Tuf didn't know why, why he couldn't bring himself to tell Ceres that she was his human mother.
Or even hint at it.
He had every chance. Every opening. Every word teetering on the edge of his tongue.
But it wouldn't come out.
Most of all, he didn't understand why she hadn't noticed, hadn't even paused to consider the striking resemblance he bore to his father, Caelum.
Did she forget him?
The man who never, not even once in a thousand years, had forgotten her?
Tuf wanted so badly to take her away, to bring her back to Velrathis, to reunite her with Caelum.
But how could he say that now?
After all the destruction he'd caused…
If he asked her to come with him now, they'd never trust him.
They'd think it was a trap. A twisted ploy.
And still…
He wanted to try.
"Your Highness," he said suddenly, voice gentler than before.
"Do I not remind you of something? Or someone?"
Tuf didn't know why, but of all the abilities he'd copied, including the most advanced, his mind-reading skill, taken from Nugget, wasn't working properly here. Not on any of the warriors surrounding her.
He could read the minds of the humans earlier, but not the ones in bodysuit armor. Maybe the suits were interfering. Or maybe…
Maybe something stronger was shielding them.
When he'd first arrived and asked for Seiryu's Master, all the surface thoughts pointed to Aurelian. Even the nobles believed it. And yet…
Tuf had known instantly that Aurelian wasn't the one.
Ceres furrowed her brows at his question.
"Remind me of someone? Who?" she asked, a little confused.
"I don't know," Tuf replied honestly. "That's why I'm asking."
Ceres tilted her head, thoughtful.
"Actually… yes."
Tuf perked up, his smile slowly growing.
Maybe now she'd finally see it.
Maybe she'd say it, the name Caelum, and he could finally tell her everything.
"Who?" he asked eagerly, a hopeful grin tugging at his lips.
"Me," Ceres said, without a hint of hesitation.
The words struck like lightning.
Tuf blinked.
The others froze.
Aurelian turned slowly toward her, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"Right?" Ceres continued, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The more I talk to him, the more I can hear myself."
There was a strange, awkward silence.
Then Seiryu, Delphine, Legion, and Aurelian began shifting uncomfortably, glancing between Tuf and Ceres.
And slowly, it clicked.
The sharp tongue.
The dry sarcasm.
The underhanded insults.
The dramatic eye rolls.
The confidence. The bluntness. The subtle cruelty… delivered with poise.
It was uncanny.
Tuf, the fearsome, destructive prince, was the male version of the Empress.
And that realization was horrifying.
And hysterical.
Tuf suddenly burst into laughter, loud and full-bodied, the kind that echoed across the ruins like music.
"You're not wrong," he said between laughs. "Gods, you're so right."
Because it was true.
He had his father's face, but his soul?
It was hers.
From the memories passed down by Caelum, Tuf knew how his father saw Ceres...
Stubborn. Cunning. Untouchable.
She didn't just defeat her enemies. She made them suffer. She played with them, long and slow, until they broke themselves.
Just like him.
He could've destroyed Aquilonis in one breath.
But where was the fun in that?
He liked to draw it out. Toy with their fear.
Make them cry.
Just like she would.
"Not my personality," Tuf said at last, his smile softer now.
"Physically, I mean."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Don't I remind you of someone?"
His voice had lost its mischief.
There was something else in it now, something aching.
"Physically?" Ceres repeated, brows furrowed. "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've met."
"I look like my father," Tuf offered carefully, watching her face for any flicker of recognition.
Her frown deepened.
Was she supposed to know who his father was?
A demon lord, one who had lived for over a thousand years?
And then something clicked.
"Are you and I from the same place, Tuf?" Ceres asked quietly, glancing around at the others nearby.
She couldn't openly mention Earth, not with so many ears listening.
Tuf's eyes lit up.
"Yes, Your Highness," he answered with a spark of excitement, thinking, hoping, she had finally connected the dots.
"The Demon Lord as well?" Ceres asked.
Tuf nodded enthusiastically.
"And your siblings?"
"Yes," he replied quickly, grinning. "All of us."
"Was your father… someone famous?" she asked, puzzled.
"What's his name again?"
"Caelum," Tuf answered softly, nearly holding his breath.
Please… remember him, Mother.
Caelum.
She repeated the name silently in her mind.
It felt… familiar.
Intimate.
But nothing surfaced.
No image. No memory. No celebrity from Earth bore that name.
"I'm sorry," Ceres said after a pause, meeting his eyes.
"I don't think I know anyone named Caelum."
Tuf's smile faltered.
She saw it, that flicker of disappointment, like a child whose promised trip to the theme park had just been canceled.
She tried to soften the blow.
"Speaking of the Demon Lord… is there any chance I could meet him?"
Tuf's head snapped up.
"You want to meet Father?"
His voice rose, shocked, but unmistakably thrilled.
"Yes," Ceres nodded. "If it's possible. I was told he may have something I need."
She had rehearsed her reasoning. She was ready to explain.
"I was hoping…"
"Okay! Let's go."
She blinked, startled by his abrupt response.
"It's… okay?" she asked cautiously.
"Of course," Tuf said brightly, almost bouncing.
His eagerness earned him a wall of suspicious glares from the warriors nearby.
