n

n

n

n

nBeatrice paused as well and seemed to consider the idea. She sized up Valeria who had sweat on her brow and her origin energy was struggling to quickly recover from the wanton consumption and smiled playfully.

n“Sure,” Beatrice agreed casually as she shrunk down rapidly.

nValeria sighed with relief internally and was about to say some tough words that contained some hint of deference in order to simultaneously placate Beatrice and establish herself as not that weak, but her mouth snapped shut when Beatrice suddenly appeared beside her faster than she could think.

n“Let me handle the transportation then.” Beatrice offered without waiting for acceptance, placing her hand on Valeria’s shoulder and teleporting them right in front of the still stunned Keira.

nBefore this second semi-awakened forest fairy reincarnation could even exclaim, she was also grabbed and taken through a quantum tunnel into the Eternal Universe. The two of them only realized that they were in a new location the next instant, within a large chamber that was very stylish and modern by the Eternal Universe’s standard.

nBeatrice let go of Keira and pushed her onto the couch. “Sit there for now and be good. Don’t bother trying to escape because we own this entire universe.”

nKeira sat down and wore a conflicted expression but obediently settled in. After all, she had seen so far, the rebelliousness had been beaten out of her. Now, she just wanted to survive this entire ordeal in peace and possibly regain her full memories and power.

nAs for Valeria, she was still stunned. The realization that Beatrice could easily teleport like this and without any delay nor detection made her understand that Beatrice could have ended her at any time when they were fighting.

nIn other words, Beatrice had been toying with her the entire time!

n“Now you. Let’s pay a visit to my husband and see what he has to say about your existence, hmm?” Beatrice turned to Valeria and said with a fake friendly smile.

nOnce again, Valeria was unable to react as Beatrice took them both to the master bedroom where Dante was currently watching cartoons with Antonia, the father and daughter having a great time.

nWhen they noticed that Beatrice had returned, there was initially some happiness and excitement on their faces until they noticed the accompanying guest. While Antonia had an expression of curiosity, Dante’s expression changed greatly as he recognized who had come.

nMeanwhile, Valeria also had a happy expression when she saw Dante again after so long, but it warped when she noticed the child on his chest. Looking at Antonia’s purple hair and eyes, whose child could she be except Beatrice’s, her rival?

n“Well, here we are. Dante dear, this is your ‘friend’ Valeria, and she couldn’t wait to see you again.” Beatrice said in a sickly sweet tone as she patted Valeria on the back as if to encourage her to go on. .

nAntonia became silent as she realized that something was wrong from her mom’s behavior and sunk into Dante’s chest, while Dante himself sighed internally and decided that this matter had to be handled properly if he wanted peace in the coming centuries.

n“Not my friend, but an ex-lover of sorts. There’s no need for theatrics Beatrice, I want to know why you brought her here, right in front of our daughter?” Dante asked with a sharp expression, going on the offensive.

nBeatrice faltered here, not expecting Dante to say such a thing. Meanwhile, Dante turned to glance at Valeria, a neutral smile on his face. “Hello again Valeria, it’s been quite a while since we last met.”

nValeria snapped out of her stupor and managed a weak smile. “Right, hello Dante. I see you and this woman have advanced your relationship quite far while I’ve been away.”

nShe said this while pointedly glancing at Antonia, making Dante’s lips twitch. “That’s right, due to a set of fateful circumstances, I happened to meet and engage with my soulmate, eventually marrying her and having a child. That soulmate is the woman beside you, my wife Beatrice Alighieri.”

n“And this is my daughter, Antonia Alighieri. Come on darling, say hi to your Aunty Valeria.” Dante prompted his daughter with a gentle stroke of her head.

nAntonia reluctantly but obediently turned her head and greeted in a subdued tone. “Hello Aunty Valeria.”

nValeria was disheartened by Dante’s words, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of resentment. After taking her first time and causing her to experience these emotions for the first time, he was going to run away with another woman?

