Chapter 165

Ceres exhaled deeply, shoulders tense as she sat across from Tuf inside the golden canopy chamber. She had specifically instructed Seiryu not to eavesdrop. This conversation, whatever it would become, had to stay between the two of them.

She needed answers.

The image of Aurelian's skinned body and Legion's impaled form still haunted her vision. She didn't know when, or if, that memory would fade.

"Are you mad at me?" Tuf asked, his voice softer than usual, laced with something almost childlike. Uncertain. Fragile.

Ceres stared at him, blinking slowly. "Should I be happy with what you did?"

"They touched you," Tuf said flatly, as if that alone justified the horror he unleashed. "It was their fault."

"I allowed them to," Ceres replied calmly.

"Then you shouldn't have!" he snapped, voice rising, sharp and trembling.

Ceres raised a brow at his outburst. "Why?"

He stilled. Her question sliced through the anger like ice. "Why, Tofu? What is it to you, what I do in bed? You said I'm your 'human.' But not in the mating sense, right? Not like a bonded partner."

She leaned forward, eyes narrowing slightly. "So tell me. Why does it drive you mad when they touch me? I need to understand, Tofu. Because right now, you're not protecting me. You're hindering me. And frankly, you're starting to annoy me."

Tuf flinched.

It was like a knife to the chest.

No. Worse.

It felt like his favorite person in the entire universe just told him she was disappointed in him.

"I can't tell you," he whispered, voice cracking with restraint.

"Can't? Or won't?" Ceres asked, her voice like steel.

"I swear… I want to. But something's stopping me. There's… something inside me, some force I can't fight. Every time I try to say it, " He shook his head, jaw clenching. "It's like my throat closes. My body locks."

"You? The terrifying demi-human prince who could wipe the entire kingdom off the map, being stopped by some invisible force?" Her tone was skeptical, biting.

But Tuf only nodded.

Her silence said it all.

He swallowed, suddenly desperate. "Your Highness… I promise I won't do it again. I won't hurt anyone. Just promise me something in return."

"What?"

"Promise me you won't let any human touch you again."

Ceres blinked. "I can't."

His smile froze.

"But, " she said before he could spiral again, "not because I want to. Not because I crave it, Tofu. But because I have to."

His jaw clenched. "What do you mean, you have to?"

"I can't sense mana, remember?" she said, her voice calm but firm. "So tell me, how do you think I cast spells?"

"You're a halfling," Tuf argued. "You don't need mana. You have elemental energy. Like me. Your blood is tied to the Narfs. You have water affinity."

"And yet," Ceres challenged, "have you ever seen me cast a single water spell?"

Tuf fell silent.

"No," she answered for him. "Because I can't."

Her eyes hardened. "Unlike you or the others, my spells come from my life force, not mana or elemental energy. Which means every time I use magic, I'm dying a little more."

Tuf stared at her in disbelief.

"And unlike others, I can't recover my HP naturally," she continued. "There is only one way to replenish it, through physical intimacy. That is why I sleep with Aurelian. With Legion. It's not lust. It's survival."

"You're just saying that," Tuf snapped, his voice cracking with raw frustration. "You're just making excuses to justify letting them touch you! I can sense it, strong water energy from your body!"

Ceres exhaled slowly, tired of explaining what shouldn't need defending.

"What you're sensing… doesn't belong to me," she said. "It might have belonged to the original Ceres. But not to me. I haven't undergone the Bloodletting Ceremony required for Narf halflings. I can't cast magic using water energy, only my life force."

Tuf looked at her like she'd just grown a second head. "What are you talking about? The Bloodletting Ceremony is only done when a halfling wants to become a full-blooded Narf, to transform, to live underwater like them. And what do you mean 'original' Ceres? You are Ceres."

Ceres shook her head gently.

"Yes, my name is Ceres," she said softly. "But this isn't my body."

Tuf stilled. His expression slowly collapsed from defiance into disbelief.

"I assume you already know who Solmara really is," she continued. "I died on Earth. It was an accident. According to Azrael, it wasn't my time yet. The Fates decided that the life I lived wasn't enough to judge where I truly belonged, Heaven or Hell. But they couldn't return my soul to my body… So Lucifer sent me here."

She looked down at her hands.

