Amon and Seraphina walked side by side down the quiet corridors of the academy, the gentle silence between them heavy with a shared, flustered tension. In Seraphina's arms, Shiro remained soundly asleep, her tiny face buried against Seraphina's shoulder as she let out soft, peaceful breaths.
They were heading directly toward the Headmistress's office on Oberyn's recommendation to formally register Shiro's new status and consult on how to proceed.
Oberyn's earlier explanation still echoed in Amon's mind. When Seraphina had pressed the professor on why Shiro had instinctively called her 'Mama,' Oberyn clarified that because the fledgling Star Dragon lacked biological parents, Seraphina's warm, nurturing care after summoning her had established a deep maternal imprint. The daily infusion of Seraphina's magium had only solidified that emotional and spiritual bond.
However, Oberyn's scheme to shatter Shiro's evolutionary bottleneck had introduced a whole new dynamic. By forcefully siphoning a dense stream of Amon's magium directly into Shiro's core, the child now carried his energy signature alongside Seraphina's. In a sense, Shiro would now instinctively recognise Amon as her father.
And because Shiro was essentially a newborn in a human toddler's form, her stabilisation required her to be in proximity to both energy signatures—her "parents"—even while sleeping.
Amon had immediately protested the sheer absurdity of Oberyn's proposed solution, but his Prosecutor colleague had remained uncharacteristically firm: for Shiro's growth, cohabitation was non-negotiable. Embarrassing or not, Amon and Seraphina would have to share a dorm suite and raise Shiro together.
"U-Um, Amon..." Seraphina's hushed voice broke the silence, her face still flushed a soft rose-pink as she glanced at him nervously. "E-Earlier, before Professor Oberyn's explanation... h-he mentioned you being a P-Prosecutor..."
"Yes," Amon sighed softly, temporarily setting aside his intense internal irritation toward Oberyn. "I am indeed a member of the Prosecutors, and I happen to be the most junior of all my colleagues," he explained in a soft, level voice.
"Whoa..." Seraphina looked genuinely shocked by the revelation, though the lovely crimson hue on her cheeks refused to fade.
She desperately wanted to change the subject to wash away her lingering embarrassment, but Professor Oberyn's decree about sharing a dorm with Amon for Shiro's sake kept ringing endlessly in her mind.
"Does that mean... I am practically his wife now...?" Seraphina thought, her face flushing an even deeper, burning shade of red.
She loved Amon far beyond mere friendship. She harboured profound romantic feelings for him, yet she could never bring herself to admit it aloud. Even though they had shared countless cherished moments since entering the Academy, a quiet dread gnawed at her heart. She was terrified that if she confessed, Amon might reject her and cut ties with her completely.
Amon was her very first real friend—the one person who had stood by her and helped her without a single ulterior motive. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him under any circumstances. She was more than willing to keep her true feelings buried forever and remain just his friend, so long as it meant she could stay by his side.
"I swear, I sometimes deeply regret my ability to cold-read people and discern their exact thoughts..." Amon thought, a sharp, melancholic ache twisting inside his chest. "She actually believes I would push her away if she confessed to me..."
On the outside, his blindfolded expression remained completely serene, but internally, Amon was practically weeping at the heartbreaking sweetness of her insecurity.
"Is there something troubling you, Sera?" Amon asked softly, tilting his head toward her with gentle curiosity.
"O-Oh, it's n-nothing..." Seraphina quickly turned her face away, desperately trying to hide the burning heat on her cheeks. "I-I was just a bit e-embarrassed by the p-prospect of troubling you... to share a d-dorm with me for S-Shiro's sake..."
Amon let out a quiet, melodic chuckle at her nervous stammering.
"It's entirely fine, Sera," he reassured her, his tone dropping into a warm, intoxicatingly gentle register as a brilliant, captivating smile broke across his face. "You are someone deeply special to me, so helping you is never a trouble. Besides, I've grown quite fond of Shiro already... so the thought of raising her together with you actually makes me very happy."
