Still inside the Ashvale household, the battle that had briefly fallen silent began once again.
The screams of the Ashvale mbers returned almost imdiately.
This ti, perhaps because she had been told to hurry… or perhaps because of so other reason, Nina was even more rciless in her attacks.
Her glowing dagger flashed through the night air again and again, each swing leaving another body collapsing onto the blood-stained ground.
The clash itself no longer looked like a battle.
It looked like a hunt.
And maybe because of how effortlessly she moved through them, the remaining Ashvale mbers finally seed to realize the truth.
They had struck a rock far harder than they could ever break.
There was no victory waiting for them here.
Yet Samuel, the head of the Ashvale family, was still fighting his own battle… an internal one.
His pride warred against the single word stuck in his throat.
Surrender.
The word refused to co out.
Eva, however, paid him no attention.
At this point, whatever he said would change nothing.
Instead, she had already stepped away from Christian's side and slowly walked toward her mother.
It wasn't sothing she wanted to do.
But there were still matters here that required her attention.
Stopping a few steps away from the kneeling woman, Eva tilted her head slightly.
"Do you want to give you and the Ashvale family a chance?"
She asked the question with an innocent smile — a smile completely untouched by the screams and blood surrounding them.
Grace found herself staring at that smile in a daze.
Her daughter.
The girl who had once been abandoned.
Now standing here, surrounded by the broken bodies of the Ashvale family.
And offering them a chance.
If soone had told Grace such a thing would happen in the past, she would have laughed at the sheer absurdity of it.
Yet here she was.
Living inside that impossible mont.
There was no use in regret now.
Repeating that thought inside her mind again and again, Grace forced herself to remain calm and asked the only question that mattered.
"What do you want from ?"
"A small sacrifice," Eva replied, with her smile that had beca even brighter.
Does she want my life?
The thought appeared instantly in Grace's mind.
But that made no sense.
If Eva truly wanted to kill her, there would be no need to ask.
She could simply take it.
Grace's mind raced, trying to decipher the aning behind those words. And perhaps noticing the tension on her face, Eva suddenly chuckled.
"Relax," she said lightly. "I'm not killing you. Rather… I'm giving you a chance to live."
Her gaze slowly drifted past her mother, toward the scattered Ashvale mbers lying across the courtyard.
"To live along with the rest of the Ashvale family."
Grace followed her gaze for a brief mont before forcing herself to look back at her daughter.
"Then what do you want from ?"
Eva didn't answer imdiately. Her eyes moved toward the distance instead, as if she were waiting for sothing.
If it had been Christian, he might have simply killed them all, arguing that leaving enemies alive only created future problems.
Eva, however, was different. She didn't mind underestimating them, and she didn't mind if they tried to co after her later.
In fact, a part of her almost welcod that possibility.
If they ca again… she would simply break them again.
And again.
Until nothing of their pride remained.
Eva couldn't help but smile faintly at the thought as she waited.
Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long.
A mont later, Alpha arrived silently at her side and presented her with a small item.
Eva took it.
A ring.
Simple. Plain. Almost unremarkable at first glance.
She gave it a brief, appraising look before extending her hand toward her mother.
Grace stared at the object in confusion.
"What is this?"
"A ring," Eva replied with the sa gentle smile. "It will monitor you."
For a brief mont, Eva watched the confusion spreading across her mother's face with faint amusent.
Did she really think this was so sudden attempt at reconciliation?
That Eva had returned to express affection to a mother she had never truly loved?
The thought alone was almost laughable.
Grace was still staring at the ring, clearly trying to understand its purpose, when Eva calmly continued.
"From now on, you are forbidden from having any contact with any man. It doesn't matter who he is."
Her gaze settled directly on Grace.
"Even my father."
The aning of those words slowly sank in.
"As long as you follow that rule," Eva continued calmly, "I won't pursue this matter any further with the Ashvale family."
Her smile never disappeared, yet there was no warmth left in her voice.
"But if you break it," she added softly, "then you should be prepared to face my wrath."
A heavy silence settled between mother and daughter. It lasted only a few seconds before Grace finally spoke, her voice quiet and strained.
"Why?"
Eva tilted her head slightly, as if the question amused her.
"Well… let's say I'm leaving certain possibilities open."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted away from Grace and toward the distance.
Christian was standing beside Olivia, clearly teasing her about sothing, his expression relaxed in a way that seed almost out of place on a battlefield still stained with blood.
Eva chuckled faintly at the sight before returning her attention to her mother.
"My lover may not want it now," she said lightly, "but later he might want to taste a grandmother, mother, and daughter together."
Her smile widened just a little.
"So I'm simply paving the way for him."
The expression that appeared on Grace's face was difficult to describe.
Shock alone wasn't enough.
Her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to speak, yet no words ca out. Before she could gather herself, the warmth that had once existed in Eva's smile disappeared entirely.
"You won't refuse that, right?" Eva asked.
Her tone remained gentle, but the pressure behind it was unmistakable.
"For the sake of the great Ashvale family, a sacrifice this small — if it can even be called that — shouldn't be a problem… right?"
Grace said nothing.
No argunt left her lips, yet her trembling hand slowly moved toward the ring resting on Eva's palm.
She took it.
Once, she had offered her daughter to another man for the sake of the family.
Now she was being asked for the sa thing… by that very daughter.
Is this retribution?
The thought crossed her mind as a hollow chuckle escaped her throat. Without looking up, she slid the ring onto her finger.
Eva watched her for a mont before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Please don't make that kind of face," she said.
"You may not realize it, but I'm the one making the losing deal here, not you."
After all, unlike the kind of trash called Damian, Christian was worlds apart. Soone like her mother would never even have the chance to touch the hem of his clothes if not for her.
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