Chapter 173 - 171

Chapter 173: Chapter 171

"How did those two find me here?" I asked as soon as the others finally left the room.

Gawain shrugged. "They’re considered two of the most terrifying figures in the Empire. Don’t ask me how."

"And you just let them come here?"

"Yeah."

I raised a brow.

Knowing him, that doesn’t sound like Gawain at all.

"Peacefully?"

"..." His eyes slowly darted away from me.

I narrowed my eyes. "Gawain."

"..."

"What did you do?"

Before he could answer, two voices suddenly spoke from behind us.

"As soon as they got here, Gawain immediately launched missiles at Soren while activating land traps for Vesphyr," Colt said.

We quickly turned around.

"And I thought he was only going to attack those two," Remington added. "But this bastard suddenly activated his newest invention and immobilized Kayden like a damn fish."

Gawain and I stared at them in silence before speaking at the same time.

"How the fuck are you two idiots still here?"

"He did WHAT?"

The twins grinned and pointed at Gawain. "Ask him."

Kayden immediately gave me a nervous smile. "In my defense, it was only a minor damage and they all looked very catchable."

"Like catching a Pokémon?"

"I don’t know what that is, but yes."

I slowly rubbed my temples as I tried remembering the chaos earlier.

Nothing appeared to be on fire, nobody seemed to be bleeding, and there weren’t any missing limbs lying around, so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Judging by how everyone looks fine, the damage must be small," I muttered.

"Really?" Remington asked.

Something about his tone immediately made me nervous.

He walked toward the curtains as Gawain immediately narrowed his eyes.

"Don’t fucking open that—"

Swoosh!

The curtain flew open as my eyes widened when I saw outside.

Everything was gone.

The courtyard looked like a battlefield. Blackened ground stretched as far as I could see, with ashes drifting through the air. Several wooden structures had been reduced to piles of smoking debris.

And the mansion—

I slowly leaned forward. "...Half of the mansion is gone."

Almost half the entire building had been blown apart.

Massive sections of the walls were missing, windows had been shattered, and chunks of wood were scattered everywhere. Several robots were already moving through the ruins, dragging debris away as if this were just another Tuesday.

I slowly turned my head toward Gawain. "You call this minor damage?"

Gawain cleared his throat. "At least nobody died."

I closed my eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

Calm down, Blanca.

You just woke up.

You survived getting shot, discovered your family is apparently insane, and somehow ended up human again with the same energy stone that tried to kill you multiple times.

The mansion exploding is not your problem.

"I’ll pretend I didn’t hear or see anything for the past five minutes."

"Really?" Gawain’s face immediately brightened for exactly one second before hearing what I said next.

"Now tell me the real reason those three kept saying we’re family."

The twins immediately started inching toward the door, moving so slowly they probably thought I wouldn’t notice.

"And where do you two think you’re going?"

Colt stopped mid-step.

"Leaving?"

"Stay."

"But we’re not even family!" Remington protested.

"You kept poking your nose where it doesn’t belong, so stay."

"But—"

"Sit."

The twins exchanged a look and, without another word, obediently sat down.

"Good."

"I feel like we’re being punished for being related to someone we’re not even related to," Remington muttered under his breath.

Colt quietly elbowed him. "Shut up before she changes her mind and makes us stand in the corner."

Gawain followed them and sat on the sofa as well, looking like a man who had just been dragged into court against his will.

"So?"

"Those three are your mates," Gawain said, looking like the words physically hurt him to say.

I spat out the water I’d just taken a sip of in front of them. "Bleurgh— WHAT?!"

Water went everywhere as Gawain immediately grabbed Remington and pulled him in front of himself.

"Hey!" Remington protested, shivering in disgust as droplets landed on him. "Why am I the shield?!"

Colt, on the other hand, calmly wiped his face with his sleeve. "This is truly disgusting."

I was still stunned by what I heard. "Mate?"

Gawain nodded.

I pointed towards the door. "Those three?"

Another nod.

I stared at him for a few seconds before getting up and paced around the room.

"Mate... Mate... Mate..." I muttered, trying to make the word sound less ridiculous the more I repeated it. "Can someone actually define what a mate is?"

"A mate is a partner in a deeply intense, often biologically or supernaturally predestined romantic relationship," Remington immediately answered.

"You just searched that on the internet did you?" Gawain narrowed his eyes.

"No," Remington answered far too quickly while subtly hiding his OmniSync behind his back.

Gawain sighed. "Unbelievable."

I ignored them and continued thinking. "Is having mates even common in this era?"

"Actually, no," Gawain answered.

I stopped pacing and immediately looked at him. "It’s not?"

"It’s extremely rare. Finding your fated mate has become so uncommon that most people consider it nothing more than a myth."

I immediately pointed at him. "See? It’s just a myth! There’s no reason to scare me like that."

I tried to laugh it off but instead, all three of them stared at me with completely serious expressions.

My laughter slowly disappeared. "...What?"

Remington who usually wore a playful expression was gone. "Finding our mate is the one thing most beastkin spend their entire lives waiting for."

"Little sis, you should be happy you’ve found your mates. But..." Gawain frowned slightly. "Why does it seem like you’re against it?"

I looked away.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"..."

Colt studied me for a moment before speaking.

"Come to think of it... from everything we’ve learned, our souls are supposed to recognize each other almost instantly when we meet our mate."

My shoulders stiffened.

"So why haven’t you recognized them as your mates, Blanca?"

The moment he said it, the room went completely silent.

’Should I answer them... Or not?’