《Soul Shard Captor》 Chapter 1 - Info Novel: Soul Shard Captor [BL Version] Series: World & Soul Bureau Series Author: Lucy Pan Dora === LINKS === Support the author: ko-fi.com/lucypandora Author website: lucypandora.com Chat about SSC on Discord: lucypandora.com/discord Vote what arc I should write next: lucypandora.com/vote (I''ve set up an Arc Overview page on my site where you can see the ideas for future arcs and let me know which ones you are looking forward to the most. When deciding what arc to write next, I will take into account your votes and prioritize writing arcs that have a higher number of votes. So go and help me choose what to write next! No need to login or anything, just visit the URL and click the like button on the arcs you especially want to read.) === RELEASE RATE === ? a guaranteed new chapter every day at 6 pm CET/CEST (= midnight UTC+8) ? bonus chapters released as a reward for votes (If you can''t temporarily vote for the novel, it is due to the novel being flagged by an anti-spam algorithm. This sometimes happens, and will be fixed soon.) === STORY INFO === ? Story will have many different volumes, in each volume, MC lives a new life in a new world with magic elements and a mystery that needs to be solved. Thus, each volume can be read standalone, or skipped if it isn''t your cup of tea. ? You can see the overview of future arcs/volumes and vote for them in SSCs discord server (link above). Arcs that have a higher interest from you guys will be written out sooner. ? The emphasis of the novel is on the romance, which means that the concentration of sugar, fluff, and smut is higher than the concentration of mystery & adventure. ? Lots of fluff + Occasional kinky, explicit smut. (??? ) Warning! Slightly spoiler-ish info below! ? It is one-on-one pairing. MC is the bottom, ML is the top. No messy love triangles. No angst. ? ML never has any previous memory of MC so he is always falling in love anew. ? MC "shelves away" his emotions towards ML after each arc so that he can move on and live a new life in the next world. Thus, throughout the novel, both ML and MC end up falling in love with each other over, and over, and over again. ? All worlds contain plot twists, and the pairing of MC and ML is always exciting/taboo-ish due to their peculiar identities in that world (Examples of what I mean by exciting pairings: hired assassin and his target, monster tamer and his tamed beast, master and disciple, siblings, brothers-in-law, etc.) ? Some scenes might come off as dub-con/non-con, due to MC''s perpetual reluctance to engage in "hm-hm" activities. However, that''s just their thing. MC says no but is secretly looking forward to it, while ML knows that his baby especially likes being "forced". Outside of bedroom activities, they are very loving, doting, respectful, and considerate of one another. ? In all arcs in which ML possesses a superpower, if it can be used for sex - it most definitely will be used for sex. ;) ? ML is possessive and prone to jealousy with yandere-ish tendencies, however, he dotes on MC and pampers him into the heavens, always putting him first. Not an abusive domineering asshole. ? Always a Happy Ending === ARC STATUS === Arc 1 - Aris the Soother [Release In Progress] Noah becomes the only son of the City Lord of a Sci-Fi city. Noah and his city are experiencing some strange life-threatening superpower rampages suspected of being the work of terrorists. Noah teams up with his brother-in-law, his own bodyguard, and a police inspector to figure out what is really going on. View upcoming arcs: lucypandora.com/vote Chapter 2 - Arc 1 1 – God? Is That You? He had been doing something completely mundane when it came. Without any prior warning, his body started turning into bright motes of light, flickering about like butterflies flapping their wings. He had felt no pain nor distress as his consciousness faded into a dreamless slumber. For he knew that the next time he awakened, he would be completely reborn, from inside out, just like all the worldborn that came before him, and all the worldborn that shall come thereafter. And indeed, when his consciousness returned, an indeterminate amount of time later, he couldn''t remember much of who he had been before. More than two decades he had spent on his homeworld Cradle, vanished into smoke, leaving behind no clear memories. Now his entire past consisted of short snippets of conversations with people he didn''t remember. And mere vague notions, like the fact he had been raised in an orphanage by an old nun. Beyond that, there was nothing but emptiness. No attachments, no emotions, no names, no faces. Oh! Wrong! He did remember one name C his own. It was Noah. Because of course it was! If you were named by an old religious nun, you''d be named Noah too! ||_ Or Adam, you know, for the sake of diversity. Unless you were female. In which case, you''d probably be named Mary. It''s always Mary! (???) Alright, alright, if one put the infuriating naming sense he had been subjected to aside, the nun did a pretty decent job everywhere else. His current situation was just as described in the Holy Scripture that he had been taught for as long as he could (not) remember. According to the Scripture, the destiny of a worldborn did not lie in the lands of Cradle but in the vast and magnificent Haven. Everything he had experienced growing up in Cradle was merely a preparation for his new life in Haven. A tutorial teaching him the rules of the game. A nurturing environment to shape him into who he was meant to be and then release him into the wild. Thus, upon reaching full maturity, all worldborn were granted a clean break from their past to better embrace their future. Yet, when the beautiful future he had been waiting for arrived, what greeted Noah when he opened his eyes wasn''t the gorgeous promised land, but complete and utter darkness. ????? This was not what Haven was supposed to look like! Did something go wrong with his ascension, turning him blind? Noah waved his right hand in front of his face. Slender fingers covered in supple, white, nearly-transparent skin without any scars or calluses. There weren''t even any moles or hair! It''s confirmed!!! He was most definitely!!! not blind. () But wait! Could it be?!? Did he end up dead on arrival, and was now a ghost?! In a fluster, Noah craned his slender neck to look at himself and his surroundings. Oh, good! He could see his own reflection on the black, mirror-like surface of the floor he was standing on. Ghosts shouldn''t have reflections, right? Right? Noah gave his reflection a once-over. He was still wearing the oversized t-shirt he had been in before he was beamed up, but other things about him had gotten an upgrade. He had turned even more dazzling than he had been before his ascension - simply a beauty that transcended age, race, and gender! His skin had become as supple and smooth as that of a newborn baby. His chestnut hair, parted on the right side, gleamed like strands of fine silk. His facial features have become both softer and more charming, his lips fuller and more edible looking. His warm black eyes, framed with long and thick eyelashes that were the envy of the entire female population, were uh still there? he couldn''t see them well because the floor was also black. r(st)q But not seeing them was good! It meant they haven''t changed much! In short, he didn''t feel dead? Noah gave himself a quick pinch. Yep. Very physical. Also ouch. He underestimated this upgraded body''s strength. He ought to be careful with that in the future. Well, everything seemed to be in order. Even the power flowing through his veins was very lively, and exactly as mentioned by the Holy Scripture. Although it was still in a state of flux, he had no doubt that, given more time, it would slowly solidify into something suitable for him. Sooo did he take a wrong turn somewhere? No, no, no, if he missed a turn, it would be because someone forgot to put up road signs! Or did the tour guide take an unplanned day off? This dark and empty space couldn''t possibly be Haven? Before Noah''s thoughts had the chance to run amok, a magnificent disembodied voice reverberated through the emptiness around him. "Congratulations, young worldborn! Rejoice for you have been chosen for the special and much sought-after privilege of becoming an agent of theC" "God? Is that you?" Noah''s gasped, his big eyes widening into saucers, "Am I dead after all?!" The voice faltered, "Er yes? No! Close enough?" but it quickly managed to regain its majesty to continue the speech, "Ahem, stay calm! This-this is just a normal part of the process!" "Oh. So, I''m not dead. Phew!" Noah wiped off nonexistent sweat from his white forehead. The voice''s grandiose manner screeched to a halt again, "Uh well that depends on your definition of dead. Are you a disembodied soul? Technically yes but your soul has been upgraded into a spirit body, so it is both a fully functioning body and a soul thus, perhaps considering you as dead would be a bit nonsensical?" ''Am I dead, or am I not dead?!'' 루??룩 "Er let''s not get stuck on technicalities! The line between dead and undead is really thin in this place" "That''s right!" Noah, as the easily distracted sort, quickly set the question of dead or undead aside and concentrated on the next big thing: "What is this place? Is this Haven?" The voice noticeably paused, its reply lacking in confidence, "yes?" ''Who are you trying to fool?!'' Noah''s blood pressure shot up. His lips twitched several times as he tried, with much difficulty, to prevent his smile from cracking. He took a deep breath. Then, in a sweet yet somehow chill-inducing voice, he questioned, "Then, where are my promised vibrant green hills as far as the eyes can see? What about a beautiful rainbow, where the land and sky meet?" The more he spoke, the more his voice quivered with suppressed outrage, "...the crystal-clear pool of sparkly aquamarine water?! What about my promised 72 virgins?!?" The voice hurried to explain, "ActuallyC" then halted, "What? 72 virgins?" (_;) After a moment of silence, Noah''s freshly upgraded hearing caught the entity he had been speaking to direct an inquiry toward a third person in a furious yet hushed voice: "I don''t remember including that in the Holy Scripture!"Cfollowed by an outraged gaspC"Was it Steve again?!?" The hushed conversation was interrupted by Noah slapping his own forehead. Not knowing where the voices were coming from, he directed a sheepish look towards a random direction, "My bad. Wrong Holy Scripture. But you can''t blame me, all of them are so similar in content, it''s really easy to mix them up." r(st)q A moment of heavy silence descended upon the dark space. Author Note: If you dislike the usage of emoji and kaomoji in the novel, you''ll be glad to hear that the frequency of their appearance has been greatly lowered in the later chapters, and the tone of the novel doesn''t flip-flop as much. Just try to ignore them for the time being. Onwards for the sake of smut and fluff! (?*^o^)?* Chapter 3 - Arc 1 2 – My Entire Life Is A Lie!!! And then, like a kettle that had reached a boiling point, the disembodied voice burst out, I know, right?! Those stinky little humans stole every word that made sense and passed it off as their own!! What imposing atmosphere? The speakers grand and aloof manner simply got fed to the dogs!! The voice didnt even pause to take in a breath, only getting more agitated the more it spoke, I clearly told them they should include plagiarism in the list of deathly sins, but noooo, Blackie, that is already included under theft they said! And look at what happened! Just look! Noah indeed looked, but besides darkness he couldnt see a thing. r(s?t)q And do you know what the worst thing about it is?!?C the voice didnt wait for a response CApparently pilfering every word wasnt enough, they even added in a bunch of nonsense!! The Holy Scripture had been butchered!! Simply butchered beyond recognition!!! Noahs righteous indignation faltered, and suddenly he felt a bit bad for this unfortunate deity? He spoke up, Uh it it isnt that bad? Im sure that most people with a brain can tell the truth apart from the nonsense. I mean, no one stones non-virgins nowadays (; ? 3? )~? The voice snorted derisively, obviously unconvinced yet unwilling to continue this undoubtedly painful topic. Back to what I was saying, C it cleared its throat CAs a worldborn, your soul and body have been included in our periodic scans, and due to the most recent results, weve decided to pick you up. As per regulations, weve sent you through a specialized procedure you worldborn call ascensionC the voice halted, then added under its breath Cor was it rebirth? Apparently, the person it was directing the question to wasnt clear on the correct terminology either, because soon after, the voice continued, Ahem, at any rate, you were intercepted midway through the procedure and brought here instead of sending you off to reincarnation. Noah didnt quite understand who he was speaking to and what the mentioned scan was, but Wait, wait, wait, wait! Reincarnation?! Um, senior, youve got the wrong soul! This one is getting off at Haven! A heavy silence enveloped the empty space again, this time lasting even longer than the previous one. Uh I dont know how to tell you this, but Noah suddenly got a very bad feeling, Is there something wrong with my soul?! Heavens, no! Your soul is 100% perfect! Perfectly in line with what the Bureau has been looking for, that is, the voice refuted. Having himself called perfect, ah, Noah felt a bit shy. (? ?>? ?? ?? ?< ))o Blackie: That! (?D?) was a surprisingly accurate summary! That man-child definitely wanted to play with the new playmate he had made. And thats definitely why he couldnt sleep last night. (???) Noah: Ah, how adorable! In his haste, this silly brother-in-law even forgot to empty his bladder! He must have forgotten to eat breakfast as well! Isnt he really fortunate to have such a lovely brother-in-law?? Blackie: Wow. Just wow. (?_?) Where would you find another person who got abruptly woken up at 7 AM by a crazy brother-in-law, and instead of getting pissed, they found him lovely? (???) His host should really get a reward for that epic level of tolerance. Blackie glanced at the reward who was currently fapping inside the bathroom. (?_?) The old saying is indeed true. Good people have short lives instead of getting a medal, his host will clearly get fucked to death Ah, well, sacrifices need to be made for the success of the mission. r(s?t)q Hell just think of it this way C since good people have short lives, they need a scoundrel in their lives to look after them. Yep! Its starting to sound like a match made in heaven already! ^__^ Good, good, then hell stay out of this shit and with a peace of mind... eat metaphorical popcorn at the side. ??? Honestly, Blackie was dying to know whether Noah still found his brother in law cute after getting eaten clean. Future Noah, who had been so ruthlessly sacrificed by his system: (p 㧥)Φ ߩ How could he possibly find this beast in human skin cute after getting tied up and fucked in his poor virgin ass like there is no tomorrow?!? 루??룩 A-alright so actually he um still found him a bit a bit just a bit. cute (Rأ) ? Chapter 32 - Arc 1 31 – How Could His Baby Be So Cute??? It took a good half an hour for Levi to leave the bathroom. It made Noah recall that the same thing happened the day before. Noah: Poor brother-in-law! He must still be suffering from the same tummy issues! 䣼 Blackie: actually, you are right again! Same issues indeed! Wow, you are on a roll today! (???) At least his brother-in-laws tummy problems seemed to be getting better. Unlike yesterday, today, when he came out of the bathroom, his brother-in-law looked very satisfied, like he had a very relieving dump. Levi: Baby, I like that you are concerned about me, but can you think about me in a less embarrassing and more sexually attractive way??? QAQ Blackie: *too busy dying from laughter to form a coherent spicy comeback* In these thirty minutes, Noah had gone from sleepy confusion, to abruptly realizing that he wasnt dreaming and that his brother-in-law had actually really shown up in front of his bedroom. After a brief moment of bewilderment, Noah had, of course, managed to come up with a reasonable explanation for all the strange happenings, and while he was at it, make Levi look cute. An impressive feat, considering the man had an omnipresent fierce look on his face, was nearly a head taller than an average male, and had a tighter pack of muscles than a black ops soldier. How that badass, all-black pack of wild-meets-danger turned into fluffy cuteness, Blackie will never know. But apparently, it was possible, because his brain-damaged host was still melting at the supposed cuteness while he proceeded to dress himself in something more appropriate. Aris usually slept in one of his cute PJs, but Noah had different sleeping habits, and he saw no need to change something so insignificant. Would someone accuse him of not being Aris if he suddenly started sleeping in an oversized t-shirt? Pfft, a better question would be - would anyone even notice the change? r(st)q As for why Noah preferred sleeping in an oversized t-shirt, the reason went all the way back to his childhood. The orphanage he had grown up in wasnt well off, so instead of wasting the limited funds on sleepwear, Noah had come up with an idea to just sleep in one of the t-shirts left over from the big brothers who had already moved out of the orphanage. Noah remembered that it was the right decision, they managed to eat a very good meal that month. And so, he had slept in an oversized t-shirt ever since. And he saw nothing problematic with that. Its not like he was naked C he still had his briefs underneath. There was nothing to feel embarrassed about. Its not like he was a shy maiden or something. He was a man. Men went to the beach with only their boxers on. What kind of modesty are we even talking about here? Speaking of the beach, maybe he should take his brother-in-law for a dip today? He remembered that his brother-in-law seemed to have sweated a lot yesterday. (Levi: baby, why do you keep bringing up my dark history?!? QAQ) The weather was indeed getting hotter, maybe his brother-in-law might appreciate a chance to cool off. Noah was supposed to show him around Concordia anyway, and what better place to take him than to the aquarium pool resort Concordia was famous for? His sis would also appreciate some relaxation after yesterdays overtime. Hehe, and brother-in-law would surely appreciate seeing his sis in a bikini. ??? It is a win for everyone! (Levi: I would definitely appreciate seeing a certain Cordia in a bikini but you are mistaken about which one ??? Ah, just imagining how embarrassed and shy his baby would be if he was forced to wear something as shameful as a bikini ?) Noah wanted to surprise Levi with this excursion, so he didnt bring up where they would be going, he only said that they should invite sis too. However, much to his bewilderment, the idea was immediately shot down by his brother-in-law, Lets go, just the two of us. Having the third wheel Trey with them was annoying enough! How would Levi agree to add an extra one!? Especially if the said wheel was his fiance?? How was he supposed to charm his baby if his fiance was there with them?? He simply couldnt see that going well! Blackie: Oh, so you DO see a problem in all of this? I thought you had completely forgotten about the technical issues of your totally inappropriate endeavor. (?_?) Seeing as how Noah was looking up at him in great confusion, Levi figured that it might be best if he came up with an appropriate explanation. Otherwise, his careless actions might raise his babys defenses. And then it will be much harder to cook him through without the other noticing. And so, Levi thickened his face and recited, word for word, a reason he had heard from his father-in-law half an hour ago: Your sister had a long day at work yesterday, only coming back home late at night. It would be best to let her sleep some more. Levi: Thanks for the excuse, father-in-law! Youre the real MVP! Father-in-law: How come that excuse didnt work when I used it??? QAQ Blackie: It doesnt work on those whose skin is thicker than the city walls. (???) Noah: Look how thoughtful brother-in-law is! Even I didnt know that sis came back late yesterday! What a good man he is! Sis is so lucky to snatch such a caring husband! t(*㨌*)s Levi, who hasnt contacted his fiance in any way since yesterday morning: Thats right. You can count on me, baby. I will be a caring and thoughtful husband to my precious darling! ? Father-in-law: Objection!! Why is my credit being assigned to him?!? It was me who was a caring father to my little girl, not this scoundrel! I even said my baby girl is overworked and tired and stuff, but did he ask about her wellbeing at all?? He literally came to his fiances house and let alone ask about her, he didnt even mention her!!! Not one word!!! 루??룩 Blackie: Hehe. Good luck trying to talk some sense where there is none. Now you know how I, a sane AI system, feel next to those two retards. (أ) Allegedly sleeping sister: did no one even consider asking me? No one? At all?? Who am I? Where am I? Do I even exist? QAQ *** When Noah and Levi came down for breakfast, Cordia father and mother were already half done with theirs. This was Noahs first time meeting Ariss parents after taking over Ariss identity, so he had been nervous that they would spot something off about him. However, as soon as his eyes landed on the large table filled to the brim with various foods, looking like a breakfast buffet at a hotel, all his worries got thrown out of the window, completely forgotten. How would he have the mind to overthink things when he had such a feast in front of him?! The housekeeper aunty had set up the breakfast table to have anything the family might want within arms reach. There was butter, marmalade, honey, maple syrup, fresh fruit, yogurt, milk, cereals - you name it, and it was there. Cordia mommy had prepared fried eggs and bacon for breakfast, and the butler had just brought in some fresh puff pastries from the bakery. Whatever Noah wanted to eat, he could eat. There were even several machines at the table, which Noah recognized as Sci-Fi versions of a coffee maker, waffle maker, and a pancake machine. All he had to do was press a button, and in less than a minute, hed have a freshly made waffle or pancake or hot cocoa. Noah: This world is better than Haven!! (? ?) All hail the World and Soul Management Bureau! Blackie: If I had known that all I had to do to get you on board was to show you the food ||_ all that effortwasted (??)Φ ߩ Noah: Oh! A toaster! Lets start with that! (?*^o^)?