Chen Fan immediately stepped into the palace and made his way toward Celestia's room. Peering inside, he saw the queen gently feeding the young girl, while the king turned his gaze toward him and signaled for him to approach.
Sensing the approaching figure, Celestia slightly glanced toward the door and saw Chen Fan slowly walking toward them.
Locking eyes with Celestia, Chen Fan felt his steps slow slightly as he saw her expression.
Exhausted.
That might be the best description he could think of.
Her complexion made it seem as though it would not be strange for her to faint even at this very moment.
Despite calming himself to a certain extent, the memories from that night with the king still made Chen Fan's chest tighten slightly.
"Can you check her condition?"
The king's voice from beside him made Chen Fan close his slightly open mouth before exhaling softly as he activated his eye.
Inside her body, the unstable energy from before now seemed to have fully stabilized, nestled within the place where the cultivator core resided.
But the most fascinating thing was the mana all around the room. It seemed to be constantly sucked into her body, even as she lay on the bed.
"Hoh. So this is the World Ego, huh? No, there is no sentience left inside. So maybe it's just the power of the World Ego."
Ao Xue's amused voice echoed in his head, as if mimicking his own amazement.
Chen Fan also found it quite incredible. The speed at which the mana entered her body was almost the same as his own cultivation speed.
What if she cultivated as well?
Wouldn't it be much faster?
Even simply by breathing, she was getting stronger now. It was definitely an enviable power for most cultivators.
He could also see that her power had already reached the middle stage of the Golden Core realm and was continuing to improve even as he observed her.
"Her condition is good, and also..."
Chen Fan looked slightly toward the king, as if expressing his intent.
"She already knows too."
The king's answer made Chen Fan immediately look toward Celestia's eyes once more.
From the moment she entered the room to the moment his eye began shining as he checked her condition, her eyes had remained locked onto his figure.
But this time, Chen Fan could see a different emotion flash across her eyes.
What he saw now was calmness, as if she had finally gathered enough energy to dispel her previous exhaustion.
"It already solidified, right, Sir Chen?"
Hearing her voice and looking at her expression, Chen Fan could feel that she had somehow changed slightly from before.
As if there were now another layer of emotion hidden inside her.
"Yes. Even as we speak, all the mana from the surroundings is gathering inside you. And it is also smoothly solidifying without any side effects. You must be feeling it too."
There was no obvious change in emotion on either the king's or Celestia's face, but Chen Fan could see the queen's hand tremble slightly as she heard about Celestia's condition.
"Father. Can I ask you something?"
Celestia's gaze shifted toward the king as she opened her mouth, preparing her next words. The king simply waited, his gaze fixed calmly upon her.
"As you can hear from Sir Chen, my condition is already getting better now. So I want to head to the dungeon too."
Hearing her words, the queen immediately patted her hair, her gaze filled with worry and deep sadness that she quickly tried to hide.
"My dear, you just woke up. Even if..."
Her words stopped midway.
Yet Chen Fan could faintly hear the tremor in her voice as she forced herself to stop before opening her mouth again.
"You should rest for a few days before moving again, okay?"
Celestia looked at her mother as she lightly placed her hand over the one resting on her head, giving her a slight smile.
"Don't worry, Mom. I've already become stronger now, so there is no need to worry. Besides, we don't have much time. You should know that already."
Even without the trembling hand of her mother resting against her head, Celestia could still understand her mother's feelings simply by looking into her eyes.
But there was no time to waste.
Her gaze once again shifted toward her father. She saw his ever-calm expression become slightly troubled before he turned his gaze toward Chen Fan.
"About my request that night... can you do it?"
The king's words caused Celestia to feel slightly confused. She looked toward Chen Fan, wanting to ask what he meant.
"I will."
Chen Fan's voice was calm and firm.
"I will definitely protect her. You can take my word for that."
His words caused a slight ripple in her heart, but she quickly forced herself to calm down, her heartbeat gradually returning to its usual rhythm.
"Alright, then."
The king looked at Celestia once more.
