Cocotte's gaze wandered unsteadily, carrying a hint of embarrassment as she forced out a couple of awkward laughs.

She managed to produce a strained smile, but truthfully, Vinia's suggestion wasn't amusing in the slightest.

Marry Viktor? How could that possibly work? She and Viktor were the closest of comrades-in-arms—he was literally her boss!

Besides, she'd heard childbirth was excruciatingly painful, and that was definitely not something she was willing to endure. Yet using fear of pain as an excuse would surely invite merciless mockery, so she could only laugh awkwardly, at a complete loss for words.

Lia merely smiled without uttering a word. Her gaze drifted between Cocotte and Vinia, examining them carefully with a smile that concealed daggers—as if she were contemplating how to dispose of these two elves.

Only Vinia, standing off to the side, seemed oblivious to any issue with what she had suggested. As an elven priestess, her primary concern was naturally the existential problem facing the elven race.

Although the Elven Forest had its own Divine Tree, future elves would need to exist in the human world on a large scale. It would be impossible for every elf to return to the Elven Forest to give birth. Therefore, whether Cocotte could produce elves had become a matter of critical importance.

If, in the human world, only married couples could have offspring, then wouldn't the solution be simple? As the Father of Elves, if Viktor married Cocotte, wouldn't the problem of elven reproduction be solved immediately?

"No, no, absolutely not!" Cocotte shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum, firmly opposing Vinia's suggestion. This could hardly be called a suggestion—it was completely impractical!

Cocotte held one fist before her mouth and cleared her throat softly, drawing the attention of both Lia and Vinia.

"Don't forget," she reminded them, "Viktor already has a fiancée."

Hearing this, Vinia tilted her head, her eyes revealing pure confusion.

"What's a fiancée?"

As a nature elf, she'd had minimal contact with human society and remained unfamiliar with many human traditions.

Seeing Vinia's bewilderment, Lia slowly began to explain: "Viktor having a fiancée means he already has a marriage contract with another woman. He's promised to marry someone else."

Vinia pondered this for a moment before asking with genuine curiosity:

"Can humans only marry once? Can't a fiancée be replaced?"

These direct questions left Lia and Cocotte stunned and speechless.

After a prolonged silence, Lia held her forehead and laughed bitterly. The elven perspective was indeed quite different.

Thinking about it, Vinia's questions weren't entirely unreasonable. Considering the longevity of elves, by the time a human partner died, an elf would still retain their youth. So if an elf married a human, they might well marry several times throughout their lifetime.

Seeing that Lia hadn't answered, Vinia pressed on:

"Miss Lia, have you ever considered marriage yourself?"

"Uh... well..." Now it was Lia's turn to be embarrassed. She avoided Vinia's gaze, awkwardly staring at the ceiling as her fingers unconsciously traced circles in the air. It seemed she hadn't given the matter much thought.

Vinia persisted: "According to human customs, if one doesn't get married, they can't have children, right?"

"Actually... it's not... impossible..." Lia's voice grew progressively softer until her final words were barely audible, even to Vinia who stood closest to her.

She cleared her throat, raised her head, and looked directly at Vinia again. "Such matters can't be rushed, of course. If two people aren't suitable for each other, they shouldn't be forced together."

"Exactly!" Cocotte quickly agreed. "If they're not compatible, they definitely shouldn't marry!"

At this moment, she and Lia found common ground, exchanging glances and nodding in agreement.

But Vinia's next words delivered another mental blow to both of them:

"So, Miss Lia, are you saying that you and Lord Viktor aren't suitable for each other?"

"Huh?" With just one sentence, Lia's brain seemed to crash completely.

"Um... I, I didn't mean that..." she stammered. "No, we are... we're just not... not suitable..."

Seeing Lia nearly unraveling in confusion and distress, Cocotte rushed to her aid:

"What are you saying, Vinia? Viktor is Lia's brother! How could they possibly be together?!"

After hearing this, Vinia hesitated momentarily before nodding. "I see. I think I understand now."

Though uncertain what Vinia had actually understood, Lia breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped this knowledgeable but socially oblivious elf wouldn't ask any more questions. Vinia's inquiries were becoming dangerously sensitive—if this continued, Lia feared she might be the first to lose her sanity.

Then, Vinia launched into a new round of questioning: "Miss Lia, I have one last question."

"Since you and Lord Viktor are siblings, does that mean you have the same parents?"