"Aren't you going to return to Velrathis first to ask him?" Ceres asked.
"He might be busy. He's the Demon Lord, he must have a lot to manage. I don't want to intrude."
Tuf waved a hand.
"Nah. He's not busy. He doesn't manage Velrathis anymore."
"He doesn't?"
"Nope. These days, he spends most of his time sulking in the Dark Tower or spoiling our youngest sister. He's got tons of free time."
With a charming smile, Tuf stood up and extended his hand toward her like a perfect gentleman.
"And I assure you, he'd love to see you."
Ceres hesitated.
"Should I bring anything? Prepare anything? Aren't you going to ask what I need from your father first?"
She didn't want to distrust him, not completely.
Even after all the destruction he had caused, there was something about Tuf that felt… strangely comforting.
But she couldn't be reckless, either. Not now.
"It's fine, Your Highness," Tuf said smoothly.
"You can tell him directly. No need to explain it twice."
Then he lowered his voice, thoughtful.
"We should leave soon. Father has been in self-isolation on his island for the past five hundred years. He only returned to the Dark Tower recently because of Seiryu, and a minor rebellion. But now that it's all settled, he might go back to the Spire with my three siblings."
He tilted his head, warning gently...
"Of course, I can still take you to the Spire if he leaves… but my brother Milo controls the time flow on that island. And if he decides to shift it again… one day there could be ten years here in Aquilonis."
Ceres's eyes widened.
"You have a sibling who can manipulate time… in an entire island?" she asked, stunned.
The warriors surrounding them exchanged looks of shared disbelief.
Tuf beamed with pride.
"Not just the island," Tuf replied proudly. "The entire Velrathis Empire, half of Solmara, actually… I can manipulate time too," he added quickly, puffing his chest just a bit,
"But not as big or flashy as Milo."
He wanted her to know.
Wanted her to be proud.
Even if she still didn't recognize him.
"Empress…"
Before Ceres could reach for Tuf's outstretched hand, Aurelian stepped in, stopping her.
"I don't think this is the right time to go," he said. "The kingdom is still in ruins."
While his words held truth, that wasn't the real reason Aurelian stopped her.
He couldn't bear it.
Not the thought of her going with Tuf, and especially not the truth, that once she got what she wanted, once she acquired the HP needed to cast the Dream Spell to speak with Zeus...
She would never let him near her again.
It was selfish. And he knew it.
But it didn't stop him.
"Besides," he added, voice tightening, "we still don't know if it's safe for you to travel to the demi-human empire."
Tuf's entire expression darkened.
"What are you insinuating, you stupid vermin?" Tuf's voice turned lethal, a low growl vibrating in his throat.
"That I would harm my human?"
He had been annoyed with Aurelian and Legion from the beginning, especially after realizing both carried the same subtle scent... almond, vanilla, and lily.
The same scent that now clung so intimately to Ceres.
Tuf didn't want to believe it.
But he knew what it meant. Too well.
And he wasn't angry for himself.
He was livid on behalf of his father.
How dare this pest, this human, touch his mother's sacred body?
Only Caelum was worthy of her.
Not this lowborn, clingy, disrespectful insects who dared sleep in the same bed.
"And how exactly are we supposed to believe you won't hurt her?" Aurelian shot back, seething.
Tuf's smirk was pure poison.
"Because you're still alive, pest."
"What did you just call me?" Aurelian asked, teeth gritted.
"Deaf too, I see. I said pest," Tuf mocked, his tone deliberately slow and condescending.
Aurelian had always prided himself on his self-control.
But something about Tuf, the arrogance, the disrespect, the way he looked at Ceres, set his blood boiling.
Worse than Legion.
And that was saying something.
Before he could stop himself, his hand flew, aimed for Tuf's face.
But time slowed.
And the next thing Aurelian knew, Tuf's fist was in his gut.
He was sent flying, crashing across the rubble of the battlefield.
Gritting his teeth, he immediately stood and teleported back, fists clenched, ready to strike again,
"Enough!" Ceres's voice thundered, sharp and furious.
Tuf had raised his fist again, ready to launch Aurelian a second time, but her command froze them both.
"But Your Highness, he started it," Tuf said childishly, pointing.
"But Empress, he started it!" Aurelian snapped at the exact same time, glaring.
They both turned to her, like misbehaving children fighting over who broke a toy.
Ceres blinked. Her head throbbed.
"I said enough!" she snapped again.
Her gaze darted first to Aurelian, sharp as a blade.
"He's right, you threw the first punch."
"Empress!" Aurelian looked betrayed.
She was siding with Tuf? That beast?
Across from him, Tuf stuck his tongue out, smug and juvenile, making a face behind Ceres's back.
Ceres caught it just as she turned.
"And you," she glared at Tuf. "Why did you have to hit him that hard? What if you'd killed him?"
Aurelian couldn't help but smirk at that, watching as Tuf was scolded too.
Tuf simply blinked, then grinned, boyish and unbothered, like a child proud to be caught misbehaving.
Why does it feel like I'm stuck babysitting two boys from the nursery school?
She rubbed her temples, already regretting everything.
And yet…
She couldn't help but notice something else.
Something she didn't want to admit aloud...
For all the danger he carried, for all the madness in his wake…
Tuf felt like home.
And she had no idea why.