Feicui Long wakes up and analyzes what happened yesterday because something doesn't fit well. The fortress looked like it had been buried in the ground for a long time. Even the trees surrounding it were nothing but dry wood.
Something that takes pretty more time than when the space rift appears, the average time is between 6 months to 2 years, depending on the species, the species are oaks, that takes between 1 year to 2 years, eight times the three months and this combines with what Carlotta said in her farewell.
This realization makes him understand something. Carlotta had been trapped here in a time loop, waiting for him. Now, he feels a little guilty for the way he treated her...
But who could have predicted his return so precisely? Even more than that, who could have manipulated time itself and made a Supreme Dragon Queen wait for him?
Feicui Long shakes his head. This is becoming a recurring thing. He has no time to dwell on such matters, at least not right now.
...
Feicui Long and Isabella dismantle the camp. Now, all that remains is to carry Mariane, but that is easy. Feicui Long holds her like a princess once again.
So, the three of them begin their journey back home. It would have been difficult if Feicui Long didn't have Kagetsume. Thanks to his beloved raven, they don't need to waste time remembering which path they took.
On the way home, Isabella looks slightly upset, as if something is bothering her. However, Feicui Long doesn't notice the reason, as he is focused on watching Kagetsume in the air to lead the group.
He knows that she is upset since he sometimes sees her whispering to herself, clenching her small fists, and, on rare occasions, stamping on the ground. It looks like she doesn't want Feicui Long to know because she tries to do it when he isn't looking, but he can see her out of the corner of his eye.
...
This goes on until they get home. Everyone is very worried, especially Gloria, who has the task of protecting Isabella.
Fortunately, they are fine. However, Gloria is still mad at Feicui Long for putting Isabella in danger and not listening to Isabella's mother's suggestion.
He doesn't want to argue about it or even explain his thoughts, so he just says, "Isabella and I are engaged. She chooses to follow me. I think you should respect that fact."
After that, he continues walking to his room and places Mariane on a bedroll beside the bed.
Isabella then asks him, "Honey... are you putting Mariane here?"
Feicui Long sees her and replies, "Yeah, Mariane is my disciple. I need to watch her to make sure she's okay. I know you're worried, but don't be so concerned, Isabella."
He quickly changes the subject and asks her, "By the way, didn't you tell me you had to reveal our engagement to your party and the others?"
Isabella immediately remembers and says, "Yes, you're right! I had to prepare something. I'll look for Annie to help me prepare for it."
Subsequently her step could be hear in the house, Feicui Long shakes his head and sighs only to say to himself the next moment: "This girl, I need to prepare her to become a woman, like Reiko or she can't face the consequences of becoming my woman..."
It's not that he doesn't like her innocence or her lovely personality; in fact, he likes these traits in her very much. But he has a dark future ahead of him. Also, with the way the Dragon Clan works, she will have many enemies... because of him and his title.
Clearing his mind of this, he crouches to see Mariane's face and caresses her, saying, "Dream well, my beautiful girl. Dream well."
...
At night, everyone is reunited in the dining room to eat as usual, but most of them are surprised because dinner is much more lavish than usual. Every dish is carefully prepared with love.
Only three people understand what this means: Isabella and Gloria. One, because she is a member of the Sky Lion Family, and the other because of her familiarity with the family. The last is Feicui Long, since his conversation with Isabella.
When everyone is seated at the table, Isabella starts speaking: "Everyone, I had Annie and Big Sister Gloria help me cook this lavish meal. It comes from the Sky Lion Family tradition, a tradition used in my family for a long time, and it is used for..."
Isabella takes Feicui Long's hand, which gives her enough courage to say the last line: "It is for announcing to the most important people that someone is getting married. I know all of you know about my relationship with Feicui Long. He and I want to take our relationship one step further, so we are now engaged. Also, I would like to apologize for making you hear all those things during the night of the first journey..."
This last part makes Isabella blush.
Almost everyone in Isabella's party claps their hands, with only one exception: the beastwoman with a tail and wolf ears. But this awkward moment is far from over, because in the next moment, the beastwoman stands up and hits the table with her hand so hard that, if it weren't for the reinforcements from the inscriptions, the table could collapse.
Then she screams, first, starting with a low voice that increases over time: "Why, Charles? Why! WHY! WHAT IS IT THAT YOU LIKE ABOUT THIS GUY? I HAVE KNOWN YOU FOR THREE YEARS, AND YOU HAVEN'T EVEN GIVEN ME ONE CHANCE!"
Everyone is in shock, with only two exceptions: Feicui Long and Caroline. Feicui Long already knew this, and Caroline, as Freja's best friend and childhood friend, also knew it. However, even she has to admit that she didn't expect Freja to do this in front of everyone.
She even pulls her arm and tries to make her sit back down, but Freja is too angry and ignores Caroline.
Just as Feicui Long is about to reply sarcastically and Gloria is about to stand up to defend Isabella...
Isabella opens her mouth, looks at Freja with a sad expression, and says, "Freja, I already knew that. I knew you had been in love with me, but I have to say sorry, I can't reciprocate. It's not that you're an ugly girl or a bad person, but... I just don't like women... I..."
Then, Isabella does something that, this time, makes everyone in the room open their mouths in shock, even Feicui Long.
She takes off her mask, revealing her face for the first time to everyone except her family, her close ones, and Feicui Long.
