Chapter 1869: I know... where she is

"Allen," Emily mumbled as she stared at her husband, who was still holding Noah in his arms, his face twisted with exhaustion and grief.

"I... I failed, Emily. I failed yet again," Allen muttered, his voice barely holding together.

Emily’s eyes trembled as she shook her head.

"You... You did your best," she said softly, forcing a weak smile as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around her husband.

Lily stood silently, staring at her family... especially her father.

"D-Dad... Why did he do that? Why did you let him hurt you?" Lily asked, still unable to understand what she had just witnessed.

She had brought her uncle there under her father’s orders, yet her uncle had looked at her father and spoken those cold words as though her father meant nothing to him.

Even after everything, her father had been worried about him.

Allen slowly lifted his gaze toward his daughter and managed a faint smile through his tears.

"I... I deserved it."

Lily shook her head violently. "No! YOU DO NOT!" she shouted, tears filling her eyes.

"Why do you keep hurting yourself? Why do you keep letting those bastards hurt you?!

I feel disgusted even calling your friends my uncles!"

Emily shook her head and tried to calm her. "Dear, it’s not like that... just—"

"NO, MOM!" Lily shouted, turning toward her mother.

"Some nobody came here and hurt my father, and I’m supposed to just stay quiet and cry like you? Huh?"

She turned back toward Allen, her breathing growing heavier as anger and fear fought inside her.

"Both of your friends... they’re nothing but pathetic!

One is a pedophile, and the other is a fucking lunatic!"

Allen shook his head immediately. "No, dear... Aether is not like that. He is a good friend. He... he is... We just... You don’t understand, dear."

"Then tell me what it is!" Lily snapped, her face flushed red with anger as she stood before her parents and little brother.

"Tell me what I’m not understanding. Because from where I’m standing, I saw someone you called a friend hurt you without hesitation, and I don’t understand why you’re still defending him."

Allen lowered his eyes and sighed. His fingers tightened slightly around Noah as he struggled to find the words.

"I... I hurt him. I hurt him, Lily. I betrayed him in a way that no friend should ever betray another." His voice weakened, and the pain in his expression deepened as though the memory itself was enough to reopen an old wound.

Lily frowned, unable to accept his answer. "Hurt him? Betrayed him? What are you talking about? He hurt you, Dad! Look at us! Look at what he did! Everything is broken!"

She clenched her fist so tightly that her nails dug into her palm. The image of her father dangling helplessly in the air like a fish had burned itself into her mind, and the more she remembered it, the hotter her anger became.

"I don’t fucking care if he is your friend! You are my dad!" she shouted, pointing at him with trembling anger.

After a moment, she let out a hollow, bitter chuckle.

"Haha... Was he even a friend? Did you hear what he said, Father? He said he would kill you and wouldn’t even feel a thing. Is that how best friends are supposed to treat each other? Like you’re nothing to him?"

Her voice cracked, but she continued before anyone could interrupt her.

"You’re standing there worrying about that fucking lunatic while he treats you like you’re worthless! If that’s what friendship means... then I don’t know what friendship is anymore.

I... That fucking son of a bit—"

"LILY!"

Allen’s sudden shout made Lily flinch.

The room fell silent.

Allen raised a trembling finger toward her, his tear-streaked face hardening as he spoke in a cold, firm voice.

"Do not insult my friend."

Lily blinked.

Her eyes immediately became teary. Her father had never shouted at her like that before.

She had only been defending him. Yet now he was glaring at her as though she were the one who had done something wrong.

"Ha..." Lily let out a small, bitter laugh as tears finally slipped down her cheeks. "So that’s it? Huh? You think your friends are more important than me? More important than your own daughter?"

Allen’s expression faltered.

"No, dear..." he said quietly, shaking his head. "It’s not like that. You... you won’t understand—"

"THEN TELL ME, DAMN IT!!" Lily shouted furiously as she looked between her parents. Her voice trembled with anger and frustration as she continued,

"I know both of you are hiding something from me... Who is Penelope? And what betrayal are you talking about? What happened between you and that woman?"

"Lily... go to your room," Emily said as she slowly stood up.

"I won’t, Mom! Not until you answer me. What are you hiding from me?" Lily demanded, her voice breaking slightly.

"Tell me who that Penelope is and what she has to do with your so-called lunatic friend?"

Her expression remained serious, but tears had begun gathering in her eyes.

