《The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era》


 Chapter 1 - THE DEATH OF A MOVIE EMPEROR

    HE stared at the bridge not far away. There were people in front of him and also people in the back. They were lined up to pass on the bridge. If he was not mistaken, that was the famous NaiHe bridge. The bridge that human soul had to walk through to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Yes, that¡¯s right. Human soul. Because right now, just like the others who were lining up to walk on the bridge, he was also only a soul.


    It meant only one thing ¨C he was dead.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that his very perfect day would end up in this way. He went from a newly crowned movie emperor to a dead soul. He was not reconciled. Anyone in his situation wouldn¡¯t.


    He was an orphan who had long been used to taking care of himself. His father was a gambler who left a huge debt to his mother. She had to work to the point that her back almost broke just so she could pay off his father¡¯s debt. His mother was too kind and too soft for her own good. Soon, when he reached the age of 12, she died due to overwork.


    He never forgave his father for that.


    He was then sent to live to his aunt¡¯s family, his mother¡¯s only sister. There, he experienced how to live like a slave for the next four years of his life. If not for his strong fortitude, he might have long been broken into pieces because of their constant verbal and sometimes physical abuse. That¡¯s why when he had the chance to get away from them, he didn¡¯t hesitate to do so.


    It was when he passed the entrance exam of a key high school in another province. He didn¡¯t hesitate to go there and cut off his communication with his aunt¡¯s family. Heck, they probably didn¡¯t even know of his plan. He didn¡¯t tell them about him passing the entrance exam of that key high school because he was sure they would definitely do everything to stop him. After all, who would give up such a convenient slave, right? So, after his middle school graduation, he boarded a train and never came back.


    He was confident that they wouldn¡¯t put the effort to look for him. He pleaded with his homeroom teacher not to tell them anything if they ever asked her. That teacher of his knew about his situation and she agreed. Anything further than that, they wouldn¡¯t do. Because searching for someone needed money. And they wouldn¡¯t ever spend money on someone they only thought of as a slave.


    His life after that was as hard as it had been. Doing parting jobs while studying. Making sure that his grades wouldn¡¯t drop, so he wouldn¡¯t lose his scholarship. But he didn¡¯t mind. Because he was free. And that¡¯s really what all that mattered.


    A month before he graduated high school, he accidentally entered a filming crew while delivering food. Incidentally, an extra that was supposed to play the role of a food delivery guy didn¡¯t come and they needed to film his scene right at that moment. Seeing him, the assistant director just pulled him and told him that if he played that role, he would pay him. He agreed. He wouldn¡¯t say no to such quick money.


    It was a fascinating experience. And that¡¯s also the start of his love for acting.


    He went to a performing arts college after that to learn more about acting. Because of his stint on that movie, a small entertainment company invited him to be one of their artists. He only agreed once he did research on them. They were a small company, yes. But everyone was hardworking which was very important for him. Most of all, they don¡¯t let their artists do unspoken rules. Their artists win their resources based on their talents in acting and not their talents on the bed.


    When he first started, not many were optimistic about him. He was not really the pretty and delicate type that seemed to be very popular to young girls. He was also not that overly handsome that simply exude masculine charms that women of all ages referred to as male gods. In terms of appearance, he¡¯s probably just at the middle of the two.


    He was tall and slender. His face would probably be considered as plain if not for his pair of phoenix eyes which was also surrounded by long eyelashes. His eyes added charm to his face which he probably would never have if he had a normal pair of eyes. He also had good skin. They were white and delicate. The skin on his face especially so with almost no pores visible. He kept it that way with proper skin care.


    It was probably a blessing that he was telegenic enough. So, with the proper make-up and lighting, he could also appear very handsome. But what he lacked in the looks department, he made up with talent.


    He first started with small roles. Some even only had five minutes of appearance. But it didn¡¯t matter. What¡¯s important was for him to exercise his skills. His big break came when he played the third male in a Xianxia television series. Although his role was not that big, it could captivate the hearts of many if played right. And he did. He did it so well that at the end of that series, his Weibo fans reached 10 million!


    That¡¯s probably not that big of a deal considering how the top artists in the country had 100 million followers in Weibo. But for an artist that had been in the industry for only a year, that was already a very big deal.


    Many projects came after that. But it had not been a swift sailing for him. Before he could even set a foothold in the entertainment industry, his gambling father somehow found him and wanted to extort money from him. Of course, he vehemently refused. Their confrontation was captured in a video by a paparazzi and it had gone viral. Just a few days after that, his aunt¡¯s family was somehow interviewed and they talked as if he was the most ungrateful person in the world. Which somehow supported the video of him and his father.


    Suddenly, in the eyes of people, he became the most unfilial son. Many black fans scolded him every day. Telling him to get out of the entertainment industry. Those who were jealous of his success flamed the scandal even more, putting him as the villain of the whole narrative.


    But those things didn¡¯t deter him. While he was being scolded in the internet, he collected evidence of his father¡¯s gambling and the abuse of his aunt¡¯s family. It wasn¡¯t so hard. He just had to let them admit the things that they had done and secretly took a video of it. His agent helped him a lot with that. With just the right acting, he managed to goad them into saying the things that he wanted.


    With the released of those videos, the situation was finally reversed. He even gained a lot of loyal fans after. But most importantly, he managed to severe his relationship with those shameless relatives. He made sure that they would never entangle themselves with him again.


    Years passed and he finally managed to win the best actor award at one of the top award-giving body in the country.


    And on the night he received that award, he died a very stupid death.

 Chapter 2 - NOT DRINKING MENG POS SOUP

    EVERYTHING was still fresh in his mind. It happened just right after the award ceremony. When he arrived at his luxurious condominium apartment, he was still drunk from the joy of winning. He felt like he was on cloud nine. He couldn¡¯t help but dance and sing around his apartment.


    Then he suddenly felt hungry. Because he was in a good mood, he decided to cook himself. While rummaging his refrigerator for ingredients, he saw a bowl of grapes inside. They were big and succulent. He took it out and planned to eat it while prepping. So, as he was prepping the food, he was also eating a piece of grapes from time to time.


    That¡¯s when the tragedy happened.


    He was cutting meat when he accidentally slashed his finger. He was used to cooking. He almost always never cut his finger. The shock caused him to choke on the whole piece of grape that he just put in his mouth. Yes, he choked.


    He wasn¡¯t panicking at first. But when he couldn¡¯t get the grape out and his breath started to become less and less, he then realized that what was happening was really serious. He could die if he didn¡¯t do anything.


    He was living alone, so no one could help him. It was no use calling on someone, since before they could arrive at his apartment, he might already be dead. So, his only choice was to go out of his apartment and pray that there would be people who could help him.


    He quickly ran towards the door but before he could even reach it, he fell and stumble due to the lack of air. Everything around him seemed to slowly turned dark. He couldn¡¯t think properly. His throat hurt. His lungs felt like they¡¯re burning. He was scratching at his neck, as if he could get that shitty piece of grape out. But it was all for naught.


    The last think he remembered before he completely blanked out was his hand trying to reach the doorknob. When he regained consciousness, he was already at the realm of the dead being judged by Yama.


    Yes, the cause of his death was indeed choking. How stupid was that, right? He could already imagine the kind of headline it would make the next day. ¡®Newly crowned movie emperor died at his apartment! The cause? A big piece of grape stuck in his throat!¡¯. If he wasn¡¯t dead then, he might just die of extreme mortification.


    His agent would probably had a heart attack once he discovered him at his apartment, sprawled on the doorway, not breathing. His fans would also be devastated.


    He couldn¡¯t understand what kind of bad luck he had. When he thought that things were finally going his way, something would happen that would stop that. It¡¯s like the universe was just preventing him to have his own happiness. Was that it? Because he was too happy winning the award, the universe finally decided to put an end to his life?


    He sighed and looked ahead of the bridge again. Well, at least Yama decided that he deserved to be reincarnated without undergoing torture. If remembered correctly, those who had committed great sin were tortured before they could be sent to reincarnation.


    He was actually quite surprised that this place actually existed. He thought it was just a part of their country¡¯s myths and legends. But what about other countries? Would they also have their own ¡®death department¡¯? Surely, they would. It would be weird for a foreigner, like an American for example, to actually be facing Yama¡¯s judgement.


    He shook his head. What the heck was he thinking at a time like this? But then again, he was already dead. So, what¡¯s the use of thinking anything deeper? That wouldn¡¯t bring him back to life.


    The line started to move forward. And he finally stepped on the NaiHe bridge. There was a woman standing on the bridge handing soup to the soul passing by. He couldn¡¯t see her features but he was sure that that woman must be Meng Po and the soup he was giving to the soul was the famous Meng Po¡¯s soup.


    The soul would drink it and then they would forget the experiences they had in this life. They would then reincarnate as a blank slate without the memory of their past life.


    Somehow, he didn¡¯t really want to drink that soup. Wouldn¡¯t it be cool to reincarnate with his current memories? That way, he would have his six-year of experience as an actor. He could utilize that to the fullest and quickly climb back once again to the top. But would Meng Po allow him to do that? He already had an answer. Of course not. Did he really think he was special? If he was, then heaven wouldn¡¯t allow him to die in that stupid manner.


    But it seemed like heaven still had a little bit of mercy on him. Because some kind of commotion suddenly happened near the place where Meng Po was handing in soup. One of the souls started to cause havoc.


    ¡°No! Impossible! I¡¯m not dead yet! Take me back! Return me to my family!¡± shouted a soul who looked like he was just a teenager.


    The movie emperor shook his head. [You¡¯re already about to drink Meng Po¡¯s soup and you just noticed that you¡¯re dead?]


    Well, he shouldn¡¯t really blame the kid. He noticed that most of the soul here looked listless, like they didn¡¯t have all their faculties intact. They¡¯re moving like zombies or something.


    The commotion ahead became more and more chaotic. The line was even dispersed. That teenager soul was certainly causing one heck of a mayhem. Then an idea suddenly entered his mind. He didn¡¯t know if it could work. But what could he lose if it didn¡¯t? He¡¯s already dead anyway.


    He walked out of the line and walked ahead. He made sure that he looked like a zombie that didn¡¯t have any thought in his mind. Which was very easy for him. After all, he¡¯s an actor. He looked like he was walking very slow, but the truth was the opposite.


    Just after a few seconds, he managed to pass by Meng Po. And because of that teenager¡¯s soul wreaking havoc, no one paid any attention. He continued his pace, he didn¡¯t stop until he knew that he was already far from Meng Po¡¯s station.


    When he looked back and could no longer see her, a smile finally appeared on his lips. Now, he no longer needed to forget his memories of this life.


    He looked straight ahead. He only had one wish right now ¨C to at least be luckier in his next life.

 Chapter 3 - BEING BORN ONCE AGAIN

    HE couldn¡¯t remember how long he had walk on this bridge. It felt like forever and yet it also felt like only a second. He completely lost his sense of time. It¡¯s like, in this place, time didn¡¯t exist.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if this was natural or if this was the result of him not drinking Meng Po¡¯s soup. He really hoped it was the former.


    He continued to walk and walk and walk without an end in sight. But he persevered. He had a feeling that he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation if he didn¡¯t reach the end of this bridge.


    So, he walked. And walked. And walked. Good thing he didn¡¯t feel tired. Well, he was already dead. So, it would actually be weird if he did. Instead of feeling tired, it was more like feeling bored. Because there was nothing around. Just the bridge, the black water below, and him. There were ball of lights floating around, like some kind of wisp. They served as the source of light in this dark surrounding. If he¡¯s not already dead, he¡¯d probably be creeped out.


    And then, finally, he saw the end of the bridge at a distance. Excited, he quickly ran forward.


    The moment his feet stepped at the end, he felt a strong suction from somewhere. As if some kind of black hole appeared. His soul had no resistance to it at all. And he entered this ¡®vacuum¡¯. Unsure of where it would take him.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    He felt like he was surrounded by a warm liquid. He wanted to open his eyes but couldn¡¯t. Then he realized that his whole body was submerged in this warm liquid. He felt panicked. He died from choking. So, he now had a fear of being unable to breath. But then, he realized that he wasn¡¯t really drowning. That this liquid around him felt comfortable.


    ¡°Baby, we finally arrived at our new home,¡± he suddenly heard a sweet voice of a woman said. ¡°The land your father bought is beautiful. I couldn¡¯t wait for you to see it.¡±


    The voice of the woman seemed to come from above. But it was most certainly talking to him. He was confused at first. Especially since he couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying. She was talking in a language that sounded like English but really not. But soon, he slowly realized what was happening.


    He was currently inside the woman¡¯s stomach. Which meant the woman was pregnant and he was the fetus inside her. And this warm liquid around him was nothing but amniotic liquid. So, did that mean that this fetus was now his reincarnation?


    He suddenly felt excited. Even though he was only a fetus, he could already hear what others were saying. Was this also the result of not drinking Meng Po¡¯s soup? Wouldn¡¯t this just make him a genius? It was really right for him to not drink that soup. Maybe his luck would change because of this.


    It just that, it seemed like he was going to be reborn in a foreign country. How could Yama banish him from China? Was this also because of not drinking the soup? Even though he didn¡¯t catch his soul back, as punishment for what he did, he threw him off his homeland?


    After hearing the woman¡¯s voice, he heard a man¡¯s voice next. It was a bit gruff and loud, as if it came from a very big man.


    ¡°What is it, did our baby move?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, he was only probably three months old at most. Wait until he became six months old before asking me that again,¡± the woman¡¯s voice said in a teasing manner.


    ¡°Was that the case? But why are you referring to him as a ¡®he¡¯? Maybe it¡¯s a girl.¡±


    ¡°I just have a feeling it¡¯s a boy.¡±


    Although he couldn¡¯t understand their conversation, he could tell that they were quite young. There was even a loving tone in their voices as they talked to one another. They¡¯re probably newlyweds. So, these two would be his new parents.


    He only spent 12 years with his mother in his last life. He didn¡¯t even want to mention that scum of a father that he had. So, he was really looking forward to meeting these new parents of his. He hoped that they could love him.


    Then he felt something bumping into him. It was not exactly like this thing that bumped into him was inside the same amniotic sac he was in. It was more like they were separated by a thin membrane. He wondered what it was.


    ¡°We should probably go to the hospital as soon as we finished unpacking,¡± his father said in a worried tone. ¡°You haven¡¯t gone to a hospital yet for a check-up. I¡¯m worried.¡±


    ¡°What are you worried about? I¡¯m going to be fine, Gage.¡±


    ¡°But Emmy, you know how dangerous it is to give birth this way. Ever since the invention of gene matching, almost no woman in the Empire was willing to give birth naturally. It¡¯s not just the pain, it¡¯s the possibility of dying. I don¡¯t know what I would do if¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sshh¡­ I told you, nothing will happen. The child and I will be safe.¡±


    The fetus secretly listening to the conversating of the two still couldn¡¯t understand what they were talking about. But his father seemed to be worried about something. He wondered what could that be?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Months continued to pass by. And the thing that kept on bumping him, continued to do so. He was worried at first that it was one of his mother¡¯s organ. That could be dangerous for the both of them if it was. But later on, he finally realized what it was. There was another baby inside his mother¡¯s stomach. Which meant that he had a twin!


    That thought made him extremely happy and excited. He didn¡¯t have a sibling in his past life. He always wanted one though. Someone who he could share his joys and fears. But sadly, that didn¡¯t happen. Which was probably a blessing in disguised. He didn¡¯t want his siblings to experience the things that he had experienced.


    But now, he was not just given a sibling, he was given a twin! Which meant that their connection would be even much stronger. After all, they shared the same womb. They were already this close even before they were born.


    He hoped it was a girl. But no matter the gender, he would make sure to spoil them to bits.


    Since then, whenever his twin bumped into him, he would gently bump him back. Silently telling them that he was here with them.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Soon, it was his mother¡¯s due date. He knew because he could feel the contraction inside the womb. Aside from that, he could also feel the panicking outside. Then his mother was probably sent to a hospital because he could hear more voices aside from his father¡¯s.


    It¡¯s probably already 10 hours since the contraction started. But he and his twin were still inside their mother¡¯s womb. Their father¡¯s worried voice had been talking them, probably asking them to not torture their mother any longer. If it was his choice, he really wanted to quickly go out. He didn¡¯t want to cause their mother more pain. He was already feeling very distressed as it was.


    But soon, the contraction stopped and the birthing process finally started.


    He heard his mother screaming, it was full of pain. She was obviously suffering a great deal from this. That¡¯s why when he felt that he was being pushed out, he didn¡¯t resist and just went along with the force pushing him. Because of this he came out very easily.


    He could feel the light shining down on him. But he still couldn¡¯t open his eyes. Then he felt himself being turned outside down. After that, he felt a sting on his butt cheeks as if someone slapped them. Even though he didn¡¯t want to, he let out a very loud cry.


    Soon after that, maybe just three minutes interval, another loud cry was heard.


    He smiled inside when he heard it. [So, you¡¯re also outside now, huh?]


    This was now the start of his new life. He wondered what kind of life would be waiting for him. He truly hoped it would be a good one.

 Chapter 4 - THE INTERSTELLAR ERA

    HE woke up with the sound of the alarm. He groped down and reached for the bracelet on his left wrist. He clicked something and the sound of the alarm stopped. He wanted to go back to sleep again. But before he could do that, he was awakened by the knocking on the door. Followed by the call of a very familiar sweet voice.


    ¡°Astrid, honey, it¡¯s time to get up!¡±


    Astrid ¨C yes, that was his name now in this new life, Astrid Townsend to be exact ¨C reluctantly opened his eyes. He sat up on the bed and yawned.


    ¡°Yes, Mom!¡± he called back to the person outside.


    ¡°Be fast, okay? You and your brother can¡¯t be late today,¡± his mother¡¯s voice said again. Then he heard her footsteps walking away.


    Astrid stood up and stretched his body. He inadvertently looked down at the black bracelet surrounding his left wrist. One might wonder how could this thing issue an alarm. Well, that¡¯s not the only thing it does. This bracelet was called a Terminal. It functioned as some sort of ID. It could also be a phone and a personal computer all at once. One might also take photos and videos with it. Just like what he did, one could also set up an alarm with it. This Terminal could also observe the state of its owner¡¯s body. If the body was somehow compromised, like it had a sudden cardiac arrest or it was wounded severely, it would issue an alarm and automatically contact the nearest hospital. Really convenient, right? Like some kind of magical item.


    It was not magic though, but technology instead. You might ask why human¡¯s technology suddenly evolved in leaps and bounds. There¡¯s really only one answer. Because he was no longer at the 21st century. That¡¯s right, he wasn¡¯t reincarnated on the same century that he died. He was born again hundreds of thousands of years later. He was now living in the Interstellar era.


    It¡¯s the era where humans were thriving in space. With all kinds of advanced technologies in their hands. They could now live in different planets in the universe. Well, technically they could only live there. Since the original Earth where they came from had longed disappeared.


    It all started when the sun finally showed signs of destruction. The radiation it produced could easily burn the skin of people. Draught was happening in all corners of the world. Not only killing plants and animals, but also people. Because of that, different countries all over the world decided that it was time to leave their home planet. That happened during the 31st century when space travel was already a bit advanced. With the efforts of everyone, they managed to leave Earth and settled in the vast universe.


    The humans were divided into four groups, settling in four different directions. From those four directions, four strong factions slowly emerged ¨C the Moon Empire, the Kingdom of Terra, the Federation, and the Human Alliance. They ruled over the humans living in the planetary systems under their territories. All four lived in peace at first. But once space travel became more and more advanced, when a battleship could go from one galaxy to the next in just a matter of days, wars inevitably erupted.


    Those wars lasted for thousands of years. It only ended three thousand years ago. And the one who came out as the last victor was the Moon Empire. Now, all of humanity was under the rule of the Empire. With their leadership, humans¡¯ lives continued to prosper.


    Or at least that¡¯s what the history books said.


    It¡¯s been a real shock for him when he discovered that he was reincarnated so far in the future. To the point where Earth no longer existed. Then he remembered how long he walked on that NaiHe bridge. It was probably because of that. Maybe if he only walked for a little while, he might have been reincarnated on the same year he died.


    He had been living in this Interstellar era for 18 years now. It might have been hard if he was just suddenly thrown here in an adult¡¯s body. After all, it was not only the different language he had to get used to. He also had to learn to adapt to the advanced technology here. But since he had started here as a baby, it became quite easy. Especially since this body given to him had a pretty good brain. It¡¯s like he had an eidetic memory. Once he saw something, he would no longer be able to forget it.


    It probably had something to do with his mental strength.


    Many planets in the universe had harsh environments. In order to adapt to that, humans also slowly evolved. Completely transcending their limits. They became much smarter and much stronger. These strengths were categorized into mental and physical strengths. Both were divided into six levels ¨C C, B, A, S, SS, SSS. C being the weakest and SSS being the highest. In rare cases, some people even developed special abilities.


    Currently in the whole Empire, there was only one person who had both SSS level mental and physical strength and also manifested an ability ¨C the only brother of the current Emperor.


    Since the Empire won the war, newborn babies were immediately tested for their qualification. Having good qualification could be attributed to the genes of their parents. That¡¯s why there was a thing called gene matching. Every citizens of the Empire had their gene information recorded the moment they were born. So, with the right procedure, people could request a gene matching with their partner or their prospective partner. The higher the percentage of matching, the better the qualification of the child would be.


    Of course, there were exceptions.


    Astrid¡¯s parents didn¡¯t have a high gene matching percentage. But they still loved one another and were willing to spend the rest of their lives together.


    How did he know about that? Of course, his parents didn¡¯t tell him about it. He found out about it himself. Well, he didn¡¯t really go out of his way to search about it. He just accidentally heard it when his parents were talking when he was still a baby. Because he was not exactly just a baby, he quickly understood what they were talking about.


    He and his twin brother both have good qualifications. It was probably because their mother gave birth to them. So, some mutations occurred along the way. Women giving birth was not exactly a thing in the Interstellar era. Here, people would just have their genes literally combined and then a child would slowly form from that. So, it wouldn¡¯t matter if one¡¯s partner was of the opposite sex or the same sex, they could just go to the nearest fertility lab, have their genes combined, and wait for another nine months before they could get their child.


    In short, the concept of gays and lesbians didn¡¯t exist in this era. Which was probably a great thing for a gay like him. In his last life, he had long known of his sexual preference. Because of the harsh judgement of society, he wasn¡¯t able to come out of the closet until the day he died. Especially since he was working in an industry where he would be judged severely once people discovered that his gay. So, he had always been careful in regards to that. Because for him, his career was much more important than his love life. That¡¯s why, until the age of 25, he never had a lover.


    But it was completely different here. Here, he could love freely. But he wasn¡¯t in a hurry. In this era where humans could live for at least 300 years, he still had long years of life ahead of him. He wanted to take his time and have a great love just like his parents.


    Done with his stretches, he walked straight to his bathroom.

 Chapter 5 - THE TOWNSEND FAMILY

    THE moment Astrid stepped out of the shower, the water droplets still sliding down his body quickly disappeared, even his wet hair dried up with just a blink of an eye. He must admit that this technology was really convenient. He didn¡¯t even have to use a towel or a hair dryer. This was probably one of the things he loved in the Interstellar era ¨C the convenience that these technological devices brought.


    He walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped on his waist. He opened his closet and took out the clothes he had already set aside last night. He wore a light-blue dress shirt and tucked it in a black denim pants then paired it up with high-cut black leather boots. The fashion in this era was very avant-garde. But Astrid still preferred the simple fashion from his last life.


    He walked towards the full body mirror and looked at his reflection. The teenager staring back at him had short black hair and about 178 cm in height. His skin was white and looked very delicate. His body¡¯s frame was more on the slender side. He had pinkish lips, a small straight nose, and a pair of black phoenix eyes.


    He looked almost exactly as he did in his last life. He was just a bit more handsome in this life. Probably because of his parents¡¯ genes. But compared to his twin brother and their parents, he definitely got nothing on them. The irony of it was, his parents named him ¡®Astrid¡¯ which meant ¡®beautiful¡¯ in some ancient Earth language. He not only had to adapt to such a girlish name, he had to do that knowing its meaning.


    Well, his parents probably did think he was beautiful. Because in this Interstellar era, having both black hair and black eyes was very, very, very, rare. The appearance of the Empire¡¯s citizens leaned more on the Westerner¡¯s and European¡¯s side. So, him having black hair and black eyes was very eye-catching. Not to mention, his features were more Asian-like. Especially his phoenix eyes.


    So, in the eyes of these Interstellar people, he was very beautiful. But in his eyes, he just looked like an ordinary handsome guy. You know, one of those you could pass by the streets and think ¡®oh, that guy looks cute¡¯, but after a few minutes, you would quickly forget about them. That type. That¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t help but cringe whenever he heard a compliment about his so-called ¡®beauty¡¯.


    Astrid went out of his room and walked towards the dining area. There, a petite woman with long ice-blue hair braided behind her back was busily arranging the dishes on the table. When she heard his footsteps, she raised her head and her pair of sapphire blue eyes bent into crescents when she saw him.


    This woman was Emmaline Townsend who his father fondly called ¡®Emmy¡¯.


    She walked up to him and kissed his cheek. ¡°Good morning, my beautiful baby.¡±


    Astrid only smiled helplessly. His mother had always been very touchy. It was her way of showing affection. At first, it always startled him. But after 18 years, he already got used to it. ¡°Good morning, Mom.¡±


    Emmy looked at him from head to toe, as if thinking. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re going to wear this set of clothes for your graduation? It seems a bit, I don¡¯t know, underwhelming?¡±


    That¡¯s right. Today was his and his twin brother¡¯s graduation from secondary education. In this era, people have to study six years of primary education, then six years of secondary education. After that, they could apply to a university. There¡¯s one university for every possible career out there. Unlike the universities in his last life which catered to a lot of majors and degrees, universities here were fairly different. They catered to only one specialized degree. Like there¡¯s a whole university only dedicated to engineering and another dedicated to medicine, something like that.


    ¡°Mom, this is fine. You know how I like things simple,¡± Astrid said before his mother suggested that he wore some elaborate dress or something.


    ¡°But it¡¯s just such a shame. These clothes simply don¡¯t highlight your beauty.¡±


    ¡°Emmy, just let our son be,¡± said a gruff voice.


    Both mother and son turned their heads to the direction of the voice. There, standing by the door of the dining area was a big bear of a man. He had shaggy brown hair. His left eye was covered by an eyepatch while his right eye showed an iris teal-gray in color. But despite the imperfection, he was still one heck of a handsome man.


    This big man here was his father ¨C Gage Townsend. He was a farmer. But Astrid knew that he wasn¡¯t always that. That eye patch covering his left eye was quite a big evidence of that. With how advanced the medical technology of this era was, they could easily regrow missing limbs and stuffs. So, the fact that his father¡¯s eyes wasn¡¯t healed meant that he was in a situation where he wasn¡¯t able to get immediate medical attention. In this war-free time, Astrid had always wondered what kind of situation that must have been.


    ¡°Oh, shoo, you always contradict me,¡± Emmy said, pretending to be mad.


    Gage only grunted. How could he let his beautiful son wear something that would make him even more beautiful? Wouldn¡¯t those wolves that were circling around him just increased in numbers?


    He sat down at the head of the table and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Reas?¡±


    ¡°Here,¡± suddenly said by a lazy voice.


    Walking inside the dining room was a tall teenager, probably about 190 cm in height. This was his twin brother Andreas or Reas as they so fondly called him. He had the same ice-blue hair as their mother and a pair of teal-gray eyes which he obviously got from their father. He perfectly inherited the good looks of their parents, resulting to a super handsome specimen.


    There was this lazy atmosphere around him. As if he couldn¡¯t be bothered to raise a finger and work. It¡¯s probably true most of the time. But when it came to things that mattered, really mattered, he always managed to push through.


    Whenever Astrid stood amongst this family of his, he always felt like a Chinese cabbage surrounded by three beautiful flowers.


    When people saw the four of them together, they always wondered if he was a child of this family. After all, he didn¡¯t look like any of them. If he had no memory of the time he had given birth to him and his twin, he might have also thought that way.


    A doctor said that his appearance was due to how he was born ¨C like his mother giving birth instead of being made in a lab like everyone else. This triggered a certain recessive gene which led in him having black hair and black eyes. Which actually sounded quite stupid, in all honesty.


    He wasn¡¯t really interested on how it happened. It didn¡¯t matter anyway since he knew who he was. He was Astrid Townsend ¨C the eldest son of Emmaline and Gage Townsend. And that¡¯s all that mattered.


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s start eating breakfast,¡± Emmy said pulling both her sons towards the table.


    Then the four of members of the Townsend family began eating breakfast.

 Chapter 6 - A FURTHER LOOK INTO THIS ERA

    ASTRID was sitting at the back of the flying car, beside him was his twin brother ¨C Reas. And sitting at their front were their parents. They were currently on their way to the planet¡¯s space port. The shuttle that would take them to the planet where the academy they attended for their secondary education was located was waiting there for the students who lived in this planet.


    That¡¯s right, they needed to go to another planet to go to school. Which was not really rare in this era. Usually, each planetary system in a galaxy had a dedicated planet for the primary and secondary education of their young populace. These planets were commonly known as Academe Planets.


    The planet Astrid grew up in was called Delryria. It belonged to a small planetary system known for its agriculture. It¡¯s under the Palioxis Galaxy ¨C the former territory of the Federation. When the Moon Empire won the war, it became part of it. Just like how the other two galaxies that formerly belonged to the Kingdom of Terra and Human Alliance were also now part of the Empire.


    He looked outside of the window of the flying car and saw that they already left the land that their family owned. The size of their family¡¯s land was almost the size of a small country. His father built a farm here to utilize the richness of the land, planting different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Of course, he wasn¡¯t doing this all on his own. They have a lot of tenants that helped with the farm works and farm operations.


    As he mentioned earlier, the planetary system their planet was in was known for its agriculture. It was because most of the planets belonging to this system was very similar to Earth. They had four seasons and lands that were suitable for planting. So, a lot of vegetables and fruits being supplied to the rest of the galaxy came from this planetary system. Some farms from these planets even delivered to the other galaxies under the Empire¡¯s rule.


    Their farm ¨C Astreas Farm, yes, his parents named it after him and Reas ¨C was one of these farms. So, one could say that their farm¡¯s operation was a bit big in scale. Especially since they receive a lot of orders from high-end restaurants located at the Emperor Star ¨C the capital of the Empire. Eating cooked food was actually kind of a luxury in this era. Because most people just drink nutrient solutions. They don¡¯t bother eating real food because the nutrient solution could give them all the nutrients they needed.


    But Astrid couldn¡¯t really bear the taste of it. So, when he was five, he cooked a simple vegetable stir-fry. Of course, his parents were surprised. But they didn¡¯t think too much and just assumed that their son was simply a genius. When it came to their children, his parents had a quite thick filter. For them, he and Reas could do no wrong. If he didn¡¯t have the memories of his last life, he might have grown up like a spoiled brat. Good thing that wasn¡¯t the case. Of course, he also didn¡¯t allow his twin brother to be a brat. He just grew up a bit lazier.


    In the past years, he also taught his mother how to cook. She had a real talent for it, so it wasn¡¯t that hard teaching her. Nowadays, she was the only one cooking in the house.


    Because of their farm, they¡¯re family could be considered as pretty well-off. But they still couldn¡¯t compare to those families that literally owned planets. Most of the time, those families belonged to nobilities.


    Even so, sometimes, he still wondered how his parents managed to buy the land their family owned. Because in all appearance, his parents seemed to only be normal citizens of the Empire. But he had a strong feeling that that wasn¡¯t the case at all. Because from that one conversation he heard when he was still a baby, he could tell that his mother was from some kind of prominent family.


    He just didn¡¯t want to pry. After all, it¡¯s his parents¡¯ business. Besides, their family was already living happily without their interference. If his parents ran away from them, then it¡¯s probably better to not ever meet them in this life.


    Astrid¡¯s train of thought stopped when he felt something heavy leaning on him. He glanced sideways and saw that Reas had already fallen asleep. This kid could really sleep anywhere. He was probably playing all night at the virtual network, doing those mecha battles.


    In this era, there were two types of network ¨C the star network or StarNet for short and the virtual network or VirtualNet. The StarNet was almost like the ancient day internet, except that it was more advanced. You could search for information there, download stuffs, watch videos and the likes. There¡¯s also a microblog feature very similar to Weibo where people could post their thoughts and other things. It¡¯s called [Cyberspace]. Almost every citizen of the Empire had a [Cyberspace] account.


    One could also do live broadcast using StarNet. The live broadcast in this era was unlike the live broadcast back in his past life. Here, you could pick different perspectives while watching a live broadcast. You could pick the perspective of the one doing the live broadcast, you could also pick the god¡¯s view where you could see everything, and finally, you could pick the simple audience perspective where all the focus was on the host of the show.


    The VirtualNet, on the other hand, needed a virtual pod to access it. It was literally like a complete virtual world. People could sell and buy things there. There were restaurants, different kind of shops, auction houses. But the one that¡¯s probably the most popular was the Mecha Hall. Here, people could battle using mechas. If he remembered correctly, there was even a ranking for how many people you defeated. And that¡¯s where Reas spend most of his nights.


    This twin brother of his was simply a huge ¡®mecha addict¡¯. It¡¯s a good thing that all of those mecha fights he¡¯d been participating was only happening in the virtual world. Or else, the rest of the family would definitely die of worry for him.


    Astrid smiled helplessly. He relaxed his body and adjusted his sitting position so Reas could sleep more comfortably.


    Emmy, who saw this scene, couldn¡¯t help but take a photo. She smiled looking at the picture of her two babies. She happily saved it on the folder named ¡®My Lovely Babies¡¯.


    Soon, they arrived at the space port of planet Delryria.

 Chapter 7 - AT THE SPACE PORT

    ¡°CAN we really not go with you two?¡± Emmy asked while combing back the messy hair of his youngest.


    They were standing at the waiting area in the space port. The departure of the space shuttle that would bring them to the Academe Planet of their planetary system was still a few minutes away.


    ¡°Emmy, you know we can¡¯t. You¡¯d just embarrass your kids,¡± Gage said.


    Emmy glared at her husband. But because of her petite stature, instead of looking threatening, she just looked adorable. Like a ruffled little kitten. ¡°Oh, so I¡¯m an embarrassment now?¡±


    Gage quickly put his arms around his wife¡¯s shoulders and coaxed her. ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I mean. How could there be such a beautiful embarrassment?¡±


    ¡°Hmp. You won¡¯t fool me with your sweet talk, Gage Townsend.¡±


    ¡°When did you see a parent attending their kids graduation party? Mine certainly didn¡¯t. Did yours go?¡±


    Schools that offer primary and secondary education didn¡¯t really have a graduation ceremony just like how it was in the ancient Earth. Once a student graduated, the school would simply give them a ¡®graduate¡¯ status in their education profile. It was like some kind of curriculum vitae that was registered in each citizen¡¯s Terminal. It would then be used in applying to a university.


    Graduation parties were a common thing. They were usually arranged by the students themselves. Like a last get together before everyone went their different ways.


    Emmy frowned. ¡°I understand. No need to coax me any longer.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? I could coax you forever.¡±


    An almost girlish smile crossed Emmy¡¯s lips and she teasingly pat her husband¡¯s chest. ¡°Oh, you.¡±


    The people passing by were giving a double look to the couple. Because in this era, public display of affection was not really a thing. Especially since most people only married for the sake of producing the best progeny. Since babies could be produced in a lab by combining two people¡¯s genes, some couples didn¡¯t even bother to have sexual relations with their partners.


    Meanwhile, the kids who were unexpectedly fed dog food by their parents had no reaction on their faces. It¡¯s because they were used to it. They grew up watching their parents shower love with each other.


    Astrid smiled seeing them like this. Looking at them, they appear to be only in their 20s. But both were much older than that. His mother was 41 while his father was 50. One of the perks of this era. Having a life span of at least 300 years, one could really only appear middle-aged here once they reached their 100s. Even then, with the technology, they could easily erase those wrinkles and forever appear to be in their 20s or 30s.


    He was really glad that, in this new life, he was born to these two amazing people. The familial love he barely felt in his past life was multiplied a hundred times in this life. Maybe even more. Because his parents never failed to show him and his twin brother their love for them. Always making sure that they wouldn¡¯t lack for anything. And they didn¡¯t. Whether it was love or material things, they received loads of it.


    Growing up, Astrid sometimes wondered if he was just inside a long dream. That one day he would wake up and find out that he actually survived that choking incident. That everything was not real. Every time he thought of that, he would panic. Because he¡¯d rather stay in this dream than wake up from it.


    That¡¯s probably what made him human. Because once humans experienced something they never had, they would not want to let go of it.


    But he knew that this was real. He was truly living his second life. And unlike his last one, he had a loving and caring family. He didn¡¯t have to worry about food and money while growing up. There were no shameless people trying to take advantage of him. Everything was just warm and beautiful.


    Maybe this was heaven¡¯s compensation to him. All the luck he never had in his last life was poured down in this life in huge bulk. And for that, he¡¯s truly thankful. He no longer even minded that he died in his last life from choking on a piece of grape.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, it¡¯s almost time. Reas and I will go,¡± he said when he checked the time on his Terminal.


    ¡°Okay. Be careful, the two of you,¡± Emmy said, giving a tight hug to each of her son.


    ¡°Reas, be sure to ward off any pest that try to get close to your brother,¡± Gage said seriously to his youngest.


    Reas nodded solemnly, a rare serious expression on his handsome face.


    ¡°Dad, I could very well take care of myself,¡± Astrid said with a helpless smile.


    His father suddenly put his hands on both his shoulders and bent down a little so their eyes could be on the same level. ¡°Aster, what does Dad always say to you?¡± he asked, calling him in his pet name.


    ¡°That the universe is filled with wolves,¡± Astrid answered. It¡¯s his father euphemism in saying that there were a lot of dangerous people in the universe.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. These wolves would love nothing more but to prey on the innocents. So, you should always be careful,¡± Gage warned.


    Astrid had never acted na?ve or innocent in front of his parents. In fact, between him and Reas, he was the more mature one. Which was as it should be since if he combined his age to his last life¡¯s, he was definitely much older. But his parents always treated him like he was the baby of the family. Which was really frustrating in a way.


    ¡°Don¡¯t scare your son,¡± Emmy said disapprovingly to his husband. Then she turned to Astrid and cupped his face. ¡°But your father has a point. With this beauty of yours, it¡¯s always better to be more careful.¡±


    Again, with the ¡®beauty¡¯ thing. He really couldn¡¯t get used to the idea that he was this big beauty. Especially when he knew himself that he wasn¡¯t. The people here only thought that he was because of the color of his hair and eyes. If one of these were changed, then he would definitely just blend in the background. But because he did look like this, he experienced a lot of troublesome situations while growing up. Despite that, he always managed to solve those situations. So, it never brought him real problems.


    ¡°Dad, Mom, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll just punch anyone who tries to take advantage of Aster,¡± Reas said, yawning right after.


    Gage let out a hearty laugh and patted Reas on the back. ¡°Very good, you really are my son.¡±


    ¡°Reas, do try not to use too much force. It would be bad if you accidentally kill one of them,¡± Emmy said seriously.


    Astrid looked at his family who was seriously discussing how Reas should beat someone and he could only shake his head.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, we really should go now,¡± he said just to make a stop to their conversation.


    Both his parents hugged them again before letting them go. And the Townsend twins walked towards the departure area.

 Chapter 8 - TWINS CONVERSATION IN THE SHUTTLE

    ASTRID and Reas entered one of the three space shuttle that was set to go to the Academe Planet. It was not that big, probably only the size of a small plane in ancient earth. With a capacity of 60 seats. There were two rows with 15 two-seater each. Once inside, Astrid chose the last two-seater on the left row. He picked this because he knew Reas would want to sleep again. Without too much interruption, his twin brother would definitely sleep better here.


    ¡°Reas, go and sit inside,¡± he said, letting his brother to sit on the innermost seat beside the window. This way, no one would disturb him.


    Reas glanced lazily at his brother immediately knowing what he was thinking. ¡°No, you sit there. I¡¯ll sit near the aisle.¡±


    Before Astrid could react, Reas already gently pushed him to the innermost seat. After that, he sat beside him. Knowing how popular this brother of his was, if he let him sat near the aisle, many of their batchmates who were here in the same shuttle as them would definitely try to surround him.


    As if to support his guess, their batchmates who entered inside the shuttle and spotted Astrid would immediately brighten and greet him. So, a string of ¡®hello, Astrid¡¯, ¡®hi, Astrid¡¯, good day, Astrid¡¯, had been continuously heard for quite a while. If Reas was not here, these people would surely not be done with just those simple greetings and would stay and talk to Astrid more.


    Of course, his brother being his brother, greeted them back and smiled at them gently. And then Reas would hear fluttering sighs from both boys and girls alike, as if affected greatly by his brother¡¯s smile. Which was probably true in a sense. That continued on until the flying shuttle left the space port.


    ¡°Aster, you know there¡¯s no need for you to cater to them too much,¡± Reas said in a voice that only the both of them could hear.


    Astrid glanced at his brother and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not catering to them. Greeting back someone when they greeted you is just common courtesy. You should do it from time to time.¡±


    But Astrid knew himself that it was not just ¡®courtesy¡¯ but more like occupational habit. He was treating them as ¡®fans¡¯. Yes, it¡¯s quite narcissistic of him to do that. But he couldn¡¯t help it. Because they were looking at him with the same gaze as his fans in his past life. As if he was their most admired celebrity. So, he couldn¡¯t help but treat them with gentleness and politeness.


    Reas snorted. Just thinking of him acting like that was already giving him goosebumps. ¡°I¡¯d rather not.¡±


    Astrid chuckled at his brother¡¯s reaction. ¡°You do know I don¡¯t really treat everyone like that.¡±


    He was only like that to those who looked at him with nothing but admiration. But if that admiration was mixed with something like love, or even worse, obsession, he would treat them indifferently and would try his best to avoid them. Because giving them any kind of reaction would only fan their obsession even further. It¡¯s the same way for those who thought they were in love with him. Treating them gently would only give them needless hope. And he was simply not the type to do that.


    ¡°I know. If you treat everyone so kindly, I might ask our parents to send you to some planet with a harsh environment so you could exercise your ruthlessness,¡± Reas said leaning back comfortably on his chair.


    ¡°My, Andreas Townsend, you would really do that to your older brother?¡± Astrid said amusedly.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to be taken advantage of.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that won¡¯t happen. Do you really think I¡¯m some kind of soft persimmon? You might have a stronger physique than me, but I can take care of myself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your younger brother, it¡¯s my job to worry. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn¡¯t worry too much. But who told you to be born so pretty?¡± Reas said, that last part with an almost sarcastic tone.


    Astrid punched Reas arm jokingly. ¡°I told you not to call me that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, I shouldn¡¯t say the obvious.¡±


    Astrid rolled his eyes. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re just being annoying.¡±


    Reas glanced at him and grinned. ¡°Well, it¡¯s also the job of the younger brother to annoy their older brother.¡±


    Astrid stared at his twin brother¡¯s face. If he would smile more often, he would probably be much more popular than his ¡®pretty¡¯ twin. Just look at that face, he could be a star right now with just him sitting there and doing nothing. Out of the two of them, the word ¡®pretty¡¯ applied more to Reas than him.


    ¡°By the way, little brother, when do you plan to tell our parents about your acceptance to the Imperial Military Academy?¡± he asked, changing the topic.


    The Imperial Military Academy was the top military school of the Empire. It was located at the Emperor Star. All the important personage in the Empire¡¯s military went to that school.


    Reas applied there three months ago. The exam was held virtually, so he didn¡¯t need to go anywhere else and just had to log in to his virtual pod. And last week, he received his acceptance letter. He was admitted to the military academy¡¯s mecha combat department.


    Reas had always wanted to be a mecha pilot. No, it¡¯s probably more accurate to say that he¡¯d been fascinated with mechas ever since he was able to go to the virtual world to pilot one. The only way to legally own and drive one was to be a soldier. So, he always planned to be one. And he happened to have the perfect qualification for it.


    He had an SS level physical strength and an SS level mental strength. Piloting mechas put a lot of strain to the brain and the body of a pilot. So, it¡¯s better if one had a high qualification. The higher the qualification, the greater the ability of the pilot would be.


    That¡¯s why Astrid was never worried that his brother might not be accepted. With his qualification, the military academy would be crazy not to accept him as a student. His only worry was for the future. Although there were no wars to fight, there were still a lot of rebellion happening within the Empire. Not to mention those space pirates. One could also take into account possible threats from alien races.


    In short, it¡¯s a very dangerous occupation. If it was only up to him, he¡¯d rather not let Reas do it. But this was his brother¡¯s dream. Who was he to hinder that?


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Reas answered his question. ¡°Maybe we should do it at the same time. That way, we could probably minimize the damage.¡±


    Astrid cringed just thinking of that scenario. Because just like his twin, he was also admitted to a school at the Emperor Star. The only difference was the school he was going to attend was a performing arts academy.

 Chapter 9 - ASTRIDS QUALIFICATION

    THE twins¡¯ parents, specifically their mother, was against them going to a school at the Empire¡¯s capital. Although she hadn¡¯t told it directly to them, her actions were more than enough to express her opinion.


    When academies and universities started accepting application for incoming students, their mother had been constantly suggesting different schools to them. All of those schools were all quite famous. Only accepting the best students. But none of them were located at the Empire¡¯s capital. Not only that. As she was suggesting those schools, she was also telling them how dangerous the capital was. That it was not an ideal place as people might thing it was.


    From that, it was quite obvious that she didn¡¯t want them to go to the Emperor Star.


    The only reason Astrid could think of for that was because of their mother¡¯s family. Considering how their parents eloped, it was not hard to imagine that their mother¡¯s family would be very antagonistic towards them. She was probably worried that once they went to the capital, those people would do something to them.


    But nothing could be done since he and Reas had already made a decision.


    The two of them had never talked about their future with their parents. And their parents never asked, really. Probably because they trusted their choices. And maybe also because they thought that the two of them would choose something along the lines of agriculture and culinary.


    It was due to the fact that Reas had been helping with their father in the farm ever since he was a child. While Astrid, on the other hand, had been very talented in cooking. So, it¡¯s not wrong for their parents to think that. What they didn¡¯t know was that their children both had very different dreams from what they expected.


    Reas wanted to be a soldier and Astrid decided to go back to his former trade ¨C acting. Of course, both of them wanted to go to the best school. And the school they chose just happened to be in the capital.


    It¡¯s a no brainer for Reas to choose the Imperial Military Academy. Anyone who wanted to be a soldier of the Empire would choose that school as their first pick.


    Meanwhile, Astrid chose Redwood School of Performing Arts. It was the school where the top actors and actresses of today went to. They have the best facilities and they were also affiliated to a lot of filming studios. Many entertainment companies often scouted potential talents from there. If one wished to be a top-ranking star across the universe, then being accepted to Redwood would be the first step to that.


    Even though he had a lot of experience in acting, he was now in a different era. A lot of things would definitely be different from how it was in the ancient Earth. So, he had to adapt. And the best way to do that was to go to a performing arts school. He simply chose Redwood. Not just because of its obvious advantages, but also because it¡¯s in the capital where his twin would be going.


    As soon as he found out that Reas was planning to go to the Imperial Military Academy, his choice of school immediately narrowed down to those at the capital. How could he let his baby brother go there alone? Of course, he had to accompany him. Besides, if both of them were going there, they might be able to convince their parents to agree to them.


    ¡°Minimize the damage? I think it would be the complete opposite,¡± he replied back to what his brother said earlier. He was already imagining the reaction of their mother.


    ¡°Yeah, especially once they found out that you¡¯re planning to be a star,¡± Reas said putting more bite on the word ¡®star¡¯. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t totally on board the idea of his brother being one.


    ¡°And they won¡¯t be against you being a soldier?¡± Astrid countered with a raised brow.


    ¡°They probably will. But they definitely will have a more violent reaction to your choice of career.¡±


    Well, he kind of already thought that that would be the case. The entertainment business here would surely have its own dark side. Just like how it was in his past life. And because of how he looked, he would definitely be a big target. To those jealous actors and to some perverted investors. If he didn¡¯t watch his back, he would definitely be destroyed.


    But just as he said to his brother earlier, he could take care of himself. And that¡¯s not simply lip service. Because just like his brother, he also had a very good qualification. Although his physical strength was only A level, his mental strength more than made up for that. It was SSS level. But what was registered on his personal record was S level. He could thank his parents for that.


    A month after he and his brother were born, their family went to a small hospital near their land to have their qualifications checked. Doing that was important because the resulting information was needed to completely register newborn babies as citizens of the Empire.


    As already mentioned before, Reas had both SS level mental and physical strengths. That qualification was already very high and considered as quite rare. Because most of the time, if one had a high level of mental strength, then their physical strength would be lower. And vice versa.


    He remembered how proud his parents were when they were told that.


    Then it was his turn.


    The result was as already mentioned ¨C A level physical strength and SSS level mental strength. He remembered the worried look of his parents when they saw that SSS level. Having SSS level strength, either mental or physical, was already very eye-catching. But add that to his appearance and he would simply be a walking light stick. Or at least that was what his parents said.


    And so, they asked the doctor who took his and Reas¡¯ qualifications to not put his real mental strength on his personal record and change it to S level. This was because a doctor¡¯s signature was needed in order to register one¡¯s qualification on their personal record.


    The doctor was their father¡¯s friend. From what he heard from their conversation, his father saved the doctor¡¯s life before. So, to repay him, the doctor agreed. He had some big guts to actually do that. After all, if it was known that he actually faked someone¡¯s record, he would definitely be punished.


    And that¡¯s why, Astrid had always been careful whenever he used his mental strength. Not only because of his parents but also to not implicate that doctor. By using mental strength, he meant putting mental pressure on others. The higher the mental strength, the stronger the mental pressure you could put on other people.


    Because he knew right from the start his real level, he was able to train himself on how to control it early on. It was a bit hard from the start because his parents put a limiter on him on the guise of a choker. It would limit his mental strength to S level. It was a bit hard to get around that limiter. Now, the choker he was wearing had long been replaced by an ordinary one.


    When he started his secondary education, he ordered a choker online that was similar in appearance to his limiter. So, he replaced his limiter with it. Since then, he was able to freely used his mental strength to the fullest. He was actually quite lucky that he had almost perfect control.


    And this was how he was able to protect himself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m confident I¡¯ll be able to convince them,¡± Astrid said to his brother. Then he smiled at him. ¡°Maybe you should also start thinking of ways on how to convince our parents.¡±


    Reas shrugged. ¡°Well, if they don¡¯t agree, I could always just run away.¡±


    Astrid glared at Reas when he heard that. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare.¡±


    His good brother grinned at him, full of mischief. ¡°That¡¯s why you should help me.¡±


    ¡°Are you blackmailing me?¡± Astrid asked with a frown.


    ¡°No way. How could I do that?¡± Reas leaned on him. ¡°But Aster will help me anyway, right?¡±


    This brat. Astrid could only punch his brother¡¯s arm as an answer. But they both knew that he already agreed.

 Chapter 10 - CHARMER

    ASTRID looked outside the window of the shuttle. There was nothing there but the vast blackness of space alongside millions of flickering stars. He could still remember his first space travel. That was during his and Reas¡¯ first visit to the Academe Planet. He was so ecstatic back then. After all, travelling in space had always been one of man¡¯s ultimate dream. It was a good thing that he was a child then. So, it wouldn¡¯t be too suspicious if he acted all excited and giddy during his first space travel.


    He glanced at his twin brother who was leaning on him and sleeping deeply. He smiled helplessly. He knew this kid wouldn¡¯t be able to resist and would sleep once again. He relaxed his body so Reas could sleep more comfortably. He would let his head rest on his shoulder but the height difference between them was too huge that it would just make Reas uncomfortable if he did that.


    Their difference in height was definitely something he was most aggrieved about. They¡¯re twins, they had been eating the same food and drinking the same drink and yet the growth of their height was vastly different. Reas¡¯ height was 190 cm and definitely still growing while he seemed to be stuck at 178 cm. How unfair was that?


    If he was still living on ancient Earth, then he certainly wouldn¡¯t mind his current height. After all, among Chinese men, this height was already considered tall enough. But no, he was now living in this era where the common height of men seemed to be 188 cm or more. Now, he seemed to be really short when in fact he wasn¡¯t. The men here were just too damn tall.


    He was actually kind of worried that his height might affect the roles that he could take in the future. After all, it was kind of hard to make people believe that he was a reliable male lead when he was only as tall as the female lead. Well, at least he was confident that he could supplement that with his acting skills.


    He actually wanted to try drinking one of those vitamins that could help people increase their height but his mother wouldn¡¯t allow him to. Saying that what if those things had adverse effect on his body. Which he highly doubted, by the way. She was just worried because when he was a kid, he was very frail and often sick. The doctor said that it might probably due to my mental strength being too powerful for my body. It was the same doctor who took his and his brother¡¯s qualification.


    He had to undergo a lot of physical fitness training just so his body could adjust to his mental strength. Even now, he was still doing those exercises. So, despite looking so slender, his body was filled with firm muscles.


    He sighed and just continued watching the vast expanse of space outside.


    ¡°Astrid¡ª¡± a passing boy tried to call him.


    But before he could finish, Astrid raised one of his fingers to his lips, silently telling the boy not to continue and then glanced sideways at his sleeping twin. Meaning that they shouldn¡¯t talk loudly because his brother was sleeping.


    The boy quickly understood and mouthed, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Astrid only smiled at him which made the other blushed to the roots of his ear. Then he continued walking and sat back down to his seat.


    ¡°Charmer,¡± said a voice beside him, probably referring to the way he handled that boy.


    Astrid glanced at his brother whose eyes were still closed. ¡°If you¡¯re already awake, then please, do stop leaning on me.¡±


    ¡°Nah. I enjoy leaning on you,¡± Reas replied shamelessly, still not opening his eyes.


    Even though Astrid truly wanted to slap this brat away, at the end, he still endured and let him lean on him. Who told this kid to be his twin?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The space shuttles carrying the students from different planets started landing on the space port of the Academe Planet. When the shuttle the twins were in landed, the two were the first ones to go out because they were sitting at the very end.


    Astrid looked around. It was still kind of a novelty to him seeing people with all kinds of colors of hairs and eyes. Red, orange, green, blonde, probably all the color in the spectrum, at least one person in the Empire had it as the color of their hair or eyes. When he was a kid going to school with other children that had all this assortment of hair and eye colors, he felt like he was inside some kind of anime or something.


    He often wondered just what kind of gene did those people in the earlier generations introduced to the gene pool so that the human population of the Interstellar era would have all these sorts of hair and eye color. And even the black hair and eyes that should have been the most common became something extremely rare. It¡¯s truly a big wonder.


    ¡°Aster, let¡¯s go quick before these people mob you,¡± Reas suddenly said, clutching his wrist and pulling him forward. Of course, he did all that very gently.


    Astrid wanted to say that he¡¯s exaggerating too much. He looked from left to right and saw the bright eyes of their batchmates while staring at him. Then he looked to the direction where Reas was pulling him. It was where the buses that would take them to the auditorium where the party would be held were parked.


    Now, he understood what Reas meant. Their batchmates who were looking at him probably wanted to be on the same bus. Although it was indeed an exaggeration that he would be mobbed. There would definitely be one or two people who would try to stop them so they could talk to him.


    Just as he thought, there were some who quickly followed them.


    He heard Reas tsked. ¡°Seriously, why are there so many people blinded by your face?¡±


    [Well, it¡¯s not my fault the people in this era have problems with their aesthetic.] ¨C Astrid thought.


    Reas chose a bus and together they boarded it. They once again chose the last seat. Those who wanted to be on the same bus as them also quickly boarded. Because they were sitting at the very last seat, they could only glance at Astrid disappointingly.


    Reas tsked again when he saw that. ¡°Charmer.???


    This time Astrid really did slap his arm. ¡°Stop that, will you?¡±


    Reas only smirked at him which only made him more irritated. Seriously, why couldn¡¯t he have a cute and obedient little brother?

 Chapter 11 - PEOPLES SKEWED AESTHETIC

    ¡°REMIND me again why we¡¯re here?¡± Reas asked with a clear bore expression on his face.


    ¡°To socialize, what else?¡± Astrid answered with a smile.


    As expected, his twin brother only snorted. ¡°Then why are you just sitting here with me?¡±


    Astrid acted like he was affronted by the question. ¡°How could I just leave my lovely little brother here alone in the dark?¡±


    The two of them were actually sitting at one of the darkest corners of the auditorium where the party was being held.


    Reas only rolled his eyes at him. ¡°Don¡¯t use me as an excuse. We both know you don¡¯t want to be here as much as I do.¡±


    Well, his brother was indeed telling the truth. If it was just up to him, he¡¯d rather stay at home. He was sure that Reas would also choose the same. The only reason they both attended this graduation party was because of their mother. Because if they didn¡¯t, she would surely think more. And in case of their mother, when she did, her line of thinking would go to the extreme.


    Maybe she would think that the two of them actually didn¡¯t enjoy going to school or that they were actually being bullied. She might even think that they didn¡¯t have any friends. Well, in all fairness, the last part was actually kind of true.


    Reas was too lazy to make friends. It was probably because the two of them had always been together so he never really felt the need to make friends. In Astrid¡¯s case, it was a bit different. It was mostly because their fellow students didn¡¯t really see him for who he was. The first thing they saw was the color of his hair and eyes. Then they would look at him like he¡¯s some sort of idol and never look at him beyond that. So, he also didn¡¯t try to bridge the gap.


    At the end, both him and his twin brother ended up friendless during the span of their primary and secondary education. Which, frankly, the both of them really didn¡¯t mind.


    Astrid just decided to look around and observe the surrounding.


    The current auditorium was now transformed into some kind of high-end club. There were velvet seats everywhere, a dance floor at the middle, some kind of bar in one part, and a lot of waiters walking around carrying drinks and some bite-sized food. The whole environment was also dark and the only source of light were the star-like lights that were flashing alongside the blaring techno-music.


    The students were now wearing various avant-garde dresses. He even saw someone wearing some kind of neon green dress. They seemed to completely let go of their inhibition. Dancing in a provocative manner, drinking alcohol, flirting with one another.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave after an hour,¡± he said to Reas.


    ¡°Only after an hour?¡± Reas asked, clearly still unsatisfied with that.


    ¡°Yes, an hour.¡±


    ¡°Fine. If that¡¯s the case, I might as well get us some drinks. What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Anything without alcohol,¡± he said.


    In his past life, Astrid had pretty bad alcohol tolerance. It always had been a problem for him whenever he had to go to drinking parties and such. He hadn¡¯t tested it yet in this life but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be more careful. Besides, he really didn¡¯t like the feeling of being inebriated. As if he had no control over his faculties.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back quickly.¡±


    After Reas said that, he stood up and walked towards the bar.


    As if a signal had been lighted up. Just a few seconds after Reas left, someone suddenly appeared in front of Astrid. It was a pretty girl with long blond hair and a pair of blue eyes.


    ¡°H-hi, Astrid. Ahm, I know you don¡¯t know me. But I just wanted to take this opportunity to say something to you, because I know I might not have a chance to do so again,¡± she stared. She was pinching her skirt, a sign that she was truly nervous. ¡°I- I really like you! I¡¯ve liked you since the first moment that I saw you. Can you be my boyfriend?¡±


    Astrid stared at the blushing girl standing in front of him. Of course, he couldn¡¯t agree to her confession. But he still had to reject her gently. He stood up. ¡°Thank you for your feelings. But I¡¯m sorry. Falling in love is not really on my list of priorities right now. I¡¯m sure you will soon meet someone that¡¯s truly for you.¡±


    Then he bowed sincerely.


    ¡°N-no, you don¡¯t need to apologize. I¡¯m more than happy that I get to tell you my feelings. Thank you for listening,¡± the girl said with a bit of unshed tears in her eyes.


    She was truly satisfied with that. Because in the first place, she never hoped for her confession to be accepted. Just like what others said, Astrid was really gentle. Answering her confession so sincerely like that. She bid her farewell and left.


    Astrid was about to sit down again when someone stood in front of him again. This time, it was a boy. Looking at the other¡¯s blushing face, he already had a hunch on what he was about to say.


    Sure enough, a few seconds later, the boy blurted, ¡°I like you!¡±


    The girl¡¯s confession seemed to become a trigger and a string of confession followed after her.


    When the fifth person trying to confess to him stood in front of Astrid, he suddenly had an urge to just leave. He was on the verge of just telling everyone, [I don¡¯t really look that good, you just think that way because of my hair and eye color. In short, your aesthetic is just simply skewed.]


    And he couldn¡¯t help but wonder just where the heck was that brother of his? Was he getting their drinks from another planet or something?

 Chapter 12 - FORESHADOWING OF THE FUTURE

    REAS, who was suspected by his brother to be getting their drinks from another planet, was also in a bind. Three girls were currently standing in front of him. He just walked away from the bar, holding the drinks he ordered for him and Astrid, when these three ambushed him. The two on the sides were pushing the one at the middle as if persuading her or something.


    After a few seconds, the girl at the middle still didn¡¯t speak. Reas was already impatient. ¡°If you have something to say, then say it. If not, then move. Don¡¯t block my way.¡±


    He¡¯s never the type to be gentle to women, just because, well, they¡¯re women. The only exception was his mother. For him, everyone was equal. There wasn¡¯t really much difference between men and women. After all, two people of the same sex could still have children if they wanted to. The ability of women to give birth had long been considered as something not so special. It became just another possible cause of death for women. Really, in this day and age, the only important difference between people would be their qualification.


    ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry. I just¨C¡± the girl stuttered.


    ¡°Hey, Andreas, can you not be so rude?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It took a lot of courage for Camille to talk to you, you know?¡±


    Said the two girls who were with the stuttering girl they called Camille. But Reas wasn¡¯t really interested and it just made him frown even more. Who was the rude one here? He¡¯s not the one blocking the way of people. But he knew there was no use telling that to the two. It was obvious that the two were the types who would not stop until the one they¡¯re arguing with agreed to their point. He certainly had no patience to do that.


    So, his mind simply wandered and waited until this Camille said what she wanted to say. In the meantime, he listened to the conversating around him to pass the time and heard something interesting. Because of his SS level physical qualification, his hearing was pretty good. He could even focus on a conversation a few feet away and hear it as if they were just talking beside him. And that¡¯s what he was doing right now.


    ¡°Have you read that post from one of the local forums?¡± one said.


    ¡°About what?¡± the person the other was talking to asked.


    ¡°It said that the warship of the White Wolf of Alluna was seen passing by in one of the planetary systems of our galaxy.¡±


    ¡°No way. Then, was the rumor true, about that crazy prince missing?¡±


    ¡°Who knows. If he really is, I just hope he¡¯s not in my planet.¡±


    Reas raised one of his brows when he heard that. The White Wolf of Alluna the two were referring to was the only brother of the current Emperor. And because the Emperor still didn¡¯t have his own family, his brother was also the only prince and heir to the Empire.


    The prince¡¯s name was Wulfric de Lunaris. He was the only person in the Empire who had SSS level physical and mental strengths. At the age of 30, he was the youngest general the Empire had ever produced. He was known for his moniker ¨C the White Wolf of Alluna. He was called that because of his white hair and golden eyes very similar to that of the said beast. The ¡®Alluna¡¯ part came from the name of the planet that he owned and was living in. Even the army under him was named the Fenris squad.


    But more than that, this prince was more infamously known as the Butcher of Orus.


    A decade ago, a rebellion occurred at the planet Orus. They were made up of the remaining royals from the Kingdom of Terra. Their sudden appearance caused a lot of disturbance to the Empire. So, before they became a huge problem, the Emperor sent a group of elites to Orus to take care of this problem. One of them was the prince who was only a young commander back then.


    The public never really knew what happened back then. Just a rumor that the prince killed all the rebels, thus ending the rebellion at Orus. The Empire¡¯s PR department only released a statement saying that the rebellion ended because of the efforts made by the valiant soldiers of the Empire. But because of that, the prince gained that infamous nickname ¨C the Butcher of Orus.


    Reas wasn¡¯t really interested in the prince¡¯s various escapades. It was simply because up until now, the other still held the record of the most number of victories at the Mecha Hall. Not only that, he was also undefeated. As a mech fighter, Reas definitely wanted to fight the prince to test his own skills.


    The two mentioned earlier about the prince being ¡®missing¡¯. Probably because there was a rumor floating around [Cyberspace] saying that the prince never returned to the capital after his last mission. But Reas doubted that the other was in real serious danger. After all, in this Empire, there was probably no one who had better qualification than the White Wolf of Alluna.


    ¡°¡ªthat¡¯s why, can we start dating?¡±


    The voice of the girl in front of him, brought Reas back to what was happening. ¡°What?¡± he asked because he didn¡¯t really hear what the other said.


    The girl who noticed that the handsome boy in front of her didn¡¯t even listen to a word she said, blushed in humiliation. Tears were already brimming in her eyes.


    ¡°Andreas, you¡¯re such a jerk!¡± one of her friends said.


    ¡°Camille, don¡¯t waste your time with this bastard,¡± another one said. ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡±


    And the two pulled the girl named Camille away.


    Reas frowned. What¡¯s the problem with those girls? He shook his head and just continued walking to where Astrid was. From this incident, he already learned his lesson. Whenever he noticed someone trying to stop him, he would immediately turn to another direction to avoid them. But because of this, it took more time for him to return to his twin brother.


    When he finally reached the place where Astrid was, he almost thought that he went to the wrong place. It was because there was a line of people confessing to Astrid. Yes, there was indeed a line. He sighed at the sight. His brother was truly popular. He could only imagine how much more troublesome it would get once they went to the capital. Astrid¡¯s looks would surely cause a commotion. Especially since the other was trying to enter the so-called entertainment industry.


    Sometimes, he truly wished that the two of them were identical twins. If Astrid looked like him, then he and their parents wouldn¡¯t worry too much about him.


    Reas pushed the people lining up to confess to his brother away. And sat beside Astrid. He then used his most dangerous glare and said coldly, ¡°Go.¡±


    That seemed to be quite effective because all of them scampered away.


    ¡°I just left you for a minute and you already gathered your own harem,¡± he commented giving Astrid his drink.


    Astrid accepted the glass of drink and smiled at Reas. But this smile didn¡¯t reach his phoenix eyes. A sign that he¡¯s really annoyed right now. ¡°A minute? I think you¡¯re gone for almost half an hour. Did you decided to go on a stroll before remembering that you left your brother here?¡±


    ¡°Hey, half an hour is an exaggeration. Maybe a quarter of an hour.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re still making excuses?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault. Some girls tried to stop me along the way. It¡¯s their fault.¡±


    Astrid took a sip from the drink. This kid was probably also confessed to. But seeing his brother¡¯s expression, he definitely didn¡¯t give that girl a good face.


    ¡°By the way, I just heard something interesting,¡± Reas said, suddenly changing the subject.


    ¡°What?¡± Astrid asked, his annoyance already disappearing.


    ¡°I heard that someone saw the warship of the prince here in Palioxis Galaxy. So, some people thought that they might be looking for the prince and the prince must be here in our galaxy.¡±


    Astrid frowned. All the things he heard about that prince/general were not good. Some said he¡¯s crazy, some said that he¡¯s simply lacking in empathy, and that he was truly a beast in man¡¯s clothing. If ever he was indeed in their galaxy, he hoped he wouldn¡¯t be in their planet.


    ¡°You know, Reas, if you wanted to look for a role model, it¡¯s better to pick someone saner,¡± he advised his brother. After all, his brother wouldn¡¯t be telling him this piece of news if the other wasn¡¯t really interested.


    ¡°The prince is not my role model. I just admire his strength. That¡¯s all.¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. If I think of him as my role model, I wouldn¡¯t question his actions and just think that everything he does is right. But that¡¯s not the case,¡± Reas said indignantly. ¡°I just admire his skills, as a mecha fighter to another.¡±


    Astrid stared at his brother and saw that he was really serious with what he said. So, he could only nod.


    Anyway, it¡¯s not as if they would meet this crazed White Wolf of Alluna. Reas might meet him if he continued on his path as a soldier. But surely, that would be ways off in the future.


    So, he just put this topic out of his mind. After all, there¡¯s no way his path would crossed that of the prince¡¯s.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that their paths wouldn¡¯t just crossed. The other would also be a big part of his life in the future.

 Chapter 13 - THE PRINCES WHEREABOUTS

    FLOATING aimlessly on the vast Palioxis Galaxy was a huge warship. It was silver in color with a crest of a white wolf above two intertwining swords. This warship was called Beowulf. Any normal person who would see it would automatically tremble in fear. Because this was the warship of the White Wolf of Alluna, most infamously known as the Butcher of Orus, Wulfric de Lunaris ¨C the only prince and heir to the Empire.


    Inside the warship, three people were having a serious meeting. Or at least, they should have.


    One of them had teal gray hair that was perfectly swept back. His pair of sharp dark green eyes were hidden beneath a pair of golden frame glasses. He had a severe look on his face, as if he couldn¡¯t tolerate any kind of imperfections. There¡¯s an epaulet of a lieutenant on the shoulders of his crisp military uniform. His name was Leland Brewer ¨C the second in command of the warship Beowulf, as well as the Fenris squad directly under the prince.


    The other one had red hair. The lower half of it was shaved and the upper part was tied in a bun. He was big and bulky, his muscles protruding from his military uniform. There were stubbles on his face, making him look gruff and scruffy. He was biting a tobacco between his lips. Its smoke floating in the air. He was Captain Slade Elmer.


    The remaining one had flaxen blond hair with a slightly childish face. Amongst the three, he was even the smallest. His pair of amber colored eyes seemed to always bend into a smile, the same way his thin lips did. On his nose and cheeks were a smattering of freckles that looked like golden dusts. Amongst the three, he looked the most approachable. His name was Hildred Harlow, another captain rank.


    The three had been with the prince since the other was only a Commander. They were with him during that bloody rebellion on the planet Orus. They, alongside another captain, were the core members of Fenris Squad. The elite squad under the direct jurisdiction of the prince.


    And currently, these three people were in a bind. Well, truthfully, it seemed like only the lieutenant was in a bind. Because the other two didn¡¯t care that much.


    ¡°Don¡¯t the two of you have any idea where His Highness is?¡± Leland said. ¡°The quarterly military meeting is about to be held. If he doesn¡¯t attend, the other generals would definitely throw a fit again.¡±


    Their general suddenly disappeared after going after a group of space pirates. But last week, they suddenly lost contact with him. He often did that, going off on his own and disappearing for a couple of days going to who knows where.


    In normal days, Leland wouldn¡¯t really mind. But with the upcoming military meeting and with someone releasing the rumor about the prince missing, he couldn¡¯t help but worry. What if this was one of the plot of those factions against the prince?


    ¡°When you mean ¡®others¡¯, you mean old man Radcliffe, right?¡± said Slade, smirking. ¡°Just when will he continue to be bitter just because Captain rejected his daughter?¡± he added, referring to the prince.


    Rather than rejected, it¡¯s probably more accurate to say that his highness completely decimated the poor girl, Leland thought. ¡°It¡¯s not just General Radcliffe. The others would use this to find fault on His Highness again.¡±


    Slade blew a smoke from the tobacco he was smoking. ¡°As if their complain would change anything. As long as the Emperor remained unmarried without an heir, they wouldn¡¯t be able to touch Captain. Unless they plan to rebel. I wish they do though.¡± Then he grinned, showing all his teeth. ¡°That way, we¡¯ll have all the reasons to end them.¡±


    Leland frowned and gave Slade a disapproving glance. ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. The walls have ears. What if what you said reached the ears of the other generals?¡±


    ¡°Then vice-captain, that would be your fault,¡± Slade shrugged. ¡°Because it meant that you didn¡¯t clean up the ship thoroughly as you should.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Sled, don¡¯t talk like that to Lele,¡± Hildred said, calling the two in the designated nickname that he gave. ¡°Lele, I¡¯m sure Wulf is alright. He¡¯ll come back once he¡¯s bored with whatever he¡¯s doing right now. And didn¡¯t you receive a signal from his Terminal that he¡¯s somewhere around this galaxy? So, let¡¯s just wait for him patiently. Besides, haven¡¯t Ed already left to follow the signal from Wulf¡¯s Terminal? I¡¯m sure he¡¯d contact us immediately once he has news.¡±


    The ¡®Ed¡¯ he was talking about was the other captain ranked soldier that was also a core member of Fenris Squad ¨C Edmund Barton.


    ¡°Hildred, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me such an embarrassing name?¡± Leland said disapprovingly to the smiling captain. ¡°And also, don¡¯t call His Highness with such familiarity.¡±


    Hildred only smiled gently. ¡°But Wulf doesn¡¯t mind.¡±


    Slade stood up. ¡°If we don¡¯t have anything more to talk about, I¡¯ll go ahead and train.¡± He was about to go when he seemed to think of something. He stopped and turned to Hildred. ¡°Hey, Hil, wanna fight?¡±


    Hildred stood up and said, ¡°Sure.¡±


    Then he happily followed Slade.


    Leland could only sigh looking at the leaving figures of the two. Sometimes, he truly wondered if these two really cared for the prince¡¯s whereabouts. If he could, he would be the one looking for His Highness right now. But he couldn¡¯t just leave Beowulf. If he did, he wasn¡¯t sure what kind of mess he would return to. So, he had to leave the search for the prince to Edmund. But that one was not really that reliable either.


    He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling an incoming headache. [His Highness, please, come back soon.]

 Chapter 14 - LAWLESS DEN

    ON a remnant of a certain dead planet floating on the outskirts of Palioxis Galaxy, there was another kind of society. Wanted criminals, space pirates, unregistered citizens, the poorest of the poor, all gathered in places like this. There was no night or day, only darkness. The source of light and air were all artificial. There was no greenery, only buildings that looked like slums.


    Places like this were more commonly known as ¡®Lawless Den¡¯.


    Just like how the name suggested, there¡¯s no law in such a place. That¡¯s why it could attract a lot of unsavory people. But there were also those who ended up there because they had no other choice. Some were abandoned at birth. They weren¡¯t registered as a citizen of the Empire, thus not having an official Terminal and couldn¡¯t enjoy any benefits of being the citizen of the Empire. There were also people who simply had nowhere else to go. They couldn¡¯t afford to live in planets officially recognized by the Empire. So, they could only choose to live in a such a place.


    Lawless Dens were also known for their black markets and underground auctions. Items that were banned in the Empire could be found here, if one just knew where to look. A lot of illegal trading and gambling were also happening here. One could say that these ¡®Dens¡¯ were simply a melting pot of all things illegal.


    Now, a certain flying shuttle was making its way to this particular Lawless Den. The said shuttle had a stealth function that made it invisible to the naked eye. It slowly landed on the Den¡¯s makeshift port. A tall man made his way out, carefully making sure that he wouldn¡¯t be noticed.


    Which was easy since he made sure that he landed the shuttle on a pretty dark spot. He let the shuttle¡¯s stealth mode remained ¡®on¡¯. Because if he didn¡¯t, once he came back, there¡¯s a high chance that it would be torn into pieces and each part stolen by someone.


    He pulled up the hood of the cloak he was wearing, completely hiding his features. Then he walked towards the town¡¯s center.


    This tall man was Edmund Barton, a captain in the Empire¡¯s military and also one of the core members of Fenris Squad. He was here at a Lawless Den because he was tasked by Leland to look for their general.


    The signal that the prince¡¯s Terminal gave off pointed to the nearest planet here before it disappeared. Knowing the prince, he probably just accidentally turned that ¡®on¡¯. Then after realizing that it was ¡®on¡¯, he quickly turned it ¡®off¡¯. Edmund never bothered to go to that planet. When he saw that it was just a normal peaceful planet, he knew there¡¯s no way the prince would be there. Their general simply wouldn¡¯t be interested in peaceful places. And when he found out that there was a Lawless Den a few astronomical units away, he had a feeling he would definitely find the prince there.


    Because their general was simply attracted to chaos. One could even say that he embodied chaos himself.


    Edmund sighed. He truly didn¡¯t want to be here. He didn¡¯t even want to search for the general. Because he knew he was definitely just having fun somewhere and simply didn¡¯t want to be find. But Leland was such a worry-wart, he really had to send someone to search for the general. And sadly, Edmund picked the short end of the stick.


    He couldn¡¯t push the responsibility to either Slade or Hildred. Slade would surely just threaten him until he no longer had the idea of shirking his responsibilities. Hildred might be always full of smiles but that guy could be really much scarier than Slade. And thus, Edmund just succumbed to his fate.


    He was nearing the Den¡¯s central hub when he heard a group of people talking. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t take notice of them but their conversation really attracted his attention.


    ¡°Have you heard? A new guy is going to challenge Regal!¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t Regal the undefeated champion of the fighting arena?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Is this new guy looking for death?¡±


    ¡°Maybe he doesn¡¯t know that people could die on the fighting arena.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there going to be a fight tonight? Shall we go and watch?¡±


    Hearing that, Edmund suddenly had a bad feeling. Lawless Dens had fighting arena where people gambled on who would win between two fighters. Wouldn¡¯t this ¡®new guy¡¯ they were talking about be the general? Certainly, that would something he would do.


    When the group of people moved, most probably going to the fighting arena, Edmund secretly followed. They went to an open-air stadium. They were still a few distance away but he could already hear the loud cheers of people. Walking inside, Edmund really hoped that his hunch was wrong.


    He found a dark corner to stand where he could see everything that was happening on the stage. There was a man standing at the middle. He didn¡¯t look like a fighter. Edmund was also certain he was not a referee, because places like this simply had no need for that. Considering the mic he was holding, he was probably some sort of emcee.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen of the Den, tonight, you will witness a very special fight. A newcomer is here to challenge the undefeated Regal. He fought a hundred fights and won all of them just so he could have the opportunity to challenge our champion. Now, let¡¯s all welcome, the brave Grizzly!¡±


    There were shouts from all corners of the stadium. Either from excitement or just simply going with the flow. Then the lights focused on a certain direction until it hit a huge bear of a man. His upper body was naked, showing a lot of battle scars.


    When Edmund saw the big guy walking towards the stage, he knew that this was the newcomer trying to challenge the champion. He finally let out a sigh of relief when the big guy stood at the stage. At least now he confirmed that his assumption was wrong. But before he could completely put down his hanging heart, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in the venue.


    ¡°So, does that mean if I beat this ugly muscle head, I could challenge the champion?¡± said a man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was now standing in front of Grizzly.


    The sudden intruder was tall with tousled white hair and a pair of golden eyes that seemed to be staring at a prey. His skin was a healthy wheat color, showing that he often spent most of his time outdoors. He was wearing a simple white shirt with a few buttons opened, showing a wide expanse of his chest, paired with black trousers and boots. There was a rogue-like smile on his face. As if telling anyone that he was up to no good.


    Edmund almost didn¡¯t face-palm. Because the man standing over there was their general and the only prince of the Empire ¨C Wulfric de Lunaris.

 Chapter 15 - WULFRIC DE LUNARIS

    WULFRIC de Lunaris looked at the big, hulking man in front of him. Even though the other was much bigger than him, he still managed to stare him down as if he was standing at a pedestal. It¡¯s not that he had a hobby of looking down on people. But there¡¯s just some types of people he couldn¡¯t help but looked down on.


    Take this big chunk of meat for example. This guy obviously thought that he was the strongest person here, thinking that everyone else here was nothing but shit. Wulfric could see it clearly in those ugly beady eyes. But the problem was, Wulfric was also among this ¡®everyone else¡¯. Meaning that, in this bastard¡¯s eyes, he was also one of those ¡®shits¡¯.


    If he took that down lying down, then he wouldn¡¯t be Wulfric de Lunaris.


    So, he jumped on the stage and directly challenged this lump of meat. It would be good to give this guy a wake-up call as early as now. Show him that there were people much stronger than him in this universe. Seriously, Wulfric was doing him a huge favor. He should be thankful that the fist of this Empire¡¯s strongest general would soon hit that ugly mug of his.


    ¡°This guest, apologies but this is actually not the time for a walk-in challenge,¡± the emcee said, unknowingly bringing a respectful tone.


    Truthfully, the emcee just wanted to throw this person out. But from his years of experience watching countless life and death battles in this arena, he could instinctively tell that this guy was not just some random arrogant person who couldn¡¯t tell the difference between weak and strong. It¡¯s better to stay on his good side in case his assumption was proven correct.


    Wulfric glanced at the thin man holding a mic. ¡°I don¡¯t think I ask for your opinion though,¡± he said while tilting his head to the side.


    Being stared at by those golden eyes, the emcee just felt chills down his spine. It¡¯s like a beast was standing in front of him right now, ready to gnaw at his bones.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind killing another insignificant person before killing Regal,¡± said Grizzly in a booming voice.


    ¡°Heh. Insignificant, huh? I haven¡¯t heard that kind of insult in a long while,¡± Wulfric said, nodding to himself. ¡°Not really that original. You should come up with a better insult next time. Not that we¡¯ll ever meet again after this. But for that, I decided that I shall break all the bones in your body. You should be ready. I heard it¡¯s really painful.¡±


    Grizzly looked at the person in front. This little bastard was probably no more than 30 years old and yet he¡¯s acting like he had tons of battle experience. As if he was stronger than him. His face darkened even more looking at the handsome face of the bastard. He hated this type of arrogant little white face the most. Just like that annoying Regal.


    He took out his great axe and attacked without warning.


    Wulfric easily dodged that. His adrenaline already pumping. This was one of the reasons he went here after kicking the asses of those space pirates ¨C to get his blood boiling. He just hoped that this guy would give him a better fight that those pirates. After all, he hadn¡¯t found anything interesting since he got here.


    That¡¯s the other reason for going here. Looking for something that would arouse his interest. Because if nothing interesting popped up in his life from time to time, then it would simply be a hellish nightmare. He might just end up on a killing spree. Then his brother would have no choice but to kill him in turn.


    No matter how bored he was of this life, he couldn¡¯t just put that brother of his into that kind of position. He would definitely not survive the aftermath. That perfect Emperor in the eyes of many would be more broken that he already was. If that were to happen, this Empire would fall in an instant.


    Not that he cared. But his brother does. Not to mention, those annoying underling of his.


    See how responsible he was?


    Wulfric easily dodged again when Grizzly attacked. ¡°Hey, ugly bear, could you try to be faster?¡±


    Grizzly gritted his teeth. He couldn¡¯t believe how easy it was for this guy to dodge his attacks. No, he refused to believe that this little white face really had skills. He raised his great axe and slammed it down. The bastard dodged to the left but he already expected that. He smiled darkly. The moment the bastard moved, he quickly grabbed his neck.


    ¡°Die, you trash!¡±


    But when he tried to squeeze the other¡¯s neck and break it, he couldn¡¯t even move it an inch. It¡¯s like he was holding a steel instead of a human neck. His eyes widened. The only reason for this was because the other¡¯s physical strength level was extremely high. A high level of physical strength could not only give someone inhuman strength, it could also strengthen the whole body.


    He had an S level physical strength. If he couldn¡¯t even move this person¡¯s neck, that meant that his physical strength level was higher than him. For the first time since this guy appeared, he felt fear.


    The bastard seemed to sense that because the other suddenly smirked at him. ¡°Remember what I told you earlier?¡± he asked while gripping the hand on his neck and slowly pulling it away. ¡°I said, I¡¯m going to break all the bones in your body. Well, this is that moment.¡±


    Before Grizzly could register the pain on his wrist, a heavy force landed on his gut. He looked down and saw the guy¡¯s fist on his stomach. After that, he had no time to think about anything because the force of that punch traveled all over his body. Then he flew away from the stage, hearing the breaking of his bones as he did. By the time he landed on his back, he already had no consciousness.


    Wulfric turned around towards the emcee who was shaking all-over. ¡°Now, why don¡¯t you call that champion of yours? I still have a lot of energy to spare, you see.¡±


    Edmund, who was watching all these from the audience area, didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry.

 Chapter 16 - LEAVING THE DEN

    THE crowd went wild after witnessing Grizzly¡¯s utter defeat. When they thought that this arrogant guy who appeared out of nowhere would be beaten to a pulp, it didn¡¯t even take ten minutes before they were proven wrong. With just one punch, Grizzly was thrown out of the stage. And not just thrown, he probably landed over ten feet away from the stage.


    Some have heard what the white-haired guy said about breaking all the bones in Grizzly¡¯s body. Looking at the unconscious Grizzly, they couldn¡¯t really see any pertinent wounds. But somehow, they all had a feeling that his inside was probably not as okay as his outside.


    ¡°That¡¯s some crazy strength! Do you think his physical strength level was above S?¡±


    ¡°It must be. Grizzly is S level. If he managed to defeat him that easily, then he must be at least SS level.¡±


    ¡°Who do you think would win between him and Regal?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s indeed strong, but Regal¡¯s strength is no joke either.¡±


    ¡°Who would you bet on?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s Regal!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with the new guy. He might give us a surprise. Just like with his fight with Grizzly.¡±


    ¡°Are you crazy? Could someone like Grizzly even be compared with Regal?¡±


    On the stage, Wulfric looked at the emcee. ¡°Well? Haven¡¯t you heard what I said? Go and call your champion.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes!¡±


    The emcee scrambled to open his Terminal to contact Regal. Being the champion of this arena for years, Regal had his own lounge area. He often waited there before each of his match. Since he wasn¡¯t here when Grizzly appeared, he¡¯s probably still waiting at his lounge area, doing god knows what.


    He just hoped that guy would not throw one of his temper tantrums. Because this was hardly the time for that. If this white-haired lunatic didn¡¯t get what he wanted, there¡¯s a possibility that he would decimate this arena. With the power that he just showed, he might really be able to do just that. And with his clear crazy tendency, he probably wouldn¡¯t even think twice when he does it.


    [Come to the stage this instant! There¡¯s some crazy guy who wants to fight you. Go and beat him!] ¨C he sent to Regal¡¯s Terminal.


    Probably just a second later, he quickly received a reply. [I¡¯m already here.]


    The emcee sharply glanced back and saw a tall man walking towards the stage. He had long cyan hair tied in a high ponytail. His whole face was hidden behind a mask, not even a bit of his feature could be seen. Instead of looking creepy, it added a mysterious charm to him. Maybe it was because of the way he carried himself. One could easily see that he was not a run of the mill crook one usually found in a Lawless Den.


    The emcee finally breathed a sigh of relief seeing Regal.


    Regal stepped on the stage and the crowd once again went into an uproar. Cheering for him and telling him to beat the shit out of the intruder.


    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you popular?¡± Wulfric said with a smirk. ¡°Why don¡¯t we see who will beat the shit out of whom, hmm?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to win against you,¡± Regal said, his voice was quite soothing. Then he made an elegant bow. ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    Once Regal said that, the crowd was once again in an uproar.


    ¡°Did he say ¡®Your Highness¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Wait- is he the Emperor?¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid? The Emperor is called ¡®Your Majesty¡¯! That one¡¯s probably the prince.¡±


    ¡°The prince? You mean the Butcher of Orus?¡±


    ¡°Shit! No wonder he¡¯s so strong. We should have known it¡¯s him when we saw his white hair.¡±


    ¡°Could he murder us all here? Just like what he did in Orus? I heard he made that planet almost unlivable.¡±


    Wulfric who heard all the whispering around quickly lost all the expression on his face. What he hated the most was being reminded of Orus. But wherever he went, people just couldn¡¯t seem to stop talking about it.


    He looked blankly at the masked man in front of him. Although he couldn¡¯t see his face, he could tell that he was gloating. ¡°You¡¯re annoying.¡±


    And then a mental force that could turn anyone¡¯s brain into mush suddenly erupted. The people near the stage immediately collapsed. The ones on the outer area screamed in pain while holding their head. The emcee had already fallen over, his mouth foaming. Surprisingly, Regal only knelt. He didn¡¯t even shout.


    ¡°Oh, so you do have some skill in you,¡± Wulfric said in a non-committal voice.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ for the compliment,¡± Regal replied in an almost shaking voice.


    ¡°General!¡± suddenly shouted by a familiar voice.


    Wulfric glanced back and saw a cloaked man jumping on the stage. As he did so, the hood he was wearing fell off, revealing a bald head that was like a shiny egg. But despite his apparent baldness, one could still see his handsome features. Especially those expressive dark-brown eyes that looked like melted chocolate.


    ¡°Ed?¡± he stared at the bald head and burst out laughing. ¡°Where did all your hair go?¡±


    Edmund gritted his teeth. He could barely stand up. But he still persevered. Because if he collapsed as well, then everyone here would probably die. ¡°General, I¡¯m glad you find my appearance funny, but could you please turn off your mental force. Surely, you don¡¯t want me to die, right?¡±


    After he said that, he felt like he would vomit blood. Damn. It¡¯s been a while since he felt the General¡¯s mental power. He must be really irritated, probably even a bit bored, right now. Which was not a very good combination.


    ¡°Oh, well, since I don¡¯t want you dead, there, all gone.¡±


    As if a switch was quickly turned off, after Wulfric spoke, all the pressure everyone was feeling completely disappeared. But all the remaining people who didn¡¯t collapse still felt dizzy. As if something hammered their brain.


    ¡°But what happened to your hair?¡±


    Seeing that the general seemed to have taken an interest on his hair or the lack thereof, Edmund used that chance to lure him away from here. ¡°If the General wants to know where my hair went, please, accompany me back to Beowulf.¡±


    Wulfric raised one of his brows. Since when did this kid learn to be smart? It seemed Leland had been teaching him things. But even though he knew he was being lured, he still said, ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go then. I¡¯m bored with this place anyway.¡±


    When the two left the stage, everyone finally let go of their hanging heart. Regal stood up and looked at the back of the two meaningfully.

 Chapter 17 - A SHOOTING STAR (OR IS IT?)

    ¡°SO, what happened to your hair?¡± Wulfric asked staring curiously at Edmund¡¯s shiny bald head.


    They were already inside the flying shuttle that Edmund brought. He quickly drove the shuttle up before the general changed his mind and decided that his bald head was not interesting after all. Once the shuttle flew out of the Lawless Den and returned to space, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Surely, the general wouldn¡¯t be crazy enough to jump off the shuttle at this point.


    So, he answered with a peace of mind, ¡°Hil accidentally poured a non-washable glue on my hair a week ago. I couldn¡¯t wash it off, so I had to shave my hair.¡±


    He still wanted to cry remembering that. All his soft lock of hair, gone just like that. Now, he just looked a little bit better than an egg.


    ¡°I bet Hil did that on purpose. You probably pissed him off or something. So, what did you do?¡±


    Edmund went silent for a moment. He also thought that considering Hildred¡¯s character, he would have definitely done it on purpose. But he seriously couldn¡¯t think of when he offended him. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure.¡±


    Wulfric looked at the other¡¯s bald head and burst out laughing again. This kid probably did something stupid as usual. The thing was, he probably didn¡¯t even know that what he¡¯s doing was stupid. Which made it even stupider.


    ¡°Well, whatever you did, good job. At least you grace the Empire with your perfectly egg-shaped head.¡±


    ¡°General, please, don¡¯t laugh at my head. My fragile ego will soon not be able to take it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, with your thick skin, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    Edmund didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry because of that comment. He¡¯d definitely buy some hair growth solution once they returned to the Emperor Star. With that in mind, he finally had a new motivation to quickly return to Beowulf.


    ¡°General, I¡¯ll set our destination to Beowulf,¡± he said, doing just that. ¡°Should we contact Lieutenant?¡±


    ¡°No need. We¡¯ll arrive there sooner or later anyway,¡± Wulfric answered carelessly, leaning back on his seat.


    The shuttle they were in had flown for a couple of hours when an alarm suddenly sounded.


    Wulfric who was just about to close his eyes was slightly startled by the sound. ¡°What the¡ª¡±


    ¡°General, we¡¯re running out of energy fuel,¡± Edmund said with an almost scrunched up face. Energy fuels were what usually powered small vehicles like this. ¡°I- I think I forgot to refuel before I left Beowulf.¡±


    Wulfric looked at this stupid egg and he really didn¡¯t know if he should punch him or kick him instead. ¡°Then go and find a planet where we could land before we crash into some asteroid or something.¡±


    ¡°Yes, General!¡±


    Edmund maneuvered the shuttle to enter the atmosphere of the nearest planet from where they were ¨C Delryria.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid and Reas were both sitting on the tree house made by their father, stargazing. The tree house was built on the tallest tree near their house. It almost looked like a small wooden cabin on a tree. There was a comfortable couch inside that could double into a bed and also a small fridge filled with drinks and fruits. And near the window, there¡¯s an advanced telescope.


    This was like the twins¡¯ secret base. They often played here when they were kids. And now that they¡¯re adults, well, somewhat adults, they chose to go here whenever they have important things to talk about. Like now.


    ¡°So, when do you think we should tell them about our college plans?¡± Astrid asked.


    It had already been three days since the graduation party. And up until now, they still hadn¡¯t told their parents about their plans for the future. I.e. Reas going to military school and him going to a performing arts school ¨C both were located at the Emperor Star.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t we just tell them at the very last minute?¡± Reas suggested. ¡°That way, they wouldn¡¯t have any time to complain and stop us.¡±


    ¡°Do you think our parents would not ask us about our plans for the next two months before the new school year began?¡±


    Reas plopped himself on the couch with a bit of frustration on his handsome face. ¡°Then what should we do?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s tell them tomorrow night. I¡¯ll prepare a sumptuous dinner, then we could tell them after that.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow? That fast?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no use procrastinating. If we put this off, we¡¯ll just continue putting it off and before we know it, two months have already passed. So, we will do it tomorrow night,¡± Astrid said, his voice already full of determination.


    Reas looked at his twin brother¡¯s expression and he knew there was no use convincing him otherwise. So, he could only scratch his head and sigh. ¡°Fine. Tomorrow night then.¡±


    Astrid nodded in approval. Then he glanced outside the window and happened to see something like a shooting star. So, he did something that people often do in his past life when they saw one. He made a wish.


    [Please, let our parents give us their approval.]

 Chapter 18 - WHERE EVERYTHING WENT WRONG

    ASTRID and Reas were standing a few distance away in front of their house. Their heads were close together, talking in a low voice as if they were planning something secretly. Well, maybe that was indeed the case.


    ¡°Reas, don¡¯t forget to bring Dad and Mom to the ¡®place¡¯,¡± Astrid reminded his twin brother.


    Reas looked at him with exasperation. ¡°Aster, I know. You already reminded me a hundred of times already. Do I look that forgetful or something?¡±


    Astrid only gave his brother a look that¡¯s saying, ¡®yes, you are, you still have the audacity to ask?¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to resist logging into the virtual world. Then you¡¯d surely be too engrossed fighting in that Mecha Hall arena, totally forgetting all our plans. Which in turn would leave me waiting there in vain.¡±


    Reas couldn¡¯t immediately refute what Astrid said. Because, in all honesty, there¡¯s a high probability that he would do just that. He scratched the back of his head. ¡°I know. I promise you I won¡¯t touch my virtual pod for the rest of the afternoon.¡±


    Before Astrid could reply, they suddenly heard their mother¡¯s voice. ¡°What are you boys doing?¡±


    The two quickly separated as if guilty of something. They looked back and saw that their mother was already standing near them. Because they didn¡¯t expect the sudden appearance of their mother, they thought she was still at one of the farm¡¯s greenhouses together with their father, their reaction just now was quite genuine. The one who reacted first and quickly returned to normal was Astrid.


    ¡°Nothing, Mom. Just some random stuff,¡± he said with a gentle smile on his face.


    Emmy looked at the two suspiciously. ¡°Really? You two are not planning to do something mischievous, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Astrid gave her a helpless smile. ¡°Mom, have I ever done something like that?¡±


    Reas glanced at his brother. Looking at his smile and that expression as if they were really just talking about random things, he was reminded once again how good Astrid was at acting. Maybe going to a performing arts school was not so bad of an idea after all.


    Well, Astrid had a point ¨C Emmy thought. Even when he was a child, he had always been more mature than his age. Sometimes, there was even an illusion that he was a mature man already. So, she no longer asked the two what they were discussing and just glanced at the big backpack Astrid was wearing.


    ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going biking.¡±


    When he was young, Astrid asked his father to make him a bike ¨C the one that could be found in ancient Earth. He had to draw a design of it since a simple contraption like a bike couldn¡¯t be found in this era. But since the design was pretty simple, his father easily made one for him. He¡¯s good at tinkering things, his father. After seeing him rode the bike, Reas also asked their father to make one for him. So, since then, the two of them could be seen riding a bike together from time to time.


    ¡°Be careful then and make sure to come back before dinner,¡± his mother reminded.


    Astrid only smiled, looked at his brother ¨C his eyes telling him that he better not forget what they just talked about, and then walked to where his bike was parked. He hopped on it and started pedaling.


    The cool breeze blew on his face as he pedaled and he couldn¡¯t stop the smile on his face. The road he was taking was something only for their family use. His parents made it so after he started going on bike rides. They¡¯re probably worried that someone might just suddenly snatch him if this road was left to public use.


    When he saw a fork in the road, he took a turn to the left. This direction would lead him to a beautiful lake hidden in the forest. That¡¯s his current destination. He and Reas planned to give their parents a surprise dinner there. Maybe with the help of the ambiance and the food, their parents would be a bit softhearted and wouldn¡¯t react too strongly once they told them what their plans for the future were.


    Hopefully and fingers-crossed.


    Since Reas was a lost cost when it came to anything kitchen related, he just asked him to bring his cooking utensils there early this morning. As well as some lights and chairs. There was a flat stone near the lake which could serve as their makeshift table. It would look presentable once it was covered by a blanket.


    Astrid would be the one in-charge of cooking and setting up the place. Which he didn¡¯t mind. Then he would send a message to his brother telling him when to bring their parents there.


    Soon, he entered a forest path. It didn¡¯t take long before he reached a clearing where the said lake was. Even though he had been here numerous times already, he was still amazed by the beautiful scenery. The crystal blue lake surrounded by wildflowers amidst the tall trees. Really, it was indeed a sight to behold.


    He stopped the bike, got off, and parked it. Then he walked towards the flat rock he mentioned earlier and put his backpack there. He punched his shoulders a bit. Although his physical strength was A level, it was still just slightly stronger than the normal strength of a human living in the ancient Earth.


    He saw the box where his cooking utensils were on the side. But he noticed that it was opened and some of his cookware were thrown arbitrarily around the ground. A crease immediately appeared on his forehead. Then he suddenly heard a splashing sound.


    He sharply glanced back at the lake. The creased on his forehead became even deeper. He knew he shouldn¡¯t, it¡¯s probably best to run from here and call his brother. But he couldn¡¯t help but step forward. Because he believed if there was really an intruder, he could subdue him. After all, there¡¯s probably only a handful of people who could withstand the mental force coming from someone with an SSS level mental strength.


    That kind of arrogant thought was probably where all things went wrong.


    Because when he crouched down near the lake to see if there was someone beneath the water, a hand suddenly shot out and held his wrist. He was so startled, he wasn¡¯t able to react fast enough. Until he was pulled hard and he plunged into the cold water of the lake.


    When he tried to open his eyes, there was only one thing he saw.


    A pair of golden eyes.

 Chapter 19 - DISAPPEARING GENERAL

    THE shuttle that Wulfric and Edmund where in, landed on a mountain. Edmund actually barely even managed to do that because there¡¯s barely any energy fuel left in the tank of the shuttle. That¡¯s why after entering the planet¡¯s atmosphere, he made the shuttle land on the closest and tallest place he could find. Thus, the mountain.


    Edmund was just glad that his driving skill was good or else they might not be able to land safely. What would happen to them then? If they sustained serious injuries and wasn¡¯t able to get immediate treatment, the injuries might become permanent. But knowing the general, he probably wouldn¡¯t get any serious injuries even if he fell from such a tall height. Then wouldn¡¯t that mean that he would be the only one injured? He let out a sigh of relief. It¡¯s really good thing that he had a superb driving skill.


    It was already near the break of dawn when they landed. The moment they got out, the general kicked him to hunt food for breakfast. The general didn¡¯t like to eat nutrient solution. So, even in Beowulf, he had his own chef that made his food. Now that he thought about it, he wondered what the general ate during the past month that he was gone. Anyway, he knew that complaining wouldn¡¯t have any result, so, with tears in his eyes, he dived into the forest to hunt wild game.


    And now, he returned with a hopper bunny. It¡¯s similar to a rabbit but much bigger and had stronger legs for hopping. But the meat basically tasted the same. He glanced at the general who seemed to be sleeping on the shuttle¡¯s roof.


    Edmund sighed, put down the dead hopper bunny and started to skin it. After he was done, he built a fire and barbecued the hopper bunny. Soon, the smell of the hopper bunny¡¯s barbecued meat filled the surrounding. By the time he was done, the sun was already rose on the sky.


    ¡°Is it done?¡± Wulfric asked sitting up and then jumping down effortlessly.


    ¡°Yes, General,¡± Edmund answered, putting off the fire.


    Wulfric walked to the spot where Edmund did his barbecuing and then plopped down. He was about to take a leg but was stopped by Edmund.


    ¡°General, before you eat, you should promise that you won¡¯t beat me up if it doesn¡¯t taste good,¡± Edmund said.


    It took quite a lot of courage for him to say that. But if he didn¡¯t and the general didn¡¯t like the taste of the barbecued meat, he was afraid that he would be beaten up much worse. So, he had to take precautions. Although he wasn¡¯t that good at cooking, he could barbecue just fine. Probably. But just in case it didn¡¯t taste good, he had to say that beforehand to the general.


    Wulfric snorted. ¡°Your skin is really getting thicker and thicker by the minute.¡±


    But he didn¡¯t reject what Edmund said, making the other let out a sigh of relief. He took a piece of leg and rudely bit into it. The elegance and glamour of the royal family was nowhere to be seen. He chewed for a bit and then his eyebrows scrunched up, clearly showing that he didn¡¯t like the taste.


    ¡°You really are starting to be a little smart, aren¡¯t you?¡± he said to Edmund, pertaining to the way he made him promise to not beat him up if the food he made was not good.


    ¡°Yes, I think so too,¡± Edmund replied shamelessly.


    Although he didn¡¯t like the taste, Wulfric still continued to eat.


    As the two were eating, Edmund just realized that he hadn¡¯t contacted the lieutenant yet and told him what happened to them. He quickly opened his Terminal and tried to connect to the lieutenant¡¯s Terminal.


    After just a second, a virtual screen appeared on top of his Terminal, which was a bracelet by the way. On the virtual screen was a man with blue-gray hair and a pair of dark-green eyes hidden beneath a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. He looked serious and severe, like a person who couldn¡¯t take a joke and wanted everything to be done perfectly.


    ¡°Liuetenant!¡± Edmund greeted.


    When Leland saw Edmund¡¯s bald head, he almost laughed. But he resisted the urge. Laughing at your subordinate was certainly unbecoming of someone in his position. So, he just cleared his throat to hide his momentary gaffe.


    ¡°Have you found His Highness?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lieutenant. I found him at a Lawless Den. We were already on our way to our flag ship when we suddenly encountered a problem.¡±


    Leland hadn¡¯t had time to celebrate that Edmund actually did his job properly and found the prince when he heard the word ¡®problem¡¯. ¡°What kind of problem?¡±


    After hearing Edmund¡¯s explanation, all the praises he had for the other completely vanished. He just knew somewhere along the way this guy would do something idiotic. But since he did find the prince, he also didn¡¯t plan to berate him. At the end, he could only say;


    ¡°Send me your coordinates and I¡¯ll send someone to retrieve you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lieutenant!¡± Edmund said, saluting. ¡°But, Lieutenant, are you not going to punish me?¡±


    Leland raised one of his brows. ¡°Do you want to be punished?¡±


    Edmund immediately shook his head. ¡°No, absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t ask,¡± Leland said. ¡°Let me talk to His Highness. He¡¯s there with you, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The General is eating right now.¡±


    But when Edmund turned to the place where the general was sitting, the other was no longer there.

 Chapter 20 - MAKE ME

    WULFRIC jumped from one tree branch to another all the while biting on a piece of barbecued hopper bunny leg. When all was left of the barbecue was leg bone, he threw it away.


    After seeing Edmund contacting Leland, he quickly left. Leland, that guy, would just nag at him. And it¡¯s just too early in the day for him to listen to someone¡¯s nagging. They would soon find him anyway.


    He continued to jump until he saw a lake at a distance. It¡¯s been awhile since he took a good bath. So, he quickly changed his course and jumped towards the direction of the lake. He landed and grinned after seeing how big and pure the water on the lake was. He was about to walk towards the lake when he noticed a box sitting on top of a flat rock nearby. Curious, he walked towards there instead.


    He opened the box and looked what¡¯s inside. The first thing he saw was a pan. He took that out and threw it. He continued rummaging but all he saw were cook wares. Was there someone planning to cook here? Maybe he should wait for them and let them cook food for him.


    In the meantime, he¡¯d swim on the lake first.


    Once he was near the lake, he took off all his clothes and then dove into the water. He smiled at the feel of the cold water on his skin. After swimming for a while, he just floated on the water. He wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed but after a while, he heard movements from a distance. Whoever it was was moving closer and closer towards the lake.


    It seemed like the one who was planning to cook here already arrived. And here he thought they would never come. Good timing. He was starting to get hungry again.


    In order to not scare them, he dove into the water. What a conscientious move, right? Based on the movement outside the water, the person was already here. Then he heard footsteps walking towards the lake. When he raised his head, he saw someone gazing down the water.


    The ripples on the water, prevented him from seeing the face of the other clearly. And for some reason, he really wanted to see it. So, before he could think properly, his body already moved. He swam forward, reached his hand out of the water and held the other¡¯s thin wrist.


    Then he didn¡¯t hesitate to pull the person down into the water. And the both of them sank into the lake.


    Wulfric was slightly startled by the feel of the skin he was holding. It was soft and velvety. This kind of feeling was very addicting. He probably wouldn¡¯t mind rubbing this kind of skin very often. Wait- what did he think of just now?


    Annoyed, he stared at the owner of the ¡®skin¡¯, thinking that the other would surely be ugly. But he couldn¡¯t be more wrong.


    Even though they were underwater, Wulfric¡¯s vision was not unimpeded. He could still see everything clearly all due to his SSS level physique. So, he could clearly see the feature of the person he just pulled.


    It was a young man with hair the color of a starless night sky. He had luminous white skin and a slight build. And when he tried to open his eyes, Wulfric could see that they were as dark as obsidian. The shape was even something he hadn¡¯t seen before. They were slanted and slightly tilted at the end. Almost like a cat¡¯s. But somehow it didn¡¯t feel contradicting. In fact, it suited his face quite well.


    [How pretty¡­]


    That was the first thing that crossed Wulfric¡¯s mind. Which startled him quite a bit. Because he had never been the one who would notice how other people looked. Which again, annoyed him. Making him clutched the other¡¯s wrist tighter. He saw the other wincing because of what he did. But he didn¡¯t care.


    Not until he felt something tingling in his brain. It felt like a needle just poke it, causing him to momentarily freeze. Which led to him letting go of the other¡¯s wrist. The little guy used that opportunity to swam ashore.


    It took a moment for him to be able to move again. And then he realized what just happened. That guy just attacked him with his mental force. That¡¯s not the surprising thing. The most surprising thing was that, it affected him. No one had ever done that before. Because he had never met anyone with a stronger mental strength than him. But the fact that the mental force of that guy affected him meant that his mental strength level was almost as strong as him.


    No, maybe even stronger.


    Because usually when two people with equal levels of mental strength attacked each other mentally, their force would automatically cancel out each other. Just like a simple math equation, x=y, as simple as that.


    But the fact that he felt a tingle in his brain just now meant that the others mental strength was just a tad bit higher than him.


    A grin full of excitement appeared on his face. How interesting!


    Then he didn¡¯t hesitate to follow the little guy and swam ashore. He found him sitting on the ground and coughing, as if what happened earlier made him out of breath.


    Wulfric tilted his head, did that mean that his physical strength was not that high? Instead of losing interest, that fact made the other even more interesting in Wulfric¡¯s eyes. Because a person with a high level of mental strength but a low level of physical strength usually spent their days bedridden because their body couldn¡¯t take the power of their mental force.


    But looking at this little guy, he seemed very healthy.


    He crouched down and held the other¡¯s chin. With the light of the sun, he could now see his features much clearly. Those black eyes were glaring at him, making him look more alive. Because he was just soaked in lake water, his white shirt was clinging to his skin. It looked almost transparent. Adding some kind of inexplicable charm to him.


    ¡°Let go,¡± the young man said, gritting his teeth in anger.


    Wulfric felt another tingling in his brain. But this time, it didn¡¯t stop his movement. So, instead of letting go, he smirked at the little guy in front of him and said;


    ¡°Make me.¡±

 Chapter 21 - THE MOST IRRITATING MAN

    ASTRID quickly swam ashore. When he was out of the lake water, he wanted to get away from this place immediately but his body wouldn¡¯t just cooperate. He stumbled forward and fell on the ground. His whole body was racked with uncontrollable coughing. Mostly from the lack of breath he experienced from being underwater for quite some time.


    Just who the heck was that lunatic? This was a private property. A part of their family¡¯s land. How did he get in here? Was he some kind of criminal? He probably was. Maybe he was even trying to kill him or something.


    Wait- would that guy drown there? He didn¡¯t hold back when he used his mental strength earlier against him. Well, let him drown. He probably did society a favor by drowning that lunatic. Okay. That¡¯s a bit cold-hearted. He¡¯d fish him out after he¡¯s done coughing his life out.


    But before he could do so, he felt a shadow casting over him. He didn¡¯t even have time to raise his head because his chin was suddenly grabbed by pretty strong fingers. Even without opening his eyes, he had a feeling that he would see that lunatic¡¯s pair of golden eyes.


    When he did open his eyes, he was still shocked by the visual impact that hit him. In front of him was a man. His white hair was wet from the lake water. His pair of golden eyes were staring arrogantly down at him. Water droplets were falling from his hair down to his bronzed-colored skin. He couldn¡¯t help but follow the path that those drops of water were taking.


    And that¡¯s when he realized that the man in front of him was actually naked! He quickly stopped his wandering eyes before he could actually see the guy¡¯s dangling ¡®little brother¡¯.


    Feeling the other¡¯s grip on his chin, anger rose in him. Thinking that the other was naked while doing so, that anger was quickly accompanied by humiliation.


    ¡°Let go,¡± he bit out, glaring at the man in front of him.


    And then he just realized another thing. How did this person got here so quickly when he attacked him with the full power of his mental strength? No way- could it be? To test his guess, he used his mental power against him once again. And one again, nothing happened. He didn¡¯t even let go of his chin.


    Instead, he smirked. ¡°Make me.¡±


    Astrid wasn¡¯t sure what shocked him more, the fact that his mental strength didn¡¯t work on him or this person¡¯s seemingly never-ending arrogance.


    His mental force not working against this person could only mean that they had an equal level of mental strength. Meeting someone with an SSS level mental strength other than him, this was the first time.


    And it really had to be naked lunatic.


    Make him let go of his chin, was that it? Fine. He¡¯d do just that. Since there¡¯s already a perfect target dangling right in front of him. He couldn¡¯t use his mental strength? Then he¡¯d use another method available to him.


    He took out the small knife strapped to his ankle and without taking his eyes off of the other¡¯s face, he pointed it at the man¡¯s dangling ¡®little brother¡¯. ¡°Let go or I¡¯ll chopped off this thing between your leg.¡±


    Wulfric visibly stiffened. This was probably the first time his ¡®little brother¡¯ down there was threatened like this. He almost had an urge to close his legs because of it. But at the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing. Looking at those black eyes that seemed to be filled with cold fire, he knew that this little guy would definitely do what he just said.


    So, he let go of the other¡¯s chin and raised both his hands in defeat. ¡°You won this round.¡±


    Astrid had no time to celebrate this so-called ¡®win¡¯ because the other suddenly stood up and his ¡®little brother¡¯ dangled right in front of his face. He automatically shut his eyes closed and angrily shouted, ¡°Can you wear some clothes? If you have a habit of streaking in front of strangers, then don¡¯t do it on my account!¡±


    Wulfric looked amusedly at the little guy¡¯s closed eyes. ¡°Why are you overreacting? Everything I have, you also have. Although, mine is probably bigger than yours. Oh, wait- was that it? You¡¯re getting angry because mine is bigger? But you should be proud of what you have. Even if yours is smaller, at least it must be all cute and pink. Like a baby¡¯s.¡±


    Astrid felt like his blood pressure just went up a couple of notches. He could even feel the veins on his forehead popping. Just how could someone be so infuriating?


    He angrily stood up and opened his eyes. He glared coldly at probably the most irritating man he met since he was reincarnated in this era. Then, without speaking, he threw the knife he was holding at him.


    As expected, Wulfric easily caught it. He was about to say something when he saw the pants he left on the side of the lake being hurled at him. He instinctively caught it.


    ¡°Put your pants on, you shitty exhibitionist,¡± Astrid said through gritted teeth.


    Instead of being offended or angered, Wulfric burst out laughing. ¡°You really are an interesting one.¡±

 Chapter 22 - HE DOESNT LIKE IT

    ASTRID looked down at his wet clothes. Both the shirt and pants were clinging to his body. It¡¯s uncomfortable. Although his body was not as frail as it used to when he was a kid, there¡¯s still a chance that he might have a fever. Contracting a fever wouldn¡¯t really be a big problem since the medicine in this era was already so advanced, eating one pill of fever medicine would quickly cure anyone within just a few minutes. What he¡¯s worried was his parents worrying about him. Especially his mother. She always gets sensitive whenever he got sick.


    He could probably avoid that by removing his wet shirt. But he didn¡¯t really want to take his clothes off with this lunatic around. Not that he was worried that he would assault him when he saw his naked upper body. But it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be careful. After all, the other person was someone who was obviously a lot stronger than him. They even had the same level of mental strength. And considering how he had some screws loose, Astrid had no idea what the guy would do next.


    Speaking of the lunatic, he glanced at the other and saw that he was finally wearing his pants. But his upper body was still bare. Showing off his bronze skin, strong and firm muscles, and perfect eight-pack abdomen. He looked like one of those perfect Greek statues displayed at that fancy French museum. Add that to the white hair and golden eyes and he looked even more handsome than most stars in this era.


    If they met under normal circumstance, Astrid might even admire how handsome he was. But they didn¡¯t. And there¡¯s also the problem of the other being not really right in the head. If he had all his faculties intact, he wouldn¡¯t suddenly pull a stranger he had never met into a lake. And paraded himself all naked in front of the said stranger. Or maybe, he¡¯s simply that shameless. Astrid had a feeling that the other was both ¨C crazy and shameless.


    What a shame, really.


    Then he caught himself. What was he feeling disappointed for? He just shook his head and walk towards the scattered kitchen wares on the ground. He bet that guy was the culprit behind this. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he started getting annoyed again. He just bent down and started putting all the scattered kitchen ware back on the box.


    Once he¡¯s done, he¡¯s going to leave this place and go back to their house. He and Reas could just pick another day to do this dinner. Then he¡¯d report this guy from trespassing on their family¡¯s land. But then again, considering how powerful this guy was, he might just be doing damage to the soldiers who would come after him.


    Halfway through what he¡¯s doing, Astrid suddenly felt something falling onto his head. He stopped and saw that it was a big white shirt. He unconsciously glanced back at the man whose upper body was still naked. And he already had a feeling that this white shirt belonged to him.


    ¡°Change your clothes and wear that. You¡¯re shaking like a leaf,¡± the guy said with disgust on his face. ¡°Just how weak are you?¡±


    The irritation that Astrid held in quickly poured out. He might be weak physically in comparison to this guy, but he was not weak in the true meaning of that word. He¡¯s a survivor. A weak person wouldn¡¯t be able to handle all the things he experienced in his last life.


    He clutched on the white shirt and threw it away on the ground. After putting all the kitchen wares in the box, he stood up and slung his backpack on his shoulder. Then he carried the box and walked towards the direction of his bike. As he did so, he trampled on the thrown white shirt.


    Wulfric stared at his white shirt that was now full of mud. Then he looked at the back of the little guy that was now getting farther and farther away from him. And he suddenly felt an unprecedented anger.


    He wasn¡¯t mad about the shirt, which was already a miracle in itself. He was mad that he was walking away from him. Just like how he felt irritated seeing him trembling because of the wet clothes he was wearing. He couldn¡¯t understand why he was feeling that way. He just knew that he didn¡¯t like it.


    He¡¯s the type of person who didn¡¯t dwell on things too much. For him, what he liked was what he liked and what he disliked was what he disliked.


    So, he followed the little guy and just by a few steps he reached him. He stretched out his hand and held his arm. Then he forcefully turned him around.


    ¡°Who said you can go?¡± he said in a domineering manner.


    But Astrid was unimpressed. He raised his chin and looked coldly at the man in front of him. ¡°And who said I need anyone¡¯s permission to go? I don¡¯t need it. Especially not yours.¡±


    He was about to pull back his own arm when he heard two voices shouting at the same time. One of them quite familiar.


    ¡°Aster!¡±


    ¡°General!¡±

 Chapter 23 - TWINKLE

    EDMUND was extremely panicked when the general disappeared once again. He was just talking to Leland on his Terminal one second and the next, the general who he thought was eating on the side vanished life a puff of smoke. Of course, the first thing he felt was panic. It was not until he told the lieutenant what happened and Leland almost roared at him to quickly find the general that he moved from where he was sitting.


    Once he calmed down, he realized that the general must be still in the vicinity. After all, no matter how strong he was, he didn¡¯t have the ability to fly thousands of miles in just a few minutes. He was probably just within the vicinity of this land. Thus, his search for the general began once again.


    Edmund was the best tracker among the Fenris Squad. That¡¯s why even though he was the least reliable among the three captains of the squad, the lieutenant still gave him the job of searching for the general.


    But no matter how good he was in tracking, it would be useless if the one he¡¯s following was careful in not leaving any trails. He suddenly wanted to cry without tears. He was now doubting whether the general hated him. If not, then why would he ran off and add more work for him when they should just be staying put until the people Leland sent arrived? Well, granted the words ¡®staying put¡¯ didn¡¯t really go well with the general. But even so.


    Despite the lack of trail to follow, Edmund still managed to trace the steps of the general. Although it took quite some time for him to do that. It led him to the direction of a large lake that was located down the mountain where they emergency landed.


    He jumped on the branch of a tree and quickly saw the figure of the general in the distance. And he wasn¡¯t alone. The general was holding the arm of a teenage boy. Even though Edmund was still a bit far from where the two was standing, he could still see clearly what was happening. And that included the appearance of the said teenager.


    He had the rare black hair and black eyes. Because he had both, the combination was even more lethal. Making him look even more eye-catching. And he seemed to be glaring at the general, as if he couldn¡¯t wait to punch him. Did the general do something to him?


    And that¡¯s when he took into account the state of undress of the general. He was even looking at the teenager with ¡®that¡¯ expression. The one he often had whenever he saw something that interest him.


    Wait- was it possible that the general was attracted by the teenager¡¯s beauty and he began to harass the other? That was certainly not good. The lieutenant would definitely punish him if he found out that he not only loss the general, he even let him harass one of the locals. He had to stop the general before he did more damage.


    He jumped off the tree he was standing on and shouted, ¡°General!¡±


    The same time he did, someone from the opposite side shouted something different;


    ¡°Aster!¡±


    It was Reas. He was planning to just stay put at their house until Astrid messaged him that he could bring their parents to the lake when he suddenly felt anxious and irritable. It was not the first time he felt that. Every time in the past when Astrid was in a potentially dangerous situation, he would feel that way. It was the same for his brother. The only explanation the two of them could think was because their twins. They had a certain connection that normal siblings didn¡¯t have. And because the two of them were also really close, that ¡®connection¡¯ could sometimes manifest this way.


    The moment he felt that, he quickly ran out of the house and rode his bike. When he was near the clearing where the lake was located, he immediately spotted his twin. And there was a naked man holding him. No matter which angle he looked, that bastard was clearly harassing Astrid.


    Unprecedented anger filled him. He jumped off from the bike he was riding and ran towards the direction of the two at the highest speed.


    Meanwhile, the two who was in the center of attention¡­


    [General? Was this exhibitionist actually a soldier?] ¨C that was Astrid¡¯s first thought when he heard that call.


    On the other hand, Wulfric¡¯s train of thought was in a completely different direction. Hearing the name ¡®Aster¡¯, he was certain that whoever shouted that was calling this little guy here. If he remembered correctly, the word ¡®Aster¡¯ meant ¡®star¡¯ in one of ancient Earth¡¯s many languages.


    He stared at the teenager in front of him, his black eyes still shining brilliantly like cold fire. What a fitting name.


    ¡°Is Aster your name?¡± he asked not really expecting an answer. He leaned forward, closing the distance between their faces. And then he smirked. ¡°Then from now on, I¡¯m going to call you ¡®Twinkle¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 24 - INVITE ME BACK

    ASTRID once again felt the veins on his forehead closed to popping. When he thought that this man¡¯s level of annoyingness finally reached the top, there would still be another level higher. How did he go from asking if his name was ¡®Aster¡¯ to deciding on calling him that ridiculous name? And ¡®Twinkle¡¯, really? What was he, a pet or something?


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask what my name is?¡± the annoying man asked.


    Astrid didn¡¯t answer and just quickly took his arm back that the other was still holding. Then he jumped back as far away as he could.


    Seeing his series of actions, Wulfric couldn¡¯t help but feel irritated again. Why did Aster seem like he always wanted to get away from him? Was he still mad because he pulled him into the lake earlier? Or was it because he paraded naked before him? But he wasn¡¯t even fully naked anymore. What else was he being dissatisfied with?


    Wulfric hadn¡¯t even thought of beating him up despite making him feel all kinds of irritated. That¡¯s already an all-time record for someone like him who couldn¡¯t hold in his temper. Which was truly a mystery, even for him. Because he had never been patient with anyone. But with this guy, he felt like he could.


    Subconsciously, he probably already had an answer on why he never thought of beating him up. Because he just couldn¡¯t bear to hit him. Just thinking that he would mar that perfect white skin himself, he already couldn¡¯t wait to beat himself up. But he still couldn¡¯t understand why he felt that way. Just like how he couldn¡¯t understand why despite not wanting to hurt him, he also had this extreme urge to bully him. This contradictory feeling was just making him even more irritated.


    And him, moving farther away from him only fueled that.


    Wulfric was planning to move forward to hold Aster and pull him next to his side when someone suddenly held his waist and pulled him back. At the same time, a tall teenager with ice-blue hair and teal gray eyes suddenly stood between him and Aster. He even protectively put the other behind him.


    ¡°General, please calm down. You can¡¯t just harass locals. The Lieutenant will definitely kill me if I don¡¯t stop you!¡± shouted by Edmund¡¯s voice behind him.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t know what was more irritating, this bald guy pulling him back or the boy who suddenly appeared and completely blocked his gaze of Aster.


    Since he heard his voice earlier, Astrid knew that Reas had come to this place for some reason. But he still felt a bit surprised when his wide back appeared in front of him. All the irritation and frustration he felt since encountering that annoying guy slowly subsided because of his brother¡¯s presence. Probably because now he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with that guy by himself.


    He secretly glanced at the person who arrived the same time as Reas and was currently holding back the guy. It was another tall man with a bald head and a pair of warm chocolate brown eyes. He looked a bit pitiful, trying to pull back the guy and not even making any progress.


    Reas glared at the half-naked man in front of him. He still remembered how the other was trying to pull Astrid earlier. What would happen if he didn¡¯t come? Would this bastard harassment just escalate? Just the thought of that could already fill his brain with nothing but anger. This had always been one of his fears. That one of these days, some bastard would do something to his brother that would cause irreparable damage. Just thinking of that could already make himself murderous.


    And so, because of anger, Reas ignored the warning his brain was blaring out. A warning telling him that he had already seen an image of the man in front of him on [Cyberspace]. That the man he was referring to as ¡®bastard¡¯ was the person he long wanted to challenge in the arena of the Mecha Hall.


    ¡°This is private property. Go before I make you,¡± he said in cold voice.


    Wulfric laughed as if he heard the most hilarious joke. ¡°Kid, you wouldn¡¯t even be able to lay a hand on me. Not even in your dreams.¡±


    That statement hit a nerve in Reas. For some reason, he had a feeling that the other was not just being arrogant. He truly believed that he was no match for him. Now, his feeling of anger was suddenly mixed with the spirit of challenge. He wanted to know if the other was indeed stronger than him.


    He clenched both fists, readying for an attack. But before he could move, he felt a soft hand touching his knuckle. He looked down and saw his brother gently shaking his head.


    ¡°Ignore him. Let¡¯s just go home. I need to change clothes.¡±


    When Astrid said that, Reas then only noticed that his twin was soaking wet. He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. Then he took the bag slung on Astrid¡¯s shoulder before putting his shirt around him. After slinging the backpack over his shoulder, Reas also took the box from his brother¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go home.¡±


    It¡¯s more important for his twin to change clothes than fighting some bastard.


    Wulfric narrowed his eyes dangerously on the shirt that surrounded Aster. The comparison between that and the shirt he gave him earlier was like heaven and earth. Of course, he also noticed the familiar way the two got along. The irritation he was feeling just intensified by a hundred, no, a million times.


    He didn¡¯t like what he¡¯s seeing. He didn¡¯t like it one bit.


    Edmund was suddenly pushed. Then he noticed the dangerous glint in the general¡¯s golden eyes. Suddenly, he had a very bad feeling.


    Sure enough, the general ran after the two teenagers. It didn¡¯t even take five steps before he caught up to them.


    Wulfric put his arm around Aster¡¯s shoulders. And then he leaned down and whispered to his ear, ¡°You¡¯re not going to invite me to back to your home, Twinkle?¡±

 Chapter 25 - HE WON

    TWO bikes were riding towards the direction of a certain house. Two people were on each bike ¨C one pedaling and the other sitting on the rear seat. The leading bicycle had Reas pedaling and Astrid sitting on the back. And the ones following them with the other bike were, yes, you guessed it, the annoying intruder and his bald lackey.


    Astrid could hear that person whistling a happy tune. It seemed that he¡¯s really enjoying the novel feeling of pedaling a bike. Astrid remained expressionless and tried his best not to turn around. He could already feel the onslaught of an incoming headache. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of him being soaked underwater or if it was because of the man behind them.


    Seriously, how the heck did things end up with that guy following them back home.


    =====


    It all started with the guy putting his arm around his shoulders and asking him if he should invite him back to his home.


    Before Astrid could shrug off the arm on his shoulder, Reas moved much faster than him. His twin pulled him back and protected him in his arms.


    Wulfric looked at his empty hand and then looked at Aster who was now being surrounded by another man¡¯s arm. And the annoying thing was, Aster completely didn¡¯t mind. He even stayed there obediently. It was so different from how he had been reacting with him. One might say that it was the complete opposite.


    Because the kid took off the shirt he was wearing to give to Aster, his skin was now touching Aster. And Wulfric didn¡¯t like that. He looked at the kid hugging Aster, there was expression on Wulfric¡¯s face. But the dangerous glint in his golden eyes only became worse.


    Should he break this boy¡¯s arm? No, that would probably not be enough.


    Then the other three suddenly felt a strong killing intent.


    Reas let go of the box he was holding and quickly held Astrid and jumped back a couple of distance away from the white-haired man. His reaction was entirely instinctive. Like an animal feeling the presence of a strong predator. He didn¡¯t put this bastard in his eyes earlier. He thought he was just another run of the mill gangster. Even if that bald man called him ¡®general¡¯, he never thought that he was actually one.


    But feeling that killing intent, he immediately understood that this guy was not only strong but also extremely dangerous. Because those who could produce such strong killing intent were those who had killed another. Reas felt panicked. Not because he was afraid but because this bastard had shown his interest towards his twin brother. He needed to get Astrid out of here.


    Even Astrid, who was not a combatant type, felt the change in the man just now. If earlier, the way he was acting was like a primary school child who loved to bully other children. Then now, with no expression on his face, Astrid seemed to see the dangerous side of him that he didn¡¯t bother to show to him earlier. But if so, why didn¡¯t he act like this when he retaliated against him earlier. Why now? What exactly pushed his button?


    Edmund ran forward and stood in between the general and the two teenagers. He couldn¡¯t just let the general went into rampage here and hurt those two local kids.


    ¡°General, please calm down. If you continue this way, that black-haired boy will definitely be scared of you,¡± he said in a voice only the two of them could hear.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that Reas could hear him clearly, making him even more vigilant.


    Edmund said that because, no matter how slow he was at times, he could still see that the reason why the general suddenly release his killing intent had something to do with the black-haired boy. But still, he didn¡¯t know what to do with that information. So, he just thought of something that Hildred would say in this situation. Hopefully, it would work.


    Scared? Wulfric was still looking at the two huddled together at a distance. The one with ice-blue hair was glaring at him but he could still see the vigilance in those eyes. Aster was just looking at him as if assessing why he was acting the way he¡¯s acting right now.


    He still didn¡¯t like seeing them so close together. He wanted to throw that annoying kid far away and pull Aster into his arms. Actually, he was just about to do that if not for Edmund¡¯s interference. But the other was right. What if Aster get scared of him? Although he never really bothered about what others thought or felt about him, for some reason, he didn¡¯t want Aster to be like those people. He didn¡¯t want him to feel fear because of him.


    Unknowingly, he had already taken back the killing intent he released.


    Edmund finally let out a sigh of relief. But before he could put down his hanging heart, the general made another unexpected move.


    Wulfric bypassed Edmund and walked towards Aster. The kid holding him quickly stepped back. Wulfric clucked his tongue in annoyance and just dashed forward. His movement was so fast, it almost seemed like he teleported in front of the two. Even Reas didn¡¯t see his movements clearly.


    ¡°Invite me back to your house,¡± Wulfric said to Aster, he didn¡¯t even bother to glance at the kid standing beside him. As if the other didn¡¯t exist.


    Astrid raised his chin and looked at the man in front of them. ¡°Why would I even do that?¡±


    ¡°Aster, don¡¯t bother talking to him. He¡¯s clearly not in his right mind,¡± Reas said, still glaring at the man.


    Wulfric just ignored him and didn¡¯t take his gaze away from Aster. He was happy to see that despite what happened earlier, he didn¡¯t see a trace of fear in those jet-black eyes. As he thought, Aster was indeed different. How could someone who arouse his interest be easily scared off by him?


    ¡°Because of my identity,¡± he said, answering Aster¡¯s question.


    Astrid¡¯s brows furrowed. He couldn¡¯t understand what this guy was getting at. ¡°Your identity?¡±


    ¡°Our shuttle emergency landed on this planet. In the name of the only prince of this Empire ¨C Wulfric de Lunaris, I order you to let me stay in your home until my subordinates arrive.¡± Then he gave them a triumphant smile. As if he had already won. ¡°What do you say, Twinkle, would you now invite me back to your house?¡±


    =====


    And the fact that they were in this situation right now really meant that Wulfric de Lunaris won.

 Chapter 26 - DONT SMILE AT HIM

    ASTRID glanced at his brother who was pedaling the bike with a serious expression on his handsome face. He had been silent ever since they left the clearing where the lake was. He was probably still shocked to find out that the person he admired for his strengths and skills turned out to be such a shameless man. If Astrid was in his shoes, he probably also wouldn¡¯t be in a mood to talk.


    When the prince ¨C he still felt a bit awkward calling him that ¨C revealed his identity, of course both he and Reas didn¡¯t believe it. How could that prince suddenly appear in their family¡¯s land? And they remembered the rumor about the prince being missing. Add that to his white hair and golden eyes, which matched the description of the prince, and that bald man calling him ¡®general¡¯, they started to believe what he said by 50 points. But they were still not fully convinced.


    So, the prince told them that they could easily look for news about him on their Terminals. Then they could see how the prince of their Empire looked like.


    Although the prince didn¡¯t like his picture to be taken, there would still be stolen shots of him posted here and there. So, when Astrid reluctantly opened his Terminal and searched for news about the prince, it didn¡¯t take long for him to find his picture. The result was pretty obvious.


    After knowing his identity, they couldn¡¯t exactly just refuse him. So, without much choice in the matter, they let him and his subordinate to follow them back to their home.


    He wondered how their parents would take this.


    He glanced at his brother again and asked, ¡°Reas, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I just realized what you said about the¡­ prince being a good for nothing lowlife is actually true.¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows. He¡¯s pretty sure that¡¯s not how he said that. He remembered just saying that the prince was not a good role model. Considering the prince¡¯s level of physical strength, he probably heard what Reas said just now. And knowing his brother, he probably did it on purpose. So, to cooperate, Astrid didn¡¯t say anything.


    What Astrid thought was correct. Wulfric and Edmund really did hear what Reas said.


    Edmund who was sitting at the rear seat of the weird contraption they were riding glanced worriedly at the general. Of course, he was not worried about his feelings. The general had been called worse and he didn¡¯t care at all. Well, not exactly didn¡¯t care. Because those people ended up in a hospital or they just completely vanished. So, what he was worried about was the general going berserk and beating the kid with ice-blue hair.


    The general might be more violent this time. Since according to that kid, the one who originally thought of the general as a ¡®good for nothing lowlife¡¯ was the black-haired boy. Especially since it¡¯s quite obvious that the general found the boy interesting.


    But to his surprise, the general seemed completely unaffected by what they heard. He was still humming a happy tune.


    Wulfric was indeed not mad. How could he not see that the annoying kid was doing that on purpose to rile him up? In normal times, he might indeed react. But he was having too much fun riding this contraption that Aster called a ¡®bike¡¯. He actually long wanted to overtake the people in front. But because they were leading the way, he couldn¡¯t.


    It would have been better if Aster was riding with him. That way, the other could tell him where to go and he could go as fast as he could. But Aster was very adamant on not riding with him. He actually had an urge to just tie Aster to him so he couldn¡¯t refuse even if he wanted to. It took everything in him just to resist that urge. He didn¡¯t even know why he should resist it. He just knew that he should.


    Seriously, what a weird feeling.


    When the road widened, Wulfric pedaled beside the bike on the front. ¡°Twinkle, are we there yet?¡±


    The corner of Astrid¡¯s lips twitched when he heard that embarrassing moniker. He took a deep breath just to calm himself. And then he answered with no expression on his face, ¡°We¡¯ll be there soon, Your Highness.¡±


    Wulfric wrinkled his eyebrows. ¡°Hey, Twinkle, no need to be so formal. I¡¯ll allow you to call me Wulfric.¡±


    Astrid turned to Wulfric. He smiled but it didn¡¯t reach his phoenix eyes. ¡°How generous of you, Your Highness. But I must respectfully decline.¡±


    Wulfric was irritated by how Aster was acting. He was being respectful but it was clear to him that the other was putting a barrier between them. And he didn¡¯t like it. Not one bit.


    Reas too was irritated by the interest this prince was showing to his brother. So, he pedaled faster. Leaving the other bike behind. But soon, the other bike came close beside them again. That¡¯s why he pedaled even faster. But it didn¡¯t even take long for the other bike to arrive beside them once again.


    This happened again and again which caused them to arrive at their destination much faster than expected.


    Reas stopped the bike. Although he didn¡¯t feel out of breath, he sweated a little bit. He glanced at the annoying prince and saw that there wasn¡¯t even a drop of sweat on his face. Truly annoying.


    He turned to Astrid whose hair was now completely messy because of the bike ride. He suddenly became worried. What if he caught a cold because of his recklessness? ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have ridden the bike that fast.¡±


    Astrid smiled at his brother. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s good that we arrive here faster.¡±


    Wulfric stared at that smile. It was completely different from the perfunctory smile Aster showed him earlier. That one wasn¡¯t special, he didn¡¯t even feel anything when he saw it. But this one was unlike that. It¡¯s like a blooming flower in Spring. Very beautiful and fragrant.


    Wulfric felt a thud in his chest. Before his brain could react, his body was already moving. He reached for Aster and pulled him to his side. And he just found himself saying;


    ¡°Don¡¯t smile at him.¡±

 Chapter 27 - EDMUNDS WORRIES

    ASTRID was startled when he was suddenly pulled. But when he heard the unreasonable demand of this royal pain in the ass, he almost didn¡¯t explode. But his temper finally made a turn for the worse.


    He quickly moved away from this white-haired wolf. ¡°And why shouldn¡¯t I smile at my own brother?¡±


    Wulfric was stunned for a bit. ¡°Brother? You two are related?¡± he asked, looking back and forth at Aster and the kid, clearly not believing.


    Instead of answering that Astrid turned to Reas, his expression automatically became gentle. He took off his brother¡¯s shirt and gave it back to him which the other reluctantly accepted. ¡°I¡¯ll go inside and tell our mother that we have visitors. You stay here and entertain them.¡±


    Reas truly didn¡¯t want to stay here with this prince and that bald minion of his. But thinking that his brother was still wet clothes, he acquiesced. ¡°Go and make sure to quickly take a hot bath.???


    Astrid smile and said ¡®yes¡¯ before running inside the house.


    Hearing the conversation between the two, Wulfric was finally convinced that they were indeed brothers. Suddenly, the irritation that had been gathering inside him vanished little by little. He even thought that this kid with ice-blue hair was a bit pleasing to the eye.


    Edmund had been observing the general so he immediately noticed the change in the other¡¯s expression. It¡¯s like the dark clouds surrounding him a minute ago slowly turned into sunshine. Even he, as dense as he was, could see that it was related to that black-haired boy mentioning that he and the other kid were brothers.


    He suddenly felt worried. Their general wouldn¡¯t really be interested in that boy, right?


    He remembered the previous things that the general had been interested in before. Whether if it was some novel items or some weird animal, the general had always shown a certain degree of possessiveness over them. He wouldn¡¯t allow anyone touching them and he would always bring it with him. But once the novelty had passed and he lost interest, he would be the first one to get rid of those things.


    The lieutenant mentioned before that it had been due to the general¡¯s upbringing. So, it¡¯s better to just keep a blind eye to it. The general was the only prince of the Empire, so Edmund was confused on what kind of upbringing would result to him having that kind of habit.


    The lieutenant grew up with the general, almost acting like his personal butler in fact. So, Edmund had no doubt about the authenticity of that information. Because unlike the lieutenant, he had only met the general during the rebellion in Orus. So, of course, the lieutenant¡¯s words were more believable.


    Right now, the way the general was acting towards the black-haired boy was exactly the same as with those novelty items that he had before. That¡¯s why Edmund¡¯s worry was not unfounded. Their general wouldn¡¯t end up ruining such an excellent looking boy, right?


    He shook his head. It¡¯s better to contact the lieutenant again and tell him to hasten. So, they could leave here as soon as possible before their general¡¯s interest towards the black-haired boy became stronger and stronger.


    ===


    Inside the house, Astrid quickly ran into his mother who just came out of the kitchen. There was a smudge of flour on her cheek, a sign that she was probably making dessert.


    ¡°Astrid, you¡¯re back. What¡ª¡± she stopped what she was saying because she noticed his son¡¯s wet clothes. She suddenly rushed forward and held both his shoulders. ¡°What happened? Why are you clothes all wet?¡±


    Astrid gently shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Mom. I just accidentally slipped somewhere,¡± he said, downplaying what happened.


    ¡°Slipped? Did you hurt yourself?¡± Emmy asked worriedly.


    Her Astrid was not like her husband and Reas. The body of those two were sturdy as a brick. Unlike Astrid who¡¯d been frail since he was young.


    Just by looking at his mother¡¯s expression, he already knew what she was thinking. So, he could only smile helplessly. She¡¯s probably thinking about how frail he was. Which was not entirely the case. That might have been true when he was young, but not now. His body already had the strength of someone with an A level physique. He might not be as strong as those S classes, but, at least, he was much stronger than normal the people from his past life.


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m really fine. I¡¯ll just go and take a hot bath,¡± he said, assuring his mother. ¡°Oh, and Mom, could you call Dad back? We actually have a visitor. I think it¡¯s better if Dad is here.¡±


    Emmy¡¯s attention was quickly taken by the word ¡®visitor¡¯. ¡°Visitor? What visitor?¡±


    Astrid suddenly didn¡¯t know how to tell her about that royal wolf hanging outside their house right now. In the end, he could only sigh and said. ¡°It¡¯s His Royal Highness ¨C Wulfric de Lunaris.¡±


    Emmy¡¯s expression almost didn¡¯t crack when she heard what her son said. ¡°What?¡±

 Chapter 28 - EMMYS WORRIES

    EMMY wasn¡¯t sure if she heard it correctly, but did her son really just said that the only prince of the Empire was here in their house right now? She wanted to make sure that she heard it correctly. But when she raised her head, he saw Astrid already sneaking into his room. Why did it feel like this kid just shamelessly thrown a problem to her for her to solve?


    She still knew that Astrid was not the type to make a joke about something like this. But deep inside, she still hoped that he was just trying to prank her. Because the presence of the prince here could not be good for their family. Anyone who¡¯s from the capital could never be a good news. Especially if that person was someone with power and influence. And who could be more powerful than the prince? Only the Emperor himself!


    She walked towards the living room and peered outside the window. There, standing before Reas were two tall men. One was bald, but the lack of hair could hide his handsome features. Especially with those expressive brown eyes. The other had his upper body naked, showing his strong and firm chest and abdominal muscles. But seeing his white hair and pair of golden eyes, Emmy immediately recognized who he was.


    She took a step back, her face full of shock. It was really the prince, Wulfric de Lunaris! She couldn¡¯t mistake him for anyone else. She had seen the prince in person before. Even though that was more than two decades ago and he was still a child back then, that hair and eye color couldn¡¯t have belonged to anyone else.


    But what was he doing in their planet?


    She could feel her heart started beating crazily. From fear or worry, she couldn¡¯t even tell. No, she needed to calm down. If she panicked here, it would just make her look more suspicious.


    She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. There¡¯s no reason for her to be too nervous. She had only met the prince once before and the other was still a kid back then. It was during one of the balls held at the imperial palace. The only reason she remembered him was because of his status. Not to mention, all the news about him throughout the years. While she was just one of many who attended that party. There¡¯s no reason for the prince to remember her.


    If she really should worry, then it¡¯s for her husband. The prince was now a famous general. There¡¯s a big chance that he had seen information about Gage in the military database. So, she quickly sent a message to her husband. She couldn¡¯t call him directly in fear that the prince outside might hear their conversation. After all, the other still had an SSS level physique.


    [Husband, don¡¯t go home until I tell you to.]


    After sending that, she walked towards the kitchen and removed the apron she was wearing. She also washed her face and fixed her hair, making her look more presentable. Then she also turned off all the virtual pictures of their family displayed on the wall.


    When she walked out, the expression on her face was already back to normal. One couldn¡¯t even see that she was panicking just a moment ago.


    ¡°Reas, what are you doing still not letting out guest enter the house?¡± she scolded her son. Reas only frowned, looking very unwilling. She resisted the urge to pull the kid¡¯s ear and just turned to the prince and his companion. She made a very standard bow and said, ¡°Welcome to our family¡¯s home, Your Highness. I apologized if my sons haven¡¯t been so hospitable.¡±


    Wulfric stared at the petite woman with long ice-blue hair. He narrowed his eyes at the woman for a bit, no one knew what he was thinking. Then he just stared at the woman¡¯s face, trying to find any features similar to Aster. But he couldn¡¯t find any. She did look a bit like that other brat though. Was this woman really Aster¡¯s mother?


    Emmy felt goosebumps being stared at by the prince. She felt panicked again. Did he recognize her? But then at the end, he just seemed like he suddenly disliked her. What did she do?


    Although confused, she still tried to retain the gentle smile on her face. ¡°May I ask if there¡¯s anything we could help Your Highness with?¡±


    ¡°First, I need a bath and change of clothes,¡± Wulfric said without even a hint of shyness or humbleness.


    Reas almost didn¡¯t glare at the arrogant prince.


    Emmy still maintained her gentle smile. What else could she do? Could she still refuse and throw out this little ancestor? ¡°Of course.¡± She turned to her son who looked obviously annoyed. ¡°Reas, go and take His Highness to the guest room and bring him a change of clothes.¡±


    ¡°Mom¡ª¡± When he saw his mother glare at him, he smartly closed his mouth and looked at the prince. ¡°Follow me,¡± he said through gritted teeth.


    Wulfric only smirked as if trying to annoy him even more.


    Then the two walked inside the house.


    Edmund let out a sigh. Then he walked towards the petite woman. ¡°Hello, Madam. I am Captain Edmund Barton. I¡¯m sorry for disturbing the peace of your family. I promise we will leave as soon as our escorts arrive in the planet.¡±


    ¡°Then will they arrive before night falls?¡±


    Edmund looked at the woman who looked at him with expectant blue eyes. Why did it feel like she wanted them to leave as soon as possible?

 Chapter 29 - JASMINE

    ¡°I-I WILL try to contact my superior and ask him when the people fetching us would arrive,¡± Edmund said at the other¡¯s inquiry.


    ¡°Then contact him now! Tell him to send people as soon as possible.¡±


    He looked at the petite woman with a complicated gaze. Now, it was no longer his imagination. She really couldn¡¯t wait for them to leave this place. Could it be, she sensed the general¡¯s unusual interest towards her son that¡¯s why she wanted them gone? Edmund felt that that was really possible.


    At the end, he could only say, ¡°Yes, Madam.¡±


    Although Emmy still couldn¡¯t breathe a sigh of relief, her worry lessened a tiny bit. She gave the man in front of him a gentle smile and said, ¡°Then Captain Barton, please feel free to rest inside while waiting.¡±


    Then after that, she walked inside the house to talk to Reas and ask him how the heck did he and his brother ended up with the prince and his subordinate.


    Edmund who was left outside let out a sigh before opening his Terminal and contacting the lieutenant. His call quickly connected.


    ¡°Have you found His Highness?¡± Leland quickly asked.


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯re now imposing on the house of a local and I don¡¯t think we¡¯re very welcomed,¡± Edmund said, his expression quite complicated making him looked a bit funny.


    Leland knew that Edmund¡¯s face wasn¡¯t thick enough to impose himself on other¡¯s house. So, this could only be the work of the prince. ¡°Do they know your identities?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the general said it himself.¡±


    Leland suppressed the incoming headache. ¡°Hildred already left. The ship he¡¯s in traveled in a short distance space warp. So, he might arrive there before nightfall in that planet. I¡¯ll contact him and tell him to compensate the family you¡¯re currently imposing in.¡±


    Edmund felt his scalp itch at the mention of Hildred. He wanted to ask why it had to be Hildred of all people. But he remembered that there was much more important matter to talk about with the lieutenant.


    ¡°Lieutenant, the general¡¯s usual ¡®illness¡¯ occurred again.¡±


    Leland¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°His Highness found something interesting? Then just bring it back with you.¡±


    Edmund¡¯s expression couldn¡¯t be described at the moment when he heard that. He looked like he suddenly became constipated or something. ¡°We can¡¯t. It¡¯s not some novel item this time. It¡¯s a boy. A breathing living boy who has a family of his own.¡±


    Hearing that, Leland¡¯s headache finally couldn¡¯t be suppressed. ¡°A boy?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric, who had no idea what his two subordinates were talking about, raised his head and greeted the hot water from the shower head. If he heard what Edmund said about him being interested in Aster, he would probably agree. Because he was indeed interested. He was just not sure the extent of this interest.


    He could admit that Aster¡¯s rare hair and eye color definitely attracted his attention. But the novelty of it would surely wear off rather quickly. There were two factors that truly caught his interest. One was the other¡¯s SSS level mental strength. This was the first time he had met someone with the same mental strength as him who wasn¡¯t overly sickly or bedridden.


    People who had that high level of mental strength usually had a weak body who couldn¡¯t support that level of mental force. Wulfric was probably the only exception. That he knew of, at least. Although Aster obviously didn¡¯t have a high-level physique, at least his body could handle his enormous mental strength. And that was worth-noting for.


    The second reason was the way he carried himself under Wulfric¡¯s bullish attitude. Despite the obvious disparity in physical strength, he didn¡¯t cower. He showed him that he couldn¡¯t be trifled with. And that even if he was weaker, he would do his best to fight him head on. Even after he found out his identity, there wasn¡¯t any fear in those obsidian black eyes. Which he truly found fascinating.


    But at this time, this feeling was probably just a small wave in a huge sea of Wulfric¡¯s emotion. If it would ferment and turn into a big tide, no one knew. Probably not even Wulfric himself.


    After he finished showering, Wulfric walked out of the bathroom. His whole body was already dried because as soon as he walked out of the shower stall, the gadget that could automatically dry up one¡¯s body activated. It seemed that despite the rustic look of the house, it was still filled with up to date gadgets and appliances.


    He wore the clothes given by that kid- what was his name again? Ah, Reas. It was simple white shirt and black trousers. The clothes were a bit tight, but he could still walk around in it comfortably. If he was not mistaken, these clothes belonged to that kid, Reas. Wulfric smirked knowing that he had a better figure than the kid.


    He pushed back his white hair and walked out of the room. The moment he did, he saw Aster going out of a room two doors down from where he was standing. Wulfric didn¡¯t even notice how his golden eyes brightened the moment he saw Aster.


    Astrid, on the other hand, almost didn¡¯t furrow when he saw the already dressed wolf. He quickly turned around and wanted to go back inside his room again. But the prince clearly moved faster than him.


    Wulfric appeared behind Aster. A certain scent wafted in his direction. And he knew that it came from Aster. He leaned down and said to the other¡¯s ear;


    ¡°You smell like jasmine.¡±

 Chapter 30 - I COULDNT BEAR IT

    FEELING the other¡¯s breath on his ears, Astrid only felt itchy. Which greatly annoyed him. It made him subconsciously moved back. His movement was a bit forceful, almost making the back of his head collide with the hard door of his room. But before his head hit the said door, he felt a large callused palm pillowing it. Carefully avoiding the possible collision.


    Astrid blinked his phoenix eyes. Of course, he knew who this callused hand belonged to. He just didn¡¯t expect that the man in front of him would actually move that fast just to protect him. When he looked at the prince, he was surprised at the anger he saw in those golden eyes.


    No matter how much he bickered with him earlier, Astrid had never seen such anger from him. So, he didn¡¯t quite understand this kind of reaction the other was showing.


    ¡°What are you doing, moving like that? What if you hurt yourself?¡± he almost growled.


    Hearing that, Astrid was even more surprised. So, the reason this guy was angry was because of the possibility that he might have hurt himself? That was¡­ unexpected. To say the least. He suddenly didn¡¯t know how to feel. Or even react for that matter.


    Until he heard the white-haired wolf say the following;


    ¡°You¡¯re obviously so frail. If you hit your head on such a hard surface, your skull will definitely crack. Do you want me to see grey matters flowing out of your head?¡±


    Astrid¡¯s face was completely filled with black lines. What grey matters? Did this man think that his head was made of cotton or something? His annoyance that had already subsided came back roaring. He dodged the other¡¯s hand and moved to the side.


    ¡°I assure you, Your Highness, my head is much harder than that,¡± he said dryly. ¡°And besides, if Your Highness wasn¡¯t sniffing me like some dog, I wouldn¡¯t have been startled and the subsequent reaction that I made wouldn???t have happened.¡±


    Wulfric stared at the beautiful black-haired boy in front of him. His black eyes blazing with that cold fire he¡¯s becoming familiar with. Did this kid actually compare him to a dog? Instead of being angered, he laughed in amusement.


    ¡°You really are quite fearless, aren¡¯t you, Twinkle?¡±


    The corner of Astrid¡¯s eye twitched hearing that embarrassing moniker once again. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m fearless, Your Highness. I simply don¡¯t like being bullied.¡±


    Wulfric snorted. ¡°You compared me to a dog and now you¡¯re also accusing me of bullying you.¡±


    He released his momentum and walked slowly towards Aster.


    Astrid felt this change. The air around him quickly felt suffocating. If it was any other person in his shoes right now, they would have probably already fallen to their knees. Trembling in fear. They would even probably seek the prince¡¯s forgiveness. But Astrid didn¡¯t do any of that. Instead, he raised his head and met the prince gaze head on. He didn¡¯t even try to step back.


    Wulfric was amused this reaction. He preferred this kind of reaction instead of the usual fear people showed him. But he still didn¡¯t take back his momentum. He stopped in front of Aster and gazed down at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard what others refer to me. They all think I¡¯m unreasonable and crazy.¡± He leaned down and whispered in the other¡¯s ear, ¡°Are you that confident that I wouldn¡¯t do anything to harm you?¡±


    He straightened up and gazed down at Aster, waiting for his reply.


    Of course, Astrid had heard his famous moniker ¨C the Butcher of Orus. How could he not? But for some reason, since they met at the lake, he had never felt scared of him. Even after knowing his real identity, the fear that he should have felt never came.


    Maybe he was indeed fearless.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness is indeed unreasonable. Crazy? Maybe a tad bit. But no, I don¡¯t think you would harm me,¡± he said.


    Wulfric raised one of his brows. ¡°Oh? And why is that?¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t think Your Highness is crazy enough to actually hurt an innocent person.¡±


    Wulfric scoffed. ¡°The only innocent people in this Empire are babies. Even children have little calculations of their own. Since you¡¯re not a baby, you couldn¡¯t possibly be considered as ¡®innocent¡¯. So, your reasoning is invalid.¡±


    A creased appeared on Astrid¡¯s forehead. What kind of justification was that? Looking at the other¡¯s expression, he could tell that he truly believed what he said. He suddenly felt a bit of pity for this prince. Because what he said just showed his lack of trust on humanity as a whole. He wondered what exactly he experienced for him to have that kind of belief. It¡¯s probably something truly horrendous. After all, someone who grew up in an environment full of warmth and love would never be the ¡®Butcher of Orus¡¯.


    Unless that someone was a complete psychopath. Which he believed the prince was not.


    ¡°If Your Highness wanted to hurt me, then you can try,¡± he said, he didn¡¯t even notice that his voice softened a bit. ¡°Just know that I will fight back with everything I have.¡±


    Wulfric was startled by this answer. Then he chuckled. He raised his hand and pushed a few strands of Aster¡¯s hair behind his ear. ¡°You¡¯re right, I won¡¯t hurt you. But not because I think you¡¯re innocent, but simply because I couldn¡¯t bear it.¡±


    Before Astrid could react on what the prince said, a woman¡¯s petite figure suddenly inserted herself between him and the man. He looked at his mother¡¯s back and didn¡¯t bother to hide his surprise.


    Emmy completely stood in front of his son, like a mother hen protecting her chick. ¡°Your Highness, please follow me to the drawing room and let me serve you with tea and our planet¡¯s famous snacks.¡±

 Chapter 31 - EMMY THE MOTHER HEN

    EMMY just finished interrogating Reas and what he said made her even more worried than the possibility that she or her husband would be recognized by the prince and his companion. According to her son, he didn¡¯t know how exactly the prince and Captain Barton appeared on their land. What he knew was when he went to the lake to meet up with Astrid, the prince was already there. And he was pestering Astrid.


    Reas said that the prince seemed to be especially interested in his brother. The main reason why they came back with him and his bald subordinate was because the prince practically forced them to. Revealing to them his identity and arrogantly demanding to bring him back to their home all because of his interest in Astrid.


    Emmy thought that his son was just exaggerating things. She knew how overprotective that son of hers was of his brother. It was on the same level as his father. If one person just looked at Astrid in a wrong way, they would immediately assume that that person was interested in Astrid. Well, she was not really in a position to blame them since, at some level, she was also the same.


    Her Astrid was so pretty, who could resist his charm? Sometimes, she even wondered how such a beautiful baby came out of her.


    So, she thought this time Reas might be just thinking too much. Who was the prince? Even though she and Gage had left the capital for almost 20 years now and had been living as simple farmers, they were still aware of all the important current events. Of course, that included news about the prince.


    His exploits in the military over the past decade was pretty well-known. He rose from commander to general with his sheer strength alone. But who knew how much blood was shed on his path to the top? Those people who died on the planet Orus was a great testament to that.


    How could a man who spent a third of his life in the battlefield be interested in a teenage boy from a not so well-known planet? The prince was definitely not someone who would easily be swayed by a person¡¯s appearance. Even if that person had the same level of beauty as her son, Astrid. But much weirder things had happened. So, she couldn¡¯t just ignore that possibility. No matter how small.


    Thinking that the prince and Astrid might meet upstairs since the rooms where they were taking their baths were just a few doors away from each other. And now that she thought about it, why were they both drench in the first place? Astrid said that he slipped in the lake. Did that mean that the prince also slipped in the lake? She felt like there¡¯s another story behind it.


    But Emmy had no time to analyze it more because he saw her other son planning to rush up to the second floor as soon as he finished answering all her questions. Of course, she had to stop him. Knowing Reas, he would surely antagonize the prince. Which was something they didn¡¯t really need right now.


    So, she was the one who went upstairs.


    Who would have thought that he would see the prince leaning closely to her baby son and tucking a few strands of his hair behind his ear? Her eyes widened in shock. Suddenly, what Reas said about the prince being interested in Astrid rang in her ears. And before she knew it, her body already moved on its own volition. She ran and stood between the two. Making sure that she kept Astrid behind her.


    Although she wanted nothing more but to growl and tell the person in front of her to get away from her son, her reason stopped her. Offending the person who was technically second only in power to the Emperor was really not the best course of action. It should only be a last resort. And that last resort could only happen if this guy decided to kidnap her son.


    If that were to happen, then she and Gage would definitely fight him tooth and nails. Screw the possibility of their identity being discovered. She wouldn¡¯t even care if they had to fight the royal family themselves. But that was only as a last resort.


    Right now, she should do her best to be polite and at the same time make sure that this guy wouldn¡¯t come near her son again during the duration of his stay in their house. And she dearly hoped that this ¡®duration¡¯ would only last until night fall.


    Emmy forced herself to smile. ¡°Your Highness, please follow me to the drawing room and let me serve you with tea and our planet¡¯s famous snacks.¡±


    Wulfric was a bit startled by the sudden appearance of the Aster¡¯s mother. He should have felt her presence the moment she started climbing on the stairs. But no, he only did when she was already near them. Was he so focused on Aster that he couldn¡¯t even be bothered to observe his own surroundings?


    He suddenly didn¡¯t know how to feel about that.


    In his temporary stupor, Aster¡¯s mother had already gestured for him to follow. ¡°Your Highness?¡±


    He came back to his senses. Seeing the petite woman in front of him, what more else could he say? ¡°Lead the way, then.¡±


    Astrid who was equally surprised at the sudden appearance of his mother. After hearing the prince¡¯s answer, his mother turned to him.


    ¡°Astrid, would you please go to the kitchen and wait for me there?¡± Emmy said.


    Astrid was a bit confused seeing the strain in his mother¡¯s smile. But he still said, ¡°Okay, Mom.¡±


    Then she led the prince downstairs, as if she couldn¡¯t wait to get him away from him.

 Chapter 32 - DO IT INDIRECTLY

    BEFORE Wulfric could regain his bearings, he was already inside a drawing room and sitting beside Edmund. The room was not unlike drawing rooms that could be found in those nobles¡¯ homes. Those rooms looked cold and stiff, only showing the extravagance of the house. This one looked colorful and full of life. There were even some quirky decorations, adding character to the whole room.


    He already noticed it when he first entered this house. That this was that kind of place full of family warmth and love. He could even see it at the way Aster¡¯s mother protected him earlier. Yes, he did feel the other¡¯s wariness towards him. How could he not when she was so obviously trying to get Aster away from him.


    Was that what people called motherly love? It¡¯s something very foreign to him. Even the idea of a loving family was something he couldn¡¯t understand. The only family he had was his brother. But he could honestly say that the both of them didn¡¯t have the same affection as Aster and his brother had. He could even say that beneath the ¡®amiable¡¯ relationship that people saw on the surface, there was an underlying hatred. At least that was the case for his brother. But it wasn¡¯t the same for him.


    He didn¡¯t hate Cynric. He only felt pity for him. And Cynric always hated him for it. Yet, despite that, they both knew that Cynric wouldn¡¯t be able to bear it if he disappeared from his life. Truly, the irony of it.


    Maybe that¡¯s why, even if he could, he didn¡¯t do anything extreme while interacting with Aster¡¯s brother and mother. Because of the brimming affection they all had for each other. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because he found it very novel or simply because he couldn¡¯t understand it. Maybe it was because he envied them a little bit.


    Wulfric snorted. Yeah, right. How could that even be possible?


    ¡°Your Highness, Captain, please do wait here for a bit while I get the tea and snacks,¡± Emmy said with a gentle smile on her face. Then she turned to her son, ¡°Reas, dear, do entertain our guests.¡±


    Before any of them could answer, Emmy had already walked out of the room.


    Reas stared at the closed door and grumpily leaned back on the chair he was sitting. Who wanted to entertain these people? He just stared at the two to keep an eye on them, particularly on the white-haired golden eyed man. He mustn¡¯t let this guy out of this room. Or else he might pester Astrid again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stare at me too much,¡± Wulfric said, turning at Reas and smirking at him. ¡°Or do you think I¡¯m so handsome that you couldn¡¯t get your eyes off of me?¡±


    Edmund who was sitting silently on the side almost choked on his own saliva when he heard it. [General, can you please not be so shameless?]


    Reas, on the other hand, only felt an extreme urge to hurt someone. Very badly. He couldn¡¯t believe that there¡¯s a person who could be this annoying.


    ¡ª¨C


    At the kitchen, Astrid was waiting for his mother just as he was told. He didn¡¯t remain idle and prepared a tea set and some snacks. He put them on a small trolley instead on a tray so it would be easier to bring to the drawing room later.


    After a while, his mother arrived at the kitchen. Before he could speak, she suddenly held his arm and pulled him out through the back door.


    ¡°Mom?¡± he asked, completely confused.


    Emmy continued pulling Astrid and only stopped when they were a good distance away from the house. ¡°Go to your Dad and don¡¯t return until I send the two of you a message.¡±


    Astrid quickly understood why he was pulled here by his mother. So, they could avoid being heard by the prince. The reason why she said that was most likely because she was afraid that his royal pain in the ass would actually not leave and just continue to pester him. So, it would be better to just leave here until that guy left the planet.


    ¡°Mom, I understand your worry, but I don¡¯t think that guy would simply sit back once he found out I¡¯m not in the house,¡± he said.


    He didn¡¯t want to admit it but the prince was clearly had some interest in him. But he knew it was not the same interest as other people usually had when they saw him. It was more like that of a child finding a new interesting toy. If his new toy suddenly disappeared, he would either look for it everywhere or he would throw a tantrum. Whichever was the case, it would definitely not be good for their family.


    Emmy sighed exasperatedly. ¡°Then should we just wait until he and his companion leave? What if he decided to stay for a few days instead? Or worse, what if he decided to take you with him?¡±


    Even thought he was amused by his mother¡¯s rich imagination, Astrid had a feeling that what she said could actually happen. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t leave once his escorts appeared, then we¡¯ll just make him.¡±


    Emmy frowned a bit. ¡°We couldn¡¯t exactly retaliate against him directly.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll do it indirectly,¡± Astrid said with a meaningful smile on his lips.

 Chapter 33 - LETS DO THAT

    ¡°INDIRECTLY?¡± Emmy asked, a bit confused.


    ¡°I have a lot of experimental drugs from Uncle Leigh. I believe we could use one of those,¡± Astrid answered.


    A frown immediately appeared on Emmy¡¯s pretty face when she heard that. The ¡®Uncle Leigh¡¯ her son mentioned was Leighton Hayes. He was a doctor who had known her husband even before she met Gage. He owed a favor to Gage. So, when it was time for Emmy to give birth, Gage cashed in on that favor.


    Leighton helped in delivering her babies. He was mainly the doctor in charge. No, it was probably more accurate to say that he was the only doctor there. He didn¡¯t even have an assistant. He was not even working at some big hospital or even a clinic. What he had was a lab. A very big lab that he built inside an asteroid.


    With just that, one could see that he was not just an ordinary doctor. And yes, he wasn¡¯t. Leighton Hayes was a very well-known name in the academic world. He¡¯s a famous eccentric and sometimes even referred to as a mad genius. He made medicines that could cure super rare diseases. He gained a lot of fame and influence. But because of that, he also gained a lot of enemies. After dealing with a lot of backstabbing and assassination attacks, he finally had enough and he just chose to poison all his enemies.


    It would have been a capital offense worthy of being imprisoned for life. But as it happened, the poison he used would not immediately kill the recipients. They would last for a day before dying. Then at the very last minute before they died, Leighton sent them the antidote for the poison. It was a very traumatic experience for his enemies that they never dared to mess with Leighton again after that. They didn¡¯t even dare to file an official complaint against him.


    Tired of all the politics, he decided to just retreat behind the scene, completely away from the limelight. That was 20 years ago. It was such a huge news back then even amongst the nobilities. That¡¯s why Emmy was very surprised to find that her husband knew him personally. She was even more surprised to know that he agreed to deliver her babies.


    Not only that, Leighton also agreed to alter the result of Astrid¡¯s mental strength level. Because of his reputation quirkiness, no one would certainly think that he would alter the result of a baby¡¯s mental strength level.


    After the delivery of the twins, for some unknown reason, Leighton grew attached to them. Almost acting like one of those weird uncles that every child had. Every year, at the twins¡¯ birthday, he would take his time to fly here and celebrate with them.


    ¡°Did Leighton give those to you during his last visit here?¡± Emmy asked.


    Astrid nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a box full of experimental drugs he just finished making. Reas also has his own box. Uncle Leigh said that we might be able to use it one day. Who knew it would come so handy this fast?¡±


    ¡°Is it safe to use them? We can¡¯t accidentally kill the prince here. And there might even be a chance that he would smell or even taste the drug. Which would be equally bad for us.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom. I already picked the perfect drug. It¡¯s an odorless and tasteless sleeping drug. It would only take effect two hours after being ingested. So, if we put it in his tea or his food, he wouldn¡¯t suspect that it was because of whatever we served to him. And even if he did and he went and had a full body scan, no one would find the trace of the drug. Uncle Leigh said that no one would be able to detect the drugs he made.¡± Then Astrid smiled at his mother. ¡°Isn¡¯t it perfect, Mom?¡±


    Emmy suddenly didn¡¯t know how to feel. This was the first time she¡¯d seen this cunning side of Astrid. He was always sweet and gentle towards her and his father that both of them always worried that he would be bullied outside. Unknowingly, he had already grown up without them noticing. Should she be glad or worried about that?


    At the end, she could only sigh helplessly. Of course, it¡¯s a good thing. At least now she knew that her son wouldn¡¯t just be easily taken advantage of by others.


    ¡°How long will the effect of this drug last?¡± she just chose to ask.


    ¡°Twelve hours according to the memo Uncle Leigh sent to our Terminals.¡±


    It¡¯s actually not just a memo but a complete manual. All the drugs he sent were listed there with matching description and direction to use. Those details were important since a bunch of poison was also sent together with the other drugs. Of course, Astrid wouldn¡¯t tell that to his mother or she would definitely scold Uncle Leigh.


    Emmy nodded. Twelve hours were more than enough for the prince to leave here. And it¡¯s a reasonable duration of time to wake up for someone who suddenly fell asleep. If he couldn¡¯t find any trace of drugs in his system, then the prince could only assume that he fell asleep naturally.


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do that.¡±

 Chapter 34 - SMILE OF VICTORY

    WULFRIC glanced at the clock on the wall. It had been almost ten minutes since Aster¡¯s mother left them here. He couldn¡¯t here any activities from the kitchen. He had a hunch that the two left the house. His guess was that the mother took Aster out so he wouldn¡¯t be able to interact with him.


    Was he really that scary?


    For the first time, he suddenly hated having such stinky reputation. If not for all those stupid rumors about him, would Aster¡¯s mother be so guarded against him? But then again, it¡¯s not as if those rumors were entirely baseless. After all, how could there be smoke without a fire.


    Thinking of that, he felt annoyed again. Just where did these feelings of regret come from? Regret was only for the weak. People who couldn¡¯t face the things that they¡¯ve done. But Wulfric had never been one of those people. He never regretted anything he did in his life. Not even the lives that had been shed with his own hands. Because just like he said, regret was only for the weak. And he was the strongest person he knew.


    Wulfric tsked. His patience was at its last thread. If they didn¡¯t appear after five more minutes, he would go after them. Even if that would only make scarier in the eyes of Aster¡¯s mother.


    Then suddenly, he heard movements in the kitchen. Then soon after, the mother returned followed by Aster pushing a trolley with a tea set and a lot of snacks. Wulfric was a bit surprised. Because he thought that only the mother would be coming back. But nevertheless, he liked this development.


    Reas, on the other hand, was feeling the opposite. Because just like Wulfric, he thought that his mother would take Astrid away from here. Who would have thought that she would return with Astrid? He was about to react but his twin glanced at him. He knew that look. Astrid was silently telling him that everything was under control. So, at the end, he could only try to calm himself. And if his brother was giving him that signal, it meant that he already conjured up a plan.


    ¡°My apologies for the delay, Your Highness. We¡¯re not sure what you like, so we just got a piece of everything,¡± Emmy said.


    When she was about to pour tea for the prince, she was stopped by Astrid.


    ¡°Let me do it, Mom,¡± Astrid said. How could he let his mother served this guy?


    Of course, in Wulfric¡¯s mind, this was even better. So, his posture became much more comfortable. Acting like some noble lord waiting to be served by his servant.


    Astrid wanted to punch him. But he resisted the urge and just remained expressionless. He silently poured tea for the prince and that bald man sitting next to him.


    Wulfric was dissatisfied seeing that Aster also served tea to Edmund. But Edmund being Edmund, happily took the tea and drank it.


    ¡°This tea is very delicious!¡± Edmund said, his expressive brown eyes showing them how much he liked the tea. ¡°Can I ask where you buy it?¡±


    Emmy only smiled. ¡°This tea is grown in our land. If you like it, I can give you a a small box before you and his highness leave.¡±


    Edmund smiled happily. ¡°Thank you, Madam.¡±


    Wulfric ignored Edmund and just drank the cup of tea. Tasting it, his eyes widened a bit. It was indeed a good tea. He was not really into teas but the smell and taste of this tea was really of top quality.


    As he was drinking, he suddenly smelled a very delicious scent. He looked at the center table in front of him and saw Aster taking off the lid from a round box. He had no doubt that the scent he just smelled was coming from that. Inside the box was a weird looking thing. It was a bunch of small whitish circular shape objects. From the smell, he could tell that those were food. But what kind?


    Astrid was satisfied when he saw the undisguised interest in the prince¡¯s eyes. The round box was actually a bamboo steamer and what¡¯s inside were six meat dumplings. These were left-overs from the breakfast he made this morning. He just heated it up and decided to serve it to the prince. Because he knew that this would attract this guy¡¯s attention the best.


    The dishes in the Empire were heavily influenced by Western cuisines. So, one could almost not find Chinese dishes in this era. That¡¯s why he sprinkled the sleeping drug in these six dumplings.


    He was actually concerned at first at the possibility that the drug might not have any effect on the prince. After all, he had an SSS level physique. But then he remembered a certain conversation he had with Uncle Leigh. That was during his and Reas¡¯ 18th birthday, when he gave them the box of drugs and poisons.


    Astrid asked him that very same question. What if he used one of the drugs on someone with an SSS level physique, would it still have any effect? Uncle Leigh only smiled at him and said, ¡®Are you doubting my abilities?¡¯. Which roughly translated to ¨C yes, it would still work.


    Another reason why he chose this tactic was because the sleeping drug would not leave any adverse effect on the recipient. Most of the drugs in the box Uncle Leigh gave him and Reas weren¡¯t really dangerous. What¡¯s really dangerous were those poisons.


    So, with that, Astrid no longer hesitated and used the sleeping drug quite generously.


    ¡°What kind of dish is that?¡± Wulfric asked, not taking his gaze away from the round box.


    ¡°I call it meat dumplings,¡± Astrid simply answered.


    Wulfric finally raised his head and looked at Aster. He quickly caught the key word from what the other said. Aster said ¡®I call¡¯, which meant that he was the one who made these so-called meat dumplings. ¡°You can cook?¡±


    Emmy interjected with a gentle laugh. ¡°This child just loves to mess in the kitchen from time to time, Your Highness. I¡¯m the one who made those dumplings,¡± she said it in a tone as if it was nothing.


    When the prince asked that question, those golden eyes seemed to be glowing with more interest than before. She didn¡¯t want the prince¡¯s interest in Astrid to increase. That¡¯s why she interjected.


    But even if Wulfric heard what Aster¡¯s mother said, his brain already made up its mind that Aster was the one who made these so-called meat dumplings. So, he didn¡¯t comment and just pick a piece of dumpling and ate it.


    The savory flavor of the meat exploded in his mouth along with other flavors he couldn¡¯t describe. It was so delicious that after eating one, he ate another and another. Until he realized that there¡¯s no longer a piece left.


    Everyone looked at him in a daze. As if they couldn¡¯t believe that he would be able to finish those six dumplings in just a couple of minutes.


    But he ignored their gazes and just asked Aster directly, ¡°Is there more of these meat dumplings?¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Yes. But it¡¯s a bit cold. Can Your Highness wait while I go and heat it up?¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t even hesitate to say, ¡°Yes.¡±


    So, Astrid stood up and walked towards the door of the drawing room. As he went out, Reas who was sitting near the door, noticed the smile that crossed his brother¡¯s lips. He knew all too well what that smile was.


    That was the smile of victory.

 Chapter 35 - ASTRIDS PLAN

    ASTRID glanced at the time on his Terminal. There were still 15 minutes before the drug took effect. He glanced at the prince who was now glaring at the vegetable patch on the back garden of their house as if it was his mortal enemy. And of course, Astrid had to accompany him. They weren¡¯t alone though. The prince¡¯s subordinate and Reas were hovering just behind them.


    In almost two hours since the prince ate that batch of meat dumplings that were sprinkled with the sleeping drug, this royal pain in the ass had been very active. He had eaten two dozen meat dumplings. Yes, 24 pieces. If Astrid had prepared more, he would have probably eaten more than that.


    Actually, after eating those dumplings, the prince wanted to eat more. So, they gave him other dishes prepared by Astrid¡¯s mother. But for some reason, after eating one bite, he would show this disappointed expression and then he would push the plate away from him. One didn¡¯t need to be a genius to know that he didn¡¯t like what he tasted.


    Emmy¡¯s smile became gentler and gentler as the prince repeated the same action over and over again. Because he was showing obvious dislike towards the food that she cooked. It¡¯s like a complete 180 from his reaction when he ate the meat dumplings. Astrid was sure that if he was not the prince, his mother would have already thrown him out of the house.


    After that, the prince no longer wanted to eat and asked to be toured around the house. And Astrid became the unofficial house guide. He politely toured him around the house, telling him some trivia here and there. No matter the request the prince made, Astrid catered to it. And if he tried to tease him, Astrid would just show an uncomfortable expression. But he would not fight back. Unlike what he did when they met at the lake.


    Of course, Astrid was not doing that because he just completely gave up. But because he realized that the way he tackled things when it came to the prince was wrong from the start. The reason why the prince showed an interest in him was because of the uniqueness he saw in him. It was not just his appearance but also his overall attitude.


    Based on the rumors he heard about him, Astrid was sure that a lot of people that he encountered showed instant fear towards him. But Astrid did not do that. He even fought against him despite being much physically weaker. Not only that, he even showed him his SSS level mental strength. And even after finding out his real identity, Astrid still didn¡¯t tremble in fear as ordinary people in his shoes would. Those things piled up one after another made him completely interesting to the prince.


    So, all Astrid had to do was break that interest.


    He knew that even if they managed to make this prince leave today, he might still come back and pester him once again. Astrid didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with him. So, he had to make sure that he would never come back. And the best way to do that was to make himself as ordinary as he could.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t do that right away. He had to slowly transition into it. So, it would be more believable. That all the courage he showed earlier was just a fa?ade. That he was as ordinary as they came. A person who would crumble under the pressure and majesty of the only prince of the Empire.


    Acting like that was easy for him. He wasn¡¯t even worried that the prince would see through his act. After all, he didn¡¯t become a movie emperor in his last life for nothing.


    Astrid could see that he was already making progress. Because as minutes passed by, the prince¡¯s face was getting darker and darker. He must be getting more and more annoyed at how he was acting.


    He smiled secretly inside. [Good. Continue to be annoyed and be disappointed in me.]


    As Astrid thought, Wulfric was indeed annoyed. No, that was probably a huge understatement.


    He didn¡¯t know what happened, but as he continued to stay here, Aster was slowly losing his edge. The sharp edge he showed him since they met at the lake was slowly turning dull. He became more and more obedient. And even if he did something unreasonable, Aster would just put up this ¡®bear with it¡¯ expression and wouldn¡¯t fight him on it.


    It¡¯s like he just became a person who accepted that the person in front of him was the fearsome prince of the Empire and if he didn¡¯t want him and his family to be killed, then he had to cater to everything he wanted.


    It was infuriating. The person he found interesting suddenly became boring. As if he was truly nothing more than that. It¡¯s making Wulfric want to beat the hell out of someone.


    He glanced at Aster standing beside him. The other still had that ¡®let¡¯s bear with everything¡¯ expression. He suddenly wanted to test his bottom line. To know if his edge truly became dull or if he was simply hiding it.


    ¡°Can I have all the vegetables in this patch?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Of course, Your Highness. I will ask my mother to pack it up later for you.¡±


    Wulfric almost gritted his teeth. That damn obedient tone again.


    He turned to Aster and without saying anything, he clutched at his slim waist and pulled him close to his body.


    ¡°What the heck are you doing?¡± Reas shouted.


    ¡°General, please calm down,¡± Edmund said almost at the same time.


    Wulfric ignored them and gazed down at the person in his arms, staring straight at those black eyes that seemed to now lack any kind of luster. ¡°If I kiss you right now, what would you do?¡±


    ¡°Shit- get your hands off my brother!¡± Reas growled.


    When he was about to attack, he was stopped by Astrid. He turned to him with a pleading gaze. Before looking back at the bastard holding him.


    ¡°If that¡¯s what Your Highness want, then I could only acquiesce,¡± Astrid said, closing his eyes.


    His whole body was trembling as if he was waiting for something that clearly disgust him but he couldn¡¯t do anything because the man holding him was someone he couldn¡¯t go against. Because if he did, it could only mean disaster for his family.


    After he said that, Astrid felt the sudden eruption of violence around him. The arm holding his waist tightened like a whip. When he thought that he was about to be beaten up, the hold on his waist suddenly loosened until it was let go.


    When he opened his eyes, he saw the prince striding inside the house in great steps. The atmosphere around him was clearly telling others that they shouldn¡¯t get near him.


    Seeing that, Astrid once again smiled secretly.


    Wulfric walked towards the house and back into the drawing room. He felt that if he stayed near Aster for another second, he would truly beat the other. He plopped down on the couch. The violence inside him still hadn¡¯t subsided. But before any concrete thoughts entered his mind, he suddenly felt sleepy.


    He didn¡¯t even have time to feel confuse. Because after another second, everything around him turned dark.

 Chapter 36 - SCARY BROTHER

    REAS watched as the bald captain rushed to follow the annoying prince. When the two were both gone, he then turned to his twin brother. His expression was now back to normal. None of that obedient expression he had been showing since earlier. Reas could even feel the happiness radiating from him.


    That smile on his face said it all. It was the kind of smile Astrid usually had whenever a scheme he thought of had gone smoothly. Reas suddenly thought back to everything that had happened since they walked out of the drawing room.


    The infuriating way Astrid was been acting ¨C as if he suddenly realized that he shouldn¡¯t fight with the prince, that he had no power to do so ¨C suddenly made sense. If Reas was guess was correct, then it probably had something to do with whatever scheme he came up with. His brother¡¯s acting was so good that he was on the verge of thinking that it was real. In fact, if he didn¡¯t grow up with him, he might have really thought that Astrid became scared of that prince.


    Especially after that thing just now, when that crazy prince tried to threaten Astrid. Instead of fighting him off, his brother acted like some saint who could bear anything that the devil tried to do to him as long as that could save the people. Which ultimately pissed off that guy.


    Reas glanced at his brother meaningfully. ¡°Aster, what are you playing at?¡±


    Astrid turned to his brother. ¡°I put a sleeping drug on his food earlier,¡± he said in a voice so quiet that only the two of them could hear.


    Even if the drug had already taken effect and that prince was now already down, Astrid still had to be careful just in case that subordinate of his heard them.


    Reas¡¯ eyes widened slightly. But he quickly got over his initial shock and asked, ¡°One of the drugs given by Uncle Leigh?¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°That guy is probably now asleep.¡±


    Reas immediately understood what his brother was planning with that sleeping drug. He had no doubt that the drug would not work. Because it was made by their Uncle Leigh. He might be eccentric as hell and hard to understand sometimes but there¡¯s one undeniable fact about him. He¡¯s a genius, the type that could only appear once a millennium. Any drugs, medicine, or poison he made would work. Even if the one who ingested it was someone who was trained to withstood any poison and any other types of drugs.


    ¡°Even if we managed to get that guy to leave, there¡¯s still a possibility that he would return. He might not find any trace of that sleeping drug but he would still suspect us,¡± he said, voicing his worries. ¡°It would be a bigger problem then.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯ll just make sure that subordinate of his would believe that we don¡¯t have anything to do with it. Besides, they wouldn¡¯t have any evidence that would point to us. After all, there¡¯s no drug in this Empire that could make one fall asleep two hours later.¡±


    Astrid was sure of that. Because of how advanced the physique of the people in this era was, all the drugs that they would take would quickly metabolize and take effect. So, a slow acting drug was almost not heard of. Besides, Uncle Leigh said that all the drugs and poisons he¡¯d given them were unique in this Empire. So, he was not that worried that the prince would connect his sudden drowsiness to them.


    Reas wondered how Astrid would make that captain believe that they had nothing to do with how the prince suddenly fell asleep. Bit he still had a more pressing matter in his mind.


    ¡°Then how about that guy¡¯s interest in you?¡± he asked. ¡°Do you think it will just disappear once he leaves here?¡±


    ¡°Why do you think I was acting the way I did for the past two hours? So, he would lose his interest in me. Did you see his last reaction? He almost blew up.¡± Astrid chuckled. ¡°He¡¯s probably thinking how boring I became.¡±


    Reas shook his head, finally hearing the answer on the way his brother was acting. Sure enough, it had something to do with his scheme. He saw the prince¡¯s reaction during his brother¡¯s last act.


    He looked like he would rip Astrid apart with that explosion of violence. Reas was actually ready to stop him if that were to happen. But surprisingly, the prince just let go of Astrid. Although not before Reas saw a flash of disgust in those golden depths. Remembering that and hearing what Astrid just said, his brother¡¯s tactics might really just work.


    ¡°Well, I guess anything is alright as long as we could get rid of that guy,¡± he just said at the end.


    ¡°I think so as well,¡± Astrid said. Then he walked forward and glanced back at Reas with a smile on his face. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go inside and see the sleeping beast?¡±


    Reas stared at that smile plastered on that beautiful face and he couldn¡¯t help but think that sometimes his brother could be really scary if he wanted to.

 Chapter 37 - CRY LIKE THERES NO TOMORROW

    EDMUND rushed up to follow the general. That last expression the general made showed that he was 100% in a bad mood. Edmund truly thought that he would beat up that black-haired teenager ¨C Astrid. He was even readying himself to stop the general if he ever did raise his hand. After all, one punch from the other would surely put Astrid into a hospital.


    But who would have thought that the general would only leave in disgust? Maybe even the general thought that it would be such a waste to beat up such a pretty face. But Edmund still followed the general quickly. It would be super bad if he started one of his rage-induced episodes. The house would definitely be decimated.


    And since he¡¯s the only member of Fenris here, it¡¯s his responsibility to stop the general from hurting innocent citizens and destroying their houses. He already did a not so-great job at that Lawless Den. So, he should at least make sure that he would not repeat the same mistake here. Especially since the family they were imposing on were simple farmers.


    He followed the general back to the drawing room and saw the other plopped down on the couch he had sat on earlier.


    ¡°General¡ª¡±


    Edmund stopped speaking when he saw the general suddenly leaning forward. He was surprised to see that the other seemed unable to stop his action, as if he was about to fall forward. Edmund moved as fast as he could and quickly caught the general¡¯s limp body.


    ¡°General?¡± he called but didn¡¯t receive an answer.


    He helped the general leaned back on the couch he was sitting. Once he did so, he was startled to find that the general was really unconscious just as he thought. Edmund couldn¡¯t help but be flustered. Thousands of thoughts entered his mind. But the most prominent one was that someone attack the general and made him this way. Although that thought only lasted for about two seconds.


    Because in this Empire, who could actually attack and hurt the general?


    With that thought, Edmund quickly forced himself to calm down. The general¡¯s Terminal was currently turned off. Only the owner of the Terminal could turn that on. Thus, Edmund was unable to check the general¡¯s vital signs through his Terminal. So, he could only check him for any physical injuries. Although he didn¡¯t find any prominent wounds, he still couldn¡¯t be relieved.


    What if something did go wrong? What if the general had some kind of mental breakdown? That could certainly make someone unconscious. If something bad happened to the general under his care, the lieutenant would definitely kill him. Maybe Hildred might even skin him alive. And there was also Slade who would surely not let him off.


    The more he thought about it, the more he became flustered, and the more he couldn¡¯t think straight. When he was at his wit¡¯s end, the door of the drawing room suddenly opened. He looked back and saw the madam of the house.


    She looked at the unconscious general, then at him. After that, a worried frown appeared on her gentle face. ¡°Is there a problem, Captain?¡±


    Seeing her, Edmund¡¯s IQ seemed to go online again. ¡°Madam, the general suddenly lost consciousness. Can the Madam take us to the nearest hospital?¡±


    Emmy inwardly let out a sigh of relief. So, Leighton¡¯s sleeping drug did work. That guy was truly formidable. To even create something that could affect someone who had undergone poison training since young. But she didn¡¯t show that on her face. Instead, she appeared even more worried. She was finally able to utilize all those acting skills she acquired from dealing with all those people in the nobility.


    ¡°Captain, we have an equipment here that could check a person¡¯s vital signs. Let¡¯s use that to check His Highness first. And if it¡¯s something serious, I¡¯ll drive you both to the hospital. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do that. Thank you, Madam.¡±


    Emmy left and went to the kitchen where she put the said equipment. It was just a simple one-foot metallic rod. She had already prepared it earlier and put it on a place where she could immediately take it. As she was about to walked back to the drawing room, she met with his two sons who just walked through the side door which lead to the back garden of their house.


    She quickly made an ¡®ok¡¯ gesture, telling them, particularly Astrid, that the sleeping drug worked.


    Astrid already expected that but it was still a relief to hear it. He stood beside his mother and whispered in an almost inaudible voice, just to avoid the possibility that prince¡¯s subordinate might hear them, ¡°Mom, play along with me later.¡±


    Although Emmy didn¡¯t understand what his son meant, as a good mother, she still nodded.


    Reas, who saw this all, could only shook his head at the realization that their mother was apparently also in it on the plan.


    Emmy entered the drawing room first. Reas also wanted to follow but Astrid stopped him. Of course, they had to enter at the right moment.


    ¡°Captain, please wait awhile,¡± Emmy said after entering the room.


    She walked towards the unconscious prince. She was about to scan him using the body scanner he was holding but the captain stopped her.


    ¡°Madam, please, let me do it.¡±


    Emmy had no problems with that and just gave him the scanner.


    With it, Edmund turned the equipment on and scanned the general¡¯s body from head to toe. After he¡¯s done, a virtual screen appeared on top of it. He read the result and almost froze.


    ¡°Asleep? How could the general fall asleep?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but mutter.


    At that moment, Astrid walked in the room with Reas in tow.


    ¡°Mom, what¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked, walking beside his mother. A confused look appeared on his face.


    Seeing him like this, Emmy also entered acting mode. ¡°Well, it seems like His Highness had suddenly fallen asleep.¡±


    ¡°But- but the general could never fall asleep in an unfamiliar environment!¡± Edmund said, he wasn¡¯t sure who he was justifying that to. ¡°Unless some kind of external factor was involved. Like he ingested something¡ª¡±


    He stopped. Because throughout the day, the only thing that the general had eaten came from this house.


    Astrid smiled inwardly. He didn¡¯t expect for this captain to immediately said that keyword. So, he also quickly entered the play.


    His expression changed from shock to scared very quickly. As if he suddenly realized the implication of what the other just said. His body started to tremble.


    ¡°H-his Highness only ate the food we m-made,¡± he muttered, as if telling that to himself. Then he glanced at his mother. His black eyes started to be filled with tears. ¡°M-Mom, what should we do? What if His Highness blame us? Wh-what if he punished us?¡±


    Emmy was startled seeing Astrid like this. If she didn¡¯t remember what this son of hers said about playing along, she might get extremely rattled right now. But before she could say anything, Astrid suddenly rushed towards the captain.


    Astrid held the other¡¯s arm. His tears started streaming down his cheeks. He looked at the man in front of him imploringly.


    ¡°Please, s-sir. W-we didn¡¯t put anything on the food we s-served you. Please, don¡¯t blame us. I b-beg you. Please, believe me. W-we really didn¡¯t. We have n-no intention of h-hurting His Highness. We could n-never do something like that! P-please¡­ please, don¡¯t punish my family. Pl-please¡­ please don¡¯t kill us!¡±


    And he cried and sobbed like there was no tomorrow.

 Chapter 38 - FAMILY DRAMA

    EDMUND completely froze. He didn¡¯t know how to react. He just felt extremely panicked. How could he not when someone suddenly grabbed you and begged you not to kill him and his family? He was not some apathetic being who could stay unaffected after that. Especially since the other was crying so heartbreakingly.


    He now suddenly wanted to slap his mouth. If not for his slip of tongue earlier, almost suggesting that the general must have eaten something for him to suddenly fall asleep like that, this teenager would probably not react like this. But he did and now this kid was scared out of his wits.


    It was not like it¡¯s a huge secret how fierce and scary the general and Fenris squad¡¯s reputations were. But he had no idea that it already came to a point where just the possibility of being blamed for something trivial like the sudden sleepiness of their general would lead someone to believe that they ¨C the general and his personal squad ¨C would kill them.


    Was this how the normal citizens of the Empire viewed them? Like some kind of barbaric group that would kill with just the smallest provocation? They weren¡¯t a bunch of cold-blooded killers, you know? But he didn¡¯t know how to tell that to the sobbing teenager in front of him. How could he do that when he was still frozen like a statue?


    It was not just Edmund who was taken aback by Astrid¡¯s sudden ¡®collapse¡¯. Even Emmy and Reas didn¡¯t know what to do for a second. Because both of them were too shocked to even move. How could they not when this was the first time they¡¯d ever seen him cry? He was not even crying normally, he was bawling his eyes out.


    It was especially shocking for Emmy. Being a mother, she had seen Astrid grew up under her eyelids. Even as a baby, he didn¡¯t have any temper that he barely even cried. If her husband saw their son like this, he might just straight up beat up this captain together with the currently sleeping prince. Because that¡¯s also what she would do if she happened to not know that Astrid was only ¡®acting¡¯.


    Speaking of ¡®acting¡¯, she also probably needed to enter the scene now.


    She walked towards Astrid and supported him. ¡°You kid, what are you saying to the Captain,¡± she scolded, but it could be seen that she was not really angry because of how gentle her actions were. She looked at the captain and appeared apologetic. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Captain. My son is just too sensitive. Please, don¡¯t be offended. I know that all the soldiers of the Empire are righteous. They wouldn¡¯t unjustly blame people for things that they didn¡¯t do. So, I¡¯m sure Captain would do the same. Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Edmund found himself saying.


    What else could he say? The Madam was looking at him righteously while holding her still trembling and sobbing son. If he said that he was suspecting them and they would follow this up with an investigation, this madam might just look at him as if he¡¯s a beast. And then, her son might have a breakdown. Then he would be totally flustered that he wouldn¡¯t know what to do next.


    ¡°I knew that the Captain is not an unreasonable person,¡± the Madam said, looking at him like he¡¯s a good guy. The she gazed down at her son. ¡°Did you hear that Astrid? You don¡¯t have to be afraid anymore.¡±


    Astrid raised his head and looked at Edmund, his rare black eyes were shining because of his tears. This look could certainly arouse the protective instinct of anyone. Even Edmund felt that he¡¯s some kind of scum who bullied such a beautiful and frail person.


    ¡°Is it true, you wouldn¡¯t really blame us for what happened?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Yes, we won¡¯t,¡± Edmund said again.


    ¡°See? I told you, they¡¯re reasonable people. They wouldn¡¯t blame us for something like this,¡± Emmy said to Astrid.


    Reas on the side looked between his mother and twin brother. If he didn¡¯t know better, he would really think that the two rehearsed this scene. Now, he suddenly realized that his brother¡¯s acting talent might have been inherited from their mother. He shook his head helplessly. As a family member, he should also do his part.


    ¡°Aster, why would you even think that they would blame us just because the prince fell asleep on his own?¡± Reas said. He also wanted to act but he knew he couldn¡¯t, so, he just maintained an indifferent expression. ¡°If we really put something on the dishes he ate, then he should have lost consciousness two hours ago. Besides, why would we even drug him? Only stupid people would think on that direction.¡±


    Astrid smiled inwardly. He wanted to give his brother a thumbs-up. Using reverse psychology. That¡¯s like putting the final nail on the coffin.


    Edmund didn¡¯t mind being called ¡®stupid¡¯ indirectly. Because there¡¯s a much more important thing he realized from what the kid said. That if they really drugged the general to force him to fall asleep, then the other should have lost consciousness much earlier. Because their bodies were made in a way that it would quickly metabolize any drug that they ingested. That¡¯s especially true for someone like the general who had SSS level physique. Besides, he knew that the general had gone through rigorous poison training. A simple sleeping drug should have not work on him.


    Then, did that mean that the general really simply had fallen asleep?


    ¡°Captain, I think we should take His Highness to our guest room. So that he could sleep more comfortably,¡± Emmy offered. Then she turned to Reas. ¡°Go and help the captain.¡±


    A reluctant expression appeared on Reas¡¯ face. But he still went to the side of the prince.


    And just like that, Reas and Edmund brought the sleeping prince to one of the guest rooms upstairs.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    A flying shuttle that was much bigger than the one Edmund and Wulfric drove in just entered the atmosphere of the planet Delryria. Inside was a man with flaxen blond hair and a pair of amber colored eyes. There was a splattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose, just like golden dusts. He looked very cheerful and approachable because of his overly youthful face. But those close to him would know that despite the bright exterior, there¡¯s darkness lurking inside.


    He was one of the captains of Fenris squad ¨C Hildred Harlow.


    Hildred looked at the monitor, especially at the signal coming from that guy¡¯s Terminal. He looked at the map and saw that they were at a place called ¡®Astreai Farm¡¯.


    [Hmm¡­ I wonder what kind of stupid antics that egg-head was doing now.]

 Chapter 39 - NEW ARRIVAL

    EDMUND glanced at the still sleeping general. This was probably the first time he¡¯d seen the other with such a peaceful expression on his face. Because he was sleeping, the aggressive aura he usually gave off was nowhere to be found. Which fully brought out his overly handsome features. If other people saw the general like this, they wouldn¡¯t feel fear like they usually would. Instead, Edmund was sure that they would feel nothing but admiration.


    But he couldn¡¯t feel any of that. Instead, all he could feel now was worry.


    They were now inside one of the guest rooms in this house. It was probably more than two hours since the general had fallen asleep. Now, that Edmund had calmed down, he still couldn¡¯t think that there must be a problem. But he didn¡¯t know what that could problem be. No matter how many times he thought about it, there¡¯s really nothing that could have caused this.


    He did think at first that it was the food. But just like what that kid named Reas said, if it was the food, whatever drug that was put there should have worked the moment the general ingested it. But the fact that he didn¡¯t fall asleep hours after meant that it was not the food.


    The next possibility was that it was something that was spread in the air. But he also quickly scrapped that idea. Because if it was really that, then he also should have fallen asleep. After all, he was only a few steps away from the general at that time.


    The last possibility, which was also the most absurd, was that someone here had an awakened ability that could make others lost consciousness and force then to fall asleep. The reason why it was absurd was because a person who manifested abilities was very rare. It was so rare that in all of Edmunds 29 years of existence he had only seen one ¨C the general himself.


    The possibility of seeing one here was even lower. Edmund could might as well wiped that thought. If that was so, then there was only one remaining possibility.


    That the general really did fell asleep without any outside influence.


    Edmund scratched his bald head. His brain was already hurting from all the thinking. Something like this was really not for him.


    As he was thinking, his Terminal rang. He answered it and on the screen appeared the serious face of the lieutenant. Edmund suddenly felt nervous. The lieutenant surely wouldn¡¯t blame him for this, right?


    ¡°Lieutenant,¡± he greeted.


    ¡°Hildred is still not there?¡± Leland asked.


    ¡°No, Lieutenant.¡±


    A dissatisfied expression appeared on Leland¡¯s face. Based on his calculation, Hildred should have already arrived at Delryria by now. But why wasn¡¯t he still there? Did that guy go on a stroll or something? Knowing Hildred, that was something he certainly would do. He sighed. Seriously, each and every one of these guys were problematic.


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t called you?¡± he asked in which Edmund just shook his head. And once again, he sighed. ¡°How about His Highness?¡±


    Edmund paused before answering. ¡°The General is asleep.¡±


    When Leland heard that, he almost thought that he heard it wrong. ¡°He¡¯s what?¡±


    ¡°Asleep,¡± Edmund repeated again.


    Hearing the same answer, Leland was finally convinced that he truly heard it right. And now that he looked at the background behind Edmund, it was obvious that he was in a room. Probably one of the rooms in the house of the family the two were imposing themselves on.


    ¡°Was it a normal sleep?¡±


    Edmund swallowed his saliva. He really didn¡¯t know how to answer this. Then he suddenly remembered the crying expression of Astrid. That heartbreaking expression on his face. And that fear that emanated from him. He could feel that he truly believed that the general would kill their family if he as so much think that they had something to do on why he suddenly fell asleep.


    If he told the lieutenant that it¡¯s not, then he would surely do a thorough investigation that might destroy the peaceful lives of these people. Could Edmund really do that? Especially when this family most likely had nothing to do with it.


    Making up his mind, he said, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ normal.¡±


    But even though he didn¡¯t say the full circumstance on how the general had fallen asleep, the way he answered Leland was really not convincing. So, the other narrowed his eyes at him, scrutinizing his every expression. Which only made him more nervous.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this once you all got back here in Beowulf,¡± Leland only said at the end. ¡°Guard His Highness thoroughly until Hildred arrives there.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lieutenant!¡±


    Edmund only managed to let out a sigh of relief when the call ended.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Another person who was having a conversation over the Terminal was Emmy. She was outside. Just to make sure that the bald captain wouldn¡¯t hear the conversation. After all, a person working under the prince couldn¡¯t possibly have a physique level lower than S.


    ¡°Wife, the sun had already set. Are you not planning to let me go home?¡± Gage asked from over the screen. ¡°Your husband is already hungry from working on the farm all day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, husband. Just wait a bit more,¡± Emmy said, consoling her husband.


    ¡°Then could you at least tell me why I can¡¯t go home?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡±


    Gage then started to act sad. ¡°You¡¯ve changed, wife. You¡¯re now hiding something from me.¡±


    Emmy looked at this husband of hers who¡¯s now acting like an abandoned puppy. And then she remembered the great ¡®acting¡¯ that Astrid had shown earlier. Maybe he actually got that talent from his father.


    She ignored his sulking and said instead, ¡°You could go and have dinner at the Smiths. I¡¯m sure they would be more than glad to let you eat at their table.¡±


    Then before Gage could say anything, she already ended the call.


    She was about to walk back to the house when she saw a light suddenly shone down on their yard. Confused, she looked up and actually saw a flying shuttle hovering over. She hadn¡¯t processed it all yet when a figure suddenly jumped down from the said shuttle. They landed perfectly on the yard.


    Emmy stared at this figure and saw that it was a man. He had flaxen blond hair and a pair of amber colored eyes. From the light, she could see the freckles dusting the bridge of his nose. He had a babyface. But Emmy would never think that he was the same age as her sons. Mostly because of the white military uniform he was wearing.


    ¡°Good evening, Madam,¡± the man greeted and smiled very warmly.

 Chapter 40 - ANOTHER CAPTAIN AT THE TOWNSEND HOUSE

    EMMY looked at the young-looking man wearing a crisp white military uniform. It had the same design as the military uniform of the Empire. The only difference was it¡¯s white instead of black. She heard that only those belonging to special divisions of military could wear a different colored uniform. In this case, the white probably symbolized the squad under the prince ¨C the Fenris squad.


    Then, it could only mean that this young-looking man was a subordinate of the prince. Finally, they could wash their hands off of that prince.


    Hildred stared at the petite woman with ice-blue hair in front of him. A touch of surprise showed in his amber colored eyes. Because if he was not mistaken, this woman looked very similar to the only daughter of that old ducal house. But from what he heard that lady had already died 20 years ago.


    He shook that off and returned his expression back to normal before walking towards her. He was not exactly interested in other people¡¯s lives so he didn¡¯t care much if the woman in front of him was really that dead lady or not.


    He made an elegant bow. ¡°I¡¯m Captain Hildred Harlow. I was informed that His Highness and Captain Barton are here. I apologized for the disturbance that they might have caused. And I¡¯m truly thankful that the Madam allowed them to enter your home. Your generosity will be compensated.¡±


    Emmy raised one of her brows. It seemed that this man was a better talker compared to that other captain. She smiled gently. ¡°No need for any compensation. I just did what a citizen of the Empire should do.¡±


    Hildred only smiled. ¡°May I know the name of this generous Madam?¡±


    Emmy returned the same smile. ¡°Just call me Emmy.¡±


    ¡°Can I see His Highness and Captain Barton?¡± Hildred asked after a few seconds.


    ¡°Then, please, come inside and I will call them.¡±


    Emmy led the other inside the house.


    Hildred looked around the not so big but very cozy and unique house. One could see in one glance that this was a home filled with warmth and love. He looked at the woman¡¯s back. If she was really that dead lady, then she must have found great happiness after ¡®dying¡¯.


    At that moment two teenagers suddenly walked out from one of the doors in the first floor. One was tall and had the same ice-blue hair as the madam. It was obvious that he was her son. But his eye color was teal-gray instead of the blue of his mother. When he saw the other one, Hildred¡¯s eyes widened for an instant.


    The boy had black hair as dark as the night sky and a pair of obsidian black eyes. A very rare combination. That wasn¡¯t enough. Even the shape of his eyes was very unique ¨C long and slightly tilting upwards. It added charm to his already overly beautiful face. But the redness of his eyes was quite eye-catching. Did he cry? Although that didn¡¯t retract from his beauty. In fact, it would only make people want to spoil him more.


    Appreciation filled Hildred¡¯s amber eyes. He didn¡¯t expect to see such a beautiful teenager in this planet. Such a beauty would definitely cause an uproar in the capital. But that was all that he felt ¨C appreciation. The same way he would appreciate a finely made ship or a powerful blaster canon.


    The same way he was observing them, the twins were also staring at the man wearing a white military uniform. He really didn¡¯t look that old. And with the special uniform he was wearing, added to the noise they heard from outside, they quickly realized that this man was definitely a subordinate of the prince.


    Reas wanted them to just go. He almost wanted to say, ¡®go and take your prince away from here, oh, and make sure to never come back¡¯. But he held back and looked disinterestedly at the babyface man.


    Astrid, of course, felt the same way. With the appearance of this guy, they were closer to getting rid of the prince. Once they¡¯re gone, he could finally let out that sigh of relief he had been holding.


    Hildred took away his gaze and turned to the petite woman beside him. ¡°These two are?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re my sons,¡± Emmy simply said. Then he turned to the twins. ¡°Entertain Captain Harlow while I call Captain Barton.¡±


    Then she climbed up the stairs to the second floor.


    Hildred looked again at the twins. He actually didn¡¯t expect that the black-haired teenager was also the madam¡¯s son. Did he get his hair and eye color from his father?


    Astrid smiled politely at this man his mother called ¡®Captain Harlow¡¯. ¡°Would you like to sit at the drawing room, Captain?¡±


    Seeing the other smiled, Hildred once again confirmed how good-looking the kid was. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay to stand here,¡± he answered with an equally polite smile. ¡°I hope His Highness didn¡¯t cause much trouble to your family.¡±


    Reas let out a loud snort at that.


    Astrid quickly acted nervous. If he wanted to appear like a person who was scared of the prince and the power and influence he held, then he needed to act thoroughly until the end.


    ¡°His Highness didn¡¯t cause us trouble!¡± he immediately said, as if trying to make up for his brother¡¯s action just now. ¡°I-It¡¯s our honor to received such an esteemed guest like His Highness.¡±


    Hildred raised one of his brows at the other¡¯s nervous appearance. He looked like a small animal that was scared that a larger predator would eat him. Did Wulf bully this kid? Maybe that was even the reason why the other cried.


    At that moment, they heard movements from the stairs and a tall man with a shiny head rushed down.


    ¡°Hil!¡± Edmund called.


    Hildred turned and looked towards Edmund. That glaring egg-shaped shining bald head was the first thing he saw. Seeing the other again after more than a week, he remembered the reason why he poured glue onto the other¡¯s hair, causing Edmund to shave all of it. Surprisingly, seeing the other¡¯s stupid mug made his annoyance for that event completely vanished.


    So, he smiled quite generously. ¡°Ed.¡±


    Seeing this smile, Edmund almost stopped. He didn¡¯t really have that much good memories whenever Hildred smiled at him. But he still continued at the end.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Wulf?¡± Hildred asked.


    Edmund scratched the back of his head. ¡°Ah, the general is sleeping.¡±


    Hildred¡¯s smile completely vanished. ¡°What?¡±

 Chapter 41 - FINALLY GONE

    HILDRED looked at the man sleeping peacefully on the bed. His white hair almost blended with the white pillows and white bedsheet. When he first heard Edmund said that Wulf was asleep, he couldn¡¯t believe it at first. Not because the other never slept but because Wulf would never ever sleep in an unfamiliar place. Heck, he couldn¡¯t even sleep properly at the Imperial Palace.


    There were only two places where he could sleep with no problem ¨C the Beowulf and his own villa.


    He could sleep peacefully in the Beowulf because he knew it¡¯s safe. No assassin would suddenly appear and try to kill him. Not only because their flag ship was like a flying fortress, but also because all the people in the ship had sworn their loyalty towards Wulf. The same could be said for Wulf¡¯s villa at the planet he owned in Alluna. That villa was full of cutting-edge technology that its security was almost at par with Beowulf.


    So, how was it possible that he could suddenly fall asleep in this place?


    Hildred shook Wulf¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Wulf, wake up. Wulf!¡±


    But no matter how much he tried to wake the other up, his eyelids didn¡¯t even shake. Showing just how deep his sleep was.


    Hildred then glanced at the fidgeting egghead. Edmund looked extremely nervous which showed that he¡¯s either feeling nervous or guilty. He narrowed his eyes at him and smiled.


    Edmund who saw this smile shook even further.


    ¡°Ed, are you sure that Wulf really fell asleep naturally?¡± Hildred asked.


    Edmund hesitated but still nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    Of course, that slight bit of hesitation didn¡¯t escape Hildred¡¯s eyes. ¡°Tell me the situation at the moment when he fell asleep.¡±


    ¡°He sat down on a chair. Then a couple of seconds later, he fell asleep,¡± Edmund answered honestly.


    ¡°The two of you were alone when that happened?¡± Edmund nodded as an answer. ¡°Wulf didn¡¯t eat or inhale anything before that?¡±


    Edmund shook his head. ¡°Well, he ate some snacks. But that was two hours before he even fell asleep. And if he inhaled something, I should have also fallen asleep because we¡¯re in the same room.¡±


    Those were the things that he already analyzed earlier. And now that he said it, he felt even more that the general most likely fell asleep naturally.


    Hearing that, Hildred fell into deep contemplation. Based on what Edmund said, it could be seen that there was definitely no foul play here. No matter how weird of a situation this was, it only pointed out to one thing ¨C that Wulf indeed feel asleep without any kind of influence.


    If we considered the fact that Wulf and Edmund landed on this planet accidentally and that the two were the ones who imposed themselves to the people here, then it¡¯s even highly unlikely that this thing was planned. It¡¯s even more doubtful that they were trying to assassinate him.


    Especially if he was right about the identity of the madam. She certainly wouldn¡¯t do anything that would attract the attention of people who could expose it. Although he doubted whether Wulf or Edmund recognized her. After all, that event involving the death of the daughter of Lord Anthony Grimaldi happened two decades ago. Both Wulf and Edmund hadn¡¯t entered puberty yet. He doubted the two even cared about that kind of news.


    So, Hildred could only assume that there¡¯s no one to be blamed for this situation.


    Seeing Hildred in deep thought, Edmund became even more nervous. He remembered again the way the black-haired teenager acted earlier. Edmund seriously didn¡¯t want to involve the people living in this house. He didn¡¯t want the fear of Astrid to be proven right.


    That¡¯s why before he could think of anything, he already stretched out his hand and gripped the sleeve of Hildred¡¯s military uniform. ¡°Hil, let¡¯s just go back to Beowulf, hmm?¡±


    Hildred¡¯s train of thought suddenly stopped. He raised his head and looked at Edmund. The other¡¯s expressive brown eyes were now full of pleading. He looked like a puppy asking for his owner to go back home. Hildred smiled. Because he liked this kind of look on Edmund. It¡¯s good to see him like this once in a while.


    He raised his hand and gently stroke Edmund¡¯s shiny bald head. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go back.¡±


    Edmund¡¯s eyes brightened hearing that. ¡°I¡¯ll carry the general.¡±


    Before Hildred could answer, Edmund already put the sleeping Wulf on his back. He could only shake his head and the two of them walked out of the room.


    Downstairs, the madam and her two sons were waiting for them.


    ¡°Madam, thank you again for your generosity,¡± Hildred said.


    ¡°Yes, thank you very much,¡± Edmund seconded.


    ¡°If His Highness is awake, I¡¯m sure he would give his gratitude personally. But alas. It seemed that he was so tired that he fell asleep.¡±


    Hildred observed the three people when he said that, but none of them showed any weird reaction. No, if there was anything weird then it would be the black-haired teenager showing a fearful expression. He was trying to hide it but it still showed.


    ¡°Please, tell His Highness to take care more of himself,¡± Emmy said worriedly.


    ¡°I will make sure to do just that. If Madam and her family ever needed help, please feel free to contact our Fenris squad. We will do everything in our power to help,¡± Hildred said with a sincere smile, giving the woman in front of him a card with numbers written on it.


    Emmy also smiled and graciously accepted the card which was probably a way to contact their squad. But deep inside, she was saying, ¡®nope, never gonna happen¡¯. ¡°Thank you, Captain. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°Then, we will take our leave.¡±


    Hildred nodded to the two teenagers before walking out of the house. Edmund who was carrying the prince behind his back also nodded to the three before quickly following Hildred outside.


    The three members of the Townsend family walked up to the door and saw the two captains jumping up into the shuttle still hovering on the yard of their house. The three stayed there until the shuttle flew up and completely vanished in their sights.


    Astrid finally wiped off the ¡®trying to hide that he was scared¡¯ expression on his face. Finally, that royal pain in the ass was gone.

 Chapter 42 - WHAT A PAIR THEY WERE

    ¡°WIFE, can you now tell me why you suddenly told me earlier not to go back home?¡± Gage asked.


    He and Emmy were currently riding a flying car back to their house. After that last call, Gage really did go and had dinner at the Smiths¡¯ house. He was even planning to sleep there if his wife wouldn¡¯t message him to go back. But who would have thought that after dinner, Emmy would suddenly appear to fetch him?


    He just told the Smiths jokingly then that his wife had kicked him out of the house. So, when Emmy appeared, he was bombarded by countless teasing. Telling him that certainly didn¡¯t look like he was kicked out of the house.


    And now, he and his wife were here, travelling back to their house.


    ¡°Two people arrived at our house earlier with the twins,¡± Emmy answered his question.


    Gage frowned a bit. Because he could feel that the problem stemmed with these two individuals. But he became worried hearing that these people arrived at their house with the twins.


    ¡°Did they cause trouble? Did they hurt our sons?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly. But it¡¯s almost the same. The ¡®trouble¡¯ part, I mean,¡± his wife said vaguely. Then she let out a deep breathe before continuing, ¡°It¡¯s the prince and one of his subordinates.¡±


    If the flying car was not on auto-pilot, Gage might have stepped on the brake because of what he heard. He even thought that Emmy was just joking with him. But seeing his wife¡¯s grim expression, he knew it was not a joke. The prince of the Empire and one of his subordinates was really in their house just now.


    The fact that they were now going back to their house meant that those people were already gone. But didn¡¯t lessen the worry that assaulted his whole being. In fact, it just intensified. He calmed himself to think more clearly. That¡¯s what he needed most now.


    ¡°How did they appear in this planet? And you say they were with Reas and Aster?¡±


    ¡°Apparently the shuttle they were on crash landed on the mountain near our family¡¯s land. Then, Astrid and Reas found them near the lake. In which they forced the twins to take them back to our house,¡± Emmy answered. She gathered all of these from chatting with that bald captain and also from what Reas said to her. ¡°Another captain arrived 30 minutes ago and took the two back.¡±


    Gage already had a feeling that they were already gone from their house. But that still didn¡¯t lessen his worried. ¡°Did they leave peacefully?¡±


    His wife seemed to hesitate but still said at the end, ¡°Ahm, almost?¡±


    Gage suddenly had a bad feeling. ¡°What does this ¡®almost¡¯ mean?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    Then Emmy proceeded on telling her husband about how they drugged the prince using the sleeping drug made by Leighton. The more she said, the blacker Gage¡¯s face became. Until she finished and ink could almost seep out from her husband¡¯s face.


    ¡°You drugged the prince?¡± Gage almost wanted to shout when he saw his wife nod. Although he knew how magical the drugs made by Leighton were, this thing might still be connected to them. ¡°Have you ever thought that this might just make him more suspicious of us?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I did. But what else could we do? You haven¡¯t seen how he was looking at Astrid then. He was looking at our son as if he¡¯s a tasty morsel! If we didn¡¯t do that, I¡¯m sure that he would not leave. He might stay at our home for a couple of days or worse, he might even directly take our son away! Do you want that to happen?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Gage quickly said. When Emmy mentioned that the prince was looking at Astrid like a tasty morsel, he seriously wanted to pull back the prince from wherever he was at now and beat the shit out of him. How dare he looked at his son like that? But there was an even more pressing issue. ¡°He might be gone now. But what if he returned? If he¡¯s really interested in Aster, he would certainly do that.¡±


    This time Emmy smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. You know how military personnel always have some kind of secret camera attached to them to record everything in case they were thrown in a situation where it¡¯s important to have a record of what was happening around them ¨C like a war for example. I¡¯m pretty sure that captain who came with the prince also had that. Then the prince would see the way Astrid acted. Once he did, I guarantee you, he would lose interest in our son.¡±


    Gage was confused hearing that. ¡°The way Aster acted?¡±


    Emmy chuckled. ¡°Oh, you wouldn¡¯t believe it. He was so brilliant! He acted like some scared weakling, afraid that the prince would try to kill us because he suddenly fell asleep at our house. I almost couldn¡¯t believe my eyes when I saw it.¡±


    Gage had a hard time imagining that.


    ¡°Trust me, for someone like the prince who enjoyed the battlefield so much, the type he hated the most was cowardly people who would cry at every turn. He wouldn¡¯t want someone who showed constant fear of him. And with our son¡¯s extraordinary acting, he wouldn¡¯t even think that it wasn¡¯t real,¡± Emmy added.


    Gage somehow finally let down his hanging heart. Then he asked another important question, ¡°Did they recognize you?¡±


    His wife shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    The prince certainly didn¡¯t look like he did. And she would immediately see if that Captain Barton recognized her. Because he¡¯s the type to show whatever he was thinking on his face. The other captain who arrived later also didn¡¯t show any strange reaction towards her.


    ¡°Besides, you know how my family removed all information about me after my supposed ¡®death¡¯. Even a single picture of me from that time couldn¡¯t even be found at the StarNet.¡± She was still a bit bitter about that. As if her family just wanted to erase her existence. ¡°Only those older people from other noble houses that I interacted would recognize me now.¡±


    This time, Gage completely let out a sigh of relief. He reached out to his wife and hugged her tightly. ¡°You did well.¡±


    Emmy hugged him back.


    Gage now thought that it was a good thing that he didn¡¯t come back home and followed his wife¡¯s order obediently. Because if he did, then it would not just be his wife who would be worrying if her identity might be exposed. He would too.


    A woman from a powerful noble family who was supposed to be dead and a man who¡¯s one of the Empire¡¯s most wanted. Really, what a pair they were.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At a certain ship flying in the vast darkness of space, a certain white-haired man finally opened his golden eyes.

 Chapter 43 - THE WULF IS AWAKE

    WULFRIC opened his eyes and saw a very familiar ceiling. He turned his head and then saw a very familiar room. He knew this place. He knew it like the back of his hand. He abruptly sat up when he realized where he was.


    This was his room in the Beowulf!


    He looked around and confirmed once again that he was indeed in his room. Why was he here? He was just sitting at the drawing of Aster¡¯s house when- wait- that¡¯s right! He was at Aster¡¯s house. So, how did he suddenly end up here?


    He closed his eyes and tried to remember. As the fog in his brain slowly cleared up, he finally remembered how he suddenly felt drowsy and then lost consciousness. His brain suddenly made up thousand of scenarios. Did he experience some kind of mental attack? Was it someone¡¯s ability? Did one of his many enemies discover his location and attacked him?


    If that was the case, then how about Aster and his family? Were they okay?


    At the thought of that, he quickly got up. He was only thinking of how to get back to planet Delryria to save that black-haired teenager. As he did, there was a sudden knock on the door.


    ¡°Your Highness, the monitor said that you¡¯re awake. Can I come in?¡± asked his lieutenant¡¯s voice.


    It was indeed Leland. It¡¯s been an hour since Hildred and Edmund came back with the sleeping prince. The two said that they couldn¡¯t wake the prince up no matter how much they shook his shoulder. So, he was quickly taken to the ship¡¯s medical bay. Their squad¡¯s doctor did a full body check but found nothing wrong. The prince was simply sleeping.


    That¡¯s why they couldn¡¯t do anything else but bring him back to his room. At least, he would be more comfortable there than in the medical bay. But they turned on the monitoring so they would know immediately when he woke up. Leland had been looking at that monitoring. That¡¯s why the moment he saw the prince waking up, he quickly ran towards here.


    He didn¡¯t hear the prince replying. But the sliding door suddenly opened and the prince was standing there with a hurried look on his face. As if he was worried about something.


    ¡°Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°Prepare a shuttle, I will go back to Delryria.¡±


    Leland thought that he must have heard it wrong. Why did the prince suddenly want to go back there? When the prince was about to pass by him, he immediately stood in front of him to stop his tracks. Because he clearly saw the prince¡¯s expression. Leland didn¡¯t hear it wrong. The prince was serious. He really planned to go back to Delryria.


    ¡°Please, wait, Your Highness. Is there a reason for you to go back there?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a reason!¡± Wulfric said, completely annoyed. Why was Leland stopping him? ¡°I needed to make sure that he¡¯s alright. So, go and prepare a shuttle.¡±


    ¡®He¡¯? Who was the prince talking about? Then Leland suddenly remembered what Edmund had reported to him. About the black-haired teenager that the prince showed interest in. Was he talking about him? Using the process of elimination, it seemed that that was indeed the case.


    ¡°Your Highness, please calm down,¡± he first said. ¡°If you¡¯re referring to the black-haired boy you meet at planet Delryria, then he¡¯s fine. According to Hildred and Edmund¡¯s reports, he was completely fine when the three of you left the planet. So, can Your Highness please calm down first?¡±


    Wulfric felt that the tightness of his nerves was suddenly loosened after hearing that. After was fine. That¡¯s good. Then he stopped. If he was fine, wouldn¡¯t that mean that there was no attack like he thought? Wait- if there really was, then Leland would have already reported that by now. So, what, he just lost consciousness for no reason?


    At that, he finally was able to calm down and be clear-headed.


    ¡°Tell me everything that Hil and Ed reported,¡± he said before walking back inside his room.


    Leland finally let out a sigh of relief seeing that the prince was now back to normal. But at the same time, he was also quite surprised. Because the reaction the prince had shown earlier was simply not like him at all. It seemed that the interest he had on that boy was much stronger than he thought.


    He followed inside and the door automatically closed.


    ¡°According to Edmund, when Your Highness entered the drawing room of the house you were in earlier, you suddenly fell asleep. Your Highness slept until Hildred arrived. And then the two took you back here. That had been an hour ago. If we total everything, Your Highness slept for six hours.¡±


    Six hours? Wulfric¡¯s pupils shook when he heard that. He slept for six hours despite not knowing how he ended up falling asleep. How the fuck did that happen?


    He remembered what he felt before he lost consciousness. It¡¯s just a general feeling of drowsiness. But it came out of nowhere. He didn¡¯t even feel a bit sleepy up to that point. His expression couldn¡¯t help but turned ugly.


    ¡°Did you do a full-body check up on me?¡± he asked, his voice as cold as ice.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness. We didn¡¯t find any trace of drug or anything foreign. There was also no evidence that someone had used their ability on you. All the results pointed to the fact that Your Highness had fallen asleep naturally.¡±


    Wulfric furrowed his brows. He didn¡¯t doubt what Leland said. Because the equipment in their medical bay was the most advanced medical equipment out there. So, if the result said that he fell asleep naturally, then there¡¯s a 99.9% chance that that was indeed the case.


    But how was that even possible? How could that abrupt drowsiness be natural?


    ¡°Call Ed over,¡± he said. He needed to get to the bottom of this.

 Chapter 44 - EDMUNDS ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS

    ¡°I REMEMBERED I only called Ed here,¡± Wulfric said, seeing the smiling Hildred walking into his room with Edmund.


    ¡°What? Am I now unwelcome here?¡± Hildred asked with a shock expression. Then he suddenly appeared sad. ¡°I only wanted to check if you¡¯re okay. Wulf, how can you not appreciate my sincerity?¡±


    Wulfric only gave Hildred a blank look. ¡°Stop with the act or I¡¯ll kick you out.¡±


    Hildred¡¯s expression suddenly changed to a playful one. Then he grinned at Wulfric and just shrugged. ¡°Ed and I were having our dinner when you suddenly called him here. You know how much I hate eating alone. So, I had to go with him.¡±


    Edmund wanted to pull Hildred behind him. Couldn¡¯t he see that the general was in a bad mood? How could he still act like this? What if the general¡¯s temper flared up and he ended up at the receiving end of it? But before he could pull Hildred, he felt the general¡¯s sharp gaze on him.


    ¡°Tell me exactly what happened after I¡­ fell asleep,¡± Wulfric said to Edmund, completely ignoring Hildred.


    He still felt that it was kind of unbelievable that he just fell asleep like that. First off, it was a foreign environment. Ever since he was a child, he had a hard time sleeping in places that he was unfamiliar with. That had gotten worse after he became a soldier. All his trusted subordinates knew about that. So, he was sure that they wouldn¡¯t just leave Delryria without at least making sure that what happened was a natural occurrence and not someone attacking him in any way or form.


    Hearing the question, Edmund immediately told everything that had happened. He made sure not to leave any details out.


    ¡°When the General stormed to the drawing room of the house we were in, I was just right behind you. I was about to call you when you suddenly fell forward. Of course, I immediately caught the general. Then I noticed that you lost consciousness. I panicked, thinking something bad might have happened. That¡¯s when the Madam came in. I asked if she could take us to a hospital because I seriously thought there must be something wrong with the General. But the Madam said that she would lend me a body scanner first to see if there was really wrong with your body.


    ¡°The result showed that there was nothing wrong and the general was simply asleep. Of course, I doubted it. Because I know how hard it was for the General to sleep in an unfamiliar environment. Then I remembered that you ate a lot of snacks two hours prior. So, I accidentally blurted out that it must be the food. The two brothers heard it and the one with the black hair ¨C Astrid, became really scared.


    ¡°He cried and said that they didn¡¯t have anything to do with what happened. He even begged and asked me that we shouldn¡¯t kill their family. I was so shocked by his reaction that it made my brain think clearer. If they really put something in the food that the General ate, then you should have fallen asleep the moment you ate it. I was in the same room as you, so I didn¡¯t think they sprayed something in the air. Because if they did, then I should have also fallen asleep.


    ¡°Then we move you to the guest room. I guarded you there until Hil arrived. And then the three of us flew back here in the Beowulf. That¡¯s everything that¡¯s happened.¡±


    From the start of Edmund¡¯s report until the end, Wulfric¡¯s expression became darker and darker. It was probably the ugliest at the part where Edmund said that Aster cried and begged him not to kill his family.


    He wanted to say that he couldn¡¯t believe that Aster would actually act and say that. But then he also remembered how he acted once he knew that he was the prince. He started as someone distantly polite. Then as minutes passed by, he became more and more polite. As if he was scared that if he ever tried to retaliate again, something bad would happen.


    It was like all the spunk that he had shown him on the lake disappeared and it was all replaced by the timidity of a mouse. Wulfric was so disappointed and angry by it that he stormed back inside the house. And that¡¯s when he lost consciousness ¨C which according to report was just him falling asleep. Something that he still found extremely weird until now.


    Because he knew that he wasn¡¯t feeling sleepy back then, especially since he was so pissed off. But since the result of the medical report said that there was no trace of drugs or any other outside influence on him, the only really explanation was him falling asleep.


    No, that was not the most important right now. Did Aster really ask Edmund for him not to kill his family? In his eyes, was he that type of person? Someone who would murder people just because he ¡®fell asleep¡¯ in their house. He felt a twinge of pain in his heart for no reason.


    He closed his eyes. When he opened them, the chaotic mess that was in his mind did not show on his face. ¡°Do you have a record of what happened?¡± he asked, his voice devoid of any emotion.


    ¡°Yes! I already saved it in my Terminal. I¡¯ll quickly send it to you, General.¡±


    Edmund quickly opened his Terminal and sent the video. It was a good thing that he listened to Hildred when he said that he should immediately processed the footage on the secret camera that was attached to his clothes. Because the general would definitely ask for it once he woke up. As expected, Hildred was right.


    Wulfric opened his Terminal that he had turned off for almost two weeks. When he saw the file, he said, ¡°You can both go now.¡±


    Edmund let out a sigh of relief and quickly turned around to leave.


    But Hildred remained and said something, ¡°I watched the footage. That black-haired kid seemed to be really scared out of his wits. That or he¡¯s just extremely good at acting. So good that even someone like me couldn¡¯t tell if he was acting or not.¡±


    After saying that, he turned around and pulled the dumbfounded Edmund out of the room.


    Wulfric clenched his fists. Because Hildred not being able to tell if someone was acting or not meant that what he would watch next was most probably real. He didn¡¯t know how he would feel about that. But he still went on and pressed the play button of the file Edmund sent.

 Chapter 45 - WULFRICS DECISION

    EVERYTHING was just exactly how Edmund described it. From his sudden lost of consciousness to Aster begging for their lives.


    ¡°Please, s-sir. W-we didn¡¯t put anything on the food we s-served you. Please, don¡¯t blame us. I b-beg you. Please, believe me. W-we really didn¡¯t. We have n-no intention of h-hurting His Highness. We could n-never do something like that! P-please¡­ please, don¡¯t punish my family. Pl-please¡­ please don¡¯t kill us!¡±


    Aster shouted those words as tears flew down from those black eyes. Those eyes as dark as the night sky.


    Wulfric suddenly couldn¡¯t move. His whole body just froze up. He couldn¡¯t remove his gaze from the screen. At the image of Aster whose tears continued to flow down. At his tear-stricken face filled with fear. His whole body was trembling. As if he couldn¡¯t maintain the fear that was currently coursing through his veins. Even on the screen, that fear was very palpable.


    He could tell that that fear was real. Aster was indeed ¡®scared out of his wits¡¯ as Hildred described earlier. He was truly afraid that they would blame his family for what happened to Wulfric. And because of that, they would be killed.


    Something again clenched at his heart at that realization. And then a dry laugh escaped his mouth.


    [So, this was how you see me, huh, Twinkle?]


    A thoughtless murderer that would kill at the smallest of trigger. Like accidentally ¡®falling asleep¡¯ at someone else¡¯s house. An unknown anger suddenly filled him. It was so strong that he could feel his whole body heating up uncontrollably. It¡¯s like he was about to explode.


    He wanted to destroy everything. To go back at planet Delryria and shook Aster¡¯s shoulder until he could put some sense into him. To shout at him that he wasn¡¯t like that. That he wouldn¡¯t kill his family just because of something so small. That he wasn¡¯t a monster.


    At the same time, a great sense of disappointment flooded into him. Aster was just the same as the others. He would cower in fear in his presence, scared at what he could do to him. In his opinion, he was probably just a lunatic who would go off at any second. Wulfric couldn¡¯t even remember the thing that he found unique about him. The thing made him truly interested.


    It¡¯s like everything just existed in his own imagination. And the other just more than gladly broke his perception.


    He looked again at the virtual screen in front of him. The image of Aster¡¯s face full of tears was currently frozen.


    A small part of him wanted to think that he was just acting. That it was all part of some kind of ploy. But then he also realized that if that was indeed the case, then there¡¯s only one meaning behind his actions. He was doing it on purpose to force Wulfric to lose interest in him.


    If that was the case, then it¡¯s no better. It meant that he had no qualms acting like some weakly coward just so he could push him away. That his dignity was not the least bit important in the face of Wulfric¡¯s unwanted attention. That he was willing to beg just so he would leave him alone.


    Which directly pointed to one thing ¨C he doesn¡¯t like him. Maybe he even hated him. He didn¡¯t like the interest that he was showing towards him. To the point that he would act like that just so he could make sure that he would leave their home without any qualms. That after that, he wouldn¡¯t continue bothering them. That he would no longer pester him again. Because in his opinion, that¡¯s just how he was. A pest.


    Wulfric suddenly didn¡¯t know how to react. Whether Aster thought of him as a monster or whether he considered him as a pest, it only really pointed out to one thing.


    The fact that he didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with him.


    He closed the video that Edmund sent to him. The image of Aster crying finally disappeared. But he knew that that image was now etched into his mind. It would probably haunt him from time to time. That was, if he let it. And no, he wouldn¡¯t let it.


    He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breathe.


    When he opened his eyes, all the violence and coldness in it already disappeared. It now returned to the usual calm indifference with a hint of a crazy glint.


    He then walked to his bathroom and took a shower. After that, he dressed in his white military uniform. He didn¡¯t fully button it. Making him look sloppy. Then he walked out of the room and went straight to the control area.


    Leland was startled when he saw the prince. Then he frowned. Because he noticed that even though the other looked back to normal, there¡¯s still something different. Something that he couldn¡¯t exactly point out.


    ¡°Your Highness, are you feeling alright now?¡± he asked in a careful voice.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t glance at his lieutenant. He didn¡¯t even bother to answer his question. He said instead, ¡°Set the coordinates to the capital.¡±


    Leland let out a sigh of relief when he heard that. He thought that it would take quite a while before he could convince the prince to return to the capital.


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness!¡± he quickly said before the other changed his mind.


    Wulfric looked out of the vast dark space. Aster didn¡¯t want him to bother him? Fine. He would do it. Forcing himself on the life of someone who so obviously disliked him was just another level of pathetic. He still had some pride left in him after all.


    He was a freaking prince! A great general. And the only one in the whole Empire who had a double SSS level qualification. Why would he be so hung up on some kid living at a second-rate planet?


    From now on he would erase his encounter with Aster- no, with Astrid whatever his surname was. It would be as if he had never met him. That¡¯s right. That¡¯s what he would do.


    But despite that decision, a small corner of his heart was shouting that he couldn¡¯t do it. Of course, Wulfric just simply ignored it.

 Chapter 46 - PREPARING A SPECIAL DINNER

    ASTRID was busy at the kitchen. He was preparing a special dinner for his parents. Because tonight was the night that he and Reas would tell their parents of their plan to study at the capital.


    Their parents were currently in town to watch a movie. He bought tickets for the latest blockbuster movie and gave them to his parents. Telling that they should go on a date once in a while. At his insistence, the two finally agreed and went to town. Of course, that was just a ploy to get them out of the house.


    With them gone, Astrid could prepare a sumptuous dinner without their knowledge. He wasn¡¯t worried that his parents would eat outside and return late. Because their family rarely missed eating dinner together. Besides, his cooking was much better compared to those chefs out there. His parents would definitely prefer eating the food he cooked than some random person¡¯s.


    While he was busy at the kitchen, his twin brother was setting up the table at their back garden. Not only that, he was also in-charge in decorating the garden to set-up a good ambience. To make their parents more relaxed. He was truly hoping that with his and Reas¡¯ joint efforts, they would not be too against at the idea of them studying at the capital.


    He put the diced chicken on the wok, alongside red pepper and peanuts. He was really grateful that the smart people of this era started to genetically grow these animal and plants a few hundred years ago. This way, people today could also grow and eat these products. And because of that, Astrid could cook the dishes that he knew without worrying if the ingredients were available or not.


    He concentrated on frying the ingredients on the wok.


    Their original plan of having the dinner at the lake was scrapped by both him and Reas. How could they still choose that place after what happened a week ago? What if some weird guy came crashing down the place again and disrupted their plans? Just remembering all the events that happened last week made him don¡¯t want to go near that lake ever again.


    The only thing he was glad for after all that trouble was the fact that the prince didn¡¯t come back again. Nor did he send any of his minions to trouble their family. It seemed that his plan did work.


    Although he was indeed a bit worried that once he became a well-known actor, that prince would find out that the way he acted cowardly was just him ¡®acting¡¯. Then he might retaliate against him. But then he also thought that by the time that happened, that guy might have already forgotten the things he experienced here in Delryria. Including meeting him.


    Besides, Wulfric de Lunaris certainly didn¡¯t look the type who¡¯s familiar with famous actors and actresses in the Empire. So, really, he shouldn¡¯t be worried about it too much.


    Right now, the thing he should be most worried about was if his parents would agree to him and Reas studying at the capital. There¡¯s only a little about two months left before the start of the new school year. The two of them should be at the capital at least a week before that. The travel time from this planet to the capital was a week. And that¡¯s already the shortest estimate. Because sometimes, problems might arise during space warping. That meant that they should leave here at least a month before the new school year started.


    That¡¯s why they needed to convince their parents to approve of their decision as soon as possible.


    Astrid was finally done cooking the kung pao chicken. This was also the last dish he had to make. He glanced at the wall clock and saw that it¡¯s probably almost time for his mother and father to return from their movie date. He quickly put the kung pao chicken on a plate and arranged it beautifully.


    After that, he also started to arrange the other dishes he cooked. There was mapo tofu, spring rolls, chow-mein, sweet and sour spare ribs, and some wonton noodles. He also made different kinds of dimsums. For dessert, he made some raspberry flavored snowflake cake.


    Just as he finished arranging the dishes to their respective plates, Reas entered the kitchen.


    ¡°Wow. You really made a feast,¡± he said while looking at the dishes on the table. Smelling all the delicious scents around, he couldn¡¯t help but gulped.


    ¡°Good. You¡¯re here. Help me bring it outside,¡± Astrid said as he removed the apron he was wearing.


    They first took the sweet and sour spare ribs and kung pao chicken out. All the dishes were on a special plate that would keep them in the right temperature. Reaching the back garden, Astrid clearly saw the effort that his brother had put into decorating the place.


    He glanced at him. ¡°Good job.¡±


    Reas only shrugged. ¡°Well, a lot is depending on this. I should at least do my part well.¡±


    They started to arrange the dishes on the table. It took at least about ten minutes to finish everything properly.


    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± Reas said after hearing the sound of a flying car stopping in front of their house.


    Astrid looked at his brother. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±


    The twins fist bumped before walking back into the house to welcome their parents. Both were hoping for only one thing ¨C that they managed to convince their parents to allow them to study at the capital.

 Chapter 47 - CONFESSION AFTER DINNER

    ¡°WELCOME home, Dad, Mom,¡± Astrid greeted his parents who were about to enter the house.


    Emmy paused in her steps when she saw her two sons standing by the entrance as if waiting for them. ¡°Are you two waiting for us?¡± she asked suspiciously.


    Since these two sons of hers entered puberty, they never waited like this in front of the house. It suddenly took her back to the days when the twins would sit on the doorsteps, waiting for their father to come back from a day of farming.


    ¡°I suddenly had a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu,¡± Gage said, showing that he was feeling the same way as his wife.


    The twins also realized that rushing at the doorsteps just to greet their parents really did look suspicious. Especially since they hadn¡¯t done that ever since they were kids. It was a bit obvious that the two of them were planning something.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t exactly waiting,¡± Reas said. ¡°Aster just finished making dinner and then I heard your arrival. So, we just thought of greeting you.¡±


    It definitely sounded like the excuse that it was. Reas really was not the type that could lie or act on cue. So, Astrid just simply walked between their parents and looped his arms around theirs.


    ¡°I cooked a lot of delicious food. Let¡¯s go and eat dinner, Mom, Dad,¡± he said, smiling at the two before pulling them towards the back garden. Reas silently followed behind.


    ¡°Then why are we going to the back garden?¡± Emmy asked.


    ¡°The night sky is so beautiful tonight. So, we thought of eating dinner outside,¡± Astrid answered. ¡°Reas was the one who arranged the table and chairs at the garden.¡±


    Emmy glanced behind at her other son, feeling a bit unbelieving. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°My dear wife, don¡¯t look down too much on your younger son¡¯s artistic ability,¡± Gage said with a slightly teasing tone that was obviously directed at Reas.


    Reas pretended not to hear it.


    ¡°Dad, you might be surprise at how Reas arranged our dinner venue,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Oh? Then I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    Not even a minute passed and they arrived at the back garden.


    Spherical white lights were floating around, lighting the whole place and giving it some kind of magical feel. At the middle of it was a table filled with different dishes. The table cloth had flower petals attached to it. Even the four chairs surrounding it were decorated by small flowers. The path leading to the table was also lined up with small white lights. Along with the flowers and the trees around, it almost seemed like they would have dinner at some fairy forest.


    Both Emmy and Gage looked at Reas. And expression full of disbelief was on both of their faces.


    ¡°Reas, I didn¡¯t know that you still have this side in you,¡± Emmy said.


    Gage, on the other hand, clapped his younger son¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Good job! This kind of set-up will definitely make eating dinner more appetizing.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just eat,¡± Reas said dryly.


    Astrid just chuckled seeing this.


    Then all of them walked towards the table. Astrid and Reas pulled seats for each of their parents. After they all sat down, they started eating.


    ¡°Dad, Mom, here try this,¡± Astrid said, putting portions of kung pao chicken on each of their plates.


    Emmy said thanks and took a mouthful of the dish served to her. Her eyes widened. All kinds of flavors just exploded in her mouth. She looked at Astrid with stars in her eyes.


    ¡°This is really good. How come your cooking skill just gets better and better?¡± she said while eating another spoonful.


    Gage also couldn¡¯t stop eating the portion that Astrid gave him. He could only give his son a thumbs-up as a sign of how much he liked the food. He had been salivating since they walked into the garden. Because he could smell all the delicious scents coming from the different dishes on the table.


    Really, since Astrid insisted on cooking food for them, he probably hadn¡¯t tasted anything as delicious as his dishes since. His son¡¯s cooking was even better that those professional chefs out there.


    He glanced at Astrid while chowing down a piece of spare ribs. His son was indeed perfect. He¡¯s not only beautiful and smart. He¡¯s also good at cooking and housework. Anyone would be lucky to have him as a partner.


    At that thought, he suddenly remembered the imperial prince. Emmy did say that the bastard showed quite the interest towards their son. He was just glad that they were able to handle that situation quite well. But even if that was not the case, he was willing to fight even that prince if it meant that he had to protect Astrid. He¡¯s one of his three treasures. It¡¯s just natural to do that much.


    The dinner was very harmonious with a few laughs here and there. For dessert, Astrid took out the snowflake cake that he made. Which both of his parents loved. Especially his mother.


    Emmy wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin, then looked at her two sons. ¡°Okay, spill. What do the two of you need? And don¡¯t try to deny it. I know you won¡¯t prepare this much if you¡¯re not trying to soften up me and your Dad.¡±


    Astrid and Reas looked at each other. Astrid silently saying that ¡®let me tell her¡¯ and Reas silently replying ¡®okay¡¯.


    ¡°Dad, Mom, me and Reas already got our acceptance letters for the college we applied to,¡± Astrid started.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! What school is it? Are you going to the same school?¡± Gage asked excitedly.


    Emmy didn¡¯t feel the same as her husband. If it was as simple as that, then these two wouldn¡¯t go through all this trouble just to tell them about that.


    ¡°No, Dad. We applied to different schools,¡± Astrid answered before turning back his gaze to his mother. ¡°And they¡¯re both at the Emperor Star.¡±

 Chapter 48 - COMPROMISE

    ¡°REAS and I both hope that Mom and Dad could give us their blessings as we take this next step in our lives,¡± Astrid said as he observed the reaction of both of his parents.


    Gage showed a shocked expression. It seemed like he didn¡¯t know how he would react to the bomb that his two sons just dropped. He didn¡¯t expect that this wonderful dinner would actually end with this kind of announcement.


    Emmy¡¯s reaction was much more visible. Her whole face darkened. She was obviously not happy with what she just heard. Especially thinking that her sons put this much effort into preparing this dinner just because they wanted to get hers and Gage¡¯s permission to allow them to study at the capital. Which meant that they were aware that there¡¯s a high chance that she and Gage wouldn¡¯t agree. And yet, they still went and did it.


    She couldn¡¯t think properly. At the mention of the Emperor Star, her whole mind was just filled with all the possible her children would face if they go at the capital. Before she could arrange her thoughts, her body and mouth already moved.


    She stood up abruptly and said in a cold voice, ¡°No. Pick another school.¡±


    After she said that, she walked straight back inside the house.


    Astrid stopped himself from sighing. Although he and Reas had already expected this kind of reaction, he didn¡¯t think that their mother wouldn¡¯t even hear their explanation and would just straight up tell them to pick another school. He glanced at his brother who also happened to glance at him. He could see the frustration in Reas¡¯ face. He¡¯s probably feeling the same way as him.


    Gage scratch the back of his head when he saw the downcast expression of his children. He understood why his wife reacted that way. There¡¯s a lot of factors that could affect the safety of their kids. Knowing Emmy, she was probably too flustered to think properly. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t even bother to listen to the twins. But their kids didn¡¯t know that. He didn¡¯t want the twins to misunderstand their mother because of that.


    ¡°You two, you should have discussed with us first before you applied for any school at the capital,¡± he said in a helpless tone.


    ¡°But Dad and Mom would still object with our choices. So, we just went ahead with it,¡± Reas said with a bit of sulking tone.


    Gage flicked his younger son¡¯s forehead. ¡°And so? You just hope that since the two of you were already accepted, we would just nod our head and say ¡®yes¡¯?¡±


    ¡°But Dad and Mom also couldn¡¯t just object to our decision without explaining anything to us,¡± Reas stubbornly said.


    He still couldn¡¯t understand why they were so against them going to the capital. Since he and his brother were kids, their parents always almost never mentioned the Emperor Star. As if they were afraid that their children would hear about it.


    But it¡¯s almost an impossible task to prevent them from knowing about the capital. They¡¯re not living under a rock. They went to school which taught the history of the Empire. They had Terminals which could access the [StarNet].


    The more they knew about the capital, the more they noticed how their parents avoided discussing about it. And as they grew up, they finally noticed that there must be something wrong. That there was something that their parents were hiding from them.


    Reas wanted to be understanding. He didn¡¯t want to cause unnecessary problems to his parents if could avoid it. But this time, he couldn¡¯t back down. Because his dreams depended on this. Not only his, but also Astrid¡¯s.


    ¡°We also have our own dreams. Things that we wanted to work hard to attain. Things that we wouldn¡¯t be able to accomplish if we don¡¯t go to the capital. Surely, Dad wouldn¡¯t want our talents to be buried here?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but add.


    Gage was suddenly hit by what Reas said that he couldn¡¯t speak for a moment.


    ¡°Reas,¡± Astrid called in a warning tone, preventing his twin from saying anything that he would regret.


    Reas stopped talking and then let out a deep breathe. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dad. I was a bit out of line.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I understand where you¡¯re coming from,¡± Gage quickly said.


    He had also been at their age. The age where you¡¯re being fueled by your passion. But just by hearing Reas¡¯ words, he knew that his son was serious about this dream of his. As a parent, he should support it. If their circumstances were normal, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to do so. Because there¡¯s so many things to consider.


    ¡°But I also want the two of you to understand me and your mother. We also have our own worries,¡± he added.


    ¡°Dad, it would be easier for us to do that if you explain what those ¡®worries¡¯ are,??? Astrid said. ¡°Because just like Reas, I¡¯m also not planning on giving up.¡±


    Reas nodded to that, as if agreeing to what Astrid just said.


    Gage looked at his kids¡¯ face, both were full of determination. And he once again felt helpless. The urge to just readily agree to their decision just surge into him. But he knew he couldn¡¯t just do that. At the same time, he also knew that he couldn¡¯t just ignore his kids¡¯ wishes. Since it probably took a lot for them to confess and finally tell them their decision.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to your mother,¡± he said. ¡°Then the four of us will have a family meeting.¡±


    This was the best compromise he could make under this circumstance.

 Chapter 49 - CONVINCING EMMY

    GAGE knocked on the door of their room. ¡°Emmy, can I come in?¡±


    As her husband, there¡¯s probably no need for him to ask for permission to enter their bedroom. But he knew how complicated Emmy¡¯s feeling must be right now. He didn¡¯t want to add to her stress by suddenly barging into the room.


    It probably took more than a minute before he heard his wife¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    He opened the door and entered the room. He immediately saw Emmy sitting on one corner of their bed, looking completely loss. She was staring into nothing, her beautiful blue eyes completely out of focus.


    Gage¡¯s heart seemed to be suddenly stabbed by a dagger when he saw his wife like this. He quickly walked towards her and sat beside her. He didn¡¯t hesitate to wrapped her shoulders with his arm.


    ¡°Wife, don¡¯t be sad. My heart hurts seeing you like this.¡±


    Being engulfed in such a warm embrace, Emmy suddenly came out of her out-of-focus state. She leaned on her husband¡¯s wide chest. ¡°Gage, am I being too much? Am I in the one who¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a matter of being right or wrong,¡± Gage said. ¡°You have your reasons. And I know best what those reasons are. But Emmy, our children also have their reasons. And I think it¡¯s best to listen to them first before making any final decision.¡±


    Emmy couldn¡¯t believe that Gage just said that. She got out from his embrace. ¡°Gage, you know how dangerous it would be for them to study at the capital. They could go anywhere else but just not there.¡±


    Not to mention her past, even Gage¡¯s past could be uncovered. But one thing was for sure, if even one of the two came into light, the one who would bear the brunt of it would be the twins. And that¡¯s one thing she didn¡¯t want to happen.


    ¡°I know your worries. Trust me, I also don¡¯t want our kids to ever face any kind of danger. Especially if its related to their parents¡¯ past. Because that should be something we should face, not them,¡± Gage said. ¡°But Emmy, it¡¯s also unfair to them if they didn¡¯t even know why we are refusing like this.¡±


    Emmy, of course, knew that her husband had a point. They couldn¡¯t just go and say ¡®no¡¯ without telling them the reason why. If they do that, then there would surely be a rift between them and the kids. She didn¡¯t want that to happen.


    She didn¡¯t want the twins to go to the capital. She also didn¡¯t want them to get mad. But wishing both to happen was almost impossible. She couldn¡¯t simply have the best of both worlds. So, she knew that they had to explain everything to the kids. And then hoped that they would understand and would no longer continue to insist on going to the capital.


    Seeing her wife not saying anything, Gage finally couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Do you know what Reas said to me earlier? He said they have their own dreams. That they wouldn¡¯t be able to accomplish the things they wanted if they don¡¯t go to the capital. And then he asked if we¡¯re planning to bury his and Aster¡¯s talents here in this planet.¡± He saw how her wife paled at the last thing he said. But he still continued, ¡°I felt ashamed when he asked me that. Because it really seemed like we¡¯re chaining them down. Chaining them in our own worries and fears.¡±


    Emmy couldn¡¯t say anything. She was shocked that Reas would actually say something like that. Was that what they were doing by refusing to allow them to study at the capital? Was that really what he thought? That his own parents wanted to bury his and his brother¡¯s talents here?


    She smiled bitterly. It felt like something just squeezed her heart tightly. The effect of what Reas said was even greater because the twins had never talked back before to them. That¡¯s how much of a good kid the two of them were. They were very obedient and had never brought trouble to their parents. And yet, the first time they asked sincerely for something, she refused vehemently without even hearing their side. She didn¡¯t even bother to give them any explanation. As if she was lording over the face that she was their mother and they couldn¡¯t do anything but follow what she wanted.


    She clenched her fists tightly, her nails burying into her palm. Just what kind of mother was she? It¡¯s no wonder Reas would say those things.


    Gage saw his wife¡¯s reaction and he couldn¡¯t help but feel concerned. He reached out his hand and unclenched Emmy¡¯s fingers. Then he held them tightly. ¡°Emmy, let¡¯s go and talk to them.¡±


    Emmy gazed down at their intertwined fingers. All the depressing thoughts that entered her mind slowly subsided and she returned to calm. Her thoughts were now as clear as a sunny day. The haze in her eyes had also vanished. This was the effect that only Gage could bring to her.


    She raised her head and looked at her husband who was also looking at her. But unlike her, his gaze was full of worry and pleading. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do that.¡±


    The two of them walked out of the room hand-in-hand.


    Emmy never let go of Gage¡¯s hand even until they reached their home¡¯s back garden. The twins were still there. But the dishes on the table had already been cleared out. The two probably did that while Gage was convincing her. She wanted to chuckle. Because, even at this moment, her kids were still so responsible. But she stopped herself when she saw the worried and nervous expression on both of their faces.


    She sat down on the seat that she sat on during dinner. Gage also did the same.


    Emmy looked at the twins before speaking, ¡°I know you wanted to discuss about your decision on going to the capital for college. But first, I want the two of you to know about my past. Because maybe this way you could understand where I¡¯m coming from.¡± She took a deep breath before continuing, ¡°I¡¯m the daughter of Lord Anthony Grimaldi ¨C one of the most powerful duke in the Empire.¡±

 Chapter 50 - FAMILY MEETING

    AFTER the twins cleaned up the dishes, the two of them returned to the back garden and waited for their parents and for the family meeting to commence. When their father mentioned ¡®family meeting¡¯, it meant having in-depth conversation, discussing the problem at hand, and finding a solution for it together.


    They rarely had a family meeting. The latest one was already a few years back, when the twins were just 15. Reas punched one of their upperclassmen, causing the other to be put into a medical bin for a day.


    It was quite the commotion back then. Their parents had to be called to school, as well as that of the upperclassman. They demanded to sue for the injuries caused to their son. Of course, the twins¡¯ parents did not let that happen.


    Even without knowing the truth of what happened, Emmy and Gage defended Reas to the last. With their mother¡¯s cunning and their father¡¯s aggressiveness, they left that upperclassman¡¯s parents thoroughly speechless. At the end, no suing or such thing happened.


    When they went home, a family meeting was held. And with their parents¡¯ urging, the twins finally told what happened. That upperclassman tried to bully Astrid, Reas only came to his brother¡¯s rescue.


    But their parents knew that it probably was not just that. After all, they knew their sons wouldn¡¯t react in such a violent way if it was just simple bullying. After further ¡®interrogation¡¯, Reas finally confessed that the upperclassman tried to accost Astrid.


    Both their parents went ballistic after hearing that. They weren¡¯t sure what their parents had done, but the morning after, that upperclassman had already transferred school.


    That was the last time the Townsends had a family meeting.


    And now, one should commence once again after three years. But this time, it was for a completely different matter.


    ¡°Do you think Mom would agree?¡± Reas asked his brother.


    ¡°Well, if she doesn¡¯t, then we shall do everything in our power to convince her.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you do all the convincing?¡± Reas said. ¡°You¡¯re a better talker than me after all.¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows when he heard that. ¡°Really? I remember quite clearly that you were doing just fine when we¡¯re talking to Dad earlier. If I must say so, you were certainly quite convincing.¡±


    Reas only rolled his eyes at his brother¡¯s teasing tone. ¡°I was simply under pressure.¡±


    ¡°Then, please, remain under pressure and the both of us shall convince our dear parents to agree with us going to the capital.¡±


    Not long after, their parents walked out of the door leading to the back garden. They walked towards the table and sat down on the seats they sat on during dinner.


    Their mother looked at them both before speaking, ¡°I know you wanted to discuss about your decision on going to the capital for college. But first, I want the two of you to know about my past. Because maybe this way you could understand where I¡¯m coming from.¡± She took a deep breath before continuing, ¡°I¡¯m the daughter of Lord Anthony Grimaldi ¨C one of the most powerful duke in the Empire.¡±


    Both Astrid and Reas were dumbfounded. They weren¡¯t even sure if they heard it correctly.


    ¡°Mom, do you mean you¡¯re a noble?¡± Astrid asked when he got over the shock.


    ¡°I believe that¡¯s what I just said,¡± Emmy said, confirming that they didn¡¯t mishear anything.


    ¡°Wait- isn¡¯t the Grimaldi family one of the noble families that has the largest territory in the Empire?¡± Reas asked, his tone was still unbelieving.


    ¡°Not only that, they also hold quite a lot of political power I believe,¡± Astrid added.


    ¡°My, who would have thought the two of you know so much about the Empire¡¯s nobility?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s only natural. Since the Grimaldis are quite well known,¡± Gage replied to his wife¡¯s comment.


    ¡°Then, Mom, are you the daughter of Duke Grimaldi?¡± Astrid asked that one important question.


    ¡°I am,¡± Emmy answered with a faraway look in her eyes. ¡°Or at least I was.¡±


    Both twins weren¡¯t able to say anything immediately after that.


    ¡°Mom, is the reason why you don¡¯t want us going to the capital related to this?¡± Astrid asked carefully.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Then Emmy closed her eyes. And when she opened them, she began telling the events that happened almost two decades ago.


    == About 20 years ago or so¡­ ==


    A flying shuttle landed in front of a huge castle-like mansion. There was a maze-like garden in front of it, full of different kinds of flowers. One could imagine just how rich the family that owned this mansion was.


    The door of the shuttle opened and a young woman came down. Her ice-blue hair flowed down like beautiful waves behind her back. And her sapphire blue eyes were shining brightly.


    ¡°Welcome home, milady,¡± a servant greeted the young woman.


    The young woman ¨C Emmaline Grimaldi ¨C smiled. ¡°Yes, I am back.¡±

 Chapter 51 - ANTHONY GRIMALDI

    EMMY walked towards the castle-like mansion in an unhurried manner. Her personal maid was walking behind her and was carrying her luggage. She just finished her vacation. A tour of the whole Artemian Galaxy. The galaxy where the Emperor Star was a part of. It was her gift to herself after graduating from secondary education.


    She actually wanted to go to Palioxis Galaxy, but her father didn¡¯t give her permission. In fact, he was thoroughly against the idea of her ¡®scampering about¡¯, as he said, around the galaxy. That it not something a young lady of her status should be doing. She almost scoffed when she heard that. Really, did that staid father of hers think that they¡¯re still living at the ancient earth. Heck, she bet even people at that time wasn¡¯t as strict as him.


    So, she persisted and continued on convincing the other. This was a tour that she had planned for a long time. There¡¯s no way she would back down. At the end, her father compromised. Allowing her 15 days of vacation with a lot of bodyguards following her around in secret.


    She agreed. Because what else could he do? That¡¯s better than not going at all. She just pretended that they didn¡¯t exist. Which helped a lot. Because if she didn¡¯t do that, she would definitely not enjoy her vacation.


    After entering the mansion, a middle-aged looking man with an amiable countenance and obvious laugh lines on his face moved forward to meet her. ¡°Welcome home, my lady,¡± he said, bowing elegantly.


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Jeffries,¡± she said, greeting back their family¡¯s long-time butler.


    ¡°I hope my lady had a great vacation.¡±


    ¡°Well, I did my best so I could enjoy my vacation.¡±


    It would be better though if those bodyguards were not following her all the time. The only alone time she probably had was whenever she was in her hotel room.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Jeffries said nodding his head. ¡°My lady, Your Grace is waiting for you in his study.¡±


    ¡°Father is home?¡±


    Usually, during this time of the day, he would be at the parliamentary office, doing his ducal duties.


    ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± Jeffries answered. ¡°Lunch will be served in about an hour. Does my lady want to request any dishes?¡±


    Emmy shook her head. ¡°No. You can just serve whatever. I¡¯m going to see, Father.¡±


    ¡°Miss,¡± called her personal maid from behind. ¡°I¡¯ll bring your luggage to your room.¡±


    She looked back at Rose ¨C her personal maid, and nodded.


    After that, she climbed up the long and winding stairs. She stopped at the third floor where her father¡¯s study was. She continued walking towards the study. When she was in front of the said room, she was about to knock when the door opened from inside. Then a boy of 12 years old came running out.


    The boy had curly silver hair and a pair of sapphire blue eyes ¨C the typical features of a Grimaldi. His name was Cassius Grimaldi, the third child of the duke and Emmy¡¯s younger brother.


    Unlike their father and older brother, Casey ¨C as she loved to call him ¨C had a playful look on his face. His eyes always filled with mischief. When he saw her older sister, those eyes were immediately filled with brilliance.


    ¡°Sister!¡± he called, quickly hugging Emmy.


    Despite being younger, Casey was already as tall as her. So, him throwing himself at her almost made her lost her balance.


    ¡°This brat, don¡¯t suddenly attack me like that!¡± she scolded but still hugged him back.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I miss my sister too much,¡± Casey said with a pouting tone.


    ¡°Cassius, release your sister and do the classwork your tutors gave you,¡± said by a commanding voice from inside the room.


    Casey released her sister but made a face along the way. Emmy almost burst out laughing when she saw that. She rubbed her brother¡¯s hair and mouthed, ¡®Go¡¯.


    Her brother nodded and continued running out. Emmy then entered the study.


    Inside, sitting behind a mahogany desk and reading documents from his Terminal, was a man with silver hair cleanly swept back and a pair of sapphire blue eyes that seemed to be filled with ice. He raised his head from whatever it was he was reading and that cold gaze landed on Emmy.


    She bowed. ¡°Father.¡±


    Anthony Grimaldi was the current head of the Grimaldi family. He was 60 years old this year but his face still remained handsome and flawless. He had a high seat at the parliament. He did everything perfectly and according to the rules. His eldest son, Thomas Grimaldi, followed in his footsteps. He was like the perfect copy of the duke. In both looks and character.


    Everyone was saying that the duke was the perfect example of a noble. That the people under his territory were blessed to have him. That he was righteous and benevolent.


    He was probably all that. But only because he thought that it was part of his duty as a duke. Even marrying and having children were all for the ducal seat. Deep inside, he was just a cold man. Someone who wouldn¡¯t even shed a tear at his wife¡¯s funeral and would demand his children to act as if their mother had never existed the morning after.


    That¡¯s the kind of man he was.


    He didn¡¯t say any kind of welcome to her nor did he ask how her vacation was. He just simply gave her an order.


    ¡°I will be taking you to a party tonight. Try not to do anything to embarrass me.¡±


    Emmy lowered her gaze, her eyes dimming. ¡°Yes, Father.¡±

 Chapter 52 - UNKNOWN BATTLEFIELD

    EMMY stared at the vast night sky. There were thousands of stars scattered across the darkness. Sometimes, she wondered, how good it would be if she could just vanish alongside the stars. Maybe there, she could once again meet her mother. A bitter smile crossed her lips at that thought. What a childish thing to think.


    ¡°Emmaline, get in the car.¡±


    That cold voice immediately woke her up from her reverie. She looked ahead and saw the car waiting. The backseat was still open so she could already see his father sitting there. So, she hurried over. Thankfully, the dress she¡¯s wearing was not too long or complicated.


    The moment she sat down beside her father, the car slowly ascended and began its travel. Their destination ¨C the mansion of the Lancaster family.


    Just like their family, the Lancaster family was an old ducal household. The two families were almost equal in terms of power. If the Grimaldis had a firm foothold over the political arena, then the Lancasters had their claws over the military.


    The party they¡¯re attending tonight was the 200th birthday party of the patriarch of the Lancaster family ¨C William Lancaster. He had already passed down his ducal seat to his eldest son 50 years ago. But no one would ignore him because of that. Because even if he was no longer sitting at the ducal position, he still held most of the Lancaster family¡¯s power.


    As some form of respect, Duke Grimaldi had to attend this party. Not only him, but also all the important figures in the capital. Maybe even the Emperor himself would attend.


    If Emmy knew that the party was tonight, she would do her best to return home a day later. She really disliked attending parties like this where she had to pretend like some gentle noble lady. Interact with other people who was also acting as fake as her. Her facial muscle would surely suffer this whole evening.


    She couldn¡¯t even understand why she had to accompany her father. Usually, during important events like this, her older brother was the one who accompanied their father. Because in her father¡¯s words, she lacked the etiquette that her brother had already perfected. She would surely only embarrass him. So, why was it her this time?


    She couldn¡¯t help but feel suspicious.


    ¡°Father, is Brother also going to attend the party?¡± she finally asked.


    ¡°Thomas will meet us there,¡± her father simply said. Which meant that her older brother was also attending.


    ¡°Then why¨C?¡± She stopped, realizing that she just blurted that out. ¡°I mean, I was just wondering why Father would bring me.¡±


    ¡°You are to meet your fianc¨¦ there,¡± her father said, as if he was simply talking about the weather.


    When Emmy heard that, her whole body froze. Because when did she have a fianc¨¦? Or did her father actually appoint a fianc¨¦ to her without her even knowing?


    For the first time in a while, her temper broke out. ¡°Fianc¨¦? I never realize that I actually have one. Since nobody ever bother to tell me anything. Or is my opinion so inconsequential that Father couldn¡¯t even be bothered to tell me about it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Cecil Lancaster. He proposed marriage while you were away from vacation. I accepted his pursuit. He will be your husband. Your marriage will be held next year.¡±


    Her father didn¡¯t directly answer her question. But he might as well have said; ¡®Yes, your opinion doesn¡¯t matter. You will marry this person whether you like it or not.¡¯


    Emmy felt completely cold all over. No wonder her father ordered her to go with him in this party. Cecil Lancaster was the youngest child of the patriarch. He and his late wife had him relatively late. So, he was quite well-loved in the family.


    ¡°He¡¯s older than you,¡± Emmy said through gritted teeth.


    Cecil Lancaster was 10 years older than her father to be exact. It was actually quite weird that he was single until now. Many believed that he just loved his freedom too much. After all, he was known for always travelling around different galaxies all year round. Who knew that he would suddenly propose marriage to the Grimaldis?


    Emmy was sure that she didn¡¯t have any interaction with Cecil Lancaster. So, why the hell did he propose marriage?


    ¡°You know as well as I that age doesn¡¯t matter in this era,¡± her father said without any emotion. ¡°He has the right lineage and that¡¯s all that matters.¡±


    She clenched her fists and bit her lower lip. If she didn¡¯t do that, she was afraid she would say something irrevocable.


    ¡°You will spend time with him during the party.¡± Anthony finally glanced at Emmy. ¡°Do try to behave yourself.¡±


    Emmy squeezed out a smile. ¡°Yes, Father.¡±


    But deep inside, she was already seething.


    Soon, they arrived at the mansion of the Lancaster family located at an artificial floating island. There were already a lot of luxurious cars parked on the designated area. Their own car slowly landed on one of the empty spaces. The two bodyguards who were with them were the first to go out. They each both opened the doors of the back seat.


    Emmy came down of the car. She stood up straight and stared at the huge mansion in front of her. She took a deep breath, calming all the anger and frustration inside her.


    Her father looked back at her. That one silent glance was telling her to hurry up and follow. And so, she did. Knowing full well that what was waiting for her was an unknown battlefield.

 Chapter 53 - TEAL GRAY EYES

    THE glittering chandeliers almost made Emmy squint. She and her father just entered the mansion. They hadn¡¯t even taken 20 steps when a lot of other nobles ¨C particularly those lower ones that didn¡¯t have much power, surrounded them. All trying to get the favor of the powerful Duke Grimaldi.


    It was the first round of greeting she had to endure. She smiled perfectly and behanded as she should. Just like how her father wanted her to.


    Once they got out of that encirclement, a man approached them.


    He had long platinum blond hair that was tied in a simple ponytail behind his back. His pair of brilliant green eyes were bent into crescents. He was wearing a silver tuxedo that perfectly outlined his tall and lean body. His face was the type that young women go crazy for ¨C that handsome, princely type.


    Without even asking, Emmy already knew who he was.


    The man made a graceful bow towards her father. ¡°Duke Grimaldi,¡± he greeted. Then he turned to her, reaching out for her hand and kissing it. He raised his head and stared into her eyes. ¡°My lady.¡±


    Cecil Lancaster smiled at her and Emmy didn¡¯t feel any change in her heartbeat. She felt goosebumps all over instead. She couldn¡¯t wait to take back her hand. But she still had to play her part. So, even if she didn¡¯t want to, she smiled back.


    ¡°My lord,¡± she greeted.


    After she said that, she tactically took back her hand from his grasp. It seemed that he didn¡¯t notice her small action because he quickly presented his elbow to her. ¡°May I escort you, my lady?¡±


    Before she could answer, she saw her father looking coldly in her direction. She swallowed any rejection she might have and said instead, ¡°It will be my pleasure.¡±


    Then encircled her arm around his. This much close contact was truly giving her the heebie-jeebies. She couldn¡¯t understand why she was reacting in this manner. After all, no matter how much older the other person was than her, it didn¡¯t really show. Because the other only looked a few years older than her.


    She understood what her father meant when he said that age didn¡¯t matter. Because in this age, a person only showed the sign of aging when they were in their hundreds. Some, even further than that.


    But even if this guy looked like a girl¡¯s dream man, she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to feel anything beside horror. Most probably because of the fact that the other was older than her father. And that just simply creeped her out.


    The two of them started walking. Emmy guessed that it was most likely towards the direction where the birthday man was.


    Along the way, there were still people greeting them. Emmy could feel the gaze of others on her and Cecil. Especially from the other young ladies like her. Most of them were looks of envy. She almost wanted to shout ¡®if you like him, then, by all means, replace me¡¯.


    Soon, they reached their destination.


    A man with platinum blond hair with white strands on the both sides stood at the center of a small crowd. He had the same green eyes as the man standing beside Emmy. But there was obvious sign of vicissitudes in them. There were wrinkles on the sides of his eyes and mouth, showing his advanced age. But he was still filled with energy.


    It was the patriarch of the Lancaster family ¨C William Lancaster.


    With the arrival of Duke Grimaldi, the small crowd surrounding the patriarch parted automatically. And so, the three of them walked forward.


    ¡°Ah, Grimaldi, you¡¯re finally here,¡± the patriarch greeted jovially.


    ¡°William,¡± Anthony simply greeted back. ¡°Congratulations on turning 200.¡±


    ¡°And where¡¯s my gift?¡± the old man said in a teasing tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s already been sent,¡± Anthony simply said, still with the cold and stern expression.


    ¡°You really are no fun to tease.¡± Then the patriarch glanced at Emmy. ¡°This must be the young lady of the Grimaldi family. You¡¯re as beautiful as your mother.¡±


    This time, Emmy¡¯s smile was much more genuine after hearing such a compliment. ¡°Thank you, Lord Lancaster. And happy birthday.¡±


    ¡°Oh, stop with the formality. We¡¯re going to be family soon. You probably should start calling me uncle.¡±


    And just like that, Emmy¡¯s smile froze on her face.


    ¡°Father, don¡¯t tease Emmaline. Look, her face was already turning red,¡± Cecil interjected.


    Emmy almost wanted to roll her eyes. What, turning red? It¡¯s more probable for her pace to turn pale right now.


    ¡°I almost forgot how shy these young ladies are,¡± the patriarch said. ¡°Why don¡¯t the two of you go and dance?¡±


    As if on cue, Cecil turned to her. ¡°May I have this dance, my lady?¡±


    Emmy could only say, ¡°Of course, my lord.¡±


    Then, she was swept towards the dance floor.


    Cecil¡¯s hand held her hand while the other fell on her waist. And then, they moved with the rhythm of the music. Emmy did her best not to cringe. Because the other¡¯s touch was simply making her uncomfortable.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you decided to join this party tonight. Since you were on vacation when I proposed, I¡¯ve been wanting to meet you and talk to you,¡± Cecil said while twirling her around. ¡°I actually didn¡¯t think that you would accept my proposal.¡±


    Emmy raised her head and smiled. ¡°The one who accepted your proposal was my father. I assure you, my lord, if I had even a tiny bit of control over it, I would never ever accept your proposal.¡±


    The other was clearly dumbfounded by what she just said. So, she took that chance to slip away from him. And walked quickly away from the dance floor.


    She might not be able to voice out her feelings earlier because of her father¡¯s presence, but she certainly could do that now that they were alone. She was not afraid that he would tattle on her. Surely, he was man enough not to run to her father and tell him what she did like he was some kind of teenager. Especially since her father was younger than him.


    Saying those things was indeed satisfying. More so after seeing the baffled expression on that guy¡¯s face.


    She chuckled and was about to walk to a dark balcony when her body collided with something hard. She felt her body losing balance. She instinctively closed her eyes. When she was about to fall back, she felt her shoulders being held by a pair of strong hands.


    She slowly opened her eyes. And her gaze met a pair of teal-gray eyes.

 Chapter 54 - GAGE THOMPSON

    IT was a man with brown hair that seemed to want to get out of its styling. His hair was obviously too thick and wild that even his haphazard styling couldn¡¯t keep it. He had thick eyebrows and a chiseled face. He was also tall and burly. It reminded Emmy of a big bear. A handsome bear, to be exact.


    She caught himself. Wait- what handsome?


    Because of that, she also noticed they¡¯re compromising position. Their bodies were close to each other. The man was even still holding both her shoulders. She struggled and got out of the man¡¯s hold. Good thing they were in a dark corner. She wouldn¡¯t know what to do if other people saw that scene just now.


    Stepping back, she just noticed that the big man was wearing a crisp black military uniform of the Empire. An imperial soldier? She subconsciously glanced at the epaulet on his shoulder and saw that he had the rank of a major. Not too high but also not too low.


    If this man was a military major, then him being present in this party was not that weird. After all, the Lancasters had a huge influence on the military. The second son of the old patriarch was already a general in the army. If this guy was invited here, then he must be under the army handled by that general.


    She calmed herself and plan to give the man a perfunctory smile. But when her gaze landed on the other¡¯s face, she noticed that he was staring at her quite intensely. Those teal gray eyes seemed to want to swallow her whole. But surprisingly, she couldn¡¯t feel any malice from that gaze. There was another type of emotion hidden in that gaze. Something that Emmy couldn¡¯t name. But for some reason, it made her heat beat like crazy. She could even feel her whole face heating up. So, she could only turn her gaze away.


    Which greatly annoyed her. Because she had no idea why the heck was she having this kind of reaction. So, she forced herself to calm down once again. She even chased those weird thoughts out of her mind.


    ¡°This gentleman, thank you for breaking my fall,¡± she said, doing her best to act like a noble lady who couldn¡¯t be faze by anything.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± the man said, simple and curt.


    His voice was deep ¨C a very nice baritone. When she heard him speak, there was no strong emotion in his voice. So unlike what she saw in his gaze. That¡¯s why she couldn¡¯t help but looked back at his face once again.


    To her surprise, the intense look he had given her earlier was no longer there. Instead, his face was full of seriousness ¨C like some kind of immovable rock. Because of his built, this kind of overly stern expression just made him looked scary.


    But Emmy didn¡¯t feel scared. She just felt confused. Was what she saw earlier just a figment of her imagination? When she thought that that was the case, she felt relieved. But at the same time, there¡¯s a small part in her heart that felt disappointed.


    She caught herself again. Why would she feel disappointed just because of that?


    So, she chose to just quickly say her goodbye before another weird thought entered her mind. She nodded to the man. Then she turned around and was about to leave. But before she could, the man suddenly called out to her.


    ¡°My lady, can I ask your name?¡±


    Emmy was startled by that sudden request. But she still found herself answering, ¡°Emmaline Grimaldi.¡±


    There was a slight tremor in those teal gray eyes after he heard her name. Probably because he didn¡¯t expect her to be a Grimaldi. After all, Grimaldis were known for their silver hair. But she had ice-blue hair ¨C something that she inherited from her mother. A feature of her that she truly liked.


    Emmy didn¡¯t wait for the man to speak again and quickly made her exit. Her thought of being alone on a balcony completely vanished. It¡¯s probably better to just stay where there¡¯s a lot of people. That Cecil would definitely not dare to do anything with that many people around. Also, she would surely not encounter another incident like with that man earlier.


    With that decision, she was about to walk again towards the dance floor when a tall man suddenly got in her way. Emmy visibly frowned. She raised her head and was about to chastise the other person when she saw that it was someone she knew.


    ¡°Brother,¡± she said in surprised.


    In front of her was Thomas Grimaldi ¨C or Tommy as she and Casey referred to him. His silver hair was cleanly swept back. His sapphire blue eyes were as cold as ice. He was wearing a black suit that was ironed perfectly. In fact, no part of him was out of place. She knew that it was because of him being a bit of a perfectionist. He couldn¡¯t handle it when things were out of his control. So, even the clothes he¡¯s wearing was not allowed to have folds in them.


    ¡°When did you arrive?¡± she asked, excitedly. After all, he hadn¡¯t seen him for 15 days.


    ¡°Just now,¡± Tommy answered. ¡°How was your vacation?¡±


    She was about to answer when the corner of her eye caught the image of that man earlier. She turned subconsciously towards his direction and saw him talking with another man in military uniform.


    ¡°It was fine,¡± she perfunctorily replied to her brother¡¯s question. ¡°Brother, do you know that man, that tall one with brown hair?¡±


    Tommy glanced at the direction she was looking. ¡°I believe that¡¯s Major Gage Thompson.¡±


    Gage? So, that was his name ¨C Emmy thought.


    And her gaze once again followed him.

 Chapter 55 - SKIPPING HEARTBEAT

    ¡°IS he a soldier under General Lancaster¡¯s army?¡± Emmy thought of asking, referring to the second son of the patriarch of the Lancaster family. She was still looking at the direction of Gage Thompson.


    The patriarch of the Lancaster family had five children with his now deceased wife. Quite a number in comparison to other families. At most, three would be the limit. Just like their family.


    The patriarch¡¯s eldest son was now the duke, the second son was a military general. Both married people from influential families. The first daughter was married to a famous hero of the Empire while the second daughter was married to another powerful noble family. And now, the youngest would be engaged to the daughter of another ducal household.


    Seriously, it¡¯s like they¡¯re spreading power all over the Empire using the guise of marriage. If the current Emperor didn¡¯t love the deceased Empress so much, a Lancaster would have probably sat on that Empress seat.


    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s his prot¨¦g¨¦,¡± Tommy answered. ¡°Even though he¡¯s a commoner, the General found him talented enough that he planned on marrying one of the Lancasters from the side branch to him. Or at least that¡¯s the rumor floating around.¡±


    Emmy was startled to hear that. Then she scoffed. Talented, huh? And yet, the general still deemed him unworthy of the main branch of the family. She suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for this Gage. After all, they were almost at the same situation.


    When she turned to her brother, she saw that the other was observing her. No, it was almost like he was scrutinizing her every expression. ¡°Why look at me like this?¡±


    ¡°Why are you suddenly interested in Major Thompson?¡±


    Emmy suddenly felt nervous in her heart when she heard her brother¡¯s question. But she tried to make her expression as normal as she possibly could. ¡°I accidentally bumped into him earlier. I almost fell and he helped me.¡±


    For some reason, she felt a bit guilty after she said. Because it seemed like she was hiding something. Even though all she did was to tell the truth.


    Tommy seemed to accept that answer. But he still said, ¡°It won¡¯t be good if you¡¯re found in a compromising position with another person. Especially now that your engagement with Cecil Lancaster is almost set in stone.¡±


    Emmy froze after her brother said that. She looked at him with an unbelieving expression. ¡°When did you know about the engagement?¡± she asked, she tried hard to hide the emotions that suddenly surged in him.


    Sure enough, Tommy didn¡¯t notice anything wrong with her. ¡°The day he proposed.¡±


    Emmy¡¯s eyes dimmed. She lowered her gaze so that Tommy wouldn¡¯t see her expression. She suddenly wanted to laugh. How many days had it been since that proposal? And yet Tommy didn¡¯t bother to warn her about it. Heck, based on what he said, it¡¯s obvious that he didn¡¯t have any problems with this union.


    She wasn¡¯t asking much. She wasn¡¯t even expecting her to be on his side. Just a simple heads-on would be enough. So, she wouldn¡¯t be blindsided like this. But that thought didn¡¯t even cross her brother¡¯s mind.


    In that way, he truly was their father¡¯s son.


    ¡°Emmy?¡± Tommy called when she didn¡¯t reply.


    Emmy raised her head and looked straight at her brother¡¯s eyes. ¡°Brother, when you heard about the proposal, have you ever wondered if I would be happy in this marriage?¡±


    Tommy looked like he hadn¡¯t expected that she would ask such a question. A ripple appeared in those sapphire blue eyes. But it only lasted for a second before it returned to its usual calm. ¡°The choice to be happy is in your hands.¡±


    She didn¡¯t know what she wanted to hear from Tommy. But it wasn¡¯t this. She at least hoped that he would give her a bit of consolation. Even if he didn¡¯t mean it. But he probably never even thought of that.


    ¡°How could that be when I have no choice to begin with?¡± she said, a bitter smile forming her lips.


    Being born into a high-ranking family, Emmy knew that it came with a lot of responsibilities. She couldn¡¯t just blindly enjoy the privilege that came with it. So, she studied hard and did everything to be the perfect young lady. Just to show to everyone that she was worthy of the Grimaldi name.


    She could only show willfulness to the extent her father allowed. Just like that small vacation she just had. The fact that her father allowed her to discuss it with him meant that it was something within the range.


    That¡¯s why no matter how much dissatisfaction she had, no matter how much she just wanted to scream that she didn¡¯t want to, she never did anything. She just smiled and complied. She¡¯s not allowed to disobey her father. That¡¯s what it meant to be a Grimaldi.


    But it¡¯s suffocating. And she was slowly drowning. She wondered if someone would ever come to pull up her body that was sinking inch by inch in this quagmire.


    Just as she had that thought, a big hand suddenly appeared in her line of vision.


    When she raised her head, she saw Major Thompson with his hand outstretched towards her. ¡°May I have this dance, my lady?¡±


    She didn¡¯t wait for her brain to think of why this man suddenly asked her to dance nor did she wait for her brother to interfere. Her body moved on its own and she found herself putting her hand on his big, warm palm.


    Then he led her to the dance floor.


    When he put his hand on her waist, she could feel his warmth despite the layers of cloth she was wearing. A warmth that even thawed the slight coldness of her heart. It was completely different from the way she felt when Cecil Lancaster held her.


    When they started to sway with the swaying, Emmy noticed how awkward his movements were. As if he was not familiar at all with dancing. Then why asked her?


    ¡°Why did you ask me to dance?¡± she finally couldn¡¯t help but asked.


    Gage Thompson gazed down at her and said in that deep baritone voice of his, ¡°Because you looked like you were about to cry. And for some reason, I didn¡¯t want to see that.¡±


    She could only manage to stare at him after she heard that. Then, for the first time in Emmaline Grimaldi¡¯s life, she felt her heart skipped a beat for someone.

 Chapter 56 - BAD GUY

    ¡°LADY Emmaline?¡±


    That call pulled Emmy from her dazed state. She raised her head and looked at the man sitting in front of her. They were at the garden of the Grimaldi mansion, sitting inside a pavilion and drinking tea.


    A gentle breeze flew by, bringing in the scent of the surrounding flowers. A bit of sunlight shone on them, making the man¡¯s platinum blond hair glow. He had a gentle smile on his face. His green eyes were looking at her as if she was the only one in this universe that could enter his gaze.


    Any woman that was in her position would surely envy her. Their hearts would probably be beating wildly right now. Their cheeks, blushing. And they would stare at the man with eyes full of admiration.


    But Emmy felt none of those things as she looked at Cecil Lancaster.


    She only thought that all of these was so tedious. She just wanted his visit to be over so she could go back to her room and continued to be in a daze. That¡¯s certainly infinitely better than spending time with this guy.


    And to think that it the near future, she might not only have to spend some time with him but spend the rest of her life with him instead. The only silver lining in this situation was that there was no need for her to have sexual relations with this guy. If they were to have children, they could just go to a fertility lab and have their genes combined.


    At that thought of that possible future, a certain man¡¯s face suddenly invaded her thoughts. A big bear of a man with brown hair and teal-gray eyes.


    It had been two weeks since that party at the Lancaster mansion. And since then, her thoughts had been occupied by Gage Thompson. He was the main reason why she often in a daze these past few days.


    Emmy couldn¡¯t explain the emotions that Gage managed to stir inside her. No, better yet, she couldn¡¯t understand it. To the point that she had insomnia for a couple of nights.


    At the end, she couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and just searched about him in the StarNet. Surprisingly enough, there were a lot of results. He was 22 years old. One of the top graduates at the Mecha Department of the Imperial Military Academy. A young prot¨¦g¨¦ of General Simon Lancaster. And rumored to be engaged to a certain Michel Lancaster.


    When she read that, she couldn¡¯t help but search about that Michel Lancaster person. Then she found out that the other was actually a rising star in the entertainment industry. When she saw a photo of the guy, she just scoffed. Because she was clearly much better than him in everything.


    The moment she had that thought, she knew that there was something wrong. Because she was not the type to compare herself to another and then proceed on belittling that person. The fact that she did that with Michel Lancaster proved that something was amiss. That her emotions were totally out of control. It also pointed her to another possibility. A rather scary possibility. A possibility that she¡¯d rather not think about.


    Because she knew that that possibility couldn¡¯t come true. Constantly thinking about it, about him, would only lead to pain and sadness. It¡¯s better to put out the fire while the flame in her heart wasn¡¯t still uncontrollable.


    She should accept as early as now that her future wouldn¡¯t include him. The one who¡¯s going to be there would be the man sitting in front of her right now. The sooner she accepted that reality, the better.


    ¡°What is it, my lord?¡± she asked, trying to push down the bitterness that surged within her.


    ¡°I was asking if you would like to go somewhere with me tomorrow?¡±


    Emmy put down the tea cup she was holding and looked straight at Cecil. ¡°Lord Cecil, let me be frank. I don¡¯t particularly like you. But I will still proceed with this marriage. Because that¡¯s my duty. So, you don¡¯t have to worry that my opinion of you would stop this marriage. It won¡¯t. That¡¯s why there¡¯s no need for you to try to make me like you. My feelings for you doesn¡¯t matter at all. So, I hope that we could just skip all these pleasantries. We don¡¯t have to see each other until the marriage.¡±


    Cecil seemed surprised by her sudden statement. But instead of getting angry, he just smiled. As if he was thoroughly satisfied by her reaction. ¡°You really are like your mother.¡±


    For some reason, Emmy didn¡¯t like the sound of that.


    He stood up. He took her hand without permission and planted a kiss there. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll respect my lady¡¯s wish.¡±


    Emmy got goosebumps and quickly took back her hand.


    When Cecil left, she finally couldn¡¯t stop herself from rubbing her temple. Meeting with that guy was always a headache.


    ¡°Sister, are you okay?¡± suddenly asked by a voice behind her.


    She looked back and saw Casey who just rushed into the pavilion. She tried to squeeze out a smile. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m okay.¡±


    Casey stood beside her and held her hand. ¡°Sister, are you really going to marry that man?¡±


    Emmy looked at her younger brother. He had a down expression on his face, probably not happy with the marriage. She couldn¡¯t help but smile and gently stroke Casey¡¯s hair. Well, at least someone in this family didn¡¯t want her to marry Cecil. That¡¯s more than enough.


    ¡°Yes, I had to.¡±


    To her surprise, Casey suddenly hugged her. The force almost made her topple over from her seat.


    ¡°No, Sister, you can¡¯t! That man is a bad guy! You¡¯re not allowed to marry him!¡±

 Chapter 57 - WHAT CASEY HEARD

    EMMY was startled by her brother¡¯s sudden outburst. Why did Casey suddenly say that Cecil Lancaster was a ¡®bad guy¡¯? Did that bastard bully Casey somehow? If he did, she swore she¡¯d make him pay.


    ¡°Why did you call him a ¡®bad guy¡¯? Did he do something to you?¡± she asked.


    Casey shook his head. ¡°I- I just know he¡¯s a bad guy. Sister, you shouldn¡¯t marry him!¡±


    She gently disentangled Casey from her and studied his expression. There was fear ¨C the kind that showed that he was afraid for someone. And this ¡®someone¡¯ was most likely her. There was also guilt. As if telling this thing to her was some sort of crime.


    Emmy couldn¡¯t understand the mixed expression on her younger brother¡¯s face. But she knew that he was hiding something. ¡°Casey, did Cecil Lancaster threaten you in any way?¡±


    Again, Casey just shook his head.


    Emmy reached out and held both Casey¡¯s hands. ¡°Casey, if you have something to tell me, anything at all, don¡¯t hesitate. I assure you, you won¡¯t get in trouble. Trust me.¡±


    Casey bit his lower lip, a sign that he was hesitating. When Emmy thought that he wouldn¡¯t say anything, his gaze suddenly changed and became more determined. He took a deep breath, as if trying to organize his thoughts.


    ¡°Sister, I- I accidentally heard something in Father¡¯s study,¡± he finally managed to say. ¡°I was hiding in there, trying to surprise Father. One of my friends showed me a video of him surprising his father. It was kind of funny. So, I wanted to try it. Because Father never had any kind of expression. I thought that if I did that, I could see a different expression from him. But then, I didn¡¯t expect that he would come in with Brother and they were talking about something serious. I already missed the right time to go out, that¡¯s why I heard a part of their conversation.¡±


    Emmy suddenly had a bad feeling. According to what Casey said earlier, this conversation definitely had something to do with Cecil Lancaster.


    ¡°But Father quickly found my presence and he made me promised not to tell you anything.¡± A pained expression appeared on Casey¡¯s face. ¡°But- but I couldn¡¯t. Sister might end up in danger, how could I just stay silent? I don¡¯t even understand what Father and Brother were thinking by putting you in such danger!¡±


    Emmy tried to calm down even though her head was starting to be in a mess right now. She needed to know first the full context of what Casey heard. ¡°Can Casey tell me what was it that you heard exactly.¡±


    ¡°I only heard a little. But when Father and Brother entered the study, Brother asked if Father was truly trying to make Sister a bait. And then Father said that it¡¯s the best choice. That if they wavered now, there wouldn¡¯t be another chance to capture Cecil Lancaster and officially put him under trial. That was all that I heard. But it¡¯s easy to understand that they were trying to use you as bait to capture Cecil Lancaster.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that Cecil Lancaster is a bad guy? I couldn¡¯t understand why Father and Brother would even put you in such a position. It¡¯s unfair! I asked them why but instead of answering me they just told me not to tell you anything. How could- how could they even behave like that? Is being family supposed to be like this?¡±


    Emmy could feel the pain in his younger brother¡¯s voice. She wanted to comfort him, but words couldn¡¯t come out of her mouth. Her brain just completely blanked out. She couldn¡¯t think of anything. The words ¡®bait¡¯, ¡®capture¡¯, ¡®trial¡¯, ¡®Cecil Lancaster¡¯ just kept on repeating inside her mind.


    Just like what Casey said, it¡¯s not hard to understand what their father and brother were trying to do just by listening to those words.


    Her father was trying to indict Cecil Lancaster for god knows what crime. But he lacked evidence. So, he couldn¡¯t just go on and accuse him of anything because the other belonged to the powerful Lancaster family that had a hold over a part of the military. So, when Cecil proposed marriage, her father accepted it. Probably thinking that that was the chance he was waiting for.


    And so, Emmy ended up as a bait.


    She couldn¡¯t understand the emotions that were swirling inside her right now. Anger? Disappointment? Sadness? She couldn¡¯t even begin to describe it. Everything inside her was just clumping up. The shadows in her heart was slowly eating her up. Eroding all the emotions, all the affections, everything.


    Suddenly, she couldn¡¯t breathe. Her breathing became more and more rugged.


    ¡°Sister, Sister! What¡¯s wrong?¡± Casey worriedly asked who quickly supported her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m s-sorry, it¡¯s all my f-fault.¡±


    Emmy turned to her brother. Seeing the tears flowing down his cheeks, it made her completely calmed down. Air started to flow down into her lungs. She raised her hand and wiped down Casey¡¯s tears.


    ¡°Silly boy, how could it be your fault?¡± She gently kissed her brother¡¯s cheek. ¡°Thank you for telling me, Casey.¡±


    And now, she had to have a serious talk with her father. Thinking of the things she heard, a cold glint flashed in her sapphire blue eyes.


    They better gave her an acceptable explanation for this or she sure as hell wouldn¡¯t just sit back and quietly be their ¡®bait¡¯.

 Chapter 58 - A SINGLE DROP OF TEAR

    EMMY stood in front of her father¡¯s study. She raised her hand and was about to knock when she noticed that her hand was trembling. She clenched and unclenched her fist to stop it from trembling. She thought that she had already calmed herself. But it seemed like that was not entirely the case.


    After Casey told her the things he heard, she wanted to confront her father and brother about it. But they were not at home. Her father was probably at the parliamentary office. She asked their butler if he knew where her older brother was and was told that their father sent Tommy to one of the planets under their territory to do some surprise inspection.


    She had to wait until her father returned home to talk to him.


    While waiting the whole afternoon, Emmy¡¯s mind was in a mess. There were a lot of hostile thoughts. But she forced herself to calm down. Telling herself that maybe, just maybe, there was a good reason behind her father¡¯s action. That there was no other better ¡®bait¡¯ than her.


    But then again, even if that was the case, why couldn¡¯t he just tell it straight to her? Yes, she would be angry. Who wouldn¡¯t in that kind of situation? She¡¯s not some doll or machine that didn¡¯t have any feelings. But she could slowly understand. She could accept if there was really no other choice. She was willing to make a compromise.


    But from beginning to end, any choice that she might have had was already taken from her. And that made her feel like she¡¯s just some kind of tool that was not allowed to have her own will. Heck, it¡¯s like she was not even allowed to feel anything.


    Did her father even view her as his daughter? No, he probably didn¡¯t even view her as a human being capable of her own thoughts.


    It would probably be better if that was the case. Maybe he should have told those people from the fertility lab to remove the part of her brain that dealt with emotion. That way, he would have what he wanted ¨C a doll with no feelings, existing only to do any of his bidding.


    But then again, maybe he would have loved to do that. Sadly, he had a wife that would prevent him from doing that. Her gentle and kind mother who couldn¡¯t even hurt a fly would certainly not allow it.


    Now, more than ever, Emmy wished her mother was still here. Maybe things wouldn¡¯t spiral to this point with her here.


    She took a deep breath. When she saw that her hand was no longer trembling, she finally knocked on the door of the study.


    ¡°Enter,¡± said that familiar cold voice from the inside.


    She opened the door and walked inside. ¡°Father,¡± she called.


    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked, not even bothering to look at her. Just like always.


    She told herself that she would remain calm during this talk. But this cold behavior that wouldn¡¯t even acknowledged her existence just cut the last string of her patience.


    ¡°Casey told me everything he heard in this study. Considering how all-knowing Father is, you probably already expected that to happen. Since Casey is not like Brother ¨C a carbon copy of you. Which means you didn¡¯t care whether I knew about it or not.¡± That¡¯s the first thing she realized after her conversation with her younger brother. ¡°Most probably because the engagement was already official and even if I found out about it, it would make no difference. Am I right, Father?¡±


    She said that last part in an almost sarcastic tone.


    Finally, her father raised his head and looked at her. As expected, there was no emotion in those cold sapphire blue eyes. Even if he was looking at her, it almost felt like he wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°And your point is?¡±


    She almost laughed. What should she expect? That he would explain everything to her? Apparently, she expected too much. She already knew how unfeeling he was. Really, she should have not expected anything from him at all. So, she also just went straight to the point.


    ¡°What kind of crime are you trying to put Cecil Lancaster on trial for?¡±


    ¡°Rape and murder of multiple individuals,¡± her father answered without any emotion. He didn¡¯t even hesitate. As if it wouldn¡¯t matter even if she knew about it or not.


    Emmy froze in place. When she thought there was nothing worse than her current situation, her father would do something that would make it even worse.


    ¡°And your sending your only daughter as ¡®bait¡¯ for him knowing all that?¡± she asked, almost hysterically. ¡°Do you still have a heart? No, you don¡¯t. If you have, you won¡¯t even think of doing this.¡±


    Her father didn¡¯t speak. He didn¡¯t even try to defend himself or even try to explain why he should do this. As if it was only natural that his daughter should be sent to the bed of a suspected rapist and murderer.


    Even if she had a mental breakdown right now, he probably would just watch there.


    Suddenly, Emmy felt very tired.


    ¡°Why should I act like an obedient ¡®bait¡¯?¡±


    She was surprised to hear how calm her own voice was. It¡¯s almost like she was already drained of any emotion.


    Her father stared at her for a few seconds. ¡°I heard this afternoon that you told Cecil Lancaster that you don¡¯t need to meet and that you would proceed with this wedding as planned. Then you don¡¯t have to act like a ¡®bait¡¯. You don¡¯t even need to attend your own wedding. I could just input your fingerprint in your marriage contract. Then deliver you to him. Unconscious or not, I¡¯m sure Cecil Lancaster wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    Emmy couldn¡¯t believe that her father was truly spouting these things. Anger, sadness, and pain all intertwined within her. And then, she slowly let go. She looked at her father the way he had always looked at her ¨C without any emotion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never hated you the way I hate you at this moment. If only Mother could see you right now. How sad would she be.¡±


    There was a ripple of something in her father¡¯s blue depths when she mentioned her mother. But she was too emotionally exhausted to notice it.


    She turned around and walked out of the study. A single drop of tear fell down from her eye.

 Chapter 59 - ON THE BALCONY

    EMMY stared blankly at the full moon shining brightly on the dark night sky. She was standing on the balcony of her room. She didn¡¯t want to think about anything. If she could, she wanted to be just an emotionless puppet right now. That way, she wouldn¡¯t feel this much pain.


    This excruciating pain that was slowly eroding her whole being. Consuming her heart bit by bit. She had a feeling that by the end of this night, she wouldn¡¯t be the same anymore. Maybe nothing would even remain. And she would be just a shell of her former self.


    She clenched her fists tightly. She could feel her nails digging deep into her palms. But she didn¡¯t care. The pain it brought was the least bit comparable to the overwhelming pain she was currently feeling.


    No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn¡¯t understand how her father could do this to her. Even if he didn¡¯t love her as a daughter, she was still someone who was born from his genes. At the very least they were connected by this so-called ¡®family bond¡¯. But it seemed like her father didn¡¯t care at all about that.


    Just why did it reach this point? Was she not useful enough? Had he long been dissatisfied with her and this was his way of getting rid of her? If that was the case, then he could just disown her. Or maybe he wanted to squeeze the last bit of usefulness she had. And that chance arrived when Cecil Lancaster showed an interest in her.


    Her father probably had long wanted to put Cecil on trial. But because of the Lancaster family, he couldn¡¯t do anything against him. At least, without any substantial evidence to back him up. If his daughter was married to Cecil and was abused and mistreated in the process, it would be enough to file a case against the other. Maybe she would even be ordered to find strong evidence that could bring Cecil Lancaster into ruin.


    But why was her father so set on targeting Cecil? Yes, the other was a trash human being. But Anthony Grimaldi had never cared about any crimes committed by other nobles. As long as they didn¡¯t do anything that could affect his territory and his people, then he would just turn a blind eye to the things they¡¯re doing.


    Could it be that Cecil raped and killed someone in one of the planets under their jurisdiction? That¡¯s the most likely reason she could think of. But even so, was Emmy really so unimportant in his eyes that he didn¡¯t even blink when he decided to send her to that human trash?


    Once again, she couldn¡¯t help but laugh bitterly.


    She had thought of just simply running away. But she knew how futile that could be. Because at the end, she would just be returned here by their family¡¯s guards. It would be just a wasted effort.


    There¡¯s really only one thing that could get her out of this situation. The only thing that could quickly end her pain. She just had to kill herself.


    But then again, she was not even sure if she would succeed.


    If she tried self-harm, she had to make sure that she wouldn¡¯t be found quickly and thus be rescued. In this day and age, as long as an injured person was quickly put into a medical cabin, their injury would be more or less cured. The only way to successfully commit suicide was if she drank a strong enough poison or a gene breaking agent that could destroy her from the inside.


    But where could she possibly find those banned things? No, the real question was could she find it without her father noticing? The answer was already pretty obvious.


    Even if she managed to find those things, could she really kill herself? Could she let Casey experienced the pain of losing his only sister? Leaving him all alone in this cold and unfeeling house.


    At least, if she went through with her father¡¯s plan, there¡¯s a chance that he might still come out of this alive. Albeit emotionally and psychologically scarred. Unless, of course, her father already planned on thoroughly sacrificing her.


    She looked up at the moon, despair filling her sapphire blue eyes. She could not foresee any good ending. What waited for her at the end of it all was only misery.


    She closed her eyes tightly. She didn¡¯t want to cry again. But tears were already welling inside her eyes. A mocking smile appeared on her lips. Truly, how weak.


    ¡°You¡¯re about to cry again,¡± said by a familiar voice. The voice from the man who had been invading her thoughts for the past two weeks.


    No, but how could he be here? Was it just her imagination?


    She abruptly opened her eyes. Then to her shock, she saw a tall and burly man softly landing on her balcony. He had shaggy brown hair and a pair of teal-gray eyes. He was staring straight at her as if she was the only one who could enter his gaze.


    Gage Thompson reached out to her cheek and wiped a stray drop of tear. ¡°I told you, I don¡¯t like seeing you cry.¡±

 Chapter 60 - ANOTHER CHOICE

    EMMY hadn¡¯t recovered yet from her initial shock when she suddenly felt a rough palm touching her cheek. It was full of calluses, a sign that the owner of the palm was used to rough work. But it was warm. So warm that it almost melted her slowly freezing heart.


    When she heard him speak, she finally woke up from her momentary gaffe. ¡°You- how- why- what are you doing here?¡± Then she suddenly thought of the guards that were constantly patrolling outside the mansion. If one of them saw Gage, it would truly be a disaster. ¡°Come inside first.¡±


    She pulled him inside her room. Then she closed the balcony door and pulled the curtain over it. When she turned to Gage, she saw the other looking amusedly at her. As if he found her set of actions rather amusing. Which greatly annoyed her.


    ¡°Did you just laugh at me?¡±


    ¡°No. I just wonder if you don¡¯t have any sense of danger. You just let an almost complete stranger into your room and a man at that ¨C someone who is physically stronger than you. Are you not worried that I might do something terrible to you?¡±


    Emmy stared at Gage who looked like he was really curious why she did what she did. He was indeed right. The normal reaction was for her to shout and call the guards to apprehend the trespasser. But no, her body¡¯s first reaction was to pull him inside her room to make sure that the guards of her family wouldn¡¯t notice him.


    Now that her brain was a bit clearer, that was really stupid of her. But, somehow, even after realizing her mistake, she still didn¡¯t think that what he did was wrong. Probably because Gage was not exuding that kind of danger. That type that could easily hurt innocent people.


    ¡°If you plan to hurt me, you would have done it already instead of having this small talk with me right now,¡± she simply said. ¡°Besides, even if you do, I could just activate the alarm in this room and the guards outside and inside the house would immediately come running here. If you want to risk that, then sure, go ahead and hurt me.¡±


    Gage seemed surprised by her response. And then he chuckled, looking at her with a soft gaze. ¡°You really are an interesting girl.¡±


    Emmy looked away. She suddenly felt self-conscious with him looking at her like that. She cleared her throat and calmed herself. ¡°How did you get pass all the guards?¡±


    ¡°I found a loophole in the mansion¡¯s security and took advantage of that. Then, I went straight here.¡±


    Emmy was shocked when she heard that. Any self-consciousness she might have felt quickly disappeared. She could understand a few things from what he said. If he found a security loophole in the mansion that meant that he had been studying the security detail of the place. And if he came straight here, then he was here for her.


    Realizing that, she subconsciously stepped back.


    Gage probably saw her little action that¡¯s why he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as you said earlier, I¡¯m not here to hurt you.¡±


    Even though he said that, Emmy still put up her guard. ¡°Then why are you here?¡±


    ¡°To warn you. Your fianc¨¦, Cecil Lancaster, he¡¯s a very dangerous man. It would be best to back out of your engagement to him.¡±


    Emmy¡¯s heart suddenly boomed. She had a feeling that Gage probably knew about the secret of Cecil Lancaster. ¡°You could have just told me this without going as far as trespassing at our mansion.¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t risk being seen with you. In the eyes of everyone, I¡¯m on the side of the Lancasters. If, by some chance, someone from their side saw me talking to you, all the plans that I¡¯ve made so far would be put to waste. So, I could only go here to meet you secretly,¡± Gage said then his brows slightly furrowed. ¡°Will you back out from your engagement?¡±


    Emmy scoffed. ¡°No, my father won¡¯t allow me to.¡±


    The furrow on his brows deepened even further. ¡°If you tell him that Cecil Lancaster is a murderer, maybe the Duke would have second thoughts about this marriage.¡±


    Sure enough. This man knew about the secret of Cecil Lancaster. ¨C Emmy thought. ¡°That¡¯s certainly how a normal father would react. But, sadly, my father had never been a ¡®normal¡¯ father to me.¡± She laughed bitterly. ¡°He already knew that my dear fianc¨¦ is not only a murderer but a rapist as well. In fact, he told me about it himself. He even said that he would personally deliver me to him, conscious or not. So, no, he would not have a second thought for this marriage.¡±


    Gage appeared dumbfounded when he heard that. He even became quite speechless. Then as if finally registering what she just said, the atmosphere around him suddenly changed. His muscles became tout, his whole body exuding an inexplicable rage. It¡¯s as if any second he would attack someone.


    ¡°Why would he do that?¡±


    Emmy looked at the murderous expression on Gage¡¯s face. Was her situation the reason for this anger? Somehow, she was a bit happy that she could affect his emotion like this.


    ¡°Apparently, I¡¯m the bait.¡± She just shrugged. ¡°He plans to use me to get evidence against Cecil Lancaster and thus, finally putting the other on trial.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re his daughter. How could he put you in such danger?¡± Gage said incredulously.


    ¡°Beats me.¡±


    ¡°Are you fine with that?¡±


    ¡°Do you think I am?¡± she asked instead.


    ¡°No. No one could be fine with that. Unless you¡¯re someone with no emotion. Someone who couldn¡¯t feel pain, happiness, sadness, or anger. The kind that would just say ¡®yes¡¯ to people of higher authority because they didn¡¯t have a mind of their own. And I don¡¯t think you¡¯re like that at all.¡±


    Emmy stared at Gage. Someone she had only met once understood her far better than the person that was supposed to be her family. ¡°You¡¯re right, I am not. But despite that, I already accepted my fate. Because no matter how much I object, my father would surely make sure that this wedding between me and Cecil Lancaster will happen. I don¡¯t really have the ability to oppose him. No matter whatever plan I hatch, I¡¯m pretty sure my father would have no problems foiling it.¡±


    Gage became quite again. ¡°What if you have another choice?¡±


    Emmy raised one of her brows. ¡°What choice?¡±


    Gage then stared straight into her eyes. ¡°You can choose me.¡±

 Chapter 61 - A PART OF GAGES PAST (I)

    EMMY¡¯S heart suddenly started beating like crazy. She could even hear how loud it was thumping inside her chest. Heat slowly creeping up to her face. She had no doubt that her whole face was bright red right now.


    ¡°You- do you even know what you¡¯re talking about?¡± she asked irritably. But beneath the irritation, a small seed of an unknown emotion had already taken place inside her heart.


    Seeing her blushed, Gage probably finally realized how vague his statement was and how it could have totally different meaning. He suddenly became flustered. His whole face turning crimson red. It totally didn¡¯t match his masculine image.


    ¡°I- that- what I meant was that you can choose to work alongside me.¡±


    When Emmy heard that, she felt a sense of lost. Then she berated herself. What was she feeling lost for? Did she really want this guy to propose to her or something? No, she wouldn¡¯t answer that.


    But what did he say? Work alongside him? At that, she suddenly remembered what he said earlier, about being seen talking to her might ruin his plan. Could it be¡­?


    ¡°You mentioned something earlier about a ¡®plan¡¯. Does this ¡®plan¡¯ of yours involve putting Cecil Lancaster to jail?¡±


    Because if not, then he wouldn¡¯t have asked her to work together with him. Her marriage to Cecil was the only problem she had right now. If Gage was asking her to work alongside him, then it could only be against Cecil Lancaster.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s worse than that.¡± He stared straight into her, as if showing her that what he was about to say was not some kind of a joke. ¡°I plan to kill him.¡±


    ¡°W-what?¡±


    Gage looked down at his hand and clenched it tightly. ¡°I want him dead.¡±


    Emmy wanted to ask if he was serious. But looking at him and hearing his voice, she somehow couldn¡¯t do it. Because she could feel it. The raging anger beneath his words. He really meant what he said. Gage wanted to kill Cecil Lancaster.


    If that was the case, then did he purposely become the prot¨¦g¨¦ of General Simon Lancaster so he could find a way to kill Cecil? It certainly looked like that to her.


    From what she remembered from the information she read about Gage online, he had become the prot¨¦g¨¦ of Simon Lancaster as soon as he graduated from Imperial Military Academy. Which meant that he worked his ass off so he could be noticed by the general. All so he could kill Cecil Lancaster.


    Being the general¡¯s prot¨¦g¨¦, he would have countless of chance to get close to the other¡¯s family. The deeper the trust of the general was to him, the easier was it for him to kill Cecil. But that would take years. And yet, here he was, asking her to work together with him.


    He should know that this proposal could only be attractive to her if they could eliminate Cecil as soon as possible. So, why? Why would he disrupt his plan?


    ¡°Why?¡± she simply asked. But she knew that he would probably think that she was asking why he wanted to kill Cecil.


    ¡°Revenge,¡± Gage simple answer. ¡°Twelve years ago, at some poor planet at Darinian Galaxy, he raped and killed a woman. That woman was my adoptive mother.¡±


    After saying that, his eyes darkened. His whole body was suddenly filled with bloodlust. Even Emmy could feel her own blood curling because of such strong killing intent.


    But she didn¡¯t feel scared. Because she could also see the pain in Gage¡¯s teal-gray eyes. Instead of wanting to step back and get away from him, she wanted to pull him into her arms and tell him that everything would be okay. But she didn¡¯t have the qualification to do that. So, she just stood there and patiently listened to him.


    ¡°I was at school that day. When I returned at our home, my mother¡¯s body was already mutilated beyond repair. There was blood all over. So much blood. But one of the most noticeable things was her eye sockets. They were empty. As if someone had dug into them forcefully,¡± Gage continued.


    His voice had become cold and distant. As if he was narrating something that was unrelated to him. Or maybe that was his way so that he could tell these things to her without breaking down.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t remember how I managed to go through that day. I only remembered one of the soldiers giving me my mother¡¯s effects. The items that were found in her body when she died. One of those items were a brooch she always wore. It was actually a recorder. You see, my mother had a very bad memory. She always forgot things. So, she had that brooch made. That bastard probably never thought that a simple brooch would have that kind of function. So, he didn¡¯t bother to destroy it.


