Here, Gracy comes back after finishing the work Lucifer had given her and sees that there is no empty space left on Lucifer's arms... but there was one place that was completely empty, where no one was... and that place was Lucifer's chest. So she directly climbs onto the bed and then on top of Lucifer, wrapping her arms around his neck and falling asleep... as if she no longer has any connection with the entire world.
On the other side, Elemor's heart is burning with jealousy seeing Lucifer like this. She is thinking... that the one who was her grandson until yesterday has today become the biggest enemy of her own family... and seeing Lucifer love his wives and daughter in this way, her mind screams to grab a knife right now and slaughter all five of them on the spot. But doing that was far from easy... So she sinks deeper into her venomous thoughts.
****************************************************
After Gracy leaves the living hall, Mia and Amelia are utterly confused about what this "good occasion" actually is... because whenever Lucifer plans something without telling the mother-daughter duo, their minds grow restless. So both decide they will go and confront Lucifer directly.
Mia says to Vritra, "Vritra, neither of us is angry anymore..." Then, pointing toward Bianca, "But keep a sharp eye on her. Provide whatever she needs, but if anything feels even slightly suspicious, act instantly—restrain her and make her a captive." Then to Mara and Aelune, "You two head out now. We're going to Lucifer as well."
Vritra replies, "Okay, Grandma."
Aelune and Mara nod, and the shadows vanish... After all, they have news to spread across the shadow world... Today is their celebration too.
As soon as Mia and Amelia step outside the room... pure chaos greets them. People are rushing everywhere... Some hauling massive cooking pots, others dragging party tents... Sacks of vegetables in some hands, heaps of grains in others—all heading to the makeshift kitchen built behind the ducal house. It is only midday, the sun directly overhead.
Allen is drenched in sweat, barking orders to everyone... On the other side, Jason is loading wagon after wagon with vegetables... So much food is being prepared... Neither Mia nor Amelia has the slightest clue why.
Amelia glances up by mistake and sees Jeff dangling from ropes, tying cloth sheets into a massive canopy over the kitchen... Now neither can hold back. Mia calls out to Allen in the distance, "Allen!"
The noise is deafening—Mia's voice doesn't carry. Eventually, mother and daughter weave through the crowd to reach him. Mia asks, "Allen, what function is all this preparation for?"
Allen cups his ear, "Madam, what did you say?"
Mia repeats louder, "What is happening here... What function are we preparing for?"
Allen wipes sweat from his brow, "Madam Mia, I don't know the exact function. I only know there's a party tonight... The entire town has been invited to feast..."
"I just returned from announcing it across town... Now I'm overseeing the cooking."
Mia mutters, "This Lucifer... He has reduced me—the Grand Duchess—and Duchess Amelia to mere decorations... making every decision alone. Tell me, in which duchy does the Duchess not even know a party is happening in her own house... and when she learns of it, still has no idea why?"
She adds firmly, "Now we'll have to ask him ourselves."
Amelia asks, "Allen, where is Lucifer?"
Allen shrugs, "Miss, no one knows where Master is right now."
Mia presses, "Fine, where is Gracy then?"
Allen replies, "Madam, I don't know where the young miss is either."
Amelia snaps, "Allen, you're Lucifer's butler, aren't you? What do you actually know?"
Allen sighs, "Miss, only that there's a party tonight... Please excuse me, I truly don't have time to chat—I have preparations to handle."
Mia says, "Come on, let's check the shed. He was there with Aunt Elemor."
The two head toward the orchard shed... They reach the gate, push it open... and find Elemor still seated on the sofa, muttering darkly to herself. She glances at Mia and Amelia with one cold eye... says nothing aloud, just continues her silent venomous whispers. That single eye burns with pure hatred.
Amelia's gaze shifts to the bed—she can't believe what she sees. She elbows Mia sharply and nods toward it... When Mia looks, her emotions crash together: love, anger, and overwhelming jealousy—not toward Lucifer, but toward the five curled against his arms and chest, their faces glowing with perfect peace, joy, and fulfillment.
Now Mia and Amelia understand Gracy's earlier rush... Drawing closer, they see Lucifer's face mostly hidden beneath Gracy's hair, but where visible... he is smiling softly in his sleep.
Both try to force themselves forward, to wake him and demand answers... but their feet refuse to move. Their hearts won't allow them to shatter this tender moment.
