Provoking a Graceful Bloom Novel

---- Chapter 251 "D-did you not save him on purpose?" Sebastian asked, his heart still trembling violently. Frederick's leg was ruined. For a man known as a Warbringer, it meant the end of everything. He would never stand again, never command an army, never return to glory. And he was a prince, once a prime candidate for the throne. But now, crippled and broken, that dream was forever lost. The throne could never be his, He was ruined, utterly and irreparably. "When Freya sought to hurt you, he didn't stop her. He trapped you instead, which was how she succeeded," Selena replied.

Her words drained alll color from Sebastian's face. Though more than two months had passed, the memory of that helplessness still clung to him, sharp and unyielding. His life was also in ruins. All he could wish for now was the safety of his sister and the Duke Blackmoor's household. As for himself, Sebastian no longer cared. Whether he fell in battle or vanished from the world entirely mattered little. Something warm closed around his cold, calloused hand. Selena's small hands held his tightly.

---- She looked down at his hand and quietly said, "Seb, one of your two enemies now lives a life worse than death, while the other has lost every hope for the future. | know this can't bring you joy, but it's the only thing | can do for you as your sister." "Lena..." Sebastian's throat tightened, his voice breaking. "| never wanted revenge. As long as you're safe and happy, that was all | ever wished for." 1 "But if you're not well, how could | ever be happy? | told you before, didn't |? That | can protect you too. | meant it," Selena said with a gentle smile.

"But Prince Frederick-" "| truly no longer care for him. Whatever becomes of his life from now on, it has nothing to do with me." Sebastian had never believed it before, but now he did. Selena truly felt nothing for Frederick anymore. Otherwise, she would never have stood by and coldly watched as the black wolf tore through the tendons of his leg Even so, it had been a reckless thing to do. If Frederick had died then and there from the wolf bite, the Duke of Blackmoor's household would have faced ruin. "Lena, such dangerous matters should be left to me in the future.

You-" ---- "Seb, your skill in combat is far below mine. If | left it to you, I'd only worry," she replied with a faint smile Sebastian flushed scarlet, shame written all over his face. At last, he could only sigh deeply and ask, "Where did you learn to fight like that?" "From Sage Spencer himself." "Grandsage Lucian Spencer? He actually agreed to teach you personally?" Sebastian was stunned. Even their mother had only been taught by the other grandsages, Eldric Caldwell and Orin Crawford. The Campbell siblings were not equals in rank or standing.

At the Southern Frontier, their maternal family clearly favored daughters over sons. The grandsages had gladly taken Selena as their pupil, but refused to teach Sebastian, whose skills came from their grandfather. Though those who instructed her were grandsages, Selena was unconventional. She addressed them all simply as "Sage," ignoring the usual hierarchy. Sebastian had previously assumed that his sister's brilliance in strategy and cunning was simply the result of receiving Carissa's personal instruction. He had not expected that in his absence, ---- she had even mastered martial arts.

If her teacher had truly been Lucian himself, then her formidable strength made perfect sense. No one knew the true extent of that man's power. Even Sebastian had never witnessed it. He only knew that the weakest among the sages, Orin, could split a boulder weighing several hundred pounds with a single strike. Such inner energy was often spoken of, but achieved by almost none. In truth, there were only a handful in the entire realm who could do it. "Still, how did a pack of black wolves end up in the royal hunting grounds? It's utterly bizarre," Sebastian murmured.

"There were not only wolves. There were assassins as well," Selena replied calmly.