Selene coughed and looked away under Isaac’s accusing gaze.
"What does the second skill do?" Alice asked, saving her from having to answer whatever expression Isaac was making.
Selene immediately focused on the System window. It was a convenient distraction, and she took it without hesitation. "I can select a production facility and create an optimal work schedule for it. If the workers follow the schedule, their efficiency increases. To be exact, production speed increases by twenty percent, and worker fatigue is reduced."
For a moment, the room became quiet. Isaac stared at her while Alice did the same. Selene shifted slightly under their gazes, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"Can you use it on Isaac’s farms?" Alice voiced Isaac’s thoughts.
"Well, farms are production facilities, so I should be able to..."
Selene stopped mid-sentence as the implications hit her. Isaac’s farms were already producing far beyond what should have been possible. His growth skills accelerated crops, improved yields, and reduced losses. Adding another twenty percent increase on top of that would create an even larger advantage.
It was not simply twenty percent more crops. It was twenty percent more income, more food reserves, and more resources that could be reinvested into the territory. The effect would ripple through everything Isaac was building.
And that was only at Level 1. The skill would almost certainly become stronger in the future as she gained levels. When viewed that way, the potential was enormous.
"That is an absurdly powerful skill," Isaac said.
Selene blinked at him. Coming from Isaac, whose abilities already felt unfair at times, that statement sounded a little ironic. Even Alice seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"I think that means your class evolution turned out pretty well," Alice said with warm eyes.
A smile slowly appeared on Selene’s face. Maybe she had judged her class too quickly when she first saw its name. Compared to Saintess, it had sounded ordinary, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that there was nothing ordinary about it.
"Congratulations on awakening your Class," Isaac said.
"Thank you," Selene replied.
"So..."
Isaac dragged out the word, causing Selene to glance at him. Only then did she realize he was still holding her. Somehow, during the discussion, she had completely forgotten about that fact.
Her body stiffened slightly. Isaac lowered his head, and the distance between them suddenly felt much smaller than before. His eyes remained fixed on hers, making it difficult for her to look away.
"You did kiss me back in the Trial. But I still haven’t gotten a proper answ—"
"Alice, there is something I wanted to talk about with you."
The words flew out of Selene’s mouth before she could stop them. The interruption was so abrupt that even she winced internally. Across from her, Isaac froze.
For several seconds, nobody spoke. Alice looked at Isaac, then at Selene, before looking back at Isaac again. It did not take a genius to understand what had just happened.
"Okay," Alice said slowly.
Isaac remained motionless for another moment before finally letting go of Selene. A smile appeared on his face, but it looked noticeably strained around the edges. He tried not to let his disappointment show.
"Then I’ll wait outside. We can leave the Soulbind Pendant together after you’re done talking," he said.
"Thank you," Selene replied quickly.
Isaac nodded and headed for the door. As it closed behind him, his thoughts remained unsettled. He had been trying to confess again, and there was no way Selene had failed to understand that.
Back during the Trial, she had kissed his cheek. He had already confessed his feelings once before. Neither of them was confused about what this conversation was supposed to be.
So why had she stopped him?
Embarrassment did not seem like a sufficient explanation. If she had been embarrassed, she could have simply looked away or changed the subject later. Instead, she had interrupted him with a level of urgency that suggested something else was wrong.
Inside the room, Alice quietly studied her sister. Selene was staring down at her lap, twisting the fabric of her clothes between her fingers. The nervousness in her posture was impossible to miss.
"Are you nervous?" Alice asked.
Selene hesitated before nodding.
Alice reached over and took her hand.
"Come on," she said gently. She guided Selene toward the bed, and the two sat beside each other.
"Don’t worry so much. Everything will be alright. Isaac likes you a lot, and honestly, everyone can see it. You just need to tell him how you feel," Alice said.
Selene opened her mouth. The words refused to come out at first, and several uncomfortable seconds passed before she finally forced herself to speak.
"Is this really okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"I know you’ve been helping me," Selene said quietly. "And ever since we were children, it always felt like I was taking things that belonged to you. I love Isaac, but taking him from you..."
Her voice trailed off before she could finish. She bit her lip and lowered her gaze, unable to meet Alice’s eyes. The guilt she was describing did not sound convincing even to her own ears.
Alice stared at her for several seconds. She was happy to share what was hers with Selene. If her sister was happy, it made her happy.
However...
"You’re lying."
Selene froze. Her head snapped up in surprise as she stared at Alice. For a moment, she genuinely did not know how to respond.
"What?"
"That isn’t the real reason you’re worried," Alice said. Her voice remained calm, but there was a certainty behind her words. "What happened during your Class Evolution?"
Selene stared at her. She could not understand how Alice had seen through her so easily. Yet the painful truth was that Alice was right.
The explanation about Isaac was only an excuse. A convenient excuse that allowed her to avoid discussing what truly frightened her. The real issue was something she had not told anyone.
Slowly, Selene lowered her gaze. A familiar screen appeared before her eyes, one that she had been trying very hard not to think about.
[Legacy Quest]
[Objective: Kill War God]
[Rewards: Memories of Selene Calloway’s Past Life, Truth of the World and Apocalypse, ???]
The words had not disappeared. No matter how much she wanted to ignore them, they remained there, waiting patiently. Their existence alone was enough to fill her with unease.
Selene still remembered the vision she had experienced. She remembered the ruined moon, the endless destruction, and the dying Saintess who had cursed the War God with her final breath. Even now, recalling it made her chest feel heavy.
More frightening than the vision itself were the emotions she had felt. The hatred, grief, despair, and betrayal had all felt painfully real. They lingered in her memory long after the vision had ended.
And that terrified her.
Was she that Saintess?
