Death... and me

Trika finished exchanging information with the clan before she looked back at Rean, Roan, and Maeralya. "Alright, I know you have been talking through Divine Sense. In any case, I don't care. Maeralya, I've kept the truth of your relationship with these two hidden from your father and mother. There's still a chance for this to be fixed. If you separate right now, things won't become too complicated."

Rean then got an idea as he asked Trika, "Senior Trika, how bad is it for our Maeralya to be with us?"

Trika immediately explained, "She's the daughter of the Croste Clan, as you already know. If people found out that she took two men as her lovers, it will implicate not only herself but the clan as a whole."

Rean and Roan nodded in response. "So us being together would implicate our Maeralya that much, huh?"

Maeralya truly felt like killing Rean and Roan right there. However, she couldn't do so because of Trika, not allowing her to move. However, it was then that Rean said something that made her surprised.

"Senior Trika, we can accept leaving her. However, it's true that life in the Croste Clan was what led her to leave it in the first place. We only met each other several years later. I can convince her to not try to kill herself, but there's a condition. You must not close her behind four walls anymore. The only way to keep her safe is to not try keeping her safe anymore."

Maeralya immediately nodded, although it was quite difficult for her to do so due to Trika restraining her. If she could still be free, then that would be for the best, even if Trika mistook her for having a male harem.

Trika narrowed her eyes after hearing that. "Isn't that just another way for you three to meet each other in the shadows? That's not gonna happen."

Rean then got close to Maeralya and touched her cheek as if he was someone important to him. He truly deserved an oscar already, considering how sad he looked. Maeralya, on the other hand, was doing her best to get away from him.

Rean then looked at Trika before saying, "We don't mind signing a Soul Binding Contract, stating that we will never meet her again. If we do, then we die."

This time, Trika was surprised to hear that. "Well… that works."

Maeralya was even more in agreement than anyone else there. She could get rid of the twins while still keeping her freedom. How good was that?

With that, Trika decided to release Maeralya from the control of her Divine Energy before asking, "What about you? If I keep your freedom to a certain extent, would you end your relationship with those two?"

Maeralya knew this was a good chance. Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, "It depends on how much freedom you want to give me. I can head back to the clan, but I don't want anyone following me every time I leave. I'll choose my own missions, go on my own journeys, and acquire my own resources. In a certain way, I'll only be my parents' daughter on the surface."

Trika didn't like that. "If you do that, how much further will your cultivation fall behind others?"

"I don't care," Maeralya replied. "You talk as if I should be ashamed of what I accomplished by myself. I am not. Try to take the other geniuses of our Croste Clan and send them into the wild to live as I did. How many of them do you think would reach this level of accomplishment? They're all deeply addicted to having everything in their hands. You take their resources, and they will fall into despair in less than a month, just because they can't keep up with the others. You should be proud of me because of that."

Rean agreed with Maeralya, saying, "Senior, she isn't wrong. The baggage she acquired during all these years of experience can't be bought with any number of Divine Stones. We, more than anyone else, know how many dangerous situations she had been through. We even followed her into a few of those moments. Those life and death moments she had gone through have definitely made her stronger than any greenhorn disciple of your clan. After all, the important high talent members of your clan always have someone protecting them, so they don't really know what it's like to have to rely on themselves."

Rean's speech was so good that even Maeralya almost believed in his story, let alone Trika. "You do have a point there. However, cultivation is also part of the Croste Clan's status. If others see that Maeralya has such weak cultivation, that will also implicate the clan's status. So far, we kept her disappearance under wraps, saying that we sent her on a secret mission that would take several decades. If she doesn't level up quickly, it won't be good for our name."

Rean then tried to make an offer, looking at Maeralya before saying, "Maeralya, you know that Roan and I know how much you value the resources that you acquired all by yourself. However, your aunt has a point there. You should accept the resources if it makes you stronger. Please, do that for us. We don't want to find out one day that you died because someone with much stronger cultivation caught you off guard."

Rean then looked at Roan before continuing, "Isn't that right, my brother?"

Roan had been silent all this time. He truly had difficulty accepting this shitty lie that Rean came up with. However, he knew he had to follow up, saying, "He… is right."

Surprisingly, the hesitation in Roan's words felt like the hesitation of someone who was going to get separated from their beloved one…or so Trika thought. Little did Trika know that he simply had a hard time saying those words because it felt disgusting for him.

At the same time, Rean contacted Maeralya through Divine Sense, 'Just take the offer. You will still keep your freedom, which should be the most important thing. It's obvious that your parents regard your cultivation as the highest priority. I don't think you'll get a better deal than this one.'

Maeralya had to admit Rean was right. "Sigh… very well, I will accept the resources to cultivate. However, I still want my freedom." Maeralya then looked at Trika and asked, "However… do you think my parents will accept these terms?"

It was then that an old voice appeared out of nowhere. "If we don't, you will try to flee again, won't you?"

Maeralya felt a chill on her back after that. "Mom!"