When we returned to the House Sturm townhouse, Kaylee and I reported back to Father. After we finished, he told us to let him handle the rest. Now that we made initial contact with House Montgomery through Lady Emmaline, we could leave everything else to Father and Lord Montgomery.

Kaylee argued against this decision, saying that she should be involved, since she was the heir to House Sturm. However, Father remained adamant. He wanted Kaylee to focus on her studies in the Solarian Imperial Academy.

My younger sister refused to give up. The two of them argued about it for a long time. It grew quite heated. So much so, that I took my leave mid way through. I doubted either of them noticed.

During breakfast the next day, I learned that Kaylee won in the end. While she would mostly focus on her studies, and forging connections with her peers at the academy, she would assist Father in dealing with the underground organization. My younger sister looked pleased with herself, while Father appeared resigned. Mother spent breakfast consoling him.

I understood where each of them came from. Father didn't want to overburden Kaylee with too many duties on top of her schoolwork. While she was the heir to House Sturm, she was also a fourteen year old girl.

On the other hand, as a regressor, Kaylee was mentally older than she appeared. She was more than capable of helping Father deal with the underground organization and excel in her studies.

After breakfast, the rest of my family left the House Sturm townhouse on various errands while I stayed at home. The past few days had been rather busy and stressful. I needed a break. Other than my cultivation and training, I decided to do nothing but relax for the entire day.

So, after I finished with my daily cultivation and training, I lounged around in my room while wearing a simple shirt and a pair of loose trousers. Aurora napped in my lap, letting out cute little snores as she slept.

I wanted to follow her example, but couldn't. For some reason, I couldn't relax enough to fall asleep. I felt this strange anxiety, as if I had forgotten something important and I kept trying to remember what it was. However, no matter how hard I tried, my mind remained blank.

A part of me wondered if this was just my mind playing tricks on me. Ever since I transmigrated back to Lumina, I never had much free time. I was always busy with something. Was that it? Was I so unused to lazing about that I was incapable of it?

As I was contemplating this, someone knocked on my door.

"Enter," I called out in a languid tone.

The door opened, revealing one of the townhouse's maids. She wore a frantic expression on her face.

"Lord Gabriel!" she called. "It's an emergency! Your fiancée is here!"

I blinked at her. What? Anna was here? Why would that be an emergency?

I started to ask for more information. However, before I could, Anna appeared right behind the maid. My fiancée wore a scowl on her face, causing the maid to shrink back. Anna was upset, that much was obvious, and my intuition told me that it was my fault somehow.

"It's okay," I told the maid. "You may go now."

The maid looked relieved and nodded, before fleeing. Anna stepped into my room and shut the door behind her. It closed with an ominous thunk. Under normal circumstances, my mind would wander towards more… Carnal thoughts. After all, I had a beautiful woman in my room. However, it was hard to think of such things when faced with an angry Anna.

Somehow, despite all the commotion, Aurora remained asleep.

I took a moment to study Anna. In addition to the blue and silver choker around her neck, she wore a red dress and had her blond hair back in a simple pony tail. I felt a little underdressed in comparison.

"You have a lot of nerve," Anna said, crossing her arms.

"You're angry with me," I said, stating the obvious.

Anna snorted and didn't respond.

"May I ask why?"

Anna narrowed her eyes at me.

"Do I have to spell it out?" she asked.

"In this case, yes." I gave her a pleading look. "Please, have mercy on me."

Anna sighed, before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"A few days ago, the very day you and I became engaged, you asked my Clan for help. One of your people had been kidnapped. A little while later, we received word that you succeeded in finding the person you were looking for."

I gave her a quizzical look.

"And that's a problem?" I asked.

Anna stopped pinching the bridge of her nose and glared at me.

"The problem, dearest Gabriel," she said. "Is that I waited to hear from you directly. Instead, my fiancé, who I just got engaged to, ignored me. I waited for days, and yet nothing. You didn't even have to show up. A letter would have sufficed. Yet, you couldn't even do that much."

Oh. Now that Anna pointed it out, I realized why she was upset. In her shoes, I'd feel the same way.

"I apologize," I said, rubbing my face. "The past few days have been busy for us. I mean that as an explanation, not an excuse. You're right. I should've sent word to you."

Anna snorted.

"At least you're quick to learn." She marched over and leaned down, her face inches from mine. Her vanilla scent teased my nose. I'll admit, I felt a slight thrill at the way she loomed over me. "Remember, we're engaged now. Our fates are tied together." She gestured to both of us. "In many ways, we are one. What affects you affects me, and vice versa."

"I understand," I said with a nod.

Anna broke out into a grin.

