"I have important guests today. I do not wish to waste time on you. Get out immediately."

  Eryndor's voice suddenly turned cold and sharp.

  "Mom, why is he so annoying?" Darlene frowned, her face full of irritation.

  This boy who kept showing up had somehow learned information about the royal family and had been coming to the palace every day recently, insisting on recognizing Eryndor as his mother.

  What puzzled her even more was that, given her mother's temper, she should have already punished him severely for impersonating a royal descendant. Yet each time she merely drove him away and never truly harmed him.

  Darlene could not help doubting: could this guy really be an older brother she had never met?

  But she had grown up in the palace since childhood and had never once heard anyone mention that she had an older brother.

  "Mother, Father does not want me anymore!"

  Seeing Eryndor's resolute stance, the boy in the distance cried even more miserably, sobbing and sniffling.

  "I have nowhere to go, so I can only come to you!"

  "Please wait a moment while I deal with this uninvited guest." Eryndor nodded slightly to Ryan and the others.

  She walked toward the boy and warned coldly,"This is the last time I will say this. I am not your mother. If you dare trespass into the palace again tomorrow and impersonate a royal descendant, do not blame me for executing you."

  But the boy seemed not to hear her. He wiped his tears and choked out a piece of news that shook Eryndor to the core:

  "Mother, Father is dying. Otherwise he would never have driven me to come find you."

  "What?"

  Eryndor's body trembled violently, her pupils shrinking.

  That heartless man who had disappeared all those years ago without saying a word was actually dying?

  Inside the hall, Ryan casually picked up a crystal clear grape from the fruit tray. These grapes were nourished by magical springs, and the flesh contained faint healing energy. They were sweet and juicy.

  He turned to Evelyn beside him and held the grape to her lips, his tone slightly teasing."Want it?"

  Evelyn shot him an icy glare. She was just about to say no, her lips barely parted,

  when Ryan took the opportunity to slip the grape into her mouth. The light sweetness spread across her tongue, and she instinctively chewed twice.

  "You are welcome."

  Ryan smiled with curved eyes, then picked up a Moonlight Pear and took a bite, though his attention remained fixed on Eryndor and the boy in the distance.

  With the perception accumulated over nine lifetimes, he should have heard their conversation clearly even from several dozen meters away.

  However, the moment Eryndor approached the boy,

  an invisible aura spread out and blocked all surrounding sound. They could see the two of them moving, but could not hear a single word.

  Evelyn, with the grape still in her mouth, looked at Ryan with a complex expression.

  His gesture of feeding her was so natural, as if he had done it countless times, without any trace of stiffness or awkwardness.

  Instead, it carried a strange familiarity that she could not comprehend. The feeling unsettled her, though she could not pinpoint the reason.

  Ryan could clearly feel the cold stare beside him.

  That gaze was sharp as frost, sweeping over him like an icy blade, making him reflexively straighten his back.

  He pretended to focus on biting the pear, but inwardly he muttered,

  This woman's stare is terrifying. She looks at me like she is seeing a dark sorcerer. Better pretend I saw nothing.

  Evelyn stared coldly at Ryan for a moment before finally looking away. She then bit down hard, crushing the grape in her mouth.

  At that moment, the aura surrounding Eryndor suddenly dissipated, and a furious shout echoed through the palace courtyard.

  The boy looked utterly dejected as he staggered toward the palace gates, his thin figure seeming as if it might collapse at any moment.

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  Eryndor walked back quickly, her eyes faintly red, clearly shaken by the conversation she had just had.

  She hurriedly instructed Darlene,"Darlene, take good care of our esteemed guests. I have urgent matters to handle, so I must excuse myself."

  Without waiting for Darlene's reply, Eryndor turned and left in a rush, disappearing around the corner of the palace.

  Only after her figure vanished completely did Ryan and the others recover from the heavy atmosphere.

  "It is all that annoying guy's fault. He made Mother angry again!" Darlene took a vicious bite of the flame fruit in her hand.

  She puffed up her cheeks in irritation."He has made Mother angry more than once or twice. And this time he even made her leave to deal with something."

  "In the past Mother always ordered someone to drive him out. If they failed, she would do it herself and blast him away with the power of an Eighth tier Journeyman Mage."

  Ryan secretly found it amusing. As expected, Darlene did not know Eryndor's real strength. She was actually a Ninth tier Archmage, and the palace guards were likely letting the boy in on purpose.

  "Your mother is the queen of the empire. Why not just execute him?" Derrick scratched his head, confusion plain on his face. In his view, impersonating a royal was a serious crime fully deserving of death.

  "How would I know?" Darlene grew more upset the more she talked. She fiercely chomped a few more times on the fruit, red juice running down the corner of her lips.

  "The palace guards are useless too. They cannot even stop one person. He manages to sneak in every time."

