“Oh! I finally got the info we needed.”

Yara suddenly spoke up while we were both relaxing in the warm bathtub. Her voice broke the calm silence, and I looked over at her.

She moved her fingers in the air in a strange pattern, and then—whoosh!—a big glowing screen popped up in front of us.

My eyes instantly widened in surprise.

“…Star Society?” I read out loud, raising an eyebrow.

Yara’s smile dropped into a small frown.

“Yeah… this might be a problem,” she muttered.

“Huh? Why?” I asked, tilting my head.

Instead of answering right away, Yara leaned in and kissed my neck gently, her lips feeling warm against my skin.

Then she gave me a small nibble and sighed.

“Even though I run most of the underworld, the Star Society isn’t a group I can mess with easily,” she said, brushing her wet hair behind her ear.

“They’ve got power, real power. One of the biggest organizations in the empire. And that dumb emperor? He’s not planning on wiping them out anytime soon.”

She sounded annoyed now, her eyebrows pulled together.

“They’re into all kinds of twisted and disgusting stuff. Their main goal is to create new types of humans. They mix demon blood with regular people, try weird experiments, and see what happens. If it works, they plan to use those creations to take control of the world.”

I leaned back slightly, letting her words sink in.

“That sounds truly messed up,” I muttered.

“Because it is,” Yara said.

“And to make things worse, they’re working with the Dark Order. You know them, right?”

I nodded slowly.

That name wasn’t one I could forget.

“So yeah,” she continued.

“Even if I sent all my people after them, I doubt we’d be able to wipe them out quickly. We’d be lucky to scratch the surface. If we’re serious about taking them down, it could take months… maybe even years.”

I let out a quiet sigh, watching the screen in front of us slowly shift through names and places.

This was way bigger than I thought.

“And… there’s one more thing I’ve been wondering,” Yara said, turning to look at me.

“Yeah?” I replied.

Her eyes narrowed a little, but not in an angry way.

Just curious.

“How did you even get a group like that to go after you?” she asked.

“You don’t just end up on their radar by accident.”

I blinked.

“Haah…”

I let out a deep sigh and scratched the back of my head, feeling a bit awkward.

“So… I kinda… stole their most precious experiment.”

Yara blinked, not quite processing it yet.

Then her eyes snapped wide open.

“YOU WHAT?!”

I flinched a little, feeling my ears ache from her scream.

“I mean… she was sent to kill me, alright? I fought her, I won, and… well… somehow, I ended up adopting her.”

“…What?” Yara stared at me, clearly confused.

“How does someone adopt a person who literally tried to murder them?” she asked, giving me that look like I’d grown a second head.

“It just… happened, okay?” I said, throwing my hands up a little.

The truth is that it all happened because Lumi felt a connection with Chaerin. She saw something in her… something that connected both of them.

Lumi asked me to take her in, and I just couldn’t say no.

Not after seeing the girl cry like that.

Honestly, if Lumi hadn’t said anything, I might’ve just let her go.

Yeah… if it was the old me.

I would probably kill her if it was the ‘me’ from now.

Yara looked at me for a moment longer, then let out a soft laugh and shook her head.

“Ahh… you really are a box full of surprises,” she said with a warm smile before wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close.

She leaned in, gently nibbling on my neck again, making me shiver a little.

I tilted my head back without thinking, giving her more space.

“Yeah,” I muttered.

“Anyway, I know I’ll have to face them sooner or later. I just didn’t expect them to be this strong.”

She paused for a second, then ran her tongue slowly over the same spot on my neck, sending a small shiver down my spine.

“Lick♡… Don’t worry, Honey,” she whispered sweetly.

“I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

I sank a little deeper into the warm water, letting my arms rest on the edge of the tub.

The steam floated around us, making everything feel soft and quiet.

Yara leaned her head against my shoulder, her fingers slowly drawing circles on my chest, just like she always did when she was feeling close.

The water gently sloshed every now and then when she shifted her legs or moved a little closer.

“So…” she mumbled, lifting her head a little and resting her chin on my shoulder.

“This girl you adopted… what’s her name? What’s she like?”

I thought about it for a while before replying.

“Chaerin,” I said at last.

“At first, she was super shy, barely talked. But now… she’s getting better. Still got the mind of a kid, though. The only reason she looks grown-up is ’cause of those damn experiments they did to her.”

“She’s really cute, though. Like… innocent cute. The kind that makes you wanna protect her.”

“Mmm…” Yara hummed lightly, her breath warm on my shoulder.

Then, out of nowhere—

“…I’m getting jealous,” she said and suddenly bit down on my shoulder.

“Ow—hey!”

“Oh! And she also—”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Yara cut in, rubbing her cheek against my neck and shutting me up before I could say another word.

Her voice got quieter.

“I don’t wanna hear about her anymore…”

“But you aske—”

“I don’t care what I asked. I’m jealous now… Chu♡”

She gave my cheek a soft kiss right after, making me chuckle.