"Good." She gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Since you realized your fault and apologized for it, I forgive you." She made a shooing gesture. "Now move over. Let me sit next to you."

I scooted over, taking care not to wake Aurora, and made room for Anna. My fiancée sat down and leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder. The warmth of her body felt nice. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. For some reason, she grabbed my hand and pressed it against her breast. I gave her a questioning look.

"What?" she asked. "It feels nice and there's no one else around." She smirked. "You're not complaining, are you?"

I glanced down at Aurora and back at Anna.

"As long as we're quiet, it won't matter," my fiancée said, giving me a lascivious grin.

I sighed, but kept my hand where it was. I mean, Anna was right. It did feel nice.

"So, tell me what happened," Anna said.

I gave her a brief summary of what happened. Kaylee and I meeting with Crawford, the fight with Lord Loren, that whole ordeal with Lady Emmaline.

"Ugh, Crawford," Anna said after I finished. "I hate that prick. He's a scumbag. A useful scumbag, but a scumbag nonetheless."

I took a moment before responding.

"What happened between him and Kaylee?" I asked. "It's obvious that they have a history together."

Anna shook her head.

"That's not my story to tell," she said. "Ask Kaylee if you want to hear it." She paused. "I'll just say this, if you're ever tempted to feel sorry for him because of the way Kaylee treats him, don't. He deserves it."

I nodded.

"I'll take your word for it," I said.

I had some idea, but without more information, it was all speculation on my part.

"It sounds like you were rather busy," Anna said.

"Yes," I said. "Still, I had enough time to send you a message. I just didn't think of it."

Anna chuckled.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm not mad at you anymore." She snuggled in deeper. "Is that why you were lazing about when I arrived?"

"Yes. I wanted to relax and get some rest."

Anna placed a hand on my thigh, stopping a few inches away from Aurora's sleeping form.

"I know a way to help you relax," she said in a suggestive tone. "I know you'll love it. Trust me."

I tamped down on my rising urges.

"Anna," I said in a strained voice. "Not in front of Aurora."

Anna snorted.

"Please. She's always with you. I'm sure she was aware when we…What was the word you used? Fucked? Yes, that's it."

I wanted to facepalm. When we slept together, I ended up saying "fuck" out loud. Anna, curious about what it meant, asked me about it. I told her, and she kept using it for the rest of the night. It appeared that my fiancee enjoyed talking vulgar during sex.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Regardless, I promised her some cuddle time and I intend to keep that promise," I said.

Anna huffed and withdrew her hand from my thigh.

"Well, fine," she said. "Be that way." She acted mad for a few seconds, before giggling. "I'm joking. It's good of you to keep your word." She looked down at Aurora. "Besides, your spirit is rather cute. She reminds me of a cat."

"Don't let her hear that," I said. "She is a great and mighty frost drake."

Anna reached over to scratch the top of Aurora's head. My spirit shifted in her sleep, her front left leg twitched, before letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Yes, she is," Anna said in a cutesy voice. "A great and mighty frost drake indeed."

The two of us sat there for a while, neither one of us saying a word. Instead, we just enjoyed each other's company in silence. I felt content. This was nice. Not everything needed to be full of excitement and violence. Sometimes, all you needed was some quiet time with a loved one. Two, in this particular case.

After a while, my mind started to wander. My thoughts turned towards Clan Thorne, Anna's older brother in particular.

"How are things with Lord Miles?" I asked.

He still owed my parents a kowtow and an apology. While I had been busy with other things, I hadn't forgotten the terms of our duel. Nor did I intend to let Lord Miles off. He insulted House Sturm. For that, he deserved some sort of punishment.

"Miles has shut himself in his rooms ever since your duel with him," Anna said in an annoyed tone. "He won't speak with anyone, and barely eats anything. Mom and Dad are starting to get worried about him."

"Well, he just had his heart broken," I said. "The woman he loved got engaged to someone else."

Anna sighed.

"I already knew how he felt about me," she said. "I knew even before he confessed his feelings towards me in the First Timeline."

I started in surprise. Aurora, still asleep, let out a displeased noise. After a while, she settled back down and started snorting again.

"He did?" I asked.

Anna nodded.

"I rejected him of course," she said. "I only ever saw him as a brother."

"The heart wants what it wants," I said. "We don't always have control over our feelings, and not always for the better."

"Gabriel, I'm his sister. It doesn't matter if we're siblings by blood or not. We grew up together for fuck's sake." Anna sighed. "Besides, even if that wasn't the case, I still wouldn't love Miles. He's too reckless and impulsive, always acting without thinking." She patted my leg. "I prefer my men compliant, like you."

That sounded like an insult.

"Thanks," I said in a sardonic tone.

Anna chuckled.

