It was the exact same day Lucian was being taken through the portal...

Everyone else had already left. Only Iris and Cassian remained behind. Cassian started to leave as well, but stopped after taking a few steps when he realized Iris wasn’t following him.

"Hey—what’s wrong? Aren’t you coming?"

Iris’s face was completely neutral.

"You go ahead. I will come in a few moments."

Cassian lingered there for a few seconds, staring at her, before turning around and walking away.

"Tch... fucking weirdo," he muttered under his breath.

Once she was finally entirely alone, she walked over toward the bushes on her left.

"Where is it... ah, yes, here it is..."

She reached in and picked up a hidden memory crystal. Walking a little further ahead, strangely enough, there was another memory crystal hidden there. She picked that one up too. Then, crossing over to the right side of the area, she retrieved another one left hanging from a tree branch.

Going a bit deeper, she found another, and then another, and another. Going from spot to spot, she ended up collecting almost 19 or 20 memory crystals, gathering them all together in her hands.

She stared down at the glowing stones, there were moving images continuously playing inside them.

Everywhere, in every single crystal... there was nothing but pictures and footage of Lucian. Holding her precious stash securely, she stepped through the portal without a single care in the world.

"Mmmm... my love...."

...

..

.

A few days had passed. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Lucian slowly opened his eyes. A faint ray of sunlight was streaming into the room. He realized his bed wasn’t empty. Elira and Seraphina were sleeping right next to him.

Sera’s head rested on the edge of the bed, her hair scattered around her, while Elira had her head down on the desk beside him, fast asleep. Both their faces showed clear signs of exhaustion, as if they hadn’t slept properly for several nights.

What happened... he rasped. Then, a sudden realization hit him.

Wait, how many days has it been...

"System! How many days have passed? Tell me, quick."

[Oho, His Majesty has finally awakened? You’ve been out cold for exactly 4 days. I honestly thought that along with forging your ’Dark Core’, your brain had permanently flatlined too.]

’Four days?!’ Lucian’s chest suddenly ran cold. He recoiled his ’Fate Correction’ mission.

"Shit Shit, I failed... it’s all over..."

Ding!

[Don’t piss your pants, dumbass. Your mission has been successfully completed.]

[Aria Affection: 55 -> 105]

[You’ve hit the jackpot and received a ton of other things too. Wanna take a look now?]

Lucian completely ignored the System’s sarcastic banter and let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

Aria’s affection skyrocketed... and I probably know how it increased... but for now...

He slowly pushed himself off the bed, noticing he was dressed in his casual clothes. Walking over to the open window, he leaned against the frame and let the fresh air wash over his face.

"Man... this breeze is so damn nice..." he whispered, staring out at the scenery.

[Look at the rewards.]

[Look at the rewards.]

[Hey, scum! Just look at the damn rewards!]

"Shut up man, Just give me a second of quiet, I’ll check those out later... let me savor this peace—"

"Lucian...?"

A soft, groggy sleep-filled voice interrupted the quiet room as Sera raised her head, her eyes puffy and red. The moment her gaze spotted him standing near the window, every trace of exhaustion vanished from her face.

"Lucian! You... you’re finally awake!"

Without a second thought, she scrambled off the bed and dashed toward him, throwing her arms around his waist in a tight hug.

"L-Lucian... I-I’m... I’m so sorry... hic... ahhh..."

She broke down completely, her walls crumbling as she buried her face into his shoulder. She sobbed uncontrollably, her tears and sniffles quickly soaking into his shirt.

Hearing the sound of her crying, Elira stirred. She let out a long yawn, stretching her arms above her head before sitting up. Blinking her drowsy eyes a few times, her gaze focused on him also.

He was looking right back at her with a warm, reassuring smile, gently rubbing the sobbing Sera’s back with his free hand.

Elira quietly got up from the desk and walked over to him, sliding naturally into his open arm. Taking in his familiar scent, she rested her head against his chest and spoke in a warm, gentle tone.

"Welcome back, darling..."

Lucian planted a soft kiss on her forehead and simply let both girls hold him like that for a while.

A while later, Lucian was sitting casually on the edge of the bed, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Elira was seated on a nearby stool, and Sera on a chair right beside him. Both girls watched his face with a hint of confusion, but neither asked what he was staring at so intensely.

In reality, Lucian was quietly browsing through his massive haul of System rewards...

[Status Window]

Mana Core: Dark Core (Level 1)

Mana Capacity: 35,080 / 50,000

Physical Strength: A → S

Magical Aptitude: S → S+

Combat Power: 40,000 → 50,000

Fate Points: 34,900 → 55,000

Basic Martial Arts → Advanced Martial Arts

Basic Sword Art → Advanced Sword Art

Unique Skill Unlocked: Dark Summoning

Passive Acquired: Dark Mana Conversion (You can now convert your regular mana into Dark Mana at will to execute Dark Skills.)

