"The color of this gemstone is just like Edric's ophidian tail. Wearing it feels like he's right here with me. I love it." Damian was dumbfounded. Wait, seriously? Emma was given a necklace worth barely two star coins. Shouldn't she be furious and demand to call off her match with Edric on the spot? That evening, for the first time in a long while, Drake wasn't sprawled on his bed. Instead, he sat on the couch by the floor-to-ceiling window, handling business on his lightcore. When Emma walked in, his gaze fell on the necklace around her neck. His tone dripped with scorn. "You're actually wearing something that cheap?" Were all of her matches useless trash? How could they let a fourth-tier female be reduced to wearing this kind of junk? With that, Drake pulled out a black gemstone the size of his palm from his personal storage. Emma couldn't tell what kind of material it was, but she knew that anything Drake revealed was never ordinary. "Take this," Drake said. "You could have a much better necklace made from it." It was the rarest black crystal in the Interstellar Empire, brimming with immense power. Not only could it strengthen one's abilities, but in moments of danger, it could even save a life. While he had no intention of ever bonding with Emma, he wasn't so petty as to let her walk around with that worthless trinket on her neck. "Thank you for the kind offer," Emma said, refusing the gemstone Drake held out to her. "But I can't accept it." The black crystal was undeniably valuable, but Emma knew the rule—accepting favors meant owing favors. She could strike a deal with Drake, but she could never accept his gift for nothing. Drake, however, couldn't make sense of her reaction. "You'd rather wear that worthless trinket than take the black crystal I'm giving you?" Emma pushed back against his remark. "This necklace was a gift from my match. It carries his feelings for me. How could it ever be worthless?" she countered. "You judge it by price, but I judge it by the sincerity behind it." She knew full well that Edric had no idea Damian had delivered such a cheap trinket in his name. Still, the gesture was Edric's, and she had to honor it by wearing the necklace. How else would Edric ever realize Damian had ripped him off? The memory of Edric during their video call last night flashed back to her. He was far too sweet and trusting. He needed to learn to be sharper.Drake couldn't wrap his head around Emma's way of thinking. In his world, females were always delicate and proud—their food, their clothes, their jewelry had to be the very best. Anything less would displease them. "Suit yourself." Drake dropped the matter. Emma pressed her cool fingertips to the center of Drake's forehead. The soothing sensation washed over him, and everything else slipped away in an instant. His dragon tail uncoiled once more, curling instinctively around Emma's waist. How could his female's waist be so impossibly soft? This time, Emma made a breakthrough and managed to sustain the mental comfort for a full twenty minutes. She had discovered that whenever she poured out her mental power without holding back, it returned to her twice as strong the next day.Drake's mental consciousness had finally settled into complete calm. The dense black mist that had once shrouded it, under Emma's repeated comforts these past few days, had begun to fade to white. In some places, it was even turning translucent. Once every trace of that black mist cleared and became fully transparent, Drake's mental power would be completely restored. When the session ended, Emma left his room and walked down the hall to Damian's door. She lifted her hand and knocked. The door swung open a moment later. Inside, Damian lounged on his bed in a silk robe patterned with ink-wash swirls, chest half-bared, his eyes heavy with languid charm as they lingered on Emma standing at the threshold. "Ms. Tibarn, why are you hovering in the doorway? Come in."Emma didn't budge. Her gaze remained calm as she said, "I just came to remind you. We leave at five-thirty sharp tomorrow morning. Don't oversleep." With that, she reached out to close the door for him, then walked away. Back in her own room, she patted her chest lightly. Foxes truly lived up to their reputation as born seducers. Thankfully, her willpower was stronger than most. Otherwise, that charmer would have stolen her soul. Downstairs, Damian was utterly baffled. Since moving in with Emma, he had lost count of how many times he had questioned his very existence. Was she even a female? Here he was—the perfect specimen of male allure, draped in silk and radiating sex appeal. Yet she didn't so much as blink. There was no spark in her eyes, no hint of desire.Emma, oblivious to Damian's wounded pride, was sprawled comfortably across her bed, video calling Edric. On the other end, the striking man lounged in the Starrail Lounge, while Emma pointed to the necklace on her neck, a wide grin on her face. "Edric, what do you think? Looks good on me, doesn't it?" Edric nodded without hesitation. "It looks good." If Emma liked it, it was beautiful, even though anyone could tell the necklace was cheap. Why would she wear a worthless trinket like that? Had she been tricked by a beast?