When the Rune Master came to bless the house and ward off disaster, he said this child possessed a once-in-a-millennium talent for talismans.
Such a genius is hard to raise—they suggested giving her a humble, even "cheap" name that everyone would use, to help dissolve the disasters tied to her fate.
So, they named her: Lily Bai—Little Fish.
When her little brother was born, they named him Bobby Bai—Little Shrimp.
Little Fish and Little Shrimp—turns out those names worked pretty well. In this tangled and dangerous palace, right at the heart of power in the Eastern Luo Empire, the siblings have somehow stayed safe and sound, still alive to this day.
So, Empress Clarissa really meant no harm...
......
After all that chaos, Marcus was busy settling things, leaving just Bobby Bai and Damian Black in the room.
Bobby Bai had the same big, bright eyes as Lily Bai.
He blinked those eyes at Damian, then walked over, tugged Damian’s sleeve, and asked, “What kind of Spirit Beast are you?”
Damian looked at him and said nothing.
"Aren't you scared of her?"
"Scared of who?"
"My sister!" Bobby said. "Every Spirit Beast that's ever formed a contract with her was scared out of their wits! They couldn't even stand up straight—like she was some kind of natural disaster."
That’s because her soul is fused with his Heartscale.
A dragon’s Heartscale.
Spirit Beasts, compared to humans, can sense the pressure of the Divine Race much more directly.
So, it’s perfectly normal for them to be afraid.
Damian just shook his head calmly and said, "I'm not afraid."
"Hmm! You're great." Bobby said, acting like a little grown-up, hands behind his back, nodding seriously. "I heard from my mother that you saved my life?"
Damian said, "You could say that."
"Then that makes you my lifesaver!" Bobby declared. "From now on, if my sister bullies you, just tell me."
"Tell you? And what could you do? You can't beat her," Damian pointed out.
"You don’t need to fight my sister."
"Then what do you do?"
"Cry! Act spoiled!" Bobby said seriously. "She only gives in to soft tactics, not hard ones. If you act cute and wheedle, she’ll agree to anything."
Damian said nothing.
Bobby winked at him. "I’m only telling you this because you’re her Spirit Beast! It’s a secret, okay?"
Damian: "..."
......
They ate in Empress Clarissa’s palace.
Marcus was too busy to join them, so it was just the three of them—mother and children.
Empress Clarissa insisted on dragging Damian to the table with them.
Lily was about to say he doesn’t like eating, but Bobby was already happily dragging Damian to the table and sitting him down.
And Damian didn’t refuse.
When did these two get so close?
Lily shot Damian a warning glance, then went to sit down.
Empress Clarissa asked Damian enthusiastically, “Do you know how to use chopsticks? If not, Lily can teach you.”
"I do." Damian picked up the chopsticks, elegantly grabbed a piece of food, and placed it in Bobby’s bowl—all with perfect grace and skill.
Empress Clarissa was amazed, turning to Lily. "You’ve trained him well! You just contracted him, and he already knows all the proper manners."
With a new member in the family, it was only natural that everyone’s attention was on him.
But this was actually quite dangerous.
Lily smoothly changed the subject: "If I’m not mistaken, Aunt Serena’s birthday is coming up, isn’t it? Have you prepared a birthday gift?"
"Oh, right, speaking of which—your aunt said you have to attend this year!" Empress Clarissa said.
"You and Bobby can go! You know I don’t really like visiting their manor," Lily replied.
The aunt they were talking about was the one who married into Lord River Drake’s manor as a secondary consort.