As a villain, he could do whatever he wanted.

Page 187

With these thoughts surging within her, Sophia looked up at the blond boy before her and bowed deeply, sincerely. "Today...it feels like I've discovered a completely new world, one I never even knew existed. I'm truly...so happy. And thank you, Miss Sophia, for allowing me to witness such an amazing talent." Lius smiled and accepted her gratitude. "Miss Sophia! You are truly wonderful!"

Helen, who could no longer contain herself, rushed over and stood excitedly in front of the black-haired girl. Her azure eyes were filled with undisguised admiration and joy. "I have never seen anyone like you. On your first time holding a sword, you were able to withstand Prince Lius's fierce attacks for so long! You are simply a genius! An absolute genius in swordsmanship!"

"...Where can I find it?"

Flanked by the two men praising her, Sofia's cheeks flushed again. She smiled shyly, but couldn't suppress the upward curve of her lips.

She glanced at Helen, then at Leus, and a hopeful thought welled up uncontrollably from the bottom of her heart, instantly filling her bright eyes with anticipation.

After taking a deep breath, Sophia looked at the two people beside her again, clenched her fists, and spoke hesitantly, her voice carrying a small, unnoticed longing:

"From now on... from now on, when you guys train, I... I can join in, right?" "Oh?"

As soon as the question was asked, Lius and Helen exchanged glances, then smiled knowingly and nodded vigorously to the black-haired girl in front of them.

"Of course you are welcome."

"We are ready to welcome you anytime, future swordswoman!"

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Sofia's heart was instantly filled with a huge, warm current called "happiness," and her last trace of worry vanished, replaced by the purest and most fervent longing for the future.

And so, a nighttime training session under the moonlight, filled with unexpected surprises and delights, finally came to a successful conclusion.

Inside the training ground, the three, who had just begun to forge a wonderful bond, walked side by side. After tidying up briefly, they headed together towards the main building of the mansion.

"Afterwards, shall we go to my room?"

Considering that the two girls were already drenched in sweat and exhausted, Lius considerately suggested that they go to his room to rest for a while: have some water, chat, and then go back to their respective rooms to take a bath.

"A mistake? To Young Master Lius's...room?" However, as soon as these words were uttered, the girls walking side by side stopped in their tracks, exchanged glances, and looked at Lius with a hint of surprise...

Chapter 442: The Three of Us Together (Part 10)

"You've all been training for so long, you must be tired. Let's go to my room and rest for a bit. I have some good recovery potions and refreshments there, I think you'll all like them."

Looking at the two girls with very different personalities beside him, Lius extended an invitation quite naturally. However, this seemingly normal suggestion made the two girls, who had just recovered from the excitement of the battle, freeze in their tracks.

"read?"

Go. Go to Prince Leus's...room?

This thought, like a thunderclap, exploded in both of their minds simultaneously, causing their cheeks to flush bright red instantly.

That...that's a man's bedroom! And at such a late hour, both Sofia, who had just awakened her fighting talent but still had the heart of a traditional young lady, and Helen, a church bishop who was usually stern and unsmiling, felt a strong sense of unease and resentment stemming from their girlhood.

"No...no need! We can go back to our room ourselves!" "Yes...yes! We won't trouble you!"

The two of them refused almost in unison, in a flustered manner.

"Hehe, it's just a cup of tea and a chat, no need to be so nervous."

Meanwhile, Leus, seeing their adorable, alarmed expressions, couldn't help but chuckle, and said in a gentle tone that left no room for refusal:

"Let's go, let's just say it's... a celebration of the addition of our new training partner."

In the end, under Lius's half-invitation and half-command, the two girls, whose hearts were filled with ambition and confusion, followed him step by step, like two little white rabbits led into a fox's den, until they arrived at the door that was full of taboo and mystery to them.

The moment they stepped into the room, an air filled with a faint scent of ink, the clean smell of soap, and a refreshing aroma unique to young men enveloped them.

The room was spacious and clean, not as luxurious as they had imagined, but rather exuded a scholarly, understated, and bookish atmosphere. Against one wall was a huge bookshelf, crammed with various heavy magical tomes, while on the desk were neatly arranged quills, ink bottles, and several parchment sheets covered with intricate magic circles.

The most eye-catching thing in the entire room was undoubtedly the enormous, incredibly soft and comfortable mattress placed in the center. After Lius's repeated invitations, the two girls finally blushed and, like puppets on strings, stiffly walked to the bedside, carefully sitting down using only a small corner of the mattress.

