"...."
"Ashy, do you truly like her?" Scarlett asked, her eyes scrutinizing Scy''s every assets?
"Yes" Eli replied, a sly smile ying on his lips, not bothering with Scarlett''s earlier words.
Hearing his nonchnt answer, Scarlett turned her head, her frown deepening.
"...."
"What?"
"Well, I thought.....if you love her, shouldn''t you get all fired up over my harsh words?" Scarlett asked, squinting as if trying to unravel a mystery inside his heart even though she knew.
Eli flicked her forehead, and she winced theatrically, "Ouch".
"I know my sister better than anyone....." Eli leaned in, his voice a seductive whisper, "Just like how you thoroughly know me, Big Sis".
"I know what you are going to say next, Big sis" Eli said suddenly biting her cheeks.
"NIIK~"
"That''s punishment for calling her like that" Eli smiled.
"...." Scarlett found herself staring at his lips while rubbing her bitten cheeks before abruptly looking away, her cheeks burning....when she felt the hardness getting even harder, ''H-He became more lustful...!!'',
She attempted to stand, but the grip on her hips tightened....With a mix of embarrassment and determination, Scarlett addressed Scy with an apologetic tone,
"Ahem, Ms. Scy, I apologize for my rudeness" She bowed her head gracefully.
"Hu-Huh? It-It''s Okay" Scy who was looking at Mariel suddenly snapped and hurriedly replied to Scarlett.
Scarlett smiled, thinking, ''Well, she seems to be a good girl...'' and added outwardly,
"I just wanted to know if I have limits in his heart....That''s all. I didn''t mean to hurt you.If you want I don''t mind kneeling if it meant to cool my brother''s heart and
If my words did, please ask anything.....ah, of course, except about my brother".
"There''s no need for that, Ms. Scarlett. I''m happy to see My Mas--Husband reunited with his sister" Scy said with a warm smile.
"..." Scarlett''s lips twitched, She then simply smiled but that was not a smile at all, ''She is a good girl but she needs....well, let''s not jump to conclusion before knowing her''.
"Where are you before, Scy?" Eli frowned, having called her several times while she was in the kitchen.
"Huh? I-I was busy with breakfast" Scy answered, clearly avoiding his eye contact.
"Hmmm" Eli decided to drop the subject, he didn''t want her feeling cornered in front of strangers.
"Well, Ashy, I need to speak with her" Scarlett said as she tried to escape from his hardness that might break her dress.
"You can talk here" Eli teased, attempting to poke her....who knows where.
"HI!" Scarlett suddenly jerked before ring at Eli and said solemnly, "A.L.O.N.E"
"Okay" Eli nodded with a smirk, acknowledging her seriousness and knowing what those talks were about.
Feeling his grip loosen, Scarlett nodded, but instead of standing, she delved into her inventory.She pulled out a few pillows and strategically ced them on Eli''sp before walking away with a confident sway.
"..." Eli stared at her with a deadpan expression.Scarlett winked before pulling Scy along, leaving behind an intrigued and amused audience.
"I-I am also" Mia hurriedly chimed in, deciding to join them.
"..."
"..."
Silence hung in the air, leaving only the two of them.
Eli fumbled with the TV remote, his unease palpable.
Mariel stared at Scy with a thoughtful expression as Scy disappeared along with her daughters, Mariel snapped and thought, ''Well, maybe I saw her father or mother....'' She then shrugged it off thinking it was that much important to her now.
Mariel remained silent not knowing where to start, her gaze scanning the living room again and again.
On the T.V
/
"Why did theputer go to therapy?"
"Tell me"
"You Sir?"
"Don''t know?"
"You Madam?"
"Because too much porn to stand its disk?"
"hahaha, I don''t know how it is rted....anyhow that''s good but no"
"Anyone Else?"
"..."
"No...ah, then I will say the answer,
Why did theputer go to therapy?
Because it had too many bytes of emotional baggage, and its motherboard couldn''t process its feelings!..Hahahahahaha...ahahahahah.
"...."
"Hahahah.....hah...ha...h...i-it''s joke"
"...."
"Laugh you motherf****---"
/
Not able to handle standupedy anymore Eli changed the channel...he felt little pity for that person who tried his hard toe up withme and oldedy and even more for his unreasonable anger.
/
"Today''s news exposes the true nature of Asher Eli, a Fallen Royalty, ''That''s what our source is saying'' and An elite-ss student caught engaging in vulgar acts in in public areas, not to mention hurling insults at reporters and PEOPLE not once, but twice"
**The image of Asher Eli defiantly showing his middle finger was stered across the screen. **
"See, people, does anyone even need this kind of being--"
/
Eli abruptly turned off the TV and an awkward silence settled in the room.
He stole a nce at Mariel, whose face bore a mix of amusement and curiosity.
"Hah...hahaha," Eli chuckled awkwardly, "I-I was just... You know..." He shrugged his shoulders, attempting to downy the situation.
"Heheh..." Mariel finally chuckled, her guard dropping.
She looked at him with a glint of mischief,
"You are different from your father, aren''t you?"
"Yes?" Eli''s eyes twitched for some reason.
"Well, it''s just that your actions and bodynguage don''t resemble your other brothers"
"...." Eli maintained a cryptic smile.
Seeing this, Mariel stared at Eli''s red eyes before asking something she had been searching for a long time and something she wanted to ask,
"You have that ''script'', right?"
