Brenna said with a soft laugh, "But yes, I came to meet my son. His name is Ethan… Ethan Rothslayer."
Maruti stopped walking.
She turned and stared at Brenna like she had just grown a second head. "Ethan? You are Ethan's mother?!"
Brenna looked a little confused and worried. "Um… yes? Why that reaction? Are you not on good terms with my son? He was always a good boy…"
Maruti blinked a few times, trying to process it. She wasn't shocked because of her bad terms with Ethan—well, yes, she did argue with him sometimes, especially because of Esdeath—but this was something else entirely.
She had thought Brenna was joking when she said she had a son old enough to be in the academy. But now that she actually named Ethan… it was real?
Still, when Brenna asked if she was on bad terms with Ethan, a mischievous idea suddenly came to Maruti's mind.
She quickly nodded with a fake serious look on her face. "Of course! He's such a playboy!"
"Playboy?" Brenna blinked in confusion.
Maruti leaned closer and whispered something completely made up into Brenna's ear—twisting the truth into a wild lie.
Brenna's face turned bright red.
"R-Relationship with three girls?!" she gasped, her voice trembling. Her cheeks flushed, and her hands covered her mouth. "I-I'm going to scold him! He can't play with three girls' hearts like that… At least pick one!" she said nervously, wiping sweat from her forehead.
Maruti couldn't help but laugh softly at Brenna's innocent reaction.
As they walked toward the academy together, Maruti asked another question with curiosity in her tone. "So… how old are you, anyway?"
Brenna smiled warmly. "Me? I'm thirty-one."
Maruti stopped in her tracks again, her mouth falling open.
"Thirty-one?! That doesn't make any sense! Ethan is like seventeen, right? That means you gave birth to him when you were thirteen or fourteen?!" Her voice rose with shock.
But Brenna shook her head quickly.
"No, no," she said, then her voice grew quieter. Her smile faded a little, replaced by a soft sadness. "Actually… I'm not his real mother."
Maruti's eyes widened again, but this time she didn't speak—just listened.
"Actually, I'm just a farmer living in the countryside," Brenna began, her voice calm and warm. "My parents died when I was about thirteen, but they left behind a small house and some farmland. So, I stayed there and started doing agriculture. The villagers were kind and always looked out for me. It wasn't easy, but I managed."
Her eyes softened as she continued. "Then, one day… I found a newborn baby left alone in the wild. He was crying so much… it broke my heart. Our village was poor, and no one wanted to take him in. But I couldn't just leave him. I was lonely too, so I adopted him. From that day on, we were never apart."
As she spoke, Brenna gently lifted a strand of her soft blue hair and smiled. "See? Even our hair color matches! Isn't that funny?"
Maruti tilted her head, curious. "Oh… so you're not an awakened?"
Brenna laughed a little and raised one of her arms, flexing slightly. Her small but firm muscle bulged a bit under her sleeve. "Of course I am! But I never got the chance to go to an academy. I didn't have the money back then, and I never thought about getting married either. Ethan was more than enough for me. He was my world. We were each other's family."
She then looked thoughtful. "It was thanks to Violet—my son's childhood friend. She's a baron. She offered to pay for his academy fees so he could study and have a better life."
Maruti nodded slowly, now understanding everything. "So, can you use magic too?"
"Not really," Brenna admitted with a sheepish smile. "Only the basic stuff. I learned from some books I found. Mostly small things—like spells that help crops grow faster. Nothing fancy."
Then, with a sudden burst of energy, Brenna lifted her arms up like a child playing hide-and-seek. "I purposely came late today so I could surprise Ethan! Like, 'Boo!' right when he least expects it!" she giggled.
Maruti smiled and walked a bit faster, seeing the gates of the academy not far ahead. "That's good! That's good!," she replied. But in the back of her mind, she was starting to worry. "I'm sure I'm late for the ceremony. I need to hurry!"She thought but thankfully she could see the academy gates at distance.
But just then… something odd happened.
"Pfft..." Brenna suddenly covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Her face started turning red, and her shoulders shook as she giggled more and more. "Hehehe… hahaha…!"
Maruti blinked, confused. "Umm… Miss Brenna? Is something wrong?"
