Heiress Unmasked: Shaking the World With Geomancy novel Chapter 2135

As Shannon said those words, she caught sight of Elowen suddenly stiffening, as if visibly startled. She snapped her tail back in retreat and huffed. "What for? I certainly do not fancy him."

She would never take a liking to a creature who had bitten her.

Elowen had always acted by her own whims, and just because the phoenix was a baby didn't mean she would show him any special treatment. Still, she wasn't the type to bully him without cause either.

Knowing her nature well, Lucan didn't raise a brow at her reaction. If anything, this was exactly the kind of response he expected from her.

The baby phoenix tilted his head, seemingly trying to make sense of her words. Whether he truly understood or not was unclear.

His large, dark eyes sparkled with mischief as he turned his attention toward the unfinished milkshake near Elowen's hand.

Elowen assumed he was about to steal a sip and prepared to scold him again, only to freeze as the tiny creature, with surprising strength, hefted the entire cup in his arms like a little strongman and marched it over to her, offering it up with wide, expectant eyes.

His action completely caught her off guard. This little one had some sense, didn't he?

"Very well then. I suppose I'll accept you as my underling for now," Elowen said with theatrical reluctance, taking the cup of milkshake and sipping from the straw with a faint slurp.

The baby phoenix beamed, his eyes crinkling. Perched on the table, he looked from one face to the next, clearly delighted by his new status and the approval that had come with it.

Seeing this, Lucan proposed to give him a name.

The phoenix clan had entrusted the egg to him, and naming the hatchling was his right. But instead of doing so himself, he turned to Elowen with a calm, expectant glance, silently passing the choice to her.

Considering the baby phoenix was her new underling, Elowen thought it wouldn't be outrageous to name him herself.

She lifted her head, deep in thought, and said, "He hatched beneath a sky streaked with fivefold light, each color a mark of divine favor. Let him be called Velquin."

Now, with the sky unveiling its five-colored brilliance and the vision of a hundred birds circling the kingdom, it was impossible for watchful eyes not to notice the disturbance within the palace.

Just as it happened now…

In a shadowed hall deep within the palace grounds, a man stood draped in flowing robes, his gaze fixed on the sand table before him.

It was a miniature replica of the palace, carefully detailed and eerily precise. At its center, a single ancient well had cracked open.

His expression darkened, eyes narrowing as he murmured to himself, "The array is damaged… and the phoenix has emerged. Could this have all been connected from the start?"

If that were the case, the phoenix couldn't be allowed to remain.