For a moment, countless guesses flashed through her mind, yet none of them felt safe to speak aloud. Some questions, once asked, could cut deeper than a sword.

Just as her thoughts grew heavier, Kael withdrew his gaze and looked back at her. The instant he saw her expression, his brows tightened slightly.

He lifted his hand and waved it lightly in front of her face, half amused, half helpless.

"Wife," he asked, "what are you thinking about so seriously?"

Zora snapped back to herself. She forced a small smile, sweet and composed.

"Nothing," she replied.

But her eyes betrayed her.

Kael stared at her for a moment, then his expression softened into something gentler, yet firmer.

"Zora," he said, his voice low and steady, "if there is something you want to ask, then ask me."

His fingers brushed her hair with tenderness. "There is no need for worry between you and me. No need for hesitation. No need to hide."

Zora's heart trembled slightly.

He always noticed.

Even when she tried to conceal it, even when she pretended to be calm, he could still catch the smallest flicker of emotion, like a hawk seeing through mist.

Slowly, she leaned her head against his shoulder. Her left arm wrapped around his waist, holding him with a softness that carried both comfort and dependence.

Then she lifted her face, her dark eyes meeting his directly.

Kael's palm rested gently on the top of her head, stroking it with quiet patience.

"You can say it," he murmured.

Zora caught the subtle change in Kael's expression at once. The way his gaze paused, the way his fingers tightened slightly around hers, it was enough to tell her that her thoughts had already been seen through.

Her heart gave a small, guilty throb. She had always known he was sharp, but when it came to her… he was even sharper.

Still, she did not retreat.

"Kael," she asked softly, her voice careful, "I only ever hear you speak of your Master… but I've never heard you mention your parents."

The moment the words fell, the atmosphere inside the carriage seemed to freeze.

Kael's eyes darkened instantly. The starlight-like brilliance in them dimmed, as though something heavy and old had quietly surfaced from the depths. His expression did not become angry, but a shadow spread across his face, thick and silent, swallowing his usual calm.

Zora's heart tightened.

She regretted it immediately.

She opened her lips, ready to take the question back, ready to say that he didn't have to answer, that she was only asking casually…

But before she could speak, Kael reached out and clasped her small hand.

His palm was warm, his grip steady, yet there was a faint tremor hidden beneath that steadiness, like an invisible wound being pressed open.

The suffocating silence eased, but it did not disappear. Instead, it turned into something heavier, something more painful.

His voice remained gentle, yet within it was a restrained bitterness that could not be disguised.

"I was an abandoned infant," he said quietly.

The words were spoken as if they were nothing, as if he were merely stating a fact that belonged to someone else.

But Zora understood.

Such a thing could never be "nothing."

"When Master went out on a journey, he happened to encounter me," Kael continued. "He brought me back… and raised me in the Guild."

Zora's throat tightened.

She had seen Kael angry before. She had seen him cold. She had even seen him ruthless. But this… this was the first time she had truly seen sorrow in him, the kind of sorrow that didn't burn loudly, but pressed down silently, like a dark cloud that refused to move.

A sorrow that had followed him for years.

Any child who had been abandoned would ask the same question, again and again, even if they never spoke it aloud.

Why?

Why wasn't I wanted?

Why was I thrown away?

And if they were able to abandon me… did they ever regret it?

Zora's fingers tightened around his hand unconsciously.

Only then did she realize, with a quiet shock, how similar they were.

She had never seen her biological parents, either, in this life or in her past life.

Even if her life had been filled with power struggles and humiliation, there was one thing she and Kael shared: they both carried an empty place in their past, a missing piece that no one could fill.

Her grip tightened, as if she wanted to anchor him.

As if she wanted to give him warmth in the same way he had always given her warmth.

Kael's arms tightened around her, pulling her closer.

Perhaps his past was full of shadows, but at this moment, he had her.

That alone seemed to make the darkness less suffocating.

Zora's voice became softer, yet firm with sincerity.

"Kael," she said gently, "I only recently learned that I wasn't Baili Zhentao's biological daughter. I have some clues about my true identity, but nothing is confirmed."

She lifted her eyes to him, her gaze unwavering.

"If I can still find my parents someday… then you can too. You won't miss it."

Her words carried a strange power. Not loud, not dramatic, but steady like a flame that refused to be extinguished.

Kael's eyes softened slightly. The heaviness in his expression loosened, as though her voice had pulled him back from a place he didn't like to enter.

"Over the years," he said quietly, "Master has tried to help me investigate. But there has never been any result."

Zora's brows knitted faintly.

Even with Heaven's Gate's strength, even with Kael's identity… there was still nothing?

That could only mean one thing.

His origins were not simple.

Or rather… they were far too dangerous to be uncovered easily.

She squeezed his hand again, her gaze shining with certainty. "I believe your parents were also forced to leave you behind," she said slowly. "Just like I believe mine had no choice."

Her voice was calm, but her conviction was like steel hidden beneath silk. "Parents don't abandon their children without reason."

And as she spoke, the carriage continued forward, rolling steadily toward the unknown… carrying two people who had both once been left behind, yet had now found each other.

On the road back, the atmosphere was completely different from when they had arrived.

There was no longer the suffocating sense of being watched and judged at every turn. The Leon Empire was behind them now, and with every mile the carriage wheels rolled forward, the weight in their hearts seemed to grow lighter.

Even if no one could say with certainty whether Vice Principal Gerrad's decision would bring trouble or fortune for the academy, they all felt one thing clearly.

They could finally breathe.

Thunderclap Academy's atmosphere had always been strange. It was not a place where students were nurtured, but a place where they were sorted, ranked, and pressed into silence. The hierarchy was so strict that ordinary Spirit Warriors could hardly even raise their heads in front of the royal family.

And the most ridiculous part was that the royal family did not even deserve such fear.

They had only been able to bully people because of their status. The moment they met someone like Zora, their so-called majesty had crumbled like sand.

At the very least, everyone felt grateful.

Grateful that their academy had not become like Thunderclap Academy.

That night, they stopped to rest.

The firelight flickered, and the scent of cooked food filled the air. Everyone sat together, eating, talking, and recovering the warmth that fear had stolen from them over the last few days.

Raphael hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. His voice carried a trace of guilt that he could not hide.

"Vice Principal… you drew a clear line with the other two Academies this time. If the Principal finds out… will he disagree?"

The moment he asked, the air turned quiet.

Not because anyone blamed him, but because everyone had been thinking the same thing.

They had simply been too afraid to ask.

All eyes fell on Gerrad.

Gerrad swept his gaze across the students, seeing their worry, their uncertainty, and even their hidden fear. Then he smiled, calm and unhurried, as though Raphael had asked something trivial.

"The Principal will not oppose it," Gerrad said, his tone relaxed. "In fact, he has had this intention for years already. Before we even set out for Thunderclap Academy, we had already considered that this exchange could become the turning point."

His eyes deepened slightly, but his expression remained steady.

"You don't need to worry. Thunderclap Academy… won't have a bright future anymore."

The group stared, stunned.

Gerrad continued, his voice even and sharp, cutting straight into the heart of the matter.

"Thunderclap Academy is now bound too tightly to the Leon Empire. It has already become an accessory of the royal family. Ordinary students will become fewer and fewer, while the children of nobles and royalty will take over every resource."