Prince of Gluttony: Born from Betrayal

After Jayden had run off, she couldn't shake her curiosity about Cain.

She told herself it was because she didn't like being caught off guard. That it was tactical. Practical. If someone like him was walking around with her secret, she had a right to uncover a few of her own. Balance the playing field.

But deep down, she knew that wasn't the only reason.

So she started digging. As the Valedictorian, she was given unique access to the Student personnel files.

Cain Sinthorne.

The name brought up records quickly. Royal family, seventh in line for the throne. Seventh Prince of the Kingdom.

Jayden blinked.

A prince?

That part, she already knew. Sort of. But not that he was that prince. The seventh. The one they called—

She clicked on a few links and found it spelled out in bold.

"The Trash Prince."

Jayden frowned, her nose wrinkling as she read through the older entries and archived school gossip. The nickname wasn't new. It had clung to him like mud since he first began studying at the academy.

Most of it centered around a single skill he had been born with. Something called Consume.

Apparently, it was a support skill. Useless in combat. Weak with no growth potential and zero utility.

Additionally, He had no noble supporters. No achievements. No fan club.

Just a title and a reputation that painted him as a walking embarrassment.

Jayden leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, chewing the inside of her cheek.

"But that doesn't match what I saw…"

The Cain she knew didn't act like a victim. He didn't flinch. He didn't whine. He had the heart of a warrior.

"Something's not right." She mumbled to herself at the time.

"If his skill was that bad, there should have been no way for him to have escaped her before.

"Was he hiding his true skill? But why?"

Then she came across a report. It was an investigation into the Twisted Grove incident. A group of students had entered the dungeon but one didn't come out.

Cain was that one?!

Even Jayden who wasn't all that interested in people had heard about this.

Yesterday there had been a lot of buzz about that missing student returning from the depths of the dungeon after being declared missing for a month.

He had suddenly appeared at the entrance, completely naked and had stated that the ones who had declared that he had 'sacriiced' himself to save them was a lie.

They had tried to kill him and left him for dead.

That brought up more questions than answers in Jayden's mind.

She kept scrolling through the documents until she found the names of the other students involved in the Twisted Grove incident.

Abel and Julia.

Jayden scowled. She had met them before. Cowards, both of them. Always sucking up to the instructors and clinging to stronger names like leeches. The kind of people who smiled when they needed something and stabbed you in the back the moment your guard dropped.

And yet, neither had been arrested. Neither had been punished.

Jayden clicked her tongue, annoyed.

That was when she read the note attached at the bottom of the file.

"Student Cain Sinthorne has requested to handle the matter personally. A formal duel has been scheduled."

Her eyes narrowed.

A duel to the death.

Now it made sense. Cain wasn't just some quiet survivor crawling back from a tragedy. He was out for blood. He wanted justice, but not the kind that came from courts or councils. He wanted it with his own hands.

Jayden leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk.

She stared at the picture of Cain that appeared in the file. It was outdated. He looked thinner. Softer. Like someone who would fold under pressure.

But the Cain she had met wasn't like that.

Something had changed in that dungeon. Something big.

And whatever it was… she wanted to know more.

She had some regrets running away after accusing him the way she did. It was that Blacksmith's fault that she had acted like that. Cain hadn't responded positively to it.

Besides she had no right to be mad. It wasn't like sge was his actual girlfriend or anything.

Perhaps because she wanted to make amends, she found out what class Cain was supposed to be in and headed to the training ground, hoping to apologize.

She didn't know what she was expecting when she got there.

Maybe to catch him in the middle of practice. Maybe to find him alone, brooding. She had even rehearsed what she would say if he snapped at her. Something simple, like "Sorry for jumping to conclusions," followed by a shrug, like it didn't really matter.

But when she arrived, Cain was already on the field.

Not training.

But mid confrontation with some wannabe playboy looking knight.

Cain looked visibly uncomfortable and it didn't take a genius to understand that he was holding himself back from hitting the knight.

Jayden would have waited until the other man had left if not for the fact that she heard her name leave the other mans mouth.

Her sensitive ears were able to pick up every word.

What trick did you pull to convince Jayden to spread her legs for you?

The question both embarrassed and enraged her. She was still a virgin but some nobody was asking if there was a trick to getting in her pants?!

She then noticed the slight change in Cain's expression. He had gone from trying to hold himself back from hitting the guy to wanting to kill him.

He was enraged on her behalf? The thought warmed her heart a bit but if he made a move now, Cain's plans would come to naught.

She chose that moment to intervene, not to defend her own honor, but to make sure a man she had only known for a day didn't ruin his plans just because of her.

She wouldn't lie and say the expression Abel had as he stormed out didn't make her feel good. However, she would never openly admit that gentle smile Cain floated after made her heart skip a beat.

He had yet to prove he was stronger than her so he would get nothing more from her. For now.