Chapter 92: A Morning Visit II

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: A Morning Visit II

Knock. Knock.

Damon looked toward the door.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Caelia stepped inside.

Damon immediately noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes.

She looked tired. Very tired.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Did you sleep at all?"

Caelia paused.

"...A little."

Damon looked at her.

"That answer usually means no."

She gave him a tired look.

"I had things to handle."

"You also have to be alive to handle them."

Caelia sighed.

"I know."

"Good. Then you should rest."

"I will."

Damon stared at her. She stared back.

Neither spoke.

Then Damon smiled.

"You’re lying."

Caelia’s expression twitched.

"I am not."

"You’re terrible at it."

She almost smiled despite herself.

Almost.

Then she remembered why she had come and reached into her storage bag.

"Fine. Before you start lecturing me again..."

She dropped the bag onto the table.

Damon looked at it.

Then he heard several excited reactions from inside his second core.

His eyes widened.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Caelia nodded.

"The snacks I promised."

The reaction was immediate.

Freya and Sylphie came out before Damon could even say anything.

Damon stared at them.

"You two really have no shame."

Caelia laughed softly.

"They remembered."

"They remember food better than anything else."

Freya quickly moved toward Caelia.

Sylphie wasn’t far behind.

Damon watched his spirits completely abandon him.

"Seriously?"

Caelia opened the bag and gave them a few snacks.

Freya happily accepted hers.

Sylphie did the same.

Damon shook his head.

"Unbelievable. I raise them, train them, feed them, and this is how I’m repaid."

Caelia laughed again.

It was a small laugh, but it was genuine.

The tension around her seemed to ease for a moment.

Then she pulled out another storage bag.

"This is for you."

Damon caught it.

He opened it and immediately saw the Ice elemental cores inside.

His eyes brightened.

"You got these?"

"I used some of my influence to gather them."

Caelia looked away slightly.

"I thought you might need them."

Damon checked the contents.

There were quite a few.

He closed the bag with a satisfied smile.

"You saved me some money."

Caelia looked at him.

"That’s what you’re happy about?"

"Of course."

Damon laughed.

"I was already thinking about how much I’d have to spend."

Caelia shook her head.

"You really are..."

She didn’t finish.

Damon simply smiled.

"Thank you." He meant it.

Caelia nodded.

"You’re welcome."

Then a faint pulse came from beside Damon.

The Frost Seed had been listening.

Damon looked at it.

"You too?"

Pulse.

Caelia noticed.

Her eyes moved toward the Frost Seed.

The little Core Spirit pulsed again.

She smiled.

"It seems happy."

"It is."

Damon looked at the Frost Seed with amusement.

"It has expensive tastes already."

Caelia laughed.

For some reason, that simple exchange made the room feel much lighter.

The investigation.

The emergency.

The beasts.

For a few moments, none of it seemed quite as heavy.

Caelia felt it too.

Being around Damon somehow made things easier.

He didn’t pretend that everything was fine.

He simply didn’t let the situation control him.

Even when things were serious, he could still eat, train, joke and think about the next step.

Caelia felt herself relax.

Then she realized what she was thinking.

Her cheeks became slightly warm.

She quickly looked away.

"We should go."

Damon noticed the sudden change but didn’t comment.

He already knew she hadn’t come here just to deliver snacks and Ice cores.

"Your father?"

Caelia nodded.

"Father wants to see you."

Damon’s expression became serious.

"As expected."

There had probably been some progress in the investigation.

And judging from the way Caelia had come personally, Cornelius likely wanted to explain the findings himself.

"Let’s go."

Damon stored the Ice cores.

Freya and Sylphie also returned to his second core.

The Frost Seed was stored separately.

Damon still hadn’t told anyone else about it.

Not even Cornelius.

He knew the family head was interested in his abilities, but there were still too many things happening around them.

There was no reason to reveal everything before he understood the situation himself.

The two left the room.

The mansion felt completely different compared to the day before.

Guards were everywhere.

Several corridors had been closed off, and elemental users were stationed at important points.

Even Caelia wasn’t allowed to simply walk wherever she wanted.

When they reached one of the guarded passages, two guards stepped forward.

"Lady Caelia, please wait."

Caelia stopped.

"We’re going to the main hall."

The guard hesitated.

His eyes moved to Damon.

"We were instructed to restrict movement."

Caelia calmly showed her authority.

"Then you can report that I brought him there myself."

The guard looked at her for a moment before stepping aside.

"Understood."

Damon followed her.

He noticed several guards watching him as they passed.

It was obvious the security had become much stricter.

Damon didn’t blame them.

After an infiltrator had entered the Birthground and planted resonance crystals, nobody in the mansion could afford to be careless.

Eventually, they reached the hall where Damon had first met Cornelius.

The doors opened.

Damon stepped inside.

He immediately noticed something different.

There were no elders.

No family members.

No guards standing around the room.

Only Cornelius Winterbourne was there.

He sat at the same place as before, but the atmosphere was completely different.

The relaxed authority he had shown during their first meeting was still there.

But now his expression was serious.

There were several documents on the table in front of him.

A few storage containers sat beside them.

Damon glanced at them.

Then at Cornelius.

"So you wanted to talk privately."

Cornelius looked up.

"Yes."

Caelia walked in behind Damon.

Cornelius looked at his daughter.

"You can stay."

Caelia nodded.

Damon took a seat.

He leaned back slightly.

"Then I assume you found something."

Cornelius was silent for a moment.

Then he placed one of the documents on the table.

"We did."

Damon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The investigation had finally produced results.

And judging from Cornelius’s expression...

They weren’t small ones.