The hospital room was filled with the pungent scent of medicine. Everything was stark white, revealing a hint of sanctity amidst its cleanliness.
A glass cabinet, overflowing with various medicinal potions, was the source of the overwhelming aroma.
A young man lay on the bed in the center of the room. His legs were swathed in thick bandages, soaked with a foul-smelling, greenish medicine, and his face was swollen in several places, making his features hard to discern without a closer look.
“Are you Ryan?” Dorothy asked.
Upon hearing someone enter, Ryan stiffly turned his head. His brows furrowed when he realized the person had entered his room without permission.
“Who are you? Are you a mentor my father knows?”
“Yes, he should know me.”
Surely, Earl Ryan would have at least heard of the Silverbloom Sword Princess’s name.
Therefore, Dorothy’s statement was not a lie.
Knowing that Earl Ryan’s father knew her, his entire demeanor relaxed.
Then, as he noticed the mentor’s badge pinned to Dorothy’s chest, a flicker of shrewdness flashed in his eyes.
“So, you’ve come to visit me too? Heh, compared to that, I’d much rather see you avenge me. If you succeed, I think my father would be very pleased.”
‘If she’s a registered mentor, punishing Lilia would certainly be much easier than for an ordinary mentor. And a registered mentor of this caliber wouldn’t be too afraid of an Eighth-Rank Councilor.’
Thinking this, he felt his father was truly impressive, to know so many high-ranking heroes.
“What exactly did you say to Lilia?” Dorothy asked, pulling her hat brim lower and lowering her voice.
“What did I say? Heh, help me get revenge, and I’ll tell you.”
“You’re not in a position to negotiate.”
Seeing that Ryan seemed to have misunderstood something, Dorothy’s already dwindling patience completely ran out. She took a step closer to the bedside, simultaneously casting a spell to isolate the room. Her icy gaze, piercing through her mask, settled on Ryan’s face.
The intense, chilling dread made Ryan instinctively recoil. However, his bandaged leg became an immediate impediment, every slight movement sending sharp pain through his thigh.
Even he, foolish as he was, understood that the registered mentor before him was not a hero on his side.
“You, what are you going to do?! My father knows many Seventh-Rank heroes; if you dare lay a hand on me, he will never let you off!”
Dorothy crossed her arms, a cold sneer on her lips. “You are Earl Ryan’s second son, aren’t you? Lacking in talent, disliked by the Earl, which is why you chose to come here to pursue the Imperial Princess, hoping to climb into the Imperial Royal Family…”
Before her, Ryan felt as though he had been stripped bare, with no secrets left. His face, as Dorothy spoke, gradually turned ashen.
“How, how do you know all this? You investigated me?!”
“You don’t need to know how I know. You just need to consider whether this is worth Earl Ryan offending a Councilor.”
Before coming, Dorothy had inquired about Ryan. The moment she learned he was at Ru’en Academy, she understood everything.
Stories of people resorting to unscrupulous means to climb to power after entering Ru’en Academy for the Imperial Princess were not uncommon. Even though more than a decade had passed since her active years, human nature remained unchanged.
Now, she was like a demon from hell, effortlessly shattering Ryan’s psychological defenses, leaving him unable to maintain his arrogant demeanor.
After all, he didn’t know that when faced with power, status, and his own flesh and blood, his father would invariably choose the former.
If his second son were gone, his father might be angry or sad, but he would never fall out with a Councilor. At most, he would seek opportunities to trip them up later, then resume life as usual.
Ryan was not like his elder brother; he was not the heir to the territory.
“What do you want to know?” he asked, his voice dry, finally choosing to yield.
“Tell me, what did you say to Lilia that day?” As Dorothy spoke, she subtly moved her fingers. Flower stems erupted from the floor of the room, slowly creeping like vines towards Ryan without him noticing.
“Don’t lie,” she whispered threateningly. “No one in the infirmary will hear your screams.”
She never went easy on someone who made her daughter lose control.
“I, I just said she was a bastard and she…”
Ryan’s eyes darted, clearly lying. The flower stems seemed to see through his thoughts, wrapping directly around his arm, their needle-sharp tips piercing his skin.
“Ah—!”
A bloodcurdling wail echoed through the room. Ryan’s face flushed with pain, his lips bitten raw by his teeth, and the veins on his arm throbbed, trembling uncontrollably.
“I told you, no one here will hear your screams.”
“I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”
He struggled fiercely, and when he realized he couldn’t alleviate the pain, he finally spoke the truth:
“I cursed her, calling her a parentless bastard! I said that the young miss of the Fiona family, abandoned by her biological parents, was likely a fake! She had no right to be arrogant in front of me!”
