Beast Gacha System: All Mine-Chapter 254: Manipulable Pigeon

The wind suddenly picked up.

Snow fell in higher density, thick and blinding, turning the world into a swirl of white. The boy held her smaller body against his, feeling how deathly cold she was, how her limbs had gone stiff, how her skin felt like ice against his hands.

"We can’t brave the storm on a horse like this," he murmured, more to himself than to her.

So he reached into his coat and pulled out a messenger pigeon. A grey bird, calm and trusting, tucked against his warmth.

"I’m sorry." His voice was young, embarrassed. "I’m still not good at using my crystal."

Magic crystals required mana control to operate. For Vision Mages, that was natural. Their magic came from the soul, from will and imagination. But Force Mages like Arkai? Their power was in their bodies, their physical enhancement. Manipulating external objects was hard.

"How can Force Mages operate a magic crystal anyway?" He mused, almost to himself, as he channeled his mana into the pigeon’s wings. "It still confuses me how those seniors do it so easily. Even though magic crystals aren’t in your body..."

So... he was also not perfect.

He showed his flaws to her so easily. Admitted his weakness without shame.

"At least pigeons can receive your mana easily." He smiled at her, that same smile, warm against the cold. "Use it to send messages home."

He held the pigeon out to her, letting her touch its warmed feathers. The bird was soft, alive, warm.

Sienna’s heart warmed too.

"Pray for him." Arkai’s voice dropped to a whisper. "He’ll save us."

He released the pigeon. It flew into the stormy sky, grey wings beating against the white, smaller and smaller until it disappeared.

They waited. One hour. Two. Sienna lost track of time, huddled in Arkai’s embrace, his body a furnace against the cold. He never let go. Never stopped murmuring reassurances. Never made her feel like a burden.

When people finally found them, torches blazing through the snow, voices calling their names, Sienna was rushed into her mother’s arms. Ines was crying, shaking, hysterical with relief.

And Sienna, warm and safe and loved, promised never to scare her mother again.

But that was not it.

In the days that followed, something shifted.

The Dawnoro family’s strict teachings loosened for her. Became more lenient. The servants were gentler. The tutors less demanding. She could choose whether to study or play. She could get what she wanted without earning it.

But she noticed something.

Arkai liked her better when she had manners.

When she was sweet. When she was obedient. When she smiled and thanked and behaved. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

So she started to act that way.

She learned it also helped her get what she wanted without having to work for it. People moved for her when she was sweet, opened doors, offered gifts, gave in to her requests. The weaker she acted, the more innocent, the more people did things for her without her even asking.

She never made a mistake. She was never wrong. She didn’t know better. Nothing was ever her own fault.

Thankfully, she knew she was weak and innocent. She would always need help. People could never think she was capable of bad things and she agreed with them. She would never do bad things.

Of course, telling people they were mean when they were just trying to correct her, that was right. How could she ever be wrong? People were just mean. And she could cry, and it would never be mentioned again.

So, of course her brother wouldn’t blame her.

He knew she could never do wrong. He had held her in that snowstorm, told her it wasn’t her fault she was upset, that running into the night was just confusion, just childish fear.

It wasn’t her fault. She was just a child and she was confused.

And he had promised.

Promised to always love her, no matter what.

Promised to never leave her alone.

Always be there for her.

Just like the pigeon. That grey bird that had died after forcing its wings to flap in the storm, spending its last strength to save her. Everyone would die for her.

And Arkai Dawnoro too—

"I’ve decided a marriage for you, my son."

Sienna froze.

The words landed in the dining room like stones dropped into still water, sending ripples of shock across every face at the table. She sat in her white dress, the pigeon embroidery at her breast witnessing the moment everything shattered.

Marriage...?

Her gaze snapped to her mother. Ines’s lips parted in genuine surprise. She hadn’t known either. Then to her father. August was cold, stern, absolute, the face of a man who had made a decision and would not be swayed.

And then to Arkai.

He was shocked. She could see it in the way his eyes widened, the way his body tensed. But beneath the surprise—

He was pale.

His face had drained of color, leaving him ashen, bloodless. Quiet horror flickered across his features. Then anger. Then—everything. Grief. Disappointment. Fear. Regret.

All of it, too fast to track, too much to process.

Ha.

Of course he would be upset. This had come out of nowhere!

Possible engagements had always hovered around Arkai. He was the heir to the Dawnoro name, after all. But a direct decision from the patriarch like this? This was the first time. It meant he couldn’t refuse. At all.

"August..." Ines’s voice was hesitant, worried. "Why so sudden? You hadn’t discussed this with me at all." She paused, searching for words. "Didn’t you say you wouldn’t force him to marry someone he doesn’t want? You’re... you’re not this kind of person before..."

"The situation has changed." August’s voice was ice. "Our reputation is on the line. He will do as I say, or he can screw off."

Arkai shot to his feet. "Father!"

"Sit down, or I’ll beat you in front of your mother’s altar!" August thundered.

Arkai’s eyes faltered. The mention of his mother, of that sacred space, cutting through whatever defiance had risen in him.

But he didn’t sit back down.

He stood there, trembling with the effort of holding his ground, and Sienna watched him with a growing horror she couldn’t name.

Could he even say he had someone he loved? Someone who had stolen his heart, telling him it had always been hers? Someone he had only known dangerously closely for a few days?

Even Arkai couldn’t bring himself to believe that was love.

It must have been just lust.

Cecilia—

"Father, I fell in love."

Sienna’s heart stopped.

"I can’t marry anyone but her. You can’t force me, no matter what the reason."

"SIT DOWN!" August slammed the table. The impact rattled dishes, knocked over glasses, sent silverware clattering to the floor.

At that moment, the double doors of the dining room opened.

CREAK—

Every head turned to see a woman standing in the doorway.

She wore black, a beautiful, flowing dress that caught the candlelight. Her golden hair was pinned up, threaded with silver chains that gleamed with every breath. And her eyes swept the room.

Cecilia’s voice was soft. Gentle. Yet it no longer held warmth.

"Didn’t I say I’ll never forgive you if you hurt Arkai, Lord Dawnoro?"