My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

”Go back whence you came, sir.”

A little girl who was still practically a baby stood proudly at the front gates of a grand palace, though calling it a palace almost felt inaccurate. At that point it looked less like a home and more like a monument to excessive wealth. Honestly, rich people lived in a completely different world from normal people.

Damon lowered his gaze toward the tiny golden-haired tyrant standing before him.

Her long silky hair nearly reached the floor, shimmering faintly beneath the sunlight as she stood with all the authority of someone three times her age.

Around her stood no fewer than a hundred knights, each one at least Fifth Class Advancement, positioned with absolute vigilance.

And somewhere beyond immediate sight, Jarvis stood a few meters behind her, hidden completely while masking his presence.

Any normal person approaching her would immediately understand one thing.

This child was dangerous.

Unfortunately for the poor pitiful servant currently standing at her mercy, today’s victim had already realized that fact far too late.

”Lady Ranar, what did I do? Please forgive me.”

”Hmph.”

She crossed her tiny arms over her chest in a manner so strikingly similar to Evangeline that Damon nearly stared.

From that expression alone, he was certain she had absolutely no intention of forgiving the poor man.

”My Ranar,” Damon began.

”Don’t call me your Ranar after dumping me just hours after your return.”

Damon blinked.

”Wow. You’re using a lot of big words for such a brat. I mean... young lady.”

The correction came too late.

Her golden eyes narrowed dangerously as she slowly turned that judgmental stare toward him.

Before she could fully pivot away in outrage, Damon moved.

In one swift motion he stepped forward, scooped her up effortlessly, and lifted her into the air.

”Put me down, Daddy. Leave me alone, you traitor.”

She immediately began squirming in his arms, tiny hands pushing uselessly against his chest.

”Oh come on, I didn’t go anywhere. I was just sleeping in,” he said, trying and failing to sound convincing.

Ranar stared at him flatly for half a second.

”Then why did you come back here smelling like another woman?”

Her little fingers immediately tangled into his hair before yanking hard.

When she said that, Damon felt something cold crawl down his spine.

Another woman?

Instinctively he lowered his head and sniffed at himself.

Nothing.

No perfume.

No scent.

No trace of Abellona.

Slowly, very slowly, he turned his gaze back toward the three-year-old currently interrogating him.

Then in a much quieter voice he said,

”Yo... you aren’t a normal three-year-old, are you? Is... is that my fault? Did I skip the parenting manual or something?”

Her eyes narrowed further as she looked down at him with frightening disappointment.

”More like you weren’t here at all.”

She paused, then gave a small nod to herself.

”You’re so lucky to have such a broad-minded daughter.”

Damon stared at her for several seconds.

”And you happen to have drawn the short straw when it comes to fathers.”

A cold feminine voice suddenly echoed nearby.

A flash of light shimmered into existence.

Evangeline stepped forward from the distortion, her golden hair shifting softly behind her as her sharp gaze immediately landed on Damon.

Without hesitation she reached forward.

Ranar instantly abandoned Damon’s arms and stretched toward her.

Evangeline caught the little girl effortlessly, settling her against her hip with practiced familiarity.

Standing there together, the resemblance was absurd.

The same golden eyes.

The same delicate features.

The same almost regal bearing.

Almost like a Mother and daughter.

At least that was what anyone looking at them would think.

Meanwhile Damon stood there with his dark hair, dark eyes, and entirely different appearance.

He looked less like family and more like some suspicious outsider who had wandered into the wrong bloodline entirely.

”Eva, be nice to me. I carried this baby to term on my own. A single father’s life is hard, you know. I have to struggle with work and raise a child that doesn’t appreciate me,” Damon complained shamelessly, speaking as though life had dealt him unimaginable hardship despite being one of the wealthiest young masters in the Empire.

Evangeline stared at him for exactly three seconds before letting out a dry laugh.

”You... ah, this is great.”

She shifted Ranar slightly in her arms, then leveled him with a look so unimpressed it could physically wound lesser men.

”I know you are not about to pretend you come from some poor background.”

She pointed a finger at his chest.