"He chained my soul to this body, that has very strong resemblance to my original body. The strong water affinity you're sensing, it probably belongs to the original host. Not me. I can't wield it. I can't even feel it. All I have is this magic I pay for with my life."

Tuf just kept shaking his head, as if refusing to accept it.

"I told you once," Ceres said, her voice gentler now, "that there's someone I need to speak to. One last time. Just… to say goodbye. He was the only person aside from my parents who truly loved me. I know he's blaming himself for my death."

She raised her eyes to meet his.

"But the only way I can reach him is through a Dream Spell that can cross realms, all the way back to Earth. And Seiryu can't do that. He has no anchor there. But your father… Azura said your father might be able to help. That's why I wanted to meet him. To make a deal with him."

Tuf's jaw was tight. His hands were clenched. "Then why still sleep with those vermin?" he barked. "I told you I'd take you to see Father. We could've been there already if you hadn't insisted on fixing this kingdom first."

Ceres arched a brow at him, frustrated at his refusal to understand. "Maybe to make sure I wouldn't abuse this power," she said, "Lucifer cursed this body with a failsafe. Once my HP falls below 50, every negative emotion I feel, every discomfort, pain, fear, or sadness, is amplified five to ten times."

Tuf's expression faltered.

"I've used magic during the battle, Tuf. A lot of it. These past few weeks, my HP has been below fifty the entire time. And a few days ago, it dropped to twenty-eight."

She met his gaze and didn't look away.

"I tried my best to hide it from you," Ceres said softly, "because I knew you would've gone mad. But I was barely standing. I was holding on by a thread, Tuf. And had it dropped any lower… I would've collapsed. And no one would've been able to heal me. Not Delphine. Not Seiryu. Not even you."

Her voice faltered. Just slightly.

"Only Legion or Aurelian could help me."

A long, tense silence stretched between them.

Tuf couldn't look at her. He still couldn't fully accept the idea of her lying in bed with someone else. Letting someone else touch what he believed belonged to someone far more worthy, his father. But even so… he understood.

Ceres stood up from her seat and stepped toward him. Slowly, carefully, she cupped his face in her hands.

Tuf's eyes fluttered closed the moment her skin touched his. His breath hitched. Her warmth was like a balm, softening the raw edges of his fury.

Mother, he thought.

"Please tell me you understand," she asked, voice gentle, pleading.

He sighed, then nodded. "Yes. I understand."

A small smile bloomed on Ceres's lips.

"Promise me you won't harm them again," she added.

"No, I won't," Tuf replied quickly, too quickly.

Ceres let out a groan of frustration.

"Tofu," she said, exasperated. "Aurelian and Legion are sacrificing too much for me."

"Sacrificing?!" Tuf's voice rose again, incredulous. "So sleeping with you is some noble sacrifice now? Then I should just end them both, give them the glory of being a sacrifice, right?"

"I allowed them to touch a body that isn't even mine," Ceres said firmly. "And I know how they feel about me. I've told them more than once that I won't return those feelings. So yes. They are sacrificing."

"Exactly my point!" Tuf shot back, his tone laced with indignation. "What if one day they lose their minds because they can't have what they want? What if they hurt you? What if they try to kill you because of that?"

"They can't kill me," Ceres said, her voice icy with certainty. "Not even you. Not even your father. I'm bound to this body for seventy-nine more years. That's how long I have to stay in this world. According to Azrael, my original lifespan was one hundred and one. Until then, Heaven and Hell can't judge me. So if they ever dare hurt me, it will be my right to punish them. I will be the one to send them to the grave. Not you."

Tuf's fists clenched, but his shoulders sagged.

"I won't make a promise," he said stubbornly. "But I'll compromise… if you will."

Ceres arched an eyebrow, then slowly returned to her seat. "Okay, tell me."

"I won't hurt them," Tuf said, gaze locked on hers. "As long as you don't share their bed, unless it's absolutely necessary. And as long as I'm around, and Seiryu is around, you will not use your magic again."

Ceres smiled. It wasn't a smirk or a victory. It was something softer, something grateful.

This was probably the most considerate Tuf would ever be.

"Okay," she said, raising her hand as if swearing an oath. "I promise. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't use my magic… or share their bed."

Tuf didn't smile back.

But he nodded.

And for now, that was enough.