This question seemed more normal to Lia, and after a brief silence, she replied: "Yes, normally that would be the case, but we should have the same father..."

"But not the same mother."

......

"No one has ever seen your mother, not even me."

A deep, resonant voice rumbled above Viktor's head.

Viktor followed behind Helnersen's massive figure, as if trailing a moving mountain. The bear-man held a burning torch in his hand, its flickering light casting a brownish glow over the surrounding trees while deeper darkness loomed in the forest beyond.

Even though no living creatures stirred nearby, the eerie stillness of the forest created the sensation that terrifying beasts lurked within its depths.

Viktor's footsteps broke twigs and rustled leaves as he walked, creating intermittent crisp sounds in the quiet night. A layer of mist drifted through the forest, though the air currents surrounding Helnersen dispersed the fog within several yards of them.

The two continued advancing deeper into the forest, one behind the other.

As they walked, Helnersen's majestic voice resonated once more:

"When the former family head brought you back, you were already one year old."

Because of this child's sudden appearance, Viktor's grandfather had been furious. He had fumed and glared, pointing at Viktor's father's nose and berating him harshly—scolding him for disregarding family tradition, for acting willfully, for showing no proper conduct as a legitimate member of the Kravina family.

Bringing home a child before marriage had threatened to send the reputation of the Kravina family plummeting in an instant. After all, everyone loves gossip—especially since Viktor's father was one of the emperor's most capable subordinates and closest confidants at the time.

So who was this child's mother? No one knew.

After the emperor ascended the throne, honors and glory were showered upon loyal supporters. By all accounts, the Kravina family, with its long-standing prestige, should naturally have shared in the great rewards of supporting the new ruler.

Had the Kravina family decided to remain in the capital and develop steadily for decades, perhaps the Carensia Empire would now have two dukes.

However, the family head at that time—Viktor's father—perhaps to shield the child he had secretly brought home from gossip, chose only a modest piece of land from the emperor's rewards. The Kravina family thus retreated from public view, choosing to settle in Bryston as mere viscounts.

The Kravina family, despite its great merits, could have risen much higher, but he chose to lead the family into relative obscurity. Many of Viktor's father's comrades believed he was a man who did not seek advancement, but only momentary peace.

At that time, though newly enthroned, the emperor urgently needed capable helpers. Yet Viktor's father had already retreated to Bryston to live a quiet life.

"After this," Helnersen continued, "the former family head casually found a woman to marry, and when you were five years old, she gave birth to the current Miss Lia."

"But you probably know nothing about this."

That woman had been found by the family head in a remote area of the empire. She never once visited Bryston throughout her entire life—never set foot in the Kravina house. Even Helnersen had never seen Lia's mother.

After the former family head passed away, Helnersen had tried to locate that woman. As Lia's mother and the legal wife of Viktor's father, she was nominally the mistress of the household, despite never having been to Bryston.

But she seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. No matter how extensively Helnersen searched, his efforts proved futile.

Whether Viktor's mother or Lia's mother—it was as if they had agreed never to appear.

Following behind Helnersen, Viktor slowly spoke:

"Helnersen, do you know about that mirror?"

Helnersen walked ahead in silence.

Viktor continued: "That mirror was excavated from our family's mine. It is a living entity, and it knows about Lia's past." He paused briefly. "What impressed me most was something it said."

The dark forest finally opened up, and without the shelter of trees, a cold wind swept across the sky and over Viktor's body. His black windbreaker billowed in the air, the fabric slapping against itself with a crackling sound. The fur on Helnersen's body was likewise blown backward as he stood motionless.

Before them stood an imposingly tall tombstone, approximately Viktor's height, covered with a thick layer of dust. Around it stretched a wide expanse of flat ground marked with various patterns, though they were buried beneath grass and difficult to discern clearly.

As the cold wind blew, dust from the tombstone rose and swirled into the air.

Viktor's obsidian-like eyes stared at the small inscription on the tombstone as he spoke softly:

"The Kravina family is a cursed family. Therefore, there will never be a mage in this family."

As the words left his lips, six small formation arrays materialized behind Viktor's body.

Hum—Hum—Hum—

They flashed briefly in the air before gradually dimming, only to flash again just as they were about to disappear, cycling in this manner. Their light illuminated the inscription on the tombstone that had been shrouded in darkness:

[Soul Messenger Who Wanders the Edge of Purgatory]

—Tisnato Kravina.

"So, we both know the truth, don't we?"

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