CHAPTER 41: FINAL DECISIONS

Lucy’s breathing was still uneven when she pulled back, cheeks flushed a deep red that wasn’t fading anytime soon.

Her blue hair was a little messy, and her red eyes darted away from him like she was trying to regain control of her composure after what happened a few minutes ago, now that she had finished what she couldn’t believe her body craved.

She cleared her throat, trying for a casual tone but not quite getting there.

"I was... supposed to call you for breakfast," she admitted, voice lower than usual. "So I volunteered."

Caelen raised an eyebrow at that. The corner of his mouth tugged into something between amusement and disbelief."Breakfast, this is the first, well before that other day you did that."

She didn’t answer, just looked at him with that stubborn tilt of her chin that told him she wasn’t going to explain further.

He let it go. "Then I’ll get ready."

Leaving her standing there, Caelen headed to the washroom, cleaning himself up and straightening his clothes until his reflection was exactly how he wanted it.

When he stepped back into the hallway, Lucy was still waiting, still red, still avoiding his eyes. They walked to the dining hall together, the silence between them not awkward so much as... loaded.

When they arrived, Evelyn’s voice was the first thing they heard. She was already seated at the long table, speaking to Silver, who sat beside her.

"Go get them," Evelyn said to the quiet assistant, but before Silver could rise, Lucy stepped forward.

"We’re here."

Evelyn turned her head, eyes narrowing slightly."Finally. What were you doing for almost an hour?"

Lucy took a slow breath, clearly bracing herself.

"We were having an important moment," she said evenly. "And I decided to forgive this bastard... so let’s not get into the details. Let’s just have breakfast."

The words hung there for a second.

Caelen blinked. Evelyn blinked.

Emma, however, simply smiled and stood, stepping around the table to wrap Lucy in a hug."I’m glad,"

Emma said softly. "I hope we can get along."

Lucy froze for a moment, not expecting the embrace.

"I also hope you’ll teach me some of those games you play," Emma added, still smiling. "Then we can play together."

Lucy hesitated, then lightly tapped Emma’s back."Fine. But can you give me some space?"

Emma let go instantly. "Right."

Caelen caught Emma’s hand and gently pulled her toward the table."Thanks," he murmured to Lucy as they passed.

Emma tilted her head. "What?"

"Nothing," he replied, keeping his tone calm. "Just... give Lucy some space, okay?"

Emma’s lips curved in a faint smile, and she nodded.

They took their seats. Breakfast passed quietly — not in a tense way, but in a steady, almost unspoken agreement to keep things calm.

Silver ate silently, her presence so unobtrusive it was easy to forget she was there at all. The only time she reacted was when Evelyn reminded her of some task, or when she wordlessly passed a dish to someone.

When the last plates were cleared, Caelen leaned back in his chair with a serious face.

"Wait. Before anyone leaves... I want us all to talk about something important and get it over with."

Everyone paused. Silver started to rise but stopped when she looked at Evelyn, who said enough without saying anything.

"Does Silver know the whole situation? Do you trust her?" Caelen asked after seeing that.

Evelyn glanced at Silver, then back at Caelen, a faint smile touching her lips."Yes."

That was all Silver needed to hear. She sat back down.

Caelen looked around the table."Since it’s obvious this is about the elf situation, I wanted to ask every—"

"Wait," Evelyn cut in smoothly, raising a hand. "I want to say something first, so everyone understands."

Evelyn’s voice was calm but deliberate as she told her story — the family she’d come from, her work building the dungeon, the events that had led to this point. Even Silver seemed to pay attention and listen closely. When she reached the part about sneaking food that night and what happened after, and in the morning with the bed scene, she stopped in the same place she’d stopped when she’d told Emma before.

Emma reached over, taking her hand.

"It’s alright. We’re going to deal with this," Emma said firmly before glancing at Caelen.

He exhaled slowly, leaning forward.

"Since we’re heading to the floating place, wait, what was called again—" he paused, correcting himself, "—whatever the name was, you know where and what I mean. I just want to ask one last time if this is what everyone wants."

He looked to Emma first."Yeah," she said without hesitation. "I want to help her."

He nodded, his expression staying serious, and turned to Lucy.

