Chapter 144: A Small Surprise II

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: A Small Surprise II

Caelia looked at Damon with a bright smile.

"Thank you."

Damon smiled.

"You don’t have to keep thanking me."

"I know."

She stepped closer.

"But I still want to."

Before Damon could say anything, Caelia leaned forward and gave him a light peck on the cheek.

Damon froze.

For a moment, he genuinely forgot what he was supposed to say.

Caelia pulled back just as quickly.

Her face was completely red.

Damon’s face wasn’t much better.

The two of them simply stared at each other.

Neither spoke.

Damon’s heart was beating faster than it had any right to.

He had no experience with this kind of thing.

His previous life hadn’t exactly given him many opportunities.

This new life had already given him more experiences than he could have imagined, and somehow, this one had caught him completely off guard.

Caelia looked away.

Damon cleared his throat.

"You’re welcome."

That was all he managed to say.

Caelia looked back at him.

Her eyes widened slightly.

That was it?

No teasing?

No sarcastic comment?

She had expected Damon to use the opportunity against her.

Instead, he simply accepted her thanks.

That somehow made her even more embarrassed.

Damon was still trying to calm his heartbeat.

He knew how sincere she was.

Their lives had changed after meeting each other.

Caelia had helped him in ways she probably didn’t realize, and he had done the same for her.

He had enjoyed the time they spent together.

The fights.

The exploration.

Even the arguments.

He wouldn’t trade any of it.

But he wasn’t about to admit all of that out loud.

Not right now.

Damon cleared his throat again.

"Alright."

He turned toward the Zone Heart.

"Back to work."

Caelia blinked.

"Already?"

"What?"

"You aren’t going to say anything?"

Damon glanced at her.

"I already said you’re welcome."

Caelia stared at him for a moment before realizing what he was doing.

She smiled.

"You’re avoiding it."

"I’m working."

"You’re definitely avoiding it."

Damon ignored her and sat down.

His heart was still beating faster than normal.

He really needed to get better at this.

The moment he focused on the Zone Heart, however, his expression became serious again.

Another wave of corrupted Aether was already moving through the channel.

Damon sensed it immediately.

And this time, he noticed something else.

More corrupted Aether was coming from the direction of Tempest Hollow.

The channel connecting the two zones hadn’t weakened.

If anything, it seemed worse.

Damon frowned.

"So that’s where most of it is coming from."

Caelia’s expression became serious as well.

"Tempest Hollow?"

Damon nodded.

"That channel isn’t slowing down."

He looked toward the darkened root stretching in that direction.

"If we stabilize Frostveil but that keeps sending corrupted Aether here, it’ll just come back."

Caelia understood immediately.

"Then we need to deal with Tempest Hollow too."

"Eventually."

Damon closed his eyes.

"One problem at a time."

He began absorbing the next wave.

Caelia remained nearby.

She was still slightly embarrassed from what happened earlier, but now she found herself watching Damon more closely.

Not because of the experiment.

Because of his reaction.

She had never seen him like that.

Damon was usually quick with a joke.

He always had something to say.

Even when things became dangerous, he somehow managed to remain calm.

But that small peck had completely caught him off guard.

Caelia couldn’t help smiling.

Maybe she could tease him about it later.

She looked away before he noticed.

Or so she thought.

Damon opened one eye.

"You’re smiling."

Caelia immediately stopped.

"I’m not."

"You are."

"I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing."

Damon stared at her.

Then he smiled.

"Right."

Caelia’s face became red again.

She turned away.

"Just focus on your work."

Damon chuckled.

"Yes, ma’am."

Her heart skipped slightly.

She wasn’t sure why that simple response affected her.

She just knew she didn’t want him to notice.

Meanwhile, far away from the cavern, things were beginning to change for another reason.

Winterbourne Mansion had received unexpected visitors.

Cornelius was informed by the guards that representatives from Tempest Hollow had arrived.

He immediately stopped what he was doing.

"Tempest Hollow?"

He knew about the zone.

Damon had told him about it.

More importantly, it was the zone directly connected to Frostveil through the passage they had discovered.

Cornelius had expected someone from Tempest Hollow to eventually investigate.

Damon had already defeated the guardians at both sides of the passage, so it was only a matter of time before someone noticed something was wrong.

Still, he hadn’t expected them to arrive so soon.

And he had no idea what they wanted.

Cornelius thought about Damon for a moment.

Then he sighed.

"He’d better be careful with them."

He took a slow breath before speaking.

"Let them in."

The guards opened the doors.

A group of people entered the hall.

Cornelius’s expression changed.

They weren’t ordinary scouts.

They were representatives from several powerful families surrounding Tempest Hollow.

If Damon was present, he would’ve recognized the insignias immediately.

Graymoon.

Dawncrest.

Azure.

And then...

Calloway.

Cornelius’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The group looked terrible.

Their clothes were dusty and torn.

Several carried fresh injuries.

Even the strongest among them looked exhausted.

Cornelius slowly stood from his seat.

He had expected trouble from Tempest Hollow.

But looking at the people standing in front of him, he realized something.

The situation there was far worse than Damon had described.

One of the representatives stepped forward.

"Lord Cornelius Winterbourne."

Cornelius nodded.

"Welcome to Winterbourne."

His eyes moved across the group again.

"Although I doubt you came all this way just to exchange greetings."

The representative gave a tired smile.

"No."

He glanced at the others before continuing.

"We came because we need to talk about Frostveil."

Cornelius’s expression became serious.

"I see."

He gestured toward the seats.

"Then let’s talk."

As the representatives sat down, Cornelius couldn’t help thinking about Damon.

He had a feeling that whatever happened next was going to involve him somehow.

And judging from the condition of these people...

It wasn’t going to be a simple conversation.