Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1447: On the way... nothing happened?

Delphine blinked in surprise as she looked around at everyone who had accepted the reality without hesitation.

Honestly, she had expected resistance, doubt, maybe even rejection. The moment they learned Aether was cursed, and that the curse could pass on to them, to their children, she had prepared herself for the worst... all leaving them.

Yet these women stood there.

Delphine frowned deeply, her voice trembling as she spoke. ”Do you not understand what this means?” she asked, her hands clenching weakly as her emotions surged.

”Even those who carry his blood would be cursed. That means his children... our children.”

They looked at her in silence, small frowns forming as their gazes dropped.

Confusion flickered in their eyes, followed by hesitation, the kind that came not from doubt, but from thinking too deeply.

No matter the world, no matter the power they wielded, no parent would ever want their child to be born cursed.

Seeing their silence, Delphine let out a weak, resigned smile. Just as she had expected.

No woman would willingly accept a fate like that for her child. The thought alone was enough to break a heart.

”But...” Selene spoke up suddenly, carrying more strength than it appeared.

”If loving him is a curse... then so be it.”

She looked at Delphine directly, her eyes filled with quiet resolve.

”Aunt, I do not know what you have decided or... what you are afraid of,” she said gently. ”But from my heart, I know this much. All I want is him. Him alone.” Her hands tightened slowly.

”If a curse can keep him away, I will tear it apart with my own hands. I will kill it myself.”

Her expression hardened for a brief moment, ”I would do anything to break it.” Then her face softened again, her voice dropping to something tender.

”Because... that is what he has been doing all this time, right?”

At her words, quiet hums of agreement filled the room, accompanied by gentle smiles.

Especially from Sandra and Dora.

They understood something deeper than most. They knew Aether had been pushing himself beyond reason, protecting what he loved even if it meant dying again and again without complaint.

Selene continued softly, her gaze settling on Aether’s unconscious form. ”Believe me,” she said, her voice trembling just slightly.

”If he can push his body and soul for people who were strangers at first, people like us... what do you think he would do for his own blood?”

She turned back to Delphine, tears welling in her eyes.

”Tell me, Aunt. We were nobodies to him once. Some of us hurt him, some doubted him, some broke him, some only worried from afar. Yet he always moved first, always chose to protect us.” Her voice cracked.

”Yes, it was his mission, but... was that all?”

She looked around the room, meeting each pair of eyes in turn.

”Was it really just a mission?”

Soft smiles spread among them, quiet and knowing.

It had never been just a mission.

Selene met Delphine’s gaze again and spoke gently.

”If he knew his own blood was in danger, he would tear the world apart for them,” she said with certainty.

”That is Aether. My husband.” She let out a small, shaky chuckle.

”Maybe... our husband,” she added lightly.

A single tear slipped free and rolled down her cheek.

Delphine trembled under the force of her words, her heart aching as she looked at the faces around her.

One by one, they nodded, as if Selene’s words belonged to all of them.

They could have spoken. They could have poured their love into endless words, declared devotion that no curse could rival.

But they did not need to.

They were already standing there!

To the man who had given everything, while wanting nothing more than a love that made him feel complete, whole, and alive.

Sure, selfish but... who was not!

Kaelen suddenly spoke, ”I...” His eyes were wet, glassy, tears clinging stubbornly as he struggled to hold himself together.

”I do not know about all of you,” he said, sniffing hard, his breath uneven as if his chest hurt too much to breathe properly.

”But... I am not leaving my father.” His hand clenched tightly against his chest, fingers digging into fabric as though he needed to anchor himself.

”A curse?” he scoffed weakly. ”My entire life has been nothing but one. I was always looked down on, always belittled, always treated like I was less than everyone else, and I was beaten down again and again-ahem”

Liora shot him a sharp glare, her eyes narrowing instantly. Kaelen stiffened, coughing lightly as he corrected himself mid-sentence. ”Ahem... I mean, always pushed around like I was nothing more than a piece on someone else’s board,” he amended quickly, forcing a weak, awkward smile.

He swallowed hard, his throat tightening as he lifted his head again.

”But when he entered my life,” Kaelen continued, his voice quieter now but heavier, ”he showed me that there was more to me than just living in my mother’s shadow.” His gaze burned as he spoke.

”He showed me the world... He showed me choices.... He showed me that I was not USELESS!!” His finger pressed firmly against his chest.

”He showed me what I am capable of.”

His lips trembled violently as the words spilled out.

”E-Even... my birth father did nothing.”

The memories of his birth father... A distant man.

A coward who never stayed long enough to care. No guidance, no advice, no discipline, no warmth. Not even disappointment. Everything Kaelen had learned had come from his mother.

