The Guardian They Left for Dead

Chapter 3: Wrong Answer

The pressure around Jayden spread around and the guards closest to him staggered back, their faces turning pale. Even the horses and some tamed beasts outside the manor gate neighed wildly and tried to break free from their ropes.

Nia trembled in his arms, then slowly raised her small hand and touched the back of his palm.

“Father…”

That one word pulled Jayden back.

The terrifying aura receded at once, vanishing so cleanly it was as if it had never existed. Jayden looked down at her again, slower this time taking in her beautiful features

The dirt on her face had hidden it before. The swollen cheek had twisted her features, and the tears had made her look even smaller, but now that he looked properly, he saw it.

His eyes, Mira’s face and his blood flowing through her.

Jayden’s fingers tightened slightly around the jade pendant.

This child was his no doubt and for a moment, the man who had slain Frost Giants and Korr without flinching could not move.

He had returned for Mira, believing she had waited alone, never knowing that one night years ago had left her with a child. His child. A daughter who had grown up in this manor wearing rags, taking insults, getting beaten, and still waiting for a father she had never met.

Seeing her pitiful condition, looking all bones and dirt, his heart broke and Jayden bent down and pulled Nia into his arms.

Nia stiffened at first, only her mother ever hugged her like that but realizing that she now has a father broke something in her completely. She clung to his neck and cried like she had been holding it in for years.

Jayden said nothing and only held her tighter

"Daddy... you really back." She cried and Jayden fought his own tears and just held her

At that moment, a sharp voice came from inside the manor.

“Who allowed that filthy little thing to run around again?”

Sera Voss stormed out with Liam behind her, her dress dragging across the steps and her face full of anger. The moment she saw Nia in Jayden’s arms, she stopped, then sneered.

“Well, look at that,” she said coldly. “Like mother, like daughter. So young and already learning how to throw herself at men.”

Jayden’s hand paused on Nia’s back.

The air cooled.

Sera did not notice it at first. She looked Jayden over and saw the fine cloak, the clean boots, and calm bearing. He did not look like a servant or a common guard, so her tone changed almost immediately.

“My lord, don’t be fooled by that little wretch,” she said with a forced smile. “She is only the wicked daughter of a low servant. Dirty hands, dirty blood. If she touched you, I can have her punished.”

Something shifted in him and he slowly lifted his head and then let out a low, cold laugh without the smallest trace of amusement.

He set Nia down gently behind him, then unfastened the clasp of his cloak and let it fall from his shoulders.

“Say that again,” he said.

Sera frowned. “What?”

Jayden looked at her. “Call my daughter a servant’s wicked child again.”

Sera’s smile froze and for the first time, she properly looked at his face and the color drained from her skin.

“You…” Her eyes widened, then narrowed with disbelief. “Jayden Jian?”

The courtyard went silent.

A few older servants gasped. Some of the guards exchanged nervous looks. Liam, who had been hiding behind his mother, stared at Jayden with open confusion.

Sera’s shock lasted only a moment before it turned into disgust.

“So you really didn’t die,” she said, then laughed bitterly. “A piece of trash like you still dares to come back?”

Jayden’s eyes darkened. “Where is Mira?”

Sera ignored the question and took a step forward. “Did you forget already? Or did fear damage your memory too badly? Your parents were slaughtered like animals by Sir Dante and you still have the face to return to House Voss?”

Jayden’s jaw tightened hearing a name in regards to his parents death for the first time

“Who did you say killed them?”

Sera smiled wider.

“Dante Jian. Your own uncle. Did living in hiding damage your memory?”

The name struck something deep in him and Jayden went still.

His uncle.

The man who used to carry him on his shoulder when he was a child and smiled at his father’s table, drank his mother’s tea, and called House Jian family with a straight face.

Jayden’s voice lowered. “My uncle killed my parents?”

Sera laughed. “Your family was stupid. Too trusting and soft. You never guarded against your own blood, and that was why Dante took everything.”

Nia clutched the back of Jayden’s clothes.

Sera’s smile turned uglier. “My father helped him take the clan seat from your father. Now Dante rules what should have belonged to you, and his son, Asher Jian, is taking your fiancée too.”

Jayden’s eyes lifted slowly.

“Taking Mira?”

“Of course.” Sera tilted her chin. “Who do you think you are now? House Jian is no longer yours. Mira Voss is no longer yours. Even the child behind you would have been better off without your useless name.”

Jayden took one step forward.

Sera’s chest tightened, but pride held her in place.

“Where is Mira?” he asked again.

This time, every word was colder.

Sera’s face twisted. “You are not in a position to question me, you soon to be dead fool. You choose to come back to your death instead of hiding in the gutters..”

She raised her hand.

The manor guards moved at once, and more warriors rushed out from both sides of the courtyard, each one armed and trained. They surrounded the gate, their eyes fixed on Jayden like wolves waiting for an order.

Sera pointed at him.

“Capture him. If we hand Jayden Jian over to Dante, our branch will be rewarded greatly.”

The warriors drew their weapons and Jayden glanced at them once, then looked back at Sera.

“Wrong answer.”