Reborn with a Necromancer System
Chapter 138: His First Kiss

Chapter 138: His First Kiss

Kai left the prince’s study with a heavy mind.

The room still clung to him, like the scent of incense on his coat, or the faint echo of courtly manipulation humming in his ears. The prince had offered him a position. Not just a role, though. It would provide power, influence, and access.

But it would also bind him in chains.

Kai wasn’t sure yet if they were golden or iron, but they would be chains nonetheless.

He stepped out into the hallway, eyes half-lidded in thought.

’It would make things easier. Getting closer to the crown meant getting closer to information. Maybe even to Firra. But being tethered to the royal family would mean scrutiny. Limitation. No shadows to hide in.’

He was still weighing it in his mind when a hand shot from the darkness of a small room and yanked him inside.

His instincts flared.

"Shade."

The world shifted. In a blink, dark tendrils of smoke wove over his arms, and spectral blades shimmered to life. His body twisted into a defensive crouch.

And then, he was met with warmth.

Arms around him.

A familiar scent, copper and mint.

"Kai... Luke... or whatever you want me to call you," whispered a voice, trembling slightly. "I know it’s you."

Shade oozed off of him, back into his shadow.

Kai blinked. The tension bled from his shoulders as he looked down, and there she was.

Kleo.

Her long dark curls were pinned beneath a starched white bonnet, and the dull grey fabric of her maid uniform somehow made her look more radiant than any noble in the palace. But what caught him wasn’t her appearance.

It was her eyes.

Worried. Desperate. Alive.

He softened.

She’d pulled him into a small cleaning closet. Mops and buckets and brushes galore.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "It’s me."

’I knew that Sightcaller specialisation of hers would see through it.’

She released him slowly, but her hands lingered on his arms, as though making sure he was real. Her lips parted to speak again, but Kai beat her to it.

"I’m working here now. Tutoring gig," he said, keeping his tone casual. "Not exactly a noble’s path to glory, but it gets me in the doors."

"And I’m working here too, obviously. I’ve been here for two weeks."

He left out the part where he was jailed. Or how he’d puppeted a knight’s soul from the inside out to escape. Gory details had their time, and this wasn’t it.

Kleo tilted her head. "A tutor, though? How?"

He shrugged. "It’s a good cover."

She gave a small, breathy laugh. "You did say you’d get one. One moment, you’re fighting with inquisitors, and the next, you have a job. You always seem to land on your feet. Like a cat."

’Cats actually don’t...’ he let the intrusive thought subside.

Kai leaned against the wall, folding his arms. "What about you? Anything on Firra?"

Kleo’s expression sobered instantly. "One of the servant girls said she saw someone matching Firra’s description enter the palace... but she never came back out. That was a while ago."

Kai’s jaw clenched. "That’s not nothing."

"I know," she said. "But no one else saw her. It’s like she vanished."

They talked in hushed tones for a while longer, trading theories. Assumptions. Possibilities. No certainties.

Then the door creaked.

A young servant girl peeked in, and froze. Her eyes bounced between them like lightning on glass.

Kai’s mind raced. She’d seen too much. Two unfamiliar servants alone, pressed together in a room—too suspicious. Too risky.

He acted.

Without warning, he stepped forward and kissed Kleo full on the mouth.

Her breath caught with a muffled squeak against his lips, her body going rigid.

He felt Kleo grab his wide back, and squeeze a little.

The servant girl gasped, then squealed with delight.

Before he got lost in the moment, Kai pulled away with just the right amount of longing in his eyes.

"Surely, you’ll keep this a secret, yes?" he asked the girl, turning towards her, his voice a low, alluring drawl he didn’t know he was capable of.

The girl stood frozen, blushing fiercely. Her hands fluttered near her face like a bird trying to fly away.

Then she nodded. Vigorously.

Kai smiled.

Good.

Because had it not worked, he would have killed her. Reanimated her. Kept her quiet in a far darker way. Even if it meant incurring divine wrath.

He exhaled. "Name’s Alex Trunsdale," he added, playing into the illusion.

"Oh, heavens, you didn’t even know each other before now? That makes this whole ’love at first sight’ thing even more romantic!"

"You wouldn’t tell a soul, now, would you? Imagine breaking us up after finally finding each other in this big, wide, world. Tell me you won’t." He kept up the strong, alluring charade.

The girl all but melted. "I won’t say a word, I promise! Oh, stars above, this is the best thing that’s happened all week!"

She skipped off, hands clutched to her chest.

Kai sighed, taking off the mask before turning back to Kleo, who was now flushed a deep scarlet. Her eyes were wide, lips parted, stunned beyond words.

Kai blinked. "You okay?"

She smacked him lightly in the chest. "You kissed me!"

"Yeah. Didn’t have much of a choice," he said, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve.

’I kissed her...’

"No choice? You could have done anything else!"

