Chapter 1524: That beautiful river, under the grey sky....

"What are you doing?"

Lia’s voice came out cold and sharp as her eyes fixed on Aether without blinking. She stood pinned between him and the door, his right hand planted beside her head, blocking her path like Kabedon.

Aether hummed under his breath, a faint crease forming between his brows as he looked down at her face.

"I should be asking that question," he said slowly, "So tell me, Lia. What are you doing here?"

Lia’s lips twitched, irritation flashing across her expression before she composed herself. She lifted her chin slightly, refusing to shrink under his presence.

"I came for Aria," she replied, her voice tight but controlled. "For my best friend’s engagement. That’s all. And now..."

Her eyes flicked to his hand pressed against the door, "...care to explain what you think you’re doing right now?"

Aether hummed again, thoughtful this time, as if her words barely registered.

"That’s strange," he said after a pause. "I didn’t hear anything about you being there. In fact, I didn’t see you during the engagement at all."

Lia shrugged, "I was there," she said flatly.

Aether studied her... The irritation in her expression only made her look more familiar, more painfully close to the girl he remembered.

"Is that so?" he murmured. "Then why are you still here?"

Lia shrugged once more, "That has nothing to do with you," she said, her tone dismissive.

Aether smirked, leaning in just enough to invade her space without touching her.

"Oh, believe me," he said softly with amusement, "Everything here has something to do with me."

Lia folded her arms and gave him a deadpan stare.

"Oh?" she said coolly. "So you really think the world revolves around you? The main character in everyone else’s story?"

Aether blinked, then tilted his head, considering her words with unsettling calm. A faint, crooked smile tugged at his lips.

"Well... yeah," he admitted without hesitation. "At this point, I’m pretty sure I am a big fucking shot. Maybe not just the main character anymore."

He winked at her.

Lia’s eyes hardened instantly as she clicked her tongue.

Aether stared at her... It had been far too long since he had seen her like this.

A weak smile crossed his face.

"You look the same as before," he said quietly. "Exactly the same... just like the day I lost you."

His hand lifted, almost instinctively, moving toward her cheek as if pulled by memory rather than reason.

Lia’s glare snapped up instantly, cold and dangerous.

"Touch me," she warned, "and I will pull your heart out."

Aether’s fingers froze midair. After a moment, he let out a short, breathy chuckle.

"Haha..."

Lia’s eyes narrowed as she raised her hand toward his chest, her expression deadly serious.

"What’s so funny?" she demanded. "Do you think I wouldn’t do it?"

Aether shook his head slowly, his smile softening into something almost tender.

"I don’t have a heart," he said calmly.

"Huh?"

"Because you already took it."

"..."

"...That’s incredibly cringe," she said dryly. "You know that, right?"

Aether chuckled again, weaker this time, and drew in a slow breath as if steadying himself.

"But seriously," he said, "Don’t you remember anything at all? Us? What we were, Lia?"

Lia frowned and shifted, trying to step past him as impatience and unease tangled in her chest.

"I don’t fall for that kind of—"

Her words cut off sharply when Aether caught her wrist, his grip firm but trembling.

"I don’t know what to do anymore," he admitted quietly. "I really don’t know, Lia."

Lia struggled against his hold.

"Let me go!" she shouted, her voice echoing as she twisted her wrist.

"Our relationship was a mess," he said slowly, "We started rough. Hate first, Understood, then support, then friendship... and somehow, it turned into love."

He swallowed, eyes dimming as memories surfaced against his will.

"I don’t even know how to explain it properly," he continued. "But we loved each other, Lia. Truly. You cared for me. You stood by me when I was broken. You cried for me, supported me, and helped me more times than I can count. You did all of that... don’t you remember any of it?"

Lia stared at him with open disgust, her expression twisting as if his words themselves offended her.

"I can’t believe you’re trying to betray Aria like this," she snapped. "That’s fucked up. Completely fucked up."

Aether’s jaw tightened.

"The way you’re looking at me right now," he said quietly, "like I’m nothing but a stranger you don’t even want to acknowledge... it feels exactly like the first time I ever saw you."

He exhaled slowly, his voice trembling despite his effort to stay composed.

"I-It hurts, Lia. The girl... The girl I knew, the one who looked at me with warmth, is now staring at me like I don’t exist."

"I told you," she said harshly, "let me go."

Aether fell silent. He watched her struggle, the disgust in her eyes cutting deeper than any blade.

After a moment, he sighed under his breath.

’Tsk... this isn’t working,’ he thought, ’Plan B, then.’

Slowly, deliberately, he loosened his grip.

Lia yanked her hand back the moment she was free, rubbing her wrist with an annoyed scowl.

"Tsk," she clicked her tongue. "I should have contacted Aria yesterday and finished instead of looking around the city."

She turned away, ready to leave, when Aether spoke again.

"It’s your mother."

Lia flinched. Her steps halted mid-motion as she turned back toward him, confusion flickering across her face.

"Huh?"

Aether took a slow breath, steadying himself before continuing.

"It was your mother who erased your memories," he said quietly. "She removed everything about me from you. I should have told you that day, but I couldn’t process what had happened. I lost control of my emotions, and with her there, acting the way she did, it became impossible for me to say any of it."

Lia blinked, then stared at him with even deeper disgust than before.

"I can’t believe you’re saying that," she spat. "What the fuck do you mean she erased my memories? You hurt her, you bastard, right in front of my eyes. And now you’re trying to blame her?"

Aether stepped forward, "Yes," he said firmly. "I hurt her because she took my beloved’s memories."