* Noah licked his lips, and impatiently sat down in his seat. Levi hid his smile behind his hand as he sat right next to him. His baby looked like a little kid receiving his much-expected birthday present. ? Look at those large glittering eyes! Look at him, barely keeping his saliva in! Ah, ah, how could his baby be so cute??? ? ? o(RQ)o ? ? Chapter 33 - Arc 1 32 – Dare Make Life Difficult For My Baby? Off With Their Heads! Levi didnt miss any of Noahs little expressions and mannerisms, so he immediately noticed how the other was glancing towards the butter, which was just out of his reach. With his eyes both gentle and sparkling with amusement, Levi picked it up and moved it in front of his little darling. Noahs eyes lit up, and he looked at Levi with a mix of appreciation, gratitude, and what Levi would like to think to be adoration. Levi felt himself melting into a puddle under his precious darlings loving gaze. Ah, ah, he had indeed been living life wrong for the past 24 years!! Now, THIS was how life should be like! Cordia mommy glanced at the two harmonious boys, and her sharp motherly instincts caught on to somethingpeculiar. She couldnt quite put her finger on it, but there was something strange in the air? Cordia daddy, on the other hand, was too busy scrolling through the news on the light screen projected by his communicator to pay attention to how his son was getting the little wife treatment from his son-in-law. Oh, honey, are you alright? I heard about what happened yesterday. Cordia mommy remembered what she had wanted to talk to her son about yesterday, but didnt get the chance to because Noah was out late and then just went straight to bed after coming back. Thats right, what happened? Cordia daddy put down his work for a moment to concentrate on his beloved son. The fact that spoke clearest about how busy the city lord was is that Noah got into an incident yesterday, yet the man only now asked him about it. Of course, that''s because the city lord was well informed about everything that happened in his city and knew that Noah was ok, but still, hearing it from someone else was one thing, hearing it from his sons own mouth was another. Levis gaze, which had been glued onto his little darling, snapped to look at his father-in-law. What?!? It will soon be 24 hours since the accident, and you still havent talked to my precious baby about it?!? Levis eyelid started twitching with how much effort he was using to refrain from shooting the man an icy glare. What kind of a father are you!? How could you have the time to worry about your overworked daughter and not worry about my precious overworked baby?!? What blatant favoritism!! Levi mentally noted down this slip up against his father-in-law. If he still didnt need this father-in-laws approval to be with his precious baby, Levi would have really shown him a piece of his mind! How dare he neglect his precious baby like this?! Hed remember this! (?_?) Father-in-law: I''ve been wrongfully accused!! QAQ My baby girl was working the whole day while my baby boy was in a good enough of a mood to spend the entire day goofing off! It is obvious which one I should be worried about!! (??)Φ ߩ You are clearly the one with blatant favoritism issues, not me!!! Im fine. How c ould I not be when Ive got such a good bodyguard? Noah laughed it off, while not forgetting to put in a good word for this new bodyguard of his. Levis head snapped back to his darling, looking wronged. QAQ!!! Which man liked hearing his precious little darling praise another man in their presence?! More so if that man was a competitor for the said darlings heart?!? Noticing Levis look of a kicked puppy, Noah turned his attention to placate this cute brother-in-law. What is it? Does your tummy hurt again? Noah spoke softly as if talking to a scared little furball or a crying child in need of coaxing. Levi: When did my stomach hurt?! How long will this misunderstanding go on for?! (??)Φ ߩ Ah, but his baby was too lovable, speaking to him in that caring voice dripping with sugar (Rأ) ? Ah, ah, really want to eat him up!! The corner of Levis mouth twitched as he shook his head. He wasnt the only one with a twitching facial expression; father and mother-in-law were looking at Noah strangely as well. The sight of their adorable teenage son coaxing a tall, dangerous-looking man 6 years his senior they half expected the other to snarl or get up and leave in a fit of fury for being treated like a child. Instead, what was that pink flush creeping up the loner wolfs ears?? And was it just their imagination, or did that icy glare turn doting and gentle for a second there? Father-in-law: (?D?) for a moment there I thought no cant be Mother-in-law: ! (oo) Ah, the children are getting along so well! Then why arent you eating? Is the food not to your liking? Noah still continued to worriedly coax this tall, dark and handsome man-child that was his brother-in-law. If there is nothing here youd like to eat, we can go someplace else that serves it? Levi: Ah, ah, all I want to eat is right here, but it isnt on the table. (Rأ) ? Oh, how nice it would be if it was on the table! ? Levis mind couldnt help but conjure up an image of his favorite food splayed naked on top of the table, ready to be eaten. He swallowed hard and crossed his legs under the table. Levi junior, dont you dare raise up in this situation!! Seeing as his baby was still waiting for his answer, Levi responded by grabbing a random thing off the table and stuffing it into his mouth as if to say All is fine. Look, Im eating. Noah gazed at him in concern for several moments longer, making the others flushed ears turn a deeper shade of red. Levi: Ah! My baby is staring at me so intently! What to do?!? (Rأ) ? Really, really want to eat him up for breakfast!!! Sensing that Levis gloomy mood had flipped into something on the opposite emotional spectrum, Noah was finally relieved enough to turn back to what he was doing C placing a loaf of bread into the toaster. Anyway, Im alright, but many people were hurt, and the investigation has yet to find the cause. I am worried that this isnt an isolated incident. Noahs eyebrows scrunched up in worry. What if the same thing happens again? Next time I might not be in the vicinity to resolve it without causalities. The council members are worried about it happening again as well. Concordia city lord rubbed his temples and sighed. The conservationists keep on hounding me to approve some absurd law to limit and monitor high ranked power users. Especially councilor Desmond. I swear that old fart will be the death of me. Whenever we make progress, those old farts in league with him are pressuring us into taking a step back. Concordia city lord let out a tired sigh, Even the liberals are proposing we make power registration mandatory for everyone. Both Noah and Cordia mommy threw the city lord a similar half-encouraging, half-consoling looks. Endure for a while longer, honey. This whole incident will blow over soon enough. Cordia mommy squeezed her husbands knee in comfort. Even if that blows over, what about the union of Concordia and Astarea? Cordia daddy groaned. With the wedding on the horizon, all the naysayers are popping out of the woodworks left and right without an end in sight! Of course they are. People are afraid of change. Cordia mommy cooed her grumbling husband. Their worries werent entirely unfounded. Since the views of Cordias and Astars were so different, people were worried that this so-called union was just a takeover in disguise. They were afraid they would lose their current personal freedom and be oppressed in a different regime. Levi didnt sympathize with his father-in-law over these issues. He had already been a vice city lord for two years, and by this point, he had taken over a lot of the work off his fathers hands, yet he had never had such issues. In his opinion, all of this was all too easy to solve. Someone was annoyingly yapping nonsense in their ear? Just kick them out. Dont agree with how I want to rule my own city? Fine, then move to another city. Its that simple. Whats all this nonsense about freedom of speech, listening to the voices of the people, and all that nonsense? If some old farts dont learn to behave by the time his baby takes over the city lords position, hehe if they dare make life difficult for his baby, then off with their heads! Blackie: Heh, you gonna off your own head too? Cause I dont see how fucking your own brother-in-law to death is not making his life difficult. (???) Not just life, even his death would be difficult! Levi: What could be more important than keeping his baby happy and in good health? These in-laws of his really didnt have their priorities set straight! (? ? ?) No matter. His precious darling has him, Levi, to look after him. And Levi will definitely take good, gooood care of his precious treasure. t(*㨌*)s Blackie: Can you get any more shameless? Even a wolf promising to take good care of a little lamb would sound more credible than you!! Levi: Oh no! My greedy little kitten has just run into an accident and needs my immediate assistance!! ( 㧥 ;) Chapter 34 - Arc 1 33 – Don’t Worry! I Am Completely Healthy, Absolutely No STDs! When Noah had seen the toaster and butter, his eyes had lit up with idea of butter melting on hot toast. On Cradle, butter was much more expensive than margarine, so it was a rare treat to be able to eat it at the orphanage. Which was too bad because butter on warm toast was simply heavenly! Not so much for margarine And thus, when his toast was done toasting, in his haste, Noah singed his fingers trying to grab it before it cooled. He yelped cutely, then put his two now pink fingers inside his lovely mouth. Levis eyes rippled at the sight. He wasnt sure whether hed prefer to put his darlings little fingers in his own mouth to nibble on, or if hed prefer to put his own two fingers in the little ones mouth to have that cute pink tongue lap at them. Such a tough choice! (RبQ) Using his power, Levi took hold of the hot toast that the little kitten had dropped, and made it float onto Noahs plate. For Enforces, making things float was relatively simple. Just add a force equal to gravity but in the opposite direction and voila. The process was the same if they wanted to move something C just apply the appropriate amount of force in the right direction. Seeing his kittens widening eyes, Levi felt immensely self-satisfied. The corner of his lips curled up slightly, forming a rarely seen sexy smirk. Then he proceeded to show off his fine power control some more, by using it to spread butter over the hot toast. All the while throwing Noah furtive lovestruck glances, looking like a big dog wagging its tail, asking to be praised. Mn. Apply force at the right part of the butter to cleanly slice off a 1 mm thin piece, then make the slice float on top of the toast and arrange itself in a neat line. Easy! Dumbfounded mother and father-in-law: ?? Delighted Noah: (? ?) Ah! Brother, your power is so handy!! So awesome!! Receiving his little darlings worshipful gaze, Levi felt like flowers were blooming all around him. Even when he used his power to fly, he didnt feel it was as impressive as now when he was using it to spread butter on hot toast! Levi: Was praised by my baby! So happy! (? ?>? ?< ))o Father-in-law: If he could be just half as good to his wife, that would be great... Its so nice to see you two boys getting along so well. Cordia mommy chirped happily. Son-in-law, how about you drop in for a meal more often in the future? Levi seriously nodded. Mn. Since you are so supportive, when I marry your son in the future, Ill let you drop in for a meal anytime, mother-in-law. Cordia daddy felt a bit skeptical about this whole matter, but since he couldnt quite put into words what exactly about this son-in-law raised alarm bells in his head, he didnt interfere. It would be a long time before Cordia daddy realized that those alarm bells were caused by recognizing the gaze, this son-in-law used to watch his little son, as the same gaze he used to look at his wife and by the time he realized this important fact, it was far too late to do anything about it. ||_ Well, honey one and honey two, I have to go. I still have so many last-minute wedding preparations to do. Cordia mommy got up from her seat, giggling. She gave a quick peck on the lips to her husband and then dropped a wet kiss on Noahs forehead. The family waved her off with a smile. Levi, the only one not smiling: Uh-oh. The wedding. Theres that too Almost forgot about it. Mn. Yeah that. might be a bit of a problem The marriage between the two cities absolutely needed to happen. And that child heir needed to be produced. Otherwise, there will be whole hell breaking lose, two families and their two cities falling out with each other, and most importantly C his happy matter with his precious baby would be ruined! He might be getting the family treatment from his little darling right now, but as soon as the relationship between their two families fell apart, there would be a fat chance of seeing his baby again! Well, of course, he could always resort to kidnapping, but while the idea of locking his baby up so that he could have him all to himself might get his lower member excited, he wasnt stupid enough to think it was a good idea. Putting aside the fact that doing such a thing would undoubtedly lead to war with Concordia, the main issue here is that he didnt want to make his baby unhappy. Sure, tying him up to the bed and fucking him hard until he cried sounded good on paper, but the premise was that his babys crying was from pleasure, and not because some psycho was brutally raping him. The mere idea of his baby crying brokenheartedly was more than enough to cool any sort of arousal in Levi. He couldnt hurt his baby, not emotionally nor physically, thus he needed his baby to like him back! And he couldnt allow their families to have a dispute over this marriage matter. Otherwise, all of his hard-won affection points would flip into the negatives!!! But he obviously couldnt marry his darlings sister Knowing his little kittens personality, the moment he married his sister, his chances to snatch his little kitten will drop straight to zero! What to do? Couldnt marry, couldnt not marry. Sigh he should have a serious talk with his fiance asap and then set the next course of action based on how the talk goes. Maybe he should come up with a convincing speech first? He somehow doubted that straight out saying Sorry. Cant marry you. Im in love with your brother would work Yeah he doesnt see that talk going well he should. He should probably wait until she gets a good rest, yeah? And probably take her out to her favorite restaurant first? Putting her in a good mood first cant hurt? Tsk. Maybe it would be more effective to just cook the rice? They wouldnt be able to separate him from his darling if their relationship had already been consummated. No, wait, this wasnt a tv drama. Would that strategy even work if the other person didnt get pregnant? Uh maybe he should rethink his plans? This was a modern age, sure, but uh, men still couldnt get pregnant, right? Levi was very tempted to do an internet search on that, but he obviously couldnt do it while the little guy was standing right next to him, so he had to put it on his growing to-do list. While many things ran through Levis head, on the outside, only moments have passed, and Cordia mommy had just finished saying her goodbyes to her husband and son. She didnt forget Levi either, so she winked at him encouragingly as she walked off, Have fun, and remember to stay safe. Levi: I understand what you mean, mother-in-law! (????-)? Dont worry! I am completely healthy, absolutely no STDs! And there is no need to worry about unplanned pregnancy either! (???oo???) at least, I think? Really should do a net search on male pregnancy Blackie: (V_V;) Um captain here. She wasnt telling you to use condoms, she was talking about avoiding dangerous places and activities, such as extreme sports speaking of dangerous activities and extreme sports, I am pretty sure sex with you falls into that category Soon Cordia daddy also departed for the city hall, leaving one hungry wolf and one unsuspecting lamb in comfortable silence. Levi was immensely pleased. Finally, he was all alone with his darling. Now, if his fiance wasnt sleeping just upstairs, he might even consider cooking the rice right here and now. Tsk. There always had to be someone to get in the way of his happy matter. Noah, on the other hand, was feeling immensely pleased with how well this meeting with Ariss parents went. Indeed, when Blackie had claimed that the identities he would be taking over were suitable for Noah, he wasn''t lying. The way Noah interacted with others was similar enough to Aris that he didnt need to go out of his way to change anything about his own behavior. Even his own appearance and demeanor had many points of similarity with Aris. Most people would probably not be able to tell the difference between the two, and those who could notice subtle differences would probably attribute it to Aris slowly growing up. It might be hard for Noah to feel comfortable with taking over someone elses place right now, but with time, the feeling will change. Eventually, he will be able to fully accept everything about it as his own, including Ariss family and friends. Aris had only lived for a short 18 years. What are 18 years when compared to the duration of ones entire life? The one who will be interacting with and looking after his family, his city, his friends, for many years to come will be Noah. After so many years, these people and this city will no longer belong to its original owner, but would fully belong to the one who nurtured them over all this time - Noah. Metaphorically, it was like Aris was a parent who gave birth to a child but died in a car accident when the child was two, while Noah would be the one to adopt it, gave it a warm home, and raise it for the next decades. Would anyone be able to claim in good conscience that Noah wasnt a real parent, even if he wasnt the biological one? Still there were certain things that Noah could (metaphorically!) claim as his own right away. Noah peeked at the reticent brother-in-law, who didnt seem at all bored at the silence and felt even more pleased with this identity. He might feel like he was tricking the feelings of Ariss family and friends, but he felt no such reservations towards this brother-in-law. The man held a special place in his heart as the only relative with whom he could fully let his defenses down and relax without feeling any guilt. The only close relative with whom he could just feel like Noah. And, in his opinion, the man was the perfect image of a good elder brother! Just what he needed to feel at home at this place! Blackie, you guys did a great job picking an appropriate identity for me. Well done! Noah felt that credit should be given where its due. Blackie, who had the ability to hear all thoughts of his host, unless his host explicitly didnt want them heard, internally rolled his eyes. So typical of his sheep host to feel thankful for the wolf that is about to eat him whole (???) Chapter 35 - Arc 1 34 – Definitely Can’t Handle That Much Stimulation!! Don''t get used to this. Blackie felt that he ought to clarify some things, lest his host blamed him for shit identities he will definitely get at some point: Original owners of your future identities probably won''t be THIS similar to you. This world is a special case because of the existence of special powers that are personality-based. If you were born normally in this world, you would have become a Soother. Thus, we could only choose a host body that is either a Soother or a teenager who hasn''t awakened his power yet. Oh! Correction C you could have also been a Fluxer. But here you are, a rich second-generation with a prestigious identity and a loving family. You really lucked out this time! Such a peaceful, high-convenience, low-risk world! If the future Noah could pitch in, it would be to exclaim in outrage: You dare call this peaceful, low-risk?!? If this is peaceful and low-risk, then to what kind of a shithole do you intend to send me in the future?!? (??)Φ ߩ But since there was no time-traveling pissed Noah to correct Blackie, the confident AI continued to preach great wisdom that was actuallytrue, for once: I bet the higher-ups chose this as your first mission specifically because its such a dumbass easy tutorial-like mission that even a retard can do it. Next time, expect a zombie apocalypse or at least the identity of some poor kid who was sold into slavery. Noah: (?_?) And to think that for a moment there, I was brimming with hope, gratitude, and faith in your shitty organization But it turns out you just didnt have the opportunity to fuck me over this time around! Blackie, peeking at Levi: Hehe, you are wrong. We did fuck you over. You just dont know it yet. Future Noah would flip his middle finger at that: That beast in human skin is not even the half of it!!! Current Noah, however, had no idea of what was to come, and as the owner of a wonderous mind whose innate curiosity could easily bypass all the negative thoughts, his attention was easily diverted to another topic: What is a Fluxer and what personality trait is it related to? Fluxers are really adaptable, open-minded, and flexible in their way of thinking. Their power is to change the physical state of matter. Like, turning stuff from gas to liquid to solid and vice versa. Blackie explained. Ooooh, neat! Noah chirped in. Yeah, very useful in the chemical industry, Blackie agreed. Noah: I was gonna say that the ability to literally vaporize anything is super cool, but yeah, chemical industry job sounds good too. (/RQ)/ Blackie: (?_?) So glad Ariss death was nigh Such a mean thing to say! Noah scolded, then added, What would you have done if there was no appropriate identity available? Urgh, it would have gotten tricky. No good soul-host candidate will fall for the whole ''ok, so, sign here if you agree to die, and don''t worry, we''ll compensate you in the next life'' speak anymore. They hear a voice in their head telling them to die - they go see a psychiatrist. Oh, how times have changed. Blackie let out a heavy sigh, practically dripping melancholy, In the good old days, it was enough to say the word, and they''d be willing to do anything in the name of god. Noah: ?