It took a second for Maelona to react, “W-What?” Her cheeks turned bright red as she struggled to process what Dora had just said to her.
She blinked in confusion, unsure if she had misheard or if Dora was truly suggesting something so outrageous.
Aria frowned deeply, her expression twisting with disgust. “That’s disgusting… How can you ask my mother to do that?!” she shouted, her voice laced with disbelief. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. The Principal—the strongest, the most intelligent among them—was asking for something so utterly absurd?
It was one thing to play around, but this… this crossed the line. It was far too wrong, beyond anything she could tolerate.
Dora raised an eyebrow, her lips curving slightly. “Disgusting? Hmm? Even though your mother already had a child with him?” she asked, her voice teasing yet challenging.
Aria’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, her words stumbling out, “I-I mean… it’s not like she wanted to… it just happened by some miracle! And let’s be very clear—my husband would never do such a thing!”
Aether almost choked, nearly coughing up blood at Aria’s declaration.
Dora chuckled softly, “Then why are you barking so much?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“I mean… it’s just a game, isn’t it? It’s not like she’s actually proposing to Aether for real,” Dora said casually, as if the entire matter was insignificant,
“All she has to do is say the words. And why am I making her do it? Because of the butterfly.” She pointed toward the butterfly hovering near them, its wings fluttering gently, “I just want to see what happens if Maelona proposes to Aether. The butterfly is supposed to be the embodiment of her emotions, right? This might trigger something within it. We might be able to learn more about its nature… what do you think?” she finished, spinning her words as if they had a deeper meaning.
Even though her reasoning sounded like complete nonsense, there was a twisted logic buried within it.
Aria bit her lip, still reluctant. “B-But still… forcing my mother to do that… she feels disgusted. Don’t you, Mother?” she asked, turning toward Maelona for support.
Maelona, who had been lost in thought, suddenly flinched at being directly addressed. “Y-Yeah… I mean, saying something like that to my own son-in-law… it’s completely inappropriate,” she said, her voice steady, yet her eyes trembled furiously, betraying her unease.
Dora’s lips curled into an amused smirk as she observed the mother and daughter pair.
Aether, feeling that this was going too far, finally spoke up, “I don’t think this is nec—”
“The losers have to do what the winners say,” Dora interrupted firmly, her tone carrying finality as she silenced Aether. Then, she turned back to Maelona. “You agreed to the game too, didn’t you? Now you’re backing out? Is this how you were raised? Going back on your word? People will be so disappointed in you.”
Maelona gritted her teeth, her fingers tightening into fists as Dora struck at her pride.
Dora grinned and shifted her gaze to Aria. “And it’s not like I’m asking her to kiss him or anything… am I?” she added, her voice dripping with innocence.
Aria bit her lip harder, glancing at her mother with conflicted emotions. “Mom, if you really feel uncomfortable, I wil—”
“Fine!” Maelona blurted out, nodding furiously, her face flustered with frustration.
“Mom?” Aria stared at her in shock, unable to believe she had given in.
Maelona looked straight at Dora, her expression tense yet resolute. “Maelona never goes back on her words. I agreed to play the game, so I will play it,” she declared, inhaling deeply to steady herself.
Dora nodded in approval, giving a soft, satisfied nod as her hand lightly patted Aether’s leg. Since she was sitting close to him, the motion felt oddly intimate.
Aether still didn’t understand what Dora was truly trying to accomplish. This felt like walking on a tightrope.
One mistake, just one misstep, and everything could spiral into disaster.
Maelona lowered her head slightly, her cheeks burning red as she hesitated before speaking. “I… love you.”
Aria blinked, then let out a relieved sigh. “That’s it—” but before she could finish, she was cut off.
“Huh? ‘I love you’? What?” Dora frowned, her expression instantly shifting to one of irritation. “That’s it? Just ‘I love you’?” she repeated, her tone filled with clear dissatisfaction, as if she was disgusted by how Maelona had said it.
Maelona blinked in confusion. She had said words that had never left her lips before, so what was the problem now? “W-What do you mean?” she asked hesitantly.
Dora sighed, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I’m explaining this to someone who literally ruled over an entire tribe… Are you guys dumb or what?” she muttered with open disdain.
Both Maelona and Aria felt a vein pop in irritation at Dora’s blatant disrespect, their expressions darkening.