"Hahaha… no! Nothing's wrong!" Brenna laughed harder, now holding her belly. "I just feel… really happy! I haven't laughed like this in so long! It feels so good!"
And before Maruti could react, Brenna suddenly hugged her tightly.
Because of their height difference, Brenna's arms wrapped right below Maruti's chest as she hugged her like an excited child.
"Ms. Brenna?! Are you sure you're okay?" Maruti asked again, her face full of confusion and surprise. She had no idea why Brenna was acting like this all of a sudden.
What Maruti didn't know… was that this strange happiness was happening because of her.
Or more accurately, because of the divine-ranked essence stone hidden inside her— "Freedom."
Freedom essence stone was known as the "Heart of Freedom" because it becomes part of the user's heart. It doesn't use mana like normal essence stones. Instead, it feeds on happiness.
When the owner is genuinely happy, the stone gives off a soft invisible aura that spreads joy and comfort to people nearby.
And Maruti… was perfect for it. She was a person who was happy for no particular reason at all.
But there was one small problem—Maruti herself didn't know she had a divine essence stone at all.
Esdeath, who did know, had been planning to tell her. But with all the chaos happening lately, she never got the chance.
But there was one strange weakness in the power of Freedom.
It reacted with mana—so only people who were awakened could feel its effects, especially the ones with weaker control or low resistance. It didn't affect normal people, but for awakened ones, it was different. It filled their hearts with so much joy that their minds could get dizzy, almost like being drunk on happiness.
Even someone like Esdeath, with her strong mind and sharp thinking, had been affected once. For a short while, her reasoning and focus dropped, and she had acted strangely cheerful.
Kaelith—cold and quiet Kaelith—wasn't an exception either.
And now Brenna, who was a simple and kind but weak awakened, was standing right beside Maruti. The closer she was, the more it overwhelmed her. She didn't even understand why she was laughing so much… it just felt like her heart was flying.
"This is what joy must feel like!" Brenna shouted, tears of laughter rolling from her eyes as she clung to Maruti like a best friend on a festival day. "I love this feeling! Hahaha!"
Maruti, on the other hand, had no clue what was going on. She wasn't laughing. She wasn't even smiling.
She just looked up at the academy gates, her face filled with quiet panic.
"Just a little more. I'm almost there!" she thought, dragging the giggling Brenna along with her. Brenna wasn't even walking properly anymore—she was half-skipping, half-hugging Maruti's arm like an overexcited puppy.
Maruti groaned under her breath. Her eyes twitched.
"Why… why do I always end up with the weird ones?" she muttered to herself, nearly crying inside. "First Kailith, Caramel then alice , now this auntie laughing like she lost her mind—what did I do in my past life?, Opps....I was a hitman, No wonder!",
But just when she thought it couldn't get any worse… her luck decided to prove her wrong.
Someone was walking out of the academy gates.
A girl.
She had long, soft purple hair that fell down over one of her eyes, hiding it completely. The other eye—a deep violet—was visible and shimmered quietly under the light. But the strange part wasn't just her beauty.
It was the aura around her.
A cold, silent, heavy aura. Like someone who hadn't spoken to anyone in days, maybe even weeks. She had a strong introvert energy, like she just wanted to disappear into her room and curl up with a book under a blanket.
She moved slowly, carefully. She had a chocolate shake in one hand and was sipping from it through a straw, trying not to look at anyone. Her purple tail was tightly coiled around her waist, almost like she was protecting herself.
She was alice, alice arlecchino.
Her shoulders were tense. Her steps were stiff. Even her fingers trembled slightly, as if being outside around people made her nervous. You could tell—she wasn't used to this. Social things scared her. Deep down, she wanted to be invisible.
But then… her eyes spotted Maruti.
Her visible eye widened.
She stopped.
Her mouth slowly dropped open in disbelief.
Her gaze then shifted to Brenna, who was still laughing like a happy child, clinging to Maruti's side.
And then the quiet girl, who looked like she barely had the courage to speak, suddenly found her voice.
"What are you doing with another girl?"
------------------------
In a quiet dorm room inside the academy, the air felt heavy with silence.
