Chapter 532 - 530: Cannot Afford This Disgrace

Chapter 532: Chapter 530: Cannot Afford This Disgrace

Looking back on all they had been through, she saw those trials as stepping stones on her path to power—a necessary journey for her family to thrive.

The smile on her daughter’s face was the best proof of it all.

Celeste Grant’s lips curved into a small smile.

Just then, her daughter looked over and asked in her sweet, childish voice, "Mama, when is my brother coming to see me? Ellie misses him. Other children have their brothers with them, but mine is never here."

Looking at her daughter’s chubby little face, Celeste Grant smiled and said, "Your brother is still in the Lower Realm. You’ll see him when he ascends to the Upper Realm."

"Okay!" Little Elise Sinclair clapped her hands. "I’ll wait for him! When he gets here, I want my brother to take me to hunt Demonic Beasts, and I want him to give me a big hug."

Hearing this, Javier Sinclair looked at his daughter lovingly. "Alright. When the time comes, we’ll have your brother take you to hunt Demonic Beasts and give you a hug."

’His son, who was always thinking about the little sister he’d yet to even hold... He was probably tearing his hair out in frustration somewhere right now!’

Celeste Grant’s gaze fell on Nerida and the others. "Oh, that reminds me. Nerida, where would you all like to live? There are tens of thousands of manors and grand halls outside of Ashkaron Palace. You can pick any place you like. Also, the Demonic Domain is vast, and we still have several thousand vacant territories. You can choose one to establish as your family’s base."

Hearing this, Nerida spoke up. "My Lady, I don’t think that’s appropriate. We’ve only just arrived and have made no contributions to the Demonic Domain. We can’t just accept estates and territory right away."

Javier Sinclair raised a hand to stop her.

He glanced at Nerida and said, "Say no more. I can afford it. Nerida, as my Left Protector, you represent my reputation. If you were as poor as a church mouse, word would get out and damage the prestige of the Demonic Domain. I can’t afford to lose face like that."

Nerida’s mouth twitched. She wasn’t moved in the slightest. In fact, she suddenly had the urge to smack him over the head with a hammer.

’Great. The Exalted One is still the same old Exalted One.’

At that moment, she suddenly felt that even though she had come to the Upper Realm, nothing seemed to have changed. The Exalted One was still the same Exalted One, and My Lady was still the same My Lady. It was just that the Bloodfiend Den had become the current Demonic Domain, and their domain was now far vaster and more prosperous than before.

Celeste Grant chuckled. "Our Demonic Domain is vast and prosperous. This is what you deserve as a core member of our leadership."

"In that case, Exalted One, My Lady, I won’t stand on ceremony." Nerida placed a hand over her heart. "I swear my undying loyalty to My Lady... oh, and to The Exalted One."

"Nerida, that ’oh’ of yours is quite suspect," Javier Sinclair said with a dry chuckle. "So I’m just the afterthought, am I?"

Just as he spoke, a few people approached the pavilion from a short distance away. It was Elder Sawyer and his family.

"Nerida."

The voice was Hannah Sawyer’s.

She stood not far away, her face a picture of delighted surprise. She ran straight over, exclaiming, "Nerida, it’s really you! Where did you run off to? Why did it take you so long to get here?"

Celeste Grant, sitting in the pavilion, turned toward the voice. It was Elder Sawyer’s family: the elder himself, his sister, and Yvonne Sawyer with her husband. Their family had a very distinct look, so Celeste could recognize them even from afar. To be more precise, it was Elder Sawyer’s long, white hair that was particularly conspicuous.

Elder Sawyer and his family stood outside the pavilion, first bowing to Javier Sinclair and Celeste Grant in greeting.

"Greetings, Exalted One. Greetings, My Lady."

Celeste Grant glanced at them and quickly gestured for them to join.

"Elder Sawyer, you’ve arrived. Please, come and sit."

In truth, there wasn’t enough room. Only Elder Sawyer and his sister were able to take a seat, as the pavilion only had six stone stools. Yvonne Sawyer and her husband stood behind them.

After sitting down, Elder Sawyer’s gaze fell on Nerida. "Nerida, you ascended before us. Where have you been? We were all very worried about you, especially My Lady. When she learned you’d arrived in the Upper Realm before us, she was worried you might have had an accident."

Hannah Sawyer nodded. "That’s right, where have you been? We sent out many disciples to find you, but there was no news at all."

As they spoke, their gazes landed in unison on Aeron, who was seated beside her.

Hannah Sawyer subconsciously asked, "And this is?"

’Finally, the million-dollar question,’ Celeste Grant thought. She glanced at them, unable to resist saying, "Why don’t you guess? Go on, give it a good, proper guess."

Elder Sawyer didn’t overthink it. He glanced at Nerida, then at the male cultivator beside her. The thought of them being Taoist Companions never crossed his mind. Instead, he asked, "Nerida, is this your friend?"

The words had barely left his mouth when his sister, Hannah Sawyer, gave him a gentle nudge. She shot her brother a look that clearly said, ’What kind of nonsense are you spouting?’

’A friend? Do they look like "friends"? They’re obviously all lovey-dovey and affectionate.’

With that thought, Hannah Sawyer spoke up. "Brother, have you no sense at all? Open your eyes a little wider. Look again. Take a good, hard look."

She gestured toward Nerida, then at the male cultivator beside her. "Does their relationship look like ’just friends’ to you? Would ordinary friends look at each other with such warmth in their eyes, so affectionately? I could tell the moment I arrived that there was something special between them."

’Nerida and this handsome man are obviously a couple. She’d bet her life something was going on between them.’

As Hannah Sawyer finished speaking, her brother really did look Nerida and Aeron over again. He stroked the long hair at his side, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two.

Elder Sawyer said with a perfectly straight face, "Are you sworn siblings, then?" It was no wonder he would think that. This was Nerida, after all, the Left Protector of the Demonic Sects. In her world, men only got in the way of her hauling corpses and slowed down her Cultivation. That’s why the idea of romance had never even entered his mind.

Nerida’s mouth twitched, while Aeron simply smiled faintly. ’My wife’s family is quite amusing,’ he thought.

Celeste Grant and Javier Sinclair looked at him in unison, both wearing expressions that screamed, ’No wonder you’re single.’

Hannah Sawyer couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him.

’No wonder my brother is still single,’ she thought. ’There’s a very good reason for it.’ She couldn’t stop herself from retorting, "Brother, are you blind? Can’t you see there’s something going on between them?" As she spoke, she made a little gesture, pressing her two index fingers together.

"Their relationship is *like this*..." she insisted. "Brother, it’s obvious they’re already together. They’re a pair. A couple. You know, a *couple*."

’Together?’

’Who’s together with whom?’

’Wait...’

Elder Sawyer glanced at Nerida, then at the man beside her who was holding little Elise Sinclair. As the realization dawned on him, he froze for a second before pointing at the two of them.

"You two are together?"