"Who knows~" Catherine replied with a playful smile instead of answering.
He stared at her for a moment before letting out a helpless sigh. If she had no intention of telling him, she really should not have brought it up in the first place, because now she had made him curious for no reason.
He clicked his tongue, drew in a slow breath, and pushed himself to his feet. Catherine immediately pouted when his arms slipped away from her, looking up at him with an expression that was almost impossible to resist.
She knew exactly what that face did to him and was shamelessly taking advantage of it, but this time Isaac forced himself not to give in.
"Let's head home," he said with a small smile.
Catherine's pout deepened for another second before she gave a small nod. "Fine, I'll go home, but you should go see Selene. She's probably still thinking about what happened this morning."
"I was already planning to." Isaac nodded without hesitation.
Wings unfolded from Isaac's back as mana rippled around him. He lifted Catherine with Telekinesis before settling her gently into a princess carry, then gave a single powerful flap of his wings. The two of them shot into the sky, leaving the tree behind in the blink of an eye.
It only took a few seconds before they were hovering above the mansion. Isaac carefully lowered Catherine onto the balcony outside, making sure she landed safely before stepping away. She smiled at him and gave a small wave.
"Don't stay out too late," she said.
"Yes, mom," Isaac replied sarcastically.
Without wasting another moment, he turned back toward the city. His wings beat once, launching him across the skyline toward the Calloway Conglomerate headquarters at full speed. Buildings blurred beneath him as the wind rushed past, but his control over his flight felt steadier than ever.
The enchantments protecting the skyscraper reacted almost immediately. One defensive barrier after another shimmered into existence, trying to stop the unknown intruder before he reached the building.
Isaac never bothered slowing down because the mana behind those formations was nowhere near enough to interfere with him.
He used Emily's bloodline ability to turn intangible. His body phased straight through every barrier as though they were nothing more than thin sheets of mist.
A second later, he folded his wings before spreading them wide inside Selene's office, bringing himself to a perfect stop. His Agility title erased every trace of momentum, leaving the room completely undisturbed without so much as a loose page fluttering.
'I have gotten better at flying,' Isaac thought with quiet satisfaction. A stop like that would have been impossible not too long ago, but now it came naturally enough that he barely had to think about it.
He dismissed his wings and turned toward Selene. She was staring at him with a file still raised in one hand, while a pair of thin-framed glasses rested on her face. For a brief moment, Isaac found himself completely distracted.
'Glasses? Why is she wearing glasses? Her eyesight should be perfectly fine since she's an Apex-ranked species.' He paused for another second before shrugging inwardly. 'Then again, who cares? She looks sexy in them. That's enough of a reason.'
A grin spread across his face. "Was my entrance so impressive that you're still trying to process it?"
"Could you come through the door like a normal person next time? My heart isn't made for entrances like that." Selene lowered the file and gave him a tired look.
Isaac blinked, looking surprised. He had expected some teasing in return, but not such a flat response. Only then did he realize just how much Catherine's story had weighed on her throughout the day.
Before Selene could say anything else, Isaac slipped behind her so quickly that it almost looked like teleportation. His hands settled gently on her shoulders as warm mana flowed into his palms.
"Why is my Selene so grumpy today? Is it because you are exhausted? Let me take care of that," he said.
Hands of Devotion activated as he spoke. It was still one of the strangest things he had ever purchased. It was an S-Rank massage skill from the Time Limited System Shop. Still, the skill had moments where it shined, like right now.
The corners of Selene's lips lifted on instinct before she quickly forced them back down. She deliberately looked back at the paperwork on her desk, pretending she was too busy to react to him. Isaac simply continued the massage without saying another word, patiently working the tension out of her shoulders.
Several minutes passed in comfortable silence. Eventually Selene closed the file, removed her glasses, and placed them neatly on the desk before leaning back into her chair. A long breath escaped her as the stiffness slowly left her body.
She reached behind herself and gently took hold of Isaac's hands. Her thumb slowly brushed across one of his before she lifted both hands toward her lips and kissed his knuckles.
"I'm sorry for replying like that. I… just haven't been able to think straight since this morning," she said quietly as she looked up at him.
Isaac's expression softened immediately. "It's alright. Everyone has days like that, and you don't need to apologize for feeling overwhelmed."
Selene continued looking at him without speaking. Her eyes searched his face as though she wanted to ask something, but every time she seemed ready, she stopped herself. Isaac noticed the hesitation and tilted his head slightly.
"What is it?" he asked.
She hesitated for another moment before finally speaking. "Why are you acting so... normal? You heard everything Catherine experienced during the trial, but you don't seem shaken at all."
The smile slowly disappeared from Isaac's face. He could have laughed it off or made another joke to lighten the mood, but that would have been unfair to her. More importantly, it would have been a lie.
He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Since she had dismissed her horns, he could comfortably rest his chin on top of her head while holding her close. He stayed that way for several seconds before quietly breaking the silence.
"I have to stay normal. If I fall apart too, then who is going to support all of you? How can I be the person everyone leans on when things become difficult if I'm the one losing control?" he asked in a somber voice.
Selene immediately stiffened.
"Isaac, I..." she began, but the words caught in her throat before she could finish.
"Don't apologize," Isaac said gently.
The room fell quiet again before Isaac finally continued. "I'll be honest with you, Selene. I don't really know how I'm supposed to react after hearing all of that."
