Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1603: They are Family: Part-1

Aether knew he had let his emotions get the better of him, and as a responsible father, he didn’t want Kaelen to go through the consequences of what he had done.

So, without delay, he went directly to speak with the people connected to the death, choosing to face them himself rather than let it fall upon his son.

Of course, He did not go alone.

At his side, or rather unwillingly dragged along, was his father-in-law, Kaelith Zephyr, the Current Ruler of the High Elves.

Yes, Aether had pulled the poor man straight out of his chambers in the middle of the night.

Of course, Kaelith thought someone had come to assassinate him wearing a skull mask, but to think it was his son-in-law’s one of kinks.

Kink?

Anyway, behind them, Chad, Kaelith’s wife, stood by the doorway, one hand raised in a lazy wave as she watched her husband being dragged away from her embrace without mercy.

”No! Why are you dragging me out in the middle of the night? What madness has possessed you?!” Kaelith’s voice echoed through the corridor.

Yet,

Not a single word reached Aether.

He continued walking, dragging along a man who, moments ago, had been lost in warmth and comfort, now reduced to a reluctant participant in whatever storm Aether was about to unleash.

”Take care, little boys~”

Chad’s voice drifted after them like silk brushing against skin.

She blew a playful kiss, leaning lightly against the doorframe. A translucent nightgown clung to her slime-formed body, the fabric barely concealing the soft curves beneath, shimmering faintly in the low light.

”Dear! Help me!!” Kaelith called out, stretching his arm back toward her as if that alone might save him.

Chad only smiled, her eyes glinting with amusement.

”Be obedient and help ’our’ beloved son-in-law~, darling... and do make sure to return quickly.

I will be waiting~”

Her fingers lifted the hem of her gown just enough to reveal the smooth line of her thighs.

Kaelith’s face flushed instantly. He coughed, flustered, then nodded far too quickly.

Chad’s smile deepened, turning dangerous, playful in a way that carried quiet intent~

Her gaze shifted to Aether, and she raised the fabric just a little higher, enough to test his composure.

”Do come back safely~ I shall prepare something special for our little boys~”

Aether, of course, ignored the provocative wink and soft thighs from Chad... He dare not look at her-ahem Him!!

He would not risk it. Not even for a second.

’Damn it! She’s doing this on purpose...’

Aether groaned inwardly in horror-stricken expression... He knew exactly what lay beneath that gown, yet that deceptively pretty, dangerously cute face twisted his thoughts—

Fuck TRAP!!!

Shaking the thought away, he focused forward, dragging Kaelith deeper into the night.

***

Meanwhile, far from that scene, beyond the protective barrier of the Aurora Empire...

”Hel... are you alright?”

Aria’s voice came softly.

She sat beside Helena near the campfire, the orange glow painting faint light across Helena’s stern, lost face.

Helena stared into the flames without blinking, her gaze distant, as though she were watching something far beyond the fire itself.

Since Nyx had left with Aether, Helena had not been the same.

Truthfully, she had been like this ever since the first wave of the war crashed upon them.

The flames crackled, sparks rising into the night like fleeting stars.

Their movement reflected in Helena’s eyes, but there was no warmth there, only memory.

Those flickering lights, those restless tongues of fire... they pulled her back to that moment.

A figure, engulfed in white flames.

A moment she could not escape.

Aria shifted closer. The sound of burning wood filled the silence.

”I... I am utterly useless...” Helena’s voice trembled as it broke free, her lips quivering as she struggled to hold herself together.

Tears gathered in her eyes, shimmering in the firelight.

”T-That day... I... I couldn’t do anything... I stood there... just stood there... while he was hurt... while he was breaking... while he cried...” Her breath hitched, ”A-And even then... even then... I did nothing...”

Tears spilled freely now, tracing silent paths down her face.

Aria moved without hesitation, closing the distance and wrapping an arm around Helena’s shoulders, pulling her gently closer.

”Hel... listen to me,” Aria said softly, ”That was not your fault.”

Aria knew Helena was a soft, innocent girl who would blame herself even when the fault did not belong to her.

”Remember... you were the one who healed him when he got hurt—”

Helena’s head shook almost instantly, cutting through Aria’s words with a broken, trembling voice.

”H-he only got hurt because he s-saved us...”

Aria fell silent for a moment, her lips parting before closing again as she searched for something, anything, that could reach her.

A soft sigh escaped her as she tried once more.

