Heiress Unmasked: Shaking the World With Geomancy novel Chapter 2039

Without another word, he pulled her into his arms and bent down, pressing a firm kiss to her lips—swift and unapologetic, a punishment sealed in silence.

Their eyes met.

Just as the golden light began to envelop them both, he leaned in once more, intent on deepening the kiss, claiming it anew with unmistakable purpose.

Just as the moment was beginning to deepen, the courtyard gate burst open with a loud bang.

Kai came striding in, voice full of excitement as he shouted, "Shannon! Word is that the enrollment portal for mystic schools is nearly overloaded! Pretty sure I had something to do with that!"

He barreled into the courtyard, only to freeze mid-step when his eyes landed on Shannon and Benjamin standing beneath the maple tree, clearly closer than casual.

The air tightened.

Shannon, ever composed, calmly stepped back, putting a bit of space between herself and Benjamin. Kai's gaze shifted and met Benjamin's, who looked back with cool, dark intensity.

Instant regret filled him.

Before Kai could muster an awkward excuse, the second-floor window of the house banged open, and Albany, flanked by two paper figures, launched himself out like a rocket, making a dramatic entrance into the scene.

A cloud of black smoke surged forth and instantly engulfed Kai.

At the same time, the two paper figures, Benji Gold and Shanny Gold, moved with perfect coordination, each grabbing one of his shoulders from opposite sides.

Then, Albany commanded, "Minions, throw him out!"

Indeed, Albany, the system that used to speak only inside Shannon and Benjamin's minds, could now be heard by everyone.

Thanks to Zidane, he had reverse-engineered the original tortoise sticker, once designed to help the faceless Sylvia communicate.

By flipping the design's function, he managed to create a patch that amplified Albany's voice externally.

Of course, Shannon had paid for that to happen.

Albany was clearly loving this upgrade. Compared to when it could only chat in Shannon's head, it now chattered even more incessantly and loudly.

In fact, it had proudly claimed its superiority over the two mute paper figure sidekicks, insisting on being their leader, just like it was doing now.

Besides, he refused to set foot back there for a while. No way was he risking another embarrassing moment in front of Shannon or Benjamin.

After leaving the Demon District, Kai headed straight for the offline spiritual aptitude test venue that Hector had set up.

After the seminar ended, many people gathered for inquiries, but only a few actually registered any spiritual energy.

Kai, bored and looking for something to do, decided to stop by Hector's place to boost his rapport. Just as he arrived near the venue, he was unexpectedly bumped into by a child.

The early fall weather had started to turn a little chilly. The child, however, was dressed in rather thin clothing, giving off a slightly pitiful appearance.

Still, despite the thinness of the clothes, the child's face was extraordinarily delicate and cute. Kai found himself momentarily dazed by the sight.

The kid similarly stared back at him for two seconds. Then, he suddenly moved.

He wrapped himself around Kai's leg and looked up, screaming, "Daddy!"

Kai felt as though the sound of thunder exploded in his ears. Then, he froze.