Chapter 69: A Mother’s Embrace

Rhaevia remained motionless in the center of the vault floor.

Her mother’s arms were still wrapped around her shoulders, offering a warm, unwavering hold. For a woman who had survived catastrophic apocalypses, commanded armies, and faced a Zombie King, this gentle embrace felt far more overwhelming than any enemy.

She didn’t know where to position her hands. She didn’t know whether she should pull away to maintain her military composure. She didn’t even know what expression she was supposed to make under such unyielding affection.

So she simply stood there, frozen in place like a statue. Her mother’s fingers moved gently through her hair, smoothing down the stray strands.

"You don’t have to be strong right now, sweetheart," Duchess Rythundeir whispered softly into her ear.

Rhaevia’s throat tightened, a sudden dryness catching in her breath. "I... I don’t know how to do this."

Her mother paused her gentle movements, easing back slightly. "Do what?"

"Be..." Rhaevia struggled to find the proper word, her voice dropping to a faint murmur. "Be loved like this."

The vast, ancient vault fell into an absolute, breathless silence.

Her mother’s arms tightened their grip once more, holding her even closer. "Oh, my precious girl."

Something deep inside Rhaevia cracked.

It was not a violent or painful shattering, but rather a yield. The impenetrable emotional walls she had meticulously constructed across two entire lifetimes developed their very first structural fracture.

Slowly, awkwardly, Rhaevia lifted her arms from her sides.

Her hands hovered uncertainly in the air behind her mother’s back for a brief, hesitant moment. Then, letting out a soft exhale, she finally wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, returning the hold.

The embrace became mutual, grounding them both against the cold metal floor. Rhaevia closed her eyes, letting her forehead rest lightly against her mother’s shoulder.

Warm. That was the only word her mind could formulate to describe the sensation.

There were no emergency orders echoing over communications. No casualty reports waiting for her signature, no blaring red alarms, and no desperate soldiers waiting for her command.

There was only her mother’s steady, rhythmic heartbeat resting against her ear. For the very first time in her existence, Rhaevia allowed herself to simply stand still and receive unconditional comfort.

A loud, wet sniffle suddenly broke the sacred stillness of the chamber.

Every member of the family instantly turned their heads toward the source of the noise.

Her youngest brother immediately puffed out his chest, looking intensely offended by the sudden scrutiny. "I didn’t cry!"

Her second brother stared at him with deadpan disgust. "Nobody said you did."

"I am explicitly stating that I was not crying," the youngest insisted, crossing his arms tightly.

"You are still actively talking about it," the second brother pointed out dryly.

The youngest rubbed aggressively at his face. "I clearly have something in my eye."

Their eldest brother let out a long-suffering sigh. "You appear to have something in both eyes."

"It is dust!" the youngest snapped, glaring at his siblings.

"There is literally zero dust in a vacuum-sealed ancestral vault," the eldest countered calmly.

The youngest brother glared at them both, his cheeks flushing red.

Rhaevia unexpectedly let out a laugh. It was a small, delicate sound, but it rang clear across the stone pedestal.

Her mother pulled back just far enough to look at her daughter’s face, her eyes shining with warmth. "There it is."

Rhaevia blinked, her eyelashes still damp. "What?"

"That smile," her mother whispered, her thumb gently reaching up to wipe away a stray tear tracking down Rhaevia’s cheek. "I want to see so much more of it from now on."

Rhaevia didn’t offer a verbal answer, but she didn’t avert her eyes either.

Her three brothers approached the pedestal one after another, closing the physical distance between them. The eldest reached out and placed a heavy, reassuring hand onto her shoulder.

"We’re here," he said simply, his stern gaze filled with absolute resolve.

The second brother gave her a firm, supportive nod. "You don’t ever have to explain everything to us if you don’t want to."

The youngest brother crossed his arms, stepping forward with a fierce grin. "And if anyone from the Imperial Palace makes you cry again, you just tell me!"

Rhaevia raised a single eyebrow at him. "And what exactly are you going to do to the Imperial Guard?"

He hesitated for a split second, tapping his chin. "...I will figure something out on the way."

Her second brother snorted loudly. "You will get yourself immediately arrested."

"I will figure something out right before getting arrested!" the youngest corrected proudly.

Rhaevia laughed again, the sound feeling far less unfamiliar this time. It felt strangely, wonderfully natural.