"Wow, the moment we sat down, the amazing texture that emanated from our skin, as if it were about to engulf us, made the two of us let out a small, satisfied exclamation."

"So smooth!" It was even more comfortable than the bed prepared for the bishop in the church. This unexpected comfort greatly relieved the tension and embarrassment in the two women, and their tense bodies gradually relaxed.

Lius smiled and poured each of them a cup of fragrant herbal tea. Then he sat down naturally beside them, and the three of them, with the bedding as their mat, began a relaxed night conversation, maintaining a safe but not too far distance between them.

They chatted about the training they had just finished. Lius analyzed in detail the strengths and weaknesses Sophia had demonstrated in the battle, while Helen occasionally added her own insights. Sophia listened attentively, nodding repeatedly, and benefited greatly from the discussion.

They also discussed profound magic. Lius went from the use of elements in battle to the basic theories of constructing magic circles. This extensive knowledge made Sofia, who was also very interested in this topic, gleam with admiration, and even Helen listened with great interest.

And so, the atmosphere among the three of them became more and more harmonious and warm, as if the awkwardness and misunderstandings of the daytime had never happened.

However... just as the atmosphere of this late-night conversation reached its peak, a small accident occurred.

Helen, who had been somewhat absent-minded and would occasionally steal glances at Sophia before quickly looking away, suddenly put down her teacup.

Looking towards Leus, the red-haired girl nervously swallowed, and then, under the somewhat puzzled gazes of Leus and Sophia, as if she had made some great decision, she slowly, little by little, moved her position towards Leus.

After a moment of hesitation, Helen took a deep breath, seemingly trying to organize her thoughts, and finally raised her head, looking directly at Lius again. Her azure eyes were filled with an extremely complex mix of curiosity, entanglement, and a hint of resentment that she herself was unaware of.

She looked at Lius and, in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, almost dreamlike, asked the question that had been nagging at her all day and was driving her crazy.

"Young Master Lius, regarding that matter this afternoon in the backyard, concerning you and...and Miss Sophia's mother, that is, Ms. Aurora..."

It was as if an invisible bomb called "Silence" had exploded in the very center of the room.

The warm, cheerful atmosphere that was just a moment ago seemed to have been sucked out, becoming solidified, cold, and filled with an awkward, suffocating feeling.

A deathly, almost imperceptible silence fell over the room. "Read?"

Sophia's smile froze completely. She stared blankly, as if she hadn't heard what Helen had just said. Her beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief and confusion.

Mother?

And Prince Lius? In the backyard, Lius was also completely stunned by Helen's sudden, "epic" question. The gentle smile on his face froze for a moment, and a pure surprise, which he himself had not expected, flashed in his eyes.

The three of them just stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Sophia's resignation, Helen's regret and shame that surged into her heart the moment she finished asking the question, and Lius's mistake that was a mixture of surprise and helplessness.

Three distinct emotions intertwined and collided in this eerie silence, making the atmosphere in the room increasingly...indescribable.

Chapter 443: On Emotional Life (Part 1)

An eerie silence filled the air, instantly turning the once lively room into a quiet place. The two girls looked towards Lius with different expressions, their faces showing surprise and hesitation.

As for Lius, facing the girl's gaze, he was somewhat surprised by Helen's sudden attack, and immediately began to think about how to respond to the question posed by the red-haired girl, especially in front of Sophia.

Finally, after some thought, Lius broke the silence by letting out a few deliberate, slightly dry coughs, drawing the girl's attention.

The sound was crystal clear, like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating a tiny crack in the almost suffocating, heavy, almost tangible silence, allowing the air to flow again, and like a silent signal, letting time, which had been frozen, begin to move slowly again.

Upon hearing this voice, Sophia's eyes, which had lost focus due to excessive shock, narrowed slightly, as if she were trying to calm herself down. After taking a deep breath, she finally regained some composure and looked at Lius in front of her with a slightly hesitant gaze.

As Prince Lius uttered these weak words, Sophia seemed somewhat nervous. She first pressed her gaze against Lius's face, then involuntarily turned her gaze to the red-haired bishop beside her who had asked this startling question. Her lips were slightly parted, as if she had many questions to ask, but could not utter a single word.

"Mother...and Prince Leus...were intimate in the backyard??? In love?" Is that...what I mean...?