    ¡°I watched the recordings in the brooch. I saw his face clearly. I saw everything that he did to my mother. I¡¯ve never felt so much anger and hate towards a person. I just want to cut every piece of his body right at that moment. But I knew I couldn¡¯t do that the way I was then. So, I did what any ten-year-old would do. I went to the authorities and gave them the evidence I had, hoping that they could capture the man that did that kind of thing to my mother. And that was probably the stupidest thing I ever did in my life.¡±


    As he said that, his voice was suddenly filled with bitterness and regret. As well as insurmountable amount of guilt.


    Somehow, Emmy had already foreseen where this was going. And her heart ached even more for Gage.

 Chapter 62 - A PART OF GAGES PAST (II)

    ¡°THE soldier whom I gave the evidence to, smiled at me and told me that I did a good job. He led me to a room, telling me to wait while he called his superior. I remembered suddenly smelling something wrong. I lost consciousness and the next thing I knew, I was already being shipped to a mining planet together with other criminals.¡±


    Emmy gasped in surprise. Although she already suspected that something along those lines would happen, she didn¡¯t expect that those people would actually send a ten-year-old child to a mining planet.


    Mining planets were planets rich in energy spars but had very harsh living conditions. The Empire usually sent criminals there to atone for their crimes by mining energy spars. Most criminals who were sent to mining planets either ended up spending the rest of their days there or they simply ended up dying. And that soldier didn¡¯t even hesitate to send a ten-year-old there.


    She was sure that his higher-up also knew about it. But instead of using the evidence they found to make a case against Cecil Lancaster, they sent a helpless boy to a mining planet. Knowing full well that he might die there. Maybe that¡¯s what they were really hoping for.


    It wouldn¡¯t take a genius to know what became of that evidence. It was most likely destroyed. And those soldiers were most probably working under the Lancaster family. Those trash. Were they still even human?


    ¡°I was confused at first. But then soon, I realized what happened. I ended up in that ship because I gave that evidence to an imperial soldier. Instead of getting justice for my mother, I was sent to die somewhere. I didn¡¯t even realize that I was giving the only card I have to the enemy,¡± Gage continued, his voice full of bitterness and guilt.


    Extreme anger suddenly washed over Emmy. She wanted to beat the shit out of all those soldiers who broke the trust of the boy Gage had been. And most of all, she wanted to castrate Cecil Lancaster for what he did to Gage¡¯s adoptive mother. No, even castrating him wouldn¡¯t be enough. Because she was sure that Gage¡¯s mother was not his only victim. His existence should simply be erased!


    ¡°I spent four years in that mining planet. The only thing that¡¯s keeping me alive was the hate inside my heart. It fueled me to go on living. I couldn¡¯t die because I still haven¡¯t avenged my mother. I was waiting for a chance. Just one chance to get out of that place. And it came four years after I arrived in that place.¡±


    Although Gage didn¡¯t tell her how his life had been in that mining planet he was sent to, Emmy could tell that it was nothing but hellish. Her only relief was the fact that he managed to escape.


    ¡°I often volunteered to mine at one of the dangerous places in that planet. Because I wanted to be alone. Before that, I accidentally found a broken aircraft. Whenever I was alone, I fixed that broken aircraft using the things that I scavenged while mining. It was already nearing its completion when I accidentally saved someone. That person¡¯s aircraft crashed on the area near where I was fixing my own aircraft. Choosing to save him was probably the best decision I could have done at that time. With his aircraft, I managed to finished repairing mine. Then the two of us left the planet.¡±


    The things Gage was telling her was only the simplified version of the events that happened to him. Emmy was sure that it wasn¡¯t as easy as he made it out to be.


    ¡°It¡¯s just my luck that the person I saved happened to be someone of importance. With his help, I managed to establish a new identity. The first thing I did after that was to find someone who could reconstruct a face just by listening to another¡¯s description. I found a person who could do that. I easily described to him how that bastard looked like. It had been four years but I still remembered his face like it was yesterday. Soon, I had the portrait of that bastard in my hands.


    ¡°The person I asked to do that portrait recognized him. And that¡¯s when I finally knew his name. Cecil Lancaster from the powerful Lancaster family. A noble known for being gentle and kind. I almost vomited blood when I heard that bastard being praised like that. But I also quickly realized how impossible it would be for me to exact my vengeance.


    ¡°I¡¯m just an orphan with no power or influence in my hands. For me to kill Cecil Lancaster, I needed to be someone who was qualified enough to stand in his presence. So, I researched everything I could about the Lancaster family. That¡¯s when I discovered how Simon Lancaster would always pick outstanding graduates from the Imperial Military Academy to be part of his army. Some lucky ones even became his prot¨¦g¨¦. I started to develop my plan after knowing that information.


    ¡°I studied like there¡¯s no tomorrow so that I could be accepted at the Imperial Military Academy. And I did. Then I worked and worked and worked to be the best. Finally, Simon Lancaster noticed me and made me his prot¨¦g¨¦. With that qualification, I was a step closer to my goal.


    ¡°My plan was to integrate myself to the Lancaster family to the point that they wouldn¡¯t even suspect me once I killed Cecil Lancaster. I was even willing to marry that guy Simon Lancaster told me to marry. But most of the times, plans simply don¡¯t go the way we wanted.


    ¡°When I saw Cecil Lancaster again after 12 years, I was overcome by the overwhelming urge to kill. While he just stood there, smiling at me. Little did he know how much I wanted to rip his heart out at that moment. It¡¯s a miracle that I even managed to make a response.


    ¡°I underestimated my own need for vengeance. At this rate, I¡¯m not even sure if I could control myself around that bastard. And another variable appeared that forced me to advanced my plans.¡±


    Gage suddenly looked straight at Emmy. And her heart jolted, beating faster and faster for no reason.


    ¡°You.¡±


    Emmy blinked. Her heart that was already beating much faster than normal felt like it was jumping and spinning inside her chest. ¡°M-me?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t let you marry Cecil Lancaster.¡± Then as if realizing what he just said, Gage¡¯s whole face turned red once again. He looked away and scratched the back of his head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t really explain it. I- I just don¡¯t want you to marry him.¡±


    Emmy¡¯s face also turned red, unsure as to how she should response.


    ¡°I was hoping that your father could end the engagement once he knew about Cecil Lancaster¡¯s true color. But now that I know that he plans to use you to trap Cecil Lancaster, I¡¯d rather the two of us work together instead to kill that bastard than have you act as bait.¡± Then his expression suddenly turned fierce once again. ¡°Ah, seriously, what was your father thinking when he made that decision?¡±


    Emmy stared at Gage¡¯s angry expression. And that part of her heart that was slowly turning cold became warm again. During their conversation, she felt shocked, angry, depressed, and then comforted. It was a variation of emotions that she probably wouldn¡¯t feel if the one standing before her was not Gage.


    That seed of unknown emotion inside her heart was already growing at an incredible speed. And with that, she finally made up her mind.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do that. Let¡¯s work together.¡±

 Chapter 63 - START OF THE PLAN

    UNDER the glittering chandeliers, a pair of beautiful man and woman were dancing to the tune of the music filling the dance floor. The man was wearing a white suit, giving him this pure and gentle atmosphere. He had long platinum blond hair and a pair of bright green eyes.


    The woman, on the other hand, was wearing a black dress with small white gems inlaid on it. Making the dress looked like the night sky filled with boundless stars. Her long ice-blue hair was tied up in a complicated knot and adorned by beautiful black pearls. Her pair of sapphire blue eyes were slightly bent into crescents.


    The people around them couldn¡¯t help but praise them for being such a perfect couple. But some still couldn¡¯t help but feel envy seeing the two.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s true then, Lord Cecil is really going to marry the Grimaldi girl?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to doubt? It had already been announced by both families.¡±


    ¡°Why would Lord Cecil pick a girl who¡¯s barely out of school room?¡±


    ¡°Maybe he was forced by his father. No mater how young Lady Emmaline is, she¡¯s still a Grimaldi. And you know how the Lancasters have always been known to pick the most advantageous of marriages.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really lucky for Lady Emmaline to be picked. I also want someone like Lord Cecil.¡±


    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t? Lord Cecil is one of the most eligible bachelors in the Empire. Any noble lady would want to marry him. But sad to say, not all of us have the same pedigree as Lady Emmaline.¡±


    There were a lot of grumblings like these in the crowd. If they only knew what was going on inside the head of one of the protagonists of their discussion, then they would surely be surprised.


    Unlike the happy expression she was showing on the outside, Emmy was feeling quite the opposite inside. She truly wanted to kick this man in front of him on the crotch and break his eggs. That¡¯s not even enough for all the suffering he had caused to others. But she had to bear it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you would actually organize such a party just so people in our noble circle could know that we truly are engaged to be married,¡± Cecil said with the same gentle smile on his face. ¡°And here I thought, you truly only wanted to see me on the day of our wedding. Can I take this party as you having a change of heart?¡±


    [You dream.] ¨C Emmy, of course, didn¡¯t voice her thoughts.


    But truly, if she was just an ordinary citizen and she happened to see this person, she would also think that Cecil Lancaster was a simple gentle nobleman. Who would have thought that there was a monster hidden beneath this gentle fa?ade?


    He must have already perfected his M.O. throughout the years of him raping and killing people. And that included hiding evidence and making sure that his deeds wouldn¡¯t be traced back to him. That incident with Gage¡¯s adoptive mother where his video was accidentally taken must have been just a stroke of luck. But even that ¡®luck¡¯ was cut off by people that should have been protecting the people against such monsters.


    So, aside from his meticulousness while doing his criminal deeds, there were still his family that could cover up his crimes. Not for a second did she think that Cecil¡¯s immediate family did not know how much of a monster he was. But they didn¡¯t care about it and just protected him everywhere. Maybe in their eyes, the lives of those people Cecil ruined didn¡¯t matter.


    She scoffed inside. Did they think they were some kind of superior existence? As if. All of them were humans. Did being nobles give them the right to step on the life of those normal citizens?


    Because they condoned Cecil instead of stopping him, a lot of people had suffered. Including Gage. Just thinking of the things he experienced, Emmy couldn¡¯t help but feel a pain in her heart. As if it was being squeezed tightly. Her hate for Cecil just went to another level because of that.


    ¡°Trust me, this is not something I planned,¡± she said dryly.


    Which was true in a way. Because she planned this together with Gage.


    She remembered the conversation she had with Gage three weeks ago when they were making this plan.


    =====


    ¡°Are you really sure about this?¡± Emmy asked, uncertain if their plan could really work.


    ¡°This is the fastest way. The longer we delay, the higher the possibility that someone from Simon Lancaster¡¯s side would notice my movements and our secret meetings. This is the best time we can get rid of that bastard ¨C Cecil Lancaster,¡± Gage said seriously, referring to the date in which they would execute their plan.


    ¡°But- you- if we succeed, there¡¯s a high chance that this incident would be connected to you,¡± Emmy finally couldn¡¯t help but say. She wasn¡¯t even aware that her expression was already filled with worry.


    Gage¡¯s gaze suddenly became soft for a moment as he looked at her before it returned to his normal serious gaze. ¡°I¡¯m prepared. As long as we kill Cecil Lancaster, I don¡¯t care what will happen to me. I¡¯m more worried about you. Are you really ready to ¡®die¡¯?¡±


    Emmy was surprised by the sudden question. But just as Gage was prepared, she had long been ready for the consequence of their actions. No matter how much it pained her to make this decision.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m ready to ¡®die¡¯.¡±


    =====


    Cecil¡¯s chuckle brought Emmy back from her memories.


    ¡°How cold of you,¡± he said. ¡°But that¡¯s what makes me like you more.¡±


    Emmy stared at the man in front of her. [Let¡¯s see just how long you can laugh like that, you trash.]

 Chapter 64 - LET THE PLAN COMMENCE

    THEY were at a satellite near the capital planet¡¯s orbit. It was called Dionysius. An autonomous satellite owned by some mysterious individual. And for some unknown reason, the Empire, most often than not, turned a blind eye to the things that happened there. As if the person who owned it had something that could hold off the Empire¡¯s royal family.


    It had been like that since its establishment a hundred years ago.


    Many forms of entertainment could be found here. There¡¯s a casino, a fighting arena, underground auctions, they even provided adult entertainment. In short, it¡¯s a place where people could freely let out their greed and desire. And since it¡¯s mostly out of the jurisdiction of the Imperial Army, many people could do things that they normally couldn¡¯t. That¡¯s why it¡¯s really popular among the nobilities.


    Emmy chose this venue for this party and rented one of its buildings. It was easy. Because Dionysius would not reject any kind of business as long as one would pay the right amount of money. The real problem was convincing her father to let her arranged this party.


    Since they had that last talk, it would suspicious of her if she suddenly wanted to have a party considering how she knew that she was just being used as a glorified ¡®bait¡¯. But since she was supposed to be still angry ¨C which, frankly, she still was ¨C she just needed to act unreasonable. Guilt-tripping her father ¨C if he ever felt guilt ¨C into agreeing to what she wanted. After all, she was still being given to a rapist/murderer as a bride.


    If she organized a party to acknowledge her engagement with Cecil Lancaster and then acted as if she was doing that to spite her father, then her move wouldn¡¯t be suspicious at all.


    They chose Dionysius because they didn¡¯t allow private armies here. Which meant that Cecil Lancaster couldn¡¯t bring his swarm of guards. But he could still two or three people and made them attend the party as if they were guests. Emmy didn¡¯t mind that. She simply left the task of dealing with them to Gage.


    He was also invited to this party. Which was not really a cause for suspicion considering that he¡¯s the prot¨¦g¨¦ of Simon Lancaster ¨C Cecil¡¯s brother. The other was even invited to the Lancaster¡¯s patriarch¡¯s birthday. So, attending this little party despite not being a part of nobility was not a big deal at all.


    She also invited most of the young nobles ¨C and with ¡®young¡¯, she meant those who hadn¡¯t yet reached their 50th year ¨C living in the capital. When those nobles found out that the venue was Dionysius, they were more than happy to attend. The reason why she did that was to let down Cecil¡¯s guard.


    If it was party with attended by only young nobles, he would definitely not think that something was amiss. Especially if the venue was Dionysius. He would just simply think that this was a whim of a young girl who wanted to impress other nobles of her generation and at the same time spite her father who agreed to marry her off to someone she didn¡¯t like. Who didn¡¯t know that the overly proper Duke Grimaldi didn¡¯t like Dionysius?


    This time, Emmy¡¯s age truly worked for this plan. She¡¯s young and known for her stubbornness. It would definitely not cross Cecil Lancaster¡¯s mind that this party that she planned would be the last party he would ever attend.


    Their plan was simple and crude. But it could also bring the fastest result to them. But just as she and Gage had talked about, this plan was not without any drawbacks. The result of their success would be them throwing away their current lives.


    Strangely enough, Emmy didn¡¯t feel scared of that. She already made all the preparations she needed. Her only regret was that she could not say goodbye to Casey in person.


    But it¡¯s not like she could return. No matter what her father and brother¡¯s reasons were for doing what they did, she couldn¡¯t go on living with them as if nothing had happened. That would definitely just make her insane. It¡¯s better to leave and just live the way she wanted. Aside from her younger brother, it¡¯s not as if there were people who wanted her to be in that house.


    So, it¡¯s better this way for everyone.


    She raised her head and looked at the bastard she was dancing with. Her only wish right now was for their plan to succeed. Successful enough to kill this bastard.


    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± Cecil asked, amusement filling his green eyes.


    ¡°Nothing. I just thought you¡¯re very handsome,¡± Emmy answered with no emotion in her voice.


    Cecil chuckled. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad my future wife thinks so.¡±


    Emmy rolled her eyes and moved her gaze. Then her gaze clashed with a pair of teal-gray eyes. Gage nodded to her almost imperceptibly. That was a signal. It meant that he had taken care of the people Cecil brought.


    They could now commence with the plan.


    When she and Cecil finished dancing, he escorted her diligently. While they were walking, Emmy acted like she was about to fall. As if she suddenly felt dizzy. Cecil quickly supported her.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked sounding very worried.


    ¡°I feel a bit dizzy. The alcohol must have gotten into me.¡± Emmy leaned into Cecil, acting very weak and helpless. ¡°Sorry but could you bring me to one of the resting rooms?¡±


    He must have liked this look of hers. Because there was a sudden gleam in his eyes. ¡°Of course.¡±


    They walked with his arm around her shoulders. And as they walked closer to the resting area, she smiled inwardly.


    Finally. Everything would be over.

 Chapter 65 - LEAVING DIONYSIUS

    THEY were walking very closely to each other, their bodies almost attached together. In the eyes of the other people who was watching them, it certainly looked like they were hugging each other. The guests who saw them would only think that they were showing affection.


    It was just as Emmy wanted. This way no one would suspect that she was up to something.


    They entered the resting area and she told him to take him to the room at the end of the corridor. Once they walked inside, Emmy sat down on one of the couches there and still acted like she was dizzy.


    Cecil put a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. ¡°If you¡¯re not used to drinking alcohol, then you shouldn¡¯t have drunk too much.¡±


    Emmy moved away from the other¡¯s touch. She didn¡¯t really drink that much. She only acted like she did. The fact that Cecil didn¡¯t notice it proved that his interest in her wasn¡¯t really that deep. She had a guess that he only liked her face.


    She realized that when Gage mentioned to her that she and his adoptive mother had the same eye shape and color. The fact that his mother was found with her eyes gouged out of her probably meant that Cecil chose his victims based on their eyes. If they suited his perverted taste, then they would be the unlucky target of his desire.


    Gage meaningfully said to her once that a person like Cecil Lancaster should probably had a trigger. A person or an event that triggered his perverse lunacy. Unless, of course, he was born like that.


    Emmy knew that Gage was trying to say something to her. But probably because he was afraid that it would hurt her, he couldn¡¯t bear to tell it to her directly. After all, it was just a guess and he didn¡¯t have any evidence to support it. But even though Gage didn¡¯t tell her his suspicion, Emmy still had a hunch of what it was.


    If that hunch was true, then it could explain a lot of things. Her father¡¯s behavior, why Cecil even proposed to her. But she¡¯d rather it was not. Because if it was, then that¡¯s just too sad. And painful.


    A lot of emotion swirled inside her. But she knew that this was not the time for this. So, she took a deep breath and forcefully calmed herself. What she needed to do now was to keep Cecil¡¯s attention on her.


    She raised her head. ¡°Thank you for accompanying me.¡± She smiled. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re not so bad after all.¡±


    Cecil seemed to be dazzled by her smile. He stared at her intently. ¡°This likeness is truly uncanny.¡±


    Emmy felt her heart tightened at Cecil¡¯s words. Because she knew the other was comparing her to her mother. [No. Don¡¯t think about that possibility. Not right now.]


    Then she saw him closing the distance between them. She forced herself to stand still. Because at the corner of her eye, she saw the opposite wall opening and Gage walking out of it.


    Cecil Lancaster had an S level physique. He would surely hear the opening of the wall. So, she pulled him closer. It startled him and gave time for Gage to rush forward and hit the back of Cecil¡¯s head. The loud thump she heard showed just how much force Gage used to hit the other. Cecil showed a pained expression, then his eyes rolled upward before falling forward.


    Emmy was ready to push him away but Gage quickly pulled him back. Cecil landed unconscious on the floor.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Gage asked.


    She stood up. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    She looked at the unconscious Cecil. Blood trickled down from his forehead, proving just how much force Gage used to hit him. It would be good if they could just kill him right here, right now. But then, they wouldn¡¯t accomplish their other objective ¨C to show the people of the Empire what kind of monster Cecil Lancaster truly was. They couldn¡¯t just let the people think that he was the victim here.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Our aircraft is already ready. We could immediately warp to our destination once we get to the aircraft.¡±


    Emmy nodded as a response to what Gage said.


    Gage first bound the hands and feet of Cecil, then gagged him before pulling him up effortlessly. He entered the secret door and she followed.


    Emmy noticed that the door automatically closed when they entered. The lights in the narrow passageway turned on as they walked.


    She didn¡¯t know what kind of deal Gage made with the owner of Dionysius for him to allow them access to this passageway. Not only that, he also assured that the room they were just in didn¡¯t have any cameras that could capture what just happened. He would also let them access their space warp.


    ¡°Gage, the deal you had with the owner of Dionysius¡­ it¡¯s not something like you giving your life to him, right?¡± she asked worriedly.


    Gage stopped for a moment then he chuckled. ¡°My lady surely has a rich imagination. I assure you, he didn¡¯t want my life. It¡¯s not worth that much anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± Emmy quickly said at his own condescending remark on himself. Then she realized that her response was a bit too enthusiastic. Her whole face heated up because of that. ¡°I- I mean, a person¡¯s worth couldn¡¯t be measured just like that.¡±


    Gage coughed in embarrassment. His ear tips turning red. ¡°I offered him a rare kind of drug in exchange for this small assistance,¡± he just said, changing the subject.


    Emmy was thankful for the change in topic. She became quickly interested by what he said. ¡°A drug?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It was developed by the person I saved back in the mining planet I was thrown in.¡±


    She remembered that this was also the person who helped Gage get a new identity. If he was someone who could create a drug that could attract the interest of the owner of Dionysius, then he must be a one-of-a-kind genius.


    They finally arrived at the end of the passageway. And just like Gage said, an aircraft was already waiting for them there.


    Gage unceremoniously dropped Cecil at the back. Then he opened the door for Emmy. If not for the situation, she would probably be amused that he still had time to act like a gentleman at a time like this.


    She got inside the aircraft and Gage walked to the other side to sit on the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± he asked.


    Emmy nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Gage started the aircraft. Then they warped out of there ¨C leaving Dionysius behind their trail.

 Chapter 66 - THE END AND THE BEGINNING (I)

    EMMY stared at the virtual screen floating on top of her Terminal. It showed the video of Cecil tied up on a tree, still unconscious, and Gage standing in front of the other with a mask covering his face. This video was transmitted real-time via the cameras floating around the two from different angles.


    Emmy was inside the aircraft parked at some distance away from where Gage and Cecil were. They were on an underdeveloped planet that was known for having ferocious beasts. They chose this planet mainly because of its lacked of human population. Which meant that whatever they did, no one would suddenly barge in and report them to the authorities.


    The only problem would be the ferocious beast roaming around the planet. But as long as they didn¡¯t smell a huge amount of blood, then they wouldn¡¯t swarm the place they were in. That¡¯s also another part of their consideration on why they chose this place.


    Emmy turned her attention back on the virtual screen. Cecil Lancaster was not in a good state. His hair was disheveled, his upper body was naked, and only a thin pair pants was left. This was to ensure that no items in his body could be used to track him. Even his Terminal was left in the resting room of Dionysius.


    Gage walked towards Cecil and punched his stomach. The other spit out saliva and because of the pain brought by the punch, he thoroughly regained consciousness.


    ¡°Y-you¡ªw-who are you?¡± Cecil asked while coughing non-stop. He tried to look around and then as if just realizing his current situation ¨C half-naked and tied to a tree ¨C he glared fiercely at Gage. ¡°Where is this place? What are you planning? Do you know who I am?!¡±


    [Famous last words.] ¨C Emmy scoffed when she heard what Cecil said.


    Gage didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he walked towards Cecil.


    As he walked closer, Cecil¡¯s expression became uglier and uglier. Especially after he saw Gage taking out a syringe filled with blue liquid. ¡°What are you trying to do?!¡±


    He struggled from his bindings. But no matter how much strength he put, the bindings around him didn¡¯t even budge. According to Gage, the rope binding Cecil was made up of special material. So, even if the other had an S level physique, he wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of it.


    Gage ignored Cecil¡¯s struggles. He flicked the needle of the syringe he was holding causing a bit of droplet to fall. Then, without saying anything, he mercilessly punctured the syringe on the side of Cecil¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Argh¡­!¡± Cecil grunted probably because of the pain. Then he looked at Gage, his eyes almost bloodshot because of anger. ¡°If I get out of here, I will kill you. Did you hear? I swear I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t have that chance,¡± Gage said while stepping back. ¡°Now, let me ask you a question. How many people have you killed?¡±


    Cecil appeared startled by the question. Then he looked at Gage as if he was a lunatic. After all, who in their right mind would answer that kind of question honestly? He looked like he was about to laugh and mock Gage. But what came out of his mouth instead was;


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember. I¡¯m not in the habit of counting the dead bodies of the people who no longer have any used.¡±


    [Bastard!] ¨C Emmy thought while watching the video. She could see the tightly clenched hands of Gage. He must be holding in his anger.


    Cecil looked shocked. As if he didn¡¯t expect that he would say that himself. ¡°You- what did you do to me?¡± he tremblingly asked.


    ¡°The liquid I injected you earlier was a very powerful truth serum,¡± Gage simply said. ¡°I spent quite a lot on this at the black market. It seems that my star coins are well spent. The effect is really good.¡±


    Truth serum was a banned drug that only the military could have access to. It was mainly used for interrogation and torture.


    Emmy knew that Gage purposely said that last part to make sure that the truth serum that he used wouldn¡¯t be equate to the person he saved back when he was still at the mining planet. That¡¯s right, the truth serum was also made by that person.


    Another reason why he also purposely mentioned ¡®truth serum¡¯ was so when people see the recordings of this video, they would understand that Cecil was driven by that drug to tell the truth.


    Cecil¡¯s eyes widened after hearing what Gage said. Then his whole body trembled. That¡¯s when he looked straight at one of the cameras. And realization dawned on him. But instead of being afraid, he just laughed sarcastically.


    ¡°Are you planning to release the recording of my ¡®confession¡¯ to the public? Hah! Do you really think that would be enough to stop me? Why do you think I was able to do the things I did for so long? Because my family was there to back me up! Even if you kill me here, they would make sure this ¡®stain¡¯ wouldn¡¯t get out. They would do everything in their power just to make sure that this would not affect the family¡¯s reputation. I guess you just did this all for nothing.¡±


    Emmy was the one who wanted to laugh sarcastically when she saw this. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the truth serum that¡¯s why he was spouting the things in his mind without filter despite knowing that he was being filmed, but he certainly looked like a madman right now.


    This image was certainly a far cry from the gentle and kind noble who was everyone¡¯s dream lover. She honestly couldn¡¯t wait for others to see Cecil Lancaster like this.


    Gage ignored Cecil¡¯s provocation and instead asked, ¡°How did you kill your victims?¡±


    ¡°I stopped their mobility, raped them, mutilate their body, and then gouged their eyes out,¡± Cecil answered as if in a daze.


    ¡°Did you enjoy it, all the killings that you did?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I like the look of powerlessness in their eyes. It brings me so much pleasure that I couldn¡¯t stop.¡±


    The look of intoxication in Cecil¡¯s face almost made Emmy gagged in disgust.


    ¡°Did you take any ¡®souvenirs¡¯ from the people you killed?¡±


    Once again, Cecil couldn¡¯t stop himself from answering truthfully. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What did you take from them?¡±


    ¡°Their eyes.¡±

 Chapter 67 - THE END AND THE BEGINNING (II)

    ALTHOUGH she already expected this answer, Emmy still wanted to beat the shit out of Cecil for being such a monster. She looked worriedly at Gage. Even though his face was covered by a mask, she could tell just how angry he was just by looking at the veins popping on his fist because he was clenching it too tightly.


    He was most likely thinking of that scene when he saw his adoptive mother, her eyes gouged out from its sockets. Emmy couldn¡¯t help but feel distressed.


    But Gage still didn¡¯t show his anger and instead continued asking, ¡°Where are you keeping this ¡®souvenirs¡¯?¡±


    Cecil¡¯s expression appeared very reluctant. His brows scrunched up and his expression turned very ugly. But at the end, he still answered Gage¡¯s question. ¡°At my villa on the planet Seavis.¡±


    ¡°Tell me the exact location.¡±


    Cecil¡¯s expression became even uglier. But he still told Gage the exact location of the villa.


    Emmy almost made a fist bump when she heard that answer. This was the information they were waiting for. A clear evidence of Cecil Lancaster¡¯s crimes. If people found those ¡®souvenirs¡¯ and then extracted the DNA from them, if they entered it on the database, they would surely find that the owner of those eyes belonged to people who died or had been missing.


    Even if the Lancaster family hid the deaths of Cecil¡¯s victims, he couldn¡¯t just simply erase their existence.


    They planned to send the recording of this video to someone who could fight with the Lancaster family and was determined enough to reveal Cecil¡¯s crimes to the public. Of course, their top choice was her dear father.


    If they gave him a copy of the video, he could mobilize the Grimaldi family¡¯s force and ensure that those ¡®souvenirs¡¯ wouldn¡¯t end up in the hands of the Lancasters.


    In the case that he didn¡¯t live up to their expectation, then they could simply send the copy of the video to one of the Empire¡¯s generals. Preferably one who was on the opposing side of the Lancasters.


    Once they were sure that the evidence was secured, then they would post the video on [StarNet]. Emmy had no doubt that it would definitely spread like wildfire once it¡¯s posted there.


    She looked back at the virtual screen and saw Cecil trembling all over. Most likely because of anger. No, definitely anger.


    Cecil looked at Gage viciously, as if he wanted to kill the other in the most painful way. Then suddenly he calmed down, as if he just realized the seriousness of his situation right now.


    ¡°What do you want? Are you doing this for money? To blackmail my family? I can give you as much money as you want. I could even forget this disrespect that you¡¯ve shown me. I¡¯m still under the influence of the serum, so you know I¡¯m telling the truth.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to negotiate with you,¡± Gage said in a cold voice. ¡°I don¡¯t plan on letting you get out of here alive. This will be the place where you will die.¡±


    After Gage said that, the video transmission on Emmy¡¯s Terminal suddenly ended. And she immediately knew that the other cut off the transmission. Probably so she couldn¡¯t see what he was about to do to Cecil Lancaster.


    But Emmy couldn¡¯t remain calm. The distance of the aircraft from the area where Gage and Cecil were was not that far. But it was also not that near. If Gage was too immersed in his anger to the point that he lost track of his surroundings, what would he do if those ferocious beasts started to swarm them?


    That¡¯s why they decided that he would contact him as soon as he finished his interrogation. That way, she could bring the aircraft to where he was. And yet this guy not only cut off the video transmission to her Terminal, he also didn¡¯t bother to contact her.


    She didn¡¯t mind if Cecil Lancaster was eaten. But she would certainly not allow Gage to have any scratch on him.


    She didn¡¯t think more and quickly drove the aircraft to Gage¡¯s position. As she did, she could see from the distance that there were already some beasts that were running towards the direction of where Gage¡¯s was. She pushed the acceleration button and the aircraft¡¯s current speed almost doubled.


    Arriving at her destination, she lowered the aircraft so it would be easy for Gage to jump up. She stood up and opened the door of the aircraft. The moment she did, the first thing she heard was a loud scream. Like a pig being slaughtered.


    She turned her gaze to the source and she almost gasped when she saw Cecil¡¯s current condition.


    He was no longer tied to the tree. Instead, his body was now lying on a pool of blood. Or at least, what remained of it. His arms and legs were cut off. The cut off limbs were scattered on the ground. Blood pouring everywhere. Surprisingly enough, he was still alive. Screaming in so much pain. Well, his body had an S level physique. It would be too bad if he died just like that.


    She looked at Gage who happened to also raised his head towards her. She couldn¡¯t see his expression because of the mask. But he could see his hand that was tightly gripping on a sword. The veins on it were almost popping. Showing just how much anger he had right now.


    She glanced at the sword he was holding that was now almost drenched in Cecil Lancaster¡¯s blood. She remembered how he told her that he would use a dull blade to cut Cecil. That way, the pain the other would feel would definitely be unimaginable. After all, cutting flesh using such a dull blade would be much more painful to the recipient.


    Cecil Lancaster deserved this much and definitely more.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Gage asked, his voice hoarse.


    ¡°There are beasts coming. Go inside the aircraft, that bastard would definitely not go anywhere even if we leave him there,¡± she said, glancing at Cecil who was whimpering in pain. He didn¡¯t even look like he was in his right mind anymore.


    Gage gave Cecil one last glance before pinning his shoulder on the ground using the sword. Then he jumped up towards the aircraft. Emmy quickly closed the door and drove the aircraft higher.


    Just as she did, a number of ferocious beasts suddenly emerged from the forest and they all swarm towards Cecil¡¯s body.


    She and Gage didn¡¯t speak and just silently watched as those beasts tore through Cecil Lancaster. They watched until only his bones remained.


    Emmy turned towards Gage. He already removed his mask. The anger she was expecting was no longer there. Instead, there were only silent tears. Before she could think properly, her body already moved and she enveloped him in her arms.


    ¡°Sshh¡­ it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay,¡± she said in comfort while patting his back gently.


    She felt his body stiffened at first before it slowly relaxed. Then he felt his strong arms surrounding her, hugging her tightly. As if he could draw strength from her petite body. She could also feel the tears wetting her shoulder.


    Emmy didn¡¯t mind and just continued to gently pat his back. ¡°It¡¯s over now, Gage. It¡¯s over.¡±


    Yes, it¡¯s over. But the journey of the two of them was only just beginning.

 Chapter 68 - A LITTLE Q&A (I)

    ASTRID was greatly shocked by everything he heard. Although he was ready to hear some extraordinary things, he certainly didn¡¯t expect this. Who would have thought that their parents¡¯ past would have so many twists and turns?


    When his mother said that she was from a noble family, the first thing that came to his mind was that she and his father had eloped because her family didn¡¯t approve of their relationship. He certainly didn¡¯t think that it would involve another powerful noble family and a psychotic murderer. It could be a plot for some dog blood movie.


    Not to mention, the awful things that both of them experienced. Astrid was thankful that his parents were able to find each other and be each other¡¯s strength.


    ¡°What happened after that?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Well, me and your dad started to travel around. Many things happened along the way. We faced some space pirates, stayed temporarily at a Lawless Den, worked as mercenaries for a time. Then we fell in love and had you two,¡± her mother said as if what they experienced were just some everyday occurrence.


    Astrid looked at his father. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, Dad got his eye injury from these little ¡®adventures¡¯?¡±


    Since his mother didn¡¯t mention why his father was now wearing an eyepatch until the end of her story, then he could only assume that he got it while they were fighting some space pirates or while working as mercenaries. In which he still couldn¡¯t imagine his petite mother fighting a space pirate or being a mercenary.


    His mother gave his father a sideway glance. ¡°He got it because of his negligence and stupidity.


    Gage embarrassingly scratched his nose. ¡°We were hired to get a certain material from an underdeveloped planet. I let my guard down and was attacked by some high-level ferocious beast. We weren¡¯t able to heal it immediately because the medical cabin installed in our aircraft stopped working. I forgot to check it before we left, so we didn¡¯t know that it already had problems. So, yes, it¡¯s my negligence and stupidity that caused this.¡±


    Not to mention that during that time, he and Emmy just experienced their first night together. He was so over in the clouds with happiness that his brain could only think of things not suitable for children. So, yes, he kind of deserved this injury.


    ¡°Then what happened to the Lancasters? Did they pay for what that Cecil did?¡± Reas asked, putting back the conversation on track.


    For someone who wanted to be an Imperial Soldier, the things that his mother told them truly challenged his views on what a soldier should be like. A powerful military family using their power to protect a monster and even indulged him, soldiers who wouldn¡¯t even think twice in sending a ten-year old child to a mining planet and even hide the crime of a lunatic. He was filled with anger just thinking about it.


    This was probably the first time that he understood that the world was not all filled with rainbows and butterflies. That there¡¯s a darkness lurking within. And humans were the one festering it.


    But it didn¡¯t deter him from his dreams. In fact, it only strengthened it. He didn¡¯t want the tragedies that happened to his parents happened to anyone ever again. If he wanted to change anything, then he should be at a place of power where he could do it.


    Astrid glanced at his brother. He certainly felt the change in him. Probably because they were twins. So, they were both sensitive to the emotional and psychological changes of each other. And he knew that this change had something to do with what their mother had told them.


    For some reason, he had a feeling that he just had witnessed his brother growing up right before his eyes.


    ¡°We sent the video of Cecil Lancaster confessing to his crime to my- to Duke Grimaldi. And just as we expected, he raided the villa of Cecil on the planet Seavis. He found Cecil¡¯s wonderful ¡®collection¡¯ of eyes. We didn¡¯t need to spread that video of Cecil ourselves. Because Duke Grimaldi had already done it.


    ¡°After that video spread, public opinion was divided. But many of them still believed that Cecil was coerced into saying those things. That¡¯s when Duke Grimaldi released the evidence of Cecil¡¯s perverseness. The video of the villa containing his ¡®collection¡¯ and how each of the eyes corresponded to either a dead or missing person. Finally, they had no choice but to accept that Cecil Lancaster was nothing but a depraved killer.


    ¡°The Emperor at that time was so angry when he found out about it that he took back all the military positions of those belonging to Lancaster family. Ah, but not all, Simon Lancaster was able to keep his position as a general. The Emperor only halved the army under him.¡±


    Emmy said that last part with a bit of a sarcastic tone. She didn¡¯t know what that old man of the Lancaster family exchanged with the former Emperor so his son could keep his position. It didn¡¯t matter to him that much since the Lancasters had been in decline after that.


    But a decade ago, just after the new Emperor sat on his throne, they started to rise up again in power. And now, they had almost recovered.


    That¡¯s one of the reasons why she was so reluctant to send her children to the capital. If those bastards found out their identity, there¡¯s no doubt in her mind that they would kill them for revenge.


    After all, she and Gage did send the video of Cecil being devoured by those ferocious beasts to the patriarch of the Lancaster family.

 Chapter 69 - A LITTLE Q&A (II)

    ¡°DID Mom manage to fake her death? And did Dad actually ended up being wanted?¡± Astrid asked.


    Although he already had an idea on what the answer would be, he still wanted to know how it happened. The fact that no one had come in this planet to look for his mother for as long as he could remember meant that for everyone else, she was already dead. Emmaline Grimaldi no longer existed.


    But he wasn¡¯t sure if the same could be said for his father. That¡¯s why he asked this question.


    ¡°I left a video message to Duke Grimaldi before your father and I executed our plan,¡± Emmy said. ¡°I told him to tell everyone that I died in the same planet where Cecil died. With his position, he could easily fake my death. And because that bastard and I disappeared together, it would give him the right excuse on why he ended up searching Cecil¡¯s villa. He could simply say that while looking for me, he received an anonymous video. Since it¡¯s the video of Cecil confessing to his crime, he could just say that he went to that villa looking for me.¡±


    Considering how everything went well, her father definitely followed the instructions she gave to a tee. She also didn¡¯t doubt that her father would do it like that. Because that way, the Grimaldis would still appear like they were on the neutral side and not deliberately targeting the Lancasters. After all, his daughter also ¡®died¡¯. Who would dare point fingers at them?


    ¡°I did end up being wanted,¡± Gage said afterwards. ¡°As long as one investigated enough, they would find my connection to your mother¡¯s and Cecil Lancaster¡¯s disappearance at Dionysius. The Lancasters couldn¡¯t charge me for the death of Cecil. In the eyes of the public, I did a great deed by killing him. So, they did everything in their power so I could be charged by ¡®killing¡¯ your mother. The Grimaldis didn¡¯t do anything to stop it. It would be too suspicious if they did. And that¡¯s how your Dad ended up in the most wanted list of the Empire.¡±


    Emmy pinched her husband¡¯s cheek. ¡°Why do you seem so proud?¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­ aw¡­ wife, don¡¯t pinch too hard.¡±


    Astrid stared at his parents. The way they were acting, it¡¯s like what they said was nothing. As if all those depressing things couldn¡¯t affect them.


    His mother¡¯s family knew that she was still alive and yet none of them had been in contact with her. And she seemed okay with that. No, maybe she was secretly in contact with her younger brother. They seemed close based on what their mother told them.


    He remembered how this Duke Grimaldi was in his mother¡¯s story. A responsible duke and an unfeeling father. He seemed to be very objective, someone who wouldn¡¯t act on his emotions. And yet he made a decision to use his only daughter as bait just to capture that Cecil Lancaster when there¡¯s a lot of other way to do that. Ways that wouldn¡¯t hurt the feelings of his child.


    It almost seemed like a very emotional decision. As if he couldn¡¯t wait to put Cecil Lancaster into trial in the fastest way possible. And since that psycho proposed marriage to Mom, he simply chose to agree with the idea of using his mother as ¡®bait¡¯.


    But why?


    ¡°Did Dad and Mom ever find out why this Duke Grimaldi wanted to use Mom as ¡®bait¡¯? If he hated that Cecil bastard, why couldn¡¯t he just pay someone to assassinate him or something?¡± Reas said, asking exactly what¡¯s on Astrid¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Maybe that psycho did something that angered the Duke. But it was something that didn¡¯t warrant for him to move his hand and kill him. Putting him to jail would be enough to quell his anger,¡± Astrid said, sharing his theory. ¡°But he wanted it to be done quickly, so he chose to use Mom as ¡®bait¡¯.¡±


    Emmy looked at his twins. One didn¡¯t hesitate to suggest that her father could have just killed Cecil and the other talked mockingly while coldly analyzing things. They didn¡¯t even bother to show any kind of respect to her father ¨C their grandfather. Did she and her husband just raise a pair of terrifying children?


    But instead of being afraid, she was oddly proud. Because it just showed the strength of the two.


    Regarding their question, she simply said, ¡°We also don¡¯t know.¡±


    But she had a guess on why. She bet that Gage also had his own conjecture about the matter. But she no longer wanted to dig up the past. Because just like what she said to her husband when they were leaving that underdeveloped planet, everything was already over with the death of Cecil Lancaster. If they continued to be tied up in the past, then how could they create a path to their future?


    She caught herself and she almost laughed because of her last thought. Despite thinking that way, she was still tying up her children here because of that past. Wasn¡¯t that hypocritical of her?


    She stared at her twins and finally made up her mind.


    *****


    ANNOUNCEMENT:


    This story will go premium once it reached ch.71. And because of the new rule regarding new contracted novels, the first two locked chapters would automatically be under privilege. I have no control over this. The good thing is that it would only be worth 1 coin to access the privilege chapters.


    I know some of you will not like that the story will go premium. But this is a contracted novel and its chapters will be locked sooner or later. I always locked my story at ch.71. It¡¯s the same for my other two novels.


    If you don¡¯t want to continue reading on because of that, I understand. It¡¯s alright if you drop the novel.


    To those new in AllNovelFull, the chapter cost all depends on the number of words in that chapter. 200 words = 2 coins. Contracted writers are required to write at least 1k words or more for their premium chapters. So, my chapters would probably cost at least 6 coins. I just want to share this in case you think that the writers are the ones who put prices on their chapters.


    If you decided to buy the privilege, please read the instruction about the privilege first. That way you would understand what you¡¯re going into and you won¡¯t feel that you have been cheated.


    Lastly, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who¡¯s still here and who decided that they would still continue reading on. Let¡¯s all join Aster on his journey to stardom! £Ü(¨R¨Œ¨Q)£¯

 Chapter 70 - APPROVAL AT LAST!

    ¡°NOW that you know what happened to me and your Dad in the past, do you still insist on going to the capital to study?¡± Emmy asked.


    Astrid and Reas both looked at each other. They saw the same determination in each other¡¯s eyes. Without speaking, they already knew what they would say. They both looked at their mother and said at the same time;


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You do understand if even one person finds out the identity of your parents, it would not be good for the both of you. It might even be very dangerous. If it reached the ears of Simon Lancaster, he could easily piece two and two together and realized that your Dad and I worked together to kill his brother. And you, as our children, will bear the brunt of his revenge. No, his whole family¡¯s revenge.


    ¡°You should know that Simon Lancaster is still a General with enough power in his hands to eliminate a pair of teenagers. If that were to happen, can the both of you assure us that nothing would happen? That no harm would befall to the both of you?¡± Emmy asked with a grim expression on her face.


    ¡°Mom, we can¡¯t promise that nothing dangerous would happen to us. After all, we can¡¯t predict the future,¡± Astrid said. ¡°But we can promise that we will protect ourselves and each other as well. We also won¡¯t put ourselves in situations that might reveal our identity.¡± He turned to his brother. ¡°Right, Reas?¡±


    Reas nodded. ¡°We can at least do that much.¡±


    ¡°Besides, Mom, I don¡¯t think people would immediately assume that we¡¯re your children just by our appearance. Reas does have the same hair color as Mom¡¯s but his face doesn¡¯t really look like yours or Dad¡¯s.¡± His brother¡¯s face was more of a mixed of both. But because of that, it was hard to see who he resembled. ¡°And then there¡¯s me. No one would definitely think that I¡¯m related to Mom and Dad. So, the possibility of people connecting us to Mom and Dad based on our appearance alone is pretty low.¡±


    ¡°Also, the only way people could straightforwardly connect us to Mom and Dad is by gene testing. But because almost everyone in the Empire had a Terminal that directly acted as an ID, gene testing is hardly the go-to to determine one¡¯s identity,¡± Reas added. ¡°Unless someone directly orders it. But that would only happen if they suspect us as your children. And just like what Aster said, the possibility of that is very low.¡±


    Gage shook his head. Should he be disheartened that his children were blatantly saying that no one would think of them as his and Emmy¡¯s sons?


    Emmy stared at her twins and let out a helpless laugh. It seemed that the two were really very determined to go to the capital. Seeing them being calm after hearing everything, it showed just how strong their hearts were. They weren¡¯t even squeamish about the fact that their parents killed someone.


    And after listening to them calmly analyzing everything, she knew that they could probably handle every obstacle that would be thrown at them. Frankly speaking, if the two showed even the slightest bit of hesitation, she planned to continue objecting to them going to the capital. But they didn¡¯t. They showed her their firm determination instead.


    Her babies had really grown up so much.


    In this battle, it seemed that she could only admit her defeat.


    ¡°Fine. Go study at the capital,¡± she said.


    Astrid was a bit shocked hearing that. He even thought that it was just auditory hallucination. So, he had to ask, ¡°Really? Is Mom really giving us permission?¡±


    ¡°Yes. So, don¡¯t ask again before I change my mind.¡±


    Astrid happily stood up and hugged his mother. ¡°Thank you, Mom!¡±


    Even Reas smiled from ear to ear. ¡°Thank you, Mom.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you two, aren¡¯t you going to ask for my opinion?¡± Gage interjected. ¡°What if I don¡¯t agree?¡±


    Astrid glanced at his father. ¡°Dad, both Reas and I know that as long as Mom agreed, you would also follow along.¡±


    Reas followed that up by saying, ¡°It¡¯s because Dad is a big wife-slave.¡±


    Well, Gage couldn¡¯t deny that. So, he just cleared his throat and changed the topic. ¡°So, which school did that two of you apply?¡±


    ¡°I applied to the Mecha Department of the Imperial Military Academy,¡± Reas said.


    Both Gage and Emmy already had a feeling that that would be the case. After all, Reas interest in mechas was not really a secret.


    ¡°Being a soldier is not something everyone could do. It¡¯s a heavy responsibility. Are you prepared for that?¡± Gage asked seriously.


    ¡°I know, Dad. Trust me, I¡¯m taking this seriously. I didn¡¯t make this decision on a whim,¡± Reas said, equally serious.


    ¡°More than that, you should be more careful. Being a student there, meeting people from the military is inevitable. You will surely come across someone related to the Lancaster family. That¡¯s why you need to be extra careful,¡± Emmy reminded with a grave expression.


    ¡°I know, Mom.¡±


    Gage then turned to Astrid. ¡°How about you, Aster. Which school did you apply to?¡±


    ¡°Redwood School of Performing Arts,¡± Astrid answered with a smile.


    Gage looked confused. Because he hadn¡¯t heard the school his son mentioned. But Emmy¡¯s expression almost cracked because she knew exactly what kind of school it was.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Meanwhile, in the military base of the Emperor Star, a man with white hair was sitting inside a conference hall. His pair of golden eyes were filled with impatience.

 Chapter 71 - THE FIVE GENERALS

    INSIDE the huge conference room, the quarterly meeting of the Imperial Army was being held. The five generals of the Empire were sitting on a round table, behind each of them stood their adjutants. Well, except for the most eye-catching one. The only pair in the room wearing a white military uniform instead of black.


    They were none other than Wulfric de Lunaris ¨C the only prince of the Empire and the leader of Fenris Squad. Standing behind him was the lieutenant of the squad, Leland Brewer.


    This white uniform showed how they differ from the armies led by the other generals.


    The other four generals were in charged of the four galaxies under the Empire¡¯s rule. The army under Wulfric was the only one to not have any ¡®territory¡¯ to protect. Their numbers were also much smaller compared to the others. But among the five armies, no one would doubt the strength of the white wolves.


    Each soldier of the Fenris Army ¨C most commonly known as the Fenris Squad ¨C was said to have strength equivalent to 20 soldiers. Each and everyone of them was powerful all on their own. The three captains and the lieutenant much more so. There was no need to mention the general. Everyone knew he¡¯s the most powerful man in the Empire right now in terms of physical and mental strengths.


    Fenris Squad was a cesspool of soldiers with weird personalities, anger issues, and incredible thirst for battle. They were the only army which didn¡¯t care about one¡¯s background as long as they¡¯re strong. They could serve without worrying that their merits would be stolen from them by someone with a better background than them. It¡¯s a place where only strength mattered.


    Their motto ¨C ¡®Strength is Freedom¡¯.


    And Fenris Squad truly embodied that. Which made a lot of other imperial soldiers dislike them. In the soldiers¡¯ eyes, this ¡®strength¡¯ was just their arrogance and this ¡®freedom¡¯ was just them being unruly.


    Other soldiers thought that because the Fenris Squad¡¯s leader was the prince, it made them fearless. Doing whatever they wanted, disrespecting others with better background than them, and killing without even batting an eye. So, for those nobles in the army, the soldiers of the Fenris Squad were simply an uncouth and uncivilized group of people.


    In layman¡¯s term, they were simply the black sheep of the Imperial Army.


    But really, that was just the other soldiers sour-graping. Because they couldn¡¯t do anything to them, they could only run off their mouths.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Your Highness to be present in the meeting,¡± a stocky middle-aged looking man said. ¡°And here I thought Your Highness would once again be MIA. Oh, I forgot, you did go MIA before this, right? How many times would that be now this year? Your Lieutenant must be exhausted, doing Your Highness¡¯ job.¡±


    This man with a sarcastic tone was General Milton Radcliffe. His army ¨C the Mithril Army ¨C was the one in charged of Darinian Galaxy, the former territory of the Human Alliance.


    He held quite a bit of a grudge against Wulfric because of the other¡¯s blatant refusal of his daughter. His daughter still had a psychological shadow because of the humiliation she suffered from the prince. If Wulfric didn¡¯t have the identity he had now, Milton would have already had him killed for hurting his daughter like that.


    That¡¯s why every time they met, he would take a jibe at him whenever he could.


    Wulfric turned his golden gaze at the stocky general. ¡°Radcliffe, if you have time worrying about the things I do, then why don¡¯t you just use that to exercise? I could see your pot belly here, you know?¡±


    Milton¡¯s face turned the color of a pig¡¯s liver. He resisted the urge to touch his stomach just to check if he really had a pot belly.


    Leland cleared his throat to prevent himself from laughing. He lowered his head and whispered to Wulfric. ¡°Your Highness, please behave.¡±


    ¡°What? He started it,¡± Wulfric childishly said.


    He didn¡¯t even bother to lower his voice. Which didn¡¯t really matter since the others in the room had high enough physique level to hear what they were talking about even if they whispered to each other.


    Leland shook his head. His Highness probably didn¡¯t even know why General Radcliffe was always annoying him. He probably had already forgotten about the daughter of the general.


    As expected, General Radcliffe¡¯s expression became even uglier. If he could, he truly wanted to slap the hell out of this arrogant prince.


    A woman with long sea-green hair braided behind her back sighed. Her big dark blue eyes were almost dripping with gentleness. She was beautiful and had the kind of face that said ¡®I¡¯m kind, trust me¡¯. But anyone who had dealt with her would know that she was the complete opposite.


    ¡°Milton, you really should stop picking a fight with His Highness. You should know by now that you can never win against him,¡± she said, looking at General Radcliffe as if the other was a poor soul tortured by a beast. ¡°His Highness has always been a child who would retaliate at the slightest bit of taunt. Antagonizing him could only lead to disaster.¡±


    This woman was the only female general in the room. Her name was Nerissa Thorn ¨C the head of the Sif Army that was in charge of Palioxis Galaxy. What she said just now criticized General Radcliffe for being stupid and also the prince for being childish. But she said it in a way in a tactful manner that others could not find fault in it. As evidence of General Radcliffe completely being speechless.


    Wulfric glanced at the female general. ¡°Oh General, do you think that little squabble just now was me ¡®retaliating¡¯? Trust me, it¡¯s not. Maybe if I wanted to retaliate against someone, I would show it first-hand to the General.¡±


    Instead of being fazed, General Thorn laughed. ¡°Then I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°Enough with the unnecessary talk and let¡¯s just get on with today¡¯s agenda,¡± said a man with platinum blond hair and green eyes ¨C typical features of someone who belonged to the Lancaster family.


    He was Simon Lancaster. Ever since that incident involving his younger brother 20 years ago, his Rozen Army had been thrown to Tertius Galaxy ¨C the poorest galaxy out of the four galaxies under the rule of the Empire.


    His former position as the one in charged of the safety of Artemian Galaxy where most of the power of the Empire was located then fell to another. It was the man who hadn¡¯t said anything since earlier.


    The man opened his eyes, they had been closed up until now. They were red tinged with orange, almost making them look like small orbs of blazing fire. It was a far cry from the dull brown color of his hair.


    His name was Blake Schwartz. His Aegis Army held most of the military power in the Empire right now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin,¡± General Schwartz simply said.

 Chapter 72 - BACK TO THE PALACE

    THE agenda for the quarterly meeting today was the same old topic about rebels, dissidents, space pirates, and alien races seen close to the border of the galaxies under the role of the Empire. Wulfric barely listened.


    He truly wondered why they couldn¡¯t just have some kind of virtual conference instead of having this face-to-face meeting. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a huge difference between the two. They could still discuss whatever they wanted to discuss. The only reason he could think of why they insisted on this kind of meeting was because they wanted to annoy each other.


    He hadn¡¯t been a general for as long as the other four. In fact, compared to them, he would probably still be considered as a baby chick. After all, they had already passed their hundred years while he just reached his 30th year. And even if he had the title of a ¡®general¡¯, he didn¡¯t have a territory that he was required to protect unlike the other four.


    Since the stabilization of the Empire¡¯s power after the war 3000 years ago, there had always been only four generals at a time. This was done so the power could be divided equally with the four generals keeping each other in check.


    A fifth general only appeared because of Wulfric. His brother, the Emperor, promoted him to that rank despite the objection of a lot of nobles in the parliament. Because they thought he was unstable and out of control. If he was given more power, they¡¯re not sure of what he would do.


    But his brother didn¡¯t listen to them and just proceeded on promoting him. Then asked those people objecting to his decision to tell him right to his face that his brother didn¡¯t have the strength to be called a general and he would take back his decision.


    Of course, those nobles and even some military personnel who objected this promotion couldn¡¯t do that. How could they say that the only person in the Empire with a double SSS level physique and mental strength along with tons of military merits under his belt didn¡¯t deserve the rank of a ¡®general¡¯?


    And that¡¯s how Wulfric became the fifth general of the Empire.


    Those jealous of him would say that he was just a redundant addition to the ranks and should not have the right to speak in such meetings. But no one could ignore the power in his hands. His Fenris Squad could easily decimate a small planet if he wanted to. No matter how much they try to make him irrelevant, it just wouldn¡¯t happen. Because he¡¯s just that strong.


    That¡¯s why even these four seasoned generals couldn¡¯t simply ignore him.


    The meeting ended with Wulfric not listening to most of it. He stood up and couldn¡¯t wait to get out of the conference room when one of the generals called to him.


    ¡°Your Highness, a moment, please,¡± General Schwartz said.


    Wulfric glanced at the general with fiery red eyes. He felt a slight push behind his back. There¡¯s no doubt that it¡¯s Leland. That overly careful guy probably thought that he would ignore General Schwartz. He almost turned around and rolled his eyes at him. Why would he ignore General Schwartz? Out of all the generals here, he was the only one that Wulfric genuinely respect.


    Despite being a bit boring, Blake Schwartz was the epitome of how a soldier should be. He truly put the safety of the Empire at the forefront before anything else. How could Wulfric hate that type of guy? Especially if he compared him to the other three generals.


    General Thorne was like a sly vixen, General Radcliffe was an incompetent fool, and General Lancaster was a greedy bastard. So, basically, General Schwartz was the only likable general here in his opinion.


    ¡°Is there something?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I hope Your Highness could spare some time to attend the opening ceremony of the Imperial Military Academy. There¡¯s a lot of young people who idolize you. Your Highness can simply give a short speech. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s more than enough to motivate a lot of them.¡±


    A crease appeared on Wulfric¡¯s forehead when he heard that. Without speaking, his face was full of reluctance. But before he could speak, his lieutenant already spoke.


    ¡°Of course, General Schwartz, Your Highness is more than happy to attend.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t speak and just nodded towards the other before walking out of the conference room. He glanced sideways at Leland. ¡°¡®More than happy to attend¡¯? Since when did I say that?¡±


    ¡°My apologies, Your Highness. But I think it would be good for your image to attend that opening ceremony. It would show that you¡¯re supporting the younger generation dreaming to become soldiers,¡± Leland said, pushing his glasses up, totally not looking apologetic at all.


    ¡°Since when do I have to worry about my ¡®image¡¯?¡± Wulfric asked. ¡°Besides, what younger generation? I¡¯m still on the same generation as them.¡±


    With the life span of at least 300 years, that was indeed true. But Leland still said, ¡°All the more reason to show them that Your Highness is a great role model.¡±


    ¡°And what if I refuse?¡±


    ¡°Then I, Hildred, Slade, and Edmund could only do our best to tie up Your Highness and bring you personally to the academy.¡±


    Wulfric scoffed. ¡°Ha! Do you really think you four are enough to stop me?¡±


    ¡°We can only try. But I do hope that Your Highness could pity us. Because if we all get injured, then Your Highness would have more work in your hands.¡±


    Wulfric only gave his lieutenant a sideway glance. Because it was so obvious that the other was blackmailing him.


    ¡°You better lessen my workload if attend this thing,¡± he finally said.


    ¡°Of course, Your Highness,¡± Leland said, the small smile on his face showed that he was really happy. ¡°Where is Your Highness next destination?¡±


    ¡°The palace.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric was walking in the imperial palace¡¯s corridor. Every step he took, he could see its magnificence and resplendent. The servants he passed by all bowed in respect, most in fear, as they saw him. It was not something new to him. Not that he cared anyway.


    He was told that the Emperor was in the royal garden. That¡¯s why he was walking towards that direction.


    Soon, he arrived at his destination.


    The royal garden was filled with all kinds of beautiful flowers. That¡¯s why the moment he entered the area, his nose was immediately assaulted by the different fragrance of flowers. He didn¡¯t stop and worked towards a particular area.


    There, in the middle, he saw a tall and slender man wearing simple white shirt and black trousers. His golden hair was glistening under the sun. His pair of golden eyes were looking gently at the butterfly that landed on his hand. He was beautiful. Like a work of art.


    ¡°Cyn,¡± he called.


    The man turned towards his direction. A pleasant smile appeared on his face when he saw him. ¡°Wulf, welcome back.¡±


    This man was the Emperor of the Moon Empire ¨C Cynric de Lunaris.

 Chapter 73 - CYNRIC DE LUNARIS

    ¡°HOW was the quarterly meeting?¡± the Emperor of the Empire asked.


    ¡°Same old boring stuff,¡± Wulfric answered, shrugging. ¡°If you didn¡¯t pester my lieutenant to attend, which resulted in him pestering me and even threatening to give me more work, I wouldn¡¯t have come.¡±


    Cynric chuckled. In the whole Empire, no one dared to talk to him like this. Especially after he became the Emperor. But he didn¡¯t mind. Wulfric¡¯s attitude towards him gave him a sense of normalcy. As if he was still the same older brother who took care of him and spoiled him constantly when they were younger.


    ¡°You¡¯re a general, it¡¯s only right that you do your duty. And attending the quarterly meeting, no matter how boring, is one of them.¡±


    Wulfric only scoffed. He wanted to say that he didn¡¯t need that rank and the responsibilities that came with it. He just wanted to fight. To have an outlet for the abundant violent energy inside him. And being a soldier was the perfect solution. But ultimately, he chose not to say it.


    He might not need this military rank, but Cynric does. He needed a strong army that would not betray him no matter what. Fenris Squad was that army. With his brother at the very helm, there would be no doubt for their loyalty.


    If someone heard that thought, they might laugh at the Emperor. Instead of being too trustful of his brother, he should be guarding against him instead. After all, both of them were still young. How could he be sure that this brother wouldn¡¯t try to usurp the throne in the future?


    It¡¯s also one of the reasons why those high-ranking nobles and military officials opposed in promoting Wulfric to a general rank. Because this would give him too much power in his hands. What would they do if he indeed staged a coup d¡¯¨¦tat and seized the throne? They would end up having a tyrannical ruler. They still preferred the calm and gentle Emperor. At least, he was much easier to control.


    What they didn¡¯t know was that Wulfric had no intention of being an Emperor. Why would he do that when he knew how troublesome it was? He didn¡¯t want to be restrained and the title of the ¡®Emperor¡¯ would surely do that. He was simply not fit for that kind of job. If he ever became an emperor, he was sure that he would drove this Empire to war in no less than a year.


    If those people would just look beyond what they see on the surface, then they would see that he was not really interested in that position. But sadly, they couldn¡¯t get passed this. And all they could see was his violent temper and overwhelming strength.


    But Cynric was different. He knew just how much his younger brother hated this position. That¡¯s why he¡¯s confident that the other wouldn¡¯t betray him. Besides, even if he was trying to hide it, he knew Wulfric was still feeling guilty about the past. And Cynric had no qualms using that guilt to his advantage.


    ¡°Did you accept General Schwartz¡¯ invitation to attend the opening ceremony of the Imperial Military Academy?¡± Cynric asked, changing the topic.


    Wulfric tsked. ¡°Are you the one responsible for that?¡±


    ¡°Well, I know it would be hard for you to reject General Schwartz, that¡¯s why I asked him. If it was the others, I¡¯m sure you would turn down without a second thought,¡± Cynric admitted honestly.


    This was something not many knew, but his younger brother had a hard time dealing with General Schwartz. Probably because when Wulfric was younger ¨C the period when he was very na?ve and innocent, he really looked up to the general like an idol. But if you asked him this now, this younger brother of his would definitely deny it.


    Wulfric narrowed his eyes at Cynric. He wanted to threaten him to not do something like this again but he knew the other wouldn¡¯t listen. So, why should he waste his saliva? He¡¯d just make sure not to interact frequently with General Schwarz just in case he fell into his brother¡¯s scheming again.


    Seeing his brother¡¯s reaction, Cynric knew that Wulfric was really annoyed by what he did. So, he said;


    ¡°This coming school year would be the 3000th anniversary of the Imperial Military Academy. It¡¯s an important year because it also coincided with the year our Moon Empire won the war of the four nations. The students admitted this year were all carefully selected. They would surely be the future pillars of our Empire. If you go and speak during the opening ceremony to welcome these incoming students, it would definitely improve your image among the young cadets.¡±


    Wulfric brows furrowed. Again, with this ¡®image¡¯ shit. Why were Cynric and Leland so obsessed with that when he, the person involved, didn¡¯t even care? Besides, how could him speaking during that occasion helped with improving his image? He simply couldn¡¯t understand the logic of the two.


    ¡°Why do I even need to fix my ¡®image¡¯?¡± he said irritably. ¡°I don¡¯t need the approval of anyone.¡±


    Cynric sighed. ¡°I know. But this is important for the future of the Empire. Since I plan to pick the successor to the throne from your line. It¡¯s better if your image becomes better. That way, choosing your son as the next Emperor won¡¯t face too much opposition.¡±


    Wulfric became even more annoyed hearing that. Now, he regretted coming here even more. ¡°Are you still talking about that nonsense?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not nonsense. You know I don¡¯t plan to marry or even combine my genes with another person to have a child.¡±


    Wulfric, of course, knew why Cynric was saying this. The other had been too emotionally, psychologically, and physically injured by their monster of a father. It left too much of a trauma in him that it was almost a miracle that he could still function today like a normal human being. But still.


    ¡°And you think I do?¡±


    Cynric nodded. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t have that idea now. There will definitely be a person who would change your mind in the future.¡±


    After his brother said that, a certain image of a black-haired teenager with a pair of big black eyes suddenly appeared in his mind.


    Annoyed that he thought of Aster again, he just glared at his brother and walked out of the garden.

 Chapter 74 - TOWARDS THE FIRST STEP

    ASTRID looked at the full body mirror. He was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt. It was a size bigger than what he usually wore. That¡¯s why its length reached up to half of his thighs. He tucked the front half of it into a fitted black pants. He paired it up with a pair of black boots.


    He picked up a necklace that had a blue stone pendant and wore it on his neck. This was not an ordinary necklace. The blue stone on it was actually a space stone ¨C an item that could store non-perishable things. Of course, it¡¯s not something endless. Right now, the largest dimension that a space stone could have was 120 in by 60 in. Like the size of three large suitcases stack together.


    For Astrid, this was one of the most convenient things that mankind had invented. Although the size was limited and one couldn¡¯t put any living things of perishable items inside, it was still very convenient. At least people now didn¡¯t have to carry large baggage when going from one place to another.


    The space stone on his necklace had the largest dimension. It was now filled with his clothes, beddings, toiletries, and other miscellaneous things. These were all the things he was going to bring to the capital.


    Today was actually the day that he and Reas were going there.


    It had already been three weeks since they had that talk with their parents and they had agreed for them to study at the capital. Well, actually, after their parents learned that the school he was going to was a school for acting, they vehemently refused. Especially his father. The other almost blew his top.


    They didn¡¯t even react that much when they learned that Reas was planning to be a soldier. Which, by the way, was much more dangerous than being an actor. What kind of double-standard was that? But he also understood their worries. They were probably just worried that some unsavory characters would target him because of his looks. Besides, no matter the era, something like a ¡®hidden rule¡¯ could not be separated from the entertainment industry.


    But he¡¯s not really just an 18-year-old kid who didn¡¯t know anything about the world. He wouldn¡¯t put himself in a situation where he would be taken advantage of by others. He had dealt with a lot of those ¡®hidden rules¡¯ stuff in his last life. A lot of people wanting to sleep with him in return for giving him some resources. That was especially true when he was only starting out. But he managed to not get involved in those kinds of dealings.


    That¡¯s why he was confident that he could also deal with whatever the entertainment industry of this era would throw at him. Besides, he also had an extra layer of protection namely his SSS level mental strength. He might not be as strong physically, but his mental strength could give anyone a run for their money.


    Astrid had to spend about a week of convincing with a little bit of acting and a lot of tears before his parents finally agreed. And now, he and Reas were about to go to the capital.


    He looked around his room and gave it one last glance before walking out.


    It happened that as soon as he left his room, the door to Reas¡¯ room also opened and his younger brother walked out.


    He smiled at Reas. ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    Reas only shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve been ready long ago.¡±


    And they walked side by side down the stairs where their parents were waiting.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The four members of the Townsend family were all standing at their planet¡¯s space port. The twins¡¯ flight time was going to arrive soon. That¡¯s why both parents were feeling extremely emotional right now.


    They had already done some psychological construction to prepare themselves on the day that their babies would leave. But somehow, knowing that it might probably take months before they saw them again, only made them feel like crying.


    ¡°Remember to always protect yourselves,¡± Emmy said. ¡°You can be kind of generous to others. But always, always, put yourselves first.¡±


    It¡¯s probably not the best advice a mother should give to her child, but this was so she could be at east that her kids wouldn¡¯t be taken advantage of. Of course, her children¡¯s well-being came first. She¡¯s not some Virgin Mary who would tell her kids to always be kind to the point where others would simply take them for granted.


    ¡°Yes, Mom,¡± the twins said at the same time.


    ¡°Aster, if anyone ever tried to approach you with bad intentions, don¡¯t hesitate to attack them with your mental power. You can even use the poisons your Uncle Leigh gave you. Don¡¯t worry about the consequence. Your mother and I will think of something when that time comes,¡± Gage said, a bit unreasonable.


    Astrid showed a helpless smile. Although he was indeed planning to do all that, he would make sure that there would be no said ¡®consequence¡¯. After all, his parents¡¯ identities were a bit delicate. He couldn¡¯t let others discover that they were still alive and destroy the peaceful lives they had now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dad. I¡¯ll make sure nothing of that sort happened,¡± he could only say to reassure his father.


    Then Gage turned to Reas. ¡°Remember the things I told you about the Imperial Military Academy. Pace yourself properly and don¡¯t just strive for short successes. But most importantly, don¡¯t get injured.¡±


    Reas nodded. ¡°I know, Dad.¡±


    ¡°Since you have already chosen your careers, you should do your best until the very end,¡± Emmy said in which the twins nodded.


    She then hugged her two sons. ¡°Take care, okay? And make sure to call us every day.¡±


    ¡°Yes, definitely don¡¯t forget to call,¡± Gage quickly added.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°We promise, we won¡¯t.¡±


    A few moments later, their flight time finally arrived. The twins said goodbye one last time to their parents before walking towards the departure area. Heading towards the first step of their dreams.


    [END OF VOLUME 1]

 Chapter 75 - TO THE CAPITAL

    ASTRID looked outside the window. He was greeted by the large expanse of darkness with a splatter of shining stars and other heavenly bodies. He had been seeing this scene for almost a week now from this public aircraft transportation he and Reas were travelling in. If everything went well, they would probably arrive at the capital some time tomorrow.


    It would probably be an understatement if he said that he was excited. His excitement was probably on the highest level right now. It would probably even increase more tomorrow when they arrived at the capital.


    He and Reas hadn¡¯t been near the Artemian Galaxy ¨C the galaxy where the capital was located, all their lives. Their parents had only taken them to some of Palioxis Galaxy¡¯s specialized tourist planets for vacation. After their mother told them about their past, he finally knew why they avoided the capital like a plague.


    One of the things he forgot to ask their parents that night was about the person that their father helped when he was thrown at that mining planet. Although he only wanted to have a confirmation because he had already guessed on who it might be. Who else could it be but Uncle Leigh? The other probably even helped his parents to change their surname to ¡®Townsend¡¯ which was the surname the whole family was using now.


    Really, despite being extremely eccentric and black-bellied, Uncle Leigh was the type who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to help the people he considered as friends.


    ¡°Aster, let¡¯s eat dinner,¡± he heard Reas saying.


    He turned to his tall brother who just jumped down from the upper bunk of the bunk beds in the cabin they were in. Aircrafts for public transportation like this that had to travel long distance, as in from one galaxy to another, have cabins in them instead of normal seats. It could be a single cabin, a double cabin like the one they were in, or a family cabin.


    He stood up. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±


    He was about to walk towards the door when his brother stopped him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your hat,¡± Reas said, putting an inconspicuous black hat on top of his head.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said.


    He had been wearing a hat ever since they got into this aircraft. He only removed it whenever he and Reas were in their cabin. He usually didn¡¯t like covering his hair, but he didn¡¯t want to be the center of attention during their travel. So, it¡¯s better to just be low-key. But he¡¯s not willing to wear colored lenses glasses just to hide his eyes. It would just look super weird. Instead of being low-key, people might just look at him even more.


    He could wear contact lenses but he¡¯s even more unwilling to do so. He tried wearing one during his last life and it didn¡¯t really go that well. His eyes became super irritated that he had to go to a hospital for it to be treated. It kind of left a psychological shadow on him. So, even though he knew that this new body of his might not have the same reaction, he still refused to do it.


    Besides, as long as he lowered his cap, people would barely be able to notice his eye color. Unless, of course, they stared at his face. But who would stare at him when Reas was standing beside him? Without the advantage of his hair and eye color, his face was simply ordinary compared to his brother¡¯s.


    They went out of their cabin and walked towards the dining area. They walked very stably. This was what he liked about this era¡¯s public arial transportation. There¡¯s hardly any turbulence. No, there wasn¡¯t any turbulence, to be exact. It felt like they were just walking on the ground and not somewhere in the middle of space.


    They sat on one of the empty tables and selected their order on the screen on the side of the table. Reas ordered a steak meal while Astrid simply ordered a pasta meal.


    Soon, a robot delivered their meals.


    ¡°The dishes Aster makes are still better than the food here,¡± Reas said as he ate a bite of steak. ¡°I will miss your food once we get to the capital.¡±


    That was not an over reaction from his side. Once they were in the capital, they would have to part ways because the location of their school was literally the opposite of one another. And because military students were required to live at the school dormitory, the two of them couldn¡¯t live together.


    Astrid ate a forkful of pasta and just like what his brother said, he could cook a better pasta than this. But he already knew that the first day they were here.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to meet every weekend at my apartment. I¡¯ll make sure to stuff you with a lot of food,¡± he said.


    Unlike Reas, he decided not to live on campus. Since his school was a performing arts school, the rules weren¡¯t that strict. As early as when he received the acceptance letter from Redwood Academy, he immediately searched online for available apartments near the campus. Which was exactly not that hard.


    After paying the deposit, he would have to meet the landlord of the apartment complex tomorrow to pay the rest and then also sign a contract. He and Reas would go straight there after arriving at the capital.


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s better than nothing,¡± Reas said, almost half-way done with his steak.


    Astrid almost chuckled. This kid. He didn¡¯t like the food and yet he had already devoured half of that big steak in less than three minutes.


    ¡°There¡¯s still a lot of time before school starts. Should we familiarize ourselves with the capital first?¡± he asked.


    Reas nodded. ¡°If your apartment lacks anything, we can buy those first. And also, groceries. We should definitely not forget that.¡±


    Astrid finally couldn¡¯t stop himself from laughing hearing that. ¡°Yes, we definitely should not forget the groceries.¡±


    And the next day, around noon, their aircraft finally landed on the space port of the capital.

 Chapter 76 - WHAT THEY SAW

    THE space port of the Emperor Star was completely different from the space port of planet Delryria. For one, it¡¯s much bigger. It had a lot of terminals, showing just how many transport vessels it received from all over the four galaxies under the rule of the Empire.


    Astrid and Reas just left the arrival area amidst the crowd of people who also just arrived at the capital. Because of that, the hat that Astrid was wearing became skewed and almost fall off.


    Reas quickly fixed it. ¡°Should I just put my hand on top of your head so your hat wouldn¡¯t fall off?¡±


    Astrid glanced sideways at his brother. ¡°Are you showing off your height?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not my fault your short,¡± Reas said, grinning at him.


    Astrid only rolled his eyes. Only in this era could someone call his 180 cm height short. ¡°My height is very normal, thank you.¡±


    Reas only looked at him as if saying ¡®if you say so¡¯. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to dye your hair? It would be much easier that way.¡±


    ¡°No. Why would I do that? I plan to be a star. My hair and eye color is a huge advantage for me.¡±


    Because it could definitely attract the attention of people. Having something that could attract the attention of people was an important characteristic that every actor should have. Attracting the attention of people was the first step on capturing their hearts. And if one back it up with talent, then that¡¯s the perfect recipe for success. Of course, one also needed to match that with a good attitude.


    Even if they¡¯re good-looking and talented, if they had a bad attitude, then sooner or later, their career would simply be on a standstill. And that¡¯s not what Astrid was aiming for. He wanted to be at the top. To be the number one. With the overly long life-span of the humans in this era, he believed that he could achieve that.


    Reas brows furrowed when he heard Astrid¡¯s answer. ¡°Even if it meant that you¡¯ll be receiving unwanted attention from others?¡±


    Not to mention unwanted attention, there¡¯s also the jealousy of others. Even if he¡¯s not familiar with the entertainment industry, he knew how important a person¡¯s appearance was. With his brother¡¯s looks, many would definitely be jealous and try to scheme against him. His mind could already conjure scenes where people were trying to bully his brother. It was especially worrying since he wouldn¡¯t be with Astrid in that new school of his.


    Seeing his brother¡¯s expression, Astrid could already imagine what was going through the other¡¯s mind. ¡°Reas, don¡¯t worry too much. Your brother is not that weak.¡±


    Reas could only nod.


    ¡ª¨C


    After taking a taxi, the twins were now on their way towards the nearest department store. They planned to buy groceries first before going to Astrid¡¯s apartment. That way, once they were in the apartment, they could just spend the remainder of the day cleaning the place. Then after that, Astrid could simply cook dinner for them. That last part was actually what Reas was looking forward to.


    The flying taxi they were in didn¡¯t have a human driver but a robot one instead. Astrid suddenly truly felt like he was now in the Interstellar Era. Maybe because the planet they grew up in was an agricultural planet. Instead of overly tall buildings, it was filled with trees, mountains, forests, and lakes and rivers. It was almost the same with scenes found at the countryside during his last life.


    Now, looking outside the window of the taxi, Astrid could see those overly tall buildings along with cars flying everywhere. There were even floating virtual billboards floating around. Some of them looked three-dimensional. As if the things inside the billboard would come alive.


    This was definitely the dream of many sci-fi film makers.


    Soon, they arrived at their destination.


    It was what people from ancient earth would call a ¡®shopping mall¡¯. But unlike the shopping malls from ancient earth, this building they were in probably had more than 20 floors. Astrid wondered what kind of things were being sold in this place that it had this many floors.


    ¡°Aster, the food section is on the ground floor,¡± Reas said after looking at the floating map near the entrance. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°You seem to be really excited,¡± Astrid commented.


    ¡°Of course, I am. After a week, I could finally eat your cooking again. How could I not be?¡±


    Astrid could only shake his head with a helpless smile.


    They walked towards the direction indicated at the map.


    The food section of the mall was literally filled with all kinds of food. There was a vegetable section, a fruit section, a meat section, and a seafood section. There were also a dry goods section where different condiments could be found. Dairy products also had their own section.


    Surprisingly, there weren¡¯t many people around. There¡¯s probably only about 30 people around. Considering how big this food section was, this number was truly too little.


    But Astrid shouldn¡¯t really be that surprised. People now could just open their Terminal and have these things delivered to them. But since this was the first time he and Reas were here, it never even crossed their minds to have their food delivered.


    Reas took a big pushcart and was planning to push it towards the meat section. Astrid quickly stopped him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and buy some condiments first,¡± he said, pulling him towards the section where the condiments were located.


    Reas reluctantly followed along.


    And the shopping started.


    Astrid was very thorough when it came to shopping food ingredients. After all, they would consume this food. It¡¯s only right to be thorough on picking them. Thirty minutes later and they were still at the vegetable section.


    Reas felt like he was already wilting. All the enthusiasm he had felt earlier already disappeared.


    ¡°Aster, are you not finished yet?¡± he asked, almost just like a kid asking ¡®are we there yet?¡¯.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Look at you, it hasn¡¯t even been 30 minutes yet and you¡¯re already bored.¡±


    ¡°You mean, it¡¯s already 30 minutes, right?¡±


    He was about to answer when they suddenly heard some commotion from the entrance of the food section. The twins looked at the direction where the commotion was coming from and both their eyes widened at what they saw.

 Chapter 77 - INCIDENT AT THE FOOD SECTION

    THERE was a man who was carrying a child ¨C a boy of six or seven years old to be exact. It wouldn¡¯t cause so much commotion if he was simply carrying the boy with one hand. But no, he was also holding some kind of weapon in the other. And he was pointing it at the kid¡¯s temple.


    ¡°Close this section if you don¡¯t want this brat to die!¡± the man shouted.


    ¡°Mister, please, try to calm down and let go of the child,¡± another man said in a pacifying tone. He looked like the employee in charge of this section. He was slowly walking towards the man with the weapon.


    ¡°Shut up! I told you to close this section, not to talk nonsense to me!¡±


    Then the man suddenly pointed his weapon towards the employee and fired. A bullet laser came out of it. The employee tried to dodge but the bullet laser still grazed his leg and blood immediately spurted.


    The people around shouted. Seeing the blood, they finally realized that the man with a weapon was not just some simple lunatic. He¡¯s a lunatic that wouldn¡¯t hesitate to hurt people. And that made him even more dangerous.


    Another employee supported the employee who had just been shot. ¡°O-okay, okay, we will close this section. Just please calm down.¡±


    ¡°Then do it!¡± the man shouted. ¡°And don¡¯t even think of disarming me. I have a bomb attached to my body! If any of you come near me, I will detonate the bomb and we will all die here!¡±


    As if to prove what he said, the man removed his vest. On his chest, a square shaped transparent box was attached. Two red dots were constantly blinking on it.


    Some people who were planning to disarm him quickly stopped in their tracks. The people inside the food section became even more scared and anxious.


    It didn¡¯t take long before metal doors appeared at the entrance of the food section. Not only that, even the windows were covered by metal, completely shutting them off from the outside.


    Unlike most of the people inside the food section, the Townsend twins still remained calm despite of what was happening.


    ¡°Is that really a bomb?¡± Astrid whispered to his brother.


    Although they were not that close to where the commotion was happening, it¡¯s still best to talk quietly just in case the man had a high physique level. Because that would mean that there¡¯s a high chance that he could hear them. Astrid didn¡¯t want to irritate the guy.


    Reas narrowed his eyes on the man. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s some kind of homemade bomb if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t doubt what his brother said since the other was more familiar with things like this. ¡°The security system of this mall should have detected that he was carrying a bomb and a hot weapon, right? Why didn¡¯t the security system raise an alarm?¡±


    ¡°It should have, under normal circumstance.¡±


    Astrid quickly understood what Reas was trying to say. ¡°You think it¡¯s because of the kid?¡±


    Reas nodded. ¡°That guy probably took the kid as hostage before even going inside this mall. Either he intentionally kidnapped him or he just randomly took someone before hiding here. The security system of this mall detected that he had a bomb and a weapon on him but decided not to raise an alarm for the safety of the child.¡±


    After all, the guy looked like he was mentally unstable. If the security system issued an alarm, it would definitely startle the man and he might just accidentally pull the trigger of the gun that he was holding. That would be very bad for the kid.


    ¡°But for sure, the system will alarm the authorities, right?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Maybe he was already being chased before this that¡¯s why he took someone as a hostage,¡± Reas said.


    This guy was probably either a wanted criminal or someone who was planning to commit a crime but was found out before he could even do it. He had a feeling it was the latter. If it was, then that would be so lame. No wonder the guy was now having a mental breakdown.


    ¡°It would be good if he didn¡¯t have a bomb with him,¡± Astrid commented.


    If he didn¡¯t, Astrid was sure that a number of people here would be more than willing to subdue the guy.


    ¡°Even without the bomb, it would still be easy to subdue him. The only problem is how to get the kid away.¡±


    Hearing what Reas said, Astrid looked towards the boy being held hostage. He had curly silver hair and a pair of sapphire blue eyes. He was frowning and biting his lips, obviously trying to stop himself from crying. His eyes were filled of determination. As if telling himself that if he cried, then that meant that he lost to the man pointing a gun to his head.


    Brave kid ¨C Astrid thought.


    ¡°Then if the kid is taken to safety, would you be able to subdue him and prevent him from detonating the bomb?¡±


    Reas glanced at his brother when he heard that. ¡°What are you scheming?¡±


    ¡°Answer my question honestly first,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I have to make sure that you wouldn¡¯t be hurt or be in danger if you try to subdue that man.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯m confident that I can subdue him and even disarm the bomb along the way,¡± Reas answered, his voice didn¡¯t even fluctuate. As if he was only asked if he could drive a car or something instead. ¡°So, can you now tell me what you¡¯re scheming?¡±


    Astrid rolled his eyes at his younger brother. But deep inside, he was very relieved to hear his answer.


    ¡°Can you not call it scheming? You make me sound like a villain,¡± he said.


    Reas shook his head and decided not to debate with his brother regarding his ¡®scheming¡¯. ¡°Then, what¡¯s your ¡®plan¡¯?¡±


    ¡°My plan is fairly simple. I¡¯ll snatch the kid and you subdue the man. Easy, right?¡±

 Chapter 78 - WHERES MY NEPHEW?

    REAS sharply turned to his brother. He stared at him to make sure if he was being serious. And when he saw the other¡¯s expression, he knew that he was not indeed joking. ¡°Why did you suddenly think of interfering in this situation?¡±


    Astrid raised his head and looked at Reas. ¡°Aren¡¯t you planning to do the same?¡±


    Reas was a bit startled when he heard his brother¡¯s response. And then a helpless smiled appeared on his lips. He was indeed planning to do something about that crazy guy. He was a soon-to-be student of the Imperial Military Academy. If he wouldn¡¯t do something about this situation, then he would simply shame the name of the academy. Besides that, he generally just didn¡¯t like people who could hurt others weaker than them.


    He didn¡¯t asked Astrid how he knew what he was thinking. Because the two of them knew each other like the back of their hands. That¡¯s why he was surprised to hear that his brother would suggest for them to save the kid and subdue the crazy guy. That was not something that Astrid would say under normal circumstance.


    Not that he¡¯s saying that his brother didn¡¯t care about the plight of others, he simply didn¡¯t have the habit of meddling with the affairs of the people around him. Unless, of course, it involved the people he cared about.


    Astrid might look and act very gentle, but in most cases, he could be much colder than Reas.


    ¡°Yes, I do plan to do that,¡± he said in response to what the other said earlier. ¡°The question is, why do you?¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows at his younger brother. Of course, he understood why Reas was asking that. Because this was definitely not something he would do under normal circumstance.


    ¡°Because this is not a ¡®normal circumstance¡¯,¡± he simply said. ¡°Help might indeed come. But what if that help came too late? Wouldn¡¯t we all be buried here? Besides, how could I let my cute younger brother face such danger alone?¡±


    Reas decidedly ignored the word ¡®cute¡¯ and just asked, ¡°If you have a plan, I hope it won¡¯t compromise your safety. If it does, then I¡¯m pulling a stop and just do it on my own.¡±


    ¡°I assure you, that won¡¯t happen,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about you.¡±


    Reas only smirked at him. ¡°Have you forgotten my ability?¡±


    Astrid stopped. ¡°You¡¯re going to use that here?¡±


    His younger brother had an ability. It manifested when they were 10. That time, the both of them were playing at one of the mountains near their family¡¯s land. They were role-playing explorers. Yes, that was pretty childish considering that his mental age was not really 10. But what could he do? His twin brother wanted to play. Being the older one, it¡¯s his duty to accompany him.


    An accident happened while they were playing and he almost fell from a cliff. He really thought he was going to die then. He was full on unwillingness. After all, he just lived for a decade in this life. Not to mention, he finally had a complete and loving family. How could be willing?


    But as he started to fall, he also started to accept his coming fate. But who would have thought that Reas would manage to pull him before he truly fell. That would not be too surprising if he was close to where he was. But no, he was about half a kilometer away from him. And yet, in just a split second, he was able to reach him in just a blink of an eye.


    After that, they both realized that Reas had manifested an ability.


    People with either SSS level physique or SSS level mental strength were the ones who often manifested an ability. And the type of ability they manifested often had something to do with what kind of SSS level they had.


    For example, someone with an SSS level physique would have an ability that was related to the body itself. Like unbelievable physical strength or super heightened senses, those kinds. While someone with an SSS level mental strength would have abilities like telekinesis for example. Anything that could be related to the brain and mind. You get the gist.


    It¡¯s extremely rare for someone with SS level physique or mental strength to manifest one. But Reas did it. He forced his body¡¯s limit just so he could save his brother. That¡¯s why after that, Reas had to be bedridden for a month. Because his body couldn¡¯t keep up with the explosive force he had just shown.


    Their Uncle Leigh had to travel to their planet just to check up on him. And he explained to their parents that although something like this was very uncommon, it didn¡¯t mean that it hadn¡¯t happened before. The fact that Reas manifested an ability that was related to the physicality meant that his physique had a chance of evolving to SSS level in the future.


    Uncle Leigh gave a strict reminder that before that could happen, it¡¯s better if Reas avoided using this ability. So that he wouldn¡¯t ruin his body¡¯s potential.


    That¡¯s why since then, Reas hardly used his ability. Aside from the strict supervision of their parents, Astrid was also there to prevent him from using it. In fact, Astrid was even much stricter than their parents in that sense. Because it was due to him that his brother manifested an ability. All because he wanted to save him.


    So, now, hearing Reas said that he might use his ability, Astrid became inexplicably worried. ¡°It won¡¯t be good if you get bedridden for a month again. You won¡¯t be able to attend the military academy¡¯s opening ceremony if that were to happen.¡±


    Reas shrugged. ¡°So be it. I have a solid excuse anyway.¡±


    Astrid stared at his younger brother then sighed. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Outside the mall, the military had already barricaded the entrance to not allow anyone to go in. They had also just finished evacuating the people in the different sections of the mall. The only ones remaining were the people in the food section where the hostage taking was taking place.


    The captain in-charge of the whole operation felt a huge headache coming. Not just because of the people inside. But mostly due to the identity of the kid that the wanted criminal they were trying to apprehend took as a hostage.


    Suddenly, a tall man with curly silver hair and a pair of sapphire blue eyes entered the scene. He didn¡¯t even look at the soldiers trying to stop him. He just looked straight at the captain as if he already knew that he was the one in charge.


    ¡°Where is my nephew?¡±

 Chapter 79 - THE END OF THE CRISIS

    ¡°M-MISTER, a soldier from outside wanted to talk to you,¡± a male employee tremblingly told the man.


    His name was James and he just started working in this shopping mall three months ago.  Who would have thought that something like this would happen?  He was just an ordinary law-abiding citizen with mediocre qualification.  He never imagined that one day he would find himself in such a life-or-death situation.  It¡¯s already a miracle that he could stand here without fainting.


    Because their section leader was hit by the crazy man¡¯s gun, the and another male employee had to take him behind the counter.  Which was thankfully a few distance away from where the crazy guy was standing.  Knowing their leader, he would definitely try to reason with that hostage taker.  That¡¯s why two of them were with him to stop him if he tried to walked towards the crazy man again.


    But while they were behind the counter, the communication device attached to there.  A soldier who introduced himself as Captain Moore asked them to explain the current situation.  It was a good thing that the counter had some sound isolation function and their section leader quickly turned it on.


    The leader explained the current situation.  He looked at the crazy guy and saw that he was still manic and pointing his gun recklessly at the poor kid in his arms.  And he narrated what he saw to the captain down to the smallest detail.


    James really admired his team leader.  He was shot and yet he still could remain calm like this.  Their leader¡¯s quick thinking was probably also the reason why the soldiers came this fast.  Because he pressed the emergency button in their section the moment the crazy guy appeared.


    Then the captain asked if one of them could talk to the guy and ask him if he was willing to speak with the authorities.  And that job unfortunately fell on James.


    The man sharply turned to him and his knees almost buckled when he saw the bloodshot eyes of the other.  He truly wanted to cry right at this moment.


    ¡°No!  You tell them that if they don¡¯t want all of the people here to die, they should take back my sentence!  I will only give an hour- no- 30 minutes for them to do that.  If not,¡± the crazy guy started laughing crazily.  ¡°Then all of you will just be buried with me here.¡±


    People gasped and some even sobbed when they heard that.


    Can you not be so unreasonable? ¨C James almost cried out.


    Did this guy think that once his sentence was taken back, he would no longer be pursued by the authorities?  James had a feeling that this guy was probably having a mental breakdown that¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t think properly.


    But his opinion didn¡¯t matter.  Because no matter how much he insulted this person in his mind, the other wouldn¡¯t just magically let go of them.


    He was planning to go back to the counter when he saw a young man of average height walking carefully towards the crazy guy, as if making sure he wouldn¡¯t startle the man.  This young man was wearing a hat with its brim lowered to the extreme, covering the upper half of his face.


    Some of the people were trying to stop him from approaching but the young man still kept walking.


    ¡°Get back!  I told you to get back!¡± the crazy guy shouted pointing the gun at the young man.


    ¡°Please, calm down,¡± the young man said in a very nice, calming voice.


    Then he removed his hat and almost everyone in there just stared.  Including James.  Even the crazy guy became speechless.  Because the young man was simply beautiful beyond words.


    He had almost translucent white skin and pink-colored lips.  His hair looked extremely soft.  The shape of his eyes was quite unusual, its tail end sweeping upwards.  Making him look more charming.  But the most noticeable thing of all was the color of his hair and eyes.


    It¡¯s black.


    It seemed like the darkest ink was splashed on his hair.  While his eyes were as dark as the starry night sky.


    ¡°Pretty¡­¡± he unconsciously muttered.


    Astrid, who was currently the center of attention, ignored everyone else but the man with the gun. He glanced quickly at the silver-haired boy who was still trying his best not to cry and show any weakness.


    When he saw the man¡¯s shock expression, he quickly took advantage of that and manipulated his mental power, pushing it towards the man.


    Mental powers worked in a way like exerting pressure on someone¡¯s brain.  The higher the level of mental strength, the stronger the pressure.  Of course, it would only work when the opponent had a lower mental strength level.


    Astrid was not worried that his mental power wouldn¡¯t work with the crazy man.  If the other¡¯s mental strength level was on par with him, the people here with low level mental strength should be long spasming right now.  Especially because of the man¡¯s current mental state.


    His mental power quickly flowed towards the other¡¯s brain without any hindrance.  The moment it did, the man suddenly staggered and a pained expression flashed on his face.  The grip he had on the gun and on the kid both loosened.


    Astrid saw his brother, who had been long standing on position, quickly rushing towards the man.  Although Reas wasn¡¯t using his full ability, he could still tell by how fast he was approaching that he used a bit of it.  But he couldn¡¯t care about that now.


    He also rushed towards the man.  Even though he was standing closer, Reas still managed to reach the man faster than him.  When his brother held both the man¡¯s hands from behind, Astrid took the boy in his arms and jumped away from there.


    There were gasped and astonishments all around.  But he didn¡¯t pay any attention to it and said to the boy in his arms gently, ¡°It¡¯s okay.  You¡¯re safe now. Don¡¯t be afraid.  Everything will be okay.¡±


    He turned back to his brother and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Reas had already disassembled the bomb attached to the man.  He was pressing the man on his back using his knee, one on the other¡¯s neck and the other on his waist.  Making the man unable to move no matter how crazily he tried to fight back.


    Seeing that, Astrid also took back his mental power.


    Probably finally feeling the disappearance of the pressure in his brain, the man simply just lost it.  ¡°You f****** bastard!  Let go!  Let go!  Let go!¡±


    Astrid just shook his head.  He was about to put down the kid but the boy suddenly hugged his neck tightly.  Then, he felt something wet falling on his shoulder.


    ¡°I-I want to go h-home,¡± the boy said, sobbing.


    ¡°You will be back home soon.  Brother promised,¡± Astrid said while gently patting the kid¡¯s back.  Then, to divert the boy¡¯s attention, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°N-Nicol.  Nicol Grimaldi.¡±

 Chapter 80 - NOT ARROGANCE BUT FACTS

    ASTRID felt like his whole body froze when he heard the kid¡¯s name.  It¡¯s like a huge bob just detonated in front of him.  And he was even the one hugging that bomb.


    Grimaldi.  Nicol Grimaldi.  No way, could it be?


    This was just their first day at the capital.  They hadn¡¯t even gone to his apartment yet!  They not only encounter some crazy hostage taker, they actually even inadvertently met a child with the surname ¡®Grimaldi¡¯.  The family in which their mother was originally from.


    Could fate really be so cruel as to throw such a curve ball at them right now?


    Well, he was someone who died from choking on a grape.  If he considered that, then it wouldn¡¯t be really surprising to encounter this kind of bad luck right now.  Because it seemed like this shitty fate had always enjoyed tormenting him in some kind of form.


    His only hope right now was that this kid was from the branch family of the Grimaldis and not from the main one.  But to be on the safe side, he and Reas should probably get the hell out of here as soon as the authorities appeared.


    ¡°Brother?¡± called by the milky voice in his arms.


    Astrid unconsciously gazed down.  This child ¨C Nicol ¨C was indeed a beautiful kid.  Well, it¡¯s hard not to be good-looking with a flock of silver hair and a pair of watery sapphire blue eyes.  He must admit, the Grimaldi genes were really top-notch.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked, unknowingly making his voice much gentler.


    ¡°Ahm¡­ can you also tell me your name?¡±


    Astrid felt a bit complicated.  He wasn¡¯t sure if he should tell this kid his name.  But before he could contemplate on whether to answer truthfully or not, the metal shutters enclosing the food section suddenly opened.  Following that, several uniformed soldiers quickly entered.


    The people who had been trapped in the food section for almost an hour immediately rejoiced.


    The first thing the soldiers saw was a young man with ice-blue hair suppressing a man who had been shouting crazily.  Near them were a gun and a dismantled homemade bomb.


    Captain Moore who was leading the soldiers quickly understood the situation.  Especially since before they went in, the section leader of the food section had already told them that a young man managed to subdue the criminal.  And that the other even managed to dismantle the bomb.  But most of all, the Grimaldi kid was not hurt during the process.


    ¡°Inject the criminal with a tranquilizer and take him out of here.  Then talk to the people around to make sure that everyone is alright.  And get the medic here,¡± he told his soldiers.


    The soldiers around him quickly followed his orders.  Two went to the young man and injected the criminal with tranquilizer.  The moment they did, the man finally stopped struggling.  The young man finally stood up.  And the two soldiers took the criminal away.


    The others went to check the people present.  A medical team also entered inside.


    Reas cracked his neck from left to right and also stretched his limbs a bit.  Finally, that was over.  He was glad that he didn¡¯t have to use his ability in full force.  But he still had to use a small portion of it just to make sure that this simple plan of theirs wouldn¡¯t go down the drain.  But because of that, his limbs, particularly his legs felt all sore.


    Well, that¡¯s probably better than being bedridden for a couple of weeks.  He had his brother to thank for that.  Because of Astrid¡¯s accurate control over his mental power, the other easily made the crazy guy unable to move for a few seconds.  If they were not worried that someone might discover the level of his mental strength, Astrid could definitely take down that crazy guy.


    But since his medical record said that he had S level mental strength, if Astrid showed that his mental power was beyond that, they would definitely be in trouble.  Of course, they couldn¡¯t let that happen.


    The only good thing Reas could think that came out of this incident was that he was once again proven that his brother could take care of himself.  With the calm and courage Astrid had shown, he was now no longer that worried to leave his brother alone in his new school.


    Reas was about to walk towards Astrid when saw the soldier who seemed to be in-charge walked towards him.


    ¡°Young man, what you did was very reckless.  Things could have ended up in much larger mess if you made just one wrong move,¡± Captain Moore chastised in a stern manner.


    Reas stared at the man in front of him, he could tell from the epaulets on his shoulders that he was a captain rank soldier.  Which meant that he couldn¡¯t be as willful, unless he wanted to offend the other.


    ¡°I apologize.  But with all due respect, Sir, I wasn¡¯t just being reckless.  I moved with the knowledge that I will succeed,¡± he said.  And yes, this was him not being willful.


    Captain Moore scrunched up his brows when he heard that.  Although he appreciated what the young man did, he didn¡¯t like how arrogant the other sounded.


    ¡°And you know this how?¡± he asked, his voice much harsher than before.


    ¡°One, I recognized the bomb that was on him and I know how to dismantle it.  Two, he was not in his best state of mind.  So, even if I sneak up on him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to tell.  And three, I¡¯m stronger than him.¡±


    Captain Moore felt a bit speechless hearing the young man¡¯s explanation.  Then he realized that the other wasn¡¯t being arrogant, he was simply stating facts.  At the end, he could help but let out a hearty laugh.


    ¡°I like you, kid.  You have guts,¡± he said, clapping down on the kid¡¯s shoulder.


    Astrid was watching this scene from afar.  He let out a sigh of relief seeing how that soldier must be happy with his brother¡¯s deed.  He was really worried that Reas might be reprimanded.


    ¡°Brother¡­¡± called the kid who¡¯s still clinging on his neck.


    Before he could respond to the kid, a call from the front startled him a bit.


    ¡°Nikki!¡±


    Astrid raised his head and saw a tall and slender man with curly silver hair running towards them.  His sapphire blue eyes filled with overwhelming worry.


    And then Nicol suddenly called back, ¡°Uncle!¡±

 Chapter 81 - SILVER-HAIRED MAN

    WHEN Astrid heard the little boy in his arms called the silver-haired man rushing towards them ¡®uncle¡¯, he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.  The man didn¡¯t glance at him and just took Nicol into his arms.


    ¡°Nikki, are you okay?  Where does it hurt?  Tell Uncle, okay?¡± he asked, full of undisguised worry.


    ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m okay.  I¡¯m not hurt,¡± Nicol said, assuring his uncle.


    But the uncle seemed to not hear that and just proceeded on blaming himself.  ¡°It¡¯s my fault.  I was careless.  I shouldn¡¯t have left you alone.  What should I do if something had happened to you?  I could never forgive myself.¡±


    Nicol felt a bit funny inside.  Because his uncle didn¡¯t really leave him ¡®alone¡¯.  His uncle took him out today to play.  His uncle didn¡¯t live with them in the big mansion, he only visited a couple of months.  This time when he did, Nicol pestered him to take him out.  Since his father was not at home, no one would really interfere even if Nicol wanted to go out with his uncle.


    So, they went out with three bodyguards in tow.  They went to the nearest city center.  They were planning to go to a famous playground area when someone called his uncle on his Terminal and they had to change route.  His uncle told him that he would meet someone first but promised him that it wouldn¡¯t take long.


    When the car stopped in front of some building, his uncle went there and he was left inside the car with the bodyguards.  So, he wasn¡¯t really alone.  But he could never really sit still for a long period of time.  That¡¯s why he told the bodyguards that he wanted to follow his uncle.


    He wasn¡¯t worried that they wouldn¡¯t give in because they always do.  Not just them but also all the servants in the mansion.  The only reason Nicol could think of was because he was the only child in the house.


    After coming down the car, he quickly ran forward.  But before he could even reach the building, someone suddenly grabbed him.  Then he felt something metallic pointing on his temple.


    The next thing he knew, the crazy guy who grabbed him had already taken him inside a mall¡¯s food section.


    Remembering that, Nicol wanted to cry again.  But he resisted.  Because if he did, then his uncle would definitely feel guiltier.  And he didn¡¯t want that.  Especially since it was his fault in the first place.  If he just obediently stayed inside the car, then none of this would have happened.


    ¡°Uncle, it¡¯s not your fault.  It¡¯s because I¡¯m not obedient,¡± he said, comforting his uncle.  ¡°I¡¯m sorry for causing trouble.¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows when he heard what the kid said.  He could see by the way that he comforted his uncle that he got a good upbringing.  It was also quite obvious that he had a good relationship with his uncle.


    Suddenly, he was a bit relieved seeing how loving the uncle and nephew pair were.  He remembered his mother¡¯s story about her family.  They weren¡¯t exactly the ¡®loving¡¯ type.  Maybe these two were really from the branch side of the Grimaldi family.


    ¡°Nikki didn¡¯t cause any trouble.  It¡¯s your Uncle¡¯s carelessness that caused this to happen.¡±  The silver-haired man hugged his nephew.  ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Nicol said, returning his uncle¡¯s hug.  Then as if remembering something, he let go of his uncle¡¯s neck and looked back at Astrid.  ¡°Uncle, this brother saved me.¡±


    The man seemed to just notice Astrid then.  He looked at him and it didn¡¯t get pass Astrid the wonder that flashed in the other¡¯s eyes.  He was familiar with that look.  He always received that kind of look whenever people first saw him.  The silver-haired man was probably surprised by his looks.  After all, it¡¯s not everyday one could see a young with black hair and black eyes.


    But the man quickly recovered, as if that flash of surprise in his eyes didn¡¯t even appear.  ¡°Thank you for saving my nephew.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not me.  It¡¯s actually my brother who did all the lifting,¡± Astrid said, correcting the man.  ¡°He was the one who subdued the criminal.¡±


    Nicol quickly frowned when he said that.  ¡°Brother, what are you saying?  If you didn¡¯t take the attention of that man away, then no one would be able to quickly subdue him.¡±


    Astrid was amused looking at the kid¡¯s stern look.  It¡¯s like he was looking at a small adult.  So, he even if he wanted to correct the kid¡¯s assumptions, he held back and just let him believe what he wanted.


    Then he saw his brother walking over with that soldier he was talking to earlier.


    Reas glanced at the silver-haired man faintly before standing beside his brother in a protective posture.  The man saw this and an amused glint appeared in his sapphire blue eyes.


    Reas gazed down at his brother.  ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Astrid was also amused by his brother.  ¡°Yes.  I should probably the one asking that question.  Are you okay?¡±


    Reas only gave him a look as if asking him, ¡®why shouldn¡¯t I be okay?¡¯.


    Captain Moore, who also walked there with Reas, looked at the black-haired teenager.


    The young man said to him that he came here with his brother.  He just didn¡¯t expect that his brother would be a great beauty.  He looked around and just as he expected, almost all of his soldiers nearby were looking at the direction of the teenager.  His face darkened.  It seemed like his soldiers still need a lot of training.


    He shook his head and turned first to the silver-haired man.


    ¡°Lord Cassius,¡± he greeted.


    Astrid blinked his phoenix eyes when he heard the name that the soldier called the silver-haired man.  Cassius.  Cassius Grimaldi?!


    He was frozen on the spot.  And then he just wanted to curse.  [You shitty fate, I just knew you would do this.]

 Chapter 82 - INTERESTING KIDS

    ALTHOUGH he was very shocked by this sudden turn of events, Astrid quickly forced himself to calm down.  If he showed any weird reaction here, it would surely just have a negative effect on him and his brother.


    But even though he recovered fairly quickly, Reas still noticed his abnormal reaction.


    He leaned down a bit and whispered, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Astrid raised his head and saw the inquiring and worried gaze of his brother.  Reas probably noticed his reaction.  Which didn¡¯t surprise him.  After all, the two of them were pretty sensitive to one another¡¯s emotional changes.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said but grasped his brother¡¯s hand and wrote something on his palm.


    ¡®Cassius Grimaldi¡¯.


    Reas eyes widened a bit when he realized what his brother wrote.  Cassius Grimaldi?  The captain just now called the silver-haired man ¡®Cassius¡¯.  If that¡¯s all, then wouldn¡¯t mean much.  But Astrid added a ¡®Grimaldi¡¯ to that name, then it would have a totally different meaning.


    Of course, he knew who Cassius Grimaldi was.  The younger brother of their mother.  Although he didn¡¯t know how Astrid found out that the guy was a Grimaldi, he wouldn¡¯t doubt his brother¡¯s words.  He glanced faintly at the silver-haired man.  So, this guy must definitely be that Cassius Grimaldi.


    It¡¯s a good thing that he had a poker face most of the time.  Or else his annoyance would definitely be written on his face.  Why would he be annoyed?  What else would he feel then?  It¡¯s already a good thing that he was not spouting curses right now.


    This was only their first day here in the capital and yet they really just had to meet one of the people they should be avoiding.  As if encountering a hostage taking/bombing incident was not enough to make this day worse than it already was.  They really had to meet someone from their mother¡¯s family.


    He honestly didn¡¯t have any opinion regarding the Grimaldis.  Except probably for the duke.  He seriously thought that person had problems.  Sending your daughter to act as a bait for a rapist and murderer was just not right.  No matter what reason he had, it¡¯s just wrong.


    In their mother¡¯s story, the only one who¡¯s normal in the family was her younger brother ¨C this person standing in front of them.  So, he didn¡¯t have any negative emotion towards him.  He was sure that Astrid was the same.  But that didn¡¯t change the fact that they still didn¡¯t want to meet him or anyone from that family.


    He then looked at the silver-haired little boy.  So, was this boy his son?


    Reas simply copied his brother and acted like there was nothing wrong.  Although he¡¯s not good at acting, having a poker first was enough for this.  And he really had a very good poker face.


    He wrote on his brother¡¯s palm, ¡®I understand¡¯.


    Astrid glanced at his brother and didn¡¯t see any weird expression on his face and he knew that the other already returned to calm.


    So, the twins just quietly stood there.


    ¡°Lord Cassius, is the little master okay?¡± the captain asked the silver-haired lord.


    ¡°Yes, Nikki is fine.  All thanks to these two brothers,¡± Casey said looking at the brothers who couldn¡¯t be anymore different from one another.  ¡°Thank you again for saving my nephew.¡±


    The captain nodded.


    Oh, so the boy was his nephew ¨C Reas thought.  So, the kid was the son of the older one?  Either way, he still turned out to their cousin.  Not that it mattered that much anyway.


    ¡°Excuse me, sir, since this unfortunate incident is already over, can my brother and I leave?¡± asked Astrid to the soldier.  ¡°We still have to meet someone, you see.¡±


    Captain Moore glanced at this overly beautiful teenager.  He felt like it would realy hard to reject any request from him.  It¡¯s a good thing that they didn¡¯t really need to retain them here.  Since he had already asked the other brother about the details of what happened and there¡¯s also the security cameras around that could back that up.


    ¡°Yes, you can go.  But do leave your contact information to one of my soldiers just in case we needed to contact you for any follow up,¡± he said.  Then he thought of something and changed what he said.  ¡°Never mind that, just give your contact information to me.¡±


    It wouldn¡¯t be good if one of his soldiers tried to contact this black-haired teenager using that.


    The twins nodded and send their contact information to the captain¡¯s Terminal.  After that, the captain first left and went to the reception area where the injured section leader was.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be leaving now,¡± Astrid said to the uncle and nephew pair.


    He and Reas were about to leave when a milky voice stopped them.


    ¡°Brother, wait!¡±


    Astrid had an urge to just continue walking, but that would just be too cruel for the innocent Nicol.  So, he stopped and looked back.


    ¡°Yes?¡± he asked with his usual gentle smile.


    ¡°Brother still hasn¡¯t told me his name,¡± Nicol said, looking at him full of anticipation.  As if he couldn¡¯t wait to know his name.


    ¡°The young master can just call me Aster,¡± Astrid said, deciding to just give the other his nickname.


    ¡°Aster¡­ Brother Aster.  This name really suits my brother!¡± Nicol said with a smile.


    Reas almost muttered ¡®who¡¯s your brother?¡¯.  But he stopped himself in time before he appeared childish.


    ¡°Can the two also leave me your contact information?  So, I could repay you some other time for saving my nephew,¡± Casey asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t Brother Aster just go with us?¡± Nicol said innocently.


    ¡°Silly Nikki, didn¡¯t you hear what your brother said earlier?  They had to go somewhere,¡± Casey explained.


    Nicol frowned a bit but still understood.  He nodded and raised his head to look at the pretty brother.  ¡°Then, Brother Aster, can you let my uncle contact you so we can meet again?¡±


    Astrid stared at the pleading blue eyes of the little boy.  He almost couldn¡¯t resist the urge to tell them his contact information immediately.  But he knew how troublesome it would be if they continued to have contact in the future.  On the other hand, directly refusing without any viable reason would just be more suspicious.


    But before he could think of how he should response, his brother already did that for him.


    ¡°Sorry, but we¡¯re really in a hurry right now.¡±


    Then he pulled Astrid out of there.


    Casey looked interestingly at the back of the two, thinking amusedly how it felt like they were running from something.


    But really, what interesting kids.

 Chapter 83 - YOUR MISFORTUNE IS ALSO MY MISFORTUNE

    AFTER walking out of the mall, the twins didn¡¯t dally any longer and went straight to the building where the apartment Astrid rented was.  They were afraid that if they went to another place, they would encounter something they didn¡¯t want to encounter again.  It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.


    They just finished talking to the landlord of the apartment complex.  Astrid signed a one-year contract for the apartment and paid for it.  He had enough star coins in his savings account to pay for a whole year of rent.  After all, their parents weren¡¯t exactly cheapskates when giving their children money.


    The twins went up to the 20th floor where Astrid¡¯s apartment was.  There were 10 apartments in each floor.  Since his apartment number was 2010, one could easily presume that it was the apartment at the very end of the corridor after getting off the elevator.


    Finding the apartment, Astrid used the key given to him.  The moment he and Reas entered the apartment, the lights inside automatically turned on.  He walked forward and glanced around.


    The small living room had a comfortable-looking couch and a glass center table.  The connecting dining area and kitchen had all the necessary appliances.  He really liked the small black wooden table with two chairs on the dining area.  He then took a quick look at the bedroom and bathroom.  Both were also complete with important amenities.


    He was relieved to see that the whole apartment seemed to be fully furbished.  Just like how it was advertised online.  If the reality of this apartment didn¡¯t meet his expectations, he might just really lose it.  Especially after the day he and his brother just had.


    He walked out of the room and saw Reas sitting on the couch.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± he asked, since both of them still hadn¡¯t had lunch.


    ¡°Yeah.  I could probably eat a whole cow right now,¡± Reas answered.


    But none of them suggested to eat out.  Probably because both of them were still thinking of that ¡®magical encounter¡¯ they had at the mall.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just order our lunch online,¡± Astrid said.  He also planned to order groceries after.


    Seeing that Reas had no objection, he proceeded on ordering using his Terminal.  He also sat down beside his brother so he could order more comfortably.


    He was also planning to order an extra foldable mattress for Reas.  So, his brother could have something to sleep on.  After all, this place only had one bedroom.  They couldn¡¯t exactly share the same bed since Reas¡¯ build was too big.  That¡¯s why he could only have him spread another mattress on the floor and let him sleep on it.


    Seriously, he was thankful that everything now could be ordered online.  Maybe they should have done that instead of going to the mall personally.  Then they probably wouldn¡¯t have encountered such situations.


    ¡°You should buy a housekeeping robot to help you maintain this apartment,¡± Reas suggested when he saw that his brother was already done ordering.  ¡°Even a simple one would suffice.  It could also add as an additional security for this apartment.¡±


    Housekeeping robots had a system that would immediately release an alarm once they judged that the owner of the house was in danger.  It would also issue an alarm if someone trespassed in the apartment.  These two reasons were enough to buy one.  Especially for those who was living alone.  Like his brother would be once school started.  With the presence of a housekeeping robot here, Reas would be more relieved.


    Astrid nodded.  He was also planning that.  Not only for the security but also for the convenience.  Although he could clean this place by himself, once school started, it would be hard to do that.  So, it¡¯s better to have a housekeeping robot with him then.


    ¡°Should we tell Mom about the incident today?¡± Reas asked, changing the topic.


    Astrid closed his Terminal.  ¡°Absolutely not.  We¡¯ll just worry her unnecessarily.  Besides, it¡¯s not like Cassius Grimaldi recognized us as his sister¡¯s children.  It probably didn¡¯t even cross his mind that we are remotely related to him.¡±


    ¡°Well, he certainly didn¡¯t show any surprise when he saw us,¡± Reas agreed.


    The only time he looked surprise was when Astrid removed his hat and reveal his hair and face.  Which was a natural reaction.  Anyone who saw Astrid for the first time would have the same reaction.


    ¡°At least now we can confirm that people from Mom¡¯s past wouldn¡¯t immediately connect us to her once they see us,¡± Astrid said.  It was almost the same as his hypothesis.  ¡°Now, we don¡¯t have to worry too much that people would think that we¡¯re related, in any way or form, to the Grimaldis.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a good thing that the two of us didn¡¯t inherit their famous silver hair,¡± Reas added.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Although Reas did inherit their mother¡¯s ice-blue hair, it¡¯s a hair color that wasn¡¯t really that uncommon.  Not to mention Astrid who had very-un-Grimaldi like features.


    ¡°But seriously, how come we¡¯re so unlucky today?¡± Reas asked.  ¡°Did someone curse us or something?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m the unlucky one and you just happened to be a collateral damage of my misfortune,¡± Astrid said.


    After all, he had a lot of experience being unlucky.


    Reas pinched his brother¡¯s cheek.  ¡°Stop talking nonsense.  We¡¯re twins.  If you¡¯re unlucky, then so am I.¡±


    ¡°You know that reasoning was as unfounded as what I just said earlier.¡±


    ¡°At least you know that what you said was unfounded,¡± Reas said, frowning at him.


    Astrid only looked amusedly at his younger brother.  ¡°What got you into a bad mood?¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to make such a separation between us,¡± Reas answered seriously.  ¡°You don¡¯t have to carry your own misfortune.  Because we will share it together.¡±


    Astrid smiled.  This kid could be really sweet sometimes.  ¡°Okay.¡±


    Soon, their lunch arrived.  Delivered to them by a delivering robot.  And the two soon started eating.


    While the twins were having lunch together, they had no idea that a hot topic was fermenting online.  And the two of them were the center of it.

 Chapter 84 - NATURAL

    A CERTAIN topic on [Cyberspace] was starting to get a lot of attention.  It was about the hostage taking incident that happened at the food section of a certain mall.  It just so happened that one of the people in the food section where the incident happened was a small food vlogger and they were doing a live broadcast when it happened.


    So, all of their viewers witnessed everything.  At first, the viewers were just there to watch the excitement.  Although some were genuinely worried about the vlogger, most had the attitude of eating melons.


    Until the scene of the hostage taker being apprehended happened.


    They saw a handsome young man courageously took down the hostage taker.  Even quickly dismantling the bomb.  Although the young man was truly eye-catching, there was someone who was even more eye-catching than him.


    It was the beautiful teenager with black hair and a pair of dark obsidian eyes.


    Everyone in the audience just lost it when they saw such a teenager.  It almost felt like everything around them just stopped moving and all they could see was him.  That was how strong his visual impact was.


    That particular clip of him taking off the hat and glasses he was wearing was posted by the viewers of that live broadcast.  Because they all wanted to share to everyone that, somewhere in their Emperor Star, such a beautiful person existed.


    And just like what they thought, it immediately attracted a lot of people and quickly became a hot topic.  It even entered the top 50 hot topic list of [Cyberspace].  Which was already huge considering that the other was not even a star.


    [Can someone tell me who this person is?  I want to marry him!]


    [Yes!  Let¡¯s go to a fertility lab and quickly combine our genes together!]


    [Where did such a fairy come from?]


    [A person with both black hair and black eyes, just when was the last time we saw someone like that?]


    [Is this a teaser of a new movie?] ¨C A lot of people asked this question because they¡¯d only seen this clip and didn¡¯t know about the hostage taking incident.


    [If this is a movie, I¡¯ll want to buy a ticket now!]


    [Maybe it¡¯s for an advertisement.]


    [Or maybe a weekly series.]


    [Does anyone know which entertainment company handles him?  I want them to release his information!]


    [Yes, tell us his name!  I¡¯ll be his fan from now on!]


    [Don¡¯t be selfish and quickly introduce your artist to us!]


    Of course, if there were people who couldn¡¯t wait to hold the black-haired teenager in their palm, there were also a lot of sunspots who appeared.


    [Huh, what kind of hype is this?  Are people nowadays couldn¡¯t wait to be a hot topic that they would even dye their hair and wear contact lenses just to be noticed?]


    [This guy probably had attention deficiency that he would even pretend to be special even though he¡¯s not.]


    [Tsk.  Can¡¯t anyone see that his hair and eye color are not natural at all?  You people are really blind.]


    A lot of the same opinion followed.  But not even 30 minutes passed and they were quickly slapped.


    [For those saying that we are blind, then I want to return that statement to you.  Have you all forgotten that it wouldn¡¯t even take 10 minutes to process whether his hair or eye color are natural?  And FYI, just in case you idiots didn¡¯t get the sarcasm there, yes, they are natural.]


    It¡¯s because there was a program that could automatically check if the image of a person captured by a Terminal or a camera was true or not.  If one was wearing a wig or a contact lens, this program could check that.  It could even tell if one had undergone plastic surgery or was physically changed in any kind of way.


    Because of this program, no one could use edited pictures or videos of themselves to become famous.  It also made it nearly impossible for those who had their facial features altered to be popular.


    This program was made 300 years ago by a genius programmer who felt like he had been cheated by his favorite star.  He found out that the black hair that the star was so proud of was dyed, even his face had undergone plastic surgery.  To let out his grievances, the programmer made that program and exposed the star.


    Since then, this program had been really popular.  And as centuries passed, it became more and more advanced.  Now, almost all Terminals had this program installed.  It also now became a huge part of the entertainment industry.  It¡¯s a way for fans to be able to tell if the appearance of the stars they¡¯re admiring was true or not.


    And now, during this online debate, this program really came in handy.


    [I almost forgot that I have that program.  I was almost swept away by these sunspots!]


    [I also checked.  And the teenager¡¯s hair and eye color are indeed natural.]


    [I did the same.  And yes, they are natural.]


    [Natural+1]


    [Natural+2]


    .


    .


    .


    [Natural+98]


    [To all those sunspots, do your face hurt now?  It¡¯s probably already swelling, right?]


    [Really, jealous people just can¡¯t accept that such an excellent person exist in this world.]


    [What I want to know right now is the name of this beauty.  Is there no one who could tell me?]


    [Should we just wait until this movie is released?]


    [I¡¯m sorry to disappoint everyone.  But this is not a movie.  It¡¯s just a clip of the live broadcast of certain food vlogger.]


    This particular comment garnered a lot of attention.


    [Upstairs!  Explain properly!]


    And so, the hostage taking incident was revealed to everyone.  After that, these netizens just became even more enthusiastic.  After all, a beautiful boy who also had the heart to help others in need, especially when he¡¯s not aware that he¡¯s being filmed was infinitely better in people¡¯s eyes than a simple pretty vase.


    This hot topic continued to ferment.  Although it wasn¡¯t able to break through the top 40 hot topic list, the black-haired teenager was still able to amass a few number of fans.

 Chapter 85 - HEADACHE

    ¡°LORD Cassius, I had already deleted all the post online related to the young master,¡± said the assistant from the other side of the virtual screen of Casey¡¯s Terminal.


    ¡°I see.  Good,¡± Casey said.


    He gazed down at his nephew who was now sleeping.  They were now travelling back to the Grimaldi mansion in his aircraft.  The bodyguards sent to protect his nephew were following them in a separate aircraft.  Really, those bodyguards were useless.  They couldn¡¯t even react on time when someone snatched Nikki under their noses.  He should report this to his brother.  At least he should give his nephew reliable guards.


    He looked at the virtual screen in front of him.  He didn¡¯t expect that his assistant still hadn¡¯t hung up the call.  Then he noticed that the other looked like he wanted to say something more.


    ¡°Is there something else?¡± he asked.


    ¡°My lord, one of the teenagers who saved young master, he¡¯s currently trending on [Cyberspace].  Should I also remove all the topics related to him?¡±


    Casey didn¡¯t need to ask which teenager his assistant was referring.  Between the two brothers who saved Nikki, the one who could cause such an uproar just by his appearance alone was the black-haired teenager.  He frowned a bit when he heard that the teenager was trending.


    ¡°The topic about him, does it include a video of what happened at the food section?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No, my lord.  It was simply a clip of him removing his hat and glasses.¡±


    Casey raised one of his brows.  He didn¡¯t expect that a simple clip could cause an uproar online.  But then again, the kid did look pretty eye-catching.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.  You can leave it alone,¡± he said.


    Because he didn¡¯t manage to get the contact information of the two brothers, he asked his assistant to check their basic information.  That included the name of the two.  Astrid and Andreas Townsend.


    According to the information, the two just arrived here from Palioxis Galaxy.  They were about to study here at the capital.  The one named Reas was admitted at the Imperial Military Academy while Astrid was admitted at Redwood Academy of Performing Arts.


    Of course, Casey didn¡¯t ask his assistant to dig more information than that.  Because that would be invading too much of their privacy.  He just asked for the very basic of information so he could pay them back for their life saving grace to his nephew.


    Since Astrid was about to be admitted at Redwood Academy of Performing Arts, it meant that he was planning to be an actor.  Although he wasn¡¯t that familiar with the entertainment industry, he knew that one¡¯s success mostly depended on their popularity.  Having this kind of hype as early as now would help Astrid to be noticed.  So, being in the trending hot topic list wouldn¡¯t be bad for him.


    ¡°But make sure that the trend will remain positive,¡± he added.


    Because he knew how people could be jealous of the tiniest thing.  And Astrid¡¯s appearance was simply the target of envy.


    ¡°Understood, my lord.¡±


    The assistant wasn¡¯t surprised by his employer¡¯s decision.  After all, the teenager did help in saving the young master.  Helping him with the trend of the hot topic was not really much.


    Then the two ended their call.


    Casey looked out of the window of the aircraft.  He once again remembered the Townsend brothers.  He couldn¡¯t understand why, but he liked the two brothers.  Not just because they saved Nikki, but simply because.  Which was weird since he wasn¡¯t really the type to easily have a good opinion on other people.  Maybe he was simply that shocked after almost losing his nephew that he automatically saw golden halos around the people who saved him.


    Anyway, what he probably should worry now was impeding argument he would have with his brother because of what happened to Nikki.


    Just thinking about it was already bringing him headache.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    A certain casting director was already having a headache.  The movie crew he was in was having a problem.  There was a role that up until now hasn¡¯t been casted.  This role only had one scene.  That scene wouldn¡¯t even last five minutes.  But the appearance of this character was crucial to the whole plot of the movie.  They simply couldn¡¯t be deleted from the movie.


    The problem was, the people who auditioned for this role didn¡¯t pass the scrutiny of their director.  They were nearing the start of the filming schedule and they still wasn¡¯t able to find the right person for the role.  So, the production team decided to started filming first while continuing to look for the person who could play it.


    And now, almost all the important scenes had been filmed and yet they still hadn¡¯t found the right person.  Of course, there were many others he tried to cast on the role.  But Director Trevane refused all of them.  Saying that they didn¡¯t fit the image he had for that role.


    If it was any other person, the casting director probably had already cursed them.  But this was Director Trevane.  The leading director when it came to epic fantasy films.  He had the capital to be picky.


    But because of that, the casting director was now having this huge headache.  Within this month, he should find the right person for that role.  Or else, they would be forced to simply synthesized an image for the role.  But it would definitely affect the quality of their movie.  Because nowadays, people simply didn¡¯t like synthetic actors.


    Besides, he doubted if Director Trevane would even acquiesce to that.  With how picky the other was, he probably would rather stop filming than having a synthetic actor play that part.  That last thing, the casting director definitely couldn¡¯t allow to happen.  Because if they did, then they would go beyond their movie¡¯s budget.  Every second they delayed the filming, they lose money.


    The casting director ¨C Mark Rogers ¨C let out a tired sigh.


    He randomly swiped topics on [Cyberspace].  Suddenly, a topic caught his attention.  He clicked on it.  And once he saw the whole of it, he suddenly shot up from his seat.  His eyes turning brighter and brighter as he stared intently at a certain clip.

 Chapter 86 - TRENDING TOPIC CONTINUES

    ON the military base of Emperor Star, there was a certain area that most ordinary soldier avoided.  Not because they were not allowed to enter it, but because it was the area dedicated to Fenris Squad.


    Everyone knew how most people in that army was a battle maniac.  They had learned in a hard way that if they ever tried to argue with the people from that army, they would be the one who would regret it in the end.  Because those guys didn¡¯t care about anyone¡¯s identity.  They¡¯re not afraid to be punished.  Probably because they knew that if they were in the right, their general ¨C the White Wolf of Alluna ¨C would definitely help them.


    This particular area was given the name ¡®Fang¡¯.  Not only to allude the name of the squad, but because the shape of this area was almost akin to the shape of a sharp fang.  Maybe because this area was made specifically for the Fenris Squad.


    The Fenris Squad didn¡¯t have its own military base.  Because, unlike the other four armies, they didn¡¯t have their own territory to protect.  But in turn, they were allowed to have an area dedicated for them at every military base of each galaxy.


    Because Fenris Squad was currently at the capital for an indefinite period of time, the Fang was currently occupied.


    This area had their own cafeteria, training area, and medical bay.  They even had a separate dormitory where most of its soldier stayed.  Not very surprising.  Since most member of this army were orphans or from the poorest part of the Empire.


    Hildred just woke up from his nap and was on his way to the cafeteria to have dinner.  While walking, he was looking through his [Cyberspace].  It was kind of a habit.  Because he enjoyed reading the gossips of famous people.  It¡¯s like eating melons for free.  Especially when its about those hypocritical nobles.  Once he saw one, he would join in the fun using his troll account.


    He was swiping on the hot topic list when a particular topic attracted his attention.


    It was a clip of a teenager removing his cap and eyeglasses.  It might not attract the attention of people if not for the color of the teenager¡¯s hair and eyes.  Which was both black.


    He stared at the teenager and his brows wrinkled for a second.  Wasn¡¯t this the boy from planet Delryria?  According to the comments he read, there was some incident in some mall at one of the city centers of the capital.  And this teenager was involved in it.  Wait- more importantly, what was this boy doing in the capital?


    Should he report this to Wulf?


    He remembered when Wulf asked his opinion about that recording that showed the boy crying and being scared shitless.  Wulf seemed to be very concerned about the boy.  It was the first time he saw him asking someone¡¯s opinion about another.  Because usually, with Wulf, people were just either tolerable or unlikable.  And then, there was a special category of ¡®interesting¡¯.  Once Wulf¡¯s curiosity was fed, those he found interesting would still fall on the usual category of tolerable or unlikable.


    So, he thought that Wulf probably found that boy ¡®interesting¡¯.  After all, the other had the looks to attract attention.  But since Wulf showed him that recording, he guessed that their general most probably lost any curiosity he had with the teenager.  Because Wulf disliked people crying and blatantly showing weakness.  His guess was further proven by the fact that after Wulf showed him that recording, the other never talked about his experience at Delryria again.  As if it never happened.


    So, now, he¡¯s wondering if showing this trending topic to Wulf would even matter.


    Before he could answer that, he saw Edmund walking ahead.  He turned off his Terminal and dashed forward.  Then he jumped on the other¡¯s back.  The topic he was thinking just now completely forgotten.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid and Reas just finished eating dinner.  They spent the whole afternoon unpacking and cleaning.  The mattress he ordered for Reas already arrived alongside the groceries.  He bought a week-worth of groceries.  But there¡¯s still a lot of things that he needed to buy.  One of which was the housekeeping robot.


    He was still not decided on what model to buy.  Since there¡¯s a ton of them out there.  He just wanted something simple but had all the important functions.  It would even be better if it wasn¡¯t that expensive.  Although he had money, he didn¡¯t want to waste it on useless purchase.


    ¡°Maybe you should buy a medical cabin,¡± Reas suddenly said.


    Yup, like that one.  A useless purchase.  ¡°Why did you suddenly think of that?¡±


    Reas shrugged.  ¡°It would be helpful if you suddenly get injured.¡±


    Astrid looked at his brother amusedly.  ¡°If I remember correctly, you¡¯re the military student.  Not me.  First-aid kit will suffice for me.¡±  He saw that the other still had something to say, so he sat down beside him and said, ¡°Let¡¯s just call Mom and Dad and tell them that we arrived here safely.¡±


    Reas reluctantly nodded.


    Astrid dialed his mother¡¯s number on his Terminal.  Soon, his call was picked up and their mother¡¯s beautiful face appeared on the virtual screen.


    ¡°Hey, Mom,¡± he and Reas greeted.


    Emmy looked at her babies and let out a sigh of relief seeing that the two seemed to have arrived at the capital with no problem.  ¡°Are you two at Astrid¡¯s apartment?¡±


    ¡°Yes.  Does Mom want me to tour you around?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please do so,¡± Emmy didn¡¯t hesitate to say.  This would be Astrid¡¯s home for quite a while.  She had to see if it was good enough for her baby.  ¡°Oh, wait- let¡¯s wait for your Dad.  That guy would surely complain if we left him out.¡±


    ¡°Is Dad still in the farm?¡± Astrid asked.


    Emmy nodded.  ¡°Harvest season is near, so, everyone is starting to get busy.¡±


    They didn¡¯t have to wait long because after about 15 minutes, Gage arrived.  And so, Astrid¡¯s virtual tour of his apartment started.  That lasted for almost half an hour.  Because his parents just wanted to see everything.  At the end, the two were satisfied with what they saw.


    After the ¡®tour¡¯, the family of four talked for another hour before saying goodnight to one another.


    ¡°It looks like the news about that hostage taking didn¡¯t reach Mom and Dad,¡± Reas commented, seeing as how his parents didn¡¯t even mention it.


    ¡°That¡¯s natural.  The Grimaldis certainly wouldn¡¯t want that incident to be on the top news considering it involved their young master,¡± Astrid said.  ¡°But let me check [Cyberspace].  Maybe someone posted about it.¡±


    But what he didn¡¯t expect was that he would actually find himself on the top 50 trending topic list.

 Chapter 87 - MORNING WITH ASTRID

    ¡°GOOD morning, Master,¡± greeted by a slightly robotic sounding voice.  ¡°It¡¯s time to wake up.¡±


    Astrid reluctantly opened his eyes.  What he first saw was a small cat that looked like a Russian blue cat.  And yes, that voice just now was from this cat.  It was the housekeeping robot that he and Reas bought the day before yesterday.


    How could a robotic cat be a housekeeper you say?  Well, you simply had to connect it to all the electronic cleaning gadgets and it would control it.  You could also connect it to the security system of your place and it would issue an alarm if there¡¯s someone trespassing.  That¡¯s not all, it would also automatically call the hospital when it found its master to be in a serious health emergency.


    He picked this model, not only for its cuteness, but also because it¡¯s not that complicated to operate.  And he really didn¡¯t want to use the humanoid version.  It just felt weird for him for no reason.  Maybe because they looked all too human.  Having them as a housekeeper would make it feel like he had a human slave.  Which he¡¯d rather not have.


    Astrid covered his face with a pillow.  ¡°Let me sleep for a few more minutes.¡±


    ¡°But Master, you told me to wake you up exactly at this time.  So, please, wake up.  Or else Xiao Lan will be force to turn on the fire alarm.¡±


    Hearing that, Astrid hurriedly sat up.  Then he glanced at the cat sitting comfortably on the side of his bed.  Maybe he shouldn¡¯t have told that to Xiao Lan. Then he could have slept more.  Who would have thought that this cat would be too particular with time?


    Yes, Xiao Lan was the name he gave to the cat.  It translated to ¡®little blue¡¯ from the language of the country he was born in in his past life.  It¡¯s not the most creative of names but it¡¯s the name the first came to his mind.  So, he just went with it.


    He reluctantly stood up and yawned at the same time.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my brother?¡± he asked, seeing that Reas had already folded the mattress the other had been sleeping on.


    ¡°Master¡¯s brother went out to take a run.¡±


    Astrid nodded and went out of the room to make breakfast.  Xiao Lan following behind him.  He took out ingredients from his small pantry and started cooking.  He planned to make a simple congee, fried dumplings, and scallion pancakes.


    While cooking, he thought of the reason why he asked Xiao Lan to wake him up this early.  It¡¯s nothing special really.  He and Reas were just planning to familiarize themselves with the area around of Redwood Academy.  Which, of course, included the neighborhood where the building of his apartment was located.  Then tomorrow, they¡¯d do the same to the area around the Imperial Military Academy.


    They only had about a month before school formally started.  And a week before that, they both had to go to their respective school to get through the registration.  So, it¡¯s important that they became familiar with their new environment.


    While the rice was steeping, he took out the dumplings that he made last night and started frying them.


    It had been three days since that incident at the mall.  So far, that incident hadn¡¯t had any negative impact on them.  The only prominent thing that resulted from that was him trending on [Cyberspace].  He even entered the top 50 trending hot topic list.  Which was already a huge feat for someone who¡¯s technically just an ordinary citizen.


    Astrid actually didn¡¯t expect for something like that to happen.  Who would have even thought that a clip of that incident would spread like wildfire through [Cyberspace]?  Judging from the comments, he learned that someone was doing a live broadcast during that incident and they captured the whole thing with his Terminal.  Their viewers then cut off that clip of Astrid.


    What amazed him more was the fact that there weren¡¯t that much negative opinions about him.  Being an actor in his last life who started at the very bottom, he experienced firsthand how toxic any online communities could be.  People always had something negative to say about everything.  No matter how you looked or how kind you were, there would still be people who would hate you simply because you existed.


    Normally, for someone who hadn¡¯t made his name yet, having this kind of attention was a natural attraction for sunspots to gather.  So, when he saw that he was trending, he kind of expected that it would be filled with negative comments attacking him.  That¡¯s why seeing that the trend was mostly positive, it truly surprised him.


    Something like this could only be possible if someone was purposely leading the trend on that positive direction.  The only one he could think of right now that had the means to do that and also had a reason for it was Cassius Grimaldi.


    Reading the comments, he saw that not one ever mentioned about Nicol Grimaldi.  Which meant that Cassius Grimaldi had already ordered someone to not let anything that might connect Nicol to the hostage taking incident appear on [Cyberspace].  It was also most likely him who control the trend on the topic about him.  Probably because of the help he and Reas gave to Nicol.


    He was not sure why Cassius did that instead of just deleting the topics about him altogether.  Though, honestly speaking, he preferred his approach.  It¡¯s good to have his face be introduce to the public.  Who knows, maybe someone would be scouting him soon.  After all, his appearance was considered ¡®beautiful¡¯ in this era.


    Astrid finished making breakfast.  And as he put each dish on the table, he heard the sound of the door opening.  He raised his head and saw Reas walking in.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s why I smelled something delicious.¡±


    He smiled when he heard Reas say that.  ¡°Come, let¡¯s have breakfast.¡±

 Chapter 88 - FREE ADVERTISEMENT

    ¡°YOU¡¯RE not going to wear a hat?¡± Reas asked, frowning a bit when he saw that his brother wasn¡¯t wearing anything to hide his hair color.  ¡°What if some random people take photos of you?¡±


    He knew that his brother trended on [Cyberspace] three days ago.  If, while they were out, some people recognized him and hounded him or something, that would be too troublesome.  What if those people tried to follow Astrid to his apartment as well?


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind being photographed.  I¡¯ll even be thankful if they will post my photos on [Cyberspace],¡± Astrid said.


    If someone recognized him and took his photo, then posted it on their [Cyberspace] timeline, that would be another way for him to be known to people.  Like some kind of free advertisement.  It would increase his fame, even if just a tiny bit.


    Growing up, his photos would also be posted on [Cyberspace] from time to time by strangers.  Especially after he and Reas started going to secondary school.  But those pictures didn¡¯t really cause that much wave.  Mainly because each galaxy had their own trending topic list.  Only the stars that were really at the top could trend on [Cyberspace] in all galaxies.


    It would probably be easier to just introduce himself to everyone in [Cyberspace].  But he didn¡¯t want to do that.  It would seem that he was hyping up himself.  It would be better to let other people do it for him.  At least with that, he would have a bit of mystery around him.  After all, mysterious things always had their own appeal.


    Besides, he didn¡¯t have a proper [Cyberspace] account.  Only one that he used to browse sometimes to check on the famous stars in the Empire.  If he wanted to be a star, then he should at least familiarize himself with the industry he wanted to be a part of.  He didn¡¯t want to come off as rude if one day he met someone famous and then ignored him accidentally.


    ¡°You really want your photos to be posted on [Cyberspace] by some random people?¡± Reas asked, sounding a bit incredulous.


    ¡°Yeah, why not?  Remember, my dear brother, I¡¯m trying to be a star here.  People taking photos of me and posting it on [Cyberspace] would be like some sort of publicity.¡±


    Although the result would probably not be the same if he didn¡¯t trend three days ago because of that hostage taking incident.  At least, that unlucky day brought something good to him.


    Frankly, Reas was still kind of against his brother being a star or whatnot.  But this was Astrid¡¯s dream after all.  He had no right to interfere with it.  The only thing he could do was to support him.  Just like how he was supporting him with his dream.  Along with his support, he would also do his best to protect him.


    ¡°Fine.  I get it.  Let¡¯s just go,¡± he could only in the end.


    Astrid smiled.  He already had an idea what this brother of his might be thinking.  He crouched down and ruffled Xiao Lan¡¯s fluffy head.  The cat had been sitting near them, obediently waiting for them to leave like a good house cat.


    ¡°Xiao Lan, take care of the apartment while we¡¯re away.  Okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master,¡± the cat replied in its slightly mechanical voice.


    Then the Townsend brothers left the apartment building.


    ¡ª¨C


    Just as Reas predicted, while he and Astrid were familiarizing themselves around the city center near the area of Redwood Academy, there were a number of people who took photos of his brother.  They probably thought that they¡¯re being stealthy about it, but how could their small action escape his eyes?


    He honestly almost couldn¡¯t resist the urge to grab their Terminals and throw it on the ground.  But for Astrid, he strongly resisted that urge.


    They traveled around the city center using a rented flying car.  Both of them had a driver¡¯s license.  They took it the day after their 18th birthday.  Even though the life-span of people in this era was more than thrice that of the people from his past life, the age where people were considered as adults was still 18.


    But since their goal was to familiarize themselves with the road and also check the establishments and shops around, the car often stayed parked at one place and then they rode it once again when they needed to go to an area with a farther distance.  Just like now.  They were currently on their way to check Redwood Academy of Performing Arts.


    Following the GPS map on the car, they soon arrived at their destination.  But since they didn¡¯t have any permission to enter the school, they could only drive around it and looked at it from a distance.


    They would probably have a better view of the place if they hovered over it.  But that¡¯s kind of illegal.  There were establishments that didn¡¯t allow aircrafts to hover over it, unless they get a special permission for it.  And a school like Redwood Academy was one such establishment.


    Astrid remembered all the roads around the school.  While doing that, he¡¯s also observing the school¡¯s architecture.  It had, surprisingly, an ancient style architecture.  And by ancient he meant the type of architecture you would see in his past life.  Of course, it¡¯s not just an ordinary architecture but the fancy kind.


    He liked it.  Probably because it reminded him of his last life.  Now, he couldn¡¯t wait for school to start.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go eat lunch,¡± he said to Reas.


    ¡°Where to?¡±


    ¡°Just pick the nearest one.¡±


    So, they went to the nearest restaurant they could find.  The place didn¡¯t have that many people inside, which Reas preferred.  They picked a table near the window and ordered food.


    Astrid ordered a simple pasta dish and a vegetable salad.  While Reas ordered spareribs.  One could see immediately by what they ordered why the build of the two were so different.


    They were at the middle of their meal when a man suddenly rushed to their table and grabbed Astrid¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I finally found you!¡± said the strange man excitedly.


    Before Astrid could react, Reas already stood from his seat and pulled the man away from him.  The forced he used was too great that the man simply fell over on his butt.


    ¡°Get the hell away from my brother,¡± Reas threatened.

 Chapter 89 - MR. CASTING DIRECTOR

    THE man who just had been pushed to the floor was Mark Rogers ¨C the casting director for the movie [The Sleeping God].  They¡¯re already nearing the end of filming.  But because their crew couldn¡¯t find a suitable actor for a small yet very important role, Director Trevane would surely postpone filming.  Which most of them from the crew didn¡¯t want to happen.


    That¡¯s why when he saw that clip of that black-haired teenager on the trending topic three days ago, he immediately knew that he found the one.  So, he quickly sent the clip to Director Trevane, asking him if the teenager suited the role they were looking for.


    He didn¡¯t have any expectations.  Because in the past, when he brought people who he thought was perfect for the role, that picky director rejected them all.  He already readied himself for another rejection, but who would have thought that the director¡¯s reaction would be much crazier than him?


    He could still remember what the director told him via video call word for word.


    [He¡¯s the one!  He fits the image perfectly!  Where did you find such a treasure?  Quickly, bring him to the set so I could check his acting!]


    When he told Director Trevane that he just accidentally saw the clip of the teenager on [Cyberspace] and he didn¡¯t know who he was, the director gave him a week to track the boy down.  Seriously, Mark felt that that was already beyond his job description.  But since he was the casting director and no matter how demanding the director was, casting artists in the movie was still under his jurisdiction.


    So, there¡¯s really only one thing he could do.  Search for the black-haired teenager.


    But he didn¡¯t expect that it would be too hard.


    Despite the boy trending, he couldn¡¯t find any important information about him.  He couldn¡¯t find the teenager¡¯s [Cyberspace] account.  He couldn¡¯t even find his name.  The only thing he knew was the teenager was in a hostage-taking incident at some mall.  But even with that, he still wasn¡¯t able to find anything.


    The live broadcast video where that clip came from was nowhere to be found.  As if someone had deleted it in [Cyberspace]¡¯s sea of data.  When he tried to ask the military department to know who was in-charged of that hostage-taking incident, all he received was silence.  As in, literal silence.  They refused to answer any of his questions.


    He almost wanted to ask their major producer to just handle this matter.  After all, their producer was the top entertainment company in the Empire ¨C Kaleido.  Surely, they could solve this problem.  But he resisted the urge to do that.


    Kaleido wanted to insert as many of their artists to this movie.  In fact, their male lead, third male lead, second female lead, and even some of the extras came from that company.  Those people from Kailedo would definitely take it badly if he asked them to look for someone who he¡¯s planning to cast for this role.  Especially when the first artist who was supposed to take this role was from Kaleido.


    So, he decided that he and his assistant should just do it themselves.  He had some connections that he made throughout his career.  He made use of that to track down the teenager.  But after three days, all he could find was the mall where the incident happened.


    He was seriously on the verge of losing his mind.  It¡¯s like, was he tracking some kind of legendary alien beast or something?


    That was until his assistant told him that he saw a post on [Cyberspace] with a picture of the teenager.  The photo was taken in a restaurant near Redwood Academy.  Since he was already near the area ¨C he¡¯s been going around there since he found that the mall was in that area, hoping that he would accidentally bump into the teenager ¨C he rode there as fast as he could.


    Mark probably hadn¡¯t ridden his car that fast right at that moment.  All he could think of was that he needed to get to that restaurant before the teenager could leave.  He must say, it was quite a miracle that he wasn¡¯t ticketed at the speed he was going.


    When he arrived at the restaurant and saw the black-haired teenager, he was simply overwhelmed with excitement.  Before he could think, his body just moved and rushed forward.  And then before he could even speak, he was suddenly thrown and fell on his butt.


    ¡°Get the hell away from my brother,¡± said the young man with ice-blue hair and teal-gray eyes.


    Mark quickly snapped out of his over-excitement.  He looked at the angry young man in front of him and then at the black-haired teenager behind the young man.  He suddenly realized that his action just now made him seem like a pervert.


    He immediately stood up and no longer tried to rush up.  He raised both his hand to show that he was harmless.


    ¡°Please, I¡¯m not some weird person.¡±  He opened his Terminal and showed them his official Empire ID.  ¡°I¡¯m a casting director.  Ever since I saw the trending topic about you, I felt like you fit the role of one of the casts of the movie crew I¡¯m currently in.  I also showed that clip of yours to the director of the movie I¡¯m working on and he said that he wanted to audition you for that role.  Please, believe me.¡±


    He said that in a very sincere voice while looking at the black-haired teenager.


    The young man with ice-blue hair scoffed.  ¡°Do you really want us to believe that crap?¡±


    Mark finally looked at the young man.  Didn¡¯t this guy say that he was the brother of the teenager?  This was probably the first time he saw siblings that looked so different from each other.


    He shook his head and just focused once again on the black-haired teenager.  ¡°I swear I¡¯m not lying.  You can easily check my bios on [Starnet].  I¡¯m really just here to talk to you about that role.¡±


    Before the young man could antagonize him once again, the teenager touched the young man¡¯s arm.  ¡°Wait, Reas.  I think it¡¯s alright to listen to him.¡±  He looked at Mark and smiled.  ¡°Mr. Mark Rogers, right?  I¡¯m Astrid Townsend.  Should we go to somewhere more private to speak?¡±

 Chapter 90 - TALKING TO MR. ROGERS

    ASTRID picked up the juice in front of him and drank a bit.  They were now inside a private box of a much more expensive restaurant.  It was where Mr. Rogers took them after he said that they should go to somewhere more private to talk.


    He was not afraid that he was just scamming them and about to bring them to some dangerous place.  After all, Reas was with him.  With the two of them working together, there¡¯s hardly any danger they couldn¡¯t overcome.


    So, while they were following Mr. Rogers¡¯ car with their rented one, Astrid took the time to check [Starnet] information about the man.  It¡¯s one of the reasons why he decided to give Mr. Rogers a chance to speak with them more properly instead of just turning him over to the police.  Because he didn¡¯t hesitate to show them his ID and even told him to search him on the [Starnet].


    When he was looking at his Terminal while in their rented car, he realized that he made the right decision.  It didn¡¯t take long for him to find the information about Mr. Rogers.  Although the picture of him on [Starnet] was a more formal and much cleaner version and not the unkempt version that they saw in person, it¡¯s true that he didn¡¯t lie about his identity.


    Mr. Rogers was indeed who he said he was ¨C a casting director.  The movies listed under his name were all big productions and almost all of it had huge blockbuster turn-out.  He even watched some of it.


    Astrid looked at the man sitting in front of him and his brother.  He looked like someone who hadn¡¯t rested and hadn¡¯t taken a proper bath for a few days.  He wondered if he looked like this in normal times and he only cleaned up whenever there¡¯s a formal occasion.  Anyhow, they should probably proceed to the much more important discussion.


    ¡°Mr. Rogers, you said that you wanted to cast me in a movie, am I right?¡± he asked first.


    ¡°Yes, yes.  You really fit the role.  Even the director agreed with me when I send him the clip of you that trended three days ago.  He told me to immediately look for you and offer you an audition.  If you succeed on the audition, we would immediately give you the role,¡± Mr. Rogers answered.


    ¡°Does that mean that Mr. Rogers had been looking for me for three days?¡± Astrid thought of asking.


    Mark scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.  ¡°Haha¡­ yes.  I only managed to find you because someone in that restaurant posted a picture of you on [Cyberspace].¡±


    Astrid nodded.  Could it be the other looked so unkempt because he was looking for him?  If that¡¯s true, then wouldn¡¯t that be kind of¡­ pitiful?


    ¡°May I ask who the director is?¡± he just asked instead.


    ¡°It¡¯s Director Trevane.  I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard of him but he¡¯s a really famous director.  You wouldn¡¯t regret being part of his movie!¡± Mark said, starting to praise the director.


    Astrid was quite surprised.  Of course, he had heard of Director Trevane.  He was one of the most popular fantasy movie directors in the Empire.  All of his movies were high budget films that always had a high box office return.  He watched some of his movies and they were all very properly directed.  Even if the plot was quite simple, the director managed to make it very exciting and fun.


    And now, he suddenly had an opportunity to play in the movie of Director Trevane.


    It¡¯s like a pie just fell from the sky without him doing anything.  Oh, wait- he and his brother did encounter a hostage taker/bomber and they also met two members of the Grimaldi family all of a sudden.  Those were the reasons why he trended.  Maybe this was destiny¡¯s way of compensating him?


    He smiled inside.  Then, he¡¯d gladly take it.  But before that, he had to ask some things first.


    ¡°What was the movie about?¡±


    Mark secretly let out a sigh of relief seeing the interest in the teenager¡¯s eyes.  ¡°It¡¯s a fantasy/adventure movie set in a magical continent where one god rules all.  But a century ago, the god suddenly went into slumber for no reason.  Because of that the continent was plagued with demons.  A group of heroes will go on an adventure to wake up the sleeping god to save the whole continent from the demon lord.  That¡¯s really all I can tell you.  At least for now.¡±


    Astrid understood.  Since it¡¯s still not certain if he would take whatever role Mr. Roger was offering, it wasn¡¯t ideal to tell him the rest of the story.  But despite that, he still got the gist of the story.


    It was a pretty cliched trope.  A group of friends adventuring to find the thing that could defeat their enemy.


    He wondered what role Mr. Rogers were planning to offer him.  If this was his last life, then he wouldn¡¯t even be considered an 18th line actor.  At most he probably could only get at most three minutes of screen time.  But would a casting director spend three days to look for him just for an extra role?


    He guessed it¡¯s probably better to just ask Mr. Rogers directly.  ¡°May I ask what role will I be playing if I managed to pass the audition?¡±


    ¡°If you pass Director Trevane¡¯s audition, then you¡¯ll get the role of the ¡®god¡¯.¡±


    Astrid became silent for a moment.  He didn¡¯t know how to react for a second.


    Reas, who had been siting quietly beside Astrid, noticed his brother¡¯s speechlessness.  He must be really surprised.  Although Reas didn¡¯t know anything about movies, based on what he heard earlier about the movie this Mr. Rogers was a part of, wasn¡¯t the role of ¡®god¡¯ pretty big?


    Astrid quickly recovered from his shocked.  And then excitement rushed through his body.  Just like what Reas thought, this role was indeed big.  Even if at some chance this ¡®god¡¯ only appeared at the end of the movie, it wouldn¡¯t matter.  For someone like him who¡¯s a total ¡®newcomer¡¯, this was probably the best way for him to enter the entertainment industry.


    He smiled brightly.  ¡°Mr. Rogers, I will take that audition.¡±

 Chapter 91 - SCHEDULING THE AUDITION

    MARK couldn¡¯t control the excitement he felt after he heard what the teenager said.  He almost jumped from his seat and hugged the other.  But he controlled himself.  Because he had a feeling that if he did, then the teenager¡¯s brother would probably not only push him away like he did earlier but he might even punch him.  Seeing how stacked the other was, receiving a punch from him would definitely hurt like hell.  He¡¯d rather avoid that from happening.


    So, he cleared his throat first to hide his excitement first.  But the glint of happiness in his eyes couldn¡¯t cover it.  He obviously couldn¡¯t contain his excitement.  ¡°Great!  The movie is still in the middle of filming.  Would it be alright if Mr. Townsend go to audition at the set of the movie?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine.  And please, just call me Astrid.¡±


    This was a good opportunity for him.  A fantasy-adventure movie directed by Daniel Trevane?  Any newcomer would be elated to be part of it even as an extra.  What¡¯s more, the role being offered to him was not just an extra.


    Even if his role would only appear at the end, one could still feel the presence of his role throughout the progression of the movie.  After all, the whole plot revolved around a group of people going on an adventure to wake up the ¡®god¡¯.  It would be stupid of him not to take it.


    So, no matter where the audition might be, he would go there.


    ¡°The crew is filming at a Film Studio planet.  Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s near the capital star.  Using space warp, it will only take about 15 minutes from the space port to get there.¡±


    Film Studio planets were small artificial planets solely made for filming movies or series, as well as advertisements and many other things. In short, it¡¯s a studio but in the form of a planet.


    They had all the set that any genre of movie could possibly need.  They could even adjust the season depending on what was needed on the scene.  These planets were usually owned by entertainment companies.


    When Astrid found out about that, he was quite shocked.  He couldn¡¯t believe that filming things in this era would be so convenient.  It¡¯s probably the reason why there¡¯s almost an unlimited number of movies and series being released every year.  Because not only was it now very convenient to film, with the advanced technology, putting the final touch on a movie or a series would no longer take that much time as it was during his past life.


    So, being able to direct a movie that could rise up among all the movies being produced every year already spoke volumes of Director Trevane¡¯s skills.  That¡¯s why it¡¯s all the more reason for him to do everything to grab this opportunity.


    ¡°I will be accompanying you there, so there¡¯s no need for you to worry about transportation and the likes,¡± Mark quickly added when he saw that the teenager ¨C Astrid hadn¡¯t responded for a few seconds now.  He was worried that he might be having a second thought after hearing that they needed to leave the capital so he could audition.  ¡°If you could give me your contact number and current address, that would be good.¡±


    ¡°No.  My brother¡¯s contact number will be enough,¡± Reas suddenly interjected.


    Although it was already proven that this guy was not some crazy stalker, he¡¯s still not comfortable knowing that someone who¡¯s almost a stranger knew about where his brother lived.


    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Mark said.


    Who was he to refuse?  He didn¡¯t want to be thrown to the ground again.  Besides, he kind of get where this cranky young man was coming from.  If he had a brother like Astrid, he would also be overprotective.


    Astrid chuckled.  He quickly understood what his brother was thinking.  So, even if he was fine with Mr. Rogers knowing his address, he still didn¡¯t contradict what Reas¡¯ said.


    So, he and Mr. Rogers could only exchange their contact number with each other.


    ¡°I will send you a portion of the script,¡± Mark said, sending a two-page script that involved a scene with the role Astrid was going to auditioned to.  ¡°By the way, do you have a prior experience on acting?¡±


    [Well, if you¡¯re asking about my past life¡¯s acting experience, then I have plenty of that.]


    But of course, Astrid couldn¡¯t say that.  So, he could only say, ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡±


    Mark had already expected something like that.  It would be a lie if he said that there wasn¡¯t a bit of disappointment.  But he really shouldn¡¯t be complaining.  He should consider himself extremely lucky for even managing to find the teenager.  Not to mention, the other agreeing to his offer.  Besides, even if the other didn¡¯t have any acting experience, Director Trevane could surely guide him along the way.


    Well, he should pass the audition first.  Mark shook his head.  He should remain positive.  With Astrid¡¯s appearance, even the director would be reluctant to fail him.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay.  I have confidence that you will pass the audition,¡± he said, more so to himself than to the teenager.


    Astrid only smiled.  He knew that that was not the other was thinking.  He¡¯s probably worried about his lack of acting experience.  After all, this movie was definitely a huge production.  It would be a problem if they would cast a talentless actor.  Especially since the role they were offering him was not that unimportant.


    He wasn¡¯t planning to relieve Mr. Rogers of his worry.  He¡¯s just had to show him during the audition that he was deserving of that role.  Although he still was not familiar with the way people in this era shoot a movie, he was confident with his acting skills.  All he had to do was adapt.


    ¡°When will the audition be?¡± he just asked instead.


    ¡°It depends on when you¡¯re free,¡± Mark said.  He wanted to give him time to at least analyze the script he gave him.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s do it tomorrow,¡± Astrid said with a smile.

 Chapter 92 - LEAVING FOR THE AUDITION

    ASTRID stared at himself at the full body mirror in his room.  He was wearing simple yet stylish clothing.  A loose cream-colored sweater, its front tucked in fitted black jeans.  Pairing it up with black boots.  He also fixed his hair a bit, giving him a youthful vibe.


    [This is okay, I guess.]


    He didn¡¯t want to look overdressed.  But it¡¯s also important to look presentable.  It¡¯s his first audition after all.  He should leave a good impression.  His appearance was already very eye-catching.  If he wore something that was even more eye-catching, he would definitely just attract hate.


    He picked up a ring and put it on.  It looked like a simple platinum ring but it had another function ¨C lowering down his mental strength level to S.  He had two of such devices.  This ring and the other was a choker.


    They would be going to the space port where a check on one¡¯s mental and physique level was needed.  So, the officers in-charged could check if the level appearing on their machine matched that on the one¡¯s official ID.


    In order to avoid any possible problem, he had to wear the ring.


    Reas¡¯ voiced suddenly sounded in the room.  ¡°Aster, are you done?¡±


    Astrid turned towards his brother¡¯s direction and saw Reas leaning on the side of the door.  He was wearing all-black, from his shirt to his combat boots.  Even the cap he was wearing was black.


    ¡°Well, hello there, Mr. Bodyguard,¡± he teased.


    Reas would be coming with him to the audition.  He had already asked Mr. Rogers of his brother could go with him and he agreed.  But even if Mr. Rogers didn¡¯t agree, Reas would definitely do something to convince him.  The other probably also knew that, that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t even think twice before agreeing.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if it was his imagination, but it seemed like Mr. Rogers was quite scared of his brother.  Reas pushing him to the floor might have left a bit of a psychological shadow on him.


    ¡°I will indeed be your bodyguard for today,¡± Reas said.  ¡°I got to dress the part, right?¡±


    There¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t accompany his brother during his very first audition.  What if some of the actors there looked down on him just because he¡¯s basically a newcomer?  Or worse, what if some people at that movie crew tried to harass him?  That last one was very likely.  Because whenever the two of them went to a new place, there were always stupid people who would do that.


    He could no longer remember how many people he beat up because of that.  He didn¡¯t mind though.  The moment he realized how special his brother was, he knew that he should always be there to protect him.  Because many dangers could be brought by this ¡®specialness¡¯.


    He had never once thought that it was a hassle.  The both of them were twins.  They were together before they were even born into this world.  It¡¯s only natural for them to protect each other.  Even until the end of their lives, that feeling would probably remain the same.


    ¡°Shall we go now then?¡± Astrid asked.


    The time when they¡¯re supposed to meet Mr. Rogers were near.


    Reas nodded and the two left the apartment.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After half an hour of drive, the two finally arrived at the space port.


    ¡°Are you confident with this audition?¡± Reas thought of asking as they walked inside.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your brother will pass this audition with flying colors,¡± Astrid said confidently.


    Although he was only given two-page of a script, the scene where the ¡®god¡¯ appeared was explained in a very detailed manner.  Even the emotion that he should feel was written there.  And that was enough for him.


    Of course, it would be better if he had the whole copy of the script.  So, he could better understand and interpret the role¡¯s emotions.  But giving him the whole script was simply impossible.  He¡¯s not yet part of the crew.  If he had the whole script and he turned out to be a big blabbermouth, then that would be a big disaster for the movie production.


    Hearing his confident reply, Reas didn¡¯t doubt that that¡¯s exactly what would happen.  Even though his brother had never joined any theater play in school or any acting performances for that matter, but he had been with Astrid almost everyday of his life.  So, he knew how good the other¡¯s acting was.


    His brother could act any way he wanted as long as it suited the situation.  A lot of people had been pitted by that tremendous acting skill.  Even the prince of this Empire fell for it.


    So, if Astrid said he would pass the audition, then he most likely would.


    Astrid sent a message to Mr. Rogers and he just received a reply.  Telling him that he was already waiting for them at the departure area.


    ¡°Mr. Rogers is already waiting for us at the departure area,¡± he said to Reas.


    They walked towards the departure area of the space port.


    Just before they reached the checkpoint, someone called them.


    ¡°Mr. Townsend!¡±


    Astrid turned to the direction of the voice and saw a man wearing a formal suit running towards them.  His eyes were the same brown as his cleanly swept back hair.  He somehow looked familiar.  Astrid had to narrow his eyes at the guy to think of where he had seen him.  It probably took about five seconds before he recognized the other.


    ¡°Mr. Rogers?¡± he asked to make sure.


    The man nodded, confirming his guess.  Both twins were surprised seeing him all-cleaned up properly.  The way he looked now was so different from how he looked yesterday ¨C all messy and ¡®dirty¡¯.  No wonder they hadn¡¯t recognized him that quickly.


    ¡°You clean up real nicely, Mr. Rogers,¡± Astrid said.


    Mark embarrassingly scratched the back of his head.  Until now, he was still embarrassed thinking how unkempt he looked yesterday.  That¡¯s why he wanted to at least look his best today.


    ¡°Shall we all go?¡± he just asked.


    ¡°Please, lead the way,¡± Astrid answered.


    Mark walked towards the checkpoint and the twins followed.

 Chapter 93 - ARRIVING AT FS01

    THERE were exactly 12 Film Studio planets around the Empire.  It might not sound that much in comparison to the size of the Empire, but considering how many multiple movies could be filmed in one, those numbers were quite enough.


    These planets were simply named on the initial FS and the number of order on which it was made.  For example, the Film Studio Astrid and the others were going to FS01.  It meant that this was the very first Film Studio ever made.


    Most artificially made planets were named by initials to distinguish it from natural planets.  And most of the time, the initials used were based on what kind of planet it was.


    After the checkpoint, they traveled in a public aircraft with a specific route from the capital to FS01 and vice versa.  Just like what Mr. Rogers said, it only took them 15 minutes to reach their destination.


    The moment they arrived at FS01¡¯s space port, almost all the people¡¯s eyes were immediately drawn to them.  Well, not exactly ¡®them¡¯ but on Astrid.  A lot of whispering followed them.


    ¡°Who is that?  Is he an actor?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.  But he¡¯s definitely an actor.  Just look at that face.  It would be such a shame if he¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s a newcomer that¡¯s why we don¡¯t recognize him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s such a shame that we can¡¯t take a picture of him.¡±


    Because there¡¯s a technology built in every Filming Studio planet that interrupts the signal coming from a Terminal¡¯s camera.  It¡¯s a way to protect the privacy of the artist arriving and leaving the space port.  Also, this way, it could also help those productions that didn¡¯t want to reveal yet the people acting in them.


    ¡°This is my first time seeing someone with both black hair and eyes.  I didn¡¯t know it would look amazing.¡±


    ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯ve seen him somewhere?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.  Maybe he appeared on some movie or series before?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then he would have already made a buzz long before this.  Especially with that appearance.¡±


    ¡°True.  Maybe he¡¯s really just a newcomer.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I remember!  He¡¯s the one that trended four days ago!¡±


    ¡°I know!  I also saw that one!  Why is he here?  Is he going to film something?¡±


    ¡°I knew it!  That trending topic was probably just someone hyping him up.  Just how could a nobody trended like that?¡±


    ¡°Duh, because he¡¯s beautiful.  Anybody with that look would have trended!¡±


    Of course, Astrid and his party heard everything that people were saying.


    Astrid was fine, he didn¡¯t mind all the talk.  He¡¯d been used to it anyway.  Reas, on the other hand, was irritated.  Especially after hearing some people trash talking his brother.  Since, he could hear perfectly where those voices were coming from, he glared in those directions.


    Mark happened to see this.  He was worried at first that these comments might affect him.  It would be bad if his mentality collapsed right before the audition.  But no, he was as cool as a cucumber.  Which was a good trait for someone who wanted to enter the entertainment industry should have.


    The one who was affected was his brother.  Even he felt scared by that glare.  Mark was definitely glad that he wasn¡¯t the recipient of that glare.


    At the arrival area, someone called his name.


    ¡°Mr. Rogers!¡±


    Mark looked at the direction where that familiar voice came from and saw his assistant.  He was excitingly running towards them.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally here!  Director Trevane has been nagging me about¡ª¡± the assistant suddenly stopped.


    His gaze was stuck on a certain spot.  No, it was stuck on the black-haired teenager that was standing behind his boss.  When the teenager smiled at him, he felt like an arrow just struck his heart.  How could someone be so beautiful?


    Mark saw the expression on his assistant¡¯s face and immediately knew what he was thinking.  He quickly snapped his fingers in front of him to get his attention.  If the other stared a minute more, Astrid¡¯s brother might just punch him here.  And with his assistant¡¯s skinny build, he might faint straight away.


    ¡°Stop staring.  It¡¯s rude,¡± he scolded.


    The assistant quickly came to his senses and blushed hard.  ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    But he still glanced at the teenager.  He had seen that clip of the teenager that trended four days ago, so he knew that he was the person his boss found to play the role of ¡®god¡¯ in the movie.  He was surprised the first time he saw that clip.  But he thought that he would definitely not be as pretty in person.  Because that¡¯s always the case.  But seeing him now, that was definitely not it.


    Working in this industry, this was probably the first time he had ever been speechless by someone¡¯s appearance.  He felt like, right at this moment, he was looking at a star.


    If this teenager managed to pass Director Trevane¡¯s audition, then his boss just might have just discovered a treasure.


    ¡°Just lead us to the car,¡± Mark said.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The assistant led them outside towards the flying car he drove there.


    Their destination was at the set of [The Sleeping God].  It¡¯s located at the Northern area of the planet where all the fantasy sets were located.


    It took them about an hour to arrive at their destination.  Which was a bit ironic.  Considering it only took them 15 minutes from the capital to here.


    Astrid looked outside the window.  He could see a lot of ¡®sets¡¯ outside.  If he could even call it that.  Because everything he was looking at right now was not like the fake sets in his past life.  A movie probably didn¡¯t need any green screen for a CG background when one had this real backgrounds.


    He could see a literal castle, a forest, even a village.  No wonder they had to make a whole planet just for a filming studio.


    The car slowly descended and parked.  Everyone walked down the car.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Mark asked the teenager.


    Astrid smiled.  ¡°Yes.¡±


    And then he took his first step towards his goal of being the top star of this era.

 Chapter 94 - STAR LIST

    ¡°STOP!  Stop!¡± called Daniel Trevane.  ¡°Eliza, how many times do I have to tell you that you need to show more emotion in this scene!  You just saw your childhood friend who you liked for the longest time confessing his love to the princess!  Why are you as stiff a mannequin!  Do you want all of us to spend the whole day just to film your scene?¡±


    Miria Lane ¨C the actress who had been under the director¡¯s scolding ¨C became all flustered and quickly apologized.  ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Director.  Please, give me another chance!¡±


    But inside, she was furious.  She had never been so embarrassed before in her life.  But she knew that she was at fault for not being good enough.  So, she couldn¡¯t exactly blame the director for losing his temper at her.


    Throughout the period of filming for this movie, she was the one who¡¯s always scolded.  Others could finish their scene after four or five takes.  But it took her about double or even triple of that before the director could be barely satisfied of her performance.


    But what could she do?  She¡¯s not an actress in the first place.  She¡¯s a singer!  An idol, to be exact.  An entertainer who sang and danced on stage.  She never had acting experience prior to this.  But her stupid company insisted on placing her on this movie.  Saying that her participation in this production would definitely increase her fame.  It might even make her breakthrough the top 100 of Star List.


    Star List was like a ranking of all stars in the Empire.  The Entertainment Regulatory Board ¨C the organization that was in-charged of, well, basically regulating the whole industry ¨C was the one responsible for the ranking in the Star List.


    They basically took into account one¡¯s popularity which was highly influenced by their [Cyberspace] followers and the number of times they could be on the trending topic list.  One other thing was the recognition they could get for their work which could be in the form of awards or something.


    The result of the ranking was released every three months.  Currently, Miria was number 153 on the recent ranking of Star List.  Which was released three months ago.  It was already a huge feat considering the number of people in this industry and the fact that she had only started her career a year ago.  That¡¯s why the company she¡¯s under ¨C Kaleido ¨C decided to give her a lot of resources.


    Kaleido was filled with actors and actresses but there¡¯s only a handful of singers like her.  Their focus was more on their actors.  After all, the current number one on the Star List was from their company.


    But because of that they lacked strong singers.  When it came to the music scene, they were surely lacking.  Especially compared to Sonare ¨C the entertainment company considered as Kaleido¡¯s rival.  Sonare was the opposite of Kaleido when it came to their artists.  Most of them were involved in the music scene.  The number two on Star List considered as the ¡®god of music¡¯ of this generation was a part of Sonare.


    There was a delicate balance between the two companies.  Although the number of entertainment companies in the Empire were abundant, no one could deny that these two were the biggest.  For years, they had been trying to get pass the other.  But once one started to get the lead, the other would immediately catch up.


    This time, Kaleido¡¯s strategy was to focus on a few artists of them who could make a name in the music industry and since Miria was currently on the rise, she became their focus.


    They picked this movie because they knew how every movie of Director Trevane always had a huge box office turnabout.  Once this movie was released, she would be more known and her popularity would definitely rise.


    But the problem was, she couldn¡¯t act!  She simply didn¡¯t have any talent for this.  She had a feeling that all of this would just backfire at her.  Because, surely, the audience would see how stiff her acting was.


    Miria took a deep breath.  No matter.  She¡¯d just do her best to make-up for the repercussion this thing would cause.  She had done so time and time again.  This wouldn¡¯t be any different.


    Daniel ignored Miria¡¯s apology and just pinched the bridge of his nose.  If he responded, he might just end up shouting at this girl again.  They were done with filming and yet this girl hadn¡¯t improved at all.  If he knew something like this would happen, he definitely would not have accepted the investment made by Kaleido.


    But what could he do?  He really liked the script they¡¯d shown him.  He wasn¡¯t planning to make a movie at least until early next year.  But the people from Kaleido approached him and showed him the script.


    They told him that they¡¯re willing to put a big investment and give him the script to make a movie.  He would also have full control over the whole movie production.  They only had one condition, to allow them to put their artists on the movie.


    It was a win-win situation.  But Daniel told them that he would be the one picking the artist.  After all, he couldn¡¯t just have some talentless person play a major role in his movie.  He just didn¡¯t expect that Kaleido would screw him over by inserting this girl in the movie. They actually cheated him in a way. He shook his head. He didn¡¯t even want to remember that.


    His only consolation was that the second female lead that Miria was playing wasn¡¯t really that important in the overall plot of the movie.  So, when he realized that Miria was totally hopeless, he just simply decreased her screen time.


    But because of what Kaleido did, he decided to no longer allow any artists they wanted to insert in this movie.  Especially after attempting to push a newcomer to play the role of ¡®god¡¯ in the movie.  The boy didn¡¯t even fit the role.  But most of all, he also couldn¡¯t act for the life of him.  Director Trevane simply blasted them off.  He had that capital after all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s all take a break,¡± he simply said.


    The crew on site breathed out a sigh of relief when they heard that.  They truly thought that the director would continue to chew Miria out.  Then the director¡¯s bad mood would surely transfer to them.


    ¡°Director Trevane!¡± called someone from the entrance of the set.


    The director quickly recognized the voice as the voice of his casting director.  He turned, frowning.  But that frown solidified and bloomed into a big smile when he saw the teenager walking beside Mark.

 Chapter 95 - VASE WITH NO TALENT

    ASTRID almost stepped back when the man who he assumed was Director Trevane rushed forward as if he was some kind of bulldozer about to hit him.  He felt that Reas was about to move and probably stand in front of him to stop the director.  But he quickly held his arm to stop him.


    Reas gazed down at him with a puzzled expression.  He could only imperceptibly shake his head.  It¡¯s a good thing that the two of them always had a pretty good tacit understanding.  So, even if he didn¡¯t say anything, the other quickly understood what he wanted to convey.  Reas nodded and just stood beside him like a rock pillar.


    The director finally reached them.  He appeared to be a middle-aged man.  But based on how the people in this era aged, he¡¯s probably already in his hundreds.  Now that Astrid thought about it, Director Trevane did have a lot of films under his name.


    He had a high hairline and a crooked nose.  If one didn¡¯t know him well, just by his appearance alone, one would assume that he was a very strict and stern uncle.  One that children would be scared to get close to.


    Director Trevane stood in front of Astrid, looking at him from head to toe while nodding in approval.  It¡¯s as if he was looking at some product displayed on a shelf of a shop and was very satisfied with what he¡¯s seeing.


    ¡°Good, very good!  You¡¯re simply perfect!¡± Daniel exclaimed excitedly.


    When he saw that clip Mark sent him, he knew that the teenager fit the role of the ¡®god¡¯ perfectly.  Working in this industry, he had seen the most beautiful of faces.  But the teenager¡¯s charm was simply unique.  Anyone who saw him wouldn¡¯t be able to immediately take their eyes away from him.  It was as if he was the flame to the moth.


    Maybe it was because of the color of his hair and eyes.  Something that unusual would surely attract attention.  But now that Daniel had seen him in person, he realized that it was not just that.  He had this certain temperament around him.  Like someone who knew that he was the brightest and shiniest star in the room.


    It¡¯s not just blind confidence.  It¡¯s like something innate.  It seemed he was not even aware that he was unintentionally releasing this aura.


    Well, Daniel just hoped that his acting could back up his aura and appearance.  Because if not, then what a waste indeed.


    ¡°Good morning, Director Trevane.  My name is Astrid Townsend.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to audition for this role,¡± Astrid said, respectfully introducing himself.


    ¡°If you pass this audition, I should be the one thanking you,¡± Daniel said.


    After all, they had been looking for the right person to play this role for quite a while now.  But so far, none of the people that Mark brought passed the criteria he was looking for.  It¡¯s either their image didn¡¯t match or their acting was simply abhorrent.


    He was actually about to give up looking and just completely postpone the filming for the time being.  But thankfully, Mark sent him that clip.  Now, just like what he said earlier, he just hoped that this teenager knew at least how to act.  Even if his acting skill was only a slightly higher level than that of Miria Lane, he would still let him pass this audition.


    Because that meant that there were still room for improvement.  He wouldn¡¯t be a qualified director if he couldn¡¯t help the other improve.  Look at Miria, at first, she was like a robot.  Now, she became a mannequin.  Wasn¡¯t that an improvement?


    ¡°The Director is right,¡± Mark seconded what he said earlier.


    Astrid only smiled.  ¡°Then I shall do my best to live to your expectation.¡±


    ¡°The audition venue had already been prepared.  We can go there now,¡± Daniel said.


    When Mark told him that this teenager would arrive here today to audition, he had the crew prepared the set immediately.  The right audition venue could help any actors to immerse themselves more in the role and therefore give out a better performance.  That was especially true for newcomers.


    Astrid felt a bit confuse why they had to go to so much trouble.  Since the director was already here and it seemed like he wasn¡¯t filming any scene at the moment, wouldn¡¯t it be better to just do the audition here?  Especially since the scene he was going to audition was pretty simple.


    But he was now a newcomer.  Questioning a director just because of an audition venue could just backfire at him.  So, he simply nodded.


    And then the four of them rode a land vehicle that was mostly similar to those golf carts found in ancient Earth.  One of the production assistants drove them to the audition venue.


    The people on the set who had been staring at the direction of the teenager since he arrived were finally able to recover their gazes.


    ¡°Who was that?¡±


    ¡°I heard it¡¯s the person Mr. Rogers found to play the role of ¡®god¡¯.¡±


    ¡°He certainly looked the part.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s a god, then I¡¯m willing to worship him every day!¡±


    ¡°Does that mean someone will finally take that role?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure.  Remember how picky Director Trevane is.  No matter how beautiful that boy looks, if he can¡¯t act, then it¡¯s all for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.  Especially since the director was just in a bad mood because of Miria.  If he that boy acted badly, then he will certainly not get the role.¡±


    ¡°I agree.  But considering that beauty is almost always inversely proportional to talent, then he will definitely fail.¡±


    Which was truly such a shame.


    ¡°How about we go and watch the audition?¡± one suggested.


    And almost everyone agreed.  So, most of the people on that particular set decided to go to the audition venue.


    Miria, who vaguely heard the conversation of the people around her, told her assistant who came over, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the audition venue.¡±


    She also wanted to see how this newcomer would act.  Maybe if he performed badly, she would feel a bit better.  Because in her opinion, the other was probably just a vase with no talent.

 Chapter 96 - FIRST AUDITION

    ARRIVING at the audition set, Astrid was amazed by what he saw.  It was inside a cave.  The place didn¡¯t appear like a normal cave.  Because instead of rock formations, what he saw were crystal formations.  It¡¯s truly beautiful.  For a moment he just stood there and stared.


    The scene he was going to audition was the moment when the band of heroes finally found the sleeping god and woke him up.  This set perfectly described the place the main cast found the sleeping god.


    They continued walking forward.  There were lights around, probably put up by the crew.  So, it was easy for them to walk.  The production assistant was the one leading them.  They stopped when they arrived at a lake.  There were three crew members already waiting for them.


    Astrid looked at the lake.  Because of the crystal formations around and also the slightly dark lighting, the lake water looked dark blue.  At the center of it was a rectangular crystal slab with crystal roses surrounding it.


    He quickly recognized the crystal slab.  It was where the ¡®god¡¯ was sleeping.  But really, this whole set was really beautiful.  It¡¯s like they were already ready to film the scene.


    ¡°Have you prepared the cameras and the holographic device?¡± the director asked the three crew members there.


    Astrid was curious as to why there¡¯s a need for a holographic device.  But somehow, he already had an idea on why.  If his guess was correct, then it made sense why he had to audition at exact set of the scene he was about to act.  It seemed that Director Trevane truly wanted him to pass this audition.


    He couldn¡¯t disappoint him, now could he?


    The crew members who had been staring at the black-haired teenager quickly took back their gazes.  One answered the director quickly, just in case the other scolded them for staring at the teenager too much.  That was certainly something Director Trevane would do.


    ¡°Yes, Director, everything is ready.¡±


    Daniel turned to the teenager.  ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Director,¡± Astrid answered with no hesitation.


    Daniel was very satisfied with Astrid¡¯s answer.  ¡°Then let¡¯s start.¡±  He nodded at one of the crew members.  That crew member pushed some kind of button on the wall and a bridge appeared that connected to the crystal slab.  ¡°You can walk there now.  When I call ¡®action¡¯, you can begin then.¡±


    Astrid nodded.  He turned to Reas who had been silent this whole time.  He saw that his brother was rigid all over.  He could immediately tell that he was nervous for him.  He felt amused.


    So, he playfully punched Reas¡¯ shoulder and grinned at him.  Silently telling him that he got this.


    Then Astrid walked over the bridge.  When he reached the crystal slab, he got on it and laid down.  He closed his eyes and sunk himself into the role.


    ¡°Action!¡±


    The moment the director shouted that, Astrid heard conversations.


    ¡°It¡¯s Lord Aether!  He¡¯s really here.  We finally found him!¡±


    ¡°All our hardship, it was not in vain.¡±


    ¡°This is not the time to celebrate.  We should wake the lord first.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it.  Let¡¯s wake the lord from his slumber.¡±


    Hearing these, Astrid immediately recognized them as the lines that were spoken by the main cast after they discovered the god ¨C Aether¡¯s body in the cave.


    The voices he heard was kind of mechanical and lacked emotions.  Just like one of those narrators in an audio-book.  That¡¯s why he knew that these voices did not come from the actors and actresses who were supposed to be part of this scene.


    These voices must come from the holographic device.  The director probably wanted him to be more immersed in the scene, so he brought him to this set and even put-up hologram characters to interact with him.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if this was just how auditions were in this era.  But, frankly speaking, he¡¯d rather prefer the old school way.  At least he wouldn¡¯t be distracted by these mechanical voices.


    But he¡¯s a professional.  He could ignore the disturbing voices of these holograms.


    So, when he heard the last line, he knew that the next scene would be him opening his eyes.  He counted the seconds and when he knew it was time, he slowly opened his eyes.


    Daniel, who was watching everything on the virtual screen that was connected to small cameras floating around, was thoroughly surprised when saw the emotions that flashed in those pair of black eyes the moment they opened.


    At first, they were filled with pure innocence, like a newborn baby.  Then, as if realizing where he was and what kind of situation he was in, those eyes were slowly filled with bitter sadness.  He could even see the underlying anger and helplessness.


    This was something beyond the capabilities of a newcomer.  Acting with only a pair of eyes, that was something even some veteran actors and actresses couldn¡¯t do.


    He couldn¡¯t help but stared at the screen with more focus.  He wanted to see more of this boy¡¯s acting.


    Astrid slowly sat up and looked around him.  Sure enough, he saw four holograms standing around the lake.  They didn¡¯t have any facial features.  Just blank canvases that talked which was pretty creepy.  If not for his self-control, he might have already lost focus.


    None of that showed on his face.  Instead, he gave off this kind of holy indifference.  Even though he was just sitting there, it felt like he was standing at the highest peak while looking down at mere mortals.  Anyone who was looking at him right now couldn¡¯t help but want to kneel down on their knees and worship him.


    ¡°Lord Aether!¡± one of the holograms shouted.  ¡°Please, help us save the continent!¡±


    ¡°And so, you woke me up from my slumber,¡± Astrid said with no emotion, not really addressing anyone.


    He slowly glanced towards the one who spoke.  He still appeared apathetic.  But when his gaze landed on the hologram, he suddenly smiled.  Smiling as if he was looking at a child who didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°But my child, I couldn¡¯t do anything to save this continent.¡±  He then looked at each and every hologram.  And then he raised his head, as if waiting for something, or rather someone, to come.  ¡°Yes, only you can do this.¡±


    ¡°And cut!¡±

 Chapter 97 - SIGNING THE FIRST CONTRACT

    ¡°WONDERFUL!  Simply wonderful!¡± Daniel couldn¡¯t help but exclaimed, both in excitement and amazement.  His eyes were shining brightly, looking at the teenager as if looking at a rare treasure.


    That was just a short scene but Astrid managed to give life to it.  His every gesture, the way he spoke, he perfectly embodied the sleeping god Aether at that moment.  Right now, he was not just a teenager with good looks, he was an immortal god who¡¯s above all mortals.


    This level of acting was not something that an amateur could do.  Could it be that the other had undergone training before?  That could explain everything.  In any case, he was very satisfied with this performance.


    He finally found the slumbering god.


    Mark, the casting director, couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.  Did that really just happen?  Was this how someone with no acting experience supposed to act?  Did he somehow lie about that?  If not, then there¡¯s only one explanation.  Astrid Townsend was an acting genius!  Was he now actually watching the birth of a star?


    Reas was also a bit stupefied.  Although he knew that his brother was good, he didn¡¯t expect that he was this good.  He was standing behind the director.  So, he also saw on the virtual screen the moment Astrid opened his eyes.  At that very moment, he was no longer his brother.  He completely transformed into a different person.  And he did it all with just using his eyes.


    He didn¡¯t speak, he didn¡¯t move, he just showed the complexity of his emotions in his eyes and that was it.  It¡¯s almost like magic.


    So, this was acting.


    The three were not the only ones impressed by Astrid.  All the crew members who were there and the others who followed along to watch the audition showed an awed expression.


    Some of them followed there just to watch the fun.  Probably just to see this beautiful teenager humiliate himself.  After all, whether they admit it or not, people just sometimes enjoyed looking down on others.  Especially if the other person was better than them.


    But they didn¡¯t expect such a surprise.  To others, this might just be a simple scene.  But because of its simplicity, it¡¯s even harder to let people be pulled into it.  Unlike an emotional scene where people could get angry or sad.  But this black-haired teenager managed to pull everyone¡¯s attention simply by the emotions on his face and his small gestures.  It¡¯s incredible.


    Even Miria who was only there to see the ¡®vase with no talent¡¯ was surprised.  Because even she could tell that this guy was no vase.  In that short scene, it was obvious to all that he had genuine talent in acting.  As someone who barely had one, the contrast was even more prominent.


    She suddenly felt like she had been slapped.  And it¡¯s no one¡¯s fault but her own.  Who told her to be judgmental?  But even so, she still couldn¡¯t help but feel a little envious.


    She took a deep breath and said to her assistant, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    As Miria and her assistant left, Astrid also went down from the crystal slab when he saw that the bridge that connected the slab to the lakeshore appeared.


    He walked towards the lakeshore. Before he could speak the director had already clapped his hand on his shoulder while laughing heartily.


    ¡°Go.  Let¡¯s go and sign that contract,¡± Director Trevane said.


    ¡°Director mean that I passed the audition?¡± Astrid asked carefully.


    Daniel looked at the teenager amusedly.  Why asked such an obvious question.  ¡°Yes.  If I don¡¯t pass you, then the people here would doubt my ability as a director and we couldn¡¯t have that, right?¡±


    Astrid let out a sigh of relief and smiled.  Although he was confident of his acting skills, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit nervous.  After all, this was his first audition in this life.  He truly didn¡¯t want to start on a bad note.


    ¡°Thank you, Director Trevane!¡±


    He glanced at his brother and Reas gave him a big thumbs-up.  He couldn¡¯t help but laugh seeing that.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After passing the audition, Astrid, Reas, Director Trevane, as well as Mr. Rogers all went to the director¡¯s temporary office at the set.  It was one of those easy-to-build room.  The type that can be built within a few hours.  Instead of trailers in his past life, the people in the entertainment industry liked to use this easy-to-build rooms.


    It¡¯s more than a dressing room, it could also act as their own private lounge where they could rest and even bathe.  In Director Trevane¡¯s case, it acted as his office.


    Sitting inside, the director sent him a contract via his Terminal.  Astrid carefully read every clause and precedent.  There was nothing wrong overall.  But he was just a bit surprised by the amount of star coins he would be paid for this short acting gig.


    50,000 star coins.


    Although he wasn¡¯t familiar with how artists were being paid in this era.  He knew that this amount was till too much for someone who hadn¡¯t played any roles prior to this.  Basically, a true newcomer in every sense of the word.


    ¡°Director, this pay, isn¡¯t it a bit too much?¡± he asked tentatively.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.  With your acting skills, you totally deserve it,¡± Daniel said, waving his hand in the air, as if what he had just done was nothing.


    And it was.  Their production had enough budget to give Astrid this kind of pay.  But just like the other said, he was indeed being overpaid.  If this was normal, the pay for a newcomer like Astrid in a production like this would be at most 20,000 star coins.  Maybe even lower than that since his role only had a few minutes of screen time.


    But Daniel felt that such number was not deserving of Astrid¡¯s talent.  So, he raised the pay on his own accord.


    Hearing that, Astrid no longer entangled with this problem.  If the director said so himself, it would be rude of him to continue to argue.  So, he just happily signed his first ever acting contract.

 Chapter 98 - WELCOME TO THE CREW

    ¡°YOUR pay will be transferred to your account as soon as possible,¡± Daniel said after receiving the copy of the contract.  ¡°Since you don¡¯t have an agent or an assistant with you here, that means that you¡¯re still not under any entertainment company, right?¡±


    He then glanced at the young man with ice-blue hair who had been following them. This young man certainly didn¡¯t look like an assistant.  But he came with Astrid, so he never asked his identity.


    ¡°Yes, he doesn¡¯t, Director.  In fact, he also doesn¡¯t have any acting experience prior to this,¡± Mark said, sounding like some proud dad.


    How could he not be?  He was the one who literally discovered Astrid.  After watching that audition, if the teenager continued on this path, he had no doubt that he would one day sit at the very top of the Star List.  As the person who first offered him an acting role, wouldn¡¯t his name also go down in history?


    Daniel was very surprised to hear that.  But if he thought about it carefully, it¡¯s not really that surprising.  He had seen the copy of the other¡¯s ID.  Seeing the date of his birthday, he knew that he was only 18 this year.  With that age, it wouldn¡¯t seem surprising that this was his first acting experience.  But, surely, he had undergone some training, right?


    To find out the answer to that, he just directly asked it.  ¡°Did someone train you in acting?¡±


    Astrid shook his head.  ¡°I¡¯ve always like watching movies and series.  And I just fell in love with acting.  That¡¯s why I applied at Redwood Academy of Performing Arts.  Learn everything that I could and hope that one day I could also be one of those actors who could play different roles.  Who would have thought that I will immediately have that opportunity the moment I arrived at the Emperor Star?¡±


    What he said was pretty true in a way.  He just chose words that could explain his good acting skills and they could also show how passionate he was about acting.  Which would probably increase the director and Mr. Rogers¡¯ good impression of him.  And¡­ he suddenly sounded like some white-lotus scum.


    So, basically, the teenager was a newcomer in every literal sense of the word ¨C both Daniel and Mark thought.  But the fact that he applied to Redwood Academy, and they guessed that he passed, meant that he was indeed interested in this industry.  Which meant that they were not simply pulling people into this world.  It¡¯s a relief to know that the other was a willing participant.


    Because no matter how glamorous this industry appeared to be, there¡¯s a lot of dark corners as well.  And those dark corners could easily destroy such a young talent.


    ¡°If you do a good job with the role of Aether, once this movie is released, entertainment companies would definitely approach you and offer you to be their artist.  With your appearance, you would probably be scouted even before that,¡± Daniel started.  ¡°I hope you would be smart in choosing the right company.  A good company could easily make or break your career.  So, I hope Astrid would choose wisely.¡±


    As the director of the movie that could potentially propel him to fame, it¡¯s only right that he bore a bit of responsibility.  But right now, all he could do was give this small bit of advice.  He didn¡¯t want to meddle too much.  That would just not be good for the growth of the teenager.  Because a smooth road couldn¡¯t make a person stronger.  And with the teenager¡¯s talent and looks, he needed to be strong.


    Astrid understood what the director meant.  Looking for a good entertainment company was on top of his to-do list.  Not only that but also a reliable agent.  Because just like what the director said, those things could easily make or break his career.


    Personally, he didn¡¯t want to go to a big entertainment company.  Yes, being part of one would have a lot of pros.  But at the same time, there¡¯s also a lot of cons.  Especially for a newcomer with no prominent background.  He could easily be ¡®slaughtered¡¯.  Aside from that, he was like a moving target for jealousy.


    He didn¡¯t want to pick an entertainment company in which he had to navigate the schemes of his fellow artists against him instead of just spending his time on acting.  In this regard a slightly smaller entertainment company would be better.  But none of that would matter if he didn¡¯t find a good agent.


    He needed someone who¡¯s serious about their job.  A hardworking person who cared more about the bigger picture than the easy, temporary fame.  Someone who put first his artist¡¯s interest in mind rather than their own.


    But that¡¯s still a thing of the future.  He¡¯d worry about that when the time comes.  For now, he should focus on his role on this movie first.


    ¡°Thank you, Director.  I¡¯ll definitely take down into consideration,¡± he said.


    Daniel nodded.  ¡°We¡¯re almost at the end of filming.  Only a few scenes are left and that includes your scene.  We¡¯re kind of in a tight schedule right now.  So, would it be okay if we start to film your scene tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Of course, tomorrow would be good,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Great.  We will give you the full copy of the script and a set pass.  Filming your scene will probably last for about four-five days.  You can stay at the hotel where the rest of the crew and cast where staying.  Someone will bring you there tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I will also send my assistant to meet with you at the planet¡¯s spaceport,¡± the casting director added.


    Astrid nodded to say that he understood.  ¡°Director, is it alright if my brother here comes with me?  The two of us could share a room,¡± he said, pulling Reas to his side.


    Daniel was a bit surprised to hear that the serious looking young man was actually Astrid¡¯s brother.  The two were probably the least similar looking siblings he had seen in his life.


    But he didn¡¯t show his surprise and said, ¡°That¡¯s no problem.¡±


    He doubted that the other¡¯s presence would be a problem considering how silent he had been the whole time.  Since Astrid was basically on his own, it would be good to have someone with him who could at least give him support.


    ¡°Thank you, Director.¡±


    Reas also gave the director a nod to show his gratitude.


    Daniel stood up and stretched out his hand towards Astrid.  ¡°Welcome to the crew of [The Sleeping God].¡±


    Astrid grasped the director¡¯s hand and shook it.

 Chapter 99 - SCHEDULING A DINNER

    THE twins were now in a public space craft travelling back to Emperor Star.  They could stay at FS01 since Director Trevane said that a room at the hotel the crew was staying was relegated to Astrid.  But they still needed to get some clothes among other things.  The director and Mr. Rogers probably also took that into consideration, that¡¯s why they didn¡¯t mention that they could just directly stay at the hotel after that audition.


    ¡°Are you going to tell Mom and Dad about your first acting gig?¡± Reas thought of asking.


    ¡°Of course.  I¡¯ll call them and tell them everything about it later.¡±


    Astrid had no plans of hiding it.  She had already told them about his goal of becoming a star.  So, something like getting his very first role was worthy of sharing.


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯m sorry if I just went ahead and asked the director if you could come with me.  I didn¡¯t even ask your opinion about it.¡±


    Reas playfully knocked on his brother¡¯s head.  ¡°Silly.  Even if you didn¡¯t ask that director, I would have done it myself.  Do you think I¡¯d let you be alone there?  Besides, I don¡¯t have anything else to do anyway.¡±


    Astrid only grinned back.  Of course, he had expected that.  That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t hesitate to ask the director¡¯s permission if Reas could be at the set during his filming.


    ¡°It seems that we have to reschedule going to the military academy,¡± he said.


    Because of the sudden appearance of Mr. Rogers and him offering the role of Aether the sleeping god to Astrid, their plan of going to the Imperial Military Academy had to be postponed.  And since they had to be in FS01 in the following 4-5 days, they wouldn¡¯t temporarily be able to go there.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.  It¡¯s not as if the academy would vanish if we don¡¯t go there immediately,¡± Reas said, shrugging.  He turned to his brother who was sitting beside him.  ¡°Congratulations, by the way.  You did great in your first audition.¡±


    Astrid smiled when he heard that.  ¡°Thanks.  So, what do you think of my acting?¡±


    Reas raised one of his brows at him.  ¡°Are you actually fishing for compliment right now?¡±


    Astrid chuckled.  Because based on what he said, it meant that he¡¯s acting was pretty good.


    He hugged Reas¡¯ arm and raised his head.  He blinked his phoenix eyes at him.  ¡°Compliments from my little brother are always welcome though.¡±


    Reas didn¡¯t take back his arm and only rolled his eyes.  ¡°Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re the best.¡±


    20 minutes later, the twins were riding in a flying taxi, on their way to a restaurant to eat lunch.


    Astrid actually wanted to go around FS01, to see the different sets on the planet.  But he was not sure if people could just roam around the planet like some tourist.  So, he planned to just ask the director after his filming was over if he could.  If he needed a pass or something, the director might help him get that.  Especially if he performed well.  After all, directors all like good actors and actresses.


    He was about to ask his brother where should they eat lunch when a notification from his Terminal sounded.  It was the sound of his Terminal receiving a message.  He opened it.  He frowned a bit.  Because he didn¡¯t recognize the contact number.  But he still read it.


    [Good day, Astrid.  This is Cassius Grimaldi.  I¡¯m sorry for suddenly sending this message.  Are you and your brother free tonight?  My family and I would love to have dinner with you two as thanks for saving our Nikki.  If you¡¯re not, then we can just re-schedule it for another time.]


    Okay.  Astrid was first confused on how Cassius Grimaldi managed to send a message to him since he didn¡¯t remember giving the other his contact information.  But then he quickly realized that Cassius was technically from one of the most prominent noble families of the Empire.  Finding his contact information would be as easy as pie.


    He suddenly felt worried.  If they did some background check on him and his brother, wouldn¡¯t they eventually make their way to their parents?  But then he calmed down again.


    The one who most likely made the fake identities of their parents was their Uncle Leigh.  If there¡¯s one thing their uncle was, it¡¯s that he¡¯s very thorough.  Astrid was sure that no one would be able to see any loophole in their parents¡¯ fake identities.


    Besides, he had a feeling that Cassius was not the type of person who would invade other people¡¯s privacy just because he wanted to know more about other people.


    Reas quickly noticed the small abnormality in his brother¡¯s expression.  ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Cassius Grimaldi just sent me a message,¡± Astrid said, showing to Reas the message on his Terminal.


    Reas read it and just like Astrid, frowned after he finished reading it.  ¡°Just tell him you¡¯re busy.¡±


    Which was not exactly a lie since tomorrow his brother would start filming.


    Just like Astrid, Reas also thought of all the problems he did.  The possibility that the Grimaldis might discover their parents¡¯ identities.  But he also calmed down as quickly.  Because he also thought of Uncle Leigh.


    ¡°If we refused now, I have a feeling he will just ask again and again until we agreed.¡±


    The scowl on Reas¡¯ face became even deeper.  ¡°Are you saying we should just go?¡±


    ¡°Not tonight, no.  Since we have to leave early tomorrow for FS01.  But the next time he asked, we should just agree.  Because the more we refuse, the more suspicious we would look to them.  They might dig in deeper to our identities if that were to happen.  It¡¯s better to just go once and get it over it.¡±


    Reas still didn¡¯t want to.  But he knew that that was already the best course of action.  ¡°Fine, let¡¯s do that.¡±


    So, Astrid then replied to Cassius Grimaldi¡¯s message.


    [My apologies, Lord Cassius.  But my brother and I will be busy for the upcoming week.  If it¡¯s alright to you and your family, could we postpone the dinner until next week?]

 Chapter 100 - MAKE-UP AND COSTUME

    EARLY next morning, the twins arrived at the set of the movie [The Sleeping God].  The scene that Astrid was going to film today was the scene of his audition.  The director was still not there when they arrived.  But the casting director ¨C Mr. Rogers ¨C was there and enthusiastically welcomed them.


    The other probably felt that since he was the one who technically offered him this role, it¡¯s his responsibility to take care of him at the set.  Which Astrid didn¡¯t really mind.  As long as the other wouldn¡¯t be too enthusiastic to the point that people around them would suspect that he and Mr. Rogers had some kind of indecent relationship.


    Astrid was immediately taken to one of the dressing rooms.  It¡¯s the one that was shared amongst other casts in the movie with one of two scenes just like him.  He didn¡¯t mind this.  He actually preferred it this way.  Because if he was given too much preference, that would just be detrimental for him.


    Although the number of days he had to film here would not even last week, he didn¡¯t want to spend that short time fending off harassment from people who thought that he, a newcomer with no background whatsoever, had better treatment than them.  So, it¡¯s better if he¡¯s treated the same as everyone else.


    Inside the dressing room, aside from the twins, there was only a female make-up artist there.  Astrid wasn¡¯t really surprised with that.  Because just like what he heard from the director, they had already filmed most of the movie.  Not to mention that it was too early, so it¡¯s only natural that he didn¡¯t have anyone to share the dressing room with.


    Reas stood on the side while Astrid greeted the make-up artist.


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    The make-up artist tried her best not to show her excitement.  ¡°Good morning,¡± she greeted back.


    But inside, she was already screaming in delight.  She was there when the teenager auditioned yesterday.  The moment she saw him, she couldn¡¯t wait to put make-up on that pretty face and just completely transform him into the image of the god ¡®Aether¡¯.  She fought hard with the other make-up artists of the crew so she could be the one in-charged of the teenager¡¯s make-up.


    ¡°Please, sit here,¡± she added, gesturing for the teenager to sit on the chair beside her.


    Astrid sat down and the make-up artists began her work.


    The make-up artist stared at the teenager¡¯s face.  It was so clear that she couldn¡¯t even see any pores.  She suddenly felt entangled.  Because it felt like she was tainting an already beautiful painting.  No, she had to do it.  So this painting would be even more beautiful.  That¡¯s her job as a make-up artist.


    Astrid was waiting for the make-up artist to chat with him.  Because in his past experience, that¡¯s how it usually went.  But when he raised his head and looked at the make-up artist, she looked like she was thinking of a very serious problem.  So, he chose to be quiet and not to disturb her.


    His mind wandered on the plot of the movie.


    Last night, hhe finished reading the whole script. It was quite an interesting plot. Just like what Mr. Rogers said before, it was a story of a group of heroes going on an adventure to save the world.


    The setting of the movie was a continent filled with magic.  This continent was suddenly thrown into chaos when the god protecting them suddenly disappeared and demons started to roam the world.  The beginning of the movie was a hundred years after that happened.


    The male lead was a farm boy whose parents were killed by demons.  He swore to take vengeance and kill every demon he encountered.  He made good with that promise.  Years passed by and his escapades started to become a legend.  That was until the princess of a small kingdom sought his help.  This prince, of course, was the female lead.


    The princess was someone who could predict the future through her dreams.  She dreamt that she and three others would search and find their missing god.  They would succeed and would then save the continent.


    Convincing the male lead to go with her was very difficult.  But once she succeeded, that¡¯s the real beginning of the adventure.  They searched for the two others who appeared in the princess¡¯ dream.


    They traveled across the continent, searching for the sleeping god.  They fought a lot of demons and met different kinds of people.  In their journey, they not only grew stronger, they also experienced a lot of pain and sadness.


    It was a simple plot that had the perfect balance of action, drama, and romance.  And that reversal near the end was quite a good twist.  If it was handled well, then the final product would definitely not be bad.  With Director Trevane¡¯s ability, it would definitely be another box-office hit.


    After 20 minutes, the make-up artist was finally done with the teenager¡¯s hair and make-up.  Seeing her final work, even she couldn¡¯t help but be proud.


    She didn¡¯t put too much make-up on his face.  She just did enough to make his skin not appear pale under the camera.  She also put three small jeweled crystals beneath his eyes to make their color popped up more.  His cheeks and lips already had that natural red tint.  So, she didn¡¯t mess too much with that.  She styled his hair in a slightly messy way.  But not in a manner that would make him appear untidy.


    ¡°There, perfect,¡± she said proudly.  ¡°Your costume is just behind that divider.  Do you need help changing?¡±


    ¡°No, thanks,¡± Astrid said.


    He stood up and walked behind the divider screen.  He saw his costume which was really just a simple white robe.  He guessed that a luxurious one would not really fit the image of the god who had been asleep for a hundred years.


    The robe was easy to wear.  So, he was able to finish dressing in no moment¡¯s time.  Once he¡¯s done, he just only noticed that the neckline of the robe was pretty loose.  A white expanse of his chest could easily be seen.  He didn¡¯t really care that much and just shrugged it off.  It¡¯s not as if his whole upper body was naked anyway.


    When he walked out of the divider screen, the make-up artist¡¯ eyes brightened.  While Reas, on the other hand, imperceptibly frowned.

 Chapter 101 - BLANK CANVAS

    REAS walked to his brother.  ¡°Isn¡¯t that costume too¡­ revealing?¡±


    The make-up artist turned to the ice-blue haired young man who had been standing silently since earlier.  She thought he was some kind of bodyguard but based on how he spoke with the teenager, that¡¯s probably not the case.


    Anyway, how could that costume be called ¡®revealing¡¯?  There¡¯s hardly anything could be seen.  Except for that small bit of white chest.  She had been working in this industry for years now and she had seen the real ¡®revealing¡¯ clothes.  This one could hardly be put in that category.


    Astrid chuckled when he heard what Reas said.  ¡°This is fine.  You have to get used to seeing me in different costumes, you know?  This will probably not be the most revealing clothes you would see me in.¡±


    That respond just made Reas frowned even further.  He understood on the fundamental level what Astrid was saying.  But it¡¯s really hard to just nod and accept it.  He really didn¡¯t want to see his brother being treated like a commodity.  And that¡¯s what would happen if he continued on in this path.  He just realized that now when seeing him wear this clothing.


    But he couldn¡¯t do anything.  Because if he did, then he would just be getting in Astrid¡¯s way.  This was his brother¡¯s dream.  As his twin, he should do his best to support him instead of obstructing him.


    Seeing the expression on his brother¡¯s face, Astrid had an idea what the other was thinking.  So, he just hugged his Reas¡¯ arm.


    ¡°Don¡¯t frown, little brother.  You¡¯ll ruin your handsome face.  Let¡¯s go.  Cheer on your older brother as he does his first work.¡±


    The make-up artist was a bit shocked when he heard what the teenager said.  Because she didn¡¯t expect that the two were actually brothers.  Because they hardly looked related.  She would probably believe it more if someone told her that the two were boyfriends or something.


    Seeing the two walking out of the dressing room, she also followed.  Because she really wanted to see the first scene of the teenager.


    The assistant of Mr. Rogers had been waiting outside the dressing room.  His boss told him to wait here and bring the black-haired teenager to the set of the scene the other was going to film today.  He didn¡¯t understand why his boss had to take care of this newcomer too much.  The other had already signed a contract.  It¡¯s not as if he could still refuse this role at this point.


    If he didn¡¯t know better, he might suspect that his boss was interested with the teenager.  But that¡¯s pretty much impossible.  Considering how his boss was very much in love with his partner.  They even had a kid the same age as the teenager.  So, why put so much attention and care to this literal newcomer?


    He heard the door of the dressing room opening.  He turned around and almost lost his breath when he saw Astrid.  He even felt his heart skipping a beat.  Suddenly, he understood a bit at that moment why his boss was so good to this teenager.  Because looking at the beauty in front of him, who wouldn¡¯t be?


    Then he suddenly felt a piercing gaze.  He glanced at the source and saw the young man with ice-blue hair glaring at him.  From what he heard, this guy was Astrid¡¯s brother.  He probably thought that he was thinking something dirty while looking at his brother.  Which was totally not the case.


    He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Mr. Rogers is already at the set with the director.  I will take you there.¡±


    Astrid nodded and smiled at the assistant.  ¡°Okay, thank you.¡±


    The assistant received another crit.  But he quickly shook it off.  He should be professional.  Professional!


    They rode the land vehicle again to reach the cave.  There were a lot of people there compared to when Astrid auditioned yesterday.  And everyone who saw him passed by just automatically stopped and stared.


    Astrid was once again amazed by the aesthetic of the people living in this era.  Seriously, if he was the one in their position, he¡¯d probably stared more at Reas.  His brother was so handsome and yet no one seemed to appreciate it.  What¡¯s up with that?  He could only blame it on the fact that people here hardly ever saw someone with Asian features.  That fact made him even more eye-catching to these people.


    His thoughts stopped when he heard Director Trevane¡¯s call.


    ¡°Astrid, here!¡±


    Daniel¡¯s eyes brightened when he saw the teenager wearing the ¡®Aether¡¯ costume.  He thought that it would be hard to style the teenager because of how prominent his features were.  But who would have thought that just a bit of make-up and costume could actually change his whole atmosphere?  No- it¡¯s almost as if his whole look change.


    This actually showed him that Astrid was not an already finished painting ¨C beautiful and unchangeable.  He was a blank canvas.  Whatever paint you put on him was what he would be.  That¡¯s just how he felt while looking at the teenager right now.  Daniel couldn¡¯t wait to capture him on camera.


    Astrid walked towards the director, Reas was just silently following behind.


    ¡°Astrid, we won¡¯t take any make-up photos of you.  We also don¡¯t plan to include you in the promotion.  The people will see you the first time during the premier of the movie,¡± Daniel started.  ¡°Is that alright?¡±


    He stared at the teenager to see his reaction.  After all, most newcomers would want to use this opportunity to hype themselves up.  It¡¯s also the right timing considering how he just trended a few days ago.  But no- he didn¡¯t see any of the expected reluctance.  Instead, Astrid just smiled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, Director.  I was actually thinking that we should do it that way.¡±


    It would just be the right amount of mystery.  Besides, if the movie production announced that a newcomer like him would be playing this role, he would definitely receive more negative response instead of positive.  At least once the movie was released, people could see that he deserved this role and it was not just given to him on a whim.


    Daniel also smiled, becoming more satisfied with the teenager.  ¡°We will start filming once the others arrive.¡±


    And as if on cue, the other casts of the movie arrived one after another.

 Chapter 102 - THE OTHER CAST MEMBERS

    THE ones who just arrived were the four main cast who were in this scene with Astrid.  The male lead, the second male lead, the third male lead, and the female lead.  These four comprised the group of people in the movie who went on a journey to find the missing god and awaken him.


    You asked why the second female lead was not here?  Well, apparently, she¡¯s just a decoration that was just there to promote the feelings between the male and female lead.  She wasn¡¯t even part of the ¡®adventure group¡¯.


    Anyway, the first one to arrive were the second and third male lead.  Shortly followed by the male and female lead.  All of them were already in their costumes.  The second male lead in his magician robe, the third male lead who was built like a tank and dressed like a knight, the female lead in a white robe like a saint, and the male lead dressed in all black like the mercenary that he was.


    While reading the script last night, he also took a look at the information of these four.  Because they were the ones he had to act with the most.  The four were all in the top 100 in the Star List.  The male lead ¨C Stephen Tomlinson ¨C was even in the top 50.  In short, he was the one with the highest status in the movie¡¯s cast.


    He did have the look of a star ¨C tall, well-built, and handsome.  Actually, all of them were extremely good-looking.  Especially the female lead.  She was tall and willowy with long strawberry blond hair and a pair of soft baby blue eyes.  Despite having a model like body, she still looked quite delicate.


    Which was hardly a surprise considering how almost every human in this era had good looks. But because everyone was pretty and handsome, if you¡¯re just a normal pretty or handsome ¨C you know, those who were good-looking but not striking enough or didn¡¯t have any defining features ¨C people would simply think that they were plain.


    Really, what skewed aesthetics.


    Seeing that all four were very prompt, Astrid hoped that they were all professionals and none of them would cause him any drama.


    ¡°Good, all of you are here,¡± Director Trevane said when the four approached them.  ¡°Look, we finally found our ¡®Aether¡¯.  Don¡¯t you think my vision is very on point?¡±


    As the director said that, he gestured to the black-haired teenager standing beside him.  The expression on his face looked like he was asking them, ¡®look at the person I chose, he¡¯s perfect, right?¡¯.  It was obvious to all that he was in a very good mood.  How dare they say anything negative?


    The people in the crew had been walking on thin ice these past few days because Director Trevane was in a bad mood.  It was due to the fact that he hadn¡¯t found the right person to play the god ¡®Aether¡¯.  Especially since their filming was close to an end.


    Now that he finally found someone who matched his requirement, there¡¯s no way people in the crew would make trouble.  Even the four stars who arrived understood that.  The director might seem approachable and friendly but if he was put into a bad mood, especially during filming, he could be a real grinch.


    Astrid looked at the four people and took the initiative to say hello.  He smiled and said, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Astrid Townsend.  It¡¯s an honor to work with all of you.¡±


    The four was a bit shocked when they saw the black-haired teenager the first time.  After all, it¡¯s not everyday one could see someone with both black hair and eye color.  But the quickly got over it.  All of them were no longer young and impetuous.  They were all almost a generation higher than the teenager.


    They weren¡¯t immature enough to purposely humiliate a newcomer in the off-chance that they found him annoying or unpleasant.  They already passed that stage where they could be jealous at everyone and everything that was better than them at one thing or another.


    Of course, not all older artists were like this.  There were still a lot of unreasonable persons in the industry.  It just so happened that Director Trevane usually casted actors and actresses with good tempers.  Probably because the old director also didn¡¯t want too much drama in his set.


    The four greeted the teenager with enough friendliness.


    The female lead ¨C Sienna Rose ¨C felt like her old mother¡¯s heart was just hit.  The teenager in front of her was not that tall compared to other men.  In fact, they were just the same height.  He looked so pretty that she just wanted to hug him up like a big baby.  And seeing his good attitude, her impression of him improved even more.


    ¡°Astrid, right?  Could this be your first time filming?¡± she asked.


    After all, with the teenager¡¯s looks, they should have long heard of him if this wasn¡¯t his first role.  But since this was obviously the first time they all saw him, it¡¯s safe to assume that this was he was a newcomer.


    ¡°Yes, Miss Sienna,¡± Astrid said with just the right amount of respect in his tone.  Not overly done like he was simping on her or less that he would appear arrogant.


    Sienna nodded, liking his attitude.  ¡°Stop with the miss, just call me Sister,¡± she said first.  ¡°If you encounter any problems during filming, this sister will help you.¡±


    The male lead ¨C Stephen chuckled seeing how enthusiastic Sienna was.  ¡°Careful, you might scare the newbie.¡±


    Sienna snorted at Stephen¡¯s comment.  ¡°How can I be scary?¡±  She turned to the teenager.  ¡°Astrid is not scared of me, right?¡±


    Astrid smiled.  ¡°No, Sister is very cute.¡±


    The way the other easily called her ¡®Sister¡¯ made Sienna¡¯s heart melt.  Because it seemed like they had really been brother and sisters for a long time.  She nodded in appreciation.  ¡°You have good vision.¡±


    Astrid secretly felt relieved.  Because it seemed like these four he would be working with the most all had good tempers.  Not only him, but also Reas who was observing everyone at the side.  The four didn¡¯t look at his brother in any weird way and they also had good attitude.  His hanging heart finally settled down.


    ¡°Okay, you five, let¡¯s start the filming for today,¡± the director said, clapping his hands to get their attention.


    And so, Astrid¡¯s first filming in this life began.

 Chapter 103 - THE FIRST SCENE

    FOUR sets of footsteps could be heard entering a cave filled with beautiful crystals.  They all looked worn out, as if they had just experienced a lot of ordeal in order to come to this place.  But despite that, there was a glint of anticipation in their eyes.  Not only that, but also hope.


    Hope that at the end of this cave, a light would shine through them.


    Soon, a lake appeared in front of them.  In the center of that lake was a rectangular crystal slab.  It was surrounded by crystal flowers.  And on top of it lay a teenager.


    He had black hair as dark as ebony and skin as translucent as pearl.  The teenager¡¯s otherworldly beauty was already a sign that he was not a being the same as them.  The hope in the eyes of the four weary travelers became even brighter.


    ¡°It¡¯s Lord Aether!  He¡¯s really here.  We finally found him!¡± said the big man wearing a knight¡¯s armor.


    ¡°All our hardship, it was not in vain,¡± said the only woman in the party, her baby blue eyes filling up with tears.


    ¡°This is not the time to celebrate.  We should wake the lord first,¡± said the man wearing all black.


    Unlike the other three, the light of hope in his eyes was not as strong.  The expression on his face was more grave than happy.  He was also hoping for the best.  But he couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that they might also fail.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it.  Let¡¯s wake the lord from his slumber,¡± said the man wearing a magician¡¯s garb.


    The four walked and stood at four different directions surrounding the lake.  They then each took out a crystal of varying colors.  Each one represented the four elements of nature.  The magician started to chant and each of them poured their Mana into the crystal they were holding.


    Rays of light appeared and poured towards the direction of the figure lying on the crystal slab.  Once the lights disappeared, the figure on the crystal slab slowly opened his eyes.  They were the darkest of obsidian.  They were first filled with innocence but once he recognized what was happening at that moment, they completely changed.  Hundreds of emotions flashed in that second ¨C anger, hopelessness, frustration, acceptance, and finally, indifference.


    The beautiful god slowly sat up.  His whole body was filled with indifference.  He looked slowly at the four people surrounding the lake.  The four quickly knelt down.  They were just filled with awe.  It¡¯s like a bright being was standing before them.  A being that¡¯s above them in every way.


    This was the god of their continent.  The god they had been searching for so desperately.  He was the only hope left for their ravaged continent.


    ¡°Lord Aether!¡± the princess wearing a saint¡¯s robe shouted.  Tears visible in her blue eyes.  ¡°Please, help us save the continent!¡±


    ¡°And so, you woke me up from my slumber,¡± the god said with no emotion.  It¡¯s like he didn¡¯t even hear the desperation in the woman¡¯s voice.


    He slowly glanced towards the princess who was in her knees, almost looking like she was begging.  And maybe she was.  But the god didn¡¯t care.  He still appeared apathetic.


    But when his gaze landed on the princess, he suddenly smiled.  Smiling as if he was looking at a child who didn¡¯t know anything.  It was a very beautiful smile, as if flowers suddenly bloomed around them.  But somehow, the hope they first felt when they saw the slumbering god slowly dwindled.  They felt at some level that things wouldn¡¯t go the way they wanted.


    ¡°But my child, I couldn¡¯t do anything to save this continent.¡±  The god looked at each and every person kneeling around the lake.  And then he raised his head, as if waiting for something, or rather someone, to come.  ¡°Yes, only you can do this.¡±


    =====


    ¡°And, cut!¡± Director Trevane shouted.  ¡°Perfect!  All of you are just brilliant!¡±


    ¡°Does that mean we don¡¯t have to take this scene again?¡± the third male lead asked, already out of the character he just played.


    He asked because this was the already the 5th take since they started filming this morning.  It was already half past noon and he really hoped this take could pass so he could finally eat his lunch.


    These repeated takes were not because the five people in the scene acted badly.  Well, except for that first take.  The four people who was acting with Astrid made a gaffe the moment the teenager first utter his line.  This gaffe couldn¡¯t be hidden from the small cameras floating everywhere.  Thus, it also couldn¡¯t be hidden from the director.


    But truly, this gaffe couldn¡¯t be blamed to the four.  They knew that the teenager was a newcomer.  So, their expectation of his acting was quite low.  Who would have thought that they would be given a surprise by this newcomer?


    The moment he uttered those first words, it felt like they were really standing in front of a holy being.  Someone who was out of their reach.  Someone whom they should revere.  That¡¯s why that gaffe occurred.  They tried to quickly hide it, but the cameras still managed to catch their reaction.


    After that, the director naturally considered this take as NG.  The next take was much better, all the five people in the scene didn¡¯t make a mistake but it was still not enough for Director Trevane.


    And thus, several more takes followed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m very satisfied with this take,¡± Daniel said.


    He was worried at first that Astrid wouldn¡¯t be able to adapt to acting with others.  After all, acting with others and acting by yourself were completely two different things.  But to his relief, none of his worries happened.  The teenager was still as good as his audition.


    With how things were going, they might be able to finish filming in less than five days.


    Astrid was also thinking the same thing.  The overall duration of his scenes didn¡¯t even last 10 minutes after all.  The next scene would involve the villain of the movie.  But he hadn¡¯t yet seen the person playing that role.  Maybe the other wasn¡¯t scheduled to film today.


    He was about to walk to where Reas was when someone stopped in front of him.  It was the female lead, Sienna Rose.


    ¡°Astrid, let¡¯s go eat lunch together!¡± she said, smiling brightly at him.

 Chapter 104 - CUTE SISTER

    ¡°AHM, Astrid, is it really okay to bring your, well, boyfriend here in the set?¡± Sienna said to the black-haired teenager sitting beside her. She did so as soon as he saw the young man with ice blue hair stood up and excused himself for a while.


    They were at one of the restaurants nearest to their film crew set. She wasn¡¯t scared that they would be filmed or photographed because there¡¯s a rule in any filming studio planet against paparazzies or reporters. It¡¯s was made that way so that the possibility of any filming leaks wouldn¡¯t happen.


    Sienna glanced at the back of the young man with ice-blue hair who was walking towards the direction of the restroom. When she invited Astrid, she didn¡¯t expect that this one would also come along with them. She had naturally noticed the other¡¯s presence on the set. She thought that he was some kind of intern or something. She didn¡¯t expect that he was here with Astrid.


    She knew that the teenager was a newcomer. He probably still had no idea how this whole industry worked. No matter how attractive or talented he was in acting, he could easily be destroyed if he was involved in any scandal this early in his career. As his senior, she felt like it was her responsibility to at least warn him about a few things in the industry. Especially if he wanted to continue this career path.


    ¡°You know, even though people are not allowed to discriminately take pictures of the things here in this planet, some people in the set with loose tongue can still talk about the things they see on the set,¡± she started again. ¡°Once the movie is released, I have no doubt that you would rise in popularity. Many people will start to pay attention to you. And many would want to know your information. It would be bad for your fledgling career if people spread the news that you¡¯ve brought your boyfriend during filming.¡±


    Astrid, who heard this explanation, blinked first. And then his eyes were filled with amusement. He could feel that the other was really sincere in saying these things to him. She was truly worried about him bringing his ¡®boyfriend¡¯ in the set. He couldn¡¯t help but think that this older sister was kind of cute.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Sienna. He¡¯s not my boyfriend. He¡¯s my brother, a twin brother in fact,¡± he said, clearing the other¡¯s misunderstanding.


    In fact, none of her worries would happen. Because Director Trevane had already explained to the crew about Reas¡¯s presence. Besides, even if something like that would happen once the movie was released, it was easy to debunk it. After all, he and Reas were really brothers.


    Sienna felt like she just heard an unbelievable joke. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ twins? Haha¡­ even if Astrid was kidding, you should have made up something more believable.¡±


    Even if they¡¯re fraternal twins, surely the difference in appearance wouldn¡¯t be this big. Even normal siblings had at least one common trait between them. But with the case of the two, she just couldn¡¯t see it. It¡¯s like the difference between night and day.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, Sister Sienna, we¡¯re really twins,¡± Astrid said. ¡°We can buy a portable DNA kit if you want. The result will tell you that I¡¯m telling the truth.¡±


    Although he said that last one in a teasing tone, his face was filled with enough sincerity. He believed that¡¯s enough to show that he was serious about what he said.


    Of course, Sienna saw that. Her disbelief just simply turned to shock. How could there be twins with that much difference in appearance? But she also quickly accepted it. It not like he knew much about genes and stuff anyway.


    More than that, she probably should change the topic to the reason why she invited Astrid to lunch.


    She cleared her throat. ¡°Anyway, Astrid, do you already belong to an entertainment company?¡±


    Astrid shook his head. He kind of already had an idea where this conversation would lead. Sure enough, Sienna¡¯s next words confirmed his guess.


    ¡°Then, how about signing as the same company as me?¡± she said, smiling brightly at Astrid. ¡°The entertainment company I¡¯m signed in is called Polaris. We¡¯re just a small company in comparison to the bigwigs like Kaleido or Sonare. We might not have that many artists but you can be sure that you will be taken care of. The company gives a lot of benefits to its artists. Of course, that¡¯s under the condition that you would also give the equal amount of effort. If you do that, then Polaris would never do anything sorry for you. So, what do you say? It¡¯s a pretty good deal, right?¡±


    Astrid was a bit surprised hearing Sienna endorsed the company she¡¯s signed in. And she was also doing it so actively. Of course, he had heard of Polaris. In fact, it¡¯s one of the entertainment companies he was considering even before the other mentioned it to him.


    He had long heard of Polaris. It was indeed just a small entertainment company. But despite that, it was still pretty well-known. The majority of their artists were on the top 100 of the Star List. Which was pretty damn rare for a small company. They also didn¡¯t have any history of taking advantage of their artists. They even let their artists to set up their own studio as long as they had enough ability and popularity to back it up.


    That last one was very attractive to Astrid. Because he also wanted to set up his own studio someday. But he also knew that he couldn¡¯t trust anything he read or saw online. For all he knew, there might be shadows lurking behind such a clean fa?ade.


    ¡°Thank you for the offer, Sister Sienna,¡± he said first. ¡°But is Sister allowed to make that offer?¡± he asked, acting like he was worried that the other was offering her that without the permission of Polaris¡¯ president.


    Which actually made sense in a way. After all, this was the first time they met. It¡¯s impossible that someone from Polaris had already asked her to make this offer to him.


    Sienna only laughed. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s okay. Once my agent sees you, she will surely make the same offer. I only advanced the process.¡±


    Astrid wondered how the other ended up with such a conclusion. But he also couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in amusement. This sister was really kind of cute.

 Chapter 105 - DIAMOND

    ¡°SISTER Sienna, thank you for your high regard of me,¡± Astrid said gently.  ¡°But I don¡¯t really want to be presumptuous and think that I¡¯m someone a company like Polaris would want.¡±


    Sienna¡¯s two assistants who were sitting on the other table and were listening to the two¡¯s conversation glanced at each other.  They were actually quite worried when Sienna suddenly invited Astrid to signed to Polaris.


    It should be known that the actors and actresses in Polaris were all known for their acting skills.  The president and founder of Polaris really only had one requirement in signing artists to the company ¨C they had to have talent.  He didn¡¯t care if one was beautiful or handsome, what he cared about was a person¡¯s talent.


    What¡¯s more the president hated hyping things up.  For example, making fake stories or rumors just to make the artists in his company popular.  He also hated backroom deals.  He never allowed his artists to ¡®sell¡¯ themselves in exchange for a movie or a show.  It¡¯s one of the major rules in Polaris.  Once an artist was found to break that, they would immediately release from their contract.


    It¡¯s the reason why the president was given the nickname, ¡®old-fashioned grouch¡¯.  But despite the strictness, many up-and-coming artists in the Empire still wanted to be part of Polaris.  In that regard, they wouldn¡¯t lose to big companies like Kaleido and Sonare.


    It¡¯s just that, Polaris was very picky in comparison to the two who treated artists like mass-produced products.  For Polaris, they didn¡¯t need that many, all they need was the diamond among the shiny fake ones.


    Thus, even with a few artists under their name, their reputation was still one of the best in the industry.  Just simply being a part of such company could give one the reputation of being ¡®good¡¯ at acting.


    They were worried that Astrid would take advantage of Sienna¡¯s kindness and just shamelessly asked the other to take him to Polaris¡¯ company building.  They could see that their artist really liked this teenager.  With Sienna¡¯s good temper, she would definitely not refuse him.


    That¡¯s why they were relieved and also a bit surprised when they heard what Astrid said.  They didn¡¯t expect that he would actually refuse Sienna¡¯s symbolic offer.  But they were truly glad that he did.


    Yes, he was indeed quite good compared to other newcomers his age.  But one must know that Polaris usually scout the top graduates of prestigious performing arts colleges.  Really, how could this barely adult teenager be compared to those top graduates.


    If Sienna brought Astrid to the company, the one who would be scolded was her.  As assistants, how could they let their artist be scolded?  It¡¯s a good thing that this teenager actually wasn¡¯t greedy or shameless.


    Their impression of Astrid became even better.  At least now, they knew that this teenager wouldn¡¯t just take advantage of their artist¡¯s kind heart.


    Sienna pouted when she heard Astrid¡¯s response.  ¡°What being presumptuous?  You¡¯re certainly not!  I¡¯ll tell my agent to watch our filming tomorrow.  She will surely have the same opinion as me.¡±


    Astrid only smiled helplessly.  ¡°It¡¯s okay, Sister Sienna.  I¡¯m not really in a rush.  I¡¯d probably be busy in school and stuff anyway.¡±


    Of course, he¡¯s just saying that to appear humble.  No one liked people who openly showed their greed.  Not that he was.  Well, maybe in some aspects of his life.  One example was his career.


    He was a very ambitious person.  If there¡¯s a good opportunity that could help him in his career, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to take it.  Of course, that didn¡¯t include him being taken advantaged of ¨C sexually or otherwise.


    Sienna wanted to say more, but the young man ¨C who he now knew as Astrid¡¯s twin brother ¨C returned and sat opposite them.  Although the other was way younger, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit scared.  Well, not really scared.  Probably more of apprehensive.


    Maybe because she could feel that the other had a higher level of physique and mental strength.  She¡¯s a bit sensitive that way.


    And so, the three just continued to eat peacefully.


    It didn¡¯t take long before they finished their lunch.


    ¡°Thank you, Sister Sienna for treating us to lunch,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Reas also followed.


    Sienna waved her hand.  ¡°It¡¯s nothing.  It¡¯s just right for me to pay.  I¡¯m older and a working adult after all.¡±


    They walked out of the restaurant and got on the land vehicle that brought them there.


    ¡°Oh, before I forgot, since you¡¯d probably be filming your scene tomorrow with the person who plays the villain in the movie, I think I should warn you a little about him.  He¡¯s kind of flirty, so, he might flirt with you and stuff.  No, he will definitely do that.  But it¡¯s all harmless.  So, I hope you wouldn¡¯t be offended or affected by it.¡±


    Reas frowned immediately when he heard that.  He was about to grumble and probably even say something now so respectful when he felt Astrid suddenly grasping his hand.  He looked at his brother.  Astrid was still looking at the actress, as if listening attentively to what she¡¯s saying.  But Reas could feel that his brother was silently telling him not to say anything.  Astrid probably knew how he would react just by hearing such a thing.


    Even though he didn¡¯t want to, he knowingly shut up.


    Astrid was relieved when he didn¡¯t hear Reas complaining.  Once again, he¡¯s thankful for their natural tacit understanding.


    ¡°Is Sister Sienna friends with him?¡± he thought of asking.


    After all, she surely wouldn¡¯t tell him that this ¡®flirty¡¯ person didn¡¯t really mean him any harm if the two weren¡¯t friends.


    ¡°In a way,¡± Sienna said, laughing awkwardly.  ¡°He¡¯s actually a fellow artist under Polaris.  He just debuted five years ago.  He¡¯s the closest in age to you.  If you just ignore his affectionate attitude, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get along well.  But if he ended up pestering you too much, just tell this sister.  I will handle him for you.¡±


    Astrid chuckled when he heard the ¡®affectionate attitude¡¯ description.  ¡°Okay.  Thank you, Sister Sienna.¡±

 Chapter 106 - SOME INFO ABOUT THAT GUY

    ASTRID looked around the hotel room that the crew provided to them. They just had dinner and went straight here.


    The room was a double room. There were two bed separated by a bedside table. He smiled. It seemed like the director took into account that he would be bringing his brother during filming that¡¯s why he was given this room. Well, at least he and Reas didn¡¯t have to share a bed.


    He sat down on the bed near the side of the window. It was soft and comfortable to the touch. Although he wasn¡¯t particular with where he was sleeping, a good bed was always welcome.


    He glanced at his brother who also sat down on the other bed. His face was crumpled like he had eaten some bitter gourd. Astrid chuckled seeing that. Because he had an idea on why Reas¡¯ expression was like that.


    ¡°Reas, don¡¯t worry too much. I¡¯m sure the person Sister Sienna talked about won¡¯t cause that much harm,¡± he said, assuring his brother.


    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± Reas asked back, his expression didn¡¯t ease at all by what Astrid said.


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen Sister Sienna. She¡¯s the type who shows her emotions head on. If she doesn¡¯t like that person, she would have just directly said that he¡¯s a good for nothing bastard who thinks using the lower part of his body. The fact that she didn¡¯t mean that that person is not so hopeless and there¡¯s still something likable about him.¡±


    It was rare to see someone from the entertainment industry with such openness like Sienna. It¡¯s actually quite a surprise that someone with a personality like hers had managed to go this far. Especially in this era where artists were as abundant as the stars in the sky. Her agent and company probably had a lot to with that.


    Reas¡¯ expression eased up a little when he heard that. His face no longer looked like a bitter gourd. But, of course, his worry was still there. ¡°If he touched you in any weird way, I¡¯ll pummel him.¡±


    Astrid stood up and flicked his brother¡¯s forehead. ¡°Stop always thinking about resorting to violence. Have you forgotten about my mental strength? If he ever tried to do that, he¡¯ll have a headache first before he could move his hand.¡±


    He was not worried that the target of his attack would think that he was the one who did it. Especially if he did it while they were surrounded by a lot of people. Besides, a headache inducing attack wasn¡¯t really something that people would immediately blame on someone¡¯s mental assault.


    One should know that exerting a small amount of mental force to only cause a slight headache was very difficult. It required a lot of control and understanding of your own strength. It¡¯s actually much easier to cause a mental breakdown. Because in that, one only needed to pour out their mental strength to overwhelm the other¡¯s.


    Besides, that scenario would only be possible if one had a high mental strength level. Who would actually think that someone with a SSS level of mental strength was in their midst?


    People with that level of mental strength usually worked at the military or some big corporations. They certainly wouldn¡¯t work at the entertainment industry.


    Reas snorted at what his brother said. But he no longer complained. Astrid knew that this was him accepting the situation.


    ¡°Come on, go and clean up. We still have an early day tomorrow,¡± Astrid said, pulling his brother up and pushing him to the bathroom.


    Reas didn¡¯t refuse and let his brother push him to the bathroom.


    After that, Astrid sat back down on his bed and then leaned back comfortably on the headboard. He opened his Terminal and check the [Starnet] on news about Lauren Watts ¨C the guy playing the villain in [The Sleeping God].


    The villain in the movie was the demon lord. He suddenly appeared right after the god Aether went missing and fell into slumber.


    The first picture that appeared was that of a young man with dark blond hair and a pair of light brown eyes curved into crescents. The smile on his face was so bright that it could probably light up a dark room. He was just releasing this sunny atmosphere.


    Just by looking at this picture, Astrid felt that the other was very friendly and easy to get along with. He honestly couldn¡¯t see the flirtatious guy that Sienna had mentioned. This Lauren guy looked more like the most popular guy in school rather than a playboy.


    He looked for the first article that appeared. It was about Lauren rumored to have a relationship with a fellow actor he worked with in his last movie. He was photographed hugging that actor, holding his hand playfully, and just being touchy-feely. The other actor didn¡¯t look annoyed or anything of the sort. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the company.


    Astrid could see that the two were not faking it. They were truly having fun the moment those pictures were taken. But he also couldn¡¯t feel any romantic atmosphere around the two. It¡¯s just like two friends hanging out.


    And sure enough. The two quickly cleared up the rumors about them. Both posting a statement in their [Cybernet] accounts clearing their relationship and telling everyone they were just friends.


    This was not the only dating rumor about Lauren as evidence of the articles he found. But amazingly enough, those rumors didn¡¯t last long. Because both parties involved would clear it up the very next day.


    If he didn¡¯t know any better, he might have already thought that this guy just simply loved to hype himself by attaching his name to artists he worked with and then covered that up in a dating scandal. But he did know better. So, he knew that that wasn¡¯t the case.


    First, if he wanted hype then he should have let those rumors ran as long as he could. And second, Polaris was known to not let their artists hype themselves in that way.


    Maybe this Lauren was really just a very affectionate guy.


    He shrugged, no longer caring. He closed the [Starnet] interface since his curiosity was already satisfied.


    He then called his parents. Because last night when he told them that he would be starting to film today, they said to call them right after. They were probably still worried about him having his first role with no agent to support him. It actually took a lot of convincing before the two finally agreed.


    After a few seconds, his mother¡¯s beautiful face finally appeared on the virtual screen.

 Chapter 107 - YOURE SO PRETTY!

    ¡°HEY, Mom,¡± Astrid greeted.


    ¡°Hey, honey,¡± her mother greeted back. ¡°Wait- here comes your father.¡±


    As soon as his mother said that, his father¡¯s face appeared on the virtual screen. He sat down beside his mother.


    ¡°Aster, how was your first day there? Did anyone bully you? Don¡¯t hesitate to tell it to Dad, okay?¡± his father quickly said.


    Astrid chuckled hearing his father¡¯s consecutive questions. Seeing the grim expression on his face, it seemed like if he said ¡®yes¡¯, the other would immediately ride the latest flight to the capital and then avenge him.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Dad. The filming went great. No one bullied me. Everyone was very kind. I had a lot of fun.¡±


    Emmy observed her son¡¯s expression. She wanted to be sure that Astrid was saying what he really felt and not just things that would make them worry less. Seeing the natural curve of his lips and the bright light in his dark eyes, she could see that he was indeed telling the truth. Her hanging heart finally came down.


    She and Gage were both not familiar with the entertainment industry. Chasing stars was not really a thing for proper noble ladies. So, she had never really became interested in movies and things like that. Gage, on the other hand, was busy preparing for his revenge that he didn¡¯t have time to be interested in other things.


    Once they left their former lives, they became busy with their newly built family. Their time were all dedicated to earning money and being parents to twin boys. Why would they even use their precious time for other miscellaneous things?


    But even with the lack of knowledge, Emmy knew that letting a teenager, who hadn¡¯t yet lived past his second decade, go and film alone alongside adults who had long been a part of that industry was not the best of idea. She tried to dissuade Astrid. But at the end she was the one who ended up convinced.


    With the way Astrid tried to convince her and Gage that accepting the role in this movie was not dangerous in any way, the both of them just didn¡¯t have the heart to reject him. Especially since they saw just how much he wanted to do it. As parents, should they hinder his path just because they were worried?


    Emmy had already learned her lesson during that talk she and Gage had with their sons when the two asked their permission to attend college at the capital. She would never again get in the way of her children¡¯s dreams. But that didn¡¯t mean that she would no longer worry. She was sure that her husband also felt the same.


    It had only been a week since her two sons arrived at the capital. And yet Astrid had already scored himself a role in some movie. Although her son said that it was a very, very small role, she firmly believed that offers like that would just keep on coming. Astrid was the best after all.


    But that also meant that her son was in badly need of an entertainment company to represent him. Yes, she had been doing her research since Astrid told them he wanted to be an actor. But with such a short time, she had only been able to search about the most basic of things.


    She even thought that maybe she and Gage should establish an entertainment company for Astrid. But then she quickly realized that it wouldn¡¯t work even if they did. In that kind of industry, connections were very important. A newly-found entertainment company would only pull-down Astrid instead of helping him.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Gage said who was also obviously relieved by their son¡¯s answer. ¡°Where is your brother?¡±


    ¡°Here,¡± Reas said, he just got out of the bathroom when he heard their father¡¯s question.


    He walked to the bed and sat beside Astrid, showing his face to their parents.


    ¡°Reas, protect your brother, okay? Both of you only have each other there.¡±


    ¡°Dad, I know. I¡¯ll make sure that nothing bad will happen to Aster.¡±


    Astrid could only look helplessly at his father and twin brother.


    ¡°Astrid, if you encountered any problems, call us immediately, okay?¡± Emmy could only say at the end.


    ¡°Yes, Mom,¡± Astrid said. ¡°But you don¡¯t have to worry too much. After all, I¡¯m not truly alone here. Reas is here with me. We can face whatever may happen together.¡±


    But even though he agreed to immediately call them if he encountered a problem, he probably wouldn¡¯t. How could he when he knew how dangerous it would be if someone found about them being still alive?


    Besides, with the cast and crew of this movie, he felt like there wouldn¡¯t be any major problems. At least none that he couldn¡¯t handle himself.


    His mother appeared to be comforted by his answer.


    They continued to talk for the next half hour before their parents ended the call so that he and Reas could go and sleep.


    Astrid turned off the Terminal and stood up from the bed to wash up. As he did so, he thought of the filming tomorrow and hoped that it would be as smooth as today.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Astrid and Reas were the first one to arrive at the set. It was a different one from yesterday. The set was on a cliff overlooking the wide blue sea. This was the scene that would happen after the cave scene.


    Aether disappeared after that short conversation he had with the four people who woke him up. Then he appeared here.


    Astrid greeted the crew on the set and they greeted him back with much more enthusiasm than yesterday. Most likely because they saw his potential.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to do that make-up thing?¡± Reas asked.


    Astrid chuckled when he heard his brother refer to the styling as the ¡®make-up thing¡¯. ¡°I will. I¡¯m just looking for the dressing room.¡±


    Because this location was much further from the cave, he was told yesterday that the dressing rooms would also be moved to an area closer to this cliff. Soon, he saw the familiar structure.


    The two walked towards that direction. He picked the smaller dressing room because he knew that the bigger ones were for the main casts. He was about to knock on the door when someone just walked to the dressing room next to the one where he was standing in front of.


    He inadvertently glanced at the person and saw a young man with dark blond hair. It happened that the other also glanced at him.


    The young man¡¯s light brown eyes widened when he saw him before it was filled with unabashed admiration. Then he stretched out his hand and grasped Astrid¡¯s hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re so pretty!¡± said Lauren Watts.

 Chapter 108 - LAUREN WATTS (I)

    LAUREN had come to the set of [The Sleeping God] much earlier than normal. Or at least normal for him. It¡¯s because his agent told him yesterday that the crew finally found the person playing the role of the god, Aether.


    Director Trevane had been so picky about that role that they were already nearing the end of filming and he still refused all the actors the casting director had brought. Even those brought by the major investor of this movie ¨C Kaleido ¨C were refused. So, this must mean that the person the director finally picked was the best of the best.


    He was already imagining some famous actor who was at least in the top 20 of the Star List. But then he was informed that it was actually a newcomer. And one who¡¯s not part of any entertainment company. His curiosity was just raised to the highest level when he heard that. Because just what kind of newcomer could possibly catch the eye of that overly fastidious director?


    He was scheduled to fly here today but he pestered his agent to let him travel here last night. But his agent disagreed because he just finished filming an advertisement. He needed to act a little more like a baby than usual for his agent to agree. He got his way and arrived at FS01 last night. But he arrived late and everyone was already resting.


    So, instead, he just decided to go to the set early. He and that newcomer had a scene today. There was no doubt that they would meet. Luckily enough for him, before filming even started, he finally saw the person he was curious about.


    Looking at the teenager in front of him, he was both astonished and charmed. He couldn¡¯t believe that he¡¯s seeing someone with both black eyes and hair. That was truly a very rare thing.


    Many had tried to dye their hair black just for the hype or even wear fake lenses that could change their eye color to black. But they were soon discovered as cheats.


    He didn¡¯t think that the teenager was the same as those people. Lauren could see that his features were all natural. He had a keen eye for that. Maybe because he was a huge face control. So, he knew what was fake and what was not.


    Lauren was delighted seeing such an attractive person. As he had mentioned, he was a huge face control. An attractive person could easily get his goodwill. Of course, not just any attractive person. They had to at least passed his own metric of beauty. And he must say that his standard was pretty high.


    It actually got him into trouble a couple of times. It¡¯s either because of his poor judgment or his overly affectionate nature.


    The poor judgment part was him being unable to judge the character of some of the people he shared his goodwill to. They ended up taking advantage of him without him knowing until the very end. That part hadn¡¯t happened since he became part of Polaris. Mostly because his agent had made it his mission to not let him easily give his favor to these, as his agent often said, ¡®crooked¡¯ people.


    So, those scandals about him that disappeared as quickly as it appeared, was all because of him being too affectionate and probably even a bit touchy feely towards the past artists he had worked with. That part was indeed his fault.


    Lauren could blame it on the way he was brought up. His family was full of affection towards one another. Skinship was one of the ways they expressed that affection. Growing up, he simply thought that it was the most natural of things. It¡¯s only after he left for the capital that he understood that that was not entirely the case. That their family was one of the few rare exceptions. But it¡¯s already too late. That habit had already been engraved in him.


    Combined that with his love for beautiful things and it was simply a disaster.


    ¡°You¡¯re so pretty!¡±


    Before he could say more, he just felt himself being pushed back and the black-haired teenager was now standing behind a tall young man with ice-blue hair.


    Lauren was so surprised that he wasn¡¯t able to say anything for a few second. He just stared at the person frowning down at him. The other was good-looking. But it was just that kind of good-looking that was found everywhere. In short, there¡¯s nothing remotely special about his features. And yet, this commonly handsome young man made him nervous.


    As if the other was ready to deck him if he so much as looked at the direction of the black-haired teenager.


    Then, he realized that this guy had been standing beside the teenager since earlier. He just didn¡¯t notice him immediately because all his focus was on the beautiful youth.


    Could this person be a bodyguard? He certainly couldn¡¯t be an agent since he¡¯s so young. Definitely not an assistant. Just look at that fierce face and muscled build. If that was the case, then the other must have thought that he was harassing his employer that¡¯s why he acted this way.


    Understanding that, he got over his initial shock and smiled cordially. ¡°Oh, my apologies, I¡¯m not some bad guy.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it.¡±


    Lauren was not offended by the young man¡¯s response and said good-naturedly, ¡°My name is Lauren Watts. I¡¯m also a part of this movie.¡±


    Astrid gently pushed his brother to the side to face Lauren.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Watts. My brother was just being protective, as siblings should. He didn¡¯t mean anything offensive by his actions,¡± he said with an apologetic smile on his face.


    Lauren¡¯s eyes widened like a pair of saucers. ¡°You¡¯re siblings? No way. You¡¯re too pretty to be this fierce guy¡¯s brother.¡± Then as if realizing that he just said what was on his mind, his whole face slowly turned red in embarrassment. ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry. That- it just slipped my tongue. I didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡±


    Astrid stared at the man who wasn¡¯t that much older than them. He had an illusion that the other suddenly had a pair of dog ears on top of his head that were drooping right now to show his embarrassed mood. Just like a puppy.


    And he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at his own imagination. But that image just now was truly very apt for this guy.

 Chapter 109 - LAUREN WATTS (II)

    REAS scoffed, no longer paying attention to this Lauren guy. He was worried at first. Mainly because of what Sienna said yesterday about the guy. He was expecting some frivolous man, full of flamboyant air. Someone he would definitely dislike at the very first sight. But he certainly didn¡¯t expect someone like this guy.


    With his slender body and height that was only half a head taller than Astrid, he hardly looked like someone who would shamelessly flirt with others. Look at that white skin and long eyelashes, he looked more like someone people would flirt with instead. Not to mention that silly attitude.


    According to Sienna, this Lauren was a few years older than them. He honestly couldn¡¯t see it. He was more like their age. No, maybe even someone younger.


    With this single encounter, Reas worry had already disappeared. Even if this guy tried to do something untoward, his brother could definitely handle him himself.


    But he probably should still watch him unless he sticked too close to his brother.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Mr. Watts,¡± Astrid said. ¡°You¡¯re not the first one to say that we don¡¯t look similar.¡±


    ¡°See? I knew it wasn¡¯t just me. One looked so pretty and the other so ordinary, how could people ever think you¡¯re related?¡± Lauren said. And then as if realizing that what he said seemed very insensitive. His cheeks were tinted red again. ¡°Sorry, that didn¡¯t come out right. The filter in my mouth sometimes disappear and I just say whatever was on my mind.¡±


    ¡°Wow. How surprising. We honestly couldn¡¯t tell,¡± Reas commented dryly, his voice full of sarcasm.


    Astrid elbowed his brother. ¡°Reas-!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Reas said, speaking as if he couldn¡¯t understand why his brother just scolded him.


    Astrid could only shake his head. He turned to Lauren and saw that the other was biting his lower lip, as if trying to stop himself from snapping back at Reas.


    He smiled and just said to change the topic, ¡°I almost forgot, we haven¡¯t introduced ourselves yet. I¡¯m Astrid Townsend. This is my brother, Andreas. It¡¯s very nice to meet you, Mr. Watts.¡±


    Just as he expected, Lauren¡¯s expression became completely bright again. ¡°Astrid, what a pretty name. It definitely suits you. And please, just call me Lauren. We¡¯re very close in age, after all. It would be awkward to keep calling me ¡®Mr. Watts¡¯. Besides, I want to be friends. Friends don¡¯t call each other so formally, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course, Lauren,¡± Astrid readily agreed.


    ¡°Yey!¡±


    Lauren jumped happily and was about to hug Astrid but the tall fierce guy, what was his name again? Ah, Andreas, got in the way. If he didn¡¯t stop in time, he would have ended up hugging him. Good thing that he did.


    Just the thought of him hugging this guy was enough to give him goosebumps. Not to mention that if he did so, the other would surely not hesitate to push him. And that would be the better scenario. With this guy¡¯s temper, instead of pushing him, he might just straight up punch him.


    Although, a little bruise could be easily healed with the help of some first-aid spray, he¡¯d rather not experience the pain.


    ¡°My brother doesn¡¯t like overly clingy friends. And by clingy, I meant those who are addicted to unnecessary skinships,¡± Reas said while looking down at Lauren.


    Lauren¡¯s face almost scrunched up when he heard that. Because Andreas was definitely referring to him. He glared and the other just smirked at him like some pompous jerk.


    For the first time in his life, he had the urge to punch someone.


    ¡ª¨C


    Aether stared at the blue sea beyond the cliff he was standing on. His hair that was as dark as the night sky was swaying with the wind. His obsidian black eyes were filled with resignation. As if he had already foreseen how things would end.


    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± he said, still looking at the sea.


    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve been expecting me,¡± said a voice from behind.


    Aether turned around and stared at the man standing before him. The other had dark blond hair and light brown eyes. He was wearing all-black. Half of his face was filled with runic symbols. It seemed that those symbols were dancing on his skin.


    Aether walked closer to the man and reached out his hand.


    ¡°So, this is how you look like,¡± he said while tracing the other¡¯s face. ¡°I could have never imagined it.¡±


    The man captured Aether¡¯s hand and put it on his cheek. ¡°If you have accepted me from the start, then you would have known long ago how I look like.¡±


    Aether took back his hand and smiled. But it didn¡¯t reach his eyes. It was simply an empty smile. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of pride, you see. If I had accepted you, I would have had lost something that made me who I am. But now that I am awake, everything just became inevitable.¡±


    The man¡¯s face suddenly turned vicious. He grabbed Aether¡¯s shoulders and pulled him close. ¡°No! I would never allow it! Not when I finally found you!¡±


    =====


    ¡°And cut!¡± shouted Director Trevane. ¡°Wonderful both of you!¡±


    Astrid closed his eyes, cutting off his immersion from the role. When he opened his eyes, what he saw was the excited face of Lauren.


    ¡°Astrid! That was so good! Simply incredible. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re a newcomer. Miria is also technically a newcomer to acting, but she definitely couldn¡¯t match even a portion of your toe.¡± Then he stopped as if realizing that he just said something that he shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°Oh no, I did it again. Please, don¡¯t tell me Miria I said that. She¡¯s kind of sensitive.¡±


    Astrid, of course, knew who Miria was. She was the second female lead. So far, he still hadn¡¯t met her. He probably wouldn¡¯t even until all his filming was done. After all, he didn¡¯t have any scene with her. Could she really be that bad at acting?


    ¡°Your secret is safe with me,¡± he just said to Lauren in a playful tone.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a sweetheart,¡± Lauren said, looking moved.


    He wanted to hug Astrid but then in his peripheral vision, he saw Andreas. Standing on the side like some stone guard, watching them. He instinctively stopped himself.


    When he did, he once again realized how annoyed he was of the guy.

 Chapter 110 - BEING LUCKY

    ¡°THAT¡¯S it!  That one was simply perfect,¡± Director Trevane exclaimed.  ¡°Good job everyone!¡±


    Astrid was about to stand up from where he was lying when a hand appeared in front of him.  He raised his head and saw that it was Lauren.  He smiled and took his hand.  The other pulled him up.


    ¡°That was great, Astrid!  If it was any other newcomer, I¡¯m sure such a scene would take hundreds of takes before the Director passed it,¡± the other said exaggeratedly.


    Astrid only chuckled.  ¡°I don¡¯t think it would take a hundred.  Besides, I was only able to do my best because everyone was great.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say that just so the people around him could have a good impression of him.  It was what he truly felt.  A good scene could only be called good if all the actors in it were able to perform well.  If at least one wasn¡¯t up to par, then that scene would be as good ruined.  The only way to save it was through the director¡¯s skill.


    A great director could make even an average actor/actress a great one.


    He was lucky that his first acting gig, all the actors (and one actress) he had to work with all had talent.  Even more so, that the director of the movie was very serious in his craft and not the type to engage in ¡®dirty¡¯ business.


    This role had provided him first-hand experience on how filming in this era was like.  There was hardly any difference from how it was in his previous life.  His only problem was the cameras.


    Unlike in ancient Earth, the cameras used to film in this era were the size of a baseball ball.  They were floating around during every scene to capture everything.  He found it a bit hard to find the right angle.  Even until now, he wasn¡¯t still accustomed to it.  That¡¯s why in some scenes that he could do in just one take, he had to do it in three-four times.


    Not to mention the special effects that was shown through holographic.  There was no need for green screens anymore.  A holographic device could easily show the effects that were needed.  For artists who were used to that, it was definitely much more useful compared to the green screens where one needed to pretend as if there was something there.  At least, with a holographic device, it would be much easier to act.


    The problem was, he sometimes got surprised whenever a special effect suddenly appeared.  And it affected his performance one way or another.  He truly needed to get used to do that.


    He hoped that once school started, things like that would be taught to him.


    ¡°Aw, you¡¯re so sweet,¡± Lauren said.


    He was about to hug Astrid but someone suddenly pulled his ear and, in a way, also pulling him away from the teenager.  His first thought was that it was that guard dog ¨C Andreas.  But he quickly rejected that idea.  Because in the past day since he¡¯d met him, despite all the glaring and scowling he had been doing, the other hadn¡¯t been physical with him.  Not really sure if he should be thanking him for that.  Anyway, he¡¯s still annoying in his opinion.


    But the force used to pull his ear wasn¡¯t that hard.  It¡¯s like someone was just softly pinching him.  This was definitely not Andreas.


    And just as he expected, when he turned to the side, the one he saw was Sienna.


    He groaned.  ¡°Sister Sienna, don¡¯t pull my ear.¡±


    ¡°Then you should stop that bad habit of yours,¡± Sienna said, scolding Lauren.  ¡°Have you already forgotten what your agent has told you?  No generating scandal in this movie.¡±


    Lauren pouted.  ¡°But I¡¯ve been a very good boy during this filming, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and you should continue to do so,¡± Sienna said, letting go of the other¡¯s ear.  Then she turned to Atrid, her attitude going completely 180.  ¡°I¡¯ve heard what you said just now.  I think it¡¯s the opposite, you know?  It¡¯s because you¡¯re so good that we also have to up our game.  It wouldn¡¯t look too good now if we couldn¡¯t even keep up with you, right?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± said Stephen who was passing by them and happened to hear what Sienna just said.  ¡°You really are quite the talent.¡±


    He could feel it in the scenes they were together, albeit a few.  Just like what Sienna had said, he had to up his game just to match the other¡¯s intensity.  Or else, it would appear like he was being tagged along by Astrid¡¯s acting.  Now, that wouldn¡¯t look good.


    Astrid felt a bit embarrassed.  He actually didn¡¯t expect to receive such compliments from artists he would work with in his first job in this life.  The worst-case scenario was him being isolated or being harassed.  He truly got lucky with this one.


    Maybe accidentally meeting Cassius Grimaldi during that hostage taking/bombing incident wasn¡¯t that bad after all.  Heavens still pitied him and immediately gave him this opportunity.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he could only humbly say.


    ¡°Astrid, come here for a bit!¡± called the director suddenly.


    Astrid smiled at the three before walking towards where Director Trevane was.


    ¡°Yes, Director?¡±


    ¡°You must know that you would film your last scene later this evening,¡± the director started.


    Astrid nodded.  It was two days earlier than expected.


    ¡°Because you have been so great, our filming schedule has also speeded up.¡±  And that was simply not an exaggeration.  The teenager was so easy to film that he barely felt any stressed at all during the other¡¯s scenes.  ¡°In two days, the filming will end.  There will be a party to celebrate that.  I would really like it if you could stay until then.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Director.  I will definitely be there,¡± Astrid quickly said.


    The director gave a hearty laugh which didn¡¯t really match his stern appearance.  ¡°Good, good.¡±


    After that talk he walked towards Reas and the two of them went to the dressing room so he could remove his make-up and costume.


    ¡°So, I guess we wouldn¡¯t be leaving tomorrow,¡± Reas commented, hearing what his brother and the director talked about.


    ¡°Apparently so.¡±  Astrid raised his head and smiled at Reas.  ¡°Let¡¯s just have fun here for two more days.¡±


    Reas only grunted.  What fun?  He could hardly find anything fun in this planet.  But still, he only nodded in agreement.

 Chapter 111 - THIS IS FUN

    ¡°FOR the past three months, we had all been working hard for this movie.  Many of you might have been stressed out.  Probably mostly because of me.  I know how infuriating I could be during filming,¡± Director Trevane said with a joking tone.  Everyone around responded with a laugh.  ¡°But you all pulled through and did your best to make this movie the best that it could be.  So, for everyone in the cast and crew, as well as every staff who we¡¯d worked with, this toast is for you!¡±


    The director raised the goblet of wine he was holding and then drank it.  The cast and crew also raised their goblets and rank whatever alcohol was in there.


    ¡°So, for tonight, let¡¯s all drink and eat to our heart¡¯s content!¡± Director Trevane once again raised the glass of wine and drank it.


    The crowd then applauded.


    They were there to celebrate the end of the filming of the movie [The Sleeping God] with the rest of the cast and crew.  The venue was the ballroom of one of the highest rated hotels of FS01.


    There were waiters walking around carrying trays with food and drinks.  Most of the food were appetizers, those that could be eaten in one bite.  There were different kinds of liquors going around ¨C light and hard ones.  There were also tables around, tall ones where people could stand beside and put their drinks on.


    It was more similar to a cocktail party than banquet in which Astrid was more familiar with.  Because that¡¯s how it usually was in his former life.  Every time filming ended, there would be a banquet to celebrate.


    Astrid was holding a glass of blue cocktail. He drank a sip and it tasted like blueberry juice.  He hardly even tasted any alcohol.  Even so, after that one sip, he didn¡¯t drink anymore.  His alcohol tolerance was pretty low.  And cocktails like these that didn¡¯t have any alcoholic taste could easily bite back.  One moment, you didn¡¯t feel anything, the next, you¡¯re drunk as a skunk.


    He didn¡¯t want to risk it.  Especially in this occasion.  It¡¯s a good thing that this was not like he¡¯s former life where a newcomer like him would be forced to drink any alcohol offered to him.  Not doing so would only offend the others.


    He had to learn of ways to make it seem like he drank even though he didn¡¯t.  That way, he wouldn¡¯t appear disrespectful and he also wouldn¡¯t offend anyone.  But he didn¡¯t need to do any of that now.  Which was truly a great relief.


    ¡°Astrid, you haven¡¯t drunk your cocktail.  Do you not like it?  I can ask a waiter to bring another one,¡± Lauren said.


    He and his brother were standing with Lauren and Sienna sharing the same table.  When he and Reas entered the ballroom, the two immediately pulled them towards the same table and they¡¯d been together since.  No, actually, it¡¯s more accurate to say that Lauren and Sienna pulled him and Reas just followed.


    ¡°My brother doesn¡¯t like alcohol,¡± Reas said coldly.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know,¡± Lauren said apologetically.  No wonder Astrid hadn¡¯t finished his drink.


    But even so, he glanced at Andreas, did this guy really had to say that so coldly?  He knew he doesn¡¯t like him.  But was there a need to treat him like an enemy?  Was it because he was getting close to his brother?  But he was hardly being clingy.  In fact, this was the most behaved he¡¯d become.  And yet this guy still continued to glare and scowl at him.


    Annoying guy.  He took a glass of wine from a passing waiter and drank it to alleviate some of irritation.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.  I have low alcohol tolerance, you see?  So, as much as possible, I try my best to avoid it,¡± Astrid said with an apologetic smile.


    ¡°Good decision.  There¡¯s nothing good that ever comes from alcohol,¡± Sienna said.  Then she hugged Astrid¡¯s arm.  ¡°Since we both don¡¯t like to drink, let¡¯s go around the room and meet people.¡±


    Before Astrid could react, he was already pulled away by Sienna.  He glanced back and signaled Reas that he would be fine.  So that his brother would not have to follow.


    And so, Reas and Lauren were left alone.


    ¡°You know you acting like a guard dog will soon irritate the heck out of Astrid,¡± Lauren said drinking another glass of wine.  ¡°I seriously couldn¡¯t wait for that to happen.¡±


    Reas turned to Lauren.  Then he saw that there was already a pile of empty glasses in front of him.  He couldn¡¯t help but frown.  Just when did this guy drink this much?


    ¡°There you go again, frowning like there¡¯s no tomorrow.  Am I really so objectionable that you always frown whenever you see me?¡± Lauren said and then drinking the content of the glass he was holding.


    ¡°Are you already drunk?¡± Reas asked, ignoring what the other just said.


    He actually wasn¡¯t sure how a drunk person should look like because he had never been a drunk before.  Not that he had been into drinking.  It¡¯s only been a few months since he and Reas had turned 18.  So, he couldn¡¯t exactly be going around drinking alcohol.  Besides, because of his high physique level, it would be hard for him to get drunk.


    But since the other wasn¡¯t slurring his words, he probably wasn¡¯t that drunk.  Then again, those rose-tinted cheeks tell a different story.


    ¡°Who¡¯s drunk?  Do I look like someone who¡¯s drunk?  Or do you think that I could only say those things because I¡¯m drunk?  Well, for the record, even if I¡¯m not drinking now, I could still say those things.  In fact, I¡¯ll say it now.  You¡¯re an annoying cold boy who has an eternal frown and a huge brother complex,¡± Lauren said taking another glass of wine from a passing waiter.


    The corner of Reas¡¯ mouth twitched.  He was actually more annoyed being called a ¡®boy¡¯ rather than someone with a brother complex.  He stretched out his hand and grabbed the glass of wine Lauren was holding before the other could drink it.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s mine!¡±


    Lauren tried to grab it back but he quickly raised it.  Because Reas was taller, the other couldn¡¯t reach it.  So, he jumped around him to reach the glass.  Looking at Lauren with his red cheeks and misty brown eyes, this guy was certainly drunk.


    Now, the corner of Reas¡¯ mouth slowly turned into an arc.


    ¡°No.  This is mine now,¡± he said before drinking the wine.


    He stared down at the surprised expression on Lauren¡¯s face that was now slowly turning into anger.


    [This is actually quite fun.]

 Chapter 112 - A TAD BIT FAKE

    ON the other side, Sienna had been introducing Astrid to the rest of the cast who he wasn¡¯t able to meet during the time of his filming.  And they were quite a lot.  Since all of his scenes were with the major casts of the movie.


    Some were very friendly and welcoming but there were also others who reacted in quite the opposite manner.  For example, they hadn¡¯t even walk that far when the two who Sienna just introduced to him spoke badly of him.


    ¡°So, that was the one Director Trevane chose to play the role of god,¡± one said.  ¡°No wonder the director kept on rejecting the people the casting director suggested.  He forgot to say that he didn¡¯t care about talent and just wanted someone extremely pretty.¡±


    ¡°True.  But isn¡¯t that role a bit too much for a newcomer?¡± the other responded.  ¡°Even if it doesn¡¯t have that much of a screen time, the role is still at the title of the movie.  A lot of attention will still be on him.¡±


    ¡°Maybe he seduced Director Trevane to get the role.¡±


    ¡°Sshh!  Lower your voice a little.  We¡¯ll be in trouble if some of the staff heard us and informed the director.¡±


    ¡°But you agree, right?  How could a newcomer grab such an important role if not for some backroom deal or something?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I agree.  With that face, he could get any role he wants as long as he sleeps with the right person.¡±


    ¡°Oh, if only that clause in the contract that said that we can¡¯t talk about anything regarding the movie not at least until the movie is released wasn¡¯t there, then we can tell everyone about this.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.  As soon as the movie is released and everyone saw how bad he is, people will naturally talk even without us.¡±


    ¡°Now that you said that, I couldn¡¯t wait even more for the movie to be released.¡±


    Sienna, who heard all of that, frowned.  She was about to turned around and scold those who clearly didn¡¯t know what they were talking about, when her arm was suddenly held.


    She glanced sideways and saw Astrid shaking his head.  ¡°But Astrid, those two needed a good deal of scolding.  How can they say those disparaging things?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sister Sienna.  People will always have something bad to say.  If you try to scold them about it, their bad opinion will simply turn to worse.  Besides, once the movie is out, it would be a great slap on their faces once they saw my performance,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    But even though he said that, he still glanced back at the two people.  They were both about to drink a glass of wine.  He narrowed his eyes.  The two suddenly winced in pain, grasping their head.  As such, the glasses they were holding toppled over and the wine inside poured on their dresses.


    Both shouted in shock.  People close to their location quickly went to the two.


    ¡°What happened?  Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.  I just felt this painful tingle in my head and¡ª¡±


    ¡°I felt the same.  Just what was that?¡±


    ¡°Anyway, you two should clean up.  Your dresses are soaked badly.¡±


    Of course, Sienna and Astrid also saw this commotion.


    Sienna scoffed.  ¡°How fast karma worked.  They deserved it for saying those mean things about you.¡±


    Astrid only smiled.  And yes, it was him that gave those two a little mental attack.


    It was very childish, yes.  But should he just stood there and let them badmouth him?  Of course not.  Especially with the things the two said.  Suspecting him of cavorting with the director, how ridiculous.


    Although it was something that he had already expected to happen, he still didn¡¯t like hearing it.  He wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if the same rumor would arise in the future.  And just like he said to Sienna earlier, his performance could easily prove them wrong.


    Sienna picked two small sandwiches from a passing waiter and gave one to Astrid.  ¡°Here, taste this.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Sister Sienna,¡± Astrid responded, taking the small sandwich and biting into it.  The taste of something sweet and creamy filled his mouth.  It¡¯s like a custard flavor sandwich.


    Sienna studied Astrid¡¯s face and saw that his expression was very normal.  She felt relieved seeing that.  Because it meant that he was not affected by what those two had said.  Which was good.  At least it showed that the other had strong mental fortitude.  An important trait for someone in this industry to have.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind those two.  Director Trevane will never allow such a rumor to happen.  You see, he absolutely hates it when his movie is entangled with useless rumors that didn¡¯t have anything to do at all with the movie itself.  So, you can rest assure that such rumors would be quickly dealt with if ever.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly very reassuring,¡± Astrid said, quite a bit surprised.


    He knew that Director Trevane was quite the upright director.  But he didn¡¯t expect that he would go to such lengths for his movie.  But if one thought about it carefully, the director had enough power and reputation to back that up.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s Miria,¡± Sienna suddenly said.  ¡°Come, I¡¯ll introduce you to her.¡±


    Astrid glanced towards the direction Sienna pulled her to.  There, standing alone beside a table, was a petite girl with shoulder-length hair the color of ripe peaches and a pair of hazel eyes.  He recognized her as the second female lead of this movie ¨C Miria Lane.


    ¡°Miria, why are you alone here in the corner?¡± Sienna asked when they arrived at the table where the other was standing.


    Miria smiled at Sienna.  ¡°No reason, really.  I just happened to pick this spot.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly a good spot if you don¡¯t want to be bothered by anyone.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s the reason why I picked it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t mind us bothering you, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.  I always enjoy Sister Sienna¡¯s company.¡±


    Sienna smiled at that.  ¡°Anyway, have you met Astrid?¡±


    Miria turned to Astrid and the smile on her face just turned a tad bit fake.  ¡°No, I believe I haven¡¯t the pleasure yet.¡±

 Chapter 113 - NEW OFFER

    ASTRID was sure that he didn¡¯t just imagine it.  Miria¡¯s smile really did become a little less genuine when she turned to him.  He was good at reading a person¡¯s expression.  And this girl was not really that good in covering up the emotions on her face.  So, he immediately saw through the change of her expression.


    But the question was, why?  The two of them had never interacted as far as he could remember.  He was sure of that.  They didn¡¯t have any scene together.  He also didn¡¯t meet her during the three days that he filmed his scenes.  Then, what¡¯s this slightly antagonistic attitude?


    Yes, slightly.  Because the feeling he got from her was not what he got when people were jealous of him or if they dislike him immensely.  It¡¯s like someone who just readily assumed that they wouldn¡¯t get along with him.


    He wondered why that was.


    But he still smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lane.  Your song, ¡®Cerulean Blue¡¯, was often played at my home planet.  Your voice is very beautiful.¡±


    Miria was taken aback when she heard that.  It was such an unexpected compliment that she wasn¡¯t able to react immediately.  ¡°T-thank you,¡± she managed to say at the end.


    ¡°Astrid is right.  You really have a beautiful voice.  Very clean and soothing,¡± Sienna followed.


    ¡°Yes.  Whenever I heard your song ¡®Cerulean Blue¡¯, it always felt like I was by the sea,¡± Astrid said.  He turned to Miria and smiled.  ¡°You are a very talented singer.¡±


    And he was not just saying this because he wanted the other to like him.  Certainly not.  What used did he have for her ¡®like¡¯?  He was simply stating facts.  Because the other was indeed a good singer.


    Miria¡¯s face suddenly turned hot and she knew she must be blushing right now.  Not because she was captivated by that face and that smile, but simply because she felt ashamed.


    She could see that Astrid was being very sincere in his compliments.  She could at least feel the sincerity.  Even if the other had a god-send talent in acting, surely, he couldn¡¯t fake this.  And that¡¯s why she couldn¡¯t help but feel embarrassed.


    Because she didn¡¯t have any good impression of him.  And not because of any fault of his.  She was probably envious and maybe even a bit intimidated by the other¡¯s talent in acting.  It didn¡¯t help that before he did that amazing audition, she was being scolded by Director Trevane for her poor performance.


    The comparison was just too big that it affected her impression of him.  To the point that he almost felt an instant dislike for him.  She didn¡¯t even want to be in the same space with him.  Because she would feel how inadequate she was compared to the other.  It was very immature and prejudiced of her.


    And now, that very same guy was being so friendly and civil to her.  Showing that it was only her who was affected by the whole thing.  Well, if she thought about it carefully, there was literally no reason for the other to think badly of her.  And yet, here she was, having a grudge all on her own.


    If that was not the height of stupidity and immaturity, then she didn¡¯t know what else it could be.


    Miria sighed.  She should probably let go of this ¡®grudge¡¯ that only she was aware of.  It would definitely be of help to her peace of mind.


    ¡°Oh, right, I heard you¡¯re going to sing the theme song of the movie.  Have you finished recording it?¡± Sienna asked.


    ¡°Yes, just last week actually.  There¡¯s only the shooting of the music video left.¡±  After Miria said that, she stopped.  Because she just thought of an idea.  ¡°I still need someone to star with me in the music video.  Do you want to give it a try?¡±


    She asked that last question while looking at Astrid.


    This was probably not the best of idea. First, Astrid would definitely overshadow her if they were in a scene together.  And two, she wasn¡¯t even sure if her company would agree.  But once the idea was in her head, she couldn¡¯t push it away.


    There¡¯s probably a part of that that had something to do with the guilt she felt.  But mostly, it was because she knew that the video would be a big hit if Astrid was to star in it.  And since both of them were in the same movie, it would be a great publicity.


    Kaleido would probably want another artist for the role.  Preferably from the same company.  But she had a feeling that she could convince them.  No, she would convince them.


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea!¡± Sienna said, clapping her hand.  She turned to Astrid.  ¡°Astrid, this is a good opportunity.  Surely, you must agree.¡±


    Astrid was a bit dumbfounded.  He didn¡¯t expect that events would turn in this direction.  He was sure that Miria didn¡¯t like him in the least.  Then, why offer him this gig?


    Just like what Sienna said.  It was indeed a good opportunity.  There was also no reason for him to refuse.  But what if it was all just a trap?  What if he agreed and he would just be shamed at the end of it all?


    He turned to Miria and was a bit surprised when he saw the expression on her face.  It was worried and apprehensive.  Showing that she was anxious to hear his answer.  Being a ¡®bad actress¡¯, just as how Lauren often mentioned, she couldn¡¯t easily fake that.  Which meant that what she was showing right now was what she was feeling.  There was no trap or scheme.  She truly wanted him to be part of that music video.


    ¡°Are you fine with me though?  After all, I¡¯m still just a newcomer to this industry,¡± he said, looking all worried and uncertain.


    He couldn¡¯t just directly agree.  It would make him appear too¡­ eager.  He wanted to at least appear modest and not some overly confident, arrogant guy.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t tell you about this if I¡¯m not,¡± Miria said.


    ¡°Astrid, there¡¯s really no reason for you not to accept it,¡± Sienna said, trying to convince him.


    Astrid acted like he was still deliberating the answer.  But at the end, he smiled at Miria and said, ¡°If you¡¯re okay with me, then I will be more than glad to accept it.¡±


    Miria also smiled back.  And this time, it was very genuine.

 Chapter 114 - BECAUSE ITS FUN

    ¡°I WILL send you the rest of the details later,¡± Miria said after they exchanged Terminal number.


    ¡°Thank you for this opportunity, Miss Lane,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Both of us could benefit from this, so, it¡¯s nothing,¡± Miria said.  ¡°And just call me ¡®Miria¡¯.  It feels weird being called so formally when we¡¯re not so far apart in age.¡±


    Astrid smiled.  ¡°Only if you call me ¡®Astrid¡¯.¡±


    Unknowingly, Miria found herself also smiling.  ¡°Astrid, then.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Miria.¡±


    ¡°Great!  Now, let¡¯s toast to this new venture of yours,¡± Sienna said, calling a passing waiter holding a tray of light cocktail drinks.  She took three glasses and put the two in front of Astrid and Miria.  She then raised her own glass.  ¡°To the success of our movie and your music video!¡±


    Astrid and Miria also raised their glasses for a toast.


    They stayed there and chatted with Miria for about 15 minutes of so before they decided to go back to their original table.  Sienna invited Miria to go with them but the other refused.  Saying that there was no need since she was planning to retire for the night.


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved that you and Miria are getting along,¡± Sienna said while they were walking.  ¡°I actually thought she dislike you at first.  But seeing just how she offered you to be part of her music video, I guess I just imagined the whole thing.¡±


    Astrid was a bit surprised.  He didn¡¯t expect that Sienna actually noticed that.  Well, it just showed just how bad Miria was in faking her emotions.


    After that small talk just now, he could see that the girl was not all that bad.  She was just a bit awkward.  He was glad that he didn¡¯t judge her so quickly.  If he did, he probably wouldn¡¯t be offered to be part of that music video.  But most of all, whatever misunderstanding she might have about him wouldn¡¯t be cleared.


    Whatever bad impression she might have had of him had probably vanished after that small talk.  And he was glad for that.  After all, it¡¯s always better to have less people disliking you.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I was wrong.  I¡¯m happy that the two of you are getting along,¡± Sienna added.  ¡°But really, who could ever dislike you when you¡¯re this sweet and lovely.¡±


    Astrid chuckled.  ¡°Sister Sienna, you¡¯re going to make me inflated with all your compliments.¡±


    ¡°Why, I¡¯m only telling the truth,¡± Sienna said, acting like she was affronted by what he said.


    The two looked at each other and then laughed.


    They were near their table when they saw a pretty amusing thing.


    Lauren was jumping around Reas, trying to reach a glass of wine.  His face was all red and his cheeks bulging, as if he was pouting or something.  Then Reas drank the wine and Lauren looked as if he was on the verge of punching someone.  But instead, he turned around and took two glasses of wine.  Then he quickly drank the contents of both glasses.  And then he sticked out his tongue at Reas¡¯ direction, probably to taunt him or something.


    Astrid raised one of his brows and looked at the two with interest.  He then turned his attention to his brother.  Reas was staring at Lauren, his teal-gray eyes were filled with amusement.  There was even a small smile on his lips.  Now this was a surprised.  He wondered just what happened between them leaving and now for his brother to have this kind of expression.


    ¡°Oh my, it seems that Lauren is quite drunk,¡± Sienna said beside him.  ¡°He could be quite silly sometimes when he does.¡±


    They walked towards the two.


    ¡°Lauren, dear, are you alright?¡± Sienna asked while taking away the glasses of wine the other was holding.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite alright,¡± Lauren answered.  He was not slurring his words, appearing as if he was quite on hold of his faculties.  But his reddish face and watery eyes betrayed that.  ¡°My only problem here is that bully there!¡± he added, pointing a finger at Reas.


    Reas only scoffed at that.


    ¡°My apologies, Lauren, if my brother annoyed you in some way,¡± Astrid said.


    Lauren suddenly reached out and held Astrid¡¯s hand.  ¡°No, no, Astrid should not apologize.  It¡¯s not your fault, after all, that you have such an annoying brother.¡±


    Reas easily separated the hands of the two.  Then he stood between them, looking down condescendingly at Lauren.  ¡°Between us two, I think we all know who is the more annoying one.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s you!  Don¡¯t you know how many people in this Empire love me?  You couldn¡¯t even count with your fingers!¡± Lauren said very proudly, he even raised his chin and pushed out his chest.


    For some reason, that statement annoyed Reas.  He decided to just ignore the other.  He turned to his brother.  ¡°Shall we change table?  There¡¯s an annoying mosquito buzzing around.  I¡¯m on the verge of wanting to flick it away.¡±


    Lauren pushed Reas¡¯ chest with his finger.  ¡°You dare compare me with a mosquito?¡±


    Reas smirked.  ¡°You¡¯re the one who said that, not me.¡±


    ¡°You- you¨C!¡±


    Before Lauren could explode in anger, Sienna hugged his shoulder.  ¡°Okay, I think you need to clear your head a bit.  Why don¡¯t you walk with me?¡±


    Lauren didn¡¯t have time to refuse because Sienna had already pulled him away.  She smiled at the two brothers before walking away with Lauren.  If they didn¡¯t, with the bickering of the two, they would sooner or later gather the attention of everyone in this party.


    Astrid pinched Reas¡¯ side when Sienna and Lauren left.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Reas complained.


    ¡°What are you doing, teasing a drunk person like that?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s fun?¡±


    Astrid rolled his eyes.  ¡°Really, Reas?¡±


    ¡°What?  He reacts to almost everything,¡± Reas said shrugging.


    Astrid shook his head.  He almost couldn¡¯t believe that he was hearing this from his brother.  A certain thought flashed in his mind.


    He smiled teasingly at Reas.  ¡°You must have really taken a liking to him.¡±


    Reas stopped and then he frowned quite forcefully.  As if he just drank something unpalatable.  ¡°What gave you that idea?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you?  I think you wouldn¡¯t be teasing him like that if you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You must be blind, Aster,¡± Reas said, shaking his head.  As if his brother just said the most unamusing joke.  ¡°Anyway, are we leaving tomorrow?¡±


    Astrid stared at Reas¡¯ face and smiled, allowing the other to change the subject.  ¡°Yes, we are.¡±


    Hearing that answer, Reas felt a bit disappointed for no reason.  But he quickly shook that off.  Because what¡¯s there to be disappointed?

 Chapter 115 - BACK AT THE APARTMENT

    ¡°WELCOME home, Master,¡± greeted by a blue-gray cat once they opened the door.


    Astrid bent down and picked the small mechanical cat.  ¡°Was everything okay while we¡¯re away, Xiao Lan?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master.  No one has come by.  Xiao Lan cleaned everyday so that when Master comes back, you will be comfortable.¡±


    ¡°Good job,¡± Astrid said, rubbing his cheek with Xiao Lan¡¯s.  Really, the AI robots of this era was truly the definition of high-end.  It felt like he was holding a real cat instead of a robotic one.


    He walked inside with Xiao Lan in his arms, Reas followed behind.


    ¡°What do you want for lunch, Reas?  I¡¯ll go and quickly prepare.¡±


    He put down Xiao Lan and walked to the kitchen.  He was about to put on his apron when he realized that he still hadn¡¯t heard his brother¡¯s answer.  He turned back and saw that Reas just slumped on the couch.  He looked rather listless, as if he was thinking of something quite important.


    He raised one of his brows.  He already had a guess on why the other was reacting this way.


    ¡°Do you want me to give you Lauren¡¯s Terminal number?  You can video call him if you already miss him so much,¡± he said with a teasing tone.


    When they left earlier from FS01, Lauren had already left the filming studio planet before them.  According to Sienna¡¯s words, the other was whisked away by his agent because he had another job.  And since then, Reas had been in this listless state.


    What he said startled Reas.  He came back to his senses and turned to Astrid.  ¡°There¡¯s no reason for me to miss him.  Therefore, I don¡¯t need to know his number.¡±


    Astrid only smiled.  ¡°If you say so,¡± he said then he turned around and took out ingredients from the pantry.


    Reas looked at the back of his brother and knew that the other didn¡¯t believe him for a bit.  He was truly not disappointed that he was unable to say goodbye to that guy.  Again, why would he?  He¡¯d only known the other for, what, four days?  There¡¯s no reason for him to form an attachment to someone who he¡¯d only known for such a short time?


    His brother should know that he¡¯s not the type of guy who could be attached that easily.  And yet, Astrid had been teasing him numerous times about that guy since last night.  Really, he wondered if the two of them had seen two different things for him to conjure up things.


    He decided not to say anything more because this brother of his with his overly rich imagination might just think that him being so defensive must meant that he was indeed correct.  He couldn¡¯t have that now, could he?


    And yet, even after he said that, an image suddenly flashed in his mind.  That of an annoyingly clingy guy with dark blond hair and a pair of big light brown eyes.  He shook his head and forcefully pushed that thought away.  It¡¯s all Astrid¡¯s fault for making him unnecessarily think of that Lauren.


    Because there¡¯s no way he would think of him otherwise.  No reason at all.


    Astrid didn¡¯t continue to tease Reas because he knew the other would just deny it.  So, he just proceeded on chopping the vegetables in front of him.


    Although he wondered why there¡¯s a need to deny it when it was so obvious that he took a special interest towards Lauren.  Did his brother think he wouldn¡¯t notice it?  He even smiled so happily while teasing the other.  Now, that didn¡¯t sound so good.  But his brother was not the type to smile like that just for anyone.  But he did so for someone he considered as ¡®annoying¡¯.


    Well, he could only think of one reason for all the denial.  Reas probably hadn¡¯t realized yet why he was interested with Lauren.  Heck, this kid probably didn¡¯t even notice that the fun he had while teasing Lauren was actually him being interested towards the other.


    He sighed.  He couldn¡¯t really blame him for being so dense.  They were only 18-years-old.  Being together for all their lives, Reas had only shown interest towards Mechas.  No wonder he couldn¡¯t recognize what his feeling was.


    As the older brother, he should help him by continuing to tease him.  Such a good brother he was.  And he must say, Reas did have a good taste.  If someone was to be his brother-in-law, he wouldn¡¯t mind if it was Lauren.


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t planning his brother¡¯s future.  They had at least 280 years left in their lives.  A lot of things could still happen.  They could fall in and out of love in that many numbers of years.  But if Reas could experience his first love now, then he would be here to support him.  Because every experience could help a person¡¯s growth.  Even he, himself, also wanted to experience something like that ¨C falling in love with someone.


    But for now, his career was more important.  Once he established his career at the entertainment industry, then maybe he would give this ¡®falling in love¡¯ a try.  After all, it¡¯s something he had never experienced in his previous life.  It would be good to experience it now.  Especially since he wouldn¡¯t be judged even if he had a relationship with another man.


    The absence of prejudice against same-sex relationships was probably one of the best things in this era.


    While thinking of that, his Terminal suddenly sounded a message notification.  He put down the knife he was holding and opened the message.  His eyes winded a bit when he saw that it was a message from none other than Cassius Grimaldi.


    [Good day, Astrid.  I wonder if you and your brother are finally available for dinner tomorrow night?  I know you said you will contact me once you¡¯re available, but I decided that it would be better to message you again myself.  However, if you¡¯re still busy, we could re-schedule this dinner to another day.]


    Right, Astrid almost forgot about that dinner.  He did ask almost a week ago if they could re-schedule this dinner tomorrow or the next day.


    He turned to his brother.  ¡°Reas, should we have dinner tomorrow with our maternal family?¡±

 Chapter 116 - LORD CASSIUS HOME

    THE Townsend twins were currently inside a high-end flying car.  The car didn¡¯t seem like a car actually.  It¡¯s more like a small lounge room.  The back seat was so soft like sitting on velvet or something.  A table would appear if you just pushed one of the buttons on the side.  Also, another button would reveal a secret compartment that was akin to a small refrigerator.  Where drinks and sweet snacks were.


    This car was owned by the Grimaldi family.  The car arrived in front of Astrid¡¯s apartment building a little before six in the evening.  Astrid and Reas were both ready by then so there wasn¡¯t any delay in time.  A man who introduced himself as Cassius¡¯ secretary was sent there to fetch them.  And they were quickly on their way to Cassius Grimaldi¡¯s home.


    When Astrid¡¯s receive that message from Cassius yesterday, he and Reas talked about it and decided to just agree to the dinner.  Both of them just wanted to get on with this thing quickly.  Then the other wouldn¡¯t have any reason to contact them again.


    Of course, after this dinner, Cassius Grimaldi might just be more interested in them and therefore would do a more thorough research about their background.  It was already obvious that Cassius did a simple background checking on them by the fact that he had his contact number and apartment building address.


    It was also obvious that he did not suspect any connection they might have with the long-lost sister.  Because if he did, then he would be more enthusiastic in wanting to meet them.  The level of enthusiasm he had shown so far was just enough for someone who wanted to thank the people who saved his nephew.


    And Astrid rather let it remain that way.


    So, the best way, of course, was to not let the other had more interest in them than normal.  Or at least not do anything that might make the people they were going to have dinner with a chance to think that they were in any way related to Emmaline Grimaldi.


    Based on what their parents had told them, Cassius had a good relationship with their mother.  If he was privy to the real circumstance behind his sister¡¯s ¡®death¡¯, then if he found people who could be potentially connected to her, he would definitely do everything to find her whereabouts.


    Frankly, in Astrid¡¯s opinion, there was no harm in letting, at least, Cassius knew of their existence.  Surely, he wouldn¡¯t put them into harm.  There¡¯s hardly any reason to.  Admitting to him who they were might even help them in some ways while they were staying here in the capital.


    But it was obvious that their mother didn¡¯t want them to have anything to do with the Grimaldis.  As a dutiful son, he should honor his mother¡¯s wish.


    It¡¯s probably a good thing that they were going to Cassius¡¯ house and not at the Grimaldi mansion.  At least he could be sure that they wouldn¡¯t be meeting the duke.  But they might meet the older brother.  Considering that he¡¯s the father of the kid they saved.  Maybe they would even meet his wife or a husband perhaps.  And Cassius did mention that they were going to have dinner with his family.


    Astrid suddenly felt the car levitating higher.  He looked outside the window and saw that the car was travelling upwards a tall building.  At the top of the building, the car slowly landed on a space that seemed to be dedicated to parking.  The assistant walked down first and opened the backseat door.


    Reas came down, followed by Astrid.


    ¡°Please, follow me,¡± the assistant said, gesturing for them to follow.


    Astrid looked around.  Aside from the parking space, the whole rooftop was like a beautiful garden, full of exotic and wild flowers.  Completed with bright and green grasses.  It must have cost a lot for this rooftop to look like a real garden.


    They walked to what seemed like an entrance to this building.  The assistant entered some kind of code and it opened.  When they walked inside, Astrid only noticed that it was an elevator.  The assistant pressed a button and the elevator started to move down.


    ¡°Excuse me, does Lord Cassius own this whole building?¡± he thought of asking the assistant.


    ¡°Yes.  It¡¯s a commercial building.  A couple of well-known businesses have their office here,¡± the assistant answered.  ¡°Lord Cassius lives on the top three floors.¡±


    Huh, Astrid didn¡¯t expect that a son of a duke would choose the top floors of a building as his home.  He thought he¡¯d be living at some mansion overlooking the city or something.  Well, it seemed that Lord Cassius was a very unconventional noble.


    When the elevator door opened, they were welcomed by a wide living room.  It was very neat with a very minimalistic design.  The color motif was blue and white which was very cool to the eye.


    With the personality of Cassius that he had seen so far, he thought his place would be more, well, cluttered and vibrant.  It seemed that one could not really judge one¡¯s taste based on their outward personality.


    They walked out of the elevator.  They hadn¡¯t taken a few steps yet when a very energetic and childish voice suddenly called Astrid¡¯s name.


    ¡°Brother Aster!¡±


    Astrid looked up and saw a boy with curly silver hair and a pair of sapphire blue eyes running down the stairs.  He was running so fast, Astrid was worried that he would fall down.  Thankfully, he did not and managed to safely run towards them.  Nearing them, he quickly jumped and hugged his leg.


    ¡°I¡¯m so happy you¡¯re here!¡± Nicole said, looking up excitedly at the black-haired brother he had been wanting to meet again.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but smile.  He rubbed the little boy¡¯s head.  ¡°I¡¯m also happy to be here,¡± he said, but then followed with a stern voice, ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t have run down the stairs like that.  What if you fell?¡±


    Nicole showed a guilty expression.  ¡°I¡¯m sorry.  I¡¯m just so happy to see you.¡±


    ¡°No need to be sorry, I just want you to be careful,¡± Astrid said.  ¡°And I¡¯m also very happy to see the young master again.¡±


    ¡°Nicole,¡± a baritone voice suddenly called.


    Astrid raised his head and saw a tall man with silver hair cleanly swept back.  His eyes were as blue as Nicole¡¯s.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Nicole called the man.

 Chapter 117 - THOMAS GRIMALDI

    ASTRID observed the man who was walking towards them.  He had the usual features of a Grimaldi ¨C silver hair and blue eyes.  But unlike the casual style that Cassius Grimaldi had, this one was more formal.  In fact, the suit he was wearing was so impeccable there¡¯s probably not even a single crease on it.


    This must be Thomas Grimaldi ¨C the eldest son of the current duke.


    According to the story their mother told, this Thomas was like a carbon-copy of the duke.  He could actually envision that while looking at this man.  He certainly looked like a stickler for rules.


    Astrid didn¡¯t have any good feelings towards this man.  He knew about the duke¡¯s plan involving his only sister and yet he did nothing to stop it.  No matter what reason he might have, that¡¯s just unacceptable.  At least Cassius was still a child back then, so him not being able to do anything was reasonable.


    Astrid glanced at his brother.  Based on the slight crease on the other¡¯s forehead, he knew that Reas was also thinking the same as him.


    The assistant bowed at Thomas Grimaldi and then said his goodbye.  Silently leaving the place through the elevator they came from.


    While the twins were observing Thomas Grimaldi, he was also observing them.


    The black-haired kid must be Astrid.  Seeing his appearance for the first time was truly a bit shocking.  After all, humans with such coloring and features were hardly seen in this era.


    The other one had ice-blue hair and teal-gray eyes.  Unlike his brother, his coloring and features were much more common.  But despite that, his gaze stayed more on him.  Probably because of his hair color.  Whenever he saw people with such hair color, it always reminded him of his biggest regret in life.


    He shook his head and just put that thought away.  There was no place for those kinds of thoughts right now.  He put his focus again on the twins.  Which hardly even looked like siblings.  He probably had never seen a much more different looking pair of twins in his life.


    He had heard only good things about these twins.  Most of his information, of course, came from his younger brother.  According to Casey, these two were from some agricultural planet located at Palioxis Galaxy.  They only came here this month because both of them were accepted in a school here.


    He had no doubts about their identities.  Because Casey was the one who did a background check on them.  Despite his brother¡¯s usual carelessness, he would definitely carefully check just in case the two were connected to that man who tried to use Nicole as a hostage.  The two being here had already proved that they were on the clear.  And that¡¯s all that mattered.


    Thomas Grimaldi walked towards the twins.  ¡°You must be Mr. Astrid and Andreas Townsend.  Allow me to offer my gratitude in helping save my only son, thank you.¡±


    He was indeed thankful to the two.  He probably wouldn¡¯t know what he would do if something had happened to his son.  It might just completely wreck him.


    Astrid was a bit surprised.  Because even if his tone was cold, he could still feel that he was sincere in his gratitude.  He really was thankful to them.


    He smiled.  ¡°It was nothing, my lord.  Anyone who was in our position would surely have done the same.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think anyone would do so.  The majority would just choose to watch and do nothing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, many people do choose to do nothing when they see other people suffer in front of them,¡± Reas said with a trace of sarcasm in his voice which only Astrid probably noticed.  ¡°Aren¡¯t they just the worst kind?¡±


    The smile on Astrid¡¯s face almost cracked because of that.  Because he knew that his brother was referring to the man in front of them.  It was a good thing that Thomas Grimaldi had no idea what Reas was talking about.  Or else, he might be spitting blood now.


    ¡°May I ask where is Lord Cassius?¡± he said, changing the subject and also stealthily elbowing his brother to make sure that he would behave.


    ¡°Uncle is in the kitchen, preparing dinner,¡± Nicole said.  ¡°Does Brother Aster want to see?  I can take you there.¡±


    After saying that, Nicole didn¡¯t wait for his answer and was about to pull him forward.  But the boy¡¯s father was faster.  Thomas picked up Nicole.


    ¡°Nicole, don¡¯t trouble our guest,¡± he said that in a scolding tone but his sapphire blue gaze remained soft as he looked at his son.


    That was another surprise for Astrid.  Well, it seemed that this man indeed cared for his son.  Good.  Such a sweet kid should be loved and cared for by his parents.


    Nicole pouted a bit but still said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, my lord.  The young master didn¡¯t trouble me at all,¡± Astrid said.


    And just as he expected, a smile quickly appeared on the boy¡¯s face when he said that.


    Then a figure appeared from a distance, as if he just came out of a room or mabe a kitchen.  Considering that he was wearing an apron.  It was Cassius Grimaldi, their host for the evening.


    Astrid was, once again, surprised when he saw the other¡¯s get-up.  When Nicole said earlier that Cassius was cooking their dinner.  How could someone who grow up in one of the noblest family of the Empire know how to cook?  But then again, he might have taken cooking as a hobby.  He hoped that that was the case.  Then their dinner would at least be palatable.


    ¡°Astrid, Andreas, you¡¯re here,¡± Cassius said.  He removed his apron and gave it to the maid who just walked beside him.  ¡°Come, let¡¯s have that dinner.¡±


    They followed him to the dining area where a beautiful table made of cherry wood was.  There were five sets of cutleries there which was definitely for them.  The three maids, including the one Cassius gave his apron to, pulled three chairs for the Grimaldis.  The twins didn¡¯t wait for their chairs to be pulled for them and just sat on the remaining empty seats.


    Casey smiled at that.  He rang the bell and the maids began to first bring out the appetizers from the kitchen.


    And thus, their dinner started.

 Chapter 118 - DURING DINNER

    THEIR appetizer was crab salad canape.  Astrid was surprised to discover that the taste was pretty good.  He had his doubts when he discovered that the dinner was made by Cassius.  But if the taste of this appetizer was to go by, then the rest of this dinner would definitely be more than enough to satisfy all of them.


    Crabs were pretty rare delicacy.  Any seafood for that matter that originated from the ancient earth were expensive as hell.  Even though their family could afford it, Astrid still only used it as an ingredient whenever there¡¯s a special occasion.  Why would he waste money when he could easily find substitute for those ingredients?  Like the local marine life of their planet for example.


    Anyway, it¡¯s probably no loss for Cassius to serve them this dish.  It would definitely not make dent on his wealth.  So, Astrid just happily ate.  After all, good food should always be enjoyed.


    He glanced at Cassius and Nicole who were sitting in front of him and Reas, then at Thomas Grimaldi who was sitting at the head of the table.  He already wasn¡¯t expecting the duke to be here.  So, it wasn¡¯t a surprised not seeing him.  But where was Thomas¡¯ partner?  Could she/he possibly unable to make it here?  That¡¯s probably most likely the case.


    ¡°What do you think of the food?¡± Cassius asked.


    Astrid had to raise his head and answer because he knew Reas wouldn¡¯t bother.  ¡°It¡¯s very good.  The young master said that it was Lord Cassius who made this dinner.  Then compliments to you, my lord.  Because this is truly good.¡±


    Cassius smiled at his praise.  ¡°Thank you.  But as much as I want to say that¡¯s it¡¯s all me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it without the help of my maids.  The food won¡¯t taste as good without their help.¡±


    At the mention of the maids, Astrid glanced at the three women was standing in a straight line on the side.  As if they were just waiting for an order from their master.  Then he realized that the three were actually AI robots.


    It¡¯s not just because they all looked identical, except for the length of their hair.  One had a pixie cut, the other had shoulder length hair, and the last one had waist length hair.  That¡¯s probably why he had not noticed that the three actually had the same face.  But the thing that gave them away as not human was their eyes.  They were just blank.  With only one color and no irises.


    Astrid took back his gaze.  He kind of felt uncomfortable looking at the maids.  Probably because they were robots and really didn¡¯t have a mind of their own.  Which was easy to be taken advantage of.  He had no doubt that there were people in this era who does that.  After all, no matter the time, there¡¯s always a pervert lying about.


    ¡°How was your stay so far at the capital?¡± Cassius then asked.


    ¡°Thankfully, nothing of the sort that happened on our first day here has happened again,¡± Astrid simply answered.


    ¡°Well, I assure you, incidents like that seldom happens.¡±


    Cassius didn¡¯t lie when he said that.  With General Schwartz around looking over the capital, there¡¯s hardly been any major crime occurring.  That event with the hostage taker was just a rare occurrence.  But the military would surely take into account the mistake they had made during that incident and made sure that it never happened again.  They would be stricter especially since that incident accidentally involved a member of the Grimaldi family.


    Soon, it was time for the main course. The maids served fillet mignon with porcini mushroom and compound butter.  The maids also served them each a glass of red wine, of course, excluding Nicole.


    Astrid could tell that the wine the maids poured for them was actually pretty expensive.  It just had that rich scent that only those old wines had.  It wouldn¡¯t probably hurt to drink a sip.  After all, any kind of steak was always good with a glass of wine.


    He cut into his fillet mignon and saw that it was medium rare.  He didn¡¯t mind since fillet mignons should be fully enjoyed rare.  Eating a bite, he was satisfied with the flavor.


    He then drank a sip on his glass of red wine.  Just as he thought, the flavor of the fillet mignon became much richer because of the wine.


    ¡°By the way, are the two of you ready for school?¡± Cassius asked.  And then as if realizing that he had asked that question out of nowhere, he followed, ¡°My apologies if I kind of looked into your information.  But rest assured, it was only general information.  I didn¡¯t look into anything else.  It was only so I could know your contact information.¡±


    Astrid already expected that.  But it was good to hear that Cassius really did not search that deep into their identities.  Now he felt a bit more relieved.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, my lord.  We are ready as every new incoming student should be,¡± Astrid answered amiably.


    ¡°Which school are the two of you plan to attend?¡± Thomas Grimaldi then asked.


    It was the first time since dinner started that Thomas spoke and showed interest.  Astrid thought that the other just didn¡¯t like speaking while eating.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to attend Redwood Academy of Performing Arts while my brother is going to the Imperial Military Academy,¡± he answered.


    Thomas was a bit surprised hearing that.  These twins were really like night and day ¨C one wanting to be an actor and the other, a soldier.  Well, if he thought about it, those professions probably suited them.


    With Astrid¡¯s face, he could easily become one of those popular artists that people of the Empire fawned over.  And Andreas, if he remembered correctly, he was the one who subdued the hostage taker.  Saving someone when no one else dared to try, he definitely had what it took to be a soldier of the Empire.


    ¡°If the two of you ever encountered a problem you can¡¯t fix by yourselves, don¡¯t hesitate to contact Casey.  And we will do our best to help you,¡± he said before cutting off a bite from his fillet mignon.


    ¡°Oh no, please, there¡¯s really no need,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Just accept it, dear.  Think of it as a small thanks for saving our Nikki,¡± Cassius said.  ¡°And we won¡¯t take ¡®no¡¯ for an answer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Brother Aster should agree,¡± Nicole suddenly interjected.  ¡°If someone tries to bully you, Brother Aster can just call Uncle.  And then Uncle and Dad will make them pay.¡±


    ¡°A little bloodthirsty, aren¡¯t we?¡± Cassius said in a teasing tone while wiping the corner of Nicole¡¯s mouth that had sauce.  ¡°But this little nephew of mine has a point.¡±


    Astrid glanced first at his brother who also glanced at him.  Both of them could read each other¡¯s thoughts.  Something along the lines of, ¡®we should just agree so we can leave here as soon as possible¡¯.


    ¡°Then, we shall do so,¡± Astrid said to Cassius and Thomas with a smile on his face.  At least to show that he and his brother both agreed very much on this offer.


    Finally, after that conversation, the dinner flew smoothly.  Almost 20 minutes later, the dinner was finally over.

 Chapter 119 - A CALL FROM MIRIA

    ¡°FINALLY, we¡¯re back.  I thought that dinner was never going to end,¡± Reas said when they entered the apartment.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t enjoy dinner?¡± Astrid asked while picking up Xiao Lan.


    Reas only snorted.  ¡°Why would I, when I was sitting beside that Thomas Grimaldi?¡±


    He knew that his impression of the other was greatly affected by how he appeared on their mother¡¯s story of the past.  Although everything was told in their mother¡¯s point of view, the fact that Thomas Grimaldi didn¡¯t stop the duke from pushing their mother to that Cecil Lancaster.  That was enough for Reas to dislike him.


    The only good thing about the other was that he¡¯s not talkative.  If he was, then his dislike for him would definitely go up to the next level.


    ¡°I think the food is good, at least,¡± Astrid commented, sitting on the couch.


    He didn¡¯t bother to as if he liked Thomas or not, because Reas obviously didn¡¯t.  Not that he could blame him.  Because he probably also felt the same.  Actually, he didn¡¯t care much about the other.  As long as he just remained as a stranger to them and didn¡¯t try to ingratiate himself in their lives, then he wouldn¡¯t have any opinion either.


    Well, at least Thomas seemed to really care about his son.  He just hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be like the duke and use Nicole as some sort of pawn or something.  Because that would be just heartbreaking for the kid.


    ¡°Your food is definitely more delicious,¡± Reas said, responding to his comment about the food.


    Astrid chuckled.  ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re use to my cooking.  In your opinion, my food always tastes better.¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s the truth.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, at least now that business with the Grimaldis is finally over,¡± he said.


    ¡°Do really think so?  That kid seems to like you quite a lot.  What if he pesters his dad or uncle to let him meet you?¡±


    Reas question was not really unfounded.  Earlier, the reason why they weren¡¯t able to go back right after the dinner was done was because of that kid.  Nicole wanted to bring them to the duke¡¯s mansion.  No, actually, it was only Astrid the kid wanted to bring back with him.


    Of course, they had to refuse.  They didn¡¯t want to suddenly meet the duke for no reason.  It was a good thing that Thomas seemed to be still wary of them and didn¡¯t agree to his son whim.  Or who knew what would have happened now.


    ¡°It might be so.  But school is already starting soon.  I¡¯m sure a noble kid like him has many other things to focus his attention on than me.  Besides, despite his gratitude towards us for saving his son, I don¡¯t think Thomas Grimaldi would want him to be close to a pair of commoners,¡± Astrid said.


    Which was kind of understandable, in the other¡¯s view anyway.  After all, who knew what kind of influence they would bring to his very impressionable son.


    ¡°Hah, what a prick.¡±


    Astrid only laughed at his brother¡¯s choice of words.


    ¡ª¨C


    The next morning, Astrid was busy preparing breakfast when his Terminal sounded for an incoming video call.  He checked it and saw that it was from Miria.  It must be about the music video.  So, he put down the knife he was holding and quickly answered it.


    Miria, who was waiting for her call to be answered, was startled when he saw Astrid.  Not because of the other¡¯s natural beauty but because he was wearing an apron.  So, the first words that came out of her mouth was;


    ¡°You know how to cook?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astrid answered with a smile.  ¡°And good morning to you too, Miria.¡±


    Miria realized that she must have just came off as rude just now.  ¡°Yeah, good morning.  Am I interrupting you?¡±


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± Astrid said.  ¡°Are you calling because of the music video?  Is everything alright?¡±


    ¡°Well, the job is almost yours.¡±


    Astrid quickly caught the keyword ¨C ¡®almost¡¯.  ¡°So, what do I have to do so it¡¯s no longer an ¡®almost¡¯?¡±


    Miria was glad that the other was quick on the uptake, so there was no need for her to explain more.  ¡°You just have to meet with the composer/producer of the song and get his approval.  He¡¯s kind of eccentric.  But if it¡¯s you, I think you¡¯d do just fine.¡±


    Her agent already agreed with her suggestion of using Astrid in the music video of her new song.  She actually immediately agreed the moment she showed her Astrid¡¯s photo.  Which was actually secretly taken by her assistant.  A lot of ideas for hype had already entered her agent¡¯s mind when she saw Astrid¡¯s picture.  In fact, Miria had a feeling that her agent planned to scout Astrid.


    But she¡¯s kind of against that.  Astrid wouldn¡¯t grow in Kaleido.  With his face and talent, a lot of artists would try to suppress him.  He¡¯s too eye-catching.  A big company such as Kaleido wouldn¡¯t be a good fit for him.  She hoped Astrid could also see that and make the right decision.


    This gig should be easily given to Astrid just based on her agent¡¯s reaction.  But the composer of the song refused.  Usually, composers usually didn¡¯t have a say in making MVs of a song they made.  Especially if they made the song for another artist.  But the thing was this composer was also the producer of the song.  And more importantly, he¡¯s also pretty famous.


    Under normal circumstance, Miria wouldn¡¯t have a chance to work with him with her current standing in the Star List.  But because of Director Trevane¡¯s request, that person agreed on composing the theme song of the movie.  He even agreed on producing the song.


    That¡¯s why they had to get his permission first.  But getting that guy to approve would take more than seeing Astrid¡¯s picture.


    ¡°Do I need to meet him alone?¡± Astrid asked.  He must admit, he¡¯s not really keen on that.


    Miria understood the other¡¯s worry and answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my agent and I will also be there.  You can even bring that brother of yours.¡±


    ¡°When and where shall I meet you?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow, if possible.  I¡¯ll send you the address of the place.¡±


    The two of them talked some more before they ended the call.


    Astrid closed his Terminal.  Hmm, it seemed that tomorrow¡¯s going to be a busy day.

 Chapter 120 - SKY BISTRO

    THE twins got out of the taxi and both looked up at the establishment in front of them.  It was one of the most famous restaurants in the capital.  Probably because it¡¯s located at a floating artificial island.  The architecture of the building was a combination of some kind of glass and wood.  It was surrounded by trees and flowers.  Which gave off some kind of eccentric yet fairy-tale like feeling.


    When Astrid received the message that they would be meeting here, he searched for information about it online and found that people who wanted to eat here need to reserve at least a month before.  Because the place was not that big and it could only accommodate a certain number of people per meal.


    And yet, they managed to get a reservation for today.  He wondered if it was Miria or her agent who was responsible for it.  Or maybe it¡¯s that composer.  Well, whoever reserved this didn¡¯t really matter.  What only mattered today was to convince that composer that he was the right guy for the job.


    Starring in a music video might not be such a big thing, but for a newcomer, it definitely was.  Even more so for him.  The music video for this song was the theme song for the first movie he¡¯d been a part of in this life.  It would be like symbolic for him.


    At the same time, since it¡¯s the theme song of a big-budget movie, sang by an artist from one of the biggest entertainment company, it would surely receive the right amount of promotion.  That¡¯s why Astrid didn¡¯t hesitate to accept the gig when Miria offered it to him.


    ¡°You know, Aster, if you keep getting jobs like this, I think you¡¯ll really be needing a, what do you call that?  Right, an agency to handle your activities,¡± Reas said while they were walking towards the restaurant.


    This was Astrid¡¯s possible second job.  The point was, they hadn¡¯t even been in the capital for a month and yet his brother had already booked himself his second job.  If this continued, it would definitely be too hard for Astrid to handle alone.


    During that filming, he noticed that all the other actors and actresses in the set had their own assistant while his brother didn¡¯t even have an agent or a company to represent him.  And once that movie came out, Reas had no doubt that jobs would just keep on coming for Astrid.  He hoped that at least before then, his brother would have someone to arrange things for him and assist him.