Dora continued, unfazed. “I told you to say it from the bottom of your heart… but even those few words didn’t carry any emotion. It was empty.”
“Because she doesn’t have those emotions!” Aria snapped, her voice filled with frustration. How could Dora expect her mother to say something she didn’t even feel?
Maelona lowered her head slightly, a mixture of shyness and guilt flickering in her expression.
Dora, however, inwardly grinned. “As I said before… even if she doesn’t have those emotions, she needs to say it like she means it. Until the butterfly reacts to her emotions, I’m not leaving this place. If High Elves can’t even keep their word, then maybe I should just rule over this Empire myself instead of letting you guys continue ruling it!”
Aria gritted her teeth, her fists trembling. “I cannot believe you—”
“Aria,” Maelona called her daughter’s name softly, interrupting her. Then, with a composed voice, she continued, “This is a lesson for you… When you become a ruler, do not make these kinds of mistakes. That’s how this world works. You should always keep your word, because many will try to exploit it. Be careful. Take this as a life lesson and never forget it,” she said, her tone carrying the weight of wisdom and experience.
Aria blinked, slowly processing her mother’s words. After a moment, she gave a small nod, as if realizing that her mother wasn’t simply obeying Dora, but upholding the principles she had always followed.
Maelona took a deep breath, her resolve hardening. Then, she met Dora’s gaze and spoke with determination. “You want it from the bottom of my heart, right?”
Dora simply nodded, her smirk never fading.
Maelona now took this challenge seriously. When her authority was questioned, she couldn’t remain silent—especially not when the one challenging her was Dora.
Maelona turned her gaze to Aether, her expression softening slightly, yet her heart pounded with an aching rhythm. Her breath hitched, her fingers trembled, and for a fleeting moment, she felt as if she had no control over the words spilling from her lips.
“I… I don’t know how to put this into words, but I will say it anyway… I have to say it…”
A heavy exhale escaped her lips,
“My life… has always been dictated by others. Whether it was my existence itself or the moment I was forced into marriage… Every choice, every path, was taken from me before I could even reach for it. Nothing ever went the way I wished… and yet, I never fought back. I never spoke against it. Because deep down, I believed—no, I convinced myself—it was just my fate…”
Her voice wavered, a distant look settling in her eyes as memories she had buried deep clawed their way to the surface. A bitter smile tugged at her lips as if mocking herself.
“I believed it was meant to be this way… That all of this—every pain, every loss—was unavoidable. That I had no say in my own life. That I was simply born to endure. Because that’s what my parents told me. Fate decides everything, and nobody—not even the gods—can escape it. And so I stopped trying…”
Her throat tightened.
“But… even when I tried to break free… even if I dared to defy it… nobody would acknowledge it. Nobody would believe me. Because to them, I was nothing. Just a mere, insignificant bug… trapped in a life I never asked for, caged inside a world I could never escape…”
A blue butterfly fluttered closer, almost as if drawn to her sorrow. It hovered near her, its tiny wings shimmering in the dim light.
“An insignificant being… unable to save her own marriage… unable to protect the one thing that mattered the most… her own daughter.”
Her voice cracked as her gaze fell upon Aria, whose eyes glistened with unshed tears. A faint, heartbroken smile appeared on Maelona’s lips.
“I… I was a failure. A failure in everything.” She bit down on her lower lip, as if punishing herself for saying it aloud.
“M-Mom…” Aria’s voice was barely above a whisper, trembling with emotions. Liora, standing beside her, gently patted her shoulder in silent comfort.
Meanwhile, Thalia frowned deeply. ‘Was this… a proposal? What exactly is happening here?’ she wondered, her mind racing with confusion. However, Dora remained quiet, watching as if everything was unfolding as it should.
Maelona took a shaky breath, her voice quiet yet filled with something deeper—something raw.
“And then… when my daughter found her light, her happiness… I made a decision. A decision I had never been allowed to make before. I swore to protect her light… even if it wasn’t me. Even if I could never be the one to bring her that happiness, I wanted her to have it. And for the first time in my life… I gave something of my own will… willingly, desperately, painfully…”
Her eyes met Aether’s, and for a brief second, something indescribable flickered between them.
