A Heart Break!

Later in the night, in Esdeath and Lortell's bedroom, the two of them were wrapped under the bed sheet, their bare bodies softly tangled like snakes. Their skin touched, breath mixing, as Lortell covered Esdeath in gentle kisses, her hands moving freely, squeezing Esdeath's chest as roughly as she liked.

Their lips met again and again, their legs brushed under the sheet, and the heat between them kept rising.

But they didn't take it too far tonight. Lortell slowly pulled back and wrapped her arms around Esdeath, holding her close.

"I'm sorry… but we'll continue tomorrow, I have to wake up early tommorow and do some urgent works," Lortell whispered as she hugged Esdeath tightly, her breath still warm against her neck.

Esdeath didn't say anything for a moment. Both of them were still completely naked under the sheet, the air around them warm and heavy. Esdeath was quiet, thinking if this was the right moment to speak. Then, gently, she gave a small kiss to Lortell's cheek and nodded.

Her heart was beating fast, but she still found the courage to speak.

"I… actually wanted a favor from you," Esdeath said softly, her red eyes looking down for a moment. "Can you purify my blood… to increase my ESR talent?"

Lortell raised an eyebrow. Her expression didn't show shock, but there was a flicker of something else in her red eyes—curiosity, maybe a bit of worry.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about something too," Lortell said, her voice suddenly a little unsure.

Esdeath's heart skipped a beat.

"No… I knew it. I knew this was coming," she thought, biting her bottom lip slightly. This was exactly what she feared—what Lortell would ask her in return.

And just like that, Lortell said it.

"So…do you want to become a vampire?" Lortell asked softly, but there was no judgment in her voice. "You'll get an A grade ESR talent, and powers that can rival even S ranks in the future, Not far, I'll personally give you traning, You'll be ready in few months. And about becoming my servant…"

Lortell suddenly hugged Esdeath tighter. Her silver-white hair brushed against Esdeath's cheek.

"I swear, I'll never treat you like that. You'll always be my goddess. Always," she said in one breath, like she wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding.

Esdeath's thoughts turned hazy. Her yandere instinct stirred.

If it was Lortell who asked… she'd say yes to anything. If Lortell wanted her to crawl on all four legs, to bark like a dog, to wear a collar and hand her the leash… Esdeath wouldn't hesitate even for a second.

She would do anything—anything—for her.

But this time, something held her back. It was the Fable inside her, fighting to keep control.

With all the strength she had, Esdeath held back the overwhelming urge and forced the words out of her mouth.

"I-I need some time to think about it…" she whispered, her voice low, trembling just slightly.

Lortell's eyes narrowed as she let out a soft sigh. She gently held Esdeath's palm, her thumb brushing across it with care.

"Okay, take your time. I won't force you or anything," she said softly, her voice calm. Then she pulled Esdeath into a warm, tight hug.

"It's just for your own safety. I can't imagine something happening to you… so please take care of yourself too," she whispered, holding her even tighter.

"I-I will…" Esdeath replied in a weak voice—her final words before slowly drifting off to sleep.

------

At the same time, in the neighbouring building, Ethan's mother, Brenna, had finally finished cooking. She sat down and began eating with Ethan. But unlike Ethan, who was calmly enjoying every bite, Brenna was eating fast, barely chewing.

"What's the rush? Eat slowly," Ethan said, glancing at her.

"Nothing, it's just… I have other work to do," Brenna replied quickly, finishing her food in a few more bites before standing up and walking into the kitchen.

There, she started packing food into a tiffin box. It was for Maruti. Although Maruti had asked only once, Brenna had taken it upon herself to bring her dinner every night.

For the past few days, Brenna had been delivering food to Maruti without fail. In between, they even had small talks—nothing deep, just casual things like favorite food, colors, what kind of weather they liked, and other little details.

Maruti had even given her a spare key to her apartment. "Just in case I come home late, you can keep the food inside," she had said.

While packing the food, Brenna felt a strange mix of emotions—excitement and guilt.

"Every time I get close to her, it feels like I'm cheating on Rachel… I know she's been gone for more than a decade, but I just can't escape my past," she thought, clenching her chest with one hand.

She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Well… just small talk is fine. At least it puts my heart at ease," she said to herself, trying to calm down.

She picked up the box and stepped out of the house. With just two or three steps, she was standing outside Maruti's apartment.

They were neighbours, after all.

She knocked on the door three times.

No response.

"Is she outside?" Brenna wondered, and took out the spare key. Slowly, she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The apartment looked the same as always. Simple, quiet, and clean. No fancy decorations. Just a modest little home. She had been here enough times to know everything.

She quietly walked toward the kitchen to place the tiffin and leave. But just then, a soft sound made her freeze in place.