    Because he couldn¡¯t always be with Astrid.  Especially once school started.  The Imperial Military Academy had strict rules.  He couldn¡¯t just go up and leave whenever his brother had a new job or something.


    ¡°I¡¯m already thinking about it,¡± Astrid responded.  ¡°Actually, I already have an entertainment company in mind.  I just hope they would have me.¡±


    ¡°Why would they not want you?¡± Reas asked, confused by that statement.  ¡°If they do, then they don¡¯t deserve you.  That kind of company is already stupid enough to not even see your worth.¡±


    Astrid stopped and then chuckled.  ¡°You¡¯re giving your brother too much credit.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?  It¡¯s only right because you¡¯re that great,¡± Reas said, shrugging.


    Astrid jokingly hit his brother¡¯s arm.  ¡°You¡¯re making your older brother all shy.¡±


    They entered the building and a female AI robot wearing some cute kimono like uniform.


    ¡°Welcome to Sky Bistro!  May I ask if you have any reservation?¡±


    ¡°Yes.  My name is Astrid Townsend, I have an appointment here.¡±


    Codes started to appear on the AI robot¡¯s eyes, as if she was scanning something.  It kind of looked creepy.  Once she¡¯s done, she said;


    ¡°Welcome, Mr. Townsend and company.  Please, follow me.¡±


    They followed the robot to the second floor of the building.  They stopped in front of a door.  The AI opened it and gestured for them to enter the room.  The twins walked in and the robot closed the door before them.


    The room had glass walls which made the room looked like a whole open area, overlooking the sky and the view outside.  Around the circular table, there were two people drinking tea.  One of them was Miria Lane and the other was a woman wearing a crisp business suit.


    ¡°Good afternoon, I hope we¡¯re not late,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°You¡¯re not.  Please, do have a seat,¡± Miria said.


    Astrid and Reas sat down on the opposite side of the two.


    Miria¡¯s agent observed the two.


    The young man with ice-blue hair looked like the usual handsome guy one could see on the street.  The black-haired teenager, on the other hand, was another matter.


    His appearance was even more impactful in person than in pictures.  Just look at those black hair and black eyes.  The white skin that was almost like porcelain, those natural pinkish lips, even the unusual shape of his eyes, they were all features that could attract people.  He¡¯s like a walking star.


    She already felt it when she saw the picture Miria¡¯s assistant showed her of the teenager.  It¡¯s the main reason why she agreed on Miria¡¯s request on letting him star on the music video with her.  But seeing him in person had a completely different feeling.  And she heard that he¡¯s also very talented in acting.


    Her eyes suddenly shone.  She definitely should bring this boy to Kaleido.


    ¡°Astrid, right?  Thank you for coming,¡± she said.  ¡°I¡¯m Miria¡¯s agent, Jenny Smith.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Smith.¡±  Astrid smiled.  ¡°Thank you for giving me this opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Miria saw potential in you that¡¯s why she recommended you in this job.  And now that I¡¯m meeting you in person, I can also clearly see that.¡±


    Miria glanced sideways at her agent.  She recognized all too well the gleam on the other¡¯s eyes.  She wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the thing she said next was if Astrid was interested in joining Kaleido.


    Sure enough, Jenny followed, ¡°By the way, do you already have a company to represent you?¡±


    Astrid was slightly surprised by the question.  But hearing that, he kind of already had an idea on why the other asked it.


    He was about to answer when the door to the room opened once again.  And a man walked in.

 Chapter 121 - SHIR ATKINS

    THE man who just entered had long aquamarine hair that was softly hanging over his shoulder.  His eyes were like pairs of big pale amethyst jewels.  His skin looked like translucent pearls.  His lips were as red as a fresh rose.  The style of the clothes he was wearing was very gender neutral which only added to his beauty.


    Growing up, Astrid had been used to people telling him how ¡®beautiful¡¯ he was.  But at this moment, he felt like that word was more accurate to describe this man.  It¡¯s like he was the embodiment of it.  Even the way he walked was extremely graceful.


    He seemed to be someone in his 20s.  But in this era, one couldn¡¯t really be sure of one¡¯s age.  The only time it was easy to figure out one¡¯s age was during their childhood and teenage years.  In case of teenagers nearing their 20s, just like Astrid, they still had some baby fats on their faces that showed their youth.  Although there were cases like Reas who quickly shed all his baby fats the moment his period of puberty ended.


    Astrid stared once again at the man and then suddenly felt that the other actually looked familiar.  And then as if a lightbulb inside his head turned on, he finally remembered where he had seen him.  It was when he was looking at the Star List.  The other was one of the two very prominent figures in that list.


    Shir Atkins ¨C the number two on the Empire¡¯s Star List.


    He was part of Sonare.  The only entertainment company that could rival Kaleido in terms of size, number of talents, and influence.  They were known to produce a lot of good singers.  And that included this guy here.


    Shir Atkins was currently known as the ¡®god of music¡¯ of this generation.  He was not only a singer but a composer as well.  All his songs were composed by him.  His songs were known to have wonderful and meaningful lyrics.  Add that with a wonderful melody and it¡¯s a perfect ingredient for a hit song.


    As evidence, he held the record of highest album sale.  It¡¯s not just the sales, his songs always topped the charts and won music awards.  There¡¯s probably no other singer in the Empire more popular than him.


    But in recent years, he hadn¡¯t released a new album.  Astrid heard he had been working behind the scenes, producing music.  And sometimes, even composing for other artists.  But the latter one was a rare occurrence.  That¡¯s why it had never crossed Astrid that the composer/producer they were going to meet today was him.


    Wow.  Director Trevane must have a lot of connections and pulls if he managed to get him to compose the theme song for the movie.  But the problem now was that things just became more difficult.


    Astrid had read from articles that Shir Atkins was not exactly the easiest person to get along with.  He¡¯s very perfectionist.  He also had a sharp tongue which often caused him to be at odds with other artists.


    He definitely wouldn¡¯t be the type to be moved by a person¡¯s appearance.  So, Astrid¡¯s chance of getting this gig all depended on whether he fit the image that Shir had for this music video.


    He wished he had asked Miria who the composer they were meeting was today.  Maybe he could have prepared beforehand.  But then again, if Shi didn¡¯t like him, no matter how much he prepared himself, he still wouldn¡¯t get this job.


    All of them stood up to greet him.  Even Reas was forced to begrudgingly stand up.  After all, he didn¡¯t want his presence there to be the cause on why this guy, whoever he was, would have a bad impression on his brother.


    Shir nodded to them and sat down on one of the empty seats.  They also followed.


    ¡°Mr. Atkins, this is Astrid Townsend.  He¡¯s the one Miria recommended to be part of the music video with her,¡± Miria¡¯s agent, Jenny, introduced Astrid.


    Astrid turned to Shir and said respectfully, ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Mr. Atkins.¡±


    Shir glanced at him.  He looked at him from head to toe and then his gaze stayed at his face.  There was no admiration in his light purple eyes.  It was a huge contrast from the way the agent looked at him earlier.  Shir looked at him critically.  As if he was judging whether he was indeed the right person for the job.  Then he took back his gaze and looked at the agent.


    ¡°He won¡¯t do,¡± Shir said, his voice sounded like a beautiful musical note.  Just by hearing him speak, one could immediately see how good his singing voice was.  ¡°He¡¯s too pretty.  He doesn¡¯t fit the song.  If he acts with Miria here, she would definitely be drowned by his presence.  And that¡¯s certainly not good for any singer.  After all, the star of a music video should always be the singer and not anyone else.¡±


    Jenny felt awkward hearing that.  Although she was aware of how straightforward this person could be, she didn¡¯t expect that he would give one look at Astrid and decide that he was unsuitable.


    Miria was already kind of expecting this.  But she still believed that Astrid could turn this around.  If he truly wanted this, then he would fight for it.  She could see that he had enough ambition to back that up.


    She looked at Astrid and just as she expected, he didn¡¯t look discouraged by what Shir said.  Instead, there was a fire of determination in those black eyes.  As if he just accepted a challenge instead of just hearing a rejection.


    ¡°Since we are already here, we might as well have a meal,¡± Shir said.  ¡°Just take it as my treat.¡±


    He was about to order when he heard the black-haired teenager speaking.


    ¡°Mr. Atkins, if I say I can fit the image of the song and that I can promise that I will never ¡®drown¡¯ Miria by my presence, as you put it, will you give me a chance?¡±

 Chapter 122 - DID I PASS?

    SHIR glanced lazily at the teenager.  He was actually about to say something sarcastic, like young people who didn¡¯t know their limitation and think they could do anything, but when he saw the boy¡¯s expression, his words didn¡¯t get past his throat.  Because the teenager was not only looking at him with a gaze full of determination but confidence as well.


    He could tell that it was not simply blind confidence.  It was that kind of confidence that he truly believed that he could convince him that his decision was wrong and that he really was indeed the right person for the job.  Either he was delusional or he really did have a talent to back that confidence up.


    Shir unknowingly smiled.  ¡°Fine.  If you can prove to me right here, right now that I¡¯m wrong, then I won¡¯t interfere anymore about your participation in the music video.  I will give you one minute.  Can you do it?¡±


    There was a challenge in his voice.  As if saying ¡®if you couldn¡¯t do this much then don¡¯t act like you¡¯re such a great artist¡¯.


    Reas almost wanted to punch the guy when he heard that.  Although he¡¯s not that familiar with how things work during these kinds of situations, he still knew that one minute was simply not enough.  What could one show in that short one minute?  Did this guy just want his brother to stand there and do some unbelievable magic for a minute to convince him?


    Miria and her agent were actually thinking along the same lines.  What could Astrid do in a mere minute?  To them, it seemed more like Shir just didn¡¯t want him to be part of the music video.


    Only Astrid didn¡¯t have a change in expression.  ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed without hesitation.


    Shir raised one of his brows.  He didn¡¯t expect that the kid would agree so easily.  In fact, if he asked for more time, he might have given it to him.  That one minute was just him teasing him a bit.  Who would have thought that he would take it so seriously?


    Well, if that¡¯s the case, then the other might as well give him a convincing performance during that little time.  If not, then he could only reject his participation in the music video.


    [So, you better give me a good show, kid.] ¨C he thought.


    Astrid stood up and walked to Miria.  ¡°Miria, can you stand beside me?¡±


    Miria looked up.  She didn¡¯t expect that Astrid would suddenly ask for her cooperation.  Pulling her in whatever performance he was planning to do might just be counterproductive.  After all, one of the points Shir made earlier was her being outshine by Astrid.  If the two of them stood side by side together and Astrid did his godly acting, then that would definitely what would happen.


    That¡¯s why when the filming of the music video started, he would suggest to the director if she and Astrid could not be in the same frame as much as possible.  That idea certainly wouldn¡¯t clash with the theme of the song.


    But seeing Astrid¡¯s determined look, she just couldn¡¯t say no.  And so, she stood up and walked beside him.


    ¡°What should I do now?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Just stand beside me and look the other way.  Don¡¯t turn to my direction no matter what,¡± Astrid said.


    Miria could only nod.


    Astrid then turned to Miria¡¯s agent.  ¡°Miss Smith, can you please time me?  So, that everyone can know that I only used a minute?¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay!¡± Jenny quickly opened her Terminal, fumbled a bit, and then a virtual screen appeared showing a timer.


    ¡°Please, tell me once you started the time,¡± Astrid said, closing his eyes, as of preparing himself.


    Last night, Miria sent to him a copy of the song.  It was entitled ¨C [Hopes for Tomorrow].  The song had two prevalent themes ¨C desolation and a hope for a new beginning.  The two were very opposing themes and yet, in this song, they somehow perfectly melded together.


    Astrid was very impressed by the song when he first heard it.  Not only was the lyrics good but the melody was beautiful too.  He could see that the composer of the song was very talented.  Now that he knew that it was made by Shir Atkins, he could only think ¡®no wonder¡¯.  This song was already a testament to the other¡¯s skill as a composer.


    Remembering the lyrics and the melody of the song, he slowly submerged himself to the feelings he felt when he first heard it.


    Jenny did just that.  ¡°In three¡­ two¡­ one¡­ start!¡±


    The moment she said that, Astrid opened his eyes and the atmosphere around him completely changed.  It¡¯s like the natural spotlight that was always on him suddenly disappeared and everything just darkened.  He still had the same face and yet everyone in that room, excluding Miria who wasn¡¯t looking at him, felt like the one in front of them was a totally different person.


    The beauty that people saw immediately when they looked at him just vanished.  It¡¯s like the one standing in front of them was just someone ordinary.  Someone who was ravaged by time and countless suffering.  It was probably the gloom and helplessness in his eyes.  It shed away all the beauty that he had.  All that remained were the negative emotions filling him.


    Then he turned and looked at the woman standing beside him.  A flash of light appeared in his dark eyes but it was quickly extinguished.  As if he knew that having hope at this moment wouldn¡¯t help him in any way.  But still, he couldn¡¯t help but yearn for that light.  Yearned that one day he could get out of this dark muck he was in.  And the one who represented all that hope was the person standing beside him.


    He wanted to believe that in this endless futility, a ray of hope would shine down on him.  And that his tomorrow would be infinitely better than what it was today.


    ¡°T-time!¡± shouted Jenny who was still in a daze while watching.  If not for Astrid¡¯s brother to remind her, she would completely forget about the timer in front of her.


    Astrid then closed his eyes.  The moment he opened it once again, he was already back to the beautiful and shining teenager who attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    He looked at Shir with a smile.  ¡°Did I pass Mr. Atkins?¡±

 Chapter 123 - JYNX MYSELF

    SHIR turned momentarily speechless before bursting out laughing.  He laughed so hard that tears even formed at the corner of his eyes.  If his fans could see him now, they would probably scream in excitement with their eyes turning into hearts.  How could they not when it was so rare to see their male god laugh like this.


    It took a while before Shir managed to stop laughing.  It¡¯s not because he found the other¡¯s performance funny but because he found the whole situation amusing.  It¡¯s not his performance that was amusing per se but his series of actions instead.  From the moment he told him that he could change his mind about him to this performance.  It was all rather amusing.


    This was not bad in any way.  At least to him.  If something made him feel amusing, then they captured his interest.  Because it meant that they caught his attention.  And in this situation, catching his interest would be the best thing that this kid could do.


    ¡°Yes, you surprisingly did well,¡± he said.


    The kid did so well, it made Shir speechless.  He perfectly portrayed the image of a person who was drowning in hopelessness.  He was the very image of desolation.  But when he looked at Miria who was standing beside him, a spark of hope flitted in his eyes.  Then it was quickly extinguished as if it didn¡¯t even happen to begin with.  And yet, despite that, he still appeared to be waiting.  Waiting for the moment that hope would really come.  That his tomorrow wouldn¡¯t be as bleak as it was today.


    The emotions he presented completely mirrored the image of the song Shir made.  It¡¯s like he truly embodied the song.  And he did that in just a minute.


    But it was not just that, he also managed to wipe out his dazzling presence.  It was almost as if he changed his appearance even though it was only his expression that changed.  Because of that, even though he and Miria were standing together, his presence never overpowered her.


    It was a testament to his skill as an actor.  Only the very talented ones could do it.  That short performance didn¡¯t only show his talent, he also disproved Shir of the notions that he was too pretty for the role and that his presence would simply cover Miria¡¯s.  and just by doing that, he did not give Shir any reason to refuse him.  Or it would simply make him seem petty.


    What was this kid¡¯s name again?  Ah, Astrid.  Astrid Townsend.  A few years from now, this little guy could definitely give the current number one a run for his money.


    Astrid smiled when he heard that.  It was not a smile of triumph but rather a smile that¡¯s telling everyone that ¡®this result was as it should¡¯.  ¡°Does that mean I will be able to participate in the music video?¡±


    ¡°Now don¡¯t ask the obvious.  It¡¯s not cute,¡± Shir said.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Atkins,¡± Astrid said before turning to Miria who had already turned to him.  ¡°Thank you, Miria, for cooperating with me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Miria said.


    Although she didn¡¯t see exactly what Astrid did, it must be amazing for him to change Shir Atkins mind in just a minute.  So, she wasn¡¯t really that surprised by the result because she was already expecting it.  She was just glad that Shir was no longer acting difficult and asking for the impossible again.


    Another one who was not surprised by this outcome was Reas.  He was already numb with his brother¡¯s talent.  As long as the one watching him was not stupid, they could see that Astrid was more than enough for the job.  It¡¯s a good thing that this Atkins guy was not so stupid after all.


    The only one who was probably overly shocked was Miria¡¯s agent.  Although Miria had mentioned to her that Astrid had a great talent for acting, she didn¡¯t really take it to heart.  She thought that it was just probably a little bit higher than normal newcomers.  But what she saw was certainly not just a ¡®little bit¡¯.  What she witnessed was true talent.


    She was suddenly filled with incredible excitement.  A person with not only looks but talent.  Astrid had both in astronomical level.  Wasn¡¯t this just a gift landing in front of her?  If she didn¡¯t take this chance to grab a hold of it, then wouldn¡¯t that be such a waste of her job as an agent?


    After this, she would definitely recruit him.


    Astrid and Miria went back to their seat.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s all done and over, let¡¯s have that meal, shall we?¡± Shir said.


    He pressed a button on the table and a virtual screen with a menu of the restaurant appeared in front of each of them.


    Astrid looked over the menu and chose something that he would normally not be able to eat at other restaurants.  Aside from being expensive and the fact that it¡¯s hard to get a reservation, Sky Bistro was also known for their exotic but delicious food.


    Finally, one attracted his attention ¨C paplear pudding.


    If he remembered correctly, paplears were animals similar to sheep.  They were mostly found on planets of Tertius Galaxy.  But they were pretty rare and hard to find.  That¡¯s why their meat cost a lot in the market.


    According to the description of the dish, this paplear pudding was a savory dish containing paplear¡¯s heart, liver, and lungs, minced with onion, different spices, and salt.  It was cooked in animal stock while encased using the paplear¡¯s stomach.


    Despite the scary description, he didn¡¯t hesitate to pick it.  He¡¯s always adventurous when it came to trying new food.  It¡¯s probably the little cook in him.


    ¡°By the way, I was told you¡¯re a newcomer.  Are you already a part of any entertainment company?¡± Shir asked once they finished ordering.


    It was not only Shir who was looking at Astrid but also Miria¡¯s manager.  Astrid could even feel her gaze boring into him.  He could already see what the other must be thinking.


    ¡°I¡¯m not.  But I¡¯m hoping to be part of a certain entertainment company since I was a child.  I would be very happy if they would have me.¡±


    ¡°May I ask which entertainment company it was?¡± Jenny asked, she couldn¡¯t hide her excitement.  After all, Kaleido was the biggest entertainment company in the Empire.  Surely, any child dreaming to be a star wished to be part of them.


    Astrid turned to the agent and then acted all shy.  His cheeks blushing red, making people want to pinch it.  ¡°Can I not say it?  I¡¯m afraid I will jynx myself.¡±

 Chapter 124 - SO CREEPILY CONVINCING

    IT was almost four o¡¯clock in the afternoon when the twins got back to the apartment.  After lunch, Astrid was able to sign a contract for his participation in the music video.  The pay was also pretty generous ¨C 25,000 star coins.  For a newcomer who would only appear in a three minute or something music video, that amount was already good.  Astrid was very satisfied with that amount.


    He sat down on the couch and checked his bank account on his Terminal.  The 25,000 star coins were already there.  Well, they¡¯re certainly fast.


    It probably had something to do with Miria¡¯s agent wanting to recruit him to Kaleido.  Remembering that, he couldn¡¯t help but wince a bit.  When they finished eating and was about to leave, the agent took that opportunity to convince him how good it would be if he joined Kaleido.


    =====


    ¡°Astrid, although I¡¯m not sure which company you referred to earlier, I think it will really be good to you if you joined Kaleido,¡± the agent said, quickly pouncing on him as soon as Shir Atkins left.


    Astrid scratched his nose and looked sideways.  He saw that Miria was just silently watching, she obviously had no plans to interfere with her agent.  Reas, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to pull him away at any second if he just told him to.


    He could only inwardly sigh.  Of course, he couldn¡¯t let his brother to do that.  Even though he had no plans on joining Kaleido, it¡¯s still best to not offend one of their agents.


    He actually thought that what he said earlier about wanting to be part of a certain entertainment company since he was a kid would be enough deterrent for her.  Especially since he didn¡¯t say that the entertainment company he was talking about was Kaleido.  He thought that she would take a hint from that.  Who would have thought that it didn¡¯t have any effect at all?


    Maybe she just truly wanted to scout him.  She probably thought that he was too outstanding to be left alone.


    But joining Kaleido had never crossed his mind.  In fact, he¡¯d rather be in Polaris.  Which was his current number one pick.  He was just looking for the right time to do a thorough research on the said company.  Although Polaris had a pretty clean reputation, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to make sure that it was true and not just some hype.  Since he was already friends with two of their artists, it probably wouldn¡¯t be hard to visit the company some day later.


    For now, it¡¯s much more important to deal with this agent without her being offended in some way.


    Astrid started to appear troubled.  ¡°Miss Smith, I- I¡¯m really sorry.  I- I don¡¯t want to seem ungrateful or that I look down on Kaleido.  I will never.  I know how great Kaleido is.  But- but I- I really wanted to go to the entertainment company of my dreams.¡±  Then he appeared scared and sad, as if he would cry at any second.  ¡°I- I hope Miss Smith can understand.¡±


    As he planned, the agent¡¯s face was suddenly filled with guilt.  ¡°Oh, no, no, I¡¯m not trying to force you to join Kaleido.  I will never blame you if you refuse.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Astrid let out a sigh of relief.  ¡°That¡¯s good.  I¡¯m actually really afraid to refuse.  But I just have to do it or it would be like I¡¯m going against my own belief.  Thank you for your understanding, Miss Smith.¡±


    When he said that with a relieved smile, the agent appeared like she had just eaten a very sour candy.  Even when she smiled back, it almost looked like she was cringing.  Not that Astrid cared.  He was just glad that he managed to ¡®convince¡¯ her somehow.  And that¡¯s all that mattered.


    =====


    Now that he thought about it, Miria was giving him weird looks while he was acting that way to get her agent off his back.  Could it be that she suspected that he was only acting?  Nah.  His acting was so good that he would bring any white lotus to shame.  Miria just probably thought that he looked weird acting like that.


    But to make sure, he turned to Reas and decided to ask him.  ¡°Reas, when I was refusing Miria¡¯s agent earlier, do I look convincing?¡±


    Reas, who just poured himself a glass of water, stopped his movement and turned to him.  ¡°Yeah.  It¡¯s so convincing, it gave me goosebumps.¡±


    Just remembering that pitiful act his brother pulled earlier, Reas literally had chills.  If he didn¡¯t know that he was just acting, he would truly believe that, at that moment, that¡¯s exactly what he was feeling.


    He was suddenly thankful that Astrid had never used his talent growing up or else, he would probably be in a lot more trouble than he did.  After all, it would be so easy for his brother to put the blame on him if he wanted, so he could avoid being scolded.  But he didn¡¯t.  In fact, whenever they get in trouble together, Astrid often took the blame.  Showing his love for him as a brother.


    Reas looked at Astrid.  ¡°Aster, I suddenly realized one thing.  I actually love being your brother.¡±


    Astrid looked at his twin as if the other had just eaten something weird.  He decided to change the subject before Reas started to say any more bizarre things.  ¡°The shooting for the music video is next week.  Will you accompany me?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I will,¡± Reas didn¡¯t hesitate to answer.  ¡°What else would I do here?¡±


    He still had time before he should be at the military academy. Because a week before school started, he needed to report and stay at the academy¡¯s dorm.  That would be about two weeks from now.  So, he could still act as his brother¡¯s assistant/bodyguard.


    Astrid nodded.  He already expected that answer.  Maybe after the shooting of the music video he could pay a visit at Polaris.

 Chapter 125 - PERSEPHONES GARDEN

    THE shooting of the music video was going to be held at a newly established recreational club at the Emperor Star.  Last year, the parliament held an auction of some free lands at the capital.  The largest one ¨C with land, forest, and the sea ¨C was won by some wealthy businessman.  He then turned it to a recreational club.


    The construction began immediately and it just finished last month.  It still wasn¡¯t opened to the public.  Astrid heard from Miria that the reason why they were allowed to shoot there despite that was because the owner of the recreational club made a deal with Kaleido regarding some promotional stuff.


    The entertainment company would help in advertising the recreational club.  So, appearing on the upcoming music video was one of that.


    The taxi he and Reas took finally arrived at their destination.  The city center where Astrid¡¯s apartment was located was quite far off from the location of the recreational club.  So, they had to leave early in order not to be late.  But it seemed that they arrived too early because there were still two hours before the scheduled shooting started.


    Astrid looked up at the sign hanging on the gate.  It was a profile silhouette of a woman holding a flower, beside her were the words ¡®Persephone¡¯s Garden¡¯.  He raised his brow when he read that.  Considering that Persephone was the Greek goddess of Spring, this name might be very apt.


    There weren¡¯t any guards near the gate.  Which was really not that surprising.  He had noticed that most establishments here didn¡¯t really have guards.  Considering how easy it was to install security cameras and alarms, it probably wouldn¡¯t matter if one tried to trespass.  Because they would be immediately caught.


    ¡°So, should we just traipse inside?¡± Reas asked which was what¡¯s exactly in Astrid¡¯s mind right now.


    He looked again at the gate which was made of wood, its design was like the entrance to some fairy tale garden.  He couldn¡¯t see any gadget that could help them enter or be identified or something.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside first,¡± he said then turned to his brother.  ¡°If some AI robots suddenly attacked us, then I could only rely on you to fight them off.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying you¡¯re just going to stand there while I fight them?¡± Reas asked dryly.


    ¡°Of course not.¡±  Astrid acted like he was affronted by what his brother said.  ¡°I will definitely cheer you on.¡±


    Reas only rolled his eyes at Astrid but still walked ahead, completely protecting his brother behind him.


    Astrid smiled seeing Reas¡¯ little action.  But despite what he said earlier, he didn¡¯t hide behind his brother and walked alongside him instead.  They were able to get passed the gate without being shot at.  Thankfully.


    But they hadn¡¯t taken a few steps yet when a flying thing suddenly flew down and appeared in front of them.  When Astrid had a good look on this ¡®flying thing¡¯, his eyes widened a bit.


    It was a little fairy as big as his palm.  Of course, he knew that it was not a real fairy but most likely a small female AI robot with wings instead.  She had pink hair and a dress made of leaves.  The wings behind her were like that of the fictional character ¡®Tinkerbell¡¯.


    How cute. He suddenly had an urge to poke its cheek.  But he stopped himself.


    ¡°Welcome, dear guests!  May I know your names so I can check if you¡¯re allowed to be here?¡± the fairy asked in that soft yet kind of sharp voice.


    Astrid raised one of his brows but still answered, ¡°Astrid and Andreas Townsend.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t worried that their names wouldn¡¯t be found in whatever list this fairy had.  After all, he did tell Miria that he was going here with his brother.


    ¡°Your names are on our guest list,¡± the fairy said as expected.  ¡°Welcome once again to Lady Persephone¡¯s Garden!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At the area of the capital¡¯s military base called ¡®Fang¡¯, a certain lieutenant was walking towards the training area.  When he arrived there, his dark green eyes swept around but didn¡¯t see the one he was looking for.  His brows couldn¡¯t help but scrunched deeper.


    ¡°Hey, vice-captain, if you¡¯re looking for Captain, he¡¯s not here,¡± suddenly said by a voice from behind him.


    Leland turned around and saw Slade.  His red hair that was usually swept up was down because of sweat.  He probably just finished training as evidence of the amount of sweat on his bulging arms and training clothes.


    ¡°Do you know where His Highness went?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I think he and Hil left this morning,¡± Slade answered as he was wiping off the sweat on his face using the towel slung on his neck.  ¡°I heard Hil said that he found a place that can help Captain to relieve his boredom.¡±


    Leland could almost feel a vein on his forehead pumping when he heard that.  He knew that the prince had been complaining about being bored and not having anything to do for weeks now.  Knowing him, he would definitely run off again if no one watched him carefully.  So, Leland had been watching him like a hawk so that wouldn¡¯t happen.


    He just needed to continue doing that until His Highness finished his schedule here.  But maybe he should have also watched over that troublemaker, Hildred.  He should have known he would do something like this sooner or later.


    Seeing that Leland looked like he was about to explode, Slade said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much.  I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t go far.  Besides, Ed was also with them.  No matter how unreliable that egghead is, he definitely won¡¯t allow Captain to run off to another planet or something.¡±


    That really didn¡¯t make Leland felt relieved.  It actually made him much more worried.  Because whenever that guy, Edmund, was with Hildred, he seemed to be unable to refuse whatever the other wanted.  So, he almost always ended up Hildred¡¯s lackey in crime.


    He sighed and just decided to check the location of the prince using the GPS on the other¡¯s Terminal.  He read the exact location where His Highness seemed to be right now.


    [Persephone¡¯s Garden?]

 Chapter 126 - SHORT CARRIAGE RIDE

    ASTRID looked out of the window of the horse-drawn carriage they were in.  This carriage immediately appeared once that little fairy was able to check that they were on the guest list.  It was quite shocking seeing a horse-drawn carriage in this era where flying vehicles were the norm.  But he was also quite delighted.  After all, it¡¯s been so long since he had seen a real horse.  Much less a carriage.


    The last time he rode a carriage was when he was filming a historical film that was set during the warring states period.  That felt like a lifetime ago.  Well, in his case, that description was very literal.


    But the design of this carriage was much more biased towards the Western standard.  It¡¯s like one of those elegant carriage that only nobility could afford.


    The outside scenery was full of greenery.  One couldn¡¯t help but feel the spirit of nature if they were to walk amongst all these trees.  But aside from that, it also left people with a magical feeling.  As if they had been transported back in time.  Back to that blue planet that they all call home.


    Astrid could see that the owner of this place was going for the ¡®prehistoric Earth¡¯ look.  As evidence of the natural environment and this mode of transportation they were in.  Of course, the period he was talking about was not the modern age when he died in his last life but rather the one during the middle ages.  The other activities in this place might be related to that time period.  Also including some myths and fables, as evidence of the little fairy that welcomed them.


    He must admit, this gimmick would definitely effective in attracting customers.  After all, many people of this era had a strange fascination of the past Earth.


    He removed his gaze from the window and turned his attention to Reas who was sitting opposite him.  Astrid couldn¡¯t help but widened his eyes a bit when he saw that his brother¡¯s face was all pale.  The other¡¯s brows were furrowed.  He looked like someone who just ate something rotten and wanted to spit it out but couldn¡¯t.


    Astrid first felt worried, wondering if Reas had really eaten something bad and was now having a stomachache.  He was about to ask him but the carriage suddenly encountered a bump and it shook.  When he looked at Reas again, his face became even paler.  Not only that, the knuckles on his fists almost turned white because of how much he was clenching them.


    Wait- could it be¨C?


    The worry in his eyes slowly turned into amusement and he asked in a teasing tone, ¡°Is Reas having motion sickness?¡±


    Reas¡¯ whole body stiffened and then snorted.  ¡°What motion sickness?¡±


    Astrid chuckled.  It was so obvious and yet this twin of his was still trying to deny it.  But really, this new discovery was unexpected.  Who would have thought that Reas would have motion sickness?  Could it be because it was a horse-drawn carriage and the travel was not as smooth as when using a flying vehicle?  But wasn¡¯t this the same as any land vehicle?  Reas had been in one of those and Astrid had never seen him having this reaction.


    The only reason he could think of was because the speed of the carriage.  It¡¯s too slow.  His brother was probably not used to this kind of slow transportation.  Not to mention that it also shook from time to time.  Someone who hadn¡¯t experience this kind of transportation mode would definitely feel uncomfortable.


    The carriage suddenly stopped and the panel behind Reas opened, showing the face of the coachman driving the carriage which was obviously an AI robot.


    ¡°Dear guest, I apologized for what happened just now.  It seemed that someone just left a rock on the pavement.  This was a dereliction of our duty.  I promise that we will give the guests compensation,¡± the robot said quite sincerely.


    ¡°Then can we change into another vehicle?  This can be the compensation,¡± Astrid said.


    Reas quickly understood why his brother asked that.  ¡°Aster, no need.  I really don¡¯t have motion sickness.¡±


    Astrid only raised his brow at Reas as if saying, ¡®how many years do you think we¡¯ve been together that I still don¡¯t know if you¡¯re uncomfortable or not?¡¯.  Reas could only promptly shut his mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dear guest, but the carriage is the only vehicle one can ride in Lady Persephone¡¯s garden.¡±


    Astrid was a bit surprised to hear that.  It seemed that this recreational club was determined to keep their theme that they were not even providing another mode of transportation.


    ¡°But if the guests want, we can provide you with a horse and a map that has a mark of your destination,¡± the AI robot suddenly added.


    Astrid¡¯s eyes brightened when he heard that.  He knew how to ride a horse since he had played a general before.  He forced himself to learn horse riding instead of using body double so he could play the role better.  He suddenly became excited at the thought that he could ride a horse again.


    ¡°Then please bring two horses.¡±


    Reas frowned.  Horses were animals that were not often seen in public and was said to be only enjoyed by high-ranking nobles and elites.  Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous if they just suddenly rode them without proper training?


    Before he could say his worries to his brother, Astrid had already pulled him out of the carriage.  It seemed that he and that robot had already reached a conclusion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Reas.  I¡¯m sure the horses they used here are all gentle.  They definitely won¡¯t let their customer ride a wild horse or something,¡± Astrid said when he saw the worry on his brother¡¯s face.  ¡°Besides, I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t have motion sickness riding a fast-moving horse.  And with your natural reflexes, even if a horse tried to throw you and I out, I¡¯m sure you can easily jump off and even save me.¡±


    Reas was barely appeased by these words.  But he still didn¡¯t Astrid at the end.


    Soon, two outstanding horses were standing in front of the twins.


    ¡ª¨C


    On the other side of Persephone¡¯s garden, a well-built and tall figure was riding on a magnificent black horse.  His white hair was moving with the wind.  He pulled the long bow he was holding and his golden eyes narrowed at his target.

 Chapter 127 - MEETING ONCE AGAIN

    THE arrow shot, its speed producing a wheezing sound across the field.  With a final whoosh, it landed on its target.  The white-haired man who released the arrow looked at the wooden target which was approximately 3000 yards from where he was.  His golden gaze could perfectly see that the arrow had hit the bullseye.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t feel happy or excited seeing that.  Because for him, what he did was only natural.  He would probably be surprised if he actually missed.  He stopped the horse and threw the long bow he was holding on the ground.


    Not even a few hours in this place and he was getting bored again.


    He was planning to do some mecha training all day today but Hildred suddenly told him that he found a place that could definitely relieve his boredom.  It was a newly built recreational club that offered activities that were very common during the middle-age period of ancient Earth.


    Wulfric was curious so he went along with Hildred.  The other also pulled Edmund with them.  The moment they arrived at the place, Hildred pulled Edmund somewhere and he was left on his own devices.  He suddenly had an illusion that Hildred just used him as an excuse so he could play with Edmund here.  Knowing that guy, that was probably most likely the case.


    He didn¡¯t really care.  He much preferred to be alone anyway.  He was given a map showing the locations of the different kinds of activities he could try.  But first, he was taken to a stable where he could have his pick of horse.  He picked a black stallion with a thick mane of hair and an arrogant sneer on its face.


    Hildred told him that he knew the owner of the place and that he needn¡¯t worry if he broke a thing or two because the owner wouldn¡¯t mind.  He only scoffed at that.  Why would he worry if he destroyed something here?  It¡¯s not as if the owner of this place could do anything about it anyway.  And besides, was he some kind of bulldozer that he would just randomly destroy things?


    The thrown long bow suddenly appeared in his line of sight as if saying, ¡®yes, you are¡¯.  He grunted, reluctantly jumped off the horse and put the thrown long bow behind his back.  He got on the horse again and slightly kicked its side to move.  And the horse rushed forward like the wind.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t have any particular place in mind to go to next.  He just let his horse to lead him wherever.


    Even though he was no longer as excited as when he first came here, he must admit that this place was indeed pretty good.  The landscape was all natural, none of it was artificially made.  Everywhere was just a real piece of nature.  And the kind of activities they were offering were also quite interesting and novel.


    Take for example what he was just doing earlier.  It was an activity where one could shoot wooden targets using a long bow ¨C a very ancient weapon.  This was the first time he had tried using one.  But even so, it only took him two-three times to be able to use it perfectly.


    It was fun at first but he soon lost his interest.  It would probably be better if he was pointing at a moving target instead of a stationary one.


    As the horse continued to move, Wulfric suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves.  There were two sets, meaning that there were two horses galloping at some distance from where he was.


    Hildred told him that this place wasn¡¯t opened to the public yet.  So, he just assumed that those two horses were probably the ones Hildred and Edmund were riding.  He then didn¡¯t hesitate to let his own horse gallop towards that direction.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid laughed in delight as he rode the white horse faster.  Feeling the wind on his face, he just realized how much he missed riding a horse.  He was even thinking that maybe he should buy a membership in this club so he could ride a horse from time to time.


    ¡°Aster, slow down!¡± Reas shouted from behind.


    He turned around and shouted back, ¡°Come on, Reas, let¡¯s race!¡±


    And he let the horse he was riding to go even faster.


    Reas frowned in disapproval, but there was still worry in his teal-gray eyes.  He no longer tried to stop his brother and just keep up.  So, if the other was thrown off or something, he could immediately move and save him.


    He was already getting the hang of riding this horse.  He could already maneuver it as he wanted.  But when he first tried earlier, he almost fell on his back.  If not for his SS level physique, that definitely would have happened.


    Surprisingly enough, his brother was the total opposite.  The moment he got on his horse, it appeared as if he had been riding one for years.  He didn¡¯t think it was weird.  He just thought that Astrid had better balance than him.


    It¡¯s kind of embarrassing seeing his brother being more comfortable and confident riding the horse.  So, he had to step up.  After all, he couldn¡¯t let Astrid leave him behind.  What if the other got into an accident?  He needed to be there closely behind him so he could save him quickly if ever he was thrown off or something.


    But seeing how proficient Astrid was in horse riding, that kind of accident would probably be almost impossible to happen.


    Astrid held the reign with one hand and opened the map with the other.  The marked location was where they were supposed to go to right now.  It was where the staff involved in shooting the music video.  According to this map, it was near the sea area.


    He wondered what kind of music video the director in charge would shoot.  He wasn¡¯t really given a script or anything.  Not that it mattered.  He was confident that he could do a good job no matter what the director threw at him.


    He was about to close the map when a black horse suddenly jumped in front of him.  It came from the side.  Astrid had to quickly stop just so the two of them wouldn¡¯t collide.


    When he raised his head, his gaze happened to collide with a pair of golden eyes.

 Chapter 128 - A PRINCE ALSO HAS HIS PRIDE

    IT was not only the pair golden eyes, Astrid also caught a whiff of white hair.  Those very familiar features made him quickly recognized who the person on the black horse was.  And the only thought in his mind was;


    [What the hell is he doing here?]


    At the same time, Wulfric¡¯s gaze also landed on the teenager riding a white horse.  It didn¡¯t even take a second for him to recognize the other.  How could he not when his image had been flitting in his mind from time to time for over a month now.  But his first thought was;


    [Am I hallucinating right now?]


    He stopped his horse and faced the teenager.  He stared at those obsidian black eyes darker than the night sky looking at him in shock.  The teenager still looked as beautiful as he remembered.  As if they just met yesterday.


    He wanted to move forward, to make sure that the person in front of him was not simply a figment of his imagination.  But before he could do that, another horse galloped forward and on top of it was another familiar face.


    It was that ice-blue haired brat.  Seeing the other, Wulfric was now confident that he was not having hallucination.  Aster was indeed in front of him.


    ¡°Your Highness,¡± Reas greeted with vigilance.  He made sure that Astrid was behind him and that he could block the gaze of this prince.


    When the horse suddenly leaped out of the side of the forest, he was already alert.  So, when he saw that it was actually the prince, he quickly managed to subside his shock.


    But really, what was this guy doing here?  Seriously, out of all the place this prince could be, why did it have to be here, the place where his brother was going to shoot a music video?  This guy couldn¡¯t possibly be stalking his brother, right?


    Astrid was also really shocked seeing the prince here.  After that incident more than a month ago, he totally wiped that out from his mind.  Which meant that he had never thought of this person again.


    Although he knew that once he started to become famous, there was a high chance that this immature and unreasonable general might find him again and cause him trouble.  He had the mentality of ¡®let¡¯s just cross the bridge when we get there¡¯ regarding the situation involving this person.  So, he wasn¡¯t that worried.  Who would have thought that they would suddenly meet here?


    The man¡¯s golden gaze just looked at Reas as if he¡¯s someone inconsequential.  And then he turned around his horse and galloped away from there.


    The twins didn¡¯t move until the prince¡¯s back disappeared from their sight.  And Reas couldn¡¯t help but exclaimed;


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    Yes, that was it.


    As Wulfric was looking at that ice-blue haired kid, he remembered that video that was caught using the camera on one of his uniform¡¯s button.  The way Aster cried and trembled and how he asked if they would kill him and his family just for the fact that Wulfric fell asleep for no reason in their house.


    He didn¡¯t want to admit it, but that was kind of a huge blow for him.  Because whether he was acting or not, it only really meant one thing ¨C he didn¡¯t want anything to do with him.


    When he saw Aster earlier, he must admit that he indeed had the urge to just speak and just simply be near him.  But thinking of how the other must feel the exact opposite, that just stopped him.


    No matter how thick his skin might be, he wouldn¡¯t continue to push himself onto someone who didn¡¯t welcome him.  He still had his pride as a prince.  If he continued as he did before, wouldn¡¯t it just appear like he was begging for the other¡¯s attention?  He¡¯s Wulfric de Lunaris.  He wouldn¡¯t beg just for anyone.  Especially not for someone who he barely even knew and just happened to attract his attention.


    Although, as much as he hated to admit it, if he didn¡¯t see that video, he might really continue on pestering Aster.  He probably would even go back immediately to Delryria the moment he regained consciousness.


    So, in a way, he was glad for that video.  It felt like it slapped him so hard that his brain just cleared.  He even wondered why he was so persistent on being around the teenager that time. Was he just so bored that the moment he found someone interesting he just simply attached himself to it?


    That video made him slowly realized how pushy he must have been during that time.  With his identity, it could really only go two ways ¨C either the other became extremely terrified or extremely annoyed.  Whichever the case, it wasn¡¯t something that he would want to hear.  Or even admit, for that matter.


    So, when Wulfric met the teenager once again, no matter how many questions he currently had in his head, he still decisively turned around and left.


    But now that he was already a few distance away from where he found Aster and his brother, he started to become curious once again on why the two were here.  Why were they here at the capital instead of Delryria?  Did they move here?  Or were they simply on a vacation?


    There were so many questions in his mind.  All of it related to Aster.


    He let out an irritated sigh.  Just what the heck?  Did his IQ somehow go offline again after seeing that little guy?


    But as his horse continued to gallop forward, the want to see Aster again became worse and worse.  Just like an itch he couldn¡¯t stop scratching.  At the end, he could only grit his teeth and then contacted Hildred.


    The moment his call connected, the first thing he said was;


    ¡°Check all the guests of this place today.  I want to know the reason why they¡¯re here.¡±


    And then he quickly hung up the call.


    Hildred, on the other side of the garden, was left with a big question mark on his face.

 Chapter 129 - WHY ASTER IS HERE

    HILDRED looked at his Terminal, wondering what had suddenly gotten into Wulf.  But as an obedient member of Fenris Squad, he still did as he was told.  He called the manager of the club and requested the list of guests today and the reason why they were here.  The manager knew that he was friends with the owner of the place that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t hesitate to adhere to his request.


    It didn¡¯t take long before his Terminal received the information he requested.  He scanned the information with his eyes and he was surprised when he saw a particular name.


    Astrid Townsend.


    Wasn¡¯t this too much of a big coincidence?


    Now he knew why Wulf suddenly made that order.  He had probably seen Astrid Townsend here somewhere.  After all, their general was all in knots because of that teenager.  It didn¡¯t last though.  After he had watched that video of the teenager crying in fear and begging for his life, he was in a daze for a day.  And then after he was already back in his usual self.


    So, Hildred didn¡¯t think too much of it.  After all, Wulf¡¯s interest came and go.  He thought it was the same when it came to the teenager.  But now that he saw him, did his interest return?


    Then he suddenly remembered that trending topic from before.  He had almost forgotten about that.  Remembering the look of the teenager on that clip and knowing what kind of situation the other was at that time, he couldn¡¯t help but smile.  This was going to be interesting.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± a voice suddenly asked.


    Hildred raised his head from where he was sitting and saw Edmund riding on a horse and stopping near him.  He was holding a cluster of grapes in one hand while the other was holding the reign of the horse.  A sparse of reddish-brown hair was already growing on his former bald head.  After another month, with the help of a fast hair-grower shampoo, it would definitely be back to its old normal length.


    He actually considered convincing Edmund into keeping his bald head.  After all, it just made the other more adorable.  He was confident that he could talk him into it.  But then, he would miss running his fingers through his hair.  So, at the end, he decided not to do it.


    ¡°Where did you get the grapes?¡± he asked instead of answering Edmund¡¯d question.


    ¡°There¡¯s a grape vine not so far from where we are.  I remembered you like this fruit so I picked a cluster,¡± Edmund said.  Then, as if realizing that he just did something ¡®bad¡¯, his face suddenly filled with a worried expression.  ¡°Oh no, do you think the owner will mind?  Should I return it?¡±


    When Edmund said the first part, Hildred felt like his heart was just filled with sweetness.  But when the other said the latter, that sweetness almost evaporataed.


    He stood up and snatch the grapes before jumping on his horse.  ¡°You picked it up for me.  Why would you return it?¡±


    Then he kicked the side of the horse, letting it to gallop forward.


    ¡°Wait- Hil!¡± called Edmund.  When the other didn¡¯t respond, he had no choice but to follow.


    Hildred bit on one grape.  [Sweet.]


    ¡ª¨C


    Wulfric was feeling all antsy.  He was walking back and forth, waiting for Hildred¡¯s information to arrive.  He really wanted to know just what was Aster doing in this place.


    But before he could receive a reply from Hildred, he first heard the sound of galloping horse hooves.  He raised his head and looked at the distance.  Just as he thought, he saw Hildred and Edmund coming to his direction.  When they reached him, they quickly jumped off from their horses.


    ¡°The information?¡± he quickly asked Hildred.


    Hildred raised one of his brows.  So excited?  He wanted to tease the other about it but decided not to.  At this state, Wulf might just kick him unceremoniously.  So, he also got straight to the point and didn¡¯t go around the bush.


    ¡°Astrid Townsend is here together with a filming crew that will shoot a music video here,¡± he said.  ¡°Aside from us, they¡¯re the only current guests of this place.¡±


    Edmund was surprised when he heard that name.  Was Hildred talking about that teenager from Delryria?  Looking at the general¡¯s expression, it seemed that that was definitely the case.  Wait- how come he¡¯s here?


    A filming crew?  Wulfric¡¯s brows couldn¡¯t help but furrow.  What was Aster doing with a group like that?  Did he and his brother go here at the capital just to work with some filming crew?


    Both of them were only teenagers.  It would be much more believable if they went to the capital to continue their studies.  No, that¡¯s not only believable, it¡¯s probably most likely the case.  How come he didn¡¯t think of that immediately?  It¡¯s like the moment he saw Aster, his brain was just suddenly surrounded by a dark fog and he simply couldn¡¯t think properly.  Really, just what kind of black magic that kid put on him?


    No, the real question here was, and the more important one, what were they doing with a filming crew?  The only possible answer he could think of was that the two were doing part time jobs.


    That thought made his brows furrowed even further.


    Even if he had no interest in the entertainment industry, he knew how chaotic that industry was.  A lot of nobles dipped their feet at the dirty water of that industry.  Not only them but also wealthy businessmen and the likes.  It¡¯s like a breeding ground of sin.


    Did those two know that or they just didn¡¯t care as long as they could earn money?


    With Aster¡¯s appearance, he would definitely be targeted by people with bad intentions.  What if someone with power and influence decided that he must have him?  Just thinking of that and his insides were already boiling in anger.  A powerful killing intent emerged from his body.  He already wanted to decimate whoever that person was.


    ¡°General, c-calm down,¡± Edmund said, feeling the chills behind his back.  Just how did their general suddenly become angry for no reason?


    Hildred was not as ignorant as Edmund and he quickly understood some things.  So, he suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go and watch their filming?¡±

 Chapter 130 - GO BEYOND YOUR EXPECTATION

    THEY arrived at the site of the music video shoot with Astrid¡¯s head on the clouds.  All he could think of was the prince¡¯s unexpected reaction to seeing him.


    He knew that once he became famous, the prince would definitely know that he was just acting in that video.  He would probably even reach the conclusion that he knew about the presence of that camera that¡¯s why he purposely acted that way.  From what he had heard about the prince¡¯s temper, and as well as what he had seen during that short time at Delryria, he was certain that the other would get back at him.


    But he was confident that he could get around that.  He could just genuinely admit that he was afraid that his interest with him would increase even further.  That¡¯s why he acted like that.  And then just say some shit like having the prince¡¯s interest would get in the way of his dreams or something.  But based on the reaction that guy had shown earlier, he probably wouldn¡¯t have the chance to use those excuses.


    If Astrid didn¡¯t see the surprise on the other¡¯s face when their eyes met, he might have thought that he had forgotten him.  So, did that mean that he had already lost interest in him and his action was like telling him that he wasn¡¯t even worth his time?


    This kind of attitude was the exact polar opposite of how he acted when they first met.  He couldn¡¯t wrap his brain around it.  It had only been a little more than a month since then.  Was he really so forgettable?  Or was his acting simply too convincing that the prince was disgusted by his ¡®crying¡¯ and ¡®begging¡¯?  So, after watching that video, all his interest in him just vanished?


    Astrid suddenly felt a tingle in his chest.  Like one would feel when they were annoyed.


    Then he stopped and almost slapped his face.


    Just what the hell was that?  What tingle?  What annoyed?  Wasn¡¯t this the best possible outcome for him?  Why would he ever be dissatisfied?  No, wait- when did he say that he was?


    He shook his head and threw all those unnecessary thoughts away.  What¡¯s important right now was the music video he¡¯s starring in.


    But it was probably still too late for him to take back the dull expression on his face because he heard Reas asking;


    ¡°Aster, are you okay?¡±


    He turned to his brother and smiled.  ¡°Of course.  Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡±


    But what he didn¡¯t know was that his smile looked force.  Especially to Reas who grew up seeing his real smile.


    ¡°Are you worried about that prince?¡± Reas asked.  Because the only possible reason why Astrid would have that expression was because of the presence of that person here.  ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if he troubles you here, I¡¯ll do my best to be your shield.¡±


    Astrid chuckled when he heard that.  All the weird things he felt just turned into amusement.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll also do my best to hide behind your back,¡± he said, following along.


    The two of them jumped off from their horses and pulling them towards the beach.  There was a two-floor wooden cottage there just before the shore.  It was surrounded by flowers and there were vines filling its walls.


    They hadn¡¯t entered yet when a male AI robot wearing some kind of butler¡¯s outfit with matching coat tails and half-moon glasses.


    ¡°Dear guests, welcome to our seaside cottage.  Are you a party with the people from Kaleido Entertainment?¡± the robot asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astrid answered.


    ¡°Then, please, go inside.  Some of the people from your group are already inside,¡± the robot said with a smile.  ¡°You can just leave the horses here and I¡¯ll have someone take care of them.¡±


    The two did as they were told and walked inside the cottage.  Even though the outside looked like some cottage one would find during the Georgian era of England, the inside was like a modern Earth hotel.  There was a lounge and a reception desk, an AI robot behind it.


    Just like what that butler-like AI said earlier, there were already people in the lounge area.  All their attention turned to them.  No- more accurately, their attention was focused on Astrid.


    Astrid took the initiative to introduced himself.  ¡°Good morning, I¡¯m Astrid Townsend.  I¡¯ll be working with all of you today as a part of the music video.¡±


    The part of the crew who was there already had a feeling that the teenager who just arrived was the one they¡¯re going to shoot today together with Miria Lane.  With that appearance, it would be such a waste if he was just here as an additional help for the crew.


    They greeted him back enthusiastically.  How could they not?  He not only looked good, he was also very polite.  Anyone would like a person with a good work attitude.


    ¡°Huh, so, you¡¯re my star today,¡± suddenly said by a woman¡¯s voice behind them.


    Both twins turned back and saw a tall woman standing at the entrance of the cottage.  He had short dark purple hair with blue highlights on its fringe.  She was wearing all black with smokey make-up that only popped up because of her pale complexion.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of one of those rocker girls in his past life seeing her.  But he made sure not to show any reaction on his face.


    He only smiled and greeted, ¡°Good morning, Director Hale.¡±


    Yes, this woman was the director for this music video ¨C Harper Hale.  Miria had long told her that this person would be responsible for directing them in this video.  So, he had plenty of time to research information about her.


    She was a budding director that only started her career three years ago.  She had only been shooting advertisements, music videos, and short films.  But despite that, she had been continuously gaining recognitions for her work.  One could see that she was very passionate with her craft.  Astrid was glad to work with someone like that.


    Director Hale looked at him from head to toe.  ¡°Astrid, right?  I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me today.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t, Director,¡± Astrid said without hesitation.  ¡°I will do my best to even go beyond your expectation.¡±

 Chapter 131 - BEFORE THE MV SHOOT

    HARPER stared at the teenager in front of her.  His eyes were shining like the night sky full of stars.  Those black orbs not only had determination in them but also unwavering confidence.  She didn¡¯t know if that was just his arrogance talking or if he could actually walk the talk.


    ¡°Before we start filming, just in case you haven¡¯t heard of this, I don¡¯t use script whenever I shoot a music video,¡± she said.  ¡°I let the people who starred in my video to show the emotions that are being conveyed by the song.  Do you know why I do it this way?¡±


    Astrid, who was asked, quickly thought of an answer to that question.  ¡°Because if one used their emotion at a certain part of a song to convey what they were feeling instead of simply following a script that was provided for them, it would feel more genuine.  And the message of the song would be delivered more clearly.¡±


    Harper smiled at that smart response.  It¡¯s good to know that there¡¯s a brain inside that pretty head.  ¡°Correct.  Anyone who would see the video would have a deep impression of the song.  And if the star of my music video does a really, really good job, they won¡¯t only help in the sales of the song, it would also help them gain attention.  But if they only have a barely passable talent, no matter how good of a director I am, it will show on the video.  And they would gain nothing from it.  So, Astrid Townsend, which of the two are you?¡±


    ¡°Definitely the first one, Director,¡± Astrid answered without an ounce of hesitation.


    Harper couldn¡¯t help but laugh once again.  She liked confidence in people.  Especially if they could back it up.  Based on what her Uncle Daniel had told her, this kid definitely had the talent to back his confidence.


    It was actually one of the reasons why she didn¡¯t directly fire him the moment she saw how pretty he was.  Because she had been hearing nothing but good things about him from her uncle ¨C Director Daniel Trevane.  That uncle of hers wouldn¡¯t just easily give compliments to anyone.  And yet, two weeks ago, when she called him, he kept on gushing about this newcomer.  To the point of even calling him a star in the making.


    She became a bit curious.  Probably because she hadn¡¯t remembered how long ago since her uncle became excited dure to a new artist.  That¡¯s why when Harper found out that she would be shooting this talented newcomer, she was excited.  Because her curiosity would finally be fed.


    But when she saw his appearance, she was a bit disappointed.  Because his looks clearly didn¡¯t match the theme of the song they would be shooting.  She even wondered if her uncle wasn¡¯t just dazzled by the other¡¯s good looks.  But now that they were about to start filming, it seemed that she just had to wait and see whether this kid really had it or not.


    ¡°Then try not to disappoint me,¡± she said.  ¡°Go and have the stylist do your make-up.  We¡¯ll shoot your part first.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Director Hale.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At a safe distance from the sea area of the garden, three people were looking at the shore using high-grade binoculars that could project a virtual image of what it was seeing.  Even someone with an SS level physique wouldn¡¯t notice their presence from the spot they chose.


    The one who was tasked to hold the binoculars was Edmund while Hildred and Wulfric were sitting comfortably behind and looking at the virtual screen.


    ¡°Edmund, are you sure you¡¯re looking at the right place?¡± Wulfric asked, probably for nth time already.


    Edmund, who was currently like a human camera, almost wanted to cry.  If only he could complain, he had already done so.  But sadly, in this party, he was the one with the least right to make any kinds of decision.  If he made an analogy, then the general would be the boss, Hildred would be the boss¡¯ right hand man, then he¡¯d the unfortunate lackey.


    He was about to explain that he was really pointing the binoculars at the direction Hildred said when he saw that a group of people started to walk towards the shore.  Some were carrying items that was probably needed for filming.  And others were clearing a certain area.


    ¡°There, General, I think they¡¯re starting!¡±


    Wulfric, of course, also saw that from the virtual screen.  His gaze was moving left and right looking for a certain black-haired teenager.  But he still couldn¡¯t find him amongst all that people.


    Seeing how Wulf was obviously looking for the teenager, Hildred thought that he probably should have mentioned about Astrid Townsend trending more than three weeks ago.  Would Wulf kick him if he told him about it now?  He shrugged.  He might as well get it done and over it.


    ¡°Now that I remember it, I think I saw a trending topic three weeks ago about your teenager,¡± he started, acting all innocent as if he just remembered it now.


    Wulfric glanced sharply at Hildred.  ¡°What trending topic?  And for the record, he¡¯s not my teenager.¡±


    Hildred only raised one of his brows.  Because that last sentence was a bit unexpected.  He didn¡¯t expect the other to react to that one comment he made.  It¡¯s like a kid in class being teased about the person he liked and him shouting back, ¡®no, I don¡¯t like that person at all!¡¯.


    He almost laughed at his own analogy.  But he still maintained an innocent expression and said, ¡°Well, a video clip of him trended.  I think it was taken by another person and posted on [Cyberspace]. He was removing his cap and revealing his face.  With his appearance, it¡¯s not that surprising that it gained a lot of attention.  But I think the main reason it did was because of the situation it was taken.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s brows furrowed.  He didn¡¯t like anything that he just heard.  ¡°What situation?¡±


    Before Hildred could answer, Edmund suddenly shouted;


    ¡°General, General, I think I just saw Astrid!¡±


    Wulfric quickly shifted his gaze towards the virtual screen.  And there, he saw Aster walking barefoot on the sea shore.

 Chapter 132 - SKEWED FOCUS

    THE teenager on the screen was wearing a white shirt with a loose neckline and a pair of black trousers that were folded just above his ankles.  His clothes revealed a white expanse of chest, as well as his delicate ankles.  Wulfric simply couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of him.


    It¡¯s like a spell had been casted on him and he became captivated.  That was until he realized he was not the only one seeing Aster like this.  And the worse thing was, he was seeing all of this at a distance while those people on the shore were seeing it up close.


    His gaze quickly shifted to the people on the shore and just as he expected, almost all of them were ogling the teenager.


    An unknown anger quickly shot from inside him.  He didn¡¯t like how those people were looking at Aster like that.  It¡¯s like they were dirtying him.  He just wanted to go there and gouge their eyes out.


    ¡°Why is he wearing something so revealing?  Isn¡¯t he just here to help with that filming crew?  Why did he have to wear so little?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but exclaimed in anger.


    Edmund suddenly had a question mark on his head.  Revealing clothes?  He had to look at Astrid again to confirm that he was seeing the same thing as the general.  But he only saw was a teenager wearing a shirt and pants.


    Hildred, on the other hand, almost burst out laughing when he heard what Wulf¡¯s complains.  Because he sounded like an overprotective, jealous boyfriend.  But he knew that if he teased him about that, he would vehemently refuse.  He might even receive a beating.


    He looked at the virtual screen.  Astrid was now talking to a woman who seemed to be the one in-charge.  Frankly speaking, the kid was really the type that could attract anyone¡¯s attention.  He just didn¡¯t expect that Wulf of all people would be attracted to this type.


    Maybe something happened while he was interacting with the other at Delryria to become this attached.  If you know Wulf at all, then that was almost like a miracle.  With the Fenris Squad, it took them experiencing life and death situations together for Wulf to truly be attached to them.  And yet, in just a few hours in Delryria, this teenager, no, this kid, managed to attract Wulf to this level.


    Hildred actually thought that the meeting between the two didn¡¯t really affect Wulf that much.  Because after watching that video of the kid crying and begging for his life and his family, Wulf had never mentioned him again.


    But seeing his reaction now after meeting Astrid again, it seemed that he just put it the very back of his mind.  And now that he saw the teenager again, it simply came back with a vengeance.


    He smiled unknowingly.  This would be definitely be interesting to watch.


    Should he make it more interesting then?


    ¡°Astrid is probably the star of this music video,¡± he said.


    Wulf, who had been staring intensely at the virtual screen as if he wanted to kill every person in there except Astrid, turned sharply towards Hildred.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, for one, he¡¯s obviously dressed by a stylist.  He wouldn¡¯t be if he¡¯s just an ordinary member of the film crew.  And second, remember what I told you earlier about him trending on [Cyberspace] three weeks ago?  Well, it¡¯s because he tried to talk it out with a hostage taker to make the other release the kid he took hostage.  That scene was the one that got uploaded on [Cyberspace] and it just completely blew up.¡±


    Wulfric stood up from where he was sitting.  ¡°What?  Why was he taking on some hostage taker?  What was the military responsible for that area doing?  They should all be fired!  No, I need to know what happened to that hostage taker and make sure that he would be punished thoroughly,¡± he said, his whole body suddenly emanating cold killing intent.


    Hildred was speechless.  That didn¡¯t happen often.  But at these few seconds, Wulf managed to do that.  Really, after all the things that he said, the other really just focused on that part about the hostage taker?  He couldn¡¯t help but shook his head helplessly.  It seemed like their prince had already gone the far end.


    He sighed.  ¡°Wulf, I think your focus was on the wrong side.  I think you should be asking why he was able to take on a hostage taker without any fear and yet showed such a cowardly attitude on that video that Ed took.  And if he really is the star of this music video, that means that the major reason he came here at the capital was to join the entertainment industry as an actor.  You understand, right?  That he most likely only used a cowardly act so he could get you off his back.¡±


    Wulfric stopped.  And it was his turn to be silent.


    ¡ª¨C


    ¡°Are the sound pods safely snuggled in your ears?¡± the director asked.


    Astrid touched the thing that was similar to an airpod, albeit much smaller, that was attached to his ear.  ¡°Yes, Director.¡±


    ¡°We will shoot some scenes here.  Whatever part of the song started playing in the sound pods, I want you to show me the emotions it portrays.  I will randomly play those parts of the song.  You have to react quickly and give me the emotion that the song is asking.  Think you can handle it?¡±


    Harper knew that what she¡¯s asking was hard.  It was even a bit unreasonable.  Many would panic and just forget how they should act altogether.  Most of the people that starred in the music videos she shot had that problem.  Only a number managed to quickly adapt to her requirements.


    But even so, she still wouldn¡¯t take it easy.  Because she wanted that raw emotions.  She wouldn¡¯t lower her standards for anyone, no matter who they might be.  If they couldn¡¯t keep up with her standards no matter how much directions she gave, then they¡¯re simply talentless.


    As expected, Astrid didn¡¯t complain and just smiled instead.  ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Director.  I think I can handle it.¡±

 Chapter 133 - UNDENIABLY AND IRREVOCABLY

    THE director clapped to get everyone¡¯s attention.  ¡°Okay, everyone in position!¡±


    The small cameras flew up, surrounding Astrid¡¯s position.  The cameramen who were controlling the small drones made sure that he would be captured at any angle.  The lighting crew also started to do their part.


    Astrid ignored all the bustle around him.  He closed his eyes and cleared his mind.  He put his emotion at zero.  So, it would be easy for him to dig out the right emotion later.  And he just calmly waited for the signal of the director to begin.


    Before he could hear the signal, he first heard the music from the sound pods in his ears.  The director probably did that so he could ready himself easily.  He smiled inwardly.  It seemed the director wasn¡¯t that strict as one migh immediately think.


    He concentrated on the music coming from the sound pods.  It was the first verse of the song.  In this part, it described one of the two prevalent themes of the song.  Which was desolation.  This verse was like the beginning of the story.


    It started with some kind of bleakness that one just couldn¡¯t shake off.  Just by listening to that verse, one could feel the increasing hopelessness.  People who would hear that would quickly think that this song was just about someone¡¯s never-ending suffering.  Even if there would be a turn around at the second half of the song, at least in this scene, he should show that that was indeed the case.


    ¡°Okay, action!¡±


    When Astrid heard Director Hale shouting that very familiar phrase, he opened his eyes and turned to the persona that this music video needed.  Someone who was tired and had already given up on life.  Someone who was just waiting for everything to end.  That¡¯s how he should be at the first part of the song.


    The usual bright aura that was surrounding him as if he was shining was suddenly gone.  The glimmer in those beautiful black eyes was now gone.  All one could see was the bleakness.


    And so, the once beautiful teenager who was covered in brilliance had now turned into someone full of gloom.  One couldn¡¯t even see his beauty.  All they could see was the sadness enveloping him.


    That made the crew watching the whole scene truly amazed.  Because it¡¯s not as if the stylist made him look less pretty.  No, there was nothing like that.  He simply reduced his presence and overwhelmed everyone with the sheer amount of emotion he was showing.


    The teenager looked towards the blue sea, his eyes full of longing.  As if there was something over the horizon that could alleviate the emptiness in his heart.  He tried to stretch out his hand, wanting to catch it.  But at the end, he just put it down.  He looked at his palm and a smile crossed his lips.


    It was the kind of smile that showed helplessness.  As if he was silently berating himself for thinking of something he shouldn¡¯t.  For wanting something he couldn¡¯t ever have.


    He clenched his fist and raised it close to his chest.  Then he closed his eyes tightly.  He looked as if he was trying to useless emotion in his heart to that tightly clenched fist.  He opened his eyes, there was no longer anything in it.  And then, he slowly opened his clenched fist.  The simple gesture was like him slowly letting go of the things that he couldn¡¯t have.  Things that would forever be out of his reach.


    The crew who was watching was once again amazed by the teenager¡¯s simple actions.  Because it conveyed a lot.  They couldn¡¯t hear the music that Astrid was hearing right now.  But somehow, they still knew what kind of song it was.  About being stuck in a quagmire that one just couldn¡¯t get out of no matter how much they tried.  That helplessness and desperateness, everyone there felt it.


    They only had one thought at that moment ¨C ah, so this was what watching a genuine acting felt like.


    Harper stared at the virtual screen in front of her.  It was divided in panels, each for every camera filming Astrid at the moment.  No matter which panel she looked, this teenager was simply perfection.  He truly didn¡¯t let her down.  He really backed up all that bravado and confidence.  This was talent.  Pure and unadulterated talent.


    Looking at this scene, she finally understood his uncle¡¯s excitement when telling her about this teenager.  Because she could feel that same excitement now.  How wonderful was this feeling?  Well, to explain it, it¡¯s like finding shiny crystal that you thought was just made of colored glass and then discovering that it was actually the rarest kind of gem.


    She grinned.  She wondered just what kind of actor this teenager would become in the future.  If he walked to right path, then, surely, he would definitely climb at the very top.


    Hearing that it was nearing the end of the first verse, Harper quickly shouted, ¡°Okay, cut!¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    Wulfric stared at the virtual screen unblinkingly.  His emotions were currently all jumbled up.  Frustration, anger, worry, even some kind of pain he couldn¡¯t understand.  But despite all those confusing emotions, he still wanted to go over to that shore and wipe that expression on Aster¡¯s face.


    He didn¡¯t like seeing him like that.  Looking like there was no hope and so he decided to just give up.  Aster shouldn¡¯t look like that.  He remembered that time when they first met.  The teenager looked at him without fear, his dark eyes full of unwavering courage.


    He understood that the other was just acting.  Because it¡¯s clear as day now that he was indeed the star of this music video.  But even so, seeing him like that still put his stomach into knots.  Seriously, there must be something really wrong with his brain.


    Why would he feel distress for this little guy who¡¯s basically pretending to be in pain?  He seemed to be really good at that, ¡®pretending¡¯.  Wulfric¡¯s focus should be on one and one thing only.


    On the fact that this teenager undeniably and irrevocably duped him.

 Chapter 134 - EXPLODING EMOTIONS

    WULFRIC looked back at the things that Hildred said to him earlier, about the possibility that Aster was only acting on that video that was taken from Edmund¡¯s button camera.


    According to Hildred, Aster on that trending video was calm and collected despite facing a hostage taker.  So, the question was, how could he be afraid of him to the point of crying and begging for his life?


    The answer to that question was quickly revealed the moment the filming of that music video began.  Even if Wulfric had no idea what was good or bad acting in terms of the entertainment industry, he could tell at a glance that Aster was very talented.


    He had shown such a wide range of emotion in just a span of minutes.  Even if he didn¡¯t know what the music video was about, just by watching his performance, he could easily tell that the song was about hopelessness.  If he could do that, then he could have also easily staged that ¡®fearful¡¯ and ¡®cowardly¡¯ act.


    The first thing that Wulfric should have felt was anger for being deceived.  Under normal circumstance, he knew that he would have flown into rage by now.  Yes, he was indeed angry.  But beyond that, he was more upset.  And even underneath that, he felt hurt.


    Because he understood that the reason Aster staged that act was because he didn¡¯t want him to be interested in him.  So, he acted in a way that he believed would make him lose interest.  That meant that at that time, he probably just wanted to make him leave Delryria and never bother him again.


    That¡¯s right.  For Aster, he was nothing but a bother.  A bother that he wanted to get rid of.  Someone who he didn¡¯t want to have any connection with.  Maybe in his mind, the first meeting between the two of them was nothing but a bad memory he just wanted to forget.  He probably even hated him.


    He wanted to feel indignant.  To tell himself, so what?  There were so many people out there who hated him.  It¡¯s nothing rare if another person was added to that list.  Did this kid think that he was so special that he would feel bad just because he disliked him?  He should be the one feeling offended here.  Being played by a mere teenager like that.  He should now be thinking how to teach him a lesson.


    But the fact was, he wasn¡¯t thinking about that.  He wasn¡¯t even that offended.  All he could think of was that was he really that unbearable?  Realizing that in Aster¡¯s mind that might indeed be the case, he became more depressed.


    Hildred observed the ever-changing expression on Wulf¡¯s face ¨C from worry, to frustration, to anger, to helplessness, and finally, to depression.  He raised one of his brows.  Just what was going through the head of this prince of theirs?


    Whatever that might be, it definitely had something to do with Astrid Townsend.  As he only started having that reaction while watching the teenager act.  And what a wonderful performance if Hildred might add.


    He watched movies now and then if he had time and he must say, this Astrid was much more talented in comparison to other actors and actresses he had seen so far.  Now he understood why he didn¡¯t even notice that he was acting on that video Ed took from his button camera.  Because the other was simply that good.


    ¡°Ahm, General, they¡¯re leaving.  I think they¡¯re changing location.  Should we continue to watch?¡± Edmund suddenly asked.


    Wulfric seemed to come back to his senses because of that question.  ¡°No,¡± he just said before standing up and walking away.


    Hildred was a bit startled by this sudden turn of events.  He also quickly stood up and followed after Wulf.  The only one who remained in a daze standing there was Edmund.


    ¡°Wulf, wait!¡± Hildred called.


    Wulfric stopped and turned around.  His expression showing that he was annoyed that Hildred stopped him.  ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Where else?  Back to the base,¡± Wulfric said as if he just something stupid.


    ¡°Are you really okay just leaving like this?¡±


    When Hildred asked that, Wulf turned quiet.  He sighed.  He wasn¡¯t sure what kind of mental battle this guy was experiencing inside his head right now.  But he was sure that it had something to do with Astrid.


    He felt like he had to intervene.  If he let Wulf leave here right now, he¡¯s certain that whatever connection the other might have made with Astrid would also end here.  How could Hildred let that happen?  Especially after seeing firsthand all the emotions that Astrid managed to evoke from Wulf today.


    If that were to happen, then Wulf might not be able to meet another person who could make him feel all those emotions.  And wouldn¡¯t that just be sad for this stubborn general of theirs?


    ¡°What else should I stay here for?¡± Wulfric grumbled.


    ¡°For your teenager, what else?¡±


    ¡°I told you, he¡¯s not my teenager,¡± Wulfric said, annoyed.


    ¡°Fine.  Then, for Astrid,¡± Hildred corrected.  ¡°You wanted to be close to him, right?¡±


    Wulfric scoffed.  ¡°Who wants to be close with who?¡±


    After saying that, he turned around and continued walking.


    Tsk.  This stubborn guy.  ¡°Are you thinking of just completely forgetting that you ever met that kid?  Is that really what you want?¡±


    Wulfric once again stopped and turned to Hildred.  ¡°If I were to do that, then he would definitely jump in happiness.  Didn¡¯t you see how hard he tried to make me completely uninterested in him?¡±  A bitter smile suddenly crossed his lips.  ¡°He hates me.  So, what do you want me to do?  Continue to pester him and make him hate me even more?  No thanks.  I¡¯d rather we both think that we had never met at all.¡±


    Hildred was rather shocked hearing such a tirade from Wulf.  Who would have thought that he would one day hear him say such things?  As he thought, this Astrid was really good for Wulf¡¯s EQ growth.


    He didn¡¯t show the surprise in his face and just asked calmly, ¡°But I¡¯m asking if that¡¯s what you want.  So, is it?¡±


    And Wulfric just exploded.


    ¡°Of course not!  I want to talk to him, I want to have a normal conversation, I want to be closer.  Shit, I don¡¯t even know why I feel this way.  I just do!  And I don¡¯t like it.  I don¡¯t like all the emotions that I¡¯m feeling because of him!  I¡¯m fucking Wulfric de Lunaris and I never feel this way towards anyone!¡±  He was panting after he said all that.  And then he added in a voice that only he could hear, ¡°Only him.¡±


    Hildred wanted to smile hearing all that.  Wulf was really saying all these things right now.  How exciting!


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Astrid necessarily hates you.  Hate is such a strong emotion.  Unless, of course, you killed his parents on the day you two met.  Which you didn¡¯t.  I think, he just find you annoying.  You know, like some kind of insect, constantly buzzing around,¡± he explained.  ¡°That means there¡¯s still room for improvement.  All you have to do is one thing.¡±


    Wulfric remained quiet for a few seconds, as if thinking.  And then he asked, ¡°And that is?¡±

 Chapter 135 - THE EVER ANNOYING

    AS the last string of notes come to a close, the teenager standing barefooted on the beach with his feet submerged on the sea slowly looked back.  There, a girl with hair the color of peaches stood.  The skirt of the white dress she was wearing was flowing around her with the gust of wind.  She reached out her hand to him and smiled.


    The teenager standing on the shallow water seemed startled.  And then, his whole expression changed.  The slight smile that showed that he had already accepted his situation and he¡¯s now ready to move forward became a full-blown bright grin.  As if the girl in front of him was the one he had long been waiting for.


    He laughed, full of happiness, and ran towards the girl.  His whole being was simply glowing.  Like a small sun that finally shone after such a strong and dark storm.  Completely lighting up even the darkest corner.


    He stopped in front of the girl and reached out to his outstretched hand.  When their hands clasped together, the two looked at each other.  And a beautiful smile both bloomed in their lips.


    Holding hands, the two turned towards the setting sun.  Their gazes full of expectations for the future.


    ¡°And Cut!¡± the director shouted.  ¡°That¡¯s a wrap, people!¡±


    Astrid let go of Miria¡¯s hand and smiled at her.  ¡°Great job today, Miria.¡±


    A small smile crossed Miria¡¯s lips.  ¡°If we¡¯re talking about someone doing a great job, I think it¡¯s you and not me.¡±


    She arrived here after lunch because she had another job she had to attend this morning.  When she came, Astrid had already finished all his parts.  So, this afternoon, they had to shoot her part and the part of the two of them.


    Because she wasn¡¯t really that great of an actress, it took a while before the director get a satisfactory take.  Good thing that it was already decided beforehand that she wouldn¡¯t have that many scenes.  Which was just fine by her.  But still, the scenes that she had to shoot still lasted far longer than it should because the director was too strict.


    But surprisingly enough, when it was a scene that involved her and Astrid, her performance improved by leaps and bounds.  She actually thought that it would be the exact opposite.  That performing with Astrid would only make her shortcomings even more noticeable.  But that didn¡¯t happen at all.


    It¡¯s like whenever they were on the same scene, for some reason, her performance just became better.  It took a while before she realized that it was because she was being affected by the other¡¯s acting.  In short, because Astrid was so good in showing the right emotions, she also managed to give out the right response.


    Miria wasn¡¯t mad about that.  In fact, she was even thankful.  Because of him, the number of her NG take became significantly less.  But despite that, it didn¡¯t appear like he was stealing her limelight.  In fact, it was more accurate to say that he was sharing his with her.


    She realized just how big the gap was between their acting talent.  But that didn¡¯t depress her.  Instead, it greatly motivated her to improve more.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say that we both did a great job,¡± Astrid said, as if compromising.


    Then he felt something soft landing on his shoulders.  He raised his head and saw his twin brother covering him with a warm blanket.


    He smiled.  ¡°Where did you get the blanket?¡±


    ¡°The staff gave it to me,¡± Reas answered.  Then he bent down and gave him his pair of shoes.  He stood up after that.  ¡°Wear this first.  I already asked the staff and you can take a warm bath at the seaside cabin.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s too troublesome.  Since the filming was already over, let¡¯s just go back home,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°What troublesome?  You¡¯ve been soaking your feet in cold sea water for almost all afternoon.  Not to mention how thin the clothes you¡¯re wearing,¡± Reas said in a scolding manner.  ¡°So, before you ended up having a cold or some other thing, just go and have a warm bath.¡±


    Astrid smiled helplessly and nodded in agreement.  Really, sometimes he wondered which of the two of them was the older one.


    He turned to Miria who was watching their interaction with interest.  ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead first.¡±


    Miria nodded and the twins walked towards the direction of the director.  Probably to bid goodbye.


    Her assistant walked to her and also have her a blanket.


    ¡°If we weren¡¯t told that those two are siblings, I would really think that they¡¯re lovers,¡± the assistant said while looking at the back of the Townsend siblings.  ¡°What if they¡¯re only using that as a front and the two of them are really not blood-related at all and just¡ª¡±


    Miria glanced at her assistant coldly, stopping the other from continuing speaking.  ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±


    And then she also walked towards the director.


    ¡ª¨C


    The twins at this time were already nearing the seaside cabin.


    ¡°Reas, let¡¯s leave immediately after I took a bath,¡± Astrid said, hugging the blanket to him.


    Reas glanced down at his brother.  ¡°Are you worried that that guy would still pester you?¡±


    They both knew who ¡®that guy¡¯ was, so there¡¯s no need for Astrid to ask who Reas was pertaining to.  ¡°A bit.¡±


    Although the prince didn¡¯t really show himself after that accidental meeting this morning, he was still worried that he might suddenly pop up in front of him and then do the same antics he did back when they first met at Delryria.  With that guy, one could really never know what was going through his head.


    It¡¯s better to be safe rather than sorry.


    Reas understood his worry and agreed to what he suggested.


    They arrived at the seaside cabin.  There were only a few staffs there from the crew since most of them were still at the beach right now.  The twins walked towards an AI robot and asked him if he could guide them to a free room that had a bathroom.  The AI quickly led them to one.


    ¡°I¡¯ll wait here for you,¡± Reas said when they entered the room, sitting down on one of the couches.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll try to be quick.¡±


    Then Astrid entered the bathroom.  He saw a wooden bathtub inside, probably to give this place some kind of rustic feel.  He decided not to take a bath and just take a quick hot shower.


    After just five minutes, he was already done.  He took out clothes from the space stone embedded in his necklace.  He always brought extra clothes and other amenities just in case of emergency.  After drying his hair, he walked out of the bathroom and immediately noticed that Reas was not there.


    That got him a bit confused.  He opened his Terminal to send his brother a message, asking him where he was.  Also, at the same time, he walked towards the door.  He hadn¡¯t yet sent his message but when he opened the door, all his movements stopped.


    Because right there, standing in front of him, was the ever-annoying prince of the Empire ¨C Wulfric de Lunaris.

 Chapter 136 - WITH ALL THE SINCERITY

    WULFRIC stood in front of the room where Astrid currently was.  He didn¡¯t know what kind of method Hildred used to get the little guy¡¯s twin out of the room.  But no matter what it was, he wouldn¡¯t just waste this chance.


    Although he was still a bit skeptical about the thing Hildred said on how he could fix his relationship with Aster, since the other obviously had a higher emotional understanding of people, he had no choice but to believe it.  Because just like what the other said, he couldn¡¯t just leave today and treat everything that had happened between him and Aster as nothing.


    He still couldn¡¯t explain these feelings.  He probably should be at the same level as Hildred in understanding human emotions before he could.  But that should not be his focus right now.  His first priority was how to mend the other¡¯s first impression of him.


    Hildred said that he only needed to do one thing and he had to be very sincere.  That everything that he would say should come from his heart.  Although he honestly had no idea how to do that, he would still do his best to do it.


    Wulfric took a deep breath and once again rehearsed in his mind the things that he planned to say.  At least, things that he thought would be heartfelt.  When he was finally confident that he could say those things without a problem, he decided that it was time to meet the teenager.


    He was about to raised his hand and knock on the door when the door opened suddenly.  He was struck frozen when Aster appeared in front of him, looking equally shocked.


    All the words that he prepared the whole day seemed to be stuck in his throat and he couldn¡¯t say anything.  At that moment, he really just wanted to punch himself.  He couldn¡¯t believe that he could actually be someone so incompetent.


    Astrid stared at their Empire¡¯s prince standing in front of the room with posture that looked like he was about to knock on the door.  After the initial shock, he had already calm down.


    He must say that this kind of situation shouldn¡¯t really surprise him at all.  In fact, he should have already expected something like this to happen.  Sadly, that little ¡®I ignore you now because I¡¯m no longer interested in you¡¯ act this guy did earlier conned him into thinking that that might really be the case.  Which, in turn, made him a bit complacent.


    Sure enough, with this person, he shouldn¡¯t really use too much common sense.  It seemed that his instinct of immediately leaving this place had been correct.  It¡¯s just a bit of shame that he and Reas still weren¡¯t fast enough to leave.


    Speaking of, where was his brother?  Reas wouldn¡¯t just leave him without even saying a word.  He narrowed his eyes at the man standing in front of him.  This guy wouldn¡¯t do anything to his brother just to get him alone, right?  With this guy¡¯s temperament, there¡¯s a high chance that something like that really did happen.


    But he couldn¡¯t just be impolite and act rudely.  After all, the other was still a prince.  Then he remembered that he still acted like some ¡®weak¡¯ and ¡®cowardly¡¯ person in that video that that bald person beside this prince had taken.  Should he start acting all weak and cowardly now so as to not be so out of character?


    So, he walked out and tremblingly closed the door behind him.  And then he lowered his gaze.  ¡°Y-your Highness¡­¡±


    Wulfric looked at this sudden posture and he almost vomited blood.  Did this little guy plan to continue to pretend?  So, the speech he planned to say was wiped again in his mind and he just found himself saying;


    ¡°Stop pretending.  I already know how good of an actor you are.¡±


    Astrid was startled but was not really that surprised.  If he thought about it carefully, since the two met this morning, the other probably inquired what he was doing here.  With his identity, it would be easy for him to do that.  Especially if the other really didn¡¯t lose interest in him.


    Knowing that, there¡¯s a high possibility that this guy had probably seen him filming the music video all day today.  He felt a bit complicated.  If the other had already found out that he was only pretending, shouldn¡¯t he be flying into rage right now?


    With his temper, he should have grabbed him and taught him a lesson.  Maybe he would even torture him just so he could vent his anger.  But none of that happened.  This day almost ended without anything happening that he was almost convinced that the prince¡¯s interest in him had really waned.


    And yet, he still ended up in this kind of situation.


    Since the other already knew that he was only pretending, it would be stupid if he still continued his act.  So, he raised his head and looked straight at the prince.


    ¡°Then does Your Highness plan to punish me?¡±


    Wulfric stared at the teenager¡¯s fearless look.  And he remembered the first time they met.  He also looked at him like this.  The urge to stretch out his hand and pinch his face was almost overwhelming.  So, he just clenched his fists to his side.


    ¡°Why did you pretend?¡± he asked instead of answering the other¡¯s question.


    Astrid thought about it.  Should he be honest?  What if this guy was stimulated and he really tortured him?  But somehow, for unknown reason, a voice inside him kept saying that this guy wouldn¡¯t really do that no matter how much of a psycho he was.  It was a strange thought with no basis at all.  And yet, a part of him still believed it.


    Maybe because of that, he became even more fearless and said, ¡°Your Highness is a smart person, you should know the reason why I did that.¡±


    Wulfric became silent.  Of course, he understood why Aster did it.  He understood all too well.  That¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t even get angry.  Because just like Hildred said, he was the one at fault.


    At this time, he could no longer think of that speech that he tried so hard to piece together.  He could only think of one thing at that moment.


    Wulfric bowed his head and said with all the sincerity he was capable of, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

 Chapter 137 - APOLOGIZING

    ASTRID froze. He didn¡¯t even know how to react.  He was simply dumbfounded.  He even thought that maybe what he just heard was just some kind of auditory hallucination.  After all, how could this arrogant prince apologize to him?  He even bowed his head!  How could that be possible?


    But after a few seconds, the prince was still standing in front of him with his head bowed.  Seeing that what happened really did just happen, he suddenly felt at a loss.


    Ever since he saw this guy early this morning, a lost of possible scenarios entered his mind.  But out of all those scenarios, he had never included this person apologizing.  That¡¯s almost like wishing for the Earth¡¯s sun to set in the east and rise in the west.


    Could anyone blame him for being so skeptical?


    This was the same guy who shamelessly paraded his naked body in front of him, barged into his house like he owned the place, pestered him as if it was his right to do so, and probably even thought that he never went over the line with the way he interacted with him.


    Such things certainly matched all the rumors about the prince.  But what the other was doing right now was the complete opposite of that.


    The crazy prince who even the emperor couldn¡¯t control.  The strongest person in the Empire.  The youngest general.  The White Wolf of Alluna.  Astrid was certain that the person who had all those things said about him wouldn¡¯t so easily bow his head and apologize.


    So, then, what the hell was this?


    Wulfric was waiting for Aster to respond to his apology.  But several seconds had already passed and yet he still hadn¡¯t heard his answer or even heard him speaking.


    Was Hildred wrong?  Didn¡¯t Hildred say that everything would be solved once he apologized?  Then, why was Aster not responding?  Maybe he really should have said the speech that he prepared.  With that, maybe Aster would feel his sincerity more.


    Honestly, when Hildred told him this secret method, the first thought in his mind was ¡®how childish¡¯.  How could a simple apology erase the hatred Aster felt for him?  If an apology was enough to solve any kinds of dispute, then war wouldn¡¯t have happened.  People wouldn¡¯t end up killing each other.


    But then Hildred said that, sometimes, apology was what one all needed.  A simple ¡®sorry¡¯ could easily bridge the gap between two people.  Especially if the one doing the apologizing was the one who¡¯s at fault in the first place.


    If he hadn¡¯t thought of a lot of things concerning Aster since meeting him again this morning, he would probably reject the idea that he did something wrong to the other.  After all, for him, the things he did at Delryria was just him having fun.  But that might not be the case for Aster.


    As Hildred said, maybe he really thought he was just some annoying fly that he couldn¡¯t wait to get rid of.  He had never been thoughtful.  He had never thought of accommodating others just so he wouldn¡¯t hurt their feelings.  If he wanted to do something, he would do it.  If he didn¡¯t want to, then he wouldn¡¯t.  That¡¯s how he lived for most of his life.


    And yet, right now, for the first time in his life, he wanted to be considerate of others.  No, it¡¯s not just others ¨C just Aster.  Just him.  And he still couldn¡¯t fucking understand why.


    No matter.  The important thing right now was for Aster to forgive him.  And then, maybe, just maybe, he would no longer avoid him like the plague.


    He was just about to raise his head to see Aster¡¯s expression when he felt his face being held with two soft hands.  Those hands abruptly raised his face making his gaze collide with a pair of dark obsidian eyes.


    ¡°Are you really the prince and not a fake?  You know, the one everyone in the Empire thinks of as a lunatic?¡±


    Wulfric felt the corner of one of his eyes twitching.  Aster was looking at him with an unbelieving expression.  He even looked a bit confused.  As if he really couldn¡¯t understand what just happened.  No matter how annoyed Wulfric felt at the moment, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel that the other was really cute right now.


    He stood up straight, making the other let go of his face.  And then he scoffed.  ¡°Do you think there¡¯s anyone in the Empire who¡¯s courageous enough to use this face of mine?¡±


    Well, he had a point. ¨C Astrid thought.  There¡¯s probably no one in the Empire who would dare to impersonate this guy.  But if that was the case, then the one who apologized to him earlier and even bowed his head was really the prince.


    Slowly digesting that fact, Astrid was simply filled with confusion.  Nothing would happen if just continued to mull over it by himself.  So, why not just ask the culprit himself?


    ¡°Why is Your Highness apologizing?¡±


    He saw the other¡¯s brows furrowed.  He gritted his teeth as if he didn¡¯t want to answer his question.  And then he took a deep breath and released it.  The moment he did, his expression smoothened out a bit.  As if he was no longer too reluctant to giving him an answer.  He then looked at him straight in the eyes.


    ¡°For the way I acted when we first met at Delryria.  I- I realized that I was out of line quite a number of times and that I made you feel uncomfortable.  Because of that, you were forced to act the way you did just so you could get rid of me.  And for that, I- I apologize.¡±


    By the end, Wulfric felt a warm heat on his face.  He wasn¡¯t sure how he looked right now.  But it probably wasn¡¯t remotely cool or anything like that.  So, he turned his gaze away.  Hoping that Aster wouldn¡¯t look at him.  And just waited for his verdict.


    For the second time, Astrid was once again taken aback.  He was too stunned to immediately respond.


    Looking at the other¡¯s slightly blushing cheeks, unbeknownst to Astrid, a genuine smile appeared on his lips.

 Chapter 138 - CUTE PUPPY

    STARING at the man in front of him, Astrid suddenly remembered all the shit this guy pulled when they first met.  In all honesty, he truly didn¡¯t want to meet this person again.  He simply didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with him.  But right now, for some reason, this guy no longer seemed like a big ball of annoyance.


    Was it because he apologized?  That¡¯s probably it.  And besides, he didn¡¯t just apologize.  He bowed his head and even honestly admitted what he did wrong.  If the one who did all that was not the prince, it probably wouldn¡¯t have the same effect.  But the fact of the matter was, it was indeed the prince.


    The few hours that they spent together in Delryria gave Astrid an overview of how the prince was like.  He was an overbearing jerk who was used to having everything go his way.  If there was an obstacle, he would just go through it like a bulldozer.  He didn¡¯t care who might get hurt along the way.


    He would say and do whatever¡¯s on his mind no matter what others might have felt about it.  In short, he¡¯s very insensitive.  Not to mention, his EQ was probably on the negative scale.  The type of person who wouldn¡¯t really think that he should apologize to another person.  And yet, this same guy apologized to him.


    How could Astrid not be affected even just a tiny bit?


    He even felt a bit magical.  Because how could this prince just suddenly realized his wrongdoings and even willingly apologized to him?  Did he experience some kind of enlightenment?  Or was his soul kidnapped and replaced by another much understanding soul?


    No, that last one was a bit too farfetched.  But still, it truly made one wonder.  Should he just ask?  Since he did answer him earlier, maybe he really should just do that instead of thinking of too many nonsensical things.


    ¡°How did Your Highness suddenly realize that the things you did in Delryria when we first met were wrong?¡±


    Wulfric saw Aster tilting his head and asking him with a very curious expression.  He truly wanted to just stretch his hand and pinch his cheeks due to frustration.  At the end, he could only scoff and said;


    ¡°Do you take me for a fool?  I have a brain with an SSS level mental strength.  Of course, I¡¯m capable of analyzing the things that I did and concluding that they were wrong.¡±


    ¡°Then, does that mean that Your Highness often apologize to people?¡±


    Wulfric frowned.  ¡°Why would you even think that?¡±


    ¡°Because with Your Highness¡¯ temperament, you¡¯re surely the type to often offend people because of the things you do or say,¡± Astrid said straightforwardly.


    He wasn¡¯t really afraid that the other would be mad at him for saying such things.  Which was weird.  He just had a feeling that this guy, no, Wulfric wouldn¡¯t. Probably because right now, instead of a wolf, he¡¯s simply seeing a puppy.  Again, weird.


    Just as he thought, Wulfric only tsked.  And then he scratched his hair forcefully as if annoyed.


    ¡°Why would I waste my time analyzing the shit I did to other people?  I only did so because it was you!  If it was not you, then I definitely wouldn¡¯t have bothered.¡±


    Astrid blinked.  And then he felt his whole face heating up.  He was certain that he was definitely blushing right now.  How could he not when this guy just basically told him that he only pondered about the things he did when they met and then apologized because he was special?


    Seeing the teenager¡¯s whole face turned into a ripe peach, Wulfric also realized that there was something wrong with what he just said.  And then his whole face also heated up.


    But despite feeling all embarrassed, he still couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of Aster.  Because this was the first time he had seen him blushing.  He almost couldn¡¯t help but turn on his Terminal and take a picture of him.  He even wanted to take a bit of those cheeks that looked like ripe peaches.  It would probably taste really good.


    He shook his head.  What the heck was he thinking?  He just apologized and yet his mind still started thinking about something that he probably shouldn¡¯t.  So, he simply looked away, hoping that those thoughts would also disappear.


    ¡°Ah, shit.¡±


    Looking at Wulfric who seemed to turn into a puppy whose fur was ruffled the wrong way, Astrid almost wanted to laugh.  Because of that, his emotions also calmed down.  This annoying wolf just turned into a cute puppy.  How could he not be amused?


    So, finally, he said, ¡°I accept Your Highness¡¯ apology on the ground that you won¡¯t do it again.¡±


    Wulfric abruptly turned his head towards Aster.  ¡°You- do you mean it?  You really forgive me?¡±


    ¡°Well, if Your Highness wants me to take it back, then¡ª¡±


    ¡°No!  Definitely no take backs!¡± Wulfric quickly said.  ¡°I swear, from now on, I will try not to do things that you will hate.¡±


    Of course, the word ¡®try¡¯ didn¡¯t escape Astrid¡¯s notice.  But, right now, that¡¯s probably the best that he could get from this guy anyway.  More importantly, he probably should focus more on the words ¡®from now on¡¯.  Because that implied a lot of things.


    ¡°Does Your Highness plan to meet up with me even after this?¡± he just asked directly.


    ¡°I- I want to.¡±  Wulfric gave him a tentative glance.  ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡±


    If this guy really turned into a puppy, Astrid would probably have seen his ears and tail down.  Showing his uncertainty and slightly gloomy mood.  Because of that, he almost said ¡®yes¡¯ right there and then.  Good thing he managed to stop himself from time.


    ¡°Then, may I know why Your Highness want to meet me again?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Wulfric stopped.  He seriously didn¡¯t know how to answer Aster¡¯s question.  But seeing the other¡¯s inquiring look, he suddenly felt some kind of pressure.  And then, before his brain could think properly, he just found himself blurting out;


    ¡°I want to eat your homecooked meals again!¡±


    Astrid stopped, blinked, and then just outright laughed.

 Chapter 139 - REAS WHEREABOUTS

    REAS stared angrily at the two people standing in front of him.  He touched the small barrier surrounding him and it instantly repelled him.  His expression became even more stormy.


    Earlier, when Astrid went inside the bathroom, he suddenly received a call from the reception saying that the director was asking Astrid if he could go back to the beach.  He was a bit confused why the director suddenly wanted to meet his brother when they already bid farewell and the other also didn¡¯t stopped them.  Did she forget to tell Astrid something important?


    He was thinking if he should tell that to Astrid or just go there by himself when he heard the running water from the bathroom.  At the end, he just decided to meet the director himself.  If he told his brother about it, the other would surely stop taking a bath just so he could quickly meet the director.


    How could Reas let that happen?  Astrid had been subjected to the cold sea breeze the whole afternoon.  Half of that time, his feet were submerged in the sea water.  All the while wearing thin clothes that could barely protect him.  His brother needed this warm bath.


    So, he left the room and the seaside cabin.  Who would have thought that just as he was walking towards the direction of the beach where the crew filmed the music video, someone would suddenly grab him and drag him towards the forest?  Everything happened so fast.  Before he could fight back, he was already inside a barrier.


    It was obvious that the person who grabbed him had higher skill level than him.  Someone who had more combat experience.  The first one who entered his mind who fit that description was the prince.  Considering that they met the other this morning, that guess wasn¡¯t really that far-off.


    Thinking that that bastard was probably took him away so he could kidnap his brother and have his way with him, he couldn¡¯t help but seethe with anger.  But when he raised his head to carefully looked at his assailant, he was surprised to see that there were two people standing in front of him.  And they were both familiar people.


    One had an almost bald head.  Almost because the hair on it was already growing.  His chocolate brown eyes were looking at him guiltily.  The remaining one was a head shorter than the other.  He had a childish face with flaxen blond hair.  His amber eyes were smiling at him.


    These two were definitely the soldiers under that prince.  If Reas remembered correctly, the baldy was called Edmund and the babyface was called Hildred.  Both of them had the rank of captain.


    Even though it was not the prince himself who put him in this barrier, it was still done by his men.  So, what¡¯s the difference?  These two were definitely acting on that bastard¡¯s orders.  Even that supposed call from the director was probably just a ploy to get him out of the room.


    Maybe they planned to get Astrid alone and then that prince would corner him in the room.  Who knows what kind of atrocity that bastard would do to his brother?


    Just thinking of that made his expression even uglier.  ¡°What is that prince going to do to my brother?¡±


    Hildred found the question a bit funny.  He looked at the teenager in amusement.  ¡°Kid, you make it sound like our general is planning to something abominable to your brother.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he?  Isn¡¯t that the reason why you¡¯re keeping me here?  So, I wouldn¡¯t hinder your master¡¯s good deeds?  Hah!¡±  Reas snorted.  ¡°What good soldiers you two are.  You won¡¯t even hesitate to do criminal acts for your superior.  Really, what wonderful soldiers,¡± he added full of sarcasm.


    Now, he started to wonder if his decision to join the military was actually correct.  Because of this incident, he actually became quite disillusioned.  Were all military personnel like this?  Arbitrarily following their superior¡¯s orders no matter how wrong it was?  He couldn¡¯t agree to such things.  Especially if it involved innocent civilians.


    ¡°Ahm, General isn¡¯t really planning to do anything bad to your brother,¡± Edmund said, trying to reason with the teenager.  ¡°He- he just wanted to talk to him.¡±


    Reas narrowed his eyes at the two, obviously not believing what they said.  He wanted to turn on his Terminal to send a message to his brother but it seemed that this barrier around him had some kind of signal interference technology.  That¡¯s why his Terminal wasn¡¯t working properly.  He couldn¡¯t help but curse.  Then he raised his head and glared viciously at the two.


    Hildred didn¡¯t avoid his gaze and just raised one of his brows.  This kid looked like he wanted to tear their limbs and feed it to some crazy animal.  ¡°I know your impression of Wulf is not good.  But believe us, he¡¯s the last person who would want your brother hurt.¡±


    Considering the effect Astrid had on Wulf, he probably wouldn¡¯t even let a strand of his hair be hurt.  He wondered if Wulf was successful in apologizing.  Although it was something really simple, but for someone like Wulf, it¡¯s probably harder than killing space pirates.


    He just hoped that his stubborn temper wouldn¡¯t get in the way.  Because if it did, then he would probably just say the opposite of what he truly wanted to say.  Then things would definitely not go well.  Instead of reconciling, Astrid might start to truly hate Wulf.


    Reas scoffed, clearly not believing what the other said.  He no longer looked at the two and instead searched for the source of this barrier.  Soon, he found two small spheres floating on each of his sides.  The light of the barrier was coming from the two spheres.


    He stared at one of the spheres.  If he could just destroy at least one, then he could get out of here.  He clenched his fists and determination filled his eyes.  He took a deep breath and with an incredible force, he stretched out his hand.


    The barrier, of course, repelled him.  He could feel the bones in his hand slowly being crushed, but he didn¡¯t care.  He just wanted to get out of here and go to his brother¡¯s aid.


    Seeing this scene, both Hildred and Edmund were shocked.


    ¡°Hil, I-I¡¯m going to turn off the barrier!¡± Edmund said, panicking.


    They only put this teenager here so he wouldn¡¯t interfere with their general.  They didn¡¯t plan for him to get hurt.  He didn¡¯t wait for Hildred¡¯s answer and just turn off the barrier.


    The moment he did, a strong gust of wind passed by him.  It took a second before he realized that that gust of wind was actually Reas running at full speed.


    Hildred almost laughed seeing this.  What a tenacious kid.  If he was a military student, Hildred would probably want to recruit him to their Fenris Squad.  That kind of attitude definitely fit their army.


    ¡°S-should we follow him?¡± Edmund asked in a worried tone.


    ¡°Nah.  Just let him be.  He¡¯d probably fight us tooth and nails if we even try to stop him,¡± Hildred said, shrugging.  He just hoped that Wulf was already done with his good deed.


    Reas was running as if his life depended on it.  He probably hadn¡¯t run this fast in his entire life.  In just a matter of seconds, he finally reached the seaside cabin.  He ran inside and didn¡¯t look at anyone.  He continued to run but then stopped when he was near the room where his brother was.


    Because he just heard Astrid¡¯s melodious laugh.

 Chapter 140 - EDS EXPLANATION

    REAS looked at the direction where the laugh was coming from.  And then there, he saw something that was so unbelievable he might as well be seeing things.  There, in front of the room where his brother supposedly be, were two figures.  One tall and the other slim.  It was Astrid and that annoying prince.


    His brother was laughing.  It was not a laugh of mockery as he expected.  It was one of his more genuine laughs.  Like he really was delighted about something.  The prince, on the other hand, was just staring at Astrid as if completely mesmerized.


    He frowned seeing that and no longer hesitated.  He ran towards the two at the fastest speed and put himself between them, pulling his brother behind him.


    Astrid was startled suddenly seeing Reas¡¯ broad back.  But unlike him, Wulfric was not surprised at all seeing the other.


    He had already sensed this kid¡¯s presence the moment he felt that someone who came from the outside was rushing towards this direction.  With such urgency as if he was being chased by some psychotic murderer, he could only think of one person ¨C Aster¡¯s brother.


    With the way the other was glaring at him, this brat probably thought that he was torturing Aster or something.  He felt a bit complicated.  Was he really that bad in the eyes of others that that would be the first thing they would think?  No, it¡¯s more likely because of the bad first impression that he showed to these two.


    Now he suddenly wanted to smack himself at that time.  If he could have behaved much more normally, then maybe he wouldn¡¯t be so bad in the eyes of these two.  Maybe not only in these two but their mother as well.  For some reason, the thought that Aster¡¯s mother might have hated him made him feel even more complicated.  As if he didn¡¯t want to be disliked by the people closest to Aster.


    But what could he do?  What¡¯s done was already done.  Crying over spilled milk was just something the weak would do.  Right now, all he could do was to change their impression of him.


    Wasn¡¯t he already taken the first step successfully?  Aster forgave him.  He even laughed at his stupidity!  You know, that one when he blurted out that he wanted to eat the other¡¯s homecooked meal again.  Wasn¡¯t that already a good sign?


    Remembering that laugh, his heart that seemed to have already calmed down started to beat wildly again.  The way Aster¡¯s eyes bent into crescents, the corner of those pink lips curved up, and that music-like laugh.  He couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of him.  As if he really was under some kind of spell.


    He wanted to think that it was only because it was the first time he had seen someone laugh so beautifully.  But he knew that it wasn¡¯t just that.  It was the same reason why he didn¡¯t hesitate to bow his head and apologized the moment he realized the wrong he had done.  But even though he understood that, he still couldn¡¯t pinpoint the exact reason why.


    ¡°Reas, where have you been?¡± Astrid asked his brother.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we hear His Highness¡¯ answer to that?¡± Reas said in an almost sarcastic and still coldly looking at the prince standing opposite.


    Wulfric wanted to laugh.  When was the last time someone actually dared to talk to him like this?  But well, having this fearless kind of attitude was good too.  At least, he could be assured that no matter who the other faced in the future, if it was to protect Aster, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to go toe to toe against that person.


    Astrid already suspected that his brother might have been detained somewhere, so Wulfric could talk to him alone.  Seeing Reas¡¯ reaction, that was probably really the case.


    He was about to say something when he noticed his brother¡¯s hand.  His fingers were bent into weird shape as if the bones had been broken.  He exclaimed.  If he didn¡¯t accidentally look down, he might have not noticed this injury.  It was because Reas¡¯ expression was too normal.  He didn¡¯t even see him wincing in pain.


    ¡°Reas, your hand¨C!¡±  He wanted to touch it, but worried that he might make the injury more serious, he could only stop himself.  ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s have His Highness answer that question too.¡±


    Hearing that from Reas, Astrid turned sharply towards Wulfric.  His dark eyes clearly saying, ¡®what did you do to my brother?¡¯.


    Wulfric, who was quite innocent on this matter, felt a sense of crisis.  He just got Aster¡¯s forgiveness.  Would the other take it back because of this?  He had also seen the injury on the brat¡¯s hand.  Just what did Hildred and Edmund do?  He swore if Aster became angry with him again because of this, he would send the two to the most remote and barren planet in the farthest galaxy.


    As he was thinking of all the punishments he would give the two, he suddenly heard Hildred¡¯s voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding,¡± Hildred said as he was walking towards the three.  ¡°I suggested to Wulf that Edmund and I would temporarily take this little brother away so the two of you could talk peacefully.  We just didn¡¯t expect that our method would backfire like this.¡±


    Edmund, who was not far behind, quickly walked towards Reas.  He took out some kind of medicinal spray and directly sprayed it on the other¡¯s injured hand.  Then he said apologetically, ¡°Sorry, we really didn¡¯t mean it.¡±


    Reas just felt that some kind of cool feeling on his injured hand.  And then after that it was followed by some pain.  But it was not something that he couldn¡¯t handle.  When he looked down, he saw that his broken fingers were already slowly straightening by itself.  That must be where the pain was coming from.


    Astrid also saw this scene.  That advanced medicine was probably something that was only available at the military.  Knowing that his brother¡¯s hand would most likely be alright, he breathed out a sigh of relief.


    He then raised his head.  He remembered the two people who just came.  One was the bald guy who arrived together with Wulfric at Delryria.  And the other was the one who arrived later to fetch the two.  Their names if he remembered correctly were Edmund and Hildred.  Both have the rank of captains.


    He looked at Edmund who had a genuine apologetic expression on his face and seemed much more honest compared to the other captain and Wulfric.  ¡°So, what method did you use exactly?¡±


    Edmund, who was asked, suddenly felt unprecedented pressure for some reason.  Because of that, he just honestly said what they did.  ¡°We- we trapped him inside a barrier.  He tried to get out by punching the barrier.  When I saw him got injured, I immediately turned off the barrier.  T-that¡¯s everything that happened!  We don¡¯t have any bad intention, really.  We just want to help General apologized to you.  But if your brother is there, he would just try to get in the way.  S-so, we could only separate him from you.  You can be mad at us but please don¡¯t be mad at the General.  This is the first time he ever apologized to someone.  If you get mad at him because of us, he would definitely send us to a remote planet!¡±


    Hearing his explanation, everyone simply had different expressions on their faces.

 Chapter 141 - TO LEAVE OR NOT TO LEAVE

    EDMUND noticed the silence of everyone.  When he looked around and saw that all four were staring at him, he began to panic.  ¡°Sorry!¡± he quickly said even though he wasn¡¯t sure what he should apologized for.


    He just suddenly felt this heavy force inside his head.  His instincts told him that if he didn¡¯t answer Astrid¡¯s question honestly, that force would just get stronger and stronger.  So, he just said everything he knew.  It was probably because, deep inside, he knew that doing so would not really have that much of a consequence.  That¡¯s why it didn¡¯t take long for him to just reveal everything.


    Hildred bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing.  Really, Edmund could be so wonderfully cute sometimes.  But to make him panic like this.  He glanced at Astrid.  The mental pressure this teenager let out should be extraordinary.


    Reas¡¯ expression was blank.  Did he hear that right?  That arrogant prince actually apologized to his brother?  Was that the reason why Astrid could laugh so freely with him around?  If he put that into account, then it would explain a lot of things.  But how could that guy who didn¡¯t care about anything and only cared about the things he wanted do that?  It almost felt like one of the great mysteries of the universe.


    Wulfric¡¯s face was only filled with black lines.  If Aster was not here, he really wanted to kick Edmund until some of his IQ returned.  What was he doing blurting out all that?  Did he even want to leave him some face?  Why did he even look so afraid in the first place?  It¡¯s not as if Aster was threatening him or something.  He stopped.  Wait- could it be¨C?  And then he glanced at the teenager.


    Aster was now looking at Edmund with eyes filled with amusement.  Well, that was a stone off his back.  At least, Aster seemed not that angry anymore.  Wait- that¡¯s not it, did the other actually used his mental strength on Edmund to force him to confess?  He was too focus on worrying that Aster might hate him again that he barely noticed any fluctuation on the other¡¯s mental strength.


    If that was indeed the case, then he should probably put Edmund under some mental training.  Even if Aster had SSS level mental strength, he was still a captain of Fenris Squad.  He should at least know how to resist.


    Anyway, as expected, Aster was really great.  To be able to make one of his captains succumb like that.


    Astrid indeed used a bit of his mental strength.  He just didn¡¯t expect that this Edmund would quickly give up and just tell him everything.  Was the army under Wulfric going to be alright?


    But because of Edmund¡¯s honest confession, he was not so angry anymore because of what happened to Reas.  It was a good thing that he picked this guy to ask instead of Hildred.  It¡¯s not just because Edmund looked more honest.  Hildred just looked like some smiling sly fox who would not hesitate to trick a child if it was to his advantage.


    Hildred, who seemed to read what he was thinking, turned to him and smiled.  ¡°This little brother¡¯s injury should not be fully healed yet.  There¡¯s a medical cabin in our aircraft.  It¡¯s better to let him use it.  We can also drop you guys to where you currently live, that is if you¡¯re already done with your filming.¡±


    Reas seemed to have woken up when he heard that.  ¡°No¨C!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Astrid said before Reas could finish what he wanted to say.


    Reas turned to his brother.  ¡°Aster!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right.  It¡¯s better for you to use a medical cabin to make sure that there wouldn¡¯t be any sequelae,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Then we can just use a medical cabin here!  I¡¯m sure there is one,¡± Reas insisted.  This was a high-establishment.  Not having at least one medical cabin around was just simply impossible.


    Wulfric cleared his throat.  ¡°Since this incident was the fault of my subordinates, it¡¯s only right that we take responsibility for it.¡±


    Reas glared at the prince.  ¡°Heh, Your Highness, are you sure that¡¯s the only reason you want us in your aircraft?¡±


    Wulfric ignored the obvious taunting in the other¡¯s voice.  He even thought that he had been quite mature in dealing with this guy.  If it was before, he probably had already beaten him up or something.


    But he couldn¡¯t deny that he was indeed correct.  He wanted to spend more time with Aster and he also wanted to know where he currently lived.  How could he eat his homecooked meals if he didn¡¯t even know his current address?  And it would be better to get Aster¡¯s address in an open manner rather than him secretly looking at it like a stalker.


    So, to appease Aster¡¯s brother, Wulfric did his best to give Reas a friendly smile.  But little did he know that in Reas¡¯ eyes, his smile looked more like a sneer.  Which made the other even angrier.


    Astrid saw that his brother was already on verge of attacking Wulfric.  He gently held Reas¡¯ uninjured hand.  ¡°Reas, it¡¯s okay now.¡±


    Reas gazed down at his brother and when he saw the emotion in the other¡¯s eyes, he immediately knew what Astrid wanted to convey to him.  His brother was basically telling him that the problems they thought they would encounter once they met the prince again would no longer happen.  He wasn¡¯t really convinced about that.


    He wanted to ask Astrid if he changed his mind just because that prince apologized.  But he didn¡¯t really want the others to hear his brother¡¯s answer to that.  So, he just promptly shut his mouth.  Even so, he still couldn¡¯t understand why his brother would suddenly change his mind just because of a simple apology.  Did that annoying prince kneel down and prostrate himself in front of Astrid or something?


    But despite all the complaints inside his heart, at the end, he could only say, ¡°Fine.¡±


    Wulfric almost pumped his fist when he heard that.  He could barely contain his excitement when he said, ¡°Good.  Then, if there¡¯s nothing else, let¡¯s leave now.¡±

 Chapter 142 - A THOUGHT OF TEASING

    WHILE Reas was soaking in the medical cabin, albeit very reluctantly, Astrid was alone with the three military men inside their aircraft.  The coordinates of his apartment had already been inputted at the aircraft¡¯s GPS system.  The aircraft was currently flying on auto-pilot towards that direction.


    ¡°We accidentally saw you filming something earlier,¡± Hildred started with a friendly smile.


    Astrid wasn¡¯t sure about the ¡®accidental¡¯ part.  Considering their elaborate plan just so Wulfric could talk and apologize to him, these three probably watched the whole filming process on purpose.  If not, then how could Wulfric so accurately appear before him just right after the filming ended?


    He didn¡¯t care much about that.  After all, he had already decided to forgive the other.  It would be nonsensical if he became angry because of that.  The filming was already over and they didn¡¯t really affect his work, so, what¡¯s the use of getting angry?  It¡¯s the same reason why he did not hesitate to agree when they offered to give him and his brother a ride back home.


    Reas probably thought that he had already let his guard down just because Wulfric apologized.  Of course, he wouldn¡¯t do that.  He wasn¡¯t that na?ve.  Even now, he was ready to defend himself just in case these three did something they shouldn¡¯t.


    But despite him thinking that, he had a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t really need to defend himself against these three.  This subconscious thought probably originated from Wulfric himself.  Mostly on the way he acted towards him since he opened the door to that room and saw him standing there.


    His first impression of him was so extremely negative that his opinion of him was probably on the same level as his opinion of the lowest criminals out there.  He was overbearing.  Someone who would not consider the opinion of others.  And would blatantly act on his action regardless of the consequence or the people who might be affected.


    Wulfric was the type of person that Astrid simply disliked.  And yet, this same person bowed down to him, admitted his mistakes, and sincerely apologized.  The effect of that was simply overwhelming to say the least.  Especially if one added the other¡¯s background as the only prince of this Empire.


    But because of that, Astrid could clearly see that this arrogant prince truly wanted to get his forgiveness.  Whatever his reason might be for that, either he suddenly had enlightenment and realized his wrongdoings or that he just wanted to eat his homecooked meals, Astrid was still moved by his sincerity.


    Because of that, he felt that the other would not do anything that would destroy the forgiveness that he worked so hard to get.  That¡¯s why he could rest assured that they wouldn¡¯t just suddenly kidnapped him and Reas and would honestly bring them to his apartment.


    Besides, they were indeed at fault for his brother¡¯s injury.  They should at least do something to make sure that whatever they did would not bring negative side-effects to Reas.


    ¡°You are quite the talented actor,¡± Hildred added, his tone, although friendly, seemed to be alluding to something.


    Astrid glanced at Hildred when he heard that comment.  He didn¡¯t need to be a genius to see what this guy truly wanted to say.  Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be flustered because of that.  Why would he?  He didn¡¯t regret that he did that little act just so he could get Wulfric off his back.  He was well within his rights to do that.  If this Hildred expected him to be embarrassed, then he thought wrong.


    He smiled at the other.  ¡°Thank you.  I think so too myself.¡±


    Hildred was a bit taken aback.  He did say what he said because he wanted to see the other show a flustered expression.  He just didn¡¯t expect that he would just brush off what he said and even admitting that he was a good actor without even batting an eye.


    How interesting.  Now, he understood a bit of Wulf¡¯s fascination with this teenager.


    He also smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to have such confidence in one¡¯s skill.¡±


    ¡°I agree as well,¡± Astrid said, still smiling.  ¡°It seemed like Captain Harlow and I shared some common beliefs.  Maybe it¡¯s a sign that we could get along well.¡±


    Hildred also smiled gently.  ¡°Yes, I think so too as well.¡±


    Edmund looked at the two back and forth.  Seeing their smiles that was so similar to one another, he suddenly felt chills for no reason.  Why did he suddenly think that these two were quite similar?


    Wulfric, who was also watching this scene, was not thinking of the similarity of the two.  He was currently feeling annoyed seeing how the two seemed to be getting along quite well.  How could Hildred get along so well with Aster when he couldn¡¯t even talk to the other without making himself appeared stupid?


    His first reaction was to scoffed and say something derisive just to get Aster¡¯s attention.  But he stopped himself in time.  He almost sweated coldly just thinking of the disastrous outcome if he really did act that way.


    He cleared his throat.  When he saw that three turned to him, he thought that he should have cleared his throat much earlier.  Anyway, there was something he wanted to know since earlier.  So, it¡¯s better to ask Aster about that now.


    ¡°Are you planning to enter the entertainment industry?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astrid answered honestly.  ¡°Don¡¯t Your Highness think that it¡¯s such a waste if I don¡¯t properly utilize my talent?¡±


    Wulfric honestly wanted to say, ¡®no, it¡¯s not a waste at all¡¯ or that there must be some other place he could use his acting skills besides the entertainment industry.  But he had a feeling that if he really answered that way, his newly-fixed relationship with Aster would turn to sub-zero again.


    So, at the end, he could only say, ¡°The entertainment industry is not so simple as one might think.  It can be very dangerous to someone as outstanding and beautiful as you.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect that Wulfric would say something like that.  But he could somehow understand why he would.  Although he could only really focus on one part of what Wulfric said.  He suddenly had the urge to tease the other for some reason.


    ¡°So, Your Highness thinks that I¡¯m outstanding and beautiful?¡± he asked, tilting his head and looking all innocent.

 Chapter 143 - FUTURE ROUGH ROAD

    WULFRIC felt his whole face heating up, almost as if it was put on a steamer.  Although he couldn¡¯t see his face right now, he was certain that it was already beating red.  He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of shame or shyness.  Wait- what shyness?  How could he, Wulfric de Lunaris be shy?  It was definitely because of shame.


    With the way Aster asked him, more than warning the other about the danger of the entertainment industry, it was like he was praising him instead.  And it was not just a simple praise, it was more like he was putting him on a pedestal.  How could that be not shameful?


    How could he not praise it more properly so that Aster could understand what it was he was trying to convey?  This was indeed a fault on his part.  But what¡¯s done was done.


    He cleared his throat and then looked to the side, so that Aster wouldn¡¯t be on his line of vision.  ¡°Is that the point?  I¡¯m telling you that many people would target you just because of your appearance.  Add that to the fact that you also have talent, it would simply be a disaster in the making for you.¡±


    Astrid stared at Wulfric¡¯s side face.  The other¡¯s blush reached from his cheek up to the tip of his ear.  The effect of what he said was even greater than he imagined.  Really, who would have thought that this prince/general also had a cute side to him?


    He didn¡¯t even mind his preaching.  Although the way he said it was a bit rough, he understood that it was because he was simply worried for him.  As weird as that might have sounded, considering how they really didn¡¯t have a relationship that let them worry for one another.  Heck, they even just reconciled a moment ago.  But somehow, Astrid could still feel the genuine worry the other had for him.


    It¡¯s truly a wonder why Wulfric would be so concerned about him.  He wouldn¡¯t be so narcissistic as to think that it was because the other liked his face too much.  He could only attribute it to the fact that he left such a great impression on Wulfric.  It¡¯s probably the first time he had met someone who treated him that way.  So, he unknowingly labeled him as someone ¡®special¡¯.


    Astrid didn¡¯t mind.  Because he couldn¡¯t feel any malice from his ¡®special¡¯ treatment.  He just hoped that this ¡®specialness¡¯ would only end with the other treating him as a friend.  That¡¯s the best possible outcome he could think of.


    At least, for now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep what Your Highness said in mind.  I assure you that I can protect myself and won¡¯t be stupid enough to put myself in danger.  And there¡¯s something that Your Highness should already know,¡± he said and then smiled before continuing, ¡°I¡¯m not that easy to bully.¡±


    Wulfric suddenly felt annoyed.  He was not sure if it was because of Aster¡¯s response that obviously didn¡¯t put the danger of the entertainment industry in his eyes.  Or at himself, because he was reminded again of how much of an ass he was during their first meeting.


    He cleared his throat to hide his uncomfortable feelings.  ¡°If- if you encounter any problems in the future that you can¡¯t solve, don¡¯t hesitate to contact me.  If- if I¡¯m not busy, I would help.¡±


    Astrid blinked and then resisted the urge to laugh.  Because what he heard sounded like ¡®I¡¯m a busy prince but if you need help, I could free my schedule¡¯.  It¡¯s kind of funny and cute as well.


    ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.  I will definitely keep that in mind,¡± he said in an amused tone.


    Wulfric nodded, acting all serious.  ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    But in Astrid¡¯s eyes, the other simply looked more like a child acting like an adult.  Which greatly amused him.


    Hildred, watching this scene unfold, felt a tad bit sorry for Wulf.  Because he was obviously dancing on the palm of the teenager¡¯s hand.  And their emotionally inept general didn¡¯t even notice it.


    Seeing Wulf like this, if his fascination towards the teenager further developed into something, it would probably not be a smooth road for him.  He then happened to glance at Edmund who was looking at the two with that obvious obliviousness and he suddenly felt that he was not really in the position to comment on Wulf¡¯s future rough road.


    To relieve his stress, he asked Astrid, ¡°Is being an actor the reason you moved into the capital with your brother?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s part of it.  But the major reason was because of our studies,¡± Astrid answered.  ¡°The capital is the only place that could provide us the right resources for the careers we¡¯ve chosen.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to be an actor, then how about your brother?¡± Edmund asked looking genuinely curious.


    Before Astrid could answer, he saw Reas walking out of the aircraft¡¯s medical room where the medical cabin was.  He quickly walked towards him and immediately checked his arm that was injured earlier.


    ¡°Is it okay now?¡± he asked.


    Reas nodded.  As much as he didn¡¯t want to admit it, that medical cabin was truly top-notch.  His broken bones quickly healed.  He couldn¡¯t even feel any discomfort.


    ¡°How about you?  Did they do anything to you?¡± he asked while looking warily at the other three people there.


    Astrid pinched his brother¡¯s cheek.  ¡°Stop being paranoid.  What could they possibly do?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.  We¡¯re honorable soldiers of this Empire.  Why would we do something bad to an innocent citizen like Aster?¡± Wulfric immediately added.


    Astrid was a bit surprised.  He didn¡¯t expect that the other would just so easily call him by his nickname.  It¡¯s as if the other had been calling him that for such a long time.  Reas was also surprised.  But unlike him, his only reaction was to feel annoyed.


    To get over the feeling of surprise, Astrid simply decided to answer Edmund¡¯s earlier question.  He turned to the other.


    ¡°Regarding Captain Barton¡¯s question earlier, Reas is going to be a soldier.  In fact, he was admitted to the Imperial Military Academy,¡± he said, linking arms with his brother.  ¡°How great, right?¡±


    Hildred suddenly smiled meaningfully when he heard that.  ¡°What a coincidence.¡±

 Chapter 144 - I WILL DEFINITELY TAKE CARE OF HIM

    THE three military guys who heard about Reas going to the Imperial Military Academy had different expressions on their faces.  Edmund looked genuinely surprised.  Hildred had an amused smile as if he found something very interesting.  While Wulfric had a stinky face as if he had eaten a spoiled food.


    Reas was annoyed seeing these reactions.  What, did these people think that he was not soldier material or something?


    ¡°What a coincidence,¡± Hildred said.


    Astrid quickly caught the inflection of his words.  He was definitely not just saying that because he truly thought it was a coincidence.  Although he had only interacted with this guy for a short time, he kind of understood what the other¡¯s nature was.  You know that kind of neutral evil who enjoyed watching interesting things unfold in front of him.  So, he knew that the other was definitely alluding to something.  Something that he found interesting.


    This kind of personality was really kind of irritating.  If you¡¯re a bit slow in the head, you probably wouldn¡¯t even know that you had been tricked by this type of person.  The best way to handle this type was to read between the lines of what he was saying.  That way, you wouldn¡¯t be deceived.


    ¡°Oh, is it because he will also be a soldier just like yourselves?¡± he asked innocently.


    ¡°That¡¯s part of it.  Your brother can find out during the opening ceremony of the Academy,¡± Hildred answered.


    Hearing that answer and looking at Wulfric¡¯s annoyed expression, Astrid almost had an answer to his question.  So, he decided to just voiced it.


    ¡°Is Your Highness going to be there during the opening ceremony?¡±  All four looked at him almost at the same time when he said that.  It was kind of comical in a way.  So, he could only smile and ask in that innocent way of his, ¡°Am I wrong?¡±


    Hildred felt like that question was mostly directed at him.  Because not only was the other looking at his direction, his gaze looked like it was saying, ¡®I know you wanted to be mysterious, too bad I already figured out what¡¯s happening¡¯.  He almost laughed.  What an interesting kid.  No wonder he got Wulf so hooked on him in just a short time.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Wulfric said, confirming Aster¡¯s guess.


    There¡¯s really no reason for them to hide it.  And more importantly, it was Aster who was asking.  He couldn¡¯t just give him the wrong information.


    He glanced at Aster¡¯s twin brother who didn¡¯t remotely looked like him.  Really, he didn¡¯t expect that this kid would actually want to become a soldier.  Considering how he didn¡¯t even show a tad bit of admiration when he found out that he and Edmund were soldiers the first time they met.


    It was fine if they were just ordinary soldiers.  But they¡¯re not.  He was the youngest person to ever get the title of ¡®general¡¯ in the history of the Empire.  No matter how stinky his reputation might be, those people who wanted to become a part of the Empire¡¯s military would still look at him with awe.


    And yet, this brat here had only ever looked at him with contempt ever since they met.  He couldn¡¯t even be bothered to show a bit of fake respect.  And now he was suddenly told that this brat actually wanted to become a soldier?  If Aster was not the one who said it, he might not actually believe it.


    Just like him, Reas was also looking at the prince.  Hearing that the other would actually be there during the opening ceremony of the Imperial Military Academy, his expression became sullen.  If possible, he didn¡¯t want to see this person¡¯s face again for a long time.  But who would have thought that he would see him again so soon and on the academy¡¯s opening ceremony no less?


    The only consolation he had was the fact that Astrid wouldn¡¯t be there.  Who knew if this guy would use some kind of excuse just so he could spend time with his brother?  This situation was the perfect example.  That thing they¡¯re spouting about wanting to make it up to him because of the injury they caused was obviously just nonsense.  It¡¯s only an excuse so that he could prolong his time with Astrid.


    Just thinking of that, he couldn¡¯t help but glare again at this pretentious prince.  When the other noticed his gaze, he wasn¡¯t scared and he even scoffed at him.


    Wulfric felt a vein in his forehead was about to pop.  He had to take a deep breath and tell himself that the other was Aster¡¯s brother.  He couldn¡¯t just throw him out of this aircraft just because he was annoying as hell.  But he really wanted to beat him up.


    Remembering that he would meet the other again at the Imperial Military Academy, an idea flashed in his mind.  Something that could teach this little brat a lesson and at the same time not make Aster angry at him.  Thinking of that possibility, half of his annoyance dissipated a bit.


    ¡°Is Your Highness the guest speaker during the academy¡¯s opening ceremony?¡± Astrid asked.  This time, he genuinely wanted to know the answer to that.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Wulfric confirmed Aster¡¯s guess again.  ¡°I will also be a special instructor for the first week of class.¡±


    Edmund glanced sharply at the general.  Didn¡¯t the lieutenant say that the general refused that offer of the academy and only reluctantly accepted the ¡®giving a speech¡¯ part?  Did he change his mind without telling the lieutenant about it?


    Hildred didn¡¯t have any obvious reaction by what Wulf said.  The corner of his lips just rose imperceptibly.  Because he already had an idea on what¡¯s going on in Wulf¡¯s mind for him to say that.


    Both the twins didn¡¯t expect that someone like Wulfric would actually go out of his way to personally teach the incoming freshmen of the Imperial Military Academy.


    ¡°Then Reas will be in Your Highness¡¯ care for a week,¡± Astrid said.


    Wulfric smiled meaningfuly, ¡°Oh yes, I will definitely take care of him.¡±


    Reas somehow felt goosebumps when he heard that.  Just what was this guy planning?

 Chapter 145 - HOW DO YOU...?

    SOON, they arrived at their destination.  The aircraft slowly descended on the building¡¯s rooftop parking space.  Every building in this era was required to have a rooftop parking space where private aircrafts and small flying cars could hover on them and let their passengers get down.


    The Townsend twins had already come down from the aircraft.  Of course, Wulfric followed behind.  While the other two ¨C Hildred and Edmund ¨C remained in the aircraft.


    Hildred was actually wondering at the moment how the twins¡¯ parents, particularly their mother, agreed for the two to study here at the capital.  Not only that, but take on careers that were basically high-profile.


    If his guess was correct and the twins¡¯ mother was indeed that Emmaline Grimaldi, who was presumed to be dead, then shouldn¡¯t she be more wary that having her kids out here could reveal that she was still alive.  If that were to happen, then a storm would definitely blow into the Empire.  Especially if the Grimaldis actually helped in concealing that.


    Considering that she had managed to hide this long and even make her own family in the process, it would be weird if the Grimaldis had no hands in it.  If that was really the case and it was revealed to all, the Lancasters would surely have a fit.  No, that probably was an understatement.


    After all, the main reason why the Lancasters were punished by the former Emperor was because of the supposed-to-be death of Emmaline Grimaldi.  In short, she was basically the reason why the Lancasters¡¯ prestige had become what it was today.


    It would definitely be an open war between the two families.


    And yet, she still agreed on having her children go here where they could experience danger at any time.  In the short time that he was in the Townsend¡¯s house, Hildred could see that Emmaline deeply cared for her children.  So, it was a mystery for him as to why she approved of her children¡¯s choice of career.


    But then again, she might be the type of parent who respected their children¡¯s decision.  The possibility of that was very high if one considered the strict upbringing nobles like her.  Especially a family like the Grimaldis.  That kind of strictness was probably one of the reasons why she would rather cut off her ties to her family and live a new life with a new identity than to continue living as the Grimaldi princess.


    Hildred even had a hunch that her engagement with Cecil Lancaster was what broke the camel¡¯s back.  To break off that engagement, she probably did her best to look for dirt on Cecil Lancaster but ended up finding out that the other was actually a sociopathic serial killer.


    He could already imagine the scenarios that actually led to the things that had happened between the two families.  No matter if his imagination was correct or not, there was no question that Emmaline Grimaldi was a vey tenacious woman.


    If such a person was confident enough to let her children enter the eyes of the public despite the problems that it might bring, then the legal documents proving the identity of those twins must be foolproof.  Even if someone did a background check on them, it wouldn¡¯t lead to the ¡®dead¡¯ princess of the Grimaldis.


    No matter if that was the case or not, it¡¯s really not Hildred¡¯s problem.  But he also wouldn¡¯t go telling everyone what he just discovered.  He¡¯s not so bored to the point that he would do that.


    Should he mention this Wulf just in case?  He smiled wryly thinking of the other¡¯s reaction towards Astrid.  Hildred was already lucky enough that the other didn¡¯t beat him up for not mentioning to him that he saw a post about the teenager on [Cyberspace].


    If he hid such an important information from Wulf for the second time, that guy would definitely throw him on an abandoned planet.  Not only that, he would also do so without giving him any supplies and materials that could help him fend for himself.  He didn¡¯t want such a dark future.


    ¡°Hil, why do you think the General is so concerned about Astrid?¡± Edmund suddenly asked, cutting off Hildred¡¯s current train of thought.


    Hildred glanced this oblivious baby and couldn¡¯t help but flick the other¡¯s forehead.  ¡°Once you find out why I love to tease you, then you would also know the answer to your question.¡±


    Edmund touched his forehead and just felt confused.  What Hildred said was like giving him a very an unsolvable mathematical problem.  Because ever since they met, he still couldn¡¯t understand why the other loved to tease him.


    At this time, outside the aircraft¡­


    ¡°Thank you for sending us back here, Your Highness.  You can leave now,¡± Reas said.


    The corner of Wulfric¡¯s eye twitched when he heard such a disrespectful speech.  Even the way the brat said ¡®Your Highness¡¯ was like he was biting onto something.  But he ignored that and just focused on Aster.


    ¡°Can I visit your place?¡± he asked tentatively.


    When he first saw the building, his first thought was ¡®how old¡¯, then after that was ¡®how small¡¯, and then lastly, ¡®should Aster really stay in such a place?¡¯.  That¡¯s why he wanted to see if the apartment unit was at least secured and adequate for Aster to live in.  If not, maybe he could suggest a much better place?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Highness, but you can¡¯t.¡±


    Aster¡¯s answer shocked Wulfric.  ¡°But- but I thought you¡¯d let me eat your homecooked meal?¡±


    Astrid tilted his head and looked at Wulfric innocently.  ¡°If I remember correctly, I didn¡¯t promise that to Your Highness.¡±  He almost laughed when he saw the other¡¯s shocked expression, almost as if he was hit by lightning or something.  ¡°Your Highness and I are not really in a relationship where I would want to cook for you.¡±


    ¡°Then- then what kind of relationship should it be?¡± Wulfric asked, not even noticing the confusion in his tone.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ friends, perhaps?¡± Astrid said and smiled.  ¡°Well, then, good night, Your Highness and be careful on your way back.¡±


    He turned around and pulled his brother with him.  Reas glanced back at the prince and sneered at the other before walking in sync with Astrid.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t move until the two were gone from his sight.  He then walked back to the aircraft.  Then he asked his two captains;


    ¡°How do you become friends with someone?¡±

 Chapter 146 - A WEIRD KINK

    REAS glanced at his brother who just bent down and picked the AI cat lying in wait for them in front of the apartment¡¯s entrance.  The other started walking inside, the lights automatically turning on as he did.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Astrid asked, noticing his brother¡¯s stare that was almost boring a hole on his back.


    ¡°Why did you tell that to that guy?¡± Reas asked as he also walked inside.  ¡°That thing about being friends first before he could eat your homecooked meal.¡±


    The way Astrid said that, it was like he was encouraging the other to make effort to befriend him.  If he just wanted to refuse that prince, he could have just said it directly without mentioning any of that thing.  That¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t help but think that his brother was actually thinking of being friends with that jerk.


    Astrid put down Xiao Lan before turning around and facing Reas.  Just looking at how the other was scowling, he already had an idea on what he was thinking.


    ¡°Relax, Reas.  Do you really think someone who has that low of an EQ would know how to befriend someone?¡±


    ¡°But even so¨C!  Wouldn¡¯t he just use that as an excuse to get closer to you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.  But I honestly don¡¯t really mind.¡±


    Reas was shocked to hear this.  ¡°Aster!  Did that bastard actually feed you some ecstasy soup that¡¯s why you¡¯re acting like this now?¡± he said with a mixed of frustrated and unbelieving tone.  ¡°Could a simple apology really change your mind this much?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.  Although it played a part.  I just realized something while interacting with him earlier.¡±  Astrid sat down on the couch¡¯s arm rest.  ¡°He could be useful to us.¡±


    The crease on Reas¡¯ forehead became even deeper when he heard that.  ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°For some reason, Wulfric finds me ¡®special¡¯, hence his urge to get close to me.  Because of that, he wouldn¡¯t do anything that would upset me.  That¡¯s why no matter how antagonistic or disrespectful you are to him, he doesn¡¯t react.  If this happened when we first met him, he probably would have already gone on a rampage,¡± Astrid started.  ¡°With his identity as the prince and our Empire¡¯s youngest general, being friends with him would be beneficial to us in the long run.  He could help us during situations that we don¡¯t have any control over.  Like our real identities being accidentally exposed.¡±


    Reas scoffed.  ¡°That still doesn¡¯t make any sense.  It¡¯s like you¡¯re handling our safety over to some lunatic!  If that was the case, it would be better to just ask the Grimaldis for help.¡±


    Astrid almost winced at what Reas said.  Hearing it, even he felt that what he said was rather stupid.  Probably because it was.  And it was clear as a sunny day that he was just spouting those things as an excuse.


    It was simply because he wanted to know.  He wanted to see just how far Wulfric would go just to get closer to him.  And as he was doing so, would he remain as he was now or would he actually change to a better version of himself?  Could someone like him really even change for another person?  And could that person really be Astrid himself?  These questions, he wanted to know the answers.


    Was it just simple curiosity?  Or was it because the matter involved him that¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit narcissistic and want to see a person with Wulfric¡¯s status to do his best to please him?  He suddenly wanted to laugh.  He couldn¡¯t believe that he actually had that kind of weird kink.


    But although what he said to Reas was mostly an excuse, he still believed that some of it was true.  Like how Wulfric wouldn¡¯t do anything to upset him.  Or if they encountered a problem, the other would definitely do something to help them.  Yes, that¡¯s a bit narcissistic.  But his instinct was telling him that he was right.  And this gut-feel of his was seldom wrong about such things.


    With Wulfric¡¯s involvement, he could easily completely erase whatever traces that were left that would connect their family to the Grimaldis.


    Even though the new identities forged by Uncle Leigh for their parents were almost foolproof, the keyword here was ¡®almost¡¯.  Upon a much deeper inspection, one would definitely find some clues that could lead to the Grimaldis and to what happened two decades ago.


    Astrid raised his head and sighed when he saw Reas¡¯ expression.  He looked like he was about to beat up someone.  At times like this, being honest was the best thing to do.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.  Maybe I just want to be his friend.¡±


    ¡°Astrid!¡±  Seeing as how the other shouted his name instead of his nickname and also did it in such a disapproving tone, it was quite obvious that he was not happy with what he said.  ¡°Are you hearing yourself right now?  Where is your sense of danger?  This is that crazy prince we¡¯re talking about!¡±


    ¡°Reas, first, calm down,¡± Astrid said.  ¡°You¡¯re making it sound like I¡¯m losing my mind.¡±


    ¡°Because maybe you are?¡±


    For the first time in a while, Astrid suddenly had an urge to smack this brother of his.  But he also could understand his perspective and where he was coming from, that¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t doing any of that.


    ¡°I assure you, I¡¯m very sane and all my faculties are very intact as well,¡± he said dryly.  ¡°I didn¡¯t say what I said because I¡¯m going crazy.  I really couldn¡¯t explain it to you properly.  So, just think of it as me finding an interesting toy and wanting to play with it for a bit longer.¡±


    Currently, that¡¯s the best way he could explain his feelings for Wulfric without Reas thinking that there was anything more than that.  Because there wasn¡¯t and he simply didn¡¯t want his brother to misunderstand him.


    But Reas only looked at him as if he had truly gone mental.  Out of all the people in the Empire, his brother was probably the only one who dared to think of that prince as a toy.  And he was not just saying it to badmouth the other, he really meant it.


    ¡°You- are you really okay?¡±

 Chapter 147 - AS FOOLPROOF AS POSSIBLE

    ASTRID¡¯S face was quickly filled with black lines when he heard that question.  ¡°Andreas, stop asking about my sanity before I decided to really punch you in the face.¡±


    ¡°Can you blame me?  You¡¯re saying illogical things that you wouldn¡¯t even say under normal circumstance.  How do you expect me not to react?¡± Reas said incredulously.  ¡°Did the craziness of that jerk rubbed off on you for some reason?¡±


    Astrid smiled helplessly at his brother.  ¡°Reas, you do know that I¡¯m not some pure angel full of kindness and innocence, right?¡± he asked.  ¡°My gentleness is mostly just superficial.  I¡¯m not even that kind.  The only people I have treated wholeheartedly are our family members and Uncle Leigh.  Only you and them.  Not the classmates we had at school nor the people we¡¯ve met since we got here.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty cold-hearted, you see.  The kindness I show to others is often not even real.  It¡¯s mostly strategic.  If being kind to someone could give me benefits, then I would.¡±  That¡¯s how he managed to survive in society and be successful in his past life.  ¡°Do you really think someone with a personality like mine wouldn¡¯t be able to conjure thoughts like considering the prince as an interesting ¡®toy¡¯ I want to play with?¡±


    Reas stopped.  He was unable to give an immediate answer.  If there was someone who understood Astrid¡¯s personality, then it¡¯s him ¨C his twin brother.  He knew that he was not someone who would easily open up his heart to just anyone.  It¡¯s like his heart was inside a well-guarded cage and only those he allowed could enter it.


    Just like he said, people often think of him as kind and gentle.  But Reas did know that most of the time, the other was only acting.  Most of it he did because it¡¯s much easier to be the ¡®good guy¡¯ than the ¡®bad guy¡¯.  At least, he didn¡¯t have to deal with unwanted rumors and people challenging him to fights.  The only thing he had to worry about were people¡¯s unwanted confession and jealousy.


    But there was one thing Astrid was wrong about.  He talked as if he was only ever kind to people because he wanted to gain some benefits from them.  But that was not entirely the case.  Even if someone could give Astrid a tremendous benefit, if he didn¡¯t like that someone or if they simply didn¡¯t pass his own moral code, he wouldn¡¯t be kind to them.


    Case in point was the prince.  Once he found out about the other¡¯s real identity when they first met, he should have been kind to him instead of making that ruse just so the other would stop being interested in him.  With that person being the prince, wouldn¡¯t Astrid get the biggest benefit by being kind to him as he put it?


    But then again, the other did say earlier that they could use the prince.  He couldn¡¯t help but wince thinking that.  Anyway, even if that was the case, Reas knew that it was not simply because of that that Astrid would not mind having that prince as his friend.


    Could it be really because he found that guy interesting?  With his brother¡¯s appearance, it¡¯s impossible that he was impressed by the other¡¯s looks.  Could it be the prince¡¯s personality?  That¡¯s even more unlikely.  So, what was it?


    If Reas knew that it was because his brother simply wanted to see the lengths the prince would go just to please him, he might actually feel sorry for the other.  He might even be shock to know that his brother was actually such a scumbag.  After all, it almost seemed like Astrid just wanted to play with the prince¡¯s feelings.


    But right now, Reas had no idea about that and all his focus was still on how disadvantaged his brother would be once he really associated with that prince.  He should make him realize how bad that idea was.


    ¡°You might be right that he wouldn¡¯t do anything to upset you right now.  But what would happen once he no longer felt that it was worth it to do that?¡± he asked.


    Astrid shrugged.  ¡°Nothing will happen.  If he lost interest in me, then he would probably just pretend that I don¡¯t exist.  Just like what he did when he still hadn¡¯t discovered that I was acting on that video.  Surely, you don¡¯t think that he would have me murdered just because he no longer found me amusing?¡±


    Reas wouldn¡¯t put it past that prince to do something like that.  But then again, when the other left Delryria, he truly didn¡¯t do anything to bother Astrid.  As if he had truly forgotten about his brother¡¯s existence.  That would have probably continued if they didn¡¯t meet today.


    But he still didn¡¯t want to give up, so, he continued, ¡°Then what if the opposite happened?  What if his interest slowly turned to obsession?  Would you be able to go against him?  Even you admit that his identity was not something anyone could just defy.¡±


    Astrid put his hand under his chin, acting as if he was mulling over Reas¡¯ question.  ¡°Then, I would just have to be so famous that abducting me would have serious consequence.¡±


    ¡°Aster, can you be serious?¡± Reas frustratingly said.


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious though,¡± Astrid said with an innocent expression on his face.  ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Reas.  You know I¡¯m not stupid enough to not have any fallback.  If he did something to me, I will make sure that all the citizens of the Empire will know about it.  Even if his identity as the prince wouldn¡¯t be able to protect him from the wrath of the people.  But I definitely wouldn¡¯t let it go that far.  If I see signs that he¡¯s planning to detain me to some unregistered planet, I¡¯ll make a counter-move first.  Something that would stop him from doing what he wanted.¡±


    Although, they probably wouldn¡¯t really reach the point of kidnapping and detention.  After all, it¡¯s not like Wulfric¡¯s feelings for him, whatever it might be, were that deep.  For all they knew, this interest was only short-lived and it would just amount to nothing.


    But just as he said to Reas, in case he was wrong and it really led to that, then he would just have to make his fallback strategy as foolproof as possible.

 Chapter 148 - COAXING LITTLE BROTHER

    REAS stared at his brother¡¯s nonchalant attitude and suddenly felt the urge to pull out his hair because of frustration.  But since he didn¡¯t want to get bald, he could only scratch the back of his head.  If he didn¡¯t know him better, he might really think that the other was not taking his safety seriously.


    But he did know Astrid.  And he¡¯s not someone who would joke about something like that.  So, when he said that he would have a fallback strategy no matter how things turned out, he had no choice but to believe him.  Because once Astrid decided on something, he would definitely follow up on it with actions instead of just words.


    Then, what else could he do?  As someone who only wanted the best for his brother but didn¡¯t want to be the kind of person who would intrude in every aspect of his life, he could only support him.  Although they¡¯re twins, he didn¡¯t have the right to control his life and vice versa.  The two of them could only give suggestions to each other.  It¡¯s still up to them whether they would follow it or not.


    This time, Astrid obviously had no plans on following his ¡®suggestion¡¯.  So, really, he could only protect him once things went awry.


    ¡°Do what you want,¡± he could only say at the end.


    Reas simply made a decision.  Once he became an official soldier of the Empire, he would definitely do his best to rise up in ranks as fast as he could and gain more power and influence along the way.  He would be at a position where no one would even dare to mess with him or the people he cared about.  Even if the one he was up against was the prince.


    Astrid, who had no idea that his almost whim-like statements made his brother even more determined and ambitious, smiled.  He could see that the other was very reluctant to say that.  Reas probably wanted to continue arguing with him until he saw ¡®reason¡¯.


    But the thing was, he had always been very rational.  Even when he said those things earlier about Wulfric, his brain had already reasoned out a lot of things with him.  From all the pros and cons.  But even though the cons far outweighed the pros, he still believed that his initial judgment wouldn¡¯t be wrong.


    That¡¯s pretty much illogical.  Something that went against his nature.  But he just couldn¡¯t help it.  He just wanted to see how things would develop until the end.  Yes, he knew, it was reckless and totally not like him.  But just like anyone else, he¡¯s also human.  He¡¯s far from perfect.  Sometimes he would make decisions that might or might not affect him negatively later on.


    It was his mistake to make.  If he was wrong and things went out of hand, then he could only blame himself.  He wouldn¡¯t go around crying over it.  He would accept that he was wrong and then learn from his mistake.  Just like all humans should.


    But at the same time, he would also be prepared for whatever would come.  This way, his loss wouldn¡¯t be that huge.  And he could still ensure his safety at the end of it.  There might be some things that would be out of his control, but the important thing was that he truly wouldn¡¯t let the situation reach a point where he was the one at the most disadvantageous position.


    Astrid walked to his brother and linked their arms together.  ¡°Don¡¯t think about it anymore.  The thing you should think about now was your dormitory life that would start in three days.¡±


    Although the performing arts school where he was admitted would also start school registration in three days, he was not required to live at the school dormitory immediately after.  There wasn¡¯t really a strict requirement for students to live at campus.  But the Imperial Military Academy was different.


    They had to live at the dormitory provided by the school.  The incoming freshmen even had to stay a week ahead before the start of the school year.


    ¡°Do you have everything you need?¡± he asked.  ¡°We can go shopping tomorrow if you want.  This big brother will accompany you.¡±


    Reas snorted.  He knew this guy was just saying that to coax him.  But it didn¡¯t matter.  Since he knew whatever he said wouldn¡¯t change Astrid¡¯s mind.  ¡°I already have everything I need.¡±


    ¡°Then, accompany me somewhere tomorrow,¡± Astrid said, as if already expecting that he would answer that way.  ¡°You¡¯ll definitely be in a good mood once we get there.¡±


    Reas only had a question mark on his face when he heard that.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    An aircraft was flying towards the direction of the capital¡¯s military base.


    Inside, Wulfric was still mulling over how he would befriend Aster.  He seriously didn¡¯t know how he would do it.  He had never tried to do something like that.  Most of the time, it was other people who wanted to befriend him, not the other way around.  But he just scoffed at those people.


    Because he knew that those people really didn¡¯t mean it.  They were only trying to get close to him because of his position as the prince and not because of who he was as a person.  And after his reputation became, well, let¡¯s just say it was the opposite of ¡®good¡¯, those same people started to avoid him.


    At first, there were still some who tried to get close to him.  But one time, he couldn¡¯t control his temper and just directly broke someone¡¯s bones, putting the other into coma for almost a month.  Considering how advanced medical technology was, having a person in a coma for a month was already a huge tell that Wulfric didn¡¯t hold back when he attacked.


    After that, there were no more ingratiating gaze falling on him.  There was only fear.  And he much preferred it that way.  At least he no longer had to deal with those hypocritical people.


    He once again looked at his two captains.  ¡°You still haven¡¯t thought of a way?¡±

 Chapter 149 - LUCKY STAR

    HILDRED sighed helplessly when he heard the question.  ¡°Wulf, friendship isn¡¯t something that could be forced.  Just like any relationship out there.  It¡¯s something that should be build from the ground up.¡±


    ¡°Then, how should I build it?¡± Wulfric asked, his confusion could totally be seen on his face.


    Hildred shrugged.  ¡°How would I know?  People just naturally become my friends. It¡¯s probably because of my charm.¡±  He turned to Edmund.  ¡°Right, Ed?¡±


    [Should I just say yes?  Yes, I should just do that.] ¨C Edmund thought before nodding.


    Hildred looked proudly at Wulfric, as if saying, ¡®see, what did I tell you?¡¯.


    Wulfric resisted the urge to just directly punch Hildred¡¯s annoying face.  ¡°Then, why are you telling me to build up the friendship when you don¡¯t even know how yourself?!¡±


    ¡°Because I think that¡¯s what Astrid would want,¡± Hildred answered.  ¡°He¡¯s the one you wanted to befriend, right?¡±


    Wulfric couldn¡¯t deny what the other said.  Because Hildred was right, Aster would definitely not want him to bulldoze his way into being friends with him.  Just like Hildred said, it should be a process.  But realizing that didn¡¯t mean that he could understand it.


    He scratched his head quite forcefully.  So, what should he do now?


    Seeing his frustrated expression, Edmund couldn¡¯t help but offer his opinion.  ¡°Ahm, General, maybe you should think of him as a friend first before thinking of ways to befriend him?¡±


    Wulfric glanced sharply at Edmund.  ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m not thinking of him as a friend?  What else should I think of him as?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t understand why he suddenly felt panicked by what Edmund said.  Because what he heard from what he said was that he¡¯s not really thinking of Aster as a ¡®friend¡¯ but something more than that ¨C whatever ¡®that¡¯ might be.  And he didn¡¯t like it.  Because it felt like he was tainting Aster for some reason.


    Edmund was startled by the general¡¯s sharp gaze.  Thinking that the other might have misunderstand what he said, he readily explained, ¡°What I meant was if you think of Astrid as a friend, then your actions towards him will be much more genuine.  It wouldn¡¯t look force.  Being treated sincerely, nobody would hate that.  Right?¡±


    Hildred suddenly patted Edmund¡¯s head.  ¡°Aww¡­ our Ed is saying such mature things.¡±


    Wulfric became quiet for a second.  What Edmund said truly made him think.  So, was that how he should do it?  Just be sincere and everything would flow in the right direction?  But why did he feel that it was still not enough?


    ¡°To add to what Ed said, you should not do anything extreme.  Like spending money and buying Astrid the most expensive gift you could think of.  Or even producing some kind of movie or tv show for him to star in,¡± Hildred added.  ¡°If you do any of that, it¡¯s like you¡¯re buying your friendship with him.  Just like what Ed said, it¡¯s better to just be sincere.¡±


    Wulfric was actually thinking of buying some kind of gift for Aster, like something symbolic to commemorate their meeting.  But hearing what Hildred said, that idea was quickly extinguished in his mind.  He now suddenly felt that if he did buy something and give it to Aster, it would only look like a transaction.  Which he didn¡¯t want.


    Wait- maybe if it didn¡¯t involve money, it would alright?  Like making the gift himself.  It would also show his sincerity.  Then, he was entangled again.  Because he didn¡¯t have the right skill for that.


    No matter.  There¡¯s plenty of time to think of a way.  Now that Aster was in the capital and would probably remain here until his studies ended, there¡¯s no reason why he couldn¡¯t visit him.  Of course, he wouldn¡¯t visit every day.  The other might just find him annoying.


    Aside from that, maybe he should also extend his army¡¯s stay in the capital.  At least until he and Aster became friends.


    ¡°Oh, yes, before I forget.  Wulf, do you not recognize the Townsend twins¡¯ mother when you first saw her?¡± Hildred suddenly asked.


    ¡°No, should I?¡± Wulfric responded, wondering why Hildred suddenly brought that up.


    ¡°Well, I think she¡¯s the supposedly dead daughter of Lord Grimaldi.¡±


    Both Wulfric and Edmund were shocked to hear that.


    The thing that happened between the Grimaldis and the Lancasters twenty years ago was widely known to everyone in the Empire.  One of the sons of the Lancaster Duke who had a good reputation amongst the nobles and the masses turned out to be a sociopathic serial killer who enjoyed torturing and raping women.


    Wanting to break her engagement with him, the only daughter of the Grimaldi Duke accidentally found that out and was killed in the process.  A young soldier with a promising future exposed Cecil Lancaster¡¯s dark secret to [Starnet] and then vanished right after.


    In short, it was a mess.  Especially after those in the military¡¯s high position found out after much investigating that Cecil Lancaster¡¯s first victim was actually the late Duchess Grimaldi.  It was no wonder that Duke Grimaldi did everything he could so the Lancasters would at least be punished for harboring and protecting such a monster.


    Even the former Emperor was so angered that he stripped them of most of their powers.  But these last few years, the Lancasters were slowly making a comeback.  Which was mostly because of the support of the current Emperor.


    Wulfric¡¯s expression immediately became serious.  ¡°Are you sure about this?¡±


    Hildred nodded.  ¡°You know how good I am with faces.¡±


    ¡°If- if it was revealed that she¡¯s still alive, wouldn¡¯t this be bad for the twins?¡± Edmund said, a bit of worry in his voice.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Hildred agreed.  ¡°So, what would you do, Wulf?¡±


    ¡°What else?  Make sure that this information will never come to light.  And that those Lancaster dogs would never find out about it,¡± Wulfric said without hesitation.  ¡°This information should never get out of this aircraft, understand?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, General.  My lips are sealed,¡± Edmund said, patting his chest.


    Hildred smiled.  ¡°Of course, me as well.¡±


    He actually didn¡¯t expect such an answer from Wulf.  If this was before, he might have already used that information to blackmail Astrid into being ¡®friends¡¯ with him.  This showed that the prince was already showing signs of emotional maturity.


    It seemed like Astrid Townsend was indeed their lucky star.

 Chapter 150 - WHY WAS IT HIM?

    AFTER eating breakfast, the Townsend twins got ready to go out of the apartment once again.


    ¡°Xiao Lan, I¡¯ll leave the apartment to you,¡± Astrid said to the AI cat.


    ¡°Yes, Master, just leave everything to Xiao Lan,¡± said the blue cat.  ¡°Please, take care.¡±


    Astrid opened the door and walked out of the apartment unit.  Reas followed closely behind.


    ¡°So, where exactly are we going?¡± Reas asked.


    Astrid said yesterday that they would go to a place that would lighten his mood.  But he couldn¡¯t think of a place that would do that.  No, there was one.  Diving at the VirtualNet and fighting at the Mecha Hall.  But seeing that they¡¯re going out instead of using a virtual pod, that was most likely not the case.


    Wait- his brother didn¡¯t have a virtual pod here.  So, maybe they would go to a place with a virtual pod and then he could play to his heart¡¯s content.  Thinking of that possibility, he already felt his good mood rising up.  Astrid still knew how to coax him.


    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.  Just trust me.  You will definitely like it,¡± Astrid answered in a mysterious tone.


    Although Reas already had an idea of where his brother was taking him, he decided to act like he knew nothing so as not to ruin the surprise.  When they walked out of the building, Reas couldn¡¯t help but to look left and right, as if he was checking on something.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Astrid asked, staring at the way his brother was acting.


    ¡°Checking if that guy is just around the corner, waiting to ambush us.¡±


    Astrid shook his head helplessly.  Even if he didn¡¯t ask, he was certain that the ¡®guy¡¯ Reas was talking about was none other than Wulfric.  ¡°I don¡¯t think the prince has a lot of free time to lurk around the corner just to ambush us.¡±


    ¡°With that guy, you¡¯ll never know.¡±


    Astrid decided to just pull this brother of his to a taxi that stopped nearby.  After hopping inside, he told the driver the address of where they should take him.


    Reas was not familiar with the address that Astrid gave the driver.  Which was really not surprising, considering that he barely knew any place in this capital.  He could probably search at his Terminal for that address to see where they were going but he didn¡¯t.  Where would be the surprise in that?


    The car flew up and traveled towards the direction of the address Astrid gave.


    Reas, who was looking outside the window, noticed that they were going outside the city center.  Sure enough, a few minutes later, they were no longer travelling surrounded by tall buildings and establishments.  The longer they travelled away from the city center, more trees and other landscapes appeared.


    Now, he was even more curious as to where they were going.


    After another half an hour, the flying car finally stopped.  Astrid paid the fare and he and Reas got out of the car.


    Reas stared at the place in front of him.  There was a white picket fence and after that was a pathway surrounded on both sides with flower bushes.  At the end of that path was a two-story building with rose vines clinging on its walls.  A wooden sign was attached to it which read, ¡®Rose Atelier¡¯.


    The first thing that come to his mind was, ¡®what the heck is this place¡¯?


    The meaning of ¡®atelier¡¯ was a workshop or a studio used by an artist or designer.  His guess that his brother would bring him to a place where they could go to the VirtualNet immediately vanished.  How could such a place with a name like that have a bunch of virtual pods?


    ¡°Are you sure my mood is going to improve in this place?¡± he asked, totally confused and also a little bit curious.


    Astrid smiled at him.  ¡°Of course.  Don¡¯t you trust me?¡±


    Reas raised one of his brows at the other.  ¡°Not when you smile like that.¡±


    His brother was now smiling at him in that smile that he often had when he was up to no good.  So, he already had a feeling that his mood would probably just worsen once Astrid showed him this ¡®surprise¡¯.  He had already lowered his expectation.


    Astrid acted like he was hurt by what Reas said.  ¡°Reas, how could you say that your kindhearted brother?¡±


    ¡°Who was it that kept on insisting yesterday that he was not a good person?¡±


    Astrid chuckled.  ¡°Touch¨¦.¡±


    He linked his arms around Reas¡¯ and pulled his brother towards the atelier.  On their way, Reas saw a guy from a distance painting something on a canvas.  Not far from the other was another guy doing the same thing.


    Walking inside, the first thing he noticed was the paintings hanging on the wall.  They were all paintings of different landscapes.  From a mountainous area, to a snowcapped mountain, to the setting sun on the horizon of the sea.


    Although he didn¡¯t have any background on art, he could tell that these paintings were good.  No, they were more than good.  The colors used on them made them seem alive.  As if he had been in those places himself.


    Right after the paintings, he noticed the tables and chairs scattered about.  But they were not in a messy state.  Although there was no order on how they were arranged, it didn¡¯t look chaotic at all.  In fact, it still somehow added to the whole aesthetic of this floor.


    There were three people there, sitting quite far away from each other and only minding their own business.  One was holding some kind of drawing board, he also saw one with his Terminal opened and seemed to be designing something on it.


    ¡°Is this some kind of special place for artists or something?¡± he asked his brother just to confirm his guess.


    ¡°In a way, yes,¡± Astrid answered.


    There were staffs around holding trays of drinks and dessert.  Reas was surprised to see that these staffs were actually humans instead of AIs.  In this day and age, most people just use AI robots as staffs especially for such a job.  Because they¡¯re more thorough with their jobs and less likely to make mistakes.


    A staff walked up to them.  ¡°Good morning, do you have any reservation?¡±


    ¡°Yes, for Astrid Townsend, please,¡± Astrid answered.


    The staff checked something in the virtual board in his hand, probably something like a guest list.  ¡°Please, come this way.  Your companion is already waiting.¡±


    Companion?  Surely this brother of his didn¡¯t invite that prince, right? ¨C Reas thought.


    With doubt, he followed his brother and the staff to the second floor.  Unlike the first floor which was more open, the second floor had private rooms.  But the artistic atmosphere was still there.  The staff opened one of the doors and gestured for them to come in.


    Reas walked inside and stopped immediately when he saw the person sitting on one of the chairs and eating some kind of tall parfait.  Sunlight from the window was cascading on his dark blond hair.  His pair of light brown eyes were bent into beautiful crescents.


    Reas only thought was; Why was it him?

 Chapter 151 - IN SYNC

    ASTRID glanced at Reas and he almost couldn¡¯t hold back his laugh when he saw the constipated expression on the other¡¯s face.  Really, was it so bad to see Lauren again?  He thought he would be happier.  But knowing this guy, he probably wouldn¡¯t show it even if he was.


    Reas hadn¡¯t recovered yet from unexpectedly seeing Lauren when he noticed that his brother was actually holding in his laughter!  He glared at Astrid.


    ¡°Is this your ¡®surprise¡¯?¡± he asked in a hushed tone, gritting his teeth.


    ¡°Yes, isn¡¯t it wonderful?¡± Astrid responded in a teasing tone.  ¡°Don¡¯t feel happy?¡±


    Wonderful, my ass.  Instead of making his mood better, it felt more like Astrid was trying to infuriate him.  Before he could give this brother of his a piece of his mind, the other had already called Lauren.


    ¡°Lauren!¡±


    Lauren, who was focusing on the tall parfait in front of him, stopped and looked towards the direction of the door.  He was delighted when he saw Astrid.  He was about to stand up and greet the other when he saw the tall standing beside him.  Seeing Andreas and his grumpy look made his originally happy mood dampen.


    No, he should not let this guy affect him for the whole day.  He didn¡¯t want to be annoyed while he was touring Astrid at the building of his entertainment company ¨C Polaris.


    That¡¯s right.  A few days ago, Astrid contacted him, asking if it¡¯s alright for an outsider to visit Polaris¡¯ building.  When he heard that, he was filled with excitement.  Because Astrid asking him that meant that the other was interested in joining Polaris.  How could he not be happy?


    He had a pretty good impression of Astrid.  Not just because he was super pretty, which was a total plus in his book.  But also because he was very talented.  Someone who had such good condition would have at least a bit of arrogance in them.  But while interacting with him, he hadn¡¯t felt a drop of that.


    Astrid was very humble and easy to talk to.  He¡¯s also pretty good tempered.  During the filming of the movie they both starred in, there were some discordant voices in the set.  Saying that a newcomer shouldn¡¯t have played such an important role.  Most of it coming from the supporting roles and extras.


    Lauren could understand their frustration.  Some of them probably had been acting for years and still hadn¡¯t earn a role that could be a breakthrough to their career.  But that didn¡¯t mean that he approved of it.


    Being in this industry also needed some kind of luck.  It just so happened that Astrid had better luck than them.  They couldn¡¯t just use the word ¡®newcomer¡¯ as if it was a major disadvantage.  Didn¡¯t all of them started as newcomers?  If they used that kind of word to find fault, then it would only show their jealous dark hearts.


    He especially disliked those types of people.  So, of course, he would be on Astrid¡¯s side.


    But Astrid had never said anything back to those people.  Instead, he just continued to show them how deserving he was of that role.  He truly admired that.  It just made his opinion of him higher.


    In his mind Astrid had become a very good person.


    But what this little innocent didn¡¯t know was that this ¡®good person¡¯ might not be truly ¡®good¡¯ at all.  He might not have openly showed his resistance to those people who had opinions on him, but behind their backs?  Oh, it was like open season.


    Astrid secretly used his mental strength to cause trouble to those people.  It could range from something simple as having a headache or feeling faint to making them temporarily daze so they would forget their lines during filming and therefore be scolded by the director.  It would all depend on how badly they badmouthed him and if they showed any malice towards him.


    So, no, this ¡®good person¡¯ in Lauren¡¯s imagination didn¡¯t exist at all.  One might think that he barely even scratched the surface of Astrid¡¯s true personality.  But weren¡¯t all friendships started with the people being strangers and slowly getting to know each other?  If they could accept not only the good but also the bad parts of each other, then it could lead to a lasting friendship.


    One could only wish that the same held true for Astrid and Lauren.


    ¡°Astrid!¡± Lauren finally stood up and walked in front of Astrid.  He actually wanted to hug the other.  But based on experience, that annoying tall guy standing beside him would definitely get in his way.  So, he just chose to hold Astrid¡¯s hand.  ¡°I really miss you!  We should have gone out together like this sooner.¡±


    Reas zeroed in on the hands of the two that were clasped together.  That familiar annoying feeling that he always felt whenever this guy gets all chummy with his brother appeared again.  Before he could think, his body had already moved and made a chopping action to separate the hands of the two.


    ¡°I told you, no touching,¡± he said coldly to Lauren.


    Lauren looked at his hand that was suddenly separated from Astrid¡¯s.  After hearing what Andreas said, he couldn¡¯t help but flare up.  Why did this guy made it sound like he was being a pervert or something?


    He turned to Andreas and glared at the other.  ¡°That was just normal skinship between friends!¡±


    The annoying guy only scoffed at him, as if telling him, ¡®skinship my ass, you¡¯re clearly taking advantage of my brother!¡¯.  He almost raised his foot to kick the other¡¯s shin.


    Then Astrid¡¯s chuckle was suddenly heard.  ¡°You two are getting along so well as usual.¡±


    The two both looked at Astrid with the same shocked expression and said at the same time, ¡°Who¡¯s getting along with who?¡±


    Reas and Lauren were obviously surprise hearing that the both of them said the same thing and even at the same time.  They sharply looked at each other and once again said at the same time;


    ¡°Why are you copying me?¡±


    Astrid chuckled again.  ¡°See?  You¡¯re now even in sync.¡±


    Both felt even more annoyed hearing that.


    With this, it was quite obvious that the only one in this room who was in a good mood was Astrid.

 Chapter 152 - HIS NEMESIS

    ¡°HAVE you had breakfast?¡± Lauren asked Astrid, trying his best to ignore the tall guy sitting beside the other.


    After that initial bickering, the three of them were finally sitting around the only table in the room.  The twins on one side and him on the opposite.


    ¡°We had one before going here,¡± Astrid answered.


    ¡°Then order some desserts,¡± Lauren suggested.  ¡°All the sweets here are very delicious, I guarantee it.¡±


    ¡°It sounded like you¡¯ve tasted every dessert in this place,¡± Astrid said in a teasing tone.


    ¡°Well, I often come here whenever I have time.  So, yeah, I kind of have tasted everything on the menu,¡± Lauren said with a bit of shyness.


    He often went here whenever he wanted to eat sweets and not worry about people taking pictures of him or asking him for autographs.  Despite this place looking very casual, the security here was very top notch.  Besides, this was mostly made for artists ¨C not an artist like an entertainer but those who belonged in the art world ¨C in the capital who wanted to unwind or temporarily get away from the life in the city.  They could also get some inspiration from the beautiful surrounding.


    That¡¯s why it was called an ¡®atelier¡¯ even though it was really a caf¨¦.  He thought this name was very apt though.


    Most of the customers of this place were temperamental painters who only lived in their own world.  So, of course, they wouldn¡¯t care if an actor like him suddenly appeared in their midst.  That¡¯s the main reason why Lauren liked this place.  So, when Astrid contacted him, he immediately suggested this place.


    It¡¯s true that it would be faster to just directly meet at Polaris¡¯ main building.  But with that, there¡¯s a chance that some paparazzi might take pictures of them.  He didn¡¯t want Astrid to be embroiled in a scandal with him.  Yes, it could produce some hype.  But ultimately, it wouldn¡¯t be good for Astrid¡¯s career.


    Instead of being know as a talented newcomer, people would first think of him as that guy who was linked with Lauren Watts.  That would be a great disservice to someone of Astrid¡¯s talent.  So, he suggested to meet here first before going to Polaris.  This way, they could leave together from here and just directly enter Polaris¡¯ private parking lot.


    From there, he could let his assistant take Astrid and that other guy around the company.  While they were doing that, he would ambush their president in his office and convince him to meet with Astrid.  Surely, with the other¡¯s talent and appearance, it would be their loss if they didn¡¯t sign him.  They had to take this chance while the other was still willing to join them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll trust your judgment then,¡± Astrid responded to what Lauren said earlier.  He looked through the virtual menu and chose something that was not too sweet.  It¡¯s not that he was worried about his diet.  He simply didn¡¯t have that much of a sweet-tooth.  After he¡¯s done, he glanced at his brother.  ¡°How about you, Reas?¡±


    ¡°Just coffee is fine,¡± Reas answered.


    Lauren scrunched up his nose when he heard that.  He really couldn¡¯t understand people who liked to drink bitter stuff.  But it matched with the personality of this guy.  He would probably be more surprised if the other ordered something overly sweet.


    Astrid raised one of his brows when he heard Reas¡¯ order.  When did this guy like coffee?  If they¡¯re talking about someone who liked sweets between the two of them, then it¡¯s definitely this twin of his.  But now he was suddenly ordering coffee?  Surely Reas knew that he would find that suspicious.


    Of course, Reas knew that.  That¡¯s why he turned to Astrid and tried to communicate with him using his eyes.  His gaze was simply telling the other, ¡®just order and please don¡¯t say anything¡¯.


    He had loved sweets since he was a kid.  How could he not when he grew up eating all the delicious desserts made by Astrid?  It would be much weirder if he didn¡¯t.  What he didn¡¯t like actually were bitter things.  Like the coffee that he just ordered.  But he would rather have that than a very sweet and mouth-watering dessert.


    Simply because he didn¡¯t want to eat dessert in front of this Lauren.  If the other knew how much he loved sweets, he had a feeling that he would definitely make fun of him.  And he¡¯d rather not have that happened.  It would feel like he lost, as weird as that might have sounded.


    So, the message in his gaze became even more intense.  To the point that his teal-gray eyes seemed to be glowing.


    Astrid did receive his brother¡¯s message.  He smiled helplessly because he knew exactly what was going through the mind of this guy.  They wouldn¡¯t be twins for nothing if he didn¡¯t.  Although he loved to tease Reas from time to time, it didn¡¯t mean that he would just embarrass him and deny him his wishes.


    He just couldn¡¯t understand why Reas would feel shy eating sweets in front of Lauren.  No, it was probably more of the fact that he didn¡¯t want the other to know that he loved sweet things.  Was he thinking perhaps that it would make him look uncool or something?


    He wanted to laugh just thinking of that possibility.  Really, how cute.  Despite always acting mature, Reas still apparently had this childish side.


    ¡°How about a caffe latte instead?¡± he suggested.  ¡°I would ask them not to make it too sweet.¡±


    A latte was indeed better than pure coffee.  So, he said, trying to sound as reluctant as possible, ¡°If you insist.¡±


    But what he didn¡¯t know was that his expression was totally stiff.  Even the way he said it was very robotic.  It¡¯s obvious just how bad he was at acting.  Since he was with two actors right now, of course, both noticed his odd behavior.


    Astrid knew why he was behaving like that.  But Lauren didn¡¯t.  So, in the other¡¯s eyes, he just looked weird.  And he had no problem voicing that out.


    ¡°Why do you look like you¡¯ve eaten crap and couldn¡¯t spit it out?¡±


    Astrid suddenly burst out laughing when he heard that.  While Reas only had black lines on his face.


    As expected, this guy was really his nemesis.

 Chapter 153 - A DIRECTION THEY NEVER EXPECTED

    REAS drank the latte that big brother ordered for him.  He was surprised when he tasted that it was much sweeter than he expected.  His brother probably added on a note while he was ordering earlier.  Like to make his latte sweeter than normal or something.  Which was the complete opposite of what he said earlier about making his latte not to sweet.


    He smiled a bit.  His brother still looked out for him.  This delicious latte totally offsets that comment made by you-know-who earlier.  Surprisingly enough, he no longer felt that irritated.  Anything sweet could really easily clean one¡¯s soul.


    He secretly glanced at the slice of key lime pie Astrid was eating.  That certainly looked delicious.  With how good this latte tasted like, he was sure that the desserts would definitely be heavenly.  If not, then the other person sitting across from them wouldn¡¯t be wolfing down on his parfait.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, Lauren.  This place really does have the best tasting dessert I¡¯ve ever tasted,¡± Astrid commented.  Then he turned to Reas.  ¡°Do you want to have a taste, Reas?  Even though I know you don¡¯t like sweets, eating one bite should be fine, right?¡±


    Reas almost cried invisible tears.  He knew it.  His brother was still the best for him.  This time, he no longer tried to act and just simply nodded.


    Astrid smiled inwardly.  He scooped a big bite using the spoon he was holding from the slice of key lime pie and then stretched his hand to put it in front of Reas.  His brother looked at the spoon hesitantly, most likely thinking that it was embarrassing to eat in this manner.  One could really see the struggle on his face.  But at the end, he closed his eyes as if he was resigned to it and just ate what was being offered.


    Then he suddenly opened his eyes as if surprised.  Because Astrid was sitting right beside Reas, he could see the glitter that appeared in his eyes.  It was quite obvious that he really liked the taste of the pie.  His expression right now was actually really adorable.


    Ah, how could his brother be this cute? ¨C Astrid thought.


    Surprisingly, he was not the only one thinking this way.  Lauren, who happened to see this scene, also thought so at the moment.  Then he quickly berated himself.  Why the heck would he think that this Andreas guy was cute?  Was he crazy or what?


    He shook his head.  Anyway, it¡¯s better to just concentrate on this parfait.  If another crazy thought entered his mind, he might just be completely unable to enjoy his food.


    ¡°How did you find this place?¡± Astrid thought of asking Lauren.


    ¡°Ah?  It¡¯s because of the owner.  He¡¯s a family friend,¡± Lauren simply answered.


    The owner was actually someone who was sponsored by his family because of the other¡¯s talent.  His family supported his studies and now the other was one of the most celebrated painters in the Empire.  He built this atelier as a form of reprieve to other artists like himself.


    The painting hanging on every wall of this place was actually painted by him.  He just changed the style a little bit so most people wouldn¡¯t recognize that he was the one who made the paintings.  Because if people knew that there were paintings made by the great Pietro, they would probably be stolen right the next morning.


    ¡°Then, props to him for ensuring the quality of food this place serves,¡± Astrid only commented.  ¡°By the way, is it really alright for us to go visit Polaris¡¯ headquarters?¡± he asked, smoothly changing the topic.  ¡°I heard Polaris is very strict when it comes to letting outsiders enter their territory.¡±


    He actually wanted to ask Sienna if she could bring him to Polaris the moment he had thought that this company might be a good fit for him.  After all, she was the one who asked him first if he wanted to join the said entertainment company.  But then he found out that from her [Cyberspace] post that she was currently busy promoting a movie.  Of course, not the one they shot but some other.  So, how could he ask her?


    At the end, he could only ask Lauren.  He was actually quite hesitant at first since the other was such a scandal magnet.  But he didn¡¯t expect that he would also have a considerate side.  As evidence of the fact that he asked to meet somewhere first before directly going to Polaris.  Which directly lessen the percentage of them being seen by paparazzi.


    Lauren chuckled when he heard what Astrid said.  ¡°You¡¯re making it sound like we¡¯re a gang or something.  I assure you, it¡¯s fine.  But I might not be able to tour you around because, you know, no matter how good an organization is, there would always be a bad apple among the bunch.¡±


    Astrid understood what Lauren was saying.  If the other really personally tour him around the company¡¯s building, some artists who saw them might think that he was holding Lauren¡¯s thigh or something along those lines.  ¡°It¡¯s okay, I understand.¡±


    Reas was quite surprised.  Because he too understood what this guy ¨C Lauren ¨C meant by what he said.  Who would have thought that he would have such a considerate side?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll have one of my assistants to show you around the Polaris¡¯ building,¡± Lauren added.  ¡°Just tell him wherever you want to go and he will bring you there.¡±


    They soon finished eating their dessert and decided that it was time to go.  After paying, it was Astrid who walked out of the room first.  Reas was about to follow when he happened to look at Lauren.  Then he saw that there was cream on his cheek.


    He was planning to just ignore that when he remembered that this guy had been pretty considerate to his brother.  So, he sighed and just told the other about it.


    ¡°You have cream on your face.¡±


    Hearing that, Lauren felt embarrassed at first.  Then he quickly wiped his cheek.


    ¡°It¡¯s the other side,¡± the other¡¯s cold tone said when he finished.


    So, Lauren tried to wipe the other cheek.  But to his chagrin, he still missed it.  Which made Reas quite annoyed.


    Before Reas could think, he had already stretched out his hand and wiped the cream himself.  ¡°What are you, a kid¡ª¡±


    He stopped because he saw Lauren staring at him with wide eyes and then the other¡¯s whole face just turned red.  Which in turn, only made him more embarrassed.


    ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Astrid¡¯s voice suddenly asked, breaking whatever awkward atmosphere that was surrounding the two.


    Reas almost jumped back.  The same was true for Lauren.  Then, both said at the same time;


    ¡°Nothing!¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows.  What he saw was definitely not ¡®nothing¡¯.  Well, at least the atmosphere was.  It was more like ¡®something¡¯.  But he decided not to meddle.  Whatever relationship that might develop between the two, that was between the two of them.  Although it would probably develop into a direction that both of them would have never expected.


    He turned around and continued walking.

 Chapter 154 - WHY WOULD I BE BOTHERED?

    ASTRID looked at the building from the window of the flying car they were in.  It had quite the unique architecture.  It was shaped like a hexagonal prism.  Its surface was made of what it seemed to be like glasses.  But he knew that it must be some kind of special material that was only made to look like a glass.


    Its width was not that wide, but the building made up for it with its height.  It was so tall that one would have an illusion that it could reach the sky.  Of course, that could probably as well be an optical illusion because of the building¡¯s glass surface.  It looked a bit out of place in this bustling city center where it was located.  But surprisingly, it just added more charm to it.


    ¡°Are there no rooftop parking in this building?¡± he asked curiously.  Because the top of Polaris¡¯ building was like the tip of a cone.  After a few seconds, he still hadn¡¯t heard an answer.  So, he glanced back and looked at Lauren.  He then just noticed that the other was in a daze.  ¡°Lauren?¡±


    Hearing his name, Lauren quickly returned to his senses.  He was still thinking of that incident at the atelier just now.  For some reason, that warm touch on his cheek still lingered.  As if there was some kind of ghost hand touching his cheek.  He suddenly had goosebumps at that thought.


    It was all because of that guy.  If he had cream on his cheek, he should just let him wipe it on his own.  Yes, he wasn¡¯t able to do that after wiping his cheek twice.  But that didn¡¯t mean that he wouldn¡¯t be able to do it at his third try.  Wasn¡¯t that the reason why there¡¯s a saying ¡®third time is the charm¡¯?  Now, he was feeling weird all over because of that touch.


    He glared at the person responsible who was currently sitting in the front.  Andreas eyes were close, looking as if he was asleep.  He scoffed.  [Hmp!  Pretending to be cool.]


    He turned to Astrid, who was sitting beside him, and smiled.  ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t hear you.  What¡¯s your question again?¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t mind and asked his question again.


    ¡°There is.  But it¡¯s only available to the president.¡±  Lauren looked at the building.  ¡°One of the sides will open to let the vehicle enter.  As for the employees and artists alike, we have our own parking space.¡±


    The parking space for artists was more private compared to the normal employees of the company.  And they¡¯re heading to that now.


    The car slowly descended to the ground.  As it did, Astrid noticed that as they near the base, the girth of the building widened more and more.  When the car was about to enter the parking space, he saw some small flying cameras floating at some distance away from the building.


    ¡°Are those¡­ paparazzi cameras?¡± he asked, a bit unsure.


    Lauren saw where Astrid was looking and answered, ¡°Yes.  But don¡¯t mind them.  The security of the building is top-notch.  Once we enter inside, they wouldn¡¯t be able to take pictures.¡±


    Astrid wasn¡¯t really that worried.  Even if Polaris was not one of the biggest entertainment company in the Empire, its reputation was still one of the best.  Surely, they wouldn¡¯t just let some paparazzi take photos of their artists.  He was just a bit surprised to see that they were even using these flying cameras.


    [Well, I guess paparazzi also have to evolve with time.] ¨C he thought.


    After entering the parking space, the car landed on one of the free spaces available.


    ¡°Astrid, you and that guy over there pretending to sleep can go ahead first.  My assistant is waiting for you near the elevator,¡± Lauren said.  ¡°Do you still remember him?  He was with me at the movie set of [The Sleeping God].¡±


    Although Astrid could only remember a hazy figure, he still said yes.  Because he knew that once he saw this assistant, he would recognize him nonetheless.  His memory when it came to the face of the people he interacted once or twice and didn¡¯t really give a crap about worked like that.


    ¡°Contact me once you¡¯re done touring the building,¡± Lauren added.


    Then the twins got out of the car.  And that Andreas didn¡¯t even bother to look at his direction.  Which, for some reason or another, made Lauren really annoyed.  Then he scratched the back of his head quite forcefully.  Just what was wrong with him?  What did it matter if that guy paid attention to him or not?  Shouldn¡¯t he be happy instead?  He must have gone crazy for a moment there.


    He simply shook his head and also shook off whatever this weird feeling that¡¯s bothering him.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid looked around for the elevator.  He immediately saw it since it wasn¡¯t really located somewhere hidden.  At the same time, he also saw a figure standing near it.  Just like he thought earlier, he quickly recognized Lauren¡¯s assistant.


    He was about to walk over there when he saw Reas walking to a different direction.  He called to him but the other just continued on walking.  So, he had to run after him and hold his arm.


    ¡°Reas, where are you going?¡±


    That stopped Reas.  His teal-gray eyes that seemed to be in a daze became clear.  He turned to his brother.  ¡°Sorry, I was just thinking about something.¡±


    Astrid stared at his brother and then remembered how silent he was during the entire car ride.  Even when Lauren said something that would surely annoy him, he still didn¡¯t react.  Which showed that he was really bothered by something.  He thought back to when it could have possibly started and he could only think of one instance.


    ¡°Are you possibly bothered by what happened with Lauren earlier?  You know when you wiped the cream on his cheek.¡±


    Reas¡¯ whole face suddenly turned red.  ¡°I- I¡¯m not¡ª¡± he stopped and then took a deep breath as if trying to calm himself.  After that calming breath, his expression returned to normal.  Or at least as normal as it could be with a slight red tint on his cheeks.  ¡°Why would I be bothered by that?  If I have to describe what I feel, then it could only be annoyance.¡±


    Astrid stared at his brother and then smiled.  ¡°Hmm¡­ really?  Because your reaction so far is not that of someone who¡¯s simply ¡®annoyed¡¯ as you describe it.¡±

 Chapter 155 - POLARIS TOUR (I)

    ¡°THIS is our company¡¯s cafeteria.  The food here is not only delicious but very nutritious as well.  Most of our chefs here also have degrees in nutrition.  They even make customize diet plans for artists who request it,¡± the assistant said.


    Astrid nodded.  They were currently on the second floor of the building.  The whole floor was occupied by this cafeteria.  He looked around.  It was really quite big for a cafeteria of an entertainment company.  But based on Lauren¡¯s assistant¡¯s explanation, it seemed that the company was taking the health of their artists very seriously.


    Well, that¡¯s good.  At least he could be sure now that Polaris didn¡¯t consider their artists only as products that they could ¡®sell¡¯.  That¡¯s important in having a good working environment.


    The assistant turned to him.  ¡°If you two still haven¡¯t had breakfast, we could eat here so you can have a taste of our chefs¡¯ cooking skill.¡±


    Astrid smiled at him.  ¡°No, we already had breakfast.  But maybe next time.¡±


    The assistant was again hit by that smile.  It took a moment for him to calm his heart.  Seriously, how could someone smile so beautifully?  He had been Lauren¡¯s assistant for three years now.  He thought that he had already been immune to these actors and actresses¡¯ beautiful faces.  But now, a newcomer could make his heart thump by just simply smiling.  It¡¯s kind of scary in a way.


    When Lauren told him that this teenager ¨C Astrid Townsend ¨C might be interested in joining Polaris, his first thought was, ¡®great, their company will have another talented artist¡¯.  So, when asked to tour Astrid, he did not hesitate to agree.  It never crossed his mind that the teenager might be using Lauren to catapult himself to stardom.  After all, with his looks and talent, did he really need someone to catapult him?


    The answer was a definite no.  Even without hyping himself, Astrid would still be popular.  He simply had that special something, like an x-factor, that only those who were at the very top of Star List had.


    Look, even the people currently in the cafeteria couldn¡¯t help but glance and stare at their direction.  It¡¯s like the one standing beside him was some big star instead of a newcomer who still hadn¡¯t made a name for himself.


    The assistant would bet with anyone that after [The Sleeping God] was released, Astrid would definitely be a hit.  Entertainment companies with a bit of brain in them would see his marketability and would definitely clamor to sign him in their company.  But too bad.  By that time, this teenager would already have a contract with Polaris.  He felt a bit proud because of that.


    ¡°Should we go to the next floor?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes, please,¡± Astrid said politely.


    As they walked towards the elevator, Astrid glanced at his brother who had been silent again.  He¡¯s probably still thinking of what he said earlier before they met up with Lauren¡¯s assistant ¨C about him not simply being ¡®annoyed¡¯ at Lauren.


    Astrid no longer said anything after that.  Because he knew that inciting Reas even further wouldn¡¯t really help the other in the long run.  It would be better if he came to conclusion himself.  Because what¡¯s involved here was his feelings and not someone else¡¯s.


    Only he could understand what he truly felt himself.  And only he could decide what he would do about it.  Whether he would act on it or continue to ignore it was up to him.


    Astrid would only meddle if he saw that his brother was suffering because of the decision he made.  Although he must admit that if Reas started doing something stupid, he might as well just meddle.  But only a bit.  Just enough to nudge him out of stupidity.


    Entering the elevator, Lauren¡¯s assistant started explaining to him that the next floor was like a relaxation area where employees and artists alike could, well, relax or something.


    When they got there, Astrid fully understood what he meant by ¡®relaxation area¡¯.


    There was a reading room with shelves full of books.  Which was something very rare in this era.  After all, almost everything was digital.  Even most of the books being published every year didn¡¯t have any physical copies.  Then, there was a coffee room and a tea room.  There was even a room full of virtual pods in case they wanted to dive into the virtual network.


    Seeing that, Reas finally had some reaction.


    ¡°Your company president seems to be really thoughtful,¡± he commented.


    Hearing what the surly looking teenager said, the assistant immediately became passionate.  ¡°Of course!  The president is not only thoughtful, he also had a very good business mind.  Every movie he invested in has always generated a huge profit!  He also has his own principles.  As long as he¡¯s there, he wouldn¡¯t let the artists of his company be forced into something that they didn¡¯t want just for a role.  He also wouldn¡¯t allow his artists to do shady things.  Once it¡¯s proven that they were indeed doing something like that, their contract would immediately be terminated.  The thing the president values most is talent.  Frankly speaking, he should be the ideal president of any artist out there.¡±  He turned to Astrid with his eyes shining.  ¡°Don¡¯t you think so too, Astrid?¡±


    The look on the assistant¡¯s eyes was like saying, ¡®that¡¯s why you should sign with our company!¡¯.  Astrid smiled and said honestly, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡±


    Yes, it was indeed good for an entertainment company to have that kind of president.  But for some who would rather take a shortcut to stardom, he would probably be the kind of president they didn¡¯t want.  Because he would only hinder their plans.  Luckily enough, Astrid was not one of those types.


    Reas was also glad to hear that the president of this company was that kind of person.  To the point that he had temporarily forgotten the thing ¨C no, the person who was bothering him.


    At least, he could rest assured that his brother wouldn¡¯t be in bad hands and that if he ever signed in this company, they wouldn¡¯t treat him badly.  If they truly value talent, then Astrid should be on the top of their priority list.  After all, his brother was really gifted in acting.


    Hearing Astrid agreeing, the assistant became even more enthusiastic acting as a tour-guide.

 Chapter 156 - POLARIS TOUR (II)

    ¡°THIS floor is for the music division of the company.  It has fully-equipped recording studios, as well as a room for musical instruments that any artist of the company could freely use.  There were also practice rooms where they could practice their singing or have lessons with our company¡¯s vocal coaches,¡± the assistant introduced.


    Astrid, just as he did with the other floors they¡¯ve been to, looked around.  Like the dance division floor before this, the rooms were arranged neatly.  With the recording studios on one side and the practice rooms on the other.  And just like what the assistant mentioned, if the music division had voice coaches, then the dance division had dance teachers.


    Although the entertainment company he was part of in his past life also had dance practice rooms and recording rooms, the number of it could be counted with a hand.  Unlike here where it occupied a single floor.  Really, one could probably just train here instead of going to a performance art school.


    ¡°The next floor should be the acting division?¡± he asked.


    The assistant nodded, confirming his guess.  ¡°But it¡¯s not just a single floor, it actually occupies three floors.¡±


    Astrid was a bit surprised hearing that.  ¡°Three floors?  Isn¡¯t that a bit too much?¡±


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s actually just normal.  The acting division is mostly made of holographic rooms filled with thousands of movie films.  An artist could go inside choose a scene from the movie library and re-enact it.  Then, based on their performance, the room would give them acting points with 100 being the highest.¡±


    That¡¯s truly¡­ quite amazing. ¨C Astrid thought.  Since the assistant said that the presence of this holographic rooms was ¡®normal¡¯, then it could be seen that entertainment companies probably also had them.


    But he must admit, hearing the description given by the assistant, these rooms were pretty useful in his opinion.  He suddenly had an urge to try one.  Since, he had already thought of it, he might as well ask the assistant.  If he could, then good.  If he couldn¡¯t, then that¡¯s fine too.  He could always try again next time.


    ¡°Is it alright if I try one of those rooms?¡±


    The assistant was surprised at first when he heard such a request.  But he quickly became enthusiastic again.  ¡°Of course, of course.  Since it¡¯s still early in the morning, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s still some free rooms.  Let me check it first later when we go to the next floor.¡±


    After finishing their tour at the music division room, they went to the next floor which was the first of the three floors of the acting division.  The assistant told them to wait a moment for a while before walking to a virtual computer screen that could be seen at every floor.  This computer was like a log.  He had to check which holographic room was currently free.


    ¡°This is a good company,¡± Reas commented when the assistant left them.


    Astrid glanced at his brother.  ¡°Yes, I think so too.  It would probably not be a loss if I sign with them.¡±


    This company was actually his first choice.  But he had to first check whether their reputation truly preceded them.  And from what he had seen so far, that seemed to be the case.  He was very satisfied with what he had seen so far.  At least, in terms of facility, Polaris was top-notch.  In terms of people, well, he just had to see about that.


    He was just glad that this first choice didn¡¯t let him down.  He didn¡¯t want to go around searching for a better alternative.  Which was quite hard.  Since there wasn¡¯t that many entertainment companies that wasn¡¯t too big but still had a pretty good reputation and sphere of influence.


    ¡°But you still have to be careful.  Even if this company seems to be good on the surface, one couldn¡¯t say the same with the people,¡± Reas reminded him.


    Astrid knew exactly what his brother meant.  ¡°I know.¡±  He smiled full of meaning.  ¡°Do you think I would just let anyone scheme against me?¡±


    Reas stopped and then shook his head helplessly.  He somehow wanted to light a candle to those who would try to really scheme against his brother.  The keyword here was ¡®try¡¯.  Because that¡¯s probably the farthest they could go.


    After a few seconds more, the assistant finally walked back to their position.  ¡°There¡¯s an available holographic room in this floor.  Should we go there now?¡±


    Astrid turned to the assistant and gave him his gentle smile.  ¡°Okay.  Please, lead the way.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    Lauren was now on the floor of the president¡¯s office.  He should have already been there 15 minutes ago but his agent detained him.  It¡¯s because the other didn¡¯t know that he brought Astrid here.  And for some reason, the news that arrived to him was a bit askew from the truth.


    What his agent ¨C Chris ¨C heard was that he brought a no-name newcomer to the company because the other asked him to and he couldn¡¯t refuse.  Of course, that only sounded to Chris that this newcomer used some sort of beauty trap and hugged Lauren¡¯s thigh.  With the na?ve image that Lauren had in Chris mind, he immediately believed that and became furious.  There was no doubt that he thought that he was being taken advantaged again.


    It took a while before Lauren could explain everything to Chris.  It turned out that there was a miscommunication between his agent and his assistant, that¡¯s why Chris misunderstood.  But once he explained everything, his agent finally calmed down.


    Yes, Chris was indeed no longer angry but he was frustrated instead.  He had also met Astrid once when he visited the set of [The Sleeping God] and saw the other¡¯s raw talent.  By then, he had the idea of pulling him to Polaris and probably even being his agent.  But he knew that he shouldn¡¯t be too excited because that might just scare the teenager away.


    He planned to wait, at least before [The Sleeping God] was released to make his offer.  Who knew that Lauren ¨C this big ancestor ¨C would just bring Astrid here?  If that was the case, he might as well also go to their president and request to be the teenager¡¯s agent himself.  Because he had no doubt that once the director saw Astrid, he would not hesitate to sign the teenager.


    Once they arrived at the president office, an unexpected person was actually waiting there.

 Chapter 157 - PRESIDENTS FLOOR

    CHRIS had to stop and looked at the person carefully to make sure that his eyes wasn¡¯t playing tricks on him.  The person sitting in the waiting room was a tall woman.  She was wearing neatly pressed black suit that suited her strict demeanor.  Her short auburn hair was combed in a pretty chic style.  Behind his silver-rimmed glasses was a pair of blue eyes.


    One look and anyone could see that she was not easy to mess with.  It¡¯s not just her demeanor.  It¡¯s her overall atmosphere.  Like a lady boss who wouldn¡¯t allow her subordinates to make any mistakes.


    Chris was now certain that he was not seeing things.  The one in front of him was indeed Ellis Payne.  The then famous agent who once brought an artist to the top five of the Star List.


    It became such an amazing feat because both the agent and the artist were fairly new to the entertainment industry.  It wasn¡¯t even five years yet since the two entered the industry.  Granted that they were both working under Kaleido.  But being under the biggest company in the Empire didn¡¯t necessarily mean that one would rise to stardom and even enter the top 5 of the Star List.


    It just not showed the acting ability of that artist but also the ability of Ellis Payne as her agent.  But what surprised everyone even more was that a few months after that artist attained that rank, she suddenly announced her retirement.  If that wasn¡¯t enough, a few days later, she dropped another bomb again ¨C her marriage to a certain noble.


    All that happened three years ago.  Ellis Payne suddenly resigned from Kaleido and nothing was heard about her since.  Many speculated that the other was probably heartbroken because of her artist.  Other simply said that she had enough of the industry.  Many felt that her talent as an agent was wasted.


    Chris was one of those who felt pity for the wasted talent.  He admired Ellis¡¯ ability as an agent.  Especially since the both of them started in this job almost at the same time.  She was like some sort of role model to young agents like him back then.  That¡¯s why he felt a bit at a loss when the other just disappeared like that.


    But who would have thought that she would suddenly appear in Polaris like this three years later?  Then his brain seemed to suddenly start working.  Ellis Payne was now here inside the office of the president¡¯s office.  Although they were still in the waiting room, it could be seen that the other had an appointment with the president.


    If that was the case, then could it be¨C?  Thinking of the possibility he had in mind, Chris¡¯ eyes just brightened up with enthusiasm.  He quickly walked towards the sitting woman.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Payne,¡± he greeted enthusiastically.


    The other only glanced at him and then nodded.


    Chris didn¡¯t mind this cold attitude.  In his view, someone as capable as Ellis Payne had the privilege to be a bit arrogant.  Or maybe his fan filter was simply too thick that he would never think badly of the other no matter what she did.


    ¡°I¡¯m Christopher Taylor, I¡¯m one of the agents here at Polaris,¡± he introduced himself and stretched out his hand for a handshake.


    Ellis looked at his hand as if wondering if she should shake it or not.  But at the end, she still reached out and shook it once.  After that, she no longer paid attention to Chris.  But despite that, the agent still showed a hippy smile.


    Lauren, who was standing on the side, was shocked seeing the way his agent acted towards this woman.  Was this still the agent who loved to nag and scold him at every turn?


    He looked at the woman but didn¡¯t recognize her.  He first wondered if the other was an actress or something.  She might not look classically beautiful, but she had that charm that other women simply loved.  But he quickly rejected that thought because even if the woman had the looks, her temperament simply contradicted that.  She seemed more like the boss of some company rather than an artist.


    The woman seemed to notice his gaze because she suddenly glanced at his direction.  That simple sharp glance almost made him sweat coldly.  He subconsciously looked away.  But the moment he did, he felt inexplicable.  Why did he have to look away?


    Chris wanted to ask Ellis if she was meeting the president because she was planning to be part of Polaris as an agent, but before he could do so, a virtual screen appeared in the reception room telling them that they could now go inside the president¡¯s office.


    The top floor, which was below the roof deck greenhouse and parking space, was solely dedicated to the president.  Employees and artists alike fondly referred to it as the ¡®president¡¯s floor¡¯.


    It consisted of a reception area, a waiting room, a lounge area, the president¡¯s office, and a suite where the president could stay whenever he did an overtime.


    The three walked towards the office.  Inside, their Polaris¡¯ president was sitting behind his desk, looking through files via his Terminal.


    His grayish-blue hair was cleanly swept back with a few naughty strands falling down his forehead.  His sword eyebrows were currently wrinkled as if thinking about something.  He had a crooked nose as if it was broken in a fight or something.  His hazel eyes were probably the only soft-looking feature he had.


    The man was well-built.  Even with the suit he was wearing, one could easily see his bulging muscles.  He didn¡¯t wear any tie and two of his shirt buttons were simply unbuttoned.  Showing everyone his sexy clavicle.  Instead of looking like a company president, he looked more like a boss of the underground world.


    This was the president of Polaris ¨C Grant Fleming.


    The moment they walked inside, Grant raised his head and looked at them.  His expression was still normal when he saw Ellis because he had an appointment with the other.  But that changed a bit when he saw Chris and Lauren.


    ¡°Why are you two also here?¡±

 Chapter 158 - AN ALMOST IMPERCEPTIBLE SMILE

    THE reason why Grant was confused was because he was certain that his only appointment at this time was with Ellis Payne.  So, what were these two also doing in his office?  There was only one reason he could think of.


    His expression became severe as he asked, ¡°Does Lauren have another scandal again?¡±


    Lauren immediately felt wronged when he heard this accusation.  ¡°President, is that how you see me?  A walking scandal?¡±


    Grant only raised one of his brows at the young man.  As if saying ¡®yes¡¯.


    Chris quickly stepped forward before this little ancestor said something that might just irritate the president.  Besides, he didn¡¯t want to appear like he was just some kind of useless agent who didn¡¯t have any control over his artist¡¯s actions.  Especially not in front of Ellis Payne.  This was his idol!  How could he leave such an image during their first meeting?


    ¡°President, that¡¯s not it.  Our Lauren here had been very behaved lately,¡± he quickly said.  ¡°If the president has an important meeting, then we won¡¯t disturb you any longer.¡±


    He was about to pull Lauren out of the office but this guy just had to stop and whisper to him;


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we come here to tell the president about Astrid?  With how busy the president is, if we leave now, we might not have another time today to talk to him.¡±


    It would be best if Astrid could sign today or at least agreed to sign.  Once the other finished his tour, what if the other decided that Polaris was not the company for him?  So, they needed an agreement, whether it¡¯s a contract or simply a verbal one.  And who would be the best for that job?  Of course, it¡¯s the president.  ¨C Lauren thought.


    In Polaris, signing an artist was mostly the job of the agent.  They would invite an artist and offer them a contract.  Once both parties were satisfied, then the signing would follow.  Those newcomers who wanted to be part of the company but weren¡¯t personally scouted could apply for the company¡¯s training program.  Once they passed the grueling trials, then they would be offered a contract.  That¡¯s how Polaris could maintain the quality of most of their artists.


    But Lauren didn¡¯t want Astrid to go through any of those two processes when there was a more convenient way.  If the president invited the other, then the chance of him agreeing would definitely be much higher.


    He knew what he was doing right now looked very much exaggerated.  Considering that he and Astrid had only known each other for such a short period of time.  He wasn¡¯t even sure if the other thought of him as a friend.  But, at least, on his part, he wanted to be friends with the other.  In his heart, he probably already considered Astrid as one.


    And yet, a part of him was whispering that those were not the only reasons why he wanted Astrid to be on the same company as him.  As if on cue, an image of a tall teenager with a pair of teal-gray eyes flashed in his mind.  He was shocked by that thought.  He even had goosebumps.


    He quickly shook his head.  He must have just imagined that.  Yes, that¡¯s definitely the case.  And besides, it would be such a shame just to let Astrid be part of another entertainment company.  It would be a huge loss for Polaris.  He nodded.  He must have just imagined that flash of image.  Or he must have gone temporarily insane for a moment.


    Chris almost facepalmed.  Did this brat forget that their president had an SS level physique?  There was no use in whispering because the other could definitely hear what he just said.


    Sure enough, the president said next, ¡°Who is this Astrid?¡±


    Lauren didn¡¯t panic hearing the president¡¯s question.  He was even glad that he asked and that he heard what he said to Chris.  ¡°He¡¯s a newcomer.  He acted with me and Sister Sienna in that movie we just finished filming ¨C [The Sleeping God].¡±


    A frown appeared on Grant¡¯s face.  ¡°You want me to meet a newcomer?¡±  He glanced at Chris.  ¡°Did this artist of you get duped again?¡±


    ¡°It might look like that, but I assure you President, it¡¯s not.  The newcomer Lauren was talking about is indeed very talented.  I saw him during filming and I can say with all honesty that his talent in acting is very extraordinary.  With the right training and resources, he¡¯d be a force to reckon with in this industry,¡± Chris answered honestly.


    ¡°Brother Chris is right.  Astrid is really super super good!¡± Lauren seconded.


    Grant was a bit surprised hearing such a straightforward compliment from Chris.  After all, this guy was very critical when it came to things like that.  He thought back to the details of the film the other mentioned.  This movie was directed by Director Trevane.  Someone who¡¯s very particular with the artists appearing in his movie.  If this ¡®Astrid¡¯ could pass that director¡¯s standard, then he was sure that the other had some talent at least.


    But could he really be as good as Chris described?


    Lauren was nervously waiting for the president¡¯s response when a notification bell sounded from his Terminal.  It was a notification for a video call.  He planned to reject the call but when he saw that it was from his assistant ¨C the one who¡¯s acting as Astrid¡¯s tour guide right now ¨C he quickly answered it.  Because he told the other earlier to immediately call him if there was an emergency.


    In an instant, the anxious look of his assistant appeared on the virtual screen.  ¡°Boss, not good.  Astrid¡¯s in trouble!¡±


    Lauren furrowed his brows when he heard that.  ¡°Explain to me what happened first.¡±


    Then the assistant proceeded on telling him what happened.  At the end, when he finished recounting the events leading to this ¡®trouble¡¯, the expression on Lauren¡¯s face was already too stinky to be described.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, President.  I think I should deal with this,¡± Lauren said through gritted teeth.


    ¡°What are you saying?  I should be the one to handle this,¡± Chris immediately said before this brat could do something that would just worsen the situation.


    Ellis, who had been quiet until now, turned to them.  If one observed her carefully, they could see that the corner of her lips was slightly raised in an almost imperceptible smile.  ¡°Can I go with you?¡±

 Chapter 159 - THE TROUBLE

    WHAT¡¯S the trouble, you say?  Let¡¯s go back a few minutes in time¡­


    Astrid, Reas, and Lauren¡¯s assistant stopped in front of the said holographic room.  Astrid stared at the door.  It looked just like an ordinary door.  Who knew that such an amazing technology was hiding inside?


    Yes, in his opinion, it was indeed amazing.  With this kind of technology, actors and actresses could easily hone their acting skills in a faster pace.  Of course, there¡¯s the danger of being too dependent on it and having no distinctive acting style.  But Astrid was not worried about any of that happening to him.


    This room would just be something that could help him get more familiarize with the filming method of this era.  Despite how it seemed that he already got it all figured out from the two gigs that he had, he still wasn¡¯t used to the small cameras floating about.  It¡¯s still a bit hard for him to find the right angle that could showcase his acting ability to its maximum effect.


    That¡¯s why he was interested in trying this room out.


    ¡°This is it,¡± the assistant said before turning to him.  ¡°There¡¯s a panel inside where you can pick a film and what scene on that film you want to try acting.  You could also set the duration of the scene you want to practice on.¡±


    Astrid nodded, saying that he understood.


    The assistant was about to swipe his company ID on the panel near the door when a voice suddenly shouted;


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    All three of them turned to the direction where the voice came from.  They saw a young man walking towards them.


    He had long ash blue hair that was loosely tied on the side and a pair of hazel brown eyes that were almost shooting daggers at them.  His whole features were soft and delicate.  With long eyelashes and naturally pink lips.  It should have made him looked gentle.  But because of his glare and aggressive stance, he looked anything but that.


    The assistant sweated quite a bit when he saw this temperamental young master walking towards them.  Whenever this young man was involved, it always ended up in a fight of some kind.  Even though the other was still technically a newcomer ¨C despite debuting at almost the same time as Lauren ¨C it¡¯s still quite hard to deal with him because of the other¡¯s family background.  So, most of the time, he always gets a free pass on whatever trouble he was in.


    He truly hoped that that would not be the case today.  But that hope was dashed away by the following words that came out of the young man¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°What are you doing, entering that room?¡± he said in a quite aggressive tone.


    The assistant tried to smile and said in a pacifying voice, ¡°This visitor here is going to try using this empty holographic room.¡±


    He emphasized the word ¡¯empty¡¯ just in case this young man thought that they were trying to get into an occupied room.


    But his explanation seemed to not have an effect.  In fact, the other¡¯s expression became even worse when he heard what he said.  It was almost as if he was going to beat him up or something.


    ¡°Do you think just anyone could enter these rooms?  Where¡¯s your work ethic as an employee of Polaris?!¡±


    The young man, whose first name was Blair, coldly glared at the assistant in front of him.  He was just about to go to his brother¡¯s office when he noticed these group of three.  He immediately recognized one of the three as that good-for-nothing playboy¡¯s assistant.


    He was about to ignore them when he accidentally glanced at one of the remaining two ¨C the one with black hair and black eyes.  When he saw his appearance, a creased on his forehead appeared almost immediately.  With Lauren¡¯s assistant here, he quickly piece everything and understood the situation.  That guy definitely brought his latest fling to the company and asked his assistant to tour him around.


    That playboy¨C!  He couldn¡¯t believe that he would be so shameless to even bring his fling here!  Wait until his brother found out about this.  Blair would definitely make sure that playboy would be scolded harshly.


    That¡¯s why when he saw that the assistant was planning to open the holographic room, he immediately yelled for him to stop.


    Astrid raised one of his brows when he heard this guy, who just came out of nowhere, scolding the assistant also out of nowhere.


    ¡°Excuse me, is there a company policy that prevents unsigned artists to use the holographic rooms?¡± he asked.


    Because he was sure that if there was, then the assistant wouldn¡¯t agree when he asked earlier if he could use one of the rooms.


    Blair looked at this overly beautiful teenager.  When he heard the other said ¡®unsigned artists¡¯, he knew that this guy was also in the same industry.  He¡¯s most likely a newcomer.  Because there¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t recognize someone who had this kind of appearance.  He probably latched on to that stupid playboy so he could accelerate his fame.


    He scoffed.  What he looked down the most was people like this.  He glared coldly at the other.


    ¡°Am I talking to you?  Don¡¯t butt in to conversations you don¡¯t belong.¡±


    Astrid was suddenly tempted to use his mental strength to make this guy faint.  Or to say something along the lines of ¡®how could I not belong to this conversation when you¡¯re practically scolding someone because of me?¡¯.  But before he could do any of that, Reas was already one step ahead of him.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one butting in,¡± Reas said, his cold glare not losing to the other.  ¡°We¡¯re standing here doing our own thing and you just barged like some kind of angry bulldozer.  Did we kill your dog or something?  Or are you just simply unreasonable and obnoxious?¡±


    After Reas said that, the guy¡¯s face turned red.  Not because of shyness but most likely because of shame.  He glared at Reas fiercely.  ¡°You¨C!  How dare you talk to me like that?!¡±


    Astrid quickly stepped in front of his brother just in case the other used violence.  He smiled gently and then said;


    ¡°This gentleman, how about the two of us make a bet?  If you win, we¡¯ll leave this building.  But if I win, you have to apologize.  How about it?  Surely, you¡¯re not afraid to make this bet, right?¡±

 Chapter 160 - THE BET

    BLAIR wrinkled his brows.  What was this person suddenly talking about?  Asking him to make a bet.  He even wanted him to apologize.  How absurd!  Why would he apologize when he did not even do anything wrong?  So, how dare he demand for him to apologize?  He hadn¡¯t met anyone so utterly shameless.


    But he decided to still play along and see what this person was actually planning.  ¡°What bet?¡±


    Astrid acted as if he was thinking what should be a good bet to make.  Then he glanced at the holographic room and acted as if he just thought of something good.  He then turned back to the young man standing in front of them.


    ¡°How about we bet on who¡¯s going to get a higher point while using the holographic room?¡± he said, acting all excited.  ¡°To be fair, we can let this guy picked the movie and scene that we would act.  That way, it would be easier to know who won.  What do you think?¡±


    He was acting like an airhead who didn¡¯t really know what he was doing and was just running his mouth off.  That way, the other would be more inclined to agree to what he wanted.  And then, he would simply just decimate him.


    Sure enough, the other was indeed baited.


    Blair wanted to laugh when he heard what this guy said.  The other obviously hadn¡¯t debuted yet but he still had the audacity to challenge him in acting?  He might not be as well-known as that playboy Lauren.  But that was only because his brother refused to give him more work until he learned to control his temper.  If that wasn¡¯t the case, he was certain that he would have earned an acting award now.


    He snickered.  Laughing inside at this person¡¯s stupidity.  ¡°Fine.  If you win, just like you said, I will apologize.  But if I win, I don¡¯t want to ever see your face near Polaris again.¡±


    Astrid acted as if he was shocked by the other¡¯s demand.  But at the end, he regained his composure and still nodded.  ¡°Deal.¡±


    Reas, who was just watching on the side, glanced at his brother.  Looking at Astrid who had been acting since he proposed that ¡®deal¡¯, he couldn¡¯t help but light a candle to this arrogant jerk standing in front of them.  This guy probably wouldn¡¯t know what hit him until it¡¯s over.  Poor guy.  But he deserved it anyway.


    Blair glanced at the assistant.  ¡°You, check if there are two available holographic rooms that are side-by-side together.¡±


    ¡°Can I decline?¡± the assistant tentatively asked.  ¡°No matter what form, it¡¯s better not to fight.¡±


    Blair sneered when he heard that.  ¡°Are you worried about Lauren¡¯s little friend here?  Did you not see that he¡¯s the one who suggested this deal?  So, whatever the outcome, he could only blame himself for being careless and having no vision.¡±


    [No, I¡¯m actually more worried about you.] ¨C the assistant thought.  But of course, he didn¡¯t voice that out.


    Just like Reas, he also saw the ¡®acting¡¯ Astrid did.  And he just knew this teenager was trying to trap Blair.  Although the young master had been training and honing his acting skill these past years, even having a few filming experiences in which he was highly praised, the assistant was still certain that Astrid would win.


    Look, the young master couldn¡¯t even see that he was being led by the nose.


    If Astrid embarrassed the other today, he was worried that it would affect his chances of being signed at their company.  That¡¯s why he was trying to prevent this ¡®face-off¡¯.


    Someone suddenly tapped his arm.  When he glanced to the side, he saw Astrid smiling reassuringly at him.  ¡°It¡¯s okay.  Just do what this gentleman wants.¡±


    The assistant could only sigh.  What could he do when the two involved didn¡¯t want to listen to you?  He looked at Astrid.  Who would have thought that this seemingly gentle and pure teenager had this dark side?  He could only hope that their ever-objective president would stay neutral in this situation.


    ¡°The holographic room across from this one here is currently free,¡± he could only say at the end.


    ¡°Good.  I¡¯ll take it,¡± Blair said walking towards the room across from them before turning back to the assistant.  ¡°Now pick a movie and a scene that we have to act.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the assistant said even though he wanted to cry a little inside.  He must report this immediately to his boss!


    ¡ª¨C


    Lauren with his agent and the woman the president was supposed to be having a meeting with right now, just walked out of the elevator.  They were on the floor where Astrid and the others were.


    Lauren quickly walked towards the holographic room that his assistant had mentioned to him earlier when the other called.  It was easy since each holographic room had a number engraved on top of it.


    He actually didn¡¯t know if he should be annoyed or just simply be downright angry.  He wondered who was the dumbass who made a bet with Astrid.  His assistant didn¡¯t mention who it was and just simply explained to him the whole situation.  But he knew that Astrid wouldn¡¯t be the one to instigate this ¡®trouble¡¯.  Unless, the other person attacked him first.


    Although the two of them didn¡¯t know each other that much.  He could still see that Astrid wasn¡¯t the type to do something like this on his own initiative.


    He swore, if Astrid rejected their company because of that numbskull ¨C whoever he might be ¨C there¡¯d be hell to pay.


    As they walked, Chris glanced at Ellis who suddenly asked to go with them.  The other still had that cool and unaffected look.  He wondered why she wanted to tag along with them.  Would there be something for her if she did?


    He felt like his brain was about to grasp the answer but before it could, it was disturbed by Lauren¡¯s voice calling the assistant.


    Lauren¡¯s gaze incidentally collided with Andreas as he ran towards the two.  But he quickly took back his gaze as if nothing happened and just looked at the two holographic rooms.  They currently showed that there was someone inside in each of the rooms.


    He turned to his assistant, ready to ask who was the idiot that messed-up with Astrid and started this ¡®trouble¡¯.

 Chapter 161 - BLAIR FLEMING

    ¡°WHO was it?¡± Lauren asked his assistant.


    His assistant quickly understood what his boss was referring to.  ¡°It¡¯s young master Fleming.¡±


    The annoyance on Lauren¡¯s face became even more prominent after hearing that.  ¡°You mean that obnoxious ¡®I¡¯m the best¡¯ Blair?¡±


    The assistant nodded.


    Lauren¡¯s feeling of wanting to beat someone just intensified when it was confirmed that it was Blair Fleming who¡¯s messing with Astrid.  If it was that guy, then he¡¯s now 100% certain that this situation escalated into this because of him.  Especially if the other saw his assistant and thought that Astrid was connected to him in some way.


    That guy, for some reason, thought of him as a thorn in his eyes.  Whenever they met, he would be very hostile.  As if trying to make a rise out of him.  So, the two of them could duke it out.  But Lauren never really reacted in the way the other wanted.  He often just brushed him off.  Even though he really just wanted to raise his fist and punch the other.


    He always stopped himself from doing so.  Because if he did, his agent would definitely nag him to the point that he would wish that he never ever punched that guy in the first place.  As much as possible, Chris didn¡¯t want him to entangle with Blair because of the other¡¯s identity.


    Yes, Blair Fleming was the president¡¯s younger brother.  Polaris signed him almost at the same time as Lauren.  Their relationship could be said to be ¡®alright¡¯ at the beginning.  But when Lauren started to get more and more jobs and Blair just remained at the point where they both started, the other started became hostile to him.


    He understood that Blair was probably just frustrated.  He couldn¡¯t move from where he was not because he was lacking in ability but because his own brother was suppressing his development.


    He once asked Chris why the president was doing that.  The only reason he could think of was because the family was against Blair being in the entertainment industry.  After all, the Flemings were still a noble family.  But according to his agent, it¡¯s mostly because of the other¡¯s temper.


    During the first year of their debut, Blair was the one who got a filming gig first.  He starred as a male third in a romance movie.  That was already good for a newcomer.  Although his performance in the movie was flawless, his attitude behind-the-scene wasn¡¯t exactly as perfect.


    A video of him being rude to the female lead spread after the movie was released.  In the video, he was scolding the female lead, telling her that instead of flirting with all males in the cast, she should learn to act first because her acting sucks.  Some find that video funny.  But most disagreed with Blair¡¯s behavior.  Especially the fans of that female lead.


    If not for Polaris¡¯ quick PR, Blair¡¯s acting career might have ended right there and then.  But it didn¡¯t stop there.  When incident like that happened again for the second and third time, the president just had it and decided to take matters into his own hands.  And his solution?  Not let his younger brother appear in any commercial films and just let him shoot literary films.


    Literary films were different from commercial films in a way that the former care more about the awards it would get rather than the box office.  Because they were often long, tackled dark topics, and not very entertaining.  That¡¯s why it¡¯s not very popular among the masses.  Letting Blair act on those type of films would keep him away from the prying eyes of the public and at the same time still give him room for growth.


    But reality often does not follow one¡¯s expectation.


    Blair¡¯s first literary film ended in disaster.  This time, the one he offended was the director.  After that, the president seemed to have given up and made an ultimatum.  As long as Blair wasn¡¯t able to control his explosive temper, then the president would continue to be a deterrent in his career.


    That¡¯s why in these past years, Blair¡¯s acting career had remained stagnant.  A huge contrast to Lauren¡¯s.  He couldn¡¯t help but feel that that was the reason why the other had always been targeting him.  And because of the fact that despite all the ¡®scandals¡¯ he was in, all he got was a mere slap on the wrist.


    If he was in his position, he¡¯d be angry at himself too.  That¡¯s why whenever the other was being confrontational, he just chose to be the bigger person and looked the other way around.


    But this was taking it way too far.  There¡¯s no reason for Blair to attack someone just because that person was being toured around by his assistant.  He stopped, as if realizing something.  Unless, of course, that guy thought Astrid was actually his new ¡®fling¡¯.


    He became even more annoyed thinking of that possibility.  But why would he think that Astrid was a ¡®fling¡¯?  Andreas was also with them.  Wasn¡¯t it possible for Andreas to be his ¡®fling¡¯?


    And he almost slapped himself at that last thought.  What the heck?  Was he really going crazy?  He shook his head.  [Stop thinking about useless things, you stupid Lauren!] ¨C he scolded himself.


    Then the voice of the person he was just thinking suddenly spoke.


    ¡°Excuse me, but who is this Blair Fleming?¡± Reas asked, looking at the reaction of the assistant and Lauren, the other seemed to have some kind of special identity.


    Lauren refused to look Andreas because he still hadn¡¯t recovered from his gaffe just now.  So, he just let someone else answered him.


    ¡°He¡¯s the younger brother of the president,¡± Chris said with a helpless tone.  He actually didn¡¯t expect that the one who was making ¡®trouble¡¯ with Astrid was Blair.  Now this just got a little bit more complicated.


    Reas narrowed his eyes when he heard that answer.  By this ¡®president¡¯, he didn¡¯t need to ask to know that the agent guy was referring to this company¡¯s president.  So, he had to ask;


    ¡°Will he side with that brother of his even though the other one was the one who started this shit?¡±

 Chapter 162 - ACTING POINTS

    IF that was the case, then Reas thought that he and his brother should reevaluate everything about this company.  There¡¯s no use having all these good facilities if the one sitting at the top would have his own bias among the company¡¯s artists.


    He wouldn¡¯t even be angry if that was the case.  After all, that Blair guy was the president¡¯s brother.  He could understand why he would side with him.  Because if he was in his position, he would absolutely do the same.


    But what if this was not the last time that guy, Blair, attacked his brother?  Even if Astrid won, if it would just affect his career, then it¡¯s better to go just go to a different company.  It wouldn¡¯t matter anyway if his brother chose to sign in this company or chose to go to another company.  At the end of the day, no matter where Astrid was, he would still shine.


    ¡°No, Grant will definitely be objective,¡± said the unknown woman who came here with Lauren and the agent guy.


    All four looked at her and they¡¯re opinions were basically divided into two.  Reas and the assistant were wondering who this woman was while Lauren and Chris were wondering if her relationship with the president was close enough to call him by his first name.


    Chris was the first one to recover and said, ¡°Miss Payne is right.  The president is the most objective person I know.  Even if Astrid fought with young master Blair, it wouldn¡¯t affect his future in the company at all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right,¡± Lauren quickly seconded for fear that this guy would convince Astrid that Polaris was not the right company for the other because of what just happened.  He even forgot the awkwardness he was feeling.  ¡°Just look at me.  Blair and I are always fighting and yet it never affected my career at all!¡±


    Hearing that, Reas glanced down at Lauren.  The gazes of the two collided and the awkwardness the two felt since earlier came back again.  Both took back their gaze almost instantly.


    Lauren wanted to slap himself for that small action just now.  He felt like he just ran away for some reason.  And he didn¡¯t like that feeling at all.  Seriously, just what was happening to him?  Acting so idiotic.  Did his backbone disappear or something?


    He probably should some mental and emotional deconstructing later so when he met Andreas again he would be back to normal.  He¡¯s older than this guy, so he should at least be the more mature one.


    Yes, that¡¯s what he would do.  He would stop bickering with this guy and just act his age.  Further awkwardness would definitely be stopped once he did it like that.


    Reas actually also wanted to scold himself or the cowardly action just now.  It¡¯s like a dog running away with its tail tucked between its legs.  He didn¡¯t like this analogy at all.  In the first place, was there really a reason for him to even act this way?  No, absolutely none.


    He had to get a grip.  This was not even the time to even think about these things.  He should focus more on what¡¯s happening to his brother right now.  Besides, once he started going to the military academy, he was sure that he would quickly forget this ¡®awkward¡¯ feelings as if it wasn¡¯t there in the first place.


    ¡°It¡¯s good if that was really the case,¡± he only said and then no longer paid attention to the people around him.  He just stared at the door of the holographic room where his brother was.


    Lauren also did the same.  Just like how Astrid had teased the two earlier ¨C telling them that they¡¯re ¡®in sync¡¯.


    ¡ª¨C


    Inside one of the holographic rooms, Blair was already halfway through one of the scenes of the movie Lauren¡¯s assistant chose.  It was a literary film that won many awards 30 years ago.


    The setting was during the period of war of the four nations.  The protagonist was a slave on a planet belonging to the Kingdom of Terra.  If this was a commercial film, then the plot would most likely go in the direction where the protagonist would rise up to his status as a slave, join some kind of revolution, and then free the other slaves.  But this was not that kind of film.


    This film detailed all the bleakness of a slave¡¯s life.  It was just a film that was filled with hopelessness.  At the end, the protagonist died without even truly being freed.  This was also the film that solidified the status of the current number one on the Star List ¨C Valentine Davis.


    He won his first acting award from this film.  This recognition simply paved the way for Valentine Davis to reach the heights that he had reached today.  It also made this movie a veritable classic.


    The scene that the assistant picked was the scene when the protagonist first killed someone.  All for a loaf of bread.  The one he killed was also a slave like him.


    After working all day, he finally earned enough to buy a loaf of bread.  His brothers hadn¡¯t eaten anything since yesterday.  That¡¯s why he wanted to go home quickly to let them eat the bread.  But who would have thought that on his way home, a homeless slave would try to take the bread from him.


    The two fought.  Because he was much smaller and skinnier, the other slave quickly overpowered him.  When he saw that the other was about to eat the bread, the images of his siblings waiting for him flashed in his mind. Before he could stop himself, he had already picked up a stone on the side and then bashed the other slave¡¯s head.


    When he came back to his senses, the other slave was already dead and the loaf of bread was now soaking in blood.  That red color was very glaring.  It pierced his eyes and every fiber of his being.  Then he laughed like a maniac.  But that laugh soon into uncontrollable sobbing.  His cry was so heartbreaking that anyone who heard it would know that something inside him just died at that moment.


    It was a scene that involved a lot of complex emotions.  It¡¯s not something that a newcomer could simply act on.  That¡¯s why Blair was confident that he would definitely win.


    When he was done, a huge 88 appeared on the virtual screen.  This number represented his acting points.  He wasn¡¯t disappointed by that.  In fact, he was even proud because this score was already considered high especially when it came to this particular movie.  He wasn¡¯t worried that the newcomer would surpass his points.  The other probably would not even get passed 50.


    Acting points usually appeared on the small monitor on the side of the holographic rooms.  There was an option whether one wanted to post it or not.  Not posting it meant that the practice session they just had wouldn¡¯t enter the records of the company.  After all, not many people would want to publicize their incompetence.


    But when he walked out of the holographic room, the score that was flashing on the door of the holographic room across from him, almost blinded Blair.  He didn¡¯t even notice the people standing in front of the door.


    90 points!


    ¡°No- how could that be?!¡± ¨C he could only blurt out.

 Chapter 163 - SHE JUST FOUND A TREASURE

    EVERYONE was patiently waiting outside the two holographic rooms.  Looking at the two doors from time to time to see if the acting points would appear, signaling the end of this ridiculous ¡®bet¡¯.


    ¡°What was the movie they were acting on?¡± a voice suddenly asked, breaking the silence.  Everyone once again looked at the woman.  ¡°What?  Did I ask something that I shouldn¡¯t have?¡± she added, amusedly.


    Every time she spoke, these group of people would always look at her as if they didn¡¯t expect her to talk at all.  What an interesting bunch.


    The assistant, who picked the movie, cleared his throat.  ¡°It¡¯s [Dreams Lost].¡±


    This time, it was the assistant¡¯s turn to receive the others gazes.  Well, except from Reas.  Which was probably only because he wasn¡¯t familiar with the said movie.


    ¡°Why did you pick this movie?¡± Chris asked.


    It was a classic movie that was released 30 years ago.  It had many emotional scenes that many artists today used to practice and hone their acting skills.  Not many could even pass the score of 90 whenever they used this movie to practice.


    The assistant scratched his cheek.  ¡°Well, I just thought that if I picked that movie, young master Blair wouldn¡¯t be able to complain even if he lost.¡±


    ¡°What scene did you pick?¡± Chris asked again with a little helpless tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s the scene where the male lead first killed someone.¡±


    Lauren gave a thumbs up.  ¡°Good choice.¡±


    When things were pretty evident, even Blair would have to accept that Astrid had defeated him.  Although with that unreasonable character of his, he might make a fuss first before accepting the result.


    Ellis looked interestingly at these people.  Based on their reaction, she could tell that they were already expecting for this ¡®Astrid¡¯ to win.  But from the conversation she had heard, this person was only someone who Lauren brought here.  And yet they believed that Grant¡¯s brother would lose.


    She was also not familiar with Grant¡¯s brother.  But Grant had mentioned before that this brother of his had already ventured in the entertainment industry.  And he¡¯s been giving him a headache.  That was already a few years ago.  It meant that the other was not a newcomer and at least had filming experience.


    Supposed that Astrid was a newcomer, then Blair would still have the advantage.  And yet this newcomer, challenged the other into this ¡®bet¡¯.  Ellis found this situation very interesting.  That¡¯s why she asked to come along.  Because her gut was telling her that she might find something unexpected at the end of it.


    Looking at the reaction of these people, it seemed that her gut feel didn¡¯t disappoint her.


    Then the small monitor beside the door of the two holographic rooms suddenly lighted up and the acting points appeared.  Seeing the bright ¡¯90¡¯ points on the door to the right, an almost imperceptible smile appeared on her lips.


    Well, it seemed that she just found a treasure.


    The door to the left then opened and a voice full of disbelief followed;


    ¡°No¨C how could that be?!¡±


    Blair couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.  90 points?  How could that guy get 90 points?  That¡¯s impossible!  Did he cheat?


    ¡°Before you started accusing anyone of cheating and the likes, I want to remind you that a holographic room literally has an anti-cheat system.  So, it¡¯s impossible for someone to manipulate the acting points they would get.  If you¡¯re still not satisfied, you can ask for the record of this holographic room and check Astrid¡¯s performance yourself,¡± Lauren said, before the other could start his rant.


    Hearing this familiar irritating voice, Blair quickly flared up and glared at Lauren.  He wanted to refute him.  Tell him that there¡¯s no way that fling of his could get that score.  But as much as he wanted to do that, he couldn¡¯t.  Because he would only make a fool of himself.


    Just like what Lauren said, it¡¯s impossible to manipulate the acting points that one would get in a holographic room.  So, was this the truth then?


    Before he could even come to terms with that fact, the door of the other holographic room opened and Lauren¡¯s fling walked out.  The other blinked, as if surprised seeing the additional people outside.  Then, he looked at the score on Blair¡¯s holographic room before turning to look at his own score.


    The other turned and smiled at him.  ¡°It looks like I won the bet, young master.¡±


    Blair gritted his teeth.  Even though the other¡¯s smile appeared gentle, in his eyes, it¡¯s only full of mockery and condescension.  But he had to admit that he really had lost.  If he continued to make excuses, he would only make a fool of himself.


    But that didn¡¯t mean he could just accept this result.  He clenched his fists.  He would do what that jerk Lauren said earlier ¨C check the records to see just how he lost to this person.  He took a deep breath, calming himself, and trying his best not to shout and tell the other that he didn¡¯t believe that he lost.


    He raised his chin and said, ¡°I apologized for the way I acted.¡±


    After saying that, he turned around and walked away.  He didn¡¯t want to stay here with these people.


    Astrid raised one of his brows while watching the back of the other.  He was actually expecting him to complain and shout at him, telling him that he cheated.  What he didn¡¯t expect was this overly peaceful outcome.  Well, it seemed that this young master wasn¡¯t really that much of a cannon-fodder material.


    ¡°What kind of apology was that?¡± Lauren mumbled before turning to Astrid.  ¡°That¡¯s an amazing score, Astrid!  Do you know how hard it was to get 90 points in this movie?  Even I could only get about 87 points.  Oh, and sorry if that guy, Blair, troubled you.  He and I are not really in good terms, so, he probably did that because he thought you have some connection with me.¡±


    Astrid chuckled.  He almost couldn¡¯t keep up with how fast the other was talking.  ¡°It¡¯s fine.  All¡¯s well that ends well.¡±


    Reas glanced sideways at his brother and he could only shake his head.  He was again reminded how good the other was in calculating situations that would ultimately end in his advantage.


    Ellis, who was a bit shaken when he saw Astrid¡¯s appearance, finally showed the first genuine smile she had for weeks.

 Chapter 164 - ELLIS PAYNE

    THE reason Ellis Payne went to Polaris today was because Grant Fleming contacted her and offered her a position as an agent in the company.  This was not the first time the other had done that.  For the past year and so, he had been constantly offering her this job.  But she had always rejected it.


    One of the reasons she could think of was because of their families being close.  Her father had been the tutor of the children born in the noble household of the Fleming family.  While her mother was the personal stylist of the current matriarch ¨C Grant¡¯s mother.  One could say that she practically grew up in that household.


    Offering her this job was probably Grant¡¯s way of taking care of her.  After all, being a good ten years older, the other had seen her grew up.  He probably just didn¡¯t want her to end up as a hermit and waste away her life.


    These past five years, she had been travelling around the Empire.  Five years were not even enough to fully explore its vastness.  But the time she spent doing so made her realize a lot of things.  It made her heart calmer and stronger.


    Her parents were probably worried that she would end up as some kind of vagrant who didn¡¯t care for anything if she continued to wander around without any definite destination.


    They probably asked Grant to get her out of her wanderer life and bring her back to society.  They probably took into account the kind of company that the other set up and thought that she would be more inclined to be seduced by an offer of a job from him.


    Her parents were the type of people who wouldn¡¯t bother others for their family¡¯s problem.  For them, it should be solved within the family.  Since it¡¯s their problem and not the problem of others.  So, asking for help from Grant was probably her parents¡¯ last resort.  After all, she did work at the entertainment industry once upon a time.


    But unlike what her parents might be thinking, she¡¯s not exactly wasting away her life.  She¡¯s not even being idle and doing nothing.  She¡¯s been doing a lot of investments for the past five years.  She lost money along the way.  But the fact was, she actually gained more.


    The money she had earned from all those investments would probably set her up for life.  As long as she budgeted her money well.  And that already said a lot, considering how long a normal person¡¯s life span was.


    If she had known she was that good when it came to investing, she¡¯d rather had done that from the start rather than muddled her way through the entertainment industry.  That way, she would probably not meet that woman.  And then her heart wouldn¡¯t be as shattered.


    But what¡¯s done was done.  Since the other had already moved on with her life, she should also do the same.  But Ellis couldn¡¯t do that while staying in this industry.  Because it would only remind Ellis of her.  How could she move on if that was the case?


    It¡¯s like telling someone with a sweet tooth not to eat a cake when there¡¯s a huge cake right in front of them.  So, she left.  Wandered around, trying to find herself again.  And she did.


    It¡¯s just like the money she spent while investing.  She might have lost a part of herself to that woman, but she gained a lot more.  Five years were enough time for her to have stability.  Not just financially but spiritually and emotionally as well.


    Ellis was ready to return when she received an offer from Grant once again.  This time, she did not reject it and said that they could discuss it first.  Either way, she still hadn¡¯t thought what her next plan would be after returning to the capital.  So, she might as well go to Polaris and see if her old job would still interest her.


    But who would have thought that a simple visit here would make her discover such a treasure?  The ambition she had before was suddenly lit up once again, like a small burning flame.


    This kid right here was not a seedling that had potential, he¡¯s not even a sprout, he¡¯s already a full-blown tree.  He had the appearance, the talent ¨C as evidence of the acting points he had with such a hard movie like [Dreams Lost] ¨C and with the way he handled that young master earlier, he also had the brain and the patience to face any kind of situations.


    He was simply already a star that was only waiting for the right time to shine.  Ellis was confident that he would have that chance in a year¡¯s time.  No- probably even shorter than that.  With the right handling, that is.


    And she was determined to be that agent for this kid.


    She smiled inwardly.  It seemed like she had already made a decision.  So, why not just roll with it?


    ¡°You¡¯re planning to take him to Grant, am I right?¡± Ellis asked the other kid¡¯s ¨C what was his name? ¨C ah, Lauren¡¯s agent.


    Chris didn¡¯t expect for Ellis to suddenly talk to him.  So, he answered humbly, ¡°Yes.  But we¡¯ll go after your meeting with the president.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go together.  My meeting with him won¡¯t be that long anyway,¡± Ellis before turning around and walking towards the elevator.


    Just by looking at her back, it¡¯s very obvious that she was expecting all of them to agree and follow.


    Chris was a bit speechless.  Then he sighed and said to the others, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Astrid glanced at Reas, silently asking the other who was the woman.  His brother only shrugged his shoulders, telling him that he also didn¡¯t know.  Astrid was a bit curious because he was sure that before the woman turned around and walked away, she gave him a meaningful glance.


    It was not malicious or anything similar.  If he could describe it, it¡¯s like a customer appraising a product and being very, very satisfied with it.


    ¡°Brother Chris, who was that just now?¡± he just asked the agent to contain his curiosity.


    ¡°Her name is Ellis Payne.¡±


    A bit of surprise flashed in Astrid¡¯s mind when he heard the name.

 Chapter 165 - GET ALONG JUST FINE

    ASTRID recognized the name ¡®Ellis Payne¡¯.  Just like what he had mentioned before, he made sure to be familiar with the relevant names in the entertainment industry.  As he did, he also searched for the names of what people in his last life would call a ¡®gold agent¡¯.


    There were many names that came up.  But the one that he remembered most was Ellis Payne.  Mostly because of her short stint in the entertainment industry together with the then actress Olivia Crane.  With just a span of a few years, Ellis Payne managed to push her from an unknown newcomer to the top 5 of the Star List.


    But before the two could soak in their victory, Olivia suddenly announced her marriage to a noble lord.  After that, Ellis Payne completely disappeared from the industry and was soon forgotten.


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect to meet that infamous agent here.  But he was more than glad that he did.  He smiled inwardly.  He had a feeling that this unexpected meeting would be fruitful.


    The bad mood he had because of that young master was now completely gone.  At least that bet he made to teach the other a lesson seemed like it would have a good end result.  It was something that he never expected.  Which was definitely way better.  Who wouldn¡¯t like a surprise?


    ¡°Lauren, who was that guy earlier?¡± he thought of asking Lauren while they when they entered the elevator.  ¡°Your assistant called him young master.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the younger brother of the president.¡±


    Aster was a bit surprised by that answer.  Well, no wonder he was so arrogant.  Because he could definitely back it up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I assure you that your conflict with him won¡¯t affect the president¡¯s opinion of you,¡± Lauren quickly said.  ¡°So, if you sign in Polaris, I can guarantee that your career wouldn¡¯t be affected at all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Chris followed.  ¡°If the president is the type of person who unconditionally takes the side of his younger brother no matter if the other is right or wrong, then many artists of this company would have suffered long ago.  Like this one here,¡± he added pointing at his artist.


    Lauren laughed awkwardly.  ¡°Yeah.  I¡¯m the person Blair dislikes the most, you see.¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows.  Now he kind of understood why that guy was so pissed at him for no reason.  If he took into account Lauren¡¯s rich ¡®scandal experience¡¯, that guy probably got the wrong idea and thought that he was another one of Lauren¡¯s ¡®fling¡¯.  That¡¯s why he targeted him like that.  Probably thinking that he had no right to be there being just another one of Lauren¡¯s ¡®fling¡¯ and all.


    At that thought, he glanced at his brother.  Really, why did that guy immediately assume that he was the ¡®fling¡¯?  Couldn¡¯t he see that his handsome brother here matched Lauren more than him?


    Reas, who felt Astrid¡¯s gaze, looked down and raised one of his brows when he saw the other¡¯s expression.  Because it felt like he was teasing him but he couldn¡¯t follow on why.  Weren¡¯t they just talking about that guy earlier?  How did that ended up with Astrid looking at him with that look?


    Before he could think of the reason why, the elevator opened and they had to walk out.  His brother was also no longer looking at him.  So, he could only attribute that gaffe to Astrid suddenly remembering something funny that had to do with him.  That¡¯s why he gave him that look.  He wasn¡¯t the type to obsess over such small things.  So, he just shrugged and let it go.


    Chris led them to the reception room where two female AI secretaries were stationed.  Usually, they were efficient in filtering the people that tried to visit the president¡¯s office.  But earlier, they allowed him and Lauren to enter despite the president already having an appointment with someone.  Making a mistake like that, it¡¯s quite obvious that their system probably needed some debugging.


    But fixing them was not his job.  Besides, knowing how thorough their president was, he probably had already noticed they had problems based on the earlier mishap.


    ¡°Good day.  How may I help you?¡± one of the secretaries asked.


    ¡°Is it alright if we go to the president¡¯s office?¡± he responded.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but the president said that he would not meet with anyone until his meeting with Miss Ellis Payne finished.¡±  After the secretary said that, she turned to Ellis.  ¡°Miss Payne, you can go on ahead and continue your meeting with the president.¡±


    Ellis didn¡¯t immediately walk ahead but instead turned to Astrid.  ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but you¡¯re here to make a decision if you wanted to sign with Polaris as an artist, right?¡±


    Astrid wasn¡¯t flustered being suddenly asked like that.  He didn¡¯t even show a slight surprised expression because the other quickly deduced his objective for being here.  Instead, he answered honestly, ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°My purpose here is kind of the same.  If that¡¯s the case, want to go together?  Who knows, maybe our goals would align somehow.¡±


    This time, what he heard indeed surprised Astrid a bit.  But not too much since this turn of events was still within his expectations.  ¡°If Miss Payne is inviting me, how dare I refuse?¡±


    ¡°Good.  Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    After Ellis said that, he walked straight ahead.


    Astrid glanced at his brother, nodding at him to silently let him know that he was going with Ellis on his own volition.  And that he was, in no way, forced to go.  He received a nod as well as a respond.


    Then, he turned to Lauren and smiled at the other ¨C who was clearly showing a confused expression ¨C just to make him not worry that something might happen.


    After that, he followed Ellis Payne, matching her pace.


    ¡°What¡¯s your full name, by the way?¡± Ellis asked, as if just thinking about that.


    ¡°It¡¯s Astrid Townsend,¡± Astrid answered.  ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Miss Payne.¡±


    ¡°Just call me Ellis or Sister Ellis if you want,¡± she said.  ¡°It¡¯s better if we start getting along now.  After all, if all goes well, then the two of us might actually end up working together.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t ask what she meant by that.  Instead, he just smiled and called her very naturally, ¡°Sister Ellis.¡±


    Ellis turned to him and then grinned.  ¡°Yes, I think the of us will get along just fine.¡±

 Chapter 166 - AGENT ACQUIRED! (I)

    GRANT stared at the black-haired kid standing in front of him.  He must admit that when the other first came in, he was temporarily shocked.  It¡¯s not everyday that one could see someone with such striking looks.  But he quickly got over it.  He had been in this business for years.  What kind of beautiful face hadn¡¯t he seen?  Although, he must admit, amongst those, this face was definitely top tier.


    But what surprised him even more was that Ellis was the one who brought this kid here in his office.  Didn¡¯t she just leave with Chris and Lauren?  Why did she come back with this kid?


    Just as Grant was observing him, Astrid was also doing the same.  He had read from one article before that the president of Polaris didn¡¯t like his pictures to be taken and released to the public.  Calling it ¡®useless publicity¡¯.  So, this was also the first time that Astrid had seen the other¡¯s appearance.


    He didn¡¯t expect the president to be so buff and masculine.  He was built more like a soldier than a company president.  He didn¡¯t even look like that younger brother of his, the one named Blair.  Their only similarity was the color of their eyes which was hazel brown.


    ¡°So, who is this?¡± Grant asked Ellis.


    ¡°My future prospect if everything went accordingly,¡± Ellis answered with a shrug.


    If one heard her, they might think that she was talking about the kid in a romantic way.  But Grant understood this woman¡¯s sometimes cryptic way of talking.  They had known each other long enough for him to know that.  Simply put, Ellis was planning to be the agent of this kid.


    ¡°Are you planning to accept my job offer, then?¡±


    Because if Ellis planned to be an agent again, then wouldn¡¯t that coincide with his job offer?  Although, frankly, he¡¯d rather not have her returned to this industry.  She was already doing much better than she did five years ago when that whole ¡®Olivia Crane situation¡¯ happened.  What if once she returned to this industry, she met another Olivia and had her heart broken?  Would she still be able to pick herself up again?


    He glanced once again at the black-haired teenager.  The other was calm with a gentle smile on his lips.  He hadn¡¯t spoken since he entered the office but his presence could still be felt in the whole room.  Someone like this was simply born to be a star.


    Even if he didn¡¯t have talent, that could still be learn through hard work.  But something like an ¡®x factor¡¯, as people might call it, was not a trait that anyone could just have no matter how much they work hard for it.


    If it¡¯s this boy, he could surely go places.  Just looked at the excitement on Ellis¡¯ eyes.  She probably also thought the same.  Maybe this kid was even the reason why she suddenly accepted his invitation to meet with him here at Polaris.


    Well, if she wanted to be the agent of this boy, then what he¡¯s worrying probably wouldn¡¯t happen.  After all, Ellis had always been only attracted to women.  So, having a love affair like the one she had with that Olivia Crane most likely wouldn¡¯t happen.


    ¡°Depends on whether Astrid planned on signing here.¡±


    Grant was a bit dumbfounded by Ellis¡¯ answer.  This ¡®Astrid¡¯ must be the name of the kid.  But what¡¯s with that ¡®depends of whether the other signed here¡¯?  ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring him here?¡±


    He originally thought that Ellis arrived here with this Astrid and he was the reason why the other went out earlier with Chris and Lauren ¨C so that she could fetch this kid from wherever he was waiting.


    Ellis understood immediately why the other reacted that way.  ¡°Wait- did you think he arrived here at the company with me?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.  I just happened to meet him when I came out with that kid earlier and his agent.  Astrid here is that kid¡¯s friend.¡±  Ellis turned to the boy standing beside her.  ¡°From my understanding, you¡¯re here to personally check the condition of the company.  Probably to see if Polaris could help you grow as an artist.  Am I right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sister Ellis is very smart.  You figured it out without me explaining anything,¡± Astrid said with a smile.  He then turned to the president.  ¡°Hello, President Fleming.  This is a bit of a late introduction but my name is Astrid Townsend.  I didn¡¯t mean to offend, but yes, I¡¯m here for a bit of ¡®reconnaissance¡¯.  After all, this is my future we¡¯re talking about.  I couldn¡¯t be too careless with it.  I hope the president would understand.  And yes, Sister Ellis and I just met a few minutes ago.¡±


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re actually such a smooth talker,¡± Ellis said with a thumbs up.  ¡°Having good people skill is always helpful in this career.¡±


    Astrid only smiled at that.


    Grant felt the corner of his eyes twitching because of these two.  So, Astrid was the friend of Lauren who was in ¡®trouble¡¯ ¨C as he heard during that video call from the other¡¯s assistant.  Then Ellis accompanied them, probably to join in with the fun.  Going to the source of this ¡®trouble¡¯, Ellis discovered that Astrid had a lot of potential.  So, she brought him here, with the thought of being the other¡¯s agent.


    But this kid apparently still hadn¡¯t decided yet if he wanted to be an artist of his company.  Knowing Ellis, if Astrid refused to sign with them, she would immediately follow to whichever company the other chose.  How could Grant let a talented agent like Ellis go to another company?  Wouldn¡¯t that be like picking up a rock and smashing his own feet?


    So, he wouldn¡¯t mind convincing this kid to sign with them.  Polaris wouldn¡¯t lose anything even if he did.  With the kid¡¯s looks and temperament, as well as with Ellis¡¯ help, any investment the company put on him would definitely be returned in maybe two-three years¡¯ time.


    ¡°So, have you decided to sign with us?¡± he asked the kid.


    ¡°Well, if the president won¡¯t target me for annoying your younger brother, then I¡¯d be happy to,¡± Astrid answered with a smile.


    And Ellis just straight out laughed hearing that.

 Chapter 167 - AGENT ACQUIRED! (II)

    GRANT had the sudden urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.  Because of what this kid, Astrid, had said, he already had an idea on the ¡®trouble¡¯ the other had been in.  If it involved his younger brother, then he had no doubt that Blair was the one who instigated it.


    Especially if Blair saw that Astrid was with Lauren¡¯s assistant.  With how his younger brother¡¯s brain worked, he would have definitely misunderstood something.  Which probably led to this so-called ¡®trouble¡¯.


    But seeing how this kid could still smile like this, it seemed that he was the one who won his altercation with Blair.  ¡°And may I ask what happened between you and my younger brother?¡± he still asked just to be clear.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a small misunderstanding.  The young master seemed to think that I have some indecent relationship with Lauren.  And so, to prove that I¡¯m a serious actor, I challenged him to an acting showdown,¡± Astrid answered with a smile.  ¡°Fortunately, I won.¡±


    ¡°They duked it out using the holographic rooms.  The one with the higher acting points won,¡± Ellis added.


    Grant was surprised by this.  His younger brother might have a problem with his temper, but Blair was talented.  It was the reason why despite not being suitable to this industry, Grant ultimately didn¡¯t stop him from being an actor.  He just put a stopgap on his career.  So, Blair could learn to be more patient and less arrogant.  He had a lot of years ahead of him.  Grant didn¡¯t believe that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hone his temper in the years to come.


    But now, this kid, Astrid, was telling him that he won against Blair in an ¡®acting battle¡¯?  Seeing that Ellis didn¡¯t refute that, then it must be true.  At least that could mean that this kid had talent in acting.  Was that the reason why Ellis decided to take him as her artist?


    ¡°The scene they chose was from the movie [Dreams Lost] ¨C the one where the male lead first experienced the horror of killing someone,¡± Ellis added.  ¡°And Astrid got 90 points.¡±


    That was like a double blow for Grant.  Getting 90 points from one of the hardest scenes from [Dreams Lost]?  That more than proved his talent.  But somehow, even with Ellis here as proof, he still had a sense of disbelief.


    It¡¯s pretty obvious that this kid was a newcomer.  He didn¡¯t even have a company to represent him, much less an agent.  He probably didn¡¯t even have proper training.  And yet, he managed to get that high of a score on a movie that¡¯s very hard to act even for some third tier or second tier actors.  So, could you blame him for not fully believing it?


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.  Can you get the footage of Astrid in that holographic room?  I want to watch it,¡± Ellis said, even saying the room number of the holographic room.


    Grant raised his eyebrow at her.  ¡°Are you the boss, or am I?¡±


    Ellis only grinned.  ¡°Come on, I know you also want to watch it.  We could see if this kid truly deserved the point that he got.¡±  She turned to Astrid.  ¡°You don¡¯t mind, right?¡±


    Astrid smiled.  ¡°Of course.  I actually prefer that you do.  At least, you can see if my skill is up to par to the artists of Polaris.¡±


    Grant observed the teenager as he said that.  His body language was full of confidence. But it¡¯s not the type that would verge into arrogance.  Making other people dislike him.  It¡¯s more on the fact that he had undeniable trust on his acting skills.


    This kid was really interesting.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said.


    Because just like what Ellis had said, he was indeed curious as to how Astrid got that high of a point.  Maybe after watching the footage, he would finally be convinced.


    He opened a virtual monitor that was connected to all the systems running the company.  Then, opened the footage of Astrid in the holographic room.  It was easy.  Being the president, he didn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s permission to open such a file.


    Once he did, he enlarged the monitor so Ellis could also see it.  When the footage started playing, it opened with Astrid standing at the middle of the white room.  Then the room slowly changed into a dark and dirty alley.


    The teenager standing on the middle changed his expression from someone with a gentle smile to someone who looked like he couldn¡¯t wait to go to some place.  The people who saw him couldn¡¯t help but feel his excitement and happiness.  He was running.  His body language showing that he was carrying something.  Until a homeless slave tried to stop him from his tracks.


    Then the scene slowly unfolded in front of the audience ¨C which was in this case, Grant and Ellis.


    From the initial fear to the unexpected anger that led to him killing the homeless slave.  They could clearly see the arrays of emotions that Astrid had shown.  Especially when he was laughing and crying at the same time.  They could feel the conflicting emotions that was coursing through his body.  The pain, the sadness, the fear, and the unfairness of it all.  It was all displayed there.


    When the footage ended, there was a moment of silence inside the office.


    It was Ellis who broke that silence.  She looked at Grant and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Grant only looked at her with an expression of, ¡®do you really need to ask¡¯.  He then turned to the teenager who was still smiling gently at them.  ¡°If you¡¯re okay with our company, then I¡¯ll let my assistant send an artist contract to Ellis.  That is, if you¡¯re planning to accept her as your agent.¡±


    ¡°It will be my honor to be part of Polaris,¡± Astrid said honestly.  He turned to Ellis.  ¡°And if Sister Ellis is willing to be my agent, it will not only be an honor but a pleasure as well.¡±


    ¡°You really are a smooth talker,¡± Ellis said before stretching her hand towards the teenager.  ¡°Then, pleasure to be working with you, Astrid.¡±


    Astrid shook the other¡¯s hand.  ¡°As I¡¯ve said, the pleasure is all mine.¡±

 Chapter 168 - FEELING ANNOYED

    GRANT stared at the close door where Ellis and Astrid just walked out.  Then he shook his head.  The expression on his face, a combination of helplessness and amazement.  He once again watched the footage of Astrid acting the scene from [Dreams Lost].  And he was once again amazed just by how talented the kid was.


    His expressions, his body language, his emotions, everything was in place.  It¡¯s like Astrid disappeared and was replaced by the role he was playing.  The teenager managed to completely immersed himself in the role.  Completely erasing who he was and just becoming the role he was acting in.


    The current number one on the Star List ¨C Valentine Davis ¨C also had that habit.  Every role he played, he would embody it as if that was his true identity.  That was the reason why all the movies he starred in would always give him an acting award.


    But he heard that that method of acting also gave Valentine mental stress.  If the other didn¡¯t have an S class mental strength, he would probably have already gone mad long ago.


    Clearly, there were advantages and disadvantages of such acting method.  But the pros obviously outweighed the cons.  So, many also tried to do the same.  On paper, the method seemed very easy to do.  But in truth, not many could do it.  Because not all people could simply forget who they were and embodied another personality.  Especially if it was completely different from their own.


    Not everyone could simply abandon their ¡®self¡¯ and become another ¡®self¡¯.  If done constantly, it would probably lead to a personality disorder.  It¡¯s the reason why during the recent years, Valentine only filmed one movie a year.  Because the constant filming during his early career had taken a toll on his mental state.  Really, if not for the other¡¯s ow mental strength, he probably should have long had psychological and mental problem.


    Grant understood this.  As a talented newcomer, he couldn¡¯t let Astrid go down that path.  All that potential and talent, he couldn¡¯t let it go to waste.  He should probably have a talk with Ellis regarding that.


    He opened his Terminal and contacted his assistant.  ¡°Prepare an artist contract.¡±


    The assistant on the virtual screen didn¡¯t ask much and just thought that the company would sign another artist.  ¡°What contract level should I prepare?¡±


    In Polaris, artists received a certain level of contract depending on their talent and marketability.  There were five levels in total, with level 1 being a priority and with the most number of benefits.


    ¡°Prepare a level 3 contract,¡± Grant said.


    The assistant thought that the artist they¡¯re signing was probably a bit well-known and had already established their name in the industry.  He wondered who the artist was and which company they transferred from.


    ¡°I will prepare it immediately,¡± he responded.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that this ¡®well-known and established¡¯ artist in his mind was actually just a newcomer.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After leaving the president¡¯s office, Astrid found that Reas and Lauren were the only ones in the waiting room.  The two were both sitting far away from each other and was obviously trying hard not to look at each other¡¯s direction.  In short, the atmosphere around them were awkward.


    Astrid looked at the two with amusement.  So, now, they changed their way of ¡®getting along¡¯.  Instead of bickering, they chose to ignore each other.  Really these two, they¡¯re like a pair of primary school students.


    But Astrid was also at fault to some degree.  His teasing might have led to Reas being guarded against Lauren which resulted to this.  He probably should tone down with the teasing.  At least until the two became comfortable with each other.


    ¡°Your agent and assistant left?¡± he asked Lauren.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lauren said.


    Chris had to go accompany another artist he¡¯s handling while his assistant had to leave because of an emergency.  So, he was left with Andreas for the past 15 minutes.  That was probably the most silent 15 minutes of his life.  Both of them were silent and none of them took the initiative to speak first.


    At first, he was happy that the other was not saying anything that would just annoy him.  But later on, the silence simply became unbearable.  He almost challenged the other into a fist fight.  Anything, just to break the silence.  Good thing he managed to stop himself.  Or else he would just look like a total fool.


    But honestly, he couldn¡¯t understand why he would mind it this much.  Why did it matter if Andreas was not speaking to him?  Was he so deprived of attention that he would even want the attention of someone he didn¡¯t like?


    A part of him seemed to know the answer to that.  But he absolutely refused to acknowledge it.  So, he simply shook his head and removed all those thoughts from his mind.


    ¡°How is it?  Did you decide to sign in our company?¡± he just chose to ask.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astrid answered with a smile.


    Lauren jumped full of excitement when he heard that.  He was about to hug Astrid to congratulate him but quickly stopped.  Because he knew that if he did so, Andreas would definitely step between them and he might just end up hugging the other.  Just like what almost happened before.


    Thinking of that, he instinctively glanced at the annoying guy.  He was startled when he saw that the other was also looking at him.  But Andreas expression clearly showed that he was annoyed.  Seeing that he was looking at him, didn¡¯t it mean that the source of his annoyance was him?


    This only made Lauren more irritated.  Did this guy actually think that he¡¯s some kind of sex offender or something?  He took a deep breath and looked the other way.  No, he shouldn¡¯t lose his temper.  Especially right now that he heard such a good news from Astrid.


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± he said, bringing back his enthusiasm.  ¡°When will you sign the contract?  Did the president already assigned an agent to you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure when the contract will be signed, but most likely, within this week,¡± Astrid answered and then gestured to the woman standing beside him.  ¡°Sister Ellis here is going to be my agent.¡±

 Chapter 169 - MORE AND MORE

    INSIDE one of the private boxes of the Polaris¡¯ cafeteria, four people were sitting around a table full of delicacies and having lunch.  Yes, they were the Townsend twins, Lauren, and Ellis.  After leaving the president¡¯s office, Ellis invited them to lunch.  Of course, Astrid did not refuse.  And since he agreed, what else could Reas and Lauren do but also agree?


    They didn¡¯t go far and just chose the cafeteria of the company.  This way, they could avoid any paparazzi taking their pictures.  Lauren was still a top star who could generate a lot of traffic.  While Ellis, albeit inactive in the industry for years, some paparazzi might recognize her.  Her sudden appearance with Lauren and some unknown newcomer would definitely be newsworthy.


    So, to avoid any kind of trouble, they all unanimously decided that it¡¯s better to just eat at the company¡¯s cafeteria.


    ¡°How did the two of you know each other?¡± Ellis curiously asked Astrid and Lauren.


    ¡°We met at the set of [The Sleeping God] about two weeks ago,¡± Astrid answered.  ¡°Lauren played the role of a villain while I played a small part.¡±


    Ellis was a bit surprised hearing that answer.  Because she thought that the two had known each other for quite a long time.  She really couldn¡¯t be blamed for having such an idea, considering the care Lauren had shown for Astrid.  She was referring to the fact that Lauren was the one who brought Astrid here.  Showing that the other wanted to help the teenager in his career.


    She looked suspiciously at the blond-haired young man.  ¡°You, you don¡¯t have any romantic feelings for my artist, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Lauren almost choked on the piece of meat he just ate.  He quickly picked up a glass of juice and drank it.  After he was sure that he was breathing properly, he glared at the woman who almost made him have an accident.  It also didn¡¯t help that he could feel a laser-like gaze coming from the person sitting in front of him ¨C which was Andreas.


    ¡°Of course not!  I only want to be friends with Astrid.  Please, don¡¯t make it seem like I have some sort of hidden intention befriending him,¡± he quickly said.  ¡°Don¡¯t make things awkward for us, okay?¡±


    This kind of ¡®violent¡¯ reaction, as if he was trying to hide his guilt, just made Ellis even more suspicious.  Her brows furrowed.  ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes!  Do I look like a liar to you?¡± Lauren said in a mixture of frustration and annoyance.


    Andreas was no longer looking at him with that gaze, but it only made him panic even more.  Which was just weird and unreasonable.


    Astrid spoke before Ellis had further misunderstanding.  ¡°Sister Ellis, Lauren doesn¡¯t really think of me that way.  I can assure you that he only sees me as a friend.¡±


    Ellis glanced at Astrid.  This kid certainly wasn¡¯t the type to be taken advantaged of.  In fact, it would probably be the opposite.  Even though they only just met, she could feel that they were the same type of person.  Or at least, they were similar in a way.


    If her intuition was correct, then it would be impossible for Lauren to even be this close to Astrid to the point that the latter would happily have lunch with him if he really did harbor that kind of thought.  Since, she¡¯s most likely wrong, then she just had to apologize.


    ¡°Sorry if I misunderstood you.  I¡¯m just being careful since this kid here is going to be my artist.  I can¡¯t let him be embroiled in some scandal when his career is barely starting.¡±


    ¡°I- I know.  No need to apologize,¡± Lauren said before secretly glancing at Andreas once again.


    When he saw that the other was still just silently eating and no longer giving him even a single glance, his frustration just doubled.  Then he scoffed at himself for having such thoughts.  Really, what had gotten into him today?  He shook his head and also continued eating.


    ¡°So, the movie you mentioned, was it a big production?¡± Ellis asked after a while.


    Astrid nodded.  ¡°It¡¯s a big commercial movie.  And it¡¯s directed by Director Trevane.¡±


    Ellis temporarily stopped her action of lifting her spoon.


    Of course, she knew who Director Trevane was.  Daniel Trevane ¨C a famous director known for his commercial films that always topped the box office list among other movies that were released at the same time.  Even if someone only got a small role in his film, it would still help to boost their career.  Much less a newcomer like Astrid.


    ¡°Was your role just a small extra or was it more?¡± she asked, wanting to confirm something.


    ¡°It¡¯s a role with a very short screen time.  But if played right, it will leave a lasting impression to the audience,¡± Astrid answered.


    Then he gave a meaningful smile to Ellis, as if telling her that he didn¡¯t only played the role right, he played it to the best of his ability.  And that he was confident that he would definitely be remembered by the audience for it.


    Of course, Ellis understood what Astrid wanted to convey to her.  If that was the case, then this movie would be a good debut for the teenager.  If they followed that up with another good role in a movie or a streaming show, then Astrid would quickly be distinguished from other actors and actresses of his generation.  Which was a good thing, considering how densely saturated this industry was.


    ¡°When will this movie be shown?¡± she asked so she could make the necessary arrangements in the future.


    ¡°After post-production, I think a little bit more than a month from now?¡± Astrid said.  ¡°Oh, aside from the film, I also starred in a music video of a fairly famous young singer.  It¡¯s the theme song of the movie.  The music video would probably either be released on the same day as the movie premier or the day after that.¡±


    He told Ellis about the music video since the other was going to be his agent from now on.  It¡¯s important that she knew what gigs he had taken since coming to the capital.


    Hearing that, Ellis stopped for a second and then suddenly laughed.  ¡°You really do have a shit-ton of luck.  Maybe with that, we could reach the very top at the fastest speed.¡±


    While walking here to the cafeteria, she learned that Astrid and his brother ¨C who she still couldn¡¯t believe was the other¡¯s twin ¨C just arrived her at the capital no even a month ago.  They were here to study.  One at the Imperial Military Academy and the other at Redwood Academy of Performing Arts.


    And yet, at that small time frame, this kid was telling her that he managed to get two jobs just on his own merit alone.  Just by that, she could see how determined Astrid was to really be on that position at the very top.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s based on my luck,¡± Astrid said, smiling at Ellis.  ¡°At the very least, I think it¡¯s because of my skill.¡±


    Ellis was once again rendered speechless.  Before laughing happily.  ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Really, she¡¯s liking this kid more and more.

 Chapter 170 - PREPARING FOR TOMORROW

    ASTRID picked up the sandwich he just made and took a bite before continuing to read the contract that Ellis just sent him.  He didn¡¯t expect that he would receive it this fast.  After all, he only met with the president yesterday.  He thought the contract would take at least a week before it was finalized.  Maybe it¡¯s their way of showing their sincerity.


    He grinned after reading the whole contract.  There were a couple of bulleted points in there.  Aside from the most obvious part, like having free access to all of Polaris¡¯ facilities, there were quite a few points in the contract that attracted his attention.


    One was that he would retain most of the talent fee that he would get for every job that he would take.  Which was already pretty good.  Considering that, in most cases, newcomers like him would only get half of what they should earn.  Second, he wouldn¡¯t be forced to take on roles or jobs that didn¡¯t get his approval.  Which meant that he had absolute freedom on the roles and jobs that he would take from now on.


    These two points were not privileges that someone like him who¡¯s just starting his career could have.  Just by these two, it could be seen that Polaris was giving him quite the leeway.  Probably as an acknowledgement to his talent.


    He must admit, he certainly liked this kind sincerity.


    He replied to the message Ellis sent him.


    [Sister Ellis, I received the copy of the contract and had already read it.  I have no problems with it.  We can proceed with the signing.]


    He just sent that message when a video call request appeared on his Terminal.  He saw that it was from Ellis, so, he quickly accepted it.  Within a second, a woman with short auburn hair appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Sister Ellis,¡± he greeted with a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re satisfied with the contract?¡± Ellis asked, going straight to the point.


    Astrid nodded.  ¡°Everything is satisfactory.  In fact, it¡¯s even beyond my expectation.¡±


    Frankly, Ellis was also a bit surprised that Grant would give Astrid such a good contract.  She knew about the levels of contract Polaris gave to artists who wanted to sign them.  A level 3 contract for a newcomer ¨C it¡¯s definitely not bad.


    She was actually already preparing to haggle so Astrid could have the best contract a newcomer could wish for.  Who would have thought that there would be no need for that and Grant would be so generous?


    But she also understood that it¡¯s that guy¡¯s way of showing that he appreciated the kid¡¯s talent.  Although showing too much favor on a newcomer might also be detrimental in a way.  But she had a feeling that she wouldn¡¯t have such a problem when it came to Astrid.


    She looked at the teenager with outstanding appearance.  In the short time that she spent time with him, she could see that he had smart brain inside that head.  He was very confident in his talent.  Knowing his own worth, he wouldn¡¯t let people take advantage of him.  And, he was also quite ambitious.


    That¡¯s not really a bad thing per se.  But just like what that old proverb said, ¡®too much of anything is bad¡¯.  So, everything should be kept in moderation.  And that¡¯s why she¡¯s here.  To guide him on the right path in his career.  As long as she was his agent and he was her artist, she would do her best to help him and not let him go astray.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then, can you go to the company tomorrow to personally sign the contract?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I have to go to Redwood in the morning to register,¡± Astrid said.  ¡°But I¡¯ll probably be free in the afternoon.  Is it alright if I go to the company at that time?¡±


    Tomorrow would be the start of freshmen registration for all the colleges and universities located at the capital.  That included Redwood and the military academy.


    Redwood Academy wasn¡¯t too strict but he still had to go there in person to formally register as a student.  While Reas, on the other hand, had to start living at the dorms of the Imperial Military Academy.


    ¡°Then tell me once you¡¯re done with your registration.  I will pick you up.  Let¡¯s go to the company together,¡± Ellis suggested.


    Astrid had no reason to refuse so he just nodded.  They talked a bit more before they ended the call.  He just closed his Terminal when the door to his apartment opened.  He glanced back and saw Reas who just came back from his run.  The other walked towards the water dispenser, filled a glass of water, and drank it.


    ¡°Do you want a sandwich?  I¡¯ll make you one,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes, please.¡± Reas pushed back his ice-blue hair, some of it were sticking on his forehead because of sweat.  ¡°I¡¯ll just take a quick shower.¡±


    Astrid stood up and took some ingredients from his small pantry before making the sandwich for his brother.  By the time he finished, Reas also walked to the kitchen.  He picked the sandwich and took a big bite.


    ¡°Have you already prepared everything that you¡¯re bringing to your dorms?¡± he asked.


    Reas nodded, picking up the glass of juice that Astrid poured for him and drinking it.  ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything is already in my space stone.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Astrid asked.


    He had to make sure.  He heard how strict the military academy was.  What if Reas forgot something essential?  The academy didn¡¯t allow its freshmen to just leave the premises of the academy during the one week before the official start of the semester.


    Reas wasn¡¯t annoyed by his brother¡¯s repeated questioning.  ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Aster.  I have all the essential things I need.¡±


    Hearing that, Astrid no longer nagged the other.  ¡°Should I accompany you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re allowing non-military students to enter,¡± Reas said.


    Which he was kind of glad.  If he went with his brother, he would definitely be the center of attention of those military students.  He¡¯d rather not have them ogle Astrid.  Besides, he still remembered that the prince was going to be a guest lecturer.  What if they accidentally met that guy?


    So, to be sure, it¡¯s better to not bring Astrid there.

 Chapter 171 - FIRST SEPARATION

    THE Townsend twins were currently in a taxi, flying towards the direction of the Imperial Military Academy.  Even though Redwood Academy was much closer, Astrid insisted on going to the military academy first.  It¡¯s because the latter was far stricter with time than the former.


    Unlike him, who could register at any time today, Reas had a scheduled time of registering.  Which was quite early.  So, the decision of where to go first was already a no-brainer.


    ¡°Reas, remember to contact us immediately once your training period is finished,¡± their mother, who was on the other side of the virtual screen, said.


    They just got on the taxi when Astrid received a request for a video call from their mother.  Even though their parents had already called last night to check on them, he understood why they still called this early.  After all, today was some sort of an important day in their educational career path.


    ¡°And don¡¯t forget what I told you about the real goal of this one-week training period,¡± their father added.


    Astrid understood what their father meant.  Because he was also there when the other explained the ¡®secret¡¯ behind this one-week training period.  Having graduated from the same military academy, their father had first-hand experience regarding that.


    Apparently, getting the acceptance letter from the academy was not the last step to entering the school.  To fully be admitted, they had to pass the one-week evaluation that the academy would conduct.  So, by the end of it, only the cr¨¨me of the crop would remain.


    ¡°I know, Dad.  Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m prepared,¡± Reas said, assuring both parents.  ¡°I will definitely pass the evaluation.¡±


    Their mother showed a complicated expression upon hearing that.  Obviously, she¡¯s still not completely aboard with Reas going to the military academy.  But she had already agreed to this.  So, now, all she could do was to give her children her unwavering support.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to do anything that would put you in danger.  Always put your safety as top priority,¡± she could only say before smiling warmly.  ¡°I won¡¯t say good luck because I know you¡¯ll do well.  You¡¯re my son after all.¡±


    ¡°And mine too,¡± their father quickly added.


    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m both your son,¡± Reas said in an indulging tone.


    ¡°How about me then?  Honestly, I¡¯m getting really jealous here,¡± Astrid said in a teasing tone while smiling at their parents.


    ¡°Of course, our Aster is also the best,¡± Gage said like the proud father he was.


    Emmy rolled her eyes at her husband, probably thinking that the other was such a fool for his sons.  But despite that, one could still see the love in her eyes.  She turned to her eldest son, a warm smile on her lovely face.


    ¡°Astrid, I know that you can protect yourself.  You¡¯re always calm and collected.  You wouldn¡¯t start something unless you can handle it.  But I just want you to know that if you ever encounter something that you can¡¯t handle on your own, don¡¯t hesitate to contact us and ask us for help.¡±  She then turned to Reas.  ¡°You as well, Reas.  We may be far away.  But we will always be your support.  So, if things get tough, don¡¯t hesitate to lean on us.  Okay?¡±


    The twins both nodded but when their gazes collided, they both knew that they wouldn¡¯t bother their parents unless it¡¯s a life-or-death situation.  They wouldn¡¯t bother them and let their peaceful lives be disturbed.  This was the life their parents worked so hard to attain.  How could they destroy that peace?  This was the path they had chosen themselves and therefore, should be responsible for it.


    They talked some more before they ended the call because they¡¯re already near the Imperial Military Academy.


    ¡°Call me too once you¡¯re able to use your Terminal,¡± Astrid said.


    According to their father, during this one-week evaluation, the aspiring students would have to turn off their Terminal.  So, as not to be disturbed by any outside influence.  Their father said that the inspection of Terminals was pretty strict.  Anyone who was discovered not following the rules would immediately be sent home.  So, it¡¯s best to abide to the rule during that one-week training evaluation.


    Reas nodded.  He looked at Astrid as if hesitating to say something.  Astrid quickly understood what that was though.


    He smiled helplessly.  ¡°I¡¯ll be fine on my own, Reas.  Just focus on your training and don¡¯t worry about me.¡±


    Reas wanted to say how could he not worry?  But he also knew that he couldn¡¯t forever be beside his brother.  Both of them chose two paths that were almost opposite each other.  It¡¯s natural that they would have to separate at some point.  Maybe he should get used to it now.  But even so, he couldn¡¯t help but still feel a bit sentimental.


    He took a deep breath.  ¡°Always be careful, okay?  Try not to get into too much trouble.¡±


    Astrid smiled and said teasingly, ¡°Yes, Dad.¡±


    The taxi they were in slowly descended until it parked on one of the free parking spaces in front of the military academy¡¯s gate.


    ¡°I¡¯m going,¡± Reas said.


    Astrid gave his twin a quick hug.  ¡°Show them what you got, little brother.¡±


    After Reas walked out of the taxi, the AI robot driving the taxi asked him, ¡°Should we leave, dear customer?¡±


    Astrid watched the back of his twin went further and further until it completely disappeared into the huge gate of the military academy.  Just like Reas, he also felt a bit sentimental at this time.  The two of them hadn¡¯t really been separated since birth.  This was probably the first time that they would have to spend time away from each other.  And this was just the beginning.


    In the future, with their different careers ¨C one an actor and the other a soldier, their time for separation would just become longer and longer.  He knew that he should probably start to get used to it now.  But he still felt a bit lost.


    He smiled and shook his head.  Who would have thought he would become this attached?  Not that he¡¯s complaining.  In fact, he was proud of it.  Because that meant that his bond with his twin brother was just that strong.


    He turned to the AI robot and said, ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter 172 - REGISTRATION

    ASTRID finally arrived at Redwood Academy.  He planned to quickly go to the Registrar¡¯s Office where freshmen should register and get their student ID.  The procedure for registration was pretty easy because of the virtual directions floating around.  It involved the step-by-step process of what a freshman should do.


    First, one should go to the Registrar¡¯s Office.  This ¡®office¡¯ was not exactly just a building but a combination of three.  So, it¡¯s more like an area.  These three buildings represented the three departments in Redwood Academy of Performing Arts.  Music, Dance, and Acting.


    After a freshman went to the respective building of their department, they would be given a number.  Once their number was called, not really called but rather showed on one of the virtual screens, they would have to go to a room where they would do all the registration procedure.


    This procedure included showing their acceptance letter and giving their basic information that could easily be checked through their Terminal.  Then their student ID would instantly be processed and given to them.  By given, he meant being sent to their Terminal.


    Going there, Astrid decided to take a shortcut.  He already had a copy of the map of the academy, so, that was easy.  He just didn¡¯t expect that on his way there, he would see three boys ganging up on a petite guy.  He couldn¡¯t see the petite guy¡¯s face but he could see the maliciousness from the face of the guy leading the trio.


    ¡°You really think you deserved the top spot at the Music Department?¡± the malicious guy said to the other with a sneer.  ¡°You should curve your delusion.  The teachers only gave you high points because of your poor background.  In short, they only pity you.¡±


    The other two who were obviously acting like the guy¡¯s lackeys laughed in a timely manner.


    ¡°An orphan dreaming of becoming a star?  How ridiculous,¡± one said.


    ¡°Maybe hearing others call him ¡®genius¡¯ got to his brain and he really believed it to be true,¡± the remaining one added.


    Astrid brows furrowed when he heard that.  He really disliked these types of people.  He probably would encounter more of them here.


    ¡°I may not be a genius but I am talented.  More talented than you three could ever be.  So, why don¡¯t you save your breath.  Because no matter how much you mock me, it only sounded like the squeals of three jealous pigs.¡±


    Astrid almost laughed when he heard that.  The voice was very nice and melodious.  One wouldn¡¯t think that such a nice voice could say such artistic taunts.  The faces of the three people really turned into the color of pig¡¯s liver.


    He saw that the three were about to attack the petite guy.  He didn¡¯t hesitate to use his mental strength on the three.  Which resulted in them fainting.  Astrid then lowered his cap and walked away from there.


    He wasn¡¯t worried that this incident would be traced back to him or that it would be blamed on the petite guy.  After all, making three people faint all at the same time could only be done by someone with SSS-level mental strength.  And would people really find someone like that in this academy?


    Astrid continued to walk until he arrived at the area of the Registrar¡¯s office and he quickly saw the building representing the Acting Department.  It had the most student walking there.  Not really surprising, considering how most of the people on the Star List were actors or actresses.  Everyone who applied in this academy probably had the dream of being on that list.


    The moment he entered the building, an AI machine automatically gave him his number.  Which actually looked like a coaster.  He took it and simply stood on an area where there were less people but he could still see the numbers on the virtual screen properly.  When he did, he tried to make his presence as non-existent as possible.


    Which was not really that hard.  He was an actor after all.  If he wanted to, he could be like someone invisible.  Well, not literally.  Just someone that people would pass by without looking twice.


    But he must admit, that was hard to do.  Especially when you have a very eye-catching hair color.  No matter how much you tried to be invisible, someone would always notice you.  So, he had to wear a cap to hide his hair.


    He didn¡¯t really want to be the center of attention.  Which he would surely be if people saw his hair and eye color.  He just wanted to register quietly, get his student ID, and then call Ellis.  That way, they could go to Polaris much earlier.


    Then, maybe after that he and his new agent could talk more properly.  Which they hadn¡¯t able to do the other day.  Ellis would be his agent from now on.  He wanted to know her vision regarding his career, whether their views would align or not.  Which was very important.


    What if she wanted to go to certain direction that he didn¡¯t want to?  It¡¯s important that they established thing.  Although he had a feeling that the two of them would probably have no such problems, it still wouldn¡¯t hurt to make sure.


    After some time, Astrid felt the number in his hands vibrating, indicating that it was finally his turn.  He looked up at one of the virtual screens and looked for his number.  He saw it and then looked at the room number on top of it.  Along with his number, there nine more.  Indicating that ten of them would go to the same room.


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to find the room.  When he knocked and went inside, he only saw an AI robot that was standing beside some device that would probably record their basic data.  In front of the AI were 10 chairs that were divided into two horizontal rows.  They were most likely for the freshmen that had been assigned to this room.


    He walked inside and the AI immediately turned to him and said;


    ¡°Please, sit in numerical order.¡±


    Astrid remembered that his name was the fourth on the list that appeared on that virtual screen.  So, he sat on the fourth chair from the left on the first row.  Soon, the other nine freshmen also arrived.  Just like what the AI robot said to him earlier, he also told them to sit in numerical order.


    After all 10 were there, the AI spoke again;


    ¡°Once I call your number, please step to the front.¡±


    Then he called a number and the one sitting on the first chair stood up and went up front.  Astrid quietly observed.  The procedure was pretty simple.  That device he saw earlier would scan the acceptance letter you¡¯ve got, probably to ensure its authenticity.  Then it would scan your citizen ID which was basically automatically generated once you got a Terminal.  It¡¯s the proof that you¡¯re a citizen of the Empire.  Scanning that was probably done to record your basic information on the academy¡¯s database.


    It was soon his turn.  The process was very fast.  After only a few minutes, his information was already registered on the academy¡¯s database and his student ID was also sent to his Terminal.


    With that, he was now officially a student of Redwood Academy of Performing Arts.

 Chapter 173 - BACK TO POLARIS

    ASTER opened the door of the flying car that stopped in front of him.  The car looked smaller in comparison to other flying vehicles he had seen.  But it looks very chic with its black color and compact design.  He had a feeling that his new agent probably had a thing for cars.


    He sat down on the passenger¡¯s seat and greeted the woman driving, ¡°Hello, Sister Ellis.¡±


    Ellis raised one of her brows when she saw the other¡¯s get-up.  He was wearing a cap with a wide brim that almost covered the upper half of his face.  Even the clothes he was wearing was very unassuming.  ¡°Don¡¯t want to be to gather anyone¡¯s attention?¡±


    Astrid nodded and removed his cap, putting it in the space stone of the necklace he was wearing.  ¡°And also, to avoid any unnecessary problem.¡±


    If a place full of people dreaming to be star, if they saw his appearance, most reaction would only go two ways.  One, they might feel admiration.  And two, jealousy.  The former was fine but the latter was a bit troublesome to deal with.  Because jealousy often pushed people to do the stupidest thing.


    Take that incident he saw earlier as an example.  From the short conversation he heard, those three that tried to corner that petite guy were obviously jealous of the other¡¯s talent.  Just like they said, the other received the top spot in the Music Department.  Since most of the students who came to the academy today were freshmen, it meant that the petite guy probably had the best admission performance among all the music students.


    Astrid also had to send an audition reel when he was applying to the academy.  But he didn¡¯t know that those performances would be ranked.  After all, when he received his acceptance letter, no such thing was mentioned.  Maybe it was just different for the Music Department.


    Anyway, his point was, if he went to register today with all his glory, there would definitely be a similar scene happening to him.  Maybe they wouldn¡¯t try to corner him per se.  But someone would definitely try to make trouble with him.  And dealing with that was simply too troublesome.  Especially since he had an appointment later on.


    Ellis clearly understood what this ¡®unnecessary problem¡¯ was.  Other students troubling him because he was too eye-catching.  She must admit that Astrid¡¯s appearance really extraordinary.  Even without talent, with just his looks and the right marketing, he could go places in this industry.  But it would also attract a lot of hate and jealousy.  Not to mention those that would certainly harbor dirty thoughts.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that she would ask Astrid to hide his looks.  This was one of his advantages.  As an actor wanting to stand at the top of this industry, hiding such an appearance was simply stupid.  If that somehow turned into a disadvantage, then she¡¯s probably not doing her job properly as an agent.


    ¡°Frankly speaking, I think there¡¯s no need for you to attend Redwood.  You already have the basics of acting down to a tee,¡± she commented while starting up the car.


    The car slowly floated.  Once it was up in the air, it flew at a very fast speed.  Surprisingly enough, Astrid didn¡¯t feel any discomfort despite the speed of the car.  It¡¯s almost like he was sitting on an unmoving seat.  He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of Ellis¡¯ driving skill or because of the car itself.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s still a lot of things I have to learn,¡± he responded to what the other just said.  ¡°But if I think that I don¡¯t have anything more to learn from Redwood, then I¡¯ll simply apply for an early graduation.¡±


    ¡°You seem very confident.  You¡¯re probably one of those students who are always at the top of their class,¡± Ellis said with a bit of teasing.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say I do okay,¡± he said.


    He might not be a genius level scholar, but he had always done okay when it came to his studies.  At least, he had never really failed any subjects.  May it be from his past life or this life.  He was not worried about what type of exam he would take if he ever applied for an early graduation.  Especially since he knew that the topic would revolve around the subject of ¡®acting¡¯.


    Ellis only nodded.  ¡°By the way, I checked that two gigs you¡¯ve done this month.  They were both amazing jobs for a newcomer.  If everything goes well, you can gain a lot after both were released to the public.¡±


    Especially that movie.  With her connection, she managed to get a full copy of the script.  And she was surprised to find out that Astrid¡¯s role was very vital to the plot of the whole movie.  The role might not have appeared until the very climax of the movie, but it was present since the very beginning.


    Being directed by Daniel Trevane, it was almost already a given that it would be a box-office hit.  She was even more sure when she read the script and saw the main cast.  Her first thought that this movie would definitely be a good start for Astrid solidified even more.


    ¡°That¡¯s only if everything indeed went well,¡± Astrid said with a bit of joking tone.


    Ellis understood what the other was trying to say.  No matter how good Astrid was in that role, there would definitely be someone who would try to make a controversy out of it.  She could already envision the kinds of controversies that would be thrown at the teenager.


    Like how could a newcomer like him get such a role and then concluding that he might have done some backhanded deal to get the role.  Which could span from him paying for the role to him sleeping with a producer to get it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.  I will make sure that everything will go well,¡± she promised.  ¡°This movie will be your debut.  I won¡¯t let anyone tarnish it.¡±


    Astrid smiled when he heard what Ellis said.  It¡¯s really a good thing that they happened to meet at Polaris when he went there the other day.  It like he got a very luxurious item in a discounted price.


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried because I trust Sister Ellis.¡±


    ¡°You smooth talker,¡± Ellis only said.


    Soon, they arrived at Polaris.

 Chapter 174 - TO THE FUTURE

    UNLIKE the other day when Astrid went here, there were more people present in the building.  Probably because it¡¯s close to lunch time.  As always, he still received many people¡¯s attention.  But he quickly noticed that it was a bit more than usual.  He suspected that it was because of Ellis.  A number of the people they passed by definitely recognized her.  Especially those other agents.


    The conversations he heard along the way were all the same.


    ¡°Is that really Ellis Payne?  The former agent of Olivia Crane?  Didn¡¯t she disappear suddenly five years ago?  What is she doing here?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard?  She¡¯s going to work here as a new agent.¡±


    ¡°Really?  Then, that teenager with her should be her artist?¡±


    ¡°Most likely.  With that appearance, there¡¯s no way he¡¯s not a newcomer.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.  This is my first time seeing someone with both black hair and black eyes.  With such an appearance alone, he would definitely be a big hit.  But why give him to an agent who hadn¡¯t worked for five years.  Wouldn¡¯t that be such a shame?¡±


    ¡°I heard this Ellis Payne has a connection with someone with the upper management.¡±


    ¡°No wonder.¡±


    Astrid shook his head and just ignored the conversations he was hearing.  He glanced at his agent and saw that she looked unbothered.  She probably also heard what those people were saying.  She just didn¡¯t care.


    Even if Ellis was absent from the entertainment industry for five years, her ability as an agent wouldn¡¯t just suddenly vanish because of that.  It was no fluke that Olivia Crane managed to get to the top five of Star List.  One of the reasons for that was because Ellis managed her career in a way that would put her at the top.


    It¡¯s the reason he did not hesitate to agree when she asked if she could be his agent.  Because he knew that he would be in good hands.


    They walked to the elevator and Ellis pressed the ninth-floor button.  Once they reached the ninth floor, she led him to an office.  It was mid-size but because of the floor to ceiling window, it looked much bigger.  There was a desk, a small round table in front with two chairs, and there was even a small coffee station on the side.


    ¡°Is this Sister Ellis¡¯ office?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ellis answered while walking to the desk.  ¡°Sit or you can drink coffee if you like.¡±


    Astrid walked towards the coffee station and started making two cups of coffee.  ¡°Sister Ellis, what type of coffee do you drink?¡±


    ¡°Black, no sugar,¡± Ellis answered naturally.


    Then, she stopped what she was doing and looked at the teenager.  The other was standing beside the coffee station and making coffee for two.  His back was straight and his beautiful side profile was showing a gentle smile.  She couldn¡¯t help but open her Terminal and take a picture.  This would be a good material to post on [Cyberspace] once Astrid started doing official activities.


    She looked at the picture and was relieved to see that despite her amateur photographing skill, the other still looked amazing.  It was good that the kid was photogenic.  There were those who looked amazing in real life but when it came to photos and films, it¡¯s the total opposite.  Well, not really opposite, their visuals were simply downplayed a lot.  As if they were enemies of the lens.


    But it seemed like she didn¡¯t have to worry about that with Astrid.  Since the other was simply the darling of the lens.


    Ellis saved the picture and saw that Astrid had already put the cups of coffee on the glass table.  She walked over and sat opposite the other.  She picked up the cup of coffee in front of her and drank a sip.


    The moment she did, her eyes widened a bit because of how good it tasted.  It¡¯s almost comparable to the coffee being sold to high-class caf¨¦.


    ¡°You brew one hell of a coffee,¡± she commented.


    Astrid only smiled at that.


    Ellis put down the coffee and opened her Terminal once again.  ¡°Your contract has already been signed by Grant.  You only need to sign and the contract will be completed.¡±  She then sent the contract with Grant¡¯s signature to Astrid¡¯s Terminal.  ¡°Read it, check if there¡¯s nothing wrong then sign it.  After that, send the contract back to me.¡±


    She then pushed an electronic pen towards Astrid.


    Astrid opened his Terminal and clicked on the contract.  After checking that nothing was wrong, he picked up the electronic pen and signed his name on every line that needed his signature.  After that, just like Ellis said, he sent it back to her.


    ¡°With this, you and I are now officially part of Polaris,¡± Ellis said after she received the contract.  ¡°Shall we talk about future plans?¡±


    Astrid nodded.  ¡°I¡¯d like that as well.¡±


    ¡°Then, first, can you tell me what your goal is?¡±


    The question was broad.  Because a person could have a lot of goals in life.  Especially in such a life where one could live up to 300 years.  The reason Ellis asked that was because she wanted to know just how much determination the other had.


    ¡°I want to be the number one star of this Empire,¡± Astrid answered without any hesitation.


    Ellis stopped.  Astrid¡¯s voice was very calm but it felt like that sentence rang loudly, not only in her ears but also in her heart.  Every syllable was full of conviction.  Not to mention, the determination filling in those black eyes that were looking straight at her.  He truly believed that he could do it.  It was not a delusion but a firm belief.


    She couldn¡¯t help but laugh.  It was like a laugh of a child full of happiness.  The dream that she had when she decided to become an agent also slowly resurfaced in her mind.  That dream that she almost gave up because of what Olivia did.  ¨C To become the agent of the number one star.


    Maybe with this kid, she could really do it.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s set a temporary goal first,¡± she said.  ¡°After all, every goal starts with a single point.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Astrid agreed.  ¡°Then, how about being part of Star List¡¯s top 100?¡±


    Ellis was once again rendered speechless before laughing.  ¡°Well, I was thinking of top 300, but top 100 will also do.¡±


    Astrid understood why the other thought that top 300 would be enough for a starting point.  After all, there were literally thousands of artists in this industry.  Being in the top 500 was already considered a big achievement.  But he didn¡¯t want just that.


    ¡°If we have to start somewhere, then, we should start big.  That way, we could leave a much deeper impression.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you can do it?  The updated Star List would be released next month.  The next one after that would be four months from now.¡±


    Astrid understood the implication but he didn¡¯t falter.  ¡°Yes.  Besides, Sister Ellis will help me, right?¡±


    Ellis grinned.  ¡°Of course.¡±  Then she raised her cup of coffee.  ¡°Should we have a toast for this future?¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows in amusement.  ¡°Over a cup of coffee?¡±


    Ellis shrugged.  ¡°Why not?¡±


    Astrid only shook his head with a smile then also raised his cup and clinked it to Ellis¡¯ cup.  ¡°To the future.¡±

 Chapter 175 - ROOMMATE

    REAS entered his dormitory room.  He had already settled his registration and was told to go to the dormitory building.  The room assigned to him was for two people.  Meaning, he had a room-mate.  He actually wanted a single room.  But he was told that there was no single room at the freshman dormitory of the military academy.  There were only two-person room and four-person room.


    The number of two-person room was even limited and only available to those who scored high at the entrance exam of the department they applied in.  It¡¯s a good thing that Reas¡¯ score was pretty high.  He didn¡¯t know his rank amongst all the applicants in the Mecha Department.  Since it¡¯s not really revealed in the acceptance letter that he received.  But he was sure that it was one of the highest.


    He¡¯s not being arrogant.  He¡¯s just that confident in his skills as a Mecha pilot.  It was also to his advantage that the test was done via the VirtualNet.  But it would probably be a different matter though if the test was conducted using real life Mecha.  After all, he had no experience in using a Mecha in reality.  All his experience was just based on him fighting on the Mecha Hall.


    There would definitely be a difference between piloting a Mecha in VirtualNet and doing it in real life.  But that¡¯s why he¡¯s here.  To have that experience.


    Reas looked around the room.  There were two loft beds on each side.  Underneath each loft was a study area.  There was a sliding door at the side, which would probably lead to the bathroom.


    Overall, it was certainly a good dormitory room.  If one ignored the fact of the lack of privacy.  But at least all the needed amenities were present.  Now, he just hoped he wouldn¡¯t have an annoying room-mate.


    As if on cue, the door of the room opened and a tall guy walked in.  He had slightly long gray hair that was tied on the back and a pair of light-green eyes.  He was wearing a simple black shirt and pants, showing his good physique.


    He seemed to be surprised when he saw Reas.  He probably didn¡¯t expect that someone was already in the room.  But he quickly got over that and smiled in a friendly manner.


    ¡°Roommate?¡±


    Reas nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m Assil Brewer,¡± the other said, introducing himself.


    ¡°Andreas Townsend,¡± Reas simply said.


    ¡°Your name is quite a mouthful.  Do you have a nickname?  Mine is Ash.  I preferred to be called that actually.¡±


    Reas didn¡¯t feel any malice from the other¡¯s comment about his name being a mouthful.  It¡¯s clearly was just that, a passing comment.  He still couldn¡¯t gauge the other¡¯s personality.  But he seemed to be the straightforward type.


    ¡°Reas.  You can call me that.¡±


    ¡°Cool.¡±  Ash looked around the room.  ¡°So, which will you choose, the right one or the left one?¡± he asked, gesturing towards the bed.


    As a response, Reas simply sat on the chair of the study area beneath the loft bed on his right.


    Ash did the same.  ¡°Are you the type who doesn¡¯t like to talk or are you simply the type who takes time to warm up to people?  Oh, I¡¯m not trying to offend you, by the way.  I¡¯m simply curious since you haven¡¯t said more than eight words to me.¡±


    Reas looked at the other side and sighed.  ¡°It¡¯s both.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see.  It seems I have to work hard if the two of us shall be friends.¡±


    Reas stopped, listening to this guy, it seemed that he¡¯s quite serious.  ¡°You¡¯re very optimistic.¡±


    Ash grinned.  ¡°I¡¯ve been told that quite a lot.¡±


    He looked at his new roommate.  Although the other seemed to be cold and indifferent, he wasn¡¯t arrogant or dismissive.  Ash believed that the two of them would get along just fine.


    ¡°Are you also from the Mecha Department?¡± he thought of asking.


    Reas nodded, hearing that this guy ¨C Ash said the word ¡®also¡¯, it meant that he was also from the same department.


    ¡°That¡¯s good.  If you¡¯re from the Command Department, I might not have any topic to talk with you.¡±


    Somehow, Reas doubted that.  Even if the one here was from the Logistic Department, he had a feeling that this guy would still be as talkative as he was now.


    ¡°You probably play at the Mecha Hall, right?  What¡¯s your handle?  Mine is [Ashes],¡± when Ash said that last part, his tone was quite proud.  He was even looking at Reas as if he was expecting the other to recognize the name.


    Well, he¡¯s not entirely wrong in that.  Reas indeed had heard of [Ashes].  The handle name was like a username that people who logged into the VirtualNet used.  Anyone who played at the Mecha Hall had to use the same handle name that they used to log in.


    [Ashes] was currently at the top 30 of the Mecha Hall.  If he remembered correctly, he was number 27.  A little lower than his rank.  One might think that that wasn¡¯t so high.  But one should consider that most of the high rankings in the Mecha Hall were made up of old guys.  And it¡¯s really hard to beat their record.


    Even if most of them no longer played anymore, the records they made were still there.  One record in particular had been unbeatable for the past 15 years.  That of Wulfric de Lunaris.


    ¡°My handle is [Astreas].¡±


    His handle was obviously the name of his family¡¯s farm and also his and Astrid¡¯s name combined together.


    Ash¡¯s eyes widened a bit when he heard his handle name.  ¡°No way, that [Astreas]?  The current number 25?¡± he said, a little bit excitedly.


    Reas nodded.


    Ash suddenly laughed.  ¡°This is great!  The two of us should definitely have a match once training starts.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± Reas said, having a sparring partner would definitely be good.


    ¡°By the way, have you heard that one of five armies would be in charge of our department¡¯s training?¡±


    Hearing that piece of information, Reas suddenly remembered something when he and his brother accidentally met that prince and his two lackeys.  That that guy would be present at the academy¡¯s opening ceremony.  Surely, that wouldn¡¯t mean that they would also be involve in the Mecha Department¡¯s training.


    Right?

 Chapter 176 - REAS WORRIES

    ¡°ARE you certain about this information?¡± Reas asked, hoping that the other was just spouting unfounded gossip.


    ¡°I got it from an insider.  So, it¡¯s pretty much a sure thing,¡± Ash said with a shrug.


    Reas frowned a bit when he heard that.  ¡°You know someone from the academy?¡±


    ¡°No, not the academy.  Someone from one of the five armies.¡±


    What Reas got from that was this guy was probably related to someone from the five armies.  But the viability of this information still depended on whether the source had a high rank within the army they were part of.


    ¡°Someone?¡± he asked, trying to get the other to say who this ¡®source¡¯ might be.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be surprise but my older brother is a lieutenant under the strongest army of the Empire,¡± Ash said, puffing out his chest, obviously very proud of that fact.


    Strongest army?  ¡°The Aegis Army?¡± he spoke before thinking.


    Ash appeared highly offended when he heard that.  ¡°How could you even think that the Aegis Army is the strongest?  Is something wrong with your eyes?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the Aegis Army?¡±


    Reas was truly baffled by the other¡¯s reaction.  If one would think in terms of size, Aegis Army was the biggest.  Their sphere of influence was also no joke.  Amongst all the five armies, they were the most trusted by His Majesty, the emperor.  And most of all, their general, General Schwartz, was like the epitome of a perfect soldier.


    Strong, upstanding, and respected.  That was how most saw the general.  Even his father, who was once in the army, thought highly of the guy.  He remembered what his father said to him when he and Astrid was still preparing to go to the capital.


    The two of them were talking about the Imperial Army and their topic just somewhat turned to the current five generals.  It might be because one was a member of that horrendous Lancaster family while the other was a prince who suddenly fell down to their planet and showed interest to Astrid.


    [General Schwartz is a person who embodies the word ¡®general¡¯ perfectly.  His sense of justice is the real deal.  If he knew that something was wrong, he wouldn¡¯t back down until the people who had done wrong received their just punishment.  It didn¡¯t matter what their identity or status was, all that mattered was the crime they committed.  That¡¯s the kind of guy he is.  Once you graduate, I think it would be good to apply to his army.]


    Just by those words alone, Reas could feel just how much respect his father had for General Schwartz.  Especially since his father didn¡¯t become a soldier because he wanted to.  He became one just for revenge.  Frankly speaking, his father probably had a grudge against the military, considering what the Lancasters did.


    That¡¯s why Reas also believed that General Schwartz was probably the most decent guy out of all the five generals.  So, why wouldn¡¯t he say that the Aegis Army that the other commanded was the strongest?


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying there¡¯s something wrong with those upright guys,¡± Ash responded in frustration.  ¡°It¡¯s common knowledge that Fenris Squad is the strongest army of today.  How come you don¡¯t know that?¡±


    At the mention of ¡®Fenris Squad¡¯, Reas just felt like being punched on the face.  Because that was the name of the prince¡¯s army.  Then, he suddenly realized something.  Wait- wouldn¡¯t that mean that Ash¡¯s older brother was a lieutenant at the Fenris Squad?


    Then, with this roommate right here, was he now somehow connected to the army of the prince?


    ¡°Are you saying that your older brother is a member of Fenris Squad?¡± he asked, hoping that he just didn¡¯t hear thigs properly.


    Ash looked at him as if wondering if he was deaf or something.  ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I said?¡±


    Reas resisted the urge to slap his forehead.  Seriously, of all the people he could be roommates with, it just really had to be someone that had a connection to that prince.  Was fate playing a joke on him?


    Maybe it¡¯s not too late to ask for a change in roommate.  He quickly shook his head and rejected that thought.  Doing so would just make him appear squeamish.  Like some child complaining that he wanted to change seats because he didn¡¯t like his seatmate.


    At the end, the only thing he could do was to do nothing.  Well, it¡¯s not like he could actually do anything about this situation anyway.


    What was this guy¡¯s full name again?  Ah, Assil Brewer.  At least with that he¡¯s sure that the older brother the other was talking about was not that Hildred or that Edmund.


    ¡°So, the one who told you this information to you was your older brother?¡± he just thought of asking.  Because he finally accepted the fact that someway or another, he ended up with an indirect connection to that guy¡¯s army.


    Ash scratched the back of his head.  ¡°Well, yeah.¡±


    The information was not actually from his older brother, Leland.  But from Brother Hil.  Although the other practically said it in a teasing tone, he knew him long enough to know that there¡¯s some semblance of truth to what he said.  But Ash didn¡¯t need to tell those details to his new roommate.


    It would be cool if Fenris Squad would be the army in charge of their training.  Then, maybe Reas could see just how amazing they were.  Especially the general.  Up until now, his record in the Mecha Hall still remained unbroken.  As someone who also played there, how could this roommate of his not understand the other¡¯s greatness?


    Maybe this Reas was just a fan of General Schwartz.  Anyway, he¡¯s really excited for this upcoming training.  He hoped to learn and fight a lot.


    That night, the two teenagers who just met that day had two different moods when they went to bed to sleep.  One was excited for tomorrow while the other was just hoping that his hunch would be wrong.


    ¡ª¨C


    The next morning, Reas was awakened by an alarm that sounded all throughout the freshmen dormitory building.


    [Announcement!  Announcement!  Announcement!  All freshmen must go to their respective department building within 10 minutes!  I repeat, all freshmen must go to their respective department building within 10 minutes!]

 Chapter 177 - ASSEMBLY HALL

    REAS jumped down his loft bed, his body still lethargic from sleep.  He, then, walked towards the bathroom and first splashed his face with water.  His sleepiness disappeared a bit because of that.  But that was just a bit.  He was still sleepy as hell.


    He always had problems waking up in the morning.  Especially if he stayed up late the previous night.  It was fine if the reason he stayed up late was because he was playing at the Mecha Hall.  But no, this time it¡¯s because of a very stupid reason.  He almost lost sleep because he kept on wondering if the Fenris Squad would be in charge of their training.


    He had never felt so stupid.  He decided to not think about it and yet when night came, it was all he could think about.  Truly, what a stupid thing to do.  He shook his head.  He truly wouldn¡¯t think about that anymore.


    He brushed his teeth.  After that, he walked out of the bathroom and took out the training clothes from the small closet beside the study table.  The clothes were given to him yesterday when he registered.  It was a pair of black shirt and trousers.  It also came with a special belt.  Once you pressed a certain button on it, the training clothes you¡¯re wearing would change to something more appropriate for Mecha training.


    Reas did so.  And his clothes suddenly tightened around his body.  He was startled.  It felt like the clothes suddenly became a second skin.  It¡¯s not that it¡¯s uncomfortable.  It just felt like he¡¯s naked.  He quickly turned it off and his clothes immediately went back to normal.


    He looked at the clock and saw that there¡¯s only seven minutes left.  There¡¯s still enough time to go to the Mecha Department if he ran.


    He was about to go out when he saw a big foot hanging on the other loft bed.  It seemed his roommate was still asleep.  Should he wake him up?  If the other hadn¡¯t woken up despite that loud alarm, that meant that he¡¯s the type that was difficult to wake up.


    He didn¡¯t want to waste time here.  But it¡¯s also rude to not even try to wake the other.  So, the fastest way to do this was to use a bit of force.


    He jumped up a bit, just enough to be on the same level as the other¡¯s loft bed.  The moment he did, he took out the pillow under Ash¡¯s head and quickly smack it on the other¡¯s face.


    When he landed on his feet, Ash suddenly sat up and yelled;


    ¡°Where¡¯s the enemy?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no enemy.  We¡¯re told to go to our department¡¯s building in,¡± Reas looked at the clock.  The seven minutes now turned to six.  He frowned.  ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be late, then, get up.¡±


    After he said that, he opened the window on their room.  Not caring about the other¡¯s reply, he simply jumped down the window.  Their room was in the fourth floor.  But he still successfully landed unscathed.


    The freshman who just got out of the dormitory building and saw what happened unknowingly stopped in their tracks.  They couldn¡¯t believe that someone would really just jump down from the window.  He didn¡¯t just jump from the second floor or the third floor but the floor!  They wanted to say how crazy this guy was.  But being able to do that so easily only meant that the other¡¯s physique level was just that high.


    Reas, of course, paid no attention to these people.  He stretched his muscle a bit and then dashed towards the direction of the Mecha Department building.  He had already memorized the way yesterday.  So, going there was no problem.


    He swiftly avoided the other students running and scampering about.  And in no time reached his destination.  When he entered the Mecha Department building, a virtual screen was at the very entrance.  It said to go to the assembly hall.  There were virtual arrows pointing to the place.  So, it didn¡¯t take long for him to reach it.


    He looked at the clock on his Terminal.  There were still three minutes left.  Just right in time.  That fast run also awakened him thoroughly.


    He then looked around.  The assembly hall was like an amphitheater.  The seats were leveled and at the very end was a stage.


    It could probably house around 500 people.  That meant that the number of freshmen in this department didn¡¯t exceed that number.  Which was very few if you compared it to another military academy.  Well, they did say that Imperial Military Academy only accept the elites among the elites.  So, no wonder.


    Reas walked at one of the higher seats and sat near the aisle just beside the exit.  This way, he could immediately go out once they were dismissed.


    The hall soon slowly began to fill with students.  A certain area seemed to have more students in it.  At the very center of it was someone with platinum blond hair and green eyes.  Most of the students surrounding the guy had a flattering look on their faces, as if they couldn¡¯t wait to get on the other¡¯s good side.


    He frowned at that.  Not because of their disgusting antics.  But because of that person¡¯s features.  Which was, in some sense, equally disgusting.


    He took back his gaze.  It¡¯s better not to quickly make assumptions.  He didn¡¯t want to lose his temper here.


    He looked once again at the clock on his Terminal.  There was only less than a minute left.  Would that guy, Ash, manage to arrive here on time?


    As if on cue, someone suddenly sat down beside him.  He glanced at the person and saw his roommate gasping as if he¡¯s out of breath.


    ¡°You¡­ hah¡­ should have¡­ hah¡­ woken me up¡­ hah¡­ much earlier,¡± Ash said still managing to complain.


    Reas deemed that comment unworthy of a response.


    ¡°Reas, didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± Ash added, after finally managing to collect his breath.


    ¡°I heard.  I just chose not to answer because what you said didn¡¯t deserve one.¡±


    Ash didn¡¯t seem to be offended by that and laughed even.  ¡°Wow.  How cold-hearted.¡±


    All of a sudden, the noisy hall suddenly quieted down.  And the only thing that could be heard was the footsteps walking towards the stage..  Reas glanced at that direction and his eyes widened when he saw the person who caused this sudden silence.

 Chapter 178 - TRAINING INSTRUCTOR

    THERE were three people walking towards the stage.  But the reason of sudden silence was the person walking at the front.  The man was tall with bronze skin and a muscular build.  The epaulette on the shoulders of his white military uniform showed everyone of his rank ¨C a general.


    Although that was the case, his military uniform was not even properly worn.  The jacket was carelessly put over his shoulders, showing the fitted black shirt underneath.  He looked like he didn¡¯t want to wear it but was forced to do so, so he just tossed it on his shoulders.


    He walked to the center of the podium and pushed back his white hair before looking at the students in front of him with his golden gaze.  Yes, this person was none other than Wulfric de Lunaris.  The only prince of the Empire and one of the five generals.


    Every freshman in that assembly hall recognized him.  How could they not?  With that symbolic white hair and golden-colored eyes.  Who else would have those memorable features other than him?  Not to mention, the uniform he was wearing.  For those who wanted to be a soldier like them, how could they not recognize the infamous ¡®Butcher of Orus¡¯?


    That¡¯s why everyone quieted down the moment he appeared.  Aside from shock from seeing the prince, they also felt a bit unbelieving.  All they could think of was ¡®how could this person be here?¡¯.


    Reas was no different.  No, in fact, his reaction was even more exaggerated.  What was this guy doing here?  Didn¡¯t he say that he would be here during the opening ceremony?  So, why was he appearing here when it was only the start of the training?


    Since he heard that one of the five armies would be in charge of their training, he had been worrying that the Fenris Squad would be the one assigned to them.  That¡¯s the reason he almost couldn¡¯t sleep last night.  And now, it seemed that that was truly the case.


    He suddenly felt like the whole universe was conspiring against him.  He didn¡¯t really want to see or deal with this guy.


    The best scenario for this situation was for the other to constantly target him during training because of his disrespectful attitude.  The worst case would be if he favored him because of his brother.  Just thinking about it was already giving him goosebumps.


    That happening was not really too farfetched.  If one carefully observed the prince¡¯s action towards Astrid, anyone could see that he was interested in the other.


    Reas was even much more sensitive about it because it had something to do with his twin brother.  That¡¯s why he could see it much clearly.  The prince¡¯s interest on Astrid.  And he didn¡¯t like it.  Not only because of all the complications it would entail, but mostly because, in his opinion, that blasted prince didn¡¯t deserve his brother at all.


    ¡°Whoa!  It¡¯s really the general of the Fenris Squad!  It means that their army would be responsible for our training, right?  This is so exciting.  I wonder how strong we would be if we were trained by the general himself?¡±


    Those remarks from Ash temporarily stopped Reas from further thinking of more complicated stuff.  Hearing those words, he realized something.  That he could get stronger.