Or had she been someone else entirely?
Perhaps she had been one of the moon dragons who died during that distant era. Perhaps she had been someone whose name history had already forgotten. The quest proved she had a past life, but it revealed nothing about who she had actually been.
That uncertainty frightened her more than any answer could. In fact, part of her had secretly felt relieved when her class evolved into something other than Saintess. For a brief moment, she thought she had escaped that possibility.
But the fear had never truly disappeared.
Because the real problem was not her past. It was the future waiting for her.
What would happen if she somehow received those memories without trying to complete the Quest? Surely, there was a way to gain some of them without the Quest.
What if they were too powerful?
What if the emotions inside them overwhelmed everything that made her who she was now?
Selene clenched her hands together. Her fingers tightened until her knuckles turned white. The questions had haunted her ever since the class evolution.
What if one day she looked at Isaac and saw not Isaac, but the son of the War God? What if hatred replaced affection? What if vengeance became more important than everything she currently cared about?
What if she stopped thinking of Chairman Lucius Calloway as her father? What if her current memories became secondary to those of another life? What if she stopped being Selene altogether?
She didn’t want memories from a past life. She was Selene Calloway, daughter of Lucius Calloway, sister of Alice Calloway, and a resident of Imperium Aeternum City. That was who she was.
Not some Moon Dragon who had lived thousands of years ago.
She didn’t want those memories. But what if she got them anyway? What if the Moon Dragons had left behind some contingency, something hidden in their bloodline—or in one of their remanent sites—that would force their descendants to seek revenge against the War God if they survived?
The pressure had been building inside her ever since she learned about the Legacy Quest. Every time she remembered the hatred and despair she had felt during the vision, fear crept back into her heart.
Now that Alice had asked what was wrong, the dam finally burst. Tears streamed down Selene’s face before she could stop them. She tried to hold them back, but it was useless.
"I... I’m sorry," she choked out between sobs.
Alice immediately panicked. She had expected many things from this conversation, but seeing Selene cry was not one of them. Alice had never been particularly good at comforting people, and now she had no idea what she was supposed to do.
She did the first thing that came to her mind. She wrapped her arms around Selene and pulled her into a hug. Her hand moved awkwardly across Selene’s back as she tried to soothe her.
"It’s okay. Everything is okay. You don’t need to apologize," Alice said softly.
Selene buried her face against Alice’s shoulder and cried. The fear, stress, and uncertainty she had been carrying for so long finally spilled out. For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Eventually, the sobs slowed. Selene’s breathing became steadier, and she finally lifted her head. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were damp with tears.
Alice waited patiently until she was sure Selene had calmed down.
"So, will you tell me what’s happening?" Alice asked.
Selene sniffed and nodded. After taking a moment to collect herself, she began explaining everything. There was no point hiding it anymore.
She told Alice about the Legacy Quest. She described the vision she had seen and the emotions she had experienced. Then she explained her fear that one day she might regain memories that didn’t belong to her and become someone else entirely.
Most importantly, she explained why she was afraid of getting close to Isaac.
As she spoke, another worry lingered in the back of her mind. Ever since becoming a dragon, she could feel certain instincts growing stronger. Possessiveness, attachment, and the desire to protect what belonged to her had become much easier to notice.
Alice was a dragon too.
Maybe Alice would hate her after hearing this. Maybe she would tell Selene to stay away from her beloved. Honestly, part of Selene thought that might be for the best.
If she stayed close to Isaac, he would trust her. And if she changed someday, she would be in the perfect position to hurt him.
When Selene finally finished, the room fell silent. Alice sat there thinking about everything she had heard. The explanation was far heavier than she had expected.
Then Alice nodded.
"That’s okay," she said.
Selene blinked in confusion. That was not the reaction she had prepared herself for. She had expected shock, anger, or at least concern.
Alice continued speaking.
"Even if that happens, I can revive Isaac."
The words were a poor choice but Selene was stunned to see Alice still cared about her. Wasn’t her draconic nature trying to protect her treasure and becoming angry at her for trying to harm her treasure?
Only then did Selene realize she wasn’t an outsider for Alice. She was a treasure too, to her.
"...I know about the life-bond you made with Isaac through your vow. If he dies, you’ll die too. You can’t revive him," Selene said quietly.
Alice immediately fell silent.
The room became awkwardly quiet. Alice opened her mouth, then closed it again. She had no response to that because Selene was completely correct.
For a brief moment, Alice found herself wishing Isaac was secretly listening outside the room. He was always better at handling emotional conversations than she was. Unfortunately, he did not come charging through the door to save her.
That meant she had to figure this out herself.
Alice took a deep breath and thought carefully. She wasn’t good at comforting people, but she couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. Selene needed an answer.
Finally, Alice spoke.
"Then I won’t let him die."
"...What?"
Alice met her eyes directly. Her voice was calm, but there was no hesitation behind her words.
"I’m already strong, and I’ll become even stronger in the future. Whatever happens, I’ll protect Isaac. Even if it’s from you," Alice said.
Selene stared at her.
"So don’t worry about it. Stay with him if that’s what you want. You don’t need to spend every day worrying that you’ll hurt him someday because I won’t let that happen," Alice said.
The logic behind those words was questionable. The plan itself was probably unrealistic. Yet none of that mattered.
Alice genuinely meant every word she said.
That sincerity broke through the fear Selene had been carrying. Fresh tears gathered in her eyes despite her efforts to stop them. Her vision blurred once again.
Before she realized what she was doing, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Alice.
Alice immediately hugged her back. She didn’t say anything this time. She simply held her sister close.
Selene couldn’t even remember the last time she had cried in Alice’s arms like this. Years seemed to have passed since she had allowed herself to be this vulnerable.