In the director’s office.

Sylvia Sterling was reviewing the files of the new students who were about to start classes.

"Seraphine?" she asked upon seeing a head peeking through the door.

"Grandma..." she replied, entering with evident emotion.

Sylvia looked at her with surprise. Cassian had mentioned something about it and, although she didn’t fully agree with what had happened —she would have preferred that he insisted Seraphine ignore any event from her "other life"—, she sighed with resignation.

She observed the woman in her office again, intrigued.

Noticed the details in her posture: the slightly slumped shoulders and that depressed but at the same time innocent and determined look. It was her, no doubt.

So... what was happening exactly?

Moreover, upon noticing her slight blush and the way she walked, somewhat uncomfortably, Sylvia smiled to herself.

"It seems that at some point I’ll have to organize a family session with that bastard," she thought shamelessly.

Seraphine seemed to notice that her grandmother was looking at her strangely and began to get nervous.

"Grandma, sorry for not coming to visit you earlier," she said with her head lowered, looking around in an attempt to find something that would calm her.

Sylvia chose to ignore certain details and preferred to ask about a more urgent matter:

"Julius told me you were attacked recently, is that true?"

Seraphine looked up surprised, fixed her eyes on her "grandmother" and nodded.

"Do you have any idea why it might have been?" Sylvia asked with a raised eyebrow.

The young woman shook her head repeatedly, denying emphatically.

Sylvia sighed and her brow darkened.

The memory of the time when her sister was still alive assaulted her; she still couldn’t understand what kind of enemies she had earned to end up the way she did.

After a tense silence, Sylvia finally seemed to relax and looked at her "granddaughter" with light, almost mischievous mockery.

"So... where were you before coming here?" she asked with a wide smile, knowing perfectly well what she was implying.

Seraphine looked at her surprised, only to end up turning into a tomato instantly.

... 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

In Cassandra Demor’s chambers.

The woman who had been the support of the empire for many years was silently watching a figure entering the palace with doubts.

"Ancestor... we told that person he could enter, as you ordered."

Cassandra frowned, turned around and headed to the reception hall.

Once there, she observed the man who had insisted on seeing her new "source of entertainment".

Cassian Varkas.

She hadn’t heard anything about him until today; someone evidently insignificant from her own empire who wasn’t worth knowing anything about.

They looked at each other for a second and the woman couldn’t help but feel that something didn’t add up: neither his posture, nor his confidence, and definitely not that face with eyes that seemed to lack attachment to anyone’s life.

But at that moment, the entrance of another person completely interrupted the silence and the growing tension.

Elara Demor had arrived, with a somber look, a seventh-level circle and an apparent nervousness.

What increased the latter was Cassian’s radical change upon seeing her.

His expression went from a gaze capable of destroying stars to that of a heartbroken lover who hadn’t seen his love in a long time.

"Elara!" he exclaimed as he ran towards her. "Thank goodness you’re okay! You didn’t talk to me for so long that I was already starting to get nervous... I thought you didn’t like me anymore!"

He said the last part with a smile that only Elara could understand, while a shiver ran through her completely.

Cassandra looked confused at the change, but seeing no resistance from Elara while he clung to her and hugged her, she thought she had only imagined the first impression.

A gesture of disgust appeared in her gaze upon seeing such a cloying interaction and a man stooping so low; although, on the other hand, she felt pride that her now "disciple" was capable of generating such a level of devotion.

She sat down in the most luxurious individual armchair in the hall and waited for the couple to separate, unaware of the conversation taking place between them.

Elara couldn’t believe the love with which her master was receiving her.

Unsure and with her face flushed from having him so close, she opened her mouth as if to ask if she was dreaming.

"It’s not a dream," Cassian whispered. "Play along; I wanted to meet your jailer."

He gave a brief glance toward Cassandra, but immediately returned to Elara to look her up and down.

"Although seeing you now... you seem to be doing very well. You’ve even broken the second limit. Good girl."

Those last words provoked a wave of emotion in Elara, who immediately filed away all the suffering of the last few weeks; just that praise was enough.

However, what came next was even more intoxicating for her masochistic nature.

"What reward should I give you?" he continued. "Although I think a punishment would be better for you, or am I wrong?"

He said it with a devilish smile that completely disarmed Elara.

Then, a dry and deliberate clearing of the throat echoed in the hall, interrupting the couple’s display of "love".

"Ahem..." Cassandra, impatient, rhythmically tapped the arm of her armchair with her long nails, producing a metallic sound that forced both to remember they were not alone.

The Ancestor’s gaze was icy, now totally focused on Cassian, trying to decipher what was behind that facade of a devoted lover.

"Elara, don’t you think you should introduce me to the guest? Your little boyfriend was waiting outside my door with his carriage all day to see you," she added with a marked touch of contempt. "Although I hope it’s nothing more than that."

Inside, Cassandra coldly evaluated the situation: if Elara intended to marry someone so mediocre, it might be worth reconsidering whether her talent really deserved the investment of time.

The princess, feeling the icy gaze of the woman responsible for her recent suffering, became rigid.

The hesitation was immediate; trapped between the authority of her true master and the pressure of her new mentor, she didn’t know whom to obey first or what to say to avoid unleashing the fury of either.

Cassian placed a hand on Elara’s waist, took a step forward and, with a rehearsed smile, introduced himself:

"I apologize for my unexpected visit; I hope you understand my anxiety. I am very grateful that you took care of her during this time."

Those soft words from Cassian immediately put the princess’s mind into overdrive.

However, for the Ancestor, it was starting to bore her to the point of exasperation.

"I will be visiting Elara frequently; I hope this doesn’t disturb the rest of such an important woman as yourself," he continued, although inside his thoughts were much darker:

"I wonder what this woman will think if suddenly she starts hearing her new tenant screaming with pleasure at night..."

Cassian gave Cassandra an analytical look.

A mature woman with silver-threaded black hair, she was clearly at the peak of Nascent Soul.

"Stronger than Sylvia," he whispered to himself. "Incredible in such a decadent world..."

On the other hand, in another wing of the palace, the one belonging to the current emperor.

"Your Majesty, one of the siblings is already on his way to Pradiles."

"One?" Alric raised his eyebrows, inquisitive.

"Yes. Cassian Varkas is currently visiting Cassandra Demor."

The tea that the emperor was holding spilled onto the floor.

"Cassandra? Why would that toy be visiting her? Don’t tell me that now, suddenly, she has become interested in that kind of thing..."

"No, my lord. It seems it’s because of Elara."

A silence settled in the room; while the spilled tea spread more and more across the floor, the emperor’s doubt grew along with the stain.