It was the next day, around midday, when the sun shone brightest.

Aqua walked from the main mansion back to Cassius’s estate in her usual witch outfit—big hat perched on her head, dark robes flowing behind her, looking as beautiful and commanding as ever.

But right now, she had a deep frown on her face, despite the stunning gardens surrounding her.

This was because she had just returned from visiting her father, one of the reasons she had come back here in the first place.

She had heard he had gone completely insane.

Or rather, he seemed to have lost all his previous ambitions, goals, and drive, turning into a simple, broken man who stayed by his third wife’s grave all day.

Hearing this, she had no choice but to go visit him, even though she had absolutely no desire to see her father.

After all, she had no good memories of him.

He had always been cold. Calculating. Distant.

Even his marriage to her own mother had been anything but loving. It was simply a calculated move to bring the queen of her race to his side as support.

From what she knew, there was no real relationship between her mother and him.

And she herself had barely interacted with him, other than the occasional approving glance he gave when hearing of her achievements in magic.

That was it.

Nothing more.

So she truly did not like her father at all. But she was still his daughter, so she had visited him nonetheless.

And when she saw him, it was exactly as everyone had described.

He just stood by the grave of Cassius’s mother, Lady Florence muttering nonsense under his breath.

His eyes were vacant, lost. His clothes were disheveled. He looked like a man who had simply given up on living.

"What did I do wrong?" He whispered to the headstone. "Did I mess everything up? Is it all my fault?"

Then suddenly, he would start apologizing.

"I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me."

Tears streamed down his weathered face.

"I’m so sorry, darling...for giving up on our son. For abandoning him. For everything."

He rambled on, words tumbling out in a jumbled mess.

When Aqua approached him and tried to call out, he didn’t even notice her at all. He just continued talking to the grave, as if she wasn’t there.

Aqua stood there for a long moment, watching her father, this broken, pathetic shell of a man and felt...nothing.

Not sadness. Not pity. Just emptiness.

She turned and found Wayne, the Patriarch’s right-hand man and also Diana’s former husband standing at a respectful distance. She asked him what had happened, what had caused this.

Hearing this, Wayne’s face went pale as if he recalled a bloody nightmare.

His eyes flickered with something—fear? Horror?—before he quickly looked away.

"There’s nothing wrong." He said, his voice too quick, too rehearsed. "Just...stress over the years. It’s gotten to him. That’s all."

Aqua didn’t believe him for a second.

But she also didn’t care enough to press further.

Her father had treated his family cruelly, especially his own wives.

He was also the reason she and Cassius had been separated when they were young. He had called her a spawn of the devil. A disgrace.

She felt no pity for him at all.

So she left.

—

The moment she stepped into Cassius’s part of the estate, her mood instantly brightened.

She could see maids and sisters moving around, laughing amongst one another, playing games.

Vivi and Nala were doing artwork, even though neither of them had any artistic talent at all.

Watching them made her smile despite herself.

Even though this was just a small corner of the estate compared to the rest, it felt so much warmer. So much happier.

But then the memory of what had happened this morning came flooding back, and she felt a headache coming on again.

Last night, she had spent the entire night alone in the mansion.

Everyone had gone over to Cassius’s...orgy, and she herself had stayed back much to her fluster and irritation.

And this morning, when she woke up, slowly one by one everyone came back.

Every single one of them looked more alive and beautiful than before, with fresh looks of satisfaction on their faces.

Their skin glowed. Their eyes sparkled. They walked with a bounce in their step.

Aqua, who noticed this immediately, knew exactly what had happened.

Part of her was extremely jealous. Furious, even.

By this point, she had already realized her feelings for Cassius. She knew she was in love with her brother and wanted to do so many dirty things with him.

So, seeing everyone else spend the entire night with him, playing with him, being filled by him—it made her chest burn with envy.

Why couldn’t she be there too?!

But another part of her just shook her head and repeated the same old mantra: You’re his sister. You can’t do stuff like that. It’s wrong. It’s taboo.

So she had stayed behind. Alone. Frustrated.

And to make matters worse, she had overheard everyone talking about how amazing the night was.

How vigorous Cassius was. How many times he had performed.

No one spoke about it directly to her, it was too awkward to say such things about her own brother.

But she still heard everything.

Every whispered compliment. Every breathless giggle. Every satisfied sigh.

It drove her insane.

But what made her even more indignant was the fact that she had been utterly betrayed last night.

And betrayed by her best friend, of all people.

— 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Late into the night, Aqua had been standing on the balcony, listening to the distant moans carried on the wind.

She couldn’t sleep. Her thoughts were too restless.

