Lucy said casually, "Oh, you mean my discipline?"

I froze mid-step, staring at her like I had just seen a ghost.

All time wearing the wrong kind of smile.

"Discipline? Isn't Leviathan at least a few thousand years old?"

My words stumbled out. "Then how old are you- "

I stopped. My mind was spinning, caught between fascination and disbelief.

My eyes unconsciously scanned her, taking in her presence.

I was like someone trying to measure sunlight in their hands.

She stood there, calm, almost impossibly composed.

Yet, somehow it kept radiating a subtle power that made the air her feel heavier.

I noticed the way her posture carried authority without arrogance.

The way her movements were precise yet unforced.

Like a lioness that could strike at any moment but chose to observe instead.

Before I could finish my question, Lucy tilted her head slightly and looked at me.

Her eyes closed, a thin, enigmatic smile curling on her lips.

I felt an odd chill run down my spine.

A warning that what I was about to ask might be a mistake.

There was something in that moment, something sharp and cold.

And that made me want to retreat.

Even though my curiosity was screaming at me to continue.

Her hand lifted slowly to rest on her cheek.

The gesture elegant yet threatening in its own way.

"Never ask a woman about her age, Ragnar," she said.

Her voice was smooth but firm.

The kind that brooked no argument.

"Besides, look at me. I'm still young and beautiful."

I looked at her. I really did.

And in that instant, I had to admit to myself.

And quietly, almost guiltily, that she was indeed beautiful.

Not in a superficial way, not like a painting hung on a wall that anyone could admire.

She was beautiful in a way that made your chest tighten.

She looked like someone who could wield charm and danger at the same time.

Her eyes were a sharp, penetrating gray, almost storm-like.

Her eyes set perfectly under delicately arched brows.

Her hair cascaded down her back, dark and glossy.

It catched the light in strands that seemed to move with a will of their own.

Her form was lithe, graceful.

The kind of elegance that made her movements fluid.

Yet, it was impossible to ignore, each step measured yet natural.

Her presence was commanding.

Even seductive in a way that didn't scream for attention but demanded it nonetheless.

But my mind, stubborn and reckless, tore itself away from admiring her.

And to a more important concerns.

"You said you… taught her," I managed, my voice sharper than I intended.

Lucy cleared her throat softly, a sound that carried authority and amusement all at once.

"Yes," she said.

"I was hired as a temporary royal mage by the Hydro Kingdom when she was young.

I remember… she was indeed talented at water manipulation.

As expected from a Leviathan."

I blinked, leaning forward slightly, my curiosity piqued. "Water manipulation?"

Lucy smiled, a small, knowing twist of her lips.

"Yes. She could control mana through her innate water talent.

It wasn't just moving water.

It was shaping it, guiding it, bending it without a drop spilling where she didn't want it.

It was a skill born in her, innate, as natural as breathing.

The smallest ripple obeyed her will, and the mightiest wave bowed to her touch.

It was… beautiful to witness."

She crossed her arms, and her tone shifted slightly, more serious, more guarded.

"The only thing that could pose a problem for you kids is the Supreme Empress herself."

I felt a knot tighten in my chest.

"The Supreme Empress? Leviathan's grandmother?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes. But don't worry. I will hold her for a while."

She said it so casually that I wanted to laugh at first.

But...then I remembered what I knew of this woman.

The Supreme Empress was no ordinary ruler.

She was called the Pillar of the Empire for a reason.

As one of the top ten powerhouses in the entire continent.

To face her would be like standing at the base of a mountain with only a dagger.

Yet Lucy, always smiling, added jokingly, "If she's in the top ten, I'm in the top five."

Her confidence, effortless and complete, made my chest ease a little.

I allowed myself a small, cautious smile.

And trying to imagine the impossible truth of her words.

Then, in a sudden burst of practical curiosity, I asked, "Does Leviathan have a twin or something?"

Lucy shook her head, her smile unwavering. "No, as far as I know, she doesn't."

But then her expression shifted subtly.

A flash of something reminiscent of old memory.

"But wait," she said, her voice softening.

