"Silas, when will you be done?" Emma walked over, her gaze landing on the glowing lightcore screen in front of Silas. Displayed on the screen was a still-open chat window, the conversation between Silas and an anonymous poster. She skimmed through the exchange, noticing how Silas was earnestly giving the stranger advice. Her brows drew together in faint amusement. "Is this person your friend?" Classic Silas, guiding others as though he were writing a manual. "No." Silas shook his head. "He's just an anonymous user on the lightcore." As he spoke, he pulled up the earlier post that started it all and showed it to her. Emma recognized it. She had seen that post before.What surprised her was that Silas would take on something like this at all. Her expression turned curious. "Silas, are you short on beast cores or something?" "No, Emma. Why would you think that?" Remy was asleep on top of Silas' head. Taking advantage of the moment, he drew her into his arms, settling her comfortably on his lap. His fingertips traced light circles along her waist. Emma looped her arms around his neck. "If you're not short on beast cores, why take on a job like this?" He is already drowning in work every day. If he doesn't need them, why spare the time? Silas chuckled softly, his lips brushing close to her ear. "Corvin wants those two Rank 10 beast cores. I'm just helping him out." He didn't tell her that Corvin was secretly assembling a mech squad for her. Corvin's surprise wasn't his to spoil.Hearing it was for Corvin, Emma relaxed instantly. "If Corvin's asking for beast cores, then he's definitely building mechs." Smiling, she pressed a quick kiss to Silas' cheek before drawing several Rank 10 beast cores from her storage band and setting them neatly on his desk. Then, she leaned close and gave his ear a teasing bite. "These were gifts from the Elders of Drakonid to thank me for soothing Drake. Keep them. If it's not enough, tell me." Emma was no longer the penniless girl she used to be. Lucien, Silas, and the others had handed all their assets over to her. And the wealth was staggering, far too much for one person to manage. In the end, she decided each of them should oversee their own holdings. Every month, star coins flowed into her account, and she set up an automatic transfer so that more than half would go right back to them. She knew Lucien and the rest had people under their care, the star coin was needed everywhere. As for beast cores, they were stacked in the warehouse at home, and she'd long told them to take whatever they needed. But when Silas mentioned Corvin wanting those two reward cores from the anonymous poster, something clicked in her mind. None of them had touched the stockpile. It dawned on her. Are they too embarrassed to take anything unless I offer first? If not for this moment, she might never have realized. Acting on the thought, Emma pulled out an empty storage band and began loading it with beast cores and crystals from her own. She was just about to hand it to Silas when his lightcore pinged with a new message. It was from Marcus. 'Edric and I teamed up to mess with Corvin last time. Ms. Tibarn's mad and told me to redeem myself. What should I do? Teach me. Payment's one Rank 10 beast core.' Silas fell silent. Emma looked at him with raised brows. "Emma," he said quickly, sweat beading at his temple. "I didn't ask Marcus for cores. He insisted on giving them to me." Without hesitation, Silas threw Marcus straight under the bus. Serves him right for messaging at a time like this. "I swear, Marcus says he doesn't know how to win your favor, so he keeps asking me for help. Every time, he forces a Rank 10 beast core on me. I told him no, but he wouldn't listen." He truly hadn't schemed for those cores. Marcus had pushed them on him. "Emma, you've got to trust my integrity. Every core Marcus gave me, I've stored in the warehouse. I swear to the Beast God, I haven't hidden a single one." At this point, Silas ended each month with pockets cleaner than his face. He still had a squad of therians to feed.If Emma didn't return part of his income each month, he'd be so broke he'd have to sell his own leaves and petals. "Why are you so nervous?" she teased. "Even if you did hide a few, I wouldn't be angry." Emma caught the hand he'd raised to swear and pressed the newly filled storage band into it. "I know you've got a lot of people to support, and the expenses aren't small. From now on, I'll transfer you extra star coins every month, plus more beast cores and crystals. Whatever you need, I'll make sure you have it." They never take anything from the storage on their own. So, I just have to take the initiative and give it to them. I can't possibly let Silas and the others go broke every month, can I? Besides, they have plenty of people under them to support. Even if they don't spend the money, those people still have to.