The young girl lifted her head, her amethyst eyes brimming with innocence and confusion: “Why, Mama?”
She tilted her head, watching as her mother nervously drew the heavy curtains tight, shutting out even the last sliver of moonlight.
Only the weak, flickering glow of the oil lamp remained in the room.
In the lamp’s light, one could just make out a faint, ethereal violet shimmer flowing at the edges of little Lia’s pupils.
The woman crouched down, gripping Lia’s slender shoulders tightly, her hold a bit too firm.
“No reason!”
“Remember what Mama said! Never, ever let your eyes or your hair become like they just were in front of anyone else!!”
“But… I just wanted to make Mama happy…” Lia mumbled softly in protest, her voice tinged with grievance.
She didn’t understand—she only wanted to show Mama a little “magic trick” she’d recently learned, just to make her happy. But instead, Mama had become so frightened.
“No means no.” Her mother cut her off, voice growing even more urgent.
“Lia, listen to me. This world… isn’t kind to children with traits like yours. If someone discovers it—if they realize you’re different from the other children—we might… we might never be able to stay here again. Something very, very terrible could even happen.”
Within her mother’s voice was a kind of despair that little Lia couldn’t fully comprehend at the time.
Then, her mother reached out, gently brushing the corner of Lia’s eye, as if wishing she could wipe away that strange hue completely.
“Promise Mama, Lia, treat it as the most important secret between us, and hide it in the deepest part of your heart, alright? For Mama’s sake, and for yourself…”
Little Lia gazed at the tears brimming in her mother’s eyes. Though still lost in confusion, she instinctively sensed the gravity of the matter.
She nodded hard and whispered her promise: “Mm… I promise, Mama. This is our secret. I won’t tell anyone.”
One day, in Aphrodite’s mansion, in a certain room.
The soft afternoon sunlight streamed through the guest room window, broken into scattered spots by the carved wooden lattice and quietly sprinkled across the dark floorboards.
A faint, soothing scent of herbs filled the air, coming from a small incense burner atop the bedside table, where wisps of near-invisible blue smoke drifted upward.
The room was simply yet comfortably furnished, but if one probed with magical senses, they would find extremely subtle magical fluctuations, almost blending seamlessly with the environment.
A layer of translucent, water-like barrier silently shrouded the entire room, cutting off sound and presence from the outside world.
This was Bella’s careful arrangement, intended to ensure that the girl would not be disturbed while she slept, and also to prevent the unique aura she unconsciously emitted from attracting unwanted attention.
And of course, most importantly—to keep the girl confined to the room, preventing her from escaping should she suddenly awaken.
At this moment, Aphrodite was standing by the bed, looking down at the sleeping black-haired girl.
As for Bella… she truly wasn’t in the mansion these days.
Since Aphrodite had made it clear she would reside here for a year or two, the daily running of the mansion, which Bella had barely managed on her own, suddenly seemed overwhelmingly inadequate.
A few days ago, she’d gone to the central district, not only to purchase essentials for the short term, but more importantly, to start recruiting a reliable group of maids.
In the past, to prevent anyone discovering that “Aphrodite” was actually just an unmoving shell, Bella did everything herself, only hiring temporary help for large-scale cleaning or when urgent needs arose.
But now, with Aphrodite not only returned but planning to stay permanently, it was clearly unrealistic for Bella to run such a grand mansion alone.
Moreover, with the reappearance of the “Aphrodite” candidate Saintess after a long absence—and her having solved such a major crisis upon her return—all sorts of factions suddenly sought her out, invitations and negotiations piling up.
As Aphrodite’s sole public representative and manager, Bella was obliged to handle these matters herself. Even though the banquet was still some time away, the initial networking and preparations had already begun.
So, after making initial arrangements for hiring staff, Bella had no choice but to go out and handle these upcoming social and official duties.
Before leaving, Bella had given many careful instructions, and at the very end, couldn’t help but embrace Aphrodite.
She hugged her for a long, long time—so long that all the sounds around them seemed to still, leaving only the beating of their hearts.
It was not until a bird’s cry broke the silence that Bella finally, reluctantly, let go.
In the end, she left with a hurried, “Milady, Bella will be back as soon as possible,” and departed in haste.
With Bella gone, and still some days until that headache-inducing banquet, Aphrodite’s life was, of course, rather dull.
To pass the time, besides wandering idly through the mansion, Aphrodite had added a new unchanging routine—checking in on the condition of the black-haired girl.
At first, these daily visits might have stemmed from curiosity about the strange change in her own core, as well as simple boredom.
But at some point, an emotion crept in that even Aphrodite herself failed to notice.
Especially now, with Bella absent, looking at the girl’s peaceful sleeping face, Aphrodite would sometimes be reminded of Bella’s childhood.
“Sigh, how much longer will she sleep…” Aphrodite couldn’t resist poking the girl’s soft cheek.
Her gaze drifted over the girl’s serene features, the long black hair splayed across the pillow.
But as her eyes wandered, Aphrodite’s gaze suddenly froze.
She leaned in a little, blinking in disbelief.
Beneath the black hair at the girl’s temple, faintly visible, was the very fine, sharply contoured tip of… an ear?
That was definitely not a human’s rounded ear!
Aphrodite had never noticed this in her previous visits.
She instinctively reached out, gently brushing aside the strands of hair on that side.
Now she saw it clearly—a petite, distinctly pointed ear.
Along with the strong aura of darkness about the girl…
“An Elf… and demonkin hybrid? That’s truly rare…” Aphrodite couldn’t help but sigh as she gazed at the black-haired girl’s ear.
Elves are a race that values bloodlines above all else, shunning unions with other races—let alone with demonkin.
Even on the rare occasion that such a child is born, their fate is typically harsh, often being secretly dealt with by their own clan as a “taint upon the bloodline” before they even become aware.
“No wonder… no wonder her aura is so peculiar…” Aphrodite mused to herself.
This might explain the black-haired girl’s existence, at least in part, but still could not answer why she had emerged from the very core of Aphrodite’s power.
As for the true connection, only after the girl awoke might the truth be known.
While Aphrodite was lost in thought—
The sleeping girl on the bed suddenly let out a very faint, whimpering murmur.
“Mm… mama…”
Aphrodite froze, instinctively bending closer, ear near the girl’s lips, trying to make out what she was saying.
“Mama… don’t go… Lia is scared…”
The broken, nasally whispers came with soft sobs.
The girl’s brows furrowed tightly, as if, in her dreams, she was experiencing deep fear and sadness.
Aphrodite’s heart softened for reasons she couldn’t explain.
Though she was full of doubts and caution about this girl’s origins, at this moment, the girl’s vulnerability stirred something within her…
Hmm, something akin to that awkward pity one feels seeing a small, injured animal?
Yet before Aphrodite could untangle her odd feelings—something unexpected happened!
Perhaps seeking comfort in her dreams, the sleeping girl suddenly, unconsciously, threw her arms around Aphrodite’s neck, hugging her tight!
The force was so great that the unprepared Aphrodite staggered, almost falling onto the bed.
“Ma… Mama…” The girl pressed her face into the hollow of Aphrodite’s neck, hot tears instantly soaking her skin, the sobs growing clearer, “Don’t leave Lia… Lia will be good…”
Aphrodite: “!!!”
She was utterly stunned, her mind blank.
Wait, wait, wait! What is going on here?!
Mama?! Who are you calling Mama?!