Chapter 68 - The Way He Felt

Chapter 68: Chapter 68 - The Way He Felt

Evening fell over the campus as they journeyed back to the academy gates.

Before heading to submit her report to the principal, the president extended a gloved hand toward Vincent.

"Thank you for your cooperation today. I know it’s late, but I don’t believe we were formally introduced. I’m Daphne Dove."

Vincent took her hand, giving it a brief shake. "Vincent. Just Vincent."

"Hm. Well then. Until next time, Just Vincent."

’Funny.’

As the group returned to the dorms, the atmosphere between Vincent and Maelle remained quiet. Sensing the unresolved storm brewing between the two, Ava left for her room.

*Yawn* "Um... I’m really tired, so... I’m just gonna go to my room and... sleep? Bye!" she quickly mumbled, giving Vincent an encouraging nod before ducking into her bedroom and clicking the door shut.

Going up and reaching her own room, Maelle turned around just as she reached for the doorknob. "I’ll dismiss you now, Vincent."

"Wait. We can’t keep doing this. We need to talk. Properly."

Maelle stood still for a long moment. Finally, she let out an exhausted breath and nodded. She opened the door, gesturing for him to come in.

Inside, Maelle sat on the armchair while Vincent sat on the couch across from her. He broke the silence.

"Maelle... Can you please just tell me what’s wrong. Why did you freak out like that when I told you who I was?"

"....."

Nearly a full minute passed, the only sound being the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner.

Finally, she broke her stoic silence. Her lower lip trembled slightly as she looked up at him.

"It isn’t about an ancient feud, Vincent... It isn’t about your parents, or the war from half a million years ago..."

"Then... what is it?"

"It’s about you. Tell me, Vincent... Do you even want to be my Familiar?"

Vincent froze, taken aback by the sudden question. "What do you mean?"

"Ever since the day you saved me from those bandits, you’ve been... obsessed with the idea that you are just a temporary substitute. That a Dragon is my real Familiar.

"What’s worse is that you knew the Tyrant King had a Dragon Familiar. You knew about the terrible history. You knew about the relentless disdain and mistreatment I face every single day because of my bloodline.

"Was that your plan...? Was that your grand plan all along?! To dump a dragon onto me and just abandon me?! To leave me to face the scrutiny of being called the literal reincarnation of evil all by myself?!"

"What?! Maelle, no–"

"Then why?!" Maelle stood up as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"The reason I ’freaked out’... the reason I panicked... is because I’ve come to realise that you knew about the Tyrant King! You knew who I was, yet you still tried so hard to ’fix’ my life by throwing a dragon my way! Were you actually trying to correct a mistake?! Or were you trying to punish me on behalf of your parents by doing so?!"

"No! That wasn’t what I was doing at all! I swear to you!"

"Then tell me the truth!" Maelle’s voice echoed raw off the walls. "Tell me the real reason you were so desperate to replace yourself with a dragon! Not the fake, sweet excuse about wanting me to be happy! Give me the real reason!"

Seeing her utter desperation, seeing the agonizing pain bleeding from her soul, Vincent realised he couldn’t hide behind gentle half-truths anymore. He took a deep breath, looking straight into her tear-filled eyes.

"Alright... I’ll tell you." Vincent began quietly, "... The reason I was so fixated on switching out... was because I thought my life was ruined by being forever bound to you."

Maelle’s eyes widened as he began telling the harsh truth.

"My name... is Vincent Winters. I’m the son of Dustin Winters, the hero of this world, and Maribelle, the Goddess who accompanied him. But I wasn’t raised here. I was born and raised on a world called Earth."

"E-Earth...?"

"I lived my whole life believing I was a mortal. I never knew my ma– mother nor the history of my father. But I eventually did... After I found out the truth of my origin, that I was essentially a Demigod, I spent five hundred years training in the Divine Realm.

"You see, there’s a time dilation between Earth and the Divine Realm, which allowed me to train for that long. During my stay, my mother would often tell me stories about their adventures here on Pristina.

"But I never thought too deeply about it. ’It’s a cool story, but it has nothing to do with me.’ That was my mentality on it, so some details might’ve slipped my mind. The day I was finally supposed to return home to my life on Earth... a mistake happened."

