“The biggest mistake of her life, you mean.” Fake Jellal snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “She could have turned into a magnificent mentor with my support, but what had she ended up with? A completely ruined reputation right from the start. And it’s all because of her silly pride.”

  “Now, that’s not how you are supposed to talk about a fine lady such as her,” Tina berated him, waving her finger at the snobbish male. “Maybe I could sign you up for some lessons from Ast. He knows exactly what he is doing right by capturing the hearts of so many amazing girls.”

  “More like it’s him who should be learning from me if he even considered that ungrateful female as anything deserving to be someone’s mate.” The mentor scoffed.

  The playful expression disappeared from Tina’s face at once, replaced by a frosty look that could turn a man’s blood into ice, no matter how hot it was.

  “I take that back. You are incorrigible.” She glared at him fiercely.

  “There are no irredeemable students, only bad mentors,” he answered arrogantly. “Save for that one. She has been a lost cause since the start. No wonder no one was picking her up.”

  “You know, almost all my friends and colleagues considered me something akin to a teacher’s pet due to how dedicated I was to learning and how respectful I was to the professors.” A vicious-looking scythe made of water started forming in Tina’s grasp, her blue eyes glimmering with power. “But, none of them had the slightest idea just how curious I was about what seemed to be so appealing in being a delinquent that so many people were interested in taking such a path.”

  The blue-haired Summoner girl spun her weapon and leaned forward.

  “I’ll thank you ahead of time for offering to satiate that curiosity, Teacher.” She smiled, but that smile didn’t reach her eyes.

  Before Jellal could respond, she charged straight at him, launching herself forward with jets of azure liquid released beneath her feet. Still, he was able to block her first strike, putting his scaled arm in the path of the swing. The blow pushed him away, a slight graze decorating his cheek from the deflected attack.

  “How dare you!” He snarled at her. “I’ll show—”

  Tina ignored his words and continued slashing at the man with a stony expression. They danced around the others as she chased after him, swinging wildly but gracefully, each attempt perfectly aimed where she intended it to. Bit by bit, Jellal’s protective layer was being shaved off, most likely nowhere close to the defensive capabilities of real Dragon scales.

  Or, Tina was just this strong when wielding Ast’s energies, which were becoming more and more comfortable in her human body the longer she drew on them.

  Seeing how much he was on the losing end, Jellal created more distance between them after another attack and quickly shifted into a full Lesser Dragon.

  But that was a huge mistake.

  With an emphasis on huge.

  The fierce short lady appeared at the tip of its tail and sank her scythe in its flesh, slicing through the scales with ease. She then roared while letting go of it and smacked her hands together. Multiple pillars of water surged out of the rock around them, topped with massive hands that caught onto the long shape of Althea’s mentor from top to bottom. She drew on so much of Ast’s energy that draconic wings sprouted from her back, joining the tail and horns, matching the color of her blue scales.

  With the serpent completely restrained, she grabbed her scythe once more, gave her new appendages a quick glance, noting that she now didn’t need to borrow Esil’s wings for what she was going to do, and raised them in preparation for a takeoff.

  However, instead of flying into the sky, Tina launched herself forward with a powerful flap and entered a spinning motion, rotating vertically. With a fierce battle cry, she sawed through the middle of the entire Lesser Dragon’s body, cutting it open from the tip of its tail to the top of its head.

  By the time she was done, Jellal was reduced to a twitching, torn-in-half noodle. Moments later, his frame slowly turned into mist and joined with the fog around her. Tina spent a little longer burning that sight into her memory, knowing that she would most likely not get a chance to repeat this under more realistic circumstances, no matter how much the man deserved it.

  ※ ※ ※

  Althea stared at the human boy with curiosity. She naturally knew of the youthful man, but she was still relatively fresh amongst Ast’s family, and they had yet to share plenty of details about their pasts. The obvious part was the fact that this particular individual had plagued Tina enough to haunt her thoughts fairly extensively.

