Chapter 1562: Chapter 1562. Strained Reunion.

While following Yasenia, the maids and the girls couldn’t help but look with a touch of worry. Some of them wanted to speak, but in the end, they decided to let the two involved resolve the conflict. Outside interference could very well make things worse, so it was better to take a step back.

Luan Feixue, being carried by Tatyana’s energy, couldn’t help but look and ask softly. "Grandmaster, um... will Master be alright?"

Tatyana’s answer was somewhat soft. "She better be."

Evelyn blinked at that answer. "You didn’t know about this?"

Tatyana shook her head, somewhat annoyed. "Flora has never revealed this information. Most likely, it was Kali who told her that she would solve it herself. I just knew that there was someone who tried to approach Kali."

Angel was slightly surprised. "That’s... Flora really hid it? Shouldn’t she reveal things for Yasenia’s sake?"

Tatyana pondered and sighed. "Usually, that would be the case. However, Flora is someone with quite a soft heart toward those close to her. Of course, I still believe that she puts Yasenia first, and that she thinks things can be solved. Even then, it’s quite annoying that she has not reported it."

Eve, flying nearby, spoke with a cold tone. "She will go through punishment."

Andrea looked at Eve’s cold face before looking away. As she did in Evelyn’s and Angel’s world, Andrea would not interfere. She trusted both Yasenia and her friends, so she shouldn’t interfere when no one interfered with her.

Evelyn and Angel were of the same mindset. Whatever problem they had, it was for them to solve.

Meanwhile, quite far ahead of them, Yasenia continued traveling with a cold look, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows on her eyes. Behind her, the giant feathered wings created from Pegasus Gallop were flapping constantly, pushing her forward at a speed that made space ripple around her like water.

It wasn’t long before Yasenia found the few peaks hidden by forests, the [Cralure Mountain Forest]. Of course, to ensure Kali was not liberated, the formation had a concealment barrier. This barrier was very powerful, usually undetectable.

Sadly for the creators of this barrier, Yasenia’s Spiritual Sense had already reached the peak of the [Big Improvement] realm. As she flew, her incredibly sharp senses detected a faint, hidden energy fluctuation.

Usually, she would’ve ignored it. Still, since she was searching for it, Yasenia’s golden slit eyes quickly moved over, and she slowed down.

The next second, her Spiritual Sense surged forward like a tide, covering the entire area and quickly piercing through the veil. ’It’s here.’

Her heart beat, and her hands became somewhat nervous. Yasenia, while she felt incredibly bitter in her heart, didn’t know how to face her Honey. She was 99% sure that it was her overthinking, but that 1% left her short of breath.

Yasenia didn’t know when she last felt this... agitated.

So, with a pounding heart from unease, Yasenia landed and waited. As she expected, a figure quickly crossed the forest and appeared in front of her. "Young Miss, you are here."

Yasenia looked down at the respectfully bowing dryad, and she asked with a tone much colder than she wanted. "Where is she?"

Flora froze, her heart suddenly tightening. When she raised her head and looked at Yasenia’s face, her legs almost weakened. "Y-Young Miss, you..."

"Where..." Yasenia interrupted. "...is she?"

Flora swallowed, and then she stepped aside and spoke with a tad of trepidation. "T-This way, Young Miss."

Yasenia advanced toward where she gestured, and right after, the rest of the group arrived. Eve and Anna landed in front of Flora with cold eyes. "You’ll be punished. This time, your mistake is almost grave enough to strip away your maid qualifications."

Flora’s face paled a little. She didn’t complain and just bowed deeply. "Yes, Head Maid."

Anna and Eve looked away and followed. When Xyrona passed by, she asked with a confused tone. "Why hide it?"

Flora smiled wryly. "Madam Kali asked me about it. The reasoning was quite sound, so I chose to agree."

