On the other hand:-
Nia's heart jolted. Her smile spread, trembling, half-sweet and half-mad. "Ahhh.....He said my name. He knows it's me, how sweet he said it Ahhhh.... He kept it. But...but, I am not there with him..." She said.
Her nails pressed into her palm until her skin burned, but she hardly felt the pain.
Through the toy, she was there in his room—watching, listening, existing right beside him. He doesn't realize… this is me. I'm always here, always watching. Always his.
Her breath quickened. "It's fine if others look at you, Elias. I don't care. But none of them will ever give you what I do.
They can't. If their love isn't whole, if they only see the surface, then they don't deserve you. They should disappear. Because you deserve everything."
He placed the toy carefully on the table, as if it were fragile, precious. Nia shivered. Even when you set me down, it's with such care. You hold me gently, as though I matter. And I do. I matter to you.
And then—
A shadow moved.
In the projection, by the edge of Elias's room, a shape flickered. Nia froze, her entire body stiffening, heart leaping in violent panic. Someone was there. Watching him. Watching her Elias.
Her breath turned sharp, ragged. "Who… who are you? How dare you?"
Her breath grew sharp, unsteady, her voice breaking into a trembling laugh.
"Another one? Hahaha… it's fine. It's fine. If you love him as much as I do, I will allow it. But if you don't—if you see him as just another boy, another pretty face—then you should be erased. Because Elias deserves worship. Nothing less."
The shadow vanished. Only Elias remained, asleep and unknowing, the moonlight across his silvery hair.
Nia pressed her forehead to the projection, whispering, "Sleep well, my everything. I will love you enough for all of them. Even if they fail you, even if the world abandons you—I won't. You're mine. Mine, until the end."
She leaned closer to the screen, whispering to his sleeping form.
---
The Next day:- Morning
Elias stirred awake, the golden light of dawn slipping past the curtains and brushing across his face. He stretched his arms, his eyes gleaming brighter than the sun itself. Slowly, he sat up, tying the blindfold back around his eyes once more.
For a moment, he seemed like an angel descended from heaven—until he caught a whiff of his own breath.
"...Stinks," he muttered, grimacing. A reminder: he was human after all.
With a low groan, he searched for his slippers. Somehow, one had found its way inside his bed. Too lazy to bend, he tried reaching it with his foot—only to push it even further.
"Is my luck that rotten?" Elias sighed. Huffing in defeat, he leaned down, hooked the slipper with his toes, and finally dragged it out.
"Ha… satisfaction." The small, petty triumph filled him more than he'd admit.
After washing up, he dressed. His build was neither too lean nor too broad, perfectly balanced—like a mannequin sculpted to divine proportions. He chose a simple violet robe, tying the knot at his slim waist. No suits, no stiff pants.
"This is more comfortable," he murmured. "Air comes, air goes… from everywhere. Ahem."
Once ready, he stepped into the hallway and made his way to the children's room.
---
He entered the room, silently like a thief.
He before waking them up, first crouched beside Lucien's side and let the mana flow from his hands placed on his forehead into Lucien's body.
After doing so he let him settle for some minute and then woke them up.
" Morning kiddos" he said gently standing beside the bed silently.
The children stirred. Their eyes opened not with fear, but with something they barely recognized—safety.
No orders. No barking. Just stillness.
Elen glanced toward Elias. Even behind the blindfold, the faint glow of his blue eye slipped through, unnatural and ethereal. Their gazes met, but Elias's expression remained unchanged.
No smile. No pretense.
" Wash up ok?? I am waiting downstairs hmm.." he said gently.
Leya nodded while Elen yawned before nodding and muttering a small 'okay'under his breath.
Lucien also sat up straight, feeling refreshed.
Elias then left from the door keeping it half-open, half-close .
---
After some time:-
Elias came down and greeted everyone politely.
He sat on the dining room wanting to read the newspaper as usual.
Then came a young boy" Let me read it for you, lord" he said picking the newspaper from the stand at the corner of dining area.
" Thanks Aaron" Elias said.
Aaron his secretary and butler's only son.
He read Elias the normal news.
Children after some time came downstairs.
Elias looked at them.
He simply gestured toward the table.
Like they belong here, like there was no needfor unnecessary words between them like... it is a normal routine for them.
Kids settled down feeling home.
Food. Blankets. Warm milk.
Everything was provided, it was too much yet didn't felt like it.
Maybe because the way everyone act like this is the most normal thing ever.
Who knows.....
Yet doubts and anxiety lingers.
"Umm… is there anything we can do too?" Leya asked hesitantly after they had freshened up and eaten the kind of breakfast that felt too good to be real.
"Eat. Bathe. Sleep." Elias's voice was steady, controlled. "That's all for today. Focus on the present."
Leya hesitated. Then, despite herself, a faint smile touched her lips. Her eyes shimmered with something unexplainable.
It wasn't trust.
It was hope. That fragile thing that refuses to die—even in the hearts of the broken.
---
After the meal:-
Elen wandered the hall. Not to admire, but to study. He checked corners, traced walls, memorized exits. He was someone who didn't wanted to make the same mistakes again.
It's hard too hard...but he himself knows he is melting in the warmth.
But he couldn't..not yet....not that soon.
He wandered, until he stumbled into a room filled with stars.
The ceiling had been painted black, scattered with crystals that glittered like constellations. The walls glowed with the hues of twilight, and the open windows let the night pour in. At the center was a bed—or perhaps a nest—piled high with blankets, pillows, furs. A sanctuary.
And there, on the balcony just beyond, sat Elias.
Silent. Alone.
He didn't move when Elen appeared, only watched the sky. One hand cradled a porcelain teacup, the other resting on the railing. The moonlight threaded through his silver hair.
No shadows watched him from the corners anymore. The silence felt different. Almost hollow. As if something was missing.