Pearl Jewel walked through the palace toward her room, keeping her arms around herself.
On her way, she encountered her younger half-brother, the son of her stepmother.
'So disgusting.'
Pearl didn't want to talk to anyone.
But her brother blocked her path.
"How are you, Pearl?"
"Grival, get out of my way."
He didn't move.
Instead, he smiled.
"What happened to your face?
Did you meet your lover or something?"
Pearl's face was still red from the slap, and the long fingerprints left by her father's hand were clearly visible.
But strangely, she didn't feel much pain.
'My lover?'
The first person who came to her mind was Shion Lan.
She remembered his presence.
The calmness she felt whenever she was around him, despite everything that had happened today.
"I want to sleep."
Pearl pushed her brother aside and continued toward her room.
Grival watched her leave.
Then a malicious smile appeared on his face.
He immediately ran toward his father's office.
"Dad!"
He began crying.
"Pearl pushed me!"
Pearl's stepmother immediately looked at her husband.
"Your daughter is becoming more and more arrogant.
You have to teach her how to behave."
Her father sighed.
"What more can I do?
I've already made her hate me."
His wife shook her head.
"Don't say that.
A daughter shouldn't hate her father.
Otherwise, she would be an ungrateful daughter."
Her words gradually persuaded him.
He took a deep breath.
"Fine.
I'll make her understand how she should behave in front of her little brother."
"Thanks, Dad!"
"Thank you, honey."
---
While everyone remained in the office, Pearl finally reached her room.
Or rather...
her mother's private room.
She changed her clothes and put on some of the clothes that had belonged to her mother.
Then she walked toward the bathroom.
There, she found an ointment and several other medicines.
"Ouch!"
She winced when her fingers touched her swollen cheek.
She carefully applied some ointment to the red area before returning to her bed.
Pearl sat beside the window and looked at the night sky.
"Shion...?"
She whispered his name.
Countless stars decorated the black sky, making it strangely beautiful.
Beautiful like him.
"I'm here anytime you need me."
She remembered his promise.
Without realizing it, she smiled warmly.
Her professional smile disappeared completely.
Pearl reached into the drawer beside her bed and took out an old picture.
The picture was old, but the woman in it was beautiful.
She had brown hair and blue sea-colored eyes.
In her arms was a baby girl with the same eyes.
Pearl stared at the picture.
She remembered the words she had heard so many times during her childhood.
"My little Pearl! Come here, sweetie!"
Her smile widened.
Then another voice echoed in her mind.
"See you soon, little Pearl."
Her breathing became rapid.
She slowly calmed herself before hugging the picture against her chest.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
"Mom...
I really miss you..."
---
The Third Vein
On the other side, Shion returned to his room.
As always, he felt exhausted from his punishment.
But his exhaustion didn't stop him from entering the Veins Domain.
There, he found Shi Yun Lan waiting for him.
"I'll enter the Third Vein."
"Well."
Shi Yun Lan didn't react.
Shion stared at him.
'Seriously?
No cautions or warnings?'
"Wait."
"Are there any techniques I need to learn before entering the memories?"
Shi Yun Lan shook his head.
"Before, you were influenced by me.
So you needed techniques that could prevent you from becoming lost in the memories.
But now..."
He pointed toward Shion.
"You're aware of yourself.
There is no longer any effect."
Shion nodded.
"How long will I stay this time?"
"It depends on you.
Maybe a few hours.
Maybe several days.
Maybe a week.
No one knows."
Shion remembered something.
"How did you control my presence last time?"
"You were influenced by me.
I simply set your return point to one night, regardless of how long you stayed inside the memories."
Shion understood.
"Forget all of that.
I want to escape the academy for a while."
"..."
Shi Yun Lan remained silent.
Shion disappeared.
Shi Yun Lan shook his head.
"Fool.
You've escaped a hole only to fall into an abyss.
It's your own fault."
---
When Shion entered the Third Vein, the familiar void swallowed him.
Darkness surrounded his body.
