Seven Sins System Chapter 526. Not Trust, But Control

Seven Sins System Chapter 526. Not Trust, But Control

I nodded, taking another sip of the tomato juice. “I know,” I said, my tone quieter now. “That’s why I’m here. To understand them. To adapt.”

The room fell silent again.

With a final bite of the sandwich, I pushed the plate aside, my focus sharpening once more. “Now,” I said, my voice cutting through the stillness. “Let’s talk about how you’re going to help me.”

I gave the twins and Red a simple explanation, just enough to provide context without delving into unnecessary detail. It was similar to what I had told Red before—about the balance of realms, the growing threat from mortals meddling with forces they couldn’t understand, and my need to find answers. They listened, Penelope with quiet intrigue and Katrina with that ever-present spark of skepticism, but neither interrupted. Red, as always, absorbed the information with her measured composure, offering only a brief nod in acknowledgment.

When it was time to leave, Red offered to have a car drive me back, a polite gesture that I dismissed with a smirk.

“There’s no vehicle in this world faster than my portal skill,” I told her. “But thanks for the thought.”

With a casual flick of my fingers and my portal skill, a dark rift tore open in the fabric of reality, swirling with shadows and faint crimson light. I stepped through, the cool rush of energy enveloping me as I crossed the boundary between her mansion and my dorm room.

My dorm greeted me as I stepped out of the portal, the air carrying a faint chill. The room was dimly lit, the moonlight filtering in through the window casting long shadows on the walls. I barely had time to process the stillness before I heard a voice—calm, yet with an unmistakable edge.

“Where were you?”

I turned to find Puriel sitting on the couch, her arms crossed, her posture elegant but tense. Her golden hair framed her face, her piercing blue eyes locked onto me with an intensity that could rival a divine inquisitor. She looked like a woman waiting for her husband to return from a suspiciously long night out—not angry, exactly, but brimming with questions.

I smirked, tossing my jacket onto a nearby chair. “Guess.”

Her eyes narrowed, her lips pressing into a thin line. “I don’t have time for games, Azrael,” she said, her voice firm but not raised. “You’ve been gone for hours. Where did you go?”

“Just handling some business,” I replied casually, kicking off my shoes as I made my way toward the bathroom. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

“That’s not an answer,” she said, standing now, her arms dropping to her sides. Her tone softened, but the concern in her voice was palpable.

I paused in front of the bathroom door, turning to face her, my smirk widening. “You’re awfully invested for someone who claims not to care.”

Her cheeks flushed faintly, and she looked away, crossing her arms again. “I’m not… invested. I’m just curious. You’re clearly up to something, and I have a right to know if it affects me or the academy or my realm.”

“Of course,” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm. “It’s all about your realm, isn’t it?”

Without waiting for her response, I opened the bathroom door and began unbuttoning my shirt. Her gaze snapped back to me, and her blush deepened as she realized what I was doing. She quickly turned her head, her hands tightening their grip on her arms.

“Do you have to do that right now?” she asked, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

“It’s my room,” I pointed out, slipping off my shirt and tossing it aside. “Besides, I just spent hours dealing with vampires. A bath sounds like the perfect way to end the night.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to…” She trailed off, her voice faltering as she glanced in my direction, then quickly averted her gaze again. “You could at least wait until I leave.”

“And let you escape without answering your questions?” I teased, stepping into the bathroom. “Not a chance. Feel free to keep interrogating me from there.”

Puriel huffed, but she didn’t leave. “Fine,” she said, her tone defiant. “What were you doing with vampires, then? And don’t give me some vague answer about business.”

I began to unbuckle my belt. “Let’s just say I made a couple of new allies tonight,” I said, keeping my tone deliberately vague. “Loyal ones.”

“Loyalty?” she echoed, her voice skeptical. “Why do you trust vampires to be loyal?”

“Not trust,” I corrected, stepping out of my pants. “Control. There’s a difference.”

She appeared in the doorway now, still looking resolutely at the wall instead of at me. “And how exactly did you secure this… loyalty?”

I chuckled. “That’s classified.”

“Classified?” she repeated, her tone incredulous. “You can’t just—”

“Relax,” I interrupted, my voice calm but firm. “I have everything under control. You don’t need to worry. It’s an agreement that no one can disturb,” I simply said, pulling the bathroom door shut behind me.

Her muffled voice filtered through the door as I began peeling off the rest of my clothes. “Agreement?” she muttered, as if testing the word for hidden meaning. “Wait… an agreement no one can disturb? What kind of—”

Her words cut off abruptly, and I could practically hear the moment it clicked in her mind. A sharp gasp came next. “Oh no… don’t tell me you…”

I grinned to myself, tossing my shirt into the laundry bin and stepping out of my pants. “Yeah,” I replied casually.

“No, you didn’t!” she said, her voice rising an octave, half scandalized, half exasperated. “Tell me you’re not—”

Ignoring her protests, I turned on the shower and stepped into the warm spray. The water rushed over me. My thoughts drifted for a moment, but they didn’t stay idle for long because, predictably, Puriel didn’t let it go.

In a sudden flash, the air around me shimmered, and she teleported into the bathroom. She stood there, fists clenched, her golden hair catching the light from the room’s dim sconces. But her determined expression faltered the second she realized what she’d walked into.