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 so? But how come I am getting a different vibe here…?” Sure there were admiration and respect… but this kind of admiration… wasn’t it a bit too intense?
“What kind of a vibe?” Blackie showcased a rarely seen amount of patience.
“I-I am not sure… I’ve never seen such a look before, but… it doesn’t seem to be the good kind of gaze to have someone look at you with?” Noah couldn’t quite put his finger on why he found the gaze alarming, but his hairs stood on end, and he wasn’t the one to dismiss his instincts.
‘Oooh, so you are referring to that mad, obsessive adoration? Yeah, that might be some cause for worry…’ Blackie snickered internally, but his words told another tale, “Oh, I think I know what’s going on. Your brother-in-law is seeing you in a different light. You must be subconsciously worried that he wouldn’t treat you the same as before now that he knows you aren’t as harmless as you look.”
Noah reassessed himself and found out that the subconscious feeling was, indeed, worry.
Blackie: ‘Heh, of course, it’s worry. If I was about to get eaten, I’d worry too!’ (¬‿¬)
Noah waited for Levi and him to be alone again before confronting his brother-in-law about it. However, Levi’s only response to Noah’s question was to look away. He couldn’t stop his own feelings, so all he could do was to not look. Ah, it wasn’t his fault that his baby was too lovely! Usually, his baby was the cutest thing in existence; however, when he exposed his sharp claws, he became simply so stunning Levi found it hard to breathe. He just couldn’t help but be enchanted. No matter how he tried to control his expression, some of his feelings would still leak through.
“Did you think I had no teeth?” Noah probed, “Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Just because I don’t expose my fangs usually doesn’t mean I can’t be both cunning and ruthless if forced by circumstances.”
“That’s not it,” Levi swallowed hard, his response coming out hoarse, “You are perfect the way you are.”
Noah, who was about to continue speaking, forgot what he had intended to say. Suddenly he felt strangely flustered and even the tips of his ears heated up.
The contents of Levi’s words were embarrassing enough, but when said with that deep and unintentionally sexy tone, they became too much.
If it wasn’t clear to Noah that Levi had blurted the words out unintentionally, he would have thought the other was flirting with him. Ah, his brother-in-law’s lethality was really too much!
Just like that, Noah had utterly forgotten both his original intentions and the disconcerting gaze that caused them.
***
After taking care of all the matters related to their plan that needed to be settled, it was already bedtime.
The little sheep proceeded to lead the big bad wolf into the fold.
…But was stopped midway by the shepherd–ahem, butler, who had been sent by Cordia daddy to arrange Levi’s accommodations.
The man first pointed out that Levi’s mother had sent him a change of clothes and other necessities, and then explained that they put it inside the room they had prepared for Levi.
As soon as the butler motioned for Levi to follow him to the mentioned room, the man in question shot him down with the resolve bordering ferocity, “No need!”
The butler, who had been shocked by Levi’s forceful manner and adamant refusal, could only look to Noah for help.
Levi, worried that his baby would kick him out of his bedroom, leaned in to whisper into Noah’s ear, “Wasn’t it you who told me to try having a nightmare in the vicinity of a Soother?”
Noah scratched his now itchy and pink ear and glanced at his brother-in-law’s face that clearly had “the only Soother here is you” spelled out on it.
To the butler, this brother-in-law seemed nonchalant, but to Noah, who was by now very familiar with him, Levi looked very tense as he awaited his response. Noah could already tell that the moment he said no, this cute brother-in-law would don a look of a kicked puppy.
What else could Noah do but indulge him? He did indeed say that. And even if he hadn’t said it, after what happened today, Levi wouldn’t be able to sleep in peace without his soothing aura. Even if Levi was willing to try it, he, Noah, wouldn’t be willing! What if his pitiful brother-in-law had another nightmare and destroyed their own mansion? How horrible would he feel then?!
Cordia mommy & daddy: ‘What do you mean how horrible would HE feel?!?щ(゚Д゚щ)‘It’s not his manor that would get demolished! It’s ours!!’
Noah’s sister: ‘Oi, oi, what about ME? I live here too!!’ (ノ꒪Д꒪)ノ︵ ┻━┻
Levi: ‘Oh? You do? (ꐦ ◠‿◠) Then how come I can’t even catch sight of your shadow these few days?’
Noah’s sister: ‘I’ll… I’ll just see myself out of this non-existent conversation…’(; ゚ 3゚ )~♪
Levi: ‘Come back here!! I have a marriage to cancel!’
ψ(╬`∇´)ψNoah sighed, “What brother-in-law means is that he can’t sleep without soothing. Thus, for the time being, he’ll be resting in my room.”
Butler: “!!!” (っ °Д °;)っ
Levi gently pushed Noah into the bedroom as if it was his own and then turned to glance at the stupefied butler, “Can you let me know the moment my fiancée comes back home? It doesn’t matter how late; I urgently need to talk to her.”
And with those last words, Levi slammed the bedroom door shut in the poor man’s still befuddled face.
