The Anomaly's Path

After slamming the VIP room doors behind us, I dragged Roan and Alice all the way down to the ground floor by their collars, tossed them back into the main hall, and shoved them straight back to work.

They didn’t even have time to complain before I ordered them back onto the floor to clear tables and take orders.

For the next two hours, the Ascendant Grill & Tea House stayed continuously busy. The dinner crowd slowly turned into late-night festival visitors looking for drinks and warm food. I stayed in the kitchen, taking orders, keeping the grills hot, and plating every dish that went out.

Garret finally turned off the main grill around eleven, groaning as he wiped grease from his arms. Sera stacked the last of her tea tins, while Damon carried the remaining crates into the storage room.

I set down my apron, wiped my hands on a towel, and walked out into the main dining hall.

The students of Class Ascendant were scattered across the room. Some were wiping down tables, others were sweeping the floor, and a few were slumped over benches, completely exhausted from the non-stop shift.

I tapped my fingers on the nearest table to get everyone’s attention.

"Alright, wrap it up," I called out. The hall quieted down as they looked over at me.

"We’re done for the night. The festival goes on till morning, and barely anyone in this academy sleeps anyway. Clean up your stations, pack the leftover food, and get out of here. Go enjoy the lights, buy something stupid from the other stalls, and eat until you pass out. We re-open tomorrow."

A wave of quiet, relieved groans and tired cheers went through the room.

"Leo," Malva said, walking over with the final ledger under her arm. "We made three times more money than we expected for the first day. Even after paying for ingredients and rent, Class Ascendant is way ahead of every other first-year class."

"Good," I said, offering a faint nod. "Take a break, Malva. You worked harder than anyone today."

"I will take my leave then," she replied, giving a short nod before turning toward the exit.

Roan slumped onto a bench nearby, stretching his arms behind his head. "Man... my back is killing me. Who knew carrying trays of tea for rich snobs was harder than fighting?"

"That’s because you’re weak, elf," Alice grunted. "I could run trays for another five hours."

"Right, and your twitching eyes tell me you’re about two seconds away from murdering the next person who asks for extra sugar," Roan remarked with a smirk.

"You want to test that, bastard?!"

"Both of you shut up and go," I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "I don’t want to see either of your faces for the rest of the night."

"Gladly fuckers," Alice spat, turning on her heel and marching out the front entrance.

Roan chuckled, pushing himself up off the bench. "See you tomorrow, ’Young Lord Leo’."

"Get out before I throw a knife at you."

He grinned and slipped out into the crowded street.

I stood in the center of the quiet dining hall for a moment, listening to the muffled noise of music, laughing crowds, and fireworks echoing from the central plaza outside.

I had half-expected Seris to stop by the stall during the shift. She had mentioned yesterday that she might come, but she never showed up. Part of me felt uneasy, but also relieved. If she had met my mom and sister at the same time, my brain probably would have exploded.

It’s not like she was meeting them for the first time — but something about having Seris, my mom, and Mia all in one room felt like a disaster waiting to happen. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that kind of chaos.

After double-checking the back doors, I headed back up the spiral staircase to the third floor. I pushed the door to the VIP suite open quietly. The room was dim, lit only by the soft, warm glow of the mana lamps and the distant festival lights reflecting through the large glass window.

Mia was fast asleep on the soft velvet sofa, wrapped in my mother’s silver cloak.

Her little mouth was open, and she was breathing softly, her dark hair spread across the cushions. Mom sat by the window, quietly drinking water, calm and elegant as always. When the door creaked, her green eyes turned to me and softened into a warm smile.

"Everyone has left?" she asked softly, keeping her voice low so as not to wake Mia.

"Yeah," I replied, closing the door quietly behind me. "We wrapped up for the night. You should have gone back to the hotel hours ago instead of waiting around in a restaurant booth."

"I wanted to wait for my son," She said gently, setting her cup down on the table.

I walked over to the sofa and looked down at Mia. I crouched down, slid my arms under her small body, and lifted her up, resting her head against my shoulder. She grunted softly in her sleep, burying her face in my neck, her small hands gripping my shirt collar out of habit.

"She’s getting heavy," I muttered, adjusting my grip so she wouldn’t slip.

"She refused to go to sleep until she saw you again," Mom murmured, pushing herself up from the chair and smoothing down her dress. "She missed you deeply, Leo. We all did."

I didn’t answer right away. I just turned and walked toward the exit, my boots stepping softly across the carpet while mom walked beside me.

_

We left the building and stepped out into the cool night air.

The festival grounds were lit by floating lanterns, glowing in gold, red, and blue. Crowds of students and tourists were still laughing, shopping, and watching performers, but the noise felt far away to me.

As we walked side by side toward the district where the high-end visitor quarters were located, the steady weight of Mia sleeping against my shoulder kept me grounded.

