Lyra clung tightly to Evelyn's right leg, standing on her tiptoes. Her right hand carefully held a skewer of berries coated in glistening sugar, wary that the frosting might touch the hem of Evelyn's pristine dress.

  She tilted her little head upward, her big eyes sparkling as they stared straight at Evelyn beneath the veil, full of trust and dependence.

  "Lyra." Evelyn looked down at the little girl holding onto her leg and finally reacted.

  "Evelyn!"

  At that moment, Evelyn felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, followed by a familiar voice from beside her. She turned sharply and saw Ryan holding several bags of snacks, smiling cheerfully at her.

  "Evelyn, what's wrong?" Ryan noticed her expression, his smile fading as genuine concern entered his voice. Yet deep down, he had a faint idea of the reason, she must have thought he had disappeared again.

  "I'm fine." Evelyn quietly looked at Ryan for a few seconds and subtly loosened her clenched hand.

  "Did you think I was going to run off again, so you felt upset?" Ryan asked, tilting his head closer to Evelyn's veil while holding the snack bags.

  "Stay close to me." Evelyn did not answer his question but gave a cold command instead. This time, however, her words carried a completely different meaning.

  Her body almost pressed against Ryan's side as she matched her steps precisely to his pace, her eyes occasionally glancing at him, afraid that if she looked away for even a moment, he might vanish into the crowd again.

  Lyra, like a little shadow, followed beside them. Her small mouth moved continuously as she focused on nibbling the berries on her skewer, oblivious to the subtle tension between the two adults.

  "If you're upset, have something sweet." Ryan said as he walked, rummaging through the snack bags. Soon, he picked out a piece of honey petal cake using a scrap of paper.

  "This honey petal cake is for you. I've tried it myself sweet but not cloying, really delicious."

  "Eat it. I won't run off this time." Ryan held the honey petal cake gently toward Evelyn, his eyes full of anticipation, waiting for her to take it.

  With just a slight lift of the veil, Evelyn could take a small bite, though she usually remained aloof and rarely ate in front of others. Ryan had expected her to refuse as usual, but to his surprise, she did not.

  Evelyn hesitated for a moment, then extended her long, slender right fingers and gently took the honey petal cake from Ryan's hand.

  With her left hand, she carefully lifted the white veil slightly, revealing a small portion of her fair jawline, and then slowly placed the honey petal cake in her mouth.

  This act of taking the snack and eating it on her own subtly confirmed the truth, she really had been upset just moments ago.

  Or maybe she simply wanted to eat that piece of honey petal cake? Ryan, however, did not believe it.

  After a short while, he noticed Evelyn's right hand still empty and extended, and he froze for a moment.

  Could it be that she had swallowed the entire cake in one bite? That honey petal cake was big enough that her cheeks would have puffed up adorably if she had eaten it all at once.

  Ryan was curious and wanted to see what she looked like.

  "Evelyn, can you take off your veil?" Ryan quickened his pace and moved half a step in front of her, stopping to look straight at her.

  His tone carried a hint of anticipation. He genuinely wanted to see her usual goddess-like cold expression softened, her cheeks puffed up cutely after eating the cake.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Evelyn said nothing, standing still under the veil. Ryan guessed she was probably still slowly chewing the cake.

  After a moment, she finally spoke."Return to Glacial Arcana Academy as soon as possible. The Grand Magus relic domain will open shortly."

  Her voice was clear and steady, without the slightest ambiguity from eating. It seemed she had already swallowed the cake completely.

  Hearing this, a wave of disappointment rose in Ryan's heart, but he dared not linger further. He obediently fell back to walk beside Evelyn, snacking on his treats as they moved.

  Along the way, he occasionally picked out some delicate little pastries and offered them to Evelyn, but except for the first piece of honey petal cake, she refused all the rest.

  The three of them continued onward, and before they knew it, they had reached the city center. After some inquiries, they found a large interregional teleportation array in the city.

  This large teleportation array was completely different from the shabby, unstable array at the Northern Border Icefield. The runes on its surface were densely carved, radiating a heavy and ancient aura.