  Perhaps it was due to the abuse he had subjected her beloved crush to, the Dragon lady’s instincts were suggesting. Or, back in that period of time, he had possessed more power and influence than she had, making her worried about her and Asterios’ future. Whichever it was, it didn’t matter right now. Althea would deal with it for her new sister-mate gladly.

  “What are you staring at, idiot?” Roz spat on the ground between them. “Do you want me to sic my wolf after you? Or would you prefer if I made your entire family disappear after telling on you to my father?”

  She was beginning to see why the blue-haired girl found him so annoying. It was somewhat pitiful too.

  “I wonder, is this a trial for me after declaring myself a proper mentor?” Althea mused. “I’ll have you know that I have pacified my own deal of brats over the time I coached the elven royal family.”

  “Yeah? So what?” He sneered at her. “I bet they don’t amount to much, just like you. Don’t try to start anything here, lady. I know people. People who will be happy to offer you some company.”

  “I see. So this is how she perceives you.” The Dragon lady furrowed her brows in slight disgust. “Or are you actually this shameless and full of complete disregard for another’s dignity and equity?”

  “Fuck you!” Roz showed her his middle finger. “I’m getting bored with this. You are in my way.”

  “A total lack of patience and an attention span of a goldfish too.” She chuckled quietly. “You must have been the teachers’ favorite.”

  “And your favorite must be my fist in your face!” the young man shouted as he took an offensive stance.

  From what Althea knew, he was supposed to be a Summoner like Tina and Asterios, fighting through his familiars. But, it didn’t look like the copy was capable of the same feats, or whatever that had been bringing this mirror image into reality was capable of reproducing more opponents per one target.

  Nevertheless, the boy wasn’t stripped of all his techniques. Instead of calling for support from some creature, he tightened his fist, and yellow sparks began skipping all over it, easily discernible as particles of electricity. The confident smirk on his face announced that he believed it would be enough to defeat her.

  Well, maybe it would have worked on Tina, back when the girl wasn’t enhanced by her draconic mate so much, but right now, this much zapping current amounted pretty much to nothing.

  The young man didn’t seem aware of that.

  Althea remained motionless as the blond-haired youth ran straight at her. It was nowhere close to fast, making it clear that his form was a pure mimic of a human of matching age. From what she had gathered thanks to the mental connection she and the ladies shared with Asterios, Tina would have still found challenging him fairly difficult due to some unique quirks of the monster orchestrating everything.

  But, she wasn’t Tina.

  Therefore, Roz arrived in front of her without a single obstacle slowing him down, smirking haughtily as his fist smashed into her cheek, erupting in little lightning bolts that shot in every direction for a few long seconds.

  Then, they all faded, and his smile gradually dropped.

  The punch he had thrown was on the mark, but it completely failed to yield any meaningful result. Althea still stared at him pitifully, even with his knuckles pressed into her cheek, which surprisingly didn’t look even faintly bruised, her skin remaining unblemished. And he hadn’t even struck the emerald scales. Yet, to him, it felt like he had hit a steel wall.

  A gentle chuckle escaped the Dragon lady’s lips as she raised a hand to show him.

  “Perhaps you would have known if you paid a little bit more attention in class, but lightning always chooses the shortest and most efficient path to the ground, ignoring everything else,” she schooled him, displaying a straight vine reaching from the edge of her cheek to the very terrain beneath their feet. “And, as I believe the most popular saying amongst the currently youngest generations goes, you punch like a little girl.”

  The boy’s eyes widened in disbelief before clouding in fury. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to snap back at his offender as Althea’s tail smacked his butt with enough force to make him yelp in pain, landing him right over her bent knee.

  “Now, I heard that many realms in the current age have adopted a more hands-off approach in fear of offending parents from noble households,” she said with a growing smile. “But, unfortunately for you, I’m a very old-fashioned teacher. So, make sure to tense your muscles.”