Immunity Acquired: Corruption Immunity (You can now absorb Corrupted Energy without suffering any adverse physical or mental effects.)

[System Shop Updates — Dark Skills Available]

Aura of Dread: 10,000 FP

Voice of Authority: 10,000 FP

Ebon Exhale: 5,000 FP

System Note: The ’Taboo Magic’ skill tree will become available upon upgrading the Dark Core to the new level.

For several minutes, Lucian sat there with a look on his face, like a butcher examining a goat to decide the best premium cuts.

Elira and Sera just stared at him with awkward expressions. They had absolutely no idea what kind of toxic schemes were brewing inside his mind.

Feeling completely ignored by his deep thinking, Sera finally threw out a taunt. "Lucian... What have you been thinking about with that stupid face? You look like you just topped the academy evaluations..."

Elira flatly glanced at her.

"Sera, why are you acting so desperate to draw his attention?"

Sera’s face flushed a bright, furious red.

"H-hey! Who said I was trying to draw his attention?! I-I was just worried! Yeah! What do you know about how worried I was?!"

"Oh, I know," she smirked. "I know exactly how worried you were... considering you haven’t moved from that spot, bathed, or eaten properly in four days."

Sera wobbled slightly, indignantly pointing a trembling finger in her defense. "W-Who said that?! Did you see me?! I bathed every day! I don’t smell at all! You — you’re the one who hasn’t moved! Go take a bath right now!"

"Mmm..." I know a cleaning spell. And besides, I don’t sweat like normal humans do... thanks to my Dragon blood."

"Ugh—you—you..." Sera was completely at a loss for words. She glared at her, unable to find a comeback, before suddenly snapping in frustration.

"You... you’re always clinging to Lucian like he’s your personal servant!"

Watching their little bickering match, Lucian finally relaxed and let out a soft chuckle. Wiping a tear of mirth from his eye, he smiled gently at them.

"Girls... Thank you both. For taking care of me."

Sera proudly mumbled, "Well, it’s not like I had anything better to do anyway—"

Her words trailed off in a late realization as she watched Elira close the gap between her and Lucian in one smooth motion. Sitting right beside him on the bed, Elira rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him in a tight side-hug. Closing her eyes, she took a long, deep inhale against his neck.

"My darling... I just want to sniff you..." she whispered blissfully.

Seeing this, Lucian merely flashed a confident, amused smile.

Though Sera completely lost her mind. She jumped out of her chair, babbling in sheer panic.

"H-hey! Y-you leeching Witch What are you doing?! Move! Get back! Get back! Just now..."

She grabbed Elira’s arm and tried to pull her away, but had zero luck breaking the dragon-blooded girl’s grip. Lucian made no effort to stop it either; in fact, he was thoroughly enjoying the drama, watching both of them with an affectionate gaze.

Seeing Sera struggling so hard, Lucian finally smoothly opened his other arm and gestured toward her.

"Come here, Sera..."

Sera froze, remaining completely flustered for a full five seconds. She abruptly turned around, clutching her fists tightly to her chest, before whipping back around and diving straight into his open embrace.

"I-I love you, Lucian..." she mumbled into his chest.

"I know you love me so much. It makes my heart so happy... to see both of you right now," he said while stroking her hair.

However, from their angle buried in his chest, neither of the girls could see his actual expression which was contorted into a terrifyingly toxic, villainous sneer.

"With the third heroine in, Now... absolutely no Fate Correction mission can ever touch me," he giggled darkly in his mind.

After a moment, Lucian lightly tapped both of their heads.

"Alright, girls. Tell me everything that happened with the evaluation while I was unconscious."

They pulled back and sat up properly, quickly filling him in on the details. Marcus had been permanently expelled from the academy. As for the evaluation — when Lucian had thrown all the flags around Cassian’s side, Zeri had sneakily stolen them at the very end and secured first place. Her grand reward was merely a week off from classes and a few dozen gold guineas.

Hearing all that, Lucian did not react much, he expected this much, from the starting his first goal was to bring out Cassian’s true personality so that he could manipulate Aria and increase his affection, well that happened even without bringing out Cassian’s true nature so none of it mattered for right now. though he had a lot of lingering questions and several variables left to confirm. However, only one thing held his immediate interest. Or rather, nothing truly mattered to him except the sheer, raw utility of his current situation. His thoughts seamlessly shifted to calculating exactly how he could manipulate these two girls even further for his own absolute gain.

He didn’t even bother hiding his villainous sneer creeping onto his lips anymore.

He stood up from the edge of the bed. Looking down at both of them, his expression instantly shifted back into the same vulnerable smile.

"Girls," he said in a gentle tone.

"I want to share something very important with you both... something regarding the memories of my past life."

ding!!!

[BASTARD]