Chapter 737 - Lecture

"Old Bastard. Let's talk."

The Wind Emperor smiled and nodded. "Sure."

"Alea, Ana, Yuri, follow me. The rest will take care of the garden." The Empress stated as she went to the mansion.

The Wind Emperor signaled Levina and Lyovkin to follow him.

They complied as they walked right behind him.

While pushing the wheelchair, Lyovkin thought, 'So, Theo has only been a clone until now. Doesn't this mean all of us were defeated by a clone? What if Theo was here and fought all of us together with his clone…'

He sucked a cold breath as he could imagine Theo bullying them.

'As expected of my idol. He's going to be my only idol from now on.' Levina smiled inwardly, aspiring to be someone like Theo.

Meanwhile, the Empress' side wasn't that happy when they realized Theo was a clone. This was clearly an insult to tell them that they were not strong enough to even defeat his clone.

Ana clenched her fists and muttered inwardly, 'That Theo… He's already this strong with only his clone… What if he's actually using that Ascension Step while his clone attacks me? It's a sure win. No wonder it's called a trump card.'

Alea only looked down with a frown, not thinking anything.

Yuri, on the other hand, bit her lips, remembering this humiliation.

While leading them inside, the Empress glanced at Alea and said with a cold tone. "Alea. What's the deal with your lousy performance?"

"Eh?" Alea was surprised, thinking she had fought to the best of her ability.

Seeing the confusion on her face, the Empress said, "I'm not talking about your fighting ability. I'm talking about all other things. Why did you not say anything when you lost? Were you sad because he defeated you? Was that why you didn't even look at him in the face?"

"That's…" Alea opened her mouth but no words came out. She couldn't explain herself.

"What? Don't make shitty excuses by telling me that you were trying to look more mature." The Empress snorted, glaring at her.

She didn't mind bashing her disciple in front of everyone, let alone the Wind Emperor. After all, she knew the Wind Emperor had told Levina to seduce him or something.

So, she didn't hold back even when they were walking in the hall.

"What? Did you think by becoming more calm and silent, you have become more mature? Did you confuse battle state and everyday state? Huh? Your grandmother told me that you had been sheltered this whole time and tried to grow up. But if this was what you meant by growing up, I'm going to beat the shit out of you right now." The Empress said with a menacing tone.

"I… I don't know." Alea shook her head helplessly. "I felt like I lost something after he defeated me. I thought I had prepared for this, but…"

"That's bullshit." The Empress snorted. "Just tell me that you are jealous of that so-called world's most beautiful woman! Just tell me that you want to be like her, calm and collected."

Alea looked down, having no words to refute her.

"What you did earlier is nothing but utter bullshit. Why the heck did you even want to be someone else?" The Empress shook her head. "If you want to be calm and collected, just go to a shop or something and become a receptionist.

"I'm not degrading them. I'm telling you that even they can become calm and collected when dealing with customers. However, when you actually become a customer of the shop, you will instantly forget that there's a receptionist like that. After all, you have seen this type of person everywhere.

"Imagine you go to that brat Theo as a calm and collected person. There's no way you're going to make an impression. He knows you for who you are… not who you're trying to be.

"If you continue like this, you're just going to be a "Woman A" in his mind, not Alea Eilric.

"I'm not telling you that you can't be a calm person. I'm telling you to bring your personality more. Weren't you always the energetic and positive girl this whole time? I bet that he's thinking of you as that kind of person.

"That's your unique impression. If it was the past you, you would have accepted the defeat with a smile on your face. You admitted that he had gotten stronger than you and told him that you wouldn't lose in the future.

"You would have talked to him more instead of feeling dejected or whatsoever. On the other hand, what you did today was tell him that you were not yourself anymore. Don't confuse this sentence with you were not who you used to be.

"There is absolutely a character development in the latter. Meanwhile, what you did right now is a character change.

"You even made that guy console you by telling you it was a great fight. If I were Agata Mota, I would have slapped you in the face.

"I'm telling you this because you said you like him. You told me that you wanted to grow up. Mature is not about becoming calm and composed. It's about your thoughts.

"You start thinking about how others feel and their well-being. Have you forgotten when Agata Mota said you're not worthy of him? That's because she can understand him and his struggle.

"What you did earlier is not that. Instead, you actually wanted to show him that you were not the Alea Eilric he knew. You were someone else, so he didn't need to contact you anymore." The Empress shook her head helplessly. "Seriously, what should I do to you…"

Listening to her words, Alea clenched her fists until her palms started bleeding. She realized that she had made a huge mistake.

"I… What should I do…" Alea asked with a hoarse tone.

"That's not something I can answer. If it's the past you, what will you do?" The Empress asked back.

Alea looked at her as her body started shaking. She gritted her teeth and said, "I… Please—."

Before she finished her words, the Empress said, "Go. Just do what you need to do."

Alea immediately turned around and started running as she knew what she was supposed to do.

She hurriedly returned to her room and grabbed her Skylink.

However, before she could even contact him, she was the first one to receive a call, albeit it wasn't from Theo.

[God of Fortitude wants to meet you.]

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Author's Note: Happy New Year everyone! I hope that I can keep the upload without missing a single day next year.