  "How many High-grade Mana Crystals do we need to teleport to Northern Border Icefield?" Ryan asked, stepping forward to the guards stationed beside the array.

  In the magical world, most large teleportation arrays were controlled by specific factions, and using them required paying Mana Crystals as an energy cost.

  "Thirty High-grade Mana Crystals." One of the guards replied.

  Without hesitation, Ryan took thirty High-grade Mana Crystals from his storage pouch and handed them to the guard responsible for registration.

  Guided by the guard, he led Evelyn and Lyra, who was still nibbling on her snack, into the center of the array.

  "We need to teleport as close as possible to Glacial Arcana Academy in Northern Border Icefield. Make sure you don't send us the wrong place!"

  Ryan turned to the guard outside the array and raised his voice to make sure the array operator heard him clearly.

  "Don't worry about it!" A man in a purple robe stepped forward from the guards.

  The emblem of the Array Operator Association was embroidered on his sleeve, showing he was a high-level mage in charge of controlling the array.

  The purple-robed array mage quickly rotated his hands, magic swirling around his fingertips, as he began performing the complex activation sigils on the energy nodes of the teleportation array.

  The purple-robed array mage carefully took eighteen of the High-grade Mana Crystals from the thirty Ryan had handed over.

  A series of crisp, resonant clicks sounded as the eighteen crystals were placed one by one into the eighteen energy slots of the teleportation array.

  The moment the Mana Crystals settled into place, the ancient runes etched on the surface of the array instantly activated, radiating a brilliant golden light.

  A semi-transparent circular crystal barrier slowly rose from the edge of the array, enveloping the three of them and blocking out all external sound.

  With a roaring noise that resembled a fierce wind sweeping past at high speed, the golden runes flared violently.

  In an instant of blinding light, Ryan and the others vanished completely within the teleportation array.

  …

  Inside the void teleportation channel,

  darkness stretched endlessly in every direction, with only faint fluctuations of spatial energy twinkling like tiny fragments of light.

  Lyra looked around at the unfamiliar and oppressive environment. Before her were only two vague humanoid silhouettes. Her small, panicked voice called out,"Dad!"

  She called out several times, but the figure that belonged to Ryan did not respond.

  Fear surged in Lyra's heart. She turned to the other silhouette, her eyes instantly reddening as tears welled up. Her voice trembled as she cried out,"Mom!"

  Even in the pitch-black void, where her vision could not make out features, the graceful and upright posture of the figure hinted at her extraordinary beauty.

  But at this moment, Lyra was overwhelmed with fear.

  "Mom!" She stood helplessly, her voice quivering, tears swirling in her eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.

  Ryan, meanwhile, was absorbed in the sudden mission alert from the Grimoire. Only when he heard Lyra's panicked cries did he snap back to reality.

  Her fearful shouting continued, tightening his chest. He quickly crouched down and reached out into the darkness, trying to hold her. He remembered that Lyra had been standing between him and Evelyn just moments ago.

  Found her! Ryan's hand soon touched Lyra's icy, gauzy clothing.

  The fabric felt unusual, like it had been woven from countless tiny dragon scales, with a delicate, matte texture.

  But the moment his fingers made contact with her, something felt wrong—the texture abruptly vanished.

  Ryan's heart skipped a beat as he saw Lyra's form suddenly disappear before his eyes, drifting upward along the channel.

  "Lyra!" Ryan shouted in alarm, looking up sharply. A slender, shadow-like figure appeared in front of him.

  It was Evelyn! Yet Ryan sensed something was off. His hands were empty.

  "Lyra!" he called, blindly reaching through the darkness, panic written all over his face as if he had truly lost her.

  "Evelyn, Lyra is gone!"

  Lyra, however, was safely cradled in Evelyn's arms. Feeling the familiar warmth, much of her fear faded.

  Seeing Ryan's frantic expression, she let out a small, soft call, her tone far calmer than before.

  "Lyra, where are you?" Ryan followed the sound of her voice and lunged forward.

  His hands did not grasp Lyra's soft little body. Instead, he touched a surface that was delicate and smooth, accompanied by a familiar, gentle fragrance.