After arriving in front of the grand statue of Seraphine, Lortell gently folded her hands together, her fingers weaving into each other. She lowered her head slightly and closed her eyes, her silver-white hair falling forward as she stood still. She didn't kneel—just stood straight, calm and composed.
Esdeath mirrored her movements but, unlike Lortell, she wasn't praying to anyone. Her crimson eyes glanced at the towering statue, and in her heart, she muttered to herself, "I know Seraphine is dead, and all this wishing is just a myth… but maybe I can secretly make her wish come true instead. If it makes Lortell happy, I'll give it my all."
She leaned a little closer and asked, "What are you wishing for anyway?"
Lortell's lips curved into a soft smile, and without hesitation she replied, "To have kids, of course. Since my father has five children including me, I want at least six. And if we count Selene, then that still leaves at least five more to go." She spoke so casually, as though she was commenting about the weather.
Esdeath's face instantly flushed crimson. Her lips parted, but no words came out. Her eyes darted left and right, searching for something to say, but in the end she just turned on her heels, pacing away with hurried, heavy steps. "Let's go. Let's go visit some other places and then leave already!"
Behind her, Lortell followed with a faint smirk, amused by Esdeath's flustered reaction.
The two of them wandered around the temple for a while longer. They climbed to the upper floors, admired the murals, and walked through different sections filled with both history and silence. Finally, after giving a generous donation to the temple, the priest inside bestowed blessings upon them. With that, their visit came to an end, and they prepared to return to the academy.
Through the teleportation portal and transport, the journey back took almost the same time as when they first departed for the Church Kingdom.
By the time Esdeath and Lortell returned to the academy dormitory, the night sky was already deep and heavy—it was past midnight. Their room was empty, since Selene was staying with Maruti while they were away.
Esdeath quickly put something together in the small kitchen. She made light snacks and poured milkshakes into cups. She avoided tea and coffee—it was far too late for that, and she didn't want either of them to lose their sleep.
After setting the tray before Lortell, she quietly excused herself and stepped out. Her feet carried her across the courtyard to the neighboring building—Maruti's personal house. Standing at her door, she knocked three times, half-expecting no response.
But to her mild surprise, after a few moments the door creaked open.
Maruti stood there, rubbing her golden-brown eyes with one hand. Her short hair was messy, sticking in different directions as if she had just rolled out of bed. She wore a loose white t-shirt and shorts, yawning as she scratched the side of her head.
"Why did you have to come at midnight?" she asked in a sleepy, almost annoyed tone.
Esdeath tilted her head and smiled faintly. "Nothing serious. I just had to check if you caused any trouble while I was away. If you had been in deep sleep and didn't respond to my knocks, that would've meant you did something reckless and collapsed from exhaustion. But since you opened the door, it means nothing troublesome happened.",
Her words carried both reasoning and quiet care, her smile soft but watchful.
Maruti : "........"
Maruti stood in the doorway, her messy short hair covering half of her face as she glared blankly at Esdeath. Her golden-brown eyes showed no emotion, only the annoyance of someone whose sleep had been disturbed for no good reason.
Then—
BAM!
The door slammed shut right in Esdeath's face.
But Esdeath's expression didn't change. She calmly lifted her hand and knocked again.
After a pause, the door creaked open once more, and Maruti stared at her with half-lidded eyes. "Now what?" she asked, her voice heavy with sleep.
"I also came for Selene. Where is she?" Esdeath asked.
Maruti yawned, scratching her neck lazily. "She's sleeping right now. Let me wake her up." She turned to head inside, but before she could move further, Esdeath caught her wrist gently.
"No need. Just send her back in the morning," Esdeath said with a calm smile.
Maruti blinked once, then shrugged. Without another word, she pulled her wrist free and shut the door again, leaving Esdeath standing there in silence.
---------------
The next morning, Selene returned to Esdeath's side. After a month of being away, she looked a little different—her height had grown again. She now stood almost as tall as Esdeath's ear, resembling a younger sister just a year or two below her in age.
"Pass me those notes, dear!" Esdeath said in a hurry as she tugged her black socks onto her feet, rushing to get ready for academy.
But instead of moving, Selene tilted her head and repeated the same words with a playful tone, "Pass me those notes, dear!"
Esdeath froze mid-motion. Slowly, she turned her head and locked eyes with Selene, who looked just like her—except with silver hair split into half white and half black.
Leaning forward, Esdeath pressed her forehead against Selene's and muttered in a low voice, "Stop copying me."
Selene grinned and repeated, "Stop copying me."
Esdeath's lips twitched in frustration. Just as she was about to speak again, the door swung open and Lortell rushed inside. Her silver-white hair flowed behind her as she carried a stack of papers, her red eyes filled with urgency.
"I'm going to the academy," she said in a rush. "So many pending works need to be finished. I still have to prepare the paperwork for our leave of absence for vacation, and the semester exams are coming soon too. I don't have a single minute to waste." Her tone was brisk, her mind clearly buried in responsibilities.
Esdeath looked at her with quiet understanding. She knew how hard Lortell was pushing herself for the sake of their little family.
But at that exact moment, Esdeath and Selene, with their foreheads still pressed together, looked at Lortell and answered in perfect unison:
"Okay~!"
The way their voices overlapped, the way they mirrored each other—it was like seeing two twins playfully teasing. The scene was so charming it could make anyone smile.
Lortell scoffed, though the corner of her lips curved upward. "At this rate, Selene will outgrow you in no time. Then you'll end up being the daughter instead."
She turned around and walked off to the academy, her faint smile lingering.
Behind her, Esdeath and Selene called out together, "Have a good day!"
Esdeath froze. "…."
She turned her head to Selene, staring at her blankly for several seconds, as if she was piecing everything together. Then she narrowed her eyes. "I bet your aunt taught you this, didn't she?"