Then he heard the same worried voice that had always brought his consciousness back.
Shion closed his eyes.
When he opened them again...
he found himself inside a carriage.
The carriage was taking him back to his family.
But this time, Shion Lan had become Shi Yun Lan.
He sat inside the carriage with a book in his hands.
The book was about the anatomy of the human body.
"The young master?"
Shi Yun Lan raised his head.
Two beautiful girls sat nearby.
One was his young maid, Bi Ri.
The other was his new sword maid, Phyllis.
Shi Yun Lan looked toward Phyllis.
"What is it?"
Phyllis fidgeted with her fingers.
"Will you... be okay with me?"
"Explain."
Shi Yun Lan didn't understand her concern.
Bi Ri answered instead.
"She is now banished from her family.
But recently, we saw several members of the Fru family trying to take her back."
Shi Yun Lan returned his attention to the book.
"The moment Phyllis was banished from her family and became my maid, they lost the right to take her back."
He looked toward Phyllis.
"Right?"
"Yes, Young Master."
Shi Yun Lan continued.
"When she was cursed, they refused to accept her.
Some of them even tried to kill her.
When she defended her brother and agreed to stay with me, no one objected.
And while she stayed with me, they never even bothered to check on her."
His words were delivered like a cold report, yet they struck Phyllis's heart, reminding her of the cruelty she had suffered at the hands of her family.
Shi Yun Lan raised his head.
"But now..."
His pitch-black eyes met Phyllis's blue ones.
"You're a talented and beautiful girl.
Of course they would want you back.
But that will only happen in their dreams.
No one can take something..."
He paused.
"...or someone that belongs to me."
Phyllis's face immediately turned bright red.
The feeling of being protected—and possessed—filled her entire body.
Shi Yun Lan returned to his book.
The journey continued.
---
Time passed.
Eventually, the scenery changed.
Shi Yun Lan found himself approaching the lands of his family.
He closed his book.
"Phyllis.
Get ready to enter your new family."
Phyllis nodded.
"I hope you will accept my service, Young Master."
The carriage slowed down.
Slower.
And slower.
Bi Ri suddenly sensed something wrong.
She looked outside cautiously.
"Young Master.
I think we're in trouble."
Shi Yun Lan didn't react.
He simply prepared himself.
The carriage finally stopped.
Shi Yun Lan stepped out with the two girls.
Several uninvited guests were waiting for them.
"Fru family."
Shi Yun Lan looked at them coldly.
"What brought you here?"
The eldest member of the group, a man in his mid-twenties, stepped forward.
His eyes immediately fell on Phyllis.
"Fru No Phyllis.
Give her back to us."
Shi Yun Lan looked at the group.
"She is no longer Fru No Phyllis.
She is my sword maid.
And you're blocking my way.
Get out."
The eldest man became angry.
"Third Young Master of the Shi family!
Don't involve yourself in this matter.
Go back to your father!"
Shi Yun Lan looked at him.
"What happens when an outsider blocks your way?"
Bi Ri answered without hesitation.
"We kill them, Young Master."
Shi Yun Lan unsheathed his sword.
He pointed it toward the group.
"You are all outsiders from my viewpoint.
Not members of the Fru family.
If you want to live...
Get out of my way."
"Hahaha!"
A new voice suddenly echoed across the area.
"What brave words!"
Everyone turned toward the newcomer.
He was another member of the Shi family.
Bi Ri immediately recognized him.
"Shi Yun Suan.
The eldest young master of the Shi family.
And the big brother of our young master."
Phyllis's expression relaxed.
"So we're safe, aren't we?"
But Bi Ri's expression darkened.
Shi Yun Suan walked toward them.
"Don't worry.
I'll make my brother apologize to all of you."
He looked toward Shi Yun Lan.
"Little Lan.
Come here and apologize.
Then they won't make things difficult for you."
"..."
Shi Yun Lan stared at his brother.
Then he turned toward Bi Ri.
"Bi Ri.
Who is this idiot?"
