Care

Before the sacred grounds of the elves, the Elven Empress and her eldest daughter clashed in a verbal duel.

“Why? Tell me why!”

Felicia’s voice sharpened with agitation, a state she rarely showed.

To outsiders, she was the epitome of elegance and composure—an elven princess. This loss of control would shock her academy peers.

Karina watched the tears welling in her daughter’s eyes. With a slow sigh, her own gaze tinged with exhaustion, she spoke.

“You already know the answer. Why must I repeat it?”

Sometimes, people seek answers they already hold, questioning repeatedly because they refuse to accept the harsh truth buried in their hearts.

“Can’t you spare her? Even if I endure the Sacred Bath again… I really, really don’t want her to go through this…”

Felicia’s words trembled with near-collapse. She wasn’t a petulant child; as the Empress’s heir, she understood the bigger picture better than most. Yet, this understanding made the conflict between her desires and duties all the more powerless and despairing.

She grasped her mother’s predicament, as Karina said—the answer was already clear. Why ask again?

“It was her choice, Felicia. None of us have the right to obstruct her path.”

Karina shook her head, her emerald eyes devoid of emotion, whether indifference or numbness.

Grief spread through Felicia’s chest. She leaned against the wall, sliding to the ground, no longer caring about decorum or ladylike posture. She just wanted to sit there, waiting for the stone door to open.

The oppressive silence lingered until a faint light seeped through the heavy stone door’s seam. With a dull rumble, it opened. Felicia, lost in sorrow, leapt up at the sound, rushing to the door, peering through the gap for the figure she desperately sought.

When the door fully opened, under the holy light unlike sunlight, Selina’s petite form appeared. Felicia surged forward, enveloping the frail figure in a thin, damp slip dress in a tight embrace, heedless of the wetness.

She held Selina close, as if fearing her sister would vanish.

“Sister, sister, sister…”

Felicia’s voice cracked with sobs, repeating the word. She felt the chill in Selina’s body, her delicate frame drained of normal warmth by torment and divine power. Felicia hugged tighter, trying to share her own warmth.

Selina, in her arms, was like a soulless doll, unresponsive to the embrace or calls.

Despite external stimuli, her emerald eyes remained dull, lacking the spark of life and soul they once held.

Perhaps the repeated calls stirred a faint instinct. Selina’s lips parted mechanically, her voice hoarse.

“Princess Felicia…”

The moment that raspy voice spoke, Felicia froze, her pupils contracting. Her heart, racing with joy at seeing her sister, seemed to ice over, its rhythm slowing.

Princess… such a formal, distant title. Selina never used it. In Felicia’s memory, her sister always greeted her with a genuine smile, calling her “Big Sister.”

In that moment, Felicia realized something irreversible had happened to her sister.

Panicked, she loosened her tight grip, her slender fingers clutching Selina’s delicate shoulders.

She scanned her sister’s state, and upon seeing those lifeless, broken emerald eyes, her breath nearly stopped. Each inhale was labored, her heart aching as if stabbed.

Her sister had endured the pain Felicia never wanted her to face. Selina’s consciousness was now blurred by divine power.

Hot tears streamed like broken pearls from Felicia’s eyes. Her throat choked, unable to form words.

She felt she’d failed her sister, breaking the vow to protect her.

Karina appeared behind the sisters, her eyes quickly assessing Selina’s condition.

Seeing her eyes, a fleeting relief contrasted Felicia’s despair. Exhaling, Karina felt a weight lift.

Thankfully, though Selina’s mental state seemed heavily affected, she was unharmed. Her contact with the Ancestor God had gone smoothly. As a Descender, she’d need time to recover from the immense divine power.

As Empress, Karina made this judgment swiftly but didn’t share it with Felicia. In deep grief, people struggle to accept others’ words. The truth could wait until Felicia calmed and rested with Selina.

“Felicia, Selina is still weak. Take her to rest. I’ll handle the rest…”

With Karina’s directive, Felicia steadied herself. Wiping her tears, she gently scooped Selina into a princess carry, cradling her back and knees.

Watching her daughters’ retreating figures, Karina, ever composed, let out a long breath. As their silhouettes vanished, she turned to the open stone door of the sacred grounds.

Rubbing her throbbing temples, her exquisite eyes flickered with exhaustion and helplessness.

“What a mess. As expected, it’s chaos afterward, but it went smoothly overall. Selina, my daughter, this is all I can do for you…”

Without hesitation, Karina stepped into the sacred grounds. As holy light engulfed her, the heavy stone door closed with a dull thud, silence reclaiming the space.