  Ryan rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

  Eryndor's attitude toward the boy was far too strange. She neither executed him nor expelled him completely. Clearly the boy's identity or the message he brought held special meaning for her.

  Evelyn sat quietly at the side, not joining the discussion and saying nothing. She simply extended her slender fingers, picked up another grape from the fruit tray, and gently brought it to her lips.

  Ryan caught the moment out of the corner of his eye and could not help smiling. A moment ago she had been full of resistance, and now she was eating on her own.

  Sensing his gaze, Evelyn paused slightly, meeting his teasing look.

  But she did not stop. She still placed the grape into her mouth and slowly chewed it. Stopping now or discarding it would only make her seem overly delicate and give him the upper hand.

  The atmosphere in the hall quieted briefly, the only sounds being the faint chewing of fruit and the distant murmuring of fountains.

  Darlene was the first to break the silence. The anger on her face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of anticipation.

  "Forget that annoying guy. How about staying in the palace tonight? You can return to the Sword Mage Academy tomorrow. There are still a few days before we leave for the Sanctum of the Sacred Sword."

  She spoke with a trace of loneliness hidden in her eyes."The palace is so boring. The servants are all afraid of upsetting me and will not play with me."

  "If you stay, we can go to the garden to see the glowing flowers that bloom at night, and we can try the special desserts too."

  "Sure!" Ryan answered immediately, his eyes lighting up.

  "Why are you so excited?" Darlene looked at Ryan with complete confusion. His enthusiasm when agreeing to stay overnight was practically overflowing, making him stand out among everyone present.

  "Nothing at all!" Ryan hurriedly suppressed the joy on his face, pretending to stay calm. The last thing he wanted was for Darlene to notice his little plan to go treasure hunting.

  If the princess realized he intended to sneak into the royal vault, tonight's plan would fall apart instantly.

  The group wandered around the palace for most of the day. Derrick and Darlene were completely wild with excitement.

  They chased glowing butterflies in the garden, shouted at echo flowers that could mimic human voices, and even tried the palace's special cloud cake.

  This dessert was made from magically condensed clouds, melting instantly on the tongue and leaving behind a faint starlight taste.

  In contrast, Ryan and Evelyn walked side by side behind them, the binding rope on their wrists swaying lightly.

  Looking at the two troublemakers running around in front, they resembled a pair of parents reluctantly following behind their children.

  "Evelyn, just loosen the rope today. I have things to do."

  Ryan had already asked countless times along the way, his tone shifting from negotiation, to pleading.

  But Evelyn remained silent the whole time. She simply continued walking, eyes forward, as though she had not heard a single word he said.

  "Evelyn, please…"

  Ryan had no other options, so he reached out and poked her shoulder lightly. Her skin was smooth and cool to the touch, like brushing against a piece of ice.

  This time Evelyn finally stopped walking. She slowly turned her head and asked,"What are you going to do?"

  "That is a secret." Ryan answered evasively. He certainly could not tell her he wanted to borrow a few things from the royal treasure vault.

  "If you will not say it, I will not loosen it." Evelyn's reply was direct and absolute, leaving no room for negotiation.

  "Aaah…"

  Ryan groaned, his face bitter. He could not understand why Evelyn suddenly cared so much. Before, although she kept him in check, she had never been this relentless.

  Wait… does she want to be my Mentor?

  Suddenly Ryan remembered what Evelyn had said to Eryndor in the hall earlier.

  A thought struck him: could Evelyn actually be serious about taking him as her apprentice?

  Thinking back to Evelyn's attitude in this lifetime and comparing it to the hostility of their past eight lifetimes, Ryan could not help but smile quietly.

  He was not stupid. Such a huge change in attitude was impossible to miss.

  He secretly guessed: Evelyn's affection for him was probably around thirty five percent by now.

  As for anything beyond that… Ryan did not dare think too far.

  Unless he kissed Evelyn and she did not get angry, he truly had no courage to consider anything like becoming lovers.

  At that thought, his confidence suddenly grew a little.

  Evelyn, are you hinting that I should be a rebellious disciple?

  If that was the case, did it not mean that as long as he did not do anything too outrageous or anger her too much, she would not really do anything drastic to him?

  "Fine then, do not loosen it!"

  Now that he had sorted out his thoughts, Ryan's tone became firmer. He realized he had been too compliant with Evelyn, which only made it easier for her to control the situation.

  If she would not loosen it, so be it. What was the big deal?

  Ryan began making plans. If she still refused to unbind him tonight, he would reveal a small portion of his hidden magic level right in front of her.

  On the surface he would pretend he had just reached the first level of a Journeyman Mage, but in reality he would only release a small amount of his suppressed magic.

  He had not been idle these days. He had been studying magic continuously, and the mana in his body had long been tightly compressed, now nearly at full capacity.

  With that and the potions he carried, he might be able to make a breakthrough in one go and reach Senior Mage.