While Lucas had gone out to cool himself, Alice was left dumbstruck with many emotions swirling in her head.
It was true that she wanted to kiss her brother, but she had never thought that he would be the one to take the initiative. Moreover, she had never considered Lucas to have such feelings towards her.
The sudden expression of his passion by giving a kiss and the consequent confession was a double blow to her psyche.
On the one hand, she was astounded at the sudden development. On the other hand, she was very happy to be the recipient of his passion and love. And after remembering that the cause of the chain of events was her aggressive marking on Lucas's neck, she became very bashful.
She played back the memorable passage of events in her head, from her biting the neck to her first kiss. In those events, she also remembered the feeling of something hard and hot pressing onto her. And Lucas's eyes that were full of desire but were later suppressed by him.
After a few moments, she understood what the hard thing was, and her face became so hot that there was a high chance of steam coming out of her head. She grabbed a pillow and started rolling on the bed in bashfulness, all the while remembering the happy moment shared with Lucas.
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I was sitting on the edge of pavilion while dipping my feet in the pond.
The small fish were moving around them and nibbling on the skin of my feet. It was a soothing experience, and all my chaotic thoughts dissipated. I immensely enjoyed my first romantic experience with Alice and was quite happy with how it played out.
Also, during that time, I found something new related to my newfound ability, which I have candidly named 'Color Feel'.
When my emotions were high after the kiss, subconsciously, I had used the ability. I saw the colour composition of Alice, and it was similar to the last time, with a slight difference. This time, the repulsive dark colour that I felt earlier at her core was not stable.
The space it covered had shrunk a little, and the repulsive feeling I felt as a whole from Alice's colour composition had also decreased. But this dark colour was fighting against an opposing force and trying to increase the space under it.
I couldn't understand the cause and effect of this change, and the only thing I could think of was the slight change in the relationship between me and Alice.
As I wanted to understand my ability properly and take my relationship with Alice at a slow and steady pace, I decided to leave her alone and do some of my own thinking.
After calming my emotions down, I spent a little more time in the pavilion in meditation before leaving for the duke's room. I wanted to know in detail about the changes in his meridians after absorbing the essence of the Tetraspine plant.
I went upstairs to the duke's chambers. The guards informed him of my arrival, and he asked me to enter the room.
There was no one else inside the room except the old duke. He had left his bed and was sitting on a rocking chair. He had his eyes closed while gently swaying.
After I came near him, he opened his eyes and looked at me. He pointed at a chair nearby and said.
"Please sit."
After I took a seat, he stood up from his chair and bowed at me.
"I haven't said anything before, but I am quite thankful for your help in finding the herbs for my treatment and keeping my granddaughters safe in their troubled times."
Seeing the gramps bow didn't sit right with me. I, too, stood up and lifted him up.
"What you're doing, grandpa… You are the grandfather of Elfie and Seline, and they are good friends with us siblings. So, there is no need for bowing in gratitude. The banquet that you are arranging for is sufficient for saying thanks."
He acquiesced with my words and sat back on his rocking chair. I also took my seat, and we chatted about leisurely topics first.
He asked me about the various anecdotes of his granddaughters' lives when we were in the sect. I answered his questions happily, to which he smiled happily, knowing that the Luna sisters had fun in their time outside.
After going over these happy topics, I breached the topic of grave importance. I didn't want to know about their family matters and thus only asked about the effect of the Tetraspine Plants on his damaged meridians.
He told me that his damaged meridians were healed completely, but still, he won't be able to cultivate properly for many decades.
The plant healed the meridians but made them quite flimsy and fragile, more fragile than the meridians present in a newborn baby. He could not actively absorb the energy from the atmosphere. Only through the natural absorption, which generally takes a much longer time, could he fill his energy reservoirs.
He also said that no other medicine or herb he knew of could cure this state of his meridians. And only through the natural process would the meridians regain their strength.
The news was shocking to me. His words proved that mother's injuries could be healed entirely, but she could not cultivate for many decades.
She already had a short lifespan left, and with the condition of not being able to cultivate for many decades will curb her chances of breaking through into the higher realm and regaining her cultivation along with her lifespan back.
But at least she would have a chance. I decided to take the chance. Perhaps we could find a solution in the form of any herb or technique on the other Stellar Domains to strengthen her then-fragile meridians.
I thanked him for the information, and after a little more chit-chat about the Luna sisters, I left the duke's room.
After leaving the room, I found that Anais was going away from the room, whom I deduced to have walked away after finding that the duke was already preoccupied with me.
I walked a bit faster and caught up with her. Hearing my footsteps, she stopped and turned back in my direction. After coming close to her, I said.
"If you want to talk with the duke, you can go meet him now. I have finished my talk with him."
Anais eyes shook a little. It was the first time I had seen her lose her composure, even a tiny amount. But being quite experienced, she calmed down instantaneously.
"Oh. It is alright. I just wanted to ask the duke about his health, if he was feeling any weakness. And finding that you were conversing with him for quite some time, I got my answer."
After finishing her statement, she started walking back. I matched her steps and walked by her side.
It seemed she had something on her mind. She appeared out of sorts from the morning we met her.
I didn't pry into it and separated from her to read something new in the library. Probably something related to art. If I found it to be good, I could then recommend it to Anais to make her feel relaxed.
I spent the remaining time till the evening in the library. I found a few books regarding the methods of painting and sculpture-making. I read those books and found some insights to improve my shoddy artistic quality.
I only left the library when a servant informed me about the banquet. I left the library to wash up and don a suitable outfit for the occasion. The duke might have invited his close friends to inform them about his well-being. So for the occasion's sake, I chose to wear a new set of clothes.
I entered the room and found it to be empty. Alice might have already finished her preparations and went to meet the Luna sisters.
The clothes I chose to were not like my everyday training clothes. I wore black pants and a shirt, with a white jacket on the top. After changing into a suitable pair of shoes, I left the room for the banquet hall.
The servant guided me inside the banquet hall.
After entering the hall, I found myself to be the last one to enter the hall. As all the chairs around a large dining table, except one, were occupied. There were many new faces in the hall, which were probably the friends of the duke.
I took the remaining seat after nodding at the old duke sitting at the head of the table.
After I took my seat, the duke stood up from his seat and made a sound by clinking his wine glass. He then introduced each and every one present on the table.
After the introductions were over, he gulped down the glass of wine and declared to start the banquet.