A few monts ago, when Aether was just getting into the ga, anwhile, in the garden of flowers—
Master Snape stood motionless, his gaze fixed blankly on the vibrant flowers before him, yet his expression remained unreadable.
His fists clenched tightly,
Everything went wrong... so damn wrong!
His lifelong, ticulously crafted plan had crumbled in a single day—shattered beyond it could repair!
His lifelong hard plan just crumbled in in a single day.
He wasn't even sure what was happening anymore.
The way his carefully placed pieces were falling apart, one after another, was sothing he had never foreseen.
Even though he had adjusted his plan several tis, no matter how much he tried to fix things, he couldn't suppress the burning rage and the deep sense of loss that gnawed at his insides.
'Just what the hell happened?' he thought furiously. 'How could everything fall apart so easily… where did I go wrong?' Frustration clawed at his mind, leaving him restless.
For now, all he could do was wait.
Yes, patience. His plan required patience. The pieces were already in motion, manoeuvring exactly as he had planned. There was nothing left to do but wait and hope for the best possible outco.
And then—
A swirling black vortex suddenly ripped open in midair, distorting the space around it. Master Snape turned sharply, as a small, hooded figure erged from the darkness, carrying a broken, battered Alaric.
Alaric's body was a ss—bruises, deep gashes, dried blood staining his tattered clothes. His injuries were so severe that even Master Snape, couldn't help but be montarily taken aback.
'She really went overboard this ti…' Master Snape mused darkly, his expression unreadable as he gazed down at Alaric's battered form.
Yet beneath the cold calculation in his eyes, there was sothing else—sothing resembling pity. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, his arms wrapping around Alaric in a rare display of warmth.
Alaric's eyes widened slightly, surprise flickering in their depths before his lips quivered. "I-I… I'm fine… big brother," he murmured weakly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Master Snape pulled back, scanning him carefully before his gaze darkened. His jaw clenched, and fury burned in his eyes as he turned toward Alaric with barely contained rage.
"Did she really do this to you?" he demanded, his voice a dangerous growl. "How could she be so ruthless… to her own friend?"
Alaric forced a strained smile, a weak chuckle escaping his lips, "Well… I suppose… I should've expected it," he muttered before wincing at the pain surging through his body.
Master Snape clicked his tongue in irritation. "Tsk… This is all because of . If it weren't for my plan, you wouldn't have been wounded like this. I am sor—"
"Master, please," Alaric cut in, his tone serious despite his exhaustion. "If you keep talking like that… I swear, I'll actually die from hearing it."
Snape paused, montarily stunned, before exhaling sharply.
Without another word, he pulled out a small vial filled with a shimring, golden liquid.
"Here. Drink this," he said as he handed it over.
Alaric's eyes widened in recognition. This wasn't just any ordinary healing potion—it was a high-level elixir, personally crafted by Master Snape himself, a forr Sovereign. Potent beyond asure. Alaric hesitated for a mont, feeling an odd sense of pride that his master had gone to such lengths for him, before finally taking a cautious sip.
anwhile, Snape turned his attention to the tiny hooded figure. His voice was sharp and direct. "Did everything go as planned?"
The hooded figure flinched slightly before nodding quickly. "Y-Yes, Master… Everything went well. I used the monsters as a diversion, and we managed to take Alaric without anyone noticing us."
Snape exhaled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He was slightly disappointed that his creatures had been sacrificed in the process, but when weighed against Alaric's survival, the loss was insignificant.
"Was this truly the right decision, Master?" Alaric asked, his voice carrying the weight of doubt. Even though his body was healing, his mind remained clouded by unease.
"Hmm?"
"I an…" Alaric hesitated, his expression grim. "Centuries of planning… years of dedication… and my role as her support… It's all gone now. All of it—thrown away just because I ran. If I had stayed, maybe—"
"You would have died."
Snape's words cut through his words, silencing Alaric instantly. The Master's gaze was unwavering, cold yet resolute.
"You still don't understand, do you?" Snape continued. "You don't know the real her, Alaric. The mont she perceives sothing as a threat, she eliminates it. No hesitation, no remorse."
"B-But I've been by her side for hundreds of years—"
"That doesn't matter," Snape interjected sharply. His voice held a finality that sent a chill down Alaric's spine. "Alaric… I know you love her. I know how much she ans to you. But believe when I say this—I know her better than anyone. And I know exactly what she's capable of."
He took a step closer, lowering his voice to a near whisper. "The mont doubt crept into her mind… it was over. No matter how much you've done for her, no matter how many years you've been by her side—none of it matters anymore."
Alaric swallowed hard, his throat tightening as Snape's words sank deep into his chest. His fists clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palms.
From the mont he escaped... he knew.
He could never… ever… truly have her!!
Snape observed him silently, recognizing the turmoil within him but choosing not to comnt. Alaric still had his uses, especially while he remained ignorant of the true extent of Isadora's nature.
"Anyway, for now—"But before he could finish, the tiny hooded figure, who had been scanning a slate-like device, suddenly stiffened. Panic flickered across their hidden face as they hurriedly turned toward Snape,
"The Sovereign has removed our energy signatures to enter the Academy, Master!!"
Alaric's face turned deathly pale, his breath hitching in his throat,
'Yeah… My pure love fucked up!'
