Celitia was certain that she had never seen Gorman before this.

So the man she saw in her dream was not a projection she had brought from reality into the dreamscape.

Last night was their first real meeting.

"You are...?"

Celitia opened her mouth slightly in disbelief.

Noticing Celitia's shock, Gorman nodded gently and winked at her, signaling for Celitia not to speak out.

Celitia had no choice but to close her mouth and suppress her questions.

Noticing the small interaction between Celitia and Gorman, Sophia was very confused.

They should clearly be meeting for the first time, but why did it seem like they had already met before?

"It seems you also get along very well with this child." Marianne was very pleased. "When I first met her, I felt she looked very familiar."

"Indeed, I quite like this child." Gorman said with a smile. "It looks like Sophia really picked a good partner."

He slightly emphasized the latter half of his sentence, revealing a trace of pride in his expression.

As if saying, worthy of being my daughter, to actually hook her.

Gorman didn't give Celitia a chance to ask questions, so Celitia could only suppress her doubts and continue listening to their conversation.

Fortunately, they didn't chat for too long.

Seeing a trace of fatigue appear on Gorman's face, despite being very reluctant, Sophia considerately said:

"Then Father should continue resting. With Mother and me here, we'll work hard at everything, so you don't need to worry."

Thinking that Gorman still needed time to receive important ministers, Marianne nodded and also stood up.

Seeing this, Celitia planned to leave the bedchamber together with the two of them, but Gorman suddenly spoke:

"Please stay, Celitia. I have some things to say to you."

"To me?" Celitia was stunned.

A blush suddenly erupted on Sophia's face as her imagination ran wild.

Could it be about the engagement?

She excitedly pinched her own hand, her thoughts drifting as she became completely immersed in her fantasies.

Seeing Celitia still hesitating, Marianne said gently:

"Since Gorman has something to say to you, go ahead. Don't be too formal."

Celitia nodded.

She happened to have many things she wanted to ask His Majesty the King.

The maids in the bedchamber were also dismissed by Gorman.

The door slowly closed, leaving only a cold wind blowing in from outside the window, stirring the light gauze curtains on the bed.

Celitia stopped about a meter from the bedside, waiting for Gorman to speak.

"Don't be so nervous," Gorman said with a laugh. "Come a bit closer."

Since His Majesty the King had said so, Celitia had no choice but to take two more steps forward, standing at the foot of the bed.

The man leaned against the headboard, smiling as he looked up at her.

"Child, I told you we would meet again soon, didn't I?"

Celitia trembled slightly.

Meeting Gorman's gaze, sure enough, Celitia saw those mysterious deep purple eyes.

"However, I didn't expect it to be this soon." Gorman continued, not without pride in his words. "Sophia is worthy of being the daughter we raised—she has the same good eye as her mother."

Celitia asked hesitantly: "Your appearance..."

"Oh, that's a bit of minor illusion magic. This face has to change with the passage of time, otherwise wouldn't it be a bit frightening? But the beard is indeed one I grew myself—not bad, right?"

Gorman casually patted his face. "As for the eyes, it's the same. I've been used to it since childhood, so I've been disguising them until now. You understand—purple eyes are really too conspicuous."

Celitia remained silent.

So the appearance she had seen in her dream was Gorman's true look.

That meant even those closest to him, like Marianne and Sophia, might not know.

Why remove his disguise in front of her?

"Very similar to your eyes, isn't it?"

Seeing Celitia remain silent, Gorman continued on his own.

"Among humans, those with blue or pink hair, or red, gold, purple eyes and other rare and strange colors, more or less have some blood of other races flowing in them."

His voice became increasingly meaningful. "I'm no exception, and neither are you."

Celitia suddenly clenched her hands tightly.

She remembered the large string of disconnected information fragments that had suddenly flooded her mind yesterday.

"Could it be... those memories..."

"It seems you've already awakened part of your racial memories."

Gorman nodded to her. "With only a quarter bloodline, receiving memory inheritance is very difficult. Perhaps you've received the favor of that deity."

"Racial memories..." Celitia's voice was extremely strained. "You mean... 'demons'..."

"It's 'demon race,'" Gorman corrected her. "Only occasionally called 'demons,' 'succubi,' or 'nightmares' by humans."

Celitia found it hard to accept, staggering back half a step:

"Impossible, I'm clearly just an ordinary human—"

"I didn't say you weren't human," Gorman spread his hands. "You just have a quarter demon race bloodline. The inherited memories have already told you—you can't fool yourself."

"A quarter demon race bloodline? Why are you so certain?"

Celitia looked at him, her mind blank yet uncontrollably racing.

A guess that seemed unrealistic yet seemed to approach the truth arose in her heart, making Celitia almost want to turn and leave.

However, the truth was right at hand, and she really couldn't bring herself to cover her ears and refuse to listen.

"Because I have half demon race bloodline." Gorman looked at her gently, softening his voice. "And you are my child."

"That's impossible!" Celitia blurted out. "I have my own parents. Even if I really have demon race bloodline, it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with you!"

"I thought the same at first, otherwise I wouldn't have been fooled for so many years..."

Gorman sighed deeply.

"But until last night, when you broke into the isolation barrier I had set up and successfully awakened me, I was able to confirm this."

Seeing Celitia still looking resistant, Gorman slowly explained:

"My body has been cursed and must rely on long-term sleep to prevent my body from becoming weaker and weaker. My consciousness returns to that world belonging to us, where I've been playing hide-and-seek with a certain demon for a long time, so I often seal myself in isolation barriers to sleep, to avoid being found by him.

However, this time I was probably interfered with by him, and the duration of sleep exceeded my expectations."

His gaze toward Celitia became increasingly loving: "My child, only you, who shares the same bloodline, could break into the barrier I set up and wake me early."