"NO WAIT! FUCK!!! THAT IS NOT WHAT I INTENDED TO SAY!! I WAS SO HYPER-FIXATED ON HER INSECURITY THAT I ACCIDENTALLY BLURTED OUT MY ACTUAL FEELINGS FOR HER INSTEAD!!! FUCK! FUCK!! FUCK!!!" Amon was suffering a catastrophic internal meltdown, screaming into the void of his own mind and dying of sheer embarrassment, even as his external expression maintained an effortlessly cool, dreamy composure.
"I-I see..." Seraphina managed to squeak out, her voice barely a whisper as his words sent her heart doing violent backflips, her face flushing an impossibly deeper shade of crimson.
. . .
Upon arriving at the Headmistress's office, Amon laid out the entire situation to Jacqueline in a thorough, five-minute explanation. Once he concluded, a heavy, deeply awkward silence settled over the room for a few lingering moments.
"Let me ensure I understand this correctly," Jacqueline finally broke the quiet, staring at both Amon and Seraphina with utter incredulity. "Professor Oberyn explicitly informed you that you and Miss Nightfallen must cohabitate in a shared dorm suite purely to facilitate Shiro's growth."
"You have grasped the situation perfectly, Jacqueline," Amon nodded smoothly, his tone cool and untroubled. "On a side note, how are Nancy and Nicole doing?"
"They are doing well, and they have gone out for the afternoon with Victoria," Jacqueline replied, letting out a tired sigh. "Though that is entirely beside the point. Amon, the Academy's official handbook allows zero provisions for co-ed shared dormitories. Shared accommodations are exclusively reserved for students of the same gender."
"You hold the executive power to create an exception to that guideline," Amon countered casually with a soft shrug. "Furthermore, the Academy falls directly under my Mother's overarching jurisdiction. I highly doubt any faculty member or student would dare object to me sharing a suite with Seraphina."
"So, what you are essentially declaring is your intention to blatantly abuse Grand Duchess Crown's authority," Jacqueline observed, her expression shifting into even deeper disbelief.
"Pretty much, yes. However, my justification is more than reasonable," Amon offered a confident, striking smile as he leaned slightly across her desk.
"Besides, would you truly object if your daughters gained another adorable little sister?" His voice dropped into a low, dangerously playful undertone. "After all, you did swear an oath to protect me forever in exchange for saving you from that hellhole~ That is practically equivalent to exchanging vows as husband and wife~"
"Y-You...!" Jacqueline's face exploded into a brilliant, furious shade of red, her composed demeanour instantly shattering as she slammed her hands onto the polished wooden desk. "Have you no shame, Amon?! Teasing your Headmistress in front of Miss Nightfallen like this?!"
Beside him, Seraphina was experiencing a complete and total system shutdown.
"What is he talking about...?" Seraphina's mind was wildly spiralling, her face burning hotter than a star dragon's breath as she clutched the sleeping Shiro closer to her chest. "H-Husband?! Wife?! Sister?! Does Amon... are they... wait, what is their relationship?!"
She kept sneaking bewildered, flustered glances between Jacqueline's crimson face and Amon's effortlessly relaxed posture, utterly overwhelmed by the chaotic web of implications being thrown around.
. . .
"Why did you choose to channel Amon's personal magium rather than his Primordial Beast's?" Khalia asked, leaning back in her leather chair with an intrigued tilt of her head. "Wouldn't tapping directly into the familiar have yielded a far more potent result?"
"In theory, perhaps," Oberyn replied, his steady hands meticulously dissecting a fresh monster heart on the stainless steel table before him. "However, practical application dictates otherwise. While utilising a Primordial's magium might sound like the superior option on paper, the raw density of such power would have exerted an unimaginable burden on a fledgling Star Dragon. She lacks the fundamental capacity to filter energy of that level—she would have imploded long before her core could ever stabilise."
"Damn, is the disparity truly that catastrophic?" Khalia raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise, pondering the sheer gravity of his words.
"Without a doubt," Oberyn confirmed, adjusting his specialised magnifying goggles as he carefully parted the valves of the heart to inspect the internal tissue. "I am baffled as to how Mr Crown managed to contract and tame not just one, but two of the most unfathomable existences in all of Creation. Given that data regarding Primordial Beasts is virtually non-existent, attempting to channel its energy directly would have been a high-stakes gamble with astronomical failure rates."
