[Not gonna lie, I tried translating this into German and the result was… unique.
No actually it was giving me brain damage. Damn… i'm starting to think I will have to write my own Novel in English from the very beginning.]
Effie had managed to put Sunny in a tight spot.
He wanted to be mad at her…but, to be fair, it wasn't her fault.
No one had told her about the charade. No one had explained that they were all supposed to pretend Sunny wasn't the Lord of Shadows.
That the little charade he pulled had caused memory loss was hard to believe.
'She believed what she saw was a dream?!' Sunny's mind filled with disbelief.
But it happened.
And now… he had to deal with it.
Somehow.
'Maybe I'll ask Cassie to erase Morgan's memory.' he mused. It wasn't a terrible idea. Effective, even.
But Sunny was infamous for something else entirely…slipping through problems. Escaping the tidal wave when others would have drowned. If only he'd mastered his Flaw sooner…
Harper would've appreciated that.
Although that guy was done for either way.
Now everything rested on how he answered.
He let out a quiet chuckle, then shook his head, lacing his voice with calm amusement, like this was all a joke, nothing more. If anything, he felt like a verbal cook, plating distractions.
"That's quite the nightmare, Saint Athena. Ridiculous… of course." he said smoothly. "I do hope your bed's comfortable despite it. I wouldn't want my guests having restless nights."
He finished with a charming smile and returned to his food.
Effie and Bin held their breath as he flashed his smile.
"Oh, I'm sure I'll sleep better now," Effie said with a wink. "But hey… feel free to come upstairs and check. Just to make sure the bed's, you know… properly fluffed."
Jet's hand cracked against the back of Effie's head, sending a minor shockwave through the café.
"You do have a husband," Jet snapped. "And I'm pretty sure Nephis would tear you apart if she heard you ogling her boyfriend."
She sounded more like a fed-up mom scolding an overgrown, meat-obsessed child.
Sometimes it seemed like Effie was raised by Wolves or something like that.
Bin gave Effie a sympathetic nod.
"I get it. But it's no use. That man's heart belongs to Changing Star," she said solemnly, voice almost tearful.
Through all this, Morgan didn't flinch. Didn't react. Didn't seem interested.
She hadn't believed it for a second.
'Total success.' Sunny cheered internally, maintaining his disarming calm as if this hadn't been one of the hardest questions he'd had to endure in weeks.
But then Morgan spoke.
A grin curled across her lips, sharp and smug.
"Him being a Saint? Impossible. I'm shocked he even made it to Master," she scoffed. The very idea seemed to offend her. "His brother must've carried him through the Second Nightmare. That guy doesn't even have a dull edge to him." She mumbled to herself.
No one said a word.
Even if most of them wanted to disagree, they wisely kept their mouths shut.
Being seen as a helpless Master suited Sunny just fine.
He was grateful Effie hadn't felt the urge to jump to his defense. She was too distracted by her food to hear Morgan's jab, apparently.
The rest of the table, however, was already imagining the moment Morgan would learn the truth.
'That's going to be glorious,' Seishan thought, nearly giggling.
Now that the tension had passed, Seishan decided to chat with Morgan. She wasn't expecting honesty, not like the kind Sunny was giving.
Well… that was probably for the best.
With Sunny, one never quite knew what was true. Not even Kai could tell.
"Say, Morgan," she began. "Isn't it strange? All of us sitting at one table, sharing a meal. Never thought I'd see the day."
Morgan's blood started to stir.
"I'll admit, I didn't think this was possible either," she replied, eyes narrowing. "But what really surprises me is that none of you are wearing shackles. How did that happen?"
She raised an eyebrow, expecting some convoluted explanation about hidden restrictions or clever bindings.
Instead, the sisters shared puzzled glances.
Revel answered, calm and simple.
"Why would we leave? We like it here."
Morgan's expression cracked. She turned automatically to Kai.
"She's telling the truth," he said with a shrug.
Chaos rippled across her face.
