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 amused. If he couldn’t or didn’t wish to answer, he could have just said so. But this silly-cute brother-in-law didn’t want to say no to him, yet didn’t wish to talk about the topic either, so he opted for such a childish response.
How could they continue this conversation now? Noah could only drop the topic and wait until the two of them were alone to bring it up.
***
City lord of Concordia initially felt rather apologetic towards this future son-in-law of his. Not only did the man get into an accident in his city – while trying to help them solve their own internal problems – but even though all of that happened, his daughter never made an appearance to offer her moral and emotional support to her miserable future husband.
How would the poor man feel after waking up to find out that his darling wasn’t there by his bedside?
But, several hours later, after handling many articles with titles like “Astar Levi - Which Cordia is he actually marrying?”, “Cordia Aris – a little brother or a ‘third party’?”, and “Close familial bonds or a messy love triangle?”, Cordia daddy felt a bit… disturbed. Something wasn’t quite right about this future in-law.
Of course, the city lord handled the press very professionally, acting like all of their content was baseless rumors and nonsense. He put on a convincing front of there being absolutely nothing wrong with his son-in-law whatsoever.
But internally, he was starting to feel very uncomfortable. This son-in-law and his daughter had been together for so many years, yet he had never seen this son-in-law display anything even remotely close to the level of attachment and emotion he had seen him display earlier today.
Initially, he had thought this lack of emotion was due to his naturally cold personality, but the scene of this so-called indifferent son-in-law clutching Aris to his chest was still vividly fresh in his memory.
The coldly apathetic image of this future son-in-law that he had held in his mind got ruthlessly shattered. Yet he could not pick up the pieces to glue them into a new image because he still had no idea what that new image was supposed to be! Concordia city lord realized that he didn’t really know this future son-in-law! He could not understand him and had no way to explain his behavior.
Back then, when he had seen the two sons together, Cordia daddy instantly got a headache. He could already see what kind of troublesome press he’d be forced to deal with later. He had wanted to separate the two right then, but his wife and Levi’s mother vehemently protested. They even ruthlessly kicked him into the study with a united front, telling him to just worry about his work and stop worrying about the pitiful two boys who nearly lost their little lives.
He had expected such a reaction from Levi’s mother; after all, she naturally thought about what was the best for her son first and foremost. And that was definitely to be near an SS-ranked Soother. Heck, where could she get another one to help soothe her son? Concordia had only this one SS-ranked Soother, and Astarea did not have a single one!
Thus, Concordia city lord wasn’t surprised by the response he received from Levi’s mother, but it was the response of his own wife that shocked him. After prodding her for a reason several times, she retorted, “What do you know?! Levi had a nightmare this morning and accidentally destroyed half of Astar manor! Do you want the same thing to happen to our manor as well?!”
And thus… Cordia daddy sucked in a large mouthful of air, wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead, and made his strategic retreat into the study. Out of sight, out of mind.
However, now that this mansion destroyer was sitting in his study, next to his baby son, Cordia daddy felt an onset of a migraine. He had a bellyful of complaints, but once he opened his mouth to voice them, he realized he didn’t know what to say.
He could only awkwardly cough and try to put in a good word for his daughter, “Don’t blame your wife-to-be for her absence. I couldn’t get through to her; she still has no idea what happened. If she knew, she’d absolutely rush straight home!”
Astar Levi only stared at him stoically. “Oh.”
Concordia city lord: “…” 〒▽〒 ‘That’s it! That’s the indifferent son-in-law I know!’
Cordia daddy side-eyed his own son, ‘…or thought I knew.’
The city lord of Concordia awkwardly cleared his throat, “Son-in-law… what… are your future plans?”
“Rest and recuperate,” Levi deadpanned.
“Where will you be resting, and for how long?”
“Here. Until I’m back to full power.”
Cordia daddy: “…” (°ー°〃)
Levi: “…” ( ̄へ ̄)
Noah: “...” (◞‸ლ)
Cordia daddy swallowed down his indignation, “Here as in…?”
‘In your son’s bedroom, in his bed,’ Levi silently stared at his father-in-law, then glanced back at Noah.
Receiving his brother-in-law’s cue, Noah interjected, “Dad, Levi will be staying here, in our manor for a while. He is working on the power rampage case, so it will be more convenient if he doesn’t have to travel to Concordia and back every day. Also, having a Soother by his side will be more conducive for his healing. We are all family, there is no need to complicate matters.”
Cordia daddy’s smile nearly cracked when he heard the manor destroyer would be staying in his own manor for the time being. He almost straight up suggested the other camp in his son’s room but caught himself before the thought could reach his mouth. It wasn’t appropriate for two adults to sleep together on the same bed. Even if they were in-laws.
But he couldn’t straight out kick his son-in-law out either.
Should he arrange another bed to be brought into his son’s room? But how would he explain it to his son? No, better yet, how would he explain it to his daughter?? No, that wouldn’t do!
Cordia city lord could only give his tacit approval. Then, wait for the two boys to leave so he could pass down instructions to arrange Levi into a room on the other side of the manor. The empty side. Where the damage would be limited.
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
Due to the Cleanser’s thorough cleansing of both their bodies and clothes earlier today, the two men only washed their teeth and left the shower for the morning after. Noah had found an extra toothbrush in his cupboard, and graciously offered it to Levi. Levi eyed the two toothbrushes standing side by side within the same cup and couldn’t help but feel extremely pleased by the image. Afterward, Noah, as usual, wore an oversized t-shirt to bed, and Levi… Noah averted his eyes from his brother-in-law’s naked torso, “Brother… I have several t-shirts here that should fit you–” “No need,” Levi interrupted, “It’s fine; I usually sleep like this.” Noah swallowed down the rest of his words. There… there was nothing strange with men only sleeping in their boxers… In his previous life on Cradle, he totally knew a lot of guys who slept only in their boxers… It’s just… it’s just… how come when his brother-in-law did it, he got a strange feeling? Like it wasn’t quite prop