_? congratulations, my opinion of you has just reached an all-time low. Future Noah: Low? Oh, in the future, youll look back at it and find out that it wasnt low at all. When compared for the dive that would soon follow. ??? *** After waiting for Trey, who wasnt expecting to be called over this early, to come over, Noah was finally ready to take his brother-in-law for a refreshing dip. Concordia was a beautiful and rather idyllic city - bright, clean, spacious. And no place showcased the spirit of Concordia better than the Concordia aquarium resort made by one of the ancestors of the Cordia family. The resort had everything youd expect from a famous vacation spot C a large hotel with multiple restaurants, bars, and shops, including all the recreational and relaxing places youd expect, such as a casino, night club, and spa. However, the real reason why the resort was so famous wasnt due to its five-star service, but because the waters in which the visitors could take a dip were a part of an artificially designed aquarium. To be precise, there were two huge aquariums (freshwater and seawater), which nearly formed a circle with the resort in the middle. Have you ever seen those beautiful pictures of tropical beaches with white sand and sparkling aquamarine-colored water? Yeah, the resort looked just like that C but unlike its tropical, naturally-formed compatriot, it didnt have any of the less desirable stuff inside, such as sea urchins, jellyfish, sharks, stingrays, and of course, the most horrible thing anyone can encounter in the wild - disgusting brown seaweed. The resort was simply the incarnation of perfection - it even had sand-free beaches for all the sand-haters who very justifiably raise a fuss over that fucking sand simply getting in everywhere! In short, whether you wanted to swim or dive, play beach volleyball or water sports, sunbathe, drive a paddleboat or a canoe, slide on one of the many water slides C whatever it is that you could possibly want to do on a beach, you could absolutely do in the resort. Except fishing. Because, of course you cant fish in an aquarium! Unless there is a fish overpopulation issue? A-Anyway, the best part of it all, was that, as the owners of the resort, Cordias had 24/7 access to several private beaches in the best locations. Such as the very special one that Noah was looking forward to showing his brother-in-law. When Levi saw what kind of place his baby brought him to, he instantly got a very bad feeling. On the one hand, the only thing better than getting to play with his wet and nearly naked baby is to get to play with his wet and completely naked baby. But on the other hand, his overly excitable member definitely couldnt handle that much stimulation!! For goodness sake, he was getting surprise boners with the little kitten fully clothed! Expecting his lower regions to not react to his baby while he was very not-clothed was like expecting a hungry wolf not to eat a perfectly juicy piece of meat sitting right in front of it! Even if you used your feet to think, youd know exactly what would happen!! Therefore, Levi was In deep shit!! How the fuck is he supposed to go through this without his baby noticing his imminent lower tent?!?! QAQ Luckily for Levi, the three first went to visit one of the stores because, unlike Noah, who had brought his swimming trunks from home, Levi didnt even know they would be going swimming, so he naturally didnt bring his. So now, Levi had exactly one-minute time, while his baby was preoccupied looking at the inflatable goods, to find a solution to his big problem. Chapter 36 - Arc 1 35 – Did You Do Something With Your Hair? Levi was in luck, for Noah was indeed very preoccupied browsing the inflatable goods side of the store. The city he had been born in on Cradle wasnt near the seaside, and the river that passed through it was not suitable for taking a dip in. The city had many swimming pools, but one needed to pay for entry, so Noah had rarely had the opportunity to play in a swimming pool. Besides the two times he had managed to go on a school excursion to the seaside due to the social fond for the schooling of orphans, the closest he could come to the sea was watching it on TV. And boy, did TV make it look fun, with huge, colorful inflatable balloons and floats and people grinning from ear to ear with their sunglasses and trendy swimwear. Although his ascension had wiped all of these from Noahs memories, it couldnt change his instinctual reaction to seeing a whole section of a store filled with all kinds of inflatable toys. And that reaction was Noah: Buy, buy, buy!!! (? ?) And thus, when Levi rejoined Noah and Trey, after purchasing his swimming trunks, what he was faced with was his coy little kitten with huge glittering eyes, hugging a big box to his chest like some kind of treasure. And on that big box was a picture of huge inflatable white unicorn float with rainbow-colored mane and tail. Levi nearly dropped his shopping bag due to how his limbs melted into tofu when faced with his darlings overpowering cuteness. Every time his heart developed any semblance of defense against his darlings devastating cuteness attacks, his babys attack power would shoot up to never before seen heights!! Ah, ah, heart be still! Resist the impulse to smother the little guy in your arms! Still, Levi was unable to resist the urge to reach out to caress his babys little fluffy head. This very fluffy and pink moment of bliss was ruined by a mocking snort, followed by the most annoying voice imaginable to man: Well, well, well. Who do we have here? The speaker drawled Daddys little boy Aris. Hah, I knew that a little Soother bitch like you must definitely be gay! What? That fag Case didnt fuck your ass hard enough, so you replaced him with someone with a bigger dick? The three men turned towards the owner of the voice to see a barely legal rich boy who seemed to have just come out of the nearby nightclub after partying for the entire night. His arms were wrapped around a different woman each, both skimpily dressed bimbos. Levis previously softly smiling expression turned as cold as the north pole, his glare colder than absolute zero. Whats this? I let my baby out of my sight for one minute, and some rabid dog jumps out to take a bite out of him? This wont do!! His precious little treasure needed to be protected 24/7! He was right to not let him out of his sight for even a second! Luckily, from now on, his baby will have him, Levi, to protect him day and night, all around the clock. Free of charge! Though, of course, he might occasionally enjoy some of the employee benefits, such as having his baby reimburse his labor with his body. (???oo???) Ahem, ahem, the point was, he definitely had to remove this vulgar rabid dog that was offensive to both the eyes and ears from his baby''s vicinity ASAP!! How dare he call his precious treasure names and even put him together with someone besides him, Levi?!? At least he was right about the bigger dick part. But one woman on each arm?! How could he pollute his baby''s eyes with such a disgraceful sight! How dare this kind of scum that can''t even be faithful to his partner show his face in front of his baby?! Blackie: That''s rich! Coming from a person with a fiance on the side and brother-in-law currently in the process of chasing. (?_?) Noah stared blankly at the rude adversary in front of him, great confusion evident on his face. Blackie, why is this dude suddenly calling me gay? Because there are pink heart-shaped bubbles in the air around you and your brother-in-law? Though when the time came for Blackie to provide an answer, what he said was: Must be the rainbow unicorn. That answer didnt make Noah any less confused, Why is a rainbow unicorn considered gay? you are right, when compared with your second choice of a pink flamingo, the rainbow unicorn is definitely not gay. Its not my fault that those were the biggest two floats in the store!! If you ask me, I would have preferred to ride a dragon! Blackie: Bigger is better, is it? Hehe, Ill pass that on to the higher-ups, they can definitely arrange for you to ride a dragon in the future. Future Noah: (??)Φ ߩ Thats neither the right kind of dragon nor the right kind of riding!!!! Finally, after a long moment of silence, in which Levi was contemplating what would be the best way to make the annoying dog in front of him disappear, Noah spoke, his voice dripping with bewilderment, UmIm sorry, do I know you? The insult Levi was just about to throw back at the other party, turned into a puff of laughter. How could his darling be so darn cute?!? What comeback could possibly be better than this unintentional burn?? One look at the rabid dogs expression was enough to tell how effective it was! The man looked as if he had just swallowed a fly, and his face was quickly turning red with fury. It was that feeling! That feeling when you finally cross paths again with your longtime nemesis, triumphantly deliver a punch line, and then realizethe other doesnt even know who you are!!! Levi wasnt the only one who couldnt contain his laughter, Trey too was forced to hide his grin behind a cough, and Blackie well, Blackie was internally laughing so hard that he felt as if he had cracked a rib that he, as an AI system, didnt even have. The vulgar teenager finally exploded with rage, his spit flying everywhere as he screeched, How dare you pretend to not know ME, Teagan Peyton?!? With that self-introduction, Noah finally put the face to the name. Teagan Peyton was the youngest son of another hereditary city lord. City lord Teagan often engaged in word spars against Cordia daddy on the yearly meetings between the various city lords. In fact, it was precisely on one of those meetings that Aris had met this profligate son of the Teagan city lord two years ago. Teagan Peyton might have remembered the blindingly radiant existence of Cordia Aris, an SS-ranked Soother and future city lord of Concordia, but Aris totally didnt remember this irrelevant personage that only came to the meeting to sightsee. Blackie, why is this cannon fodder antagonizing Aris?? Blackie, who was just about to gain control of his own uncontrollable laughter, lost it again. Host, how can you be so brutal without even realizing it?!? Writing someone off as cannon fodder, you-youbwahahaha!!! Noah felt the need to clarify his words, I meant, he has that cannon fodder vibe going on. You know, that vibe that makes one want to punch him right after meeting him for the first time? The kind that is good at pulling aggro from the onlookers? The kind that would be the first to die in a horror movie due to his pompous death-seeking overconfidence. The kind that, if they were in a revenge novel, would be the first the main character would get revenge on. The kindC Stop! No need to continue! I know what a cannon fodder is! Blackie interrupted. Host, please have mercy!! I think I heard something crack in my chip! Alright, then, Blackie, why is this guy provoking me? Why are you asking me? You are the one with Ariss memories! If you dont know, how would I know?? And now Noah felt stupid for even asking. He had yet to find a single good use for this system of his. No wonder everyone from the department came to see him, this unlucky fellow, who got made into his host. Blackie: Your guesses are getting scarily more accurate Noah turned his attention back to the situation at hand. Alright, since he had no idea why this person was antagonizing him, he would try to contain it from running out of control. He didnt want his brother-in-law to see something so disgraceful. Noah coughed awkwardly and attempted to dispel the rapidly heating up situation, Oh, Im sorry. I didnt recognize you. Did you do something with your hair? Teagan Peyton, whose hair couldnt be seen because he was wearing a straw fedora hat: Are you fucking messing with me?!?! Author Note: Noah: If you ask me, I would have preferred to ride a dragon! Im on it. Dont you worry, darling. Youll definitely ride a dragon in the future. Chapter 37 - Arc 1 36 – So Much For Resolving The Situation Quietly… No! Noah quickly realized that the other might have misunderstood, What I meant is that I didnt recognize you because IuhI havent seen you for a long time. Teagan Peyton was shaking in outrage as he shrieked, What the fuck do you mean you havent seen me for a long time?!? My picture is all over the news nearly every day! C That much was true, even Levi, who avoided socialite gatherings like the plague, could recognize Teagan Peyton on sight C My picture was in yesterdays New-fucking-Times right next to yours!!!! Noah: Sorry, bro. I honestly didnt know. Blackie: Oh, then that explains why he is so pissed at you. His pic must have looked like trash when displayed next to yours. r(s?t)q Noah made one final effort to right the wrong direction of this conversation, I didnt see it and um I have trouble recognizing out-of-context faces that dont have any outstanding features. That earned him another puff of laughter from his currently-not-so-helpful brother-in-law, Kitten, are you saying a vulgar mutt like him doesnt belong in a high-class resort or are you saying that there is nothing outstanding about him? As soon as he heard that puff of laughter, Noah knew that his words didnt come out right, so without giving Peyton a chance to erupt in another outrage, he corrected himself, When I said outstanding, I meant memorable, like a huge crooked nose or an ugly burn scar! Blackie and Levi, still dying inside from holding in their laughter: Yes, you heard that right! You are so fucking forgettable that the only way to make someone remember you is if you broke your nose in three places or burnt off half of your face! Levi finally couldnt hold it in any longer, and his chest rumbled with unsuppressed husky laughter, which made the pleasant kind of goosebumps rise on Noahs arm. However, it also made the livid Peyton turn his cannons towards him. And who the fuck are you, assfucker?! You think a little bitchs pet dog like you has the right to speak here?! One had to hand it to Peyton, one either had to be blind, death-seeking, or have balls of steel to cuss out a man with Levis appearance. Just those piercing icy eyes could freeze one to the core, let alone the air of someone whod just walked out alive from a 100-people last-man-standing deathmatch. Levi, with his chest stuck out imposingly, attempted to move his tall frame in front of Noah to face off against Peyton, and shield his baby from the saliva the rabid mutt was spraying everywhere. But Noah, worried that Levi would do something rash that would come back to bite him (Levi) later, flung the box he was holding towards Trey and quickly hugged Levis arm to his chest in a half-placating and half-restraining way. And Levi, of course, froze in his tracks, feeling like he had been hit with another sugar attack. Ah, ah, baby hugging my arm to his chest! ? Feels so warm and comfy!! Suddenly, the imposing man once again flipped to be very docile, dotingly looking at the two slender arms hugging his. How could he even have the time to care about some rabid dog barking annoyingly? Yet this fool Peyton was really as blind as a bat, not seeing the amnesty he was given, he turned even more lived due to being disregarded. Who do you two cocksuckers think you are?!? You think this daddy will just let you off if you stay quiet?!? Finally reaching the limit of his tolerance, Levi responded, I wanted to say that the only bitch here is you, but then I realized that even rabid dogs know that if they come running to another persons house to bite the owner, they will get shot. Levi spoke languidly with his lips upturned into a mocking sneer, as if he found the mere idea of speaking to such a lowly being repulsive, So clearly you arent even worthy enough to be called a bitch. Tsk, even lower than a dog~ How could Peyton, this spoiled second-generation, stand to be talked in such a way? As the son of a city lord, he was used to doing whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted. And no one would even dare to talk back! And thus, to no ones surprise, he jumped like an exploding firecracker (or a man with his ass on fire) and opened his mouth wide to drown them in a shower of curses too vulgar for anyones ears. Noah didnt know whether to laugh or cry. So much for resolving the situation quietly ??? oh well, when words fail, soothing it is. (; ? 3? )~? However, before the first word could come out of Peyton, Levi continued, As for who I am C Levi stared at him with his piercing blue eyes C shouldnt you ask that before starting to cuss at people? If city lord Teagan manages his city the same way he manages his youngest son, Ill have to reconsider whether to give my signature on that proposed renewal of the trade agreement between Astarea and Carteagan. The curses Peyton was about to spew out got stuck in his throat. Peyton might not be the brightest cookie in the box, but he wasnt entirely without brains either. Tall, dangerous-looking man with piercing blue eyes, fully dressed in black? Just those clues alone were enough to make most people think of Astar Levi. And once a signature on an agreement between Astarea and Carteagan were mentioned, who else could it be but Astar Levi?? Surely not his father! Add in the fact that the man was close to a Cordia, and it became blatantly clear that Peyton had kicked an iron plate this time, and boy did he stub his toes! Who didnt know how unreasonable and hard-handed the Astars were?! Especially this wild wolf Astar Levi C even his city lord of a father could do nothing to restrain him! Most importantly, the other was a fucking Enforcer! How could a weak chicken Targeter without any fighting power, like him, compare?!? He had even ditched the bodyguard-nannies his father had left him so he could go play without their supervision! And worst of all, even if he managed to get out of this perfectly intact, wouldnt his elder brother skin him alive if this encounter caused that trade agreement to fall through?? Fuck!! It turned out that this hunk that he thought was Ariss boyfriend was actually his brother-in-law! What did he just call him? An assfucker? A cocksucker? (x;) Blackie: Hehe, am I the only one who noticed that he didnt even attempt to deny being either of those? (???) Fuck it all!! Peyton felt like flipping a table in outrage. He thought that the fault for this conundrum didnt lie in him at all! How could he be blamed for this honest mistake when the other looked at Aris with that obviously love-struck look?!? How could he have possibly realized that the other wasnt Ariss little boyfriend but his brother-in-law?!? He had never crossed paths with this star of disaster before!! He has never even seen a picture of Astar Levi!! The man rarely left his town, and Astarea had a special law that disallowed the publishing of photos in the media without the permission of the person in the photo. Since Levi didnt want his photo spread around, newspapers were rarely allowed to publish his picture. Seeing the other freeze in his tracks, Levis sneer deepened. What? Not gonna fight anymore? Tsk. And here he was, looking forward to this wild mutt baring its fangs so he could put him in his place and show off his might to his precious baby. Honestly, the only reason why Levi had yet to do anything was because he was on Noahs territory. He didnt wish for Noah to be blamed if another city lord came looking for trouble because his son got beaten up. If Peyton had dared to strut about like this in Astarea, he would have already been kicked so hard, hed fly out of the city with his swollen butt up in the air. Peytons face was turning purple from suppressing the vulgarities. His fury couldnt be swallowed down nor released, so he felt especially wronged, You think you are so great now that your two cities have joined hands?! Just you wait! Well see wholl have the last laugh! Noah peeked over Levis shoulder, looking at Peyton almost pityingly. Tut-tut-tut, classic cannon fodder parting lines. This guy is really good, a very professional cannon fodder. Peyton ground his teeth and threw a venomous Ill remember this! Just you wait! Youll get whats coming to you soon enough! as he strutted off, the high heels of his two female companions nearly broke as they rushed to catch up. Noah: Woah, another perfectly delivered cannon fodder line! Blackie, this guy is a pro!! Blackie: I cant believe Im saying this, but you are right. Although Peytons exit was just as rushed as his entry, he didnt forget to activate his Targeter ability which was target lock-on C once he locked on a target, be it a person or an item, he would know exactly where they were until he chose another target or he ran out of power. He didnt know what hed do as revenge yet, but the first step was knowing where your target was, right? Chapter 38 - Arc 1 37 – Hehe, Sister, You Are Welcome! What the hell just happened? Noah stared at the now empty space in front of them in a daze. This Peyton guy came and went like the hurricane. Noah simply couldnt keep up! From start to finish, this entire encounter was a one-man clown show! He couldnt fathom what the other was thinking. Did he pop up just to pull some aggro, say some classic villain lines, and then run away with his tail between his legs? Noah felt as if a significant number of his brain cells just died. The trio shared a bewildered look and continued their way towards their destination, but the initially jovial mood was no longer there. Well, actually, the two older men were still rather amused by the pouting Noah, which in their biased eyes looked like an angry kitten who had its tail stepped on. What will he even remember? That you retaliated to his cussing? How unreasonable can one get? Noah mumbled. What? He is allowed to say all that nonsense, but we arent allowed to talk back? Noah snorted, He calls me gay, but its he who is butthurt - butthurt that I am so much more popular with the ladies than him! Noah grumbled, nearly puffing up his cheeks. Levi was struggling to hide his smile. He kept nodding compliantly while patting Noahs back consolingly. Mn. Everything his adorable baby said was right. And what was that? He was acting so proud and mighty one second, and as soon as he found out who he was messing with, he turned tail and ran? Isnt he embarrassed? What was even the point of him coming to talk to us in the first place? Blackie felt the need to pitch in, Think of it this way, what is the point of cannon fodder in a novel? In this context? So, he can jump out and make trouble for the main character? Noah suddenly paused and then gaped, Dont tell me that this dude will come back to make trouble for me?!? But I didnt even do anything!! This is completely illogical!!! Blackie snickered, And you expect logic from trashy novels that come up with random cannon fodderC no, I meant, you expect logic from Peyton? Which part of that encounter showcased his ability to think? The part where he ran away? Oh, you mean the part where he pointed out that thisC whatever this is Cwasnt over? Noah: (??)Φ ߩ Blackie added in a rather lighthearted tone, On the upside, this isnt a novel, so perhaps he wont come back to make trouble? Right? r(s?t)q for some reason, that doesnt sound very convincing. Noah humphed a few more times, and then, well, that was it for Noahs displeasure. Most of the time, it flew away quickly like an air balloon swept by the wind C gone, gone. He returned his attention back to his brother-in-law, and thinking that the other must be feeling even more displeased than him he consoled, Lets not let one rude guy ruin our morning. Everything he said was complete nonsense. Blackie: Hehe, not everything. At least the assfucking and cocksucking part will be true soon enough. (???) Brother, has sister taken you to one of our private beaches before? Noah proceeded to change the topic. No, was Levis immediate reply. Feeling that now was the right time to start painting a clear line between himself and his babys sister in his darlings mind, Levi added, Besides dining together and going to some social events, we havent gone anywhere else. Eh?? His darlings beautiful amber eyes widened in bewilderment, How come?? Seeing his gaping baby, Levi suddenly felt that this conversation wouldnt go in the direction he had initially planned, and indeed C Dont tell me you never took the time to go on dates?? His darlings agitated voice also carried a bit of a chiding tone with it. Oh boy, how could he tell his darling, that he, Levi, definitely had only him on his mind and in his heart, while not making him misunderstand him, Levi, as not knowing how to cherish his lover? In the end, Levi came up with a rather poor excuse, We were both busy with work No matter how busy you are with work, you always have to make time for family. Noah tried to explain patiently and make his brother-in-law realize the error of his ways, If you dont spend enough time with your wife, youll grow apart. And that leaves room for a third party to wedge in between you! What would you do if someone swooped in and stole your wife away? Levi: Offer her with open arms? Also, pay them a hefty sum to take her off my hands sooner? But of course, he couldnt say that, so Levi nodded very obediently. He totally understood what the little guy was trying to say. If the little guy was his wife, hed definitely guard him well! Would love him properly every day! For at least two hours. (Rأ) ? Pamper and spoil him to the heavens so that he cant even think about leaving Levis side! And if some third party even dares dream of taking his precious treasure away Off with their head! ( ???) Noah continued his well-intentioned relationship guidance, Dont be complacent. Your wife has a pleasant personality and attractive appearance, there are bound to be many men eyeing her from the side. Mn. Levi agreed quite seriously. My precious little cabbage is indeed lovely in every way, with many pigs eyeing him from the side, Levi threw Trey a dirty look. Exasperated Trey: Why am I being glared at again?? I didnt even do anything! I am practically a backdrop, and I still get metaphorically shot at!! 