Chapter 562 562:- Tree of Blood
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke any words. It was a comfortable silence. "The day after tomorrow, you two are going to return to the Istari Empire, aren't you?" Amelia suddenly asked. "That's what we had planned." Usually, he refrained from drinking but this was one of those moments when he felt like indulging a little bit. "I see." Hearing this Amelia became sad and disappointed again. Amelia was disappointed and sad to know that she was about to become alone again. Previously when Riya left her, Amelia was very lonely. Now without them, she was going to feel very lonely. Amelia did not have any friend circle or anyone with whom she could hang out with. Most of my free time was spent on reading books and cooking. Reading and cooking were the two things that she enjoyed doing the most. Seeing her face, Aditya remained silent for a few seconds before suggesting something that caught Amelia by surprise. "You know you can come and live with us at the Istarin Empire." "What me? That's not possible." Amelia laughed and said. She felt that it was a good suggestion but not possible. How can the mother come and live with her daughter's husband and his family? "Why isn't it possible? Now that you have hired a Prime Minister and new elders, your workload has significantly decreased and this is only going to continue. You will find yourself with more and more free time. If you want you can come and live at the Dragon Palace. That way you can be together with Riya." Hearing the last part of his sentence, Amelia nearly said yes but that was something that was still holding her back. "The people are going to say a ton of things about this." "Why do you even care what the people will say or think about you? Regardless of what you do in life, people are going to make comments about it. Besides, no one would even know other than the people at the Dragon Palace that you're living there. The mouths of everyone who works for me are always sealed through the soul-binding contract. There is nothing for you to worry about. And using the teleportation array, you can come and leave the Dragon Palace whenever you want." "Please let me think about it." Amelia nearly said yes but she felt she shouldn't make such decisions without talking to her daughter first. She didn't want to make such an important decision so suddenly. Going to the Dragon Palace and living there was going to change a lot of things in her life. "Aunty, you seemed to have a lot of admirers throughout the Celestial Terrain empire." Aditya casually said. There was no doubting the fact that after Riya, Amelia was extremely popular in her own Empire. She had a lot of admirers. Elves women idolized her and wished to become just like their empress. While there were many Elven males who had a crush on her. Many of these admirers have even openly expressed their intention to marry their Empress. Even among the nobles, there were many who were like this. Amelia was a little thrown off by the comment. "Oh, those are just court games," she replied, trying to keep the tone light. "Nothing to take seriously."
Aditya's response was casual, but there was a hint of something else in his voice. "I suppose," he said, his gaze lingering on her just a moment too long. "Still, I must admit I don't quite enjoy the thought of others vying for your attention. Silly, isn't it?"
There was a brief silence, filled only by the rustle of leaves in the gentle night breeze. Amelia looked at Aditya, trying to read his expression. "Why would it matter to you?" she asked quietly as her heartbeat increased, the question hanging between them like a soft and fragile thread.
Aditya looked towards the lake. "It shouldn't," he admitted, and there was a small, almost imperceptible shrug of his shoulders. "Let's not dwell on it."
Hearing this Amelia stared at Aditya for a few seconds before remembering that she was going to give something to Aditya. "By the way, there is something that I would like to give you. I have been thinking about giving this to you for a few days now." Aditya had no idea what she was talking about. "Give me your hand." Aditya obeyed her words and opened his palm for her. She mysteriously took out something from her storage ring and hid it in her closed palm. With a smile, she placed the mysterious item on his palm. "This....!" As soon as the item made contact with his skin, Aditya gasped in shock as he stared at the mysterious item in his palm. His eyes widened and for a second his heartbeat also quickened at that moment.
Aditya has been looking for this item for a long time now but he has been unsuccessful in finding it. The mysterious item in Aditya's palm
"This is the seed of the Tree of Blood," Aditya said while staring at the seed on his palm. The seed on his palm was only two inches in length. The seed looked more like a crimson diamond-shaped crystal. But when looking closely at it one could see countless tiny veins inside the crystal. Amelia was surprised and also impressed by the fact that Aditya was able to recognize what it was. People without any knowledge of the Tree of Blood would think that this item was nothing but a very unique diamond-shaped Crimson crystal. "I impressed. I certainly did not expect you to know about the seed of the Tree of Blood. I can assume that you already know about the Tree of Blood and what it can do."
To which Aditya seriously nodded his head. It wasn't that Aditya recognized the seed of the Tree of Blood because of its shape. He recognized it because the system showed him the seed's description which was super helpful to Aditya. In order to upgrade the Dragon Palace to level 2, there were some conditions that Aditya needed to fulfill first. One of those conditions was to find the Seed of the Tree of Blood.
The tree of blood is a very powerful and unique ancient tree. The tree's roots lived by sucking the blood of other living creatures. The more blood of cultivators it sucked, the more stronger it became over time. Aditya carefully put the seed of the Tree of Blood in his storage ring and then gratefully looked at Amelia. "Aunty, I won't say thank you for this gift. But in the future, if you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to ask." Aditya seriously said. He can't express just how grateful he felt. "Silly boy, what are you talking about? This was my way of saying thank you. You have helped me immensely. Without you, things would've been very different. I probably wouldn't be sitting here if not for your help." Aditya just smiled in response. "By the way, I can tell that you really wanted this seed. Is there any particular reason for this?" Amelia curiously asked him. "There is a very important reason but I can't tell you why I want the seed of the Tree of Blood so badly. I hope Aunty will be able to understand." Aditya said in an apologetic tone. "That's alright. Everyone has their secrets." Amelia smiled and understood. Aditya sighed in relief seeing that Amelia had dropped this matter. If she had continued with this matter, then he would have been left with no choice but to lie to her. Amelia felt very refreshed after talking to Aditya. Talking to him has reduced the weight on her heart. Amelia felt that she would be finally able to move forward. Amelia now felt more relaxed.
Amelia looked at the sky and murmured, breaking the silence between them. "There are so many stars out tonight." Her voice was soft, a mere whisper carried away by the gentle wind. She wrapped her arms around herself, though not just from the chill of the night. There was a warmth growing inside her, unfamiliar yet not unwelcome.
Aditya glanced upwards, following her gaze. "Yes," he agreed, his voice low. "Each one shines bright, yet from so far away. Kind of like admiration from a distance, I suppose."
Hearing this she chuckled lightly. "You have a way with words, Aditya," she said with a playful edge in her tone. But her eyes were serious as they met his, reflecting the starlight and something more.
"I speak only what is on my mind, Aunty. Sometimes, it is the distant stars that we wish could come closer to us, isn't it?" Hearing these words, Amelia's heart skipped a beat. She understood the hidden meaning in his words.
Fortunately, Aditya wasn't looking at her otherwise he would see that she looked flustered. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Amelia stood up. "it's getting late, we should head back." Aditya nodded and offered his arm in a gesture of courtesy. "Let me escort you back to the palace then." Amelia took his arm. Both of them walked back to the Palace in silence. ----------------
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