When Cassian entered the Sterling residence alongside Elena and Seraphine, they were greeted by the Duke and Duchess.
Both looked at the man accompanying their daughter and Sylvia's disciple with confusion. However, since they didn't know much about the situation, they chose not to question it. Even though his youthful and slightly unkempt appearance made them doubtful, they trusted Elena.
"This is...?"
"Cassian," he replied, pausing briefly before continuing. "Varkas. I'm a friend of Seraphine's and an acquaintance of Elena's. I'm close to Sylvia as well. I have some knowledge that might help her wake up."
The Duchess repeated the surname with uncertainty on her face.
"Varkas?"
The Duke merely nodded and gestured toward the room where Sylvia was resting, unwilling to waste time.
When the door opened, Julius was inside, sweat pouring from his entire body as he sat before the woman with closed eyes.
"Julius! What are you doing?" his father's loud and angry voice rang out.
But the young man remained focused, ignoring the call.
Seraphine and Elena looked toward Cassian as if expecting him to do something. Yet he looked at Sylvia and Julius indifferently, though he did walk over to them.
Once he stood before the two, without disturbing Julius, he simply remained there.
The Duchess wanted to say something, whether to stop her son or to have this person brought by the two women she trusted take action.
But before she could voice her dissatisfaction, Sylvia's eyes opened and Julius collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion.
"Grandmother..."
The whispers of the two young people sounded at the same time, one exhausted and the other filled with concern.
"Sylvia."
Cassian's flat voice sounded as well.
The woman who had just awakened frowned.
"Cassian?" she murmured hoarsely.
"Did I win?" she asked uncertainly. "I did it, didn't I?"
"Mmm."
Cassian gave a slight nod, causing a gentle smile to appear on the woman's delicate face, followed by laughter that echoed strongly throughout the room.
Cassian raised an eyebrow.
"You almost died..." he muttered.
She looked at him with a playful smile, raised an eyebrow to match his, and replied:
"Really? Something tells me you're lying."
The familiar conversation between the two earned several confused looks, though concern quickly broke through for some of the people present.
"Grandmother, are you alright?" Seraphine asked.
"Sylvia, it's good to see you're awake. I truly have to thank you," the Duke added.
The woman shook her head and merely smiled. Then she noticed Julius lying on the floor looking rather pitiful and gave Cassian a look as if expecting an explanation.
"The medicine I left with Fengy..." He stopped himself. "Seraphine needed to adapt to the energy system you use. I thought it would be easy to realize, but it seems it caused a few complications..."
Laughter rang out again.
The woman was treating lightly, a situation that, had it gone wrong, would have been fatal.
Cassian took Sylvia's hand and examined her condition properly, just to make sure.
"Mmm, she should be fine now... Julius did a good job."
Sylvia narrowed her eyes.
"I'm sure that worked out nicely for you, lazy man..."
This time, Cassian was the one who laughed, though it was brief and almost imperceptible.
"Don't you think I've worked very hard these past few days?" he asked quietly, playing along.
"What have you done? I've only seen your subordinates working."
"Hmmm, perhaps you're right. Either way, now that you're fine, I was thinking of visiting Selyne today."
Sylvia's smile widened and she tried to get out of bed, but he stopped her.
"You should rest. Something tells me it's better if you don't come with me to see her."
She frowned, confused for a moment.
"Isn't she going to break through the Third Limit?"
He avoided her gaze slightly.
"I suppose so..." he answered uncertainly.
Sylvia tried to force him to look directly at her, but when she failed, she sighed.
"Looks like someone's going to have a good time."
Cassian rolled his eyes.
"It's not like that..." he muttered defensively.
Sylvia gave him a shameless look that implied something entirely different, earning a reaction from Professor Elena, who had been listening to the conversation attentively and whose face was becoming redder by the second.
"Aren't you forgetting you're not alone?" she complained, anger evident in her tone.
Everyone in the room had gone stiff.
Julius was in disbelief at how close Cassian was with his "grandmother." Seraphine had already harbored suspicions, but having them half-confirmed did nothing to lessen her surprise.
Fengyue was giving Seraphine looks that clearly said, "I told you so," or "That's exactly what I'd expect from that man."
Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess were the most lost of all.
"Selyne...?" one of them whispered.
"Third Limit...?" whispered the other.
"That can't be..." they both muttered together.
Cassian's voice sounded once more.
"The coronation is in two days."
Sylvia looked at him and immediately understood.
"I should be better by then."
Then she looked at the two Dukes.
"And I'll make sure we're all there."
Cassian nodded, gave her one last uncertain glance, and headed for the door, leaving the Sterling residence.
As he passed Fengyue, he whispered before departing:
"I thought you were better than this."
Fengyue exploded the moment she heard the mockery.
She forced Seraphine to move aside and threw a furious punch toward Cassian's face.
But Cassian had already disappeared, leaving behind only a brief farewell to everyone present.
He left an awkward atmosphere in the room.
Two older people completely stunned.
Two young people, each occupied by their own thoughts.
A legendary cultivator with nowhere to vent her anger.
An old man hiding deep within Julius's mind, unwilling to show himself but sighing in relief as he watched that figure leave.
And a woman lying in bed who seemed to be enjoying all of it immensely.
Cassian sighed as he left the place.
He didn't want to stay any longer when so many people were looking at him with completely different thoughts in mind.
Sylvia is fine. She was obviously going to be.
Now then, since this ended so quickly, I should probably go see that Astaford woman.
A hint of amusement appeared on his face as he remembered their last interaction.
Though he knew the reason she had contacted him was for something else...
Wasn't it?
"Third Limit for someone who cultivates aura..."
Cassian let out a weary sigh.
He had a few options in mind and had already considered some of them for Elizabeth, but that didn't mean the same solutions would work for Selyne Astaford.
"I guess we'll just have to see," he muttered to himself, his lips curving into a faint, expectant smile as he headed toward the Astaford house.