루??룩 Seeing how receptive Levi was to his advice, Noah tried his best to sell his sister and make this silly brother-in-law realize that he had to cherish her properly, You have to make sure not to give any of your rivals an opportunity to snatch what is yours. Blackie: ?? host, did you just give him the green light to act as possessive as he wants?? Set aside some time for your darling every day. Show up at her work and social circles to constantly remind everyone that she is yours, and you are hers. Blackie: Wow. Host, not even the cannon-fodder Peyton, is as skilled as you in digging their own grave! You are generously helping the wolf build a cozy little cage for yourself and even giving out tips on how to lock it properly! Hehe, while you are at it, why not just walk in yourself and hand in the key? (???) And indeed, if even Blackie caught on to the implications, how could the brain-damaged Levi - who could even pick up implications that werent there in the first place - not? Hearing that statement from his baby, Levis eyes lit up with dazzling brilliance, and he nodded extremely enthusiastically. His baby liked and approved of his possessiveness!!! Ah, ah, his baby was so perfect for him that it was as if they were made to be together! ??? I definitely wont give anyone an opportunity to take my precious baby away! Baby, you are mine, and mine alone. For the rest of eternity, everyone else can forget about snatching you away! Noah, the clueless lamb, eyed the big bad wolf who seemed to be listening to him so carefully that the only thing missing was him taking out a notebook to take notes. This is why Noah really liked this silly brother-in-law; he was really earnest and easy to talk some sense into. Look how easy it was to converse with intelligent and reasonable people! Unlike some cannon fodder Everyone who has ever interacted with Astar Levi before: ?? Im sorry, what??? Reasonable?? Who?? Um, did you drop in from a parallel universe or something?? The corners of Noahs mouth quirked up contentedly, and his two bright amber eyes clearly spoke of how pleased he was. To the biased eyes of his two companions, he looked just like a self-satisfied kitten whod just gotten his way. Holding his head up high and strutting about proudly with his little butt and tail in the air. And what the mentioned kitten was feeling proud of was his successful reeducation of his romantically awkward brother-in-law. Hehe, sister, you are welcome. Blackie: Snatching her husband and still want her to thank you? Hehe, host, there is no one out there like you. Author Note: Blackie: On the upside, this isnt a novel, so perhaps he wont come back to make trouble? Right? r(s?t)q Author: Hehe. Hold my beer. Chapter 39 - Arc 1 38 – Must Be Small And Cute And Pink As a famous aquarium with an artificially maintained temperature all year round, the huge beaches that the visitors of the resort could freely enjoy were packed 365 days a year. However, taking into account Levis preferences, it was clear to Noah that taking the man to a palace with many other people wasnt the best idea. Thats ok. There was nothing wrong with liking ones privacy - thats why the resort also had many private beaches that could be rented out. And then there were the super-private Cordia-only beaches like the one the trio had just arrived at. This particular beach looked like a small tropical paradise with a luxurious bungalow erected over the water. The entrance of the bungalow was on the sandy beach itself, but the majority of the spacious abode was built over the water. And each of the many rooms had direct walk-in access to the waters. Noah directed his brother in law into the nearest room where he could change. Then he proceeded to enter the room next door to change into his own swimming trunks. Much to Noahs bewilderment, Trey insisted on standing guard in front of Noahs room while the other changed. For a moment, Noah stared at the tall bodyguard finding the entire matter quite humorous. It was like the other was afraid that some rogue would break in and catch him without his clothes on. Or that there would be some perverted peeping tom that would take advantage of him changing. What was he? A demure maiden whose unsullied reputation was more important than her life? There wasnt even anyone else here besides them three! Who was he protecting his chastity from? His brother-in-law? Blackie: good work bodyguard Trey. Levi: (? ? ? ?) Pfft, as if he, Levi, would do something that uncouth! Who knows if there are any hidden cameras around? As if he would be stupid enough to risk painting a negative image of himself in his babys mind by sneakily taking a peek! He, Levi, would one day see every inch of his baby in a just and above-board manner as much as he wanted! Unlike some mere bodyguards that could only watch green with envy Levi grumbled and sneered as he exchanged his clothes with swimming trunks. Noah, whose outfit consisted of more apparel, wasnt as fast as him, so by the time he came out of his room, let alone Levi, even Trey had changed into swimming trunks, which Noah had told him to bring when he had called him over. While waiting for his baby to finish changing, Levi had a silent face-off with Trey. Although he was a man crushing on his little employer, Trey wasnt particularly sensitive to the existence of love rivals. But this Astar Levi caused all of his hair to stand on end. Although Levi had been touchy with his little employer from the start, Trey had never connected this behavior with being in love. Logic dictated that it should be an impossibility C the man would be married to Noahs sister by the end of next week. And more so, Levis doting behavior towards his junior seemed to be within bounds. But no matter how dull Trey was in the matters of romance, today he felt that there was definitely something very, extremely, awfully off with Astar Levi. Yes, the man still looked at Noah with obvious doting affection, but that intense, heated gaze carried so much more than innocent appreciation. Who knows what strange thing Levi had eaten for breakfast, but today, that beloved little brother treatment had morphed into something Trey recognized to befar more dangerous. And he didnt mean that in an oh no, another love rival appeared! kind of way. Trey was far from an expert when it came down to feelings and emotions, but as a part of his guard training, he had been taught to recognize threats to his employers safety. To that end, he had been trained to identify people acting suspiciously and notice their animosity or interest towards his target of protection. Yet what stuck with him the most from that training wasnt any of that. What had left him with a lasting impression he would be unable to forget were the gazes of several individuals identified as threats of the highest order. The gazes that even now he could remember all too clearly. The gazes that spoke of one thing - the same thing he now found within Levis gaze, the same thing that evoked a feeling of profound dread in Trey - Obsession. An overpowering, reckless, fanatical fixation that knew no bounds nor reason. A reckless infatuation from a maniac that would stop at nothing to realize their own obsession, rendering everything and everyone, including themselves, expendable. That focused gaze could only see one thing and one thing alone - the only thing that mattered - The target of its obsession. Trey wasnt sure what was the nature of Levis intentions towards Noah, but all of his instincts were screaming that the man was bad news. Yet now he was faced with a difficult problem. His employer was completely unaware that the other person was a threat and was utterly unguarded, treating the other with utmost sincerity. Yet, Trey couldnt straight up tell Noah that his brother-in-law was bad news and that he should keep away from him. The man had been nothing but sweet and doting towards Noah so far, what reason would Noah have to distance himself from the other? He couldnt even tell Noah to be careful of this good brother-in-law, because when asked why, what was he supposed to reply with? Gut instinct? He had no proof of anything. And between the word of a newly hired guard and this soon-to-be-family brother-in-law, it was clear whose word the little one would trust more. If he said one wrong thing, he might get replaced with someone else the next day. The only thing he could do was to guard his precious little employer with even more devotion. And hope that things wouldnt escalate into something unsalvageable. And thus, the two silent men stared off, one worried that the other would cause a kamikaze catastrophe, and the other just finding the former very unpleasing to the eyes. Levi thought that, out of all his love rivals, this Trey was the one he should be the most worried about. His logic went like this C Case and Fynn were friends with his darling for years, and they have yet to catch the little kitten! So much time wasted! Since they failed to corner their prey for so many years, it would seem that their fighting power wasnt all that great. This Trey, on the other hand, was newly hired, so his fighting power was unknown, and to top it all off, as a bodyguard, he would be with his darling nearly 24/7! Who would have more opportunities to woo his baby than a personal bodyguard?!? The other could even tackle his baby to the ground, eating his baby''s tofu all over, and then just say ''oh, I thought I saw a sniper''. (Blackie: do you think everyone is as shameless as you? ) He could go with his baby to the toilet under the excuse of protection, and even see him take out his cute little pink member that even he, Levi, has yet to see! But of course, Levi didnt need to see it to know that it was surely lovely and cute and pink. (? ?>? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? n n n _< But then I saw on the news that some peoples houses completely collapsed on top of them and instead of feeling thankful about only losing a laptop, I am feeling heartbroken for those that were closer to the epicenter. I cant get those images Ive seen on the news out of my head, and now I feel even worse Damn you 2020! Did you think you werent impactful enough, so you had to send one last shake before the new year?? ||_ Chapter 130 - Arc 1 129 – I’m Not Going To Eat You And thus, the two-day bachelor party was planned as such C on the first day of the party, they would spend it in the penthouse. The staff of the hotel would serve them drinks and fine food while they spent the day bonding over classic group activities. Such as setting up a billiards or dart tournament. Or gambling their pants off playing poker. Because it wouldnt be a proper bachelor party if it didnt result in the creation of blackmail material! Thus, if getting drunk and losing their pants while gambling didnt provide them with enough black history to laugh about in the future, there were also backup plans such as playing spin the bottle, or singing karaoke on the fancy new karaoke equipment they brought in. In any case, during this party, they would give Swiftrain a couple of opportunities to strike, and if he still didnt bite, then there was still the continuation of the party tomorrow. The activities of which included skiing and relaxing in the spa. Though, to be honest, Noah was not at all worried about Swiftrain not biting. After getting into three terrorist attacks, everyone expected Levi and Noah to pay extra attention to their safety in the near future. Knowing this, Swiftrain, too, would expect the future hits to be hard to pull off. Which was why it would be all the harder to resist an opportunity when it revealed itself. As long as they avoided raising his alarm bells, he would certainly take the shot. *** Levi strolled around the suite with a spring in his step, monitoring the staff who were finishing up the party preparations. Everything had been going smoothly so far. Well, nearly everything. Levi, with his eyebrows furrowed, stopped to stare towards the opposite rooftop through the floor to ceiling window in the dining room. The majority of the glass windows and doors in the condo were one-sided, so while Levi could clearly see the state on the other side, no outside observer could peer in. Something is not right, Levis frown deepened. The entire place is swarming with reporters. The location of the bachelor party must have been leaked to the media. Noah sat crumpled in a nearby bean bag chair. Hearing Levis pleasant deep voice, his toes curled up, and his cheeks reddened. He cutely fidgeted his bottom left and right, peeking in Levis direction from the corner of his eyes. Noahs gaze inadvertently caught the state of the west rooftop, and he couldnt help but yelp, Eh? So crowded! The incredulity within his voice lasted only for a moment before turning into satisfaction, Thats great! With so many people, Swiftrain would feel safe. Hell definitely take the shot. In fact, it might have been the terrorists who leaked our location in the first place. The more people there are, the easier it is for Swiftrain to hide within the crowd and slip away unnoticed. Hearing his darlings lovely voice, Levis frown visibly eased, But with so many people, there are also too many dead angles. We might not be able to catch the shot. Fynn and Levis people had set up hidden cameras everywhere in order to catch all movements on the rooftop. Actually, it wasnt just the rooftop C there were hidden cameras all over the resort so that Fynn could get a clear shot of all arrivals. Since yesterday, Fynn and his team had been screening the footage for Swiftrain candidates. They had been identifying the visitors via facial recognition and tracking their movements to narrow down the suspects. However, with so many people arriving by the minute, Levi was afraid they lacked the manpower to stay in control of the situation. Noah understood Levis worries but didnt share them. He had his omnidirectional recording device known as Blackie. He had already given this cheat of an AI clear directions to record the movements of everyone in his large monitoring radius. No matter how many dead angles Swiftrain exploited, he would never be able to hide from Blackies scanner-like vision that wasnt even blocked by walls. In fact, Swiftrain didnt even need to strike, just showing up was enough for Blackie to deduce his identity. Blackie was also collecting the serial numbers of everyones communicators and monitoring incoming and outgoing communications. Though the encryption technology of this world was considered advanced when compared to Noahs homeworld, in the eyes of a supercomputer made by the most advanced technology in the multiverse, it might as well be nonexistent. Trust me, well definitely catch him this time, Noah reassured, his large doe-like eyes gleaming with confidence. Levi glanced back at his adorable baby, and the remnants of his frown completely dissipated. How could he muster up any unpleasant thoughts when in the presence of his precious darling? Ah, today, it was as if his entire soul was infused with the warmth of spring! All negative thoughts were blocked from outside by his love shield! Blackie, (V_V;) Oh, yeah. Your so-called love shield is super effective. Blocking all kinds of things outside. Negativity. Decency. Common senseCNo, wait, my bad. Cant block what was never there in the first place. r(s?t)q In Levis defense, it wasnt entirely his fault. His precious darling was too distracting! Ever since the events of this morning, Noah was hyper-aware of Levis presence. He was acting like a mouse seeing a cat! Every once in a while, Noah would get distracted, his vigilance relaxing, but then, as soon as Levi approached within two meters distance, Noah would remember certain events and jump up as if he had his tail stepped on. He would then, of course, realize he was overreacting and try to pretend like nothing was wrong. Hed put on a poker face, but this pretend-calm made him look all the more eye-catching because, no matter how he controlled his facial expression, he couldnt control the pink hue of his face! And as if it all wasnt funny enough, all his mental faculties seemed to have been directed into controlling his facial expression, which left the remainder of his body unsupervised. Thus, he was all cutely fidgety, not knowing where to place his limbs. He also avoided meeting Levis eyes, and when spoken to, his words would occasionally come out in a stutter. In short, he was so fucking adorable Levi felt his insides had been so stuffed with sugar that even his blood had turned into caramel. Consequently, Levis mouth had been stuck in a perpetual smile for hours now. He was even magnanimous enough to not pay Treys accusing glares any heed. If he had attention to spare, he was better off using it to watch his baby acting shy. Alas, the more he watched, the more he wanted to tease his cute little kitten. The more he restrained himself, the less he could suppress his wicked desires. Levi hid the crafty glimmer from leaking out of his eyes, acting like he intended to exit the room. However, midway, he abruptly changed directions towards his baby, blocking the others escape route in one swell move. Levi closed in on his slouching baby like a big bad wolf cornering its prey. And as expected, the prey acted exactly as one C Noahs eyes widened like a startled deer, and he shrunk into himself as if he hoped the bean bag would swallow him whole. His eyes instinctively darted left and right, and then, realizing how silly he was behaving, he lowered them to admire the carpet. Levi crouched to Noahs eye level to appreciate the delectable image of his bashful baby for a moment. Mn? Why so nervous? Levis chest rumbled with a laugh, Im not going to eat you for lunch! Then his eyes flashed a devious glint, and his voice lowered, No guarantees for dinner though. Chapter 131 - Arc 1 130 – Dessert Noahs fidgeting form abruptly stiffened, blood rushed into his head, and he couldnt help but indignantly glare at Levi, looking like a kitten with his fur puffed up. Unfortunately, the warning admonishment within his wide watery eyes, coupled with his flushed cheeks, turned into allure in the eyes of a certain wolf. The already nonexistent threat was further diminished by the fact that he couldnt hold Levis gaze for long. Ah, how could the little baby Noah compare with this shameless tease? Especially when the mentioned tease looked especially radiant today with even his eyes smiling? Baby Noah couldnt even look at him straight without feeling like his little heart would jump out of his chest! Levi chuckled again and adoringly ruffled his kittens raised fur. The indignant kitten huffed and puffed but made no moves to avoid his hand. When the kitten Noah grumbled under his breath. When is what? wolf Levi hummed, Dinner? Up to you. My stomach always has room for Levi ambiguously eyed his baby, dessert. Noahs jaw fell open, and he nearly jumped out of the chair in agitation. How did he never realize how thick-skinned Levi could be?! And so! So! So bad, ah! (? ?> ? ? n < ))o P.S. If you want me to hurry up and publish more chapters, a few cups of ko-fi would be super effective. (????)? Chapter 136 - 135 – EightMary Incident The ex-groom and bride stared each other down. And judging by the equally fierce sparks shooting out of their eyes, if one didnt know their identities beforehand, it would be impossible to tell which was the Healer and which was the Enforcer. Maery, Levi squeezed between his gritted teeth. Hearing that word, Noah visibly flinched. And Levi, who had always paid attention to his baby first and everyone and everything else second, instantly shut up and tried to retract his intimidating aura. Tried being the keyword. Maery, too, didnt wish to upset her baby brother, so she forced a smile. Unfortunately, that smile looked scarier than her frown. But fortunately for the both of them, Noahs reaction to the word had nothing to do with the tone or facial expression it was spoken in! No, no, no! There was a very different reason as to why he had always avoided referring to his newly obtained sister by her name! And that was because The mere mention of anything that sounded like Mary or Marie made dread rise up from his very bone marrow! ||_ It was a mental shadow! A heart demon! It wouldnt even be false to claim that he had PTSD to the words! Why? Heh, remember how the nun that raised him had a special interest in naming female babies Mary? Alright, perhaps it couldnt be called a special interest, its just what other religious name could she give? Magdalene, the hooker? Eve, the sinner? Lilith, the one who apparently committed an even greater sin because she had been stripped of her title as the first woman and turned into a demon? And if you are wondering, hey, can you even mess something up so badly that you get your first woman title taken away?? Its not like she cheated in you know being a woman, let Noah quote two of his fellow brothers who put it in a very eloquent way: Must have had a penis down there (???) Na-ah man, hear me out! To stand up to her chauvinistic husband, she definitely had some balls! (????)? Ahem, so uh, its not that the nun had a special fetish, its just that she was hellbent on naming babies according to the Holy Scripture. r(s?t)q And so it took six baby Marys before the nun realized that calling all female babies Mary brought along certain difficulties. From then onwards, she changed her policy, deciding that four Marys at a time was the limit, and she would wait for the count to drop before she started naming baby girls Mary again. And so, when the two of the six Marys were finally adopted and another one just about to be adopted, with much delight, she promptly called the next orphan girl Mary. But then, disaster struck! That last adoption fell through, and the very next day, twin baby girls arrived at the orphanage. And these two were originally called Mary and Marie by their religious yet nonetheless just-as-dead-as-atheists parents. The dreaded Mary-count was back to six again! And then, to add insult to injury, one of the two previously adopted Marys was returned by her new family, who furiously claimed to have been cheated. Apparently, it took them a month to realize that Marie wasnt short for Mario and that the cute little brother they gave to their own kid to play with was actually a handsome little sister. And then, to put the final nail on the coffin, the second of the two adopted Marys was shipped back because her new parents died in a wildfire caused by a gender reveal party gone wrong Very bad! Very bad for everyone! Other than the two Marys. Phew! Saved from a miserable future at the last second! And so, there were eight Marys in the orphanage! And, oh boy, on that dark day, everyone in the orphanage unanimously agreed that THAT was something that should have definitely been included in the list of deadly sins! In conclusion, nothing speaks the loudest about how traumatizing this EightMary incident was for everyone involved than the fact that even a worldborn who had his past wiped still retained a subconscious fear of the word Mary. Ahem, ahem, back to the present confrontation After Levis exclaim of Maery, the unfortunately named sister went tit for tat with him, Levi. Noah! Noah quipped cheekily, instantly interrupting the face-off. Ah, how would sensitive baby Noah not realize that the mood was totally wrong? And when the mood in the room was off, it was up to sensible baby Noah to mediate it! Levis face melted into his characteristic my baby is the cutest look filled with helplessness and indulgence, while Maerys facial expression actually pretty accurately mirrored Levis! Ah, ah, her baby brother was indeed the cutest! (Rأ) Noah laughed awkwardly, Its true that sis totally ruined our plans, but he teasingly slapped Levi on the chest, How badass was she, ah! That throw! Five stars! If the terrorists had the foresight to hire sis instead, they would have saved a few million! Noah flashed his pearly whites towards Maery, his cute dimples showing in their full glory, Sister! You were so handsome! Made my little heart go doki-doki! (R?Q)? Noahs sweet talk was super effective at turning Maerys fake smile into a real one. However, Levis expression turned even darker. His babys doki-doki should only be reserved for him, Levi!!! (? 