Chapter 5: Fire Beneath the Mask
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The invitation arrived two days later.
Gilded parchment. Fine lettering. The seal of the Apollo Familia.
An invitation to a Ball. Public. Lavish. Mandatory.
Hestia read the note aloud, eyes twitching.
"He wants us to show up? After challenging us in public?!"
Bell scratched his cheek. "Maybe it's a trap?"
Welf snorted. "It's definitely a trap."
But Hestia knew the game. Apollo wasn't just a god of beauty and light. He was politics incarnate.
So she accepted.
The night of the Ball arrived in a whirl of color and silk.
Apollo's estate sparkled under magic lights. Beautiful people danced and drank, all of Orario's elites in attendance.
Bell arrived with Hestia, Lili, and Welf—each dressed by last-minute tailoring and sheer determination.
Then Apollo appeared.
Tall, golden-haired, his smile radiant and venomous.
"Lady Hestia," he cooed, voice dripping with false charm. "How kind of you to accept."
"Cut the act," Hestia snapped.
He laughed.
"I do so enjoy drama. But let us skip to the climax."
He clapped his hands. The music stopped.
"I, Apollo, challenge the Hestia Familia to a War Game."
Gasps echoed.
Hestia stepped forward.
"On what grounds?!"
He gestured to Hyakinthos's bandaged leg.
"Your child humiliated mine. That is plenty of justification."
Bell's jaw clenched.
Hestia grit her teeth. "Fine. But we choose the game."
Apollo smiled, and his eyes glinted like a snake.
"You may try. But the board has already been set."
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The next morning, the terms were set.
A castle siege.
The Apollo Familia would defend.
The Hestia Familia had one week to prepare.
And only one defender—Bell Cranel.
As they returned to their home, Hestia seethed.
"He thinks he can take you from me."
Bell touched her shoulder.
"He can't. He won't."
From the shadows, a voice murmured:
"He won't. Because now, you'll learn how to invade.
Black Scythe stepped forward.
"No more defense. No more fleeing. Let's make them afraid."
The War Game had begun.