"So that's why you could repair or recycle those Collective Spheres, huh…"
She nodded against my stomach, her arms still wrapped around my waist.
"Pretty much."
She shifted onto her back, resting her head on my lap as she stared up at the ceiling.
"You could say I'm close to something called a Monad… from some philosopher—Pythago…whatever his name was."
She shrugged, then glanced up at me.
My brows furrowed as I tilted my head, trying to recall.
"A Supreme Being, basically," she added. "Religions usually describe it as the source of everything and all that."
"Roselia mentioned something about you producing totalities whenever your authority overflows…" I muttered, my gaze drifting to the table as she idly played with my hair.
A brief pause.
"What exactly are totalities again?"
Her hand stilled, her expression shifting slightly as she closed her eyes.
"Let's see…"
"Totalities, in our sense… are kind of like those 'bubbles' I showed you sixteen years ago—the day before we had Francesca."
Her fingers resumed, gently twirling a strand of my hair.
"The ones that contained entire self-contained worlds."
She let out a small breath.
"It really depends…"
A faint frown crossed her face.
"Philosophy hurts my head sometimes."
She went still, letting out a quiet sigh.
"It's tiring to talk about cosmology…"
Anathasia turned and buried her face against my stomach again.
"Goodnight…"
And just like that, she fell asleep. On my lap.
I glanced down at her, watching her chest rise and fall gently.
A small smile tugged at my lips as I shook my head.
"Goodnight… Furball."
—
The next day…
As my consciousness slowly returned, I immediately heard voices nearby.
"How… sweet… Are they always like this?"
For some reason, my chest felt slightly heavy, like someone was sleeping on top of me. My neck ached a bit too.
"Not always,"
I heard Lena reply.
"Maybe they just felt too lazy to move to their bedroom."
I slowly opened my eyes.
Silky white hair immediately filled my view, followed by soft breathing brushing against my neck.
As I glanced to the side, I caught the silhouettes of three people standing near the couch where Anathasia and I had ended up sleeping after playing chess.
As my vision cleared, my gaze slowly moved up to their faces.
"Lena… Fran, and…"
A soft yawn escaped my lips.
"It's Arianne," the woman said. "Long time no see, you two. Looks like you're still as lovey-dovey as always."
Anathasia slowly stirred on top of me, lifting her head as she rubbed her eye.
"What's going on…?" she muttered groggily.
"Um… Anathasia still looks twenty," Arianne murmured. "Kyle as well."
Anathasia gently pushed herself up, straddling my hips as I sat up as well.
"Arianne…" she yawned. "Did you somehow slip out from your matriarchal duties…?"
Arianne sighed, letting herself fall onto the other couch while Lena and Francesca turned toward the hallway.
"Fran, wanna help with breakfast?"
"Mhm, let's," Francesca replied with an eager nod, following Lena out.
After they left, Anathasia swung her leg over, settling properly on the couch.
"Long time no see… when did you arrive?"
Arianne leaned back, her arms draped over the backrest.
"A business meeting with the Moralde Group."
"Specifically with Miss Rose, the current CEO."
Anathasia nodded absentmindedly, staring off for a moment before glancing back at me. She yawned again, shaking her head slightly.
"Rose of the Moralde Group, huh…" she shot me a look. "Dude, isn't Rose's company named—"
"Moralde Group," I cut in, stifling my own yawn. "Yeah… she did mention receiving an investment from a mega-corporation from Europe. I didn't think it would be with the Auclaits, though."
I shifted my gaze to Arianne.
"Let alone that investor being you."
Arianne paused, her eyes widening slightly at our words.
"Miss Rose is your sister?"
"Older sister, yeah."
Her expression softened, and she let out a small laugh.
"That's… oh, how small the world truly is."
"Who knew Miss Rose was your sister? It's almost hilarious."
She paused again, letting the moment settle.
Then Anathasia suddenly spoke up.
"Say… what have you been doing these past few years anyway? Aside from being the Matriarch or the CEO of that logistics company."
Arianne didn't reply immediately.
She lowered her gaze to the small table in front of her, running a hand through her hair before letting the strands fall back into place.
"Dealing with family matters… especially the branch families. They're always out for trouble."
"Getting into disputes, then running to me for approval on this and that. Always trying to gain my favor so they can gloat about having the family head on their side."
A small, bitter smile formed on her lips.
"They're more trouble than they're worth."
She lifted her gaze, meeting ours as she forced a smile.
None of us spoke.
We let her words settle.
"That… sounds rough," I said quietly.
And now that I really looked at her, there was no denying it—
Even under her makeup, the signs of stress, faint lines and slight weariness were hard to miss.
"That being said…" she spoke up. "Your daughters really are grown up now, huh… and yet, they don't look spoiled in any way."
Anathasia and I exchanged a glance. She simply shrugged as I let out a quiet sigh and turned back to Arianne.
"In a way… they don't really like being spoon-fed either. Lena, specifically…"
Arianne's eyes narrowed slightly as she leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, chin propped on her knuckles.
"True… I do feel like she grew up a bit early."
A brief pause.
"But then again… you had her by the end of our second year, no? She must have felt…"
She trailed off, shaking her head as she leaned back against the couch.
The reality was… far worse.
But it was better this way.
—
Our conversation continued for a few more minutes before we moved on to a quick breakfast.
Not long after, Arianne left for her meeting. Lena headed off to deal with the last few planets she had to take care of, while Francesca went out to visit a friend.
Leaving just Anathasia and me behind.
Once they were gone, we sat on the floor near the sliding glass door leading to the backyard.
Our hands rested on our knees as we stared quietly ahead.
After a while, Anathasia turned to me.
"Let's go to Japan."
I casually pulled out my phone and showed her the screen.
A ticket I had just booked.
"Consider it done."
We sat there for a moment longer, exchanging a quiet nod.
—
After landing and dropping off some of our things at the house we'd owned in Japan for over nineteen years, we headed straight to the company headquarters in the heart of Kyoto. A few hours' drive from Tokyo.
Standing outside the high-rise building, we both looked up at the large letters displayed across its facade.
"Kithia Corp."
"…Kithia?" Anathasia raised an eyebrow. "What's that even supposed to mean?"
"Who knows… I'm not sure what Hinami and Mei were thinking when they named this place," I muttered, pulling out my phone and typing a quick message.
Anathasia, on the other hand, kept squinting at the building, then glancing around our surroundings.
"I just told Mei we're here," I said, holding up my phone before looking back at the building. "The CEO should be here."
Less than a minute later, a reply came in.
Anathasia and I both stared at the screen.
"Understood. I will notify the CEO immediately. But if I may ask, why did Mr. Kyle and Mrs. Anathasia decide to visit the company?"
"Why, huh…" she murmured, crossing her arms as she tapped her cheek.
Another message came in.
"Of course, you don't need to answer. I was simply curious."
As we stared at the screen, a voice suddenly spoke from behind us.
"Good day. Is there anything I can help you with?"
We both turned.
A man in a formal suit stood there, wearing glasses and a polite smile. He was Japanese, though his English was fluent.
Anathasia spoke first.
"We're here for someone." Her gaze briefly scanned him from head to toe. "And you are?"
"Ah, yes—how rude of me." He extended his hand. "Tomohisa Shigure. Floor manager of Kithia Corp."
He shook Anathasia's hand first, then mine.
"Anathasia Dunaleff Abe," she said, gesturing toward me. "My husband."
"I'm Kyle Ruzen Abe. Nice to meet you."
The man's eyes widened slightly, his hand freezing mid-motion.
"The two of you are… married?"