"I will allow it. But you have to rest today. I shall inform Alex of your participation tomorrow."
The king immediately stepped outside after saying those words.
But for someone who was deeply familiar with him, the queen could feel the difference in his usual composure from his actions just now.
She still wanted to stop her daughter from going.
But looking at Celestia's expression, and knowing her condition and the situation they were in, she knew that her own emotions were not something she should prioritize the most.
Even now, she had to hold back the urge to embrace her daughter.
Because if she did, she knew she would no longer be able to resist the urge to cry.
But as a queen, and as a mother, the most she could do right now was find a way for them to survive.
Only then could she preserve her daughter's happiness.
"Rest well, darling."
That was all she could repeat as she gently patted her daughter's head once more before leaning down and kissing her forehead.
"M-Mother..."
Celestia immediately felt flustered by her mother's sudden action.
Right in front of another man.
Right in front of Chen Fan.
"Why are you shy right now? You used to love it, right?"
"I-I'm fine. I'll rest, okay? So just go now. And that was when I was just a kid, okay?"
Celestia's voice rose slightly as she glanced toward Chen Fan, her ears already turning slightly red.
"A kid, you say? But I remember the last—"
"MOM!"
Celestia's soft shout caused the queen's expression to brighten slightly as she stood up and prepared to leave.
"I'll leave her to you."
Chen Fan nodded.
Before he could say anything else, he heard another word from the queen.
Her voice was lowered so that only he could hear it.
"Please."
He could feel the tremor in her voice as he understood exactly what she meant.
Before long, only Chen Fan and Celestia were left in the room.
Celestia still had her head lowered, her face slightly flushed as she remained embarrassed by what had happened earlier.
"Heh. You really hate resting, huh? You just woke up and immediately want to go to the dungeon?"
Chen Fan walked closer and sat down on the chair right beside the bed.
Celestia lifted her gaze and met Chen Fan's usual smiling face.
"We don't have time. You should know that too."
"True. To be honest, it wouldn't be strange if the Demon King were already at the gate right now."
His words caused Celestia to reflexively clench her fist. Her expression remained calm, but her gaze slowly dropped once more.
"That's why I must go to the dungeon too. I need to become stronger faster."
"Even though you can grow stronger just by meditating normally?"
"No. I can feel it."
Celestia's fingers tightened slightly against the bedsheet.
"If I go to the dungeon, I can grow even faster. Much faster. That's why."
Chen Fan looked at Celestia, who seemed a little too eager to move now.
He already knew that she was the type who disliked standing still. She was practically a workaholic, always looking for something to do
But this time...
She seemed a little more agitated than before.
Perhaps it was because she had finally realized just how much power was now within her.
Or perhaps she simply understood better than anyone else how little time they had left.
"Alright, then."
Chen Fan immediately stood up and lightly stretched his body.
"If you want to go to the dungeon tomorrow, then do you want to participate in the training today too?"
He glanced at her before continuing.
"Well, the king did ask you to rest. But... your body should be fine now, right? Knowing how the power inside you stabilized almost immediately."
Celestia remained silent for a moment.
It seemed her mind was focused on only one thing now.
Moving forward.
Getting stronger.
Previously, Chen Fan could still remember how embarrassed she had been when speaking to him. Her ears had turned red, and she had even lowered her head after what happened with the queen.
Part of him wanted to tease her about it.
But...
He knew this wasn't the best time for that.
Right now, rather than talking about something meaningless, the thing she needed most was to move.
To do something.
To keep herself from thinking too much about what was waiting for them.
"Or do you still want to rest?"
Chen Fan grinned as he looked at Celestia.
Once again, her eyes locked onto his.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Again.
Once again, her heart seemed to beat without her permission.
Calm down, Celestia.
Just like usual, she immediately calmed her heart, forcing her thoughts away from anything else.
Or rather...
She didn't want to think about anything else right now.
And yet, this man...
Once again...
He seemed to know even that.
Even when she forced her mind to stop wandering toward those distracting thoughts, her heart betrayed her efforts.
Its beating only grew faster once again.