His blood father had felt like nobody, like he didn’t even care if he was his child.

That was why, when the man died, Kaelen had not cried.

There had been nothing to mourn.

Liora’s expression softened, the hardness melting away as she reached out and placed her hand on her son’s shoulder.

”Whether I... share his blood or not,” Kaelen said firmly, ”Whether my mother loves him anymore or not.” His jaw tightened.

”He stood there for me as a father.

He gave me a shoulder when I had nowhere else to lean.

He taught me things no one ever bothered to teach.”

His eyes burned with restrained tears. ”When I failed, he pushed me back up. When I was cornered, he was there, p-pulling me back into the light.”

His voice cracked, but he did not stop.

”That is my only d-dad,” he said with quiet certainty.

”And I will be his son until the day I die.”

Everyone turned silent.

Several of them stared at Kaelen in surprise.

They had not expected him to lay his heart bare so completely.

If Aether had been awake to hear those words, he would have broken down somewhere unseen, overwhelmed by a love he never believed he deserved.

Slowly, one by one, their gazes turned toward Delphine. Their expressions were gentle, understanding, and resolute.

Kaelen’s words had spoken what all of them carried but had never needed to say aloud.

Delphine blinked slowly, her eyes lowering as emotion tightened her chest.

A soft, warm smile curved her lips. ”Ha... dad... huh?” she murmured quietly, her voice filled with affection and disbelief.

This was the second time she had truly seen the bond between Aether and Kaelen so clearly, yet it was enough to understand everything.

Sandra broke the silence, ”It is better if Aether never hears about the curse,” she said plainly. ”Or whatever name they choose to dress it up with.”

Everyone nodded immediately, not a trace of hesitation among them.

They all knew what kind of idiot Aether became when love was involved.

If he ever learned the truth, he would leave without looking back. He would disappear, convinced he was protecting them. He would call it sacrifice, noble and necessary, without ever considering how deeply it would wound those he left behind.

”Asshole,” Thalia muttered sharply, clicking her tongue. She did not need to imagine it. She could already see him hiding somewhere alone, convinced he was doing the right thing.

Everyone let out small, breathless laughs as they nodded one after another, quietly promising that they would never mention any of this to Aether.

No matter what happened, no matter how heavy the truth became, they would keep it from him.

He was not cursed.

He was their husband.

He was their father.

Just then, Sandra’s expression shifted.

She leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on Delphine. ”You mentioned something earlier,” she said carefully. ”You said they took him. That they hid him.” Her eyes narrowed.

”Do you know who ’they’ are?”

Delphine shook her head slowly, her brows knitting together. ”I do not know,” she admitted.

”But Mother said someone might be behind him. From the way she spoke, it sounded like they were nurturing him... shaping him... as if preparing him to fulfil a duty he was born for.” Confusion flickered across her face as she tried to piece the words together.

A heavy silence followed.

Frowns formed across every face as the same thought surfaced almost instinctively.

”The Contractor?”

The words left their mouths almost in unison.

Delphine frowned in confusion.

Sandra and Dora exchanged a long look, one filled with unspoken understanding. They did not say anything aloud, yet everything was conveyed through their eyes.

Around them, the others began murmuring quietly, nodding as they spoke among themselves.

”It has to be the Contractor.”

”But she said ’they,’ not ’Him or Her.’ Does that mean there are two Contractors tied to Aether?”

”Or maybe another one... someone we do not know yet.”

Possibilities stacked upon possibilities, each darker than the last.

Eventually, one by one, they shook their heads. Speculation would not help them now. Whatever the truth was, it would reveal itself when the time came.

Aria broke the tension gently. ”What happened after that?” she asked softly. ”Please... continue.”

Delphine hesitated, her expression tightening. ”After that, Mother mentioned Aether was there too, searching for me,” she said slowly. ”She told me to follow the chains that led to him.” Her gaze lowered as she searched her memory.

”I went into the darkness, following those chains and... and...”

Her face twisted slightly, brows furrowing deeper as if something refused to surface.

Everyone leaned in unconsciously.

”Did something happen?” someone asked carefully.

Delphine raised a hand to her temple, rubbing it as a dull headache pulsed beneath her fingers. ”I... I do not know,” she said uncertainly. ”I mean... no. I think nothing happened.” She shook her head lightly, as if convincing herself.

”Nothing happened on the way.”

She paused, ”And then... I met Aether.” Then her eyes widened suddenly, ”And... Grace.”

”Who?”

Every pair of eyes snapped toward her.

Delphine frowned again, confused by their reaction. ”None of you know?” she asked slowly.

”The God of the Void Empire... Grace... is actually inside his body.”

For a heartbeat, no one breathed.

”SAY WHAT?!!”