Chapter 963: Alternate Timeline: Confrontation with Mother

Lately, this daughter truly seemed more unruly day by day.

Meanwhile, Emperor Alexander observed something deeper beneath her anger.

Fear.

Pain.

Confusion.

So unlike his wife, his tone remained gentler.

"What happened, daughter? Did someone deeply offend you?""

His brows furrowed slightly.

Serestia’s chest rose and fell heavily. Then her gaze slowly swept across the servants and guards nearby.

"All of you," she said coldly, "leave."

The servants hesitated instinctively while glancing toward the Emperor for permission.

Serestia suddenly roared, "I said get out!"

Even Emperor Alexander flinched faintly.

This was no ordinary childish tantrum.

Something serious had clearly happened.

"Leave us alone."

After receiving a nod from the Emperor, the servants hurriedly exited the chamber.

Meanwhile, Callista Frost rose from her seat with visible irritation.

Like many mothers disciplining spoiled children, she instinctively reached toward Serestia’s ear, intending to twist it as punishment.

Normally, Serestia would let her do that.

But this time...

But before her fingers could touch her, Serestia slapped her hand away sharply, taking her by surprise.

"You can punish me later, Mother," she said through clenched teeth.

Then her eyes burned directly into her mother’s face. "But first... answer my question about my sibling. My elder sibling."

The moment those words entered the room...

Callista Frost’s expression froze.

Before Emperor Alexander could even react properly to Serestia’s explosive words, Callista Frost suddenly grabbed her daughter’s wrist and dragged her away from the chamber so quickly that the hem of her royal robes swept across the scattered Go stones like a storm passing through fallen leaves.

The Emperor remained seated for several seconds in complete confusion.

His fingers still hovered above the overturned board.

A black stone slowly rolled across the floor before stopping beside his boot.

Alexander Phoenix stared toward the doorway where his wife and daughter had disappeared.

A faint uneasiness crept into his chest.

"Did Kaelan secretly commit some illegal act?" he muttered inwardly while frowning. "And Callista covered it up?"

That was the only explanation his mind could currently produce. However, the Emperor immediately shook his head.

There is no way Kaelan does such things. The Crown Prince is fully capable of it, and so is the fourth prince, but not the third prince. The Emperor was fully confident in Kaelan’s character.

But what made him suspect this further was the fact that Serestia didn’t say brother but sibling. While there is nothing wrong with it, it is still a weird choice of words.

But he was still sure that Kaelan was related somehow.

"I hope Kaelan didn’t do anything foolish, like getting involved with some girl..." At that, the Emperor paused, then blinked twice and murmured again, "some girl..."

After another long pause, his arms trembled as he thought, "It’s not that Leon Empire’s princess, right?"

"Right?"

*

Meanwhile, inside the palace corridors, Serestia finally realized just how tightly her mother was gripping her wrist.

The pressure felt almost like iron chains locking around her bones.

Despite being a 6-star Spirit Warrior, she found herself completely unable to break free.

That realization alone stunned her slightly.

Perhaps it was because her physique specialized in ranged combat.

Or perhaps...

Her mother was hiding far more strength than anyone imagined. And she was not a plainfolk at all.

A woman... a mother who swapped her own children can also easily hide the fact that she is a powerful expert in disguise, too.

The corridors gradually became quieter as Callista continued dragging her deeper into the Inner Quarters.

Servants lowered their heads nervously and quickly moved aside.

No one dared interfere.

Eventually, they reached an underground storage chamber hidden beneath the Inner Palace.

The room appeared surprisingly refined despite being underground.

Ancient paintings decorated the stone walls.

Several mysterious sealed boxes rested upon shelves.

The air carried the faint scent of old paper, sandalwood, and sealed treasures untouched for years.

After sending the guards away, Callista shut the heavy stone door behind them.

Thud.

The sound echoed heavily through the chamber.

Then silence followed.

A cold...

Terrible silence.

Serestia rubbed her reddened wrist instinctively while glaring at her mother.

Callista sharply turned toward her daughter. "Do you understand what you nearly did just now?" she snapped immediately.

Her voice bounced off the walls sharply.

"Your father was there."

Her breathing slightly trembled beneath her anger.

"What if he heard everything? What should I say? What should he feel? Have you even thought about what would happen if the truth exploded before him like a wildfire inside dry grass?"