㧥) This boiling pot of vinegar could hold in his ire no longer! What are you doing here?! Levi snapped. What else? I came to talk to you about the wedding, darling~ Both Maerys smile and her call of darling was sickeningly sweet yet chill-inducing. Not giving Levi a chance to respond, she turned to coo her baby brother, Little brother, wait for sis, lets have dinner together after Im done here. Noah, with his pure and clear eyes, very obediently nodded. Without further ado, Maery walked up to Levi, grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip, and hauled him towards the dining room for a private chat. Her passive-aggressive smile didnt falter in the slightest when she felt the man try to get his arm out of her grasp, and she even viciously pinched him! From her appearance and background, one would think Maery was just a delicate flower, but that outwardly delicate flower had muscles of steel!! Think about it! When normal people overexerted themselves, their muscles would hurt, and they would need to rest for a while to recover. But when a healer overexerted themselves, they would just heal it right back up! And then they would be ready for more physical exercise! An S-ranked Healer could, in a single day, go through more cycles of muscle strength training than a normal person in an entire month!!! Whoever thought Healers were delicate was delusional!! Astar Levi, this big and tough Enforcer, tried to pull his arm out of Maerys delicate hold to no avail. He dug his feet into the floor, but instead of stopping his kidnapping, his feet just slid, making him look like he was moonwalking. Finally, his scrunched-up expression couldnt help but crack into desperation. He turned to shoot a frantic look in Noahs direction as if to say Baby! Do not misunderstand! This woman and I have no relations whatsoever!! ( 㧥 ;) But not only did his baby not try to intervene, he even snorted a cute laugh and then shoot his way an encouraging look that spelled out Ganbatte! I am rooting for you! You can do it, brother! Levi, ||_ Alright, so he did need to discuss the changes in the wedding arrangements with Maery. It was also about time to notify everyone involved about the changes and tie up all loose ends. This talk couldnt be delayed any longer. And the sooner this was resolved, the sooner he could get back to his baby! Levi gave up resistance, Indeed we have things to discuss regarding our breakup He put emphasis on the word breakup, afraid that his baby would misunderstand the nature of their following discussion. Noah followed their retreat with his smiling eyes, but internally what he said to Blackie was, Can you go eavesdrop on their conversation? I am worried it will turn into an argument. If things go out of control, let me know so I can go in to mediate. Blackie, who already prepared his metaphorical drinks and popcorn, and secured front row seats for the following drama, (?D?) Um Sure. Anything for you, host! Why didnt I think of that great idea? I mean, it totally wouldnt have even occurred to me to do such a thing if you havent mentioned it! Not at all! Thank god for your quick thinking! I dare not think what could have happened ifC The more Blackie rambled, the more suspicious Noah became until he couldnt help but interrupt, Are you being sarcastic? (?_?) Blackie choked, No! Not at all! (; ? 3? )~? Author Note And there you have it. The reason why Ive been holding out on telling you Maerys name for 134 chapters even though the woman had this name since chapter 1. I wanted to include this little skit but just couldnt find the right time for it. In the final version of the book, Ill definitely bring it up much sooner in the story, so I dont have to refer to the poor woman with very awkward titles such as the eldest Cordia and Levis (ex)fiance. XD Btw, the entire story about Lilith being the first woman doesnt originally appear in the Bible. It came about later. But since Blackies Holy Scripture is a giant rip off the Bible and several other religious texts, it wouldnt do if it was accurate to the real thing. :D Disclaimer: Dont misunderstand! I mean no offense with my religion jokes, nor do I look down on religious people! Actually, I am not even an atheist, so dont view my jokes with that modern atheists are smart, religious people are stupid mindset. Though I am personally not Christian, I think there are many thought-provoking gems in the Bible that many could benefit from reading. Some things in the Bible are outdated and ridiculous, but some are timeless classics. (I know what you are wondering right now. The answer is agnostic.) Chapter 137 - Arc 1 136 – Did You Forget To Take Your Medicine? Maery took her sweet time finding herself an unopened beverage with the highest alcohol content she could find, while Levi sat at the dining table in silence with a grave look on his face, displaying a strange mix of impatience and forbearance. He was impatient to get this over with asap so that his baby wouldnt need to wait long, but, on the other hand, he was aware of the importance of this conversation, and rushing it would do no good. He was the one in the wrong first; thus, he had to remain level headed and tolerant with Maery, no matter how long it took and how she chose to respond to the truth. Now he could no longer go with his original plan to seduce his baby during this bachelor party and then come out to their families together, changing the marriage arrangement. Thus, the success or failure of his happy matter with his baby largely depended on the result of his talks with Maery. If Maery insisted on holding on to this marriage or setting herself against him, then his baby might not be willing to get between them. Levi couldnt take a step back in this matter, and if the other side was also unwilling to compromise, then the two families would have a falling out. The dreaded worst-case scenario. He couldnt let that happen. He needed to properly explain the ins and outs of the situation, with special emphasis on the fact that his baby held no responsibility for what happened. He didnt wish Maery to misunderstand and blame his innocent little kitten. Whatever mistakes were made, it had nothing to do with his precious. She could hit and scold him, Levi, but she must leave his baby out of it. Levi would lay his cards on the table, apologize properly and offer compensation. And hopefully, Maerys anger would be placated, and she wouldnt stand between his and his babys happiness. As the minutes ticked by, the tension within the room rose, and Maery, whose fury had been doused by her baby brothers cuteness, had once again started to boil. Finally, the livid woman poured herself a glass, downed it in a single gulp, and slammed the empty glass cup on the table. Astar Levi! How dare you?! Levi opened his mouth to respond but then realized he had no idea what the other was referring to. How he dare do what? Fall for her brother? Break off their engagement through a text message? Plan to marry said brother instead? Or could it be she found out he had already nearly eaten up her darling little brother?! Thinking back he had really done a lot of outrageous things recently, ah! (; ? 3? )~? Maery waited for a response for a moment, but the other remained tightlipped. Seeing the mix of hesitation and uncertainty flickering in Levis blue eyes, Maery nearly ground her teeth into dust. This scum always had this same wait and see attitude whenever someone accused him of something! Refusing to admit his wrongs until the facts were laid out clearly in front of him!! Maery took in a big breath to control a violent outburst that was on the verge of spilling out. Whats this I hear about you refusing to marry and hooking up with a third party behind my back?! Levis tense face slackened in shock. He just got intimate with his baby this morning, and she already knew about it?? How did she find out so quickly?! Could it be that his baby told her?! No, wait, that cant be right if she knew who he had been with, then she wouldnt have referred to his baby as the third party I didnt hook up behind your back, Levi righteously defended both himself and his baby. I only made my move after breaking it off with you. Blood rushed to Maerys head, and she nearly crushed the glass in her hand. This! Shameless! Slag!! Fire threatened to spill out of Maerys eyes as she sneered, And how long have you been messing around with this homewrecker before officially hooking up, huh?! She poured herself another glass and slammed the bottle down. We havent officially hooked up yet, Levis eyebrows furrowed in displeasure, and I havent been messing around. Weve only met each other for the first time last week. Maerys vision went black. Six years worth of a fianc-fiance relationship cant even compare to a few short days with someone who is still without an official relationship title?! Falling in love caught me by surprise as much as it caught you, Levi sighed, But, no mistakes were made, and everything was a complete accidentC Levi abruptly stopped to correct himself, No, not an accident. Thinking about his darling, his eyes softened into mush, More like fate. There was really nothing accidental about him falling for his baby, ah! It was more accurate to say that it was impossible for him to not fall in love with his darling. While Levi was melting at the thought of his precious baby, Maery sitting opposite of him felt her head spin. What. The. Fuck?! Whats with that lovestruck gaze?!? 루??룩 Holy shit! It was so un-Levi-like that it gave her goosebumps! For a moment, Maery even felt respect for this unknown vixen. That was some love potion she had fed him! No, no, must have pushed him into a tank filled with love potion! Anyway, that shit must be the bomb! Otherwise, how would Astar Levi, this emotionally stunted block of wood, suddenly learn how to utter sweet nothings? The man was as romantic as a brick! And nearly as emotionally dense as one! Levi, who, after 6 years, still wasnt even half as good at reading Maerys thoughts from her face as she was from his, remained oblivious to her cynicism. He fell silent, pondering how to express his meaning in a way that would neither hurt nor provoke Maery. Then, with determination, he continued, his tone somber, Im sorry, I am unable to keep our agreement. I know that my actions have wronged you and are willing to make amends, but I cannot marry you. I can accommodate your demands in everything you want as long as you dont obstruct me from having a harmonious relationship with my baby. After a pause, Levi quickly added, Or make things difficult for my darling. You sure are protective of your precious baby, Maery sneered, staring at Astar Levis touching performance with a frosty glare, You are in deep shit, yet still thinking how to absolve her from blame! Levis eyes once again showed that gentle look and his mouth couldnt help but crack a wry smile, It cant be helped I can wrong the entire world, but I cannot wrong this one person. Maery almost choked on her drink from the ludicrous words that came out of the others mouth. If these words came from someone else, she might have found it touching. But when it came from Astar Levi, all she could feel are goosebumps! The man didnt have a single romantic bone in his body! How could he suddenly learn to speak such sugary words? This was clearly not something he came up with himself! He must have been brainwashed by that shameless third party!! And this fool! How could he let himself get manipulated like this?! Men! Must be thinking with their lower half! Maery slammed her empty glass down and smacked her lips, Who was it that said that the union of the two cities was paramount? That the heir produced by this marriage was of vital importance? And who was it that swore to see this thing through? And who was it that vehemently opposed the thought of extramarital affairs? Maery couldnt hold in her scorn, Did water get into your head? Or did you forget to take your medicine? Author Note Yay! Thanks to two wonderful, wonderful people ? who sent coffees my way, you guys get to have another bonus chapter! Itll come out in a couple of hours when I finish it up. (?*^o^)?* Chapter 138 - Arc 1 137 – I’m In Love With Your Little Brother! Levi was abruptly shaken out of his melancholic mood, and his mind couldnt help but stall. It took him several seconds to fully process the others words. Then his nostrils flared, For the last time, I am not talking any medicine! Ah, then there is your problem. The look Maery shot Levis way at that moment couldnt be properly expressed in words. It was a look that a kindergarten teacher might direct towards a retarded kid that just got his head stuck inside a toilet seat. It was the look that said, Im not even gonna ask how or why C Im sure any explanation you can come up with will be stupid. Lets just call 101 and get this over with. Maery smiled encouragingly and coaxed, Now that we know the source of the problem, how about I introduce you to a friend of mine from Med school that can help you get a prescription? Levis face fell, and a vein couldnt help but pop up on his forehead from how hard he was trying to restrain his temper. I am not crazy! Not messing around! Nor having an episode! I am deathly serious! I meant every word I said! Maery sent him an encouraging look, So did I. Dont refuse treatment! You can still be saved! Blackie, the eavesdropper, could hold it in no longer C he burst into uncontrollable laughter. Dont refuse treatment! You can still be saved! Hahaha, Levi, you should listen to this woman! She really knows you well! Levi took in a large breath, trying to keep himself from strangling the woman. He kept telling himself that he was the one in the wrong, thus, he should display extreme patience and tolerance. But bloody hell, she really knew how to push his buttons! Levi held his forehead, feeling an onset of a headache. What could he possibly say for this negotiation to move forward in a better direction? Unfortunately, the other didnt give him the time to come up with anything good to say, Wait, wait, wait! You cant wrong this one person?? Dont tell me!! Maerys eyes abruptly widened in realization, and a gasp of shock escaped her, Is she already pregnant?! Levi couldnt help but snort, I wish. If his baby could get pregnant, then this entire matter would have been so much easier to handle, ah! If his baby was with his child, then no matter how unwilling Maery or anyone else was, they could only shut up and let him take responsibility by marrying his darling. You wish?! Maery felt so furious she started to laugh, The nerve of you! What do you take everything we invested in the last six years as?! A joke?! And you even want to pull my innocent little brother into your dirty schemes?! Dream on! Dirty schemes? Levi frowned. What schemes? Why did he have a feeling that this entire matter turned into some kind of a dog-blood plot once it reached Maerys brain pit? Infuriated with the others pretentious there is nothing dirty about my pure love, my conscience is clear expression, Maery erupted, What else would you call your scheme to make my brother a third party in your little affair?! Not only do you want to make him wear a green hat for two decades, but youd even make him raise someone elses child?! How would her kind little brother be able to deal with such a dissolute hussy whose schemes ran so deep she somehow managed to catch herself one loner wolf Astar Levi?! Her pitiful brother would be bullied to death!! Maery jumped to her feet and leveled her sharp glare at Levi, Let me tell it to you loud and clear C no way in hell! No way am I letting you and your mistress walk all over my darling brother! Over my dead body! Seeing how protective Maery was of his baby, Levis annoyance couldnt help but ease, and his tone turned helplessly exasperated, You watch too many dog-blood dramas. There is no mistress, and no one will be bullying your little brother. Except me. In bed. Levi added internally. Maery scoffed, Damn right no one will be bullying my baby brother! And no mistress? Hah! You broke up with me, so now she is not a mistress anymore? Maery laughed humorlessly. And of course,CMaery rolled her eyesC she wouldnt bully my brother, your precious darling is simply a little angel! Definitely not a shameless vixen who seduced an engaged man right before his wedding! Levi face darkened. She could talk shit about him, but his baby was innocent! Watch your language! It was me who couldnt help but fall in love! Baby didnt do anything wrong! Maery poured herself another glass, The hell she didnt! and then smacked the bottle back down again, Out with it! Who. Is! She?! Levi closed his eyes and rubbed his temples in exasperation. He finally understood where the issue laid. Maerys wonderous mind somehow came to the conclusion that he had a mistress and wanted to marry her brother because his mistress couldnt tolerate him marrying another woman. And then she filled up the blanks with some kind of dramatic plots of murder, fights for succession, illegitimate children, and the like. But this mistress was Your brother Levi muttered with great weariness. Maery choked on the drink that just went down her throat. *** Meanwhile, Noah decided to help clean up the living room while he waited. Such a helpful little darling! Blackie, Host, this sitcom show is so good! You have no idea what you are missing out on! You sure you dont want to watch? Noah, Dont wanna. (^)Everyone has a right to their privacy. Its not right for me to listen in. Just tell me if I need to intervene. Blackie, Heh, then why is it ok if I listen in? (???) Noah, You are a system, ah! o() Who cares if an intelligent toaster is listening in? Blackie, (?_?) How come when he calls himself an intelligent toaster, it sounds cute, but when his host calls him that, it sounds so insulting? *** Marys red-rimmed eyes watered, and she started to cough violently. The alcohol burned her insides like a bitch! She activated her healing to ease the pain, but her healing couldnt just make the alcohol disappear, or oxygen appear! She was a Healer, not a magician, ok?! Levi saw her exaggerated reaction and hesitated to move, not knowing whether shed appreciate him patting her back. A dark joke couldnt help but fly through his head: if the annoying woman choked on her drink here and now, would that mean hed be marrying his baby by default? Maery slumped onto the table, wheezing like a man on his last breath. This fucker! C Maery cursed internally. He spoke in such a low tone that she misheard him! And he even waited until she was in the middle of drinking to choke her to death! Shameless! Was this how she would go? In the prime years of her life? In the evil hands of Astar Levi? And then, when she died, this scum could go and marry his sweetheart?! NoC even worse, hed go and marry her pitiful baby brother!! The dying Healer miraculously revived with fire in her eyes. Hell no!!! She wouldnt go down this easily! What what was it you said just now? Maery squeezed out between her coughs, My what? Your brother, Levi repeated. Sure enough, the already furious woman turned even more livid. What about my brother? Dont try to change the subject! She slapped her palms against the table, We are talking about the shameless hussy! Out with it! Who is she? Levi finally lost his patience. If he could endure his darling being insulted over and over again, he wouldnt be Astar Levi! Stop calling him names! This has nothing to do with him! Levi hissed. Then he grabbed the glass Maery had been drinking from, crushed it, compressed it into a glass ball, and then flung it across the room into the garbage bin. And I fucking told you two times already! He spat, Its your brother! Your. Brother!! Im in love with your little brother!! Chapter 139 - Arc 1 138 – How Incompetent Are You?! The room fell into a deathly silence. But unlike the quiet stillness of the space, the mind of Cordia Maery exploded with an earth-shattering boom, the shockwaves of which shook up all her cogs, making them suddenly click in place. Abruptly, all of the incredulities over the last couple of days, as well as everything Levi said, fell into the right position. Like pieces of a puzzle that have finally been put together. Levi said the two had met less than a week ago. Levi had first met her brother less than a week ago, too. Levi claimed to have fallen in love with someone in the last couple of days. But ever since Levi came over to Concordia, he and her brother had been joined at the hip!! Her little brother praised Levi into the heavens, which made her doubt life, thinking whether her bro had hit his head too hard. But, as it turned out, it wasnt her brothers brain that had problems, but Levis! This shameless dawg wanted the other to like him, so he learned how to act cute! When the two got into an accident, her little brother had written that tear-jerking essay about how Levi needed comforting! She had found the idea of Astar Levi needing comforting absurd, but now she realized that this scum had put on a show to dupe her little brother into feeling pity for him!!! And he even conned her brother into sleeping with him by bullshitting that he cant sleep without his soothing!!! Fucking hell! No wonder, when she saw the two of them earlier, she had mistaken her brother for the mistress at first glance! It wasnt her eyes that had problems! It was Levi who was treating the other like his little darling! Also, her mother had told her that Levi fell for someone, making her rush over here in a fury. But thinking back on it, her mother didnt seem to be very upset or worried about the marriage alliance! Why would she be when Astar Levi was hellbent on marrying her son?! And now that Maery thought about it, how would her mother even know about Levis romantic affairs? Simple C she had seen him act lovey-dovey with his darling! Thinking some more, Levi had been trying to talk to her for several days now, mentioning an urgent matter. But things always got in the way of them having that chat. Wait He had wanted to change the bride for several days now?! Just how quickly did he fall for her little bro?! On fucking first sight?! The more Maery thought, the more she heaved, the hotter her eyes burned, and the more her nostrils flared. But wait! If the mistress in this entire story was her little bro then all those sappy things Levi had just said holy shit!! Were those his real thoughts?! Her mind rewinded, replaying all the things that came out of Astar Levis mouth since the start of this confrontation, her face constantly switching between red, black, and white. And then, the words Levi had said at the start reverberated inside her head C I didnt hook up behind your back; I only made my move after breaking it off with you. made my move Abruptly, Levis sixth sense tingled, Not good! He jumped to his feet. And with the speed of a gut reaction yet the accuracy of a well-practiced gesture, he pushed everything throwable away from Maerys reach with his powers. In this moment of life and death, the first thing that popped into Levis mind was to protect his baby, My feelings have nothing to do with your brother! Its all on me! He has no idea IC Levi hurried explanation was interrupted by Maerys outraged screech, You fiend! Rogue! Scoundrel!! My poor, poor baby brother!!! Levis battle stance faltered. Just in time for Maery to throw herself on him like a sumo wrestler. Thwarted by the fact that there was no longer anything in range to throw, not even the chair and table, the only thing she could throw now was kicks and punches. Beast! Pervert! Brute! Pedophile! She frantically started to beat Levis chest. Levi caught her lunging form, preventing her from falling, but didnt dare resist the smacks. He could only verbally resist the abuse, Your brother is already an adult, he quipped, incensed. He might be a scoundrel and a pervert, but he was definitely not a pedophile! He only came of age this year!!! Maery shrieked with wide, accusing eyes full of indignation. And I only fell for him this year too! Levi defended himself. Because you only just met! Levi choked on his spit. He couldnt argue with that r(st)q Really hit the nail on the head! In hindsight, should he feel lucky he didnt meet his baby earlier, otherwise he might have ended up becoming a criminal? Seeing the others choked up guilty as charged expression, a vein popped out on Maerys forehead, You are not even going to attempt to deny it?! What about the other accusations?! A pervert, a rogue, a beast?!? Not going to deny a single one?!? Not one?!?!? Levi, (; ? 