  Raising her hand, she let it fall soon after, and a fleshly slap echoed throughout the hollow, alongside a gasp of pain and shock. Althea continued spanking the unruly youth for good minutes, believing that he hadn’t received enough from his parents, if ever. It was up to the teacher, who took second place after one’s guardians, to correct that mistake.

  And she was more than willing to dish out some wisdom.

  After she was done, Roz lay on the ground while whimpering and holding onto his behind, a scene Althea made sure to convey to Asterios and Tina. Then, she took care of the cleanup, a single vine wrapping itself around the man’s neck to his complete obliviousness, slicing his throat quickly and efficiently, silencing those pathetic whines for good.

  What kind of a male couldn’t handle a few light taps on his backside?

  Even children were tougher than that.

  ※ ※ ※

  “Hello.” Silvia curtsied in front of the scary-looking Selene. “What happened to your external circuits? They look a bit off.”

  “Circuits?” The copy tilted its head way too much than any normal person would. “You mean my curse marks? I just embraced them, that’s what happened. Best decision of my life, I have to tell you. I’ve never felt so powerful. And free. Free to beat you up into a pulp.”

  “Now, we both know that’s a lie.” The princess’ lips curled up a little in a gentle smile. “Some mundane patterns could never make you feel more powerful than Asterios does. After all, your mating rituals often lead to new fonts of spiritual strength violently surging out of your depths. Pardon the unintended, inappropriate analogy.”

  As the crazy fox lady gaped at her incredulously, Silvia’s cheeks gained a slightly rosy tint. She wondered if a certain red-skinned individual wasn’t rubbing off on her too. Or maybe it was just her who was like this from the start, trying to hide her lascivious nature behind the veil of royalty.

  In the end, they had done so many inappropriate acts with Asterios already, and she not only didn’t mind them, but possibly even enjoyed herself.

  “You are dreaming if you think any male could dream of making me like this.” The Mad Vixen interrupted her thoughts while spreading her arms to showcase more of the glowing marks almost completely covering her skin. “There’s only one person capable of helping me ascend. Only one person I’m destined to offer my body and life to.”

  “Kaguya,” the flame-haired girl muttered under her breath.

  Fake Selene snarled at her. “Show some respect when addressing the Great Ancestor!”

  “I apologize, but I can’t show any respect to a woman who willingly murders an entire village just to abandon her child amidst smoke and fire.” Silvia met her furious glare with a stern expression. “Everyone’s circumstances are different, but I believe there are other steps that can be taken when an individual doesn’t feel ready to become a parent.”

  “Preposterous!” The copy’s tail puffed out as she growled in rage. “You do not question the undecipherable plans of the one and only rightful matriarch of the Spiritual Fox tribe! Your mere human brain can’t comprehend her divine intentions!”

  “That just means she is terrible at conveying her thoughts,” the princess countered. “I would suggest hiring a tutor. There are plenty of talented people who live off showing others how not to be misunderstood and how to correctly address the masses without making it sound like you are leading a cult.”

  “Enough!” the fox woman boomed. “I will not stand for this slander any longer!”

  “Feel free to take a seat, then.” Silvia displayed the tiniest smirk as Selene’s rage jumped up a level. “But, if you find that difficult, allow me to sit you down.”

  They lunged at each other pretty much at the same time. The vulpine lady’s ethereal katana clashed against a staff of amber crystal, which materialized itself in the human girl’s hands in a blink. Both women launched powerful blows at each other, but they weren’t equally matched.

  And, unfortunately, it wasn’t the clone that held the advantage.

  “Is this how powerful Kaguya made you?” Silvia taunted. “It must feel terrible being reduced to just a single tail. I think I could have bested you even before meeting Asterios and receiving his invaluable support.”

  “Courting death!” Selene screamed, and multiple orbs of swirling mana appeared around them.

  Before they struck the fiery princess, she hit the ground with her staff, and a circular inferno rose from the stone surface. The spheres were consumed by the intense flames, and the facsimile shouted in pain, some of the hungry tongues attaching themselves to its clothes.

