Chapter 93: Fated Telepathy

And just as Raphael had expected, Leon stood outside the door with his eyes narrowed sharply, his expression making it clear that he had no intention of leaving without getting what he came for. Standing behind him were Darian and Reeta, both looking far less patient than usual.

"Where is she?" Leon demanded.

Raphael leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms as he looked at the three uninvited guests. "Who?"

"Stop playing around, Raphael."

"I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific, Number Three. There are plenty of women in this world, and I’m a very popular man."

Leon stared at him coldly. "Do you want me to break down your door?"

"Now, now, violence isn’t the answer." Raphael clicked his tongue, looking genuinely disappointed. "Especially when you haven’t even brought a housewarming gift."

Darian rubbed his forehead behind Leon. "Can we please get this over with? I don’t have the patience to watch you two argue like children."

"Then go home," Raphael replied without looking at him.

"Gladly, once we find Lumi, Young Master Valen."

Raphael’s smile faltered for the briefest moment before he glanced past Leon at the corridor behind them, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You didn’t bring anyone else, did you?"

Leon sighed, already anticipating the reason behind the question. He glanced around the corridor once more before answering, "No. We’re the only ones here, and I made sure no one followed us."

Only then did Raphael’s expression relax.

"Good." Raphael leaned against the doorframe, letting out a quiet breath. "The last thing we need is someone leading our lovely guests straight to my doorstep."

"Do you think I’m stupid enough to let someone follow us here?" Leon asked flatly.

Raphael tilted his head. "Considering your usual expression, I sometimes wonder whether you think at all."

"Raphael." Reeta’s expression was already contorted with irritation.

"Alright, alright. Don’t look at me like that. You’ll scare away my neighbors."

"I’m going to scare you first if you don’t stop talking," Reeta muttered, brushing past him.

Raphael chuckled and stepped aside to let them in, closing the door securely behind them before following them toward the living room.

"Ah! Thank God!" The moment Reeta spotted Lumi and Celestine standing beside the dining table, waiting to see who had arrived, she hurried toward them, her face finally relaxing with relief.

"Lumi, are you alright?" she asked, gently taking Lumi’s hands and looking her over. "Those Pei people haven’t done anything to you, have they?"

Lumi blinked at the sudden concern before shaking her head. "I’m fine, Reeta. Really."

"Goodness, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Reeta exhaled before pulling Lumi into a brief hug. "Do you have any idea how worried we were when we found out you had disappeared?"

Lumi stiffened for a moment, surprised by the embrace, before slowly returning it. "I’m sorry..."

"Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong." Reeta pulled back and cupped Lumi’s cheeks, examining her face with exaggerated concern. "Ah, this cutie pie’s cheeks have sunken! Have you even been eating properly?"

Lumi’s cheeks puffed slightly under Reeta’s hands as she tried to answer, but before she could, Reeta let out another dramatic sigh.

"When that rabbit finally wakes up, he’ll definitely scold us for not taking proper care of his mate!"

The moment Lumi heard the word rabbit, her expression changed.

Her smile faded, and her gaze lowered to the table. Hearing Reeta mention Evan only reminded her of how much she missed him. She missed his voice, his reassuring presence, and even the way he would look at her with those usually cold eyes that somehow softened whenever he saw her.

Reeta noticed the sudden change and immediately panicked.

"Ah? Did I say something wrong?" She hurriedly released Lumi’s cheeks, looking between her and Celestine. "Wait, why do you look so sad? Did I accidentally hit a sore spot?"

Lumi shook her head quickly. "No, it’s not that..."

"Then what is it?" Reeta asked gently, her earlier playfulness replaced by concern.

Lumi hesitated before glancing at Leon. "I was just thinking about Evan... and everything that happened. I keep wondering when he’ll wake up."

Reeta’s expression softened.

"Oh, Lumi..." She reached out and gave Lumi’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Listen, that rabbit is far too stubborn to leave you waiting forever. He still owes you a proper explanation for making you worry this much, doesn’t he?"

Lumi lowered her eyes, managing a small, reluctant smile. "He does..."

"Exactly!" Reeta declared, nodding firmly. "So you just wait until he wakes up, alright? I’m sure that stubborn rabbit will be looking for you the moment he opens his eyes."

Lumi’s eyes brightened a little, though the longing in them remained. "Do you really think so?"

"Of course!" Reeta squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Now, I can’t promise he’ll wake up tomorrow, but I can promise that we’ll do everything we can to help you see him again."

Lumi nodded quietly, holding on to that hope. She missed Evan terribly, and all she wanted was to be by his side when he finally woke up.

"Wait... I suddenly recalled something..." Reeta turned toward Celestine. "I heard you’re the top student in your batch."

"W-What?" Raphael immediately pulled Celestine closer to his side, eyeing Reeta warily. "Don’t tell me you’re planning to scold my fiancée!"

"Fiancée?" Lumi repeated, blinking in surprise.

A second later, she let out a quiet chuckle. "You two really move fast..."

Her words were barely more than a mumble, but unfortunately, everyone heard them.

Raphael’s head whipped toward her.

"Oh? The ugly duckling knows how to tease people now?" He grinned mischievously. "Look at you, Lumi! Spending too much time with Number One must be rubbing off on you."

Lumi’s cheeks turned pink. "I-I wasn’t teasing!"

"Of course you were! And here I thought you were an innocent little duckling."

"Raphael..." Celestine immediately stopped him before turning back to Reeta. "Miss Bellamy, what is it? Is there anything I can help with?"

Reeta raised one finger. "Telepathy. Fated telepathy."

Celestine blinked. "What about it?"

"Have you ever tried communicating with Raphael through telepathy after the two of you successfully established your first Guiding connection?"

Celestine paused, seemingly caught off guard by the question. "No. I haven’t tried that before."

"Not even once?"

"No." She shook her head. "Our first connection happened when he was in Rampage. I entered his mental space to reach him, but after we returned to reality, I didn’t think to test whether we could communicate that way without entering each other’s mental space."

"Hmm..." Reeta tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"We did it once, if I remember correctly," Leon suddenly interrupted the conversation.

Reeta turned to him, looking surprised. "We did? But telepathy is supposed to happen between Fated partners who have feelings for each other."

The moment her words landed, Leon’s expression changed.

The room fell silent.

’Fated partners who have feelings for each other.’