The long night was nearing its end, and dawn was breaking. Inside the manor, Julian and Lady Catherine were still imrsed in a pleasant dream, while far away, Grand Duke Kelden’s group had already arrived at the gates of the Holy City. Naturally, they hadn’t traveled by horse or overland, but had ridden griffons.
Standing atop a mighty griffon, Losiya’s long midnight hair danced in the wind. The light of the stars and moon shone on her head, reflecting a faint, sacred glow.
Despite having rushed through the night, she showed no signs of weariness or travel fatigue. Her clothes were still pristine, untouched by dust, and her exquisite, beautiful face showed not a hint of tiredness.
"We got here quickly," said Vironica softly.
"Mm..."
Hearing Losiya’s detached tone, Vironica frowned slightly, clearly displeased.
This made her suddenly realize why Losiya had been abnormally quiet along the way.
Under Vironica’s attentive gaze, she noticed that Losiya had been looking down the whole ti at sothing she held in her hands: a single strand of silver hair, particularly striking in the moonlight.
At that mont, in her pair of ocean-blue eyes, there was a depth of feeling Vironica had never seen before. She gently stroked the strand, occasionally lowering her head to inhale its lingering scent.
Seeing this, Vironica’s frown deepened. She couldn’t help but remind her, "You shouldn’t let your mind wander while riding a griffon."
"I know." Only then did Losiya reluctantly tuck the strand of hair back into her pouch.
Since their eting yesterday, Vironica had increasingly felt that her once lively and spirited daughter had undergone a significant transformation during this period.
For instance, she spoke less, her strength had grown, and her temperant had beco noticeably more composed.
This would ordinarily be sothing to celebrate—if not for the existence of Julian.
In Vironica’s eyes, if her daughter had matured rapidly because of Julian, then perhaps that was a good thing.
But if Losiya’s feelings for Julian had turned into a kind of obsession, causing her to lose rationality in other aspects, then Vironica would need to reconsider.
In other words, the way Losiya adored Julian, from the perspective of this world, was unhealthy—abnormal even.
In the eyes of most nobles, on one hand, there were those who enjoyed toying with all sorts of playboys; on the other hand, there were the rare noble sons who were deeply in love with one man. The forr rarely faced criticism, but the latter would be looked down upon—even despised.
So when Vironica recalled how many tis Losiya had argued with her over that so-called little boy Julian, she couldn’t help but feel a massive headache.
Previously, Losiya had shown no interest in n whatsoever. Although Vironica had publicly tried introducing suitors to her, she had only done so out of social obligation.
She had assud Losiya didn’t like n. But then, unexpectedly, Losiya brought her a legendary twist no one had foreseen.
"My daughter..." Vironica finally spoke after a mont.
"Mother, I’m here." As if guessing what her mother was about to say, Losiya sighed softly in response.
After hesitating for a mont, Vironica decided to begin indirectly: "I heard that you originally bought Julian as a slave."
"Aren’t you asking sothing you already know?" Losiya’s elegant brows furrowed, and her tone instantly beca displeased.
Seeing this selfish yet cold expression, Vironica suppressed her irritation and tried to speak calmly: "I rember you originally didn’t like n."
"That’s your misunderstanding," Losiya replied, this ti in a rare heartfelt tone.
"It’s not that I don’t like n. I just don’t like boring, aningless people, including those arrogant noble ladies. To , they’re no different from those n."
"You just happened to introduce to people like that. So that was simply a mistake in survival, not because I have prejudice or disgust toward n."
Vironica now truly understood—Losiya didn’t hate n. She simply didn’t like anyone.
"And what about Julian?"
"Although everyone is unique, in my heart, he is the only one who is irreplaceable," Losiya replied seriously.
"Is that so?" Vironica recalled their first eting with Julian that morning, when she accidentally glimpsed his naked body—and how he was clearly being controlled by Losiya.
She also rembered Julian’s paradoxical charm, a mix of innocence and seduction, his soft and lovely face, refined features, and how every frown and smile had a unique allure.
Back then, she had felt more shock than anger. Now, reflecting again, she realized Losiya wasn’t lying.
Was this the so-called "even heroes fall for beauty"?
Vironica couldn’t help but find it a little amusing. Her once serious expression gradually softened.
So, was it simply that Losiya had reached *that* stage? And encountering soone like Julian, a beauty who could only be found by chance, had triggered all the latent hormones in her body?
In this world with such limited perspectives, Vironica ultimately attributed Losiya’s feelings toward Julian to this reason.
"So, you’re certain you want to stay with him from now on?" Feeling confident she understood her daughter’s emotions, Vironica decided to speak openly.
"That’s right." Losiya replied without hesitation.
"I can accept you being with him. I won’t oppose you having children with him either."
"Huh?"
Vironica had expected Losiya to be overjoyed and thankful for her tolerance, and from then on be more obedient.
But instead, Losiya looked at her suspiciously and asked, "That’s not all you wanted to say, is it?"
Being called out directly, Vironica didn’t bother pretending anymore: "You can’t marry him."
The night air fell still again after Vironica said those words.
After a long pause, Vironica heard Losiya casually mutter, "Oh."
She naturally knew her daughter was just brushing her off—clearly not taking those words to heart. Vironica sighed and spoke earnestly: "He’s just a slave. If you, with your status, were to truly marry him, your reputation among the noble class would plumt. All those people you look down on will despise you even more, and it’ll affect your future as well."
"As I said earlier, I never cared about them," Losiya replied calmly.
The atmosphere between mother and daughter instantly beca icy cold again after those indifferent words. After a while, Losiya spoke once more:
"I know, in your eyes, you believe my feelings for Julian are nothing more than that."
"But only I know—it’s not like that."
"At first, I questioned myself too. Was it just his appearance I liked, and not the person?"
"But later I realized—I can’t bear to see him suffer even a little. I can’t stand it when soone disrespects him. And I absolutely can’t accept those disgusting people trying to touch him.
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