The Empress looked at her best friend with displeasure.
"He's mine. I've always been possessive with my things, Cordelia."
The Duchess frowned.
"You may say that, but this has already gone far beyond any attachment you've ever had to anything or anyone."
"Don't exaggerate. I can let him go whenever I want…" But her words didn't sound as confident as she intended.
"I hope you're telling the truth. That boy doesn't seem as simple as he looks; you should be careful."
"Careful? Of someone like him?"
Caelia fell silent, remembering how he sometimes acted when they were together, or how he would reject her without hesitation—completely unlike the innocent boy she had met on the first day.
Perhaps Cordelia's warning wasn't so misplaced after all.
But it seemed a little too late for that, because for Caelia, Cassian had already become more of a necessity than a simple desire.
Caelia bit her lip, hard enough to draw blood. Seeing this reaction, Cordelia let out a sigh heavy with bitterness.
"Either way, you really are lucky. That husband of yours doesn't bother you about these things. Mine, on the other hand, spends his time trying to control my every move," Cordelia explained, her gaze icy and reflecting years of pent-up disgust. "It was never anything more than an obligation—a transaction that eventually filled me with deep revulsion."
She walked over to the window and stared out at the garden with an expression of exhaustion.
"He thinks that just because i gave him my name, he has the right to suffocate me, to not let me breathe in peace."
"I already told you I'd help you get a divorce. I don't understand why you won't accept my help," Caelia reminded her firmly.
"You know I needed to get married to inherit the duchy," Cordelia replied, turning around with a look of contempt. "And that man dared to take more wives after I gave him everything. Besides, he's done nothing but attempt businesses that keep failing. He lives off my inheritance while trying to give me orders."
"I don't understand why you allow it. That's not like you," Caelia insisted, noticing the contradiction in her friend.
Cordelia lowered her gaze, and her eyes turned cold.
"There's no reason to separate now either," she answered with a shrug, feigning indifference. "It's not like I'm going to let him get close to me again."
"You almost make me feel sorry for you. One more word and I'd be willing to lend you Cassian," Caelia said, trying to lighten the mood with a mocking smile.
Cordelia looked at her with amusement, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah, right. As if you wouldn't kill me the moment I got close to your 'little toy boy.'"
…
Cassian, completely unaware of the conversation taking place between two of the most powerful women in Demor, was already on his way back with Eleanor.
"I'll be staying in the capital for a few days. I want to visit Rosalind while I'm here and take the chance to buy a few things to bring back to the county. I also want to use the house left by Marquis Windsteel."
It wasn't common for Eleanor to share her plans with him, but he didn't pay it much attention.
When we arrived at the Academy, I said goodbye to her without looking back. Once in my room, I dropped onto the bed exhausted, thinking about how hectic the day had been.
For a moment, all of this reminded me of my past self. At some point, I always ended up surrounded by women. I wonder how they're doing now…
I let out a heavy sigh as silence enveloped me.
…
"It's been almost a week since I arrived here, and there's still no trace of the Master."
Tap, tap, tap—her fingers rhythmically struck the table, betraying her impatience.
A woman with a depressed expression couldn't hide her anxiety.
At that moment, another woman entered the room. Xingyue lifted her head to look at her with excitement, but was met with a sigh.
"Miss Fairy, don't get your hopes up. We won't find information about the person you're looking for so easily. This world is much larger than you think. Besides, with the characteristics you described, it's quite difficult for our people to do anything meaningful."
Xingyue, with her ethereal face, frowned in frustration.
"How can it be difficult? Just look for the most perfect and strongest man in existence. It's very easy."
The woman's face twisted at the vague description.
"Understood… that's what we'll search for. Please rest assured."
But in reality, the elves weren't searching with much intensity. After witnessing Xingyue's overwhelming power, what they desired most was for her to stay there—serving as a shield or a guarantee of strength in case they ever needed it.
…
The days passed. Seraphine wouldn't stop talking about how she had everything prepared for the upcoming event. On the other hand, Valeria—who would be going with Cassane—was in the same situation. However, the latter had shown a radical change in attitude, returning to being an ice queen with everyone around her.
Cassane now refused to even approach me, so everything seemed to have gone back to normal.
That is, if it weren't for the fact that Morgana Valois had started appearing much more frequently. I thought she wouldn't dare come near after what she heard that day, but it seemed I had misjudged her.
Now, the attention she gave me was even more suffocating than when Valeria and Cassane had decided it was a good idea to have lunch together.
Morgana sat down beside me with a smile and began placing food on my plate as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Seraphine and Klaus watched the scene in disbelief.
Valeria, who had decided to sit with Cassane, observed from a distance with a raised eyebrow, surprised by the exchange, while the "ice cube" beside her tried to pretend that none of it mattered.
"Darling, do you like this?" Morgana asked as she delicately placed a piece of fish onto my plate.
The pet name seemed to be the trigger some people around me needed to explode. Although Seraphine was the first to stand up, the sound that really caught everyone's attention came from Cassane.
A sharp noise, like glass shattering, came from her side. For a second it seemed like she was going to lunge at Morgana right then and there, but Cassane regained her composure, picked up the fragments with icy elegance, and sat back down to continue eating as if absolutely nothing had happened.
Seraphine, momentarily distracted by the crash, turned her gaze back to Morgana and exclaimed:
"Aren't you a bit old to be spending so much time in this part of the Academy? I thought students in the advanced courses barely had any classes left."
Morgana smiled at her words, completely unfazed even though she had technically just been called old.
"What's wrong?" Morgana replied, leaning toward me shamelessly. "Did I touch something you don't dare to touch, and that bothers you?"
Seraphine clenched her fists in anger.
"And you? Since when do you lower yourself to spend time with what you consider worthless? Or are you going to tell me you actually believed what you said last time about Cassian? He has no value, Morgana," she finished sharply, without realizing that, in a way, she was also insulting me with her words.