nSuddenly, Dante stood up and split into two. His clone held Antonia and took her out of the room with a simple teleport, planning to resume his family time with his daughter in a place where she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. 𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝘮

nMeanwhile, his main body stood up and faced the two women who had surging emotions and a hint of darkness radiating from their bodies with his arms folded.

n“Now I will say this. In another time and another place, my relationship with you, Valeria would have progressed beyond being lovers into an actual relationship that could have crystallized into marriage. I did have the plan initially, but this is not that timeline unfortunately.”

n“In this timeline, I happened upon a special circumstance involving meeting Etz Chaim, the bond between the two Creators and being taken as her chosen champion to stop the insidious plot of Lara, something you should know very well about.”

n“In that circumstance, I met Beatrice and due to various plays by fate, found her to be so compatible with myself physically, spiritually and emotionally that I cannot even muster an ounce of interest in another woman. Things have progressed naturally up until this point and I am perfectly happy with my current life, not wishing for any change.”

nDante focused on Valeria with a serious expression. “Do you understand what I am saying?”

nValeria’s mouth flapped open and closed slowly, no words coming out as she was unable to say anything in the face of Dante’s blunt statement. However, this was clearly not enough for Dante as he pushed further.

n“Do you understand, Valeria?” He asked slowly and deliberately, staring intensely at her.

n“I… understand.” Valeria managed to squeeze out with a bitter smile, her heart sinking to her stomach as pain surged in her chest area, making it hard for her to breathe.

nDante then turned to Beatrice and continued. “And from you Beatrice, I did not expect this. I’d understand if Valeria had caused me or you some problem which caused you to seek her out, but to go so far just out of jealousy… I’m disappointed.”

nBeatrice was shocked. She looked into Dante’s eyes and saw that he was serious this time, and she could help but feel extremely sad. Now that she had been confronted about it, she realized her actions were irrational and unfair, but she also knew she couldn’t have stopped herself.

nThis left her unable to speak and defend herself because there was nothing to defend. If Dante had cheated on her, this would have been her battlefield, but he had ceased all contact with Valeria from the moment she signed the contract with her way back then, even before they actually confirmed their relationship properly.

nSince then, he had not made any attempt to rekindle his relationship with her, having remained completely loyal. The more Beatrice thought about this, the more shame she felt and the more she understood Dante’s disappointment.

nHaving successfully dealt with the situation, Dante nodded his head. “I don’t expect you two to become friends, but we are not enemies. As far as I am aware, you, Valeria, came down here upon Etz Chaim’s request to help prevent Lara from achieving her goal, isn’t that right?”

n“..yes.” Valeria answered tersely.

n“Great, then we’re allies in the same boat. I don’t know what the conditions you forest fairies require to return to higher-

ndimensional space in your true form are, but I’m sure once we see this collective goal accomplished, you can go back in peace.” Dante replied with a smile.

nValeria didn’t say anything. In the end, she shook her head and left the room, standing outside the door with a conflicted and lost expression, not knowing where she wanted to go or what she even wanted to do.

nIn the end, she left the estate and entered the streets of Avalon City, disappearing into the crowd once more.

nBack at the estate of the Alighieri family, Dante took his glance from the direction Valeria left in and then focused on Beatrice who looked terrible. His heart did soften considerably, but he did not show it on his face.

n“Well?” Dante asked with folded arms.

nBeatrice sighed and moved to sit down. “I’m sorry Dante, I let my jealousy get the better of me this time.”

nDante relaxed and sat down beside his wife. “To be honest, I understand how you feel. It doesn’t feel good knowing that the person you love has had altercations with another person before you, especially when you actually know who that person is.”

n“I’m not angry at you for seeking her out, its understandable. I am only angry for you bringing her here when our daughter was around, causing her to feel uncomfortable.” Dante revealed as his clone brought Antonia back into the room, the young lady fast asleep now.

n𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮

n