Aezaleon released a long breath, lowering the hand covering his face as his head sank further into the pillow. "Looks like we’ll have to leave this city sooner than expected," he muttered with a faint smile. "I really lost my temper there, didn’t I?"

Clementine shook her head. "You worry too much, husband." Her voice remained calm and composed, though a trace of satisfaction lingered beneath the surface. "Close your eyes and rest. Leave everything else to me. We won’t be leaving the City of Varion anytime soon; that I can assure you of confidently."

The corners of her lips curled upward ever so slightly.

Aezaleon opened his eyes and looked down at Anastasia sleeping peacefully atop him. The sight alone calmed much of the remaining tension within his heart, but the problem was that something else had woken up from its sleep after what Clementine did.

"She really does know how to choose her timing," he said with a quiet chuckle. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

As if responding to his words, Anastasia stirred in her sleep and shifted closer against him, releasing a sensual moan upon feeling the raging hardness twitching inside her while waking up, a content smile appearing on her face.

The movement drew a quiet laugh from Aezaleon. Moments ago, an entire auction hall had been brought to its knees by his anger. Yet here, in the privacy of the room, a single sleeping woman was proving far more effective at defeating that calamitous wrath than anything else.

For the first time since the incident began, genuine peace returned to his expression.

Anastasia looked at him through drooping, half-lidded eyes, blinking slowly in confusion. She was already exhausted, yet judging by the look in Aezaleon’s eyes, he had no intention of letting her go so easily.

In fact, he didn’t care at all; his hands firmly grasped her supple curves before he effortlessly swept her onto the bed. He wasted no time, initiating another passionate clash that soon filled the room with the melodic, rhythmic moans of her sweet, unrestrained release.

On the other side, Clementine merely shook her head. Her attention had already shifted elsewhere.

While her husband was occupied, she focused on her two sisters and the disaster that had just unfolded within the auction hall. The aftermath would require careful handling, but she had already begun formulating a solution—or rather, had done so already. After all, if someone had to clean up the mess created by her husband’s possessiveness, it would inevitably be her.

"Alright, you two. It’s time to work." Clementine clapped her hands once before directing her attention toward Aphryne. "Little sister."

"Yes, big sister." Aphryne immediately straightened, her cheerful expression becoming noticeably more serious.

"Use Nytherion and erase our presence from this incident entirely and thoroughly. Everyone who has seen us, sensed us, or interacted with us must forget we were ever here. Remove every trace that can lead back to us."

Aphryne nodded confidently. "That won’t take long. Husband already shattered or overwhelmed most of their minds, so the work has become even easier for me. Give me two or three minutes and I’ll have the entire place cleaned up."

"Good." Clementine’s gaze shifted toward Auguszta. "As for you, deal with that rank five law keeper responsible for maintaining order here."

Auguszta nodded without hesitation. After all, the sooner she finished, the sooner she could return to Aezaleon’s side. Then a thought suddenly crossed her mind, and a slow smile appeared on her face. The change was so abrupt that both Aphryne and Clementine raised their brows.

"Since we’re already cleaning everything up, wouldn’t it be a waste to leave all these resources behind?" Auguszta asked innocently.

Neither sister responded. Encouraged, she continued, "The dead certainly won’t be needing them anymore. The treasures, the materials, the cores, the energy stones, the items..." Her smile widened. "Wouldn’t it be more responsible if we collected everything ourselves?"

Aphryne blinked. Clementine blinked, appearing to have missed such a simple detail. Still, considering she had once been a divine entity, the resources of a mere auction house hardly seemed worth noticing, so it was understandable.

Clementine smiled. "That’s actually a very good point." Yet, resources were resources; there was no reason to waste them. "Very well. Collect everything of value."

Auguszta’s smile instantly brightened.

"And while you’re at it," she continued, "gather the bodies as well. Most of them are insignificant, but quantity possesses value of its own. The accumulated energy should still prove useful for strengthening our physiques and refining our ascension cores."

"Understood."

Satisfied, Clementine turned her attention toward the final matter requiring her personal involvement. "As for me..." A faint smile appeared on her face. "I’ll go speak with our dear Senior Professor Azara."

The woman currently occupying the neighboring room was not someone Clementine intended to leave behind. A high monarch was valuable. An academy professor was valuable. A disciple of one of the sentinels was even more valuable. ’The Slumbering Miasma, huh?’ Her lips curled. "Such an opportunity would be a terrible thing to waste."

The smile on her face deepened slightly. After discussing a few additional details, the three separated to carry out their respective responsibilities. Auguszta departed first, already thinking about which treasures she intended to claim. Clementine followed soon after, her thoughts focused entirely on Professor Azara Blazeshade.

Meanwhile, Aphryne remained behind. Closing her eyes, she activated Nytherion. The darkwind spread soundlessly, imperceptibly, and almost instantly throughout the entire auction house and far beyond it. Memories blurred. Perceptions unraveled. Connections dissolved. One by one, every trace of their existence began disappearing from the minds of those who had survived.

By the time news of the incident spread throughout Varion and the inevitable investigation began, there would be almost nothing left to trace back to them. After all, one could not investigate what one no longer remembered.

The task itself was rather simple.

First, she had to erase every piece of evidence linking them to the massacre. Second, she had to remove all memories of their existence from every witness and survivor who had seen them. Third, she had to cleanse the auction house and the surrounding thousand-meter radius of every lingering presence, aura, and trace they had left behind.