    No matter how much he didn¡¯t like the prince, the other¡¯s strength was genuine.  Just like what Ash had said, if someone of the prince¡¯s caliber trained them, there was no way one wouldn¡¯t get stronger.  Unless that person had a problem.  Either they¡¯re arrogant and thought that they were already strong or someone who simply didn¡¯t have any potential.


    Reas didn¡¯t want to belong to either of the two.  Even if he had a problem with the prince, he wouldn¡¯t be prideful enough to think that being trained by him would be a waste of time.  He wouldn¡¯t be immature and bring his personal problem with the other in this situation.  Instead, he would devour whatever it was the other taught.  And he would get stronger than he was now.


    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  When he opened them once again, those teal-gray depths were already filled with determination.


    Wulfric who was standing on the stage was scanning the room and he just happened to meet the brat¡¯s gaze.  He smirked.  That kid was really here.  Surprisingly enough, instead of hostility that he had already somehow expected, he was met with a determined gaze.


    That¡¯s good.  At least, this brat wasn¡¯t really that stupid.  He would enjoy ¡®training¡¯ him.


    Then, he noticed the other brat sitting beside Reas.  Wasn¡¯t that Leland¡¯s brother?  What was his name again?  Ah, Assil.  He did hear from his lieutenant that his younger brother would be entering the military academy this school year.


    Was it just a coincidence that the two were sitting together?  Well, not that he really cared.


    Speaking of that lieutenant of his, he would probably make a fuss once he found out that he personally went here himself rather than leaving this job to one of the captains.  The idea of training the freshmen this school year came from the Aegis Army.  They wanted to be strict in trimming down the student applicants this year.


    After all, this year was the 3rd millennia anniversary of the Imperial Military Academy.  This year¡¯s batch should only be cr¨¨me of the crop.


    Leland took the initiative to make sure that their army would get the Mecha Department.  Probably because he knew that Wulfric wouldn¡¯t even show a speck of interest if it was any other department.  Which was right, of course.


    They planned was to let the other captains to handle the training and just let him appear at the last day.  He would have agreed if he didn¡¯t find out that that brat was actually in this department.


    How could he not ¡®take care¡¯ of Aster¡¯s brother?


    Wulfric smiled at the students before him.  But to the others, it just looked like a wolf baring his fangs.  ¡°Good morning everyone..  Starting from today, I will be your training instructor.¡±

 Chapter 179 - ACCEPTING THE SITUATION

    THE two faculty members of the Mecha Department, who accompanied the prince, worriedly glanced the ¡®ticking time bomb¡¯ in their midst.  They were currently leading him to the training facility of the department.


    When they received the news that the Fenris Squad would be in charge of the training of their students, there was quite an uproar.  Because they were already expecting that the Aegis Army would be the one to do it.


    Their department was one with the highest enrollment rate.  It¡¯s because a lot of people dreamt of becoming a Mecha pilot.  Fighting space pirates, rebels, and sometimes, even invading non-human races.  Soldiers who could pilot a Mecha had a quicker chance to rise up in the military rank.  That¡¯s why those who didn¡¯t have any connection but quickly wanted to make a name for themselves usually chose the Mecha Department when enrolling at any military academy.


    Of course, the Imperial Military Academy wouldn¡¯t just accept anyone who applied.  Any student who wanted to enroll had undergone rigorous evaluation.  But even then, they still had to cut off a number of students who passed that evaluation.  Because only the best of the best should remain as the final batch for this school year.


    That¡¯s why the school asked the military to help them access these students.  To make sure that only those who were truly superior would remain.


    But to think that they would end up with the Fenris Squad.  It¡¯s not because they look down on them or think that they¡¯re weak, they¡¯re simply worried because they were known for being such troublemakers.  They might be strong but could they have the ability to guide these students and pick the right candidates to continue on at the academy?


    Honestly, besides the head of the department, everyone in the faculty thought that it would be impossible.  And this situation right now didn¡¯t really help their evaluation.


    They were told that the ones that were coming were two captains from the Fenris Squad.  That actually didn¡¯t reassure them.  Especially since almost all the four captains of that army were a bit infamous.


    They actually wanted to request Lieutenant Leland Brewer to be the one in charge of this training instead.  Since he was the only one who had a sense of responsibility.  But the other respectfully declined since his younger brother was also part of the incoming students who were about to be evaluated in this week-long training.  He felt like it would be unfair if he took over the training.


    They reluctantly accepted this and just simply waited today for the two captains.  But who would have thought that the one who would appear here was the prince himself?


    Wulfric de Lunaris.  The youngest general of the Empire and the only existing human with SSS level physique and mental strength.  With just that, he was already overqualified to train the students.  But the thing was, he was much more famous, or rather infamous, for other things.


    ¡®Butcher of Orus¡¯ ¨C that was the name he was more known.  A name that instilled fear on people who heard it.  And because of it, everyone in the Empire always equated him to violence and death.  Which was not exactly good.


    What if he suddenly lost control of his temper and hurt one of the students?  With his strength, that could definitely lead to something fatal.


    But what could they do?  It¡¯s not like they could just throw their Empire¡¯s prince out of the academy.


    The two faculty members looked at each other and sighed.  They could only accept this situation and hope that things wouldn¡¯t turn for the worse.


    ¡ª¨C


    Another person who had already accepted this situation was Reas.  He and Ash were now walking towards the cafeteria.  They were told to go to the training facility right after eating breakfast.


    Since he was no longer confused and on the verge of fighting fate itself, he decided to just simply do his best.  Worrying would do him no good.  It would just stress him out and then it would affect his overall performance during this training period.  Which in turn would affect his chances of staying at the academy.


    So, no matter how much he disliked seeing that prince¡¯s face, he just had to suck it up.


    ¡°Man, our department is so lucky. Having the general of Fenris Squad train us himself, it¡¯s almost like a dream,¡± Ash said, excitement was evident in his voice.


    Reas glanced at the other.  ¡°You¡¯re probably the only one who thinks that.¡±


    Ash scratched his cheek.  He kind of understood why Reas said that.  If one would look at the expression of the students in their department, he¡¯s probably the only one who looked excited.  The rest looked like they were forced to eat crap and had no choice but to say it¡¯s delicious.


    He glanced at his new roommate.  He wondered if it was the same for this guy.  ¡°Are you afraid of the general?¡±


    Reas looked at him as if he had gone insane.


    ¡°How could you even come up with that conclusion?¡± Reas said, a bit annoyed.  Then, he sighed.  It¡¯s probably only natural to think that way, considering that that¡¯s probably how the majority was feeling right now.  ¡°I just don¡¯t like the guy.¡±


    Ash looked at Reas¡¯ expression and was a bit surprised to see that he seemed to be really saying the truth.  He found that quite interesting in a way.  Because even if there¡¯s a lot of people who disliked the general, their fear for him was even greater.  So, there weren¡¯t a lot who could express their dislike so openly like this.


    He gave his roommate a thumbs-up.  ¡°You¡¯re a real man, my friend.¡±


    Reas didn¡¯t say anything and just quicken his pace.  Soon, they arrived at the cafeteria.  There were already a lot of freshmen inside.  And, as he had seen when he entered the assembly hall earlier, a certain table was being surrounded by a lot of students.  No, rather than a table, it¡¯s more accurate to say that they¡¯re surrounding a person.  The one with platinum blond hair and green eyes.


    ¡°Hey, Ash, do you know that guy?¡± he asked, pointing towards the direction where the guy was using his chin.  He just wanted to confirm whether his guess regarding the identity of the other was correct.


    Ash looked at the direction he was pointing at..  ¡°Oh, that¡¯s Cyrus Lancaster.¡±

 Chapter 180 - GET ALONG WELL

    ALTHOUGH Reas had already expected it to some extent, hearing the confirmation that he was right was still a bit shocking.  When he saw the guy earlier, he had already guessed his identity to some degree because of his features ¨C platinum blond hair and green eyes.


    After Reas¡¯ mother told them about her and his father¡¯s past, one of the things that stuck to him was the prominent features that belonged to the Lancaster family.  He probably remembered it well because subconsciously, he was already considering the Lancasters as his enemy.  So, when he saw someone with such features, he wouldn¡¯t be careless and put down his guard.


    And lo and behold, one really appeared here in the military academy.


    ¡°Lancasters?  Aren¡¯t they a family of nobles known for being a bunch of assholes?¡± he said, not really mixing his words.


    Ash stopped when he heard that and then burst out laughing.  ¡°Man, you really don¡¯t pull your punches.¡±


    As if he heard what they were talking about, Cyrus Lancaster suddenly turned to their direction.  Staring at Reas in particular.


    ¡°Oohh¡­ he might have heard us,¡± said Ash, but his voice showed that he¡¯s not really afraid if the other did indeed hear them.


    ¡°Let him hear,¡± Reas said indifferently.


    Because he really didn¡¯t care if the other heard him or not.  If he did hear, that only meant that his physique level was on par with his.  Considering the distance from where he was standing to where the other was sitting.


    Ash laughed again.  ¡°I can feel that the both of us will really get along well.¡±


    Reas refused to respond to that and just walked to where the food was.  When he saw the selection of food, a crease immediately appeared on his forehead.  The food all looked bland an unappetizing.  The food here obviously gave more importance to nutritional value rather than taste and appearance.


    Just by looking at the food here, he already missed his brother¡¯s cooked meals.  Which was not only nutritious but delicious as well.  He sighed and just put food on his tray.


    He looked around.  There were many empty seats, so he simply chose some place where he couldn¡¯t see that Cyrus Lancaster.  He didn¡¯t want to be judgmental and condemn him from the crime of his relative, but Reas really couldn¡¯t just get pass what that, he couldn¡¯t even say that monster¡¯s name, that bastard had done.


    This Cyrus Lancaster might be different.  But honestly, he couldn¡¯t care less whether he was or wasn¡¯t.


    He put down the tray on the table and sat down.  A second after, Ash sat on the opposite seat.


    ¡°Hey, roomie, do you have a grudge against all nobles or just corrupt nobles in particular?¡± Ash asked.


    He was genuinely curious.  With how Reas reacted to the general and then to Cyrus Lancaster, it¡¯s really not weird for anyone to come up with that conclusion.


    ¡°Of course not.  I¡¯m not some social justice warrior.¡±  He just couldn¡¯t stand them, both the prince and the Lancasters ¨C Reas added in his thoughts.  ¡°And don¡¯t call me ¡®roomie¡¯.¡±


    He picked up a spoonful of one of the dishes on his tray and ate it.  A frown quickly appeared on his face once he did.  It¡¯s not that the food tasted bad, it simply didn¡¯t have any taste.  Which was worse than being bland.  He sighed.  And just ate everything without a word.


    He just now realized how much he was spoiled by his brother and his parents.  He should probably get used to this now.  After all, once he became a soldier, his diet would surely be mainly composed of nutrient solution anyway.


    ¡°Man, how can you eat so fast?¡± Ash commented after seeing that Reas had already finished his breakfast while he hadn¡¯t even eaten half of his.  ¡°Are you that hungry?¡±  Then, as if he realized something, he suddenly looked at Reas with pity in his eyes.  He even put his hand on his mouth as if he was about to cry.  ¡°No way, are you from a poor planet?  Is this the first time you have a meal like this?¡±


    Reas felt the corner of his eye twitched.  ¡°You know, one of these days, I will really end up punching you on the face.¡±


    Ash put both his hands up, finally stopping his poor acting.  ¡°Hey, no need to be so violent.  I¡¯m just teasing.  But seriously, which planet are you from?¡±


    ¡°Delryria, it¡¯s an agriculture planet at Palioxis Galaxy,¡± Reas answered.


    ¡°An agriculture planet, the land must be pretty rich,¡± Ash commented while finishing his meal.  ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask me where I¡¯m from?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll say it even if I didn¡¯t ask.¡±


    Ash grinned at that.  ¡°Well, you¡¯re right about that.  I¡¯m from Alluna.¡±


    Reas was a bit surprised hearing that.  ¡°Isn¡¯t that the planet belonging to that person?¡±


    Ash laughed inwardly.  This guy must really dislike the general seeing as he couldn¡¯t even say the other¡¯s name properly.  He wondered then how Reas would react during the weeklong training.  It would definitely be interesting anyway.


    ¡°Yes.  The family of the soldiers under Fenris Squad all live there.  Of course, it¡¯s not a requirement.  It¡¯s more like a perk of being a member of Fenris Squad,¡± he answered.  ¡°No matter what other people say about the general, Alluna is a great place to live.  I grew up there and I can attest to that.¡±


    Reas was silent for a few seconds before saying, ¡°Well, at least he¡¯s doing one thing right.  I¡¯ll give him props to that.¡±


    Ash stopped and then laughed.  ¡°Man, I can¡¯t wait to see your interaction with the prince.  It would surely be a riot.¡±


    ¡°Just finish up your meal so we could go to the training facility,¡± Reas only said.


    ¡°Are you asking me to go together?  Does that mean you¡¯re finally warming up to me?¡± Ash said acting all touched.


    Instead of answering, Reas just stood up, carried his tray, and walked to the direction of the area where dirty dishes should be deposit.


    Ash looked at the other¡¯s back and laughed.  What short temper.  No wonder he had a feeling they would get along well.


    He quickly finished his meal and followed the other.

 Chapter 181 - HOW THE TRAINING WOULD GO

    ¡°EVERYONE¡¯S here, I take it?¡± Wulfric asked as he looked at the brats standing in front of him.


    They were lined up, acting as if they were soldiers.  Why acting you say?  Because their lines were disorganized.  Most weren¡¯t even standing with the right posture.  He glanced at two students who were standing side by side at the front ¨C Reas and Ash.  Hmp.  At least these two brats were doing better than others.


    ¡°No, your highness, there¡¯s still at least 10 students who aren¡¯t here,¡± answered by one of the department¡¯s two faculty members who were assigned to guide the prince.


    Wulfric clicked his tongue when he heard that.  ¡°Don¡¯t wait for them.  They¡¯re already out as of this moment.¡±


    ¡°B-But your highness, isn¡¯t that a bit too strict?¡± said the other faculty member.


    He understood that when the prince said ¡®out¡¯, he meant that they would no longer be part of the official batch of freshmen this school year.  All the students here fought hard just to receive an acceptance letter.  Some of them didn¡¯t even know that they weren¡¯t official students yet.


    He wanted to say more but his words were caught in his throat when he saw the prince looking coldly at him.


    ¡°I clearly said earlier that they should be here by 20 minutes and it¡¯s already passed that.  If this was an emergency situation and they disregard the order of their superior, a lot of casualties could happen.  And I don¡¯t tolerate that in my army,¡± Wulfric said in a cold tone.  ¡°So, from this moment, entry to this training facility is prohibited until I allow it otherwise.  Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, your highness,¡± the faculty member said in a quaking voice, he truly felt that his heart would burst with just that one glance.  He had forgotten how truly fearsome this prince was.  If he argued more with him, he might just end up not having all his limbs intact.


    The other faculty member was quicker to adapt.  He didn¡¯t question the prince¡¯s intention and just followed what the prince wanted to do.  Like closing the door of the training facility for example.


    Of course, everyone heard what the prince said.  Being able to come this far meant that most had pretty good physique and thus had good hearing.  Some who didn¡¯t know that this week-long training was another test to see if they¡¯re qualified to remain at the academy started to get the idea that that might be the case.


    But of course, there were those who were slow on the uptake and started to make a fuss.


    ¡°What does it mean that they¡¯re ¡®out¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Are they going to be expelled?¡±


    ¡°Expelled?  The school term hasn¡¯t even started yet.  Besides, can they really do this?¡±


    ¡°I honestly think it¡¯s too much.¡±


    There were a lot of buzzing around like that.  They might think that their voices were not that loud, but for someone with an SSS level physique, Wulfric could hear them all clearly.


    He clapped his hands loud enough to get everyone¡¯s attention.  ¡°Expelled?  Of course, they¡¯re not.  How could they be expelled when they¡¯re not official students of this academy yet?  Same goes for you lot.  All of you are still in what most called a ¡®probation period¡¯.  So, if you don¡¯t want to follow on the footsteps of those people who were just taken out of the probation period without even knowing why, then shut the f*ck up and stop your yapping.¡±


    That totally shut everyone up.


    ¡°Finally, peace and quiet,¡± Wulfric said.  ¡°As I¡¯ve said, you¡¯re all in the probation period.  Your performance will be evaluated after this week-long training.  Only the best of the best would remain.  So, I suggest you lot do your best to show me and the other trainers that you deserved to be here.  Or else, you¡¯ll definitely be out.¡±


    No one dared to argue, afraid that they would incur the wrath of this general and just like those people who didn¡¯t come here in time, they would also be ¡®out¡¯.


    Reas stared at the prince who seemed to be having fun with this situation.  He suddenly remembered the first time he met this guy.  He was a total ass ¨C arrogant and so full of himself.  Reas almost forgot that because of how he acted when they met again, or rather, how the other acted around Astrid.


    The prince back then was, well, normal.  Which was cringy because it didn¡¯t suit him.  Seeing him again with an attitude that was more like him, it just further proved how differently he treated Astrid.


    This guy, as he thought, he must really like his brother. ¨C Reas thought.  This was the reason why he just couldn¡¯t possibly bring himself to like this guy.


    He shook is head.  This was really not the time for him to be thinking that.  He should concentrate on what¡¯s happening here.  If he seemed like he was distracted, that prince might just use that excuse to take him ¡®out¡¯.  Although he did think that the other couldn¡¯t possibly be that petty.  But just in case.  It never hurt to be more careful.


    Wulfric turned to one of the faculty members, the one who didn¡¯t question his decision earlier about the late students.  ¡°You, explain to these brats the rules.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your highness,¡± the other readily said before turning to the students.  ¡°For this training period, you will all be given an initial 100 points.  For every mistake you made in this duration, points will be deducted from that 100 initial points.  The number to be deducted will depend on serious your mistake is.  It could be as low as 1 point or as big as 50 points.


    ¡°The mistakes I¡¯m talking about here are not only those that you would commit during training but also outside of it.  Of course, if you do good, you would be rewarded appropriately.  This ¡®reward and punishment¡¯ method would not only be based on your performance during training but also your attitude outside of it.


    ¡°The one who would be evaluating you are the people from Fenris Squad who will come here as trainers.  Of course, His Highness is one of them.  At the end of the training period, your final points will be posted on a leaderboard.  Only those with 90 points and higher will remain and continue on as a student.  The top three scorer will also get rewards befitting of their rank.


    ¡°So, we all hope that everyone here will strive to do their best to get the result that you wouldn¡¯t regret.¡±


    After the faculty member explained that, almost everyone couldn¡¯t react immediately.  Then, after digesting all the information, everyone started to state their opinion all at the same time.


    ¡°90 points?  Isn¡¯t that too high?  What if only a handful of us have those points when this training ends?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!  This is too unfair!¡±


    ¡°Sir, I think it¡¯s reasonable to lower the passing points.  Everyone here also agrees, right?¡±


    ¡°Yada, yada, yada, how come this batch is full of whiners?¡± Wulfric suddenly interjected, shutting up everyone who was complaining just now.  ¡°If you think that 90 points is too high, then you¡¯re just a spineless bastard who doesn¡¯t have any confidence in their skill.  Do us all a favor and just leave now..  That way, I wouldn¡¯t have to waste time training you useless pieces of shit.¡±

 Chapter 182 - HE DEFINITELY MUST BE HAVING FUN

    ¡°FOR this morning, you will do the proper soldier¡¯s stance.  Because looking at you all standing like children playing at being soldier is seriously hurting my eyes,¡± Wulfric said.  ¡°Now, do as I say.  Stand upright with your chin up, chest out, shoulders back, and stomach in.  Your arms should be fixed at the side and your head and eyes locked in a fixed forward posture.  Keep your heels together with the toes apart and with the feet at a 45-degree angle.  And finally, shut up and don¡¯t move until I tell you otherwise.¡±


    Of course, as he said those directions, he also followed along and was now showing a perfect soldier stance.  The students also did the same.  Seeing that, he went back to a normal stance.  And then, he walked around to check the stance of each student.


    When he saw someone that had a wrong stance, he would correct it once and then list the name of the student who got it wrong on his Terminal.  He planned to deduct a point for that..  When it was Reas¡¯ turn, he stopped in front of the kid a bit longer than the others.


    The other was looking straight ahead and did not even looked at his direction.  Which was much better than some of the students he passed by who clearly showed their nervousness.  He looked at his stance and reluctantly admitted that it was perfect.


    Hmp.  This kid.  At least he¡¯s good at following instructions.


    After he¡¯s done checking everyone, he walked back to the front and faced the students.


    ¡°Those with A level physique should stay at that position for three hours, those with S level for four hours, and those with SS level for five hours.  If you accomplish that, you will get 10 points.  Those who fail to do so would have their points deducted.  Of course, if you held out more than the hours required, you will get additional points,¡± he said.  ¡°A timer would appear to signal the start.  We will be on another room to observe you all, so don¡¯t even think of cheating.  Of course, if you wanted to be automatically kicked from here, no one would stop you from doing so.¡±


    After Wulfric said that, he and the other two faculties walked to the attached room where they could observe the aspiring freshmen.


    ¡°Turn on the simulator,¡± he said once he sat down comfortably on one of the available seats.


    ¡°Yes, your highness,¡± said one of the faculty members.


    ¡ª¨C


    Outside, in the training facility, the surrounding suddenly changed and turned into a dessert.  There was sand all around them with the sun shining brightly over them like a big lamp or something.


    It would be fine if that was all.  But they could feel the heat of the sun, as well as the arid and dry air.  As if they really were transported into a desert.  But they knew that wasn¡¯t the case.  This must be due to a high-level environment simulator.  It could not only mimic the appearance of the chosen environment perfectly, but also the state of the said environment.


    For example, if it was the snowy mountain, then it would simulate a very cold environment.  If it was a rain forest, then the air would be very humid.  So, since it¡¯s simulating a desert, everything that could be felt in that environment, they were feeling right now.


    Reas should have known that they wouldn¡¯t just be simply standing.  Of course, they should do it under such a harsh environment.  Standing like this for hours was already hard enough.  But add a hot temperature and dry air to that?  The difficulty just went a level higher.  If this was a game, then they just entered the hell mode.


    He felt the sweat sliding down his face.  He couldn¡¯t help but inwardly sigh.  Remaining like this for five hours under this condition would definitely be tough.  But that didn¡¯t mean that he would give up.  Not only would he not do that, he would also do his best to rake in as much points as possible.


    This was the start.  He had a feeling that if he didn¡¯t do well here, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do well for the rest of the week.  After all, it¡¯s important to have a good start.


    So, Reas remained standing there, unmoving.


    Three hours passed and those with level A physique were allowed to leave the room and rest.  Some stayed for the extra points but the majority left.  Those that stayed only managed to do for half an hour at most before leaving.


    The same happened when it was time for the S level physiques to leave.  Although the number of people who stayed was much bigger compared to the last batch.  They also stayed much longer.  But at the end, their extended stay didn¡¯t last for an hour.


    By the time it was the turn of the SS levels, only 12 people were in the room.  And all of them chose to remain there.


    Reas was, of course, one of them.


    He did not know how many people were still there since he was at the very front.  But he knew that Ash was still standing beside him.  He could feel it since their position was side by side of one another.


    He already expected that the other¡¯s physique was at least SS level, so, he wasn¡¯t really surprised that he was still here.


    Five hours.  He felt like he was being fried in a hot pan.  His muscles were screaming at him to move.  His clothes and hair were already soaking wet from sweat, as if a basin of water was just poured onto him.  He was so thirsty, he felt like he could drink a drum of water.


    But despite all the discomfort, he still remained immovable.  He closed his eyes.  This was fine.  Just a simple mind over matter.  So, just like how he did for the past five hours, he filled his head with his favorite Mecha fights from the Mecha Hall.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Meanwhile, Astrid just finished making his own breakfast.  A simple tomato egg fried rice with garlic shrimp.  As he ate a spoonful, he thought of his brother.


    He wondered what Reas was up to now.  He definitely must be having fun, right?

 Chapter 183 - AN OKAY HUMAN

    NO, Reas was not having fun.  At all.  His clothes were soaked with sweat, as if he just dived into a pool of water.  He was fine standing like this for hours.  But the feeling of wet clothes sticking to his skin was very uncomfortable.


    Ash, who was standing beside him earlier, had already given up and left the training room.  He wasn¡¯t sure how many were left.  But he decided that he would also stop after an hour more of standing.  He had already been standing two hours more than required.  So, even if he stopped now, he would still receive more than 10 points.


    So, he started counting inside his head.  After counting for 3600 seconds, he finally loosened his posture and cracked his neck from left to right.  The moment he did, the room returned to normal..


    He looked around and realized that he was the only one left in the room.  Well, at least, he¡¯s now certain that he would get the highest point from this.  He was wondering if he should just go out or if he had to wait for that guy to come out and tell him that he could go or something.


    At the end, he decided to just go.  What if that guy and those two faculty members with him had already left and he was actually the only one here?  Besides, he¡¯s already pretty hungry.


    But before he could, he heard a voice said from behind;


    ¡°You really are quite tenacious.¡±


    He turned around and saw something flying towards him.  He reflexively raised his hand to catch it.  When he did, he just noticed that it was actually a bottled water.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± he said before opening the bottled water and drinking a mouthful.  Then, as if he had forgotten, he added, ¡°Sir.¡±


    Wulfric raised his eyebrow.  He was a bit surprised seeing the other drinking the bottled water he just threw.  He thought this brat would say something along the lines of ¡®did you poison this?¡¯.  And the other even call him ¡®sir¡¯.


    ¡°Did the heat get to your brain?  Why are you acting so creepy?¡±


    Reas almost choked on the water he was drinking when he heard that.  When he decided to be a bit more courteous because of the other¡¯s identity, he was called ¡®creepy¡¯.  He suddenly had an urge to throw the content of the bottle he was holding to the face of this annoying prince.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t want my points to be affected because I accidentally say something that might offend your highness,¡± he said.


    ¡°Tsk.  Do you think I¡¯m that kind of petty person?¡±


    Yes ¨C Reas answered silently.


    The other really didn¡¯t need to answer because Wulfric could see just from his reaction what his answer was.  ¡°You really are such an unlikable brat.¡±


    ¡°Again, I¡¯ll take that as a compliment, Sir.¡±


    Wulfric already lost interest in bickering with the kid.  So, he just said, ¡°Follow me.  I¡¯ll treat you to lunch.  It¡¯s your reward for being the last one standing.¡±


    He didn¡¯t wait for the other¡¯s response and just turned around to walk out of the room.


    Reas stared at the prince¡¯s back and thought of not following.  But then also changed his mind quickly.  If they were not in the academy and the other was currently not one of their trainers, he would really do so without blinking.  But that¡¯s not the case here.


    Not following might be seen as insubordination.  If they were in the military right now, then, this guy could be considered his immediate superior.  Being disrespectful was one thing.  Not following orders was another.  If he didn¡¯t follow along, his points might get deducted.


    He wanted to be at the top three at the end of this week-long training.  If possible, he planned to be top 1.  At first, he wasn¡¯t really planning for that.  It was enough for him to pass.  But when he heard that there would be rewards for the top 3, he changed his mind.


    Since this was the number one military academy in the Empire, he had no doubt that the reward would not be something cheap.  What if it was something along the lines of allowing him to install a virtual pod in his dorm room?  Something like that was definitely worthy of him working hard to get the top score.


    So, he just sighed and followed the prince.


    ¡ª¨C


    Reas cut a big slice of steak and ate it.  Although it¡¯s only seasoned with simple salt and pepper, this was definitely much better than the food in the cafeteria.


    They were inside a private lounge that seemed to be personally assigned to the prince.  Not really that surprising, considering the other¡¯s identity.


    ¡°How is your brother?¡±


    Once again, Reas almost choked because of the other¡¯s question that came out of nowhere. But if he thought about it carefully, it¡¯s not really that out of the blue.  He should have already expected that this guy would ask about Astrid sooner or later.


    ¡°I respectfully refuse to answer that question,¡± he said, before adding, ¡°Sir.¡±


    Wulfric felt his eyelid twitching.  Although the other said the word ¡®respectfully¡¯, his tone was anything but.


    ¡°Why are you so against me getting close to Aster?¡± he thought of asking.  He was really curious about why this brat was so antagonistic towards him.


    ¡°If Your Highness had already forgotten how you acted when you first met my brother, then let¡¯s just say my impression of you wasn¡¯t really, well, the best,¡± Reas responded while cutting another piece of steak.


    So, it¡¯s still came back to that. ¨C Wulfric thought.  If he had known he would want to get close to Aster, he would have behaved back then.  Or, at least, as behaved as his personality would allow.


    He let out a frustrated and annoyed sigh before also cutting and eating a piece of steak.  Then, an idea suddenly came to his mind.  Wouldn¡¯t it all be okay as long as he showed to this brat that he wasn¡¯t as bad as the other thought he was?


    He smirked.  Good thing he had good insight to go here today himself.  Anyway, proving that he¡¯s an ¡®okay¡¯ human being wouldn¡¯t be that hard, right?

 Chapter 184 - NEWS FROM ELLIS (I)

    IT had been three days since Reas left for the military academy.  During that time, Astrid had also been very busy.  Since his contract had been finalized, Polaris had to post an artist¡¯s profile for him on their official Starnet site.


    All entertainment companies in the Empire had a section on their Starnet site about the list of their artists.  Of course, Polaris was no different.


    For his artist¡¯s profile, he had done a photo shoot and a short interview.  Those photos and interview would be posted on Polaris¡¯ official site.


    As a newcomer, a simple photo and introduction would be enough.  That would be true if he was under a big entertainment company where their artists were a dime a dozen.  But Polaris was different.


    It¡¯s a small company with debuted artists that wouldn¡¯t even exceed 50..  So, putting a lot more effort on their artists¡¯ profiles wasn¡¯t really such a big deal.  It could even be said to be something natural.


    That photoshoot almost lasted from morning to night because the official photographer of the company had been too enthusiastic in taking his pictures.  If not for Ellis, he might really have stayed for a night at the company¡¯s exclusive photography studio.


    Astrid walked to his kitchen and was about to make lunch when his Terminal sounded.  It¡¯s a message notification.  When he saw that it was from his agent, he quickly opened it.


    [Sister Ellis: Astrid, I¡¯m at your apartment¡¯s building.  Can you contact the security system, so they could let me in?  And also, tell me your unit number.]


    He was surprised to read that.  But he quickly replied and told the other of his of unit number.  Maybe she was here because of something important.  So, he contacted the security system of the apartment building.


    This system was connected to the AI that was guarding the apartment.  It prevented people who were not residence of the place from carelessly entering.  But a person¡¯s who¡¯s renting a unit can register people on the apartment¡¯s system.  So, they wouldn¡¯t be stopped at the entrance even if the one renting the place was not with them.


    For example, they could register their family members.  That¡¯s what Astrid did with Reas.  But registering a person needed the person to be there.  So that the system that was attached in every unit could scan their biometrics.  The next time they entered the building on their own, the scanner at the entrance could easily determine their identity and opened the door to them.


    It¡¯s one of the reasons why he picked this building.  The slightly higher rent fee was definitely worth it.


    Astrid then changed his plan of making lunch and instead prepared teas and snacks.


    Not long after, the doorbell rang.  He walked towards the door and opened it.  The tall, short-haired woman then entered.


    Ellis did a quick glance of Astrid¡¯s apartment unit when she walked inside.  It was clean and had a very homey feeling to it.  The furniture was not arranged in a cluttered manner.  There were not too many extra decorations, most of them were just small plants.


    When she heard from Astrid that he was currently renting a one-bedroom apartment, she thought of looking for a new place for the kid.  Something much bigger and more comfortable to live in.


    So, she was quite surprised to see that this place was not as small as he thought he was.  In fact, it was already quite big for a one-bedroom apartment.  The ambience was also pretty good.  Aside from that, the security of the place was already very tight for an apartment building like this.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, please, sit down,¡± Astrid said, gesturing for the other to sit on the couch while he also sat down on one of the free seats.


    The other did so and he poured her a glass of tea.  Ellis picked up the teacup and drank.  Her eyes slightly widened when he tasted it.


    ¡°Good tea.  Where did you buy it?¡± she asked, thinking of also buying the same.


    Astrid smiled.  ¡°It¡¯s not a commercial product.  The tea leaves are grown in our family¡¯s farm.  If Sister Ellis wants, I can give you a few bags.¡±


    It¡¯s actually something that he started to grow on a small piece of land.  He did that because he wanted to drink something that was similar to green tea.  It took a while before he could find a plant leaf that had the same taste when brewed.


    ¡°Just a few bags?¡± Ellis asked.


    Astrid chuckled.  ¡°When my mother sends a new batch, I¡¯ll give you a box.¡±


    Ellis was finally satisfied with that.  ¡°But seriously, your family should think of mass selling this.  It would surely be a hit.¡±


    That¡¯s was what she really thought.  The tea was good enough for that.  She knew a lot of people who would definitely like this taste.


    She had already heard that Astrid¡¯s family owned a farm and their main produce were fresh vegetables and fruits.  But she didn¡¯t expect that they were also planting tea leaves.


    ¡°The yield is not high enough to sell it in bulk,¡± Astrid said.  ¡°It¡¯s just something for our family to enjoy.¡±


    Ellis nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Why did Sister Ellis suddenly give me a visit?¡± Astrid asked, changing the topic.


    Ellis put down the tea cup on the center table and answered, ¡°I have some news for you.  First, your [Cyberspace] account is already authenticated.¡±


    A few days ago, Ellis told him to make an official [Cyberspace] account and then she would help him get it authenticated as fast as possible.  Astrid opened his Terminal and went to his [Cyberspace] account.  Just like what Ellis said, there was a small golden check beside his name.  It¡¯s similar to Weibo having a small ¡®v¡¯ besides a user name ¨C showing that this person¡¯s account was verified.


    ¡°Your artist profile will be officially posted on Polaris¡¯ site later and the company¡¯s official [Cyberspace] will post about it.  Try to repost it,¡± Ellis added.  ¡°But do edit your [Cyberspace] profile first.  Use any one of the photos from the photoshoot you had the other day.¡±


    Astrid nodded.  ¡°Can Sister Ellis send me the photos?¡±


    ¡°I was just about to do that.¡±


    And a bunch of photos were sent on his Terminal.

 Chapter 185 - NEWS FROM ELLIS (II)

    ASTRID opened the folder file that Ellis sent to his Terminal.  The moment he did, he was bombarded by hundreds of photos of him.  ¡°Ahm, how many of these photos are going to be posted on my artist¡¯s profile?¡±


    ¡°The first six pinned photos,¡± Ellis answered.


    Astrid looked at the photos the other mentioned.  The six photos were divided into two highly different styles.


    In the first three, he was wearing a loose white shirt with the top button unbuttoned, showing his collar bone.  It was tucked inside black shorts that were just an inch above his knees.  Attached to the shorts was a black suspender.  They were paired with white boots.


    His hair was styled in a soft wave.  He only had light make up that was only used to make his features brighter..  With this styling, it brought the image of youth, innocence, and cuteness.


    In the last three photos, he was in a completely different style.  He was wearing crisp black suit with a red polo shirt underneath, and a black neck tie.  His hair was swept back, showing his full forehead.  The make-up he had on made his eyes appear dark and smokey.


    In this set of photos, he looked mature and sexy.  Totally different from the first set.


    These two sets were divided into three different shots ¨C a full-body shot, a half-body shot, and a beauty shot.


    Of course, Astrid posed accordingly to what the image the style was portraying.  At the first set, he acted all bubbly and happy.  While on the second set, he was much more serious.  Not in that cold and indifferent way.  But rather, in a charming and appealing way.


    ¡°Did Sister Ellis pick these photos?¡± he asked.


    Ellis nodded.  ¡°I want to showcase two different sides of you.  So, people who would check your profile could see your range.  That you can¡¯t only show an innocent concept, you could also do more mature ones.¡±


    Astrid understood what the other meant.  With these two sets of photos, people wouldn¡¯t immediately box him in a certain image.  Which could be harmful to an actor, in a way.  Because being seen in a certain way could cage them to certain roles.  And that¡¯s not something he wanted for his career.


    Seeing how Ellis wanted to prevent that from happening as early as now just showed that she really knew what she was doing.  And that she was thinking in terms of the ¡®future¡¯ instead of the ¡®now¡¯.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± he said.


    He continued browsing the photos to choose which he would use for his [Cyberspace] profile.  He filtered it to only show the beauty shots.  At the end he chose one that give off a friendly yet still elegant atmosphere.  He showed that to Ellis and the other also agreed with his choice.  So, he quickly uploaded it to his [Cyberspace] account.


    ¡°By the way, I have good news for you.  Well, it¡¯s two good news actually,¡± Ellis said after a while.


    Astrid closed his Terminal before raising his head and looking at his agent.  ¡°Two good news?  I can¡¯t wait to hear it.¡±


    ¡°First, I secured you a guess role for an episode of a pretty popular web series.  It¡¯s their 100th episode.  So, even if you only appeared for one episode, the impact would still be good,¡± Ellis said.  ¡°This episode will air earlier than the movie ¨C [The Sleeping God].  Let¡¯s use this show as a way to introduce you to the public.¡±


    Web series of today was not similar to the ones in Astrid¡¯s past life.  Although web series were starting to get recognized in the circle during the time he was alive, it¡¯s still being looked down upon in comparison to the series being shown by various TV stations.  But in this era, that was not the case at all.


    They were on the same level as the shows and series shown by satellite TV stations.  Even their production cost was not that far apart.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to audition?¡± he asked.  A web series that could go as long as 100 episodes meant that it had high ratings and a solid following of fans.


    ¡°No.  The director is a friend of mine.  When he saw your picture, he said that there¡¯s no need for you to audition and you can just play the part directly,¡± Ellis explained.


    She was actually having drinks with this friend last night.  The two of them hadn¡¯t seen each other for quite some time and since she was back at the capital, they decided to meet up.  While drinking, the other just started complaining to her about the actor who was supposed to play the role he talked to Astrid about.


    He said this actor took a step back from the role because his schedule wouldn¡¯t ¡®allow¡¯ it.  Which was pure bullshit according to her friend.  He happened to find out that the other received a better role in a TV drama.  So, he simply let go of the guest role in the web series.


    What could Ellis say at that time?  Of course, she had to recommend her own artist!


    And just like she thought, after her friend saw Astrid¡¯s picture, he immediately agreed with her suggestion.


    ¡°But you have to audition for the next role I found for you,¡± Ellis added.  ¡°It¡¯s for the fourth male lead of a TV series that¡¯s based on a hugely popular IP.  Even if it¡¯s only the male fourth, his role is very significant.  Once this series aired, I guarantee you, you¡¯ll popularity will skyrocket.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect that his agent not only found him a guest role in a popular we series, but also a chance to audition to what seemed like a big TV production.


    ¡°I don¡¯t doubt Sister Ellis¡¯ vision,¡± he said in regards to him auditioning for the fourth male lead of the said series.  ¡°Thank you, for working so hard to give me these opportunities.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for thanks.  After all, this is my job.¡±


    Ellis then stayed for lunch and the two discussed further the two jobs that she just mentioned.  She stayed for almost the whole afternoon before leaving.


    That night, Polaris official [Cyberspace] account posted the photos of their new artist.


    And it caused quite the sensation.

 Chapter 186 - ARTISTS PROFILE

    POLARIS Official v: We at Polaris are happy to welcome another member to our growing family.  Please, give a lot of love to our new artist ¨C Astrid Townsend! @astridtownsend


    Below it was a link to the artist¡¯s profile on Polaris official Starnet site.  And attached to the post was three photos ¨C one full body shot, one half-body shot, and a beauty shot.


    The full body one had the artist wearing a black suit, pulling at his necktie in a sexy manner.  In the half-body one, he was wearing a white shirt with suspenders on top, looking softly at the camera while smiling brightly.  And finally, the beauty shot was truly a beauty shot in every sense of the word.


    The artist¡¯s black hair was not styled, some strands were falling softly on his forehead.  One could see that he was only wearing a very light make-up, just so he wouldn¡¯t look pale in front of the camera.  But that¡¯s why it was even more amazing.  Because even without make-up, his beauty was still in full bloom.


    It could be his smooth white skin like jade with no visible pores..  Or his red lips that were curved in a half-smile.  But most would probably agree that it was because of his black eyes.  Like the endless night sky filled with bright stars.  This pair of eyes were so expressive that it felt like he was conversing with all of them.


    Polaris had a lot of followers in [Cyberspace] despite being only a small company.  Mostly because a lot of their artists were at least at the top 200 of the Star List.  And they were very acting in promoting their artists, as well as interacting with fans.


    As long as you¡¯re their artist, even if you¡¯re still a newcomer and didn¡¯t have a fan base, they would still post news about you.  Just like now.  They¡¯re probably the only entertainment company who would bother to post something like this.  Introducing a newcomer in such a fashion.


    This was how Polaris had always been.  So, when the people who followed their [Cyberspace] account saw such a post, they weren¡¯t too surprised.  But when they saw the pictures attached to the post, they couldn¡¯t help but stare more.  How could they not?  This newcomer was too eye-catching!


    Someone with both black hair and black eyes was very rare.  Even in the industry, there were not many with black hair or black eyes.  Not to mention both.  But that¡¯s not all.  Many had noticed that this newcomer¡¯s features leaned more on the Asian side.  Which was another rare thing.


    Most people of today¡¯s era had European or Western features.  That¡¯s why when they saw someone with a different look than their own, especially if that person¡¯s face was aesthetically pleasing, they couldn¡¯t help but focus their attention on them.


    And this newcomer was more than ¡®aesthetically pleasing¡¯ to the eye.  As proven by the three photos attached to the post.


    So, after the initial shock, most of the people who saw this post quickly clicked on the link to see this artist¡¯s profile.


    On the upper part of the page, the name, age, and birth date of the artist were listed.  Below that was a short interview in a cute chat format.  Astrid¡¯s avatar was a cute chibi drawing that has black hair and black eyes, while Polaris¡¯ was a chubby star.


    [Polaris]: As a start, let me begin with something simple.  What¡¯s your favorite food?


    [Astrid]: Any homecooked meals.


    [Polaris]: May I ask why?


    [Astrid]: Because for me, they represent home.


    [Polaris]: Have you always wanted to be an actor?


    [Astrid]: Yes, it had always been my dream. ?


    [Polaris]: Are you happy to be part of Polaris?


    [Astrid]: Yes, definitely.  Polaris is one of the best entertainment companies in the Empire.  I felt very honored to even be noticed and offered a contract.  So, I could only promise not to betray the trust that Polaris has given me.


    [Polaris]: My dear, don¡¯t worry, Polaris is also happy to have you.


    [Astrid]: *shy emoji*


    [Polaris]: Then, to end this interview, can you give a message to everyone who might be reading this right now?


    [Astrid]: Sure.  Ahm, hello everyone.  My name is Astrid Townsend, the newest artist of Polaris.  I¡¯m still a newcomer and may lack in a lot of places.  But I promise that I will work my hardest to give all of you the best performance I could give.  I will continue to strive to better myself, so that I could meet all of your expectations.  And lastly, thank you for visiting my artist¡¯s profile.  I hope you could support me from now on.  *bowing emoji*


    That was the end of the short interview.  Below that section were six photos lined up in a horizontal manner.  People could click on any photo to enlarge it.


    Most of the people who visited the artist¡¯s page were attracted by the photos on Polaris¡¯ [Cyberspace] account.  They didn¡¯t really care about the interview and was just there to see more photos of this attractive teenager.  And they were not disappointed.  The six photos definitely exceeded their expectations.


    One set was sexy and mature while the other was cute and bubbly.  It was two totally different image.  It was almost as if looking at two different people.  And yet, there was only one teenager who portrayed them.  It spoke volumes about the other¡¯s ability to portray the role given to him.


    Polaris were known in the industry for only signing people with talent.  At least, with these photos, it could be seen that they didn¡¯t sign this newcomer just because of his face value.


    Because of that, the people who were not really that interested at first, scrolled up and seriously read the information about this newcomer.  As well as that short interview.  And somehow, it made them remember the name Astrid Townsend.


    Polaris¡¯ post caused a stir in [Cyberspace] trending topic of the day, slowly climbing up the ranks with the hashtag ¨C #polarisbeautifulnewbie.


    And when the person in question reposted this post, the hotness of this topic increased even more.

 Chapter 187 - SOMEONE WITH A DARK EXPRESSION

    ASTRID Townsend v: Hello, everyone, this is Astrid.  I¡¯m a new artist at Polaris.  I will be in your care in the future. ?<3


    [Polaris Official v: We at Polaris are happy to welcome another member to our growing family.  Please, give a lot of love to our new artist ¨C Astrid Townsend! @astridtownsend [polaris.starnet.com/artistprofile/astridtownsend] [photo] [photo] [photo] ¡­ ]


    Those who had seen this post quickly commented below.  Some even reposted it.  While others who were too excited after seeing the newcomer¡¯s artist¡¯s profile simply commented below the post of Polaris [Cyberspace] account.  There were also those who simply posted about it and used the hashtag, #polarisbeautifulnewbie.


    Whichever of these methods people had used, the fact was, the accumulation of their post caused this topic to be pushed on the 24-hour trending list of the day.  It was only currently in the 21st rank..  But as it was still growing in momentum, no one could tell what rank it would end up with after today.


    Most of the comments and posts were as follows;


    [So pretty!  It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen such an attractive newcomer!]


    [True.  I didn¡¯t think the effect of seeing a person with both black eyes and black hair would be this good.]


    [Looking at him, I couldn¡¯t help but think that such a person is simply born to be a star.]


    [Oh, I love the shape of his eyes!  It¡¯s so unique!]


    [I studied ancient anthropology.  I¡¯ve seen a couple of documentaries about the 21st century A.D. of Earth.  His features are very similar to the people living in East Asia.  To have these features today when most people¡¯s features are biased towards the complete opposite, I can only say that his parents have pretty rare genes in their genetic make-up.]


    [And what pretty genes they are!]


    [Even his name is pretty.]


    [Astrid¡¯s parents, are you looking for a daughter-in-law?  As that one classic dystopian book said, ¡®I volunteer as tribute!¡¯]


    [Upstairs, maybe the parents are looking for a son-in-law, you never know.]


    [Ah, I also want to marry Astrid.  Our babies will definitely be the most beautiful!]


    Many such comments followed.  But as there were too many positive comments, of course, those with negative opinions also rose.


    [I must say, Polaris really won the jackpot today.  How did they find such an eye-catching teenager?  With such features, it wouldn¡¯t take that much before he becomes hot.  Even if he¡¯s only a vase with no talent.]


    [That¡¯s very unfair to others, don¡¯t you think?]


    [What can we do?  People are too superficial nowadays.  With such a face, even if his acting is shitty, there would still be people who will love him.]


    [Is Polaris changing their image?  They no longer cared about talent and just chose artists based on their looks?  If so, I would be really disappointed.]


    [And do you really believe that his hair and eye color are natural?  I say it¡¯s just hype!]


    [I also think the same way.  He¡¯s obviously trying to attract the attention of others by making himself look like this.]


    [That¡¯s really shameless.]


    When comments like these appeared, a lot of people quickly countered them.


    [What are you people babbling about?  This is Polaris we¡¯re talking about.  Have they every signed an artist with no talent?]


    [So what?  There¡¯s always a first time.  Besides, even if it¡¯s Polaris, if they saw someone who looks like that, they¡¯d be stupid not to try to sign him.  He could be a potential money cow after all.  It¡¯s just disappointing to know that Polaris is actually just the same as other entertainment company.]


    [Can you all stop jumping to conclusions?  How do you know that he doesn¡¯t have a talent for acting?  Is there a law saying that a person¡¯s appearance is inversely proportional to their talent?  Why don¡¯t all of you just grow up?  Maybe you could use your brain then.]


    [And please, did you not see those photos?  Just by looking at it, I could see that this Astrid could perfectly portray the image of two completely different characters.  I¡¯m not sure how that would translate to his acting.  But, at least, it¡¯s obvious that he wasn¡¯t completely talentless.]


    [Speaking of those photos¡­ yum.]


    [Hahaha!  Upstairs, I know what you mean!  They¡¯re really yummy.  LOL.]


    [Hey, only three of those are yummy.  The other three are photos of a lovely and innocent teenager.  Do you have it in your conscience to think of him that way??]


    [I seem to agree with you.  But really, how could a single person give two completely different feelings?]


    [Ehem.  To those people saying that his hair and eye color are fake, please, do check it on the photo analysis program in your Terminal.  Just in case you¡¯re too lazy to do it, then let me tell you that they¡¯re real.  Oh, and by the way, it also showed that he didn¡¯t undergo plastic surgery.]


    [I also did that and yes, they are real.]


    [Wait- I seem to have read this kind of conversation before.  Ah!  Do any of you remember that small clip of a teenager removing his cap and showing the full glory of his hair and face?  I think they¡¯re the same person!]


    [I¡¯ve seen that clip!  It¡¯s still a bit vivid to me because I was really impressed by the teenager.  And they really are the same person!]


    [I knew he must have been a celebrity!  Do you think that clip was a leak from whatever he was filming that time?]


    [I also think the same. What kind of show do you think it would be?]


    [Maybe it¡¯s a movie.  But his role must not be that big since he¡¯s only a newcomer now.]


    [I don¡¯t care I will still follow this person.  Why?  Because his face is enough to eat!]


    [I¡¯m still not sure.  But I¡¯m optimistic about this person, so I will also follow him.  For now.]


    Most of the people were divided into these two categories.  One was a group of people who simply loved his face.  While the other had a wait and see attitude.  That¡¯s why from then, Astrid¡¯s [Cyberspace] following kept steadily increasing.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Inside the Imperial Military Academy, a certain prince was looking at the same posts and comments with a dark expression on his face.

 Chapter 188 - HOW SHAMELESS!

    30 MINUTES ago, at the Imperial Military Academy¡­


    Wulfric dodged to the left and then kicked the person who just attacked him.  But the other also quickly dodged.  He was not surprised by that.  In fact, he was already expecting it.  That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t put down the leg he used to attack.  He lowered it instead and kicked the side of the person.


    The other didn¡¯t have time to dodge and simply lowered his arm to defend his side.  But what he didn¡¯t expect was that the force of his kick would be too strong that even though he blocked it, he was still thrown off..  He was about to stand up when a buzzing sound was heard throughout the room.


    ¡°It seems that the time is up,¡± Wulfric said.


    Reas gritted his teeth and stood up.  He could feel his arm that had been kicked throbbing.  He lost.  What¡¯s even more annoying was that he knew that the other didn¡¯t use his full strength and yet, he was still thrown off.


    These past two days, they had been doing hand-to-hand combat.  Yesterday, two members of the Fenris Squad came to teach them about it.  From the basics to actual combat, the two taught them a lot of useful things.


    They didn¡¯t teach them theories or things like that.  What they thought were things that could help them during real-life combat.  Everyone in class had at least A level mental strength.  So, absorbing such knowledge in a short period of time was not a problem.


    The prince was not present yesterday.  So, everyone felt relieved.  Which made them more relaxed, making the learning atmosphere much better.


    Reas was no different from his fellow students.  He was also glad that the prince was not there.  Not because he was afraid of him or anything.  Simply because he didn¡¯t want to see the prince¡¯s smug face again.  He thought that the other must have gotten bored after a day of training.  If that was the case, then, that would be for the best.


    But who would have thought that the other would be here today?


    Not only that, he told them that they would have a 1v1 fight against him to apply the things that they had learned yesterday.  The rules were simple.  They would be given 10 minutes each to fight against him.  He would give them a handicap by only using his right leg to attack.  And only those who could last 10 minutes would be given points.  Those who could land a solid hit would be given extra points.  Of course, those who could force him to use his hands and other leg would get bigger points.


    It sounded easy, right?  But no.  The majority of the students weren¡¯t able to last for 10 minutes and were sent to the infirmary.  And to think the prince didn¡¯t even use half of his strength.


    Reas was the last one to try.  Although he lasted for 10 minutes, he didn¡¯t manage to land a solid hit, much less force the other to use his hands and other leg.  It was infuriating to say the least.  He hated to admit it but, no matter how annoying the prince was, the other was indeed strong.


    It¡¯s not just pure strength.  His battle sense was very high.  It¡¯s like he could predict whatever move his opponent was trying to make.  The other was just about to attack and he already knew what direction to dodge.


    He raised his head and looked at the prince.  No, it¡¯s probably more accurate to call him with his military rank ¨C general.  Reas was not dejected by the result of his fight with the other.  He could only acknowledge the fact that he was still lacking, especially compared to this person.


    If this was a game and the general was at level 100, then, he was probably only at level 20.  He was not discouraged by that though.  It only made him want to work harder even more.


    Wulfric, of course, noticed the kid¡¯s gaze.  The other¡¯s teal-gray eyes were filled with immense determination.  It almost looked like there was fire inside them.  He grinned.  Did this kid finally realize how great he was?  As expected, showing off his prowess was definitely the right decision.


    ¡°Tomorrow, you lot will start your Mecha training.  So, be prepared,¡± he said.  ¡°Dismiss.¡±


    The remaining students inside the training hall started to walk towards the exit until only Wulfric remained inside.  He was also about to leave when his Terminal rang.  He opened it and saw that it was a video call request from Hildred.


    ¡°What is it?¡± he asked when he answered the call.


    ¡°Wulf, I have news for you,¡± Hildred started.


    ¡°This better be not another nonsense or I¡¯ll fly to the military base now and kick your ass,¡± Wulf said because the other had a habit of just calling him to tell him nonsensical things.


    Hildred exaggeratedly acted like he was hurt by Wulfric¡¯s words.  ¡°Of course not.  What do you take me as?¡±


    ¡°Just tell what this is about.¡±


    ¡°I swear you¡¯ll like this one,¡± Hildred said with a meaningful smile.  ¡°It¡¯s about Astrid.  He¡¯s trending on [Cyberspace] again.¡±


    He was actually contemplating whether to tell Wulf about that.  But then he remembered that he didn¡¯t tell the other about the last time Astrid was trending.  He was lucky last time because Wulf didn¡¯t say much about that.  But he had a feeling that if he did the same this time, the other would really kick his ass.


    ¡°Just search for the hashtag, #polarisbeautifulnewbie, and you will find a lot of interesting comments and posts,¡± he added.


    Even though the things Hildred said was still not registering in his mind, he had already hung up his call with the other and opened [Cyberspace] instead.  He didn¡¯t have an account on [Cyberspace] but they had a function where one could browse using a ¡®guest¡¯ account.


    Once he typed the hashtag that Hildred said, a lot of results came up.  The one at the very top was a post from someone called ¡®Polaris¡¯.  He read it and realized that it was actually an entertainment company and not a person.  They were welcoming Aster as a new artist in their company.


    When he saw the photos attached to the post, he was stunned and just felt his heart skipping a beat.  He quickly clicked on the link attached to the post and it took him to what seemed like a profile.  And was once again attracted by the six photos there.


    It¡¯s like he was seeing two versions of Aster.  Both had different kind of charm and appeal.  One would make you want to protect him and give him all the best things in the world.  And the other would make you fantasize things that you shouldn¡¯t.


    And then he suddenly realized that a lot of people had already seen these photos.  His brows furrowed and quickly went back to [Cyberspace] to read those comments and posts.  But not before memorizing Aster¡¯s birthday that was on the said profile.


    When he started to read those posts and comments, his furrowed brows became deeper and deeper until they were almost connected.  What were these people saying?  Wanting to be Aster¡¯s wife or husband, saying he¡¯s delicious, even saying that they wanted to have a baby with him.  How shameless!


    With a dark expression, he made a [Cyberspace] account and started replying to those comments and posts.

 Chapter 189 - WHITE WOLF

    OF course, Wulfric didn¡¯t use his real name.  No matter how annoyed he was by the posts and comments that he had read, there was still a bit of sense left in him.  Using his real name in this kind of situation would lead to a lot of negative consequence.


    There¡¯s Leland who would definitely nag at him if he mindlessly used his real name while replying to those comments and posts.  Then, there was also his brother who would just make things more complicated.  But most of all, it would be Aster who would receive the brunt of those negative consequences.


    If it was just Wulfric, yes, he would not hesitate to use his real name to give a tongue lashing to these people.  But no, if he did that, the only one who would be affected was Aster.


    For one, people might think that he had something to do with the popularity that Aster was receiving now.  And whatever subsequent accomplishments he would make later on would always be connected to Wulfric.  They would think that Aster accomplished all that because of him and not because of his talent.  That¡¯s the last thing he wanted to happen..


    He had seen, and even experienced himself, just how talented of an actor Aster was.  If all that talent was not recognized by people just because of Wulfric¡¯s momentary hot-headedness, Aster would definitely dislike him even more.  Maybe the other would even end up hating him.  Wulfric would feel the same if he was in the same position.


    He felt that instinctively.  That¡¯s probably why, at the very last minute, he held on to his temper and used a different name.


    For the name, he registered as ¡®White Wolf¡¯.  It didn¡¯t really take that long for him to type that.  It¡¯s something that wouldn¡¯t attract too much attention but still represented him in some way.  Then, for a username, this was where he took a few minutes.  After thinking about it, he finally settled on one ¡ª @astridsnumber1fan.


    It¡¯s better to own this username now when Aster still hadn¡¯t had a faithful group of fans following him.  And why not, right?  He could totally be Aster¡¯s number one fan.


    And with that, he started replying to those comments and posts that pissed him off.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Asking to be his wife or his husband, aren¡¯t you too shameless?  In the first place, do you honestly think you will look good together with him?  Maybe if you stand beside him, instead of looking like his wife or husband, you will only look like his servant.]


    @astridsnumber1fan: [You¡¯re calling him ¡®yummy¡¯?  Just what kind of dirty eyes are you looking at him with?  You should be embarrassed!]


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Can we all just focus on his talent and not any other messy things?  Just look at how he perfectly embodied two different characters in those photos?  Do you think that¡¯s easy to do?  I bet not many newcomers could do that.]


    @astridsnumber1fan: [To those saying that Astrid is not talented, you¡¯re all delusional.  Yes, that¡¯s the word.]


    @astridsnumber1fan: [You think that his hair and eye color is fake?  Are you just plain idiotic or what?  And to those who actually believed it, you¡¯re an even bigger idiot.  Something like that could be easily checked just clicking some buttons in your Terminal.  The fact that you didn¡¯t speaks a lot about your IQ.]


    Wulfric continued on with his barrage of replies.  He didn¡¯t stop until he was satisfied.  Then, after that, he followed Aster¡¯s [Cyberspace] account and tagged him on a personal post.


    White Wolf: Hi @astridtownsend!  I will always be here to support you in whatever endeavors you will do in the future.  I can already tell that you¡¯ll go far in this industry.  I¡¯m sure, one day, you will shine even brighter than you do now.  All the best, from your number one fan.


    He smiled after posting that.  He hoped Aster could read this.  Although that might be highly unlikely.  He¡¯s probably not the only one who tagged him in their post.  But even so, since he managed to vent out his irritation by replying to those posts and comments to his heart¡¯s content, he definitely felt better.


    Wulfric closed his Terminal and walked out of the training room.  Of course, not before saving all the photos of Aster he had seen in his Terminal.  He made a private folder and, without even batting an eye, named it ¡®My Star¡¯.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At this moment, Astrid was still browsing [Cyberspace] and reading the people¡¯s opinion about him.  There were a lot of positive comments and posts, but there were also quite a number of negative ones.


    He didn¡¯t mind those.  It would be impossible after all to only receive positive ones.  At least, most of people¡¯s opinions were on his favor.


    And it was not just that.  The number of followers on his [Cyberspace] account had been steadily increasing since he started trending.  Right now, the number of his followers was about 200,000.


    That was not really much, especially if one took into account the population of the whole Empire.  He was sure that most of those numbers were most likely not even really fans of his.  They probably only followed him because of his appearance.  But that¡¯s fine as well.  After all, getting real fans always starts with capturing the people¡¯s attention.


    Before closing [Cyberspace], he planned to reply to at least 10 posts that were tagged to him.  It¡¯s a way to show his appreciation without appearing too enthusiastic.  Of course, he would only pick those that felt sincere enough.


    As he was browsing, a particular post caught his eye.  It was from someone with a username @astridsnumber1fan.  Because the fact that this was their username meant that they had only probably created this account.  And they probably only created it for the sole purpose of supporting him.


    This would be understandable if he was some big star or something.  But he was still an unknown newcomer for the most part.  So, this was kind of weird.


    When he saw that the username belonged to someone named ¡®White Wolf¡¯, a tall man with white hair and golden eyes immediately appeared in his mind.  But he quickly shook that off.  Because there¡¯s no way it¡¯s that guy.  Wulfric probably wasn¡¯t even the type to browse [Cyberspace].


    Regardless of who this person was, he chose their post and replied;


    Astrid Townsend v: @astridsnumber1fan, thank you so much for your support! ?

 Chapter 190 - FIRST OFFICIAL JOB

    ASTRID was about to enter the small spacecraft when he felt a rather intense gaze looking at him.  He glanced back and saw a girl pointing her Terminal at him, obviously taking snapshots.  The girl seemed to be surprised by this and started to panic.  Astrid only smiled and nodded to her before walking inside the aircraft.


    ¡°She seems to be a fan,¡± Ellis, who was walking beside him, commented.


    She also saw what happened.  Even the reaction of the girl right after Astrid smiled back at her.  She was obviously panicking after being discovered.  But after seeing Astrid smiled, her whole body froze and then her face became as red as a cooked shrimp before an excited look appeared on her face.


    That was the typical reaction of an excited fan after seeing their favorite celebrity.  It¡¯s also the reason why Ellis didn¡¯t stop the other¡¯s action.  Because she didn¡¯t feel any malice from the girl.  She just genuinely wanted to take a picture of Astrid.


    ¡°No, I think she¡¯s probably just one of those people who liked my face,¡± Astrid said with a helpless smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine too.  After what happened just now, she would definitely turn into your true fan.¡±


    Astrid chose to not comment on that.  Of course, he didn¡¯t mind if that were to happen.  Because right now, he probably didn¡¯t have any loyal fans yet.  Even though his followers on [Cyberspace] had increased to around 350,000, he believed that none of those were truly there to support him as a fan.  Once he didn¡¯t meet their expectations, they would surely unfollow him.


    No, wait, maybe he did have one fan.  The person with the username @astridsnumber1fan came to mind.


    After he read the post tagged to him by that person, he visited the other¡¯s profile because of curiosity.  Just like what he thought, it was a newly made account.  Aside from the post they tagged to him, their personal space was filled with replied to some comments and posts about him.


    The other¡¯s response to those was a bit comical that he couldn¡¯t help but laugh when he read them.  They were very straight-forward and full of sarcasm.  It made him amuse and happy at the same time.


    Because of that, he secretly paid attention to the other.  There was a function on [Cyberspace] where one could read any posts and comments from a person without the need of following them.  But it would only work if the person involved had set their account to public.  Good thing that person did just that.


    Astrid didn¡¯t know what came over him to do that.  Was it because the other called themselves their ¡®number one¡¯ fan?  Or maybe it¡¯s because they reminded him of a certain ¡®wolf¡¯?


    Well, whatever the case, he had no intention of stopping paying attention to this person.  Who knows, maybe the other would bring more amusement to his life in the future.


    ¡°Maybe this incident would put you on the trending topic again,¡± Ellis commented as she was looking around for their designated seats.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s more likely that the reason for me being on the trending topic list again is because you¡¯re with me,¡± Astrid said, honestly stating his opinion.


    After all, Ellis was still known in the agent circle.  If people saw her with him, they would immediately think that she had come back to the industry and was now working under Polaris as his agent.


    He just trended the other day.  Some media outlets had already been saying that he¡¯s a strong newcomer.  That if he could back this hype with genuine talent, then, he could go far in this industry.  But once people knew that his agent was that talented agent who almost put Olivia Crane at the top of the Star List, it would definitely create a buzz.


    The two finally found their designated seats and sat there.


    ¡°I sure hope that that would happen,¡± Ellis responded to what he said.


    Astrid glanced at his agent.  He suddenly understood why the other told him to not wear any mask or hat when they left for the space port.  Apparently, this was what she was aiming for.  That someone would take pictures of them together and post it online.


    ¡°Are you not worried that some people would smear us and say that we¡¯re simply hyping me up unnecessarily?¡± he asked.


    He was just a newcomer with no works in his name.  And yet, he had already been attracting people¡¯s attention like this.  There would definitely be some who wouldn¡¯t like it.  Especially those newcomers who were in the same position as him.  Envy could force a person to do a lot of stupid things.


    ¡°Are we hyping you up?  No.  It¡¯s not our fault if people wanted to talk about you,¡± Ellis said.  ¡°Besides, those netizens would definitely notice that we boarded a spacecraft to a Film Studio planet.  They¡¯re resourceful that way.  Once speculations accumulated to the extreme, we will announce your guesting at that web drama.  Then, it would definitely create another trending topic for you.¡±


    Astrid shook his head helplessly.  Although Ellis wasn¡¯t really hiring a team of what he would call ¡®water armies¡¯ in his last life to hype him up, this strategy was almost the same.  Except that the people talking about him were real people and not paid trolls and keyboard warriors.


    He¡¯s not really fond of hype or fame.  He became a movie emperor in his past life not because he¡¯s the hottest star around.  But because he¡¯s a damn good actor.  But he knew that in this era where humanity was united under one banner ¨C the Empire, making it big as an actor would be hard if he didn¡¯t have fame or popularity.


    After all, when there were hundreds of actors and actresses debuting every month, it¡¯s important to be noticed.  If you couldn¡¯t capture the attention of the masses, then you wouldn¡¯t go far in your career.


    ¡°By the way, are you ready for the shooting today?¡± Ellis asked, changing the topic.


    Astrid smiled.  ¡°Yes, Sister Ellis shouldn¡¯t worry.¡±


    That¡¯s right.  They were on their way to film his guesting on that popular web drama..  This would be his first official job as an artist of Polaris.

 Chapter 191 - BLIND JUSTICE

    THE web drama Astrid was going to guest in was called [Blind Justice].  It¡¯s about a trio of vigilantes who took revenge for people who experienced extreme injustices.  In short, it¡¯s about a group of three people who get revenge for other people, putting justice in their own hands.


    That might sound like they were doing something similar to Robin Hood giving the things he stole to the poor.  But the fact was they¡¯re not.  They¡¯re not doing this for free.  Their services came with a price.  And the price depended on just how much their client wanted to hurt the person they wanted to get revenge on.  It even varied on the number of people you wanted to target.  Of course, it also differed if your target was an establishment, like a company, rather than a person.


    Their punishment also varied depending on the crime of their target.  The heavier the crime, the more brutal the punishment.  And because most of their targets tend to be someone important in society, what they¡¯re doing soon made them wanted criminals.  Ah, no, he should probably say ¡®criminal¡¯ instead.


    Because most of the people thought that the one doing this was a single person.  The military gave them the moniker ¡®Themis¡¯ because of the card that they¡¯re constantly leaving on the body of their victims.  On that card was a blindfolded woman wearing a toga and holding the scale in her hands.  That was the perfect image of the Greek goddess of justice.


    But what they didn¡¯t know was that this ¡®Themis¡¯ was actually comprised of three people.  Two men and a woman.  One of the men was an expert in all sorts of martial arts and weaponry.  The woman was a talented grifter who could con her way into anything.  And the remaining man was the leader and the brain of the whole team.


    The show had an interesting concept that delved into human society and morality as well.  It would really make one question their own humanity.  It¡¯s not simple gratuitous violence.  Every violent scene had a purpose in the story.  That¡¯s why people didn¡¯t think that they were simply doing some revenge porn show.


    Each episode of the web drama featured a target.  Like monster of the week type of thing.  It¡¯s just that, in this case, the monster was a human.  That¡¯s why it¡¯s not easy for people to get bored by it.


    [Blind Justice] was a one-hour web drama that aired once a week.  Ever since it aired its first episode, its rating had consistently been at the top 10 shows that was airing during that hour.  Which already showed how popular it was, considering just how many shows were airing at the same time.


    The web drama had been on air for almost two years now and was nearing their 100th episode.  And Astrid was going to be part of that special episode.


    The 100th episode would delve to the past of the leader of the trio.  Which had never been shown in any of the past episodes.


    He was a mystery even to the viewers.  They knew almost everything about the other two.  But they knew absolutely nothing about the leader.  Aside from the fact that he¡¯s overwhelmingly smart and ruthless.


    That¡¯s why this episode would be two hours long.  So, the viewers would have a more in-depth understanding of his past and what led him to do the things he did.


    Astrid¡¯s role in this special episode was not just a simple guest role that would be gone after 15 minutes of exposure.  His role was very vital to the core of the episode.  He was the reason why the main character became the way he was now.  Or rather, what happened to him was.


    When Astrid read the script, he was pleasantry surprised by how well-written it was.  The action, the emotional line, the portrayal of each character, everything was just right.  There were even splashes of sense of humor here and there.  Which made the script very compelling.


    According to Ellis, the script of this episode was written by the director himself.  Which the other often did whenever an episode was related to the three main characters.  One could see just how much the director really loved this show.


    Being a newcomer, such a role should not have landed on his lap.  But it did only because of Ellis.  Really, an agent could make or break an artist¡¯s career.  It¡¯s his luck that he found a talented one this early.  And because of that he was also able to start his career this fast.


    He was suddenly thankful that he visited Polaris on that certain day.  If not, he probably wouldn¡¯t meet Ellis.  And the other would probably not accept the job offer of Polaris.  Thus, completely cutting the chance of the two of them working together.


    The one he probably should thank the most was Lauren.  He only had an excuse to go visit Polaris because of the other¡¯s ardent invitation.  Should he invite him to dinner once Reas finished his training, so the three of them could hang out?


    Yes, he should definitely do that.


    ¡°The role you¡¯ll be playing have a lot of emotional lines,¡± Ellis suddenly said beside him, cutting off his current train of thought.  ¡°The character also has to suffer a lot of abuse and torture.  There would also be a lot of crying scenes.  Are you sure you can handle it?¡±


    Astrid only smiled at the other.  ¡°Sister Ellis, if you think I can¡¯t handle it, I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t have tricked your friend into giving me this role.¡±


    ¡°Hey, kid, I didn¡¯t trick that guy, okay?¡± Ellis said, acting as if she was offended by his comment.  ¡°He truly thinks that you fit the image of that role.¡±


    ¡°So, I look very easy to bully?¡± Astrid asked in amusement.


    Ellis didn¡¯t refute it.  ¡°Not only that, once you start acting pitiful, you could evoke emotions that made people want to protect you.¡±


    ¡°When did I act pitiful in front of you, Sister Ellis?¡±


    ¡°I just imagined it.  And based on my imagination, your pitiful look would definitely move a lot of people¡¯s hearts.¡±


    Astrid could only laugh at the other¡¯s comment.

 Chapter 192 - ARRIVAL AT FS08

    AFTER an hour of travel, the spacecraft carrying Astrid and Ellis arrived at FS08.  This film studio planet specialized in modern settings.  So, most of their film sets matched with the current time.  And FS08 was where the crew of [Blind Justice] was filming.


    Arriving at the space port, Ellis had already called a land vehicle to drive them.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be filming your individual scenes today,¡± Ellis said when they got on the land vehicle, telling him his schedule.  ¡°And then tomorrow you¡¯ll film your scenes with Jordan Preston,¡± she added.


    The guy she just mentioned was the one playing the role of the leader of Themis in [Blind Justice].  Basically, he¡¯s the show¡¯s front man.  According to the research she did, as well as the things she heard from her friend directing the show, the guy had no attitude problems and had good work ethics.  So, she didn¡¯t have to worry that her artist would be harassed or something.


    This was Astrid¡¯s first job as an artist under her care.  She didn¡¯t want any sort of drama or problem during this time.  She hoped that everything would go smoothly for him.


    That¡¯s why she chose this web drama crew.  Because from the stories she heard from her friend, she could tell that this crew had a good filming environment.  The staffs were good and the main actors and actress were not problematic people.  She wanted to, at least, give Astrid a good filming experience in his first official job.


    She glanced at the teenager and saw the other nodding as a response to what she just said.  Then she remembered something.


    ¡°By the way, you will start school the day after tomorrow, right?¡± she asked, remembering that fact.  ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be too tiring for you?¡±


    Two days of shooting and then going to school right after, even she felt a bit tired just thinking about it.  This was her fault.  She should have factored that in before scheduling this shoot.


    Seeing the bit of guilt on Ellis¡¯ face, Astrid understood almost immediately what the other was thinking.  ¡°It¡¯s okay.  Besides, the first day will only be orientation.  There are still no formal classes.  After attending the orientation, I could just go home and rest.¡±


    What he didn¡¯t mention was that he would probably go to the Imperial Military Academy right after orientation so he could pick up Reas.  If his brother passed the one-week training period, then he would be an official student of the military academy.  He didn¡¯t have to be kicked out of the academy tomorrow and he would have to join the opening ceremony the next day.


    Astrid had no doubt in his brother¡¯s ability.  He was confident that Reas would be able to pass that training.  Anyway, he would know about that tomorrow once his brother was finally able to use his Terminal.


    After Ellis heard Astrid¡¯s response, the guilt she felt for not being thoughtful enough lessened a bit.  So, she simply opened her Terminal and sent a message to her friend saying that they were already at FS08.


    Similarly, Astrid just opened his Terminal because he received a reply from Lauren.  He messaged the other earlier, asking him if he was free the day after tomorrow.


    Lauren: [I¡¯m not free during the day, but I¡¯m free in the evening.  Why?  Is Astrid asking me on a date?]


    That was followed by a cute sticker of a chibi boy with shining eyes.


    Astrid chuckled, already used to the other¡¯s affectionate manner.  He replied;


    Astrid: [If you¡¯re free in the evening, then, do you want to have dinner with me and Reas?  It¡¯s like a little celebration for our first day at school.]


    There was an obvious pause from the other side, as evidence of not so quick reply.


    Lauren: [Does your brother really have to be there?]


    It was followed by a pouting boy sticker.


    Astrid shook his head in amusement and decided to tease the other.


    Astrid: [Why?  Don¡¯t you want to see him?  I thought the both of you got along pretty well.  Or am I wrong?]


    There was another long paused.  He could already imagine the cramped expression on Lauren¡¯s face.  He was certain that if he said the same thing to Reas, his brother would definitely have the same reaction.


    Really, these two, from how they acted, it looked as if they couldn¡¯t stand each other.  But in Astrid¡¯s view, it¡¯s obvious that the two were quite comfortable with each other¡¯s presence.  Because if not, they wouldn¡¯t be bickering as if they had known each other for years.


    Then, he received Lauren¡¯s reply.


    Lauren: [I decided to not comment, so as not to hurt your expectations.]


    Astrid almost laughed when he read that.  Because the other was indirectly telling him that he and Reas definite didn¡¯t get along.  He continued to read the message.


    [I¡¯ll go.  Just send me the address of your apartment.]


    After reading that, he sent the other his address.  They chatted a bit more before Lauren said goodbye.  He was actually about to do the same, so, the other doing that was very timely.


    Astrid then closed his Terminal.  He wondered what his brother¡¯s reaction would be after he found out about this?  He¡¯d definitely show a grumpy look, as if Astrid just did something annoying.  But would that really be how the other felt?  He doubted it.  Reas¡¯ reaction on the outside might be just like that, but what he might feel inside would definitely be much more complicated.


    He smiled inwardly.  Ah, young love.  How nice.


    Ellis then suddenly spoke, completely interrupting his thoughts.  ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    Astrid glanced outside of the land vehicle and saw that they had arrived in the location of a set.  He got off the land vehicle right after Ellis.  He looked around the set.  Based on the infrastructures he was seeing, this set looked like a city center.  No doubt this was the set of [Blind Justice].


    Ellis turned to him.  ¡°Let¡¯s go and meet the director.¡±


    Astrid only smiled and followed his agent.

 Chapter 193 - JEAN EVANS

    ASTRID looked around as he and Ellis walked on the set of [Blind Justice].  It was still early morning but every crew on the set was already busy.  He followed behind his agent until the other stopped and called someone.


    ¡°Jean!¡±


    He turned to the direction where Ellis was looking but all he saw was a group of people checking the props and other stuffs.  Then one among that group looked back and waved his hand when he saw them.  Astrid knew then that that guy was Jean Evans ¨C the director of [Blind Justice].


    The man had slightly long hair that was messily tied up.  Even his clothes looked unkempt.  He had this sloppy appearance, like an artist who didn¡¯t care about how others perceive them.  At the same time, he also had this easygoing air about him.  As evidence of the infectious smile on his face.


    Astrid could tell that the other was not a strict director.  He¡¯s probably the type that wouldn¡¯t get angry easily but when something indeed angered him, then, he would definitely explode like a bomb.  Almost like a harmless cat turning into a roaring lion.


    He had worked with this type of director before.  They usually had good tempers and were easy to work with.  But once you hit their bottom line, you¡¯re definitely done for.


    Director Evans walked, or rather, run towards them.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally here,¡± the director said.


    Ellis raised one of her brows.  ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re late though?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.  I¡¯m just excited to meet Remi¡¯s angel,¡± the director said.


    The ¡®Remi¡¯ he¡¯s pertaining to was the male lead of the show.  And based on the script that Astrid had read, ¡®Remi¡¯s angel¡¯ should be him.


    So, he smiled politely and timely said, ¡°Hello Director Evans, I¡¯m Astrid Townsend.  I really enjoyed your show.  Thank you for giving me a chance to work with you.¡±


    The director looked at him, his eyes were already shining.  ¡°You¡¯re really like the angel in my mind!  I was really worried that I might have been too drunk when I agreed to Ellie¡¯s suggestion of letting you play this role.  But thank the heavens that you at least look the part.¡±


    Astrid only looked amusedly at the director.


    While Ellis punched the other¡¯s shoulder in a friendly manner and said, ¡°You really need a stop gap for that mouth of yours.¡±


    Jean put his hand on top of his mouth and said in a muffled voice, ¡°Ellie, you know I¡¯m not into BDSM!  I¡¯m such a pure soul, how could you even suggest that?¡±


    Ellis only looked at the director as if he was a fool.


    Then, as if only realizing that he must have said something wrong, Jean turned to Astrid with an apologetic expression.  ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I often just say whatever¡¯s on my mind but I didn¡¯t mean anything bad by it.  I hope you¡¯re not offended.¡±


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t.  Because Astrid couldn¡¯t feel any malice with the other¡¯s words.  The director was simply worried that he wouldn¡¯t meet his expectations.  Which was quite understandable.  This upcoming 100th episode was obviously very special to the other.  It¡¯s only natural to be worried.  Especially since he did agree for Astrid to play the role when he was under the influence of alcohol.


    So, he smiled with a bit more sincerity before responding, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Director.  I¡¯m not offended at all.¡±


    Jean let out a sigh of relief.  ¡°Your temper is so good.¡±  He then turned to Ellis.  ¡°Ellie, you hit the jackpot with this one.  Thankfully, you prefer women to boys as romantic partners.  Or else, you might encounter another problem like what happened to Olivia¡ª¡±


    He wasn¡¯t able to finish that because Ellis suddenly hit him at the back.  This time, she did so in a not very friendly manner.  Making the other almost fall on the ground.  ¡°Jean, why don¡¯t I take Astrid to do make-up and styling so we could begin filming?¡±


    The director seemed to know that he had said the wrong thing and quickly apologized.  ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ellie.  I didn¡¯t mean to mention her.¡±


    Ellis sighed helplessly and just gently knocked on the other¡¯s head.  ¡°It¡¯s fine.  I¡¯m already used to your antics.¡±


    Jean seemed to be overwhelmed by gratefulness that he looked like he was about to cry at any second.  ¡°Ellie, you¡¯re such a good friend.  I hope you won¡¯t leave again if you suffer another heartbreak.¡±  Then, he stopped, realizing that he said something wrong again.  ¡°I¡¯m not jinxing you!  I just- I don¡¯t want you to just disappear on your friends again.¡±


    This time, Ellie smiled and ruffled the other¡¯s already messy hair.  ¡°I know.  As I¡¯ve said before, I won¡¯t leave again the same way as I did back then.¡±


    The director¡¯s infectious smile was finally back.  He then called a crew member to take Ellis and Astrid to the dressing room.


    During the conversation of the two, there was really only one thought in Astrid¡¯s mind.  That he was thankful that they were far from other people.  Or else, the content of their conversation would be enough to cause a scandal.  After all, Olivia Crane was now technically a member of the upper nobility.  If someone publicized a story about her and Ellis, it would definitely be a big news.


    But what he heard also confirmed his guess about Ellis and Olivia¡¯s relationship.  He somehow already expected that it went beyond just an artist-agent one.  Because if it was really a professional relationship, Ellis wouldn¡¯t leave the industry just because Olivia retired and married someone.


    ¡°I apologized for Jean.  He talks¡¯ carelessly like that but he¡¯s a good guy,¡± Ellis said while they were walking.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sister Ellis.  I¡¯m not really offended,¡± Astrid said.


    Besides that part of the director reminded him a bit of Lauren.  Although the director was still a level higher.  It could be unbearably annoying to some, but it could also be endearing.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Inside the training room of the Imperial Military Academy¡¯s Mecha Department, a man was busily browsing on his [Cyberspace] to check for news about Astrid.


    As a true fan should.

 Chapter 194 - WULFS INTEREST

    WULFRIC put a priority alert on his [Cyberspace] on any topic that mentioned ¡®Astrid Townsend¡¯.  He wasn¡¯t familiar with how ordinary people ¡®chase stars¡¯ ¨C as Hildred put it.  Heck, he wasn¡¯t even that familiar with [Cyberspace] or any other social media sites for that matter.  Where would he even have the time to get familiar with those things?


    Besides, he had never been interested with things like actors, actresses, or singers and the likes.  He honestly couldn¡¯t understand the people¡¯s fascination towards them.  They were all humans with the same set of eyes, nose, and lips.  What¡¯s so fun in going gaga over them?


    But then again, he could say the same to him.  After all, when he found something interesting, he also gave them more attention than required.  The only difference would probably be his interest never lasted for more than a month.  And the fact that his interest had never really been directed to any humans.


    If someone even remotely stimulated his interest, it didn¡¯t go as far as him wanting to get to know that person or even interact with them.  He would just think, ¡®ah, how interesting¡¯, then moved on.  That was how it had always been.


    Until he met Aster.


    He was the first human that Wulfric ever wanted to get closed to.  And even when more than a month had passed since he met the other, his interest in him never wavered.  To the point that he didn¡¯t even care that Aster technically ¡®played¡¯ him using his acting skills to make him disinterested.


    It didn¡¯t anger him as it normally should.  He even thought that it was his fault in the first place.  Which was just not like him at all.  And yet, he didn¡¯t find anything wrong about that.  He only thought that it was natural for him to apologize.  He even promised himself to not make the other angry.  Because his instinct was telling him that if he did, then, he would be the only one suffering in the future.


    Of course, Wulfric had wondered why he was doing all that.  Was it because Aster was too special?  Or was it because his interest was just that intense?  He still didn¡¯t know the answer to any of those.  And if he was being honest, he didn¡¯t really care what the answer would be.


    At least, for now, what¡¯s more important to him was letting Aster have a good impression of him.  And, of course, he shouldn¡¯t forget to support him as his number one fan.


    Then, as if on cue, he saw a notification on his [Cyberspace].  Meaning there¡¯s a topic about Aster.  He quickly clicked that and saw some stolen shots of Aster walking with a tall woman.  The two of them seemed to be in a space port.


    An almost imperceptible frown appeared on his face.  His only thought was; ¡®who the heck is this woman?¡¯.


    He quickly read the caption just so he could know the answer to that.


    [Shocking News!  Ellis Payne ¨C the once hailed as a genius agent ¨C has now come back after five years of hiatus.  Is she going to make a new miracle with the Polaris¡¯ new artist, Astrid Townsend?]


    Ellis Payne?  Based on the caption alone, this woman was obviously an agent.  And not just an agent but Aster¡¯s agent.  And since the caption was all about her, it meant that her name had more pull compared to Aster.


    He narrowed his eyes at the tall woman.  She had pretty decent features.  And based on her and Aster¡¯s body language, the two seemed to be very comfortable with each other.  But that¡¯s not the important thing here.  It¡¯s much more important to know if she was capable enough to be Aster¡¯s agent.


    Wulfric had done some research in the Empire¡¯s entertainment industry these past two days.  Especially about Polaris.  He wanted to know if the entertainment company that Aster signed with was clean enough.


    That industry might seem to be full of glitz and glamour on the surface, but beneath it all, there¡¯s a stinking ditch.  It¡¯s the same with any other industries or organization.  There¡¯s always going to be a rotten egg mixed within.  He didn¡¯t want Aster to be stained by this.


    That¡¯s why when he found out that the president of Polaris was Grant Fleming, most of his worries had been put down.  The guy was the eldest son of the Fleming family ¨C a pretty decent family amongst the Empire¡¯s nobility.


    They went to the same primary school, so, he had some impression of the guy.  They also met at one of the parties his brother pulled him to a few years back.  And the impression the other left to him was still the same ¨C upright and straitlaced.  Not the hypocritical kind but the real one.


    But just to be sure, he still did some checking.  And it was nice to discover that there was barely any ¡®corruption¡¯ in the company.  Aster probably knew about that beforehand that¡¯s why he had chosen to sign with Polaris.  Aster was so smart.  There¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t have checked before signing with anything.


    It¡¯s probably the same when it came to this Ellis Payne.  Aster found her good enough to be his agent, so, she now was.  There¡¯s probably no need to do any checking.  And even if he probably didn¡¯t, he could still find a lot from the comments section of this article.


    Before Wulfric could read the full article and the comments as well, he heard some kind of commotion.  He was currently at the observation deck where he could see the training of the students below.  These kids were currently doing some 1v1 virtual Mecha fights.


    Hildred was down there to supervise them.  So, what¡¯s with this commotion he was hearing?  Surely Hildred didn¡¯t instigated a fight with these students.  Well, knowing that guy, that¡¯s certainly something he would do.


    He shook his head and just jumped down directly.


    He saw that the students were crowding in a circle and shouting as if cheering on a fight.  He pulled those students out of his way to see exactly what was happening.  And there, at the center, two students were having a brawl.


    One was the Lancaster brat and the other was Reas.

 Chapter 195 - A BRAWL

    REAS threw a punch, landing on Cyrus Lancaster¡¯s face that was already bruised and battered. Cyrus was forced to step back because of the force. He obviously didn¡¯t want to lose as evidence of how he quickly raised his leg to kick the other.


    Reas raised his arm and guarded his side against the kick. He then used his other hand to held Cyrus¡¯ leg before the other put it down. After that, he raised his elbow and was about to break it when someone suddenly grabbed his back collar and pulled him away from his opponent.


    But because he was still holding on to Cyrus¡¯ ankle, the other was also dragged away with him. Being dragged on the floor like a rug, Cyrus simply cut an even sorrier figure. Reas almost wanted to laugh but then winced instead because of the wound on the corner of his lips. So, he simply released the other¡¯s ankle in disgust, as if throwing away a dirty rag.


    If he managed to control his laugh, primarily because of the wound, there was someone who just outright laughed. He didn¡¯t need to look for it to know that it was definitely Ash. And it was not only the other, there were some who chortled, obviously trying their best to suppress their laughter.


    Hearing this, Cyrus¡¯ face turned into the color of a pig¡¯s liver. He quickly stood up. His expression became extremely ugly. Add that to his swollen face and it just looked even more comedic. Seeing the people snickering, he knew that they were laughing at him. He clenched his fists. He had never been so humiliated. He turned to the person responsible for it all and glared daggers at him.


    Reas glared back. Because he had fewer injuries on his face, only a broken lips and bleeding nose, his glare was much more threatening.


    ¡°I say, are the two of you really going to ignore my existence?¡±


    This voice completely ended the staring contest between the two. They turned to its owner and saw the general narrowing his eyes at them.


    ¡°So, who¡¯s going to tell me what the fuck just happened here?¡±


    ¡°Y-your Highness, it¡¯s Townsend!¡± one of the students said. ¡°When he lost the virtual Mecha fight against Lord Cyrus, the moment he left the virtual pod, he just suddenly attacked him like a madmad!¡±


    As if getting encouraged by that one who spoke, another one followed it up. ¡°It¡¯s true, Your Highness. Many of us here could attest to that!¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you saying?¡± Ash suddenly interfered, glaring at the two who just spoke. ¡°It was obviously because there¡¯s a problem on the virtual pod Reas used. And who else could be the culprit but that guy who¡¯s constantly causing trouble for Reas these past few days?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s talking nonsense! Why would Lord Cyrus even do that?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s jealous obviously,¡± Ash answered, rolling his eyes at the one who asked. ¡°Because Reas keeps getting the first place during training, your lord ordered you, his faithful minions, to trouble him constantly. Don¡¯t think none of us had noticed it. We¡¯re not as single-celled as you guys. Be thankful that Reas only retaliated now. If I was him, I had long beaten your lord until his face became unrecognizable.¡±


    ¡°D-do you have evidence? How dare you accuse us?!¡±


    Ash grinned sinisterly. ¡°What if I say that I do?¡±


    The students who had always followed Cyrus Lancaster obviously became panicked.


    ¡°You better do a better job kissing that guy¡¯s ass or he might not get you out of this trouble,¡± Ash continued.


    Those students¡¯ faces turned from red to purple because of too much anger. Cyrus was no better. His expression turned even uglier. Now, he was not only glaring at Reas but at Ash as well.


    Wulfric gave Leland¡¯s brother a glance. This poisonous mouth was certainly not similar to his lieutenant. In fact, he had never heard that guy trashed-talk anyone no matter how much he disliked the person. Instead, Leland would just give them a cold gaze. He was very¡­ proper in that way.


    But obviously, Leland¡¯s younger brother was not the same. In terms of similarities, he would say that Assil was definitely more similar to Hildred. Speaking of, just where the heck was that guy?


    He looked around and finally saw Hildred. The other was standing not so far away from them. His Terminal was opened and based on his posture of eating melons, Wulfric was certain that he was recording the whole thing. This damn guy and his bad taste.


    Hildred seemed to feel his gaze and turned to him. The other still had the gall to grin and walk to where he was. He suddenly understood all those times Leland almost lost his temper because of this guy.


    ¡°Wulf, I really tried to stop them earlier. But before I could go near them, they were already fighting. What else could I do?¡± Hildred said with a helpless look as if he truly did try.


    Wulfric pinched the bridge of his nose. He probably should have brought Edmund or Slade as his assistant today and not this guy. But because he wanted to know more about how to ¡®chase stars¡¯, he chose him. Hildred had a lot of knowledge on things that a soldier like them wouldn¡¯t necessarily have. He should have expected that once Hildred got bored, he would no longer do his job properly.


    He looked at the other with a narrowed gaze. Clearly saying, ¡®wait for us to come back to the base, I will definitely teach you a lesson¡¯. The other only laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°Take the followers of Lancaster away and also that one,¡± he said pointing his thumb at Ash.


    Hildred immediately understood what Wulf wanted to do. He turned to the ¡®followers¡¯ who visibly paled after being singled out by Wulf. ¡°Follow me.¡± Then he glanced back at the teenager with long gray hair. ¡°You too Ash.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Ash said carelessly before following Hildred.


    ¡°The rest of you can go,¡± Wulfric said once Hildred took the mentioned students away. Then he turned to the two stars of the brawl.. ¡°You two, stay.¡±

 Chapter 196 - INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY

    WULFRIC stared at the two teenagers in front of him.  The Lancaster brat¡¯s face looked like a mauled sausage.  Although Reas looked a bit better, he still had a bleeding nose, a broken lips, and a blackeye.  It could be soon that the two really gave everything to hurt the other.


    ¡°Now, tell me the real reason why this fiasco even happened,¡± he said in a severe tone of voice.


    Which he had never done.  In his army, only Leland would use this tone.  Because the other was the one who often do the scolding.  He couldn¡¯t believe that there would come a time when he would talk in such a manner.


    He looked at the two culprits and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t even try to make up some lame excuse.  I only want the truth, you hear?¡±


    ¡°After our virtual Mecha battle, Townsend suddenly rushed up to me and punched me for no reason.  Of course, I fought back,¡± Cyrus Lancaster started explaining.  ¡°That¡¯s how the fight began.¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t give his opinion on that and just turned to Reas who was only standing there silently.  ¡°You don¡¯t have any counter argument?¡±


    Reas only glanced at Wulfric as if saying ¡®I was just about to do that, it¡¯s your fault for speaking suddenly¡¯.  And then said in an emotionless voice;


    ¡°During our Mecha battle, my thoughts are not transferring properly to the virtual pod.  My movements inside while piloting the Mecha became sluggish.  I knew by then that the virtual pod I¡¯m in was most likely tampered.  I planned to log out immediately because I knew how dangerous it would be to continue the battle with a tampered virtual pod.  But it wouldn¡¯t allow me.


    ¡°It only did so when I was ¡®defeated¡¯.  As if it was purposely programmed in that manner.  So as to let everyone see that my opponent has ¡®defeated¡¯ me.  Whoever tampered with the virtual pod obviously wanted my opponent to look good by stepping on me.  Making me appear weaker than that person.


    ¡°Just Ash said earlier, the only one I could think of who would do something like that is Lancaster.  His cronies had been bothering me these past few days.  I know those fools wouldn¡¯t move unless they were made to believe that troubling me would earn them brownie points with their beloved lord.


    ¡°What happened with the virtual pod was the last straw.  So, I simply beat up Lancaster to make whoever did this know that I¡¯m not afraid of this guy¡¯s family.  That if they ever try to sabotage me again like that, I would give double the damage to the person they¡¯re trying to please.¡±


    Once Reas said all that, Cyrus¡¯ face turned red due to anger and maybe even embarrassment.  ¡°What¡¯s this?  You¡¯re delusion of grandeur?  How could we believe that there really is something wrong with the virtual pod you¡¯re in?  And if that¡¯s really the case, then how are you so sure that it¡¯s related to me or any person around me?  If so, then show me the evidence!  In the first place, how would we even know what virtual pod you will use ahead of time?  This is simply nonsense!  You can¡¯t just blame someone just because you suspected that they did it.  Haven¡¯t you heard of the phrase ¡®innocent until proven guilty¡¯?  Would you take the same attitude when you become a soldier?¡±


    Reas only turned to Cyrus and looked at the other straight in the eyes.  ¡°I could have died.¡±


    That properly shut Cyrus up.


    It was the reason why Reas snapped.  Tampering a virtual pod could lead to brain damage because a person¡¯s brain was essentially connected to it.  Worst case scenario, a person could even die.


    All he could think of when he realized that someone had tampered with the virtual pod he was using was ¡®if he died here in such a useless manner, what would happen to his family?¡¯.  That thought kept on circling inside his head.  It didn¡¯t stop even until he got out of the virtual pod.


    That¡¯s why when he saw Lancaster¡¯s cronies snickering at him, the last thread of sense inside his head just snapped.  The next thing he knew, his fist was already hammering Lancaster¡¯s face.


    Cyrus clenched his fists.  When he heard the other say that he could have died, he just clammed up.  Because he knew that there¡¯s a possibility that that could happen.  Even if the possibility was small, the important thing was it indeed could happen.  He didn¡¯t want that.


    In the first place, he didn¡¯t even tell those students following him to do something like that.  Although it¡¯s true that he instigated them to make trouble, but those were just for small things.  He just wanted Townsend to feel a bit of discomfort.


    He admitted that he was jealous because the other was always the one in the first place while he was always the second.  Yes, it was petty and immature of him to do that.  But even so, he wouldn¡¯t ask someone to do something that could lead to murder just because of his own jealousy.


    Wulfric looked at the two.  The Lancaster brat didn¡¯t look guilty.  Instead, he seemed to be angry and frustrated.  Not at Reas but at the situation.  Reas, on the other hand, was still calm and silent.  But he could see in the kid¡¯s teal-gray eyes that he was just holding in his anger.


    ¡°Whether the virtual pod was tampered or not, whether Lancaster had something to do with it or not, I will thoroughly investigate the matter,¡± he said.  ¡°Everyone involved would be punished accordingly.¡±  He turned to Reas.  ¡°Go first.  I have something to say to Lancaster.¡±


    ¡°I request for my points to be deducted as punishment for throwing the first punch,¡± Reas said.


    Even if the reason why he did that was justified, resorting to violence was simply not right.  As much as he hated to admit it, as an aspiring soldier, he should exercise that phrase ¡®innocent until proven guilty¡¯.


    Wulfric raised one of his brows in interest..  But he didn¡¯t refuse and just said, ¡°Fine.¡±

 Chapter 197 - A DIFFERENT LANCASTER (MAYBE?)

    ¡°FRANKLY speaking, I don¡¯t think your ¡®cronies¡¯, as that kid called them, did this.  Not that I¡¯m saying the allegations against you is true.  But if the virtual pod Townsend was in really was tampered, I don¡¯t think of any of the students here would be capable of doing it,¡± Wulfric said once he was alone with Cyrus Lancaster.  ¡°Do you get what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    Cyrus bit his lower lip.  He was afraid that if he acted ignorant here, the prince would definitely remember him as someone stupid.  How could he let that happen when he was already painted as a bully?


    But if he admitted it, then it¡¯s like he was already agreeing to what the other was insinuating.  Before he could even answer, the prince had already spoken once again.


    ¡°Never mind.  I¡¯ll just say it straight.  If Townsend¡¯s virtual pod was tampered, it could only be done by a third party.  And in this case, there¡¯s a high chance that they were connected to your family,¡± Wulfric said with a scoff.


    ¡°Your family absolutely hated being outshined by people who they considered as lower than them.  If they knew that you¡¯re not getting first place in this week-long training, sabotaging the person outshining you is definitely something that they would do.  Considering your family¡¯s connection to the military, I have no doubt that they could bribe one or two personnel from this academy.


    ¡°You know, I hate a lot of things, but one that really irks me is when someone was doing something shitty in my turf.  Let me tell you this just in case I haven¡¯t made my point clear enough, I hold grudges.  Especially if I don¡¯t like the other side.  And for the record, your family is at the top of the people I dislike.


    ¡°So, if I find out that they have something to do with what happened, you will be kicked out and no longer would have a chance to continue to study in this place.  Additionally, if I see your cronies bothering other students again, they will also be kicked out.  Tell them to cooperate, would you?  After all, you are their ¡®lord¡¯.¡±


    Cyrus could hear the visible smirk and sarcasm on that last sentence.  He gazed down, hiding the unwillingness in his heart.  He wanted to complain how the other was being too biased against him.  But it would only make him look even more pathetic.


    Besides that, did he even really had a right to complain?  Just as the prince said, if what Townsend said about the virtual pod was true, then, there¡¯s a high chance that his family was involved in what happened.  As a Lancaster, that was indeed something any of them would probably do.


    He suddenly wanted to curse.  Although he was indeed feeling a lot of frustration from not getting the result he wanted this past week, that didn¡¯t mean that he wanted his family to intervene.  Did they not know that the one mostly responsible for the training was the prince?


    With the other¡¯s attitude towards their family, they should have known that the prince wouldn¡¯t just sit back when something like this happened under his watch.  He even wondered if someone was actually sabotaging him.


    Sacrificing Townsend so Cyrus would look bad.  They must have thought that this could get his chance to study at the Imperial Military Academy be taken away.  And when that happened, his standing within the family would definitely be lowered.


    But this was not the time to ponder whether someone from the family really did sabotage him.  Because even if he told that to the prince, the other obviously wouldn¡¯t care.  So, what could he do to save himself from this situation?


    ¡°You can go now.¡±


    After hearing that, Cyrus became panicked.  And he just did the first thing that came to his mind.


    He bowed.


    Not just a perfunctory bow, but a 90 degree one.  He had never done something like this.  He even felt a bit humiliated by this action.  But he knew that this was the only way he could show his sincerity.


    So, he did not raise his head and said, ¡°If Your Highness discovered that it was indeed related to my family, I would sincerely apologize to Townsend.  But if it¡¯s proven that I did not participate in any shape or form to what happened, I hope that Your Highness could still give me a chance.¡±


    He was confident in this.  Because he really had nothing to do with whatever that happened to Townsend¡¯s virtual pod.


    Wulfric glanced at the back of the teenager¡¯s head.  He was a bit surprised.  Because he didn¡¯t expect that the other would actually bow.  Considering this brat¡¯s training result, he must be pretty treasured within that shitty family of his.  So, being able to bow like this already showed that he¡¯s different from the other members of his family.


    Or he was just that patient.  And maybe at the back of his head he was already thinking of ways on how to get back at him.  He couldn¡¯t help but be suspicious.  Because he hadn¡¯t yet met a Lancaster who¡¯s trustworthy enough.


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.  Go back for now.¡±


    Cyrus clenched his fists.  He was really unwilling to let things end like this.  But what could he do?  If he continued to defend himself, he might just annoy the prince and the other might just directly kick him right here, right now from the academy.  Despite that, he couldn¡¯t just let it end like this.


    ¡°I understand.¡±  He finally raised his head.  He looked straight at the prince, his gaze unwavering.  ¡°I just hope that Your Highness wouldn¡¯t be so bias on your decision just because you hate my family.¡±


    He gave one last bow before walking out of the room.


    Wulfric raised one of his brows.  Well, at least the brat had spunk and wouldn¡¯t just run with his tail between his legs.  That¡¯s definitely something most Lancasters didn¡¯t have.  Especially among the younger generation.


    He no longer thought about that and just contacted Hildred to tell him to do some investigating.  He should get to the bottom of this and punish the people who should be punished.


    After all, Aster¡¯s brother almost got seriously hurt under his eyes..  Not being able to give that kid justice would just be too shameful.

 Chapter 198 - A WONDERFUL CO-STAR

    ¡°OKAY, cut!¡±


    When Astrid heard the director¡¯s call, he quickly got up from the arms of the actor he was acting with.  He looked at the man opposite him and saw that some of the fake blood on him had splattered on the other.


    ¡°I hope we finally got it right this time or else you have to change shirt again,¡± he joked.


    Jordan Preston ¨C the actor he just played that scene with ¨C chuckled.  ¡°You always got it right.  It was me who keeps on messing up.¡±


    Astrid shook his head.  ¡°How could that be?  If you¡¯re saying you¡¯re at fault, then, I¡¯m also as much to blame.¡±


    Jordan no longer insisted and just smiled.  He was actually not just being humble.  Since he took up the main role in [Blind Justice], he had never gotten an NG more than five times.  Well, except maybe was during the filming of the first few episodes.  But that was because he was still groping with the role he was playing.


    However, now, after almost a hundred episodes, he had already perfectly grasped the character of the role he¡¯s playing.  Acting as the leader of Themis was already akin to waking up to him.


    But this emotional scene that they shot just now truly had him struggling.  It¡¯s not because he didn¡¯t know how to act the scene but mainly because the one he¡¯s acting with was overpowering him.


    When he first heard that the one who would play the special role in the 100th episode was actually a newcomer, he was a bit skeptical.  After all, he had already read the script for that episode and knew that the special role needed someone with good acting skills to pull it off.  A barely passable acting would not do.  So, how could a newcomer who hadn¡¯t made a name yet for himself be able to do it?


    That skepticism only increased when he met Astrid this morning.  He honestly thought that their director only looked at the other¡¯s face that¡¯s why he gave him the role regardless of the person¡¯s talent.


    But during their first scene together, he was surprised and also very happy to find out that his assumptions were wrong.  Astrid not only subvert his expectations, he even surpassed it.


    Of course, there¡¯s nothing bad playing against a good actor.  But if one couldn¡¯t match their excellence, then that would transmit on the screen and the scene wouldn¡¯t be good to watch.  As an actor, he understood that perfectly.


    Jordan was still fine during the first few scenes.  But when it came to shooting the climax of his relationship with the role Astrid was playing, that¡¯s when the problem occurred.


    The scene was a very emotional one.  Both of them should show a myriad of emotions ¨C sadness, anger, hate.  It was very hard to portray.  But he did his best to do so.  It¡¯s just that, the level of his acting simply couldn¡¯t match with Astrid¡¯s.  Obviously, his best wasn¡¯t good enough.


    It¡¯s like he was already giving his 100% but the other was going overboard that.  Because of that the intensity they gave in their performance did not match.  It¡¯s no wonder that the director kept calling NG.


    He was the one mostly being scolded.  The few times Astrid was scolded was only because he didn¡¯t find the right camera angle.  While him, on the other hand, was because of his acting.  One could clearly see that the one who needed to step up his game was him.


    Jordan realized quickly that if he wanted to make the scene work, he had to match Astrid¡¯s ability.  Just because he was the older one and his senior in the industry, it didn¡¯t mean that he would ask the teenager to match his acting so they could pass this scene.  That would be too shameful.


    In order to get a much better scene, of course, the one who was lacking should be the one to match the other that was better than him.  Many might think that this could hurt their pride.  But Jordan didn¡¯t care much about that.  If it¡¯s for the betterment of this special episode, then, he would do it.


    [Blind Justice] had a special meaning to him.  It¡¯s the show that launched his career and put him to where he was now.  Without it, he wouldn¡¯t have the current popularity and status he had now.


    And besides¡­ he secretly glanced at their director, who was reviewing the scene they shot just now, and his eyes became unknowingly softer.  He really didn¡¯t want to disappoint Jean.


    Astrid, who caught this look, raised one of his brows.  The other might not know, but that look he had just now was full of unconcealed emotion.  Astrid glanced at the director and back to Jordan.  Was there something going on between these two?


    He shrugged.  Not that that was any of his problems.  He was just glad that, just like Ellis said, this male lead was pretty good.  He had a good attitude and wasn¡¯t the type to put on airs.  Even when the other was obviously being pressed by his acting, he didn¡¯t get annoyed and threw a tantrum.  Instead, he worked even harder to match his pace.


    It¡¯s always a joy to meet such a wonderful co-star.  How Astrid wished that that would always be the case.  But he knew that he probably just got lucky this time.


    ¡°Let¡¯s retake it one more time,¡± the director called.  ¡°Jordan, you¡¯re almost there.  Just a bit more push and everything will be perfect.  And Astrid, try to be more aware of the camera angles, okay?¡±


    Astrid and Jordan looked at each other, both have a helpless smile on their face.  Then, the two answered together;


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Meanwhile, at the Imperial Military Academy¡­


    It was already evening, the aspiring freshmen in the Mecha Department were all nervous because tomorrow, only those who passed the week-long training would be allowed to remain here.  Their future would be decided on that, how could they not be nervous?


    But two teenagers eating at the cafeteria didn¡¯t show this kind of nervousness at all..  One was Ash and the other was Reas.

 Chapter 199 - ASHS IMAGINATION

    ¡°ARE you going to leave the academy tomorrow after the ceremony?¡± Ash asked as he ate a piece of meat.


    It¡¯s because they would finally be allowed to leave the academy after the opening ceremony tomorrow.  But not all could attend the ceremony.  At least those who would pass the week-long training could.  But those who couldn¡¯t would have to leave the first thing in the morning.  Which was kind of harsh, by the way.


    The result of their week-long training would be sent to their Terminal later this evening.  And yes, they would finally be able to use their Terminals.


    Ash was not worried that he wouldn¡¯t pass.  He knew that he had done fairly well this past week.  In fact, he had almost always been at the third place during their training.  He was not dissatisfied with that.  Because he never once thought that his rank in this week-long training define who he was as a person.  Unlike some noble lord with the surname Lancaster.


    Although that was probably because he was a commoner and couldn¡¯t understand the politics of the nobles.  But that didn¡¯t mean that he could understand that guy¡¯s petty moves.  Like letting his minions annoy Reas just because the other was in a higher ranking.


    Speaking of that guy, Ash hadn¡¯t heard him apologized yet to Reas.  What, with that stint he pulled with the virtual pod.  Most importantly, that guy wasn¡¯t even punished for it.


    Knowing the general, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let this pass.  But considering how Cyrus wasn¡¯t still punished, it¡¯s one of two things.  It¡¯s either because the general still hadn¡¯t found an evidence to pin the whole thing on Cyrus or it wasn¡¯t the guy¡¯s fault all along.


    If it was the former, then the general would definitely not let Cyrus off once he found out that he was indeed behind the whole thing.  Cyrus wouldn¡¯t just be banned from studying in this military academy.  He would definitely be mocked by the upper nobility.  With how the general was, he would definitely not let Cyrus get away with a simple expulsion after doing something like that under his nose.


    But if it was the latter, then, things might get too complicated.  After all, it meant that a third party was involved.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Reas¡¯ short response to his question earlier cut short Ash¡¯s thoughts.  He looked at his room mate sitting opposite him, a bit surprised.  Because he thought that the other would remain at the dormitory.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going home to Palioxis Galaxy, right?¡±


    Reas only gave him a look as if he was asking a very stupid question.  But at the end still answered, ¡°I¡¯m going to meet my brother.  He¡¯s also studying here at the capital and living off-campus.¡±


    Ash was a bit surprised hearing that the other had a brother.  Probably because they had never really discussed their families that much.  This was actually the first time that Reas told something important about himself.  He felt a bit moved.  Did this guy finally consider him as a friend?


    ¡°Can I go with you?¡± he asked, because he was really curious about this ¡®brother¡¯.


    ¡°No,¡± Reas responded.  The way he gave his answer was even much faster than a streak of lightning.


    Ash pouted.  ¡°And here I thought we¡¯re getting closer.¡±


    Reas answer to that was only a raised brow.


    ¡°Is this brother a younger brother that¡¯s why you¡¯re being so protective?¡± Ash asked in curiosity.  ¡°Because that¡¯s totally misplaced, you know?  For the past week, haven¡¯t you felt how harmless I am?¡±


    And then, he made a puppy dog-eye gesture to show just how ¡®harmless¡¯ he was.


    ¡°If you¡¯re harmless, then, there¡¯s probably no innocent people left in the world,¡± Reas said, finishing up his meal.  ¡°And he¡¯s not my younger brother, he¡¯s my twin.¡±


    Although if Astrid was here, he would definitely say that he¡¯s the older one.


    Ash was about to react to the first part of what Reas said when he heard that last part.  His curiosity was instantly piqued the moment he heard that the other had a twin.


    ¡°You have a twin?  Which school is he attending?¡± he asked.


    ¡°A performing arts school,¡± Reas only said, not really elaborating.


    But that was enough for Ash to feed his imagination.  He wasn¡¯t sure how many performing arts schools were there in the capital.  But he knew that people who were students were mostly wanting to be an actor or a singer.  Was it the same for Reas¡¯ twin?


    He suddenly imagined a guy with the same face as Reas acting in movies and stuff and he almost couldn¡¯t help but laugh.  Because really, with this guy¡¯s cold attitude and mostly indifferent expression, he couldn¡¯t imagine someone with the same face behaving the exact opposite.


    Someone wanting to be an actor or a singer would definitely not act the same way as Reas.  That only made Ash want to meet this twin brother even more.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you really let me meet your brother?¡± he asked again.  ¡°Come on, it¡¯s not as if I bite.  Don¡¯t you want to introduce the only friend you met during training?  I¡¯m sure your brother would also be happy to meet me.¡±


    [That¡¯s not really what I¡¯m worrying about.] ¨C Reas answered in his mind.


    The most worrying thing was if this guy turned into one of those people who instantly liked Astrid in that way the moment they saw him.  If that were to happen, it would be too troublesome.  Especially since he was indeed starting to think of the other as a friend.


    He was about to reject Ash when a voice suddenly spoke beside their table.


    ¡°Sorry, Ash, you can¡¯t go and meet his brother.¡±


    Both raised their head and saw Hildred smiling down at them.


    ¡°Why?¡± Ash asked, not even minding the other¡¯s sudden appearance.


    ¡°Have you forgotten?  You¡¯re going to meet Lele,¡± Hildred said referring to Leland ¨C Ash¡¯s older brother.


    Ash pouted.  ¡°Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that.¡±


    Hildred looked at the kid¡¯s disappointed expression and almost wanted to say; ¡®You should be thankful I reminded you..  If Wulf found out that you met Astrid before he could, he¡¯d definitely torture you under the guise of training.¡¯

 Chapter 200 - CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART

    ¡°WHAT are you doing here, Brother Hil?¡± Ash asked, as if finally realizing that it was unusual for Hildred to suddenly appear here.


    ¡°I have a business with your roommate,¡± Hildred said before flicking Ash¡¯s forehead.  ¡°And don¡¯t call me ¡®Brother¡¯ while you¡¯re here at the academy.  Address me properly, okay?¡±


    Ash held his flicked forehead, obviously dissatisfied by the other¡¯s move.  But still said at the end, ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±


    Hildred turned to Reas.  ¡°If you¡¯re done eating, come with me.  Wulf wants to talk to you about that matter yesterday.¡±


    Reas first thought when he heard that was, ¡®aren¡¯t you also not properly addressing someone who¡¯s technically your superior?¡¯.  But that¡¯s not really any of his business.  So, he simply stood up and nodded, telling the other that he understood.


    Ash also suddenly stood up.  ¡°Can I come too?¡±


    Reas glanced at the other.  Ash looked particularly excited, as if he knew that if he went with them, he could watch a good ¡®show¡¯.


    Hildred put his hands on Ash¡¯s shoulders and pushed him back down on his seat without much force.  He then smiled and said, ¡°No.¡±


    Ash wanted to complain but the other already turned his back to him and started to walk towards the exit of the cafeteria.


    ¡°Can you take care of my food tray?¡± Reas asked, pertaining on depositing it to the area where the dirty dishes should be deposit.  ¡°Thanks!¡±


    And then, before the other could say anything, he had already trotted after Hildred.  Of course, he did not miss what Ash said after;


    ¡°Leaving like this and even asking me to put your tray away, if you have a conscience, you really must let me meet your brother.¡±


    Reas decided to ignore that and just continued walking.


    ¡°I suggest you don¡¯t feel too softhearted and decided to bring Ash with you tomorrow.  I was not lying earlier.  He and his older brother already made plans to meet,¡± Hildred said after they walked out of the cafeteria.


    What he said earlier was indeed not a lie.  Lele had been looking forward to having dinner with Ash.  It¡¯s probably so he could give his gift to the other for passing the week-long training of the academy.  That guy might act more like a strict ¡®parent¡¯ towards Ash rather than an older brother, but in truth, he really cared and adored this younger brother of his.


    ¡°I¡¯m not planning to,¡± Reas said.


    Hildred glanced back at the other and a teasing smile appeared on his lips.  ¡°Is it because you¡¯re afraid that Ash will fall in love at first sight with your brother?¡±


    Reas only gave the other a sideway glance and refused to entertain his question.


    Hildred¡¯s smile widened and just continued, not caring if Reas would respond to him or not.  ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that happening.  Although Astrid indeed has phenomenal beauty, not everyone would be fascinated by it.  But the most important reason, Ash, that kid, already has a childhood sweetheart.¡±


    Although from what he heard, this ¡®childhood sweetheart¡¯ suddenly disappeared one day.  Based on Ash¡¯s personality, he expected that the kid would ask Lele or any member of the Fenris Squad he was closed to to help him find the whereabouts of the person.


    But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Ash did not do any of that.  They respected that decision and didn¡¯t interfere.  According to Lele, this puppy love was probably just a phase that¡¯s why they shouldn¡¯t really worry too much.  After all, Ash was still young.  He hadn¡¯t even yet passed 20 years of age.  There¡¯s still about 250 years in his life.  What could he really know about love?


    Hildred didn¡¯t think so though.  He knew the look of someone who had fallen hard for another person.  How could he not when he could see it in front of the mirror every day?  And he also saw that look on Ash.


    But just like Lele, he chose not to interfere.  After all, it¡¯s not any of his business.


    Reas was actually taken aback when he heard what Hildred said.  That guy, Ash, actually had a childhood sweetheart?  Although he knew that the other had a higher EQ than him, he couldn¡¯t believe that he had already reached the point of having that kind of relationship.


    But he quickly recovered.  It¡¯s not really something uncommon.  So, he shouldn¡¯t be too surprised.  It just so happened that Ash was ahead of some people their age in the relationship department.  Just look at him, at his age, he had never thought of that.


    And then, as if his mind was playing tricks on him, a certain guy with dirty blond hair and a pair of dark brown eyes appeared in his thoughts out of nowhere.  He was startled and immediately shook his head in an attempt to also shake whatever the hell that was.


    Soon, he didn¡¯t have time to think about anything because they had arrived at the temporary office the academy provided for the general.


    Hildred swiped an ID card on the door and it opened.  He walked inside and Reas followed.  Inside, they found the general sitting behind a desk and another person standing in front of it ¨C Cyrus Lancaster.


    Reas didn¡¯t bother to glance at the latter and just also stood in front of the desk.  ¡°Sir,¡± he called, respectfully.


    He actually didn¡¯t think that he would really come to a point where he would use such a tone in speaking with the general.  But this past week, he had to agree and reluctantly accept that the other was indeed a good soldier.  No, not just good but the best there was.


    Despite all his negative opinion about the other, he couldn¡¯t take that away from him.  The general should be given the respect he deserved.  Especially in this kind of setting.  Where he was an aspiring soldier and the other was his superior.


    Wulfric nodded and quietly glanced at the two teenagers standing in front of him.


    ¡°You probably already know why I called the two of you here,¡± he started..  ¡°Let¡¯s begin discussing what happened yesterday.¡±

 Chapter 201 - THE ONE RESPONSIBLE

    ¡°IT¡¯S true that the virtual pod that Townsend used was tampered,¡± Wulfric said.  ¡°To be precise, all of the virtual pods yesterday were tampered.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Cyrus clenched his fists.  Because now, the argument ¡®how would we even know which virtual pod he would use?¡¯ was now invalid.  It meant that this incident was targeted towards Townsend.  And the possibility that it had something to do with his family just now became extremely high.  He definitely wasn¡¯t the only one who thought so.


    Wulfric observed the reaction of the when he said that.  Reas remained indifferent.  It¡¯s almost as if the one who chose to solve things yesterday using violence was not him but another person.  Seeing his calm reaction now, one would think that the burst of temper he showed yesterday was just a one-time thing.  But Wulfric didn¡¯t think so.


    Considering Reas¡¯ reaction when it came to Aster, there¡¯s definitely a trigger that could easily set off his emotion.  But that was understandable.  The other was still young.  The fact that he could maintain his cool at this moment was good enough.


    When he was at his age, what he would have done with the situation yesterday would definitely be much worse.  He would not only beat the shit out of Cyrus Lancaster and his cronies, he would have also wrecked the whole training room.


    Contrary to Reas, the Lancaster brat looked frustrated, angry even.  It seemed that he also understood the implication of what he just said.  Good.  At least he¡¯s not stupid.


    Wulfric then continued;


    ¡°The one who tampered with the virtual pods was an infamous cyber criminal.  If you¡¯re keeping up with the Empire¡¯s most wanted list, then you might have probably heard their name.  Or at least the moniker that the military had given them.  They¡¯re known as ¡®Specter¡¯.¡±


    This Specter hacked into the virtual pods system via the academy¡¯s main computer.  And also, through that, he managed to hack the cameras in the training room.  He just had to wait for the Cyrus Lancaster¡¯s opponent during the virtual Mecha fight and activate the program.


    The military didn¡¯t know Specter¡¯s real identity or even their gender for that matter.  They¡¯d only given him that nickname because of the common code he left every time he hacked into a system.  5P3C73R ¨C that was the code.  Which if one read in another way would give you the name ¡®Specter¡¯.


    He was an infamous hacker who had only been active for three years.  But despite that, he had already been a headache for the military.  He had been mostly doing cyber heist.  Stealing from banks and other big corporations.  He also accepts commissions of any kind.  As long as it had something to do with hacking on some system or another.  But his rate was so sky high that most didn¡¯t find it worth it.  Besides, those who could afford it weren¡¯t exactly people that the Specter welcomed as customers.


    The guy or gal had some grudge against nobles and other overly rich people.  That¡¯s why most of the time, they were the target of Specter¡¯s cyber heist.  It¡¯s also the reason why the other was put on the most wanted list.  Because of the pressure from the nobles that they stole from.


    From the military¡¯s information, Specter didn¡¯t accept commissions from nobilities.  That¡¯s why Wulfric was confused when he read Hildred¡¯s report.  He first wondered if someone was framing Specter so Wulfric would go after them.  Especially since their signature was found on the program that was used to tamper the virtual pod¡¯s system.  As if it was purposely left there.


    But what happened next cleared his confusion.


    When Fenris Squad¡¯s technical team tried to trace the source of the program, they were met by a virus.  If they continued their search, it would just compromise Beowulf¡¯s system.  So, they had to stop.  Then, right after that, a video file just suddenly appeared on the screen along with a message.


    [To the crazy prince of the Empire, this is the evidence showing the person who paid me to mess with the virtual pods of the Imperial Military Academy.  Aren¡¯t I such a good Samaritan?  So, don¡¯t put all the blame on me.  I was just doing what I was paid for.  And oh, by the way, there¡¯s a failsafe on the program I put on those virtual pods.  No one would be hurt even if they board it.  After all, how dare I hurt our Empire¡¯s future soldiers?  Anyway, I do hope the crazy prince would appreciate my gift.  ¨C 5P3C73R]


    That message was so irritating that Wulfric almost punched the virtual screen.  But he also understood something from that.  Even his confusion about Specter¡¯s action was cleared.


    The other didn¡¯t plan to cooperate at all to whoever commissioned them.  It¡¯s highly probable that Specter only agreed to get the money and then proceeded on backstabbing the one who commissioned him.


    When he watched the video file that the other sent, he understood why they did it.  At least, it matched his noble-hating persona.


    Cyrus¡¯ nails almost dug into his palms after hearing about ¡®Specter¡¯.  He suddenly wanted to curse.  Because he already had an idea where this conversation was headed.


    Reas, on the other hand, didn¡¯t know who this ¡®Specter¡¯ was.  But knowing that it was actually a hacker who was responsible for what happened yesterday meant that he probably blamed the wrong person yesterday.  He probably should prepare an apology.  Not it suddenly felt like he over-reacted.


    ¡°We already found the one who hired Specter to tamper on the virtual pods,¡± Wulfric said.  Then, he turned to the Lancaster brat.  ¡°It¡¯s one of your cousins ¨C Kristoff Lancaster.¡±


    Cyrus closed his eyes, trying to quell the anger that rose up inside him.  Although he was already expecting it, he still couldn¡¯t stop himself from cursing, ¡°That f*cking stupid bastard.¡±


    Reas, who heard this mumble, raised one of his brows.  His immediate thought after he heard that the one responsible was one of Cyrus Lancaster¡¯s cousins ¨C the other must have ask his cousin for help.


    But after hearing him cursing with such raw emotion, maybe that wasn¡¯t the case.

 Chapter 202 - GOOD

    THE general¡¯s next words answered Reas¡¯ question about whether Cyrus Lancaster indeed asked this cousin to help the other deal with him.


    ¡°We discovered from the evidence we found that your brainless cousin wanted to frame you for what happened yesterday.  It¡¯s obvious that he was quite determined to ruin your reputation.  Probably wanting you to be out of favored and be ostracized by your family.  Quite the jealous and insecure guy, if I must say.  Good for you, the criminal he hired actually had a semblance of conscience.  He didn¡¯t frame you and he even went as far as giving us the vital evidence that it was your cousin who was behind it all.¡±


    The video that Specter sent them was actually a direct recording of his video call with this Kristoff Lancaster.  So, everything that the other said was caught on camera.    From asking the hacker to sabotage the virtual pods and then framing it on his cousin.  To how much he would pay Specter for it.


    It was really stupid in Wulfric¡¯s opinion.  The other was dealing with a fairly well-known hacker.  So, why, why would he contact him personally and even choose video call as a means of communication?  It¡¯s either someone was setting him up or he just really didn¡¯t have that much of a brain cell.  Wulfric had a feeling that it was the latter.


    After all, if someone else was behind this, that Specter should have already mentioned it.  The fact that he didn¡¯t just prove that this Kristoff Lancaster truly lacked intelligence.  No wonder he couldn¡¯t surpass his much more talented cousin.


    That was¡­ a bit unexpected. ¨C Reas thought after he heard that.  Well, if he thought about it carefully, a big noble family like the Lancasters would definitely have some weird power struggle within.  There¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t have some sort of politics.


    It was something that he would probably never understand.  After all, he grew up in a very loving family.  The idea of them hurting each other in any way was very foreign to him.


    Anyway, it seemed that he indeed owed Cyrus Lancaster an apology for beating the crap out of him yesterday.


    Cyrus, on the other hand, was just trembling with so much anger.  Really, how could someone be so stupid?


    He knew Kristoff disliked him.  Mostly because they were of the same age and almost always compared with each other.  Cyrus being an overachiever and the other being the complete opposite just forced them to not get along with each other.


    On his end, he didn¡¯t really care much.  He just wanted to do the best he could in every way, so nobody could mock him.  He really didn¡¯t put Kristoff and his antics in his eyes.  For him, he was just an immature brat who was just there to do immature things.


    But that wasn¡¯t the case for Kristoff, obviously.  The other thought of him as an enemy who was stealing all limelight.  He probably thought that if he wasn¡¯t there, then the attention of everyone would be on him.  But what he failed to understand was even without Cyrus, there was no way he would ¡®shine¡¯.  He just didn¡¯t have the ability for that to happen.


    Cyrus was convinced that the thing that instigated Kristoff to do this was because of their last family dinner.  It¡¯s where all members of the family go back to the main house twice a year to have dinner together.  They talked about topics concerning the family, as well as solve problems made by some family members.


    When the topic turned to Cyrus applying to enter the Imperial Military Academy, Kristoff then said that he also wanted to apply to the same military academy.  But their grandfather immediately rejected that proposal.  Saying that he didn¡¯t have the ability and that lack thereof would only put shame to their family¡¯s name.


    Kristoff¡¯s frustration was probably slowly piling up since then.  And this was just the result of him finally exploding.  But his choice just proved how right their grandfather was to not allow him to enter the Imperial Military Academy.


    ¡°Since we have already proven your innocence, I will not punish you for what happened.  But if you go and rat this out to your family, so, they could fix this situation before it could get bigger, I will make sure that you will be expelled from this academy.  You catch my drift?¡±


    This was a good opportunity for Wulfric to hit the Lancasters¡¯ reputation.  That family was having it good these past years.  It would really make him happy if he could put a stop to their lucky streak.  To do that without a hitch, he needed this Lancaster brat to not warn his family about this.


    So, the other¡¯s next actions would prove whether he¡¯s just another Lancaster or if he had big enough balls to separate himself from his family and act indepently.


    Cyrus remained silent for a few seconds, as if he was contemplating what his answer would be.  And he was.  As a Lancaster, it¡¯s his responsibility to make sure that their name wouldn¡¯t be tarnished by such a thing.  But at the same time, he knew that the prince also meant what he said.  He would really make it impossible for him to be in this academy if he didn¡¯t do as he said.


    It¡¯s no secret that the prince despised the Lancasters.  If not probably for the current emperor, the prince wouldn¡¯t hesitate to massacre them all and erased them from this Empire.


    Even though it looked like Cyrus was considering which option he should choose, deep inside, he knew that he had already made a decision.  He took a deep breath and finally said;


    ¡°I will not say anything about this to my family.  Your Highness can do whatever you want with this information and I, Cyrus Lancaster, won¡¯t do anything to stop you.¡±


    Reas glanced sideways at Cyrus, he seemed to discover a newfound side of this guy.  And he wasn¡¯t really sure what to feel about that.


    Wulfric, on the other hand, grinned.  Almost like a beast showing his sharp fangs..  ¡°Good.¡±

 Chapter 203 - HOW WAS TRAINING?

    ¡°THE both of you can go now,¡± Wulfric said after saying all the things he wanted to say.  ¡°Oh, and the result of the week-long training would be posted later.  After that, you can use your Terminal again.  Go and contact your families.¡±


    Reas felt the general¡¯s gaze when the other said the last part, almost as if he was directly talking to him.  He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  Because he was sure that the other was most likely referring to Astrid.


    Although he had come to respect the general as a soldier, it didn¡¯t mean that he was no longer on the fence about the other¡¯s interest in his brother.  This and that were completely two different things.


    On the other hand, Cyrus felt that the prince was actually threatening him by saying that.  It¡¯s like the other was saying, ¡®go, contact your family, let¡¯s see if you will really do as you promised¡¯.  Was this some kind of test?  That was all he could think about.


    Even when he walked out of the office, he kept on reminding himself not to open his Terminal even if he could use it freely again.  Just to be careful.  For now, he should think more of what he should do next.


    Because right now he was trapped between a rock and a hard place.  If he did one of the other, the side that he did not choose would surely not make it easy for him.  He sighed.  But he had already made his choice.  So, he should face all the consequence that would result from it.


    ¡°Lancaster!¡±


    Because Cyrus¡¯ mind was still filled with a lot of thoughts, his head glanced back on reflex when he heard someone calling him.  When he saw the person who called him, a frown immediately appeared on his face.


    ¡°What?¡± he said impatiently.


    Reas stopped in front of Lancaster and did what he thought he should do at this moment.  He bowed slightly and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what happened yesterday.  I shouldn¡¯t have jumped into conclusion and used violence.  You¡¯re right, my actions were truly unbefitting of a soldier.¡±


    Since he was the one on the wrong, it¡¯s only right for him to apologize.  His parents had always taught him and his brother that.  He was indeed very prejudiced against the other because of the Lancaster name.  He really couldn¡¯t help it.  The history between their families easily made it that way.


    But this incident proved to him that a single rock couldn¡¯t represent a whole mountain.  Cyrus might be a Lancaster but he wasn¡¯t his family.  This incident gave Reas a new perspective when it came to the other.  From now on, he wouldn¡¯t think of Cyrus as simply a Lancaster.  But a fellow freshman of the same military academy.


    Cyrus was completely taken aback by this sudden apology.  Because it was the last thing he expected from Townsend.  He thought the other called him so he could mock him.  After all, even though he wasn¡¯t directly involved in what happened, it was still connected to him.  But who would have thought that instead of doing that, Townsend would actually apologize?


    It made him unsure of what to do or how to even react.  So, to mask the awkwardness he¡¯s feeling, he could only scoff and said, ¡°Whatever.¡±  He planned to continue walking but stopped.  He then turned around and added, ¡°I won¡¯t lose to you again.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that will happen.  But we¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    Just as Reas walked into his dorm room, his Terminal that had been quiet for a week suddenly sounded a notification.  He opened the Terminal and saw that he just received the result of their week-long training.


    He sat down on the chair under his loft bed and opened it.  Just as expected, he was ranked one.  Below him was Cyrus Lancaster.  And Ash was the one ranked third.


    The total number of people who passed and would be formally accepted to the academy was only 189.  That was a far cry from their original number which was about 500.


    Reas thought that there would be at least 300 students who would be allowed to stay here.  He didn¡¯t expect that it would be this small.


    He read the names of those who passed and he noticed that most of the people who followed Lancaster during this past week were not on the list.  He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because their performance just didn¡¯t meet the standard or if it was because instead of acting like proper soldiers, they instead followed behind Cyrus Lancaster as if they were his attendants.


    Well, whatever the case, Reas didn¡¯t really care.  It had nothing to do with him anyway.


    He closed the list and decided to call his brother first since he could now use his Terminal.  The video call was connected instantly.  But when his brother appeared on the virtual screen, Reas heart almost stopped.


    There was dried blood on Astrid¡¯s forehead and cheek.  His black hair was all messy.  Even his clothes appeared to be torn and also stained with blood.


    ¡°Aster, what happened?  Are you okay?  Who did this to you?  No, I should go where you are now.  Where¡ª¡±


    ¡°Reas, relax.  I¡¯m not hurt, this is just make-up,¡± Astrid cut whatever his brother was about to say.


    He looked at the other with amusement.  This was probably the first time he saw the other so panicked.  But that was understandable considering that Reas had no idea that he was filming right now.  Seeing him with such a look would surely cause the other to panic and worry.


    Astrid should have probably thought of that when he answered the call.  But when he saw that it was his brother, he didn¡¯t think much and just answered it.


    The worry and anger that Reas felt upon seeing Astrid in this way slowly subsided.  He finally noticed that the blood on the other was fake.  ¡°You¡¯re filming?¡± he asked just to make sure.


    Astrid nodded.  ¡°Sister Ellis secured a special guest role for me in a web drama.¡±  But he wasn¡¯t really interested in discussing that..  He was much more interested with what happened to his brother this past week.  ¡°So, how was training?¡±

 Chapter 204 - ABDUCTED AND REPLACED

    ASTRID was back to his hotel room.  He just finished bathing and was now wearing casual clothes.  His and Ellis¡¯ flight back to capital was scheduled two hours now.  So, he still had time to call Reas back.


    It¡¯s because earlier when he asked the other how was his training, Reas told him to call him back when he¡¯s alone and in a private space.  Because what he was about to tell was not something for the public to hear.


    With all the secrecy, one would think that his brother was about to tell him some top-secret government intelligence.  But he didn¡¯t doubt Reas and just agreed.


    Now that he¡¯s alone and finally feeling a bit refreshed after an entire day of filming, he decided to call Reas back.  It didn¡¯t take long for the call to connect and his brother¡¯s handsome face appeared on the virtual screen of his Terminal.


    ¡°So, have you called our parents and told them the good news?¡± he first asked.


    Before they hung up the call earlier, Reas told him that he passed the training ¨C which he didn¡¯t doubt even for a second ¨C and that he even ranked as first place.  That¡¯s why he asked that question.  Since there was plenty of time between Reas¡¯ first call and this one.  Surely, his brother thought of calling their parents during that time.


    As expected, Reas nodded to his question.  ¡°They¡¯re very happy with the result.¡±


    Especially their father.  The other showed such a proud look when Reas told them that he not only passed, he was even ranked first amongst all the aspiring students of the Mecha Department.  Probably because the other was once a soldier and had also gone through the same thing.


    If not for the fact that their father and mother needed to hide their identities because of what happened in the past, Reas was certain that their father would make a great soldier.  But because of that animal, Cecil Lancaster, he chose revenge instead of continuing on his path as a soldier.  Which no one could really blame him for.


    Although their parents were now happy living a peaceful and happy life as ordinary farmers, there were still a lot of things taken from them because of what happened with that Cecil Lancaster.  The system failed them.  All because that animal was a noble.  And not just any noble but someone who belonged to a powerful family.


    If that bastard was a commoner, with the atrocities that he had done, their father would have been treated like a hero for killing the other.  But no, he was put on the most wanted list instead.  All so the Lancasters could get some sort of compensation for a family member being killed.  What a bunch of bullshit.


    It¡¯s the reason why Reas just couldn¡¯t help but be angry at those Lancasters, no matter if they had something to do with what happened before or not.  In his opinion, even the Grimaldis were the same.  Probably with just the exception of their mother¡¯s younger brother.


    The current emperor was also to blame.  After the former emperor took back most of the Lancasters¡¯ political and military power, he really just had to slowly give those powers back.


    Now, he kind of wish that the general was the emperor instead.  At least, with him, Reas knew that the other would not only strip the Lancasters with their power, he might even execute the ones at the very top of that family.


    Astrid noticed the shift in his brother¡¯s emotion.  Even though the other didn¡¯t say anything about it, he already had an idea on what might have caused this shift.  Since they were just talking about their parents¡¯ reaction to the good news, it obviously had something to do with that.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about the negative stuff,¡± he said.  ¡°Just remember that our parents and I are very proud of what you have accomplished so far.  No matter what happens in the future, we will always have your back.¡±


    Hearing what his brother just said, Reas¡¯ mood visibly got better.  Yes, this was not the time to think about those negative things.  He didn¡¯t want to spoil something good by thinking of those people.  What¡¯s important here was the happiness his family felt for him because of this good news.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said, finally showing a small smile.


    ¡°So, when are you going to tell me about what happened to you this past week?¡± Astrid said, finally asking the question.


    ¡°I was just about to do that,¡± Reas responded.


    He stared at his brother and then had some second thoughts if he should actually tell the other everything that had happened.  Especially the things that involved the general.  But then again, if he didn¡¯t, most of the things he would say would not really make much sense.


    He sighed and just decided to go for it.  It¡¯s not like he would be lying.  Or that he would be praising the general.  He would just simply tell Astrid the details of the things that happened to him as they were.


    He started with, ¡°Well, for one, the person in charged of our training was General Lunaris.¡±


    It took a few seconds for those words to register in Astrid¡¯s mind.  Because he had to think first who this ¡®General Lunaris¡¯ was.  And then, he remembered that in this Empire, there¡¯s only one person who could use that surname along with the title of general.


    It¡¯s Wulfric.


    He wasn¡¯t sure which one he should be surprised with ¨C the fact that Wulfric actually agreed to train students or that Reas was talking about the other with no derision in his voice, he could even hear a bit of respect in it.  Yeah, there¡¯s no contest, the latter was definitely more surprising.


    ¡°It seemed like the prince did a pretty good job training you,¡± he said in a tentative tone.


    ¡°Hmm, he¡¯s okay.  Much better than what I initially thought,¡± Reas said, shrugging.  ¡°In fact, he¡¯s training method was very effective.  I learned quite a lot from him.¡±


    As much as he hated to admit that, it was the truth.


    He looked at his brother and was confused when he saw the other looking at him as if he was abducted by another interstellar race and was replaced by another entity.

 Chapter 205 - A PASSING WHIM... OR IS IT?

    REAS saw his brother¡¯s expression and he immediately knew what the other was thinking.  He already expected that the other might give him this kind of look once he said something remotely good about the general.  But what could he do?  He didn¡¯t want to lie just so he could affect Astrid¡¯s opinion on the general.


    He was not so petty as to do that.  Only those with a scheming mind that often used it for harming others would do that.  Although he still disapproved of whatever fascination the general had towards Astrid, it didn¡¯t mean that he would lower the other¡¯s ability in the eyes of his brother.  He would give credit where credit was due.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± Reas said in a complaining tone in response to Astrid¡¯s reaction to what he said.  ¡°As I¡¯ve said, his teaching method was surprisingly very effective.¡±


    He taught them through muscle memory.  Making them remember the important things through physical exertion.  In short, he beat them up until they could learn the things he was trying to impart on them.  And just like he said, it was surprisingly effective.  Much more effective than any theoretical classes they had this week.


    ¡°So¡­ you like him now?¡± Astrid asked, full of curiosity.


    ¡°As a soldier, I respect him.  As an individual, however, that¡¯s still debatable,¡± ¨C was only Reas¡¯ dry response.


    But that was already a huge leap in Astrid¡¯s opinion.  A week ago, it probably wouldn¡¯t even cross his mind that the word ¡®respect¡¯ would come out of Reas¡¯ mouth while talking about Wulfric.  It almost seemed like a miracle.


    Reas giving respect to Wulfric as a soldier meant that in this past week, he saw something in the other that made him feel like that.  And that¡¯s no easy feat.  Especially considering his brother¡¯s prejudice towards Wulfric.  The other must have done a really good job training those students.


    But the questioned remained, why would that guy even do something like that?  It¡¯s so¡­ out of character.  Maybe he was forced to do it.  After all, he¡¯s still a general of an army.  It might be one of his duties or something.  But then again, was there really anyone in this Empire who could force Wulfric to do anything?


    Somehow, Astrid highly doubted that.  Even the emperor would most likely be unable to force him to do anything he didn¡¯t want.  And that put them back to the original question ¨C why?


    It wouldn¡¯t be because he knew that Reas was one of the upcoming freshmen of the Imperial Military Academy so he volunteered to be their trainer, right?  Even he thought that was absurd.  Because it meant that the other did that so he could leave a better impression on his brother.  Which in turn would help in easing Astrid and Wulfric relationship.


    He knew that Wulfric was interested in him.  In a way that a child was interested in his newly bought toy.  Yes, the other might have shown a much mature side by apologizing to him.  But it didn¡¯t change the fact that what Wulfric was feeling towards him was most likely just a passing whim.


    Once it passed, it would also disappear.  As if it had never existed.


    In the slim chance that this assumption was wrong and all his actions were not because of something temporary and shallow, then, Astrid honestly had no idea how he might react.


    Because having the White Wolf of Alluna show that kind of romantic interest towards anyone would definitely be not as easy as a walk in the park.


    Astrid shook his head.  Why was he even thinking about these things?  It¡¯s not as if it would even happen.  Maybe all the compliments he had been hearing about his appearance finally got to his head.  To the point that his self-love just evolved to the next level and he thought that the prince of this Empire would fall for him just because he caught his interest.


    ¡°Is there anything else that happened?  Did you just have pure training for the past week?¡± he asked, changing the subject.  ¡°How about a new friend, did you meet one?¡±


    Reas didn¡¯t notice whatever mental gymnastics had gone through his brother¡¯s head a while ago.  So, he honestly answered Astrid¡¯s question.


    ¡°Well, my roommate is pretty okay.  His name¡¯s Ash.  A bit of a chatterbox.  But not in that annoying kind of way,¡± Reas said.  ¡°Actually, all we did was training.  Although there¡¯s one incident yesterday that deviated a bit from that.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    And then Reas proceeded on telling his brother about what happened yesterday with the virtual pod he was using.  Him blaming it on Lancaster.  And then, the general finding what really happened and telling them the result of his investigation.


    When Astrid heard all of that, it took him quite a bit to digest all the information that Reas just told him.  From the fact that there¡¯s a Lancaster training with his brother to them clearing up the misunderstanding and proving that it was another Lancaster who was the culprit.


    ¡°Is the one responsible going to be punished?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Oh yes, definitely,¡± Reas said with confidence, remembering what the general said earlier to them and Cyrus Lancaster.


    Yes, this was Wulfric they were talking about.  That guy was definitely not the type of person who would allow anyone to do some hocus-pocus in the territory that he was supervising.  Then, there¡¯s no need for him to worry that Reas would suffer injustice from what happened.


    ¡°How about that, what was his name?  Ah, that Cyrus Lancaster.  Are you okay having him around?¡±


    Because based on what Reas had told him, this person also passed the training period.  So, his brother would definitely meet him more frequently in the future.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Reas said, shrugging.  He doubted that the other would do those small petty tricks he had done this past week to trouble him.  What happened with this incident definitely taught him some hard-earned lesson.  ¡°As surprising as this may sound, he¡¯s not that bad.  At least he¡¯s infinitely a much better person than that animal who ruined our parents¡¯ lives.¡±


    Hearing that, Astrid was quite surprised..  He definitely should ask his brother more about that in detail once they met tomorrow.

 Chapter 206 - REALLY UNLUCKY

    ASTRID pulled down the cap on his head, to make sure that not a strand of his hair would show to others.  He was currently inside the big auditorium of Redwood Academy for Performing Arts, sitting on one of the seats and listening to the vice-president welcoming all the incoming freshman this school year.


    All the freshmen of the three departments were here.  Which actually surprised Astrid.  He thought that each department would have their own orientation.  But he guessed this was probably much more efficient.  At least, it would save the faculty members time and space for orientation.


    He wasn¡¯t really interested in whatever the vice-president was saying.  So, he just kept his head lowered and tried his best not to attract attention to himself.  His followers on his [Cyberspace] account had stabilized to 360,000.  Although it¡¯s not much in comparison to big stars, it¡¯s still quite a lot in terms of being a newcomer who still hadn¡¯t had any works to his name.


    He was sure that there would be people here who would recognize him.  They were all aspiring artists.  Having someone of the same starting point be ahead of them would certainly piss one or two people.  And Astrid really didn¡¯t want to go through that drama.


    He planned to just stay for the orientation and leave immediately once its finished.  Then, go straight to the Imperial Military Academy to meet up with Reas.


    Truthfully, if their attendance wouldn¡¯t be checked, he would not even think of attending this orientation.  He wondered at first how they would check the attendance of each student.  He didn¡¯t expect that before entering the auditorium, they had to press their thumb on some fingerprint identifying machine.


    Astrid was again reminded that he was living in an era with very advanced technologies.  Something simple as checking attendance shouldn¡¯t be a problem at all.


    The speech of the vice-president continued.  By the time he was finished, it already felt like forever had passed.  After him, it was the turn of the deans of each of the three departments.  Thankfully, the three deans didn¡¯t make their speeches as long as the vice-president.


    The content of their speech was pretty much the same.  Welcoming the students into their respective department and encouraging them.  The speech of the three deans combined didn¡¯t last for 30 minutes.


    After that, they were told that AI robots would be around the campus offering tours.  They could go to one after the orientation and do a tour around the campus.  They were also free to just go home.


    Astrid did not hesitate to pick the latter.


    He didn¡¯t need to have that tour since he had already familiarized himself with the map of the academy.  He already knew which way to go and which way he shouldn¡¯t.  He¡¯s not directionally challenged.  So, he¡¯s not worried that he would be lost once class started.  Which was tomorrow by the way.


    He fixed his cap and walked out of the auditorium.  He quickened his steps to make sure that he could leave the place as fast as possible.  He even took the long way just so he could avoid most of the students.  And he was almost successful too.


    Why ¡®almost¡¯ you asked?  Well, just as he was walking near a parking lot that was now barely used because of its location, he heard a rather suspicious conversation.


    ¡°Can you hurry it up?  We need to get this bastard out of here before someone passed by and sees us!¡± one voice said.


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m slowing down on purpose?  This guy is heavy despite how he looks,¡± another one said.  ¡°But we¡¯re really lucky that he passed by here or else we probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do what the second young master had ordered.¡±


    ¡°What luck?  It¡¯s obviously thanks to the information provided by the second young master,¡± the one who first spoke retorted.  ¡°The young master clearly knew the habit of this bastard.¡±


    ¡°But this one is really pretty.  Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s such a waste to just leave him for dead?  Maybe we should sell him somewhere.  We¡¯ll definitely make good money.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding?  If this little bastard is left alive, the chances of the lord finding out what we did would increase tremendously.  Then, it would be our necks on the line.  It¡¯s better to just let him die.¡±


    Astrid, who had already stopped walking, felt like he was really unlucky.  The last time he took a shortcut, he witnessed some students bullying another person.  Now that he took the long way, he just heard two people planning a murder.  Maybe next time he should have just walk on the right path.


    Still, he couldn¡¯t just walk away after hearing what he just heard.  How could he when he knew that someone was about to be killed if he just walked away and pretended that he didn¡¯t hear anything.  He wasn¡¯t that heartless.


    But seriously, how could these two be talking casually about letting someone die?  Were they so confident that no one would pass by here and overhear them?  What a waste of money.


    He carefully walked to the direction where the voice came from and then quickly hid himself behind a nearby tree so as to not alarm the two of his presence.  He peeked from the tree and saw two men.  One was carrying an unconscious teenager while the other was opening the trunk of a parked car.


    Astrid opened his Terminal and took photos of what the two were doing.  He made sure that their faces would be crystal clear on the photos.  Then, the moment one of them put the unconscious boy inside the trunk, Astrid pushed his mental power towards the two.


    He didn¡¯t pull back with his punches and used enough force to have them foaming in the mouth.  But not too much that he would fry their brains.  And, as expected, the two fainted with their eyes rolled back and saliva drizzling down their mouth.


    The next thing Astrid did was to rush to the two quickly.  It just so happened that the key to the car fell down along with one of the two men.  He picked up the key and opened the back seat of the car remotely using it.


    He peered down on the trunk where the unconscious teenager was and was surprised to see that the other was indeed quite pretty.  He had light silvery blue hair that curled around his small face.  His long eyelashes of the same color formed shadows on his snowy white cheeks.  And his naturally red lips were slightly parted.


    If he was from the acting department, then, he certainly had the looks.


    Realizing that this was not the time to be ogling this guy, Astrid lifted the other and put him on the backseat.  He glanced at the other two unconscious men and then unceremoniously stuffed both inside the truck.  After closing it, he went to the driver¡¯s seat.  Then, he inputted their destination on the car¡¯s GPS system.


    The car slowly floated and then flew to the direction of their destination ¨C the Imperial Military Academy.


    Astrid then opened his Terminal and sent a message to his brother.


    [Is the prince still there?]

 Chapter 207 - OPENING CEREMONY

    REAS was sitting among with his fellow freshmen of the Imperial Military Academy, listening to the speech of the academy¡¯s chancellor.  It was very formal-like, full of congratulations and positive encouragement.  Reas didn¡¯t really care much for it.  Frankly speaking, if he was not sitting at the very front seat of this auditorium, he would have already dosed off.


    The students who were sitting in this auditorium and listening to this speech were the ones who successfully passed the week-long training.  Their numbers barely even reached a thousand.  One could say that the ones here were indeed the best of the best.


    They were seated based on their department and the ranks they got during training.  That¡¯s why Reas was at the very front and beside him was Cyrus Lancaster.  Ash was sitting beside the other.  Ash had been talking to him despite Cyrus sitting in between them.


    It¡¯s actually quite a huge feat that the chancellor who had been speaking on the stage hadn¡¯t yet scolded the other.  Or maybe he just chose to ignore it.  But the one who probably couldn¡¯t ignore it any longer was Cyrus.


    ¡°Hey, hey, Reas¡ª¡±


    ¡°Can you stop with your yammering?¡± Cyrus cut off whatever Ash was about to say.  ¡°Talk to Townsend once we¡¯re outside and not with me stuck sitting between the two of you.  I don¡¯t want to hear any of what you¡¯re saying.  It¡¯s not only unnecessary, it¡¯s downright annoying!¡±


    ¡°Hey, relax, dude.  Who told you to rank second?¡± Ash retorted as if it was Cyrus¡¯ fault that he was feeling annoyed right now.


    Cyrus seemed about to explode and shout at Ash but stopped because of the next thing that the chancellor said.


    ¡°And now, let¡¯s all welcome the youngest General of our Empire.  The White Wolf of Alluna ¨C His Highness, Wulfric de Lunaris!¡±


    The whole auditorium visibly quietened down.  It¡¯s like one could even hear their own breathing.  If a pin dropped right at this moment, it would definitely echo in this silence.


    Then, from behind the stage walked out a tall man in white military uniform.  His white hair was neatly combed and his golden eyes were subtly filled with irritation.  He walked to the center of the stage and pulled the neckline of his uniform.  As if he was uncomfortable that he was properly wearing his military uniform.


    ¡°I was invited here today to give you lot a pep talk because apparently this school year is a special year for this academy.  And thus, making you who managed to qualify to be a student here very special,¡± he started.  ¡°But guess what?  You¡¯re not.  You¡¯re just like any other kid out there standing at the starting point of your life.  Whatever choices you make from here on out will define whether you¡¯ll be someone great or just¡­ someone.


    ¡°The Imperial Military Academy will provide you with the guidance, the tools, and the learning materials for you to reach whatever aspiration you might have when you decided to enter this place.  If by the end of your studies and you still haven¡¯t learned a damn bit, then, that¡¯s on you.


    ¡°So, my only advice, and this one works in any situation, whether you¡¯re a student wanting to be a soldier or a poor man wanting to have a good life, work your ass off.  Don¡¯t be fucking lazy.  Because the moment you stop trying, then your life will also stop moving at that moment.  You will forever stay at that point, wondering where everything had gone wrong.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably everything I wanted to say.  Whether you put it into heart or not is up to you.  Oh, and congratulations on passing the week-long training and managing to be a student of this academy.¡±


    The chancellor didn¡¯t know how to react after hearing that speech.  Although the speech itself had some lessons in it, the way the prince had said it was, well, very much like the prince.  Blunt and full of hidden barbs.  At the end, he simply chose not to react.  It¡¯s not as if the other had said something inappropriate anyway.


    After finishing the speech that Leland had gave him ¨C well, at his version of it ¨C Wulfric walked to the back of the stage.


    The students on the audience area remained silent.  No one knew who clapped first but after that one clap, everyone followed and the auditorium was filled with thunderous applause.


    ¡°Who would have thought the general would actually put an effort to make a speech that makes sense?¡± Ash commented.


    ¡°I think he only made that up on the spot,¡± Reas said.


    But nevertheless, that speech was still not that bad.  It¡¯s actually quite good.  Straightforward and didn¡¯t stray from the important points.


    The chancellor then said a few more things before the opening ceremony ended.


    Reas walked out of the auditorium along with the others.  He hadn¡¯t yet walked a few steps when he felt an arm over his shoulder.  He knew it was Ash so he simply gave the other a sideway glance, asking with his eyes what he wanted.


    ¡°I¡¯m off to meet my brother, you too as well, right?¡±


    Reas nodded.


    ¡°Then, see you tomorrow.  Next time, be sure to introduce me to your twin, okay?¡±


    Before he could answer, Ash had already run off.  Reas could only shook his head.  Well, because of what Hildred said before about Ash having a childhood sweetheart, he was now not so averse in introducing his new roommate to Astrid.


    He continued to walk towards the entrance of the academy, thinking of quickly getting a taxi to take him to Astrid¡¯s school.  Then, the two of them could eat out before going back to his brother¡¯s apartment.


    Just as he was about to reach the gate, he suddenly received a message.  When he opened the message, his brows immediately furrowed when he read it.


    [Is the prince still there?]


    Instead of replying as fast as he could, he found a quite place where few students passed and video called Astrid.  The other quickly accepted the call and his brother¡¯s beautiful face appeared on the screen.


    ¡°What¡¯s with that question?¡± Reas asked straight.

 Chapter 208 - MY BROTHER WISHED TO COME HERE

    ASTRID stared at his brother¡¯s furrowed brows and felt amused.  It seemed that the good opinion Reas had about Wulfric only extend to the latter¡¯s ability as a soldier and a general.  But when it came to Astrid meeting Wulfric, Reas was still very adamant about it.


    ¡°Well, I have a¡­ situation.  It kind of needed the help of someone from the military.  The higher their position, the faster it would be solved.  And since, you know, the prince was your trainer for the past week, I just thought that maybe he was there.  And that maybe he could help,¡± he explained in a very vague way.


    Because if he directly said what really happened, Reas would definitely be shocked.  Then, he would needlessly worry.  He might even scold him for being reckless.  And he really didn¡¯t have any time for that right now since he was probably only half an hour away from reaching the Imperial Military Academy.


    Reas looked suspiciously at his brother when he heard what the other just said.  It was very vague and didn¡¯t really tell him anything.  Then, he noticed a figure lying on the backseat behind Astrid.  His suspiciousness just increased.


    ¡°You did not accidentally kill anyone, right?¡±


    Astrid stopped and then laughed out loud.  He knew his brother was joking.  It was quite funny because the other said it in a way that anyone who didn¡¯t know him well enough would think that he¡¯s serious.


    ¡°Just tell me if the prince is still there,¡± he just said instead.  ¡°If he is, can you ask if I can go there and have an audience with him?  It would be best if there wouldn¡¯t be too many people around.¡±  When he saw Reas¡¯ frown became even deeper, he just went for the kill.  He blinked his eyes at him and said in a sweet voice, ¡°Please?¡±


    Hearing this ¡®please¡¯, how could Reas not agree?  So, even though he was still curious and suspicious as to what really happened, he said that he would try to find the general and that he would contact him again once he did.  They temporarily ended the call and he went to find the general.


    The opening ceremony just ended, the other probably hadn¡¯t left the academy yet.  But he was probably about to leave soon.  So, the most likely place he would be right now was one of the academy¡¯s parking lots.  The one which only VIPs were allowed to use.  So, he ran towards there.


    Even though he still had no idea why his brother wanted the help of someone from the military, he could see that Astrid was in a hurry.  Even if his brother didn¡¯t say that directly, he could still see it on his expression.


    When Reas reached the said parking lot, he saw that the general was about to board an aircraft.  Following behind him was the gruff looking, red-head captain who helped them once during their one-week training.  If he remembered correctly, his name was Slade Elmer.


    He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they hadn¡¯t left yet.


    ¡°Sir!¡± he called.


    Having a high-level physique, the two quickly reacted to his call and looked back at his direction.


    When Wulfric saw Reas, he unconsciously frowned.  Because he had no idea why the other suddenly called him.


    Slade saw this frown and thought that the general was annoyed.  So, he asked, ¡°Do you want me to send him back?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Wulfric said.


    It¡¯s because he suddenly remembered what Hildred said.  That Reas would be meeting Aster.  What if because he did a damn good job of making a good impression, the kid now wanted to invite him to have lunch with them?  He felt excited at the thought.


    He had been reading and looking for news about Aster for the past few days on [Cyberspace].  The latest one he found was about the rumor that Aster was filming something on FS08.  Some kind of filming studio planet.


    On the post he had been following concerning that, there was a lot of speculation.  They said that it might be for a movie.  In which some refuted, saying that it¡¯s too soon for Aster to show up for one.  Of course, there would be some who said otherwise.  That if it¡¯s only for a very small role, then, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that.


    Then, there were some who said that it was probably for a web drama since a lot of that was being filmed at FS08.  Most people also agreed on that opinion.


    They tagged Polaris to ask about Aster.  Wulfric actually also did the same.  The thought of contacting Grant Fleming directly and asking him directly about it even crossed his mind.  He stopped just in time before his sense totally leave him.  But that didn¡¯t mean that he would stop tagging Polaris.


    He was doing it under a username anyway.  He might as well go unhinged.  But still, there wasn¡¯t any announcement yet from Polaris about Aster.  Which was really frustrating and irritating as hell.


    His thoughts were cut off when Reas finally reached them.


    ¡°Do you need something?¡± he asked.


    He might have a normal expression on his face, but deep inside, his excitement was already rising exponentially because of the thought that he might meet Aster.


    Wulfric must have thought that he was being stealthy in covering up what he¡¯s feeling but anyone who knew him closely would definitely have noticed it.  And Slade was one of the few who would be able to.


    He wondered what got their captain so excited?  He turned to the teenager who just walked up to them.  Was it because of this kid?  Could it be that the captain wanted to recruit him to their army?


    When he heard the general¡¯s question, Reas suddenly had no idea how he should answer.  Because he also didn¡¯t know what was the exact situation.  But he thought, once he mentioned his brother, the general would probably help without a question.  That didn¡¯t really sit well with him.  But it would be really helpful in this situation, so, he just went for it and said whatever.


    ¡°Sir, my brother wished to come here and meet you, would it be alright for him to do that?¡±

 Chapter 209 - SOMETHING GIDDY

    THERE were a hundred, no, a thousand of things that went through Wulfric¡¯s mind when he heard that.  In a matter of millisecond, it all became jumbled up and he couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it.  But even so, he still found himself saying;


    ¡°He can.  Tell him to come quickly.¡±  Then, as if realizing that his phrasing was a bit forceful, he cleared his throat and added, ¡°I mean, it would be better for him to go here quickly since I still have a schedule after this.¡±


    Slade gave his captain a meaningful glance.  What schedule?  He was there when the other complained to Leland that he needed a break after spending a week training kids.  And now that same captain was saying that he had a schedule after this?  It was so obvious that he only said that to cover up his too enthusiastic response at the beginning.


    The real question here was, who was this ¡®brother¡¯ the captain and the kid were talking about?


    If Slade could think it, of course, Reas could also tell that the latter part of what the other said was just pure nonsense.  He resisted the urge to call the general in his bullshit and just nodded.  He still didn¡¯t know what kind of situation his brother was in.  So, the faster he got here, the better.


    He walked a bit further from the two and then video called Astrid.  The line instantly connected and his brother¡¯s face appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Did the prince agree?¡± Astrid asked immediately.


    Reas nodded in response.  Although Astrid had already expected such an answer, he still let out a sigh of relief.  Because if Wulfric wasn¡¯t there, things would be a lot more complicated.


    After all, he technically assaulted two people using his mental power.  Even though those people were kidnappers attempting to kill someone, it would still be such a hassle to deal with the aftermath.  At least with Wulfric¡¯s involvement, this incident would definitely not be connected to him.


    He smiled inwardly.  Maybe that¡¯s the reason why he didn¡¯t hesitate to start all this despite the possible consequence was because at the back of his mind he knew that Wulfric would help him.  Now he felt a bit guilty.  It¡¯s like taking advantage of someone.  Maybe he should do something in return as a payback.


    He shook his head.  No, he shouldn¡¯t get ahead of himself.  He would think back on it once everything was settled.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± he said.  ¡°I¡¯m already near the military academy.  Can I park somewhere with as few people as possible?¡±


    Before Reas could answer, he felt somebody standing beside him. And that ¡®somebody¡¯ answered his brother¡¯s question.


    ¡°Park the car at the parking lot near the west entrance.  Don¡¯t worry about being stopped.  I will handle it.  Just tell me the license plate number of the car you¡¯re driving.¡±


    Reas glanced at the general who suddenly appeared beside him.  He didn¡¯t even feel the other¡¯s presence until he spoke.  Even more, he didn¡¯t hear his footsteps.  Almost as if he flew from where he was standing to here.  Just when did he walk up to here?


    Astrid was also equally surprised.  He didn¡¯t expect that Wulfric would suddenly appear during this video call.  Although he should have probably expected it in a way.  Because if Wulfric was anywhere near Reas when he video called, then, suddenly cutting in between their conversation was definitely something he would do.


    Wulfric was trying his best to not show any emotions on his face.  But deep inside, something giddy was bubbling up.  It¡¯s like his heart was suddenly full for no reason and he couldn¡¯t contain the happiness he¡¯s feeling.  It was an emotion unknown to him.  But he didn¡¯t hate it.  In fact, it was even accompanied by some sort of enthusiasm.  As if he couldn¡¯t wait to welcome this feeling again and again.


    All of this just because he saw Aster¡¯s face again.


    With just that, one would think that the other had some kind of power over him.  And maybe he did.  Not that he¡¯s complaining.


    It hadn¡¯t even been that long since he last saw him and yet he couldn¡¯t wait to see him face to face.  Not through his photos in [Cyberspace] or through a virtual screen, but them facing each other.  Seeing those black eyes staring at him up close, no number of photos would beat that.


    He heard Aster speaking.  He almost missed the license plate number he said because he was busy staring at the other¡¯s beautiful face.  It¡¯s a good thing that he had SSS level mental strength or his brain would probably not be able to catch those numbers.


    After that, Aster ended the call.


    Wulfric then glanced back at Slade and told him to contact the security of the academy.  To tell them to let the car with the license plate number Aster mentioned through.  And that they shouldn¡¯t even try to check it.


    Slade was already feeling a whole new level of confusion.  From the moment the captain suddenly rushed towards the kid to cut in between the conversation between the other and this ¡®brother¡¯ to the captain telling him to do what he said just now.  He couldn¡¯t understand these sets of actions.


    But he still did as he was told.  When he was done with that, he turned to the captain.


    ¡°Captain, is Townsend¡¯s brother some kind of special guest?¡± he asked in his languid voice.


    Reas also turned to the general when he heard that question.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Wulfric to answer.  In fact, he didn¡¯t even need to think just too much.  He just said the first thing that came to his mind.  ¡°He¡¯s more than that.¡±


    Both Slade and Reas were surprised hearing such an answer.


    At that moment, Reas actually wanted to ask the general just what was his intention towards his brother..  But before he could do that, he saw a car slowly descending from the sky.

 Chapter 210 - ITS THIS KIND OF SITUATION

    SEEING the car, Reas had only realized then that his brother was actually driving a car.  He should have thought of that first when he saw Astrid sitting on the driver¡¯s seat.  But he was side-tracked by Astrid¡¯s request of meeting up with the general.


    But now that he knew that his brother was driving an unknown car with an unknown passenger, who might or might not be unconscious, he realized that this situation might probably be a bit more serious than he thought it was.


    Just as he had that realization, the car finally landed.  The driver¡¯s seat opened and Astrid walked down.


    Wulfric, who had been anticipating the landing of the car, focused all his gaze on the figure that walked out.  That slim frame, that soft black hair, and those uniquely shaped dark eyes ¨C every feature just drew him to the other.  Like a moth to a flame.  Aster simply just had that effect on him.


    Of course, it¡¯s not just because of his beautiful face.  No, it wasn¡¯t because of something so superficial.  Maybe it was because of Aster¡¯s character, the way he handled himself in every situation.  Or maybe it was simply because of his strength, courage, and spunk.


    Wulfric really didn¡¯t know the answer.  He only knew one thing right now.  That he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of Aster.  He wanted to stare at him for a long time and engraved his image in his heart.


    Slade, who felt very surprised after seeing the teenager walked out of the car, was even more surprised after seeing the captain¡¯s expression.  It¡¯s like looking at someone staring at his most favorite thing in the universe.  Or in this situation, a person.


    But that¡¯s not the point.  The point was, the captain had never had this expression before.  Especially not towards a person.  With just that one look, Slade could tell that the teenager was not just an ordinary existence to the captain.  He even had a feeling that he was probably very special.


    It made him stare at the teenager again more closely.  Yes, he must admit that the other was far from ordinary.  At least in the looks department, that is.  It was not everyday that one could see a person with both black hair and black eyes.


    There¡¯s this kind of exoticism in him.  Especially with the shape of his eyes.  The way it tilted upwards at the end, it¡¯s almost like giving someone that hither-on look.  Which was probably enough to seduce most people.


    But the captain was not just most people.  So, there should definitely be something more to this teenager aside from his face.


    Reas, on the other hand, quickly rushed towards his brother.  He looked him up and down, making sure that there was no injury on him.  He was only able to let out a sigh of relief once he found that the other was fine.


    He wanted to ask what was this ¡®situation¡¯ that needed Astrid to go here just so he could ask for some kind of help from the general.  But before he could do so, someone suddenly spoke beside him and spoke first.


    ¡°Aster, did you encounter any problems entering the academy?¡± Wulfric asked.


    Astrid turned to Wulfric and was a bit surprised.  Because the other was wearing his military uniform.  He hadn¡¯t noticed it from the call earlier.  But now that he¡¯d seen it, he was pleasantly surprised.


    Most military uniforms of the Empire were black.  But the Fenris Squad had their own designated color.  Which was white, representing the ¡®White Wolf of Aluna¡¯.


    Wulfric was wearing his in a rather informal way.  Some of the buttons were undone, showing a bit of his clavicle and upper chest.  His white hair was in a mess.  Like the kind of mess where the hair was properly combed and then ruffled.  If Astrid were to make a bet, he would guess that Wulfric messed up his own hair.  Probably hated that it was combed properly.  Just like how he hated wearing his uniform properly.  That was, well, so Wulfric-like.


    ¡°No, I entered the place very smoothly,¡± he said with a smile.  ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Well, I did tell them not to hinder the incoming guest,¡± an unfamiliar voice suddenly said in a rather playful way.  ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Slade Elmer, a captain from Fenris Squad.¡±


    Astrid turned to the tall man who walked beside Wulfric.  He had red hair and a very discernable muscular body.  He smiled at the other.  ¡°Then, I should probably also thank you.¡±


    Slade was a bit disarmed by that smile.  It¡¯s a good thing that he was never really that much of a face-con or else, he might have been greatly affected by that smile.  ¡°You¡¯re Aster, correct?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call him that,¡± Wulfric and Reas almost said at the same time.


    The two glanced at each other, clearly surprised that they were talking of the same thing.  It was Wulfric who took his gaze back and turned to Slade.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call him that,¡± he repeated, a bit more annoyed.


    Slade raised both his hands as if in surrender.  ¡°Okay,¡± he said, more amused rather than curious by the two¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°I¡¯m Astrid Townsend, Andreas¡¯ brother,¡± Astrid said before any of the three argued about his nickname again.  Which was rather cute in his opinion, by the way.  ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Captain Elmer.¡±


    ¡°You too,¡± Slade said.


    Although he was already expecting that this teenager was the ¡®brother¡¯ that Reas had mentioned earlier, it was still quite surprising.  After all, the two didn¡¯t look anything like each other.


    ¡°Aster, just what kind of situation are you in right now?¡± Reas said, finally asking the question he had been meaning to ask since earlier.


    ¡°Ahm, I think it¡¯s better if I showed you first,¡± Astrid said with a bit of an awkward smile.  Then, he walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk, showing two unconscious men.  ¡°It¡¯s this kind of ¡®situation¡¯.¡±


    And the first thing that came out of Reas mouth was, ¡°You didn¡¯t kill them, right?¡±

 Chapter 211 - A LETHAL SMILE

    ¡°REALLY, Reas?¡± Astrid said with a raised brow at his brother.


    Reas shrugged.  ¡°Well, there¡¯s always that possibility.¡±


    Wulfric stared at the two men inside the trunk.  He could hear their faint breathing, so, they¡¯re definitely not dead.  And he was sure that the other two ¨C Reas and Slade ¨C also heard it.


    That¡¯s why he was a bit surprised hearing this overprotective brat making a joke out of it.  Or maybe because he knew they were alive that¡¯s why he could make that kind of joke.  It showed just how close the relationship of the two were.  Frankly, it¡¯s quite enviable.


    But first things first, he turned to Aster and asked, ¡°Do you need help in disposing them?¡±


    The twins looked at Wulfric with the same ¡®are you serious?¡¯ expression.


    While Slade only showed a helpless smile because that was definitely something the captain would say.  And take note, the other was definitely not joking about it.  If the teenager ¨C Astrid ¨C say ¡®yes¡¯, the captain would certainly make sure that these two men would disappear.  And we returned once again to the question, ¡®why?¡¯.


    Why would captain go to such lengths for this kid?  Maybe he would know the longer he observed.  So, he decided to be just a spectator in this situation.


    Astrid stared at Wulfric¡¯s expression and knew that the other was most likely being serious.  He didn¡¯t know if he should feel amused or scared by that.  Nah, who was he kidding?  He was definitely amused.


    ¡°No, though I would like to request if Your Highness could help make sure that the two could be investigated and put behind bars,¡± he said.


    Wulfric¡¯s brows furrowed.  ¡°Did they attack you?¡±


    He was already imagining these two bastards trying to get their hands on Aster.  Maybe they even tried to kidnap the other, thus, the car.  But because of Aster¡¯s strong mental strength, he was able to fend for himself.  Then, decided to contact Reas. To see if the other could ask Wulfric for help, probably knowing that he was here.


    Just thinking of that possibility, he was suddenly filled with killing intent.  How dare they to do that?  What if Aster didn¡¯t have a strong mental strength?  What if he didn¡¯t have the means to protect himself?  Just the possibility of what could have happened was already making his blood boil.


    Should he just kill these bastards now?


    While he was contemplating that, he felt a touch on his arm.  He looked down and saw beautifully shaped fingers.  He raised his head and looked at Aster.  The other smiled gently at him and said;


    ¡°They didn¡¯t attack me.¡±


    That smile and those simple words quickly calmed Wulfric down.  The killing intent he just felt evaporated like smoke in the air.  Aster took back his hand and the anger he felt earlier turned into disappointment.  Because he wanted Aster¡¯s touch to stay a bit longer.


    If Slade was surprised earlier, then now, he was simply shocked.  This was the first time he¡¯d seen the captain¡¯s anger disappeared so quickly.  He never even thought that something like that was possible.


    He glanced again at the pretty teenager.  Just what was this kid?


    When Reas heard the general¡¯s question about the two men in the trunk hurting his brother, he also thought of the same thing the other did.  He was also about to ask Astrid about it.  But his brother¡¯s action of putting his hand on the general¡¯s arm rather took him by surprised.  Because he didn¡¯t expect that Astrid would actually touch the general on his own accord.


    But his attention was quickly transferred once his brother said that the two men didn¡¯t attack him.


    ¡°So, what really happened?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Well, I just happened to see them when trying to abduct someone.  Then, I heard their conversation about how they would get rid of the person they¡¯re trying to kidnap,¡± Astrid explained.  ¡°So, as a good citizen of the Empire, I stopped them from doing so.¡±


    Reas almost blew his hair off when he heard that.  ¡°Aster, do you know how dangerous that was?  What if they retaliated?  That could have easily gone the opposite direction!¡±


    Astrid knew he would get this kind of reaction from his brother.  ¡°Reas, they didn¡¯t see me.  I was hiding when I attacked them,¡± he said in a bit of a helpless tone.  ¡°You know I wouldn¡¯t risk my safety just so I could be a hero.  I considered every possibility before I took action.¡±


    ¡°But still¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get your panties in a wad,¡± Wulfric cut in to what Reas was saying.  ¡°Don¡¯t you know how strong your brother is?  Have more confidence in him, will you?¡±  Then he turned to Aster.  ¡°I do hope you did think things through before you attacked these two low lives.  You know there¡¯s nothing wrong in being too careful.¡±


    The twins were both taken aback hearing that.


    Reas wasn¡¯t angry being told off like that.  It was actually quite the opposite.  He was somewhat glad that the general thought of Astrid as someone strong.  Because that meant that the other wasn¡¯t looking down on his brother.  He hated to admit it but the general earned a brownie point for that.


    Astrid, on the other hand, was pleasantry surprised by what Wulfric said.  In fact, he was moved by it.  Who wouldn¡¯t be happy to have his strength be recognized?  Especially when most people would think of him as weak just because of his appearance.


    He smiled his real smile and said to the other, ¡°Thank you for saying that, Your Highness.¡±


    Wulfric felt like his heart was hit by something because of that smile.  He knew it was a different kind of smile in comparison to Aster¡¯s usual ones.  It was much more beautiful and much more charming.  And its effect was very lethal.


    He heard his own heart beating loudly and he felt heat creeping up his cheeks..  So, he did the most obvious thing ¨C he looked away.

 Chapter 212 - WHATS YOUR HIGHNESS...?

    OKAY, just what kind of wizardry was this? ¨C Slade thought as he was staring at the captain¡¯s ear tip that was now turning bright red.  He turned to the one who caused it ¨C Astrid Townsend.


    The teenager was looking at the captain with interest and amusement in those pretty eyes.  And all Slade could think of was, ¡®this kid definitely knows what he¡¯s doing¡¯.  He turned his gaze back to the captain and thought, ¡®Captain, you¡¯re probably in some deep shit¡¯.


    And he wondered just how much the captain understood that.  Or maybe for the captain, this was not ¡®shit¡¯ but a pool of rainbow-colored mud instead.  And the other was very willing to swim and dive in it.


    Reas also saw the general¡¯s reaction.  But only a slight creased appeared on his forehead.  He even felt only slightly bit irritated.  Which was a huge leap to what he would have felt if the past week didn¡¯t happen.  But no matter how slight, it was still irritating nonetheless.


    Just like what Slade saw, Astrid was indeed amused by Wulfric¡¯s reaction.  But not in a bad way, but in a very good way instead.  Because he thought that the other was really adorable at this moment.  Who would have thought, right?


    But as much as he wanted to follow that up with a little bit of teasing, there¡¯s much more important things that needed to be handled right now.


    ¡°The person they¡¯re planning to kidnap and kill is sitting unconscious at the backseat of the car right now,¡± he started.  ¡°I was hoping that Your Highness could handle this case.  I know it¡¯s presumptuous of me to ask this, but I really don¡¯t know who else I could ask for help for something like this.  Your Highness was the first person who came to my mind.  And so, I¡¯m here, bothering you like this.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?  You¡¯re definitely no bother,¡± Wulfric quickly said.  Although there¡¯s nothing that could be clearly seen on his face, he was pretty pleased inside.  The words ¡®first person who came to my mind¡¯ kept repeating inside his head.  And it just made him so¡­ happy.  ¡°Helping you is something that I should do as a member of this Empire¡¯s law enforcement.¡±


    Astrid smiled.  ¡°Thank you, Your Highness.¡±


    Wulfric waved his hand as if saying that it was nothing.  ¡°I take it, you don¡¯t know the victim?¡±


    Astrid shook his head.  ¡°No, today was the first time I¡¯ve seen him.  Would this affect anything?¡±


    ¡°No, I just asked to make sure.¡±  Wulfric then turned to Slade.  ¡°Go and take this car back to the army base.  Put the two low lives in prison, interrogate them once they woke up.  Then, let a doctor take a look at the victim, just to make sure.  Once he regained consciousness, tell him what happened and ask him why he was targeted.¡±


    Slade had a lot of things to say.  But he kept it in.  Because from the expression of the captain right now, if he questioned his decision, he would definitely be thrown in a training room with the other and had his ass kicked.  So, he could only say at the end;


    ¡°Roger that.¡±


    ¡°And make sure not to mention Aster¡¯s involvement in this matter,¡± Wulfric added.


    Slade only gave a salute.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the key,¡± Astrid said, giving the car¡¯s key to the red-head captain.


    Slade took it.  He walked to the driver¡¯s seat and opened the door.  He was about to go in when he thought of something.  He turned to the teenager and asked, ¡°How did you knock out the two guys?¡±


    Astrid looked a bit surprised by his question before giving him a mysterious smile and saying, ¡°I could tell you, Captain, but then I¡¯d have to kill you.¡±


    Slade stopped for a moment and then laughed.  ¡°Then, I¡¯d rather not know.¡±


    He finally went inside the car.  And as he sat at the driver¡¯s seat, he finally understood a little what got the captain so fascinated.


    He shook his head and just entered the address of the military base on the car¡¯s GPS system, letting it drive on auto-pilot.  The car slowly floated up and then flew to the direction of the military base.


    He took that time to look back and observed his unconscious passenger.  He was slightly surprised to see another pretty teenager.  But unlike Astrid¡¯s beauty that was brilliantly shining, this one looked more like a sculpture ¨C cold and almost surreal.  He wondered who wanted this kid dead.


    He took back his gaze, since the captain gave him a job, he might as well do it properly.  Although it would probably be better for Leland to be in-charge. He¡¯s better than him at this kind of situation.  But the other took a leave for the day to spend time with his younger brother.


    He couldn¡¯t let Hildred or Edmund handled this for obvious reasons.  So, it¡¯s up to him.  He sighed and just opened his Terminal to contact some personnel in their army and tell them to prepare what needed to be prepared.  That way, he could immediately start with the interrogation once they arrived at the base.


    The three, who was left at the parking lot, watched the car flew away.


    ¡°Your Highness, thank you for not letting my involvement in this be known,¡± Astrid said after a while.


    He was actually just about to ask the other for that, he didn¡¯t expect that Wulfric would suggest it first.


    ¡°Well, your career is only just starting.  It would be bad if something like this was suddenly linked to you. Some people might spin it in a negative manner.  I don¡¯t want that to happen.  Especially when you¡¯re only starting to gain fans,¡± Wulfric said.


    Astrid was momentarily surprised hearing that.  Then, he smiled and said, ¡°How did Your Highness know that I have fans?¡±


    Wulfric quickly glanced away, feeling like his secret had been exposed or something.  He scratched his cheek and answered in a very awkward manner, ¡°I saw you trending on [Cyberspace].¡±


    Astrid¡¯s smile deepened upon hearing that answer..  ¡°Oh?  I didn¡¯t know Your Highness actually frequent such social media site.  What¡¯s Your Highness¡¯ username?¡±

 Chapter 213 - MY PLANET

    WULFRIC¡¯S brain started to think of an excuse, its gears turning at a very fast speed.  But at the end, what came out of his mouth was a very lame excuse.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have an account.  Hil just happened to see it while browsing [Cyberspace] and showed it to me.¡±


    And he inwardly called himself an idiot as he said that.  One of the most powerful brain in the Empire and that¡¯s all he could really come up with. How embarrassing.  He might as well have his IQ checked.  Maybe it had deteriorated and he just didn¡¯t know it.


    But outwardly, he didn¡¯t show any of that and made himself appear natural and sure.  That way, Aster wouldn¡¯t suspect him of lying through his teeth.  Well, he¡¯s not really technically lying.  He didn¡¯t really have a personal account per se.  Only a fan account.  That¡¯s definitely two different things.


    And as he wanted, the other only said, ¡°I see.¡±


    Indeed, Astrid didn¡¯t suspect Wulfric of lying.  Because, first of all, was there even a reason for him to lie?  The answer was ¡®no¡¯.  The reason the other said was much more believable.  Because even he couldn¡¯t imagine Wulfric having his own [Cyberspace] account.


    If he indeed had one, he would probably be trending everyday because of all the ¡®controversial¡¯ things he would post on [Cyberspace].  Like cursing some high ranking noble for example.  Seeing as how he hadn¡¯t seen anything like that so far, it must be true.


    But for some reason, there was a nagging feeling inside him telling him that the other must be lying.  He shook his head.  Because it¡¯s totally unfounded.  And even if Wulfric had some kind of secret account which he used to badmouth people or something, who was he to force the other to tell it?


    That¡¯s just not how he did things.


    Since he already accomplished what he came here to do, he should probably do that other thing.  The thing he said he would if Wulfric agreed to help him.


    ¡°Your Highness, are you free right now?¡± he asked.


    Reas turned to his brother, already having a bad feeling about what the other would say next.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Wulfric replied, a little too faster than normal.


    ¡°Then, do you want to have lunch with us?  As a thank you for Your Highness¡¯ hel[?¡± Astrid asked with a smile and then added, ¡°I¡¯ll cook.¡±


    Reas closed his eyes, feeling an incoming headache.  Although he had a feeling that this was where things were going, it still pinched his brain a bit.  Before he could say his objection, someone had already spoke before him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Wulfric said like some kind of automatic reply.  Then, as if realizing how excited he sounded, he cleared his throat and added, ¡°I mean, I¡¯m free this whole afternoon.  It¡¯s no problem having lunch with you.¡±


    Astrid eyes crinkled into crescents.  ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric removed the cap and mask once he entered the tiny apartment unit.  He had to wear these to cover his face when they got out of the car that brought them in this apartment building.  Even though wearing these things was pretty annoying, he still wore them himself.  Because he knew how much trouble it would bring Aster if someone spotted them together.


    If some paparazzi took a picture of even a whiff of his white hair in this place together with two teenagers, they would definitely come up with some kind of scandal to plaster on the news the next day.  Especially once they dug up that one of those teenagers was an aspiring actor.


    He could already see the headline; ¡®The Butcher of Orus ¨C our Empire¡¯s prince ¨C seen cavorting with an aspiring teenage actor!¡¯.


    How could he put Aster to such an ordeal?


    Wulfric put his cap and mask in the space stone on his ring and finally had a chance to looked around the apartment unit.


    Just like he said earlier, the place was, well, small.  Upon entering, he could immediately see the living room and the combined kitchen and dining room.  There were two doors ¨C one was probably for the bedroom and the other for the bathroom.


    The whole place was probably smaller than his own room in the Imperial Palace.  It was definitely not a place suited for Aster.  He should live in a big place, complete with all the accommodations a modern house should have.  Maybe even with an indoor pool and a garden.  Of course, with his own theater room where he could watch all the movies and shows he was part of.


    Besides, the security of the place was also atrocious.  He and any member of his squad could easily sneak in here with no problem.  What if some stalker found the place and trespassed?  Took pictures of Aster or attacked him when he was sleeping?  Surely, that agent of his was looking for a better place.


    Astrid glanced back and saw Wulfric looking around the apartment with a crease on his forehead.  The other tried to make his expression neutral, but he could see that he didn¡¯t like the place.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if the place is not to your liking, Your Highness,¡± he said with a bit of a teasing tone.  ¡°It¡¯s small but it¡¯s home.¡±


    He knew the other was not looking down on his apartment because he¡¯s a snob who considered any place smaller than a palace as unlivable.  No, if he was that kind of person, he would have the same reaction when he entered the Townsends¡¯ home back in Delryria.


    So, the reason for his reaction must be because of something else.


    When Wulfric heard Aster calling this place ¡®home¡¯, he suddenly panicked, worried that the other might think of him as a stuck-up prick.  So, in his panic, he simply said whatever came to mind.


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not that I dislike it.  I just thought that the security was pretty loose and that your safety might get compromised.  It¡¯s definitely not because I thought the place was too small for you.¡±  He stopped before he further embarrassed himself.  ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that last part.¡±


    Astrid bit the inside of his cheek so he could stop himself from laughing.  ¡°Then, what kind of place does Your Highness think I should live in?¡±


    Again, Wulfric¡¯s mouth moved faster than his brain.  ¡°In the most beautiful and secured place in the Empire.¡±


    ¡°And may I ask where is that?¡± Astrid asked, amused.


    ¡°My planet..¡± ¨C And Wulfric almost slapped himself the moment he said that.

 Chapter 214 - STRETCHING MY LEGS

    ASTRID couldn¡¯t stop the amused smile that appeared on his lips.  ¡°Is Your Highness inviting me to live on your planet?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how it sounded, right?¡± Wulfric said, feeling the heat creeping up his nape and ears because of embarrassment.  ¡°I¡¯m- I¡¯m actually just giving an example.  Yes, that was it.  An example.¡±


    Astrid tried his best so he wouldn¡¯t outright laugh or even chuckle.  It was obvious that the other had a problem with this place¡¯s security.  Wulfric just probably wanted to say that at first.  But because of his prompting, the other ended up recommending his own planet as an alternative place to live.


    Being a spontaneous response, that meant that Wulfric really meant what he said about letting him live on his planet.  Really, how could this supposedly crazy prince be this adorable?  A word that never in his life would think to associate to Wulfric.


    But there he was, like a kid who had no control over the things he was saying.  So, Astrid knew that what the other just said about living in his planet was what he really felt.


    ¡°Alluna is not the best example though,¡± Reas suddenly said, interrupting the two.  ¡°It¡¯s on another galaxy, completely far from Redwood Academy where Aster is a student.  It would also be hard for him to pursue his acting career if he were to live somewhere far from the capital.¡±


    Wulfric glanced at Reas, he didn¡¯t know if he should continue to be embarrassed or just be annoyed.  He thought that would be the end of what the other had to say, but lo and behold there¡¯s still more.


    ¡°Can you make way?  I can¡¯t go inside with you blocking the doorway like this.¡±  As if realizing he¡¯s being too rude, he added, ¡°Sir.¡±


    Wulfric just felt like a vein on his forehead would pop any second now.  What¡¯s the use of calling him ¡®sir¡¯ when he had already spoke disrespectfully?  It¡¯s like punching someone for no reason and then saying sorry.


    But surprisingly enough, he was already getting used to the other¡¯s impolite speech.  He wasn¡¯t even that mad.  If this was another person, he probably had already sent them flying.  He knew that most of the reason for this was because they were in Aster¡¯s presence.  How could he get angry at this brat when Aster was here?


    So, he simply walked inside to ¡®make way¡¯ for the other.


    Astrid laughed inwardly after witnessing the interaction between the two.  Although Reas acted that way, he could tell that most of his brother¡¯s negative feelings towards Wulfric had already subsided to a very acceptable level.  Wulfric also didn¡¯t lash out at Reas.  So unlike when they first met him at Delryria.


    That week-long training must have really done wonders.


    He no longer worried about that and just went straight to the kitchen to prepare lunch.  He wore the apron hanging on a wall rack and then took the ingredients he needed from the pantry.


    Seeing this, Wulfric asked, ¡°Do you need help?¡±


    Astrid glanced back at the other.  ¡°No, thank you.  Your Highness is our guest.  It¡¯s impolite to let you help.  Just leave this to me.¡±


    What else could Wulfric do but nod?  If he insisted that would only make him look like he was trying too hard.  Aster might even think that he was being obnoxious or something.  So, he simply sat down on one of the couches on the living room.  He specifically picked the couch where he could watch Aster while he¡¯s cooking.


    The other had already started cutting up vegetables.  His actions were natural, as if he had done it so many times.  And maybe he did.  Wulfric still remembered how delicious that dish he tasted when he trespassed at the Townsend home two months ago.  It was something new that he had never eaten before.  That was the first time he thought that a home-cooked meal could actually be so delicious.


    He couldn¡¯t wait to taste Aster¡¯s food again.  In truth, that time, he actually considered kidnapping Aster to be his personal chef.  It¡¯s a good thing that he had the foresight not to do it.  Or else, something like being invited here would probably never happen.  Aster would probably not even talk to him cordially.


    Watching Aster like this, cooking and having this homely atmosphere around them, he felt a sense of¡­ peace.  Something that hardly ever happened.  He wondered if this was how it would feel like if the two of them were to live together.  At that thought, somehow, this small apartment didn¡¯t seem to be that small anymore.


    Then suddenly, a cat¡¯s face appeared in front of Wulfric.  He raised his head and saw Reas gazing down at him while holding a blue cat.


    ¡°Do you like cats?¡± the teenager asked.  ¡°Sir.¡±


    Wulfric looked at the teenager¡¯s face and he had a feeling that that¡¯s not exactly what the other intended to say.  Just based on his expression, it¡¯s more likely that he¡¯s saying something along the lines of, ¡®stop looking at my brother¡¯.


    He smiled while gritting his teeth.  He wanted to swat the AI cat away from his face but doing so would probably destroy it.  So, he held it in and just said, ¡°I can¡¯t say that I do.¡±


    ¡°Too bad,¡± Reas responded with not that much emotion, still standing in front of him.


    ¡°Are you going to just stand there?¡±


    ¡°I plan to stretch my legs and I like this spot, so, yes.¡±


    Wulfric could feel that vein on his forehead popping again.  This brat, did he plan to raise his blood pressure while he¡¯s here?


    ¡°Reas, stop teasing His Highness,¡± Aster¡¯s voice sounded from the kitchen.


    Reas clicked his tongue.  ¡°I¡¯m not teasing you, Sir.  I¡¯m simply stretching my legs.¡±


    ¡°Reas!¡± Aster called in a helpless voice.


    Reas sighed and finally sat down to one of the couches.  With that, Wulfric could finally see Aster again.  The other was no longer chopping ingredients and was already putting some vegetables on some cooking utensil he didn¡¯t know the name of.


    And a delicious smell started to waft in the air.

 Chapter 215 - LUNCH

    WULFRIC stared at the dishes in front of him and his mouth started to water.  He readily closed it just to make sure that his saliva wouldn¡¯t flow out.  He didn¡¯t know the names of the dishes in front of him ¨C well, except for the rice that seemed to have vegetables mixed in them ¨C but they all looked delicious.  Not only that but they also smelled delicious.


    ¡°What are these dishes called?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but asked.


    Astrid happily told the other the dishes that he cooked.  ¡°This is vegetable fried rice, the one beside it is a plate of egg rolls, then, below is a plate of stir-fried potato, and finally, a plate of sweet and sour chicken.  I know they are very modest dishes, but I hope that Your Highness would like it.¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, they¡¯re not modest at all.  They¡¯re perfect,¡± Wulfric quickly said.  ¡°And I¡¯m sure I will love it.  In fact, I¡¯m amazed that you were able to cook all these in such short time.¡±


    Astrid smiled.  ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been cooking since I was a child.  Something like this is really not that much.¡±


    ¡°Can we just eat?¡± Reas suddenly interjected.  ¡°I¡¯m starving.¡±


    The smile that was just about to cross Wulfric¡¯s lips stopped in the middle, which, in turn, made it look like he was grimacing.  He quickly returned his expression to normal before Aster could see it.  But seriously, how come this brat seemed to be trying his patience today?


    Astrid, on the other hand, just smiled helplessly at his brother.  ¡°Okay, little brother.  Let¡¯s eat.¡±  He then turned to Wulfric and nodded.  ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    And the three started to eat their meal.


    The first bite Wulfric had of what Aster called as sweet and sour chicken, his eyes widened in surprise.  He felt like ten different flavors just exploded in his mouth.  This was the first time that he had eaten a dish that had some many flavors.  He wanted to eat more but he decided to have a taste of the other dishes first.  And he was glad that he did.  Because all the other dishes tasted just as delicious as the first one.  Even the fried rice tasted divine.


    That might sound like an exaggeration, but for a picky eater like him who¡¯d rather drink a nutrient solution than eat something that only had one flavor profile, this simple homecooked meal was more than immaculate.


    Astrid smiled when he saw Wulfric stuffing himself of the food he made as if there¡¯s no tomorrow.  Any decent cook would be happy seeing their food being enjoyed by someone.  Especially to such an extent.


    ¡°Your Highness, eat slowly,¡± he said in an amused tone.


    ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t want you choking on your food,¡± Reas said.  ¡°Sir.¡±


    Astrid was the one who winced inwardly at the mention of the word ¡®choking¡¯.  As someone who died in his last life because he choked on a piece of grape, that was definitely a sore topic.


    Before he could stop himself, he had already kicked his brother¡¯s shin under the table.


    Reas was of course startled by this.  He glanced at his brother, looking shocked.  ¡°What was that for?¡±


    Astrid smiled at his brother and put a piece of sweet and sour chicken on the other¡¯s plate.  ¡°Just eat.¡±


    With that smile, Reas easily translated what Astrid said as ¡®just shut up and eat¡¯ instead of ¡®just eat¡¯.  So, he just ate that piece of chicken aggrievedly.  Wondering why his brother seemed to be favoring the general out of the blue.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t see this small interaction because he was busy gorging himself with the food.  With the way he was going at it, it didn¡¯t take long before all the dishes on the table disappeared.  He probably ate ? of the dishes while the twins shared the remaining ? of the meal.


    Realizing that, an embarrassed expression appeared on his face.  ¡°Sorry, I usually don¡¯t eat like a barbarian.  It¡¯s just- it¡¯s because the dishes you made were too delicious that I could hardly stop myself from eating them.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we noticed,¡± Reas said in an emotionless tone bordering on sarcastic.


    But Astrid quickly followed that up with, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Your Highness.  I¡¯m happy you enjoyed my food.  There¡¯s still some left over, if Your Highness doesn¡¯t mind, I can pack it up for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please!¡± Wulfric didn¡¯t even hesitate to say.


    Astrid stood up to do just that while Reas started to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.


    Being the only one who didn¡¯t have anything to do, Wulfric asked Reas, ¡°Do you need help?¡±


    ¡°No, with your strength, you might accidentally break the plates if you do,¡± Reas said before adding, ¡°Sir.¡±


    Why did he even bother to ask? ¨C Wulfric thought.  What did this brat think?  That he couldn¡¯t control his strength?  Well, sometimes he really couldn¡¯t.  But that¡¯s not the point right now.  At the end, he didn¡¯t insist and just walked to the living room so as not to get in the way of the two.


    He sat down again on the seat he sat earlier on.  It didn¡¯t take long before Aster walked up to him holding a food container.


    ¡°Here, Your Highness,¡± Aster said, handing the food container to him.


    Wulfric quickly stood up and took the food container.  Then, he carefully put it inside the space stone on his ring.  ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Astrid only smiled at that.  ¡°It¡¯s the least I could do for all Your Highness¡¯ help today.¡±


    ¡°Can you stop referring to me as ¡®Your Highness¡¯,¡± Wulfric suddenly said.  Truthfully, every time Aster called him that he felt a bit of annoyance.  Because that title felt like a wall preventing the two of them to ever get close.  And he wanted to destroy that wall.  ¡°You can call me Wulfric.  Even Wulf is fine.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect that the other would suddenly ask that of him.  He hadn¡¯t even thought of what kind of response to give when Reas beat him to the task.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s highly improper,¡± his brother said..  And as usual, after saying something impolite, he added, ¡°Sir.¡±

 Chapter 216 - FRIENDS

    WULFRIC glanced at Reas, that vein on his forehead was threatening to pop once again.  He tried to smile but it only came off as a grimaced.  ¡°Reas, you really are such a party pooper.¡±


    He was convinced, this brat was definitely doing this on purpose.  This was already the third time that he him off like this.  And he always did it whenever he was trying to say something important or trying to bond with Aster.  This brat might have been a little bit courteous compared to before but it¡¯s obvious that he still didn¡¯t approve of him getting close to Aster.


    Now he didn¡¯t know if he should be mad that the other still thought that he would do something bad to his brother or if he should be glad that Reas was this protective of Aster.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± Reas said without changing his expression.  ¡°Sir.¡±


    Astrid looked back and forth between his brother and Wulfric.  The former had this serious expression on his face, as if what he said was indeed a very serious matter.  While the latter looked like he would explode any minute now because of too much anger and frustration.


    Just looking at them like this, he couldn¡¯t stop the laughter that escaped his mouth.


    The two both turned to Astrid after hearing this laugh.


    This was the first time that Wulfric had seen Aster laughed so freely.  It was not because the other was amused or because he found something interesting.  It was just pure and unadulterated laughter.


    Wulfric found that Aster was even more beautiful laughing freely like that.  Even his laughter sounded beautiful.  Like a wonderful melody.  He couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of him.


    And then, as if his hands had a mind of their own, he opened his Terminal and preserved this scene in a video.  Of course, he also quickly closed his Terminal before the twins could notice what he did.  He didn¡¯t want to be thought of as a creep.


    The reason he took that video was not because of something weird.  He just wanted to have a record of this moment.  Something that he could look back on.  Which was definitely not creepy at all.  Right?


    ¡°I agree with my brother, Your Highness,¡± Astrid said after a while.  ¡°Calling you by your name is truly improper.¡±


    Wulfric already expected that Aster might say that.  But he had already thought of an excuse to that.


    ¡°Last time, you said that you would only let me eat your homecooked meal once the two of us became friends.  I just ate four of your homecooked dishes.  Doesn¡¯t that mean that the two of us are already friends?  I might not have a rich experience when it came to friendship, but I know that one doesn¡¯t call their friends by their title.  So, even if you call me by my name, it wouldn¡¯t be improper.  Because we¡¯re friends.  Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    Astrid was a bit surprised hearing the excuse the other came up with.  It was a very poorly made excuse that almost didn¡¯t make sense.  Because how about the other¡¯s close subordinates?  Surely, they also referred to him in some kind of title or something.  They might call him ¡®Your Highness¡¯ or ¡®General¡¯.  So, according to what he just said, did that mean that he didn¡¯t consider those people as ¡®friends¡¯?


    There¡¯s no way that¡¯s the case.  With the kind of personality Wulfric had, those people wouldn¡¯t just stay beside him just because he¡¯s a prince.  So far, Astrid had seen three of Wulfric¡¯s close subordinates ¨C all with a captain rank.  And he could see that they all think of their general as someone very important.


    No matter how novice Wulfric was when it came to matters of friendship, he definitely considered those people not just as simple subordinates.


    So, the excuse the other just made didn¡¯t really made much sense.


    But it was enough to make Astrid considered the possibility of the two of them actually being friends.  Maybe because the other based the excuse he just made on that one off-hand conversation they had when they last met.  If Wulfric didn¡¯t mention it just now, he probably would have already forgotten it.


    Now it was Reas turn to look back and forth between the two.  When he first heard what the general said earlier about being friends, all he could think of was, ¡®what a childish excuse, my smart brother will definitely not fall for that¡¯.  But when he glanced at Astrid, the other had an expression on his face that made him very dumbfounded.


    Just one look and he could easily tell that his brother was seriously considering what the general had said.  He seriously felt like he had just been slapped.


    He wanted to intervene and say something.  But his brother was not the general.  He couldn¡¯t do what he had been doing since earlier to the general ¨C to get in the other¡¯s way.


    Because this was Astrid.  Reas would never get in his brother¡¯s way.  The same way that Astrid wouldn¡¯t get in his.  They respected each other¡¯s decision.  But that didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t express their opinions.


    So, he chose to shut his mouth at that moment.  Whatever decision his brother made regarding this offer of friendship ¨C though he highly doubted that that was all it was ¨C he would respect it.  But just like he said, it didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t express his opinion about it.


    Astrid observed Wulfric¡¯s expression.  Although the other was trying his hardest to make it appear like what his answer wouldn¡¯t affect him in any way, Astrid could still see the underlying nervousness.  That¡¯s not all, he could also see his anxiety and a hint of anticipation.  As if he couldn¡¯t wait for his respond but he also couldn¡¯t bear to hear it if it was only rejection.


    Astrid smiled inwardly at that.  Who would have thought that the youngest general in their Empire, the only prince, would show such an expression?


    He probably had already thought of an answer at that moment.


    ¡°Yes, you certainly have a point..¡±  Astrid then raised his head and smiled before he continued, ¡°Then, let¡¯s be friends from now on, Wulf.¡±

 Chapter 217 - WULFS CONTEMPLATION

    [WULF¡­ Wulf¡­ Wulf¡­]


    Aster¡¯s voice was still echoing inside Wulfric¡¯s head even after leaving the other¡¯s apartment.  He was already nearing the military base and yet that¡¯s all his mind could think of.


    This was the first time he heard that nickname called and felt¡­ something.  Like a thousand butterflies were gliding about his stomach giving him a giddy feeling.  It was a very weird feeling.  Something he certainly hadn¡¯t felt before.  But he didn¡¯t dislike it.  In fact, he welcomed it very much.


    He wondered if he would continue to feel it if he spent more time around Aster.  Now, something like that was possible.  Because the two of them were now friends.  He didn¡¯t notice that a silly smile was already plastered on his face.


    He still couldn¡¯t believe that Aster actually agreed on becoming friends with him.  He thought he would surely get rejected because of all the nonsense he just spouted out of the blue.  But he wasn¡¯t.  And he was really thankful for that.


    Another thing he was thankful about, he opened his Terminal and looked at a string of numbers on his contact list.  It was Aster¡¯s personal Terminal number.  The two of them had exchanged numbers with one another.


    It was something he thought would be hard to get.  Aster might think that it was unnecessary or that brat, Reas, might object to it.  Especially the latter.  He thought Reas would fight him tooth and nails before he let Aster give his number to him.  But surprisingly enough, that didn¡¯t happen.


    The other just remained silent and let Aster decide for himself.  And Wulfric understood something at that moment.  That was how the dynamics between the twins worked.  They wouldn¡¯t get in the way of each other.  Whatever decision the other made, they wouldn¡¯t needlessly go against it.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t interfere once the other made the wrong decision.  They would probably talk it out with each other, give their own opinion, and at the end, decide whether the decision was indeed wrong.


    This just showed how much trust the two put in each other and how close their relationship was.  He wondered if it was because they were twins.  They did say that twins had a special connection between them.


    But nowadays, twins were rarely made in a fertility lab.  Because combining the genes of two parents usually only produced one child at a time.  That meant no true twins could be born.  Unless, of course, parents decided to make babies with the same genetic markings.  The people in the fertility lab could certainly do that.  And it would produce two identical children.


    That¡¯s the reason why a fertility lab rarely produced ¡®twins¡¯.  Because who wanted to have someone that had the same face?  It¡¯s almost like making a clone of yourself.


    But he had a feeling that the Townsend twins were not exactly from some fertility lab.  He was more prone to believe that they were conceived naturally.  Thinking of the possible identity of the twins¡¯ parents, that would be most likely the case.


    It was the main reason why Wulfric asked for him and Aster to exchange numbers.  If what Hildred had told him was correct ¨C and he believed that it was ¨C then, the twins¡¯ mother should be the supposed-to-be dead daughter of Duke Grimaldi.  And based on the events that happened back then, their father would most likely be that person.  One of the currently most wanted people in the Empire ¨C Gage Thompson.


    He disappeared along with the news of Emmaline Grimaldi¡¯s death.  Although no one could confirm the relationship of the two, Hildred had told Wulfric that a rumor was spread back then about that possibility.  And the source of that rumor ¨C the Lancasters.


    One would think that it was just something that those people spread just to tarnish the name of the Grimaldis.  After all, in that particular event, the latter were the only ones who came out with an unscathed reputation.  They were even portrayed as the victims because of Emmaline Grimaldi¡¯s ¡®death¡¯.  While on the other hand, the Lancasters were painted as the villains.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that those rumors were unfounded.  Many believed that Gage Thompson wouldn¡¯t be able to accomplish killing Cecil Lancaster without the help of someone.


    With what Hildred had told him about the twins¡¯ mother, Wulfric had a feeling that that someone was her.  If he was correct in his assumptions, then that would mean that it would cause a lot of trouble for Aster if his parents¡¯ identities were ever revealed.


    That¡¯s why he wanted Aster to have his number.  That way, if some problem occurred related to that, the other could contact him and ask for his help.  A help that Wulfric was more than willing to give.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t let it come to a point where the identities of Aster¡¯s parents would be revealed to everyone.  He wouldn¡¯t even let it come close to that point.  Aster should just continue forging on the path of his dreams without worrying about such things.


    So, he asked Hildred to be in charge of monitoring that and making sure that none of those problems would occur.  Hildred was good at things like that.  Wulfric was relieved to leave something important to someone capable.


    That guy actually recommended to expel Cyrus Lancaster when that incident in the academy happened.  Saying that it would be better if there¡¯s no Lancaster around Reas during the period of his study at the academy.  Wulfric also thought the same.  But as it turned out, the Lancaster brat was more decent that he expected.


    Although most people thought of him as crazy who would do things just based on his whims, he couldn¡¯t just expel someone on the basis of nothing.  But he had already ordered some people in the academy to keep an eye on Cyrus just in case.  Hopefully, the brat would remain a decent human being until the end of their studies.


    Wulfric looked ahead and finally saw the military base.

 Chapter 218 - HILDRED: THE GREAT GOSSIPMONGER

    WULFRIC just got out of the car when he saw Hildred walking up to him, as if the other had been waiting for him there.


    ¡°I though you¡¯d come back with Sled,¡± the other started.  ¡°Did you play hooky somewhere?¡± he added with a knowing smile.  As if he knew exactly where Wulfric had gone to.


    Wulfric only gave Hildred a side-way glanced before he continued walking.  ¡°Don¡¯t ask if you already know where.¡±


    Hildred smirked.  ¡°You must be in a very good mood then.¡±


    Wulfric only have the other a look as if asking, ¡®do I even need to answer that?¡¯.


    Hildred stared at Wulf¡¯s obviously good mood.  The time he spent with Astrid must be quite eventful if he was this happy.  Well, good for him.  It¡¯s not often that Wulf could radiate this much happiness.


    ¡°If I knew something that interesting would happen, I would have insisted on accompanying you.  Now, Sled got all the good parts,¡± he complained.  ¡°Kidnapping and attempted murder, how awfully exciting!¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t ask how the other knew about it.  Hildred probably had asked about it from Slade.  Knowing this guy, he would find a way to integrate himself with the investigation.


    ¡°What¡¯s the result of the investigation?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s quite clich¨¦, really.  The victim, his name is Snow Alban.  He¡¯s a freshman at Redwood Academy¡¯s acting department and he was also the illegitimate son of Viscount Campbell,¡± Hildred said a gossipy manner.


    Wulfric raised one of his brows.  An illegitimate son?  That¡¯s something that hardly ever happened nowadays.  Because of the fact that most women disliked conceiving and giving birth naturally.  Especially those mistresses, they would do anything to maintain their figure.


    Those people who had extramarital affairs would only usually have illegitimate children if both parties agreed to go to a fertility lab and combine their genes together.  But that¡¯s rarely done.  Especially if one of the involved parties was a noble.


    Most noble marriages were like business transactions.  That¡¯s why it really didn¡¯t matter if they had an affair.  But that¡¯s under the premise that they wouldn¡¯t go and produce illegitimate children.  Children who could have a share of the family¡¯s wealth and contend with the legitimate heirs.


    That¡¯s why Wulfric was a bit surprised by what Hildred reported.  Aside from that, Viscount Campbell was known for being very upright.  He often advocated for the well-being of the people.  He was especially against space pirates, doing projects that could eradicate them.  Wulfric hadn¡¯t thought that he would actually be the type to have an affair.


    ¡°Did his mistress willingly become pregnant for the viscount?¡± he asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s the funny part.  There¡¯s no mistress at all.  Or even a male lover for that matter,¡± Hildred said with an interested tone.  ¡°Apparently, 19 years ago, Viscount Campbell¡¯s first love ¨C whom he wanted to marry but couldn¡¯t because of, you know, family stuff ¨C died because the spacecraft he was in was hijacked by some space pirates.  Mr. first love no longer had any family members and Viscount Campbell was the one listed as his closest kin despite being separated for a couple of years already.


    ¡°The viscount was then informed by the death.  Of course, he was devastated.  Because he obviously still loved the other.  In his grief-stricken madness, he took a gene sample from the other¡¯s corpse and went to a private fertility lab right after.  You probably already know what he did there.  Yes, he combined his gene with that of his first love and voila, baby Snow was born!¡±


    Wulfric just felt like a drama was unfolding before his eyes because of the way Hildred was narrating everything.  The viscount obviously broke a couple of laws doing what he did.  It¡¯s the reason why when someone died, they were immediately cremated.  To prevent something like that from happening.


    ¡°The viscount knew that what he did was wrong.  That¡¯s why he hid the real identity of that child.  To protect the both of them.  He did not even give the kid his surname.  In fact, he put him under the household of his trusted subordinate. This subordinate happened to not have any immediate family.  That¡¯s why the next step after that became much easier.


    ¡°The subordinate along with the child, were sent to a planet away from the capital.  The viscount visited them quite often in the past years.  Spending two-three months there every year in the guise of a business trip.  But three months ago, the viscountess found out about the presence of this illegitimate child.  The funny thing was, she thought the kid was the son of the viscount and the subordinate.  And then later, somehow the couple¡¯s second son also got a whiffed of it.  And the latter hired those two thugs to ¡®take care¡¯ of Snow.¡±


    Wulfric wasn¡¯t too surprised by the latter part of what Hildred said.  When he mentioned the kid being an illegitimate child, he had already suspected that the culprit would either be the viscountess or one of her children.


    ¡°How did you find out about all these in such a short time anyway?¡± he curiously asked.  Because there¡¯s no way the other found out all that information from those two thugs.


    ¡°I have my sources,¡± Hildred said mysteriously before adding in an exaggerated way, ¡°And I do love gossip.¡±


    Wulfric could only shake his head at that.  ¡°Has that kid regained consciousness?¡±


    ¡°Yes.  But surprisingly enough, those two thugs still haven¡¯t.  According to the doctor, they received quite a strong mental shock.  I wonder who¡¯s responsible for it.  Do you know?¡± Hildred asked with a knowing smile.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to wonder.  Just contact Viscount Campbell and tell him what happened to his kid.  Make sure that he would be angry to the point he would not allow his wife or other children to harm his precious son.¡±


    After all, Aster asked him to take care of this.  If that¡¯s the case, he might as well take care of it until the end.


    Hildred only smiled and gave a playful salute, ¡°Aye, aye, Captain!¡±

 Chapter 219 - HES BEING SHY?

    BOTH Townsend twins were sitting in the living room and watching an episode of [Blind Justice].  The episode was being projected in front of them.  Using projectors was one of the simplest ways to watch movies and shows that had already been released.  One only needed to insert a video chip of what they wanted to watch and it would project the content of the chip.


    If Astrid had to make an analogy, video chips were like DVDs or Blu-Rays.  And then the projectors would be like a DVD player and a TV rolled into one.


    Most simple household only had this kind of set-up whenever they wanted to watch their favorite movie or series.  Shows on TV could be easily watched in the Terminal.  So, most of the time, television wasn¡¯t usually used.  Of course, the television of this era was not the same as those on Earth during his past life.  It was now much more advanced.


    From a small tennis-ball sized that would project a 44-inch virtual screen to a small box that could project a virtual screen the same size that could be found in a normal theater.  The latter would even offer an 4D option.  They could also watch web series using this modern TV.


    Another way of watching movies and series was through a virtual cabin.  Because it was a virtual world, people who chose it could watch a movie or a series in a much more intimate manner.  They could be inside the movie or series, watching everything through god¡¯s perspective.


    Many people preferred this option.  Because it felt like they were experiencing everything along with the cast members.  They could also see much clearer just how good an actor or an actress was.  Watching everything through god¡¯s perspective, it would be easy to spot anyone¡¯s poor acting.


    This option was so popular that even movie theaters had developed a similar technology.  They called it a ¡®POV Glasses¡¯.  One just needed to wear it and they could watch the movie through god¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°So, you were filming the 100th episode of this show when I called you last night?¡± Reas asked as he was looking at the projected image.


    Astrid nodded.  ¡°I filmed my part in the past two days.  We were just about to end filming when you called.¡±


    Reas brows furrowed a bit.  His brother had been working for two days straight.  Today, the other had to attend orientation.  Then, he encountered that incident.  After that, he still had to cook lunch, not just for him but also for the general.


    Astrid chuckled seeing the expression on Reas¡¯ face.  ¡°I¡¯m not tired, Reas.  You don¡¯t have to think that I¡¯m slaving myself or something.¡±


    Reas was still not convinced.  So, he stared and examined Astrid¡¯s face to make sure.  There were no dark bags under his eyes, meaning that he had a sufficient amount of sleep.  His black eyes were lively and bright, no signs of any fatigue whatsoever.


    ¡°Are you done with your observation?¡± Astrid asked in amusement.


    ¡°I¡¯m just making sure you¡¯re not just saying that because you don¡¯t want me to get worried,¡± Reas said.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you worry too much,¡± Astrid said with a helpless smile.  ¡°I¡¯m young and have a very healthy body.  I won¡¯t faint just because I didn¡¯t have a full day rest.  Once I start to become well-known, my schedule would be much more hectic.  It¡¯s better if I slowly get used to it now.¡±


    Although Reas didn¡¯t like that idea, he no longer said anything.  Because this was his brother¡¯s dream.  Objecting to what Astrid was saying was almost akin to him wanting the other to fail.  Which he would never.


    ¡°I know.  This worry-wart will shut his mouth now,¡± he could only say.


    Astrid chuckled at that.  ¡°By the way, I really thought you would be nagging me by now for agreeing to being friends with Wulf.¡±


    Reas felt the corner of his eye twitch when his brother referred to the general as ¡®Wulf¡¯.  ¡°I was actually just about to talk about that issue.  But do you really have to call him that?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but say.


    Astrid¡¯s lips curved in a playful grin.  ¡°Yes, because we¡¯re friends now.¡±


    Reas almost rolled his eyes at the other.  ¡°Are you really sure of that decision?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Astrid responded with a careless shrug.  ¡°The pros of being friends with him totally outweigh the cons.  So, why not?¡±


    Reas stared at his brother who¡¯s acting like a scum, as if he only ever agreed to be friends with the general because of the benefits it would give him.  If it was any other person who saw him like this, they would probably really think that¡¯s the case.  But it wasn¡¯t the same for Reas.  Because he knew the other like the back of his hand.


    If that was the case, Astrid wouldn¡¯t bother to even call the general ¡®Wulf¡¯.  He would just call him ¡®Wulfric¡¯ or continued calling him ¡®Your Highness¡¯ while agreeing superficially to be his friend.  Because calling the other by his nickname indicated closeness.


    If his brother only wanted the benefits and not the other things that friendship entailed, Astrid would definitely make it seem like he was friends with the general while still maintaining distance.  With how the general was so ¡®smitten¡¯ with Astrid, the other would definitely not notice it.  But Astrid didn¡¯t do that.


    In fact, from Reas¡¯ perspective, he saw the other agreeing to being friends with the general without much thought.  Which meant that Astrid did not do his usual analyzing of the situation and just agreed because that¡¯s what he truly felt at that moment.


    Reas just wondered why his brother was not being up front to him about it.  It¡¯s not as if he would judge him for making that decision.


    Wait- could it be that he¡¯s being shy?


    Before he could voice that out, Astrid suddenly said something that immediately took his attention away from that topic.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, Lauren is coming for dinner.¡±

 Chapter 220 - I WOULD BE HOSPITABLE

    IT took a couple of seconds before what his brother said completely registered in Reas¡¯ mind.  ¡°Why would he be coming here for dinner?¡±


    Seeing how Reas had completely forgotten about their earlier conversation, he smiled.  ¡°Because I invited him,¡± he answered in a good mood.


    Reas felt even more ridiculous.  ¡°Why would you invite him?¡±


    ¡°Because we¡¯re friends,¡± Astrid easily answered.  ¡°And this is also a way for me to thank him for inviting me to visit Polaris.  If not for that invitation, I probably wouldn¡¯t have met Sister Ellis.  I¡¯m probably still fumbling about on where to find a good and trustworthy agent.  Which would probably take months, even years if I¡¯m unlucky.  That simple invitation fast-forwarded a lot of things for me.  I can only express this heartfelt attitude by cooking him a home-cooked meal.¡±


    Reas suddenly didn¡¯t know what to say.  Because his brother made a lot of genuine good points.  Although having Ellis Payne as Astrid¡¯s manager wasn¡¯t directly related to that guy, Lauren, it was still indirectly linked to him.  So, what else could he say?


    And as if on cue, an image of that guy flashed in his mind ¨C dirty blond hair and a pair of brown eyes that were akin to melted dark chocolate.  He stopped and shook his head fiercely.  What was he thinking?  Comparing that guy¡¯s eyes to chocolate like some trying hard poet.


    ¡°So, is that your plan now, treating everyone you¡¯re thankful for to a homecooked meal?¡± he asked in a kind of joking manner, just so he could avoid what he thought of just now.


    ¡°Why not?  You should know how great my cooking skill is,¡± Astrid said.  ¡°I dare say I might even be better than most professional chefs.¡±


    Reas knew the other was just joking when he said the last part.  But considering his brother¡¯s cooking skill, that certainly wouldn¡¯t be far-off from the truth.


    ¡°Try not to bicker too much with Lauren,¡± Astrid said after a while.


    Reas scoffed at that.  ¡°And was that my fault?  It¡¯s his fault for being so touchy with you.¡±


    Astrid looked at him with a helpless expression.  ¡°That¡¯s just how he is.  He¡¯s the type to convey his affection through physical contact.  He meant no harm.  And you know as well as I do that there¡¯s no romantic feelings behind his actions.  He¡¯s just an overly affectionate person.¡±  Then, he added with a teasing tone, ¡°Or do you just hate that he¡¯s like that with me because you wanted him to be touchy-feely with you as well?¡±


    As expected, Reas¡¯ whole face turned red at that.  ¡°A-Aster!  Can you stop saying nonsensical things?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not though?¡± Astrid said with an innocent look.  ¡°I¡¯m just stating my observation.¡±


    ¡°Well, your observation is wrong,¡± Reas said with quite a force in his voice, as if saying it like that would make it true.  ¡°Stop with your matchmaking.  Do you see me doing the same to you and the general?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t approve of Wulf.  I, on the other hand, have completely different feelings for Lauren.  If the two of you end up together, I would definitely give my seal of approval.¡±


    Reas¡¯ face that was starting to cool down, heated up unexplainably again.  Probably because he felt that the other was not just teasing him.  His brother was serious when he said that he and Lauren had his approval.  He had a lot of words to refute what Astrid just said.  But at the end, he could only shut his mouth because he had a feeling that he would just be a stammering mess if he did.


    He seriously couldn¡¯t understand why his brother kept on pairing him up with Lauren.  Just what led him to think that there would be something more in the future between him and that guy?


    The only answer he could think of was their bickering.  Yes, it¡¯s because Reas always reacted to every little thing that Lauren did.  He had never acted like that towards anyone.  Well, except the general.  But that¡¯s a completely different matter altogether.  That¡¯s probably what led to this misunderstanding.


    It¡¯s a good thing that last time, when he accompanied his brother to Polaris, he had already decided to stop bickering with that guy.  And he did quite splendidly too.  Did Astrid not notice that?  Then, he just had to continue on doing that tonight.  He would continue doing that until he cleared whatever misunderstanding Astrid had.


    ¡°I won¡¯t bicker with your friend,¡± he said, changing back the topic to their earlier subject of conversation before Astrid went on teasing him.  ¡°In fact, I would be hospitable and treat him as a guest.¡±


    Astrid looked at his brother with interest, wondering just what came over the other.  Well, whatever it might be, one thing¡¯s for sure ¨C the dinner would definitely be interesting.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Lauren stared at the building in front of him.  He looked again at the address given to him by Astrid to make sure that he was on the right place.  And he was, this building was indeed where Astrid currently lived.


    He felt a bit complicated.  Although the community where the building was located was pretty safe, he could tell by its structure that individual units would probably be not that big.  Should he recommend a better place to Astrid?


    As he was contemplating that, a familiar voice called his name.


    ¡°Lauren!¡±


    He turned to the direction where the voice came from and saw a guy wearing a cap and a mask covering the lower half of his face.  Just with the voice, he already knew who the other was.


    He walked to that direction and greeted the other.  ¡°You didn¡¯t have to come out.  I could have just walked in by myself.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s faster this way,¡± Astrid said.  ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two walked inside the building.  Lauren adjusted his own cap and mask, securing them properly just in case someone in the building saw them.


    ¡°Reas is already there, waiting,¡± Astrid said as they walked.


    And Lauren almost missed a step at the mention of that surly guy.

 Chapter 221 - THE TWO DURING DINNER

    ASTRID opened the door to the apartment unit and welcomed Lauren. He walked inside and quickly removed his cap and mask. The other also did the same as he followed.


    Lauren put away his cap and mask and then glanced around the unit. As he did so, his gaze collided with a pair of teal-gray eyes. He was startled for a moment. The other was setting up plates on the table.


    This image was very¡­ domestic. Like someone who just came back from work finding their partner preparing dinner for them. He stopped and almost slapped himself because of that thought.


    Just where did that come from? Was he too tired, so his brain was making up things without his permission? Yes, that must be it. He was definitely just too tired. Why else would he thought of so much nonsense? Because there¡¯s no way he would associate the word ¡®domestic¡¯ with Andreas if he wasn¡¯t.


    Lauren was already expecting some snarky comments. He was even ready to retort back. But the other just glanced at him before focusing his attention back to what he was doing.


    Lauren was stunned. Then, he had to lower his gaze to hide the embarrassment he just felt. It happened that the moment he looked down, a blue cat walked towards them and brushed its face on Astrid¡¯s leg.


    He took that opportunity to crouch down and lift the cat. ¡°Is this your pet?¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s my housekeeper,¡± Astrid said, reaching out and stroking the cat¡¯s head.


    If this was in normal times, Lauren would have already shown his curiosity after hearing that Astrid chose a small cat model AI for a housekeeper. But his mind was still filled with how Andreas just ignored him that he could only nod at the end.


    But seriously, what¡¯s the deal with that guy? He remembered how cold the other had been the last time after they left the caf¨¦ and went to Polaris¡¯ building. It¡¯s the same attitude Andreas was showing to him right now. How could he not be suspicious when before that, the other kept on bickering with him as if he¡¯s his mortal enemy, then, the next moment, he was treating him like he¡¯s the plague?


    He¡¯d rather fight with the other than be treated like he didn¡¯t exist.


    Lauren once again stopped that chain of thought. What the heck? Did he seriously just think that? [What¡¯s wrong with you Lauren Watts? Did your brain fried from overwork or something?]


    He put down the cat first before he accidentally strangled it. Then, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. When the fog covering his brain finally cleared up, he no longer thought of those stupid things.


    Besides, wasn¡¯t this good? At least he would no longer feel annoyed because the other would always say something sarcastic to him at every turn. He could at least eat dinner peacefully. If the other wanted to ignore him, then he would also do the same.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s for dinner?¡± he asked with a bright smile.


    Astrid looked at the other with interest. As a fellow, he knew that Lauren was just faking his smile. That might have tricked his oblivious brother, but definitely not him. So, the question was, why was the other forcing himself to smile?


    He glanced at Reas who just finished placing the plates and the rest of the dishes on the table. And he suddenly had a guess on what prompted Lauren to do that.


    He returned his gaze to Lauren and smiled back. ¡°Ginger pork lettuce wraps, sweet chili and orange chicken, stir-fry noodles, vegetable spring rolls, and steamed rice.¡±


    Some of the names of the dishes that Astrid had mentioned, he hadn¡¯t heard before. That finally captured Lauren¡¯s attention. ¡°Are these dishes native of your planet?¡±


    ¡°Something like that,¡± Astrid responded. ¡°Let¡¯s eat?¡±


    They walked towards the table and Lauren was amazed at the variety of dishes on it. They¡¯re not only delicious to look at, they also smelled amazing. Even without him tasting it, just by the smell, he knew it would be delicious.


    The three of them sat down and finally started eating.


    Lauren picked one piece of the one Astrid called ¡®spring rolls¡¯. He bit into it and his eyes widened because of how delicious it was. He bit once again and then again. Before he knew it, he had already finish eating one. He picked another piece with his fork and was about to bit into it again when Astrid said;


    ¡°Try dipping it here.¡± The other then poured some kind of dipping sauce on a small plate.


    Lauren did as he was told. He dipped the spring rolls and then ate a bite. His eyes widened even more than the first time. He didn¡¯t know that it was possible but the spring became even more delicious by just dipping in that sauce.


    ¡°What kind of magic did you put in these dishes?¡± he asked while stuffing himself while stuffing himself one after another by the food on the table.


    He was actually kind of skeptical at first when the other told him that he would be cooking dinner. He had never been so happy to be proven wrong. These dishes were even better than those food he had eaten in high-class restaurants. If he didn¡¯t know how talented Astrid was in acting, he might have suggested that the other should be a chef.


    ¡°Not magic.  Just a lot of seasonings and spices,¡± Astrid said amused.


    He happened to glance at his brother at that moment. He saw that even if the other seemed to be only concentrating in eating, the corner of his mouth still slightly curled up because of Lauren¡¯s reaction to the food. He then glanced at Lauren. Although the other was indeed enjoying his food, he would still secretly peek on Reas from time to time.


    Astrid could only shake his head helplessly because of their antics.. He wondered how long the two could keep this up.

 Chapter 222 - AS IF ON CUE

    LAUREN patted his tummy contently and let out a sigh of satisfaction. That was probably the most fulfilling meal he had ever eaten since he became an actor. It seemed that he had to exercise later to burn off all the food he ate. Not that he¡¯s complaining though. Astrid¡¯s food was definitely worth of the extra exercise.


    Reas glanced at the guy sitting comfortably on the opposite couch. He was rubbing his stomach with a satisfied grin. The expression on his face was like that of a very pleased cat that just finished its meal. And a sudden thought flashed in Reas¡¯ mind as he was looking at the other ¨C he wanted to pet this cat and hear him purr.


    The moment that thought crossed his mind, he immediately gazed down. He could feel his cheeks heating up. He felt ashamed for thinking of something like that even just for a moment.


    Just what was that? Was he crazy? Why did he think of something like that? Wasn¡¯t he already doing good, ignoring the other¡¯s presence? So, why would something like that popped up in his mind?


    Then a voice inside him seemed to answer one of his questions ¨C ¡®because you have never really ignored him¡¯. That¡¯s right. As much as he tried to, he couldn¡¯t help but be aware of the other¡¯s every movement. He might not have been looking, but he was listening to every word Lauren had said. It would be a complete lie if he said the opposite.


    He felt like all that teasing by his brother finally got to his head that¡¯s why he¡¯s being too self-conscious of Lauren. What else could the reason be? It definitely wouldn¡¯t be because all those nonsense Astrid was spouting suddenly became true.


    He shook his head. What did it matter anyway? This was probably just a phase that would soon pass the moment Lauren left this place. It¡¯s a good thing that starting tomorrow, the time that he would meet this guy would decrease tremendously. After all, the other was a busy actor while he was a military student.


    If Astrid did something like this again, setting the two of them to meet like this, then he would just refuse. That way, he wouldn¡¯t feel these complicated feelings again.


    Astrid came from the kitchen carrying a tray of the tea that he brewed. He put it down on the center table and gave Reas and Lauren a cup each. He also picked one for himself.


    Lauren who received the cup of tea quickly drank a sip and he felt like flowers just bloomed in his mouth. That¡¯s the only way he could describe the taste of the tea he just drank. It was very refreshing. He even felt like his tiredness lessened considerably. He knew that it was probably just because the scent of the tea and its taste were very relaxing. But nonetheless, there was no doubt that this tea was very good.


    ¡°Good tea!¡± he couldn¡¯t help but exclaimed. ¡°Where did you buy it? I¡¯ll also buy a pack. No, I¡¯ll buy a dozen pack!¡±


    Astrid chuckled at the other¡¯s reaction. ¡°Sister Ellis said the same thing.  And as I¡¯ve said to her, this is a tea grown in our family¡¯s farm. It¡¯s not being sold in the market. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already asked our parents to send me a couple of packs of tea bags. I¡¯ll give you one when it arrives.¡±


    Since he was also giving one to Ellis, he might as well give one to Lauren. Maybe to Wulfric as well. He had a feeling that the other would like it.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll hold your word on that,¡± Lauren said, sounding very delighted. He picked up the cup of tea and happily took a sip again. ¡°By the way, how was your first day in school?¡±


    At that question, he remembered that kidnapping/attempted murder situation. ¡°Hmm¡­ I can say it¡¯s good. But it probably could be worse.¡±


    ¡°Why? Did someone bully you?¡± Lauren asked with concern.


    His question was not really unfounded. Astrid was only a newcomer and yet he already had a following. Even if most of them were not true fans, they were still a following. Not to mention that he had trended simply because of his looks and being a new artist at Polaris that was known in the industry for having high-standards for their artists.


    It would definitely be a source of jealousy. Especially for those students of the same age. They would have a feeling of unfairness. Questioning why Astrid should have an advantage over them just because of his looks. He faced the same kind of jealousy when he started. And he knew how that kind of jealousy could hurt their target in many ways than one.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°No, nothing like that.¡±


    He contemplated whether to tell the other about what happened, but he thought it would only make things complicated if more people knew about it. Not that he didn¡¯t trust Lauren. But after all, it was something that involved murder. Even he didn¡¯t want to get his hands on that. It¡¯s better to just leave it to the law enforcement to handle.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a small blip that was immediately fixed,¡± he added. With the help of Wulfric, of course.


    He was just glad that the other agreed to help him. Well, maybe he felt instinctively that Wulfric would help that¡¯s why he had the courage to ask. It was also good luck that the other was still in the military academy at that time.


    Then, as if on cue, Astrid¡¯s Terminal suddenly rang. It was the sound that someone was trying to video call him. He opened his Terminal and saw Wulfric¡¯s name. Without him noticing, a smile subconsciously appeared on his face.


    He then looked at Reas who had been ignoring Lauren and at Lauren who had been only talking to him. He stood up and said;


    ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯ll just take this call.¡±


    He didn¡¯t wait for their answer and walked to his room.. It¡¯s probably better for the two to be alone for a while.

 Chapter 223 - ILL KEEP THAT IN MIND

    AFTER Astrid walked into his room, he closed the door. Not only to give his twin and Lauren some privacy, but also so he could talk with Wulfric with more ease.


    He wasn¡¯t worried that Reas would hear his conversation with Wulfric because of the other¡¯s SS level physique. Besides, this apartment unit had a privacy device that could prevent others with high-level physiques to hear what was happening inside. Aside from that, he also believed that his brother would be too busy trying to do his ¡®cold act¡¯ towards Lauren that he wouldn¡¯t even bother to listen to anything else.


    Astrid sat on his bed and opened his Terminal. Wulfric¡¯s handsome face appeared on the screen. The other seemed to be a bit surprise after seeing him and then that surprise turned into enthusiasm. Wulfric¡¯s golden eyes were shining as if he was waiting for something. Astrid somehow had an idea of what this ¡®something¡¯ was.


    ¡°Wulf,¡± he greeted.


    He didn¡¯t know it was possible, but Wulfric¡¯s eyes shined even more when he called his nickname. So, he was right. The other was indeed waiting for Astrid to call him by his nickname. How cute. Almost like a puppy.


    ¡°Yes, hi, Aster. Are you busy right now?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± he answered. ¡°Are you calling to follow me up on that incident earlier?¡± he asked, referring to the kidnapping/attempted murder incident.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    That was Wulfric¡¯s official excuse anyway. The truth? He just wanted to test try calling Aster. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t make a habit of it. He didn¡¯t want to be a bother. Especially with the other¡¯s busy career. He also had to attend school on top of that. If he kept bothering him by calling him every day, Aster might get sick of him.


    But sending a message should be fine. It didn¡¯t matter if Aster replied back or not. He just wanted to let the other feel his presence. At least, even if it would take time for them to meet again, Aster would be constantly reminded of him because of his messages.


    ¡°Is he alright, the guy that I saved?¡± Astrid asked after hearing Wulfric¡¯s response.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine. Do you want to know what we discovered regarding his almost abduction?¡± Wulfric asked.


    Astrid shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m just glad that he¡¯s fine.¡±


    And frankly, it didn¡¯t really interest him. Whatever problem that person might have, he didn¡¯t want to get entangled in it. Based on the conversation he heard between those two thugs that tried to kidnap the teenager, they mentioned a ¡®young master¡¯ being involved. So, it probably had something to do with some noble family or something.


    As much as possible, he didn¡¯t want to get involve with any noble¡¯s business. The far away he was from them, the better. Due to his parents¡¯ history, being entangled with the nobility would only be a pain in the neck.


    Although no one would think that he¡¯s the son of the ¡®dead¡¯ daughter of a powerful duke and one of the most wanted man in the Empire, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be careful. This wasn¡¯t just about him after all, it was also about the freedom of his parents.


    But then again, one could say that if that was the case, then, shouldn¡¯t he be running far away from Wulfric? After all, the other was a prince. And not just any other prince, but the only prince of the Empire. He¡¯s at the top of the noble ladder, only one step behind of the emperor.


    So, why was he not running for the hill and instead even befriending the other?


    Because Wulfric was different from other nobles. He didn¡¯t have that kind of snobby attitude that most nobles had. In fact, he was more like a bandit with weird mood swings. Because of his unconventional way of thinking, he would most likely not do anything even if he found out about the history of Astrid¡¯s parents. The other might even think that it¡¯s too troublesome.


    It¡¯s also a good thing that Wulfric was not the type to scheme. He¡¯s the type that would rather solve his problems using his fists. That straightforward attitude that clearly showed his likes and dislikes, he would probably not even bother to stab someone at the back. Instead, he would stab them head on.


    And Astrid could see that the other was someone who gave importance to the close relationship he had made along the way ¨C like his relationship with his subordinates for example. So, he was certain that even if the day came that Wulfric¡¯s fascination with him dwindled, since the other had already recognized him as a friend, he wouldn¡¯t do something that might hurt him or the people close to him.


    That¡¯s probably why he didn¡¯t hesitate much and agreed to be friends with the other.


    Wulfric nodded in agreement to Aster¡¯s response. He also thought it¡¯s better to completely cut Aster¡¯s involvement in this. Knowing Viscount Campbell, he would definitely show his appreciation to Aster. Which would make it easier for the viscount¡¯s wife to know Aster¡¯s identity.


    Depending on how the viscount would deal with this problem, Aster might end up being the target of viscountess¡¯ wrath. Of course, Wulfric would protect him. But it¡¯s better if something like that wouldn¡¯t happen in the first place.


    ¡°I won¡¯t mention your involvement in this, don¡¯t worry,¡± he said.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Thank you, Wulf.¡±


    Seeing the other¡¯s smile, Wulfric felt like everything around him just brightened. He really liked Aster¡¯s smile. Seeing it was like walking on a desert and finally finding an oasis. Especially when those obsidian eyes were twinkling like the star-studded night sky. Because that¡¯s when he knew that Aster was smiling from the heart.


    It made him want to smile back. Even though knew how sinister his smile could be. But really, who could bear to not smile back at him?


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± he said. ¡°But if you¡¯re really thankful, then I definitely wouldn¡¯t mind another free meal.¡±


    Astrid laughed at that.. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

 Chapter 224 - FRIENDS VERSION 2.0

    WHILE Astrid was having a fun conversation with Wulfric, back in the living room, two people were feeling the exact opposite of fun.


    After Astrid went to his room, an awkward silence filled the living room. Lauren wanted to break the irritating silence, but somehow, words just wouldn¡¯t come out of his mouth. He couldn¡¯t even remember how exactly the two of them bickered with each other.


    It was fine when Astrid was around. Because the other was like some kind of a rope holding them together. He was the one facilitating the conversation between the three. No, it was more accurate to say that he was the only one the two were talking to while completely ignoring each other.


    Now that Astrid left them alone, Lauren suddenly didn¡¯t know what to do. This was a first for him. Someone who always started the conversation, someone who always spoke his mind, someone who never hesitated, suddenly didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Where did his eloquentness went? Did it get buried somewhere? Why? Just because of this guy? Being like this to the point of speechlessness, and all because of one person? Had he completely lost his mind?


    He suddenly felt angry, no, it was more like anger caused by too much frustration. How could he let a single person affect him like this? It¡¯s like he wasn¡¯t himself anymore. And he didn¡¯t like it. He didn¡¯t like it at all. It¡¯s better to get things off of his chest than to keep it all to himself.


    Lauren turned to the still silent Andreas and decided to just say whatever was on his mind.


    ¡°You, why do you dislike me so much?¡±


    Reas was startled by Lauren¡¯s question. He turned to the other and his eyes shook when he saw the expression on Lauren¡¯s face. One could see frustration and anger. But besides those two emotions, one could also see sadness. Because of that, he didn¡¯t know what to do but to just stay silent.


    Seeing the other not responding to what he asked, Lauren¡¯s anger and frustration just gone up a notch. He had already put down his pride to ask that question and yet the other just stared at him with those cold eyes as if he couldn¡¯t care less to give him an answer.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you answer? Is it because your reason for disliking me was childish and irrational?¡± Not hearing another response, Lauren only scoffed. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s say it¡¯s because of the rumors around me or because you don¡¯t like how close I am to Astrid. But are those really enough for you to treat me like I¡¯m some trash you can¡¯t bear to be near with? Am I that much of a horrible person in your eyes?¡±


    He didn¡¯t notice that the last part he said was full of dejection. But Reas did.


    Reas¡¯ body trembled. He was suddenly filled with guilt. The feeling that everything was his fault permeated into his every cell. Each word Lauren spoke was like a stab in the gut.


    Was he really being too much? He already knew the answer to that. In fact, there was a part of him already shouting the answer. Yes, he was indeed being unfair in how he treated the other. No, more than being an unfair, he was being a complete asshole.


    ¡°You know what, forget it. I don¡¯t care anymore,¡± Lauren said with a resigned voice after letting out a frustrated sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s just continue this way, as if we don¡¯t know each other.¡±


    Reas didn¡¯t know why, but he suddenly felt nervous and scared when he heard the other say that. Before he could think more, he already found himself blurting the words;


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Lauren was surprised when he heard that. Probably because he didn¡¯t expect that Andreas would actually apologize. But he quickly pushed that thought away. Hearing the other apologized didn¡¯t mean that everything was okay.


    ¡°If you¡¯re really sorry, then answer my question.¡±


    Reas became silent once again. How could he say that it was because he didn¡¯t like how he was being affected by the other¡¯s every move? That he didn¡¯t like his reaction to the other¡¯s every action. Wouldn¡¯t that just make him stupid? Maybe Lauren would even interpret that in the wrong way.


    But he also knew that he should answer. Because if he didn¡¯t, it would only look like he was apologizing just because he didn¡¯t want the other to think that what he said was correct. But then, what kind of answer should he give?


    ¡°I- I don¡¯t want to bicker with you. So, I decided that it¡¯s better to just ignore you. That way, we don¡¯t have to bicker anymore,¡± he said.


    He was not really lying. It was part of the reason why he decided to ignore Lauren. But now that he said it out loud, it just sounded childish and stupid. He was contemplating on his idiotic answer when he heard a chuckle that slowly turned into a laugh.


    He raised his head and saw Lauren laughing. It was not a sarcastic laugh. It was a laugh that showed that he found something really funny. The sadness in his eyes vanished and was replaced with amusement. Even the tense atmosphere surrounding them disappeared in a blink.


    Suddenly, Reas thought that it wasn¡¯t too bad doing something idiotic sometimes.


    ¡°What kind of stupid reason is that?¡± Lauren said while still laughing.


    The grievance he felt popped like a balloon. It disappeared just like that. Because of such reasoning, he realized that Reas was still a kid. Resorting to that as a solution to them bickering just showed his young age.


    As the older one, Lauren should be the one more understanding and patient. He shouldn¡¯t be throwing tantrum like he just did. He should handle the situation in a more mature way.


    ¡°Fine. I also don¡¯t want to bicker with you. So, let¡¯s just start over this time on a good note.¡± He stood up and offered his hand to Andreas in a handshake. ¡°Friends?¡±


    Reas looked up at the other. He really didn¡¯t think much, he just stood up and reached for Lauren¡¯s hand. ¡°Friends.¡±

 Chapter 225 - THE NEXT GIG

    WHEN Astrid walked out of his room, his steps faltered. Because he quickly noticed that the atmosphere between Lauren and Reas seemed to be much better compared to before he answered Wulfric¡¯s call.


    Lauren had a soft smile on his face while the rigidity surrounding Reas since the start of dinner completely dispersed. For the first time since the two met, they looked comfortable around each other. It seemed that his decision leaving the two alone for a moment was correct.


    Although Astrid wanted to ask what happened for the situation to turn like this, he held back. Because there¡¯s a chance that the awkward atmosphere between the two might return if he did. How could he destroy this newly built development?


    So, he just walked to his seat and sat down.


    ¡°Who called?¡± Reas asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s the new friend I made today.¡±


    At Astrid¡¯s response, Reas frowned. Because this ¡®friend¡¯ could only be the general. He didn¡¯t say anything back. Because the general probably called his brother to update him of the situation about the kidnapping case. No matter how unreasonable the general appeared to be, surely, he wouldn¡¯t call Astrid for no reason other than to see his face or something.


    But then again, this was the general he was talking about. Calling Astrid for no reason was exactly something the other might do.


    Lauren, on the other hand, didn¡¯t think much of the conversation of the two. He just assumed that the ¡®friend¡¯ Astrid mentioned was a student he met during the day.


    ¡°By the way, Astrid. I¡¯ve seen some post on [Cyberspace] about you being seen at the space port. One even said that the spacecraft you boarded was a flight to FS08,¡± he said. ¡°Did you go there to film something?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a guess appearance for the 100th episode of [Blind Justice],¡± Astrid answered.


    ¡°Oh, I know that show! I sometimes watched a rerun of it whenever I have time. Did you say the 100th episode? Then, it should be a very special production,¡± Lauren commented.


    There wasn¡¯t that many shows or dramas that could reach that number of episodes. Because of the exorbitant number of TV dramas and web dramas being released each year, it¡¯s hard to keep the attention of an audience for that long. People simply had too many options to choose from. They might like this drama today, and then tomorrow, they might switch their preference to another drama.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s quite a feat for a drama to last this long. It only meant that it had a solid fanbase and a loyal audience. Having watched the show a couple of times, Lauren understood how that could be possible.


    He was pleasantly surprised that Ellis Payne managed to score such a good gig for Astrid. It seemed that what his agent said about her was not unfounded at all. She truly was very capable. He was happy that Astrid had a competent agent by his side. With his talent and looks, a capable and trustworthy agent was a must.


    ¡°When will it air?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Next week,¡± Astrid said. ¡°It will be a two-hour special since it¡¯s the 100th episode.¡±


    Lauren nodded. If his evaluation of Ellis Payne was correct, then Astrid¡¯s appearance in this show would not be just an extra. The spaceport photos on [Cyberspace] showed that Ellis wanted everyone to know that Astrid would be filming something at FS08.


    Now that Astrid¡¯s photos at the spaceport were making a small buzz, the next step would probably to announce that he would be appearing as a guess at [Blind Justice]¡¯s 100th episode. That way, it would create more hype. Doing it that way meant that Astrid¡¯s role in this special episode was not just an ordinary extra.


    For a newcomer like Astrid who had been gaining a lot of attention lately, appearing in a popular show like [Blind Justice] would certainly be a big help to boost his popularity even more. But if there were pros, there would certainly be cons.


    Because of the show¡¯s high popularity, its loyal audience might not be too accepting of the fact that a newcomer would be the special guess for the 100th episode instead of an already established actor or actress. If Astrid couldn¡¯t show a satisfactory performance, then instead of being a good opportunity, it would turn into a bad one.


    Lauren should probably not worry if that was the case. After all, Astrid¡¯s talent in acting was undeniable. His performance in that drama would definitely be more than satisfactory. Even if a lot of people showed their disapproval once the other¡¯s guesting was announced, they only needed to watch Astrid¡¯s performance to be proven wrong. That would probably have a more lasting impact.


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely watch it,¡± he said. ¡°Should I ask my followers on [Cyberspace] to also watch it?¡±


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t.¡± ¨C Astrid.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t.¡± ¨C Reas.


    The twins said almost at the same time.


    Lauren chuckled at how in-synced the two were. ¡°I¡¯m just joking. I¡¯m not so brainless as to do that.¡± Then, he saw Andreas looking at him with an expression as if asking ¡®really?¡¯. He threw a small pillow at the other. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me like that. I thought we already decided not to bicker?¡±


    Reas shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything though?¡±


    Astrid smiled in amusement at the interaction of the two. He could see that both were now very comfortable around each other. A huge leap from how they were when dinner started. He wondered just what kind of conversation the two had for their relationship to transition into this. It must have been one-heck of a conversation.


    After making face at Andreas, Lauren turned to Astrid. ¡°Do you have another job lined up after that guesting?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I have an audition this weekend for the fourth male lead role of a TV drama.¡±


    Lauren¡¯s ears perked up when he heard that. ¡°What¡¯s the title?¡±


    ¡°[The Great War],¡± Astrid answered with a grin.

 Chapter 226 - SLIGHTLY PASSABLE ACTING

    ASTRID was on his way to his next class when his Terminal rang. He opened it and saw that it was a message from Ellis.


    Ellis: [The trailer for the 100th episode of [Blind Justice] is being edited right now. They asked me if they should include you in it or keep your participation a bit of mystery. I said I will ask you first. What do you think?]


    Astrid chuckled a little when he read it. Because he knew Ellis already had a plan in mind. Still, he appreciated the fact that she asked for his opinion.


    Astrid: [I leave the decision to you, Sister Ellis.]


    Ellis: [Okay. Then, I will tell them to only show your back view and not your face. I will also ask them not to announced that you¡¯re part of that episode as a guest.]


    He already had an idea on what kind of strategy Ellis was going for. With his spaceport photos still flying around [Cyberspace], add that to back view of him on the 100th episode trailer of [Blind Justice], and anyone with a discerning mind could put two and two together. And by ¡®anyone¡¯ he meant those who were following him on [Cyberspace].


    If one person posted their ¡®discovery¡¯, it would certainly get traction. Because one, [Blind Justice] was a popular show and two, Astrid was a newcomer with no works under his name. There would be a lot of people who would mock this post, most likely saying things like how could a newcomer be a special guess in their beloved show?


    They would probably even suggest that the back view belonged to another actor with black hair or some other actor that used a black wig or dyed his hair black. Anyone could be it. Anyone except him. Because it was more acceptable and understandable if it was anyone except a newcomer.


    Since his face wouldn¡¯t be shown in the trailer and no announcement would be made, those who thought that it was impossible for him to be the ¡®mystery guest¡¯ would definitely take that as a sign that there¡¯s no way it could be him. And therefore, would gloat over it.


    They would not only mock those who thought that it was him, they would definitely also attack Astrid. Maybe even saying that he was the one who started the rumor so people would talk about him. Although it¡¯s not yet to happen, he was certain that it would. His many years of experience in the entertainment industry in his past life proved that.


    But he didn¡¯t mind. The more they talked and scolded him, the better. Because the face-slapping would then become much sweeter. How could it not be when those people would be proven wrong and swallow all the nasty things they had said?


    Astrid responded to Ellis. After a few more message exchange, he closed his Terminal and walked to the direction of the building for his next class.


    As he did, he could feel the gaze of a lot of people on him. This was already the fourth day since the new school term started. He had already gotten used to being the constant recipient of other students¡¯ gazes.


    He had considered whether to continue wearing a hat and a mask to avoid this kind of thing, but he thought against it. Aside from the fact that wearing something like that inside a class would make him more conspicuous, it would also make him look like he was running from something.


    It was fine when he only just registered or during the freshmen orientation. Because he didn¡¯t really need to be here for a long period of time. Which was different when he had to go to classes.


    Although it¡¯s troublesome to be stared at all the time, he could still bear this much. Besides, this would also help the students in this school to get used to his presence. If they saw him often in the campus, then, they would stop treating him like he¡¯s some kind of panda.


    He was nearing the teaching building when three guys stopped him from his track. They all looked pretty and delicate, especially the one standing at the middle. His clothes were fashionable. One could see how much care he put on his skin and hair just by seeing how dewy and lush they were respectively.


    Astrid forced himself not to frown and not to let the gentle smile on his lips disappear. He knew these three. Or more exactly, he recognized their faces. They were all from the same department as him.


    In the last three days, these three had been popping up from time to time just to ask whether they could eat lunch together or if he wanted to go somewhere after class to have fun. Of course, he always politely refused. Mainly because he could feel no good intentions behind their words.


    They might have tried to disguise it with their clumsy acting. But he could still see the envy and jealousy lurking in their eyes. Who knew what kind of scheme they were playing at?


    ¡°Hi, Astrid!¡± the one standing at the middle greeted. ¡°Are you going to class? Let¡¯s go together!¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but no,¡± Astrid responded. ¡°I think we have different classes.¡±


    ¡°How could that be? All freshman from the same department almost have the same classes,¡± said the one on the right.


    Then, the one on the left scoffed. ¡°Why can¡¯t you just say directly that you don¡¯t want to go with us instead of giving some shitty excuse.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make assumptions like that. Maybe Astrid really has a different class,¡± the one at the middle said in a soft voice. Then he turned to Astrid. ¡°Sorry, we didn¡¯t mean to trouble you like this. I- I¡¯m just trying to befriend you. Sorry if it just come off as a nuisance.¡±


    The other¡¯s expression was like that of someone who met his idol but was rejected and was now trying his best to act strong. Even his eyes were starting to water, as if he would cry at any second.


    Astrid almost wanted to applaud him for his slightly passable acting.

 Chapter 227 - IF ONLY THEY KNEW

    ASTRID resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the three people standing before him. Could they be any more obvious? He could already guess what kind of routine the three was playing.


    No, it¡¯s probably more accurate to say that it was only the one at the middle doing the routine. He could see that he was leading the two people along. And because the two didn¡¯t like Astrid, they were all too happy to be led on.


    Seeing as how they were already gathering attention from people around, these three probably wanted him to get angry or showed an annoyed expression. Anything that could make him appear the villain.


    He knew that there¡¯s definitely two or more people in this school who didn¡¯t like him and would be more than happy to see him fail and be the target of public scrutiny. After all, they were all supposed to be just aspiring actors and actresses. And yet, here he was, already signed to a reputable entertainment company and had already gained a very small amount of popularity.


    In all walks of life, there would always be envious people who always wanted to pull someone, who¡¯s doing slightly better than them, down. These types of people, most often than not, had this kind of crab mentality. As if saying, ¡®if I can¡¯t do better than you, then, you shouldn¡¯t do better than me¡¯.


    Not only that, they would always have this kind of delusion that they were better than the person they¡¯re jealous of. That if they were in the position of that person, they would definitely do a much better job than him or her.


    Astrid hated this type of person the most. Instead of grumbling how much better they were, why not work harder and prove it? But no, they would rather stew in their own envy and do underhanded means to attack someone who hadn¡¯t done anything to them.


    It¡¯s really disgusting.


    As much as he wanted to just ignore the three, he knew that doing that would most likely have a negative effect. People here could spin that in any way they wanted. With him ending up as one on the wrong, of course. How could he let that happen? Two could play this game.


    So, an aggrieved look appeared on his face. His big black eyes watered, as if he would cry at any second. His body was even slightly shaking. If one saw him right now, they would think he¡¯s a poor cabbage being stepped on by unruly cows.


    He bit his lower lip. ¡°I- didn¡¯t mean it that way. I never said that you¡¯re a nuisance. Why would you make it sound like I¡¯m a bad guy? We really don¡¯t have the same class. Do you want me to not attend my own class just so I could go together with you? Would you stop vilifying me if I do?¡±


    The three were stunned. They couldn¡¯t even close their mouth because of shock. They were probably thinking why he wasn¡¯t giving them the expected reaction they wanted. Astrid sneered inside. Why would he even do that? He could also act to make them look bad, you know?


    With his poor little cabbage act, some bystanders couldn¡¯t help it anymore and said;


    ¡°Why are you forcing others to go to class with you? Do you have problems with your brain?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Even making him look like the one who¡¯s in the wrong. How shameless can you be?¡±


    ¡°Are they expecting people to side with them?¡±


    ¡°Most likely. They probably want us to say bad things about the poor cutie there.¡±


    ¡°Heh. Do they think we¡¯re that stupid? Who are we, their lackeys or something?¡±


    The faces of the three people in front of Astrid had turned into varying shades of red and purple. The one at the middle could no longer maintain his smile and was now glaring viciously at Astrid.


    Then, the one at the left seemed to be overcome with anger that he wanted to attack Astrid. The other raised his hand and was about to slap him when he suddenly felt nauseous for some reason. He put his hand on his mouth, he felt like he would throw up at any second.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± the one at the middle asked when he noticed that the other had stopped his actions.


    The one at the left turned to the one at the middle. Then, without any warning, he suddenly threw up the breakfast he had eaten. All the contents were now poured on the person at the middle.


    No one noticed but the moment the other threw up, Astrid stepped back very timely.


    There was silence all around. No one knew who started it, but someone suddenly chortled. It was like a damn broke and everyone started laughing.


    ¡°Oh no, are you sick?¡± Astrid asked with a very worried expression. He was the only one who¡¯s not laughing and showed care to the other. ¡°I- I think you should go to the infirmary.¡±


    The three no longer paid attention to him because of too much humiliation. The one on the left panicked. He kept on apologizing to the one at the middle. The latter looked at the former as if he would tear him to pieces. Astrid could see the one on the left visibly shudder.


    The one on the middle ran as fast as his physique would allow him. The one on the right immediately followed the other. Then, after a few seconds, the one on the left also followed the two.


    Astrid showed a confused look. Most of the people on the scene who saw this felt their heart softened. Some of them knew that the other was the new artist signed by Polaris. They first thought that he was some kind of ice-beauty, the type that wouldn¡¯t let others get close. But seeing his confused look, the ice-beauty in their mind disappeared and was replaced by a soft cutie.


    Oh, if only they knew.

 Chapter 228 - GREENHOUSE

    ASTRID was finally able to walk to the teaching building with ease. He looked at the time in his Terminal and saw that if he stayed for more than a minute more, he would definitely be late for the class.


    It was the reason why he decided to use his mental strength when he saw one of those three trying to slap him. Because if he let him continue, then, the ¡®drama¡¯ they¡¯re trying to shoot would just become more annoying.


    He induced the other with a strong migraine. The kind that would make one immediately vomit. He had tried to do that a couple of times before and he had already become very efficient with it.


    As he walked, the people around that witnessed what happened started to give him encouraging words. Remembering how earlier, these people only had the attitude of watching a good show, he could only shake his head in secret. As expected, acting like a na?ve silly white sweet could easily gain the pity and goodwill of anyone.


    He had never tried doing that in his past life. Mainly because his looks just wasn¡¯t made for that kind of acting. If he did it, the only thing it could invoke was annoyance. But he had seen a couple of actors and actresses doing it. So, he knew how effective it was. Of course, the degree of effectiveness depended on the opponents¡¯ IQ.


    Thankfully, the ones Astrid met just now was too blinded by envy and jealousy that their brains seemed to not be working properly. He also had to thank the fact that the aesthetic of humans in this era when it came to looks was different in some area compared to his past life. If not, then his above average face wouldn¡¯t be labeled as ¡®beautiful¡¯.


    The people in this era considered anyone who had a rare feature as extremely beautiful. Probably because most of them were all pretty and handsome. So, it simply became very common. So, the rarer one¡¯s feature was, the more they were pushed at the top of the appearance scale.


    Astrid shrugged. Not like he was complaining. Although it¡¯s troublesome in some ways, it¡¯s still very convenient for him in some other.


    He finally walked into the teaching building and got to class on time.


    ¡ª¨C


    After class, Astrid walked out of the lecture hall. He walked fast but he made sure that his stride wouldn¡¯t make him look like he was hurrying to get out of there. When in fact, he really was.


    He didn¡¯t want another incident like what happened earlier. It¡¯s lunch time now. He seriously wanted to just go back home but he still had classes in the afternoon. He brought his own lunch. He didn¡¯t want to go to the cafeteria and engaged in fake conversation.


    That sounded a bit arrogant and high-handed but he really didn¡¯t want to fake his smile even during lunch. Because he knew that the people who would try to approach him wouldn¡¯t be genuine. Yes, that¡¯s a bit judgmental.  But his past life experience had long taught him not easily trust people in this industry. Especially those who couldn¡¯t hide their greed and jealousy. Those were the type who could do anything for their ambition.


    Astrid wanted to eat lunch in peace. Thankfully, he had already found a good place the other day. He had been eating there during lunch. At first, he was worried that he would encounter another problem again. Like during when he registered and during the freshmen orientation. Luckily enough, none of that happened.


    He walked out of the teaching building and stealthily moved to the direction of the school¡¯s greenhouse. The greenhouse was a bit far from the teaching buildings and other faculty buildings.


    When he was searching for a quiet place to eat, he saw this place on the map. The distance was just right. He also found out from a few posts in the school forum that it¡¯s not very popular among students. Mainly because the plants inside were not exactly pleasing to look at.


    When he first got there and saw those plants, he couldn¡¯t help but angry. They were a bit on the ugly side. But he didn¡¯t mind since they weren¡¯t toxic. His appetite wouldn¡¯t decrease just because of a few ugly plants.


    After more than 10 minutes of walking, he finally arrived at his destination.


    The greenhouse was open to all students and faculties alike. But because of the chairman¡¯s eccentric taste in plants, not many would spend their time here. Which was just perfect for Astrid.


    He walked inside and his eyes were assaulted by those plants. They looked like combinations of different plants ¨C like the leaves of a palm tree on top of something that looked like a cactus. There was also a big flower that almost looked similar to rafflesia.


    But despite how the plants and flowers here looked, none of them gave off a bad smell. In fact, their appearance was inversely proportional to their scent. If one were to close their eyes, they would imagine that they were in a flower paradise.


    He walked into the inner part of the greenhouse and sat down on one of the few benches inside. He then took out his food container from the space stone of the necklace he¡¯s wearing. But before he could even open it, he heard a voice.


    ¡°Those bastards! Why can¡¯t they just leave me alone? What did I ever do to them? Are the rich the only ones allowed to be talented?¡±


    The voice was full of grievance and anger. Its volume was getting closer and closer. A sign that its owner was walking to where Astrid was. Then, he heard a sob. A very quiet sob that contained a lot of frustration.


    ¡°Th-this¡­ hic¡­ this is so unfair! I swear! Someday, I¡¯m gonna beat all their jealous ass!¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows in interest.. Then, he glanced back at the owner of this voice.

 Chapter 229 - KIRAN HOPE

    THE voice¡¯s owner was a boy with messy reddish-brown hair that looked as if it had not been met by a comb for a few days. His thin frame made his already petite body looked even smaller. His skin was sallow. Add that to his thin body and one could see that this boy was probably not getting the nutrition he needed for his age.


    Astrid wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if the other was actually much older than he looked. In his eyes, the boy looked like he was 15-16 years old. But since one of Redwood Academy¡¯s requirements for admission was that the student needed to be 18-years-old, the other must be the same age as him. Or maybe even older.


    The boy stopped ranting and wiped the tears that welled up in his eyes. And what an amazing pair of eyes the other had. They were the color of sunset ¨C red, orange, even with a hint of gold. It was a very beautiful color. Filled with vitality and determination, these eyes looked like small sun orbs. Beautiful and dazzling.


    If the other was given the proper nutrition and was able to fill his body with the right amount of fat and muscle, his looks would definitely be astounding. He wouldn¡¯t lose in the looks department to any of the students he had seen so far. Then, Astrid suddenly thought of the boy he had saved from kidnapping. Well, this kid could definitely give the other a run for his money.


    But that¡¯s only under the condition that this boy could have more meat on him.


    Astrid could tell that the other probably didn¡¯t have a good living condition. He might be a scholarship student who was admitted in the academy because of his high talent. Based on what he had heard earlier, there¡¯s definitely a high possibility of that.


    He was thinking of how he should announce his presence to the other when the boy happened to raise his head and their gaze collided. The other¡¯s face first turned into shock, then, slowly that shock turned to anger and humiliation.


    ¡°You¡ªAre you eavesdropping on me?!¡±


    Astrid put down his food container and stood up. ¡°I was actually here before you, so¡­¡± he said, shrugging.


    Although his tone was gentle, the meaning of what he said was clear. He didn¡¯t eavesdrop. The other just starting talking on his own without checking his surroundings first.


    The boy¡¯s face reddened in humiliation when he heard that. He bit his lip and seemed like he was about to cry again. But he was obviously resisting to do so. At the end, he turned around was about to run.


    ¡°Wait-!¡± Astrid called before the other could leave.


    The other halted in his steps. When he thought that the boy would just continue running, the other slowly turned to him. ¡°What?¡± he asked vigilantly.


    ¡°I actually made too much for lunch. Since our meeting could be considered as fate, why don¡¯t you join me? Let¡¯s share the lunch I made,¡± Astrid said with a very friendly and harmless smile.


    He actually didn¡¯t know why he suddenly stopped the other or why he even offered to have lunch with him. He might be feeling a bit sentimental. Maybe because there was a time in his past life that he also experienced being malnourished and poor. So, he unknowingly had the urge to feed the other.


    He saw the boy¡¯s lips curling up into a sneer and he knew that he was about to be rejected. So, Astrid quickly picked up his food container and opened it. The delicious scent of food wafted in the air. This was his secret weapon. Really, who could refuse delicious food?


    When he saw the boy gulping, Astrid knew that he had won.


    ¡ª¨C


    Kiran wolfed down the food inside the container that he was holding. This was probably the most delicious food he had ever tasted in his 19 years of life. He couldn¡¯t even believe that such a delicious food could exist.


    For most of his life, he was used to eating low quality nutrient solution. It¡¯s what the orphanage he grew up in feed the kids they took in. It was funded by a high-ranking noble who owned the planet where the orphanage was in. The problem was, that noble didn¡¯t really care about the orphanage was just giving out money for the sake of being ¡®charitable¡¯.


    That would be fine if the director was kind and really cared for the children in the orphanage. The problem was, the orphanage¡¯s director was a greedy son of a bitch who didn¡¯t care about the children. He would cut expenses any way he could. That¡¯s why the children could only eat cheap nutrient solution and continuously wear old clothes until they¡¯re worn out and full of patches.


    Because of that, the children in the orphanage were all skinny and underweight. The only thing Kiran was thankful for was the fact that the director wasn¡¯t pervert. If the other was a greedy pervert, then, the children would probably not only suffer from malnutrition, they might also suffer from a bunch of traumas.


    He shook his head, not wanting to think about that anymore. Then, he continued eating.


    ¡°Slow down, the food won¡¯t run away,¡± said a gentle voice beside him with a tinge of amusement. ¡°Here, drink some tea.¡±


    Kiran glanced to the side and saw the beautiful guy with black hair and black eyes giving him a cup of tea. Since he was already eating the other¡¯s lunch, he was not so embarrassed to accept the cup.


    He took the cup and drank the tea. At first sip, his eyes quickly widened. This was the most fragrant and delicious tea he had tasted. Although granted that he hadn¡¯t really drank any good tea in his life. Still, he was sure this tea was pretty up there amongst ather teas.


    ¡°You¡­ what¡¯s your name?¡±


    The other seemed to find it amusing that he only asked that now. ¡°I¡¯m Astrid Townsend. You?¡±


    ¡°Kiran.. Kiran Hope.¡±

 Chapter 230 - A PROOF OF HARD WORK

    ASTRID couldn¡¯t help but smile when the other asked his name. After eating almost half of the food container, it¡¯s only now that this boy became interested in who he was. In the other¡¯s eyes, he¡¯s probably not important compared to the food he was eating now.


    ¡°I¡¯m Astrid Townsend. You?¡± he said, good-naturedly.


    ¡°Kira. Kiran Hope.¡±


    Astrid reached out his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you, Kiran.¡±


    The other looked at his hand, then, looked at his own hand. He seemed to be hesitating about something. When Astrid saw him about to wipe his hand on his pants as if there¡¯s invisible dirt on it, he simply stretched his hand and gently held the other¡¯s hand.


    Kiran seemed to be startled by his action. After the initial shock, the other immediately tried to take his hand back while saying, ¡°M-my hand is too rough.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t let go of Kiran¡¯s hand and clasped it even tighter. Because he did feel the callouses on the other¡¯s palm. This was something that¡¯s hardly common in this interstellar era. Because one could just simply buy hand creams that could easily erased those. The fact that this boy couldn¡¯t even afford it spoke volumes about the type of lifestyle he had.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with that,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s a proof of survival. Anyone who would mock you for it clearly couldn¡¯t comprehend such a thing and probably would find it beneath them to even put an effort to understand. Those types of people, their opinion doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He smiled. ¡°Working hard to live is not shameful. It¡¯s a very admirable thing.¡±


    After that, he let go of the boy¡¯s hand in a very natural manner so as not to make the other feel uncomfortable.


    Kiran was speechless at first. This was something he didn¡¯t expect to hear from a stranger. He quickly looked down to avoid the other¡¯s gaze. He picked up the spoon and continued eating. Almost burying his face on the food.


    This was the first time someone had told him that his rough hands were not something to be ashamed of. That all the hard work he had put until now was admirable. That the callouses on his hands were proof of his survival.


    All his life he had always been discriminated against because he¡¯s a poor orphan who had nothing to his name. He developed a rough personality because of that. Fighting everyone tooth and nails. For every insult they threw at him, he would throw back a thousand times more scathing insult. It¡¯s the only way he knew to fight back.


    It was no different when he arrived here at the capital. No, in fact, it was even worse. The place was simply reeking with wealth. So unlike the planet he grew up in. He was sticking out like a sore thumb. Especially in this Redwood Academy. The fact that he got the first place in the entrance evaluation of the music department made it even worse.


    Going to this school had never been something he planned to do. In fact, he didn¡¯t know about this school at all. Even his admission here was just some sort of, well, accident.


    Last year, after turning 18, he had to leave the orphanage because he had already reached the age of ¡®adulthood¡¯. He had been looking forward to that since he could remember.


    He wanted to leave the orphanage, start working, earn money, and then help the remaining children staying there. It would be a good if he could also expose the director for his embezzling of funds. But dreams and expectations were often like parallel lines that refused to meet each other. And so, one had to face reality.


    The reality that Kiran had to face was not full of flowers and butterflies and everything glittery. Instead, what he saw and experienced was nothing but ugliness. He already expected that it would be like that. But there¡¯s still a small part of him that wished that it wasn¡¯t.


    Too bad he¡¯s not someone loved by heavens. He could only grit his teeth and do his best to reach his goal. As he always did.


    He could only apply for low-income jobs because he¡¯s not qualified to apply for anything higher. So, his only solution to the matter was to work several jobs. Working, barely sleeping, eating cheap nutrient solutions, and saving money ¨C that¡¯s how his life had been for the past year.


    It was not until he passed out from overwork two months ago that things changed. And that change brought him to this place, albeit inadvertently.


    Kiran wasn¡¯t sure if he made the right decision by going here and enrolling in this academy. For two weeks since his arrival at the capital and his stay at this academy¡¯s dormitory, he faced other people¡¯s mockery, disgust, and jealousy. Yes, jealousy.


    It was something very novel to him. Because he had never experienced being envied by others. What could they possibly envy about him? But it turned out that he still had something to be envied about.


    Talent. That¡¯s what he had. Something that some of the people in this academy apparently didn¡¯t have.


    How laughable, really.


    Kiran glanced sideways at the person sitting next to him. After two weeks since his arrival here at the capital, he finally met someone who treated him like a person. He didn¡¯t look at him with disgust. The other even gave him food. And most importantly, he acknowledged his hard work. Even though both of them were practically strangers from each other.


    He looked down and then raised his head to directly look at the other. ¡°Thank you for saying what you said. It¡­ it made me happy to hear it.¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°No need for thanks. I only said the truth.¡± He glanced at the other¡¯s bowl and noticed that it was almost empty. ¡°Do you want more? I still have a lot of food here.¡±


    Kiran glanced at the almost empty bowl in his hand. The corner of his lips turned up unconsciously. He stretched his hand holding the bowl to Astrid.. ¡°Yes, please.¡±

 Chapter 231 - DESTINED TO BE FRIENDS?

    ASTRID put the food container back in the space stone. He turned to look at Kiran. He immediately noticed the other fidgeting, as if he was nervous about something. ¡°Kiran?¡± he called.


    The other seemed to be hesitating whether to say what he wanted or not. Then, as if he finally made up his mind, he took a deep breath and said, ¡°You- are you going to be here tomorrow as well?¡±


    Astrid smiled in amusement. He didn¡¯t expect that that was what Kiran was hesitating to say. ¡°Yes,¡± he said in response.


    ¡°Then, can, can I also go here tomorrow? I¡¯ll try to bring my own lunch!¡±


    ¡°Of course, you can. It¡¯s not like I own this place,¡± Astrid said in a teasing tone. ¡°But you don¡¯t need to worry about lunch. I always cook more than I can eat. We could just share.¡±


    ¡°Would that be okay?¡± Kiran asked, his voice sounding a bit hesitant.


    Astrid nodded. ¡°I love cooking. If there¡¯s someone who could eat with me and enjoy my cooking, I would be even happier.¡±


    Looking at the other¡¯s smile, Kiran no longer tried to say any word of rejection. Maybe because he could feel that Astrid really meant what he said. That he felt happy whenever someone enjoyed his cooking. Which was not really hard to do considering how delicious his cooking was.


    He actually still couldn¡¯t believe that the other was the one who made all those delicious dishes. At first glance, Astrid looked like a noble who had never set foot in the kitchen all his life. Obviously, that wasn¡¯t the case.


    In their short interaction, he was more inclined to believe that the other was someone who grew up in an ordinary middle-upper class household and was very much loved by his family. Really, a kind-hearted person who wouldn¡¯t judge others based on their appearance.


    Being treated so kindly, it¡¯s probably the reason why he couldn¡¯t resist asking if he could go to this place again tomorrow. Secretly hoping that the other would also be here. And he wasn¡¯t disappointed. The answer Astrid gave was even better than what he was expecting.


    The excitement and happiness he¡¯s feeling, it¡¯s like he was back during the first day of primary school. When he was still young and not so jaded as he was now. That was the first time he left the orphanage. So, he was pretty excited to meet other children who were not from the same orphanage as him. He was hoping that he could make new friends. Only for that hope to be dashed the first moment he stepped into the classroom.


    He was used to fighting with other children in the orphanage. But that was just all petty fights that didn¡¯t really lead to anything. Just children messing around. But it was different in school. There¡¯s no physical fight involved. Only psychological.


    As weird as that might sound, it was the truth. If you couldn¡¯t handle all the mean things the other children would say to you, then, you¡¯d better off not attending school. How he wished he was just exaggerating. But that was the place where he first questioned the meaning of his existence. Wondering if he truly deserved to live in this world.


    It was a good thing that the defense mechanism he chose was to say equally mean things to the other kids instead of letting himself wallow in self-pity.


    His school life was basically the same all the way to secondary school. People mocking him and looking down on him with disgust. He believed that the same thing would happen in this academy. And all the things that happened in the past three days seemed to prove that.


    But this short lunch had completely subverted his expectations. After so many years, he once again wanted to be friends with someone.


    ¡°By the way, Kiran, are you also a freshman?¡±


    Astrid¡¯s question temporarily halted Kiran¡¯s train of thoughts. He glanced at the other, noting the word ¡®also¡¯ from what the other said. ¡°Yes. I guess you as well.¡±


    Astrid wasn¡¯t surprised by this. He had already expected that the other was a freshman after all. ¡°What department are you in? I¡¯m in the Acting Department.¡±


    Kiran froze a bit when he heard that. Because he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if there was one moment that the other was ¡®acting¡¯ during the entire time they were eating lunch. But he also quickly shook his head and threw that silly thought out of his mind.


    He should be a good judge whether the one he¡¯s interacting with was being genuine or not. He had plenty of experience in things like that. Being repeatedly lied at because most people thought he was stupid, he had long known how to differentiate between those who treated him with genuine kindness and those who only wanted to make a fool out of him.


    And Astrid was definitely not the latter.


    ¡°I¡¯m from the Music Department,¡± he answered in response.


    Astrid was about to comment on that when he suddenly remembered something. It was during freshmen registration, when he helped someone who was being bullied by three guys. He didn¡¯t see that person but he remembered what those bullied said. That the other was poor and that the only reason he took the top spot was because the teachers took pity on him.


    Those definitely matched what Kiran had been complaining.


    ¡°Are you perhaps the one who took the top spot at the entrance evaluation of the Music Department?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kiran said, showing a confused look. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    ¡°Just a guess,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    If he told the other the truth, then, he had to explain a lot of other things as well. Which wasn¡¯t really conducive right now.


    But meeting again like this, didn¡¯t it seem like the two of them were destined to be friends? One thing¡¯s for sure though. This was definitely a pleasant surprise.


    ¡°My next lecture is about to start,¡± he said, standing up. ¡°See you tomorrow?¡±


    The corner of Kiran¡¯s lips curved up, showing a small smile.. ¡°Yeah, see you tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 232 - TO ANOTHER AUDITION

    ASTRID looked at the time on his Terminal. It wasn¡¯t even eight in the morning. And yet, here he was standing in front of his apartment building waiting for Ellis to come. He didn¡¯t mind though. He just felt a bit of regret since he wouldn¡¯t be here once Reas returned from military academy.


    It¡¯s the weekend, so the other was allowed to return back home. His brother would probably be back before noon. That¡¯s why he had already cooked lunch for the other. Hopefully, he could return before evening so he and Reas could have dinner together.


    After a while, a flying car stopped in front of him. He opened the door of the car and sat on the passenger¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Good morning, Sister Ellis,¡± he greeted the woman sitting on the driver¡¯s seat with a smile.


    The other smiled back. ¡°Good morning. Did you have a good rest?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I slept quite early.¡±


    Ellis smiled at that answer. There were no dark shadows under Astrid¡¯s eyes, even his skin was radiant. Showing that he really did sleep early without any worries. Which was a good thing. Because it meant that he wasn¡¯t nervous about his audition today. But then again, Astrid did seem like the type who wouldn¡¯t be anxious about things like that. Probably because of his faith in his talent.


    This also showed that the other had a strong mentality. The type that was not prone to crumble under pressure. Which was a good quality for an actor to have. At least, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry that Astrid¡¯s performance would be affected because he¡¯s nervous or something like that.


    She started the car and flew it to the direction of their destination for today ¨C the main building of Kaleido, the biggest entertainment company in the Empire. They were going there today because the audition for the fourth male lead for the TV drama [The Great War] would be held there.


    The reason for that was Kaleido was one of the investors of this drama. When Ellis found that out, she was quite torn whether she should let Astrid take this audition. Many in the industry knew that Kaleido had a bad habit of inserting their artists in every production they invested in.


    But this fourth male lead was really an attractive role. It might only just appear in a few episodes, but the impact it could bring to the audience was no less than the starring roles. Of course, that all depended on the acting ability of the actor playing it. On that regard, she had no worries at all.


    Another reason why she couldn¡¯t just pass this role was because the director of the drama was a famous and respected director in the TV drama circle ¨C Mason Scott. He had won many awards in his career. [The Great War] would be his comeback work after three years of hiatus.


    There were a lot of attention being given to this drama. So, being a part of it would be a great exposure to any newcomer who was just starting out.


    So, with these reasons, she decided to just go with it and fight for an audition slot for Astrid. Besides, she also heard that Director Scott would be there during the audition and would be one of the people deciding who the role would be given to.


    Although she hadn¡¯t personally met Director Scott before, he heard that he was a very strict director who wouldn¡¯t compromise the quality of the drama he¡¯s shooting for the sake of the investors. In that regard, he was quite similar to Director Trevane. Well, both of them had that capital.


    Even if Kaleido insisted on shoving someone from their company to play this role, as long as Director Scott hand picked the actor himself, could they still complain? The other was not a newcomer director that they could bully into submission. If Director Scott chose to abandon this drama because of their meddling, the one who would receive the most backlash would be them.


    It was the same situation with [The Sleeping God] movie. Knowing that this would be the first movie that Astrid would appear in, she researched about it extensively. So, she found out that Kaleido was also one of its investors. And the role that Astrid played was supposed to be given to one of their newcomers. But didn¡¯t Astrid get that role nonetheless?


    It was all because Director Trevane personally chose him for it. Astrid managed to prove to the other with just his talent alone that he was the right person for the role. So, Ellis believed that the same thing could happen with Director Scott.


    ¡°How was your first week in school, by the way?¡± she thought of asking. She didn¡¯t bother to ask whether the other had prepared for his audition today. Because she already knew the answer.


    ¡°It was okay,¡± Astrid answered.


    Except for that once incident the other day, no one really had bothered him that much. It¡¯s most likely because that incident was spread to the campus forum, dubbed as the ¡®vomiting incident¡¯. Those three didn¡¯t appear in front of him again. Although they¡¯re probably just waiting for this incident to subside before brushing their existence in front of him again.


    Well, not that he cared.


    ¡°No one bullied you, right?¡±


    Astrid chuckled at Ellis¡¯ question. ¡°No. You don¡¯t have to worry about that happening.¡± He wasn¡¯t the type to let himself be bullied unilaterally by others. ¡°In fact, I made a friend.¡±


    Remembering Kiran, a big smile involuntarily crossed his lips. Yesterday, the two of them met again for lunch. The other was no longer that awkward while interacting with him. At least in comparison when they first met the other day, Kiran was more natural.


    He was glad for that. He truly wanted to get close to the other. A feeling that didn¡¯t really come to him naturally. Astrid wasn¡¯t sure if it was because Kiran reminded him of his past self.. But one thing¡¯s for sure, he wanted to be his friend.

 Chapter 233 - ARRIVING AT THE KALEIDO BUILDING

    ¡°BY the way, the trailer for the 100th episode of [Blind Justice] will air tonight,¡± Ellis said.


    Astrid was a bit surprised by that. ¡°So soon?¡±


    ¡°Well, they already have all the footage they needed. So, it¡¯s only natural to release it this fast. In fact, I thought they would be releasing it much sooner.¡±


    Astrid almost forgot that the high level of technology in this era made post-editing of movies and TV dramas much faster.


    ¡°Since you didn¡¯t want your participation in the episode to be announced yet, the company will not give any statement once people started connecting you to the [Blind Justice] crew,¡± Ellis continued. ¡°You probably have already thought of what most people¡¯s reaction would be once they read comments linking you to the show. There would definitely be a lot of mockery and hate. So, I suggest you stay away from [Cyberspace] from a couple of days. At least until the 100th episode is aired.¡±


    Of course, Astrid understood what Ellis was trying to say. The moment he told her that there¡¯s no need for him to be tagged once the special trailer for the 100th episode was posted, he had already thought of all the possible outcome that might entail. And that included what Ellis said just now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis. I¡¯m not really the type to be affected by things being posted online,¡± he said to the other with a smile.


    He had ample experience regarding that in his past life that he¡¯d already become immune to it. He remembered being affected by those negative comments at first. Especially when someone told him to die or kill himself. But as years went by, he simply became numb to it.


    He realized that no matter how much those people threw hate comments at him, it would always remain that ¨C a comment. Yes, words did have power. But only if you let them. And he had been through so much already to let a stranger¡¯s words affect him.


    Ellis had already somehow expected that answer from the other. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. A strong mentality is always needed in this industry.¡±


    She just hoped that Astrid could maintain that until the very end. Well, even if he tripped in the middle, wasn¡¯t she still here? As his agent, she should provide him with all the support he needed. And since they had already talked about making Astrid a star that would stand at the top, she should also give her very best, right?


    ¡°Oh, and also, the crew of [The Sleeping God] contacted me. They informed me that the premier will be held second week of next month. The trailer would probably be released next week,¡± Ellis informed the other.


    Wow. That¡¯s only almost two months of post-production. As expected of this era¡¯s technology. ¨C Astrid thought. No wonder there were countless of movies being released in a year.


    ¡°Director Trevane decided not to include you in the initial trailer. But after the premier, a second trailer would be released and you¡¯ll be included. There would be a promotional wave with the main cast a few days prior to the premier. But after that, they hoped you could join the promotion as well,¡± Ellis continued. ¡°I already agreed. The promotion would most likely be some sort of interview or variety show. Either one would be good for exposure.¡±


    Astrid nodded, showing that he didn¡¯t mind Ellis¡¯ decision. Although he felt a bit amused. The crew of [The Sleeping God] was treating him like he was some big star or something. Not showing him in the initial trailer and then including him once the premier was over, it¡¯s like they¡¯re sure that he would be a big hit after the premier.


    With the amount of screen time he had in the movie, he could barely be considered as a member of the cast. Normally, he shouldn¡¯t be included in the promotion at all. But Director Trevane decided to include him. This showed that the other believed that his role would definitely have a great impact after the movie was released.


    He smiled a bit, happy that the director had that much faith in him. Good thing he was confident that he could live up to that faith.


    ¡°After the premier, I believe the MV of the movie¡¯s OST ¨C the one sang by Miria Lane ¨C would be released. Since you starred in that as well, next month would definitely be quite busy for you. And if you passed this audition, your busy schedule would start even earlier than that.¡± Ellis glanced at Astrid and saw the teenager smiling. ¡°Happy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m always happy to have work,¡± Astrid responded with a grin.


    Ellis also smiled at that.


    After a few minutes more of travel, they finally arrived at their destination.


    Ellis parked her car at the designated parking lot. Then the both of them got out of the car.


    Astrid raised his head and stared at the huge building in front of him. He was a bit surprised to see that the whole building was in the shape of the letter ¡®K¡¯. It¡¯s like it¡¯s screaming ¡®this is the building of Kaleido Entertainment!¡¯. It¡¯s completely different from the building of Polaris. But despite the unconventional building shape, this building still covered more area compared to Polaris¡¯ building.


    ¡°This building is definitely, hmm, unique, I guess?¡± he commented.


    ¡°It reflects the character of the owner,¡± Ellis said.


    ¡°So, they¡¯re narcissistic?¡±


    ¡°One could certainly see it that way,¡± Ellis said, chuckling. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    They walked inside the building. As they entered, the first thing they saw was the huge virtual screen floating in the middle of the lobby. It was like a road sign flashing, telling people where they had to go.


    [To those here for [The Great War] audition, please proceed to the 10th floor.]


    ¡°Well, now that¡¯s convenient,¡± Ellis said before turning to Astrid. ¡°You ready?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m always ready,¡± Astrid said with a grin.


    Then, the two walked to the elevator that would bring them to the 10th floor.

 Chapter 234 - AT THE WAITING AREA

    ARRIVING at the 10th floor, an AI robot quickly assisted Astrid and Ellis. It guided the two to a waiting room where all the other auditionees were. It also gave them a number, telling them that the number given to them was the order in which the auditionees would audition.


    Astrid saw that he was number ¡¯46¡¯. According to Ellis, there were only 60 slots for this audition. Which was understandable. This was the comeback project of a well-known director after three years of hiatus. Just by the virtue of the director¡¯s fame alone, the shows popularity was basically guaranteed. Who wouldn¡¯t want to be part of such a show?


    If they didn¡¯t limit the number of people, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if more than a hundred auditionees would appear today. Maybe even more than that. The fact that there¡¯s a quota meant that the production team had already taken that into account. And the rest of those who would evaluate the audition probably didn¡¯t want to evaluate that more than a hundred people.


    If they didn¡¯t find the right person today, then, they would most likely do another round of audition. There¡¯s also a chance that they would just give the role to the actor being pushed by Kaleido.


    Astrid didn¡¯t have any opinion on the number given to them. No matter what order he went, it wouldn¡¯t stop him from giving his best. He would give a performance that he wouldn¡¯t regret.


    The waiting area was like an auditorium that could probably accommodate about 200 people. There were already people inside. Based on the number, Astrid guessed that the number given to them were based on the time of their arrival. Meaning he and Ellis were the 46th to arrive.


    The moment they walked in, some people inside glanced at their direction. When they saw Astrid, they had a stunned look in their faces. Then most of those stunned look quickly turned to a number of different emotions. There were those who looked angry, those who looked jealous, and those who looked worried.


    Astrid certainly understood why they felt those emotions. His appearance alone was an enough threat to these people who were fighting for the same role. Noticing their reactions, the rest of the people also glanced at their direction. While some were surprised, there were also those who didn¡¯t have that much reaction. The latter were probably people who had better control with their emotion.


    He and Ellis walked to one of the empty seats. As they did, Astrid could hear some murmurs coming from the seats not so far from where they were. Since he had an A level physique, his hearing was pretty good. Although not as good as those S and SS levels, it¡¯s still enough to hear what the others were saying. Most of the conversations he could hear were between actors and their agent or assistant.


    ¡°Did you see that person¡¯s hair and eye color? If he¡¯s good at acting, the role will definitely be his! What¡¯s the use of us being here?¡±


    ¡°Stop being pessimistic, will you? Most people that have such appearance usually don¡¯t have talent. So, stop worrying, okay? Just focus on your audition.¡±


    Then, on the other side¡­


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that boy the new artist introduced by Polaris some time ago?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Giving him such resources, they¡¯re definitely optimistic about him.¡±


    ¡°Or there could be some hocus pocus happening with the higher-ups of Polaris. That¡¯s why they could give a newcomer such a good opportunity.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. Polaris is not some half-baked third-rate company. They wouldn¡¯t give special treatment to an artist just because of their rare beauty.¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s always a first for everything.¡±


    ¡°Instead of gossiping about that, just focus on your audition.¡±


    And somewhere from the back¡­


    ¡°Hmm¡­ why does that woman sitting beside that boy looked familiar?¡±


    ¡°Who cares about that? We should worry about that boy! I thought Yujin Wells is the only one I have to worry about. Now, this¡­ this person suddenly appears to make my life even harder.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Don¡¯t overreact. It might affect your audition later. How many times do I have to tell you that you need to be calmer? Your nerves always overcome your talent. How many roles have you wasted because you can¡¯t force yourself to calm down?¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. Don¡¯t always nag at me.¡±


    Same conversations were happening all around. Astrid chose to block those, as if he hadn¡¯t heard it at all. Although he was a bit interested when he heard someone mentioned ¡®Yujin Wells¡¯. He didn¡¯t know who the other was. But based on the tone of the person who mentioned him, there¡¯s a high chance that this ¡®Yujin Wells¡¯ was the artist that Kaleido was pushing for this role.


    He glanced at Ellis sitting beside him. It seemed that most of the people here didn¡¯t immediately recognize his agent. Well, with so many things happening in the entertainment industry every day, the news of Ellis Payne¡¯s return might not be at the top of the list of things they were keeping an eye on.


    Astrid looked at the time on his Terminal. There were still 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the audition. Seeing that more than a half of auditionees were already here, it¡¯s obvious how much importance they put on this audition.


    Then, he searched about ¡®Yujin Wells¡¯ on his [Starnet]. The result showed a young man who looked like he was in his early 20s. To his surprise, the other had black hair with a tinge of blue. He kept it long and looking quite silky. But unlike Astrid with obvious East Asian features, Yujin Wells had a more Westernized look with very bright blue eyes.


    He was quite handsome. With how the people in this era seemed to like black hair very much, the other¡¯s appearance was definitely a big hit.


    According to the information on [Starnet], Yujin Wells debuted seven months ago. He starred in a teen drama as second male lead. That drama blew up in popularity and he managed to enter the top 500 of Star List three months ago.


    Astrid raised his brow.. No wonder Kaleido was pushing the other.

 Chapter 235 - [THE GREAT WAR] NOVEL

    ASTRID closed his Terminal, no longer interested in that. It didn¡¯t matter whether this Yujin Wells had the support of Kaleido. Even if the other already had a small foothold in this industry, that¡¯s also not important. The only thing that mattered right now was talent. Whoever had the talent would win this role. And that¡¯s the one thing Astrid wouldn¡¯t easily lose to.


    ¡°It looks like they would wait until all the auditionees are here before starting the audition,¡± Ellis commented beside him. ¡°What a waste of time if you asked me.¡±


    Astrid chuckled at the other¡¯s last comment. ¡°Maybe not all of the evaluators are here.¡±


    Ellis nodded, thinking how possible that was. She couldn¡¯t really expect that everyone would be prompt. Especially if there was an investor among those who would evaluate the auditionees today.


    ¡°I heard that the original writer of [The Great War] had been present in every audition for this drama. The director seemed to put a lot of importance to their opinion,¡± she thought of mentioning. ¡°Even if the role you¡¯re auditioning now is only the 4th male lead, he¡¯s one of the readers fan favorites. The director would definitely take his casting seriously. The writer would most likely also be here.¡±


    Astrid nodded. That was understandable. After all, no one knew the characters better than the one who made them. The director asking the original writer for their opinion meant that he respected the original material. That¡¯s definitely a good sign.


    [The Great War] was a novel published at one of the most famous online reading sites ¨C Plum Blossom Literature. During the time that it¡¯s being updated, it retained its number one rank through the whole site. It was only dethroned half a year after it¡¯s completed. With just that, one could see just how popular it was.


    It was written by someone with a pen name Pink Peach. With such a name, one would think that they would write teen romance or youth drama of some sort. But no, what they wrote was war, politics, and complex human nature.


    It was set on a European medieval-like world. The story was about the continent of Jaya ¨C a place plague with constant war. The whole continent was made up of different kingdoms that were constantly fighting for territories. The main focal point of the story was a young king who wanted to unite the whole continent and become it¡¯s one true Emperor.


    At first, the young king started that dream with a very noble intention. Growing up in a small kingdom constantly being attacked by others, he just wanted peace. For the killings to stop. And for his people to finally live without having to continuously fear for their lives.


    It sounded good on paper, but fulfilling it was another matter altogether. The young king, however, was very determined. Step by step, he walked towards his goal. Leaving dead bodies on his trail.


    As he came closer to his dream, his humanity was also slowly vanishing. His noble intention at the start was already getting blurred. Even he didn¡¯t know if peace was truly what he wanted or if he was now only being driven by greed and power.


    He was a complex character that started out as good but slowly turned tyrannical because of the things he did and experienced. It¡¯s like a main character turning into a main villain at the end of the story.


    Astrid read the original material and not the short script that was provided for the audition. Because he wanted to have a better understanding of the characters. After reading it, he understood why it became so popular.


    If he wasn¡¯t a newcomer, he would have loved to audition for the role of the young king. His character was simply a feast for actors who always wanted to challenge themselves.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that Astrid was dissatisfied by the role picked by Ellis for him. The fourth male lead was equally as complex. The only difference was, it wasn¡¯t as visceral as that of the male lead. The fourth male lead was like an always calm lake with depth as deep as the ocean.


    After reading the whole story, he could definitely understand why he was one of the fan-favorites. The character simply had that kind of charm. You know, the one where he wasn¡¯t the main character but readers were still attracted to him/her.


    If the right actor played the role, then, it would definitely bring him the same effect. But if that wasn¡¯t the case, then that role could only be considered as a background character with a few lines here and there. The actor should be the one to bring out the character¡¯s charm. If they couldn¡¯t do it, then the result would be the latter.


    Astrid¡¯s train of thought was interrupted when he heard loud murmurs from the crowd. He could hear from most of them the name, ¡®Yujin Wells¡¯. He glanced at the entrance of the waiting room and saw a young man with long black hair walking inside. He was followed by someone who seemed to be his personal assistant.


    The other walked at the very front seat together with his assistant. He had a confident look on his face. But not the kind that was arrogant. That¡¯s why people wouldn¡¯t feel annoyed looking at him. They might even feel admiration because of his confidence.


    Astrid took back his gaze and no longer observed the other.


    ¡°That¡¯s the kid Kaleido is endorsing for this role,¡± Ellis said. ¡°I¡¯ve watched a few episodes of that drama he starred in. He¡¯s quite good for a newcomer.¡± She then turned to the teenager sitting beside her and whispered, ¡°Not as good as you though.¡±


    Astrid chuckled and said with an amused tone, ¡°Thank you for your confidence in me.¡±


    Soon, all the auditionees arrived.


    After that, it didn¡¯t take long before an AI robot came and told them that the audition would now start.


    The first auditionee stood up and followed the AI robot towards a door connecting the waiting room to an adjacent room.

 Chapter 236 - ASTRIDS TURN

    ANOTHER person stood up and walked to the adjacent room, followed by the person accompanying him. That guy was already the 40th. With the auditionees walking to the adjacent room, the number of people in the waiting room started to dwindle.


    Those who entered the adjacent room did not return to the waiting room. So, Astrid guessed that there must be another exit in the room where they were conducting the audition. He also observed that the time it took for another auditionee to enter the adjacent room after the last one was about six-seven minutes. With that, one could see that the time given for them to audition was only five minutes.


    One might think that it was too short. But in Astrid¡¯s opinion, it¡¯s enough to showcase one¡¯s talent, if they were fit for the role or not. A competent actor should be able to show any emotions needed from him in just a snap of a finger.


    Of course, others might not think the same way as him. He knew that there were some actors who needed a lot of preparation to get into the psych of the role they¡¯re playing. And there¡¯s nothing wrong with that.


    At the end of the day, as long as you put effort into understanding the role you were given, then you could still be called a competent actor. What Astrid disliked were those who were just in it for the fame and money. They had no respect for the craft and simply treated it as a money-making machine.


    With his past life¡¯s experience, most of that kind of people would do everything to get ahead. They would even hate those who were more famous than them. They wouldn¡¯t hesitate to hurt others for their own agenda. They had no respect for people, even for themselves.


    When he started to gain popularity back then, a lot of those types tried to burry him. If not for the things he experienced growing up, he might have given up on his career and completely succumb to depression.


    Really, he sometimes wanted to thank his aunt¡¯s family and the abuse he experienced from them for making him stronger mentally and psychologically. Astrid shook his head at that thought. That sounded like he was some kind of masochist or something.


    ¡°It¡¯s our turn.¡±


    Ellis¡¯ voice pulled Astrid back to the present. He raised his head and saw the AI robot saying that the one with number 46 should go to the adjacent room. Both he and Ellis stood up and followed the AI robot.


    Walking inside the adjacent room, Astrid finally had a look of what was inside. It was a room probably a quarter of the size of the waiting room. But considering how many people the waiting room could accommodate, this room was still pretty big by normal standards.


    There was a long desk facing a small makeshift stage. Five people were sitting behind it. At the center was a man who looked to be in his early 50s. But considering how people in the era aged, the man should be more than a hundred years old. He had a very amiable look on his face. Like a kind uncle.


    This must be the director, Mason Scott.


    His guess was confirmed by Ellis who whispered to him in a very low voice, ¡°The one sitting at the middle is Director Scott. The one on his left is most likely the writer Pink Peach.¡±


    Ellis glanced at the remaining three. One was probably the casting director, the other, the scriptwriter, and then, one of the investors ¨C most likely a representative from Kaleido.


    That person being here meant that the chances of this role landing on Yujin Wells¡¯ lap was much higher. But she wasn¡¯t worried. With the director and the original writer here, she was confident that Astrid could turn the tide.


    Astrid glanced at the person Ellis guessed as Pink Peach. The other had short light brown hair that was styled like a longer bowl cut. The bangs were covering the other¡¯s eyes. At a quick glance, one couldn¡¯t tell if the writer was a male or a female. Not just because of the hair, but also because of the baggy clothing the other was wearing. But if they looked close enough, then, it¡¯s easy to see that the other was a woman.


    As the two were quickly observing the others, the evaluators were also doing the same. Their focus was mainly on the black-haired teenager.


    Both the eyes of the scriptwriter and casting director brightened the moment they saw him. They couldn¡¯t contain their excitement. The other was probably the most outstanding from all the auditionees today. In terms of appearance, of course. If he could act, then they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to give the other their votes.


    The investor, as what Ellis had guessed, was a representative of Kaleido. Seeing the appearance of the teenager, he felt worried. His job today was to make sure that this role would be given to Yujin Wells. The auditionees so far didn¡¯t give him any threats. In terms of appearance and talent alone, Yujin was definitely far superior compared to those who had auditioned so far.


    But this one certainly wouldn¡¯t lose to Yujin in terms of appearance alone. In fact, one could say that the other looked better. But so what? Looking good alone wasn¡¯t enough. One should have talent as well. He saw the excited expression on the scriptwriter and casting director. Clearly these two didn¡¯t think so.


    He then glanced at the director and Pink Peach. Both didn¡¯t have that much change in their expression. He finally let out a sigh of relief. The most important decision still belonged to these two. As long as they didn¡¯t approve of this kid, then, he had nothing to worry about.


    Astrid finally walked in front of the evaluators and made a polite nod before introducing himself.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Astrid Townsend from Polaris and I¡¯m here to audition for the role of Luan Escanor.¡±

 Chapter 237 - LUAN ESCANOR

    LUAN Escanor was one of the princes of the Kingdom of Ashelad ¨C the biggest and most powerful kingdom in the continent of Jaya. But being born into the royal family of Ashelad wasn¡¯t exactly a privilege.


    The king, because of his lustful nature, had many children born from different women. Luan¡¯s mother was a dancer who was given as a tribute to the king. Her beauty quickly captured the king¡¯s heart and she was made as one of his concubines. But the favor of such a king didn¡¯t last. After a few months, he had already set his eyes on a different woman.


    The problem was Luan¡¯s mother was pregnant at that time. Being of low birth, the servants around her barely gave her any respect. Even the queen¡¯s garden was much bigger than the palace given to them. But Luan¡¯s mother didn¡¯t have any complaints in her heart and was very satisfied with this situation. She could live quietly with her son in their own small world without attracting other¡¯s attention.


    And so, Luan was born in such an environment.


    Just like what his mother wanted, the two of them lived peacefully in that small corner of the palace grounds for the next six years. That was until the king¡¯s death.


    Luan¡¯s mother, despite her humble birth, was a very smart woman. She knew what the death of the king entailed ¨C a bloody fight for the throne. So, while everyone was panicked because of the king¡¯s death, she and Luan quietly left the royal palace.


    It might be because most people in the palace had already forgotten their existence, that¡¯s why they managed to leave easily. With the money she saved for six years, they were able to go to another kingdom and settled at a small village.


    One would think that their lives would be much better away from Ashelad. And it did. For some time, at least.


    One day, the mother and son found a severely injured child on the forest. Luan¡¯s kind-hearted mother brought the child back to their cottage and called for the village doctor to heal him. A few days later, the child regained consciousness. And the arrival of this child signaled the destruction of this village.


    A week after the child¡¯s stay at the village, it was attacked by bandits. Such a thing was very unprecedented. Although war and looting were a very common thing, the small village had never been a target of such an attack before. So, everyone was completely unprepared.


    The bandits started slaughtering the people. That night became a nightmare of blood and death for these innocent villagers. Luan¡¯s mother put the two children in a secret compartment hidden in the cottage. And that was the last time that Luan saw her.


    The bandits made it seem like they were there simply to kill and loot. But that was not their main purpose. They were there to look for the rightful king of the kingdom of Crevalon.


    The young child that Luan and his mother rescued ¨C Caesar Warwick.


    Luan ran out of the secret compartment to look for his mother. Caesar tried to stop him but didn¡¯t manage to do so until the end. That¡¯s how the two children separated. Not knowing that their lives would be connected once again.


    This was Luan Escanor¡¯s childhood. It shaped him as a person. The love and care she received from his mother made him kind and full of tolerance for others. But very ruthless against those who committed a crime. The latter was mainly the result of what happened to that small village.


    Luan did not only see the kind villagers being slaughtered, he also witnessed his mother being defiled and killed. That incident left a huge scar on his psyche. Although he appeared gentle and calm on the outside, a fierce storm was brewing inside, just waiting to be unleashed.


    After that what happened to the village, Luan only managed to survive because he fainted and the bandits thought that he was already dead. The next day, a group of priests travelling on a pilgrimage passed by the village and he was rescued.


    They took him to the Holy Land ¨C Evitria.


    It¡¯s the home of the Church of Jaya ¨C the main religion of the continent. The orphans that they took in usually became Knights Templar. That should have been Luan¡¯s fate as well. But he declined and insisted that he wanted to be a priest.


    He was young but he already understood a lot of things. Saying that he was smart was simply an understatement. But his childish innocence and rich emotion prevented his smart mind from flourishing. After all, what could a child who was loved and happy ever need a scheming mind for?


    But what happened to his mother and to the village completely broke that.


    Luan chose to become a priest because he knew there were a lot more he could do by being one. He could eliminate a lot of evil in the name of the lord of Jaya.


    That choice was the start of how a child who just lost his mother became the Pope of the Church of Jaya.


    And this was the character Astrid was going to play today.


    Throughout the whole story Luan didn¡¯t have that much screentime compared to the rest of the main cast. But despite that, his presence could still be felt everywhere. He was the mastermind in a lot of schemes behind the scenes. All for his mission of eliminating evil in the world.


    The scene Astrid would act out today for the audition was the scene on the script given to them. Luan was already a Cardinal at this point. He was visiting a prison to give counsel to a criminal and maybe convinced him to give the name of the person he¡¯s working for.


    This scene perfectly captured Luan¡¯s duality. His gentleness and his ruthlessness. Astrid should show the perfect balance between the two. Having one more prominent than the other would simply give the wrong impression. It wouldn¡¯t be Luan Escanor anymore.


    He took a deep breath. He opened his closed eyes. Now, at this moment, he was no longer Astrid.


    He was Luan Escanor.

 Chapter 238 - THE AUDITION (LUAN ESCANOR)

    A hologram of a man chained to his seat appeared. This was the criminal that Luan Escanor would give counsel to. Astrid walked forward, his steps neither fast nor slow. He only stopped when he was a few steps away from the hologram sitting on the chair. Now, he was face to face with the criminal.


    His movements spoke of elegance. Just like a magnanimous king. And yet unlike a king who demanded authority and whose atmosphere was full of oppression, his was gentle and soft. It¡¯s like anyone who saw him would want to get close, wishing that they could bask under his gentleness.


    He¡¯s like one of those people who would always leave a good impression to anyone he met. And yet, despite all that, they would never think that they were his equal. Because they would automatically equate him to someone superior. Someone who should be put on a pedestal. Someone holy who shouldn¡¯t be tainted by anyone.


    Astrid looked at the ¡®criminal¡¯ in front of him. There was no disgust or judgment in his eyes, only infinite understanding and tolerance. When he saw the wound on the criminal¡¯s body, he didn¡¯t hesitate to kneel down in front of the other, worry filling his gaze.


    ¡°Such awful wounds. They shouldn¡¯t have hurt you this much,¡± he said, his gentle voice was filled with worry and a little bit of indignation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your false pity. Stop pretending and just tell me what you came here for,¡± the criminal said it in a mechanical voice, lacking any emotions. Which was only natural since it was just a hologram.


    But if this was a real person, then he should have very conflicting emotions right now that would show on his face and in his voice. He didn¡¯t believe that the priest who came to this prison would really care for a person like him. And yet, his heart couldn¡¯t stop telling him that the one in front was different from the others.


    Instead, what Astrid heard was an emotionless, mechanical voice.


    This kind of mechanical voice could easily break the immersion of an actor. After all, it¡¯s like you¡¯re acting with a robot. If not for his amazing concentration, he might have really been affected.


    That¡¯s why in his opinion, it¡¯s better to just act on your own instead of having a hologram to ¡®act¡¯ with you. But this was how people did it in this era. And just like that famous saying, ¡®when in Rome, do as Romans do¡¯.


    So, he just continued his acting.


    Astrid sighed, as if he was frustrated that the criminal would think that way about him. But his eyes and his expression were still filled with worry. He stood up and walked back to the chair in front of the hologram. He sat down, facing the other.


    ¡°I don¡¯t pity you. Pity is only for those who deserved it. And for all the sins that you¡¯ve done, I don¡¯t think that you do,¡± he said, his voice was calm. And yet there was a tinge of pain in it. As if it hurt him to say those words.


    ¡°Hah, you finally showed your true colors.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t mind what the other said and continued, ¡°But the wounds on your body were inflicted by people who were driven by anger and hate. They didn¡¯t do it out of their sense of justice. They did it for personal reasons. And that¡¯s what I¡¯m condemning in this situation.¡±


    The other remained silent.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done a lot of wrong things in your life, hurting and even killing many people along the way. Now that you¡¯re caught, wouldn¡¯t it be a good start to repent? To pray for the souls of those who you wronged?¡±


    ¡°Who cares about those people? Stop your preaching. I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need their forgiveness. What¡¯s the use of it when I¡¯m going to die anyway?¡±


    Astrid showed a pained look as if he was hurt by those words. But it¡¯s not because of the harsh words of the criminal but because of the fact that the other had already given up. On atonement and even on his own life.


    ¡°Peace. You will have peace,¡± he said very simply but the way he said it was like a wise sage who knew everything about the world, judging everything around him with no prejudice or bias.


    The criminal once again became silent.


    ¡°Having peace with yourself is very liberating. You may say that you don¡¯t care for those people you hurt, but I know that in the deepest part of your heart, guilt still remained,¡± he continued to say. ¡°Atone and it will give you peace.¡±


    What he was saying seemed to finally get through the other. Because the criminal said next;


    ¡°H-how could I atone?¡±


    ¡°I think you already know the answer to that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, I know. I- I will tell them. I will tell them who my master is.¡±


    Astrid stood up and walked to the other. The script on this part said that the hologram should raised his head at this moment. Then, he smiled. The smile was full of acceptance, as if he would forgive all the sins that the other had committed.


    ¡°The lord is almighty and forgiving. As long as you repent with all your heart, he would accept you in his kingdom.¡±


    At this point in the script, the one playing the criminal should be breaking down and crying. Feeling that he finally got the reprieve that didn¡¯t think he wanted.


    Astrid then turned around and started to walk towards the ¡®exit¡¯. The smile on his lips was gone and there was no expression on his face. But if one just looked closely, they would see contempt and hatred in those beautiful black eyes.


    This was captured perfectly by the small cameras flying around and was delivered on the small screens in front of each evaluator.


    This ¡®exit¡¯ signaled the ending of this audition.


    Astrid turned around, already shedding the aura and personality of Luan Escanor.. He faced the evaluators and respectfully gave his thanks.

 Chapter 239 - I WANT HIM

    THERE was a startling silence inside the audition room. The first ones to get over the surprise were the casting director and the script writer. The eyes that were looking at Astrid became even brighter, as if looking at a rare treasure.


    ¡°That was a very wonderful performance!¡±


    ¡°I agree. It¡¯s like I¡¯m seeing Luan Escanor came to life right before my very eyes.¡±


    Hearing such a high praise, the representative of Kaleido started to sweat nervously. As long as one had eyes, anyone could see that the teenager in front of them gave an outstanding performance.


    The scriptwriter and the casting director were both personally picked by Director Scott. As such, he was sure that they couldn¡¯t bribe the two to change their opinion and be more favorable to Yujin Wells. Especially not after watching the audition of this teenager.


    [It¡¯s over. I wouldn¡¯t hear the end of this from the management head.]


    Then, he glanced at the Director Scott and Pink Peach. He couldn¡¯t see anything from the latter because her bangs were covering any expression she might have. But the former had a serious expression on his face, so unlike his usual amiable expression. Could it be that despite the teenager¡¯s good performance, this was not what the director was looking for?


    His hope was suddenly rekindled. He really wished that his guess was right.


    ¡°May I ask if you have any prior works before?¡± Director Scott asked.


    ¡°There are three, sir. But all of them haven¡¯t been shown yet,¡± Astrid answered calmly.


    ¡°May we know what these three are?¡± the director asked once again.


    ¡°Of course. One is a small role in Director Trevane¡¯s upcoming movie. Another is a special guesting in the web drama [Blind Justice], and the third is a starring role in the MV of Miria Lane¡¯s upcoming single.¡±


    Kaleido¡¯s representative was shocked silly. Director Trevane only had one upcoming movie ¨C [The Sleeping God]. Since Kaleido was one of that movie¡¯s investors, he was privy to some things that happened there. He remembered that there was a small role in that movie that was supposed to be given to Yujin. But Director Trevane disagreed and had chosen a no-name newcomer instead.


    The management had already put up a plan back then. Miria would be singing the OST of the movie, then Yujin would appear on her MV, then, the management would make dating rumors about the two. It would then be followed up with a romance drama with the two as the leads.


    It was a good plan to make the two even more popular. But this plan would only be successful if Yujin appeared on [The Sleeping God]. Sadly, that didn¡¯t happen. So, the follow up couldn¡¯t be done as well. Even Miria insisted on using another actor for her MV ¨C which was the one who played the role of that was supposed to be for Yujin. He heard that Miria made a lot of fanfare just so things would go her way.


