Lathel silently cursed as he looked at the three choices floating before him.
'System, are you messing with me? The Carol Magic Academy event is supposed to be resolved by the protagonist Alex. Why is it suddenly tied to me?'
[Host, whether you or Alex resolve that event makes no difference.] The System's mechanical voice drifted out, annoyingly playful, like a mischievous ten-year-old girl teasing him: [Now that you are Alex's father-in-law, helping him and helping Arina is perfectly normal.]
Lathel: "…"
He felt that the scenario had already derailed so badly the entire world was on the verge of collapsing. He, as a small villain trying to keep this world stable, was being pushed by the System to accelerate its destruction.
Sure, he could reincarnate and redo everything… But he wanted to go further, to see what the next scenarios would become.
Besides… the reward for choice 3 was ridiculously good.
'Being allowed to bring one person to another world.' Lathel muttered inwardly, asking, 'System, then… can I bring Catrina with me?'
[Of course.] A little thumbs-up icon popped up in front of him as the System added: [As long as she agrees, you can take her with you easily.]
Lathel exhaled heavily, feeling a bit drained. He had thought he would get a long vacation.
The Carol Magic Academy event didn't originally involve him. Arina and Alex would have gone, and this world would have belonged solely to him and Catrina.
But in the end…
Lathel massaged his temples, sighed again, then said, 'Fine. I choose option (3).'
[Ding! Choice confirmed. We hope you can complete the mission soon.]
Lathel frowned. 'But I don't have any magic aptitude. How am I supposed to enter a magic academy?'
BAM!
The door suddenly burst open. Valoria strode into the room, startling him.
"Mother? Why… why did you come back?"
Valoria shot him a look and frowned. "What? You don't want me here?"
"No! Of course not!" Lathel jumped to his feet, smiling as he moved behind her and placed both hands on her shoulders. "I always want you to spend more time with me. But I know you have duties to fulfill, so I didn't want to bother you."
Valoria stiffened the moment he touched her shoulders. Fortunately he was standing behind her, so he didn't see her face turning crimson like she was about to burst into flames.
Her breaths tangled slightly, but she forced herself to calm down.
She took out a sealed envelope and handed it to him.
"This… this is a letter from Empress Catherine."
"A letter?" Lathel frowned in confusion.
He and Empress Catherine were like two parallel lines worlds apart, with no reason to ever meet.
And for Catherine to appear in the story… that was supposed to be eight thousand miles away from the current plotline. Why would she send him a letter now?
'Could it be a bug?' Lathel wondered.
When a world's trajectory shifted, small bugs appearing was perfectly normal.
Lathel took the letter and asked softly, "Mother, why would the Empress send something to me?"
"I… how should I know?" Valoria panicked, afraid she wouldn't be able to hide her true feelings. Worse, she feared she would lose control entirely.
She quickly pulled away from his hands. "I have to go. Take care of yourself."
With that, she hurried out.
Lathel opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but…
BAM!
The door slammed shut so hard it shook the room.
Valoria came fast, and left even faster. In the end, Lathel found himself alone in silence.
He broke the seal and read the letter. His eyes widened so much they nearly fell out of their sockets.
'Oy! System, this is your doing, right?'
[Of course not. Why would I control the characters of this world? If I had that power, why would I need to force you to clear the scenario?]
Lathel nodded. That was… strangely logical.
The letter was an official introduction for him to enter Carol Magic Academy. But not as a student.
He was being assigned as part of the academy's staff.
Exactly what position he would take… he would only know once he arrived.
Lathel let out a long breath of relief. Luckily, the letter stated he had five days before he needed to arrive.
Traveling from here to the Magic Academy would only take one day, which meant he still had four full days to enjoy life with Catrina.
"Hệ thống, for the next four days, do not give me any new choices or notifications. I want to enjoy life a little, do you understand?"
[Understood, teehee!]
Lathel: "…"
…
After arriving at the main headquarters of the Family, the first thing Catrina did was not reorganize the business operations.
Instead, she went straight to the central library.
Her family was enormous; they had their own private library, no smaller than the national library of the Kingdom.
She searched for a long time before carrying out a pile of books. When she stepped out of the room, she even looked around cautiously before hugging the stack and hurrying toward her private chamber.
Closing the door, she stared at the books on the table with unwavering determination.
She began reading. Her face reddened, her lips pressed tightly together, but she did not stop. She continued reading.
BAM! BAM!
Near sunset, a knocking sound echoed.
Startled, Catrina rushed to hide all the books, took a deep breath, straightened her clothes and her expression, and spoke coldly: "Who is it?"
"It's me."
Hearing the familiar voice, Catrina's eyes lit up. She stood quickly and hurried to the door.
Krit!
The door opened. Lathel stood there holding a bouquet of fresh flowers, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Lathel… this…" Catrina murmured, surprised and hopeful as she stared at the bouquet.
Lathel was embarrassed too. This was the first time he had ever given flowers to a woman. Saying he wasn't nervous or awkward would be a lie.
In his previous life, he was an orphan. Growing up in the orphanage, he didn't know how to please caretakers, so he was ignored, sometimes outright abandoned.
When he grew older, no family wanted to adopt him. They saw him as a burden. At age twelve, he quietly left the orphanage.
He worked while studying. No matter how dirty or heavy the job, he took it just to be able to attend school, because he believed in a quote he had once read:
"As long as we work hard, happiness will be within reach."
Lathel had clung to that belief, pushing through the toughest years of his life until university, graduation, and securing a stable job.
But in the end, he still never found happiness.
By age thirty, he faced hidden illnesses caused by years of overwork and crushing loneliness.
Where was happiness?
After working hard for over thirty years, where was his reward?
He didn't know. And eventually, he died in despair. Even now, he still didn't understand what it meant to love or be loved.
Taking a deep breath, he forced out the line he had prepared: "Catrina, you… you're very beautiful."
He held out the bouquet toward her.
But Catrina looked very different at the moment. Her hair was messy, her eyes red from reading all day, her face tired, her dress slightly wrinkled.
She was still beautiful, but also completely disheveled.
The moment the words left his mouth, Lathel wanted to slap himself.
Catrina only smiled. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, burying her face into his chest. "Thank you, Lathel."
He was surprised but didn't pull away. He simply stood there, feeling her soft body in his embrace, unsure of what to say.
"Pff! Hahaha…" Catrina suddenly covered her mouth and laughed.
Lathel blinked in confusion.
She looked at him tenderly, gently stroking his head. "It seems we're both fools in love."
Lathel chuckled softly. "Maybe we are."
"Then…" Catrina took his hand and placed it directly on her chest.
Her large, soft breasts sank around his palm. Her face burned red with embarrassment, yet she smiled sweetly, looking breathtakingly beautiful.
"Let's learn how to love each other… together. Shall we?"
Lathel sucked in a sharp breath. His heart pounded wildly as if trying to escape his chest.
Catrina's endless gentleness made him realize, for the first time, that love was truly beautiful, so beautiful it brought tears to his eyes.
The pain, the loneliness, the despair of his previous life all seemed to melt away… leaving only the woman before him, overflowing with love for him.
Lathel nodded softly, smiling. "Uhm. Let's learn together."
Catrina grabbed his collar and pulled hard.
Their lips met instantly.
"Um…"