"Mmm… Aah…"

It was a woman's moan.

Brenna's body stiffened.

"A-a ghost…?" she whispered, fear spreading across her face.

Part of her wanted to run away immediately. But then she thought of Maruti coming home and getting caught off guard by something.

"I can't let that happen," she told herself.

She went back to the kitchen, grabbed a small knife, and quickly enchanted it with a simple spell she knew.

Then, step by step, she walked toward the bedroom. The sounds were getting louder with every step.

Her hands were shaking.

Her heart was pounding.

Then, in one quick motion, she pushed the door open.

"Hyaa!!" she shouted, bursting into the room with the knife in her hand.

But what she saw—

Made her freeze.

Maruti and Alice were on the bed, completely naked, their bodies tangled up as they kissed and moved together.

The smell of sweat and heat filled the room.

The sounds… the sight… it was nothing she had expected.

Brenna's eyes widened.

Her mouth dropped open.

She dropped the knife.

Both Maruti and Alice suddenly stopped moving and turned their heads toward the door.

"When did you come?" Maruti asked, her voice full of shock and confusion.

Brenna didn't answer right away. She kept her eyes down, avoiding their gaze. Her face looked dim, filled with quiet pain and sadness she tried to hide.

"N-Nothing… I just came to deliver dinner as always. It's in the kitchen," she said softly, her voice low and shaky. She tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Well then… I'm going," she added quickly, turning around and walking away in fast steps.

"Who was she?" Alice asked, narrowing her eyes with a sharp look of suspicion.

Maruti let out a sigh and gave Alice a light smack on the head.

"Don't act innocent. You already know she's Ethan's mother," she said, annoyed.

Brenna could still hear them talking behind the door, but she didn't say anything. She didn't even pause. She just quietly closed the door behind her and walked straight into her house next door.

Once inside, she didn't stop in the living room.

She didn't sit on the couch.

She didn't even take off her shoes.

She walked directly into her bedroom, her face down the whole time like she was trying to disappear.

She closed the door behind her, slowly and gently, and then leaned her back against it. Her legs gave out, and she slid down until she was sitting on the floor.

She hugged her knees tightly and buried her face in them.

Her body was silent, but her eyes had already turned red. Her tears began to fall without warning.

"I'm such a fool… stupid… stupid… stupid…" she whispered into her knees, her voice trembling.

She let out a dry, bitter laugh.

"I don't know if I should be happy… that she's also into girls…" she said quietly to herself, "or sad that she already has someone close to her."

Her fingers dug into her arms as she hugged herself tighter.

"Of course she would have someone," she said in a shaky voice. "A younger girl… prettier… better… not someone like me. I'm just Ethan's mother. An old woman…who lost her prime"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

Her chest rose and fell fast.

Her heart was beating too loud in her ears.

She pressed her lips together and whispered, "It's not her fault. We barely know each other for a month And there was nothing between us to begin with. We were just talking. Just friendly chats. That's all…"

She wiped her eyes, but more tears came right after.

"We can still be nice friends. Just… friends," she tried to convince herself.

But her body started to shake.

Then she felt something wet fall onto her palm.

Drip.

Then another.

Drip… drip… drip…

Tears.

They kept falling one after another, no matter how hard she tried to stop them.

"But why… why these tears just won't stop…"

---------------

In the morning, Ethan and his team walked side by side through the academy hallway. The sunlight coming through the windows lit up their faces—but except for Ethan and Cassandra, everyone looked gloomy and tired.

Their steps were slow, and no one was really talking until Emma broke the silence.

"Tell me," she said, turning to Cassandra, "how would *you* have passed that last trial if you were there?"

Cassandra, who hadn't joined them for the illusory inheritance, tilted her head. She didn't know the full details, but from their expressions and words, she could already guess it hadn't been normal.

Sylvania's lips trembled as she looked down at her trembling hand.

"It was terrifying… too terrifying," she said in a low voice. "I don't even know what I was doing. I completely lost control… I lost my mind…"

A light shiver ran down her arms.

"That's why we need to make not just our bodies strong, but our minds too," Ethan added calmly, trying to remind them of the lesson behind the pain.

Just then, Ethan noticed Violet walking with her head slightly down, her eyes distant like she was thinking of something far away. She wasn't saying a word.

"Did something happen?" he asked, watching her with concern.

Violet blinked and quickly shook her head. "No. It's nothing," she replied with a weak smile.

But inside, she was hiding it all—the fear, the betrayal, the moment Claus had thrown her to die in that illusion world. She didn't tell anyone. Not a single word.

Breaking the tense mood, Cassandra stepped in with her usual blank expression.

"I was busy preparing essence stones for all of you," she said. "Also, I added a new member to the team. And I've been thinking of recruiting a few more."

