CHAPTER 596: CHAPTER 597: GRILLING

Honestly speaking, or rather in this case honestly not speaking, he did not want to speak about Abellona. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Lilith—on the contrary, he did.

That was why he trusted her to be jealous and to hold a grudge, even though it wasn’t even his fault.

Of all Damon’s female friends, the only ones she tolerated—actually tolerated—were Leona and Matia.

She hated Sylvia. There was no need for her to even say it.

If she knew what happened with Abellona...

’It will be troublesome...’

Damon walked into the main hall of a mansion bearing the crest of the Astranova household.

Lilith herself walked in front of him, silent since she discovered he carried the fragrance of another woman. She was exactly the type of woman to hold a grudge.

As soon as they entered the mansion, they were greeted by maids and servants who served as caretakers of the estate.

Damon cleared his throat, giving them a curt nod.

"This is a pretty modest place for your family..."

Lilith sighed, twisting her lips slightly as she gave him a side glance.

"It’s small because we don’t live here. I don’t think anyone in my family has ever even been here. It’s just the type of thing you buy in case you need it... though it’s somewhat unreliable."

Damon raised a brow with an inquisitive expression.

"The unreliable part at the end was directed at me, right?"

Lilith said nothing as she continued walking down the hall toward a side door.

"When the owners are away, houses like this often welcome unwanted people. When the nobles who own them find out, they cut off heads..."

Damon sighed, following her to the back of the mansion. This was definitely about him. The "unwanted guest" being Abellona... though Lilith didn’t know that.

She glanced at him.

"If you tell me, I promise I’ll only be a little mad."

Damon took a deep breath and sighed in resignation.

"I... I’ve been seeing... messing around with random village girls..."

Lilith gave him a look of disgust, scoffing in disbelief before forcing a harmless smile.

"All right then. Keep your secrets."

She opened a door that led outside to a courtyard, where Damon sensed the familiar presences of two young girls.

One of them held a sword, her pink hair glistening with sweat as she evaded projectiles being fired at her.

Damon blinked with surprise when he saw who was shooting at Iris. It was a white-haired girl with gray eyes and a focused look on her face, sweat dripping from her forehead.

She used no magic in her attack.

There was a subconscious urge to rush over and stop her from exerting herself, but Damon didn’t act on it. She looked perfectly fine and intimately familiar with her weapon.

Even so, Damon couldn’t help but teleport in front of her. Just as he appeared, she loosed the arrow aimed at Iris... but before it could fly, Damon caught it between his fingers.

"What are you doing, Luna? You shouldn’t be pushing yourself so much..."

The girl didn’t even register what had happened. The instant she heard her brother’s voice, she leapt into his arms before she could even get a good look at his face.

Damon smiled softly at her reaction. He turned his gaze to Iris, who was out of breath.

"If it isn’t my workaholic student... you know, you can take it easy sometimes."

Iris planted her sword into the ground, her irritated expression a flimsy mask hiding the happiness she felt at seeing him.

"If it isn’t my absentee teacher who’s never around... you could take training your apprentice more seriously, you know."

Damon gave her a deadpan look.

"I believe I don’t like your tone, young lady. Is that sass I hear coming from you? It better not be..."

Iris sighed, walking up to him.

"I’d never... it’s just a little bit of honesty."

Luna nodded in agreement.

"She’s right, you know."

Damon clicked his tongue and pinched both their cheeks until they turned red.

"I was busy doing important things. You kids won’t understand the adult world."

Luna glanced at Iris.

"I’ve decided I don’t like his condescending attitude."

Iris nodded. They both turned to Lilith for her opinion, but she didn’t give them the reaction they expected. Something had clearly darkened her mood.

Seeing her expression, the girls turned their gaze toward the obvious culprit.

"What did you do?"

Damon narrowed his eyes. They had said that together, in perfect unison. Why did they assume he was the bad guy? Sure, he was the reason she was upset, but he hadn’t wanted that.

"I’m not even going to ask why you two thought I did it..."

Luna gave Iris a knowing look, speaking as someone who had known Damon her whole life.

"Yeah, he’s lying. I can’t explain how, but I just know. I’m his sister—he lies to me a lot."

Lilith shook her head.

"He doesn’t even spare his sister."

Iris looked Damon up and down like he was a criminal who had committed some unforgivable wrong.

"All right, come clean. What did you do? You can’t sink any lower in our eyes."

Damon was at a loss.

"What the hell, that’s not fair. I didn’t do anything..."

Luna shook her head with disappointment.

"It’s fine. I still love you even the way you are."

She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That’s why I’ll fix you."

Damon took a cautious step back.

"Why did you say that with such a serious expression? Hey girl, you’re scaring me."

Iris’s hands ignited in flames.

"Are you going to talk or not? What did you do?"

Lilith sighed in the background, playing the helpless victim.

Damon kept signaling for her to help, but she merely smiled, knowing she had the firm support of these two teenage girls.

Luna sniffed him and shook her head.

"Big brother... how could you...?"

Damon whispered awkwardly.

"How could I what...?"

Luna raised her bow, gripping it tightly.

"How could you come back smelling like another woman?"

She glared at Damon.

"Our mother raised us better than this."

Lilith muffled her laughter, watching Damon get cornered.

"Wait... I can explain..."

"Save it, Damon. It’s my job to preserve my future sister-in-law’s happiness."

"...."

Damon was left speechless. Why was Luna deciding his future? He never said he would marry Lilith Astranova.