Thursday, August 15th, 2045
Demiliore Manor, Sameran City, Agnolia, Netheria
Steady footsteps could be heard as a beautiful grey-eyed girl walked down the hallway, lost in her thoughts with a frown marring her face.
Her mood was quite different from the rest of the Family in the Manor, who have all been living the past few days in a festive atmosphere. And this festive atmosphere was going to continue till the end of this month.
Qingyue frowned deeper when she arrived in front of a room, but then took a deep breath and proceeded to knock on the door. Though she did not need to, she knocked once more before entering the room.
"Rebecca." She called out the name of the blonde girl, who was floating above her bed, asleep and shrouded by a mystical purple Aura that calmed her nerves down a little and also made her feel rejuvenated. "Wake up." She sternly said, and as she had expected, the blonde smiled at her words.
"That's rude." Rebecca opened her eyes, recalling the Purple Aura back inside the locket she always wore on her neck.
Her body slowly floated off the bed and then she stretched her limbs before coming to stand right in front of her sister-wife.
"Good morning, Yue." She smiled and then stepped forward to hug the girl.
"Good morning." Qingyue half-hugged her before pushing her away and making her look her in the eyes.
"Yes?"
"Did you know about Amira and Reina?" She asked, and Rebecca could only smile at her words.
"He did not tell me, but I knew." The blonde replied and then giggled. "What happened? Jealous that the number of girls surrounding him keeps rising?" She knowingly asked and giggled some more when Qingyue narrowed her eyes at her words.
"It does not bother you?" She asked back.
"They are good girls and they won't harm the family." The blonde seriously said, and her words displeased her sister-wife.
"That's not the point."
"It should be." Rebecca shook her head and then turned to walk towards the dressing room. "We are not a normal family, Yue."
"I already know that!" Qingyue narrowed her eyes, but when Rebecca stopped and turned to look at her, she could only lower her eyes in apology for raising her voice. "Why does he keep bringing all these girls into the family? Are we not enough?"
She was truly upset right now.
A few days ago, a girl named Zoey arrived at the Manor, and Amelia personally picked her up from the airport and then informed everyone at home that Zoey was Keith's lover.
And yesterday evening, a pair of twins arrived at the Manor, and Amelia said those same words again.
What truly bothered her was how quickly everyone accepted the three of them, and the thought of confronting Keith did not even cross their minds.
He already had so many girls around him, so why did he feel the need to keep looking for more?
"He must have his reasons." Rebecca smiled at her. "And even if he didn't, I would be fine with him bringing even more girls into the family."
"Why?" Qingyue raised her head and looked into the blonde's ocean-blue eyes.
"Come with me," Rebecca said and then entered the dressing room.
Qingyue sat at the bench whilst her sister-wife entered the bathroom and returned a few minutes later after a quick shower.
The blonde then opened the wardrobes to pick something up for the day, and even after minutes, she seemed undecided.
"Oh come on!" Qingyue could not stand it when Rebecca simply went through wardrobe after wardrobe and was still undecided on what she wanted to wear.
Getting up, she picked up a dress and then handed it to her sister-wife. "Wear this." She told her and then looked into her eyes. "Talk."
Rebecca giggled at her behaviour and then nodded to her before proceeding to change right in front of her.
"When I said that we are not a normal family, I meant that we are unlike the families in the other worlds as well." She smiled and glanced at her sister-wife. "We have three Inheritors of Gods in our family, Yue. And all three of us are True Inheritors."
The words did not make Qingyue feel good, but she stayed quiet and waited for Rebecca to get to the point.
She did not like it whenever Rebecca flaunted her status as an Inheritor of Goddess in front of her.
"We will have to face lots of enemies in our lives, and even if we don't look for trouble, it will find its way to us. We are bound to be thrown into wars and struggles for power." She smiled at her. " And wars are not won on your own. One needs capable and loyal people on their side. Who would be more loyal to us than the one who is part of our family?" She meaningfully asked.
Seeing that Qingyue was seriously thinking over her words, Rebecca did not say anything more and proceeded to finish dressing up for the day, giving time to her sister-wife to understand the crux of the matter.
"Besides, we are all going to live very long lives." She lightly said. "And we won't always be able to stay around each other all the time. As we grow stronger, our sense of time will change as well. And you will realise that no matter how many people we have in the family, they would still not seem enough. We will need numbers, slaves and soldiers aside. People who can be trusted without a question and can stay by our sides most of the time, just like Shadows."
The mention of slaves once again brought a frown to her face. The idea of Shadows still did not still well with her, and after Rebecca informed her that Shadows existed in other worlds too, and they could also be bound by unbreakable magical vows, she was even more troubled with the idea.
Rebecca could see that her words bothered her silly sister-wife, but she ignored it and let her drown in her thoughts.
"Amelia will keep Zoey by her side." She suddenly said after she was done putting on her shoes.
"What?"
"Yes." She nodded. "I am not sure what is special about her, but I am sure she is special. Keith would not waste his time on someone who has no use."
"You make it sound like we are only by his side because we have some use." Qingyue was not pleased by her words and felt a little unwell when the blonde brightly smiled at her.
"Is that not the case?" She playfully asked and then grabbed her hand before pulling her out of the room. On the way out, she magically dried up her hair. "Why do you think mother did not waste time and claimed Ginara as her personal maid?"
"She's very talented in Cultivation." Qingyue furrowed her brows and replied as she could guess Vanessa's intentions.
"Yes." The blonde nodded her head. "I am keeping Amira and Reina."
"What?" Qingyue's stopped and looked at her in surprise.
"They want to become doctors, and Amelia asked me to take care of them. I can guess that Keith intends for me to keep them by my side in the future." She informed her and then smiled when she saw her sister-wife frowning at her words. "Kiara has cleverly made sure that Ingvild stays by her side as well, though she did not have to do much since it was all that Keith intended. The little princess would not leave the side of her sister, and her sister is Kiara's Shadow."
"So, you are all going to make your own teams now." She narrowed her eyes.
"You already have Ayesha." Rebecca smiled. "And by the looks of it, Nana already serves as Amelia's personal assistant."
The blonde smirked and then turned to look ahead, humming the notes for the Devil's Bride, the song Keith wrote for her and she absolutely adored.
"You should ask Keith to find you a Shadow."
"Never." The grey-eyed girl adamantly shook her head. "Amelia does not have one either. Did you ask her to find one?" She displeasedly asked.
"She will find one for herself or maybe ask Keith for one when the time comes."
The certainty in Rebecca's words made her feel even more uncomfortable.
"Grandma!" Rebecca cheerfully called out to Diana, who was sitting in the lounge with Zoey and then brisked up to her to hug the old lady. "Good morning!"
"Good morning, my sweet child." Diana happily pulled the blonde to sit by her side and then smiled at the grey-eyed girl who had walked up to her to hug her. "Good morning, Yue."
"Morning, Grandma." She too smiled and then looked at the girl with chestnut brown hair. "Good morning, Zoey."
Rebecca smiled in her heart when Qingyue showed no displeasure when she greeted Zoey and engaged her in a polite conversation. She was quite impressed by her sister-wife's acting skills.
At least, in the last few years, she had learned something useful from them. And it made her have some faith that she was not a lost cause.