“She’s my daughter, Yara. Why are you jealous of her?” I leaned my head back and looked at her with a raised brow.

Yara narrowed her eyes and mumbled.

“She still has an adult body…”

“So what? She’s five years old.”

“Mhm. I don’t care,” she huffed, puffing her cheeks slightly as she curled closer to me.

“Stop talking about her. You’re with me right now, not her.”

I shook my head and smiled.

Honestly, it was kinda funny.

The Queen of the Underworld, this powerful, scary woman… was getting jealous over a kid.

“…By the way, Yara…”

I finally spoke up after a little pause.

Honestly, since Yara and I shared the same opinion about the Emperor, I thought maybe it was okay to tell her what was really going on… about what was coming soon.

“Yes, Honey?” she replied, looking at me with a soft smile and a faint blush on her cheeks.

And seeing her like that—looking so gentle, so sweet…

…made me change my mind.

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all.

If anyone found out she was involved, things could get really bad for her.

People like Eleonora, Zeva, the Sword Duke… they were all loyal to the Emperor.

Powerful people. Ruthless when needed.

Even if Yara was stronger than some of them, if they all joined forces against her, she’d be in serious danger.

So no. I couldn’t risk it.

Still, now that I’d already opened my mouth, I had to say something.

And I knew exactly what.

“In a few days, I’ll be heading back to Silverleaf,” I said quietly.

“So I probably won’t be able to see you that often for a while.”

“Silverleaf…?” she repeated, tilting her head a bit.

“Yeah. I’ve been staying here as part of the Royal Academy’s exchange program. But now that the semester’s over, I have to go back to my original academy. It’s… kind of far.”

Her smile faded just a little.

“…How far?” she asked, her voice quieter now.

“It’s way out near the border… close to the Elven Kingdom.”

“…Ah,” she let out this soft little noise, and then her body suddenly trembled slightly.

“Yara? Are you alright?” I asked, leaning closer to check her face.

“Am I alright…?” she repeated, almost like she was asking herself that question.

Then she looked up at me.

“…Why are you leaving me?”

“Huh? I’m not leaving you,” I said, confused by her strange words.

“I’m just going back to where I came from. That’s all.”

“Where you came from?” she whispered and then laughed quietly.

“…Hahaha…”

Fwoop!

SPLASH!

All of a sudden, she moved fast—twisting my body and pinning me up against the edge of the tub.

Water splashed everywhere.

Her wet hair clung to her skin, covering most of her face, but through the strands, I could see her eyes staring straight into mine.

Dark and serious.

“…You belong to me, Aestrea.”

Her fingers dug gently into my chest, her breathing slow but heavy, her eyes burning with something—possessiveness?

Fear?

Both?

I had a feeling something like this might happen.

After all… this was probably the first time Yara had ever truly fallen for someone.

So, I wasn’t surprised.

Not really.

But still…

So…

“…♡”

I leaned in and kissed her softly.

Her lips were warm and a little shaky—like she was trying not to cry. I held the kiss gently, letting it last a few seconds.

Then, slowly, I reached up and brushed her wet hair away from her face.

That’s when I saw it clearly—her expression.

She looked so heartbroken, biting her lower lip like she was trying to keep it together. Her eyes were a little glossy, and there was this look of quiet pain on her face.

She didn’t say it, but I knew.

She wanted to come with me.

But she couldn’t.

She had responsibilities here.

The entire Underworld looked to her. She couldn’t just leave it all behind.

Still…

I had a way to fix that.

Because truth be told… I was going to miss her too.

A lot.

“…Create a space rift between your house and mine.”

I said softly, looking right into her eyes.

Her eyebrows lifted, and her eyes widened with surprise.

“…That’s possible, but… I don’t have Void Energy. And even if I did—”

“Don’t worry about that,” I interrupted gently.

I raised my hand a little.

A small, flickering wisp of void energy floated just above my palm, swirling in the air like a little shadowy flame.

Her eyes lit up the moment she saw it—like someone had just told her the world wasn’t ending after all.

Without saying another word, she grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me in, kissing me deeply.

“…Mhm!♡”

Her lips crashed into mine with a passion that burned straight through the steam and warmth of the bath.

It wasn’t soft or careful this time.

It was full of need and fire and relief.

Her fingers dug into my wet skin, and her whole body pressed close, like she never wanted to let go.

I kissed her back just as deeply, wrapping one arm around her waist, the other hand still holding the wisp of Void Energy glowing faintly between us.

Her breath hitched against my lips, and I could feel the pounding of her heart through her chest.

After a few long seconds, our lips slowly parted.

Yara’s forehead rested gently against mine, her breath a little shaky.

Her eyes were still closed, and her arms stayed wrapped around me like she was afraid I’d vanish if she let go.

“I love you, honey…”

She whispered to me softly, in the most loving tone possible.

“I love you too.”

She smiled at my words.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep