Chapter 856: Chapter 857: High And Gone Evangeline sighed, feeling a headache coming on. Between her and Damon, she was technically a few months older, so she was the older one. If they had grown up together, she would probably have been put in the position where she had to be the example. Their grandfather would probably say something along the lines of keep Damon out of trouble. Though it wasn’t a matter of keeping Damon out of trouble. Damon was the trouble. ’The goddess probably had mercy on me,’ she thought despairingly as she looked at his face. He was such a temperamental guy. One moment he was cold and pragmatic, the next he was chaotic and playful. She didn’t know which one she liked best, but she was certain it was some sort of mental defense he’d picked up to fit in with people. Initially, he had been a very cold and paranoid person. He still was, but now he was almost playful when he did things that could only be called twisted. ’Well, at least he’s happy... or at least doing a good job of pretending to be.’ She didn’t think Damon was ever truly happy, and if he was... not for long. His happiness was short and brief. He crossed his arms with a glare. "Wow... aren’t you ashamed of yourself? A ventilated room... in a desert... while the rest of us were scraping by trying to stay alive, you were here living like a king," Damon sneered mockingly. Xander didn’t even pay him any mind as he glanced at the woman by his side. "Right. Evangeline, Leona, I’m sure you’re both familiar with Lady Highgon." He gestured to the lady beside him—a beautiful woman Damon knew all too well. The student council president of the Capital’s famous Royal Academy, which, while still not on the level of Aether Academy, was very competitive. She nodded in greeting. "It’s a pleasure to see you again, Lady Brightwater and Lady Val—" "Just Leona is fine," Leona cut her off, though she wasn’t trying to be rude. Evangeline nodded in agreement. "You can call me by my first name as well. There’s no need for formalities here." She nodded, turning to Damon. "Then you may call me by my name as well. It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Damon." Damon picked up his glass, finding an opportunity. "No gonna call me Lord Grey because I’m a commoner, aye..." Evangeline really wanted to smack him. Didn’t they all just agree to use first names? "My apologies. I mean no disrespect to the Damon Grey, slayer of demons, prodigy of Aether, the Ascendant himself." Damon cleared his throat. Ah, he just remembered why he liked Lady Highgon, she knew how to butter a guy up. He glanced at Xander. "See this, Xander? You can learn some manners from a real noblewoman." He cleared his throat. "This is why I always advocate for peaceful relationships between our two academies." Emilia’s face hardened as she tried to understand why anyone would be this shameless. "...You’ve beaten up more of our students than any Aether Academy student," she added coolly. Damon nodded. "Ahhh, what fond memories. I’ve always been a man of the people, that’s why they love me." "You broke their bones, sir," she added with a grimace. "They became better men thanks to my training. But enough of my contributions to your institution..." Evangeline had never felt happier that her relationship with him was still secret. This way, she wouldn’t feel too embarrassed. Xander sighed, closing his eyes. "Anyway... enough of that. For one, I’m glad you’re alive. Most of you girls... Damon is a cockroach. I figured he’d crawl out eventually." Evangeline and Leona smiled. "Yeah, happy to see you too. I didn’t realize you were the head of this mercenary group. Then again, I had my own troubles. It couldn’t have been easy for the Black Tower to allow an outsider to create their own mercenary force." Xander sighed again. "Yes, it was not easy. We’re still under a lot of scrutiny. However, it was easy to find a way past these brands. This magic is ancient and, by our standards, outdated. Not to mention, anyone with a basic understanding of runes can remove it—though I kept mine for the purpose of blending in." Damon glanced at Emilia, then back at Xander. "So how long have you two been engaged?" He asked, looking at the rings on their fingers. It was an out-of-pocket question, and Damon didn’t have the patience to wait for a better time. Honestly, as far as he remembered, Xander had always had a crush on Evangeline. Personally, Damon never really understood the concept of having a crush or even falling in love. While he was surrounded by beautiful women, he wasn’t really in any relationships. Yet Xander beat him to it. Xander looked at Damon. There was a darkness in his blue eyes that Damon recognized all too well, and his answer made Damon’s heart sink. "My family’s heir is dead. As you can see, as the current male heir, I must carry on my family’s bloodline. And so, to that end... I was the one who proposed to Lady Highgon." Damon’s eyes turned cold. He really wanted to say something, but he couldn’t. Xander was still young, seventeen. While it wasn’t unusual for a seventeen-year-old to marry and have children in this world, Xander’s reason for doing so was quite twisted. And it was also because of Damon. The two of them had a secret agreement. In order to help Xander get revenge for his brother, who was killed by Amon, Xander would give Damon his firstborn child for a period until the child reached adulthood. Damon had initially asked for this because he was hoping Xander would refuse and give up his pointless quest for revenge. But he had actually agreed. Naturally, this cruel joke had a punchline, and the punchline was that Amon, the man who killed Xander’s brother, was actually Damon himself, who had wanted revenge for his parents’ deaths at the hands of Xander’s brother. Underneath the currents, it was all just so simple. "Congratulations," Evangeline and Leona said together. Wendy was quiet, but she seemed to smile at the idea of more children being born. Damon scoffed. "I see... here I thought you’d be hung up on our Eva forever." Someone had to ruin the mood, and he decided to be that someone. Emilia raised her brows, looking at Evangeline, who frowned. Xander didn’t say anything. Evangeline sighed, took a deep breath, then—with all her strength—tossed Damon out the window. "Asshole." she muttered. Xander scoffed, then burst out laughing, clearing the awkward air.