"You... weren't sleeping?" Anna asked, her face reddening slightly.

"I was about to." Max answered.

"Hmm."

"So, what do you say? Are you going to keep worrying about others and not listen to what your heart says?" He asked,

After a moment of silence, Anna sighed, "You said you'll burn the world down if they don't approve of us. What about our parents? You know they will never agree. Are you going to do the same to them?"

Hearing this, Max became silent. Although he didn't care about anyone else, he cared about his father, Ashton. Maybe it was because of the original Max's influence or maybe because Ashton showed him genuine fatherly love, he couldn't think of harming him.

Well, hypothetically speaking, even if he did harm them, Anna would hate him forever, and he didn't want that at all.

Seeing him stay silent, Anna didn't say anything either. Both stayed silent in each other's embrace before eventually falling asleep.

Next morning, Anna woke up first.

'Hmm? What poking me?' She thought after she felt something hard and thick stabbing into her crotch area. Unable to think clearly since she just woke up, she directly grabbed it. 'Hmm? What's this? It's thick and feels nice. But I can't feel it because of these clothes. Wait...!'

She fiddled with it and moved her hand on it, up and down, feeling it. Suddenly, she realised what it was and jumped away from him like a frightened rabbit.

When Max woke up, he saw Anna making breakfast. He wished her good morning and went to the washroom.

After that, they sat on either side of their small dining table to have their breakfast. But strangely, the atmosphere was awkward. Max thought it was because of what they talked about yesterday, so he ate in silence.

When they finished, Max stood up, circled the dining table, and gave Anna a hug. "Take care of yourself while I'm away and don't feel pressured because of what we talked about yesterday. You also don't need to complete your mandatory monthly mission. I've asked the Elder to exempt you. So, stay in the academy and train. Okay?"

"Mhm." Hearing this, Anna nodded, her eyes becoming moist.

"Okay. I'll be going now. Bye." He said, releasing her from the hug and walked toward the door.

Anna watched him go with reluctance, silent tears falling down her cheeks.

Just as he was about to open the door and walk out, Anna stood up and ran toward him all of a sudden.

Thud!

She hugged him from behind and cried out,

"I also love you, Max. So, please don't think I was making excuses yesterday. I really want to be with you. When I think you would have many women in the future but I can't be one of them, I feel pain in my heart. But I can't do anything about it. I've also thought to not care about anything and just do what my heart says, but I can't see my mother and our father hate me. I hope you understand."

Max didn't speak and just stood there while she hugged him from behind and continued crying.

"M-Max, why aren't you saying anything?" She asked after calming down. She became scared when she didn't hear him speak.

Then she heard Max taking a deep breath before he turned around and looked at her. Just when she was expecting to say something, he leaned his face toward her face and placed his lips on hers.

Shing~!

It was as if she was struck by lightning. She couldn't move or even blink her eyes. She just stood there, frozen.

After a few seconds, she thought, 'He... he is kissing me just like before?'

However, in the next moment, she was proven wrong. He wasn't kissing her like before, but was going a step forward.

After kissing her lips, his tongue pried open her mouth and slithered inside. Anna was totally stunned. She wanted him to stop, but as soon as his tongue intertwined with hers and he started sucking on it; she felt all her energy leave her body. She would've fallen to her knees, but thankfully he was holding onto her.

Her mind had gone blank and she couldn't think of anything else but the current moment now. She couldn't help but feel this sensation was too beautiful, too wondrous and too... addicting. Without her knowing, her hands had gone around his neck and she was already kissing him back.

She didn't know how long they kissed, but she was left breathless when they were done. Which meant they kissed 15 or maybe 20 minutes because she could hold her breath for 10 minutes. So, for her to become breathless even when she could breathe while kissing meant they did it for way longer than 10 minutes.

When she looked at Max, she could see his eyes were ablaze with lustful fires, which made her shiver.

"Max... I... we..." She took a step back and opened her mouth to say they shouldn't go beyond this, but she couldn't even speak coherently.

