Afterward, the two of them agreed on a few things.
Miria would not reveal the truth about the original Rayne being replaced for the time being to avoid causing greater chaos.
In exchange, Rayne had to have an “honest talk” like today’s with Miria every so often.
As for where the original Rayne went, Miria speculated that the two souls had completely merged, based on the fact that the current Rayne had received the original’s memories.
Everyone’s memories were stored in the Sea of Consciousness, and deep within that sea slept their souls.
Fusion.
The ability to receive someone else’s memories indicated that the two souls had met in the Sea of Consciousness and produced a perception of “possession” that differed from “A entered B, so B became A.”
In this world, the understanding of such a situation seemed to be “whether A entered B or B entered A, they are now AB or BA.”
Only the subjective consciousness differed.
This was known as the rare phenomenon of “Soul Fusion,” and the Church actually considered it a form of new birth.
Miria was, after all, a child raised within the Church.
The worldview the Church had shaped for her allowed her to quickly accept the matter of Rayne’s Soul Fusion.
Her previous wariness and lack of trust toward Rayne had been purely due to not knowing his thoughts and attitude, as well as the panic of a familiar person being silently replaced.
Now that everything was out in the open, and she had verified with her abilities that the current Rayne cared for her and Lita even more than the original did, Miria felt a bit at a loss.
However, compared to the former Rayne—who had a feminine temperament and a faint sense of detachment—the current Rayne, with his gentle aura and inexplicable fondness for her and Lita, felt much easier to get along with.
“Does this count as us having a little secret together behind Lita’s back?”
After the conversation ended, Rayne muttered softly.
He felt like he was technically poaching from his little sister’s corner.
This sentence caused a wave of panic in Miria for no reason.
She felt as if she had done something wrong to her best friend, experiencing a thrilling sensation of secret betrayal.
As if trying to hide something, she turned around and forced herself to look at Rayne with feigned composure.
“Do you still think of Lita as a sister?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Rayne asked in return.
Miria struggled for a moment before asking, “What about… your family? I mean, in your hometown, you must have relatives, right? If you suddenly disappeared, won’t they be worried?”
Rayne knew the kind-hearted Miria was concerned for him, but he was instantly struck silent by her words.
He had actually been avoiding this question, forcing himself not to think about it.
But eventually, one had to face reality.
That difficult silence immediately let Miria know she might have said the wrong thing.
Before she could apologize, Rayne spoke first, as if to lessen her guilt.
He looked up at the sky, his gaze piercing through the afterglow of the setting sun as if staring at a place far, far away.
‘Can I still go back?’
‘How would I even go back?’
He couldn’t.
He really couldn’t go back.
“I can only be Rayne now. Rayne’s family is my family…”
Even Miria, an outsider, could feel the heavy, helpless longing in his voice.
It was as if he no longer had a home.
—
After returning to the manor from the garden, Rayne found that Lita had also finished her talk with Claude.
She was standing at the entrance of the hall with her hands on her hips, looking puffed up with anger.
Seeing Rayne and Miria return one after the other, with an atmosphere between them that seemed slightly off, the little sister immediately bristled!
She lunged forward, bumping Rayne aside, and grabbed Miria with both hands.
She turned her head and glared fiercely at Rayne.
“What did you do to Miria again!?”
“Ha! Are you planning to do what you did last night to her too!?”
“You’re an unrepentant beast!”
Rayne gave a wicked smirk and said nothing, simply staring at Lita.
He stared until Lita felt her skin crawl, and she shifted uncomfortably.
“What are you looking at!?”
“I’m looking at you because you clearly don’t understand.”
Facing Lita’s outburst, Rayne’s mindset was very peaceful.
He felt that the previous experience in the Elven Hall must have improved the little sister’s opinion of him at least a tiny bit.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be just using her mouth right now; she probably would have started swinging.
“Understand… understand what?”
Lita felt Rayne’s smile was somewhat mocking, which made her even angrier.
“If you want to understand, come to my room tonight. I’ll show you something good.”
Rayne figured that the side effects of the Elf Baptism would likely appear tonight.
When the time came, the torment Lita experienced would make her understand who the boss was.
You’re acting tough with me now?
I’ll make you cry tonight!
Wail and cry!
Hearing these aggressive words, Lita’s face turned bright red, and she spat, “Shameless! Lewd!”
No matter what, she was his sister, wasn’t she?
How did this dog dare to tease her so blatantly?
And Father was right there!
His courage was way too great, wasn’t it?
While protecting Miria, Lita also tried to shield herself.
She glanced toward Claude out of the corner of her eye, naively believing her dear father would severely punish this shameless, rebellious son.
However, that one glance nearly caused her mental state to collapse.
Claude had a look of pure ecstasy on his face, though no one knew what he was so happy about.
Without a word, he loudly ordered the maids to add more dishes to the dinner.
He rubbed his hands together like a fly, and with old tears streaming down his face, he quickly stepped up to Rayne, grabbed his hand, and began shaking it.
“Tonight, aside from your room, I won’t let Lita enter a single door! Son! I’m entrusting her to you!”
This heartless, almost cruel voice made Lita feel like the sky was falling.
Her head spun, and she almost couldn’t catch her breath.
‘Father?’
‘What are you saying?’
‘You’re going to personally hand over your most beloved daughter to that beast? To that scum who plans to lay a hand on his sister’s best friend, and even his sister?’
‘Am I dreaming?’
Rayne was also a bit baffled by the shaking.
He felt like Old Claude might have misunderstood him.
‘I’m just solving the side effects of Lita’s Elf Baptism. Why are you so happy you look like you’re about to hold a grandson?’
‘Isn’t this a bit much?’
‘Did Sos not tell you what I explained earlier?’
Confused, he turned his gaze toward Sos, who was watching the excitement from the side.
Sos noticed Rayne’s gaze and instantly grasped his young master’s thoughts, nodding toward him.
The notification had been delivered, but whether the Master understood it correctly was unclear.
As he withdrew his gaze, Rayne noticed a flash of cunning in Claude’s eyes.
Clearly, a smart man like Claude understood perfectly well.
In fact, he understood what Rayne truly meant better than anyone else present.
He knew everything; he was just pretending to be ignorant.
Because he had heard from his daughter that Rayne had proactively given the chance for the Elf Baptism—which should have been his—to Lita.
As the head of the family, how could Claude not understand how rare and precious such a gift was?
He only knew that his adopted son’s attitude toward his daughter was such that he would practically give his life for her.
He was even closer to her than he, her biological father, was!
Did this level of affection not speak for itself?
With Rayne’s silent devotion to Lita, he couldn’t pay him back even if he sold his own daughter.
In that case, he might as well sell her… anyway, it was just converting external debt into internal circulation.
He wouldn’t lose out.
Even in the most difficult scenario, he might luck out and get an heir back from his daughter, ensuring his old friend’s direct bloodline didn’t die out completely.
The youth were full of fire and thin-skinned.
If he stirred the pot a little more tonight and the atmosphere got just right, it would only take one impulsive shiver.
It wouldn’t take much time at all.
He had even thought of the names for his grandchildren.
If it was a girl, she’d be Leta; if it was a boy, Rean.
A forced melon might not be sweet, but it quenches thirst.
As for why he was thirsty, don’t worry about it!
The old man had many schemes indeed.
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