  “Since I can’t bring myself to watch my fellow sister-in-love tormented by pain caused by yours truly, I promise to make it quick.” Silvia briefly closed her eyes and focused on the tip of her weapon. “I deeply apologize for this, real Selene. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me.”

  As her charming eyes fluttered open once more, a thin, about a finger-long, sharpened pillar of fire shot out of the top of her staff. It emanated a low whooshing noise as it appeared almost perfectly still, its color ranging from a bright yellow shade to a deep red, bordering almost on purple at the tip. With one quick swing, the princess beheaded the mimic effortlessly, using it like a blade, which seared the wounds on both ends shut.

  As Selene’s head fell to the ground with a soft thud and began dispersing in thick fog, Silvia offered it one last apologetic bow.

  ※ ※ ※

  “I have to say, this is a situation I have gone over repeatedly in my mind, but never thought to actually find myself in. Meeting you face to face, not having to fight you, Your Majesty.” Asterios let out an awkward chuckle. “I’m grateful for this opportunity, though.”

  The black-haired and green-eyed lady in her prime kept looking at him sternly, an expression that somehow didn’t fit the soft and gentle angles of her face. He had seen the queen in several paintings, and also heard detailed descriptions from Silvia, who had received them from her father, of course, and this simply wasn’t how the beautiful and young at that time lady was presented.

  She scowled at him. “Is my daughter such a coward that she can’t face me herself and has to hide behind the shoulder of a man?”

  “From what I’ve seen myself, that’s definitely a negative, My Lady.” He smiled warmly. “But, at the same time, I feel like this is an extremely complex and difficult situation. Everyone has their own doubts and anxieties. Those don’t make us lesser than others. She is a strong woman with a kind heart. Something I believe she has inherited from you, Madam.”

  The lady scoffed. “She did? Then how could someone so compassionate murder their own mother in cold blood?”

  “Ah. I see how it is now.” Asterios cocked his head back in understanding. “I knew she harbored those hurtful feelings deep in her heart, but I had no idea they went as deep as to turn into something this traumatic. It looks like I will need to spend more time reassuring my beloved princess that she is in no way at fault here.”

  “Your beloved princess?” She frowned at him strongly. “Forgetting the fact that a slaughterer like her would never be deserving of such a thing as love, what makes you think I would ever approve of your relationship with my daughter? A nameless orphan from gods know where?”

  “Oh, don’t be like that, Mother.” He spread his arms cordially. “Father seems to have already grown fond of me enough to burden me with the management of one of his precious towns. And, in the grand scheme of things, who would be more worthy of your approval if not the Dragon Emperor?”

  For a moment there, the woman blinked at him blankly, and it even looked like she might be inclined to agree with him, but another sneer twisted her pretty lips right after as she took a step back, sliding her hands into the opposite sleeves.

  “Your deceptions won’t work on me, peasant. Do not come any closer or you will regret this.” Silvia’s mother assumed a threatening expression.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Asterios shook his head. “Today might be my only chance to do this for real.”

  Needless to say, he didn’t stop. He walked up to the woman with his arms still open and wrapped her in a tight but loving hug. At the same time, he felt a prickle of pain as something pierced into his stomach, noticing the hidden dagger she had drawn out, currently fully sheathed in his flesh.

  “I just wanted to thank you for bringing such an incredible lady into this world.” He ignored it, whispering into her ear. “I know it must have been extremely painful, but if I understand my own mother well enough, then I’m certain it must also have felt like your greatest achievement and joy right before you paid the ultimate price fate has decided for you, which you definitely accepted without a single complaint.”

  She struggled a tiny bit in his embrace but remained silent regardless.

  “I promise to look after Silvia until the final moments of my existence,” Asterios continued quietly. “I shall treasure her greatly, just as I treasure all my amazing mates. She will never lack anything, be it material or not. You can rest easy knowing that your daughter will always feel loved, appreciated, and supported, no matter what. I swear I’ll protect her and your husband like I’m one of your dependable children. You have my word.”