Rain continued falling softly throughout the night.
Cold droplets slid endlessly across the crystal windows of the Asheville Estate while distant thunder rolled faintly across the western skies beyond Citadel's forests. The mansion itself had grown quiet now. Most servants already retired while only scattered mana lamps illuminated the enormous noble corridors beneath the sleeping darkness.
Yet inside one chamber—
Sleep never arrived.
Reina quietly sat alone near the balcony window of her private room while silver moonlight mixed together with warm golden candlelight across the elegant chamber interior.
And resting within her hands—
Was the black sword manual Kel gave her.
The silver-haired matriarch silently traced her fingers across the ancient leather cover while countless thoughts drifted endlessly through her mind.
Tomorrow.
Kel would leave tomorrow.
The thought itself felt strangely unreal.
For nearly two years—
His presence had become something natural beside her.
Guidance.
Protection.
Pressure.
Warmth.
Silence.
The man who completely reconstructed her broken life would simply leave tomorrow as though everything they experienced together had merely been another passing journey.
Inside her chest—
Something tightened painfully.
Meanwhile—
The rain outside continued softly.
Reina slowly opened the manual again afterward.
The candle flames flickered gently against the pages revealing detailed aura formulas and sword diagrams spread across the parchment beautifully like forbidden knowledge disguised as martial arts.
Every page carried traces of Kel's mind.
Adaptive structures.
Unfinished variations.
Evolving principles.
Nothing rigid.
Nothing fixed.
Even the manual itself rejected limitations.
And somehow—
That suited him perfectly.
The silver-haired matriarch quietly read through several pages again.
Aura leakage control.
Condensation methods.
Rotational synchronization.
Multi-directional attack layering.
The deeper she studied it—
The more terrifying the sword art became.
Because ordinary martial manuals created followers.
This manual however—
Created creators.
Each swordsman walking this path would eventually develop completely different styles depending on personality, aura nature, mentality, and imagination itself.
No limits.
No fixed end.
Only endless evolution.
Inside her thoughts—
Reina quietly realized something.
This sword art perfectly represented Kel himself.
A path without limits.
A path rejecting established systems entirely.
A sword style born from someone who constantly evolved beyond what the world considered normal.
And perhaps—
That was why he couldn't even name it himself.
Because Kel never walked fixed paths long enough to define them completely.
The silver-haired matriarch slowly lowered her gaze afterward.
Then softly—
A small smile appeared.
"…You really leave impossible things behind casually."
Silence answered her.
Only rain.
Then slowly—
Her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Toward the beginning.
The Scarlet Lake.
Back then—
She first saw Kel as a strange noble boy hiding terrifying pain behind calm silence.
A cursed child barely surviving.
Weak physically.
Yet mentally—
Monstrous.
Even during suffering—
He constantly observed the world around him.
And somehow—
Step by step—
That broken child became someone capable of changing entire realms themselves.
Mercenary King.
Dragon Emperor.
The one feared by dragons.
The one fate itself could no longer control.
And yet—
Despite becoming something increasingly inhuman—
Kel still quietly helped villages.
Protected subordinates.
Remembered promises.
Created futures for others.
The contradiction itself remained painful.
Inside her mind—
Reina slowly realized something she avoided admitting for a long time now.
She admired him.
Far beyond loyalty.
Far beyond gratitude.
Not because he was powerful.
Not because he saved her.
But because despite understanding humanity's ugliness more deeply than anyone—
He still continued protecting the people he cared about.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Even when it exhausted him.
Even when it damaged him.
The silver-haired matriarch quietly closed the manual afterward before slowly standing from her chair.
Then—
She walked toward the balcony.
Cold night winds brushed softly against her silver hair while moonlight illuminated the estate gardens below beautifully beneath the falling rain.
And slowly—
Reina's thoughts returned toward the sword manual again.
The name.
Kel told her to name it herself.
Something worthy of House Asheville.
The silver-haired matriarch quietly looked upward toward the moon hidden partially behind storm clouds.
Then softly—
She began thinking aloud.
"Multi Aura Sword Arts…"
Her voice faded into the cold night winds.
"No…"
Another pause.
"That sounds too ordinary."
The rain continued falling around the estate softly.
Reina quietly remembered the first time she witnessed the technique properly.
Kel standing within the training grounds beneath morning mist.
One sword within his hand.
Dozens floating around him like orbiting stars born from leaking aura itself.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
Lonely.
Like countless blades endlessly surrounding someone standing alone at the center.
Then slowly—
Another memory surfaced.
The battlefield earlier.
Her own floating aura swords moving around her body while Delhart desperately struggled defending himself.
The people watching looked terrified.
Not because of raw power alone.
But because the technique itself looked unnatural.
Like swords dancing around their master willingly.
A silver storm surrounding a lone ruler.
Then finally—
Reina understood.
A faint smile appeared across her lips afterward.
"Yes…"
The silver-haired matriarch quietly returned toward the table before opening the manual once more.
Then slowly—
She picked up a pen.
Black ink touched the first empty page carefully.
And beneath the candlelight—
She wrote the name herself.
" Sovereign's Orbit Sword Arts "
Silence followed afterward.
Reina quietly stared toward the written title beneath the flickering candlelight.
Orbit.
Because the floating swords revolved endlessly around the wielder.
Because everyone around Kel eventually began revolving around him too.
And Sovereign—
Because this sword style was never meant for ordinary warriors.
Only rulers.
Only those standing alone at the center while countless dangers surrounded them endlessly.
The name suited perfectly.
Meanwhile—
Inside another chamber of the estate—
Kel quietly sat near his window beneath darkness while observing the rain silently.
Inside his mind—
Sairen softly asked:
"She still awake?"
Kel calmly closed his eyes briefly.
"Yes."
Another pause.
"She named it already too."
Sairen sounded amused.
"You checked?"
Kel ignored the question.
Meanwhile—
Inside Reina's room—
The silver-haired matriarch continued staring at the manual quietly.
Then slowly—
Her fingers brushed softly across the written title afterward.
And somewhere deep inside her chest—
An uncomfortable realization finally settled completely.
Tomorrow—
Kel would leave.
The thought itself suddenly made the entire room feel emptier already.
The silver-haired matriarch quietly lowered her head afterward while moonlight and candlelight mixed softly around her.
Then eventually—
A faint whisper escaped her lips.
"…Will you really just leave after changing everything…"
The rain continued endlessly beyond the balcony.
No answer came.
Yet somehow—
The sword manual resting within her hands already carried enough of his presence to make the silence itself hurt.