"Wait, what’s the Divine Realm? Time dilation? Vincent you’re saying thing I don’t understand–"

"Just please let me finish, alright? I’ll answer anything you have to ask when I’m done."

"... Fine."

He looked at her with solemn eyes. "Like I said, a mistake happened by a drunken old fool. The event that changed everything. Instead of a lost soul destined to be reborn as a Dragon... as your Familiar. I was sent through the Circle of Destiny. I thought I was being transported to Earth, instead I drifted through this white void until eventually, I was summoned by you...

"That’s all the summoning was to me at the start, Maelle," Vincent confessed truthfully. "Just a terrible mistake. I had a life waiting for me back home on Earth. I had plans. I couldn’t afford to be stuck as a Familiar in a world I didn’t belong to."

He gestured between the two of them. "I knew how the link between us binded our souls. I knew you had complete control over my body and will. What’s worse... if you die, I die. It felt unfair. I kept asking myself what I did to deserve being trapped like that.

"Haaa... So, yeah... I desperately tried to reverse it. I even went to our Supreme Goddess, Her Majesty to see if there was a way to sever our link... only to find out there isn’t one. Severing it would mean both of us dying."

Vincent offered her a gentle, accepting smile. "So... I made my choice. In the five stages of grief, I’ve arrived at acceptance. I accepted that I’m your Familiar. And I decided I was going to protect you with everything I have."

"..."

"Maelle?"

"...."

"Maelle...? Please... say something."

Maelle sat completely still, staring down at the floorboards. The tears had stopped falling, replaced by an expression of cold, hollow, and broken finality.

Slowly, she raised her head to look at him. Her violet eyes were devoid of any warmth.

"There was no need for you to accept it," she said in a flat tone. "If you never wanted to be my Familiar... you should have just said so from the start."

Before Vincent could react, Maelle raised her right hand toward him and conjured a magic circle over her palm.

Vincent’s heart dropped into his stomach, and he reached out for her. "Maelle, wait–!"

"Goodbye, Vincent Winters. Return."

SHEEN!

In a shimmering sparkle of light, the world around Vincent phased out before snapping back into place inside his mother’s home.

"Maelle, wait! It isn’t like that anymo–! Any...more...?"

As his eyes adjusted to the familiar surroundings, his arm slowly dropped and his face drained of all color.

"No... No, no, NO, NO, NO, NO...! Dammit! DAMMIT!"

He slammed his hands against his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair in agony.

Something about the tone she used when dismissing him, about the way she looked at him. Maelle hadn’t just unsummoned him to have some space – It was finality.

He had laid out all his past resentment and initial bitterness without telling her the rest of it. He hadn’t had the chance to tell her that his feelings had changed, or that he genuinely, truly wanted to stand by her side now.

Click.

The front door opened. Maribelle stepped inside, balancing two bags filled with groceries in her arms. The moment she caught sight of Vincent, her face lit up with pure joy.

"Oh! Vinny!"

She hurried inside and set the bags on the table. "Look at you! Back so soon? You normally eat for another day! Did you miss your mama that much already–?"

She paused. The playful tease in her voice died the second she saw his pale expression and trembling hands.

Her cheerful demeanor vanished into maternal concern. She took his trembling hands into her own warm palms and asked, "Baby...? What happened? What’s wrong?"

"Mama... I blew it. I... I messed up. I messed up so bad."

He poured out everything that had transpired – revealing his origin as the Hero’s and Goddess’s son, telling her about how he initially felt trapped and resentful of the summoning bond, and how Maelle had forcibly unsummoned him before he could explain that he actually cared about her.

Maribelle listened in patient silence.

When he finally finished, she squeezed his hands gently, treading carefully with her next words.

"Vinny... can I play devil’s advocate for a moment?" she asked hesitantly yet gently.

"Sure..."

"Think about the silver lining. We know that the link between a Master and a Familiar cannot be severed without both of you dying, right? But a Familiar can technically remain unsummoned indefinitely."

"... What are you trying to say?"

"I’m saying... If she truly believes you resent being bound to her – and going off of her personality from what you’ve told me about her – she will likely never summon you again. Isn’t this... isn’t this better for you?"