Chapter 602: Rest A Bit Easier

Make no mistake, the mother and daughter were quite happy living here in Misty City with Sasha’s family, but they still deeply missed Charles. Having his parents live them now wouldn’t exactly make up for that loss, but it would certainly be pleasant.

On top of that, the idea of living in luxury here while Edward and Amalia were forced to struggle just to afford enough resources to cultivate properly was absolutely intolerable to both Sasha and Eris.

As for the couple in question, they figured they would just have to find a way to contribute while they were here so as not to become a burden.

What Edward and Amalia didn’t realize was that Lucas and Celestina weren’t just putting on an act, they really did want Eris’ paternal grandparents to join one of their projects.

Project Ascension.

Elizabeth Carlson had recently found a potential way forward, but there were so many things that needed testing that she couldn’t handle it all on her own anymore.

Bringing in outsiders to the project, however, was a problem, especially right now with there potentially being spies lurking around Misty City and potentially even inside the Balfour Family itself.

There were, of course, some people who Celestina had determined weren’t traitors and who could be trusted with such top-secret information, but the problem was each of these individuals was already extremely busy and couldn’t just dump all their work onto others and disappear for long period of time to participate in experimental research.

In that sense, Edward and Amalia really were perfect for this as they were essentially retirees who only needed to focus on their own cultivation and had no other pressing responsibilities to attend to.

The couple’s relative weakness and isolation from the upper echelons of noble society also made the possibility that they were foreign agents or traitors to the kingdom basically zero.

In other words, the two of them could immediately join Project Ascension without Celestina or Lucas having to worry about security leaks.

Of course, it would be a while before Edward and Amalia realized this, but that wasn’t a problem. Project Ascension was on ongoing work that would likely continue for many years, if not decades, so giving the travel-weary couple a few days to settle in and get comfortable wasn’t going to cause any problems.

.....

Later that evening, as they were lying together in one of the most comfortable beds they had ever slept on, Edward and Amalia found themselves oddly unable to sleep despite clearly feeling quite exhausted.

Today had been a whirlwind for them. There were reunions with old friends and family, first-time meetings with interesting young children and powerful old nobles, and all sorts of new and wonderous inventions like soap, showers, cookies, hamburgers, and so much more.

"What do you think of... all this?" Amalia asked her husband.

Chuckling lightly, Edward simply replied, "I don’t know."

"That makes two of us, I guess," Amalia laughed back.

Truly, it had been too much for the old couple to take in and process all at once. They would need some time just to sort out all the new information they had received today before even attempting to figure out what they were going to do with it.

For now, however, they were content to know their daughter-in-law and granddaughter were safe, and that there was at least hope they would see their youngest son again.

"Little Sasha was right, that boy Lucas really is something special," Edward commented.

Amalia could only nod in agreement with this statement as she thought back on how the young son of Drake and Anna had comported himself at dinner.

Lucas had been perfectly polite and friendly with them, like the very model of a well-educated and mannered noble son, yet he was also able to freely interact with a literal prince from the Darr Kingdom, laughing and joking together with him as if they were long-time friends.

What was more impressive, however, was how the other adults at the table treated Lucas.

Victoria Moore, a former viscount, was incredibly respectful towards Lucas, discussing big, complex business matters with him as if that was perfectly normal.

Dean Shaw also engaged in spirited conversation with the boy, the topics of their discussions ranging from resource and personnel allocation to experimental construction techniques and urban planning.

It was only half-way through dinner that Amalia and Edward learned that Victoria and Dean were actually employed by Lucas, making him their direct superior.

That was shocking enough on its own, but it also allowed the couple to rationalize why these two competent and capable adults were so deferential when they spoke to Lucas.

Since they were his subordinates, it only made sense that they treated him so politely.

Teagan and Elliot, on the other hand, were purely Lucas’ elders, yet the way they spoke to him about the going-ons in Misty City much more resembled how one would talk with a fellow colleague rather than as a senior humouring a child.

As for how Celestina and Allina, who were arguably the two most powerful and influential women in all of Misty City, treated him, not only did they speak freely and casually with Lucas, they actually sought his opinion on multiple different matters, some of which were of great significance to the Balfour Family, Raging River Legion, and Rockwell Kingdom as a whole.

To outside observers like Edward and Amalia, Lucas was simply impossible to define. One second, he was like an innocent child fighting with others his age for the last scoop of ice-cream, while the next moment he was like a wise-old scholar providing council and advice to others on policy matters that affected the lives of millions.

However, the old couple didn’t think this was a bad thing; quite the contrary, actually. The more outstanding Lucas was, the greater their confidence grew that he really could one day conquer the Cerulean Ocean and bring them to reunite their family.

"Eris better grab hold of him tightly while she still can," Amalia joked, "that boy will definitely never be lacking for admirers."

"I don’t think that’ll be a problem," Edward laughed, "from how comfortable they looked together with each other tonight, I’d say it’s only a matter of time before we’re calling him ’grandson’."

"Indeed," Amalia mused.

The old couple continued to chat like this well into the night before sleep finally took them.

The future was still filled with uncertainty, but at least for tonight, after months of worry, they could finally rest a bit easier.