Inside the estate, after dinner, Rory went to soothe Paros.

Paros was in his room, sending a message to someone called "Moonlit Heart."

Paros: "I’ll give you two more Rank Eleven insect cores. Think of another solution for me."

He sent the message, but no reply came.

Frowning slightly, he stared at his communicator—just as Rory appeared at his doorway.

Though the door was slightly ajar, she still knocked.

Knock, knock, knock.

Paros looked up. The moment he saw her, he instinctively shifted his communicator out of sight.

"Big sister, what brings you here?"

He stood up quickly and walked over to open the door.

"I came to help soothe you. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?" Rory asked with a faint smile, stepping inside without prying into who he had been messaging. That was his privacy.

"Not at all."

Paros shut the door and returned, clearly pleased. He sat on the bed, then casually let his legs transform into a dragon’s tail, which coiled around Rory’s waist.

"I’m ready, big sister."

***

Meanwhile, in the succubus clan.

Bree stepped into Melanie’s room and froze at the sight before her.

Melanie could only lean against the bed, unable to even lie down because of her injuries.

"Lady Melanie, how did you end up this badly hurt?" Bree exclaimed, shocked.

Melanie’s face was pale as paper. Seeing Bree, she forced a strained smile and spoke weakly.

"It’s all because of Rory. I never expected her to be so ruthless. She bound me with chains covered in spikes."

As she spoke, she exposed her arm. It was covered in dense, puncture wounds left by the spikes.

"Oh my..."

Bree’s face turned pale at the sight.

"You must be in terrible pain. How could Rory treat you so cruelly? You’re Aren’s mother."

As she spoke, she took out a small, delicate white bottle from her storage ring, poured out a pill, and held it out.

"Lady Melanie, this is a human sacred medicine. Take it quickly. Once you do, your wounds will heal."

Melanie didn’t doubt Bree in the slightest. She took the human sacred medicine and swallowed it.

The moment the pill slid down her throat, a warm current spread through her body.

Her wounds vanished instantly.

Melanie stared at her arm in shock. "Bree, your human sacred medicine is incredible."

"I just took it, and everything healed immediately."

Not just the external injuries—the deep, lingering pain inside her body had disappeared as well.

Even the sacred medicine of the Liger Clan couldn’t achieve something like this.

Bree placed the small bottle into Melanie’s hand.

"As long as it works for you, that’s all that matters. I only brought two pills today. You can keep the other one."

She lowered her gaze slightly, her expression turning apologetic.

"Actually... this is partly my fault. If I hadn’t told you that Aren might be with Rory, you wouldn’t have ended up like this."

"How could this be your fault?" Melanie replied immediately.

She had grown quite fond of this human female. In fact, she would much rather see Bree paired with Aren’s twin.

"Bree, don’t blame yourself. Even if you hadn’t told me, once I found out Aren was with Rory, I would have gone after him anyway."

At the mention of Rory—and of Aren’s current condition—Melanie’s anger flared again, sharpening her tone.

"I just didn’t expect Rory to be so vicious. She not only beat me, she extorted a huge amount of wealth from me."

"That alone would’ve been enough. But the most infuriating part is this—she actually said she wants to bond with Aren and refuses to let him return."

At those words, a flicker of something dark passed through Bree’s eyes.

She quickly masked it and looked up, her tone soft.

"I heard before that Rory had already broken her match with Aren and even sent him to the Beast God Mountain to retrieve the divine fruit. I thought she didn’t care about him at all."

"I didn’t expect... that she now wants to bond with him."

She sighed lightly, as if resigned.

"Perhaps it’s simply that Aren and I are not meant to be. If that’s the case, I won’t pursue a bond with him."

In truth, Melanie wasn’t eager for that match either. Aren was too difficult to control.

Aris, on the other hand, was far more manageable.

With that thought, Melanie clasped Bree’s hand warmly.

"Bree, if not Aren, I have another son—Aris. He’s Aren’s twin, identical in appearance."

"If you’re willing, you can bond with him instead. His Rank may be slightly lower, but he’s still a Rank Ten powerhouse. Not inferior to your current partner, Sylas Ruan."

Aris?

Identical to Aren?

Bree’s smile remained calm and composed.

"That sounds interesting. I’d like to meet him someday. I’ve never seen identical twins before."

Then she reached into her storage ring again and took out two small bottles, handing them to Melanie.

"Since you’ve treated me so well, I can’t go back on what I promised."

Bree placed two small bottles into Melanie’s hands, her voice lowering slightly.

"This is a divine medicine that can make Vincent and Paros sever their bond with Rory. It was bestowed upon me by the true god of humanity."

She then handed over a strange, bone-like stone.

"Once it’s done, drip Vincent and Paros’s blood onto this and give it to me. I’ll make them willingly bond with your daughter."

A gift from a human god.

Melanie’s eyes lit up with excitement as she clutched both the medicine and the bone-like stone.

"I understand what to do."

So what if Rory was arrogant now? It was only because she had several Rank Eleven partners.

Once Vincent and Paros became her daughter’s mates, Melanie wanted to see what Rory would have left to rely on.

As that thought crossed her mind, she suddenly remembered something.

"What about Xarion?" she asked quickly. "Can you give me another bottle? Rory also has another Rank Eleven partner—"

Bree cut her off, her patience thinning beneath her calm exterior.

"Xarion is... different. You can’t touch him for now."

"Let your daughter bond with Vincent and Paros first. We’ll deal with Xarion later."

***

Half an hour later.

Rory stepped out of Paros’s room. As she approached her own door, she stopped.

Aren was standing there.

He had his arms crossed, cheeks puffed slightly in irritation, glaring into the room.

"Dad, this is my Female Master’s room. You’re not allowed to stay inside. Come out. And look at you—dressed like that. What are you trying to do? Seduce my Female Master?"

Had his dad lost his mind?

From inside the room came Xarion’s cold, dangerous voice.

"Aren, don’t think I won’t beat you just because you’ve gone stupid."

"Keep standing there, and I swear I’ll send you to meet the Beast God tonight."

Damn it.

He had finally gotten the chance to spend the evening with his Female Master. He had just changed—and this idiot showed up.

If not for the fact that he didn’t want to ruin her mood, Xarion would have already thrown him straight back to the succubus clan.