After Frisca left the room, silence gradually returned.
Only Relict and Leon remained inside the private chamber of the Hall Family. The former quietly leaned back against the chair and slowly closed his eyes, appearing as though he had finally decided to rest after everything that had happened. Meanwhile, Leon simply returned his attention to the large one-way window before him. He picked up the glass resting on the table and leisurely watched the guests below continue finding their seats while the auction had yet to begin.
Neither of them spoke.
For Relict, however, closing his eyes did not mean sleeping.
Instead, he silently replayed everything that had happened since the morning.
The visit to the city library.
The ambush.
The burning carriage.
The escape through the alleys.
The pursuit.
The death of one of the assassins.
His arrival at the Auctionarium.
Only after retracing every step did he finally realize something that he had unconsciously neglected.
'I must not forget that I am using a mortal body now.'
The thought quietly surfaced within his mind.
If he continued treating Aton's body as though it were his original vessel, sooner or later the accumulated strain would produce consequences severe enough to interfere with his future plans.
The truth was that, although he had been carefully mimicking Aton's behavior and mannerisms, the mindset governing those actions still belonged to the original Relict.
To him, calculating dozens of possibilities at once, making life-and-death decisions within moments, and pushing his body to its absolute limit had long become second nature.
However, Aton's body was different.
It was frail.
Weak.
Still recovering from eighteen years of being unable to properly interact with the Yuan Energy.
Yet despite that, he had forced it through an entire morning of activity, spent hours reading inside the city library, escaped an ambush, survived a burning carriage, moving through countless alleys, and even personally eliminated one of the assassins afterward.
Only now, after everything had settled down, did he finally understand how much burden he had placed upon this body.
'I need to completely accept that I am mortal now.'
The thought gradually became firmer.
'I should only take extreme measures when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, not only will I expose anomalies within Aton's personality, but I may also end up damaging this body before my other vessel can properly develop.'
Having reached that conclusion, Relict quietly took a slow breath.
Deep within the Databook, an almost imperceptible adjustment was made.
It was not a change in memories.
Nor was it a change in personality.
Rather, it was a subtle correction to the way he viewed himself.
A tiny shift that would constantly remind him that he was no longer the existence he once had been.
Unbeknownst to Relict himself, however, this seemingly insignificant decision would eventually lead him down a path entirely different from the one originally intended by the first Relict.
The room once again became quiet.
Meanwhile, Leon slowly placed his glass back onto the table. His eyes remained fixed upon the bustling auction hall below, yet after several moments of silence, he calmly called out.
"Aton."
Relict slowly opened his eyes.
"What is it, Sir Leon?"
The old man remained looking outside for a few moments longer before speaking.
"Let me remind you of something."
Relict quietly looked toward him, waiting for him to continue.
Leon finally turned his head slightly.
"You may doubt the Hall Family."
"You may even doubt me."
His voice remained calm.
However, there was an unusual seriousness hidden beneath it.
"But never doubt Frisca's sincerity toward you."
The old man slowly closed his eyes.
"Aside from your father, she is probably the last person in this city who would ever wish you harm."
A brief silence followed.
Then Leon quietly added,
"I hope you remember that."
Relict simply looked at the old man.
Earlier, he had indeed considered Frisca among the possible suspects behind the ambush. Again, it was nothing personal. Rather, it was merely the natural result of eliminating possibilities one after another.
However, after seeing her reactions for himself, and now hearing these words from Leon, he could no longer deny that perhaps he had been overly cautious.
In the end, he simply nodded.
"I will."
Then he lowered his head slightly.
"Thank you for reminding me of this, Sir Leon."
Leon slowly opened his eyes again.
He picked up his glass and took another small sip before letting out a quiet hum.
"Hmmm."
Then he casually waved his hand.
"Call me Grandpa."
"You're being far too formal, lad."
Hearing that, Relict could only let out a small helpless sigh.
"If that is your request..."
He paused for a brief moment before continuing.
"...Grandpa Leon."
The old man quietly smiled.
"That's much better."
...
After their brief conversation, the room gradually fell silent once more.
Relict quietly leaned back against the chair and closed his eyes, finally taking advantage of the rare moment of peace to rest both his body and his thoughts. Meanwhile, Leon simply returned his attention to the auction hall below. The old man leisurely picked up his glass once more and quietly watched the guests continue gathering inside the grand hall through the one-way window before him.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence was neither awkward nor uncomfortable.
One was resting.
The other was simply enjoying the scenery.
Only after nearly half an hour had passed did the quiet atmosphere finally break.
A soft knock came from the door.
Before anyone inside could answer, the door slowly opened.
Frisca entered first.
However, she was not alone.
Two figures quietly followed behind her.
The first was an elderly man with a sturdy build that immediately drew attention. Two white horns protruded from his forehead, only slightly smaller than Leon's own, while his height easily reached over two meters. Even among the people of the Sumari Kingdom, whose physiques were naturally larger than those of other draconians, his body could still be considered imposing.
Unlike Leon's noble attire, however, the old man wore the formal uniform of a household servant. A neatly pressed black coat covered a plain white inner shirt, while black trousers and polished leather shoes completed the outfit. The overall appearance was somewhat similar to the maid uniform Seila had worn earlier that morning, albeit tailored for a male servant.
Walking behind him was Seila.