3? )~? Mary, !!! (? 㧥) Unsatisfied by the effect of her smacks, Mary attempted to knee the other in the groin, but then hesitated at the last step, worried that shed cut off Astar familys line of descendants. In the end, she settled for kicking Levis shin, What the hell do you think you are you doing?! Three fucking days before the wedding!! Three days before OUR wedding!!! What the fuck is wrong with you?!? Levi could only apologize again, Im sorry. If I had a choice in the matter, of course, I wouldnt have wanted such a thing to happen right before the wedding. But what can I do? The heart wants what it wants. No! What I meant was, Maery pulled Levi by his collar, wanting to just strangle the fool and be done with it. The wedding is in three days and instead of talking the matter over with me asap, what did you do?!? Avoid my calls and come have a bachelor party with the person you intend to marry?! And you even dared to make a move on him, huh?? Did you even tell him the truth?! Until when did you intend to wait?! The fucking wedding?! Levis brain stalled, giving Maery the chance to smack him upside the head. Did you even bother to give our parents the heads up?! You think changing the bride can be done in a snap?! Wedding invitations would need to be resent! And what about the honeymoon arrangements?! And where would you even hold your wedding night?! In OUR house?! Astar Levi, how incompetent are you?! Maery gave the disappointing man one last heavy kick before falling onto the barstool (that remained in place, bolted to the floor), gasping for breath. She shook her head and gave Astar Levis frozen form a look of a mother gazing at her profligate son that failed to live to expectations. So useless! Made no preparations, your intended bride doesnt even know its his wedding, and worst of all, you didnt even get his agreement! Then she looked towards the sky and covered her eyes with her hand. Maery let out a heavy sigh, fully charged with her indignant disappointment, releasing all the pent-up negativity choking her chest. Bah! You are lucky that my baby bro seems to like you, otherwise Id rather immediately slaughter a pig-brain like you than risk giving you a chance to put your dirty trotters on my familys cutie pie! Really such a pig-brain! Made her all worked up for nothing! There was no dog-blood plot, no scheming vixen of a mistress, no illegitimate children. This dawg just coveted her little bro! Ai, its understandable, ah! (Rأ) Her little brother was indeed the sweetest little cinnamon roll! - Author Note - Wait for it. Maerys reaction to all this is still not over. Youll have to wait for a few more chapters before everything becomes clear. Chapter 140 - Arc 1 139 – Don’t Worry, Brother-in-law! You Can Count On Me! Levi stood there, feeling mightily confused. Um can someone tell him whether his ex-fianc was for or against him marrying his baby? But who could answer him when even the person in question had yet to decide her stance. Maery, after another heavy sigh, clicked her tongue, And your courting method is all wrong! Arent you supposed to be smart? How come youve learned nothing from Case, Fynn, and Shaw! If you dont confess, that silly brother of mine will never realize you have the hots of him! Maery recalled her brothers earlier pure and sweet smile. And then another image couldnt help but pop into her mind. An image of her kind and gentle little brother, all flustered and helpless, trying to escape from the naughty paws of the wild and imposing scoundrel, Astar Levi! Such a contrast in personality and appearance! And two men at that! It was simply, simply! Simply a perfect pairing, ah!!! (? ?>? ?? ?< ))o Chapter 150 - Arc 1 149 – Et Tu, Brute? Maery pretended to be fully concentrated on eating her salad, while in truth, she kept sneakily peeking towards her little brother sitting across from her. No, it wasnt because seeing Noah munching on crispy fried chicken made her feel bitter about being forced to eat a salad so as to not give away her previous lie of being on a diet And it also wasnt because she suddenly realized that her darling brother had this rather enchanting way of eating. (Rأ) No, the reason why she kept looking over was to gauge her baby bros current value on the happiness meter as to strike when it reached its optimum. Her wait didnt take long C Noah hadnt been that hungry in the first place. As soon as the first delicious piece of chicken went down his throat, his oil-covered pink lips curved up in a satisfied smile. Little brother, Maery spoke up, Earlier, I remember you asking whether Levi and I broke up? Noah nodded. He did seem to ask that when the two came out after their lengthy talk. Maery wished to take Noahs hands into her own, but seeing that the others hands were currently holding a chicken drumstick, she restrained the urge. Did we break up? Honestly, no... Levi, who had been sitting on the third side of the four-sided table, in between Noah and Maery, jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on, with a facial expression of someone whod just been stabbed in the back by a trusted comrade. The only things missing to turn this betrayal into a tear-jerking scene of tragedy were melodramatic background music and the dying words of Et tu, Brute? Maery nearly bit off her tongue, despising this idiot for not living up to expectations. Feeling like she would not be able to resist the urge to clobber him if this continued any longer, she turned a blind eye to Levis exaggerated outrage and rapidly finished her words, because weve never been together in the first place! For six years now, Levi and I have been pretending to date for the sake of appearances. Levi, caught in the middle of a vehement protest to declare his innocence, choked on his spit. He abruptly stiffened and then tried to play off his sudden jerky jump as just stretching his legs due to a cramp. It took every ounce of self-control in Maerys body to prevent herself from facepalming. Blackie didnt need to control himself, so he freely facepalmed. Virtually, that is. On the other hand, Noah, with wide eyes and gaping mouth, dropped the chicken drumstick he had been holding, Huh?? Maery struck while the iron was hot to further elaborate, Honestly, little brother, Levi and I dont have and never had even a smidgen of chemistry between us. We are really, really, really, not compatible in the slightest! YouCyouCyou were never together?? Noah stuttered out, his round eyes darting between his sister and Levi. Both nodded in unison, perfectly synchronized. Maery confirmed it with Thats right. Never! while Levi, on the other hand, emphasized, It was completely, entirely, 100% fake dating from start to end! Noah suddenly felt as if a shower of New Years firecrackers went inside his head in a loud boom of light and color. Many things that previously made no sense suddenly became clear. Neither Maery nor Levi ever talked about each other unless asked, and even when they were asked, their answers were curt. The first time Noah had met Levi, he had wanted to brush up Levis good feelings by telling him how his sister had praised him in private, but in that awkward moment, Noah realized that his sister had never praised Levi for anything other than being handsome and good at his job!!! Holy crap! If the two of them were lovey-dovey, how would it be possible for his chatty sister to never coyly praise her darling boyfriend through these long six years?! Not only did she not praise him, but she had also felt greatly apologetic that she had left Noah alone to entertain Levi as if this task of socializing with Levi was something horribly undesirable! And Levi, too, from the first time they met, seemed to be avoiding inviting Maery out to join them as if Maerys presence would ruin the mood of their pleasant outing! Even when Noah wanted to take the two out for a swim, Levi was not in the least interested in seeing Maery in a swimsuit and found all kinds of silly excuses to not invite her out! Thinking back, Levi had actually been rather obvious about it this entire time! He had claimed the two never went on any dates and didnt even kiss or have intimate relations! Even if Levi, this loner wolf, was too busy to remember to take his girlfriend on dates, how would his high-EQ sister not make her boyfriend set some time off for dating?! At the time, Noah had thought the other was bullshitting, but it seemed that from beginning to end, Levi had never lied to him! He had displayed the truth in front of Noah openly, yet it was Noah who missed all these little clues! Suddenly Noahs heart clenched, and he thought he had really wronged Levi. The other wore his heart on his sleeve, yet Noah thought the other, at times, really had a thick face! Ah, ah, how could he wrong his honest and good brother like this?! The only thing that comforted Noahs injured little heart right now was the fact that Aris had been even more fooled than him. Checking out his memories, Aris had honestly believed his sister and Levi were happily dating even though he never saw the two acting intimate in person, and even though all the photos he saw in newspapers of the couple were just the two of them walking arm in arm! Ah, ah! It wasnt that he had been blind; it was Aris that had pitted him! If it wasnt for his bias, Noah would have realized something so obvious much sooner! The more Noah thought about it, the more previously ignored clues popped out of the woodworks. How come Noah didnt find it super weird that Aris, as the brother of the bride, had only been officially introduced to the groom a week before the wedding? And this morning, when Levi had told him that there were no feelings between the two, why did he not realize just how lacking in feelings their relationship really was? If the two had ever had something in the past, how would Levi have the balls to play with his exs little brother so happily?! Noah had even felt guilty about doing this and that with his sisters ex, yet it turned out there was no ex! Blackie, (V_V;) I hate to break it to you, host, but your brother-in-laws balls are larger than the twin moons of Mars! Even if this relationship had been real, he would still have the balls to eat your tofu Noah, ( 㧥 ;) Levi is a caring, conscientious and responsible adult! How would he ever mess around with his exs brother, even if that brother was his best bro?! Ah, how could I have been so blind?! Noahs train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of vomiting coming from Blackie. Noah, (?_?) Blackie, can you try to NOT have one of your episodes while I am having a touching epiphany? Blackie, _(?`)_ Impossible. Its your touching epiphany that is causing the nausea - Author Note - In the end, I didnt lower the word count of todays chapter. Blame me for being too soft-hearted. _()_/ On another note, I hope you guys had a great Valentines day! Had a date? Good for you! Didnt have a date? Then you had a date with BL novels, eh? :D What better way to spend a singles Valentines day than by reading sugar between two men? (Rأ)? In fact, even if you have a significant other, spending a Sunday relaxing while reading some fluffy BL might be a bit sweeter, ne~? Much higher concentration of sugar per minute, ne~? Besides, dont think that people with significant others are all having the time of their lives going to candlelit dinners and super romantic dates. Not really the best time for all that. You know, covid. _()_/ I spent my Valentines day at home with my hubby like any other normal Sunday. Eating home-cooked food, watching movies and playing games, all the usual stuff. And it was great. Thats why its the usual stuff; otherwise, whod keep doing stuff they dislike until it became a regular thing? o() Chapter 151 - Arc 1 150 – Why Won’t You Be Getting Married Anymore? With his emotional mood completely spoiled, Noah returned back from his introspection to the present, where Maery and Levi were awaiting his reaction with bated breaths. Noahs shocked expression slowly shifted into something odd. It made sense that the two wanted the outside world to think that they got along well. This arranged marriage was of great importance and would influence the stability of the two cities. But Sister, I am not an outsider. So why did you keep the truth a secret from me all this time? Maery sheepishly smiled and scratched her head, We didnt just keep it from you. We didnt tell our parents either. We didnt want you guys to worry. If you thought that Levi and I had a harmonious relationship, then you could rest your heart at ease regarding this arranged marriage. She sighed, Otherwise, how would our parents feel knowing that their children were sacrificing the best years of their life for politics and a loveless marriage? Dad would feel estranged when dealing with Levis family. Mom would develop gastritis from guilt and worry. And when the time to say our vows came, the entire family would burst out in tears as if it wasnt a marriage but a funeral Noah, (|||) Wow. That order of events is impressively accurate! Sis has a remarkable talent in fortunetelling! Blackie, (???) The things you choose to focus on never cease to amaze me Since youve already kept this secret for 6 years, then Noahs round eyes suddenly narrowed, why choose to spill the beans now? Maery took a sip of water to wet her throat, Since Levi and I wont be getting married anymore, there is no longer any need to keep our lack of relationship a secret. Noah quickly caught on to the key point, What happened? Why wont you be getting married anymore? What about the marriage agreement? Did you guys discuss this change with our parents? Of course they know and approve, Maery waved off Noahs worries very confidently. Initially, Levi and I had a deal. Wed marry, produce an heir, and in the following years, perfectly accomplish our duties as a married couple so that no one can spot anything to badmouth us about. And then, when the heir became old enough to take over, wed cleanly divorce and go our separate ways. However, in lieu of recent events, Levi and I had a long and serious talk with both of our parents, and we reached a unanimous conclusion that the marriage between Levi and me is not the best course of action for any of the parties involved. Blackie, who had witnessed this long and serious talk with parents (as in plural, more than one), of both sides, In lieu of recent events? What events? Noahs eyebrows shot up, but he chose not to interrupt his sisters explanation. Maery eyed her relatively calm brother and thought that before dropping the bomb, she should further convince her brother that this marriage between Levi and her was a horrible, horrible idea. Thus her tone turned even more persuasive as she continued, Brother, dont you also think this arranged marriage is a bad idea? Even if we put the whole freedom of love and marriage matter aside, the whole purpose of this arrangement is to produce a qualified heir to govern both cities, but how could a loveless, forced marriage produce such a high-quality offspring? Maery smacked her hand on the table in agitation, Children need love and security! How could they grow up into happy dumplings if their parents have no affection between them and avoid each other like the plague, counting the days until their divorce? Noah, (??) That indeed does sound horrible Levi, Wow. She is really good at this. (?D?) Levis hand sneaked its way towards his communicator, Gotta record this for future reference. Maery continued very spiritedly, That kind of foul environment is no good for raising a child! The child would even feel unloved, like their whole purpose of existence was due to politics! A pitiful lab-bottle baby! Seeing how her moving speech nearly brought tears to Noahs eyes, Maery felt like she had been injected with a stimulant and brought it up a notch. And do you know what the worst thing about it is? In reality, the child probably wouldnt just THINK they were unloved, but they might even actually BE unloved! Did you not hear how, oftentimes, parents in a failed marriage see their ex-spouses'' worst traits in their children, causing them to feel aversion towards this offspring that serves as a constant reminder of their past mistakes? They even vent out their accumulated resentment on the innocent children! Maery swished her hand, pointing her index finger towards Levi as if accusing a murderer among the gathered crowd. Ah, ah! I can already see a tragedy in the making! This brute of a husband has so many shortcomings that he can potentially transfer to my pitiful, pitiful offspring! Insensitive, selfish, shameless, boring, workaholic, too lazy to talk or socializeC Maerys rant devolved into a sharp intake of breath because one outraged Levi delivered her legs a vicious kick underneath the table. If eyes could kill, Levis two smoldering embers would have long melted Maery into puss, Fuck you!!! How dare you badmouth me in front of my baby?!? What if my baby doesnt want to marry me anymore because of your poisonous words?!? A vein popped out on Maerys forehead, and she squeezed through her gritted teeth, also doesnt know how to cherish the fairer sex Maery wanted to squeeze in some more admonishments as revenge for that kick but had to swallow them down upon seeing Noahs one-third flabbergasted, one-third chastising, and one-third-outraged expression. Her baby brother was clearly displeased that she was badmouthing his precious hubby! And was even puffing up with clear how could you say such a thing in front of brother-in-law?! And what are you even talking about? Brother-in-law is not like that! expression!!! If she continued to talk shit about Levi, her baby brother would angrily jump out to refute, and this entire moving speech would have been in vain! And to make matters worse, this dog, Astar Levi, upon seeing her brothers outrage, even put on an I am so wronged! So sad~ expression of a kicked puppy!!! The nerve of him!! Im the one who got kicked, ok?!?! (??)Φ ߩ And Im not badmouthing him! Just stating the truth! Yet this wronged sister could do nothing else but switch topics in great haste, Ahem, what I meant to say was uh we are not each others type and the alliance between our two families would rely on the strength of our relationship! It would rely on our mutual trust and good feelings! But there are none! What if, after a few years, Levi and I got so fed up with each other, we couldnt take it anymore and ended up causing a feud between our two families?! We would have wasted all that time and effort only to end up causing a war! Chills crawled up Noahs spine at this horror story, and he felt that their parents must have been dead drunk when they came up with this entire arranged marriage matter. With all his hair standing on their ends, he kept nodding his head like a chicken pecking rice. You are right! Bad idea! Im so glad you managed to get out of it! A coy gleam of victory flashed through Maerys eyes, and she decided to take a brief pause to let this entire speech fully sink in. Also, she needed a drink; this entire word barrage ended up making her throat parched. Eat while its hot, Maery motioned for her brother to pick up his long-forgotten chicken drumstick. Marriage between Levi and myself is a terrible idea, so we figured out a way to make the alliance proceed more smoothly without this marriage. Chapter 152 - Arc 1 151 – What If I Am Unwilling? With shaking hands, Noah picked up his drumstick, but suddenly he had no appetite. Ah, he really didnt like horror stories! And to think this horror story nearly became a reality! He let out a long breath of relief. So glad the two had enough foresight to convince their parents not to go through with this catastrophe! But now he felt curious, what solution did the two manage to come up with that would be better for the union of two cities but didnt involve them getting married? Noahs thoughts were interrupted by a loud ringing of his communicator. Noah saw Cases name light up on the screen and hesitated whether to answer. He was currently in the middle of a dinner with his sister and Levi; it didnt feel right to chat with Case now. But on the other hand, he remembered telling Case hed call him when he was free to hang out with him but ended up completely forgetting about him. Ai, he felt a bit guilty Noah hesitated for a while, and the call ended up being dropped. With complex emotions in his eyes, Noah returned to his chicken drumstick, but not a second passed before his communicator started to ring again. Case was calling again. This time, Noah didnt have the heart to reject him, so he shot his sister and Levi an apologetic look and picked up the call. The light screen of Noahs communicator popped out, displaying Cases very outraged image, which was only a wee short of spitting out fire. Case held a fancy-looking piece of paper, and before Noah could even greet him, he screeched like a banshee, What the fuck is this?!? Oi, oi!!! What the hell is going on?!? Case frantically shook the piece of paper in front of Noahs confused eyes as if attempting to exorcise the demons possessing it through brute force. It was only several moments later, when Cases hands stopped their reenactment of a man having an epileptic seizure, that Noah managed to recognize what the other was holding. It seemed to be a wedding invitation between Noahs eyes squinted, trying to make out the names of the bride and groom, Astar Levi and Maerys satisfied smile cracked, and Levi bent his fork out of shape. Both lurched towards Noah, trying to press the hang-up button, but they were a step too late! Noahs eyes widened into saucers, and his voice broke, Cordia Aris?!?! His own trembling voice rang in Noahs ears, and his head spun. However, the physical reaction speed of a worldborn was not to be underestimated. Even under these circumstances where his entire body was shaking and heaving, Noah still managed to accurately slap away the naughty paws trying to press his hang-up button. Case wait a bit Im going to have to call you back Noah ended the call himself and turned to face Maery and Levi, who held their slapped hands, looking like they had just swallowed a fly. Their expressions were an interesting mix of emotions, including guilt, fury, sourness, resentment, and embarrassment, but there was no surprise. Seeing their very synchronized ugly expressions, Noah abruptly realized what was going on, and his blood pressure skyrocketed. In lieu of recent events, you said? A better way to unite the two cities for all parties involved? A humorless chuckle escaped him, Heh, heh, so the better solution you were talking about was not to dissolve the marriage but to change the bride?! Maery, This is not how this was supposed to turn out!! QAQ We were so close! So close, ah! ||_ Levi, Fucking Case!!! (??)