"Why? Don't you want to go back to your mother? I'm sure Clan Song is struggling without you on the battlefield."
But the sisters didn't flinch.
Not a single flicker of doubt.
Seishan met Morgan's glare with a serene smile. "We said our goodbyes. She never meant us harm, but… she was never the mother we wanted."
She chuckled softly.
"Truth is, we're not even part of Clan Song anymore."
Morgan slumped back in her chair as the words sank in.
Kai nodded in agreement…calm, honest, and infuriatingly handsome.
And Morgan knew one thing for sure: Kai couldn't lie to save his life.
Which meant every word was true.
The Lord of Shadows had beaten these Saints, thirteen to one, and still spared them.
And then gathered the rest of the Song Sisters to convince them to forsake their mother.
Unbelievable.
But impossible to deny.
Howl's voice pulled her back to the moment.
"But I think you understand," she said gently. "You don't look eager to return to your father, either. Even if you could."
Morgan growled.
Howl was right, and that stung more than any insult.
"Would you believe me if I said I no longer care about my father or Clan Valor?" she asked evenly.
Howl shook her head. "No. I'd understand."
Morgan smiled, just for a second.
"Good. Because I don't care anymore. I spent years fighting for him. Scheming. Obeying every command."
Her smile vanished. Her eyes burned.
"And what did I get? Nothing!"
The words exploded from her chest before she realized she was shouting.
She buried her face in her hands, like looking up would kill her.
And maybe it would. Metaphorically, at least.
The room fell silent.
No one had ever seen Morgan like this.
For so long, she'd worn armor made of sarcasm, strength, and sharp glances. But now the cracks showed.
The blade was finally chipping.
Shattering.
"And now I'm stuck here," she whispered, voice raw. "With that deranged bastard lurking around. All I ever wanted was to be myself for once."
The others looked on, silent, but not judging.
There was no hatred in the room anymore. Only understanding.
She wasn't just the Cold Princess of Valor anymore.
She was one more broken child, left behind by those who were supposed to protect her.
Moonveil, sitting closest, hesitated. Then slowly reached out and rested a hand on Morgan's shoulder.
Morgan flinched hard. Her hands dropped from her face. Her eyes wide.
"Don't touch me!"
Moonveil recoiled, startled… but then saw the truth.
Morgan turned away, not out of anger…
…but caution.
"You don't know the consequences. This hoodie might not hold."
That caught Moonveil off guard.
Morgan wasn't worried about her. She was worried about her Flaw.
"I see," Moonveil said gently. "I was just trying to calm you down."
Her voice, warm and steady, seemed to ease something in Morgan's shoulders.
Unseen to most, Beastmaster was quietly lending a hand, easing her mind, pushing her toward peace.
Between the two, Morgan's blood stopped boiling.
A miracle, honestly.
One no one had dared imagine possible.
Minutes ago, they'd all been enemies.
Now? Just a table of damaged people with absent or broken parents.
All held together by one unspoken thread:
They understood each other. Well… all except Rain. She was an outlier, of course.
She had great parents after all.
Although it had taken time, Morgan wasn't nearly as frightened or on edge as she'd been just a few hours ago.
Sure, she wasn't exactly comfortable. But she was used to discomfort.
In her line of duty, comfort was a rare, fleeting thing. As the Princess of Valor, she'd never dared dream of a day off.
She'd lived under constant scrutiny. Every step, every gesture, every breath… evaluated. Judged.
But now, that burden is gone.
She no longer felt responsible as the Princess of Valor.
Because she wasn't royalty anymore.
Not in the way she saw it.
Losing devotion to a domain wasn't just a declaration, it was deeper than words. It was a shift in the soul.
Even though Bastion technically remained under her control, she no longer belonged to Anvil's domain.
Because now, she was simply Morgan.
Not Morgan of Valor.
The first step toward a life lived for herself, not others.
For the first time in her memory.
"A life worth living," she murmured under her breath.
