Chapter 1058: It Is What It Is

Chapter 1058 – It Is What It Is

The tower was gone.

The Delacour symbol of wealth and protection had been reduced to a broken foundation, piles of dust, scattered stone, and one unconscious orange cat possessed by an ancient sorcerer.

His estate field looked like a historical disaster and a supernatural lawsuit had gotten married.

"You two," Adrian said slowly, voice rising with disbelief, "how can you be this calm when we are standing in the ruins of a tower?"

Lux and Naomi both looked around.

For a second, neither spoke.

The wind carried gray dust past them.

A large stone cracked and collapsed into smaller pieces with a sad little crumble.

Naomi blinked. "Yeah," she said. "This isn’t the place."

Lux nodded. "We need to get back first."

Adrian stared at them.

That was it?

That was their reaction?

He had expected panic, at least from Naomi. Shock. Screaming. Some form of emotional collapse appropriate to standing in the wreckage of an ancestral monument that had turned out to be a living prison and then a cat.

Instead, his daughter looked worried about transportation and medical care.

And Lux looked like he had mentally added "cat sorcerer extraction" to his schedule between "project sabotage" and "parents-in-law emotional disaster."

Lux looked at the cat again. "Yes. We leave."

He paused.

Then looked down at himself.

His sleeve was torn. His suit jacket had dust and scorch marks across the shoulder. His shirt had several gray streaks where petrification residue had tried to bite into him. One side of his jacket hung in a way no tailor would forgive.

Lux’s expression became grave. "My suit." He sighed. "This was a good suit." He gently handed the cat to her. "Hold her."

Naomi took the orange cat carefully, cradling her against her chest. The cat made a weak noise, not quite a meow this time, more like offended breath.

Naomi softened instantly. "It’s okay."

Lux stepped slightly away and opened his dimensional storage.

A dark-gold ripple appeared beside him.

Adrian watched as Lux reached into empty air and pulled out spare clothes.

Of course the demon had spare clothes in another dimension.

Why wouldn’t he?

Lux removed the ruined jacket, folded it with surprising respect despite its damage, and tossed it into the ripple. Then he changed quickly, efficiently, with the casual confidence of someone who did not consider modesty a serious institution.

Naomi turned slightly away out of habit, then realized that was ridiculous because this was Lux and she had seen much more than a shoulder and a torn shirt.

Adrian, unfortunately, noticed enough.

His face darkened again.

Lux buttoned a fresh black shirt, shrugged into a new jacket, adjusted the cuffs, then smoothed his hair back.

Within less than a minute, he looked presentable again. As if he had not just eaten a curse and collapsed a tower.

He turned to Adrian and gave a polite nod. "Sorry for the inconvenience."

Adrian’s eye twitched. "Inconvenience?"

Lux took the cat back from Naomi, holding her gently. "Yes. Your tower is gone."

Adrian looked at the empty foundation. "My tower became a cat."

Lux considered that. "Technically, the tower was never a tower, and the cat was already a cat."

A sound came from the path.

The buggy car returned at speed, bumping slightly over the grass. The groundskeeper was driving, face pale, eyes wide. Behind him, another servant clutched the side rail with one hand and a communication device with the other.

The buggy screeched to a stop near them.

The servant jumped down before it fully settled. "Sir! Miss Naomi! Are you okay? We heard—"

His voice died when he saw the ruins.

Then the cat in Lux’s arms.

Then Lux, looking perfectly dressed.

Then Adrian, looking like a man whose entire worldview had been audited and found emotionally underfunded.

The servant swallowed.

"Are... are you okay?"

Adrian inhaled. "Yes."

The servant looked unconvinced.

Naomi smiled gently. "We’re okay."

Lux lifted the cat slightly. "She needs medical care."

The servant blinked. "The... cat, sir?"

"Yes."

The servant looked at Adrian as if asking whether this was now estate priority.

"Bring us back quickly," Adrian said.

The servant nodded hard. "Yes, sir."

They climbed into the buggy.

Lux sat with the cat in his arms, one hand over her small body, monitoring the weak pulse of old magic inside her.

Naomi sat beside him, close enough that her shoulder brushed his.

Adrian sat opposite them.

The buggy started moving.

Fast.

The ruined tower receded behind them.

Or rather, the place where the tower had once stood receded behind them.

That difference mattered.

Adrian watched both Lux and Naomi.

Lux noticed. "I will send compensation for the damage," Lux said.

Adrian looked away. "No need."

Lux’s brows lifted slightly.

Adrian stared ahead at the path. "It is what it is."

Naomi turned toward him.

That answer surprised her.

It surprised Adrian too.

He had expected himself to demand something. A valuation. A replacement. A public explanation. Some financial cover, some controlled narrative, some way to turn loss into structure.

But the words came out before pride could dress them better.

It is what it is.

Because what could he demand?

Payment for losing a prison?

Restoration of a lie?

A new tower to replace a person who had been trapped and furious for centuries?

No.

Even Adrian Delacour knew some invoices should not exist.

Lux studied him for a moment.

Then gave a faint nod, quiet approval tucked behind restraint.

Adrian hated noticing that too. "But," Adrian continued, voice tightening, "this thing will invite some annoying people."

Naomi’s expression changed. "You mean..."

"Yes." Adrian’s mouth curved bitterly. "They will use this chance to mock us."

The buggy hummed beneath them.

Lux glanced toward the distant mansion. "Who?"

Adrian let out a dry breath. "Everyone who has been waiting for Delacour to crack. My cousin."

The collapsed tower would be enough.

Even if they hid the supernatural part, even if they controlled the staff, even if every servant signed silence agreements before dinner, rumors would leak. They always did. Old families lived on gossip the way demons apparently lived on contracts.