"I’m the one who wanted this in the first place," she said simply. "Of course I agree."

"Good. Just wanted to make sure." He shifted his gaze to Evelyn. "Looks like we’re going to help you out."

Her face lit up just slightly at his words.

"Evelyn," Caelen said suddenly, drawing her attention.

"Yes?"

"One last thing before we continue." His tone was calm, steady. "About last time, that conversation, I’m sorry. It was a serious moment for you, and I was... harsher than I needed to be. I didn’t handle it well."

She regarded him seriously, not brushing it off.

"I’m sorry too," she replied after a moment.

"You don’t need to risk your life for me like this. I know I’m saying this too late and you’ve already decided to help, but I never meant to drag you into all of this. So when the time comes... please don’t risk your life for this, or for me."

Caelen’s eyes held hers, unshaken."I know you’ve probably already accepted your fate. Maybe you’re even going through the symptoms now. But after this last week I’ve been counting... I’m certain you’ll be fine. Your curse will be gone."

Evelyn studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable."Are you sure?" she asked quietly.

Caelen didn’t hesitate."Yes, I’m sure. So don’t devalue your life like that. You will get better after I give you the seed, I’m sure, or I’ll make that elf fix you by force if I have to when we get there."

Evelyn’s lips curved into a small smile. "Thanks."

For once, Silver moved before anyone else could speak.

Her hand rested gently on Evelyn’s shoulder."I’m sorry I couldn’t help you fully recover," she said, her tone even but softer than usual. "Maybe that was never meant to be my role... so I can give that responsibility to this young man."

Caelen blinked, caught off guard."...Was that the first time I’ve actually heard your voice?" he thought, realizing it carried a strange familiarity.

Evelyn glanced at Silver, her own thoughts flickering behind her eyes. "Are you sure about this? Cause I can’t go and put myself out there like that."

Silver nodded once. "Yes." And then almost unnoticeably, she smiled.

That alone seemed to be enough for Evelyn. Her composure cracked, and she began to cry. Not the quiet, graceful kind of tears, but the raw, unguarded ones.

The reaction pulled a flicker of surprise from everyone except Silver, who simply wrapped her in a calm embrace, one hand patting her back with a steady rhythm.

Caelen frowned slightly. "Did I do something?"

"It’s nothing," Silver replied, still holding Evelyn. "It’s something she’s been waiting for... something she thought might never happen."

Caelen leaned back in his chair, exhaling. "Alright. Should we... be here for this?"

"Yes," Silver said simply.

Emma spoke up, tilting her head. "That’s the first time I’ve heard you say so many words since you arrived."

Silver didn’t answer her, her attention was fixed fully on Caelen now.

He met her eyes, unsure what to make of her sudden shift in presence.

"Caelen," Silver said evenly, "you are a demon. That doesn’t matter to me. The only thing that matters to me is Evelyn. I’m sure she offered herself and her wealth in that conversation she had with you, I’m sure. And even though I have nothing to offer myself, I hope you won’t treat her poorly. Help her through this. She went through a lot after her grandfather died... so please, don’t mistreat her."

The words carried weight, more than the neutral tone suggested. Evelyn was still clinging to her, beginning to calm when she heard them, but she didn’t speak. Her body stiffened slightly, as though the reminder of that conversation hit a nerve.

Caelen sighed, thinking back to it. She had offered herself. That whole exchange had been... complicated."Look," he said finally, "I don’t know how to handle that. It’s a hard situation."

"I’m sorry," Evelyn murmured, wiping her face and trying to pull herself together.

"No," Caelen said, shaking his head. "It’s fine. Just... how about you live your life for me until you find your own purpose? We can try something together and trust each other. I know I’ll need allies at some point in the future. And after that... you can do whatever you feel is right. I think you’ll find what you’re looking for along the way."

Evelyn sniffed quietly, brushing away the last of her tears. "Really?"

"Yeah," Caelen said without hesitation.

Emma and Lucy remained silent. It wasn’t the kind of moment they wanted to intrude on — and in Lucy’s case, it was clear she had no interest in being part of this discussion at all.

Evelyn exhaled slowly, and for the first time since the conversation began, the tension in her shoulders loosened. She didn’t thank him. She didn’t need to. The look in her eyes was enough.

_

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