Chapter 211

Rosalie popped into existence inside a training yard. She stumbled a step, then corrected herself, finding her footing.

Lucinda stood in front of her, lacking her armor. In regular clothes again.

Time had passed, she was vaguely aware.

“I— I—” Rosalie said, her head spinning as she oriented herself. “How long has it been?”

“We’ll talk later, brat,” Lucinda said, though she sounded far less annoyed than when she’d first captured her. Time had definitely passed, enough for her temper to cool. “Go say hello to your father.”

Her father?

Rosalie stiffened and turned.

In time to see a spear hurtling toward her.

Rosalie stepped sideways and snatched it out of the air, fingers sliding around the smooth shaft and bringing it to a halt. She spun, lowering the weapon toward her assailant.

It was, of course, him.

Father.

“I’m glad your gallivanting hasn’t dulled your reactions, at least,” he said. “You have a lot of explaining to do, daughter of mine.”

He looked much the same as she remembered. Why wouldn’t he? It hadn’t been a full month since she’d entered the Fractures.

That realization hit her with a little jolt. With everything that happened—meeting Zoey, Delta, Maddy, and all the revelations of Goddesses and impending doom—it felt like so much longer. She’d experienced more in a few weeks than she had in several years prior.

Looking down at the spear in her hand, she realized what it was, though a part of her already had, simply from gripping it. Dragon’s Tongue. The spear she’d trained with since she was a child. One of Father’s own relics, dragged up from a seventh advancement shard. A weapon of incalculable value, something even a High Officer of the Guild would proudly display.

Of course, as a third advancement wayfarer, the item’s stats and effects were greatly diminished when she used it, but nonetheless—

Rosalie paused.

Third advancement?

A tingling on the back of her neck announced that she certainly was not third advancement, any longer. And that’d been the point, hadn’t it? For abandoning Lucinda and pursuing a shard before arriving to Mantle? Zoey’s skill provided additional experience the longer they took between shards. Seeing how she already boosted their progression massively simply through their bond, a rank-up in a single shard after their long break in Treyhull wasn’t at all surprising.

Well. Logically surprising. Rosalie couldn’t help but be a little stunned that it had actually happened, however much she had anticipated it. What a ludicrous pace for progression.

Had Zoey, Delta, and Maddy likewise leveled?

Delta.

Oh, no. Delta.

Rosalie hadn’t had the opportunity to warn her about her family, thanks to Lucinda’s intervention.

But ... that was fine. She still had a chance to.

Right?

Unless Delta had learned, already. Rosalie had no clue what had gone on in the time she’d been sucked into Lucinda’s artifact.

“Rosalie?” Father’s amused voice came.

She looked up at him, blinking, as she realized that she’d briefly zoned out. “I was thinking,” Rosalie said. “I was just kidnapped by my mentor. It’s a disorienting situation. Forgive me.”

“About your allies?” he asked.

Rosalie winced. So Lucinda and Father had, at least, spoken about them. Perhaps not at length though. And Delta might not have learned, yet.

“Yes. Where are they?”

“Safe and comfortable, of course.” He leaned on his spear. “They had some very interesting things to say to me, Rosalie.”

Rosalie’s stomach fell to the floor.

“You’ve already spoken to them,” she said numbly.

“Of course I have.”

“I’d have thought you would meet with me first.”

“And let you play damage control? Why would I do that?”

Rosalie stewed in dismay for several long moments, before finally sighing. Had she expected Father to act in any other way? Of course not.

She wondered how Delta had taken the news. Unfortunately, that was a problem to stress about later. Father’s presence was distinctly more pressing.

Namely, explaining herself.

She wished she’d spent more time organizing this encounter in her head.

Then, the other implication of Zoey, Delta, and Maddy having already spoken with Father hit her. In some regards, Delta’s situation should be the least of her worries. The bigger picture implications were so much more important. Logically speaking, at least.

“What did they tell you?” Rosalie asked slowly.

Would she be delivering any of her secrets herself?

Father laughed.

He appeared in front of her almost faster than her eyes could track. He thrust forward, his spear aimed at her stomach.

Rosalie sidestepped it.

“Ah,” Father said. “You’re quicker than you used to be. Though of course you are.”

He stabbed out several more times, and Rosalie dodged each. He was simply testing her. Father could puncture a hole through this entire training yard with a single lunge if he wished, much less outpace her in a duel. He was just seeing how much she’d improved in her short stint in the ‘real world’.

She didn’t return any blows. As soon as the flurry receded, she repeated herself.

“What did they tell you?”

“Everything, of course,” Father said.

“Everything?”

Father raised an eyebrow at her.

Rosalie started to panic. But despite the briefly instilled terror, she realized quickly she was being lied to.

“No, they didn’t,” she said.

“Oh?”

“You wouldn’t be acting like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you knew everything, or half of it, you’d be having far more of a reaction.”

“I’m quite accustomed to the strangeness of this world, Rosalie,” Enzo said, sounding amused—and his confidence made Rosalie’s certainty falter for a second. But no. That was just Father. Perfectly confident in any situation. Becoming the strongest man in the world tended to provide that sort of arrogance.

But Zoey hadn’t told him everything, or half of it, or even the basics, maybe. Because Father wouldn’t be so ... unconcerned by it all.

Especially their relationship. That might cause more of a reaction than news of the world ending did. Father had always been particular about who was even allowed to show interest in his daughters, much less pursue them. And among her sisters, Rosalie had always been the least intrigued by romance.