Levi swallowed hard, “You… could you go ahead and check whether my mother came in person?”
Noah eyed Levi strangely, so Levi was forced to explain. “My mother is… uh… an Empathizer…”
Noah’s confusion was instantly replaced by understanding. Empathizers could sense the emotions of others as if they were their own. His brother-in-law was worried that if his mother came in person, she’d be able to feel how much today’s incident had affected him. He didn’t want her to worry, and how could she not if she felt his pain and distress?
Noah was thinking in the right direction. He would have reached the correct destination too if it weren’t for Levi’s thinking processes getting severely compromised in his baby’s vicinity.
That’s right. The loner wolf Levi simply didn’t want his mother to find out he was head over heels in love with his little brother-in-law!! Not in this way! Not right now when his baby was so close to being fully cooked!
Ah, considering how enraptured he was with his baby, any proper Empathizer would be able to feel his overflowing adoration from a mile away! He could only hope that his overprotective father didn’t allow her to come in person. Astar city lord usually refused to let his beloved wife go to places charged with negative emotions like hospitals and cemeteries. And currently, the Cordia manor should fall into that category.
Nonetheless, it is best to be prudent. And thus, Noah was sent into the living room as a scout.
It didn’t take long before his baby’s lovely voice could be heard calling for him, “Brother, you can come in.”
As soon as Levi entered, his eyes landed on the large light screen in the middle of the living room, upon which was the moving image of an attractive middle-aged woman. If one didn’t know her identity beforehand, no one would connect this gentle and lively lady to be Astar Levi’s mother. The two simply seemed to have nothing in common, from appearance all the way to personality and demeanor.
It turned out Levi’s assumption had been correct; his mother indeed hadn’t come in person. Or rather, she couldn’t come. Her husband had her on lockdown as soon as he heard about what happened. Thus she could only spend the entire day in a video call with Cordia mommy, waiting for her only son to wake up.
Levi let out a breath of relief. Alright, it made sense. Knowing his mother, if she were really here in person, she would be the first to know the two of them had woken up. Since no one had come up to bother them, then the only sensible explanation was that she wasn’t here.
‘Good job, father!’ 👍
When mommy Astar saw her stern son enter the room, it was as if the lady was injected with a stimulant. She nearly jumped out of the screen, “Darling, how are you?!? Do you need mom and dad to call over some more professional help? Is your body ok? Do you need a Healer? What about a Soother? You can’t just have little Aris work on you; he needs to recuperate too!”
Before Levi could even respond, like a machine gun, she continued her barrage, “You don’t need to worry about a thing! Let your father handle the diplomatic and PR work! You just rest and recuperate!”
Levi plopped his butt down on the sofa right next to Noah. Noah scooted over to give him more space, and Levi happily took all that space. He spread his legs wide open in a manly, imposing manner, very naturally plastering his thighs to Noah’s.
If Noah created an inch-wide distance between them, then Levi would move his leg an inch. And he did this all without a single change of expression, as if the person squeezing Noah into the corner was not him.
Levi patiently waited for his mother’s rant to pause. As soon as she was forced to take in a breath of air, he spoke, “…More professional help? Did father send over people?”
Astar mommy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She had asked so many questions, yet this mute of a son did not respond to a single one! He only opened that golden mouth of his to inquire about business! How did she, an Empathizer, manage to raise a son with such a low EQ?!?
Still, she felt comforted – since he was acting like his usual self, that would mean he was ok?
All those stupid articles on the net made it sound like her son had a mental breakdown. But it turned out all of it was complete hogwash! Her husband was right; their son was stronger than that. He definitely wouldn’t succumb due to something like this!
“Yes, you know your father. As soon as he heard about what happened, he sent over an entourage to ensure your safety. Two Shielders, a Shooter, an Intenter, a Sealer…”
Levi’s eyebrows shot up. A Sealer? Nice! It was indeed the father who knew his son best.
Sealers had a power that allowed them to seal off a certain area so no sound could leak out of it. High-ranked Sealers could even prevent outside eyes from seeing what was happening within the sealed-off area.
From now on, with a Sealer at hand, his privacy would be ensured. Even if Levi ended up in a highly-compromising situation, such as bedding his little brother-in-law, no reporters or other unrelated people would get a chance to find out about it.
However, since Levi’s father had sent a Sealer, it would seem that the happenings of today caused a big stir.
Levi’s eyes piercing eyes narrowed further, “Are the media blowing things out of proportion?”
Mommy Astar went quiet for a moment. “Don’t mind it. You know how they are. Always coming up with all kinds of scandalous articles.”
“Let me guess… they are talking about the two families getting into a feud? Rumors of the marriage falling through? Having a heated discussion about the insider motives of the incident? Are high profile people speaking out against the union of Astarea and Concordia?”
Levi’s mother avoided his eyes, “It… it’s nothing your father can’t handle.”
“What are the magazines calling me? Violent? Insane? Mentally unstable?”
“I say, when have you ever cared what the magazines called you?” Levi’s mother pursed her lips and promptly switched the subject, “When will you be coming back home? Although I’ve been working on getting the mansion fixed since this morning, you did quite a number on the west wing. Your room is still uninhabitable, but I’ve prepared a temporary bedroom in the east wing.”
“No,” Levi cut her off. “I’ll be staying here for the time being.” Then, realizing he had just invited himself over to his in-law’s place, Levi shot a glance to his baby, pitifully asking for permission.
