Chapter 36: I don’t want you to go hungry.

Damon swallowed. Ester’s finger still gripped the spear with a barely there, yet unstoppable pressure. Her icy gaze pierced him like a blade.

“Explain yourself,” her voice repeated, unhurried but filled with authority.

Damon’s heart raced, as if the demonic core in his chest was beating out of sync. The system… He knew he couldn’t reveal his true source of power. If he did, he would be hunted, investigated, perhaps even destroyed.

For a moment, he was speechless, but then his mind whirled like a storm. He needed something plausible, something to justify his abnormal growth.

“I…” His voice was firm, but inside, cold sweat beaded on the back of his neck. “I learned a cultivation technique.”

Ester’s eyes narrowed even further.

“Cultivation Technique?”

Damon nodded, trying to keep his tone confident.

“Yes. Lady Elizabeth… she gave me a manual,” he spoke quickly, as if trying to shake off the weight on his chest. “She said it would be a test. That if I had the determination, I could achieve something better than being just dead weight.”

He didn’t dare blink.

Inside, however, despair gnawed at him. Damn… this is too dangerous, I forgot how the system changes… I’ve doubled my stats.”

Ester finally released the spearhead. Damon almost staggered back, but steadied himself, keeping his expression serious.

The silence that followed felt like an eternity.

Then Ester stepped forward, her gaze descending on him like a mountain about to crush him.

“Elizabeth?” she murmured, as if testing the veracity of the statement. “Hm… that sounds like something she would do.”

The air around them grew lighter, but the coldness of her presence continued to cut like ice.

“Still, Damon…” She lifted her chin, looking down at him. “Learning a cultivation technique in such a short time and reaching this level… is not something to celebrate.”

Damon clenched his fists, keeping his gaze fixed on her.

“I’m not celebrating. I’m just getting started.”

For a moment, the corner of Ester’s mouth curled, not in a smile, but in a hint of disdain.

[Progress increased by 60%]

[Current progress: 75%]

“We’ll see how far this ’beginning’ goes.” She turned, walking toward the courtyard exit. “But be careful, Damon. Power gained too quickly… can be lost even faster.”

With each step she took, the suffocating pressure in the room lessened, until it disappeared completely.

Damon stood there, panting, his spear tightly in his hands. Only then did he realize his back was drenched in sweat.

He took a deep breath, gritting his teeth.

“That was close. I need to be careful. If Ester gets too suspicious, this secret will bury me.”

As Ester disappeared through the stone archway that led into the mansion, Damon finally allowed himself to let out a heavy sigh. The spear was still firmly in his hand, but his fingers ached from gripping it so tightly. Sweat trickled down his temple, cold.

“That was too close…” he murmured, taking a deep breath to calm his heart.

The silence of the courtyard returned, only the faint rustle of leaves in the trees beyond the walls breaking the heavy air. Damon straightened, twirling the spear in his fingers, trying to regain his focus. But then, light footsteps approached. They weren’t hard or imposing like Ester’s; they were delicate, hesitant, almost too careful.

He turned and saw Aria walking through the archway.

The woman held a tray with a jug of water and some fruit, but her gaze immediately fixed on Damon. His eyes widened at the sweat on her face, the steady spear, the courtyard floor marked by the thrusts and cuts of training.

“Have you…” she hesitated, biting her lower lip, before speaking more quietly, “eaten?”

Damon blinked, confused for a moment.

“Ate?” he repeated, arching his eyebrow.

Aria looked away, blushing. Her voice came out muffled, almost a whisper.

“I meant… if you’ve absorbed the essence.”

Silence fell between them, thick. Damon felt the weight of that question. His stomach growled in protest, but he knew it wasn’t food his body demanded. The hunger growing inside him was another, deeper, darker.

He took a deep breath, adjusting the spear at his side.

“No,” he answered firmly. “Not yet.”

Aria’s fingers tightened on the tray she was holding. Her face was flushed, but she forced herself to look at him, even though she was clearly embarrassed.

“So… do you want to?” she asked in a rush, almost stumbling over her words.

Damon froze. The air felt thin the moment those words left her mouth.

Aria’s eyes shone with uncertainty, but there was also something else hidden there: curiosity, perhaps even courage. Her pale neck was exposed, as if she were offering herself without realizing it.

Damon swallowed hard. Hunger roared inside him, and for a moment, the spear in his hand felt heavier.

His heart raced. He knew giving in might mean losing control. But denying… denying meant continuing to feel that emptiness gnawing at him.

He took a deep breath, staring at Aria.

“Are you sure… about what you’re saying?”

The woman looked away again, the blush on her face only deepening.

“W-well, I believe only… I… can help you…”

Damon’s heart beat like war drums in his chest. Aria’s words echoed in his mind, each syllable a temptation impossible to ignore.

“She’s offering herself…”

He stared at her, steady, but inside, his self-control wavered. The hunger burning in his body seemed to intensify just by looking at the pale skin of her neck, her parted lips, the nervousness in her eyes.

Aria clutched the tray tighter, as if it were the only thing keeping her upright. A blush spread across her face and chest, but she still held her ground.

“Damon…” Her voice trembled, barely audible. “I don’t want you to go hungry.”

“This woman… what do you hear with her?” Damon wondered.

Since he’d returned, he’d felt Aria had been a little distant from him. Which, of course, was completely understandable; after all, this woman was extremely loyal to Elizabeth and only did what she told her to do. It was even strange to see her… not following orders.

Or rather… following them without being given. After all, Elizabeth would definitely ask again. But unlike when she’d asked, offering herself was something… Truly… Exciting.

Damon looked at her and smiled. “Okay.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep