his face.

"I never blamed you. Not once. Not ever."

General Ithris held his daughter like she might disappear.

Then both Nerith and her Mother turned to Jax. Expecting an apology.

Jax crossed his arms. "What? I'm not apologizing."

Nerith's glare could have frozen hellfire she was acting like a real wife before daughter.

"If I was in his place and anyone did this to MY daughter, the next day their entire kingdom would be set on fire. No planning. No plotting. Just flames."

Nerith's danger gaze intensified. The 'apologize now' look.

Jax sighed dramatically. "Fine. I accept you did think about your daughter."

His tone was clearly mocking. But it was something.

General Ithris actually chuckled through his tears. He stood and faced Jax properly.

"I owe you an apology too, Jax. I asked those questions that way because... why wouldn't I? Why would a father hand his daughter to someone who is a complete mystery? Someone he doesn't know if he can trust?"

He wiped his face.

"That was just my protective side speaking."

He extended his hand.

"So I'm sorry..."

A pause which felt heavy with meaning.

"...son."

Jax raised an eyebrow but took the hand firmly.

Ithris smiled weakly. "After witnessing everything today, it looks like I'm falling behind in Nerith's love rankings."

Jax smirked. "You never stood a chance, Father. No one does when I step in. Be it in battle or anything else. What I aim for becomes mine."

The tension dissolved. Nerith laughed through her tears. Her mother smiled warmly. Even General Ithris chuckled genuinely.

For one brief moment, they were just a family.

Then a knock shattered the peace.

A soldier entered and saluted. "General, we have a situation. We've captured an intruder."

Ithris frowned. "An intruder? Here?"

"Yes sir. A girl with purple hair. Acting suspiciously near the mansion. When we interrogated her, she said something strange."

The soldier looked confused.

"She claimed she was just here to 'enjoy the show.'"

Jax's blood went cold.

His mind screamed one name.

Astrid.

And by 'enjoying the show,' she definitely meant watching him get discovered as human.

Jax thought she knew about the horns will vanish eventually or maybe it was her doing her magic to put me in the mess.

'That little—'

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