His Unwanted Fiancée Is The Kingdom's Genius

Corrin POV:

The heavy obsidian urn weighed like a physical anchor against my chest as I walked back through the massive iron gates of the Davidson estate. Every single step felt like carrying the entirety of my parents' heroic legacy. Yet, my mind was terrifyingly calm, operating with the cold, lethal precision of a veteran vanguard knight. Deep within my chest, my newly awakened dragon core—triggered by the agonizing grief I had experienced at the military camp—pulsed with a suppressed, violent golden heat. I had to keep it under strict control. I only needed to do two things: retrieve the complex siege weapon blueprints I had drafted over countless sleepless nights, and temporarily store my parents' ashes in my room before making my final, permanent departure.

When I reached the main house, the estate servants paused their sweeping and pruning. They stared at the black urn in my arms, pointing and whispering to each other, their eyes filled with blatant, unrestrained disdain. I ignored them completely.

I stepped into the grand parlor. Jace's mother, Dowager Lady Genevieve, and his sister, Felicia, were sitting comfortably on plush velvet sofas. They were sipping imported floral tea, both wearing lavish silk gowns heavily embroidered with gold dragonfire motifs, aggressively flaunting their Half-Blood nobility to the world.

Genevieve lowered her expensive dragon crystal teacup. Her sharp, calculating eyes locked onto the black stone urn in my arms, and her perfectly powdered face immediately contorted into a scowl of utter revulsion.

"Corrin? Why on earth did you come back?" Genevieve snapped, her voice shrill and dripping with venom. "After the hysterical stunt you pulled at the banquet last night, you should have just stayed out on the muddy streets where you belong. You are completely useless compared to Elianna. She is a noble Half-Blood who can actually aid Jace's political ambitions, while you just cling to him like a pathetic, desperate servant trying to steal our wealth."

Felicia chimed in immediately, nodding eagerly. She pointed a manicured finger directly at the black urn in my arms. "Gods, what is that hideous thing? Don't tell me you actually went to a common graveyard to pick up some dirt just to get my brother's attention? You are so cheap and dramatic! Take that cursed, dirty thing and get out of our sight!"

I walked over to an empty marble side table and gently, reverently set the urn down. I turned to face them. My cold, dead gaze first locked onto Felicia, the suppressed golden fire in my veins flashing dangerously in my eyes.

"If you point that finger at my parents again, Felicia, I swear to the gods I will break it off," I warned, my voice dropping to a lethal, vibrating whisper. The sheer, predatory intent in my eyes made her instantly turn a sickly shade of pale. She gasped, her eyes widening in terror, and shrank back into the plush cushions, clutching her hand tightly to her chest.

With Felicia completely silenced, I shifted my attention back to Genevieve, keeping my tone completely flat, suppressing the golden fire trying to ignite in my veins. "To answer your question, my lady, these are the ashes of my parents. They were heroes who died defending the borders of this kingdom."

Genevieve snapped her silk fan open and waved it frantically in front of her nose, acting as if I had just dragged a rotting, plague-ridden corpse into her pristine parlor. "Heroes? Please, Corrin, stop dressing up the truth. They were just two common, low-class Dragon-kin who died in a meaningless border skirmish. Hundreds of them die every year like stray dogs. Bringing something stained with battlefield filth and death into my home... are you actively trying to pollute the pure dragon breath of the Davidson bloodline? Your parents were nothing but low-born sword-meat!"

Her words sliced through the air like a serrated blade. In the past three years, I might have lowered my head, bitten my tongue, and silently endured it to keep the peace for Jace's sake. I had been heavily conditioned to swallow my pride.

But those dead, submissive days were over.

My newly awakened dragon core throbbed with a violent, uncontrollable rage. I didn't just stand there and take it. I took a sudden, incredibly swift step forward. Before Genevieve could even blink, I raised my heavy leather boot and delivered a vicious, full-force kick directly into the center of the heavy mahogany tea table.

Crash!

The massive table flipped entirely over. Genevieve's expensive dragon crystal teacups shattered into a hundred pieces on the marble floor, and the pot of scalding hot tea spilled directly over the lap and hem of her lavish silk gown.

"Ahhhhh!" Genevieve shrieked in searing pain, jumping up like a scalded cat. She frantically brushed the hot tea and wet tea leaves off her ruined dress, her face red with pain and sheer fury. "Are you insane, you Dragonless rat?! Guards! Guards!"

I didn't back down an inch. I stepped right into her personal space, my eyes blazing with a suppressed, lethal fury that made her physically flinch. "My parents died protecting the borders so an ungrateful, useless, parasitic old bat like you could sit here drinking tea in peace. Say one more word disrespecting them, and I swear to the Dragon-Gods I will rip your tongue straight out of your throat."

Genevieve choked, her face turning a sickly shade of pale. She stumbled backward, tripping over the broken porcelain. For a second, she looked genuinely, deeply terrified of me. She had never, not once, seen me fight back.

"Mother! What the hell is going on here?"

Heavy footsteps pounded on the grand staircase. Jace rushed down, dressed in casual linen, looking as though he had just woken from a long nap. He paused at the bottom of the stairs. He took one look at the overturned table, the shattered cups, his mother's ruined dress, and me standing over her aggressively.

He didn't ask what happened. He didn't care why I was angry. He immediately rushed to his mother's side, wrapping a protective arm around her.

"Corrin, have you completely lost your mind?!" Jace roared, glaring at me with utter disdain and exhaustion. "Why must you always throw a hysterical tantrum and attack my mother just because you're jealous of Elianna? You are so entirely unreasonable! You are a terror to live with!"

I looked at him. There was no guilt in his eyes for abandoning me at the military camp this morning to go comfort his mistress. There was no empathy. He was actively endorsing his mother's desecration of my parents' memory.

"Jealous?" I whispered, my voice dripping with pure, concentrated disgust. "Jace, your mother just called my heroic parents low-born sword-meat. She called their ashes filth. And instead of defending the people who died for this kingdom, you blame me for reacting?"

Jace sighed heavily, aggressively rubbing his temples as if dealing with a misbehaving toddler. "Corrin, look at the mess you made. My mother is right to be upset. I know those are your parents' ashes, but you should not have brought them in here! You know she hates dirty things. You should have just left that filthy thing outside like she asked! Have you no respect for this household? Take your things and apologize to her immediately."

The last dying ember of my humanity regarding him snuffed out. He wasn't just a cheater; he was a coward with absolutely no honor.

I looked at the three of them, a sudden, violent wave of nausea hitting the back of my throat. "I will not apologize to trash," I said coldly.

I turned around and walked back to the marble table, placing my hands gently on the cold stone of the urn. I picked it up, ready to go upstairs, grab my blueprints, and leave this toxic house forever.

But Genevieve, suddenly emboldened by her son's physical presence and protection, stepped forward, blocking my path to the stairs. Her eyes flashed with a vicious, venomous light.