Chapter 377 - Let Go

"Maki Yuuka, the blank soul, is your mother."

Huh?

Alinea was quiet for a while. She just stared at Gin, taking time to absorb his words. When she did, she turned to her husband, then to Ivan, then to Emi, and Chiaki. None of them looked surprised, and she nodded. It seemed everybody already knew.

"I… I see…" she said with a nervous smile.

Well, she knew there was a possibility of that since Yuuka was a blank soul. But of course, it's still normal for her to be a little bit surprised. But a big part of her already expected this somehow. Her father somewhat already gave them all a clue anyway.

"You're not shocked?" Gin prompted, and Ali shook her head.

"My father's impulsive behavior was already dead giveaway. I was somehow expecting this," she said honestly, then frowned upon remembering something. "But what do you mean her memories will be erased?" she demanded. But when no one answered, she asked again. "Why?"

"Because it's what your mother wants," Gin answered.

"But does she know about father? About me?" she demanded.

"No," Gin answered again, agitating her.

"We're her husband and daughter. Shouldn't she need to know?"

"No, she declined to know," Gin said again.

This time, Alinea was upset. "What do you mean uncle? I'm sure if we tell her, she would understand."

To understand what exactly, she didn't know, but Ali believed that Yuuka at least should know about them. She never had a mother, so for her, there was nothing special. But she grew up seeing her father always pining for a love that he had lost. She couldn't understand why Perun would agree to this when the person he'd been longing for so long was just there.

"It's the King of Heaven's will," Gin insisted. His voice had a finality that wouldn't accept any rebuttal.

"But why –"

"Ali." Ivan's voice came out low as a warning, stopping her protests.

Alinea turned to him, surprised that he used such a tone on her. The Emperor of Kres's face which always had a waiting smile was devoid of one at the moment, and she frowned.

"Ivan, you grew up with Alistair. I'm sure you know how he truly felt," she told the redhead.

"Yes, and that's why you should back down Ali. Respect your father and mother's decision this time around," Ivan countered firmly. His jade green eyes bore into hers until she settled down in defeat.

"Calm down, my love," Ryuu told her as he rubbed her back. "Your mother is a human. You should always remember that. Also, there are some things that don't need our intervention. Even if it's not now, if it's meant to be, your mother will return. At that time maybe she'll want to learn about the things she's too scared to learn now."

With this Alinea became quiet and they started eating. She ate mechanically as she sorted out her thoughts and feelings. She worried about her father. At the same time, she couldn't understand why he'd allow her mother to forget about them. However, she also agreed to Ryuu. She didn't know the story. Only the people involved did. She would have to respect that.

The King of Heaven's Will…

This meant that even if she wanted to meddle and tell Yuuka about her little family, she couldn't. Not only she would get punished, but there's also a chance that Yuuka would die too. Not only Ali, but everyone in this room –their hands were all tied.

With a sigh, Alinea finally gave up on this issue. She might be the daughter, and she did deserve to be acknowledged by her parents, but she shouldn't impose her own selfish dėsɨrės. Ivan was right. Gin was right. Ryuu was right. This thing with her parents – she decided to let go, at least, for now. After all, there were more important things she needed to focus on.

"Can we practice again after eating?" she asked Ivan.

"Are you sure? You just had an accident," Ivan reminded her with a frown.

Worrywart.

Alinea grinned at her 'older brother'. "I'm sure. I don't want to waste time. I need to practice whenever I can."

Controlling the other powers other than lightning was very difficult for her. Even if she still had a week to train before her graduation, she preferred to master the gist of at least switching the elements without accidents.

Actually, there were two things she needed to learn with the powers she had now. The first was to switch between the elements with ease. The other was to combine the right amount of power to produce a more powerful attack. The latter was the more dangerous one since if she miscalculated with the amount of energy, the power would backfire as the stronger one would try to swallow the other and cause an explosion like it did earlier during practice.

"Don't overdo it," Ryuu told her and she smiled.

Her husband didn't stop her but advised her not to do too much. She found him sweet.

"I won't," she promised, totally amused.

As if she could overwork herself with her husband, big brothers, father, and her uncle around. Even if she wanted to do that, she'd be stopped – bound and gagged even to keep her from doing too much. Realizing that she was surrounded by men who worried like a bunch of mother hens, she sighed in defeat.

"Take an hour rest first before we resume," Ivan told her, and she didn't protest.

After the meal, Ali was convinced to take a short nap by her husband. She realized after lying down that she was indeed a bit exhausted. Her body still received damages after all. Even if Emi cured her external wounds, her energy still hadn't returned fully.

When the time for practice came, Ryuu woke Alinea up, and he went with her and Ivan to the other dimension again while the others took good care of their own things. Chiaki went home to her own house as Taka, the baby nephew she adopted wouldn't stop crying. Aki came to the Cedar Palace to pick her up so they could take Taka to the hospital for a checkup.

As for the King of Heaven, he still hadn't returned.