Aether stood silently on the edge of the balcony, his gaze distant as he received fragmented reports from his puppets—updates on what had unfolded in the past three days.
His puppets had been deployed across nearly every empire, scattered like seeds to gather knowledge. Every empire except… Aurora and the Void Empire.
For reasons beyond him, he still couldn’t establish contact with either of them.
That was troubling.
He would have to investigate that matter soon. As for the others—Naiadae Empire, where he was currently staying—everything seemed normal. No hostile movements. No internal unrest. Nothing… except for the strange, unsettling trees that had begun sprouting in unexpected places.
Pyra Empire, his own dominion, was also running smoothly. The administration was stable. The people safe.
And then—
“Hmm… so they actually decided to build thrusters?” Aether murmured to himself, his lips curling into a small smirk of disbelief as new intel poured in from one of his puppets from the Zephyra Empire. He rubbed his hands together.. He could already smell the profit wafting through the air like a teasing fragrance.
Raven must’ve struck a deal—with Maelona, maybe even others.
“That’s my girl…” he nodded to himself, chest swelling with pride. She was stepping into the role of Empress like she was born for it.
Still, a part of him itched with his usual schemes. He’d have to pay them a visit soon—see if he could sweet-talk them, maybe twist things just enough so the empire’s wealth funneled into his own pockets. That wasn’t theft, was it?
It wasn’t Maelona’s personal money or anything…
He was just… redirecting a bit of Empire’s flow… into his poc-ahem… for his Empire that was!
That’s all.
He really wanted to know how much she had secured. He considered reaching out to Raven—maybe just a quick whisper through the link—but then he chuckled to himself, a dry, awkward sound. “Nah… better not disturb them right now,” he muttered. Especially not when he still wasn’t sure if he had the courage to face them.
Not after everything he’d done.
Not after all that beating and embarrassment…
His breath hitched at the thought of Maelona’s face.
“Oh fuck… I really screwed up…” he muttered under his breath, guilt swirling in his gut.. Yet a small part of him was still relieved—relieved that Aria had finally realized how much her mother loved him. If that hadn’t happened… it might have been an endless cycle of one-sided, aching love.
Suddenly—
His brows furrowed. Something shimmered in the sky. Just a speck—barely a dot against the vast expanse of blue.
He narrowed his eyes. “What the hell is that?” he whispered, and without thinking, leapt onto the railing. He steadied himself against the wind, then focused his energy into his eyes. His vision zoomed like an organic telescope—enhancing, refining—until he spotted it.
A hooded figure…. A tiny hooded figure.
His heart skipped a beat as he recognized it instantly!
“…No way. It’s still alive?” he muttered, stunned. Before he could process anything more, the figure vanished—blinked out of existence like a mirage.
“Where did it g—”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!”
The scream ripped through the air, and before he could react—
Thud!
He was yanked backward as Aqualina tackled him onto the balcony floor, straddling his chest, her eyes wide with horror,
“C-Caught you!!… You idiot!! What the hell were you thinking?! Are you trying to kill yourself just because I didn’t forgive you?! Are you seriously letting your mind rot like this?!” she screamed at him, fists pounding weakly against his chest.
But there was no strength behind the punches—only desperation.
Aether blinked up at her, stunned into silence. She looked like she was on the edge of falling apart, her expression crumbling with pain, tears welling up behind her fury. It was as if he’d triggered something deep inside her!
He tried to laugh, weakly, awkwardly. “Come on now… I wasn’t going to kill myselfffffff—!!” His voice stretched into a yelp as Sandra suddenly appeared, yanking on his cheek like she was made of vengeance.
The two of them—Aqualina and Sandra—stared down at him, their eyes sharp, unforgiving, like he’d just committed the ultimate sin.
“Wait! Wait, wait! Guys! I swear I wasn’t doing anything like that! Believe me!” Aether raised his hands in surrender, eyes darting between their cold, narrowed stares.
“Oh?” Sandra said, her tone flat, brows furrowed.
“Really?” Aqualina added, voice trembling but full of suspicion.
“Of course!” Aether nodded quickly, desperate for them to believe him. Sandra let go of his cheek—finally—but Aqualina still wasn’t convinced. Her frown only deepened.
“Then why the hell were you standing on the rail like that?” she asked, voice quieter, but edged with hurt.
“I saw something in the sky… that’s why.”
“Oh?” she turned her gaze upward, eyes scanning the empty horizon. “Nothing there,” she muttered.