"when I was teaching back then, there was a rumor.

The king… he had a bastard daughter who looked exactly like Leviathan."

I leaned in instinctively, my heart hammering. "A bastard daughter?"

Lucy nodded, her gaze distant as if sifting through half-forgotten memories.

"Yes. I heard it from maids, guards… inside whispers.

It was never officially acknowledged, of course.

But...everyone knew something had happened.

As far as that rumor went, she died in her room.

Only leaving a jewel behind. That was all that remained of her."

My eyes shone with sudden clarity.

The pieces of a puzzle snapping into place.

"That's it," I breathed.

My hands unconsciously clenching around the thought of it.

The jewel. I could feel it even in my imagination.

It's smooth edges cool against my palm.

When I held it to my heart, it emitted a dim, gentle light.

It kept pulsing in a rhythm that matched my own heartbeat.

And then… I felt myself being drawn.

There she was. That version of Leviathan.

She was dressed in white clothes that shimmered faintly.

She kept glowing in the surrounding void.

She regarded me with calm eyes.

It felt as though she could read every thought.

She could every hesitation, every question I had yet to ask.

"Call me Maria," she said.

Her smile wry, almost teasing, she added.

"and it seems you've met my half-sister already."

I nodded, stunned, speechless for a moment.

And then I stepped closer.

Maria raised her arm, a simple sweep that felt impossibly smooth and natural.

And from nowhere, a table and two chairs materialized between us.

I blinked, my mind struggling to keep pace.

The table seemed to flow into existence as if it had always been there.

As if summoned effortlessly by her will.

We floated gently toward it.

The white space stretching around us without edges or bounds, and we sat.

Tea and cookies formed before us, delicate and inviting.

They both too appeared out of nothing.

Yet, grounded in reality as if they had always existed.

Maria poured the tea, her movements fluid and elegant.

Each motion precise.

The warm liquid flowed smoothly into the cup she handed me.

And I took a sip, the comforting taste grounding me in the surreal scene.

She sipped her own cup, her eyes never leaving mine.

The quiet rhythm of the moment allowed me to gather my courage.

"I know you have many questions," she said softly, almost lazily.

"and you can ask as much as you want."

I exhaled, finally, the tension that had coiled in my chest for hours, days. loosening slightly.

But the questions… they tumbled forward anyway, unstoppable.

Tumbling from my mouth faster than I could manage. I said, "What happened to you?"

Maria smiled again, a small, wry twist of her lips.

And not yet answering but encouraging me to keep going.

I noticed the subtle shift in her expression when I mentioned the jewel.

The slight narrowing of her eyes.

As though acknowledging something unspoken yet known.

The white space seemed to contract gently around us, attentive, as if listening.

"You're impatient," she finally said, her voice smooth like polished stone.but not unkind.

"But I suppose that is expected. And yes, the jewel… it was the key, the last tether.

It carried the essence of what was lost, what never fully existed in the world.

And now, it has led you here."

I swallowed hard, the weight of her words pressing against me.

My mind spun with the implications, each thought cascading into another.

She was there, fully aware, fully in control, yet patient.

The calmness she exuded was almost maddening.

How could someone so young, Maria, possess such mastery.

Such a complete command over her own power and presence?

Maria leaned back slightly, allowing the silence to settle like a soft blanket.

I could see the faint shimmer in her white robes.

The subtle aura that hinted at power beyond imagining.

And still, she smiled, that wry, knowing smile that made it impossible to look away.

"I can tell you what you need to know," she said.

"but first… you must understand that some truths are dangerous.

Some truths are heavy. And yet, here you are, reaching for them anyway."

I nodded, gripping the cup in my hands as though it anchored me to reality.

"I'm ready," I said, though part of me trembled at the enormity of what lay ahead.

Maria's eyes softened for the briefest moment.

The wry smile giving way to something almost ethereal.

Though it tinged with the same quiet warning as before.

"Very well," she said, leaning forward.

"Let us begin, and may your heart withstand what you are about to learn"

I could feel my chest tighten with anticipation and fear.

But...I would've never expected her next words.

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