Damon eventually made his way back to the room, which had been a conference room Xander and Emilia used to brief officer-level rcenaries.
He didn’t really know how to feel.
Was Xander this eager to have a child because he felt Damon would be more serious about helping him get revenge and killing Amon?
Or was it because he had genuine feelings for Emilia Highgon?
They talked for a few hours in the conference room, agreeing to exchange resources in tracking down people from their world. It was actually not that difficult.
Damon heard from Xander that Abellona of Valtheron had more or less already gathered adventurers and students from their world together.
Of all the outsiders, she had the most numbers on her side.
Suppose being the princess of the most powerful empire of their ti would do that, not to ntion she was an accomplished military officer with many accolades to her na.
Abellona of Destruction.
Damon sighed, sipping hot tea as he gazed at the cold desert night ahead. The desert was hot during the day but cold at night.
Oddly enough, what had been a scorching hell during the day beca a cold, dark world at night.
And these dark nights had the brightest stars Damon had ever seen.
He heard soft footsteps behind him as Xander walked up to the balcony he was standing on.
They didn’t say anything to each other for quite so ti, until Xander sighed and spoke.
"I’ve never been poor in my life. I didn’t understand what starving ant... until I ca here."
Damon glanced down at the city.
"Yeah... I figured as much. Hungry is punishing, and for whatever reason, the lesser god who rules this city has mastered its use."
Xander crossed his arms, taking a deep breath.
"Yes, he has. This place... this past... makes think, while our world is bad, at least it is us goddess races that rule it. This ancient dream has only taught one thing..."
His eyes turned cold.
"The gods are cruel."
He balled his fist.
"And to think there are many of them... with so much power. In the end—" his voice softened, "—I wonder how they ca to an end."
Damon looked at the stars, his expression bleak, touched by anguish or loss.
"Empires fall. Why not gods? Nothing lasts forever. Ti is a prison, and all who live within its control will reach their limits while it endures. The old gods lost to the true gods and beca another part of the long river of ti."
Xander chuckled softly.
"Then what about the true gods?"
Damon was quiet. A ntal image of the Unknown God ca to mind. If there were an end to endless entities, then that being would be the one.
"Even their sun will set eventually... even if it rises again afterwards."
Damon glanced at the ring on his finger.
"So Emilia Highgon... why did she really agree to marry you?"
Xander scoffed with disdain.
"True love."
"Don’t give that bullshit," Damon replied coldly.
Xander sighed, the faint smile on his face vanishing.
"Emilia Highgon is the granddaughter of Grand Duke Hightower."
Damon frowned. He had heard rumors—hearsay—but no one dared to really say it.
"Right, I rember now. The Hightowers... they’re the fourth of the four dukedoms. And from what I heard, the current head of the family is Emilia’s father, though it was just a rumor."
Xander shook his head slowly.
"It’s not a rumor. He is her father. And her mother happens to be the daughter of the Highgon family."
Damon crossed his arms. Nobles had so much drama, this was one of those stories.
"From what I’ve heard... Emilia is the bastard child of Lord Hightower. Her mother, the heir of House Highgon, a vassal house, got pregnant with Lord Hightower’s child during the week of his wedding to another lady. Her grandfather refused to accept her into the family due to her bastard status, so she had to carry her mother’s family na. Is that right?"
Xander narrowed his eyes.
That was Damon Grey for you. He had everything figured out. The bastard was as inford as he rembered.
"Yes. You are correct."
Damon smiled.
"Good. I like being correct. Right now, the Hightowers also have a female heir, her younger sister, from another mother. But Emilia Highgon is an ambitious woman. She wants what’s rightfully hers: the Hightower seat and all the authority and power that cos with ruling a large chunk of the Valtheron Empire."
He gestured lightly.
"And to do that... she needs you, the heir of another Grand Duke."
He clapped his hands gently.
"Wow. Wow. What a splendid woman. I think I like her. Naturally, she’ll leverage all your connections, including your friendship with Evangeline, who is also the heir of another Grand Duke, Sylvia the elf princess, Leona who is the daughter of the powerful Roaring Gale, and little old , who has connections and ties to Lilith Astranova of another Grand Ducal house and, of course, seems to have a shady relationship with the Valtheron princess..."
Xander closed his eyes, seeing how Damon analyzed everything in such a playful and casual manner, as if Emilia were the one using Xander’s connections for her own ends.
But Damon smiled like a demon, his voice low, as if it had crawled out of the abyss.
"But she’s the one getting played here, isn’t she?"
Xander’s heart sank when Damon looked at him.
"She doesn’t know... you gain a lot from this, don’t you?"
Damon looked back at the sky, shaking his head.
"Emilia Highgon was more or less abandoned by her father. She was an unwanted child, and that leaves scars ti cannot heal. She must find abandoning one’s child to be the cruelest of acts."
He turned to Xander with a sly smile.
"So tell , Xander..."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"How will she feel when she gives birth to your firstborn child and you end up handing him over to ? She’d be crushed."
He leaned closer.
"And a small part of wants to see your life go to hell because you obsess over hunting a faceless shadow."
Xander’s hands trembled.
"I am unshaken in my resolve," he said stiffly. "You will uphold your end of the bargain, a fair chance to kill Amon."
Damon smiled.
"Of course, a fair chance."
User Comments
0 comments from readers