The sky was calm, clear—like a lie.
“Well, it disappeared—Ow!” Aether winced as she suddenly slammed a fist into his chest again, this time harder, her face trembling with both tears and rage.
“How dare you…” she whispered, the words laced with emotion.
“I swear—believe me—I wasn’t—”
“H-How dare you…” her voice cracked as she spoke over him. “You said… you’d leave me… H-How could you… you b-bastard…” Her punches slowed, growing weaker, until her trembling hands slid down and her face gently fell against his chest.
She stayed there, clinging to him like he was the only thing left holding her together.
Aether blinked, finally realizing what was going on. A soft warmth bloomed across his face as he smiled gently, wrapping his arms around her in return. His voice lowered into a quiet murmur, “Well… I… I really did something wrong. So of course… I’ll leave you, if that’s what you want.” His hands, however, gripped her tightly—holding on like he couldn’t let go even if he wanted to.
But Aqualina held him even tighter. Her fists clenched his clothes so fiercely, it was a miracle the fabric didn’t tear under the strain. She didn’t want to let him go—not even an inch. “L-Liar…” she whispered shakily, her voice catching when she felt the raw emotion in him—the fear, the longing.
He didn’t want to leave either.
Aether chuckled softly, “Haha… Maybe I am…” he murmured, gently ruffling her hair with a touch so tender it trembled. Then, as he leaned down, he whispered near her ear, “But I’ll always be watching… no matter what you choose. I’ll watch over you… just like I always have. Just like I am… my Princess.”
“Mmm…” Aqualina hummed quietly, still clutching his clothes, her face pressed against his chest. Slowly, she tilted her head and looked up at him, eyes soft and gleaming. “I choose you…”
Aether raised an eyebrow, a faint flicker of surprise crossing his face, “Me? A trickster? A Womanizer? Are you sure?”
Aqualina pouted slightly, a flash of annoyance crossing her expression. “Yeah… I—I’ll forgive you. So what? Are you going to leave me now?” She huffed, narrowing her eyes. “And if we’re talking about tricks, then I did it too, didn’t I?”
She looked away for a second, biting her lip in frustration. “Trying to seduce you even though I didn’t know what was going on… Ugh, just thinking about it makes me realize how much of an idiot I was…” Her voice dropped, her tone full of grumbling self-irony as she recalled how desperately she’d tried to get his kiss—only for him to play the innocent card the whole time.
She’d been tricked.
Completely.
“Tsk… I should have known. This face…” she muttered, staring directly at him, “…is far from innocent.”
Aether smiled, the corners of his lips curling with soft mischief. He winked playfully. “I’m still innocent, you know~”
“Don’t act like that…” she snapped with irritation, swatting his arm—but the warmth in her voice betrayed her. She rubbed her nose, her teary eyes shining faintly before a smile finally broke across her lips. She leaned closer, hovering above him, her gaze locked onto his as she straddled him again. “Of course… I didn’t choose you just like that…”
Her smile curved wickedly.
“Bad boys need punishment… right?” she whispered, her voice low and sly.
Aether smirked, eyes sparkling. “I’m… waiting~” he replied, tone laced with teasing anticipation.
“YOU!!” Aqualina’s face flushed bright red in an instant, realizing exactly what kind of punishment he was imagining.
Definitely not what she had in mind.
Her fists pounded against his chest again—weak, embarrassed, and furious. “It’s a real punishment, you pervert!!”
Aether laughed softly, not resisting, enjoying her flustered state. She huffed again, her cheeks burning as she continued to smack his chest with her small, angry fists.
The moment stretched—sweet, silly, and intimate. A quiet, lovestruck tension hung in the air.
Until—
Cough… Cough…
Both of them froze.
Like statues, they turned their heads toward the sound… They had completely forgotten someone was still there.
Aqualina’s face turned an even deeper shade of crimson as she saw Sandra standing nearby with a painfully awkward expression… And beside her—Celestia, grinning ear to ear with obvious amusement.
Aqualina yelped and instantly scrambled off of Aether, brushing down her clothes in a frantic rush. She turned her back toward them, hands covering her face, beet red and mortified.
Aether giggled under his breath as he slowly stood up. He dusted himself off and stole one last glance at the now-empty sky. Whatever had been there before—if it was ever real—was gone. But his puppets were already on the move, scouring the skies and land for any trace of that hooded figure or other anomalies.
He turned to face Sandra—only to be hit with her cold, flat words:
“I’m not going to forgive you.”
“…Huh?”