”I told you before, Mister Grandfather’s Only Grandson, you’re rich now.”

Her lips curved slightly.

”Actually, scratch that. You always were. You just didn’t know it.”

Damon let out a long sigh and rubbed the side of his temple as if suffering from the burden of being misunderstood.

”Shouldn’t you be on a battlefield somewhere?”

Evangeline immediately scoffed, shifting her weight before placing her free hand against her waist, posture straightening with obvious pride.

”I’ll have you know I helped defeat the Great Dragon Ashergon.”

There was no hiding the satisfaction in her expression now.

”I earned enough contribution points that I don’t have to be stationed on any battlefield for quite some time.”

”Wow...”

Ranar’s golden eyes sparkled as she looked up at Evangeline with pure admiration.

”Eva is so awesome.”

She pointed dramatically toward Damon.

”You saved Damon from a dragon.”

Damon blinked once.

Then slowly pointed at himself.

”I think you mean daddy.”

He offered the correction with the hopeful expression of a man desperately trying to claw back what little parental authority remained.

Ranar immediately tightened her arms around Evangeline’s neck, pressing her face against her shoulder as if physically rejecting the very concept of acknowledging him.

”Let’s go home.”

The words struck Damon harder than most attacks he had taken in battle.

He stood there frozen for a moment, staring at his daughter as she actively chose another adult over him without hesitation.

Then he placed a hand over his chest and staggered back half a step.

”That...”

His expression twisted into exaggerated heartbreak.

”That actually hurt.”

Neither of them looked back.

Evangeline simply turned and began walking toward the estate carrying Ranar effortlessly in her arms.

The little girl didn’t even spare him a glance.

Damon stared at their retreating backs in silence.

Then lowered his head.

”...I fought dragons for this.” he muttered bitterly.

”Wait wait come back love me love me”

Night had long since fallen over the estate, quiet swallowing the halls where servants once moved and laughter had earlier echoed.

After what had taken far more effort than either of them cared to admit, Evangeline and Damon had finally managed to put the still deeply offended Ranar to sleep.

The little girl now rested against Damon’s chest, her tiny body curled comfortably against him, one small hand lazily clutching the fabric of his shirt as if making certain he could not disappear again.

Even in sleep, she refused to fully let him go.

Damon lowered his gaze toward her peaceful face, his expression softening in a way rarely seen by anyone.

His fingers moved gently through her long golden hair before he let out a quiet sigh.

”What did I do to deserve something so precious...”

There was something unusually vulnerable in his voice.

Something quieter than his usual arrogance.

Evangeline stood beside the bed watching the scene unfold, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

For once, she saw no trace of the insufferable man who constantly irritated everyone around him.

Just a father.

She folded her arms loosely across her chest, leaning slightly against the nearby wall.

”I think you must have done something right,” she said softly, the warmth in her voice carrying faint amusement.

For a few moments silence settled between them.

Only the soft breathing of the sleeping child filled the room.

Then Evangeline’s expression shifted.

The lightness faded.

Something more serious entered her eyes.

”Did you know the temple has been looking for you?”

Damon continued absentmindedly rubbing slow circles against Ranar’s back, helping keep her asleep.

His expression hardened slightly.

”I heard.”

He leaned his head back against the bedframe, eyes narrowing faintly toward the ceiling.

”They’re curious how I got rid of an ancient monster like Ashergon, right?”

A brief pause.

Then he clicked his tongue with visible annoyance.

”I hate those foolish bastards.”

Evangeline immediately straightened, eyes widening slightly before shooting a sharp glance toward the doorway as if expecting priests to materialize from thin air.

”Don’t say that aloud unless you want to end up branded a heretic,” she warned under her breath.

Damon let out a dry chuckle.

His hand never stopped moving against Ranar’s back.

The sleeping girl shifted slightly, pressing closer against him.

His eyes lowered toward her for a moment.

Then his expression darkened.

Quiet calculation settling behind his gaze.

”Guess I have to meet them.” he muttered.

”Don’t cause trouble and don’t pick fights.” she warned.