Chapter 32: Elizabeth Decides to Take the Initiative, and Corona

Corona left.

After chatting with Elizabeth for a while, she departed the president’s office through the floor-to-ceiling window in the same manner she arrived.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, began clearing the small coffee table of the untouched snacks and barely sipped tea Corona had left behind.
As she tidied up, her mind was consumed with thoughts of Corona’s true intentions for this visit.

Elizabeth was privy to some details about Lu Xin’s early departure from the team back then.
There had been some unpleasantness between the two, which led to Lu Xin’s voluntary exit.

Just like what happened with me the day before yesterday, Elizabeth thought.

Elizabeth considered herself a rational person, especially after her powers were tainted.
Unable to wield blood magic, she had turned to cultivating telepathy.
She endured criticism of her abilities and resisted the urge to give up on herself.
Years of perseverance had forged her mind into an impregnable fortress.

Yet in the presence of Lu Xin—or Alice Phil—that fortress crumbled from within.

A torrent of love and longing overwhelmed her rationality, leading the usually composed Elizabeth to willingly degrade herself into a pathetic, tail-wagging puppy.

Base, but willingly so.

What a loss of composure, Elizabeth judged her actions from that day.

After tidying everything, Elizabeth stood before the floor-to-ceiling window behind her desk, gazing at the shopping mall where she had spotted Alice Phil two days ago.

The last time Corona came to her, it was to arrange a new identity for school enrollment.
That was when Elizabeth learned of Yuehua’s true whereabouts and her real name.

Alice Phil—a beautiful name, matched by her stunning appearance, personality, and everything else.
Elizabeth loved it all fiercely.

Just as she loved the other side of Alice Phil—Lu Xin.

What was the essence of loving someone?
Was it lust at first sight?
Admiration for a specific trait?
Or simply pure affection?

For Elizabeth, no matter the outer shell, she loved only Lu Xin—this pure soul.
It began with admiration for an exceptional person in their youth, growing into comradeship through battles fought side by side, facing life and death together.

Seventeen years ago, before the crusade began, Elizabeth had planned to confess her feelings to Alice Phil after the battle and retire with her to a quiet life in the city—a carefree existence.
After nearly eight years of working together, she believed even a stone could be warmed by her affection.

But then that thing appeared on the battlefield.
The moment it materialized, nearly sixty percent of the legion’s forces succumbed to grotesque flesh mutations.
When Elizabeth awoke again, she was in a hospital, and Alice Phil had vanished.

Later, when she learned of Alice Phil’s whereabouts, Elizabeth didn’t rush to meet her.
She needed the right moment—a time for just the two of them, an environment suited for baring her heart to Alice Phil.

Two days ago, while handling paperwork, Elizabeth sensed a familiar gaze probing her location.
Sure enough, it was the one she’d been yearning for day and night.
So she sent an invitation to Alice Phil.

But then she messed it up.
Not just messed it up—it seemed she’d completely ruined things with Alice Phil, with Lu Xin.

Was she really willing to let decades of affection dissolve into nothing because of her lack of composure that day?

Elizabeth wasn’t reconciled to that.
She truly wasn’t.
Whether Alice Phil loved women or men, it didn’t matter.

Even if she had a child, Elizabeth didn’t care about the messy details of Alice Phil’s personal life.
She only wanted to claim Alice Phil for herself.

Whether Alice Phil herself was willing or not—please forgive me for taking your future, Elizabeth said to Alice Phil in her heart.

As for Corona, her dear sister, her comrade-in-arms—perhaps there were still embers of affection for Lu Xin in her heart.
But it was impossible for anything to happen between Corona and Lu Xin now.

Corona had married early, had a child early.
Would Alice Phil accept her former white moonlight, now married with a child?

Perhaps Alice Phil might still accept such a Corona.
But Corona herself couldn’t cross that moral line.
Her character was too noble to allow betrayal of her husband.
Though she loved broadly, she lacked the selfishness needed to claim Lu Xin, losing her chance to confess her love.
The sun was too proud, too proud of its own virtue.

In short, everything about Alice Phil—her person, her child—belonged to Elizabeth.

No, everything of Elizabeth’s belonged to Alice Phil.
Her person, her wealth, her empire—all were hers.

Standing by the window, Elizabeth clasped her hands tightly over her chest, praying to some unseen source of solace and confessing to Alice Phil:
I’m sorry, please forgive my greed, my arrogance, and my love.

…………

Corona flew along the route back to Tongzhou City.

After receiving Elizabeth’s confirmation, her heart was restless the entire way.
What feelings did she hold for Lu Xin—hatred or regret?

Alice Phil, her little moon, had united with Lu Xin, living happily and raising a daughter.

Lu Xin—the man who took her first night, who once brought her fleeting joy—reappeared after vanishing for over twenty years, now married to her little moon.

When she picked up that family photo that day, her first reaction was disbelief.
Someone she thought lost had resurfaced.
Then came regret—that the woman in the photo wasn’t her.

She even had an impulsive thought to confront Little Moon directly and demand where her husband was.
Corona wanted to face Lu Xin and question where he’d been hiding all these years.

Though after Lu Xin took her first night, she bore no resentment toward him.
Back then, she had indeed harbored feelings for him.
His actions after she fell were anticipated—or rather, intentionally guided by her.

Even now, she hadn’t sought another love.

Back in Donghua City, one of the battlegrounds of a massive beast invasion, only shattered skyscrapers remained, with countless victims buried under the rubble.

Back then, Corona had saved Lu Xin at a critical moment in Donghua City.
From that point, their fates intertwined.
They’d even been classmates for a time back when her hair was still black, her eyes an ordinary amber.

Perhaps it was then that she fell for that hardworking boy.
Later, when her body failed her, her first thought was to have Lu Xin carry her away.
Though things happened afterward, she held no resentment toward him—it was what she’d hoped for, even fantasized about living with him thereafter.

But now, regarding her past affection, Corona felt reluctant.
She didn’t want her impulsiveness to ruin the happiness Lu Xin shared with Little Moon.

Especially Yuehua, Alice Phil, her little moon—she couldn’t bear to destroy the happiness her little moon had burned everything to achieve.
Yes, as long as Alice Phil was happy, that was enough.
As for herself, Corona would be content just watching their family from afar.

As for herself, living alone was fine.

But what about Lu Ming?
How could she reunite with her father?

Corona didn’t know.
Perhaps there’d never be a chance.