"New member?" everyone asked at the same time, surprised.

Cassandra nodded.

"You'll meet her soon. I'm also considering Kailith and a new student named Belta. She's a tiger-kin," she explained calmly. "And most importantly—Princess Ravenna. Her status will be a huge advantage for us."

"You really thought ahead," Ethan said with a small smile, clearly impressed.

They finally reached their classroom and stepped inside.

But Violet stopped in her tracks the moment she saw her desk.

Just like last time, it was covered in trash—papers, broken pens, pieces of erasers, and worse, ugly drawings scribbled all over her books and seat. It was clearly done on purpose, again.

"This again?!" Violet growled, her fists clenched tight. "I'm going to beat Mirael's ass right now!"

Her eyes were burning with anger as she started to move, but Ethan quickly stepped in front of her and held out his hand.

"Wait until class ends," he said. "We'll deal with her later. Not now."

Violet stared at him for a second, then let out a long, frustrated breath. She sat down hard on her chair.

"Fine… but if anyone dares to disturb me during the lecture…" she muttered, glaring around the room, "I swear I'll beat the first person I see."

-------

Ethan later helped Violet by quietly cleaning her seat. He picked up the trash, wiped off the ugly drawings, and made sure she could sit properly. The others also sat down, trying to shake off the heaviness from earlier. But Violet wasn't thinking about the lesson at all. She just kept counting every second in her head, waiting for the class to end so she could go and punch Mirael's face in.

Her fingers tapped the desk slowly.

Just then, the classroom door opened.

A female teacher stepped in. Her face was pale, her expression grim and tense. Her robes looked rushed, as if she had thrown them on in a hurry.

"There's… some very bad news," she said right away, her voice low but clear enough to grab everyone's attention.

The students went quiet.

"A strange event has happened in the Kingdom of Dwarves," she continued, hesitating for a moment as if unsure how to explain it. "They… they made a puppet. Or… something like a puppet. But this one had a will of its own. And it could appear inside mirrors."

She paused. Her voice was shaky, and her brows furrowed deeply.

Actually, the teacher didn't really know what she was talking about—because in this world, the knowledge of artificial intelligence, robots, and machines was extremely limited. She could only explain it using the words she understood.

She was calling human robots, "Puppets with the will of it's own", And ability to hack all camputers and electronic things to ability to be in mirrors.

The class was frozen in silence, staring at her.

The teacher took a deep breath and continued.

"It was originally made to fight in wars. They thought it would save lives by using puppets instead of real soldiers. But… it went out of control. Last night, it took over half of the Dwarf Kingdom."

Some students gasped.

"Because they are puppets, they never get tired. They don't feel pain. They're not afraid of dying. And they just keep coming, wave after wave. That's why… it's said that if this thing spreads any further like a disease!",

She looked around the room, her eyes serious.

"All kingdoms are now sending help—supplies, troops, anything they can. Because if we don't stop it there, it will come for all of us in future."

Gasps and shocked whispers filled the room. Even Maruti, who was sitting near the back, looked surprised.

Since Esdeath hadn't come to class and didn't say anything about this, even she hadn't expected such news.

"A sci-fi apocalypse?" Maruti thought with a small, amused smirk. "Well, this might be fun. Life was getting a bit boring anyway."

But Ethan wasn't smiling.

His face was hard and serious, filled with quiet determination. In his mind, memories from his past life came flooding back.

"I remember this," he thought. "So many S-rank adventurers joined forces to fight that thing. But in the end… they had to destroy the entire Dwarf Kingdom just to stop him. And that was years later…"

His hand clenched into a fist under the desk.

"By then, millions had died. The Dwarves were almost wiped out. Only a few thousand survived, most of them old and broken."

Ethan looked down, his jaw tight.

"I have to stop it early this time. I have to save them. As many as I can."

Just then, one student stood up. He had sharp clothes and an arrogant look on his face—a noble by blood, full of pride.

"Why are we even helping them?" he said loudly. "It's their mess. Let them clean it up."

The teacher glared at him for a moment, clearly annoyed.

"I'm not the king," she replied. "But I assume… if we don't help them, then he will come for us next. That thing is not just a dwarf problem anymore. It's a danger to the whole world."

The room went quiet again. Some students looked scared, others confused. Small whispers spread.

"How can a puppet be that strong?"

"Half the kingdom in one night? Is that even real?"

"It must be fake, right?"

Cassandra calmly raised her hand. Her face, as always, showed no emotion.

"Does this puppet have a name?" she asked, her voice quiet but clear.

The teacher nodded slowly.

"Machine for Absolute Logic, Interception, Control, and Eradication"

"In Short M.A.L.I.C.E",