ߩ I still havent paid you back for trying to take liberties with my baby, and you had to jump out again to draw aggro?! Paint a blood-red target sign on yourself, why dont you?! Seeing their precious darlings current furious visage, Maery and Levi were forced to set aside their dissatisfaction with Case. Not knowing what to do to remedy this, the two shrunk back in their chairs, looking like a flustered pair of children whod done something wrong. Noah seemed to be hyperventilating, his wide angry eyes looking between the two culprits whose backs were now covered in cold sweat. No wonder they confronted me with that Weve got good and bad news for you attitude earlier!! Noahs hands clenched into fists, So, this is the news youve been keeping from me! Bro... brother... dont get mad... anger isnt good for the health... Maery croaked dryly while avoiding Noahs eyes. Well then, arent I lucky there is a Healer in the room. Noah smiled perfunctorily and reached towards his glass of water, thinking that he needed a drink, and since there was no alcohol present on the table, he had to settle for plain water. Unfortunately, his hands were shaking too badly, and he ended up spilling half of it before it reached his mouth. And then, when the cool liquid finally trickled down his throat, it even slid down the wrong pathway, causing him to start coughing. Levis arm instinctively darted to pat Noahs back but seeing those two livid yet teary-due-to-coughing eyes looking his way, his hand froze midair, and he flinched back. Several times Levi moved as if to pat Noah''s back but didnt dare, looking like a lost child. After Noahs cough settled down, Maery cleared her throat awkwardly, That brother you... you can be mad all you like, but... before you get mad can you hear us out? Im listening, Noah smiled very brilliantly, but his smile sent chills down the other twos spines. Bro uh me and Levi dont get along, but you and Levi do! Since you two like each other very much and enjoy spending time together, if the bride was changed from me to you, this marriage would turn from slow torture into something much closer to a marriage between a loving husband and wife! Worried that Noah would disagree, Maery didnt even pause to take a breath before continuing, I know you are feeling very wronged right now because Maery paused and then swiftly decided to fling the blame to their parents, because our parents went ahead with this before consulting your opinion! And you have every right to feel wronged! Levi and I also felt very wronged when this marriage fell onto our heads! We understand you, little brother! If you are really against it, we can talk it out but we had hoped that you would be able to accept it with time just like Levi and I did back then Accept it with time? The wedding is in three days!! Noah let out a long humorless chuckle, We can talk it out? The wedding invitations have already been resent! Maery and Levi flinched, and their heads dropped down lower. Why did their easy-to-fool dumpling suddenly turn so smart? After a moment of silence, Maery tentatively spoke up, That mom might have gotten ahead of herself but if you are unwilling we can we can say it was a prank? Or a printing error? Dont dont feel pressured, baby brother ah tell sister the truth about your thoughts on this matter if you are unwilling to marry Levi, then no one will force you Noah glanced between Levi and Maery in silence, his thoughts unreadable. Then, what if I am unwilling? What will happen to the wedding in three days? The room was suddenly enveloped in an oppressive silence. After a moment, Maery responded, Sis has already been living all this time prepared to marry this scourge, so, in the end, if I still have to marry him, Id accept it, but Levi The man in question finally spoke up in a somber and low voice, If you are unwilling, the wedding can only be canceled Levi lowered his head to avoid meeting Noahs eyes, with a forlorn and devastated expression that simply spelled out a mournful no one wants to marry me... As expected, seeing that look, Noah felt his little heart got pierced with something sharp. Maery too clutched at her heart, but her thoughts were, Who is this shameless scoundrel acting pitiful?! Levi, you have really opened my eyes today! Chapter 153 - Arc 1 152 – The Bride Can Only Be You The wronged Levi, (? 㧥) What do you mean acting pitiful?! Thinking that my precious doesnt want to marry me, my heart really hurts, ok?! You try being unwanted by your precious and let me see whether your expression will look less pitiful!!! Ah, ah! His chest felt really painful and stuffy! Levis shoulders slumped further, yet the look in his eyes grew obstinate. If I am marrying, then the bride can only be you Levi rasped out, sounding apologetic yet not. Sorry that his decision might have wronged Noah, but be that as it may, his resolution could not be shaken, nor would he regret it. Seeing Levis nervous yet unyielding demeanor of a martyr resolutely walking towards his demise, Noah couldnt help but find it funny. And those words, the bride can only be you, made something warm and ticklish flutter through Noahs insides, calming down his roiling blood. Ah, that sounded really too ambiguous! Like a love confession! Noahs puffed-up self deflated like a punctured balloon, and he covered his pink face with his hands. This attacking power was too much! How could he withstand it? In the first place, he was angry due to being tricked and kept in the dark. Not due to the change itself. He was mad because this matter had been settled behind his back, when obviously, as a replacement bride, he had every right to be a part of this discussion! However, things have already reached this point, and it was no use to feel angry about it now. Besides, Noah could understand the ins and outs of the situation. (Blackie, Can you? (?_?) Can you really?) This marriage needed to happen, and this duty fell on them as the children of their parents, whether they wanted it to or not. They could fight it and run away from this responsibility, or they could step up and sacrifice themselves for the greater good. And Noah would never accept the benefits of his current identity and run away from the responsibilities. This wonderful new life of his was built upon the death of the original Aris. Seeing this through was the least he could do for the original Aris. Thus, if Noah needed to marry someone, hed marry, no matter who the other person was. And if the person happened to be someone whom Noah liked, then hed even feel blessed. It was just that... this whole marriage matter fell on top of his head too suddenly! Ah, he was a pure little virgin who only just arrived in this world, and now they want him to marry a man?! And they didnt even ask him aboutC wait thinking about it it wasnt entirely true that he hadnt been consulted on his opinion! He remembered Cordia mommy asking him whether hed be willing to marry Levi a few days ago! It was just that at the time, he had thought she was joking and not literally asking whether hed be willing to marry Levi!!! With the sudden realization that he had indeed been consulted on his opinion beforehand, the last remnants of Noahs anger and dissatisfaction fizzled out. The way this matter had been handled was indeed a bit stupid, but his family and Levi had no bad intentions, and they did care about his opinion. Noah let out a long and heavy sigh. Now he couldnt even be mad for Levis sake. Initially, when this brick hit him from nowhere, besides feeling slighted, he also felt indignant on Levis behalf. How could they do such a thing?! Wasnt this change unfair towards Levi? His big beauty of a bride suddenly turned into a big man!! But then, he saw Levis reaction and realized his thinking had been wrong. It was clearly Levi who refused to marry if he was not marrying Noah. Maery could still swallow down this marriage if it was for the sake of her baby brother, but Levi couldnt. The previous days flashed in front of Noahs eyes, and he understood. Levi didnt like Maery, but Levi really liked him. Levis like might be a bit ambiguous and not entirely platonic, but this like was very loud and clear. Before the two of them had met, Levi had no qualms about marrying Maery to fulfill his responsibility as an heir of Astarea, but after meeting Noah, this marriage suddenly became unacceptable. How could Levi agree to marry a person whom he didnt like when there was an alternative bride whom he liked very much? How could he agree to spend the next twenty years chained to a person whom he didnt get along with when he could be spending those twenty years happily playing with his good brother? In the end, not only did Noahs dissatisfaction completely evaporate, but he even felt a bit pleased. After all, why would he be displeased if such a highly-sought-after bachelor like Astar Levi wanted to marry him? Flattered, yes, but certainly not displeased. Besides, what could he do? This adorkable brother-in-law of his occupied a soft spot in his heart, so even with a request like this, Noah really didnt have the heart to say no given the circumstances, even he thought that Levi marrying him made more sense than him marrying his sister and since logically it made perfect sense, and emotionally he also wasnt too conflicted about the matter, what else could he do but agree? Speaking of which, not only was he not emotionally too conflicted about it, but he even felt a bit delighted? Noah quickly found a reasonable explanation for the bubbly happiness inside his chest. Since Levi had already taken liberties with him this morning, then wasnt it just right to take responsibility for his brazen behavior with marriage? Or rather, if one put a label of a married couple on their head, suddenly this mornings shameful actions became something natural. After all, if a husband had certain needs, whom else could he seek out for help but his spouse? Suddenly this mornings brazen and naughty thing became just and righteous! In one swell swoop solving all the knots tangled up within Noahs heart! Marry, alright, no problem! But The heir Noah sighed with resignation and removed the hands covering his face, I understand the logic that friendship between the groom and the bride would make the alliance more secure, but the most important thing here is the heir! Hearing the obvious shift in Noahs tone, both Maerys and Levis heads snapped up in disbelief. Their little darling was like a deflated pufferfish, suddenly turning from a fierce hedgehog into a cuddly kitten! Maery, after confirming with her own eyes that her little brother was no longer mad, felt her fujoshi heart bloom with splendor, and she could barely sit still in her seat. So what if both the bride and the groom are male? Maery puffed up her chest in pride for her fujoshi culture, Its already this day and age; who discriminates between same-sex couples nowadays? Even the issue of a child is no longer an issue. With a days work in a lab, two men can also have a child just fine! Dont you worry! Not just one! If you want, you can have a whole litter of little Levi-Arises running around! Noah didnt quite know why, but that last statement made blood rush into his cheeks, and he quickly averted his eyes. Only to lock them with Levis resplendent gems of blue that were gleaming so dazzlingly bright with hopeful expectation. Noahs breath caught in his throat, and he quickly covered up his face with his hands once again, like a little ostrich burying his head in the sand. One one is enough Noahs whimpering and nasally mewl of acquiescence made fireworks explode within Levis heart. Ah, ah! Baby agreed!! Baby agreed to marry him and have a child together!!! - Author Note - Did anyone else accidentally read Levi-Arises as Levi arises? (V?V) Chapter 154 - Arc 1 153 – A Joyous Event! A Happy Ending! Levis previously nervous and stiff expression slackened and then blossomed into a foolish grin of bliss. Sitting there with a bent fork in his hand, he should have looked like a lovestruck idiot, yet due to the virtue of his very handsome face, this bright smile didnt look idiotic but actually had a heart-stopping boyish charm. There was really something very special in witnessing a fierce and cold man suddenly display the pure and clean happiness of a child. Even Maery, whose romantic interest in Levi was below zero, couldnt help but feel her heart skip a beat at the sight. Then she felt nausea climb up her throat. Bleurgh, how could she had gotten confused for a moment there?? This was clearly still that same scourge! Noah couldnt see Levis bright smile, but he could feel the sheer bliss radiating off Levi in waves through his mental power. Knowing that the other was feeling happy, Noah couldn''t help but feel happy too. Carried along with these feelings, he imagined what their happy future would be like. The two would, naturally, move in together. And rooming with a good brother should be pretty nice. Levi was really gentle and good to him, so their cohabitation should be a pleasant experience. And Noah''s soothing would help Levi sleep soundly. The two of them would be able to see each other every day and spending more time with Levi... he liked the sound of that. He enjoyed hanging out with Levi, so more was naturally better than less. Levi was also lonely, so having Noah by his side should make him feel less lonely, right? The more Noah thought about it, the better he thought this idea was. This marriage would be good for Levi and would make them both happier, so why not? Maery wasn''t wrong when she said that this was the best solution for all the parties involved. Noah''s imagination continued to run wild. After they got the wedding over and done with, they could go on a vacation together in the guise of a honeymoon. They''d travel around and have fun. Levi could definitely use some time off from work. And then later Noah shyly lowered his head. Ah, he he wouldn''t mind having a little dumpling running around. (Rأ) He grew up in an orphanage; he was good with children. He''d make sure that this little dumpling grew up happy with all the proper world views. Blackie, (???) I find it fascinating that your depiction of your marriage with Astar Levi doesn''t include any R-18 stuff. I don''t know whether to call you pure-minded or idiotic Noah shyly spread the fingers covering his face to peek through them towards the other two. Levi was already a goner, with his brain far away in the la-la land, while Maery... Maery looked at her baby brother as if he was a gift from the heavens above. Not only did this precious little one take away that position of Concordia city lord she didnt want, now he even took away that scourge of a fianc she didnt want! The more she looked at her darling little brother, the more touched she felt. He was simply more of an angel than actual angels! She was simply so moved that even tears swelled up in her eyes. Ah, ah! All those years sister pampered you werent in vain! Honestly, all that stuff Maery had said before wasnt just some nonsense she made up to coax her baby brother. She indeed thought that raising a perfect heir was too hard of a task. Especially if half of their genes came from Astar Levi! And now, even this arduous task was passed off to her little brother. Bless you, my precious! Maery dabbed at her eyes. It was as if her brother was born just to make her life more comfortable! How would she not adore him to bits?! The ardent gazes Noah was getting from both of his dinner companions made him feel rather embarrassed, so he strived to quickly divert their attention to something other than himself. How do you intend to explain the change of the bride to the public? His question was indeed effective, Maery snapped out of her reverie, Well just say that Lev and I have been friends all along and had nothing together because Levi is gay. We can even go a step further and say that our side had been putting off the wedding until you reached 18, in hopes that perhaps, you two boys might end up interested in each other. And lo and behold, our considerations were not in vain! Now that our little Aris is all grown up, Levi finally had his romantic awakening, Maerys eyes curved in a smile and she teased, and thus he domineeringly declared, I will only marry Cordia Aris and no one else! ergowe had no choice but to change the bride. Noahs mouth dropped open, You cant dump the blame for this matter on Levis head! Dont say something so unflattering! We cant? But isnt that the truth? Maery giggled, and seeing how her little brother agitatedly jumped to refute, she added, Im just teasing you. Well omit that last part. Noahs inner turmoil calmed down, and he grumbled, Dont make it sound like it is Levis fault... make up something touching and romantic. Like... like... Noahs eyes spun around in thought, Aha! You can say that we mutually fell in love with each other! A joyous event! A happy ending! Maery nearly choked on her drink. Make it up? Aint that the truth?? She eyed her dummy of a brother, who still seemed clueless of the fact that this future husband of his actually WAS gay and DID want to marry him due to love. ...we cant say that. What if some people think too much and say that you were greedy for inheritance and intentionally seduced your brother-in-law? Its better to dump this black pot onto Levis head. Levi felt the need to add his own two cents, Yes, lets just say that I fell in love first and pursued you until you were finally moved and agreed to marry me. Noah shook his head, Thats still dumping the blame on you! People will just say I had no choice but to agree because you refused to marry otherwise! Levi, Maery, Blackie, ( ????? ) Again... isn''t that the truth?? Wasnt this cabbage a bit too protective of the pig who dug it up? Maery suddenly found that this sugar between two men was a bit bittersweet. Her fujoshi soul was happy, but the sister in her just couldn''t completely resolve herself to sell off her precious baby brother like this even if the picture of the two boys together was pure eye candy... She sighed ruefully, finding herself in the Blackie-dilemma: happy that things were going according to plan, yet feeling bitter that her brother/host was so cluelessly easy to sell off. At least make the pig work for it! You are practically digging yourself up and happily rolling down the hill to greet the pig so he can sooner eat you up!!! Maery rubbed her temples and comforted herself with the thought that every cabbage had to be dug up and eaten eventually... At least this pig would take good care of her cabbage... And thus, Maery, as the self-proclaimed smartest person in the room, bitterly offered a solution to her baby brothers difficulties, That''s easy to dispute. Just act lovey-dovey on the wedding, and people will naturally think its mutual love. ...In other words, just be myself? Levi immediately slapped his thigh and declared, Done! Noah, ( 㧥 ;) Brother, how can you agree so easily?! Acting lovey-dovey with a man can you even do it?!? Blackie, can he do it? (?_?) Host I''m curious, if not acting lovey-dovey, what do you think he has been doing since day one?? Noahs cheeks heated up again. Was Levi not embarrassed? Even if you are not embarrassed, I''m embarrassed, ok?! Yet now that this future husband of his had agreed, he, like a considerate wifC uh, spouse, couldn''t openly refute him, lest he lost face in front of his in-laws... Blackie, (??) ...And I thought your sister accepted her change from fiance to a sister-in-law fast! If I didn''t know you aren''t the real Aris, I''d say genetics sure were scary! Chapter 155 - Arc 1 154 – Best To Start Practicing Early Then its settled, Maery proclaimed, I better go back to Concordia and help mother make all the necessary arrangements. And youC she pointed towards Noah CYou need to decide on your best man and contact them immediately! And with that, she heartlessly abandoned her barely eaten salad, waved her goodbyes, and with a speed of a hurricane, walked out of the private room. She needed to catch the first train back! Her stomach was grumbling in hunger! She needed meat!! Greasy and juicy meat!! With her leave, the room fell into a long silence with the two resuming their, now almost cold, meal. Noah fidgeted in his seat, looking everywhere but at Levi. Being alone with this newly obtained fianc of his was very awkward in itself, and Levis expression of utter bliss didnt make it any less embarrassing! That being said Just look at him smiling so happily! Noah chuckled under his breath. One would think he was marrying his sweetheart and not his ex-fiance''s baby brother... Was Levi so happy because he didnt have to marry Maery anymore or because he was looking forward to spending more time together with him? Whichever the case, Noah thought Levi was rather cute. This brother of mine ah should I start calling him "this husband of mine" instead? (Rأ) Just the thought of that address made Noah''s ears turn pink. Even if it was just an arranged marriage, he still couldn''t treat it as if air! It wasnt a joke! Regardless of what the real relationship between them was, on paper, they would be 100% legit husbands! How would he not feel shy and embarrassed about suddenly gaining a husband? Especially when it was a husband that he had even already been intimate with! The line between them was neither clear nor easy to draw! And it seemed to be turning more ambiguous by the day. Noahs long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as he poked the food on his plate with his fork. His little heart was no longer galloping like a herd of frightened deer, but it hadnt calmed down either; it was still quivering restlessly inside his chest. The meal in front of him proved not to be a very effective distraction. His mind was still running in circles, unable to move away from Levi and this upcoming marriage. And there was this one thing that had been bothering him for a while now. Especially bothering him! He absolutely had to get it out of his chest! Lev-Levi... Noah cleared his throat and bashfully peeked underneath his thick eyelashes towards the other, What sister said... Its not true. Levis eyebrow jumped in a confused inquiry, ? What was his extremely adorable baby talking about?? Noah elaborated in a mosquito voice, You are not insensitive, selfish, shameless, or boring And there is nothing wrong with being introverted Unable to handle Levis heated gaze, Noah turned his head away, but his neon pink ears betrayed him. As for you being a workaholic... we... we can slowly work on that... Levi had no idea what he was chewing on at that moment, but he felt like his mouth had been stuffed full with sugar. The sweetness overflowed from within to every cell of his body, making him reach an unprecedented high. He had long forgotten about this episode of Maery being Maery. Yet, it turned out that this thing was still on his babys mind, bothering him to the point he had to set it straight no matter what. Even if his baby currently felt too shy to face Levi and couldnt even say his name without stuttering, he still gathered up his courage to speak out. How could his darling possibly be so lovely?! How is it possible for a creature to be so, so damn lovely?! Levis heart was so full it felt as if it would burst. He had been an atheist all his life, but at this moment, he thought that god might really exist because he, Levi, had been given an angel to accompany him. The ''god'' who sent this angel down, aka Blackie: You are welcome~ if you are satisfied with the service, make sure to leave a five-star rating. (????)