A girl with long white hair that had a soft blue tint sat on the bed. Her white nun outfit made her look pure and gentle, but her face was full of worry and confusion. This was Calista Seraphine. She looked down at the girl sitting on the floor beside the bed — a beautiful silver-haired girl with silver eyes and skin as pale as snow. Her name was Kailith Maranthia.
Kailith sat calmly on the floor, but even she seemed tired and troubled. Her eyes looked up at Calista, searching for answers.
"I told you already," Calista said in a soft voice, trying her best to be helpful, "I've checked several times. There's no ghost, no spirit, nothing strange around you. You should just go to the nurse and get your body checked. Maybe it's something physical."
Kailith let out a small sigh. Her expression was cold, as always, but there was a hint of tiredness in her voice.
"No other choice then. This headache just won't stop," she muttered and stood up to leave.
Calista stayed silent. She just watched Kailith go, her hands gently gripping her nun dress as her thoughts grew more and more tangled.
Soon after, Kailith arrived at the nurse's office.
The nurse, a cheerful and relaxed woman, did her job carefully. She checked Kailith's condition multiple times, but each time she found the same result — nothing.
Kailith sat on the soft patient bed with her back straight and her hands on her lap. The nurse sat across from her, flipping through a book while thinking.
"Well," the nurse finally said, "I don't see anything wrong. If you're really worried, you can go to the Dwarf Kingdom. They have something called surgery and body X-rays. They're very advanced and might find something in your brain."
Kailith looked at her, a bit surprised. But before she could say anything, the nurse continued.
"But honestly," she added with a smile, "I don't think you need to worry. You're a dragon, remember? Unlike humans, you fast regeneration. Illnesses like brain tumors doesn't happen to your kind."
Kailith blinked slowly. "Then what is it?"
The nurse gave a thoughtful look, tapping her book with a finger.
"My guess? It's not sickness. It's just anxiety. And maybe… boredom."
"Anxiety? Boredom?" Kailith raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that answer.
"Yes!" the nurse said with a small laugh. "You're someone important. You've got a lot of responsibility. That causes stress. And lately, with all the crazy things that happened in the academy, I'm sure your mind is full. And if you don't have anything fun or relaxing in your life, it becomes even harder."
Kailith lowered her gaze, thinking deeply.
"You should try doing something new," the nurse suggested kindly. "Take a short trip, taste some new foods, do something that makes you smile. Actually—" she leaned forward playfully, "why not try falling getting into relationship?"
Kailith's eyes twitched slightly, a small spark of life shining through them.
"Relationship?" she repeated in a quiet tone.
The nurse chuckled. "Ah, I see! You already have someone in mind, don't you?"
"Haha... I was just joking, just joking!" The nurse laughed lightly, waving her hand like it was nothing. But then her voice turned a bit more serious, her smile fading just a little.
"Though... there's one more thing. It could be addiction too," she said quietly. "Addiction can mess with your mind. It makes you crave more and more of something, even if it's not good for you. Falling into it is easy... but getting out of it? That's the hard part."
Her eyes looked distant for a moment, like she was remembering something from her past. Then she gave a small smile, showing her white teeth.
"I used to be addicted to alcohol. It was tough, but I'm glad I was able to quit."
Kailith listened in silence, but her fingers began to move slowly, nervously. She lowered her head and spoke in a very soft voice, almost like she was afraid of the answer.
"C-can someone get addicted... to a person?"
The nurse looked surprised. She blinked, thinking for a moment.
"Well... technically, yes. But peaple usually call it obsession rather than addiction. But why do you ask—"
Before she could finish, the door suddenly opened, and another student rushed in.
"Ms. Zani! I got hurt while practicing fireball magic! Please heal it! It really hurts!" the boy said, holding his arm and wincing.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming!" The nurse quickly stood up, forgetting the conversation with Kailith as she hurried to help the boy.
Left alone, Kailith stayed seated for a moment. Her silver eyes stared at the floor, her expression unreadable.
Then, without saying a word, she quietly stood up and left the nurse's office.
Maybe... maybe this strange headache wasn't really about sickness at all. Maybe it was something else.
"Maybe... it's because I haven't seen Maruti for the past three days," she thought, her voice almost a whisper in her heart.
She started walking, her steps slow but certain.
"Gonna find her."