Evelyn stayed in Ryan's embrace for a long while, yet the scolding she wanted to unleash stuck in her throat and never came out.

  She had been studying magic at Glacial Arcana Academy since childhood. Her temperament was naturally aloof and quiet.

  Her words were always concise and sharp. She simply did not know how to scold someone with harsh words.

  "If you dare be so rude again, I..."

  "What will you do?" Ryan deliberately leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against Evelyn's flushed ear, causing her shoulders to tremble slightly.

  "I'll smash your mouth." Evelyn paused for a long moment. She had originally wanted to say she would destroy his magical core.

  But thinking of the other day when she had exerted all her strength to control the Grand Magus' corpse to save Ryan, she could not bring herself to say it.

  In the end, she could only manage a threat that hardly sounded fierce. Ryan, however, seemed completely unfazed.

  "Go ahead and try. Hurry and meditate to restore your mana. I'll be right here waiting for you to smash my mouth."

  Evelyn's brows knitted slightly. Her flushed little face forced into a cold expression only made her cuteness stand out more in contrast.

  "Do your wounds hurt?" Ryan suddenly changed the subject, his gaze falling on the blood-colored cracks still visible on Evelyn's face and neck.

  Those were the marks left by the magical backlash, and his eyes were filled with worry and pain.

  "No, it's fine." Evelyn's tone returned to her usual cool detachment, though the blush on her cheeks remained.

  As for whether her wounds truly hurt, only she knew. It was a deep, bone-piercing tearing sensation of magical energy.

  The two of them fell silent again, each distractedly observing their surroundings.

  The forest night was quiet, the only sound the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze.

  The sound of the small Drake gnawing on its magic crystal had also quieted considerably since their intimate interaction earlier.

  It was only now that Evelyn belatedly realized that a little girl was sitting nearby.

  She had been so focused on avoiding Ryan's burning gaze, wandering aimlessly, that she had completely failed to notice the little one's presence.

  "Have you eaten enough?" Ryan called to the Drake while holding the still-weak Evelyn in one arm.

  "Let go of me." Evelyn finally realized how intimate their current posture looked and hurriedly urged Ryan to release her.

  "You're weak right now. Your body isn't steady, you can't stand. Don't worry, I won't do anything to you," Ryan whispered reassuringly into her ear.

  But Evelyn, looking at the dense ancient trees around them, still could not understand why Ryan insisted on holding her like this.

  "Help me lean against a tree." Ryan's mouth twitched slightly, realizing that his little plan had been seen through.

  With no other choice, he slowly stood up, carefully holding Evelyn with his remaining right arm. Using the dim glow of the campfire, he struggled to help her lean against a nearby tree.

  "Wait, what about your arm?"

  Just as Ryan had settled Evelyn and was about to turn and sit nearby to continue meditating to restore mana, Evelyn suddenly called out, her gaze landing on the empty space where his left arm should have been.

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  It was only now that Evelyn belatedly realized Ryan had been holding her with just one arm the entire time.

  His left arm was empty, with only a few small buds of flesh just starting to sprout at the severed end.

  No wonder the Clockwork Doll's left arm was also empty.

  On the surface, Evelyn maintained a blank expression, but inside, it felt as if an invisible hand were tightly tugging at her heart, sending a sharp, persistent ache.

  She recalled the excruciating pain she had felt while forcibly controlling the Grand Magus' corpse. It was easy to imagine the torment Ryan endured from losing an arm and suffering magical backlash.

  "It's nothing, just a small wound." Ryan noticed her gaze.

  He forced a casual smile and lightly patted the budding flesh on his left arm with his remaining right hand, speaking as if it were of no consequence.

  "My hands… did you restore them with the elixir?" Evelyn ignored his words and asked directly, her eyes fixed firmly on his.

  Ryan didn't try to hide it. Such a thing could never be concealed from her.

  With Evelyn's magical proficiency, all it took was sensing the flow of her own mana to guess that it was the effect of a high-level elixir.

  "Then why didn't you use it on yourself first?" Evelyn's voice carried a subtle urgency.

  "Because I only had one Advanced Regeneration Elixir. Your injuries were the backlash from forcibly wielding the Grand Magus' power. Only this could work," Ryan explained.