"Well, I did consider killing her and reanimating her before storing her in my shadow space. Well, I guess I could have stored her without reanimation. Less possible divine intervention if I don’t use necromancy for now, you know?"

"Surely-"

"And technically, that was my first kiss. So it’s not like I did that just because I had no choice."

Kleo’s expression went through six different phases before settling on embarrassed outrage. "You didn’t lead with that?!"

"I forgot."

"You forgot?!"

He gave her a sheepish shrug, then turned to leave. "I’ll see you later. Try not to get caught looking for me."

"You-! Kai, you-!" Her words chased him out the door like sparks.

Kai tries to play it cool, but even with his necromantic powers stifling his emotions and libido, he felt the flush of blood warm his face.

It wasn’t just his first kiss in this life, but in both.

A girl named Ally kissed him on the cheek when he was in primary school, but that was it.

---

By the time he made it back to the Eldridge estate, the evening sun had begun to soften the sky.

Naia was waiting near the front gate, arms crossed and eyes bright with curiosity. "So?" she asked, practically bouncing on her heels. "What happened? You were gone forever."

Kai stepped past her. "I was offered a job."

Her eyes widened. "From who?"

"The prince."

She grabbed his arm. "Did you accept?!"

"No."

"What?! Why not?! You could’ve-!"

"I have tasks I need to do," Kai said simply, eyes dark with calm certainty. "And being tied to the royals would put too many eyes on me. Too many rules. Too many watchers."

Naia blinked, then slowly nodded. "Huh..."

Kai looked up at the palace spires glittering in the fading light. "I need freedom more than power. At least for now."

"Well, I guess having you stay close isn’t all that bad..."

Naia went quiet.

He didn’t say what else he’d learned. About the Firra. About the eyes that lingered too long in the palace halls. About the fact that his kiss might’ve saved a life, or anything about the kiss at all, for that matter.

For now, his world was split between light and shadow.

And in the shadow, Kai thrived, so he needed as little light as possible.

[Name: Kai Tensen |

Age: 15 Years |

Specialisation: Necromancer |

Rank: 6 |

Advancement Requirements: Command an army of 10,000 - 531/10,000. Find E⸮o⸮b⸮a⸮d’s final resting place. |

Life Essence Stored: 13/115,000 (2,750/11,500 - Phylactery Reserves) |

Mortality Deviance: 6/10 |

Artifacts: Abyssal Band, Dampening Gloves, Mirage’s Veil |

Soul Vault: 15/1,000 |

Souls Absorbed: Winfried Drummond (Greater), Angelica Trunsdale (Greater), Petty Human Soul (5), Lesser Human Soul (4), Greater Human Soul (2), Grand Beast Soul, Grand Wyvern Soul |

Souls Tethered: 2 - Kleo Carmine, Carter |

Undead Army: 531 (Joran (Brawler), Rhea (Commander), Finn (Flight Unit), Merri (Shadowsworn), Voltis, Zephyr, Kael (Splitspeed Rogue), Ralts (Sentient Chaos Lich), Joe (Death Knight), Princess Aliza of Forne, Arcane Wolf (2), Skeleton Novice Fire Mage (12), Skeleton Novice Shadow Mage (10), Skeleton Novice Elementalist (3), Skeleton Warrior (38), Skeleton (186), Zombie Warrior (41), Zombie Sprinter (9), Zombie Shambler (71), Ghast (13), Shadow Death Knight, Greater Lich, Grave Maw, Grond, Undead Rat (81), Undead Pup (4), Skeleton Magister (14), Skeleton Knight (12), Undead Wyvern (12) |

Languages Translated: Imerian, Salan, Forebearers (58%) |

Skills: Mana Manipulation, Mana Tempering, Mana Sense, Shadow Manipulation (Advanced), Strengthening Magic (Moderate), Elemental Magic (Minor), Combat Arts (Intermediate), Shadowmeld, Precision Targeting (Magic), Death Sense, Murmurs of the Departed, Shadow Decoy, Sigilcraft (Fortification, Elemental), Aura of Undead, Undead Fusion, Umbral Mantle |

Spellcasting: Intermediate |

Spells: Raise Undead (Moderate), Thrall Control, Shadow Conjuring, Bull’s Strength, Frozen Touch (Contact), Frozen Zone (Area), Icicle Javelins (Ranged), Searing Touch (Contact), Wall of Flame (Moderate), Wither, Gravebound, Wall of Ice (Moderate), Mass Raise Undead (Lesser), Tether the Fallen, Ice Prison (Minor), Shadow Weapons, Flamethrower, Tempered Shadows, Shadow Space, Speed Sigil (Lightning), Power Sigil (Fire), Aura Sigil (Ice), Undead Enslavement, Chaos Sigil, Darkness Sigil (Shadow), Chaos Shadow Barrier, Control Sigil (Anti-Chaos), Flight Sigil, Shared Senses Sigil, Bone Lance]