These simple words, when put together, formed a chaotic torrent of information with destructive power, frantically assaulting her tired nerves that had just calmed down from the battle, plunging her entire brain into an unprecedented state of astonishment, with her mouth pounding.

"Although I already knew that Prince Lius's private life was quite strange, but... he actually had a relationship with my mother... Could it be... that this was also within the scope of my mother's expectations? That's why she always wanted me to be with Prince Lius. This was entirely her idea." Such thoughts flooded the girl's mind, causing Sofia to clench her fists as she tried to process everything she had heard.

As for Helen, after asking that question, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength. Her whole body was taut, and she sat upright with her lips pursed, quietly waiting for what would happen next.

At this moment, she dared not look at Sophia's expression, but stared intently at Lius with a complex gaze that was a mixture of scrutiny, inquiry, and a hint of bittersweet expectation that she herself was unaware of, waiting for his "judgment" "this".

Faced with the two girls' gazes, which were completely different yet equally oppressive, the surprise on Lius's face slowly faded, replaced by a calm that was a mixture of helplessness, tenderness, and utter composure.

After some thought, he roughly knew how to answer. Since Sophia already knew about his philandering, adding another philandering debt wouldn't be surprising.

Holding onto this thought, Leus finally made a decision. He didn't choose to run away, nor did he try to sugarcoat it with lies. Instead, after taking a deep breath, he spoke first:

"Helen."

Maintaining a serious tone, Leus first glanced at the red-haired girl beside him, whose face clearly showed "I'm going all out," before speaking in a calm and gentle voice:

"Regarding your question... I think this needs to be explained to Miss Sophia first, and there's nothing to hide." As soon as he finished speaking, Lius felt their gazes fall on his face again, and he had successfully drawn all the attention in the room to himself.

In this state, Leus straightened his expression, turned his gaze to Sophia's pretty face, which was still filled with composure and confusion, sighed softly, and then, in a tone almost like stating a fact, without the slightest affectation, slowly revealed the unexpected truth:

“Miss Sophia, Helen… is not wrong. Indeed, as you think, this afternoon I did… have a… very intimate moment with your mother, Ms. Aurora, in the backyard.”

Despite having prepared herself mentally, Sophia's heart still skipped a beat when Leus confessed everything so frankly and without any pretense.

"Really?" "Yes, Ms. Aurora and I have had a very deep relationship since long ago, due to some business and family collaborations." Lius didn't look at her suddenly wide-eyed eyes, but calmly continued, "We are each other's most trusted partners and allies who can rely on each other. In the past few years, we have faced many crises together and shared many joys."

As he spoke, the boy's voice carried a hint of reminiscence for the past, making the emotions that had settled over the years seem so real and so profound.

"Throughout this long and supportive relationship, our bond has naturally transcended that of mere allies. We've discovered that an inseparable and profound love has blossomed between us. So, just as Miss Sophia has thought…" At the end, Lius took another deep breath, his gaze meeting Sophia's astonished eyes, and solemnly made his final declaration:

"Ms. Aurora and I are indeed in love with each other."

Faced with Lius's admission, Sophia narrowed her eyes, her shock growing even stronger. Beneath this shock lay a hidden understanding and acceptance of the current situation, leaving the black-haired girl in a daze, processing everything she had heard.

Chapter 444: On Emotional Life (Part Two)

"So that's how it is." Lius's frank confession was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, completely crushing Sophia's already shaky and fragile cognition. It also caused countless fragmented images that she had ignored to flash through her mind. She recalled the captivating smile that always appeared on her mother's lips when Lius was mentioned, full of a strange radiance; her charming eyes that always sparkled with a peculiar light when talking about Prince Lius; and the words that Lia had spoken to her in the courtyard earlier about Prince Lius's family.

So that's how it was. Everything I saw and heard had already foreshadowed the truth. It's just that I was... too oblivious, and too... naive.

She had always thought that she only needed to "accept" girls like Leah and Helen, who were around her age! She never dreamed that, in addition to these, she would also have to face her own mother... With this thought, an unprecedentedly complex feeling, like a surging tide, instantly overwhelmed her. But strangely, after the initial shock and confusion, Sophia did not feel the expected confusion and resentment towards her mother and Lius's "betrayal".

Perhaps it was because she had already become aware of this after witnessing Lius's private life before, or perhaps it was because she had personally witnessed the powerful, absolute strength and charm of this blond boy tonight, strength that could distort any rule.

Faced with such absolute and irresistible "power," worldly ethics and morality seemed to become...no longer so important. With this thought in mind, a strange...admiration for her mother even quietly rose in Sophia's heart.