It felt like the final nail in the coffin, sealing his fate with a brutal, undeniable truth.
The Master rely nodded, as if he already predicted this, his expression unreadable as he shrugged with a casual air,
"Of course, she would do that… After all, she's not a Sovereign just for the title," he said, his voice laced with knowing amusent.
Then, fixing his sharp gaze on Alaric, he asked, "Tell … how did she find out?
How did she corner you? We made sure that nothing could ever lead back to you. So why? My plan, sothing I ticulously built over hundreds of years… It shouldn't be possible unless…" His eyes narrowed, his voice dropping into sothing far more dangerous. "Unless soone unconsciously slipped—"
Alaric imdiately raised his hand, shaking his head frantically, "Master! I swear on my life, I never let my guard down. Not once! I never spoke a single word or let anything slip, not even by accident!"
The Master's frown deepened, his mind racing with possibilities. He knew Alaric—he was ticulous, and disciplined to the point of paranoia. If anyone was cautious to an extre, it was him. Yet still…
"Or… soone else—"
Before he could finish, the tiny hooded figure suddenly called out, their voice quivering with urgency. "M-Master!"
"Hmm?"
The figure hesitated for a fraction of a second, then delivered the words that sent a cold chill down his spine.
"She… removed your signature too."
For a brief mont, the Master's mind went blank.
She removed his signature?
Why?
She would never do that.
He knew how much Dora cherished him—far more than she did anyone else. Even after she ascended as a Sovereign, she had deliberately left his energy signature untouched within the Academy's barriers—a lingering reminder of his existence, a hidden proof that she had never truly erased him from her heart.
He had even exploited that loophole to enter the Academy unnoticed.
But now…
"Why?" The Master muttered blankly, his thoughts spiralling into chaos. His fingers twitched, his entire being frozen in a mont of pure disbelief. It felt as if his grand plan—the very foundation he had painstakingly constructed over centuries—was already beginning to crumble from just a single action.
"M-Maybe she just removed everything for safet—"
"NO!" The Master's voice thundered through the space, "She wouldn't do that without a reason!" His teeth ground together, fury boiling beneath the surface as he turned sharply toward Alaric.
Alaric flinched. His body stiffened, his throat tightening involuntarily. Beads of sweat trickled down his temple.
That reaction alone was enough!
The Master's sharp gaze darkened, and in a blink, his hand shot forward, his fingers locking around Alaric's throat with unrelenting force.
"How dare you betray ?!" he roared, voice laced with uncontained rage.
"M-Masterrr…! Cough… I-I didn't… ngh… I didn't utter a single word! P-Please, believe !" Alaric choked out, his hands clawing at the Master's wrist as his body writhed in desperation. His legs trembled beneath him as he struggled against the suffocating grip.
The Master's pupil-less eyes glead with sothing unreadable, "Huh? Then tell … how did she know I was alive?"
"I-I don't know!" Alaric gasped, his vision growing hazy. "S-She just… just suddenly asked about you! As if she knew sothing—cough—out of nowhere!"
The Master's grip loosened slightly, his brows furrowing deeper.
"Out of nowhere?" he echoed, voice barely above a whisper.
That didn't make sense.
Dora never spoke about him.
Never!
Even when Alaric had subtly tried to bring up his na in conversation, she would always brush it off, feigning disinterest. It was as if she had made a conscious effort to erase him from her thoughts.
And yet now, all of a sudden, she was asking about him?
No!
Sothing was definitely wrong!!
The Master ground his teeth before shoving Alaric away, watching as the man collapsed to the ground, coughing violently as he clutched his bruised throat. The Master exhaled sharply, his voice colder than ice.
"Soone must be involved with her…"
Alaric coughed, his fingers trembling as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. His throat ached, "Y-Yeah… I thought that too. I believe soone from our group might have leaked information. Maybe… Victor?"
But the Master imdiately shook his head, scoffing. "No. Only the Table mbers knew about . Not even Jack knew... There's no way Victor could've known."
"But what if he leaked sothing else—like information about our organization—and she managed to connect the dots?" Alaric pressed, still desperate for an explanation, still searching for an answer that didn't place the bla on them.
Before he could go further, the Master shot him a sharp look,
"Why are you so fixated on that brat? What? Did he steal your lover or sothing?"
Alaric's face imdiately turned red with embarrassnt. "W-What?! Of course not!"
The Master rely shook his head, chuckling dryly. "Tsk. That's exactly why this plan was only for the Table mbers. No one else. Not even Jack. If only a handful of people knew, then the leak had to co from within."
His voice turned grim.
"Still… who could it be?" The Master's frown deepened... He didn't want to doubt his most trusted mbers—n and won who had stood beside him for hundreds of years. But if soone within their inner circle had betrayed them…
The entire plan would collapse.
"Arrghh!" The Master growled furiously..
Just then—
A sudden voice.
"M-Master!"
A huge figure erged from the shadows, stepping forward with heavy, deliberate movents.
The Master's eyes flickered toward them,
"You finally ca," he said, his tone sharp with expectation. "Did you capture the escape—"
But his words halted abruptly... when he saw...
A head?
Drip…
Drip….
User Comments
0 comments from readers