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Being the sole heir of a prestigious family isn’t as beautiful and as glorious as most people thought it to be.

Especially when that heir is a woman.

Lily grew up with her every action analyzed under a microscope. She can’t hide anything; she had no privacy. Anything she says and does will be known to the family, who will then critique her actions very closely because of her status.

She never grew used to their stares; she just learned how to live with it since they’re not going away anytime soon. If anything, she even developed a faint sense when somebody’s watching her.

It’s too much, and she always longed for an escape. Even her room couldn’t give her the privacy that she craves.

"Look. I didn’t summon you here to scold you." Her father sighed, somehow looking older than he actually was.

"I know," Lily muttered softly. "Just reminding me of how it is. I already know that; I’ve never forgotten, don’t worry."

She couldn’t help but let out some traces of resentment and bitterness into her tone.

Lily has been told to remember who she was and who she represents. She had heard it from her father hundreds of times by now and from thousands of others. She heard so much that they all sound like a broken record at this point, and she hated it because it’s a constant reminder that she will never be free from the shackles of her own status and birthright.

"..."

Her father, the patriarch of the Heartveil family, felt his heartbreak for his own daughter.

Of course he caught the resentment and bitterness in her tone. He knows her; she grew up under his watch. He might be busy most of the time, but he never failed to check on his daughter regularly.

As a father, how can he not understand what she feels? Wasn’t he placed on the same pedestal when he was young? If anything, his daughter was under more pressure since she’s the only legitimate heir and a woman, too.

The moment she was born, he—as the family head—had been under pressure too. Call them barbaric or traditionalists, but the family wanted a male heir. It’s not their intention to look down on women; it’s their competition that does.

That’s why the family had been pressuring him to remarry and produce a male heir while he still can.

The only reason why he managed to shut that notion down was because one of their family rivals, the Carmichael family, also had a female heir, and she’s adopted. Additionally, Lily inherited the talent of her mother.

She has an epic-grade martial physique called the Stainless Heart Martial Physique.

If it weren’t for these circumstances, he would’ve been pressured by now to marry another woman to try for a male heir.

However, good talent and upbringing aren’t enough. Though Lily showed some promise, there are still some loud voices in the family that just refuse to shut up.

He knows that it’s been hard for his daughter too, and she longed to escape, even just for a bit, so that she could breathe and recalibrate. Alas, nobody would give her a chance.

Not even he, her own father and the family head, could give her that. What an utter failure he has been, truly.

"That’s that, then. It’s just those same voices again. Nothing new, nothing changes. They can’t do any real damage. I’m more worried about you. Just don’t do anything impulsive. At the very least, wait until you’re strong enough to do so."

"I understand." Lily nodded.

This too, she has heard multiple times. Everybody expects her to work hard and become strong. They want her to be as bold, direct, and strong as the Carmichael heiress—Aria Carmichael. Because if she couldn’t even compete with her when they both have the same martial talent, then what’s the use of her being the heir?

It would be better for the family head to remarry and produce a male heir while he’s still young enough to do so.

Again and again, that’s the excuse they used. Lily has heard so many times that she could probably recite their lines even in her sleep.

Aria Carmichael—how she envied that girl.

Despite being adopted, Aria got more going on for her compared to Lily - who’s a legitimate heir.

She’s got both parents who loved her deeply even though they’re not related by blood. She’s got the support and admiration of the whole Carmichael Family, who would fight anybody to death if they dared to talk badly about her. Aria was not restricted like Lily; she could do whatever she wanted, be as willful and as playful as she wanted because she could, and her family wouldn’t scold her to punish her for doing so.

But the very thing that Lily envied about Aria was her braveness.

Her being smitten with Sieg wasn’t some huge secret. In fact, it’s a well-known fact throughout the entire Desolate City.

The prized heiress of the Carmichael family, Aria—whose line of suitors was so long that they could probably wrap around the whole city once or twice—rejected everybody and prefers a piece of trash with delusions of grandeur instead.

Even through the dissatisfaction of her family, Aria remained steadfast. She never denied any of their accusations. If anything, she boldly declared that if anybody wanted to touch him, they had to go through her first.

Lily could never do that. She could never be her.

She took a liking to Sieg a lot, actually. She would never forget the first man who ever showed her kindness, gentleness, and understanding and allowed her to breathe and laugh without any care in the world. She would never forget the man who made her feel free for the first time in her life. The one who saw her as simply Lily, not the Heartveil Family Heiress.

Aria could do all the things that Lily couldn’t. And she could also tell that Aria had a special place in Sieg’s heart. They grew up together after all, and she personally heard him admit that his dreams had Aria in them.

It was never a competition. Lily never stood a chance to begin with.

But that doesn’t stop her from giving him aid whenever she can. But even that comes with a cost and a harsh reminder from her own family.

It was so unfair, really.

**

It’s the second day of Ren’s three-day leave from the party, and he just returned from clearing Stage 7.

The haul wasn’t bad this time, too. He earned a lot, and he’s got more materials to use for potion making.

As soon as he returned to the clan, he went through his usual routine and ended up spending the majority of his afternoon at the Apothecary Hall doing nothing but brewing potions.

He could now brew multiple portions of the new potions he learned recently. His success rate was stabilizing, and soon, he’s confident that he’ll master them.

During his downtime, he also practiced the Vital Pulse Art under Venina’s supervision.

She couldn’t find flaws after a couple of pointers. Ren became proficient at using it under her watch, and just overnight, he could already use it as if he had been practicing it for more than a year.

It’s incredible, but Venina held back her praises. She constantly reminded him to be careful when using this art. This wasn’t some miraculous healing technique.

It can’t bring back somebody to life. It can’t re-attach severed limbs or regenerate destroyed organs. At most, it could remind the patient’s body to function around the injury long enough until real help arrives. That’s the whole purpose of the Vital Pulse Art.

There are pros and cons to this healing art, and Venina made sure that Ren remembers every single one before deeming him fit to use the technique as he will.

Ren never seemed to be the reckless or irresponsible kind. Her husband could personally attest to that.

And so, Ren achieved one of his immediate goals. He now has the permission to use the Vital Pulse art as he deems fit. This will be known to the clan, and soon, it will also be added to his public profile in the GMU’s database.

With this, Ren could begin his attempts to improve the Vital Pulse Art, and he’s got tons of ideas already. But he had to be careful since this wasn’t something he could just change.

He could easily twist this healing art into something gruesome if he wasn’t careful. That’s why he’d need to go slow.

Once the day was over, Ren ate dinner and hopped into the VR world to join his party for some matches.

He arrived a little earlier than they did, so he decided to sign up for solo matches first. He’s using his second account, [Marek], by the way. [Anon] was still his kept secret.

Ren got a match soon, and when he saw the stage name of who he’s fighting, he couldn’t help but raise a brow.

’I didn’t think that the first person from the main cast I’d meet would be you.’

[Cherry Anne].