"Shh!" Max put his finger on her lips, stopping her from speaking, and smiled. "I'll be back in a month or so. Wait for me."

Saying this, he planted a kiss on her forehead, turned around, opened the door and walked away.

Shua~ Shua~

Anna watched him disappear from her sight as the morning chilly wind entered the room from the opened door.

After a long while, she came back to her senses and ran out, wanting to see him one more time. She ran until she reached the transportation beast platform, but she didn't see him.

She stood there until afternoon before she lifelessly walked back to her room. But halfway, she stopped and turned around. She knew if she stayed alone in their room, she would miss him to death.

After a while, she reached Flavia's room and knocked.

Fortunately for her, Flavia was still in her room, cultivating. Hearing someone knock, she stood up and opened the door.

Seeing Anna standing there with a wooden expression on her usual lively face, she worriedly asked, "What happened Anna?"

Anna looked at her and spoke in a low voice, "I think I love someone who I shouldn't."

"Why? Just because he is your half-brother? Just because people wouldn't accept it?" Flavia asked lightly before she grabbed Anna's hand and pulled her inside.

Anna looked at her in disbelief, "You... how do you know it's him?"

Flavia smiled. "Just like how you could tell I like him after spending time with me. Well, it was even easier for me to tell, since it's always written all over your face."

Anna blushed and lowered her head.

Flavia extended her hand and made her look at her before she said, "I know people disapprove of the forbidden relationships such as yours, but let me tell you a secret. It's applicable only for the weak."

"What do you mean?" Anna didn't understand.

Flavia smiled, "Don't you know many Royal families or bloodline families doesn't marry outside of their families to keep their bloodline pure and no one dares to say it's wrong to their face. No, no one even dares to talk behind their back about it. You know why?"

"It's because these families are strong and they would kill anyone who dares to gossip." Anna muttered.

"That's right. As long as you are strong, no one would dare say anything. In fact, they would even flatter you guys." Flavia said, "So, if you really want to be with him, become strong. Stronger than everyone else."

"But... isn't it morally wrong?" Anna asked.

"You stupid girl. Do you know why it was forbidden to marry someone from your own family in the beginning?"

"Because there used to be complications when the women birthed the child?" Anna answered.

"Right. As you said, there used to be complication then because people didn't know how to use mana to strengthen themselves. But now, it's different. The stronger you are, the less anomaly there will be in your genes. If you surpass the mortal boundary, it won't be a problem, even if he was your blood brother, much less half-brother."

"The people who are mages don't mind these things too much. Even in my family, there have been many cases where a pair of siblings loved each other and wanted to marry. My family didn't obstruct them. They simply said that if they wanted to do it, they can but only after surpassing mortal boundary so their offspring would be 100% healthy. So, don't worry about all that forbidden crap if you love him, as that is the most important thing there is." Flavia explained.

"But what if my parents don't agree?" Anna still wasn't convinced.

"How do you know they won't when you haven't asked them yet?"

Anna went silent and after a while, she said, "After I become a three-star mage, I'll tell my parents."

"Good." Flavia smiled.

Anna then asked, "What about you? What are you going to do? Would you tell him you love him?"

"Of course. Didn't I just say that love is most important of all? I'll tell him, but I might not be able to be with him openly before I'm strong enough to kill some people." Flavia said, her eyes flashing with coldness.

...

While the girls sorted out their feelings, Max had flown down the academy's main peak and then went to the forest where no one could see him.

"Hey, system. I'm ready. Let's go." He said.

[Good. Remember to be on your toes at all times.] System's voice sounded in his ears and then 150,000 LPs vanished from his status screen.

Zing! Zhing! Zhing!

All of a sudden, the space in front started distorting before it split apart and he was sucked inside.

*****

(A/N: I thought to split this chapter in two but I didn't like the idea since it's better this way. I hope you enjoyed this super long chapter. Don't forget to Vote, comment and send some gift if you like, haha.)