  "You fool. Why didn't you use it on yourself first?" She knew just how precious that elixir was.

  "If you feel guilty, then just give me a kiss. Consider it compensation," Ryan said. Seeing her mood soften, he immediately returned to his playful, teasing demeanor, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere with a joke.

  Evelyn stared at Ryan for a long time. Ryan, feeling slightly uneasy under her gaze, stopped teasing and turned toward the Drake.

  The little Celestial Drake, who had been eagerly gnawing on a magic crystal, paused mid-bite, raising its head in curiosity at Ryan.

  To her, these crystals, full of pure magical energy, were like candy. One bite, and they crumbled, crisp and sweet.

  "Dad, what's wrong?" The Drake's cheeks were still puffed out, and her big round eyes blinked rapidly.

  "You came to the Central Continent just to find her?" Evelyn's voice spoke again.

  Her gaze shifted from Ryan to the Drake, deep and unreadable.

  "Yes," Ryan answered. His core reason for coming to the Central Continent was indeed to find the Drake. At the same time, he was a little puzzled. Why did Evelyn suddenly ask this?

  "Who is her mom?" Evelyn hesitated for a long moment before finally gritting her teeth and asking.

  Ryan snapped his head toward her, a smile creeping uncontrollably across his lips. How could he not understand the little thought hidden behind her question?

  "What are you smiling at?" Evelyn saw the knowing expression on his face and immediately realized he had seen through her little secret.

  Her cheeks flushed slightly, her expression awkward, and her voice carried a hint of panic.

  "Why are you asking this?" Ryan didn't directly expose her. Instead, he deliberately turned the question back on her.

  Meanwhile, the little Drake, seeing the two of them whispering again and not noticing her, turned back and focused intently on gnawing the magic crystal.

  The crisp crunching sound was especially clear in the quiet forest.

  "I'm your Mentor. Is there a problem with me asking who my apprentice's partner is?"

  Evelyn paused, as if she had barely managed to organize a reason. Her expression remained deliberately cold, but the blush on her ear betrayed her unease. Her tone carried a hint of stiff justification.

  "Her mom is in the Central Continent." Ryan raised his hand and wiped his eyes, deliberately putting on a tearful expression.

  He walked over to the little Drake and lifted the utterly confused creature into his arms."Come here, let her heal her wounds."

  The little Drake, suddenly picked up, reached out her tiny paws uncertainly and wiped at Ryan's eyes, only to find there were no tears at all.

  Tilting her little head, she looked at Ryan with a puzzled expression."Dad?"

  What exactly was Dad trying to do?

  Ryan said nothing, holding the little Drake as he crouched slowly beside Evelyn.

  "What's wrong?" Evelyn's heart tightened as she looked at him. She immediately guessed that perhaps the little Drake's mom had already passed away.

  Ryan still did not answer, only crouching in front of her with the little Drake in his arms, head lowered, as if drowning in sorrow.

  "Say mom!" Ryan repeatedly taught her the word"mom" through the symbiotic contract he had established with the little Drake.

  "I mean this person right in front of you is your mom!" Ryan's mental voice carried a note of urgency.

  "If you say it, Dad will give you some Mana Essence to drink afterward!"

  "Mom." The little Drake tried to repeat the word, her voice full of babyish sweetness.

  "That's it! When Dad asks you again, shout it out loud!" Ryan said excitedly, confirming.

  "Mom." The little Drake called again, clear and confident.

  Satisfied that the little Drake had learned, Ryan finally came back to himself and lifted his head, putting on a sorrowful expression for Evelyn.

  "Actually, her mom is also here in the Central Continent."

  Evelyn had just thought that Ryan's partner had already passed away.

  Ryan's gaze locked tightly on Evelyn."Her mom is right here. It's just that she doesn't seem willing to acknowledge me as her husband."

  Her mom is here?

  Evelyn repeated the words over and over in her mind, her gaze unconsciously sweeping the surroundings. It was just the three of them here, no fourth person in sight.

  Could it possibly be her?

  The thought had barely formed when Evelyn's cheeks immediately turned crimson, her heart began racing uncontrollably, and even her breathing grew slightly rapid.