Prince of Gluttony: Born from Betrayal

"What did you just say?"

Cain pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to suppress the rising headache that was coming over him.

"You heard me you lil bastard! How did you find I am the daughter of the Duchess!"

Anna eyes burned with indignation and anger. She was laying her cards out on the table yet Cain wasn't forthcoming. Was she wrong about him?

Cain blinked again, slower this time, as if it would help his brain process what he had just heard.

"You think I knew?" he finally said "I had my own reasons for asking..."

Anna's eyes widened. Her breath caught as the implications of his words sank in.

She stepped back as if struck, hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "You really didn't know...?"

Cain tilted his head and Anna could tell from his steady gaze that he was telling the truth. The fury building in her fizzled out, replaced with dawning horror.

Anna turned away, pacing two steps before grabbing her hair with both hands in frustration.

"Stupid. Stupid. I worked years for this. All the layers of fake records, the screenings, the oaths… I got through every check. And I just... blurt it out? To you, of all people?"

Cain remained still. She looked like someone who had just torched their own house by accident.

"I've ruined everything," Anna muttered, her voice breaking into a bitter laugh. "All because I thought some random guy in the back of the room might be onto me."

She turned back to face him, eyes wild now but not with rage.

"Why the hell did you have to ask that question?"

Cain blinked. "Because someone wanted to know. It wasn't about you."

That didn't help. Anna squeezed her eyes shut and took a shaky breath.

"Do you have any idea what I've risked? If the Hardliners find out who I am, I won't just be expelled. I'll be hunted. They will waste no effort to kill me!"

Cain said nothing. He could see it now, the fear in her. Not fear of him, but of everything her slip-up might cost her.

Anna let herself fall into the chair across from him. She looked like someone trying very hard not to cry.

"For years I've kept it buried. I learned how to speak like them, act like them, breathe like them. And now I screw it up because a student like you asks suspicious question in class."

Cain hesitated, then spoke more gently.

"I'm not going to tell anyone."

Anna looked up sharply, disbelief written all over her face.

"You expect me to believe that?"

'You can tell her. She won't betray you.'

'How do you know? She could be lying!'

'I know why her mana feels familiar to me. It's not just because her mana resembles her mothers....she has mana like mine. This Anna girl is my daughter.'

Cain stiffened.

The words echoed in his head, louder than thunder, heavier than stone.

His gaze snapped to Anna, who was still staring at him, eyes bloodshot and brimming with raw disbelief. But now, Cain wasn't just looking at her. He was seeing her.

The sharpness in her posture. The stubborn heat in her words. The control she had fought so hard to keep, now cracking at the edges.

She really was Gaius' daughter.

"No way," Cain said aloud, voice barely above a whisper.

Anna's expression twisted. "What now?"

Cain didn't respond right away. He couldn't. His thoughts were a storm, and at the center of it was Gaius' voice. Calm. Steady. Absolutely certain.

"You're his daughter," Cain muttered.

Anna's eyes narrowed again. "Whose daughter? You're not making any sense."

Cain slowly leaned back in his chair. Everything inside him screamed to get up and run, but he forced himself to stay still. To look at her and not let the weight of that revelation crush him.

"Gaius," he said finally. "You're Gaius' daughter. Aren't you?"

Anna went still.

So still that Cain could have sworn time itself held its breath. Her jaw clenched, her hands curled into fists, and her eyes narrowed as she went on full alert. Mana began to swirl around her as she glared at him.

"How....How do you know that name! Who are you really Cain?! Nobody should know that name! Who sent you?!"

Cain raised his hands slowly. "I'm not your enemy."

"Then how do you even know that name?" Anna demanded, shooting to her feet. Her chair screeched behind her. "That name is forbidden. If you know it, then you're not some student. Who are you really?"

Cain didn't answer immediately. He knew that the truth would be hard for her to believe but he knew that if he didn't tell her, she may very well try to kill him.

"When I was in the dungeon and I was thrown into the abyss...I came across the spirit of Gaius. He saved my life and he took me in as his disciple in exchange for a favor..."

Anna's entire body froze.

Her eyes widened, but not in horror. In stunned disbelief.

"You found him?" she whispered. "You actually found him?"

Cain nodded slowly.

"I don't believe this..." she muttered, voice trembling now for entirely different reasons. She stepped back again, this time as if overwhelmed. "I've searched for years. I got accepted into this academy just so I could get close enough to find the artifact that holds him. And you—"

Her eyes snapped to him, suspicious again.

"Why would he choose you of all people?"

Cain looked away, jaw tight. He didn't want to answer. Not because he was afraid but because the answer would change everything about their relationship.

But she deserved the truth. After what she'd just given up, after what she risked by revealing her identity... he owed her that much.

He took a breath. Then met her gaze.

"Because of my skill."

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Consume?"

Cain shook his head slowly.

"No," he said. "Gluttony."