"Ah, it’s you!"

Estelle concluded that the series of events centered around her now being able to influence major plots were connected to this young man infront of her.

’If that’s true...’ At that moment, Estelle contemplated her life where she was nothing but a puppet bound by destiny.

However, now she found a glimmer of hope in her otherwise dark world.

’What if, everything returned to normal?’ Suddenly, she feared that if the boy in front of her disappeared or distanced himself from her, her new world might collapse, causing panic to surge within her,’no, no’

’Think, Estelle’, Her mind raced to find a way to keep the young man close to her,’No, severing his limbs or taking hostage... no, that’s not an option either’

She dismissed several ideas that crossed her mind, glancing at Zeph, who, noticing her gaze fixed on him, cautiously prepared for a potential attack, causing her lips to twitch,’ he is irritating...but..’

Her heart battled against her mind.

Despite her desire to rescue her family, she found herself struggling to accept the plan that her heart had chosen.

The weight of her emotions had left her feeling overwhelmed and uncertain, causing her mind to resist the idea.

Finally, she concluded, loosening her grip, averting her gaze not looking at Zeph due to embarrassment, feeling the triumph of her heart over her rationality.

"Y-you wretched human! Consider yourself lucky that I’ve chosen you as my husband"

’Ugh, so embarrassing’, Her face flushed entirely as her mind swirled with various thoughts, one of which urged her to flee and hide somewhere.

"S-sorry?", Zeph not understanding what she was blabbering out of nowhere.

’Is this some strategy of hers to let my guard down’, Estelle’s sudden declaration was the last thing he would have expected in this situation, where they were just doing a death battle a moment ago.

’Damn it’ Upon hearing Zeph’s words that were forcing her to repeat herself, she clenched her fist, slowly turning her eyes towards him.

With her face crimson, she struggled to articulate her thoughts,’ I will kill you one day for this, damn human’

Finally managing to speak, her lips parted, while hiding her embarrassment inside her confident facade, "I want you to marry me!"

Her face flushed even more and her mind became hazy as she processed her own words, feeling her face becoming warm while her heartbeat quickened, she consoled herself ’It’s okay, Estelle, it’s for your family.’

’But what if this wretched human tried to touch me?’, suddenly feeling anxious she clasped her face between her hands, fully aware that it would be impossible for him to reject her beauty.

If they did come together, what if Zeph demanded further progression in their relationship?

"Of course not," Zeph said with a blank face, rejecting her proposal without a single thought.

"Excuse me?" Estelle turned towards him, attempting to understand his words, dismissing the possibility of rejection —believing no man could reject her.

"You, excuse me," Zeph raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, shrugging his shoulders as he approached the glowing barrier.

Inside, a figure with large emerald eyes and flowing caramel hair observed him intently.

Moving closer to Thalia within the barrier, Zeph tenderly traced a strand of her hair placing it behind her ears, creating a romantic moment between them.

Meanwhile, Estelle gazed on in a blank state, her mind still trying to process Zeph’s rejection and make sense of the unfolding situation.

"You see, I am already married," he softly spoke, as Thalia leaned into his hand, causing Zeph’s mouth to twitch,’You idiot, it’s not the time for romance’

He had already taken every step to stall Estelle’s attacks, deliberately entering the barrier to allow Seraphina to mitigate the side effects of Guinier’s demonic energy on his brain.

Maintaining his posture grew increasingly challenging. ’Seraphina, quicker.’

[Human, you should di—]

’Mute,’ he interrupted Seraphina, feeling a headache building, not intense enough to completely make him fall into unconsciousness, but still, he halted her speech which was bothersome.

He rubbed his temples, trying to recall the name of Seraphina’s healing ability.

"Z-zeph, are you alright?" Thalia was startled seeing Zeph struggle to maintain his balance, Swiftly moving forward to support him.

"I-it’s okay, I am fine," Zeph assured Thalia, feeling a sense of urgency.

If Estelle attacked now, he’d be defenseless or compelled to resort to Nexus—an option he avoided, aware of the entity inside this ocean.

’Come on... Ugh,’ gritting his teeth, he strained his mind to recall the ability’s name but came up empty.

’Shit,’ His balance suddenly faltered, unable to steady himself, causing him to fall onto Thalia for support.