"...Huh? Pardon? I am not sure what you are talking about, Mrs. Mariel?"Eli asked back without hesitation, wearing a ''No clue'' expression.
"..." Mariel leaned forward as her face turned serious, "You know, it happened four years ago...."
Eli also leaned forward, eager to hear the story.
"A man, a mere Early Domain Rank cultivator, infiltrated my territory and stole something crucial to our Phoenix House....''Important Manual and Books''.
I, who didn''t know who he was really at that time, gave him a crucial mission due to his constant fake efforts and fake will, he made me trust him. Thus I sent him on a mission to the outskirts of the damn kingdom under royal orders. Seizing the opportunity, he fled towards the Fiend Forgotten Land.
After two weeks of his going missing, I investigated deeply and found out the truth...that he had stolen something precious from our me Phoenix family.
Within a few days, I found him".
"...." Eli frowned, realizing how easy that was.
As if Mariel knew his thoughts, she said,
"It''s not that he was easy to find; instead, he was heavily wounded by something....or by someone.Anyhow, due to the wounds, he couldn''t move around, so it was easy to catch the fly".
"So, did you recover the stolen items?" Eli inquired, curiosity burning in his eyes.
"..." Mariel locked eyes with him before answering, "Yes, I found my stolen belongings, but not from him, though".
"???" Eli raised his eyebrows, intrigued by theyers of the unfolding tale.
"...." Mariel then retrieved something from her storage ring.
Eli furrowed his brows when heid eyes on the object: a white shallow crystal... a Soul Crystal.
"It belongs to your Family member..." Mariel said.
"..." Eli stared at the soul crystal, taking it and scrutinizing it from front to back.
Mariel keenly focused her eyes on him, waiting for any emotion to break through.
But,
To her dismay, Eli''s lips curved into a nk expression, "Hehehe...heheh...Liam...heheh....So that''s why I couldn''t find you that time...hahahahahaha..." Eli wasughing, but it sounded hollow.
"What the...?" Mariel was taken aback by Eli''s sudden weird shift and thought, ''How did he know it was Liam...?''
Mariel''s doubtful face was right.
Because once the reviving time passed, then the Soul Crystal would lose its lusterness and be nothing but a white shallow sphere just like marble....one couldn''t even spot any difference between them.
"So, it''s ''That Man'' who ordered Liam, right?" Eli asked, chuckling a little.
"Yes, it seems Your Fat--"
"DON''T CALL HIM MY FATHER!!!" Eli''s voice, devoid of emotion, reverberated through the house.
"!!" Mariel was suddenly taken aback, not only by Eli''s unexpected emotional outburst but by the manifestation of something primal behind him....Teeth of ''something'', an entity that made her Phoenix bloodline shudder.
"Big Brother?
"M-Master?"
"Ashy?"
Eli snapped back to reality, his gaze shifting to the woman who had emerged from the kitchen, wearing a worried expression.
A forced smile returned to his face. Eli then spoke softly, "I am sorry. You can continue your ''Secret Talk''".
Seeing Eli''s strained smile, Scarlett nced at her mother, who looked bewildered by Eli''s sudden action.
''Sigh'' Scarlett sighed, pulling the two girls away, who were eager to support him.
"W-Wait, Big s-sister.That bitch doing something...." Mia tried to protest.
"Y-yes, Ms. Sca--I mean, B-B-B-Big s-s-sister" Scy stuttered as her face flushed.
"Nope, we haven''t finished talking about the other two bitc--I mean, other wives of my brother... Where is your room, Little Scy?" Scarlett redirected them toward Scy''s room instead of the kitchen.
"..."
"..."
Eli and Mariel exchanged bemused nces as the trio ascended the stairs.....About to enter the room, Scarlett shot a look at her mother with deadly eyes.
''Sigh'' Mariel sighed, realizing she might have messed up something. All she wanted was to reim what was rightfully hers.
"Big sister? Little Scy?" Eli muttered, an amused smile ying on his lips.
"I am sorry for losing myposure, Ms. Mariel" Eli said apologetically as if the previous incident were just an ident.
Mariel studied his face before responding, "You seem to have a problem with your--ahem, Aspen?"
"Family drama... You know" Eli replied, staring at her intently to convey that her daughters also harboured resentment.
"..." Mariel''s lips twitched.
"Anyhow, tell me more. It''s getting interesting" Eli asked, his curiosity evident and his demeanourpletely transformed.
"....Aspen''s son, Liam, was the one who had those books.
After some torture, he told us everything. He was under someone''s orders and sent that thief to steal our family heirloom. Unfortunately (For us) / Fortunately (for Aspen) my ex-husband, clearly made a soul contract with his own son, so Liam lost his memories.... we couldn''t find enough proof connecting him, and I even tried to threaten him, but he doesn''t care about his son....
So I slit his son''s throat in front of his father" Mariel recounted with a dejected expression.
"Oh? That''s fucking amazing" Eli said in a wicked smile.
Seeing that smile Mariel understood, Asher Eli, he was a heartless monster....or ''Forced to be one?''
"So, if you got everything, then why are you doubting me?" Eli asked with an amusing smile as if her story truly intrigued him.
"....." Mariel then turned serious, "Yes, we found the culprit and retrieved my house''s heirloom book, but... among the books he stole, there was this old book with an iplete technique in it".
"...." Eli''s smile widened.