Chapter 290: Isaria Never Expected Ivar to Know Her Secret

Apparently, even he found it unexpected. Still, he didn’t ask about it.

His attention shifted almost immediately, and the first thing he asked was something far more important to him.

"What happened to my siblings?"

Luke’s expression became a little more serious at the question.

He had expected Sevaroth to ask eventually.

After a quiet sigh, Luke began explaining everything that had happened since Sevaroth’s siblings had first appeared in his world.

"Valtharion." Sevaroth nodded with interest, clearly intrigued by the unfamiliar name.

The mention of gods had caught his attention as well. Their universe had never possessed beings like that, so the existence of gods in this new world was naturally something worth knowing about.

Meanwhile, Luke continued explaining, "And I have no idea when they will awaken."

Unfortunately, there was little Sevaroth could do about that as well.

He had only just regained consciousness, and without any of his original power, even helping Luke search for his siblings was beyond what he could accomplish right now.

"Well, then we can wait for them."

So, Sevaroth chose to take the situation far more easily than Luke expected. Without making a fuss about it, he settled himself comfortably on Luke’s shoulder.

"Don’t mind me. Do whatever you want."

With that, he simply relaxed.

Luke nodded at his words and returned to his original form.

Kiki, however, remained with him instead of being unsummoned.

The strange crimson coffin happily moved along with Luke, apparently having no intention of separating from him now.

----

"Ugh."

Isaria clutched her head, her brows knitting together as the lingering effects of the earlier teleportation sent another wave of pain through her skull.

"I thought it would be a normal teleportation."

She complained quietly before slowly pushing herself to her feet and taking a careful look around. The dark pathway stretched in both directions, yet nothing seemed to be moving nearby.

"No danger."

After confirming that the area was safe, she walked over to the nearest wall and leaned against it. From her storage ring, she brought out a calming potion, uncorked it, and gulped down the contents in one go.

The soothing effect spread through her body almost immediately, greatly easing the headache that had been bothering her.

"Finally, feels better."

Isaria let out a relieved breath before turning her thoughts toward what she should do next.

"I should find Luke first."

Just thinking about him made her expression soften.

Now that they had been randomly separated from everyone else, the possibility that she and Luke might end up alone together in this enormous maze brought a faint, shy smile to her lips.

She quickly composed herself and activated the first ability of her S-Rank Origin Skill.

"Heaven-Seeking Path."

The moment the ability activated, her eyes took on an owl-like appearance, while a golden path suddenly appeared before her.

The path stretched through the darkness before splitting into two separate routes.

One led toward Estelle.

The other led toward Luke.

Isaria’s attention immediately settled on the latter.

She didn’t even consider following Estelle’s path, because the information provided by her ability clearly showed that Estelle was much farther away.

Luke was closer.

And that was all the reason Isaria needed to choose his path.

Isaria lowered her gaze toward the dark floor of the maze, where a golden trail stretched ahead of her. Small imprints resembling owl feathers appeared along its surface, guiding her deeper into the ruins and toward Luke.

"Let’s move." With that, she began following the path.

The ability continued guiding her with every step. Whenever danger awaited her beyond the next turn—whether it was a lurking monster or a hidden trap—the owl-feather imprints leading toward that direction would suddenly turn red.

At the same time, another golden route would emerge, showing her a safer way forward.

Relying on this guidance, Isaria smoothly avoided the monsters wandering through the maze as well as the traps concealed within its ancient pathways. One dark passage after another disappeared behind her as she continued deeper into the ruins, completely unaware that someone else was following her.

A hidden observer remained close behind.

"Isaria..." Ivar muttered her name, an unmistakable excitement showing on his face.

He had never imagined that even fate itself would seemingly favor him.

The moment he had been teleported into the maze, his first action had been to use his ability to locate the mark he had secretly placed on Isaria.

To his surprise, she was only three pathways away.

It hadn’t taken him long to close the distance.

After several minutes of moving through the maze, Ivar finally located her position.

Yet he didn’t immediately approach.

Instead, he remained hidden and carefully observed the surrounding area, making sure there were no unexpected dangers.

More importantly, he was waiting for the right moment.

He wanted Isaria to reach a dead end or some other confined section of the maze before revealing himself.

However, the next thing he heard immediately sent a surge of anger through Ivar.

"Soon, Luke and I will be alone."

Isaria’s shy voice drifted through the dark pathway as she continued following the golden trail, completely unaware of the figure hiding nearby.

Ivar’s expression darkened.

’Seems like I can’t wait anymore.’

He muttered the words with a resigned, can’t be helped expression before abandoning his patience and charging straight toward her.

The moment he moved, a small phantom of an owl suddenly manifested behind Isaria.

Its body glowed bright red.

"Danger."

The warning made her pupils dilate. Without wasting a moment, Isaria turned and tried to escape, but—

"It’s too late, Isaria!"

Ivar’s voice came from behind her.

Under her panicked gaze, his B-Rank cultivation erupted, and his figure instantly crossed the distance between them. Before Isaria could even react, he appeared directly in front of her and wrapped his arms tightly around her body.

"Leave me!"

Fear and anger mixed in Isaria’s voice as she struggled against his forceful embrace, desperately trying to break free from his grip.

Ivar didn’t care.

At this point, his mind was consumed by excitement. The moment he got this close to her, her scent reached him, and with her Heaven-Seeking Path still active, every instinct within him screamed that he had finally found the person he had been searching for.

’She’s the one.’

The one who could make his bloodline even purer.

The one who could push his innate ability beyond A-Rank and allow it to reach S-Rank.

The possibility alone made his eyes burn with greed.

"You are mine, Isaria."

His voice carried an almost feverish excitement as he tightened his hold.

"A monarch’s bloodline is mine."

The moment Ivar’s frantic words reached her ears, Isaria’s pupils shrank to pinpoints, especially after hearing the words Monarch bloodline.

She had never revealed the true name of her Origin Skill to anyone.

Not to the people at the academy.

Not even to her own family.

After all, it was an S-Rank Origin Skill, a level so rare that only royal bloodlines—and particularly the children of Emperors—were known to possess such abilities.

Yet Ivar had recognized it after knowing her for only a few days.

’How?’

The realization sent a wave of panic through Isaria, and she immediately began struggling with everything she had.

"Leave me, Sir Ivar!"