Xyrona rolled her eyes. "Sound reasoning? Hiding things from Young Miss? Flora, you’ve been with her longer than I have, but it seems that you’ve forgotten the thing Young Miss hates the most, which is being left in the dark."

Flora sighed. "I know... I don’t know what I was thinking back then."

Yasenia continued walking forward, and the closer she got to the seal’s central area, the more pressure from the surrounding area fell on her. Clearly, this seal was trying to stop her advance toward the core area.

However, compared to the pressure she received from the [Sovereign Echo Cavern] in the Blue Pearl World, this pressure was like a gentle breeze. Her steps didn’t even slow down a single bit.

Soon, Yasenia arrived at the barrier separating her from the core area. Both her hands partially transformed into draconic claws, and she extended them forward.

Her incredibly sharp golden claws pierced the barrier with a screeching sound, and then, she grabbed the edges and pushed sideways using raw physical strength.

CREAAAK!

The shielding formation bent under pressure, unable to stop the dragon from opening a hole to step inside.

Once the seal was opened, Yasenia stepped inside. The second she did, the environment around her changed.

Her surroundings became a vast clearing with sparse trees, surrounded by a wall of tall trees. In the middle of this seal was a beautiful wooden house, with a few rooms having no walls. Near the wooden house, a lake covered a fourth of the clearing, with water transparent enough to almost see the bottom.

The sky was blue, with flowing white clouds, and there was even a garden at the side, clearly attended to by the one living in the wooden house.

Yasenia looked around once and then behind her. From where she entered, there was now a massive spatial rift. ’It’s healing slowly. Well, not that it matters. I can easily break out from here.’

With that in mind, Yasenia began walking toward the wooden house.

Meanwhile, inside the wooden house, Kali had been resting while writing down some alchemy books. She did this in her free time to sort out her knowledge. As she was writing, her senses suddenly caught a fluctuation, surprising her. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’Energy fluctuation? How is this possible? Did someone break into my seal?’

For a second, her face turned cold. She thought that the one who entered was that annoying man. ’Did someone allow him to enter?’

However, once she sent her Spiritual Sense to look over, she froze. She could barely believe what she was seeing.

"...Huh? Yasenia?"

Her first thought was that she was hallucinating. But then, when she made sure that she wasn’t, happiness surged deep into her soul.

She quickly stood up, and with a strong push, Kali flew out of the window toward her. "Yasenia!"

But as she approached, she noticed an oddity. The dragoness who would usually welcome her with open arms was currently looking at her with a cold expression. While Kali could tell that the other side was happy, her eyes looked... somewhat gloomy.

Kali’s heart thumped for no reason, stopping a few meters away from Yasenia. "Y-Yasenia?"

The breeze passed between them, the sound of rustling grass and the scent of flowers surrounding them. Despite the warm breeze, Kali felt somewhat cold under Yasenia’s gaze.

Meanwhile, Yasenia looked at Kali, and her heart was currently surging with incredibly complex emotions. The most prominent was... delight. She was, of course, incredibly happy to see her little fox doing fine and well.

However, it was precisely because of this profound sweet happiness that the bitterness stood out. Yasenia truly wanted to step forward and hug Kali. She wanted to kiss her and exchange loving words.

However, each time that impulse appeared in her, the name Xa Tian flashed in her mind like throwing a bucket of cold water on her. "I am here..." Yasenia brought herself to speak, but her tone was incredibly flat and emotionless. "Sorry for taking so long."

As she spoke, she still felt bitter. Still, her apology was sincere because, in a way, if she had not taken that long, Kali wouldn’t have met that man.

Kali blinked, her face showing confusion as to why Yasenia was acting this way. She was not scared of Yasenia’s coldness, as Kali never even held the thought that Yasenia might hurt her. So, with a worried look, she decided to walk over.

"Yasenia... you... Did something happen? Are you okay?"

Looking down at the fox’s somewhat flattened ears due to worry, Yasenia didn’t know how to act. She very much wanted to console Kali, but the "fishbone" in her heart kept her from acting.

