"Hahahahaha!"
William’s laughter echoed through the spire as Tamasya continued trying to tickle him despite the tears that still lingered in her eyes. The two of them were so completely absorbed in each other that they failed to notice the one person they desperately did not want witnessing this moment.
For a brief while, the tension and grief that had consumed the room seemed to fade away. Tamasya slowly rose onto the tips of her toes; her face moved closer to William’s to seal his lips.
Yue and Andrea abruptly froze as they saw Anne look at them, demanding an explanation.
The expression on Anne’s face nearly gave them a heart attack.
Without wasting another second, Yue immediately grabbed Anne’s wrist and hurriedly pulled her away from the top spire and took her outside before the situation could worsen any further.
The moment they stepped outside, Anne turned sharply toward Yue.
"You knew about this?"
Her voice was calm on the surface, but Yue could hear the storm beneath it.
Yue took a deep breath before answering seriously. "Anne, it’s not what you think. Their bond is genuine."
Anne’s expression darkened further instead of easing.
"He is sixteen," she said slowly. "The legal age of adulthood is seventeen. Last year, he was fifteen, and I remember he was living with Tamasya." Suddenly, her expression worsened as she imagined what might have happened in the meantime.
Her restless eyes carried the unmistakable panic of a mother whose thoughts had immediately run toward the worst possible conclusions.
"My baby..." Anne gasped while her hands clasped her mouth in despair.
Yue quickly stepped forward and tried to calm her down.
"Anne, please listen to me. Tamasya never manipulated him. William made his own choices. Nothing was forced."
Unfortunately, Anne barely seemed to hear her.
Yue sighed helplessly before finally speaking again.
"Fine. Then let me explain everything from the beginning."
Meanwhile, inside the spire, William and Tamasya remained entirely unaware of the chaos unfolding outside.
It was only after several moments that Tamasya suddenly stiffened in realization. Her eyes widened dramatically as she pulled away from William and quickly looked around the room.
Only now had she remembered that Anastasia had been present here earlier.
"Where is Anne?" she immediately asked.
Andrea, who had been standing nearby while awkwardly pretending not to notice anything, forced out a smile.
"Oh, Anne? Right... Yue took her outside. They’re handling the situation in the city."
Tamasya visibly relaxed after hearing that.
William, however, noticed that reaction immediately.
His brows furrowed.
Andrea caught the look in his eyes and wisely decided to leave before getting dragged into the middle of whatever conversation was about to happen. Within moments, the room was left entirely to the two of them.
William gently cupped Tamasya’s face in his hands.
"Why are you so afraid of telling Mom about us?"
Tamasya looked at him quietly for a moment before answering.
"Because we never informed her properly, William. I’m worried she’ll think I influenced you or pushed you into something inappropriate." She lowered her gaze slightly before continuing. "You don’t know how Anne is. She follows rules and social norms very seriously. She will never approve of us being together if she knew that we fell in love before you officially turned an adult."
William’s expression soured. "I think Mom would understand if I spoke to her properly."
"That might happen eventually," Tamasya admitted softly, "but not right now. At least wait until you turn seventeen. Until then, it’s better to keep this private."
William clearly disliked the suggestion. Waiting another year? Was she kidding?!
"No," he replied immediately. "I don’t want to hide anything about us anymore, in fact, about Seraphine as well. I’ll speak to Mother myself."
"William," Tamasya said with emphasis, "I’ve known your mother for years." Please trust me on this."
For a few moments, silence settled between them.
William eventually decided not to push the argument further. The last thing he wanted after everything that had happened was to get into an argument with her when he should be embracing her. He simply nodded, even though he was still unconvinced.
Trying to lighten the mood again, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
His hands moved around her waist wildly before their direction turned downward, slowly tracing the curve of her hips; a gentle and dreamy smile was etched on his face.
Tamasya immediately realized where his thoughts were heading and firmly pushed his wandering hands back upward.
"Not now, not before your mom knows about us!!" she said while narrowing her eyes at him.
Then, despite her warning, she still hugged him tightly afterward.
William sighed dramatically in defeat while internally cursing his terrible luck.
Even after nearly dying, he still had to wait for that.
The two of them spent the following hours together quietly talking. William told her almost everything that had happened from his point of view, while Tamasya shared her POV, though he intentionally avoided mentioning Nir and the truth surrounding the heroes and the god council.
Nir had warned him specifically not to reveal that information prematurely. Anyone unauthorized who learned of their existence risked detection by the gods themselves, and once discovered, they would be annihilated to preserve the secrecy surrounding them.
William had no intention of putting Tamasya in danger.
Someday, when he was certain she would be safe, he would tell her everything within the safety of the Domain of Infinity.
For now, however, he simply pretended ignorance regarding the strange mark that had appeared upon his forehead, which was a crescent moon intertwined with ancient symbols glowing faintly against his skin.
Eventually, William shifted his attention toward another pressing matter.
Using his mental link, he summoned Rah and Elavlin to the spire.
Both appeared before him almost instantly.
William’s expression turned serious as he asked for a complete report regarding the battle between Rominius and the demons.
According to them, Rah and Elavlin had managed to eliminate six demon generals while the remaining forces escaped through the Abyss Node.
Rah had deliberately avoided using variance energy openly before the demons and relied only upon his physical strength and claws during combat. Blood Rose had also restrained herself considerably.
William nodded in approval after hearing the report.
Their primary objective had never been the total annihilation of the demon generals.
Their mission had been to prevent the Demon Lord himself from intervening directly, which they had completed flawlessly.
Had every general been killed, Amon would almost certainly have appeared personally to retaliate while William was occupied elsewhere. Avoiding that scenario had been the correct decision.
Afterward, William handed them another assignment.
He gave them the coordinates to an ancient ruin hidden within the no-man’s-land near the Skybreak Empire and ordered them to prevent anyone from breaking the seal located there.
More importantly, he specifically instructed them not to kill the adventurers investigating the ruins. Elavlin was to detain them temporarily if necessary.
For now, the seal to the outer world absolutely could not be opened.
There were still too many unresolved matters demanding William’s attention: stabilizing the empire, consolidating authority under one umbrella, controlling the aftermath of the war, and preparing for what was yet to come.
Declaring himself emperor would only be the beginning.
But before any of that...
The entire continent first needed to hear the truth.
The Church had fallen.
And William intended to announce his victory to the world.