Chapter 191: The Flower And The Flashing Sword

While inside the spiritual space, Elias heard Stella calling out to him, although her voice carried a maturity that Young Stella’s lacked.

The subtle difference immediately made him realize that the woman addressing him was the other personality he had recently gained the ability to perceive.

"Hello, Stella. What do you want to talk about?" he greeted with a smile as he rose from his chair and carefully picked up Young Stella, who had fallen asleep in the chair beside Monica’s bed.

Other Stella watched him with curious eyes, her arms folded loosely across her chest as she examined his face. "You seem different from the last time we met."

Elias glanced at her while carrying the sleeping woman toward the doorway, then gently closed the door behind himself before replying, "How so?"

"You are more confident and at ease than before, and you have also awakened your Aura." Her gaze lingered on him for another moment before she added, "It is as though you have finally become comfortable with yourself."

"Do I?" Elias chuckled, though her observation left him somewhat thoughtful as he continued down the corridor.

He had spent years desperately chasing the acknowledgment of people who had never intended to give it to him, and even after abandoning that obsession, he hadn’t realized how much it had affected his behavior. Perhaps the change was more noticeable to someone who had met him before his circumstances began to improve.

Rather than dwell on the matter, Elias entered his bedroom, where Natasha was sitting on the bed with her legs folded beneath her. The moment she noticed him, her golden eyes brightened, and she shifted toward him, making room for the sleeping Stella.

Elias approached the bed and gently laid Young Stella on the mattress, ensuring that her head rested comfortably against the pillow. Natasha watched him for a moment before reaching out and cupping his face with one hand, her thumb brushing lightly against his cheek as she studied his black eyes.

He met her gaze with a tender smile, and neither needed to say anything before they leaned toward each other.

Their lips met in a deep kiss, and Natasha closed her eyes as she placed her other hand against his shoulder, savoring the brief moment of closeness.

When they finally pulled apart, Elias rested his forehead against hers for a moment before smiling and communicating through their connection.

[This is it for now. I have to talk with someone.]

Natasha’s eyebrows drew together as she looked at him with a questioning expression.

[Who?]

Elias turned his head toward the left, where Other Stella stood beside the bed with her arms folded across her chest, watching the couple with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.

[She is the other personality of Stella. You cannot see her, but Stella and I can.]

Natasha followed his gaze, although she could see nothing in the space he was looking at.

[All right. Take your sweet time.]

Her golden eyes then acquired an affectionate glint, and the corners of her lips curled upward as she added, [I will have you for the night, anyway.]

Elias couldn’t help smiling at her confidence, and before stepping away, he gave her bottom cheek a playful squeeze.

[Keep yourself prepared,] he sent through their connection in a mischievous tone.

An amused smile spread across Natasha’s face as she replied, [I am always prepared.]

Elias laughed softly before turning toward Other Stella and asking, "Would you like to talk somewhere else?"

"I am fine with everywhere," she answered with a shrug, though her eyes shifted toward Natasha before she reconsidered. "On second thought, it would be better for us to talk somewhere else."

"Right," Elias agreed, and the two of them left the bedroom together.

As they walked down the corridor, Other Stella glanced at him several times, seemingly unable to understand why he was smiling to himself. By the time they reached the stairs, her expression suggested that she was beginning to question his intelligence.

Elias, however, paid little attention to her judgment because he was still amused by Natasha’s response. He had spent so long worrying about the dangers surrounding his family that moments of playful affection had become particularly precious to him.

They eventually arrived at his office, where Elias entered first and settled into his chair behind the desk. He gestured toward the other chair, inviting Other Stella to sit down, but she merely glanced at it before shaking her head.

"I do not feel tired, or anything for that matter," she explained.

"I see..." Elias intertwined his fingers on the tabletop and studied her face. "So, why did you call me?"

Other Stella narrowed her eyes, seemingly dissatisfied with his question. "Why are you acting as though you do not know?"

Elias sighed and leaned back in his chair, briefly glancing through the window at the flowers in the garden.

Sermus was tending to the plants with his usual unenthusiastic expression, and the sight brought a faint smile to Elias’s face before he returned his attention to the woman standing before him.

"Just a few hours ago, I went through something deeply unsettling, and now you wish to tell me something even more personal and... real." He paused, searching for the right words before continuing, "I hope you can understand why I am behaving this way."

Other Stella’s expression softened slightly, although a trace of urgency remained in her eyes.

"I can understand, to some extent, but I need to tell you because I do not know when I will have another opportunity."

Elias’s faint smile disappeared as he straightened in his chair, giving her his full attention.

"What do you mean?"

Other Stella remained silent for several moments, and when she finally spoke, her expression had grown noticeably darker.

"The last personality. The mad one has become stronger since I held that sword." Her fingers tightened against her upper arms as she recalled the changes that had followed Stella’s awakening. "She seems to have gained some knowledge of the sword style used by its previous owner, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to keep her in check."

Elias furrowed his brows, trying to reconcile her explanation with what he knew about Stella’s unusual condition.

"As far as I know, both of you can only use strength equivalent to that of a Lord, so how is it becoming difficult to control her?"