Serestia did not retreat. Instead, she directly fired another question.

"So Kaelan is not truly my blood brother."

Her eyes burned fiercely.

"He is only my half-brother born from a servant woman, correct?"

Callista froze instantly.

The color in her face shifted slightly.

"Who told you that?"

That single moment of panic was enough.

Serestia immediately understood.

"So it is true."

Pain surfaced within her voice now.

Not just anger.

Betrayal.

"You lied to me all this time. You told me that you bore twins and gave away Elder Sister to your servant because she was a plainfolk like you, and having her growing up at the palace would bring her life to ruin, as she would become nothing but a pawn for Father to use her as a political marriage to cement the relationship with House Wolf even more... You told me that when I first confronted you. But that’s not the truth, is it?"

Serestia’s eyes turned moist, staring at her mother as if the latter had betrayed her.

She stepped closer. "The truth is that Father forced himself upon your servant while drunk... and you merely covered it up. No, you didn’t just cover it up, Mother. You took away her son as a hostage while sending away Elder Sister with her so that she can grow up peacefully in the countryside. Tell me, Mother, are you the one who killed her parents to protect your secret?"

Instead of answering, Callista suddenly grabbed both her shoulders tightly.

"Who told you?"

This time, the question carried frightening pressure.

Serestia still refused to lower her gaze.

"To this very day, I was trying to get close to my elder sister. I wanted to reveal the truth one day and bring her home."

Her eyes gradually reddened.

"But I never imagined... never even in dreams... that you manipulated me into believing you were protecting her out of love while hiding all this filth beneath the palace floor."

As Serestia continued speaking emotionally, Callista’s expression slowly became colder and colder.

Not angry.

Not panicked.

Cold.

Like a frozen lake moments before cracking apart.

Then suddenly, she interrupted. "I ask one final time."

Every word descended heavily.

"Who... told... you?"

Even Serestia unconsciously stiffened.

For the first time in years...

She genuinely felt pressure from her mother.

Not the pressure of status.

Not the pressure of discipline.

Something deeper.

Something dangerous.

Something that is literally pressing her soul, like a powerful Spirit Warrior’s aura that suppresses a lower-ranked one.

After several silent seconds, Serestia finally answered more quietly.

"A while ago... two guests visited Nexus Store."

The moment she began recounting the events, the story shifted back more than an hour earlier.

At Nexus Store...

After Kiara escorted the two mysterious guests upstairs, Serestia quickly became bored downstairs.

Arceus Silver was occupied with accounting work.

Noah remained expressionless while checking inventory.

Alucard organized ammunition.

Even Zion stood near the entrance like a statue guarding the heavens.

With nothing to do, Serestia suddenly thought about Chimera SGM.

That massive weapon remained difficult for her to control properly.

So she casually leaned toward Arceus.

"Brother Arceus," she asked lightly, "do you think Miss Kiara would allow me to use the training grounds during free hours to practice with Chimera?"

Arceus smiled softly. "It will not hurt to ask."

Serestia immediately brightened. "Then I’ll go now before their important discussion starts."

Neither Zion nor Noah stopped her.

After all...

She was already allowed upstairs normally.

Only Noah faintly frowned for a moment.

Something inside him felt slightly uneasy.

Unfortunately, before he could think deeper, Serestia had already rushed upstairs.

Her footsteps echoed softly through the quiet upper floor.

Then...

Just as she was about to enter...

She heard a sentence.

A single sentence.

"Well, your mother wasn’t merely a maid of Callista Frost. She had a special relationship with the Emperor."

Serestia froze immediately.

Her raised hand stopped midair.

Inside the room, voices continued calmly.

Outside the room...

Her entire world slowly began collapsing.

She listened secretly afterward.

Every word struck like thunder.

The Emperor.

The servant.

The exchanged babies.

Kiara being the true imperial child, born without ether.

Kaelan being born to another woman, born with ether.

Serestia only managed to hear until the point where Ares Frost mentioned that the Empress or House Wolf might be connected to the deaths of Aaron and Tiara.

After that...

She could not endure any longer.

Her thoughts became chaotic.

And theories formed in her own head.

She rushed downstairs afterward and left the store using the excuse that something urgent had happened at the palace.

During the entire carriage ride back, her mind remained shattered.