"That’s also why I pushed him toward Emily. She could give him things I couldn’t. She could stay beside him without hurting him. She could hold his hand. She could be there."
Catherine breathed out slowly.
"I just wanted him to live a good life... even if that life wasn’t with me."
The room fell quiet after that.
Alice lowered her gaze, not because she was angry, but because she finally understood.
Catherine hadn’t stepped aside because she didn’t love Isaac.
She stepped aside because she loved him too much.
Alice took a slow breath.
And for the first time, she didn’t feel jealousy alone.
She felt understanding.
And there was a strange sense of respect mixed into it.
The mix of emotions brought a hollow feeling to her chest.
Did that mean she didn’t love Isaac?
Even if she knew he would be happy with others, she still wanted him to be happy with only her.
The two thoughts crashed together inside her, and she didn’t know how to sort them out.
"Alice," Professor Catherine said softly.
She moved closer, sat beside Alice, and gently held her hand. One hand wrapped around Alice’s fingers, while the other caressed her head.
"I know what you’re thinking, and it’s wrong. You do love him. Just because you express your feelings differently doesn’t make them false," she said.
Alice slowly raised her gaze.
She looked at Catherine and bit her bottom lip.
"I... I don’t know what I should say to you," Alice whispered. "I know I should tell you to be happy, but..."
Her eyes dropped again.
Even if she decided to accept Isaac and Catherine being together, saying it out loud felt impossible.
Her throat tightened as if something was stuck there and wouldn’t let the words out.
"It’s fine. Just the fact that you’re trying to accept the situation is a step forward," Catherine said.
Alice nodded faintly.
Then she said, "I will tell others about you and Isaac."
Catherine blinked. "Others?"
"Emily and Celia. They need to know too. They won’t react like I did, so you don’t have to worry."
A quiet laugh escaped Catherine’s mouth.
Alice tilted her head. "Why are you laughing?"
Catherine didn’t answer.
She raised a finger to her lips, telling Alice to stay quiet. Then she pointed at the closed door.
A clone of Catherine appeared next to it.
The clone walked silently, reached for the handle, and pulled the door open.
Emily and Celia fell straight through and hit the floor.
They had been stuck to the door while listening. The moment it opened, they rolled forward like dropped potatoes.
Celia recovered first.
She jumped to her feet, brushed off her clothes, and stood straight.
"Ahem. This... what a coincidence!" she said quickly. "We were just looking for you. But when we opened the door—"
"We’re sorry for eavesdropping!" Emily blurted out.
Her face was full of guilt, and she bowed slightly like she wanted to disappear.
Celia stared at her with disbelief. Her eyes widened, wondering why Emily had folded so easily when they haven’t even been accused yet.
Emily didn’t notice her reaction.
And worse, she wasn’t done.
"I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but Celia said we should, saying Alice might try to kill Aunty and bury her in the backyard— Hmph!"
Celia lunged forward and clamped a hand over Emily’s mouth.
"Hey, that’s enough!" Celia said with a strained smile.
Emily’s eyes were wide, and her muffled words kept trying to escape.
Celia turned to Catherine and Alice with a very shaky smile.
"Haha... I was just joking back then," she said weakly.
Inside, Celia was crying.
If she had known Emily would spill everything the moment pressure appeared, she would have done all of this alone.
Alice watched both of them quietly.
Her eyes shifted between Emily and Celia until something clicked.
"You two... knew about Professor Catherine and Isaac."
"Eh? Professor Catherine and Isaac? What are you—"
Celia stopped mid-sentence.
She closed her eyes slowly in pure defeat.
She didn’t need to turn around. She already felt Emily nodding her head behind her.
Celia removed her hand from Emily’s mouth.
"Why did you admit that? What if Alice decides to stab me because we sneaked into her room?" Celia asked while acting as if she would cry.
Emily looked at her with innocent eyes.
"Still... we shouldn’t lie. I don’t want to lie to my family."
"So it’s okay if I get stabbed?!"
"Alice can heal you."
"So you’re agreeing she would stab me?!"
Emily looked away instead of answering.
"Hey! Don’t look away!"
Alice cleared her throat.
"Celia. What is this about sneaking into my room?"
Celia jumped and let out a small squeak.
She grabbed Emily’s shoulder and hid behind her like Emily was a human shield.
After watching Alice tear apart monsters before, Celia had understood one thing very clearly.
This dragon girl liked violence way too much.
Celia had no idea how someone like that awakened a Saintess talent, but she had promised herself that she would never provoke Alice in her life.
"We were going to spend some time with Isaac this morning while he was free. He was in your bathroom then, so we went there," Emily said honestly.
She lowered her head slightly.
"We are sorry about this.
"Still, we didn’t enter when we heard you two talking about Professor Catherine and Isaac," Emily admitted.
"So that’s how you knew," Alice said.
Her voice wasn’t angry, but a mixture of sigh and resignation.
Isaac had probably sensed them.
Since he didn’t say anything back then, Alice didn’t pursue the issue.
Celia felt the temperature drop in her imagination.
She wanted to make some joke or say something smart to lighten the mood.
Something like, "You would’ve attacked me if I said this, but it’s fine if Emily is the one to speak?"
But then she remembered the way Alice had crushed monsters with her bare hands earlier.
Celia closed her mouth wisely.
Alice crossed her arms, looking at the two of them.
Emily stood straight with her head lowered, clearly ashamed of the eavesdropping.
Celia stayed behind Emily, peeking from the side like a nervous squirrel.
Alice let out a slow breath.
She wasn’t angry anymore. She was too tired for that right now.
But watching them made her realize something she hadn’t thought about before.
Her family... was strange.
Very strange.
Maybe because of that, it was a happy family.
Chaotic, but good in its own way.
Emily was honest to the point of danger.
Celia panicked too easily for someone daring like her. And she talked nonsense when stressed.
Professor Catherine was playful and frightening at the same time.
And Isaac...
He was chaotic in his own way.
Alice looked at all three in front of her.
"I’m not angry," she finally said.
Emily let out a breath of relief.
Celia peeked out a tiny bit more from behind her.
Alice continued.
"But you two should stop eavesdropping. It’s not good."
Emily nodded.
Celia nodded three times faster.
Alice looked at Catherine, who was quietly watching the entire scene with a small smile.
Catherine didn’t say anything, but the amusement in her eyes was clear.