"You sound equal parts fascinated and downright terrified of him," Khalia teased, a broad, mischievous grin spreading across her lips. "To think that Oberyn Lockhart—the enigmatic top biologist of the Riversong Empire, the legendary Prosecutor who single-handedly dismantled three major Aimus strongholds in a single night and struck absolute terror into the hearts of their high command—is intimidated by his own junior colleague~"
"Intimidated is a dramatic overstatement, Khalia," Oberyn chuckled softly, picking up a pair of fine forceps to extract a glowing core from the ventricle. "I hold a profound respect for his capabilities, paired with a healthy degree of caution. Having someone as terrifyingly brilliant and sharp as Mr Crown as an ally is a monumental asset—yet it never hurts to stay five steps ahead, just in case the scales ever tip in the wrong direction."
"He's a trustworthy fellow at the end of the day," Khalia chuckled, waving her hand dismissively with a breezy grin. "So long as you don't cross any lines regarding his family, Seraphina, or the people he cares about, he's really just an arrogant, annoying brat."
"You truly possess a magnificent talent for delivering a compliment only to attach a sharp insult right at the end," Oberyn sighed, shaking his head lightly as he placed the glowing calcified core into a sleek, floating glass cube.
The moment the object touched the interior pedestal, a ring of violet light swept over it, rapidly analysing its magical composition and rendering live digital schematics in midair.
"I am simply speaking the truth," Khalia added, pushing off her leather chair and stretching lazily as she stood up. "The boy is overwhelmingly egotistical and constantly proves he harbours a full-blown god complex with the sheer audacity of his schemes. But beneath all those layers, he is genuinely a good guy at heart—and he protects the people he cherishes with a terrifying level of devotion."
. . .
"Amon... just what kind of life have you been living...?"
Seraphina sat on the edge of Amon's expansive king-sized bed, completely baffled and overwhelmed by the incredible saga he had just casually laid out for her.
After their meeting with Headmistress Jacqueline—where Amon had effortlessly 'convinced' her to grant them a shared high-tier suite—Seraphina had timidly pressed him on what he had meant by that mention of "exchanging vows as husband and wife." Amon had obliged, giving her a thorough account of his history with Jacqueline, including the dangerous mission where he had rescued her from the depths of a perilous Black Chasm.
"A lot of things, Sera," Amon said with a light chuckle, smoothly hanging up the last of Seraphina's outfits inside a separate, spacious mahogany wardrobe. "Once we settle in, should we head out to the city later? We definitely need to buy a full wardrobe of proper clothes for Shiro."
"Don't just act like everything is all sunshine and rainbows!" Seraphina exclaimed, suddenly shooting up from the bed, her expression a turbulent mix of deep worry and awe.
"Relax, everything turned out fine in the end," Amon murmured, stepping toward her and reaching out to gently caress her forehead with his thumb. "Besides, keep your voice down a little. Shiro might wake up if you raise your tone."
Seraphina's tense shoulders immediately relaxed under his soothing touch, her flustered heat mellowing into a soft, quiet vulnerability. "It's just not fair..." she whispered, looking down.
"Hm? What isn't fair, Sera?" Amon asked, offering her an unbelievably gentle smile.
"You're a Prosecutor, so I know you've put your life on the line more times than anyone our age should ever have to," Seraphina said, raising her eyes to look directly into his blindfolded face with an expression of pure, unadulterated innocence and heart-wrenching care. "Why do you always put everyone else before yourself? Why can't you just let me... or others... protect you for once?"
"PLEASE, SERA! I AM ALREADY HAVING AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TIME ADJUSTING TO THE MIND-BOGGLING FACT THAT YOU ARE PRACTICALLY MY WIFE NOW! ON TOP OF THAT, IF YOU LOOK AT ME WITH THOSE INNOCENT, BEAUTIFUL EYES... GOSH, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO TO MYSELF!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Amon was suffering an absolute, catastrophic internal meltdown, screaming into the silent abyss of his own mind at her absurd cuteness and raw sincerity—all while maintaining an impeccably serene composure on the outside.
"Well... it's simply because I am strong, Sera," Amon spoke softly, closing the remaining distance and pulling her into a warm, protective embrace, gently patting her back as she leaned against his chest. His voice dropped into an extraordinarily tender cadence. "With strength come duties that only the strong are equipped to handle. I'm not saying you aren't strong, Sera. It's just that the burdens I bear are things only I can carry with the power I possess."