She looked at the three men standing before her. For years, she had viewed herself as an imposter occupying another girl’s stolen body and life.

The original Rhaevia had been their biological sister, the Duchess’s true daughter, and the Duke’s cherished youngest child. She had spent countless nights wondering whether she had any moral right to claim their affection as her own.

Standing here now, surrounded by people who had guarded her without condition, a fundamental truth shifted within her soul.

Perhaps she was not a thief stealing a dead girl’s place. Perhaps she was simply continuing a life that had been tragically interrupted, weaving her own thread into theirs.

The faint memories of the original Rhaevia were still nestled safely within her mind, the quiet affection, the childhood loneliness, and the years of being protected despite being labeled as trash.

Now, she had her own memories forged alongside them. The shared meals, the chaotic arguments, the protective rush to Planet V-17, her mother’s warm embrace, and her father’s silent vigilance.

These moments were becoming her memories.

My family.

The thought no longer felt like a deceptive lie. It felt whole, unbreakable, and true.

Rhaevia slowly turned her head toward her father. The Duke had remained standing near the vault door throughout the entire emotional revelation, his massive frame imposing against the light.

He finally stepped forward, his boots clicking softly against the metallic floor. His usually hard, battle-hardened expression was far softer than she had ever seen it.

"You have spent far too much of your life believing you have to constantly earn your right to exist," the Duke said, his deep voice rumbling through the quiet room.

Rhaevia stared up at him, her breath catching in her chest.

He continued without pause, his eyes locking onto hers with absolute conviction. "You do not need to earn your place in this house, Rhaevia."

Her eyes widened slightly at his words.

The Duke reached out his massive, calloused hand, gently resting his palm against the crown of her head. "You are my daughter."

The heavy words struck her heart far deeper than any physical weapon ever could.

"You were our precious daughter long before any of us knew what resided inside your Guide core," her father stated calmly, his tone unshakeable. "And you will remain our daughter regardless of whether you are an E-rank, a 3S Guide, a Sovereign, or something entirely beyond human understanding."

Rhaevia felt a sharp, intense burn returning to the back of her eyes.

Her father looked directly into her face, his gaze unwavering. "Your worth to this family was never determined by your power."

She slowly lowered her head, devoid of any witty response or military rebuttal.

Behind the family circle, Raevor maintained his silent guard near the bulkhead. He had witnessed Rhaevia stand unflinching on bloody battlefields, and he had watched her face terrifying planetary formations without a flicker of fear.

Yet this was the very first time he had ever seen her stand defenseless, her sharp armor stripped away entirely. And somehow, in her vulnerability, she looked infinitely stronger.

Rhaevia subtly glanced past her brothers’ shoulders, her eyes meeting Raevor’s dark gaze.

The major general did not speak, maintaining his professional distance. He simply offered her a tiny, almost imperceptible nod of his head.

You belong here.

She didn’t know if he had consciously projected the thought, but she understood the unspoken message clearly.

Turning back to face her family, Rhaevia drew in a slow, deep breath, letting the steadying air fill her lungs. "I think..."

The entire room fell silent, everyone waiting patiently for her to finish.

"I think I want to stay," she murmured softly.

Her mother’s eyes immediately softened with profound joy, while her youngest brother let out a triumphant laugh. "Well, obviously!"

Rhaevia smiled, a genuine, radiant expression. For the first time, she was no longer viewing herself as a floating soul trapped in another girl’s body.

She was Rhaevia Rythundeir. Their daughter, their sister, and their family.

And she allowed herself to believe that she had always belonged here.

BZZZT.

The harsh, sharp vibration of a high-grade military communicator suddenly shattered the emotional quiet.

Raevor’s posture shifted instantly, the relaxed warmth in his eyes vanishing as his instincts took over. He raised his wrist, activating the heavily encrypted holographic display.

A bright, flashing crimson notification materialized in the air before him.

[PRIORITY BLACK ALERT.]

Raevor’s eyes narrowed into lethal slits as he scanned the incoming data. A second line of text generated rapidly beneath the alert.

[ASSASSINATION WARNING.]

His calloused fingers tightened around the casing of the communicator with enough force to warp the casing. Then, the final line of encrypted text resolved itself on the screen.

[TARGET: RHAEVIA RYTHUNDEIR.]