Chapter 79: Celestine’s Choice, Her Fault

Upon arriving at the Pei residence, Lumi immediately noticed that the entire family had gathered in the living room, as though they had been waiting specifically for her return.

Celestine sat quietly on the sofa, her head lowered and her hands resting nervously in her lap. Meanwhile, Rei was doing what he usually did, staring at his gadget with little interest in whatever family drama was about to unfold, as though the commotion around him had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Lumi barely had time to take in the scene before Felix dragged her toward the sofa.

The moment they reached it, he shoved her forward, forcing her to stumble a few steps before she managed to steady herself.

"Just because you managed to bring Evan Caesar back from his Rampage twice, you started believing that you’re something special?"

Lumi’s fingers curled instinctively.

She had expected her father to be angry, but she hadn’t anticipated that he would bring up Evan so abruptly, especially when she still didn’t understand why he had dragged her away from the hospital in the first place.

Before she could answer, Esther rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, leaning back against the sofa with an expression of undisguised disdain.

"She probably already thinks she’s someone important after managing to bring that monster back," she remarked dismissively. "Imagine that. Our useless daughter, who doesn’t even possess a trace of Guiding energy, suddenly believed she had some extraordinary talent simply because she happened to be in the right place at the right time."

Lumi lowered her eyes.

There it was again.

The familiar accusations, the contemptuous tone, and the unmistakable implication that anything she accomplished was either meaningless or the result of sheer luck.

She had spent so many years hearing such things that she should have grown accustomed to them by now, yet somehow, they still hurt.

Perhaps it was because a small part of her had genuinely felt happy at the hospital. For a brief moment, she had thought she might finally have something of her own, something that could allow her to help someone instead of constantly being reminded of how little she could do.

But standing before her parents now, Lumi couldn’t help wondering whether she had been foolish to feel that way.

"Father, Mother..." she began hesitantly. "I don’t understand why you’re—"

"Don’t play innocent with me!" Felix interrupted sharply. "Do you think I brought you back here just to listen to your excuses?"

Lumi flinched.

Felix stepped closer, his gaze fixed on her with an intensity that made her feel as though she were being examined rather than spoken to.

"You’ve done something wrong behind our backs, Lumi. Things that you apparently believe we shouldn’t know about."

Her heart skipped a beat.

Behind their backs?

"I haven’t done anything wrong," Lumi replied quietly, genuinely unable to understand what her father meant.

"Nothing wrong?" Felix repeated, his expression darkening. "Then how do you explain what happened with Celestine?"

Lumi froze.

Her gaze instinctively shifted toward her twin, who remained seated on the sofa with her head lowered. Celestine’s fingers had tightened around the fabric of her skirt, but she still refused to look up.

"What does Celestine have to do with this?" Lumi asked cautiously.

"What does she have to do with this?" Felix let out a humorless laugh. "If you had done your job properly, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place!"

Lumi stared at him, completely bewildered.

"Father, I don’t understand..."

"Of course you don’t!" he snapped. "You’ve always been so preoccupied with yourself that you can’t even see what your actions have cost this family!"

Esther clicked her tongue in annoyance before taking over the conversation.

"We had everything arranged properly. We were supposed to find a way to change Celestine’s Fated Sentinel, but now look at what has happened! She has already guided Raphael Valen, and our plan has gone down the drain!"

Lumi’s eyes widened.

Change her Fated Sentinel?

She looked at Celestine, trying to understand what her mother had just said. Celestine was Raphael Valen’s Fated Guide, and as far as Lumi knew, that connection had already been established. She had never imagined that their parents would actually attempt to change it.

"Why would you want to change her Fated Sentinel in the first place?" Lumi asked, unable to hide her confusion.

Felix’s expression turned icy. "That’s none of your concern."

"But Raphael is an SSS-Rank Sentinel, and Celestine managed to bring him out of Rampage safely. Shouldn’t you be relieved that she’s all right?"

Esther scoffed, clearly unimpressed by her reasoning.

"Relieved? You really don’t understand anything, do you?" she snapped. "Celestine is one of the most talented Guides in the Empire. Her future is far too important to be tied to a lunatic like Raphael Valen! That man has already killed one of his Guides. Why on earth would I leave my precious daughter in his hands and risk letting the same thing happen to her?"

Lumi fell silent, unable to respond immediately.

She remembered what had happened inside the Hell Dungeon, how Raphael had lost control and how Celestine had risked herself to reach him. She had seen the two of them collapse after returning to reality, but she had never imagined that her parents would react this way.

"Mother, Celestine chose to help him," Lumi said cautiously. "She knew how dangerous it was, but she still went to save him. And she succeeded."

"That’s enough!" Esther’s expression darkened. "Do you think bringing him out of Rampage once means he’ll never lose control again? What happens the next time he does? Will you take responsibility if Celestine gets hurt, or worse, ends up like his previous Guide?"

Lumi’s fingers curled against her palms, her nails pressing into her skin as she stared at her mother, struggling to hold back the hurt that had been building inside her.

"I really don’t understand..." she murmured, her voice wavering.

She paused, lifting her gaze to meet Esther’s eyes, and for once, she didn’t immediately look away from the woman whose disapproval she had endured for most of her life.

"Celestine made that choice. She chose to Guide him, and she did it because she wanted to save him." Her voice grew a little firmer, even as the hurt in her expression deepened.

"So why... why the hell is this still my fault?"