"How’s the old man doing?" I asked, breaking the silence. "And how is the estate holding up?"

"Your father is as busy as ever," Isabella said softly, smiling. "He won’t say it, but he misses you. The estate feels too quiet when you and Sylvia aren’t home. Though... we’ll have some new faces soon, won’t we?"

"Right," I said, glancing at her. "Lyra already told you, but I bought a kid named Julian from a slave auction. He’s decent. He needs a proper place to grow up. I want you to take him back to the estate with you."

Isabella turned her head, looking at me with a soft, knowing gaze. "Of course, Leo. I’ll make sure he’s well cared for. And what about Lyra?"

"Lyra will go with you too," I said flatly. "She can help protect the estate and help train Julian. He’s got potential, but he needs someone to guide him."

"You always pretend you do these things because they make sense," Isabella said gently, a faint smile touching her lips. "But you’re just like your father. You take in those who have nowhere else to go."

"..."

I said nothing. We continued walking in silence for a few moments, passing under the shadow of large stone arches draped in festival banners.

"Did those two idiots give you any trouble while I was in the kitchen?" I asked after a bit.

Isabella let out a soft, melodic laugh. "Roan and Alice? Not at all. They were incredibly polite, if a bit nervous. I could tell how much they respect you, Leo."

I frowned, letting out a sharp breath through my nose. "Respect? Mom, please. Don’t let them fool you. Roan is a lazy prince who avoids work at all costs, and Alice is a short-tempered girl who curses every five seconds."

"They work hard for you," she insisted gently. "And they stay by your side. A person doesn’t surround themselves with people like that unless there is trust. You have built good bonds here, Leo. Real bonds. You’ve changed so much since you came to academy..."

Her words hung in the quiet air between us, heavy and warm.

Changed.

My chest tightened slightly, a familiar, uncomfortable sensation settling deep in my stomach. I looked down at the street, watching my own shadow stretch under the lantern light.

She was right, but not in the way she thought.

When I first woke up in this world, in this body, I had accepted the Celestial family mainly because the original Leo’s lingering memories and raw emotions were overflowing inside me.

His guilt, his bitterness, his desperate craving for his mother’s warmth — they had bled into my own mind so deeply that I couldn’t tell where he ended and I began. It was those inherited feelings that pushed me to step into the role of her son.

But as time went on, things had changed.

Recently, I unlocked the Third Form — the Form of Acceptance. My mind had grown steady, clear, and calm.

The overwhelming surges of reckless anger and lingering impulses that used to pull my strings were finally under control. I had learned a fundamental truth along the way: Either you control your desires, or your desires control you. And the one who cannot control himself controls nothing.

With that clarity, the original Leo’s emotional noise had faded away.

My mind was my own now.

And yet, looking at Isabella walking beside me, feeling Mia’s warm breath against my neck... I couldn’t deny it anymore. I hadn’t forgotten my old life. I still remembered my real parents from Earth. I still loved them, and I still carried the quiet grief of leaving them behind.

But... I had accepted this second life.

I had chosen to live it better, to survive, to protect what was in front of me. I accepted Isabella as my mother, Noah as my father, Mia as my sister, and Sylvia as my elder sister. And that was precisely why a quiet, dark dread clawed at my heart.

It was selfish...

I knew how hypocritical it was. In my past life, I was just an average guy who avoided responsibility, tired of failing, tired of feeling useless. I used to be the kind of person who would rather be hated for who I truly was than loved for someone I wasn’t.

But just this once... just in this world... I wanted to be selfish.

I didn’t want to carry the crushing weight of guilt for wearing another man’s skin. I didn’t want to be abandoned again. I didn’t want the warmth, the love, the gentle smiles, and the soft scoldings to vanish into thin air. I wanted this love for myself.

But...

What if one day they find out?

What if Isabella realizes the boy standing next to her, carrying her daughter, isn’t the son she gave birth to? What if the original Leo — wherever his soul went — decides to come back? How would she look at me then?

Would those warm emerald eyes turn cold with disgust? Would she despise me for stealing her son’s life?

And how would the others react?

Would Sylvia draw her blade, looking at me not as a brother, but as a parasite that hollowed out her family from the inside? Would Roan laugh it off before stepping away, unable to trust the imposter standing in front of him? Would Alice look at me with anger, disgusted that the person she fought beside was a lie?

Would they call me a thief? A murderer? A monster who stole a second chance at life by clinging to another man’s name?

The thought felt like a cold blade sinking into my chest. I wasn’t the original Leo. I was just a ghost from another world holding onto a warmth I had done nothing to earn.

I swallowed hard, forcing my breathing to stay even. I hated myself for thinking like this. I despised the fact that I was clinging to something that wasn’t originally mine. But I couldn’t stop. I had already enough regrets to last two lifetimes.

I didn’t want to repeat them.

"Leo?"