Dorothy’s heart sank, and her eyes grew even colder. The flower stems, which should have brought hope and warmth to the bedside, now seemed like envoys of hell, shrouded in a bloody aura of death.
“And what else?” she asked softly, her tone making Ryan’s back instantly slick with sweat.
“Nothing else! Just that!”
“A parentless bastard, was it?” Dorothy retracted the flower stems. Ryan, who had been subjected to such torment, now lay on the hospital bed, his eyes vacant.
Saliva and blood oozed from his mouth, and an indelible terror was deeply etched into his heart. So much so that when he came to his senses and saw Dorothy, he couldn’t help but tremble all over.
The pain from his thigh became clearer, but he gritted his teeth, not daring to make a sound.
He was terrified of disturbing the demon before him, fearing she would torment him again.
After a moment of silence, Dorothy cast a warning glance at Ryan. Only after he nodded like a pecking chicken did she dispel the magic.
If he dared to speak of today’s events, he would bear the consequences.
Ryan naturally dared not speak. He understood his standing in Earl Ryan’s heart; he simply could not afford to offend a registered mentor and a Councilor.
However, swallowing this humiliation was truly unbearable for him. His anger caused him to forcefully bang the bed frame twice. Beneath the bed, the still-lingering flower stems quietly coiled, and the bed instantly collapsed.
“Ah—!”
A faint sound of bones breaking, accompanied by a scream, rang out in the room. This time, without the soundproofing magic, the medical staff in the corridor clearly heard the cry, and they immediately rushed towards Ryan’s ward.
****
Dorothy no longer cared about Ryan’s stepmother. At this moment, she had already left the hospital and was on her way to Ru’en Academy’s Grace Street. It was a long journey ahead.
She had been summoned to the Dean’s office. The Dean, being a direct subordinate of Ryan’s father, would naturally do their best to protect Ryan.
“Today’s matter ends here. Do not bring it up again in the future.”
The Dean’s tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable authority.
She knew what Ryan had done, but she had no intention of investigating his actions further.
Dorothy sneered, a cold light flashing in her eyes.
Ryan’s stepmother, after Ryan’s father appeared, did not utter another word.
“Oh, by the way, weren’t you treating the young miss of the Fiona family? How is your treatment progressing?”
The Dean’s expression subtly shifted upon hearing this.
She knew what Dorothy was referring to, and she understood that Dorothy was threatening her.
“I couldn’t cure her.”
Dorothy let out a cold laugh, the chill in her eyes deepening. She looked at Ryan’s stepmother, who trembled uncontrollably.
“Dean, are you Ryan’s relative?”
Dorothy smiled, her tone chilling to the bone.
“I am Ryan’s aunt.”
“Oh, what a coincidence. I am Ryan’s biological mother.”
After Dorothy spoke, both the Dean and Ryan’s stepmother were stunned.
“I’m here to collect Ryan’s organs.”
No sooner had Dorothy’s words fallen than the Dean and Ryan’s stepmother’s faces changed drastically. Simultaneously, the entire hospital erupted into a commotion.
“I am Dorothy.”
After speaking, Dorothy left the hospital.
She was going to find Ryan’s father and resolve all the issues.
“Dorothy!”
Ryan’s stepmother chased after her, but Dorothy’s single sentence froze her in place.
“Don’t follow me.”
Ryan’s stepmother halted, knowing Dorothy’s character: once she decided something, she wouldn’t change her mind.
She watched Dorothy’s retreating back, her heart filled with fear.
She knew Ryan was finished.
Dorothy returned home. She sat on the sofa, contemplating her next moves.
She would make Ryan’s father pay, and she would make Ryan pay for his own actions.
She took out her phone and dialed a number.
“Hello, this is Dorothy.”
A deep voice responded from the other end of the line.
“Miss Dorothy, how may I help you?”
“I want everything of Ryan’s.”
Dorothy hung up after speaking.
She knew her objective would soon be achieved.
Dorothy sat on the sofa, waiting quietly.
She knew this game had only just begun.
****
Having left the hospital, she headed to Grace Street at Ru’en Academy.
Grace Street was where students at Ru’en Academy could relax, entertain themselves, and shop for daily necessities. The shops here were no different from those outside the academy, offering everything from bakeries to tailor shops.
After removing her mask and black robe, Dorothy transformed back into Lena.
Standing on the street, feeling the warm sunlight, she took out her communicator. After much hesitation, she sent a message to Chiling.
Lena: [Are you free to meet?]
Chiling: [What’s wrong?]
Lena: [There’s something I want to talk to you about.]
Chiling: [Sure, you pick the place.]
After replying to Chiling, she walked into a street-side cafe and chose a secluded corner to sit in.