    If this teenager was the same one who took the role that was supposed to be for Yujin, not just once but twice, and if this role was also taken by this kid, wouldn¡¯t Yujin just simply be strangled by frustration? He certainly would.


    ¡°I see,¡± Director Scott said as a response to Astrid¡¯s answer. Then, the amiable smile on his lips returned. ¡°Thank you for auditioning for this role. Wait for three days and we will contact your agent regarding the result of this audition. You may go now.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t show any surprised expression, as well as any disappointment. He just calmly walked to where Ellis was and the both of them left the audition room.


    The representative of Kaleido was the one who¡¯s confused. That¡¯s it? Wouldn¡¯t the director say anything about the kid¡¯s performance? Was it good or bad? Did the other pass the audition or not?


    He turned to the director and couldn¡¯t help but asked, ¡°Director, why didn¡¯t you give any advice to him?¡±


    He asked because the director gave at least one or two advices to those who had auditioned before Astrid Townsend. And yet, the other didn¡¯t say anything to the teenager.


    ¡°Because he didn¡¯t need any,¡± the director simply said. ¡°He portrayed Luan Escanor the way I imagined Luan Escanor to be.¡± He turned to the woman sitting on his left. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so as well, Miss Peach?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s Luan,¡± the writer said in a soft voice before turning to the director. ¡°I want him, Director.¡±


    Behind the strands of hair covering the upper half of her face was a pair of blazing pinkish eyes, full of excitement and wonder. As if she had just seen the most amazing thing in the world.


    As the one sitting closest to the other, Mason Scott could clearly see the expression of the other. He was silent for a second before letting out a hearty laugh.


    Seeing him laughing, the casting director and the scriptwriter also followed what Pink Peach said.


    ¡°I agree with Miss Peach. Astrid¡¯s performance truly embodied Luan Escanor.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like he directly walked out of the pages of Miss Peach¡¯s book.¡±


    The representative of Kaleido was now truly starting to panic. Especially after he heard what Pink Peach said next.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to continue this audition. We already found Luan.¡±


    ¡°Wait- isn¡¯t this a bit unfair to those who haven¡¯t auditioned yet?¡± the representative quickly said. ¡°What if- what if there¡¯s someone among them who could portray Luan better than Astrid? Shouldn¡¯t we give them a chance? They would be out of the race without even trying to run, that¡¯s too much. Let¡¯s give them a chance, okay?¡±


    The director only glanced faintly at him with a smile as if he already knew what¡¯s going through his head. He didn¡¯t speak, waiting for the others to decide.


    ¡°We can let them audition,¡± Pink Peach said. But before the representative could celebrate, the other quickly added, ¡°But my decision will not be changed. I want Astrid Townsend to be Luan.¡±


    Finish! It¡¯s finish! ¨C that¡¯s the only thing the representative could think at that moment.

 Chapter 240 - HARDWORKING PERSON

    ¡°WHAT do you think the result would be?¡± Ellis asked the teenager in front of him.


    The two of them were inside a restaurant¡¯s private box, having late lunch. After the audition, they quickly looked for the nearest restaurant to eat.


    ¡°If no one would stretch their evil hands and interfere with the result, then, I think this role is now mine,¡± Astrid said, neither arrogant nor humble.


    Ellis grinned. ¡°I think so as well.¡±


    She was there and watched the whole audition. Seeing such a wonderful performance that perfectly embodied the role he was auditioning for, if Astrid didn¡¯t get it, then, it could only mean that some black-hearted people made some move behind the scenes.


    Ellis was not just saying that because Astrid was the artist she¡¯s in charge of. This was not just because of her bias. Even if she¡¯s not Astrid¡¯s agent, she would still have the same opinion.


    Anyone who watched Astrid¡¯s audition could not only see his amazing acting talent but also his hard work. It¡¯s impossible to understand a character that much without putting an equal amount of effort. It might have looked like Astrid did all that easily but hard work was definitely indispensable.


    Talent alone couldn¡¯t support a person. Especially if they wanted to advance in the career that they chose. It should always be accompanied by hard work. Relying solely on one¡¯s talent without putting any effort was like letting a luscious plant grow without any water or nutrients.


    Many would admire it at first because of its beauty. But sooner or later, it would slowly wither. Until all its beauty and glory could no longer be seen. And then people would forget that there was ever such a plant.


    Many artistic geniuses ended up in such a way.


    She didn¡¯t want Astrid to have a similar fate. So, if there ever came a time when the other started to become complacent because of fame, then she would be there by his side to remind him of his original goal.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if this role is not given to you, I¡¯ll make sure your audition video would be released. Let¡¯s just see if that doesn¡¯t give them a problem,¡± she added in regards to their conversation.


    Astrid raised one of his brows. ¡°Did Sister Ellis record my audition?¡±


    Ellis only shrugged. ¡°Well, they didn¡¯t tell me not to.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they really didn¡¯t,¡± Astrid chuckled. ¡°But there¡¯s always a chance that someone would have a better audition than me. Maybe they¡¯ll give him the role.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s highly unlikely,¡± Ellis said with confidence. ¡°The only one who could fight you in this role is Yujin Wells. Although he could act, his acting skills still need polishing. I doubt he could pull off the depth and complexity of Luan Escanor¡¯s character.¡±


    That¡¯s actually very normal for actors of his age. Because they still needed to experience a lot in life. The only abnormal one here was Astrid. Being able to draw myriads of emotions at such a young age, Ellis could only attribute it to the fact that the other was an acting genius.


    Although the fact that he could perfectly interpret those emotions as if he had experienced them himself was still a mystery to her. She shook her head. What did it matter anyway? She should be glad that the actor she¡¯s handling was this talented.


    Astrid only nodded at what his agent said. Although he was very satisfied with his audition, but just like what he said to Ellis, no one could know what would happen. The final result might not be the result they wanted.


    Anyway, he had already done the best he could. Now, he could only hope that the evaluators would be fair with their judgment.


    ¡°By the way, Sister Ellis, do you know any part-time jobs related to music?¡± he asked, changing the subject. ¡°Preferably with a high wage and only during the weekends.¡±


    ¡°You want to look for a part time job?¡± Ellis asked back, her expression incredulous. As if she was ready to hit him if he said ¡®yes¡¯.


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not for me,¡± Astrid quickly said. ¡°It¡¯s for a friend.¡±


    He remembered that Kiran mentioned in passing yesterday during lunch that he was looking for a part time job. Astrid told the other that it¡¯s probably better to just get a scholarship. Kiran said that he already had one, but just wanted extra money. Astrid no longer asked why.


    He didn¡¯t want to pry too much into the other¡¯s personal life. At least not at this point. After all, they only met a few days ago.


    Kiran didn¡¯t ask him for help regarding this part time job problem. But he thought of helping anyway. It literally didn¡¯t hurt anyone if he did. So, why not lend a helping hand to a friend?


    ¡°A friend? Is he also from Redwood Academy?¡±


    Astrid nodded at Ellis¡¯ question.


    ¡°If you¡¯re asking for a music-related job, then, they must be from the music department. If he¡¯s planning to be a singer, I think Polaris is planning to sponsor a small singing contest. Although it¡¯s not that grand, the prize money is still a lot. And they could also sign under Polaris. Why not let your friend try?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯d be willing to try that,¡± Astrid said, shaking his head.


    Although he hadn¡¯t known Kiran that long, he could tell that the other didn¡¯t enroll into Redwood because he wanted to be a famous singer. He wasn¡¯t sure what the other¡¯s reason was, but he had a feeling that going to Redwood must be a last resort.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I have a friend who just opened a piano lounge. She¡¯s looking for a pianist. If your friend can play the piano, I can recommend him.¡±


    Hearing that, Astrid was overjoyed. ¡°I¡¯ll ask him about it. Thank you, Sister Ellis!¡±


    Ellis smiled. ¡°You must really like this friend.¡±


    Astrid also smiled back. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Kiran was very hardworking.. And he had always admired people like that.

 Chapter 241 - DONT LOOK DOWN ON YOURSELF

    ASTRID returned back to his apartment at four in the afternoon. Before, getting off the car, Ellis told him to contact her immediately once he confirmed with his friend that the other could play the piano. That way, she could tell her friend about Kiran. He agreed and bid farewell to the other.


    He walked inside the apartment building. He had already sent a message to Kiran, asking the other if he could play the piano. Kiran hadn¡¯t replied yet. He was probably busy or something.


    As a result, after he stepped into the elevator, he received a video call request from the other. Astrid immediately answered it.


    Kiran¡¯s face appeared on the screen. Astrid quickly noticed that the other was outside and sweating quite profusely.


    ¡°Astrid, I just read your message, why did you ask if I know how to play the piano?¡± Kiran said before Astrid could say anything.


    ¡°Before I answer that, why don¡¯t you look first for a place that could shelter you from the sun? The sun¡¯s rays feel pretty painful to the skin during this time of the day,¡± he said.


    Kiran only waved his hand as if it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m used to it. Besides, I¡¯m already sitting in this park bench. I¡¯m too tired to look for another place.¡±


    So, the other was in a park, Astrid thought. Even though he wanted to persuade Kiran, he didn¡¯t want to appear like someone who loved to nag. He could only shake his head and smile helplessly. So, he asked instead, ¡°Are you looking for a part-time job?¡±


    That was the only reason he could think of why the other was out like this during the weekend. From his observation, the other was definitely not the type to go out and sweat like this under the sun because he simply wanted to sightsee. So, looking for a part-time job being the reason was pretty plausible.


    Kiran had a full scholarship in Redwood. This not only included his tuition fee but also his food and accommodation. Not to mention, a generous stipend given every semester. As long as he kept his grades high, of course. That¡¯s why in Astrid¡¯s opinion, there¡¯s really no need to look for a part-time job.


    But then again, each and every people had their own circumstance. Maybe this circumstance was the reason why Kiran was so hell-bent on earning extra money.


    The other frowned, his expression showing that he¡¯s frustrated. ¡°Yeah, but I haven¡¯t had any luck so far.¡±


    Hearing the expected the answer, Astrid thought that the other must have been searching since morning. ¡°Then, let met tell you why I asked if you know how to play a piano. Maybe your mood will lighten up once you heard it.¡±


    What he said definitely attracted the other¡¯s curiosity, showing as how his eyes were filled with interest. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Well, my agent¡¯s friend is looking for a pianist that could play during the weekend for her newly opened piano lounge. When my agent mentioned it to me, I immediately remembered what you said yesterday about looking for a part-time job. So, I recommended you. Of course, this is under the premise that you can play the piano.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t directly say that he purposely asked his agent if she knew of any part-time job for a music student. He was worried that the other might feel embarrassed because of that. After all, they had only known each other for two days. Kiran might still feel a bit shy around him. He didn¡¯t want their newly-found friendship to suddenly enter an awkward phase.


    ¡°I can! I can play the piano!¡± Kiran quickly responded after hearing what Astrid said. His sunset eyes were now burning with excitement. Then, that flame started to slowly dim. ¡°Is- is it a high-end piano lounge? If- if it is, t-then, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m suited to work at such a place.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you be suited? If you can play the piano amazingly, and I¡¯m sure you could, then, that¡¯s all that matters,¡± Astrid said with a bit of scolding in his tone.


    Kiran looked down and said in a small voice that Astrid almost didn¡¯t hear, ¡°But I look like this.¡±


    Astrid quickly understood what the other was worrying about. If Ellis¡¯ friend¡¯s piano lounge was a high-end establishment, Kiran was worried that his appearance wouldn¡¯t suit the place. Astrid was a bit stupefied after realizing that. So, he quickly said;


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with how you look? You¡¯re pretty handsome, you know? You just lack a bit of nutrition. If you eat enough and gain weight, you¡¯ll definitely look much more handsome compared to most of the students in our school.¡±


    Kiran looked stunned for a bit. Then, he laughed. ¡°The way you said it, it¡¯s like you¡¯re stating a definitive fact.¡±


    ¡°And I am,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Don¡¯t look down on yourself too much, Kiran. You¡¯re at the top of the Music Department¡¯s freshmen class. You¡¯re talented. Saying that you can¡¯t play at the piano lounge just because you think you¡¯re ¡®unsuitable¡¯ for the place is an insult to your talent.¡±


    Kiran again showed a stunned look. But this time, he was also rendered speechless. He looked down again. Astrid couldn¡¯t tell what kind of expression the other had right now. But when Kiran raised his head again, the dimness in his eyes was starting to burn bright once more.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take this job.¡±


    Astrid¡¯s stern appearance finally disappeared and a bright smile crossed his lips. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll tell my agent about it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Astrid,¡± Kiran said sincerely.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Aren¡¯t we friends?¡±


    ¡°Friends?¡± Kiran repeated in a daze.


    Astrid nodded.


    Kiran¡¯s sunset colored eyes became brighter and then he suddenly giggled like a child. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re friends!¡±


    Their video call ended in such a weird note. But Astrid just shrugged that off, thinking that Kiran might just be a bit excited for his part-time job. The elevator then opened to his apartment room¡¯s floor and he walked out.


    Walking in front of his apartment, he opened the door and announced his arrival, ¡°I¡¯m home!¡±

 Chapter 242 - CALLING MOM AND DAD

    THE first one to welcome Astrid was his AI housekeeper cat. ¡°Welcome back, Master.¡±


    Astrid crouched down and picked up the cat. ¡°Has my brother returned?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master. He¡¯s currently sleeping right now.¡±


    Astrid nodded. He lightened his steps so as not to disturb Reas¡¯ sleep. But as if hearing his arrival, the door to the room opened. His brother walked out with messy ice-blue hair and a pair of sleepy teal-gray eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± the other said with a yawn.


    ¡°If you¡¯re still sleepy, then go back to sleep,¡± he said with a helpless smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. If I sleep more, I may not be able to sleep later,¡± Reas said, walking to the couch and sitting on it.


    ¡°Did you eat lunch?¡± Astrid asked as he sat beside the other, putting the cat on his lap.


    ¡°Yeah. How¡¯s your audition by the way?¡±


    ¡°It went well. I just have to wait for three days to know the result,¡± Astrid responded.


    ¡°This role will definitely be yours,¡± Reas said with confidence.


    Astrid only chuckled at that. ¡°I sure do hope so,¡± he said. ¡°How about you? How¡¯s school? Did that Lancaster person bother you again?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We¡¯re just learning some theoretical knowledge, so it¡¯s a bit boring. And Lancaster has been treating me like air these days, so, no, there hadn¡¯t been any trouble so far.¡±


    Although Reas and Cyrus Lancaster were from the same department, the two of them barely had any contact this past week. Even if they passed by each other, the other wouldn¡¯t even glance at him.


    He actually preferred it this way. At least, Lancaster¡¯s followers didn¡¯t bother or annoy him. That¡¯s definitely much peaceful compared to the week-long training.


    Astrid nodded. That Lancaster ignoring Reas was definitely better than the other scheming against his brother. This also gave Astrid a bit of peace of mind.


    ¡°Let¡¯s video call Mom and Dad,¡± he said, changing the topic. ¡°I¡¯m sure they would want to know what we did for our first week of school here.¡±


    Reas had no problem with that and just nodded.


    Astrid then dialed his mother¡¯s number with his Terminal and sent a request for a video call. It didn¡¯t take long for the other line to be answered and their mother¡¯s beautiful face appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Astrid, I was just about to call you,¡± Emmy said, clearly excited seeing her son. ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll call your dad.¡±


    Before Astrid could answer, the scene on the screen became a bit shaky, showing that their mother was moving. Then, they heard her calling their father. Astrid took that chance to pull Reas closer, so the other would also appear on the screen and their parents could see them both. After a while, the shaking stopped and both their mom and dad appeared on the screen.


    ¡°My babies, how was your first week of school?¡± Emmy asked. Her sapphire blue eyes were full of enthusiasm.


    Anyone who heard her and saw the expression on her face would think that she was talking to a pair of five-year olds that just experienced their first day of school. Their father clearly thought so as well because the other said;


    ¡°Emmy, our kids are not primary school students. Look, their getting shy from your babying.¡±


    Emmy quickly pouted. ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with that? Aren¡¯t they my babies? No matter how old they are, they will forever be my babies.¡±


    Gage put his arm around his wife¡¯s shoulder to appease her and even kissed the top of her head. ¡°Yes, yes, I was wrong. You can baby them all you want.¡±


    Astrid and Reas looked at each other and both saw a hint of helplessness in their eyes. Their parents were being lovey-dovey again. If this was in Astrid¡¯s past life, then he could say that he was being fed a mouthful of dog food.


    He cleared his throat to take the attentions of his parents back and answered his mother¡¯s earlier question.


    ¡°The school is fine and I learned a lot. I also made a friend.¡±


    Then, Astrid followed that up with some bits and pieces that happened to him this week. Of course, excluding that time when those three people troubled him. There wasn¡¯t any need to tell his parents that. After all, it didn¡¯t really affect him in any way.


    Reas followed after. What he told was also just mundane things that happened at the academy. From the lessons to the activities and to the people he encountered. Of course, this did not include Cyrus Lancaster. What¡¯s the use of mentioning that guy? It¡¯s not like the other was making trouble and making life hard for him.


    He also had a feeling that Cyrus wouldn¡¯t use his family to deal with him. Although he couldn¡¯t say the same for the other members of that family. Maybe some time in the future, they would try to deal with him because he was overshadowing Cyrus. But that still hadn¡¯t happened yet. So, there¡¯s no need to worry his parents needlessly.


    Astrid also didn¡¯t mention anything about that. The both of them tacitly agreed to never mention anything that could cause their parents to worry. Just as they also didn¡¯t mention anything about the prince having contact with them again or Wulfric being actual friends with Astrid.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Emmy said, obviously relieved and happy that her kids were doing good.


    ¡°By the way, Mom, Dad, do you remember what I said before that I will be appearing on an episode of that web drama, [Blind Justice]?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Of course. It will be shown next week, right?¡± Gage said. ¡°We told all our neighbors about it. We all decided to have a viewing night and watch it together.¡±


    Astrid suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. The neighbors that his father mentioned were the tenants living in their land and working on their farm. Knowing his father, those people probably had no choice but to agree to watch together.


    He shook his head and just said, ¡°Since it¡¯s a special episode, the production team prepared a trailer for it. They will post the trailer tonight. Mom and Dad could watch it if you like.¡±


    ¡°We will definitely watch it!¡± both said almost at the same time.


    Seeing them like this, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    This is the author, Tyramisu.. If you¡¯re not reading this at AllNovelFull, FUCK YOU. ^_^

 Chapter 243 - EPISODE 100 TRAILER

    THAT night, the official [Cyberspace] account of the web drama [Blind Justice] posted the trailer for their special 100th episode.


    Blind Justice v: Thank you for being with us until now. See you on the 100th episode!


    Then a video trailer was attached to it. Once one played it, the first thing that they would see was a man walking inside a high-end bar. The shot started at his shoes, then slowly upwards until the camera showed his face.


    It was the face of the main protagonist of the show ¨C Remi, played by the actor Jordan Preston. He was wearing a slick black suit, looking like some rich young master who was just out there to play and have fun.


    He walked towards the bar and ordered whiskey on the rocks. Then, he heard a voice from the earpiece he was wearing. If one didn¡¯t look closely, they wouldn¡¯t be able to see the small device.


    [Target on your three o¡¯clock.]


    Remi glanced at that direction in a swift manner, as if he just inadvertently turned his head that way. There, he saw a man who was about to climb the second floor. The man was definitely their target for this mission.


    After confirming it, he then noticed that the other was not alone. His arm was around the shoulders of a young man. Remi could only see the slender back of the young man but a look of astonishment quickly appeared on his face. A myriad of different emotions appeared on his face ¨C shock, disbelief, sadness, fear, and longing. All those emotions appeared at once, making his face contorted.


    [Boss, what¡¯s wrong? Boss? Remi!]


    Remi ignored the voice in his earpiece. At that moment, memories flooded into his mind.


    At this point, a montage of different scenes appeared on the trailer. From two lively kids playing with each other to two teenagers wearing tattered clothes, they seemed to be having a hard time but there were still smile on their faces. Then after that, a voice was heard. It was a pleasant voice that was also filled with unbelievable sadness.


    ¡°Run, Remi. Never look back.¡±


    The scene then changed and a pool of blood was shown along with a delicate white hand. And then, the heartbreaking cry of a young man was heard.


    From start to finish, the only face that was shown on that montage was Jordan Preston. The only thing shown of the one he¡¯s acting with was the other¡¯s black hair.


    After the montage ended, the scene came back to the bar.


    Remi, seemingly possessed by something, ignored the voices of his team mates and walked towards the young man in a daze. When he saw that the other was about to climb the stairs with the target, he quickened his pace.


    He arrived behind the two in a blink of an eye and grabbed the young man¡¯s arm. The moment when the other was about to turn around, the screen suddenly turned dark. And then a line of text appeared.


    [His past is finally catching up to him. Could the almost omnipotent leader of Themis finally face his most hidden fear? Or would the ghost of the past simply burn him?]


    Then, the date and the time the episode would air was show. And that¡¯s the end of the trailer.


    As expected, those long-time fans who just watched the trailer boiled with excitement and curiosity. Most of them couldn¡¯t help but expressed the opinion online, leaving a comment below the trailer.


    [My husband is so handsome~ I will once again confess my feelings to Jordan. I love you, husband!!!]


    [Wait- are we finally getting a backstory for Remi? Waaaaaa!!!!!!]


    [I think so as well. I think this special episode will be all about Remi¡¯s past.]


    [Finally! After 99 episodes, we will finally know something about Remi!]


    [I think we will only scratch the surface of Remi¡¯s past with this episode. Still, making the 100th episode about his past is just brilliant.]


    [I agree. This will definitely make our understanding of Remi¡¯s character much deeper.]


    [Why isn¡¯t anyone talking about the black-haired little brother who¡¯s most likely Remi¡¯s childhood sweetheart?]


    [Yeah! Based on that montage, they really seem to be childhood sweethearts. Maybe the black-haired little brother was the reason why Remi became a vigilante.]


    [My only problem here is that why didn¡¯t they show his face???]


    [Obviously to whet our appetite. They probably want us to guess who he is.]


    [There aren¡¯t that many black-haired actors I know. Who¡¯s the most popular? Robin Dawson?]


    [Nah, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s Robin. He¡¯s currently filming a movie for three months now. He didn¡¯t have time to guess for a web drama.]


    [I have a feeling it¡¯s a newcomer. Doesn¡¯t Yujin Wells also have black hair?]


    [Yujin Wells is a good guess. He¡¯s doing pretty good for a newcomer. Taking on this role wouldn¡¯t be bad for him at all.]


    [He¡¯s also good at acting. I wouldn¡¯t mind if this little brother was actually him.]


    [Me as well. I think he and Jordan match a lot.]


    After that, a certain comment suddenly attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    [I also have a guess. But people might attack me after knowing who it was. So, just hear me out, okay? I think it¡¯s Astrid Townsend. The new artist that Polaris introduced a while ago. He was photographed almost a week ago on the spaceport going to FS08. We all know that [Blind Justice] is being filmed there. He also has black hair and the back shown in the trailer was very similar to his build. I¡¯m probably being delusional here, but I really think it¡¯s him!]


    This comment blew up the whole comment section of the post. Some were asking who this Astrid Townsend was and there were people more than willing to attach a picture of him to their reply.


    At first, the replies were still a bit tame. Most were just purely curious about who this Astrid Townsend was. But soon, it was slowly filled with malicious comments.


    This is the author, Tyramisu.. If you¡¯re not reading this at [W e b n o v e l], FUCK YOU. ^_^

 Chapter 244 - HOW DARE THEY...?!

    AT first, the comments were still a bit cordial. Most of it were from people expressing their disbelief.


    [Although I don¡¯t know who this Astrid Townsend is, since you said he¡¯s a newcomer with no other works under his name, I don¡¯t think the director of [Blind Justice] would give such an important role to someone like that. Not unless he completely gone bonkers, that is.]


    [This Astrid looks good though. No, he looks way better than good. He¡¯s beautiful. But just like what the others said, I don¡¯t think the person on the trailer was him.]


    [Yeah, I mean, he¡¯s just a newcomer. No matter how good he looks, normally a newcomer would start with a small role. I don¡¯t think being Remi¡¯s childhood sweetheart could be considered as a small role.]


    Comments similar to those followed. But soon, a rather ¡®discordant¡¯ comment appeared.


    [What are you people saying? It¡¯s obviously my baby, Astrid. That slender and beautiful back could only be him. Just look at how lustrous his black hair is. How could you think that it belongs to that Yujin Wells? His hair isn¡¯t even that black. Besides, he wasn¡¯t that good at acting. Why is it that if it¡¯s Yujin you people are alright with it, but if it¡¯s Astrid it¡¯s suddenly impossible? What¡¯s so different between the two? They¡¯re both newcomers. That Yujin only had one drama before this and he¡¯s not even the male lead. Why are you treating him like he¡¯s some kind of son of destiny? Astrid definitely looks way, way better. And he¡¯s from Polaris. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s much more talented compared to Kaleido¡¯s factory produced artists.]


    At first glance, this comment seemed to be Astrid¡¯s fan and was defending him passionately. But if one looked more closely, it¡¯s obvious that this person was trying to sow discord.


    In just a few sentences, they managed to pit Astrid against Yujin Wells. The latter was already slowly making a name for himself and had already accumulated enough true fans. With this comment, it managed to anger Yujin¡¯s fans. Even some people who was just there to watch the fun seemed to think that the comment was a bit exaggerated.


    Then, as if making the situation much worse, it was followed by comments simply goading everyone to hate on Astrid.


    [Yes, yes, I agree. Astrid is definitely much better than Yujin Wells.]


    [He¡¯s even better than the other actors you guess would play this role!]


    Many more comments similar to those appeared one after another. These comments made people¡¯s impression of Astrid fall to rock bottom. Even those who weren¡¯t a fan of Yujin Wells had a bad impression of Astrid.


    [Aren¡¯t you people daydreaming too much? Let me return to you what you said earlier, is this Astrid Townsend the son of destiny?]


    [I don¡¯t even know who this Astrid Townsend is and you¡¯re telling me he¡¯s better than everyone else? I think you have a problem with your brain.]


    [True! Even if Yujin only played one role so far, his acting in that role was very good and loved by everyone. And now you¡¯re comparing him to some no-name artist?]


    [So, what if this Astrid is from Polaris? Does being from that company equated to being a good actor? Hah! I can tell you some artist from there who aren¡¯t even that good. And who knows? Maybe this Astrid seduced someone from the upper levels of Polaris that¡¯s why he got in.]


    [Don¡¯t you think this is just Astrid hyping himself up? Maybe that one who commented about how ¡®great¡¯ he is was someone he paid or something. I mean, look, aren¡¯t we talking about him right now?]


    After that comment came out, more and more malicious comments appeared. Some were even below the belt, calling Astrid all sorts of name. Degrading him as a person. As if he¡¯s someone who¡¯s guilty of killing another person.


    But this was just something natural. Once things got heated and emotions heightened, people couldn¡¯t help but say the meanest thing they could think of at the heat of the moment.


    And just like that, Astrid¡¯s prediction really did come true.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the capital¡¯s military base, a certain general was looking intently at his Terminal. The more he looked, the darker his expression became. If there was someone around him right now, they would definitely freeze because of the cold aura emanating from him.


    These people¨C! How dare they say these things about Aster? ¨C That¡¯s what Wulfric thought as he was reading the comments under the trailer that the official account of some show posted.


    He had his [Cyberspace] set up in a way that he would receive notification every time the name ¡®Astrid Townsend¡¯ was mentioned in a post, comment, or reply. So, when he received a notification earlier, he thought that Polaris finally released Aster¡¯s schedule of activities. Like, you know, the movie he would appear on or a fan meeting or something. The latter was a term he learned just a few days ago.


    But the notification took him to a video. When he read what was posted together with the video, his immediate thought was Aster would be in this said video. So, he quickly played it.


    When it ended, he immediately understood why he received a notification. Because Aster was in the video! Even if only his back was shown, Wulfric could still tell that it was him. He was impressed that someone aside from him recognized Aster. But more than that, he felt happy for the other. Because it meant that Aster now had true fans that they could recognize him just by looking at his back.


    So, with a good mood, he scrolled down. But what he saw was completely different from what he expected. Everyone was simply scolding Aster as if there was no tomorrow! The comments and replies he read made him want to strangle the people who posted those mean things.


    How dare they say all those things about Aster?!

 Chapter 245 - FIRST TO MAKE A MOVE

    THE more Wulfric read, the angrier he got. His entire body was being filled with killing intent that he could probably cause a massacre right now if he was allowed to. His eyes narrowed at the obvious suspicious comments. The ones that were obviously trying to start a hate train on Aster.


    Another point he was annoyed at was the fact that Polaris was still not issuing any statement right now. Shouldn¡¯t they protect their artist? Would they stay silent until these people say all the bad things they could say about Aster? Should he just contact Fleming and tell him to do something?


    No, that could only backfire for Aster. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down the killing intent he¡¯s feeling. If that¡¯s the case, then, he should just do it himself. Of course, under his identity as Aster¡¯s number one fan.


    He temporarily closed his [Cyberspace] account and contacted Hildred. The other¡¯s face soon appeared on the virtual screen.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the other asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you some [Cyberspace] account handle. I want you to track down their IP and check if they had any suspicious transactions. Especially regarding anything related to posting incriminating things on [Cyberspace],¡± Wulfric said.


    He didn¡¯t wait for the other to reply and just sent the handles of those suspicious people to Hildred.


    The other was the only one he could ask this of. If he asked Leland, that guy would definitely look at him as if he¡¯s crazy. Slade, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t really that much of an expert when it came to anything ¡®cyber¡¯ related. Then, there¡¯s Edmund who¡¯s basically unreliable when it came to things like this. So, at the end, he could only ask Hildred.


    Hil had various connections that could easily let him investigate such things. The most important thing was once Hildred took action, it could never be traced back to him. Not to mention to Wulfric.


    That last part was the point. Wulfric couldn¡¯t let anyone ever associate that the one defending Aster was actually the prince of the Empire. Although it¡¯s highly unlikely that it would happen. It didn¡¯t hurt to be careful. This was for Aster¡¯s career after all.


    Besides, once his brother found out that he was this interested in someone, Cynric might just arrange a wedding for him and Aster.


    He wasn¡¯t in a state where he honestly and wholeheartedly could say that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the other. So, Cynric intervening would not only be detrimental, it might even harm the fragile relationship that he and Aster currently had.


    Hildred, who was just about to ask what Wulf meant, received those handles that the other just said. Instead of asking more, he simply opened his own [Cyberspace] account and searched those account handle names. It only took less than a minute for him to understand the whole situation.


    He should have known this had something to do with Astrid Townsend.


    Well, he didn¡¯t really mind getting involved in this. If it could help Wulf in getting his sweetheart, then, why not?


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the result in 30 minutes,¡± he said.


    Wulfric nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Hildred raised his brow, not expecting the other to thank him. It¡¯s probably because this request of his had nothing to do with their job as a soldier and was completely a personal matter.


    ¡°If you want to thank me, how about giving me and Ed vacation?¡± he asked as a joke.


    ¡°Go and ask Leland. If he agrees, then I have no opinion.¡±


    This one was a truly unexpected gain. ¡°Hey, Wulf, no take-backs. If you go back on your words, I¡¯ll definitely let Cyn know about you and Astrid,¡± Hildred said in a bit of excited voice.


    Wulfric wasn¡¯t so annoyed hearing that. After all, Leland was a tougher nut to crack. This vacation would all depend on Hildred getting Leland to agree. But then again, this was Hil we¡¯re talking about. Maybe that guy would simply annoy Leland to death until the other agreed.


    Anyway, Hildred was probably the only one in the Empire who would dare to call the Emperor by his nickname. Even Wulfric referred to his brother by the other¡¯s name which was Cynric.


    He shrugged and just ended the call, waiting until Hildred sent him the result of his investigation.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Reading the comments under the trailer of [Blind Justice]¡¯s 100th episode, Astrid didn¡¯t show any particular reaction. Because he had already suspected something like this to happen. What surprised him a bit was that someone would really stir up trouble. Setting him up to be hated by Yujin Wells¡¯ fans.


    It seemed that he really did have some fate with this Yujin Wells.


    Such fanfare to deal with a newcomer like him. They were even fast enough to do it. But who would actually waste their time to deal with him when he¡¯s basically just a no-name actor right now?


    The first suspicious person was Yujin Wells¡¯ team. After today¡¯s audition, with the help of that representative of Kaleido, Yujin would definitely be told of what transpired inside the audition room. Maybe they thought that he stole the other¡¯s chance for such a good role and therefore thought of this trailer as a chance to retaliate against him.


    But would Kaleido¡¯s employees really be so stupid as to waste their time on a virtual newcomer? Or did they simply have the mentality of nipping the bud before it sprouted?


    This would be a rather good idea if not for the fact that Astrid had Polaris behind him. Although he was only a newcomer, with Ellis as his agent, there¡¯s no way that Polaris would remain silent.


    Knowing Ellis, she¡¯s probably already working to get to the bottom of things. Whether it¡¯s Yujin Wells and his team or some other person, Astrid would know soon enough.


    He just had to wait.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that before Ellis could make a move, somebody else made a move before her.

 Chapter 246 - @ASTRIDSNUMBER1FAN STRIKES AGAIN

    ¡°WHAT are you reading?¡± Reas asked his brother who was looking at his Terminal as if he was reading something interesting.


    ¡°Just some comments about the trailer of that show¡¯s 100th episode where I appeared as a guess,¡± Astrid answered, scrolling up at the virtual screen in front of him.


    A single episode had its own trailer? ¨C Reas thought. He thought it was only for movies and dramas. But what did he know, really? He had never been interested in the entertainment industry. If not for his brother wanting to be an actor, he probably wouldn¡¯t even bother to get acquainted with it.


    ¡°There¡¯s a trailer? Why didn¡¯t you say so? We could have watched it together after dinner,¡± he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. My face wasn¡¯t shown in the trailer, so, you won¡¯t really see me,¡± Astrid said. ¡°We can just watch the episode together once it aired next week.¡±


    Reas only nodded. ¡°It¡¯s on the weekend, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So, we can watch it together.¡± Astrid glanced back at his brother who was in the kitchen, then he saw that the other was wearing his ¡®work-out clothes¡¯. ¡°You¡¯re going for a run?¡±


    Reas nodded again. He was planning to go on a run before dinner. But since they decided to eat out, the time he should spend on running was then spent on going to the restaurant. That¡¯s why he decided to just do his nightly run after the returned home.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for me and just go ahead and rest,¡± he said.


    The other had gone to an audition today. Even though Astrid made it seem like a simple matter, it was probably still a bit taxing for the other.


    Astrid already had a guess what the other was thinking. So, he said in a teasing tone, ¡°Yes, ¡®big brother¡¯.¡±


    Reas only rolled his eyes at him before walking to the door and leaving.


    Astrid smiled and returned his attention to the comments on [Cyberspace]. Just as he did, a particular comment caught his eyes.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [To those saying all this bullshit about Astrid without checking first whether the things you¡¯re accusing him of were true or not, go and eat you own shit. The Empire doesn¡¯t need people with low IQ. Why don¡¯t you all do us a favor and immigrate to another star system?


    As for these following people, I¡¯m waiting for you to be sued!]


    This very domineering comment was then followed by a list of handle names, tagging them directly. If one was observant enough, they could see that these names were those who praised Astrid to the sky with no rhyme or reason. As if he¡¯s the son of heaven or something.


    If that was all, this comment wouldn¡¯t probably attract that much attention as it was now. But right after that comment, there were files of evidence attached. Yes, evidence. On the files, the IP addresses of the people mentioned were listed. These IPs showed that they had a transaction with someone with the same IP address.


    It¡¯s like a receipt that this person asked them to do something and they were handsomely paid for it. The time they received the money was just a few minutes after the trailer of [Blind Justice]¡¯s 100th episode was out. Then, after that, the files showed that the owners of these IPs actually belonged to a group that specialized in character assassination.


    Yes, that¡¯s right. This group¡¯s job was to damage the reputation of their target. Their targets were usually newcomers in the entertainment industry who were just starting out in their careers. Most of their victims didn¡¯t have any extraordinary backgrounds. So, they hadn¡¯t received any backlash so far and continued on with their ¡®business¡¯.


    This group might have purposely chosen such easily handled people so they could go under the radars and not be suspected. Under normal circumstances, the same thing would have happened today. Astrid would be ostracized and his reputation would take a dive.


    But who would have thought that such evidence would appear?


    The one who posted seemed to still not be satisfied with the bomb they dropped, so they quickly added;


    @astridsnumber1fan: [To that person who hired this group of people to bully Astrid, you will definitely get what¡¯s coming to you!]


    Within minutes, the comments made by this person exploded. People replied one after another. At first, they expressed their disbelief, most thought that the poster was making things up. Some even thought that the person was Astrid himself. In which the person only replied;


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Truly, you people¡¯s imagination really knows no bounds. Not only can you invent things out of nothing, even if the evidence is right in front of you, you would choose to think of something absurd rather than to admit that you¡¯re wrong. Well, what do I expect from people with low IQs? If you don¡¯t believe me, why don¡¯t you check if the people I listed above really have the same IP addresses? I¡¯m sure at least one of you have the ability to do that. If not, then you really are a useless bunch.]


    With this kind of provocation, what else could people do but to check? Those who were technologically savvy easily managed to check if the IPs really belonged to those handle names that the original poster posted. And the result was, it was indeed true.


    Although they couldn¡¯t check if these people really received money from someone, the seed of doubt had already been planted in their hearts. And once it was there, what else could it do but grow? Especially with people commenting, expressing their doubts, serving as its nutrient.


    As if still not satisfied with that, the original poster followed it up with;


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Also, to those people I tagged, don¡¯t bother changing your handle name or delete the comments you made. Because even if you do, you will still be sued. Maybe not by me, but definitely by Polaris.]


    Astrid, who read all of these, only narrowed his eyes at this familiar username.

 Chapter 247 - HIS COMMON SENSE SAYS NO, ITS NOT HIM

    ASTRID remembered that this username belonged to someone named ¡®White Wolf¡¯. Being able to gather this much evidence in such a short period of time, the identity of this person was definitely not simple.


    When he first saw the name ¡®White Wolf¡¯, the first thing that came to his mind was the unpredictable prince of their Empire. But he quickly rejected that idea. After all, he believed that Wulfric had much better things to do than signing at [Cyberspace] and defending him from his bashers.


    But now, he wasn¡¯t so sure anymore.


    The name this person was using was one of the monikers given to Wulfric ¨C the White Wolf of Alluna. Which was not so subtle at all. And through this incident, this person just showed that he had means beyond what a normal civilian could do. The checking of the IPs was easy, even Astrid could do that with enough time. But checking the money transaction? That¡¯s not something anyone could just do.


    One must know that in this era, physical money no longer existed. Everything was now digital. From bank transactions to simple paying of meals in a restaurant. That¡¯s why there¡¯s a strong security when it came to money transfers and other money-related transactions. To protect people¡¯s money from cyber thieves and other problems.


    If anyone could just check other people¡¯s money transactions, what¡¯s the point of this strong security? Even high-ranking nobles couldn¡¯t just easily access that. Unless it¡¯s because of some emergency or something.


    So, that meant this White Wolf was no ordinary person. Someone with extraordinary background that used the name ¡®White Wolf¡¯, knew Astrid personally that¡¯s why they were so hellbent on ¡®protecting¡¯ him and also had the temper to lash out on people like this, there¡¯s really only one person that came to mind.


    His newly recognized friend, the one and only prince of the Empire ¨C Wulfric de Lunaris.


    But then, he came back again to the question of ¡®why?¡¯. Because, seriously, would Wulfric really waste his time doing such a thing?


    But what Astrid didn¡¯t know was, this could hardly be considered as a ¡®waste of time¡¯. Anything related to him, Wulfric considered as top priority. Sadly, at this point of time, Astrid hadn¡¯t gotten to a point where he would confidently assume that Wulfric would protect him against anything.


    At this moment, Astrid was only full of confusion regarding this matter. Even though there were evidence suggesting that it could indeed be Wulfric, his brain just couldn¡¯t accept it. His common sense was simply telling him that no, it¡¯s impossible. Would that guy really go to [Cyberspace] and use the username @astridsnumber1fan?


    Even the craziest person in the Empire would surely not think of that. Much less Astrid.


    No matter how much he thought it was him, the logical part of him would shout ¡®no, it¡¯s definitely impossible!¡¯.


    This problem could easily be solved by just asking Wulfric directly. But if he did ask the other, then, he wanted it to be face to face. Not through a video call. At least with that, he could observe every micro-expression he had and he could quickly judge whether he¡¯s lying or not.


    Just as he was thinking on what to do next, a notification alert appeared on his Terminal, telling him that someone was requesting a video call. When he clicked on it, he saw that it was Ellis. He didn¡¯t waste time and just answered it.


    Ellis¡¯ face appeared on the virtual screen. Before Astrid could speak, the other spoke ahead of him.


    ¡°Astrid, tell me honestly, do you know this ¡®White Wolf¡¯? The one going around [Cyberspace] defending you?¡± Ellis asked with a serious expression on her face.


    Astrid felt a little bit funny. White Wolf wasn¡¯t really going around [Cyberspace] to defend him. Since the other only commented under the trailer posted by [Blind Justice]¡¯s official [Cyberspace] account. He stopped himself from chuckling.


    He had already expected that his agent would know about what this White Wolf had done. After all, the other was probably already on stand-by the moment the trailer was released. Just so she could quickly deal with whatever backlash this trailer would have on Astrid.


    And just as he guessed, Ellis was indeed waiting for the release of the trailer and monitoring everyone¡¯s reaction to it. When the discordant voices started to appear, she also began her work. But who would have thought that there would be someone even faster than her?


    She hadn¡¯t yet started gathering evidence and somebody already did it for her. Posting a comment with evidence was not the end though. Someone even sent an encrypted file to her via email. What was written there was as follows;


    [To Miss Ellis Payne,


    The file attached below has all the evidence of money transactions made by the person responsible for the negative backlash Astrid is receiving right now. Please, don¡¯t hesitate to seek justice. I¡¯m sure Polaris would protect their artist regardless of the other¡¯s popularity. Right?


    PS. Please, download the file within five seconds. Or it will be automatically deleted.]


    Before Ellis could think properly, her hand had already moved and downloaded the file. After she downloaded it, the email suddenly disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. That¡¯s when she knew that the one who sent her the email and the file was probably someone with extraordinary background.


    Someone like that would definitely not do this out of the goodness of their heart. The only reason she could think of was because this person had unspeakable feelings for Astrid. What if the other took this as a sign that Astrid now owed them for this incident? Worst of all, what if this person directly became a stalker? With such a background, it would definitely be hard to handle.


    As a capable agent, no matter who this person was, if they dared to move even a finger of Astrid, she would never let them go.

 Chapter 248 - WHO?

    ¡°NO, I don¡¯t,¡± Astrid said as a response to Ellis¡¯ question whether he knew White Wolf. [At least, I can¡¯t confirm it at this moment.] ¨C he added in his mind.


    Ellis already expected such an answer. If there was such a thing, Astrid would have told it to her by now. ¡°Well, let¡¯s not bother with this White Wolf for now. Because of this person¡¯s comments and the evidence they posted, the number of people posting their negative opinion about you has significantly subsided. But there are still some people who don¡¯t believe it and keep on posting hateful comments about you. Don¡¯t worry, I will post a statement later and ask Polaris¡¯ PR department to re-post it. After that, this problem would most be mostly solved.¡±


    ¡°Are there enough evidence?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Yeah, more than enough,¡± Ellis said. ¡°That White Wolf sent an email to me containing all the evidence he had found. From all the money transactions to the identity of the person who paid that group of ghosts to ruin your reputation.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. He didn¡¯t expect that there was still such an operation. This White Wolf even managed to get Ellis¡¯ email address. ¡°So, who wanted to deal with me?¡±


    ¡°The person¡¯s name is Jesse Norris.¡±


    A blank expression appeared on Astrid¡¯s face. If it was possible, maybe a question mark would even directly appear on it. ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At a certain mansion in the capital, a young man with delicate features and a pretty face was walking back and forth inside his room. Worry and fear could be seen in his eyes.


    If Astrid was here, then, he would immediately recognize this young man as one of the three people who tried to block him a few days ago in school. He was definitely the one who left the most impression. After all, he obviously acted as the leader of the three. And his expression was the most colorful after one of the other two vomited on him.


    How could Astrid not recognize this person? Sadly, he wasn¡¯t here now. If not, then, maybe he could watch a good show.


    Jesse had been trying to contact the people he paid to smear Astrid Townsend¡¯s reputation. It had been 10 minutes now but none of his calls had gone through. He remembered the things that that White Wolf person said in the comment. Would they really get sued? Then, how about him?


    As the one who instigated everything, wouldn¡¯t his punishment be greater? Fear gripped him again.


    No, he needed to calm down. Panicking would only make his brain unable to think properly. After a few deep breaths, he finally managed to get a semblance of calmness back.


    He actually didn¡¯t plan all of this. Earlier, he was just casually browsing [Cyberspace]. Having an aspiration to be an actor, it¡¯s only natural to be acquainted with the latest entertainment news. That¡¯s how he ended up seeing that delusional comment under the trailer released by the [Blind Justice] official [Cyberspace] account.


    It talked about the possibility of Astrid being the special guest in the show¡¯s 100th episode. His hair almost blew up just reading that presumptuous comment. How could someone even think that there¡¯s a possibility that a no-name newcomer could actually get that kind of role?


    He first thought that Astrid¡¯s fans were simply delusional. It was just right for those types of people to follow the other. But then, another possibility came to Jesse. What if the person who commented that was not really a fan but someone Astrid paid to hype him up? The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced.


    This kind of strategy was common in the entertainment industry. Especially for newcomers who wanted to be popular quickly.


    Jesse sneered upon realizing that Astrid was using such underhanded means. He just knew that Astrid was faking that innocent act just so he would get the sympathy of their schoolmates. What a two-faced bitch.


    The humiliation he experienced at that time came rushing back to him again. Even now, some people at Redwood were still talking about what happened on that day. The video of him being vomited on was still hanging on the campus¡¯ forum. He was still thinking on how he could get back at Astrid, but wasn¡¯t this just the opportunity to do it?


    So, Jesse contacted his cousin who was also an actress. The other had just entered the top 100 of the Star List during the last ranking assessment. This cousin already made a name for herself and she also knew a lot of tricks in the industry. So, he simply asked the other, euphemistically of course, if she knew someone who could ruin a newcomer¡¯s reputation through [Cyberspace].


    His cousin didn¡¯t ask much and just gave him the number of a person who was doing this kind of job. Jesse immediately contacted the person. And that¡¯s how he ended up sending money to different accounts given by the other.


    After seeing how they acted swiftly after receiving the money, he felt that this transaction was very much worth it. He was still gloating seeing how other people were scolding Astrid online. But this feeling didn¡¯t last long.


    A comment showing evidence of his transaction with this group of people appeared. And it was just within an hour after those comments trying to set up Astrid were posted. His joy and satisfaction didn¡¯t even last a few hours!


    After reading the comment that all of them would be sued, how could he not worry? His IP address was now known to many. It wasn¡¯t something that could be changed easily.


    The only thing he could be thankful for was the fact that the comment only showed that someone with his IP address send money to a group of people. It didn¡¯t show his bank account or anything like that. But what if this White Wolf had that and just didn¡¯t post it?


    He probably should call his father and ask him to fix this.


    As Jesse was contemplating what to do next, Ellis finally posted a statement on [Cyberspace].. And this was quickly reposted by the official account of Polaris.

 Chapter 249 STATEMENT

    My artist is just a newcomer. Encountering something like this at this early stage of his career could cause a negative impact on him. If not for good Samaritan like Mr. White Wolf, the streams of negative comments about him might still be continuing until now. Maybe a lot of people would still be scolding him for something he didn¡¯t even do.


    Such things could easily cause trauma for such a young person. This could lead to a lot of psychological and emotional damage. The last thing I wanted is for Astrid to quit this industry because of something that wasn¡¯t even his fault. How tragic would it be for a young man to be forced to give up on his dream because of things that were out of his control?


    As Astrid¡¯s agent, it¡¯s my job to protect him from such things. So, to those responsible for what happened today, I won¡¯t name you, you already know who you are. Please, expect a letter from the court soon.]


    As soon as this was posted, the people who had been waiting for an official statement regarding this matter all weren¡¯t surprised by such a result. After all, the comments made by White Wolf had already convinced them regarding the truth of the matter.


    But it didn¡¯t stop them from reacting violently. Of course, this violence was now directed at the person responsible for it all. As if they weren¡¯t one of the people who scolded Astrid to death as if he just killed their dogs.


    The people commenting about this topic continued to increase by the minute. But it completely exploded once Polaris¡¯s official account reposted it. Now, even those who didn¡¯t know about it found about this little incident.


    As the number of people talking about it increased, it even entered the top 50 trending topic list for that hour. Something that really shouldn¡¯t be talk about that widely considering the protagonist of the issue was just a newcomer suddenly became a source of gossip for people.


    [Is this about Polaris¡¯ new artist?]


    [Wait- they¡¯re reposting Ellis Payne¡¯s post! Is it the same Ellis Payne I know? The gold agent that helped Olivia Crane to the top five of the Star List? She¡¯s now back and working at Polaris?]


    [No, the focus here should be the fact that she¡¯s in charge of a new artist again! Astrid Townsend, right? To those who have pictures and infos about him, please reply to my comment!]


    [This sister, I will send it to you now. Prepare your heart to see a beautiful angel!]


    [So, someone really did try to ruin his reputation?]


    [Since it was even reposted by Polaris, it must be true.]


    [Polaris are really good in taking care of their artists. Even a newcomer is protected like this.]


    [Polaris has always been good at handling such situations. Just look at Lauren Watts. If he¡¯s not under Polaris, all those rumored scandals might have already ended his career.]


    [But why though? Isn¡¯t that a bit weird? I mean, Astrid is just a newcomer. Is he that much of a threat that someone would want to deal with him this early in his career?]


    [I think it¡¯s not a matter of being a threat. It¡¯s most likely because he offended someone and that someone thought of this as a revenge.]


    [I agree with upstairs. Isn¡¯t that a common trend for rich people? If someone offended them, they would immediately take revenge. As if no one is allowed to say anything bad about them. FYI, the world doesn¡¯t revolve around you, okay?]


    [Hey, don¡¯t generalize people. There might be some rich people that are like that. But there¡¯s also good ones. Just like how some poor people are bad and others are good.]


    [But who do you think is this person? Why didn¡¯t Ellis Payne name them?]


    [Maybe she was just being considerate. I mean, if she named this person, they would surely be besieged by hateful comments. Since it¡¯s already established that the person would be sued, there¡¯s no need to mention their name. Once they successfully won this libel case, this person would have a criminal record. Even if their name is not spread to the public, that kind of record won¡¯t be erased.]


    [Since the situation had been controlled before any real damage had been done, the culprit would probably not go to prison. They might be fine by a huge amount though. I can¡¯t say the same for those the hired. After all, they¡¯re most likely a professional group dedicated to this kind of thing.]


    [Heh. That¡¯s cheap of them, being able to come out of this unscathed. If not for this White Wolf, many people would have a negative opinion on Astrid Townsend. What would happen to his career then?]


    [This White Wolf is really amazing. They must be a real fan of Astrid.]


    [What if they¡¯re actually Astrid¡¯s admirer? I don¡¯t think any normal fan would go this length for someone who literally just started his acting career. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this person turned out to be a stalker.]


    [Hey, the one upstairs, can you stop invalidating someone¡¯s effort like this? Doing something to protect your idol now equates to being a stalker? This just means that White Wolf is a true fan, okay?]


    Conversations like these continued. From Ellis¡¯ return to the industry, to the negative impact that this event might have caused on Astrid, and finally to Astrid¡¯s ¡®true fan¡¯ White Wolf.


    But there¡¯s no denying the fact that the one with the biggest gain after this situation was resolved was Astrid himself. Because after tonight, the number of his followers on [Cyberspace] had increased to almost 400,000.

 Chapter 250 THE MAIN COURSE ON THE TABLE

    Some with a bit of thicker face asked him directly if he would really appear at the 100th episode of [Blind Justice]. Then, there were also those who was shameless enough to ask him how he did it, get a role in such a big web drama, despite being just a newcomer.


    He knew what they were trying to insinuate, but he was really not in the mood to deal with their nonsense. So, he just smiled, said nothing, and used his mental strength to give them a bit of headache.


    By lunch time, he headed straight to the greenhouse to have lunch with Kiran. When he got there, the other was already sitting at their usual bench. Seeing him, Kiran stood up and waved at him. He waved back and walked towards the other.


    ¡±How¡¯s your weekend? Did you get the job at the piano salon?¡± he asked after sitting beside the other.


    ¡±Yeah, the lady boss is very kind and patient. She didn¡¯t care about how I look or how I speak. She just cared that I could play the piano,¡± Kiran said excitedly as he sat back down. ¡°The pay was also pretty good. Especially since I would only for two days in a week. It won¡¯t even affect my studies! It was such a great deal that I almost thought that I was ripping the boss off.¡±


    That¡¯s how Kiran truly felt. When he first went to Siren ¨C the piano lounge¡¯s name and met the boss ¨C Christin Rose or just Miss Rose, he was very overwhelmed. The lounge looked very high-end. As if only rich people were allowed to go in. It just simply screamed of money. Something that he didn¡¯t have and had never been associated to him. And yet, there he was, applying for a job in such a place.


    Especially more so after he met Miss Rose. She was grace and sophistication incarnate. Like a real lady. Not just some phony one who had her nose high up. But someone that actually deserving of respect.


    Kiran was very much intimidated. If not for the fact that this job was introduced by Astrid, he must have quickly turned around with his tail between his legs. So, he forced his insecurities down and just went ahead.


    He didn¡¯t expect that things would go unexpectedly well. It¡¯s just like everything just fell into place.


    ¡±That¡¯s great,¡± Astrid said, clearly happy for the other. ¡°Will you start the job this weekend?¡±


    Kiran gave a sheepish smile. ¡°I actually already started. Yesterday, in fact.¡±


    Yes, that¡¯s right. After the short interview and playing a short piano piece, Miss Rose didn¡¯t ask much and just hired him on the spot. She didn¡¯t even do a background check. Something that such an establishment would usually do.


    Of course, Kiran quickly understood that it must be because of Miss Rose¡¯s friendship with Astrid¡¯s agent. Another thing that he should be thankful for the other.


    ¡±I see.¡± Astrid didn¡¯t ask if the other did well. Just based on Kiran¡¯s expression, it probably went exceptionally well. ¡°I¡¯m happy for you.¡±


    And he was. He could tell that things didn¡¯t often go well for Kiran. So, having this one thing go well for him was, of course, good.


    ¡±Thank you,¡± Kiran said with a happy grin.


    ¡±I¡¯ll go and listen to you play at the piano lounge this Sunday,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I¡¯ll bring my brother as well.¡±


    Maybe Ellis could go with them too. After all, she and the owner of this piano lounge were friends.


    ¡±Okay!¡±


    If it was any other time, Kiran would have already rejected the idea. What if he messed up or something? He didn¡¯t want to show such an embarrassing side to Astrid. Especially since the other was literally the one who introduced him to this job. But since he had already played yesterday, all his nervousness was now gone. He could confidently say that the chances of him messing up was close to none.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s eat lunch.¡±


    He took out the food container from the space stone on his necklace and put it between him and Kiran.


    They were in the middle of eating when he realized that not once did Kiran asked about that debacle in [Cyberspace]. The other certainly didn¡¯t look like he was trying not to mention it. So, the only reason was, Kiran didn¡¯t know about it.


    Well, that was probably for the better. He remembered what happened early morning yesterday. He got a call from Lauren. Since the other was filming the day before, he had only known about what happened yesterday. And the first thing Lauren did was to call him very, very early in the morning. As in four o¡¯clock. A time when the sun hadn¡¯t risen yet.


    That call lasted for hours. And most of it were spent in him convincing the other not to hack people online. Especially the one responsible for that whole fiasco.


    Although Astrid appreciated the sentiments, doing that was just too troublesome. Since Ellis had already dealt with it, there¡¯s no need to do an overkill.


    If Kiran also knew about this, he had a feeling that the other would have the same reaction as Lauren. The result would probably be even much worse considering that the culprit was a schoolmate of theirs.


    So, really, it¡¯s better this way.


    With that, the two of them had a very peaceful lunch. But after the two of them separated, it suddenly became not so ¡®peaceful¡¯.


    On his way to his next class, he was suddenly pulled into an empty utility room. No, the more accurate word was that he was dragged. Although he was in good shape, he couldn¡¯t exactly force his body to react in a manner beyond his A level physique¡¯s capability.


    And so, he ended up inside this room with four men looking at him as if he¡¯s the main course on the table.

 Chapter 251 HOW TO DEAL WITH PERVERTS (THE ASTERS WAY)

    ¡±Wow. Look at him. I thought that those online comments are just exaggerating. But he looked even more beautiful in person,¡± one said. ¡°We really hit the jackpot.¡±


    One suddenly circled around Astrid, looking him up from head to toe. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s really quite high-quality. No wonder that kid is jealous and told us to do this.¡±


    ¡±Hey! Shut your mouth! Don¡¯t talk too much,¡± one quickly said after the other said what he said.


    The guy only shrugged. ¡°Who cares if he hears what we said? After today, I don¡¯t think he would have the guts to show his face around here. Maybe he¡¯d even go back to wherever galaxy he¡¯s from.¡±


    ¡±I agree. So, why don¡¯t we just start and do what we¡¯re paid to do here,¡± another said, looking at Astrid with perverseness in his eyes. ¡°Oh, the things we will do to you. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll make sure that the pictures we take are as beautiful as you.¡±


    With the things these people had said, Astrid already had an idea what they were trying to do. These guys were probably trying to humiliate him and then take pictures of him in compromising situations. If they were under orders of someone, then he already had a guess who it might be.


    ¡±So, that¡¯s how it is,¡± he said with no emotion in his voice.


    After he said that, it seemed that it was only then that the four noticed that he didn¡¯t look remotely scared.


    ¡±Heh, are you trying to act all strong right now?¡± one said.


    ¡±I think it¡¯s better for you to start shaking now. That would be more attractive to us. Maybe we would take pity and be more merciful when we take you,¡± the other said with a smirk.


    ¡±That¡¯s right. Or do we have to scare you first before you shiver in fear?¡± another one said.


    This one tried to touch him but Astrid quickly kicked the other¡¯s stomach. Because of the sudden action, the guy fell on his back. The fact that Astrid was able to kick the other this easily meant that this guy¡¯s physique level was probably the same as him.


    Seriously, if you¡¯re going to hire goons, hire someone with at least an S level physique. But then again, someone with an S level physique would more likely go to a military school instead of performance school.


    ¡±You¨C!¡±


    ¡±Ah, I don¡¯t really have time for this shit,¡± Astrid said, cutting off whatever the guy he kicked was about to say. ¡°Are you hired by Jesse Norris?¡±


    The moment he asked that, the expression of the four people changed. That alone was enough to confirm his guess. Seriously, that guy. Did he really want to experience social death?


    Ellis was already kind enough not to mention his name on the post she made the day before yesterday. And yet, this bastard did this instead of repenting. Astrid didn¡¯t even have to guess what the other was thinking. He could already tell what it was just by the things these perverts had said.


    This Jesse Norris was probably thinking that if he had pictures of him having an ¡®orgy¡¯ with these four, he could use that as a leverage. What for, you asked? Of course, so he would not be sued for libel. In his mind, he was probably thinking that as long as he had something that he could use for blackmail, it would solve everything.


    If Astrid was as stupid as him, that might have worked. Unfortunately, he had a working brain. So, this type of tactic wouldn¡¯t really work.


    He sighed. He already decided not to do anything and let the law decide that guy¡¯s punishment. But look at what this bastard did.


    ¡±Are you really in a position to ask anything?¡± one snarled after getting over his initial surprise.


    ¡±You¡¯re right. Why am I even bothering asking you people when you¡¯ve already told me everything?¡± Astrid said looking at the four as if they¡¯re the most idiotic person in the world.


    That seemed to thoroughly annoyed the four. The gaze they used to look at him was now filled with contempt. They gathered around him, the expression on their faces were telling that they were about to attack him.


    But Astrid¡¯s expression was still that of nonchalance. He wasn¡¯t even the least bit worried. In fact, he was grateful that the four surrounded him. That way, he didn¡¯t have to spread his mental force that far.


    That¡¯s right. He was planning to attack the four using his mental force. With his mental strength, he was confident that these bastards wouldn¡¯t be able to handle his attack. The only thing he really had to worry about was what to do next after this four lost consciousness.


    But that¡¯s easily fixed. With a bit of acting, of course.


    Just as one was about to stretched his hand towards him, Astrid then spread his mental force. The mental attack was very immediate. The four stopped in place, clutched their heads and screamed. Then, they all fainted with their mouths foaming.


    He coldly glanced at the four, wondering what he should do now. Or maybe he should just leave them here. After all, this was an abandoned utility room. It didn¡¯t have any surveillance camera. That¡¯s probably why they chose this place as their ¡®crime scene¡¯.


    Since no one had seen him anyway, it wouldn¡¯t matter if he just left. He was still contemplating whether he should do just that when the door of the utility room suddenly opened.


    ¡±Stop¨C!¡± the ¡®visitor¡¯ shouted. Then, whatever he was about to say seemed to be stuck in his throat when he saw the scene inside.


    Astrid only raised his brow when he saw the person. Light silvery blue hair curled around a small face, snowy white skin. Wasn¡¯t this the teenager he saved before from kidnapping?

 Chapter 252 SNOW CAMPBELL

    The other was looking at the four men as if they were dirt under his shoes. No, it was even worse than that. But considering what these four was most likely trying to do, then such a cold reaction was very understandable.


    Earlier, when Snow was on his way to class, he accidentally saw this teenager being dragged into this utility room. It was a very tricky spot that it would be hard for anyone to notice such a thing unless they were particularly looking at that direction. And the moment that the teenager was grabbed, Snow just happened to glance at that direction.


    He wasn¡¯t planning to get involved. But then he remembered what happened to him last week. He was almost kidnapped, maybe even murdered. But some kind-hearted fellow saved him. Since it happened in the academy¡¯s grounds, it¡¯s most likely a student.


    Snow wanted to know the identity of the person. But it was to no avail. Even with the help of his father, there were still no results. His father said that there was someone preventing the further investigation of the person who saved him.


    When his father told him that, he remembered that red-haired soldier from Fenris Squad. At that time when he woke up in the military base and found out that he was with the Fenris Squad, so many thoughts entered his mind all at the same time. It almost made his brain shut down.


    That¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t really think properly at that moment. He only wanted to get out of there as fast as he could. But most of all, he strongly wished that he wouldn¡¯t meet a certain someone while he was there.


    That¡¯s what all he could think about that he couldn¡¯t really be bothered by anything else. It was not until his father came and got him out of the military base that his brain started to function.


    He just then wondered how he ended up at the military base. He knew that that red-haired soldier probably told him the whys and the hows. But, as you already know, the moment he knew that the other was a member of Fenris Squad, his brain just shut down.


    His father stayed silent throughout the whole way. He couldn¡¯t ask what happened because of the dark expression on the other¡¯s face. Potent anger was emanating from him that Snow just couldn¡¯t ask him anything.


    It wasn¡¯t until they arrived at the villa where the both of them lived that Snow finally learned of the truth. It turned out that his half-brother hired someone to kidnap him while he was at Redwood. It wasn¡¯t just that, the other also hired those people to kill him.


    Snow was shocked. He knew that his half-brothers hated him. Not only them, but also his father¡¯s wife. It¡¯s like his presence was a big thorn to them. He understood where their hate was coming from. If he was in their position, he would also have a natural averseness towards himself. But he knew that he wouldn¡¯t go as far as murder.


    Knowing that one of his half-brothers wanted him dead, there was no sadness or disappointment. Since he understood what kind of family situation he had, he never had an illusion that he would be loved by his father¡¯s other family. He didn¡¯t even expect any kindness. But to think that they would really outright want him dead.


    So, all he really felt after knowing that was fear. It¡¯s his life on the line, after all. He¡¯s still so young and hadn¡¯t achieved anything yet. Most of all, he still hadn¡¯t shown himself, his real self, to that person. He disappeared on him without saying anything. All for one goal. A very childish one, yes. But it¡¯s something important to him. And he wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve that if he was dead.


    After telling Snow about that, his father assured him that such a thing would not happen again. His father might have his faults, but when it came to Snow¡¯s safety, he would never take it for granted.


    He didn¡¯t know what his father did next after that.  If he exiled his half-brother or if he warned the viscountess. And frankly, he didn¡¯t really care. As long as they weren¡¯t constantly hovering over him like a knife wanting to cut his neck, then they could go do whatever.


    Sadly, the thing they wanted to do most right now was probably to off him. But he very much preferred his head to be attached to his neck, so, whatever punishment his father would give to his stepbrother and to the viscountess, he wouldn¡¯t do anything to stop it. No matter how harsh.


    With that over, he and his father discussed the person who saved him. The only information that red-haired soldier gave his father was that the other was a student. Nothing more, nothing less. After a week, that¡¯s still all they knew.


    And now back to this current situation.


    When Snow saw such a thing happening, he immediately thought of what happened to him last week. If someone hadn¡¯t come to save him, then, he would probably be dead by now. What if something like that also happened to the teenager who was grabbed?


    And so, he called the bodyguards assigned to him by his father who were currently hiding somewhere near him for sure, their presence was approved by the academy by the way. And he told him to come here quickly and save someone.


    But then, before they could arrive, he heard a scream. He didn¡¯t think much and just rushed forward. And thus, seeing this exact scene.


    ¡±Well, this is a bit awkward,¡± the black-haired teenager said with a helpless grin.

 Chapter 253 GOING ALONG WITH HIS PACE

    Seeing as how the other first said ¡®stop¡¯ the moment he opened the door, it¡¯s safe to assume that the other probably saw him being dragged in this utility room and therefore decided to help rescue him. Assuming that he¡¯s not stupid, he would have definitely called someone before rushing here.


    ¡±Yes,¡± Snow answered unknowingly.


    ¡±Did you call the staffs of the academy?¡±


    ¡±No, my bodyguards.¡±


    Snow stopped. He realized that he just answered the other¡¯s questions so naturally. Clearly, he was being dragged into the other¡¯s pace. So naturally even. A small crease appeared on his smooth forehead.


    Astrid smiled. It¡¯s good that the other didn¡¯t call the staffs. It would be easier to deal with the aftermath of this situation.


    ¡±May I ask what happened here?¡± Snow asked, trying to take control of the conversation.


    Astrid glanced at the other. Since this kid¡¯s cooperation would be needed in the next step he thought, he might as well have a proper talk with the other.


    ¡±As you may have already seen, I was dragged here by one of these four. What else could I do but defend myself?¡±


    Snow once again glanced at the unconscious men and then back to the black-haired youth. The other was slim and not that very tall. Even he was a bit taller than the other. It¡¯s hard to believe that this guy could take on these four people. And in such a short time too.


    The only possibility he could think of was that the other used his mental strength. But to be able to incapacitate four people at the same time, his mental strength should be very strong. An SS level perhaps?


    ¡±Did you use your mental strength?¡± he asked to make sure.


    ¡±Yes,¡± Astrid answered, he didn¡¯t think that there¡¯s a reason for him to hide that.


    Saying that he fought these four with his high martial arts prowess was simply too preposterous. He¡¯s not worried that the other would think that he had SSS level mental strength. That¡¯s definitely not the first thing that would enter anyone¡¯s mind. They would think that he had an SS level instead.


    That kind of misunderstanding was not unacceptable. Although SS level was not so common, it¡¯s also not so rare. Not like SSS level ones who were really hard to find in this Empire.


    He walked towards the other. ¡°Would you be so kind as to help me?¡±


    ¡±If it¡¯s to report these people, then I see no reason not to.¡±


    It was clear to Snow that the one at the wrong here were these people. So, really, there¡¯s no reason to refuse.


    ¡±Thank you. But I hope we could tweak the details of what happened a bit.¡±


    ¡±What do you mean?¡± Snow asked, curious as to what the other was planning.


    ¡±It¡¯s very important that I would be seen as the victim in this situation. And seeing as how quick I dealt with these four, that would be a bit too hard.¡±


    ¡±So, you want me to lie?¡± Snow asked, that little crease on his forehead was back again.


    ¡±Not really lie. Just try not to mention what really transpired here. I will do all the talking, so you don¡¯t have to worry,¡± Astrid said. ¡°And also, I will need your bodyguards to cooperate.¡±


    ¡±Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re asking too much?¡± Snow couldn¡¯t help but say.


    Although he went here with the idea of helping the other, asking him to cooperate in lying was just a bit too much. Especially since the other wasn¡¯t really properly explaining things to him.


    ¡±Yeah, I think so too,¡± the black-haired teenager said with a smile. ¡°But you can just think of this as you repaying a favor.¡±


    This time, Snow felt a bit annoyed. ¡°Can you just make sense for once?¡±


    Astrid felt a bit amused, seeing the other¡¯s annoyed expression. He actually didn¡¯t want to tell the other that he was the one who saved him from being kidnapped last week. After all, he already decided not to get involve with that affair. But because of the mess did by that Jesse Norris and this guy accidentally discovering him here, it couldn¡¯t be help.


    The fact that this kid rushed here when he saw him being dragged meant that he would be type to return the kindness that was given to him. But what really made him decide to reveal his participation in what happened last week was when the other said that he called his bodyguards for help.


    The fact that this kid was allowed to bring bodyguards to school was definitely related to what happened last week. After all, the other was almost kidnapped while still on the school grounds. But this also meant that he didn¡¯t belong to an ordinary family. No ordinary family could force Redwood to allow bodyguards to freely roam here.


    This would definitely help in adding credibility to the play he was planning to act on later.


    ¡±Last week, you were almost kidnapped by two men here at Redwood. I took care of the two men, just like how I took care of these four. I can¡¯t give the exact detail on how you ended up with the Fenris Squad. But I think what I had said is already enough evidence,¡± Astrid said. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask any question of what happened that day and I will do my best to answer.¡±


    It took a while for Snow to register what the other had said. He was just thinking earlier how he wanted to find the person who saved him and now, here he was, standing in front of the other.


    Yes, he did not doubt that the black-haired youth was the really the one who saved him that day. If the other didn¡¯t mention the Fenris Squad, he might be suspicious and even think that this guy might be in cahoots with his half-brother. The fact that he ended up in the military base together with the Fenris Squad should not be known to just anyone.


    Anyone except the one who saved him.


    He took a deep breath and asked, ¡°How can I be of help?¡±

 Chapter 254 LOOK THE PART

    Snow let out a sigh. It¡¯s not really his words but he couldn¡¯t exactly deny that now, could he? ¡°Yes, just do it like that.¡±


    The three bodyguards looked at each other. When the young master contacted them earlier, they were only told to come to his location as fast as possible. They were always not that far from the young master. How could they do their job if they¡¯re far from their target of protection?


    But the viscount told them that they should give the young master ample breathing space. They shouldn¡¯t try to hover over him like bees. That way, the young master wouldn¡¯t feel suffocated by their presence and he could still go about his business like normal.


    But there could be holes in their protection with such an arrangement. So, a GPS tracker was put on the panic button that the young master was told to carry after the incident that happened last week.


    Since the young master didn¡¯t push the panic button and called them instead, it meant that nothing drastic had happened to him. Maybe he was just in a bit of trouble. But they still hastened their pace and went to the direction where the GPS tracker was pointing.


    Upon arriving here, they saw the young master talking to a beautiful black-haired teenager. If it was only that, then they probably wouldn¡¯t feel so conflicted right now. But after seeing the two, they next saw the four unconscious men lying on the ground. And then, right after, the young master told them to do this weird thing.


    But they¡¯re not really in the position to question the other. Being employed and paid handsomely by the viscount, they should do their best, not only to protect the other but also to satisfy any request he might make.


    And so, the three of them could only say ¡®yes¡¯ in the end, doing what they were ordered.


    Seeing the three bodyguards walking towards the four men lying unconscious on the floor, Snow walked towards the black-haired teenager whose name was Astrid Townsend. The two of them had already introduced themselves to each other before his bodyguards arrived. Not only that, the other had also told him about his ¡®plan¡¯.


    He was very skeptical about it. But since he had already decided to help the other, he should just follow along with whatever he¡¯s planning.


    ¡±Should I call the vice-chairman now?¡± he asked since his bodyguards were already here. By the time those staffs arrived, his bodyguards would have already finished with their task.


    Astrid raised one of his brows. He didn¡¯t expect that the other would actually know one of the academy¡¯s big guns. But then again, with what happened last week, the vice-chairman might have been the one who dealt with the aftermath. So, it¡¯s not that weird if Snow had his number. Maybe the other even voluntarily gave it to him. Just in case something happened to Snow again.


    Astrid smiled. This was even better. ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    Snow turned sideways as he called. That way, Astrid wouldn¡¯t be seen by the person he was calling on the other side. Soon, an overdressed man appeared on the screen. The moment the other saw him, he immediately showed a nervous expression. He really couldn¡¯t blame him. He heard the vice-chairman received quite the tongue lashing from his father because of the kidnapping incident.


    ¡±Young master Campbell, did- did something happen again?¡± the vice-chairman asked nervously.


    Snow showed just the right amount of angry and anxious expression on his face. ¡°Vice-chairman, it¡¯s terrible. I just saw a student being dragged to an unused utility room! I called my bodyguards to help and we just barely made it in time. Four of them were trying to¡ªI couldn¡¯t even say it. You must hurry and deal with these villains!¡±


    Wow. This was a pleasant surprise. ¨C Astrid thought as he watched Snow act and lie in front of the vice-chairman. Earlier when the other found out that he was the one who saved him, he didn¡¯t hesitate to volunteer to be an active part of the plan. He simply agreed because he had a feeling that the other wouldn¡¯t take ¡®no¡¯ for an answer.


    Even when Snow said that he was an acting major, he still didn¡¯t expect much. But oh boy was he wrong. The other looked like a high cold beauty at normal times. But he sure quickly fell into his ¡®role¡¯. Although still rough around the edges, this kid sure had talent for acting.


    Snow maintained his expression as he stared at the vice-chairman. The other looked like he was suddenly forced to eat something nasty because of the way his face scrunched up. This guy was definitely thinking ¡®how come there¡¯s trouble again?¡¯. But he quickly smoothed the creases on his face.


    ¡±I see. Please, tell me your location and I will quickly be there,¡± the vice-chairman finally said.


    After that, they both ended the call.


    Snow turned to Astrid and stopped. Because he saw the other thoroughly disheveled. His black hair was in a mess. The clothes he¡¯s wearing was crumpled. There was even a red mark on his face as if he was slapped. The red mark was even more glaring because of his white skin. One would think that he was accosted or something.


    If he remembered correctly, his call with the vice-chairman only lasted for about two minutes or something. So, he managed to do this to himself in that span of time.


    ¡±Is this really necessary?¡± he asked, clearly referring to the other¡¯s current state.


    Astrid showed a careless grin, a stark contrast to his disheveled image. ¡°I told you, I need to look like a victim.¡±


    ¡±Well, now you certainly look the part.¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Good.¡±

 Chapter 255 A TRIUMPHANT SMILE

    Three men were holding down four unconscious younger men. Based on the state of the four, there must have been quite the struggle here. Then, when she glanced to her left, she saw Snow Campbell comforting a beautiful black-haired teenager.


    The youth was in a terrible state. His hair was disheveled. His clothes were in a disarray. And there was a startling red mark on his cheek, as if someone had slapped him.


    ¡±W-what happened here?¡± the secretary said, clearly shocked by the situation.


    The teacher¡¯s expression turned ugly. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence could see what happened here. Before rushing to this place, the vice-chairman had already filled her in with what happened.


    Someone pulled the black-haired teenager to this unused utility room. Snow Campbell had seen this scene and quickly called his bodyguards to help the teenager. Between the time of his call and the time his bodyguards arrived here, many things could have happened. And the results of that was this teenager assaulted like this. If those bodyguards hadn¡¯t arrived, worse things could have happened.


    She glared at the four young men before turning to her secretary. ¡°Go and check the identities of those four. If they are students here, a simple facial recognition would do.¡±


    If it turned out that they were students here, then she¡¯d make sure that they would be expelled.


    ¡±Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± the secretary said, quickly doing what the teacher ordered.


    The teacher then walked towards where Snow Campbell and the youth were. As she got closer, she finally recognized the black-haired youth. It was that Astrid Townsend.


    She remembered because the other made quite the impression due to his outstanding appearance. She even heard that he had already signed to an entertainment company.


    ¡±Hello, I¡¯m the head teacher of the Disciplinary Committee, Miss Caldwell. Can you tell me exactly what happened here?¡± she asked.


    ¡±Ma¡¯am¡­ I¡ªIt¡¯s¡ª¡± Astrid¡¯s breath hitched, as if he was having trouble recounting what had occurred here.


    ¡±I can explain to her what happened here if you want to,¡± Snow said in a timely manner, there was also an appropriate expression of worry on his face.


    Astrid shook his head. ¡°No, no, I- I can do it.¡±


    He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself to the things he had to say next. But despite that, he was still trembling. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes. When he opened them, although his body was still shaking, his eyes were now filled with determination.


    ¡±I was on my way to class when I- I was suddenly d-dragged here. Then, those¡­ those four taunted me and tried to- tried to do unspeakable things. I- I tried to fight back. But- but I was clearly overpowered. I¡ª¡± Tears gathered in his beautiful black eyes. He bit his lip and tried to prevent them from falling. ¡°That¡¯s when Snow and his bodyguards came and rescued me. If not for them, I¡ª¡± A sobbed escaped from his throat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡ª¡±


    ¡±It¡¯s okay, Mr. Townsend,¡± Miss Caldwell quickly comforted him. She was now quietly cursing the four young men once again. ¡°You can take your time.¡±


    Astrid forced himself not to let a single tear slip up and continued, ¡°After I was rescued, we found out from these¡­ these despicable people that they were paid by¡ª¡± he stopped. A conflicted expression passed on his face. As if he was troubled whether to tell the teacher what they found out or not.


    Snow knew that that was his cue. So, he gently patted Astrid¡¯s shoulder, as if giving the other encouragement.


    ¡±Don¡¯t be afraid. You can tell the teacher who this villain is. I¡¯m sure the school will do something about him. If they don¡¯t, then I¡¯ll just tell my father about it and make sure that they do,¡± he said in an indignant tone.


    Miss Caldwell might have been offended by the latter part of what the other said, but she couldn¡¯t exactly refute it either. After all, she knew all too well that this academy wasn¡¯t exactly the ¡®cleanest¡¯ of establishment.


    If this person who paid those young men to do this to Astrid Townsend was from a powerful family, then it would be hard for them to punish the person. Especially since the victim seemed to have no connection at all. Well, now that the young master of the Campbell family had spoken, that would change how the school would handle this case.


    So, she said without hesitation, ¡°Mr. Campbell is right. The school will definitely punish the one responsible. So, don¡¯t be afraid and just tell me everything.¡±


    Astrid bit his lips. Then, took a deep breath once again. ¡°They said, they said they were paid by Jesse Norris. They were told to take photos of me in- in compromising positions. So that he, so that he could blackmail me.¡±


    Miss Caldwell frowned. She knew who this Jesse Norris was. His uncle was a wealthy business and his cousin was also an actor with who had considerable fame.


    ¡±Why does he want to blackmail you?¡± she asked.


    Astrid was silent for a few seconds before answering, ¡°Because Polaris is planning to sue him for libel. It was for spreading¡­ malicious information about me. I- I think he was planning to blackmail me so this suit would not go to court.¡±


    What else could Miss Caldwell not understand? She turned to Snow, asking with her eyes if what the other said earlier about letting his father handle this was the truth and not just mere lip service. The other seemed to have perfectly understood what she meant because he quickly nodded.


    ¡±The school will definitely give appropriate punishment to all who are involved in this sordid affair.¡±


    Astrid looked down and said in a quivering voice, ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am.¡±


    But what the teacher couldn¡¯t see was the triumphant smile that crossed Astrid¡¯s face.

 Chapter 256 NICE TO MEET YOU

    When they arrived at the infirmary, the doctor was not there. So, he took that chance to change clothes. A few buttons of his shirt came off while he was trying to make himself look like a ¡®victim¡¯. It¡¯s a good thing that he always brought spare clothes with him.


    He walked out of the bathroom after he was done.


    ¡±Sit, I¡¯ll put medicine on you,¡± Snow said when the other saw him.


    Astrid had no qualms on that and simply sat down. Snow then sprayed a medicinal spray on his cheek that was probably already swelling by now. He felt the cold touch on his skin and then the stinging slowly subsided until there was no pain left.


    Snow put back the medicinal spray back on the medicine cabinet. ¡°You know, a lot of students might have seen us while we¡¯re walking here. Since it seemed that you¡¯re already making a name for yourself, being photographed like you¡¯ve just been abused will probably not be a very good publicity. Unless, of course, you planned that as well so this Jesse Norris would be even more vilified.¡±


    He remembered the three bodyguards¡¯ expression while Astrid was doing his performance. If not for their professionalism, they would have probably had their jaws open because of the shock from Astrid¡¯s performance. That¡¯s how good the other was.


    Astrid showed an amused smile. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re badmouthing me?¡±


    ¡±Of course not. In fact, I admire your way of doing things. It¡¯s very efficient,¡± Snow said honestly.


    Although he didn¡¯t know the whole story, but based on the things that he had heard, he had no pity for this ¡®Jesse Norris¡¯. Whatever would happen next, he totally deserved it. But the way Astrid handled all that in a way that he wouldn¡¯t be disadvantaged at all cost was truly worth admiring. He could definitely learn a thing or two from it.


    ¡±Well, thank you. I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± Astrid said.


    Snow sat down on one of the seats there. ¡°If the school wouldn¡¯t do anything about that Jesse Norris, just tell me. As I¡¯ve said earlier, I¡¯ll let my father handle it.¡±


    ¡±With your assurance, I don¡¯t think the school would dare slack off,¡± Astrid said.


    Especially after that kidnapping incident last week involving Snow. Their weak security had almost cost one of their students to be almost murdered. Then, this happened. According to the Miss Caldwell¡¯s secretary, the four were outsiders hired by Jesse Norris. The latter provided fake student IDs that¡¯s why the four managed to enter the school.


    With another hit on their flimsy security, the school would definitely not turn a blind eye on this. Even without the pressure of Snow¡¯s father, they wouldn¡¯t dare do nothing about this. Of course, the threat of Snow¡¯s father hanging above them would definitely help.


    ¡±Nonetheless, if push comes to shove, my agent will definitely do something to rectify the situation herself,¡± he said.


    Speaking of, he probably should call Ellis about this. They should make plans on how to help Jesse Norris attain social suicide. After all, the other was just asking for us. Since Astrid was so accommodating, what else there was to do but to fulfill his wish?


    ¡±You signed with Polaris, correct?¡± Snow inquired.


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Why do you ask? Are you perhaps interested in signing with Polaris?¡±


    ¡±A bit,¡± Snow answered honestly.


    If this guy chose to sign with this entertainment company, it meant that it was not a bad company at all. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t naively think that it was all flowers and rainbows there. But it would probably be a lot better compared to other big entertainment company.


    ¡±If you audition to be one of their trainees, you¡¯ll definitely be accepted. But if I were you, I would start attending auditions so I could play in a drama or a movie, and then let Polaris scout you themselves. With what I¡¯ve seen earlier of your acting, they would definitely want you,¡± Astrid said. And he truly thought so. ¡°But there¡¯s a shorter route. I could introduce you to the company myself. I actually got in the same way. I just got lucky and their new agent took a liking on me. You could do the same.¡±


    ¡±No, I don¡¯t think I would have the same luck. I think I would go with the second method, thank you very much,¡± Snow said.


    The agent Astrid mentioned definitely had a good eye for talent. Any agent worth their salt would not sign Astrid just because of how he looked. They definitely didn¡¯t just look at the other¡¯s outstanding appearance, they certainly saw the talent.


    Although he¡¯s not that bad, Snow would never think that he¡¯s talented enough to be signed by any agent with just one look at him. Although with the influence of his father, that would probably be easy to do. But he might as well quit this career if he would only resort to that.


    Astrid only shrugged. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s expecting the other to agree anyway. ¡°By the way, thank you for your cooperation today. Everything went smoothly because of you and your bodyguards.¡±


    ¡±You did say that it¡¯s a way to repay a favor. So, no need for thanks,¡± Snow said. ¡°Could we exchange Terminal number?¡±


    ¡±Sure, I don¡¯t see why not.¡±


    The two then exchanged numbers.


    Snow stood up from his seat. ¡°I should go. I think I should attend one class this afternoon at least. How about you?¡±


    ¡±I¡¯ll stay here for a bit,¡± Astrid said. ¡°You know, to solidify my ¡®nervous¡¯ state.¡±


    ¡±Well, then. I believed I haven¡¯t said this yet, but nice to meet you, Astrid Townsend,¡± Snow said with a slight nod of his head.


    Astrid gave the other a toothy grin. ¡°Nice to meet you as well, Snow Campbell.¡±

 Chapter 257 HARLEQUIN NEWS

    A gossip account ¨C [Harlequin News] ¨C had written a post about the two people. This gossip account could be considered as one of the few that had a good reputation. They didn¡¯t post things just for the sake of drama. Most of the articles they posted turned out to be the truth so their contents were known to be very reliable.


    They also didn¡¯t have the habit of discriminating against small celebrities. That meant that they would post entertainment related news as long as they considered it be news worthy. Not only that, their reports were always done in an entertaining fashion. This was the reason why they had quite a number of loyal supporters that always tuned in to whatever news they posted.


    And this was their latest post;


    [Harlequin News v: A newcomer ¨C we will refer to him with the capitals AT ¨C made a buzz this past weekend for all the wrong reasons. And no fault of his own, mind you. After the release of a certain web drama¡¯s 100th episode trailer, some accounts seemed to praise him rather excessively.


    I must admit, this harlequin was very skeptical when I saw those comments. With my long years of experience, I could just tell that something was amiss. And lo and behold, it didn¡¯t even take an hour for me to be proven right. Someone was indeed doing something behind the scenes, controlling the threads, machinating everything.


    The principled Ellis Payne was kind enough to not mention the name of the perpetrator. But do you know what this harlequin had found out today? This person, no, this villain, rather than regretting his decision, he hired people to accost AT. Thankfully, a good Samaritan helped AT out and saved him.


    What could have happened if this good Samaritan wasn¡¯t there? Would a nice young man be forever scarred because of this bad experience? This harlequin is not as nice as Miss Payne. I think it¡¯s high time that we name this villain and let him be persecuted, don¡¯t you think?]


    Then, the name was mentioned on a pinned comment right after this article.


    Jesse Norris. That was the name.


    As expected, this post had caused a ruckus. Because even thought Astrid¡¯s name was not directly mentioned, anyone who read that trending topic this past weekend would know that it was him the harlequin was referring to.


    The people who were privy to the issue were very indignant after reading this. Especially those who commented negative things during that fiasco this past weekend. It might be because of their guilt, but they reacted rather violently upon reading the article.


    [Does this person not have a heart? How can he do such things?]


    [Unless you tell me that Astrid killed his parents or anything similar to that, then, I don¡¯t understand how he could do such a vile thing.]


    [Shouldn¡¯t this person be sent to jail or something? What if he does this again? Or worse, what if he straight up commits murder?]


    Comments like that continued on, expressing their desire to seek justice. After a bout of those, the next couple of comments discussed who ¡®Jesse Norris¡¯ was. And, of course, some of them happened to be students of Redwood Academy.


    [I know this Jesse Norris. He¡¯s a first year at Redwood. If I remember correctly, last week, he and Astrid Townsend had some kind of altercation. It was all over the campus forum.]


    [Oh, I have a copy of that video. Here it is.]


    And the video of the argument between the two was attached after that comment. Finally knowing the reason why this Jesse Norris was so antagonistic towards Astrid, the people became even more enraged. Add that to the new people who joined in with the ¡®fun¡¯, and this topic soon started trending again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid read the comments and some were truly quite, well, bloody if he might say. He didn¡¯t want to go into detail, but let¡¯s just say some comments were even telling him to, well, off himself.


    He would have felt guilty about it if not for the fact that this Jesse Norris probably wouldn¡¯t bat an eyelash if the same thing were to happen to Astrid. The other would probably even celebrate. After all, he did ask people to do that kind of thing to him just so he could somehow have leverage against him.


    He closed his Terminal and no longer cared for it. After all, at this point, everything was already a foregone conclusion.


    ¡±This harlequin guy is quite good,¡± he said before turning to Ellis and asking, ¡°Do you know him personally?¡±


    The both of them were in his apartment. Because of what happened today, they decided to have dinner together here and discuss what they should do with the situation. It was a good thing that they were thinking of the same solution. That was to let the public condemn Jesse.


    In this way, the other would be too busy fixing this mess to even think of doing something stupid again. And it would also be a kind of punishment for him.


    With them, not being directly related to this ¡®condemning¡¯, they would appear more like the victim in this whole situation. After all, if they went and directly named Jesse, some ¡®allies of justice¡¯ might think that they were being too much. This way, no one would point fingers at them.


    ¡±Yes, we worked quite a bit before I had gone to my ¡®retirement¡¯,¡± Ellis said.


    The other was only a small reporter back then. Who would have thought he would find his calling in making gossip post? She knew of the other¡¯s character, that¡¯s why she decided to give him this scoop. Because she knew that harlequin wouldn¡¯t embellish it and just tell it as it was.


    Reading his article, the other was still as flamboyant as ever with his words. The two of them could probably work again. Having a reliable gossip account behind Astrid would definitely help in some situations in the future.

 Chapter 258 UNEXPECTED VISIT

    ¡±Sister Ellis, it¡¯s not your fault. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. We couldn¡¯t have predicted Jesse Norris to be this, well, crazy,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t try anything after this.¡±


    He might think of it, but if there was at least one sensible adult around him, then they would definitely stop him from doing anything crazy again. Surely, they could see how bad it would be for Jesse if he continued this kind of actions.


    Ellis nodded. Although she still felt that she was negligent that¡¯s why something like this happened. She really needed to up her game.


    ¡±We¡¯ll continue to sue him and add this latest transgression,¡± she said. ¡°Do you want him to go to jail? What he did would probably enough to send him to prison.¡±


    ¡±Nah. His family would bail him out anyway. They would definitely try to make a deal with you. So, Sister Ellis should make sure to rack in as much money as you could. And also, make a signed statement that Jesse wouldn¡¯t go near me or try anything that could hurt myself or my reputation in the next five years. If he does, then, the agreement will be null and void.¡±


    The plan at first was to sue him and let him learn his lesson. But since that didn¡¯t work, they might as well earn some money while making sure that Jesse wouldn¡¯t be able to do the same thing again. Why five years? Because Astrid was sure that he would be so big by then that someone like Jesse wouldn¡¯t even dare to touch him.


    ¡±That¡¯s a good plan,¡± Ellis nodded in agreement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure to get a good deal.¡±


    ¡±I¡¯m sure you will.¡±


    ¡±By the way, the result of [The Great War] audition will be sent tomorrow. Once I received the confirmation that you get the role, I will immediately call you,¡± Ellis said, finally changing the subject.


    Astrid nodded.


    They talked for a bit more before Ellis said goodbye and left. He was preparing to sleep when he received a video call from his parents. He didn¡¯t think much and just answered it.


    ¡±Aster, are you alright? Who is that bastard Jesse Norris that tried to do that evil thing to you? Don¡¯t be afraid and tell your dad. I will definitely make him pay!¡± his father said, face fuming with anger.


    Emmy suddenly slapped her husband¡¯s arm. ¡°Can you please stop talking like you¡¯re some sort of assassin or something? You¡¯ll scared our son.¡± Then, she turned to Astrid. ¡°If that person hurt you in any way, your Uncle Leigh would be more than willing to send poison to him and ruin his face.¡±


    Astrid suddenly didn¡¯t know how to react. It¡¯s like he was bombarded from both sides and he became lightheaded. But one thing¡¯s for sure, if he said ¡®yes¡¯, his parents would definitely do what they just said.


    ¡±Ahm, please, calm down first,¡± he said. ¡°How did Mom and Dad know about this?¡±


    ¡±From one of our neighbors! They¡¯re really active in [Cyberspace]. When they found out that you¡¯re planning to be a star, they tried to look for any news about you. Then, he found this post today about you being bullied by someone named Jesse Norris. They also found out that you¡¯ve been bullied online this past weekend,¡± Emmy explained. Then, she gave her son a disapproving glance. ¡°If we didn¡¯t find out about this today, are you not planning to tell us anything?¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t know what to say for a second. He felt guilty because what his mother said was true. He was indeed not planning to tell them anything. In his opinion, such an incident was truly not a cause for worry. Of course, his parents wouldn¡¯t think the same. But still.


    That one second silence was enough for Emmy to know that her guess was right. She sighed. ¡°Astrid, do you think we¡¯re incompetent that¡¯s why you refuse to tell us any problems that you encountered?¡±


    ¡±Of course not!¡± Astrid quickly denied. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to worry. Besides, everything is under control. My agent is doing a good job of protecting me the best she could. This only happened because we didn¡¯t expect that this Jesse Norris would dare to do something like this. And nothing really happened in the end. You know how strong my mental strength is. Before those men could even touch me, they had already fainted. I¡¯m sorry if I didn¡¯t say anything. But I don¡¯t want you to worry unnecessarily.¡±


    ¡±Worrying is our job as your parents,¡± Emmy said. ¡°No matter how strong you are, we would always want to protect you in our own way. So, please, if something like this happened again, tell us. I don¡¯t want to learn something like this again from one of our neighbors.¡±


    ¡±Better yet, you should avoid things that could lead to such situations,¡± Gage added.


    ¡±Avoiding such things from happening is almost impossible in that industry,¡± Emmy said.


    Especially with their son¡¯s appearance. If Astrid had a big family supporting him from behind, this might not be that much of an issue. But in the outside world, he was just from a normal family. It¡¯s times like this that she wondered if it would have been better if she stayed in touch with her family. Not for her, but for her children.


    ¡±I promise to be careful from now on,¡± Astrid said. ¡°And if a problem like this happened again, I will try to inform you. So, please, don¡¯t worry too much, okay, Mom, Dad?¡±


    Emmy could feel that this son of hers wouldn¡¯t tell them much if a problem indeed arose like this one. Even if he did, he would probably tell them that he would solve it himself. Well, this was probably better than not telling them anything at all, at least.


    ¡±Is there still anything you¡¯re hiding from us?¡± she asked.


    There was and there¡¯s a lot. Like accidentally meeting her mother¡¯s family when they arrived at the capital, Reas having trouble with a Lancaster during his training at the military academy, or him being friends with the Empire¡¯s prince. All of those could put his parent¡¯s worry through the roof.


    He smiled, not showing anything. ¡°There are some little things. But they¡¯re not a cause for worry.¡±


    Times like this, he was truly glad that he was an actor. Because if he wanted to, he could lie with ease.


    His mother narrowed her eyes at him, as if scrutinizing whether he was telling the truth or not. But at the end, she could only sigh and let it be.


    Astrid talked some more with his parents before they ended the call. He knew this really didn¡¯t put his parents¡¯ mind at ease. He was thinking that when the doorbell to his apartment rang.


    Wondering who could it be, he stood up and walked to the door. When he saw the person on the monitor beside the door.


    He quickly opened it and saw a man with white hair standing there with his golden eyes filled with worry.


    ¡±Wulf, what are you doing here?¡±

 Chapter 259 UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY

    He stopped. No, he shouldn¡¯t be losing his temper right now. Shouting at Aster was not what he came here to do. He closed his eyes tightly. He took a deep breath, in, out, until he could finally calm himself down.


    ¡±Are you alright?¡± he asked. ¡°Did those bastards- did anything bad happen?¡±


    His army was having a drill with the Aegis Army today. Under normal circumstance, he wouldn¡¯t attend such tedious things. But General Schwartz would be there as well. As one of the few people he respected, he couldn¡¯t just not attend the drill. It would be highly disrespectful for the general.


    The drill lasted for the whole afternoon. Then, the general invited him to a dinner banquet attended by the soldiers in both armies. He couldn¡¯t refuse again. That continued on well into the night. And because the general discussed with him about some issue in the Empire, it took quite a while before he could finally leave.


    That¡¯s why he only found about what happened to Aster the moment he left the banquet venue. Because he only had the time to open his Terminal then. The moment he read that article about someone paying people to humiliate Aster in that way, he almost blew up. He wanted to destroy the things around him. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was the need to go to Aster right now.


    He drove here directly. Bypassing the security of the apartment was easy for him. Too easy, in fact. Another minus point for this apartment. Since Aster didn¡¯t want to move from here, he probably might as well increase the security of this place himself.


    And now, he¡¯s here, in front of Aster.


    The moment the door opened, the first thing he did was to look at the other from head to foot. Observing whether he was wounded in any way. He was only able to let out a sigh of relief when he saw that nothing was amiss. Of course, some things couldn¡¯t be seen with the naked eye.


    So, he had to hear from Aster himself if he was alright or not.


    Astrid was surprised seeing Wulfric here. The first thing he wanted to ask was how the other managed to enter the building without anyone informing him. But then he quickly realized how stupid that would be. This guy probably could enter any building he wanted as long as he put his mind to it.


    Then he saw Wulfric¡¯s expression changed from worry to anger to frustration, and then back to worry again. The way he tried to calm himself was also a bit amusing to watch.


    ¡±Since you¡¯re already here, let¡¯s go inside first,¡± he said, opening the door wide enough for the other to enter.


    Wulfric walked inside. The moment Aster closed the door, he once again asked the other if he was alright. ¡°Are you not hurt anywhere?¡±


    ¡±Yes, why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡±


    Although Astrid already had a guess on why Wulfric would ask him this, even on why he suddenly appeared here, he still had to make sure. Because the answer he thought of was just too unbelievable to even be considered.


    ¡±I read that article in [Cyberspace]. Have those people who tried to hurt you already been punished? And what about that Jesse Norris? If any of them are still roaming free, just tell me. I will make sure they will rot in jail.¡±


    Astrid wasn¡¯t able to completely understand the rest of what the other was saying because he was still stuck on the part that Wulfric found out about what happened to him from [Cyberspace]. Although he had already suspected it, he still couldn¡¯t believe it altogether.


    He stared, almost wide-eyed, at Wulfric. This prince, with all his temper and stubbornness, actually took the time to browse on [Cyberspace] no less. It¡¯s just so¡­ out of character.


    But here he was, directly telling him himself that he was indeed browsing [Cyberspace]. This fact enlightened Astrid about another thing. Which was more unbelievable than this current situation. But that was a discussion for another time. Or maybe for later.


    First, he probably should respond to what Wulfric had said. If he was just a tad bit late in answering, this guy might really put the five people in prison at this very moment. With the power he had, it¡¯s definitely possible.


    ¡±I¡¯m alright, Wulf,¡± he said with a reassuring smile. ¡°No injuries, whatsoever. And that article you read exaggerated the details of what happened just a tad bit. It¡¯s so I would appear as the victim and people would be more sympathetic to my situation.¡±


    A visible frown appeared on Wulfric¡¯s handsome face, showing a confused face. ¡°You mean it¡¯s not true?¡±


    ¡±Well, it did happen.¡± The moment Astrid said that, the confusion on Wulfric¡¯s face immediately turned to anger once again. So, he quickly added, ¡°But you know how powerful my mental strength is. Before they could even do anything, they already fell on the floor, foaming in the mouth if I might add.¡±


    Hearing that wasn¡¯t much of a consolation for Wulfric. Because the fact remained that there were people who tried to do that kind of thing to Aster. Just the thought of that brought extreme anger in him. He felt like he could explode at any moment.


    And the worst thing was, he knew something like this would happen again as long as Aster remained in the entertainment industry. But it was not his right to tell the other what he should or shouldn¡¯t do. Being an actor was something Aster aspired to be. Who was he to ask the other to quit just because he was uncomfortable with it?


    But he still couldn¡¯t contain his anger. He wanted to torture those people. Especially that Jesse Norris. Unbeknownst to him, he was unconsciously emitting bloodlust.


    He only came back to his senses when he felt something soft touching his callused palm.

 Chapter 260 BUTTERFLIES AFLUTTER

    Before he could think properly, his hand was already moving until their fingers were clasped together tightly. With their palms touching like this, he could feel Aster¡¯s skin more freely. It was soft like cotton and smooth like silk. He actually wouldn¡¯t mind holding this hand for all eternity.


    Yes, that wouldn¡¯t be bad at all.


    Astrid was startled because of Wulfric¡¯s sudden move. He was just trying to disturb the other¡¯s thoughts because of the sudden atmosphere that surrounded Wulfric. It¡¯s like his bloodlust suddenly took shape and was slowly covering this small space. It was quite suffocating.


    So, he thought of interrupting Wulfric¡¯s thoughts by touching his hand. He was just planning to shake the other¡¯s hand a little. He didn¡¯t expect that Wulfric would actually link their hands together like this.


    When he raised his head to look at the other, he could see a very soft smile on Wulfric¡¯s lips. Astrid was stunned for a second. This was probably the first time he had seen such a soft expression on the other¡¯s face. Without the usual arrogance, stubbornness, and the mocking smirk, all that¡¯s left was his handsome face.


    Staring at such a beauty, Astrid felt a fluttering in his stomach. As if butterflies were dancing there, spinning and doing pirouettes.


    Astrid stopped and instinctively pulled back his hand.


    Both of them were startled by this.


    Wulfric, who realized what he had just done, suddenly turned bright red. Thinking of the thoughts he had while holding Aster¡¯s hand, he felt his cheeks heating up even more. Just where did those ideas come from? Comparing Aster¡¯s skin to silk and cotton, thinking about eternity, they¡¯re things that could put goosebumps on his skin. And yet, just then, they didn¡¯t. In fact, he even welcomed it.


    He really didn¡¯t need to ask himself the reason why. Of course, he knew. It¡¯s not even that hard to accept. He was simply confused. Heck, he couldn¡¯t even name the emotions he¡¯s feeling. How could it not confuse him?


    The only thing he was certain about was the fact that Aster was special to him.


    While Wulfric was having his bout of confusion, Astrid was also having a fight of his own. Well, sort of. He was just completely taken by surprise. He didn¡¯t expect that just by seeing the soft smile on Wulfric¡¯s face, he would be all aflutter.


    That was certainly a new feeling. That¡¯s why he became a bit panicked. Thankfully, it seemed like Wulfric was also out of sorts because of his own actions. This way, Astrid had time to calm himself down and return to normal.


    He cleared his throat before saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about those people. I doubt they could do anything to me again. Don¡¯t waste your anger on them. They¡¯re not worth it.¡±


    He said not only to change the subject but also to stop the other from potentially trying to murder people. Although Wulfric probably wouldn¡¯t really go that far, it didn¡¯t hurt to be careful. After all, this guy was very unpredictable. But what he said just now was truly what he felt.


    He didn¡¯t want Wulfric to get his hands dirty just for those people. Because, as he said, those people were not worthy of the effort.


    ¡±Promise me, Wulf,¡± he added when he saw that Wulfric hadn¡¯t responded to what he said.


    Wulfric, who had now return back to his senses and had his faculties back to normal, felt reluctant. He didn¡¯t want to let those people go that easily. Not after what they did to Aster. But the side of him that still knew reasons understood Aster¡¯s point.  More importantly, if he always acted like this every time Aster was put in such situations, there would be a bunch of corpses lining around the capital soon enough.


    Still. Not doing anything was a bit hard to swallow.


    He took a deep breath and said, ¡°I promise I won¡¯t go out of my way to hurt them.¡±


    But that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t do anything to make them suffer in some other way.


    Astrid stared at the other, observing his expression. Seeing the reluctance on Wulfric¡¯s face but still forced himself to agree with him, Astrid felt a bit amused. It¡¯s like convincing a puppy to behave despite it wanting to just go wild.


    ¡±Sit down first. I¡¯ll go and serve tea,¡± he said, walking to the kitchen.


    Wulfric had no choice but to sit down on the couch. As he did, he now only realized that the two of them were actually alone together. He suddenly felt nervous and then frowned at his own foolhardy thoughts. What was he getting so nervous about?


    The two of them were merely in the same space. Feeling like this because of that, it¡¯s as if he was planning something untoward.


    Astrid walked to the living room with a tray of teapot and cups. He poured a cup of tea before giving it to Wulfric and sitting down opposite the other.


    ¡±So, is the reason you came here because of that article in [Cyberspace]?¡± he asked, drinking a sip of tea.


    ¡±Yes. The moment I read it, I didn¡¯t think much and just rushed here,¡± Wulfric responded very honestly.


    ¡±Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s¡­ a bit careless? I mean, you¡¯re a prince and a general to boot. Rushing here just because of an article, well, you know what I mean.¡±


    ¡±I didn¡¯t care for any of that. All I thought about was to check on you and see if you¡¯re alright,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°You¡¯re my friend. I think friends should protect and care for each other. Don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Astrid stopped for a bit and then smiled wholeheartedly. ¡°Of course.¡± He took another sip of his tea. ¡°By the way, Wulf, do you have a [Cyberspace] account?¡±


    Wulfric glanced away the moment he heard the question. ¡°I- No, I don¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter 261 UNMASKING

    Astrid stared at the other. He did remember asking Wulfric in a roundabout way whether he had [Cyberspace] account last time by asking him what account name he was using.


    He asked him that because of his off-hand comment about him having fans. The other directly denied it and said that he only knew about it because of Hildred. Like he just inadvertently saw it from his captain¡¯s account.


    ¡±Hmm, so, did you also found out what happened from Captain Hildred?¡± he asked in an innocent manner.


    Wulfric cleared his throat. ¡°Yes. Hil loves to browse [Cyberspace]. It¡¯s his hobby. That¡¯s why when he read that article, he quickly informed me about it.¡±


    Astrid stared at the other¡¯s face. That¡¯s actually a very sound reasoning. If he hadn¡¯t noticed the way Wulfric¡¯s gaze dodged while he was speaking, he might even believe it.


    The last time, when he asked this question and the other gave the same answer, he didn¡¯t think too much. After all, at that time, he hardly believed this guy could have a [Cyberspace] account. But now it¡¯s not the same situation.


    Wulfric rushed over here, still in his military uniform, the moment he found out about what happened to him today. Although his reasoning about Hildred telling him about it was pretty believable, the way he said it was the complete opposite of the word. What was that idiom, ¡®fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me¡¯.


    ¡±I¡¯m sorry if I asked something I had already asked,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s just that I suddenly remembered this one fan. Their name was White Wolf. I¡¯m not sure if their a male or a female. But with such a name, I couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of you. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t help but ask you whether you have a [Cyberspace] account. Of course, I never thought that it¡¯s you. It¡¯s definitely just a coincidence, right?¡±


    Wulfric coughed, covering his lips with his fist. Looking to the side. He was glad that he wasn¡¯t drinking tea at that moment when Aster mentioned ¡®White Wolf¡¯. He might have choked in it if he did. Then, he would appear more suspicious.


    He couldn¡¯t let Aster find out that he was ¡®White Wolf¡¯. Just thinking of all the things he had posted since making that account, he¡¯d rather buried himself in the ground than admit it was him. The fact that Aster could remember his handle name meant that he left quite the impression.


    If he knew that ¡®White Wolf¡¯ and him were one and the same, it would be so embarrassing. How could he still face Aster after that? What if the other thought that he was some kind of creepy stalker who had a hobby of hiding himself online? He absolutely couldn¡¯t let Aster know.


    While Wulfric was fretting on his seat, Astrid was observing his every expression. With just a minute, he could already tell the truth. He picked up his cup and drank a sip, hiding the smile that curved his lips.


    Well, well. Hello there Mr. White Wolf.


    This was really quite the discovery and quite the surprise if he might add. Thinking of the comments posted by White Wolf, handle name @astridsnumber1fan, he really couldn¡¯t imagine him being Wulfric.


    But the other being ¡®White Wolf¡¯ could finally explain a lot of things. Why the other could quickly get evidence to clear his name during that debacle this past weekend. Even giving complete evidence to Ellis.


    He had suspected that it could be him, of course. But his common sense just didn¡¯t allow him to. After all, this was the prince of their Empire. Yet lo and behold, his discovery suggested otherwise.


    Astrid put down his cup on the table. He didn¡¯t have any plans to ¡®unmask¡¯ Wulfric. At least not now.


    If he did say it, he was sure that the other would stop posting as ¡®White Wolf¡¯. For now, he didn¡¯t really want that. He wanted to see more from this online persona. It¡¯s probably unfair to Wulfric, but the other would probably prefer it this way. Because with him thinking that he still didn¡¯t know anything, he could be freer in expressing himself online.


    And this would also exempt Wulfric of embarrassment. With how this guy was, he might think this extremely humiliating. Which would then make things awkward for the both of them. Something that he really didn¡¯t want to happen.


    Another thing, if he could read what Wulfric thought, Astrid wouldn¡¯t think of this discovery as creepy at all. In fact, he found it quite, well, adorable. In that Wulfric kind of way. Just imagining him typing all those comments with an annoyed expression could easily put a smile on Astrid¡¯s face. It¡¯s just so uncharacteristically not him.


    But this also showed that the other considered him as somewhat special. At least, much special than a normal friend.


    This was not just him being narcissistic and full of himself. Considering Wulfric¡¯s character, there¡¯s no way he would have done such things if he only thought of Astrid as a simple acquaintance.


    Surprisingly enough, Astrid didn¡¯t dislike that thought. If he discovered this when they first met, he might have a very negative reaction towards it. But since the two of them had made considerable improvement in their relationship, he didn¡¯t mind the possibility that Wulfric might think of him as more than a friend.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that he would immediately reciprocate. Although he no longer carried any animosity towards Wulfric and he did find him adorable from time to time, that¡¯s barely an indication of anything.


    Well, he guessed time would tell.


    If Wulfric¡¯s ¡®special¡¯ feelings evolved to something more, then it was up to the other whether he could change Astrid¡¯s own feelings to match his. And he¡¯d be waiting. Who knows, maybe Wulfric could surprise him.


    For now, it¡¯s probably better to change the subject.


    ¡±By the way, I will appear in an episode of a web drama this weekend. If you have free time, maybe you can watch it?¡±

 Chapter 262 UNCONDITIONAL PROTECTION

    Remembering what Aster just said, he quickly responded, ¡°Are you talking about the special episode of [Blind Justice]?¡±


    ¡±Oh, is Wulf also familiar with the show? Are you a fan?¡± Astrid asked with interest.


    ¡±What? Of course¡ª¡± Wulfric stopped. He almost said that ¡®of course not, I only know of it because of you¡¯. Wasn¡¯t that directly telling the other that he was stalking him on [Cyberspace]? He might as well admit that he was ¡®White Wolf¡¯. He coughed immediately to cover up what he had already said. ¡°I mean, yes. I love the show.¡±


    Aster didn¡¯t respond immediately. Wulfric suddenly felt nervous. He almost resisted the urge to squirm. Could it be that the other was starting to get suspicious of him?


    ¡±I see,¡± Astrid said.


    He was trying hard not to smile too much. He could tell that what Wulfric was about to say was definitely not that. There¡¯s no way the other would have known about [Blind Justice]. He would bet he probably didn¡¯t know any actors or actresses. Much less their movies or shows.


    The only reason he could think of why Wulfric knew about it was because he was following any topics about him quite diligently on [Cyberspace]. It would explain why he could quickly defend him within minutes after those malicious comments about him surfaced.


    Really, how cute.


    ¡±Then, if you have time to watch it, I hope you will enjoy this coming episode,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I will officially appear on any media. So, I hope it would be a bit of success.¡±


    ¡±It will definitely be a success,¡± Wulfric said, full of determination. ¡°And yes, I will definitely have time to watch it.¡±


    ¡±By the way, how did you know that the show I will appear in is [Blind Justice]?¡± Astrid thought of asking.


    ¡±I saw the trailer. You¡¯re in it. So, of course I knew.¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows. ¡°But the trailer only showed my back. How did you recognize that it was me on the trailer?¡±


    ¡±I could recognize your back anywhere,¡± Wulfric said, matter-of-factly.


    Astrid surely didn¡¯t expect such an answer. Especially the way Wulfric said it. As if it¡¯s the most natural thing in the world. This answer, it definitely brought warmth in his heart. Filling it to the brim.


    ¡±I¡¯d very much like to hear your opinion about it once you finished watching,¡± he said.


    ¡±I will definitely do so,¡± Wulfric assured.


    The two of them talked some more before Wulfric bid farewell. Because it¡¯s already getting quite late and he couldn¡¯t possibly sleep here. Even though he wanted to.


    ¡±Before you leave, I still have a couple of dishes left from dinner. Do you want to take some back?¡± Astrid asked.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t even think and just quickly answered, ¡°Yes!¡± Realizing how enthusiastic he sounded, he cleared his throat and added, ¡°I mean, please.¡±


    It was the dishes made by Aster. Of course, he would want it.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Wait a bit.¡±


    He stood up and walked to the kitchen. He put the dishes in different containers and stack them together. After that, he gave them to Wulfric.


    ¡±I will eat it well,¡± Wulfric said before carefully putting the food containers in his space stone ring.


    He was still very reluctant but he knew that it was now time for him to go. But before he could open the door, Aster called to him. He glanced back, asking what¡¯s the matter.


    ¡±Thank you, Wulf.¡±


    Wulfric was a bit confused by this. Because he felt like he was the one that should be saying thanks. ¡°Whatever for?¡±


    [For your unconditional protection.] Astrid just smiled. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Even though he didn¡¯t understand much, Wulfric still grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll go now.¡±


    After walking out of the apartment door, he quickly contacted Leland.


    ¡±I want you to buy an apartment building.¡±


    Leland, who was just about to sleep, completely woke up because of what the other just said. ¡°What do you mean, your highness?¡±


    ¡±Just that. I want you to buy this specific apartment building.¡± Then he said the name of the apartment building where Aster lived. ¡°After you buy it, make sure to install the top-of-the-line security system on the whole building.¡±


    This way, he would be more assured.


    Leland¡¯s sleepiness completely disappeared. ¡°Wai- wait- your highness, what do you need an apartment building for?¡±


    ¡±Just do it, Leland. I promise, this is not something that will get any of us into trouble,¡± Wulfric said.


    How could it be when he just wanted to give more protection to Astrid¡¯s living environment?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next day, Astrid went to school without any problems. As if he wasn¡¯t embroiled in another issue just yesterday. He attended his morning classes in peace. Many gazes landed on him since the moment he entered the school gate. But he ignored it all. He only secretly paid attention to the things the people around him were saying. Especially those related to what happened yesterday.


    From what he gathered, Jesse Norris was expelled by the school and was no longer a student here. Aside from that, the school also tightened their security even more so that kind of incident would no longer repeat.


    Well, he hoped this time they did a much thorough job.


    He was on his way on his last morning class. It¡¯s one of his general classes that didn¡¯t have anything to do with acting. He was about to walked into the classroom when he saw a familiar figure ahead of him.


    ¡±Snow?¡± he called.


    The other stopped in his steps and glanced back. ¡°Astrid? You¡¯re also in this class?¡±


    Astrid walked towards the other. He wanted to ask why he didn¡¯t see the other here last week when he remembered that this guy probably took a week off because of what happened and only returned yesterday.


    ¡±This is probably the first class we have together, right?¡± he said instead.


    ¡±I think so,¡± Snow said. ¡°Do you want to sit together?¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Sure.¡±

 Chapter 263 A PLEASANT NEWS

    ¡±Are you alright, Astrid? We heard what happened. How could Jesse do that?¡± one said.


    ¡±It¡¯s the height of evil I tell you. It¡¯s a good thing he¡¯s already expelled,¡± another one added before turning to him. ¡°But are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Yes, thank you for asking.¡±


    ¡±Did those men try to do anything to you? I mean, I heard you¡¯ve been there with them for quite some time.¡±


    Astrid turned to the one who spoke. It was a girl. Although she looked like she was worried about him, he could still hear the underlying malice in her voice. It¡¯s like she was trapping him into saying that something indeed happened with him and those four bastards.


    He smiled and was about to turn things around when Snow, who was sitting beside him, suddenly stood up.


    ¡±Nothing happened because I arrived there on time with my bodyguards,¡± Snow said in a cold voice to the one who just spoke. ¡°If you¡¯re trying to take advantage of that issue so could put Astrid on a bad light, I suggest you stop now. You don¡¯t want to end up like Jesse Norris, don¡¯t you?¡±


    The girl suddenly shuddered. ¡°N-no, I didn¡¯t¡ªI just¡ª¡±


    Astrid looked at Snow with interest. He also stood up from his seat and said to the girl with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I know you didn¡¯t plan to insinuate anything. Your words may just have come off that way because of how you said it. But I¡¯m sure that not what you really meant. After all, it¡¯s not like you hate me, right?¡±


    ¡±Y-yes, of course,¡± the girl said, immediately agreeing.


    Astrid smiled brightly. ¡°I knew it. There¡¯s no way you¡¯d be like Jesse Norris. Hating someone without any reason, it¡¯s something I can¡¯t understand.¡± He said that last part with an expression as if he¡¯s holding back the sadness in his heart. ¡°Anyway, thank you everyone for worrying. I¡¯m really alright now.¡±


    Most of the students surrounding them showed a moved expression, as if they were touched by Astrid¡¯s words. Snow could only shake his head to this. If he so wanted, Astrid could probably trick all the students in this school that he was a sweet and harmless kid.


    That¡¯s definitely a talent in itself.


    He walked past the students surrounding them. It didn¡¯t take long before Astrid walked beside him.


    ¡±Do you want to eat lunch together?¡± the other suddenly asked.


    Snow glanced at Astrid and then shrugged. ¡°Sure. I don¡¯t see why not.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Kiran was waiting for Astrid at the greenhouse. He was walking back and forth, feeling all anxious. He just found out about what happened to Astrid. It¡¯s hard not to know about it when it¡¯s the topic of everyone¡¯s talk since his first class this morning.


    He had wanted to send a message to Astrid since earlier. But he thought that he might bother him, so he decided to wait until lunch.


    When the door to the greenhouse opened, he quickly turned to look in that direction. He saw Astrid walking in. He was about to walk towards the other when he saw the person walking beside Astrid.


    It was a guy probably around the same age as him. He was tall and lean with pale white skin. His light silvery blue hair curled around his small face. Just one look and anyone could tell that the other was a noble.


    A frown imperceptibly appeared on his face. Because of his life experience, he had no good opinion on nobles. But he also knew that he shouldn¡¯t judge a group just based on the few rotten apples it had. Although, if he¡¯s being honest, most nobles he came across with were certainly more bad than good.


    But since the other was with Astrid, he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Surely, Astrid wouldn¡¯t associate himself with someone who had a bad character, much less brought them here.


    ¡±Kiran,¡± Astrid called. Once he and his companion walked over, he quickly introduced the other. ¡°This is Snow Campbell, he¡¯s from the same department.¡± He then turned to the guy standing beside him. ¡°Snow, this is Kiran Hope, my friend. He¡¯s from the music department.¡±


    Snow glanced at the teenager in front of them. He looked to be much younger. Not just because of his shorter height but also because of his much petite body. Snow could see that it was not because it¡¯s an inherited trait. It¡¯s more likely caused by the lack of nutrition.


    The other probably had a rather hard upbringing. It¡¯s understandable why Kiran¡¯s eyes were so guarded. His gaze unconsciously softened as he looked at the other.


    ¡±Nice to meet you, Kiran,¡± he said.


    Kiran was a bit startled by the other¡¯s friendliness. ¡°Yes, hi. Same to you.¡±


    ¡±He¡¯ll be joining us for lunch,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Is it alright?¡± he asked Kiran.


    ¡±Of course,¡± Kiran said. ¡°But first, I just found out what happened yesterday to you. Are you alright? Is everything already solved?¡±


    ¡±I¡¯m alright, Kiran. The culprit has already been taken care off. And Snow here helped me on time, so nothing really happened.¡±


    ¡±Please, I didn¡¯t really help that much,¡± Snow said with a wave of his hand. ¡°Honestly speaking, I¡¯d say you saved yourself.¡±


    Hearing that Snow helped in saving Astrid, his guard certainly lowered by a mile. ¡°That¡¯s good. I was really worried, you know?¡±


    In fact, if he hadn¡¯t heard that this Jesse Norris was already expelled, he might have just searched for him at school so he could give the other a piece of his mind. No, rather, a piece of his fist.


    He was about to ask what really happened when they heard a video call notification.


    ¡±That¡¯s mine,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Excuse me.¡±


    He walked a few steps away from the two before opening his Terminal. He saw that it was a video call request from Ellis. He didn¡¯t hesitate and quickly answered it.


    ¡±Astrid, you got it! You got the role!¡±

 Chapter 264 A LAID-BACK ARTIST

    Although Astrid had already expected such a result, hearing this news still made him incredibly happy. And it showed. His face bloomed like a flower, anyone who saw him now could tell just how happy he was.


    As someone directly talking to Astrid, Ellis was the first one to see this happiness. She was immediately infected. ¡°Filming will begin on the last week of this month. Since this is a series, the filming will be much longer. They already gave me the schedule. The filming for your role will last for two weeks. And since right after, it will be the premier of [The Sleeping God], I suggest you take a one month leave from school.¡±


    Astrid nodded. A month would be good since he still had to participate with the promotions of [The Sleeping God]. After he finished filming all his parts in [The Great War], he would then attend promotional activities. Miria¡¯s MV would also be released then.


    It would definitely be a busy month for him.


    He¡¯s not complaining though. Just like what he said to Ellis before, the busier he was, the better. Because that meant more work for him.


    ¡±I will handle your leave application. You don¡¯t have to worry about anything and just go to school peacefully.¡±


    Astrid nodded and smiled at the other. ¡°Thank you, Sister Ellis.¡±


    The two ended the call then.


    When he walked back to where Snow and Kiran where standing, the other two quickly noticed the unconcealable joy on his face.


    ¡±Good news?¡± Snow asked.


    ¡±Yes. My agent just called me. She said that I got the role that I auditioned on this past weekend,¡± Astrid answered honestly.


    ¡±Wow, that¡¯s great!¡± Kiran said. ¡°Congrats, Astrid!¡±


    ¡±Congratulations,¡± Snow simply said.


    ¡±Thank you. I¡¯ll probably be gone for a month though,¡± Astrid said.


    Kiran felt a bit sad hearing that. But he soon cheered himself up. Feeling sad for his friend¡¯s good fortune just because he would miss the other¡¯s presence was truly unsightly and not what a friend should feel.


    ¡±I would surely miss your cooking,¡± he said in a joking tone.


    Snow raised one of his brows before turning to Astrid. ¡°You cook?¡±


    ¡±I dabble,¡± Astrid said with a shrug.


    ¡±What dabble?¡± Kiran looked at Snow. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him. He¡¯s just being humble. He¡¯s probably more skilled than any of those snooty chefs in high society. You¡¯ll know what I mean once you taste his cooking.¡±


    Snow stared at Astrid. The other definitely didn¡¯t look like someone who could cook. And according to Kiran, he was a bloody good one at that. ¡°Now I¡¯m intrigued.¡±


    ¡±Then, let¡¯s have a taste of the said food. Shall well?¡± Astrid said in a good mood.


    He took out a couple of food containers from his space stone. A delicious scent quickly wafted in the air.


    That afternoon, the three had a sumptuous lunch. Unbeknownst to them and to all, this was the beginning of the friendship of three people that in the future would leave their respective marks in the entertainment industry.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡±I can¡¯t believe this! How can Luan Escanor¡¯s role be given to a newcomer? This is preposterous!¡± a woman¡¯s scream filled the office. ¡°They said the role was already yours! The audition was only a formality. This is insanity!¡±


    When the woman didn¡¯t receive any response, she felt like she was doing a one-man show. She turned to the young man sitting comfortably on the couch, calmly drinking tea. The other¡¯s long black hair was braided, his handsome face didn¡¯t show any particular reaction to the news.


    ¡±Yujin, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± the woman asked, infuriated.


    Yujin put down the tea cup on the table in front of him and turned to his agent. The woman had bright red hair as fiery as her temper.


    ¡±What¡¯s the use of complaining? It won¡¯t change Director Scotts¡¯ mind. You know it too, Carmine. It¡¯s better to not stress out ourselves.¡±


    Carmine Clancy only felt like an inflated ball after hearing her artist¡¯s respond. Sometimes, he truly wished that the other was not so laidback. Although Yujin was talented and wouldn¡¯t turn down a role that he deemed ¡®appropriate for his skills¡¯, the other had a laissez fair attitude when it came to his career.


    Just like now. A role was stolen from him and yet he didn¡¯t mind at all. If this was any other person, they would have definitely screamed and shouted for her to do anything to take the role back.


    ¡±You know, I also wouldn¡¯t react this violently if the role was not given to that Astrid Townsend. You know how that kid already stole two jobs that were supposed to be for you. And now, we can add another one to the list! Seriously, if I didn¡¯t know any better, I might have already come to the conclusion that Polaris is targeting you or something.¡±


    ¡±I don¡¯t think I¡¯m such a bigshot for them to target me,¡± Yujin said shaking his head. Sometimes, his agent could really come up with these foolish ideas. It¡¯s becoming a talent in itself. ¡°It¡¯s just a series of coincidences.¡±


    ¡±Hmp! Even if you say that, I still don¡¯t have any good feelings for that Astrid Townsend. I¡¯m this close to doing a smear campaign against him.¡±


    Yujin¡¯s expression turned serious after hearing that. ¡°Don¡¯t. You know how I hate such things.¡±


    Carmine scratched the back of her head in annoyance. Ever since she decided to take this kid as her exclusive artist, her talents in that regard could no longer be utilized. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know. Why do you think I haven¡¯t done anything?¡±


    The calm expression on Yujin¡¯s face returned. ¡°There¡¯s really no need to be mad. After all, even if I didn¡¯t get the role I auditioned to, I¡¯m still part of the cast.¡±


    He turned his head to look outside the office¡¯s window. He wondered just how good in acting this Astrid Townsend was. He was looking forward a bit to the day they had to play against each other.

 Chapter 265 ASHS GOSSIP

    The military theory class had just ended and he was about to go to his next class. He stood up and was about to walk out of the classroom when he noticed that his desk mate hadn¡¯t stood up yet.


    He turned his head slightly to look at Ash who was staring intently at the space in front of him. That look, this guy was definitely using his Terminal, setting it in private mode so that no one would see what he¡¯s doing.


    He shook his head. Ash had been doing this every time they had classes that didn¡¯t involve training or fighting. He would just stare at his Terminal, most likely browsing the [Starnet] or [Cyberspace].


    But the academy wasn¡¯t so strict when it came to using Terminals unlike during their training. So, as long as a student put it in private, they could use their Terminals even during class. Of course, the students who were doing this could only do it during classes such as this one.


    Reas had a feeling that it was probably because the instructors knew that those that didn¡¯t listen to their lectures would most likely fail the monthly exams. Then, it would only be their fault for failing. He must say, it¡¯s a good strategy to instill responsibility to future soldiers of the Empire. At least to those who cared for their grades.


    He looked again at his roommate. Should he remind this guy to at least focus on the class? He didn¡¯t want the other to fail on his first year here. As annoying as Ash was sometimes, he could reluctantly admit that the two of them got along quite well. And yes, he had already thought of the other as a friend. To his utter surprise.


    ¡±Ash, let¡¯s go,¡± he called.


    The other seemed to finally realized that the class was already over. Ash quickly stood up and walked towards Reas.


    ¡±You know, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to listen to class once in a while,¡± Reas said as he walked out of the lecture hall.


    ¡±I¡¯m listening though,¡± Ash muttered with an uncharacteristic pout.


    ¡±Yeah, right,¡± Reas said, almost rolling his eyes.


    ¡±Fine, I¡¯m not listening. But it¡¯s just so boring!¡± Ash said in a dramatic way as if it wasn¡¯t his fault that he was not listening to the lecture. ¡°If I don¡¯t open my Terminal, the other alternative is to fall asleep. I think we both know what¡¯s better between the two.¡±


    ¡±If you continue such habits, you might as well fail at the monthly exams.¡±


    ¡±Are you worrying about me?¡± Ash asked with sparkle in his eyes as if some kind of animated character.


    Reas only gave the other a side-glance before ignoring Ash and continuing walking.


    Ash quickly followed Reas and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m used to cramming. I can assure you that I will at least have a passing mark.¡±


    Reas could only shake his head. Because Ash was clearly saying that it didn¡¯t matter since he only needed to have a passing mark. Well, if the other didn¡¯t mind, then he probably also shouldn¡¯t. If Ash managed to get in the academy, that meant that he had enough intelligence in him to pass the exams here.


    ¡±What were you always doing with your Terminal anyway?¡± he thought of asking.


    Ash wasn¡¯t able to answer immediately. His mind quickly thought of how he had been scouring the [Starnet] and [Cyberspace] for any sign of that person. The one who suddenly disappeared from his life without even any warning. Only one message.


    [Ash, I can¡¯t meet you in the next Summer of Alluna. This would be our last Summer. It would probably take a long while before we meet again. Maybe even then you would probably not be able to recognize me. I hope you do though, as shameless as that might sound. Until we meet again. ¨C your summer snow.]


    Since then, he had been searching for any crumbs that could lead him to that person. But it¡¯s been months and so far, nothing. Things would have probably been much easier if he asked his brother for help. But he knew his brother well enough to know that the other wouldn¡¯t help him. Especially after the mess he did when he- that person said his goodbye. If one could even call it that.


    His brother would only think him foolish if he continued on. So, he could only do it this way. As foolish as it might seem.


    Ash smiled, willing himself to cheer up. ¡°You know, just looking for gossips. By the way, you said your twin is attending Redwood, right?¡± he asked, changing the subject.


    Reas didn¡¯t notice that and nodded.


    ¡±You should tell him to be more careful,¡± Ash said. ¡°Just now, I read some gossip article about a newcomer that was bullied by his schoolmate. The two of them happened to both attend Redwood. Apparently, this schoolmate was jealous of the victim and tried to vilify him online. But it completely backfired. The victim¡¯s agent threatened to sue him but instead of repenting, this guy actually hired four thugs to do nasty things to that newcomer. Thankfully, their plan was foiled.¡±


    An imperceptible frown appeared on Reas¡¯ face.


    ¡±Maybe your brother knows this newcomer,¡± Ash continued.


    Reas stopped walking. ¡°What¡¯s the name of this newcomer?¡±


    ¡±Astre- no, Astrid, Astrid Townsend! Wait- the two of you have the same surname. Don¡¯t me tell me he¡¯s your twin?¡± Ash said the last one with a joking tone. But when he saw the sudden darkening of Reas¡¯ expression, his eyes widened. ¡°No way. Is that beauty really your twin?¡±


    ¡±Yes, he¡¯s my twin,¡± Reas said. ¡°Excuse me, I think I have to make a phone call.¡±

 Chapter 266 THIS WEEKEND

    He turned to Lauren. ¡°I¡¯m sure Lauren had experienced things like this since you debuted.¡±


    Lauren scratched the tip of his nose. He really couldn¡¯t deny that. In fact, even now, there were still people trying to push this narrative about him being this playboy prancing about seducing every actor or actress he co-starred with. If his acting was shitty, then, being a playboy was all he would be known for. Thankfully, he was a damn good actor.


    Lauren¡¯s reaction didn¡¯t escape Reas. He then remembered the things that he had read about the other. About all those ¡®scandals¡¯. He must admit that his judgement about him was affected because of those. That¡¯s why his first impression of Lauren was not that good.


    Thinking about it now, he was such a scum towards the other. How was he so different from the people who judged his brother? Such scrutiny and judgments, Lauren had been experiencing since he entered the entertainment industry. And now, Astrid would go through the same thing.


    Times like these, he truly wondered if all of these were worth it. But this was Astrid¡¯s dream. Just like how it was his dream to be a soldier. It was not his place to stop him just because he felt uncomfortable. He couldn¡¯t drag him away from his dreams in the name of ¡®protection¡¯.


    Seeing the silence of the two, Astrid knew that they understood what he was trying to say. ¡°If we get too angry every time an issue like this pops up, we will just stress ourselves up. It¡¯s best to just think of every negative issue as some sort of opportunity. Like some kind of test that once you passed will give you a high reward. That¡¯s better than getting worked up. Don¡¯t you think so as well?¡±


    ¡±Well, if you put it that way¡­¡± Lauren said because he really didn¡¯t have any comeback for that.


    Reas only sighed. ¡°Just give me a heads up if something like this happen again. I promise I won¡¯t go batshit crazy and immediately go on attack mode. I just want to be informed so I could give any support or help that I could.¡±


    ¡±Me too, me too! If there¡¯s anything I can help with, don¡¯t hesitate to ask,¡± Lauren added.


    Their conversation continued on in a much peaceful note. At the end, they even made an appointment to meet up on Sunday. It just happened that Astrid already promised Kiran that he would visit his workplace that day. So, they could just meet up at the piano lounge. He planned to also invite Snow. It¡¯s a good way to introduce his friends to each other.


    Since the day before that would be when the 100th episode of [Blind Justice] would air, Astrid was very excited for this weekend.


    ***********


    It was already nine o¡¯clock in the evening, but a certain part of Astreas Farm was quite lively. An empty space was transformed into an outdoor cinema. The neighbors and tenants of the farm were sitting in front of a huge virtual screen. Everyone had an excited look on their face. That¡¯s not all, there was also a table full of snacks on the side. One look and anyone could see that this was definitely a viewing party.


    That¡¯s right, everyone was here to watch the 100th episode of [Blind Justice]. Some knew of the show while some didn¡¯t. But there was one common thing about all of them. The reason why they¡¯re here was to support Astrid.


    When they found out that the teenager went to the capital star to pursue his dream of acting, most of them were quite surprised. After all, they knew that Astrid always had high grades in school. So, they assumed that he would go into scientific research or something. They even thought that he would be interested in agriculture since he always put forward interesting ideas about farming.


    But when they thought of the idea that the other would be an actor in the future, it seemed to be not so weird. And once they got used to the idea, all they could think of was, ¡®as it should¡¯. After all, it¡¯s only natural that someone with such a beauty should be known through the whole Empire.


    Yes, these people truly believed that Astrid would be known not just by them but also of all the people living in the Empire. And maybe they were indeed right.


    When the Townsend couple told them that Astrid would be appearing in an episode of a web drama, some of them suggested that they should do a viewing party where everyone could watch it together. Many seconded that suggestion. This was the first official appearance of Astrid as an actor. Of course, they should support it in any way possible.


    And so, they were here.


    ¡±It¡¯s going to start in a few seconds!¡± Emmy, who was sitting at the very front with her husband, excitedly announced.


    A few seconds later, [Blind Justice] finally started.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At the same time, at the capital, in the mansion of the Grimaldi family¡­


    A seven-year-old boy with silver hair was inside the mansion¡¯s home theater. His sapphire blue eyes were staring intently at the virtual screen, waiting for the start of [Blind Justice].


    His Uncle Casey said that Brother Aster would appear in this show. So, he had been waiting since an hour ago. It¡¯s been a month since he last saw Brother Aster. He really missed him. If only his dad would allow him to contact the other.


    Hmp, bad Father! If not for Uncle Casey, he wouldn¡¯t even know that he could watch Brother Aster in this show.


    Really, he couldn¡¯t wait to see him again!

 Chapter 267 100TH EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (I)

    Last week, a new client reached out to them, asking for them to destroy Kit Brooks. The method of reaching them was rather, well, unique. After all, what they were doing was technically a crime. They set up ads all over [Starnet] and [Cyberspace], the kind that only the most desperate would dare to click.


    After clicking the link, they would be automatically sent to the dark web. Specifically, to the site made by Remi. There, they would have to answer a questionnaire. And only those who gave the right answer would pass it. Of course, that¡¯s not the only thing involved.


    Remi had set up a system that would automatically investigate the person based on the answers they wrote on the questionnaire. That would be easy enough as long as they wrote their name and date and place of birth. He set up this kind of system so they could determine whether their client was truly a victim and deserving of their help.


    Once the person passed, he would be able to enter their official site. There, they would list the name of the person/people/group that they wanted to take revenge on. They also had to list that their object of revenge had done. Their team would then check if what the potential client listed was the truth.


    Once confirmed to be true, they would send an encrypted message to the client, telling them that they accept their request. Then they would make a plan to deal with the target.


    The client who contacted them last week was a university professor. Last year, his younger sister suddenly disappeared. He and his parents naturally went to the police to help them search for her. The result of the investigation of the police was that his sister ran away. Which, of course, they didn¡¯t believe.


    His sister was a bright young lady, studying art. She never caused any headaches to her parents growing up. Their family might not be extremely wealthy but they still had enough money to last them decades even if none of them worked. His sister didn¡¯t lack anything. Her mental state was also not in any way negative. The last time they saw each other, his sister was even telling him how excited she was of an art exhibition which she would participate in. It¡¯s simply not how someone planning to run away would act. So, he knew that there must be something wrong.


    Even with the result of the police¡¯s investigation, their family still continued their search for his sister. At first, they were still full of hope. But as days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, that hope slowly withered and was replaced by grief. And just a month ago, their worst nightmare had come.


    They received a call from another planet. It was from the morgue of a certain police station. They asked them to identify a corpse that was thrown in a metal dump site. When they saw the picture of the corpse, his mother immediately fainted. His father also almost had a heart attack. If not for the advanced medical technology, he might have died then. But even so, his parents weren¡¯t the same anymore after that. Especially after knowing the cause of his sister¡¯s death.


    According to the investigation, she died of drug overdosed. That was not the end of it, according to the police, she was working as a paid escort, a polite term for prostitute. He couldn¡¯t accept such a thing. Why would his sister with a bright future ahead of her do such a thing? Unless, she was forced to do so.


    He used all his savings to investigate what really happened to his sister. Since she was no longer missing, he thought the investigation would be much smoother. But contrary to his belief, things weren¡¯t easy at all. But through the perseverance of the private investigator he hired, he found out that the one who put his sister at a bar to work as an escort was someone named Kit Brooks.


    He quickly took the evidence to the police department of the planet where his sister was found. Telling them that the person responsible for his sister¡¯s death was this Kit Brooks. The police said that they would look into it. Who knew that it would only be lip service?


    It didn¡¯t even take them a week to declare that Kit Brooks was not responsible for his sister¡¯s death. After that, he completely lost faith in the police. And that¡¯s when he found the advertisement of Themis.


    Now, Remi was here. At the bar that Kit Brooks frequented.


    He walked to the bar and casually ordered whiskey.


    [Target on your three o¡¯clock.] ¨C said the voice from an almost unnoticeable earpiece he¡¯s wearing.


    He turned to that direction in a casual manner as if he was simply looking around. He saw a tall and muscular man about to climb the second floor. Then he put his arm around the shoulder of another man. Remi then only noticed this person who was standing beside Kit Brooks.


    He could only see the other¡¯s back, but somehow this image made him freeze on the spot. A myriad of emotions flashed on his face ¨C shock, disbelief, sadness, fear, longing, and¡­ hope. A hope that what he¡¯s seeing now was not simply a trick of the light or his own wishful thinking.


    In an almost inaudible voice, he found himself saying, ¡°Noa¡­¡±


    After subconsciously calling that name, his mind was suddenly transported to that time many years ago. Back when he was 10 years old. The day that he met the person who would greatly influence the trajectory of his life.

 Chapter 268 100TH EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (II)

    His parents were dead. The private spacecraft they were travelling on exploded while they were travelling. The military said that the spacecraft was attack by space pirates. After robbing the spacecraft, they blew it up to not leave any evidence. The feedback from the cameras set up inside the spacecraft certainly showed that. The pirates appeared, looted the spacecraft, after they left, it blew up. The conclusion could easily be made in that footage.


    But Remi didn¡¯t think that it was all that. There was definitely someone controlling everything from behind. And he was willing to bet his life it was his dear uncle.


    That bastard had been wanting to get his hands on the family fortune. But he wouldn¡¯t be able to do that with Remi¡¯s father around. Now with him dead, all the wealth of their family now belonged to that bastard. If it wouldn¡¯t look suspicious, the other would probably have him dead as well.


    So, the other only threw him in this third-rate planet far away from the capital star. That bastard would probably let him rot here as a waste. So, by the time, he came of age, even if he wanted to take over his family¡¯s consortium, no one in the board of directors would take his side.


    Remi scoffed. As if being thrown in this place would stop him. But looking at the vast greenery in front of him and remembering that he was all alone now, tears welled up in his eyes. He tried to wipe it away but it still continued to gather in his eyes.


    When he thought that it would finally fall, he heard a sudden thud from behind. He looked back and saw a thin boy slumped on the ground. As if he just tripped or something. When the other raised his head, Remi was startled. The boy had black hair and a pair of big black eyes.


    Although the boy was thin, obviously from malnutrition, no one could deny the other¡¯s beauty. The sudden surprised he felt made his tears completely disappear.


    ¡±H-hello,¡± the boy greeted with a toothy grin. ¡°Are- are you the young master?¡±


    Remi frowned. This kid was probably one of the servants or the son of someone working in the lands. After all, their family owned a considerable amount of land in this planet.


    He took back his gaze and said coldly, ¡°Go away.¡±


    Because he looked away, he didn¡¯t see the lost in the boy¡¯s eyes. But the boy quickly cheered up and stood up. He walked and sat beside the handsome young master.


    ¡±Hello, young master,¡± he greeted the other. ¡°Do you want to play?¡±


    Remi didn¡¯t answer. He was annoyed that his solitary was interrupted by this stranger. He stood up and just walked away, not even looking back.


    He thought that was the last time he would see the boy. But in the coming days, the boy kept on pestering him. Running after him like some kind of puppy.


    As the other continued to do that, he found out that the other was actually the son of the village drunk. The kid was working odd jobs in his family¡¯s estates so he could bring back money to his deadbeat dad.


    One day, the other suddenly didn¡¯t appear in front of Remi. He didn¡¯t think much about it. But then he heard two servants talking about the boy, they said that the other was probably beaten up by his father again that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t come to the mansion.


    Before Remi could think about it, he told those servants to bring him to the boy¡¯s house. As the young master of this mansion, of course, they couldn¡¯t reject him.


    They brought him to the nearby village. The place was very¡­ rustic, to say the least. It¡¯s like this place hadn¡¯t left the old age and still hadn¡¯t entered the interstellar era.


    ¡±Young master, there seems to be a problem,¡± the driver said, calling his attention.


    Remi took his attention away from the window and looked forward. When he saw the scene at a distance, he immediately understood the ¡®problem¡¯ the driver was referring to.


    In front of an almost dilapidated house, a man with bloodshot eyes was pulling a thin boy full of bruises on his face and arms.


    ¡±D-Dad¡­ I don¡¯t want to¡­ please¡­ please¡­ Dad,¡± the boy said, tears streaming down his almost sunken cheeks.


    ¡±Shut up! Mr. Gerald is kind enough to buy something useless like you so stop your whimpering!¡±


    At that moment, Remi could see the eyes of the boy dimmed completely. As if the last bit of hope in his eyes was completely dashed off.


    Remi felt like something congest in his chest seeing this scene. He walked out of the vehicle and walked forward.


    ¡±Whatever this Mr. Gerald is paying for the kid, I¡¯ll double it. So, give him to me,¡± he said.


    The father and son turned to his direction.


    ¡±Y-young master¡­?¡± the boy muttered in disbelief.


    The deadbeat seemed to hear what the boy said. ¡°Triple and you can have him.¡±


    ¡±Deal,¡± Remi said without even blinking. He turned to the driver who ran after him. ¡°Pay him.¡± Then, he finally looked at the boy. ¡°Will you come with me or will you stay with this asshole?¡±


    The boy bit his lower lip. When he raised his head, determination flashed in his eyes. As if he had already made a decision. He pulled away from his so-called father and ran towards the young master.


    Remi nodded in satisfaction before walking towards the vehicle. The boy trotted behind him.


    ¡±What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked, realizing that he still hadn¡¯t know the other¡¯s name.


    ¡±N-Noa. It¡¯s Noa, young master,¡± the boy answered with a smile amidst the tears still streaking down his face.

 Chapter 269 100TH EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (III)

    For seven years, he taught himself everything that he needed to know. It wasn¡¯t really that hard. As long as he could connect to the [Starnet], everything could easily be in his grasp. The [Starnet] was simply his playground. That¡¯s simply how good of a hacker he was.


    Hacking was something of an interest to him at first. But after his parents¡¯ death, he submerged himself into it. He didn¡¯t want to be just someone who had some knowledge about hacking or someone who could hack simple problems. He wanted to be the hacker.


    He was extremely dedicated to advancing his hacking ability. With his current ability, he could say with confidence that he could hack into this planet¡¯s national bank and transfer millions of star coins to his account without them even noticing.


    But that still wasn¡¯t enough. If he wanted the complete downfall of his uncle, he had to be better than he was now. He still had a year before he reached adulthood. When that time came, he could finally enact his plan.


    Remi¡¯s thoughts were cut off when he heard knocking on the door. Only one person would do this, especially when he¡¯s in this room. The corner of his lips curved up unknowingly.


    ¡±Come in!¡±


    He turned the swivel chair he was sitting towards the door. The door slid to the side and a teenager walked in carrying a tray with a bowl of porridge and a glass of milk. His black hair was a bit messy and his pair of black eyes looked at Remi with a bit of disapproval. And in the depths of them, there was an underlying worry.


    In this dark room, the teenager seemed to have a halo. As if his presence itself was shining brightly.


    Who would have thought that that thin, malnourished kid would grow into such a beauty? Remi was just glad that he managed to save the other before he was sold by that asshole of a father. Just thinking of the things that could have happened to that young boy if he hadn¡¯t gone to their house at that time could easily make him angered and depressed.


    ¡±Young master, it¡¯s already morning. You haven¡¯t slept and even forgot to eat dinner,¡± Noa scolded. He walked forward and put the tray on the small desk inside the room. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re doing with all these¡­ computers, it won¡¯t run. So, come and eat first. Then, after, sleep.¡±


    Remi stood up and smiled helplessly. He walked towards the small table and sat down. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± he said teasingly.


    ¡±You¡¯re not taking this seriously again, young master. You don¡¯t eat much, you only sleep a couple of hours a day. Look at how thin you are. If you continue on like this, you will really get sick.¡±


    Noa tried to show a scary image, probably thinking that he would be more believable if he did. But in Remi¡¯s eyes, the other only looked adorable.


    ¡±Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t get sick,¡± he assured Noa. ¡°I will always be here for you.¡±


    A red blush suddenly tinged Noa¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Young master should just eat.¡± He then turned around and was about to leave the room but then quickly stopped as if he remembered something. He glanced back at Remi, then added, ¡°Also, get some sleep. I¡¯ll wake you up once it¡¯s lunch time.¡±


    Then he quickly walked out of the room as if being chased. Remi watched the other¡¯s back and could only smile helplessly.


    **********


    The people currently watching the 100th episode of [Blind Justice] all had their attention at the virtual screen in front of them. Especially after the teenage version of ¡®Noa¡¯ appeared.


    The people who knew about the issue that happened last weekend couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. The one in the trailer was really Astrid Townsend! Most of them was very skeptical when someone mentioned that it was him, they even scoffed and said ¡®impossible!¡¯. Some even had a very violent reaction to it. But look, reality seemed to suddenly slap them in the face.


    While those who didn¡¯t know about the issue and was just enjoying watching the episode, couldn¡¯t help but be intrigued by the character of this Noa. Of course, that included the actor who was playing the role.


    The first moment that the teenage ¡®Noa¡¯ appeared in the scene, they couldn¡¯t stop focusing on him. It¡¯s not just because of his beauty. That was already a given. But it¡¯s the fact that it was not the first thing that they noticed about him. It¡¯s the worry he showed for the young master who saved him. At that moment, no one thought that he was just acting a role. They truly thought he was just ¡®Noa¡¯.


    For a newcomer to do that by only using subtle expressions and gestures, it was quite impressive. Just by that, one could see how talented he was.


    The scene on the episode continued to move. For 15 minutes they were blessed by a montage of scenes showing how Remi and Noa interacted with each other.


    They saw a side of Remi that they had never seen before ¨C playful, childish, bursting with life, and just¡­ happy. The Remi they knew was always cynical and indifferent. His eyes were like a deep abyss that looked at the world, not with joy, but with apathy. As if it wouldn¡¯t matter to him even if the world ended the next second.


    They understood then that the thing that changed him might be shown in this episode. And it might as well be connected to Noa.


    The audience were suddenly filled with trepidation. They wished that the peaceful life of the two teenagers would just continue. But of course, the director wouldn¡¯t allow them to soak in this warm feeling.


    Soon, a problem appeared. It was Remi¡¯s uncle.

 Chapter 270 100th EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (IV)

    He gritted his teeth. ¡°Very good. You truly proved you¡¯re your father¡¯s son, Remington.¡±


    On the report written on the virtual screen, Remington had never gone to the school that he enrolled him to. If that was all, it wouldn¡¯t really be much of a problem. But the thing was, he had been receiving annual reports about the other¡¯s grades and his performance at school.


    He always received that report on time. And what¡¯s written on there was Remington¡¯s barely passable grades and bad performance. He asked the school to send him this report so he could monitor his nephew¡¯s progress.


    When he received the first report, he sneered and thought, ¡®sure enough, if you don¡¯t give a wolf¡¯s cub a way to grow into a proper wolf, it would simply grow into a toothless dog¡¯.


    This was the reason why he sent Remington to a third-rate planet. So, the child who just lost his parents would mature into a coward and stupid adult. This way, even if the other became an adult, he wouldn¡¯t be a match to him. And Montgomery Consortium would remain in his hands.


    But what the f¡ª was this? If Remington hadn¡¯t attended the school he sent him to, then who the hell was sending him these reports? Then, there were also those reports sent by the spies he planted in the mansion where his nephew lived. According to his assistant, those spies had long been removed from the mansion. If they were no longer there, then again, who was sending him the reports? And why did none of them contacted him if they were forced to leave the mansion?


    Did this mean that Remington dealt with all of them? At the same time, he also managed to convince the school to send him false reports? No, impossible. How could a kid like that managed to do all those things? Someone must have been helping him. Maybe one of his brother or sister-in-law¡¯s friends?


    Osmond closed his eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. Damn those two. They¡¯re already dead but they¡¯re still causing him problems.


    No, this was his own negligence. He should have been more thorough. But in the past years, he had been complacent. Thinking that there¡¯s no way that brat, Remington could shake his current position. He never considered the possibility that someone could help the other.


    But that¡¯s alright. It¡¯s not too late to do anything. There¡¯s still a year left before Remington became an adult. He still had time to rectify this situation. He just had to find a breakthrough.


    He continued to read the file sent to him by his assistant. And soon, a creepy smile crossed his lips.


    Osmond stared at the picture of a black-haired teenager. He just found his breakthrough.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The next scene was in the town near the village where Remi¡¯s mansion was located. A black-haired teenager was walking in a supermarket, checking out different produce as he walked.


    Groceries were usually delivered to the mansion. So, Noa wasn¡¯t really used to grocery shopping. But just after lunch, the cook in the mansion asked him if he could go to the supermarket to buy some ingredients. According to the cook, these ingredients were somehow missing from the delivery at the start of this week.


    The one who would usually go to the market to buy things like this suddenly called in sick today. There weren¡¯t many servants at the mansion because the young master didn¡¯t really like many people invading his ¡®territory¡¯. Since there was no one else to do the job, when the cook asked him, he didn¡¯t hesitate to agree.


    After he finished buying everything that he needed, he checked out and paid. He walked out of the supermarket carrying the things he bought. If the young master saw him like this, he would definitely scold him. After all, the other had given him one of those space stones.


    But Noa didn¡¯t want to use something so precious just for something like this. It wasn¡¯t even needed in this situation since he could simply carry the things he was about to buy.


    He walked towards the part of the parking lot where he parked the land vehicle. But before he could reach it, he suddenly felt a sting on his nape. As if it was bitten by some insect. And then, he suddenly felt dizzy. Before he could even think what was happening, everything just went dark.


    ¡ª¨C


    Remi cracked his neck from side to side. He reached for the cup on his desk but somehow missed the handle, making the cup fall on the floor and shattered. He stared at the shattered pieces of ceramics on the floor. He didn¡¯t know why but his heart was suddenly filled with dread. As if something bad was about to happen.


    He looked at the clock and was surprised to see that it was already three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Normally, at this time, Noa would come nagging at him to remind him to rest. But weirdly enough, the other didn¡¯t come. The feeling of dread suddenly became stronger.


    Did something happen to Noa? That¡¯s the first thought that popped up in his mind.


    He shook his head. No, he¡¯s definitely worrying for no reason at all. But still, he stood up and left his work room.


    He was about to contact Noa using his Terminal, to ask the other where he was, when his Terminal rang first. The ring tone was for someone trying to request a video call to him. He opened his Terminal and saw that it was an unknown number.


    He frowned. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t answer such calls. But because of the unexplainable worry he¡¯s feeling, he clicked ¡®accept¡¯. But not before running a program to trace the call.


    When the call came through, what he saw on the screen made his pupils dilate in shock.

 Chapter 271 100TH EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (V)

    The only consolation Remi had in this situation was the fact that Noa didn¡¯t look hurt. But that didn¡¯t mean that his worry and fear subsided. Because whoever kidnapped Noa could easily hurt him at any second.


    ¡±Show yourself,¡± he said to whoever was pointing the camera of the Terminal to Noa. ¡°Tell me what you want, you bastard.¡±


    There was a chuckle. And then someone spoke without moving the camera. Obviously, this person didn¡¯t have any plan on showing their face.


    ¡±Don¡¯t be too hurried, young master,¡± said a man¡¯s voice. ¡°If you want to save this little servant of yours, come to the place I¡¯ll tell you. Alone, of course. If you try to call any authorities, I promise, the only thing that would be waiting for you if your servant¡¯s corpse. Seeing as how your servant is too beautiful for his own good, I almost wish for you to fumble. I¡¯ll definitely earn more selling this little beauty to a brothel. Of course, not before tasting him first.¡±


    Then it was followed by a disgusting laugh.


    Remi gritted his teeth, he could feel the veins on his forehead popping. An anger like never before filled his whole being. If he could, he wanted to stretch his hand through the virtual screen and rip this bastard to shred.


    ¡±Don¡¯t you dare¨C!¡± he growled.


    The other¡¯s response was another mocking laugh. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare? Remember, ¡®young master¡¯, I¡¯m the one who have the upper hand. So, just follow my instruction like a good boy, okay? That is, if you still want your little servant.¡±


    Then, the other hang up, ending the video call abruptly.


    Remi had to take a deep breath, trying to at least get a semblance of calmness. Because if he didn¡¯t, he might just destroy everything around him right now. And this was hardly the time for it. He needed to be calm for Noa.


    A message notification then sounded at that moment. It once again came from that unknown number. He opened it and read the message. It was basically telling him to go to a certain address listed on the message.


    The program he launched earlier just finished tracing. When he checked the address, it was completely different from the address that the bastard sent him. He scoffed. He could already imagine what would happen if he followed the other¡¯s instruction.


    Remi wouldn¡¯t let them get their way. That bastard or the person behind him. They would pay for this.


    And then he proceeded on executing the plan he just came up with.


    ¡ª¨C


    Noa slowly opened his eyes. He was still feeling dizzy, but he forced himself to come to his senses. Probably because he knew that staying unconscious wouldn¡¯t do him any good.


    When he finally managed to open his eyes, what he first saw was darkness. It took a while before his eyes adjusted to the lack of lighting. And that¡¯s when he realized that he was tied to a chair.


    A lot of things crossed his mind at that moment. But nothing like fear appeared on his beautiful face. What he felt was worry. He was worried what his young master would do once he found out that he had been kidnapped.


    He just hoped that the other would not put himself in harm¡¯s way just to save him. He would really give him an earful if he did.


    His hands were tied together at the back of the chair. He tried to loosen it but it didn¡¯t even budge.


    ¡±Don¡¯t try to remove it. With your thin wrists, there¡¯s no way you can untie it,¡± suddenly said by a gruff voice.


    Noa raised his head and saw a big, muscular man walking towards him. Because of the dim light, he couldn¡¯t see the other¡¯s features clearly. Until the other stood before him. Seeing the scar that ran horizontally across his face, Noa quickly recognized him.


    How could he forget how this person looked when he was almost sold to the other by his father?


    ¡±Gerald.¡±


    ¡±Oh, you still remember me. Good.¡± The other suddenly clutched his chin. ¡°You really grew into such a beauty. Now I regret that I didn¡¯t buy you faster from your father.¡±


    Seeing the disgusting smile from the other¡¯s face, Noa felt like vomiting. But he forced himself to calm down. If he showed even the slightest of reaction, he was sure that this guy would revel in it.


    ¡±What do you want?¡± he asked.


    Gerald raised his brow as if he didn¡¯t expect that Noa would have such a calm reaction. He let go of his chin. ¡°I don¡¯t need anything from you.¡± Then he smiled full of malice. ¡°The only reason you¡¯re here now is to be a bait for that young master you serve.¡±


    Noa felt his heart thud. Fear finally flashed in his eyes. Knowing his young master, he would definitely come here just to save him. That¡¯s just how foolishly kind he was.


    Gerald seemed to enjoy seeing him panic. ¡°I like this look on you. It suits you more.¡±


    ¡±What do you want from young master?¡± he asked instead.


    ¡±Me? I don¡¯t need anything from him. But the one who hired me told me to break him. I was thinking of breaking his limbs while letting him watch his beloved servant being raped. Even if those limbs heal, he would always associate the pain he felt while it was being broken to the image of you getting defiled.¡± Gerald leaned towards Noa. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Noa glared at the other, his eyes brimming with hate. Not because of what he said he would do to him but because of the possible effect it would have to Remi if something like that indeed happened.


    At that moment, he immediately made a decision ¨C that he would never let that come to fruition.

 Chapter 272 100TH EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (VI)

    He stood up with the chair still tied to him. It was hard but he didn¡¯t feel it at all. There was only one goal in his mind and that¡¯s all that mattered to him. He threw himself to Gerald with all the force he could muster. The chair was facing the other when he did. So, when he hit Gerald, the chair was the first one that came into contact with the other.


    Because of the force and add to Gerald¡¯s size, the chair broke easily. The impact hurt every muscle in Noa¡¯s body. But he didn¡¯t care. He quickly picked up a piece of the broken wood and stabbed it towards Gerald.


    The other who had fallen managed to move quickly. But the wood still slashed at his arm. The mockery on his face was now replaced with pure anger. He raised his hand and didn¡¯t even hesitate to slap Noa.


    The boy was immediately thrown to the side. His lips broke and the side of his cheek that was slapped was quickly becoming swollen. But he seemed to not feel that at all. Because he stood up and rushed forward again, still with the broken piece of wood in his hand.


    **********


    The following scene was very painful to watch for the audience. They saw the teenager continued to attack Gerald despite him constantly being punched or kicked. He didn¡¯t say anything. He just attacked with all the power his thin body could muster.


    All of them could see in his eyes why he was doing something so futile. Because he didn¡¯t want to be a burden to the young master who saved him and gave him a home. He was simply exuding with the determination that he¡¯d rather die than be a weakness to the young master he adored.


    Every time he fell and stood up, they wanted to tell him that it¡¯s okay. That Remi would never think of him as a burden. That he should just stay put and wait to be rescued. Their heart simply ached for him. They were feeling so anxious that they hoped Remi would arrive faster and save Noa.


    Their wish was fulfilled because the next scene shifted to Remi.


    **********


    Remi just landed the aircraft almost a kilometer away from the location where Noa was. This way he wouldn¡¯t alarm those bastards who kidnapped Noa. He then transformed the aircraft into a land vehicle and he continued to drive it towards the location.


    Just thinking of what he had discovered about how Noa ended up being kidnapped like that could easily make him enter a state of outrage. The cook that Remi thought he could trust was actually easily bought just like that. But at least the other was not so shameless as to continue staying at the mansion after what she had done.


    He would make sure that he would pay for that later. Right now, he needed to save Noa first.


    Soon, he saw the abandoned warehouse where Noa was being held captive. He parked the land vehicle on a spot that was not easy to see if one was standing near the warehouse.


    Stepping out of the vehicle, he took out his particle gun and rushed forward. He made sure that the path he took wasn¡¯t noticeable. He already downloaded the blueprint of this warehouse the moment he found out that Noa was here.


    Before even reaching the place, he had already disabled all the locks. So, when he arrived at one of the entrances of the warehouse, he was able to easily opened the door. He peeked inside through the gap but saw nothing because of the dimly lit light. But he heard voices. No, it was more like grunts.


    His fear was suddenly heightened a hundred times. But he still had to remain composed or at least as composed as his brain would allow him. He carefully walked inside, making sure that his steps were as light as a feather. But even if he was walking carefully, that didn¡¯t mean that his steps were unhurried. In fact, if he could fly, he had already done so.


    Remi walked towards the direction of the voice. When his eyes finally got used to the darkness, what he saw completely froze him in place.


    In front of him, a teenager was sitting on top of a man lying on the floor. He was holding some sort of wood and he was stabbing at the man under him like the latter was some sort of meat bag.


    He couldn¡¯t properly see the face of the man lying on the ground but he could see the blood splashing around. Remi rushed forward as if his body was moving on its own. He hugged the teenager from the back, holding the other¡¯s hand that was about to stab on the man under him.


    ¡±It¡¯s alright, Noa¡­ it¡¯s alright, it¡¯s okay now,¡± he said continuously in the best soothing voice he could muster.


    Remi felt Noa¡¯s body shudder. He easily took the wood the other was holding. Noa turned towards him and he almost gasped because the other¡¯s face was full of blood. Showing that he must have been hit on the head quite fiercely. It¡¯s not just that, even his clothes were torn. His body was filled with bruises and cuts everywhere.


    Remi gritted his teeth. He was on the verge of picking up that piece of wood and stabbing the bastard himself.


    But he stopped. Because Noa needed him. Not his anger. He carefully helped the the other up, as if he was protecting a treasure. ¡°We¡¯ll go home now, okay?¡±


    Noa stared at him and his eyes were blurred with tears. He couldn¡¯t speak because it was too painful, his jaw was probably broken. So, he could only nod his head.


    Remi was about to carry Noa when he saw a flash of light coming from the side. He immediately recognized it as the light coming from a particle gun. There was no time to dodge. There¡¯s only one thing he could do at this moment.


    He pushed Noa out of the way. Even if he shielded the other, it¡¯s unsure whether it would still hit Noa or not. Because lasers from particle guns had tendencies to pass through a human body. He then felt something hitting his chest. Thankfully, it¡¯s the right side or else, he would be lying dead now.


    Remi quickly pivoted and raised his gun to the direction where that shot came from. Then, he pulled the trigger and shot three consecutive times to make sure he wouldn¡¯t miss. He was a pretty good shot, so he¡¯s confident that one of those shots would hit the intended target.


    He fell down, blood continuing to pour out of the wound on his chest. In his blurring vision, he saw Noa scurrying towards him. The other¡¯s face was full of tears.


    ¡±Don¡¯t¡­ cry.¡±


    That¡¯s the last thing he said before he lost consciousness. And that¡¯s also the last time he saw Noa.

 Chapter 273 100TH EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (VII)

    That voice from his earpiece brought him back to the present. He didn¡¯t answer and just stared intently at the back of the man. The other seemed to feel his gaze and turned towards him.


    Remi suddenly felt his heart jumping to his throat. He was thinking what the other¡¯s reaction would be once he saw him. Would he be shocked? Would he cry and run towards him? No, what he truly wanted was just to hear Noa call him ¡®young master¡¯ once again. He would be satisfied with just that.


    But when Noa finally looked at his direction, when their eyes finally met, it didn¡¯t even last a second before the other took back his gaze and looked up at the man standing beside him. And when Noa smiled at that man, Remi only felt like someone had stabbed him at the heart and then continuedly twist it until it was cut into a thousand pieces.


    Before his brain could function properly, his feet were already moving towards Noa. Maybe the other just didn¡¯t see him properly. The lighting here was not very good after all. Yes, that¡¯s probably it. There¡¯s no way Noa wouldn¡¯t recognize him.


    But when he was just a few steps away from him, a big, sturdy body suddenly stepped in his way. Then, he felt his shoulders being pressed. Followed by a rough voice saying;


    ¡±What the hell, man? You¡¯re not acting according to the plan.¡±


    Remi raised his head and saw a tall man with a buzz cut. It took a while before his muddled head recognized who the person in front of him was. ¡°Get out of the way, Hunter.¡±


    ¡±No. Do you know what you look like right now? You look like someone who has been abandoned and was ready to do something crazy!¡±


    [Hunter, take Remi out of the club.] ¨C said a female voice from both their earpiece. [I¡¯ll take over.]


    Remi¡¯s expression suddenly changed and turned completely ugly. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare¡ª¡±


    Before he could finish what he¡¯s saying, he felt a something prickling his neck. The next moment, everything just turned dark.


    ¡±Tsk. This guy is going to kill me later,¡± Hunter complained as he supported the unconscious Remi.


    [Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll share the blame with you. So, go and take him out of here.]


    Hunter dragged-carry Remi out of the bar. When they walked out of the entrance, they bypassed a woman with flaming red hair and wearing clothes that simply demanded attention.


    ¡±Good luck, Callie,¡± Hunter whispered under his breath to the woman.


    The woman ¨C Callie only smiled before walking inside the bar.


    *********


    The next scene that followed was that of Callie ¨C the grifter of Themis ¨C trying to ingratiate herself to the mark ¨C Kit Brooks. With her beauty and her wiles, it was quite easy. Especially since Kit Brooks had an obvious weakness against beautiful people. By the end of the night, she was almost part of Kit Brooks¡¯ inner circle.


    With that, she also found out the identity of the black-haired man. His name was Noel. Kit Brooks introduced him as a new friend he met and got close to lately. It was hard to see whether the other was indeed just a ¡®friend¡¯ or someone involved in the kind of business Kit did.


    Before Callie could have a good read of him, the other had already left. With her alone with Kit, she increased the intensity of her attack until she finally able to make the other agree entered their trap.


    She probably had never worked so hard on buttering up someone like she did that night. The loyal viewers of the show also had a good laugh watching their cool sister Callie seduce and flirt a man like there¡¯s no tomorrow. If it was them, they might not even last an hour before they decided to give her everything they own. It¡¯s no wonder that this Kit Brooks willingly jumped to the pitfall that Callie made.


    This little scene was a good change from the heavy scene of Remi and Noa¡¯s separation.


    When Callie left the bar and returned to the manor they rented for this mission, he heard fighting coming from inside. She entered the manor and saw Remi and Hunter fighting. Or rather, it was Remi trying to land a hit on Hunter and the latter was simply evading the former. After all, if Hunter really fought back, Remi would definitely be sent to the hospital.


    Callie tried to stop Remi but it seemed that the other wouldn¡¯t listen to anything he would say. Unless, she said something that would attract Remi¡¯s attention. So, she told him about the black-haired man named ¡®Noel¡¯. Their current job was almost compromised because of that man¡¯s sudden appearance after all.


    **********


    ¡±He said his name is ¡®Noel¡¯?¡± Remi asked.


    Callie nodded. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get a read on him.¡±


    Meaning she wasn¡¯t sure what kind of personality the other had. Which was a first for her. Being a grifter most of her life, it had been a second nature to her to determine what kind of personality a person had. Being able to do that helped her in how to deal with other people, controlling their heart¡¯s desire.


    ¡±Whoa. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that this guy was a better grifter than you, Callie?¡± Hunter said with amazement.


    The silent Remi suddenly stood up and climbed the stairs.


    ¡±Hey, Remi, aren¡¯t you going to tell us how you knew this Noel person?¡± Hunter called out to the other.


    Remi paused in his steps. ¡°His name is not Noel.¡±


    That¡¯s what he only said before he continued walking.


    Hunter scratched the back of his head. There was a confusion on his face as if he couldn¡¯t understand what just happened. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the boss? Is he sick or something?¡±


    Callie narrowed her eyes, looking at the spot where Remi stood. ¡°Yes. He just got the most troublesome sickness of all.¡±


    ¡±What? What kind of sickness?¡± Hunter asked, already panicking.


    Callie turned to the other and smirked. ¡°Love sickness.¡±

 Chapter 274 100TH EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (VIII)

    Since their target right now was only Kit Brooks, it¡¯s better and much safer to only focus on him. Of course, there¡¯s a chance that the criminal organization might meddle with this and worst case, they might take revenge against them for what they did to one of their members.


    That¡¯s why they made sure that the plan they came up with would only affect Kit Brooks. And that by the end of it, he would end up in a situation so embarrassing, the criminal organization would disown him on their own.


    They would convince him to invest into something non-existent, let him pour all his money into it, and making him believe that the return would be a hundred times more than he invested. Then, on the day that he announced this investment to everyone, that would also the day he would be the biggest joke in this planet.


    The plan at first was for Remi to lure Kit Brooks and then let Callie to pull him further. But because of what Remi did or almost did at the bar last night, the role of ¡®luring¡¯ fell on Callie. Now that their role was suddenly reversed, it¡¯s hard to say if their plan would go on the same trajectory as they had planned. Especially with how Remi acted last night.


    But surprisingly, the next day, Remi was back to normal. It¡¯s like what happened the night before didn¡¯t happen at all.


    And so, the three proceeded on with their plans.


    Remi was still Remi though. Despite the changed in the plan, he still managed to act his role to perfection. But the audience could still see him being listless once or twice. Most likely because of Noa.


    But this Noa or Noel as he introduced himself didn¡¯t show up again after that bar scene. The audience was almost at their feet wanting to see when he would appear again. If they were on Remi¡¯s shoes, they probably wouldn¡¯t have managed to retain their calmness.


    And so, with this intense atmosphere, the stage for Kit Brooks punishment finally entered the last arc.


    **********


    Remi was standing on the second floor of the ballroom. He was looking down at the lively party below. All the attendees were the cr¨¨me of the crop of this planet. Kit Brooks really went all out with his invitations.


    Well, this was supposed to be an event that would catapult his position to the very top of this planet¡¯s social ladder. If that were to happen, then his position in the organization would definitely be solidified. Sadly for him, the only thing that would be waiting for him at the end of this party was his downfall.


    But he wasn¡¯t at all interested in that. Frankly, he was just being perfunctory. Just doing things to make sure that this job wouldn¡¯t be a failure. He was simply going through the motions. Because all he could think of was Noa.


    The moment he saw him in that club, he was all he could think of. But he also knew that he had responsibilities. He couldn¡¯t disappoint their client because of his own personal issues. So, he held back. Even though all he really wanted was to go to Noa and ask him what happened to him in the past 15 years.


    Yes, that¡¯s right. They hadn¡¯t seen each other in 15 years. He didn¡¯t believe that the other would forget him in the years that they hadn¡¯t seen each other. Either he was pretending not to know him or he had amnesia. It could only be one of those two.


    Remi tried to search for any data about the ¡®Noel¡¯ persona that the other was now apparently using. Surprisingly enough, all the data about him looked very legit. But what that data entailed was the complete opposite of the life Noa had led.


    This Noel was from a wealthy family and studied in the best schools. Now, he was even the president of an upstart company. He led an almost perfect life.


    If Remi wasn¡¯t Remi, he would have been tricked by this personal data. But being a hacker that could hardly be rivaled by anyone in this Empire, he could immediately tell that the data was fake. But he also knew that the one who made it was as good as those people from the intelligence division of the military.


    But why would someone from the military make such a profile for Noa? That was the real question here. Or maybe it was just done by a really good hacker unaffiliated with the military. Aside from that, there was also the question of why he was ingratiating himself with the criminal organization Kit Brooks was part of.


    There were so many questions but the person he wanted to ask them to was suddenly nowhere to be found. As if he¡¯s like a breeze of wind that just came and went.


    As if on cue, he suddenly saw a familiar figure at the corner of his eyes. He turned sharply towards that direction and saw that familiar back disappearing into the balcony.


    Remi didn¡¯t really think much and started walking towards that direction. Once he stepped into the balcony, it didn¡¯t even take him two steps for his own step to falter. Because the moment he walked into the balcony, the other turned around at the same time.


    Their gazes collided. And when Noa smiled at him, he felt like he just ascended to heaven.


    ¡±No¡ª¡±


    ¡±Hi, you¡¯re the president of the company Kit was trying to invest to, right?¡±


    And just like that, Remi quickly fell down to hell.

 Chapter 275 100TH EPISODE [BLIND JUSTICE] (IX)

    He wondered what could have happened in the 15 years they hadn¡¯t seen each other. He wanted to ask the other how he had been doing these past years. Was he doing okay? What kind of life did he live? But more than that, he wanted to ask why Noa suddenly disappeared.


    After that incident, he woke up in the hospital only to find out that Noa was gone. The police said that he was the only one they found at that warehouse. He thought it was another plot of his uncle. So, his plan to take care of the other had to be moved much earlier.


    But even after taking revenge on his uncle and taking control over his family¡¯s conglomerate, he still wasn¡¯t able to find Noa. He had already proven that his uncle had nothing to do with Noa¡¯s sudden disappearance. He didn¡¯t have any clue on where to look next. But that didn¡¯t mean that he would stop.


    In his search for Noa, he met Hunter and then Callie. Meeting the two led to them making this whole revenge business. The three of them had their own reasons for doing this sort of business. It might have just been a whim at the start. But as years passed by and the number of people they helped increased, they knew that it was something they would want to do for a decade more or so.


    This didn¡¯t mean Remi ever stopped looking for Noa though. Every time he thought he was close on finding him, the other¡¯s trace would then disappear. As if it never existed in the first place.


    Meeting the other now, knowing that he was using a fake identity with military level protection, there must be something hidden beneath. Which included the reason why he was trying to get close to Kit Brooks. And that¡¯s why Noa couldn¡¯t just openly recognized him.


    Remi had to believe that or else he might just collapse.


    He took a deep breath and smiled as normal as he could. ¡°No, I¡¯m only the representative. Mr. Brooks is kind enough to trust me and our company with his money.¡±


    Noa showed a surprise look for a second but it was quickly replaced by a friendly smile. ¡°It¡¯s Kit¡¯s luck to be able to meet you then.¡±


    Remi only smiled back. If he opened his mouth now, he¡¯s afraid that he might say something that he shouldn¡¯t. Something that would make him look extremely pathetic.


    [Boss, it¡¯s time. Where are you?]


    The voice from his earpiece finally gave Remi the excuse to leave. After bidding farewell, he used all the willpower his body could conjure to turn around walked out of the balcony.


    After he left, what he didn¡¯t see was the change in expression on Noa¡¯s face. A myriad of emotions flashed through his eyes. Longing and sadness being the two most prominent. He closed his eyes tightly as if gathering all his emotions. When he opened them again, all anyone could see was calmness.


    He then pressed the earpiece in his right ear and said to the people at the receiving end, ¡°Be ready.¡±


    **********


    The scenes that followed was with Kit Brooks telling the guests in his party about the investment he made. It was a company known for Mecha manufacturing and was pretty famous in the Artemian Galaxy. They would be building a new type of Mecha that could be stored in a space stone.


    Everyone at the scene gasped. Because that was a fairly knew technology. If it succeeded, then wouldn¡¯t Kit make a ton of money?


    Kit then said that the company had already made a prototype. So, they would be doing demonstration to show it to everyone. But since Artemian Galaxy was two galaxies away from the planet they were in, they could only watch the demonstration via a live video.


    Then, a huge virtual screen appeared in front of everyone. All of them were expecting to see a lab or something along those lines. But then what they saw was an animated clown laughing and shouting;


    [You¡¯ve been had! You¡¯ve been had! You¡¯ve been had!]


    After that, a card appeared on the screen. It was that of a blindfolded woman wearing a toga and holding a scale. People familiar with this card immediately understood what happened.


    It was Themis!


    This group scammed Kit Brooks. Now, not only his money was taken, even his reputation would now be in tatters.


    The star of the show ¨C Kit Brooks ¨C also understood what was happening. His face turned from red to green to blue. A reflection of what he¡¯s feeling right now.


    It was here that a flashback appeared showing how Themis fooled Kit Brooks into investing all his money to them. It was simple, really. Remi just had to make a fake video of a Mecha entering a space stone. Of course, this video was very realistic. If one was a layman just like Kit Brooks, they would definitely be fooled.


    ¡±Find those bastards for me! Find them now!¡± Kit shouted.


    But before his men could react, the door to the ballroom suddenly opened and uniformed military men walked inside.


    ¡±Kit Brooks, you¡¯re under arrest,¡± the leading man said. He followed that by listing all the crimes that the other had committed.


    Kit Brooks knelt down, he only had one thought at that moment ¨C it¡¯s over!


    **********


    On the balcony¡­


    Noa, who didn¡¯t care about what was happening inside, was leaning on the railings. He watched as an aircraft flew away into the night sky. He had no doubt as to who the three passengers in that aircraft were.


    The corner of his lips turned up. ¡°Until next time, young master.¡±


    **********


    The next scene was already the next morning. Remi in disguise was looking for Noa. But the other seemed to have disappeared like a bubble.


    At the end of the day, he could only clench his fists and looked into the horizon.


    ¡±This is not the end, Noa. I will find you. Definitely.¡±

 Chapter 276 THATS OUR SON!

    [I was still waiting for a continuation and then the ending credits suddenly rolled out? Please tell me there¡¯s still a continuation!]


    [The program team is really sadistic. What is this? Giving us a backstory like this but didn¡¯t even bother giving us any sugar. I demand another episode!]


    [Noa!!! You must be with our boss Remi!]


    [I want to know more about Noa! Can there be more episode with him?]


    [Noa is obviously boss Remi¡¯s first love. Have you seen his expression when Noa acted like he didn¡¯t know him? Oh, my heart hurts.]


    [There should definitely be another episode with Noa. We don¡¯t even know what happened to him when he suddenly disappeared for 15 years.]


    [If the program team doesn¡¯t bring back Noa, I will really sue them!]


    [Can we please talk about the actor who played Noa? He really did a good job. This is my first time seeing him. Had he been in another show?]


    [Upstairs, his name is Astrid Townsend and he¡¯s a newcomer. This is basically his debut show!]


    [No way! A newcomer? With his acting, I thought he definitely has experience.]


    [He¡¯s a pure newcomer and only 18-year-old this year!]


    [Only 18? I honestly thought he was the same age as our Remi!]


    [This is called ¡®acting¡¯. Astrid Townsend definitely has great talent.]


    [I will be a fan from now on! Does he have a [Cyberspace] account?]


    [Upstairs, here is Astrid¡¯s account @astridtownsend.]


    [But this Astrid is really a beauty. The weird thing is when he was acting as Noa, I hardly notice his looks and was just focused on his interaction with Remi. That¡¯s talent I guess.]


    [Just watching this, I can tell that Astrid will definitely be a big star in the future. Granted that he won¡¯t have any scandals or some other jealous artist decided to deal with him.]


    [I feel like Polaris will definitely push him as their next big star. They will definitely protect him.]


    [Who else wants him to be a permanent cast of [Blind Justice]?]


    [I think it¡¯s better to just have a recurring role. That way, the mystery around him won¡¯t die down too quickly.]


    [I really want him and Remi to be together.]


    [Astrid and Jordan definitely have chemistry. Even though they didn¡¯t give us any sugar, I still want to ship them together.]


    [True! We should make a cute couple name for them. How about AstriAn?]


    [Ohhh¡­ I like that! #AstriAnForever!]


    [That¡¯s such a cute couple name! It makes me want to ship them from now on.]


    [Guys, I think we should only ship their character. I mean, making a couple name out of their real name is just making it too real for me.]


    [Yeah, we should just ship their character. How about #RemOa?]


    [I think #AstriAn is much cuter to be honest.]


    [No, I agree that we should just ship their characters. So, go #RemOa for me!]


    While some were arguing about the ship name, some were discussing Astrid¡¯s amazing acting talent, others were requesting for another special episode, the hashtag #BlindJustice100episode slowly climbed into [Cyberspace] trending topics.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Inside the home theater of the Grimaldi family¡¯s mansion¡­


    Nicol excitedly glanced back at his father. ¡°Dad, did you see? Brother Astrid is so amazing!¡±


    Thomas Grimaldi nodded. ¡°Indeed he is.¡±


    Earlier when he was looking for his son, a maid told him that Nicol was in the home theater room. He went here and saw the other watching a show. Before he let his son continue watching, he first changed the monito setting into child-friendly mode. This way, anything inappropriate would be mosaiced or censored.


    It was only then that he found out that Nicol was actually watching this show because of his Brother Aster. The black-haired teenager and his twin left quite the impression on him when they had dinner together. So, he decided to stay and watch with his son.


    Thomas didn¡¯t have much opinion at first. After all, he had never really been interested in these things. That¡¯s why it¡¯s such a pleasant surprise knowing that Astrid was actually really talented.


    When Cassius told him that the other was an aspiring actor, he had some opinion. Not really negative but he just thought it¡¯s such a waste for the teenager to go into that kind of industry. But after watching him in this show, he could tell that Astrid must have really loved acting.


    That¡¯s good. It¡¯s always fulfilling to do something that one loved.


    ¡±Dad, why don¡¯t you try producing a movie and then make Brother Aster the main lead,¡± Nicol suddenly suggested out of the blue. ¡°I think Brother Aster is much more suited to be the main star than just be a guest in a show.¡±


    Thomas looked at his son with amusement. One could see that Nicol really liked the black-haired teenager. ¡°I think you should tell this to your Uncle Casey. He knows much more about this kind of thing than me.¡±


    ¡±You¡¯re right! Why didn¡¯t I think of that? I call Uncle Casey now!¡±


    Thomas just smiled when he saw his son scrambling to call his uncle.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At Astreas Farm¡­


    Everyone let out a round of applause after the episode was over.


    ¡±Was that really Astrid? My god! I can¡¯t believe that he¡¯s so good in acting!¡±


    ¡±True! I couldn¡¯t even find a trace of Astrid when I was watching him. I actually didn¡¯t even think of it.¡±


    ¡±Our Astrid is indeed very talented. If he didn¡¯t choose to be an actor, then his talent would definitely be wasted.¡±


    ¡±Maybe we will soon have a movie star in our midst!¡±


    Hearing such compliments, Emmy couldn¡¯t help straightening her back and push her chest out. She was all smiles, her eyes filled with unconcealed pride.


    Gage leaned towards her and whispered excitedly, ¡°That¡¯s our son!¡±


    Emmy raised her head. Seeing her husband overflowing with pride for their son, a bright smile crossed her lips. ¡°Yes.¡±

 Chapter 277 NEITHER ONE IS GOOD

    The virtual pod opened and Wulfric got out. He just finished watching the 100th episode of [Blind Justice] through the VirtualNet. Because of Hildred, he found out that there was actually an option in the VirtualNet where one could watch TV shows, web dramas, and even movies.


    When he heard that the experience was like being there at the scene himself, Wulfric didn¡¯t hesitate to watch using his virtual pod instead of just a simple monitor. And he was really glad that he did.


    Watching via a VirtualNet, there were two options for him. A god¡¯s perspective or a character¡¯s perspective. If he chose the former, then he could have full view of everything. If he chose the latter, then what he would only see what the character he chose would see.


    Of course, he chose the god¡¯s perspective.


    This was Aster¡¯s debut show, he needed to watch everything clearly and properly. But the end result was quite unexpected.


    He already knew that Aster was talented. He just didn¡¯t expect that he would be this talented. Aster¡¯s every gesture, his enunciation, his body language, the way he carried himself, all of it changed. The moment he appeared, he was no longer Astrid Townsend. He was the character he was portraying.


    The teenager Noa who later on became a man ¨C that was who Aster was throughout the whole episode. It¡¯s like the he truly watched the other changed from the teenager who only cared about the master who saved him to man full of profoundness.


    Yes, the make-up probably helped. But it was mostly his temperament. He didn¡¯t look like someone who was playing the role of an adult. It seemed that he really grew and matured. This was another testament to his talent.


    But even though Wulfric felt that the person he¡¯s watching was ¡®Noa¡¯ and not Aster, he was still uncomfortable seeing the other being beaten during that one scene. Not to mention seeing his ambiguous relationship with that person he called ¡®young master¡¯.


    Although he knew that everything was just ¡®acting¡¯, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel upset seeing that. And then, after feeling all upset, he immediately realized that things like this would often happen from now on. Maybe he would even watch Aster kiss another person in the near future.


    Just thinking of Aster acting intimate with another man or woman, Wulfric already felt congested. It¡¯s like something was blocking his heart and he didn¡¯t know how to vent it.


    He almost wanted to contact Aster and tell him that he¡¯s not allowed to do scenes like that. But he knew that he would be overstepping his bounds if he did that. He didn¡¯t have any right to sanction such a thing. And if he so even tried, Aster would definitely hate him for it.


    Maybe all the progress he had made with their relationship would be gone to zero at a blink of an eye. How could Wulfric let that happen? So, even if he was full of sour feelings in his heart, he could only swallow his dissatisfactions.


    He probably should learn to accept this now. That way, he would probably not feel so uncomfortable in the future. Although he truly doubted if that method would even work.


    Leaving the virtual pod, he sat down on a nearby couch and opened his Terminal. To alleviate the discomfort in his heart, he decided to log into his [Cyberspace] account and expressed his opinion about this episode. Of course, this opinion only included his thoughts about Aster.


    [White Wolf (@astridsnumber1fan): The performance of ¡®Noa¡¯ in [Blind Justice]¡¯s 100th episode was truly commendable. As expected of Astrid. The way he acted was not like a newcomer. Although I¡¯m not very familiar with a lot of shows, even a layman like me could tell that his acting ability was definitely not like that of a rookie actor. Astrid¡¯s talent is undoubted.


    [In the future, if someone would say that Astrid only got a role because of his face or because of some backroom deal, all I could say is that you¡¯re full of shit. This episode proved Astrid has talent. If he got a role you think he shouldn¡¯t have because he¡¯s just a newcomer, just know that it must be because he auditioned and he passed. Anyone who would think otherwise are simply jealous people who couldn¡¯t bear someone so beautiful and talented to succeed.


    [To Astrid, congratulations to your first show! You did a good job!]


    After posting that, he posted a moving emoji. It was that of a small white wolf doing a heart gesture. In which a pink heart would appear after.


    Because of the last incident where he defended Aster and even provided proof that the other was a victim, a lot of people started following his [Cyberspace] account. Right now, the number of his followers almost reached 50,000. That¡¯s why the moment he posted, a lot of people liked it and consequently commented on his post.


    [Brother! I¡¯ve been waiting for your post! As expected, you¡¯re still very poisonous. But I agree, Astrid really did a good job in this episode.]


    [What you said is true, Astrid¡¯s talent will definitely get him roles in the future. As long as he¡¯s not block by some jealous people, he¡¯d definitely be a star.]


    [As expected, Brother White is still Astrid¡¯s number one fan!]


    [Brother, do you think Astrid and Jordan suit each other? Their chemistry is undeniable, right?]


    [Upstairs, I think so too! Although they didn¡¯t give us any sugar, it just made me want to see them together again.]


    [Yea, they definitely need to us more sugar.]


    [Brother, which ship name do you think is better? AstriAn or RemOa?]


    Wulfric narrowed his eyes at the later comments. Although he didn¡¯t know what ¡®ship name¡¯ meant, it must be nothing good. Especially since it was followed by comments about Aster and that co-star of his.


    He replied to that last comment.


    @astridsnumber1fan: Neither one is good. Astrid doesn¡¯t need a ship name or whatever that is. He¡¯s fine on his own.

 Chapter 278 A VERY CUTE AND DEDICATED FAN

    ¡±What do you think?¡± he asked, referring to his performance in the episode they just watched.


    Reas raised one of his brows at him. ¡°Are you fishing for compliments?¡±


    Astrid shrugged with a smile. ¡°Maybe?¡±


    Reas smiled. ¡°You already know you did good. But if you really want my compliment, then here it is.¡± He looked straight at Astrid for dramatic effect. ¡°You¡¯re amazing.¡±


    Astrid grinned. ¡°Thank you, little brother.¡±


    Reas suddenly had black lines on his face when Astrid referred to him as the ¡®little brother¡¯. But since this was his brother¡¯s day, he would let it slide. For now.


    ¡±No need for thanks. You know it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡±You¡¯re making my head swell with all the compliments,¡± Astrid said, jokingly tapping Reas¡¯ shoulder. ¡°By the way, you haven¡¯t forgotten our appointment tomorrow, right?¡±


    ¡±How could I when you kept reminding me for the past week?¡± Reas said.


    ¡±I¡¯m just worried you¡¯ll bail out on me. Lauren will be there after all,¡± Astrid said with a teasing tone.


    Reas rolled his eyes. ¡°You make it sound like I¡¯m scared of Lauren or something. He and I, we¡¯re cool now. We¡¯re¡­ friends.¡±


    Now that¡¯s a surprise for Astrid. ¡°When did this happen?¡±


    ¡±When he visited here last time,¡± Reas said. ¡°We talked and came to an understanding.¡±


    Astrid smiled. He wanted to tease the other about it but stopped himself. If he did that, the relationship between the two might get awkward again. Since they had already came to this point even without his help, it would probably be better to leave the two on their own. Maybe one day the two would just tell him that they were together.


    ¡±That¡¯s good,¡± he only said. ¡°You¡¯re quite close to your roommate, right? Why don¡¯t you invite him tomorrow? It¡¯s a night for friends. The more, the merrier.¡±


    Reas¡¯ brows furrowed a bit when he heard that. Thinking of Ash, he could already imagine how chaotic it would be if the other was there. But he didn¡¯t refuse Astrid¡¯s suggestion. Although Ash seemed like he was always high on caffeine, he¡¯s pretty okay.


    Before, he was actually worried that Ash might get infatuated with his brother once he met Astrid. But after knowing that the other actually had a childhood sweetheart, he was no longer that worried. Especially after Ash found that article about Astrid and didn¡¯t really have any strong reaction about it. Except probably surprise at the fact that Reas and Astrid were twins.


    ¡±I¡¯ll message him now,¡± he said.


    Astrid nodded and watched his brother busied himself with his Terminal. Since the other was busy, he also opened his Terminal and signed to his [Cyberspace] account. He was quite surprised to see that his followers had increased exponentially.  It¡¯s now at about 700,000. He didn¡¯t expect that just one episode and his followers would increase by almost 300,000.


    He then looked at the trending topics and saw that #BlindJustice100Episode was now on the top 20 hot trending hour list. No wonder his followers increased as much. He clicked the hashtag and read the comments.


    Most of it were positive. A lot of it were praising his good acting and wishing that there would be another episode with him in it. They were hoping that he would have a recurring role in the show.


    The contract that he signed for the episode actually didn¡¯t mention any recurring role. But the way the episode ended, it really seemed like his character, ¡®Noa¡¯, would appear again. No, Noa not appearing again could actually cause dissatisfaction to the audience of the show.


    Well, he¡¯s sure that Ellis could deal with that. If he was called for another episode, then she could arrange it.


    As Astrid was reading the comments, a particular post caught his eye. It was made by ¡®White Wolf¡¯. Reading it, he couldn¡¯t stop the corner of his lips from rising. Probably because he knew who ¡®White Wolf¡¯ really was. Just imagining Wulfric writing this post, the smile on his face became even brighter.


    He read the comments below the post and he was amused seeing how the people were humoring him and responding to him like a friend. Then, he saw some comments asking Wulfric about a ship name for Astrid and Jordan.


    He only found out then that people were actually shipping him with Jordan or more accurately, their characters, Remi and Noa. When he read Wulfric¡¯s respond to that, he couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing.


    He resisted the urge to like the comment and even to respond. Wulfric could be really adorable sometimes.


    Since Astrid couldn¡¯t directly interact with the other¡¯s comment, he thought of sending Wulfric a message. But before he could do that, a message notification appeared on his Terminal. When he saw that it was from Wulfric, he quickly opened and read it.


    [Wulf: I watched that web drama you just appeared in. You were amazing! I¡¯m sure after this, no one will dare doubt your talent. I really enjoyed your performance. Though I do think you¡¯re more suited to be the main character. That¡¯s how much you shine.]


    Astrid smiled. Who would have thought this guy could actually write such thoughtful words? He certainly wouldn¡¯t think of it when he met the other a few months back.


    He replied;


    [Thank you, Wulf. I¡¯m glad you liked it. Your words made me happy.]


    Then he added a moving emoji of a cat with flowers popping around it.


    He hadn¡¯t waited for the other to reply when he heard his brother say;


    ¡±You¡¯ve been laughing and smiling since a few minutes back. What kind of interesting thing have you been reading?¡±


    Reas was truly startled when Astrid suddenly laughed earlier. When he glanced at the other, he knew that his brother must be reading something on his Terminal.


    Astrid turned to Reas and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a post from my number one fan.¡± His gaze softened unknowingly. ¡°A very cute and dedicated fan.¡±

 Chapter 279 DINNER AT LAPILLUS (I)

    ¡±How about your friend?¡± Astrid asked as they walked towards the elevator.


    Reas, who was busy protecting his brother from the unwanted gaze of the people they passed by, answered, ¡°He¡¯s having dinner with his brother. So, he¡¯ll be a bit late.¡±


    ¡±His brother is Wulf¡¯s lieutenant, right?¡± Astrid asked. He remembered Reas mentioning it one time.


    He had already met three captains of the Fenris Squad, which he thought should be renamed to Fenris Army at this point. But he had never met their lieutenant. So, when Reas mentioned this information about his roommate, it just kind of stuck to him.


    Reas felt a little uncomfortable hearing his brother refer to the general in such an intimate manner. But he had already told himself not to be too nosy in this matter, so he could only answer, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The two entered the elevator and told the AI robot which floor they¡¯re going to. Some of the people inside the elevator kept glancing at Astrid. Reas tactically moved in a position that shielded his brother from other people¡¯s prying eyes.


    Astrid smiled when he saw this. Although these people who glanced at him didn¡¯t really have bad intention, their gaze was more of curious or just amazed by his appearance, he still appreciate his brother¡¯s protective gesture.


    Getting off at their floor, Reas finally couldn¡¯t help but say;


    ¡±Won¡¯t you and Lauren be mobbed by your fans in such a public place?¡±


    Astrid chuckled in amusement when he heard that. ¡°First of, I¡¯m not really that popular yet to be mobbed. Second, this place is pretty high-end. I doubt people who go here would actually have a mentality of mobbing celebrities.¡±


    Reas seemed to be relieved by that. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good.¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at the piano lounge. The place looked pretty sophisticated. With simple decorations yet with classy and luxurious feeling, that¡¯s the best way he could describe the lounge.


    After entering, a male waiter quickly attended to them.


    ¡±Good evening, do you have a reservation?¡± the other asked.


    ¡±Yes, a reservation for Astrid Townsend,¡± Astrid responded.


    The waiter checked the virtual notepad he¡¯s holding. ¡°Please, follow me.¡±


    The two followed the waiter. The other led them to a table for six near the stage where the slick black piano was. Astrid purposely chose this so they could clearly watch Kiran perform.


    ¡±Will you be ordering now?¡± the waiter asked after both Astrid and Reas sat down.


    ¡±No, we still have companions that are coming,¡± Astrid said with a gentle smile.


    The waiter nodded and told them to call him or any of the waiters around if they were ready to order. After that, he left.


    ¡±Good place. The waiters are pretty professional. If that was any other person, once they saw you smile, they would definitely be a puddle of hot mess,¡± Reas commented.


    Astrid didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°What do you think of me, some kind of walking temptress? Not everyone will go gaga over me just because of my appearance, you know?¡±


    ¡±Yeah, not everyone. But most of them definitely will.¡±


    Before Astrid could contradict what his brother just said, they heard a familiar voice calling them from behind. Astrid glanced back while Reas simply raised his head. Both saw Lauren walking to their table after being led by the same waiter.


    To Astrid¡¯s surprise, the other actually sat beside Reas. And Lauren did it so naturally. As if he had done this on instinct. Astrid suppressed a smile. He resisted the urge to tease the two. He was sure that if he did, these two would definitely feel shy. It¡¯s better to just let the two develop naturally.


    ¡±I¡¯m not late, am I?¡± Lauren asked.


    ¡±No, we¡¯re still waiting for some people,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡±Congratulations on your debut last night!¡± Lauren said. ¡°You did amazing! Of course, I knew you would. Still, it¡¯s always a pleasure seeing you act. It kind of makes me want to guess star at that show as well. I could be the villain of the week, what do you think?¡±


    ¡±If you¡¯re really up for it, then you should do it. The whole crew is pretty good. I think you¡¯ll enjoy working with them,¡± Astrid said.


    Lauren looked like he was really considering it.


    It was then that Snow arrived. The other looked surprised seeing Lauren there. But his expression quickly returned to normal.


    ¡±This is Snow Campbell. He¡¯s also attending Redwood and also at the same year as me,¡± Astrid introduced. ¡°Snow, I think you already know Lauren. The one sitting beside him is my brother Reas.¡±


    Snow said hello. Although he was indeed surprised seeing Lauren Watts here, it was probably more surprising meeting Astrid¡¯s brother. Not for any other reason but for the fact that the other didn¡¯t look like Astrid at all. Of course, none of that showed on his face.


    ¡±Wow. You look so pretty. Your face is so small and your skin look so soft. It¡¯s like seeing a fairy in real life,¡± Lauren said, not holding back with his compliment.


    Snow had an awkward expression, unsure what he should respond to that. While Reas¡¯ expression darkened.


    ¡±Can you behave?¡± Reas said in a scolding tone. ¡°This is why you¡¯re being branded as a ¡®playboy¡¯.¡±


    Lauren pouted. ¡°What? I¡¯m just telling the truth! Is that so wrong?¡±


    ¡±Don¡¯t mind what Lauren said. He didn¡¯t really mean anything by it,¡± Astrid whispered to Snow. He didn¡¯t want the other to have a wrong impression of Lauren.


    Snow only nodded. He actually found it more interesting, watching Lauren and Astrid¡¯s brother bicker. Seeing how close the two were, the awkwardness he felt because of Lauren¡¯s straightforward compliment already disappeared.


    While the two were bickering, someone finally walked onto the stage and stood behind the piano ¨C it¡¯s Kiran.

 Chapter 280 DINNER AT LAPILLUS (II)

    Astrid couldn¡¯t believe that this was the same young man he met almost two weeks ago. Although he was still too thin for his age, at least his skin was no longer wan and there were no dark circles under his eyes. Probably the effect of being able to eat proper food and having enough rest as well.


    The styling he had now definitely helped as well. It seemed that the owner of this piano lounge really took care of his employees. Astrid noticed as well earlier that the waiters were all wearing stylish uniforms.


    ¡±Is that the other friend you wanted to introduce to us?¡± Reas asked.


    ¡±Yes. His name is Kiran,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡±Wow. He has very pretty eyes,¡± Lauren commented.


    Reas gave the other a side-glance. In which Lauren raised his hands as if in surrender.


    ¡±Hey, don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯m only praising him. It¡¯s very rare to see eyes of that color,¡± Lauren added.


    As if hearing knowing that he was the topic of the conversation, Kiran turned to their table. When he saw Astrid and Snow, a bright smile immediately flashed on his face. There were two more people on the table. One was a handsome guy with dark blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. He must be the celebrity from the same entertainment company. The guy just had that aura that celebrities had.


    The other one had ice-blue hair and a pair of indifferent teal-gray eyes. Since the one sitting next to this guy was the actor, then this one should be the brother. It¡¯s kind of surprising at one glance. Because the other didn¡¯t look like Astrid at all. From facial features to build of the body, nothing was remotely similar. Well, not that it¡¯s important. If Astrid said that they were brothers, then there¡¯s no doubt on that.


    Since his friends were already here, as well as some of their acquaintance, he better gave them a good performance. Thinking of the episode of [Blind Justice] where Astrid appeared as a guest, he felt energized. The other was working so hard for his dreams, he couldn¡¯t be left out.


    Kiran sat down on the seat behind the piano. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he had already decided on what to play. It¡¯s his recent composition. The one he made after meeting Astrid.


    This would be the first time that he¡¯d be playing it here or any public place in that matter. He simply felt that the occasion called for it. He put his fingers on top of the piano keys and let them glide like butterfly wings.


    A soft and beautiful melody then filled the piano lounge.


    Astrid was quite surprised hearing such a beautiful composition. He wasn¡¯t that familiar with the music of this era. No, to be exact, he wasn¡¯t that well verse when it came to music. Any kind of music for that matter. But despite that, he knew that the music Kiran was playing definitely wasn¡¯t just simple music.


    Forget the technical part, if he would just base it on how beautiful, not to mention how moving, the sound was, then Astrid could say with confidence that Kiran¡¯s talent was definitely out of the ordinary.


    He closed his eyes and let himself be surrounded by this wonderful music. Just by listening, he felt like he was transported back to their farm. To the peaceful days of him and Reas helping out during harvest season. With all the loving and caring people surrounding them. The warmth and nostalgia made him want to listen to it for a very long time.


    ¡±What is this song called?¡± Lauren asked.


    ¡±I believe it¡¯s an original,¡± Snow answered.


    Astrid was truly surprised hearing that. Not only him but Lauren and Reas as well.


    ¡±Then, I believe this little friend is a genius,¡± Lauren exclaimed.


    Astrid felt the same. He looked at the young man playing the piano. The other was full of smiles, showing just how much he was enjoying performing. Thinking of Kiran¡¯s background, he couldn¡¯t imagine how much more talented the other would become if he was just given to learn everything about the piano right from the very start. Maybe Kiran would have already conquered the music industry at this age.


    But the one thing that people in this era didn¡¯t lack was time. Kiran was still young. Even if he wasn¡¯t given the same opportunities as those rich young masters, he would still reach the height that he should as long as he was given enough time and the right support.


    Astrid was more than willing to be one of those supports. And he believed that as time went by, the number of people supporting Kiran would only increase.


    He opened his Terminal and recorded Kiran¡¯s performance. He was planning to send it to his agent. Although he wasn¡¯t familiar with Polaris¡¯ music department, maybe Ellis could show it some of the higher-ups there. Maybe one of them could hire Kiran as a composer.


    Unbeknownst to Astrid, Lauren was also doing the same thing. But what he thought was getting his agent to sign Kiran as an artist. If this guy could sing, then he could easily be Polaris¡¯ next pop star. Maybe he could even dethrone the current ¡®god of music¡¯ ¨C Shir Atkins.


    Snow noticed the little movements of the two. He also recorded the music, but only the piano sound. He was thinking of advising Kiran to apply for a copyright for this. Not only this but also all the original songs that he might have composed. This could help Kiran in legal battles just in case some shameless person plagiarized what he had composed.


    While the three was thinking how to help Kiran, Reas simply called the waiter so the four of them could finally order dinner and eat.

 Chapter 281 SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR

    ¡±You should participate in the next round of Polaris¡¯ audition,¡± Lauren said to Snow. ¡°With your looks alone, you will definitely pass. Honestly, if my agent is still looking to sign another actor, I would definitely tell him to sign you.¡±


    ¡±I was actually also thinking of suggesting the same thing to my agent,¡± Astrid seconded. Although Ellis would probably not personally take in Snow. Since the other had already made it clear to him that she wouldn¡¯t sign another artist besides him.


    ¡±Thank you, but it¡¯s fine,¡± Snow said. ¡°If I ever plan to join Polaris, I want to do it with my own abilities.¡±


    He already had so many advantages. If he asked his father, the other would probably directly put him in Kaleido, under the supervision of one of its gold agents. But Snow didn¡¯t want that. It¡¯s probably something small and insignificant. But he wanted to do his best and be recognized because of his skills.


    Look at Astrid. He was sure that the other didn¡¯t have any backstage. But he still managed to get scouted by Polaris as soon as he arrived in the capital star. And because of his talent, he already started his journey as an actor. He wished that he could also do the same. It¡¯s probably the only way he would be satisfied.


    Lauren didn¡¯t say much. He could probably understand this kid¡¯s mentality. The thought of wanting to make it on his own just by relying on his talent. And there¡¯s nothing wrong with that. If he could keep that drive, then that ambition would definitely bear fruit.


    ¡±But if you need help, don¡¯t hesitate to ask,¡± Astrid said.


    The corner of Snow¡¯s lips turned up, showing a small smile. ¡°Okay.¡±


    When they finished their dinner, it was also time for Kiran to take a break. Of course, the other didn¡¯t hesitate to go to their table.


    Astrid introduced Reas and Lauren to Kiran then.


    ¡±You were amazing at the piano just now. Were the pieces you played all originals?¡± Lauren asked.


    ¡±Yes,¡± Kiran answered after taking a seat beside Snow.


    ¡±That¡¯s amazing! Have you ever thought of adapting the music you composed into a pop or ballad song? I think it will definitely be a hit,¡± Lauren added. ¡°If you ever planned to in the future, please consider Polaris first. Although Polaris is not the biggest company when it came to music, our singers are doing pretty well on the charts. If they¡¯re given songs made by you, I¡¯m sure they would immediately climb to stardom.¡±


    Astrid looked at Lauren amusedly. The way the other was speaking, it felt like he¡¯s one of the company¡¯s agents instead of its artist. He turned to Kiran, the other had a tangled expression on his face, all the while blushing with red cheeks.


    Kiran probably felt shy hearing Lauren¡¯s unabashed compliments. But still didn¡¯t know how to react to the rest of what the other said. Thus, the tangled expression. He was probably thinking on how to respond to what Lauren said.


    ¡±The first song you played, what was it called?¡± Astrid asked, changing the subject to help Kiran out from his little predicament.


    ¡±Over the Greenfields,¡± Kiran answered, thankful to Astrid for changing the topic.


    He composed this piano piece while thinking of a place that could be a sanctuary from all the negative things in the world. A sanctuary not just for him for everyone else as well. He really liked how it turned out. It¡¯s probably one of his favorite piece right now.


    It was then that Snow received a message from his Terminal. It was from one of his bodyguards. Telling him that his second brother just entered the building. He didn¡¯t think that the other was here for him. This commercial building had one or two bars in it. It¡¯s highly probable that one of those was that jerk¡¯s destination. But he couldn¡¯t risk it.


    If that guy saw him here together with the others, that bastard would definitely harass his friends. Especially Astrid. The other was just that guy¡¯s type. Add to the fact that Astrid was his friend, it would just give that jerk more incentive to harass the other.


    So, before any of that could happen, he decided that it¡¯s better to leave.


    ¡±Excuse me, I have to leave,¡± he said to the others. ¡°There¡¯s an emergency at home. I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t stay for longer.¡±


    ¡±Hey, there¡¯s no need to say sorry. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s your fault that you have to leave,¡± Kiran said.


    ¡±The kid is right,¡± Lauren seconded.


    ¡±Is everything okay?¡± Astrid asked referring to the emergency.


    ¡±Yes,¡± Snow said, feeling warm. ¡°I had fun today,¡± he added with a small smile.


    He bid goodbye to the others and walked out of the piano lounge. The moment he did, two of his bodyguards immediately stood on each of his sides.


    They walked forward and stood in front of the elevator. When it opened, a young man who¡¯s inside walked out. Snow was frozen in place when he saw the other¡¯s face. Gray hair and light-green eyes ¨C it was a face would probably never forget in his life.


    Every step the young man took, he felt like his heart would jump out of his chest. And when the other passed by him without even giving him a glance, that heart simply took a dive and sank.


    ¡±What¡¯s wrong, young master?¡± one of the bodyguards asked when Snow didn¡¯t enter the elevator.


    Snow took a deep breath, forcing himself to be as normal as he could.


    ¡±Nothing,¡± he said and walked inside.


    Ash looked back and only saw a closed elevator. He wondered why he thought that guy was familiar when he had never seen him before. He shrugged and just continued on his way towards the piano lounge.

 Chapter 282 MISSING SOMETHING

    ¡±Are you really Reas¡¯ twin?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but asked.


    Astrid looked at this guy named Ash with amusement. One look and he could tell that the other was probably the type to babble nonsense often. With such a personality, it was surprising that the other could actually get close to Reas.


    ¡±Well, last time I check, I still am,¡± he said in a playful tone.


    Kiran, who was listening at the conversation, was totally shocked hearing that. In fact, he was so shock that he couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°You¡¯re twins?¡±


    Ash looked at the teenager with sunset-colored eyes. They had already introduced themselves to each other earlier. This kid¡¯s name was Kiran, Astrid¡¯s schoolmate. He suddenly felt a bit of camaraderie for the other because he had the same reaction as him when he found out that the twin Reas talked about before was actually this black-haired beauty.


    ¡±I know, right? They totally don¡¯t look alike!¡± he said with an expression of ¡®I knew I¡¯m not the only one who thought so!¡¯.


    Seeing the proud expression on Ash¡¯s face, Kiran suddenly felt that his reaction was a bit rude and exaggerated. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean anything bad. It¡¯s just¡­ well, surprising.¡±


    ¡±It¡¯s fine. We always get the same reaction every time people found out that we¡¯re twins. We¡¯re used to it,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡±Personally, I find it quite magical,¡± Lauren commented.


    Reas had increasing black lines on his face because of the comments from these three. ¡°If it¡¯s so unbelievable, why don¡¯t we go to a DNA testing center to see if Aster and I are really twins?¡± he said in the most sarcastic voice he could muster.


    Sadly, this wasn¡¯t what attracted others attention but the name he called Astrid.


    ¡±Is Aster your nickname?¡± Kiran asked. ¡°Can I, ahm, can I also call you that?¡±


    After hearing Kiran asked that, Lauren who had been wanting to call Astrid by that nickname cleared his throat. ¡°I have actually been wanting to call you Aster ever since I heard Reas call you by that nickname. I was just too shy to ask. So, can I also call you Aster?¡±


    Reas glanced at Lauren as if seeing an alien. ¡°You actually know how to be shy?¡±


    Lauren glared at the other and punched Reas¡¯ shoulder in a joking manner. ¡°So, in your opinion I¡¯m so shameless?¡±


    Reas shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re the one who said that.¡±


    Ash actually also wanted to ask if he could call Astrid ¡®Aster¡¯. But he felt that that would be the real epitome of shamelessness. After all, he just met the other. He¡¯s not like Lauren and Kiran who obviously knew Astrid for far longer.


    But what really caught his attention was more was Reas¡¯ attitude towards Lauren. This was probably the first time he had seen the other act playful. Or at least, Reas¡¯ version of being playful. He looked at the two with interest. He couldn¡¯t wait to tease the other once they returned to the military academy.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine, you can call me ¡®Aster¡¯ if you like.¡±


    ¡±It¡¯s a shame that Snow already left,¡± Kiran said. ¡°I¡¯m sure he would also want to call you Aster.¡±


    Ash was startled when he heard that name. He was instantly reminded of the person he had been looking for. ¡°Snow?¡±


    ¡±He¡¯s my friend from school,¡± Astrid answered. ¡°He just left when you came.¡±


    ¡±Maybe you passed by him,¡± Lauren added. ¡°Silvery blue hair, snowy white skin, light gray eyes.¡±


    Ash then remembered the teenager he passed by the elevator. The other perfectly matched Lauren¡¯s description. Although there was something familiar about the other, his facial features simply didn¡¯t match the ¡®Snow¡¯ he knew.


    Reas noticed the abnormal expression on Ash¡¯s face when Snow¡¯s name was mentioned. ¡°Do you know him?¡± he asked.


    Ash shook his head. ¡°No. He just has the same name as someone I know.¡±


    Even though he said that, for some reason, there was a nagging feeling telling him that he was missing something.


    What it was, he didn¡¯t know.


    Still, he smiled and simply changed the subject.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    It was almost ten in the evening when they left the piano lounge. Since four of them still had school tomorrow and the other one still had a job, they didn¡¯t go anywhere else after and just went straight home.


    Coming back to the apartment, the first thing Astrid did was to go to the kitchen and make tea.


    ¡±That room mate of yours is quite interesting,¡± he said. ¡°How did the two of you become friends?¡±


    Reas sat down on the couch. ¡°I¡¯m not really sure. It just happened, I guess.¡±


    ¡±Some say that¡¯s the best kind of friendship,¡± Astrid said before looking at his brother. ¡°I¡¯m glad there¡¯s someone like him by your side at the military academy.¡±


    Knowing Reas, this guy would probably not mind being alone for the rest of his time at the military academy. But Astrid didn¡¯t want his brother to go through that all by himself. That¡¯s why he¡¯s glad that someone like Ash appeared and befriended his brother.


    ¡±I¡¯m also glad that your school friends both seem like good kids,¡± Reas said.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°What kids? They are both older than you, you know?¡±


    After making tea, he poured Reas a cup and gave it to the other. He was about to pour one for himself when his Terminal sounded a message notification. He opened it and saw that it was from Wulfric.


    [Wulfric: Aster, my army is about to leave the capital star by the end of next week. Can we meet before that?]

 Chapter 283 A BLOOMING WARMTH

    ¡±Hi, Aster. Have you read my message? It¡¯s quite late, I didn¡¯t disturb your sleep, right?¡± Wulfric started.


    Astrid smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, I just came back from meeting with friends.¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t respond immediately. His expression seemed to be thinking of something serious. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I invited? Aren¡¯t I also your friend?¡±


    If Astrid was drinking tea at that moment, he might have choked a bit. Especially since Wulfric¡¯s tone sounded like he was genuinely sulking. Instead of finding it weird, he just thought it was cute. If one would think of Wulfric¡¯s usual personality, who would have thought that he would even know how to sulk?


    ¡±I just thought that you would be too busy to go even if I invited you. Besides, people would definitely recognize Wulf. It might just cause problems for you and I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡±You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I have a lot of method to not be recognized by people.¡±


    In short, the other was telling him that it¡¯s alright to invite him anytime because he had a lot of ways to disguise himself.


    ¡±Yes, yes, it won¡¯t happen again,¡± Astrid simply said.


    After hearing Astrid¡¯s tone, Wulfric directly snapped out of his sulking mood. Why did it suddenly feel like he was a wife being coaxed by her husband? Heat crept up his face at that thought. He cleared his throat to hide the embarrassment he¡¯s feeling.


    ¡±Anyway, have you read my message?¡± he asked, changing the topic. ¡°Can we meet sometime this coming week?¡±


    Astrid chuckled at the obvious change in topic. But he still indulged the other and answered, ¡°Sure. You can pick the day.¡±


    He was basically free this coming week. He would only start to get busy the week after since that¡¯s the start of his filming of [The Great War].  So, Wulfric¡¯s invitation was very timely.


    ¡±How about Saturday? I¡¯ll pick you up at seven in the morning,¡± Wulfric said, a bit excitedly. He was obviously very happy with Astrid¡¯s answer.


    Astrid raised one of his brows. ¡°So, early?¡±


    Wulfric scratched his cheek, appearing shy. ¡°Well, I want to spend the whole day with you. Can I?¡±


    Astrid was silent for a second. He didn¡¯t expect the other to be so straightforward. But he didn¡¯t dislike it. In fact, because it came from Wulfric, he only found it cute.


    Seeing that Aster didn¡¯t answer, Wulfric suddenly started to get nervous. Was he too forward? Did he offend Aster? Should he take it back and apologize? But he really wanted to spend that day with Aster. Who knew when he could have another chance like that?


    Honestly, if he could, he wanted to stay longer here at the capital. At least here, he would only be one call away from Aster. But his army¡¯s stay here had already been extended. If he tried to extend it one more time, Leland might really court martial him.


    So, reluctantly agreed to leave the capital and go to their next mission by the end of this coming week. But he couldn¡¯t just leave like this. He at least had to meet with Aster. You know, so he could enough good memories to go back on while he was doing missions for this Empire.


    ¡±Is- is it alright?¡± he asked tentatively.


    Astrid looked at the other¡¯s nervous look. Seeing such an expression on the other, it could only mean that he was really looking forward to his answer. A touch of warmth bloomed in his heart.


    A smile crossed his lips. ¡°Yes.¡±


    A similar brilliant smile appeared on Wulfric¡¯s face. ¡°Then, see you on Saturday!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The next day, when Astrid arrived at Redwood Academy, he noticed that the attention he¡¯s getting was more than usual. He didn¡¯t question it since he knew that it was because of his guest role in [Blind Justice].


    All morning, there were much more people trying to get close to him. Some asking about his experience filming while some asked how he got the role. He only smiled and didn¡¯t really say anything of import. Just gave them vague answers that wouldn¡¯t make them think that he¡¯s just being perfunctory.


    After the end of the morning class, Astrid and Snow met up to go together to the greenhouse to have lunch with Kiran.


    ¡±Snow, is there something bothering you?¡± Astrid asked.


    During one of their classes together, he saw Snow being in a daze. And now, it seemed that the other was still listless. If Snow said that there¡¯s nothing wrong, he wouldn¡¯t believe it.


    Snow was startled hearing this question. But when he thought back to how he was acting all morning, an observant person like Astrid would definitely find something was weird.


    He tried to show a relaxed expression, but only an awkward smile came out. At the end, he could only sigh. ¡°It¡¯s something personal. Sorry, I really can¡¯t say it.¡±


    ¡±It¡¯s fine,¡± Astrid quickly said. ¡°Just say if you need any help in something.¡±


    Snow could only smile back. Because his problem was truly something personal that he couldn¡¯t just go and tell anyone. Even though he already considered Astrid as a friend, he still couldn¡¯t open up about that part of his past. That small part where Assil was concerned.


    After all, the one at fault for why the two of them ended in this situation was him. And even if he knew that, he was selfish enough to feel hurt when Assil didn¡¯t recognize him.


    He closed his eyes briefly, trying to hide the emotions within. Since it¡¯s his fault, then he should bear the whole consequence.


    Astrid observed Snow¡¯s change in expression. He didn¡¯t say anything. He should respect the personal boundary of the other. Forcing Snow to tell him the problem wouldn¡¯t really help. He would just be here, silently supporting.


    The two of them walked to the greenhouse in silence.

 Chapter 284 IS THIS A DATE?

    This didn¡¯t really bring that much of a change in Astrid¡¯s daily life. After all, 900,000 was still too few in comparison to the followers of the current number one in the Star List. Add that to the fact that he was only going back and forth from his apartment to the academy and vice versa, there wasn¡¯t really any visible change in his life.


    Astrid himself didn¡¯t take the increase in his followers as a huge feat. Because he was sure that many of those were just casual fans. Once he was embedded in another controversy, they would be the first one to leave. But that¡¯s fine. He was just starting anyway. As time passed by and he released more and more work, the number of faithful fans would also increase.


    Speaking of fans, Astrid was going to meet his number one fan in just a few minutes. He was already dressed up and only needed to do one more thing before he¡¯s good to go.


    He took out the instant hair color spray from the vanity cabinet and sprayed it on his hair. He ordered this hair spray specifically for this day. Although he didn¡¯t think that his level of fame was on the level of being mobbed, his looks could still attract too much attention.


    Normally, he wouldn¡¯t care much about this. There wasn¡¯t even a time when he tried to wear a wig or change the color of his hair. Even when it started to become a hassle going out because of it. But since he was going out with Wulfric today, he didn¡¯t even hesitate to buy this hair spray product.


    Not because he was afraid of getting recognized. But because he didn¡¯t want the two of them to be disturbed but the unnecessary attention people would give them.


    Since he and Wulfric would meet this early, that probably meant that the other had already planned their itinerary for today. Or at least, he was sure that they wouldn¡¯t be stuck in an indoor place for the rest of the day. If that was so, then it¡¯s better to change his hair color just in case.


    After a few seconds, the strands on Astrid¡¯s hair started to change color. Until the black turned into a dull brown. He looked at the mirror in front. His barely handsome appearance was now changed to a plain one. People now wouldn¡¯t give him a second glance after seeing him.


    He actually wanted to wear a contact lens to change his eye color as well. But his eyes were pretty sensitive. He didn¡¯t want to feel uncomfortable, especially not today. So, the next best thing was to wear non-prescription glasses.


    After all the preparations, he¡¯s finally ready to go.


    But before that, Astrid left a note first for Reas. The other was still sleeping in the room.


    [Reas, I¡¯ll be going out with a friend today. I¡¯ve already prepared lunch and dinner for you. It¡¯s in the refrigerator. You just have to reheat it.]


    He stuck it on the refrigerator so the other would immediately see it. But just in case, he still told his AI housekeeper ¨C Xiao Lan ¨C to remind Reas about it.


    Just as he walked out of his apartment, he received a message in his Terminal.


    [Wulfric: I¡¯m already downstairs. Can I come up?]


    [Astrid: No, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll just go down myself.]


    After Astrid replied, he immediately walked to the elevator. Arriving at the ground floor, he didn¡¯t waste time and just went straight out of the apartment building. An aircraft was parked just in front of it.


    Leaning on it was a tall man. His arms were folded across his chest, showing off his well-defined biceps. His blond hair was styled in that messy but sexy kind of way. Even his clothes were very stylish. Not in that overly dressed manner that was easy to end up looking garish. But in a chic yet simply style that prioritized comfort.


    The only problem was the man¡¯s furrowed brows. He raised his hand as if wanting to mess his hair. But he stopped in time just as he was about to do it. He clucked his tongue as if annoyed.


    Astrid chuckled when he saw this. How adorable.


    ¡±Wulf!¡± he called.


    Yes, the blond man was Wulfric. As a disguise, he changed his hair color to blond and even his golden eyes were changed to blue. Although his facial features stayed the same, it¡¯s still hard to be recognized as the only prince of the Empire.


    Why? It¡¯s because no one would actually think that the fierce White Wolf of Alluna would actually dress up like this as if he was going on a date. Wait¡ªAstrid stopped on his tracks.


    Did he actually consider this a date?


    ¡±Aster!¡± Wulfric called back.


    The other no longer frowned and a smile quickly appeared on his face. Like a blooming flower. Seeing this, Astrid no longer wondered if this was a date or not. It didn¡¯t matter either way. The only important thing was the fact that the two of them would spend this day together.


    He smiled back at the other and continued walking.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At the Imperial Palace, inside the emperor¡¯s chamber¡­


    The emperor stared at the picture sent to him by his aide. It was from the spy he put in his brother¡¯s army. In the picture, Wulfric changed his hair color to blond and his eyes to blue. The other was wearing clothes that he would have never thought his brother would wear in this life.


    Before he could reply and ask his aide what¡¯s the context behind this picture, a pair of strong arms suddenly hugged him from behind. Then, it was followed by a hoarse whisper;


    ¡±Go back to bed, Cyn.¡±

 Chapter 285 BRIGHT RED TOMATO

    If it was any other person standing here instead of Cynric, they would have probably already fainted. After all, the other was considered as the most handsome man in the Empire.


    And Cynric didn¡¯t hesitate to push this man away. ¡°Stop being clingy so early in the morning.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t mind and just chuckled. The sound was extraordinarily magnetic. ¡°What can I do? You simply attract me to no end, your majesty,¡± he said while putting a few strands of hair behind Cynric¡¯s ear.


    Cynric just felt his heart skipped a beat because of the other¡¯s action. He slapped the man¡¯s hand away, annoyed by his own reaction. ¡°Stop it, Val.¡±


    Val only smiled at him. ¡°So, what got your attention this early in the morning? Let me guess, is it your brother?¡±


    Cynric didn¡¯t answer and just continued what he was about to do earlier before Val interrupted him. He started typing on his Terminal. Once he¡¯s done, he sent it to his brother.


    Thinking of the other¡¯s get-up, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. It seemed that putting that spy on Wulfric¡¯s army was worth it. Of course, it was just someone with a low position and with almost negligible presence. He didn¡¯t ask the other to report anything substantial like military secrets. He just told the spy to report things related to Wulfric. Not stuff related to the military but related to his personal life. Any change that the spy might find, he should immediately send to Cynric¡¯s aide.


    After years since he deployed that spy, this was the first piece of significant news that he received.


    Val, seeing this smile, felt slightly irritated. The only person who could make Cynric smile like this was that younger brother. No matter how long he¡¯d been together with Cynric, he could count the number of times the other smiled at him.


    He knew that for the other, he was only a means to an end. A means to punish himself. At this point, Val was only a knife for Cynric that he repeatedly used to stab himself.


    But even if Val understood that, so what? He still couldn¡¯t give up the other. Not right now. Maybe not even in this life.


    ¡±Did something interesting happen to your brother?¡± he asked with a smile on his face.


    As if he wasn¡¯t affected by any negative emotions just now. It was something easy for him. After all, he¡¯s the number one actor in this Empire.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Wulfric just opened the door of the aircraft for Aster. The other said thank you before going inside. He was about to walk around to the side of the driver¡¯s seat when he received a message from his Terminal.


    He opened it and saw that it was from his brother.


    [Cynric: Someone said they saw you leaving the military base wearing something you don¡¯t usually wear. They say you look very handsome. So, who are you trying to look handsome for? Are you going on a date?]


    When reading the first part, Wulfric almost closed his Terminal. Wondering who told his brother so this guy was teasing him so early in the morning. But when he read the last part, he stopped in his steps.


    Date?


    At the thought of that, he suddenly felt heat creeping up his face. Was this actually a date? He hadn¡¯t thought of it in that way. He just wanted to spend this day with Aster.


    He quickly closed the message interface, completely ignoring his brother, and opened [Starnet]. He then searched for the meaning of ¡®date¡¯. What first came out was;


    [Date ¨C an appointment to meet someone or go out with them, especially someone with whom you are having, or may soon have, a romantic relationship.]


    Reading that, Wulfric¡¯s face became even redder. This- this- just based on this explanation, was it really a date? No, wait- could it still be considered a date if the other person didn¡¯t know about it?


    ¡±Wulf, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Aster asked from the opened window.


    Wulfric glanced at the other. Looking at Aster with fluffy brown hair and his beautiful eyes behind a pair of glasses ¨C he didn¡¯t think that the other¡¯s appearance diminished at all with this disguise. Although he¡¯s not giving off stunningly beautiful aura like he usually did, he still looked extremely adorable. Like someone you would want to put in your pocket.


    At that moment, it no longer mattered to him if this was indeed a date. The important thing was that he could spend the rest of this day with Aster. A label didn¡¯t matter.


    He smiled. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    He closed his Terminal and went into the driver¡¯s seat. He started the aircraft and input their destination in the GPS system.


    ¡±Have you had breakfast?¡± Wulfric asked.


    ¡±No. I was hoping we could eat together.¡±


    Wulfric silently rejoiced hearing this answer. ¡°Good. I actually know a good place.¡±


    Astrid smiled inside when he heard that. The other had obviously already decided on their destination based on how he input the address in the aircraft¡¯s GPS system. Which meant that he had already planned where to go even before he asked him. Astrid wondered what Wulfric¡¯s reaction would be if he said that he already ate breakfast. This guy would probably sulk again.


    If it was before, he would definitely not think that that was possible. But with their recent interactions, Astrid knew that Wulfric was capable of something like ¡®sulking¡¯. The other even knew how to dress up.


    Although he had a hunch that someone probably helped him pick his clothes. Based on the personality of the captains he had met, it was most likely Hildred. Edmund and Slade just seemed to be not the type of men who would know anything about fashion. Especially that guy Edmund.


    ¡±You look very handsome today, by the way,¡± he thought of saying.


    Then, he witnessed Wulfric¡¯s face slowly turning into a bright red tomato.

 Chapter 286 THE DATE (I)

    WULFRIC cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He tried to keep a straight face but deep inside, there was a small man dancing in excitement. He was now thankful that he asked Hildred for advice in what to wear. Because if he was left on his own devices, he would definitely just go with simple shirt and jeans. He probably wouldn¡¯t even bother to comb his hair.


    But then something Hildred said kind of stuck to him ¨C ¡®if you¡¯re meeting someone you think as special, then you definitely have to dress to impress¡¯. He thought Hildred was just talking nonsense as usual. But then the other explained to him that if he wanted to impress someone, then he had to show that he¡¯s making effort in everything. Including picking up clothes.


    It¡¯s the simplest way to show your appreciation to the other person. Something as simple as dressing up to look good in front of that person could actually make a difference in the other¡¯s perception of you.


    After Wulfric digested all that, he felt like he had been enlightened.


    Because the other had a point. If he wanted to be liked by the other person, he should at least make an effort for that to happen.


    That¡¯s why today, except for his clothes and styling, all the other things were prepared by him.


    ¡±You look very handsome as well,¡± Wulfric added after a few seconds.


    Astrid smiled when he heard that. ¡°Really? Why do I think that I can barely pass as cute?¡±


    ¡±No way,¡± Wulfric quickly said. ¡°If you¡¯re barely passing as ¡®cute¡¯, then there would be no ugly person in this Empire.¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case? With the technology of today, the fertility lab would only pick the best genes from the parents to produce a perfectly healthy and beautiful babies.¡±


    It was because of this that people in this era rarely have genetic diseases. It¡¯s also the reason why most people were more handsome or beautiful than the next one.


    Wulfric understood what Aster was trying to say. But that wasn¡¯t really always the case. Those who couldn¡¯t afford a good fertility lab, but still wanted to have children without the danger of dying from giving birth, would go to not so reputable establishments.


    Since the ones in charged of such establishments were from the underworld, the babies being born there mostly had problems later on. They would have weak bodies that were prone to sickness. In worst case scenario, they would develop genetic mutations.


    In his opinion, giving birth naturally would be the much safer choice. And for those same-sex couple, if they really wanted children, they could just adopt. That¡¯s much better than bringing a child into this world and just letting them suffer.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t tell Aster about it though. He didn¡¯t want to put a damper on this day that started too perfectly.


    ¡±It doesn¡¯t matter. Even with a disguise, I still think you¡¯re beautiful,¡± he only said.


    Astrid was a bit surprised at how the other said that without even batting an eye. As if him being beautiful was already a known fact that couldn¡¯t be refuted.


    He smiled, playfulness danced in his dark eyes. ¡°I thought you just said I was handsome?¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t expect Aster to even point that out. But when he saw the other¡¯s playful smile, he knew that he was being teased. He coughed, trying to act all serious.


    ¡±Well, you can be both,¡± he said. ¡°Not only that, you¡¯re very cute as well.¡±


    ¡±All these compliments, are you flirting with me?¡± Astrid asked in a teasing tone.


    This time, Wulfric ended up coughing for real. He almost choked on his own saliva because of that question!


    ¡±F-flirting?¡± he stammered, his cheeks blushing red.


    Seeing such an adorable reaction, Astrid finally couldn¡¯t help but poke the other¡¯s reddened cheek. ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you, silly.¡±


    If a love expert was here, they would have probably said a witty comeback already. But it was Wulfric ¨C the fearsome general of the Empire who didn¡¯t really know anything about relationships.


    So, he just sat there still, completely immersed in the feeling of Aster touching his cheek.


    ¡ª¨C


    After 15 minutes of travel, they finally arrived at their destination. It was a caf¨¦ that was quite hot recently on social media. They were famous for their different flavored waffles and pancakes, as well as their lattes.


    When Wulfric was searching online about places they could go to today, this one was always on top of the searches when it came to the best spot to go for breakfast. That¡¯s why he picked this place.


    The parking lot was a few walks away from the caf¨¦, so the two had to walk after parking the aircraft. When they arrived at the place, Wulfric was shocked silly when he saw the long line ¨C as in very long line ¨C of people waiting to enter the caf¨¦. If they also stood in line, they would probably have to wait an hour before they could go inside!


    Should they cut in line? No, it¡¯s probably better to just call Leland and ask Leland to send people to evacuate this place. He shook his head. That¡¯s probably even worse. Aster would only think bad of him for power-tripping.


    Then, what should he do? This was his fault. He should have taken into account the possibility that there would be many customers lining up in this place. This was his negligence. Now their good start suddenly became rocky because of his carelessness.


    What he didn¡¯t know was Astrid had been observing his reaction since earlier. So, he saw the wonderful changes in the other¡¯s expression. Even though Wulfric didn¡¯t say anything, he already kind of had an idea of what he was thinking.


    So, before the other to do anything ¡®extreme¡¯, Astrid pulled Wulfric¡¯s sleeve to get his attention.


    ¡±How about we get our breakfast there?¡± he said, pointing to a certain direction.


    Wulfric followed where it with his gaze and saw a¡­ hotdog stand.

 Chapter 287

    WULFRIC looked down at the hotdog he¡¯s holding covered in mustard and ketchup. His mind was currently blank. What happened to eating at a trendy caf¨¦ that offered healthy dishes and drinks?


    This was the other reason why he chose that caf¨¦. The ingredients they used were all organic and very healthy. He didn¡¯t really care much whether what he¡¯s eating was healthy or not. All he cared was if it¡¯s delicious. But he wasn¡¯t the only one eating breakfast. Aster was with him.


    He wanted Aster to eat something healthy but also, at the same time, delicious. It¡¯s important for artist like Aster to eat healthily. Even if it¡¯s just one day, he didn¡¯t want the other to eat unhealthy food because of him.


    But here they were, on the side of the street, eating a very unhealthy hotdog sandwich. He wanted to bury himself in the ground for messing up this early. What the heck was he doing?


    Astrid had been observing Wulfric. So, he saw how the other¡¯s expression changed from blank to twisted. It¡¯s like he was lost in a forest, found a delicious looking fruit, eating it and realizing that it actually tasted like shit.


    He actually had an idea what kind of mental gymnastics Wulfric was having. The other was most likely blaming himself for things not going according to his plans. Astrid resisted the urge to chuckle. If he laughed right now, Wulfric might have psychological shadow from this experience. As much as he found this situation adorable, he didn¡¯t want that to happen.


    He took a bite of the hotdog and was very glad that it actually tasted good. ¡°Wulf, go take a bite. It¡¯s really good.¡±


    Wulfric was ¡®relieved¡¯ from his ¡®suffering¡¯ because of Aster¡¯s call. He raised his head and looked at the other. Aster just finished biting on the sandwich. The other seemed to like the taste. But it could just be Aster being thoughtful so he wouldn¡¯t feel bad. It¡¯s something that the other would definitely do.


    ¡°Go, try it,¡± Aster said, encouraging him as if he was a kid being picky about his food.


    Wulfric felt a bit embarrassed thinking that. So, he simply bit on the sandwich. The moment he did, his eyes widened a bit. Because it was indeed delicious. One must know that he¡¯s a very picky eater. He would only eat food that he considered as delicious. He had fired a lot of chefs in Beowulf because they didn¡¯t manage to cook food that passed his taste.


    But this hotdog sandwich that didn¡¯t really look that appetizing actually turned to be delicious. A perfect example of ¡®don¡¯t judge a book by its cover¡¯. Now he¡¯s sure that Aster was not simply being thoughtful. The other indeed found this street food delicious.


    Now he truly felt relieved. Even if this food was unhealthy, at least it¡¯s delicious.


    He bit on the sandwich again. Before he knew it, he had already finished all. He looked at Aster and saw that the other had also finished eating. He would feel a bit shameless if he finished eating first.


    ¡°Wulf, you have some sauce here,¡± Aster said pointing at the corner of his mouth.


    Wulfric wiped his mouth. ¡°Is there still some?¡±


    Aster showed a helpless smile. ¡°Here, let me do it.¡±


    Before he could say anything, Aster had already raised his hand and wiped the corner of Wulfric¡¯s mouth with his finger. He only felt like his whole body was electrified at that moment. It became even worse when he saw Aster licking the sauce from the thumb he used to wipe the sauce.


    ¡°Let- let me buy some drinks for us,¡± he said in panic, running to the fruit juice stand not far away to buy drinks.


    Astrid watched the other scamper off and he couldn¡¯t help smile. He probably shouldn¡¯t tease Wulfric this much, right? But he knew that he would still continue. Because, really, how could he resist?


    ¡ª¨C


    After eating breakfast, they went back to the aircraft.


    ¡°Where to next?¡± Astrid asked when he saw Wulfric inputting the address on the GPS system.


    ¡°There¡¯s a new aquarium that just opened last month. They have a lot of good reviews online,¡± the other answered. ¡°I just thought that we could enjoy spending time there for a few hours before lunch.¡±


    Astrid suddenly felt a bit excited after hearing that. He had never been to any aquarium in this era. Considering the level of technology, it would probably be very different from the aquarium he knew.


    Seeing the excited expression on Aster¡¯s face, Wulfric was glad that he picked an aquarium as their next destination. But thinking of the failure this morning, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that something ¡®bad¡¯ would happen again. Although he bought VVIP tickets so they wouldn¡¯t have to queue up, he still felt that a problem would arise along the way.


    So, to make sure that everything would go smoothly this time, he sent a message to the group chat of him, his three captains, and his lieutenant.


    [Wulfric: Can you check what¡¯s happening at Oceanic Sky right now? If there¡¯s a problem, can you fix it for me?]


    [Edmund: (???)]


    [Slade: Is this related to the reason why you left the base all dressed-up earlier?]


    [Hildred: Is there trouble in paradise already?]


    [Edmund: ¦²(??)]


    [Wulfric: Stop with the emojis, Ed. And you two, please be more serious, okay? This is important to me. Really important.]


    [Leland: I just checked. An accident happened just now. They found a leakage in one of the tunnels. They had to close the aquarium for today because of that.]


    Wulfric couldn¡¯t believe what he¡¯s reading. Seriously? Seriously? Was he cursed today? He almost let out a curse himself.


    [Hildred: Do you need an alternative? I know a lot of potential dating spots.]


    [Edmund: Dating spots? Why dating spots?]


    [Slade: Obviously because our captain is on a date.]


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wulf?¡±


    Astrid¡¯s question pulled Wulfric¡¯s attention from the group chat. He looked at the other guiltily. He didn¡¯t know how to tell Aster about the bad news. Especially since the other was so excited after hearing that they¡¯re going to the aquarium.

 Chapter 288

    SEEING the conflicted expression on Wulfric¡¯s face, Astrid already had an idea on what¡¯s happening. ¡°Is there a problem with the aquarium?¡±


    Wulfric showed a guilty expression. ¡°There was an accident and the aquarium had to close today.¡±


    Astrid was quite surprised by that. And then, he suddenly had a huge urge to laugh. This was the second time that the other¡¯s plan failed. It¡¯s kind of cruel to even think of wanting to laugh. Because he was sure Wulfric put a lot of effort in this. But it¡¯s still kind of funny.


    He bit his inner cheek to prevent himself from laughing. ¡°That¡¯s okay. We can just go to some other place.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have planned more carefully,¡± Wulfric said, looking very apologetic. He was like a puppy with his ears and tail down.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°I told you, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not a big deal. We can just go to another place. It¡¯s not even nine o¡¯clock in the morning yet. There¡¯s still a lot of activities we can do. So, there¡¯s no need to feel guilty. Here, let me do a quick search.¡±


    He didn¡¯t wait for Wulfric¡¯s respond and simply opened his Terminal, searching for a place they could go to near this area. It didn¡¯t take long before the results appeared. He clicked the top result. It was a horror theme park. He read the description and the reviews.


    The theme park was located on a floating island. Because its theme was ¡®horror¡¯, the whole island was covered by a special shield that mimicked the night time. So, even if customers visited during the day, the inside would still be night. There were also a lot of positive reviews.


    Astrid put changed the setting of his Terminal to public and showed the virtual screen containing the information about the horror theme park to Wulfric. ¡°How about this one?¡±


    Wulfric looked at Aster¡¯s Terminal. ¡®Nightmare Safari¡¯, a horror theme park? He raised his head and saw the other smiling. Since Astrid suggested this place, then he had no problem with it. Besides, did he even have the right to refuse after his two blunders? Even if Aster asked him to go to the garbage disposal site, he would be more than willing to do so.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask someone to get us tickets,¡± he said and then quickly contacted Leland.


    [Wulfric: Leland, can you get me two VVIP tickets to Nightmare Safari?]


    [Leland: Ahem. Your Highness, although I¡¯m happy that your love life is finally blooming, please refrain from asking assistance like this at every turn. With that said, I will send the tickets to you shortly.]


    Within minutes, two VVIP tickets were sent to Wulfric¡¯s mailbox. He grinned. Despite this guy complaining, his work was still as efficient as ever.


    [Wulfric: Thanks, Leland!]


    ¡ª¨C


    Back at the military base, Leland, who just read this reply, spewed the water he¡¯s drinking. And it landed exactly on his younger brother¡¯s face.


    Ash wiped the water on his face and then looked at his older brother worriedly. ¡°Brother! What happened? Did you choke or something? Wait- that water has your saliva, argh¡­ I need to wash my face!¡±


    Leland with black lines on his face could only watch his brother rushed to the washroom. He shook his head and elegantly wiped the corners of his mouth as if he¡¯s not the one who spewed water just earlier.


    He once again looked at the reply of the prince. And then smiled helplessly. For all the years that he knew the other, he would never say ¡®thank you¡¯ for such a simple thing. He would only do so when it involved life and death situations. Because for the prince, between the five of them ¨C Slade, Hildred, Edmund, the prince, and him ¨C there¡¯s no need to say thanks for such simple matters.


    Leland could see that this ¡®thanks¡¯ was definitely something that the prince said out of excitement. It seemed that this Astrid Townsend really had quite the effect on the prince.


    Under normal circumstance, he would have already done a background check on the teenager. But if he did, the prince would definitely not like it. Since this was something related to the other¡¯s personal life, it¡¯s best to just let the prince handle it.


    It¡¯s not like the prince was stupid enough to let someone dangerous get close to him. So, right now, he could only wish the other good luck in this new venture.


    ¡ª¨C


    After arriving at the floating island where the Nightmare Safari was, they parked the aircraft and immediately walked to the entrance. Because they had VVIP tickets, they didn¡¯t need to line up and was able to go inside quickly.


    The parking space and the entrance were not included in the special barrier. So, when they entered, the sudden change in the lighting made Astrid closed his eyes. When he opened them, he suddenly felt like they were transported to gothic wonderland.


    There was a castle with a spooky atmosphere, bats flying, purple flashes on the obsidian sky as if lighting would cast down on everyone at any second. The full moon was even red as if it was bleeding.


    Well, they certainly got the atmosphere right. ¨C Astrid thought.


    ¡°Where should we go first?¡± he asked Wulfric.


    ¡°You choose. I¡¯ll follow.¡±


    Astrid grinned. ¡°What if I choose something that you don¡¯t like?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll still follow you.¡±


    Astrid was amused by that answer. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go.¡±


    He grabbed Wulfric¡¯s hand and ran towards the spooky castle.


    Wulfric was startled. He looked down at their hands clasped together. He felt something warm travelling from his palm to his arm and then straight to his heart. It was such a weird feeling. But he didn¡¯t dislike it. In fact, he welcomed it very much. It¡¯s like submerging himself in a pool of the sweetest chocolate in the galaxy.


    The corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a smile. Yes, he liked this very much.


    He entwined their fingers together. Aster glanced back at him. He thought the other would pull back because of his sudden move. But instead, Aster only smiled at him.


    At that moment, he suddenly felt very fulfilled.

 Chapter 289

    WHEN Aster and Wulfric entered the spooky castle, an AI robot immediately welcomed them. ¡°Good morning! Welcome to the Dark Queen¡¯s Castle! Are you going to avail the regular tour or the special tour? But seeing as you came as a couple, I suggest that you take the couple challenge to have a more fun and exciting experience.¡±


    Wulfric froze when he heard the word ¡®couple¡¯. He secretly glanced at Aster, wanting to see the other¡¯s reaction. If he would correct what the AI robot had said. But Aster¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much.


    A question floated in Wulfric¡¯s mind ¨C ¡®does Aster not mind?¡¯. Or maybe he thought that it wasn¡¯t that much of a big deal. After all, there¡¯s no point in correcting the assumption of an AI robot.


    Thinking of the possibility that it could be that reason, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit disappointed. Because it meant that Aster wasn¡¯t really thinking too deeply of the relationship between them.


    Wulfric suddenly sighed. No, at this point, it¡¯s probably better to do that than overthink every little thing. Just like what he¡¯s doing right now. If he continued on like this, thinking at every turn, he would just end up not enjoying this day. And what a tragedy that would be.


    He took a deep breath and cleared his mind of any negativity. He would simply enjoy this day. Play together with Aster to his heart¡¯s content.


    ¡°Wulf, what do you think? Should we do the couple challenge?¡±


    Aster¡¯s question brought Wulfric¡¯s attention back. He turned to the other and said without scruples, ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do it.¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows. He didn¡¯t expect the other to answer immediately. Based on his performance so far, he thought Wulfric would say ¡®I¡¯ll do whatever you decide¡¯ or something along those lines. It¡¯s almost as if something inside him loosened completely.


    Well, that¡¯s definitely better than Wulfric acting like he¡¯s walking on egg shells around him. This way, they could have more fun and make this day much more memorable.


    Astrid smiled and turned to the AI robot. ¡°We¡¯ll take the couple challenge.¡±


    ¡°Good choice. Now, let me explain how the challenge works,¡± the AI robot said. ¡°The two of you will have to enter through two different entrances. This will separate the two of your upon entering. Then, you will both receive a role each ¨C one is that of a princess and the other a knight. If you are chosen as the ¡®princess¡¯, you will be taken to the throne room. If you are chosen as the ¡®knight¡¯, you have to save the princess.¡±


    So, like some kind of fairytale? ¨C Astrid thought.


    ¡°We request the ¡®princess¡¯ to not resist and wait at the throne room for the ¡®knight¡¯. Don¡¯t worry, we will provide snacks for the princess while he¡¯s waiting. He can also watch his knight¡¯s progress as he does. The ¡®knight¡¯, on the other hand, has to face obstacles in order to get to his princess and save him.


    ¡°The time limit is 30 minutes. If the princess is saved within that time limit, you will receive a prize. And if you set a record by saving the princess in the fastest time, a special prize will be waiting for you. Do you have any questions?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the current record?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s 16 minutes.¡±


    Hmm, that¡¯s certainly fast considering the size of this castle. ¨C Astrid thought.


    ¡°Are there any more questions?¡± the AI robot asked.


    Astrid turned to Wulfric. ¡°How about you, Wulf, do you have any questions?¡±


    Wulfric shook his head. Although he was a bit regretting agreeing to this couple challenge. Wasn¡¯t the point of them going here to explore the castle together? But now, with this challenge, they had to separate right off the bat.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have any more questions, please follow me.¡± They followed the AI robot towards two doors. ¡°Please, choose a door.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pick the left one,¡± Astrid said to Wulfric.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go to the right,¡± Wulfric said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do our best to have fun, okay?¡±


    [I¡¯d have more fun if we¡¯re together.] ¨C Wulfric said in his heart. But on the outside, he said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    The two of then entered the door the chose.


    Astrid found himself inside a hallway. It didn¡¯t take long before a virtual screen appeared in front of him.


    [You¡¯re chosen as the knight. Please, do your best to save your princess.]


    Oh? So, he¡¯s chosen as the knight? Was it because he looked weaker and frailer than Wulfric? This way, they could lower the chance of them succeeding. Astrid smiled at this operation. Well, let¡¯s see if their strategy would work.


    ¡ª¨C


    On the other side, Wulfric was looking at the virtual notification in front of him with black lines on his face.


    [You¡¯re chosen as the princess. Please, wait for your knight at the throne room.]


    What the heck was he chosen as the ¡®princess¡¯?


    Before he could think more, an AI robot walked towards him. ¡°Princess, please, follow me.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s expression became even darker. He really wanted to punch this robot. Who dared to call him princess in this Empire? No sane person would even think that. Because they knew what their end would be.


    He took a deep breath ¨C inhale, exhale. He didn¡¯t stop until he calmed down. No, he shouldn¡¯t ruin this day because of his temper.


    ¡°Lead the way,¡± he finally said to the AI robot at the end.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid started to walk along the dimly lit corridor. The silence was certainly eerie. If someone with an overactive imagination, walked here, they would definitely feel scared. But he hardly felt anything.


    He had never really been the type to be afraid of things that wasn¡¯t there. For him, something like starving was much scarier.


    There were paintings lined up on the wall. All of the theme was dark and creepy. Astrid even saw something moving inside it. But he just ignored it since he knew that it was simply some kind of special effects.


    The moment he turned on the corner, a mummy like figure suddenly emerged from the wall. Screaming at him.


    Astrid only stopped for a second before smiling at the mummy. ¡°Well, hello there.¡±

 Chapter 290

    THE man playing the mummy was startled by this smile. This was probably one of the few times that someone wasn¡¯t surprised because of his sudden appearance. The other didn¡¯t even gasp, much less flinch. Was he losing his touch?


    All of the employees involved in scaring guests were humans. Because AI robots simply didn¡¯t have the emotional capacity for such a task. That¡¯s why their income was much higher compared to other people doing menial jobs in this theme park that could easily be done by other AI robots.


    That¡¯s why every time they managed to scare off a guest, they would have an additional pay. The mummy felt a bit of a heartache. It seemed like he wouldn¡¯t get that bonus pay for today.


    ¡°Good work,¡± Astrid said to the mummy who seemed to be frozen in shock because of his own lack of reaction.


    The mummy seemed to come back to his senses. Then the other suddenly took out a parchment from somewhere and gave it to him.


    ¡°For me?¡± Astrid asked.


    When the mummy nodded, he accepted the parchment. He opened it and saw that it was actually the map of the whole castle. He was just actually wondering how he would go to the throne room and this mummy just gave him the answer to that. So, was this his reward for not being scared away?


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Mummy,¡± he said to the other with a smile.


    The Mummy was disarmed by this smile and he just stood there, staring. Until Astrid walked off, the other¡¯s smile still lingered in his mind.


    He shook his head and then slapped his face. What the heck was that? Being tempted by a guess like that. Where¡¯s his professionalism? But really, who could blame him? That kid was just way too attractive.


    Right now, the overly attractive Astrid, was walking to another corridor. He was already at the middle when a purple flame suddenly appeared in front of him. A face like that of the painting ¡®The Scream¡¯ could be seen inside the flame.


    It¡¯s definitely a jump scare. Too bad Astrid had never been the type to be startled easily. Especially when it¡¯s something that¡¯s done on purpose like this.


    He ignored the ¡®flame¡¯ and stepped forward. But just as he did, another flame appeared in front of him. He took another step and another flame appeared. He raised one of his brows. It seemed that this flame would appear every time he took a step. And the moment the first flame appeared was when one reached the middle section of the corridor.


    If the one here was someone who¡¯s easily scared, they would probably have run at the first sight of the flame. And the moment they did, it would seem like the flames were following them. Thus, adding to their fear.


    Thankfully, the one here was Astrid and not someone else. Instead of running, he was walking straight ahead, bypassing the flames. It¡¯s not as if it would hurt him. So, why bother avoiding it?


    Looking at the map, he next needed to climb the stairs up to the next floor. Turning around the corner, he saw the spiral staircase up ahead. He jogged towards the stairs. But before he could reach it, he felt a hand touching his ankle. It was slimy and had a cold feel to it. Making him jump a bit.


    Astrid looked down and saw a ghost like girl with her hair covering the entirety of her face. Very similar to that famous ghost from his past life ¨C Sadako. Only the upper half of her body could be seen. The lower half was most likely hidden in some kind of mechanism under the floor.


    ¡°Hi, can you let go now?¡± he said towards the other. ¡°Your hand is a bit cold.¡±


    The ghost girl subconsciously let go of the other¡¯s ankle. Probably because she was too surprised by this teenager¡¯s reaction or the lack thereof. Before she could react to what happened, the other was already climbing up the stairs.


    She groaned. Now, there went her bonus income for today.


    ¡ª¨C


    As Astrid was busy making his way to the throne room, Wulfric was sitting comfortably on a settee. A table was in front of him filled with snacks and fruits. But these things didn¡¯t attract his attention one bit. All his focus was on the virtual screen in front.


    It showed the real-time situation of Aster. The other had already climbed the stairs and was about to enter a room.


    Wulfric had long felt very dissatisfied while watching this. Not because of Aster, of course. But because of the incompetence of the personnel working in this castle. Just look at that mummy guy. He stared at Aster¡¯s face for approximately 15 seconds. Did he know how rude that was? Then, there was that ghost girl. Holding Aster¡¯s ankle like that, didn¡¯t she just want to take advantage of him?


    Hmp! How unprofessional!


    If Wulfric was a cartoon character, there would probably be smoke coming out of his nose because of indignation. And if Astrid was here, he would definitely smell the strong scent of vinegar in the air. Who else was the source but the big vinegar jar complaining about the ¡®unprofessionalism¡¯ of the people in the castle?


    He shook his head and just turned his attention back to the virtual screen.


    Aster had already entered the room and it was filled with dolls of all sizes. He must admit that with all of them huddled together like that with their deadpan expression, it¡¯s really quite freaky.


    But Aster only glanced around, obviously looking for the door. There was no fear in his eyes, only curiosity.


    ¡°Your boyfriend is really quite fearless,¡± said a voice in the throne room.


    It was the one playing the role of ¡®queen¡¯. If she didn¡¯t speak, Wulfric would have already forgotten her existence. When he heard what the other said, he felt his heart skip a beat.


    Boyfriend¡­


    Heat suddenly crept up his whole face. Somehow, he really liked the sound of that.

 Chapter 291

    "THIS is the doll room. Your boyfriend has to find the human doll in order for him to leave and go to the next area," the woman playing the queen said. "Most of the couples taking this challenge took a lot of time here and ended up failing the challenge. Hopefully your boyfriend wouldn''t waste too much time there."


    [This woman is too talkative. Why are you giving your opinion when I didn''t even ask?] ¨C Wulfric wanted to say. But he stopped himself. Since the other said that Aster was his boyfriend, then, he''s willing to be more tolerant.


    "Have you seen him? He would definitely not be afraid of some dolls," he said, raising his chin and puffing out his chest.


    The woman looked at this handsome man and the other''s chin was almost going to reach the ceiling because of how high he raised it. When she first saw the other earlier, his face was full of reluctance. As if silently screaming ''I don''t want to be here!''. She even thought that this guy was most likely forced by his lover to do this challenge that''s why his face was so stinky.


    But look at him now. He looked like a proud boyfriend who couldn''t wait to boast about their lover. So different from the grumpy look he had shown earlier. The woman shook her head. Sure enough, one shouldn''t judge a book by its cover. Look, this handsome guy looked very tough but he was simply a simp for his boyfriend.


    What she didn''t know was that Wulfric looked like that earlier not because he didn''t want to do the challenge. It was simply because he was still annoyed that he couldn''t accompany Aster. If she knew about it, then she would definitely think that Wulfric was a much bigger simp than she thought.


    Wulfric returned his attention back to the virtual screen.


    Aster was now looking around the room. There was no fear on his face, only curiosity. The other had probably already seen the rule that the woman playing the queen had told Wulfric. So, Aster was now looking for the human doll.


    Then, the dolls around the room started to shake, some even floated. Shrill screams followed next. Aster only furrowed his brows, as if he only found these dolls noisy instead of scary.


    After a second of stopping, he continued on with his search. It didn''t take for him to stop in front of a life-size doll. The doll was very petite. If compared to normal human height, it would be that of a child. Just like other dolls in the room, this doll was also shaking and screaming.


    Seeing Aster standing in front of it longer than when he''s in front of other dolls, Wulfric wondered if this doll was the human doll. Its face was similar to what a porcelain doll should look like. A creepy expression with its eyes wide open. He couldn''t really see in which angle that this doll was a human.


    And then, what Aster did next surprised both Wulfric and the woman playing the queen. The other tapped the shoulder of the doll regardless of it screaming like there''s no tomorrow.


    "Okay. You can stop now. I know it''s you," Aster said. "Don''t scream anymore or it will hurt your throat."


    The doll indeed stopped screaming. But not because of what Astrid said but mostly because of too much shock. She didn''t expect this person to quickly discover herself. She was too surprised that she was unable to hide her flaws.


    Now, even if she pretended that she didn''t understand what the other said, it would only appear that she was deliberately trying to cover up something. Wouldn''t that be more embarrassing?


    At the end, she could only sigh and let the other move to the next area.


    Seeing this development, the woman playing the queen was a bit dumbfounded. It seemed like all of the employees in the castle working as ghost would be unlucky because of this kid.


    She glanced at the handsome blond guy, the other just so happened to look back at her. The guy smirked with a proud look on his face. "See? My boyfriend is amazing!"


    Then after saying that, the guy''s whole face suddenly turned red. The woman only felt question marks appearing on her face. [What are you getting so shy for?]


    ¡ª¨C


    After the doll room, Astrid successfully passed three more areas. Finally, he reached the last stop before the throne room.


    Armored knights lined up on both sides, raising their swords. The task now was to successfully reach the door that these armored knights were guarding. Astrid knew that behind the door was the throne room.


    He raised one of his brows. Wasn''t this task a bit too easy? It''s not like these knights would hack him to death. Surely, this theme park didn''t have the courage to hurt their guests. That''s one of the reasons why ever since they started this challenge, he had never felt fear. Any person who used their brain would know that an establishment like this wouldn''t dare to hurt their customers or else they had long closed down.


    With that thought in mind, Astrid stepped forward. He didn''t expect that as he did, the knights on both sides suddenly put down the sword they were holding. The knight''s swords facing each other crisscrossed. Because the swords were quite thick, this formed a tall fence. Completely preventing anyone who dared to go to the throne room.


    Well, this was indeed a bit hard to do. But not completely impossible. He looked at the fence of swords in front of him and was wondering if he could jump over it. That''s when the swords started to bleed out. Yes, red liquid started gushing out from it.


    Astrid felt the corner of his lips twitching. Was this trying to disgust him or something? So, he would be discouraged jumping over? He must apologize then. Because he had never been a squeamish person.


    He then didn''t hesitate to jump over.

 Chapter 292

    WULFRIC was shocked when he saw Aster jumping over the swords. His heart tightened. And his first thought was; ''What if Aster trip over? Wouldn''t it hurt?''


    "Those swords, are they real?" he asked in a grave voice.


    Seeing the blond guy''s murderous expression, the woman playing the queen felt her knees buckled. She felt like if she said ''yes'', this man wouldn''t hesitate to choke her to death. This was probably the first time in her life that she felt such intense pressure.


    "No, no, of course not," she quickly said to save her life. "It''s all props!"


    "Hmp."


    This simple ''hmp'' put a chill behind the woman''s back. She almost kneeled down and asked the other for mercy. Thankfully, the murderous atmosphere slowly died down. She held her chest and thought, [What the heck is wrong with this guy? One moment he''s proud, one moment he''s shy, then one moment he''s homicidal. Are you a psycho?]


    The woman shivered thinking she''s in the presence of someone similar to a serial killer.


    Wulfric, who had no idea that the woman had already suspected him of being a serial killer, turned his attention back to the virtual screen.


    Aster had now jumped over the third pair of swords. The other''s movement was very lithe, as if he was used to such physical movements. But then he remembered when the two of them first met. Aster tried to fight back and even managed to point a knife on his junior down there.


    This just showed that the other had a bit of training. Considering Reas'' skills, it would be much weirder if Aster didn''t know how to fight. But suddenly remembering their first meeting, he couldn''t help but feel embarrassed.


    If he thought about it now, he really wanted to punch himself in the face. How could he be so shameless then? It''s no wonder Aster would dislike him.


    He shook his head. No, it''s all in the past. He''s doing good now. Although he couldn''t change some of his core characters, it''s still enough to not annoy Aster and show the other his bad side.


    Looking back at the virtual screen, Aster had already arrived at front of the door to the throne room. The virtual screen disappeared at the point where Aster pushed the door. Wulfric quickly turned to that direction.


    The door opened and Aster walked in. The moment the other did, a golden cage suddenly surrounded Wulfric. He frowned and looked at the cage that suddenly appeared. Where did this cage came from? He was instantly annoyed. Especially since the cage appeared when he was about to rush to Aster.


    The woman playing the queen immediately felt the change in atmosphere around the blond guy. Her knees almost buckled again. My ancestor! She really wanted to simply give the key to the brown-haired teenager and let the two get out of here so she wouldn''t be around this psycho anymore!


    But if she did that, the management might deduct a few days of wages from her. So, she had to at least make it look like she was making an effort to play her role.


    "If you want to save the princess, you have to get the key from this queen!" she said, trying to sound majestic. Squeezing all the acting talent she possessed.


    And then she felt the blond guy''s sharp gaze on her. The expression on her face almost collapsed because of it. [Mom! Can you let me go? I''m only doing my job!]


    Astrid looked interestingly at the scene inside the throne room. It had the typical design, except that it was darker and had an overall creepy atmosphere.


    A woman was sitting on the throne chair. She was wearing an all-black dress with dark make-up. A crown was also atop her head. Although what she said was pretty arrogant, the expression on her face didn''t match it at all. It''s like she wanted to take a dump but couldn''t.


    Astrid was very amused by this. Then, she turned to his ''princess''. Wulfric was sitting very comfortably inside a golden cage. He had low pressure around him, as if he was ready to beat someone. But when Wulfric saw Astrid looking at him, his face brightened like a spring flower.


    "Aster!" he called and even waved excitedly.


    The woman playing the queen who saw this only thought of one word, ''psycho!''.


    Astrid smiled back before looking at the queen. "Hello, Your Majesty. What do I need to do to get the key?"


    Hearing this polite tone and seeing the teenager''s smile, the grievance in the woman''s heart finally lessened a bit. Then, she felt pity for the other. Having such a crazy boyfriend, this kid was definitely unlucky.


    "If you can make me get up from my seat without using any force, then this queen will give you the key," she said, trying to sound majestic.


    Astrid tilted his head, thinking of how to get the woman off her seat. The easiest way was to use his mental force. But he wasn''t that ruthless to use it on an unsuspecting woman who hadn''t done anything wrong to him.


    Then, he could only use one method.


    He walked up to the end of the stairs leading up to the throne where the woman was sitting.


    "So, does that mean that I¡ª"


    He stopped talking and clutched his chest. Then, he deliberately made it look like he had trouble breathing. Of course, he made sure to show a pained expression. Something that would make anyone who would look at him worry.


    When the woman saw this, she felt panicked. "You¡ªwhat''s wrong? Are you- are you okay?"


    Seeing that the woman still didn''t get up from her seat, Astrid gasped and then knelt down, still clutching at his chest. He wheezed and let out painful grunts.


    The woman finally stood up and ran to him. But before he could celebrate, he heard Wulfric shouting his name. And then, he felt his body suddenly floating up.


    It was only then that he noticed that a pair of strong arms was carrying him ¨C princess style!

 Chapter 293

    WHERE¡¯S the infirmary? Take me there!¡± Wulfric shouted at the woman. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Aster, I¡¯ll take you to the hospital right after. We¡¯ll just have to stabilize your condition.¡±


    Astrid looked up at the man carrying him. Wulfric¡¯s face was full of worry. His brows were furrowed. It seemed that he was angry yet Astrid could hear the panic in his voice.


    He suddenly felt guilty. Although carrying him like this was a bit uncomfortable, he was a bit at fault for worrying the other. He didn¡¯t expect that Wulfric would actually react this violently. He should have probably given Wulfric a heads-up. But then again, if he did, then the effect would probably not be this great.


    ¡°Wulf, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m only acting to get the queen off her seat,¡± he said with a slight helpless smile.


    Wulfric stopped and then gazed down at the teenager in his arms. The other no longer had that painful expression on his face. Remembering what Aster said about him only acting, Wulfric suddenly felt very embarrassed. His whole face turned red. The heat on his face was so hot, it felt like smoke would come out of his ears.


    ¡°You can put me down now,¡± Astrid said in a gentle tone.


    Because of too much embarrassment, Wulfric immediately put Aster down. But despite the embarrassment, his actions were still very gentle.


    He gazed away. ¡°You- you shouldn¡¯t joke about something like this! I- I almost had a heart attack!¡±


    Astrid smiled inwardly seeing the other¡¯s reaction. ¡°Sorry, it won¡¯t happen again. Promise. If ever I do something similar in the future, I¡¯ll make sure to warn you beforehand.¡±


    Seeing the teenager being so cheeky, Wulfric wanted to glare but couldn¡¯t. He couldn¡¯t even force himself to get angry at the other.


    ¡°But how did you get out of the cage?¡± Astrid asked.


    He looked at the direction of the cage and suddenly didn¡¯t know what to say when he saw its state. The bars of the cage were all bent into weird angles, some were even broken in half. If others saw this, they would think that the bars of this cage were made up of papers instead of metal.


    Just one look and Astrid already knew what Wulfric did. Well, considering the physique level of the other, something like this was probably just a piece of cake.


    He cleared his throat and no longer asked about that. Instead, he turned to the woman who had already climbed down the stairs.


    ¡°Your majesty, even though my partner got out of the cage on his own, I was still able to force you to get up from your seat without using any violent means. That means that we passed the challenge, right?¡± he asked with a smile.


    The woman looked at the teenager and suddenly felt a headache. How did she think that this kid was well-behaved? Of course, the crazy guy¡¯s boyfriend wouldn¡¯t be someone ordinary. Sure enough, this teenager was also a little devil.


    When she saw the other knelt down and hunched over, her heart quickly jumped to her throat. She didn¡¯t even think that the teenager might be acting. How could she think so when his expression was so believable? The other¡¯s acting was even more powerful than some actors she watched on TV or movies.


    ¡°Yes, you passed,¡± she could only say with a sigh.


    She then pressed a button on the bracelet she¡¯s wearing. This was to signal that someone had passed their couple challenge.


    A virtual notification immediately appeared in front of them.


    [Congratulations to the loving pair for conquering our castle¡¯s couple challenge!]


    ¡°We didn¡¯t break the record?¡± Astrid asked, a bit disappointed.


    Hearing the disappointment in Aster¡¯s voice, Wulfric lightly glanced at the woman. ¡°Is there something wrong with your system? Aster obviously cleared all the obstacles in such a short time! How come he didn¡¯t break the record?¡±


    The woman just felt her head throbbing. How did she know? It¡¯s not like she¡¯s the one in-charge of timing things. She almost vomited in her heart.


    Astrid jokingly slapped Wulfric¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Wulf, don¡¯t be too harsh on her. It¡¯s not her fault.¡± Now he could understand why the woman had a strange expression when he first came in. It¡¯s probably because she¡¯d been frightened by this guy. ¡°Go and apologize to the pretty sister.¡±


    Pretty? Where? Wulfric wanted to say. But looking at Aster¡¯s big black eyes staring at him with expectations. He could only grumble to the woman, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    If his lieutenant and three captains were here, their eyes would probably bulge in disbelief seeing this scene. After all, it¡¯s not everyday they could see their arrogant general apologized to anyone. Much less someone he didn¡¯t care for.


    The woman¡¯s piled up grievances slightly lessened by this apology. Still, she wanted nothing more for this couple to leave. If the two stayed longer, she might really end up having psychological shadow over this incident.


    ¡°Please, go to the door on the right,¡± she said. ¡°You can get your reward at the exit of the castle for completing the challenge.¡±


    Astrid nodded before turning to Wulfric. ¡°Let¡¯s go?¡±


    The two walked towards the door on the right. What welcomed them was a corridor and at the end of it was an elevator. Riding down, they soon reached the ground floor. As soon as they walked out of the elevator, an AI robot walked up to them.


    ¡°Congratulations on completing the challenge! Please, follow me to get your reward.¡±


    They followed the robot as it went behind some kind of reception desk. Then, it took out two stuff toys. Not just ordinary stuff toys but a chibi version of Astrid and Wulfric!


    At least, the version of them that¡¯s currently in disguised.


    ¡°Aster, ahm, can- can I have this?¡± Wulfric suddenly said, taking the chibi-Aster. ¡°Then, you can have mine?¡±


    Astrid glanced at the other and smiled when he saw how red Wulfric¡¯s face was. ¡°Sure.¡± He reached for the chibi-Wulfric, hugging it, and putting his cheek on its cheek. ¡°It¡¯s cute, right?¡±


    Seeing this, Wulfric only felt like an arrow pierced his heart. [You¡¯re the cute one.]

 Chapter 294

    FTER doing the couple challenge, Astrid and Wulfric decided to look around the horror theme park. Going around and checking every attraction. As they did, Astrid could see that Wulfric was in a very good mood. The other¡¯s every step was light. It¡¯s almost as if there were small flowers floating around him.


    It¡¯s not hard to guess the cause for this. It¡¯s definitely because of those stuff toys they won at the castle. Astrid was still quite amazed by it. Because the stuff toys were made quite fast. The fact that they were based on his and Wulfric¡¯s looks meant that they were only made right after they completed the challenge. Just how fast was that?


    But then again, this was the interstellar era. He shouldn¡¯t really be that surprised at how advanced the technology was.


    Now, each of their stuff toys were safely tuck in their space stones.


    Astrid glanced at Wulfric. He knew this guy was not only in such a good mood because of the stuff toys but also because of the pictures they had taken. In every attraction they went to, Wulfric insisted on taking photos of the two of them. Like some kind of souvenir.


    He didn¡¯t mind though. There¡¯s no reason for him to decline. Such a small thing, if it could make Wulfric happy, then who was he to hinder it?


    They stayed at the theme park until after lunch time. They even had lunch there. Just a few hours after eating, they decided to finally leave since they had already gone through all the attractions.


    ¡°Where do you want to go next?¡± Wulfric asked while the two of them were walking towards the parking space.


    ¡°Do you have any more plans?¡± Astrid asked back. ¡°If you do, we can just go there.¡±


    Wulfric scratched his nose. ¡°Well, based on my failed plans, I think it¡¯s better to just go with the flow. So, you decide where to go next.¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go to the mall?¡± Astrid suggested. ¡°Let¡¯s just walk around, go shopping, and then watch a movie after.¡±


    What he said was something very standard in a date. He didn¡¯t think that it would be boring. How could it be boring when he¡¯s with this guy? He¡¯s sure that Wulfric would do something interesting no matter where they went.


    When Wulfric heard the word ¡®shopping¡¯, his eyebrows almost creased. But then he immediately thought that he could buy clothes and other things for Aster. Then, somehow, he didn¡¯t mind it anymore.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said.


    ¡ª¨C


    They went to the biggest mall in the capital. It had 30 floors, complete with all kinds of amenities. From restaurants to different kinds of stores, to movie theaters. There was even a dedicated playground for kids.


    This was Astrid¡¯s first time here. He usually went shopping on the nearest department store to his apartment. That one was big, but this was obviously bigger.


    Going inside, he asked Wulfric, ¡°Have you been here before?¡±


    ¡°No, actually. This is not the usual establishment I frequent,¡± Wulfric answered honestly.


    ¡°Then, what kind of establishment do you usually frequent?¡± Astrid asked, with a bit of playfulness in his voice.


    Wulfric cleared his throat. ¡°Well, here and there. You know, places of ill repute.¡±


    Astrid chuckled at that. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to be so honest.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s better to be honest than to be hypocritical. Besides,¡± Wulfric glanced to the side as if he¡¯s feeling shy. ¡°I want you to see the real me. Not just the ¡®me¡¯ that I want to show to you.¡±


    Astrid stared at Wulfric with interest. Then he smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I pretty much have a good idea of what kind of temperament and character you have. So, you don¡¯t have to worry that I would be tricked by you.¡±


    After saying that with an obvious playful tone, he walked forward. Leaving the other behind.


    Wulfric was momentarily stunned hearing that. Then, seeing that Aster was walking further away, he quickly called and followed.


    ¡°Hey, Aster!¡± Walking beside the other, he asked, ¡°So, if you were to give a grade on my personality, what would it be?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ if we¡¯re talking about the first time we met, then you¡¯d definitely fail,¡± Astrid said without hesitation. ¡°But now? You¡¯re definitely making progress.¡± He glanced at the other and smiled. ¡°I like it.¡±


    ¡®I like it¡­ I like it¡­ I like it¡­¡¯ ¨C Those three words continued to echo in Wulfric¡¯s mind. Did that mean that Aster was starting to like him? He quickly shook his head. No. he shouldn¡¯t jump to conclusions like that.


    Right now, it¡¯s enough that Aster like his change. Although he¡¯s not even sure what kind of change was that. After all, in his opinion, he wasn¡¯t really that much different from how he was before. Except probably for the way he treated Aster. But that¡¯s only natural, right? After all, for him, Aster was very special.


    As he was thinking that, he suddenly thought of something. ¡°By the way, speaking of the first time we met, there¡¯s something about it that remained a puzzle for me. How did I lose consciousness? I was checked for any drugs but nothing was found. I also didn¡¯t feel you using your mental force on me. So, can you enlighten me just this one time?¡±


    Aster turned to him with a serious expression. ¡°What answer would not put me in prison?¡±


    Seeing the other being so serious, it just made Aster looked cuter in Wulfric¡¯s eyes. Finally, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from reaching out and pinching the other¡¯s cheek. ¡°Stop playing. No matter what you do, I won¡¯t have the heart to put you in prison.¡±


    Astrid was startled by the sudden touch on his cheek. Then, he grinned after hearing what Wulfric had said. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t say that. I might be tempted to do something criminal.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± Wulfric asked in an amused tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Astrid shrugged before smiling playfully at the other. ¡°Like kissing a certain prince in public.¡±


    Boom! Yes, that was Wulfric¡¯s heart just now.

 Chapter 295

    WULFRIC hadn¡¯t reacted yet and Aster had already walked ahead once again. Then, he suddenly realized that the other most likely said that to avert answering his question. It¡¯s very effective though.


    Just looked at his reaction. His heart was still beating so hard and so fast right now. It almost felt like it would jump out of his body if he wasn¡¯t careful. If it was normal, he would have probably said, ¡®you can try it if you want¡¯. But sadly, he realized that he wasn¡¯t as courageous as he thought he was. At least, not when it came to Aster.


    He truly wanted to just be shameless and pull Aster to him. Wrapping his arms around his thin waist and, ahem, doing the ¡®criminal act¡¯ the other just said. But surprisingly enough, the moment he thought of it, his mind just blanked out and he couldn¡¯t move.


    Who would have thought that he, the great general feared by all, wouldn¡¯t have the guts to do something like that? If it was before, he probably wouldn¡¯t hesitate to do it. He would probably even make the first move. But since he get to know Aster and their relationship started to get better, his shamelessness towards the other diminished by a mile.


    Wulfric sighed. This was really not good for his heart. Maybe by the end of this day, he would suffer myocardial infarction.


    He no longer planned to ask the other about what happened when they first met. If Aster didn¡¯t want to say it, then he wouldn¡¯t force him. He probably had his own reason for not saying it. Besides, it¡¯s not like the other meant any harm.


    He took a deep breath and tried his to calm down his still frantic heart. Then, he stepped forward and followed Aster.


    He cleared his throat before asking, ¡°Do you want to go shopping first?¡±


    Astrid glanced at the other. Seeing his ear tip still red, he knew that Wulfric still felt shy because of what he said earlier. He was actually expecting the other to continue asking. But good thing he didn¡¯t. Because Astrid didn¡¯t want to lie to him.


    No matter how good their relationship had progressed, he couldn¡¯t tell him the whole truth about what happened back then. Because that incident involved his Uncle Leigh.


    Still, he was a bit surprised that Wulfric didn¡¯t continue questioning him. It¡¯s rare for the other to be sensitive about such things or at least he thought he was. Or maybe it was only so because it involved him.


    Was he really that special?


    If he thought about all of Wulfric¡¯s actions so far, then the answer was already pretty obvious. A small smiled appeared on his charming face. He didn¡¯t dislike this feeling at all. In fact, it¡¯s something worth cherishing. Like a hidden treasure buried within his heart.


    He gazed at Wulfric and smiled, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go shopping.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    The two first went to a designer clothes store known for its youthful designs that were popular amongst young people in the Empire.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t know much about clothes and styling. As evidence of the fact that Hildred had to help him dressed up for today. But when he saw the vibrant and chic clothes inside the store, he couldn¡¯t help but frown a bit.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Astrid asked when he noticed the other¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think the clothes here wouldn¡¯t suit me?¡± Wulfric asked, his expression a bit unbearable.


    ¡°Why not? The clothes here are specifically for young people,¡± Astrid said before adding in a playful tone, ¡°Or do you think you¡¯re already too old for such clothes?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Wulfric immediately said. ¡°I¡¯m only 30 this year. That could hardly be called ¡®old¡¯ in today¡¯s standards.¡±


    Although he and Aster had a 12-year age gap, that could hardly be considered as controversial. After all, people in this era could live up to 300 years. What¡¯s a 12-year age gap if people could live for that long?


    ¡°I agree,¡± Astrid said with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s why I suggested this place first. So, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Then he pulled Wulfric inside the store.


    ¡°Let me pick some clothes for you,¡± he said.


    He didn¡¯t wait for Wulfric¡¯s answer and quickly opened one of the virtual catalogs on the shelf near them. He first scanned Wulfric¡¯s body using the catalog. This way, the system could record the right size of his body. After that, Astrid started picking clothes for the other.


    Wulfric tried to see what kind of clothes Aster was choosing for him but the other was quick on his toes and managed to avoid him many times. So, he decided that while Aster was busy with that, he called on one of the personnel of the store and reserved a dressing room for him and Aster.


    Although he wasn¡¯t well-versed in some things, he still knew that high-end cloth stores like this would have private dressing rooms. After paying for the use of the private dressing room, the personnel he called became extremely polite.


    Of course, Wulfric¡¯s actions didn¡¯t escape Astrid¡¯s attention. He appreciated the other¡¯s thoughtfulness. There¡¯s a lot of customers in this store, it¡¯s the weekend after all. Changing clothes using an ordinary dressing room wouldn¡¯t be too comfortable. Besides, how could they enjoy themselves that way? With their own dressing room, the two of them could have their own fashion show at ease.


    The personnel led them to the private dressing room. The size of the room was like the combined size of his apartment¡¯s living room and dining room/kitchen. Which was already pretty big. There was a couch and also a separate fitting room that could provide privacy for the one changing clothes.


    ¡°The clothes that you¡¯ve chosen will be delivered to your shortly,¡± the personnel said before leaving the two and closing the private dressing room.


    ¡°Wulf, you should try all the clothes I¡¯ve chosen for you, okay?¡± Astrid said with twinkling eyes.


    Wulfric immediately felt a bit constipated hearing that.

 Chapter 296

    WULFRIC hadn¡¯t reacted yet and Aster had already walked ahead once again. Then, he suddenly realized that the other most likely said that to avert answering his question. It¡¯s very effective though.


    Just looked at his reaction. His heart was still beating so hard and so fast right now. It almost felt like it would jump out of his body if he wasn¡¯t careful. If it was normal, he would have probably said, ¡®you can try it if you want¡¯. But sadly, he realized that he wasn¡¯t as courageous as he thought he was. At least, not when it came to Aster.


    He truly wanted to just be shameless and pull Aster to him. Wrapping his arms around his thin waist and, ahem, doing the ¡®criminal act¡¯ the other just said. But surprisingly enough, the moment he thought of it, his mind just blanked out and he couldn¡¯t move.


    Who would have thought that he, the great general feared by all, wouldn¡¯t have the guts to do something like that? If it was before, he probably wouldn¡¯t hesitate to do it. He would probably even make the first move. But since he get to know Aster and their relationship started to get better, his shamelessness towards the other diminished by a mile.


    Wulfric sighed. This was really not good for his heart. Maybe by the end of this day, he would suffer myocardial infarction.


    He no longer planned to ask the other about what happened when they first met. If Aster didn¡¯t want to say it, then he wouldn¡¯t force him. He probably had his own reason for not saying it. Besides, it¡¯s not like the other meant any harm.


    He took a deep breath and tried his to calm down his still frantic heart. Then, he stepped forward and followed Aster.


    He cleared his throat before asking, ¡°Do you want to go shopping first?¡±


    Astrid glanced at the other. Seeing his ear tip still red, he knew that Wulfric still felt shy because of what he said earlier. He was actually expecting the other to continue asking. But good thing he didn¡¯t. Because Astrid didn¡¯t want to lie to him.


    No matter how good their relationship had progressed, he couldn¡¯t tell him the whole truth about what happened back then. Because that incident involved his Uncle Leigh.


    Still, he was a bit surprised that Wulfric didn¡¯t continue questioning him. It¡¯s rare for the other to be sensitive about such things or at least he thought he was. Or maybe it was only so because it involved him.


    Was he really that special?


    If he thought about all of Wulfric¡¯s actions so far, then the answer was already pretty obvious. A small smiled appeared on his charming face. He didn¡¯t dislike this feeling at all. In fact, it¡¯s something worth cherishing. Like a hidden treasure buried within his heart.


    He gazed at Wulfric and smiled, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go shopping.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    The two first went to a designer clothes store known for its youthful designs that were popular amongst young people in the Empire.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t know much about clothes and styling. As evidence of the fact that Hildred had to help him dressed up for today. But when he saw the vibrant and chic clothes inside the store, he couldn¡¯t help but frown a bit.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Astrid asked when he noticed the other¡¯s expression.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think the clothes here wouldn¡¯t suit me?¡± Wulfric asked, his expression a bit unbearable.


    ¡°Why not? The clothes here are specifically for young people,¡± Astrid said before adding in a playful tone, ¡°Or do you think you¡¯re already too old for such clothes?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Wulfric immediately said. ¡°I¡¯m only 30 this year. That could hardly be called ¡®old¡¯ in today¡¯s standards.¡±


    Although he and Aster had a 12-year age gap, that could hardly be considered as controversial. After all, people in this era could live up to 300 years. What¡¯s a 12-year age gap if people could live for that long?


    ¡°I agree,¡± Astrid said with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s why I suggested this place first. So, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Then he pulled Wulfric inside the store.


    ¡°Let me pick some clothes for you,¡± he said.


    He didn¡¯t wait for Wulfric¡¯s answer and quickly opened one of the virtual catalogs on the shelf near them. He first scanned Wulfric¡¯s body using the catalog. This way, the system could record the right size of his body. After that, Astrid started picking clothes for the other.


    Wulfric tried to see what kind of clothes Aster was choosing for him but the other was quick on his toes and managed to avoid him many times. So, he decided that while Aster was busy with that, he called on one of the personnel of the store and reserved a dressing room for him and Aster.


    Although he wasn¡¯t well-versed in some things, he still knew that high-end cloth stores like this would have private dressing rooms. After paying for the use of the private dressing room, the personnel he called became extremely polite.


    Of course, Wulfric¡¯s actions didn¡¯t escape Astrid¡¯s attention. He appreciated the other¡¯s thoughtfulness. There¡¯s a lot of customers in this store, it¡¯s the weekend after all. Changing clothes using an ordinary dressing room wouldn¡¯t be too comfortable. Besides, how could they enjoy themselves that way? With their own dressing room, the two of them could have their own fashion show at ease.


    The personnel led them to the private dressing room. The size of the room was like the combined size of his apartment¡¯s living room and dining room/kitchen. Which was already pretty big. There was a couch and also a separate fitting room that could provide privacy for the one changing clothes.


    ¡°The clothes that you¡¯ve chosen will be delivered to your shortly,¡± the personnel said before leaving the two and closing the private dressing room.


    ¡°Wulf, you should try all the clothes I¡¯ve chosen for you, okay?¡± Astrid said with twinkling eyes.


    Wulfric immediately felt a bit constipated hearing that.

 Chapter 297

    MOVIE theaters in this era were divided into two ¨C the 5D version and the VR version. The 5D version was like the 3D one in Astrid¡¯s past life. Only this one was much more refined and realistic. In the VR version, you would have to wear a VR helmet and watch the movie in god¡¯s perspective. In this way, the viewers could experience everything as if they were really there.


    Of course, Astrid chose the VR version.


    There were also theaters that were for general masses and theaters that were specifically for couples. As the one paying, of course, Wulfric chose a theater for couples.


    When they walked inside, there were four columns of seats. Each column had five couch-like seats. The couch could obviously seat two people. So, all in all, this cinema could house 20 couples at most.


    ¡°Our seat is C-3,¡± Wulfric said to Aster.


    The two went to their assigned seat and sat down. On each side of the seat was a VR helmet. There were already couples sitting inside with a VR helmet on. This was another advantage of watching in theaters with VR helmets. With movies that had been released for more than a month, anyone who entered the theater could watch it as soon as they put the VR helmet on.


    In couple theaters, the VR helmets were much special compared to the normal ones. Because here, the couples could actually watch the movie together. Their VR helmets were connected, so they would also enter the movie together.


    ¡°Shall we?¡± asked Wulfric.


    Astrid nodded and the both of them wore the VR helmets. At first, there¡¯s infinite darkness. But after a second or two, a new scenery appeared in front of them. It was by the sea. A woman was standing there with her back to them, her long blond hair was swaying with the soft wind.


    ¡°A year has already passed.¡± She raised her head and looked at blue sky. ¡°I wonder if you¡¯re doing okay now¡­¡±


    There was a soft music as the woman utter a name that also slowly disappeared with the wind.


    Then the camera panned out, showing the sea and then the sky. The scene then slowly descended. It was no longer the sea, but a bustling city. The camera slowly zoomed in to a man, staring blankly at the road before him.


    The man had messy black hair that seemed to have not been washed for days now. There were dark circles under his pair of red eyes. There was weeks¡¯ worth of stubbles on his face. He looked very unkempt. Almost like a homeless guy.


    But the thing that one would first notice when they saw him was the blank expression on his face. It was like his eyes were empty, devoid of anything. As if light was extinguished, filling it with nothing but hopelessness.


    Relatively speaking, the man was very handsome. But somehow, in this scene, anyone watching him could only see the negative emotions he was portraying. His looks didn¡¯t even come to mind.


    Astrid smiled excitedly, feeling the future challenge that he had to face. This was the current number one star in the Empire. If this was Astrid¡¯s past life, this man would be called the ¡®movie emperor¡¯.


    Valentine Davis. A man truly befitting of his rank on the [Star List].


    While Astrid was engrossed in watching the movie, the man floating beside him had already furrowed his brows to the extreme.


    Wulfric recognized the man they were watching. He had seen the other a few years back and once again when he returned recently. He couldn¡¯t forget it. Because the place where he saw this man was very memorable.


    It¡¯s the imperial palace!


    When he first saw the other three years ago, his brother straightforwardly said that the man was his current lover. The way Cynric said it was like he was simply commenting on the weather. But Wulfric knew that it was his brother¡¯s way of secretly punishing him. Cynric doing that was like saying, ¡®look, because of your selfishness and ignorance, I ended up like this¡¯.


    He understood his brother¡¯s¡­ affliction. Something that had been born from his past trauma caused by their shitty father. And he could admit that he had a hand on why those things happened to Cynric.


    Because instead of staying with the other, he chose to leave and enter the army. He never expected that his need to get away from the life in palace would cost Cynric that much pain.


    Even when he helped the other sat on that throne, that pain probably had never diminished. That¡¯s why Cynric constantly had a lover at his beck and call even after he became the emperor. He needed it. Like a drug.


    He knew it¡¯s bad for him and that it would never lessen his pain. But he was already addicted to it. No matter what he did, he couldn¡¯t stop himself.


    This was the reason why Cynric never appointed an empress nor did he ever plan to. Because in his brother¡¯s opinion, he was too broken. He didn¡¯t want to have a child with the same gene as him. Because what if the child ended up like him? Or worse, what if he couldn¡¯t help but do to the child what their father did to him?


    In Wulfric¡¯s opinion, that was all bullshit. As much as he hated to admit it, between the two of them, he was more similar to that bastard than Cynric would ever be. The other was too much similar to their mother. It was the reason that degenerate targeted Cynric and not him.


    But his brother wouldn¡¯t hear it. It¡¯s like that idea had already fermented inside him that it would take a lot to change his mind. And by a lot, Wulfric meant something heaven-defying.


    He looked at the actor in front of him. The other was the longest lover his brother had. Maybe¡­ just maybe, this man could accomplish that heaven-defying act.

 Chapter 298

    ASTRID was very satisfied with the movie they watched. Since the genre was drama/tragedy, it really showcased Valentine Davis¡¯ talent. Watching the other made him even more determined. He believed that having a goal that one wanted to surpass would make a person grow more.


    Valentine Davis was not simply a challenge to him. The other was also someone he needed to surpass to get to the top. It¡¯s much better to have a worthy opponent that could inspire him to do his best than to not have one at all.


    ¡°What do you think of the movie?¡± he asked Wulfric.


    When he didn¡¯t get an immediate reply, he glanced back at the other and was a bit surprised to see the frowning expression on his face. It seemed as if Wulfric was in deep thought. Because he was so engrossed by the movie, he hardly paid attention to the other. Was there some kind of problem he didn¡¯t know about?


    ¡°Are you okay, Wulf?¡± he asked. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡±


    That question brought Wulfric back to his senses. He tried to smile and say, ¡°Nothing. I just suddenly thought of something.¡±


    ¡°Something related to Valentine Davis?¡±


    When Astrid saw the other stiffened the moment he mentioned ¡®Valentine Davis¡¯, he knew that he must have hit the nail on the head. He narrowed his eyes at the other.


    ¡°Do you know him personally?¡± he added, carefully observing the other¡¯s expression.


    Seeing Aster looking at him as if he was under x-ray vision, he suddenly had an urge to confess everything. But he quickly held himself back. This was something related to his brother.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know him personally. But I know of him,¡± he said, but he still felt like he needed to explain some more lest Aster misunderstood him. So, he added, ¡°He¡¯s kind of, well, entangled with someone I know. So, my mind just wandered a bit after watching his movie.¡±


    Entangled with someone? Could it be another soldier or perhaps a noble? ¨C Astrid thought. He was more inclined to the former. Because Wulfric just wasn¡¯t the type to be close with other nobles. He¡¯s like a rebel prince who refused to conform to what society expected of him. So, the guess that it was a soldier was more viable.


    If it was a soldier, it¡¯s definitely one of the captains or that lieutenant. Then, according to what Wulfric said, Valentine Davis actually had a relationship with one of those four. He couldn¡¯t believe that he would actually hear such a gold level gossip from Wulfric. Any paparazzi would probably set up a banquet just by knowing this piece of information.


    And this guy just told it to him like it was nothing. He smiled a bit helplessly. He understood that it was probably because the other didn¡¯t want him to misunderstand anything. That¡¯s why he revealed something as close to the truth as he possibly could.


    ¡°Such things, it¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t tell me about it. If you said that it¡¯s something personal, I will definitely understand it and would no longer press you about it,¡± he said. ¡°What will you do if I spread this information around?¡±


    ¡°I dare tell you because I know you wouldn¡¯t,¡± Wulfric said in a tone of absolute certainty.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Thank you for your confidence in me. Still, you shouldn¡¯t easily tell people about personal things like this. Who knew if there are other people listening in?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m pretty sure no one heard what I said just now.¡±


    Astrid shook his head when he heard that. Because that¡¯s hardly the point. But he knew that if continued this topic, their debate would just continue and would definitely head to nowhere.


    He stretched his arm and pinched the other¡¯s cheek. ¡°Stubborn.¡±


    Wulfric was startled. Before he could react the touch of Aster¡¯s fingers on his cheek had already disappeared.


    ¡°Shall we have dinner next?¡± Aster asked, turning around and smiling at him.


    ¡°O-okay.¡± Wulfric cleared his throat. ¡°I know a place. This time, I promise it won¡¯t go wrong just like what happened this morning.¡±


    Astrid chuckled at that. ¡°It¡¯s fine even if it goes wrong. We can always have a second option.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    Wulfric brought Aster to Lake Cassidy. There was a famous floating restaurant there. They offered boat rides to their customers. The customers could have dinner at the boats.


    The day he invited Aster out and the other agreed, he had already reserved the whole place. He also checked a few hours ago to make sure that the restaurant didn¡¯t inexplicably close tonight. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t.


    So, now, they¡¯re here.


    Astrid glanced at the restaurant floating on the lake. It had four floors with the one at the bottom being the biggest and the one at the top being the smallest. Much similar to the architecture of a Japanese castle.


    There was a bridge connecting the castle to the shore. Standing before the bridge was a man in a suite.


    ¡°Mr. Wolf, I presume?¡± the ma?tre ¡®d of the restaurant, who quickly welcomed them, asked.


    ¡°Correct,¡± Wulfric answered.


    ¡°Follow me, please,¡± the ma?tre ¡®d said, gesturing for them to follow.


    Wulfric and Astrid followed the other towards a boat anchored on the side of the shore. It was quite big, unlike ordinary boats. It had a table and a pair of chairs. The design was also quite intricate and delicate.


    ¡°Once the two guests go onboard, the boat will automatically send you to the middle of the lake. So, the two can fully enjoy the beauty of Lake Cassidy. You can enter the dishes you wanted at the virtual menu provided for you inside,¡± the ma?tre said. ¡°Please.¡±


    The other made a welcome gesture. Wulfric entered the boat first. Once inside, he raised his hand towards Astrid.


    Astrid smiled when he saw this. He put his hand on Wulfric¡¯s palm and he jumped to the boat. Because of his sudden action, the boat swayed. Wulfric¡¯s first reaction was to hold Astrid¡¯s waist and steady him. Astrid wasn¡¯t startled and instead smiled at Wulfric.


    ¡°Thank you, my prince.¡±

 Chapter 299

    WULFRIC only felt his heart jumping wildly. It felt like it would jump to his throat at any second. Then he saw the playful glint on Aster¡¯s eyes and he knew that the other was teasing him again. Despite the jumping up and down of his heart, a helpless smile still crossed his lips.


    He raised his hand and tapped the other¡¯s nose. ¡°Stop being too naughty.¡±


    Or else, he might really end up being a ¡®criminal¡¯. Like the example Aster gave him earlier. Of course, he would try his best to hold back. But he wasn¡¯t really known for having great self-control. The only thing that¡¯s probably stopping him from completely letting go was the fear that Aster would hate him.


    And yet, this ¡®unscrupulous¡¯ kid seemed to always try testing his limit since this morning. Not that he hated it though. Despite the constant heart attack, he enjoyed that fluttering feeling in his stomach. As if butterflies were flying inside. It¡¯s uncomfortable in a way. But it¡¯s probably the best kind of discomfort he had ever felt.


    Feeling the tap on his nose, Astrid pouted a bit. ¡°I¡¯m not being naughty. I¡¯m simply telling the truth. After all, you are indeed a prince.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Wulfric could only say, his voice full of pampering.


    The two finally sat down at the center of the boat. The moment they did, it automatically sailed towards the center of the lake. Its speed wasn¡¯t too fast. Just enough to create a gentle breeze.


    ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± Wulfric asked.


    ¡°You can order for me,¡± Astrid responded.


    ¡°What if you don¡¯t like what I ordered?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. I¡¯m not very picky when it comes to food, you see,¡± Astrid said, then he smiled and added. ¡°Unlike some.¡±


    Wulfric raised one of his brows. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re talking about me?¡±


    Astrid showed a very fake shocked expression. ¡°How could I even dare?¡±


    The two looked at each other and then laughed together.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll order for the both of us. Just don¡¯t complain later,¡± Wulfric said after a while.


    While Wulfric was ordering, Astrid looked around the lake. There were artificial ball of lights floating around. In this dark environment, these balls of light seemed like fireflies floating around them. With the full moon hanging above their heads and the stars sprinkled on the dark night sky, everything was just simply beautiful.


    He turned to Wulfric. The other had his brows furrowed while looking seriously at the virtual screen in front of him. It was as if he was trying to solve a national level problem.


    Cute.


    Wulfric finally finished ordering. When he closed the virtual screen and raised his head, he saw that Aster was staring at him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there a dirt on my face?¡± he asked, touching his face.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m just thinking how handsome you are,¡± the other said with a smile while gazing softly at him.


    And Wulfric¡¯s poor heart went to another overdrive. He could feel his whole face heating up. He put his hand on his nape and gazed away. ¡°Ah seriously. Are you so hellbent on giving me a heart attack today?¡±


    Astrid was startled hearing that. But seeing the shy look on Wulfric¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. Was he really teasing the other too much? But most of the time, he was just telling the truth though.


    He wasn¡¯t really thinking much when he said the things that gave Wulfric ¡®palpitation¡¯. He was simply saying the first thing that came to his mind at the moment. The fact that that was the case showed how comfortable he was with the other.


    He would have never expected that something like that was possible. Especially if he thought of the first time the two of them met. All he felt back then for the other was annoyance. All he wanted was to not ever meet the other again. And yet now here they were. Having dinner at such a romantic place. Fate really seemed to move in mysterious ways.


    Astrid put his chin on his palm and smiled at the other. ¡°Well, you¡¯re free to take revenge. I won¡¯t be mad even if you do.¡±


    Wulfric stopped and then turned to Astrid. His expression suddenly turned serious. ¡°Can I really?¡±


    Astrid nodded.


    Wulfric stood up and walked to his side. He leaned down towards him. The other¡¯s action quickly shortened the distance between them until there¡¯s only a few inches separating his face from his. Astrid subconsciously wanted to move back but he stopped himself and stared straight at Wulfric. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the other was planning to do.


    He saw Wulfric reaching out to him until his rough, callused hand touched Astrid¡¯s cheek. The other continued on with his descent, as if trying to kiss him. But when there was only an inch between them, Wulfric stopped, his whole face suddenly turned red. Then the other jumped back, like a puppy that got its tail stepped on.


    ¡°W-why didn¡¯t you move away and avoid me?¡± Wulfric asked.


    Astrid was stunned and then stared at the other. Seeing Wulfric¡¯s blushing face, he couldn¡¯t help burst out laughing. The other was the one who initiated it but at the end he was too shy to continue. Now, Wulfric was blushing from his neck to the roots of his ears.


    Wulfric¡¯s question lingered in his mind however. Yes, why didn¡¯t he try to move at all? The answer was pretty obvious if he really thought about it. But he didn¡¯t really to think too much right now and analyzed everything that¡¯s happening between them. He simply wanted to go with the flow. Let the wind take them where it should, that kind of thing.


    But at that moment, when the distance between them was only an inch away, a certain expectation bloomed in his heart. Just thinking of that, he felt his ear tips heating up.


    Astrid looked at Wulfric who was still blushing red. ¡°I think you already got your ¡®revenge¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 300

    WULFRIC only felt his heart jumping wildly. It felt like it would jump to his throat at any second. Then he saw the playful glint on Aster¡¯s eyes and he knew that the other was teasing him again. Despite the jumping up and down of his heart, a helpless smile still crossed his lips.


    He raised his hand and tapped the other¡¯s nose. ¡°Stop being too naughty.¡±


    Or else, he might really end up being a ¡®criminal¡¯. Like the example Aster gave him earlier. Of course, he would try his best to hold back. But he wasn¡¯t really known for having great self-control. The only thing that¡¯s probably stopping him from completely letting go was the fear that Aster would hate him.


    And yet, this ¡®unscrupulous¡¯ kid seemed to always try testing his limit since this morning. Not that he hated it though. Despite the constant heart attack, he enjoyed that fluttering feeling in his stomach. As if butterflies were flying inside. It¡¯s uncomfortable in a way. But it¡¯s probably the best kind of discomfort he had ever felt.


    Feeling the tap on his nose, Astrid pouted a bit. ¡°I¡¯m not being naughty. I¡¯m simply telling the truth. After all, you are indeed a prince.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Wulfric could only say, his voice full of pampering.


    The two finally sat down at the center of the boat. The moment they did, it automatically sailed towards the center of the lake. Its speed wasn¡¯t too fast. Just enough to create a gentle breeze.


    ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± Wulfric asked.


    ¡°You can order for me,¡± Astrid responded.


    ¡°What if you don¡¯t like what I ordered?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it. I¡¯m not very picky when it comes to food, you see,¡± Astrid said, then he smiled and added. ¡°Unlike some.¡±


    Wulfric raised one of his brows. ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯re talking about me?¡±


    Astrid showed a very fake shocked expression. ¡°How could I even dare?¡±


    The two looked at each other and then laughed together.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll order for the both of us. Just don¡¯t complain later,¡± Wulfric said after a while.


    While Wulfric was ordering, Astrid looked around the lake. There were artificial ball of lights floating around. In this dark environment, these balls of light seemed like fireflies floating around them. With the full moon hanging above their heads and the stars sprinkled on the dark night sky, everything was just simply beautiful.


    He turned to Wulfric. The other had his brows furrowed while looking seriously at the virtual screen in front of him. It was as if he was trying to solve a national level problem.


    Cute.


    Wulfric finally finished ordering. When he closed the virtual screen and raised his head, he saw that Aster was staring at him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is there a dirt on my face?¡± he asked, touching his face.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m just thinking how handsome you are,¡± the other said with a smile while gazing softly at him.


    And Wulfric¡¯s poor heart went to another overdrive. He could feel his whole face heating up. He put his hand on his nape and gazed away. ¡°Ah seriously. Are you so hellbent on giving me a heart attack today?¡±


    Astrid was startled hearing that. But seeing the shy look on Wulfric¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. Was he really teasing the other too much? But most of the time, he was just telling the truth though.


    He wasn¡¯t really thinking much when he said the things that gave Wulfric ¡®palpitation¡¯. He was simply saying the first thing that came to his mind at the moment. The fact that that was the case showed how comfortable he was with the other.


    He would have never expected that something like that was possible. Especially if he thought of the first time the two of them met. All he felt back then for the other was annoyance. All he wanted was to not ever meet the other again. And yet now here they were. Having dinner at such a romantic place. Fate really seemed to move in mysterious ways.


    Astrid put his chin on his palm and smiled at the other. ¡°Well, you¡¯re free to take revenge. I won¡¯t be mad even if you do.¡±


    Wulfric stopped and then turned to Astrid. His expression suddenly turned serious. ¡°Can I really?¡±


    Astrid nodded.


    Wulfric stood up and walked to his side. He leaned down towards him. The other¡¯s action quickly shortened the distance between them until there¡¯s only a few inches separating his face from his. Astrid subconsciously wanted to move back but he stopped himself and stared straight at Wulfric. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the other was planning to do.


    He saw Wulfric reaching out to him until his rough, callused hand touched Astrid¡¯s cheek. The other continued on with his descent, as if trying to kiss him. But when there was only an inch between them, Wulfric stopped, his whole face suddenly turned red. Then the other jumped back, like a puppy that got its tail stepped on.


    ¡°W-why didn¡¯t you move away and avoid me?¡± Wulfric asked.


    Astrid was stunned and then stared at the other. Seeing Wulfric¡¯s blushing face, he couldn¡¯t help burst out laughing. The other was the one who initiated it but at the end he was too shy to continue. Now, Wulfric was blushing from his neck to the roots of his ears.


    Wulfric¡¯s question lingered in his mind however. Yes, why didn¡¯t he try to move at all? The answer was pretty obvious if he really thought about it. But he didn¡¯t really to think too much right now and analyzed everything that¡¯s happening between them. He simply wanted to go with the flow. Let the wind take them where it should, that kind of thing.


    But at that moment, when the distance between them was only an inch away, a certain expectation bloomed in his heart. Just thinking of that, he felt his ear tips heating up.


    Astrid looked at Wulfric who was still blushing red. ¡°I think you already got your ¡®revenge¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 301

    SOON the food Wulfric ordered arrived. As expected, everything looked exceptionally good. The two of them started eating. Wulfric raised his head and when he saw Aster eating with gusto, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was actually quite worried that the other wouldn¡¯t like the dishes that he ordered.


    But then again, Aster did say that he wasn¡¯t a picky eater. He had been here before though and he really liked their food. It¡¯s the reason why he chose this place. Not only for the great ambience but also because of the food.


    ¡°Are you and your army leaving the capital tomorrow?¡± Astrid thought of asking after a while.


    Throughout the whole day, this was the first time that he opened up this topic to the other. Not that he was avoiding it. It¡¯s just that talking about separation wasn¡¯t exactly a good topic of conversation. But since they would most likely go about their own way after this dinner, he might as well talk about this.


    Wulfric was a bit surprised hearing Aster asked about this. Then, his mood quickly dampened thinking of the answer. ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a lot of work piled up. I also have to visit my planet. Remaining at the capital just won¡¯t be possible.¡±


    Astrid nodded. Hearing ¡®my planet¡¯ was like some kind of overbearing statement. But in this era, owning a planet was not that rare. Most influential nobles owned a planet or two. Even some of the richest merchants had their own planets.


    It¡¯s actually much weirder that a prince like Wulfric only had one planet. With his position, it would be more normal to have at least five planets under his jurisdiction. But knowing this guy, he probably found that troublesome. So, he only chose a single planet to govern.


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable. You¡¯re one of the five generals of our Empire after all. It¡¯s just right to do your duty,¡± he said in response to what Wulfric said first.


    Wulfric showed a wry smile. He wondered if what Aster¡¯s reaction would be if he knew that he actually considered not doing his ¡®duty¡¯ just so he could continue to stay here at the capital.


    ? ¡°Alluna is the name of your planet, right?¡± Astrid said, changing the subject. ¡°I will like to go there some time in the future.¡±


    Wulfric subconsciously sat up straight when he heard that. ¡°Of course. I don¡¯t mean to brag, but Alluna is really a beautiful planet with clear blue oceans and natural rainforests. You¡¯ll definitely like it there.¡±


    Alluna¡¯s population wasn¡¯t that large. Most of the residents were families of the soldiers belonging to Fenris Squad. Most of the flora and fauna of the planet had remained untouched. It gave the planet a kind of inexplicable wild charm. But that didn¡¯t mean that the technology of the planet was backwards. On the contrary, all of their cities and towns were equipped with all the latest technologies.


    As powerful as he was, these could not be attributed to him alone. Most of the work was done by the planet administrator. That person was the valet assigned to him by the palace when he was young.


    He actually planned to get rid of the other when he applied for the army. But the other insisted on going with him. So, he let him accompany him to the army. He thought the runt would give up immediately after a few days. But he stayed there for a week, then a month, then a year.


    At that point Wulfric understood that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of the kid. But the other didn¡¯t have any aptitude for fighting. So, he simply sent the other to a school to learn land management. Because he knew that he would be needing a good steward in the future. Luckily enough, the kid didn¡¯t betray his expectations.


    Although he probably shouldn¡¯t call him a ¡®kid¡¯ any longer considering that the other was only a year younger than him.


    ¡°I also heard a lot of good things about Alluna,¡± Astrid said. Although there¡¯s also a lot of bad things. But those bad rumors were only connected to the prince and not the planet itself. ¡°I will certainly visit in the future.¡±


    Wulfric smiled happily when he heard that. Inside his head, he was already imagining himself and Aster going to all the beautiful places of Alluna together.


    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for that day then. Just call me whenever and I¡¯ll be your personal tour guide.¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Won¡¯t the citizens of Alluna think that you lost your mind if they see you guiding some little actor around the planet?¡±


    ¡°Nah, they think I¡¯m already crazy anyway,¡± Wulfric said with a shrug.


    ¡°I doubt that. If they do, they won¡¯t stay at Alluna.¡±


    ¡°Well, they do think I¡¯m crazy. But Alluna is a good place to live. Besides, most of them are related to the soldiers in my army. So, what can they do?¡±


    Astrid raised his brow when he heard that. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that only mean that you¡¯re a good leader? Despite all the rumors about you, I think you are as well, a good leader, I mean.¡±


    Wulfric felt a bit shy when hearing that. And then, he realized that Aster actually knew about the bad rumors about him. But if he thought about it, it¡¯s probably weirder if the other hadn¡¯t heard of all those rumors.


    He scratched his cheek. Should he have taken care of his image before? It¡¯s because he didn¡¯t care even if anyone talk bad about him. So, rumors eventually spread. Most of it was true anyway, so he just let it be. Who would have thought that there would come a time when he would care about such things?


    ¡°Aster, ahm, do you believe those rumors?¡± he thought of asking.


    The other appeared like he was thinking of how he would answer him. ¡°When we first met, absolutely.¡±


    Wulfric felt like an arrow just hit him with that answer. ¡°How about now?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I still think some of it was true. But,¡± Astrid grinned at the other. ¡°You¡¯re definitely not as bad as those rumors said.¡±

 Chapter 302

    THE soldiers of the Fenris Squad were busy preparing for Beowulf¡¯s take-off. A certain general was standing at the bridge of the huge ship. Instead of overseeing the preparation, he was sitting on the captain¡¯s seat with a silly smile on his face while playing with the pendant of the necklace he¡¯s wearing.


