The question hung in the air, sharp and accusatory. Elara didn’t flinch. Instead, she reached out and flicked a stray piece of lint off Leo’s tunic, her touch light but cold.

"I loved that old man in my own way, Leo. He was the only thing standing between this family and the abyss. There’s no reason for me to kill him. Then again, there are many reasons for me to kill him. So, whether I killed him or not doesn’t matter. I will always be doubted."

Leo frowned. "You’re... complicated. So what you’re saying is, you escaped prison just to complicate things for yourself?"

She laughed. "Ah, yes. I did escape prison."

"And you feel it’s right to tell me that?"

"Why not? It’s not like everyone doesn’t already know I’ve escaped."

Elara was right. It had been a week since her escape, so why hadn’t the officials come to take her back?

"And why aren’t they here to apprehend you yet?"

"Why exactly would they do that? They’ve actually never apprehended me before. I surrendered myself. I mean, it’ll take more than a prison to stop humanity’s first Pisces," she said with a confident smile.

A deep scowl appeared on Leo’s face.

"And why exactly are you telling me all this? To make me lose trust in you?"

"You’re not forced to trust me in the first place. Then again, you’re my son technically since I breastfed you. So, I guess I just wanted to have a chitchat with my son after twelve years."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Tch. To hell with that. Tell me what exactly you’re here for?"

Elara stared at him with amusement. "Oh, you’re pretty smart. So, are you ready to be fully adopted by the Atlantis family?"

Leo was caught off guard. "...So she came here just to ask me this?..."

Just before he could answer, Elara spoke with mischief. "Remember, you won’t be able to marry Mirage if you agree."

Leo’s cheeks burned. "That’s not what I’m thinking about! And yes, I’m ready. It’s already obvious anyway."

"Good," the princess laughed. "I’ll be waiting to see your results, Leo Atlantis."

With that, she crumbled into a pile of bones and disappeared. Leo stared at the remains on the bed in awe. Soon, his expression shifted to annoyance.

"Hey! Who’s going to pack up these bones?!"

Leo slept through the fourth day. He slept through the fifth day. He slept through the sixth.

Until a full week had passed. He didn’t technically sleep the entire time, but most of his free hours were spent eating and drifting back to sleep. He barely even left his room, since food was brought directly to him.

The only time he had ventured out was to sign the adoption papers and officially certify himself as an Atlantis. That was also the time he felt Elara’s bosom squish against his face again.

Ah, those bosoms.

"...Snap out of it, Leo. She’s your mom. Since when did I become so perverted?..."

After dressing in a standard black royal tunic, he finally left his room.

The halls of Atlantis were just as grand as the rooms and the exterior. He studied the architecture as he moved, as if seeing it for the first time. Suits of knight armor lined the walls, creating a perfect royal aisle in the passageway.

Light seeped in from the long windows, casting elongated shadows. He walked across the passageway, nearly reaching the main hall after turning twice, but instead, he jumped out of the nearest window.

Leo was falling from the sprawling heights of the Atlantis spires, but as he reached a certain level, he let out a sharp whistle.

In the next moment, a figure swept through the wind and caught him before he hit the ground. The creature was a young black horse with long, leathery feathers. It was beautiful, possessing unique, shining dark skin and a well-combed mane.

"Good boy, Shroud."

Shroud neighed and threw him a dirty glance. "Excuse me, Leo. I’m going to be fifteen years old this year, unlike you, who is still thirteen. I think I should be the one calling you ’boy’."

Leo laughed. "Okay, okay."

Shroud was from Sky Tide, a lower realm that Atlantis was also in a pact with. The beings living there were able to talk and, aside from that, had the privilege of flight and abilities related to it.

Beings from that realm were occasionally brought here to assist Atlantis in war and transportation. Furthermore, members of the Atlantis family were sent on a ritual to sign a personal pact with a younger creature from that realm.

The same had happened with Gehenna before the Fall of Aura. It wasn’t certain if Leo and Mirage would make pacts in Gehenna, so Leo had focused on pacting with a creature in Sky Tide.

He would have loved to pact with Shroud, but Shroud was already pacted with the Atlantis family at large and was older than him. The flying horse was classified as a member of the family since he didn’t have a single, specific partner.

"...I wonder what Sky Tide being I’ll pact with..."

Shroud neighed as he soared across the Atlantis fortress and then dove downwards, Leo holding onto the horse’s neck due to the altitude.

"You’ll surely get a powerful creature. You’re Leo Atlantis, after all. I heard you also got a new Volume that shattered the Tree!"

Leo’s upper lip twitched. "Technically, it’s an Advent Volume and the Path of the Bastard, but humans tend to believe whatever suits them."

Shroud neighed again, a sound that resembled laughter. "Humans sure are a handful."

He flew through the clouds, creating foamy puffs in his wake, then tore out of the sky and continued flying down toward a small forest. He landed flawlessly in an open space where three people and three winged horses were already waiting.

Taren, Mirage, and Yariel, all holding wooden swords, stared at Leo with deadpan expressions. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"After one week of being pampered by Elara, you decided to be late to training," Yariel said.

Leo hopped off Shroud, who immediately ran to join his own kind.

"I don’t know why we’re still doing this training in the first place. And why is Taren here?"

"First, the academy hasn’t resumed. Second, Taren will be training here until Fang Rui is ready to go home and take Taren with him."

Leo nodded. "Hmm."

He walked to a small container, picked up a wooden sword, and turned back to the trio with a smirk.

"So, let’s begin."