Ordering two strong coffees, Lena took a small sip; it was slightly bitter. She propped her cheek on one hand, watching the customers come and go, lost in thought, until Chiling sat opposite her, gradually bringing her back to the present.
“What’s wrong?”
After sitting down, Chiling smoothed her skirt and took a sip of the coffee Lena had prepared for her. The bitterness, without any sugar, made her frown.
She didn’t like unsweetened coffee.
She set the cup aside, observing Lena’s expression, knowing she was troubled.
Lena slowly began, “Should I… should I tell Lilia?”
Chiling paused for a moment, then understood her meaning. “Tell her you’re her mother?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Was something a trigger?”
Silverbloom’s sudden mention of this clearly indicated she had encountered something recently; otherwise, based on Chiling’s understanding of her, she would have continued to conceal her identity as a mother, just as she had for the past decade or so.
“Do you know why she disregarded the mentor’s reputation and broke Ryan’s leg during the entrance exam?” Lena paused, looking at the surface of her coffee cup, and said despondently, “It was because Ryan called her a parentless bastard.”
“What?!”
Chiling’s brows furrowed even deeper, and anger gradually ignited in her eyes.
Lilia was the daughter of her former teammate. How could she not be angry at such malicious insults?
‘Lilia doesn’t usually talk about it, but in her heart, her parents will always be an unhealed wound. So I wonder, if I tell her everything, will she feel better?’
Lena murmured, “Even if she hates me, even if she pushes me away, she won’t be a child without parents anymore…”
“Then what will you do? Beg her for forgiveness?”
“Mm…”
Chiling sighed, saying, “A decade of hatred isn’t so easily resolved.”
Because of her neglect over the years, her relationship with her biological sister, Roland, was strained. For Silverbloom to have given birth and not raised Lilia for so many years, Lilia’s hatred for her could not possibly be nonexistent.
Normally, Lilia buried these feelings deep in her heart, perhaps not even sensing them herself. But once these wounds were reopened, the surging emotions would instantly overwhelm her reason.
Just imagining such a scenario gave Chiling a headache.
“I’ll do my best. Even if she doesn’t forgive me in the end, it doesn’t matter, as long as she can have a happy life.” Lena hugged her head tightly with both hands, looking distressed.
“I…”
Clearly, she hadn’t considered this before. Lena stammered, unable to speak.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to honestly tell her that her father is from the demon race?”
At the mention of Lilia’s father, Lena thought of Sophia, and Chiling continued:
“Lilia isn’t a pure human; she’s a hybrid of human and demon. And her dream is to become a hero like the Silverbloom Sword Princess. If she knew this, have you considered how she would feel? Would she give up on becoming a hero?”
The thought flashed through Lena’s mind, but she shook her head. She didn’t believe that the hero she pursued was the embodiment of justice and kindness; whether human or demon, one could still be a hero.
It was simply that human heroes had an additional task: to kill the Demon King.
Would Lilia have to kill her own mother, Sophia?
Her heart trembled. If such a day ever came, Lena would personally stop her.
“I… I will make her stick to her dreams.”
After some thought, Lena continued, “Even if she has demon blood, she grew up in a human environment. She can still become a hero.”
Chiling reminded her, “Human-demon hybrids are considered the lowest bloodline in both human and demon societies.”
“So what? I will protect her.”
Lena’s answer was firm.
Although human-demon hybrids were not recognized by either humans or demons, as long as someone dared to bully Lilia, she would not let them off.
Moreover, Sophia was the Demon King. Although she hadn’t personally raised Lilia, judging by the Fiona family she arranged, she still cared about Lilia.
So, the demons would likely appear respectful on the surface.
“So, have you truly decided to tell her?”
Chiling’s sudden question calmed the somewhat agitated Lena. Her gaze, which had been fixed on Chiling’s eyes, retreated, finally settling back on the coffee’s surface.
“…I don’t know.”
The surface of the water rippled gently, much like her heart, fluctuating back and forth.
Although she had planned everything, she still couldn’t make up her mind.
As she hesitated, Chiling chuckled softly, saying, “Actually, I still hope you tell her.”
“Why?” Lena asked, puzzled.
“Because secrets can never be hidden forever. Lilia will find out her true parentage eventually, and she’ll also discover that you’re her mother. So why shouldn’t you be the one to tell her?”
Chiling tilted her head. “Besides, you’re Silverbloom! You can help me and Roland improve our relationship, so why can’t you get your daughter to forgive you?”
“I’ve always believed in you, and I believe in Lilia. She’s a very good girl. Even if there are some twists and turns, she will forgive you one day.”
Her words lingered in Lena’s ears, causing her to gaze blankly at the coffee in her cup, remaining silent for a long time.