Chapter 1201: His Poor Snowflake was Purified!

Aether stared at his snowflake as if she had committed some unthinkable sin, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Master?"

She tilted her head in that adorably clueless way. Aether’s face twisted into something close to a cry as he quickly swept Snowflake into his hands, holding her up as if checking for injuries.

"Oh my goodness... what happened to you, my dear snowflake?!" His voice cracked slightly, as though her change wounded him.

"Master? Are you alright?" she asked in a worried tone, her eyes shimmering with pure concern.

Aether’s lips parted, his words coming out in a gasp. "Oh my god..." His gaze ran over her face, her expression too pure, too harmless.

She looked... far too innocent.

"Where is my rowdy girl?" he demanded, almost pleading.

"Rowdy? What’s that, Master?" she asked again, tilting her head even more, her big eyes widening in naive curiosity.

Aether’s chest tightened. "What happened? Who brainwashed you?! Aarrh!!" His fingers trembled as he stared at her, wanting to cry at the sight of his once wild Snowflake now acting like a sweet, obedient angel.

Just then—

"Haha..."

"Fu~Fu~"

Helena and Sera entered the room with light giggles, catching sight of Aether’s overly dramatic reaction.

His head snapped toward them instantly,

"What... have you done to her?"

Sera raised one hand, almost defensively. "I didn’t do anything."

Helena, however, averted her eyes and nonchalantly blew on a small whistle, her lips curving into the faintest smirk.

"W-What are you looking at me for? She had been calling everyone with vulgar words, you know!!"

"...." Aether didn’t even need her confession. He could tell immediately—it was Helena who had purified his beloved Snowflake.

"S-Snowflake... my poor child..." he muttered with a breaking voice. Even though it was meant for the better... his annoyingly troublesome Snowflake had been reborn into something far too tame.

He didn’t know whether to be proud of Helena’s parenting skills or... cry the loss of the mischievous girl who used to play with him.

"Wait here, Master. I will bring tea for you."

Snowflake hopped down from his hands and slithered gracefully toward the hallway.

Aether blinked, "Oh?" He let out a long sigh, shaking his head slowly.

What’s done was done... no crying over.

Meanwhile, Snowflake, already halfway out of the room, suddenly halted in her tracks. She cast a glance over her shoulder, her expression shifting.

"Sigh... what a pain in the ass. Acting like a bitch," she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes before continuing her slither away.

Anyway, back to the house—

Aether’s expression grew serious as he sat down with Sera and Helena, discussing the project, the current progress, and most importantly... Helena’s proposal to marry him.

Of course, the topic didn’t just begin without some comfort. Aether leaned his head on Sera’s lap, letting her fingers comb through his hair, while Helena took possession of his legs, resting them across her thighs.

Helena pouted at the arrangement, clearly jealous she didn’t get his head.

"Tsk... What? You’re going to marry him, and I couldn’t even get his head first?" Sera teased with a frown.

Helena’s pout deepened, but she chose to stay silent. Sera gave her a knowing smirk before turning back to Aether, her tone softening as she spoke.

"You see... you’re planning to take Lia, Nightfire, and... Nyx Shadowfall, right?" She gently massaged his scalp as she spoke, her touch careful and tender.

Aether flinched when he suddenly felt a firm grip on his leg. Looking down, he found Helena staring at it with a blank but dark expression.

Aether gulped. ’This yandere side sometimes pops out of nowhere...’ He subtly nudged his knee into her stomach, giving her a playful wink. Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away, trying to calm herself.

Aether then focused on Sera, who seemed to be handling the situation very calmly... who knows what she was thinking.

"Yes," he finally answered.

Sera sighed and continued, "Then the situation is not right at the moment... Here, as much as I hate to admit it, we do not accept people from the Void Empire.

As you know, they believe in the god of death and don’t even value the worth of life... To them, life is nothing more than a passing breath. They’re... well, you know the type—"

"Yeah, I understand," Aether cut in gently.

As much as the people of the Aurora Empire loved and protected one another, they also despised anything that went against their established order.

In the past... during the previous iteration, Iteration 25, Aether himself had once been hated for the blood on his hands. Yet, in time, they had accepted him.

They had lost everything back then... and when you’ve lost everything, you have no choice but to cling to the one who can still lead you. They believed in Iteration 25 because there was no one else left.

But now... history was starting to repeat itself, except this time, Aether was becoming entangled with the Void Empire.

The Aurora Empire still had Sera and Helena standing strong within it, and that made the stakes far higher.

If Aether were to take Nyx and the others under his wing, it would inevitably connect him to the Void Empire. That might have been fine if he were just an ordinary wanderer—but in the Aurora Empire, he was not a nobody. He was someone significant, someone many already looked to and accepted as their Archpriest.

This wasn’t something he could just do on a whim. It wasn’t simply a personal matter... it was political.

A bad could accept the good if it suited them... but anything good would almost never willingly accept the bad.

And for the Aurora Empire, as well as other Empires, the Void Empire was bad. That was precisely why it had never developed like the other empires.

There was no innovation, no new wonders... just the same dull existence peppered with wicked monsters to keep the darkness alive.

Sera knew all of this and worried deeply. She was aware she was being selfish, but in her heart, it was for the people who believed in Aether.

What she didn’t tell him was that she had been secretly converting a few key individuals to Aether’s side... whispering to them as if he were a god.

She did it in secret because she knew he hated such worship... but ever since she had seen that... Golden Feather, she couldn’t help herself.

The Divinity it radiated... she couldn’t bear to see it wasted.

Something about it told her it was meant for more than bloodshed and suffering... it was A hope.

And so, she kept doing her best in the shadows.

"I hope you don’t—" she began softly, but before she could finish, Aether pressed a finger to her lips.

"I know you’re doing it for me," he murmured, his tone warm. "I would never object to it... all advice is welcome, my dear." He gave her lips a playful pinch—only to get his fingers pinched back by Helena.

Aether chuckled and, without warning, sat up and pushed Helena backwards onto the bed.

"Kyaa!!" she squealed, her face turning crimson. "W-wait... the Archpriestess is here!"

Aether frowned, snuggling into her bosom without shame. "Archpriestess? Wasn’t she... Sister?"

Helena’s blush deepened as she averted her gaze. "T-that’s so... wrong," she muttered, feeling strange at the thought.

To call someone she once saw as a motherly figure "sister," and then to be doing something so wicked in front of her—it twisted her thoughts into knots.

And kind of exciting?

Hell no!!

Aether, of course, couldn’t resist teasing her more. Sera, who had been chuckling at first, suddenly narrowed her eyes, then pounced onto his back, her warm tongue sliding along his nape.

"Oi!"

Aether flinched, caught between the two beautiful women. Maybe... a little "some-some" wasn’t too far off.

Just then—

"Master~"

The sweet, chirping voice came from the doorway.

Aether froze mid-laugh, as did the women. The moment was shattered, and all three of them instinctively adjusted themselves, just like guilty parents caught by their own child.

Helena quickly covered her face in embarrassment, her ears bright red. Sera cleared her throat, sitting back down with a faint blush, and turned away. Aether, amused by the scene, turned his attention toward Snowflake.

"Look at you... all grown up," Aether said softly as he reached to take the cup she held.

But then...

’Wait... I’m forgetting something, aren’t I?’ His instincts suddenly flared, sharp and uneasy.

Drip...

A strange, wet sound echoed.

Aether’s eyes narrowed as he looked at it... only to be horrified.

The glass itself was melting under, whatever was inside slowly eating through it like acid.

"...Fuck!"

She wants him to drink this shit?

Even if her character changed... her freaking cooking not!!