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, tightening his embrace ever so slightly. "Hearing that I died feels strange, but somehow that isn't what bothers me the most. What hurts is hearing that I couldn't do anything. I couldn't protect the city, I couldn't protect everyone living there, and I couldn't protect you or Celia."
His voice remained calm, but every word carried a weight that was impossible to miss.
"I'm angry," he admitted after another brief silence. "I'm angry at myself for never awakening in that world and for failing the people who mattered most to me. And I'm angry at Mother, the one who caused all of that destruction in the first place."
The words left his mouth more easily than he had expected. It felt strange exposing the parts of himself that he normally kept hidden, because he had always believed his worries were his own burden to carry. Yet as he held Selene close, he realized he did not mind letting his wives see this side of him.
"Mother?" Selene repeated, her voice filled with confusion. She slowly pulled back just enough to look up at him, searching his face for an explanation. "Who are you talking about?"
Isaac let out a quiet breath before answering. "She's... someone who took care of sis and me when we were children. I haven't told anyone this before, but I always knew the city would've been destroyed. It's related to Mother, and Alice's failed awakening. If Alice had failed, you and Chairman Lucius would've eventually threw her out of the city. She would've wandered through the wilderness alone, awakened both her Talent and bloodline there, and then returned. By the time she came back, the city would've already been destroyed…."
As he spoke, Isaac's thoughts drifted back to the beginning of everything. When he had first attended the banquet at the Calloway Mansion, almost everyone there had been openly hostile toward Alice. At the time, he thought it was simply prejudice, but Chairman Lucius later revealed that someone had been manipulating public opinion behind the scenes.
Later that same day, Isaac had encountered Mother, though Catherine had sealed away those memories until much later. Once those memories returned and he learned Alice was a Conqueror Candidate, the missing pieces slowly fell into place.
"It had to be Mother. She manipulated everyone into turning against Alice because she wanted to force Alice's awakening as a Conqueror Candidate. When that failed, the next step would've been sending Alice into exile. After that, she would've brought the Crimson Sky Wyrm to destroy the city. That tragedy would've pushed Alice into awakening," Isaac said, his voice growing colder.
The thought alone made Isaac's jaw tighten. Every time he imagined how carefully those lives had been arranged like pieces on a board, anger rose inside him all over again. He wanted to tear Mother apart with his own hands, but he forced himself to stay calm.
Only then did he notice Selene had gone completely still.
"I... what?" she whispered.
She abruptly stood from her chair and grabbed Isaac's hand with both of hers. Her fingers trembled so badly that she could barely keep hold of him.
"I... I threw Alice out of the city?"
Her eyes shook as tears quickly gathered in them.
Isaac knew exactly what she was thinking.
She was remembering how she had treated Alice throughout their childhood, while Alice had continued trying to treat her like family. Those memories were inseparable from the deaths of Selene's mother and Alice's parents. Although Alice had eventually accepted what happened and still wanted to become a dependable older sister, Selene had spent years unable to move past her grief.
She had simply needed someone to blame. That someone became Alice.
Isaac knew Selene no longer thought that way. Ever since they had reconciled, she had carried nothing but guilt for how she had behaved, and she had been doing everything she could to make up for those years. Even so, hearing that she would have personally exiled Alice in another future was enough to shatter her composure.
"It wasn't you. Mother manipulated both you and Chairman Lucius," Isaac said softly.
Selene looked at him, unable to say anything.
Isaac gently squeezed her hands before explaining everything properly from beginning to end. He told her about the manipulation surrounding Alice, how Mother's plans fit together, and why he believed every tragedy had been carefully arranged to create the perfect conditions for Alice's awakening.
He could have kept all of it to himself. That had been his original intention, just as he had hidden countless other things over the past weeks. But Selene, Alice, and everyone else involved deserved to know that their lives had nearly been controlled by someone else.
More importantly, Isaac was beginning to realize that constantly carrying everything alone was not protecting his family. It was only creating more distance between them.
By the time he finished speaking, Selene's tears were flowing freely.
Without saying a word, she stepped forward and buried her face against his chest. Her shoulders shook as quiet sobs escaped her, dampening the front of his shirt.
Isaac wrapped his arms around her once more and gently rubbed her back.
For someone who always kept his thoughts buried deep inside, today had been unusual. He had admitted his fears, shared his anger, and revealed truths that he had never planned on telling anyone.
Oddly enough, instead of feeling vulnerable, he felt lighter. Maybe trusting his family with these burdens was not a weakness after all. After several minutes, Isaac let out a small sigh and lightly patted the top of her head.
"Alright, that's enough crying. I already told you it wasn't your fault. Mother manipulated you into becoming part of her plan," he said with a gentle smile.
"B-but..." Selene sniffled, trying to speak through her tears. "I... I still..."
She could not even finish the sentence before another sob interrupted her.
Isaac chuckled quietly and continued stroking her hair.
"Come on. What kind of Moon Dragon cries this much? Weren't dragons supposed to be proud and noble creatures?" he joked.
"Stop teasing me. I'm trying to be serious," she mumbled between sniffles, and weakly hit his chest without lifting her head.
"I am serious."
"No, you're not."
Despite her complaint, she only hugged him tighter and buried herself deeper into his embrace, refusing to let go.