Chapter 25 · Baring the Venomous Fangs

The moment Marquis Valdema's voice was heard, the flow of the air froze in an instant.

Isadel's head turned slowly.

The first thing to pierce her vision was violet hair mixed with streaks of silver.

Beneath it was a fierce gleam of the eyes that gave off no human warmth whatsoever—a look that seemed to cut the soul just by being seen.

A man who possessed both the dignity of a seasoned statesman and the cruelty of a predator.

If Ferris was a wildcat with her claws out, her father, Marquis Valdema, was like a massive serpent slowly tightening its coils around the throat.

The tenacity to lull an opponent with a splendid exterior, then sink its fangs in at the most vulnerable moment.

That very cruel nature had dragged him—once a minor noble of the frontier—to the very heart of the empire.

The marquis's gaze lingered briefly on the…