”Hel... look at me. I understand your pain, I truly do... but it’s alright... he is fine...”

”HE IS NOT FINE!!!”

Helena snapped, shrugging Aria’s hand off her shoulder as she turned, her tear-filled eyes blazing with pain and frustration.

”Understand? Do you even understand what he went through that day?... H-He lost his leg... he couldn’t move... he couldn’t s-speak...” Her breath hitched violently.

”H-He was just... broken... and I... I just stood there... crying... trying to stop him from getting hurt...”

Tears spilled endlessly as she thrashed, her hands clenching and releasing as if she were trying to tear the guilt out of herself.

Aria went still.

She watched Helena quietly.

Aria fell silent as she looked at the girl before her. Among Aether’s women, most never revealed their individual vulnerable sides, fearing that doing so might lower their standing.

Without realising it, they had all built strong personas, masks that kept them upright no matter how heavy things became.

And Helena was one of them.

To see her like this... breaking down, losing control, crying and shouting without restraint...

It could only mean one thing.

Helena and Sera must have witnessed something far worse than anyone else that day.

Aria understood.

No... she knew.

Her chest tightened as memories clawed at her own heart.

Aether had nearly died because of her too. That same helplessness, that same suffocating fear, had once wrapped around her just as tightly.

Her vision blurred as her own tears gathered, yet she forced a faint, fragile smile onto her lips.

”I see...” she whispered softly, ”It must have hurt you so much...”

Without hesitation, she pulled Helena into an embrace.

Helena’s eyes widened for a brief moment as warmth surrounded her.

”H-Hurt?... He kept getting hurt again and again... just to protect us...” Helena’s voice trembled against Aria’s shoulder, her fingers clutching tightly at her back as if she might fall apart otherwise.

”Why does he have to go through all of this?... Is it because he is cursed... like Professor Delphine said? W-Why?... He has never done anything wrong... so why...”

”Why won’t the gods let him live happily... why...”

The question lingered in the cold night air.

Aria’s arms tightened around her, holding her closer.

”I... wonder why too...” she admitted quietly, her voice barely above a whisper, yet filled with honesty.

”I am so u-useless...” Helena muttered, her eyes trembling as more tears slipped free.

”Yes... we are...” Aria nodded faintly, her long lashes quivering as her own tears fell silently.

For a moment, neither of them resisted that truth.

”I-I need to get stronger...” Helena’s voice shook, but there was something else within it now, something fragile yet burning.

”S-Stronger than him... s-so that I can repay his kindness... s-so that I can protect him from this wicked world...”

Her tears soaked into Aria’s shoulder, but her grip only tightened, as if anchoring herself to that resolve.

”M-Me too...” Aria whispered, her lips trembling as her heart ached with both fear and love.

”I want to protect his smile... Hel... I... I want to stop him from doing such reckless things...”

”...”

Not far from them, Raven stood on guard.

Her sharp eyes observed everything, missing nothing. Words rose within her, countless thoughts she wished to offer, yet none left her lips.

She too carried her own grief for Aether... for all of them.

But unlike the others, she buried it deep beneath her stoic expression.

Still, she knew one thing clearly.

To support them!

To help them!

To act like a big sister to everyone.

Yet,

”We will Get Stronger!”

Helena and Aria startled when a gentle hand wrapped around both of them at once.

Their bodies tensed for a split second before they blinked and turned, only to find Raven pulling them into an embrace, her face as stoic as ever.

For a brief moment, silence settled over them. The only sound came from the crackling wood of the campfire nearby, sparks rising lazily into the night like tiny wandering stars.

Raven tilted her head slightly, her heterochromatic eyes reflecting the firelight... The contrast made her look oddly... adorable?

”Ha-Haha...”

”H-haha... hah...”

Both Helena and Aria burst into laughter, tangled with the tears still clinging to their lashes.

”That’s so... Sister Raven...” Helena muttered between laughs, wiping her tears with the back of her hands.

”Haha... yeah... seriously...” Aria added, sniffling slightly as she rubbed the corners of her eyes.

Raven blinked once.

Then again.

She clearly did not understand why they were laughing, nor what exactly she had done that was amusing, yet seeing their expressions soften, seeing that sadness melt away even a little... that alone was enough.

A faint, almost shy smile formed on her usually expressionless face as she pulled them closer, her arms tightening just a bit more.

’I am their big sister...’

