His breath cut sharply as he snored.
He turned his face to his wife, leaving her forehead resting on his chest near his neck.
He hugged her from behind, as if she had already planned to leave.
Eira just stood, watching her mother and stepfather.
As she observed them, she felt regret.
"Maybe we could have lived a better life, Mom—you and stepdad, me and my dad."
She whispered, looking down and holding her hands.
In her arms, she grasped the dagger honed for the murderer.
She kept pacing around the ambush. No point dwelling—it was better to finish fast and move on.
Her hands shivered as she tried to calm herself.
She raised her fist, gripping the dagger, and pulled it down straight toward his neck.
Just millimeters apart… millimeters apart… Her hands froze. A shadowy figure overwhelmed her, clinging to her back.
Her stepfather opened his eyes. Like an undead, his body trembled.
With a very natural and calm response, he said,
"What are you doing?"
She was terrified. The plan had failed. Her mind echoed, "You're dead… again and again…"
Her body fidgeted.
"I—isn't it obvious…?"
He glanced at her while fixing her mother's hair.
"So, you came here for revenge. Fine! I accept it… No! I deserve it."
Astonished, she stammered, "W—what the hell…"
He gazed down, folding his fist.
"I'm just too pathetic… the devil's soul has eaten me long ago… I don't know if I can even react to anything anymore."
She was confused.
But the reality was simple: Athos wanted him dead because her stepfather was slowly letting go of everything…
That made him an easy target. Maybe Athos feared his secret would slip out one day.
Her stepfather looked impassive.
"Please don't kill your mother. Spare her. I don't want my child to end up fatherless and motherless too. I beg you… take all my wealth, anything you want, please."
Everyone has their reasons, and his was a demonic past that forced him into sin.
As they say, karma never fails. Just when he stopped caring for anyone except his child, he had to see her father dead…
She would become fatherless, just like Eira had. Thanks to him.
He feared his demonic side might awaken if he got close to children, especially those with light to lead the way.
So he always kept an arm's length from kids.
He noticed her fear—her hands shivering… He lay on his side, hugging his wife.
Eira didn't feel like killing him. She pulled something out of her pocket: a small glass bottle.
The bottle had been given to her by Athos. He said if she couldn't convince herself to kill her mother, she could use the poison.
But she knew she wouldn't kill her stepfather—let alone her mother. The poison was meant for him.
She tossed it to him.
"Drink it if you want Mom to live a happy life with your little sister. Drink it… let everything go naturally."
Sitting on the bed, he took it with his left hand and drank it.
"Good night…"
Before returning to the bed, a sudden heart strike hit him.
His face became wet within seconds. Blood gushed from his nose.
In less than a minute, he was silent. His heart had stopped.
She covered her mouth, tears falling.
"There's no way I was going to do this to Mom…"
Even if her mother had been flawed, she was still her mother.
It didn't matter—she had to do things perfectly. She turned his body over, heartbroken by what she saw.
After decades, he finally smiled… on the verge of death.
No demon, no awkwardness—just him and his soul, smiling fully.
Her stepfather had a hidden place for important information. Searching for it, she found a satchel of gold.
He hadn't known what to do with it—he considered donating it but couldn't.
She took the gold coin and files to her room. Since no one knew, the secret stayed safe. Plus, the gold coins were very satisfying for her age.
She sat on her bed, gazing at the breathtaking moon, which looked like the folded eyes of an angel.
She cried, unable to bear it, before finally falling asleep.
He's smile haunting her again and again in her dreams. She knew she killed him. Trying to make a reason for why ain't gonna cut it. When she stood up bouncing off her bed... She realized she need to face it. "he was just fated to die... Nothing more or nothing less."
Still, she knew she had to cry again tomorrow.
She stayed comforting her mother. The funeral happened. Athos sent priests to retrieve the file, and they came and took it.
Finally, she gathered her thoughts. If she was brave enough to kill, she had to be brave enough to die. That became her new motto.
She decided to go to her uncle's house, where she had a map and the exact location. She began her journey.
She was welcomed like a princess. They treated her fairly.
Right... In the end for ten years... Her uncle was waiting for her. He believed she is an ambitious child. "one day she will return to me." he always used to say to his wife.
She stayed there for about a month. During that time, she learned healing magic and became physically fit—the hellish church training had helped her.
At the end, her uncle suggested she should enter an academy. They all agreed and sent her to the world's largest academy: Dream Mage Garden Academy.
A question arose immediately:
"How did she and Vernon become fiancés?"
She was silent, poised, generous, and gentle. She was angelically beautiful, yet her gaze carried weight beyond her age.
No one approached her—and she didn't want attention.
On the other hand, the school prodigy—the strongest, handsomest, bravest, noble, king of the high school—Vernon, had fallen for her.
Even though she barely remembered his face or cared for love, the story unfolded…
"Why am I seeing her memories… spoiling him… alone?"