    Although it had already been more than 12 hours since he separated with Aster, he was still immersed in the events of their date. Yes, he decided to call it that. Aster didn¡¯t know that he thought of it that way. So, what¡¯s wrong with him assuming that what happened was a ¡®date¡¯?


    He looked down at the pendant with golden light swirling inside it. Once again, he couldn¡¯t stop the smile that crossed his lips. But then, at the thought that it would take quite some time before the two of them could meet again, gloom descended on him. The smile on his face disappeared and was replaced by a frown.


    His change of mood was seen by two of his captains standing a distance away ¨C Slade and Edmund.


    ¡°Slade, is the General sick?¡± Edmund asked with a worried expression.


    ¡°Where did you get that?¡± Slade asked, curious as to how the other reached that conclusion.


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen it too. One moment he¡¯s smiling like he¡¯s surrounded by flowers and rainbows, then the next, he¡¯s frowning like dark clouds were hovering above his heads,¡± Edmund explained. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that¡­ that there¡¯s something wrong with his brain?¡±


    Slade stopped when he heard the other¡¯s explanation. Then, was even more stunned when he heard the last part. He lowered his head and tried his hardest not to laugh. Resulting in his shoulders shaking.


    At the distance they were in, the captain would definitely notice if he laughed out loud here. Once the other asked what he¡¯s laughing about, this foolish Edmund would definitely honestly tell the captain what they were talking about. Then, it would result to them being punished.


    ¡°Slade?¡± Edmund called, his tone obviously confused on why Slade¡¯s shoulders were shaking. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Slade took a deep breath and finally stopped himself from laughing. He raised his head and flicked Edmund¡¯s forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t let the captain hear what you just said. Unless you want to spend a whole month being his sparring partner.¡±


    Edmund wanted to complain at first when Slade flicked his forehead, and not so gently too! But when he heard the last thing the other said, he visibly shuddered. Just the thought of being the general¡¯s sparring partner for a month was already terrifying. What more if it became reality?


    Before he could fully think properly of why Slade said that, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. Completely separating him from Slade.


    ¡°Sled, did I just see you flick Ed¡¯s forehead?¡± a smiling Hildred asked.


    Slade gazed down at Hildred. If ordinary soldiers saw that smile, they would probably be quaking in their knees. But he had known this guy for more than a decade. He knew how twisted the other was despite his innocent appearance. He could become even crazier than the captain. Especially when it came to Edmund.


    Slade grinned. ¡°Ask that big guy behind you why.¡±


    Then, he walked away from the two with a languid gait.


    Hildred narrowed his eyes at Slade¡¯s back before turning to Edmund, the smile on his face was back to normal.


    ¡°So, Ed, why did Slade flick your forehead?¡±


    ¡°Ahm, I¡¯m not really sure,¡± Ed said, scratching his cheek. ¡°But it¡¯s probably related to what I said about the general.¡±


    Then, he told the other his conversation with Slade earlier. After hearing it, Hildred stopped and then chuckled. The other reached out his hand and pinched his cheek.


    ¡°Why are you so cute?¡±


    Edmund dodged and said, ¡°I- I¡¯m not!¡±


    Hildred only smiled teasingly. ¡°Do you want to know why Wulf is acting like that?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Edmund asked, curious. Completely forgetting about his pinched cheek.


    ¡°Bow down your head a bit,¡± Hildred said.


    Edmund unsuspectingly did as he was told. Hildred could only smile helplessly as he saw this. Really, what a kid. But that¡¯s fine. It¡¯s one of the things he liked about the other.


    He leaned closer and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s because of lovesickness.¡±


    Edmund hadn¡¯t reacted quickly to what he heard because his focus was more on the warm breath that on his ear. For some reason, he felt his whole face heating up. And then, he stepped back. But because his action was so sudden, he almost lost his balance. Good thing he had good reflexes and he quickly steadied himself.


    Hildred smiled secretly when he saw this. Especially after seeing the lovely blush on Ed¡¯s cheeks.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Wulf. He¡¯s totally fine,¡± he said.


    ¡°Uhm,¡± Edmund could only say.


    Back to the captain¡¯s seat, Leland walked to where the prince was.


    ¡°Your Highness,¡± he called.


    But after a few seconds, the other didn¡¯t respond. He called him once again, but still nothing. So, he could only tap the other¡¯s shoulder.


    Wulfric was startled by this sudden touch. He raised his head and glared at Leland. ¡°Why are you sneaking up on me like that?¡±


    Leland refused the urge to roll his eyes. ¡°First, I didn¡¯t sneak up on you, Your Highness. I¡¯d been here for a minute now, calling you. It¡¯s not my fault that you seemed to be in world of your own.¡±


    Wulfric cleared his throat. Well, he was indeed in a state where he couldn¡¯t possibly hear the people in his surroundings.


    ¡°What is it?¡± he just asked instead. Because he knew Leland wouldn¡¯t come here for nothing.


    ¡°You have a guest. He¡¯s currently waiting at your office,¡± Leland answered.


    Wulfric frowned. ¡°What guest?¡±


    ¡°A very important guest,¡± Leland only said. ¡°So, please, Your Highness, go.¡±


    At Leland¡¯s expression, Wulfric knew that if he refused, the other would not hesitate to drag him there. He tsked and stood up. Whatever. It¡¯s probably just a high-ranking official.


    So, he walked towards his office. Arrive there, he quickly opened the door and immediately saw the man waiting inside.


    With a tall and slender body, shining golden hair and golden eyes, Cynric smiled at him.


    ¡°Hello, little brother.¡±

 Chapter 303

    WULFRIC paused in his steps when he saw his brother standing in his office. It was only a few seconds but he managed to get over it quickly and walked forward.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you too,¡± Cynric replied with a bit of sarcasm.


    ¡°You know what I mean,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°You don¡¯t usually see me even if I was about to leave the capital.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t usually do this. But what can I do? I¡¯m just too curious about what you did yesterday,¡± Cynric said with a teasing smile.


    Wulfric¡¯s brows furrowed. He should have known that something like this would happen when he received that message from the other yesterday. ¡°Did you have someone investigate what I did yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Please, I¡¯m not that bored,¡± Cynric said. ¡°Although I did ask someone to check who you are with. After all, I can¡¯t have my little brother just associate with some random people, right?¡±


    Wulfric frowned, the annoyance on his face could be clearly seen. ¡°Since when did you care who I associate with?¡±


    ¡°I care if it had something to do with your future partner. Especially since it¡¯s also related to the future of the Empire.¡±


    ¡°My relationship with him has nothing to do with the Empire,¡± Wulfric said through gritted teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t try to investigate him.¡±


    He was worried that in his brother¡¯s investigation, the other would find out about Aster¡¯s parents. If Hildred¡¯s guess was correct, Aster¡¯s mother was the presumed dead daughter of Duke Grimaldi and his father was a criminal wanted by the Empire. If their identities were revealed, it would only bring endless trouble to Aster.


    That incident 20 years ago was still a sensitive topic among the nobles and it caused a huge rift between two bog noble families. Although the Lancasters started to decline after that because of the former emperor¡¯s push. They only recovered their prestige because they helped Cynric sit on that throne.


    That¡¯s why even if Cynric disliked that family, he was still obligated to side with them. The Lancasters only helped Cynric and yet it always seemed like the former was the one in control. It¡¯s something he had always hated. That¡¯s why he had tremendous dislike towards that family.


    Wulfric knew that the Lancasters must have something, like an information or the likes, that could force Cynric to favor them. He had already asked the other about it, even indirectly implying that he would take care of the Lancasters if he just gave a word. But Cynric didn¡¯t say anything. That didn¡¯t mean, Wulfric stopped investigating though.


    But he only managed to do so when he was appointed as a general a few years back. Because it was only at that point that the force he managed to slowly built since he entered the army became stable. But even so, he still hadn¡¯t found any substantial evidence to prove his claim.


    Cynric was quite surprised by his younger brother¡¯s reaction. He thought that the other would vehemently deny that he went out yesterday with someone. Instead, Wulfric wanted him to stop investigating the other person. Wasn¡¯t this a direct admission that he was indeed interested in someone?


    The fact that Wulfric didn¡¯t want him to investigate could mean two things. He cared too much for this person or there was something about this person that he wanted to hide.


    Cynric stared at his brother and observed his expression. Sadly, he couldn¡¯t read anything. Aside from the fact that the other was very annoyed. But wasn¡¯t this good? At least, there¡¯s finally a development in his brother¡¯s love life. This meant that it would no longer be far before the other finally got a partner. Wasn¡¯t that what he had always wanted?


    Once Wulfric married and had a family of his own, Cynric could finally pass the crown to his brother¡¯s eldest child. Then, he could finally be free.


    Free from all these shackles.


    ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t investigate him,¡± he only said.


    Cynric wasn¡¯t even planning to do that in the first place. He only investigated because he wanted to make sure that Wulfric did go out on a date yesterday. The identity of the other¡¯s date was just a bonus.


    He really didn¡¯t care who Wulfric would choose as a partner. His brother was not stupid enough to fall for someone with a bad character. Yes, the person might have flaws. But which human didn¡¯t have one? The important thing was that they weren¡¯t an outright evil person with no redeeming qualities.


    He was even more relieved when he saw the basic information of the person Wulfric went out with yesterday. An 18-year-old teenager studying at Redwood Academy and currently a newbie actor signed under Polaris. According to his student file, his family owned a farm. He was a top student and didn¡¯t have any criminal record.


    Cynric wondered at first how could a young, ordinary person attract his brother¡¯s attention. But when he saw Astrid Townsend¡¯s picture, he kind of understood. With such a beautiful face, even a celibate would be tempted.


    Unexpectedly, his brother was still someone who gets attracted by a person¡¯s face. That¡¯s fine, really. At least it proved that Wulfric was still human.


    ¡°But try to be more careful,¡± Cynric added. ¡°If it¡¯s just me, of course, I wouldn¡¯t mind if you choose Astrid Townsend as your legal partner. But others will certainly make a fuss about it. If the two of you are just at the beginning stage of your relationship, it¡¯s better to keep a tight lid on it. You don¡¯t want your enemies to use him as a dagger to threaten you, am I right?¡±


    Wulfric was stunned when he heard that last part. Yes, he should be more careful from now on. Thankfully, Cynric reminded him of that. He couldn¡¯t put Aster in that kind of danger.


    ¡°Thank you, Cyn, for the reminder.¡±


    This time, it was Cynric¡¯s turn to be stunned. Did Wulfric really just say ¡®thank you¡¯ to him? He chuckled. It seemed that kid ¨C Astrid ¨C managed to do something impossible.


    He tamed a beast.

 Chapter 304

    ASTRID opened the door of the flying car that stopped in front of his apartment building. He sat down on the passenger¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Good morning, Sister Ellis,¡± he said to the woman driving the vehicle.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± the other greeted back. ¡°Did you have a good weekend?¡±


    Thinking of the things he had done this weekend, especially what he did on Saturday, he couldn¡¯t help but show a bright smile. ¡°Yes, it was amazing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    Ellis started the car and entered the direction of the space port in the GPS system.


    They were on their way to FS05 ¨C the filming location of [The Great War]. It¡¯s a film studio planet that had a lot of rustic sets perfect for a movie with a medieval setting and large-scale war scenes.


    Today was the start of his one month leave to film this series. Since he was only the fourth male lead, his shooting schedule was much shorter compared to the main cast.


    [The Great War] would have a total of 35 episodes and Astrid would appear mostly in snippets in most of them. There¡¯s probably only a handful of episodes where his screentime would be more than 10 minutes. But every time he appeared, something important would happen. So, his appearance wasn¡¯t simply a filler.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s important for him to do his utmost best in every scene he had. He should make sure that he would leave a lasting impression on the audience.


    ¡°Have you memorized all your lines?¡± Ellis asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis. I¡¯ve already memorized everything,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Oh, right, before I forget.¡± He took out the box of tea bags he specifically saved for Ellis and gave it to the other. ¡°This is a box of tea bags from my family¡¯s farm.¡±


    Ellis¡¯ eyes brightened when she saw the box. She still remembered how good this tea was. She took the box and put it in her space stone. ¡°Thank you. I almost thought you forgot about it.¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Astrid said, acting all affronted. ¡°You have to have a bit more trust in me, you know?¡±


    Ellis chuckled. ¡°Of course, I do. I¡¯ll definitely enjoy the tea.¡±


    They reached the spaceport in such a comfortable atmosphere.


    The two got out of the car once Ellis parked the car.


    ¡°Would someone pick your car later?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Nah. I already arranged for it to be parked here until we returned.¡±


    Astrid wanted to ask if that would cost too much money, but before he could, he heard his name from somewhere.


    ¡°Hey, is that Astrid Townsend?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± asked by the guy accompanying the girl who just spoke.


    ¡°A newbie actor who appeared in [Blind Justice]¡¯s 100th episode. He¡¯s really good.¡±


    ¡°Never heard of him. But if you¡¯re talking about that black-haired teenager over there, then I must say that he¡¯s really pretty.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s more than a pretty face, you know? He got the talent to back it up,¡± the girl said. Then, she called, ¡°Astrid!!!¡±


    This shout immediately attracted the attention of the people nearby. They looked at the girl first and then at the teenager she was calling.


    ¡°Kids these days. Why is she shouting like that instead of just approaching her friend?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think their friends. That boy over there is most likely an actor.¡±


    ¡°An actor?¡±


    Near the two who just spoke was a group of young men and women.


    ¡°Wait- I think I know him. Isn¡¯t that Astrid Townsend?¡±


    ¡°Astrid, you mean that beautiful newcomer from [Blind Justice]? Where?¡±


    ¡°There!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s really Astrid! He¡¯s even more beautiful in reality. I thought all of that is just make-up and special effects.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. How can someone look so good?¡±


    Just like the first girl, they also called out to Astrid.


    Astrid hearing this turned to that direction. Seeing the young people over there, he smiled generously and waved. The people who saw this was stunned and then, after a few seconds, their cheer became even louder.


    Ellis quickly pulled Astrid towards the terminal before those people decided to approach them. She didn¡¯t stop until they were queuing for the spacecraft that would bring them to FS05.


    ¡°Maybe you should wear a mask next time,¡± she said looking at her artist.


    Astrid¡¯s followers on [Cyberspace] was already over 900,000. She should have expected that some people would recognize him. This was a big negligence on her part.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, relax,¡± Astrid said to the other with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s not like they were about to mob us.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not this time,¡± Ellis said meaningfully.


    They both knew that once [The Sleeping God] was released, Astrid¡¯s fame would definitely catapult to another level. It was directed by Director Trevane. So, it was already a sure box-office hit. As long as Astrid showed a great performance, then his popularity would definitely skyrocket. Knowing her artist¡¯s skills, then that¡¯s already a given.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind interacting with my fans,¡± Astrid said.


    Ellis wanted to say that interacting and being mobbed were two different things. But she stopped herself. It¡¯s fine if this kid continued to have a pure heart regarding ¡®fans¡¯. At least he would treat them whole-heartedly. That¡¯s always good, especially for a newcomer.


    As his agent, it¡¯s her job to prevent anything unsavory that these fans might do to reach Astrid.


    A few minutes later, they finally entered the spacecraft travelling to FS05. Because the spacecrafts travelling to filming studio planets were much smaller compared to normal ones, there were no division.


    The two entered the spacecraft and looked for their seats according to the number on their tickets.


    ¡°Astrid, here,¡± Ellis called after finding the right seats. She first went in and sat down.


    Astrid followed. The seating on his spacecraft were made in a way that four people were sitting while facing each other. So, when he raised his head, he was a bit stunned to see a familiar person sitting on the opposite side.


    Long black hair with a blue sheen and pair of bright blue eyes ¨C Yujin Wells.

 Chapter 305

    ASTRID opened the door of the flying car that stopped in front of his apartment building. He sat down on the passenger¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Good morning, Sister Ellis,¡± he said to the woman driving the vehicle.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± the other greeted back. ¡°Did you have a good weekend?¡±


    Thinking of the things he had done this weekend, especially what he did on Saturday, he couldn¡¯t help but show a bright smile. ¡°Yes, it was amazing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    Ellis started the car and entered the direction of the space port in the GPS system.


    They were on their way to FS05 ¨C the filming location of [The Great War]. It¡¯s a film studio planet that had a lot of rustic sets perfect for a movie with a medieval setting and large-scale war scenes.


    Today was the start of his one month leave to film this series. Since he was only the fourth male lead, his shooting schedule was much shorter compared to the main cast.


    [The Great War] would have a total of 35 episodes and Astrid would appear mostly in snippets in most of them. There¡¯s probably only a handful of episodes where his screentime would be more than 10 minutes. But every time he appeared, something important would happen. So, his appearance wasn¡¯t simply a filler.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s important for him to do his utmost best in every scene he had. He should make sure that he would leave a lasting impression on the audience.


    ¡°Have you memorized all your lines?¡± Ellis asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis. I¡¯ve already memorized everything,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Oh, right, before I forget.¡± He took out the box of tea bags he specifically saved for Ellis and gave it to the other. ¡°This is a box of tea bags from my family¡¯s farm.¡±


    Ellis¡¯ eyes brightened when she saw the box. She still remembered how good this tea was. She took the box and put it in her space stone. ¡°Thank you. I almost thought you forgot about it.¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Astrid said, acting all affronted. ¡°You have to have a bit more trust in me, you know?¡±


    Ellis chuckled. ¡°Of course, I do. I¡¯ll definitely enjoy the tea.¡±


    They reached the spaceport in such a comfortable atmosphere.


    The two got out of the car once Ellis parked the car.


    ¡°Would someone pick your car later?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Nah. I already arranged for it to be parked here until we returned.¡±


    Astrid wanted to ask if that would cost too much money, but before he could, he heard his name from somewhere.


    ¡°Hey, is that Astrid Townsend?¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± asked by the guy accompanying the girl who just spoke.


    ¡°A newbie actor who appeared in [Blind Justice]¡¯s 100th episode. He¡¯s really good.¡±


    ¡°Never heard of him. But if you¡¯re talking about that black-haired teenager over there, then I must say that he¡¯s really pretty.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s more than a pretty face, you know? He got the talent to back it up,¡± the girl said. Then, she called, ¡°Astrid!!!¡±


    This shout immediately attracted the attention of the people nearby. They looked at the girl first and then at the teenager she was calling.


    ¡°Kids these days. Why is she shouting like that instead of just approaching her friend?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think their friends. That boy over there is most likely an actor.¡±


    ¡°An actor?¡±


    Near the two who just spoke was a group of young men and women.


    ¡°Wait- I think I know him. Isn¡¯t that Astrid Townsend?¡±


    ¡°Astrid, you mean that beautiful newcomer from [Blind Justice]? Where?¡±


    ¡°There!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s really Astrid! He¡¯s even more beautiful in reality. I thought all of that is just make-up and special effects.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. How can someone look so good?¡±


    Just like the first girl, they also called out to Astrid.


    Astrid hearing this turned to that direction. Seeing the young people over there, he smiled generously and waved. The people who saw this was stunned and then, after a few seconds, their cheer became even louder.


    Ellis quickly pulled Astrid towards the terminal before those people decided to approach them. She didn¡¯t stop until they were queuing for the spacecraft that would bring them to FS05.


    ¡°Maybe you should wear a mask next time,¡± she said looking at her artist.


    Astrid¡¯s followers on [Cyberspace] was already over 900,000. She should have expected that some people would recognize him. This was a big negligence on her part.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, relax,¡± Astrid said to the other with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s not like they were about to mob us.¡±


    ¡°Maybe not this time,¡± Ellis said meaningfully.


    They both knew that once [The Sleeping God] was released, Astrid¡¯s fame would definitely catapult to another level. It was directed by Director Trevane. So, it was already a sure box-office hit. As long as Astrid showed a great performance, then his popularity would definitely skyrocket. Knowing her artist¡¯s skills, then that¡¯s already a given.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind interacting with my fans,¡± Astrid said.


    Ellis wanted to say that interacting and being mobbed were two different things. But she stopped herself. It¡¯s fine if this kid continued to have a pure heart regarding ¡®fans¡¯. At least he would treat them whole-heartedly. That¡¯s always good, especially for a newcomer.


    As his agent, it¡¯s her job to prevent anything unsavory that these fans might do to reach Astrid.


    A few minutes later, they finally entered the spacecraft travelling to FS05. Because the spacecrafts travelling to filming studio planets were much smaller compared to normal ones, there were no division.


    The two entered the spacecraft and looked for their seats according to the number on their tickets.


    ¡°Astrid, here,¡± Ellis called after finding the right seats. She first went in and sat down.


    Astrid followed. The seating on his spacecraft were made in a way that four people were sitting while facing each other. So, when he raised his head, he was a bit stunned to see a familiar person sitting on the opposite side.


    Long black hair with a blue sheen and pair of bright blue eyes ¨C Yujin Wells.

 Chapter 306

    ARRIVING at FS05, the group of four shared a land vehicle that would bring them to [The Great War]¡¯s filming site. They picked a four-seater vehicle, four seats were facing each other. Ellis was the one who entered their destination to the GPS system. Then, the vehicle started.


    Carmine, on the other hand, showed great reluctance in sharing a vehicle. In this aspect, Ellis was much better. Although Astrid could also tell that his agent didn¡¯t like to associate with the other, Ellis could at least hide her emotions.


    He didn¡¯t know if it was the difference in their age and experience or simply the difference in temperament. He had a feeling that it was a little bit of both. Thankfully enough, that wasn¡¯t the case for him and Yujin.


    So, inside the land vehicle, only the two of them were talking.


    ¡°Did you read the original novel the series is based on?¡± Yujin asked.


    Astrid nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a very good novel.¡±


    ¡°I agree. Do you have any favorite character?¡±


    ¡°Not a favorite per se but rather a character I¡¯m most intrigued by,¡± Astrid answered. ¡°It¡¯s the protagonist, Caesar Warwick.¡±


    Yujin was a bit surprise hearing that. ¡°Oh? I thought for sure you¡¯re going to pick Luan Escanor.¡±


    Astrid smiled at that. ¡°He¡¯s interesting too. But in terms of complexity, Caesar Warwick is half a level higher.¡±


    Yujin nodded, understanding what the other meant. ¡°In an actor¡¯s perspective, he¡¯s definitely more interesting.¡±


    ¡°How about you?¡± This time, it was Astrid who asked. ¡°Do you have a favorite character?¡±


    ¡°I do have in fact.¡± Yujin grinned at the teenager. ¡°It¡¯s Luan Escanor.¡±


    Before [The Great War] was greenlit for an adaptation, he had long read the novel. Reading was his only hobby. He only read [The Great War] at first because of its popularity. But just a chapter in and he was quickly hooked. Before he knew it, he became one of the many waiting for a daily update.


    So, when he heard that there would be a TV series adaptation, he wanted to be a part of it. He didn¡¯t do much. Because before he could ask, his agent had already secured an audition spot for him. Even picking his favorite character.


    Sadly, he failed to secure the role. But he didn¡¯t want to give up there. So, for the first time since he debuted, he took the initiative to talk to talk to the director and asked if he could audition for another role. Even if it was a small role, he would be fine with it.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t mention that to Carmine. His agent was very protective of his image. Having a small role would be a downgrade from his former roles. But he just really wanted to be part of this show. Even if he had a small role, it wouldn¡¯t really matter in his opinion. Because it was certain to be a great hit. Which would only be advantageous to him.


    Thankfully enough, Director Scott was already contemplating on offering him a different role. His call finally helped the other to make a decision. So, the role of ¡®Oscar Ashelad¡¯ was given to him.


    ¡°You¡¯re not angry with me because I got the role of your favorite character, right?¡±


    Yujin¡¯s train of thought was cut off when he heard that question. He looked at Astrid. The other had a serious expression on his face, but he could still see the playfulness in those black eyes. That¡¯s why he knew that Astrid was simply teasing him.


    He chuckled. But before he could say his response, Carmine spoke first.


    ¡°Of course not. Our Yujin is not a petty young man who couldn¡¯t accept a lost. You shouldn¡¯t ask careless questions like that. What if someone heard that and thought that Yujin is a narrow-minded person? You¡¯re in this industry now. Be more careful with your words.¡±


    Astrid raised one of his brows. How come his playful teasing suddenly sounded like he was badmouthing Yujin? This agent was a bit interesting. He was about to respond back but Ellis already did that for him.


    ¡°Miss Clancy, are you a magician?¡±


    Carmine¡¯s brows furrowed when she heard this woman. Asking something like that, the other was definitely up to no good. But she still couldn¡¯t help asking back, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I asked because you can produce something out of nothing,¡± Ellis said with a smirk on her face. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what magicians are good at?¡±


    Did this woman mean that she was exaggerating and making things up? That¡¯s what it was, right? Carmine only felt that the throbbing vein on her forehead was now ready to pop.


    ¡°You¡ª!¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Yujin cut off whatever his agent was about to say. ¡°Let¡¯s all calm down. There¡¯s no reason for us to fight.¡±


    ¡°You should tell that to your agent,¡± Ellis said with a shrug. ¡°She¡¯s been trying to pick a fight since earlier. It¡¯s honestly starting to get annoying.¡±


    Carmine gritted her teeth. She really wanted to stretch out her hand and shake this woman by the neck. But when she looked at Yujin gently shaking his head, as if telling her to calm down and not do anything rash.


    Fine. She took a deep breath, scoffed, and then looked out of the window of the vehicle. Refusing to look at the woman in front of her. Out of sight, out of mind.


    Seeing this, Ellis really wanted to laugh. How could this woman work as an agent with such a childish temperament? She shook her head. But still looked at the other. Carmine¡¯s red mop of hair seemed to be even redder because of the bright light from the sun.


    ¡°Wow. Your hair is so blindingly red,¡± she couldn¡¯t help but say.


    Hearing that, Carmine felt the corner of her eye twitch. She turned to the other and glared. She wanted to retort back. But she knew that if she did, their bickering would be endless. They were already near the filming site. She didn¡¯t want others to see her arguing with this woman.


    So, at the end, she could only snort and stare out of the window again.


    Ellis scratched her cheek seeing the other¡¯s reaction. Why did it seem like she was the one who¡¯s childish and not the other way around?


    Astrid only looked all this with interest. As if he was watching a good show.


    He glanced at his agent and then sent the other a message using his Terminal.


    [Astrid: Don¡¯t bully Yujin¡¯s agent too much, Sister Ellis.]


    Ellis, who received the message, read it before glancing at Astrid. The other only smiled at him. She replied;


    [Ellis: What bullying? She¡¯s clearly the one doing the bullying. I¡¯m just defending.]


    [Astrid: I might have believed you if I didn¡¯t see you having fun teasing her.]


    Ellis stopped and read that again. She raised her head and looked at her artist. ¡°You really think so?¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect Ellis to directly ask that instead of messaging him. So, he also directly answered by nodding.


    Ellis thought about it. When she realized that Astrid was right, she suddenly chuckled. ¡°How surprising.¡±


    And with that, they finally arrived at [The Great War]¡¯s filming site.

 Chapter 307

    ASTRID was being helped by a stylist to put on his costume. As ¡®Luan Escanor¡¯, he had two sets of clothes ¨C the cardinal robe and the pope robe. Since his role was that of a priest, having lavish sets of clothing was simply unrealistic. Especially considering the kind of character Luan Escanor had.


    The first set of clothing he tried was the cardinal robe. He was already done with the make-up. They even put hair extensions on him. So, now, his hair reached his waist. He had done quite the number of costume drama in his past life, so he didn¡¯t feel that awkward having hair extensions.


    After this, he had to take make-up photos that would be use as a poster for promotion. This would be the first time that he would take a make-up photo in this life. His role in [The Sleeping God] could be said to be a glorified extra. While in [Blind Justice], he was simply a special guest. He didn¡¯t need make-up photos for both. So, he couldn¡¯t help but be a bit excited.


    A few minutes later, the stylist was finally done dressing him up.


    ¡°Wow. This look really suits you,¡± the stylist said while admiring her work.


    She really wanted to take a picture of the teenager but she held herself back. But she knew that if the picture she took accidentally got leaked online, then Director Scott would definitely blow a fuse. Getting fired would be the least of her worries. In the worst-case scenario, she might be banned from the industry because of being unprofessional.


    That¡¯s not entirely an exaggeration. After all, this was Director Scott¡¯s comeback work after three years of hiatus. He would definitely be keeping an eye on everything. She wouldn¡¯t risk her career just because she couldn¡¯t stop herself from taking a picture.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    The stylist¡¯s determination almost crumbled because of that smile. Ah, how could this kid be this beautiful? She shook her head and simply opened the door of the fitting room before she was thoroughly ¡®seduced¡¯ by this kid.


    Astrid followed the stylist out of the fitting room. It just so happened that the fitting room next to them also opened and Yujin walked out.


    The two of them shared the same dressing room. It had two fitting rooms. So, it was no trouble changing into their costumes at the same time.


    Yujin glanced at Astrid and was slightly stunned when he saw the other. Astrid was wearing a white robe with delicate silver embroidery at the hem of the sleeves as well as the collar. He was also wearing a pendant of a sun inside a wheel ¨C the symbol of the Church of Jaya, the main religion in [The Great War].


    Since they were sharing a dressing room, he had already seen the other with the long hair and make-up. But when added with the costume, Astrid actually gave off a kind of holy temperament. He wasn¡¯t sure if the other was doing it on purpose, but the fact alone that he seemed like a real priest already said a lot.


    ¡°You look exactly like how I imagined Luan Escanor to be,¡± he said.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Thank you. You also look like the playboy prince, Oscar Ashelad.¡±


    And he wasn¡¯t just doing that as a lip-service because of the other¡¯s compliment.


    Yujin right now was wearing a white, loose long-sleeved top with a wide collar, showing an expanse of his chest. Over that was an unbuttoned black vest and also a black belt. That was paired by black pants that fit his long legs perfectly and a pair of black boots.


    His long black hair was styled in a messy curl, yet it still looked sexy for some reason. He was even wearing golden hoops as earrings. Yujin right now truly looked like someone who would flirt with anything with legs.


    This was the exact image that Astrid had of Oscar Ashelad ¨C the role the other was playing. He was one of the many princes of the Kingdom of Ashelad, meaning that he¡¯s one of Luan Escanor¡¯s half-brothers.


    At first, Oscar seemed to be just your typical playboy prince who didn¡¯t care about the succession rights and just drowned himself in booze and women. But that was not all there was to his character. He acted as a spy for the protagonist. Most of the reasons behind the success of Caesar¡¯s campaign against Ashelad was Oscar.


    He provided a lot of important information to Caesar. A lot of Caesar¡¯s strategy also came from him. Sadly though, he didn¡¯t meet such a great end. Just after Caesar conquered Ashelad, he died. He saved Caesar from an assassination attempt and lost his life in the process. One could say that his death was one of the factors that started Caesar¡¯s downward spiral.


    It¡¯s a good role. Not too complex but could definitely be a fan favorite once played right.


    Astrid had seen when of Yujin¡¯s past work when he found out that the other was going to be a part of [The Great War]. And he must say that he¡¯s definitely good for a newcomer. Although still a bit green, one couldn¡¯t deny his talent. Astrid did the same for the rest of the cast, watching their most famous work and he was really satisfied by their acting skills.


    This showed just how thorough Director Scott was in choosing the cast members of this series. Which meant that the other was determined to make this series a success. And if everything went well, then it would definitely be.


    There was a knock on the door, cutting of Astrid¡¯s train of thoughts. Ellis opened it. The one who knocked was one of the staff. Seeing him and Yujin standing side by side, the staff was stunned for a second. But that didn¡¯t last and he immediately said;


    ¡°If you¡¯re ready, come and follow me so we could take your make-up photos.¡±


    The two of them nodded and followed the other.

 Chapter 308

    ¡°OKAY, now look to the left,¡± said the assistant photographer while looking at the photo that was being projected on the virtual screen in front of him. It was from the cameras floating around the black-haired teenager. ¡°That¡¯s it. Don¡¯t mind the cameras and think of them as not being there.¡±


    Astrid did as he was told. He was currently inside a building that would serve as the main church of the ¡®Church of Jaya¡¯. This was the photoshoot location for his teaser photos. Each characters had their own photoshoot location. The places would be a representative of their character.


    Today would be the individual photoshoots. Then, tomorrow would be the group photoshoots. The day after tomorrow would be the start of the real filming.


    There a main photographer who was in charged of all the photoshoots. While there were four assistant photographers who would take the individual pictures of the cast members. All the photos the assistants took would be sent real time to the main photographer. And until the main photographer didn¡¯t give his approval, the photoshoot would continue on.


    In short, until the other was satisfied with the photos being taken by his assistants, they had no choice but to continue taking photos. Or so Astrid heard. He wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯s the same for other productions in this era. But the work would definitely be more efficient this way.


    He continued to do the post that the assistant photographer asked.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s change now with your pope costume,¡± the assistant said.


    Astrid was a bit surprised, he thought that it would take a couple while more before he had to change to his pope costume. But he didn¡¯t question it and just nod and thanked the assistant photographer.


    He then walked to the make-shift fitting room. When he arrived here earlier, this was already inside the building. Understandable since going back to their assigned dressing room would just waste their time.


    After he removed the outer garment of his costume, he called in his assigned stylist to help him with the pope¡¯s costume. This one was much more elaborate compared to the cardinal¡¯s costume. They were still both white but the embroidery was more detailed and was gold in color instead of silver. The pope¡¯s robe also had a pretty long trail. After wearing it, Astrid almost felt like he was wearing a gown or something.


    The stylist gathered the trail and held it to make it easier for him to walk. Astrid glanced back at the other.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said with a smile.


    The stylist¡¯s felt like something just squeezed her heart. Ah, what an adorable kid. She¡¯s really starting to become a fan. ¡°Don¡¯t be. I¡¯m just doing my job,¡± she said with a grin.


    Astrid only smiled back. The make-up artist retouched his make-up and then the photoshoot resumed. The process had been pretty peaceful. Although Astrid had trouble at first moving because of the costumes trail, it went smoothly after he got used to it.


    ¡°Now look at the camera in front of you and think that you¡¯re in front of the other believers of the church.¡±


    After hearing that, Astrid looked at the camera that flew in front of him. He softened his gaze, as if he was looking at a group of people that had the same faith as him. At the same time, the corners of his lips were also turned up into a slight arc. It was a smile that didn¡¯t show his emotion but a smile that would make anyone who saw it feel like they were being pardoned from their sins.


    The assistant photographer perfectly captured that. He stared at the virtual screen. Just looking at it made him want to confess all the bad things he had done in his life and get the other¡¯s forgiveness.


    ¡°This shot is perfect.¡± ¨C the assistant heard from his earpiece. He could hear the amazement and appreciation in the other¡¯s voice. Clearly liking this photo.


    It was the main photographer in-charge. Since the speed of transferring of photos was pretty fast, his boss must have received it the moment the shot was taken. He agreed with the other¡¯s comment. This shot was indeed perfect. There was no need to retouch it. They could actually release it right now and he¡¯s certain that no one would complain. A lot of people might even praise it.


    ¡°You can finish the shoot now,¡± his boss added.


    ¡°Can I take one more picture?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Up to you.¡±


    After receiving his boss¡¯ permission, he said to the teenager in front, ¡°We¡¯ll take one more picture. You can pose whichever way you want.¡±


    One more picture? He didn¡¯t expect that his photoshoot would be done this fast. ¨C Astrid thought. Well, that¡¯s good. At least he and Ellis could rest early. Since the photographer said that he could do any post he wanted, then there¡¯s one post that he¡¯d been wanting to do since earlier. He even wondered why the other hadn¡¯t asked him about it yet.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. Then he turned around and proceeded to kneel down. He looked at the stylist and make-up artist who were just nearby. ¡°Ahm, can you please help me with the trail?¡±


    The two quickly helped him. He smiled at the two, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks,¡± both almost said at the same time before going back to where they were standing earlier.


    After that, he looked forward. There was a huge window with colored glasses in front. He put his hands together like in a prayer and raised his head.


    The photographer was stunned when he saw this. The other¡¯s gaze was full of piousness. As if the god he revered was descending down from heaven. It was such a holy sight that he almost wanted to kneel down with him and pray.


    He remembered what his boss said earlier about the last picture being perfect. He also thought so. But this, this was the epitome of perfection.

 Chapter 309

    ASTRID was able to finish his individual teaser photoshoot very early. Because of that, they were able to go to their assigned hotel much faster than the other cast members who were also taking make-up photos.


    The hotel assigned to them was near the show¡¯s filming site. Just one look at the building and Astrid could immediately tell that the hotel was pretty high class. Almost the same as the hotel he used when he was filming [The Sleeping God].


    Well, something like this was probably natural. Considering that both were high budget productions.


    ¡°You did a great job back then,¡± Ellis said as they walked inside the hotel. ¡°You were really amazing. If I didn¡¯t know your talent for acting, I would have probably recommended you to be a model.¡±


    And she was not even exaggerating when she said that. She was watching the whole photoshoot. Seeing Astrid project his inner priest was a delightful treat. She was only planning to take some photos to use once the promotions started. But she ended up taking a lot more than she normally would. That¡¯s how good the shoot was.


    Astrid only chuckled when he heard that. In his opinion, there¡¯s actually little difference between acting and taking photos. The latter was simply acting without moving. Astrid only had to act his role and it would be easy. If he thought of it that way, then photoshoots like this one would be a walk in the park.


    ¡°Director Scott would probably have a headache choosing which picture of you to use for the official teaser poster,¡± Ellis added.


    In her opinion, it would definitely be between the last two photos. If she was to choose, she would definitely pick the last one. Although the second to the last photo was also really good, there¡¯s just something immaculate about that last shot. She saw the reaction of the other people watching the shoot and she¡¯s certain that she¡¯s not the only one who felt that way.


    ¡°It won¡¯t probably be to that extent. I¡¯m sure Director Scott already has an image of each character in his mind,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°I doubt it. But feel free to think otherwise,¡± Ellis said in a nonchalant manner, thinking that her artist clearly didn¡¯t know how amazing he was during that photoshoot. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not our problem, it¡¯s theirs,¡± she just added with a shrug. ¡°Since we have plenty of time today, should we tour around the set after we put our things in the hotel room?¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    By the time it was lunch hour, both Astrid and Ellis had toured all the areas that would be used for the filming. Well, except for the ones where the war scene would be taken.


    From what Ellis had heard, the site would be at a different location. Understandable enough since they needed a wide empty area for something like that.


    ¡°Where do you want to eat?¡± Ellis asked.


    They were inside a land vehicle they rented to go around the filming site with ease.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just eat at the hotel restaurant,¡± Astrid answered.


    Ellis nodded and put the direction of the hotel in the GPS system.


    ¡°Tomorrow will be the group photoshoot, so you will definitely meet the other cast members,¡± Ellis said. ¡°I did my research on them, personality wise, and most are pretty unproblematic. Just like that Yujin for example.¡±


    ¡°Most meaning there are still some, right?¡± Astrid asked with a wry smile.


    ¡°Yes, two of them actually,¡± Ellis admitted. ¡°The main heroine ¨C Chelsea Olson, has the habit of only talking and showing respect to those who are much higher in her in the Star List but low-key rude to those who aren¡¯t. But you don¡¯t have to worry about her too much since the two of you barely have any scenes together. You can just politely greet her if the two of you happened to cross each other¡¯s paths.


    ¡°The second one is more problematic in my opinion. The second male lead and also the pseudo villain of the series ¨C Lance Reid. I¡¯ve heard rumors about him having affairs with young newcomers he co-starred with. This hadn¡¯t made any huge headline so far. But it¡¯s mainly because his affairs had all been consensual. After the production was over, the affair would also end.


    ¡°You and Yujin would most likely be his target this time around. The only good thing about this was there wasn¡¯t any rumor of him forcing anyone. So, as long as you reject him and show that you don¡¯t want to be connected to him in any shape or form, he would back out. Hopefully.¡±


    Astrid, who was listening carefully to what his agent was saying, agreed with the other¡¯s opinion. It was indeed much harder to deal with someone like Lance Reid than a snob like Chelsea Olson. Considering that he and Yujin were the only newcomers among the main cast, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to reach the conclusion that they would be the target for this actor.


    Well, not like he would let him. No matter what the other might try, he would definitely not let that guy touch even the tip of his finger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis. I will be careful so as not to cause trouble,¡± he only said.


    Ellis nodded. There¡¯s really nothing else she could say. She just had to make sure to be with Astrid all the way. Supporting and protecting him.


    After a few minutes, they finally reached the hotel. They got off the land vehicle and walked inside. Arriving at the hotel¡¯s restaurant, they chose a table beside the floor to ceiling window.


    They were choosing their order from the menu when a familiar voice suddenly spoke beside their table.


    ¡°Can we share a table?¡±


    Both looked up and saw Yujin smiling, followed by his agent with a deadpan expression on her face. As if she couldn¡¯t understand what the hell was her artist doing.


    Astrid smiled back at Yujin. ¡°Sure.¡± He turned to Ellis. ¡°It¡¯s okay, right Sister Ellis?¡±


    Ellis glanced at Carmine before grinning. ¡°Of course.¡±

 Chapter 310

    ¡°HOW did your photoshoot go?¡± Yujin asked as they were eating.


    ¡°I think it went well,¡± Astrid said. ¡°How about you?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I think it was also okay.¡±


    ¡°What ¡®okay¡¯? You did marvelous!¡± Carmine quickly interjected. ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how satisfied the photographer was with you? You shouldn¡¯t downplay your amazingness like that.¡±


    She actually wanted to add that Yujin definitely did better than Astrid, but she stopped herself. She had a feeling that she would be beaten again verbally by Ellis Payne. She didn¡¯t want to eat such a lost anymore. Besides, she¡¯s an adult but it felt like the two younger ones were much more mature than her. It¡¯s embarrassing to say the least.


    She should at least appear dignified and reliable in front of her artist. Although Yujin was pretty laidback most of the times, if she really did something wrong that went against his bottom line, the other would definitely to drop her as his agent.


    Really, she sometimes wondered if it would be much easier to have a more ambitious and ruthless artist. But then again, having an artist who loved to scheme their way to the top could be a much worse headache for an agent.


    Yujin chuckled hearing his agent¡¯s unabashed compliment. ¡°Yes, yes,¡± he could only say.


    Their lunch ended peacefully. Unlike their flight here. Ellis was a bit disappointed. She was actually expecting another round of bickering. It seemed that the other had already gotten over her thoughts of Astrid and Yujin having imaginary rivalry. Too bad.


    Well, should she reward her then for trying to act all mature? Seeing Astrid and Yujin walking ahead, she walked beside Carmine and bent a little so she could whisper to the other;


    ¡°You should be careful of Lance Reid. Yujin might end up being his next target.¡±


    Carmine, who was minding her own business, was startled by this sudden voice. Even more so when she felt Ellis¡¯ breath on her ear. Annoyed, she scoffed trying to hide her embarrassment.


    ¡°You should worry more about your artist. In my opinion, he¡¯s more likely to fall for Lance Reid¡¯s trap.¡±


    After saying that, she walked forward, stomping her feet to show her dissatisfaction. But even though she was annoyed, she took Ellis¡¯ warning to heart. Truthfully, with the things that happened today, she almost forgot about the matter of Lance Reid. But now that the other had reminded her, she would be more vigilant. As she should.


    Watching Carmine stomping away like a kid, Ellis smiled. It even turned to a broad grin once she remembered the other¡¯s ear tip turning red.


    In a good mood, she also walked forward.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At night, after Astrid took a bath, he video called his brother. Reas quickly appeared in the virtual screen. The other¡¯s upper body was bare naked. Water droplets were dripping from his wet ice-blue hair down to his perfectly sculpted body.


    Astrid whistled. ¡°How come my brother is so sexy tonight?¡± he teased.


    Reas¡¯ face immediately turned red. ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Then, the other quickly put on a shirt.


    Astrid sighed in regret. ¡°I should have taken a screen shot and send it to Lauren. I think he would really like it.¡±


    Reas¡¯ face darkened when he heard that. ¡°Be serious, will you? We still haven¡¯t talked about where you went yesterday. I went back to the military academy without even seeing your shadow. And now you¡¯re teasing me as if nothing happened?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sorry, Dad,¡± Astrid said, still with a teasing tone. He couldn¡¯t help it. Just look at his brother. The other¡¯s expression was like that of a grumpy old man.


    Reas frowned, clearly annoyed by Astrid¡¯s nonchalance.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Hey, Reas, don¡¯t be angry. I just spent the day, having fun, with a friend. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that, right?¡±


    Reas huffed. ¡°I never said that there is. But I would have appreciated it if you had just woken me up to tell me where you¡¯re going instead of just leaving a note. Better yet, you could have told me the night before about it. That way, I wouldn¡¯t be worried the whole day because you¡¯re not answering my call.¡±


    Astrid scratched his cheek, feeling a bit guilty. Could he say that the reason he didn¡¯t do any of that was because he¡¯s worried that Reas would make a fuss? Maybe the other might even tag along with him. If he said that, his brother might stop speaking to him for a month.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t do it again. Promise,¡± he said with a bit more sincerity. He blinked his eyes at his brother, acting cutely. ¡°Forgive me, okay, my handsome and generous brother?¡±


    There was still dissatisfaction between Reas¡¯ eyebrows, but he still said at the end, ¡°Fine. So, how was your shooting today?¡±


    Astrid smiled at that. His gaze softened as he looked at his brother who was trying to be fierce but couldn¡¯t hide his soft heart.


    He chatted with Reas for half an hour. Then, he called their parents and chatted with them for another half an hour. After calling his family, Astrid finally slept with peace of mind. Hoping that tomorrow would go well as it did today.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Unbeknownst to Astrid, a certain someone would destroy that wish. It was a tall man with golden brown hair and a pair of hooded dark gray eyes. His body was lazily slumped on the bed, wearing only a silk robe.


    There was a kind of romantic atmosphere around him. As if anyone who would look at him would be seduced by his charm. One could tell just by a single glance that he¡¯s very well versed in the art of seduction.


    Yes, it was Lance Reid.


    He was at his mansion, browsing at the profiles of the newcomers part of [The Great War] cast. He was already getting bored. Until he saw the last two profiles. A smile appeared on his handsome face, great interest flickering in his eyes.


    ¡°Yujin Wells, Astrid Townsend¡­ hmm¡­ this will be a hard choice, indeed.¡±

 Chapter 311

    ASTRID was sitting at the waiting area of one of the show¡¯s filming sites. It was a medieval village. The site of where Caesar, the protagonist, met Luan when they were younger. He and the actor playing Caesar would have a photoshoot here. Aside from them, there were also the child actors who would play their younger versions.


    Truthfully, the photographer in charge could have just chosen to use a green screen as background and edit it later. But he was probably aiming for a more realistic approach. Astrid wasn¡¯t against that though. Photos with real backgrounds was definitely better to look at than an edited one.


    Astrid already had his hair and make-up on. He wasn¡¯t wearing his pope or cardinal costume but simple shirt and trousers. Like a simple villager. Not only that, the clothes he¡¯s wearing was similar to the ones the child actor playing his younger version was wearing.


    The two children were the first ones to take photos. He actually arrived a bit too early, but that¡¯s better than being late. Miguel Estrada ¨C the actor playing Caesar Warwick was still not here though. Not that it¡¯s bad. After all, the time for them to start was still half an hour from now.


    Once he finished this shoot with Miguel, he would shoot with the third female lead. The other played the Saintess of the Church of Jaya. She¡¯s the female cast member he had most scenes with. Which was only natural considering her role.


    Then, after that was the shoot with Yujin and Lance Reid. Because the three of them were all members of the Ashelad royal family in the show. This shoot would most likely be done in the afternoon.


    Astrid wasn¡¯t too worried. He had confidence that he would do well, just like he did yesterday. His only concern was the shoot with Lance Reid. Of course, he had no doubt that he could reject the other¡¯s advances. He might be handsome, but could he be more handsome than Wulfric?


    He chuckled at that thought. Suddenly thinking of the other just proved how much influence Wulfric had on him. Well, it¡¯s not like the other didn¡¯t earn it. Wulfric managed to achieve such a result because of all his efforts. And since these efforts had reached Astrid, he wouldn¡¯t deny the other of its influence on him.


    Anyway, Wulfric was not the issue right now. He should probably think of the incoming problem. In the form of a certain human named Lance Reid. He was confident that he could fend the other off. But he couldn¡¯t say the same for Yujin.


    Although Yujin seemed to be the type who wouldn¡¯t be easily seduced, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to remind the other to be careful. Or should he just give him mental attack every time he tried to flirt to any of them? Astrid was really tempted to do just that.


    ¡°Miguel Estrada is here.¡±


    Ellis¡¯ reminder pulled Astrid from his own thoughts. He turned his head to the direction where Ellis was looking. There, walking to the waiting area where they were, was a tall and muscularly built man. Not the type that looked like a weightlifting athlete or a gym instructor, but someone with clearly defined muscles.


    He had a head of curly dark brown hair that was now styled like it was windswept. Probably to give the illusion that he was someone from the village. As the other was also wearing simple clothes like Astrid.


    But no matter how messy his hair was or how simple his clothes were, Miguel could hardly be seen as just some random villager. With his beautiful chocolate brown skin, amber colored eyes, and those handsome facial features, how could anyone think he¡¯s ¡®ordinary¡¯?


    The other finally arrived at where they were, his two assistants walking behind him. Astrid quickly stood up and greeted the other first.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Estrada. I¡¯m Astrid Townsend. I¡¯m very honored to work with you today,¡± he said with just the right amount of politeness.


    Miguel observed the teenager in front of him. He heard that he would be working with a newcomer today. He didn¡¯t have the hobby of checking on his co-stars. As long as they had no problems with their acting, then they also wouldn¡¯t have a problem with him.


    That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t have any past knowledge about this teenager. All he knew was that he¡¯s a newcomer. So, seeing the other up close like this, he was quite shocked. After all, this kid¡¯s beauty was really no joke. But he soon returned to normal and let out a hearty laugh.


    ¡°No need to be so formal. Just call me Miguel. Calling me ¡®brother¡¯ would also do since I¡¯m a few years older than you,¡± he said in a very friendly manner.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s just a ¡®few¡¯ years,¡± quipped by one of his assistants.


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s uncalled for,¡± he said to the other.


    He seemed to be scolding his assistant but one could see that he was also just playing along. Showing that the two had a good relationship.


    Astrid¡¯s smile became a bit more genuine after seeing the other¡¯s good attitude. Miguel Estrada was someone at the top 10 of the current Star List. And yet the way he carried himself showed no arrogance at all. He seemed to be very approachable. Like a friendly older brother next door.


    Truthfully, someone with his rank in the Star List wouldn¡¯t star in a TV series. All of them would choose a movie instead. Because they no longer needed whatever fame and popularity a TV series could give them. But Astrid heard that the other was doing this as a favor. All because the one that catapulted him to stardom was a TV series directed by the Director Scott.


    In Astrid¡¯s opinion, that showed Miguel¡¯s good character.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be shameless and do so,¡± he said and then smiled brightly. ¡°Brother Miguel.¡±


    Miguel felt like he received a crit from that smile. He truly wanted to stretch out his arm and ruffled the other¡¯s hair. What a cute kid.

 Chapter 312

    ¡°OKAY, that¡¯s it! We got the shot!¡± the photographer announced excitedly. He looked at the photo captured on the virtual screen.


    The two men were facing each other, myriads of emotions in each of their eyes. One could see just by one look how complicated the relationship between the two was. They properly conveyed the relationship of their roles in that one shot. It didn¡¯t even take that long for them to get this picture that the boss quickly approved.


    Which was unexpected. The photographer thought that it would take quite a while to get it. But look, not even an hour had passed and they already gotten the result they wanted. His thought was like that mainly because of the difference in age between the two.


    Miguel was almost 15 years older than Astrid. It might not be much in today¡¯s standards but if one considered that the latter was only a teenager who hardly had any life experience, then, it¡¯s a different matter altogether.


    And yet, in this shoot, that age difference couldn¡¯t be seen at all. Astrid showed maturity that was beyond his age. While Miguel also tried his best to match the other. So, at the end, it completely looked like the two were peers of the same age that had gone through the same life experience.


    Well, no matter how perplexing it was, it didn¡¯t really matter. The important thing was they got the shot they needed.


    ¡°Good work,¡± Miguel said to Astrid as he walked to the other.


    He was truly impressed by this kid. He was planning to help the other if he encountered any difficulties but he proved that that was not needed at all. Not that he¡¯s complaining. It¡¯s always better to work with a competent person rather than an incompetent one. Because of that, their shoot went very smoothly.


    ¡°You too, Brother Miguel,¡± Astrid responded with a smile.


    ¡°How many more shoot will you have today?¡± Miguel asked as they walked towards where their agent/assistants were.


    ¡°Two more,¡± Astrid said. ¡°The next one with Miss Phoebe Goodman. Then, in the afternoon with Yujin and Mr. Reid.¡±


    When Miguel heard the name ¡®Reid¡¯, his brows furrowed a bit. ¡°That Lance, I¡¯m sure your agent had already warned you about him. Although he seemed to be a rascal who only thinks with his thing down there, if you reject him well enough, he wouldn¡¯t force himself to you.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. ¡°A gentleman rascal, you mean?¡±


    Miguel chuckled. ¡°Well, something like that.¡±


    ¡°Have you known him long?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Quite. We started around almost the same time. I also worked with him in a number of productions.¡±


    ¡°So, had he been like that since the beginning?¡±


    Miguel seemed to contemplate how to answer his question. ¡°Hmm¡­ not really. He only started when he became famous. It¡¯s like a game to him. A game to see how fast someone could fall for him.¡±


    ¡°By targeting newcomers as his ¡®playmate¡¯?¡± Astrid said in a sarcastic tone. ¡°That¡¯s a very one-sided game. How very ¡®gentlemanly¡¯ indeed.¡±


    Miguel scratched his cheek hearing the other¡¯s comment. He actually asked Lance one time why he was doing what he¡¯s doing. Lance only shrugged and said that he¡¯s relieving some of his boredom. Which was not exactly what an upstanding guy with good morals would say.


    ¡°Well, if he troubles you, come to me. I¡¯ll make sure to block his advances,¡± he could only say.


    Astrid smiled at the other. ¡°Thank you, Brother Miguel. But I probably wouldn¡¯t need to. If he truly is someone who wouldn¡¯t force others, then I¡¯ll just have to reject him thoroughly. That is, if he ever showed interest in me.¡±


    Oh, that¡¯s for sure. ¨C Miguel thought. But there¡¯s no need to scare the other.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The next shoot with Phoebe Goodman went smoothly without a problem as well. The only difference was that the atmosphere was not as friendly as when Astrid was taking photos with Miguel.


    It¡¯s not that Phoebe was unfriendly, the other simply kept everything strictly business. Which Astrid didn¡¯t mind. It¡¯s not like he had to be friends with everyone. Besides, dealing with someone professional was way better than dealing with a scheming person. Or worse, someone who couldn¡¯t hide their jealousy and envy.


    After a brief lunch, it was finally time for the dreaded photoshoot with Lance Reid.


    Astrid and Yujin were already in their costume and make-up. The photographer and the other staffs were also here. All of them waiting for one person.


    So, he¡¯s not only a playboy but also not a very punctual person. Great. ¨C Astrid thought. Well, since they¡¯re just waiting here, he might as well just talk to Yujin about the other.


    ¡°Yujin, have you heard the rumor about Mr. Reid?¡± he asked, whispering to the other.


    ¡°About him having an affair with newcomers in every production he¡¯s in? Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Yujin should be careful not to get caught in his honey trap.¡±


    Yujin felt amused hearing Astrid say that. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t get caught. He should change his gender first before trying to get me interested.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect such an answer. So, Yujin turned out to be only interested in women. He had been so used to people not really caring about gender in this era that he forgot that some would prefer a certain gender.


    ¡°I¡¯m more worried about you, actually,¡± Yujin added. He truly believed that between them, Lance Reid would most likely be interested in Astrid instead of him.


    Before Astrid could respond to that, he heard some of the staffs calling Lance Reid. He turned his head towards the direction of the voices and saw the man walking towards them.


    He was tall with a perfectly sculpted body. His pair of gray eyes were full of mysterious charm. Atop his golden-brown hair was a crown. And he was walking like a true king ¨C proud and confident. As if he owned the very land he was stepping on.


    Land Reid was finally here.

 Chapter 313

    ¡°HELLO,¡± Lance greeted with a smile. ¡°You must be Yujin and Astrid. I¡¯m Lance. Let¡¯s do our best today.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Reid,¡± the two greeted almost at the same time.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so formal. I will feel too old if you continue calling me ¡®Mr.¡¯,¡± Lance said with a playful tone and smile. ¡°Just call me ¡®Lance¡¯.¡±


    Astrid secretly observed the other. There was nothing wrong with Lance Reid¡¯s tone of voice. Even the other¡¯s smile was just normal and not as fishy as he expected. Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that he would put his guard down.


    Maybe this guy just wanted to loosen their defenses and then attack once they¡¯re vulnerable. He knew he¡¯s being too judgmental. But that¡¯s certainly better than being careless. Especially when the person in question had that kind of history.


    ¡°Then we will do so, Lance,¡± Astrid said with a polite smile.


    It¡¯s better to play along for now. Showing that their different would only attract the other¡¯s attention more.


    Yujin also called the other by his name, probably thinking along the same line as Astrid.


    Then, the photoshoot started.


    Since the characters of the three of them were half-brothers who didn¡¯t get along, they didn¡¯t need to stand close to each other. Which was just fine. At least, there wouldn¡¯t be a need for unnecessary skinship. ¨C Astrid thought.


    He thought that the shoot would go smoothly until the end, but when they were about to change location, a weird incident happened. Lance walked past between him and Yujin. That moment the other did, some kind of scent assaulted Astrid¡¯s senses.


    It was not a bad smell. In fact, it smelled very good. It¡¯s hard to describe the scent. But it¡¯s like a combination of all things that smelled good. Like the most expensive perfume. Strangely enough, Astrid only furrowed his brows when he smelled this scent. As if what he smelled was a cow dung instead of an expensive perfume.


    It was then that he happened to glance at Yujin. It was only for a brief moment but he saw the other had an intoxicated expression on his face while staring at Lance Reid¡¯s back. Then, as if realizing that he just did something uncharacteristic of him, a confused expression appeared on his face.


    The furrow on Astrid¡¯s brows became even deeper. Just what was that? He didn¡¯t know exactly what happened nor could he explain it. He just knew that it was definitely suspicious.


    He narrowed his eyes at Lance¡¯s back before walking beside Yujin.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked worriedly.


    ¡°I- I think so?¡± Yujin said, his confusion still prominent on his face.


    ¡°Did you know that you just looked at that guy as if he¡¯s the most delicious morsel of meat you¡¯ve ever seen?¡± Astrid said in a whisper.


    Yujin was stunned when he heard that. ¡°I- I did?¡±


    At Astrid¡¯s nod, he looked even more confused. He stopped as if trying to remember what just happened. And upon realizing that he really did what Astrid said, he frowned. His face full of disbelief.


    ¡°Why would I do that?¡± he asked, more to himself.


    ¡°Try not to get too close to him,¡± Astrid could only say. ¡°And, as much as possible, don¡¯t inhale his scent.¡±


    He had a feeling that this ¡®weirdness¡¯ originated from that damn scent. He wasn¡¯t sure if that was Lance¡¯s natural body odor or if it was some kind of diabolical perfume that the other used to seduce people. He just knew that that was the reason for what happened to Yujin just now.


    If it was some sort of perfume, then that meant that Lance was not as harmless as harmless as people thought he was. Because he basically put on a scent that had some sort of aphrodisiac effect. There¡¯s no way the other didn¡¯t know about that.


    But if it was so, was it even possible for such a perfume to be manufactured? In his opinion, only someone in his Uncle Leigh¡¯s caliber could develop something like that. Let¡¯s say that some underworld scientist did it. Wouldn¡¯t this kind of product be popular amongst a lot of young people? But he had never heard any rumors about this.


    Then, there was the possibility of it being Lance¡¯s natural body odor. Having a natural scent that gave off such an effect, wouldn¡¯t it be similar to a pheromone? But could a person really possess a pheromone that could directly seduce people?


    There¡¯s one possibility that Astrid could think of. That Lance Reid actually possessed an ability related to pheromones.


    But even that guess had a lot of loopholes. After all, abilities were mostly based on physical or mental. Like super strength or telekinesis. Having seductive pheromones didn¡¯t really fall in those two categories.


    Astrid took a calming breath. He should call Wulfric later and asked if he knew any similar abilities.


    For now, he should be more careful. Especially with such an unknown variable.


    The shoot continued. No incident like what happened earlier happened again. So, the shoot ended up smoothly. Only that, just right after, Yujin quickly left with his agent as if someone was chasing him.


    Which was understandable. The other was probably very shaken because of what happened. He just held it in because of the photoshoot, showing just how much of a professional he was.


    Astrid also did the same and quickly pulled Ellis out of there. He didn¡¯t even bother changing out of his costume.


    ¡°Did something happen?¡± asked Ellis as they rode the land vehicle. ¡°I noticed that both you and Yujin acted weird at the middle of the shoot.¡±


    Astrid wasn¡¯t surprised that the other had noticed that. ¡°Let¡¯s just say, I don¡¯t want to be around Lance Reid for more than I should.¡±


    Since he didn¡¯t have any evidence of what Lance did, he didn¡¯t want to tell Ellis information that was only based on his assumption. Still, he believed that this Lance Reid was much more dangerous than what he and Ellis first thought.

 Chapter 314

    BACK at his hotel room, after changing clothes and removing make-up, the first thing Astrid did was to call Wulfric. Unlike usual, the call didn¡¯t go through immediately. His first thought was the other was probably busy. He was thinking of just calling later when the call connected and Wulfric¡¯s handsome face appeared on the screen.


    Astrid was startled when he saw Wulfric¡¯s current state.


    The other¡¯s white hair was completely disheveled, as if he rolled on the ground or something. But more importantly, there were splashes of something red on his face. Astrid didn¡¯t think that it was paint. That didn¡¯t even cross his mind. The first thing that did was only one thing.


    Blood.


    Not only that, Astrid could also hear some commotion at the background. Like the wheezing sound of a laser gun. He was familiar with the sound because he sometimes accompanied Reas when the other played in the [VirtualNet]. His brother would often play games there spanning from gun battles to mecha battles. So, he knew this sound.


    Astrid frowned. Looking at the background where Wulfric stood, he could see smoke and even people fighting.


    ¡°Are- are you okay?¡± he asked, worry evident in his voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Oh, are you talking about this?¡± the other asked while wiping the blood on his face, as if he only realized that it was there. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not mine.¡±


    ¡°I probably should have not called you at this time,¡± Astrid said, aware that the other was in the middle of something important, maybe a mission of some sort.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, we¡¯re almost done here anyway,¡± Wulfric said with a wave of his hand, as if what he¡¯s doing was akin to a walk in the park.


    He kicked away the person who fell near his feet. Then, he walked and sat on the captain¡¯s chair so he and Astrid could have a better conversation. It was a rare thing that Aster called him first. How could he tell the other to end the call just because of some minor inconvenience?


    ¡°What exactly are you doing?¡± Astrid asked.


    The worry he felt was no longer so palpable. Maybe because despite whatever dangerous environment Wulfric was right now, the other was far from being in danger.


    ¡°Ah, we encountered a pirate ship on our way to our destination. As a responsible general, it¡¯s my duty to apprehend them. So, my soldiers and I are currently doing just that.¡±


    It was just a run off the mill pirate ship, so his soldiers hadn¡¯t even used half of their strength to capture these outlaws.


    Hearing that, Astrid was reminded that space pirates was actually a thing in this era. He was worried once again. But then looking at Wulfric¡¯s carefree attitude, there¡¯s probably nothing to worry about.


    ¡°You¡¯re not in any kind of danger, right?¡± he still asked.


    The corner of Wulfric¡¯s lips subconsciously tilted up when he heard that question. Because it showed just how much Aster was worrying about him. This was not a bad feeling at all. In fact, he liked it quite a bit.


    ¡°No, not at all,¡± he said. ¡°Why did you call, by the way?¡±


    Although he¡¯s happy that the other called him, he also knew that something must have happened for Aster to take the initiative to call him like this.


    ¡°Right. I want to ask you a question regarding abilities,¡± Astrid started, no longer hesitating and just said the reason he called the other. ¡°I want to know if it¡¯s possible for someone to develop an ability connected to pheromones or the likes?¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s brows furrowed a bit when he heard that. ¡°Hmm¡­ pheromones, huh. Although not impossible. It¡¯s certainly is rare.¡±


    ¡°Then, that means that it exists, right? An ability related to pheromones?¡± Astrid asked again to make things clear.


    Wulfric nodded. ¡°It¡¯s like a combination of physique level and mental level. Pheromones are produced by the body but its effect is perceived by the brain. So, for an individual to actually develop this kind of ability, there should be a high synchronization between their mind and body.¡±


    Aster didn¡¯t react, as if trying to digest what he just said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not really good at explaining things,¡± he added when he didn¡¯t hear the other¡¯s response.


    ¡°No, I kind of get it,¡± Astrid said. ¡°It¡¯s like someone who doesn¡¯t have much inhibition. Not hesitating to do what the mind tells them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s something like that.¡±


    Astrid nodded at Wulfric¡¯s confirmation. ¡°But even so, it¡¯s not like that kind of characteristic is rare. So, why isn¡¯t there a lot of people who had that kind of ability?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure as well. But there¡¯s a study that shows that people who manifested this kind of ability have a much more developed sweat glands compared to others,¡± Wulfric explained more.


    Was that so their scent would be different? ¨C Astrid pondered. ¡°But how come I¡¯ve never heard of such an ability?¡±


    There was even a study about it. So, surely, it wasn¡¯t like a legendary ability or something.


    ¡°There are a lot of abilities not made public,¡± Wulfric said, his ability for example was one. ¡°Especially those that could cause panic and fear to the people.¡±


    Astrid could somewhat understand that. If a person knew that there¡¯s an ability that could force them to like someone even if they didn¡¯t want to, wouldn¡¯t people¡¯s trust for one another hugely decrease? It¡¯s like that saying, ¡®ignorance is a bliss¡¯. What one didn¡¯t know wouldn¡¯t hurt them.


    ¡°Those who manifested an ability related to pheromones were usually conscripted by the Empire to the military¡¯s intelligence division,¡± Wulfric added.


    ¡°You mean like a spy?¡±


    Wulfric nodded. ¡°But why are you asking about this anyway?¡±


    Astrid debated whether to tell Wulfric about Lance. But at the end, he decided that he should. After all, the military was even involved. He should his civic duty as a citizen in the Empire.


    ¡°I think I met someone with the same ability.¡±


    The glint on Wulfric¡¯s eyes suddenly turned dangerous when he heard that. ¡°Who?¡±

 Chapter 315

    ASTRID was startled when he heard the way Wulfric said the word ¡®why¡¯. As if the other was about to bite through someone¡¯s neck. Realizing that Wulfric might have misunderstood and thought that someone had used that ability on him.


    Well, he¡¯s technically right. But he had a feeling that if he made it seem like Lance was doing some hocus-pocus so he could seduce him, Wulfric wouldn¡¯t hesitate to come here and arrest the other. That¡¯s not exactly his goal for calling Wulfric.


    He only wanted to make certain that his guess was correct. After all, he didn¡¯t want to accuse someone blindly. And now that it¡¯s proven, it wasn¡¯t his intention to get the guy arrested.


    They were already at the beginning of filming. All of the cast members were carefully chosen by Director Scott. And that included Lance Reid. Changing his role to someone else at this stage would just push back production. No matter how much of a scum Lance was, he¡¯s an integral part of the cast. He didn¡¯t want the director and the staffs¡¯ effort to go to waste just because he couldn¡¯t stand the guy.


    ¡°It¡¯s one of the cast members. But don¡¯t worry, he didn¡¯t try that pheromone thing on me,¡± he quickly said. ¡°The victim was another cast member. I just happened to be nearby when it happened. I smelled the scent coming from him so I thought it was weird. That¡¯s why I called you to make sure I¡¯m not being paranoid. By the way, do you know why I wasn¡¯t affected by it?¡±


    Astrid asked that last part to make it clear to the other, in a not so blatant way, that this pheromone ability had no effect on him. That seemed to be effective because Wulfric¡¯s furrowed brows finally loosened.


    ¡°It¡¯s most likely because of your SSS level mental strength,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°That guy¡¯s mental strength is definitely lower than yours.¡±


    Astrid had already thought of that possibility. That¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t surprised hearing that explanation.


    ¡°I thought so too as well,¡± he said. ¡°Since you said earlier that people with this kind of ability are conscripted by the Empire to the military¡¯s intelligence department, could the person I just mentioned actually be a member?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his name? I¡¯ll check it on our database,¡± Wulfric said.


    Astrid thought if doing that would be okay. But then again, the other was one of the five generals of the Empire. Accessing the military database for such a reason probably wouldn¡¯t be too much.


    ¡°Lance Reid,¡± he said, answering at the end.


    Just hearing the name of that person, Wulfric quickly felt annoyed. Although Aster made it clear that he wasn¡¯t a victim of the guy, he still felt anger at the thought of the other accidentally smelling the pheromone of this bastard.


    ¡°Please, wait awhile,¡± he said to the other while connecting to the military¡¯s database.


    He then entered Lance Reid¡¯s name. It didn¡¯t even take a second before the words ¡®no results found¡¯ appeared. Thinking of the possibility that the other might be using, what do you call that, ah, a stage name, he opened [StarNet] and searched for this Lance Reid fellow.


    What he first saw was a picture of a man with golden brown hair and a pair of gray eyes. Wulfric snorted seeing the other¡¯s sleazy look. Just one look and anyone could tell that the guy was up to no good. He copied one of the photos he saw and cross-examined it in the database. Just like earlier, there¡¯s still no match.


    This meant that this bastard, Lance Reid, had been keeping his ability a secret. There was a law that required citizens of the Empire to register their ability if they ever manifested one. It was so they could monitor any possible danger in the future.


    But since people with abilities were not exactly a dime a dozen, the corresponding division responsible for it was not really that strict. So, the rules for it were basically very loose. Not to mention those ability users who were living in Lawless Dens. So, it¡¯s not weird if not all people who manifested an ability was registered in the military¡¯s database.


    Still, doing so was something a law-abiding citizen would do. So, the fact that this Lance Reid was not registered despite having such a rare ability meant that the other was a crook. And apparently, someone who would rather use his ability to become a legal pervert rather than used it for the good of the Empire.


    ¡°He¡¯s not,¡± he said, responding to Aster¡¯s earlier question.


    That was also something Astrid expected. Someone from the military would surely not blatantly use their abilities just so they could have a fling with someone. But there¡¯s also one possibility.


    ¡°Would it be possible that he didn¡¯t know that he actually had no idea that he has an ability?¡±


    Yes, that was a bit stupid. But Astrid had a feeling that if it was that Lance Reid, it was possible.


    Wulfric had an incredulous expression on his face. ¡°So, this Lance Reid is a fool?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m giving another alternative possibility.¡±


    ¡°Never mind that. Just ignore that person,¡± Wulfric said, changing the subject. ¡°I will send military personnel to take him back to the base at the capital and interrogate him.¡±


    It was an outcome that Astrid wanted to avoid. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯d really rather not have him taken away from filming. It would bring huge lost to the production. Could it be possible to interrogate him here?¡±


    Wulfric scowled, not liking the idea of this person continuously being near to Aster. But since this was what Aster wished for, he couldn¡¯t really bear to refuse. Another thing was because he knew that the other wasn¡¯t doing this because he liked being around that guy. It¡¯s the reason why he could agree so easily.


    ¡°I will make arrangements,¡± he could only say.


    He narrowed his eyes, thinking of the ¡®best¡¯ person for the job. After all, he couldn¡¯t go there himself. So, it¡¯s best if someone who could give the same ¡®suffering¡¯ would go instead.

 Chapter 316

    ASTRID was walking towards the building that would serve as the main church in [The Great War]. This was his third day here at FS05 and also the first day of the official shooting. According the schedule given to them, Director Scott planned to shoot the scenes of the cast with shorter screen time first. Like Astrid for example.


    He also agreed with this strategy. If they shoot chronologically according to scenes that would appear first, then those who didn¡¯t have that much screen time had to wait while the others with bigger role continued shooting. That¡¯s simply a big waste of time.


    At least with this, those with smaller roles could quickly finish shooting all their scenes while the ones with bigger roles could attend to other things and simply return here when it¡¯s time for them to shoot. That way, it would be a win-win for everyone.


    Starting today, they would film all the scenes that used this church as the setting. They allocated a whole week for it, bringing into account the NGs the actors and actresses might get. If Astrid performed well, they could probably shorten that to 3-4 days.


    The first scene he¡¯s going to shoot was him being ordained as a priest. This scene would appear right at the end of the second episode. The first episode would show the childhood of the protagonist, Caesar Warwick. This included his meeting with Luan Escanor.


    The second episode would be the start of Caesar¡¯s teenage years when he was struggling to take back the kingdom that was rightfully his. And at the end of that episode was this scene that he would shoot now.


    Each episode of this series had a duration of one hour and 15 minutes. So, a lot could happen in an episode. Considering that the series would have 35 episodes in total, one would think that it might be too much. But the source material had hundreds of chapters. Loyal fans of the novel might find this number and duration of episodes quite lacking.


    Astrid thought of the scene they would film first today. There were a lot of extras in this scene. After all, in the world of [The Great War], religion played a huge role. A lot of war orphans who didn¡¯t have outstanding physical abilities went to church and chose to become a priest. Of course, not all of them would be one.


    It¡¯s not like the church was a particularly charitable establishment. Just like any other huge group, there was corruption hidden beneath. Priests were chosen very carefully. Their appearance should not only be impeccable, but their manners should be as well. It didn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re not kind as long as you could fake to be one. With such requirements, it seemed that it¡¯s much harder to be a priest rather than be a knight.


    Astrid finally entered the church. The filming crew was already there, along with some of the extras acting in this scene. He greeted the others with just the right amount of politeness. Ellis, who was walking beside him, did the same. Then, they walked to the assigned waiting area and sat down.


    Ellis glanced at her artist. The other didn¡¯t show any signs of nervousness. In truth, he looked excited rather. She smiled. Well, that¡¯s good. At least she knew that Astrid wouldn¡¯t have any problems filming today.


    ¡°By the way, Sister Ellis, have all the other cast members left?¡± Astrid thought of asking, referring to the main cast.


    ¡°Most of them except Yujin and Phoebe Goodman.¡±


    Astrid nodded. The three of them actually almost had the same amount of screen time, with him having the least. But if the two were the only exception, did that mean that Lance Rei also left?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lance Reid had also left,¡± Ellis added as if reading his mind. ¡°I heard from someone that he also has another schedule just like the rest of the cast.¡±


    That¡¯s good. Astrid thought that the other would be staying here and would continue to harass either him or Yujin. But if the guy had another schedule, then that¡¯s understandable.


    Thinking of that, he suddenly remembered his conversation with Wulfric last night. The other said that he would be making arrangements to deal with Lance. He probably should tell Wulfric that Lance was currently not here in FS05. So, he opened his Terminal and sent the other a message.


    While he was doing that, the remaining extras arrived. And a few minutes after, Director Scott also walked into the church. He called to everyone and gathered their attention.


    ¡°Okay, please go to your position!¡± he said to the extras. He then looked around and when his gaze landed on Astrid, he called the other.


    Astrid walked over to where the director was. ¡°Is there a problem, director?¡±


    ¡°I just want to give some pointers before we start,¡± the other said. ¡°You should know that this scene involves quite a number of people. I will first take a wide pan shot. I won¡¯t focus the camera on you but I want you to be able to stand out among the rest. Make it so that the first thing the audience will look at is you. Can you do that?¡±


    It¡¯s like asking an apple to differentiate himself from a basket full of similar apples. After all, everyone was wearing the same simple priest robe. The shot would not even be in a close angle. How could one stand out in such a way?


    But Astrid was not worried. He might not be able to do it in one take. But he¡¯s confident that it wouldn¡¯t exceed three takes.


    ¡°I will try my best, director,¡± he only said to the other.


    Seeing the determination in Astrid¡¯s eyes, Director Scott nodded in approval. It¡¯s good that the kid wasn¡¯t showing any nervousness even after hearing what he said. He then let the other go to his assigned position.


    Astrid walked towards the third pew on the right side of the alter. He sat down on the empty spot and closed his eyes. He only opened them when the director shouted ¡®action!¡¯.

 Chapter 318: EVERYTHING WENT DARK

    HILDRED took out a cup of ice cream from the cooler inside the spacecraft to alleviate his mood. He felt like if he continued to be in this state, he might just transfer his anger on that Lance fellow. If that happened, that guy might just faint before he could even get the information he wanted.


    He sighed and just ate a spoonful of ice cream. He was half-way through the cup when his Terminal rang. It was a notification for a video call request. Seeing that it was Lele, he somehow had a bad feeling about this.


    He answered the call and Lele¡¯s serious face appeared on the screen. ¡°Please, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s another problem I have to solve.¡±


    Leland¡¯s expression cracked for a minute of a second but it quickly returned to normal. But Hildred still managed to capture that. A long sigh escaped his lips. He knew it.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t go to the extent of calling it a problem,¡± Leland said.


    ¡°Come on, just give it to me straight, Lele,¡± Hildred said with a helpless tone.


    ¡°Lance Reid has left FS05. I will now send you his new coordinates. Please, report immediately once you accomplished your task.¡±


    After Leland said that, the call ended. Hildred was left staring at the screen speechlessly.


    ¡°Shit,¡± he could only mutter at the end.


    These guys. Hildred was sure that they were ganging up on him. No, to be specific, it was Wulf who was doing the bullying and Lele was just there to give support as usual. He groaned in frustration and annoyance.


    He then received the new coordinates. He stared at it for a few seconds, then after that, he could only sigh and entered it on the GPS system. The flight trajectory of the spacecraft immediately changed.


    He was already nearing FS05. Because of the change of coordinates, he had to enter another warp gate again. Hildred truly felt like a volcano just waiting to erupt. He took deep calming breaths.


    It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine. He could simply force Wulf to give him a reward after this job was done. A one-month vacation with Ed sounded good.


    With that thought in mind, his bad mood instantly disappeared. Any remaining grievance he had, he could simply push to that Lance fellow.


    And so, Hildred finished eating his ice cream with peace of mind.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Lance was about to pour wine on a glass when he felt a chill down his spine. He shuddered unknowingly. What was that?


    ¡°Is there something wrong, Lance?¡± asked the agent who saw him shuddered.


    ¡°Nah, I just felt cold for some reason,¡± Lance answered.


    ¡°Maybe the AC¡¯s temperature is too low. Should I change it for you?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡±


    ¡°Then, go to sleep early and don¡¯t drink too much. You still have an early photoshoot tomorrow.¡±


    Lance only carelessly waved his hand at his agent¡¯s nagging.


    ¡°And by the way, for the nth time, please try to keep your hands to yourself during the filming of [The Great War],¡± the agent reminded again. ¡°Director Scott is not like the other directors you¡¯ve worked so far. He might not tolerate your dalliances.¡±


    ¡°I get it. I won¡¯t do anything,¡± Lance said, but quickly added with a playful smirk, ¡°But if they try to get close to me first, then who am I to deny them?¡±


    The agent rolled his eyes. They both knew that people Lance was interested in were the ones who threw themselves at him first. So, what¡¯s the difference between giving that promise and not giving it at all?


    He could only sigh. The only comforting thing about his artist¡¯s playboy trait was the fact that he hadn¡¯t caused a huge scandal yet. He shook his head and just left the mansion.


    Lance picked up the wine glass and walked towards the floor to ceiling window. He looked at the beautiful night sky. Since his mansion was on a floating island, he had a clearer view of the sky.


    This floating island was a well-known resident area for celebrities. Many other actors and singers lived here. So, the security was pretty tight. And since it¡¯s a floating island, they could all maintain their privacy. Purchasing a house here was probably the best decision of his life.


    He drank a sip of wine. Looking outside, he remembered what he said to his agent earlier. Although he said that he wasn¡¯t planning to make a move on those rookies, he was certain that those two would surely throw themselves at him sooner or later. Because that¡¯s how it had always been.


    He couldn¡¯t remember when it started. He just slowly noticed that there was a pattern. Every time he was interested in someone, that person just naturally fall for him. And every time he wanted to end the relationship, they also wouldn¡¯t make a fuss and agree with the break-up.


    Lance didn¡¯t question it much and just attributed it to the fact that the others were also just looking for temporary fun like him. So, he came to a conclusion that they simply had the same disposition.


    But then, during the shoot yesterday, when he thought that at least one of the two rookies would approach him, it didn¡¯t happen. Instead, the two ran away as soon as the shoot ended.


    It was a fresh experience to say the least. Then he wondered if the two actually dislike him or maybe he wasn¡¯t just their type. Either way, he found it very novel and interesting. But as he said to his agent, he wouldn¡¯t try to purposely seduce the two. He would simply wait and see if they would succumb to his charm or not.


    Thinking of this, he couldn¡¯t wait but grin. This was also interesting in itself.


    Lance was about to take another sip of wine when he saw a silhouette being reflected on the window. It was that of a man wearing a cap and a mask. Before he could react or even before he could feel shock, he felt a stinging pain on his neck.


    The next thing he knew, everything simply went dark.

 Chapter 319: STARE BLANKLY

    LANCE slowly opened his eyes. He was sitting on a chair, the familiar dining room of his mansion in front of him. Feeling the stinging pain at the back of his neck, he suddenly remembered what happened before he lost consciousness. Someone attacked him!


    At that realization, he tried to stand up but he was immediately pulled back down to the chair. He then only noticed that his hands were tied at the back of the chair.


    ¡°Shit- what is this?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but exclaimed.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake. Good.¡±


    Hearing that voice, Lance¡¯s head turned to the direction it came from. There, sitting at the bar stool was a man. He was wearing all black. The cap on his head covered his hair and half of his face. He also had a mask that was slightly lowered because of the spoon on his mouth. But most importantly, he was holding onto a tumbler of ice cream.


    In this situation, one would think that the other was a dangerous person. But because of him, hugging that ice cream tumbler, it just looked comical in a way. But Lance couldn¡¯t laugh. Especially when he could still feel the sting on the back of his neck.


    ¡°Ah, sorry, if I helped myself to your ice cream,¡± the man said. ¡°I have a habit of eating sweets when I¡¯m stressed out, you see.¡±


    The other put down the tumbler, as well as the spoon, on the bar counter. Then, he pulled out the mask to cover up his mouth and nose. Now, Lance couldn¡¯t see even one feature of the other clearly.


    He narrowed his eyes at the man. He wondered what the other wanted with him. There were a lot of answers that entered his mind. Like if the other was a thief or maybe a psychopathic murderer. But the most believable to him right now was this.


    ¡°Are you a stalker?¡±


    Yes, Lance believed that the man must be a deranged fan. He could no longer control his admiration for him and that¡¯s why he sneaked into this house and tied him up like this.


    Hildred felt the corner of his eyes twitched because of that dumb question. He suddenly had an urge to pick up the spoon on the bar counter and throw it at the other.


    ¡°From now on, don¡¯t speak unless I ask you a question. Or else, I¡¯ll ruin that pretty face of yours, okay?¡±


    Lance stiffened at the blatant threat. Because the way the other said it with such a cheerful tone, as if he was just telling him the most interesting thing in the world, made it even scarier. Because it showed just how crazy the other was.


    ¡°Good. It looks like you understand,¡± the man said with a clap. He stood up and walked in front of Lance. ¡°Now, shall we start?¡±


    Lance felt the same chill he felt earlier. He suddenly realized that the reason why he felt that ¡®chill¡¯ might be because his subconscious was warning him of this crazy guy. He swallowed nervously. For the first time in his life, he started to pray. Hoping that whatever the end of this situation was, he wouldn¡¯t actually lose his life.


    ¡°First, let me ask if you, why didn¡¯t you register your ability?¡±


    Lance showed a confused expression. He understood the question. But it felt like something completely unrelated to him. ¡°I- I don¡¯t have any ability.¡±


    The man didn¡¯t answer and just stared at him. Lance became even more nervous. But if this was all about him having some sort of ¡®ability¡¯, then wouldn¡¯t he be able to solve this misunderstanding quickly?


    ¡°I have both level A physique and mental strength. The probability of me having an ability is very low,¡± he quickly added. ¡°I think you mistook me for someone else.¡±


    ¡°If your name is Lance Reid, then no, I¡¯m not mistaking you for anyone else,¡± Hildred said in a dry tone.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t really have an ability!¡±


    Hildred stared at the other. Lance had a frustrated and almost desperate expression on his face. He tilted his head. The other seemed to not really know that he had an ability. Hildred had read the short report that Lele made about this guy. Based on that, he could also tell that Lance had that rare pheromone ability. But if the other didn¡¯t know about that, then that meant that he¡¯s using his ability unconsciously.


    Could that be possible though? Well, Wulf did mention that if Lance didn¡¯t know about his ability, then he should just treat the other as a fool.


    Hildred sighed.


    ¡°From here on out, I will give you a thorough lesson about your ¡®ability¡¯. So, listen carefully. Hmm?¡±


    Lance suddenly had a feeling that if he said ¡®no¡¯, he would be beaten right there and then. Although he still didn¡¯t believe what this guy said about him having an ability, he understood that he wasn¡¯t really in the position to do anything but agree to whatever this guy wanted.


    He could only nod at the end.


    ¡°Good. Now, where shall we start?¡± Hildred wondered. He¡¯s not really good at explaining. No, rather, he didn¡¯t have the patience for it. So, he simply went straight to the point. ¡°You have a pheromone related ability. To make it simple, your body releases a certain smell that makes other people fall for you. It¡¯s the reason why you¡¯ve been very successful in your little sexcapades for the past years. In short, since you don¡¯t know that you possessed such an ability, you unknowingly seduced all these people against their will.¡±


    Lance heard what the other said, he also understood each and every meaning. But somehow, his brain simply couldn¡¯t register it. He had a pheromone ability? The people he had a relationship with only agreed to be with him because of this so-called pheromone? For someone with a huge self-esteem as him, it was something hard to believe.


    So, he could only stare blankly at the man in front of him.

 Chapter 320: CUTE PUPPY

    ASTRID just finished filming a scene. He was currently riding a land vehicle with Ellis. They were on their way to the next shooting location. He had already finished shooting everything that needed to be shot at the church yesterday. At least those scenes that didn¡¯t require the other main cast members that weren¡¯t in FS05 currently.


    The next scene the would be a scene with Yujin. He felt a bit excited because of it. This would be their first scene together. Hopefully, both of them would live up to the expectations of each other.


    At that time, his Terminal rang. It¡¯s a notification for an incoming message. He opened his Terminal and saw that it was from Wulfric. The first thing he thought was their discussion from the other night finally had a result. He opened the message and read it.


    [Wulf: That thing with Lance Reid had been dealt with. But a small problem occurred.]


    A problem? Astrid wondered what could have happened. So, he quickly replied;


    [What happened?]


    [Wulf: It¡¯s a bit hard to explain via message. I know you¡¯re busy right now shooting. So, can you video call me once you¡¯re free? Then, I¡¯ll explain everything.]


    So, it¡¯s complicated enough that Wulfric couldn¡¯t simply explain it via text message? ¨C Astrid thought. He started to get curious as to why that was. Somehow, he had a feeling that it would be a bit of a problem. But even though he was curious, he still replied;


    [Okay. I¡¯ll call you after lunch.]


    He didn¡¯t have any shoot in the afternoon. Director Scott would shoot Yujin¡¯s scenes instead.


    Wulfric¡¯s reply was a cute moving emoji of a chibi white wolf giving him a thumbs-up. Then, it was followed by another moving emoji of the same white wolf waving a banner with words ¡®good luck with work!¡¯.


    ¡°Cute,¡± he chuckled before closing his Terminal.


    ¡°What¡¯s cute?¡± Ellis, who heard him, asked.


    Astrid smiled and turned to the other. ¡°Nothing. A friend just sent a picture of a cute puppy.¡±


    Ellis nodded and didn¡¯t have any doubt. How could she suspect that her artist was actually casually exchanging messages with the only prince of the Empire?


    That¡¯s why when she found out about the relationship of the two in the future and finally put all the pieces together, it would only feel like being hit by something without a warning.


    Of course, that was still an event that would happen in the not so near future.


    ¡ª¨C


    Arriving at the shooting location, the make-up artist quickly retouched Astrid¡¯s make-up. After that, he walked to the spot where he should be standing. It didn¡¯t take long for Yujin to walk up to him.


    ¡°Are you ready for our scene together?¡± the other asked.


    ¡°Of course. Are you?¡± Astrid asked in a playful banter.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually a bit nervous,¡± Yujin admitted honestly. ¡°I heard you got almost no NGs in your filming yesterday.¡±


    Astrid fully understood what the other meant by that. Yujin was worried that he couldn¡¯t match his performance. To be able to admit that without showing any negative feelings towards Astrid just showed that the other wasn¡¯t the type to easily envy others.


    That¡¯s a great trait for someone in this industry. At least, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for the other to have inferiority complex. Feeling inferior would only hinder one¡¯s growth. He learned that the hard way during his experience in his past life.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do just fine,¡± he said sincerely. ¡°We¡¯ll both do.¡±


    Yujin smiled at that. He was truly feeling a bit nervous. But after hearing Astrid say that, he became much calmer. His nervousness even disappeared.


    And with that, their filming started.


    ¡ª¨C


    The scene they¡¯re going to film was when Astrid and Yujin¡¯s characters first met. Even though their characters were half-brothers, the character Yujin played had never met Luan Escanor.


    The king of Ashelad had many children, so some of them not knowing each other personally was not really that strange. Aside from that, Luan also left the palace at a very young age. So, not meeting his other half-siblings was also natural.


    Luan was doing his usual charity work at a village that was devastated by two kingdoms¡¯ skirmishes. There, he would meet Oscar Ashelad.


    One would wonder what a prince of a big kingdom was doing in such a village. Well, the audience wouldn¡¯t know that he was actually a prince. At least those who weren¡¯t familiar with the source material wouldn¡¯t.


    This was actually the first scene where Yujin¡¯s character would be introduced. He wouldn¡¯t introduce himself as a prince but a wanderer instead. Which was not totally wrong in a sense. After all, at that point, Oscar was truly living like a wanderer. It¡¯s also because of his travels that he met the protagonist of the story and became the other¡¯s comrade.


    In this scene, Luan was helping with the nuns, cooking food for the villagers. Priests don¡¯t usually don things like this. Most of them had high egos and thought that they were above such things. But Luan was different. Despite his over-the-top sense of justice, he sincerely wanted to help the people.


    ¡°Sir Luan, I think it¡¯s better for you to go out and walk around the village with the other priests,¡± one nun said.


    ¡°No, I¡¯d rather be here,¡± Astrid said with a smile. ¡°We don¡¯t have much manpower. At least with me helping, we can cook faster. Then, the villagers could finally have a warm meal.¡± He continued to cut the vegetable he¡¯s chopping. ¡°They at least have to know that there are still people out there who thinks that they are not just collaterals in this never-ending war.¡±


    The women playing nuns looked at Astrid with reverence, showing how much his words touched them. It was easy for them to show such an expression. Not because it was easy but because Astrid made it easy for them. It¡¯s like he brought them to the scene. Something that they didn¡¯t even notice.


    And then the moment was broken when an obviously drunk man traipsed inside the kitchen where they were.


    ¡°Oh, I think I entered the wrong room,¡± Yujin said with a sloppy grin.

 Chapter 321: THE BAD NEWS

    ¡°OH, you¡¯re making stew!¡± Yujin said, his eyes immediately brightened seeing the huge pot of stew. ¡°Are you making this for me? How did you know that I¡¯m hungry? Can you also make me hangover soup?¡±


    The women playing the nuns showed a bewildered look and almost all of them turned to Astrid. Showing that they weren¡¯t sure what they should do in this situation. Astrid stopped chopping vegetables and turned to the intruder.


    ¡°Sir, I think you entered the wrong room,¡± he said with a gentle smile. ¡°If you¡¯re hungry, we can give you bread and a bowl of stew. But please, I hope you can eat it outside. As you can see, we¡¯re quite busy here. I hope you understand.¡±


    Anyone would probably feel offended when hearing that. But if it was Astrid- no, Luan saying it accompanied by such a smile, it¡¯s hard to feel any sort of negative emotion.


    Yujin was slightly surprised. To say that line without it sounding like you¡¯re nagging or scolding someone really showed Astrid¡¯s acting ability. Especially with the way he said it. It¡¯s like a gentle reprimand that could make others think, ¡®ah, yes, he¡¯s right¡¯.


    Good thing that Yujin¡¯s reaction only lasted for a fraction of a second. If not, his acting would definitely be affected. Seeing how good Astrid was in delivering his lines, he had to at least match it.


    ¡ª


    Carmine watched Yujin exchanged lines with Astrid. She hated to admit it but that kid, Astrid, really had talent for acting. And she could see that this talent was tremendous. It¡¯s not all like the acting of a newcomer.


    Yujin was, of course, good as well. But just seeing this scene, anyone could tell that the one with more momentum was Astrid. She tsked. A kid with good looks and acting talent to back it up, to top it off, he also had very good social skills. Wasn¡¯t that a bit of an overkill?


    ¡°What do you think? My artist is quite good, right?¡± someone asked from beside her.


    Hearing that voice, her brows subconsciously furrowed. She glanced sideways at Ellis. The other had that annoying grin on her face making Carmine frown even more. She truly wanted to not give any response to the other. But because of her temper, she couldn¡¯t resist saying;


    ¡°He¡¯s fine, I guess.¡±


    Of course, she couldn¡¯t directly admit that she also thought that Astrid was good. Especially not in front of this woman.


    Ellis only smiled knowingly, her eyes filled with amusement. As if she knew that she was only saying nonsense.


    ¡°If you say so,¡± she said.


    That only irked Carmine even more.


    ¡ª¨C


    After shooting that scene, Astrid and Ellis went back to the hotel to have lunch. Then, after they finished eating, Astrid told the other that he would be staying at his hotel room for the rest of the day. Ellis didn¡¯t think much and just thought that he wanted to rest.


    Finally alone in his hotel room, Astrid quickly sent Wulfric a request for a video call. It didn¡¯t take long for his call to be accepted and Wulfric¡¯s handsome face appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Have you had lunch?¡± Wulfric asked.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Yes, how about you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I drank some nutrient solution.¡±


    ¡°Are you so busy that you don¡¯t have time to eat lunch?¡± Astrid asked, his brows furrowing a bit.


    ¡°A bit.¡±


    Astrid noticed the other glancing sideways, obviously not telling the truth. ¡°It¡¯s not because you didn¡¯t like the food, right?¡±


    He already knew about the other being a picky eater. So, it¡¯s not hard to imagine that the reason he drank nutrient solution instead of eating real food was because he was being picky.


    Wulfric scratched his cheek like a schoolboy caught by his teacher for doing mischief. ¡°Our army has a new chef. I don¡¯t really like his cooking.¡±


    Wulfric was actually thinking of firing the guy and hiring another one once they reached their destination. But since Beowulf was still floating in space right now, he couldn¡¯t do it right away. He could actually fire the chef right away if he wanted to. But Leland would definitely stop him and then nag him right after. So, it¡¯s better to just not do anything and endure drinking nutrient solution for a few more days.


    If Astrid didn¡¯t know that nutrient solutions didn¡¯t have any side-effects and was more nutritious than normal food, he would probably be worried for the other. But since he knew, he could only say to lighten the mood;


    ¡°Then, I should probably be thankful that you didn¡¯t nitpick the food that I cooked when you ate at my apartment.¡±


    ¡°How could I do that? Your food was probably the most delicious I¡¯ve eaten in my life,¡± Wulfric quickly said.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help the smile that crossed his lips when he heard that. ¡°Then, once I¡¯m no longer acting, maybe I could apply as your army¡¯s chef.¡±


    When he heard that, Wulfric¡¯s imagination went to overdrive once again. Images of Aster in Beowulf, cooking food, and eating with him just flashed in his mind. ¡°You¡¯re definitely most welcome.¡±


    Hearing Wulfric said that with so much enthusiasm, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. Still, they probably should talk now about the important matter.


    ¡°By the way, what happened to Lance Reid?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Ah, him. Well. It seemed that he really had no idea that he had an ability. Because of that, he has to undergo training as well as attend lectures so he can better understand his ability. But that meant that he might miss the shooting of your movie.¡±


    Although Astrid was already expecting that the problem would be something similar, he was still a bit surprised. Especially knowing that Lance actually didn¡¯t know that he had an ability. But the more pressing matter was the fact that the other might have to resign from the movie.


    ¡°Is there a chance to temporary hold-off the training and lecture?¡± he asked.


    Wulfric showed a complicated expression. Astrid already knew the answer seeing that.

 Chapter 322: THOROUGHLY EDUCATE

    ASTRID wanted to swear a bit after realizing that there¡¯s a high chance Lance needed to be replaced. This was all because the other was actually foolish enough not to know that he had an ability.


    Seriously, anyone that had enough IQ should have noticed by now that people fall for his seduction because there¡¯s some hocus-pocus involved. But now Wulfric just confirmed that Lance was someone that¡¯s truly ignorant. No, it went beyond that.


    Astrid wasn¡¯t sure if it was because the other was simply truly lacking in the brain department or if he was so confident with his own charm that he really believed anyone would be ready to open their legs for him at the snap of his fingers. Astrid had a feeling that it was a little bit of both.


    Now the only image he had of Lance Reid was an overconfident idiot. A bit harsh but once he thought of all those newcomers he had an affair with, he felt the urge to punch the other. After all, what the other did, albeit not on his own volition, was almost the same as forcing his partners drink a date-rape drug against their will.


    He sighed. He knew that it¡¯s better for this guy to get lecture and undergo training. This could make certain that Lance wouldn¡¯t have another ¡®victim¡¯. But this could also mean a delay in shooting. Which in turn would result in the delay of the show¡¯s release.


    Another frustrated sigh escaped his lips. He should probably just accept the inevitable.


    Seeing the frustrated expression on Aster¡¯s face, Wulfric understood that the other already assumed that his hands were tied and he couldn¡¯t really do much about the whole situation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can probably do something to make sure that guy won¡¯t be replaced and your shooting won¡¯t be delayed,¡± he said.


    Astrid was a bit surprised hearing that. ¡°Is that okay? You won¡¯t be using your military power to do that, right? Because if you do, then it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s probably better to just replace that guy.¡±


    ¡°Hey, although I¡¯m short tempered, I don¡¯t do power trips.¡± Wulfric said that in a scolding tone, but no one would think he¡¯s offended because of how the corners of his lips were raised. ¡°I said that because I really can do something about it.¡±


    Besides, Hildred hadn¡¯t yet reported the whole thing to the capital¡¯s military base and there¡¯s no way their army would do so. Since Hildred had already confirmed the other¡¯s ability, he and Leland had talked about how their army could benefit with the other¡¯s ability.


    That¡¯s a bit crass, saying it like that. But someone with a pheromone-related ability like that was quite sought after in the military. Before this Lance Reid could be nabbed by another army or worse, by the intelligence department, it¡¯s better for their Fenris Squad to nab the other and make him work for their army.


    In order for Lance Reid to get training, they should report about his ability first to the military. But since it¡¯s in their benefit to not do that, they had already thought of an alternative. Or rather, Leland did.


    ¡°You have nothing to worry about,¡± he said again. ¡°Trust me.¡±


    At that ¡®trust me¡¯, how could Astrid not to? If Wulfric was this confident, then that meant that he must really have a way to solve the situation.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°I trust you.¡±


    Wulfric smiled at that. ¡°So, how was filming going?¡± he asked, changing the topic.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After about an hour of wonderful conversation, Wulfric reluctantly ended the call. He still had a lot of work to do. He glanced frustratedly at the pile of papers on his desk.  But after that talk with Aster, he felt very refreshed. It¡¯s like he could work for another 24 hours without sleeping.


    That¡¯s when a knock came to the door. It opened and Leland walked in.


    ¡°Your Highness, I just finished talking to Hildred. He and Mr. Reid are already on their way here,¡± he said after standing in front of the prince¡¯s desk.


    Wulfric nodded. ¡°Did Reid arrange things on his side properly before leaving? I don¡¯t want to see a report of him going missing surfacing in the [StarNet].¡±


    ¡°Hildred said that Mr. Reid had arranged everything and emptied the next two weeks of his schedule.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡°Once they arrived, I¡¯ll take over from Hildred and educate Mr. Reid about the things that he should and shouldn¡¯t do as someone who has an ability.¡±


    Wulfric grinned when he heard that. ¡°Make sure to thoroughly ¡®educate¡¯ him.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At the main mansion of the Grimaldis located at the capital star¡­


    A flying car landed on the driveway and a boy with silver hair and a pair of sapphire blue eyes jumped down. He walked towards the manor with a bounce in his steps. Showing how much of a good mood he was currently in.


    Of course, Nicol was very happy. He just got the highest score in their class for their mock quiz. He was also praised by his art teacher for the sketch he made. With this, he could probably request something from his father.


    Several AI robots welcomed him back. Taking his bag and asking him if he wanted snacks.


    ¡°No thanks. Is my Dad back home?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No, young lord. Lord Thomas is still not back,¡± one of the robots answered.


    But as if on cue, the door opened and his father walked in. Nicol¡¯s face immediately brightened.


    ¡°Dad!¡± he called, running towards the other.


    Thomas quickly knelt down to catch the running cannonball. Then, he picked Nicol up. ¡°You¡¯re in a very good mood,¡± he said, tapping the boy¡¯s nose.


    Nicol showed a toothy grin and told his father about his accomplishments today.


    Thomas stared at his son and he could easily see what the other was on about. ¡°Okay. What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want to see Brother Aster!¡± Nicol didn¡¯t hesitate to say.


    Before Thomas could say anything, a voice spoke from up the stairs.


    ¡°Who is this ¡®Brother Aster¡¯?¡±


    Thomas looked up and greeted the owner of the voice, ¡°Father.¡±

 Chapter 323: THATS ALL HE COULD DO

    THE handsome man walking down the stairs had the same silver hair and sapphire blue eyes as the father-son duo standing below. He had white strands in his hair, showing his slightly older age. But aside from that, there were no other features that showed his age. Anyone who saw him would think that he and Thomas were brothers instead of father and son.


    This person was Anthony Grimaldi ¨C the head of the Grimaldi family and one of the most powerful noble in the Empire.


    He stood straight, as if his spine was made of steel. There was a natural air of nobility around him, as if he was born to be above everyone else. His eyes simply had that stern glint, making him look overly serious. The kind who wouldn¡¯t laugh even at the funniest joke. His presence alone was screaming, ¡®I am someone of higher status, you shall all bow down before me!¡¯.


    But the moment his gaze landed on his grandson, his eyes softened and it completely dispelled the strict and noble aura around him. He walked down the steps and took Nicol from Thomas, carrying the boy in his arms. The way he did so was so natural that it felt like he had done it so many times.


    ¡°So, who is this ¡®Brother Aster¡¯ that my grandson had been mentioning, hmm?¡± he asked Nicol, but his eyes were looking at his son, clearly asking the other the question.


    Thomas received that loud and clear. ¡°He¡¯s one of the kids who saved Nicol in that incident.¡±


    At the mention of that, Anthony was once again reminded of that hostage taking incident that happened almost two months ago. All the people involved in what happened had already been punished. But that still didn¡¯t lessen his anger over the matter.


    ¡°Ah, yes. I heard you had dinner with them. Does our Nikki like them very much?¡± Anthony asked his grandson.


    ¡°Yes! But only Brother Aster. The other big brother isn¡¯t really that friendly,¡± Nicol said, grumbling at that last part.


    ¡°I see. But isn¡¯t this big brother the one who saved you?¡±


    Anthony had seen the footage when the two teenagers tried to save his grandson. The black-haired one used his good looks to take the attention away from the hostage taker and then, the blue-haired one rushed to attack, even using his ability to do so.


    They were very brave kids. They might be young but they¡¯re not afraid to stand up for what¡¯s right.


    If this had happened 20 years ago, he would probably be suspicious and ordered a thorough background check of the two. But those days were long gone now. After he heard from Thomas that Cassius did a basic check already, that was already more than enough for him.


    He was ready to give them whatever they might demand, no matter how big or expensive it was. That was their rightful due for saving his grandson. But there was no demand. Even after knowing which family Nicol belonged to, they didn¡¯t try to get close. Using that incident to integrate themselves to the Grimaldi family and use their influence.


    Being an aspiring actor and an aspiring soldier, the influence of their family could be a great help to their careers. But nothing like that happened. There wasn¡¯t even a communication with Nicol. This just showed that the two were not interested in the Grimaldi family.


    In Anthony¡¯s book, that¡¯s already a huge plus. That¡¯s why his impression of the two was quite good.


    Nicol pouted after hearing what his grandpa said. ¡°It¡¯s not like I hate him. I just like Brother Aster more.¡±


    Anthony chuckled at that. ¡°Well, if you really want to meet with your Brother Aster, we can always invite him here.¡±


    Nicol¡¯s face brightened. His smile as bright as sunshine. ¡°Really? Thank you, Grandpa! You¡¯re the best!¡±


    The duke smiled as well. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go and eat your favorite snack.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Thomas watched as the two walked away. Seeing as how his father treated his son so gently, he couldn¡¯t help but feel the irony.


    After what happened 20 years ago, his father became even more withdrawn. It was in a way that he no longer bothered with anything except for work. Not even his family. So, without him noticing, one of his remaining sons drifted away. When he did finally notice, it was already too late.


    Casey already blamed them, especially their father, for what happened to Emmy. When their father didn¡¯t make an effort to patch up their broken relationship, it¡¯s natural for it to shatter completely.


    That¡¯s probably a wake-up call for the other. But just as he said, it was already too late at that point.


    Their family was already falling apart after the death of his mother. But what happened 20 years ago was what thoroughly broke it. And Thomas enabled that to happen. So, he was as much to blame as his father.


    He could have stopped the madness before it escalated to that point. But he didn¡¯t. And this was the result. Things got only slightly better when Nicol was born. Casey started to talk to him again. Although he¡¯s not actively trying to connect with their father, he was at least civil to him.


    Yes, things were slowly changing for the better. And yet, it felt that it hadn¡¯t.


    Because even until now, they still had to pretend that Emmy was dead. They couldn¡¯t bring themselves to find her whereabouts. Even when Casey found out the truth, he also didn¡¯t do anything. Or rather, he couldn¡¯t.


    Because just like them, he knew that this was what Emmy wanted. To have the freedom to be happy. To be able to be herself. To attain her dreams. To freely love who she wanted. All of these she couldn¡¯t do if she returned as ¡®Emmaline Grimaldi¡¯.


    After all that she¡¯d been through, letting her be was the least thing they could do.


    But most often than not, Thomas wondered how his sister was doing now. Was she doing okay? Did she have his own family now? Was she happy?


    But at the end of the day, that¡¯s all he could do.


    Wonder.

 Chapter 324: DEFINITELY BE FUN

    A week had gone by since they arrived here at FS05. There¡¯s probably only a quarter left for Astrid to film before he finished with all his scene. They were very much ahead of schedule. They¡¯d probably be done with his scenes in about two days.


    Because of this efficiency, Director Scott became very fond of him. After all, there¡¯s no director out there who didn¡¯t like actors/actresses who could make their job easier.


    Astrid always did his best in every filming and shoot. It¡¯s the reason why he could minimize the number of NGs he received. Of course, that should be the same for any other artists serious in his craft. His only advantage would probably be the experience he had accumulated in his past life.


    Those experiences helped him to give a better performance. But since a lot had changed in this era when it came to filming, every job he took was like a fresh learning experience. He learned new things almost every time the camera pointed at him. It¡¯s very fun ¨C acting and performing.


    Astrid walked to the resting area after the director shouted ¡®cut¡¯. As soon as he sat down, Ellis gave him an iced bottled water.


    ¡°Thanks, Sister Ellis,¡± he said to the other, taking the water.


    He opened the bottle and took a sip. Feeling the cold water, he instantly felt refreshed. As he drank the water, he thought of his conversation with Wulfric about Lance Reid.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, did you hear if there¡¯s any change in the other casts¡¯ schedules?¡± he thought of asking. ¡°Like one of them delaying their schedules or something?¡±


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t heard of anything like that,¡± Ellis said. Then, as if realizing something, she added, ¡°Have you?¡±


    Astrid only smiled.


    Ellis raised her brow at that. ¡°Do I have to be worried?¡±


    Astrid thought of Wulfric and the other¡¯s reassurance that Lance wouldn¡¯t be a problem now. ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing to be worried about.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± Ellis said. ¡°Just remember that we¡¯re on in this together. Trust is very important. Anything that could possibly affect your career, you should tell me.¡±


    Astrid felt a bit guilty when he heard that. It¡¯s probably better to come clean about Lance Reid. He should have probably mentioned it to the other the moment Wulfric confirmed that Lance really did have an ability. But since Wulfric had already assured him that the guy would no longer be a problem, he completely forgot to tell Ellis about it. It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t trust her. It just didn¡¯t cross his mind.


    That was completely on him. ¡°Ahm, I¡¯ll tell Sister Ellis about it once we return at the hotel.¡±


    Ellis stared at her artist, observing his expression. Although it was brief, she noticed an expression of guilt. So, she knew that there must be really something. But since Astrid said that there was nothing to worry about, then she would believe it. It¡¯s not like this kid would lie about something that could potentially hurt him.


    ¡°Alright, let me hear about it later,¡± she finally said. ¡°By the way, [The Sleeping God] will finally be released next week. The week after that will be a very busy week for you.¡±


    Astrid was glad for the change of topic. Speaking of [The Sleeping God], its trailer had been released three days ago. The reaction from the public was very good. Which was probably just natural. After all, it¡¯s a movie by a famous director. Not to mention the popular cast members.


    He was not just used to the fact that movie trailers in this era was actually being released two weeks prior to the movie premier. Or maybe this was just an isolated case because Director Trevane was very confident that his movie would sell otherwise. Even the main cast was only given about a week of promotion. And then another week of promotion after the premier.


    Either way, he was very excited for this premier. Although he wasn¡¯t included in the trailer or the pre-premier promotion, it didn¡¯t decrease his excitement for this movie. How could he not be excited when he knew how much influence it would have on his career?


    ¡°So, which one do I need to attend after the day of the premier? An interview or a variety show?¡± he asked. Ellis had already mentioned to him before about that. But so far, she hadn¡¯t given to him any confirmation of anything.


    ¡°It¡¯s a variety show ¨C [Fieldtrip].¡±


    Astrid was a bit familiar with it since it was quite a popular variety show. The idea of it was that the guests would be sent to a place. They would compete with each other by completing different missions. And then the winner would win a prize.


    It had a pretty simple premise. But what made it interesting was the different missions it gave to the guests. These missions gave the show its ¡®flavor¡¯. No two missions were the same. That¡¯s why it¡¯s interesting.


    ¡°Are all the main cast going?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No, only you, Lauren, and Miria Lane.¡±


    Oh? Astrid kind of get why it¡¯s the three of them. Aside from being in the same cast, he and Lauren belonged to the same entertainment company while he and Miria had that MV.


    It would definitely be fun.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Lance walked back and forth inside the training room. Yes, training room. He still couldn¡¯t believe that he was inside the infamous battleship of the Butcher of Orus. It¡¯s only been three days since he came here and yet it already felt like decades. He certainly felt like his career was starting to fall apart every day he¡¯s here.


    He heard the door slide open. Lance turned around and saw his nightmare walking inside. Yes, nightmare. A man with blue-gray hair and dark green eyes.


    As soon as he saw him, a sweet smell filled the air. He now knew what it was ¨C his pheromones. And he also knew the reason why his pheromones were floating like this.


    Because he wanted this man.

 Chapter 326: HOW THEY MET

    LANCE didn¡¯t like this feeling. He didn¡¯t want to feel this way towards this¡­ this¡­ somber-looking jerk. But his body seemed to have another opinion from his brain. Every time he saw him, his body would just react in a way his mind didn¡¯t want to. It¡¯s infuriating to say the least.


    Especially after that disastrous first meeting.


    =====


    Lance looked around the huge ship after he followed the man who introduced himself as ¡®Hildred¡¯ out of the spaceship they were in. Travelling for almost a day, going through one space warp after another, he seriously just wanted to lie down and sleep.


    He then turned his gaze to the back of the man who trespassed in his house and took him without so much as his permission. Okay, maybe the moment the other introduced himself as a soldier under Fenris Squad, he really didn¡¯t have much choice.


    Lance knew about the Fenris Squad¡¯s reputation. All of their soldiers were crazy, like some kind of mad dog trying to bite someone. This guy certainly proved that. So, for self-preservation, he really had no choice but to follow.


    Thankfully, the guy was ¡®thoughtful¡¯ enough to let him say ¡®goodbye¡¯ to his agent. He had time to sort out his business before leaving.


    And now, they¡¯re here.


    ¡°What- what am I doing here exactly?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re here to be ¡®educated¡¯ about your ability,¡± the other said nonchalantly.


    Ability¡­ Lance felt like being stabbed at the mention of that. Even now, he still couldn¡¯t believe that he had something like that. But since he was already in this huge warship, what else could he do but believe? They couldn¡¯t possibly have done all this if it wasn¡¯t true.


    So, now he had to face the fact that all the affairs he had before was that successful because of this ¡®ability¡¯. Just like what this guy said, it was no different from him date-raping them.


    Although he enjoyed doing that kind of activity, it didn¡¯t mean that he would go as far as drug someone just so he could be with them. Now, thinking of those memories only brought goosebumps down his spine. It even made his stomach churn. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get it up from now on even if he wanted to.


    He closed his eyes, trying his best to shake off those memories and the sickening feeling it brought.


    ¡°What kind of education?¡± he asked, instead.


    The other smiled at him and grinned like a devil. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Lance felt like this ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ was more of a threat than anything.


    As they walked, they encountered other people, or soldiers for that matter. Some gave him curious glances, others even jeered at him. This was the first time he was subjected to such gazes. He would probably feel humiliated if this guy walking in front of them hadn¡¯t already gave him a proper initiation.


    Soon, Hildred stopped walking and brought him to a room. Before he could ask why the other brought him there, the other had already left. He looked around. There was nothing in the room except for a table and two chairs that were located at the middle. He didn¡¯t sit there and just walked back and forth.


    It didn¡¯t take a while before the door opened again. Lance raised his head and saw a man walking in. The other was tall and lean. There was no strand out of place of his blue gray hair. Golden-framed glasses covered his dark-green eyes. He was wearing a white military uniform, looking very neat and in order.


    When he turned his stern gaze towards him, Lance felt an electric shock hit him from out of nowhere. Then, a sweet smell filled the air. Now that he knew about his ability, he suddenly took notice of this smell.


    The man¡¯s brows furrowed, as if he just smelled the most disgusting scent to ever exist. The other walked towards the wall and pressed something. As soon as he did that, the sweet smell diffused, like something diffused it.


    Then, the other walked towards him. ¡°Mr. Reid, I believe Captain Harlow had already told you about your ability. So, I would very much appreciate it if you tone down with the pheromones.¡±


    ¡°I¡ªI didn¡¯t mean to,¡± Lance found himself saying.


    ¡°Looks like we have to train your self-control first.¡±


    ¡°Train?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you will train here until you properly controlled your ability.¡±


    ¡°Will you be the one training me?¡± Lance found himself asking, he didn¡¯t even notice how his voice became all dreamy.


    The other frowned once again, as if he didn¡¯t like what he heard. ¡°Yes, I will be the one training you.¡±


    The moment that was said, the sweet scent started to fill the room once again.


    ¡°My apologies in advance,¡± the man said before raising his hand.


    Before Lance could ask what the other meant, he saw the other¡¯s hand coming down and then he felt a sting on his cheek.


    ¡°You- did you just slap me?¡± he asked with widened eyes.


    ¡°I was told by Captain Harlow that your ability only works when you¡¯re on the ¡®prowl¡¯. So, I take it that I¡¯m your type. That¡¯s why your body right now is releasing pheromones. We can¡¯t have that. So, every time you release your pheromone, I will slap you.¡±


    The other said it in a very monotonous manner, as if he¡¯s making a report. Which only made Lance more annoyed. But hearing this guy say that he was his type with a straight face made it even more annoying. Because as much as he hated to admit it, he¡¯s right.


    ¡°And you think slapping me will work?¡± he asked, incredulously.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice? The moment I slapped you, the scent disappeared. So, yes, it will definitely work.¡±


    And that¡¯s how Lance met Lieutenant Leland Brewer.


    =====


    Lance controlled his pheromone the moment he saw Leland walked in. The sweet smell quickly dissipated.


    ¡°Good job, Mr. Reid,¡± the other said with a nod approval. ¡°You¡¯re making a lot of progress.¡±


    Lance grimaced when he heard that. Yeah, progress my ass. He just didn¡¯t want to be slapped again.

 Chapter 327: TAUNT

    ASTRID just finished with his hair and make-up. He was also already wearing the costume for this shoot. He had already finished most of his scenes last week. He would have already probably been done with all his scenes if Lance Reid arrived three days ago as scheduled. But he was no-show.


    All his remaining scenes were his scenes with Lance. Once he¡¯s done with those scenes, then he would also be done filming his part in [The Great War].


    When the weekend came, he thought whatever method Wulfric was doing didn¡¯t work and that the production would probably have to hire a new actor for the role. But then, morning of today came and he was informed that filming of his remaining scenes would resume. Which only meant one thing ¨C Lance Reid finally arrived.


    From the time Astrid called Wulfric about Lance, it had already been almost two weeks. The duration in which the other spent under whatever ¡®method¡¯ Wulfric thought of would probably be more or less 10 days.


    Now, he wondered if those 10 days actually worked or something that¡¯s why Lance was here now. That would actually be quite a miracle if it was.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Ellis said after seeing that Astrid was done with his make-up and costume.


    Astrid nodded and stood up. He followed Ellis out of the make-shift dressing room.


    ¡°Do you think Lance Reid already got control of his ability?¡± Ellis asked in a voice that only the two of them could hear.


    Astrid had already told Ellis about this whole Lance Reid situation last week, right after the other asked him if there was something he was hiding related to the guy. So, he told her. Of course, he excluded the part about Wulfric¡¯s involvement.


    After that, he was scolded quite thoroughly. If he had mentioned Wulfric, that hour long scolding would probably turn to five hours or more.


    It¡¯s not like he wanted to keep it a secret from Ellis. But the fact that he personally knew the prince of the Empire was not really something he¡¯s ready to share with the other. It¡¯s not because he didn¡¯t trust her per se. Wulfric¡¯s identity was just too big to be casually mentioned like that.


    Although he did tell her about him knowing someone from the Fenris Squad. That way he could give Ellis an early baptism. So, once she found out about Wulfric, she wouldn¡¯t be too surprised. He would probably get much more scolding after that though.


    ¡°I honestly doubt it,¡± he said honestly. ¡°But whoever was handling his case would probably have a plan B. That¡¯s why they allowed him to film.¡±


    Ellis nodded in understanding. ¡°Ha, I still can¡¯t believe that you know someone from Fenris Squad.¡±


    Anyone who¡¯s not from some unknown waste planet would know the reputation of Fenris Squad. And what a reputation it was.


    She was actually quite terrified when Astrid told her about that. And then she felt¡­ magical. Because she would have never thought that he would meet someone who actually knew people from that army. Much less an artist she¡¯s handling. But here they were.


    ¡°They¡¯re not some kind of mythical monsters, Sister Ellis,¡± Astrid said with a chuckle.


    ¡°They might as well be,¡± Ellis said. ¡°You do know how bad the rumors around them are?¡±


    Astrid shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re just rumors. I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s baseless but some of it are certainly exaggerated.¡±


    And Wulfric certainly didn¡¯t care about PR. Taking care of his image was the last thing that guy would worry about.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just take your word for that,¡± Ellis said. ¡°Just be careful around Lance. If you think he¡¯s doing his voodoo, call for me immediately. I¡¯ll handle it.¡±


    She actually never expected that the reason why Lance Reid was able to hook up with those newcomers was because of an ability he had. If her impression of the other was bad, then after knowing that, it just became much worse.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll make sure to come running to you.¡±


    After he said that, a land vehicle stopped near the filming site. A tall man first walked out. He had golden brown hair and a pair of dark gray eyes. Lance Reid still looked handsome. But if one would look closely, they would notice that something was actually missing. That¡¯s what Astrid thought when he saw the other.


    It¡¯s like the amorous atmosphere around the man just vanished. How peculiar.


    Following Lance was his agent. The latter looked like he was in a pretty bad mood. Well, if my artist had to postpone his schedule for almost two weeks, he¡¯d be pretty mad too. Astrid would bet that the other might not have even known where Lance went.


    And he was right.


    Lance¡¯s agent ¨C Jon Farley ¨C was very much in a bad mood. Lance suddenly disappeared almost two weeks ago, leaving only a phone call. He hadn¡¯t able to contact him after that. He was on the verge of reporting him missing if not for the voice message he left to him every other day.


    Jon was wondering if Lance would actually come today for this filming. He was already preparing an excuse to tell the director, just as he did for the schedule that Lance had missed for this past week. But then the other suddenly called him this morning and told him that he was on his way to FS05. That¡¯s all he said before hanging up on him. What else could he do but just go here and wait for Lance?


    And now that they met, this guy didn¡¯t even try to explain to him what happened.


    ¡°Lance, are you really not going to tell me what happened to you?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Not now, Jon,¡± Lance said.


    He subconsciously touched the transparent film just at the base of his neck. This thing prevented his pheromones to leak out. But he honestly thought it was of no use. Because even if he¡¯s faced with the most attractive person in this crew, he wouldn¡¯t react at all.


    Maybe he wouldn¡¯t be able to react ever again.


    Then, as if his subconscious was taunting him, Leland¡¯s face appeared in his mind.

 Chapter 328: LANCES PROBLEMS

    LANCE could still remember everything that he experienced in these past 10 days so vividly as if it was happening to him in real-time. For six hours he was subjected to an intense lecture about different abilities and the laws of the Empire governing them. And then for the next six hours, it was time for his physical and psychological training.


    He felt like he was suddenly recruited to the military. He had never felt so tired in his life as he did these past 10 days. It definitely didn¡¯t help that the one responsible for his ¡®education¡¯ was that man, Leland Brewer.


    That guy was stern and overly serious. In the 10 days they spent together, the other didn¡¯t even crack a smile. Not even once! He always looked at him with a slight disapproval. Even when he got a good result in his training, Leland would only give him a nod. The other wouldn¡¯t even give him a simple compliment.

 Chapter 329

    ¡°GREETINGS to the sun of Ashelad,¡± Astrid said with a slight bow of his head. His tone wasn¡¯t overly humble nor was it impolite. It was just the right amount to show respect and not appear on the weaker side. ¡°The Holy Land send their congratulations on your coronation.¡±


    ¡°The Holy Land. Will you look at that? I never thought they will actually send one of their priests,¡± Lance said in a bored tone while staring at Astrid from head to toe. ¡°Aren¡¯t they worried you might not make it back? Or are you just a pawn they¡¯re willing to throw away just to appease my kingdom?¡±


    The more he said, the more his bored tone slowly turned to a jeer. The expression on his face was clearly full of disrespect.


    ¡°I can allow you to live. Just bend the knee and I will.¡±


    ¡°Cut! Cut! Cut!¡± Director Scott shouted. ¡°What are you doing Lance? I told you, your tone should be condescending at this part! And your expression, you¡¯re not supposed to have a wretched expression on your face! Tone it down. You¡¯re not a perverted criminal. You¡¯re a king! No matter how psychotic Pietro Ashelad is, you¡¯re not supposed to show it so straightforwardly. You should show it in a subtle manner, in your eyes for example. Even if you¡¯re taunting or looking down on others, you should still appear majestic. Understand?¡±


    So, a majestic psycho, huh? ¨C Lance thought with a bit of irony. He turned to the director. ¡°Sorry, Director. I¡¯ll do better.¡±


    This was his third NG. The first one, he didn¡¯t manage to react quickly because he was too surprised by Astrid¡¯s acting. He was too taken aback that he didn¡¯t manage to say his line on time. Then, the second one was the same as this third. He couldn¡¯t capture the majestic psycho that the director wanted from him.


    If those 10 days didn¡¯t happen, he could probably adapt more quickly to this character. But his mind was still trap in those days. He truly wanted to curse. This just showed how great Leland¡¯s effect was on him.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do another take!¡± Director Scott called to everyone.


    Lance turned to Astrid before they started filming again. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Everyone could have a bad day from time to time,¡± Astrid said good-naturedly.


    He truly didn¡¯t mind. It¡¯s just a couple of NGs. Besides, he had a feeling that the reason the other was unable to act his best was because of the ¡®training¡¯ he¡¯d been subjected to. As the one who basically reported him, the least he could do was to be understanding.


    Then, the filming started again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid sat down on the couch in a very tired manner. Although he told Lance that he didn¡¯t mind, repeatedly having NGs for the rest of his filming with the other was excruciating.


    Filming all his scenes with Lance should have ended today. But because of the other¡¯s repeated NGs, they weren¡¯t able to finish it in a day. It was fine at first. But when afternoon came and the same thing continued, he was on the verge of truly flipping off the other. He couldn¡¯t even manage a fake smile.


    Controlling himself to not be angry made him even more tired than normal. It¡¯s even worse than going to a marathon. Because he was so tired, he opted to eat dinner with Ellis and just went straight to his hotel room.


    Astrid leaned back on the chair and stared at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then, he remembered that he planned to call Wulfric. He opened his eyes and dialed the other¡¯s number on his Terminal.


    It didn¡¯t take that long before his call was connected and Wulfric¡¯s face appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Hi, are you busy?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m very free right now,¡± Wulfric answered quickly. If it¡¯s Aster, he would always have time. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Well, Lance Reid showed up in filming today. He¡¯s, well, a bit out of sort. May I ask just what kind of ¡®method¡¯ you put him through so he could control his ability?¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Are you worried about him?¡±


    Astrid stopped when he heard that. Then, when he understood why the other asked that, he couldn¡¯t stop from laughing. ¡°How did you even arrive at that conclusion? I don¡¯t even know that guy all too well. Why would I be worried about him?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking about him, so I just thought¡­¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°You know Wulf, sometimes, you really are just so foolishly adorable.¡±


    Wulfric felt his cheeks heating up. He didn¡¯t know if he should be embarrassed or shy. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be sorry about,¡± Astrid said in a teasing tone. ¡°After all, you truly are adorable.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s face became even redder. ¡°Okay. That¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s just go back to the topic.¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Sure. So, what exactly happened to Lance Reid?¡±


    ¡°He was ¡®educated¡¯ by my lieutenant,¡± Wulfric answered. ¡°And considering how he could now control his ability, to some extent at least, I¡¯d say the education was pretty effective.¡±


    To Astrid, that ¡®education¡¯ sounded more like ¡®torture¡¯. Now he felt a bit bad for Lance. No wonder he couldn¡¯t smell even a whiff of the other¡¯s pheromone. ¡°Your lieutenant did a pretty good job.¡±


    ¡°That he did.¡±


    Now that his curiosity was fed, Astrid decided to change the topic. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ll be appearing in a movie called [The Sleeping God]. It will premier six days from now. If you have time, you can watch it together with your soldiers.¡±


    Wulfric already knew about that movie and was already planning to watch it. It just so happened that they¡¯d be arriving at Alluna by that time. He could watch it at a cinema there. Maybe he¡¯d even rent the whole place and let the guys in Fenris Squad watch the movie. It would be a good reward.


    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely watch it,¡± he said, full of confidence.


    Astrid smiled seeing that. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll wait for your review of my performance.¡±

 Chapter 330

    IN the Silverlight Cinema ¨C the biggest cinema in the capital star with about 30 theaters ¨C a movie premier was being held. It¡¯s in one of the theaters that offered the 5D version of the movie.


    Movie premiers were usually held in 5D theaters. Because the invited media had to see the reaction of the audience in real-time to write their articles and stuff. They couldn¡¯t exactly have that in VR theaters.


    The movie premier happening right now was that of [The Sleeping God] ¨C the newest movie made by Daniel Trevane. Because of the director¡¯s fame, as well as most of the cast being in the top 100 of the current Star List, the movie was receiving a lot of attention.


    Last week, the official [Cybernet] account of [The Sleeping God] released a raffle in which 100 winners would be randomly selected. These winners would be invited to the premier. And now they¡¯re here, sitting excitedly on their seats.


    How could they not be excited when they would be watching this movie with the cast and crew of [The Sleeping God]?


    That¡¯s usually the case in movie premiers. Especially for a commercial movie like this. There¡¯s an interview first with the director and the cast. After that would be the actual showing.


    The media invited were reporters, movie critics, as well as vloggers. Some of them were genuinely very excited to watch the movie. While others were simply there to write an article, hoping that at least something gossip worthy would happen.


    Kristin Kirkwood ¨C one of the movie critics invited ¨C was neither one of the two. She¡¯s neither excited nor looking for gossip. She was simply there to watch a movie and write a review after.


    Since this was a fantasy movie from Director Trevane, it would definitely be filled with action, amazing CGs, and the director¡¯s own brand of humor. It¡¯s the blueprint for every Trevane movie. Truthfully, if one watched his movie one after another, no matter how good of a quality it was, it would only feel stale.


    That¡¯s why she¡¯s not that excited for this movie. Because she already knew what to expect. She would like it though if something in this movie surprised her. A surprise was always welcome.


    Soon, the emcee for this premier welcomed the director and the cast. The first to enter was Director Trevane, followed by Stephen Tomlinson, Sienna Rose, Lauren Watts, Miria Lance, and others.


    The theater erupted into cheers once they entered and walked to the make-shift stage. They sat one by one on the stools provided to them.


    ¡°Wow. Everyone looks amazing,¡± the emcee first started. ¡°It seems you all dolled up for this premier.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we don¡¯t want Director Trevane to scold us if we came here looking like we haven¡¯t bathed for two days,¡± Lauren said in an exaggerated manner.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t scold you. I just won¡¯t allow you to enter the theater,¡± the director said in a dry tone.


    Everyone in the theater laughed because of their banter, completely lighting up the mood.


    The emcee also chuckled. ¡°Then, shall the director say some introduction about the movie before we proceed to the interview?¡±


    ¡°This movie is classic fantasy adventure about a group of people fighting for what they believed in,¡± Director Trevane said. ¡°Through their adventures, they struggled, fought together, grieved, and grow. It probably couldn¡¯t be as straightforward as that.¡±


    Everyone chuckled at the director¡¯s playful tone.


    ¡°Okay, after hearing such a helpful opinion from our dear director, let¡¯s proceed to the interview, shall we?¡±


    After the emcee said that, several person sitting at the front seats raised their hands.


    ¡°Yes, that friend over there,¡± the emcee said, gesturing to one of the reporters. ¡°What¡¯s your question?¡±


    ¡°Can you tell us what¡¯s special about this movie compared to your other ones?¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say some things are not what they seem,¡± Director Trevane said mysteriously.


    Some reporters follow up on that but the director dodged them by saying that it¡¯s a spoiler.


    ¡°A question for Lauren,¡± one of the reporters said. ¡°Did you get close to anyone during your shooting of this movie? Miss Lane for example?¡±


    Lauren felt a tick at the corner of his mouth when he heard that question. Seriously, could these reporters be any more original? They hadn¡¯t written a scandal about him for quite a while. So, now they¡¯re looking for gossip here?


    He smiled mischievously before turning to Miria who was sitting beside him. ¡°Are we close?¡±


    ¡°With my knowledge, I can barely call you a ¡®friend¡¯,¡± Miria quipped back.


    Lauren turned back to the reporter who asked him. ¡°That¡¯s your answer right there,¡± he said with the same playful smile.


    Laughter erupted in the theater once again.


    The interview then continued. After a couple more questions, the emcee ended the interview. To tie it up nicely, he asked the director and the cast to give a message to everyone before the movie started.


    ¡°Well, all I have to say is enjoy the movie,¡± Director Trevane said and then added, ¡°And to the critics here, do give the movie a good review.¡±


    The way he said it wasn¡¯t really offending. Mainly because everyone here knew that the other was only joking.


    ¡°We all worked really hard on this movie. So, I hope everyone here will love it just as much as we do,¡± Stephen Tomlinson ¨C the male lead ¨C said with a slightly more serious tone. At least compared to the director.


    The others also gave their messages. Almost all were in line with what Stephen Tomlinson said. When it was Lauren¡¯s turn, what he said was completely different.


    ¡°There¡¯s one performance in this movie that will definitely take you by surprise. That¡¯s all I will say,¡± Lauren said with a smile.


    That completely aroused the curiosity of the people in the theater. Not only the fans, but the reporters as well.


    It was the same for Kristin Kirkwood.


    With what Director Trevane said earlier, then add to what Lauren Watts said just now, she couldn¡¯t help but have a much higher expectations than normal.


    And with that, the movie finally began.

 Chapter 331

    THE movie started with a montage of scenes showing a beautiful continent and the people living in it. From scenes of everyday life to the colorful culture of every country in the continent. It was only a short montage and yet the audience couldn¡¯t help but think how normal it was.


    Yes, that¡¯s the feeling they felt while watching that montage. Ordinary people living ordinary lives. Even the presence of aristocracy gave still off that ¡®normal¡¯ feeling.


    This whole montage had no narration in it. But it perfectly delivered a message to the audience. That these people were living in a peaceful land. The audience suddenly felt subconsciously apprehensive. Maybe because they already knew what¡¯s going to happen next.


    That the peaceful lives of these people wouldn¡¯t continue.


    And sure enough, in the next moment, the demon invasion started.


    The next scenes were purely gut wrenching. Demons invading countries, killing people, and just generally destroying everything in their way. Although the gore wasn¡¯t too explicit, everyone in the audience could visibly feel the grief and the pain these people were experiencing.


    It was so visceral that everyone just wanted to grab all those demons and kill them themselves. Then, slowly, amidst all the suffering, the theater slowly turned dark. When it slowly brightened, the first thing the audience saw was a young man walking towards a rustic looking village. He was carrying a bag over his shoulder.


    It was the character played by the actor Stephen Tomlinson.


    =====


    The young man¡¯s brows were furrowed and the corner of his lips were on a downward arc. Although he had a handsome face, that was completely overwhelmed by the gloomy atmosphere around him. It¡¯s like he was someone born with a perpetually frowning face. Making him look unapproachable.


    He walked past the gate of the village. The ones guarding the gate didn¡¯t bother to stop him. Mostly because they knew who he was. The other reason was because they just didn¡¯t want to deal with him.


    The young man was an orphan who wondered to their village after a very brutal demon attack. The village chief was a kind and just man who decided to keep the child. But perhaps because of what he experienced, the child grew up very aloof. He liked to keep to himself. And if others bothered him, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to resort to violence.


    In fact, just two years ago, he almost beat someone near death. Granted that the other party was the one at fault. Still. That image of him pounding another person with a face full of rage left a deep impression on everyone¡¯s minds.


    Now, all the people in the village mostly left him alone. Even with that, no one would dare to kick him out of this place. Because he was the main force in driving away demons that tried to attack their village.


    The young man continued walking. Those he met on the way either avoided his gaze or just directly changed the direction where they¡¯re going. He didn¡¯t mind. When those demons took away everything from him, he started to care less and less about the things around him.


    All except killing demons. That was the only drive he had in life.


    On that night when his mother and father died protecting him, when his little sister was eaten right before his eyes, he made a promise. That he wouldn¡¯t die until he killed as many demons as he could.


    He was near his hut when he heard someone calling his name.


    ¡°Keith!¡±


    There¡¯s only one person who would call him in such a cheerful manner. He glanced back and saw a girl running towards him. She was the same age. But those who didn¡¯t know the both of them would probably think that she was much younger. It was not just because of her outward appearance. It was mostly because of the way she carried herself.


    Probably because despite the kind of dangerous era they were living in, the girl ¨C Sarah ¨C grew up sheltered like a flower in a greenhouse. That was all thanks to her father ¨C the village chief.


    Keith looked at the other expressionlessly. Although he didn¡¯t agree to the way the village chief was protecting Sarah from everything, the two were probably the only ones he truly cared for in this village.


    ¡°You should have sent a letter that you¡¯ll be coming back today,¡± Sarah said once she stood in front of Keith. ¡°So, how was your hunt?¡±


    Keith would go out of the village from time to time just to hunt demons and sell their body parts to the mercenary guild in a nearby town. That¡¯s how he earned his money.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same as usual,¡± he said. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I really like to rest now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, look at me, I should have known that you¡¯d be tired,¡± Sarah said with a guilty expression mixed with expression of worry. ¡°I¡¯ll go now. But don¡¯t forget to go to our house later to talk to Father. I¡¯m sure he wanted to know about your travels these past few days. Then, the three of us can have dinner together. Just like old times.¡±


    Staring at the other¡¯s bright smile, Keith was once again reminded of how worry-free Sarah was. How enviable ¨C he though in a sarcastic manner.


    He nodded before turning around and continuing walking to his hut.


    Sarah watched as Keith walked farther and farther away. She stayed there until her eyes could no longer see his back.


    =====


    That was how the characters of Stephen Tomlinson and Miria Lane first interacted in the movie.


    The following scenes after that showed Keith¡¯s daily life. How he rested in the morning and hunted demons in the evening. How Sarah came to him every day, giving him food and chatting with him even if he didn¡¯t reply.


    Then, something happened that broke that daily routine.


    =====


    Keith was in the forest as usual, hunting demons, when he heard a commotion not far from him. He could hear fighting and the sound of people talking. When he decided to follow where the commotion was coming from, that decision completely changed the trajectory of his life.

 Chapter 332

    LANCE could still remember everything that he experienced in these past 10 days so vividly as if it was happening to him in real-time. For six hours he was subjected to an intense lecture about different abilities and the laws of the Empire governing them. And then for the next six hours, it was time for his physical and psychological training.


    He felt like he was suddenly recruited to the military. He had never felt so tired in his life as he did these past 10 days. It definitely didn¡¯t help that the one responsible for his ¡®education¡¯ was that man, Leland Brewer.


    That guy was stern and overly serious. In the 10 days they spent together, the other didn¡¯t even crack a smile. Not even once! He always looked at him with a slight disapproval. Even when he got a good result in his training, Leland would only give him a nod. The other wouldn¡¯t even give him a simple compliment.


    At usual times, he wouldn¡¯t care and just let it be. But for some reason, he couldn¡¯t just do that. And so, he did the opposite thing. He did his best. For the first time in his life, he tried his best in something.


    It¡¯s a bit hypocritical to say that. It¡¯s like he¡¯s saying that he¡¯s not trying his best even in the job he had. Which was true in a way. He certainly didn¡¯t become an actor because he liked acting. It was just something¡­ easy.


    He was scouted and then signed to an entertainment company. Works just kept coming, mainly because he had a good agent with him who knew his strength and knew how to use that to his advantage. It was the reason why he was typecast into certain roles.


    Lance didn¡¯t mind that at all. Why would he? He was being paid good money for doing the bare minimum. Surprisingly enough, even if he wasn¡¯t doing his best, he was still quite good playing those roles. Being able to hook up with people was just a bonus.


    Thinking of those hook-ups, he subconsciously touched the transparent film at the back of his neck. This film was technically not needed. Because he tried his best to impress that cold-face guy, he could now control this damn ability. Although not perfectly, his confident that his pheromones wouldn¡¯t disperse just because he saw someone attractive. But he still had to wear this film just in case.


    Even though he was here filming, he would still receive guidance from Leland via video calls. No, rather than guidance, it would be better to say that the other would call him for checks. To see if his ability got out of control or something.


    That wouldn¡¯t really be needed. Not because he was confident of his control. But because this damn film attached on his neck was connected to the system of that army. If he removed it or if his body secreted pheromones, the film would detect it and in turn would alert them. In short, he was being monitored.


    Lance wasn¡¯t sure what those guys were planning to do to him. But he really had no say in the matter. He was just a civilian who basically didn¡¯t hold any power. He might have the money because of his job as an actor, but he didn¡¯t have that sort of influence. So, what else could he do, really?


    pan,da n<0,>v,el Even then, his foolish self couldn¡¯t help thinking that this wasn¡¯t such a bad thing. He could tell that the reason they were keeping him was because they had a need for him. If he became connected to Fenris Squad, then that meant that he could meet with Leland. Maybe not all the time but at least every so often.


    At that thought, he almost slapped himself. Why the heck did he even think that? Man, he¡¯s truly out of it.


    He shook his head and forced himself to calm down. Let¡¯s just go on with this shoot.


    ¡ª¨C


    The scene they were going to shoot was the first confrontation between Astrid and Lance¡¯s character. It was when Luan Escanor went to the Kingdom of Ashelad as the representative of the Holy Land. It was for the crowning ceremony of Pietro Ashelad a€¡° the character Lance was playing.


    Astrid was standing beside Lance, both of them were currently on stand-by. He secretly observed the other. For the past minute since they stood here, Lance had never once glance at him. He never even bothered to speak. Most importantly, there was no weird scent floating in the air.


    Now, he wondered if Lance was now truly able to control his ability. He so wanted to ask but that would mean that he knew about it in the first place. Explanation would then follow next. And he really didn¡¯t want to have that kind of conversation with the other.


    But he was still damn curious about it. Should he just ask Wulfric about it later? That would probably be for the best.


    On the side, the two agents were not as quiet as their artists.


    ¡°Miss Payne, I heard that Astrid¡¯s filming should have been finished last week if my artist just arrived according to schedule,¡± Jon started. ¡°I apologized for that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Ellis said. ¡°I¡¯m sure Lance had a viable reason for that. Right?¡±


    Jon smiled forcefully, feeling a bit guilty. But he still said, ¡°Yes. He wasn¡¯t feeling well.¡±


    Ellis stared at the other, observing his expression. Oh, this guy was good. She showed a worried expression. ¡°I hope he¡¯s fine now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, he is. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    Astrid and Lance both heard the conversation between the two. They weren¡¯t exactly being quiet about it. Lance only felt embarrassed by the blatant lie. He wouldn¡¯t under normal circumstance. But his nerves were all strung too tight because of, well, just everything. It¡¯s not easy to maintain a cool head with all that.


    ¡°So, are you alright now?¡±


    Lance closed his eyes briefly when he heard Astrid asked that. He turned to the other with a smile. ¡°Yes.¡±


    He really didn¡¯t want to speak to the other. Thankfully, the director came and the filming started.

 Chapter 333

    IN that expedition, the four main cast finally met ¨C Keith, Eleanor, Clyde ¨C the knight, and Owen ¨C the magician. Before the four met, the movie showed a brief introduction on Clyde and Owen. Then, it was followed by a scene of Eleanor talking to the king, her father.


    The latter was asking him if she really had to participate in the subjugation. Eleanor said ¡®yes¡¯ full of determination. Adding that this was her job as the church¡¯s saintess. The king could say nothing in response.


    He could only send his daughter away with a sad expression on his face. Probably because he knew that the chance of her returning was very slim. But still, he couldn¡¯t stop her. Because this subjugation was now the only hope of the world to get rid of those damned demons.


    After that, it was a scene where the four main cast gathered together with other people participating in the subjugation. Keith was very surprised to see Eleanor there as one of the priests sent by the church. They would be the ones involved in healing the injured.


    By the number of priests they sent, it was obvious that the church was very serious about this subjugation. Even the fact that several kingdoms banded for this subjugation. Each of them recruiting people to join this subjugation, even civilians were allowed to sign up. Of course, where they gathered should also be according to the country they lived in.


    The plan was to attack all the major demon dens. They were the areas that were occupied by demons. These dens usually have a high-ranking demon among them. And that was what the members of the subjugation should look out for.


    But the problem was, in the off chance that they managed to defeat all the demons in those dens, another batch could just take over it. That¡¯s the reason why the countries couldn¡¯t just arbitrarily take over those areas. If they did, those demons would just flock to another area. At least with this, they know which areas they should avoid.


    That was cowardly, yes, but what could they do? They were just humans. Could they really fight back against those demons?


    But humans were tenacious creatures by nature. They would always find a way to survive and fight back. Since the invasion of demons, humans didn¡¯t just stand idly by. They trained, perfected their craft, and became stronger and stronger. In fact, if they just waited another century or so, they could probably drive out the demons from their lands with ease.


    Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t afford to wait. By that time came, they lands would be completely ravaged by demons and this world would fully belong to those monsters. And they would either end up as dead or as demons¡¯ slaves. Frankly speaking, the latter was already worse than being dead.


    But everyone knew that this subjugation wouldn¡¯t be enough to completely get rid of the demons plaguing their lands. They might lessen their number but that wouldn¡¯t really solve anything in the long run. Unless they get rid of the root of the problem.


    Before the subjugation officially started, the participants had to pass a trial first. To see if the people who applied to be part of the subjugation had the skill to back it up.


    The trial was simple. They just had to attack the nearest demon den and showed what they could do. Those who didn¡¯t die would officially be part of the subjugation team. And those who did particularly well could lead their own squad.


    Keith didn¡¯t care much about that. He just wanted to kill as many demons as he wanted. In turn, this resulted to him having the best performance amongst the mercenaries and civilian recruits. Owen and Clyde also showed a very strong performance.


    Of course, there were some problems that happened. Which was mainly caused by people who participated not because they wanted to help the people of this land but simply because of the money they would receive as compensation.


    These people acted like some minor inconveniences who later turned into cannon fodders. It¡¯s like some kind of spice that was used to highlight the greatness of the three main cast members.


    Unbeknownst to the people participating in the trial, there¡¯s another reason for this aside from the ones that were given. Those who were a cut above the rest would join the saintess in a different quest altogether.


    In short, this trial was like some sort of audition. At the end, the winners were Keith, Owen, and Clyde. And because of that, they were escorted to a private meeting with the saintess the very next day.


    =====


    ¡°Why do you think the saintess called us here?¡± the knight wearing an armor and showing off his muscular body asked.


    The magician, Owen, shrugged while Keith straight up did not answer.


    The three of them were currently in a private chamber inside the church of the town they were in. This venue could provide a lot of privacy. So, whatever this was for, it¡¯s definitely serious.


    Clyde didn¡¯t have time to ask the two again because the door opened and a woman walked in. His eyes widened when he saw the other. He quickly made a knight¡¯s bow and said respectfully;


    ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    Keith was surprised seeing the woman, no, Eleanor walking inside the room. But he was even more surprised when the knight called her ¡®your highness¡¯. He knew she was an aristocrat. He juts didn¡¯t expect her to be a noble.


    Eleanor smiled gently. ¡°Please, Sir Clyde, there¡¯s no need for such politeness. In this place, I¡¯m not a princess. Just a humble servant of god.¡±


    Keith furrowed his brows. He didn¡¯t like to waste time with all these niceties. ¡°Are you the one who called us here?¡±


    Eleanor glanced at the young man. She couldn¡¯t help but smile at the other¡¯s bluntness. ¡°Yes, it was me. I called you here because you three were selected.¡±


    ¡°Selected?¡± ¨C Clyde.


    ¡°Yes, you are selected to accompany me on a quest that could potentially annihilate all the demons in our lands.¡±


    ¡°And that is?¡± Owen asked with a bit of interest on his ¡®couldn¡¯t be bothered¡¯ face.


    ¡°To awaken the god who created this continent,¡± Eleanor. ¡°We¡¯re going to wake up Lord Aether.¡±

 Chapter 334

    AS expected, the three didn¡¯t have any positive reaction to what Eleanor said. Especially Keith. He signed up for this subjugation because he wanted to kill demons. He¡¯s not here to wake up some god.


    ¡°This is bullshit. Wake up god? Hah! How can god even exist in this rotten world? If you¡¯re done with your jokes, then I¡¯ll leave,¡± Keith said turning around and walking to the door.


    ¡°I have to say, princess, I have to agree with Mr. Gloom and Doom over there. I only participated in this subjugation because I wanted to earn some pocket money. I didn¡¯t really come here to do some noble deed or something. Good luck to your endeavors though,¡± the magician ¨C Owen said.


    He also turned around and followed Keith.


    ¡°Wait¡ª¡±


    Eleanor called to stop the two. But before she could finish what she¡¯s about to say, Clyde had already blocked the door. Preventing Keith and Owen to leave.


    Keith frowned. ¡°Move.¡±


    ¡°My friend, I suggest you don¡¯t get in the way. I really don¡¯t want to turn you into burnt meat,¡± Owen said almost at the same time as Keith. The only difference was, he said it in a jolly tone as if he was telling the other he¡¯d give him snacks or something.


    Clyde didn¡¯t mind though. He¡¯d never been the type to get angry at such provocations anyway. ¡°Please, at least listen to what her highness had to say.¡±


    Eleanor took that chance to appeal her case to the two. ¡°It would only take five minutes. Please.¡±


    Keith stopped and turned to Eleanor. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he just wanted to get this done and over with or if it was because he was affected by the sincerity in those blue eyes, but at the end, he still nodded.


    Owen only shrugged and leaned on the wall with a welcome gesture. As if telling Eleanor that he would listen but only for five minutes.


    She looked at the two. If she couldn¡¯t appeal to them using some noble reason, then she should use something that would interest them.


    ¡°If you go with me in this quest, you will be compensated more than what you should have received if you joined the subjugation,¡± Eleanor said that while looking at Owen. Then she turned to Keith. ¡°And with us being only four, you would be able to kill more demons. Not just more demons but more powerful demons. What do you think?¡±


    The air was filled with silence for a few seconds. It was only broken by Owen¡¯s laugh.


    ¡°You really do know your way to a man¡¯s heart, princess,¡± he said. After he finished laughing, he added, ¡°Count me in then.¡±


    ¡°No need to ask me,¡± Clyde followed. ¡°If it¡¯s to end the reign of demons, then I¡¯d go with your highness even to the end of this continent.¡±


    Eleanor¡¯s expression brightened when he heard what the two said. Then, she turned to Keith. Not only her, but the other two also turned to the other.


    Keith, who received the gazed of the three people, felt annoyed. But somehow, there¡¯s a part of him that was actually amused with the situation. So, at the end, he just found himself agreeing to the whole thing.


    =====


    Eleanor then proceeded on explaining how this kind of quest came about.


    Apparently, the church found an information about the possible whereabouts of the god, Aether. From the document that they had recovered, it was said that the place was somewhere in the Apyrus Kingdom. It just so happened that their saintess was a princess of the said kingdom. And so, it was only natural for her to be the one leading it.


    According to the research that the church¡¯s scholars had compiled, four people were at least needed to wake up Lord Aether. Not because of any special reason. Just because four people were needed to release the seal that was keeping Lord Aether from his slumber.


    That¡¯s why Eleanor chose the three people that were not only strong but would also make a balanced party with her. Hence her choice. Keith would be their main damage dealer, Clyde would act as a tank and lessen the damage their party might receive, Owen who could deal area-wide damage, and her as a healer.


    While they were doing this quest, the subjugation that was happening all around the continent would continue. It would be a smokescreen to what the church were really planning. To make sure that none of it would leak to the demons¡¯ side, the people of the church made sure that only a handful of people would know about it.


    And so, the real journey of the four finally started.


    It was a bit rough at the start because they lacked team work and trust towards each other. But after every battle they experienced, the team work and the trust also increased. During this process, the four also slowly got closer. In particular, the love line between Keith and Eleanor also slowly unfurled.


    While the four were doing the quest, scenes of the subjugation were also shown. Aside from that, there were also scenes of the demon king ¨C the character Lauren Watts was playing. He was shown looking at the scenes of fighting between humans and demons.


    Through those scenes, the audience could see that the demons didn¡¯t really have any order within their ranks. They were simply attacking and killing to their heart¡¯s content. Even the so-called demon king was not making any orders and was just simply watching everything.


    As the journey of the four continued, they finally arrived at their destination.


    It was a cave filled with beautiful crystals. Inside it was a lake surrounded by crystal flowers. At the very center of it was a rectangular crystal slab. And on top of it lay a teenager.


    He was wearing a simple white shirt, as well as black trousers. He had black hair as dark as ebony and skin as translucent as pearl. Even with his eyes closed, his otherworldly beauty wasn¡¯t diminished at all.


    Almost all the people watching in the theater took a breath when they saw the teenager.

 Chapter 335

    ¡°LORD Aether!¡± Eleanor shouted, tears visible in her blue eyes. ¡°Please, help us save the continent!¡±


    ¡°And so, you woke me up from my slumber,¡± the god said with no emotion. It¡¯s like he didn¡¯t even hear the desperation in her voice.


    He slowly glanced towards Eleanor who was on her knees, almost looking like she was begging. And maybe she was. But the god didn¡¯t care. He still appeared apathetic.


    But when he turned towards her, he suddenly smiled. Smiling as if he was looking at a child who didn¡¯t know anything. It was a very beautiful smile, as if flowers suddenly bloomed around them.


    But somehow, the hope that the group of four first felt when they saw the slumbering god slowly dwindled. They felt at some level that things wouldn¡¯t go the way they wanted.


    ¡°But my child, I couldn¡¯t do anything to save this continent.¡± The god looked at the four, his gaze landing on him for a couple of seconds. And then he raised his head, as if waiting for something, or rather someone, to come. ¡°Yes, only you can do this.¡±


    Keith exploded at that nonchalant answer, especially after seeing the expression on the other¡¯s face. What the f*ck was this?


    ¡°Hey, you shitty god!¡± he shouted to get the other¡¯s attention. ¡°Do you think we went through all the things that we did just for you to give us that answer?¡±


    ¡°K-Keith, stop¨C!¡± Eleanor said, pulling Keith back before the other truly attack Lord Aether.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard what he said?¡± Keith growled. ¡°This guy doesn¡¯t give a shit about this continent! If this place burned down right now, this guy would probably not even blink!¡±


    ¡°I hate to agree with him but you know he¡¯s right,¡± Owen said. ¡°We just wasted our time on this quest.¡±


    Eleanor bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes. She felt frustrated, angry, and sad. She also wanted to shout at Lord Aether, ask him just why he wouldn¡¯t help them. But she couldn¡¯t bring herself to. The teachings she received in the church just wouldn¡¯t allow her to.


    ¡°You two stop. We shouldn¡¯t question Lord Aether. I- I¡¯m sure he had reasons for saying the things he said,¡± Clyde said, obviously more to himself than to the other two.


    Keith scoffed at that while Owen only chuckled.


    They all looked at the teenager sitting on the crystal slab. There was no emotion on his face, there wasn¡¯t even any light in his obsidian black eyes. As if nothing could ever enter his gaze. Making him looked more inhuman.


    Staring at the other, Eleanor gathered all the willpower remaining in her body. She kneeled down, bowing her head. Her forehead almost touching the ground. ¡°Please, please help us, Lord Aether.¡±


    Keith¡¯s anger truly exploded seeing Eleanor humbled herself to this extent. He was about to pull her up but before he could the so-called god suddenly appeared in front of them. Traversing from where he was sitting at the middle of the lake to where they were standing.


    Before any of them could react, Lord Aether snapped his finger. The moment he did, Eleanor stood up. Not because of her own accord but because she felt something pulling her body up.


    ¡°My dear child, the fate of this continent was no longer in my hands. It has been so from the moment I entered my slumber. But as I¡¯ve said, it¡¯s in yours. Humans who managed to find and wake me, only you can save this continent,¡± Lord Aether said.


    His voice was very tranquil but full of apathy. That¡¯s probably why none of the four felt peace hearing his voice. Because they knew that this god didn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s ass about these lands nor the people living in it.


    Lord Aether leaned forward and whispered something on Eleanor¡¯s ear. After doing that, he suddenly disappeared.


    Keith cursed out loud. He wanted to ask what that damned god said to Eleanor. But all the words were suddenly trapped in his throat the moment he saw how deathly pale she was.


    =====


    The audience was still surprised by the sudden appearance of the teenager. Considering that the title of the movie was [The Sleeping God], they knew that a ¡®god¡¯ would somehow be included.


    So, when the quest of the four started and it was all about finding the ¡®god¡¯ and waking him up, they thought that he would be played by a popular actor. But looking at the teenager, he¡¯s definitely a newcomer.


    Some of them recognized Astrid Townsend but most didn¡¯t. That¡¯s why they were confused at first when he appeared. They couldn¡¯t fathom how such an important role was being played by a newcomer. Although the other¡¯s appearance was certainly otherworldly, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be enough. What¡¯s the use of looks if there was no talent?


    But their confusion and the feeling of absurdity disappeared the moment the teenager started acting. It¡¯s like the other was showing them through his action that they shouldn¡¯t judge him just because he wasn¡¯t well-known.


    Before they could immerse themselves in the teenager¡¯s acting, he disappeared and they were attracted by the next scene.


    With Lord Aether¡¯s refusal, the group of four was devastated. A crack was starting to form in their relation. Keith and Owen shared the same opinion while Clyde still wanted to believe in Lord Aether.


    Eleanor, on the other hand, seemed to be still in shock because of what Lord Aether had said. But she didn¡¯t have time to wallow on that shock because after the god woke up, demons started attacking more and more people.


    And it all happened simultaneously all over the continent. Its scale could even be compared to the subjugation that the human side initiated. No, maybe it was even greater than that.


    All of this started the moment Lord Aether woke up. As if some kind of signal.


    The four didn¡¯t have time to delve into their failure because of these demon attacks. The moment they left the cave, they immediately had to fight a group of demons.


    Because of this weird phenomenon, death and destruction filled the land. Almost as if hell finally descended down on earth.

 Chapter 336

    THE battle between humans and demons continued. Despite the failure of their quest, the four couldn¡¯t break off their party immediately. Aside from the fact that the demons attacking them were preventing them to do that, the bonds they formed in this journey just wouldn¡¯t allow them to leave each other and let them fend for themselves.


    As they continued to fight, they also moved forward. Their destination was the capital. Because no matter how the result of their quest was, they still had to report what happened to the proper authorities. The church, for one.


    Travelling back, they decided to use Owen¡¯s teleportation magic. Since he had already been in the capital, it¡¯s easy to go there. But before that, they all agreed to first go to their hometowns to check what was happening there. Despite them not talking about it, they all knew that their homes were probably being attacked right now by demons.


    Since Owen hadn¡¯t been yet to Keith and Clyde¡¯s hometowns, they would have to travel there by foot. Of course, it¡¯s only natural to go to his village first.


    Arriving there, they were startled to see the number of demons flocking around the village. If not for the barrier that Owen had set up there, it would have probably already burned down by now. In fact, if they were late just a few minutes, these demons would have already broken the barrier.


    The four quickly stepped in to kill the demons. Because there were only four of them, it took a while to kill all the demons flocking around the village. Especially since Eleanor was still unable to focus and therefore couldn¡¯t exert her best.


    At the end, they didn¡¯t even have time to relax after because they knew if they stopped, the possibility of their hometowns being destroyed would be much higher. After all, unlike Owen, they didn¡¯t have the ability to put a barrier around their hometowns.


    It was especially true for Keith¡¯s village. An ordinary village who barely had people who could fight head on against a demon. If there¡¯s only one, then they could handle it. But with what was happening now, there¡¯s no way there would only be one demon.


    Clyde, on the other hand, lived in a much bigger town with a proper group of guards that protected the place. With that, Keith¡¯s village was the obvious next choice.


    Owen teleported them to the area he knew that was nearest to the village.


    As that was happening, scenes of the other areas in the continent were shown. Almost everywhere demons were pillaging villages and small towns. People were dying left and right. The number of people capable of fighting back was significantly lower because most of them joined the subjugation.


    In a way, the subjugation became like a shackle that completely decreased the humans¡¯ defense and offense against the demons. Because of the demons¡¯ sudden rampage, this subjugation now had become a complete joke. Especially when one considered the goal of this subjugation. Which turned into a total failure, by the way.


    Now the scene was back to the four.


    When they arrived at the village, the whole place was already burnt to the ground.


    =====


    Keith felt his chest tightened at the sight in front of him. There was almost nothing left of the village. All he could see were the flames, the debris, and the demons pillaging the place. And then, there was the scream.


    He gritted his teeth, his expression turning completely feral. Before he could think properly, he was already rushing forward. All he could think of was killing all the demons in his way.


    Even though he¡¯s not close with the people in this village and there¡¯s only a handful of people who dared talk to him, this place was his home. It¡¯s the only home he¡¯d ever known. And now it¡¯s burning to the ground. Maybe even all the residents were already dead.


    All of that while he was gallivanting around the kingdom to do a useless quest. The expression on his face became even more murderous.


    The other three followed him with the same grim expressions on their faces.


    They managed to kill the demons much faster than expected. Mostly because Keith was like a grim reaper plowing through those demons.


    The moment his blade cut off the last demon, Keith knelt down. As if his strength just gave out. Eleanor walked towards him and gently tapped his shoulder.


    ¡°Are- are you okay?¡±


    Keith shrugged her off. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have gone on that stupid quest of yours.¡±


    Hurt flashed on Eleanor¡¯s face. If one wasn¡¯t looking at her, they probably would not notice it. She also quickly looked down, hiding her emotions.


    ¡°Keith, that¡¯s uncalled for,¡± Clyde admonished. ¡°Do you think her highness meant any of this to happen?¡±


    Keith stood up and closed his eyes. He knew that. Of course, he knew that. He also didn¡¯t want to direct his anger at Eleanor. He took a deep breath to calm down his rage. When he opened his eyes, the usual calmness was back. He bowed apologetically to the other.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Eleanor quickly shook her head. ¡°No, no. You don¡¯t need to apologize. I¡ªI¡¯m at fault too.¡±


    As that was happening, the scene shifted to a certain ¡®god¡¯.


    Aether was staring at the blue sea beyond the cliff. His dark hair swaying with the wind. His obsidian black eyes were filled with resignation. As if he had already foreseen how things would end.


    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± he said, still looking at the sea.


    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve been expecting me,¡± said a voice from behind.


    Aether turned around and stared at the man standing before him. The other had dark blond hair and light brown eyes. He was wearing all-black. Half of his face was filled with runic symbols. It seemed that those symbols were dancing on his skin, as if alive.


    Aether walked closer to the man and reached out his hand. As he touched the other¡¯s face, a glimpse of emotion flashed in those eyes filled of apathy.

 Chapter 337

    ¡°SO, this is how you look like,¡± Aether said while tracing the man¡¯s face. ¡°I could have never imagined it.¡±


    The man captured Aether¡¯s hand and put it on his cheek. A contented sigh escaped his lips the moment he felt Aether¡¯s touch. Then, his expression turned somewhat angry.


    ¡°If you have accepted me from the start, then you would have known long ago how I look like.¡±


    Aether took back his hand and smiled. But it didn¡¯t reach his eyes. It was simply an empty smile. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of pride, you see. If I had accepted you, I would have had lost something that made me who I am. But now that I am awake, everything just became inevitable.¡±


    The man¡¯s face suddenly turned vicious. He grabbed Aether¡¯s shoulders and pulled him close. ¡°No! I would never allow it! Not when I finally found you!¡±


    ¡°Sadly, it¡¯s not up to you,¡± Aether said gently pushing the other away.


    But the man didn¡¯t budge. Instead, he clamped Aether¡¯s waist, pulling him even closer. There were almost no gaps between their bodies. Tension surrounded them. But it was neither romantic nor dreamy.


    There was only¡­ anger.


    And pain.


    ¡°Hah! Not up to me? How can you say that when everything that¡¯s happening right now boils down to you and me?¡± the man said, his eyes red with rage.


    Aether looked at him as if he was looking at a child throwing a tantrum. ¡°You¡¯re right. But it still won¡¯t change anything. For these lands to prosper once again, I shall cease to exist.¡±


    ¡°No! I won¡¯t let you!¡± the man almost growled the words. ¡°If your existence disappeared in this world, then I shall burn it.¡±


    =====


    The scene that followed was still Keith and the others fighting the demons that attacked his village. Then, suddenly the remaining demons stopped moving. Before any of the four could react, the demons suddenly exploded. Black light orbs appeared from where they exploded and it flew to the same direction.


    Although the four were dumbfounded by this sudden turn of events, they didn¡¯t have time to dwell on it because they discovered that there were still survivors in the village. Which included Miria Lane¡¯s character and the actor playing her father.


    After helping the survivors and some love triangle scenes between, Keith, Eleanor, and Sarah, the four traveled to Clyde¡¯s hometown. But surprisingly, they didn¡¯t meet any demons on their way. Instead, there were fires everywhere.


    As if the whole world was burning.


    Arriving at Clyde¡¯s hometown, they didn¡¯t see any demons but the place and the surrounding area were burning. One look and they knew that the same thing happened here.


    They didn¡¯t stay long there because there¡¯s nothing much they could do. It¡¯s important to go to the capital first to check what exactly was happening. So, from there, they teleported to the capital. Their first destination was the church.


    Just like the other place, the capital was also burning. It was just slightly better because of the barrier surrounding the place. With the help of the magician staying there, the fire was also quickly put out. It¡¯s obvious that the same thing also happened here.


    It¡¯s safe to assume that this phenomenon ¨C demons suddenly exploding and producing that black orb ¨C was happening all around the continent.


    When they entered the church, it was in complete chaos. Not just because of the demon attack but because of the sudden appearance of a new page on the holy scripture kept in the church. And it appeared just after the four met Lord Aether. So, it¡¯s obvious that it was by any means just a coincidence.


    The content of the page was shocking to say the least. To the point that it could shake the very foundation of the world.


    It listed the truth of why Lord Aether disappeared all those centuries ago.


    According to the page, the reason he had to disappear from the eyes of the world was because he was becoming too¡­ human. He was starting to feel emotions that he shouldn¡¯t feel as a god. Jealousy, greed, anger, desire, just everything. And that was something a god like him with too much power in his hands should never have.


    It was something dangerous. Something that could easily turn him into an evil god. And although he could not feel love, this world that he created was very important to him. Even if he couldn¡¯t say the same for the humans living in his lands, he didn¡¯t wish for them to suffer at his own hands.


    There¡¯s only one way he could think of to avoid that ¨C separating all his emotions from himself. And then he sealed himself which led to his slumber.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that that ball of emotions would actually evolve as years passed by. This evolution stopped at the birth of the one now known as the demon king. And with the other¡¯s existence coming to fruition, the other demons also started to appear one by one.


    Despite being asleep for centuries, Lord Aether was aware of the demon king¡¯s existence. But he couldn¡¯t break the seal even if he wanted to. Because he set it so he would remain in slumber for a millennium. Only humans could break it. He gave them that privilege.


    He just didn¡¯t expect that he would wake up prematurely. And during the worst possible time too.


    Since he could feel the demon king, the other could also do the same. His presence agitated the demons. His overwhelming divinity could do that. One would think he could simply annihilate those demons with his powers. But according to the page, he couldn¡¯t do that.


    The demons were born from his emotions. They were an integral part of him as his hands and feet. And a god couldn¡¯t hurt themselves even if they wanted to. It would be like punching air.


    There¡¯s only one way to end everything.


    And that¡¯s to eliminate the source. Not the demon king. Him. Aether himself.

 Chapter 338

    ¡°WHAT did that god say to you before he disappeared?¡± Keith asked Eleanor after they all read that page from the holy scripture.


    ¡°He- the lord said that the¡ªthat he¡ª¡± Eleanor¡¯s voice was trembling and it seemed like she was afraid to continue whatever she was about to say. But she composed herself and managed to say it at the end. ¡°He said that the only way to stop the demons was to kill him.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s expression darkened when they heard that. Especially more so after what they just read.


    But even if they felt grim, everyone there understood what they had to do next.


    They had to kill the god of this continent.


    =====


    Following that was a scene of kings and queens having a meeting. That was possible because of magic provided by the magicians working for them. In that meeting, they talked about that new page and what Lord Aether had said to Eleanor. At the end, they unanimously agreed to kill him.


    It was a hard decision to make. Especially since it questioned their fundamental belief. But what must be done, should be done. This was for the future of humanity. If they didn¡¯t do something, then they would end in their total annihilation.


    Then, they found out that the information the church discovered which then led to the subjugation was actually a trap set by the demon king. It was so he could get his hands on Lord Aether. Why only do that now, they probably wouldn¡¯t know.


    But it¡¯s probably safe to say that because of that, they already had an idea of where Lord Aether might be. He was most likely with the demon king. And with those explosions happening, they had a rough idea on where they might be. They only had to find the place where those black orbs had flown to.


    Soon, they organized their troupes, along with all the surviving members of the subjugation team. They came from different directions, but they only had one destination ¨C Enterel Mountains.


    Large teleportation circle appeared in each country. All of them gathered at the foot of Enterel Mountains.


    The place was surrounded by a dark and gloomy atmosphere. Dark clouds were hanging above with lightning striking here and there. Fogs surrounded the whole mountain range. Making it hard for them to even see things clearly. But the ominous feeling they felt while standing there proved that they were on the right place.


    They started to traverse the mountain range. With the help of the priest, they immediately pinpointed the area with the most demonic mana. It was at the peak of the tallest mountain. They didn¡¯t hesitate to rush towards there.


    Surprisingly enough, they didn¡¯t meet any demons on the way. There weren¡¯t even any obstacles going up there. Their journey was so smooth that they started to wonder if they were even at the right place. Still, they didn¡¯t put their guard down and continued.


    Reaching the summit, all of them froze in place at the first sight they saw.


    At the top of the mountain, flowers were unexpectedly blooming. It was a strange sight. Especially considering the dark clouds and the lightning streaking on the sky. And at the middle stood a teenager with black hair and a pair of obsidian black eyes.


    He was looking at them with no emotions in his eyes. Not like someone who was under control of another but like someone who just didn¡¯t really care much for anything. Somehow, they already knew who the other was. The overwhelming urge to go down on their knees and worship the other was proof enough.


    They were now in the presence of a god. Lord Aether.


    Before any of them could properly react, a black tornado appeared beside Lord Aether. The wind¡¯s force almost blew them away. When it disappeared, a man wearing all black appeared in front of Lord Aether. As if he was trying to shield the other from the prying eyes of the intruders.


    =====


    ¡°Welcome! I should really commend you lot. Humans really do rise up to the occasion if needed,¡± the demon king said, full of mockery and sarcasm. ¡°Thank you for rushing to your death.¡±


    He didn¡¯t wait for any of the human before him to speak and quickly unleashed his power. A barrier surrounded the whole mountain where they all were, completely sealing off any chance of escape. And then black flames rained down quickly right after.


    The magicians quickly put up barriers to protect the everyone in the army. But the force of the black flames was just too strong. Soon, parts of the barrier started to melt. This crushing power¡­ it¡¯s almost abnormal to a fault.


    It was easy to see that those black orbs that came out from those demons that exploded were probably absorbed by the demon king. And if that happened to all the existing demons, then just how powerful the demon king was right now?


    It¡¯s unimaginable.


    Still, none of them retreated despite the fear they¡¯re feeling. This army was haphazardly formed. Most of them didn¡¯t even personally know each other. But they¡¯re all here under one reason. To completely eradicate this world of demons. So, they would fight. Even if they ended up dead.


    And that¡¯s what happened. Even if it was one against many, the tide of the fight was still on the demon king¡¯s side. His power was simply overwhelming.


    The members of the army died left and right. Most of those who suffered first were the priests and magicians who had low self-defense. The other combatants tried their best to attack. But no matter what weapon they used, they couldn¡¯t even lay a finger on the demon king. The saddest part was, while defending their attacks, he hadn¡¯t moved from where he was initially standing.


    It¡¯s clear that the other was thoroughly playing with them.


    Aether was watching all of this as if he was a true spectator. But the problem was, there was no curiosity or even interest in his eyes. There was only apathy.

 Chapter 339

    THE one-sided fight continued. There was still not a hint of scratch on the demon king. But on the humans¡¯ side, many people had already died. Aether¡¯s gaze was still the same. But if one looked closely, behind the indifference, there was something lurking within his gaze.


    It¡¯s similar to anticipation. As if he was waiting if one of these humans would be able to get pass the demon king and kill him.


    There were those who really tried to get pass the demon king. After all, their target was Lord Aether. As long as they killed him, the demon king would also disappear. But so far, none of their surprise attacked had worked. They should probably be thankful that Lord Aether seemed to not care about them. If he also joined the attack with the demon king, they would probably be wiped out by now.


    No, it¡¯s not that Lord Aether didn¡¯t care. It¡¯s more like he¡¯s testing them. Or at least that¡¯s what they wanted to believe. Since he left that page in the holy scripture that was in the church of every country, it meant that he wanted them to finish everything by killing him. That was even supported by the saintess who was there to wake Lord Aether up.


    Or at least that¡¯s what they wanted to believe to lessen their guilt of killing the god they believed in.


    The one who was working hard the most was Keith. Even though all his attacked were for naught, he didn¡¯t stop. No matter if his body became tattered and bloody, he still continued to attack.


    His figure trying his best even if the odds were stacked against him was deeply burned in the audience¡¯s mind.


    When everyone thought that all hope was lost, the next scene completely turned that over.


    =====


    As hopelessness descended, the spot where the demon king was standing suddenly lit up. The demon king tried to move but he couldn¡¯t. He looked down and saw symbols on the ground where he¡¯s standing. They were encircling him. He also noticed that they were roughly drawn. As if they were drawn by a rough, pointed item ¨C a sword for example.


    The demon king¡¯s eyes widened in shock, especially after seeing the symbols lit up and glowed. One could see that he already had an idea of what¡¯s happening. He raised his head sharply and it just so happened that his gaze collided with Keith.


    ¡°Got you, you damn bastard,¡± Keith said with a bloody smirk.


    In that one look, the demon king quickly understood what was happening. It must be while this shit was attracting his attention by doing all those suicidal attacks, some of the trash went and drew these symbols.


    He could feel the strong divine power from these symbols. He saw a lot of the priests who came here in a praying posture. Their eyes were closed and were in deep concentration. Divine power was pouring out of their body and flowing to the symbols drawn on the ground.


    The feeling of that divine power was stopping himself meant that these priests were basically sacrificing their own life force just to stop him. Anger boiled inside the demon king. How dare they?


    But before he could express it, a knight with a huge body suddenly appeared between him and Aether. The other¡¯s back was to him, his arms were stretched out with a sword in his hands, as if he was about to cut Aether.


    An animalistic growl escaped from the demon king¡¯s lips. ¡°Stop!¡±


    Despite the divine power freezing him in place as well as stopping his demonic energy, he still managed to let out a dark energy. A small sharp dagger like energy that that passed through the knight¡¯s chest. Because of the constraint, it did not directly pierce the knight¡¯s heart. But it was enough to stop the other¡¯s movement.


    As the knight fell, his face was shown to everyone. When it was revealed that it was Clyde, one of the four protagonists, the audience gasped. But what they saw next made them even more shocked.


    Once Clyde was no longer obstructing the demon king¡¯s view, what he saw made him scream in anguish. The saintess was standing in front of Aether, holding a dagger that was now lodged on Aether¡¯s chest.


    Tears were streaming down on Eleanor¡¯s face. She kept saying ¡®sorry¡¯. And then a flashback of when Aether whispered to her appeared.


    There, it was shown that he did not only tell her that they needed to kill him, he also gave her a special weapon that could do the job. It was a dagger. But to be able to make it work, she had to sacrifice all her divine power.


    Eleanor was not crying because of that reason. Aside from the fact that Clyde had to act as bait and endanger his life in order for the plan to work, she¡¯s more heartbroken by the fact that she had to kill the god she had been serving all her life. It¡¯s like the core of her very belief was shattered at this moment.


    ¡°You did well, child,¡± Aether¡¯s serene voice echoed around them.


    Eleanor raised her head to look at the other and was surprise to see the smile on his face. That was the first time she had seen him smile. It was gentle and kind. Almost as if he¡¯d found the peace he¡¯d been looking for.


    His form started to fade. As if his existence was starting to slowly fade. But before it did, he turned to the demon king and walked towards the other. Standing in front of the demon king, he enclosed him with his arms. Like a mother comforting his child.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to leave,¡± Aether said in a soft voice. ¡°Let¡¯s go to a place where you will no longer be in pain. Just the two of us. Hmm?¡±


    The demon king slowly raised his arms and hugged Aether. And with them embracing each other, their bodies slowly disintegrated into black and white lights.

 Chapter 340

    KRISTIN KIRKWOOD ¨C one of the movie critics invited to the premier of [The Sleeping God] ¨C stared at her monitor screen. She was supposed to write a review for the movie. It had already been two hours since she returned from the premier and yet she still hadn¡¯t managed to write a word.


    It¡¯s not because the movie was very complicated that¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t find the words to describe it. No, rather, it¡¯s very straightforward and formulaic. Just like any other movies of Director Trevane, the cinematography was outstanding and the special effects were almost at the level of reality. It also had the right amount of drama and humor to make the audience interested.


    The cast also did a fantastic job portraying the role given to them. The four protagonists had great chemistry, the villain was also very charismatic. Even the supporting roles did they job well.


    Despite the seemingly hopeless situation, everyone still had a happy ending. After the god and the demon king disappeared, the former used all his divine power to revive and heal all the humans who perished after he woke up from his slumber. Not only that, even the love line between Keith and Eleanor was successfully connected at the end.


    Happy endings were a must in a commercial film that wasn¡¯t really aiming for awards. Its goal was just to get as much money as they could get from people. Thus, it¡¯s important to let the audience be satisfied. What couldn¡¯t be more satisfying than for everyone to get a happy ending after experiencing life-threatening ordeals?


    The problem was, even with that, Kristin still felt a bit of dissatisfaction from the movie. And she knew the source of it. The ending of Lord Aether and the demon king just didn¡¯t sit well with her.


    She wanted a different kind of ending for the two. Many others probably felt the same. But all of them knew that with the way the story was woven, that was actually the best ending for the two. Still. She couldn¡¯t help but want more.


    And she knew that the source of this feeling was the way the actor playing Lord Aether played the role. At first, one might think that this role didn¡¯t really need that much emotion. But that was not the case at all. In order for this role to work, the acting should have layers.


    The indifference and apathy should only be the outer layer then the inner one should be a mixed of all complicated emotions. And the actor playing Lord Aether perfectly acted that role.


    On the outside, he appeared to be just a god who didn¡¯t care much about anything. But his gaze told a different story. His real feelings were reflected in those obsidian black eyes in a very subtle manner.


    It was not something that was very in your face. But even the densest person wouldn¡¯t truly feel that the Lord Aether they¡¯re watching didn¡¯t care about anything. And that was because the actor made it that way.


    Frankly speaking, that was truly an amazing feat. Especially since the one playing the role of Lord Aether was a rookie actor.


    Astrid Townsend. That was his name.


    Kristin heard it from some of the audience in the premier after the movie ended. Once she returned home, she immediately searched for information about him. There was only few information but it was enough.


    A newcomer signed at Polaris with Ellis Payne as his agent, not to mention a beautiful appearance and a talent in acting. He surely had everything in hand to succeed in this industry. As evidence, it hadn¡¯t been long since he made his debut and yet his followers in his [Cyberspace] account was almost reaching a million.


    This movie would surely alleviate his status in the industry. And if he didn¡¯t fumble along the way, his future would definitely be as splendid as the millions of stars in the Empire¡¯s sky.


    And this was the first step. Kristin was feeling a bit proud that she was there to witness it.


    Now, with all her thoughts in order, she was finally able to write the review she needed to write.


    =====


    [Kristin Kirkwood v: The latest movie of Director Trevane is an entertaining film filled with drama, adventure, friendship, and a drizzle of humor. The actors chosen perfectly fit their roles, bringing more life to the movie. The cinematography and special effects were top-notched, as expected of Director Trevane.


    But with the highs, there would definitely be lows. I wouldn¡¯t expound much about this since this is a spoiler free review. But I¡¯ll just say that the lows didn¡¯t really overshadow all the good things about the movie.


    And one more thing, to everyone who will watch the movie tomorrow, prepare to be surprised by the beautiful sleeping god.


    Final score: 9/10 stars.]


    =====


    Similar reviews from other movie critics and vloggers popped up once the premier ended. Since the official release of the movie was tomorrow, a lot of people became curious.


    The movie was already getting a lot of attention because of the director and the cast. Reading favorable reviews about it ahead of the official release definitely put the people¡¯s mind at ease. At least they knew that the tickets they bought wouldn¡¯t be wasted.


    But one thing that made them even more curious was the fact that a lot of the reviews released mentioned the ¡®god¡¯ in the movie. Since the title of the movie was [The Sleeping God], there¡¯s definitely someone who would play the role of ¡®god¡¯. And now, those movie critics kept mentioning this ¡®god¡¯.


    So, people started to wonder if some big star made a cameo in the movie. That was their conclusion. Little did they know that the one they would see in the theater was not some big star.


    Instead, it was a newcomer who most of them didn¡¯t even know. But one thing¡¯s for sure. After this movie, they would definitely remember the name ¡®Astrid Townsend¡¯.

 Chapter 341

    TODAY was the official release of [The Sleeping God]. The moment the cinemas around the Empire opened, many people who had been lining up since early in the morning immediately gathered to the theaters where the said movie was showing. With this, one could see that this new movie of Director Trevane would be another blockbuster.


    They came in the cinemas full of expectations and walked out with those expectations fulfilled. In terms of entertainment value, there was nothing to complain about. The movie delivered what it had to deliver and it fully satisfied the viewers who bought tickets to watch it.


    But a number of them felt strangely dissatisfied because of the ending of one of the characters ¨C Lord Aether. It just seemed unfair to them that he had to die that way. Even his storyline felt very incomplete. Or maybe that was because they wanted to know more about him that¡¯s why they couldn¡¯t accept that he would disappear just like that.


    At one cinema, many people who just finished watching [The Sleeping God] had conversation circling around that same topic.


    ¡°Do you know the actor who played Lord Aether?¡±


    ¡°I saw from the end credits, his name was Astrid Townsend. I think he¡¯s a newcomer.¡±


    ¡°Crazy. A newcomer can already act like that?¡±


    ¡°I know, right? I was actually expecting that some big star would cameo as the role of ¡®god¡¯. I never thought that Director Trevane would actually pick a total newcomer.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m glad he did. I actually couldn¡¯t think of anyone who could play Lord Aether as wonderful as that rookie actor.¡±


    ¡°Hey, his name is Astrid Townsend. Let¡¯s remember it.¡±


    ¡°Do you think he has a [Cyberspace] account?¡±


    ¡°Wait- let me check. Oh, there is. Look, it says on his bio that he¡¯s an artist from Polaris.¡±


    ¡°From Polaris? No wonder his acting was great. That agency really does know how to pick good artists.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s follow him. If his performance in his next project is as good as this one, I¡¯ll definitely become a solid fan.¡±


    ¡°But he and Lauren suit each other, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes! I thought I was the only one who noticed!¡±


    ¡°No way. I bet a lot of people would start shipping them now.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m going to be one of those people.¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡±


    The same kind of conversation followed in other cinemas around the Empire.


    The moment they finished watching the movie, those who truly liked Astrid¡¯s performance and didn¡¯t know yet about him, searched him on [Cyberspace] and immediately followed his account.


    Thus, at the end of the day, there was a very noticeable increase in Astrid¡¯s followers. Not only that, a new CP fandom centering around Lauren and Astrid was also created.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Let¡¯s backtrack for a bit¡­


    Early morning, at the planet Alluna, a very strange phenomenon was happening at one of its cinemas. For some reason, the whole place was closed down for a day. That¡¯s why some people who lived nearby and were planning to watch movies today were very disappointed.


    The reason this particular cinema was close was not because there was a technical problem or something similar. It was because the whole place was reserved for the whole day by a certain someone.


    And this certain someone was none other than the owner of this planet, the Empire¡¯s only prince ¨C Wulfric de Lunaris.


    When Wulfric found out the release date of the movie where Astrid would appear, he quickly had Leland reserved this cinema. It¡¯s a good thing that they arrived in Alluna before that.


    And now, he, his lieutenant and three captains, as well as the other soldiers from his army were currently at one of the theaters, watching [The Sleeping God]. Just like he promised to Astrid.


    The one they¡¯re watching was the VR version. That¡¯s why everyone was wearing a VR helmet.


    Halfway through the movie, Wulfric was already feeling bored. He was waiting for Aster to appear but he hadn¡¯t even seen his shadow. If the other would only appear at the end of the movie, he might look for this director and asked him if he had problems with his brain. How dare he waste Aster¡¯s talent?


    At last, after waiting and waiting, Aster finally appeared. Lying on a crystal slab, how could someone be so beautiful?


    The movie was finally getting interesting. But then the next scene was between Astrid and that man called the demon king. His brows furrowed when he saw that guy pulling Aster to him. There was almost no space between their bodies.


    Wulfric suddenly had an urge to go inside the movie and separate the two. It¡¯s even more annoying since he¡¯s watching everything in VR. So, it felt like it was happening right in front of him. When it was nearing the ending and the two embraced and disappeared together, the dark expression on his face almost looked like it would drip ink.


    What was that? What¡¯s with that ambiguity? It¡¯s almost like the movie was saying that the two would now live in a paradise of their own. What kid of message was this director trying to say with that kind of ending?


    When the movie ended, Wulfric removed the VR helmet. His expression was still not so good.


    The others in the theater had also removed their VR helmets.


    ¡°It¡¯s a really good movie, right?¡± one of the soldiers said.


    ¡°Yeah, the special effects were really amazing,¡± said another.


    ¡°But who was that black-haired teenager? He looks really good. Is he some famous actor?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But with that appearance, he probably is.¡±


    ¡°He kind of match that demon king guy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know that guy, his name is Lauren Watts. I heard he¡¯s kind of a playboy.¡±


    ¡°He definitely had flirted with that teenager,¡± one soldier said with a meaningful jeer. ¡°If I were him, I know I would.¡±


    ¡°Hey, who wouldn¡¯t? That kind of beauty, anyone with normal aesthetic would.¡±


    Hearing all that nonsense, Wulfric felt a vein on his forehead throb. He glared at those soldiers, already thinking what kind of hell training they would give them.

 Chapter 342

    HILDRED happened to glance at Wulf at that moment and saw the dark expression on the other¡¯s face. It¡¯s not hard to imagine the reason behind it. Since he¡¯s feeling generous today, he thought of saving the soldiers from the possible hell torture.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on them, Wulf,¡± he started. ¡°Any normal person watching that movie would react the same way. After all, Astrid¡¯s face is really outstanding.¡±


    But that didn¡¯t comfort Wulfric at all. Because that meant that everywhere in the Empire, people who had watched this movie would also feel the same. Of course, it¡¯s not bad to gain the public¡¯s attention. Even he, who didn¡¯t really know much about that industry, knew how important that was for a rookie actor.


    What he was worried about was the possibility that some dirty minded people would use Aster as the star of their perverted fantasy. That¡¯s what he couldn¡¯t accept. This would definitely be worse once the video chip of this movie was released. Because that meant that people who bought it could play it on the [Virtualnet].


    Once that happened, they could watch it using the perspective of any of the characters. He would bet that once the scene of Aster and that guy hugging appeared, he was sure that a lot of people would switch their POVs to that guy. Then wouldn¡¯t that mean that they would also hug Aster?


    Although it¡¯s only VR and not real, their brain would still stimulate the feeling of hugging someone. So, what¡¯s the difference then?


    Wulfric only found out about this when he was searching on how to get a copy of the episode of that show Aster first appeared in. When he found out about such a thing, his brows automatically furrowed. He couldn¡¯t believe that such a thing was actually possible. But if he thought about the current level of technology, it¡¯s actually not so surprising.


    Since then, his worries continued to pile up. And now, after watching that hugging scene, that worry just intensified. Because as an actor, Aster would surely have more intimate scene than this in the future. What would happen then?


    He actually had been thinking of how he could get rid of that choice of watching a movie or a show through a character¡¯s perspective. He could totally do it. But that would mean that he would abuse his power and all that. Which doesn¡¯t really leave a good taste in his mouth. He¡¯d rather use his fist than his influence to get his point across.


    One more thing he¡¯s worried about was what if Aster found out about it? He might think he was being overbearing. It was the same reason why even though he seriously wanted to go and interrogate the actor playing the role of the demon king, he wouldn¡¯t. Because it would only leave a bad impression on Aster.


    Truly, how far he had come. Aster was probably the only one who could influence him to this extent. Proving once again how special his existence was to him.


    Wulfric still didn¡¯t like how things were going though.


    ¡°Do you know the actor playing the demon king?¡± he asked instead.


    ¡°Lauren Watts,¡± Hildred answered. ¡°He had quite a lot of scandals from what I heard.¡±


    Slade shook his head when he heard that. Hil, this guy. That last part was definitely uncalled for. Hildred definitely just said that to incite some kind of drama.


    And sure enough, Wulfric¡¯s face scrunched up after Hildred said that last part. ¡°What kind of scandals?¡±


    Hildred shrugged. ¡°You know, the usual kind. Dating scandals with his co-stars and the likes.¡±


    Wulfric frowned even further. Signs of anger were already visible on his face.


    ¡°Your highness, I hope you won¡¯t do anything reckless,¡± Leland suddenly chimed in. Although it might sound like a casual reminder, his serious expression was definitely warning the other.


    ¡°Ahm, Captain, you can just ask Astrid yourself about it,¡± Edmund suggested. ¡°I¡¯m sure he will answer you honestly.¡±


    All four glanced at Edmund, their expression saying that they couldn¡¯t believe he would actually give a helpful advice. Wulfric, in particular, looked like he just had an epiphany.


    Yeah, he should just ask Aster about it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At a shopping mall, Reas and Astrid just walked out of the cinema. They just finished watching [The Sleeping God]. Of course, Astrid was wearing a mask and a hat.


    ¡°What do you think of the movie?¡± Astrid asked. When he didn¡¯t get an immediate answer, he turned to his brother and saw that the other had his brows furrowed. ¡°Reas?¡±


    Reas seemed to come to his senses once he heard Astrid calling his name. ¡°Ah, yes, you did amazing.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. Looking at Reas¡¯ expression, he kind of had an idea of what the other was thinking right now. An amused smile appeared on his lips. ¡°Are you jealous because Lauren and I hugged?¡±


    Reas was startled by the question. Before he could think, he already found himself saying, ¡°Of course not!¡±


    Then, he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying more. He just sounded so defensive. It must have looked even more suspicious. He definitely wouldn¡¯t hear the end of it from Astrid.


    He sighed inwardly. He couldn¡¯t really blame anyone but himself. His expression must have shown that he was affected by that scene. Which he clearly wasn¡¯t. Really! He¡¯s just¡­ surprise.


    Although he had watched that part during filming, why did he suddenly felt different about it while watching it today? Was it because he and Lauren were now friends so he felt iffy seeing him and Astrid embraced each other like that?


    Yes, that¡¯s probably it. It¡¯s definitely not because of some weird feelings or something.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ if you say so,¡± Astrid said with an elongated tone at the end, clearly not believing him.


    Reas wanted to defend himself. But he knew that if he said more, it would only look like he was trying to hide something. Then, Astrid would just tease him more profusely. So, in this situation, it¡¯s better to not just say anything.


    Astrid held back his chuckle, clearly enjoying his brother¡¯s ¡®discomfort¡¯. That¡¯s when his Terminal rang. It was a video call from Wulfric.

 Chapter 343

    WULFRIC, who had just returned from the cinema to his residence, had been walking back and forth inside his office. He called Aster earlier the moment he returned back home but the other rejected his call.


    He was stupefied at first and then he became worried. What if something happened to Aster that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t accept his call? It¡¯s a good thing that the other quickly sent a message saying that he¡¯s at a public area, that¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t accept his call.


    So, he had been waiting for him to call back for a while now. At last, his Terminal finally rang. He quickly answered the call. Aster¡¯s beautiful face appeared on the virtual screen.


    ¡°Aster!¡±


    Astrid on the other end was surprised by the enthusiastic greeting. He and Reas just returned to his apartment. The first thing he did was to call Wulfric back. ¡°Yes?¡±


    Wulfric coughed trying to his embarrassment for suddenly shouting. ¡°I- I just watched the movie. You were amazing in it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    And then Wulfric became silent. Because he didn¡¯t know how to open up the topic he wanted to ask. So, he said instead;


    ¡°The public¡¯s reaction will definitely be the same.¡±


    ¡°Well, I sure hope so.¡±


    Astrid hadn¡¯t yet checked any social media sites for the public¡¯s reaction. But he wasn¡¯t too worried. He knew his own skill. So, there¡¯s no way he would be criticize for that. He had watched the movie and although there¡¯s a few holes, it¡¯s a good movie overall. So, there¡¯s also no need to worry on that end.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure of it,¡± Wulfric said with conviction.


    He would go online later and if he saw a malicious comment, he would fight them tooth and nails.


    ¡°Thank you for the vote of confidence,¡± Astrid said with an amused tone. ¡°So, did Wulf call just to congratulate me?¡±


    ¡°Ah, no. Actually, there¡¯s something I wanted to ask you,¡± Wulfric started. He really didn¡¯t know how to open up this topic without appearing like some jealous, overbearing, obsessive guy. But he still had to ask what he had to ask. Or else he might really go and grab that Lauren Watts just to interrogate him. ¡°That- that Lauren Watts, is- I mean, how is your relationship with him?¡±


    Astrid blinked. He didn¡¯t expect that the other would ask something like this and so directly too. But then he soon smiled. It wasn¡¯t that hard to imagine the reason why Wulfric asked that. It¡¯s the same reason why Reas had that ¡®wrinkly face¡¯ after watching the movie.


    ¡°He¡¯s a friend,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m kind of shipping him with my brother. That¡¯s a secret though, so, don¡¯t tell Reas about it.¡±


    He saw the visible change in the other¡¯s expression. From frowning to the loosening of his brows to the sudden brightening of his face. He knew that those changes were because of the things he said. Really, how transparent could someone be? That¡¯s what made him adorable though.


    Astrid was right. Wulfric was very much relieved after hearing what he said.


    At first, he was worried hearing that Aster was friends with Lauren. Because that meant that they were actually close and were not just simple co-workers. But when he heard that this Lauren was actually more connected to Reas than to Aster, his relief was almost through the roof.


    He coughed again after realizing that he was being too obvious. ¡°I see. Well, I think this friend of yours and Reas suit each other very much.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ yes, I think so too,¡± Astrid said, glancing at the other meaningfully.


    Sadly, Wulfric was too immersed with the thought that Astrid and Lauren had no special relationship that he didn¡¯t see that glance. If he did, then he might have a sudden huge realization. Realization that would once and for all give a clear name to the feelings he had for Astrid.


    But one should be satisfied enough to know that for Wulfric, Astrid was the most special existence to him. For now, at least. Time could only tell if it would intensify in the future or if it would completely vanish.


    After that, the two¡¯s conversation continued. Talking about anything under the sun.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At the end of the first day of [The Sleeping God]¡¯s release, topics related to it were trending on [Cyberspace]. Different hashtags connected to the movie were scattered all over the trending topic list. One of these hashtags was, of course, #LordAether.


    [If all gods look like Lord Aether, I¡¯ll be the most religious person in the Empire.]


    [He¡¯ll be my faith!]


    [He¡¯s really good, right? I heard he¡¯s a newcomer. What¡¯s his name?]


    [Astrid Townsend. I watched his guesting on ¡®Blind Justice¡¯ and anyone could tell that he has great acting talent.]


    [I¡¯ll be a fan of Astrid from now on! Does anyone know if he already has an official fan club?]


    [He¡¯s a newcomer. I doubt he has.]


    [Should we make one for him? What would be a good name?]


    [A fan club is a bit premature, don¡¯t you think? He¡¯s just starting and doesn¡¯t have a solid following yet. Besides, Polaris will definitely announce his fan club once he has one.]


    [Did none of you notice how suitable Astrid is with Lauren? They only have two scenes together but they¡¯re chemistry is almost explosive.]


    [I know, right? I can¡¯t believe they didn¡¯t have any scandal. Knowing Lauren, I can¡¯t believe he didn¡¯t have a dating scandal with such a pretty co-star.]


    [Hey, don¡¯t bad mouth our Lauren!]


    [Lauren is not a playboy, he¡¯s just friendly. Friendly! Okay?]


    [I don¡¯t care, I will still ship the two of them! Go AstRen!]


    [Hey, don¡¯t take Astrid from our Brother Jordan! Remi X Noa forever!]


    [What¡¯s upstairs talking about?]


    [It¡¯s that ¡®Blind Justice¡¯ episode.]


    [@astridsnumber1fan: Don¡¯t involve Astrid in your shipping wars! He¡¯s his own person! You lot should appreciate how good his acting was first.]


    [Oh, oh, it¡¯s Brother White! I knew you would appear here!]


    [Who¡¯s Brother White?]


    [Can¡¯t you see? He¡¯s Astrid¡¯s number one fan.]


    At the same time, the result of the Movie of the Day list was out. Of course, [The Sleeping God] was number one.

 Chapter 344

    ASTRID was on the way to the filming location of [Fieldtrip] ¨C the variety show where he, Lauren, and Miria would appear for their next episode. Just like the name suggested, it¡¯s a variety show where guests were taken to a place where they would have to spend a day doing missions given by the program team.


    It sounded like an ordinary variety program. But the one thing that made it different from other programs was because they provided a whole-day broadcast of the episode. Of course, there was an official episode. After all, not everyone could watch the broadcast the whole day. The official episode would be the edited version with only the important events included.


    Despite that, many still preferred the live broadcast. Because they could watch the celebrity guests unfiltered. If they exhibited bad behavior, it couldn¡¯t be edited out. That¡¯s why actors/actresses with serious bad character never tried to guess at the show. Or at least, their agent prevented them to.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that it was an unpopular show. In fact, it¡¯s one of the most popular variety shows right now. One reason was the live broadcast and the other was the interesting missions the program team came up with.


    ¡°Miria¡¯s MV has pretty good result. Her song had now entered the top 10 of a couple of music charts,¡± Ellis said while looking at her Terminal.


    Yesterday, Miria¡¯s song ¨C New Horizon ¨C dropped, alongside its MV. Being part of [The Sleeping God]¡¯s OST, it was already garnering attention before it was even released. Not to mention, Miria¡¯s own fame. So, the moment it dropped, many people listened to the song and watched the MV.


    With the movie still trending, the MV and the song also quickly trended. In particular, Astrid¡¯s appearance in the MV gained a lot of attention. He had already been gaining a lot of attention from the movie but with the addition of the MV, the attention increased even more.


    As evidence, his followers on [Cyberspace] had now increased to two million. Even now, it¡¯s still increasing. And once this variety show aired, Astrid had a guess that his followers would probably increase to five million at most.


    That¡¯s never a bad thing. After all, the number of followers was a good gauge of one¡¯s popularity. And it¡¯s one of the criteria taken into account when including artists in the [Star List].


    The list was being ¡®refreshed¡¯ every three months. So, it¡¯s like a quarterly event. This month was actually the third one this year. By the end of this month, a new list would be revealed.


    Astrid would probably make it to the list this time around. Although it would definitely not be too high up. And that¡¯s completely fine. Because his goal was the next refresh round of the list. Which would be at the end of this year.


    His plan was to be able to enter top 100 by then. It would be his first step to the top.


    ¡°There are a lot of comments shipping you with Miria,¡± Ellis added. ¡°Just yesterday they were shipping you with Lauren. Tsk, tsk, these fickle kids.¡±


    Astrid had also read those comments and there¡¯s one particular wolf who¡¯s not too happy about it. Wulfric had been arguing with a lot of people online since the day before yesterday. Even Astrid was surprised at the other¡¯s tenacity.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a hundred times better than getting hated by their fans,¡± he said.


    He¡¯s familiar with fans wanting the celebrities their stanning to only ¡®belong to them¡¯. It¡¯s actually kind of amazing that most of the comments about him being shipped to Jean Evans, Lauren, and Miria were positive. If this was his past life, he would have probably already been bombarded by hate comments.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you look good, not to mention, talented,¡± Ellis reasoned out in a wry tone. ¡°If they find the smallest flaw on you, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be the first to turn their backs against you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope it won¡¯t come to that,¡± Astrid said in an amused tone because of how Ellis said it.


    ¡°If we just consider your character, I doubt that would ever happen,¡± Ellis said. ¡°But we both know there are villainous people in this industry who would do everything in their power to twist the perception of others against those they find an eyesore. And you, my dear Astrid, is a prime target.¡±


    Astrid understood what his agent was trying to say. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, Sister Ellis. I¡¯m not careless enough to let those kinds of people get the best of me,¡± he said and then added playfully, ¡°Besides, Sister Ellis is here to protect me, right?¡±


    Ellis glanced at him with an equally amused expression. ¡°You cheeky kid.¡±


    She looked back at her Terminal to continue reading comments related to Astrid. Then, a particular handle caught her attention ¨C @astridsnumber1fan. She normally wouldn¡¯t notice such a thing but this person¡¯s handle had been appearing from all the trending post related to Astrid.


    [@astridsnumber1fan: How many times do I have to tell you people not to ship Astrid to others? If you¡¯re really a fan, you should focus more on his talent!]


    [@astridsnumber1fan: As expected, even in something simple as an MV, Astrid still shined like the star he is.]


    ¡°Have you seen the comments made by this person named ¡®White Wolf¡¯?¡± she asked. ¡°He seems to really like you. All his comments were either praising you or fighting others who said bad things about you.¡±


    Astrid was surprised when Ellis suddenly mentioned Wulfric¡¯s secret handle name and then he chuckled. ¡°Well, he did say that he¡¯s my number one fan.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you had read his comments.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s kind of hard to ignore,¡± Astrid said and added in his mind ¨C [Both online and in reality.]


    ¡°Then, maybe once the agency establishes an official fan club for you, we can invite him as the president.¡±


    Astrid burst out laughing at Ellis¡¯ suggestion. ¡°Weirdly enough, I actually think he¡¯d like that.¡±

 Chapter 345

    ASTRID and Ellis arrived at a private space port that the program team reserved for today. But it didn¡¯t mean that this was the location where they would film and broadcast this episode. This was just a stopover of some kind. From here, they would travel to the real location.


    They greeted the show¡¯s director as well as the other staffs.


    ¡°Oh my, you look even better up close,¡± the director said. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder people are going gaga over you these past two days.¡±


    The director ¨C Rachel Lynch ¨C was actually quite worried when the staff of [The Sleeping God] told their program team that one of the actors they would send to the show was a rookie.


    It¡¯s natural for a movie crew to send actors to variety shows to promote their movie. But usually, the ones they sent were those that already had a solid fanbase. Like Lauren Watts and Miria Lane, for example. Even though they weren¡¯t the main characters in the movie, their weight in the industry was heavy enough to carry the variety show, as well as promote their movie.


    So, when Rachel heard that a rookie actor would appear instead of one of the already established side characters, it came off as a shock. If she didn¡¯t receive Director Trevane¡¯s assurance, she would have already suggested to change this rookie for another actor.


    But after watching {The Sleeping God], she understood why Director Trevane opt for the other instead. Because Astrid Townsend was simply the type that attracted people¡¯s attention. His looks and his talent were just added bonus. His actions could easily be a source of topic. Which, of course, was helpful to any show he would guest in.


    With her prejudice out of the way, Rachel very much welcomed Astrid¡¯s presence in her program.


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment,¡± Astrid said in a polite and gentle manner.


    Rachel smiled and then turned to Ellis. The two exchanged polite greetings with each other. After a few more exchanging of words, one of the staffs led Astrid and Ellis to a room where they could wait for the other guests to arrive.


    ¡°Please, wear this,¡± the staff said after they entered the room. He gave Astrid some kind of bracelet. ¡°It¡¯s for the camera that will follow you later.¡±


    Astrid took the bracelet and wore it. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said to the staff.


    Then the other said goodbye and left the room.


    Astrid and Ellis both sat down and waited for the others to arrive. While doing so, Astrid stared at the bracelet the staff gave him.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, do you know the purpose of this thing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Ah, that. It emits signals which made it easier for the camera to follow the one wearing it.¡±


    Astrid nodded. That¡¯s an important aspect. Especially since they would be streaming everything live.


    After a few more minutes, the door to the room opened. Miria and her manager walked in. Both smiled when they saw Astrid and Ellis. The latter two also did the same.


    ¡°Congratulations on your new song,¡± Astrid said after Miria sat beside him. ¡°It¡¯s now on the top five of every music chart list, right?¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Miria responded with a smile. ¡°Being the movie¡¯s OST, plus having Shir Atkins as the composer really helped a lot. Also, your appearance in the MV helped boost the song even further. So, really, if the song failed, then I can only blame myself.¡±


    ¡°Hey, the main reason your song is charting is because of you,¡± Astrid said in a jokingly scolding tone. ¡°You have a very beautiful voice.¡±


    And that was not just lip-service. He truly thought so. Miria¡¯s singing voice was soft and sweet. Anyone who listened to it would feel like they were experiencing again the moment they fell in love. But that didn¡¯t mean that her voice couldn¡¯t be powerful. When it did, it¡¯s like thunder that could shock anyone.


    What he said earned a smile from Miria. ¡°That actually makes me really happy.¡±


    Her agent ¨C Jenny Smith ¨C was also very happy to hear that. It would be a huge boost of confidence for Miria. Her artist, despite being a great singer, had been hiding a huge inferiority complex. No matter how good of a singer she was, it was always never enough.


    But after filming this last movie, Miria had been much more cheerful and yes, a bit more confident. A big reason for it was definitely because of Astrid. Although the start of the two was a bit shaky, after they fixed whatever misunderstanding they had of each other, Miria¡¯s disposition became much brighter.


    Astrid receiving the role of Lord Aether had truly been a blessing in disguise.


    The door of the room opened once again and this time, Lauren and his agent walked in. The moment Lauren saw Astrid, he quickly rushed towards him.


    ¡°Aster!¡± Lauren called. If Astrid was standing, he might have actually hugged the other. ¡°I missed you! It feels like forever since we last saw each other.¡±


    Astrid chuckled at Lauren¡¯s enthusiasm while Miria looked at the other with disapproval.


    ¡°Can you watch your words?¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that there¡¯s only us here. What you said could be misinterpreted by others, you know?¡±


    Lauren pouted. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with what I said? Is it so wrong now to admit that I missed my friend?¡±


    Miria rolled her eyes. ¡°This is why you¡¯re always followed by dating rumors. I truly pity your future lover. They would definitely have headaches because of your careless antics.¡±


    A certain person suddenly popped up inside Lauren¡¯s head at the mention of ¡®future lover¡¯. He quickly shook it off and pretended that it didn¡¯t happen. ¡°Hmp! If he couldn¡¯t handle something like that, then he clearly didn¡¯t deserve the title of being my lover.¡±


    Astrid smiled inwardly. Although Miria didn¡¯t mention any gender, just by Lauren saying ¡®he¡¯, one could see that the other already had someone in mind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lauren. Your future lover will definitely be able to handle it,¡± he said, smiling mysteriously at the other.

 Chapter 346

    ONE of the staffs entered the room where Astrid and the others were waiting. He told them that it¡¯s time to go and that the live broadcast would start the moment they left this room. And as they did, the three ¨C Astrid, Miria, and Lauren ¨C should give their Terminals to their agents. Since they¡¯re not allowed to carry them.


    The three did as they were told.


    ¡°Just have fun out there, okay?¡± Ellis told Astrid. ¡°I¡¯ll watch the broadcast from here.¡±


    The agents would be left here and wouldn¡¯t be able to accompany them to the location where the three of them would shoot this episode. The only ones accompanying them were the cameras and some of the program team members.


    Astrid nodded at what Ellis said and told the other to not worry.


    After bidding farewell to their agents, the three walked out of the room. The moment they did, three small cameras floated around each of them.


    Since the live broadcast was already starting, Astrid looked at the camera assigned to him and decided to greet the audience and also promote the movie while doing so.


    ¡°Hello to everyone who¡¯s watching,¡± he said, waving and smiling at the camera. ¡°Have you already watched [The Sleeping God]? If not, then go and watch it now at your nearest cinema. I promise you won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, watch [The Sleeping God] now!¡± Lauren interjected, sticking beside him and doing a ¡®V¡¯ sign in front of his camera.


    Although Astrid couldn¡¯t see the comments in the live broadcast, he wasn¡¯t even sure if there were already people watching, he could somehow already imagine what they were saying. No doubt that some would continue to ship him with Lauren.


    He shook his head, looked at the camera, and then smiled again.


    They followed the staff to where the aircraft they would be travelling in was. As they did they saw three more people from a distance. The three were also walking towards another aircraft.


    Even without asking who the three were, they knew that they were cast members of the movie [Stardust] ¨C a sci-fi flick that was showing at the same time as [The Sleeping God]. According to the Movie List of the day, they were currently number two in the box-office ranking. Of course, [The Sleeping God] was the first by a huge margin.


    [Fieldtrip] usually casted guests from rivalling movies or shows to generate topic from the public. It seemed that this time, it¡¯s [The Sleeping God] versus [Stardust].


    Astrid was just glad that with the format of the show, they didn¡¯t have to interact with the other crew. In [Fieldtrip], the two groups would go to different locations and compete. How you say? By doing the same missions given by the program group.


    Since the two were not in the same location and they didn¡¯t have their Terminals with them, only the audiences watching the live broadcast could monitor the progress of the two teams.


    With such an arrangement, any sort of dramas that might happen between the two teams could be avoided. Which was inevitable otherwise considering that the two teams were ¡®rivals¡¯ of some sort.


    That¡¯s why Astrid was glad for such an arrangement. This was his first variety show. He just wanted to have some fun and not worry that some people might scheme against him.


    After getting on the spacious aircraft that seemed more like a small spacecraft, one of the assistant directors travelling with them started to explain what they needed to do once they arrived at their destination.


    ¡°I think you already know how our program works, so I won¡¯t be too detailed with explanation,¡± the other started. ¡°Once we arrived at our destination, you will be given a mission. The other team will also be given one. Although it will be different since you¡¯re filming in two different locations, the level of hardness will be the same. There will be three rounds of missions overall. The one with the most win will be the winning team.


    ¡°The win I¡¯m talking about is of course based on the missions given to you for each rounds. The one who accomplished the mission first will be considered as the winner of that round. We will tell you who the winner is at the end of the show. So, you can just comfortably do the mission without feeling pressured.¡±


    That¡¯s actually a good strategy. ¨C Astrid thought. At least with that, the guests in the show wouldn¡¯t think that they had lost the chance to win. And they would continue to do their best to win.


    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing much more to explain other than that,¡± the assistant continued. ¡°If you don¡¯t have any question, do enjoy the flight. The aircraft has a lot of snacks and drinks. You can also watch some show during the flight.¡±


    Then, the assistant bid farewell. After that, the aircraft took off.


    Lauren sat down unceremoniously. ¡°Wow, they even blackened the windows. They sure do not want us to know where we¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the ¡®surprise¡¯ part of the show¡¯s charm?¡± Miria said, walking to the built-in refrigerator and opening it. ¡°Do you two want drinks?¡±


    ¡°Any carbonated drink is fine,¡± Lauren said.


    ¡°Orange juice for me, please,¡± Astrid said.


    Miria gave the drinks they requested to the two and she also took a bottled tea for herself. She sat down on one of the free seats. ¡°Where do you think our destination will be?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe somewhere in the mountains,¡± Lauren said. ¡°They would leave us there to fend for ourselves or something. Maybe one of the missions is us hunting game.¡±


    ¡°I do hope you¡¯re wrong,¡± Miria said, then she turned to Astrid. ¡°What about you, Astrid? What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a lot of possibility, really,¡± Astrid said. ¡°But whichever location, the most important thing is for us to do our best. Of course, having fun is also a must.¡±


    ¡°Having fun is definitely a must,¡± Lauren said. He looked at the camera following him. ¡°You also want to see us having fun, right?¡±


    ¡°Not too much fun, I hope,¡± Miria added.


    Astrid chuckled.


    The people watching the live broadcast could see the strong chemistry between the three. And among them was a certain white-haired prince.

 Chapter 347

    WULFRIC was stuck in the study of his mansion. At this time, he should be at the military base. Since Alluna was his planet, it¡¯s only natural to have a military base for his army here. Normally, he would go there during days like this one. But today, he didn¡¯t. Even leave the house.


    Why? Of course, it¡¯s because today was the live broadcast of Aster¡¯s first variety show appearance. He had to watch it by all means.


    Last night, when Aster posted on his [Cyberspace] account that he would appear in the variety show called [Fieldtrip], Wulfric quickly did his research about the show. He then found out that this variety show offered live streams of the episode that would air for the week. Those who couldn¡¯t watch the live broadcast could simply watch the edited version once it officially aired. But how could he wait that long?


    So, he woke up early, ate breakfast, did his usual work-out routine, and then he opened the streaming site where the live broadcast of the variety show would stream. Once the stream started, there was an option on which guest would he like to follow. There¡¯s really no need to choose. He simply clicked on the one with Aster¡¯s name.


    And so, Wulfric had been watching the live broadcast since Aster and the other two cast members of [The Sleeping God] appeared in some kind of private spaceport. Now, the aircraft they were in was about to land to whichever destination they were supposed to go.


    Everything was all well and good. He enjoyed watching Aster talk with the camera and communicate with the audience. In fact, he liked it so much that he probably had already saved about a hundred screenshot of Aster. The only downside was the other two who were constantly appearing in Aster¡¯s camera.


    Although he already knew that Aster and Lauren were just friends, he still couldn¡¯t stop the irritation in his heart whenever he saw how close the two were. He was even thinking of contacting Reas and telling the other to confess his feelings to this Lauren so the two could live happily ever after. But that would only make him look stupid, so he couldn¡¯t.


    Then, there was this Miria. Aster appeared in her music video and there were a lot of people who started shipping the two of them. It was annoying to say the least. And now the two were together in this variety show. With the addition of Lauren, those deranged shippers would surely have a feast.


    Look, he could already see those kinds of comments in the comment area. For his peace of mind while watching the show, he decided to turn it off.


    Wulfric then wondered if this kind of thing would continue on in the future. He really didn¡¯t have to ask because he already had an answer. Yes, there¡¯s no doubt that it would.


    Because, for some reason, Aster seemed to be the most shippable ¨C if that was even a word ¨C person in the entertainment industry. So, yes. In the future, any person who he worked with would undoubtedly be shipped to him. The sheer annoyance it would bring to him was already giving him headache.


    But what could he do? It¡¯s not like he could tell Aster to stop being an actor. Being one was obviously the other¡¯s dream. And knowing Aster, he would definitely not be satisfied just by being a successful in the field he chose. He would definitely aim to be the best.


    If Wulfric intervened in any way in Aster¡¯s business just because he was feeling irritated, the other would surely want to skin him alive. So, the best he could do was to give his support without meddling too much.


    He suddenly felt like by the time Aster reached his goal, he would have probably turned into a saint already.


    As evidence, he took a deep calming breath and he continued watching the live broadcast. He just hoped that Leland wouldn¡¯t suddenly barged in here and demand him to work.


    The current scene on the live broadcast was Aster putting on a blindfold. They were instructed to do that after the aircraft they were in landed. It¡¯s probably so they would be surprised to see what kind of destination was waiting for them.


    After getting off the aircraft, the three then rode a car. Wulfric didn¡¯t see much of where they were going because the camera was just focused on Aster¡¯s face. Which he didn¡¯t mind at all, by the way.


    The three once again talked about where they were possibly headed. Wulfric also couldn¡¯t help but guess with them. After 15 minutes, the car finally stopped and parked. The three then walked out of the car with the help of the driver.


    Once got out of the car, Wulfric finally had a good view of where the three were. And seeing what was in front of the three through the camera following Aster, his eyes couldn¡¯t help but widened a bit.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°You can now take off your blindfolds.¡±


    Astrid heard a voice say in front of them. He had a feeling that the one who spoke was one of the two hosts of the show. Since there were usually two groups of guests in every episode, the two hosts were assigned to each of those groups.


    He removed the blindfold as he was told. The bright sunlight pierced his eyes first. He blinked to accustomed his eyes to the sudden light. Once it did, the scene in front of him finally unfolded.


    There, in front of them was the wide blue sea. But it was not just that. They could see ships anchored everywhere, as well as busy people walking around what seemed to be a dock.


    It¡¯s easy to guess where they were right now. And the host¡¯s next words completely confirmed his guess.


    ¡°Welcome to the fishing town of Whiteridge!¡± said the male host in a very energetic voice. ¡°Are you ready to be certified fishermen/woman for today?¡±


    There¡¯s really no need for them to answer that. But Lauren being Lauren said;


    ¡°Can I say ¡®no¡¯?¡±

 Chapter 348

    AFTER the host¡¯s explanation of what they should do, the three were sent to a make-shift dressing room to change to appropriate clothing. After all, they couldn¡¯t do their job as a ¡®fisherman¡¯ with the clothes they¡¯re wearing.


    The first task given to them was to help a local fisherman get 10 kilograms of fish. They would board the fisherman¡¯s fishing vessel and assist them. As soon as they reached the quota given to them by the program team, their first task would be considered as a success.


    The three walked out of the make-shift dressing room almost at the same time. When they saw each other, Lauren quickly burst into laughter, Miria had a cramped expression, while Astrid only shook his head with a helpless smile.


    The three of them were all wearing the same type of baggy overalls. The only difference was the color. Astrid was wearing red, Miria was wearing yellow, while Lauren was wearing purple. If there was someone wearing a green overalls, they would totally look like the teletubbies.


    Should Astrid be thankful that there were only three of them?


    Well, people in this era probably didn¡¯t know teletubbies. So, even if there¡¯s someone wearing a green overall, the people watching the broadcast would probably not see the resemblance.


    Lauren looked at the camera following him. ¡°What do you think of our work uniform, cute, right?¡±


    ¡°I admire your unique taste,¡± Miria commented.


    Because she was not particularly on the taller side of the usual female height, not to mention her slim physique, this shapeless and baggy clothing didn¡¯t really flatter her body. It made her look like a child playing dress-up. Except that the child had a bad taste in clothes.


    This was probably the program teams tactic to make them look funny. If not, they wouldn¡¯t make these overalls in blaring neon colors. That¡¯s right. The color of their clothes was not just the simple color, it¡¯s the type that would literally glow in the dark. Especially her yellow overall.


    She glanced at Astrid with envy. Because despite wearing such a not so pretty clothes, he still looked beautiful.


    She sighed and then looked at the camera following her. ¡°While looking at Astrid, I just realize that humans are not really made equally.¡±


    She said that with an exaggerated sad expression. This was a variety show anyway. The least she could do was to be entertaining.


    ¡ª¨C


    After changing clothes, the staffs accompanying them led them to the fishing vessel of the fisherman they would be helping today. On their way there, not many people paid attention to them. Some glanced but that was it.


    Which was understandable. It was still pretty early in the morning. Most people in the dock were fishermen readying themselves for a busy day ahead.


    The fishing vessel they went to was a small boat incomparable to the other large fishing vessels surrounding it. It was even more surprising to see that the fisherman they were about to help still looked very young. He could be in his 20s or 50s, which was still considered young in this era¡¯s standard.


    The fisherman was tall and lean with a shy expression on his face. He didn¡¯t seem to be an experienced fisherman at all. The three even wondered if the program team actually grabbed some random guy and let him pretend to be a fisherman. But regardless with their guess, they still greeted the other enthusiastically.


    ¡°Hello, we¡¯re be the one who will be helping you today!¡±


    After that, they introduced themselves one by one.


    ¡°Yes, hello. I¡¯m Jed. Let¡¯s work hard today.¡±


    Although the other ¨C Jed ¨C tried to sound positive and bright, the three could still hear the worry in his voice. They could easily tell that he must be worried that they would mess up his fishing schedule today.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Jed, we¡¯ll do our best not to be a nuisance to you,¡± Astrid tried to assure the other.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Please, trust us,¡± Miria seconded, although deep inside she also wasn¡¯t so sure that they could do this well.


    ¡°Brother Jed, we will definitely capture as many fish as you need!¡± Lauren said with confidence, even tapping his chest, as if to prove how serious he was.


    But that line just immediately bit him a few moments later.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Ash slowly opened his eyes, yawning as he did. He turned his head towards the clock to see what time it was. But as he did, what caught his attention first was Reas on the bed opposite him. The other was sitting up and watching something on his Terminal. His sleepiness quickly disappeared at that moment. Especially after seeing Reas chuckling.


    He sat up from the bed. ¡°You- why are you still here?¡±


    Reas glanced at him. You couldn¡¯t tell from his expression that he was smiling just now. ¡°This is my dorm room or have you forgotten?¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, you¡¯re usually out exercising at this hour,¡± Ash said.


    Both of them didn¡¯t have an early class during this day. So, he was already accustomed to Reas spending time working out instead. And yet, the other was just lazing about and watching- wait- watching?


    ¡°Are you watching your brother¡¯s first variety appearance?¡± Ash asked. He remembered that today was it¡¯s live broadcast. ¡°Let me watch too!¡±


    He hopped down of his bed and went to Reas.


    Reas, on the other hand, quickly changed the camera he¡¯s following to that of his brother. So, the moment Ash jumped to his bed and looked at the Terminal, what the other saw was Astrid.


    Ash, who didn¡¯t notice anything, looked at the Terminal with interest. He saw that Astrid seemed to be on some kind of boat. The other was controlling some kind of fishing mechanism?


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Fishing,¡± ¨C Reas¡¯ simple answer. ¡°Or at least Astrid is, doing the fishing I mean. I¡¯m not really sure what the other two are doing.¡±


    As he remembered what Lauren was doing earlier, an uncontrollable smiled crossed his lips once again.

 Chapter 349

    THE fisherman ¨C Jed ¨C was looking at the three celebrities on his boat with a pained expression on his face. He was new to the fishing industry. He actually just started half a year ago. Before this, he was working at one of the bigger cities here in the capital star.


    As a young kid, he had always dreamed of owning his own boat and making a living with fishing. That¡¯s why after he saved enough money, he quit his job, bought a boat, and then moved here. He just didn¡¯t expect that being a fisherman would be a lot tougher than he imagined.


    Money had been tight lately. So, when a program team approached him saying that they would pay him as long as he lent them his boat, he didn¡¯t really have the leisure of saying ¡®no¡¯.


    And so, here he was, watching two celebrities grappling with his fishing equipment as if it¡¯s their mortal enemy. He had already explained to them how the equipment worked and yet his explanation seemed to not be helpful at all.


    The girl, Miria, still couldn¡¯t properly operate the fishing equipment. Because of that, she hadn¡¯t yet thrown a net on the sea. The boy, Lauren, was better in that regard. The problem was, even if he managed to operate the fishing equipment, he still couldn¡¯t capture a single fish!


    Jed was already contemplating on whether he should give a hand to the two. But then he remembered that the program team asked him to not help and just provide guidance.


    He glanced at the pretty black-haired kid. Well, at least this one knew how to fish. Astrid operated the fishing equipment like professional and now he had already caught about a kilogram. Which was good considering that they only just started.


    ¡°Do you two need help?¡± Astrid asked Miria and Lauren.


    ¡°I really wanted to say ¡®yes¡¯, but if you helped us, you¡¯re fishing speed might slow down. Then, it would take longer for us to reach the quota,¡± Lauren said with an expression as if he would cry at any minute because of frustration.


    Miria also shook her head. Even if she wanted to ask for help, she shouldn¡¯t bother Astrid. Right now, the other was the only one who managed to catch a fish. If he stopped just to help them, then that would only be to their disadvantage.


    She glanced at the fisherman. ¡°Excuse me, Mr. Jed. Can- can you please explain to me one more time how to operate this equipment?¡±


    Jed, with a sigh, nodded his head and walked to the other.


    Astrid smiled a bit seeing that. Then, he turned to Lauren who had this cute pout on his face. ¡°Lauren, just think of it as if you¡¯re playing a game.¡±


    The fishing equipment actually looked like some kind of canon with a sonar attached to it. Operating it was easy. One could see on the small screen attached to it if there was a fish in the surrounding area. If you see a cluster that meant that there¡¯s a school of fish there.


    You could simply aim the equipment in that direction and press a button. After you did that, a net would be released from under the boat which was connected to the equipment. Then you should pull the lever on the side of the equipment and the net with the captured fish would be automatically pulled inside the bottom of the boat.


    There was a gauge on the deck that monitored how many kilograms of fish had been captured. So far, there was only about a kilogram. A far cry from their quota of 10 kilograms. And all of it were captured by Astrid.


    If this continued, it might take quite a while before they reached their quota. So, it¡¯s better if all of them contributed.


    ¡°A game?¡± Lauren asked.


    ¡°Yeah, like some kind of FPS.¡±


    Lauren seemed to understand what he meant because his expression suddenly brightened. It¡¯s like the look of someone who just had a sudden epiphany. ¡°I think I got it.¡±


    Lauren then concentrated on operating the fishing equipment in front of him. It¡¯s the first time Astrid saw the other with such a look of concentration. If he had his Terminal, he would have already took a photo of the other and sent it to Reas.


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to hear a doorbell-like sound from the gauge on the deck. It¡¯s a sign that the load of fishes caught increased. Lauren turned to Astrid with a bright expression like a child.


    ¡°I did it, Aster!¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°I know you would.¡±


    Miria looked at Lauren with envy. When would she be able to catch even one fish?


    Astrid, who happened to turn to Miria, noticed the other¡¯s expression. So, he quickly encouraged the other. He bent his elbow upwards with his fist clenched and said, ¡°Fighting!¡±


    It was weird gesture in Miria¡¯s eyes. But somehow, she understood what Astrid was trying to convey. It gave her strength and a strange desire to do better. So, she turned to the fishing equipment and followed Mr. Jed¡¯s instructions up to the last detail.


    To those watching the live broadcast, Astrid¡¯s little ¡®fighting¡¯ gesture was equally as weird to them. But just like Miria, even though it¡¯s the first time they saw it, they strangely understood what it meant. So, they took a screenshot of it and made it into a moving emoji.


    And so, unbeknown to Astrid, his gesture of cheering up Miria would start a trend in the Empire.


    ¡ª¨C


    It took about four hours before the three managed to gather 10 kilograms of fish. The morning market in the dock was already over. But their next task was actually to sell the fish they caught. So, once again, the three entered into some kind of dilemma. But the program team must have already expected that. And yet they still gave them this kind of task.


    Lauren looked at the camera and said, ¡°You guys also think that the program team hates us, right?

 Chapter 350

    ¡°SO, how are we going to sell these?¡± Lauren asked, looking at the containers of fish in front of them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. We just have to sell a kilogram to 10 people each,¡± Astrid said with a positive attitude.


    Miria and Lauren seemed to have found hope after hearing that.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We just have to look for 10 people,¡± Miria said with a much brighter expression.


    The three of them were now at the dock. There was a seafood market nearby. Almost all the fishermen sold the sea creatures they caught to the vendors at the seafood market nearby. The same was true for Mr. Jed, the fisherman they ¡®helped¡¯.


    The usual routine was for the fishermen to go to the sea before the sun rise and then return with their catch in the early hour of the morning. They would then sell most of their catch to the merchants at the seafood market.


    Since they already passed that time, they couldn¡¯t just barge in the market and asked the merchants to buy the fishes they caught. Well, if they charmed their way into their hearts, that would certainly be possible. After all, some of them would probably recognized Miria or Lauren.


    But the thing was, the program team made them wear half-mask to cover the lower half of their face the moment they got off Mr. Jed¡¯s fishing vessel. Probably because, at this time of the day, someone could recognized one of them.


    Even if there were small cameras following them, people wouldn¡¯t necessarily think that they¡¯re filming a show or something. It¡¯s more probable that they would think that they just loved taking photos. Besides, they were still wearing these colorful overalls. More than thinking that they were celebrities, people would more likely think that they¡¯re some weirdos.


    Aside from that, the program team also didn¡¯t reserve a place for them in the market. That meant that they could only sell these fishes here at the dock.


    Further proving what Lauren had repeatedly mentioned, that the program team simply wanted to make their lives harder.


    ¡°So, how should we start?¡± Lauren asked, returning back to their original query.


    ¡°Maybe I could sing to attract people¡¯s attention?¡± Miria suggested.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s actually a good idea,¡± Lauren agreed.


    Astrid also thought the same. ¡°I could play the guitar to accompany you.¡± He looked at the camera. ¡°I¡¯m sure the program team could procure one for us, right?¡±


    ¡°You can play the guitar?¡± ¨C both Miria and Lauren said almost at the same time.


    ¡°A bit. I¡¯m also out of practice. So, it might not sound as good,¡± Astrid said.


    He could play a bit of guitar in his past life. Not at a professional level, but he knew all the proper chords and could play a decent tune. The only problem was he hadn¡¯t played as much in this life. After all, it¡¯s not something he¡¯s passionate about and could barely be considered a hobby.


    He learned to play at one of the many part-time jobs he did during college. At the bar he¡¯s working in, the resident musician taught him some basic chords. When he became an actor, the manager handling him back then told him that it¡¯s important for him to know at least one talent. Because according to the other, it would help him stand out if he was ever invited to guest in a variety program.


    So, he honed his guitar playing skill at least to a point where he wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed if someone suddenly asked him to play a song.


    When he was reincarnated in this era, he also tried playing again as a hobby. But that was only until primary school. He became much busier when he entered secondary school that he almost didn¡¯t have time to play. Not to mention now. So, his skills were definitely rusty. Even so, playing an accompaniment to Miria was still in the realm of possibility.


    ¡°Then, I will do my best to charm customers into buying our fish!¡± Lauren said full of determination.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid struck the guitar chords as Miria¡¯s angelic voice rang in the dock. They were playing the other¡¯s new single ¨C New Horizon. Which was their movie¡¯s OST. But because she was wearing a mask, she couldn¡¯t showcase the full marvel of her voice. Even so, it was still enough to gather people¡¯s attention.


    At first they were curious. Wondering why these two people were performing in such a place, not to mention the fact that they were standing near containers of fish. After being curious, they would come closer to have a good look at them. And that¡¯s when Lauren does his magic.


    ¡°This pretty lady, why don¡¯t you buy our fish? It¡¯s very fresh and I assure you, the taste will definitely be heavenly,¡± Lauren said to his new ¡®victim¡¯ ¨C a woman who happened to walk closer to where they were standing just because she wanted to listen properly to Miria¡¯s singing.


    The woman, who reluctantly pried her attention away from Miria and Astrid, turned to Lauren. After hearing what he said, the woman showed a hesitant expression on her face.


    ¡°Pretty lady, we only have a few kilograms left. If you hesitate now, you might not be able to taste this delicious fish,¡± Lauren continued. ¡°Although there are people who preferred nutrient solution, eating proper food is still the best. And you should only do that with the freshest ingredients. Just like our fish here. So, what do you say? Should I bag you a kilo?¡±


    The woman still looked like she was hesitating. But at the end, she still nodded and said, ¡°Okay, give me a kilo.¡±


    ¡°Good decision,¡± Lauren said with a nod of approval. But deep inside, he was already doing a little happy dance.


    Wasn¡¯t he really good at this kind of thing? Maybe if he didn¡¯t become an actor, he would have been a salesman.


    He gave the other her purchased fish. ¡°Thank you very much!¡±


    After the woman left, he turned to Astrid and Miria. Both gave him a thumbs-up. He returned that with a wide grin.

 Chapter 351

    SNOW and Kiran were watching the live broadcast of [Fieldtrip]. They were at the usual greenhouse where they often eat lunch. They were watching as Astrid, Lauren, and the singer ¨C Miria were enthusiastically selling fish.


    Kiran was actually quite surprised to see Astrid playing the guitar. He also knew how to play, not as well as the piano though. That¡¯s why he could tell that Astrid must have been out of practice. He missed a couple of notes and the way he struck the chords felt a bit lagging at times.


    Not that it was noticeable. He only noticed it because of his perfect pitch. For casual listeners, Astrid¡¯s guitar playing skill was more than enough. Add that to Miria Lane¡¯s beautiful voice and no one could even tell that Astrid made a mistake.


    ¡°I hope they could sell all those fish soon, so they don¡¯t have to eat lunch so late,¡± he commented.


    Snow nodded. He ate a piece of vegetable and sighed a bit. ¡°I miss Astrid.¡±


    ¡°Which one do you miss more? Aster or the dishes he shared with us during lunch?¡± Kiran asked with a teasing tone.


    Snow acted as if he was offended. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s Astrid.¡±


    The two looked at each other and then both laughed.


    ¡°Yes, I also miss Aster,¡± Kiran said after a while.


    It had been about three weeks since Astrid asked for leave from school. It¡¯s a month long leave so there¡¯s still another week before he returned. But he was glad that the other had continuous work piling up for him.


    Even though he still didn¡¯t know much about this industry, having work one after another was definitely good for a new actor just starting out. After all, it¡¯s a way to get more public recognition.


    Snow nodded. But frankly, he envied Astrid a little. The other could already work in such big productions. Of course, with his talent, that should only be natural.


    On that front, Astrid was also quite enviable. He¡¯s happy for him, of course. But it¡¯s also in human nature to feel envy of such things. At least, for him, it¡¯s not a negative thing. It¡¯s something that could help him strive more. In fact, because of this, he had been dilligent in looking for audition opportunities.


    He actually had found some, but most of it were not really very good. They just wanted a good-looking person to stand on the side and continued to look pretty. He really didn¡¯t want such roles. He knew that as someone who was barely considered a newbie, being picky was not an option.


    But he wanted his first role to be at least be meaningful to some extent. It¡¯s probably just his vanity talking. But he couldn¡¯t help it. He¡¯s stubborn that way.


    ¡°By the way, how was your meeting with the people from Polaris?¡± Snow asked, changing the topic.


    Kiran received a call from Polaris asking for a meeting with some of the people from their music department. When the other told him about it, he was also quite surprised. But then he quickly understood how it happened. Either Astrid or Lauren told someone from Polaris about Kiran¡¯s incredible musical talent.


    Whether it was Lauren or Astrid, that was very kind of them. But it¡¯s not as if Kiran didn¡¯t deserve it. If there¡¯s a student in the music department of this school who deserved it, then it would be Kiran. He¡¯s really happy for the other when he heard that. He truly hoped that it would go well for Kiran.


    Kiran scratched his cheek as if embarrassed. ¡°Well, I think it went well?¡±


    ¡°Why does it sound like you¡¯re not sure? They didn¡¯t try to deceive you, right?¡± Snow asked with a serious expression on his face.


    ¡°No, no. They didn¡¯t! I just feel like everything was so surreal that I still couldn¡¯t believe that someone was really willing to pay me for my music.¡±


    Snow let out a sigh of relief when he heard that. ¡°Why not? With your talent, it should be something that is expected. You should try to get used to that. I¡¯m certain that you will be known all over the Empire because of your amazing music.¡±


    Kiran blushed. Snow often had this cold expression on his face. So, hearing the other complimenting him so honestly made him felt a bit shy. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Snow showed a slight smile. ¡°So, did Polaris offer you a contract to be a singer?¡±


    ¡°They did at first but I rejected it,¡± Kiran said.


    ¡°But why?¡± Snow quickly asked, the expression on his face clearly said that he didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to be a singer.¡±


    Being a singer wasn¡¯t really the reason why he went to Redwood, in the first place. Although he wanted to earn money, but not in a way where he would be a celebrity whose face would be known all over the Empire.


    He was actually wondering how he could earn money with his music without his face being made public. Working at Miss Rose¡¯s piano lounge made him slowly realized what he really wanted.


    ¡°I told them that they could commission me as a composer,¡± he added to his response to Snow.


    That¡¯s right. He wanted to be a well-known composer. And the meeting he had with the people from Polaris was the first step to that.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid, Lauren, and Miria were finally able to sell all the fish they caught. And the three finally were able to rest while eating lunch. It¡¯s just that instead of taking them to some restaurant to eat, the program team took them to the kitchen of a restaurant near the market. There, they were told to cook their own lunch using the ingredients provided to them.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Miria asked in a worried tone.


    Lauren then showed a triumphant look. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, Miria. Because we have Aster!¡± He put his arm over Astrid¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Right, Aster?¡±


    Astrid chuckled and pulled the sleeves he¡¯s wearing up to his elbows. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll make us lunch.¡±

 Chapter 352

    THE camera zoomed in on Astrid chopping vegetables with ease. The way he was handling the ingredients prepared for them by the program team was almost like that of a professional chef. It was especially more so because of the type of ingredients the program team gave them.


    All of it were exotic ingredients. And by ¡®exotic¡¯, Astrid meant ingredients that were on the same level as sea slugs. But that¡¯s fine. He simply chose ingredients that he was familiar with. Although there¡¯s only few, the program team didn¡¯t mention that they had to use all of them.


    That¡¯s why Astrid chose to make dishes with just a few ingredients. Thankfully, there was rice in the ingredients. So, even if he only made two or three dishes, with rice present, the three of them would definitely be full. After all, rice was life.


    So, with that, he began cooking.


    He chose to cook something that was easily made but still flavorful and delicious. Sweet and sour fish, stir-fried vegetables, and a sea creature similar to a shrimp that he cooked like a tempura.


    It didn¡¯t take 30 minutes before he managed to finish everything. Astrid then put the finished dishes, as well as the rice, on the table that was provided in the kitchen.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat?¡± he said to the two with a satisfied smile.


    Miria looked at the dishes in front of her and she couldn¡¯t help but gulp. She was actually still apprehensive when Lauren said that Astrid was a great cook. But as she watched the other cut and sliced ingredients like a pro, her worry slowly disappear. And now, looking at these three delicious looking dishes, she knew that it would be good without her even tasting it.


    ¡°Wow these look delicious!¡± Lauren said, eyeing the meal in front of them like a hungry beast.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! The smell is even mouth-watering,¡± Miria added.


    Astrid only chuckled and sat down. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s eat.¡±


    Miria no longer waited and immediately put rice on her plate, then she took some from each dishes. The moment she ate a spoonful of rice and fish, she felt like flavors just exploded inside her mouth. It was so delicious that she didn¡¯t have time to comment and just continued eating.


    Before she knew it, all the plates with the dishes and the rice were suddenly wiped clean.


    ¡°No more?¡± she said with an expression like a clueless child who didn¡¯t know how things ended up the way they were.


    ¡°Hey, Miria, you¡¯re the one who ate the most, so what¡¯s with your reaction?¡± Lauren said with a slightly accusing tone. It¡¯s because he wanted to eat more but the other simply bulldozed through everything like someone who hadn¡¯t eaten anything for a month.


    Miria¡¯s eyes widened when she heard what Lauren just said. ¡°I- I did?¡±


    Lauren nodded with a frustrated expression. Astrid did the same, except that his expression was that of amusement. If she truly ate most of the food Astrid prepared without her even noticing it, wouldn¡¯t that mean that she was just mindlessly eating everything?


    At that thought, she felt her whole face heating up because of embarrassment. She did that in front of people watching the live broadcast! Wouldn¡¯t she appear like someone who didn¡¯t have manners?


    She looked at the camera following her. ¡°Can you forget what you saw just now?¡±


    =====


    Meanwhile, in the comment barrage of the live broadcast¡­


    [That must be one hell of a meal if Miria was devouring everything like a hungry ghost.]


    [This is my first time seeing Miria like that. T_T It¡¯s really refreshing. As a Miria-fan, I¡¯m here to give my thanks to Astrid.]


    [But the food really looked delicious. Even the way he prepared it was like that of a professional chef.]


    [Is Astrid actually enrolled in some cooking school?]


    [No, he¡¯s definitely studying at Redwood. Maybe it¡¯s just his hobby?]


    [Why does Lauren keep calling Astrid ¡®Aster¡¯? Is that his exclusive nickname for him?]


    [I think so too! It¡¯s so cute, right?]


    [Is my LaurenXAstrid ship really gonna sail?]


    [OMG I hope so too!]


    [What are you people talking about? Their dynamics is definitely that of friends instead of whatever it is you¡¯re thinking.]


    [Upstairs, you¡¯re right! I can¡¯t see them as being a couple in real life. I think it¡¯s more likely for Astrid to be together with Miria.]


    [Yes! Did you see how sweet he looked at Miria when she finished eating the meal he prepared? There¡¯s definitely something!]


    @astridsnumber1fan: [You¡¯re all delusional!]


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Stop shipping Astrid with just anyone who walks on two feet!]


    [But regardless of their true relationship, I really like the name ¡®Aster¡¯. I think I will call Astrid that from now on.]


    @astridsnumber1fan: [No, you¡¯re not close! You can¡¯t call him that!]


    [It¡¯s Brother White! I knew you would appear!]


    [Hey @astridsnumber1fan, why do you keep butting in? Whether we call him Aster or not, you don¡¯t have a say!]


    [What are you saying upstairs? Didn¡¯t you see his handle name? He¡¯s Astrid¡¯s number one fan! He just didn¡¯t want you people to taint Astrid¡¯s name.]


    [By stopping us from calling Astrid ¡®Aster¡¯? That¡¯s a bit ridiculous, right? Not to mention, childish.]


    =====


    Wulfric stared at the words ¡®ridiculous¡¯ and ¡®childish¡¯. He almost threw away his Terminal after reading that. He quickly turned off the comment area once again. He should have not turned it on in the first place. Because he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop himself from fighting with everyone.


    But when Aster started cooking for those two, his eyes just became green with envy. Especially when he only had a nutrient solution for lunch. It also didn¡¯t help that he kept on hearing Lauren saying ¡®Aster this, Aster that¡¯.


    So, to distract himself, he opened the comment area. Which was obviously a bad decision. He only became even more irritated. Especially when he read that comment about calling Aster by his nickname.


    It¡¯s like he would explode from irritation and frustration!

 Chapter 353

    AT the same time, there was another person feeling bothered by the comments on the live broadcast. It was none other than Reas.


    He and Ash were in the cafeteria to eat lunch. After their morning class ended, they quickly went here and both opened their Terminals to watch [Fieldtrip]¡¯s live broadcast.


    What they saw after clicking the live broadcast link was the three ¨C Astrid, Lauren, and Miria ¨C selling fish. Or rather, Astrid and Miria were attracting people¡¯s attention by their song while Lauren did all the sales talk. This was probably the second task after that first fishing task.


    At first, Reas was only enjoying his brother¡¯s guitar playing. After all, it had been quite a while since he last heard it. But when he heard Lauren¡¯s sales talk, he couldn¡¯t stop his browse from furrowing.


    [Why are you selling those as if you¡¯re seducing people?] ¨C Reas silently grumbled in his mind.


    But he knew that that was just how Lauren was. The other wasn¡¯t doing it on purpose to seduce people. That¡¯s just the way he was ¨C charming and overly affectionate. Which was often the cause of misunderstanding between Lauren and other people. Hating him for that would be the same as hating him for who he was. So, no, Reas would never dislike Lauren for that. But that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t feel frustrated.


    Just like what he was feeling now.


    The comments he was reading on the barrage didn¡¯t really help. In fact, it just worsened his frustration.


    Most of them comments were of people shipping Lauren with his brother. Although he knew that was far from the truth, he still couldn¡¯t stop himself from feeling annoyed.


    The comments became even worse when his brother started cooking and three finally had their lunch. He was this close to writing a comment. But he stopped himself. That¡¯s just way too juvenile. He wouldn¡¯t lower himself to the level of someone like @astridsnumber1fan.


    He couldn¡¯t imagine himself arguing with people online. He wasn¡¯t even Lauren¡¯s fan in the first place. He was his friend. If he saw a malicious comment, of course he would defend him. But the problem was there were no such thing. So, replying to these comments just because it annoyed him would just make him childish.


    In the first place, he¡¯s not even sure why he¡¯s annoyed. Which, ironically, made this whole situation more annoying.


    ¡°Is your brother¡¯s cooking really that good?¡±


    Ash¡¯s question pulled Reas¡¯ attention away from his own thoughts.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered automatically. ¡°It¡¯s probably even better than most professional chef.¡±


    Ash raised his brow when he heard that. He was still a bit skeptical. But considering how Lauren and Miria Lane were eating so deliciously, it must indeed be the case.


    He looked down at the unappetizing meal in front of him and suddenly felt like crying. Really, why couldn¡¯t this cafeteria produced dishes that were not only nutritious but delicious as well? But it seemed that this military academy only cared about the students receiving the proper amount of nutrients. They didn¡¯t really care about the students¡¯ pallet.


    Remembering the dishes the three had enjoyed eating, he suddenly felt envious. Then Ash turned to Reas with twinkling gaze. ¡°The food containers you usually bring after the weekend, did your brother make them?¡±


    Reas nodded, unsure on why the other was suddenly asking sucgh a question.


    ¡°Can I get a taste next time?¡± Ash asked with puppy dog eyes. ¡°I¡¯m fine with just a bite. So, please? Please? Please?¡±


    ¡°Fine, so stop being annoying,¡± Reas said pushing Ash¡¯s face away because every time the other said the word ¡®please¡¯, his face became closer and closer to him.


    Ash grinned like a child who thought that he managed to trick an adult into doing his bidding. ¡°Yes!¡±


    Reas could only shook his head. Then he went back to watching the live broadcast once again. But when he saw the comments, his brows furrowed once more. So, he decisively turned off the chat and simply watched.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Congratulations on managing to cook some of those ingredients and turning them into simple meals everyone could enjoy,¡± the host of the program team in charged of them said after suddenly appearing at the shabby kitchen where they had their lunch. ¡°Astrid, especially, was definitely MVP, don¡¯t you think so as well?¡±


    Both Miria and Lauren nodded their head enthusiastically as if they were the ones who made those dishes.


    ¡°You should really give him a reward for that,¡± Lauren said with a playful expression as if teasing the program team.


    Miria nodded in agreement.


    The host chuckled. ¡°We¡¯ll consider it. Now, we shall proceed to the third and last task for today¡¯s fieldtrip.¡±


    There was a few seconds of silence. The program would probably add some bgm to that later for the official airing during the weekends.


    ¡°Can you guess what this next task will be?¡± the host asked, as if to whet their appetite.


    ¡°Is it related to fishing?¡± Lauren asked in a very dry tone as if he had enough of the program team¡¯s nonsense.


    ¡°I rather like fishing,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    ¡°Argh, you¡¯re the only one here who will say that,¡± Miria commented, rolling her eyes. Then, she looked at the camera following her. ¡°Right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t have to fish this time. But this task still had something to do with the marine life,¡± the host said in a mysterious fashion.


    ¡°So, can you tell us now what it is?¡± Lauren said.


    The host smiled like a mischievous child. ¡°I could tell it to you right away, but where¡¯s the fun in that?¡±


    Then, a car suddenly stopped in front and some of the staffs handed blindfolds to them. Without even asking, they already knew what would happen next.


    So, the trio were suddenly shuttled off to a car, blindfolded. Once again, they had no idea on where they were going.


    When the car stopped and the staff accompanying them in the car helped them go down, they were finally able to remove the blindfolds. And the scene that welcomed them was a sign saying, ¡®Atlantis¡¯.


    It¡¯s an aquarium.

 Chapter 354

    LOOKING at the sign in front of them, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but think of the failed aquarium date he had with Wulfric. Well, they technically didn¡¯t have it since it was cancelled before they could even go to the place. But still.


    Knowing Wulfric, the other would probably watch this episode during the weekend. What would be his reaction once he saw him going to an aquarium? That guy might have a tantrum or something. He might even ask Astrid out just so they could go to an aquarium.


    He shook his head with a smile.


    That smile was caught on camera and people watching began to think that Astrid had fondness for aquarium and marine life in general. So, a certain misconception was created.


    Unbeknownst to them, Astrid didn¡¯t have special affection for aquariums and such. His smile was only because he was thinking of a certain prince.


    [A staff will greet you later and tell you what you should do for this task. Don¡¯t worry, the task won¡¯t be that hard.] ¨C The voice of the host echoed in the earpiece given to them. He said that last part in a playful manner that the three found it hard to believe that it would really not be ¡®that hard¡¯. [Good luck and don¡¯t forget to have fun!]


    ¡°Do you believe what he said, that the task won¡¯t be that hard?¡± Lauren asked as they walked inside the gate.


    It seemed that the program team had already taken care of their presence here, so even if they were still wearing masks, they weren¡¯t stopped at the entrance.


    ¡°I, for one, don¡¯t believe it,¡± Lauren added.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I just hope we don¡¯t have to swim,¡± Miria responded.


    Astrid noticed something in Miria¡¯s words. It¡¯s unlikely that the other was afraid of water. It would have shown while they were fishing this morning. Could it be that she didn¡¯t know how to swim?


    He didn¡¯t directly ask that. Instead, he said in a reassuring voice, ¡°If the next task is uncomfortable for you, just tell us. I¡¯m sure we can work some things out with the program team.¡±


    Miria was a bit startled by what Astrid said. But then soon she smiled. Because she quickly understood that the other must have noticed her discomfort and then guessed from his words that she couldn¡¯t swim.


    ¡°Okay,¡± she said.


    At times like this, there¡¯s nothing wrong with relying on people around her.


    Soon, a land vehicle stopped in front of them. One of the aquarium¡¯s staffs climbed down the vehicle and welcomed them, asking them to get inside the vehicle. The three followed the staff. Once they got inside, the vehicle started to move.


    On their way, Lauren asked the staff what kind of task they would be given. But the other said that it would be easier to explain once they arrived at their destination. It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive there.


    Going down, Astrid read the holographic sign on top of the building in front of them. [Mermaid Cove]. Somehow, he already had an idea of what their task would be.


    ¡°Please, follow me,¡± the staff said, gesturing for them to follow.


    The three followed the staff and walked inside the dome-like building.


    What welcomed them first was a reception area. There were marine life holograms floating around. Then, they were led to a corridor. At the end of that corridor was an open area that was similar to a coliseum stage. Except that the one at the middle was not a stage but a huge pool.


    ¡°This building is for mermaid shows,¡± the staff started to explain. ¡°Of course, they¡¯re not real mermaids but performers wearing mermaid costumes. The show is the highlight of Atlantis. That¡¯s why it¡¯s usually held during the night.¡±


    Astrid now understood why they weren¡¯t any people inside the building. Well, except for some employees that they met along the way.


    ¡°So, are we going to act as mermaids then?¡± Lauren asked.


    ¡°Yes, more or less,¡± the staff answered. ¡°The three of you will be one of the attraction for tonight¡¯s show. You will have to perform a number that will last for about five to eight minutes. Of course, you have to do that underwater. Don¡¯t worry, our equipment is top of the line. You won¡¯t drown even if you stay underwater for that long. Your program will be the finale. We will give you this whole afternoon to practice whatever program you decided to do. If you need any props or anything, just tell us and we will prepare it. Do you have any questions?¡±


    ¡°If we will perform underwater, how would the audience watch it?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°The pool you see right now will be elevated. The sides are made of glass, so everyone in the audience could see what¡¯s happening inside. Of course, there would also be holographic projection so the audience could have a clear view of your performance,¡± the staff explained.


    ¡°Tsk. I knew it,¡± Lauren grumbled. Then, he looked at the camera. ¡°You guys are really lucky today. You¡¯ll be able to see my sexy bod.¡±


    Astrid laughed when he heard that. Even Miria, who was feeling nervous because of the staff¡¯s explanation, smiled.


    The staff then gave them time to have a meeting and decide what kind of program they would do.


    Remembering what Astrid said to her earlier, she felt the need to admit a flaw of hers that could potentially affect their task. ¡°I have a confession to make,¡± he called the attention of the two. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to swim. And even if they had equipment, I can¡¯t stay underwater. I would just panic and would definitely be unable to perform.¡±


    Astrid guessed as much. ¡°That¡¯s fine. We can just think of a program where you wouldn¡¯t have to stay underwater.¡±


    Lauren nodded. ¡°You can just sing outside of the pool while Aster and I dance or whatever inside.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s actually not such a bad idea,¡± Astrid agreed with a smile.

 Chapter 355

    JUST like what the staff said to them, the three started their discussion. Weirdly enough, all three cameras following them were shooting them from far-away. Because of that, the audience couldn¡¯t hear what they were discussing.


    It was obviously done on purpose by the program team. Probably to give an element of surprise to the audience.


    The comments on the barrage showed that the audience quickly understood this. But despite that, there were still many comments saying how unfair it was. But those comments were soon replaced by excited replies. It¡¯s because after the meeting, the three quickly started practicing the program they had planned.


    Of course, this included the three changing into swim wears.


    Astrid and Lauren were both wearing jammers and swimming shirt. But although both were totally covered, the way the swim wear they¡¯re wearing fit snugly to their body. It¡¯s almost like a second skin instead of a swim wear. But thankfully, the sensitive parts were not obvious despite the clothes being too snugly. Still, the figure of the two was eye-catching.


    Miria was also wearing the same outfit. Hers was simply tailored for women. Just like Astrid and Lauren, the swim wear she¡¯s wearing fit her perfectly. Showcasing her good figure.


    The comment section became noisy immediately as soon as the three appeared.


    [Look at Aster¡¯s figure. I thought he would be skinny. But he his figure was very good, right?]


    [Yes! His arm and leg muscles are no joke.]


    [Do you think he would have abs?]


    [I think so.]


    [Ah- it¡¯s probably better if he¡¯s wearing swimming shirt. Then we could have seen his naked upper body.]


    [I¡¯m already having a nosebleed just by imagining it.]


    [People upstairs, can you turn off your perverted fantasies? They probably chose to wear that kind of swim wear because of dirty-minded people like you.]


    [You¡¯re overreacting. How can your thoughts immediately veered that way? Isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re also thinking of the same thing?]


    [LOL]


    [Can we just enjoy this wonderful view without you people fighting in the comments?]


    [As expected of Lauren, he has a great figure.]


    [Didn¡¯t you hear him say earlier that he has a great bod?]


    [Miria also looks good.]


    Same kinds of comments appeared. But surprisingly enough, none of them were from @astridsnumber1fan.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    There were two reasons why ¡®White Wolf¡¯ was not commenting. One, he turned off the comment section once again. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t see the comments of others regarding Astrid. And second, well, he¡¯s simply too engrossed staring at the screen where Astrid was standing.


    The perfect body line, the lean muscles, porcelain-like skin, everything Wulfric saw was just tickling his heart. Just looking at Aster in this kind of attire was already making him feel things he probably shouldn¡¯t.


    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt like it was wrong of him to even feel whatever the heck he was feeling right now. As if he¡¯s dirtying Aster.


    After taking a few calming breathes, he finally managed to clear his mind. But when he opened his eyes to continue watching the live broadcast, his pupils shook when he read the words flashing on the virtual screen.


    [This will be the end of the live broadcast. Please, tune in to the official airing of the episode. You¡¯ll be able to watch the practice and the actual program of [Team Sleeping God] at that time. Please, look forward to it!]


    ¡°What the fu¡ª¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Almost all the audience had the same reaction as Wulfric. It¡¯s like the program team gave them appetizer but didn¡¯t serve them a main meal. Now, all of them were left starving for more.


    Since the live broadcast had already ended, they could only turn to [Cyberspace] to let out their dissatisfaction.


    [Tsk. What¡¯s wrong with [Fieldtrip]¡¯s program team? You¡¯re doing this on purpose, right?]


    [Are you afraid that we won¡¯t watch the official episode if you showed the mermaid show beforehand? Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll still watch that. So, put the live broadcast back on!]


    [This is the perfect example of whetting someone¡¯s appetite. TT__TT]


    [The program team is to sadistic for doing this.]


    [I want to see the final mermaid show!]


    [Are there people watching the mermaid show of Atlantis here tonight? Can you record the program and post it here?]


    [Yes! People visiting Atlantis right now, please comment!]


    Because of people commenting the same thing over and over again, #Fieldtrip and #mermaidshow trended on [Cyberspace] for an hour. As a result, those who didn¡¯t watch the live broadcast started to wonder what were these tags were about. Therefore, more and more people discovered the [Fieldtrip]¡¯s live broadcast today and it¡¯s upcoming episode during the weekend.


    The screenshots and short videos of [Fieldtrip]¡¯s guests on their upcoming episode were scattered around [Cyberspace]. Those who saw Astrid for the first time, immediately became interested and searched information about him.


    Thus, Astrid¡¯s followers on [Cyberspace] increased again.


    Although many people had posted about asking those who would watch the mermaid show at Atlantis to post the videos they would record online, sadly, they should end up disappointed.


    Because the program team had made sure that no footage of tonight¡¯s performance would leak out.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Astrid returned to his apartment almost midnight. He was so tired that he couldn¡¯t eve bring himself to wash up. But he still forced himself because he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep properly if he didn¡¯t.


    So, he went to the bathroom, planning to take a quick shower.


    As water was splashing down on his face, he thought of the day he had. Although it was tiring, it was fun in a way. The highlight would definitely be the mermaid show though.


    He was quite proud of the program he, Lauren, and Miria came up with. And based on the audience¡¯s reaction, they also loved it. He couldn¡¯t wait for others to watch this mermaid show and see their reaction to it. Hopefully, it would be mostly positive. But he must admit, there¡¯s a person whose reaction he was most eager to know.


    Who else could it be but that temperamental yet adorable prince?

 Chapter 356

    ONCE Wulfric recovered from the sight of Aster wearing that swim wear as if it was a second skin. He realized that he wasn¡¯t the only one who saw that. Hundreds of thousands of people also did. At that realization, his stomach started to churn due to anger.


    But as fast as that anger appeared, it also died down pretty quickly. Miraculously enough, his brain cells worked quickly and his logic forcefully made him calm down.


    There¡¯s no use getting angry at something that couldn¡¯t be helped. He had to keep in mind that this was Aster¡¯s job. If he continued to rage about this, he might end up doing something that Aster would hate. That didn¡¯t mean he like it though.


    But what¡¯s the use of that? He would probably die of anger if he focused on the things that made him angry. And he had a feeling that there would be too much anger in his foreseeable future. So, it¡¯s better to learn to be calm now. Although that would probably take too much time and effort to do so.


    He once again took a deep breath, no, a couple of deep breaths until he fully calmed down. Then, he opened his [Cyberspace] to scour for malicious comments against Aster. As well as perverted edits of him wearing a swim wear.


    Wulfric continued to do that for hours. He didn¡¯t even notice that the sun had already set. Then, he suddenly heard sudden tapping on his desk that almost made him jump. He raised his head and was startled to see a shadow figure.


    Because he the lights were not turned on, what he saw was only a silhouette. Which made it even scarier. But due to his good eyesight, he knew that the other was Leland. He turned the lights on via remote and the study instantly brightened. He had to close his eyes for a second so it could adapt to the sudden brightness.


    The he saw Leland looking down at him. Leland had this expression on his face as if he was judging him and finding him immediately guilty. He suddenly had a feeling of being caught doing something he shouldn¡¯t. That¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t help but feel defensive.


    ¡°What are you doing here, Leland?¡± he asked, trying to sound annoyed.


    ¡°I was informed by one of your AI staffs that your highness haven¡¯t gone out of your study since morning,¡± Leland started. ¡°I thought that your highness finally had pity for me and decided to do your paperwork. So, I decided to drop by and see how you¡¯d been doing. I knocked on the door of the study but you didn¡¯t reply. I was worried that something might have happened, so I let myself in. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the lights inside were turned off. And you, our dearest prince, is sitting here in the dark with your face buried on your Terminal. Is it safe to assume that you didn¡¯t do any paperwork at all?¡±


    Wulfric felt like arrows were piercing him every time Leland said something. He avoided the other¡¯s gaze and mumbled, ¡°I¡¯ll do it tomorrow. It¡¯s not like the files would run away or something if I didn¡¯t do them immediately.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they won¡¯t run away. They will just pile up. Does your highness not think that it¡¯s almost the same?¡±


    When the prince didn¡¯t reply and just grumbled, Leland sighed. He looked at the still opened Terminal of the prince. Because it was set on private, he couldn¡¯t see what¡¯s on it. But he was sure that it¡¯s related to Astrid Townsend.


    Under normal circumstance, that wouldn¡¯t be his first guess. But after what happened in the recent days, it¡¯s hard not to relate the prince¡¯s action to that teenager. First, he reserved a whole cinema for their whole army to watch. Which was already very unlike him. Then, the next day, he suddenly put the soldiers into hell mode training. And the reason for that? Because he didn¡¯t like the comments they made about Astrid.


    It¡¯s not only those things. Ever since leaving the capital, the prince had been wearing a silver necklace with a rather eye-catching pendant around his neck. The prince Leland knew hated accessories. When he asked where he bought the necklace, the other said with a very rare gentle smile that it was a gift from Astrid Townsend.


    At that point, he knew that something was slowly changing. He¡¯s just unsure if it¡¯s for the better or for the worse. Although right now, in terms of the prince¡¯s work ethic, it¡¯s definitely the latter.


    But he would reserve judgment until later. If, by some chance, Astrid¡¯s influence on the prince became purely negative, then he would have no choice but to intervene. But for now, let¡¯s just make sure that this prince would eat dinner.


    ¡°Your highness, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re aware, but¡¯s it¡¯s already time for dinner. Please, do eat.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I will. You can go now,¡± Wulfric said and returned his gaze to his Terminal.


    Leland stared at the other and then sighed. He couldn¡¯t believe that there would come a time that the prince would actually start chasing an actor. He¡¯s truly not sure if this was a dream or simply a nightmare.


    ¡°I won¡¯t leave unless I see your highness eat,¡± he said in a stern voice. ¡°The new chef cooked dinner. I tasted it and they¡¯re all delicious.¡±


    [It definitely won¡¯t be as good as what Aster made.] ¨C Wulfric said to himself.


    He looked at Leland. Seeing that determined expression, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to make this guy leave unless he saw him eat.


    He tsked and stood up. ¡°Fine.¡±


    He walked out of the study with Leland following him from behind.


    There¡¯s still a lot of things he needed to do. But since he had an official job, Wulfric couldn¡¯t just focus on things related to Aster. Then, he suddenly remembered one of the things he read when he was researching on how to be the best fan.


    [Should I create a fan site?]

 Chapter 357

    ASTRID woke up with the sound of alarm. He turned it off and sat up on the bad. He yawned, obviously still a bit sleepy. He could have slept more but his body clock just automatically woke up at this time, with or without an alarm.


    ¡°Good morning, master,¡± Xiao Lan greeted. The AI cat had been slouching on the side of Astrid¡¯s bed as if it was a real cat.


    ¡°Good morning, Xiao Lan,¡± Astrid greeted back, stroking the cat¡¯s chin.


    Then, he stood up and stretched a bit. After that, he walked out of the room, Xiao Lan following closely behind. As he was brewing tea, Xiao Lan told him a rather unexpected news.


    ¡°Master, the landlord sent a notice to all the residents of the apartment building yesterday. Since you appear to be very much tired when you returned last night, I made the decision of postponing telling it to you until this morning,¡± his AI butler cat started.


    ¡°What kind of notice?¡± he asked.


    ¡°They will start to strengthen the alarm system of the whole building by next week. According to the notice, it will be the latest top of the line security system. But master don¡¯t have to worry because there won¡¯t be any additional rental fees to pay.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. ¡°Did the landlord receive a huge amount of money or something?¡±


    If it was the latest security system, wouldn¡¯t it be expensive? And to think that the landlord wouldn¡¯t even charge them for it. Although the landlord he met was very amiable, he didn¡¯t take the other as someone who would spend his own money for this.


    He wasn¡¯t really expecting an answer from Xiao Lan, but who would have thought that the other actually had one for him ready.


    ¡°I heard it¡¯s because the whole building was bought by someone. The new owner is the one who paid for the whole thing. I also heard that the top floor will be renovated and will be the private suite of the new owner.¡±


    A new owner? So, there¡¯s a new landlord? But more than that, there was something he found more interesting.


    ¡°Where did you hear all this?¡± he asked Xiao Lan.


    ¡°The AI robots in this apartment building has a group chat. We talk about a lot of things there.¡±


    Now that was surprising. Astrid didn¡¯t expect that AI robots could actually have a group chat. That¡¯s very, well, human-like.


    ¡°Who initiated this group chat?¡±


    ¡°The AI robot that would be responsible for the new alarm system of the whole building. It contacted us at the beginning of the week and made the group chat in the server it created. The notice of the landlord or rather, the soon-to-be former landlord was also sent through this group chat.¡±


    What Astrid could understand from what Xiao Lan said was that this AI robot had a particularly high level of sentience. Was it because it was an AI robot responsible for a high-end alarm system? He suddenly imagined the group of AI robots chatting and gossiping with each other.


    An amused smile appeared on his lips. He bent down and picked Xiao Lan. ¡°So, our Xiao Lan had been making friends. Are there any interesting gossip you¡¯d like to share?¡±


    ¡°Master, under no circumstances should I divulge information that others shared with me in confidence,¡± Xiao Lan said in a serious tone.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°What a loyal cat you are.¡±


    He put Xiao Lan down after snuggling him, then drank the tea he just brewed. After that, he started preparing breakfast. As he was doing that, he thought of checking messages on his Terminal. He turned off the notification last night before he slept because he was too tired and didn¡¯t want his sleep to be disturbed.


    There were quite a few from his family and friends. After giving a short reply, his eyes finally focused on the last message. It was from Wulfric.


    [Aster, I watched the live broadcast! You did great during the fishing task. It was also the first time I found out that you can actually play the guitar! I looked forward to the airing of the official episode. I knew that the program you and your team made will definitely be amazing!]


    Astrid read that again and raised his brow. He was surprised that the other didn¡¯t mention the aquarium at all. He thought that Wulfric would at least sulk because of it.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that the reason why this temperamental prince did not mention the aquarium was because it was completely buried in his mind by the image of Astrid in swim wear. That was the only thing he remembered when Astrid went to that location.


    That reason didn¡¯t even cross Astrid¡¯s mind. So, he simply replied to the message.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid rested for the whole morning. By afternoon, Ellis fetched him because he had to record a talk-show program. It¡¯s a program called [New Star]. They mainly guessed up and coming celebrities that, in one way or another, made a buzz in social networking sites.


    With Astrid trending once or twice already and with a movie he¡¯s part in being number one at the box office amongst the movies being shown this week, the program didn¡¯t hesitate to send him an invitation.


    Ellis had already researched the program and didn¡¯t find any shady thing about it. Aside from that, it¡¯s rating was also pretty alright. It¡¯s not that high but it¡¯s also not so low that people would ignore it. The program had a decent amount of loyal audience. So, rookies who appeared there also increased their awareness to the public.


    There would be two other guests aside from him. According to Ellis, one was a singer and the other was a web novelist. Since their careers varied and didn¡¯t really have that much intersections, Astrid hoped that no problem would happen in this talk show program.


    The car they were in soon stopped at the broadcasting station where [New Star] was being broadcasted. After Ellis parked the car, the both of them got down and walked inside.

 Chapter 358

    ¡°THE host might surprise you with a sudden question. But just try to keep your cool and don¡¯t panic. If you feel panicked, just take a deep breath and then answer the host¡¯s question as calmly as you can,¡± Ellis reminded Astrid as they walked inside the broadcasting station.


    Astrid nodded. He wasn¡¯t really that worried about any surprise questions. He had done a lot of interviews like this in his past life. So, he wasn¡¯t really nervous or anything like that.


    Ellis continued, ¡°The program also has a segment where the host revealed some secrets they uncovered from the guest¡¯s past. This is based on the research they¡¯ve done. I don¡¯t think you have any questionable past, so there¡¯s probably no need to worry about that.¡±


    That almost made Astrid stop. Well, technically he didn¡¯t really have anything in his past that could be considered as problematic or something that people would take issue with. But if this program team delved too deeply, then they might show pictures of his parents. And that would be the problem.


    Having his parents¡¯ faces on national TV was definitely a no-go. Now, he¡¯s starting to worry. Although there¡¯s a low chance of that happening, a chance was still a chance. But he couldn¡¯t ask Ellis about it directly because the other might think that he was hiding something. Which was indeed the case. But that something was related to his family instead of just him.


    Astrid¡¯s relationship with Ellis was still not on the stage where he could freely divulged the secret of his family to her. So, the only way to inquire was to ask in an indirect manner.


    ¡°What kind of secrets do they usually reveal? Is it like some everyday stuff or do they just pick the ones that could be considered as controversial?¡± he asked in a nonchalant manner as if he was truly just curious.


    ¡°Well, if there¡¯s something controversial, of course that would be the one they¡¯d choose. It¡¯s the one that would make a buzz after all. But that doesn¡¯t usually happen since people with dubious past don¡¯t usually guest in this program. So, it¡¯s usually just your regular everyday stuff.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Astrid said with a nod.


    But deep inside, he kind of wished that Ellis discussed things first to him before agreeing on putting him in this talk-show program. Okay. She did discussed it but not in so much detail. That¡¯s why Astrid didn¡¯t find anything wrong in guesting in this program.


    But because Ellis trusted him more than he imagined, it never crossed her mind that there was something in his past that was worth worrying over. Of course, it¡¯s not bad for an agent to trust their actors. It¡¯s just that, it kind of backfired this time.


    No, it¡¯s still too early to say that it backfired. Besides, if he thought about it carefully, he doubted that this program team would personally go to his home planet which was two galaxies away just to get a footage. Aside from that, this program had only invited him a day after the official premier of [The Sleeping God]. There¡¯s no way they could have found anything about his parents in just a couple of days.


    Yes, that¡¯s right, let¡¯s just be calm for now.


    The two arrived at the dressing room provided for the guests of [New Star]. They were led there by a staff. Walking inside, they saw two women already there, sitting. One looked like an agent while the other must be either the singer or the writer.


    It was a girl who looked to be about in her 20s. But one couldn¡¯t really tell in this era. She could be in her 50s and no one would think that¡¯s ridiculous. She had short light brown hair and a pair of soft green eyes.


    It was obvious that she was very nervous, as evidence of how hard she¡¯s clenching the pant suit that she¡¯s wearing. She didn¡¯t even look up when they walked in. She probably didn¡¯t even feel their presence.


    ¡°That¡¯s the web novelist, her pen name is One Leaf,¡± Ellis whispered to Astrid.


    He walked up to the other and introduced himself. ¡°Hello, Miss Leaf, my name is Astrid Townsend.¡±


    The other finally looked up with a start. Then, her eyes widened like saucers when she saw Astrid.


    ¡°Jace!¡±


    The other three in the room was startled by her sudden call. Although Astrid tried not to show it by continuing to smile, he was still a bit confused by the other¡¯s reaction.


    One Leaf¡¯s agent quickly resolved the awkward atmosphere by apologizing. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Leaf is just very nervous. I hope you can understand.¡±


    As if only now realizing her mistake, One Leaf put her hand over her mouth. ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry!¡± she said in a muffled voice.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I must have looked like this ¡®Jace¡¯ for Miss Leaf to mistake me for him.¡±


    One Leaf put down her hand covering her mouth and shook her head. ¡°Jace is not really a person. He¡¯s- he¡¯s a character I created in one of my novels. You- Mr. Astrid looks exactly the way as how I envisioned him to be.¡±


    As she continued speaking, her voice became smaller and smaller. But since both Astrid and Ellis had good hearing, they didn¡¯t miss a word of what she said.


    Astrid raised his brow in interest. He searched a bit about the two guests who would be with him in this talk-show program. So, he knew that One Leaf was currently very hot in the world of web novels right now. She only had three published web novels but all of them were all popular. Especially the latest of the three.


    If she could maintain this popularity, then there¡¯s a high chance for her works to be turn into live action. And if she thought that Astrid perfectly fit one of her characters, then the chances of him being considered for the role once it became a live action would definitely be high.


    There¡¯s no reason not to be on the other¡¯s good side. So, he smiled and said;


    ¡°For Miss Leaf to think so, it¡¯s definitely an honor.¡±

 Chapter 359

    FIONA GREENWOOD or most commonly known by her pen name ¨C One Leaf ¨C stared at the teenager sitting at the seat opposite her. When she said earlier that the other resembled ¡®Jace¡¯, she wasn¡¯t joking. It truly felt like Astrid was her character incarnate.


    It¡¯s not just his appearance. The way he moved and talked, the atmosphere around him, it was very much like her ¡®Jace¡¯. To think that there would come a day when she would actually experience something like this. It¡¯s like a dream for a writer like her.


    Because of this, she couldn¡¯t help but think of the offer made by a certain director to her just a few days ago. Her first reaction to that was rejection. She didn¡¯t even meet with the director. Her agent kept on convincing her that agreeing to this project would be a good move for her career. But she still stubbornly said ¡®no¡¯.


    She didn¡¯t want her work to be decimated and torn apart by any director or film studio. Which would likely happen considering that the director who offered to adapt her novel to a movie only worked on advertisements and music videos. Even her who didn¡¯t know much knew how different those were from making a movie. So, how could she trust them?


    But now, looking at Astrid Townsend, Fiona suddenly had an urge to have that movie made. How could he not when there¡¯s a perfect actor here who could play her protagonist?


    Then, she quickly shook her head. No, she shouldn¡¯t be making any hasty decision right now just because of her excitement. What if this kid had a bad attitude? No matter how much he resembled her Jace, she didn¡¯t want some rude guy to play one of her favorite characters.


    ¡°Fiona, you just called Astrid Townsend ¡®Jace¡¯ earlier, right?¡± her agent whispered to her. ¡°If you agree to adapt your novel, I¡¯m sure you could have a say on who would play which role. No, I will definitely make sure that you will have a say in it. What do you think, will you finally accept Director Hale¡¯s offer? I heard she also worked with Astrid in Miria Lane¡¯s song MV. I¡¯m sure it would be much easier to offer him the lead role even if he¡¯s just a newcomer.¡±


    Fiona bit her lip when she heard that. Just so she could prevent herself from immediately agreeing. ¡°No, as I¡¯ve said, I will think about it.¡±


    She heard her agent sigh. Obviously, the other wanted to convince her further but knowing she wouldn¡¯t listen, the agent chose to just end the conversation.


    Fiona looked at Astrid, the other happened to also glance at her. Astrid gave her a friendly smile. She also tried to smile back but she was sure that it only looked like a grimace.


    Anyway, she had already decided to further observe the other.


    ¡ª¨C


    After the make-up artists retouched their make-up, the three guests were led by one of the staff to the side of the studio to be on stand-by. They were told to walk to the studio once they heard the host calling their names.


    Soon, the recording started. The host ¨C Rita Ortega ¨C walked in, greeting the studio audience. After that, she sat down on her designated seat.


    ¡°Welcome to another episode of [New Face],¡± she said, smiling at the camera. ¡°In tonight¡¯s episode, we have three guests who have been the talk of the town in recent days. I¡¯m sure some of you heard them one way or another.¡±


    The audience cheered as if in response.


    ¡°Her new song has been charting in different music charts as of late. Her latest album has also sold 10 million copies, making it a certified Silver Record. Let¡¯s all welcome our first guest, Nadia Beck!¡±


    The woman standing in front of Astrid readied a sweet smile and walked to the studio, waving at the audience. She exchanged greetings with the host before sitting down on the long couch provided for the guests.


    There would be a five minute personal interview before the host called the next guest. The one who would go next was the web novelist. Astrid could see the other¡¯s body visibly shaking, obviously still very nervous.


    ¡°You know,¡± he started, calling the other¡¯s attention. ¡°This might sound like a clich¨¦, but thinking of the audience like their a bunch of vegetables, a pumpkin for example, will definitely help.¡±


    Fiona was startled hearing Astrid suddenly spoke to her. She turned to the other and saw him smiling playfully. She didn¡¯t feel like the teenager was mocking her. No, he¡¯s simply trying to ease her nervousness.


    It didn¡¯t really help much. But the thought that he tried definitely made her less anxious and restless. ¡°Thank you for the advice. I¡¯ll keep it in mind. Although it probably won¡¯t work much. I¡¯m just as scared of vegetables as I am of people, you see?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ then how about furries wearing make-ups and sequins?¡± Astrid suggested with an innocent expression on his face.


    When Fiona heard that, an image was instantly drawn in her mind and she couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing.


    ¡°Now, for our next guest, she¡¯s a web novelist who¡¯s become very popular among the younger generation. The accumulative downloads of all her three works now exceed a hundred million. Let¡¯s all welcome, the author who currently represents youthful love, One Leaf!¡±


    Astrid gently pushed the other. ¡°Go, they¡¯re calling you.¡±


    Before Fiona walked to the studio, she glanced at Astrid. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Then she walked forward, her nervousness completely gone.


    Astrid watched the host interviewed One Leaf for five minutes. Then soon it was his turn.


    ¡°Now, we¡¯re finally on our last guest. Ever since he was introduced as a part of Polaris, he already received a lot of attention. Every time he appeared, may it be a special guess in a series or simply appearing at a spaceport, he always entered the trending topic list. And just recently he appeared at Director Trevane¡¯s latest blockbuster. Please welcome, Astrid Townsend!¡±


    Astrid walked to the studio, waving and smiling. Cheers immediately erupted from the audience.

 Chapter 360

    ¡°YOU are 18 this year, is that correct?¡± the host ¨C Rita ¨C asked Astrid.


    Astrid nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Wow. So young! Now I suddenly feel old,¡± Rita said, acting sad with a crestfallen expression.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look that way though. No matter what age, I¡¯m sure Miss Rita will remain ephemerally beautiful,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    If this was said by others, people might think that Astrid was flirting with the host. But because his tone didn¡¯t have that kind of playfulness, it only sounded like he was telling the truth. Which didn¡¯t make Rital feel bothered. She felt very much flattered instead.


    She didn¡¯t feel like the other was deliberately trying to compliment her to get on her good side. Just like how most of her guests here had done. That¡¯s probably why she didn¡¯t feel the urge to reply sarcastically just like she usually did.


    The other might not mean an iota of what he said. But the important thing was, the receiver didn¡¯t feel it at all. That¡¯s a plus in Rita¡¯s book. She could already feel that this kid would go places.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re making me blush,¡± she replied in a playful tone. ¡°I think the words ¡®ephemerally beautiful¡¯ suit you more than me.¡± She glanced at the audience. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so as well?¡±


    The audience shouted a resounding ¡®yes!¡¯.


    A pretty blush appeared on Astrid¡¯s face. But instead of acting shyly, he said with a bright smile, ¡°Thank you. I will accept this compliment gladly.¡±


    The audience burst into laughter. They didn¡¯t think that Astrid was being arrogant by saying that, especially not with his face still blushing red. That and his bright smile created a gap that the audience found lovely in a way.


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re hair and eye color is very rare. It¡¯s truly beautiful,¡± the singer ¨C Nadia Beck ¨C suddenly interrupted with a smile.


    Even though she seemed to be complimenting Astrid, anyone with a discerning eye could tell the real meaning behind her words. It¡¯s like saying that the only reason Astrid was considered as beautiful was because of his hair and eye color.


    And the fact that she suddenly interfered at the middle of what was supposedly Astrid¡¯s solo introductory interview could make thoughtful people think that there was a hidden motive behind it. They would be right though.


    In Astrid¡¯s eyes, it was quite obvious that Nadia Beck was trying to gain more screen time for herself. [New Star] was a good way to promote one¡¯s self after all. He didn¡¯t mind though. As long as the other did it in moderation. If she knew what¡¯s good for her, she wouldn¡¯t do too much. Because it would only reflect on her badly.


    But it wouldn¡¯t be bad to send a silent warning. After all, he also wanted this talk-show to go smoothly for all of them. So, he smiled back at the other and said in a good-natured manner;


    ¡°Yes, many people do often say that these two are the only redeeming features on my face.¡±


    He said it in a joking manner but it elicit an awkward smile from Nadia. Because if she responded and said ¡®yes¡¯, she would be agreeing that Astrid¡¯s hair and eye color were indeed the only good thing about his face. But if she said ¡®no¡¯, then she would be contradicting what she said herself.


    It¡¯s a ¡®damn if you do, damn if you don¡¯t¡¯ situation.


    The atmosphere would be completely awkward if the silence continued. So, before that happened, Astrid added;


    ¡°I agree though that without these two features, my face would probably be the most ordinary face in the Empire.¡± He looked at the audience and then added in a secretive manner. ¡°Don¡¯t tell my parents though since I don¡¯t want to be scolded. After all, in any parents¡¯ eyes, their child looks the best no matter what.¡±


    The audience laughed again at that.


    Rita secretly let out a sigh of relief. She was about to intervene to lighten up the mood but the teenager did that himself. She would probably be annoyed if the other didn¡¯t. Even if the cause of all this was Nadia, the one who almost made the atmosphere froze was Astrid.


    Although she didn¡¯t like how some of her guests would always try to get more screen time for themselves, it¡¯s also their ability to grasp the chance to do that. Nadia secretly taking a jab at Astrid to do that was rather distasteful but completely acceptable in her opinion. What she didn¡¯t expect was Astrid fighting back. And he did it so skillfully too.


    Rita suddenly wanted to laugh. Truly, this kid would definitely go places.


    After that small incident, the recording of the program flowed much more smoothly. Nadia still tried to get more screen time but at least she no longer did it at the expense of others. It seemed that she¡¯s smart enough to know that if she antagonized Astrid further, it might just end with her lost. Although she would still secretly glare at him from time to time, showing that she was still not reconciled.


    Astrid didn¡¯t care though. He just continued on with the interview with a smile on his face.


    Then, the segment that Ellis had mentioned earlier finally came. It happened right after a commercial break. The first one was Nadia. The program showed a video of her busking in the street.


    Although she showed a shy smile as the host inquired about when the video was taken, Astrid could still see a slight displeasure in her eyes. The other probably didn¡¯t like that such an old video was shown to the public. Maybe she didn¡¯t want people to see her in such simple clothes and make-up. Unlike how she looked now, all dolled-up.


    In Astrid¡¯s opinion, Nadia actually looked much better in that video. At least, he could see how much she loved music. But then again, it didn¡¯t really have anything to do with him. So, his opinion didn¡¯t really matter.


    Then, it was One Leaf¡¯s turn.


    ¡°I heard from a reliable source that one of your novels is currently being discussed for an adaptation, is it true?¡±

 Chapter 361

    FIONA bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from uttering a curse. Why was it that Nadia Beck only had a video of her doing busking while hers felt more like a scoop? Since she¡¯s not really used to analyzing people¡¯s intention, add to the fact that she¡¯s not really good at lying on the spot, she could only stutter;


    ¡°I- I¡¯m not really sure if I should answer that question.¡±


    The audience laughed, not to mock her but because they found her answer very refreshing. Her honesty was such a breath of fresh air that the people there only found it adorable.


    Fiona¡¯s face heated up. She was thinking that she answered wrong that¡¯s why the audience was making fun of her. But what else could she say? It was true that she really wasn¡¯t sure if she could answer that question.


    ¡°Can- can you ask me another question?¡± she asked to rectify the situation.


    Rita chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let me just rephrase the question. If there¡¯s a suitable offer, would you be willing to adapt your works into movies, TV shows, or animation?¡±


    ¡°I- I would probably be more inclined for an animated adaptation. At least the design of each character would be the most similar to the characters I created,¡± she said. She was still stumbling at first, but as she continued to talk, she became more and more eloquent. Probably because she was very invested in this topic. ¡°It¡¯s hard to find actors who resembled the characters I had in my mind. It¡¯s not just about me being picky. My writer self just couldn¡¯t let the novels I put all my heart into become something that even I couldn¡¯t recognize.¡±


    Rita nodded. ¡°I can understand what you¡¯re worried about. But Miss Leaf must have already realized that it¡¯s hard to find a perfect adaptation of novels and such. Because, in one way or another, the director adapting the work would have their own interpretation of the work. So, does this mean that Miss Leaf would never allow any live-action adaptation of your work to be made?¡±


    Fiona bit her lower lip, looking apprehensive. ¡°I- I don¡¯t want to say the word ¡®never¡¯. It has such a finality to it. This might be my opinion today but it might change in the future. So¡­¡±


    Her answer might seem ambiguous but that was how she truly felt. Or at least what she felt after meeting Astrid Townsend. The more she observed the other, the more he resembled her ¡®Jace¡¯.


    She glanced sideways at the teenager and made a decision then. After this recording was over, she would watch everything where the other appeared.


    Astrid, of course, felt the other¡¯s glance. How could he not when it was very piercing? It¡¯s not a malicious gaze nor a gaze full of affection. If he could describe it, then it would be a gaze full of determination.


    He was feeling kind of bewildered because of that gaze, wondering why the other was suddenly looking at him that way. But he still maintained the smile on his face.


    Soon, it was his turn.


    Now, he started to feel a bit nervous. After all, he still didn¡¯t know just what kind of ¡®secret¡¯ this program would reveal about him. With what he had seen so far, it probably wouldn¡¯t be seriously intrusive. Well, at least he hoped so.


    ¡°Let¡¯s all watch this short clip that could probably shed a light to Astrid¡¯s true personality.¡±


    Rita said it in a very intriguing way. As if what was about to be shown was something controversial.


    Since Astrid noticed that the other deliberately made it look that way, his worries significantly lessened. Because he knew that Rita wouldn¡¯t have done that if the clip was indeed controversial. But he still didn¡¯t let his guard down.


    The virtual screen appeared at the center of the studio where everyone could see it. Then, a video clip started playing.


    On the clip, the hostage taker¡¯s face was shown while holding Nicol in his arms. Though the latter¡¯s face was actually mosaicked. Then, the point of view shifted to that of a lean young man, trying to calm the hostage taker. The young man then removed the hat he¡¯s wearing, revealing his face to all.


    Astrid stood in front of the criminal without any fear on his face.


    It was the video that caused Astrid to trend for the first time. The hostage taking that happened when he and his brother arrived at the capital.


    The virtual screen disappeared after that.


    ¡°This clip was taken and posted two months ago. I don¡¯t know if any of you remember, but this trended for a couple of hours when it happened. A hostage taking situation ended with no casualties because a pair of brothers risked their lives to subdue the criminal,¡± Rita started. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, I¡¯m talking about Astrid and his brother.¡± After saying that to the camera, she turned to Astrid. ¡°What were you thinking at that moment? Did you not feel scared or worried that things might just get worse because of what you and your brother did?¡±


    Astrid acted like he was deeply thinking of the answer to the host¡¯s question. But he didn¡¯t really need to think much since the answer just came naturally to him. Of course, he had to embellish that answer with words that wouldn¡¯t make it appear like he¡¯s bragging.


    ¡°It was indeed scary. But I had a feeling that if we didn¡¯t do anything at that moment, something even more terrible would happen,¡± he started with a serious expression. ¡°Besides, more than my fears and worries, my faith in my brother was even stronger. He made a plan that could potentially save everyone who was there. As a brother, it¡¯s only natural for me to support him.¡±


    Rita nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer. ¡°I heard that your brother is currently studying at the Imperial Military Academy, is that correct?¡±


    Astrid nodded and said proudly, ¡°He will be one of the greatest soldier in the future.¡±

 Chapter 362

    THE recording of the talk show ¨C [New Star] ¨C finally ended. This episode would officially air on the weekends. Just a day after the episode of [Fieldtrip] aired. With this, the heat that Astrid would receive after [Fieldtrip] aired would continue on with [New Star].


    This was one of the reasons why Ellis didn¡¯t refuse when [New Star]¡¯s program team invited Astrid. Because she knew just how much public recognition her artist would get with these two programs.


    It had only been a week since [The Sleeping God] premiered. It¡¯s important to keep this momentum. [The Great War] would start airing next month. So, there would be a month of inactivity for Astrid.


    During that month, Astrid¡¯s presence to the public should be maintained. And she could only think of one way to successfully accomplish that ¨C advertisement.


    That¡¯s right. An advertisement was a good way to let one be known to the public. Of course, the advertisement itself should be of good quality. A bad quality one could only have an opposite effect. The advertisement should not only include a commercial but billboards across the Empire as well.


    Although that last one was a bit hard to do. After all, only those that had high recognition amongst the public could do that. Car brands and beverage brands were good examples.


    The problem was, they only chose top stars to become their endorsers. It¡¯s highly unlikely that they would offer an endorsement contract to a newcomer. But that didn¡¯t mean that all hope was lost.


    This was not the first time Ellis encountered something like this. During the early years of Olivia¡¯s careers, she managed to secure an advertising deal for the other. She could still do the same now. With enough effort and planning, of course.


    But before she could make any move, she suddenly received a call from Grant ¨C the president and CEO of Polaris. The other said that the company was contacted by the marketing department of a very famous fashion brand ¨C EMMA.


    It¡¯s a brand that not only had a clothing line but a bag, shoe, and perfume line as well. It¡¯s very popular and considered to be a high-end brand. That¡¯s why Ellis was very surprised when she heard it.


    According to Grant, they were planning to offer an advertisement deal to Astrid. It¡¯s still not a done deal. Astrid had to pass some screening test first before EMMA proceed with it. That¡¯s why Grant told her to immediately go to Polaris with Astrid once the latter¡¯s schedule for the day was over.


    Even after Grant ended the call, she still couldn¡¯t believe that EMMA really offered an advertising deal to Astrid. It¡¯s a very natural reaction. After all, it¡¯s one of the most famous high-end fashion brand in the Empire. Although it¡¯s not yet a ¡®done deal¡¯ as Grant said, it was almost the same thing. Because knowing Astrid, the kid would definitely do his best to take that opportunity.


    She actually couldn¡¯t believe that she hadn¡¯t yet made a move but the pie fell from the sky on its own. She¡¯s not complaining though.


    That¡¯s why after the recording ended, she quickly walked to where Astrid was.


    On the other side, after saying goodbye to the host and the audience, the three guests walked out of the studio.


    After the recording ended, it was only then that Astrid realized that his parents would see the hostage taking clip once this episode aired during the weekends. He was so busy being relieved that the program team didn¡¯t find anything about his family that he conveniently forgot about it.


    Once this episode aired, knowing how his parents watched everything he¡¯s in, they would definitely see the clip. Then, a round of scolding would definitely happen. The best he could hope for was that subject of the Grimaldis would actually not come up if ever.


    What Astrid didn¡¯t know was the program team actually tried to search for information about his family. But surprisingly enough, they couldn¡¯t find anything besides the very basic. No matter how much they dig, there¡¯s nothing interesting they could find. As if the other was truly just an ordinary citizen before going to the capital and making his debut.


    That¡¯s why they chose that clip. Because it¡¯s the most buzzworthy. After all, it was mainly the reason why he was discovered.


    But there was actually a reason why they couldn¡¯t find anything remotely controversial about Astrid¡¯s past. It¡¯s because a certain prince assigned a top level protection on Astrid¡¯s information the moment he found out about the true identity of the his parents.


    Of course, this was all done in secrecy without the knowledge of the military. Because Wulfric knew how that could be used against him by those who found him an eyesore.


    It would be quite a while before Astrid found out about this. For now, that probability didn¡¯t even cross his mind. He was currently busy thinking of how to appease his parents.


    As he was doing that, he suddenly felt someone grabbing his arm. He glanced back and saw the singer ¨C Nadia Beck. If not for his good control of his own expression, he would have already frowned.


    But instead, he smiled and asked while tactically removing his arm from the other¡¯s grasp, ¡°Miss Beck, is there something?¡±


    The other also gave him a fake smile. ¡°Can we take a picture?¡±


    How could Astrid not see what this woman was thinking? Just look at the sarcasm overflowing in her eyes. She definitely still had a grudge because of what happened during recording. As revenge, she probably wanted to make a speculation between the two of them by posting a picture.


    She would make up a gossip that would probably end up with him as the one who was smitten with her. It would not only make a buzz, it would also make her look desirable. After all, she managed to make a beautiful newcomer ¡®fall¡¯ for her.


    He was thinking of whether to just use her mental force to make the other go away when someone suddenly stood in between them.


    It was the web novelist, One Leaf.

 Chapter 363

    ¡°I-I HAVE something to talk about with Mr. Townsend. I- I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    After Fiona said that, she quickly pulled Astrid away. It was so surprising and unexpected that neither Astrid nor Nadia had time to react. Before Astrid came back to his senses, they were already a good distance away from Nadia.


    ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry if I did something uncalled for,¡± Fiona said. ¡°I¡¯m not really good at reading social cues. But I just had a feeling that you¡¯re really uncomfortable just now. If I was wrong, then I¡¯m sorry for doing something unnecessary.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. Thank you.¡±


    Astrid couldn¡¯t really say anything but that. If he said more and someone here heard it, it could lead to a controversy. But he was indeed very thankful to the writer¡¯s actions. Because of her, he didn¡¯t have to use his mental force to escape that annoying situation.


    Fiona let out a sigh of relief. This was actually something she wouldn¡¯t normally do. But when she saw Nadia Beck pulling Astrid¡¯s arm, she suddenly had a bad feeling that the former was up to no good.


    Although she was too nervous during the recording, she still somehow noticed that the singer seemed to not like the teenager. She couldn¡¯t understand why. It¡¯s probably the first time the two met today. If her agent was there with her, the other could probably tell her the reason behind it.


    But since she was alone, when she saw Nadia seemingly trying to do something to Astrid, her body just moved on its own. Probably because in her subconscious, she was already considering Astrid as the one who could only play ¡®Jace¡¯.


    She still hadn¡¯t made a decision yet regarding the live-action adaptation of one of her works. But if, if it indeed happened, then she would make sure that Astrid Townsend would play the role of ¡®Jace¡¯.


    For now, it¡¯s probably more important to get the other¡¯s contact number just in case. But she didn¡¯t know how to ask him without appearing like she had some kind of ulterior motive. How she wished her agent would come quickly here right now.


    Then, as if heaven heard her wish, her agent did walk towards them together with Astrid¡¯s agent.


    Fiona looked at Theo ¨C her agent. She silently told the other with her gaze to exchange contact information with Astrid¡¯s agent. The two of them had long known each other for years. They could quickly see what they wanted to convey just by a glance.


    Sure enough, Theo understood what she was trying to say. He turned to Astrid¡¯s agent and skillfully used his slick talk to exchange contact information with the other.


    Ellis didn¡¯t think much when she exchanged contact information with the other. It¡¯s a common occurrence in this industry. One of the things an actor¡¯s career was build upon was connection. Without it, it would be hard for anyone to go fa in this industry. So, having a connection to a writer with a bright future was surely not disadvantageous.


    After that, she turned to Astrid and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Grant has something to discuss with us back at the company.¡±


    Astrid knew that the ¡®Grant¡¯ Ellis mentioned was the president of Polaris. He suddenly became curious of what they would discuss. He nodded and then smiled at the writer One Leaf before leaving with his agent.


    Fiona watched the two leave.


    ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re only interested in that kid because you plan to offer him the role of ¡®Jace¡¯ and not because of some other reason,¡± Theo suddenly said beside her.


    Fiona turned to her agent and childhood friend with an expression as if she couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Theo sighed. ¡°Never mind. If you don¡¯t know then that means I have nothing to worry about. Anyway, have you finally changed your mind about the adaptation?¡±


    That¡¯s the only reason he could think of on Fiona¡¯s interest on Astrid Townsend.


    Fiona shrugged her shoulders but in her mind, she was already picturing a scene in which Astrid was playing the role of ¡®Jace¡¯ in her novel, [Our Spring, My Winter].


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Sister Ellis, why did the president ask us to meet him?¡± Astrid asked as they were driving back to Polaris.


    Artists and their agents had a fairly high degree of freedom in Polaris. The president hardly ever intervene in how the agents managed the career of the artist/s their handling. Of course, unless there was a need to. That¡¯s why the last time Astrid saw the president was when he signed the contract with Polaris.


    ¡°Grant was contacted by a famous fashion brand. They¡¯re offering you an endorsement deal. But it¡¯s not yet final. You have to do some screen test first, probably to see if you fit the image of the product they want you to endorse.¡±


    Astrid was surprised to hear that. He didn¡¯t think that he would receive an endorsement deal this early in his career. ¡°Which brand?¡±


    Ellis grinned. ¡°EMMA.¡±


    Now that surprised Astrid even more. EMMA was not just simply a famous fashion brand, it¡¯s one of the top luxury brand in the whole Empire. Even if one only did a one time endorsement for the said brand, their image to the public would definitely be elevated.


    That¡¯s why he almost couldn¡¯t believe that EMMA would really pick a newcomer like him. But if that was really the case, then he shouldn¡¯t miss this opportunity. Because no matter what kind of deal EMMA was offering, it would only be beneficial to him.


    ¡°I will do my best not to miss this opportunity,¡± he said, his voice filled with unwavering determination.


    Ellis smiled. ¡°I know you will.¡±


    After 20 minutes, the two finally arrived at Polaris. They quickly went to the president¡¯s office. As they walked inside, the president asked them to sit. The two immediately sat down on the chairs in front of the president¡¯s desk.


    After exchanging greetings, the president quickly went straight to the point.

 Chapter 364

    ¡°AS you may already heard from Ellis, EMMA contacted us,¡± the president started. ¡°It would probably be faster if I send you the mail instead of me directly explaining it.¡±


    So, after that, the president sent them the email that EMMA sent him. Ellis and Astrid opened their Terminal when they received it and read the mail.


    As Astrid read through it, his eyes just became wider and wider. The email was short but its content was truly explosive. Especially for a rookie actor like him.


    ¡°No way, is this true?¡± Ellis asked in disbelief, obviously feeling the same way as Astrid.


    Grant smiled. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve already confirmed it with their marketing department.¡±


    Astrid read the email once again.


    [Hello, this Lawrence Harris, the head of the marketing department of EMMA. I¡¯m contacting you today because of one of your artists, Astrid Townsend. This is still not known to the public but we¡¯re releasing a new perfume line. We¡¯re inviting Mr. Townsend to a screen test to see if he would suit the image of our product. If he passed, then, we won¡¯t only sign him as an endorser, we will also appoint him as a brand ambassador for a year. And if the campaign proved to be successful, we could increase that time indefinitely. We will be waiting for a positive response from you.]


    Just reading it brought incredible amazement to Astrid. To be a brand ambassador of such a luxury brand, even for just year, was already more than incredible. Even more so because he was still a newcomer who was only two months into his career.


    But at the same time, he couldn¡¯t help but feel suspicious. After all, it¡¯s truly hard to believe that such a big brand was going to trust a newcomer like him to promote a product they were about to release. Unless, they had already given up on this product and was just finding ways to dispose of it in the most natural way possible.


    But could that even happen?


    Then, there was only one possible reason. Someone made this happen. His first thought was Wulfric. But he quickly denied that. That guy probably knew that he would be mad if he interfere with his career to this level. Wasn¡¯t that why, Wulfric could only hide behind a handle name in [Cyberspace] to support Astrid secretly?


    So, then, who?


    Except for Wulfric, he didn¡¯t know anyone who had that much influence to move a big brand like EMMA. No, wait- he actually knew someone. He could even think of a reason why that person would do this.


    To make sure of his conjecture, he asked the president, ¡°Did they tell the president who suggested choosing me as an endorser?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t tell me per se but I asked them myself. And according to the head of their marketing department, the one who recommended you was their biggest shareholder,¡± Grant said.


    ¡°Does the president know the identity of this shareholder?¡±


    Grant observed the teenager. Seeing the other seemingly curious, one would think that he just really wanted to know who was the one who recommended him for this job. But Grant could see that it was beyond that. Astrid was worried. No, it was probably more appropriate to say that he was suspicious.


    It was not hard to guess why. Suddenly being given such opportunity when he was only a rookie, anyone who had a realistic mindset would feel the same. If the other was just an ordinary newcomer, the only emotion he would be feeling right now was excitement.


    It was actually good that Astrid had this kind of mentality. At least, Grant was sure that the other wouldn¡¯t easily succumb to fame.


    ¡°If they were talking about the largest shareholder, then it must be Cassius Grimaldi,¡± he answered. ¡°You don¡¯t have anything to worry about. Cassius is considered to be one of the few decent aristocrats out there. He might be eccentric, but he¡¯s definitely not the type to recommend someone like this because he has some insidious plan. He might have seen you somewhere and thought that you suited their new perfume line.¡±


    ¡°A noble who¡¯s part of a fashion company. Now that¡¯s something you don¡¯t hear everyday,¡± Ellis commented. ¡°You¡¯re probably friends with that guy, huh?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t go far to say we¡¯re friends. He barely attends any noble gatherings and parties. He doesn¡¯t even interact much with other members of noble households. So, there¡¯s barely any chance for us to interact properly,¡± Grant said with a shrug, his mind flashing an image of a certain guy with silver hair and sapphire blue eyes.


    Astrid didn¡¯t listen much to the conversation of the two because his mind was still focused on the fact that it was indeed Cassius Grimaldi who was responsible for this sudden offer. Finally confirming his initial guess.


    The other probably still felt the need to repay him for saving Nicol during that hostage-taking incident. Since there wasn¡¯t any movement from the other after he and Reas had that dinner with him, Nicol, and Nicol¡¯s father, Astrid thought that would be the end of it. So, he was really surprised because of this news.


    But most importantly, hearing that Cassius was the biggest shareholder of EMMA, he¡¯s starting to wonder if there was something more to the name of the brand.


    ¡°Is the Grimaldi family the one who founded EMMA?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Not the Grimaldis per se, but the late duchess,¡± the president answered. ¡°I heard that she¡¯s very passionate about fashion. So, she decided to make her own clothing line which now developed to this big brand.¡±


    Astrid nodded as if in understanding. ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered why it¡¯s called EMMA. Is it the name of the late duchess?¡± he asked, acting all curious.


    ¡°No, the brand was actually named from the duchess¡¯ only daughter who, sadly, was also gone from this world.¡±


    Astrid felt his heart beat loudly because of the president¡¯s answer. So, EMMA was actually based on his mother¡¯s name ¨C Emmaline.

 Chapter 365

    ARRIVING back at his apartment, the first thing Astrid did was to take a quick shower. As he was doing that, he couldn¡¯t help but think back to the conversation she and Ellis had with the president.


    =====


    Astrid was still in disbelief after finding out that EMMA was actually founded by the late Duchess Grimaldi and the name was taken from his mother. Now it¡¯s no wonder why it was his mother¡¯s favorite brand.


    Since they¡¯re lives living in the planet Delryria was pretty simple, there weren¡¯t many occasions where they had to wear high-end clothing. But all of their formal clothes were all from EMMA.


    He didn¡¯t really think much about it before. After all, they¡¯re just clothes. Many people out there would prefer a certain brand compared to another one. But who would have thought that, for his mother, they weren¡¯t just clothes?


    He wanted to call his mother now and ask her about it but he quickly changed his mind. Since he was sure that his parents would call him once the episode of [New Star] aired, he would just call them at that time. Then, if he asked her about EMMA, maybe her mother would be distracted and wouldn¡¯t scold him and Reas too much.


    But then again, that conversation might also lead to why EMMA had picked him as an endorser. Then, he and Reas had to tell them that they had already met three Grimaldis. Either way, it would still end up with them being scolded.


    ¡°The fact that you¡¯re being asked to do a screen test meant that there must be many people in EMMA who didn¡¯t agree of you being their brand¡¯s endorser. But since the one who recommended you was Cassius Grimaldi, they couldn¡¯t directly refuse,¡± the president said. ¡°So, you must show them in this screen test that you deserve to be their next ambassador.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, President. I won¡¯t waste this opportunity,¡± Astrid said with determination. ¡°I will definitely get this ambassadorship deal.¡±


    Ellis chuckled. ¡°And I have no doubt that you will.¡± She glanced at the president. ¡°But when will this screen test be?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow.¡±


    There was a slight pause in the air after the president said that. Then, Ellis low curse was heard, breaking the silence.


    ¡°The screen test is tomorrow and yet they only sent the email today?¡± she scoffed. ¡°It seemed that they don¡¯t really want Astrid to pass this screening.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said that they only agreed to this because it was Cassius Grimaldi¡¯s recommendation.¡±


    Astrid kind of already expecting that the moment the president said that others were against him being the endorser of EMMA. So, he wasn¡¯t really surprised that the screen test would be tomorrow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they also didn¡¯t tell you the concept they¡¯re going for for this new product?¡± Ellis asked in an annoyed voice.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t,¡± ¨C was the president¡¯s simple answer that brought out another low curse from Ellis. ¡°They would probably do it tomorrow at the time of the screen test.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sister Ellis,¡± Astrid said when he saw his agent slowly getting angry. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether the screen test is tomorrow or whether they didn¡¯t tell us the concept they were aiming for. Because there will still be only one outcome. I will be their brand ambassador.¡±


    Both the president and Ellis stared at him with surprise. Then the former smiled and the latter outright laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Why am I even worrying?¡± Ellis said.


    ¡°If you encounter anything remotely unpleasant tomorrow, contact me immediately,¡± the president added.


    It meant that if the staff of EMMA deliberately made things difficult for them, they could contact him.


    After a few more discussion, Astrid and Ellis left the company. Ellis then brought him back to his apartment so he could rest early for the screen test tomorrow.


    =====


    Astrid turned off the shower and walked out of the bathroom after changing his clothes. He went to the kitchen and started cooking. This was the best way for him to think about things. Because cooking always calmed his mind.


    As he was preparing the ingredients, he thought of the screen test he had to do tomorrow. He had done a lot of that during his past life. So, he didn¡¯t feel nervous at all. What he¡¯s worried about was if someone would sabotage him. Which was very likely to happen.


    Although it¡¯s true that Cassius recommended him, if most of the staff were hell-bent on seeing him fail, then there¡¯s no way he would get this job. He might do his best and showed them how capable he was, but at the end of the day, if they already decided not to cast him, then it would be pointless.


    Astrid sighed.


    Should he just contact Cassius and asked him to make sure that none of that would happen? He shook his head. No, he shouldn¡¯t do that. Or more accurately, he couldn¡¯t. After all, he didn¡¯t have the contact number of the other. And even if he did, he probably still wouldn¡¯t. His pride just wouldn¡¯t allow him to do so.


    He shrugged. Well, anyway, if there was someone during the shoot who would try to sabotage him, then he would just use his mental force to attack them so they would leave the set. He just hoped that it wouldn¡¯t be the photographer or whoever was in charge of the screen test. Because that would make things more difficult for him.


    Ellis would probably do something to handle it though. The other was very capable. She probably hadn¡¯t showcased all her ability yet because everything had been smooth sailing for them so far.


    He clenched his fists. He would definitely get that endorsement deal and be the next brand ambassador of EMMA.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Nikki, do you want to go somewhere tomorrow with Uncle?¡± Casey asked his nephew.


    Nicol, on the other side of the virtual screen, tilted his head. ¡°But I have school tomorrow, Uncle.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll go after your school is over, silly. So, what do you say? Are you coming with uncle?¡±


    ¡°But where are we going?¡±


    Casey grinned. ¡°Somewhere you¡¯ll definitely love.¡±

 Chapter 366: SCREEN TEST (I)

    Chapter 366: SCREEN TEST (I)


    ELLIS went to Astrid¡¯s apartment early in the morning. Astrid was a bit surprised since the screen test was still in the afternoon. He was even more surprised when he saw that the other seemed to have not sleep at all. As evidence of the dark circles under her eyes.


    ¡°Are you alright, Sister Ellis?¡± he asked as he gave the other a cup of tea.


    Ellis drank a sip before answering, ¡°Yeah. I just made some calls and somehow it lasted all night.¡±


    Astrid sat opposite the other. ¡°Was it related to the screen test today?¡±


    Ellis nodded. ¡°I made calls to some people who might know what kind of concept EMMA was looking for for this new perfume line of theirs.¡±


    And after a lot of calls, she finally found someone and convinced them to tell her about it. She¡¯s just disappointed that it took some time to do it. She was planning to at least tell Astrid about it by evening so the other would have at least time to prepare. But alas, she wasn¡¯t that lucky. That¡¯s why she came here this early in the morning.


    ¡°If you¡¯re fine with leftover dinner for breakfast, shall we eat while discussing things?¡± Astrid suggested.


    ¡°I¡¯d love to,¡± Ellis didn¡¯t hesitate to say. Because even if it¡¯s leftovers, as long as Astrid was the one who cooked it, it would still be better than the majority of the restaurants out there.


    Astrid started heating up the leftover dinner he made last night. It didn¡¯t take long for everything to heat up. He quickly served the dishes on the dining table. Then both he and Ellis started eating.