"Oh please," she said, caressing the choker around my neck. "Unless there's something wrong with your head, we both know that I'm the more assertive one between us."

"That doesn't mean I'm a puppet that you can move about at will," I said, still irritated.

Anna pulled back and gave me a kiss on the check.

"I know," she said in a contrite tone. "I was careless with my words earlier. Forgive me?"

I looked at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes.

"Yes, I forgive you," I said. "Just remember this. You're right. Between the two of us, you're the more assertive one. However, that doesn't mean I'll put up any disrespect. A lot of people looked down on me during my first life, and they still do in this one. I won't tolerate the same from you. The two of us are partners and equals."

Anna gave me a soft smile.

"Understood," she said. "For the record, I have never looked down on you, even when I want to shove you down and have my way with you."

My cheeks heated up and I swallowed.

"Well, not quite," she said, frowning. "When we first met, I just thought you were an arrogant punk who needed to be taught a lesson."

"Is that why you challenged me to a fight?" I asked.

Anna leaned her head against my shoulder again.

"That was part of it, yes," she said. "I was also angry with you for teaming up with Cally and putting her life in danger." She gestured to herself. "Cally and I were supposed to team up together for that job. However, by the time I arrived, it was already too late."

I thought back to when I first met Cally. Leroy and I had just become adventurers and we were looking for a job to complete. I wanted something fun, so I picked the most exciting job I could find: hunting inferno beasts. Cally also wanted that job and the two of us argued for a bit, before agreeing to team up. As they say, everything after that was history.

Strange. If things had gone a bit differently, Cally and I might never have met. Or if we had, it would've been later on. Hell, I might not have learned about the regression and the invasion from the Infernal Lands until much later.

Looking back on it now, it amazed me just how much a single event could change things. Was meeting Cally and teaming up with her a coincidence or fate? Or did someone maneuver us like pieces on a chess board? A god, perhaps?

That… wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. I already knew that the gods turned back time for Lumina, and chose seven regressors to save this realm from destruction. However, that didn't mean that was the only plan the gods had in place. Perhaps they set up others, just in case. What if my transmigration to Earth and back to Lumina was one such plan?

After thinking about it some more, I decided it didn't matter. Even if that were the case, so what? I benefited from it as well. Thanks to my transmigration, I learned martial arts, gaining the skills and knowledge I needed in order to save my home.

Of course, that didn't mean I was completely happy. I endured a lot of heartache and pain on Earth, after being separated from everyone and everything I knew and loved. If someone orchestrated it, then I had a bone to pick with them.

"What are you thinking about?" Anna asked.

I realized that I hadn't said anything for a while.

"Fate," I said. "Destiny. How a single choice can change the entire course of one's life."

Anna poked my cheek.

"That won't do," she said. "You're supposed to be relaxing, not thinking about such heavy topics." She kissed my neck. "Let me distract you."

My heart started hammering against my chest, though I did my best to ignore it.

"You're incorrigible," I said.

"Tell me you hate it and I'll stop," Anna said.

I couldn't, because that would be a lie.

"But Aurora-" I started to say, but Anna cut me off.

"Woke up a while you were lost in thought, but kept pretending to still be asleep."

I looked down at Aurora and realized that Anna was right. My spirit wasn't snoring anymore. A moment later, Aurora opened an eye and glared at Anna.

"Stupid human," my spirit said, pouting. "This was supposed to be my alone time with my vessel."

Anna gave Aurora an apologetic smile.

"I promise to make it up to you later on," she said.

Aurora stood up and stretched her serpentine body.

"I'll hold you to that, human," she said, before poking me in the stomach. "I demand an extra hour of cuddle time as compensation for this interruption."

I nodded.

"Very well," I said.

"Good." She gestured vaguely in our direction. "I'll give you some privacy, so you can proceed with your… mating."

With that, Aurora slithered into my body and disappeared. The moment she was gone, Anna pounced on me, straddling my lap.

"Finally," she said. "Now nothing's stopping me from ravishing you. By the time I'm done, you won't even remember your own name."

I swallowed while looking into Anna's brilliant blue eyes. For some reason, I felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat. The worst part was that I enjoyed it.

"I thought you wanted to help me relax," I said in a weak voice.

Anna gave me a sadistic grin.

"I lied," she said.

With that, she proceeded to keep her word and ravish me.

For the next several hours, Anna taught me what it meant to be wrung dry. She brought me to heaven and hell, often alternating between them, until I could no longer tell the difference between the two. Worst of all, I was a willing participant.

I was addicted to Anna and what she did to me. No other woman would be able to satisfy me the way she did. Not that I planned on being with anyone but her.