Compared to the dignified aura carried by the old servant, her appearance gave off a much gentler impression.
Her long dark hair flowed neatly behind her back, while short bangs softly framed her face. Simple silver hairpins decorated both sides of her head, carefully holding portions of her hair in place and giving her an orderly appearance befitting a personal maid.
Like most draconians, her complexion possessed a faint whitish-purple hue, while two small white horns protruded delicately from her forehead.
She could undoubtedly be considered a beautiful young woman.
However, unlike Frisca's gentle and mesmerizing beauty that naturally attracted the eyes of others, Seila's charm was far more innocent and endearing. There was a certain softness to her appearance that made people instinctively want to protect her.
At this moment, she was quietly pushing a serving cart loaded with various dishes, fresh clothes, and several daily necessities.
After entering the room, Seila briefly stopped beside the door and gently closed it behind her since she was the last to enter. Only after making sure the room was properly shut did she push the cart toward the table where the others had gathered.
The old servant also calmly walked forward.
Neither of them immediately asked about Relict's condition.
Frisca had already informed them about everything that had happened while bringing them here, so there was no need to disturb their young master with the same questions again.
It was Frisca who broke the silence first.
"We're back."
She looked toward both Relict and Leon before giving a small apologetic smile.
"Sorry to keep you both waiting."
Leon merely nodded once before quietly returning his attention to the auction hall below. The newcomers were not his personal guests, and with Frisca already handling the situation, there was little reason for him to involve himself further.
Relict, on the other hand, slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the three people who had just entered.
His gaze briefly stopped on Seila before moving toward Frisca.
"It's fine."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Thank you for allowing them to come here, Frisca."
"I truly appreciate it."
Frisca simply shook her head.
"It's only something trivial."
She glanced around the private room before looking back at him.
"This place is more than spacious enough to accommodate two more guests."
Relict quietly smiled.
Then he shifted his attention toward the old servant standing nearby.
"Thank you for coming here, Senior Winston."
"I believe those assassins would not dare continue their attempts today."
Hearing those words, Winston respectfully lowered his head before raising his right hand against his chest.
"Your life is of utmost importance to the Lyn Family, Young Master."
His voice remained calm and steady.
"I only regret that you did not call upon my services when you left the estate this morning."
Relict could only scratch his head somewhat awkwardly.
"Who would have thought that someone would actually dare to harm me?"
A helpless smile appeared on his face.
"This is quite a harsh lesson."
"I'll simply take it as my own oversight."
However, before the conversation could continue, Seila immediately shook her head.
"It wasn't your fault, Young Master!"
Her voice was much firmer than usual.
"If someone should be blamed, then it should be me."
She lowered her head slightly.
"Not only did I almost fail to protect you, but I was also unable to sense their presence beforehand."
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the plate she was holding.
"So many people died because of my incompetence..."
The atmosphere inside the room gradually became heavier.
Fortunately, Frisca immediately clapped her hands once, drawing everyone's attention toward her before the conversation could continue in that direction.
"The real fault lies with the person who planned the attack."
She looked first toward Relict, then toward Seila.
"It does not belong to either of you."
Winston slowly nodded.
"I agree with Lady Frisca."
"The fault belongs neither to the Young Master nor to Seila."
Frisca continued before anyone else could speak.
"Both of our families are already working together to investigate what happened and identify the people responsible."
She lightly smiled.
"So let's leave this unforeseen incident to those whose job it is to handle it."
Then she looked toward the others inside the room.
"Since everyone is already here..."
"Why don't we simply enjoy the auction together?"
"There may be something that catches your interest."
Relict naturally understood that the last part of her words had been directed toward him.
He quietly smiled.
"Well said."
"It would be our honor to accompany the Hall Family during this festivity."
Then, after a slight pause, he added,
"Especially when my fiancée is right beside me."
Frisca simply rolled her eyes and pretended not to hear the last part of his sentence.
Seeing her reaction, Relict could not help but feel slightly puzzled.
She clearly cared about Aton's well-being.
Her concern earlier had not seemed false in the slightest.
Yet whenever their relationship was openly mentioned by someone else, even by him, she would always try to avoid the topic.
For a brief moment, Relict quietly wondered whether there was something he had overlooked.
However, none of those thoughts appeared on his face.
Instead, he calmly changed the subject.
"Seila."
The young maid immediately straightened herself.
"Yes, Young Master?"
"Can you prepare a chair for Frisca?"
"Ah... yes!"
Seila quickly set the plate down for a moment before moving one of the chairs that had been placed near the wall. She carefully dragged it across the room and positioned it beside Relict's own seat, directly opposite Leon's couch.
Frisca did not object.
She simply walked over and gracefully sat down.
Meanwhile, Winston quietly remained standing behind Relict.
There was no particular reason for it.
Sitting together with Leon would only make the atmosphere awkward, and besides, standing for long periods was nothing unusual for someone like him.
Seila also remained standing nearby while quietly holding the plate she had prepared for her young master.
Only after Relict had taken a few bites did he suddenly look toward her.
"You didn't expand your aura when you arrived?"
Seila lightly blinked.
"I tried to."
Then she looked toward Frisca.
"But Lady Frisca told me that I didn't need to."
"She said that you were already safe."
Relict quietly nodded.
"I see."
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"In that case, never mind."
"I'm simply glad that you remembered my instructions."
...