    ¡°So, what kind of concept were they aiming for?¡± he started.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually just not one concept,¡± Ellis said as she ate a piece of chicken. ¡°This upcoming perfume line has three variations. Each one corresponding to a certain image of different types of men. Like a sexy and manly image, a cold and indifferent image, and a cute and bubbly image. Things like that.¡±


    ¡°So, three different images, huh.¡±


    If Astrid had gone there blindly without any prior information, then it might really be disastrous for him. Because there was a chance that none of the staffs he would meet today would tell him about that. The fact that Ellis managed to get this information meant that she must have really worked hard all throughout the night.


    He picked up a piece of meat and put it on Ellis¡¯ plate. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Sister Ellis. I¡¯ll be sure to pass this screen test.¡±


    ¡°You better,¡± Ellis said in a playful tone before eating the meat he gave her.


    She actually wasn¡¯t so worried. With the information she gave, Astrid wouldn¡¯t have to act blindly as he was doing the screen test. She was confident that the other could show the image EMMA wanted.


    After eating breakfast, they spent the whole morning preparing. Ellis took pictures of Astrid as he made different poses. With the photos, they checked which expression and pose he should use later during the screen test.


    And just like that, the time to go to the venue had come.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The place where the screen test would be held was a studio directly connected to EMMA. This was not just a simple connection, the studio was literally a part of the company. With a name like EMMA Studio, one would know that it¡¯s related to a certain luxury brand.


    This studio was the one in charge of all the pictorials, advertisement, and a lot of other things related to photoshoots and stuff like that. Its building was also located just in front of EMMA¡¯s main building.


    Ellis parked the flying car at the designated parking lot. The two of them got off the car and walked towards the building of EMMA Studio. After telling the AI receptionist who they were, another AI robot led them to the room where the screen test would be held.


    They walked inside the room after the AI robot opened it for them. There weren¡¯t that many staffs inside. Maybe just about seven or eight. Both Astrid and Ellis greeted them with just enough politeness, not to the point where they would appear too humble, of course. Some greeted them back with enthusiasm while others¡¯ reaction were very lukewarm.


    [Well, at least they¡¯re not outright being antagonistic.] ¨C Astrid thought.


    They were led to a waiting area, a staff telling them that the photographer would be a bit late. But this ¡®bit¡¯ actually lasted for an hour.


    ¡°This is totally on purpose,¡± Ellis said through gritted teeth.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sister Ellis,¡± Astrid said. ¡°They will come sooner or later.¡±


    Thankfully enough, after 30 minutes more of waiting, the photographer finally arrived.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you changed your clothes and make-up yet?¡± ¨C was the first thing the photographer said before Astrid and Ellis could even greet the other. ¡°Do you know how precious my time is? What are you still standing there for? Go and change your clothes!¡±


    A look of astonishment flashed on Astrid¡¯s face. Was this guy for real? He¡¯s the one who¡¯s almost two hours late and now he¡¯s telling them that they¡¯re wasting his time? Before he could say anything, a staff led him towards a separate dressing room. Which was probably for the best because he might have used his mental force right there and then.


    ¡°Please, wear this,¡± the staff said, giving him a set of clothes.


    After he changed clothes, a make-up artist entered and started doing his make-up.


    As the make-up artist put make-up on him, the expression on Astrid¡¯s face was slowly getting darker. Because the other was giving him a make-up style that would clash with the clothes he¡¯s wearing.


    He looked at the make-up artist and then exert just the right amount of mental force to make the other dizzy. Sure enough, the next second, the make-up artist suddenly stumbled as if she was about to faint.


    He quickly supported the other and asked in a worried voice, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

 Chapter 367: SCREEN TEST (II)

    Chapter 367: SCREEN TEST (II)


    BEFORE the make-up artist could answer, another wave of dizziness assaulted her. Because she was looking down, she didn¡¯t see the cold look that Astrid gave her.


    ¡°Sit here, I will call someone over.¡± Although his voice sounded full of worry, it didn¡¯t translate to his face at all. He opened the door to the dressing room and called the nearest staff. ¡°Excuse me, the make-up artist seems to not be feeling well. Can you please help her?¡±


    The staff quickly walked inside the room. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I- I don¡¯t know. I just felt dizzy all of a sudden,¡± the make-artist said.


    ¡°Take her to the infirmary quickly. It might be something dangerous,¡± Astrid said, acting like he was very worried.


    ¡°But she¡¯s the only make-up artist around,¡± the staff said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can just do my own make-up. It¡¯s more important to check if she¡¯s really alright.¡±


    The staff looked at him as if he¡¯s an angel while a flash of guilt appeared on the make-up artist¡¯s face.


    ¡°But- would that really be alright?¡± the staff asked worriedly.


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will explain everything to the photographer.¡±


    Despite looking reluctant, the staff still supported the make-up artist and led the other outside the room. Before the two completely walked out, the make-up artist whispered as she passed by him;


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow hearing that. The other was probably feeling guilty because of her intentional sabotaging of his make-up. Just based on that, he guessed that the make-up artist probably didn¡¯t do it on her own accord and she was simply following someone else¡¯s order.


    If the other found out that he was the reason why she suddenly felt dizzy, he wondered how she would react. Well, not that it mattered. It¡¯s not like she would ever know anyway.


    After the two left, he quickly used a make-up remover and applied make-up on his face. The set of clothes that were given to him were a set of black velvet long-sleeved shirt and fitted pants that were also made of some kind of soft and slick material. With just these clothes, he was sure that it¡¯s for the sexy and manly concept.


    The make-up that the make-up artist tried to give him earlier was too light for that. It¡¯s like the make-up that he should have if he was going for the ¡®cool and indifferent¡¯ image. As a make-up artist, there¡¯s no way that she wouldn¡¯t know that. So, it¡¯s obvious that she did it on purpose.


    That¡¯s why Astrid did what he did. If he couldn¡¯t trust the make-up artist, then it¡¯s better to do it himself.


    Once again, he was grateful for the struggles he had during his past life. When he was just starting out as an actor, he couldn¡¯t afford to hire a make-up artist or a stylist. That would usually be fine. But the problem was, his face was the type that none would notice if he didn¡¯t at least enhance his features. It¡¯s also important to dress well to give others a better image of himself.


    Since he lacked money, all he could do was to study applying make-up and styling on his own. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be on the same level as professionals but it¡¯s enough to at least not look like some chap who¡¯s immediately forgotten by people.


    And now, in this new life, he could still utilize that.


    As he was applying make-up, the door suddenly opened and Ellis walked in.


    ¡°Astrid, I just saw the make-up artist¡ª¡± she stopped speaking the moment she saw what Astrid was doing. In just a split second, her expression quickly turned dark. ¡°Did that make-up artist pretend that she¡¯s not feeling well and leave you on your own devices here?¡±


    It seemed that his agent had some misunderstanding. But Astrid didn¡¯t have time to correct that, so he only said, ¡°No, she genuinely doesn¡¯t feel well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah right,¡± Ellis said, obviously not believing it. ¡°Are you going to be okay? Maybe I should call a make-up artist here if this damn studio couldn¡¯t provide us with one.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sister Ellis. If we do that, the photographer would surely make a big fuss over it,¡± Astrid said as he continued to apply make-up. Then he looked at Ellis through the mirror in front of him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can manage.¡±


    Ellis looked at him and then sighed. ¡°During the shoot, if you think the photographer is giving you the wrong direction, just do what you feel is right. You don¡¯t have to listen to him. And you also don¡¯t have to worry about any consequence of that. Because I¡¯ll make sure that the only one who would pay for that consequence is the person who deserves it.¡±


    Astrid smiled because he was already planning on doing just that. ¡°Thank you, Sister Ellis. That¡¯s very reassuring.¡±


    Ellis then walked out of the room so as not to disturb him.


    After Astrid finished with his make-up, he started to style his hair according to the concept. He did all that in just less than 10 minutes.


    The moment he walked out of the dressing room, he could hear the gasped of the people around. He ignored that and walked up to the photographer.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± he said, calling out to the other.


    ¡°Finally! I thought you were taking a bath¡ª¡± the photographer stopped the moment he turned around and saw Astrid.


    The teenager was wearing all black with a few buttons of the top loosened, completely showing his clavicle and a white expanse of chest. The color of the eyeshadow he used made his dark eyes smoky. His lips also appeared much redder but not to the point that one would think that it¡¯s too much. In fact, the first thing they would think was just how kissable those lips were.


    Then, there¡¯s the hair that was slightly pulled back. It only added to this masculine atmosphere surrounding him.


    Everything was just screaming ¡®seductive and manly¡¯.

 Chapter 368: SCREEN TEST (III)

    Chapter 368: SCREEN TEST (III)


    THE photographer quickly shook his head to shake off the momentarily admiration he had felt. He shouldn¡¯t forget what he came here to do. To make sure that this kid didn¡¯t get the job.


    But truly, it was quite admirable. When he saw the make-up artist being supported by one of the staffs, he thought that it was the ploy of the other. Because just like him, the make-up artist was tasked to sabotage Astrid Townsend.


    So, when he saw that, he didn¡¯t do anything. But who would have thought that this kid would still come out looking like this? Did they bring their own make-up artist and stylist? Well, in any case, he still had to do his job.


    He cleared his throat and put on an annoyed expression. ¡°Okay, stand over there and we will start.¡±


    Astrid stood at the center and small cameras floated around him. When the photographer gave him the cue, he started posing according to the concept ¨C manly and seductive.


    He looked straight at the camera and then smirked.


    Some of the staffs that were standing close gasped. How could they not when it felt like Astrid was asking them to commit a crime with that gaze? It¡¯s weird but that¡¯s truly how they felt. Those eyes were simply pulling them into some unknown world, as if promising a night full of sin.


    The photographer was no different. He almost forgot to click the shutter because he was so startled. Then he remembered that he shouldn¡¯t be feeling this way. He should scold the other and tell him that what he¡¯s doing was wrong. But as a photographer, he couldn¡¯t do it. Because he knew that he just took a good shot.


    And because he missed that chance, the photoshoot continued without him telling the teenager anything bad as he planned at the start. Once he realized his folly, he almost cursed.


    The vice-president told him to not get any good shot of Astrid Townsend. It¡¯s because the other didn¡¯t want a total newcomer to be the face of EMMA¡¯s new perfume line.


    Despite his high position, the vice-president couldn¡¯t directly reject Astrid¡¯s appointment as their new endorser. Because the one who recommended the kid was the company¡¯s biggest shareholder ¨C basically the owner of the company. So, the next best thing was to make Astrid appear incompetent. That way even the owner wouldn¡¯t be able to say anything.


    The photographer thought that it would be very easy to do that. After all, the opponent was a total newcomer. Not to mention, a kid who hadn¡¯t even reached 20. But in just a few seconds, Astrid proved him wrong.


    Just looking at the set of photos on the virtual screen in front of him, he could easily tell just how good they were. Not only that, it even matched the concept of the perfume line.


    But he had to toughen his heart. If he didn¡¯t do as the vice-president ordered, he would be the one losing his position here at EMMA Studio. So, he took a deep breath and began to berate Astrid.


    ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re exaggerating everything! Your every expression is just completely wrong! Are you sure you know how to pose? Don¡¯t use too much expression! Don¡¯t smile and just look at the camera indifferently!¡±


    Astrid almost let out a sarcastic laugh when he heard that. The photographer was obviously asking him to show a ¡®cold and indifferent image¡¯. Which was one of the concept of this perfume line. The problem was the clothes and make-up he¡¯s wearing didn¡¯t suit that image at all.


    If he didn¡¯t know beforehand about the three image concepts, he might have considered what this photographer was saying. But since he knew that the other was obviously trying to sabotage him in some way, there¡¯s really no need for him to listen to whatever nonsense he was saying.


    So, despite what the photographer said, he still continued posing and showing expressions that showcased the sexy and manly image.


    ¡°Stop! Stop! Stop! What are you seriously doing? Are you deaf? Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? I told you to stop doing nonsense and follow my instructions! Are you doing this on purpose?¡± the photographer roared.


    ¡°I could ask the same thing of you,¡± a voice suddenly said. Everyone turned to Ellis who just spoke. ¡°The people here are not blind. My artist is obviously doing great. It¡¯s actually weirder that you think otherwise. Now, I can¡¯t help but wonder if you even actually know how to do your job.¡±


    Silence filled the room once Ellis said that. The photographer¡¯s face was quickly turning red from anger and humiliation.


    ¡°Hah, no wonder this kid is so unprofessional. It¡¯s because his agent is the same,¡± the photographer scoffed. Based on his expression, it seemed that he¡¯s doing his best not to directly attack Ellis. ¡°If you truly think that way, then why don¡¯t you drag your artist out of this studio, I dare you.¡±


    Ellis smirked. ¡°Maybe I should do just that. Then, after that I can post the things that happened here on [Cyberspace], along with video evidence, of course.¡±


    Another silence filled the room. Everyone knew that if she really did that, then it would be a huge scandal. Even if the people involved were not exactly on the same level of fame as the people on top of Star List, the fact that this involved EMMA was enough for people to talk about it.


    Of course, the photographer also understood that. He didn¡¯t expect that this woman would actually record the things that happened here. He was so flustered that he didn¡¯t even notice himself walking towards the other.


    ¡°You¨C!¡±


    When everyone thought that the photographer would attack Ellis, Astrid suddenly stood in front of the latter, as if protecting her.


    And then, a voice suddenly spoke in the midst of this tense situation. ¡°Can anyone tell me what¡¯s happening here?¡±


    Everyone turned to the direction of the door where the voice came from. And there stood a handsome man with silver hair and sapphire blue eyes. He was holding a child in his arms with the same hair and eye color.

 Chapter 369: JUST HAVING A BAD DAY

    Chapter 369: JUST HAVING A BAD DAY


    EVERYONE in the room literally froze when they saw the two people who just arrived. With their hair and eye color, the people there immediately knew who they were. Even if they didn¡¯t know their names, they could still tell which family they came from just by those features alone. Because everyone knew that only the Grimaldis could have that combination.


    With that, it was easy to guess the identity of the man in front of them. It¡¯s none other than Cassius Grimaldi ¨C the largest shareholder of EMMA.


    Before any could answer, the boy in Cassius¡¯ arms jumped down and shouted;


    ¡°Brother Aster!¡± Then he ran towards Astrid, hugging the other¡¯s waist. As he did, he almost pushed the photographer out of the way. ¡°I miss you, Brother!¡±


    Another wave of silence penetrated the room. Because of how the Grimaldi child acted, it could be seen that Astrid Townsend was close to the ducal family. Maybe he was even a part of the Grimaldi¡¯s collateral line or a very distant relative that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t have the silver hair and sapphire eyes.


    The important thing was he had a strong connection with the main line of the Grimaldi family. Now, they suddenly understood how the other got this deal. Most of the staffs breath a sigh of relief because they didn¡¯t do anything to be outright antagonistic towards Astrid.


    The same couldn¡¯t be said for the photographer though.


    He stared with wide eyes at how the young master of the Grimaldi hugged Astrid Townsend with a happy smile on his face. That expression couldn¡¯t be faked, especially by a child like him. The other was truly happy seeing Astrid. Which only meant that the two had a pretty good relationship.


    The photographer almost bit out a curse. The vice-president clearly told him that Cassius Grimaldi only had a passing interest over Astrid Townsend. That¡¯s why it¡¯s alright to meddle with the screen test. The vice-president assured him that Cassius Grimaldi wouldn¡¯t do anything and the other might even forget that he actually recommended Astrid for this brand deal.


    The other said that it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. Then, what was happening right now? Wasn¡¯t he on the verge of being fired? No, he had to do something to salvage the situation before it truly become unsalvageable.


    But before he could speak, the boy suddenly turned to him and asked innocently, ¡°Mister, are you bullying my brother?¡±


    Astrid, who was still surprised at the sudden appearance of the two, almost laughed when he heard that. Because he felt that Nicol was definitely doing it on purpose. This kid. Well, being a part of one of the oldest noble families in the Empire probably helped him mature early.


    Nicol probably felt the tension in the air when he and Cassius entered the room. So, he jumped and run towards him, hugging him in the process to show how ¡®close¡¯ the two of them were. Then, without waiting for Astrid¡¯s response, he turned to the photographer asked him that question. There¡¯s no way all of that wasn¡¯t deliberate.


    Just look at how speechless the photographer was. If the other wasn¡¯t purposely sabotaging him, he might have felt an ounce of pity. Sadly, that was not the case.


    The photographer, who was now sweating buckets, was scrambling in his mind how he could salvage this situation. But the first thing he should do first was to appease this young master.


    ¡°Young master, no, no, I wasn¡¯t bullying, Mr. Townsend. I¡¯m just having an intense debate with his agent,¡± he said before turning to Astrid and showing a fawning smile. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Ellis almost snorted. Although she was beyond surprise by the sudden relationship between Astrid and the Grimaldis, she still hadn¡¯t forgotten how unreasonable this guy was.


    So, instead of letting Astrid answer that question, she stepped forward and said, ¡°The recording on my Terminal seemed to say otherwise.¡±


    The photographer paled. He didn¡¯t even have time to respond properly because the Grimaldi boy suddenly said in an accusing tone;


    ¡°So, you¡¯re really bullying my brother!¡±


    Although Astrid found this situation very cute, leaving it like this might just turn it into something negative. After all, he was no longer the underdog. Now, he had the upper hand. Some of staffs here with great ¡®imagination¡¯ might spin this whole situation to him power tripping. Before that kind of bud blossom, it¡¯s better to nip it now while it¡¯s still early.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sister Ellis, young master. I¡¯m sure Mr. Craig didn¡¯t mean the things that he said. He was probably just having a bad day today,¡± he said, referring to the photographer. He turned to the other and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Craig. I understand and don¡¯t hold a grudge against you.¡±


    This way, he would appear kind and generous. But at the same time, highlighting the faults of the photographer in an underhanded way that not many would really notice. So, Astrid would remain the victim and the other, the bully.


    Of course, his little acting was noticed by two people ¨C Ellis and Cassius.


    The former nodded and once again admired the way her artist handled situations like this. Truly, it¡¯s almost as if he¡¯d been in the industry for a long time already.


    The latter, on the other hand, just looked at all this with interest. When he and Nikki entered the room earlier, he immediately knew that something was wrong. And based on the conversation that followed, he had already guessed what had happened.


    He should have known that something like this would occur the moment he recommended Astrid as their next brand ambassador. He thought that since he¡¯s the one who made the recommendation, it would be followed without questions. He really should have known better.


    As an adult, he should have been more responsible and made sure that those executives wouldn¡¯t dare pull tricks like this. It¡¯s a good thing that he went here today. If not, then it would be a total disaster.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you made up,¡± he said as he walked towards the others. ¡°But since Mr. Craig is having a bad day, we should probably change to another photographer.¡± He turned to the photographer and asked with a smile, ¡°Do you agree?¡±


    The photographer could only nod his head.

 Chapter 370: MAYBE… A NEPHEW?

    Chapter 370: MAYBE¡­ A NEPHEW?


    AFTER a lot of twists and turns, Astrid finally was able to proceed with his screen test without anyone¡¯s interruption. The new photographer who came after the other photographer left was very amiable. He just didn¡¯t know if it was because the other really had nothing to complain about or he was afraid that he would end the same way as Mr. Craig.


    He shrugged. Well, that¡¯s not his problem though. He¡¯s here to do a screen test and that¡¯s what he would do. And he would do it to the best of his ability. Even though now that Cassius Grimaldi was monitoring everything, it was already for certain that he would get the job, that didn¡¯t mean that he should slack off.


    More than anything, he should show to everyone that he deserved to have this ambassadorship. He would let them see just that this perfume line was synonymous to him and no one else.


    And so, Astrid posed and showed expression as if his life depended on it.


    Casey, watching all these couldn¡¯t help but feel admiration. The teenager was really giving it his all. And to think that this was only a screen test.


    Truthfully, no matter how much their family owned to the Townsend siblings because of how they saved Nikki, he wouldn¡¯t recommend the other to be an ambassador or even endorsed a product from EMMA. He only did so because he truly think that Astrid would fit the image of their new perfume line.


    During a meeting, they were contemplating whether they should use a new face as an endorser for this new product or someone who¡¯s already well-known. That¡¯s when Casey thought of Astrid.


    He had seen the show and the movie where the teenager appeared. His role in each one was very different but both still attracted people¡¯s attention nonetheless. Although Astrid was not the type who would attract a crowd¡¯s attention by simply standing, he believed that if the other wanted to, he could easily do that.


    Just like what he¡¯s doing now. It¡¯s the reason why he recommended the other. Because he knew Astrid will be able to sell the hell out of the perfume line they would release. Yes, him and his brother saving Nikki might have helped in some way. But the decision of choosing him for this endorsement was completely based on the other¡¯s ability.


    Unlike what the other executives of the company might think, this was not just a simple whim for him. He made this decision with the greatest consideration.


    EMMA had a special meaning to Casey. Not just because it¡¯s a company established by his mother, but more so because of who it was named after. He swore that he would protect it and let it grow to an even greater height.


    It¡¯s probably just him projecting. To make up for the things he couldn¡¯t do when he was younger. Like protecting his sister.


    Casey quickly shook his head. This was not the time for this. If he continued to think about it, he would just fall into a cycle of never-ending depressing thoughts. And this was neither the time nor the place for such things.


    ¡°Uncle, Brother Aster looks so beautiful!¡±


    His nephew¡¯s voice pulled him back and all the negative feelings trying to wiggle in his heart disappeared in an instant. Casey smiled at Nikki who was sitting beside him. the other was watching Astrid with his eyes almost twinkling.


    He ruffled his nephew¡¯s hair. ¡°You really like your Brother Aster, huh?¡±


    Nikki turned to him and grinned happily. ¡°Yes, very!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, Lord Grimaldi,¡± suddenly said by a voice from the side.


    Casey turned and saw the woman who, if he¡¯s not mistaken, was Astrid¡¯s agent. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°My name is Ellis Payne, Astrid¡¯s agent. I just want to say thank you for solving the problem in regards with Mr. Craig,¡± Ellis started, introducing himself and thanking the other. ¡°I also heard that you¡¯re the one who recommended Astrid for this endorsement. For that, I sincerely give my gratitude. I just hope that this gesture doesn¡¯t have any ¡®special¡¯ meaning behind it.¡±


    Although Grant had already told them that this Cassius Grimaldi wasn¡¯t that kind of person, Ellis felt like she still needed to make things clear. Whatever was the connection between this noble and Astrid, she needed to make sure that the other didn¡¯t have any bad intention.


    The fact that Astrid hadn¡¯t mention this nobleman to her before meant that their relationship was not that deep. Maybe they only met by chance and that somehow left a big impression on this nobleman. Yes, there¡¯s a chance that their relationship was deeper than that but he high doubted it.


    Just based on Astrid¡¯s body language, Ellis could tell that he wasn¡¯t close in any shape or form to this Lord Grimaldi. His attitude was fairly respectful, just like how a normal person would be respectful towards an aristocrat. But that was all. That¡¯s why she was sure that there¡¯s nothing deeper between the two.


    Casey looked at the woman with amusement. He wasn¡¯t so dense that he wouldn¡¯t get what the other was trying to say. But the implication was quite funny though. At least for him. Because he had never thought of Astrid in that way. Not even once.


    Astrid was more like a younger brother? No, he¡¯s too young for that. Maybe¡­ a nephew? Yes, he¡¯s more like that to Casey.


    But he¡¯s glad that this Ellis Payne asked him that. Because it showed that she truly cared for Astrid as a person and not because he was the artist she¡¯s in-charge of.


    Casey smiled at the other. ¡°You have nothing to worry about, Miss Payne. I recommended Astrid because I truly believe that he has the perfect image to represent out new perfume line. Nothing more and nothing less.¡±


    Ellis observed the other as he said that. Thankfully enough, he seemed very sincere about it. Hopefully that was truly the case.


    Soon, the screen test ended. Nicol quickly ran towards Astrid and hugged him.


    ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Brother Aster!¡±


    Astrid smiled down at the other. ¡°Thank you, young master.¡±

 Chapter 371: A HUNDRED TIMES WORSE

    Chapter 371: A HUNDRED TIMES WORSE


    ASTRID was walking with Ellis, Cassius, and Nicol. They were currently in a high-end restaurant to eat dinner. It just somehow happened after the screen test ended. Frankly, Astrid wanted to decline when Cassius invited them but he couldn¡¯t in good conscience do it when Nicol was looking at him with those big puppy eyes.


    And so they¡¯re here.


    Because of this, he hadn¡¯t yet explained to Ellis his connection to the Grimaldis. Well, at least the superficial side of it. He could feel the other giving him the look that said ¡®you better give me proper explanation later¡¯. Astrid could only scratch his cheek seeing that.


    The restaurant¡¯s manager leading them stopped in front of a door and opened it. Then he turned to them and gestured for them to enter. ¡°Please, enjoy your dinner.¡±


    After respectfully bowing to Cassius, the manager turned around and left.


    Cassius was the first one to enter the room, followed by Nicol. Both Astrid and Ellis walked inside at the same time. And they also stopped the moment they did. Not only the room was bigger than your usual private room, it looked like it could sit about 20 people, the dishes on the table also looked like it could feed those 20 people.


    ¡°Ahm, Lord Grimaldi, isn¡¯t this a bit¡­ too much?¡± Ellis couldn¡¯t help but say while looking at the mountain of food on the table.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just right,¡± Cassius said as if nothing, sitting down on the other end of the table.


    Astrid actually wanted to agree with Ellis because this was indeed very excessive. But before he could, he felt a small hand holding his hand and pulling him forward.


    ¡°Brother Aster, let¡¯s sit together,¡± Nicol said with a smile.


    And before he knew it, he was already sitting side by side with the kid.


    Ellis, who was left alone standing near the door, had no choice but to also walk forward and sit down.


    As Casey poured himself a wine, he then finally noticed the expression on Ellis and Astrid¡¯s face while looking at the food on the table. He cleared his throat. He must admit that this was indeed a bit excessive. It was actually his fault for not making it clear to the restaurant when he made the reservation earlier.


    He only said to prepare a room and food for a celebration. He forgot to say that there were only four of them. So, now, they¡¯re stuck with this unprecedented feast. Of course, he couldn¡¯t say that to the two. Wouldn¡¯t that only make him look stupid? Why would he step on his foot like that?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry and just eat,¡± he said. ¡°If there are leftovers, I will tell the restaurant to deliver it to shelters around the capital. So, just eat to your heart¡¯s content. We¡¯re here to celebrate Astrid passing the screen test after all.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit too early to say that,¡± Astrid said humbly.


    Although he was very confident with the result of the screen test, saying it out loud like this felt like he¡¯s jinxing himself. Besides, he didn¡¯t want to appear arrogant in front of Cassius and Nicol.


    ¡°No, Brother Aster, you did amazing! I¡¯m sure you will pass this screen test,¡± Nicol quickly said. ¡°If you don¡¯t, then there must be something shifty happening. But you don¡¯t have to worry because Uncle will definitely prevent that.¡±


    The three were silent for a second then they all laughed, finding Nicol very adorable.


    ¡°I hope that I will truly pass because of my ability and nothing else,¡± Astrid said for a while, his gaze was directed at Cassius. It was a gaze that was silently telling the other that he shouldn¡¯t do anything to interfere.


    Casey smiled when he noticed that. ¡°Even without me, you will still pass.¡±


    Ellis observed the interaction of the two. Astrid was distantly polite while Cassius Grimaldi was obviously acting as if they were close. This contradiction was a bit confusing.


    As they started to eat, she finally couldn¡¯t help but ask the question that had been circling around her mind since the appearance of these two nobles. ¡°How did you meet Astrid?¡±


    Casey already knew just based on Ellis¡¯ reaction to him that Astrid had never mentioned his connection to them. Which was quite impressive in itself. If it was any other person who was also starting in the industry, they would have probably already milked that connection so they could be popular.


    But Astrid didn¡¯t do any of that. And it made Casey admire the teenager even more. It showed that he didn¡¯t enter this industry to be famous. He became an actor because that¡¯s his passion.


    ¡°Astrid and his brother saved Nikki during an unfortunate circumstance. It¡¯s how I met them,¡± he explained to Ellis.


    ¡°Brother Aster was like a hero!¡± Nicol enthusiastically added.


    Astrid chuckled hearing that. ¡°I think my brother was more like a hero than me at that time, young master.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ well¡­ I guess he was,¡± Nicol reluctantly said. ¡°But you¡¯re still better in my eyes!¡±


    Hearing this conversation, Ellis finally confirmed that her guess was kind of right. Astrid¡¯s connection with the Grimaldis was really just a matter of coincidence. Then, she suddenly remembered that video of Astrid that trended for a couple of hours ¨C the one that happened during a hostage crisis situation.


    If she connected what happened there and what she heard now, it¡¯s easy to see that the child back then was the young master of the Grimaldi family. Then, it¡¯s no wonder why Cassius Grimaldi was showing this much favor towards Astrid.


    Her worry finally disappeared.


    If only Ellis knew at this moment just how truly ¡®deep¡¯ the connection was between Astrid and the Grimaldis, instead of disappearing, her worry would only doubled. No, maybe it would be a hundred times worse than that.


    But that was still a thing of the future. For now, we should just let Ellis enjoy the feast in front of her.

 Chapter 372: UNCLE CASEY AND NIKKI

    Chapter 372: UNCLE CASEY AND NIKKI


    AFTER the long tiring day, Astrid finally returned to his apartment. Since he already ate dinner, he just took a shower and went straight to bed. Sadly, despite the feeling of tiredness, he still couldn¡¯t fall asleep. So, he got up and went to the kitchen to make tea.


    As he was steeping the tea, he couldn¡¯t help but think back to that one part of conversation he and Ellis had with Cassius.


    =====


    ¡°I know it¡¯s probably not appropriate to ask this at this time, my lord. But can I know what EMMA¡¯s plan is in terms of publicity once the news that Astrid would be your new brand ambassador comes out?¡± Ellis asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m glad you asked,¡± Cassius said, wiping the corner of his mouth with the table napkin. ¡°I can tell you exactly how the publicity would go because that¡¯s not my area. What I can tell you though is that I will make sure the PR team would be ready for any malicious comments. I will also not let any rumors slip up about Astrid¡¯s possible connection to our family. Because we all know how people would take that news. But we still must be ready. There would definitely be a lot of criticisms but campaign started, I¡¯m sure they would have no choice but to agree that Astrid indeed deserve this ambassadorship.¡±


    Astrid picked up a piece of meat and ate it. The two were discussing things as if everything was already decided. Well, it¡¯s true that the chance of him not getting this job was almost close to none. After all, he truly gave it his all during that screen test. Him not passing it must only mean that someone sabotaged him. But that would hardly happen with Cassius¡¯ support.


    He picked a glass of water and took a sip. Then, he turned to Cassius. ¡°Thank you for your consideration, Lord Grimaldi.¡±


    ¡°Please, there are two other ¡®Lord Grimaldis¡¯ out there, so I hope you can just call me Casey,¡± Cassius said. ¡°Uncle Casey would be fine too.¡±


    [No thank you.] ¨C Astrid almost blurted out. ¡°I think that would be too inappropriate,¡± he said instead with an awkward smile.


    ¡°Why? Brother Aster is my brother so it¡¯s fine to call my uncle, ¡®Uncle Casey¡¯,¡± Nicol readily interjected. ¡°Right, in the light of that, Brother Aster should also just call me ¡®Nikki¡¯ instead of ¡®young master¡¯. Every time you call me that, I feel like we¡¯re too distant and I hate it,¡± he added with his cheeks bulging.


    ¡°Nikki is right. Don¡¯t be such a stranger and just call us comfortably,¡± Cassius added.


    Then, the two both looked at him as if waiting for his response. The expression on their faces were almost identical. Astrid suddenly felt an unprecedented pressure. It was easy to do what they wanted but somehow he couldn¡¯t bring himself to. Probably because, deep inside, he wanted to keep them at arm¡¯s length.


    If the two weren¡¯t actually related to him, then maybe he wouldn¡¯t feel that way. But as they were his real cousin and uncle, the irony of everything was just making things awkward for him.


    He glanced at Ellis, hoping to seek help from the other. But Ellis was just watching with eyes full of amusement, as if there¡¯s an interesting show in front of her.


    Astrid looked back once again at the uncle-nephew duo. He secretly sighed. If he rejected them, then it would only look like he¡¯s some uptight kid who couldn¡¯t read the room. Even more so, Cassius might suspect that there was a deeper reason why he was being so reluctant if he continued to reject their suggestion.


    ¡°Then, only if we¡¯re not in public,¡± he said, finally making concession.


    Cassius nodded in approval. Nicol jumped off his seat happily and hugged Astrid¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Brother Aster, call me Nikki.¡±


    Astrid smiled helplessly. ¡°Nikki.¡±


    The boy grinned, showing how much he liked it. Seriously, who could say ¡®no¡¯ to such an adorable kid?


    He was kind of thankful that despite the bad impression he had of his mother¡¯s family, Cassius- no, Casey turned out to be a good person. He was just a kid when that incident happened. That¡¯s probably why Astrid was more amiable towards the other. At least, in comparison to his mother¡¯s other brother.


    When he and Reas met Thomas Grimaldi during that dinner, he was exactly as he thought he would be ¨C strict and reserved. The only thing that prevented Astrid from completely disliking the other was because he saw how much he loved Nikki. The fact that Nikki seemed to have grown up full of love was the evidence of that.


    After that little conversation, they continued on with the dinner.


    =====


    Astrid and Ellis talked a bit more during the ride back home. He was scolded a bit for not telling the other about him and Reas saving Nikki. He just accepted it because it was indeed his negligence. Although he wondered how much scolding he would receive once she found out that his mother was actually a Grimaldi.


    Anyway, it would probably take a while before that would be revealed. If he was being very careful, then it might not even happen. But he also knew that no secrets could be kept eternally. One way or another, it would be revealed. So, it¡¯s better to be prepared for anything that was to come.


    The tea finally finished steeping. He lifted a mug, blew on it, before taking a sip. His body instantly felt relaxed.


    The result of the screen test would be sent to them this coming weekend. Then, they would also send the schedule for the pictorial and the recording of the advertisement.


    He would go back to school next week but it seemed that he had to take a few more days because of this upcoming advertisement schedule. It¡¯s better to call Kieran and Snow and tell them about it. Since he knew that the two must be waiting for him to come back.


    But before that, he probably should worry first about the reaction to the two shows that would air this weekend ¨C the official episode of [Fieldtrip] and [New Star].

 Chapter 373: COULDN’T HELP BUT GASPED

    Chapter 373: COULDN¡¯T HELP BUT GASPED


    ASTRID poured the bag of popcorn on a big bowl then carried it to the living room area. Reas had just finished turning on the projector. And both of them sat down on the couch. The official episode of [Fieldtrip] where he, Lauren, and Miria appeared would air tonight. And he and Reas decided to watch it together.


    ¡°Have you already received the result of that screen test you did the other day?¡± Reas asked, picking up a popcorn and eating it.


    He was actually quite surprised when Astrid called him yesterday and told him about the whole EMMA fiasco. He just wasn¡¯t sure which one to be more surprised ¨C the fact that EMMA was actually named after their mother or that Astrid ended up calling their real uncle ¡®uncle¡¯.


    Either way, it¡¯s such a shock factor that he almost wasn¡¯t able to sleep last night. He kept on worrying about the things that might happen in the future. Once their connection to the Grimaldi family was revealed, it would change their lives, probably for the worse.


    Their mother was presumed dead while their father was still on the wanted list. Once it¡¯s revealed that not only were they both alive, they even married each other and had kids together, the first ones who would come after them were the Lancasters.


    They would want revenge for the death of that perverted psycho even though the said psycho very much deserved to die. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t think that way. Even more so because that psycho was part of the direct line.


    The Lancasters might have lost their influence at the capital but they were still far from being a weak family. After all they still had a general in their midst. The only saving grace in this situation was the fact that the Grimaldi family had become a tad bit more powerful compared to the Lancasters.


    And, as much as he hated too admit it, the only prince of this Empire would probably help to protect them if things really went awry. Having the general on their side was definitely a huge plus. Maybe he¡¯d be even more reassuring than the Grimaldis.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Astrid responded, cutting off his line of thought. ¡°They would probably send it either tomorrow or by Monday.¡±


    Reas nodded. He¡¯s not really worried about his brother not getting that job. This was Astrid he¡¯s talking about. There¡¯s no way he didn¡¯t give it his all during that screen test. What he¡¯s worried about though was the possible scolding that they would receive from their parents, in this case, their mother tomorrow.


    Astrid had also told him about that talk show he went to and how they showed the footage of that hostage taking situation they accidentally became a part with. They were lucky that when that video trended, their parents hadn¡¯t yet gone into the habit of going online to check entertainment news about Astrid. But that totally wasn¡¯t the case now.


    Which meant, there¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t be able to watch the episode of the talk show where Astrid would appear tomorrow. Then, they would find out about the hostage taking. Worse, the fact that they already met the Grimaldis except for the duke.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much,¡± Astrid suddenly said.


    Reas glanced at the other. Seeing the smile on Astrid¡¯s face, he knew that he must have read what he¡¯s thinking. Not really in the real sense of it, just the general feel of what he might have been thinking.


    ¡°Am I that obvious?¡± he asked with a wry smile.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re just radiating the words ¡®I¡¯m feeling anxious¡¯ right now,¡± Astrid said. ¡°But as I¡¯ve said, don¡¯t worry too much. Even if we¡¯re scolded tomorrow, at least we¡¯ll be scolded together.¡±


    Reas shook his head and smiled helplessly. ¡°That certainly makes everything better.¡±


    Then, the new episode of [Fieldtrip] started, attracting both their attentions.


    ¡°You¡¯ll going to love this episode,¡± Astrid said to his brother meaningfully.


    There¡¯s probably another person who would love this episode the same way as Reas.


    The same way that they would probably also hate it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The person Astrid was referring to who would either love or hate this episode was now in [VirtualNet] to watch the new episode of [Fielftrip].


    Wulfric chose to watch it here so he could have a more interactive experience while watching. Something that he couldn¡¯t do during the live broadcast.


    When the episode started, it was almost the same as the ones shown in the live broadcast. Except there were a lot of edited parts and that other team who guested with Astrid and the other two was also shown. Wulfric completely ignored that team and just focused on Astrid.


    And then, the part he¡¯d been waiting for finally arrived.


    It was the program that Astrid and the other two prepared for the mermaid show.


    There was complete darkness at the start. Then a beautiful voice softly echoed around. A single light focused on one area and it illuminated a mermaid that seemed to be floating in the air. She was that singer. What was her name again? Ah, Miria.


    As her voice turned into an aria, the huge pool beneath her was slowly revealed.


    Because of the transparent glass, everyone could see what was inside of the pool. Or at least it should be. But because of the lighting, people could hardly see anything.


    Another spotlight appeared and illuminated one part of the pool. Then, a merman with long blond hair and cerulean tail appeared. It was that guy Lauren.


    The expression on his face seemed to be as if he was suffering greatly. Then his eyes full of longing turned to the opposite direction. His gaze was followed by the spotlight. The it soon lighted up another area of the pool. From there, a dark shadow slowly emerge.


    A beautiful merman with long dark blue hair appeared. His skin was like a luminous pearl shining underwater. The dark blue fishtail was also glistening like it was made up of precious gems.


    The moment he opened his eyes, Wulfric couldn¡¯t help but gasped.

 Chapter 374

    Chapter 374: WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?


    THE mermaid show started with Miria¡¯s beautiful aria. But it didn¡¯t stop at the introduction. It continued on until Lauren and Astrid appeared in the pool. The story began there.


    As Miria sang, Lauren and Astrid interpreted it by moving around the pool. Although Miria was singing without lyrics and doing it purely by A Capella, the message she wanted to convey still reached the audience. It¡¯s not only because of the emotions filling the air as she sang, there was also the fact that Lauren and Astrid were perfectly interpreting every emotion as they moved in the pool.


    As the audience understood it, the story the three were portraying was that of two mermen being star-crossed lovers and Miria was the narrator telling everything with her song. Of course, anyone could have a different interpretation. But the majority had the same idea.


    Lauren kept on pining after Astrid as the latter swam around the pool. This showcased Lauren¡¯s great acting skills. Despite being underwater, he could still show such deep emotions just by using his eyes. The same could be said for Astrid. The fact that he could move around the water like a real mythical sea creature while controlling the emotions on his face was evidence enough to prove that.


    They danced around the pool. It seemed that their hands or their tails would touch one another at any time but every time they thought it would, it never did. It just added to the pining and longing that the two had been portraying.


    The show ended with Miria¡¯s last note and Lauren and Astrid floating away from each other.


    Applause erupted from the audience watching this show live. It could be seen just how much they enjoyed the short show. As a matter of fact, they actually wanted for it to last longer.


    ¡­..


    The same could be said for the audience watching the episode from their Terminals, projectors, or even their virtual pods.


    The end of the episode was the hosts announcing the winner between the two teams. Once the winner was announced, it didn¡¯t really come off as a surprise for the audience. Especially after that mermaid show. It¡¯s like it¡¯s already a given that team [The Sleeping God] should win.


    Once this episode of [Fieldtrip] ended, the hashtag #Fieldtripmermaids trended in the hot trending topic of [Cyberspace] for an hour.


    =====


    [Have you guys watched the latest episode of ? I can¡¯t believe we will actually see Lauren as a mermaid!]


    [Lauren, Miria, and Astrid are crazy! How can they all be so pretty?]


    [Miria¡¯s voice is so beautiful. She should try to do musicals. I think it would really suit her.]


    [While I was watching the mermaid show, I felt like the demon king and Lord Aether were reincarnated as mermaids. But why didn¡¯t they still have their happy ending???]


    [True upstairs! If we can¡¯t have Lord Aether and the demon king as end game, then the two mermaids should have a much happier love story! That¡¯s justice!]


    [But they really suit this concept, right? Maybe some film studio out there could produce a film about mermaids and cast the three for major roles.]


    [This picture is legendary.] *attached photo of Astrid in merman costume*


    [Does anyone know if Astrid already have a new work after ?]


    [I don¡¯t think so. Polaris hasn¡¯t announced anything yet.]


    [Aster just posted on his that he would appear on tomorrow night. Let¡¯s all watch it!]


    [No, but why isn¡¯t anyone doubting the result of this team battle? It¡¯s obvious that team has easier tasks compared to the other team.]


    [Upstairs, please don¡¯t affect our enjoyment.]


    [That¡¯s right. Who cares who won or lost? The important thing here is we enjoy talking about team more. Even if the other team won, we will still not talk about them.]


    [That¡¯s a bit harsh. But I agree. LOL.]


    Similar comments appeared. Either praising the three members of team or just uselessly pulling aggro by posting hate comments. But there were some comments that weren¡¯t related to the three.


    For example;


    [But where is Brother White? He would usually be joining in this conversation and fight the haters by now.]


    [Maybe he¡¯s busy and hasn¡¯t yet watched .]


    =====


    ¡®Brother White¡¯ was currently still in the virtual pod and replaying the mermaid show. Because he was watching it in the virtual world, he felt like he was there himself. Aster, in his merman form, was just in front of him.


    He wanted to stretch out his hand but he knew that all of these were just a bunch of data and he wouldn¡¯t really be able to touch anything. But really, how could someone be this attractive? It¡¯s like as long as Aster wanted it, he would be able to charm anyone. It¡¯s a good thing that the other wasn¡¯t in the habit of doing that.


    He stared once again at Aster. Although the long dark blue wig was covering most of his naked upper body, there were still parts that couldn¡¯t be covered and could be seen as he moved.


    Wulfric¡¯s first instinct when he saw that was to cover him up. But he knew that there¡¯s literally nothing he could do. And then he suddenly realized that a lot of people must have seen this and even took a screenshot of it.


    What if one of those people try to do something perverted to those screenshots? Just thinking about it, Wulfric already felt like he would go insane!


    He took a deep breath because he knew nothing would come out of him worrying. It would just force him to do something drastic that Aster would surely hate. But damn, it¡¯s really hard to control himself.


    He suddenly missed the days when he could go crazy and not care about the consequence of his actions. But now, he had to think of a lot of things before he could do something. Although that¡¯s only applicable when it came to things related to Aster. But still.


    Wulfric stared at Aster¡¯s image. ¡°Really, just what did you do to me?¡±

 Chapter 375

    Chapter 375: THAT POST, THIS MESSAGE


    ¡°WHAT do you think? I told you, you will enjoy this episode,¡± Astrid said as he turned off the projector.


    When he didn¡¯t receive a response, he turned around and saw that Reas had a serious expression on his face as if he was pondering the greatest mystery of life. He chuckled when he saw that. He sat down next to the other and nudged him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you so surprised seeing Lauren as a merman that you can¡¯t even form words?¡± he teased.


    Reas only glanced sideways at him before standing up. ¡°I¡¯m going for a run.¡±


    After announcing that, the other quickly left the apartment. Leaving Astrid with a question mark on his face. Then, he laughed after a while.


    ¡°How cute.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    ¡­..


    Reas, who began running on the road as soon as he left the apartment building, was feeling troubled. When Astrid told him that he would enjoy the episode, he didn¡¯t really think much. After all, he had already seen most of the things that happened in the episode from the live broadcast. But when the mermaid show started, enjoyment was the last thing on his mind.


    He was distracted by how much skin Lauren was showing. More than that, he was annoyed by how much affected he was by it. To the point that his eyes were glued onto Lauren for the rest of that mermaid show.


    He knew that he couldn¡¯t hide that in his expression and his brother would surely notice it, that¡¯s why he ran out of the apartment before it happened. Because he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the teasing his brother would dish him. He would most likely react in a way that would make Astrid teased him even more.


    Reas didn¡¯t want that to happen because he felt like he would come into a very important realization. Something that he was yet neither ready to face nor accept.


    He, himself, couldn¡¯t understand why he felt this way. It¡¯s not like these feelings were something bad or something to be ashamed of. But still, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to be honest with his feelings.


    The logical part of his brain was telling him that this rejection he¡¯s feeling was normal. After all, how could he have a deep emotional attachment towards someone he barely knew.


    The only reason he could possibly feel that way was because he was attracted to Lauren¡¯s physical appearance. Reas couldn¡¯t accept that he was that kind of shallow guy.


    He took a deep breath. He knew he was going around in circles by thinking like this and doing this wouldn¡¯t really give him any proper result. Then, there¡¯s only one thing he could do.


    Get to know Lauren properly.


    If he still felt the same after that, then wasn¡¯t the answer already pretty obvious?


    With that conclusion, Reas was properly able to run more smoothly.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid didn¡¯t wait for his brother and just went to bed. But he went to sleep, he decided to open [Cyberspace] and check on people¡¯s reaction on this episode of [Fieldtrip].


    Thankfully, it was mostly positive. Praising the three of them and even wanting them to appear in a film or drama that had a similar concept. There were also a lot of screenshots of the three of them.


    Of course, there were some malicious comments here and there. But that was only natural. It would be even more surprising if there wasn¡¯t one.


    When he first opened [Cyberspace] and saw his personal page, he was a bit surprised to see that his followers increased again. It was now nearing five million. Granted that, it had been steadily increasing since the released of [The Sleeping God]. But because of this variety program, a lot of people began to follow him again.


    Back to the comments, a particular one attracted his attention. It was a comment looking for ¡®Brother White¡¯. Since this post was under the hashtag #Fieldtripmermaids, he could only assume that this ¡®Brother White¡¯ was referring to Wulfric.


    After reading that, he suddenly realized that he hadn¡¯t read a single comment from @astridsnumber1fan. When usually, his comments were the first ones Astrid would usually see whenever there¡¯s a trending topic related to him.


    Did Wulfric not watch the variety show?


    Oh, well. He was probably busy. Frankly speaking, it was already a miracle that the other could spend that much time following all his entertainment activities despite being a general.


    Still, some small part of him was disappointed that he didn¡¯t get to read Wulfric¡¯s comments about this variety show.


    Then, as if to cheer him up, a new notification appeared on his [Cyberspace] account. It was to let him know that an account he was paying attention to had posted a new post. ¡®Paying attention to¡¯ was a [Cyberspace] feature that let a person know whether someone posted something without you directly following them.


    That¡¯s what Astrid did so he could know whether Wulfric posted something without alerting the other that he actually knew that he had a, for the lack of better word, a stan account.


    And yes, right now, he was reading what Wulfric just posted.


    [@astridsnumber1fan: The mermaid show was great! Of course, it would be. Why? Because Astrid was there! Have you seen a more beautiful merman than him? I just wished that he had worn a shirt or something. It¡¯s just my selfish wish. But I don¡¯t really want you to show that much skin. There are a lot of perverts out there, you know? But I understand that this is your job and I don¡¯t really have any say in it. Still, it makes me a bit sad.]


    Before Astrid could even react to that post, he suddenly received a message notification. And he didn¡¯t know if it was coincidence or not, but it was from Wulfric.


    [Wulfric: I watched . You were amazing! The mermaid show at the end was particularly great.]


    Reading this after reading that post was a bit awkward. But Astrid understood one thing ¨C that the post from [Cyberspace] was what Wulfric truly felt.

 Chapter 376

    Chapter 376: THIS WAS NOT A RACE


    ¡°ASTER, your grocery is here!¡± Reas called from the opened door.


    Astrid, who was in his room, walked out. He was actually a bit surprised that the delivery would be this fast. He just ordered 10 minutes ago and it was already here.


    It was not this fast when he first ordered groceries online. Well, he probably shouldn¡¯t compare since that was a week-long¡¯s worth of groceries plus an additional matress.


    He and Reas could go to a nearby supermarket to directly buy these things but somehow, both of them couldn¡¯t be bothered to leave the apartment today. He didn¡¯t know about Reas, but he, himself, just wanted to laze about on the bed.


    ¡°Just put it on the table,¡± he told his brother.


    Reas put a box full of fresh ingredients on the table. ¡°Is this only for dinner? It¡¯s a bit too much, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    Astrid, who had already walked beside his brother, opened the box and started to take out the ingredients. ¡°I¡¯m planning to make a feast. Since we¡¯re going to be scolded, might as well do it with a full stomach.¡±


    ¡­..


    Reas looked like he just had an enlightenment when he heard that. ¡°You¡¯re a genius, Aster,¡± he said with a thumbs up.


    Astrid only grinned at the other.


    ¡°But what will we do with the leftovers?¡± Reas asked.


    ¡°You can bring it with you tomorrow once you return to the military academy,¡± Astrid easily answered. ¡°Share it with Ash.¡±


    Thinking of how Ash said that he wanted to taste Astrid¡¯s cooking, Reas nodded. If the food he brought was only enough for him, then he definitely wouldn¡¯t share it. But since he¡¯s planning to bring a lot tomorrow, there¡¯s no harm to letting Ash taste his brother¡¯s cooking.


    ¡°What time is that talk show going to be aired anyway?¡± Reas asked.


    ¡°Seven o¡¯clock in the evening, capital time,¡± Astrid answered.


    ¡°There¡¯s still a couple of hours left before that. I¡¯ll play some game first.¡±


    After Reas said that, he went to the living room and set up the game console with the projector. The console was a bit old and only played games that were released a decade back. But Reas had a special attachment to it that¡¯s why he brought it with him here in the capital.


    ¡°Reas, do you want a virtual pod?¡± Astrid asked.


    Reas looked back at him. ¡°Why? Are you going to buy me one?¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Yeah. You probably haven¡¯t played your Mecha battles since school started. After I buy a virtual pod, you can play it during the weekend.¡±


    He actually had been thinking of buying one for some time now. But since he had been too busy lately, it just kept on slipping his mind.


    ¡°Well, I certainly won¡¯t reject that,¡± Reas said. ¡°Thank you, Brother. I certainly feel your love.¡±


    Astrid laughed and threw a piece of apple towards Reas which the other easily caught. ¡°Shut up.¡±


    He then focused his attention to cooking.


    While he was doing the preparatory work, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but think back to last night. Specifically, to the message that Wulfric had sent him.


    It was so vastly different from the post he made on his stan account that Astrid couldn¡¯t help but think that the latter must be what he truly felt about the mermaid show. But the other didn¡¯t express any of that to him and instead just praised him.


    Wulfric probably wrote what he truly felt in his stan account because he had never imagined that Astrid would ever know that it was him. But Astrid did know. And now, the contradiction between that and what Wulfric sent him just made him think a little bit deeper than he should.


    If he thought back to the first time he met the other, he probably would have never imagined that Wulfric would have this level of control. Because Wulfric was the epitome of the word ¡®uncontrollable¡¯. And yet, here he was, trying to control himself for Astrid¡¯s sake.


    He had never expected something like that from him. Not that it¡¯s bad. It only meant that the other was slowly changing. Maybe it was only at a turtle¡¯s pace right now. But that¡¯s fine. The important thing here was that he was willing to change.


    No, knowing Wulfric, he was probably not even aware of the change himself. Even if he was, he probably wouldn¡¯t do anything about it. Because this change was centered around Astrid. And for some reason, that fact alone was probably enough to let it be. At least for Wulfric, that should be the case.


    But what could this mean for the both of them?


    If Wulfric was unconsciously trying to change for him, did that mean that his initial ¡®interest¡¯ for him had now become more than just a simple interest? Had it completely evolved into something much deeper? To the point that what Wulfric was feeling for him could no longer be categorized into a fleeting fancy?


    Honestly, Astrid didn¡¯t know how he would react if that was really the case. He didn¡¯t even know what he truly felt for the other.


    After Wulfric apologized for his initial behavior when they first met, he started to enjoy his company then. He even found some of his antics quite adorable. He also appreciated how he was trying to be protective and understanding of him. That Wulfric made him feel that he was truly special.


    But if someone asked him right now if that meant that he was in love with Wulfric, he could honestly answer ¡®no¡¯. Because he wasn¡¯t. At least not at this point. Although he could admit that he was attracted to him. Once one added all the complex layers to that handsome exterior, honestly, who wouldn¡¯t?


    And in his opinion, that¡¯s fine. This was not a race after all. Both of them could slowly understand their own feelings for each other and that what they feel was real.


    That¡¯s better than making hasty decisions that would just end up with them separating in the future.

 Chapter 377

    Chapter 377: THINGS WERE GOING TO GET SERIOUS


    AFTER eating a sumptuous meal, the twins readied to watch [New Star]. Just as Reas expected, there were a lot of leftovers left. Astrid immediately preserved the food so it wouldn¡¯t spoil. Because there were a lot left, both he and Reas could bring food tomorrow to school and share it with their friends.


    Soon, [New Star] started. It went the same way as it did during the recording with barely anything being edited out. It showed that the talk show was very unbiased. If they were favoring one of the guests, they would surely edit the show in a way that would make that guest stand out. But that didn¡¯t happen here. So, even if it was a recording, it¡¯s almost like they were watching it live.


    That meant that anyone with a discerning eye could see the little actions Nadia Beck had done. Of course, it wasn¡¯t so in your face that many people would probably just brush it off. Only those who were sensitive to things like this would probably notice it. And since the one she tried to ¡®attack¡¯ was a newcomer, it probably wouldn¡¯t affect her than much.


    Even though his [Cyberspace] followers had increased to what it was now, Astrid still didn¡¯t have the kind of fandom that would go crazy if someone even so much as look at him the wrong way. And he prayed to high heavens that he never would have.


    For him, rational fans were much better than die-hard fans. Because the latter could literally make or break you. Some of those die-hard fans could easily turn into obsessive stalkers. They would also fight anyone who they assumed was ¡®bullying¡¯ the artist they admired. Which would only bring unnecessary hate to the artist.


    Astrid had seen that happen in his past life. Idols, in particular, suffered greatly from that. Luckily for him, he¡¯s not the type of actor to attract such fans. Most of his fans were mature adults who appreciated his acting talent more than anything.


    He just hoped that it would be the same this time.


    ¡­..


    ¡°Why is that Nadia Beck woman being like that?¡± Reas suddenly grumbled before turning to him. ¡°Did she bully you?¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Can she bully me? What she did there was just child¡¯s play. Something negligible that wouldn¡¯t even affect me. So, there¡¯s no need to be angry.¡±


    Reas snorted, clearly in disagreement.


    Astrid only laughed at that.


    The program continued and it arrived to the part where the video of the hostage taking was shown. Then the host¡¯s interview of him about that event followed right after.


    When he mentioned how proud he was of Reas, a slight blush appeared on the other¡¯s face.


    ¡°Do you really have to say that?¡± Reas asked, scratching his cheek, obviously very embarrassed.


    ¡°Why? It¡¯s the truth. Or are you saying you¡¯re not planning to be the greatest soldier in the Empire?¡± Astrid asked with a bit of teasing tone.


    ¡°Not a soldier but a Mecha pilot,¡± Reas corrected in a shy voice.


    Astrid smiled, thinking how his brother could be childish like this sometimes. ¡°Yes, yes.¡±


    Reas turned his attention back to the talk show. But deep inside, he was secretly relieved that his face was not shown on the video that this program showed. Just imagining all the troublesome things he would face if that happened, it¡¯s already giving him a headache.


    He should probably also be thankful that he and Astrid didn¡¯t look one bit alike. Because even if it was known that Astrid had a brother that was studying at the military academy, most people would not think that it was him.


    Even if he and Astrid shared the same surname, it¡¯s not like there wasn¡¯t anyone in the academy bearing the same surname. It¡¯s a common surname after all. Which was probably why it was chosen by their parents when changing their identities.


    It¡¯s not that he was ashamed for people to know that he¡¯s Astrid¡¯s brother. Of course, he¡¯s proud of that. But as he said, he didn¡¯t want his peaceful academy life to be disturbed because of the flies that would surely stick to him once they found out that his brother was a famous actor.


    Although Astrid was still considered a rookie now, he had no doubt that in just a few months, his brother¡¯s fame would definitely soar. If other cadets in the academy knew that he was his brother, they would definitely try to make a connection to him so they could meet Astrid in person.


    That¡¯s not an exaggeration, especially since Astrid could have that effect even if he¡¯s not a famous actor. Hadn¡¯t he already experienced that during their secondary education? He couldn¡¯t even remember just how many people tried to get closer to him so they could later confess to Astrid.


    Reas just wanted to focus on his studies and training instead of dealing with things like that.


    The show continued on and the twins watched it until it ended. The moment it did, the dreaded video call came right on time.


    ¡°Well, here it is,¡± Astrid said while looking at the name ¡®Mom¡¯ on his Terminal. He turned to Reas. ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like saying ¡®no¡¯ would change anything. So, let¡¯s just do it,¡± the other said, pretending to be tough.


    ¡°Then, here it goes.¡±


    When Astrid clicked the ¡®accept¡¯ button, the faces of their parents appeared on the virtual screen. Both of them had a serious expression on their faces. Their mother, in particular, looked like there¡¯s a storm brewing above her head and was looking at them darkly.


    ¡°Hi, Mom, Dad, how¡¯s the farm?¡± Astrid started in a cheerful voice, trying to lighten up the mood.


    But their mother was not having it and just narrowed her eyes at them.


    ¡°Astrid Townsend, Andreas Townsend.¡± Hearing her call them by their full names, that¡¯s when they knew that things were going to get serious. ¡°Just what is this about some hostage taking? You better answer honestly or your father and I will not hesitate to go to the capital and drag you two back home.¡±

 Chapter 378

    Chapter 378: SCOLDING (BUT NOT REALLY)


    EMMY and Gage quickly entered the home theater after eating dinner. It was to watch the talk show where Astrid would appear as a guest. After watching the special episode of [Blind Justice] where their son appeared, the two of them decided to turn one of the empty rooms in their home into a theater. That way, they could watch every show and movie of Astrid in much more comfortable set-up.


    As [New Star] started, the husband and wife quietly enjoyed the program. Giving praises here and there every time their son gave a witty answer. That was until that hostage-taking video appeared.


    Emmy was so angry and full of worry at the same time. She didn¡¯t even know when this incident happened, much less guess when it did. Because every time they called the twins to catch up with them, the two never showed any signs that something like that happened to them.


    Then, she thought of how good Astrid was in acting and the fact that Reas would just quietly follow along with whatever his brother decided. Her anger just doubled because of that.


    ¡°These brats¨C!¡±


    ¡°Honey, calm yourself down,¡± Gage said, holding her hand. ¡°I¡¯m sure the kids only did that to not make us worry. Maybe they even thought that we would ask them to return home when we found out that such an incident happened.¡±


    Emmy took a deep breath. Of course, she also thought of that. But that¡¯s not the main reason why she was so angry. ¡°Do your kids think that I¡¯m so shallow that I would ask them to return here just because of that?¡±


    ¡­..


    ¡°Hey, they¡¯re your kids too,¡± Gage said in amusement. ¡°Besides, if I remember correctly, you did tell them that they have to return if their safety was compromise in any way.¡±


    Emmy felt like her conscience was pricked because of her husband¡¯s reminder. That might have been the case at first, but seeing as how Astrid was doing so well as a rookie actor, even Reas was at the top of his class which was a huge feat on its own, how could she interfere with their dreams when they were doing everything to fulfill it. She was not so paranoid and shallow that she would let ¡®what ifs¡¯ ruin her children¡¯s future.


    But maybe the twins took her words seriously and decided to hide such a huge incident from them. She sighed, her anger already subsiding by leaps and bounds. But there was still some left in her to scold the two.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just call the kids,¡± she said.


    And so, the two video called their children.


    =====


    Astrid started explaining to his mother the details of the hostage taking incident. He emphasized how he and Reas had in under control. That the hostage taker was not a professional terrorist and was mostly just a run on the mill criminal. No, even calling the other a ¡®criminal¡¯ would be an overstatement.


    Their mother frowned, as if contemplating what her reaction should be. But contrary to her, their father had a more honest reaction.


    ¡°It seemed that you now have more control over your ability,¡± their father said proudly to Reas before turning to Astrid. ¡°Aster also did a good job thinking of a plan like that so quickly.¡±


    Their mother readily elbowed their father for that comment. ¡°Don¡¯t egg them on.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± their father said as if in defense. ¡°As a former soldier, I¡¯m just proud of how they wonderfully handled that situation.¡±


    Their mother only squint her eyes at their father before turning her attention back to them. ¡°Although I understand why you did what you did, I still don¡¯t agree with you two putting yourselves in danger like that. But,¡± she stopped and a small smile finally appeared on her face. ¡°I¡¯m also proud that you two decided to help all those people.¡±


    Emmy was truly proud despite of the initial worry and anger she felt. Her twins¡¯ action showed their good character. Which in turn reflected their good upbringing. What kind of mother wouldn¡¯t be proud of that?


    Now that she had already calmed down, she realized that she had to prepare herself for similar situations to occur in the future since one of his sons was now a military academy cadet. The chance of a much more dangerous situation happening in the future was clearly not unthinkable.


    Both Astrid and Reas were surprised by their mother¡¯s smile. Because it meant that the worst had already passed. They were actually expecting more intense scolding to be honest. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that the didn¡¯t like this outcome.


    ¡°Are there any more things you¡¯re hiding from us besides that?¡±


    Hearing their mother¡¯s question, the twins looked at each other and communicated through their gazes. There were two important things that they were hiding from their parents. One was about the Grimaldis and the other was them, or at least Astrid, was now friends with the prince of the Empire.


    So, that one glance between them went on like this;


    ¡®Should we tell them about it?¡¯ ¨C Reas.


    ¡®Let¡¯s just tell them the more important one.¡¯ ¨C Astrid.


    Reas nodded in agreement.


    Astrid turned his gaze back to the virtual screen in front of them. He cleared his throat before saying, ¡°Ahm, well, Mom, Dad, please don¡¯t be too surprised after hearing what I¡¯m about to say.¡±


    ¡°What is it? Was it even worse than that hostage taking incident?¡± their mother aske, looking at them like a hawk.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ in a way, yes,¡± Astrid said. In which Reas nodded in agreement. ¡°You see, the child who was taken hostage back then. He, by some twisted fate, turned out to be related to us. His name is Nicol Grimaldi and he¡¯s Thomas Grimaldi¡¯s son, which makes him our cousin and your nephew.¡±


    Reas timely continued, ¡°Because of this incident, we became acquainted with Cassius Grimaldi and even had dinner with him, Nicol, and Thomas.¡±


    ¡°And just a few days ago, I did a screen test to be the next ambassador of EMMA because of Cassius¡¯ recommendation,¡± Astrid added, finishing it up.


    Their parents just stared at them as if they just talked in a foreign language they couldn¡¯t understand.

 Chapter 379

    Chapter 379: ONE THING SHE NEVER WANTED


    EMMY felt her head pulsating because her brain was trying its best to register what her children just said. But the more she understood, the more painful her head became. She pinched the bridge of her nose to ease the throbbing of her head.


    It¡¯s only been almost two months since the twins arrived at the capital and yet they had already met most of their immediate family from her side. Something that she wished would not happen while the two were in the capital. And yet, here was the two telling them that not only did they meet them, they also had dinner with them.


    It was not only that, Casey even recommended Astrid to be an ambassador of EMMA. If he could do that, it meant that he was the one holding the majority of EMMA¡¯s shares. She was really relieved when he found that out.


    It was a share that was under her name, something that their mother had decided from the start. But after Emmy¡¯s ¡®death¡¯, this share must have gone to Casey. She was glad that it turned out that way. Because she knew that her younger brother would not half-assed things and would take care of EMMA. If it was given to Tommy, his blatant disinterest would just lead to its downfall.


    Anyway, the fact that Casey recommended Astrid meant that he must have really liked the latter and thought that he would fit the image of EMMA. That was if Casey hadn¡¯t yet suspected that Astrid was actually his nephew.


    Then, there was the fact that Tommy actually had a son which meant that he now had his own family. That in itself was a surprise for Emmy. But then again, if their father ordered him to go and have a family, Tommy would probably pull the nearest person and bring them to a fertility lab.


    Because of this news, memories of her family flooded in her mind. Something that she had been trying not to do for the past 20 years. The moment she left and was presumed as ¡®dead¡¯, she wanted for it to remain that way.


    ¡­..


    So, she also avoided thinking about her father and brothers. She didn¡¯t even bother searching about them in [StarNet] or [Cyberspace]. She wanted to focus on the family she was building with Gage and not the family that only left her with scars.


    Casey was probably the only exception. But even if that was the case, finding news about him was almost like looking at a needle in a haystack. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t even know that he was now the largest shareholder of EMMA.


    Her father and older brother probably also did the same as her. Pretended that she was really dead and no longer part of their lives.


    Emmy knew that the reason why she and Gage managed to get new identities as fast as they did was not only because of Leigh¡¯s help, her father must have also helped in the background. The fact that no one questioned her ¡®death¡¯ and that they didn¡¯t experience the frantic chase of the military were enough proofs of that.


    Now, two decades had already passed. And by some twisted fate, her children had already met her brothers. She had never imagined that they would even cross paths despite the twins going to the capital. How could the world be that small? But it had already happened. And she didn¡¯t know what she should do or how she would react hearing this news.


    Then, Emmy felt a big, warm hand enveloping her own. She turned her head to her husband. Gage gave her a comforting glance. And somehow, she felt like everything would be fine.


    Gage smiled at his wife, silently telling her that everything would be fine. He was also very surprised hearing what the twins said about meeting the Grimaldis. But then he quickly calmed down. Because he believed that the two would be able to handle the Grimaldis without revealing anything about who they really were. If they could handle a hostage-taking situation without panicking despite the actual danger it held, then they could sure as hell do the same with the Grimaldis.


    ¡°Did they suspect that you¡¯re related to them?¡± he asked the twins when he returned her gaze to the virtual screen.


    ¡°No. Not in the slightest,¡± Astrid quickly said. ¡°We don¡¯t exactly have the typical Grimaldi features. It probably never even crossed their minds that we could be related to them.¡±


    Emmy let out a sigh of relief when she heard that. That¡¯s right. Both Astrid and Reas didn¡¯t look like the typical Grimaldi with silver hair and sapphire blue eyes. Unless one of them purposely did a DNA test, then it would be impossible for Casey, much less Tommy, to have the slightest bit of suspicion.


    ¡°Are you going to be EMMA¡¯s next ambassador?¡± she asked Astrid. She didn¡¯t have any doubt that her son would pass that screen test. The only question now was if he was willing to be the company¡¯s ambassador.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astrid answered without hesitation. ¡°Being connected to EMMA will help my career in a very good way. So, yes, I¡¯m going to take to take this chance. Unless¡­ you don¡¯t want me to?¡±


    Emmy shook her head. As she had already said, she wouldn¡¯t clip the wings of her children who were trying to fly towards their dream. But the worry was still there. Because as long as Astrid was associated with EMMA, he would also have no choice but to interact with Casey.


    What if, as they got closer, her younger brother started to suspect something? It would probably fine for Casey alone to know about it. But once a secret was exposed, it¡¯s easy for it to be revealed again and again until everyone in the Empire found out about it.


    She¡¯s not worried about what would happen to her and Gage, she¡¯s more worried about how it would affect her children¡¯s future. What if they couldn¡¯t attain their dreams because of it?


    That¡¯s one thing she never wanted to happen.

 Chapter 380

    Chapter 380: MOM AND DAD¡¯S SUPPORT


    ¡°BUT why did Mom not mention anything about EMMA before?¡± Astrid asked referring to when their parents told them the truth about their past.


    ¡°Well, I never thought that it¡¯s important. After all, it¡¯s already unrelated to me or us. If I had known that you would end up as its new ambassador, of course I would have said something,¡± Emmy answered. ¡°But what product of EMMA are you going to promote? Is it the clothes or the bags?¡±


    She personally thought that a clothing line targeted towards the youth of today would suit Astrid. If her son started to advertise something like that, she had no doubt that EMMA¡¯s sale would definitely increased. That¡¯s not just her bias as Astrid¡¯s mother. Her son just had that physique that made anything he wore stylish and trendy.


    If her mother was alive to this day, she would have definitely enjoyed dressing Astrid up like a doll. Maybe Astrid would have started being EMMA¡¯s model the moment he learned how to walk.


    Emmy shook his head. There¡¯s no use of thinking about things that could have been. Because there¡¯s no chance that it would ever happen.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not for a clothing line, it¡¯s for a new perfume line that they would launch soon,¡± Astrid said.


    Emmy didn¡¯t expect that but soon nodded. If it¡¯s a perfume line, she could also see how that would suit Astrid. ¡°I know that you will do your best, so I could only wish for things to go well.¡±


    ¡­..


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom. Even if there¡¯s some bump along the way, I¡¯m sure I can get over it safely,¡± Astrid said confidently.


    Reas nodded on the side, as if silently telling their parents that he would be here to give support to Astrid.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will do well,¡± Gage said. ¡°But if someone tried to bully you, never hesitate to bully them back.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what are you teaching our kids,¡± Emmy said in a berating tone. But still added, ¡°Just do it secretly so people won¡¯t suspect you.¡±


    Astrid and Reas looked at each other and then burst out laughing.


    After a while, their mother asked;


    ¡°How is Casey? Is he doing well?¡±


    Astrid looked at his mother. The other must have been wanting to ask about Cassius since earlier. She probably held herself back because knowing how he and Reas met the Grimaldis was much more important.


    ¡°He¡¯s doing fine, I think. A bit too quick to act close to people though. He seemed to be in good health as well. And he dotes on his nephew a lot,¡± Astrid answered.


    Emmy was truly relieved hearing that her younger brother was doing fine. She honestly didn¡¯t know what she would do if Casey turned into a gloomy adult after 20 years. Because it meant that he wasn¡¯t able to move on from her ¡®death¡¯.


    She actually thought of the possibility that their father told him that her ¡®death¡¯ was just a ruse and that she was still alive. But if that was the case, based on Casey¡¯s personality, the other would have definitely find ways to find her. The fact that that didn¡¯t happen must mean that Casey already assumed that she was ¡®dead¡¯.


    ¡°This kid, is his name Nicol?¡± she asked, referring to the nephew that he hadn¡¯t yet met or probably never would. ¡°How old is he?¡±


    ¡°I think seven, right?¡± Astrid said, glancing at Reas for confirmation.


    ¡°Yeah, he looked about seven,¡± the other agreed.


    Emmy was slightly surprised because this nephew was actually much younger than she expected. ¡°Does he look like Tommy? I mean- Thomas?¡±


    For her mother to still call the other by his nickname despite what the other did, or rather didn¡¯t do, in the past, she must still consider Thomas as her older brother. ¨C Astrid thought.


    ¡°Thankfully, he doesn¡¯t,¡± Astrid said honestly. ¡°Compared to his father¡¯s temperament, Nikki is a very bright and cute kid. He¡¯s more similar to Cassius actually.¡±


    Emmy chuckled. It seemed that Astrid had taken a liking to this cousin. Well, even though the twins couldn¡¯t reveal their real identity, of course it¡¯s much better to get along with their cousin.


    Their talk lasted for an hour more before their parents ended the conversation, saying that Astrid and Reas still had school tomorrow.


    ¡°Well, that went better than expected,¡± Astrid said after closing the Terminal.


    ¡°Yeah. I thought we¡¯d be scolded for at least two hours,¡± Reas agreed.


    Astrid nodded. This was because every time the two of them did something that warrant scolding, their mother would scold them for that long. So, barely being scolded like this was almost a miracle to them.


    ¡°Mom, I think she changed,¡± Astrid said.


    Reas turned to him. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°When Mom and Dad agreed for us to go to the capital to study and pursue our dreams, I could feel that Mom was still conflicted about it,¡± Astrid explained. ¡°But when we were talking to them just now, it¡¯s clear that that¡¯s no longer the case. She¡¯s no longer against us being a soldier or being an actor. Supporting us probably took precedents more than anything, including scolding us.¡±


    Reas had a thoughtful look on his face. Then, he nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, I kind of notice that too.¡±


    ¡°Both Mom and Dad probably saw just how hard we worked since we arrived here at the capital,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about me, but they certainly saw how hard your worked,¡± Reas said referring to the works Astrid had been in since officially becoming an actor.


    ¡°Hey, of course, you worked hard too,¡± Astrid quickly denied. ¡°You¡¯re at the top of your department during your training period. Not all aspiring soldiers could do that.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s stop praising each other. It¡¯s giving me goosebumps,¡± Reas sais, the tips of his ears slightly turning red. Then, he stood up. ¡°I¡¯m going for a run. Don¡¯t wait for me.¡±


    Astrid nodded. After Reas left, a video call notification rang from his Terminal again. He thought that it was his parents, thinking that the two had forgotten to tell them something. But when he opened his Terminal, he was a bit surprised to see the name on the screen.


    It was none other than Wulfric.

 Chapter 381

    Chapter 381: SILENT GUARDIAN


    ¡°WULF?¡± Astrid said out of reflex when he saw the other¡¯s handsome face appeared on the virtual screen. Then, when he noticed the anxious look on his face, he added, ¡°Is something the matter?¡±


    ¡°I just watched that interview you did with that program,¡± Wulfric started, most likely referring to [New Star].


    That interview actually reminded him of that hostage taking incident Hildred had mentioned to him before. But it was swept off his mind because it happened on the day that he asked for Aster¡¯s forgiveness. Now that he was reminded of it again, he quickly made a short investigation about it.


    It happened on the day Aster and Reas arrived at the capital. It even involved the Grimaldis! He was just thankful that Cassius Grimaldi didn¡¯t do a thorough investigation regarding the twins¡¯ identities. This strengthened his will to put more security around the identity of the two.


    Astrid raised his brow. So, it was about that. He didn¡¯t expect that aside from his parents, Wulfric would also have such a big reaction regarding that incident. Or maybe he should have expected it. It¡¯s Wulfric, after all.


    He smiled at how natural it was for him to think that Wulfric was worried about him. It had now become something that he wouldn¡¯t even question.


    Based on Aster¡¯s interview, Wulfirc already had a gist of what happened back then even if he didn¡¯t investigate. So, he added, ¡°What you two did was very reckless. You should have waited for authorities to arrive and deal with the situation,¡± he unconsciously admonished.


    ¡­..


    ¡°You know, you sounded exactly like my mom just now,¡± Astrid said in a teasing tone.


    A faint blush quickly appeared on Wulfric¡¯s cheeks. ¡°I- I¡¯m not nagging you or anything, I was just worried.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Astrid said with a soft smile. ¡°We didn¡¯t take action back then without thinking everything through. Both Reas and I analyzed the situation and found that the odds were in our favor. We knew we would be able to overpower that hostage taker. If we didn¡¯t have the confidence that it would succeed, we wouldn¡¯t even dare to move. After all, we also don¡¯t want to die an untimely death.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about death so easily,¡± Wulfric said before he could even understand most of what Aster had said. ¡°And you won¡¯t ever have an untimely death, that I promise you.¡±


    It was a weird thing to feel moved about, but weirdly enough, Astrid felt inexplicable warmth because of those words and how confident Wulfric was declaring them.


    ¡°Thank you. I guess that¡¯s one less thing I need to worry about,¡± he said. Even though he seemed to be joking, anyone could see that he also truly meant what he just said.


    Wulfric nodded, seemingly satisfied by that respond. Then, as if only remembering Astrid¡¯s explanation about his and Reas¡¯ actions, he said, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t put yourself in that kind of danger again though.¡±


    It¡¯s not an order, it¡¯s more like a plea. Which surprised Astrid quite a bit. He smiled inwardly. Really, who would have thought that the prince would have this soft side? Astrid felt quite blessed that he was probably the only one who could experience this. Well, at least that¡¯s the case for now. Who knew if things would change in the future? For both him and Wulfric.


    ¡°I will try,¡± he said as a compromise. When he saw that Wulfric was about to complain about that, he quickly added, ¡°But if something like this happened again and I made the same actions as I did back then, that meant that I have the situation under control. I want Wulf to remember that I would never ever put myself in a situation where I¡¯m the one at a disadvantage. So, don¡¯t worry too much, okay?¡±


    But how could Wulfric not worry? He was confident with Aster¡¯s ability to judge any situation he was in, but there were times when things could go easily out of one¡¯s control. And that¡¯s what he¡¯s worried about.


    But he knew that it wouldn¡¯t change Aster¡¯s line of thinking even if he emphasized that point. So, it would be better to just be the Aster¡¯s silent guardian. At the end, all Wulfric could do was to nod to the other as if he was fully agreeing with him.


    He then remembered another thing from that interview. Something that was almost buried by his worry after finding about that hostage taking incident.


    ¡°That singer, do you want me to deal with her?¡± he asked with a cold glint in his eyes.


    Astrid was kind of startled by the sudden change of topic. Especially more so after hearing Wulfric¡¯s question. It¡¯s actually not really surprising that the other noticed Nadia Beck¡¯s little ¡®tricks¡¯. It would probably be more surprising if he didn¡¯t. What¡¯s surprising was him actually asking Astrid so straightforwardly if he could deal with Nadia.


    He chuckled. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. She didn¡¯t really do any damage.¡± Which was true in a way. ¡°I do hope Wulf won¡¯t try to deal with every person who tries to ¡®bully¡¯ me. Since it¡¯s actually the job of Polaris. Besides, having you handle things like that would be too much of an overkill.¡±


    Although Astrid said that with a light tone, he totally meant every word of it. Dealing with people who was trying to sabotage him was never Wulfric¡¯s job. Him supporting Astrid by posting in his stan account was actually more than enough.


    Wulfric frowned. He already knew that Aster wouldn¡¯t want him to be all over his business like that, that¡¯s why he¡¯s been holding himself back from doing anything excessive. But that video of Aster trying to take the attention of an armed hostage taker simply awakened Wulfric¡¯s protective instinct once again.


    He sighed and nodded. Fine. He would try to limit what he could and would do for Aster. But that didn¡¯t mean he would stop being the other¡¯s silent guardian.


    =====


    That night, after the new episode of [New Star] aired, it gathered a lot of attention from people as expected. Many were discussing about the three guests. Most of them talking about Astrid. Even the video of him during the hostage-taking incident was dug up again.


    But before the night ended, a certain controversial post made its round around [Cyberspace].

 Chapter 382

    Chapter 382: THE ¡®CONTROVERSIAL¡¯ POST


    [I¡¯m someone working part-time at . I was there when they were recording their latest episode. And guess what I witnessed? A certain rookie actor blatantly ignored a rising singer! The said singer asked if they could have a picture together and this rookie actor didn¡¯t even show a bit of respect and just walked away! No, I¡¯m not making anything up. Just look at the photo below and you can see clearly what I¡¯m talking about.]


    Attached below the post was a photo of Nadia Beck with a shock expression while looking at Astrid Townsend. The latter had his back to her while talking to One Leaf with a smile. The contrast between the two having a harmonious atmosphere with Nadia with that shock expression was too much that anyone would have doubts in their mind whether what the original poster was really true or not.


    Sure enough, Nadia Beck¡¯s fans quickly came to the fore and tried to crucified Astrid as if he was a sinner.


    [What¡¯s this? Does this kid think that just because he looks good he could do whatever he wanted?]


    [How dare he ignore Nadia?!]


    [Look at how heartbroken Nadia is!]


    [If Nadia asked me to have a picture with her, I will be thankful instead of walking away like that.]


    ¡­..


    [I knew there¡¯s something shifty about that kid. Remember that one time he trended because someone from Redwood Academy tried to bully him? What if it¡¯s not true and it was all just for clout?]


    [Upstairs, are you kidding me? That topic was proven without a shred of doubt. Don¡¯t make conspiracy theories here! Besides, was that photo even really a proof? So, what if Nadia was looking at Astrid and Astrid had his back turned on her? Unless it¡¯s a video showing exactly what the poster just said, I won¡¯t jump into conclusion and spread hate!]


    [That¡¯s right! Aster is just a teenager. The original poster should think more before making up gossip that could destroy a kid¡¯s dream and future!]


    [Oh, so just because he¡¯s young we should just condone his bad behavior? Isn¡¯t it more important to discipline him so he could grow up into an upright citizen?]


    [What kind of discipline are you even talking about? Did you not see that video of him standing up to a hostage-taker? I think that¡¯s more than enough proof of what kind of character he has.]


    [Wow. I can¡¯t believe that Astrid Townsend actually has this many shooters. Is this because of his pretty face?]


    [Yeah. He should really be thankful for that face. LOL. With that face alone, he could do the worst thing and his fans would still forgive him.]


    [They¡¯re really all brainless.]


    [Excuse me, I think you people are the brainless ones. Anyone with normal enough IQ would question the authenticity of this post and yet here you all are, jumping on a hate train against a rookie and a kid at that. Shame on you people .]


    [Why are Astrid¡¯s fans using the ¡®kid card¡¯ here? If you can¡¯t even handle this degree of criticism, it¡¯s better to just get out of the entertainment industry.]


    As the comments under the original post were divided into two. One attacking Astrid and the other defending him. When both sides were on the edge of biting each other, Nadia Beck posted something on her [Cyberspace] that ignited the argument even more.


    [@nadiabeck: Have you watched the new episode of ? I met the beautiful rookie Astrid and the talented writer, Miss One Leaf! I really want to take a picture with them. Too bad I wasn¡¯t able to. But being in the show with them was enough. I really had fun! ^^]


    To the untrained eye, this post seemed to be trying to appease the arguing fans, telling them that everything was fine and she had fun during the interview. But to those who had been in this industry for a long time, they could easily see that Nadia was making herself out to be the victim while Astrid and One Leaf the villains.


    How? Just looked at how she constructed her words. Her saying that she wanted to take a picture with the two already confirmed the allegation made by the one who posted that post about Astrid ignoring Nadia. Also, the way she seemed to be trying to show that she was fine despite that, painted her like she¡¯s trying to hold it in together while feeling really hurt inside.


    As expected, Nadia¡¯s fans became more enraged and attacked Astrid more fiercely. But this time, it was not only Astrid they attacked but One Leaf as well.


    =====


    Nadia let out a satisfied smile as she read through the comments on [Cyberspace]. Everything was going according to plan because of the firepower of her fans. She knew how brain dead most of her fans were that¡¯s why she had confidence to do this. This was mostly because she started out in an idol group before transforming into a solo singer.


    Although that group didn¡¯t really make a huge splash in the industry, she gained a lot of loyal fans during her time there. They were so loyal that they would fight anyone who tried to ¡®bully¡¯ her regardless of the reason. Whether it¡¯s logical or not, the important thing was for them to defend her.


    These fans were one of the major reasons why she managed to survive in this industry these past few years even though she hadn¡¯t managed to release a hit song.


    Now that her career was on the rise, Nadia couldn¡¯t afford the attention of the general public to dwindle. And the best way to do that was to always be part of the trending hot topic list. She needed to increase the awareness of the general public about her.


    Being a guest in [New Star] should have been a good chance for her to do that. But then, Astrid Townsend happened and the other completely took away all the spotlight.


    Nadia couldn¡¯t help but grit her teeth remembering that.


    **NOTE: I edited the first part of the last chapter because I made a mistake. Please do read to see the correction. I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s because of my carelessness and me not fact checking past events in the story. I¡¯ll try my best not to repeat that. (-?-)

 Chapter 383

    Chapter 383: NADIA¡¯S SIMPLE PLAN


    DURING the recording, Nadia could see how almost all the audience¡¯s eyes were on Astrid Townsend. Even when it was her turn to be interviewed, most didn¡¯t even pay attention to her! And it didn¡¯t really help that the video chosen by the program team was from a past she¡¯s trying hard to forget.


    That¡¯s when she hadn¡¯t yet debuted as a member of her former idol group. Looking so ugly and cheap while struggling in the mud. She hated that period of her life so much. And yet, it was broadcasted for everyone in the Empire to see.


    She tried to get the attention of the audience by putting the spotlight on her and stealthily attacked Astrid along the way. But the other surprisingly avoided her attack and reflected it back very skillfully.


    Nadia couldn¡¯t take that and thought of another way. What she planned was to take a picture with Astrid and make a somewhat ambiguous post about the two of them. Then she would pay some gossip account to post an article implying that Astrid admired her very much.


    If such a hot newcomer with that kind of face showed interest in her, her stock would definitely rise. But before she could even take a photo, that annoying writer, who barely had any presence, suddenly intervened and took Astrid away.


    It was a good thing that she had already asked one of the staffs to take a photo of them to make it look like it was taken accidentally, thus giving it more credibility. It¡¯s just that, the photo taken was not the one she wanted. But that¡¯s fine. She could still spin that to her advantage.


    The first thing she did was to buy a blank Terminal. It¡¯s a term used for Terminals that were not registered to real people or people that had already died. It¡¯s a common thing that some professional trolls used so they could freely spread malicious comments without worrying that they would be tracked through their Terminals.


    ¡­..


    Of course, IP address was also another way to track. But that wouldn¡¯t be a problem as long as one used an IP address that wasn¡¯t remotely connected to them. She was being this careful because she had also seen how one of Astrid¡¯s fan was able to doxx a group that was intentionally spreading malicious comments about him. The same could happen to her if she wasn¡¯t careful.


    That¡¯s why Nadia didn¡¯t hire anyone and just planned to do it herself. Well, she only needed to use the blank Terminal and connect to a network that was far from her home and company address.


    She only needed to do one thing and her fans would do the rest. And just as she already expected, everything was happening accordingly.


    Nadia was about to smile when she saw a post while browsing on [Cyberspace].


    [@oneleaf: I just want to clarify something because of the post and comments that are circulating around right now. Astrid didn¡¯t ignore Miss Beck. I was the one who pulled him away before the two of them could take a picture. So, if you wanted to blame someone, then blame me.]


    =====


    ¡°Fiona, didn¡¯t I tell you not to post anything until the company sort everything out?¡± Theo scolded from the other end of the virtual screen, he quickly video called Fiona the moment she posted what she just posted. His expression was dark, as if torn between helplessness and frustration.


    Fiona bit her lower lip. ¡°B-but Astrid did nothing wrong. I- I can¡¯t just let him be slandered for something he didn¡¯t even do.¡±


    Theo sighed. He almost asked if Fiona had never thought that she was the one who would end up being hated because of what she just posted. But he stopped himself because he knew that that definitely didn¡¯t cross her mind. Fiona did it just because it¡¯s what she thought was the right thing to do.


    He was sure that she would have never even imagined that all of this was just a targeted harassment perpetrated by a single person. Yes, that attention-deprived woman, Nadia Beck.


    But at least in Fiona¡¯s case, it was because of her inherent belief in the goodness of people. Unlike Nadia¡¯s fans who were obviously lacking in common sense and would just believe anything their idol threw at them, Fiona was definitely better.


    But then again, weren¡¯t all famous people had die-hard fans? He bent even the prince who everyone was afraid of had people admiring him senselessly.


    Anyway, that¡¯s not the point now. It¡¯s important to fix this situation first.


    ¡°Theo- are¡­ are you mad at me?¡±


    Fiona¡¯s voice brought Theo¡¯s attention back to the other. And once again, he sighed. It¡¯s not like if he said ¡®yes¡¯, the other would reflect. So, he could only say, ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Just try not to post anything for the time being, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Fiona nodded.


    ¡°And don¡¯t look at the comments in [Cyberspace],¡± Theo added.


    Fiona nodded again. She wasn¡¯t planning to anyway. She had already seen some of the comments under the post she made. All of them were saying mean things to her. She really couldn¡¯t handle things like that, so she quickly closed [Cyberspace].


    But that situation was definitely much better than having Astrid be slandered by people because of something that wasn¡¯t his fault. That¡¯s why she could close [Cyberspace] without much feeling of guilt.


    Theo ended his call with Fiona and planned next to call Ellis Payne. It was a relief that the two of them exchanged numbers. He was told by the company to coordinate with Polaris regarding this issue and quickly fixed it.


    =====


    On planet Alluna, a certain price was reading all the comments on his [Cyberspace].


    Wulfric was thoroughly infuriated by the things that he¡¯s reading. He remembered how Aster didn¡¯t want to get revenge on this Nadia Beck. And yet, here was this b*tch making trouble like this.


    Aster had told him that he shouldn¡¯t deal with things like this. But it should be fine if it was done by his number one fan, right?


    =====


    And while all of these were happening, Astrid was sleeping soundly on his bed.

 Chapter 384

    Chapter 384: NADIA¡¯S DOWNFALL (I)


    ASTRID slowly opened his eyes. A yawn escaped his lips before he stretching his arms upward to wake himself up. He then reached for his Terminal that was on top of the bedside table. He put it there last night before went to bed so his sleep wouldn¡¯t be disturbed.


    Today was his first day back to school after a month long leave. He wanted to have a good sleep, so he would wake up in a good mood. He looked at the floor and saw that the foldable mattress Reas slept in was already gone, probably already tucked neatly in the cabinet.


    His brother must be already on his way to the military academy. The other usually leave the apartment very early whenever he had to return to the academy. Astrid almost always woke up with Reas already gone.


    He then opened his Terminal and his eyes immediately widened when he saw the number of missed calls from his friends and Ellis. His agent being the one with the most number of missed calls.


    Astrid¡¯s brows furrowed. Did something happen while he was sleeping?


    He quickly called Ellis back. He would call back the others later. If something really did happen, it¡¯s important to know what it was now. And since Ellis was the one most likely to know what it was, she was the one he called first.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the call to connect. Ellis¡¯ face appeared on the screen. Astrid quickly noticed the dark circles under the other¡¯s eyes. Anyone could see that she probably only slept for a few hours. Or maybe she hadn¡¯t slept at all.


    ¡­..


    ¡°Good morning, Sister Ellis. I¡¯m sorry if I wasn¡¯t able to answer your call. I know something must have happened. Can you tell me the details?¡± he immediately said.


    Ellis stared at him for a moment and then sighed. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Everything has already been resolved.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Astrid asked in bewilderment.


    =====


    So, let us all go back a few hours earlier, when the arguments on [Cyberspace] was at its peak.


    [So, it was that One Leaf¡¯s fault. What are you doing, getting in the way of Nadia and Astrid when you¡¯re just a writer?]


    [Maybe she has a crush on Astrid. LOL.]


    [Can you people not speak on our One Leaf?! Our writer has no interest in such things! Don¡¯t tarnish her image by saying such stupid things!]


    [In the first place, this wasn¡¯t even One Leaf¡¯s fault. It¡¯s Nadia Beck¡¯s fault for posting something so ambiguous. It¡¯s as if she wanted both Astrid and One Leaf to be hated!]


    [Hey, don¡¯t throw the rock at Nadia! She¡¯s the victim in all this!]


    [What kind of victim are you talking about? Shouldn¡¯t it be Astrid?]


    [That¡¯s right! You all drag his name like this as if he killed your dog or something, only to find out that you killed the dog yourself.]


    [Oh please. For all we know maybe this Astrid Townsend seduced both Nadia and One Leaf.]


    [Upstairs, I kind of agree with you.]


    Then a post from Clover Ltd., a publishing company that also handled most of the well known writers in the Empire, appeared. It¡¯s the company where One Leaf was signed. That post was followed by another from Polaris.


    [Clover Ltd v: As malicious comments have been floating around about one of our writers ¨C Miss One Leaf, we at Clover Ltd will make sure to protect our writer. If you are intentionally spreading false rumor about Miss One Leaf without any evidence, we will treat you as a criminal and promptly sue you.]


    [Polaris v: We at Polaris always put the well-being of our artist first. Any malicious rumors and false information will be investigated thoroughly. To those who will be found guilty, please, be prepared of any lawsuit that will come your way.]


    These two posts didn¡¯t really stopped the comments about Astrid or One Lead. Instead, they were fueled even more.


    [What¡¯s this? Are you even stopping our freedom of speech? Do you think we were still in the Blue Star Age?]


    [Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s just lip service. These companies never really go through with their threats.]


    [True. They always say they¡¯re going to sue, but at the end, they still don¡¯t.]


    As the comments on [Cyberspace] related to Astrid, Nadia, and One Leaf continued to accumulate, a certain post completely stopped the arguments from all three sides.


    [@astridsnumber1fan: Evidence of Nadia Beck¡¯s media manipulation.]


    Then attached to it was a folder filled with evidence.


    The first one was a record of someone buying a blank Terminal. Following the cash transaction, it all led to Nadia¡¯s bank account. That wouldn¡¯t actually be that much of a shocking evidence if not for what followed it.


    It was the ID of the blank Terminal. This ID belonged to an already deceased person. But surprisingly enough, the ID of the person who made the post that started this whole controversy was the same as the ID on the blank Terminal that Nadia bought!


    But that was not all. Some controversies before that that was related to Nadia and that somehow benefited her reputation were also connected to a lot of ID Terminals that were supposed to belong to an already dead person. The more shocking thing was these blank Terminals were all bought from the black market using Nadia¡¯s bank account.


    People could argue that this set of evidence could be easily manipulated and faked. But then, as if to tell them ¡®nope, this is not fake at all¡¯, a couple of videos were attached after that.


    This video compilation were all CCTV footages of her with other artists. These artists were the ones who had been victims of her little media play. The footages showed how the ¡®photo evidence¡¯ that ¡®indicted¡¯ these artists came to be. It showed how everything was just her own orchestration.


    How could people tell? Simple. Every time Nadia was done, she would smirk like some villainess that had just finished a scheme.


    And everything was captured on video.

 Chapter 385

    Chapter 385: NADIA¡¯S DOWNFALL (II)


    THE comments under White Wolf¡¯s post quickly garnered attention. But surprisingly enough, or rather, unsurprisingly, the vocal Nadia fans suddenly shut up and didn¡¯t join in the fanfare.


    [Is this really true? Did she do all that?]


    [Did you see that smile? It¡¯s like a snake! It¡¯s giving me goosebumps.]


    [I know some of those artists in those CCTV footages. The controversy that involved them really damaged their reputation. Because they¡¯re not exactly super famous, their career took on a dive after that. Nadia Beck should take responsibility for what she did.]


    [I don¡¯t know most of them. But I do feel sorry to what they had to go through because of this person.]


    [Wow. That¡¯s dedication right there. Imagine doing all your media play like that. She probably should have worked in some entertainment agency instead of being a singer.]


    [But you really got to hand it to her. I mean, doing media play by yourself and being quite successful at it? That requires talent!]


    ¡­..


    [How dare you use One Leaf¡¯s name for your own agenda?]


    [One Leaf is such an innocent soul and you really planned to sabotage her and for what?]


    [Nadia really tried to pull down Astrid ¨C a rookie who¡¯s not even two months into his career. And karma really hit her so fast and so hard. LOL.]


    [But seriously, why did she do it? Just because Astrid didn¡¯t take a photo with her?]


    [Haha if that was really the case, then I pity her a little. Imagine, thinking that you could get clout but ending up damaging their career instead?]


    [This is the second time this happened, right? The first one was with that student from Redwood who hired people to make up rumors about Astrid. But then, at the end, evidence against him also appeared.]


    [Seriously, if this happen again for the third time, we should probably coin the term Astrakarma.]


    [Upstairs, that¡¯s actually a brilliant idea!]


    [This is all thanks to Brother White! You really are Astrid¡¯s number one fan!]


    [Providing evidence this fast, no one does it like Brother White!]


    [I¡¯m curious, who do you think this White Wolf is?]


    [I think he¡¯s a hacker. With how fast he got those evidence, a hacker is the first thing that comes to mind.]


    [Nah. I think he¡¯s a rich young master. With his money, he can pay people any hacker he wanted to hire.]


    [He¡¯s probably in the military or someone high up.]


    [Or maybe he¡¯s the prince himself. Isn¡¯t one of the prince¡¯s moniker, the ¡®White Wolf of Alluna¡¯?]


    [Upstairs, be serious, do you think the prince would be involve in something like this?]


    [Yeah. There¡¯s no way he would be interested in things like this. He probably doesn¡¯t even know any actors or actresses.]


    [LOL be careful. You might end up being kidnapped and tortured for suspecting the prince.]


    [If I¡¯m an actor, I would also like to have a fan like White Wolf.]


    [Who doesn¡¯t? I bet a lot of artists out there wished to have a fan like him. If someone slandered them, they and their company doesn¡¯t need to do anything. Because White Wolf would do it for them.]


    [Having a fan like that, isn¡¯t it scary? If he could hack something like this, then it would be easy for him to get Astrid¡¯s Terminal number or even his address. Maybe he would even secretly film Astrid. How creepy is that?]


    [Hey, the one upstairs, can you not deflect the real topic here? Which is about Nadia Beck¡¯s ¡®awesome¡¯ media play.]


    [But seriously, I¡¯m really curious who this ¡®White Wolf¡¯ is.]


    =====


    The White Wolf everyone was talking about was currently looking at the comments in [Cyberspace] and showing a satisfied smile. There was not one comment defending Nadia.


    Which would probably not last since some of her die-hard fans might defend her like there¡¯s no tomorrow. But that wouldn¡¯t really change anything much. Since public opinion was already on Aster¡¯s side.


    Wulfric actually still had a lot of black material against Nadia Beck. But since she only attacked Aster using media play, he decided that he would only reveal that. If the other didn¡¯t learn any lesson from this, then he would be more than happy to reveal to everyone those ¡®black materials¡¯.


    He wondered what would Aster¡¯s reaction be like once he discovered that he no longer needed to worry about this ¡®controversy¡¯ that Nadia Beck started.


    Wulfric really wanted to just call the other and ask him how he¡¯s been doing. But considering how sharp Aster was, he might think that something was afoot. And then, he might slowly connect the dots and find out that Wulfric was actually ¡®White Wolf¡¯, the one who had the handle @astridsnumber1fan.


    So, it¡¯s better to just not call him. Of course, he would do so later. But not right now when things were still at its peak.


    He hoped that what he did could make Aster smile. He would be satisfied if even it¡¯s just a small one.


    Ah, he really wanted to hear Aster¡¯s voice.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Back to the present time¡­


    Astrid had a contemplative look on his face as he listened to Ellis¡¯ story about how my number one fan solved everything even faster than Clover Ltd or Polaris. By the time Ellis and the others came up with a concrete plan to handle the situation, ¡®White Wolf¡¯ had already posted the ¡®evidence¡¯.


    He was so surprised by this that he became speechless for a moment. His expression must have been hard not to notice. That¡¯s why Ellis suddenly asked;


    ¡°Do you know this White Wolf in person?¡±


    Astrid hesitated if he should tell Ellis who was ¡®White Wolf¡¯. But both his heart and brain were telling him that she shouldn¡¯t. At least not right now. But he couldn¡¯t also outright lie. So, let¡¯s just make a compromise.


    ¡°I do know. But he doesn¡¯t know that I do. That¡¯s all I can tell Sister Ellis right now,¡± he answered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s not someone who would ever harm me.¡±

 Chapter 386

    Chapter 386: FOR ME, BUT NOT EXACTLY


    ELLIS sighed when he heard Astrid¡¯s answer. She suddenly felt like this artist of hers was hiding a lot of things from her. What kind of situation would he give an answer of ¡®I know him but he doesn¡¯t know that I do¡¯?


    Was this ¡®White Wolf¡¯ perhaps a relative who was too shy to admit that they made a stan account for Astrid and the latter accidentally discovered about it? Ellis had a feeling that that might be the case.


    Thinking so, he remembered Astrid¡¯s twin brother. Wasn¡¯t he a cadet at the Imperial Military Academy? Maybe it was him and he was just embarrassed to admit that to his brother. He could be a great hacker for all she knew.


    Well, it didn¡¯t really matter. What¡¯s important here was the fact that this ¡®White Wolf¡¯ wouldn¡¯t suddenly turn into a stalker. With this person¡¯s hacking ability, they would be such a pain in the ass if they decided to be a stalker.


    ¡°I¡¯ll trust you and not look into it,¡± Ellis said responding to Astrid¡¯s answer. ¡°But I hope there¡¯s no more major secrets between us. I¡¯m your agent. It¡¯s important that I could react appropriately to any issue that may come your way. You understand, right?¡±


    Astrid only smiled and did not give a definite answer. How could he when there¡¯s a huge secret about his identity that he couldn¡¯t tell the other right now?


    Ellis narrowed her eyes at that smile. It¡¯s like the other was saying, ¡®yes, I indeed have a secret, but I can¡¯t tell it to you right now¡¯. She could only sigh at the end.


    ¡­..


    ¡°Please, just tell me this secret is not detrimental to your career,¡± she said in a helpless tone.


    ¡°Well, it depends. It might turn out to be an advantage but it could also be a disadvantage. It really all just depends on people¡¯s perspective on the issue,¡± Astrid said. ¡°But Sister Ellis doesn¡¯t have to worry about that right now. I don¡¯t think this secret will be revealed any time soon anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Ellis said with a bit of sarcasm. ¡°Just give me a heads-up if this ¡®secret¡¯ is about to be revealed.¡±


    Astrid nodded. Then, he remembered that there he still had another secret. That he had a sort-of ambiguous relationship with the prince of the Empire.


    Ellis would probably have the huge urge to wring his neck by the time all these secrets came out in the open.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After his call with Ellis ended, Astrid had no time to check [Cyberspace] because he had to get ready for school. He only had a chance to do it while he was on a flying car on the way to Redwood.


    Seeing all the posts and the comments related to the issue, it seemed that it was quite the circus. It¡¯s such a shame that he missed all of it. And then he finally saw Wulfric¡¯s post.


    It was a very straightforward post. Just saying that it¡¯s the evidence of Nadia¡¯s media play. He didn¡¯t even directly say that the post was to directly defend Astrid against the malicious rumor about him. Which was probably even more effective. Because it focused more on Nadia¡¯s media play instead of the grievance Astrid had suffered.


    Surprisingly as well, Wulfric didn¡¯t go too overboard with this. He simply provided evidence of Nadia¡¯s usual tactics whenever she wanted to get clout. If this was the Wulfric when he first met him, something much worse than this would have happened to Nadia.


    This was probably Wulfric¡¯s way of not directly dealing with things involving Astrid. So, to go around that promise he made with him, he instead used the identity of his stan account to help Astrid deal with this situation.


    Astrid had a feeling that Wulfric would still do the same in the future.


    And no, he wasn¡¯t angry about that. It¡¯s not like the other broke his promise to him. The one who cleared all the misunderstanding was not the prince of the Empire but his number one fan.


    He then started sending messages to his friends to respond to their inquiries. He also sent one to Reas. The other probably hadn¡¯t yet known about the issue, so quickly explained things to him before he started worrying. The same went for his parents. The fact that they didn¡¯t call or message him meant that they hadn¡¯t yet seen the commotion on [Cyberspace].


    And then lastly, he opened his number one fan¡¯s [Cyberspace] account. Then, he messaged the other directly.


    [@astridtownsend: Hi! Thank you for clearing the misunderstanding about me. It must have been a lot of work. I really appreciate what you did. Having a fan like you truly warms my heart. I will try my best to show a better side of me in the future. Thank you, my number one fan. ^_^]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric woke up just after an hour of sleep. After looking for evidence of that woman¡¯s wrongdoings and posting it online, he stayed up just to monitor if there would be someone trying to reverse things. Once he made sure that no one did so and that the woman would not be able to escape the backlash of what she did, he finally was able to sleep peacefully.


    Although he would probably have to deal with Hildred¡¯s inquiry sooner or later. Because the one he always asked to do things related to Aster was the other. It was the same last night.


    He asked Hildred to find those CCTV footages, as well as investigate the blank Terminals that Nadia Beck used. Maybe the other already had an idea that Wulfric had a [Cyberspace] account dedicated to Aster. Just imagining how much teasing he would get after was already making his head hurt.


    It was probably good that Hildred was about to go on a vacation with Edmund.


    After waking up, the first thing Wulfric did was to check [Cyberspace] directly. Thankfully, the topic about Aster and that whole fiasco was no longer in the trending hot topic list. Instead, there were more people talking about Nadia Beck¡¯s bad behavior.


    Wulfric smirked reading the hate comments towards that woman. Although there were still some brainless fans trying to defend her, their voices were already drowned by the much larger general public.


    He didn¡¯t pity the other for that. Wasn¡¯t this what she wanted? To be the center of attention. Well, now she¡¯s having that one-minute of fame. She should be happy, right?


    After confirming that, he was about to close [Cyberspace]. But then a notification appeared, saying that he received a message from the person he¡¯s following. And there¡¯s only one person on his following list.


    He quickly opened the message and read the content.


    His heart felt warm and happy after reading how Aster appreciated what he did. It¡¯s like all his hard work was just for this moment.


    But then, that happy feeling quickly turned into something sour. Because this message was not exactly for ¡®Wulfric¡¯ but for ¡®White Wolf¡¯ instead. Aster was basically sending this message to a complete stranger!


    And thus, our prince, a mighty general, experienced for the first time how it felt to be jealous of one¡¯s self.

 Chapter 387

    Chapter 387: BACK AT REDWOOD


    AS soon as Astrid arrived at Redwood, the other students¡¯ attention quickly fell on him. It might be because he appeared in a big movie production during the month he wasn¡¯t here.


    Even if they were all aspiring to be a part of the entertainment industry, it¡¯s pretty rare for a student here to started acting. Because most of them focused more on studying. With how long the life-span of people in this era was, it wouldn¡¯t matter even if they focused on their career once they graduated. One could even start at the age of 60 and it wouldn¡¯t matter.


    Or maybe the reason why the students couldn¡¯t help but glance at him was because of the Nadia issue last night. It became a trending topic after all.


    Thankfully enough, none of them tried to talk to Astrid. He didn¡¯t really want to act like he¡¯s enjoying having conversations with them when he knew that most of them probably didn¡¯t really like him.


    Yes, that¡¯s a bit negative of him to think like that. But even now, what he could see from most of the students he encountered was not a look of admiration but a look of dissatisfaction. As if silently questioning why he was having this much success when he was only on his first year at Redwood.


    Of course, not everyone would feel that way. But Astrid had no inclination to search for those people and befriend them. First he had no time, and second, he¡¯s very satisfied with the group of friends he had now.


    Speaking of which, when he walked into the lecture hall for his first class, he immediately saw Snow. Which was not really hard since the other had such an eye-catching face.


    ¡­..


    Astrid walked towards where the other was sitting and sat beside him.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± he greeted.


    Snow was startled by the sudden greeting. But after recognizing the voice, he quickly turned to the side and saw Astrid smiling at him.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± he greeted back, the corner of his lips turning slightly upwards. And then, as if remembering all the issue that happened last night, he worriedly asked, ¡°Is everything really okay?¡±


    Although Astrid had sent a message telling that everything was already taken care of, Snow still couldn¡¯t help but be worried. After all, the malicious comments floating around [Cyberspace] last night against Astrid was pretty severe. It was even worse than when that schoolmate of theirs, who Snow had already forgotten the name, did his little ¡®revenge¡¯.


    ¡°Yes. Thankfully, a very kind fan helped clear the misunderstandings,¡± Astrid said. ¡°If not, my agency would just waste their manpower on such a trivial issue.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s so trivial,¡± Snow commented. ¡°You¡¯re still a newcomer. Something like that could easily leave a stain on your public image.¡±


    Astrid only smiled. Actually, even if Wulfric didn¡¯t help, he hardly considered what happened as career threatening. With Ellis¡¯ ability, she could surely do something about it. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t appreciate Wulfric¡¯s help. Just like the message he sent to the other, he was very grateful.


    ¡°But that fan, do you think he can be a danger to you in the future?¡± Snow asked.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    Snow wasn¡¯t sure how Astrid could be sure of that. But since the other looked so confident when he did, he could only nod.


    ¡°How were you this past month, by the way?¡± Astrid asked to change the subject.


    Although they exchanged messages from time to time, it¡¯s not enough time to fully talked about anything important. Mainly because he was too busy with all the filming and other activities.


    Snow was about to answer when the teacher for the class entered the lecture hall.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it later,¡± he said. ¡°I also have a very good news to share with you and Kiran.¡±


    Astrid could see how Snow visibly brightened when he mentioned the last part. He smiled and nodded. If Snow was smiling like that, it must be something that truly made him quite happy.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Time quickly passed and it¡¯s now time for lunch. Since Astrid and Snow had the same last class for the morning, the both of them went to the greenhouse together. As soon as they walked in, a bright voice called them.


    ¡°Aster! Snow!¡±


    Both looked towards the direction of the voice and saw Kiran waving at them.


    Astrid was a bit surprised seeing the other. It had been a little over a month since he last saw Kiran but he didn¡¯t expect that the other would change this much. Before he went on that one-month long leave, Kiran¡¯s cheeks were still a bit sallow. The state of his skin back then also showed just how much he lacked nutrition. He said ¡®back then¡¯ because that¡¯s certainly not the case now.


    Kiran¡¯s cheeks were now plump like that of a hamster, his skin showed a healthy glow, even his hair looked shiny. Once Astrid walked closer to the other, he noticed that the other looked even a bit taller.


    ¡°Wow Kiran. I haven¡¯t seen you in a month and yet you already became so much more handsome,¡± Astrid teased. Although he seemed to be teasing Kiran, he truly meant what he said.


    Kiran¡¯s face turned a lovely shade of red. ¡°Don¡¯t tease me¨C!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious though,¡± Astrid said before turning to Snow. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so as well, Snow?¡±


    Snow nodded seriously.


    Kiran blushed even harder. ¡°L-let¡¯s just eat lunch.¡±


    The three sat down on their usual spot and then Astrid took out the dishes that he prepared. They were actually the leftovers from last night¡¯s dinner.


    Kiran¡¯s eyes brightened seeing the mouth-watering dishes in front of him. ¡°I really miss your cooking.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. ¡°So, you only miss my cooking, huh?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, of course I miss you too!¡± Kiran quickly said.


    Astrid chuckled at that. He turned to Snow. ¡°By the way, Snow, what¡¯s the good news you want to share with us?¡±


    A small smile appeared on Snow¡¯s pretty face. ¡°I passed an audition.¡±

 Chapter 388

    Chapter 388: A DAY OF CONGRATULATIONS


    ¡°WOW that¡¯s great, Snow!¡±


    ¡°Congratulations!¡±


    Kiran and Astrid said at the same time. A beautiful smile bloomed on Snow¡¯s face. The cold winter completely turning into spring.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Snow said. ¡°It¡¯s just a small role though.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say. There¡¯s no small role in acting. As long as you do your part and leave a deep impression on the audience, then that¡¯s more than enough,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Kiran seconded. ¡°An opportunity, no matter how small, could turn into something big as long as you do your best to make it that way.¡±


    Snow nodded, agreeing with the two. That¡¯s why even though the role he had gotten was small, he was very excited about it. Just like the two said, the role might be small but if he showed a great performance, the audience would definitely appreciate it. Then, it could be another chance for him to get another role.


    ¡­..


    ¡°But what role is it? Is it for a TV series or for a movie?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s for a web series actually that¡¯s currently airing right now. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard of the series, it¡¯s called [Noble Lawyer]. I will be playing the victim on the episode that will air about two weeks from now.¡±


    [Noble Lawyer] was a web series that started right after [Blind Justice] popularity started to rise. It was produced by a streaming service that was in rivalry with the streaming service where the latter was being aired. They produced [Noble Lawyer] in the hopes that it could fight with [Blind Justice].


    The intention was so obvious that many fans of [Blind Justice] made a fuss and the series drew flack before it even started. Especially since the synopsis of the show showed a great similarity to [Blind Justice].


    It¡¯s about a lawyer who represented people in court who were disadvantaged in life. He helped them get the justice that they deserved. It¡¯s almost the same as the purpose of the main cast of [Blind Justice]. The only difference was, in [Noble Lawyer], the main character used the law instead of being a vigilante to attain justice.


    So, one could imagine just how much negative reaction it received. But surprisingly enough, most of those negative reaction disappeared the moment the first episode aired. Because it showed just how different it was from [Blind Justice].


    For one, the protagonist of [Noble Lawyer] was in fact a very rich noble who disguised himself as a commoner so he could work as a lawyer. He used his abundant riches and money to gather evidence and bring the criminals to justice. But it wasn¡¯t just that. The lead actor was very good. His charm quickly won the hearts of the audience.


    Just like [Blind Justice], it¡¯s a weekly web series that had different case each episode. And for almost a year of airing, they had maintain a loyal audience and following.


    This was the reason why Snow didn¡¯t hesitate to audition when he saw the audition notice on the show¡¯s official website. Because he knew that guesting in such a show could help in his career now that he was only starting.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve heard of it. It¡¯s a pretty popular show, isn¡¯t it?¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve also watched a couple of episodes of that show,¡± Kiran said. ¡°The main character is a pretty funny.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s just a shame that we don¡¯t have any scene together. It¡¯s would definitely be fun to act with him,¡± Snow commented with a bit of regret.


    The whole script of the episode was already sent to him. He had already memorized everything. Since the role of the victim in the episode was already dead at the start, he mostly appeared in flashbacks. So, he and the main character didn¡¯t meet at all.


    ¡°Will someone accompany you to the filming site?¡± Astrid asked with a bit of worried tone. After all, Snow still didn¡¯t have an entertainment company or agency to represent him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have that covered,¡± Snow answered.


    Or rather, his father had that covered. The other would surely send an assistant that could also act as a bodyguard. After that kidnapping incident, his father became even more protective. As evidence of the bodyguards secretly following and guarding him whenever or wherever.


    In fact, his father even wanted to set up an entertainment agency to handle his career. But Snow drew the line on that. Because it wouldn¡¯t be any different from his father handing everything to him on a silver platter.


    ¡°I also have a good news,¡± Kiran said.


    Both Astrid and Snow turned to him, asking what it was.


    ¡°I signed a contract with Polaris to produce and compose five songs for them,¡± Kiran said with a big grin.


    ¡°Congratulations!¡± both Astrid and Snow said at the same time.


    ¡°Is the contract satisfactory though?¡± Snow asked in concern. He¡¯s not saying that Polaris would scam Kiran. He¡¯s just worried that Kiran would have missed some elements in the contract that could prove disadvantageous for him in the long run.


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± Kiran said with no hesitation. ¡°The commission fee is extremely good for someone like me who hadn¡¯t made his name yet. Most importantly, I still get to keep the copyright for the song.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Snow. I¡¯m not saying this because I¡¯m signed under them, but Polaris has a very fair management,¡± Astrid added as if he knew what Snow was worried about. ¡°I can¡¯t say this for everyone working there, but at least majority of them won¡¯t take advantage of a newbie musician.¡±


    Kiran, as if only realizing now that Snow was worried that he might be duped, quickly said, ¡°Yes, Snow, don¡¯t worry. All the people from Polaris I talked to has been very kind.¡±


    Snow smiled helplessly. ¡°Then, I¡¯m glad.¡±


    Astrid then poured tea for the three of them. ¡°Since today seemed to be a day for congratulations, should we make a toast?¡± He lifted his tea cup. ¡°To a successful future!¡±


    The two also raised their cups and said at the same time, ¡°To a successful future!¡±

 Chapter 389

    Chapter 389: SCREEN TEST RESULT


    ASTRID opened the door to his apartment as he checked the comments of the post he posted on [Cyberspace] during lunch. Ellis told him to post something to show his fans that the ordeal last night didn¡¯t affect him at all. So, he posted his lunch. He only now had the time to check people¡¯s response to it.


    It¡¯s because as soon as his afternoon class ended, his parents called him. Just as he expected, the two found out about that Nadia Beck issue and immediately checked on him.


    Funny thing was, because the issue had already passed when they woke up, the didn¡¯t find about it until later when he posted that picture on [Cyberspace] and read the comments of his fans encouraging him and asking him if he¡¯s alright. They probably waited until he finished his afternoon class before calling him.


    After assuring them that everything had been solved and settled, Astrid went back to his apartment peacefully. He read the comments under his post and was glad that most of it were positive. And due to that issue, the number of his followers on [Cyberspace] had increased again. It was now nearing six million.


    It¡¯s like he received the clout that Nadia Beck wanted and thus also receiving all the benefits. He didn¡¯t mind though.


    As soon as he entered the apartment, Xiao Lan greeted him. He lifted the other and scratched its chin. He put Xiao Lan down when he reached the kitchen, then he started brewing tea.


    It was then that his Terminal rang. It was a video call request from Ellis. He quickly accepted the call.


    ¡­..


    ¡°Your back at your apartment?¡± Ellis asked after seeing where he was.


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Do you have news, Sister Ellis?¡±


    ¡°Yes, quite a lot actually,¡± Ellis said. ¡°First, Nadia Beck posted an apology on her [Cyberspace] account. It didn¡¯t really do anything good though. People just flocked on her account and filled it with hate comments. Her agency tried to save her by putting all the blame to her agent, saying that it was all the latter¡¯s idea. Too bad for them, the agent was no soft persimmon. He denied it vehemently, even providing some evidence himself. Now, not only Nadia is in trouble but also her agency.¡±


    Astrid couldn¡¯t say that that was unexpected. He had already thought that something like that would happen to some extent. He didn¡¯t feel pity for Nadia. Why would he when she literally had it coming?


    ¡°But we don¡¯t have to care about that anymore since it¡¯s no longer our business,¡± Ellis added. ¡°Now, for the second news, this one definitely much better than the first, I received an email from EMMA. You passed the screen test!¡±


    Even though Astrid was confident that he would pass it, this news still thrilled him tremendously. Because with this news, he now had the confirmation that he would truly be EMMA¡¯s ambassador for this new perfume line.


    This ambassadorship would not only help him in his career, it would also elevate his image. The ads that would be offered to him after that would surely not have a reputation any less than EMMA.


    ¡°The contract signing would be tomorrow,¡± Ellis continued. ¡°The schedule for the photoshoot and other details will also be explained to us there. Can you leave class early tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Since I have a perfectly good reason to skip class, I think they would give me permission,¡± Astrid said.


    They talked a bit more before they ended the conversation and closed their respective Terminals.


    Astrid poured himself a cup of tea, drank and savored it. He felt so elated and happy. His first ad and it was already such a big brand. When he thought of how different it was from his past life, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that how incredibly lucky he was.


    Well, the fact that he remembered his past life definitely added to that luck. If he didn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t probably know what he would do during that screen test. No, being an actor wouldn¡¯t probably even cross his mind.


    So, once again, he was glad he managed to dodge Meng Po and her soup.


    Astrid¡¯s Terminal rang once again. When he saw who was calling, he subconsciously smiled. He pressed the ¡®accept¡¯ button and a handsome man appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Hello, Wulf,¡± he greeted first.


    ¡°Hi,¡± Wulfric greeted back.


    Astrid noticed that the other¡¯s expression was particularly gloomy. ¡°Is something the matter? You look like you¡¯re in a bad mood.¡±


    Wulfric only seemed to have noticed then that his expression wasn¡¯t that good. He tried to smile but it only made him look constipated. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. How about you, I read about what happened last nigh, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine. It didn¡¯t really bother me. It¡¯s just a bit annoying, that¡¯s all,¡± Astrid said. Remembering how Wulfric secretly helped him, he couldn¡¯t help but want to tease the other. ¡°Thankfully, I have a very dedicated fan who didn¡¯t waste time to prove to defend me.¡±


    He thought Wulfric would show a shy expression after he said that. But no, he didn¡¯t even smile. Instead, a frown appeared on his face.


    ¡°Yes, I read about that. Do you trust¡­ this person?¡± Wulfric asked.


    Astrid didn¡¯t understand why Wulfric was showing this kind of expression. So, he decided to just answer honestly. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s brows furrowed even further. ¡°He¡¯s a complete stranger. Who knows what his purpose was for doing that. You shouldn¡¯t give him your trust that easily.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. If he didn¡¯t know that Wulfric was actually ¡®White Wolf¡¯, he might have questioned whether his suspicion was correct or not. But since he knew, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why the other was casting suspicion on himself. It¡¯s like he was annoyed at his stan alter ago.


    But why would he? Wulfric probably wouldn¡¯t even think of acting like that just to prevent Astrid from suspecting anything. Wulfric would just find that troublesome.


    Then, as if a light bulb lit up inside his mind, he came to a sudden conclusion.


    No way. Could it be that Wulfric was jealous of himself?

 Chapter 390 - 390 JEALOUS OF ONE’S SELF

    390 JEALOUS OF ONE¡¯S SELF


    ASTRID stared at Wulfric¡¯s expression. The other was still frowning. To test his guess that Wulfric was truly jealous of his stan persona, he said in a very dramatic way;


    ¡°But Mr. White seemed to be such a sweet and caring man. I don¡¯t think he would ever harm me.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s expression immediately changed ¨C his brows furrowed even further and the corner of his lips turned down. He almost looked like someone who had just eaten something extremely sour.


    Astrid laughed inside. Just by that expression, he could confirm that his guess was truly correct. How fun. When he thought that the other couldn¡¯t be any more adorable, here he was, proving Astrid wrong.


    Really, where would you find someone being jealous of themselves? If he didn¡¯t know beforehand who ¡®White Wolf¡¯ was in reality, the way the other was acting now would prevent him from thinking that Wulfric and the other were one and the same. Astrid suddenly had an urge to open up Wulfric¡¯s brain just to see what the heck was going on in there.


    Wulfric snorted. ¡°How can you think that he¡¯s sweet and caring when you have never met him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just feel like we have a connection,¡± Astrid said in a dreamy tone, teasing the other further. ¡°I really wanted to meet him.¡±


    Hearing Aster said that with that kind of expression and tone, Wulfric felt that sour feeling once again. It¡¯s currently filling his chest and he had a huge urge to just topple over the desk in front of him.


    He knew that he was being so damn weird for even feeling this way when Aster was technically talking about him. But the fact that Aster didn¡¯t know that it was him was the reason why it irked him so much like this. Because in the other¡¯s mind right now, he was thinking of some other guy and not him. How could Wulfric just smile and nod at that?


    ¡­..


    He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Being angry like this would only make him look bad in front of Aster. Despite that, Wulfric still couldn¡¯t stop himself from feeling aggrieved.


    He was the one who gathered all those evidence and yet it felt like some other person was reaping all the benefits. But the most annoying thing was, he couldn¡¯t even vent this grievance. How could he exactly when the one causing him to feel like this was Aster?


    ¡°Just- just be careful¨C!¡± he could only say at the end.


    Astrid¡¯s dark obsidian eyes were filled with mirth seeing as how Wulfric was trying his best to sound like nothing was wrong even though he looked exactly the opposite. Like an aggrieved wife not wanting her husband to see that she felt aggrieved and jealous.


    He decided to stop teasing Wulfric before the other noticed that he might have already known about his secret stan account. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m always careful.¡±


    After that, the two started talking about their day which lasted until evening. They probably wouldn¡¯t even end the call if it¡¯s not already time for dinner.


    The two of them probably didn¡¯t even notice it themselves, just how much they enjoyed each other¡¯s company.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The next day, Astrid was able to get a quick leave of absence for some of his afternoon classes. He didn¡¯t really have to do something complicated just to get one since the school considered any type of work in the entertainment industry as an extracurricular activity.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t include anything ¡®questionable¡¯. Like something that could affect the reputation of Redwood. But since it¡¯s rare for a freshman to take this much approved leave, the teachers in charged were already having a headache on how they would properly grade Astrid.


    After all, if he took this much leave of absence, it might effect his study. The teachers just hoped that during the first practical and written exam, Astrid could take a high enough score for them to not worry about what grade they should give him.


    After leaving the school premises, Astrid didn¡¯t have to wait long before Ellis appeared via her flying car and they went straight to EMMA¡¯s main headquarters.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, have they told you how they would incorporate the three concept that I did during the screen test into one perfume line?¡± Astrid thought of asking.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t yet told me anything. But if I have to guess, then this perfume line would probably have three variations.¡±


    Astrid nodded, that¡¯s actually what he also thought of. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then a lot of shooting must be required.¡±


    After all, he didn¡¯t only have to do pictorials, he also had to shoot an ad. If he had to do it for three different versions, then it would definitely not be finished in just one day.


    Unless, of course, the people in charged planned to take the easy way out and just do everything in one shot. No matter how good Astrid was, even he couldn¡¯t say with confidence that he could give the perfect picture in just one try. But since this was EMMA they were talking about, they would probably be as meticulous as they could.


    ¡°If there are really three variations, then the shooting would probably last for three days at the very least,¡± Ellis said, agreeing to him. ¡°If they had already everything ready, the shooting might start on Friday or on weekends.¡±


    Astrid also thought the same. He could only hope that they would shoot during the weekends. He would try to finish everything in two days. That way, he didn¡¯t have to skip classes again.


    Soon, they arrived at EMMA. Ellis quickly parked the car and the both of them got out. Compared to where they went the last time they were here, today the two were walking towards the main building.


    Entering the building, they were greeted by an AI staff. It seemed that every guest who entered the place would automatically have their own AI robot to lead them. When Ellis told the AI their names, the AI quickly led the way for them.

 Chapter 391 - 391 THE LITTLE WOES OF GLEN COOK

    391 THE LITTLE WOES OF GLEN COOK


    GLEN COOK ¨C the current president of EMMA had been having a headache for a few days now. And the source of it all would be coming to his office any time now. Yes, it was that rookie actor, Astrid Townsend.


    Because of that child, the heads of different departments, as well as some of members of the board, had been arguing about him being the ambassador of their upcoming perfume line. Because of the arguments, some of the board members even thought of inserting their own people to be the ambassador. Their mentality was probably, ¡®if a newcomer can do it, then why not this person instead?¡¯.


    It caused Glen a great headache just making sure that he could stop any hocus pocus that might happen. Frankly speaking, he normally wouldn¡¯t bother with things like that. But since Lord Cassius told him directly that he should make sure that none of those things would happen, he had no choice but to intervene.


    The sad part was, a VP still managed to fumble things up by instructing some people to mess with Astrid Townsend¡¯s screen test. Unluckily for that VP, Lord Cassius happened to visit the shoot and so his little machinations did not work.


    But since that VP had been very loyal to EMMA and only acted that way because he truly thought that disqualifying Astrid was for the good of the company, he did not receive that big of a punishment. Still, the subsequent things that followed only brought headache to Glen.


    Because of the VP¡¯s scheme, Lord Cassius became even more determined to stop others from intervening with this selection. Of course, that job fell heavily on him.


    After the screen test was done, the different department heads, some board members, as well as him, had to convene in a meeting to discuss whether Astrid Townsend passed or not. Shockingly enough, well, maybe not really, Lord Cassius also attended. So, those who planned to give a negative vote regardless of Astrid¡¯s performance could no longer do what they planned.


    And so, the process of deciding whether the newcomer deserved to be the new face of EMMA turned into a very peaceful discussion. At the end, everyone agreed for Astrid Townsend to be the endorser of EMMA¡¯s new perfume line.


    Of course, that¡¯s not only because Lord Cassius was there with them. In fact, his presence there only served as a buffer to prevent the other people in the meeting to argue senselessly with each other. The true reason why they all agreed at the end was because of Astrid himself.


    ¡­..


    The photos that were shown to them during the meeting made all of them speechless. They couldn¡¯t even believe that the one they were looking at was indeed a newcomer. From the way he posed to the angles he used, every image was like the one they envisioned for this perfume line.


    No matter how reluctant some of them were, they couldn¡¯t argue with the facts that Astrid embodied the image of the new perfume line perfectly. He did so well that it left all of them speechless. Anyone who would try to say anything negative would only look like a fool.


    That¡¯s why, at the end, they all came to unanimous decision ¨C that Astrid Townsend would be the endorser of the new perfume line. Although everyone agreed to that, there were still some who couldn¡¯t accept that and therefore put up conditions under the guise of concern for the company.


    These conditions seemed to be unfair to Astrid who passed this screen test with flying colors. But majority of the people in the meeting agreed to it.


    Glen thought that Lord Cassius would definitely disagree, but miraculously enough, the other didn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t sure if that was just him being overly confident with Astrid¡¯s ¡®star factor¡¯ or if the other already had a plan to negate that. In any case, it didn¡¯t really matter to Glen so he just let everything be.


    At that moment, a virtual screen appeared in front of him, telling him that the people he¡¯s waiting for finally arrived. He pressed a button on his desk and the door of his office opened. Then, two people walked inside one after the other.


    The first one was a woman with short hair and sharp impression. She was followed by a teenager with black hair and a pair of dark obsidian eyes. The way those eyes tilted upwards at the end gave him a bit of an exotic feel.


    Even though Glen had seen Astrid Townsend¡¯s pictures, seeing him in reality still surprised him. If they only went by looks, the other was definitely more than deserving to be the face of EMMA. But the problem was, even though he had the face and presence, he didn¡¯t have enough power to his name.


    A newcomer that wasn¡¯t even on the [Star List]. Any way one looked, this deal could only be considered as one-sided. EMMA could give infinite benefits to the other, what could the other give them? Right now, there was definitely none.


    Glen truly wondered just what kind of relationship this kid had with Lord Cassius to be given this once in a lifetime opportunity.


    He shook his head. That¡¯s not really important right now. Since they had already decided to sign a contract with Astrid, they could only go through with it.


    ¡°Good afternoon,¡± greeted the woman. ¡°This is Ellis Payne, Astrid¡¯s agent. Thank you for inviting us here.¡±


    ¡°Welcome. Please, do sit down,¡± he said as he stoop up and gestured for the two to sit on the area of the office that was reserved to entertain guests.


    The two sat down on one of the couches. Glen walked around his desk to sit opposite the two. ¡°Can I offer you any drinks?¡±


    ¡°Coffee would be great,¡± Ellis Payne said.


    ¡°Tea for me, please,¡± Astrid said with a gentle smile.


    Glen nodded and called for his secretary to bring drinks and snacks to the office. After the drinks and snacks arrived, the discussion about the contract finally started.

 Chapter 392 - 392 CONTRACT SIGNING [EMMA]

    392 CONTRACT SIGNING [EMMA]


    ASTRID looked at the middle-aged looking man sitting in front of him and Ellis. If this was his past life, he would have guessed the other¡¯s age as late 40s to early 50s. But since it¡¯s this era we¡¯re talking about, the other would probably between 150 to 200 years of age. And he¡¯s quite fit for his age too.


    The man was the president of EMMA. Astrid was actually quite surprised when the AI robot led him and Ellis to this man¡¯s office. He thought that the VP for marketing or some other would be the one to sign the contract with them. He didn¡¯t expect that it would be the president himself.


    Considering Astrid¡¯s current position as a newcomer, having the president of EMMA entertain him himself was a bit, well, over the top.


    ¡°Please, look through the contract,¡± the president ¨C Mr. Glen Cook ¨C said.


    He pushed a button on the table between them and a virtual screen appeared in front Astrid and Ellis each. The two of them started reading the contract. The first page of the contract was all well and good. It just talked about some formalities and what-not. But when they turned to the next page, that¡¯s when both Astrid and Ellis stopped.


    Both their eyes were on a particular entry on the contract.


    [If party B didn¡¯t double the expected sales of the product in its first month, the contract shall be nulled and void.]


    Astrid raised a brow when he read that. So, if the sales of the perfume didn¡¯t double to what they were expecting, he would basically be fired. Then, wouldn¡¯t that make him the fastest ambassador to be kicked out of the job?


    ¡°Mr. Cook, can you explain this clause more clearly?¡± Ellis asked, she was smiling but it didn¡¯t reach her eyes.


    ¡­..


    Astrid could clearly see that the other was very angry right now. If he was an agent and he was presented this kind of unfair contract for his artist, he would be angry too.


    As if he didn¡¯t notice Ellis¡¯ mood shift, Mr. Cook responded calmly, ¡°It is as you have read. We require for Mr. Townsend to double our expected sale for the first month after the perfume is released to the market. Not accomplishing that will make the contract null and void. But you don¡¯t have to worry because you will still be paid handsomely.¡±


    [As if I care about the pay.] ¨C Ellis almost shouted in gritted teeth. It took everything in her just to remain civil. ¡°Mr. Cook do know that your company will also lose money by doing this, right?¡±


    She meant all the advertisements and photoshoots that came with this contract. Since those would be released the same day that the new perfume line would be available to purchase.


    If Astrid didn¡¯t achieve that ridiculous quota after a month, wouldn¡¯t those ads all be for naught? Would they just throw all of it just because of their stubbornness? Yes, Ellis could see that this clause came about because there were still people in EMMA who didn¡¯t like the idea of Astrid being an ambassador.


    And this was the brilliant idea they thought about. They didn¡¯t even care if the company lost money just to prove their point that Astrid was not the right person for this job. But the funny thing was, the fact that Astrid was even offered this contract in the first place meant that he passed the screen test. And yet they were still doing this.


    How f*cking hypocritical!


    ¡°Miss Payne don¡¯t need to worry about that,¡± Mr. Cook said, as if saying that the money wasn¡¯t a problem.


    It¡¯s EMMA, so the money they would possibly lose for this contract was probably just a spare change for them. And this fact annoyed Ellis even further.


    She truly wanted to just decline this nonsensical contract. After all, if Astrid didn¡¯t reach this quota, the moniker ¡®one-month long ambassador¡¯ would definitely stick to him for the rest of his career. He would be a laughingstock. Instead of benefiting Astrid, it would just affect him negatively.


    And here she thought Lord Cassius would at least prevent something like this happening. Surely, he knew about that clause. Was his confidence towards Astrid¡¯s ability this much that he allowed such a clause?


    Although Ellis was also confident of Astrid¡¯s talent, there were still things that could not be solved by that. Like things beyond one¡¯s control, for example. An unexpected accident could easily affect the final result.


    While she was pondering what to do next, Astrid had already spoken first.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sister Ellis. Let¡¯s agree with this clause.¡±


    Ellis turned to Astrid. Although the other was smiling, she could see the fire burning in his eyes. It¡¯s not the expression of someone who was angry, rather, it was that of someone who¡¯s determined to prove what he¡¯s capable of.


    Seeing that, Ellis suddenly felt like the heavy feeling enveloping her whole body was finally starting to lighten. It¡¯s like Astrid¡¯s confident appearance relieved that heavy burden.


    Just like that, she no longer felt worried. Truly, what an outstanding kid.


    ¡°Well, if you say so. Then, let us sign it now,¡± she said.


    Astrid smiled and turned to Mr. Cook. ¡°Then, shall we, Mr. Cook?¡±


    Now, it was Glen¡¯s turn to be surprise. Because he didn¡¯t think that the kid wouldn¡¯t even be afraid and would fearlessly accept the clause without question.


    That aside, he thought that Miss Payne was about to back out. It¡¯s such an unfair clause after all. Anyone with a cautious mind would know how risky this was. It could easily make or break the career of the artist she¡¯s handling. But just one word from Astrid Townsend and she immediately changed her mind.


    Such trust might be good for their relationship as an agent and their artist. But excessive trust could also easily lead to ruin. Well, not that it¡¯s any of his concern.


    And so, after another round of discussion, explaining the rest of the remaining clauses, the three finally signed an official contract.

 Chapter 393 - 393 WITH PEACE OF MIND

    393 WITH PEACE OF MIND


    AFTER the contract signing, Astrid and Ellis went to a cafe famous for its sweets. Because according to Ellis, she needed a ton of sugar to set off her anger. And just like she said, she ordered a huge parfait that was probably for two people.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, don¡¯t be too angry. Or else, you¡¯ll get indigestion,¡± Astrid said pertaining to how the other was eating that parfait like there was no tomorrow.


    ¡°Can you blame me? I seriously wanted to throw my shoes at that Mr. Cook,¡± Ellis said as she ate a spoonful of cream and chocolate. ¡°If you didn¡¯t put out that condition, I might have really done that.¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Well, we couldn¡¯t just be on the losing end after such an unfair contract.¡±


    So, what¡¯s the condition Ellis was referring to? Let¡¯s all go back to 30 minutes ago¡­


    =====


    ¡°But before we sign this contract, I want to put out my own condition,¡± Astrid said before they started signing the contract. ¡°After all, you all made this ¡®very fair¡¯ of clause. It¡¯s only right for me to make one of my own, don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    Mr. Cook¡¯s brows furrowed a little bit when he heard what Astrid said, obviously not expecting this interval. ¡°What kind of condition?¡±


    ¡°If I reached the quota, I want the contract given to me to be revised,¡± Astrid said. ¡°It¡¯s not much, really. Just increase my fee to a million star coins. Of course, the duration of my ambassadorship would still remain up to a year.¡±


    ¡­..


    Mr. Cook had a blank expression on his face. He was probably so dumbfounded that he wasn¡¯t able to speak properly. And that¡¯s understandable. A fee of a million star coins was something that could only be enjoyed by people who were at least in the top 20 of the [Star List]. Something impossible for a newcomer like him.


    Even now, his fee for this ad campaign was just a hundred thousand star coins. Which was, on its own, was already a lot. Even his fee for [The Great War] was lower than that. With the condition he put out, his fee would increase by a ten fold.


    And Astrid believed that it would. He was confident that he could reach the quota they wanted. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t hesitate to put out this condition.


    It¡¯s not that he needed more money. He just didn¡¯t want to be part of an unfair contract where he was the one on the losing side. So, he should at least get more money from this, right?


    Seeing as how Mr. Cook was still frozen, Astrid added, ¡°If Mr. Cook can¡¯t decided, you can contact Lord Cassius. If he doesn¡¯t agree, we can just forget about this contract.¡±


    Mr. Cook seemed to return back to his senses when he heard that. He let out a long sigh before standing up. ¡°Please, wait for a while.¡±


    Then, the other walked to a side door connected to the office, probably to make a call.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Ellis said with a whistle.


    Astrid turned to the other and said apologetically, ¡°Sorry, Sister Ellis. I just made that decision all by myself.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s actually great,¡± Ellis said with a thumbs-up. ¡°My anger subsided greatly just thinking that we could earn more from this shitty contract. But would they even agree to it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I think they would.¡±


    Astrid was not worried that the condition he asked for wouldn¡¯t be approved. Cassius was pretty much biased towards him. He would most likely approve of this.


    Just as he guessed, when Mr. Cook returned, he approved the condition Astrid added. Which meant that Cassius gave a go signal for it.


    And so, the contract signing continued.


    =====


    ¡°But you know, there¡¯s one thing that confused me,¡± Ellis said as she ate the last bit of parfait. ¡°Why did Lord Cassius agreed to that clause in the contract?¡±


    She knew that the other owed Astrid for saving young master Nicol. So, she was confident that he wouldn¡¯t make a decision that would be disadvantageous or unfair to Astrid. As evidence of how Mr. Cook quickly gave his ¡®okay¡¯ for that additional million star coins as soon as his call with Lord Cassius ended.


    ¡°Lord Cassius must be confident that I could double their sales,¡± Astrid said with a shrug.


    Ellis shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s being careless rather.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis. I will do such a good job that the people who see the ads will have no choice but to buy the perfume,¡± Astrid said with confidence. ¡°After all, I do have a million star coins of incentive to work hard,¡± he added in a playful tone.


    ¡°Well, a million star coins could really do make one work hard.¡±


    The two looked at each other and then laughed at the same time.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid opened the door to his apartment. It was almost time for dinner when he returned. Before he started cooking, he decided to take a quick bath first.


    With the contract with EMMA done, he now had to prepare for the filming of the ad this coming weekend. It would be a two-day schedule. They probably set it up that way so he wouldn¡¯t have to take a leave from school. That¡¯s probably courtesy of Cassius.


    It was a good thing that the subsequent photoshoot would be held the weekend after. Which was probably also Cassius¡¯ idea.


    But truly, just like what Ellis said, the other was indeed too overconfident in Astrid¡¯s ability. It¡¯s like he didn¡¯t even consider that something might get in the way of this ad campaign. But then again, if that was so, then it could only mean that he was prepared to not let any of that kind of thing from happening.


    Now, with that out of the way, Astrid should focus all his energy on the upcoming photoshoot. He was already given the three concepts that would be use for the shoot. He was planning to practice his facial expressions in the following days. He couldn¡¯t afford for any mistake to happen.


    Astrid finished his bath and cooked dinner with peace of mind.

 Chapter 394 - 394 THREE VARIATIONS

    394 THREE VARIATIONS


    ASTRID and Ellis were already on their way to the spaceport. It¡¯s because the venue for the ad shoot would be held at FS03.


    ¡°I do wish there would no longer be any sabotaging during the shoot,¡± Ellis said, remembering what happened during the screen test. ¡°They already made that unfair contract, the least they could do is to let you have a peaceful shoot.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis. I have a feeling that they won¡¯t,¡± Astrid said not the least bit worried about that.


    Cassius would definitely monitor everything about the shoot to make sure that no kind of sabotaging would occur. Unless those people who suggested that clause in the contract truly wanted to make him angry. It¡¯s like saying, ¡®I already agreed with that trash clause, so why are you still making a move behind my back?¡¯.


    Honestly, if this was not EMMA, Astrid would have walked out of that office the moment he read that clause. But it was EMMA. A company that was named after his mother. It was also her favorite clothing brand. Call him sentimental or whatnot but Astrid really wanted to represent it.


    It also didn¡¯t hurt that EMMA was a huge luxury brand that was at least in the top 3 of all luxury brands in the Empire. They had a good reputation within the industry and most of their ambassadors were at least at the top 10 of the [Star List].


    This was the first time that they chose a newcomer just two months into his career to be their ambassador. Just by that, anyone could see that he was the only one who would benefit in this deal. In the perspective of those people sitting at the top of EMMA, he had nothing to give their brand.


    Even if that clause in the contract was revealed to the public, the general populace would definitely not side with him and would just think that he was already lucky to even be given a contract.


    That¡¯s just how business worked. To those people at the top of EMMA, the current him had almost no value. Of course, it would be another matter once he started to enter the [Star List]. But the next list would be released two months from now. So, yes, basically, he was still a nobody in their eyes.


    ¡­..


    That¡¯s why Astrid managed to keep his temper and could only make that condition. At least with that, he would earn more than what he was paid for. Just imagine getting paid only 100,000 star coins for all the work he would do, now that¡¯s more unfair than that stupid clause.


    Arriving at the spaceport, there were some people who recognized Astrid despite him wearing a mask that covered half of his face. He smiled and waved at them. Which caused some to rush towards him. They asked for autographs and pictures and he obliged them with a smile.


    It¡¯s a good thing that they weren¡¯t too many of them so he and Ellis still managed to get on the spacecraft without much problem.


    ¡°I wonder how they knew it was you when you¡¯re even wearing a mask,¡± Ellis said once the two of them sat down on their seats.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s the hair,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Well, at least this showed how much your public recognition increased,¡± Ellis said. ¡°It will definitely increase a hundred times more once the ad campaign for this new perfume line started.¡±


    Astrid nodded, agreeing with the other. From what they discussed with Mr. Cook, the videos they would shoot now was like a 10-second short commercial. This short video would then be a video ad that would appear in various billboards all throughout the Empire.


    At the start, they would only appear at the capital star and then would spread from there to other places in the Artemian Galaxy. Then, it would slowly appear in other planet of the other three galaxies.


    Just by hearing about it, one could only imagine just how much money EMMA would use for this campaign. And yet, they were ready to throw that away just to prove that he wasn¡¯t the right person to represent their brand.


    Astrid shook his head. Really, how insane.


    ¡ª¨C


    After arriving at FS03, Astrid and Ellis went straight to the first filming location. They had to ride a cable car to go there though. Since it¡¯s on a snowy mountain.


    The new perfume line was called [Eros] ¨C named after the god of love. The perfume¡¯s main idea was to evoke the desire people had. Or at least that should be the case.


    [Eros] had three variations, each representing a different image ¨C Frozen Aquamarine, Iridescent Opal, and Midnight Onyx. These variations represented the three concepts he did during the screen test. The cold and indifferent type, the cute and bubbly type, and the dark and sexy type.


    The ads for each variations should all evoke the image of ¡®desire¡¯. One would think that was quite an impossible feat. After all, the three variations were just too different from one another.


    Especially the Iridescent Opal one. How could something cute and bubbly evoked one¡¯s desire? But it¡¯s Astrid¡¯s job to make that possible. Besides, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s only one type of desire out there. He¡¯s confident that he could go around that and portray the version of desire each variation needed.


    The cable car stopped and he and Ellis got off it. They were immediately greeted by the cold temperature. Good thing that they were wearing insulated jackets. Snow was also falling down, making everything white.


    A snow mobile was already there waiting for them. Since it was driven by AI, they just needed to ride it and it would bring them to their destination. Once they got on the snow mobile, it immediately started.


    They arrived at their destination in just a matter of minutes. It was a frozen lake at the crater of the snowy mountain. Just by looking at it, one could already tell what variation among the three they would shoot here.


    It¡¯s the Frozen Aquamarine.

 Chapter 395 - 395 A TIRING DAY

    395 A TIRING DAY


    ASTRID walked out of the makeshift dressing room and he was quickly assaulted by the cold wind. Although a filming studio planet was an artificial planet where temperature and weather could be controlled, there were still regions that had a fixed weather. Just like this snowy mountain.


    He was wearing a thick insulated jacket right now. But he had to remove that once the shoot started. Not only the jacket would have to go away but also his shoes. According to the short scenario for this shoot, he had to walk towards the center of the lake with his feet bare.


    Astrid could literally see his breath every time he exhaled. Showing just how cold it was here. It seemed that he had to finish this shoot quickly. Although almost all common illness could be healed by this era¡¯s medicine, it wouldn¡¯t change the fact that he would still feel like he was about to freeze to death while doing this shoot.


    It didn¡¯t cross his mind that someone was trying to sabotage him because of this. He had seen all the scenarios for the three shoots he would be doing and all of them made sense. It¡¯s not like they were just trying to make him suffer. Aesthetically speaking, he also liked the idea they were going for.


    Because of the weather in this mountain, the makeshift dressing room was just a few steps away from the frozen lake. So, the moment Astrid walked out of the dressing room, the staffs waiting near the lake had already seen him.


    He walked towards where the director of the shoot was.


    ¡°Have you read the scenario for this shoot?¡± the director asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    ¡­..


    Then the director explained to Astrid what he should do. From which point on the lake should he start walking and from which point he should stop. The other also gave him suggestion on what expression he should use and the likes.


    ¡°Of course, you¡¯re free to do any interpretation that you like. As long as it follows the concept of the shoot, then, I don¡¯t have any problems in that,¡± the director added after. ¡°So, shall we start?¡±


    Astrid nodded. Then, he walked towards the point on the lake that the director told him. A staff was following behind so he could give the other his jacket and shoes. When he arrived at the said point, he removed his jacket and shoes, then handed it over to the staff.


    The clothes underneath was finally revealed. The top was a white long-sleeved satin shirt with a deep neckline, completely showing off his delicate clavicle and a white expanse of chest. It was paired with loose black trousers that made a good contrast with his white jade feet.


    His black hair was styled in a curtains fringe, framing his face on both sides. Which also accentuate his features perfectly. He didn¡¯t have much make-up aside from the lip tint that made his lips redder.


    Most of the people at the scene looked at the teenager standing on the frozen lake with admiration. Even the director was momentarily surprised by the visual that was transmitted on the virtual screen in front of him via the cameras that was following Astrid.


    He already knew beforehand that the other had an outstanding appearance. But looking good and having presence were two different matters. One could look good and yet not have any presence at all. For any advertisement, using such a person was a huge no-no.


    Knowing that Astrid was just a rookie, the director couldn¡¯t help but be filled with doubts and worry. But he was hired to do this job. So, whether the person he would shoot had talent or not, he was determined to make an ad that was both beautiful and satisfying.


    Now, seeing Astrid like this, the director must admit that his worry had lessened a bit. Since he had already confirmed that the kid had presence, now the next thing to do was to see if he had talent.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start!¡± he shouted.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After a whole day of filming, Astrid was finally able to rest at the hotel that EMMA provided. He was actually quite surprised that the one given to him was a suite room. This was probably the best hotel room he had ever since he started acting in this life.


    The first thing he did after entering was to take a long warm bath. He was thinking of using the massage chair in the suite after he was done. His muscles were already screaming at him because of too much fatigue. And to think that they only managed to finish shooting two of the ads today.


    Astrid really thought that they could finish all three by tonight. It¡¯s not that he was overconfident of himself, it was because each ad had only 10 seconds of footage each. With a total of 30 seconds, surely it didn¡¯t need to take a whole day for it. Oh, how wrong he was.


    It¡¯s because he didn¡¯t expect that the director was such a perfectionist. They had to reshoot a couple, no, countless times until the other was satisfied. He didn¡¯t mind though. Being a perfectionist was infinitely much better than someone who was only doing the bare minimum.


    Because of the director¡¯s push, he was also had to give a hundred times of what he got to reach the other¡¯s expectations. Which was not that bad. At least now, he was definitely much more confident that this ad would be a hit.


    Once he was done with his bath, Astrid only put on a robe and went straight to the massage chair. The moment he sat down and turned on the chair, he immediately felt the vibrations on his shoulders and back. He unconsciously let out a satisfied sigh.


    Even though today was very tiring, it was also very satisfactory. He hoped that it would the same for the shoot tomorrow.


    Then, he remembered what Ellis said to him about posting at [Cyberspace] from time to time. He looked down at his robe, well, it was pretty decent. So, he decided to just take a selfie and post it on [Cyberspace].

 Chapter 396 - 396 A NEW MISSION FOR FENRIS SQUAD

    396 A NEW MISSION FOR FENRIS SQUAD


    AT the specialized military base on the planet of Alluna, the high ranking officials of Fenris Squad was having a meeting. It was to discuss issues regarding the planet as well as territories that were under their army¡¯s jurisdiction.


    Although their army didn¡¯t have a whole galaxy as a jurisdiction like the other four armies of the Empire, they were in charge of all the other place that didn¡¯t belong to that four galaxies. Which included unregistered planets, as well as abandoned ones.


    And since they were the only army that could roam around the Empire without worrying of the boundaries between galaxies, they were also eligible to intervene with any issues that might happen between those boundaries. As well as the on the fringes of the four galaxies.


    ¡°There¡¯s a report of a suspected human trafficking ring happening at a planet in Tertius Galaxy,¡± Leland said. ¡°And it seems that General Lancaster has no idea about it, according to the report that is.¡±


    Slade scoffed. ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯s possible. It¡¯s more likely that Lancaster had something to do with it that¡¯s why he¡¯s turning a blind eye.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not here to make blind accusations. That would only cloud our judgment,¡± Leland said giving Slade a side-glance.


    ¡°But Lele can¡¯t deny that Sled had a point,¡± Hildred commented.


    ¡°That might be the case, but it¡¯s still better to investigate this without prior prejudice. That way, we can look at the case in all angles and not just one.¡± ¨C Leland.


    ¡°But if it¡¯s on a planet in Tertius Galaxy, then it¡¯s not on our jurisdiction. Are we permitted to still investigate?¡± Edmund asked in confusion.


    ¡­..


    ¡°Look at you, Ed. Being so smart,¡± Hildred said in a teasing tone while poking the other¡¯s cheek.


    Edmund blushed. ¡°I- I¡¯m just asking though.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Based on our informant¡¯s report, they are about to transfer a new batch of ¡®products¡¯ to a Lawless Den outside of Tertius Galaxy. We simply had to intercept them on the way there,¡± Leland said in a calm voice as if he wasn¡¯t just talking about ambushing a whole ship. Then, he turned to the man sitting at the head of the meeting table. ¡°What do you think, Your Highness?¡±


    Wulfric raised his gaze from the report that Leland presented. His expression was dark, his lieutenant and three captains knew immediately that he was in a bad mood. Selling humans like livestock was certainly something that could annoy their general.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that,¡± Wulfric said in a cold tone.


    He didn¡¯t like that something like this was happening under his brother¡¯s rule. He knew how hard it was to keep an eye on all the things that was happening in this vast Empire. But that was why there were generals who were appointed to implement law and order in each galaxy.


    Although it¡¯s understandable that not everything could be monitored, a case like this should be an exception. Something like human trafficking should not have gone under the radar like this. Unless, they received a go signal from someone high up in the Rozen Army. He wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if Lancaster was directly involved in this.


    ¡°I will be the one leading this mission and we¡¯ll nail Lancaster¡¯s ass if we find him connected to this shit,¡± he added.


    Leland nodded. ¡°I will make arrangements.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Ed and I will sit this one out,¡± Hildred said raising his hand like a student asking his teacher to be excused.


    Edmund turned to Hildred with a mixture and confusion and shock. ¡°We are?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Wulf gave the two of us a month-long vavation,¡± Hildred answered before turning to Wulfric with a smile. ¡°Right, Wulf?¡±


    Leland frowned. ¡°Is this really the time for you to go on vacation?¡±


    Hildred shrugged. ¡°Wulf already promised me though.¡±


    ¡°I- I also think we shouldn¡¯t go on vacation,¡± Edmund added worriedly.


    Wulfric waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine, let them go on vacation. It¡¯s enough for Slade to be my second-in command.¡±


    ¡°Wow. I didn¡¯t know Captain has that much confidence in me,¡± Slade said. ¡°And here I though I could also go on vacation and laze around.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not being lazy though,¡± Edmund mumbled but all of them there heard it.


    Hildred, feeling that Ed would probably be in ¡®sulking mode¡¯ for the duration of their vacation, he probably should amend the situation quickly. He glared at Slade before saying;


    ¡°It¡¯s not like all of us are needed in this mission. Even Lele would stay here. Even if the two of us go, it wouldn¡¯t change the result much. So, you can go to this vacation with peace of mind. Or are you not confident with Wulf and Sled¡¯s ability?¡±


    As expected, Edmund quickly said, ¡°No, of course I¡¯m confident in their ability! They would definitely solve this mission even without us.¡±


    Slade shook his head at Edmund¡¯s naivety. Such an unlucky guy, being liked by a fox like Hildred.


    Wulfric stood up from his seat, already tired of his subordinates¡¯ bickering. He turned to Leland. ¡°Send me the plan for this mission. I will review it tonight and see if it needed correction.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°Meeting adjourned.¡±


    After Wulfric said that, he walked out of the room that was solely dedicated for their meetings. As he walked through the corridors of their army¡¯s own specialized military base, a notification suddenly rang from his Terminal.


    By now, he was already too familiar with that sound. It¡¯s the sound notifying him that Aster posted something on his [Cyberspace] account. He quickly opened his Terminal and went straight to [Cyberspace]. When he saw what Aster posted, his feet almost got tangled on their own. If not for his perfect reflex, he might have already tripped on his own foot and fell down.


    He stopped walking and stared at the picture Aster posted.


    It was of the other wearing a bathrobe. Although everything that needed to be covered was covered, the atmosphere surrounding him was still that of someone who just got off the bath. As evidence of that lovely blush on his cheek.


    Wulfric quickly typed a comment at lightning speed.

 Chapter 397 - 397 XOXO

    397 XOXO


    [@astridsnumber1fan: Aster shouldn¡¯t dress like this. You¡¯re about to give people a heart attack! And what if perverts started to imagine things they shouldn¡¯t because of your ¡®just got out of the bath¡¯ atmosphere?]


    But before Wulfric could press the ¡®post¡¯ button, he stopped. He realized that what he was about to post was too overbearing and surpassed the line of propriety. He quickly deleted it and typed a new one.


    [@astridsnumber1fan: Have a good night sleep and please don¡¯t be too tired.]


    He nodded. It definitely looked like he was a very caring fan. This was better than the first one. Even though the former was what he¡¯s truly thinking. But at least he knew it¡¯s wrong and that he¡¯s willing to correct it.


    He saved the Aster¡¯s picture and then sent the other a message. Of course, not through his [Cyberspace] account. But through his personal Terminal number.


    [I saw your post. It seems that you¡¯re filming something again. I hope you¡¯re taking time to rest and not just working continuously. You still have school as well. Juggling the two can exhaust anyone. So, please, do take it easy from time to time. I probably won¡¯t be able to contact you for the next month or so. But know that I will support any endeavors of you that would be released for the next month. Take care of yourself always. ¨C xoxo Wulf.]


    Wulfric was very satisfied when he sent that message. It was very mature and adult-like. He hoped that as he and Aster continued to communicate with each other, that the other¡¯s initial impression of him had already been erased in his mind.


    He then looked at the ¡®xoxo¡¯ part and grinned. This was a special language that young people on Earth a long, long, long time ago. He happened to see Hildred using it when he was sending a message to Edmund. When he asked the other what it meant, Hildred explained what it was and said that it meant ¡®hugs and kisses¡¯.


    Even though Wulfric couldn¡¯t understand how ¡®xoxo¡¯ could possible mean that, he found the word quite¡­ useful. Yes, that should be the right term for it. Because he could send it to Aster without worrying that the other would know what it meant. If Aster asked, he could just say that it was just jumbled letters that didn¡¯t mean anything.


    ¡­..


    Wasn¡¯t that how it was for Edmund? When Wulfric found out about how Hildred was sending that to some of the messages he sent to Edmund, he went to the latter and asked him about it. Edmund only said with a confused expression ¡®wasn¡¯t it just random letters?¡¯.


    See? Even Edmund didn¡¯t think much of it.


    But what our little prince didn¡¯t take into account was the fact that Astrid was nowhere near as naive as Edmund. And most importantly, he still had full memories of his past life. A past life where a word like ¡®xoxo¡¯ could be easily understood.


    Of course, since our prince didn¡¯t know that, he could go to sleep with peace of mind.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid, who was about to sleep after posting on [Cyberspace], read the comment posted by ¡®White Wolf¡¯. It quickly became the top comment because of the number of likes and replies it received.


    He chuckled when he saw that and couldn¡¯t help but read the replies under ¡®White Wolf¡¯s¡¯ post.


    [Oh, I knew Brother White is the first one who would comment under Aster¡¯s post!]


    [Brother White really is such a devoted fan. Look how he¡¯s worrying over Aster.]


    [Does Astrid have a fan club? If Brother White is not the president, I will really protest.]


    [Aster doesn¡¯t have a fan club yet. But once he had, I¡¯m sure Brother White will be the first one to apply as club president.]


    [And I¡¯ll definitely support him!]


    [It would be criminal if he didn¡¯t get it when he had proven time and time again that he¡¯s Astrid¡¯s number one fan.]


    [Right? If he didn¡¯t become the fan club president, there¡¯s definitely some conspiracy happening.]


    Look at this. It seemed that a number of his fans were now also fans of ¡®White Wolf¡¯. He laughed. Looking at the comments advertising for the other to be the president of his ¡®still not founded¡¯ fan club, one would think that they were campaigning for him to be the head of some important faction.


    He shook his head and simple pressed the like button for ¡®White Wolf¡¯s¡¯ reply. Then, he also replied under it.


    [Thank you! ^_^]


    After that, he closed [Cyberspace]. Although some would definitely make a fuss with him replying like that, he didn¡¯t care much. Especially since there probably wouldn¡¯t be that much negative reaction from it. As evidence, most of his fans were in support of ¡®White Wolf¡¯.


    Astrid was about to close his Terminal when he suddenly received a message.


    This time, it was not from White Wolf but from Wulfric himself. He subconsciously smiled and quickly opened it.


    The start was almost the same as the reply he made under his post on [Cyberspace], basically telling him not to tire himself out. When he came to the last part, it talked about him being away for a mission.


    A month long mission, hmm, he wondered if it¡¯s something serious. He was about to reply back and tell him to also take care when he saw the last two words. [¨Cxoxo, Wulf].


    He stared at the ¡®xoxo¡¯ words for a few seconds. Was this what he thought it was?


    To answer his curiosity, he replied back;


    [Take care of yourself as well. I hope your mission will go smoothly. By the way, what does ¡®xoxo¡¯ mean?]


    It didn¡¯t take long before he received a reply.


    [Oh, that. Nothing. It¡¯s just a string of letters I found cute together.]


    Astrid read that and then smiled. This liar. So, as revenge, he replied back;


    [Okay. Then, goodnight, Wulf. xoxo]


    He chuckled after that. Because he knew that once Wulfric read his reply, the other¡¯s face would definitely turn red. Now, he kind of wished that he was in front of Wulfric to see it.

 Chapter 398 - 398 A WISH FOR MY FRIEND

    398 A WISH FOR MY FRIEND


    THE weekend quickly passed by like a gust of the wind. Astrid managed to finish shooting everything that was needed for the ad campaign. The photoshoot would be on the next weekend. After that, he would be done with everything.


    At least with the first part of the campaign. They still had to wait for the result of the first month sales before they proceeded to the next step.


    The official release of the [Eros] perfume line was on the 15th day of next month. Coincidentally, it was on the same day that the first episode of [The Great War] would be released. Even though he would only appear briefly on the first episode, his appearance on the two would definitely have a great synergy effect that could help him tremendously.


    If both were done right, that is.


    And Astrid had no doubt that they would be. Director Scott, the director of [The Great War], would definitely not release a show with subpar quality. Especially since this was his comeback after three years of hiatus. Even the director he had in this ad shoot was pretty much a perfectionist. The quality of the ad shoot was already guaranteed with that.


    [The Great War] had 35 episodes in total which would air twice a week, particularly during the weekend. With that many episodes, it¡¯s probably unthinkable to air the first episode not even two months since filming of the show started. But this was a different era from his past life. It¡¯s much easier to process and edit movies, shows, and anything of the likes.


    Besides, from the schedule that was sent to him before, the filming of the remaining episodes was probably still ongoing. Since it would only air twice a week, there¡¯s plenty of time to finish filming the show while the editing and post-processing was happening at the same time.


    After the photoshoot for EMMA, there would be a two-week interval before the release of the ads, as well as the premier of [The Great War]. Next week would be the start of the full scale promotion for the latter. So, he didn¡¯t have to worry about an empty schedule.


    Aside from teaser trailer, as well as character posters, the main cast would also appear in different programs to promote the show. As the fourth male lead, he would also be part of that promotion.


    ¡­..


    The problem was, before that, his last public appearance was on that talk show. Which would be a week ago. And if he added this week, then it would be two weeks of him without any public appearances. It would be best if he could at least appeared this week in one program or anything that could expose him to the public.


    Thankfully enough, Ellis was also of the same opinion. The other was diligently looking for a job for him since last week. But unfortunately, there weren¡¯t any good ones. After all, they couldn¡¯t just go to any available programs out there who would have them. They had to look at the quality of the program as well.


    That would probably be fine if he was a newcomer who only wanted to increase his public recognition by any means possible. But he¡¯s not. He rather preferred quality over quantity. Because after all, the former was infinitely much better for his image than the latter.


    Astrid came back to his senses when he heard the professor in charge of the class he was in announced the end of the lecture. He got up and walked out of the lecture hall. Usually, Snow would be with him but it seemed that the other had taken a leave to shoot for [Noble Lawyer].


    So, he went to the greenhouse alone.


    He arrived there first before Kiran, which was quite rare. Since the other¡¯s class finished earlier than his class. He didn¡¯t have to wait long though because the other came running inside the greenhouse a few minutes later.


    Kiran¡¯s face was flushed red. It didn¡¯t look like it was because of excessive running. Instead, it looked more like that of someone who was filled with too much excitement.


    ¡°Did something good happen?¡± Astrid asked the moment the other sat down beside him.


    ¡°Yes. I just finished the first song that Polaris commissioned,¡± Kiran said with a proud grin. ¡°Can you listen to it first before I send the song to Polaris? I would really love to hear your opinion.¡±


    ¡°Of course. But I don¡¯t think I can give a very useful assessment,¡± Astrid said.


    Although he knew how to play the guitar, his musicality was just above average. It¡¯s not to the point where he could confidently give advice on music as he could on acting.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just tell me what you feel after hearing it,¡± Kiran said, waving his hand as if it didn¡¯t matter.


    After Astrid nodded, Kiran open his Terminal and played the song he composed.


    A soft melodic sound then filled the greenhouse. It was followed by a sweet voice. Just by the melody and the tone of the voice, one would think that it was a love ballad. But surprisingly, the lyrics were completely different from that.


    It didn¡¯t talk about love but instead about a one¡¯s aspirations and the desire to reach them. The fact that it was sung in such a sweet way, anyone would have the illusion that it was a love song. This gap made the song even more charming.


    ¡°This will definitely be a big hit,¡± Astrid said after listening to the song.


    Kiran showed a shy smile. ¡°You really think so?¡±


    ¡°Of course, why would I lie to you?¡±


    Astrid actually wanted to say that it would even be more so if Kiran would be the one to sing the song himself rather than another singer. But he knew the other was very reluctant to do it. For now, at least.


    He truly hoped that a day would come when Kiran could stand on a stage and sing his own song proudly and confidently.

 Chapter 399 - 399 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (I)

    399 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (I)


    ASTRID stared at the huge villa in front, three small cameras were following him from different angles. Yes, he was here for a variety program. He was just dropped off here by the program team.


    Ellis managed to get him a pretty good gig the day before yesterday and today was the recording. It¡¯s a new variety program called [Baby¡¯s Day-Off]. Just by the name, one could already have an idea what of the show¡¯s gist.


    It¡¯s about children of famous people spending a day with a celebrity, acting as their nanny. It¡¯s aired once a week and every episode featured a celebrity¡¯s kid. It had been airing for a month now and the one he would record today would be the fifth episode.


    The reason why Ellis picked this program even though it¡¯s still new was because of the high rating and good reviews. People thought that it was a very novel idea. The children¡¯s innocence and playfulness, as well as the guest¡¯s nervousness and inexperience, it made for some funny entertainment.


    Since this was a new show, the guests were mostly newcomers or at least celebrities who hadn¡¯t really made a name for themselves. After all, established celebrities would hardly want to appear in a show where they had to take care of kids.


    The program team must have also known that, that¡¯s why they instead invited kids that had popular parents. In short, the real star of the show were the kids and not the guests. The guests were mostly just accessories that would mostly serve as decorations for the kids.


    The kids being featured were different in each episode. Of course, there were safety guidelines set up to make sure that the kids wouldn¡¯t be in danger. There¡¯s an onsite doctor, as well as other staffs that would follow along the guest and the child. Ready to run over in case of emergency.


    The idea of the whole program was that the guest would be the nanny of the celebrity¡¯s kid for half a day. As in from morning to noon. And despite the title, the kids involved wouldn¡¯t really be babies. That would be too difficult. Not only for the guest but also for the staffs. Most of the kids were at least between the age range of four to eight.


    Although the show seemed to be very disadvantageous to the guests, but if one looked at it from a different perspective, then it could still work for the guests¡¯ favor. It¡¯s why Ellis didn¡¯t hesitate to put him in this program. Because she knew that they could get something out of this show.


    ¡­..


    For one, the fact that the kids being invited were the children of famous celebrities already set it apart from ordinary variety programs. Second, if he showed how good he was at being a nanny of the kid he would be in charge with, then in the public¡¯s eyes, he would have a kind and caring image. And lastly, as long as he took good care of the kid, he might also get an unexpected connection with the kid¡¯s parents.


    Expanding one¡¯s network was always a must for someone working in this field. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that Astrid would only take care of the kid because of all the benefits it would give him. He would take care of them to the best of his ability and be as sincere as he could.


    He actually didn¡¯t know the identity of the kid he would take care of today. It¡¯s one of the requirements of joining the show. So, he was only dropped off here.


    Astrid looked at one of the cameras following him. ¡°I¡¯m kind of nervous. I hope they will like me.¡±


    [You can go in now.] ¨C he heard a voice from the earpiece he¡¯s wearing. It was the assistant PD who would guide him for today.


    After hearing that, Astrid walked towards the huge gate of the villa. There¡¯s probably one camera panning overhead to take a drone shot of the whole villa. It¡¯s actually unbelievable that the owners would allow that.


    But then again, it¡¯s not like the address of this villa was shown. Even if it was, this place probably had top of the line security. So, they didn¡¯t have to worry about trespassers and obsessed fans.


    Astrid pressed the button on the side of the gate. The screen above the button turned on and then a robot icon appeared on the screen above.


    [Please state your name and the purpose of your visit.]


    ¡°Good morning, I¡¯m Astrid Townsend from [Baby¡¯s Day-Off],¡± Astrid said, introducing himself.


    [Can you show your identification? Please, put it in front of the screen.]


    Astrid opened his Terminal and showed his ID. After a while, the voice spoke again;


    [We have confirmed your identity. You are now free to enter.]


    A small door beside the gate then opened. Astrid walked trough that and was momentarily surprised with what he saw as he did. The villa was actually a lot bigger from the inside. Like some kind of resort spa with a large pool no less. In fact, he felt like he needed to get on a land vehicle to go from the gate to the main house because of the distance in between the two.


    Aside from that, the temperature inside was obviously controlled. He could feel it the moment he walked in. It¡¯s like a warm Spring season. Not really surprised by that since there¡¯s a technology that could easily manipulate the weather.


    Astrid hadn¡¯t yet taken a step when he saw a land vehicle coming to his direction. He let out a sigh of relief. At least he didn¡¯t have to walk that far and tire himself out when he hadn¡¯t even started taking care of the kid.


    When the land vehicle stopped in front of him, he got on and it quickly started to move back towards the house. There was no one driving so it was obviously programmed.


    Arriving in front of the house, a woman wearing a suit was already waiting there for him.

 Chapter 400 - 400 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (II)

    400 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (II)


    THE woman in suit observed Astrid from head to toe, as if analyzing if he was a threat or not. And then when she saw the cameras following him around, her eyes quickly narrowed at them.


    Based on the expression on her face, she wasn¡¯t too keen on letting him into the house. But because her employer allowed, she had no choice but to also agree.


    ¡°Please, follow me,¡± she said, turning around and walking inside the house.


    Astrid followed and couldn¡¯t help but look at the back of the woman. The other didn¡¯t look like a housekeeper. It¡¯s not just the way she dressed but the atmosphere around her as well. She looked more like a secretary. No, more than that, being a bodyguard probably suited her more.


    It¡¯s the way her stance showed how alert she was. Even the way she looked at him from head to toe earlier was like someone inspecting if he had any weapon with him. And if she noticed anything suspicious about him, she was ready to tackle him to the ground. That¡¯s just the kind of air she¡¯s giving off.


    But that¡¯s not all, Astrid also saw a couple of men wearing the same black suits as the land vehicle brought him here. They appeared to be patrolling the premises. There¡¯s probably more of them that he didn¡¯t see. Just based on that, he could tell that they were bodyguards.


    Well, the owner of the house was probably just worried about the safety of their family. And since they could afford it, why not hire as many bodyguards as they could, right?


    Now, Astrid was starting to get curious just whose child he would take care of today.


    Entering the house, the interior looked even more spacious and bigger than how it looked on the outside. The servants were walking inside the house, doing their chores. Most of them, no, maybe all of them, were AI robots.


    ¡­..


    ¡°The young master is still asleep at this time,¡± the woman¡¯s voice interrupted Astrid¡¯s observation. ¡°You can wait for him to wake up and then assist him in eating breakfast.¡±


    ¡®Young master¡¯? So, the kid he was going to take care of today was a boy. This ¡®assist¡¯ must mean that he should help the other eat all his breakfast.


    ¡°Are you perhaps the young master¡¯s nanny?¡± he asked even though he knew that the other wasn¡¯t.


    Astrid just wanted to make sure that there was the nanny designated to this young master was a human and not a robot. He had nothing against robots. But seriously, would a decent parent let some machine take care of their child rather than a real human who could give the child genuine emotions and warmth?


    But then again, most of the people in this era probably had a different set of value from him. Something that he might find weird was most likely just something normal to the people in this era. Like having a robot take care of a child.


    Seriously, he and Reas were super lucky to have their Mom and Dad as parents. Since he already had the consciousness of an adult since he was born, he witnessed just how hands-on their parents were when it came to parenting.


    To the point that their mother even breastfed them when they were babies. Something that was extremely rare in this era.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m the young master¡¯s personal bodyguard,¡± the woman responded to his question, not elaborating more.


    Of course, Astrid wouldn¡¯t urge the other to give him a more definite answer. There were cameras around. He would only look like a nosy person who loved to get in other people¡¯s business in front of the audience who would watch this episode.


    But at least, his guess that the other was a bodyguard was indeed correct.


    The woman led him to what seemed to be the dining room.


    ¡°You can wait here until the young master wakes up,¡± the other said. ¡°I will be keeping a close distance from you and the young master all throughout the morning. So, if you have any question, feel free to ask me.¡±


    In short, she¡¯d be monitoring Astrid throughout the duration of him being the young master¡¯s ¡®nanny¡¯. Which was about four hours at most. Okay, that¡¯s fine with him. Not that it would affect his job or anything.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯ll be out of the way of the cameras following you,¡± the woman added as if some sort of consolation.


    Astrid knew that there was no use complaining. So, he just asked instead;


    ¡°Then, can I cook breakfast for the young master?¡±


    The woman¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°The young master¡¯s food is already planned beforehand by his personal nutritionist and dietician. His meals are also carefully prepared by the family chef. I don¡¯t think changing that and letting him eat something unfamiliar would be good.¡±


    Astrid almost frowned when he heard that. Would showing this to the public be really okay? But then again, maybe this was another norm in this era he didn¡¯t know about. Kids of rich people had professionals preparing their meals for them.


    But if he thought about it, it wasn¡¯t really that weird. After all, even in his past life, he was sure that there were parents who probably did the same for their child. Especially kids that had weak constitutions. But why did he feel like the ¡®young master¡¯ he¡¯s going to take care of today wouldn¡¯t be weak at all?


    He was about to say that he understood when a soft voice unique to children suddenly interrupted their conversation.


    ¡°I want to try the breakfast that this big brother is planning to make.¡±


    Astrid turned to the direction of the voice and saw a boy who looked to be about four or five years old. His hair was a dark shade of blond that was almost bordering brown and a pair of very impressive turquoise colored eyes.


    It seemed that Astrid finally met the ¡®young master¡¯ he would be taking care of today.

 Chapter 401 - 401 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (III)

    401 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (III)


    AS the boy walked towards them, he looked at Astrid with curiosity. When he stood in front of Astrid, he added to what he said earlier, ¡°You don¡¯t look like someone who knows how to cook?¡±


    Astrid smiled and crouched down so he and the boy could be at eye level. ¡°Then, what does young master think someone who knows how to cook looks like?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But they won¡¯t be as pretty as you.¡±


    Astrid chuckled at such an innocently child-like response. ¡°Well, there¡¯s a saying that ¡®one should not judge a book by its cover¡¯. The same applies to people. One¡¯s ability should not be judged by their appearance. Don¡¯t you think so as well, young master?¡±


    ¡°Then what criteria should I judge them by?¡± the boy asked curiously. His turquoise eyes were filled with interest. As if he liked how Astrid explained things to him instead of treating him like a child who didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ in my humble opinion, it¡¯s better to just not be swept by the initial impression we have of people. Rather, it¡¯s better to have a bit of understanding of their character before making your initial judgment.¡±


    The boy tilted his head. ¡°But what if I don¡¯t want to understand them?¡±


    Astrid chuckled again at such a childish response. ¡°Then, young master should just keep his opinion to himself and then reserve judgement for later. That way, once you found out that you¡¯re conjecture was indeed correct, wouldn¡¯t it feel good? But if it isn¡¯t, then you would be able to avoid hurting other¡¯s feelings. That in it¡¯s own could also make one feel good.¡±


    The boy was silent for a second before suddenly reaching out his hand towards Astrid. ¡°My name is Oliviel, but just call me Livi. I very much preferred that. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡­..


    Astrid smiled. Judging by the boy¡¯s action, it was obvious that he had truly accepted his presence at this moment. Was it because of his explanation just now? Did this kid like it that much? But this also showed how deep his understanding was. Especially for someone his age.


    A cute and smart kid, that¡¯s definitely better than the complete opposite. This way, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to get along with the other.


    ¡°My name is Astrid. I¡¯m very happy to meet you, Young Master Livi,¡± he said, accepting Livi¡¯s outstretched hand.


    Someone then suddenly cleared their throat ¨C it was the bodyguard. ¡°Young master, it¡¯s already time for breakfast.¡±


    Livi pouted. Whether he didn¡¯t like that the woman interrupted their talk or that he didn¡¯t welcome the news of eating breakfast, the boy obviously disliked this sudden interruption.


    Then, as if he couldn¡¯t do anything about it, he sighed and said, ¡°Prepare the meal.¡±


    Livi said it in such a lofty manner, like some lord ordering his servant. If he wasn¡¯t a child, people would probably be annoyed just by hearing the tone of his voice. But because he was, it only looked cute. Astrid could already tell that people who would watch this episode would definitely want to squish Livi¡¯s cheeks because of how cute he was.


    When the woman temporary left, probably to call someone to bring Livi¡¯s food here, the boy took that opportunity to whisper something to Astrid who was still at a crouching position at that moment.


    ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t eat the breakfast you wanted to make.¡±


    Astrid smiled because the other seemed really apologetic about it. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Who knows, maybe young master would have a chance to taste my cooking before this day ends.¡±


    Livi gave him a questioning glance, probably wondering what he¡¯s thinking about. But Astrid didn¡¯t elaborate and just stood up.


    ¡ª¨C


    One of the main ideas of [Baby¡¯s Day-Off] was to let the kids featured in the episode to have a, well, literal day-off. It would be equivalent to them wanting to go to a place they¡¯d been wanting to go to.


    A couple of days before the start of the recording, the program team would send a list of places to the parents of the kids. Then, the kids would pick two places at most that they wanted to go to the most. And then, them and their ¡®nanny for half-a-day¡¯ would go to those places.


    Livi was no exception.


    After Livi ate breakfast, he was then helped by a couple of AI robots to wash up and dress for their outing today. Astrid actually volunteered to help but he was stopped by the woman named Kara. Telling how that he would be crossing the lines of proprieties.


    It took a lot of self-control just to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the other. Seriously, what proprieties? Would he be doing something that he shouldn¡¯t do just by helping the kid dress up?


    Now, he wondered if Livi¡¯s parents even briefed Kara about what the variety program was about. He even wondered if she knew that her actions and speech were being recorded and that there¡¯s a chance it would be shown to the public.


    Then, people would see just how strict she was with Livi. But then again, maybe she was simply following orders from her employers. Although if that was the case, then wouldn¡¯t it be weirder? After all, they, or at least one of them, must know how public opinion could go against them if this was shown.


    Or maybe Astrid was just overreacting and things like this was pretty normal.


    After Livi finished changing clothes, they both got inside a floating car with Kara as the driver. Astrid noticed that as soon as the car they were in left, two or three cars followed them. It must be additional bodyguards.


    ¡°Which places did young master choose to visit?¡± he asked Livi sitting next to him.


    Livi glanced at the cameras around them first before holding Astrid¡¯s hand. ¡°Some cafe and a flower garden.¡±


    He was about to ask why those places when he felt the other writing something on his palm using his finger.


    [I didn¡¯t choose it. My mother did.]

 Chapter 402 - 402 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (IV)

    402 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (IV)


    ASTRID was quite surprised when he heard that. Why was Livi¡¯s mother the one who chose those locations? Wasn¡¯t the purpose of this show to give the kid a ¡®day-off¡¯? So, why was his mother the one picking the place? Was this really just another form of overprotectiveness?


    No, before that, he should ask Livi first if he wanted to go the places mentioned. Just like what the other did earlier, he stealthily wrote his question on Livi¡¯s small palm.


    [Do you want to go to those places?]


    Livi seemed surprise that he would ask. But his expression quickly turned back to normal and then answered him the same way.


    [I don¡¯t know. I just want to go to a place where I can have fun.]


    Astrid felt a deep meaning from those words. He suddenly felt the responsibility in making that happened. So, he asked the other again;


    [Can you tell me the name of those places?]


    Livi didn¡¯t think much of the question and just answered. After Astrid received the boy¡¯s answer, he searched the two places on his Terminal. He was a bit surprised when he saw that both places were pretty high-end. Like a place only rich people would go to.


    Under normal circumstance, it would definitely be hard for a newly established variety program to even get permission to film at such places. But it seemed that Livi¡¯s parents did some of their ¡®rich people¡¯ magic that¡¯s why the program was given permission. That¡¯s the only reason Astrid could think of.


    ¡­..


    He shook his head. That¡¯s hardly the point right now. After he saw where those two places were located, he also searched for other establishments around the two. Once he found what he¡¯s looking for, a smile crossed his lips.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, young master. I¡¯ll make sure you will have fun today,¡± he said to Livi.


    To others who didn¡¯t know about their ¡®secret¡¯ conversation, they would only think that Astrid was responding to what Livi said earlier. But to the both of them, it completely had a different meaning.


    Livi showed a surprised expression. And then, as if he understood what Astrid was trying to convey by saying those words, that surprised look turned into a bright smile.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll look forward to it!¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    The first place they went to was the cafe. It¡¯s a very high-end cafe. As evidence of the sophisticated design and interior, as well as it¡¯s location. It was located at a shopping district famous for being frequented by rich people. Most nobles even do their shopping in this place.


    Because of that, none of the people they met along the way flocked towards Astrid like what happened at the spaceport when he shoot for the ad. There were still those who stared rather rudely. But that was all. Maybe it¡¯s their way of preserving their noble honor. Not that it mattered since that¡¯s not really what¡¯s important right now.


    The name of the cafe was Oasis. The atmosphere inside was very¡­ peaceful? That¡¯s the best way Astrid could describe it. It almost seemed like a library because of how quiet it was. Not that there weren¡¯t any customers inside. It¡¯s just that, these customers were all very quiet and just enjoying their coffee.


    That¡¯s probably great for those who just wanted to relax and have their favorite coffee. But for a kid? It¡¯s definitely not. Just looking at Livi¡¯s expression right now was already enough proof of that.


    ¡°What do you want to drink, young master?¡± Astrid asked once they were seated on their table.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything,¡± Livi said with that slightly furrowed brows that showed his displeasure.


    He turned on the virtual menu and a virtual screen appeared on the table, showing all the items available in the cafe. As he was about to make an order, he heard Kara clearing her throat as if trying to get his attention.


    He looked at the other who was just sitting at a table besides them. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t order anything with too much sugar,¡± Kara said in that same business-like tone of hers.


    Astrid was about to frown when he heard that but when he saw Livi frowning faster than him, he felt like sighing more instead. Really, was this woman hired to make his employers look bad? Because her constantly saying these things would only put a bad light on Livi¡¯s parents.


    The audience who would watch this episode would think that Livi wasn¡¯t allowed to even eat anything sweet. Add that to the tasteless breakfast the kid had earlier and people would think that he¡¯s being ¡®abused¡¯ via bad food.


    Unless, of course, those parts that showed that would all get cut. But if it was edited out, then wouldn¡¯t it seem that he¡¯s the reason why Livi was showing dissatisfaction?


    Because that¡¯s how it would look like if they edited the scenes that showed Kara. It¡¯s like Astrid was the reason why Livi was not happy. He had no doubt that that would indeed happen, especially if the kid¡¯s parents ordered the program team to edit out anything that might make them look bad.


    Which, in turn, would be a total disaster for Astrid.


    Maybe that¡¯s why this bodyguard was not afraid to spout those nonsense even though there¡¯s cameras hovering around them. Now, Astrid was even more determined to make Livi happy. At least for this day.


    He just sighed inwardly. If he wanted to make this a fun day for Livi, he should get Kara out of the way first.


    And so, after he ordered drinks for him and the kid, he used his mental strength to make Kara faint.


    Soon, the drinks he ordered came. A green matcha latte for Astrid and a berry delight parfait for Livi.


    When the kid saw the glass of parfait, his eyes widened. He looked up at Astrid. ¡°This¡ªwhy?¡±


    Astrid only smiled. ¡°Because I want to make the young master smile.¡±


    At that answer, a bright grin appeared on Livi¡¯s face.

 Chapter 403 - 403 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (V)

    403 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (V)


    LIVI was halfway eating the parfait when he finally noticed that Kara was not saying anything about him eating this much sweets. He turned to where Kara was sitting and was surprised to see that the other was slumped on the table as if she had fallen asleep.


    He turned to the pretty big brother sitting in front of him. ¡°Astrid, Kara, she¡ª¡±


    The other turned to where Kara was. ¡°Oh, she must have fallen asleep.¡±


    The way he said it was so nonchalant that Livi also started to believe that maybe Kara really had fallen asleep.


    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s too tired,¡± the other continued before turning back to him and smiling. ¡°Let¡¯s not disturb her.¡±


    Livi was actually very confused right now. Kara was never the type to suddenly fall asleep like this especially when she¡¯s on the job. But seeing Astrid¡¯s unsurprised reaction and the way he just naturally accepted the fact that Kara had suddenly fallen asleep, maybe, maybe that was really the case?


    ¡°There¡¯s a newly opened cat cafe just a few walk away from here,¡± Astrid suddenly said. It was such a natural segue that Livi didn¡¯t even notice that he was changing the topic. ¡°Does the young master want to go there after you finish eating your parfait?¡±


    And as expected, Livi¡¯s expression brightened. He had obviously already forgotten the absurd case of his bodyguard suddenly falling asleep. No matter how mature he acted, he was still a kid. It¡¯s easy to turn his attention to another topic. Especially if it¡¯s something he¡¯s interested in.


    After finishing their orders, Astrid and Livi walked out of the cafe hand in hand. Before going to the cat cafe he mentioned, he led Livi towards a man wearing a suit just standing a few steps away from the cafe.


    ¡­..


    He knew that the other was one of the bodyguards who followed them here. It¡¯s not just because of the way he carried himself. It was more because of the fact that he was one of the guards Astrid saw earlier.


    ¡°Hi, ahm, I don¡¯t know how to say this, but,¡± Astrid started with a worried expression on his face. Then, he added in a whisper that Livi wouldn¡¯t hear, ¡°I think Miss Kara fainted. Was she not in good health?¡±


    The bodyguard was startled at first by Astrid¡¯s sudden approached. He knew it was unprofessional but he couldn¡¯t help but be affected by the other¡¯s looks. If the other came up to him with bad intention, he would probably be stabbed without even knowing. Then, after hearing about Kara fainting, his bodyguard instinct finally returned.


    He almost blurted out ¡®impossible¡¯. After all, Kara was the epitome of seriousness and strictness. She always took care of her health so it wouldn¡¯t get in the way of her job. Even on the off chance that she was indeed not feeling well, she wouldn¡¯t allow herself to faint in the middle of a job. And if she couldn¡¯t really stay conscious, then she would have contacted one of the bodyguards who followed there here.


    Just by those facts, he couldn¡¯t help but feel suspicious about all this. He narrowed his eyes at the teenager standing in front of him. He was about to question the other but before he could, Astrid had already spoken first.


    ¡°I¡¯m really worried about her. It¡¯s not normal fainting like that so suddenly. Please do quickly take her to the hospital,¡± he said, his expression showed that he was genuinely worried for Kara. There was even a touch of urgency in his voice which was probably about taking Kara to a hospital quickly.


    The bodyguard shook his head. Why was he even suspicious of this teenager? Aside from the fact that there¡¯s no way he could have forced Kara to faint, the other seemed to be very concerned about what happened.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll take care of it,¡± the bodyguard said, his voice unknowingly turned softer.


    The teenager showed a relieved smile. But it quickly turned into an apologetic one. ¡°Although Miss Kara could no longer go with us, I hope that we could still continue with this trip. Of course, not for me but for the young master. Please?¡±


    The bodyguard almost agreed right there and then. It was a good thing that he got a hold of himself before he did. He didn¡¯t have enough jurisdiction to decide on his own. But before he could even give an answer, the young master had already interrupted him.


    ¡°We¡¯ll continue on with this trip and return by lunch,¡± Livi said, in that bossy tone which only made him look adorable instead of intimidating or even annoying.


    Livi didn¡¯t hear what Astrid said initially to the bodyguard. He did hear the last part though. That¡¯s why he intervened. Because he wanted the trip to continue.


    This was his first time going out without his parents or his mother in particular. He wanted to be able to enjoy this day without worrying about other things. Astrid promised him that he would have fun today. And so shall it be.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure my parents sent enough bodyguards today to ensure my safety. All of you can just follow us, at a reasonable distance, and make sure that nothing will happen,¡± he continued before looking up at Astrid. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Astrid gazed down at the kid beside him. The other had that dignified expression on his face that didn¡¯t really look intimidating. Instead, it just made him more adorable. He had to stop himself from ruffling the other¡¯s hair. He could already imagine the kid¡¯s reaction if he did.


    And so, he could only lead this cute young master towards the direction of the cat cafe.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Ellis felt like she was struck by lightning when she heard the name mentioned by the assistant PD of the program [Baby¡¯s Day-Off]. It felt like her insides were churning. The anger that she thought she had already buried was beginning to surface. And at a very fast rate at that.


    ¡°Repeat that again. Who is the mother of that child?¡± she asked through gritted teeth.

 Chapter 404 - 404 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (VI)

    404 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (VI)


    THE assistant PD suddenly felt terrified when he saw the dark expression on Ellis face. Weren¡¯t the two of them having a good conversation just now?


    They were on the program¡¯s mobile truck and were following and monitoring the recording of [Baby¡¯s Day-Off]¡¯s next episode. The agents usually accompanied the shooting like this since they couldn¡¯t possibly accompanied their artist during the recording.


    Before Astrid arrived at the house of the kid he would take care of today, the assistant PD and Ellis were still having a fun conversation. Discussing about some interesting things. But the moment she saw the kid, her expression started to change.


    When she listened to the kid¡¯s name, that¡¯s when the assistant PD truly felt like the storm started to brew. After she heard where the two were going, that¡¯s when the storm took a violent turn. Then, as if just waiting to explode, she finally asked him the question that resulted to the other¡¯s current expression.


    At first, the assistant PD couldn¡¯t understand this sudden change. And then, as if the screws in his brain started to connect, he finally understood why. That¡¯s when he remembered the PD of the program telling him not to mention certain things to Ellis Payne. But because he was so engrossed with his conversation with the other, he had completely forgotten about that. And so, when she asked about who the kid¡¯s mother was, he didn¡¯t think much and just answered.


    Seeing the other¡¯s reaction right now, the assistant PD knew that he made a huge mistake. He probably should call the PD now, right?


    But before he could do that, he was bombarded again by a sudden question.


    ¡°Did you make a deal with her?¡± Ellis asked.


    And the assistant PD really didn¡¯t know how to answer that.


    ¡­..


    Ellis let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°Never mind.¡±


    If the director somehow made a deal with that person so Astrid could be invited in this program, Ellis couldn¡¯t help but think that the other had an ulterior motive behind her action. And that this episode might be disadvantageous for Astrid in the long run. The problem was that person wasn¡¯t really the type to do something like that.


    But then again, people could change. Just looked at how controlling she was of her son. Never in Ellis¡¯ wildest imagination would she think that the other was capable of that. Or maybe, she just never really knew her at all.


    Ellis turned to the virtual screen monitoring the recording and stared at the boy. Those turquoise eyes should have been already a red flag for her.


    She closed his eyes, trying to calm down her profusely beating heart. When she opened them, she turned to the assistant PD. ¡°If you¡¯re planning to edit this episode in a way that would make the public see my artist in a bad light, I would do everything in my power to let everyone know that you manipulate your episodes to create issues for your guest. Even those who couldn¡¯t enter the [Star List] would think twice before they guest at this program.¡±


    Evil editing ¨C that was something some programs do to gain traction and be part of [Cyberspace]¡¯s trending topics. Although all those programs gained bad reputations in the public, people still watched them because of the drama they generated.


    But because of that, hardly any decent actors or actresses would intentionally be part of programs like that. Only washed up actors and celebrities at the bottom who wanted to gain instant recognition would go to such programs.


    Since this was just a new program, Ellis was sure that the program team, especially the director wouldn¡¯t want something like that to happen. Having a tarnished reputation was a sure way for a network to quickly cancel a new program.


    She also didn¡¯t want for them to reach that point. The reason why she even agreed into putting Astrid in this program when the director reached out to her was because he found the program really promising. But now, she felt like the other had an ulterior motive for inviting Astrid.


    She really hoped that that was not the case.


    ¡°Call the director and tell him what I just told you,¡± she added when she saw the assistant PD panicking.


    The other scrambled to do just that.


    Ellis returned his gaze back to the virtual screen and stared at the boy named Livi.


    [Just what were you thinking¡­ Olivia?]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid watched Livi played with the cats in the cat cafe they went to. The other had been smiling from ear to ear since they entered the place. One cat jumped into Livi¡¯s arms and the kid just laughed. It was a laugh full of joy, showing just how much fun he¡¯s having.


    ¡°Is this your first time playing with cats?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but ask just by seeing how animated and happy Livi was.


    Livi nodded. ¡°Yes. But I did play with robot pets before. Although they looked very real, their not warm or very soft. Unlike this one,¡± he said, rubbing his cheek on the cat that he¡¯s holding.


    Astrid was surprised by that. He wanted to ask if his parents did not allow him to interact with real animals, but he held himself back. They were still recording. He didn¡¯t want to make it seem like he was purposely making Livi¡¯s parents looked bad. Even though they¡¯re starting to seem that way in Astrid¡¯s eyes.


    There¡¯s overprotective and there¡¯s controlling. Livi¡¯s parents were surely threading a fine line between the two. If they were already like this when their son was just only four, he wondered just how bad it would become in the future.


    He ruffled the kid¡¯s hair. ¡°If there¡¯s any other place you want to go to, just tell this big brother. We¡¯ll go there after we go to the garden. Okay?¡±


    Livi seemed to be surprised by the sudden touch in his hair, but soon a shy smile appeared on his lips. He seemed very happy by this unprecedented skin ship.


    ¡°Uhm, okay.¡±

 Chapter 405 - 405 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (VII)

    405 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (VII)


    AFTER spending time at the cat cafe, Astrid and Livi went to the flower garden ¨C the other place that they were supposed to go to. Just like the cafe, the flower garden was also pretty high end. It¡¯s like a place where aristocrats from millenniums ago would go to have a tea party. Maybe the nobles of today also considered this place as such.


    The location of the garden was also pretty unique. It was at the top of a commercial building. It encompassed the whole top floor of the said building. The only way to go there was through a special elevator that was only accessible to VIP customers.


    Again, it¡¯s a place to show off wealth.


    Astrid truly couldn¡¯t understand why Livi¡¯s mother picked those two places. Was it to show to everyone just how rich she was? But just a quick shot of their whole villa could easily show that to people. So, why not just let her son have fun for just half a day?


    Was it for control? To teach her son that he couldn¡¯t get away from her grasp? Or was it just a complex case of protectiveness?


    It¡¯s truly a riddle for Astrid. He and Reas thankfully grew up in a very normal household. Even though the land encompassing their family¡¯s farm was quite big, their parents didn¡¯t give them a sense that they were above all others. They were taught to be independent at a young age. They did house chores and played to their hearts¡¯ content, not afraid of any scrapes or bruises.


    Of course, because of the memories of his past life, he would have grown up as he was regardless. But their parents¡¯ upbringing no doubt shaped who Reas was today. His brother wouldn¡¯t probably be as kind and responsible as he was if not for the way their parents brought them up.


    They were protective in their own way but not so much that one would feel suffocated. They gave their children ample freedom while secretly protecting them from a safe distance. They were very carefree but strict when they needed to. They didn¡¯t spoil their children rotten but instead taught them the value of hard work.


    The happy childhood that Astrid and Reas had was all because of their parents¡¯ love and support.


    ¡­..


    And yet he couldn¡¯t see any of those qualities from Livi¡¯s parents. In particular, the kid¡¯s mother.


    This might sound judgmental, but based on what he had seen so far, he couldn¡¯t see Livi¡¯s parents as ¡®qualified¡¯. It¡¯s probably too early to even make that judgment. But after he saw how Livi reacted from just a simple touch from him, it would be weirder if he didn¡¯t.


    The way the boy smiled as if that was the first time someone ever touched his head gently like that already said a lot. He was at the age where he should be showered with affection. A simple loving touch from one¡¯s parents could do wonders for a child. Astrid knew all too well how important that was.


    After the parents he had in his past life died, he was deprived of such a simply luxury. How lonely and alone he was back then. He couldn¡¯t remember how much he prayed for someone to come his way and bring him out of that loneliness. But, of course, no one came. He had to work hard until it felt like his bones were breaking just so he could reach a semblance of happiness.


    That¡¯s why he was very thankful that he was reincarnated in a family with loving parents and a sibling who cared so much for him. If that was his compensation for all the unhappiness he received in his past life, then it was all worth it.


    But Livi was in a different situation. His parents were still alive. And yet Astrid could feel the same loneliness from the child.


    He sighed inwardly. It¡¯s not like he could do anything to change the boy¡¯s situation in the long run even if he wanted to. Obviously, Livi¡¯s parents, or at least one of them, was from a prominent family. Maybe even a noble. To continue contacting Livi, Astrid had to get permission from the boy¡¯s parents first. They might as well not allow that if they found out that he brought their son to places they didn¡¯t approve of.


    So, where did that leave Astrid? To absolutely nowhere.


    Today might as well be the first and last day he spent time with Livi. The only way to go around this was to change how the parents treated Livi. But would that even be possible? No, he hardly thought it would.


    The next best thing Astrid could do was to make sure that Livi would enjoy the few hours they still had to the fullest. Then, he would just think of a solution for the bigger problem later.


    ¡°Young master, if you have a place in mind you wanted to go to, just tell me. I¡¯ll do my best to bring you there,¡± he said, calling Livi¡¯s attention.


    The boy stopped walking. The two of them were currently looking around the flower garden. Or to be more precise, Livi was just expressionlessly looking at the flowers. Obviously, not very interested with the place they were in.


    But after hearing what Astrid said, the expression on his face quickly changed and brightened. He turned to Astrid and asked with an almost sparkling gaze;


    ¡°Really? Anywhere?¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Yes. Does the young master have a particular place in mind?¡±


    ¡°Amusement park!¡± Livi answered as quickly as lightning. As if showing how he had been wanting to go there.


    Astrid chuckled. Such a very child-like response. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll search if there¡¯s an amusement park near us.¡±


    He opened his Terminal to search. He saw Livi stared intently at the virtual screen that appeared from his Terminal. As if he was silently ordering the Terminal to show the location of a nearby amusement park.


    Astrid almost chuckled again seeing that. Really, what an adorable kid.

 Chapter 406 - 406 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (VIII)

    406 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (VIII)


    ALTHOUGH Livi said that he wanted to go to an amusement park, it would take about an hour to go to the nearest one from their location. Before they could even reach the place, the time they could spend together would be significantly reduced. Livi could probably only go to one attraction before it¡¯s time for him to return home.


    The good news was there was a small theme park near their area. They could arrive there by flying car in just 10 minutes. It was an added bonus that the theme park was very child friendly.


    It was called Blitz Land. A theme park with a theme based on a popular fictional character ¡®Blitz¡¯. Blitz was the main character of a popular animated show of the same name. He was a cute white rabbit that wanted to be the fastest animal in the Empire.


    Every episode was about his adventure or misadventure rather. It was not only entertaining, it was also full of moral lessons. That¡¯s why it¡¯s popular among parents and children alike.


    Although there hadn¡¯t been a new episode for the past two decades and the show had only been showing reruns, it hadn¡¯t lost popularity. Just like the famous Hello Kitty from his past life, Blitz had also already reached a legendary height. And just like Hello Kitty and other famous mascots, Blitz also had theme parks dedicated to him.


    When Astrid told Livi that they couldn¡¯t go to an amusement park because the nearest one to them was still pretty far, the kid¡¯s disappointment was almost overflowing. But when he said that they could go to Blitz Land instead, Livi¡¯s expression brightened once again. In fact, it was even much brighter than when he said that he wanted to go to an amusement park. Showing that he also liked Blitz.


    After deciding where to go next, the two quickly left the flower garden. Of course, with a group of bodyguards in tow.


    Astrid noticed that the number of bodyguards actually increased. Probably because of Kara¡¯s ¡®accident¡¯. The only good thing was that none of them tried to replace her job and followed them closely. Instead, they were following them at a reasonable distance.


    A new bodyguard drove them to Blitz Land. Astrid was glad that the other wasn¡¯t too fond of speaking and just drove them there in silence. But then, he started to wonder about the difference in attitude between Kara and the rest of the bodyguards.


    ¡­..


    The latter was obviously less intrusive than the former. It¡¯s like the latter was just there to do their job description while the former was acting like a hound monitoring Livi¡¯s every move.


    Now, he couldn¡¯t help but be curious why that was. It would be insane though if the one who gave Kara that job was Livi¡¯s mother though. Like seriously. ¡®You¡¯re son is only four, can you at least let him breath?¡¯ ¨C he truly wanted to say that to Livi¡¯s mother.


    If only he could meet the woman now, he would have really wanted to say that. But since there¡¯s a low chance that the other would appear in this recording, the probably of him meeting the other would probably be pretty low.


    But even if they did meet, what could he even say? It¡¯s not like he could tell her she¡¯s doing a pretty bad job as a mother. Even though he¡¯s dying to do it. With that woman being such a control-freak, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she actually called the police on him.


    As Astrid was mulling over on how he could help Livi, they finally arrived at Blitz Land.


    Even though it¡¯s the weekday, there were still quite a number of people visiting the theme park. Showing just how popular Blitz Land was. Although this branch was a bit small compared to others, it¡¯s still bigger compared to the smallest Disneyland from his past life.


    He actually thought that there might be a possibility that the bodyguards assigned to Livi would clear out this place and they would arrive with an empty Blitz Land. Maybe it¡¯s not because they didn¡¯t, but they couldn¡¯t. After all, they didn¡¯t have enough time to do that. How could they even do it in 10 minutes or so?


    Besides, Blitz Land would probably not agree of such demands. No matter how rich Livi¡¯s family was, surely they couldn¡¯t force Blitz Land to make their guests leave just because they were ordered to.


    It would probably work if they reserved the whole place a couple of days or weeks before. But that wasn¡¯t the case here. Blitz Land would surely not risk their family-friendly image by kicking out their guests just because some rich person ordered it.


    As expected, the moment they stepped inside, they were immediately bombarded by Blitz¡¯ image spread everywhere. From the food stands to the rides, and even to the holographic image of him just casualty floating around. Anywhere you looked, there¡¯s Blitz.


    Honestly, it¡¯s a bit jarring for Astrid. If not for the overall bright atmosphere of the place, he would find this very creepy. He gazed down at Livi. Thankfully, the other didn¡¯t share his opinion. As evidence of the kid¡¯s expression right now.


    Livi was looking everywhere with eyes gleaming with excitement. It¡¯s like the expression of someone who entered some kind of magical place. He suddenly had a hunch.


    ¡°Is this the young master¡¯s first time in a theme park?¡± he asked.


    Livi¡¯s face suddenly turned red from embarrassment. ¡°O-of course not! How- how could that be possible?¡±


    But his reaction was telling Astrid the complete opposite. Once again, he felt a bit incredulous. Even if Livi was only four, there were definitely many theme parks who could accommodate such a young child. Blitz Land for one.


    Not bringing him to such place so he could have fun was not even a matter of not having money to do that. So, would this still fall under the guise of protection? Well, maybe. But still.


    Astrid sighed in frustration. He kept the complaints to himself and offered his hand to Livi. ¡°Let¡¯s go and have lots of fun, okay, young master?¡±


    Livi raised his head and accepted Astrid¡¯s offered hand. Then, he smiled brightly. ¡°Okay!¡±

 Chapter 407 - 407 [BABY’S DAY-OFF] (IX)

    407 [BABY¡¯S DAY-OFF] (IX)


    ASTRID and Livi were lining up to get to the Ferris wheel ride. This would be the third and last ride that they would go to before this trip concluded.


    The rides in this theme park were all interesting and kid-friendly. At the entrance, the guests could ride a Blitz mobile which they could use to go around the theme park. Of course, he and Livi availed that.


    Their first ride was something similar to a merry-go-round. Except that instead of horses, it was a floating fluffy rabbit. Between that and the next ride, they went to other attractions in the theme park. Also eating along the way.


    Of course, Astrid made sure that the snacks they ate were not too much of anything. Like too salty or too sweet. Just the right amount. It¡¯s the best way he could do to avoid Livi¡¯s parents from blaming him from letting their son eat food they didn¡¯t allow him to eat.


    But well, they would probably still do it anyway. At least everything was recorded and the viewers would see that he didn¡¯t feed Livi poison or anything like that. So, even if Livi¡¯s parents filed a complaint against him, there would be loads of witnesses that would say otherwise.


    Besides, it¡¯s not like the food here could cause any medical problems. If the food here did not pass the Empire¡¯s safety measure, then there¡¯s no way this place would even be opened to the public. And he also read from Blitz Land¡¯s official site that all the food being sold here used high quality ingredients that weren¡¯t bad for children¡¯s health.


    He also gave Livi some of the snacks he made for today. The kid actually liked the snacks he made more than the food they bought here. Just to be sure that he wouldn¡¯t be ¡®attacked¡¯ for letting Livi eat unknown foods, he made certain that the cameras captured the snacks that he made. So, people could see that he wasn¡¯t letting the kid eat junk foods.


    Anyway, even with that, Astrid would still be disliked by Livi¡¯s parents for sure. Not that he cared though. What¡¯s important right now was to let Livi have a fun time. And then he would worry about the aftermath of his actions after that.


    Finally, their turn finally arrived and they got on one of the cubicles. The Ferris wheel was not so different from the one he knew from his past life. The only difference was the cubicles were bigger and that they were not connected to a center circle and were floating instead. This was why the ride was smoother compared to the normal Ferris wheel that he knew from his past life.


    ¡­..


    Livi looked outside the glass window of the cubicle they were in. Happiness was evident on his small face. Since arriving at this place, the other had been smiling non-stop. It was a far cry from when he first met the other this morning where he was acting like a small adult. Now, the other truly looked like a kid.


    And that¡¯s good. Every kid should have the benefit of acting their age. It¡¯s the only time they could do so. They should at least be free to do that. Of course, some circumstances could prevent them from doing that. That¡¯s the sad reality. It might be their living environment preventing them to do that. Or it could be controlling parents who unknowingly forced them to act like adults.


    The former was his situation in his past life while the latter was what Livi was currently experiencing. Either of the two were not ideal for a child¡¯s growth. He only got lucky that he didn¡¯t grow up crooked despite all the bad things that happened to him. The same thing couldn¡¯t be said to Livi though.


    People who felt suffocated in their childhood because of their parents had a high chance to rebel in their teens or adulthood. This rebelliousness could lead to a lot of complications in the future. Livi could have this kind of future as long as his parents controlled every aspect of his life like this.


    ¡°Wow. The view outside must look more beautiful at night.¡±


    Livi¡¯s sudden comment pulled Astrid¡¯s thoughts back. He looked outside the glass window and saw the miniature view of the city. ¡°Yes, it must be,¡± he agreed.


    ¡°I wish we could stay until it¡¯s night time.¡±


    After Livi said that, the smile on his face slowly disappeared. Probably because he knew that they would return back home after this ride.


    ¡°Maybe we could go again next time,¡± Astrid said.


    Although he shouldn¡¯t make empty promises like this, he just couldn¡¯t let the other have that sad expression.


    Livi seemed surprised that he said that. Then, his smile came back. The only difference was, there was a tinge of sadness in it. ¡°That would be great.¡±


    It was obvious that the kid didn¡¯t believe that something like that could happen. Livi must have thought that this would be the last time they would see each other. At that sight, his desire to help the other became even stronger.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After the Ferris wheel ride, Astrid and Livi were now on their way back to the latter¡¯s home. They would probably arrive there before lunch.


    ¡°I wish Astrid could cook some lunch for me,¡± Livi grumbled. ¡°The snacks you made were really delicious. I probably won¡¯t be able to taste it again.¡±


    He said that last part almost like a whisper, but Astrid still heard it. He was about to answer when the car finally stopped. He didn¡¯t even notice that they had already entered the villa.


    Both he and Livi got down of the flying car. He only had time to give a response to the kid after that.


    ¡°Maybe I can cook lunch for the young master today.¡±


    Livi¡¯s expression brightened when he heard that, but it quickly dimmed once again. ¡°No. My mother won¡¯t allow it.¡±


    It might have been a slip of the tongue. But those words were clearly captured by the three cameras following Astrid.

 Chapter 408 - 408 TO ’REKINDLE THE FIRE’

    408 TO ¡®REKINDLE THE FIRE¡¯


    ASTRID was inside Ellis¡¯ flying car. They were on their way to the TV station where [Baby¡¯s Day-Off] was being aired. He glanced at his agent that currently had a dark expression on her face. It had been like this since earlier.


    After saying goodbye to Livi, Astrid met with the other staffs of the program and they all went to the mobile truck that was monitoring the recording. The moment they entered, they immediately felt the cold atmosphere inside.


    Most thought that the air conditioner must have been set at a very low temperature. But Astrid didn¡¯t think the same. Just by looking at Ellis¡¯ expression, he could tell that it was because she was in a very bad mood.


    They were supposed to go with the program team back to the TV station. Astrid still had to record some follow-up interview, like asking for his opinion about the things that happened during the recording. Then, they would superimposed it to the corresponding scenes once the episode aired.


    Ellis told the program team that the two of them would go to the station by themselves though. Astrid could see the shaky expression on the assistant PD¡¯s face as he nodded.


    And now, here they were.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, is there a problem?¡± he asked in a tentative voice.


    The other turned to him and then suddenly let out a huge sigh. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Ellis closed her eyes. She must have looked like she wanted to beat someone that¡¯s why Astrid asked her that. She was still contemplating on whether to tell Astrid about Olivia. At the end, she decided to just say it.


    ¡­..


    The other was her artist, it was her job as an agent to properly explain to him things that could affect his career. And this one surely would, depending on what Olivia¡¯s motive was. But Ellis didn¡¯t want to gamble on the possibility that Olivia didn¡¯t have any ulterior motive. It¡¯s better to think that she had so they could prepare for it.


    ¡°The mother of the child you took care of today is Olivia Crane,¡± she said straightforwardly. And then she added in a bit of sarcastic tone, ¡°Or should I call her ¡®Olivia Thornley¡¯ now?¡±


    Astrid wasn¡¯t able to quickly react after hearing that. Olivia Crane? That Olivia Crane? The actress that Ellis was formerly in charged of? No, he shouldn¡¯t probably referred to her as an ¡®actress¡¯ since the other had already retired after she married some nobleman.


    Even after hearing that Olivia Crane was Livi¡¯s mother, there were still a lot of information that his brain had to register. After digesting all that, he started to analyze the situation.


    Since Livi¡¯s mother was Olivia, it couldn¡¯t just be a simple coincidence that he was invited to this program today. Especially considering that the first one the program team contacted was the celebrity parent/s. What if Olivia actually made my participation in this episode a requirement for her to allow her child to appear in the program? If that was so, then he couldn¡¯t help but think that there¡¯s definitely a motive behind it.


    It¡¯s definitely not because of him though. The two of them didn¡¯t have any kind of connection aside from having Ellis as an agent. So, it¡¯s safe to say that Olivia¡¯s purpose for doing this was Ellis.


    Then, he suddenly remembered Livi¡¯s full name, ¡®Oliviel¡¯. Wasn¡¯t that just a blatant combining of hers and Ellis¡¯ name? He didn¡¯t think much of it when he first heard Livi¡¯s full name. But after knowing what he knew now, wasn¡¯t that just too obvious? That woman, Olivia, wasn¡¯t even trying to hide it.


    Astrid already had a hunch that Ellis¡¯ relationship with Olivia went beyond a simple agent-artist relationship. At least that¡¯s what he got from the conversation he heard between Ellis and Director Evans.


    But now, didn¡¯t he just find a definite proof of that?


    He glanced at his agent. ¡°Sister Ellis, could she be targeting you?¡±


    Hearing that, Ellis knew that Astrid got a quick grasp of the situation. ¡°Why do you think she wants to target me?¡±


    Astrid shrugged. ¡°Maybe because she wants to have an affair with you?¡±


    Ellis almost choked on her own saliva because of that unexpected ¡®attack¡¯. She couldn¡¯t help but glare at the teenager. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re even saying?¡±


    ¡°Well, Sister Ellis can¡¯t really blame me for thinking that.¡± Although Astrid said what he said earlier in a joking tone, he truly meant it. ¡°Unless, Sister Ellis actually wronged Olivia Crane and now she¡¯s planning to get back at you.¡±


    ¡°Hah! If there¡¯s someone wronged here, then it¡¯s me, not her,¡± Ellis couldn¡¯t help but retort.


    ¡°Then, it could only mean that she wanted to rekindle the fire with you.¡±


    Ellis seriously felt like she would have a headache because of all the nonsense Astrid was saying. That reason didn¡¯t even cross her mind. After all, their separation was pretty¡­ ugly. She doubted that Olivia would want to rekindle anything.


    But then again, there was the name of the kid. Honestly, when she first heard it, she didn¡¯t feel touched or even remotely flattered. It just felt¡­ icky.


    She shook her head. Thinking of the ¡®why¡¯ of that wouldn¡¯t really help them right now.


    Astrid, who saw Ellis shaking her head, thought that the other must have been denying what he said about Olivia wanting to have an affair. ¡°Well, since Sister Ellis knew more about her, then you probably have a more solid idea on why she¡¯s doing this.¡±


    Silence filled the inside of the flying car.


    A bitter smile appeared on Ellis¡¯ face before she answered. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m no longer sure if I ever truly knew the real her.¡±


    Astrid could see that Ellis must have been pretty shaken because of this connection to the past that suddenly appeared before them. She must have really loved that Olivia.


    ¡°If you ask me, I think Sister Ellis dodge a bullet by not ending up with her,¡± he said. ¡°Your separation was definitely a blessing in disguise. If not, then you probably would have never met me.¡±

 Chapter 409 - 409 WHO IS OLIVIA?

    409 WHO IS OLIVIA?


    ELLIS chuckled after hearing that. ¡°Well, that is indeed true.¡±


    Astrid was glad that the heavy atmosphere surrounding Ellis subsided even just a bit. ¡°But kidding aside, has she always been like that? Someone who¡¯s controlling?¡±


    And maybe a bit paranoid as well. Because why the heck would she put all those restrictions on her four-year-old son if she¡¯s not? But Astrid decided to keep that opinion to himself. After all, he still hadn¡¯t gauge Ellis¡¯ current thoughts regarding Olivia Crane.


    Ellis seemed to be thinking on how she should respond to his question. ¡°Certainly not in the past. Olivia, she¡­ she¡¯s a very bright person full of optimism. She¡¯s sweet and very charming. She could easily light up even the darkest of places with just her smile. But that didn¡¯t mean that she¡¯s a pushover. No, on the contrary, she¡¯s full of fighting spirit. She wouldn¡¯t let anyone bully her and she would fight for the things she wanted.¡±


    Olivia was full of ambition. That innocent appearance that hid a cunning interior, it¡¯s one of the reasons Ellis fell for her. It must have sounded weird when one put it that way, but she liked that part of Olivia. She knew what she wanted and she fought for it tooth and nail.


    When the two of them met, Olivia was only a member of a small theater troupe. Since performances could be done in the [VirtualNet], theater troupe could also have freedom to do a variety of genres. They could do action, fantasy, even historical dramas. The performers even had the freedom change their appearance based on the character they were playing.


    Some theater actors preferred that setting of the theater where they could act while remaining anonymous to the public. After all, there were those who only loved acting but didn¡¯t want the fame that came with it. But there were also those who used the theater as a stepping stone.


    Olivia was the latter.


    She wanted to be noticed by the agents who would go to theater performances to scout possible talents. Because that¡¯s the fastest way she could think of to achieve her dream of becoming a star.


    ¡­..


    Olivia was born in a poor planet that could barely support itself. As an orphan, she had always dreamt of leaving there and having the best life there was. But it was hard. There¡¯s too many obstacles her way that prevented her to do that.


    It was when she was a teenager that she started to dream of becoming an actress. It was just a childish dream at first. She thought that it was the easiest way for her to have a good life.


    But Olivia knew that even that was hard to achieve considering the place where she lived. So, she did her research and came to the conclusion that joining a theater troupe would be her best bet. She didn¡¯t have to leave the planet, all she needed was a virtual pod to enter the [VirtualNet] and looked for a theater troupe that would accept her.


    After buying a second-hand virtual pod, she joined a theater troupe and began her theater life. She earned enough money from that to go to the capital. And that¡¯s when the two of them met.


    Or at least, that¡¯s Olivia¡¯s past according to the stories she told Ellis. After the betrayal she suffered from the other, she was no longer so confident that all of those things were true. But the fact that Olivia started in theater was at least correct.


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely a far cry to how I imagined her to be,¡± Astrid commented.


    What he envisioned in his mind was someone uptight and domineering, certainly not the little miss sunshine that Ellis described.


    ¡°Well, I could certainly see why,¡± Ellis said in a dry tone.


    If she didn¡¯t know Olivia personally and her only basis was the things the child, Livi, had said, she would also have a different image of her. And that¡¯s the thing she couldn¡¯t understand the most. Why would Olivia treat her child like some kind of robot? It was something Ellis would have never imagined her to do.


    Unless, this was the real her and the one she fell in love with was just an illusion.


    Ellis was starting to believe that that was indeed the case.


    ¡°Maybe marriage changed her,¡± Astrid commented with a shrug. ¡°She married a noble, so that¡¯s certainly possible.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t even sure how Olivia even managed to marry one with her background. Not that he¡¯s looking down on her, it¡¯s just that, most nobilities married within their ranks. The word ¡®love¡¯ seldom existed to describe a marriage among them. So, it was quite rare for a noble to marry an actress. Especially since that noble was quite a high ranking one.


    The heir of a viscounty. Not a second son or a third son, but the heir. From what Astrid read about the whole marriage thing between the two (he did some research when Ellis became his agent), the parents of that noble were still alive and well. He couldn¡¯t imagine them agreeing to letting their heir marry an actress who was, at the same time, an orphan and didn¡¯t have any powerful family backing her up.


    It just didn¡¯t make any sense.


    According to the article he had read, it was a marriage of love. But if he considered Olivia¡¯s change after five years and how she was treating her own son, Astrid had a doubt that it was really a marriage of love.


    So, what was the truth?


    ¡°Anyway, no matter what her reason was for asking you to guess in this program, we should be careful regardless,¡± Ellis said.


    ¡°Do you really think she would target me?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°In all honesty, with all the footage we got today, she¡¯s the only one who would appear bad in the eyes of the general public.¡±


    The show would need a godly editor if she was really planning to turn this episode against him.


    And that was another ¡®mystery¡¯ he couldn¡¯t understand with all this.

 Chapter 410 - 410 THE NEXT TIME WE MEET AGAIN

    410 THE NEXT TIME WE MEET AGAIN


    ELLIS gave out a long and frustrated sigh. ¡°I also don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking for doing this. But don¡¯t worry, I will get to the bottom of this. I won¡¯t let this affect you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really particularly worried about that,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I know that the recording today didn¡¯t have any footages that might be detrimental to me. What I¡¯m worried about is you, Sister Ellis.¡±


    When he noticed during the recording that things might spiral out of control, he made sure that his actions wouldn¡¯t get him in trouble. But now that he knew that Livi¡¯s mother was actually Olivia Crane, he started to think that the real target here must be Ellis and not him.


    ¡°You¡¯re worried about me?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Who knew what Olivia was planning? As I¡¯ve said, she could be planning to force you into an affair for all we knew.¡±


    Ellis laughed at that. ¡°Your imagination really knows no bounds.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious though.¡±


    Ellis found Astrid very adorable like this. So, she couldn¡¯t help but ruffled the other¡¯s hair. ¡°And I told you, I will handle this.¡±


    Astrid sighed and tried to straighten his ruffled hair. He actually wanted to ask Ellis how she and Olivia broke up but he felt like that was too personal of a question. Ellis might not even want to share it. It would just make the atmosphere awkward.


    ¡­..


    But even if he did not ask that, there¡¯s still one thing that he needed to say to Ellis. Especially if the other was planning to meet Olivia.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, once you meet her, can you tell her something for me?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, what is it?¡± Ellis asked curiously.


    ¡°Tell her to watch the unedited footages of the recording we did today,¡± Astrid said. ¡°And please, ask her if she had ever seen her son look that happy.¡±


    Maybe that could be a wake-up call for Olivia.


    At first, he thought of using public opinion to force Livi¡¯s mother to see how she was damaging her own child¡¯s mental health. The things that the cameras following him captured were enough for that. But that was until he found out that Livi¡¯s mother was actually Olivia Crane.


    If Ellis planned to meet the other, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to send the message directly to her?


    Astrid just hoped that the message would come across properly. If not, then he¡¯d just proceed to plan B. Which would involve the public¡¯s opinion. If that still didn¡¯t work, then proceed to plan C. Which he still hadn¡¯t thought of, by the way. What¡¯s important was not to stop even if he reached plan Z.


    Because this was all for Livi. For a child who was just starting his childhood and who seemed to be being deprived of that at the same time. As a person who had experienced a different and yet somehow similar thing, Astrid just couldn¡¯t leave Livi¡¯s situation alone.


    Ellis glanced at Astrid. There was a serious expression on the other¡¯s face as he said that. It seemed like he really had taken a liking to the kid. Ellis understood his worry. It was quite obvious how the kid lacked affection. Which begged the question, why did Olivia agree on letting her child guest in this program.


    Was it because she truly believed that her parenting style was flawless, so it was fine even if the public knew about it? Well, granted that a lot of nobilities must have the same parenting style. But the problem here was, the kid looked absolutely unhappy.


    It was probably not so noticeable at first. But as you watched the recording, one could easily tell that there¡¯s a problem. So, she couldn¡¯t blame Astrid if he was worried for the kid.


    In the first place, Ellis couldn¡¯t understand how Olivia¡¯s husband even allowed the child to appear in such a program. Surely it¡¯s not because of money. It¡¯s definitely not to increase their reputation in the eyes of the general public. Because this recording had a total opposite effect. So, what was it?


    She let out a long sigh once again.


    Anyway, these questions would be answered once she and Olivia talked.


    But now, the real question was, was she ready to face the other?


    ¡ª¨C


    After arriving at the TV station, Astrid began with his post-interview of the program. Of course, that was after the make-up artist touched up his hair and face a little. The interview was done inside a room with pure white walls, probably to give the impression of ¡®purity¡¯ and ¡®innocence¡¯.


    He sat down on the designated chair. Cameras were floating around him. There were staffs in front of him but they were out of the coverage of the cameras.


    ¡°We¡¯ll start with the interview,¡± one of the staffs said.


    Astrid nodded, telling them that he¡¯s ready.


    The same staff asked questions about the show. Like how he felt when he found out that he would be guesting for today¡¯s episode, his first impression of the show, basic things like that.


    Astrid¡¯s answers were all neutral, not saying anything bad, but also not being hyped up for everything. But he made sure that he answered it in a way that would look like he¡¯s being honest. In this way, he could avoid saying anything controversial and at the same time, not also offend the program team.


    Of course, when the question was about Livi, he was more animated and his answers were more sincere.


    ¡°For the last question, do you have any message for the young master?¡±


    Astrid looked at one of the cameras that was recording the interview. He stared straight at it as if the one in front of him was Livi himself.


    ¡°Young master, if you¡¯re watching this, I just want you to know that you deserve all the happiness in the world. I hope that you will grow up healthy, strong, and happy. Our childhood is very fleeting. At the blink of an eye, without us noticing, it was already over. So, I hope that the young master could have more fun in the future. Don¡¯t be afraid to tell the people around you what you want.¡± He smiled encouragingly at the camera. ¡°And the next time we meet again, I¡¯ll definitely cook you a meal.¡±

 Chapter 411 - 411 THERE WAS JUST... NOTHING

    411 THERE WAS JUST¡­ NOTHING


    ELLIS lifted the glass of wine and took a sip. She looked out of the floor to ceiling window showing the amazing night lights of the city below. She was currently inside a private room of a restaurant. She picked this place because of the privacy it provided to its customers.


    The reason for this was because she was meeting with Olivia today. It¡¯s important that the two of them weren¡¯t seen together. Who knew what kind of article would come up if some paparazzi took a photo of them. Especially since Astrid and Olivia¡¯s son would appear in a program together.


    She didn¡¯t want there to be any stupid speculations about them. So, it¡¯s better to be careful.


    She drank another sip of wine. As the sweet and tangy flavor flowed down her throat, she couldn¡¯t help but remember the conversation she had with Olivia earlier.


    =====


    Ellis looked at the Terminal number on the virtual screen in front of her. It was Olivia¡¯s number. Which Grant helped him to get. After the other married that noble, she changed her Terminal number. Something that was quite a hassle to do since an individual¡¯s Terminal number was almost their identity.


    Olivia probably wanted to have a clean break from her past so she did that. Besides, didn¡¯t Ellis also do the same? She changed her Terminal number because she didn¡¯t want others heckling her about how she¡¯s feeling or how she¡¯s doing.


    They did it for different purposes but the underlying reason behind it was the same. So, the two of them could cut contact with each other completely.


    And now, fiver years later, Ellis had to contact the other once again.


    ¡­..


    She really didn¡¯t want to, honestly. But circumstances forced her to do just that. On the bright side, maybe she could take this chance to finally have that closure. After all, with all the things that happened five years ago, she barely got any of that. In fact, she didn¡¯t even manage to have a final talk with Olivia before the other went off and married that guy.


    Ellis took a deep breath and started to type her message. She could just video call the other. But she didn¡¯t want their meeting to be through a virtual screen. She needed to be able to look the other in the eyes and see her reaction in person once they meet again. Because she wanted to know if she still had feelings for the other. And the best way to do that was to see the other in person and looked her in the eye.


    After typing her message, she quickly sent it.


    [This is Ellis. I think you already know why I¡¯m contacting you like this. We need to talk. I will send you the time and place. You can just reply if you can meet me or not.]


    Surprisingly enough, the reply was quite immediate.


    [Okay.]


    Ellis stared at that simple ¡®okay¡¯. She didn¡¯t even have to wait that long for the other¡¯s reply. Which meant that Olivia was also expecting that she would contact her soon enough.


    She shook her head, decided not to think too much, and sent Olivia the time and place where they would meet.


    =====


    And now, Ellis was here, waiting.


    Contrary to what she expected, she actually didn¡¯t feel nervous at the thought of meeting Olivia. Truth to be told, she didn¡¯t feel any particular emotions. Might it be excitement or anxiety, there was nothing.


    This should be a good sign, right?


    But then again, she might be just feeling this way because her brain had been telling her not to feel those emotions. Continuously convincing her that it was real. So, that she could prove to herself that she was indeed over her.


    Ellis smiled helplessly. To second-guess herself like this. It seemed that she really wasn¡¯t that unaffected as she might have believed.


    She was about to take another sip of wine when she heard the door of the private room opening. She set down the wine glass on the table before glancing back.


    The one who walked into the room was a woman with greenish-blue hair that was slightly above her shoulder. She was wearing a white chiffon dress with a flowing skirt and black ribbon belt. When she raised her head, her pair of turquoise eyes stared straight at Ellis.


    Olivia Crane, no- now it was Olivia Thornley.


    She looked more mature. ¨C That was Ellis¡¯ first thought.


    She nodded at the other and gestured for her to sit. ¡°Please, do sit.¡±


    Olivia¡¯s eyes slightly widened. She tried to hide that by gazing to the side but Ellis had already seen it. Her little movement was a sign that she¡¯s very surprised right now. Surprisingly, the other¡¯s little habit was still the same.


    Was she surprised to see her? Or was it because she didn¡¯t expect Ellis to be civil? Was she expecting her to be antagonistic right from the start? If that was so, then she had to disappoint her.


    Because as she stared at Olivia like this, she felt nothing inside her but infinite calmness. Her heart didn¡¯t tremble, her emotions didn¡¯t shake, there was just¡­ nothing.


    Ellis should be relieved by that. But somehow, it just made her sad. She once thought the other would be the ¡®one¡¯. The person she would spend her life until she died. The one she would build a family with. She thought it was the same for her, that she was that person for her.


    But five years ago, Olivia easily proved her wrong. She broke her heart so thoroughly that Ellis felt like there was nothing more left in her to break. She even thought that there¡¯s no way she would survive it. But after a year, she was able to get back on her feet. Then, a year after that, she was completely back to normal.


    Time could really heal all wounds.


    And now, she had proven that it could also erased the once intense love you felt for someone.

 Chapter 412 - 412 I NEED HELP

    412 I NEED HELP


    ¡°LET¡¯S not beat around the bush and just go straight to the point,¡± Ellis said.


    ¡°I agree,¡± Olivia said with a nod.


    Ellis waited for the other to say something other than that, but no such thing happened. Olivia just stared at the wine glass in front of her. ¡°Well? Why did you go into all this trouble just to put my artist into that program?¡±


    Olivia finally picked up the wine glass and took a sip. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence.¡±


    A slight frown appeared on Ellis¡¯ face. ¡°I thought we would not beat around the bush and just go straight to the point? So, what¡¯s with the vague response?¡±


    Olivia chuckled. ¡°Well, will you believe me if I say I did it so you would contact me on your own accord?¡±


    Ellis frowned even more. Especially since she remembered the nonsense Astrid told her earlier. ¡°You- you¡¯re not planning to ask me to have an affair with you, right?¡±


    Olivia stopped, as if perplexed by what she heard. Then, she straight out laughed out loud. ¡°Gosh, when did you started to have that kind of sense of humor?¡±


    ¡°Please, that was not my idea. Astrid was the one who insisted that you must have some nefarious reason for doing this,¡± Ellis said with a dry tone.


    ¡­..


    ¡°And his idea of ¡®nefarious¡¯ was me wanting to have an affair with you? How cute,¡± Olivia said in an amused tone. ¡°The idea is certainly attractive.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right,¡± Ellis said, rolling her eyes. ¡°So, what is it? What¡¯s your real reason?¡±


    A moment of silence passed by before Olivia responded. ¡°Because I know you wouldn¡¯t want to meet me unless I do this. And I also needed a viable reason to meet you.¡±


    That answer had Ellis frowning once again. ¡°As I¡¯ve said, I think it¡¯s better to just tell me directly what you want.¡±


    Olivia took a deep breath, as if trying to gain a bit of willpower. And if her habit was still the same, Ellis could bet that her fists were probably clenched tightly right now. Olivia was nervous. Very nervous, if she might add. The question was, why?


    Ellis could feel that it was not simply because of them meeting again. No, it had something to do on why the other wanted to meet her in the first place. She didn¡¯t speak and just waited for Olivia to answer.


    She thought that she still had to wait a few minutes more before the other finally had the courage to speak, but good thing that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably shameless of me to ask you this after what I did. But, embarrassingly enough, I don¡¯t have anyone I could ask this of. Or rather, nobody would probably listen.¡± Olivia raised her head and looked at Ellis. Her turquoise eyes were shaking, showing just how much she¡¯s trying her hardest not to let her emotions leaked. ¡°I need help, Ellis. Badly.¡±


    Okay. That was actually unexpected. It took Ellis by surprise that she wasn¡¯t able to immediately say anything back. But soon, she managed to calm down and observed Olivia.


    Her lower lip was trembling and she couldn¡¯t make eye contact with her. Ellis could see that she was not only nervous, she was also deeply embarrassed. Olivia probably didn¡¯t want to ask her of help. But just like the other said, she didn¡¯t have much choice about it.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. You¡¯re indeed quite shameless to expect me to help you just because you ask.¡±


    After Ellis said that, Olivia visibly flinched. Her whole face even turned red from embarrassment.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. But- but I really don¡¯t have anyone else to turn to. You- you¡¯re my last hope.¡±


    ¡°What kind of help do you need exactly? No, before you answer that, there¡¯s something I want to know first,¡± Ellis said. ¡°You just up and leave me five years ago. The next thing I knew, you¡¯re suddenly getting married. So, for my peace of mind, can you tell me why? Thinking about the answer to that from time to time whenever it popped in my head from is seriously annoying. So, would you mind telling me the answer? I deserve that much, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    The expression that flashed on Olivia¡¯s face showed that she didn¡¯t expect for Ellis to demand an explanation for that. Ellis almost laughed sarcastically and asked, ¡®seriously?¡¯. If she wasn¡¯t already over the other, she would have been so pissed off that she might have already flipped the table over.


    Olivia literally left her hanging in the air. They didn¡¯t even have an official break-up! The other simply ended her contract with the entertainment agency they belonged to that time. Without her knowledge, if she might add. She only found out about it via the company. Which was worse.


    Then, the next day, the other posted an announcement on her [Cyberspace] account saying that she was retiring. Ellis seriously thought back then that Olivia might have been kidnapped of something. The other had just entered the top five of the [Star List]. Her series of actions simply didn¡¯t have any rhyme or reason.


    But then, the next day, something happened to prove that Ellis¡¯ guess was wrong.


    Olivia held a press conference where she did not only announced her retirement, but her engagement as well. To Benjamin Thornley. The eldest son and heir of Viscount Thornley.


    The feeling of betrayal Ellis felt back then didn¡¯t even amount to the heartache she felt. That¡¯s how hurt she was. But after five years, Olivia seemed to still not want to give her any proper explanation. And that, after she just asked her for help.


    If that¡¯s not the definition of shameless, then she didn¡¯t know what was.


    Ellis let out a frustrated sigh. She was planning to just stand up and leave if the other didn¡¯t speak soon and give her any explanation. But as she was about to do that, Olivia finally spoke.


    ¡°If I said goodbye to you in person, my resolve might waver and the revenge I¡¯ve been planning for years would end up for naught.¡±

 Chapter 413 - 413 THEIR DIFFERENT NIGHT

    413 THEIR DIFFERENT NIGHT


    ASTRID checked his Terminal after he finished his night shower. There¡¯s some messages from his friends but there was none from Ellis. He had been waiting for the other to contact him since he knew that she would be meeting Olivia tonight. Ellis even said that she could contact him after her meeting with the other. But looking at his Terminal now, it seemed that their meeting probably extended for too long.


    Or they were simply reminiscing about the past.


    Well, they could reminisce all they liked, he just hoped that it wouldn¡¯t lead to anything. Like a hotel, for example.


    It¡¯s not that he¡¯s saying that Ellis would jump to a chance of having an affair with a married woman, but one just couldn¡¯t forget that the two had a pretty long and deep history. Unless Ellis was totally over Olivia, he couldn¡¯t really just ignore that possibility.


    He went to the kitchen and decided to make tea. As he did, he couldn¡¯t help but glance at his Terminal again. But this time, he wasn¡¯t looking for Ellis¡¯ message but someone else¡¯s.


    Yes, it was Wulfric.


    It had been four days since he last received a message from the other. Even his usual video call was also stopped. If Astrid was being honest, he kind of missed it. The conversations they would have at night with no particular topic and was just about how their day went. Before he knew it, their talks had now become a, well, routine for him.


    He chuckled. It hadn¡¯t even been a week and he was already feeling this way. It seemed that Wulfric really managed to worm his way in Astrid¡¯s life without him even noticing it. Not that he¡¯s complaining though. He¡¯s a very welcome addition to his life.


    If someone told him a few months ago that he would freely admit this, he would tell them that they¡¯re crazy. But look at him now. He¡¯s not only freely admitting to himself that Wulfric was already a part of his life, he could even admit now that he missed the other.


    ¡­..


    After his tea finished steeping, he took a sip and then decided to send a message to Wulfric.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Is that one of the new recruits?¡± a man with a huge body asked another man smoking on the side. He was pointing at someone sitting at a table and drinking beer.


    They were at a bar in a Lawless Den just outside of Palioxis Galaxy. Their mercenary crew stopped by here on their way to Tertius Galaxy. And it was also here that they had recruited a number of freelance mercenaries ¨C they were those who didn¡¯t belong to any groups or organizations.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said the man smoking.


    The big man frowned, clearly showing his dislike. ¡°Is the boss in his right mind? Why would he suddenly recruit new members when we¡¯re in the middle of an important commission?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of that that he did. Have you already forgotten that seven of our members were suddenly arrested by the army? We¡¯re sorely lacking people right now. So, the boss have no choice but to hire mercenaries from the outside.¡±


    The man remembered that. For some reason, a few of their members who were tasked to do some scouting was arrested by the army for illegal possession of firearms. And they just really had to be arrested by those from the Fenris Squad.


    If it was any other army, there might suspect that they were onto them. But since it was the Fenris Squad, then it¡¯s safe to say that those members were simply unlucky. It was widely known that people from that army were crazy. If one just looked at them in a wrong way, they would be immediately arrested.


    So, the members of their mercenary group who were arrested could only blame what happened to them to their luck. Or simply, the lack of it.


    But because of what happened, they had to hire additional mercenaries. But with the kind of commission they had been taking, the only ones they could hire without worrying that they would suddenly be turned to the authorities were mercenaries from Lawless Dens.


    And that guy over there was one of the freelance mercenaries the boss hired just this morning.


    ¡°Do we even know if they can handle the job?¡±


    The smoking man shrugged. ¡°Since the boss was the one who hired them, they¡¯d probably be fine.¡±


    ¡°I think we should see that for ourselves,¡± the man said as he strode towards the table where the guy sitting alone and drinking beer.


    At a distance, a man standing near the bar counter saw this scene. He drank the glass of gin tonic he¡¯s holding in one shot and readied himself to watch a good show.


    [Slade, try not to show how excited you are.] ¨C said Leland¡¯s voice from the earpiece he¡¯s wearing.


    The other was monitoring everything from Beowulf via the cameras attached to Slade and Wulfric. Of course, the cameras, as well as the earpiece they¡¯re wearing were all the highest class military grade equipment that wouldn¡¯t be easily detected.


    Slade and Wulfric were now doing undercover work as freelance mercenaries. It was not only them but all the newly hired mercenaries were from the Fenris Squad. All of them were in disguised. To give the illusion that none of them were close, they weren¡¯t interacting with one another aside from the occasional nod.


    That¡¯s why he was standing here alone and the captain was sitting over there. Now, it seemed like trouble was walking towards the captain. He shook his head. The captain was already in a disguise that made him look ordinary and yet he¡¯s still the one that big guy noticed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not really grinning from ear to ear right now,¡± Slade responded to Leland in a low tone that only he could hear.


    He heard the other side. [Just stop his highness if you think he was about to beat that man to death.]

 Chapter 414 - 414 MISSING YOU

    414 MISSING YOU


    WULFRIC was browsing [Cyberspace] for any articles and news related to Aster. Of course, the Terminal he¡¯s using was not his real Terminal. He¡¯s undercover right now, using his real Terminal was almost akin to revealing his identity.


    Although it probably wouldn¡¯t be discovered considering how advance the technology of their army was. But still, Leland being Leland, didn¡¯t leave it to fate and made sure that there wouldn¡¯t be anything that could question their identity.


    It¡¯s a hassle for Wulfric though. What if Aster tried to contact him and he couldn¡¯t answer the other? What if Aster thought that he was ignoring him? He couldn¡¯t let that happen!


    That¡¯s why he told Leland to ask someone to modify the Terminal he would use for this mission. To make it so that the messages and call he would receive from Astrid¡¯s Terminal number would be connected to the Terminal he¡¯s currently using.


    But it¡¯s been four days since their last message exchange and he still hadn¡¯t receive any message or call from the other. It¡¯s making Wulfric a bit depressed. He was hoping that Aster would at least contact him.


    But then again, it was him who told the other that he might not be able to contact him for a while because of his mission. What if Aster was just worrying that he might disturb him and this was just him being considerate? Well, if that¡¯s the case, then Wulfric hoped that the other could bother him more.


    As he was browsing on [Cyberspace], which he had customized so it would only show topics related to Aster, he saw a post that caught his attention.


    [Look, I just saw Astrid on Blitz Land! Is he filming a show there?]


    Attached to the post was a photo of Aster walking around some kind of theme park with a kid beside him. The kid¡¯s face wasn¡¯t shown clearly, but Aster¡¯s face was easily recognizable.


    ¡­..


    He was smiling down at the kid. It¡¯s not the kind of ¡®actor¡¯ smile that Wulfric would often see Aster show to people he¡¯s not familiar with. It¡¯s a smile that was only reserved to those he was closed to. Which meant that Aster must have really liked the kid he¡¯s with.


    He read the comments below the post.


    [Wow, it¡¯s really Astrid. Is he as pretty in real life?]


    Of course, he is. ¨C Wulfric answered inside. Aster even looked much better in person.


    As if agreeing with him, the original poster replied under that comment.


    [He¡¯s much more beautiful! Once you see him, you¡¯ll think ¡®ah, is this what it feels to see a celebrity?¡¯.]


    Wulfric nodded at that comment in agreement.


    [But what kind of show was he filming?]


    [Is the kid with him a child actor?]


    [I was also there that day and I saw them! I tried to approach and ask for autograph, but I was stopped by some people who looked like bodyguards.]


    [A bodyguard? Wow. Is Astrid already on the level of having bodyguards?]


    [It seemed that Polaris is really giving him a lot of importance.]


    [But bodyguards for someone who isn¡¯t even on the Star List? Isn¡¯t that too exaggerated?]


    [Right? Or maybe Astrid asked it himself.]


    [LOL doesn¡¯t that mean that he¡¯s already thinking too highly of himself when he hasn¡¯t proven anything yet?]


    Wulfric frowned when he read those series of comments. Were these people not tired of saying shit about others without any evidence?


    He didn¡¯t have to comment and defend Aster because some people had already done it before him.


    [Are you people being serious right now? In which part was it mention that they were Aster¡¯s bodyguards? Please don¡¯t make conclusions like that when you don¡¯t even have evidence to back it up!]


    [Right, right. Just admit that you don¡¯t like Aster.]


    [Stop monitoring topics about him when you¡¯re just a hater. It¡¯s obvious that you only want to sow discord among his fans.]


    [I also saw them in a cat cafe. But those bodyguards seemed to belong to the kid and not Astrid. I heard one of them calling him ¡®young master¡¯. In fact, Astrid was also calling the kid ¡®young master¡¯.]


    Attached to that comment was a picture of Astrid and the kid inside the cat cafe. The kid was facing back to the camera so his face was not seen.


    [Wait- so, he¡¯s a rich kid? He¡¯s not one of those who force celebrities to spend time with them, right?]


    [Upstairs, isn¡¯t your imagination a bit extreme? He¡¯s a kid. What would he know?]


    [Evil kids exist, you know?]


    Wulfric stopped reading the comments and just stared at the photo of Aster with the kid in that cat cafe. He felt envious. He hadn¡¯t even gone with Aster to such a place. What was a cat cafe even? Was it a cafe for cats? Anyway, the important thing was Aster went there with someone else first. Not to mention that theme park.


    He was reminded once again of that failed aquarium date. Wulfric scratched his hair in irritation. He wished he could finish this mission quickly. Then he could plan a whole day where he could invite Aster to those places.


    As he was daydreaming of that, an annoying voice suddenly spoke beside him.


    ¡°Hey, new recruit, come and have a spar with me.¡±


    Wulfric raised his head to look at the person who just spoke. It was a man who had an unusually big body. It was obvious just by looking at the other that he had been injecting hormonal agents to make his muscles this big. He wanted to laugh seeing that. It¡¯s not like a big build could dramatically increased a person¡¯s strength.


    He planned to just ignore the other when his Terminal received a message. When he saw who it was from, his whole face brightened. He was about to open but the annoying guy was still yapping beside him.


    Wulfric stood up and kicked the other away, not caring that the man flew outside of the bar because of the force of his kick.


    And then, he happily opened the message and read it.

 Chapter 415 - 415 IN ’DANGER’

    415 IN ¡®DANGER¡¯


    [Hi Wulf! I don¡¯t know if you would be able to read this because you¡¯re probably very busy right now and I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m actually bothering you, but I just want to send this message to cheer you on. I know that you¡¯re in a mission right now that probably involves a lot of danger. So, first, I want to ask that you take care of yourself. Don¡¯t try to jump into every danger that¡¯s in front of you just for the thrill of it. Even if you¡¯re strong, it doesn¡¯t mean that you have to reckless.]


    [Now that the nagging was over, then I wish you good luck on your mission. Do your best, Wulf. I can¡¯t wait to hear all your heroic exploits once your mission is over. Fighting!~ ¨C xoxo Aster.]


    Wulfric¡¯s smile that started small was now from to ear to ear after reading Aster¡¯s message. A suspicious red tint could even be seen on his cheeks.


    At first, he only felt touched after reading the first part. Because it showed that Aster was worried about him. How could that not make him happy? But the second part only made him shy. Yes, shy. As unbelievable as that might be.


    There were actually two reasons for that. First the way Aster cheered him on. It was moving yet very adorable at the same time. It¡¯s probably because of that word ¡®fighting¡¯. Reading that, he couldn¡¯t help but remember the way Aster said it during the recording of [Fieldtrip]. And the second reason? Of course it¡¯s because of ¡®xoxo¡¯.


    He knew that Aster was probably only copying him. But to Wulfric, who knew its real meaning, it just felt like Aster was sending him kisses and hugs. Again, how could he not be happy with that?


    He quickly saved that message to make sure that he could preserve it. Just after he finished doing that, the table in front of him suddenly shattered. It was sliced by an energy sword. And that energy sword was also about to hit him.


    He jumped back, easily avoiding the sword. When he raised his head, he saw the huge man he just kicked standing before him. The other was obviously the one who did that attack.


    Wulfric tsked. ¡°What the fuck is your problem, man? Was the kick earlier not enough to tell you that I don¡¯t want to be bothered? Or is there just something wrong with your brain?¡±


    ¡­..


    The huge man¡¯s face that was already ready from humiliation became even redder. He couldn¡¯t believe what just happened earlier. That he would be kicked like that as if he¡¯s light as a feather. The worse thing was, it happened right in front of the other members of their mercenary group that were also in the bar. If he didn¡¯t retaliate right there and then, what kind of face would he even face them?


    And so, he came back to attack. He just didn¡¯t expect that his attack would be easily evaded just like that.


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    He rushed forward to attack the cocky bastard right away. But his attack was once again quickly evaded.


    Wulfric was truly starting to get annoyed. What wrong with this shit? He was minding his own business and this twerp here just started yapping beside him. Could you blame him for kicking the other? And now, this guy had the audacity to actually attack him!


    Getting tired of dodging, he was about to just beat the shit out of the guy when he remembered Aster¡¯s message for him.


    Aster didn¡¯t want him to put himself in unnecessary danger. Wouldn¡¯t this one count as ¡®danger¡¯? Yes, it definitely was. So, he decided to quickly knock this annoying guy. That way, he wouldn¡¯t be in ¡®danger¡¯ anymore.


    With just a few quick steps, he appeared behind the guy and then hand chopped the back of his neck. The other immediately lost consciousness and fell down.


    ¡°Really, why are you putting me in danger like this?¡± he said in a huff as he straightened his coat and turned to walk outside of the bar.


    The people around who had been watching stared at Wulfric¡¯s back wordlessly. In their minds, there¡¯s only one thought ¨C ¡®How in the hell are you in danger? Isn¡¯t it the complete opposite?¡¯.


    Slade, who was also amongst this crowd, had the same thought. So, he said to Leland;


    ¡°Leland, I think Captain is under some sort of drugs. Or else why is he hallucinating like that?¡±


    [¡­] ¨C Leland who also heard what Wulfric said about being in ¡®danger¡¯ from the earpiece of the other.


    It was then that Leland heard the prince¡¯s voice from the earpiece once again.


    ¡°Leland, after we finish this mission, make sure to let the whole Empire know how we managed to stop a human trafficking ring. I want it broadcasted so even people in the most remote planet would know about our heroic exploits.¡±


    [¡­]


    All the missions they had done before were kept secret from the public. They had never publicized it. The prince was not only not interested in the fame it would bring their army, he also found it very troublesome. That¡¯s why the public only knew about exaggerated rumors about their army instead of all the good things they had done for the Empire.


    And that was better for them, in Leland¡¯s opinion. At least their infamy helped them to move more freely. Yet now, the prince wanted to publicize the success of their current mission?


    He remembered what Slade said earlier about his highness being under the influence of drugs.


    [Your Highness, are you perhaps¡­ high right now?]


    Wulfric, who just jumped on top of the bar, stopped moving when he heard that. ¡°Leland, do you want me to go back to Beowulf just so I could give you a punch?¡±


    There was silence before Leland responded;


    [Apologies. It¡¯s just that, what your highness said was just so unlike you.]


    Wulfric looked up at the star-filled sky and grinned. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say there¡¯s someone who wants to hear our heroic exploits. Who am I to deny him?¡±

 Chapter 416 - 416 LELAND’S HEADACHE

    416 LELAND¡¯S HEADACHE


    LELAND felt like a horrible case of headache was about to bombard him because of the things the prince was suddenly saying. His immediate reaction was to dissuade the other from executing whatever idea he just came up with. But then he caught something in the prince¡¯s words.


    ¡®Someone wants to hear their heroic exploits¡¯ ¨C which meant this was not the prince¡¯s idea but someone else¡¯s. Or at least, someone said something that led to the prince to have this kind of idea.


    There¡¯s really one person who came to mind that could have that kind of influence on the prince.


    Astrid Townsend.


    A rookie actor that the prince met during one of his escapades this year. It was something harmless at first. Leland even thought that the two would not meet again after the prince left planet Delryria. But the two met again and that started the unexpected change of the prince.


    Leland didn¡¯t think much of it at first. But when the prince did a thorough background check on Astrid Townsend, and then made sure that the result would be put under strict security, the kind that even a general of the Empire wouldn¡¯t be able to access, he knew that something was definitely up.


    His highness wouldn¡¯t do all that just for someone that he had a passing interest with. Not to mention all the other things that he did. Especially if he considered Astrid¡¯s complicated family background. That was definitely not something the prince would dip his feet on his own accord.


    The feud between the Grimaldis and the Lancasters, the prince wouldn¡¯t meddle in that and would just find it troublesome. At least under normal circumstance, that should be the case.


    But obviously, Astrid Townsend had now made a crack on the prince¡¯s ¡®normalcy¡¯. Leland was just not sure the degree of that crack. But seeing as how the prince was acting right now, this crack might be bigger than he could ever imagine.


    ¡­..


    [Hey, Leland, are you still there?]


    The prince¡¯s voice cut Leland¡¯s thoughts. He took a deep breath. He couldn¡¯t solve whatever was happening right now in just a matter of seconds. He also knew that convincing the prince right now to change his opinion would be counterproductive. So, the only thing he could do was compromise.


    At least, for now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s all discuss it once the mission is over,¡± he said. ¡°I think it¡¯s better for your highness to focus on the mission right now.¡±


    [Hmm, fine.]


    Leland let out a sigh of relief after hearing that the prince wasn¡¯t planning to argue with him regarding that decision he just made. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.


    Times like this, he always wondered if it had been better to have his eyesight fixed. Maybe, just maybe, the headache he would feel wouldn¡¯t be so painful.


    He wasn¡¯t wearing this pair of glasses for fashion or anything like that, just like how it was for most people who wore them. No, he¡¯s wearing glasses because his eyesight was literally bad. That¡¯s probably a weird thing to hear in this era where babies were born as healthy as they come.


    But Leland¡¯s parents were poor. They couldn¡¯t afford to go to any fertility lab so their mother gave birth to both him and Ash. Because of the poor environment of the planet they were in, the first birth weakened their mother¡¯s body and the second one completely took her life away.


    Her death was the start of their family¡¯s downward spiral. At that time, he couldn¡¯t believe that their lives could get any lower than it already were. But it did, surprisingly so. Meeting the prince at that period of time was definitely a blessing in disguise.


    Anyway, the point was, because he wasn¡¯t a person who was born from the selection of the best genes of both of his parents, having a bad eyesight was not really that surprising.


    He probably should have long fixed it. After all, he already had the money to do so. But he had always put it off. Just for a sentimental reason like having a proof of his parents¡¯ many struggles.


    Yes, it was a stupid reason. But he rarely did anything stupid, so he could probably be pardoned for doing something like this.


    Leland put back his glasses. Now that his mind had cleared, a certain idea popped into his mind.


    Since the one bringing all these changes to the prince was just a single person, then why not let him handle this problem?


    That¡¯s very logical.


    Right?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid left his apartment much earlier than usual. It was because of the message he received from Ellis. She said that they needed to discuss something today. No doubt that it would be related to Olivia.


    So, he just suggested that they talked in the morning while travelling to Redwood. If that wasn¡¯t enough time, Ellis could just parked the car to the side of the road and they could continue whatever it was they were discussing.


    When he walked out of the apartment building, he was surprised to see that Ellis¡¯ car was already there. He didn¡¯t waste time and quickly walked over. He opened the door and sat down on the passenger¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Good mor- morning, Sister Ellis,¡± he greeted.


    He almost fumbled at the middle because of Ellis¡¯ bad complexion. There were obvious dark circles under her eyes. Her skin even looked a bit wan. Signs that she didn¡¯t sleep well.


    Now he¡¯s really curious as to what had happened last night between her and Olivia. Surely, it wouldn¡¯t be that their talk ignited her love for the other and she was now conflicted on what she should do next?


    ¡°I know, I look terrible,¡± Ellis said as if reading what¡¯s on his mind. Then, she started the car. ¡°And no, whatever you¡¯re thinking, that¡¯s not it.¡±


    Astrid laughed dryly and scratched his cheek.


    ¡°Did your talk with Olivia not go well?¡± he asked, changing the subject.


    Ellis sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a mess. I don¡¯t even know where I should start.¡±

 Chapter 417 - 417 WORTH IT

    417 WORTH IT


    ELLIS took a deep breath before telling Astrid what happened with her talk with Olivia. And for that, he had to go back to the events of last night.


    =====


    ¡°Revenge? What revenge?¡± Ellis asked in confusion.


    There was silence once again.


    Olivia took a deep breath, as if trying to gather all the willpower in her body. ¡°Before I explained that, there was something that I have to confess to you at first. Something about my past that I did not dare tell you.¡±


    Ellis wasn¡¯t too surprised when she heard that. She had already suspected that there might be a lot of things Olivia hid from her. If not, then she wouldn¡¯t be so gobsmacked when the other suddenly retired and went off to marry some noble. If Ellis truly knew everything about Olivia, she would at least have an inkling as to why the other did what she did. But funnily enough, she didn¡¯t even see it coming.


    She didn¡¯t respond and just waited for Olivia to continue. It didn¡¯t take long for the other to do so.


    ¡°I was indeed a poor orphan from a poor planet who could barely make ends meet. But that wasn¡¯t always the case. I was once a daughter of a fairly affluent businessman. i was an only child. I grew up loved and spoiled by my parents. Everything was handed to me on a silver platter. But that all changed when I turned 10.¡±


    Olivia stopped, as if what she was about to say next would take a lot from her. There was another moment of silence before she continued;


    ¡­..


    ¡°My parents died from a flight accident when they were on their way to a business trip. I was too young back then. I couldn¡¯t really remember the things that happened next. But there was one thing that I do clearly remember. It¡¯s something that remained in my mind from that moment on until today.


    ¡°It happened on the day of my parents¡¯ funeral. That day passed by like a blur to me. I¡¯m not even sure if I knew what was happening. But before I could even barely say goodbye to my parents, our family¡¯s lawyer, that bastard, pulled me away and brought me to a space port.


    ¡°There, a ship was waiting for us, or rather me. That bastard gave me to some woman. Before he left, he told her that she should bring me to an orphanage farthest from the capital. Then, he told me that that¡¯s the last mercy that he could show me. That the only thing that I should blame for the situation I was in was my parents. That they should have never went against Viscount Thornley.


    ¡°Before I could really understand what was happening, I was put into sleep. When I woke up, the woman and I had already arrived to some¡­ decrepit planet. The woman told me that I would now live under a new name and that if I wanted to live, I should forget the name I was born to. The moment we arrived at that crumbling orphanage, I became ¡®Olivia Crane¡¯.¡±


    Ellis felt like she was being bombarded by bombs one after another as she listened to the things Olivia was saying. She could understood the things she were saying, it just didn¡¯t make sense. But in a way, it also did.


    To summarize what Olivia said, her parents¡¯ death was caused by the Thornleys. She was spared by their family lawyer, who probably betrayed the family, and was sent to a poor planet with a new identity.


    The conversation she heard between the lawyer and the woman, as well as what that woman told her, obviously left a lasting impression on her. Now, Ellis could understand where the ¡®revenge¡¯ part came in.


    ¡°Then, are you saying that you purposely married the heir of Viscount Thornley to get revenge on their family?¡± she asked just to make sure.


    Because if that was the case, then it also meant that the only reason Olivia tried to become an actress was so she could be famous enough to get noticed by the Thornley heir. So, she could then proceed to her revenge.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Ellis frowned hearing that. ¡°And did that include having a child with him?¡±


    Olivia bit down her lower lip. She was obviously struggling internally. But she soon answered, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Hah!¡± ¨C That was a frustrated, and maybe even a bit angry, sigh.


    Now, Ellis understood the strain relationship between mother and son. And that made her even angrier.


    ¡°He¡¯s a child, Olivia. An innocent child who had nothing to do with your revenge. By letting him be born into this world, you subject him to your hate and probably to years of hurt and trauma,¡± she almost shouted. ¡°I won¡¯t say that I can understand your pain. I won¡¯t be hypocritical and do that. But really Olivia, you shouldn¡¯t have involved a child.¡±


    The fact that Olivia did all these things meant that she probably made certain that the Thornleys were really connected to what happened to her parents. She wouldn¡¯t just jumped to this obviously elaborate plan without proper evidence or at least proof of the Thornleys involvement.


    She sympathized, truly. And if the other had told her all about this five years ago, she might have actually helped her. No, she would have. And she would be more than happy to do it.


    But still.


    ¡°I know that!¡± Olivia shouted in a pained voice. ¡°I know.¡± She put both hands on her face and a sob escaped her throat. ¡°And I tried my best so I didn¡¯t have to reach that point. But I was weak. The only way I could achieve my goal is to have him. But do you know what¡¯s funny?¡±


    She put down both hands. Her tear-stricken face stared at Ellis and a distorted smile crossed her lips. ¡°Now that I¡¯m only one step closer to my goal, I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s even worth it anymore.¡±

 Chapter 418 - 418 AT WHAT EXPENSE?

    418 AT WHAT EXPENSE?


    ELLIS had to take a deep breath after recounting that part of her conversation with Olivia to Astrid. Of course, she did not tell everything. Just the gist of it. But since she had to remember the conversation in order to recount it, it still affected her.


    ¡°So, Olivia married Benjamin Thornley to take revenge? And now that she¡¯s one step closer into executing that revenge, she suddenly asked you for help?¡± Astrid asked, summarizing what Ellis had told him.


    He knew that it wasn¡¯t as simple as that. There were definitely a lot of other things involved. Like what exactly did the Thornleys did to Olivia¡¯s parents or how did that even come about. But really, what he was more worried about was Livi.


    The way Olivia treated him was probably her way to not get attached. Her being strict and controlling was most likely intentional. So, Livi would also not get attached to her.


    She might have thought that that¡¯s enough. But could it, really? Livi was only four. A very smart four-year-old at that. He probably already felt that his mother didn¡¯t want to get close to him or that she wanted him to hate her. Which would definitely be very confusing for a child.


    ¡°Basically,¡± Ellis answered.


    ¡°What exactly is this revenge she was talking about?¡±


    ¡°She plans to give incriminating information to the Aegis Army that would basically destroy the Thornley family,¡± Ellis said. ¡°It¡¯s the information she had gathered for the past five years as she was playing house with them.¡±


    Astrid knew about Aegis Army. Not just because his twin brother was an aspiring soldier but because they basically had the best reputation among all the major armies in the Empire. That reputation was mostly because of their General ¨C Blake Schwartz.


    ¡­..


    The other was not only the most trusted General of the Emperor, he was also known for being an ally of justice. He was fair and always on the side of the common people. He¡¯s not afraid to go after aristocrats if the said aristocrat committed a crime.


    So, Astrid could understand why Olivia chose to give the evidence to the Aegis Army. But even if that was the case, it didn¡¯t mean that everyone in the Aegis was trustworthy. In any kind of organization, there would always be a rotten apple.


    ¡°How could she be sure that the evidence she had gathered wouldn¡¯t go to waste?¡± he asked. ¡°I mean, she¡¯s up against an aristocratic family. What if the person he gave the evidence to warn the Thornleys and they decided to ¡®take care¡¯ of her? Which they obviously were capable of.¡±


    ¡°I also asked her that. And I think there¡¯s no need for us to worry about that matter.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The person she contacted in the army was General Schwartz himself.¡±


    Well, now that surprised Astrid. ¡°How did she even manage to get in contact with the general?¡±


    ¡°One thing you need to know about Olivia is that she¡¯s resourceful.¡±


    ¡°And very tenacious, apparently,¡± Astrid added.


    The other might have planned everything since she was just ten. From being an orphan to being an actress, to finally being able to marry the son of the person she wanted to take revenge on. If that was not tenacious, then he didn¡¯t know what was.


    ¡°But what would happen to Livi if her plans succeed?¡± he asked the most important question.


    ¡°Olivia said that the evidence she had gathered was only against the current viscount, as well as some relatives who were involved with what happened to her parents. Benjamin Thornley will be spared. Even if the viscount was punished for what he did, the Thornleys would still be able to keep their title. Although they would definitely suffer socially, but in terms of money, they wouldn¡¯t suffer much.


    ¡°According to her, Benjamin Thornley is quite good with money. Even if something like this would happen, the Thornley family would still survive with him at the helm. Also, she said that Benjamin is a kind man and he loves their son very much. So, even with this situation, he would not neglect their child. He would take care of Livi to the best of his ability.¡±


    Ellis remembered Olivia¡¯s face as she said those words. She might have not known everything about her, but she still knew enough to say with confidence that the other definitely had affection for her husband. Maybe it was not just simple affection. But sadly, it seemed that that affection was not enough to quell Olivia¡¯s anger.


    ¡°But how about her? What would happen to her?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°From what you said, all I heard was her leaving her child to her husband.¡±


    Ellis let out another sigh. ¡°She would be protected by the Aegis Army. One of her conditions for giving out the incriminating information against the current Viscount Thornley was for the Aegis Army to give her a new identity. So, after all of this is over, she would start a new life somewhere. But in public, she would be declared dead.¡±


    Astrid fell silent hearing that.


    ¡°Then, she would let her son think her dead, is that it?¡±


    Astrid felt outrageous just by hearing it. A boy who did not receive love from his mother would suddenly receive news that his mother was dead. Then, add that to all the turmoil that would soon embroil his family, Astrid heart ached for that small boy just by thinking about it.


    In his last life, he experienced the lost of both his parents. It was not something that could just be easily shrugged off with time. It would still with you like a scar for the rest of your life.


    And Olivia was now trying to give that kind of scar to her son.


    Just¡­ how selfish could she be?


    He could understand to some extent where she was coming from. But at what expense? Would she really be happy after doing something like this?


    ¡°That¡¯s why she asked me for help,¡± Ellis said. ¡°It¡¯s regarding her son, Livi.¡±

 Chapter 419 - 419 A WEAK NOD

    419 A WEAK NOD


    ELLIS once again recalled a part of her conversation with Olivia last night.


    =====


    ¡°What kind of help do you need from me?¡± Ellis asked with an almost resigned expression.


    Honestly, she felt very complicated about all of this. She didn¡¯t know whether to sympathize with Olivia or to get angry at her for being so selfish. But she must admit, a small part of her felt admiration for the other¡¯s dedication to her cause. If Ellis was in her shoes, she probably couldn¡¯t persist that long.


    Still, the fact that she had to use innocent people to reach that goal was not something worth admiring. Especially when the one who would receive the blunt of the consequences of her action was none other than her own son.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask much. I- I just want you to- to give these two letters to Ben and Livi,¡± Olivia said, almost stuttering as if she couldn¡¯t properly get out the words she wanted to say because of the emotions she was trying to hold in. Then, she took out two letters from the space ring she was wearing.


    Ellis looked at the two letters blankly. In this age where everything was digital, seeing paper was very rare. Not to mention a hand-written letter. Those letters probably contained Olivia¡¯s real feelings about her husband and son.


    ¡°But please give it to them 10 years from now,¡± Olivia added with a trembling voice. ¡°Not soon. But 10 years. Please.¡±


    Ellis brows furrowed. The only reason why the other would ask her this was because she no longer had to do it herself.


    ¡­..


    She already knew that one of Olivia¡¯s demands to Aegis Army was for them to give her a new identity. To do that, they would have to faked her death first. Which, from what Ellis had understood from their conversation, they were just waiting to execute.


    ¡°I think there are establishments that you could give these letters to and they would deliver it on the time you wanted. Or better yet, you can ask the Aegis Army to do it for you,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s really no need for you to go to me for help.¡±


    ¡°But there is. These letters¡­ I can¡¯t trust them to just anyone. I couldn¡¯t risk the chance of these letters not reaching them. Please, Ellie¡­ you¡¯re the only one I can trust with this,¡± Olivia said with a voice full of pleading and an expression that seemed like she was ready to kneel down if Ellis rejected her.


    Ellis let out a dry laugh. ¡°You really are one selfish¡ª¡±


    ¡°Bitch? Yes, I know,¡± Olivia finished what Ellis was trying to say. ¡°But this will be the last selfishness I will have. Then, I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you realize how ironic you sounded just now?¡± Ellis couldn¡¯t stop the sarcasm leaking from her voice. ¡°You plan to make up for it and yet you will leave the person you needed to make amends the most. Your son.¡±


    Olivia seemed to be completely taken aback by what Ellis just said. Which made her even more infuriated. And yes, angry.


    ¡°Letting your son think that your dead, is that how you plan to make up for this ¡®selfishness¡¯ you¡¯re talking about?¡± Ellis asked, her voice in a higher pitch than normal. ¡°No, this is just not it, Via.¡± At the end, she didn¡¯t expect her voice to crack. ¡°In this quest for revenge, the one you wronged the most is your son. Do you really think that a letter from you in ten years would make up for all the wounds your son would receive after your ¡®death¡¯? Then, you¡¯ll be making the same mistake all over again.¡±


    Olivia¡¯s gazed down, her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably. Then, Ellis heard a suppressed sob. She closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. She wanted to shout that this was not the time for her to cry. But she also knew that Olivia must be very emotional right now.


    After one last sigh, she stood up and walked towards Olivia. Then, she crouched down and hugged the other. Olivia seemed to see a lifeline and clutched at her tightly. Then the other just cried her heart out.


    However, what¡¯s needed to be said still had to be said.


    ¡°Via, you can request anything from the Aegis. It didn¡¯t have to be a fake death. It could be something that could remove you from the Thornley family while patching your relationship with your son at the same time. There¡¯s not only one answer in this situation. Use that resourcefulness of yours to think of a way. A way that wouldn¡¯t hurt the child that unwittingly became part of your revenge.¡±


    Ellis felt a weak nod.


    And that¡¯s how their conversation ended.


    =====


    ¡°So, did you convince her to change her mind?¡± Astrid asked after hearing Ellis say what Olivia asked her for help.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if a nod was enough for an answer,¡± Ellis said with a helpless tone. ¡°Well, if we heard of her death in the news, then she¡¯d probably not taken my advice.¡±


    ¡°Or she could have faked her death and at the same time mend her relationship with Livi,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I think there could be a scenario where that¡¯s possible.¡±


    ¡°For both their sakes, I also hope that¡¯s the case.¡±


    Astrid was also hoping the same. For Livi¡¯s sake, he truly hoped that it wouldn¡¯t reach a point where the kid had to experience losing his mother.


    ¡°You did amazing convincing her, Sister Ellis,¡± he said in admiration.


    ¡°We¡¯re still not sure if she would even follow through.¡±


    ¡°I think she will,¡± Astrid said, his instinct was telling him that. ¡°So, does Sister Ellis know when the news about the Thornleys will blow up?¡±


    ¡°Sometime this weekend. Probably just after [Baby¡¯s Day-Off] is released.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow at that. After that episode of [Baby¡¯s Day-Off], the general public would definitely have sympathy on Livi¡¯s situation. Then once the news about the Thornleys were out¡­


    Oh, now he had an idea why Olivia Crane let Livi appeared on that show.

 Chapter 420 - 420 TWINS’ DAY OUT (1)

    420 TWINS¡¯ DAY OUT (1)


    IT¡¯S the weekend and Astrid couldn¡¯t sit still ever since morning. There¡¯s really only one reason for this. He was waiting for the news about the Thornleys that would blew up today. If Olivia¡¯s plan went smoothly, then that would happened today. Maybe tonight. Since the episode of [Baby¡¯s Day-Off] where he and Livi appeared would air this afternoon.


    Olivia¡¯s plan, or as Astrid understood it, was for her to get so much criticism after that episode aired that the general public would focus their attention on the Thornleys. Which was inevitable.


    Olivia was a pretty famous celebrity back in her heyday. Even if she hadn¡¯t been active for years, any news about her would still be newsworthy. After the criticism about her ¡®parenting¡¯ start to circulate online, maybe she even hired someone to blow up the whole issue.


    And then when everyone associated the Thornleys with the ¡®parenting¡¯ issue, the news about the current viscount¡¯s misdeeds to the public would the be released. Most people probably wouldn¡¯t put two and two together and think that Livi appearing on a variety show would actually lead to a scandal that could ruin the whole family.


    Since Astrid now had knowledge on how things had arrived to this point, it was easy for him to see Olivia¡¯s way of thinking. For her to calculate everything like this, she really was one tenacious woman. Someone who wouldn¡¯t stop until she reached her goal.


    Now, aside from waiting for the news about the Thornleys, he was also worrying about what Olivia would choose to do at the end. He was still not sure whether the other would choose to make it up with her son or if she would continue on with her plan to fake her death.


    For Livi¡¯s sake, Astrid hoped that it would be the former.


    ¡°Aster, stop moving back and forth. You¡¯re making me dizzy.¡±


    Reas¡¯ voice stopped Astrid. It was then that he only noticed that he was walking back and forth from the living room to the kitchen. Since his apartment wasn¡¯t that big, he probably had already walked back and forth countless times. That would definitely make someone watching dizzy.


    ¡­..


    He let out a sigh and sat down beside Reas. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just feeling antsy.¡±


    ¡°Aster, whatever might happen, it¡¯s already out of your control. So, what¡¯s the use of worrying like this?¡± Reas said.


    His brother had already told him the whole shenanigan about the Thornleys and this Olivia woman. The main reason the other was worried was because of the kid named Livi. Astrid was most likely became attached to the kid during the filming of that variety show. His brother was soft that way.


    ¡°I know, but I just can¡¯t help but be worried,¡± Astrid said. ¡°If you could have seen the kid, Reas. You would also feel the same way as me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Unlike you, I¡¯m not really that generous with my affection,¡± Reas said with a shrug.


    Astrid turned to his brother. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You are Emmaline Townsend¡¯s son, there¡¯s no way you wouldn¡¯t have a box full of affection inside your heart.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, for people I care about, sure. But for a stranger? It would take a while for me to really give a damn,¡± Reas said honestly.


    ¡°And you know I¡¯m the same,¡± Astrid said. ¡°But it¡¯s hard not to get attached to the kid¡ª¡±


    [When he reminds me so much of my past self.]


    But, of course, he didn¡¯t say that out loud. Reas would just get confused and ask him what kind of connection he could possibly feel for a kid with a lonely childhood when his own was very much full of happiness. It¡¯s better to just not say anything so as not to create a misunderstanding.


    ¡°Is this your way of asking me to watch the variety show with you so I can make my own judgment?¡± Reas asked.


    ¡°You¡¯ll watch it with me anyway. So, there¡¯s no need for me to ask.¡±


    Reas stood up. ¡°Since we still have a lot of time before that program starts, why don¡¯t we go out and have some fun?¡± He stretched out his hand and pulled his brother up. ¡°What do you say?¡±


    ¡°A morning date with my favorite brother?¡± Astrid hugged Reas¡¯ arm. ¡°I couldn¡¯t ask for a better activity.¡±


    ¡°For the record, I¡¯m your only brother,¡± Reas said. ¡°We had to do something about your hair and eyes first though.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The twins went to a diner first to have breakfast. Astrid¡¯s hair was temporarily dyed red. He even permed it. He also put fake freckles, as well as making his skin much paler. If his eyes weren¡¯t so sensitive, he would have put contact lenses. With a bit of make-up, his features looked much more Westernized. Just like everyone else in this era.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of weird seeing you in that get-up,¡± Reas said as he cut the steak he¡¯s eating.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the one who told me to do something about my face,¡± Astrid said, cutting his bacon and eating it. ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t eat such heavy meat so early in the morning. You might get indigestion.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m a growing man. I need all the protein I could get. Like real protein, something that isn¡¯t liquid.¡±


    Astrid chuckled. He knew that most of the meals in the military academy were in the form of nutrient solution or at least something that was unpalatable. As much as Astrid wanted to send the other a meal while he¡¯s studying, his schedule just wouldn¡¯t allow it.


    ¡°Just make sure to drink medicine for indigestion after,¡± he said.


    As they were eating, Reas received a message from his Terminal. He opened it and saw that it was from Ash.


    [Hey, do you have anything going on today? Let¡¯s go hang out. I¡¯m boooored!]


    ¡°From Lauren?¡± Astrid asked with a playful tone.


    ¡°It¡¯s from Ash,¡± Reas said in a dry tone. ¡°Besides, Lauren is busy shooting some right now. He wouldn¡¯t have time to message me like this.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow and said teasingly, ¡°And how did you know Lauren¡¯s schedule?¡±

 Chapter 421 - 421 TWINS’ DAY OUT (2)

    421 TWINS¡¯ DAY OUT (2)


    REAS realized that he made a blunder just now because of his brother¡¯s teasing tone. He almost slap himself because of that. Knowing Astrid, he would definitely tease him to no end if he didn¡¯t give the other a proper answer. So, as calmly as he could, he answered;


    ¡°We sometimes exchange messages and he just told me that he was shooting a variety program.¡±


    ¡°Lauren and I also exchange messages sometimes. But how come I didn¡¯t know about that?¡± Astrid said, giving him a knowing look. ¡°I wonder just how often this ¡®sometimes¡¯ of yours is.¡±


    Reas tried his best to make sure that his expression wouldn¡¯t crack. ¡°Sometimes, a ¡®sometime¡¯ is just a sometime.¡±


    Astrid laughed. ¡°Now, that¡¯s a pretty bad tongue twister.¡±


    Reas rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re entertained.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t delve deeper any longer,¡± Astrid said as if admitting defeat.


    If he pushed more, who knew if this brother of his would feel awkward around Lauren and stop messaging the other ¡®sometimes¡¯. He wouldn¡¯t want to be the reason why Reas¡¯ love life would come to a standstill.


    Reas just continued eating his breakfast. If he responded to that, the other would definitely tease him more. But as he did, he couldn¡¯t help but think back to what Astrid said about him and Lauren exchanging messages ¡®sometimes¡¯.


    ¡­..


    Well, it¡¯s not really ¡®sometimes¡¯, but at least a few minutes every night if he¡¯s being more accurate. Okay, not just a few minutes. But 30 minutes at most. They didn¡¯t really talk about anything important. Just some random stuff that happened to them during the day. That¡¯s how he knew that Lauren was shooting a program today.


    But if he told all that to Astrid, the other¡¯s teasing would become even worse. He¡¯d rather avoid that.


    ¡°So, what did Ash say?¡± Astrid asked, changing the topic on his own accord.


    ¡°He said he¡¯s bored and asked if I could hang out with him,¡± Reas answered.


    ¡°Tell him we could go and hang out together.¡±


    Reas stopped cutting his steak. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why not? He¡¯s a fun guy,¡± Astrid said with a shrug.


    Although they only met once, it was easy to tell that the other was very friendly. The kind who could easily be friends with anyone if he just so wanted. A total opposite of Reas. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t expect that someone so¡­ chirpy could be friends with his brother.


    But Astrid knew that being friends with someone like that could be good for his brother. It would bring a much needed, well, noise to his brother¡¯s otherwise very orderly life.


    ¡°And he¡¯s your friend,¡± he added.


    Reas stared at his brother. He could almost see what the other was thinking. And he didn¡¯t correct him. Because it was the truth. Despite Ash being such a pain in the ass sometimes, and he meant that as the real meaning of ¡®sometimes¡¯, the other was a good influence to him. In that annoying sort of way.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell him to meet us up,¡± he said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you invite your friends? I¡¯m sure this guy wouldn¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s a great idea.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Ash was rolling around his bed in the dormitory. He usually spent his weekends at Beowulf or simply with his older brother. But after the other left the capital with his army, Ash was stuck at the dormitory.


    He could, of course, go out and go somewhere to waste time. But he really didn¡¯t want to do that alone. He could invite other freshmen he became friends with to go somewhere and hang out. But he¡¯s not really comfortable with that, as weird as that might seem.


    He might look like an easy-going guy who was fine with anything, but he¡¯s really quite sensitive. Again, as weird as that might seem.


    The only one he was comfortable to do that with was Reas. Probably because the other was his roommate and they had already seen each other drooling or heard each other snoring while sleeping, that¡¯s why being uncomfortable with Reas could hardly be an issue.


    The problem was, that guy was always on time going home. Or at least his home here in the capital. Which turned out to be Astrid¡¯s apartment.


    It¡¯s like a clockwork for that guy. There wasn¡¯t even a time when Ash woke up during the weekend and he found Reas in their dorm room. The other probably leave even before the sun rose.


    But since he¡¯s really, really bored right now, he couldn¡¯t resist sending Reas a message. He wasn¡¯t really expecting anything. He just sent it because he was bored. But soon, he actually received a reply. Not just a reply, but a positive one.


    Ash read the message once again and when he confirmed that he didn¡¯t just have a hallucination, he grinned and started to get ready. Just a quick shower and all.


    As he got into a taxi and told the driver his destination, he received another message. He thought that it was from Reas, but surprisingly enough, it was from his older brother.


    [Ash, you are friends with Andreas Townsend, correct?]


    He stopped walking when he read that. Although he was confused by the question, he quickly replied back;


    [Yes, why?]


    [Have you met his brother?]


    Now, Ash¡¯s brows furrowed after reading that. [Why are you asking, Brother?]


    [I take it that you have. Can you give him my number and tell him to contact me? Of course, whenever he has time. But the sooner he does, the better.]


    Ash frowned even more. [Okay, Brother, what is this all about?]


    [Let¡¯s just say, it¡¯s a private matter.]


    Ash read that message and his eyes went all wide. [OMG, Brother, are you actually interested in Astrid?]


    There was a long pause on the other side. It actually took a while before he received a reply.


    [I see that you¡¯re still in the habit of jumping into conclusions. Should your big brother give you a long lecture once I return to the capital?]

 Chapter 422 - 422 ASH AND LELE’S LITTLE CONVERSATION

    422 ASH AND LELE¡¯S LITTLE CONVERSATION


    ASH gulped after hearing that. He certainly didn¡¯t want that. But he also couldn¡¯t just tell his friend¡¯s brother to call his own brother. What if Reas thought the same as him? It took so long for them to be friends. Knowing that guy, he would definitely throw him out of their dorm room if he suspected that his brother had designs for his brother.


    [Can you at least just tell me why you want Astrid to call you?]


    [Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s nothing personal. Let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s for business.]


    Business? What kind of business could an army lieutenant want with a newbie actor? Wait- could it be¡­?


    [Is the army releasing a new Mecha model? Do you want to get Astrid as an endorser?]


    This guess wasn¡¯t totally unfounded. It¡¯s not like there wasn¡¯t any precedent before. In fact, the current number one on the Star List had endorsed a special Mecha model before.


    [Military made Mechas are not made public. Only commercial ones seek out celebrities for endorsement. You¡¯re a military student. You should know this.]


    Ash read his brother¡¯s reply and scratched his cheek. Yeah, why didn¡¯t he think of that? Just reading his brother¡¯s reply, he could tell that the other probably had a disapproving look right now. If he was here, Ash would have already received a lengthy scolding.


    [Sorry. I just forgot for a second. If Brother could just tell what kind of ¡®business¡¯ you¡¯re referring to in the first place, then I wouldn¡¯t have to think of weird things.]


    ¡­..


    [So, are you saying your ignorance is my fault?]


    [First, I¡¯m not ignorant. And second, if Brother feels like it¡¯s your fault, then it probably is.]


    It was already too late when Ash realized that his reply was too cocky, the message had already been sent. What returned to him was not a reply, but a video call request. He felt a bit of chill behind his back. He could already foresee his brother¡¯s expression and the subsequent lecture he would face.


    Despite that, he couldn¡¯t just ignore the call. Because a more serious hell would be waiting for him if he did. It¡¯s better to just get it over with.


    He took a deep breath before pressing the ¡®answer¡¯ button. His brother¡¯s face appeared on the virtual screen. Before he could say anything, the other had already beaten him to it.


    ¡°Are you going through puberty?¡±


    Ash¡¯s face turned red the moment he heard that. He was not alone inside the taxi. Even if he didn¡¯t look ahead, he was sure that the driver was looking at him weirdly.


    ¡°No! What puberty?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a period of growth where teenagers go through major hormonal changes that could affect their moods and therefore would be more prone to rebellion.¡±


    Ash felt even more embarrassed by that textbook like answer. ¡°I¡¯m 19, Brother! Not 13 or 14. My growth spurt stage had already ended. So what kind of ¡®puberty¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask what puberty is?¡± Leland asked in a very serious tone and expression.


    Ash almost groaned in frustration, especially after hearing the taxi driver snorting as if he was trying to contain his laughter. Ash knew that his brother was doing this on purpose. Probably revenge for not giving a proper answer to his request. Really, who would believe that the always straight-laced Leland Brewer could be this petty?


    ¡°Brother, just tell me what you need with Astrid. As you said, Reas is my friend. How do you think he would feel if he found out that I gave his brother the personal Terminal number of my brother? He would definitely think something was up!¡±


    Leland had an expression as if he was just now considering what Ash just said. ¡°You do have a point. Then, just tell Astrid that if there¡¯s an unknown number who sent him a message, read it and don¡¯t just mark it as spam.¡±


    Ash frustration was reaching the highest point. ¡°How is that different from what you told me earlier? Besides, we¡¯re not even close yet. I don¡¯t even have his number, so how could I tell him that? You don¡¯t actually want me to meet him personally, right? Because I would definitely be branded as weird person if I do that.¡±


    Leland, who just realized that his brother was actually giving him rational reasoning, felt like he was the one being unreasonable. He sighed. He must admit that he wasn¡¯t really thinking ahead that much when he sent that message to Assil earlier. His thoughts were just focused on using Astrid Townsend¡¯s influence on the prince so the latter could think more rationally.


    But now, it seemed like he was the one who¡¯s not rational.


    He shouldn¡¯t have involved Assil in the first place. If he was in his normal thinking mode, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have done that. It¡¯s just that, while he was thinking last night of how he should contact Astrid, the information about Assil being roommates with the other¡¯s younger brother came to mind.


    But based on how vehemently his brother rejected all the suggestions he made earlier, it seemed that the two had really became friends. Which would explain why Assil had been looking at him as if he was out of his mind since earlier.


    Leland sighed. This was indeed an error on his side. ¡°Fine. Just forget what I said.¡±


    He would just think of a better plan to contact Astrid. He still had ample time to do that anyway. Since their mission wouldn¡¯t be finished so soon. As he finally made that decision, he thought of something. Although he didn¡¯t think that it would be possible, it¡¯s better to be safe than to be sorry.


    ¡°Assil, I hope that you won¡¯t have any¡­ extra thoughts regarding your friend¡¯s brother.¡±


    Ash was confused at first as to why his brother said that. And then, when he finally understood what the other was trying to say, he was simply dumbfounded.


    ¡°Brother, how can you say that?¡± he said in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯ve already given my heart to someone else. Unless that person returned it himself, there¡¯s no way I could fall in love with someone else.¡±

 Chapter 423 - 423 A GLIMPSE TO THE BREWERS’ PAST

    423 A GLIMPSE TO THE BREWERS¡¯ PAST


    LELAND, on the other end of the line, was surprised to hear his brother¡¯s statement. Of course, he immediately knew who the other was talking about. A child who appeared every Summer in Alluna.


    The child¡¯s name was ¡®Snow¡¯. He was an ordinary child, not only in looks but also in personality. Leland wasn¡¯t saying that to undermine the child. It was simply what he had observed.


    He was quiet and very unassuming. Unlike Assil who was full of boundless energy. One would think that a child who lost his parents one after another would have a rather reserved personality. But, contrary to that, Assil was a lively child who always try his best to make everyone around him happy.


    Leland thought that it might be because his brother didn¡¯t really remember their parents that much. Their mother died after giving birth to him and then their father soon followed after. Truthfully speaking, it felt more like he raised the other.


    Another reason he could think of was that Assil simply didn¡¯t want to worry him, so he tried his best to not become a burden by showing that he was healthy and happy. He was inclined to believe that it was the latter.


    Assil had seen how he struggled to make ends meet. His frantic and overworked image during that time must have left quite the mark on his younger brother. So, Assil subconsciously did his best not to make trouble for him.


    That time period was truly hard, not just for him but for the young Assil as well. It was then that he was admitted at the Imperial Military Academy under a scholarship. He topped the exam of the Strategy and Command Department, which was why they offered him the highest level of scholarship.


    Leland wasn¡¯t really interested in joining the military. But the Imperial Military Academy was the only school that had a very generous scholarship program. If he wanted to study and at the same time keep a roof above his brother¡¯s head, they were his only choice.


    One of the bonus of the scholarship he got was free housing. He could stay in an apartment for the duration of his study, rent free. A plus was that this apartment was inside the academy grounds. Another plus was he could leave his brother at the nursery which was mostly for academy instructors who had kids that they couldn¡¯t leave at home.


    ¡­..


    With that combined, Leland¡¯s problems were solved all at once.


    It was at the military academy that he met the prince and the others. His meeting with them was the start of how his life veered from what he had originally planned. Not that he regretted it. Despite all the troubles that came thereinafter, meeting all of them was a blessing. Even if it might look like a curse from an outsider¡¯s point of view.


    When they graduated and form a special military squad under the prince¡¯s command, he worried about where he could leave his brother. But the prince solved that by letting him rent a house on his planet ¨C Alluna.


    After solidifying the position of Fenris Squad within the military ranks, the prince began the earnest development of Alluna which included opening the planet to visitors. It was also at that time that Snow and his father travelled to Alluna. Soon after, he met Assil. And the rest, as they said, was history.


    Leland thought that it just a one time Summer thing. But the next year, Snow and his father returned. And the year after that, and the year next.


    That was how the friendship between the two formed. It also how Assil developed feelings for the other.


    He thought it was just a phase. A puppy love that most teenagers would experience at least once in their lives. That was until a year ago when Snow did not arrive at Alluna as per usual. Assil received a letter instead.


    Leland could still remember how devastated his brother was after reading that letter. He didn¡¯t leave his room for the whole Summer. If the other didn¡¯t take the food he prepared for him every meal, Leland would have already broken through the room.


    But after the Summer was over, Assil left his room as if nothing had happened. It seemed that he had already gotten over his heartbreak. But hearing his brother say that he had already given his heart to Snow, it was definitely, definitely not the case.


    Now, he didn¡¯t know how he should respond. He hadn¡¯t felt that kind of feeling after all. And since he didn¡¯t have any experience on that particular field, he would be useless in giving advice. Trying to give one might just confuse his brother.


    Assil, as he had already proven time and time again, was a very strong young man. Not only physically, but also emotionally. If the other ever needed his help, then he would be there.


    But right now, it would be better to just end the call.


    ¡°I understand,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead. Just¡­ forget about what we talked about.¡±


    When his brother suddenly ended the call, Ash had a big question mark on his face. He could only shake his head and close his Terminal. Really, sometimes his brother could be so confusing.


    Anyway, since all of that was over, he could now concentrate on his meeting with Reas. He was already thinking of a lot of fun places they could go to. He¡¯s determined to make sure that the other would have fun today. After all, it¡¯s not everyday that guy would agree to hang out with him like this. Better make sure that Reas would be the one to invite him next time.


    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived,¡± the driver said as he stopped the taxi.


    Ash paid the fare and walked out. The place they were supposed to meet up was a cafe. He walked towards the cafe and walked inside. He immediately found Reas. But surprisingly enough, he was with two other people. The two had their backs towards him so he couldn¡¯t see their face.


    He stopped on his tracks. Wait- Reas didn¡¯t agree to hang out with him to set him up on a double date, right?

 Chapter 424 - 424 WHO ARE YOU GOING ON A BLIND DATE WITH?

    424 WHO ARE YOU GOING ON A BLIND DATE WITH?


    ASTRID read the message on his Terminal ¨C [I¡¯m in front of the cafe.]


    He looked back just in time to see a young man walking inside. He was tall and slim with light silvery blue hair and skin as pale as snow.


    ¡°Here!¡± he called.


    Snow turned towards where the voice was coming from. But the moment he did, his brows furrowed a bit. Because the first person he saw was a guy with curly red hair and a face smattered with freckles. It took him a while to recognize who the other was. Actually, if not for the person sitting opposite the other, Snow might still not have realized the other¡¯s identity.


    He walked towards the table and said to Astrid as he sat down beside the other, ¡°That¡¯s one heck of a disguise.¡±


    Astrid only grinned. ¡°I know, right?¡±


    Snow then nodded to Reas as a greeting. The other also did the same.


    ¡°By the way, is it okay for me to be here?¡± Snow asked Astrid.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be okay? I invited you, so, of course, it is,¡± Astrid said, confused as to why Snow would even think that.


    ¡­..


    In fact, he also wanted to invite Kiran. But the other was busy with composing songs. From what he heard, Kiran had been staying at Polaris¡¯ recording studio every weekend to finish the songs that the company had commissioned him.


    Although Kiran didn¡¯t have an exclusive contract with Polaris, the company still provided him with everything that he needed. That¡¯s why he was even more enthusiastic to do his job properly. He even limited the sessions he played at the piano lounge so he could have more time composing.


    Truth be told, Kiran no longer needed to do that part-time job with the commission fee that Polaris had paid him. But since he felt indebted to the owner of the piano lounge, he never thought of resigning. That¡¯s one of Kiran¡¯s good points, in Astrid¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°By the way, how was filming?¡± Astrid asked Snow, changing the topic. ¡°The episode you will appear in will air tomorrow night, right?¡±


    ¡°It was fun. Everyone was so nice and helpful. The experience made me realize just how much I love acting.¡±


    Snow was positively glowing as he said that. It was obvious how happy he was. Anyone could see that he had a very good experience while doing his first filming.


    Astrid inwardly felt relieved. Such a shooting environment was pretty much rare. He was just glad that Snow didn¡¯t have to encounter bad things during his first filming. That¡¯s something that could easily be a traumatic event for a newbie actor.


    At the same time, he also secretly felt bad. It was because the news about the Thornleys would break out tonight. That would certainly overshadowed any other news that would be released during the weekends. So, there¡¯s a high chance that Snow¡¯s first appearance on a series would not receive the hype it should.


    Although Astrid wanted to at least warn the other about that, it¡¯s not his place to do it. After all, Ellis shared to him the things that Olivia told her with the confidence that he wouldn¡¯t go around blabbing about it to other people. Of course, Reas was an exemption.


    Not that he didn¡¯t trust Snow. It¡¯s just that, he found it vulgar to air other people¡¯s dirty laundry when he wasn¡¯t even remotely part of the said ¡®laundry¡¯. Ellis telling him about Olivia and the Thornleys was just something that was unavoidable because Olivia used him so she could contact Ellis again.


    His agent probably felt guilty that he got involved, no matter how small the involvement was. She most likely thought that it was her incompetence that led them to such a situation.


    So again, it¡¯s not his place to go around telling people about it.


    Besides, he was confident that even if the episode where Snow appeared did not trend on [Cyberspace], many people would still notice him. And that¡¯s what¡¯s more important.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± he said as a response to what Snow just said. ¡°This is finally the official start for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I will try to work even harder from now on,¡± Snow said with determination. ¡°By the way, are we still waiting for someone?¡±


    He asked that because Astrid and his brother still hadn¡¯t ordered anything even though he had already arrived. It was safe to assume that they were still waiting for someone.


    At first, he thought it was Kiran. But after hearing what Astrid said next, he felt all the blood in his body froze because of the shock.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Reas¡¯ friend and roommate, Ash.¡±


    As if on cue, the person that Astrid just mentioned walked into the cafe.


    Reas was the first one to see Ash the moment the other walked inside. Ash also saw him just as quickly. The weird thing was, the other suddenly stopped. He had an expression full of disbelief on his face. His eyes was like silently telling him ¡®how can you do this?¡¯.


    Reas subconsciously shook his head. Just by the Ash¡¯s expression, he could tell that the other was thinking of some nonsensical things again.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Reas?¡± Astrid asked, who noticed Reas looking somewhere.


    ¡°Ash is here.¡±


    At Reas¡¯ answer, Astrid noticed how Snow visibly flinched. He tilted his head in confusion. He couldn¡¯t think of a possible reason why Snow would have such a reaction. Before he could further think of the reason, Ash appeared beside their table and suddenly dragged Reas a few distance away.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Reas asked in annoyance.


    ¡°You, you¡¯re not setting me up in a blind date, right?¡± Ash asked in a low voice that only the two of then could hear.


    A question mark almost appeared on Reas¡¯ face when he heard such a stupid question. It took a few seconds for him to realize what the hell Ash meant by that.


    As expected, this guy was indeed thinking nonsensical things again.


    ¡°One of those two people is my brother,¡± he said in an equally low voice. Then, he added in a menacing tone, ¡°Then, who do you think you¡¯re going on a blind date with?¡±

 Chapter 425 - 425 THIS GUY HATES ME

    425 THIS GUY HATES ME


    ASH was startled when he heard that. He glanced at the two people sitting on the table. One had red hair and freckles and the other had silvery light blue hair and pale white skin. Although he was quite shock that one of the two was actually Astrid, he couldn¡¯t help but give the latter one a double look.


    The other just looked too familiar. As if he had seen him somewhere. And then, as if his brain was giving him the answer, he remembered when he met with Reas and the others at that piano lounge. When he just got out of the elevator, he passed by someone. The other was about to enter the elevator as he left.


    That fleeting moment probably left quite an impression on him. That¡¯s why it was easy for him to remember where he had seen the other. Now wonder the guy felt familiar.


    Wait- then wouldn¡¯t this mean that the freckled guy was actually Astrid?


    Because of the amazement he felt, he totally forgot about Reas and walked towards the table. He sat on the seat in front of Astrid and said in amazement;


    ¡°Wow. Astrid. Is that just from make-up? Or is there a new technology I didn¡¯t know about that could change people¡¯s perception?¡±


    Astrid chuckled at Ash¡¯s overreaction. ¡°It¡¯s just make-up and hair dye.¡±


    Ash gave him a thumbs-up. ¡°If you ever think of retiring as an actor, I think you can be successful as a make-up artist.¡±


    Astrid only laughed at that. ¡°But why did you suddenly pull Reas earlier?¡±


    ¡­..


    ¡°Ah¡­ haha¡­¡± Ash scratched his cheek, not sure how he should answer.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. This guy just asked me something nonsensical,¡± Reas said as he sat beside Ash. ¡°Don¡¯t ask what it was because it might just lower your IQ.¡±


    Ash punched Reas¡¯ shoulder jokingly. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t make me look like a fool in front of your brother and his friend.¡±


    Reas only gave the other a look as if saying ¡®you¡¯re already doing that on your own¡¯.


    Astrid shook his head and was once again glad that his brother had such a friend. Once the two graduated and both became soldiers, at least someone would be there to have his brother¡¯s back.


    ¡°By the way, this is my friend, Snow,¡± he said, introducing Snow to Ash. ¡°And Snow, this is my brother¡¯s friend and roommate, Ash.¡±


    Ash was startled when he heard the name ¡®Snow¡¯. Then, he laughed inwardly. It¡¯s not like the name ¡®Snow¡¯ was very uncommon. It¡¯s natural to find and meet people with the sane name.


    He turned his gaze to the young man sitting beside Astrid. The other didn¡¯t have any expression on his face. No, more accurately, the guy was staring at him coldly as if he didn¡¯t want anything to do with him.


    Did he do something to annoy the other without his knowledge? No, how could that be possible when it hadn¡¯t even been 10 minutes since they met? Wait- did this guy hear what he and Reas talked about earlier that¡¯s why he¡¯s looking at him like that? Because he didn¡¯t like the idea of him being on a blind date with Astrid?


    Ash shook his head. No, he shouldn¡¯t jump to conclusion like this. What if the other just had a resting bitch face? Wouldn¡¯t it be bad if he judged the other like this only to be proven wrong later?


    So, in a very Ash-like fashion, he gave the other a friendly grin. ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Assil Brewer. Everyone calls me ¡®Ash¡¯. Please, feel free to do so as well.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not too familiar with each other, so I¡¯d rather not,¡± the other said in a voice that seemed like it could freeze anyone because of how cold it was.


    Ash blinked. [He definitely hates me, right?]


    ¡ª¨C


    After drinking coffee, the four decided to go an arcade to play some games. The one they went to was not an ordinary arcade, but an arcade that featured games from Earth millenniums ago. So, everything was very¡­ analog? At least if one compared it to the games available in this era.


    Astrid felt very nostalgic seeing all the games in the arcade. It¡¯s like he suddenly time travelled and returned to the 21st century. He didn¡¯t know that there was actually a place like this here in the capital.


    Ash was the one who suggested this place. The moment Astrid heard what kind of arcade it was, he readily agreed. Not because he wanted to play games, but mostly because he wanted to see if the place would really resemble the arcade he remembered.


    And thankfully, it did.


    He picked a game that was similar to Mario. From the plumber with a big moustache to the gameplay, everything was almost identical to the beloved game. It¡¯s just a shame that the iconic soundtrack was missing. Even the sound when fake Mario was hitting something with his head was completely different.


    Because of that, he gave up midway and decided to choose another game.


    As he did, he saw Reas shooting balls on the basketball game. The other¡¯s points were already in the hundreds. When he glanced on the other side, Ash and Snow were both on shooting game area.


    He raised his brow seeing the two standing side by side. It was because of how Snow acted towards Ash from the moment they met. It was like a cold wind was blowing from Snow every time Ash tried to talk to him. It was¡­ very unusual.


    He knew that Snow was not the type to warm up to people easily. It did not help that he always had this cold demeanour. But he had never shown his dislike towards someone this blatantly before.


    Of was it truly ¡®dislike¡¯ and not something else?


    Astrid still remembered how the other flinch when Ash¡¯s name earlier at the cafe. Was that just a coincidence or was there something more to it?


    When he was finally close enough to the two to hear their conversation, if they were even talking, the first thing he heard was Ash asking;


    ¡°Do you have a problem with me?¡±

 Chapter 426 - 426 WAS IT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS PAINFUL?

    426 WAS IT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS PAINFUL?


    SNOW froze on the spot when he heard Ash¡¯s question. He wanted to quickly answer that that¡¯s not the case, that was far from it. But the moment he tried to speak, his throat closed up and he couldn¡¯t even mutter a single thing. His expression completely closed off as well. Even if he couldn¡¯t see himself right now, he knew that he must be frowning.


    This wasn¡¯t what he wanted. But from the moment Ash suddenly appeared at the cafe earlier, he couldn¡¯t properly express his emotions. He wanted to smile at the other but it¡¯s like his face muscles cramped up every time he did. He couldn¡¯t even talk to Ash without sounding like an arrogant prick.


    He was on the verge of seriously banging his head to whatever hard object near him just so he could get a grip. But, of course, he couldn¡¯t do that. Well, it¡¯s not like anyone could blame him in this situation. It¡¯s because Snow was so surprised by Ash¡¯s sudden appearance that he couldn¡¯t react properly.


    He knew about the connection between Ash and Reas because of Astrid. It came as a huge shock to him when he found out about it. He couldn¡¯t believe that the universe could actually be this small. He felt like asking fate, ¡®of all the person Ash could be roommates with, why does it have to be the brother of my friend?¡¯.


    Snow didn¡¯t think that he would see the other again this soon. It felt so surreal that he had been pinching his arm since earlier just to make sure that he wasn¡¯t dreaming. But this was indeed reality. And right now, Ash was having a misunderstanding about him.


    ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t bother you again,¡± the other added after not hearing his response. ¡°Just¡­ don¡¯t make it so obvious that you don¡¯t like me. I don¡¯t want to worry my friend or his brother. Then.¡±


    Ash made a slight nod before turning around and running towards where Reas was. Snow could hear the other¡¯s bright voice as he asked Reas to play with him. But he knew Ash well enough to know that he was a bit hurt because of his ¡®disregard¡¯.


    Snow bit his lower lip. He so wanted to turn around and tell the other that it was all a misunderstanding. But he couldn¡¯t. It felt like his feet were chained to the floor and he couldn¡¯t move at all.


    He truly felt like crying at that moment.


    ¡­..


    He had already hurt Ash by suddenly disappearing, not telling him how they could meet again. And now, as a stranger, he hurt him again.


    He could feel his eyes watering. He had to take a deep breath and close his eyes just so he wouldn¡¯t really cry. He was inwardly convincing himself that this was for the better.


    Because if they get along right off the bat, Ash would surely recognize him. It¡¯s almost like telling him directly that he was his ¡®Snow¡¯. And that would contradict the deal he made with his father.


    Yes, a deal.


    A year ago, when his father told him that he could now finally regain his real identity, the first thing he thought of was that he could now reveal his real face and voice to Ash. He had always felt guilty that he had to use a disguise when meeting the other. It¡¯s like, the one who became friends with Ash was not really him but another person.


    Snow didn¡¯t mind it at first. Because he knew that hiding his real identity was important for his safety. And it was the only way his father could spend time with him openly. But as he grew older and he slowly realized how important those three months he spent in Alluna every year, the urge to show his real face to Ash also became stronger.


    His father must have noticed that his feelings for Ash was no longer that of a mere friend. And that just like him, Ash also felt the same way. That¡¯s why his father proposed that deal.


    At first, the other showed that he was not in favor of any romantic relationship that might form between him and Ash. Saying things like how Ash didn¡¯t have the ability to protect him. Or how their social status was too different from each other. And the most classic one, that he was still too young to know what he really felt.


    The two of them quarrelled for the first time that day. Snow probably said some things out of anger that he really didn¡¯t mean. Like how could his father care about status when that¡¯s the reason why he couldn¡¯t be with his other father and now he was stuck with some vile woman and their children.


    When he saw the pain that crossed his father¡¯s face after he said that, he knew that he had crossed the line. He apologized, of course. But because of feeling guilty, he could no longer directly argue with him regarding Ash¡¯s matter.


    His father might have how depressed he was at that time so he proposed that deal to him. His father said that if Ash recognized him without him telling the other who he was, then he would not interfere if the two of them ever wanted to be in a relationship with each other in the future.


    The most important condition for that was Snow not directly approaching Ash in any way. The other should recognize him purely by his own accord and without any hint from Snow. If not, then everything would be invalid.


    It might sound unfair. But Snow thought that it was doable. And maybe, in his subconscious, he also wanted to know if Ash could really recognize him without the disguise and the voice changer. If the other could recognize him as his summer snow.


    That first meeting when they passed by each other on the elevator was more than disappointing. But this one today was even more so. Honestly, he didn¡¯t know if he could continue to experience more of this.


    Really, was it supposed to be this painful?

 Chapter 427 - 427 HAVING A FRIEND LIKE HIM

    427 HAVING A FRIEND LIKE HIM


    ¡°ARE you alright, Snow?¡±


    Astrid¡¯s voice cut off Snow¡¯s thoughts. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. Then he forced the corner of his lips to turn up before looking back at Astrid and answering the other.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    But what Snow didn¡¯t know was that his expression right now was very stiff. Even the corner of his eyes were red, as if he was on the verge of tears just a few seconds ago. And Astrid noticed all of that.


    In the first place, if Snow was like his usual self right now, he would have asked why Astrid would even think that he¡¯s not fine. But instead, he just answered like that, as if trying to convince himself that that was indeed the case.


    It was obvious that all of this was related to Ash. Maybe other people wouldn¡¯t easily notice it, but to Astrid, it was clear as day. He wasn¡¯t sure why Snow was reacting that way towards Ash, but at least he¡¯s certain that it¡¯s not because of what the latter thought. That Snow hated him or something.


    If the other really disliked Ash, he would not even bother talking to him or even glanced at him. So, it was clearly not that. It was more like he was uncomfortable around the other. And again, that discomfort did not come from his dislike of him.


    Astrid really wanted to ask why that was so but he resisted. This was Snow¡¯s business. He didn¡¯t want to intrude especially since the other obviously had no intention of sharing the reason to anybody right now. If Snow had that thought, he would have already told Astrid about it, or at least give him some kind of clue.


    But Snow didn¡¯t. The other wasn¡¯t even showing any indication that he was remotely interested in telling him anything. Astrid wouldn¡¯t just confront the other about it and force him to tell everything.


    ¡­..


    After all, in his opinion, friendship was not about telling each other everything about yourselves. It¡¯s about supporting each other and be the person each other could rely on.


    ¡°I see,¡± he said with a smile as he stand beside Snow. ¡°Let¡¯s go over there. I think it has more fun games than this one.¡±


    Before Snow could say anything, he had already pulled the other towards the section where it had something similar to a dance dance revo machine.


    ¡°Are we¡­ going to play this?¡± Snow asked as he looked at the machine with dumbfounded eyes.


    He turned his head to watch the other people who was playing the same game and it was easy to surmise how the game was played. One just had to step on the arrows on the board that matched the arrows that was appearing on the screen. The speed in which the arrows appeared also increased as the song continued.


    It sounded simple and all. But Snow knew how hard that could be especially for someone like him who had poor body coordination. He would definitely only look like someone who was being electrocuted or something.


    ¡°Yes, it will be fun,¡± Astrid said with a big smile.


    Seeing that, Snow couldn¡¯t really reject the other. Having a face like that really should be a sin. He sighed helplessly and said, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it.¡±


    Astrid smiled happily and pulled Snow towards one of the machines. They had to wear headphones to hear the music.


    Snow heard the song of a popular idol group these days. When he saw the arrows appearing on the screen, he panicked and just moved his feet without knowing if he¡¯s stepping on the right arrow. And, as expected, his screen was full of the word ¡®miss¡¯. Indicating just how many arrows he had missed.


    He turned to Astrid¡¯s screen. Contrary to his, the other¡¯s screen was filled with words like ¡®amazing¡¯, ¡®great¡¯, ¡®splendid¡¯. He felt a bit envious seeing that. But when he turned his gaze to Astrid himself, he almost tripped on his own feet. Not because of his own carelessness, but simply because his brain received a shock from seeing the scene in front of him.


    Yes, Astrid was stepping on all the right arrows, but he didn¡¯t look like he was dancing at all while doing it. He looked more like a robot that just malfunctioned. His movements didn¡¯t have any rhythm to it at all. Combined all that with the overly determined expression on his face and one wouldn¡¯t know if they should laugh or feel pity instead.