Then she noticed two figures approaching the mansion.

She tensed, ready to blast them away—intruders, perhaps, sneaking in under cover of darkness.

But as they drew closer, she realized they weren’t intruders at all.

It was Carmela and Joy.

Aqua’s heart leaped. Finally, some support! She wasn’t alone anymore!

She was about to rush down and greet them when she froze.

Her eyes widened in horror.

She sensed it immediately.

Joy...had lost her virginity!

Not because Aqua could see blood leaking from Joy’s legs or anything, but because she was extremely sensitive to mana.

As a Grandmaster Mage and because of her race, she could feel the subtle shifts in a person’s magical signature.

Joy’s mana was not as pure as it had been before.

It had changed.

Aqua’s mind reeled.

Who could possibly have done that to Joy?

Who had the guts to seduce the Saint of Judgment?

The woman who chopped off heads for a hobby?

She couldn’t imagine any man alive who would dare.

But then Joy got closer. Close enough for Aqua to sense another presence on her.

Her brother’s scent.

Cassius!

She made the connection instantly.

It was Cassius, her own brother who had taken Joy’s virginity.

His essence was all over her, leaking off her like a second skin.

And it made total sense.

Anyone willing to do something like that to Joy would have to be absolutely fearless.

And Cassius, the ultimate womanizer fit that description perfectly.

Even when it came to someone like Joy, who terrorized criminals for a living, he wouldn’t hesitate.

But at the same time, it made no sense at all.

They were supposed to be rivals. Enemies. Joy hated Cassius or at least, she was supposed to.

There was no way she would let him touch her like that.

And yet, the truth was crystal clear.

Aqua immediately felt an immense sense of betrayal wash over her.

She had grown up with Joy ever since they were children. Through thick and thin, they had always been together.

And now Joy had moved past her. Gotten more experience than her. Had fun with Cassius while Aqua was left behind, still a virgin, still waiting.

She had also always taken comfort in the fact that she and Joy would remain pure and innocent while everyone else around them succumbed to Cassius’s charms.

They were different. Special. Untouchable.

But now even Joy had slipped away and joined the dark side.

Aqua glanced at Carmela, who was walking beside Joy.

She was still a virgin—Aqua could sense that too.

But she also saw the way Carmela looked at Cassius. The way she smiled, secretly, whenever she glanced at him. The way her eyes softened.

...It wouldn’t last long.

Soon, only Aqua would remain the sole virgin in the entire household.

The thought made her want to bang her head against a wall.

—

Now, walking into the mansion, Aqua couldn’t help but let out a deep, heavy sigh.

Part of her was dying to taste Cassius again. To push that massive cock of his inside her body and make love to her brother.

She wanted to feel what everyone else had felt.

Wanted to experience that overwhelming pleasure.

Wanted to be filled with his seed and scream his name.

But the other part, her morality screamed that it was wrong. It pushed the thought away, again and again, like waves crashing against a cliff.

And she absolutely hated herself for even clinging to such morals right now.

It was like everyone else was off on a fun vacation, having the time of their lives, while she was stuck at work, pulling overtime.

Alone. Frustrated. Yearning.

She slowly made her way to the library.

The reason she came here was simple: whenever she felt bad or missed her brother she dove into books.

Studying always calmed her nerves, gave her mind something to focus on besides her own chaotic emotions.

Not to mention, she was still trying to become a Supreme Mage.

There was still time before the agreement to break off her engagement with her master’s son.

But that time was running out. She needed to reach supreme mage level fast.

To do that, she’d been studying intensely on her own.

Of course, there had been many times she wanted to approach Cassius.

After hearing from Aisha and seeing her improvements, she realized he was truly a genius when it came to magic.

He could probably teach her more in a single afternoon than she could learn in a month on her own.

But she didn’t know how to approach him.

Especially since she’d been avoiding him for the past few days, unable to even meet his gaze because of what had happened between them.

So she forced herself to read instead.

But it wasn’t working.

Her eyes scanned the same page over and over without absorbing anything.

Becoming a Supreme Mage wasn’t easy to do all by herself. She needed help. Guidance. A teacher.

But she was too embarrassed to ask.

Overall, she was caught in a difficult position.

Frustrations piled up from all sides.

The problem with Cassius. The looming engagement. The pressure of her studies.

The jealousy of watching everyone else have the time of their lives while she suffered alone.

She felt immensely stressed right now and just slumped into a chair in the corner of the library, pulled her hat down over her eyes, and groaned.

"What am I supposed to do?" She muttered to herself.

But the books around her offered no answers.