The moment the words left Esdeath's mouth, Selene burst into laughter, collapsing onto the floor and clutching her stomach. "You guessed right! Acting like the mother is so much fun! Hahaha!"
Esdeath sighed deeply, standing up and picking up her bag. She was just about to leave for the academy when she glanced back at Selene, who was still laughing softly on the floor.
Her crimson eyes gleamed mischievously as she said, "No ice cream today."
Selene's laughter stopped instantly. Her smile froze, her body stiffened like a statue, and a look of despair painted her face.
Her crystal-like eyes trembled as she raised her head, making the cutest pleading face. "Nooooo!"
--------------
Today at the academy, the atmosphere felt a little unusual. Students often skipped classes as they pleased, but this time even Ethan was absent. It was the first time he had missed a lecture. Of course, Esdeath wasn't surprised—she knew very well that Ethan had probably gone off to hunt monsters again, pushing himself to gain new skills and become stronger. That was his nature.
Esdeath sat with Maruti in the second-to-last row of the middle section. Maruti, half-bored but eager to chat, began telling her bits of gossip and news from the past month.
She spoke about Alice, who was working hard desperately to break into Class A after the semester. Then she mentioned Ethan's team, who were training so hard that even other students felt overshadowed by their rapid growth. Their improvement was so abnormal that it almost crushed the pride of the weaker ones.
Lastly, she spoke of Princess Ravenna. "The royals finally used the essence stone and some high-ranking awakened ones to assist and raise her ESR talent," Maruti explained. "She's now officially A-grade."
Esdeath simply listened in silence, her expression calm and unreadable.
Her eyes drifted forward where a student from Class B was nervously proposing to Emma. Strangely, there were four more lined up behind him, all waiting for their chance.
Emma, with her strawberry-blonde hair, sighed as if this had become routine. "All of you, go home. I'm not interested in a relationship," she said firmly. She waved them away and returned to her seat, looking tired.
Ever since Emma became the incarnation of Mother Earth, her presence had changed. It wasn't beauty in the seductive way of succubi or fallen dragons like Kailith, but a natural, gentle pull—like gravity itself—that made others drawn to her, it was not overwhelming but just little bit of bubble of emotions that makes them feel that there was something in their heart for emma. For boys with weaker willpower, resisting this wierd feeling was tough and one thought always bubbled up,"Why not try dating her!",
"One after another… they just keep proposing. I just hope no one starts stalking me," Emma thought with worry, rubbing her temples.
Esdeath rolled her eyes at the scene and looked away. She had no interest in such drama.
Maruti suddenly remembered something and smirked. "Oh right, one more thing happened. A girl from Class C awakened as a vampire. She ran away in a frenzy, went berserk, but in the end she was executed. Some people got hurt, but no one died."
Esdeath nodded calmly. "That's expected. When someone awakens as a vampire, they lose control. It's nearly impossible to think straight or resist the thirst."
Maruti scoffed, leaning back in her seat. "Hah! Being a barbarian sure feels good. No worries about that sort of thing. Honestly, I kind of pity you."
"I don't need your pity," Esdeath replied flatly, her crimson eyes narrowing. "Being human has its own good sides."
Maruti smirked as if teasing, then looked forward again, resting her chin on her palm while waiting for the teacher. The classroom stayed quiet, but the teacher still didn't arrive.
While the silence stretched, Maruti's thoughts wandered. She tapped her finger on the desk, then finally asked, "Last time, you said Seraphine's children were fated for destruction. Did you mean that this was the reason, Everyone ends up awakening as a vampire, wolfman, or some other anomaly? And mainly humans… because Seraphine herself was human?"
Esdeath grinned but shook her head, "No, although I don't know why only humans, dragons, and beastkin have these strange awakenings… all of this started because of fate. The Divine Rank Essence Stone—Fate, to be precise! That was the reason why the Constellations even appeared in this world."
Maruti leaned forward, her golden-brown eyes narrowing with curiosity. "Fate Essence Stone? That doesn't make sense at all! How does it connect to Constellations and awakenings?", She fired her questions one after another, her tone filled with genuine confusion.
Esdeath gave a faint smile but her gaze grew sharp. "By breaking, of course. It all began when the Fate Stone shattered. Seems like we'll have to continue the story we left halfway."
———
Meanwhile, inside Ethan's private room, things were much quieter. Ethan sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes closed in focus. He hadn't gone hunting monsters today. Instead, he had chosen to continue his lessons with Gareth.
His mother, Brenna, came in with a small tray. She placed down a plate of snacks and a glass of water beside him, then quietly left the room. As the door shut, Ethan reached into his pocket, pulled out his golden ring, and slid it onto his finger.
The moment he did, Gareth's spirit appeared before him, floating in the air like a transparent figure. The old man's first action was the same as always—stroking his long, ghostly beard with calm dignity.
"I want to continue where we left off," Ethan spoke with a serious but respectful tone. "The real history… How exactly were all three of Seraphine's children fated for destruction?"
For days now, that question had been eating away at his thoughts. If the Demon King Aurora was fated for destruction, then no matter what choices he made, he would still be doomed to turn into a villain. That realization made Ethan hesitate. Maybe Aurora wasn't born evil. Maybe he was just a victim of fate. And if that was true, then all of Ethan's determination to kill him felt uncertain, like swinging at shadows.
Gareth let out a long sigh, his spirit glowing faintly as if weighed down by old memories. "I don't know if we should call it fate, boy. Maybe it was destiny instead."
Ethan frowned, his confusion growing deeper. "How does that make any difference?"
The old man's ghostly fingers stroked his beard again, his eyes narrowing with a heavy seriousness. "Because fate was long destroyed."