Chapter 1195: Who is Vesperine?

Vesperine....

A woman who had seemingly appeared out of thin air. There wasn’t a single report, rumour, or even a passing mention about her existence prior to her arrival... and yet, she had suddenly become one of the academy’s students right at the moment when Aether and the others had entered.

It was as if she had been dropped into the world—perfectly timed, with no past to trace.

Especially during the time of the Capture the Flag event... that’s when things got strange. She emerged from nowhere. Her official records suddenly surfaced in the academy’s database, neatly typed, filed—as if she had always existed.

But there was nothing. Not a single trace of her life before that point. No hometown. No documents, no parents, no lineage, no registration in any known database. It was as though she had never lived before that exact moment.

Just like a ghost, she had simply... appeared.

"So the reason you’re saying she’s dead... is because her records just popped out of nowhere? That’s why?" Aether muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at Celestia, trying to make sense of the implication.

Celestia slowly shook her head, strands of hair falling over her shoulders, "That’s not the only reason," she said, nudging her glass,

"The thing is... when I started digging into the academy’s historical archives—with Sister Dora’s help, I came across something else. A person who matched with Vesperine’s description.... and she existed over a thousand years ago."

Aether’s brow furrowed. "A thousand years ago? Are you saying she’s like Raven and the others?"

Celestia paused for a second before gently shaking her head again. "No. Not exactly. The records say that the woman she resembles died during the reign of the previous Sovereign... Snape. She was one of the casualties during his rampage."

Aether’s eyes narrowed, "So, someone who looked exactly like Vesperine died a thousand years ago... and now, a thousand years later, the same face shows up again. No birth record. No family. Nothing... That’s not a coincidence."

"Exactly..." Celestia murmured, her voice almost lost in the quiet tension. "The more I investigated, the more the facts tangled and contradicted each other. It was like chasing smoke. The only logical conclusion I could reach was... she’s the same person. She died a thousand years ago... and somehow, she was reborn."

Aether exhaled sharply, "Reborn? Like a phoenix? But she’s a succubus, right?"

Celestia looked away for a moment, as if unsure. "That’s the strange part. According to the older records, the girl from a thousand years ago was said to have come from the Aurora Empire."

"The Aurora Empire?" Aether blinked. "Isn’t that place supposed to be forbidden for succubi? Too holy, too pure... they wouldn’t even let a demon step foot there."

"Exactly," Celestia said quietly. "Which is why I don’t think Vesperine is—or was—a succubus."

"What about her parents?" Aether asked, leaning forward slightly.

Celestia gave a faint sigh and shook her head once more. "That’s all I’ve got so far. Nothing about her origin."

Aether leaned back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ’Vesperine... what are you hiding?’ His eyes flicked back to Celestia.

"Is that everything?"

Celestia hesitated. Then, with a deep breath and a small gulp, she nodded slowly. Her expression shifted, as if she were trying to brace herself. "There’s... one more thing I found recently."

Her lips parted slowly, voice carrying a mix of disbelief and seriousness.

"She’s not only with Kai... but also with Leon, Kaelen... and more recently, even Finnian."

Aether’s mouth parted slightly, stunned.

What the fuck did he hear now?

Celestia continued, almost hesitantly, "She’s been sleeping with all of them."

Aether recoiled, his eyes going wide in absolute horror. "Leon? Finnian too? What the fuck?"

He stared at her in shock, as if the ground had been ripped out from under him.

Celestia nodded weakly, her face grim. "Yes... every Arcane King is currently under her influence."

She met his gaze directly, her voice turning even more serious.

"Just like you."

"...." Aether’s expression went blank for a moment, then slowly morphed into colder and confused. "This is..." he mumbled, unable to even finish the thought.

There was someone else... doing exactly what he was doing.... But in reverse.

A mirror.

An opposite?

"Wait a second..." he muttered, blinking rapidly. "Didn’t she come after Victor? Why? He wasn’t Arcane King"

Celestia gave a helpless shrug. "Maybe... she wanted powerful men in her harem. Or..."

Aether cut in, "Or maybe something is forcing her... like me?"

Celestia gave a small nod.

Two possibilities. That’s all Aether could come up with.

The first one... well, it was the obvious one, the one anyone would think of.

A powerful male harem—wasn’t that a common dream?

He’d read about those reverse harem stories. Girls pampered, protected, and worshipped by beautiful, loyal men. Fantasy novels, anime tropes... even real women fantasised about that kind of life.

Just like how guys fantasised about their own perfect harems of women.

But that wasn’t his reality. He hadn’t chosen this. He had been dragged into this twisted life—forced into it by some unknown will, seducing women because he had to. Because of that strange, invisible chain tied to his fate.

So then... was it possible that Vesperine was also bound by something similar?

Maybe only a ten percent chance, maybe less.

But even ten percent wasn’t nothing.

"Hmm..." Aether muttered with a low, thoughtful hum, staring down at the report in his hand. His brows tightened. "Does this report have everything? Do Kai and the others know about this?"

Celestia nodded. "Yeah. They know."

Aether’s eyes widened again. "You mean they knew all of this... and they accepted it?"

Celestia clarified, "Not everyone. Only Kai and Leon knew. I even saw them kissing Vesperine together."

"...Say what?"

Aether looked horrified again.

Celestia actually let out a small, dry chuckle. "Yeah. Kai and Leon know about each other. As for Kaelen... well, that’s thanks to Aqualina and Selene. Their actions accidentally exposed the truth."

"What did they say?" Aether asked, his voice urgent, full of disbelief.

Celestia tilted her head slightly, blinking. "She... managed to make them accept Kaelen and... Finnian too."

"Just like that? How?" Aether couldn’t believe it.

"What the hell? This girl just waltzed in and got away with everything?"

While he... he was stuck, drowning in guilt, struggling every time he tried to be honest.

Hell, those guys had found out the truth themselves... and accepted it. But when he told the truth to the ones he loved, all he got was pain and turmoil.

It wasn’t fair.

What’s with this bias!!