This was probably the first time this kind of emotion had appeared in Yasenia. Until now, while her lovers had suitors, they were just normal people. So, Yasenia considered all of them annoyances. Nothing more.

This time, though, Xa Tian was not only someone who had influence on Kali but also someone whom Kali didn’t get rid of despite that influence. Being aware of the soulmate link influence, Yasenia’s mind was currently going through thousands of "what ifs".

So, when Kali was about to reach out to grab Yasenia’s hand, the dragoness decided to do things as she always did. Tackle them head-on. Lingering would only make things more awkward and painful.

"Xa Tian."

It was a single name. Yet, Kali’s outstretched hand froze, her eyes trembling as if they were going through an earthquake. For a second, Kali felt lightheaded at the implications of Yasenia knowing that name.

Yasenia’s eyes took in her emotions when she spoke that name. There was surprise, panic, and nervousness to the point of her paling a touch. ’Thankfully...’ Yasenia thought. ’There is no guilt.’

If Kali had felt guilty, Yasenia’s heart might’ve truly been broken, as guilt implied something might’ve happened.

Looking up, Kali finally understood why Yasenia had this look. She instantly felt as if the sky were crumbling. Panicked beyond belief, with her limbs trembling to the point of near collapse, Kali quickly reached out and hugged Yasenia tightly.

She looked up with an anxious look, speaking quickly but clearly, as if a single second of not explaining things would result in a calamity. "Y-Yasenia, I don’t know what you’ve heard outside. However, I swear to Heaven that I don’t have anything to do with him! You have been, are now, and will always be my only one. You must believe me!"

Yasenia’s arms stiffened. The familiar earthly scent mixed with that pleasant fragrance of recently cut grass touched her nose. However, even as Kali hugged her, she didn’t reach out to hug her back.

Still... "Nothing to do with him?"

Yasenia was confused. ’Being your soulmate is having nothing to do with you? Or... is she trying to protect him?’

Our dragoness didn’t want to, but her thoughts at some point almost constantly went and deviated to the worst direction.

She didn’t know that what Kali meant by "nothing to do with him" was at a personal level. So, she quickly nodded. "I have nothing to do with him. I swear that the only thing that has touched him from me is the sole of my boot that one time I kicked him!"

For an instant, Yasenia began doubting those rumors outside. After all, Yasenia would always believe her lovers over random rumors outside. So, she asked, confused. "So... He is not your soulmate?"

"Ah..."

Kali froze once more. For a second, she hesitated. Did she tell the hurtful truth, or did she sweep it under the rug and forget about it? After all, they would never see him after leaving Skyria.

This hesitation fell into Yasenia’s eyes, and her heart hurt for a moment. ’Why is she hesitating? Is she scared that I will kill him?’

Looking at Yasenia’s eyes, Kali saw the hurt in them. Instantly, Kali’s heart almost dropped at the bottom of her stomach. All hesitation vanished, even as her voice trembled from the sheer throat-gripping anxiousness she was currently feeling. "L-Listen to me, Yasenia. I want you to listen to everything slowly, al-alright?"

Yasenia’s face didn’t change, still looking a touch expressionless. However, she slowly nodded.

That nod was like a ray of light in the darkness, and Kali sighed in relief. ’Alright, good. If she is willing to listen, I have nothing to fear but... Hiding things from her?’ Kali felt an urge to slap herself for even retaining that thought. ’What is wrong with me?’

All her plans about hiding things were completely inappropriate. But the fact that it took seeing Yasenia again for Kali to remember made her look down on herself.

’Yasenia is my light. She is the one who pulled me out of the deepest darkness and the only person I love besides our children. How could I forget the promise I made to her in the past about never lying?’

So, with a deep breath, Kali decided to explain everything slowly and share her thoughts and reasoning, including her mistakes. Her objective was not repentance, but pouring everything out as truthfully as possible.