Seraphina was entirely at a loss for words. Her mind churned with a thousand things she desperately wanted to say, yet her throat refused to make a sound. Amon's sudden hug had completely flustered her, sending her pulse into a frantic tailspin, but deep down, she found herself wishing she could stay wrapped in his embrace just a little longer. It was intoxicatingly warm, steady, and comfortably secure.
"I... I feel like my heart is going to burst right out of my chest…" she thought, her mind undergoing its own sweet, helpless meltdown as she rested against his chest. "Not only... can I smell his subtle, sweet and musky scent... but his muscles... They're so refined, and the way they tense under his shirt... I wish I could actually see them—NO WAIT, WHAT ON EARTH AM I THINKING?!"
"Mama...? Papa...?"
A tiny, sleepy voice chirped softly and clearly from the centre of the plush bed, instantly startling both of them into snapping apart like two guilty teenagers caught in the act.
Shiro sat up slowly, rubbing one golden eye with her fist as her messy snowy hair spilt over her shoulders. She tilted her head, looking between the two flushed teenagers with innocent, wide-eyed curiosity. "What were you two doing...?"
"O-Oh! It's nothing, dear!" Seraphina squeaked out, her voice pitching up in defensive panic as she immediately hurried over to the side of the bed, sitting down beside Shiro and showering her small head with rapid, nervous pats. "We were just... um, discussing your new room arrangements!"
"Come to think of it," Amon said, turning back toward Shiro and Seraphina as he smoothly reassembled his composure, "how exactly did you know I was your papa, Shiro?"
"Because... I feel the same sense of warmth and familiarity with you that I do with Mama, so I knew you were my papa, Papa..." Shiro responded softly, leaning into the delightful storm of headpats Seraphina was showering upon her.
"I see," Amon murmured, a thoughtful glint passing through his eyes behind his blindfold.
"Papa... Uppie..." Shiro extended her small arms toward him, fixing him with a sleepy yet hopelessly expectant gaze.
The sheer, unfiltered cuteness of the request instantly melted both Amon and Seraphina from the inside out, their minds gushing in unison over how utterly adorable the child was. Amon stepped closer, leaning down and tenderly scooping the tiny girl into his arms.
"What would you like to do, sweetheart?" Amon asked gently, offering her a bright, fond smile.
"Can we go out, Papa?" Shiro asked, rubbing one eye with her white-gloved fist. "I want to go explore outside with you and Mama..."
Seraphina glanced at Amon, a wave of anxious hesitation washing over her face. They still had five more scheduled classes on their timetable for the day, and their second period was already halfway finished. Bunking academic lectures could severely impact their standing and internal grades.
"Of course we can," Amon agreed softly, gently petting Shiro's snowy hair. "But first, you need to go freshen up. The bathroom is right over there," he pointed toward the adjoining door of his master bedroom suite. "Go on and wash your face."
"Can you please help me wash up, Papa?" Shiro asked, hitting him with a devastating, wide-eyed puppy-dog pout.
"Now, now—you need to grow into a responsible young lady, which means learning to handle the basics on your own," Amon replied with a fond chuckle, setting her down gently and crouching to match her eye level. "If you show me how independent and responsible you can be, I'll buy you whatever you want later... except for a boyfriend, because you won't be old enough for another thousand years."
"Fine..." Shiro grumbled softly with a cute little huff, but she dutifully complied, scurrying off toward the bathroom to wash up on her own.
"Amon... what about our lectures today?" Seraphina asked, rising from the edge of the bed with a deeply concerned expression. "We're going to miss nearly the entire afternoon curriculum..."
"I already know the contents of every lecture scheduled for the remainder of the term," Amon replied casually, waving a dismissive hand. "You won't miss a single detail because I'll tutor you personally. And if you're worried about attendance penalties, rest easy—I already submitted an official administrative leave request for today directly to the Headmistress's private e-mail."
Seraphina blinked in complete, stunned realisation. "So that is what you were typing so intensely on your phone earlier...!"
"Guilty as charged," Amon admitted with a charming, victorious chuckle.