It was as though she had been holding these questions inside for far too long, and now that everything had finally begun to crack open, she could no longer force herself to stay silent.

Emily stepped forward and hugged her daughter, trying to gently guide her away.

But Lily pushed her mother away and stared at her with trembling eyes.

"Tell me, Mom... just tell me the truth. Am I not your daughter? Why are you hiding things from me? I want to help you... I want to support you. Why won’t you let me?"

Emily’s expression turned pained as she shook her head.

"It’s complicated, dear... Your father is doing his best to support both his family and his only friend. He... He is doing what he can without—"

"Emily!"

Allen interrupted her coldly.

Emily fell silent and slowly lowered her head.

Lily frowned.

"Without... what?" she asked before turning toward her father. "What are you hiding, Dad?"

Allen’s expression hardened.

"Go to your room."

"I want the truth—"

"Go. To. Your. Room!" Allen said, each word carrying a deadly seriousness that left no room for argument.

Tears welled in Lily’s eyes as she gritted her teeth. She turned away from him, her hurt expression slowly giving way to anger.

"Suit yourself! I’ll find the truth by myself!"

She stormed toward the exit instead of going to her room. A moment later, the front door slammed shut behind her with a loud bang.

Allen parted his lips, staring at the closed door.

"Let her go... She’ll calm down," Emily said softly as she moved closer and wrapped her arms around her husband and little Noah.

***

**

"Oh, my poor baby... Are you alright, darling?" Lia asked worriedly as she looked at her beloved son, whose expression remained dull and lifeless. "I should have killed that thing!!"

Young Aether stared at the sky as he slouched back in the wooden chair in the empty park. Lia sat on his lap, watching him with a worried expression after seeing her beloved son hurt once again.

’Looks like my baby needs more milk!’ she thought, clenching her fist with a strangely pleased expression.

’If someone hurts my baby again... I’ll tear them apart myself.’

"It’s alright, baby... So what if he hurt you? Mommy is here, you know? Nothing will hurt you while I’m here," Lia said gently.

"Look at me..."

Young Aether lowered his head and looked at her with the same dull eyes.

"Oh, my poor baby." Lia hugged him tightly and squeezed his face on her boobs as if she wanted to soothe him with the warmth and affection of a mother.

"You don’t have to pretend that you’re alright for me. If you’re hurting, let Mommy carry that pain for you. If someone makes you cry, I’ll make sure they never get another chance to do it."

Young Aether remained silent, staring at her cleavage as the familiar scent reached him.

He knew she was trying her best to cheer him up, but... he had lost the feeling of being cheered up.

He no longer knew how he was supposed to react to someone’s affection.

He smiled helplessly before saying, "It’s alright... I will be fine."

Lia shook her head. "My baby needs more mommy’s milk!"

!!

Young Aether suddenly flinched and weakly looked at her. "I’m not sure if that’s helping—"

"It will! Didn’t you say you felt different this morning?" Lia said with a proud expression.

Young Aether stared at her chest.

It wasn’t as though it hadn’t helped him before. It had. It had given him moments of peace and... made him forget everything for a while.

But... it hadn’t changed what he was not feeling.

And he was definitely not going to drink like a baby.

That was the last thing he wanted.

"You said... that the Primordial Vampire bloodline amplifies the emotions that are already there, right?" Young Aether asked.

Lia nodded. "Yes. It amplifies them by a thousand times, or perhaps even more, depending on how much you allow the bloodline to take control. So, yes... it’s very dangerous, my baby."

She smiled proudly.

"If you want, I can teach you how to control it... although I usually let mine run loose. Haha~"

Young Aether stared at her for a moment before slowly raising his hand and wrapping it around her neck.

Lia didn’t move.

She merely tilted her head in confusion.

Young Aether blankly stared at his own hand, which was gripping her neck as though he were about to strangle her.

"I... I don’t feel anything, Lia. Look at my hands... They aren’t even trembling, even though I know I love you.

Does that mean... there’s nothing left for it to amplify?"

"As if... even if I hurt you, I wouldn’t feel anything? Even with your Primordial bloodline inside me?"

He looked directly into her eyes.

"Lia... what happens when there’s nothing left inside someone for the bloodline to amplify?"

Lia stared at him for several seconds.

Then her lips slowly curved upward.

"Then we’ll put something back inside you."

Young Aether’s eyes remained empty.

Lia gently placed her hand over his.

