The Life Orb was a magic tool that was developed several hundred years ago during a war with the deviants to determine whether a soldier was still alive or not, but in the current era, it was mainly used by wives whose husbands often travelled far away.

  It was a simplistic tool that served a single function, but that was also the reason why it was extremely effective.

  No matter how great the distance was and the changes in the target’s physical condition, the Life Orb would reflect the individual’s condition correspondingly. A day of reunion would eventually come as long as its glow wasn’t extinguished, and this was a perfect example of that.

  “Lord Brother!”


  With a worried exclamation, a silver-haired girl barged into the clocktower through the windows, only to be met with an unbelievable sight.

  In front of her were two individuals staring at her with shocked looks on their faces. One was a woman whom she had never met before and the other was a child.

  A child with Roel’s appearance.

  “!”


  As if she had been struck by lightning, Alicia jolted in horror as her face turned ghastly pale. She could only think of a single possibility to explain this situation.

  Lord Brother had a child with a vixen!

  The moment such a possibility surfaced in her mind, her eyes reddened in indignance. She felt like the entire world had just collapsed on her.

  It was one thing if it was Nora or Charlotte, but that clearly wasn’t the case.

  In truth, she already knew deep down that it was no longer possible for Roel to reject Nora or Charlotte. They were simply too intertwined together in terms of their family circumstances and a plethora of other factors.

  But still, she couldn’t accept Roel getting together with a vixen…… Not to mention, they even had a child together?!

  You must be kidding me! I haven’t even gotten together with Lord Brother yet!

  “Y-you are……”


  “Alicia?”


  “Ah?”


  As Alicia pointed a shaking finger at the two of them, Roel finally snapped out of his daze and called out her name. Alicia was surprised to hear Roel’s voice, and it brought composure back to her.

  Wait a moment, that isn’t right either. Isn’t he a little too big to be Lord Brother’s child? He looks as big as the first time I met Lord Brother, which means that he’s around eight to nine years old at the very least.

  No matter how fast his body is growing, there’s no way it could be this fast. There’s a possibility that there might be some ability out there that hastens one’s growth, but the Ascarts possess no such power.

  On top of that, his voice sounds incredibly familiar too. Does this mean that this child is……

  “Lord Brother?”


  “It’s me, Alicia. What are you doing here?”


  “!”


  Alicia breathed a deep sigh of relief upon hearing his voice. She rushed forth to hug Roel, but before her hands could reach him, there was a sudden outburst of mana pulsation that pushed her back.

  This feeling! Origin Level 3!

  Alicia’s crimson eyes narrowed when she realized that the woman beside Roel was actually an Origin Level 3 transcendent. She turned her gaze toward the woman, only to notice that the latter was staring back at her coldly.

  Wait a moment, if this child is Lord Brother, it would mean that this woman who just tried to kiss him is……

  The realization that there was a vixen before her made Alicia’s body tremble in horror. Without any hesitation, she released a powerful burst of mana and clashed with that woman. She wouldn’t stand for the appearance of yet another woman by Roel’s side!

  This chain of events immediately prodded Roel’s danger instincts. He had been through far too many of such situations that he couldn’t possibly not know what was coming up next.

  “Wait wait wait wait wait! Senior, she’s my younger foster sister, Alicia Ascart!”


  “Oh?”


  “Alicia, this is a senior I’ve met at the Saint Freya Academy. She’s the imperial princess of the Austine Empire, Lilian Ackermann. She’s the one who has been protecting me ever since I turned into this state.”


  “I understand, Lord Brother.”


  The two women replied to Roel’s introduction with a smile, but their clash showed no signs of abating at all. If anything, it was growing more intense.

  To Lilian, Alicia looked like a mesmerizing fairy that had come straight out of a dream, causing her wariness level to shoot straight to the maximum. How could she not feel alarmed when there was a woman this beautiful beside Roel?

  As a fellow woman, she could tell the feelings that Alicia harbored for Roel transcended that of siblings. Not to mention, the sphere that Alicia was holding in her hands appeared to be a Life Orb, a magic tool that husbands would typically gift their wives before leaving for a long journey.

  Younger foster sister? Hah, you can only hope to deceive Roel with such crude lies. How can I not see through you when I’m walking down the same kinship route as you?

  Lilian raised her hand to touch her ear ring, dispelling her disguise to reveal her true appearance.

  This time, it was Alicia’s turn to be nervous.

  It was a face that was very different from Alicia’s youthful and dreamy look. It was mature and seductive yet cold and lofty. In terms of disposition, it was impossible to tell who was superior.

  Lilian’s face revelation pierced right into Alicia’s nerves with a dagger. She couldn’t overlook Lilian’s charm, especially given her identity. As a result, she grew even more agitated, much to Roel’s dismay.

