"Mm…" Ariana frowned in her sleep.

Something felt… off.

It was cold. And uncomfortable.

Wait—wasn't she supposed to be sleeping in Adrian's room?

She blinked her eyes open, only to be greeted by the sight of someone's back—slender, not broad. Not Adrian.

That definitely wasn't a man's back.

Confused, Ariana sat up—and quickly realized she was on the floor. No blanket, no sheet, no pillow. Just the hard, cold floor.

"…What the hell?" she muttered groggily.

Her gaze shifted toward the makeshift bed—and there he was. Adrian. Still asleep.

But nestled tightly against him, arms wrapped around him like a koala clinging to a tree, was none other than Annabelle.

Ariana sighed with a tired smile. "This girl…"

Shaking her head, she moved toward them and reached for Annabelle's arm.

"Get. Away. From. Him—gah!" she hissed, pulling back her hand.

Her efforts were useless. The arm didn't move an inch.

"Damn, is this what first-rank strength looks like?"

Annabelle, blissfully unaware, wore the expression of someone in heaven. A stupidly content smile graced her face as she snuggled into Adrian, still fast asleep.

Ariana didn't want to wake him. Not after how exhausted he must be. So instead, she leaned close to Annabelle's ear and whispered, "If you don't get up, I'll read your diary."

JOLT

In a flash, Annabelle vanished from the bed and reappeared beside the table—hugging her diary like it was her child.

Ariana smirked triumphantly as she slid into the duvet and wrapped her arms around her husband.

Annabelle stood nearby, gritting her teeth, stomping the floor in helpless frustration. She glared at Ariana, who looked way too pleased with herself.

She wanted nothing more than to yank her rival away from Adrian.

But doing that… would wake him.

She stood there fuming, still trying to figure out what to do, when Adrian stirred.

Then, suddenly, he jolted upright.

"Ah—what happened?" Ariana blinked, startled.

Adrian blinked a few times, then mumbled, "My glasses… Where are they?"

Ariana turned toward the bedside table and leaned forward, ready to grab them—

Poof!

The glasses disappeared in front of her.

The next moment, they were in Annabelle's hands as she stepped forward, radiant with smug devotion.

"Here, Darling," she said sweetly, like the most obedient wife in existence.

Adrian, still half-asleep, accepted them without much thought.

Ariana just stared, her mouth slightly open.

"…Seriously?"

Annabelle flashed a victory grin.

Ignoring the silent banter between the two, Adrian turned his attention to the server.

He had already instructed the system to notify him the moment Valor or Dark Knight messaged.

And they did.

Valor: [Ah, you don't have to thank me. It was alright.]

There were a few more lines, but instead of scrolling, Adrian chose the direct route.

'What happened, Dark Knight? How did it go?'

There was a brief pause before Athex finally responded.

Dark Knight: [We won, Avirin. Valor erased half of the forces all by himself. He became a deterrent in the war for us. I seriously can't believe we won the war in just half a day.]

Adrian's lips curled into a smile of satisfaction.

He had made the right call.

Valor truly brought about a change.

Valor: [Well, they were weak. And extremely foolish. I just created a few illusions and they started fighting each other.]

Adrian wryly smiled.

'They were, by no means, weak.'

He had seen that atrocious dragon when he visited Athex's world.

The miasma it radiated—it was the same kind of pressure he once felt from Abraham. And Abraham was one of the strongest Acolytes in this world.

Yet, according to Athex, that dragon wasn't even considered special.

So no, they weren't weak. Not at all.

Dark Knight: [It was a sight to behold, seeing him fight, Avirin.]

Scarlette: [Ah, I wish I could have been there.]

Raven: [Battle pervert. Well, I expected that from Valor. He's the strongest on this server, after all.]

Adrian blinked in surprise.

'Really?'

Raven: [Wait… you didn't know?]

Forgelet: [Well, he hadn't recovered his memories, so he doesn't remember Valor's feats.]

Valor: [Come on, guys. You're embarrassing me. And Avirin, thank you for calling me there. I would've regretted it if anything had happened to Dark Knight.]

Adrian smiled warmly and replied,

'Well, it's thanks to you for responding so quickly.'

Raven: [Heyyyyy… now you're making me feel bad.]

Adrian chose not to respond and closed the chat.

"Sorry about that," he said, turning to Ariana—who was currently trying to keep Annabelle pinned to her seat.

"What was she trying to do?" he asked, approaching his fiancée.

"Check your closet."

Annabelle's eyes widened. "You said you wouldn't tell him!"

Ariana grinned. "Take it as a lesson. Don't pry into people's privacy next time."

Annabelle turned toward Adrian with teary eyes. "She's been bullying me since morning."

Adrian sat beside her and said gently, "She's right though."

Annabelle let out a small grumble..

Turning toward Ariana, Adrian brought up, "I told you about the war, right?"

Ariana tensed slightly and gave a nod.

Adrian smiled. "It's resolved. They survived."

Ariana exhaled in relief… though whether it was because they'd won the war, or because Adrian wouldn't need to return to the frontlines—well, that remained a mystery.

"Thank god, he won't ask for your help anymore, thankfully," Annabelle sighed in relief as well.

Adrian didn't comment on that and instead asked, "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Annabelle's eyes turned droopy. "Am I being a bother?"

Adrian chuckled softly and patted her head. "You're not—but soon I'll have to leave to take my classes. What will you do then?"

Annabelle's shoulders slumped. Right… he had his duties.

And she couldn't very well ask him to take her along. Nor can she stay here…because of his fiancée…

Adrian understood her conflict. She wanted to spend time with him—but he didn't have the time to give her.

Not to mention, he would need to spend an extra hour after classes watching over the students participating in the contest.

And since he had just returned from a week-long vacation, he couldn't take a day off either.

"If there's no problem, just stay here," Ariana suddenly suggested. "I mean, he comes back to his room every evening, so… stay a few days with him?"

Adrian blinked in surprise. Of all people, he hadn't expected her to be the one suggesting it.

Noticing his gaze, Ariana huffed, "I just don't want you getting distracted during work."

Adrian chuckled. "Being dishonest at times like this…" He knew exactly why she said that. Ariana had simply offered the idea because she understood he didn't want to sadden Annabelle—so she masked her kindness behind a flimsy excuse.

Ariana crossed her arms and didn't reply.

Annabelle, meanwhile, was grinning from ear to ear. "Then… can I stay?"

Adrian sighed before responding, "Yes… but just for—"

"Yaaay!" Annabelle jumped onto him, locking her legs tightly around his waist as she hugged him.

Ariana was now seriously having second thoughts…

°°°°°°

A/N:- I hope you are enjoying their dynamics. Thanks for reading and leave a comment.