Chapter 3: The Wrong ’Pei’

Lumi’s body was still aching from the incident the night before, but she could not skip the family’s morning breakfast.

If she did, she would probably receive another sarcastic remark about her suddenly becoming too important to eat with the rest of the family, and frankly, Lumi was already in a bad enough mood.

After nearly falling to her death, being choked by a terrifying stranger, and somehow managing to return home without anyone noticing, she had no intention of allowing a few unnecessary comments to ruin what remained of her morning.

So, despite every part of her body protesting, Lumi forced herself out of bed and made her way to the dining room.

The moment she lifted her spoon and prepared to bring the soup to her mouth, her father’s voice suddenly stopped her.

"Sign the agreement... or remove the ’Pei’ from your name."

Lumi’s hand remained suspended in the air.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Across the dining table, her mother stared at her with a tense expression, while her twin sister, Celestine, sat silently beside her. Even her older brother, Ren, had stopped eating, his gaze fixed on Lumi as though waiting for her answer.

Anticipation filled the silence. They were waiting for her to refuse again.

Lumi slowly lowered her spoon.

’Remove the ’Pei’ from my name?’ For a moment, several thoughts crossed her mind. ’Screw the Pei name.’

It was not as though having Pei in front of her name would earn her a thousand credits every time someone called her.

’Lumi Pei. Lumi... something else.’ She wrinkled her nose. ’Puih... puih!’

Lumi glanced around the table again.

Her mother...

Her brother...

Then Celestine.

Everyone was watching her, before her gaze finally returned to her father.

For a brief moment, Lumi did not answer.

The events of last night suddenly surfaced in her mind.

It had been terrifying, especially the moment she realized just how helpless she was. Insisting on remaining the Fated Guide of an SSS-rank Sentinel would not do her any good.

"Okay," she said. "I will sign."

For a moment, nobody reacted.

The silence around the dining table seemed to grow even heavier.

Celestine’s eyes widened slightly, while Ren stared at Lumi as though wondering whether he had heard her correctly. Even their father, whose expression had remained cold throughout the conversation, looked briefly surprised.

After all, only the night before, Lumi had been so determined that she had walked out of the Pei residence after refusing to sign.

Now, she had agreed just like that.

Lumi herself had barely finished speaking when her mother suddenly recovered from her shock.

"Someone bring the transfer agreement this instant."

The order came immediately.

Lumi glanced at her. Her mother did not even try to hide the relief that flashed across her face.

A servant standing nearby quickly lowered her head. "Yes, Madam."

Then she hurried out of the dining room.

Lumi stared after her.

’Ah... didn’t want to waste time?’

It was almost as though everyone was afraid she might change her mind if they gave her another minute to think about it.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when the servant returned with a familiar document in her hands.

The Fated Guide Transfer Agreement.

It was placed directly in front of Lumi. She looked down at it. Her name was there, followed by Celestine’s.

For some reason, seeing their names written together again made something in her chest feel strangely uncomfortable.

But the feeling lasted only for a moment. She was already used to it.

Taking a deep breath, Lumi reached for the pen and signed the paper.

"Master."

The head butler’s voice came from the living room as he hurried toward the dining table.

"You—"

Lumi did not look up, concentrating on the final stroke of her signature.

"Young Master Caesar is here..." the head butler finished.

"Young Master Caesar?!" Felix Pei instantly stood up, causing the chair to scrape sharply against the floor.

"I’m done." Lumi placed the pen down. She did not even bother to find out who the hell Young Master Caesar was.

"I’m going up." She stood from her seat, her appetite completely ruined after being forced to sign the agreement first thing in the morning.

No one cared, and no one said anything as she headed upstairs.

The light sound of approaching footsteps soon reached the dining room.

Everyone turned their attention toward the entrance as Evan Caesar entered.

"Master Felix," Evan greeted. "I apologise for coming unannounced." His calm voice did not quite match his stoic expression, "But I have something I need to discuss regarding my Fated Guide."

The atmosphere around the dining table immediately changed.

Felix’s expression stiffened slightly.

Evan’s gaze slowly moved across the room and landed on Celestine. "I’m sorry, and not to be rude, but... are you my Fated Guide?" he asked.

Felix instantly nodded. "Yes. This is my daughter, Celestine Pei."

Evan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Celestine... Pei..." He repeated the name in a very low voice.

Celestine’s smile stiffened. Something about his reaction immediately felt strange.

Evan remained silent for several seconds before his gaze slowly moved away from her.

"Celestine Pei?" He asked again, and he did not need to explain further. The Pei family immediately understood his confusion and quickly brought forward the Fated Guide Transfer Agreement.

"Yes, Young Master Caesar. You must be confused, but I have two daughters. The one who was originally Fated to you is merely a citizen with no Guiding energy at all. We have therefore agreed to transfer the Fated Guide connection to Celestine."

Felix explained, although there was a slight tremor in his voice. "Transfer?"

There was only the slightest movement in Evan’s eyebrows.

"Yes," Felix quickly explained. "The agreement was only signed a moment ago. The official transfer procedure has not been carried out yet."

He glanced briefly toward the Fated Guide Transfer Agreement.

"However, Lumi is unable to Guide you. She has no Guiding energy at all. Celestine, on the other hand, is one of the Empire’s most promising Guides. We believe she is far more suitable to become your Fated Guide."

Evan remained silent.

His gaze fell upon the agreement.

Lumi Pei.

Celestine Pei.

The two names were written side by side.

For several seconds, he did not speak.

"You are transferring the connection," Evan finally said.

"Yes," Felix answered carefully.

"And your other daughter agreed?"

Felix’s expression changed slightly. "She did."

Evan’s gaze remained on the document. A brief silence followed before his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

"I see... Then was my consent deemed unnecessary?"