After that, she says, "I am a woman, Freja. I am not a man. But also, Feicui Long has treated me nicely. He has not only saved my life but also returned my happiness to me. He heals my heart with his sweet words and even listens to my stupid requests. I truly love him."
This, combined with what she says, makes the shock even greater because Isabella is very kind. It is rare for her to reply to what other people say, although this only applies to those close to her.
Freja feels like her world is shaking and simply falls into her seat, looking as if something inside her has broken.
Then, Andrea bursts into tears. This shocks everyone even more. Even Freja, despite her state, is surprised. How can someone that cheerfully be crying now?
Andrea subsequently jumps from her seat and hugs Isabella, crying. Isabella can only look at her with a bitter smile and say, "Hi, Andrea..."
It's not that Andrea likes Isabella; Isabella knows what is happening...
In the next moment, Andrea, crying, starts speaking: "Isabella, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm... I thought I was never going to see you again... After you left, my heart hurt. I'm sorry for not saying anything about what Garret was doing... I'm really sorry..."
Isabella hears this name and almost freezes, causing her to squeeze Feicui Long's hand. But thanks to that, she recovers her composure and starts consoling Andrea, saying: "It's not your fault, Andrea. It's his fault, all of this. What he did to me is the fault of that bastard Garret. You have no guilt."
Andrea then shakes her head and replies, "It's my fault, it's all my fault... I knew long before that happened..."
Isabella almost freezes, but she doesn't stop consoling Andrea and says, "Even with that, you have no guilt, he's the one who did it."
Andrea continues shaking her head and says, "I knew long, long before that happened. At that time, I saw Sieglinde, our supposed friend, she was kissing Garret. More importantly, she was already doing that with Garret at that time. I thought they didn't see me. I wanted to tell you before they realized, but I was wrong, because the next day, both of them stopped me..."
Everyone remains silent, even Isabella, who is shaking a bit.
Andrea then continues: "And took me to an alley. In that place, Sieglinde held me by the arms, and with Garret's superior cultivation, he... he... he..."
Andrea starts crying harder. Isabella, hearing this and knowing what is coming, hugs Andrea to comfort her even more. This gives Andrea a little more will to continue, and she resumes the story: "He raped me. I cried, I cried and begged him to stop, but he didn't stop. He continued for hours, and then he threatened me by saying that his father, the commander of the guard and head of the Triumph family, who at that time were the right hand of your family, could make my family disappear. I was hurt and scared. Hearing this made me fear even more..."
Isabella hugs Andrea even tighter and squeezes Feicui Long's hand harder.
Andrea continues: "I was afraid and promised not to say anything. I thought he was going to let me go with that, but instead, he forced me to become one of his 'women' and continued abusing me for a year. But at the same time, he kept flirting with you, his fiancée. I could see every time how he only wanted to take your body, how he and Sieglinde had been doing this for a year already, but I couldn't do anything. My weakness and fear blocked my mind..."
Andrea then adds to her story: "Until that day arrived. On that day, I finally reunited the courage to tell you. Even his threats couldn't make me back down. I really didn't want you to go through all of this. Until that time I saw you in that street, crying in the rain, I knew I was late, too late, and my heart hurt, hurt so badly. In the end, I couldn't say it to you, because I didn't want to hurt you more."
Andrea finally finishes her story: "You have always been too kind and good to the people of the town. I don't know how someone could do this to you, and I also didn't want to corrupt your mind with my story. So I shut up, not knowing how this affected you. The Sky Lion Family told me you had gone to live with your uncle in Feldbach. I regretted not saying anything to you. I thought I was always going to live with this regret. This is why I ask you, forgive me, Isabella. I failed you..."
Andrea continues crying, this time even harder...
Isabella also starts crying and loudly says: "Why are you always like this?!"
Isabella then added, "You always worried about me, but you don't think about yourself for a second. OF COURSE, I FORGIVE YOU! You have always been my best friend, my childhood friend, my sister, Andrea. But what happened to you is a thousand times worse. Why didn't you tell me?! I COULD HAVE MADE THAT BASTARD PAY FOR WHAT HE DID TO YOU!"
The two women hug each other and continue crying, while everyone remains silent. Fortunately, the twins had taken the little kids away before. Andrea reached her darkest moment, but now everyone in the room has mixed feelings. Gloria is holding back her anger. Freja is trembling with rage, barely stopping herself from breaking the table. Caroline is silent, but she is also very angry. Even the dwarf Arianne, who is normally very calm, now has an angry expression on her face. Andrea is a very good woman, almost like the mother of the party, a kind soul who always puts others before herself.
Feicui Long is the only one who remains calm inside, but he has to put on an angry face. He likes Andrea, although she doesn't interact much with him, and now he understands why. She is very good with the girls and sometimes helps him, as well as Isabella.
...
That night, everyone loses their appetite and goes to sleep.
Isabella and Andrea go to sleep together. This time, Feicui Long sleeps alone for the first time in more than three months.
But he is not mad; he sleeps calmly that night beside Mariane.
The next morning, he learns from Gloria that Isabella once had a fiancé named Garret Triumph and a friend named Sieglinde Hall. He deceived Isabella into sleeping with him before marriage, and she did. But only three days later, he invited her to his house, only for her to find him having sex with Sieglinde.
This happened when Isabella was 19 years old, meaning Andrea's situation occurred when she was 18. Now, both are 24 years old. Then, he eats breakfast and goes to his room to cultivate.