Leo felt a heavy throb in his head. He slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry at first, but then it slowly became clear. He realized he was resting on something very soft, and the same soft material was squishing his face. No, the material on his face was even softer, emitting a pleasant fragrance.

Leo smiled, enjoying the embrace and the hand slowly stroking his hair.

"Mirage... thank you," he said, lost in perverted thoughts.

Then the owner of the hand replied with a hint of mischief. "May I stroke the one between your legs too, considering how much you’re enjoying squishing your face into my bosom, resting on my lap, and getting your head stroked?"

Leo smiled, still hallucinating. "Yes, do— Wait!"

He immediately jolted up and scrambled back on the bed. His heart skipped multiple beats when he saw who had been stroking his hair.

"You. I’m... I’m sorry." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Elara laughed. "Why are you sorry for having a crush on Mira?"

Leo’s face turned red. "That’s... that’s not what I’m saying sorry for."

The Queen of Bones waved her hand dismissively with a petite smile. "Ah, ah. It’s okay. How are you feeling now?" she asked, passing him a cup of water.

Leo took the cup from her after hesitating for a second. "Uh... fine, I guess," he muttered. He drank the water in one gulp and gave the cup back.

She placed the cup back on the stool beside them.

They were currently in Leo’s room. Leo had actually fainted from the stress he had endured—mentally, spiritually, and physically—over the past week.

They had moved him to his room to get some rest. His room was large, fitting for a prince, even though he was technically just the future adopted prince of the family.

The bed was positioned at one end of the room, facing a large open door at the other end flanked by two suits of knight armor holding swords. The floor was made of polished brown wood, and the walls were the same silver splash as the exterior. Two chandeliers hung from the ceiling, separate from each other.

There was a door to the right that led to the bathroom and closet. Beside that door was a large, round hanging mirror. On the left side were tall, sprawling windows that let in sunlight and the dim glow of the crimson orb. Aside from that, there was a chair and a table with writing materials.

Leo was happy to be back in his room. At least he would have time to rest before the academy resumed, or whatever came next.

Leo sat on the edge of the large, four-poster bed, his heart still hammering against his ribs. The room felt smaller than usual, or perhaps it was just the presence of the woman sitting on the stool that made the air feel heavy. Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the polished floorboards, but the warmth of the room couldn’t touch the chill in Leo’s bones.

Elara leaned back, crossing her legs. Her purple hair spilled over her shoulders like silk, and those pale, bone-white hands rested idly on her lap. Up close, she didn’t look like a prisoner who had spent twelve years in the world’s most notorious dungeons. She looked like a... goddess.

"...No, no... demoness..."

It didn’t actually make sense, but he could feel it. The Queen of Bones was an Outsider who wasn’t tied to the Aura System; she obtained her Aura by pacting with a being from higher realms like Gehenna or Asgard. Merely looking at her, he could tell she had pacted with a demon from Gehenna.

It was no surprise, since clans had been formed even before Elara brought Aura to the realm. These clans were formed for one reason: the realm they were in a pact with. Those pacted with a certain region in Gehenna would come together to form a clan, just as those pacted with the same region in Asgard would.

What was actually surprising was the fact that she was a demoness. "Demoness" was the title used for the strongest female demons, and for women from Primoria who were pacted with Gehenna and had completed their five Rites.

Rites are steps taken by Outsiders with their Pactors to evolve their usage of Aura. Outsiders are limited to a certain ability that involves using one part of their body or soul to create countless abilities, but they aren’t limited to a single stage of Aura usage.

The higher the stage of the Rite, the more privilege one has to create new abilities. Completing all five Rites was nothing short of legendary.

Even if they’re limited to a body part of soul part they are not limited to the amount of skills and abilities they can cultivate from it.

The Queen of Bones was the first to complete the Rites.

"...No. Demoness of Bones..."

Rites were much harder to scale than the ranks of the Aura System, so it was legendary to complete all five at such a young age, and to be the first to do so.

"...She completed her Rites in prison? Wait, how old is she?..."

"You’re staring," she noted, her voice carrying that same melodic, dangerous tilt. "Is it the hair? Or the fact that I’m not behind iron bars?"

Leo cleared his throat, trying to regain some semblance of dignity after the lap-pillow incident. "Both. Jean told me you were in Primoria prison. No one just... leaves Primoria prison. Especially not the Queen of Bones."

"Correction: Demoness of Bones. And yes, my tenure may not be over, but wouldn’t it be bad to be in prison while my father just died? Jean also tells many stories," Elara replied, her purple eyes narrowing slightly as she looked toward the door. "Most of them are designed to keep the world spinning in the direction he wants. But even the best stories have an ending. Tharok’s ending was... abrupt."

Leo gripped the silken sheets. "So you’re here because he’s dead? Or did you have something to do with it?"