"...Huh?!"
Phyllis froze.
Even the members of the Fru family looked stunned.
Bi Ri, however, answered seriously.
"He is your elder brother."
"Like the other in the academy?"
Bi Ri thought,
'I'm sure he doesn't remember Shi Yun Erk although being at General Level.'
She said,
"Yes."
But she didn't stop her.
"He is also a friend of the Fru family."
Shi Yun Lan nodded.
Then he looked back at his brother.
"I ask you to take your friends away from my path."
"Really?!"
Shi Yun Suan looked as though he had just been struck.
"You acknowledge me now and that's all you have to say?!"
"So?"
Shi Yun Lan genuinely didn't understand his brother's reaction.
Then he noticed the malicious smile appearing on Shi Yun Suan's face.
"My little brother.
I know you believe in the will of our ancestors.
Don't you remember what they said?"
The members of the Fru family had no idea what they were talking about.
Neither did Phyllis.
Bi Ri, however, explained.
"The young master has always preserved the will of the ancestors and followed their rules.
The only person who can make him abandon those rules is the head of the family."
Shi Yun Lan looked at his brother.
"Which rule do you mean?"
Shi Yun Suan smiled.
"When guests come, we must show them respect.
You are now—"
"The darkness doesn't expel those who enter."
Shi Yun Lan interrupted him.
"You mean that?"
Shi Yun Suan's smile widened.
"Exactly.
We don't expel our guests."
He turned toward Phyllis.
"Phyllis.
Go back with your family."
"No."
Shi Yun Lan immediately refused.
He looked at his brother.
"First, they aren't our guests.
Second, I can't expel Phyllis.
She came to me.
So I can't break the rules."
He paused.
"Third..."
His eyes became colder.
"The shadows don't swallow each other."
The meaning was obvious.
Shi Yun Lan couldn't fight his brother in front of everyone.
Shi Yun Suan laughed.
"Ha...
Hahaha!"
He acted like he heard the funniest thing in the world.
"You?
You want to fight me?
That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
"Suan."
The eldest member of the Fru family interrupted.
"Don't waste our time.
We want Phyllis.
And then we'll leave."
He stepped forward.
"If I hit your brother...
Will you be able to handle the consequences?"
Shi Yun Suan sneered.
"Do as you want."
The man advanced.
Only a few steps separated him from Shi Yun Lan.
"It's better for you to hand her over."
"No."
Shi Yun Lan's voice was cold.
"Get out of my sight.
Or you'll regret it."
"How dare you—!"
"(Art of Annihilation: Aura of Death)."
A deadly aura suddenly spread throughout the area.
The man's pupils contracted.
His heart began beating rapidly.
"What... is this?"
Shi Yun Suan hadn't expected it either.
His expression darkened.
Meanwhile, Shi Yun Lan turned toward Phyllis.
"Are you okay?"
Phyllis was clinging to his back.
Her body trembled.
"I... I'm okay... Young Master."
But the fear in her eyes betrayed her words.
Even after spending so much time with him, she still couldn't fully adapt to the terrifying aura surrounding him.
"I'll keep her safe, Young Master."
Bi Ri stepped forward with her daggers drawn.
Shi Yun Lan looked at his brother.
"One of the rules states...
When the shadow forgets its origin..."
He pointed his sword toward Shi Yun Suan.
"...it must fade away."
He charged.
His sword swung toward his brother.
Shi Yun Suan blocked the attack.
Fear flashed through his eyes.
"General Level...
Against two warriors at the Pillar Level?
Are you insane?!"
Shi Yun Lan didn't even answer.
His eyes shifted toward the man from the Fru family.
The man charged.
His sword unleashed a terrifying technique.
"(Snow Strike: Farewell)!"
The sword released waves of snow that surged toward Shi Yun Lan.
At the same time, Shi Yun Suan stepped away.
"(Night-Walking Steps)."
His figure disappeared.
The waves of snow struck Shi Yun Lan head-on.
The battlefield erupted in snow.