The week after Evelyn’s concert was strange, to say the very least. Evelyn’s rest was over, her schedule was packed again, this time even more than before, because Evelyn’s concert was like her announcement to the entire world that she was back.

Her social media fan pages were much more active than before. Everyone talked about her, praised how good she was, how ridiculously good the concert was, people flaunted that they had managed to attend the concert, those who did not cried, and many were demanding another concert.

Evelyn’s name had become a buzz again.

And because of that, countless talk shows, fashion shows, promotion events, and different platforms invited her.

Her schedule was packed.

And people from Enclave did not let their guards down. Every single event Evelyn attended was highly scrutinised. Interviews were filtered, public appearances were reduced, routes were changed twice before every movement and once more after Lucian looked at them. At this point, Clara had stopped questioning him every time he made changes. She only marked the change and moved on, trusting him completely.

Evelyn noticed that too, and although she liked how Lucian was being trusted and recognised for how incredible he was, she still did not like how Clara had begun talking to him more and more, even outside of work.

She really needed to fire her.

Lucian, on the other hand, still complained about paperwork. He complained while reading it, while correcting it, while finding three staff clearance gaps, two unnecessary exposure points, and one movement plan that would have forced Evelyn through a glass corridor with no hard cover.

Then he complained while signing the corrected version without a single joke.

People around him were already used to his complaints. They had basically begun ignoring them. Only Evelyn took them seriously, constantly hugging or pampering him every time he complained.

Though that may be the reason Lucian complained in the first place.

No one knew.

Lucian and Evelyn’s nights became training time. As busy as she was, Evelyn continued to learn how to control the energy she now had access to and the different abilities she could use with it.

At first, her telekinesis only made pens tremble, pillows float badly, and cups slide across tables. By the fourth day, she could lift a hairpin steadily for twenty good seconds, and by the sixth, she could form a small shield in front of her palm.

And even though the shield still cracked when Lucian threw a pillow too hard, Evelyn celebrated with a huge grin.

"I blocked it!"

"It hit you right in the face after breaking the shield."

Lucian answered with a deadpan look on his face.

"But I still formed the shield."

Evelyn kept her grin, even adding a peace sign.

Lucian didn’t know what to say.

Actually, Evelyn could use the energy to heal herself as well. She was already using it to ease dull aches in her muscles after moving too much. She wanted to do more, to see her limits, but Lucian refused to let her practice on real injuries.

"Only a crazy fool would actively injure himself just to train his healing.

I won’t let you do it."

"You are being overly overprotective."

"No, I am teaching you common sense."

"Tsk, boring~"

Evelyn snorted and Lucian only held her, making sure she didn’t hurt herself trying to ’train her healing’.

Then, after putting Evelyn to sleep, Lucian returned to the basement to continue his own training.

He had stopped armed training with the ordinary guards and even his physical training. Right now, he only focused on the abilities Vivienne had taught him when he went to her.

Abilities he taught to Evelyn, just that his own training was on a much, much higher level, something Evelyn wasn’t even allowed to see.

Just like that, days passed. Lucian and Evelyn spent more and more time together, getting even closer to each other than they already had.

By the end of the week, the captured Hosts began to break. They still didn’t give any answers, but according to Alaric, they would crack soon.

Three days.

That was all they needed.

The shine in Lucian’s eyes became dangerous when he heard that.

Yes.

Three more days.

Then—

They would be at Orpheus’s house. They would grab that bastard, tear him into pieces, and put an end to this.

Of course, that would come later. Right now, Lucian needed to prepare for Evelyn’s next schedule in the evening.

The Night Desk.

Yes, it was the same show Evelyn had been to before. Evelyn usually did not make double appearances simply because of how booked her schedule was, however, The Night Desk was one of the few exceptions.

It was one of the most popular shows in the entire world. Its reach was enormous. Though that wasn’t the only reason Evelyn chose it.

In the invite, she was asked to perform one of her new songs live, and that’s what interested her the most.

A chance to sing a song, live.

This would gather Energy of Desire, which Lucian could use in the future.

Yes, this would be the first time Evelyn would sing in front of a big audience after forming a contract with Lucian. That’s what made her excited. She wanted to see it for herself. She wanted to help Lucian in any way she could.

So Evelyn agreed.

And because she did, Lucian and the others made the preparations. Lucian gave the routes one final look, the caravan moved, and they reached the studio safely.

It was easier and safer than the concert because the audience was smaller, only selected fans and approved guests were allowed. Of course, this didn’t mean the Enclave members let their guard down. In fact, they only prepared more because the likelihood of Orpheus attacking was now higher than ever, since even he would know that they were getting closer.

Every member of the audience was personally scrutinised by Clara.

Lucian, too, was quite excited about today’s event. This would be the first time he would be able to see what had changed after the contract.

"You look different."

Sarah, who noticed Lucian’s expression, commented as she narrowed her eyes.

Lucian looked at her and grinned.

"Evelyn won’t like it if you keep your eyes on me like that. You had your chance, you ruined it, now scoot back."

"..."

And Sarah’s face twitched again.

Talking to him was sometimes unbearably annoying.