His fist clenched tightly at his side, "No man would stay sane after learning that," he continued.

"I wanted to tear her apart. I wanted to slit her throat—"

Slngg~

In the blink of an eye, the sharp tip of a knife pressed against his neck. A thin line of blood surfaced instantly as Lia’s voice dropped into a deadly.

"What did you just say?"

Aether froze, staring into her eyes. They were cold, indifferent, and terrifyingly serious. She looked fully capable of killing him without hesitation.

’Okay... Plan C!’

His lips trembled slightly as he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I love you."

Lia blinked. Her expression shifted from lethal focus to pure disbelief.

In that instant, Aether knocked the knife from her wrist and pulled her sharply into his embrace.

"FUCK! ASSHOLE!"

Lia shouted, slamming her fists against his chest as she struggled violently.

"Let me go! You bastard!"

Aether held her tightly, looking down at her thrashing form like a small, furious kitten trapped in his arms, unable to escape.

"If only you still had those memories..." he murmured.

He inhaled deeply before continuing.

"Just let me finish," he said. "I was never going to slit your mother’s throat. I would never do something that vile to my beloved’s mother. Even thinking about it disgusts me."

He shook his head, his expression filled with bitter resolve and... great sacrifice!

"I would rather kill myself than ever hurt the woman who gave birth to the person I love."

His voice softened, carrying the weight of a vow long broken and yet unshaken, as if no matter how twisted the past became.... that truth would never change.

Really!

"Let me go! Arhh!"

Lia thrashed in his arms.

"I know what you’re trying to do," she shouted. "You’re trying to take control of my Empire! My mother found out and confronted you. That’s why you hurt her. I saw it myself, you fucker!"

Aether blinked, momentarily caught off guard.

...Well, she wasn’t entirely wrong about that part.

Still.

’Tsk. Fuck you, Mary. Plan D, then.’

Aether drew in a slow breath, tightening his hold just enough to keep her from breaking free as he spoke.

"She’s lying," he said firmly. "Believe me. She’s trying to frame me so you’d hate me even more. Why can’t you see that?"

His tone carried a sharp edge now, though he could tell his words weren’t reaching her at all.

"Let me go, bastard," Lia snarled, glaring up at him. "Before I scream."

Aether stared at her for a long moment. Then, slowly, a sly expression crept across his face.

"The more you struggle," he said calmly, "the tighter I’ll hold you."

His lips curled into a dark smirk as his voice dropped lower.

"Your mother isn’t coming to help you here, dear. In fact, no one is."

He leaned closer.

"No matter how much you scream, no one will hear you. You’re in the dragon’s den now... and the dragon is hungry~"

Lia froze.

The colour drained from her already pale face as her struggling stopped entirely. She stared at him, eyes wide with horror and disbelief.

"Y-You wouldn’t..." she whispered. "You wouldn’t do that."

Aether’s smirk widened, "Yes," he replied softly. "I can."

He leaned closer to her ear, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper.

"And it’s not like we’ve never crossed those lines before.

I know every one of your weaknesses~"

Lia’s eyes widened further, her breath hitching as disbelief crashed into fear.

Aether smirked inwardly.

Honestly, he did not have many options left. Before the incident, Lia had always carried herself with a princess’s composure. Much like Aqualina, she possessed pride, dignity, and a certain untouchable haughtiness. Yet everything about her had shifted after her breakup, and even more after he became involved with her life.

Her personality had changed so deeply that it almost felt like she had become someone else.

And now, she had lost all her memories of him.

Everything they had shared, every moment that shaped her into the woman he knew, had vanished along with those memories. All the growth, all the softness she once showed him, simply erased.

After the incident, after the memories were erased, after everything between them was torn away, what remained was Princess Aurelia.

Right now, she was Princess Aurelia.

Not his Lia.

If he wanted her back, he would have to force reality upon her, even if it meant crossing lines he would rather avoid. The moment he knocked her mother, he already knew what would follow.

He fucking knew her mother would seize that chance, poisoning Lia’s mind with lies and half-truths.

That left him with only one path forward.

Aether let out a quiet sigh. "You loved every inch of it," he said softly, "You were willing to do every naughty thing with me. How could you forget something like that?" His smirk sharpened.

"What a pity."

Lia’s face trembled, her voice breaking.

"Y-You’re lying..."

Aether tilted his head, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes as he stepped closer, his presence pressing against her space. "Lying?" he echoed calmly. "Then how about this. Our secret place. Where we had our first time." His voice lowered.

"That beautiful river, under the grey sky." He chuckled under his breath. "Oh wow... we fucked like rabbits~"

Silence fell.

Terror slowly crept across Lia’s face.

Aether chuckled inwardly as his hand tightened around her hip, pulling her closer without giving her time to react. "So tell me," he murmured, leaning nearer to her face. "Am I lying? That place was supposed to be your secret. How would I know about it if I was lying, hmm?" His voice softened, dangerously close.

"Tell me."

Inside, Aether smirked.

’It’s working. Push it.’

Lia shook, struggling to pull herself back from the edge of panic.

’There’s no way,’ she screamed inside her head. ’There’s no way she would do something like that. Right? RIGHT?’

"Y-You’re lying!" she shouted aloud, her voice cracking. "M-ahem I would never... I would never do something like that behind my mother’s back!"

Aether blinked, then let a slow smile spread across his face. "Never?" His tone turned almost gentle. "Oh dear, Lia... if you really need proof..." He stepped closer, "Then let’s do it."

"I’m pretty sure you’ll remember me then."