In the end, it was said that Tharok and Jean had met with the Shadow Assassin, which meant that after twelve years, the mysterious killer was back—and to think he would go for Leo’s second family.

Only Jean had survived the battle.

"Damn that bastard," Leo gritted his teeth.

He had been crying for the past two hours while Tharok received a befitting funeral, so his eyes were swollen.

The original funeral and public tribute for the King had been held two days ago while Leo, Taren, and Fang Rui were still on the vessel. The ceremony they had arrived for was the final one, where only high-ranking officials and the royal family were present, rather than the entire nation.

After Tharok was cremated in the garden behind the spire, the visitors paid their last rites and left. Not many were able to attend considering the recent invasion, so the gathering was small.

When they departed, only the servants, guards, and family members remained, including the strange, purple-haired woman who kept staring at Leo with a weird expression.

Leo ignored her as the Atlantis family, accompanied by a few servants, made their way to the dining hall to formally welcome Leo and the others. Of course, the welcome would have been grand if not for the death of Tharok.

They all sat around a long table in a large hall. Jean and the purple-haired woman sat at one end, flanking the head seat where Tharok would have sat. The others took their places, with Leo sitting beside the strange woman.

The atmosphere in the dining hall was suffocating. The long, polished table looked more like a battlefield than a place for a family meal. Without Tharok at the head of the table, the empty chair felt like a gaping wound.

Leo sat stiffly, his eyes still stinging and heavy from hours of grief. He didn’t look at the food.

"Damn that bastard," Leo muttered under his breath again, his fingernails digging into the wood of the table.

Beside him, the purple-haired woman was a freezing presence. She didn’t eat. She didn’t speak. She just sat there, her piercing gaze fixed on the side of Leo’s face. She was strangely alluring, with purple eyes and skin as pale as bone.

Leo couldn’t ignore the fact that she was beautiful—really beautiful—but he wasn’t interested in that now.

Jean sat at the far end, looking older than he had just an hour ago. The fact that he was the only survivor of the encounter with the Shadow Assassin hung over the room like a shroud. He looked at Leo with an unreadable expression, but his hands were trembling, a tiny detail Leo hadn’t missed.

This was Jean’s second encounter with the Shadow Assassin, and he had survived again. This wasn’t even about being the strongest mage that ever lived; now, people would begin to doubt him.

Leo wasn’t ready to think about such things, so he turned to Mirage on the other side of the table.

"Hey, at least there won’t be any strict rules anymore," he said, forcing a smile.

Mirage stared at him with teary eyes, offering no reply. Leo’s smile vanished.

"...That came out wrong..."

"Very funny, Leo. I really don’t know why we’re all moody. Tharok had made this castle hell for all of us. Shouldn’t we be happy?" Yariel’s voice echoed in the large hall. "I guess you still feel down because he was family, after all."

Tharok had certainly made the fortress hell for the Atlantis family. It had all started after Jean and Elara led a rebellion against him during the Fall of Aura, the period when Elara brought the Aura system to the realm. He had set strict rules and remained distant from the family. Even Leo didn’t fully know why he felt so sad. In the end, as Yariel said, he was family.

They all felt relieved and sad at the same time. It was a weird feeling and Leo was fed up with this weird feelings. Who knew awakening period was such a dreadful period. From the fall of the Great Sea Realm to the invasion of the Awakening City then the death of a family member.

’Tch.’

No one replied Yariel except the purple-haired woman. "To hell with that old geezer," she said with a mischievous smile.

"We have to talk about the succession," one of the high-ranking servants whispered, breaking the silence.

"Not today," Jean snapped, his voice rasping.

Taren, sitting across from Leo, looked completely out of place. Leo noticed he was staring at the purple-haired woman with his mouth wide open in surprise.

"...Pervert..."

Leo finally turned his head to face the woman. He was tired of being stared at. "Is there something on my face, or are you just waiting for me to disappear too?"

He then turned to Jean. "Who is this woman? Why is she sitting with us during dinner, and why are all of you looking at her as if she’s some sort of god?"

Jean took a spoonful of food and pointed his utensil at Leo. "Correction: goddess, not god."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "What is going on in this fortress for Gehenna’s sake?"

The woman didn’t flinch. A small, cold smile touched her lips, but her eyes remained as hard as flint. Taren started to say something, but the woman stopped him.

She patted Leo on the head. "You’ve grown. Not that I am surprised, but wow! You’re really handsome. To think I actually breastfed you."

Leo wanted to retort, but his voice froze at her words.

"...Breastfed me? But according to Jean, only Princess Elara breastfed me while in the Eldoria prison until she was moved to Primoria’s main prison. So is this person..."

He gasped and stared at everyone. Their expressions showed they already knew who she was. He looked at the purple-haired woman again: long purple hair, godlike pale skin, purple eyes. She looked like a Pisces rank or beyond.

"You—you are... Princess Elara. The Queen of Bones."

Leo’s vision went dark after she nodded in agreement, and then he fainted.