During her stay in the human realm, Vivian was able to learn some things that she couldn't learn during her time in the supernatural realm.
For instance, she noticed how female humans raised and showed affection to their little ones, which was somewhat different from what a female demon would do.
In fact, it was rare to see female demons showing love or affection to their young ones.
Most male and female demons only began to really care for their young ones once they were certain that their children had awakened their bloodline abilities or had been born with a rare talent.
As a young female dragon born during the time of war in a demon continent where betrayal was their daily bread and sleeping was for the weak who wouldn't get the luxury of waking up the next day, Vivian had been raised to be the ultimate killing machine.
She played a huge role in the Second Great War of the Supernatural Realm.
But this also meant that she knew little to nothing about being a mother or how to even raise a child.
However, upon arriving in the human realm, Vivian spent about two decades learning what it meant to really care for someone other than herself.
In the demon realm, caring and feeling pity for a fellow demon was seen as a weakness, and they had strict rules that governed the demon continent, which every other demon on the continent had grown accustomed to.
Meanwhile, Vivian was able to learn just how different humans were from demons, especially how they valued their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
She realized that despite the flaws that humans had, they were still able to possess something special that demons lacked and that was empathy.
She saw how male humans would work through exhaustion just to make sure their families never went hungry, and how mothers would cradle and soothe their children even when they were too sick to move.
Seeing all these really touched Vivian, and before she knew it, she had subconsciously developed an urge to raise a child of her own, and the opportunity to do this finally arrived when Vivian stumbled upon the hospital where Lily had been admitted.
She had closely monitored the little girl, so she knew how much Lily had suffered and how long she had left before her illness took over.
Just like how Aster would frequently visit Lily during the day, Vivian would do the same at night.
And since Vivian could easily turn herself invisible, no one could see when she entered or left the hospital, allowing her to easily bond with Lily and making the two of them to become really close.
So when the time came and Lily began to find it even more difficult to bear the pain of her illness, Vivian decided to give Lily a chance to live the life she had always wanted, but at the expense of her humanity.
Nonetheless, Vivian assured the little girl that she would protect her with her life and she would raise her as her own if Lily agreed to go back with her to the supernatural realm.
Lily agreed and so Vivian infused her demonic energy into the little girl, saving her as her body mutated from a human to that of a hybrid dragon, turning her into a demi-human in the process.
Her frail body and skin were no more and her hair and eyes turned crimson, making her look extremely cute and adorable, especially with her new chubby cheeks and limbs.
However, before she could return to Evermore with Vivian, Lily thought she should say goodbye or at least leave Aster a letter, to thank him for everything he had done for her.
Since Vivian knew who Aster was and how important he was to Lily, she had no choice but to grant Lily her wish, and so they set out to find him.
But upon discovering where he was, Vivian and Lily noticed that he had been shot and was unconscious and had been left to die on the street under the heavy rain.
Seeing this, Lily pleaded with Vivian to save Aster, just as she had saved her, and since Vivian really wanted her adopted daughter to be happy, she decided to save him as well. So she infused Aster with her demonic energy, which immediately turned his hair and eyes crimson.
However, it was unable to transform him any further than that.
Then, when his body became accustomed to the tiny amount of her demonic energy flowing within his veins, Aster slowly opened his eyes and that was how he saw Vivian and Lily in the carriage on their way back to Evermore.
Vivian explained all these to Aster, and the young dragon prince simply stared at his hands, which were clamped on the table.
Now he understood why Vivian had saved Lily and why he hadn't died on the street, despite being shot three times.
If it hadn't been for Lily, he would have definitely been dead by now, and this made Aster feel even more grateful for having a second chance at life.
A small smile appeared on his lips and he finally raised his head to ask Vivian a question.
"If Lily and I had been transformed into demons by you, then why are we so different? The tail and ears on her body don't seem to match mine, nor do they match yours either."
Vivian smiled as she nodded.
It was understandable for him to ask this question so she replied honestly. "Demonic energy works in mysterious ways dear. The way your body adapted to it is different from how Lily was able to adapt to it, but without a doubt, I can sense the dragon blood flowing in your veins, the same way it's flowing in Lily's veins as well."
Vivian further explained, "So while Lily has developed body parts that are similar to beastmen, I'm confident that her draconic abilities will begin to manifest once she turns fifteen."
Aster nodded in understanding. After all, he had also recently obtained his first draconic trait, so he knew it was only a matter of time before he unlocked even more dragon abilities and traits.
So it wouldn't be surprising to see Lily awakening hers once she turned fifteen.
And so, with all of his questions answered, Vivian decided to confirm if he still had any more questions for her.
"Do you have any more questions you would like to ask me, dear, or will that be all?"
"No, that's all." Aster shook his head softly.
"Good, but I have a question for you."
"...." Aster remained silent as he waited to hear what Vivian wanted to ask him.
"Now that you know how you and Lily got here, would you prefer to go back to your world or would you rather stay here with us?" Vivian asked and the room suddenly turned silent.
Even Hallie and Lily, who were eavesdropping from the dining room entrance, couldn't help but pin their gaze on Aster.
They could feel how tense the atmosphere in the room had become as they waited to hear what Aster would say.