Standing at the entrance of his family’s mansion, Constantine Julius looked at the young girl standing by the gate outside, holding a small suitcase. Without any emotion on his face, he nodded to his head bodyguard: "She’s not wrong, she really is a descendant of an old acquaintance." The head bodyguard, a veteran from the Rongma Security Center, nodded in response and answered in his slightly accented Northern tongue: "I’ll go and let her in." "No need, you can go about your business. I’ll bring her in myself," Constantine dismissed. Though unsure why his employer chose to handle this personally, the head bodyguard obediently complied. After sending him away, Constantine Julius walked quickly toward the gate, extending his hand to take the suitcase from the young girl. The girl resembled a figure stepping out from a painting: wide eyes, crimson lips, an elegant and delicate nose, and small ears faintly visible within her black flowing hair. Constantine turned his head and used his gaze to reprimand his grandchild who was about to approach in admiration. Then, extending his other hand, he gently held hers and kissed the silk gloves lightly. Just once—lingering even a second longer would feel like overstepping boundaries, a mortal’s ultimate act of desecration against someone ethereally above, with no place to die but an unmarked grave. The owner of the slender fingers was clad in the most exquisite gown, seemingly unaffected by the chill of early spring. The Thainan girl smiled faintly, seemingly pleased with Constantine’s service. She nodded lightly, her waist-length hair swaying in the wind: "Constantine, you’ve aged quite a bit." "Indeed, madam." Constantine smiled, fully aware of how to address this presence respectfully in public. "Of course, madam. When we first met, I was only twelve years old, on the cusp of a young man’s exuberant awakening." He sighed over his courage and determination back then, simultaneously glancing at his eldest son. It was evident his son had come with purpose, for his grandson was hiding behind the mansion’s third floor-to-ceiling window on the left side of the entry, watching expectantly. This boy—visibly shy to the eye, yet also visibly resilient. "Father, this lady is..." The doting grandfather’s efforts on behalf of his progeny made Constantine feel mixed emotions, as if witnessing his own father once asking his grandfather about the identity of the girl beside the elder. "She is Madam Susu." Within the Astrologer family, the term "Madam" carried layered meanings. However, when the patriarch introduced a young girl to the family using titles like "Madam" or "Sir," and with such utmost respect, it signified an extraordinary guest of the family. If the elder cast an expelling glare toward the younger generation, it meant the guest was a particularly exalted legendary Transcendent. This was why Constantine’s eldest son’s pupils contracted briefly before he forced himself to bow deeply to the girl with a hint of regret and dread: "Greetings, Madam. Your visit brings great honor to the Julius family." "This child—last time I came, you were merely an infant." The girl by Constantine’s side smiled and nodded slightly. "Next time I visit, I wonder who will greet me. Perhaps it will be the boy behind the window." Hearing this, Constantine’s eldest son lowered his head even further, his expression growing darker and more inscrutable. "Your insight is sharp. That boy is the brightest talent of the family’s fourth generation." Constantine introduced with a bow. "Hmm, I can see that—a remarkable gift, a destiny thread that’s incredibly resilient. Most importantly, his gaze—so reminiscent of you when you were young." The girl’s praise made Constantine chuckle softly, nodding: "Indeed, madam, you are absolutely correct." The boy—intelligent, sly—had skillfully swayed his grandfather’s will in a short time, making him willingly step forward for the sake of his grandson. Just like Constantine had once succeeded in asking his father to confront his grandfather about the girl standing before them. "Human Fate is always determined and shifted in fleeting moments." The girl said this while smiling and gesturing toward the boy behind the window. The boy immediately disappeared behind the curtains. In Constantine’s view, this was partly because the child was thin-skinned, feeling embarrassed. Yet another part was—he sensed deeper complexities, as this boy’s nickname within the family was none other than "Crafty Bauer." "Still very much like you, Constantine." The girl smiled and sighed. Constantine smiled in return and subtly raised a question, eager to understand why this presence had come here. This girl, after all... was a true Deity. "Why have I come here? Ah, to look at a certain child," the girl answered with a smile. This instinctively prompted the elderly Constantine to ask which child—was it the audacious Bauer? But in the next second, the old man shook his head—no, it was impossible that it was one of his family’s children. The children of the Julius family pursued Astrologer and Wizard professions passed down through generations, a family adept at stealing from Fate. How could they ever gain the favor of the Goddess of Fate herself? The fact that she hadn’t obliterated this family entirely was already a mercy.
