Isaac yawned as pale morning rays slipped through the curtains and settled across the bed.
The light felt warm, but his body still carried the weight of yesterday’s exhaustion. He shifted slightly and pulled Emily closer without opening his eyes.
She made a quiet sound in her sleep and pressed against him, her breathing slow and steady.
For a moment, Isaac considered ignoring the world entirely and going back to sleep. After everything that had happened the previous day—the chaos, the battles, the endless administrative work—rest felt like the most valuable thing in existence.
’I’ll sleep just five more minutes,’ he thought to himself.
Unfortunately, the world had other plans.
A series of loud knocks hit the door.
Isaac frowned but didn’t move.
The knocking came again, louder this time.
He opened one eye.
The third round of knocking sounded less like knocking and more like an attempt to break the door down.
Isaac groaned and slowly sat up, his hair messy and his mind still foggy. He glanced at Emily. She hadn’t woken up. Her face looked peaceful, and he didn’t want to disturb her.
"I’m coming," he said hoarsely, stretching his arms as he stood. "Jeez. Who is it early morning—"
He opened the door.
His words died immediately.
Alice stood outside, staring at him with an expression that could only be described as murderous irritation. Her arms were crossed, and her tail flicked behind her in sharp, agitated movements.
She looked like she had been waiting for this moment.
Isaac blinked.
Then he checked her status out of concern.
[Status 2: Wants to punch your face.]
Isaac unconsciously took a step back.
Alice took one forward.
"Are you crazy?" she spat. "Did you really take Emily outside out of the house while she was naked? This is too much, even for you, Isaac. You can’t—"
"We were in a mirror dimension," Isaac said, cutting her off.
The tension inside him loosened immediately. So that was the problem.
"...really?" Alice asked, her voice losing its edge.
"Yes. You should know there is no way I would bring Emily outside like that in the real world," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Alice’s shoulders relaxed.
The anger drained from her face and was replaced by visible embarrassment. Her tail twitched slightly, and she avoided looking directly at him.
"Right. That makes sense," she said quietly. "Sorry about disturbing you in the morning."
"That’s not a problem— Wait, how did you know about what I did last night?"
Alice froze.
She turned around almost immediately.
"I have something to do with Celia, so I—"
"Where are you going?"
Isaac stepped forward and lightly pressed his foot on her tail.
Normally, that would have resulted in immediate retaliation. Alice was very protective of her tail.
This time, she didn’t react, as if she had not noticed it, and kept trying to leave.
That alone confirmed Isaac’s suspicion.
"How did you know what I did last night? You were at Calloway Estate yesterday."
Alice remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she sighed.
He was going to find out either way.
"Check your device."
"...."
Isaac’s expression changed instantly.
The last time someone had told him those exact words, his life had become unnecessarily complicated. Celia had posted their couple pictures online, and Isaac had somehow become public enemy number one among her fans.
He still remembered the flood of messages.
’I guess I have to praise Celia I’m starting to get anxious whenever I hear something related to her from someone else. She really has a way of leaving impressions,’ he thought tiredly.
Hoping it wasn’t anything too serious, Isaac grabbed his device from the bedside table and unlocked it.
First, he checked Celia’s public media account.
Nothing unusual.
Then he opened the trending news feed.
The first article showed Alice surrounded by people as she healed them during yesterday.
Another article talked about the new district where buildings made from living trees had begun to grow, drawing attention from architects and environmental groups.
There was also coverage of Isaac’s newly announced administrative reforms in Fortified City 50.
And, as expected, Celia’s fanbase was still complaining about him.
Thankfully, nothing about his private life appeared.
Isaac let out a quiet sigh of relief and looked back at Alice.
"There is nothing here."
"Check the private messaging app," Alice said.
Isaac opened it.
He had asked Ruby to create a separate account for him that only close friends and family knew about. The app opened quickly, and one notification stood out immediately.
[Home]
It was a group chat.
The members were Celia, Isaac, Alice, Emily, and Professor Catherine.
Isaac felt uneasy the moment he noticed one person missing.
Sword Empress wasn’t in the group.
There must be a reason if she was excluded.
And Isaac found that reason the moment he opened the chat history.
"...did she record the video last night and share it?" he said slowly.
Alice didn’t respond.
Isaac scrolled through the messages.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Celia had also mentioned the deed Isaac and she did in the Ashfang Tribe.
Isaac continued reading the morning chats.
Then he stopped.
"Celia is saying she would share more videos in the future if you share the videos you have...?" he said, confused. "Why would you guys share something like this? No, wait. You have videos like this?"
Alice looked away.
"Alice."
"I don’t know what she is talking about."
Her denial came too quickly.
Isaac’s lips twitched slightly.
He lowered his gaze and continued reading.
The messages explained everything.
Apparently, Emily had recorded a few videos for Alice when Alice had gone to Calloway Estate for several days in the past. In return, Alice had taught Emily a few... bedroom tricks.
Isaac suddenly remembered that period.
Emily had returned noticeably more confident, though he hadn’t questioned it much at the time.
She had even tried faking sleep, hoping Isaac would pounce on her.
He finished reading the chats and looked at Alice with a speechless expression.
Alice still refused to meet his gaze.
The tips of her ears had turned red.