"Rebecca..." Alana came running into the blonde's room, a little worried why the little cub who had stayed with her all night suddenly woke up and rushed out. However, when she found it resting in Rebecca's lap as her Aura-laced hand stroked its soft fur, she was a little relieved. "He was hungry?" She asked.
"Yes." The blonde raised her head and smiled at her. "And I called him over. Good morning!"
"Good morning." Alana smiled a little and then came to sit by her side on the bed. "You are up earlier than usual." She took a playful jibe, being familiar with how lazy Keith's blonde wife was.
"Iseul is on her way here," Rebecca replied and then started cooing to the little black cub who cutely yelped to her. "How are you feeling?" She asked.
"I am fine." She brightly smiled but when the blonde glanced into her eyes, she embarrassedly lowered her head.
Silence reigned between them for several minutes as Rebecca kept playing with her beautiful cub, who mysteriously did not seem to age at all.
She still remembered when she had first seen it years ago, and it looked the same as it did now, having not grown even an inch bigger.
Soon, her mind was distracted again as it drifted to the thoughts of her younger brother, who had been slowly drifting away from her.
Alana did not understand where she went wrong, and why Yexuan was being so hurtful, but she really hoped that everything would turn out fine.
It had been quite hard for her to restrain herself from interrogating Yexuan about his Cultivation, but considering how things were already too compromised between them, she exercised patience.
"Why do you think he hates Keith?"
The sudden question pulled Alana out of her gloom, and it made her feel very uncomfortable.
"He does not hate Keith..." She trailed off as she recalled the words Yexuan had screamed at her, trying to make her understand that she must stay away from her beloved.
"He does." Rebecca smiled and then placed the little black cub in her lap. "Give me 15 minutes. We will join the rest on the morning walk."
Alana subconsciously nodded to her before looking down at Void, who was soundly asleep in her lap.
Seeing its serene expression, she could not help but smile, and then her hand reached for its soft fur on its own.
It still surprised her a little how this mysterious cub had started allowing her to keep it in her lap and stroke it all she wanted. Even when she stayed at the Manor, it kept to itself, and other than Rebecca, it seldom allowed anyone to keep it in their lap for an extended time.
However, since yesterday, it had been showing her a little more attention, and she wondered if it was because it had sensed her sadness that it tried to keep her company.
Little did the innocent Alana know that the beast in her lap was only following its Master's instructions, keeping her company so that it could protect her from anything unexpected.
Rebecca smiled when she exited the dressing room and saw Alana lovingly stroking Void's shiny black coat of fur.
"Let's go."
"Can I stay?" She was a little reluctant to part with this cute creature right now, and she was afraid she would disturb its sleep.
"Don't worry. Void won't be waking up. You can bring him along." The blonde girl told her and then proceeded to pick up her cell phone from the side table.
The two of them arrived outside the main compound, where Amelia seemed to be waiting for them with Zoey, Marianne, and little Halena.
"It's so cute!" The little Mourntale could not help but exclaim when she saw the little cub sleeping in Alana's arms.
She had seen it yesterday as well, but it was nighttime then, and Marianne had handed it straight to Alana after the latter told them that she was feeling unwell and would not join them for dinner.
Now, she got a good look at it, and she happily approached Alana, looking at the cub from up close.
One thing that she observed was that despite breathing regularly, there was not even the faintest sound. It was just so silent.
"What's its name?" She lowered her voice so that she would not disturb its sleep and asked.
"Void," Alana told her and then offered her to hold it in her hands, which the little girl happily accepted.
Everyone smiled as they watched Helena trying to suppress her giggles when Void suddenly started purring.
Amelia and Rebecca then walked ahead, chatting with each other, and the rest of the girls followed after them while either listening to their chat or chatting amongst each other.
The mornings in the hills of Magic City were quite an experience. And as they walked down the cobbled pathway, surrounded by mist, which prevented them from seeing far, they spent a very happy time chatting with each other about miscellaneous things.
Later, Amelia showed them the grounds where the Mourntale Family held their morning exercises, and after watching them for a few minutes, all of them returned to the Main Compound where a certain someone was getting out of a black Jeep Wrangler, carrying a large backpack.
"Iseul!" Rebecca smiled as the beautiful Asian girl turned to look their way. "Thank you for coming."
"Master's orders." The girl too smiled and then respectfully bowed to them. "But I was promised a lot of fun, so I am happy to be here."
"Good!"
Amelia then showed Iseul the room she had prepared for her, and after she settled down, all of them surrounded her, asking questions about Griffin City and how everyone was doing there.
They had been keeping in touch with Keith and Kiara but still wanted to listen to what Iseul had to say.
Their chat lasted for an hour during which Iseul gave them an account of the last two months, and answered their questions.
"Helena, lead Alana to the dining hall." As breakfast time approached, Amelia instructed her little cousin, who happily stood up and then waited for Alana to get up.
Little Miss Parker was curious why the rest of them were staying behind, but she guessed that they might have some business to discuss so she did not pry into it.
As soon as the door closed, Rebecca looked into Iseul's eyes, and the girl dropped her smile as she opened up her laptop and started working on it.
"Yexuan has so far killed 23 Aurors belonging to Mondini and Solanari. Two of them were at the Peak of Spirit Profound Realm."
Her words surprised them all, and where Zoey and Marianne seemed a little apprehensive, Amelia remained passive, and Rebecca playfully smiled.
"Interesting."
"None of their bodies have been found." Iseul meaningfully said, and the blonde narrowed her eyes.
"No clues what happened to them?"
"None."
"Are you sure they are dead?" Zoey frowned, to which both Iseul and Rebecca nodded their heads.
"Master said they are dead."
"What is he doing right now?" Amelia asked, and Iseul smiled at her question.
"Right now, he is venting his frustration on his classmate, Lisa." She told them. "He called her over after he returned home, having been missing for the entire night. Even I could not find him."
"How long have they been together?" Rebecca curiously raised her brow.
"She's been drawn to him for months now, but only today did Yexuan accept her, and he took her straight to the bed, manipulating her emotions to prove to him how much she loved him."
Zoey furrowed her brows as she felt a little repulsed by the man who was using a girl who was in love with him as a tool to vent his frustration. And she had a hunch that he was perhaps searching for Alana in the girl he was fucking right now.
"Senpai warned me to not take him on even if it comes down to fighting. He wants us to avoid any confrontation with him."
Both Rebecca and Amelia frowned at her words.
"How strong is he?" The blonde curiously asked.
"I am not sure about his Cultivation Realm." She shook her head. "But Senpai told me that he is capable enough to deal with someone at the peak of Spirit Profound Realm."
Everyone frowned some more at those words before Rebecca asked Iseul to tell them about the intel she had gathered on the Ancient Families of the Magic City.
Once she finished, the blonde Demiliore started explaining to her what their plan was. She asked her to make the necessary preparations, which Iseul agreed to do, and then they all stood up and walked towards the dining hall.
"Rebecca."
"Yes?" The blonde turned to look at her sister-wife as they walked down the corridor.
"Help Helena with the One-Fold Heart Pulse after breakfast."
"You have decided?" She brightly smiled as she watched Amelia nod her head. "She's exceptionally talented."
"I know."
They both smiled at each other and then Zoey requested Rebecca to help her as well with the One-Fold Heart Pulse, which prompted Marianne to join in as well.
Perhaps it was because they realised the threat that a certain Yexuan Parker could pose that they wanted to grow stronger to prevent any accidents. But whatever it was, Rebecca welcomed their decision to focus on their training.