Mia thinks silently... If only I were lying there with Lucifer like that... If only he held me so protectively in his sleep... They turn to leave, but a gentle, sweet voice stops them cold.
"Mommy, Sis... won't you come to me?"
Mia steps closer to the bed, "Luci, you're sleeping, aren't you? Your eyes are closed... How did you know we were here?"
Lucifer answers without opening his eyes, "I heard... and I smelled."
"I heard you speaking with Allen... I smelled when you left Grandma Bianca under Vritra's watch... and your footsteps at the gate confirmed it was you two."
A thousand questions flood Mia and Amelia's minds... but answers feel impossibly far away.
Suddenly, Lucifer carefully slides his arms free from beneath his wives' heads without disturbing them... Then cradles Gracy's head with one hand, her waist with the other, and stands using his legs for balance.
Gracy now rests in his arms like a mother cradling her sleeping child... One hand supporting her, the other gently patting and stroking her back... Occasionally kissing her temple with infinite tenderness.
Seeing this, Mia and Amelia feel it in their bones—this is what a true father should be. We never gave Lucifer this kind of love... Christopher never did either... How does Lucifer do it all so naturally, so effortlessly?
Lucifer carries Gracy, pressed close to his chest, and sits on the sofa opposite Elemor. "Mommy, Sis... tell me, why are you here?"
Mia replies softly, "Can't I just come to see you, Luci?"
Lucifer smiles faintly, "Of course you can... But you didn't come only to see me, did you, Mommy? Ask your questions... I'm ready to answer."
Mia hesitates, "Luci... why are you speaking like this? Have I... done something wrong?"
Lucifer's tone hardens slightly, "Yes... not one mistake, but two."
"I don't understand why you keep repeating the same ones."
Mia pleads, "Luci... what mistake has Mom made? I don't know... please tell me."
Lucifer says, "Do you still have that lingering soft spot for Christopher... or Sarah... the one that was there when I first told you they, along with Rotveil, murdered my daughter?"
Amelia, standing behind, feels her eyes widen in shock—she can't comprehend how Lucifer knows about her private conversation with Mia that day.
Lucifer's words strike Mia like repeated hammer blows to the heart.
Gathering courage, she answers, "No, Lucifer... No soft spot remains for either of them. The day I left Everwood and Christopher... everything ended. After learning about Seren... and after today's recording... only hatred is left. No soft spot... no room in my heart at all, Luci."
She now fully grasps how deeply her earlier words had wounded him.
Then she asks, "Luci... what is the second mistake?"
Lucifer lets out a bitter half-laugh, shakes his head, "You both enjoy watching my pain, don't you?"
This second mistake involves Amelia too, though she is unaware. Amelia speaks up, "Lucifer... what mistake did your big sister make?"
Lucifer softens, "Nothing... forget it. No mistake from you two—it was mine. I overreacted."
But Amelia senses the direction and presses, "Luci... please tell big sis what we did wrong."
Lucifer explains, "You should have obeyed me... When I told you to leave the room... and when I told big sis to take you away, she should have listened."
"You both always believe you're right... So you watched the recording... cried your tears... swallowed your rage... But do you realize how much your tears tear me apart?"
"Why did you need to see it? You had already abandoned Christopher—why put yourselves... and me... through that agony?"
He gestures toward Elemor, "That recording was meant only for her and her ally... I learned of it during our Pinewatch camp, but I never watched it myself until today... because of you two. I had to endure it alongside you."
"That was your second mistake."
Elemor finally snaps, "Whatever lies they fed you are fabricated! All of it—to trap my son! How can you possibly know if it's a son or daughter in the womb? How can you claim to know if the child is even alive?"
Lucifer stares at her coldly for a long moment, "I can feel whether my offspring lives or not."
"And as for knowing it was my daughter who was murdered, not a son... I simply know. I know what grows in the womb of the woman I impregnated."
He points to Westeria, "That is Westeria, my wife... Roughly one month and fifteen days along. In her womb is my daughter, Luseria."
Then he gestures to Amelia, "And my big sister here is nearing one month and nine days... Carrying my son and my daughter. I chose their names on the very first day of our Pinewatch camp... but never had the chance to share them."
Elemor scoffs, "How am I supposed to believe any of this? Who told you such nonsense?"
