Alex pushed open the door to his room. And on the bed, Lena was waiting.
She was sitting at the edge of the mattress with her legs tucked beneath her, a loose blanket draped around her shoulders. Her hair was messy and cheeks were faintly pink, she was smiling.
"Welcome back, young master. How did it go?"
Alex shut the door behind him and leaned against it.
"It went fine."
He shrugged, trying to look casual.
"Father was happy."
"Of course he was."
Lena tilted her head, and her eyes sparkled.
"How could he not be? His son wakes up with that much mana on his very first day. Most people spend years trying to reach half of it."
Alex blinked.
"You can sense it too."
"Of course."
She said it simply, with a small, proud lift of her chin.
"Sensing mana is what I am best at, young master. I can feel it in people, even through walls. It is the one thing I have always been good at."
Alex smiled.
’That makes sense seeing she knew about Daniel and also sensed me coming back.’
Then another thought slid into place.
’Wait. I’ve never used Appraisal Eye on her.’
He looked at Lena.
’Appraisal Eye.’
A faint blue ripple crossed his vision, and pale text unfolded beside her.
[Name: Lena]
[Class: Mage]
[Affinity: Water]
[Level: 20]
[Skills: Water Bullet (D Rank), Aqua Bind (D Rank, Water Blade (D Rank), Mana Sense (D Rank), Mystic Sight (C Rank)]
’She is a water mage of course. So that’s actually where mine came from.’
It made perfect sense. Their first night together had left more than a memory. It had left a piece of her inside him.
A grin tugged at his lips.
Then he read the last section again.
’Skills.’
Beneath each one, a small gray tag blinked faintly.
[UPGRADABLE]
His pulse quickened.
’Now we’re talking.’
One thousand Defilement Points were still waiting in his window, and now, he had something to spend them on. He didn’t know what the skills could do, and he wasn’t going to find out now.
’Later. First things first.’
He let the ripple fade and crossed the room.
"Father called back the head maid," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "She’s going to conduct the awakening herself. He doesn’t trust the old conjurer anymore."
"That is wise."
Lena nodded slowly.
"If there was a mistake at the first ceremony, it may have come from the one who conducted it. A conjurer who misreads a crystal once can do it again."
"That’s what I thought."
"Then Lord Edward chose well."
The mattress shifted behind him.
He felt her crawl across it, until her knees settled on either side of his hips. Her arms slid over his shoulders and crossed gently over his chest, and her chin came to rest against the side of his neck.
Her fingertips began to move.
Slowly, she traced circles against his collarbone, down the slope of his shoulder. Her breath was warm. Her hair brushed his cheek.
Alex closed his eyes for a moment.
’Focus. You have a question.’
He cleared his throat.
"Lena."
"Yes, young master?"
"Do you know who the head maid is?"
Her fingers paused.
"I don’t really remember her." He kept his voice light and careless. "I only woke up recently. Things are still a little hazy."
It was a lie, of course. It was the cleanest way to make her tell him.
Lena gasped softly.
"Young master, how could you forget?"
She sounded genuinely scandalized.
"Her name is Eleanor."
Alex’s eyes snapped open.
"...Eleanor?"
He turned the name over in his head.
Lena. Elena. Eleanor.
’That’s...’
He twisted his head slightly to look at her.
"Why does that sound so similar to yours?" he asked. "And Elena’s?"
"Because she is our mother."
The room went silent. Alex stared at her.
Then something clicked, and a memory surfaced. A small, warm laugh in a corridor. Elena covering her mouth with her hand. ’Our mother thought it was charming.’
’The mother. It wasn’t the father who named them, it was her. She did it on purpose.’
He nearly choked.
"Your mother," he repeated slowly. "The head maid. Is your mother."
"Yes, young master."
"And Elena is your sister."
"Yes."
"And you serve me. And Elena serves Daniel. And your mother runs every servant in the house."
"That is correct."
Alex stared at the wall for a few seconds.
’The entire family works for the Vance household. Three women. All of them mana users.’
He felt a slow, cheeky smile spread across his face, and he could not stop it.
’That’s absurd and absolutely perfect.’
The system had demanded three keys. He had been searching for a third woman across the whole estate, convinced that he would have to leave the house to find her.
And she just arrived to him on a platter. And she was not just any woman, she’s the mother of these two beautiful and sexy women, Lena and Elena.
’This is getting way too fun!’
Behind him, Lena was still smiling, her arms warm around his shoulders. She had no idea what was running through his head.
Alex turned.
He caught her by the waist, lifted her slightly, and in one motion, laid her back against the sheets. Her blanket slipped. Her hair spread across the pillow. Her eyes went wide, and a soft, breathless laugh escaped her.
He braced a hand beside her head and looked down at her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Lena’s eyes softened.
She raised a hand and cupped his cheek, her thumb brushing gently along his jaw.
"You are here now, young master," she whispered.
She smiled.
"That is all that matters."