We would've gone for longer, but my family started returning to the House Sturm townhouse. By some minor miracle, Anna and I managed to make ourselves presentable just before they saw us. Even so, my parents regarded us with suspicion, Mother in particular.

Luminian culture was more conservative than Earth's, so a man and a woman alone together for hours on end was a big no-no. It didn't matter that Anna and I were engaged to one another. However, since they couldn't prove anything, my parents let us off with a warning.

Anna joined us for dinner that night, and spent some time with Lorelei and Corrie, before heading back home to Clan Thorne. I escorted her, which resulted in more intimate time together. To my dismay, when I returned to the House Sturm townhouse, Mother sat me down for a long lecture on propriety and decorum. Whenever my mind wandered, Mother snapped me back to the present and forced me to pay attention again.

Nothing much happened over the next few days. I spent most of that time helping Mother with founding Clan Sturm. This required more paperwork than I expected. Part of it was because of my engagement to Anna.

As part of our marriage contract, Lord Trevor would help Mother rejoin Murim. However, in return, Clan Sturm needed to join the Martial Arts Alliance. While this filled me with joy, the accompanying paperwork did not.

We also had to deal with the territory that Father gifted to us. In order to help us along, he gave us one of House Sturm's properties, Sturm Hill Hall, as well as the nearby town of Springhaven. This territory, and the resources it generated, would serve as the foundation of Clan Sturm.

We had the land, now we needed the people. After all, a martial arts Clan needed martial artists. While Mother and I would be Clan Sturm's core, the main family, we needed vassals to serve as our retainers and warriors. We already had a few people, such as Caitlyn and Leroy, but we needed more.

Grand Elder Luther's great grand niece and great grand nephew were two potential candidates. However, I hadn't met with them yet, so I put them in the maybe pile.

After discussing for a bit, Mother and I decided to first recruit from among House Sturm's collateral families, vassal families, and other retainers. We drew up a list, focusing on those who specialized in internal magic.

According to Mother, wizards who excelled at internal magic might also have a talent for martial arts. This wasn't guaranteed, but it happened more often than not. However, they would need to shatter their magic circles and start over again with mana cores. With this in mind, we excluded anyone above Second Circle.

We felt that Third Circle wizards and above would be less willing to go through all that hardship. I didn't blame them. It took most wizards years of arduous effort to reach that far. Few would be willing to throw all that away and start over from the beginning.

As we drew up our list of potential recruits, one name in particular caught my eye: Timothy Jeffers. It seemed familiar, and it took me a while to remember why.

A few months ago, before I formed my mana core and became a martial artist again, I encountered a group of House Sturm retainers harassing Leroy. I believed I called them Jokers or something to that effect. Anyway, the leader of that group, Joker One, tried to threaten me. I responded by bashing his face in with a rock, before his friends up with Leroy's help.

Timothy Jeffers was Joker One. He was also the nephew of Aleah Jeffers, the captain of the House Sturm retainers. That whole incident already soured me towards Timothy Jeffers and it didn't help that he was related to the woman who conspired to end my first life. I suspected Captain Aleah did so for House Sturm's sake, but I didn't know for sure. What if she had an ulterior motive?

According to Cally, Captain Aleah wasn't one of the traitors that helped destroy House Sturm. However, that didn't mean we could trust her. Everyone had their own agenda.

Kaylee and I planned on using Captain Aleah to help protect House Sturm. Afterwards, when we no longer needed her, I planned on getting revenge on her and the other people involved in my first death. Coldhearted, yes, but they brought this upon themselves.

Getting back to Timothy Jeffers, I didn't know if I wanted him to be a part of Clan Sturm. I was tempted, for sure. The Jeffers family had produced countless powerful wizards since their inception. They had served House Sturm for a long time. If they had wanted to, they could've broken off and formed their own House a long time ago, but they chose not to. Bringing a Jeffers into Clan Sturm would be beneficial.

However, I couldn't trust Timothy Jeffers. He no doubt resented me for what happened between us. I couldn't put someone like that in a position to betray me. In fact, now that I thought about it, I couldn't trust the Jeffers family as a whole. Not after everything they did to me.

Still, I didn't want to give up on them just yet. They served House Sturm for a long time. That earned them some leeway from me, enough to give them a second chance. I wanted to see what they did with it.

So, I decided to put Timothy Jeffers in the "maybe" pile. I wanted to meet with him first before making a decision. If he resented me for bashing his face in with a rock, like any normal person would, then I would take him off the list. He could stay in House Sturm.

In the midst of all this, I carved out some free time. While I was tempted to spend it with Anna, I couldn't. I needed to take care of a matter that I had put off for quite some time.

So, when the time came, I visited the Third Layer of Sunheart Undercity in order to find more about spirits and what happened to Aurora.

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