Noah naturally nodded with an affectionate look mixed with helplessness, “We are family. There is no need to be polite. We have plenty of rooms in the manor, speak nothing of the current situation, even in normal times, you are welcome to stay over whenever you want.”
Levi, who had intended to continue sleeping in his baby’s bedroom: “…”
(・―・)
Alright, so further sleeping negotiations were needed.
Mn. They would settle that later, between themselves.
Levi retracted the profound look he had been staring at his baby with and turned back to face his mother.
Mommy Astar took in the sight of her son and little Aris, her thoughts unreadable. “Alright… just keep me updated on all the happenings. And be sure to tell me if you need anything.”
Author Note
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While making their way towards the study, Noah couldn’t help but inquire, “What happened to your manor?”Levi avoided his eyes and pretended he hadn’t heard his question. Noah waited for his response, and only after a long while had passed did he realize that the other had no intention of responding.“Brother?” Noah tugged at Levi’s sleeve, but the other lunged to knock on the study door as if chased by a flesh-eating zombie.Noah stared at the fleeing brother-in-law speechlessly, feeling a bit am
After visiting his father, Noah took a minute to send a message to Fynn, telling him to drop by the manor so that they could further discuss the case. He also updated his social status to say he was resting at home, but otherwise fine.After that, he recorded and sent a long and touching video message to Trey, ensuring him that everything was fine, and he would keep him updated on the happenings. He also encouraged Trey to properly rest and recuperate, apologized for getting him into this mess, and thanked him for his hard work both verbally and monetarily with a thick electronic envelope of cash. He also ordered a get-well gift basket to be sent to his hospital room.
At that moment, Noah finally realized why his pitiful brother-in-law looked so undead in the morning. Not only was his sleep quality poor, getting tormented by nightmares, but he even ended up destroying his room!How horrible would one feel if, in a blink of an eye, they destroyed their own home?!Never mind the stress, pitiful brother-in-law was the one who lost the most in this accident, yet instead of mourning his own loss, he even had a crushing sense of regret and guilt! Feeling as if it was his fault, as if there was something wrong with him!
“Understand?” Noah’s beautiful honey-colored eyes curved, watching Levi with a pure and clean gaze of a little sheep, utterly oblivious to their impending fate of getting eaten clean, with not even bones remaining.Levi repeatedly nodded, “I understand!”Noah eyed Levi, confirmed that the other was no longer feeling down, and then nodded satisfied, “As long as you understand. Every problem has a solution. Don’t let people who don’t even know you pin nonsense adjectives to you.”Levi ke
As he watched this tall, dark, and fierce man blankly hug Noah’s frail body, Fynn felt an overwhelming sense of defeat. Astar Levi might not be qualified to pursue Cordia Aris. But he, Fynn, wasn’t qualified either – his own feelings couldn’t even compare to the ones of an “unqualified” person. What face did he have to continue his pursuit? How could he convince Noah that he was the better choice, when even he, himself, didn’t believe it? Astar Levi might be all kinds of mad and shameless; he might be a villain to every single person i
Fynn nodded, “My first thought was that your brother-in-law’s pressure had destroyed it, but then I started to think. If the Fluxer and the Blazer had also been hit with a dart, why is it that we were unable to find the dart?” “Right before the Fluxer went berserk,” Levi opened his golden mouth, “he had slapped his neck as if he had been bitten by a mosquito.” Noah nodded, “Right! He must have felt the dart prick him, and instinctively slapped his neck!” After chewing off the majority of the chicken drumstick, Fynn took a bite of a buffalo wing, “The Fluxer is taking longer to regain consciousness than the Blazer, so I still couldn’t get his statement. However, I went back to talk to the Blazer.” Fynn stopped to chew and swallow, “After mentioning a prick, he suddenly remembered. He said that he did feel a prick before the power rampage, but he didn’t think much of it at the time, so he had completely forgotten about it.” Noah’s amber eyes nar
Noah’s tense posture relaxed, and he leaned back in his chair, “You are saying that the Shooter isn’t a member of the terrorists but hired help?”Fynn nodded, “It would also explain why not getting caught was more important to him than ensuring the power rampages went as planned. In the last power rampage incident, after starting the power rampage, if he shot another bullet to incapacitate or kill you…”Noah felt Levi’s hand in his hair stiffen unnaturally at the words “kill you”. He promptly shot Levi a comforting look and gently patted his thigh. For some reason, that action made Levi stiffen even more, and even Fynn choked on the water he was drinking, starting to cough violently.Noah attempted to get up to pat his back, but Fynn’s teary eyes widened, and he started to wave his hands as if to say ‘No need! You! Remain sitting!! Don’t come over!!’Seeing how insistent
After Fynn left to execute his part in the plan, Noah and Levi remained sitting alone in the dining room. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Noah side-eyed Levi. Noah might be misinterpreting most of Levi’s reactions, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t see them clearly. Over the last couple of hours, the more he spoke, the fierier Levi’s gaze became. At first, Noah had ignored it, but later on, he couldn’t help but seek solace from his black-hearted system, “Blackie… is it just me or brother-in-law's gaze seems a bit… too fervent?” “What’s wrong with admiring your wit? Your plan is really well-thought-out! Even I, this AI system which has seen many things, can’t help but feel admiration and respect for the level of your scheming,” Blackie very cheerfully praised his host, which, considering that he was usually a total jerk, should have been suspicious in itself, but Noah, whose attention had been preoccupied with Levi, missed it. “Is-is that s