Se connecter"Oscar, I left the breakfast I bought on the table! Don't forget to eat it! We're off to class!""Mm..." Oscar murmured groggily.Only after he heard the front door close did Oscar suddenly jolt awake.After a night of tossing and turning, his blankets were soaked with sweat, but at least his mind was clear now.The fever had broken, and the pain throughout his body was gone. Only the scratches on his hands from crawling remained as evidence of what had happened the night before."I agreed to stay here with them?"As he recalled the previous night's events, a flicker of shame crossed Oscar's face. How could he have shown such weakness in front of a group of strangers?At the Chamberlain family and the Miller family, he had always been the one others confided in. When had he ever let anyone see him at his weakest?The feeling passed almost as quickly as it came. Oscar shook his head and pushed it aside."Staying here for a while isn't out of the question." He flexed his hands.
Clara looked up and saw Arthur standing a short distance in front of her.She rubbed her eyes and looked again, then again, just to make sure. The word "Dad" burst from her lips before she could stop it, and she instinctively rose to throw her arms around him.But the moment she stood, the joy on her face vanished. All the emotion inside her seemed to fall silent at once."Who are you? Why are you pretending to be my father?"The coldness in her expression brought Arthur to an abrupt halt. The warmth that had filled his face only moments before froze in place."Clara, I'm your father! I'm Arthur! Don't you remember? When you were little, your favorite thing was riding on my shoulders while we played horsey."There was even one time when you were eating ice cream, and it suddenly fell right onto my head..."Arthur recalled those old memories with heartfelt emotion, trying to stir Clara's own.Clara remembered every one of them, but no matter how hard she searched her heart, she
Arthur held a compass in his hand. Unlike any ordinary compass, this one had nine beads set into its surface. One glowed faintly, while the other eight remained dark and lifeless. Then, one of the dark beads suddenly flickered with a red light.Arthur glanced at it once before heading straight in the direction it indicated.…Far away, on a mountain deep in the wilderness, Clara sat beside a campfire, warming herself as she stared into the distance, lost in thought.She was searching for Amara.Until recently, she had still sensed a faint spiritual connection with her sister. She had never known Amara's exact location, but deep down, she had always known her sister was somewhere in that direction.Now, that connection was gone.She touched the ring on her finger, and her thoughts grew restless.A human life was as fleeting as clouds drifting across the sky. That morning, she had still been agonizing over what to eat for lunch. In the blink of an eye, none of it mattered anymore
When Bonnie returned to the room, Mindy looked at her with the expression of someone who had completely given up. "I really have to hand it to you. You're gorgeous, you've got a great figure, you're smart, and you've got guys lining up for you. How did you end up losing your mind like this?"Although she voiced no further objections, Mindy still could not understand. All she could do was offer one last warning as a friend.Oscar was nothing more than a stranger with an unknown background. Investing too much of herself in him simply was not rational.Bonnie said with a shrug, "I can't really explain it either! But, you know, there are some people where, the moment you lay eyes on them, you can't help wanting something to happen between you."Even if you can't spend your whole life together, even if it's only part of the journey, or even just one night, somehow that still feels like enough!"Mindy raised an eyebrow. "Sounds to me like you're just blinded by his looks. He's basically
"Why do you care about all that? It's so far removed from ordinary people like us!"Oscar did not answer. Bonnie had already pulled up every news section she could access.Everything about the grandmaster conference and the Draconox Order had vanished without a trace, just as it had before."That's strange. I could still see it this afternoon. Why is it gone now?" Bonnie frowned in confusion and quickly refreshed the page to see what was happening.But no matter how many times she refreshed it, there was still nothing about Draconox or the grandmaster conference.Oscar's expression darkened. "You don't need to keep searching. I understand now."This had to be Draconox's doing. Something of this magnitude had happened, and for the sake of their reputation and public stability, they had chosen to suppress the news. That much he could understand.But what had happened to the sisters?Rebecca had been taken away by Lucius. He was the Young Archon of the Kylin Sanctum. He might not
Mindy pulled Bonnie aside. "Do you even know what you just said?"Faced with Mindy's questioning, Bonnie refused to back down. "Of course I do! Min, I'll be honest with you. I'm into him!"Where else am I going to find a guy that good-looking? And did you see the way he carried himself when he was talking?"He's definitely not some ordinary person. God dropped a man like this right in front of me. There's no way I'm letting that slip away!"Mindy looked ready to tear her hair out. "Come on, you don't even know where he's from. You don't even know his name...""I'll find all that out eventually, and a lot more besides!" Bonnie said, patting Mindy on the shoulder. "Come on, help me out just this once. I'll treat you to a huge meal afterward!"The earnest look on Bonnie's face made Mindy bury her own face in her hands. "God, I must be losing my mind!"The two quickly reached an agreement.By then, Oscar had finished applying medicine to his hands while sitting on the couch. He hel
"Victor, we really have no money left!" George dropped to his knees. "We already repaid the 60,000 dollars we borrowed from you. Over the years, it was 6,000 here, 6,000 there. Now it's somehow 600,000? How are we supposed to come up with that?"He pressed his forehead to the floor. "Please. Leave
Black storm clouds pressed low over the Percham District.Beneath them, narrow lanes packed tight with men in black jackets and trousers stretched into the distance, cold steel gripped in their hands.Rain struck the blades, and each metallic ring sliced through the night like a warning."Shut th
"That little bastard," Bella snapped as soon as she stepped through the door. "He's gotten real bold."She tossed her umbrella onto the floor and dropped onto the sofa, her cheeks still tight with anger.Amara entered with a cup of coffee, stirring it in slow, steady circles.The other sisters dr
"Miss Bella, you're here!"Unlike Oscar, the Chamberlain sisters lived in the spotlight. They made headlines almost daily. In Silverton, nearly everyone recognized them.Victor hurried to drag over a stool. He wiped it down with his sleeve and offered it to Bella.She glanced at it. Disgust flick