Lucifer's voice turns ice-cold, "Elemor... rest easy. I will only slaughter your son and your family after my childrens are born... Then you can witness the truth with your own eyes."
"I swear on my murdered daughter Seren—if I am wrong even once, I will grant life to your entire family... and to Christopher."
Mia and Amelia reel in shock at his absolute certainty.
Their hearts ache to hear the twins' names he has chosen.
Mia remembers the original reason they came and says softly, "Lucifer... please forgive Mommy for her mistakes."
Lucifer replies gently, "But I was never angry... so why ask forgiveness?"
Amelia points out, "You just listed our two mistakes."
Lucifer shrugs, "And?"
Mia insists, "We are asking forgiveness anyway."
Lucifer smiles faintly, "I only named the mistakes... I never said I was angry."
Mia protests, "But you were upset with us earlier."
Lucifer admits, "Not upset... just deeply saddened."
His emotions are beginning to overwhelm them both.
Mia finally asks the burning question, "Luci... what is this party really for?"
Lucifer's eyes darken, "Mommy, this is far more than a party... It is a demonstration."
"A party—so the entire town gets one final opportunity to exact vengeance on the Asher name."
"A demonstration—because this is exactly how I will end Sarah and Christopher... but death will be too merciful. I will make them suffer until they beg for oblivion... and even their begging will be ignored."
"Today in the morning after my talk with those so called royals, Zyrene and Almyth have dragged Angelina Asher here from Virexion. First, every single towns-person—over sixty-one thousand souls—will take their personal revenge upon her. I will then heal every wound with my magic. They will strike again... and I will heal again. This cycle will continue until every last debt of blood is paid in full... Only then will I grant her death."
He turns his gaze to Elemor like a blade, "But for your son and your granddaughter... I will reserve something far worse."
"I will flay their skin from their bodies inch by agonizing inch while they are fully conscious... then feed those still-warm strips to packs of rabid, starving dogs right before their eyes. I will grind salt and acid into their raw flesh until their screams shatter the air... then heal them whole again, just to repeat it the next day."
"I will sever their limbs joint by joint... crush the bones to powder in my fists... force-feed them pieces of their own flesh while the dogs devour the rest. I will carve out their eyes, their tongues, their organs—one by one—cauterizing just enough to keep them alive and aware through every second of hell... then heal them fully at dawn so the torment can begin anew."
"And this will continue—day after endless day—until Seren's soul finds peace... something I may never truly know. So it will last until I decide their suffering has balanced her murder... which may be never."
"Elemor... know this: if, while they still breathe outside my grasp, they dare bring any children into this world... I will not spare a single one. I will rip those infants from the womb if needed... crush their tiny skulls slowly so the parents hear every crack... disembowel them alive and make Sarah and Christopher watch their own bloodline writhe and die in agony far worse than swift death. I will bathe in their innocent blood while forcing the parents to lick it from the ground... because I am no merciful butcher like Christopher or Sarah."
"For your Purefield lineage, for your son, for your granddaughter... I will become something far worse than any demon or monster. I will invent new depths of torment that hell itself would recoil from."
"Remember my words well: What I do not say aloud... I still do. What I declare openly... I will do a thousand times over."
"Starting tonight, your remaining lifespan is on borrowed time. Savor every breath... because when I come for you, you will pray for the mercy of simple death... and I will laugh as I deny it forever."
Lucifer's nightmarish threat leaves Mia and Amelia's souls trembling in horror... Elemor's face drains of all color, as broken and helpless as her doomed fate. She whispers, "Lucifer... you truly are a devil..."
Lucifer chuckles darkly, "I am no devil, Elemor. You and your kind forged me into something far worse. Look what you've created... I have surpassed every monster in cruelty. Congratulations—you finally succeeded where even the Ashers failed."
With that, Lucifer cradles Gracy once more and returns to the bed... laying her down with exquisite tenderness.
He calls softly, "Velerica."
Velerica materializes instantly, "Yes, husband?"
Lucifer gestures toward Elemor, "As long as this woman remains in Westirifer... watch every twitch, every breath, every shadow she casts."
Velerica bows, "Yes, master."
She melts into Elemor's own shadow and vanishes.
Lucifer strides out of the shed... leaving astonishment in his wake, and one woman drowning in inescapable dread.