To be able to conquer such a god-like man, one's own mother... turns out, is far more... remarkable than one could have imagined.

"Uh, has my brain gone mad?" For a moment, realizing these thoughts of hers, Sophia felt a mix of emotions. On her beautiful face, surprise, confusion, understanding, admiration... all sorts of complex emotions intertwined, plunging her into a strange and deep state of thought, and she remained silent for a long time.

On the other side, after listening to Lius's explanation, Helen nodded slowly and solemnly.

Her heart, which had been pounding in her chest, finally felt a little relieved. Just as she had suspected...

The relationship between Prince Leus and Lady Aurora was not the simple, lustful affair he initially imagined, but a deeper "family" bond built on long-term cooperation and trust.

Although this conclusion still left her feeling somewhat bittersweet, it at least did not shake her trust in Prince Lius's character and even gave her a clearer understanding of this man's "philanthropy".

But then a new and more perplexing question surfaced in her mind.

If the relationship between Prince Leus and Lady Aurora falls into the category of "lovers"... then what about Miss Sophia? As Lady Aurora's daughter, she is now also to become Prince Leus's partner... so how will these two women get along in the future?

This question was far beyond Helen's comprehension, and far too challenging for her understanding, given that she had grown up in the hierarchical and clearly defined environment of the church.

So, after hesitating for a moment, she spoke again, in a tone full of curiosity, caution, and tentativeness:

Then, as Prince Leus looked at Leus, Helen spoke softly with some unease, glancing again at Sophia who was lost in thought beside her, and asked in a low voice:

"I...I have another question...If, I mean, if it's as you say...then...is it...very normal in a typical noble family for two people, mu and ni, to serve or, rather...to love the same man together?"

"Ok?"

This question was like a small bomb detonating in the silent snow; though not powerful, its impact was enough to make the atmosphere, which had just eased, incredibly eerie once again. Almost simultaneously, Leus and Sophia, who had just snapped out of their thoughts, both turned sharply to look at the red-haired bishop who had asked the question, with expressions of utter disbelief and disbelief.

"Um... I... Did I... ask some weird question again?"

Feeling the shocked gazes of the two men, Helen shuddered and shrank back somewhat guiltily, her voice growing softer and softer, tinged with a hint of grievance.

She knew her question might be a little inappropriate, but she really didn't know! In her world, the word "mother" had always been a distant and sacred symbol.

Her mother was a contemporary saint revered by thousands in the church, an otherworldly being who seemed like a living icon. From childhood to adulthood, she had only seen her mother a handful of times. Each meeting was like a solemn and formal meeting, full of etiquette and distance, completely devoid of the warmth and intimacy between an ordinary mother and daughter. She didn't know if an ordinary daughter would be affectionate with her mother, or if an ordinary daughter would share her love with her mother first.

Now, faced with this situation, Helen is even more unsure how an ordinary daughter would react if she discovered that the man she loves also has an ambiguous relationship with her mother.

These questions might be common sense for ordinary people, but for her, they were completely unknown, a blank field that required someone else to explain them to her.

Because... Because seeing the still shocked looks in their eyes, Helen felt her cheeks burning. She could only defend herself in a voice almost to herself, tinged with frustration:

"I...I don't really understand how a mother and daughter should get along...My mother...she...she rarely spends time with me." So...I...I need to ask someone else to explain it to me so I can understand the true feelings of how ordinary families get along. As she finished speaking, her voice carried a deep sense of melancholy she herself hadn't noticed, and an endless longing for the ordinary family affection she had never experienced. "Hmm, my mother?" After hearing Helen's words, the initial shock on Lius and Sophia's faces slowly faded, replaced by a more complex expression, a mixture of regret and understanding.

Chapter 445: On Emotional Life (Part 3)

Helen's soft confession, tinged with grievance and loneliness, swept into the hearts of the three people in the room like a gust of wind, creating ripples that were both incredibly clear and incredibly long.

The deep longing for "ordinary family affection" in her words formed a stark and heartbreaking contrast with her usual solemn and powerful image as a church bishop.

"Over here, after hearing Helen's story, the shock on Lius's face slowly faded, replaced by a deeper gentleness, a mixture of understanding and tenderness."

He looked at the red-haired girl in front of him, who had revealed the softest and most vulnerable side of her heart. After thinking for a while, he seemed to have thought of something, and a faint, gentle ripple appeared in his eyes.