The door to Seraphine’s chambers slowly opened, and William stepped inside while carrying the unconscious young woman in a princess carry. His expression remained calm, but his movements were careful as he made his way into the room. Seraphine rested quietly in his arms, completely unaware of her surroundings.
The moment he entered, the atmosphere inside the room changed.
The group of sera’s friends had been gathered around a table discussing the chaotic events that had unfolded throughout the day. Their conversation came to an abrupt halt the instant they noticed William carrying Seraphine.
All of them immediately stood up.
What truly alarmed them, however, was not the fact that Seraphine had lost consciousness.
It was the blood.
From her hair to her clothes, nearly every visible part of her body was stained crimson. Dark red streaks covered her arms, her neck, and even portions of her face. At first glance, it looked as though she had just emerged from a battlefield.
"Oh my God!"
Kara was the first to react.
She rushed forward alongside Katherine and Leila, all three of them looking at Seraphine with obvious concern.
"What happened to her?" she asked anxiously.
"Is she injured?"
"Why is there so much blood?"
William calmly shook his head.
"Relax." His voice remained steady as he looked at the worried girls.
"It isn’t her blood." He adjusted Seraphine slightly in his arms before continuing.
"It belongs to Arwen."
The girls froze.
For a brief moment, none of them knew how to respond to that statement.
William could hardly blame them.
After all, Seraphine’s appearance was enough to make anyone think she had been seriously wounded.
The reality was somewhat different.
For the past several hours, Seraphine had been relentlessly venting the frustration she had accumulated over the years. What had started as anger had gradually evolved into something far more intense as she repeatedly lashed her whip at Arwen without showing any signs of slowing down.
As time passed, she had become increasingly absorbed in her emotions. Eventually, she had stopped paying attention to everything around her.
William had called her name several times.
She had not responded. He had moved closer and spoken directly beside her.
Still no response.
It had almost seemed as though she could no longer hear him.
That was the moment William had become genuinely concerned.
Fortunately, after examining her condition carefully, he realized that her body itself was not in danger. Her mana reserves remained healthy, her bodily functions were stable, and there were no signs that her budding physique had caused any abnormalities.
The issue was entirely mental, her emptions were a mess.
She had placed herself under enormous emotional strain for hours without stopping.
To prevent the situation from worsening, William had quietly used his lunar abilities to calm her mind. The effect had been immediate. Once the overwhelming emotional storm inside her settled down, her exhausted consciousness had simply shut down and allowed her to fall asleep.
Before bringing her back, he had thoroughly checked her condition from head to toe Everything appeared normal.
She simply needed rest.
Looking at the three worried girls standing before him, William offered a reassuring smile.
"She’ll be fine."
The tension in the room visibly eased.
After a few moments, William glanced around before speaking again.
"Could you girls use another room for a while?"
He looked toward the sleeping Seraphine.
"I think she should get some proper rest."
The three girls exchanged glances before nodding.
That request was perfectly reasonable.
Without creating any fuss, they quietly left the room one after another.
Soon, the large chamber became silent.
William slowly approached the bed and carefully lowered Seraphine onto the soft mattress. Even after setting her down, he remained standing beside her for several moments.
The fierce and intimidating woman from the basement was nowhere to be seen now.
Instead, she looked peaceful. Her breathing was calm and steady while her expression had softened considerably during sleep.
William brushed a few loose strands of brown hair away from her face.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"You really were carrying around a lot more stress than I realized."
After a moment, he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.
The gesture had barely ended when another voice suddenly echoed through the room.
"Well, well."
The familiar voice carried a hint of amusement.
"I don’t remember giving you permission to become so touchy with her."
William immediately straightened.
Without even turning around, he let out a long sigh. "Good evening to you too."
Then he turn toward the source of the voice. Selena was seated comfortably on a nearby sofa.
One of her legs rested elegantly over the other while she held a crystal glass filled with elven wine. Her posture was relaxed, but there was still an undeniable aura of authority surrounding her.
William’s gaze briefly shifted toward the glass.
The moment Selena emptied it, the wine somehow replenished itself automatically.
A magical artifact. William immediately recognized it.
Selena took another sip before looking directly at him.
"I only gave you permission to participate in the marriage trials." Her tone remained calm.
"I certainly don’t remember giving you permission to declare yourself her man."
William chuckled.
Instead of becoming embarrassed, he casually walked over and sat down on the sofa opposite her.
"Let’s be honest."
His smile widened slightly.
"The only reason you’re not attacking me right now is because you already have complete confidence that I’m going to win."
Selena’s eyes narrowed.
"William, you’re too confident. You may be the strongest participant, but in the trial you will be the weakest since you will be lacking the most important criteria required," she spoke with a chuckle.
"Oh, and what might that be?" William asked with a curious expression.
Selena replied a bit nonchalantly, "Elven bloodline, not a normal one but one belonging to a high elf."
William chuckled. "Oh, you will be surprised to know there was one of my ancestors from the Solaris clan 25 generations back who married a high elf; I am pretty sure I carry a few drops of their blood."
"Hahahahaha!!" Selena almost spat her wine. "That was a good joke!!"
"No seriously," William spoke with a poker face.
"Prove it then," Selena said plainly, her laughs disappearing as a questioning expression took over.
"Umm!! "I need a day for that," William said. "I need to pray to my elven ancestors and tell them to awaken their bloodline in me."
Selena’s brows touched the roof of her head. "WOW!!" she said with a big mouth. "You are really bad at making things up. Where do you find so much bullshit to speak? From where did you even pick up this habit of lying?"
William smiled lightly. "Heh, just a friend of mine."
[Who exactly?] Orion asked, only to be ignored.