Astrid was excited to show the castle to Damian, who was starting to feel at home there. Well, at least he did not have a sense of danger after hearing what Vanessa said to him.
"Will they come to contact me about The Dawn? They will never suspect I am the owner of this organization, so I should be fine."
What Damian wanted at that moment was the enchanted ring to protect him from Astrid's divination power. He was okay with them knowing he was part of The Dawn — they already knew that by that point — but they could not know he was the person in charge of the organization.
How long would it take for the ring to get to him was still a mystery, but Damian believed they would not try to use Astrid's power if he behaved? Also, a powerful ability like that one must need some preparations to work.
"This is the garden area, and that's our hot pools! They are extremely good this time of year as it is getting cold," Astrid said.
"What about that building?" Damian pointed toward a small stone structure.
"That's where we bury the dead."
Astrid was visibly shaken again, and judging by the way she talked, that was not a lie, but not the truth either. Damian, of course, just ignored the fact and acted as if everything was okay.
"I see. And that building over there must be where you do your training, no?" Damian said, quickly changing the subject to make her think he forgot about the last question.
"Right. Do you want to come see me train tomorrow?" Astrid asked.
"Sure."
The sun was already fleeing the scene, and a full-moon took over the sky. Astrid often trained during the morning times, and the study and reading part happened in the afternoon.
They walked around the courtyard, seeing the flowers for a while, until it was time for the two to go into the dining hall to meet with the others.
There were plenty of servants there, placing all kinds of foods above an immense table that had enough seats for around 30 people, yet the number present that night was much lower.
Damian knew two of the people there: Neil and Joffrey. There were two others, a man and a woman, and he guessed those two were Joffrey's and Astrid's parents.
The man had a thin frame, but just by looking at him Damian knew it was not someone he should mess with. He had an aura that reminded him of Darius.
Beside the thin frame, what caught the attention was how young the man looked despite having two children between 18 and 19, respectively, and also the black-hair, different from his kids and wife, who were blonde.
Neil was so old his hair had lost color, so Damian did not know what was its natural color, but presumably it was black.
"So you are Damian? Nice to meet you. I am Glen, and this is my wife Judy. Please, sit, feel yourself at home!" Glen said, pointing to one chair at the dining table.
Damian waited for Astrid to move first — she was their daughter and was at her castle — and after that, he followed her, sitting beside Astrid.
Joffrey kept gazing at the two being so tight together, not knowing if that was a good thing or not, but said nothing as his grandpa was already pissed at him, and he did not want to make his father too.
"Are you enjoying the castle? The peace here is something I cannot live without," Glen said.
After sitting on a comfy chair with a red-colored stuffed, Damian grabbed himself a bowl with a soup which clearly only had expensive ingredients, gazing toward Glen, "this place is incredible. I am also a person who enjoys quiet places. Do you hunt around here?"
Damian believed that was something a rich person in a castle at the middle of nowhere would do, and sure thing, it sparkled Glen, who said, "yes, I do hunting, mainly against creatures from the dungeon to keep the safety of our territory, but I also enjoy fishing as well. We can go together tomorrow."
The way Glen spoke about it was pure excitement, and he did not ask Damian if he wanted to go, but basically said he WOULD go.
"That would be outstanding," Damian said as he ate his soup.
Astrid was all smiles. She was happy that her father was being friendly with Damian, as it was a rare thing coming from him.
"So I heard the principal of Orton's Superhuman School is after you," Glen said.
Damian who was smiling and chatting went silent, not quite understanding what was the meaning behind Glen's words.
"Damian. I don't judge you, and honestly, I feel like that principal is an idiot. The thing is, the organization you are part of is new, and I, and everyone else here, want to help you grow."
"Why? I don't see why would you do that without getting nothing in return," Damian said.
He was not stupid to think there was such a thing as a free lunch.
"You are right. We only want you to get stronger and help me find my lost son. Of course, if you want to help me out with other things that's up to you,"
"You see Damian, I trust my daughter, and I trust her abilities. She saw you as an important figure that would shake the world in the future, and I would be fool to not help you," Glen said.
Everything he talked about made sense, and Damian did not sense any particular movement, meaning Glen was telling the truth, or was a pretty good liar.
"What do you say?"
Damian did not know how to answer so he said, "can I spend some days here and get to know all of you better? Then I will have an answer."
"Of course! It would be strange to accept the help without knowing us first. Now, let's eat."
They ate dinner and chatted about many things until it was finally time for Damian to go to his room. Once there, he had more important things than just sleeping.
"Let me see what you are hiding in that building over the courtyard."
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