As she straightened slightly and spoke,

”Big sister protects little sisters!”

”...”

Then Aria’s eyebrow twitched.

”Ah? Since when did you become my big sister?” she asked slowly.

”Older than you,” Raven replied instantly, as if stating an undeniable truth.

Aria’s lips twitched harder. ”Woman... listen carefully... if anything, I am older than you.”

”No.”

”What do you mean ’no’? That’s not even an argument!”

”No!!”

”I have lived longer than you, you idiot!”

”No!!!”

Helena, caught between them, blinked rapidly as the energy shifted again, her earlier sorrow completely hijacked by the absurdity unfolding.

”Oi... call me big sister,” Aria demanded, pointing at herself with growing irritation.

”NO!!!!”

Raven’s arms tightened instantly, locking both Helena and Aria in place as if physically rejecting reality itself.

Without warning, she leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against Helena’s cheek.

”Little sister.”

Helena froze completely.

A faint blush spread across her cheeks, her eyes widening as her brain struggled to process what had just happened.

Raven then turned her head slowly toward Aria, her intent crystal clear.

”Little sis—”

”FUCK YOU!!”

Aria exploded, her entire body jerking as veins popped along her forehead.

”You brainless queen! Let go of me this instant!! I refuse this nonsense!”

She pushed Raven’s face away with both hands, but Raven simply leaned forward again, undeterred.

”M-My little... sis...” Raven insisted, her voice oddly soft yet stubborn.

”BITCH!! DON’T YOU DARE KISS ME! I SWEAR I’LL SHOOT YOU POINT-BLANK!”

Aria struggled with everything she had, pushing Raven’s face aside while Raven continued advancing with slow, inevitable persistence, like a force of nature that refused to yield.

Until,

”Hahahahaha...!”

Both Aria and Raven turned at the same time.

Helena stood there, clutching her stomach, laughing openly, her voice ringing clear into the night.

Tears still streamed down her face, but this time they carried no weight.

”I... I can’t... haha... you two...! Hahaha” she gasped between laughs.

Aria let out a quiet breath. Raven paused, her head tilting slightly again.

Their gazes lingered on Helena, watching her laugh, really laugh, as if the darkness that had wrapped around her had finally loosened its grip.

A quiet warmth settled over them.

Then—

Chu~

”Little sister~ Heh~”

Raven struck.

Using that exact moment of distraction, she leaned in and planted a quick kiss on Aria’s cheek, her lips barely touching before she pulled back with the faintest hint of triumph.

”YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!”

Aria’s scream shook the air. Her face turned bright red as she wiped her cheek furiously.

”I AM OLDER THAN YOUR ASS!!! RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!!!”

”O-Okay, stop! Please don’t fight!” Helena stepped forward quickly, panic returning as Aria’s aura flared.

In a flash, Aria summoned her bow.

Arrows formed and shot forward in rapid succession, slicing through the air with sharp whistles, one after another, relentless.

Raven moved.

Her body flowed like water, swaying, twisting, her hips shifting with a snake-like rhythm as she dodged every single arrow with effortless precision, not a single one even grazing her.

”Hehe~”

Her soft, teasing laughter only made things worse.

”DON’T YOU ’HEHE’ ME! STAND STILL AND ACCEPT YOUR FATE!”

”Hehe~”

”STOP SMILING!!”

”Hehe~”

”FUCK YOU!!”

The camp filled with chaos once more, arrows flying, laughter echoing, frustration burning, yet none of it carried the heaviness from before.

Meanwhile, inside a large tent nearby, far removed from the battlefield of sisters...

A figure lay sprawled under a blanket, her body curled awkwardly as if even in sleep she could not find comfort.

”N-No more... work... please...” Nightfire groaned weakly, her face twisting as though she were fighting an invisible enemy in her dreams.

”I... I want to go home... I want food... and sleep... sniff... sniff...”

Her voice cracked pitifully, echoing softly within the quiet tent.

Her body ached everywhere.

Even though she had spent countless nights tangled with Aether, moving without restraint, enduring far more intense strain without complaint... today’s work had defeated her completely.

”I... can’t even feel my back...” she mumbled half-asleep, her brows furrowing deeper. ”Who invented work... I will kill them...”

Unlike the others, who still carried energy despite the long day, she had barely lasted half of it, yet her body felt like it had been pushed far beyond its limits.

”Next time... I choose bed over duty...” she murmured faintly.