"If you’ve lost your anger, I’ll give you mine. If you’ve lost your happiness, I’ll give you mine. If you’ve lost your ability to love... then love me until you remember what it feels like."

Her smile became almost unnaturally tender.

"And if you’ve lost everything else... then you only need me, baby."

Young Aether said nothing.

Lia’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at him with possessive affection.

"I don’t care what you become. I don’t care how many people you hurt. I don’t care how many lives stand between you and whatever you want."

Her fingers tightened around his hand.

"As long as you come back to Mommy."

Young Aether stared at her.

He wasn’t thinking, ’I didn’t know I could do that,’ or, ’Oh shit... what did I just do?’

He knew exactly what he was doing.

And right now... he simply didn’t feel anything.

He couldn’t even feel the pain that had once torn through him when he killed Dora.

If it had hurt him that deeply back then, then what about now?

Now he possessed the Primordial Vampire bloodline, a bloodline that amplified existing emotions.

Shouldn’t he have felt it even more strongly than before?

Shouldn’t the guilt have crushed him?

Shouldn’t his heart have screamed at him for what he had done?

And yet...

He felt nothing.

For what he had done to Aqua or... to the innocents.

Young Aether muttered, "Even if I kill you... I don’t think I would be sad?"

Lia tilted her head.

"Is that bad?" she asked softly.

"I don’t mind if you kill me, though... After all, it’s my beloved baby who’s killing his beautiful sexy mommy, right?"

She gently touched his cheek. Her eyes gleamed with an almost frightening devotion.

"So don’t be afraid of becoming something horrible, baby."

"..."

Young Aether parted his lips, but only a breath escaped.

He slowly shook his head and lowered his hand from her neck, staring at it as though it belonged to someone else.

"I should be afraid... but... I couldn’t."

His gaze lingered on his trembling fingers.

"These were the hands that once hesitated... The hands that once gave hope... The hands that never hurt the innocent..."

His voice became quieter.

"Right now, they aren’t even hesitating."

He slowly closed his fingers.

"Millions of lives... I killed... those who deserved it... and those who didn’t."

"So what if you killed millions? Do you mourn every bug you accidentally crush beneath your feet?" She tilted her head, genuinely unable to understand why he was troubled by something so insignificant.

To her, they were nothing more than insects beneath the feet of someone like him.

As the Emperor and Ruler of Four Empires... shouldn’t he already understand that?

Young Aether weakly chuckled.

"You really do talk like your mother, you know? Sometimes, when I look at you, I feel like you’re becoming more and more like her... Hah."

The closer he became to Lia, the more he realised it.

She was changing.

Or perhaps she had always been like this, and he was only beginning to notice.

The more time he spent with her, the more he saw traces of her mother in her words, her expressions, even the way she viewed the world.

He wasn’t sure whether that would be a good thing... or something he would come to regret in the near future.

"..." Lia swallowed nervously, a bead of sweat forming on her forehead.

"I-Is that so? Haha... Everyone says that. But I don’t know, maybe... because I love my mother, I’ve started to reflect some of her traits?"

She gave an awkward laugh.

"Hahah..."

Suddenly, her expression sharpened.

"Speaking of my mother..." she said curiously. "Do you... really hate her?"

Young Aether stared at her for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

"I... I don’t know, Lia. I really don’t."

His voice carried no anger.

"I hated her for erasing your memory. I still remember how furious I was when I found out. I wanted to blame her for everything..."

He paused, his eyes lowering.

"But I don’t feel that hatred anymore."

Lia remained silent.

"I more or less understand her now. She loves you too much. So much that she was willing to hurt you if she believed it would protect you in the end."

A faint, bitter smile crossed his lips.

"Hah... That bloodline must have pushed her to the brink, right?"

Lia fell silent.

Her eyes wandered downward as she struggled to understand what his words actually meant.

Did he hate her?

Or did he love her?

If he understood her...

Did that mean he had forgiven her?

Hate her?

Love her?

Her thoughts tangled together.

Love her?

Hate her?

Love her... right?

Young Aether noticed her thoughtful expression and remained silent for a moment.

Then his gaze absentmindedly drifted toward her chest.

"Come to think of it... How did you even milk—"

"Oi!"

Young Aether and Lia immediately turned around.

Lily stood several steps away, breathing heavily.

"I know... where she is."

She stared directly at him, her expression deadly serious.

"Penelope."