  Hah, do you think that I would fear an imperial princess of the Austine Empire? I’ve been competing with the princess of the Theocracy and the future leader of the neighboring Rosa, and both of them wield far greater influence over the Ascart House than your faraway Austine Empire!

  You’re nothing more than a tramp who has only known Lord Brother for two months! What rights do you have to compete with me?

  “Miss Lilian, allow me to thank you on behalf of the Ascart House for taking care of him all this while. However, it won’t do for us to trouble an outsider like you any longer. I’ll be bringing Lord Brother back to the Ascarts’ manor with me. I trust that you don’t have any objections to that, right?”


  “My apologies, Miss Alicia, but it seems like Roel has neglected to mention something earlier. Allow me to clarify things for you…… I’m Roel’s bloodline kin.”


  “Bloodline kin? You’re lying! How can that be possible?!”


  “Why can’t it be possible? I’m unsure how far back our ties go, but without a doubt, the two of us do share the same bloodline. The relationship we share goes deeper than any other ties, be it friendship or familial bonds. In other words……”


  Lilian took a step forward, wrapped her arm around Roel’s waist, and spoke with a confident smile.

  “I’m Roel’s older sister in terms of bloodline. I’m the closest person to him in the world aside from his parents. It’s only right for him to rely on me when he’s in trouble.”


  “Y-you must be joking! Do you think that such lies can possibly……”


  “Lies? It won’t do for you to turn your head away from reality, foster sister Miss Alicia. I understand that it’s hard for you to accept this situation out of the blue, but this is something that you’ll eventually have to accept. After all…… Roel and I have already decided to have a child together.”


  “What?!”


  “S-senior?”


  Lilian’s explosive words sent Alicia staggering backward in horror, nearly losing her balance. Roel was also equally dumbstruck by the announcement, prompting him to turn around to stare at her.

  “The union of two individuals who share the same bloodline will have a higher probability of bearing a child with enhanced bloodline. This is an unshakable truth. We’re duty bound to do this for the sake of humankind, and our ancestor has also given us her blessing.

  “Do you understand now, Miss Alicia? I’ll have to ask you to exercise some tact and excuse yourself here. It’d be rude of you to disturb a couple at the Aurora Festival.

  “.……”


  Alicia fell deathly silent at Lilian’s terrifying verbal bombardment.

  However, to Lilian’s surprise, her silence didn’t last for long. By the time dark clouds passed and moonlight started shining upon the clocktower once more, the clouded look on her face had vanished. She raised her head and asked a straightforward question.

  “Has Lord Brother confessed to you yet?”


  “If not for your disturbance, the two of us would have……”


  “Lord Brother first confessed to me when he was nine.”


  “.……”


  “Ah, it might be more accurate to call it a proclamation of love. The word he used wasn’t ‘like’ but ‘love’.”


  “.…… What about it?”


  Lilian’s smile slowly vanished as she clenched her fists tightly. Alicia’s eyes curled into crescents as she continued her story.

  “I’ve shared a bed with Lord Brother a total of 212 times, exchanged morning kisses 1313 times, mutually confessed to one another 56 times, and bathed together 21 times. I’ve seen every inch of his body.”


  “A-Alicia?”


  “Do you know how cooked Lord Brother likes his steaks to be? Do you know what temperature Lord Brother prefers his water to be at in the bath? Do you know how clumsy Lord Brother’s first kiss is? Ahh, I guess you’ll never get a chance to find out the last one. After all, I’ve already trained him up.”


  “.…… What are you trying to say here?”


  Faced with Lilian’s incredibly awful complexion, Alicia chuckled softly and said.

  “I’m saying that you should stop getting so gleeful over your little victories, old woman. You’re merely feeding on my leftovers! Latching onto Lord Brother for offspring, are you an animal in heat? Know your place and get lost!”


  “What did you say?! You brat!”


  “What’s wrong? You wish to make a move on me, old woman?”


  “You two need to calm down and……”


  Boom!

  Roel didn’t even have the time to finish his words when two pillars of mana gushed into the sky.

  Lilian had already gone red with anger from having her sore spots poked over and over again, especially her age. Unable to stand it any longer, she went on a rampage.

  Alicia was also feeling utterly frustrated from having her one and only advantage over the other love rivals stolen from her hands, so she welcomed this fight too.

  Lilian’s purple mana clashed straight-on against Alicia’s silver mana, producing a terrifying shockwave that jolted everything in the vicinity into the air.

  The noise produced from their unrestrained clash and the rubble rising into the air caught the attention of the auburn-haired woman on the Blessing Square and Miss Angel in the banquet hall. The two of them murmured in uncanny harmony.

  ““Found you!””