"Mother, stop saying useless things."

Yilan cut her off impatiently, her eyes burning with urgency.

"Just tell me—what’s the method? How do I make Vincent my partner?"

Melanie smiled faintly, then reached into her storage ring and took out the vial of medicine Bree Dekhart had given her. She placed it carefully in front of Yilan.

"As long as you can make Vincent drink this... he’ll sever his bond with that Rory."

Then she produced the strange, bone-like stone and set it beside the vial.

"Once the bond is broken, have him drip his blood onto this. He’ll become your partner."

Her voice lowered, laced with temptation.

"Bree told me—once his blood touches this stone, he will obey you unconditionally. Whatever you command... he will do."

Yilan stared at the vial and the stone in her hands, stunned.

She could hardly believe such things existed in the Empire.

"Mother... are you sure this works?"

"Of course."

Melanie nodded without hesitation.

"This came from a human female—Bre Dekhart. She said it was bestowed upon her by their god."

"A human female?" Yilan’s shock deepened. "When did the Empire even have human females?"

Why had she never heard of this?

Melanie quickly explained Bree’s background, then continued, "She’ll arrange for you to get close to Vincent. Oh—and Paros as well. The ruler of the Three Domains. He’s also Rank Eleven. You can make him your partner too."

Paros?

Yilan had heard the name, but never met him.

Still, a Rank Eleven powerhouse...

He couldn’t possibly be inferior to Vincent.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Her eyes lit with excitement.

"Send me to Vincent immediately."

***

Back at the villa, Rory had just stepped out of Paros’s room when a sharp pain suddenly struck her chest.

Her breath hitched.

"Rory!"

Yuel, who had just walked over, froze when he saw her pale face as she braced herself against the wall.

He rushed forward, catching her before she could falter.

"What’s wrong?"

Without waiting for an answer, he lifted her into his arms and called for Xarion to fetch the Firebird Clan’s physician.

The pain had already faded.

But the mark on her chest—Vincent’s mark—was burning.

"Yuel..."

Rory’s voice trembled with urgency.

"My chest just hurt—and now Vincent’s mark is burning."

Her fingers pressed lightly against it. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Did something happen to him?"

She had heard that when a partner was in danger, the bond mark would react.

At her words, Yuel’s heart sank.

She was right. That was a sign.

But he couldn’t let her panic.

"It’ll be alright, Rory," he said gently, setting her down on the bed with care.

"He’ll be fine."

He immediately activated his light-brain and tried to contact Vincent––no response.

Rory saw the failed connection, her anxiety spiking. "Is something really wrong with him?"

She pushed herself upright, ready to go find him herself.

"Wait," Yuel said quickly, steadying her.

"Let me confirm first. If I can’t reach him, I’ll take you to him myself."

As he spoke, he dialed a secure, encrypted channel.

When the call connected, he spoke rapidly, asking for Vincent’s current status.

Moments later, a video feed came through.

On screen, Vincent sat inside a warship, his expression calm and focused.

He was uninjured. Composed. Fully in control.

Yuel exhaled, tension draining from his body.

At least... for now, Vincent was safe.

Yuel handed the device to Rory.

"This is Vincent’s current status. He’s fine. Don’t worry."

When they were on missions within the Empire, they carried a dedicated system that allowed headquarters to track and contact them instantly.

It didn’t work beyond Imperial space—which was why, the last time he and Vincent had gone missing outside the borders, no one had been able to reach them.

Rory stared at the screen.

Vincent looked exactly as he should and yet... her chest felt tight.

A quiet, creeping unease settled deep in her bones.

She had never felt like this before.

"Yuel... can you ask them to contact Vincent again?" Her voice grew more unsteady the longer she spoke. "Tell him to be careful. I don’t know why... but just looking at him like this, I feel... uneasy. Like something’s about to happen."

Her fingers curled slightly, as if trying to hold onto something slipping away.

"And... if possible..." She hesitated, then added softly: "Can Xarion go to him?"

Xarion’s combat strength—combined with his terrifying threefold backlash ability—made him nearly untouchable across the galaxy.

Seeing her like this—truly shaken for the first time—Yuel didn’t hesitate.

"Alright. I’ll arrange it."

Even he couldn’t ignore this.

Was this... a bond premonition?

Xarion, Jasper, and Wen soon arrived with a physician from the Firebird Clan.

The doctor conducted a thorough examination.

"Female Master Rory, your body is perfectly healthy. There are no issues."

"Thank you," Rory said, though the unease in her chest hadn’t faded.

She had Jasper escort the physician out.

Meanwhile, Yuel had already confirmed Vincent’s exact location.

Rory immediately called Xarion over and explained everything—the sudden pain, the burning mark.

"Vincent might be in danger."

Xarion’s expression hardened. "I understand. I’ll go to him right now. I’ll bring him back safely."

Rory handed him a storage ring.

Inside were high-rank beast cores, Yuel’s healing flowers, nutrient serums—everything she could think of.

Then, after a brief hesitation, she took out the Beast God Fruit Aren had given her.

"Xarion... take this too. If either of you truly needs it... don’t hesitate to use it."

Originally, she had intended to save it for Aren.

Maybe it could help restore him.

But the Firebird Clan physician had warned her—Aren’s body had already been pushed too far by excessive sacred medicine.

If he consumed the fruit now, his body might collapse before his mind recovered.

So she had kept it safe.

Planned to return it to him when he was better.

But now... Vincent’s safety mattered more.

Xarion took the fruit solemnly.

"I understand. Don’t worry, Female Master. I’ll bring him back."

The warship Yuel arranged arrived quickly.

Before boarding, Xarion pulled Rory into a brief embrace.

"Wait for me."

"I will," she said softly. "Come back safely. Both of you."

She stood there, watching as the warship ascended into the sky and disappeared beyond the estate.

But the unease in her chest didn’t lessen.

Not even a little.

Yuel finished coordinating the remaining arrangements and returned to her side.

Seeing her still tense, he spoke gently, "Rory... with Xarion there, Vincent will be fine."

He didn’t go himself.

Not because he didn’t want to—but because he couldn’t.

He hadn’t been assigned to this mission. As a soldier, he couldn’t act without orders like Xarion could.

And more importantly, with both Vincent and Xarion gone, the manor was left with only Wen, Jasper... and two highly unstable variables:

Aren and Paros.

Yuel couldn’t risk leaving Rory unprotected.

If anything happened now—he refused to let her face it alone.