There was sadness in the words, an admission that her past life hadn't been. And yet, she felt a strange relief at having finally reached this point.
Now came the harder question.
What would she do with it?
With her first breath of freedom after years of suffocating duty… she realized she didn't even know how to live.
As absurd as it sounded.
Her gaze drifted toward the Sisters.
They made it look so easy.
'They've figured it out already.' She thought with quiet envy.
'A life driven by more than duty… by more than obligation. In that, they have me beat.'
The admission might've horrified her former self.
But now? Now she saw the truth.
She'd been brainwashed.
Like a child kept in the dark, never taught another way… and never daring to question it.
'Gods,' she thought bitterly. 'I was so blind. Father never intended me to be a person.'
Her fist clenched under the table.
'Just a tool. A weapon. Something to use, then discard once I had served my purpose.'
The realization burned. But oddly… it was freeing.
She let her gaze wander again, sweeping across the table, takiing in every detail.
And in that moment, she understood something else.
'These aren't enemies. These are future allies. Maybe even… friends? If that's what it's called.'
A faint, cautious smile touched her lips.
"I must admit… most of you aren't like I expected," she said quietly, eyes fixed on her coffee mug.
The table fell silent.
Most hadn't expected her to speak at all, let alone like that.
But they understood.
They'd been just like her not long ago.
Slowly, mischievous smiles spread across a few faces, mischief that could've blinded someone.
"You mean we're not the bloody savages you were told we were?" Revel grinned.
Morgan nodded silently.
Bin pointed at Sunny with a knowing smirk. "We were exactly like you when we first got here. Worse, even. But that guy's quite the therapist… in his own weird way."
Sunny nearly choked on his coffee.
'Me? A therapist? Gods, Bin's lost her mind.' He thought, grumbling internally.
Not that he'd admit it aloud, but truthfully? He had been a sort of therapist to the Sisters.
Even if his methods were… unconventional… Unorthodox.
Or outright insane, depending who you asked.
But in the end? Whether it was madness or genius…
The results spoke for themselves.
Though Morgan's guard had softened, she was far from convinced.
In her eyes, there were still two problems sitting in this room.
Sunny… and Kai.
The later fool was going to get an earful once she caught him alone.
"So… what do you all do here?" Morgan asked evenly, voice calm but edged with suspicion. "Doesn't seem like much happens."
Howl shrugged. "We play a lot of games. Spar sometimes."
Revel chimed in, gesturing out the window.
"The shadows outside are pretty interesting, too. We even found an old, lost Saint of Song out there." She chuckled lightly, avoiding Sunny's gaze. "We thought Changing Star had killed him."
Morgan frowned faintly while Revel's grin widened.
"Turns out… it was the Lord of Shadows."
Morgan's brow twitched.
It felt surreal, how casually they spoke about it. How lightly they threw around the fact that the man who imprisoned them had slaughtered one of their own.
And yet…
Not a trace of anger.
Not even sadness.
She didn't know what to make of that.
"By the way…" Morgan hesitated. "What was that thing? The one banging against the inside of a vault door earlier. It felt… strong. Like… way more than a Saint."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Don't tell me Ki Song is locked up in there."
Laughter rippled across the table.
Revel leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand, her smirk razor-sharp.
"No," she said sweetly. "Of course not. That would be ridiculous, right?"
A pause.
Then she chuckled softly.
"No. It's the shadow of a Sacred being. The Lord of Shadows killed it a while back."
Morgan's jaw went slack. Slowly, she turned to Kai. And to her horror… he nodded.
Same stunned expression.
Same quiet dread.
And in that moment, Morgan realized…
There was nothing boring about living here.
Not in the slightest.
[Author's Note: I love writing those kinds of Chapters. Even if there is not much going on, character development is important. And Morgan desperately needs that. For Mordret I have something special though. It is time I revive an old concept I came up with months ago.
You will see what I mean by that in the next chapter or the one after that.]