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
Noah couldn’t help but once again remember the memories Blackie shared with him, and his two amber eyes moistened.Before he could register what he was doing, he grabbed Levi’s chin and made the other face him. “I won’t die,” Noah proclaimed solemnly. ‘I really won’t die. I have Blackie.’Blackie: (눈_눈) ‘Oh? Now you remember how useful this system is? Then how come I remember you constantly doubting this lord’s abilities and even asking for a mute button?’Noah didn’t have the chance to continue his pledge because as soon as he made the first move, it was as if all hell broke loose.As if a tight string had snapped within Levi, his previously motionless form abruptly enveloped Noah within his arms. His left arm wrapped around Noah’s waist and lower back, his hand stealthily gliding over Noah’s round bottom to rest on his hip. Meanwhile, his right arm slid
“Surv-surviving three… three times…” As Noah attempted to recover his train of thought, his voice came out shaky and broke in several places. Only after clearing his throat several times did he finally manage to piece together a relatively fluent sentence. “Surviving three times might… might look like a coincidence, but–but if my instincts told me I would die… would… would I not change my actions until I found a way to live?”Noah shrunk his pink neck, lowered his head, and stared at his own feet as if they were the most interesting of species. “From an outsider's perspective, these–these might look like… like close brushes with death. But from mine, they… they are just a multiple-choice question to which I already know the wrong answers.”Levi’s eyes had not once left his alluring baby. Letting go of him had already taken every drop of Levi’s will power; how wo
When Cordia daddy received the report from the butler, he nearly choked on his spit.This son-in-law is treating his little son’s room as his own!! Has he no shame?? So many rooms in the manor, including his fiancée’s place, yet he chooses to settle in his son’s bedroom?!?For goodness sake! His son’s room didn’t even have a sofa! There is only that one bed!!It took Concordia city lord a long while to finally manage to swallow down his indignation.Very well! Every problem has its solution. (ꐦ ◠‿◠)And thus, he passed down his orders – tomorrow, when the two boys left the bedroom, move another bed inside.Not enough room for another bed? Make room! Even if you have to replace the large bed with a smaller one, you shall do it!Can’t get that huge bed out of the room? Don’t care how you do it! Even if the only solution is to split the huge bed into two with a bloody laser cutter, y
No, it wasn’t the matter of his baby’s suitors! He, the dignified and the magnanimous ruler of Astarea, and his darling’s one and only future husband didn’t need to worry about some peasants stealing the goddess–ahem, the god of his heart!(︶^︶)ノAlright, fine! The actual truth was that he hadn’t gotten his hands on that list just yet… (≖ ‸ ≖)Apparently, getting a list of his love rivals involved a lot of research; getting accurate information within such a short time frame was unrealistic. Or at least that’s what his people had claimed with tears in their eyes.Hmph, since he had more pressing matters to attend to right now, he would let them off the hook this once.As for the mentioned pressing matters, they were naturally related to getting married to his baby. Back when he had decided to switch the bride of the arranged marriage to his baby, Levi had lamented how much easier it would all be if h
By the time the eldest Cordia sibling, Noah’s sister, handled all of the work assigned to her, the day had already turned into night. Her healing powers had been squeezed dry, leaving her utterly exhausted self, stumbling on her way to the employee lounge.Her glassy eyes lit up when she saw the vacant sofa as if seeing a great benefactor. Without further ado, she slumped into the comfy goodness, intending to briefly rest her tired body before hauling herself home. However, as soon as her head touched the sofa, she ended up inadvertently dozing off. When she finally snapped out of it, the time on the wall showed several hours had already passed.She sat up in a fluster, her abrupt actions making the quilt covering her slide off. In a daze, she gazed towards the soft blanket which she did not remember covering herself with.Ah, Shaw must have seen her embarrassing state and considerately fetched a blanket. What a mature, thoughtful gentleman! Tsk, unlike he
Noah’s sister wasn't the only one who had trouble falling asleep that night. Somewhere in Concordia, there was a dimly lit room with all of its window sills shut tight in an attempt to keep the proceedings inside private. A futile effort since neither the tightly shut windows nor the thick door could keep the loud and agitated bits and pieces of the conversation from leaking out."How is he fine and well?!?""…don't know!""Didn't you say… estimated power… SS-rank Soother?!?""I told you… results… unpredictable!""Didn't… increase the doze?! How is… Astar Levi… fucking fine?!?""Differences in mental power? Differences in the level of… abilities? For all we know… soothing power …increasing…""So we are fucking training the enemy to counter our plans better?! Is that it?!?"A sharp sound of glass breaking could be heard from within.
Noah’s eyes were wide and watery, every inch of his skin red, and his “natural” facial expression anything but natural. He attempted to meet Levi’s eyes because avoiding the other’s gaze would make him look guilty, but his poor acting nearly made Levi’s very good acting fall apart! He just looked like a trembling little rabbit trying to look brave and lock eyes with the wolf, only to falter and look down shyly. But then remember he was supposed to be brave, so look up again, but ah! Can’t look in the eyes! So embarrassed, ah! (/≧ω\) ‘Oh, for the love of…!! Baby, that’s a foul!!’ Levi’s heart melted into a puddle from the overwhelming cuteness attack he had been subjected to. The corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly, and he swallowed hard, the knot on his throat bobbing up and down. Thankfully for him, his acting was still passable, either due to his naturally thick face or the fact that his facial expressions were naturally less expressive than most pe