It's Troublesome That My Doting Dad Became A Villain

I scanned Meteor’s surroundings.

There was no sign of anyone else following him—just thick, impenetrable Magi.
"You’re alone?"
I asked, puzzled. Meteor glanced behind me, mirroring my own curiosity.

"And you?"
"Yeah. I was looking for the others."
"I see."

The furrow in his brows relaxed slightly.
Of all the people I could have run into here, why did it have to be him?
In the darkness, Meteor seemed to glow.

It wasn’t just because of his pristine holy knight uniform.
His silver hair shimmered like spun light, and his sapphire-like eyes held an ethereal radiance.
I had seen him countless times before, but today, it felt strangely different.

Did he have any idea?
That in another dimension, he had become a demon just to find me?
That he had crossed realms to repay what he saw as a debt?

Stubborn idiot.
Thinking that this Meteor and that Meteor were one and the same felt bizarre.
It was probably easier to consider them as separate people entirely.

Just then, Meteor let out a thoughtful sigh.
"This is strange. Weren’t you and I patrolling different areas? So why did I run into you here?"
"Yeah, good point."
Now that I thought about it, he was right.

Meteor and I had been assigned to different squads, patrolling separate regions that were quite a distance apart.
Yet, there was no sign of anyone else—just the two of us, standing here together.
It was odd, but not completely impossible.

"This happened to me when I was younger, too. Back then, I ran into Cardinal Reuben inside a Magi storm. Sometimes, even people far apart get drawn into the same Magi zone."
"Oh, right."
Meteor nodded, as if finally accepting the explanation.

That small movement suddenly overlapped with Prima’s mannerisms.
I shook my head, forcing the image of him out of my mind.
"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing. Let’s just look around."
"Yeah."
Meteor responded casually and turned away.

We started walking in a direction neither of us had explored yet.
Step, step.
Crunch, crunch.

This translation is the intellectual property of .
The sound of our footsteps echoed softly through the thick Magi.
It curled around us like dense fog, but neither Meteor nor I were weak enough to be affected by it.

After a while, I spoke without thinking.
"How’s your fiancée?"
The words slipped out before I could stop them.

I just needed something to say, but why did it have to be that?
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
"You haven’t heard yet?"

Meteor’s unexpected response made me glance at him.
Had I missed some news?
Had they set a wedding date?

"What do you mean?"
"I broke off the engagement."
"...What?"

I was so startled I nearly stopped walking.
But Meteor kept moving as if nothing had happened, so I had to quicken my pace to keep up.
"What do you mean, you broke off the engagement? You two have been engaged for years!"

I never saw that coming.
I had always assumed that Meteor and Sienna would go through with their marriage without issue.
After all, their wedding had happened in the original story.

So why had he called it off?
Had something gone wrong between Sienna’s family and the Pluto Ducal House?
Before I could ask, Meteor casually dropped another unexpected bombshell.

"I was the one who asked for the annulment."
"...?"
What?

"Why?"
That made no sense.
"I never had feelings for Sienna in the first place, so I didn’t think I could go through with it."

His tone was calm, but his words only left me more confused.
In this world, noble marriages were more about political alliances than emotions.
Feelings didn’t matter.

"I thought you’d just go along with what your family wanted."
"I thought so, too."
Meteor’s voice remained indifferent.

Something about it made me hesitate to push the conversation further.
It didn’t seem like he wanted to dwell on the topic.
Was it because of that day?

The day Sienna had called me for /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ a private escort, and Meteor had gotten furious with her?
No way.
He wouldn’t have ended an engagement just because of that.

I shook my head slightly, trying to push the thought away—
And then, someone appeared ahead of us.
My heart dropped.

At the same time, Meteor drew his sword in one fluid motion.
The figure was enveloped in thick Magi, radiating an overwhelming presence.
As the Magi slowly dispersed—almost as if retreating away from him—his form became clearer.

He wore a dark cloak, its hood pulled low over his face, revealing only his lips, sharp jawline, and the bridge of his nose.
Even with so little of his face visible, he was stunningly perfect.
I already knew who it was.

Prima.
That bastard!
My heart, which had plummeted, now pounded violently.

It was almost hard to breathe from the sheer shock.
Why the hell was Prima here?
And right in front of Meteor, no less?!

What if Meteor recognized him?
What if he noticed that this demon looked exactly like himself?
At that moment, Prima’s lips curled into a smirk.

"Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you two."
I sucked in a shaky breath and immediately turned to Meteor, watching his reaction.
Would he recognize him?

Would he realize that the demon standing before him was himself?
Or at the very least, would he notice how eerily similar they looked?
With Meteor’s sharp eye for detail, he had to notice.

My heartbeat roared in my ears.
Meteor didn’t take his eyes off Prima.
"Who are you?"

He asked, his tone purely inquisitive.
Prima’s smirk deepened, as if he found the question amusing.
"The Duke of Dimensions. You’ve heard of me, haven’t you?"

"..."
Meteor’s eyes flickered slightly.
A reaction so subtle that most wouldn’t have noticed, but I did.

"The Duke of Dimensions... You’re the demon who tried to kill Crescent."
He turned his head slightly toward me, his brows furrowing.
I forced myself to nod.

"Yeah."
"Then why is he welcoming us?"
Meteor turned back to Prima, his expression darkening.

Had he not noticed yet?
More importantly—
Why had Prima deliberately brought us here?

What was his goal?
Then, Prima spoke again, his voice laced with amusement.
"Meteor Pluto. I wanted to see you in person. After all, you were once family to my Crescent."

"!"
"My" Crescent?!
Is this lunatic out of his mind?!

I gawked at him.
Meteor’s eyes also widened in shock.
And then, to my absolute horror, he let out a laugh.

"Crescent, since when did you belong to a demon?"
"Ah, no. That idiot is just talking nonsense! Hey! Are you insane?!"
My voice rang sharply through the Magi-filled air.

Prima only looked more entertained.
"If you want to get out of here, you two will need to find something. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen it myself. I only know that it exists here."
"...?"

I tilted my head.
Find what, exactly?
Prima’s lips curled as he answered.

"The Thorn of Souls. Fetch it for me. I have a bouquet to prepare."
"...?"