“She didn’t end up like me,” Maelona continued, her voice barely above a breath. “Her light protected her. And so… to protect that light… I gave everything. Every last piece of myself. Even if I was nothing but a failure, even if I had no worth… I could at least do this one thing. I could at least protect the light.
And in doing so… I—someone who was supposed to be meaningless, useless—found a purpose.
A reason.
For the first time… I wasn’t just existing.
For the first time… I wasn’t just waiting for my life to end.”
Her fingers curled into the fabric of her dress as she let out a quivering breath.
“When the darkness came for me, ready to take me away, ready to swallow me whole… I saw it.
A light in the darkness”
A soft, fragile smile graced her lips as she looked at Aether, her eyes shimmering with emotions too deep to be named. She slowly stood from her chair, her movements deliberate, as if each step carried the weight of everything she had ever held inside her heart. Step by step, she walked toward him, her voice pouring out like a confession too long suppressed.
“I was ready to disappear. Ready to let go. I thought I was prepared to vanish without a trace, because that’s all I had ever been—a shadow, an afterthought, a mistake. But then… there it was… The Light”
“The light didn’t just offer me warmth…
It showed me something I had never known.
It refused to leave me, even when I had long given up on myself.
It never abandoned me, even when I thought I was nothing…. Even when I had resigned myself to being forgotten.
Yes, I am insignificant… Yet, the light remained before me.
Yes, I am a failure… Yet, the light embraced me.
Yes, I am useless… Yet, the light shone upon me.
Yes, I was lost, wandering with no way back… Yet, the light showed me the path.
Yes, my life was never mine to decide… Yet, the light gave me wings to fly.
Yes, my life could end at any moment… Yet, the light would do anything to keep me here.”
Her breathing grew uneven, her throat tightening with the overwhelming rush of emotions.
“No matter what I said… no matter how much I denied it… the light stayed. Brighter and brighter, it burned away the darkness inside me. It gave me something I had never felt before… something so warm, so gentle, so unbelievably real.
Hope.
A hope I never thought I would be worthy of… a hope I had abandoned long ago… yet, the light gave it to me anyway.”
She stopped before Aether, her entire body trembling. Slowly, hesitantly, she knelt beside him, her gaze locked onto his.
“The light of my life…”
She raised a trembling hand, reaching for his cheek, but just as she was about to touch him, she faltered. Her fingers hovered inches away, her breath shallow, her heart pounding painfully in her chest.
She smiled, but it was so weak, so full of sorrow, longing, and acceptance.
“I… I cannot…
The light I speak of… It does not belong to me.
This light… is meant for those I cherish most in this world.
And I know—I know that I can only watch from afar, that I can only feel its warmth from a distance… But that’s okay.
That’s more than enough!
Because… You know…
I love my daughter more than anything in this world.”
Her voice wavered, her eyes brimming with tears that threatened to spill over. She swallowed hard, her throat aching, her heart barely able to contain the storm of emotions crashing inside her.
“This light… I am happy to have felt its warmth, to have been noticed by it, to have received even a fragment of its love and care… even if just from a distance.
I am grateful.
But before I let go completely…
Before I let this light shine where it truly belongs…
I just want my light to know—
That…”
She took Aether’s hand, her fingers wrapping around his as she held it close. Her entire being trembled as if she were baring her very soul.
“I love you… I love you, Aether.” She said with love yet broken…
!~Ding~!
[+5000 AP]
!~Ding~!
[You have completely seduced Maelona Zephyr.]
“….”
A stunned silence filled the room.
Nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
The only movement was the butterfly, fluttering gently, its blue particles shimmering like tiny stars, swirling around Aether and Maelona as if encasing them in a world only they could see.
Everyone watched, frozen, their hearts caught in their throats.
Then, slowly, the butterfly descended, landing softly on their joined hands.
But unlike before… nothing turned black.
Nothing changed.
It was just… normal.
Aether and Maelona stared at each other, the air between them thick with something unspoken, something indescribable, something that neither of them could put into words.
Until—
“H-How was it? Was my acting… enough? Haha… w-was it good?” Maelona suddenly broke the moment, her voice flustered, her cheeks burning with color.
Maelona suddenly snapped out of it, her face flushing a deep red as she muttered hurriedly.
Acting?
What the fuck was acting here?
If that’s acting, then Aeher was nothing!!!!!
Just then—
“Your Majesty, the food has been prepared,” a maid’s voice echoed through the hall.