? The more Levi thought about it, the more surreal it all felt. His precious baby was the living proof that perfection existed. And if something like perfection was real, then even the existence of a god wasnt too farfetched. More so, the chance for an existence as perfect as his baby to be born was so minuscule in itself, yet he even appeared right by his side. The probability of the two of them meeting seemed even lower than the chance that gods do exist. Mn, Levis agreement came in the form of a husky murmur, low and deep and filled with deep yet undefinable emotion. Noahs movements froze; that hum left him feeling as if he had been electrified. Levi, unable to control his overflowing emotions anymore, took advantage of this momentary pause to lean forward and drop a soft kiss on Noahs forehead. Levi wanted to kiss those beautiful amber eyes, wanted to kiss those plump pink lips, wanted to kiss those rosy cheeks, wanted to kiss that cute perky nose. This single butterfly kiss was far from enough to alleviate the thirst within. Alas, this was currently the only kiss he could safely steal. Yet, even this kind of kiss wasnt as safe to steal as Levi thought. When kissed by a man that was to be his husband, even this chaste kiss was enough to make Noahs brain fizzle out. Noah dropped the fork he had been holding and stared at Levi with wide befuddled eyes, resembling a deer stuck in headlights. With the speed of a tsunami, a pink flush spread from his ears down his cheeks and all the way down his neck. Levi could almost see the stalled cogs trying to turn inside his babys head with great difficulty, and while the image was very adorable, Levi worried that when those little cogs finally managed to shift, his baby would realize the truth. And Levi wasnt ready to confess his feelings yet. What if his baby grew scared when he learned the truth? What if he put up his defenses or even regretted agreeing to the marriage? Yes, Levi would, of course, confess his adoration, but it was better to confess after the wedding. Once the marriage certificate was signed, his baby wouldnt be able to run away even if Levis love confession didnt go well. Right now, it was better if his baby thought the whole matter was just play-pretend. It was just three more days. Levi could wait. And thus, Levi promptly interrupted the arduous rotations of Noahs brain cogs with a bullshit explanation of his actions. Since we are supposed to act out a convincing lovey-dovey couple at the wedding, Levi hid a smile behind his hand, I feel it would be best to start practicing early so that we can perfect the act in time. Noahs crashed brain finally rebooted. Oh! That made sense! So that kiss was Levis attempt at acting lovey-dovey! Phew! () Almost scared the living daylights out of him! Honestly, even Noah wasnt that slow! This man had already done this and that with him and would soon enough even carry a label of his husband. How would Noahs thoughts not go astray, even just a little, when the other kissed him? But it turned out that this time, he was overthinking it. Levi was just trying out his role of a loving husband that he was supposed to be playing out three days from now. And now that it had been brought up, Noah, too, thought it was a good idea to practice beforehand as to avoid messing it up at the wedding. But this kind of practice ai, it was too embarrassing!!! Acting it out once, at the wedding, was already his limit! (? ?> n n n n n n ? ?? ? n n n n ? ?< ))o Chapter 195 - Arc 1 194 – From The First Glance Shaws usually gentle and collected demeanor cracked and fell apart in that instant. Im a straight man! A straight man!!! Desperation was practically leaking out of his red-rimmed eyes as he looked around. Do I not look straight?? Tell me, do I not look straight?! Where do I look like a gentle and caring top?!? The trio of gay tops, who also mistook this so-called straight man as their brethren, exchanged a constipated look. (; ? 3? )~? Uh Trey ran his hand through his spiky black hair, I know how you feel. I get mistaken for a straight man all the time Yes, yes, thats normal. Fynn echoed, No one has their sexuality written on their face Straight bro, dont be sad, ah! We accept all sexualities into the heartbroken club! Case unreservedly directed a welcoming look to this comrade whose crush, just like her brother, couldnt even recognize the sexuality of her admirer for so many years. Welcome, welcome. Here, have another drink. You guys Shaws eyelid twitched, your words of comfort would have been far more effective if they were spoken with less glee (V_V;) The three gays finding joy in a straight mans misfortune, Cheer up, dude! At least your crush is still single, ah! (?H?) Heh, after all, it was tough to feel sympathy towards someones failed confession when your own crush just got married off to someone else! r(s?t)q Ah, this straight brother was complaining about the loss of ingredients caused by his failed cooking attempt to a group of bros whose entire houses got burned down!!! *** The newlyweds had no love nest prepared for them due to the abrupt change in brides. And Noah wanted to take his time picking and choosing their future home instead of settling the matter in a rush. Thus, the duo decided to temporarily move to the bungalow in the aquarium resort. The same place where they had played with the dolphins last week. The house might be a bit on the small side when compared to a luxurious mansion, but it was private and secure. Also, dolphins!!! And private sandy beach! And 365 days of summer per year! Ok, sure, living outside the city was a bit remote. But luckily, with maglev transportation, the distance was no longer an issue! And as a bonus, the bungalow was just one night stroll away from the wedding venue! Which was exactly the excuse Noah had used to delay returning to the bungalow for the last several hours; until Levi could wait no more and practically hauled this naughty little one to this temporary home. Why delay retiring for the night? Well Throughout the wedding, Noahs attention had been fully dedicated to being a proper host and keeping his misbehaving husband from eating his tofu. The former of which was very successful, while the latter not so much. However, as the hours passed by, a faint feeling that Noah couldnt quite put his finger on grew within him. As if he had forgotten something very important, a subtle dread crept up on him, making his rabbit heart subconsciously wish to hide itself amongst the fluffle of other rabbitsCahem, guests. Of course, preoccupied as he was, Noah had no time to ponder over the source of this feeling. All the way until the front door of the bungalow locked with a click, and he was pressed with his back against it by Levis sturdy frame. Only then did Noah finally remember what he had overlooked C the wedding night!!! He was no longer retiring with his good brother to rest and recuperate! He was now locked alone in a house with a big bad ravenous wolf of a husband on their wedding night!!! The arduously rotating gears within Noahs head screeched like banshees! Warning! Danger!! Critical alert!!! If nothing was done, this Noah-rabbit would get eaten until not even his bones remained!!! Noahs wide flustered eyes darted upwards to lock with Levis dark pools of magma. As Levi licked his lips like a true hungry wolf, Noah opened his to say his last words. However, he was not given a chance to utter a single one, for the hungry wolf aggressively pounced on him a moment later. He was picked up from the solid ground by Levis power as if he weighed nothing and pressed into a Noah-pancake against one hard door and one even harder Levi. One moment, Levis hot and heavy breaths were tickling Noahs flushed face, and the next, Levis lips viciously attacked Noahs. Biting, gnawing, and sucking as if this carnivorous wolf had never tasted meat before in his entire life. Noahs little rabbit heart nearly jumped out of his throat. His limbs flailed, trying to wiggle out of his current desperate predicament. However, not only did his pitiful attempt of an escape fail, but Levi even took advantage of his movement to slide Noahs suit jacket off! The jacket dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap, and Noahs two protesting hands got restrained above his head by an invisible force. Levi had never in his life found his own power this useful. It was as if he had a couple of extra hands! A couple of extra hands that could be used to toy and play with his baby!! While the invisible extension of himself held and restrained his baby, Levis fleshly trotters attacked his darlings torso instead. Two large hands fumbled untying Noahs tie, gave up halfway, and switched the attack target to Noahs cute little waistcoat instead. Levis breath grew ragged, his blood boiled, burning the veins it passed through. How would he have the patience to undo those delicate buttons? He could only very domineeringly tear them right off! Levis hungry mouth sucked both air and saliva out of the puffy little mouth underneath it, while his hands decisively moved on to the dress shirt underneath. Only when physiological tears appeared at the corner of Noahs eyes did Levis mouth release his, allowing the suffocating little rabbit to take in a few short breaths. However, instead of using this brief window of time to inhale oxygen, the panicking little herbivore jumped out to beg for mercy. Wait-wait-wait! Talk-talk-talk! I-I-I want to talk! Noah squeaked, his eyes red and lips swollen. Levis eyes darkened, practically glowing with predatory light, but he nonetheless indulged this panicking little thing. Mn? Talk then. His hands paused tearing off the shirt, but he didnt release the defenseless sack of Noah-potatoes that was currently hanging in the air. Noahs eyes roamed left and right, desperately searching for a conversation topic. His frantically beating heart pumped hot blood into his head, and he spoke quickly, You-you-you! Since when! Since when did you-you-you like-like! Liked you from the first glance, Levi purred into Noahs neon pink ear, Fell for you within 24 hours. Noah was just searching for a lifeline, a topic to save him from his impending doom, something to sidetrack Levi from eating him up, but when he heard Levis words, it was him, Noah, who got distracted instead. What?! You''ve already had designs on me that early?!? Wide, indignant amber eyes locked with Levis bottomless blue ones. Faced with the little ones disbelief and outrage, Levi could only show his own doting helplessness, Baby, I cant help it. Faced with your loveliness, all attempts of controlling ones heart are rendered futile. I was a lost cause from day one. Noahs red abused lips pressed into a pout. The two large amber eyes underneath his long fluttering eyelashes grew watery. You you how can you be so impulsive? What if its just a momentary infatuation? A crush that will go away just as fast as it came? His trembling voice choked up at the end. Levi grabbed his babys face and slid his thumb over those lovely pink cheeks. Overpowering sweetness bubbled within his chest. Baby, Im not impulsive. Once you meet the right person, let alone 24 hours, even 10 minutes is enough to fall hopelessly in love. Levi dipped his head, pressing their foreheads together and staring straight into his babys beautiful pair of eyes, I am very clear on what I feel and who I want. - Author Note - Did you know that a group of rabbits is called a fluffle? Me neither! Who comes up with these names?? Ai, but its totally appropriate! Imagine a narrator in a documentary on National Geographic: This meadow is a home to a fluffle of cottontail rabbits o((>< ))o Chapter 196 - Arc 1 195 – When Did I Seduce You?! When those husky words reached Noahs pink ears, the messy thoughts running through his head screeched to a halt, and so did his racing heart. Time stood still as two pairs of eyes gazed into one another. One pair watery, the other blazing, yet both equally mesmerized. After several long, silent beats, Noahs heart leaped from stand-still to a full gallop, pounding against his rib cage like a drum. Warmth spread from his chest outwards, melting away all of his worries as if snow, leaving behind a puddle of pure joy. Noahs red abused lips unconsciously curled up in a small sweet smile, so captivating it nearly stole Levis soul away. The little incubus stared up at Levi with flushed cheeks and bright glistening eyes, his loose tie hanging around his neck like a ribbon on a present about to be unwrapped. His wrapping, already half torn, now revealed the entirety of his slender neck and delicate collarbones. And as the upper half of his smooth white chest moved with his breathing, two small pink buds would peek out, only to be quickly covered up by the fabric once again. It took only one look at this devastating view for all of Levis blood to rush downwards. He swallowed hard, his throat parched. In one rushed crude move, he tore off his own tie, which had suddenly become uncomfortably tight, flinging it who knows where. And with that, the ravenous wolf took advantage of the little lambs daze to once again pounce. His mouth captured Noahs succulent lips, glistening red like cherries, yet far sweeter. They quivered under the ruthless assault, responding with Noahs own unique brand of shy enthusiasm. Levi nearly growled; each and every reaction of his baby was provoking the beast within, pushing him to the very edge of insanity! His hands clutched at Noahs shirt with a vice grip, tearing off the remaining buttons. Noah yelped into the kiss, and Levi seized the opportunity to slip his tongue inside his babys hot and wet little mouth. Noahs pupils dilated at the sudden intrusion; his Mmmmrrrrppph! reverberated through Levi, evoking a low sexy grunt in response. With his lovely present now nearly unwrapped, Levis greedy paws slid against the naked flesh of Noahs belly. The smooth and supple sensation on his callused fingertips more pleasurable to the touch than the finest of satin. As Noahs sensitive waist was wantonly stroked by those large rough hands, another whimper escaped him. Those naughty fingers left trails of heat in their wake, setting every nerve ending ablaze. Levis hands pulled Noahs waist until their bodies slammed together, chest on chest, pelvis on pelvis. Levis huge bulge rubbed against Noahs smaller one making tingles of pleasure shoot up both of their spines. Noah gasped into the kiss, his wide teary eyes begging for mercy. Only a string of unintelligible wu-wu and mmph came out of his mouth, though what he really wanted to say was Wah! YouCyouCyou! StopCstop kissing!! QAQ Seeing that look filled with unspoken grievances, Levis instinct reacted faster than his muddled brain, and he released the swollen little mouth. Noah gasped for breath. Noticing the wolf hungrily eying the two erect little peaks on his chest, he ducked his head in great alarm, burying his face in between Levis neck and shoulder to prevent the other from kissing him again. Dont even think about it! Noah scolded in between pants; however, his weak, nasally voice was not threatening in the slightest. AngryCIm still angry! You-you! I treated you like a brother, yet you had been plotting against me all this time! His quick hot breaths tickled Levis neck, his little nose rubbing itself against Levis flesh like a little animal seeking comfort. Levis eyes curved in a smile; his babys words said one thing, but his actions said another. Sulking so cutely, like a little puppy that was all bark and no bite. Simply too adorable for words! Making one unable to resist teasing him further! Baby, how have you been treating me like a brother? Levis response was laced with allure, Clearly, you''ve been seducing me from day one. As expected, the little one immediately jumped like a cat who had its tail stepped on, his quivering voice charged with indignance, When did I seduce you?! Dont speak nonsense!! Im not speaking nonsense, Levi righteously defended himself while his hands swiftly unbuckled the belt on his distracted little lamb. If not seducing, then what would you call swaggering around in a t-shirt with your long slender legs on full display? It took only one swift and forceful tug for Noahs pants to slip off the mentioned pair of slender legs, dropping to the floor right next to the crumpled suit jacket. Levi gave Noah no chance to reply before continuing, Do you know how much self-restraint it took for me not to spread this lovely pair of legs wide and take you right then and there? Levis hands slid down under Noahs knees to do just that. He abruptly spread Noahs naked pair of legs apart and ground his bulging crotch in between. Feeling that hard foreign object sliding against his own little brother to move downwards towards his virgin chrysanthemum, Noahs soul nearly leaped out of his body in a mix of anticipation and fright. His breath hitched in his throat, and he started to writhe in an attempt to get out of Levis hold. Not-not seducing!!! I-I-I always sleep like that! Noah stumbled over his words, trying to defend himself. Oh? C The sudden danger in Levis timbre sent shivers down Noahs spine C You pranced like that in front of others? Noah didnt need to see Levis alarmingly narrowed eyes to feel the storm brewing within. This little herbivore with a keen sense of danger immediately straightened his spine, lifting his head to lock his sincere eyes with Levis squinted ones. No! Just you! He reassured, his rippling amber eyes spelling out Believe me! Im not lying! He really wasnt lying, ah! Aris had no such habit, and he, Noah, only got here last week! Feeling his earnestness, the beast was momentarily pacified. His grip on Noahs legs loosened, and this little lamb immediately attempted to close his spread legs. However, his hopes were immediately dashed when he realized that this husband of his just switched from using his hands to using his power to hold his legs in place. For the first time, Noah thought that having a high-ranked Enforcer of a husband was not a good thing! Sure, as every other power user, he could only target a single thing with his power at a time, but as an S-ranked Enforcer, he could designate Noahs entire body as his target!! QAQ In other words, this husband of his should be able to apply however much force he wanted to any part of him for many hours! Just me? Levi nodded his head in satisfaction with a look of Mn. As it should be. But then, he thought important things should be stated clearly. Thus he sternly declared, Listen well, this, Levi slid his large hands up and down Noahs thighs, evoking a shudder from the latter, is for my eyes only. Then, he added, Also, my hands only. Cant agree, cant refute. Noah was left without words. This husband of his was really capable! Just look at how many times per minute he could render him speechless! As if eager to demonstrate just how capable of muting Noah he really was, Levis lips once again attempted to lock with Noahs while he pressed his sizable hardon underneath Noahs butt, poking the entrance of that tight little hole. However, this one very alarmed rabbit ducked his head again, squealing in panic like a little piglet about to be slaughtered, You cant!! Ah, ah! Shower!! You-you-you havent showered yet! ICICI havent showered! No one has showered!! QAQ For a moment, Levi really wanted to spank this little ancestor. Each time the naughty little incubus opened his mouth, it was to cockblock his husband! (???) - Author Note - Sorry guys for the lack of chapters last week. Ive had a serious lack of energy and spirit the last couple of days. The writing has not progressed as well as it should have. 䣼 Maybe it is the sudden change in temperature/weather or something. Chapter 197 - Arc 1 196 – It Might Be White And Round, But It Isn’t Dough!!! Levis lower half throbbed in need, and yet instead of taking his darling, he could only take a long and deep breath to calm down the blood churning within his veins. In the end ah, what could this pitiful horny husband do when this cockblocker just happened to be his own precious darling?? He could only indulge his mischievous little wife for now and get his payback in bed later And besides, his baby had a point... He, Levi, must be all sweaty and smelly after an entire day of festivities Ah, this wouldnt do! 䣼 His baby liked cleanliness! He must be nothing less than fragrant and sparkly clean for his precious darling! Their first time had to be perfect! His baby was already feeling reluctant and shy and fearful about their first time, so he, Levi, had to work extra hard to soothe and please his darling! But, wait Levis eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why was he suddenly getting a sense of dj vu? (?_?) Say didnt his baby already leave him hanging after a shower once already? He he couldnt be thinking about doing it again?! (? 㧥) Once bitten, twice shy. After a long moment of motionless silence, Levi hummed, Ok Then his hands slid under Noahs perky ass, squeezing the fleshy globes in great satisfaction as he lifted them up to walk towards the bathroom. Lets shower together. No!!! Noah, who by now not only sounded like a piglet but was also as pink as one, vehemently protested with all of his fine hairs standing on ends. Let-let me down! You go-go first! I-I-Ill go after! Levi ignored his babys protests, slowly carrying him towards the bedroom, fully enjoying the feeling of kneading those supple cheeks and the squeals, whimpers, and yelps he received in response. Ah, it would have been even better if there were no fabric in between his fingers and his babys behind. Tsk, hed take those blasted briefs off his darling sooner or later! Levis hawk eyes stared at his half-naked and flushed-from-head-to-toe prey, which was flailing and mewling in his arms, on the verge of tears. Ah, not there! Dont-dont-dont touch there!! Ah, ah!! Dont knead, ah! It might be white and round, but it isnt dough!!! Aaah!!! Remove your pig trotters from my ass! QAQ Levis mouth twitched. How come he suddenly felt as if he was bullying his own little wife? Ai, how was touching what belonged to him considered as bullying? Sigh~ His little darling was really thin-skinned, ah! ? Fine, fine, you win, baby. Who made me love you so much, ah? (Rأ) If his baby didnt want to do it, then it couldnt be done. Even if his balls turned blue as a result. Besides, his baby was always right. Now that he thought about it, taking a shower together was not a good idea either. The two of them were not even naked now, and his self-control was already on the verge of snapping! What would happen if the two of them took a shower together was self-evident. Ah, he didnt want to take his babys first time in the shower! His baby needed to be laid on top of red silk, like the treasure he was, and not pressed against the wall like a criminal. Ahem of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to do those kinkier things later when his babys little ass was broken in a bit more~ (? ?>? ? n ? ?? ?? ? n