"How do you feel now?" Amanda asked as she handed Kyle a headache pill and a glass of water.

"Just the drumming in my head," he replied with a wince. "Don’t worry, it will go away in a moment. Just dim the lights a little."

Amanda nodded, then reached for the remote and shifted the lights to a warmer tone.

After drinking the water, Kyle let out a quiet sigh and leaned back into his seat.

Amanda hesitated. Considering his condition, she wasn’t sure if she should ask, but she couldn’t stop herself from voicing the question lingering in her mind.

"Are you certain she knows it was you?"

Kyle slowly nodded. "I had a long conversation with Melissa while I was inside her head. I had to convince her to let go, or this whole situation would’ve spiraled out of control."

Amanda sighed and glanced at her sleeping cousin. "Fortunately, she agreed."

Kyle nodded again. "She was only mildly reluctant because of her father. Thankfully, that hesitation didn’t last long."

Amanda hummed softly. "It was my fault for not noticing her situation earlier. I had no idea Uncle had such a deep influence on her."

Kyle gave a wry smile. "These days, everyone I meet seems to have a terrible family situation."

A brief silence settled between them before Amanda finally spoke again.

"Kyle, I will book a taxi for you. Please leave soon."

Kyle blinked in surprise. "Are your parents coming back already?"

Amanda shook her head. "It’s not that." Taking a deep breath, she revealed her plan. "I am about to blow up the upper floor of the mansion."

"...What?!" Kyle jolted upright in shock. "Why would you do that?"

Amanda explained calmly, "Melissa can’t suddenly lose her gift without raising suspicion. There would be investigations and endless questions. But if there was an ambush, then the suppression of her ability would make sense. Her gift is tied to her mind, after all. A close-range attack could become a believable reason for psychological damage."

Kyle slowly began to understand what she meant.

It would be treated like a disability caused by an accident.

And honestly, that explanation was far better than telling people Melissa had simply lost her powers by...doing nothing.

"Recently, many Nightwalkers have been attacked, like Brother Blake and Layena, so they would connect this incident to those as well," Amanda added.

And that alone revealed how thoroughly she had planned everything, all to ensure that not even the slightest suspicion would reach Kyle.

Kyle let out a slow sigh. "This feels reckless, Amanda. This house belongs to the Maylith family, one of the strongest branch families in Guhang. An explosion happening here would attract far more attention than we want."

Amanda lowered her head with a troubled sigh. "You are right, but I can’t think of anything else..."

"You don’t need to worry about it, Amanda."

A third voice suddenly joined the conversation.

Both of them turned toward the bed as Melissa slowly sat up, clutching her head.

"Milli! Don’t get up yet." Amanda instantly sprang to her feet and hurried toward her.

Melissa took a few moments to steady herself before quietly asking, "Can you bring me some water?"

Amanda hurriedly nodded and turned to pour another glass.

Kyle slowly rose from his seat, only for Amanda to immediately warn him, "Don’t walk around if you still don’t feel well."

Kyle gave a faint smile and reassured her, "I am feeling much better now, Amanda."

He slowly approached the bed and sat at its foot.

Melissa quietly watched him walk over, her gaze following him until he settled across from her.

Her eyes carried emotions he couldn’t quite decipher, but one thing was certain. She had a lot she wanted to say.

"Here," Amanda said as she handed her the glass of water.

Melissa accepted it before turning back toward Kyle once more.

"So...you are a Nightwalker."

Kyle exchanged a brief glance with Amanda before nodding. "Yes...I only awakened recently."

"And how did you know about my blessing? Did Amanda tell you about it?"

Kyle let out a quiet sigh. "Not exactly. Amanda usually talks about you and praises your work a lot. As for your blessing...I just happen to possess an ability that lets me identify what kind of blessing someone has received. Not often but randomly. And when I heard from Amanda how much grief that blessing had brought into your life, I decided to free you from that curse."

He believed that was the best explanation he could give. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Naturally, telling her about the livestream and the fact that one of his viewers was responsible for blessing her would sound either absurd or outright insane.

From the way Melissa looked at him, it was obvious she didn’t fully buy his explanation. Thankfully, she chose not to question him further and simply drank the water.

Amanda pulled a chair closer and sat beside her cousin before asking, "How do you feel now? Any discomfort?"

Melissa shook her head slowly. "It feels...normal." She let out a quiet breath before continuing, "I received this blessing almost ten months ago, and ever since then, I always had this constant itch pushing me to do something with the ability I gained. But now...that itch is gone."

Kyle grew slightly tense. "Isn’t that a bad thing? I mean, you also lost the enthusiasm to learn more."

Melissa gently corrected him. "I lost the compulsive urge to do more. My curiosity to learn is still there, so don’t blame yourself."

Kyle didn’t know how to respond to that, so he remained silent.

Melissa then shifted her attention toward Amanda and reassured her, "I will handle things with Father, so don’t worry. Though there is a high chance he might kick me out afterward, which means I will probably come back to you."

She glanced at Kyle before adding jokingly, "After all, your boyfriend would be the reason for it."

Both Kyle and Amanda smiled faintly upon seeing her act like herself again. She held no resentment toward either of them, even though Amanda had betrayed her trust and Kyle had taken away something precious she had earned through years of devotion and hard work.

Kyle could barely imagine remaining this calm if he had been in her place.

"Milli...you are always welcome to stay here with me. I promise I will take care of you without asking for anything in return," Amanda said warmly as she placed a hand over Melissa’s lap.

A small smile formed on Melissa’s lips.

Having someone who remained beside her like an unwavering pillar of support...

It was a comforting feeling.

She then turned toward Kyle and asked, "And what about you? Now that I will stop producing goods for my clients, more people will come after me and try to take me for themselves. Will you protect me then?"

Kyle kept his gaze lowered, a faint smile resting on his lips as he quietly replied, "I will take responsibility for that. If you ever decide to live here in Montclair, you will have my protection."

Melissa let out a small huff. "You better keep your word, or I will turn Amanda against you by spreading lies and all sorts of nonsense. I am a very manipulative girl, so be careful."

All Kyle and Amanda could do was chuckle at her remark.

Fortunately, everything had turned out well.

...for now.