"To understand that, you need to know what happened."

Elias studied her face for a long moment, noticing that she seemed reluctant to revisit whatever memories had led to their current situation.

"All right," he finally said, nodding once. "Tell me."

Other Stella lowered her gaze, and the expression in her eyes gradually became distant as memories from seven years earlier resurfaced.

"It happened seven years ago. I was passing through an unknown forest to continue my journey across the continent..."

---

A carriage rolled along an uneven stone road, its wooden wheels rattling whenever they struck a protruding rock. Tall trees crowded both sides of the path, their branches intertwining overhead to form a canopy that filtered the sunlight into scattered patches across the forest floor.

Inside the carriage, Stella Crimson lay on her back with her arms folded beneath her head, using them as a makeshift pillow.

A sword rested beside her while her crimson hair spread across the wooden floorboards as the carriage rocked from side to side.

Across from her sat a young woman who appeared to be approaching twenty.

She wore practical traveling clothes under light armor, and her posture carried the discipline of someone who had spent years training with a sword.

After taking a drink from her leather canteen, whose surface bore a faintly glowing rune formation, she glanced toward her master.

"When do you plan to marry?"

Stella’s eyes opened slowly, and she turned her head toward the young woman with an expression of profound annoyance.

"Were two years enough for you to get bored with your master? Huh, Natia?"

Natia quickly lowered the canteen and closed its cap, though the wide smile spreading across her face suggested that she had anticipated this reaction.

"Of course not! I could never get bored of you." She leaned forward slightly, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm as she continued, "I simply want to play with your children and teach them swordsmanship, just as you have taught me."

"So you want to beat them up," Stella remarked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at her disciple.

Natia’s smile stiffened for a moment before she glanced down at her hands, apparently considering whether she should defend herself against the accusation. Eventually, she raised her head again and asked, "Are you finally admitting that you beat me for no reason?"

"Tch!"

Stella clicked her tongue and closed her eyes, appearing thoroughly offended by the suggestion.

"It is called tough love, my stupid disciple. No wonder you need it so much."

Natia released a deep sigh and shook her head, seemingly accustomed to her master’s unreasonable arguments.

"You really are something..."

"Of course I am!" Stella declared proudly, opening one eye to look at her. "Why else would Natia the Flashing Sword travel with me?"

The young woman’s face immediately turned red, and she looked away while struggling to maintain her composure.

"M-Master! Do not use that embarrassing name!"

"Haha!" Stella laughed, thoroughly entertained by her disciple’s reaction. "You should be proud of your title, you know. Although, I find it quite annoying that they call you a sword while I am merely a flower."

Her smile abruptly vanished, and she clenched both fists, making the veins along her forearms bulge.

"Those fools named me that because of my beauty, and I just happened to have a sword!"

Natia watched her master for a moment, apparently weighing her words before finally shaking her head.

"I do not think that is the case."

Stella slowly opened her eyes and turned toward her disciple, her expression growing dangerous as one hand moved toward the sword resting beside her.

"What do you mean by that?"

Natia’s face paled as the memory of her master’s previous lessons, including the beatings and spankings that had accompanied them, flashed through her mind. She immediately raised both hands and waved them frantically.

"N-Nothing!"

Stella stared at her for another moment before a condescending chuckle escaped her lips.

"That is what I thought."

Natia lowered her hands and released a quiet sigh, relieved that she had managed to escape another round of her master’s so-called tough love. She turned toward the small window beside her and watched the passing trees, hoping to enjoy a few moments of peace before her master started another one of her rants.

However, that peace didn’t last long.

Suddenly, the horses pulling the carriage began neighing wildly, and the vehicle lurched so violently that Natia nearly fell from her seat.

She grabbed the nearest wooden plank to steady herself while the canteen slipped from her bag and rolled across the floor.

"What is going on?" she shouted, struggling to maintain her balance as the carriage shook again.

"I-I do not know!" the driver called back, his voice strained as he fought to control the reins. "The horses just went mad all of a sudden!"

Stella’s relaxed expression vanished, and she immediately reached for her sword while pushing herself upright. The change in her demeanor was so abrupt that Natia stopped worrying about her own balance and turned toward her master, recognizing the seriousness of the situation.

Before either of them could say anything else, the world around the carriage changed.

The living trees lining the road twisted into blackened, lifeless trunks, their branches stretching toward the sky like skeletal fingers. The uneven stone road beneath the wheels became jagged and broken, while the sunlight disappeared behind a darkness that seemed to descend all at once.

Above them, the sky had turned an unnatural shade of black, and a silver moon hung overhead, casting its cold light across the dead forest.

Natia’s expression darkened as she looked through the window, her earlier embarrassment replaced by immediate concern.

She had traveled across much of the continent with Stella, and she had seen enough strange places to recognize that they were no longer in the same forest they had entered.

Stella opened her eyes fully, and for once, no trace of amusement remained on her face. She glanced toward the dead trees, then toward the dark sky, before releasing a heavy sigh.

"Fuck..."

Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword as she realized what had happened.

"We entered a hidden dungeon."