"Zeph!" Thalia helped him regain balance, swiftly turning towards Estelle, who was still attempting to comprehend Zeph’s rejection.

"You idiot! Look what you’ve done to him. Help him now," Thalia scolded Estelle, who snapped out of her dilemma, in confusion of her own emotions and situation, rushing to assist both Zeph and Thalia.

’Fish is in the net now,’ Thalia thought, observing the woman who had displayed haughtiness moments ago but was now focused on aiding Zeph, who struggled to maintain his balance.

Feeling an urgent need to assist Zeph, Estelle was gripped by a sense of impending crisis to not let something happen to him, unaware of the potential consequences that awaited her.

This behaviour of her was exactly what Thalia had anticipated.

Reflecting on the moment, Thalia recalled the first time her intuition about Alisia Quintain had surfaced during their first day of second year inside the academy.

It drove her to assess all the capable women in the third year, determined to protect her man from their grasp.

Among them, she discovered Estelle Collins, ranked second, a Craten, and hailed as a prodigy—officially, that was all she knew.

As a second-year student, she couldn’t delve further into inquiries about her, leaving her knowledge limited.

But now observing Estelle, Thalia comprehended how easily this woman could be controlled.

After all, humans who are slaves to their emotions are very easy to manipulate.

She too was a slave, one that belonged to most strong emotion called love, even making her act stupid to get a single attention of the person she loved.

But now,

There was no reason for her to feign cuteness anymore.

Her face flushed red as her gaze fell upon Zeph’s neck, marked with a red, round impression — a love bite.

Remembering how her façade had shattered earlier that night, the overwhelming intensity of their emotions made her avert her gaze.

"Focus, Thalia," she directed her attention toward Estelle, who was struggling to support Zeph, unaware of why he suddenly became so heavy. Thalia used both her hands to assist him.

Unbeknownst to her, Zeph, understanding Thalia’s intention to escape this crisis, pretended to be half unconscious.

"Can I ask why you attacked us out of nowhere?" Thalia interjected to prevent Estelle from saying more. "Oh Zeph, pull yourself together."

"This... I accidentally collided with your barrier, but you attacked me," Estelle explained, feeling embarrassed for her excessive actions, realizing a more calm approach might have sufficed.

"Um, I apologize," Thalia swiftly released Zeph and bowed deeply, surprising him, yet she was aided by Estelle, who, observing his severe condition, accepted their apology. "No, it’s okay."

’Fooled you.’ Both Zeph and Thalia exchanged a glance, feeling content for accomplishing their mission.

Thalia noticed Estelle’s attack on Zeph and realized the immense battle power possessed by her, leaving her feeling helpless and forcing her to devise a plan.

Normally, she would have instinctively shown Estelle what it meant to encroach on her man, but their lives were currently in danger.

Thalia understood that Estelle must have a critical reason for proposing to Zeph, attempting to keep him by her side.

At that moment, Thalia cared less about his safety, considering that Estelle couldn’t harm what she needed.

Thalia strategically used Zeph as a shield to buy some time in the midst of the ocean, contemplating another plan while Zeph, understanding her intentions, cooperated.

"Could you assist us, please?" Thalia requested, recognizing that in the middle of the ocean, they might somehow utilize Estelle’s aid to survive and depart at the opportune moment.

"M-me?", Estelle, surprised by the request, pointed at herself, feeling a sense of responsibility to aid her juniors.

Turning towards zeph, she understood her priorities.

Though uncertain about the outcome if Zeph departed, Estelle preferred not to take any risks when she could utilize his presence for her own purposes.

"Come to my home," Estelle suggested with a smile, glancing at Thalia, who seemed grateful.

Zeph, however, found his mind in turmoil.

He felt torn between protecting Thalia, potentially utilizing Seraphina, and the looming prospect of entering Thallasar.

Moreover, the Collins residence, where the man he aimed to avoid at all costs resided, posed an added dilemma.

’But, first have to deal with this shit’, His gaze fell upon the bulge in his pants caused by the four soft peaks pressing against his bare body from both sides.

Of course, he was in love with Thalia, but he’d have to be an eunuch to not get aroused in this situation.

"Hey, Estelle, do you realize you’re touching another woman’s husband’s bare body?"