    Snow thought at that moment, ¡®oh, so, there are also things Astrid couldn¡¯t do¡¯.


    Because he was so much more invested in watching Astrid, the game finished without him even properly stepping on one single arrow. So, in the end, a huge ¡®you lose¡¯ was plastered on the screen in front of him. He didn¡¯t even feel bad about it because he got to see such an interesting scene.


    Astrid turned to him with a victorious grin and giving him a ¡®v¡¯ sign with his fingers. ¡°I won.¡±


    Snow finally couldn¡¯t hold back the laugh that he¡¯d been trying to contain since earlier. ¡°Yes. Yes, you did.¡±


    And just like that, all the worry, sadness, and pain he¡¯d been feeling vanished. At least right this instant, that was true. Once again, he was glad to have Astrid as a friend.


    So, he could laugh like that. ¨C Ash thought as he saw Snow laughing with joy. For some reason he couldn¡¯t understand, the image of the other laughing like that overlapped with the Snow he knew. His one and only summer snow.


    At that thought, Ash almost slapped himself. Why would he even think of comparing the two? It¡¯s like looking for similarities between a prickly rose and a pure lily.


    He shook his head and decided to erase that thought in his mind.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    That night, after the episode of [Baby¡¯s Day-Off] aired, as expected, topics about the parenting skills of Olivia and her husband trended. Olivia was particularly criticised a lot.


    And then, the next day, a scandal about the Thornley family blew up in [Cyberspace] and [StarNet].

 Chapter 428 - 428 AN EVEN BIGGER NEWS

    428 AN EVEN BIGGER NEWS


    [A scandal of the decade? The Thornleys are known as a respectable noble family. Donating to the poor, sponsoring orphanages, all the charity hoo-haas that was expected of a family like that. But everything pristine has its dark stain. In their case, it was a stain so big, it could potentially ruin them.]


    That was the opening of the article that talked about all the dirty secrets of the Thornley family. That engaging introduction caught the attention of everyone who had read and seen it. Thus, reading the article father.


    And so, the small smoke that this article created became a huge fire that could literally devour the Thornly family.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Ellis read the comments under the article.


    [Is this really true?]


    [I don¡¯t think it¡¯s false. I mean, there¡¯s evidence attached to it.]


    [Wow. Did Viscount Thornley really ordered to kill people who got on his nerves? And he really got away with it? What¡¯s the use of law in this Empire?]


    [Hey, laws don¡¯t matter to nobles. They can do whatever they want.]


    ¡­..


    [This is so deplorable. Will that evil viscount not be punished? The army will really just let him be?]


    [And it¡¯s not just him. The Viscountess also abused her authority in a lot of ways. Look, did you read how she destroyed the career of a promising young painter just because he was more talented than her daughter?]


    [What an evil couple!]


    [You mean, what an evil family. A lot of their relatives were also doing some shady shit.]


    [No wonder that poor boy from <Baby¡¯s Day-Off> yesterday looked so unhappy. That family must have been tormenting him.]


    [LOL Olivia was probably catering to her in-laws that¡¯s why she¡¯s treating her son like that.]


    [But wasn¡¯t she being too selfish?]


    [Not selfish, but greedy. After all, the Thornleys have a lot of money. It¡¯s probably the reason why she married the heir of the family.]


    [I bet she¡¯s regretting right now all her life choices.]


    [Hey, this is not about her though. It¡¯s about the Thornleys. We have to at least make sure that they will be punished.]


    [Dream on. The Emperor would, at best, evoke the viscount position from the current Viscount Thorley. Don¡¯t you still remember that serial killer from the Lancaster family?]


    [Ah, yes, that. The former emperor at least took away most of the Lancaster¡¯s army and political power after that debacle. But our current emperor was slowly returning that power ever since he was enthroned. And now, the Lancasters are still thriving.]


    [Moments like this I kind of wished the former emperor is still alive.]


    [Hey, why are you all looking for the former emperor when we can just wish for Prince Wulfric to be the emperor. If he¡¯s the one sitting on the throne, he would have already killed those bastards himself.]


    [That¡¯s a bit low. The prince is not a murderer, you know? He¡¯s a soldier! But I do get your point.]


    [If the prince became the emperor, he would be a tyrant. So, no, thanks.]


    [I¡¯d rather have a tyrant who would not hesitate to punish a noble than someone who wouldn¡¯t even dare lift a finger to punish them.]


    [But why is the heir to the Thornley viscounty not mentioned at all in the article? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too suspicious?]


    [Maybe because he didn¡¯t do anything wrong?]


    [How could that be possible? Everyone in his family got dirt in them and he was the only one clean?]


    [Correction, the kids in the family are also innocent.]


    [Of course, the kids, especially that boy from <Baby¡¯s Day-Off>, are not included. But the boy¡¯s father not having any bad thing said about him is still suspicious.]


    [I agree. Even if he hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, he¡¯s the eldest son, he definitely knew about what his family had been up to. Not doing anything to stop that is a sin itself.]


    [What if he has his own circumstances?]


    [Or maybe he¡¯s the one who released this article because he could no longer take how evil his family is.]


    [Hmm¡­ that¡¯s actually possible.]


    [Hello, I won¡¯t say my name, but I¡¯m someone who had worked with Mr. Benjamin Thornley before and I can attest that he is a good man. Maybe a little naive and soft, but definitely not a bad guy.]


    [LOL what kind of anonymous person is commenting like this? Are you sure you¡¯re not Benjamin Thornley yourself?]


    [No, I¡¯m also someone who can attest that Mr. Benjamin Thornley is not like other members of his family. He¡¯s a bit clumsy and dense. But I had never seen him treat another person in a bad way.]


    [Wait- so, since when did careless and stupid equate to being a good man?]


    [Why are there shooters of Benjamin Thornley here?]


    [Maybe he¡¯s really the one who orchestrated all this?]


    [Even if he is, it doesn¡¯t really make any difference.]


    [True. He still turned a blind eye to what his family did. I actually think that¡¯s even worse.]


    [Do you really think they wouldn¡¯t be punished?]


    [Well, if General Schwartz heads the investigation against them, I think they will.]


    Ellis closed her Terminal after reading some of the comments. Most of it were against the Thornleys. But as expected, Olivia, as well as Benjamin Thornley did not escape the harsh criticism of the public.


    The only good thing was none of them said anything bad about Livi. The episode of [Baby¡¯s Day-Off] yesterday was probably the main reason for that. Because the boy was portrayed as someone pitiful. So, the public now perceived him as another victim of the Thornleys. Which, in one way or another, had some truth to it.


    Now, that these things were out in the open, all that¡¯s left was to wait if Olivia would still go through her plan of faking her death.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next day, two news welcomed Ellis so early in the morning.


    The first one was about the Thornley family being investigated by the Aegis Army, which was something that Ellis already expected. What she didn¡¯t expect was the second news.


    It was about the sudden aircraft accident of Olivia and her family. The vehicle they¡¯re travelling was hit by an out-of-control vehicle.


    According to the news, none of the three survived.

 Chapter 429 - 429 TO AN EXTENT

    429 TO AN EXTENT


    THE first thing Astrid did when he woke up was to check his Terminal. It¡¯s because of the news about the Thornleys. Although it¡¯s not really his business, he just wanted to know how this issue would end. Probably because he was worried for Livi.


    Really, the one who would be mostly affected by all of this was that kid. Especially if Olivia went ahead with her initial plan of faking her death. What a selfish woman. He understood her need for revenge. If he was in her place, he would also try to get back at the people who made his life miserable.


    But he would never do it the way she did. If he had the time she had, he would do it without letting other unrelated people be affected by his revenge plan. In his opinion, Olivia took things too far. Not in her revenge, but in making innocent people suffer from the consequences of her actions.


    Like Ellis, for example. If Olivia wanted her name known so it would be easier for her to approach Benjamin Thornley, then there¡¯s no need to have a romantic relationship with Ellis. How could that be related to her revenge? Look, didn¡¯t she just break Ellis heart in the end?


    He didn¡¯t even want to start with what Olivia had done to Livi. Just thinking about it made him angry all over again.


    He shook his head and calmed himself. Nothing good would come out of him being angry this early in the morning.


    After opening [Cyberspace], the first thing he saw on the trending list was the news about the Aegis Army investigating the Thornley family. That was already something expected, so it didn¡¯t surprise him that much.


    But the next topic on the trending list made Astrid¡¯s eyes widened.


    [Olivia Crane accident, husband and child also included.]


    ¡­..


    The next topic after that was also related to that.


    [Olivia, husband and son, in a vehicular accident?]


    No, what was this?


    Astrid quickly clicked the first article he saw under the topic to see what was this about.


    [Olivia Thornley, who we all know as Olivia Crane, a former actress, was involved in a vehicular accident. Last night, at exactly 8 o¡¯clock in the evening capital time, she and her husband and son were travelling back to their home when the aircraft they¡¯re travelling in was hit by an out-of-control vehicle. The said vehicle had an AI malfunction and hit the unsuspecting aircraft of the family.


    [The engine of the aircraft they were travelling in exploded and lost its flight ability. The aircraft was above a mountain range when it happened. It fell and hit a cliff. By the time rescue came, it was all too late. The three had already lost their lives.]


    That article was followed by a ton of comments.


    [Wow. Is this true? This is not just fake news, right?]


    [Major news sites are reporting it. I doubt it¡¯s false.]


    [LOL did they receive their karma so quickly?]


    [Hey, upstairs, stop talking nonsense. An innocent child was also in that accident. How can you say it¡¯s karma?]


    [Right? That poor kid.]


    [But don¡¯t you all think this is all too suspicious? They really had an accident on the day that the Aegis Army announced that they will investigate the Thornley family. I smell foul-play.]


    [I¡¯m thinking of that as well! If Benjamin Thornley planned to sell his family to the authority, wouldn¡¯t he make a back-up plan so he, his wife, and kid could be saved?]


    [That make sense. I mean, they could have faked their death.]


    [Hey, stop making conspiracy theories here! Three people died, you know? Are you all really so tactless?]


    Astrid stared at those last words with his heart beating wildly inside his chest. No, what? Was this true? How could this be? Livi, that kid, did he really¡­?


    But if it¡¯s not, would people report it like this? And it wasn¡¯t just one article. There were multiple articles talking about it. It¡¯s impossible that all of them were spreading fake news.


    No, he needed to calm down. Nothing would be done if he started panicking here. He took a deep breath. When he felt that his heart was no longer beating profusely like earlier, he dialled Ellis¡¯ Terminal number to request a video call.


    He waited for the other to answer the call. But even after a few minutes had passed, his call was still not answered. He was about to lose patience when the virtual screen finally changed and Ellis¡¯ face appeared.


    ¡°Sister Ellis! Have you seen the news? Was it true? Did they- did they really¡­ I mean¡ª¡±


    He stopped because he really couldn¡¯t say the word ¡®die¡¯. It felt like it would make things more real if he did. And he just refused to believe that there could even be a possibility of that.


    Ellis seemed to understand his plight because she cut off whatever Astrid was saying. ¡°It¡¯s true to an extent.¡±


    Astrid felt like a bomb just detonated in front of him when he heard Ellis say the word ¡®true¡¯. He was about to start to panic when he realized that the other added the words ¡®to some extent¡¯. Which meant that it might not be true in some way or another.


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®to an extent¡¯?¡± he asked to make sure.


    Ellis became silent for a moment, as if deciding whether to answer Astrid truthfully or not. But at the end, she just sighed and told him the truth.


    ¡°They faked their death.¡±


    The first thing Astrid felt when he heard that was relief. But after that wave of relief, confusion came almost as quickly. Then, he remembered that Olivia made a deal with the Aegis Army about them helping her faked her death and to give her a new identity in exchanged for the information she would give them about the Thornleys.


    But why did it suddenly involved Olivia¡¯s husband and Livi as well instead of just her?

 Chapter 430 - 430 TO BE HAPPY

    430 TO BE HAPPY


    ELLIS looked at Astrid¡¯s bewildered expression and knew what the other was thinking. So, to make it clearer for him, she added, ¡°It seemed that this was the decision that Olivia came up with after much deliberation. So, she modified her deal with the Aegis Army and made it so that their whole family could fake their death and live with a completely different identity.¡±


    How did she know that? It was because right after she read about the news of Olivia and her family being in an accident, she suddenly received an encrypted message from the other.


    =====


    Ellis looked at the news with trembling hands. She read it again and again to make sure that she wasn¡¯t simply having a visual hallucination. But no matter how much she blinked her eyes, the title of the article still remained the same.


    Olivia¡­ dead?


    Although she and the other had a bad history between them, Olivia even added to it by forcefully making her a part of this issue, but she had never wished harm on her. Even when the other broke her heart and left her hanging, she had never wished that something bad happen to her.


    Now that she was seeing this news, of course, she didn¡¯t feel happy at all. Even if she no longer felt the same way for Olivia, the other was still someone she once loved. So, now, that there was a possibility that the other could be¡­ dead, how could she be happy?


    As she complicated feelings continued to pile up inside her, an encrypted message was suddenly sent to her Terminal. She was suspicious at first. What if it was some kind of virus that could hack her Terminal? But then she saw the symbol attached to the mail. It was the symbol of the Aegis Army.


    Remembering that Olivia made a deal with this army, she suddenly thought of the possibility that the other might have left some kind of letter or message to her. It¡¯s not really unfounded for her to think so. After all, the only possible reason why that army would send her an encrypted message like this was because of Olivia.


    ¡­..


    Then, wouldn¡¯t that mean that the other was still alive? And that she only faked her death, just like her original plan? But then why would Olivia¡¯s husband, as well as Livi, also


    She clicked on the mail and saw that she needed her fingerprint scanned in order to open it. Just by that, it felt like her conjecture was already correct. Because asking for her fingerprint meant that this message was solely for her. If its not from Olivia, then who else could it be from? It¡¯s not as if someone from the Aegis Army would specifically send her a message.


    Feeling more hopeful, she quickly let her Terminal scan her fingerprint. The moment she did, the mail opened, revealing a letter.


    [Ellie,


    By the time you receive this, the news have already spread about how I and my husband and son were involved in a car accident that, unfortunately, led to our death. Knowing you, you will probably feel saddened by the news. Which, honestly, you shouldn¡¯t have, considering everything I¡¯ve done to you.


    But that¡¯s what¡¯s amazing about you. And that¡¯s why I¡¯m even more sorry for what I did. I could have easily not get into a relationship with you, it¡¯s not even relevant to my revenge, and yet I still did. Just because I couldn¡¯t resist your kindness and your warmth. I pulled you into something that was doomed from the start. I gave you false hope, and then subsequently broke your heart.


    I¡¯m sorry, for everything. I don¡¯t deserve you, really. I never did. And I¡¯m glad that you were able to pick yourself up after all the shit that I¡¯ve done. Apologizing to you now would just be the height of hypocrisy, but I decided to still do it. You don¡¯t need to forgive me. No, in fact, you shouldn¡¯t.


    Anyway, since you might feel saddened by news of my ¡®passing¡¯, I just want you to know that I¡¯m alright. I¡¯m probably on the way now to another planet far away from the capital with Benjamin and Livi. The Aegis Army faked our death and gave us new identities, so we could start over as a family of three.


    You¡¯re probably wondering how that came about, since the deal was only for me to fake my death. But after the conversation we had, I decided to tell Benjamin everything. I asked for forgiveness for what I was about to do to his family, for using him for my revenge, and for not being a good mother to our son.


    I was already expecting his anger and hatred after that. But being the person that he is, he apologized to me instead for what his parents had done to mind. What a foolish man. And you know what he said after? He told me that if I was planning to stage a fake death, then he and Livi should also be part of it. Because we¡¯re family.


    Like I told you, he¡¯s a fool. A fool that I don¡¯t deserve. Both he and Livi deserved more than me. But being the selfish bitch that I am, I decided not to let them go. I will atone for my sis not from afar, but by their side. From now on, I will try my hardest to be the best wife to Benjamin and the best mother to Livi.


    I will be happy and I hope that you will be too.


    Someday, I hope that we could meet again under a better circumstance.


    Wishing you all the best,


    Via.]


    =====


    Reminiscing the contents of that letter, which, by the way, was erased completely after she read it, she felt glad for Olivia. At least, Benjamin Thornley seemed to really love her. With a husband willing to leave everything for her, she had no doubt that the two, along with their son, would be happy.


    She just hoped that Olivia would truly make an effort for that to happen.

 Chapter 431 - 431 WITH PEACE OF MIND

    431 WITH PEACE OF MIND


    ASTRID went to school with a much better mood than when he just woke up this morning. It was all because of the news that Ellis told him regarding Olivia. Well, he still really didn¡¯t care much for that woman, he only cared what would happen to Livi. That¡¯s why he was so relieved after hearing that news from Ellis.


    Apparently, Olivia made the best decision of her life by coming clean to her husband and apologizing. Which then turned into a huge pay-out because her saint of a husband forgave her and even suggested on faking the deaths of the their family so they could have a fresh start.


    Now, Livi could live a normal life with his father and mother. Hopefully, this time, he could get all the love and happiness he deserved.


    Truthfully, the MVP of this whole situation was none other than Benjamin Thornley. If he didn¡¯t have such a generous and forgiving heart, Olivia¡¯s honest confession could turn into something more disastrous. But the fact that he forgave Olivia after everything showed that he truly loved the woman. Not to mention, the fact that he didn¡¯t even hesitate to leave his noble heritage for her and for their son.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of his parents because of that. The only difference was, Olivia¡¯s family faked their death in a very much legal way. Unlike his parents, whom one was still a wanted ¡®fugitive¡¯ in the Empire.


    Anyway, since things had already come to that, he just hoped that Livi would have a better life. Of course, that was not in terms of financial things, but in terms of family and just the general joy of life. Just like how he and Reas grew up with love and care from their parents. He wished that Livi would also experience that. And maybe, someday, the two of them could meet again under better circumstances.


    With things ending in such an almost perfect way, he was able to go to school with peace of mind.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Lunch break, Astrid, Kiran, and Snow were finally able to eat together again.


    ¡­..


    ¡°I watched the episode of [Noble Lawyer] last night,¡± Kiran said as they were eating. ¡°You were amazing, Snow!¡±


    ¡°I agree. You did well, Snow,¡± Astrid seconded.


    Despite how he was worrying with the whole Thornley family affair, he still didn¡¯t forget to watch [Noble Lawyer] to at least support Snow¡¯s first appearance in a show. And just like he said, Snow did incredibly well.


    Of course, there was still a lot of room for improvement, but considering as how that was Snow¡¯s first public appearance, his performance was definitely much better if compared to other rookies.


    The corner of Snow¡¯s lips went up. Even though he barely showed any reaction, both Astrid and Kiran could tell that he was very happy by their compliment.


    ¡°I¡¯m far from being amazing,¡± he said, humbly. ¡°I still have a lot to learn. At least, I think I¡¯m still far from Astrid¡¯s level.¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t compare yourself, not with me nor with anyone,¡± Astrid quickly said. ¡°Something like that could hinder your own growth.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Kiran also quickly said after. ¡°We should only strive to be a better version of ourselves.¡±


    Snow was silent for a moment before chuckling. ¡°Yes.¡±


    He was a bit surprised because he was mostly thinking the same.


    But he must admit that he was a bit disappointed that his guest appearance barely made any noise. Granted that there was a much bigger news, like the Thornley family scandal. Still, as a human, he couldn¡¯t help but have expectations. And when those expectations were not met, of course, he would feel sad about it.


    It¡¯s not something he would lose sleep over though. After feeling disappointed for a bit, he regained his usual vitality and thought that he would do even better once he was given another opportunity.


    On that note, he suddenly remembered that Thornley boy who guested with Astrid in that baby program. Since the two got along so well, he immediately called Astrid this morning after seeing the news about the kid¡¯s accident. The three of them, together with Kiran, video called together.


    Weirdly enough, Astrid told them that there¡¯s no need to worry about him. The other didn¡¯t say much, he just told them that there were some things that he couldn¡¯t say. Snow then couldn¡¯t help but think that there¡¯s some conspiracy and the boy didn¡¯t really die.


    As someone familiar with that kind of experience, he knew that it was certainly possible. Kiran was probably also thinking the same thing. That¡¯s why both of them didn¡¯t even try to talk about it.


    ¡°By the way, how about you, Kiran, have you finished the songs Polaris has commissioned you?¡± he asked, changing the subject.


    Kiran grinned and gave them a ¡®v¡¯ sign. ¡°I¡¯ve already finished them. The only thing left is putting lyrics to the melody I made.¡±


    ¡°Are you still going to be in charged of the lyrics for all the songs?¡± Astrid asked curiously.


    Because there were times when a composer and a lyricist were two different people or two different groups of people. Besides, he already heard one of the songs that Kiran would send to Polaris. And it was already a complete song, one that had a lyrics and not just a melody.


    That¡¯s why he asked that. Because he was wondering if Kiran did lyrics for all the songs.


    ¡°I did write lyrics for all of them. But it would still be up to Polaris if they would use it,¡± Kiran said with a shrug.


    ¡°I think as long as the head of Polaris¡¯ music department is in their right mind, they would definitely use your lyrics,¡± Astrid said with certainty.


    ¡°I agree. You do have a knack in combining words together to form beautiful phrases,¡± Snow said.


    A hint of blush appeared on both Kiran¡¯s cheeks. He scratched the back of his head, feeling all shy. ¡°What, is this a day for us to praise each other?¡±


    ¡°Then, should it be my turn now?¡± Astrid said in a joking manner.


    Both Kiran and Snow turned to look at him.


    ¡°Fishing for compliment is not just it, Aster,¡± Kiran said, shaking his head.


    ¡°It lowers the value of the compliment,¡± Snow added.


    The three of them then looked at each other and then they all just burst out laughing.


    After they finished eating lunch, Astrid told the other two that he would have to take a leave for a couple of days this week. It¡¯s because the promotions for [The Great War] would start fully this week. As one of the cast members, he had to participate in it.


    The first episode of the show would air next week. That¡¯s why the show needed to pump up promotional materials. Which they should have done much earlier in Astrid¡¯s opinion.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    And at that night, the concept photos for [The Great War] were finally released to the public.

 Chapter 432 - 432 AS LUAN ESCANOR

    432 AS LUAN ESCANOR


    [THE Great War] was a popular IP that boasted billions of reads. That¡¯s why many people had been waiting for a live-action adaptation of it. Because of its popularity, many had expected that there would be an adaptation right after its last chapter was posted. But it had already been three years since then and no adaptation was still in sight.


    Truthfully, whether it¡¯s an animation, a movie, or a TV series, there had been many offers for an adaptation. But the problem was, the author ¨C Pink Peach ¨C rejected them all. The president of Plum Blossom Literature where [The Great War] was posted had a lot of headaches because of that.


    The president truly wanted to push for an adaptation because it would help boost their site even further. But for that to happen, they needed the approval of Pink Peach. It was at that time that he truly regretted not pushing the other to sell them the rights for the novel when she was only starting as a new writer on their site.


    Normally, a rookie writer would sell the copyright of their first work to get an advantage that a normal rookie wouldn¡¯t have. It¡¯s because those who didn¡¯t sell their copyrights would not have any sort of promotions on the site. Which was tantamount to their work being literally invisible.


    It¡¯s like a silent agreement between literature sites and rookie writers. The writers would be promoted while the publishing site would get an extra fee from what they would earn from readers paying for the novel¡¯s chapter.


    At one glance, it would seem beneficial for both parties. But if one just looked closely, anyone could see that the writer¡¯s side was the one at a disadvantage. Because what if their work became a big hit? All the things related to it would then be decided by the publishing site instead of them. Not to mention, all the royalties they could have gotten.


    Pink Peach wasn¡¯t really thinking of that when he declined to sell her copyright. She just didn¡¯t like the idea that her creation would be owned by someone other than her. It¡¯s like selling her child. So, how could she do that?


    The people from the publishing site also didn¡¯t think much about it. After all, the number of newbie writers that posted their stories on the site everyday was enormous. They thought that Pink Peach was just a dime a dozen. But they couldn¡¯t be any more wrong than that.


    After just a month after it¡¯s serialization, it had already entered the top 50 novel rankings in the site. And after three months, it was already on the top 20. Half a year later, it sat firmly on the number one spot. By that time, the president of Plum Blossom Publishing could only gnash his teeth in silence.


    ¡­..


    It¡¯s not that they didn¡¯t try to buy the copyright of [The Great War] from Pink Peach but the latter was very determined not to sell it. She even threatened to transfer her work to another site if they continued. So, what else could they do? If they made an enemy out of the other, they would be the only one who lose.


    When the president thought that an adaptation would probably be only possible maybe after a decade, Pink Peach suddenly announced that she agreed to the proposal of Director Scott for a TV adaptation.


    The president still couldn¡¯t believe it at first. But auditions were held and the shooting was now even finished. So, could he still deny that fact? Even though they didn¡¯t really earn anything from the adaptation, it would still be a great advertisement for their publishing site.


    And now, the concept photos for the series had finally been revealed.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The first concept photo was that of the protagonist, Caesar Warwick, played by Miguel Estrada. The concept photos of this ear were actually moving photos. Instead of being just a static picture, the character moved, showing a glimpse to what their character would be like.


    So, on the concept photo of Miguel Estrada, he could be seen at first as wearing an armor and looking very dignified and full of justice. But as he swung his sword, his atmosphere slowly changed. Until only gloom and darkness surrounded him.


    The next one was Chelsea Olson, followed by Lance Reid. Both were showing the nature of the character they were playing just by simple movements and facial expression.


    The concept photos of the three proved why they were the leading actors for [The Great War]. Fans of the novel were very satisfied and thought that the production team selected them well.


    The next one that was shown was Yujin Wells. He was wearing a white, loose long-sleeved top with a wide collar, showing an expanse of his chest. His long black hair was styled in a messy curl and a pair of golden hoops were dangling from his ears.


    He had this playful smile on his lips that somehow still made him look sexy. But when the smile on his face disappeared, a somewhat somber and serious atmosphere surrounded him.


    And finally, it was finally the turn of the character of Luan Escanor. Since he was a fan favorite, everyone waited with bated breath. They were excited and very nervous at the same time to know just who would play him.


    Then, it finally appeared.


    A black-haired young man wearing a simple priest¡¯s robe. His pair of black eyes were full of infinite gentleness as if he could give forgiveness and salvation to any sinners. Like something pure and holy.


    And then, as he raised his hand as if he was ready to give benediction, his simple robe became a gorgeous white robe with beautiful golden embroidery. His gaze was still gentle, but there was darkness lurking beneath.


    That contrast made the image seemed creepy, but at the same time, one still couldn¡¯t help but feel attracted to it. Like looking at some kind of forbidden fruit. You could feel that it was dangerous, but you stull wanted to have a taste.


    Beneath the photo was the caption;


    Astrid Townsend as Luan Escanor.

 Chapter 433 - 433 CONCEPT PHOTOS

    433 CONCEPT PHOTOS


    UNDER the post of the official [Cyberspace] account of [The Great War] ¨C the one where they released the concept photos of the main cast ¨C comments flocked nonstop.


    [Crazy! All the concept photos look so good! How come the cast looked exactly like the characters in my imagination?]


    [Lucas is seriously just Caesar Warwick.]


    [They did good picking him. His looks aside, his acting is also already verified. So, we can be sure that he would do justice to the role.]


    [Chelsea seems to also be stepping up her game. Isn¡¯t this not her usual pure and sweet role?]


    [Maybe she wanted to challenge herself? She¡¯s an actress, she couldn¡¯t just be trapped in one kind of role.]


    [Lance, on the other hand, will be playing the same kind of character again. LOL.]


    [Well, no one can deny that he¡¯s a very effective villain.]


    [Speaking of Lance Reid, shouldn¡¯t there be a scandal appearing right about now involving him and some newcomer in the cast? That¡¯s his M.O., right?]


    ¡­..


    [LOL M.O.? What is he, a serial killer?]


    [Not a serial killer, but a serial playboy.]


    [It¡¯s true though. It¡¯s weird that there¡¯s no scandal about him when his new show would air next week.]


    [Maybe the paparazzi¡¯s just haven¡¯t gotten a whiff of it?]


    [Or maybe Director Scott told him to keep his thing in his pants.]


    [Upstairs had a point. This was Director Scott¡¯s comeback project. Would he dare to have it ruin by a scandal?]


    [Yeah, Director Scott is known for being very hands-on during the production process. There¡¯s no way he would allow variables that could ruin this show to appear.]


    [But didn¡¯t he already do that by casting two newcomers as part of the main cast?]


    [Newcomers? Are you talking about Yujin Wells and Astrid Townsend?]


    [Who else? Both of them are pretty new in the industry and yet they have already been casted in such a big production. And in major roles too.]


    [Maybe their company paid for it. LOL.]


    [That could certainly be the case. One was from Kaleido and the other from Polaris. It¡¯s not too farfetched.]


    [Hey, don¡¯t speak about Yujin that way! Although he¡¯s a newcomer, he had proven himself enough. He had entered top 500 of the Star List just a few months after his debut. And with his momentum right now, he would definitely be able to enter top 100 by the end of this year.]


    [His acting is pretty good too. I¡¯m just not sure if he can actually play the playboy character.]


    [Yeah, I can¡¯t actually see it because of how gentle he looks.]


    [Instead of worrying whether Yujin Wells would do well or not, you should worry about the other one. At least, I know who Yujin Wells is. But I have no idea who the other one is.]


    [I also don¡¯t know him, to be honest. And the fact that he would play my favorite character scares me shitless.]


    [I actually only know him from watching <The Sleeping God>. He¡¯s quite good there even though he didn¡¯t have that much screen time. It¡¯s still worrying though since Luan Escanor is also my favorite character from <The Great War>.]


    [At least you saw him acting. I only saw him from a clip from that show, <Baby¡¯s Day-Off>. Which I only happened to see because of that scandal about the Thornleys.]


    [I¡¯m not a fan of Astrid Townsend, but I both saw <The Sleeping God>, as well as the episode of <Blind Justice> where he appeared as a guest. Both characters were very different but he played them quite well. At least, I¡¯m sure that he can act.]


    [Even if he can act, it doesn¡¯t mean that the character actually suits him.]


    [True. I actually think that Yujin Wells fit the image of Luan Escanor better. If they¡¯re going to use a newcomer, why not just pick him instead? I¡¯m sure he¡¯d do a great job.]


    [Right? I¡¯m also thinking the same! How great would it be if Yujin actually played Luan Escanor?]


    [Hey, what does that even mean? How can you be so sure that Astrid can¡¯t do it? Please, don¡¯t judge so quickly.]


    [Are you people all blind? Didn¡¯t you see the concept photo? Astrid literally embodied Luan Escanor by simply standing there and smiling! Imagine what else could he do if we saw him in motion?]


    [I¡¯m a die-hard fan of the novel and I can honestly say that the moment I saw Astrid Townsend¡¯s concept photo, all I can think about was ¡®yes, this is my Luan¡¯. Didn¡¯t you all feel it?]


    [Me too! I think I¡¯ve never saved a concept photo as fast as I did when I saw his. The fact that he can show Luan¡¯s nature just by using minimal movements proved that he understood the character perfectly. That¡¯s why I support this casting choice.]


    [What feeling? What support? Are you all being paid by Polaris for saying this shit? It¡¯s a fact that Astrid Townsend still lacked the qualification to be a major cast of a big production like this.]


    [What qualification? So, are you saying that Astrid should continue to play small roles just because he¡¯s a rookie? Does he have to wait five years for you to say that he¡¯s qualified? Astrid has talent. It doesn¡¯t matter whether he¡¯s new to the industry or not. Talent like his shouldn¡¯t be buried just because of that.]


    [Hey, you people are forgetting something very important. Director Scott was not the only one who chose these actors to play these roles. Pink Peach also had a say over who¡¯s going to play who. Do you really think someone who refused to make an adaptation of her work for years would allow just anybody to play her characters? As her fan, I thoroughly support these choices!]


    [Me too! Pink Peach would definitely not sabotage her own masterpiece!]


    [In Pink Peach we trust.]


    Same kinds of comments, positive as well as negative, filled the comment section of the post.


    Astrid just read a few and then he reposted it along with a comment of his own.

 Chapter 434 - 434 FIGHTING!~

    434 FIGHTING!~


    [Astrid Townsend v: Hello everyone, this is Astrid and I will be playing the role of ¡®Luan Escanor¡¯ in the upcoming TV show adaptation of [The Great War]. I was fortunate enough to be selected to be part of this wonderful show together with many amazing and talented cast and crews. It¡¯s really been an honor to be part of a production of this magnitude. Please, look forward to the show. [The Great War] team, fighting! ^^]


    His followers, which now had reached more than seven million, started to comment below his post.


    [Waa¡­ congratulations, Aster! I¡¯m so happy for you!]


    [You deserve this blessing! I¡¯m rooting for you, Aster! Fighting!~]


    [When it was announced that the adaptation for <The Great War> had been greenlit, I never thought that you would be chosen to play Luan Escanor. But I can definitely see the vision of choosing Astrid. It¡¯s a good choice.]


    [I can¡¯t believe I can finally watch Aster in a weekly program. I¡¯m so excited to watch <The Great War> from next week!]


    [Aster, don¡¯t listen to any negative comments online. Many of us believe in you. Fighting!~]


    There were many more comments of congratulations posted under Astrid¡¯s post. Most of them seemed to have adapted the phrase ¡®fighting!¡¯ and used it to cheer him on.


    When Astrid read those comments, he couldn¡¯t help but feel warm inside. Because it was the phrase he used in the first variety program he appeared in. Them using it like this meant that they had been his face since or maybe even earlier than that. Not only that, they were also calling him by his nickname.


    ¡­..


    He was happy knowing that the people following him on [Cyberspace] were now starting to be composed of real fans and not just someone who followed him for his face or anything similar.


    Aside from the fact that having people truly support him felt amazing, having fans who would be there with him and follow his career was something that any person in the entertainment industry would long for. Because that was the sign that one had truly become a celebrity.


    Of course, he would give back as much as he received. And the way to do that was to do his best in every role he was given. To give them the best performance and go beyond their expectation. To make sure that they wouldn¡¯t regret being his fan.


    Comments continued to appear under his post. One particular comment caught his attention.


    [Hi, I¡¯m not really a fan, so I wonder what does the expression ¡®fighting!¡¯ mean? It seems that a lot of people is using it. Was it something particularly unique to Astrid Townsend¡¯s fans?]


    [This is what it means.]


    A reply came to that comment attaching a GIF of Astrid. It was a scene from [Fieldtrip] where he did the ¡®fighting¡¯ gesture.


    [Oh, I think I somehow understand.] ¨C replied by the one who asked what ¡®fighting¡¯ meant.


    [Ah, seeing that GIF again, I suddenly felt energized.]


    [I know, right? It¡¯s like Aster is telling us to do our best.]


    [Whenever I feel tired, I just looked at that GIF and I feel like I could work for the whole day.]


    Of course, as there were many people congratulating and praising Astrid, there were also those who posted negative and malicious comments.


    [Heh, you should really thank the people who put you in that role. Tell me, what kind of magic did you use so a rookie like you can be part of this production?]


    [He must have really ¡®pleased¡¯ one of the producers of the show.]


    [Yujin should be Luan Escanor!]


    [What are you doing robbing other talented actors of this role? Do you think you deserve it?]


    [Maybe it¡¯s nepotism. Why else would a rookie be part of the main cast of such a big production?]


    [That pretty face definitely did its work.]


    [Is Polaris really not paying people to get this guy roles? Because why is he getting good roles left and right?]


    [It¡¯s either he¡¯s related to some higher-up or he¡¯s sleeping with one.]


    These kinds of comments floated on the reply section of Astrid¡¯s post. He didn¡¯t mind since he had already expected this to some extent. Hate comments were something unavoidable in this industry. If one couldn¡¯t stomach the negative things they read online, then they wouldn¡¯t be able to last long here.


    What surprised him was the amount of replies that defended him from such comments.


    [Why are you making up things like that as if what you¡¯re saying was the truth? Stop inventing stuff without proof and just admit that you¡¯re a troll and a hater.]


    [You¡¯re asking how Aster got this role? Of course it¡¯s because he passed the audition!]


    [Do you really think Director Scott would just allow anyone in his comeback work without testing their acting skills? Aster obviously passed the audition that¡¯s why he was given that role.]


    [Why are your minds all in the gutter? Was there a law that says a newcomer couldn¡¯t be part of a big production unless they did something shady behind the scene? Talent exists, you know? Or have you never heard of it?]


    [I bet these people were those types who stayed inside their rooms and doesn¡¯t do anything but hate everyone and anyone.]


    [Did you people even watched at least <The Sleeping God> or <Blind Justice>? Because if you do, there¡¯s no way you can doubt Aster¡¯s talent.]


    [Are we going to be subjected to these same kinds of comments every time Aster got a role? Seriously, it¡¯s like these people didn¡¯t even have a shred of critical thinking.]


    [Let¡¯s not feed the trolls and just hype up Aster¡¯s new role.]


    [At this time, shouldn¡¯t Brother White appear and give these annoying people his amazing brand of tongue lashing?]


    [Knowing Brother White, he would definitely appear sooner or later.]


    [Right, he¡¯s Aster¡¯s number one fan, after all.]


    Reading the comments looking for Wulfric, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but shook his head and a smile of helplessness crossed his lips. He couldn¡¯t believe that people were really treating the prince of the Empire as his number one fan.

 Chapter 435 - 435 MISSING YOU

    435 MISSING YOU


    OF course, Astrid¡¯s number one fan did not disappoint them. It took quite a while, but he finally commented under Astrid¡¯s post.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [First of all, congratulations to our dear Aster for getting this role. I¡¯m sure you will kill it, as always. I will definitely watch the first episode! And to those who were doubting Aster¡¯s skills and were talking nonsense, are you people not tired?


    You always use the same old excuses to insult Aster. And every time, he always subverted your expectation and you ended up being slapped on the face. Are you people masochists or something? Or do you just enjoy being repeatedly slapped in the face? What I would give to see all your miserable expression once Aster showed just how right he was for this role.


    But then again, even if he proved himself that way, you miserable louts would say the same thing again once he¡¯s cast for another role or if he was given another job that you think he didn¡¯t deserve. I wonder when will you people get tired of doing the same thing over and over again.


    Anyway, Aster, please don¡¯t mind those trolls. Just know that there are many more out there who support and love you. And of course, I¡¯m number one on the list. I know you will give justice to this role, proving to everyone doubting you that they¡¯re wrong. Like always. Congratulations again!


    Fighting!~]


    In just a matter of minutes, a lot of replies appeared below this comment.


    [Wow. As expected of Brother White, you¡¯re as eloquent as ever.]


    [You really know how to spit facts.]


    ¡­..


    [But he got a point though. These allegations against Aster now sounds like broken record. Like, it¡¯s too obvious that they¡¯re just showing hate for the sake of it and not because they truly think that what they¡¯re saying was the truth.]


    [Isn¡¯t that natural? A promising rookie like Aster would obviously have haters who would wish for his downfall.]


    [They¡¯re just losers who couldn¡¯t bear to see someone much younger and prettier than them be successful.]


    [Aren¡¯t all of you being too harsh? Is it a crime now to express an opinion? Are you the only ones who have the right to do that?]


    [Opinion? Pfft! What you¡¯re giving is not opinion. You¡¯re simply nit-picking on an 18-year-old¡¯s every move. Is it fun saying those mean stuff to someone probably very much younger than you are?]


    [Hah! What are you all, the allies of justice? Do you think Astrid Townsend is such a saint to the point that he¡¯s beyond reproach?]


    [Right? Are you all brainwashed into thinking that it¡¯s natural for someone new to the entertainment industry to get all this opportunities not even three months into his debut? Surely, there must be some shady things going around.]


    [If you¡¯re someone this pretty and talented, of course it¡¯s only natural.]


    The same argument continued on for a couple of hours more. But at the end, the negative comments were completely buried by positive ones. With this, one could say that there were more people who believed in Astrid than those who were not convinced by his achievements so far.


    Astrid only managed to read Wulfric¡¯s comment early morning the next day. He unknowingly smiled when he read it.


    He actually wasn¡¯t expecting that the other would have the time to check what was happening online. After all, he was in the middle of an important mission. But to think he would still post a long comment like this that not only showed his support for him but also defend him against his haters.


    It seemed that the other was really taking his self-proclaimed title as his number one fan very seriously.


    Astrid¡¯s eyes particularly focussed on the words ¡®love¡¯ and ¡®support¡¯, as well as ¡®number one on the list¡¯.


    Hmmm.


    He smiled and wondered what Wulfric was doing now.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric was currently looking at the vast space outside the window. He was at a small ship that had just entered the Tertius Galaxy. The mercenary group, where he and some other members of Fenris Squad were currently under cover, was now on their way to the planet where they would pick up the slaves which would be transported outside of the galaxy.


    The mercenary group divided their crew into five small ships. Of course, this ¡®small¡¯ was not really that small. It¡¯s just not as big as ordinary space craft. The reason for this and for the division was to make sure that they wouldn¡¯t appear too suspicious in the eyes of soldiers patrolling around the border. And if one of the ships was arrested, there would still be remaining ships that could continue the operation.


    This meant that even if there¡¯s a possibility that Simon Lancaster was related to this slave trading shit, there were still officials and soldiers from the Rozen Army that weren¡¯t associated with it. Or, there¡¯s also that possibility that the bastard didn¡¯t have anything to do with it.


    Honestly, Wulfric was hoping it¡¯s the former. That way, he could finally have a legal excuse to get rid of Simon Lancaster. With him gone, the power that the Lancasters could hold would diminish tremendously. Then, maybe, abolishing the whole Lancaster dukedom would no longer be an impossible feat.


    He took a deep breath before his anger rose and he completely forgot that he was on a mission. Once they arrived at the planet Oria, the real operation of their squad would start.


    He should focus on that so he would have a free schedule after. Maybe he could even visit the capital after he submitted his report for this mission.


    Wulfric opened his Terminal and opened his photo gallery. There, he clicked Aster¡¯s concept photo for his new role. Seeing the other, he finally managed to completely calm down.


    But as he continued to stare at the picture, he was overcome by the need to see Aster. Not just in a moving picture like this, but in reality.


    [Ah, I really miss Aster.]

 Chapter 436 - 436 NEW VARIETY PROGRAM

    436 NEW VARIETY PROGRAM


    ASTRID and Ellis were on their way to a broadcasting station to film a variety program with the main cast of [The Great War]. This variety program would be broadcasted live. And then, at the end of the program, the trailer for the [The Great War] would be shown to the public for the first time.


    It¡¯s a great way to promote the show. Especially since the public¡¯s interest was starting to wane since it had been two days since the concept photos were released. With the variety program and the trailer, the attention of the public would focus again on [The Great War].


    The variety program they would appear in was called [Penalty Quiz]. Just by the name, one could see that it¡¯s a quiz show. Of course, it¡¯s not just an ordinary quiz show. The quiz had a wide range of topic. From science to general knowledge, to math and history.


    Those who answered correctly would be rewarded and those who made a mistake would be given a penalty. The questions were all pretty hard. That¡¯s why, more often than not, the guests of the program were subjected to different kinds of penalties. Thus, the name of the show.


    The penalties that the guests experienced were the main attraction of the program. It¡¯s shown after lunch time, a period when people in their homes usually took a nap. The program made sure to make entertaining penalties to keep the audience awake.


    Because of this, established celebrities, usually those in the top 100 of the Star List, rarely guested in this variety program despite it having a high rating. Because the penalties usually ended up with the celebrity in an embarrassing situation, many felt reluctant appearing in the show.


    But those who were starting out in the industry, or weren¡¯t that famous yet, couldn¡¯t really avoid appearing in the program. Especially if they were there to promote a show or movie they were part of. They didn¡¯t exactly have the luxury to do so.


    It was the same for the cast members of [The Great War] that were tasked to appear in this program. Four cast members were sent to appear in today¡¯s episode of [Penalty Quiz]. Being a rookie, Astrid was one of them. Yujin would also be there, as well as the third and fourth female lead.


    He wasn¡¯t that nervous about the program. He didn¡¯t really care much if he ended up in an embarrassing situation because of a penalty. It¡¯s not like something like that could really affect his career or something. Instead of the penalties he¡¯s more worried of embarrassing himself and appearing stupid if he didn¡¯t manage to answer a lot of the quiz questions.


    ¡­..


    Although he was confident of his educational knowledge, it¡¯s not like he had a perfect memory that remembered everything he had learned. So, the possibility of him making a mistake and giving an answer that would make him look stupid was not entirely non-existent.


    Soon, they arrived at the broadcasting station.


    Astrid and Ellis walked out of the car after the latter parked it and both walked towards the entrance of the station. Since Ellis was familiar with the place, they didn¡¯t need to inquire as to where was the studio where the program would be filmed. They simply went straight to it.


    Since they arrived much earlier than scheduled, Astrid and Ellis went around the studio to say hello to the staffs, as well as the program director. After doing that, they went to the waiting room. As expected, they were the first ones to arrive.


    As Astrid sat down to wait, he glanced at his agent.


    After that news about Olivia and her family¡¯s ¡®death¡¯, they had never talked about it again. As if the two of them had a silent pact to move pass it and treat it as something that didn¡¯t happen. Which was fine by Astrid.


    It¡¯s not like he¡¯s particularly interested in Olivia. The only reason why he was even remotely affected by her situation was only because of Livi. Even if he and Ellis talked about their situation, it wouldn¡¯t really change anything. So, it¡¯s better to just move on from that.


    It didn¡¯t take long before Yujin arrived, followed by his agent. A small smile appeared on Yujin¡¯s handsome face the moment he saw Astrid.


    ¡°You came early,¡± he said, as he approached and sat down beside Astrid.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°It¡¯s better than being late.¡±


    ¡°So, how have you been?¡± Yujin asked.


    He actually wanted to ask stealthily how Astrid was doing after that news about Olivia Crane and her family losing their lives in an accident. Since the other was in a program with her son and all. But Carmine warned him to not even mention it. Probably for the sake of Ellis Payne who was not only Olivia¡¯s agent, but also rumored to be her ex-lover.


    It frankly surprised him. Since it seemed that his agent hated Ellis. So, he thought she wouldn¡¯t care about what the other could be feeling. But then again, this was one of her good points. She might appear tactless and all, but she still had a good heart.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, you?¡± Astrid asked back.


    As the two chatted, Carmine walked carefully to Ellis¡¯ side. She was wondering how the other was doing. But asking her directly seemed to be too presumptuous. After all, it¡¯s not as if the two of them were close. Silence would probably be a better consideration.


    Ellis, of course, noticed the fidgeting red-head beside her. It didn¡¯t take long for her to understand why that was. Since Carmine would normally say sarcastic comments to her right about now, the fact that she didn¡¯t, mean that something was preventing her to do that.


    It¡¯s not hard to think of the reason. It must have been related to Olivia. This woman was probably trying to be thoughtful in her own way. Somehow, that put a smile on Ellis¡¯ lips.


    As she was about to say something, the door once again opened and a very unexpected person walked in.

 Chapter 437 - 437 THE UNEXPECTED GUEST

    437 THE UNEXPECTED GUEST


    IT was a tall man with a body sculpted like a statue. His golden brown hair was styled in a messy manner but instead of making him look sloppy, it only added to his already overwhelming charm. His pair of gray eyes looked around the room awkwardly, as if he, himself, knew that he shouldn¡¯t be here.


    ¡°Ah, it seems my dilligent juniors are already here,¡± he said, laughing awkwardly.


    Astrid raised his brow seeing Lance Reid suddenly appearing here. As far as he knew, the other was not one of the guests appearing in this episode. Since he was a fairly established actor with a huge fan base, there¡¯s no need for him to guest in this program. That¡¯s why the production team of [The Great War] didn¡¯t even think of sending him here as a guest.


    So, what¡¯s Lance Reid doing here?


    Before he could think more, Astrid saw another man walking behind the other. It was a man with a tall and slender body. The man had blue-gray hair that was styled cleanly like that of an ordinary salary man. A pair of silver-rimmed glasses covered his dark green eyes.


    The man gave off a neat and calm feeling. Like some kind of honor student that always abide by the law. He also seemed like the type to nag if others didn¡¯t follow the rules.


    Astrid tilted his head. Usually, the one who would follow Lance Reid like this was his agent. But that agent was nowhere to be found and instead, the one behind him was this man.


    Could he be a road manager?


    He shook his head. Why did it matter who the other person was? Wasn¡¯t the fact that Lance Reid was here more questionable? He didn¡¯t think that it was because the other was here for his usual ¡®newcomer hunt¡¯. He believed that with Wulfric¡¯s help, Lance had already been thoroughly ¡®rehabilitated¡¯.


    ¡­..


    Besides, if he was really here for that, he wouldn¡¯t show such an awkward expression. He would strut in here with confidence instead and openly flirt with them. But Lance did none of that.


    So, what exactly was happening?


    Before thinking of the reason for that, he probably should greet the other first. When he stood up, Yujin also did the same and both of them greeted Lance Reid.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Reid,¡± both of them said almost at the same time.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too formal,¡± the other said. He walked to one of the free seats, but instead of sitting down, he turned to the man following behind him. ¡°Lele, sit here.¡±


    Everyone in the waiting room turned to look at the man Lance called ¡®Lele¡¯. A slight frown appeared on the other¡¯s face, even the corner of his lips twitched. When they saw the stern expression on his face, everyone thought that he would surely scold Lance for sure.


    But then, he suddenly smiled as if he didn¡¯t hear what Lance said and then he pushed the other onto the seat he was gesturing to sit to. The series of actions was so swift, none of the people in the room would even think that he was being forceful. Even Lance, the person involved, just felt his body swerved and then before he knew it, he was already sitting down.


    ¡°How could the manager sit down instead of the actor? Mr. Reid should be the one sitting.¡±


    Although the man called ¡®Lele¡¯ said that with a smile, Astrid felt that there was veiled threat in his words for some reason. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was just being too sensitive, but the relationship between the two didn¡¯t seem to be merely that of artist and manager.


    To be exact, the manager seemed to be the one who was in a superior position rather than the actor. Which was a bit unreasonable. But looking at Lance¡¯s puppy do eyes as he was staring at the man, anyone would think that the manager was his ¡®boss¡¯ or something.


    This confused Astrid even further.


    He could recognize that kind of look that Lance was giving his manager. It was like that of someone who was pining for another. Then, did this mean that Lance was already over his ¡®newcomer¡¯ phase and was now targeting managers?


    He shook his head at the absurd thought. Because it would mean that Lance¡¯s ¡®rehabilitation¡¯ didn¡¯t work at all!


    For now, he should probably just solve one of the curiosities plaguing him.


    ¡°Is Mr. Reid also a guest for today¡¯s episode?¡± he said, subtly asking what the other was doing here.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to be today¡¯s special MC,¡± Lance answered in a carefree manner. ¡°I really like this show, so when they asked me if I can be the official MC for today, I readily agreed.¡±


    That answer didn¡¯t clear even one bit of Astrid¡¯s confusion. Rather, it just added to it. If the other didn¡¯t act so awkwardly at the beginning, he probably wouldn¡¯t think much of why he was here. But the fact that he did just made him look suspicious.


    ¡°There should be a separate waiting room for the MC,¡± Ellis said. ¡°Did you perhaps go to the wrong room?¡±


    Although Ellis said that in a very light tone as if she was simply asking about the weather, Astrid knew that the other was also finding Lance¡¯s action suspicious.


    Lance laughed ¡®ha ha¡¯, which sounded so fake, by the way. ¡°Ah, that waiting room is a bit too big for me. I much preferred this room.¡±


    Leland, who was watching everything from behind, almost rolled his eyes at such an obvious lie. He started to wonder if this guy was really an actor. Shouldn¡¯t he be able to at least lie this much? Instead, he sounded like an amateur con-artist. Or was this guy actually didn¡¯t have a talent for acting?


    He secretly glanced at Astrid Townsend. Although the other wasn¡¯t showing much reaction outwardly, he could still tell that he was doubting every word that came out of Lance¡¯s mouth.


    Seriously, if he had a better alternative, he wouldn¡¯t ask this guy, Lance Reid, for help.

 Chapter 438 - 438 THE REASON LELAND WAS HERE

    438 THE REASON LELAND WAS HERE


    SO, how the hell did Leland ended up accompanying Lance here? Well, first, let¡¯s start with him thinking of how to solve the top problem he had right now. Which was preventing his highness from telling the public about the current mission of Fenris Squad. He could already foresee how things would turn out if that happened.


    It would make things too troublesome. One of the main reasons why their army could pull off a lot of dangerous missions was because the enemy wasn¡¯t expecting them. The public perception of their army being just a place filled with misfits helped in that regard.


    But his highness¡¯ plan was about to completely change that.


    If their army was put on the spotlight and people¡¯s perception of them changed, there were not much pros and too much cons for them for Leland to even consider it. They would be considered as a proper army. And yes, that¡¯s definitely a con.


    For them, who had been doing secret missions for the sake of protecting the Empire, being the poster child for the army was simply not it. Their current infamy worked quite well for them. Because they were the ones those high level criminals least expected.


    This gave them the advantage of getting ahead of the enemy. It also lessened the number of casualties for every mission.


    If the prince had decided on this for himself, Leland might have conceded. But the other was obviously doing this for another person.


    He glanced at the one responsible ¨C Astrid Townsend. The black-haired teenager was looking at Lance with suspicion. It didn¡¯t actually show on his face, but somehow, Leland could just tell. Probably because he was too used to reading people.


    Anyway, he really didn¡¯t mind that the other got closer to his highness. Because he brought good changes to the prince. But his highness¡¯ latest decision was a completely different matter.


    ¡­..


    There¡¯s only roughly about 20 days before the group doing the mission with his highness returned. Of course, that was just a vague estimate that they put together before the mission started. Taking into account every element that could affect the mission. The estimated time they got to finish this mission was a month. But since his highness was the one leading this mission, it would probably end much faster than that.


    That¡¯s why Leland had to move now before that happened. Once the prince returned from this mission, he would definitely proceed to telling everyone that their army just captured some slave traders. He had to stop that at all cost.


    He only had two days at most to fix this problem since he couldn¡¯t be away from the Beowulf for long. So, he had to look for the right day to temporarily leave for the capital and make sure that he would be able to talk to Astrid. That way, he could make the most out of his time.


    After searching for Astrid¡¯s schedule in the coming days, he finally made up a plan. And sadly, Lance¡¯s help was essential for that. Since the other was the only person related to the entertainment industry who he knew that he was sure wouldn¡¯t blab if he asked his help about this.


    It¡¯s not only because of their knowledge about his pheromone ability that was stopping him from doing so, it¡¯s also because the other knew full well just what would happen if he went around telling people that the lieutenant of Fenris Squad asked him for help.


    Leland made sure that the pain Lance felt during the training he had undergone to control his ability would be ingrained in his mind for a very, very long time. Aside from the fact that it was the most effective way for the other to quickly control his pheromones, it would also put a stop to the interest that flashed in Lance¡¯s eyes when they first met.


    The former was very successful, but the latter¡­ he glanced at Lance. The other was still looking at him like a puppy wagging its tail and waiting for its master to praise it. Leland¡¯s brows almost furrowed once again.


    Yes, that latter one was definitely a fail. Who would have thought that the other¡¯s interest on him would become even more intense after that hellish training? And since one of the conditions for training Lance and not arresting him for hiding his ability was for the other to help the Fenris Squad whenever the situation called for it, Leland had to give the other his Terminal number as his point of contact in their army.


    Because of that, Lance had been sending him messages almost everyday. He already told the other not to contact him unless it¡¯s important but the other¡¯s response was telling him that everything he sent to him was important.


    Out of annoyance, Leland completely mute Lance¡¯s Terminal number. That way, even if the other sent him a message or call him, he wouldn¡¯t see it. Which was very effective. Since he¡¯s no longer bothered and annoyed by it.


    But because the plan he made so he could talk to Astrid could only be possible with the help of Lance, he had no choice but to personally contact him. And thus, here they were.


    Leland gave a quick glance around the room. There were four people other than them, including Astrid. One must be another actor and the other two should be agents or managers.


    There was a clear awkward atmosphere in the air. This felt like they were subtlety telling them that they didn¡¯t really welcome Lance here. Well, not that he could blame them. This must be because of Lance¡¯s reputation in the entertainment industry. Which was well deserved, by the way.


    When he was thinking of what to do to ease this atmosphere, the door opened and two women walked in. They just entered the room when two other women followed. It seemed that the women at the front were actresses while the two who followed were their agents.


    Leland took away his gaze from them after seeing them enthusiastically greeting Lance. Instead, he secretly observed Astrid Townsend.


    After this variety program, he¡¯d definitely make sure to have that talk with the other.

 Chapter 439 - 439 [PENALTY QUIZ] (I)

    439 [PENALTY QUIZ] (I)


    ¡°HELLO and welcome to [Penalty Quiz]!¡± the male emcee said, making a bow and ending it with a flourish, looking like some kind of master showman.


    This was the emcee¡¯s signature gesture to welcome the live audience, as well as the ones watching the broadcast at home or in some other place. Just as expected, the live audience in the studio clapped and cheered after that welcome.


    ¡°Today, we will have a special episode. And what does a special episode need?¡± he put his hand behind his ear as if waiting for the audience to answer. Mixed answers were heard from the audience. When he was finally done arousing everyone¡¯s curiosity, he said, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a special emcee! So, everyone, let¡¯s give a warm applause to the special emcee of this episode, the one and only, Lance Reid!¡±


    The audience seemed to be shock hearing the name the emcee mentioned. This was because guests of [Penalty Quiz] were usually not reveal until the episode started. So, they had no idea that today¡¯s guests were the cast of [The Great War]. If they knew, they might have somehow guessed who the special emcee would be.


    But the moment Lance Reid appeared in the studio, the audience cheered enthusiastically. The other first greeted the emcee before turning towards the audience.


    ¡°Hello everyone! This is Lance Reid!¡± Then he looked straight at the camera filming him and winked.


    As soon as that scene appeared on the screen, the audience¡¯s cheers became even more deafening. Leland, who was watching this all from the side, felt like a bomb was detonated in front of him because of how loud it was.


    He looked at Lance. The other was waving at the audience, smiling like some kind of professional playboy. And the audience loved it. Was this what they referred to as ¡®fan service¡¯.


    Well, at least he seemed to be a pro at that. Maybe this was why he was popular despite not being a good actor?


    ¡­..


    Yes, Leland was having a misunderstanding of Lance lack of ¡®acting talent¡¯ because of how the other badly acted earlier when they walked into the waiting room. If Lance knew this, he probably would have cried in the corner of a room.


    ¡°So, Lance, why did you suddenly decide to accompany me as a special emcee today?¡± the male emcee asked.


    ¡°What else? It¡¯s because I¡¯m a big fan of the show!¡±


    The emcee knew that Lance Reid was actually a last addition for today¡¯s episode. From what he heard from the program director, the other¡¯s agent suddenly asked if they could add Lance as a special emcee for today. Of course, the director quickly agreed. Because his presence would surely add to their show¡¯s ratings. It was still dubious though.


    No matter what how curious the emcee was, he was still a professional. So, work came first. He showed an exaggeratedly moved expression in response to what Lance Reid said.


    ¡°Then, we¡¯re very honored. But I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not the only reason.¡±


    Lance laughed. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s because the guests for today¡¯s episode are very close to my heart.¡±


    ¡°Oohh¡­ now you¡¯re making me curious.¡± The emcee looked at the audience and asked. ¡°Are you curious too?¡±


    The audience¡¯s answer was a resounding ¡®yes¡¯.


    ¡°Then, I won¡¯t make you wait anymore,¡± Lance said. ¡°Let¡¯s all welcome the cast members of [The Great War]!¡±


    After he said that, four people entered the studio. Yujin was walking at the front, followed by the third female lead, and the fourth female lead. The one walking at the end was Astrid. Even though all of them had supporting roles in the drama, it¡¯s enough for the audience to get excited at their presence.


    It¡¯s because Astrid and Yujin were promising newcomers while the other two were also steadily making a name for themselves.


    ¡°Welcome to [Penalty Quiz]. Please, say hello to our audience,¡± the emcee said after the four stood at the center of the studio with them.


    The first one to introduce himself was Yujin.


    ¡°Good afternoon to everyone watching here and from their home. This is Yujin Wells. I will do my best to answer the questions given by the Quiz Masters. Please look forward to it!¡±


    Then, the two women also did their greetings one after another. After they were done, it was now Astrid¡¯s turn.


    ¡°Hello everyone! I¡¯m Astrid Townsend. This is my first time guesting here so I¡¯m a bit nervous. But I will definitely do my best!¡±


    He said that last part with a ¡®fighting¡¯ gesture. It was captured on the huge screen in the studio which made most of the audience go ¡®aww¡¯. Even though most of them didn¡¯t know what that gesture meant, they had a feeling that he was cheering himself up. Which made him looked cute and adorable in their eyes.


    ¡°Now that our amazing guests for today made their greetings, let¡¯s start the quiz, shall we?¡± the emcee said before turning to Lance. ¡°Then, Lance, will you do us the honor?¡±


    He was asking Lance to do the tag line that he usually said before the quiz start.


    Lance then looked at the camera with a playful smile. ¡°It¡¯s quiz time! Will you be rewarded or will you be punished?¡±


    Four podiums suddenly appeared in front of the four guests. There¡¯s a buzzer on each podium. Then, the emcee started explaining the game rules. Which was pretty straightforward.


    There¡¯s a panel that containing different categories and were divided into easy, medium, and hard difficulty. Each questions corresponded to a number of points depending on the difficulty level. Easy was worth 2 points, medium was 5 points, while the hard was 10 points.


    The panel system would be the one controlling what kind of category and difficulty would be chosen. In short, the questions would be very random. The one who had the most points at the end of the show would be the winner and would be given a reward. While the one with the least points would be penalized. Of course, if one gave a wrong answer, they would also have to go through a penalty.


    And just like that, the quiz finally started.

 Chapter 440 - 440 [PENALTY QUIZ] (II)

    440 [PENALTY QUIZ] (II)


    ¡°SINCE we have a special emcee today, we also prepared a special topic for today¡¯s quiz,¡± the emcee said.


    The quiz on this show usually didn¡¯t have a specific topic. It¡¯s just literally about anything that¡¯s under the sun. So, this was very rare. But programs like this usually do surprise changes from time to time to increase the ratings more. Since they already knew that this episode would be a hit just by Lance¡¯s presence, they simply added something to spice up things more.


    Even without the prompt in his ears, telling him what to say, Lance understood what he should do.


    ¡°Oh, now that¡¯s making me curious,¡± he quickly said as a follow up. ¡°So, what kind of theme would it be?¡±


    ¡°Well, didn¡¯t someone ask you to pick a category earlier back stage?¡± the emcee asked.


    Lance acted like he just realized something and then said with a surprised expression, ¡°No way, is it about that?¡±


    There was indeed a staff who asked him to pick one out of the three categories that he showed him. Lance just picked something randomly, not really thinking of anything. How could he when all his attention was focused on Leland? Even now, he wanted to turned where the other was standing. Only his professionalism was preventing him to do that.


    ¡°Yes. So, let¡¯s reveal it now before our audience get bored of us.¡±


    After the emcee said that, the screen, where the quiz category was, started to roll like a wheel. And when it finally stopped the words that appeared was;


    ¡­..


    [Ancient Earth]


    When Lance read that, he felt a bit guilty. If the category was ancient earth, then the questions would be related to before mankind started to explore the vast universe. It¡¯s not really something that was taught in-depth at school. It was just something that was taught during their primary education.


    If one wanted to know more about it, they could take a course on it on university or study it thoroughly if they wanted to become a researcher or a professor focused on that topic. In short, it¡¯s not an easy topic for a quiz show.


    He suddenly felt the evilness of the program team. They must have known that their quiz questions would not be easily answered and would therefore lead to a lot of penalties.


    Lance took a quick glance at his co-cast members. Sure enough, they all had a grim expression on their face. That was his thought until his gaze landed on Astrid. Hmm? Was it just his imagination or did Astrid¡¯s face seem brighter?


    ¡ª¨C


    That¡¯s right. Astrid could barely hide his happiness when he saw that the topic would be about ancient Earth. Especially after he heard the emcee¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°For our today¡¯s quiz takers, you don¡¯t have to worry about this topic being too broad. We¡¯re not that evil, you know? The questions would only be until the 21st century.¡±


    That¡¯s definitely good for Astrid. Since he really didn¡¯t have any knowledge of what happened after he died. But there¡¯s still a problem though. If he showed that he knew too much, there¡¯s a possibility that people would suspect that the program team gave him the answer beforehand.


    So, Astrid decided to do it moderately. Seriously, he didn¡¯t want there to be another controversy. It felt like every time he appeared in a program, there¡¯s always some kind of controversy. Yes, it¡¯s good to be talked about, but if the reason was because people always doubted him, then he¡¯d rather not.


    ¡°Then, for the first question, should you do the honors, Lance?¡± the emcee asked.


    ¡°With pleasure,¡± Lance said, even bowing like a gentleman. Then, he gestured towards the screen. ¡°Quiz cue!¡±


    A light appeared one by one on each category block until it stopped on the Arts category under the easy difficulty. Then, the screen changed and what appeared was a painting of a woman with a slight smile on her face.


    ¡°For five points¡ª¡±


    Before the emcee could finish his question, one of the female guests pressed the buzzer and shouted, ¡°It¡¯s the Mona Lisa!¡±


    ¡°Oh, it seemed that you¡¯re very confident with your answer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, everyone knows this painting is the Mona Lisa,¡± she said proudly.


    ¡°That¡¯s indeed correct.¡± But before she could celebrate, the emcee suddenly added, ¡°Sadly that¡¯s not my question.¡±


    The female guest froze. Before she could fully understand what the emcee meant, the other female guest pressed her buzzer.


    ¡°Is it Leonardo da Vinci?¡±


    After she said that, a ding-dong sound echoed around the studio, not to mention, the block where the question came from turned green. This only indicated that she was right.


    ¡°Correct! It seemed that the quiz takers for today would not stumble just because we have a difficult topic,¡± the emcee said. But everyone here knew that that was just lip service. After all, the question just now was very easy. ¡°Before we proceed to the next question, it¡¯s penalty time! Are you ready, Myla?¡±


    At that, Myla ¨C the female guest who answered incorrectly ¨C tried to act cheerful. But it was obvious that she was very worried about what kind of penalty she would receive.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best,¡± she said.


    The screen changed once again. But now it was rolling to know what kind of penalty the guest would do. When it stopped, what appeared was a four-leaf clover.


    ¡°Oohh¡­ it¡¯s a luck item!¡± the emcee said. ¡°This means that you don¡¯t have to do the penalty this time.¡±


    Myla let out a sigh or relief when she heard that. She was so worried that she had to do something embarrassing or be put in an embarrassing situation. It seemed that her luck was still there. This was a warning that she should let the emcee finish the question first next time before answering.


    Of course, the other three also realized that from her blunder. Astrid was actually also about to press the buzzer earlier and answered ¡®Mona Lisa¡¯, good thing that he didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Instead, one of the other quiz takers should do something that the audience requested,¡± the emcee added which surprised the other three. ¡°Now, who will be the lucky audience?¡±


    Then, some of the cameras floating around turned to the audience. They appeared on the screen. The cameras continued moving until it stopped on a girl. Her shocked expression was caught on screen, and then her expression quickly turned to excitement. One of the staffs nearby quickly gave her a mic.


    ¡°So, which one would you make a request to?¡± Lance asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s Astrid!¡± the girl almost squealed in her excitement. ¡°Hi, Aster! I¡¯m a big fan! Can you do something cute for us?¡±


    Astrid felt the corner of his eyes twitched when he heard such a request. But since the other called him ¡®Aster¡¯, she must really be a fan. He showed a helpless smile. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try.¡±


    He put his hands in front of him, them formed a circle with both. Then, he took a bite as if it was an apple and the circle suddenly turned into a heart shape. At the same time, he finished it off with a bright smile.


    And the audience went nuts.

 Chapter 441 - 441 [PENALTY QUIZ] (III)

    441 [PENALTY QUIZ] (III)


    WHILE the audience was enjoying his ¡®little performance¡¯, Astrid was already cringing inside. When asked to do something ¡®cute¡¯, this action was the first thing that came to his mind.


    During his time as an actor in his past life, idols were everywhere. It¡¯s like there was a factory mass producing them. That¡¯s why, as someone from the same industry, it was inevitable for him not to see some of their performances.


    After they performed on stage for some music show, the camera would always zoom in to some of the members of the group. Those who were chosen would then do poses that would make them look ¡®cute¡¯ or ¡®adorable¡¯ to the audience watching them. Which was also a part of their fan service.


    Astrid did what was commonly known back then as a ¡®heart bite¡¯. It was the first thing that came to his mind when thinking of something that was cute and easy to do. Of course, he also imitated the ¡®idol smiles¡¯ he saw then.


    And what he did just now was the result.


    Seeing as how the audience erupted into cheers, it seemed that he succeeded somehow.


    ¡°What¡¯s this? I suddenly want to go over there and pinch you,¡± the emcee said, looking as if he was really about to do just that.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t,¡± Astrid said while protecting his cheeks.


    This elicited laughter from the audience, as well as the other guests.


    ¡­..


    The emcee then turned to Lance. ¡°How about you, Lance? Don¡¯t you feel the same urge?¡±


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t use the word ¡®urge¡¯, our audience might misunderstand,¡± Lance said jokingly.


    Although he tried to laugh it off, deep inside, Lance was already complaining a thousand times. Why was this guy trying to rope him in on that cuteness whatsoever thing? What if Leland misunderstood that he was back to his usual antics if he agreed to this guy? So, it¡¯s better to just divert the topic.


    After that short interlude, the quiz continued.


    The next question stopped on the Geography category. It was another easy difficulty. Then, the screen changed and a picture of the Statue of Liberty appeared.


    ¡°For five points, in which city was this¡ª¡±


    Astrid quickly pressed the buzzer. ¡°New York City.¡±


    ¡°Correct!¡±


    Five points appeared on Astrid¡¯s podium after that. Although he decided to do it moderately in order not to be suspected of cheating, answering easy questions should be fine. He would just act like he¡¯s struggling when it came to the medium and hard questions.


    Then, the quiz continued. The first one to do a penalty was the fourth female lead ¨C Myla Cruise. Yes, it was her again. It was because she accidentally pressed the buzzer when the question was on hard difficulty.


    Thankfully, the penalty she had to do was not that hard. Well, at least that was the case for Astrid. She only had to drink some questionable green juice. The moment she took a sip, she gagged almost reflexively. But she pushed through and drank everything despite gagging multiple times in the middle.


    Although after that, her face seemed to have also turned green. It¡¯s like she would vomit at any seconds.


    The second penalty happened to Yujin. He had to hold a slime like creature for 30 seconds. Although this penalty couldn¡¯t be considered as difficult, the feeling of that slime on one¡¯s skin must be worse than it looked.


    Because from where Astrid was standing, he could literally see Yujin¡¯s hands holding it tremble. It¡¯s probably even worse because the slime was alive and moving. But Yujin didn¡¯t show any disgust on his face. The only thing people could see was calmness. Which was quite commendable. Especially since he was probably feeling the opposite inside.


    As the quiz continued and their points accumulated, the number of penalties also increased. Except for Astrid, the other three had gone to two-three penalties already. He knew that it would be troublesome later on if he didn¡¯t suffer a penalty at least once, that¡¯s why he¡¯s planning to get the answer wrong on the next question.


    It didn¡¯t really help that the questions were on the level of a general knowledge trivia. If it was asked on a quiz program in his past life, the show would definitely draw flak from the audience because of how easy the questions were. That¡¯s why it was getting harder and harder for him to act like he didn¡¯t know of wasn¡¯t sure of the answer when it was the complete opposite.


    ¡°For 50 points, what planet is the closest to Earth?¡±


    Astrid quickly pressed the buzzer. ¡°Mars?¡±


    He knew that the answer was Venus, but he deliberately gave the wrong answer in a very unsure tone. His and Yujin¡¯s points were very close. So, it might have looked like he was trying to get ahead by answering the question even if he wasn¡¯t sure that his answer was correct.


    As expected, the sound indicating that the answer was wrong rang in the studio. Astrid made sure that he would have a dejected expression right after. Then, he quickly tried to smile as if it didn¡¯t matter.


    The emcee asked the question again. This time, no one pressed the buzzer immediately. If after five seconds passed and no one answered, then the question would be void and they would move to the next question. Letting five seconds passed was what most contestants would do. That¡¯s way, they didn¡¯t have suffer a penalty just in case they answered and guessed wrongly.


    But when just a second was left, Yujin pressed his buzzer. ¡°Is it¡­ Mercury?¡±


    The sound indicating that it was the wrong answer echoed in the studio again. An embarrassed expression appeared on Yujin¡¯s face.


    The emcee asked the question again, but this time, the five seconds passed quickly without anyone pressing the buzzer.


    ¡°Is this the first time in today¡¯s episode that two people would be penalized?¡± Lance asked.


    ¡°Yes. Wouldn¡¯t this be interesting?¡± the emcee asked the audience in which they cheered loudly, as if enjoying this situation.

 Chapter 442 [PENALTY QUIZ] (IV)

    "IT''S also going to be Astrid''s first penalty, so this would be fun," Lance added to what the emcee said.


    "Ah, you''re right! It seems that his luck has finally come to an end."


    "Oh, I don''t think it''s luck. He''s the one with the most points right now. The fact that he could avoid penalties until now meant that he''s using a good strategy to win," Lance said.


    "Now that I think about it, you''re probably on to something." The emcee turned to Astrid. "Why don''t you share your strategy with us, Astrid, before we proceed to your penalty? Maybe the other quiz takers would also like to hear it?"


    Since this was started by the emcee, there''s no way the other would say ''no''. Not interacting properly at such a time could lead to criticism from the public. So, to avoid things like that, they had to be as interactive as possible.


    "Yes, please share it with us," one of the female guests said.


    "I think I really need a strategy right now," Myla Cruise said, and then added with a sad expression, "Just look at my points."


    As she said, she was the one with the lowest points among them. She''s the first candidate who might receive the ultimate punishment for today''s episode.


    Even Yujin also joined and said, "I''m also quite interested in this strategy."


    "If I tell you about it, can I avoid the penalty?" Astrid asked in a playful tone.


    "Oh-ho, now I''m a bit tempted to agree," the emcee said. "But alas, it would go against our program''s rules. So, I think you should open your generous heart and just tell us about it."


    "As much as I want to, but the truth is, I don''t really have a specific strategy," Astrid said while scratching his cheek and showing an embarrassed expression. "I just promised myself before I came here that I shouldn''t be too adventurous and just answer, or at least try to answer questions that I know the answer to." He then followed that up with a small, helpless laugh. "But as you can see, I seem to have failed since I still have to suffer through this penalty."


    No one thought that he was lying, or that he was being full of shit. Because what he said was backed up by what he had shown so far.


    "Don''t be too hard on yourself. You''re doing pretty well, in my opinion," Lance said with a "Since two of you will do this penalty, of course, there should be a twist," the emcee said in an intriguing manner. "Two of those three dishes are definitely not something you would want to eat on sympathizing glance.


    "That''s right! It wouldn''t be a full experience if you didn''t experience the penalties that our show is so proud of," the emcee said before turning to the audience. "Don''t you think so as well?"


    The audience replied with a resounding ''yes''.


    "Then I''ll do my best for this penalty," Astrid said, doing a fist pump with both hands.


    "Let''s see what kind of penalty Yujin and Astrid will get!"


    After the emcee said that, the image on the screen changed again. It started to spin. When it stopped, a picture of a plate with food appeared.


    "It''s a food penalty!"


    Then, the area in front of the podiums suddenly split, and a rectangular table appeared. On top of it, there were three dishes that were covered.


    "Since two of you will do this penalty, of course, there should be a twist," the emcee said in an intriguing manner. "Two of those three dishes are definitely not something you would want to eat on a daily basis. But one of those three is something delicious that you would enjoy. So, now, who will be lucky between the two to get that one delicious dish?"


    Astrid and Yujin looked at each other. Their gaze was obviously asking who would pick first.


    "You can pick first," Astrid said, because it didn''t really matter to him what kind of food he would get. He''s not that squeamish, after all.


    "Are you sure?" Yujin asked.


    He had only experienced two penalties. But both were things he didn''t want to experience again. He was sure that it would be the same this time. When he saw Astrid nod, he walked towards the table and picked the one on the far left. Astrid also did the same and picked the one on the far right.


    "Should we open it at the same time?" he asked.


    "Okay," Astrid said.


    Yujin held the handle of the of the cover. "On the count of three¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1!"


    He pulled the cover up. When he saw what was on the plate, Yujin almost let go of the cover. He wasn''t even able to control his expression. The dish he picked was some kind of stir-fried bugs that looked very much like some kind of brown worms. The added green sauce just made it even more unpalatable. Not to mention the smell.


    He had never felt the need to vomit so strongly right at this moment. What more when he had to eat this thing?


    Yujin closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Then he glanced at the dish that Astrid chose. When he saw it, he almost let out a curse.


    It was a plate of juicy and shiny grapes. They were glistening and looking like they had just been freshly picked. In his eyes, it seemed to be the most delicious grapes in the universe right at this moment.


    He was about to tell Astrid how lucky he was, but when he saw the other''s expression, he couldn''t say a word. It was because Astrid was completely frozen. His face even completely turned white. It''s like he was looking at something horrendous and not at those delicious-looking grapes.


    "Astrid, are you okay?" he couldn''t help but asked.


    Astrid returned to his senses at Yujin''s question. Being a professional, he managed to smile and say, "Yes, I''m fine."


    But deep inside, he was already howling. Of all the fruits in the universe, why did it have to be those¡­ those violet round things? Shit, he couldn''t even say its name because of the trauma.


    So, how the hell would he get past this?

 Chapter 443 [PENALTY QUIZ] (V)

    SINCE he was reincarnated, Astrid had avoided this menace of a fruit. Not just it, but any fruit even remotely resembling it. Those tiny things that could easily lodge in one''s throat. He had been avoiding it since he started to walk on his own.


    How could he not when those round fruit was literally the cause of his death in his past life? Even now, he could still remember the feeling he felt when that fruit was stuck in his throat. That feeling of helplessness when one couldn''t breathe and there''s no one there to help you, it was still so vivid in his mind.


    In fact, when he was younger, he would often have nightmares about it. It''s so scary that he would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night full of cold sweats. It took time before he could put that behind him. But it didn''t really disappear, he was just able to tuck it away into the deepest recesses of his memory.


    And now, seeing that¡­ that¡­ fruit in front of him, it was just bringing all the trauma.


    As Astrid was experiencing all this emotional things, his brain was also working double time to think of a way so he wouldn''t have to eat that menace of a fruit. The first reason he thought of was to say that he had allergies. But his brain quickly denied that. Because in this era, having allergies was so rare that he might draw unwarranted attention if he even said that he had one.


    People who had allergies were usually born from a Lawless Den where there''s not enough medical facility. Or someone who was born naturally, like him and Reas. If he said that he had allergies, the first thing people would think of was definitely the latter. The fact that he was naturally born instead of being a lab baby would draw attention to his family.


    And that''s the last thing he wanted.


    Then, there''s also that option of saying that he had trauma eating small fruits like that. It wouldn''t have a problem with the public, but it would definitely be a problem for his family, especially his parents. They would wonder just where and when did he suffer this ''trauma''.


    So, even if that reason was the real cause of why he was like this right now, he couldn''t even say it. Then, there''s only one way.


    All of this happened in less than a minute inside his head. So, no one had noticed that he was having trouble. Except probably for the time when he opened the lid of the cover and saw that blasted fruit inside.


    "Can I make a suggestion?" Astrid asked the emcee, his expression as gentle as an innocent baby.


    "Oh, what is it?" the emcee asked with an interesting tone.


    "Can I switch dishes with Yujin?"


    There was a momentary silence in the studio after Astrid said that.


    Then, Yujin said in a troubled expression, "No, Astrid, there''s no need. I- I can eat it!"


    The way his voice trembled at the end betrayed what he just said. But he didn''t care. Astrid must have suggested this because he noticed how uncomfortable he was. He couldn''t just pass off the responsibility to him since he was the one who picked this dish in the first place.


    Before Astrid could say that it''s fine and he wanted to do it, the emcee asked;


    "But why are you volunteering? I heard you two are pretty close in the set of [The Great War]. Is this the power of friendship?"


    Although the emcee said that in a playful tone, both Astrid and Yujin knew that there would be people who would paint a different light on their relationship.


    Yujin was convinced that Astrid was doing this because of their friendship, just like what the emcee had said. That''s why he couldn''t immediately think of an excuse that would not make the two of them appear like their relationship was more than just being friends.


    Thankfully, Astrid was on alert and quickly said;


    "This is my first penalty, right? But because I luckily chose these g- ehem- grapes, it''s like I wasn''t penalized at all. So, I think it''s better if I just eat what Yujin picked," he explained.


    "Why don''t we just asked the audience?" Lance suggested.


    "Good idea," the emcee agreed. "If you want Astrid to eat what Yujin picked, please clap. If you don''t, then you don''t need to do anything. So, what would it be?"


    The emcee hadn''t even yet finished what he''s trying to say, and the audience had already burst into cheers.


    "It seemed that the audience had already made a decision," Lance said.


    "Then, we can''t do anything but agree," the emcee said. "The two of you can now exchange dishes."


    With that, Astrid and Yujin exchanged places. As they did, Yujin asked in a whisper;


    "Is there really alright?"


    "Yeah. Don''t worry, I have a very strong stomach," Astrid assured the other.


    As he stood in front of the plate full of some kind of fried worms with green, mucus like sauce, he finally felt better. Yes, in his opinion, this dish that looked on the same level as a vomit was infinitely better than those purple fruits.


    "Finish eating your dish in 60 seconds. Now, begin!"


    As soon as the emcee said that, Astrid picked up a spoon and started eating the worm in a green mucus dish. He finished eating it at exactly 60 seconds. He didn''t even bat an eye or drink water. Heck, he didn''t even gag. After that, a satisfied expression even appeared on his face. It''s like he ate a renowned delicacy, instead of, well, that.


    But that satisfied expression on his face right now was interpreted wrongly by some of the audience


    ¡ªin the studio or watching the broadcast¡ªas him feeling triumphant that he had saved Yujin from ''distress''.


    ''distress''.


    And thus, another ship involving him was starting to form.


    Again.

 Chapter 442 - 442 [PENALTY QUIZ] (IV)

    442 [PENALTY QUIZ] (IV)


    ¡°IT¡¯S also going to be Astrid¡¯s first penalty, so this would be fun,¡± Lance added to what the emcee said.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re right! It seems that his luck has finally come to an end.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s luck. He¡¯s the one with the most points right now. The fact that he could avoid penalties until now meant that he¡¯s using a good strategy to win,¡± Lance said.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, you¡¯re probably on to something.¡± The emcee turned to Astrid. ¡°Why don¡¯t you share your strategy with us, Astrid, before we proceed to your penalty? Maybe the other quiz takers would also like to hear it?¡±


    Since this was started by the emcee, there¡¯s no way the other would say ¡®no¡¯. Not interacting properly at such a time could lead to criticism from the public. So, to avoid things like that, they had to be as interactive as possible.


    ¡°Yes, please share it with us,¡± one of the female guests said.


    ¡°I think I really need a strategy right now,¡± Myla Cruise said, and then added with a sad expression, ¡°Just look at my points.¡±


    As she said, she was the one with the lowest points among them. She¡¯s the first candidate who might receive the ultimate punishment for today¡¯s episode.


    Even Yujin also joined and said, ¡°I¡¯m also quite interested in this strategy.¡±


    ¡­..


    ¡°If I tell you about it, can I avoid the penalty?¡± Astrid asked in a playful tone.


    ¡°Oh-ho, now I¡¯m a bit tempted to agree,¡± the emcee said. ¡°But alas, it would go against our program¡¯s rules. So, I think you should open your generous heart and just tell us about it.¡±


    ¡°As much as I want to, but the truth is, I don¡¯t really have a specific strategy,¡± Astrid said while scratching his cheek and showing an embarrassed expression. ¡°I just promised myself before I came here that I shouldn¡¯t be too adventurous and just answer, or at least try to answer questions that I know the answer to.¡± He then followed that up with a small, helpless laugh. ¡°But as you can see, I seem to have failed since I still have to suffer through this penalty.¡±


    No one thought that he was lying, or that he was being full of shit. Because what he said was backed up by what he had shown so far.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself. You¡¯re doing pretty well, in my opinion,¡± Lance said with a sympathizing glance.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It wouldn¡¯t be a full experience if you didn¡¯t experience the penalties that our show is so proud of,¡± the emcee said before turning to the audience. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so as well?¡±


    The audience replied with a resounding ¡®yes¡¯.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll do my best for this penalty,¡± Astrid said, doing a fist pump with both hands.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what kind of penalty Yujin and Astrid will get!¡±


    After the emcee said that, the image on the screen changed again. It started to spin. When it stopped, a picture of a plate with food appeared.


    ¡°It¡¯s a food penalty!¡±


    Then, the area in front of the podiums suddenly split, and a rectangular table appeared. On top of it, there were three dishes that were covered.


    ¡°Since two of you will do this penalty, of course, there should be a twist,¡± the emcee said in an intriguing manner. ¡°Two of those three dishes are definitely not something you would want to eat on a daily basis. But one of those three is something delicious that you would enjoy. So, now, who will be lucky between the two to get that one delicious dish?¡±


    Astrid and Yujin looked at each other. Their gaze was obviously asking who would pick first.


    ¡°You can pick first,¡± Astrid said, because it didn¡¯t really matter to him what kind of food he would get. He¡¯s not that squeamish, after all.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Yujin asked.


    He had only experienced two penalties. But both were things he didn¡¯t want to experience again. He was sure that it would be the same this time. When he saw Astrid nod, he walked towards the table and picked the one on the far left. Astrid also did the same and picked the one on the far right.


    ¡°Should we open it at the same time?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Astrid said.


    Yujin held the handle of the of the cover. ¡°On the count of three¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1!¡±


    He pulled the cover up. When he saw what was on the plate, Yujin almost let go of the cover. He wasn¡¯t even able to control his expression. The dish he picked was some kind of stir-fried bugs that looked very much like some kind of brown worms. The added green sauce just made it even more unpalatable. Not to mention the smell.


    He had never felt the need to vomit so strongly right at this moment. What more when he had to eat this thing?


    Yujin closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Then he glanced at the dish that Astrid chose. When he saw it, he almost let out a curse.


    It was a plate of juicy and shiny grapes. They were glistening and looking like they had just been freshly picked. In his eyes, it seemed to be the most delicious grapes in the universe right at this moment.


    He was about to tell Astrid how lucky he was, but when he saw the other¡¯s expression, he couldn¡¯t say a word. It was because Astrid was completely frozen. His face even completely turned white. It¡¯s like he was looking at something horrendous and not at those delicious-looking grapes.


    ¡°Astrid, are you okay?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but asked.


    Astrid returned to his senses at Yujin¡¯s question. Being a professional, he managed to smile and say, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    But deep inside, he was already howling. Of all the fruits in the universe, why did it have to be those¡­ those violet round things? Shit, he couldn¡¯t even say its name because of the trauma.


    So, how the hell would he get past this?

 Chapter 443 - 443 [PENALTY QUIZ] (V)

    443 [PENALTY QUIZ] (V)


    SINCE he was reincarnated, Astrid had avoided this menace of a fruit. Not just it, but any fruit even remotely resembling it. Those tiny things that could easily lodge in one¡¯s throat. He had been avoiding it since he started to walk on his own.


    How could he not when those round fruit was literally the cause of his death in his past life? Even now, he could still remember the feeling he felt when that fruit was stuck in his throat. That feeling of helplessness when one couldn¡¯t breathe and there¡¯s no one there to help you, it was still so vivid in his mind.


    In fact, when he was younger, he would often have nightmares about it. It¡¯s so scary that he would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night full of cold sweats. It took time before he could put that behind him. But it didn¡¯t really disappear, he was just able to tuck it away into the deepest recesses of his memory.


    And now, seeing that¡­ that¡­ fruit in front of him, it was just bringing all the trauma.


    As Astrid was experiencing all this emotional things, his brain was also working double time to think of a way so he wouldn¡¯t have to eat that menace of a fruit. The first reason he thought of was to say that he had allergies. But his brain quickly denied that. Because in this era, having allergies was so rare that he might draw unwarranted attention if he even said that he had one.


    People who had allergies were usually born from a Lawless Den where there¡¯s not enough medical facility. Or someone who was born naturally, like him and Reas. If he said that he had allergies, the first thing people would think of was definitely the latter. The fact that he was naturally born instead of being a lab baby would draw attention to his family.


    And that¡¯s the last thing he wanted.


    Then, there¡¯s also that option of saying that he had trauma eating small fruits like that. It wouldn¡¯t have a problem with the public, but it would definitely be a problem for his family, especially his parents. They would wonder just where and when did he suffer this ¡®trauma¡¯.


    So, even if that reason was the real cause of why he was like this right now, he couldn¡¯t even say it. Then, there¡¯s only one way.


    ¡­..


    All of this happened in less than a minute inside his head. So, no one had noticed that he was having trouble. Except probably for the time when he opened the lid of the cover and saw that blasted fruit inside.


    ¡°Can I make a suggestion?¡± Astrid asked the emcee, his expression as gentle as an innocent baby.


    ¡°Oh, what is it?¡± the emcee asked with an interesting tone.


    ¡°Can I switch dishes with Yujin?¡±


    There was a momentary silence in the studio after Astrid said that.


    Then, Yujin said in a troubled expression, ¡°No, Astrid, there¡¯s no need. I- I can eat it!¡±


    The way his voice trembled at the end betrayed what he just said. But he didn¡¯t care. Astrid must have suggested this because he noticed how uncomfortable he was. He couldn¡¯t just pass off the responsibility to him since he was the one who picked this dish in the first place.


    Before Astrid could say that it¡¯s fine and he wanted to do it, the emcee asked;


    ¡°But why are you volunteering? I heard you two are pretty close in the set of [The Great War]. Is this the power of friendship?¡±


    Although the emcee said that in a playful tone, both Astrid and Yujin knew that there would be people who would paint a different light on their relationship.


    Yujin was convinced that Astrid was doing this because of their friendship, just like what the emcee had said. That¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t immediately think of an excuse that would not make the two of them appear like their relationship was more than just being friends.


    Thankfully, Astrid was on alert and quickly said;


    ¡°This is my first penalty, right? But because I luckily chose these g- ehem- grapes, it¡¯s like I wasn¡¯t penalized at all. So, I think it¡¯s better if I just eat what Yujin picked,¡± he explained.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just asked the audience?¡± Lance suggested.


    ¡°Good idea,¡± the emcee agreed. ¡°If you want Astrid to eat what Yujin picked, please clap. If you don¡¯t, then you don¡¯t need to do anything. So, what would it be?¡±


    The emcee hadn¡¯t even yet finished what he¡¯s trying to say, and the audience had already burst into cheers.


    ¡°It seemed that the audience had already made a decision,¡± Lance said.


    ¡°Then, we can¡¯t do anything but agree,¡± the emcee said. ¡°The two of you can now exchange dishes.¡±


    With that, Astrid and Yujin exchanged places. As they did, Yujin asked in a whisper;


    ¡°Is there really alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t worry, I have a very strong stomach,¡± Astrid assured the other.


    As he stood in front of the plate full of some kind of fried worms with green, mucus like sauce, he finally felt better. Yes, in his opinion, this dish that looked on the same level as a vomit was infinitely better than those purple fruits.


    ¡°Finish eating your dish in 60 seconds. Now, begin!¡±


    As soon as the emcee said that, Astrid picked up a spoon and started eating the worm in a green mucus dish. He finished eating it at exactly 60 seconds. He didn¡¯t even bat an eye or drink water. Heck, he didn¡¯t even gag. After that, a satisfied expression even appeared on his face. It¡¯s like he ate a renowned delicacy, instead of, well, that.


    But that satisfied expression on his face right now was interpreted wrongly by some of the audience¡ªin the studio or watching the broadcast¡ªas him feeling triumphant that he had saved Yujin from ¡®distress¡¯.


    And thus, another ship involving him was starting to form.


    Again.

 Chapter 444 - 444 WULF WATCHING (I)

    444 WULF WATCHING (I)


    THE ship Wulfric was on was finally nearing the planet where they would pick up the group of people who were about to be sold. Because of that, things had been pretty hectic on the ship. Even if he didn¡¯t want to move, he had to in order not to look suspicious. It was only after dinner, or at least what seemed to be the time for dinner, that he finally had free time.


    As soon as he had free time, Wulfric entered his personal quarters. It was a small cabin that wasn¡¯t even half the size of his own bathroom back in Beowulf. But he didn¡¯t care much. He had lived in worse condition than this, doing missions here and there. What¡¯s important to him was that he had his own privacy.


    Normally, as someone who was just commissioned by this mercenary group, he shouldn¡¯t be given a cabin of his own. But after he asked very ¡®nicely¡¯ with his fist, they allowed him to have one.


    Although Leland told him not to stand out, again and again, giving up a personal cabin was something he couldn¡¯t do. Because if he didn¡¯t have a space of his own, then how the hell would he watch programs where Aster appeared if someone was sharing a room with him?


    Yes, he could set his Terminal to private and not let anyone see what he¡¯s watching. But that¡¯s not the problem. He didn¡¯t like it when someone was looking at him while he was concentrating on watching Aster. Because how could he focus that way? When watching Aster¡¯s show, he wanted to just solely focus on it.


    Watching in a cinema was different since the audience could wear VR helmets while watching and all of them were simply minding their own business.


    Wulfric sat down on the bed and opened his Terminal. He knew from what Aster posted on his [Cyberspace] account that the other had a schedule today and would be appearing on a show called [Penalty Quiz].


    After reading that, he searched for information about it. Only to find out that it¡¯s a live broadcast. He was so devastated by the news that he even considered abandoning this mission.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t do it. No matter how much his heart was telling him to, his brain was still the one in charge. So, he knew what he should and shouldn¡¯t do when he was doing his duty as a soldier and a general of this Empire. If he was just here as Wulfric and nothing else, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to really just leave. But since that¡¯s not the case, he could only grit his teeth in regret.


    ¡­..


    Thankfully, he quickly found out that a replay would be posted on the official streaming site of the studio that was producing the show. And so Wulfric was now trying to enter that streaming site.


    After he did, it didn¡¯t take long for him to see the replay stream of the program. It was because it¡¯s on the front page of the site. With a heart full of excitement, he quickly clicked it.


    The program started first with the boring introduction of the emcee. Then the other suddenly called a special emcee for today¡¯s episode. When he saw the pheromone guy appearing, his brows couldn¡¯t help but furrow.


    His first reaction was wondering what that guy was doing over there. And then, he remembered that the other was also part of that show that would air next week. He remembered him since the other had a very useful ability.


    Leland convinced him that they could use this guy for a special espionage mission if needed since they already have his weakness. Which was not registering his ability, even if he had no idea he had it. He agreed since the other could really be useful for their army someday.


    Anyway, that pheromone guy didn¡¯t really matter right now. Aster was the most important, so he waited for him to appear. And it didn¡¯t take long before the emcee introduced the guests for today¡¯s quiz show.


    After the introduction, the quiz finally started. The first question was pretty standard but also misleading. Because there¡¯s a lot of answers that could be given just by looking at the painting. The important part was to hear the question fully.


    Sure enough, one of the female guests wasn¡¯t patient enough and gave the wrong answer. But luckily for her, she didn¡¯t have to be penalized. But one of the remaining three should do a request from one of the audience.


    Wulfric was worried about that. Because they would definitely choose Aster. And sure enough, the chosen audience picked her. He narrowed his eyes at the girl.


    [If you dare to make Aster do something weird, I swear¨C]


    ¡°¡­Can you do something cute for us?¡±


    Wulfric stopped when he heard that. Then, he suddenly made a small thumbs-up in his heart, showing that he was very much in favor of this request.


    [Good job.]¡ªhe thought.


    Then the camera focused on Aster. The other showed a helpless expression at first. And then he put both hands in front of him, forming a circle with his fingers. Then, he acted like he was biting it like some kind of fruit. The circle then turned into a heart shape. After that, he showed the brightest smile in the universe.


    Wulfric blinked a couple of times. Then, he heard a ¡®thump¡¯, ¡®thump¡¯ noise inside his chest. Like some kind of loud drum. It was only after a few seconds that he realized that it was actually his heart.


    ¡°Crazy¡­ how cute was that?¡±


    Before he could even think, he immediately cut out that part and saved it in his Terminal. He did that a couple more times during the episode.


    He felt all proud because of how smart Aster was. He not only answered a lot of questions, he also avoided getting penalized.


    Wulfric was very much enjoying the program. That was, until Aster had to do his first penalty.

 Chapter 445 - 445 WULF WATCHING (II)

    445 WULF WATCHING (II)


    WULFRIC¡¯S brows furrowed deeper and deeper as he continued to watch that part. His annoyance level was also rising faster and faster. It became even worse when the emcee insinuated that there was something going on between Aster and that Wells guy. It didn¡¯t help that the latter seemed to really think that Aster was trying to exchange their dishes because he was worried about him.


    Because of how Wulfric had only been watching Aster, he saw how the other¡¯s expression changed when he saw the fruit filled with grapes. It happened in just a fraction of a second, but he clearly saw the horror in those black eyes. The thought of eating those grapes horrified Aster.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t know why the other would feel that way. But he was sure that that was the case. And it¡¯s definitely not because Aster was worried about the Wells guy.


    That¡¯s why, aside from the irritation he felt watching that part of the quiz show, he was also curious and, at the same time, very worried. Because it was the first time he saw that kind of expression on Aster¡¯s face. It was the look of true horror.


    He had seen him act afraid first hand. Like when they first met and Aster had to act scared just so he would lose interest in him. Not a proud moment for Wulfric, he must admit. There was not a time since he and Aster made up that he wished he wasn¡¯t so much of an asshole on their first meeting. But things had already happened. Crying over it would just make him look more of a loser than he already was at that particular moment.


    Anyway, the point was, he had seen Aster acting scared up close, so he knew that when the other saw those grapes, he was genuinely terrified. The question now was, why?


    Of all the fruits in the universe, grapes were one that didn¡¯t look or smell weird. There¡¯s really nothing about it that screamed ¡®fear¡¯. He could only think of two reasons for this. One, Aster had a health condition that prevented him from eating grapes. Or two, he experienced something traumatizing that involved the said fruit.


    Either one of those was a cause for worry.


    Wulfric shook his head.


    ¡­..


    If he continued to worry like this, he would definitely end up overthinking. Maybe by the end, his brain would make himself believe that Aster had some kind of incurable disease. Which in turn would cause him to panic, and the first thing he would do was definitely abandon his current mission and just go to where Aster was.


    That would be a total disaster. So, it¡¯s better to just ask Aster the real reason why he was afraid of eating grapes.


    After making that decision, he continued watching the quiz show.


    Aside from that one moment between Aster and the Wells guy, the rest of the show continued to be entertaining.


    At the end, the one who won was the Wells guy, with Aster coming in close second. The difference in their points was just a single digit. The one who got the main penalty was that girl who was first penalized.


    Since it was the main penalty, it was much worse than the other penalties the four did during the whole broadcast. She had to dive into a human size box filled with bugs. The girl burst into tears the moment he saw the translucent box filled with creepy crawlers.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t understand why the other would cry over that when she would be wearing protective gear. It¡¯s not like she would dive there naked or something. Since he¡¯s not interested watching her, and Aster¡¯s screen time was already over, he stopped watching and just head over [Cyberspace].


    The setting of his [Cyberspace]¡¯s feed was that it would automatically show him anything related to Aster. The first post he saw made him frown again.


    It was a screenshot of Aster and that Wells guy looking at each other during the quiz show. It would be fine if it was just that, but the caption was what really pissed him off.


    [Just look at how they gaze at each other. They look so perfect for each other, right?]


    What kind of bullshit? The two of them just freaking glance at each other. What perfect? The following comments below it annoyed Wulfric even further.


    [Yes! They really match!]


    [I¡¯m a fan of Yujin. I didn¡¯t really like Astrid at first because I felt like he¡¯s a hindrance for Yujin. But watching this episode of


    , I change my mind. Instead of thinking of Astrid as Yujin¡¯s rival, I think I will now think of him as his partner.]


    [I really like their chemistry in this episode of


    . Would we see more in <The Great War>?]


    [They¡¯re playing as siblings in the <The Great War> though.]


    [They¡¯re only half-brothers, that¡¯s fine.]


    [But isn¡¯t it an open secret in <The Great War> fandom that Luan and Caesar have a thing? Then, Astrid and Yujin wouldn¡¯t have that much sweet scenes.]


    [Hey, don¡¯t ruin our fantasy! This thread is about Astrid and Yujin, don¡¯t insert someone else.]


    [You know, what if Astrid and Yujin actually fell in love during the filming of <The Great War>?]


    [Oohhh¡­ I think that¡¯s possible. Can¡¯t you see the way they interact in this episode? It¡¯s very different from the way Astrid interacts with Lauren.]


    [Right? Yujin must be special.]


    Okay, that¡¯s it!


    Wulfric couldn¡¯t take it anymore and commented under the thread.


    [@astridsnumber1fan: Can you people not always ship Aster to every person interacts with? Can you imagine how uncomfortable he would be after reading the things you post about him and the people you ship him with? Was there really a need to give a different meaning to every action he makes? What if he started to become conscious of his every action because of all these ridiculous shipping ideas you people have? Then, it¡¯s all on you!]


    And once again, Wulfric started another bout of ¡®protect Aster at all cost¡¯.

 Chapter 446 - 446 WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE BROADCAST

    446 WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THE BROADCAST


    LET¡¯S go back a few hours before, right after the broadcast of [Penalty Quiz] ended.


    Yujin won the quiz, and as the winner, he was rewarded with a VIP treatment to a famous spa and salon shop in the capital that only catered to the rich and famous. He didn¡¯t really feel that excited about it. Because he felt like he didn¡¯t really deserve this win.


    In his opinion, Astrid should have won. The other was obviously more knowledgeable than him when it came to information about ancient Earth. But because he wasn¡¯t that fast in pressing the buzzer, he was always being taken over by Yujin and the other two guests. The fact that Astrid answered more difficult questions than any of them proved that.


    Maybe Astrid had a low physique level, that¡¯s why his reflexes were also not that fast. Anyway, it¡¯s the reason why he was feeling a bit guilty, accepting this reward. After thinking about it seriously, he finally decided to just give his reward to Astrid.


    With that decision in mind, he walked towards the waiting room they were in earlier. Because he won, he had to stay last in the studio together with the emcee and Lance Reid. Getting his award and doing some fan service for the audience. As he was doing that, the others all went back.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if Astrid went back to the waiting room to freshen up before leaving or if the other directly left. Either way, there¡¯s no harm on checking.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back first to the waiting room and have some make-up artist freshen your make-up,¡± Carmine said, as if reading his thoughts.


    But Yujin knew that that was not the case. If Carmine realized that the reason he¡¯s walking towards the waiting room was because he wanted to give the reward to Astrid, she would definitely go ballistic on him. Especially after that little teasing the emcee did about his relationship with Astrid.


    Even though there¡¯s nothing remotely romantic between them, people would still assume what they wanted to assume. Carmine also understood that. So, to avoid any more inflated rumors between him and Astrid, it would be best to limit their interaction.


    ¡­..


    But in Yujin¡¯s opinion, it¡¯s not really needed. Because he wasn¡¯t attracted to Astrid that way, and he¡¯s pretty sure the other also felt the same. So, really, there¡¯s nothing to worry about on that front. Except, of course, for nonsensical rumors. But even those things wouldn¡¯t last considering that they didn¡¯t have any truthful basis at all.


    When they arrived at the waiting room, the only one there was Myla Cruise. A make-up artist was there fixing her hair and make-up.


    ¡°Did Astrid already left?¡± Yujin asked.


    ¡°Yeah. He and his agent left with Mr. Reid¡¯s manager,¡± the other said, only slightly glancing at Yujin and then went back to closing her eyes again.


    Yujin tilted his head. Why would Astrid and Ellis leave with Lance Reid¡¯s manager when Lance was still here?


    He hadn¡¯t had time to voice that opinion because someone suddenly spoke beside him.


    ¡°They left with whom?¡±


    Yujin glanced to the side and saw Lance Reid. The other was standing there full of astonishment and disbelief. And then his expression quickly turned to that of anger. But before that could even last, he suddenly looked dejected. Like a puppy abandoned by its master.


    Yunjin furrowed his brows. What¡¯s wrong with this guy?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    Inside a private room of a certain restaurant¡­


    Astrid glanced at the man sitting in front of him. The two of them were alone because the other requested it. Ellis didn¡¯t want to leave him at first, but after much convincing, the other reluctantly left. Well, she didn¡¯t really, she was probably waiting at the parking lot of this restaurant.


    Under normal circumstances, Astrid wouldn¡¯t agree to a request of a stranger. If it¡¯s not because of the name the other mentioned, he definitely wouldn¡¯t.


    Because of that, he couldn¡¯t help but remember what happened when he and Ellis were about to leave the studio.


    =====


    ¡°Do you want to eat something before going back home?¡± Ellis asked.


    Astrid nodded, agreeing. They only had sandwich for lunch, so after filming this episode, it¡¯s only natural to feel hungry. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s. I¡¯m already kind of famish.¡±


    They first said goodbye to Myla Cruise and her manager before leaving the waiting room.


    Astrid was just about to open the door when it opened on its own and Lance¡¯s manager walked in. He nodded to the other with a smile before bypassing him. He and Ellis hadn¡¯t just walked out of the room when they suddenly heard the other¡¯s call.


    ¡°Wait, please!¡±


    Both Astrid and Ellis stopped walking and turned back. They saw Lance¡¯s manager walking briskly towards them.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Ellis asked when the manager stopped in front of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just wondering if I could talk to Mr. Townsend in private?¡± the manager asked with a polite smile.


    Ellis frowned. ¡°Does this have something to do with Lance Reid?¡±


    Astrid understood why Ellis assumed that. The other was the manager of an actor known to be a playboy who targeted newcomers. Ellis must be thinking that Lance hadn¡¯t yet given up on ¡®getting it on¡¯ with a newcomer, that¡¯s why he ordered his manager to get Astrid.


    He must have only been behaving during filming because of the director. Now that it¡¯s over, he¡¯s now free to do whatever he wanted. Maybe that¡¯s even the reason why he agreed to be a special guest emcee for today¡¯s episode.


    But somehow, Astrid had a feeling it¡¯s not exactly because of that.


    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with him,¡± the manager said.


    Astrid was confused by the other¡¯s tone. It¡¯s not like he was trying to protect Lance from their misunderstanding, it felt more like he was saying that Lance was inconsequential in this situation.


    Then, suddenly, the manager stepped forward towards Astrid and whispered something in his ear that only the two of them could hear.


    ¡°This has something to do with his highness, the prince. I hope Mr. Townsend can cooperate.¡±


    =====

 Chapter 447 - 447 MEETING THE LIEUTENANT

    447 MEETING THE LIEUTENANT


    ASTRID observed the man. Even though the other had a polite smile on his face, he could tell that it¡¯s mainly a business smile. Like a businessman that was meeting an important client. Astrid didn¡¯t mind though. At least he knew that this guy wanted to talk to him because of ¡®business¡¯ and not because of some personal reason.


    And this ¡®business¡¯ just happened to be somehow connected to the only prince of the Empire.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re already alone, I very much prefer if you can now tell me what this was all about,¡± he said straightforwardly with an equally polite smile.


    He didn¡¯t want to go around the bush before they could even go to the main point. Aside from the fact that he¡¯s really hungry and couldn¡¯t wait to eat, he¡¯s also worried that something might have happened to Wulfric, that¡¯s why this person suddenly came to him.


    Whatever the reason, it¡¯s important to establish first why they had to have this conversation. That way, they could discuss things much faster.


    ¡°I think I should introduce myself first,¡± the man said. ¡°My name is Leland Brewer. I am a Lieutenant in Fenris Squad.¡±


    Astrid was slightly surprised when he heard that introduction. He had many guesses in his mind as to who this man was, but him being a soldier and a part of Fenris Squad was certainly not among the top.


    It was public knowledge that the Fenris Squad had three captains and one lieutenant. Even though that was public knowledge, their names weren¡¯t spread out and known throughout the whole Empire. That was, of course, in comparison to Wulfric.


    Even if the Fenris Squad was very infamous, most of the things that made them so was because of their general. It¡¯s like the other was the poster child for trouble. Add that to the fact that he¡¯s royalty and all of the public¡¯s attention was solely focused on him.


    ¡­..


    If the man sitting across from him was Fenris Squad¡¯s lieuenant, that meant that he¡¯s second-in-command.


    Wait- Brewer?


    ¡°I think Mr. Townsend had already met my younger brother, Assil,¡± Leland Brewer said in a timely manner, as if he had read what¡¯s on his mind.


    ¡°Ah, yes, I¡¯ve met Ash,¡± Astrid could only say.


    From the things Reas had told him, he knew that Ash¡¯s older brother was in Fenris Squad but the other hadn¡¯t mentioned that it was actually the lieutenant. But even if he knew beforehand, Astrid would have probably not guessed that the two were brothers. It¡¯s not just because they didn¡¯t look alike, their vibes were the total opposite of each other.


    Anyway, that¡¯s really not what¡¯s important right now.


    ¡°May I ask why Lieutenant Brewer went to all this trouble just to speak to me privately?¡±


    Because it was indeed a lot of trouble. Imagine, the second-in-command of the most infamous army in the Empire pretended to be the manager of an actor just so he could speak with Astrid. If that didn¡¯t qualify as ¡®troublesome¡¯, then he¡¯s not sure what would.


    Leland tactfully observed the teenager, no, the young man in front of him. He thought that the other would at least show a surprise expression once he introduced himself. Or that the other would not believe him. After all, which army lieutenant would go around pretending to be a manager? That¡¯s why he quickly mentioned that he¡¯s Assil¡¯s brother.


    But aside from the slightly raising of his brow, there was nothing else. The other was simply too calm. He didn¡¯t even ask how he could be related to Lance. Which was one of the things he expected the other would question him about.


    Was Astrid Townsend always this level-headed?


    What Leland didn¡¯t know was the fact that the one who informed Wulfric about Lance Reid was the young man in front of him. So, of course, he had prior knowledge of their connection.


    Although if Leland was observant as observant as Hildred in things like that, namely romantic relationships, he would have probably long realized that the whole Lance fiasco was related to Astrid.


    ¡°As I¡¯ve said earlier, it¡¯s related to his highness, the prince,¡± he said as a respond to the other¡¯s question.


    In which Astrid only gave him an ¡®I¡¯m listening¡¯ expression, as if silently telling him to continue.


    ¡°His highness suddenly had this¡­ idea to make the details of our current mission public after we successfully completed the mission,¡± he started explaining what he came here for. ¡°That idea is, well, to say it in a frank way, very bad. It could affect our army¡¯s future and might put all of us in danger. So, although this is a bit shameless of me to ask of Mr. Townsend, can you persuade his highness to change his mind?¡±


    Now, this was surprising. Out of all the reasons why the other approached him, this was definitely not something Astrid could have had imagined. He was actually already starting to get worried that Wulfric might be in danger or something. And then, it ended up like this. Although he¡¯s glad that it¡¯s not because Wulfric was hurt, this was still unprecedented.


    ¡°But why come to me?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    He could kind of understand why the lieutenant might think that going public with their current mission could be potentially dangerous for their army. Just by those words, what they¡¯re doing was definitely some kind of secret mission. If everyone found out about it, there¡¯s a high chance that the public¡¯s perception of their army would change.


    That¡¯s probably what Leland Brewer was trying to prevent.


    What he couldn¡¯t understand was how the two things were related. Before he could think further on that, he heard Leland say;


    ¡°Well, the reason his highness wanted to be more public about our mission, I believe it¡¯s because of Mr. Townsend. If you convince him not to, his highness would definitely agree and change his mind.¡±


    That reasoning made Astrid tilt his head, not sure if he actually heard the other correctly.

 Chapter 448 - 448 YOU’RE THE REASON

    448 YOU¡¯RE THE REASON


    ASTRID almost blurted out, ¡®how come that became my fault?¡¯. Because really, how was that his responsibility? Despite trying not to show it, the other must have still noticed what he¡¯s thinking because of his follow up words.


    ¡°His highness wouldn¡¯t typically make such a significant decision without a good reason, and you, Mr. Townsend, have had the most significant impact on him in recent months. While your influence has brought about many positive changes in the prince, this particular decision does not seem to be one of them.


    ¡°Although you might want to hear about his highness¡¯ ¡®heroic exploits¡¯, I hope that it wouldn¡¯t be on the count of our army¡¯s safety. So, please, can you perhaps take back what you said to his highness?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Astrid felt like something struck the back of his head. He suddenly remembered a message he had sent to Wulfric a week ago.


    [¡­I can¡¯t wait to hear all your heroic exploits once your mission is over. Fighting!~¡­]


    Was it because of that? No, by how Leland phrased what he said just now, it was definitely that. He didn¡¯t mean anything when he sent that message to Wulfric. He just wanted to encourage the other because he felt like he was doing something to protect the citizens of the Empire. He didn¡¯t expect that just because of his words, Wulfric would actually do something that could potentially harm his own army.


    Astrid felt his head throbbing.


    No, maybe he should have expected something like this. After all, Wulfric was such an impulsive person. He would definitely make decisions like this based on what he¡¯s feeling at the moment.


    But the thing that surprised him even more was the fact that he could actually affect the other like this. Was his influence on Wulfric really as big as this? Like what Leland was trying to imply.


    ¡­..


    It¡¯s unbelievable, but at the same time, not. For the simple fact that it was Wulfric. For more than two months since the two of them met again, the other had done a lot of things that an acquaintance, or even a normal friend, wouldn¡¯t do.


    From making a [Cyberspace] account solely for the purpose of being a dedicated fan boy to helping him with a lot of things behind the scene. Frankly, one would think that it was too much. Not to mention the fact that Astrid could see a lot of visible changes on the other since after they met again.


    Wulfric was no longer as forceful as he was when they first met. It was as if he learned to be patient. He became more understanding of others, and he was also not as arrogant as before. He was starting to treat others with a sense of respect instead of a sense of superiority.


    It might seem like not a big change, but for someone so set in his ways like Wulfric, it was definitely almost like a miracle. Was his presence in his life really brought such a positive change? Better yet, could someone really influence Wulfric by this much?


    It seemed impossible, but it did happen.


    Honestly, the reason Astrid gave the other a second chance was because he apologized sincerely to him. Wulfric admitted his mistake and promised not to do it again. It meant that he was not that full of himself, that he had the capacity to be a much better person. That¡¯s why he was very happy with the changes he had seen in him.


    Astrid experienced complex emotions at the thought that he might be the reason for it all. The idea made him feel both flustered and proud, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel an irrational sense of joy as well.


    He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. No, this was not the time to analyze his feelings. There was another person waiting for his answer here. He should focus more on what¡¯s needed to be done at this moment.


    He looked at Leland and said, ¡°I understand. If it¡¯s really because of what I said to him, then I will take responsibility.¡±


    Leland secretly let out a sigh of relief when he heard that. He thought that it would take a lot more of explaining and convincing before Astrid could agree to what he was asking. That certainly seemed to be the case when he first mentioned that his highness¡¯ decision to go public with their current mission was related to him.


    But he noticed that after he explained the possibility that his highness¡¯ decision might be related to something he did or said, he appeared apprehensive. The other remained silent for a couple of minutes before giving him this answer.


    Leland was, of course, glad that he didn¡¯t have to resort to any other means to convince the other. At least with this, his goal for going to the capital despite being in the middle of a mission was now achieved.


    He was about to say ¡®thank you¡¯ and end the conversation when the other asked;


    ¡°But would it be alright to contract W¡ªI mean, the general right now? I heard your army is on a mission right now?¡±


    Leland was a bit surprise that the young man even knew that their army had a mission right now. Just how close were Astrid and the prince? Was it to the point that they would soon form a romantic relationship?


    He shook his head. Whether that¡¯s the case or not shouldn¡¯t be his problem now. Anyway, if someone wanted to be with the prince as his life partner and treat him with sincerity, then Leland wouldn¡¯t get in the way of that. For now, he should just focus on the situation at hand.


    ¡°His highness¡¯ current location would allow him to receive a call or a message. But it would probably only be until today. So, if you plan to contact him, it¡¯s better to do it before this day ends,¡± he said. ¡°And he¡¯s not using his real Terminal. So, here¡¯s the number of the Terminal he¡¯s using right now.¡±


    After receiving the Terminal number from Leland, the two of them ended their conversation and said goodbye to each other.

 Chapter 449 - 449 REALIZATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

    449 REALIZATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


    NOW, we¡¯re back to the current time¡­


    After returning to his apartment, the first thing Astrid planned to do was to dial the Terminal number that Leland gave him. But before he could, he received a notification from his [Cyberspace] account.


    This notification would only appear if an account he was paying attention to posted something. And there¡¯s only one account that he paid attention to¡ªWulfric¡¯s fan account.


    Astrid wondered how the other was still able to post when he was in the middle of a mission. He wasn¡¯t even using his real Terminal, considering that Leland had given him a different Terminal number. But then again, didn¡¯t Wulfric also posted something a week ago when his mission had already started by then?


    Anyway, Astrid quickly opened his [Cyberspace] and checked what Wulfric had posted. And the first thing he saw was;


    [@astridsnumber1fan: Can you people not always ship Aster to every person interacts with? Can you imagine how uncomfortable he would be after reading the things you post about him and the people you ship him with? Was there really a need to give a different meaning to every action he makes? What if he started to become conscious of his every action because of all these ridiculous shipping ideas you people have? Then, it¡¯s all on you!]


    Astrid raised his brows. Even though he didn¡¯t know the context behind this comment, it wouldn¡¯t take a genius to know why Wulfric had posted it. Because of that small incident during the broadcast of [Penalty Quiz], some people would definitely make some shipping post between him and Yujin.


    He had already expected it to some extent, so he wasn¡¯t too surprised. It was just something that was inevitable. If one was working in this industry, they should get used to being shipped to several people by fans. What¡¯s surprised him more actually was Wulfric¡¯s response.


    It was so¡­ well, Wulfric. He wrote what he wanted to say without fumbling with his words. Telling people that they¡¯re wrong and that they were all mental for doing what they¡¯re doing. And, of course, he did not forget to defend Astrid and scold the people continuously shipping him with others.


    ¡­..


    Anyone would think that Wulfric wrote all that because he was truly worried about his career, but for some reason, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but think that the other had a different reason on why he wrote all those things. One of those reasons was because he just didn¡¯t like the people being shipped to him. Or, more accurately, Wulfric just didn¡¯t like him being shipped to anyone in general.


    That¡¯s definitely a big assumption on his part. But with Leland¡¯s visit to him, he truly realized that his presence must mean something special to Wulfric. That he was not just someone the other wanted to be friends with. At this point, Astrid should finally acknowledge that he was more than that to Wulfric.


    That the other¡¯s feelings for him were truly now on the territory of ¡®romantic¡¯.


    If people would hear this, they would probably think that he was under some kind of delusion. But, seriously, if one was not one of the following: dense, completely oblivious, or simply lacked understanding of social cues, then arriving at this conclusion would be the most natural thing. And since Astrid was none of those, of course, he would feel it.


    He already felt it to some extent before, but it was only now that he was acknowledging the fact that Wulfric might truly fall in love with him. No, maybe he already did.


    At that thought, a warm feeling spread through his heart. Which could only mean that he was viewing the other¡¯s feelings for him as something positive. That he didn¡¯t dislike the idea of it. In fact, he probably liked it.


    So, what could that mean?


    That he also felt the same for the other? No, he couldn¡¯t honestly say that he did. And he was sure that Wulfric probably also hadn¡¯t realized his own feelings and was only acting on instinct.


    Although he was glad that he was born in an era where falling for the same gender was not such a big deal, that didn¡¯t mean that he could just as easily fall in love with someone. It would take time and a lot of consideration and understanding of his own feelings to admit that he was in love with someone.


    But at least he could honestly say that if there¡¯s a person he could fall in love with right now, then it would be Wulfric. Or at least, he was the closest there was.


    It¡¯s probably annoying to say all this and not just admit that he also had that kind of feelings for Wulfric. But the thing was, Astrid was genuinely not ready yet. He was only 18, although mentally and emotionally older. He hadn¡¯t even yet made his mark in the entertainment industry.


    Besides, what if this was just a momentary thing for Wulfric? What if Astrid had fallen for him and the other¡¯s feelings had already cooled off? What would he do then?


    He knew having this kind of mentality was not good. But when it came to romantic relationships, he couldn¡¯t help but be more careful. After all, he was the one giving out his heart. He should at least make sure that the one he¡¯s giving it to wouldn¡¯t trample it to the ground.


    Anyway, the relationship he and Wulfric now had wasn¡¯t bad at all. It¡¯s okay to maintain this kind of status quo until both of them were sure of their feelings for each other. Both of them were young, they hadn¡¯t even reached the quarter of a lifespan people in this era had. They still had a lot of time to understand their own feelings.


    Enjoying what they had now been the best thing to do in this current situation.


    With his head finally clear, Astrid dialled the number Leland had given him.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the video call was connected and Wulfric¡¯s surprised face appeared on the virtual screen.

 Chapter 450 - 450 HOW COULD HE BE THIS ADORABLE?

    450 HOW COULD HE BE THIS ADORABLE?


    ¡°ASTER? Why¨C¡±


    Wulfric said in a surprised tone. Of course, he would be surprised. This Terminal number should only be known to the upper echelon of his army. If it¡¯s not because he knew Aster¡¯s Terminal number by heart, he wouldn¡¯t even bother answering this video call.


    ¡°How did you get this number?¡± he asked more accurately.


    Astrid looked at the background of where Wulfric was and noticed that he must be in some kind of small room. Something that he never thought he would see the other in. Even the other¡¯s current appearance was different.


    His white hair had now changed into a different color, even his golden eyes were not the same. The atmosphere he usually had was now turned into something wild and dangerous. He now looked more like a space pirate than anything else.


    Astrid controlled the urge to ask the other where he was now or what he was doing. Because he knew that it must be some kind of top-secret mission that he, as a normal citizen, shouldn¡¯t inquire about. Even the fact that he was now contacting the other must be breaking a lot of laws already.


    Lieutenant Brewer must have known that more than anyone else, but he still have this Terminal number to him just so he could contact Wulfric. Which meant that Wulfric going public with this mission must be truly dangerous for them.


    He smiled and said, ¡°Where I got this number was really not that important. There¡¯s something that the two of us needed to talk about.¡±


    Although still confused, Wulfric very much welcomed a conversation with Aster. When was the last time he had seen his face like this? Seeing the other in person was still the best, but a face-to-face video call came in close second.


    ¡­..


    ¡°Okay, what should we talk about?¡±


    ¡°I heard that you plan to make the exploits of your current mission public?¡±


    Hearing that, Wulfric felt like something tingled in his brain. Suddenly the question of where Aster found this number became crystal clear. It must have been Leland.


    That guy. The other had been very adamant in agreeing with him about this ¡®going public¡¯ thing. He couldn¡¯t believe that Leland would actually go to the Capital and meet Aster just so he could ask the other to convince him to change his mind. Because why else would Aster have this Terminal number and even trying to open up a subject about his plan to go public with this mission, which was something Leland and Slade only knew?


    Heck, when did Leland even have the time to go to the Capital in the first place when he was supposed to be in Beowulf to monitor their mission¡¯s progress?


    No, Leland contacting Aster didn¡¯t necessarily mean that the two met. Maybe that guy just contacted Aster. Either way, Leland still shouldn¡¯t have done that.


    As Astrid didn¡¯t receive an immediate response from Wulfric, he had no choice but to observe the other¡¯s expression. And based on how his furrowed brows became increasingly deeper as the seconds passed by, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what he was thinking.


    So, before the other started making outrageous assumptions, he said first;


    ¡°Whatever you¡¯re thinking, it¡¯s definitely not it. No one is at fault here but Wulf. So, I hope you won¡¯t go around blaming innocent soldiers of your army for something that you did.¡±


    At the way Wulfric¡¯s eyes widened a bit, Astrid knew that his guess was right. He sighed inwardly. It seemed that he not only had to convince the other to abandon his plan to publicize their army¡¯s current mission, he also had to stop him from punishing people he thought was responsible for Astrid having this conversation with him.


    ¡°How can it be my fault?¡± Wulfric asked in an almost aggrieved tone.


    ¡°Because Wulf is planning to do something that could endanger the lives of your soldiers. So, yes, it could only be your fault.¡±


    Wulfric truly wanted to curse at that moment. Why did it sound suddenly like he was the bad guy? Once again, the thought of punishing Leland crossed his mind. This urge became even stronger after hearing what Aster said.


    ¡°Wulf, stop thinking about punishing anyone, will you?¡±


    Wulfric looked at Aster, feeling incomprehensible. Now that he thought about it, why did it seem like the other knew exactly what he was thinking?


    ¡°Aster, can you read my mind?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but asked.


    Aster looked at him as if he was wondering if there¡¯s something wrong with his brain. ¡°Of course not. I just understand you well enough to guess what you were thinking. And I seem to be right, most of the time.¡±


    Wulfric was startled when he heard that explanation.


    [Aster¡­ understands me?]


    That particular phrase echoed in his mind over and over again. All the annoyance and unfairness he had been feeling since this conversation started disappeared in that instant. It was easily replaced by the overwhelming joy that spread from the bottom of his heart to the sole of his feet. That¡¯s just how happy he was at that moment.


    Suddenly, he no longer cared that Leland went behind his back and contacted Aster so everything could go his way. Even the thought of spreading his heroic exploits for Aster to hear no longer mattered. Just thinking that Aster could understand him and his way of thinking was more than enough to satisfy him.


    ¡°Okay. I won¡¯t do it. I will no longer go through my plan of publicizing the details of our current mission.¡±


    Astrid had been thinking of ways to convince Wulfric into doing just that, but he didn¡¯t expect that the other would easily agree without him even presenting his case. He was prepared for a long argument but they didn¡¯t even reach the ¡®arguing¡¯ part.


    Seeing the goofy smile on Wulfric¡¯s face, it didn¡¯t take long for him to realize the reason behind this. It could only be because of what he said about understanding the other.


    A helpless smile appeared on Astrid¡¯s lips. Really, this guy. How could he be this adorable?

 Chapter 451 - 451 ’I LIVE TO PLEASE’

    451 ¡®I LIVE TO PLEASE¡¯


    ¡°SO, does this mean that you would no longer go through this plan of making the details of this current mission you¡¯re doing public?¡± Astrid asked just to make sure. Who knew if Wulfric only said that in the heat of the moment?


    ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°But then you wouldn¡¯t be able to hear about my heroic exploits¡­¡±


    The other added that last part with a disappointed expression. As if Astrid not hearing about his heroic exploits was such a big travesty. Astrid resisted the urge to chuckle and acted like he was confused by what the other said.


    ¡°How can I not hear it? You can always just tell it to me. I would be happy to listen,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s no need to make it so public when you can just tell it to me directly.¡±


    Wulfric felt like his brain was struck with lightning because of what Aster just said. Yes, that¡¯s right. Why didn¡¯t he think of that? If what he wanted was for Aster to know how great he was, there¡¯s no need for him to go through all the trouble of going public about it. He could just tell it all to Aster. He just realized how much better that would be.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll definitely do that!¡± he said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. ¡°Once this mission ends, I¡¯ll go back to the capital and tell it all to you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting then.¡±


    Hearing that, Wulfric was filled with excitement and expectations. Now, he truly couldn¡¯t wait to end this mission and go back to the capital to meet Aster again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to finish everything quickly,¡± he said.


    ¡­..


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too hasty. You might endanger yourself and your team if you deliberately try to finish the mission quickly,¡± Astrid said, trying to stop the probability that the other would really do just that. ¡°Just do it according to how you originally planned it.¡±


    Wulfric was about to say that it wouldn¡¯t really matter whether he quickly finished this mission or not, because at the end, it would still have the same result. But before he could, he heard Aster say;


    ¡°Also, don¡¯t forget to eat on time and get all the nutrition that you need. A strong and healthy body is very important for a soldier. So, please don¡¯t neglect your meals and do take care of yourself.¡±


    In the few times that the two of them ate together, Astrid had already noticed how much of a picky eater the other was. Seeing the background of where Wulfric was right now, he seemed to be in a rather poor environment. Who knew if this guy would skip his meals just because he didn¡¯t like it?


    As he was thinking that, Wulfric felt like he was on cloud nine. Hearing Aster tell him those things in a worried tone just made him feel happy. If it was said by another person other than him, Wulfric would probably be pissed and would just think that they were nagging. But why did it sound so sweet when Aster was the one doing it?


    ¡°Yes, I will definitely eat on time and be more careful,¡± he could only respond.


    Astrid smiled. ¡°Then, see you once you¡¯re back at the capital. I¡¯ll prepare a big meal for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m already looking forward to it!¡± Wulfric said, the anticipation in his voice was evident.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After that talk Astrid had with Wulfric, days passed by in a flash. Probably because there hadn¡¯t been any noticeable events that happened. Ten days passed just like that and it was finally the morning of the day the first episode of [The Great War] would air.


    But that¡¯s not the only thing that would happen today. At 12 PM, EMMA would reveal the new face of their new perfume brand. An advertisement would play in every major networks and streaming sites. Not only that, but snippets of the advertisements would also be shown on virtual billboards all over the capital.


    EMMA did not do any prior announcement before this. So, once the advertisement was released, it would definitely be a total shock for everyone watching. It¡¯s not just because EMMA was a famous luxury brand, but because their new face just happened to be a rookie.


    Astrid, the new face of EMMA, just finished eating breakfast with his brother. The two of them were now having their morning tea. Even though a few hours from now, his advertisement would be shown all over the Empire, Astrid didn¡¯t feel nervous at all. Because he knew in his heart that he gave everything to make that shoot as good as it could be. So, there¡¯s no need for him to worry.


    The thing he was more nervous of was the fact that his parents wanted to make a video call before the advertisement aired so they could all watch it together. He knew that his parents had been watching everything he appeared in. But still, knowing and then seeing them watch something he was in was two completely different things.


    Astrid would definitely feel embarrassed to the extreme. Especially since one of the themes of that advertisement shoot was quite mature. He could already imagine the reaction of the two, especially his father. But it¡¯s not like he could tell them not to video call or something. He sighed.


    ¡°Why are you sighing?¡± Reas suddenly asked. ¡°Are you nervous about that EMMA advertisement?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m just thinking of what Mom and Dad¡¯s reaction would be once they watched it,¡± he said.


    Reas observed his expression and then smirked. ¡°No way, are you nervous?¡±


    Astrid raised his brows. If the other thought he could tease him like that, then he still had a lot of things to learn about life.


    ¡°I heard you and Lauren will be meeting for lunch tomorrow,¡± he said and then smiled. ¡°Are you nervous?¡±


    Reas¡¯ whole face turned red at that moment. And then he looked away and grumbled, ¡°You can really be annoying sometimes.¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°I live to please.¡±

 Chapter 452 - 452 [EROS] AD

    452 [EROS] AD


    ¡°BUT seriously, how do you feel about going on a date with Lauren?¡± Astrid asked, acting all serious.


    Reas rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not a date. It¡¯s just a simple lunch.¡±


    Honestly, he also didn¡¯t know how the heck that came about. He was just chatting with Lauren the other day, and then one topic led to another, until they suddenly decided to have lunch tomorrow. He didn¡¯t even know who invited who because it felt like the both of them invited each other.


    But if he remembered it correctly, they were talking about food. Then, that led to a conversation about this restaurant that just opened in the capital that was receiving good reviews from the people that had eaten there.


    They started to discuss whether the food there was more delicious than Astrid¡¯s cooking. Of course, they both agreed that Astrid¡¯s food would definitely be more delicious. But Lauren¡¯s curiosity was already piqued and he wanted to test whether they were correct.


    The other said that he only had a few hours of free time on Sunday, so he might go to test it. Then, he complained a bit that even if he went, he would be alone. Then, Reas, for some reason, told him that he could go with him.


    And that¡¯s how the two of them ended up making an appointment for tomorrow.


    ¡°Two people going out together, isn¡¯t that definition of a ¡®date¡¯?¡±


    Astrid¡¯s voice brought Reas¡¯ attention back to the present. He drank a sip of tea and said;


    ¡­..


    ¡°You forgot the part whether those two people were romantically involved.¡±


    ¡°Semantics,¡± Astrid said, waving his hand as if what Reas said was unimportant. ¡°Besides, isn¡¯t that where the two of you are headed to anyway?¡±


    Reas was glad that he just finished drinking a sip of tea. Because if not and he was actually drinking when he heard that, he might have choked on it, or worse, he might have directly spitted it out. He would definitely not hear the end of it from his brother. He could already see just how much teasing he would get.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that my brother actually have the ability to see the future,¡± he said in a dry voice.


    Astrid only smiled at that. He decided to stop teasing his brother, at least for today. What if Reas stood Lauren up because Astrid teased him too much, making him embarrassed to go on that date with Lauren? Yes, he firmly believed that this was a ¡®date¡¯. Because the people involved were clearly interested with each other, even if they still hadn¡¯t realized it yet.


    He smiled inwardly. Astrid wondered just how long would it take for the two to move to the next level. But then again, he¡¯s not really in the position to wonder that when he, himself, was not so sure as to how his own romantic relationship should develop. Or if it ever would be, for that matter.


    He shook his head and just drank his tea.


    ¡ª¨C


    By 11:50 in the afternoon, Astrid and Reas was already sitting on the living room of the apartment with the projector already on stand-by. They were just waiting for 12:00 to arrive. It was not only them, but also their parents. From the screen of Astrid¡¯s Terminal, they could see the two sitting in front of the television set-up of their home.


    ¡°Why do 10 minutes feel like forever?¡± Gage asked, looking anxiously at the screen.


    Emmy jokingly slapped her husband¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Hey, the way you¡¯re acting, one would think that you¡¯re the star of the advertisement.¡±


    Even though she said that in a light tone, Emmy was also feeling nervous. EMMA had a special place in her heart. So, watching an ad of the brand with her son on it just felt surreal.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m nervous. Because it¡¯s not me but Aster,¡± Gage said.


    ¡°Dad, Mom, don¡¯t worry,¡± Astrid said to the two. ¡°I think I did a pretty good job.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you did!¡± his father said in a very matter-of-factly tone. ¡°I¡¯m just worried that the people involved in making that advertisement video didn¡¯t do their job properly and made an ad that wasn¡¯t deserving of the effort you put in. I swear, if they did some¡ª¡±


    ¡°Okay, relax, honey,¡± Emmy said, cutting off whatever Gage was about to say. ¡°Let¡¯s not be too pessimistic.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s starting!¡± Reas said, making the other three put their attention on the wide screen/projector in front of them.


    The camera slowly panned over a frozen lake. Standing barefooted at the middle was a young man wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and black trousers. The cold air surrounding him makes his breath visible, adding to the cold atmosphere he was exuding.


    He looked like an untouchable snow prince which no one could get close to. But despite that, people watching him couldn¡¯t stop the feeling of wanting to do the exact opposite.


    Then, he suddenly looked at the camera, as if someone called him. He then slowly walked towards the direction of that camera. The sound of cracking ice filled the air, building a sense of anticipation. He stopped in front of the camera, and the camera zoomed in to show his intense gaze.


    As the camera continues to move around him, the frozen lake begins to thaw, and the once-frozen water now became a wide ocean. The cold young man was nowhere to be found. Instead, they saw another young man.


    He was running towards the beach. A few buttons of the shirt he was wearing was unbuttoned, teasing a white expanse of skin. The hem of the shirt was flapping against the wind as he ran. His expression was full of youthful vigor and charm.


    Just by looking at him, one wouldn¡¯t know if they wanted to completely unbutton his shirt or to have a conversation with him because he just seemed to be such a fun company.


    The young man reached the shoreline and paused for a moment, catching his breath and looking out at the sparkling blue ocean. And then a bright smile appeared on his red lips.


    The camera then panned towards the sea. Then, that sparkling blue sea slowly turned into a dark indoor pool.


    A young man slowly got out of the water. Because of the dimly lit surrounding, they couldn¡¯t really see his full figure. They could only see the outline of his slender back. But this only made people want to see more.


    The camera then made a close-up shot as he was getting out of the pool. First, it was his jade-like feet, then his calf, when they finally thought that they would see more, the camera suddenly zoomed out. When it zoomed in again to the young man, he was already wearing a dark, velvet robe.


    The young man swept back his wet black hair, raising his face in the process. As he did, he looked exactly at the camera. Then, the corner of his lips turned up into a sensual smile. As if he was trying to seduce the people watching him.


    Then, everything suddenly faded into black.


    Words appeared on the black screen.


    [Eros]


    [Allure in every shade.]


    Then, the last one was the logo of EMMA.

 Chapter 453 FAMILY REACTION

    EVEN when the video of the ad ended and the program that was supposed to air at that time appeared on the screen, silence continued to linger between the Townsends. Astrid was starting to think that his family didn''t like the ad because of that.


    Was it not too their taste? Did it come across as crude instead of creative? But it looked fine to him. In fact, he liked the shots the director used. The continuity between shots felt like the whole ad was not divided into three themes. And yet, despite that, one could still feel the different vibes of the three.


    He thought it was a pretty good ad. Because it wasn''t mentioned or shown in any shape or form that it was for a perfume product, it just increased the anticipation and appetite of the people watching. And since it''s an ad for EMMA, they would immediately thinking that it had something to do with ''fashion''. They would then search for what this ad was all about, which in turn would increase its engagement.


    Anyway, that''s really not the main point right now. He glanced at his brother, as well as his parents through the screen Terminal, all three were silent with no expression on their faces.


    Since Astrid was not the type to just stay silent when he could just ask what the problem was, he said;


    "What do you think?"


    "That was¡­"


    Before Reas could finish what he''s saying, their mother had already cut him off. "Amazing! That was wonderful, Astrid!"


    Their mother said with gleaming eyes as she stared at Astrid.


    He could see the excitement and pride in those sapphire blue eyes. Astrid could finally let out a sigh of relief.


    "I''m glad Mom liked it," he said.


    "How could I not? It''s very tasteful. The director clearly knew what he was doing. From the aesthetics to the different shots, everything is beautiful," Emmy couldn''t help but gush over the ad. "Of course, that''s only 10% of the reason why. The remaining 90% is all because of you."


    And it was true. She''s not simply saying that because Astrid was her son. If the model on that ad was not him but some other person, it would definitely not give the same effect. Because no matter how expensive a paint was, if the painter was not good, they wouldn''t be able to produce a good painting.


    Using that analogy, her son was simply given the art supply and the canvas to paint on, and he did the rest by himself. Remembering the three different sides that Astrid showed in that advertisement, she once again marvelled at his acting talent.


    Truly, every time she watched her son acting, she was thankful that she didn''t remain stubborn and let the twins follow their dreams. Because if not, then she''d be wasting Astrid''s talent. That would truly be the shame of all shame.


    Astrid chuckled after hearing his mother''s overenthusiastic praise. "Thank you for your confidence in me, Mom. Although the director and the other staffs would probably cry if they heard what you said."


    He then turned to his brother, wondering what he thought of the ad. Since their mother cut off what he''s saying earlier, Astrid didn''t get the chance to hear it.


    Reas, seemingly aware of his gaze, said, "I think it''s fine. I mean, the product you''re endorsing would definitely sell a lot, for sure."


    After watching that advertisement video, even Reas, who was not interested in things like fashion and the likes, was intrigued. He even had the thought of buying whatever Astrid was endorsing. So, the effect it would have to the public would definitely be positive.


    If there''s one thing he had a problem about, well, saying it would make him sound like a prude, so he just chose to not mention it. Besides, just like what their mother said, the ad was done in a very tasteful manner. Only those with rotten state of mind would think otherwise.


    But that''s entirely a problem in itself. Because there''s a lot of people like that.


    Astrid was satisfied by Reas'' comment. So, he now turned to their father, who hadn''t said anything yet. "What about you, Dad? What do you think?"


    Gage cleared his throat. He didn''t really know where he should start. If he was asked if he liked the advertisement. Of course, he did. His son was the star of it, how could he dislike it? His problem was with the clothes that Astrid wore in that advertisement video.


    He had a lot of complains about that. He was thinking of not mentioning it since his wife and Reas seemed to have no problems about that. But he couldn''t just make anything on the spot because the thing that was on the forefront of his mind was all about that.


    So, what''s an honest father going to do? He could only tell the truth.


    "The video is very beautiful. But¡­ well, ahm, I think the clothes you wore were too revealing. Even some of the shots had this ambiguous feeling in them. I''m afraid some of the perverts watching it would use it for something¡­ unpleasant."


    Astrid was a bit surprised hearing that, even more so after he saw Reas nodding as if in agreement. But if he thought about it, he should have probably expected it since he did show a lot of skin in this advertisement video.


    His father was pretty protective, especially of him. Not because he didn''t care about Reas, but simply because he was much weaker physically compared to the other. And his looks also added to that.


    Astrid was thinking on how to respond to his father to reassure him, but before he could, his mother suddenly slapped his father''s arm. And it was pretty strong too.


    "Why are you saying such negative things? You''re going to make Astrid uncomfortable! Can''t you just appreciate the video first before thinking of those things?" his mother scolded his father while continuing to slap the latter by the arm.


    "Aw¡­ aw¡­ okay- okay! I was wrong!"


    Watching the two, Astrid couldn''t help but laugh. And as he did, he suddenly thought of a person who would probably have the same reaction as his father.

 Chapter 454 NEW AMBASSADOR

    AFTER talking a bit more to their parents, they finally ended the call. And then, Astrid had to answer messages from his friends congratulating him. Finally, Ellis called him, updating him of the real-time reaction of the general public to the advertisement video.


    "The overall reaction as of this time is pretty good," Ellis said. "Most of them are curious as to what kind of product the ad was all about. And that interest would then quickly transfer to you. As evidence of your growing followers on [Cyberspace] right now."


    Astrid hadn''t had time to check the reaction of the people on [Cyberspace] yet. So, he had no idea just how much the increased on his followers was.


    "Are the billboards already available to the public?" he asked.


    "Yes. They started to be unveiled around the capital one by one. Which in turn, would increase the buzz of this topic." Ellis seemed to be looking at something before adding, "I think it''s already happening in real-time."


    "Well, I just hope most of the reactions are positive."


    "So far, it is. But you know how people are, there would definitely be negative opinions here and there. Especially since you''re still a rookie who suddenly got such a big advertisement gig like this. The important part was to not be affected by it. Besides, once the sale of the perfume started and it became sold out, that would definitely shut up those people."


    Astrid chuckled when he heard that. "Sister Ellis seemed to think that it would be definitely be sold out."


    Ellis only raised her brow at him. "After watching that ad, don''t you think so as well?"


    Astrid only smiled. "Honestly, it did come to mind."


    After he saw how well made the ad was, his first thought was, ''ah, EMMA will definitely make a lot of money from this''. With that, the quota they were asking of him ¨C doubling their expected sales on the first month ¨C would definitely be reached. Then, a million star coins would be added to his bank account.


    He didn''t really care much about the money. He just wanted to somehow ''face slap'' all those people who decided to make that condition just for them to agree at the decision of him being their brand ambassador.


    "At least with this, we don''t have to worry about that damn quota they put in the contract," Ellis said, clearly thinking the same thing as him. "Don''t worry, once they offer to extend your contract, I''ll make sure to get them very best deal for you."


    With the sales of this perfume line, add that to Astrid''s increasing popularity, which would increase even more once [The Great War] aired, Ellis would definitely try to milk EMMA for as much money as she could.


    The two of them talked some more before they ended the call.


    It was only then that Astrid had time to check the reactions of the public in [Cyberspace].


    He immediately saw the hashtag #EMMANewAd on the top 10 trending list. Even a hashtag #AstridforEMMA was in the top 20. This clearly showed just how many people were talking about this ad.


    [Have you seen the new ad of EMMA? What the hell was that?]


    [The model EMMA used this time was too charming! If I didn''t see his face, I would think there were three different people in it. His vibe is just too different in each scenes.]


    ¨C [That''s just a testament to how good of an actor he was. Btw, his name is Astrid Townsend. Do check out his works!]


    [Wow. It''s really Aster, right? Am I dreaming? Does this mean he became a model for EMMA? This is huge, right?]


    ¨C [It''s definitely huge! We should start a trend campaign for him so more and more people would know who he is.]


    ¨C [I agree with the person upstairs. We should definitely do something to celebrate this achievement.]


    [His name is Astrid Townsend? I just checked him, he''s basically a newcomer. How did he end up as EMMA''s model?]


    ¨C [They obviously picked him because he suit whatever it is he was modelling in that ad.]


    ¨C [LOL how else would a newcomer be able to bag this kind of gig? Of course, there''s something dirty happening behind the scenes.]


    ¨C [I knew someone would say something like this. These people truly never learn. How can you say that even after watching the ad? Aster was definitely chosen after some kind of audition. EMMA must have wanted a fresh face for this product and they chose him.]


    ¨C [Right? It''s like their blind to his talent and only see the fact that he''s a newcomer.]


    ¨C [Just ignore those kinds of people. They probably just can''t accept the fact that an 18-year-old is much successful than them.]


    ¨C [Wow. I didn''t know Astrid Townsend''s fans are this delusional.]


    [Guys, have you seen the billboards???]


    Attached below that comment were three moving pictures. The first one was of Astrid wearing what he wore on the first scene. He was looking coldly at the camera while he was holding a glass bottle with a blue hue and the logo of EMMA at the middle. Beside him were the words ¨C [Eros] [Frozen Aquamarine].


    The second one, he was wearing the clothes on the second scene while smiling brightly, full of warmth and cuteness. He was holding a glass bottle with a yellow hue and the same EMMA logo and there were also words beside him ¨C [Eros] [Iridescent Opal].


    The last one was the same as the two. Except that the clothes were from the last scene of the ad and Astrid had a sexy smirk on his red lips. The bottle he was holding had a red hue and the words beside him were ¨C [Eros] [Midnight Onyx].


    Before anyone could react to this post, EMMA''s official account finally posted something.


    [EMMA v: We would like to welcome the ambassador for our new perfume line, <Eros>, Astrid Townsend (@astridtownsend). Please, send him a lot of love!]


    And once again, the public went wild because of this announcement. Surprisingly enough, amidst all this, Astrid''s number one fan was nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter 455 #EMMANewAD

    [WOW. Astrid Townsend really became an ambassador of EMMA.]


    [I know people will say that he''s just a rookie, but doesn''t EMMA suit him freaking well?]


    [When is this perfume going to be sold? I will definitely buy it!]


    [LOL what''s this? Is EMMA''s standard finally turned to dust? Hiring a rookie as their ambassador, do they really think he will sell this perfume or whatever? Maybe your company will go bankrupt because of your stupid decision.]


    ¨C [Shut up. Loser.]


    ¨C [It will sell because I will buy it!]


    ¨C [You''re a troll.]


    ¨C [You know, saying that EMMA will go bankrupt, no one will take you seriously.]


    [But where is Brother White? I''m waiting for his comments.]


    ¨C [True. I''m waiting for him to lambast those people bashing Aster.]


    ¨C [Right? He always says the most interesting things.]


    ¨C [It''s not just that. Everything he says actually made sense. Like, if you''re one of the people he''s criticizing, you would feel like you''re being slapped in real time.]


    ¨C [Isn''t that just because they''re guilty?]


    ¨C [But really, where is he?]


    Seeing comments looking for Wulfric, Astrid didn''t know if he should laugh or cry. If he didn''t know that the other was currently in the middle of some important mission, he might also wonder where he was. But since he knew, he would be more surprised if he saw a comment from the other right now.


    In fact, it''s already quite surprising that Wulfric was able to contact him and even post something on [Cyberspace] when he guested on [New Star]. But it''s probably because the mission the other was on was just starting, so he had more free time then.


    Astrid liked EMMA''s post and reposted it.


    Astrid Townsend v: Thank you for welcoming me! I am very grateful and honored for this opportunity to work with EMMA. To return your trust, I promise to do my very best as your new ambassador. ^^


    After posting that, he closed his [Terminal] since he was no longer interested in looking at the comments. He had already seen that. Just like what Ellis said, most of the comments were positive. Of course, there were negative ones. But that''s unavoidable. Hoping that he wouldn''t receive any bad comments was just impossible.


    Being in this industry, he should already expect that there would be people who wouldn''t like him, no matter what he did. And besides, things like that wouldn''t really affect him. Unless, of course, those haters went out of their way to approach him and attack him or something. There''s also the thing of making up rumors about him. But that one could be easily fixed.


    Overall, antis, haters, they''re just an existence that wouldn''t really post a threat to him. So, why give them more attention than they deserved?


    As he stood up, planning to make a snack for him and Reas, he wondered once again just what Wulfric was doing now.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    So, what was Wulfric doing now?


    The spacecraft he was in finally arrived at its destination. An underdeveloped planet that was just a few grades better than a Lawless Den. This was the place where the mercenary group would take the people who were about to be sold off and transfer them to the next destination.


    The real start of the mission was once they left the planet. Which would most likely happen tonight.


    And this annoyed Wulfric a lot. Because it meant that he wouldn''t be able to watch the premier of Aster''s first TV drama. It was even more annoying when he thought that they were supposed to arrive here yesterday. But because of some problem on this side, their arrival was postponed for a day.


    Now, he couldn''t even check his [Cyberspace]. Although he looked like some irresponsible bastard, he still knew when and where he should do his job properly. And right now was one of those times where he''s a soldier and not just, well, himself. In short, he couldn''t just be aster''s number one fan right now.


    No matter, once this was all over, he would definitely binge watch and stream Aster''s drama from morning till night.


    But what our fanboy here didn''t know was that people in [Cyberspace] were going crazy over an advertisement video that he had no idea about. Once he knew, what do you think he would do?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Casey smiled widely as he looked at the number of engagements on the topic of #EMMANewAd #EMMAEros and #AstridforEMMA. He had already watched the ad a few days before. The moment he saw it, he knew that it would be a big hit.


    Those executives who tried to dissuade him into making Astrid their new ambassador must be feeling really annoyed by now. Especially those who tried to sabotage this project just to prove their point that Astrid did was no good for EMMA. If not for his intervention, maybe those people had already succeeded.


    But now, with the ad finally released like this, and EMMA''s official account welcoming Astrid, those bastards could no longer do anything. And they just have to accept the fact that this campaign would definitely be one hell of a success.


    It seemed that he had to get ready for the additional fees EMMA had to pay once they extended Astrid''s ambassadorship contract.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Nicol stared intently at the projector screen. He had been watching Brother Aster''s ad for a number of times now. He was simply just amazed by it. Every time he saw Brother Aster on the screen, it''s like he''s not the Brother Aster he knew. Which made it even more amazing. And just in this one video ad, it''s like he was watching three different Brother Aster.


    Really, how could his Brother Aster be so amazing?


    He was about to watch the ad once more when someone suddenly spoke from behind him.


    "Nikki, you''ve been holed up in the entertainment room since after lunch. What are you doing busily here?"


    Nicol almost jumped out because he was too surprised. When he turned around, he saw his grandpa looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

 Chapter 456 GRANDPA AND GRANDSON(S)

    ¡°GRANDPA!¡±


    Nicol ran to his grandfather and pull him to sit down on the couch. Then he proceeded to sit beside the other.


    Anthony chuckled at his grandson¡¯s action. He then glanced at the projector screen and saw the paused video. The scene was that of a frozen lake and standing in the middle of it was a beautiful black-haired teenager.


    Because his grandson sometimes showed him pictures of this teenager, he already knew who the other was just by seeing that face. Astrid Townsend. One of the teenagers who saved his grandson during that hostage taking event.


    Although Nikki only met the other twice, it seemed that his grandson truly became attached to the other. No, should he say that his grandson became a loyal fan instead?


    ¡°So, is our Nikki busy because you¡¯re watching another show of your Brother Aster?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a show, Grandpa. It¡¯s Brother Aster¡¯s new advertisement! The one he made for Uncle Casey¡¯s company.¡±


    At the mention of Casey and his company, Anthony froze for a bit. If it¡¯s a company owned by Casey, then it must be EMMA. Then, did that mean that Casey actually chose this boy to endorse one of their products?


    Because of his stiff relationship with his youngest son, he hardly knew anything the other was up to. And because of guilt, he couldn¡¯t even dare to meddle with the affairs of EMMA after Casey took over.


    The only one to blame for how their relationship ended up like this was no one else but him. Because of how much he was blinded by revenge, he turned a blind eye to everything else, including his children.


    It was only when his only daughter practically begged him to act like she¡¯s dead that managed to wake up and see all the damaged he had done. But it was already too late by then.


    And so, he lost his daughter, and his youngest son treated him like a complete stranger. The only one left by his side was his eldest son. But it¡¯s probably not because of his love or loyalty to him. It¡¯s only because Thomas felt that he was a sinner no less than him that he felt like he deserved to be punished.


    brand. That pack of hyenas surely wouldn¡¯t allow something like that. But the again, 11:29


    Casey must already have a way to handle those people. If not, then EMMA wouldn¡¯t be Staying with me, a loathsome father, should be one way to do that.¡ªAnthony thought bitterly.


    Anyway, he was actually quite surprised that the executives of EMMA allowed Casey to choose someone who hadn¡¯t made a name yet to the industry to endorse their brand. That pack of hyenas surely wouldn¡¯t allow something like that. But the again, Casey must already have a way to handle those people. If not, then EMMA wouldn¡¯t be as successful as it was now.


    Still, choosing a newcomer as a brand model was a huge decision. Did Casey do it because he felt indebted, or was it purely from a businessman¡¯s standpoint? He hoped it was the latter.


    Although he also wanted to help the two boys who saved his grandson, catapulting them to success in this way without them having to work hard for it would just have an opposite effect. Hopefully, Casey knew that as well.


    ¡°Grandpa, let¡¯s watch this together with me. Then you¡¯ll see how amazing Brother Aster is,¡± Nicol said with confidence.


    When Anthony heard that, he didn¡¯t take it to heart and thought that it was just his grandson being a dedicated fan. But, of course, he had to humor him to make the kid happy.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s watch it together.¡±


    Nicol happily pressed the ¡®play¡¯ button, and the video started to move once again.


    Anthony didn¡¯t know how long it was since the advertisement video ended, but he still remained staring at the projector screen. He was, frankly speaking, shocked by what he just watched.


    He had never seen any work that Astrid had been in, but just by watching that ad, he had the sudden need to watch them. It was simply just that good. No, it¡¯s not that the ad was shot beautifully that it turned out well, it was because the one acting in it did an amazing job that it turned out that way.


    Just by watching that, he could tell right away that Astrid had a tremendous talent when it came to acting. Not only that, the other also possessed a star quality that easily attracted people.


    Now he knew the answer to the question he had earlier. Casey definitely chose Astrid from a business standpoint. The fact that this could boost the teenager¡¯s career was just a cherry on top. ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    ¡°What do you think, Grandpa? Brother Aster is amazing, right?¡± Nikki asked him excitedly.


    Anthony gently ruffled his grandson¡¯s hair. ¡°Yes, really amazing.¡±


    ¡°Then, since Grandpa thinks that Brother Aster is also amazing, should Grandpa invest in a movie and let Brother Aster be the main character?¡±


    Anthony stopped and then burst out laughing. Really, sometimes Nikki could just take him aback like this.


    ¡°Why is Grandpa laughing?¡± Nicol asked with a pout. ¡°I¡¯m very serious, you know?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, our Nikki is serious,¡± Anthony said to pacify the other. But he still couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little.


    Although what his grandson said was truly not that bad of an idea.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    That night, the first episode of [The Great War] finally aired. Since it was only the first episode, most of the main casts did not appear. Instead, it was the child roles of their character that took the spotlight.


    Aside from showing the background of the important characters, the world building was also slowly introduced. One might think that it could be boring since none of their favorite actors or actresses were there, but no, the episode was still as gripping and interesting.


    The attention to detail, with intricate camera work, careful lighting, and artful composition, showed just how beautiful each shot was. This showed not only the ability of the cinematographer but also the director.


    By the end of the episode, it quickly rose to the top five of among the TV programs of the same time.


    Whether it would rise even further or began a downward slope would now depend on how well the main cast did their job.

 Chapter 457 VISITING KIRAN

    ASTRID got out of the flying taxi that stopped in front of the Polaris building. He hailed the taxi from a ride-hailing service. He chose one that was driven by an AI robot instead of a human. This way, he didn¡¯t have to cover himself to go out.


    Not to be narcissistic or something, but he had a feeling that after the release of the EMMA perfume ad, more people would recognize him. And even if they didn¡¯t recognize him, if they saw the billboards spread across the capital, they would immediately know who he was.


    One evidence was the increase of his [Cyberspace] followers. Just after the release of the ad, his followers had increased by more than a million. And that¡¯s only after one night. He would probably surpass 10 million within the following week. And for a newcomer who only started his career a few months ago, that¡¯s definitely a lot.


    Anyway, because of that, going out carelessly was no longer an option. He could disguise himself, like he did when he went out with his brother, Ash, and Snow. But removing it again once he arrived at his destination was just too much work.


    Covering himself from head to toe was also an option, but it would be too obvious that he was hiding his face. Then people would just be as curious. There¡¯s also the option of asking Ellis to drive him here. But considering that he didn¡¯t have an official schedule for today, asking her to be his driver was just too much.


    So, what was he doing on Polaris despite not having a schedule today? Well, he¡¯s here to visit Kiran. He heard from the other this morning that he was stuck in the recording studio. It seemed that the other was having trouble finishing the last song Polaris had commissioned him. If he was a writer, then it could be said that he¡¯s having a ¡®writer¡¯s block¡¯. ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    Since he didn¡¯t have anything to do today and Reas was leaving for his ¡®date¡¯ with Lauren, he decided to visit Kiran and bring him a home-cooked lunch.


    Astrid actually wanted to invite Snow as well, but the other was filming something today. Snow didn¡¯t tell them what it was. Adding that he wanted it to be a surprise. Considering Snow¡¯s happy tone when he said it, it must be something big, or at least something he really wanted to do. Either way, Astrid just hoped that it would be a big help to the other¡¯s starting career.


    He entered the building. He greeted the two receptionists with a smile before walking towards the elevator. As he was walking, he heard the conversation between the two.


    ¡°Wow. I still can¡¯t get used to it, even after seeing him a couple of times,¡± one said.


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to know why.


    ¡°Oh, Kiki, are you here to welcome me?¡± a melodious voice suddenly said in front of them.


    Astrid turned his head and saw a woman walking out of the elevator.


    She had long wavy pink hair and a voluptuous body that the white flowing dress she was wearing couldn¡¯t hide. Her pink-colored eyes were smiling happily as she looked at Kiran.


    Astrid then turned to Kiran, who had furrowed brows as if he didn¡¯t like hearing what the other said or even seeing her. Astrid raised his brow. Because he didn¡¯t feel like Kiran disliked the girl. It¡¯s more like he found the other troublesome. Or maybe someone he couldn¡¯t handle.


    Now, Astrid felt a sudden interest in this situation.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it¡¯s not like that, Miss Carter,¡± Kiran said. ¡°My friend and I need to be somewhere now, if you¡¯ll excuse us.¡±


    Kiran was about to pull Astrid once again towards the elevator, but ¡®Miss Carter¡¯ quickly stepped directly in front of them. Kiran planned to bypass her, but she just moved in the same direction, blocking them again.


    ¡°Kiki, don¡¯t be so cold-hearted,¡± Miss Carter said with a pout. ¡°And won¡¯t you introduced me to your friend?¡±


    As someone standing near him, Astrid could clearly see the veins on Kiran¡¯s forehead that were about to pop off.

 Chapter 458 MIRABELLE CARTER

    SEEING as how Kiran was struggling to control his temper, Astrid strategically stepped between the two without showing that he was deliberately doing it.


    ¡°Hi,¡± he greeted the girl. ¡°I¡¯m Kiran¡¯s friend, my name is Astrid Townsend. I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, the model on the billboard I saw earlier looked exactly like you,¡± the girl suddenly said, cutting off whatever Astrid was about to say. She tilted her head. ¡°Is it you? Or someone who just looks like you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. By the way¡ª¡±


    ¡°I knew it. How can there be two people with the same outstanding looks?¡± the girl cut him off again. ¡°If you¡¯re here, then you¡¯re an artist under Polaris, right? Me too! Are you also from the music division? But how come I only see you now? I would have definitely remembered that face.¡± ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    ¡°I¡¯m from the acting division¡ª¡±


    Astrid stopped and blinked. The reason why he interfered with the two was so he could help Kiran out. But with this flow of conversation, it seemed like he was going along with the girl¡¯s pace. No, he was totally doing it.


    He looked at this ¡®Miss Carter¡¯. The other had this atmosphere as if pink flowers were floating around her. Just like those anime characters who were designed to be natural airheads. But not in the annoying kind of way. Some might even find her cute and endearing. Though he could understand why Kiran would have a hard time dealing with her.


    ¡°Oh, the acting division!¡± the girl said with a clap of her hands. ¡°No wonder I haven¡¯t seen you. You must be really famous. I¡¯m sorry if I don¡¯t know you.¡±


    The other said it with no malice. Although some sensitive person might think that she was being sarcastic. But in Astrid¡¯s opinion, that wasn¡¯t the case at all. She seemed to be really sorry that she didn¡¯t know him.


    So, he also said in a light-hearted manner, ¡°That¡¯s okay. I also don¡¯t know about you. And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not really that famous.¡±


    Kiran sighed once again. ¡°That¡¯s because you have better social skills than me.¡±


    And as if a dam had been opened, Kiran started to pour out all his dissatisfaction.


    ¡°That girl, she couldn¡¯t read the room at all. It¡¯s like everything for her was all daisies and sunshine. As if she couldn¡¯t fathom that a person could have a negative opinion or emotion. Then, there was her habit of not letting people finish what they¡¯re saying. Seriously, I¡¯m surprised she had grown that big without getting on the nerves of the people around her.


    ¡°But that¡¯s not the worst part of it. That girl, she seriously doesn¡¯t know what a personal space is. Ever since we met, and that¡¯s only a few days ago, mind you, she kept on invading my personal space as if it was nothing. I wouldn¡¯t mind if we were close, but she could hardly be called an acquaintance at best and yet she was hugging my arm and back as if we¡¯ve known each other for decades!


    ¡°It would be tolerable if she was as flat as a washboard. But no, those things she has are like mel¡ª¡±


    Kiran stopped and then his whole face suddenly turned bright red as if he only realized then what he was about to say.


    Astrid glanced at him with interest and amusement. Maybe Kiran hadn¡¯t realize yet that the reason he couldn¡¯t ¡®handle¡¯ Mirabelle was not because of the things he listed but because of something else entirely. Something that he probably never imagined was possible.


    ¡°No, let¡¯s not talk about that anymore,¡± Kiran said, promptly putting an end to the topic of ¡®Mirabelle Carter¡¯. ¡°What brings you here, by the way?¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°I¡¯m here to bring you lunch.¡±


    Finally, Kiran¡¯s expression finally turned brighter. ¡°Really? Aww¡­ you shouldn¡¯t have to. But I¡¯m glad you came. If you didn¡¯t, I¡¯ll probably be stuck with Mirabelle in the studio all afternoon.¡±


    Astrid smiled inwardly at how natural he called Mirabelle¡¯s name. The other probably didn¡¯t even realize it himself. ¡°Is she the singer you¡¯re writing a song for?¡±


    ¡°No. It¡¯s for another singer. But she accidentally heard me playing one of the songs when I was in the studio and she insisted on being the one to sing it,¡± Kiran said with a grumble. ¡°And someone from the upper management probably agreed to it because the next day I received a message about letting her sing the song I made.¡±

 Chapter 459 UNEXPECTED SURPRISE

    ASTRID raised his brow when he heard that. Polaris was not the type to favor one artist over the other. Of course, those who were more popular tended to have more opportunities compared to those who didn¡¯t have enough recognition. But that¡¯s something that couldn¡¯t be helped.


    Overall, Polaris was a very fair company if one compared it to others. So, having someone from the upper management helped Mirabelle get the song she liked could only mean two things. Either it¡¯s because she¡¯s a super talented singer that the company was willing to invest in her that much or that she had a super connection to someone who the company couldn¡¯t just ignore. ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    No matter what the answer was, there¡¯s only one thing that should be considered as important¡ªif Mirabelle had the ability to back it up.


    ¡°Is she a good singer, Mirabelle?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Kiran said in a grumble. ¡°Incredibly so.¡±


    Astrid smiled inwardly at how Kiran seemed to not want to admit that, but he still did it, anyway. It meant that he acknowledged her singing ability despite the discomfort he felt towards the girl. Which showed that Mirabelle must really have a very good voice.


    Considering that, then the care of the upper management towards her must be because of her talent. Polaris lacked singers compared to their actors and actresses. So, they must have wanted to further cultivate her talent and make her the representative singer of Polaris.


    Of course, that was only his guess.


    ¡°Is she a newly signed singer of Polaris?¡± he asked.


    Since he knew, at least by face, all the known singer signed to Polaris, the fact that he had no idea about Mirabelle showed the possibility that she might be a newcomer.


    ¡°Yeah, I heard she just signed a week ago,¡± Kiran said. That girl actually heard his song on the day that she signed and since then she had been pestering him, much to his ¡®delight¡¯. ¡°She¡¯s still on her trainee period. But once she debut, they¡¯re going to use my song.¡±


    ¡°So it would be her debut song,¡± Astrid said with a nod. ¡°Then her debut would definitely be a success.¡±


    He knew that Lauren still had work before this. So, picking him up would just be too much of a hassle for the other. Besides, there was also a small part of him that¡¯s secretly whispering to him that he should be the other picking up Lauren and not the other way around.


    Yes, that latter one was pretty weird. But in any case, they both agreed to just meet here.


    He opened his Terminal and was just about to call the other when he heard his name being called somewhere.


    ¡°Reas!¡±


    He turned around in the direction of the voice and saw a blond woman waving at him. He frowned because he certainly didn¡¯t know who the other was.


    She had a headband that almost looked like a pearl tiara adorning her long, wavy blond hair. She was wearing a denim jacket over a long, white flowing dress, partnered with a pair of black boots. She was also pretty tall for a girl. But the thing that stood out the most was her pair of dark brown eyes that seemed like melted dark chocolate.


    Wait- what?


    Reas froze from where he was standing and stared intently at the ¡®girl¡¯. Then his eyes slowly widened as he realized who the other was. From the other¡¯s facial features to the way ¡®she¡¯ walked, it could only be one person.


    ¡°Lauren¡­?¡±


    When he said that, the other had already stood in front of him, so he heard what he just said.


    Lauren grinned. ¡°Oh, you recognized me immediately. And here I thought I could play a trick on you.¡±


    Seeing him up close, dressed in all that with the matching light make-up, Reas literally felt his heat go ¡®BOOM!¡¯. It was beating so hard and so fast that it almost felt like he would go on cardiac arrest at any minute.


    He couldn¡¯t stop staring at Lauren, feeling a strange heat rising in his chest.

 Chapter 460 LAUREN AND REAS

    ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    LAUREN was confused why Reas didn¡¯t respond at all. The other just stood there, frozen, as if he had seen a ghost. He pouted. Was it really so surprising to see him dressed up like this?


    He actually came from the shooting of his latest movie project. There was a character there that had to cross-dress and an idea suddenly popped up in his mind. So, he borrowed some of the clothes from the set and even applied light make-up on himself, all so he could show it to Reas and see the other¡¯s reaction.


    But what¡¯s this? He was acting like this was the worst thing he had seen in a while. Yes, Lauren went here in this get-up just so he could see Reas¡¯ shock face. But he didn¡¯t expect the other to react so negatively. Now, he¡¯s starting to get annoyed. More at himself rather than Reas.


    Because what was he thinking, dressing up like this? What did he expect, really? For Reas to blush and stutter and tell him that he¡¯s pretty? What kind of shit was that? No, this was only so he could play a prank on Reas. Nothing more, nothing less. If the other was so surprise that he could only freeze there in shock, didn¡¯t that mean that his prank succeeded?


    Yes, that¡¯s the most important part.


    But even after Lauren told that to himself, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed.


    ¡°Hey, this is just a disguise. Don¡¯t make that face as if you¡¯re disgusted,¡± he said in a light tone, trying not to show that he was affected despite the prickling in his chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m not disgusted!¡±


    This sudden outburst startled Lauren. He raised his head and was surprised once again when he saw the expression on Reas¡¯ face. The other looked like he was offended by what he said.


    What the hell? Now he was truly annoyed.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s with your reaction?¡± he retorted. ¡°You¡¯re all frozen, your brows were furrowed like this, and you¡¯re just emitting this ¡®I don¡¯t like what I¡¯m seeing¡¯ energy. What am I supposed to think?¡±


    Reas was dumbfounded at first. Then, feeling overly infuriated by what Lauren said, he simply said the first thing that came to his mind without really thinking much about the consequence of saying it.


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re too beautiful, okay?¡±


    This time, it was Lauren¡¯s turn to stand there, frozen. How could he react when he was too stunned to do so? And before he could come back to his senses, he saw Reas¡¯ whole face suddenly turning red. As if the other had only realized what he just said.


    Now, Lauren was not only taken aback, he also felt flustered. Heat rose up to his cheeks. He was sure that his face was now also as red as Reas.


    Then, as if to add fuel to the fire, he heard conversation from the people not far from them.


    ¡°Oh, look, they¡¯re both blushing.¡±


    ¡°They must be a new couple. How cute.¡±


    ¡°Oh, to be young and in love.¡±


    Lauren and Reas looked at each other, and their faces became even redder. Then, as if they couldn¡¯t bear the embarrassment, both looked away at the same time.


    ¡°L-let¡¯s go inside and eat!¡±


    Before Lauren could answer, Reas had already walked towards the restaurant. He watched his back and felt complicated somehow. He actually wanted to tease the other more. But he felt like he would be the one more embarrassed if he did so.


    At the end, he could only follow Reas and tried his best to calm down himself.


    Reas, on the other hand, was also trying his damnedest to calm down. What the heck was that? He couldn¡¯t believe that he would actually embarrass himself that much. And for what? Just because he was too surprised to see Lauren wearing women¡¯s clothing?


    No, that¡¯s definitely not the only reason.


    If it was, he wouldn¡¯t really feel this flustered. Yes, Lauren might have looked too pretty wearing women¡¯s clothes, but he was still Lauren. Didn¡¯t he already know how good looking the other was? Was it the hair or the dress? Or maybe it¡¯s the way he smiled playfully at him.


    Deep inside, he already knew the answer. The problem was, he¡¯s not yet ready to face it.


    Because he wanted to be sure that it was not just some passing whim that would be withered with time. That the small sprout that was steadily growing inside his heart would really grow to become a study tree at the end.


    ¡°Welcome to [Galactic Grill]! Do you have a reservation? If you don¡¯t, please wait in line.¡±


    The voice of a female AI robot that was standing just at the entrance of the restaurant pulled Reas back to the present. He looked at the AI robot and then at the line she just gestured to.


    There was a line of people there. It was only then that he realized that he actually walked straight to the part of the entrance where those with reservations walked through. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t notice that.


    Reas was about to just line up when Lauren, who walked beside him, spoke;


    ¡°Yes, we have a reservation.¡±


    He glanced at the other. Although there was still a slight hint of blush on his cheeks, Lauren was already back to his normal self, for the most part. A bitter taste spread in his mouth at that. But he didn¡¯t show it and tried his best to also go back to normal.


    ¡°You made a reservation?¡± he asked, in the most normal way possible.


    Lauren stared at him and then nodded. ¡°Yeah, I thought it would be hard for us to get a table if I didn¡¯t.¡±


    Reas nodded. ¡°Good thinking.¡±


    Lauren only chuckled and then answered the AI robot that asked in which name the reservation was under.


    ¡°It¡¯s under the name of Lauren and Reas.¡±


    Reas¡¯ ears twitched when he heard that.


    Lauren and Reas¡­


    He kind of liked the sound of that.

 Chapter 461 [GALACTIC GRILL] LUNCH

    TO completely calm down his mind, Reas transferred his attention to the interior of the restaurant as the two of them followed the AI waiter that was leading them to their table.


    The first thing that caught his eye was the panoramic view of the bay area through the floor-to-ceiling windows that stretch along the entire length of the restaurant. The walls were adorned with abstract artwork that illuminated the space with neon colors reminiscent of a faraway galaxy. The furniture was sleek and modern, with plush cushions and chairs that provided ultimate comfort for diners.


    At the center of the restaurant was a circular bar, complete with metallic accents and glass displays showcasing a variety of rare liquors and exotic drinks. A holographic menu hovers in front of each table, allowing guests to browse and order with a simple touch.


    Despite its chic atmosphere, the [Galactic Grill] was also designed to be family-friendly, with a designated play area for children complete with interactive games and a giant holographic screen that displayed cartoons and movies. The entire space was bathed in soft, warm light that created a welcoming and relaxed ambiance.


    Reas could see that a lot of thought was put into the design of this place.


    They climbed to the second floor, following the AI waiter. He saw that the floor actually had a veranda area. The area was quite wide and open, but the number of tables were not that much and was arranged a bit farther from each other. Probably so people could still maintain a semblance of privacy.


    Even without asking, he knew that Lauren must have reserved one of the veranda table seats. And as if proving him right, the AI waiter led them to the veranda area. After sitting down, they looked at the holographic menu in front of them.


    Reas browsed the menu. The names of the dishes were very in line with the name of the restaurant. Like Galaxy Burger, a juicy beef patty topped with blue cheese and served on a black bun with edible glitter, or Meteor Fries, crispy french fries dusted with a spicy seasoning blend and served with a tangy dipping sauce. There were also Starry Night Salad and Nebula Nachos. And for drinks, there were Cosmic Coolers and Space Spritz.


    These dishes certainly had a nice ring to them. Although it¡¯s a bit weird, it would still tease people¡¯s mind and prompt them to buy just to know what it looked and taste like. Just by those names, it was definitely something that Lauren would like.


    He raised his eyes from the menu and looked at the other. Just as expected, Lauren¡¯s eyes were shining brightly as he stared at the menu. It¡¯s like he was already envisioning just how good these dishes were.


    Unknowingly, the corners of Reas¡¯ lips turned up just seeing Lauren like that. And just as he smiled, Lauren lifted his head and their gazes met.


    Lauren was startled. He didn¡¯t know if what he saw was just an illusion or a trick of the eye, but did he just saw Reas smile? And even so sweetly at that?


    That abnormal throbbing in his chest appeared again. Then, before his brain could think, his mouth was already asking;


    ¡°What are you smiling for?¡±


    It was already too late before he realized that his question came out a bit wrong. Like he was being aggressive when he didn¡¯t even mean to. He just actually wanted to ask why the other was smiling like that. But it ended up like this. Him and his big mouth, really.


    When he thought that Reas would surely make a mocking response, what happened next was a bit different from what he had imagined.


    After a moment of awkward silence, Reas cleared his throat and averted his gaze. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really. I just remembered something funny,¡± he mumbled, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.


    What¡¯s with that cute reaction? Lauren almost burst out. If the other reacted that way, he would really think that the sweet smile he showed earlier was because of him.


    He heard the loud thumping of his heart and shook his head. He- he should not get ahead of himself. Yes, nothing was more annoying that someone being delusional.


    Lauren cleared his throat and just asked to change the flow of conversation, ¡°Have you ordered?¡±


    As if agreeing with this change of topic, Reas answered quickly, ¡°Not yet. You?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t yet either. Everything just looks so good that it¡¯s hard to choose.¡±


    ¡°Then, how about ordering one of each dish and we¡¯ll just share it between the two of us?¡±


    Liking that idea very much, Lauren said with twinkling eyes, ¡°Let¡¯s do that!¡±


    So, the two ordered each item from the menu. It didn¡¯t take long before their order arrived. And everything looked exactly as it was on the menu. They just hoped that it would also taste just as amazing.


    Lauren carefully cut the burger in half and gave the other half to Reas. ¡°Let¡¯s dig in?¡±


    Reas nodded and both bit at the burger at the same time.


    Their first bite was like a revelation. The juicy beef patty oozed with savory goodness, each bite sending a flavor explosion through their taste buds. And the blue cheese was tangy and creamy, a perfect complement to the rich beef. The black bun was a bold statement, but it worked. Overall, it was pretty damn good.


    ¡°This is so good,¡± Lauren couldn¡¯t help but comment. When he followed that bite with a sip of the tangy cooler, the taste became even more amazing.


    Reas was about to agree, but when he saw the sauce around Lauren¡¯s mouth, he stopped. And then he couldn¡¯t help but laughed. It¡¯s because the sauce was not just in one area, it was all over. The other looked almost like a kid. ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    Lauren raised his brow. ¡°What are you laughing at? Don¡¯t tell me you remember something funny again?¡±


    Instead of answering, Reas picked up a tissue, stretched his hand, and gently wiped the sauce on Lauren¡¯s lips.

 Chapter 462 AWKWARDNESS IN THE AIR

    462  ¡®AWKWARDNESS¡¯ IN THE AIR REAS¡¯ sudden action completely startled Lauren. He was about to say something when he saw the other¡¯s reaction. After taking back his hand, Reas just froze. As if it was only then that he realized what he just did. His whole face suddenly turned red once again. And then he looked away as if he couldn¡¯t bear to make eye contact with him.


    Because of this series of action, Lauren also felt embarrassed for no reason.


    [If you¡¯re going to be embarrassed after doing something, then you shouldn¡¯t have done it in the first place.]¡ªhe grumbled to himself.


    They barely got out of the awkward atmosphere and now this guy had to do something again to make things awkward. Of course, it¡¯s not that he hated the other¡¯s actions. In fact¡­ he rather liked it¡ª


    No! What the heck was he thinking?


    Anyway, the important thing now was to get over this awkward atmosphere. The reason why they went out today to go to this restaurant was so they could have fun. But what kind of fun would they have if the two of them were always blushing and stuttering around each other?


    In the first place, it was already super weird for them to be giving out these kinds of reactions. Weren¡¯t they friends? Should friends be feeling these tingly feelings? No, maybe he was the only one who was feeling it. Nah, that¡¯s definitely not the case. If it was, Reas wouldn¡¯t be showing those kinds of reactions.


    Did that mean that he was also feeling this giddy? Just like him?


    At that thought, heat rose up to his cheeks. Now, even he was blushing. He shook his head fiercely. Really, could his brain only think of these things? What happened to logical and objective thinking?


    Lauren forcefully sought clarity. He¡¯s the older one. He should be more mature and control this situation so the two of them could at least enjoy their time together without this awkward atmosphere.


    He should just act like it¡¯s nothing. He¡¯s a fairly decent actor. So, this should be easy for him.


    He took a deep breath and said in a joking tone while properly wiping away the sauce around his mouth;


    ¡°You must think I¡¯m such a messy eater. But trust me, it¡¯s not me, but the burger.¡±


    Wow. Even Lauren was amazed with himself by how calmly he said that. It even sounded playful to his ears, as if he was really joking. With this, shouldn¡¯t he consider himself as a ¡®good¡¯ actor, rather than just ¡®decent¡¯?


    Reas sharply turned his head to look at Lauren. The other had that usual smirk on his face, showing that he didn¡¯t mind what Reas did earlier. No, instead of that, it¡¯s probably more accurate that Lauren just didn¡¯t care. And he¡¯s right to do that.


    Reas was the only one who¡¯s giving meaning to something that didn¡¯t have any meaning in the first place. They¡¯re friends. So, what¡¯s wrong with wiping some sauce on the corner of the other¡¯s lips?


    And yet, even as he told that to himself, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel that there must be something wrong. That things shouldn¡¯t be like this. But he didn¡¯t know what should have been different. At times like this, he wished he could ask Astrid about this. His brother would definitely provide an answer for him.


    But he also knew that he shouldn¡¯t do that. He shouldn¡¯t rely too much on Astrid when it came to, well, feelings. Because how would he grow emotionally if he always did?


    And right now, he really needed a lot of growing.


    Reas leaned back in his chair and decided to just ease this awkward atmosphere that he, most likely, caused.


    ¡°And here I thought you¡¯re just trying on a new lipstick.¡±


    He tried to say that in the most natural way possible, but it still came out like it was spoken by a robot. He almost kicked himself because of how stupid he sounded.


    But surprisingly, Lauren played along with his badly delivered joke.


    ¡°Very funny, Reas. Maybe you should stick to military school and leave the jokes to the professionals.¡±


    The other even rolled his eyes for a bit of exaggeration. And then he added right after.


    ¡°How¡¯s the military academy life been treating you?¡±


    [Ah. He was being considerate of me.]¡ªThat¡¯s the first thought that entered Reas mind.


    Lauren must have not wanted for this situation to continue to become awkward. Really, what was he doing when the other was trying his best like this? Because of that, his response became more natural.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit tough, but I¡¯m getting through it. It¡¯s a lot of discipline and hard work, but I know it¡¯ll pay off in the end.¡±


    Lauren nodded, impressed. ¡°That¡¯s really admirable, Reas. I don¡¯t think I could handle that kind of discipline.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? You¡¯re an actor. You guys have to memorize lines, hit your marks, and convey emotions convincingly. That takes a lot of work and dedication too,¡± Reas quickly said, truly meaning it. ¡°Not to mention, you have to be really disciplined with your diet, your exercise routine, and even your sleep schedule, all to maintain the kind of image you need for your roles.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do agree somewhat. But in some way, I¡¯m probably also not. I mean, if I¡¯m truly that disciplined, I wouldn¡¯t be in a lot of dating scandals.¡±


    Lauren regretted it as soon as he said that. What was he doing, mentioning his dating scandals at this moment when the atmosphere was finally easing? Did he really have a problem with his brain? He could have just agreed and then open another topic of conversation. But no, he really just had to mention his dating scandals.


    As he was ¡®mourning¡¯ over his own carelessness, and maybe thoughtlessness, he suddenly felt a chill around. As if there was a sudden drop in temperature. Was it about to rain? Then he looked at the sunny sky and saw no indication of that.


    How strange.


    Mini-theater:


    Reas sadly thinking: I was probably the only one giving another meaning to what I did (i.e. wiping the sauce from Lauren¡¯s lips). (???¦ä???)


    Lauren pouting: Reas, you big idiot! (¥Î?Òæ?)¥Îáê©ß©¥©ß ????????????????????????????????.????????????

 Chapter 463 OPPOSITE AFTERNOON

    463  OPPOSITE AFTERNOON


    AFTER having lunch with Kiran while talking about this and that, Astrid decided to go back home. He called for another AI driven taxi. On his way back to his apartment, he saw at least three [EMMA] billboard with his face on it. This number showed just how much effort [EMMA] put into this advertisement.


    He opened his Terminal, and the advertisement was still trending on [Cyberspace]. Alongside it, the first episode of [The Great War] was also trending. Both had mostly good reactions from the public.


    Majority of the people were very supportive. Thinking that he fit the image of the brand. But, of course, there were others who thought that he didn¡¯t deserve such a big chance. A newcomer getting such a big break when some actors who were in this industry much longer than him couldn¡¯t even get a single advertisement.


    Astrid could understand their sentiment, but that didn¡¯t mean he would agree with it. Because they were two totally different issues. What¡¯s the connection of him getting this advertisement to others not getting it? Was it because of the issue of unfairness? But that would only be appropriate in this scenario if he forcefully took this opportunity away from someone. Or if he made some transaction behind the scene to get it.


    And that¡¯s not what happened at all. He got this advertisement, fair and square. Yes, there might be some help from Cassius Grimaldi. But if he did not pass the screen test, and he didn¡¯t show that he could carry this brand, there¡¯s no way the other would approve of him as their next ambassador.


    Anyway, that was all done and over with. The result of this advertisement, whether it was really a success or not, would be known once the product went on sale. If didn¡¯t sell out, then he would accept that they were right, and he didn¡¯t deserve this advertisement at all.


    But he¡¯s not worried at all. Since the first TV drama where he took part in as a regular cast member was also appearing at the same time as this campaign, it would definitely help boost his recognition among the public. Which would also, in turn, help with the sale of the product he¡¯s endorsing.


    Then, a particular comment suddenly caught his eye. ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    [But where is Brother White? It¡¯s already been a day, and he still hadn¡¯t commented about Aster¡¯s ad. Did something happen to him?]


    ¨C [No! Brother White, please be safe! You¡¯re still going to be our fan club president!]


    He clenched his fists, trying to keep his emotions in check. He couldn¡¯t afford to lose his cool, not here, not now. He had to stay focused on his objective. But as he walked down the rows of cages, his anger only grew with each step.


    He stopped in front of one of the cages, his fists still clenched. The people inside looked up at him, their eyes filled with fear. When he saw a child, he almost cursed out loud.


    The child couldn¡¯t have been more than six or seven years old and looked frail and frightened. His clothes were dirty and torn, and his face was streaked with tears. He could see the palpable fear in the child¡¯s eyes, evidence of just how much he had suffered.


    These fucking bastards. Wulfric wasn¡¯t the kindest son of a bitch out there, but at least he wouldn¡¯t cross the line of his own humanity. Selling people, not that¡¯s definitely only inhumane fuckers could do.


    He took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. He knew that he couldn¡¯t let his emotions get the best of him, not here, not now. He had a job to do, and he had to stay focused. So, he took away his gaze from the people inside the cages. He turned around and then walked away.


    This warehouse where they would transfer these ¡®goods¡¯ from here to the place where they would be sold. And according to the information they had gathered, it would be held at some underground auction.


    The members involved in this mission would be divided into two teams. One would intercept the transfer of the prisoners in the middle, while the other would remain here to do a secret arrest and interrogate all the people involved.


    Wulfric was supposed to do be part of the first team. But now, after seeing, he just wanted to be part of the second team and break all the bones in the body of the good-for-nothing bastards who were involved in this.


    It seemed that things would take much longer than he planned.


    He already missed Aster just by thinking about it.

 Chapter 464 REAS EVER FRUSTRATING THOUGHTS

    WHEN Astrid entered his apartment, he was surprised when he saw that his brother was already there. But what¡¯s more surprising was that the other was staring blankly at the ceiling and seemed to not even notice his arrival.


    With Reas¡¯ SS Level physique, he should have already known that he was here even before he opened the door. But looking at the other¡¯s dazed expression right now, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case.


    When he walked towards the living room and the other still hadn¡¯t turned his head, Astrid decided to prank the other. He carefully stood behind Reas and then pat his shoulders with a bit of force. ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    ¡°Boo!¡±


    Reas jumped out in fright, grabbed his arm, and was about to throw him over. He quickly called the other;


    ¡°Reas, stop, stop, it¡¯s me!¡± Astrid quickly said.


    Good thing the other has fast reflexes and immediately managed to stop.


    Reas let go of Astrid¡¯s wrist and said with a bit of scolding, ¡°Why did you sneak up on me like that? I almost threw you over!¡±


    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t the question here why did I manage to sneak up on you?¡± Astrid asked with a raised brow.


    Reas stiffened, knowing what his brother was trying to say. He sat back on the couch. ¡°I¡¯m just preoccupied.¡±


    ¡°With thoughts of Lauren?¡± Astrid said as he crouched down to pick up his AI cat housekeeper.


    ¡°W-why mention him all of a sudden?¡± Reas almost stammered, sounding all defensive.


    Astrid became curious at his brother¡¯s reaction. He sat down beside the other and said, ¡°Ah, because you just had a lunch date with him?¡±


    Reas blinked, then a hint of red appeared on his cheeks. Probably because he was embarrassed by how he overreacted. ¡°It¡¯s just a simple lunch. Besides, we¡¯re friends. Friends don¡¯t go on dates.¡±


    The way Reas said that last part made it seem like he just ate something bitter. Now Astrid was truly curious about what happened to this ¡®simple lunch¡¯. But that¡¯s his brother¡¯s business, and he didn¡¯t have the hobby to pry. Especially since it involved his brother¡¯s love life.


    He put Xiao Lan down and stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll make us some snacks,¡± he said, walking to the kitchen.????????????????????????????????.????????????


    Reas raised his head once again and looked dazedly at the ceiling.


    Although the start of the lunch was awkward, it returned to normal with both their efforts, but things started to get weird again when Lauren mentioned his past ¡®scandals¡¯. By now, he already understood that the other really didn¡¯t have any romantic relationship with those he had a scandal with. Lauren was simply too friendly that the public gave different meaning to his actions.


    But even if Reas understood that, there¡¯s that small part of him that couldn¡¯t help but be annoyed. And the most annoying thing of it all was that he didn¡¯t know why he was feeling that way in the first place.


    It¡¯s truly confusing for him. But even though it¡¯s annoying, it¡¯s not like he disliked it. Which just made it more confusing.


    A heavy sigh escaped his mouth. If someone could read his mind right now, they would probably want to punch him because of how redundant all his thoughts were. But he couldn¡¯t help it. These thoughts were the only ones that kept circling around his mind since earlier.


    No, probably not just earlier. But something that would suddenly pop up in his brain from time to time.


    ¡°Why are you back so early, by the way?¡± Astrid asked from the kitchen. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be back much later.¡±


    His brother¡¯s question finally stopped the spinning thoughts inside Reas¡¯ brain.


    ¡°He still has work,¡± he only said.


    As he answered that, he couldn¡¯t help but remember what happened before he and Lauren went their separate ways.


    =====


    After lunch, Lauren said that they should walk in the bay area to help them digest the food they ate. Reas had no reason to refuse, so he agreed.


    Feeling the cool ocean breeze on his face, Reas glanced at the person walking beside him. Lauren¡¯s long hair was swaying with the wind, the corner of his lips was drawn up in a faint arc, showing his good mood. As if feeling his gaze, Lauren raised his head ¡°I really enjoyed our lunch,¡± the other started. ¡°Since most of my friends are celebrities and a bright smile appeared on his face.


    His eyes curved like a crescent moon, revealing the small crinkles around them that showed how genuine the smile was. Reas couldn¡¯t help but feel a small flutter in his chest at the sight. Lauren¡¯s smile was infectious, and Reas found himself smiling back without even realizing it. For a moment, everything else faded away, and all he could see was Lauren.


    That was, until the other opened his mouth and said something that quickly ended this ¡®moment¡¯.


    ¡°I really enjoyed our lunch,¡± the other started. ¡°Since most of my friends are celebrities like me, it¡¯s hard to go out with them without causing any, well, you know, gossip. So, I¡¯m really glad I have a friend like you. We should do this whenever the two of us have a free time.¡±


    Reas steps faltered when he heard that. He didn¡¯t know which one made him falter, the fact that Lauren called him a ¡®friend¡¯ or that he¡¯s not even considered as someone he could be in a scandal with.


    Lauren noticed him stopping and turned around with a questioning look. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Reas barely held on to his bubbling temper and said in a calm tone, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    But the fact that those thoughts circled around his mind even after they separated meant that it¡¯s definitely just nothing.


    =====


    Reas shook his head after remembering the emotions he felt then. It was a mixed of everything¡ªdisappointment, frustration, confusion, those three were the major ones. If he continued on like this, he felt like he would really have to consult a psychologist or at least someone professional.


    No, wait. He glanced at his brother. Didn¡¯t he have a perfect professional here? Maybe his brother could solve his problem.

 Chapter 465 THE SECOND QUESTION

    REAS was contemplating whether to ask his brother for advice. He wanted to, but at the same time, he didn¡¯t want to. He knew that Astrid could probably shed a light on his confusing feelings right now, but he also knew that the other would tease him incessantly because of it. And didn¡¯t he already decided that he should figure this on his own and not rely on anyone?


    While contemplating that, he didn¡¯t notice that Astrid was already done making snacks. The other put a tray with a plate of scallion pancakes and a teapot on the glass table in front of the couch.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat some snacks,¡± Astrid said, sitting beside him.


    Reas looked at the mouth-watering scallion pancakes and knew that it would be as delicious as it looked. But the fact that he didn¡¯t have the appetite to eat it right now showed just how preoccupied he was with his current ¡®problem¡¯.


    He couldn¡¯t help the heavy sigh that escaped his lips.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Reas? Is there something bothering you?¡± Astrid suddenly asked, probably noticing that he was acting strange.


    Reas looked at his brother, sighed again, and decided to compromise. Because it seemed that he really needed to have a clear understanding of his own feelings. And since his EQ apparently didn¡¯t even reach three digits, asking for help was the best solution. But that didn¡¯t mean that he should make it so obvious.


    ¡°I want to ask you for advice.¡±


    Astrid¡¯s action of biting the pancake stopped when he heard that. He glanced at his brother. The other had a look of reluctance on his face, as if he really didn¡¯t want to ask him, but since he had no other choice, he could only do so.


    Advice? Would Reas finally ask him for love advice? He couldn¡¯t help but be excited at that thought. So, he put down the plate of pancake and leaned forward, as if silently saying to his brother that he¡¯s ready to listen anytime.


    But Reas¡¯ next words only confused him.


    ¡°It¡¯s not actually for me, but for a friend.¡±


    Astrid narrowed his eyes slightly at his brother. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So, this friend, his friends with this guy, let¡¯s just call him Ren¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait- who should we call ¡®Ren¡¯, your friend or his friend?¡± Astrid cut off, starting to feel amused, but he didn¡¯t show it to his face and acted like his question was very serious.


    Thankfully, Reas didn¡¯t notice that because he was so immersed in telling the story of this ¡®friend¡¯.


    ¡°His friend. Anyway, he and Ren didn¡¯t really have a good start in their friendship. He was annoyed at the other first, and he was sure that the other was also annoyed with him. But then, they reached an understanding and fixed whatever misunderstanding they had on each other. And they became friends.¡± ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any problems with that,¡± Astrid said, barely stopping himself from smiling.


    ¡°This is where the problem comes. This friend of mine, there were times when he would¡­ feel confused when it came to Ren. Like, when they were together, he would feel this joy that was different from when he was with his family or other friends. Sometimes when Ren smiles, he would find himself staring blankly at him, he¡¯s heart beating like he¡¯s having some kind of cardiac arrest. And then, when he hears about the people Ren ¡®dated¡¯, he would feel a knot in his stomach, as if someone were squeezing his insides.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡ªI mean, my friend doesn¡¯t know what to make of these feelings. So, he asked me. But as Aster already knows, I¡¯m not really well-versed when it came to this sort of thing. That¡¯s why I thought of asking you for advice. W-what do you think?¡±


    Astrid stared at his brother, who was fidgeting in his seat, obviously very nervous. Really, he wasn¡¯t sure whether he should laugh or cry. He had never once imagined that this aloof kid would one day used the ¡®I have a friend¡¯ excuse to ask him for love advice.


    Seriously, he wanted to tease Reas right now because of this. But he was holding himself back because he knew how the other would want a serious answer instead. And since there¡¯s plenty of time to tease the other in the future, he decided to just be a good big brother today and give help to his dearest younger brother.


    ¡°Well, before wanting to know the answer to that, your ¡®friend¡¯ should ask himself first whether he thought of ¡®Ren¡¯ as just an ordinary friend or someone special. If it¡¯s the former, then maybe he¡¯s just having indigestion whenever the two of them were together. But if it¡¯s the latter, then he should proceed on the next question¡ªdoes he consider him as a special friend or someone much more than that?


    ¡°If it¡¯s the former, then maybe he just wanted to monopolize the other¡¯s friendship. But if it¡¯s the latter, then he should ask himself the ¡®why¡¯ and the ¡®what¡¯. Why was he more than just a special friend? And what kind of existence does he want Ren to be in his life?


    ¡°Let him answer these questions and he would naturally find the answer at the end.¡±


    After saying all that, Astrid watched Reas be immersed in silence. As if he was contemplating a very important thing.


    Then he suddenly raised his head and looked at Astrid. ¡°Did you also arrive at an answer in regards to the General by using these questions?¡±


    Astrid was slightly taken aback. Why did the topic suddenly make a curveball and hit him? But he still answered calmly, ¡°I¡¯m still looking for the answer for the second question, actually. I¡¯ll let you know once I found it.¡±


    Now it was Reas¡¯ turn to be surprised. Because he didn¡¯t expect Astrid to actually answer that. Under normal circumstances, he would be annoyed hearing that answer. But surprisingly today, he managed to accept it calmly.


    Maybe because right now, he was also contemplating the answer to that second question.

 Chapter 466 SECOND EPISODE

    466  SECOND EPISODE


    AFTER their talk, Astrid noticed that Reas became visibly more relaxed. As if a burden on his shoulders had been lifted. Well, that¡¯s probably only natural, since he seemed to be having trouble analyzing his own feelings. He must be at his wit¡¯s end if he even resorted to asking Astrid for advice, knowing that there¡¯s a high chance that he would just tease him.


    But since he¡¯s a good brother, he would wait after a few more days passed before teasing him about what happened today. Astrid sipped his tea and smiled inwardly at the thought of teasing his brother.


    Anyway, it really came off as a surprise to him that Reas would actually ask him for advice. He thought it would take years before his brother¡¯s love cells fully bloomed. He didn¡¯t expect that after just a few months, Reas would change from an indifferent teenager whose only interest was Mechas to someone who would wonder about what he felt from a person.


    That¡¯s certainly a huge leap. He felt like an old father watching his son grow up right before his eyes.


    Since Reas had now realized that Lauren was someone special to him, he wondered what kind of conclusion his brother would arrive at the end? But whether he would end up with Lauren or just remained friends with the other until the end, as a big brother, Astrid would just be here to support him. ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    But really, how come the both of them found themselves in the same situation in regard to, well, let¡¯s just call it their ¡®love life¡¯? Was it because they¡¯re twins? And yes, he was also in the same situation.


    Because just like what he said to Reas, he was still contemplating the answer to the second question. He was at the point where he could admit that Wulfric was someone special to him. He was just not sure if this ¡®special¡¯ was that of what he felt for a friend or for someone more than that.


    Well, at least he¡¯s making progress. He couldn¡¯t exactly say the same with Wulfric. Knowing that guy, he probably never considered that there was anything wrong with how different he was treating him compared to others.


    Wulfric was the type who would take action first before truly thinking about whether he should do it or not. The kind of guy who lived at the moment. If Astrid was to judge him based on the guideline questions he told Reas, then it would already be a miracle if Wulfric had passed the first question.


    That¡¯s why he¡¯s also not in a hurry. With a lifespan of at least 300 years, he had all the time in the world to discover whether what he¡¯s feeling was just temporary or something that would last for a lifetime.


    ¡°Aster, it¡¯s starting,¡± Reas called him from the living room.


    He glanced at his brother and saw that the other had already set up the projector. And on the screen, the intro of [The Great War] was showing.


    Tonight, the second episode of [The Great War] was about to air. It¡¯s the episode where the main cast would finally appear.


    And yes, that included Astrid.


    He put down the teacup and walked towards the living room, sitting beside Reas. Then, the both of them waited for the episode to start.


    ***


    The episode began with a flashback of a young Caesar running through a small village, tears flowing down his cheeks. A group of people disguised as bandits were in pursuit of him, wielding swords and shouting threats.


    As Caesar reached the edge of the village, he tripped and fell. The bandits closed in, but suddenly a figure appeared from the shadows, holding a long sword. The figure swung the sword with great precision, expertly deflecting the bandits¡¯ attacks.


    After the danger had passed, the figure knelt down beside Caesar and helped him up.


    ¡°Are you all right, Your Majesty?¡± he asked.


    Surprised flashed Caesar¡¯s face when he heard how other addressed him. But he just nodded, still trembling with fear.


    The figure looked at Caesar with sympathy. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, Your Majesty. You¡¯re safe now. You can come with me.¡±


    The scene faded to black, and the next shot showed Caesar in the swordsman¡¯s home, receiving training from him. He was shown learning the art of sword fighting and strategy, as well as other lessons fit for a monarch.


    Wulfric was the type who would take action first before truly thinking about whether he should do it or not. The kind of guy who lived at the moment. If Astrid was to judge him based on the guideline questions he told Reas, then it would already be a miracle if Wulfric had passed the first question.


    That¡¯s why he¡¯s also not in a hurry. With a lifespan of at least 300 years, he had all the time in the world to discover whether what he¡¯s feeling was just temporary or something that would last for a lifetime.


    ¡°Aster, it¡¯s starting,¡± Reas called him from the living room.


    He glanced at his brother and saw that the other had already set up the projector. And on the screen, the intro of [The Great War] was showing.


    Tonight, the second episode of [The Great War] was about to air. It¡¯s the episode where the main cast would finally appear.


    And yes, that included Astrid.


    He put down the teacup and walked towards the living room, sitting beside Reas. Then, the both of them waited for the episode to start.


    ***


    The episode began with a flashback of a young Caesar running through a small village, tears flowing down his cheeks. A group of people disguised as bandits were in pursuit of him, wielding swords and shouting threats.


    As Caesar reached the edge of the village, he tripped and fell. The bandits closed in, but suddenly a figure appeared from the shadows, holding a long sword. The figure swung the sword with great precision, expertly deflecting the bandits¡¯ attacks.


    After the danger had passed, the figure knelt down beside Caesar and helped him up.


    ¡°Are you all right, Your Majesty?¡± he asked.


    Surprised flashed Caesar¡¯s face when he heard how other addressed him. But he just nodded, still trembling with fear.


    The figure looked at Caesar with sympathy. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, Your Majesty. You¡¯re safe now. You can come with me.¡±


    The scene faded to black, and the next shot showed Caesar in the swordsman¡¯s home, receiving training from him. He was shown learning the art of sword fighting and strategy, as well as other lessons fit for a monarch.


    Through a series of shots, the audience saw Caesar¡¯s progress over time. He went from a scrawny, frightened boy to a skilled and confident warrior. As he trained, he often thought of the small village he stayed for a short time, and the mother and son who helped him.


    The episode continued with Caesar practicing alone in a secluded area, his sword flashing in the sunlight as he moved with grace and agility. He looked up at the sky, a determined expression on his face.


    ¡°I will not rest until justice is served and the Kingdom of Crevalon is at peace,¡± he said to himself, his thoughts still haunted by the memory of his past.


    The camera panned out, showing Caesar standing alone against a backdrop of mountains and forests as the sound of birds chirping filled the air.


    Then, the scene switched to the other important characters in the series. Introducing them one by one. From the palace of Crevalon, to the majestic Kingdom of Ashelad. It showed the characters with major roles from those two places. The last place was the Holy Land, where the Church of Jaya was.


    There, the Saintess was shown. Kneeling in front of the statue of god and praying earnestly. And then, the last one to be introduced was Luan Escanor. It was the scene where he was ordained as a new priest.


    The episode ended with Astrid raising his head and looking straight at the camera.


    ***


    That night, after the second episode aired, it immediately trended on [Cyberspace]. Not only that, their ratings were also at the top three among all the shows that aired at the same time-slot.

 Chapter 467 FIRST DAY SALE

    467  FIRST DAY SALE


    DUE to the obvious success of the pilot episodes of [The Great War] and with the EMMA advertisement buff added to it, a wave of attention was pouring towards Astrid from all places. There were invitations from variety programs, advertisement offers, as well as drama invitations.


    Ellis and he both decided to wait a bit more before accepting anything. Since he was just in a variety program a week ago, going to another one at this moment wouldn¡¯t really help. Regarding advertisements, well, since his first one was for a luxury brand, they couldn¡¯t just accept any offers. His next advertisement or endorsement should be at least on the same level as EMMA. As for drama roles, none of the scripts sent their way really attracted him.


    So, since he didn¡¯t really have any schedule, Astrid just went to school obediently.


    On the other hand, both Snow and Kiran were busy. Kiran was finishing up with producing and composing the songs Polaris commissioned him, while Snow was probably filming something. ¡®Probably¡¯ because Astrid really didn¡¯t know what the other was doing. But considering what Snow had mentioned before about something ¡®good¡¯ happening, it must be related to filming.


    Since Snow obviously wanted for it to be a surprise, Astrid didn¡¯t ask and decided to just wait.


    But with his two friends not being at school, he had been eating lunch alone for the past few days.


    Because of [The Great War] and the EMMA ad, many of his schoolmates had been trying to get close to him these past three days. It was a good thing that he already had a secret place to eat lunch or else he would have to act friendly with them.


    He knew most of them didn¡¯t mean any harm, but always putting on a smile like some kind of graceful Madonna could be really tiring. So, it¡¯s better to just be alone.


    Astrid was now eating lunch in the greenhouse when he received a video call from Ellis. He quickly answered it.


    ¡°Astrid, have you checked EMMA¡¯s post on [Cyberspace]?¡± the other started.


    Astrid tilted his head, not sure why Ellis was asking him that. Did something bad happen? Like some kind of issue or something.


    Ellis seemed to have read his thoughts because the other quickly added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s something good.¡±


    After hearing that, he minimize the video call window and slid it to the side, then he opened [Cyberspace]. He saw that EMMA¡¯s official account had tagged him on a post. Since he had class today, he had turned off all kinds of notifications, so he only saw it now.


    He clicked on the post and read it.


    [EMMA v: We¡¯re thrilled to announce that our newest perfume, <Eros>, has sold 1 million units on its first day of launch! Thank you to all of our amazing customers for your incredible support, and a special thanks to our brand ambassador, Astrid Townsend (@astridtownsend), for helping us launch this amazing product. We couldn¡¯t have done it without you! <3 #ErosPerfume #1MillionSold #ThankYou #AstridTownsend.]


    Astrid raised his brow. EMMA had started selling the perfume yesterday. But even before that, the reservation was opened the day after the advertisement came out. So, it¡¯s possible that many people had reserved one after that. But even so, this number was still surprising.


    Because it¡¯s a product made by EMMA, there would definitely be people buying it. So, he was not worried that there would be no sales on the first day. But he was expecting for it to be around 600-800 thousand, one million was already beyond his calculation.


    It seemed that a lot of people really liked the ad. And the billboards hanging around the whole capital also helped. Of course, as the model, he also had his share of contribution.


    But no matter how good everything was, he was still a newcomer who hadn¡¯t even made it yet to the [Star List]. So, this was really an incredible feat. It also proved that he had the star factor to sell a product well. Which could help him get better endorsements.


    ¡°With this kind of sale on the first day, we don¡¯t have to worry about not fulfilling that clause they made,¡± Ellis said.


    She was talking about the clause in which Astrid was required to double the expected sales quota of the product. If he did not, then the contract with them would be null and void. If the sale on the first day continued on for the rest of the month, there¡¯s no doubt that he would easily double the quota they expected.


    ¡°It means more money for me, I guess,¡± he only said with a smile.


    Ellis also grinned, giving him a thumbs-up. ????????????????????????????????.????????????


    ¡°Ah, by the way, do you remember the writer, One Leaf?¡± she suddenly asked, changing the subject.


    At the mention of that name, Astrid remembered the writer he met at that program [New Star]. She was quite unique, so she definitely left an impression on him.


    He nodded and said, ¡°What about her?¡±


    ¡°There was a plan for her first novel to be adapted into a movie. But she said that she would only agree if you played one of the lead roles. I guess she must have been really impressed with you when the two of you guested together on that show.¡±


    Astrid suddenly remembered how the other called him ¡®Jace¡¯ when they first met. During the interview, it¡¯s obvious that she was very against any live action adaptation of her words. But she must have liked his attitude and the way he handled things during the interview that she must have thought that he perfectly fit the character of ¡®Jace¡¯. So, it should be the reason why she agreed to this adaptation.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one problem, though. This would be the first movie project of the director in charge. Not only that, your pay would certainly not be as high,¡± Ellis added.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about the pay. I care more about the script,¡± Astrid said easily. ¡°If the script is good, and I liked it, then I¡¯d be more than willing to do it.¡±

 Chapter 468 UNEXPECTED NEW WORK

    ¡°I¡¯LL send you the script then,¡± Ellis said after hearing what Astrid said. ¡°Read it at your own pace, since they will wait for our decision until next week. If you like the script, just call me.¡±


    Astrid nodded. He wasn¡¯t familiar with the novels written by One Leaf, so he wasn¡¯t sure if the story would be to his liking. But from what he could remember from their guesting in [New Star], the theme of her works was usually young love. Then, this novel that would be turned into a movie must be a teen love story.


    He had never really acted in a teen romance before in his past life. It was because he didn¡¯t really fit the image the directors and producers were looking for in that type of role. Aside from that, he was someone who started at the very bottom. By the time he had a significant role, he was already past his mid-20s.


    That¡¯s why, if ever, this would be his first time playing a role in a romantic youth movie. And from what Ellis had said, they¡¯re offering him the lead role. If he agreed, then it would also be his first lead role in this life.


    He couldn¡¯t help but feel excited at that thought. Although, he still had to see if the script was good. That¡¯s the most important part. There¡¯s also another thing he had to check first.


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to be the director?¡± he asked Ellis.


    No matter how good the script was, if the one handling it was incompetent, then it would be like letting an amateur handle a high-spec camera. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    ¡°You know her, Director Hale. You worked with her on that MV of Miria Lane¡¯s song.¡±


    Astrid was slightly surprised when he heard that. Director Hale was more known in the field of advertisement and music video. No wonder Ellis said earlier that this would be the director in charge¡¯s movie debut.


    But he was relieved even after hearing that. He had worked with Director Hale before. Even if it was only for an MV, the other was very professional and had a good aesthetic. Despite only working with the other for one MV, he could tell that she had a pretty good vision of how she wanted her work to be. As testament to the final result of the MV.


    Even if directing an MV and directing a movie was different in a lot of ways, the underlying principles of storytelling, visual communication, and creative direction were similar in both mediums. A director who¡¯s good at one, couldn¡¯t possibly do that much of a worse job on the other.


    Besides, Director Hale wouldn¡¯t start the move from MV/advertisement to movie without being prepared. She must have felt that she was now ready to take on the challenger of movie making. After all, this would be her directorial debut. There¡¯s no way she would do a subpar job of it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen some of the MVs and ads she directed. They¡¯re all good,¡± Ellis added. ¡°If she keeps up with that quality, then I think you¡¯ll be in good hands if ever you took on this role.¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Yes, I agree as well.¡±


    They talked for a while more before they ended the call.


    Astrid then opened the script that he received from Ellis. He started reading it while eating his lunch.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    By the time Astrid returned to his apartment, he had already finished half of the script. If not for his classes, he would have already finished it by now. It¡¯s because he was so engrossed in reading it.


    The title of the movie, or the novel it¡¯s based on, to be exact, was [Serendipitous Summer]. It¡¯s about the story of two teenagers named Abby and Jace. It was set in a coastal town called Harborview.


    Abby, a reserved, and introspective teenager, had always found solace in books and nature. She carried a burden from her past, a secret that weighed heavily on her heart and inhibited her from fully embracing life. Jace, on the other hand, was a spirited and adventurous individual, seeking excitement and freedom beyond the boundaries of his everyday existence.


    When Abby and Jace crossed paths at a local seaside caf¨¦, they were drawn to each other¡¯s contrasting yet complementary personalities. Recognizing a shared longing for exploration and escape, they embark on a series of exhilarating adventures along the breathtaking coastal landscape. Together, they immersed themselves in the beauty of nature, witnessing awe-inspiring sunsets and discovering hidden treasures and secrets within the town.


    As the two spent more time together, their connection deepened, providing them with the courage to confront their personal challenges. Abby found solace in Jace¡¯s infectious spirit and began to slowly open up about her past, allowing herself to heal and embrace the present. Meanwhile, Jace found inspiration in Emma¡¯s quiet strength and learned to let go of the societal expectations that had been holding him back.


    Throughout their journey, the two would encounter a diverse cast of characters¡ªlocal artisans, wise elders, and fellow teenagers¡ªwho impart valuable life lessons. They discover the importance of friendship, forgiveness, and the beauty of embracing the present moment. The town¡¯s vibrant community and the serenity of the coastal landscape served as catalysts for their personal growth and mutual transformation.


    As the summer drew to a close, Abby and Jace realized the profound impact they had had on each other¡¯s lives. They made promises to carry the lessons they had learned and the newfound strength within them beyond their unforgettable summer. Their love story became a symbol of hope, resilience, and the transformative power of connection.


    Ultimately, the story was about exploring themes of self-discovery, healing, and the profound impact of human connections. Through their shared experiences, Abby and Jace learned to embrace life¡¯s challenges, seized the beauty of the present moment, and embarked on a journey of personal growth that would help shape their futures.


    If this could be transformed properly into the big screen, then it would be a very good coming-of-age story.


    As he finished reading the script, a decision was already made in his mind.

 Chapter 469 ON THE WAY TO A MEETING

    ¡°XIAO LAN, tell Reas to heat up the food once he wanted to eat lunch,¡± Astrid told his AI cat housekeeper.


    His brother was using the virtual pod he bought him. Reas was probably playing one of his Mecha battles now. Ever since he bought that virtual pod for the other, Reas had been diving in the virtual world to play Mecha battles whenever he didn¡¯t have anything to do during the weekends.


    It¡¯s understandable since that was Reas¡¯ only hobby since childhood. He hadn¡¯t played much after they arrived here at the capital. Then, school started, and he became even busier. Weekends were basically his rest days. The only time he would go out was when Astrid would invite to hang out. Of course, that didn¡¯t include that one lunch date he had with Lauren.


    Speaking of that, Astrid wondered how the two were doing now. It had been a week since Reas asked for his advice and, hopefully, had a realization about his own feelings. That¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if something had changed in the relationship between the two since then.


    Although he was very curious, he refrained himself from asking. After all, it¡¯s the business of the two. And besides, from the messages he exchanged with Lauren from time to time, it didn¡¯t seem like something had changed between the other¡¯s relationship with Reas.


    Anyway, after telling Xiao Lan his reminder, he went out of the apartment. Walking towards the elevator, he met one of the tenants from one of the apartment on the same floor. The other nod at him as a greeting and Astrid also just smiled back.


    As he entered the elevator, he once again felt thankful that the residence of this apartment building mostly kept to themselves. So, everyone generally respected each other¡¯s privacy.


    It¡¯s an added perk to living here, even more so for someone like him who worked in the entertainment industry. At least he didn¡¯t have to worry that someone from here would spread his address to the public. Not to mention, the security here was also very satisfactory. Especially after that last upgrade.


    After the elevator reached the ground floor, Astrid walked straight out of the apartment building. There was a flying car parked just directly in front. When he walked out, the door to the passenger¡¯s seat opened. He quickly saw Ellis sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, smiling at him.


    He also smiled back and got into the car. He greeted Ellis and the other also greeted him back. As soon as he sat down, the car immediately moved.


    They were currently on their way to the restaurant where they would meet Director Hale as well as the author, One Leaf. After he decided to take the role of ¡®Jace¡¯ on the movie adaptation of [Serendipitous Summer], he didn¡¯t waste time and quickly contacted Ellis to tell her about his decision. The other, in turn, contacted Director Hale. In turn, the latter contacted the writer, One Leaf.


    And so this meeting was scheduled for all parties involved to meet and talk.


    It¡¯s not really a formal meeting. Just a lunch meeting to let everyone see where they all stood regarding this project.


    Surprisingly enough, Ellis didn¡¯t discourage him after he decided to take on this role despite all the cons. Probably because she also saw the value on the script. Not to mention the directing ability of Director Hale. The director¡¯s works always had a dreamy feel to it, which would be perfect for the setting and theme of this story.


    The only factor that really needed worrying was the choice of cast. Although there were only two main characters in the story ¨C Abby and Jace, there were a lot of important supporting characters who would aid on the journey of the two. The casting director definitely could not just pick anyone without thought. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    Hopefully, Director Hale wouldn¡¯t be the type to be pressured by investors and put in actors in the movie who didn¡¯t deserve the role. Of course, he knew that in some cases, it just couldn¡¯t be helped. But at least the director should try to minimize the risk of it having a big effect on the movie.


    ¡°Oh, by the way, that friend of yours who¡¯s also attending Redwood, the one aspiring to be an actor, I heard something very interesting involving him,¡± Ellis suddenly said.


    Astrid turned to Ellis. His first thought was to ask the other what it was. But then he remembered that Snow wanted to keep what he¡¯s doing right now a secret to surprise him and Kiran. So, what he asked Ellis instead was;


    ¡°Was it good news?¡±


    Ellis raised her brow at the weird question. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s definitely good news.¡±


    ¡°Then please don¡¯t spoil me about it,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I want to be surprised.¡±


    Ellis chuckled when she heard that. ¡°Then it probably wouldn¡¯t take long for you to be surprised. Your friend would probably message you about it sometime today.¡±


    Now Astrid couldn¡¯t help but be curious. But he suppressed it just in case he couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking.


    Soon, they arrived at their destination.


    It was a restaurant that offered a lot of privacy to its guests. As evidence of having an individual private box instead of an open area for the people dining inside. People who wanted to have private meetings usually reserved a room here. And it¡¯s also a bonus that their food was quite good.


    Ellis told the AI waiter who met them at the entrance about their reservation and the other led them to their private box.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    While Astrid was about to have a meeting, a certain white-haired Wulf was celebrating. Why? Because their mission finally ended. Of course, it was a success.


    They captured all the human traffickers, as well as the mercenaries who aided them and also the high-ranking officials that were key to why they were able to operate within the Tertius Galaxy. They also manage to free all the people those filthy worms captured.


    And now he was finally free to check his [Cyberspace] account!

 Chapter 470 THE WULF’S REACTION ’VIOLENT’ REACTION

    WULFRIC had been so busy in the past week that he didn¡¯t even have the time to check his [Cyberspace] fan account. There were a lot of things to be done and to do them much faster than scheduled. He couldn¡¯t afford any distractions. And that¡¯s certainly what would happen if he managed to check any news about Aster.


    He couldn¡¯t believe the amount of patience he actually had that he managed to stop himself from peaking even once. But because of that, he became more dedicated to the mission. Of course, it¡¯s not only because he wanted to finish it and open his [Cyberspace], he also really wanted to put those bastards in jail.


    And his dedication paid off. Their army was able to finish this mission a few days earlier than expected. The only downside was, they couldn¡¯t connect this crime to General Lancaster. Or any Lancaster, for that matter.


    It¡¯s either that family was getting better at hiding their crimes. Or this really had nothing to do with them. In any case, once the interrogation was over, they would know the truth. And he could leave that to his subordinates. Or rather, to Hildred, since that guy would be back from vacation with Ed. He told Leland to tell the other to join the interrogation team as soon as he returned.


    This was definitely not him trying to shirk his responsibility or something. He¡¯s just confident that Hil would do a better job than him. If he was the one doing the interrogation, he might just end up killing those bastards before he could even get a useful information out of them.


    Anyway, since his job was already done, it¡¯s time for him to have some fun.


    Wulfric opened his [Cyberspace], full of excitement. It hadn¡¯t been five seconds yet when he saw something that made his whole body freeze on the spot.


    It was a video of an advertisement that was tagged by random people to his account too many times.


    The moment he played it and he saw the young man standing on the frozen lake, his heart skipped a beat. Then it continued to beat faster and faster as the video continued to play.


    The young man transformed from cold and indifferent, to bright and charming, and finally, to dark and seductive. Every image hit Wulfric¡¯s heart like a speeding aircraft. Every time that the young man would look at the camera, he felt like his heart would jump out of his throat.


    But the last image was the one that left the deepest impression on him.


    It was not just his heart that was affected. His whole body was reacting. His blood was boiling and his every cell and nerves were tingling. It¡¯s like he was being electrocuted, but in a soft kind of way.


    He couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the video, or rather, the young man on the video. When it ended. He played it again and again. And then, he paused it on the part where it showed the silhouette of the young man¡¯s bare back. He stared at it as if possessed. Until he felt something hot dripping from his nose.


    He touched it and saw his finger with a red liquid that definitely looked like blood.


    Wulfric¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°What the fuck¨C?¡± he cursed, shamefully wiping it off with the sleeves of his shirt.


    He just had a fucking nosebleed! And there¡¯s only one culprit.


    He glanced at his Terminal screen where the image of Aster¡¯s back was still showing. And he felt like his nose would bleed again.


    He closed the video window for his peace of mind. Or should he say, for the peacefulness of his currently raging hormones?


    After he calmed down a bit, he couldn¡¯t believe that Aster actually filmed such a scene. What was his agent thinking, letting him film something like this? Although someone might say that there¡¯s hardly anything that could be seen there, but what about the people in the filming site? Didn¡¯t they see Aster without anything covering his upper body when they filmed this?


    At the thought of that, he couldn¡¯t stop the rage that suddenly filled him. Just how many people saw Aster in that state? There¡¯s definitely not only the director, there¡¯s also the staff. Then how many staffs were there? Just thinking about it made him want to beat someone.


    As his anger was simmering inside him, he happened to see the comments below the video.


    [Wow. Aster is so charismatic! I¡¯ll probably won¡¯t get tired even if I watch this video a thousand, no, a million times!]


    [Who is this enchantress? He¡¯s definitely seducing me with that stare.]


    [Even though I only saw the silhouette of his back, I can tell that it¡¯s sexy as hell.] n0????????????????????????.????0????


    [If you do a photoshoot just showing your back, I¡¯ll definitely buy a thousand digital copies of that magazine.]


    -? [Hey, you should dream a little higher. Not only the back, but the front as well.]


    Of course, these were not the only comments on the ad video. Most of them were positive comments, praising Astrid and congratulating him for being the new ambassador of EMMA. But for some reason, our dear Wulf here could only see the comments that could make his blood boil.


    Yes, just like now.


    As Wulfric read those comments, he realized that the people on the filming site were not the only ones who had seen Aster like this. He glanced at the number of views on the video and saw that it¡¯s already on the hundred millions. This didn¡¯t necessarily mean that hundreds of millions of people had watched the video, but it would still be on the millions, regardless.


    He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.


    He couldn¡¯t describe what he¡¯s feeling. He was angry and frustrated and irritated, and he just wanted to destroy something.


    No matter what this feeling was, Wulfric knew what he needed to do next¡ªgo back to the capital as soon as possible.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that Astrid¡¯s billboards all over the capital would be the first ones welcoming him.

 Chapter 471 MOVIE MEETING

    WHEN Astrid and Ellis walked inside the private box, three people were already there. Director Hale, the writer, One Leaf, and a man who seemed to be the writer¡¯s agent. The director was sitting at the head of the table, while the other two were sitting on one side.


    ¡°Astrid, it¡¯s been a while,¡± Director Hale greeted.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Director,¡± Astrid greeted back as he and Elli sat down opposite One Leaf and her agent.


    The director grinned at that. The other was still sporting a rocker chick look¡ªshort dark purple hair with blue highlights and smoky make-up.


    He thought that since she was now moving from music videos and ads to movies, she would have changed her style. Like looking more professional or something. After all, some directors would try to act that way to appear ¡®respectable¡¯.


    Seeing that that wasn¡¯t the case made Astrid smile. Because it only showed that the director highly valued individuality more than what other¡¯s opinion of her. Which meant that she wouldn¡¯t be the type to be swayed easily. Even if she was put under pressure, she would probably still choose to do what she thought was best for the movie.


    And that¡¯s a big plus for Astrid.


    While the director and Ellis exchanged some pleasantries, he turned his attention to One Leaf.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again as well, Writer Leaf,¡± he said to the other with a smile. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    One Leaf turned red as soon as Astrid smiled at her. Then she timidly glanced away, avoiding his gaze. ¡°Y-yes. Nice to see you again as well.¡±


    Astrid could tell that the other wasn¡¯t blushing like that because she had a crush on him or something. She was being like that simply because she was just inherently shy. He had already observed that when they first met. So, he wouldn¡¯t be narcissistic enough to think that he¡¯s the reason why the other was blushing.


    ¡°Thank you for meeting us today,¡± the agent¡ªTheo, said. ¡°Our writer was really happy when she heard that you will accept the role of Jace in [Serendipitous Summer].¡±


    Fiona, who heard what Theo said, raised her head abruptly. ¡°Y-yes! I¡¯m very happy! T-thank you for accepting the role.¡±


    Theo glanced at his writer and almost shook his head. After Fiona met this rookie actor, she had since been acting like a fangirl. Watching everything Astrid Townsend appeared in. Not to mention that one time when she readily defended the other during the whole Nadia Beck situation. Something that¡¯s very uncharacteristic of her who hated any kind of confrontation.


    Her agreeing to make a live action adaptation of one of her works was probably the only good thing that came out of her meeting this teenager. It probably helped that Astrid Townsend perfectly embodied the image of ¡®Jace¡¯ Fiona had in mind.


    That image most likely solidified in the coming days that she watched shows where Astrid appeared in. But what truly sealed the deal was when Astrid¡¯s EMMA ad spread all over [Cyberspace]. Just after watching that, Fiona quickly decided that she would allow a live action adaptation as long as Astrid was the one who would play the lead role.


    Even if Fiona was the writer of the original material, that selection could pose a problem considering that Astrid was only a newcomer and not many directors would probably have him as their first choice.


    Thankfully, the director who approached them first and wanted to adapt Fiona¡¯s novel had already worked with Astrid before. So, when they mentioned that condition, the other didn¡¯t really show any negative reactions and readily agreed. Which meant that she had confidence in Astrid¡¯s acting skills.


    Contacting Ellis Payne after that was quite easy, since the two of them already established some form of camaraderie after the whole Nadia Beck situation. And now, after just a few days, here they were.


    ¡°No, I should be the one to thank the writer for thinking of me for this role,¡± Astrid immediately said. ¡°After I read the script, I immediately read your novel, and I loved it. So, I feel really honored that you think I fit the role of ¡®Jace¡¯.¡±


    And he was not saying that just for lip service. He really liked and enjoyed the novel. The freshness of youth, the importance of friendship, as well as the nostalgia and magic of first love¡ªthey were the prevailing themes of the novel. But those were just the surface. Underneath all that was a complexity that wasn¡¯t easily noticeable unless one truly immersed themselves in the story.


    And that¡¯s why he liked the novel. It was a simple story of first love on the surface, but underneath, it was much more than that. If the director, as well as the actors, fully brought out the potential of this story, then it¡¯s going to be a hit.


    ¡°No, no, without you, I- I would never have allowed this movie adaptation,¡± One Leaf said with bright red cheeks.


    Director Hale clapped her hands to get the attention of everyone. Who knew when these two would stop thanking each other?


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that we¡¯re all happy with this result,¡± she said. ¡°Now let¡¯s talk about some important matters regarding the film first.¡±


    Everyone agreed to that.


    ¡°As you know, I was the one who approached Writer One Leaf first, asking if I could adapt one of her novels to a movie,¡± the director started. ¡°It took a while, but I¡¯m glad that she finally agreed. I¡¯m also more than happy that the lead actor the writer chose was Astrid. I agree that he definitely fit the image of ¡®Jace¡¯ I have in mind.¡±


    Then the director talked about the film studio that would be involved in production and distribution of the movie¡ªWhale Studio. They¡¯re a small studio known for producing small budgeted but still of high-quality films.


    That¡¯s why most of the movies they produced were simple ones that didn¡¯t need much special effects and most starred by newcomers, or at least actors and actresses who still hadn¡¯t made a name for themselves.


    The meeting continued on with that as a start.

 Chapter 472 UNEXPECTED CALL

    THE meeting went on for a few hours. Everything went smoothly, since everyone seemed to be on the same page.


    Director Hale assured that since Whale Studio would be the one producing and distributing the movie, there wouldn¡¯t be any worry about them interfering with the shooting or the casting. It¡¯s because Whale Studio was known to not interfere with production of any of their movies. Unless it¡¯s truly necessary.


    The only downside of having them produced the movie would be that most of the cast would certainly be newcomers or unknown actors. This was to cut on talent fees that could be very well put to the production cost. Which meant that the audition would be held for the other roles. Unless, of course, the writer would suggest another actor or actress for a certain role, like she did with Astrid.


    Ellis and a representative from Whale Studio would discuss Astrid¡¯s fee for this movie. He wasn¡¯t worried about that since he knew that Ellis would get him the best deal he could get in this situation.


    According to Director Hale, auditions would probably last for a month or so. It really depended on how fast they could get the right actors for the roles. Depending on that, the start of production would begin either before the year ended or right after the beginning of next year.


    Since [The Great War] had 35 episodes that aired twice a week, it would take a bit over four months before the last episode would air. So, by the time [Serendipitous Summer] was released, it would probably be just right after [The Great War] finished broadcasting.


    The timing was simply perfect.


    After the pleasant meeting, they all parted ways in a good mood.


    Since Astrid no longer had any schedule for the day, Ellis drove him back to his apartment.


    On their way there¡­


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Ellis asked.


    Astrid didn¡¯t need to ask what she¡¯s pertaining to. She could only mean the meeting just now.


    ¡°Well, as long as they picked the right actress for the role of ¡®Abby¡¯, I think this movie wouldn¡¯t be a critical and box-office flop,¡± he said honestly.


    Because the source material was already that good. As long as the scriptwriter adapting the novel, and the director in charge didn¡¯t fumble up, then there¡¯s no way a bad movie would be produced. So, the only possible source of problem would be the cast. Even that could be avoided as long as they picked the right people for the job.


    From the meeting earlier, it was said that One Leaf would be there herself for the audition process. Which meant that those who fit the roles of her characters would be the only ones to pass. That¡¯s definitely already a huge guarantee. After all, One Leaf was someone who didn¡¯t even want a live adaptation of her work. That was until she met Astrid.


    This meant that the other was stubborn enough to hold on to what she wanted. With her attitude towards her own work, there was no way she would allow its adaptation to be ruined.


    ¡°I agree,¡± Ellis said with a nod. ¡°The right actor for the role of ¡®Abby¡¯ would audition.¡±


    ¡°Do you think there¡¯s someone from Polaris who might fit this role?¡± he thought of asking.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not sure. You¡¯re the only rookie actor who debuted from Polaris this year. But since its Polaris, there¡¯s definitely some talents who had signed to the agency but hadn¡¯t made their debut yet. Since Whale Studio would send audition notice to different agencies, some from Polaris would probably go and audition.¡±


    Astrid had the same opinion. It would be good if the role of ¡®Abby¡¯ would go to someone from the same agency. Since they¡¯re from Polaris, the acting would at least be legit.


    He was about to say his opinion when his Terminal rang. It¡¯s the notification sound when someone was requesting a video call.


    He wondered who it was. And strangely enough, his first thought was Wulfric. He shook his head at the silliness of it, considering that the other must still be busy doing his mission right now.


    He opened his Terminal and was quite surprised when he saw the name on the virtual screen.


    Cassius Grimaldi.


    He raised his brow. Even though the other knew his Terminal number, the only time Casey actively contacted him was when he asked him and Reas to meet for dinner. Which was just after that hostage-taking incident. Even during the EMMA ad photoshoot, Casey didn¡¯t actively contact him like this.


    Still, he clicked the accept button and answered the call. The other¡¯s handsome face quickly appeared on the virtual screen.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Aster!¡± Casey greeted with a bright smile.


    Astrid almost raised his brow. Why was this person suddenly calling him by his nickname? But he just ignored that since it¡¯s more important to know why the other called.


    ¡°May I know why Uncle Casey called?¡±


    A startled expression appeared on Casey¡¯s face when he called him ¡®Uncle¡¯, as if he didn¡¯t expect it. Actually, he also didn¡¯t think that there would come a day when he would call the other that. But surprisingly, it was much easier than he thought. Probably because he didn¡¯t really dislike Casey. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    A pleased smile appeared on Casey¡¯s face. ¡°There would be a official launch party for the [Eros] perfume line three days from now. I hope that Aster could go and attend the party.¡±


    Oh, a launch party. Astrid didn¡¯t think that there would be one. But then again, considering this was a luxury brand, there definitely should be one.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll go.¡±


    Since he¡¯s the brand ambassador for this perfume line, wouldn¡¯t it look bad if he didn¡¯t?


    An even brighter smile appeared on Casey¡¯s face. ¡°Great! Then I¡¯ll see you at the party.¡±


    ¡°Yes, see you then.¡±


    Then ended the call after that.


    ¡°That Lord Cassius seemed to really like you,¡± Ellis commented. Since the other was sitting not far from him, of course, she heard their conversation.


    Astrid could hear the worry in Ellis¡¯ voice when she said that. So, he could only assure the other, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis. That person, he doesn¡¯t have any bad thoughts about me.¡±

 Chapter 473 JUST THE TWINS CHILLIN’

    THAT night, Astrid was busy going through different channels on the projector screen. He was looking for anything that might be related to Snow. Since Ellis said earlier that he should wait for tonight to hear some good news about the other, he guessed that Snow might be appearing in some show tonight.


    He was browsing through big channels since he had a feeling that Snow would probably appear in one of the shows there.


    ¡°Aster, the next episode of [God of War] is about to air. Why are you still browsing through different channels like that?¡± Reas, who just sat down beside him, asked.


    Astrid glanced at his brother and then explained the reason why.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Snow at least message you to tell you that he¡¯s appearing in some show?¡±


    Just right after Reas mentioned that, as if on cue, Astrid heard a message notification from his Terminal. He opened it and saw that it was from Snow. He quickly read the message, thinking of what Reas had just said.


    [Astrid, I¡¯ll be appearing in a show called <Youth Avenue>. I will be on three episodes starting with the one airing today. I¡¯ll be very happy if you can watch it. ^^]


    Astrid had to scour his memory about what [Youth Avenue] was. Although he¡¯s not watching every show that was currently airing, he made it a point to be familiar with what show, drama, or movie was presently popular. So, after just a few seconds, he finally remembered what [Youth Avenue] was.


    As the title suggested, it¡¯s a drama about the youth. The show was celebrating the power of friendship, self-expression, and pursuing one¡¯s passions. Each episode brought new challenges and hilarious situations as the characters embarked on hilarious escapades.


    [Youth Avenue] infused lighthearted humor, relatable teenage dilemmas, and themes of friendship, romance, and self-discovery. It embraced the joyous energy of youth while addressing universal teenage experiences, including identity exploration, peer pressure, first crushes, and the excitement of chasing dreams.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s very popular among the young demographics of the Empire right now. Being able to appear there for three episodes meant that Snow¡¯s role was not just a simple extra. He was practically a special guess at that point. As long as he showed a good performance, he could get a lot of fans by appearing in this show.


    Astrid felt happy for his friend and immediately replied.


    [Of course, I will definitely watch it!]


    Seeing his happy smile, Reas asked, ¡°Did Snow send you a message?¡±


    Astrid closed his Terminal and answered, ¡°Yeah. He would be appearing in a show. Let¡¯s watch it later.¡±


    It just so happened that [Youth Avenue]¡¯s timeslot was just after [The Great War]. So, they could watch it comfortably.


    And so, Astrid changed the channel to the TV station where [The Great War] was being broadcasted.


    This was the fourth episode of the show. It still showed Caesar¡¯s struggles to amass more force and power amidst the threat around his life. The different intrigues happening in some of the important parts of the continent were also shown. Making the audience want to know just what would happen next.


    In this episode, Astrid¡¯s screen time was still not that long. It was just a simple scene in which he demonstrated his kindness. Showing to the audience that he was just this kind of ¡®holy father¡¯ character.


    This was the scene in question:


    =====


    When a group of newly ordained priests went on a pilgrimage to spread the word of god, they happened to hear a rumor about a village that was being held hostage by a group of bandits.


    Everyone only showed their sadness and regret at that rumor, but no one said anything about helping. Only one asked the question that they should have asked first the moment they heard of the rumor.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we help?¡±


    Everyone looked at the young priest with black-haired hair. Some frowned, while others shook their head helplessly. Since all of them had been ordained at the same time, that meant that they also belonged to the same batch of acolytes and had known each other for quite a long time.


    So, they knew that this guy would help anyone who he thought was in need. It was definitely an admirable train for a priest. But sometimes, in certain situations, it could become annoying.


    ¡°Luan, although it¡¯s sad to hear about these people¡¯s situation, going there ourselves wouldn¡¯t change anything. We¡¯re not knights who have a strong force to fight against those bandits. We only have our faith. And sometimes, faith is not enough to fight the darkness in people¡¯s hearts,¡± one of the older priests said in a kind tone.


    Luan looked down and clenched his fists. Everyone thought that he would fight for his case and convince everyone that they should all go on a suicide mission to save that village. But surprisingly, the other just nodded and said in a subdued voice;


    ¡°I understand.¡±


    Everyone let out a sigh of relief. But what they didn¡¯t see was the determination that flashed in Luan¡¯s dark obsidian eyes. Those were not the eyes of someone who just gave up.


    =====


    ¡°Will you go to that village next episode?¡± Reas asked after the episode ended. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t you be in trouble, considering your character didn¡¯t have much firepower in terms of strength?¡± n0????????????????????????.????0????


    ¡°No spoiler,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Come on, just a little bit? I¡¯m only asking about your character, anyway. Besides, shouldn¡¯t I receive a perk of being your brother?¡± Reas insisted like a kid.


    Astrid shook his head and pinched his brother¡¯s face. ¡°No spoiler.¡±


    ¡°Tsk. Cheapskate.¡±


    Astrid laughed and poked Reas¡¯ side. ¡°What cheapskate? Is that the right attitude to give to your older brother?¡±


    ¡°Older brother by only a few seconds!¡± Reas reasoned. But after continuously being poked on the side, he finally had no choice but to raise his hand in surrender. ¡°Stop, stop. Let¡¯s just watch Snow¡¯s show, okay?¡±


    With a triumphant expression, Astrid smirked at the other before turning the channel to the station where [Youth Avenue] was being aired.

 Chapter 474 [YOUTH AVENUE]

    n0????????????????????????.????0????


    THE role that Snow played in [Youth Avenue] was a genius ballet dancer named Julian. One of the main cast in the show named Arlo was also a talented dancer. Both of them would meet at a dance competition. The winner would automatically be admitted to a prestigious art school on full scholarship.


    Snow¡¯s character was from a rich and prominent family. Not only that, he was also the youngest child in the family, that¡¯s why he was showered with a lot of love. Dancing was just a hobby for him, it just so happened that he was very, very good at it.


    Realizing this, his family gave him all the support he could ever need. Private dance lessons, the best dance academies, and the best teachers. Because of this, his talent bloomed from a budding sprout to a towering tree.


    His situation was the total opposite of Arlo. If Julian¡¯s talent bloomed like a flower in spring, then Arlo¡¯s talent was constricted by his family situation.


    Arlo¡¯s family didn¡¯t have the financial freedom to support his dream. As if that¡¯s not enough, they were also very discouraging. Telling him that he should have a more realistic dream.


    The contrasting situation of the two was fully shown throughout the episode. And it ended with them meeting at the dance competition.


    Astrid was very surprised by Snow¡¯s performance. Not only because of the amazing dance talent that he had shown, but more because of how he portrayed the character he was playing.


    From watching the episode, he could see that the role of ¡®Julian¡¯ was that of a rich young master who was just simply going through the path that was laid in front of him. He wasn¡¯t really interested in ¡®dance¡¯ and was just doing it because he¡¯s good at it. Even the reason why he joined the contest was simply because one of his teachers entered him to it.


    A small smile appeared on Snow¡¯s lips. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°The reaction from the public was also very good,¡± Astrid said. ¡°You did well in choosing this role.¡±


    ¡°I just got lucky,¡± Snow said. ¡°I happened to see an audition notice, and one of the requirements was being traditionally trained in ballet. It just so happened that I fit that requirement. So, I auditioned and got the role.¡±


    Although Astrid had a feeling that Snow didn¡¯t use any doubles for the dance scenes in [Youth Avenue], hearing it directly from the other still surprised him quite a bit. Because those ballet routines were not something an amateur could do.


    ¡°You¡¯re an amazing dancer. You being in the entertainment industry seemed like a big loss to the dance world.¡±


    And Astrid was not exaggerating when he said that. He truly meant it. Snow was just that good. He danced like some kind of swan prince personified. If someone had that kind of talent, they would definitely choose to do well in what they¡¯re good at, rather than trying their hands on something new. He was a good example of that.


    Snow chuckled a bit when he heard that. ¡°I¡¯m really not that talented at dance. You can just say that I¡¯m a little better than an amateur, but definitely not on the level of a pro. Besides, it has never really been my passion.¡±


    He only started learning how to dance because he wanted to show it to Assil. Just because the other had mentioned once how he watched a ballet performance and found it very beautiful.


    Even learning how to act was for the hope that the other might recognize him¡ªthe ¡®Snow¡¯ he had met during all those Summers. But, as fate would have it, they met even before he could start his acting career. And just as he expected, Assil didn¡¯t recognize him.


    But even if the other was the reason why he started acting, he truly liked acting now. Even more so than when he learned how to dance.


    Anyway, he wondered if Assil had seen the episode of [Youth Avenue] where he appeared. And if so, would he think of the ¡®Snow¡¯ he met during those Summers when he saw him dance?

 Chapter 475 [BLISS]

    ASTRID was now on his way to a specialized boutique called [Bliss]. It was a place that do styling for celebrities. [Bliss] wasn¡¯t under contract with Polaris. But this boutique would sometimes provide styling to some of the celebrities handled by the agency. The boutique would be responsible for the hair, make-up, and overall coordination.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that they would be the one dressing up those artists every place they went to. It¡¯s only during special events like red carpet premier, award shows, or fashion events. The reason for Astrid availing their services at this time could be attributed to the third one. It¡¯s for the product launching party of a luxury brand.


    Since the event was in the evening, he was still able to attend his morning classes. After eating lunch, he and Ellis were now driving to [Bliss]. One might think that it¡¯s still too early, considering that the event was still in the evening. But this was Astrid¡¯s first event where he might have to interact with important people in the industry.


    It¡¯s important to give a good first impression. And what¡¯s the fastest way to do that? Of course, it¡¯s by how one presented themselves. Appearance alone was not enough. The way how one dressed and carried themselves could be the deciding factor in how others would view them. Especially if one wanted to give a good first impression.


    That¡¯s why Astrid and Ellis were going to [Bliss] this early. So, they could prepare more thoroughly.


    It didn¡¯t take long before they arrived at the boutique. Astrid was quite surprised to see that the store actually looked very, well, quaint. The architectural design had a very old feel to it. Not because the place looked like it was crumbling down or something. No, it was more like the atmosphere of it. Like it came from a different time in the past.


    In fact, the boutique looked similar to that of an old English cottage, with its picturesque ivy-clad walls, charming leaded windows, and a traditional thatched roof, exuding a timeless and captivating appeal. If they were not smack down in the middle of this futuristic city, Astrid would think that he time-travelled to the past.


    There wasn¡¯t even a store sign. The place looked even more like the home of someone rather than a boutique. The place looked truly out of place, especially with two skyscrapers standing tall on both sides of it.


    From what he heard from Ellis about the place, the owner was kind of eccentric. The name of the owner was Aurora Bliss. Yes, the name of the boutique was taken from her name. She was a pretty well-known stylist in the industry. But she refused to work under a huge label and chose to have a small boutique where she had the most say on who she would work with.


    She only worked with celebrities that fit her aesthetic. No matter where agency they came from, as long as she liked how they looked, she would agree to style them. Only those who had solidly built their career could afford to be this picky with their clients.


    In fact, Aurora Bliss was the personal stylist of Valentine Davis¡ªthe number one actor on the [Star List]. Just with that title, she could afford to be as picky as she wanted. After all, she¡¯s the one dressing up the current ¡®movie emperor¡¯.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Astrid,¡± Ellis called him.


    Astrid nodded and followed the other.


    Ellis stopped in front of the door and pressed what looked like a doorbell. It didn¡¯t take long for a female AI robot to open the door. She stared at both Ellis and Astrid as if scanning them.


    ¡°Astrid Townsend and Ellis Payne, who have an appointment at two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, confirmed. Please, come in,¡± the AI robot said in a rather mechanical manner, gesturing for them to enter.


    The two of them walked inside. Astrid was a bit surprised seeing what seemed to be the reception area. Because it looked more like a comfortable place for people to hang out than a receiving area of a business establishment.


    There was a small bookcase with real books, mind you. Something that was very rarely seen in today¡¯s era, since everything was just digital. A cozy reading nook beside it. A coffee table that looked like a dead tree stump that was smoothed and varnished. And some unique decorations lying around.


    [Well, the place certainly has character.]¡ªAstrid thought as he looked around.


    ¡°Mistress Bliss is in her studio. Please follow me,¡± the AI robot said.


    Both Astrid and Ellis quietly followed her. The AI robot then stopped in front of what should have been Aurora Bliss¡¯ studio and knocked.


    ¡°Mistress, your clients have arrived.¡±


    ¡°Let them enter,¡± a voice that seemed to lack sleep said from inside the room.


    The AI robot opened the door and the two following her entered the room. Inside, there were clothes hanging on different racks and in the middle, a woman was sitting behind a desk. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    Her brown curly hair was loosely bound behind her with a pencil. There were dark circles under her hazel-green eyes, a sign of her lack of sleep. She was wearing an oversized knitted sweater over a long skirt. One look at her and no one would think that she was a famous stylist. Their first thought would probably be that she was some painter or sculptor too absorbed in their own work.


    Aurora Bliss lifted her head and looked directly at Astrid. She stood up and walked over without saying anything. When she was just a few steps away, she stopped in front of Astrid and looked at him from head to toe. She narrowed her eyes, her gaze full of scrutiny.


    ¡°Can you turn around slowly for me?¡± she said, the sleepiness in her voice already gone.


    Astrid did not say anything and just did as he was told.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ you¡¯re not that tall, but your proportion is perfect. There¡¯s nothing to say about your face, because everyone with eyes could see you¡¯re beautiful. There¡¯s also confidence in how you carry yourself. I like that.¡± The other suddenly clapped her hand. ¡°Good. I shall accept this commission.¡±

 Chapter 476 GOING TO THE LAUNCH PARTY

    n0????????????????????????.????0????


    ASTRID wanted to touch his hair but stopped himself. It felt like he would hear the voice of Aurora Bliss shouting at him to stop. He was subjected to the other¡¯s ¡®care¡¯ for the past four hours. And when he was finally dressed, with all the make-up and the hair done, she kept on reminding him not to ruin her art work. She said it so many times that until now, it kept ringing in his mind.


    It kind of made him wish that the other actually didn¡¯t take the job of styling him for this night¡¯s event. When they arrived at the boutique, Aurora still hadn¡¯t decided yet if she would take the commission. But after seeing him, it seemed like he passed whatever test she had and so she agreed to style him for this event.


    Astrid was, of course, very satisfied. At least, at first. But when three hours had passed and the other still hadn¡¯t decided what kind of clothes he should wear, he just felt tired. He probably wouldn¡¯t feel that way if he was just sitting while the other was deciding what clothes she should style him with. But no, in that three hours, he had been trying different clothes one after another.


    One might think that he¡¯s just exaggerating. After all, how could changing clothes be difficult? But no, if one was not in the same situation, they couldn¡¯t fully tell just how tiring it was. It¡¯s like being fatigued after doing a repeated task for hours. It¡¯s not a very good feeling.


    Thankfully, after those three hours, Aurora finally found clothes that satisfied her. The hair and make-up didn¡¯t take too long. Probably because the moment she found the right clothes, she had already constructed an image in her mind. And so, things proceeded quickly after that.


    Now, he and Ellis were on their way to the venue of the launch party.


    ¡°Are you feeling nervous?¡± Ellis asked.


    This was Astrid¡¯s formal event. It was not just an ordinary event, but something that¡¯s being hosted by a famous luxury brand. Not to mention that he was not just a simple attendee. He was the ambassador of the product that was being formally launched.


    Not only he hadn¡¯t encountered any perverts yet, well, besides Lance, probably, the people he had worked with were mostly amiable. He also had Ellis, who was more than ready to protect him from that.


    But Astrid knew that he couldn¡¯t be forever lucky. Maybe tonight, something similar to what Ellis said would happen.


    He shook his head. It didn¡¯t matter, anyway. Because he would encounter such things sooner or later. So, it didn¡¯t matter if it happened now.


    With that thought, he calmly waited until they arrived at the venue of the event.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Tonight, a certain event at the capital had paparazzi and reporters flocked in front of Paradiso Grand Hotel. It¡¯s the launch party of a new product by EMMA which would be held at the sky lounge of the said hotel. It¡¯s an event where celebrities and other important figures from the fashion and entertainment industry would attend.


    So, how could they not hang around in front of the hotel to wait despite the cold wing blowing? Even if they froze here, they had to take pictures!


    There wasn¡¯t an official red carpet. So, every time someone noteworthy appeared, the paparazzi and reporters scrambled to take good pictures.


    It was then that a black flying car stopped and parked in the area designated for guests. The first one to go down was a tall woman wearing a black suit. She walked around and opened the door to the passenger¡¯s seat. The first thing they saw was a white shoe, followed by white pants.


    When the person inside completely walked out of the car, audible gasped could be heard all around.

 Chapter 477 LAUNCH PARTY (I)

    THE teenager was wearing a white suit that radiated a captivating blend of sophistication and artistic flair. Meticulously tailored to his frame, the single-breasted jacket exhibited a sleek, contemporary cut, accentuated by a delicate embroidery design adorning the lapel and cuffs. Intricate patterns, subtly woven in silver thread, danced across the white fabric, adding a touch of whimsy and individuality to the ensemble.


    The jacket¡¯s refined details, such as a notched lapel and a single button closure, harmoniously balance the youthful energy of the design. The trousers, cut in a slim-fit silhouette, elegantly cascade down his legs, completing the ensemble. Paired with a slim black belt and a coordinating pocket square, the white suit effortlessly captured anyone¡¯s attention.


    But all of that wouldn¡¯t have the same effect if the teenager was not the one wearing it. The other¡¯s hair and make-up completed this look.


    The teenager¡¯s black hair was tied in a bun behind his head. Because his hair wasn¡¯t that long, some of his hair at the front couldn¡¯t be tied. Making it frame his small face. A long silver earring dangled in one of his ears.


    His make-up was so subtle that one wouldn¡¯t think that he even had one on. But if people who saw him in regular basis could see him, they would know the difference. His skin was more radiant. Of course, not in that in-your-face manner, but something that looked healthy and natural. His lips were also a bit redder and an almost imperceptible blush was on his cheeks.


    This overall ensemble made the already beautiful teenager even more captivating.


    The moment he appeared, the people around felt like everything had just stopped. It was only when he started walking that the reporters and paparazzi finally came back to their senses and quickly took photos.


    As they did, they couldn¡¯t believe that Astrid Townsend could actually have this kind of effect. Honestly, most of them didn¡¯t really have that much of an expectation. They knew that the other was the ambassador of this new product being launched by EMMA. They had seen the billboards around the capital. So, they also knew that the teenager had an outstanding appearance.


    But having good looks and having presence were two completely different matter. One could be good-looking but not have the presence to back it up. Although the billboards featuring Astrid Townsend showed that presence, it could easily be attributed to the photographer¡¯s skills. One should see the person in real life to really judge it correctly.


    And now that they were seeing him in person, they could only think of one thing. That Astrid Townsend had the presence of a superstar.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid walked towards the hotel entrance. He purposely slowed down his gait so the reporters and paparazzi could take a better picture of him. This would be posted on various entertainment portals. So, it¡¯s important to look good in all of them to create a buzz. Ellis also understood that. That¡¯s why she was walking a few steps behind him.


    Once he and Ellis entered the hotel, an AI robot guided them to the elevator that would bring them to the sky lounge. The lounge was literally that, a lounge in the sky. It¡¯s like a floor that was way above the building¡¯s rooftop and one needed to ride the elevator connected to it to reach it.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Ellis asked him once the elevator started moving.


    He smiled at the other and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Ellis stared at Astrid¡¯s face. After seeing that there¡¯s really no hint of nervousness on his face, she smiled helplessly. Really, she didn¡¯t know if this kid was just too gutsy or simply too optimistic.


    ¡°Then you should have fun and enjoy yourself at this party,¡± she said.


    Since she¡¯s here, she would do her best to protect him, so it¡¯s only right for the other to at least enjoy this party.


    ¡°Well, I will try.¡±


    ¡°But not too much. Just refrain from drinking too much alcohol,¡± Ellis reminded.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis. Because I won¡¯t drink.¡±


    Then the elevator door finally opened.


    When Astrid stepped out from the elevator, he couldn¡¯t help but marvelled at the sight before him. It¡¯s not because of the people that were already there, or the food, or the decorations. It was because of the lounge itself. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    The whole room was shaped like a sphere, with transparent glass walls. Not just the walls, but also the roof. Which made it seem like the whole lounge was floating in the sky.


    Astrid could see the starry night sky, as well as the city lights below. If he had a fear of heights, he might have already had a panic attack right at this moment. He looked around in wonder. He wondered if the walls and roof were really made of glass. Maybe it was something much more sturdy, but just looked the same.


    ¡°Astrid, let¡¯s greet Mr. Cook first,¡± Ellis reminded him at the side.


    Astrid nodded, and the two of them made their way to Glen Cook, the president of EMMA. The other was talking to two people, which, according to Ellis, were most likely EMMA executives.


    While on their way, there were many curious glances thrown at them. Particularly more at Astrid. Some smiled and greeted them, but none of them tried to openly approach.


    There were reporters officially invited to the event. So, some of the guests, particularly those who weren¡¯t really high-ranking people from the entertainment or fashion industry, were probably still gauging what kind of attitude they should show Astrid.


    All their actions were being watched be these reporters. If they made the wrong move, it wouldn¡¯t help in their career. So, it¡¯s better to just give a ¡®wait-and-see¡¯ attitude.


    Astrid also smiled politely at the people who greeted him and did the same when he met the gaze of someone. But he also didn¡¯t approach any of them. This made him seem approachable, but very reserved. Which was not a very bad impression.


    And then he and Ellis finally reached the spot where Mr. Cook was.

 Chapter 478 LAUNCH PARTY (II)

    ¡°HERE you are, our newest ambassador,¡± Mr. Cook greeted Astrid with a delighted expression on his face. Truly the opposite of his expression when they first met.


    Astrid resisted the urge to raise his brow. When they first met, Mr. Cook was obviously full of worry. Not to mention, the fact that he was most likely not in approval of him being the ambassador of their new perfume product. But he couldn¡¯t really voice that out because of Casey. Now that everything obviously went well, of course, the dissatisfaction he felt for him was now gone. As evidence by the other¡¯s bright smile.


    Astrid also smiled¡ªhis business smile, of course. ¡°Hello, President Cook. I hope we¡¯re not too late.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Everyone just arrived as well,¡± Mr. Cook said, waving his hand.


    ¡°Glen, shouldn¡¯t you introduce us to this young man first?¡± one of the man talking to Mr. Cook earlier said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± agreed by the other.


    Mr. Cook introduced the two to Astrid, and he greeted them politely. Just like what Ellis said earlier, the two were both executives at EMMA. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    ¡°You did a good job on this ad campaign,¡± one said. ¡°The sale of this perfume is skyrocketing because of your amazing performance.¡±


    Which would probably be very unlikely for the time being. Because if that happened, it meant that his mother and father¡¯s real identity had been exposed. By that time, they would have more worries than the possibility of Anthony Grimaldi asking for forgiveness. Like the Lancaster family, for example.


    His thought was cut off when he felt a strong gust of wind passing by him. No, it¡¯s not a ¡®gust of wind¡¯ but rather the Mr. Cook and the other two executives running past him to meet Casey, or rather, the duke.


    It was not only them, even those other high-profile people present rushed to greet the duke. Amazing. Was this the power of a noble?


    ¡°That¡¯s Duke Grimaldi,¡± Ellis said on the side, probably thinking that he might not know the other. ¡°Have you met him?¡±


    Since Ellis knew about him and his brother accidentally saved the young master of the Grimaldi family, so it¡¯s only natural for her to think that he might have already met the duke.


    ¡°No. This is the first time I saw him,¡± Astrid said, which was not exactly a lie.


    ¡°I wonder why the duke suddenly decided to attend this party,¡± Ellis said.


    Astrid also wondered about that. From the stories he heard from his mother, as well as what he had read about the duke online, the other was not the type to go to events like this. Heck, even Casey didn¡¯t usually attend the event of his own company. He probably only attended this time because of Astrid.


    As he was contemplating about that, his gaze accidentally meet with the duke. They stared at each other. When it lasted for five seconds and the other didn¡¯t look away, Astrid started to wonder what he should do.


    He wanted to just look away, but that would appear too rude. So, he decided to bow politely and then look away. But before he could do that, the duke started to stride towards his direction.

 Chapter 479 LAUNCH PARTY (III)

    ¡°WHY are you really accompanying me to this party?¡± Casey finally couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Earlier in the evening, before he left his house, he received an unexpected guest. It was the duke. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    The other suddenly declared that he would accompany him to the launch party of EMMA¡¯s new perfume line. Before he could say any words of rejection, the other had already gone ahead and rode his own car. Acting like he¡¯s the owner, waiting for his driver. Which in this scenario would be Casey.


    Casey was too stunned and shocked to even put up a fight. So, at the end, he could only ride his car and bring the other to the party. They rode in silence, not saying anything to each other. It was only when they arrived at the hotel venue and the camera flashes of reporters and paparazzi bombarded them outside that he came back to his senses.


    He couldn¡¯t complain immediately because of the surrounding people. Even if they weren¡¯t exactly on good terms, he didn¡¯t want the dirty laundry of their family to be aired out in the open. So, he only had the chance to ask what he¡¯s been itching to ask when they walked inside the elevator.


    ¡°I want to meet the young man who saved our Nikki,¡± the duke said in his usual emotionless tone. But if one listened closely, they would hear the warmth in his voice the moment he said Nikki¡¯s name.


    Casey was momentarily surprised when he heard that. Then he scoffed. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you could have just invited him, as well as his brother, to the duke¡¯s mansion. Nikki would be much happier with that as well. Your presence here would just make it awkward for the kid.¡±


    Anthony glanced at his youngest, who was obviously not happy with him being here. He had also considered what Cassius had just said, about inviting the twin brothers to the duke¡¯s mansion. He was actually already planning to do that. But when he heard about this launch party, he changed his mind.


    Because this was a good excuse to spend time with Cassius. If the other heard about this reasoning, he might just explode in anger. Which wasn¡¯t surprising, considering the current state of their relationship. Or the lack thereof.


    After his youngest found out about the truth that surrounded Emmaline¡¯s ¡®death¡¯, he almost denounced the Grimaldi name. He knew that the only reason he didn¡¯t was because of EMMA. He told him that he would give him EMMA, which was a company that was supposed to be inherited by Emmaline.


    Being the only thing that could be a point of connection to him and his sister, Cassius swallowed his anger and accepted it. But it didn¡¯t mean that his relationship with his family got better. No, it only got worse.


    Cassius moved out of the mansion and cut contact with them. Because of how clumsy Anthony was when it came to emotions, he couldn¡¯t properly apologize and ask the other for them to be a proper family. For one, what right did he have to even ask such a thing? And second, he could tell that his youngest would never accept an apology from him. He could already imagine what he would have said if he did.


    That he¡¯s not the one that should receive an apology. That the person he should give that apology to was no longer here.


    And he would be right.


    That¡¯s why Anthony could only watch as Cassius drifted farther and farther away from his family. Things had only turned slightly better when Nikki was born. Because of the appearance of a new family member, Cassius was willing to reconnect with them. But only when it concerned Nikki. When it didn¡¯t concern his nephew, then Anthony and Thomas were still strangers in his eyes.


    Thomas was treated slightly better since he¡¯s Nikki¡¯s father. Cassius would at least talk to him. Which was a far cry from how he¡¯s treating Anthony. As evidence, this was the first time in two years that the other took the initiative to speak to him.


    But Anthony didn¡¯t have the right to complain. This was his karma for the things that he did to Emmaline.


    He sighed and responded to Cassius, ¡°I just wanted to meet the young man in person. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll try not to make it awkward for him.¡±


    ¡°And how would you do that? Just your mere presence alone was enough to trouble Astrid. In case you forgot, you¡¯re a duke, and he¡¯s a rookie actor. What if some gossip surfaced about you sponsoring the kid and that¡¯s why he became EMMA¡¯s ambassador? It will ruin his career!¡±


    Anthony furrowed his brows, not fully understanding what Cassius meant. ¡°Is it bad to become a sponsor?¡±


    Casey slapped his forehead when he heard such an ¡®innocent¡¯ question. Then, he remembered that the other had an almost negligible knowledge about the entertainment industry.


    He gave the duke a sideway glance. ¡°Being a sponsor meant that you¡¯re his sugar daddy.¡±


    A few seconds had passed before realization kicked the duke in the face, as evidence of his darkened expression. ¡°That¡¯s preposterous!¡±


    ¡°I agree. That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t have come with me.¡±


    Anthony narrowed his eyes at his youngest. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t the same thing applied to you? No, isn¡¯t it more likely for you to be suspected as the young man¡¯s sponsor than me? What do you call it, a ¡®sugar daddy¡¯?¡±


    Casey suddenly had no immediate reply to that. But he quickly thought of something and said, ¡°I could hardly be considered his sugar daddy. I¡¯m not that old yet. Unlike you.¡±


    Anthony felt the corner of his eye twitched when he heard such an unreasonable explanation, if one could even call it that. ¡°That¡¯s hardly the point, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Before Casey could say anything back, the door to the elevator had already opened. Some people in the sky lounge had already seen them. Casey had no choice but to plaster a smile on his face and walked out. The duke following behind him.

 Chapter 480 LAUNCH PARTY (IV)

    ASTRID was startled when he saw the duke who was striding in their direction. He couldn¡¯t read anything on the other¡¯s face. But the fact that he was probably planning to talk to him was a problem in itself.


    Aside from the obvious reason that a noble duke taking the initiative to talk to a rookie actor could be seen as strange, it could also start some weird rumors. It¡¯s already giving him goosebumps, and not the good kind at that, just thinking of that possibility.


    He actually wanted to pull Ellis away while the duke still hadn¡¯t made his way here. But he could be seen as rude if he did that. Not to mention, making him look more suspicious.


    But thankfully, Casey seemed to be on the same page as him. Because he saw the other holding the duke¡¯s elbow, seemingly trying to stop him. Casey whispered something to the duke¡¯s ear and the latter completely stopped walking.


    Astrid finally let out a sigh of relief. Although he had already readied himself on how he would act the moment the duke really stopped in front of him, it¡¯s still better if the other didn¡¯t.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what Casey said to the duke, but he didn¡¯t care. He was just glad that he managed to stop the other.


    Ellis, who was standing beside him, of course, also noticed how the duke looked in this direction. The moment the other saw Astrid, he immediately made his way here. She knew that the reason for that was most likely because of how Astrid helped to rescue the young master Grimaldi, but the other people here didn¡¯t know about that.


    So, she was already preparing to do damage control inside her head. But Cassius Grimaldi surprisingly made a great save and stopped the other in time. Now that the scenario she¡¯s thinking was no longer happening, she quickly decided to take things around.


    ¡°Astrid, let¡¯s go and greet Your Grace and Lord Cassius,¡± she said.


    Astrid readily understood what Ellis wanted to do, and he quickly agreed. ¡°Okay.¡±


    As a rookie actor, he should be the one going there and greeting those ¡®important people¡¯, not the other way around. As they walked to where the duke and Casey were, he put on a nervous yet excited expression. Something that someone in his status should show in this kind of situation.


    Casey, on the other hand, felt like a vein would pop out of his forehead because of the duke¡¯s actions. He just warned him earlier not to do anything that could cause trouble for Astrid, and the first thing he did was to go straight to the other the moment they walked into the lounge.


    It¡¯s a good thing that he noticed it immediately and managed to stop him before his actions made irreparable damage. Now, he¡¯s starting to wonder if the duke wanted to accompany him here just to torture him.


    Of course, that wasn¡¯t Anthony¡¯s intention at all. When he walked into the lounge and saw the black-haired teenager, he felt something, like a slight gripping in his heart, and he just found himself walking towards the other.


    It was a weird feeling that he couldn¡¯t even begin to explain. He could only attribute it to the fact that he wanted to personally thank the other for helping save his grandson. Add that to the fact that he had been constantly seeing the teenager¡¯s videos because of Nikki, that he might have unconsciously developed some kind of affinity towards the other. Leading to his body moving on its own.


    Good thing Cassius was alert enough and managed to stop him before he really walked towards the teenager. He felt a bit ashamed of his behavior, especially after hearing what his son said. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    [Please, try not to cause trouble.]


    That¡¯s what Cassius had whispered to him, and he immediately understood it. Really, being called ¡®troublesome¡¯ by his son was not exactly the best feeling. But what could he do when he had a point?


    So, he just focused on the people buzzing around them like flies. Nodding his head coldly and not really giving them the attention they wanted.


    That¡¯s when a hesitant, yet somehow familiar voice, greeted him and Cassius.


    ¡°H-hello, Your Grace, Lord Cassius, this is Astrid Townsend. I- It¡¯s an honor to meet you.¡±


    Anthony turned his head towards the voice. It was the teenager. The other seemed to be very nervous, as evidence of his trembling voice and how he kept on fidgeting on the hem of his suit. And even though he had a bright expression on his face, the slight furrowing of his brows showed that he wasn¡¯t really as confident as he wanted to appear.


    Anthony frowned. For some reason, he felt like there¡¯s something wrong. As if there was some kind of disparity he couldn¡¯t pinpoint. Was it because he just didn¡¯t like the image he thought of the other was so different from what he¡¯s seeing now? After all, the ¡®Astrid Townsend¡¯ Nikki had described to him was not the Astrid Townsend in front of him.


    In this manner, Casey was much better than his father. Because he quickly pinpointed the ¡®disparity¡¯ the other had felt.


    The teenager was simply ¡®acting¡¯ right now. He was acting the part of a rookie actor who was nervous meeting important people, but had to show his confident and bright side so they wouldn¡¯t dislike him.


    Casey smiled inwardly. He must be doing this to avoid any possible weird rumor to float around that could shine a bad light on him. Really, what an amazing kid.


    If that¡¯s the case, then he should also do his best to not waste the kid¡¯s effort.


    Casey grinned, as if he was welcoming someone, acting like this was the first time he saw the teenager in person. ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t this our new ambassador? You did amazing with the advertisement. I can¡¯t count how many times I watched the video ad because you¡¯re just too good. Please continue to be an amazing ambassador to EMMA from here on out.¡±

 Chapter 481 LAUNCH PARTY (V)

    WITH just a couple of words, Casey managed to establish the ¡®fact¡¯ that this was the first time he met Astrid in person. This way, he quickly cut off the possible speculation people could make about their relationship. And to put the final nail in the coffin, Casey added;


    ¡°The Marketing Department did a good job choosing you.¡±


    With these final words, not only did he paint their relationship in a professional light, but he also subtly told everyone here that he had nothing to do in choosing Astrid as their new perfume line¡¯s ambassador.


    Mr. Cook, as well as the two executives who knew the truth, decided to promptly shut their mouth and not pierce their boss¡¯ lie. Especially since the duke was also here.


    Astrid, on the other hand, appreciated the other¡¯s quick thinking. Because Casey weaved this kind of narrative, the chance of a rumor spreading about him getting this ambassadorship in an unfair manner had now become low.


    Of course, some skeptical people and those who had malice in their hearts would still think what they wanted to think. But they wouldn¡¯t be the majority, and that¡¯s all what Astrid cared about.


    To play along with Casey, he quickly put on an expression that was a mixed of being relieved, happy, and even more nervous. The combination of these emotions would be hard to portray as ¡®natural¡¯. Because too much emotions seen on one person¡¯s face could make it appear theatrical.


    But that¡¯s not something that Astrid was worried about. Because ¡®natural¡¯ acting was something he was very good at. Probably from the years that he had to act in a certain manner just so he could survive in society.


    ¡°Yes! Th-thank you, Lord Cassius! I- I will definitely continue to do my best!¡± he said in response to what Casey had said.


    ¡°Good, good,¡± Casey said with a more sincere smile.


    It¡¯s because he truly admired the kid deep inside. Being able to judge a situation and promptly deal with it calmly, that¡¯s not something a kid his age could do so easily. The fact that the other also understood what Casey was trying to do delighted him. It¡¯s like the two of them had a natural tacit understanding.


    Anthony, who was still confused about what¡¯s happening, finally gained a bit of understanding after hearing Cassius¡¯ dialogues. Since he knew that his son had personally met the teenager, there were definitely some lies mixed in with his words. But after hearing the teenager¡¯s response and trying to overlap the other with the ¡®Brother Aster¡¯ that Nikki cheerfully told him about, he suddenly had a realization.


    The Astrid Townsend in front of him now was ¡®acting¡¯. He was doing so in order to stop any possible rumors that could connect him with Cassius and that the two of them would only be viewed as nothing more but a new ambassador of EMMA and the owner of EMMA. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    And Anthony was certain that his actions earlier were the main reason for this. There must have been not just a few people who noticed him walking towards Astrid earlier. He suddenly felt a bit guilty, since it happened because of his carelessness.


    The best thing he could do now was to not pay the teenager any needless attention. But acknowledging his hard work shouldn¡¯t be too bad, right?


    So, he said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the video. You did well.¡±


    The teenager¡¯s face turned bright red, as if excited that a duke gave him a compliment. ¡°Yes, thank you, Your Grace!¡±


    And that¡¯s the last conversation he had with the other all throughout the rest of the party.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid removed the smile on his face the moment he got inside Ellis¡¯ car. He leaned on the backseat and let out a tired sigh.


    ¡°Good job hanging on until the end,¡± Ellis said as she started the car.


    Astrid could only nod. He truly felt very exhausted, as if all his energy had been drained. He hadn¡¯t even been this tired during filming. It was all because of the ¡®good reviews¡¯ Casey and the duke gave him.


    After that brief conversation he had with the two, he and Ellis quickly got out of the way and went to another part of the lounge. If they stayed and interacted with the two longer, he was sure people there would think that he was trying to ¡®hug their thighs¡¯. Although that saying was not particularly common in this era, the impression of the people around would still be along that line.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s better to just be seen as a promising newcomer who¡¯s sincere at his work.


    Astrid thought that the rest of the night would pass by peacefully after that. What he didn¡¯t know was that things were only starting then.


    After he and Ellis walked away from the encirclement surrounding the two Grimaldis, the other celebrities in the lounge just started flocking around him. It was the first time since he started acting in this life that he felt like he was some kind of superstar.


    He knew that it wasn¡¯t because they admired him or that they thought he was a better actor than them; it was only because of the praise he received from Casey and the duke. They probably thought that if he didn¡¯t fumble, he would continue being the ambassador of [Eros] for quite a long while. Just that would already ensure him of a good future in the industry. And therefore, having a connection to him wouldn¡¯t be bad.


    Since he couldn¡¯t really kick them away, he could only interact with them with a smile. When he and Ellis could finally leave, he felt like the muscles on his face had already frozen because of smiling too much.


    But at least, because of the brief attention he received from Casey and the duke, there was no one who tried to offer him an indecent proposal. So, that¡¯s probably a win, right?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Wulfric stood in front of a very familiar apartment building. His emotions were in a disarray. Especially after seeing all those billboards scattered around the capital.

 Chapter 482 IT’S ONLY NATURAL, RIGHT?

    WULFRIC was in a very low mood. He entered the capital less than an hour ago, feeling all excited, thinking that he could finally see Aster. He travelled at the fastest speed his spacecraft allowed, even going through a number of space warp to make his travel even faster. Because of that, he arrived at the capital star in less than a week.


    Of course, this kind of travelling speed was only possible because of his SSS class level physique. If it was an ordinary person with an ordinary physique, they would have already collapsed after entering a space warp for two consecutive times. But that wasn¡¯t the case for him.


    His body could handle a maximum of 10 consecutive space warps without collapsing. That¡¯s why he was able to arrive at the capital star in such a short period.


    But who would have thought that the moment he entered the capital, the first thing he would see was Aster¡¯s billboard? And it was even the one where he was sitting on a velvet chair, wearing a partially unbuttoned white top, and looking straight at the camera while showing a smirk that looked as if he was seducing people. And that wasn¡¯t enough! That unbuttoned white top was clearly showing a white expanse of his chest.


    Before Wulfric could recover from that, he saw another billboard just a few minutes later. This time, Aster was standing on the beach, playing with the waves and smiling brightly at the camera. It¡¯s like there¡¯s a halo around him and one couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡®who is this angel?¡¯.


    As Wulfric made his way to the Aster¡¯s apartment building, he saw more and more of these billboards. By the time he arrived here, a low pressure was already surrounding him.


    Honestly, he wanted to take down all those billboards, especially the ones that made Aster looked provocative. And he could easily do it too. Just one call from him and all those billboards could be taken down right this instant. But deep down, he also knew that he shouldn¡¯t.


    On his way here, he thoroughly checked how that advertisement video of Aster came to life and discovered that it was from a luxury brand called EMMA. Which he then discovered was currently owned by Cassius Grimaldi.


    From the information he received, the other was the one who chose Aster as the new ambassador of their upcoming perfume line. Something that was opposed by the majority of EMMA¡¯s executives. Which was idiotic, by the way. They should be thankful that Aster would be the one advertising their perfume.


    Anyway, after Aster passed some test, they begrudgingly let him be their new ambassador. But not without putting forward their own condition. When he read those conditions, he seriously wanted to punch everyone who agreed to it. Like, they didn¡¯t have any right to insult Aster like that.


    But, of course, Aster proved them all wrong by shooting that advertisement video that trended for a day, which no doubt helped in the sales of that perfume. See how great Aster was?


    And it¡¯s because of this that Wulfric didn¡¯t dare to have those billboards taken down. Because he knew how hard Aster worked to even have the opportunity to get that ambassadorship. If he did anything to sabotage that, Aster would definitely be angry with him.


    This was the same reason why he couldn¡¯t just spend money to let the other star in movies and dramas until he became a top star worthy of his talent. Because Aster would definitely hate him if he did. So, he never tried to meddle with Aster¡¯s work. Unless, of course, it involved defending the other from any malicious rumors or assholes who had nothing better to do. But when it came to Aster¡¯s career move, he decided to never, ever intervene.


    That and his current mood were totally different things, though. Even if he understood everything, he still couldn¡¯t help but be annoyed. That¡¯s only natural, right?


    What our dear Wulf didn¡¯t know was that there was nothing ¡®natural¡¯ about what he¡¯s feeling right now. After all, he and Astrid didn¡¯t have that kind of relationship.


    Wulfric just sighed and walked towards the apartment building. The moment he stood, the entrance automatically opened. Which meant that the security system acknowledged that he was one of the residents of the building by scanning his biometrics. And it¡¯s not wrong.


    Because he was now the occupant of the top floor, which had just finished its renovation and was now transformed into a suite. And oh, he was also the legal owner of this whole building.


    He was planning to surprise Aster. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t tell the other that he was coming to the capital. He wondered which one he would be more surprised, that he¡¯s here at the capital, or that they had now become neighbors?


    Either way, he couldn¡¯t wait to see the other again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead, Sister Ellis,¡± Astrid said as the car stopped in front of his apartment building. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    ¡°Yes. Take a good rest,¡± Ellis responded.


    Astrid then got off of the car. He waved one last time to his agent before walking towards the building. He¡¯s so tired that he only wanted to lie on his bed right now and sleep. He would just check all the topics and articles related to the launch party tomorrow.


    After entering, he rode the elevator and got off at the 20th floor. As he was walking, he stopped mid-way when he saw a figure leaning on the wall beside his door. He didn¡¯t know if he was just too sleepy that¡¯s why he was seeing things that¡¯s not supposed to be there, or a certain white-haired man was really standing in front of his apartment unit.


    He rubbed his eyes, and the man still remained there. Actually, the other had already turned in his direction and visibly brightened the moment he saw him.


    ¡°Aster!¡±


    Before Astrid could respond or even fully react, Wulfric had already run in front of him. The next thing he knew, he was suddenly enveloped in a strong pair of arms.

 Chapter 483 WHEN DID THIS ’HAPPEN’?

    ASTRID blinked. He was so surprised that he didn¡¯t even know how to react. But when he felt the warmth that suddenly enveloped him, his heart did the most clich¨¦d action¡ªit skipped a beat. And then after that, it did the most predictable thing it could possibly do¡ªit started to beast faster and faster, as if he would have a heart attack any minute.


    So, his body just completely froze, not knowing what he should do next.


    Subconsciously, he knew that this reaction he was having now was not just because he was surprised. And because he understood that, it felt even more awkward.


    He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and slowly exhaled, trying his best to return to normal. Even though his heart and his brain were doing a lot of gymnastics right now, he still managed to calm himself. He was truly thankful for his past life experience, his acting skills, and his real mental age that he managed to do just that.


    So he raised his arms and patted Wulfric¡¯s back. Just like how one would do after seeing their friend for the first time in a while.


    Then, he suddenly felt Wulfric¡¯s whole body froze in place. After that, as if some kind of robot, he slowly let go of him and even took a step back, a couple of steps back, actually.


    ¡°I- I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know what came over me. I just¡­¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t know how to continue that. What would he say? That he was just too happy to see him, that his body just moved on its own and before he knew it, he was already hugging him? Even if that was the truth, it was still stupid of him to do it. Especially once he remembered how he acted when he and Aster first met.


    He was arrogant and forceful. Doing things that Aster hated. It¡¯s no wonder that the other chose to act like some weakling just so he would lose interest in him. What if he reminded the other of that time because of his action just now?


    If it was just a light hug, he could have made some plausible excuse. But no, it was a hug that lasted for almost a minute. If he hadn¡¯t come back to his senses because Aster patted his back, it might have been much longer than that.


    But what could he do? Hugging Aster just felt so good that he literally forgot everything. All he could think of was the soft body in his arms and that particular jasmine scent under his nose. His body fit so snugly in his arms that everything just felt so natural.


    As if Aster belonged naturally in his embrace.


    Astrid stared at Wulfric. The other had a panicked expression on his face. As if he had only realized now what he had done. This guy probably didn¡¯t even realize that he hugged him and was moving according to his instinct.


    Watching the other squirm in nervousness was amusing in a way, but Astrid really didn¡¯t have that kind of hobby. He only felt a bit helpless. Like how thousands of thoughts had already passed by inside his head and the other was probably just enjoying hugging him. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    Ah, how wonderful must it be to be oblivious of one¡¯s own feelings.


    So, at times like this, he could only smile and say in the most natural way possible, ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Wulf.¡±


    Wulfric could feel the tension in his body slowly leave the moment Aster greeted him like that. Thankfully, the other didn¡¯t think badly of him because of his sudden action. But at the same time, a small corner of his heart felt disappointed that Aster didn¡¯t have any reaction to his hug.


    As if that hug was really nothing more but a friendly greeting.


    When his thought veered off that way, he immediately wanted to punch himself. Was there really something wrong with his brain that he would feel this way instead of being grateful that Aster didn¡¯t get angry?


    He cleared his throat and fixed his expression. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nice to see you too, Aster.¡±


    He wanted to add how much he missed the other, but he refrained from doing so. He just barely got out from an awkward situation. He didn¡¯t want to make it awkward for Aster again.


    ¡°But why are you back at the capital? Is your mission over already?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°No, wait, before you answer that, let¡¯s go inside my apartment first.¡±


    Even if his neighbors were people who respected other¡¯s privacy, it would not hurt to be more careful. After all, if one of them happened to take a picture of him having a rendezvous with the prince of the Empire, it would only end badly for him. So, it¡¯s better to have their conversation inside his apartment.


    He opened his apartment and walked inside. Wulfric quickly followed like a puppy. Or maybe a wolf pup would be more apt?


    ¡°Do you want coffee or tea?¡± he asked as he walked towards the kitchen.


    ¡°The team from your family¡¯s farm would be good,¡± Wulfric said, sitting down on the small dining table.


    He had already drank all the tea bags that Aster had given him. So, he had been really craving the taste of it.


    As Astrid started brewing the tea, he suddenly thought of something that he probably should have first noticed the moment he saw Wulfric. He turned around and looked at the other.


    ¡°Wulf. How did you get inside the building?¡±


    Wulfric froze for a moment when he heard the question. Then he looked from left to right,? avoiding Aster¡¯s gaze. When he felt the sting of Aster¡¯s stare as he narrowed his gaze at him, he scratched his cheek and finally answered;


    ¡°Well, I happen to be a new resident here.¡±


    There was a momentary silence. It became so quiet that one could probably hear a drop of a pin at that moment.


    ¡°And just when did this ¡®happen¡¯?¡±

 Chapter 484 OUR DEAR PRINCE

    ?


    WULFRIC felt cold sweat dripping down his back. Although Aster asked that question with a smile on his face, the emotion in his dark obsidian eyes told him that he would seriously slap him if he didn¡¯t give a satisfactory answer.


    He gulped. In situations like this, it¡¯s better to just tell the truth. The more excuses he made, the worse it would be for him.


    ¡°It¡¯s on that day when that trash hired some goons to harass you at school,¡± he said honestly.


    Under normal circumstance, he probably wouldn¡¯t remember such an event. Despite having a brain that could remember everything if he wanted to, he usually chose to ¡®file¡¯ things he found useless at the very corner of his brain. If needed, he could easily ¡®retrieve¡¯ them.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t file anything that had something to do with Aster as useless. That¡¯s why he still remembered what happened back then, as clear as day. Not to mention how angry he was when he heard of what happened then. So, there¡¯s no way he would have forgotten it.


    Astrid was quite surprised when the other didn¡¯t hesitate to tell the truth. He tried to remember the day he mentioned, and it quickly appeared in his mind. It¡¯s not really hard to do so since there¡¯s only one instance when a ¡®trash¡¯, as Wulfric said, hired some thugs to do some unsavory things to him. Not to mention, it was also the day that he and Snow formally exchanged names.


    If he remembered correctly, Wulfric suddenly appeared at his apartment door that night. And the reason for that sudden appearance was none other than the incident that happened during the day.


    There¡¯s nothing much that happened during the other¡¯s visit. He only remembered calming him down, brewing him a cup of tea, and giving him some leftover dishes from dinner. And oh, that was also the night he discovered that Wulfric was actually ¡®White Wolf¡¯, his number one fan.


    So, yes, it was a very memorable day.


    But he didn¡¯t expect that Wulfric did something else then. That was what, over two months ago?


    He narrowed his eyes at the other. ¡°And which unit did you rent?¡±


    Once again, Wulfric avoided his gaze. Looking very much guilty about something. Hmm? What else did this guy do?


    Instead of answering confidently, Wulfric mumbled, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the top floor.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the top floor?¡±


    ¡°No, ahm, it¡¯s the whole top floor,¡± Wulfric said, his voice getting smaller and smaller with each word.


    Astrid blinked, unsure whether he heard the other correctly. But looking at his expression, and thinking of the fact that the other certainly had the money to rent the whole floor, it didn¡¯t seem like he was joking at all. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    ¡°Why would you be renting the whole floor?¡±


    At this question, Wulfric began to ponder whether to still tell Aster the truth. Wouldn¡¯t he look like some stalker if he said that he actually bought the whole building? But if he didn¡¯t and Aster decided to visit the top floor, he would see that it was now converted to a suite. How could he that happen if he only rented the whole floor? Aster would immediately guess that he had been lying.


    He let out a deep sigh and decided to tell the truth once again. ¡°I¡­ bought the whole building and converted the whole floor into a suite.¡±


    Now Astrid was completely speechless after hearing that. He didn¡¯t know which one he should be more surprised of¡ªthat he didn¡¯t notice that there was actually some construction work going on at the top floor of this building, or that Wulfric was now his landlord.


    It was at this moment that a good bottle of beer would be very much appreciated. But since he didn¡¯t have any alcoholic drink in this apartment, he simply poured himself a glass of cold water and drank it in one gulp.


    Seeing how Aster reacted, Wulfric quickly explained, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it to stalk you or anything. I just¡­ I just thought that this building has a good location. And before I knew it, I ended up buying it.¡±


    That¡¯s a very weak excuse. Astrid wanted to say that in a very sarcastic tone. But he held himself back. Because he suddenly thought of one thing¡ªthe sudden upgrade of the building¡¯s security system. Coincidentally, this update occurred some time two months ago. Probably just when Wulfric bought this whole building.


    Knowing the other, he already had an idea why he did it. Especially once he guessed what could have pushed him to make such a decision. The incident that happened to him that day was probably what pushed Wulfric to do that. Most likely thinking that he could ensure his safety at a place he considered home by doing so.


    Thinking of that, Astrid could hardly bring himself to get angry.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a stalker. I just think you have a tendency to overreact sometimes. Just like what you did with this whole apartment thing. I know you probably did it thinking of my safety, but was there really a need to buy the whole building? Aren¡¯t you wasting too much money?¡±


    At first, Wulfric was overcome with joy because Aster didn¡¯t think of him as a stalker and even understood why he did what he did. But when the topic of money came, he quickly said, ¡°No, this is definitely not a waste of money! I actually have too much money in my hands that I barely know what to do with it. So, buying this small building was not that big of a deal. It barely put a dent in my savings.¡±


    Wulfric said it in such a proud manner that Astrid didn¡¯t know if he should laugh or just be annoyed. ¡°Oh yes, I almost forgot that I¡¯m standing in front of our Empire¡¯s one and only prince. I apologize for my lack of wisdom.¡±


    Wulfric blushed at Aster¡¯s remarks, only to realize a few seconds later that the other was just teasing him.


    ¡°So, is there anything else our dear prince is hiding that has a connection to me?¡± Aster asked before he could respond to his teasing.

 Chapter 485 THINK REALLY, REALLY HARD

    WULFRIC gulped. When he heard Aster¡¯s question, the first thing that flashed in his mind was his fan account ¨C @astridsnumber1fan. This secret certainly had everything to do with Aster. But if he told the other about it, he couldn¡¯t imagine what he¡¯s reaction would be. Especially since the other was aware of his ¡®White Wolf¡¯ fan account.


    Maybe this would be the last straw and Aster would really think of him as some kind of stalker. He could have passed it off and say that there was none, but his immediate reaction had already prevented him from using that excuse. If he said that now, with how perceptive Aster was, he would only think of him as suspicious.


    As cold sweat continued to pour on his back, a certain information suddenly flashed in his mind, like a lightbulb turning on. It¡¯s not necessarily a secret, per se. More like something he hadn¡¯t mentioned to the other. But it was still important information that he should have told Aster long ago.


    Not only would this cover his slip up, he could also avoid a potential problem in the future by telling Aster about this now. Of course, not coming clean about his fan account might still cause some misunderstanding. But it probably wouldn¡¯t be too the point of being unforgiven.


    He just refused to confess about it now because it would be too embarrassing. He could be thick-face in some situation, but this was not it.


    Wulfric, already decided on what to say, became much calmer. ¡°Actually, there is still one.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow when he heard that. Would this guy actually admit that he¡¯s ¡®White Wolf¡¯? He thought it would take quite a while before the other admit that. Like years or something. He was even prepared to be the one to reveal to him that he already knew about it. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    So, was this actually the time?


    Astrid stared at Wulfric. Wasn¡¯t this guy just full of surprises today? He smiled unknowingly. And for the first time, he didn¡¯t want to just say ¡®thank you¡¯ and let it be the end of it. A part of him wanted to know more. To understand just what was Wulfric¡¯s true feelings. Why he was doing what he was doing.


    And so, before Astrid changed his mind, he asked, ¡°Why are you going so far for me?¡±


    Wulfric was taken aback by the question. Any other time, he would have answered, ¡®because we¡¯re friends¡¯. But, somehow, he felt like that was not really the right answer. Especially after he saw Aster¡¯s eyes looking straight at him.


    They were like a pair of black diamonds, shining full of starlight. Like the night sky sprinkled with stardust.


    Looking at those eyes, he couldn¡¯t just say any perfunctory answer. But in the end, he could only say;


    ¡°I- I don¡¯t know.¡±


    And that¡¯s his honest answer. He didn¡¯t know why he was doing all this for the other. Je couldn¡¯t even explain all the emotions that the other continue to stir up in him. It¡¯s like he no longer knew himself whenever Aster was around. As if becoming a completely different person.


    Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t hate such self. To be thoughtful, to be protective, to be supportive, to be patient¡ªthere were all things that could never be used to describe him. And yet, he could be those and more for Aster.


    Astrid stared at Wulfric, who had gone silent. Then, a helpless smiled crossed his lips. He reached out for the other¡¯s hand and held it tightly.


    ¡°Then, Wulf, please think really, really, hard for the answer to that question,¡± he said. [And once you give your answer, then maybe I can give mine as well.]

 Chapter 486 THE WULF’S WOES

    WULFRIC entered the suite and the first thing he did was to look for the bar. When doing the renovations for this floor to turn it into a suite, he specifically said that there should be two things that they should not forget¡ªthe theater room and the bar.


    Since the suite was just a whole floor, the design was very simple. A common living room, a bedroom with a walk-in closet and bathroom, a theater room, an entertainment room, a kitchen, pantry, and dining area. There was also the bar and two spare bedrooms.


    Of course, this place was not as good as his mansion on Alluna. But it would do its purpose.


    Wulfric quickly found what he was looking for. He walked towards the bar and poured himself a glass of whiskey. He downed that glass in one gulp. He sat down on the bar stool before pouring himself another glass.


    When he left Aster¡¯s apartment, he didn¡¯t think of going somewhere and just directly went here. Since he came back to the capital by himself and with just a single spacecraft, he couldn¡¯t exactly go to the military base here at the capital to live there. That would be like encroaching on another army¡¯s territory.


    It was fine before, since Beowulf was docked there while their army was staying at the capital. But it¡¯s different when it¡¯s only him. His next option was the palace. And that¡¯s the last place he would pick to stay in. He really didn¡¯t want to deal with Cynric. So, this suite was perfect in times like this.


    He poured another glass of whiskey and simply turned on his Terminal to get his mind off certain things. But the moment he opened his [Cyberspace] account, the first thing that he saw was a picture of Aster wearing a white suit, looking so beautiful and mesmerizing.


    His feed was filled with the same pictures but in different angles. His feed being filled with nothing but everything related to Aster was not so surprising. After all, the other was the only account he¡¯s following.


    He swiped down and stared at the pictures. They were all from the same event that happened just this evening. Based on the posts and comments, it was from a launch party for the new perfume line of EMMA. And as the ambassador of that new perfume line, of course, Aster had to attend.


    After he read that, he only just realized that Aster was actually wearing the same clothes, minus the suit jacket. The other had already removed his make-up and hairstyling. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t notice that he just came from an event.


    Aster must have been so tired, and yet he still went to his apartment to pester him like that. Next time, he should check first whether the other had an event of if he just came from a shooting before visiting him. That way he wouldn¡¯t bother the other.


    As he was browsing through his feed, reading different articles regarding EMMA¡¯s event, a particular article caught his attention. It said that Aster met not only Cassius Grimaldi but also Anthony Grimaldi. And that the two were very satisfied with the result of the advertisement. They commended Aster for a job well done.


    The official account of a reputable fashion news site published the article. Although there wasn¡¯t any picture of the three together, this site was credible enough for people to immediately believe them. And Wulfric also had no doubt that it was the truth.


    He stood up abruptly, almost pushing the glass in front of him off the bar counter. Wouldn¡¯t this mean that Aster just met his uncle and grandfather a few hours ago? He assured him that he would protect his parents¡¯ secret, but something like this happened without him even knowing. Aster wouldn¡¯t think that he¡¯s too useless, right?


    When that thought crossed his mind, a certain question that Aster asked earlier also flashed at the same time.


    [Why are you going so far for me?]


    This definitely fell on the realm of ¡®going too far¡¯. Who, in their right might, would first think that they¡¯re useless in that situation? Granted that there were indeed times that he was not in his right mind, but those times and these were very different situations.


    It¡¯s not only that, the fact that he would defend Aster on [StarNet] as if his life depended on it was already a cause for worry. Not to mention the fact that he always wanted to spend time with the other. If he could, he would stick to Aster¡¯s side like glue just so they could be together all the time.


    Although he lacked EQ, he¡¯s not that stupid and dense to continue to insist that this was all for the name of ¡®friendship¡¯.


    A good example were the members of Fenris Squad. He considered most of them as his subordinates, but Leland, Hil, Edmund, and Slade¡ªthose four. He could reluctantly admit that they were his friends.


    Using the term ¡®friends¡¯, he would never make an account on [Cyberspace] just to defend them online. Heck, he didn¡¯t even want to spend every hour of the day with them.


    So, what made Aster so special? n0????????????????????????.????0????


    This question ultimately just brought him back to the other¡¯s question to him. Which he still didn¡¯t know the answer to.


    Wulfric sat back down on the bar stool, feeling frustrated.


    He downed another glass of whiskey. Before he knew it, he had already emptied the whole bottle. Seeing that, he stood up and took another bottle. This time, he chose a much stronger alcohol¡ªa bottle of absinthe.


    Drinking one glass after another, it didn¡¯t take long before he emptied it once again.


    Because of his physique, it¡¯s hard for him to get drunk. But maybe because of the effect of alcohol, he did something that he would never do under normal circumstances. He dialled Hildred¡¯s Terminal number.


    A few seconds later, Hil¡¯s face appeared on the virtual screen. The other furrowed his brows upon seeing him. ¡°Please tell me, this is not another mission.¡±


    ¡°I need your advice.¡±

 Chapter 487 ADVICE THAT JUST WENT OVER HIS HEAD

    HILDRED was just about to sleep when he received a video call request from Wulf. His brows furrowed, wondering if the other had another job lined up for him. It¡¯s not weird for him to think so since the other ordered him to interrogate those damn human traffickers just right after he got back from his vacation with Ed.


    It was a good thing that he accumulated a lot of sweetness from this vacation or he might have really protested. Still, knowing Wulf, the other would have no qualms increasing his workload as long as he thought that he would be the best man for the job. In a way, he was much more of a slave driver than Lele in that regard.


    But since the other was still his immediate superior, despite how close they were as friends, he should still answer this call. So, he reluctantly pressed the ¡®accept¡¯ button.


    ¡°Please tell me, this is not another mission,¡± he said the moment he answered.


    ¡°I need your advice.¡±


    When Hildred heard that response, it felt like his drowsiness instantly disappeared. He took a good look at Wulf. The other¡¯s cheeks were slightly flushed and there were empty bottles of alcohol in front of him.


    He suddenly remembered that the other quickly traveled to the capital the moment the human traffickers were caught. He almost forgot that it was one of the reasons why he got a bit annoyed. Because it seemed like Wulf just threw his job at him because he couldn¡¯t wait to meet Astrid Townsend.


    Looking at Wulf now, something interesting must have happened. He resisted the urge to tease the other. He sat up straight and cleared his throat.


    ¡°What kind of advice?¡± he asked in a curious manner, as if he had no idea why Wulf was asking such a thing.


    ¡°Well, someone I know is having¡­ some kind of problem, ¡± Wulf started. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    Sure enough. Using the universal excuse that it was another person¡¯s problem instead of his own, this definitely had something to do with Astrid. ¡°What kind of problem?¡±


    ¡°Ahem, well, this person, for some reason, he¡¯s very invested in the life of another person he considered a friend. He wanted to always protect him, to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t get hurt emotionally or physically by anything or anyone, to always be with him, to see him smile,¡± Wulf started explaining in some kind of roundabout manner.


    Hildred didn¡¯t interrupt him and just let him continue.


    ¡°But the problem was, he¡¯s not this kind of person. He¡¯s usually short-tempered, but for him, he learned to be patient. His first reaction to everything that annoyed him was violence, but for him, he tried to be prudent. He was even doing stupid things that he would normally not do under normal circumstances because of him.¡±


    [You are still like that though.]¡ªHildred almost said.


    Wulf was still that bad tempered guy with a penchant for violence. The only difference was that there was now an exception to the rule¡ªAstrid Townsend. Well, at least that was what Hildred was getting from what Wulf just said. And that was huge. Because this just proved that the teenager was not just some passing fancy to their general.


    ¡°So, what exactly is the problem?¡± he asked.


    Wulf suddenly became silent, as if contemplating how to answer him. At the end, he poured himself another glass of whatever alcohol he was drinking and downed it before saying;


    ¡°The problem is, he doesn¡¯t know why he¡¯s fucking doing all that. If it was just because he considered him a friend, then why doesn¡¯t he act the same way around his other friends? Why is it so different when it came to him? What makes him so special?¡±


    Hildred raised his brow when he heard the pent-up frustration in Wulf¡¯s voice. Not to mention the other¡¯s expression. The statement ¡®I¡¯m so frustrated, I could kill¡¯ probably fit the expression Wulf had right now to the tee.


    This was truly surprising. Because this was the first time he had seen the other in this state. He truly looked like he was at his wit¡¯s end. That¡¯s why even if Hildred wanted to tease the other so much, he held back. There was a time and place for that. And right now, his teasing would probably just make Wulf hysterical.


    This only showed how much Astrid had on him. If it was only a drop on a calm lake at first, now, it must be a freaking tsunami. And Wulf obviously had no idea what¡¯s happening to him or what kind of ¡®storm¡¯ he¡¯s facing.


    As a good friend, he should give him enlightenment. Besides, there¡¯s plenty of time to tease the other. He just have to wait until he was certain that Wulf wouldn¡¯t pull a gun at him once he did. For now, he would be just a good friend.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the answer already obvious?¡± Hildred started. ¡°You, I mean, your friend already admitted that this person is already someone special to him. Special in a way that¡¯s not similar to how a friend or a family is special. So, what does that leave you, I mean, him?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of the effect of alcohol or the other was just too out of it because of his current emotional state, but Wulf didn¡¯t even notice any of his blunders. He just had this contemplative expression, as if he was pondering deeply about what Hildred just said.


    ¡°That he¡¯s a¡­ super special friend?¡±


    That response almost made Hildred slap his forehead. When he thought that the other was finally getting it, this was the conclusion he came up with? Should he really spoon-feed everything so this block of rock could understand what¡¯s he¡¯s feeling?


    No, let¡¯s be patient.


    He took a calming breath and said, ¡°The feelings of that person are the same feelings I have for Ed.¡±


    Surely, this guy would finally understand it.


    Contrary to his expectations, Wulf¡¯s brows furrowed even further. ¡°You mean he has sadistic feelings for the other person?¡±

 Chapter 488 THE ANSWERED SECOND QUESTION

    MEANWHILE, on a few floors below, Astrid was also having a video call. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s not talking to only one person but to three people ¨C his whole family, to be exact. It was easy to guess the reason why.


    After he got back to his apartment, articles about the launch party were posted on [Cyberspace] and [StarNet]. Most of them had mentioned the appearance of Duke Grimaldi and Cassius Grimaldi, as well as how they both showed goodwill towards him. That was enough for his whole family to worry about and call him.


    ¡°Did nothing really happen after you met them?¡± his mother asked. ¡°They didn¡¯t suspect anything?¡±


    There was a serious expression on his mother¡¯s face. Astrid could also see the slight trembling of her eyes. It was evident that the news of him accidentally meeting the duke and Casey had her shaken. But she was acting tough, probably so she wouldn¡¯t worry her husband and children.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Tell us everything. Don¡¯t leave a single detail out,¡± his father quickly added.


    ¡°Nothing really happened. We barely talked,¡± Astrid said, trying to assure them. ¡°My conversation with them didn¡¯t even last for five minutes.¡±


    And that¡¯s not a lie. Although Casey showed great appreciation for him, most of it was just because he saved Nicol. And he could bet that the duke was the same. The other probably only attended that launch party so he could meet one of the people who saved his grandson.


    The goodwill that he showed and the praises that he gave him were most likely his way of saying ¡®thank you¡¯. After all, such words of appreciation from a high-ranking noble duke could help better his image to the public.


    Yes, it¡¯s a bit stupid. But they were currently living in an era where aristocratic nobles still held the majority of power in the Empire. Whether it¡¯s political or military, they held most of the top positions. That¡¯s why their influence just couldn¡¯t be ignored. At least in the entertainment industry, this influence could boost one¡¯s reputation.


    Looking at his parents and Reas, Astrid simply told them all the details of what happened. Starting from when the duke and Casey arrived until the conversation ended. And that was it. Because after that, none of them tried to speak to one another again. The duke and Casey also left much early. Even earlier than him. So, there¡¯s really no time, and reason, for them to interact again.


    It took a good while before he managed to calm down everyone. But still, the look of worry on their faces, mostly his parents, barely lessened. Astrid was starting to consider whether to tell them the promise that Wulfric made about helping him keep this secret. But then, that would just open another set of problems. Which he would rather not go through right now.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, everything¡¯s fine. Trust me,¡± he said.


    He used his facial expression to convey his sincerity and conviction. It seemed to have worked because he slowly saw the tight muscles on their faces starting to relax.


    And he was right. Emma finally felt a bit relieved. But also, a bit complicated. She didn¡¯t know if she should be happy or disappointed that her father didn¡¯t even feel some kind of connection after seeing his grandson. Although it¡¯s understandable that he wouldn¡¯t, but still. Did he not even feel just a tiny bit of blood connection?


    She shook her head, feeling like a fool for even pondering such a thing. In fact, that was not all she was curious about. She also wanted to ask Astrid how her father was doing. But she held herself back. A question like that would just make her husband and children worry.


    If her father could appear at a party like that, then he must be living well. That was enough. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    After a few more conversations, Astrid¡¯s parents ended the call on their side. Only Reas remained.


    ¡°Is everything really okay?¡± Reas asked to make sure.


    ¡°Yes, little brother,¡± Astrid said.


    The other probably just wanted to make sure that he didn¡¯t say what he said just to alleviate their parent¡¯s concern.


    ¡°Did something else happen? You seem to be worried about something,¡± Reas commented.


    Being brothers, and very close twins at that, it was easy for him to notice if the other had problems. And vice versa. So, he could tell that something else must have happened that caused him to worry.


    Astrid was slightly surprised that Reas would ask him that. When he heard it, he thought of denying it. Because what else could he have a problem with? But as he was about to do that, something, or rather, someone, suddenly crossed his mind.


    Yeah, that guy was definitely a problem.


    ¡°I have a problem concerning the heart.¡±


    Reas furrowed his brows when he heard that. ¡°A heart problem? Is it serious? Should I accompany you to the hospital?¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s not that kind of problem, silly.¡±


    Reas scrunched up his nose. His face clearing saying, ¡®what other kind of problem is there?¡¯.


    ¡°I¡¯m in the process of figuring out the degree of my feelings for someone,¡± he only added.


    He now had an answer to the ¡®second question¡¯, of whether a certain white-haired, golden-eyes Wulf was someone special to him. And now, he¡¯s in the process of answering the ¡®third question¡¯.


    About why Wulfric was special and what he wanted the other to be in his life. And once he was able to answer that, then he would have a clear grasp on his feelings for the other.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    While Astrid was discovering the answer to these questions, the Wulf living in the apartment building¡¯s suite was also having troubles of his own. His problem was the same, and yet also slightly different from that of Astrid.


    Wulfric couldn¡¯t help but go back to his conversation with Hildred. Particularly at the last part after the ¡®sadistic¡¯ comment he made. When the other had this expression, as if he wanted to shoot him.

 Chapter 489 WHETHER IT WAS OR NOT

    WULFRIC looked at Hildred with confusion. After the ¡®sadistic¡¯ comment he made, the other looked like he wanted to shoot him.


    He tilted his head and asked, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    Hildred seemed like he was trying very hard to control his temper. So, even though he was smiling, there was still a faint bloodlust emanating from him. ¡°I¡¯m just wondering if our wonderful general and one and only prince of the Empire is just super dense, or just plain stupid.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s face crumpled, not liking what the other was trying to say. ¡°How do you expect me to understand when you¡¯re being cryptic as hell?¡±


    Hildred only gave him a look as if saying, ¡®You call that cryptic?¡¯. As if even a child could understand what he just said, and Wulfric was just stupid for not being able to. Which only made him even more annoyed.


    ¡°Can you just tell it to me straight, instead of going around in circles?¡±


    Hildred sighed as if he had given up hope for him. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll spoon-feed you the answer. But in return, you have to do me one favor in the future. Deal?¡±


    Wulfric almost blurted out, ¡®why do I have to do that?¡¯. But good thing he managed to stop himself at the right moment. Because currently, he could only discuss these things with Hildred.


    Leland had no interest in such things and would probably only look at him as if he needed some psychological therapy. Slade was more interested in training rather than things like these. And there¡¯s no need to mention Ed. That guy was much more clueless than he was.


    Since Hildred was his only hope, he really had no choice but to comply to whatever the other wanted.


    ¡°Okay, fine,¡± he grumbled.


    ¡°Then I suggest you prepare your heart because you¡¯re in for the greatest discovery of the decade,¡± Hildred said with a teasing grin.


    Now he was the one who had the urge to shoot the other. ¡°Stop with the theatrics and just tell me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s either one of the two. Either you think of him as a brother. Or¡­ dun da-da-dun¡­ dun dun¡­ dun dun¡­¡± Hildred stopped and then dramatically made drumming sounds. ¡°You¡¯re in love with him.¡±


    =====


    [You¡¯re in love with him.]


    Those words were still echoing in Wulfric¡¯s mind even after a few hours since the call with Hildred ended. Heck, it would probably remain in his mind for the next couple of days. No wonder that guy told him to ready his heart.


    Seriously, when he heard those words, it felt like something exploded inside him. He didn¡¯t know if it was his brain or his heart. Or maybe it was both.


    To be perfectly honest, he couldn¡¯t understand it.


    Love. Just what exactly was it?


    It¡¯s an emotion that was not easy for him to understand. Maybe because it¡¯s not something that was common in his life. He didn¡¯t receive it from the people who were supposed to unconditionally give it. So, even if this ¡®love¡¯ stood right in front of him, it¡¯s not something that he would immediately recognize.


    His mother died early, his father didn¡¯t give a shit about him, and his relationship with his brother, at least most of his life, could only be considered as strained. His feelings for them couldn¡¯t be really called ¡®love¡¯.


    He didn¡¯t have much feelings for his mother since he barely knew her. He didn¡¯t even have that much memory of her. And that already said a lot, considering how good his memory was. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    He hated his father, though. He didn¡¯t care much about the other¡¯s neglect. What he couldn¡¯t accept was what that bastard did to Cynric. He was just sorry that he found out about it too late. That the other didn¡¯t die in his hands instead.


    It might sound heartless when he said that. But that trash deserved the ending that he got.


    When it came to Cynric, his relationship with him was just too¡­ complicated. He cared for him, as any brother should. But because of the things Cynric had experienced, it¡¯s hard for them to truly have a loving brotherly relationship. It was only now that they were able to talk properly. Before, Cynric couldn¡¯t even look at him without hiding his hatred. And that¡¯s understandable.


    Wulfric shook his head. No, this was not about the shitty relationship he had with his family. If he continued to think about that, he would just go down to another rabbit hole.


    This was about his feelings for Aster.


    So, was it really the feeling of ¡®love¡¯?


    Honestly, he couldn¡¯t say immediately that it was. But then again, he also couldn¡¯t immediately deny it.


    As he pondered the question of whether it was truly love, a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts consumed his mind. He reflected on the moments they had spent together, the shared laughter, the conversations, and the way their eyes met. There was a sense of comfort, a connection that seemed to transcend words and logic. Yet he couldn¡¯t shake off the lingering doubts that clouded his judgment.


    He wondered if what he felt was simply infatuation ¨C a temporary surge of intense emotions that would eventually fade away. That¡¯s what people called it, right? After all, love was a complex and multifaceted emotion that probably required time to develop and deepen. It hadn¡¯t even been a year since he met Aster.


    Was it possible that he was mistaking the initial rush of excitement for something more profound?


    On the other hand, he couldn¡¯t ignore the way his heart skipped a beat every time they were together, how his thoughts revolved around Aster even when they were apart. The mere thought of Aster¡¯s happiness brought a warmth to his chest, and the idea of losing him sent shivers down his spine.


    Maybe, just maybe, this was indeed the beginning of something real.


    Something that could be called ¡®love¡¯.


    He stared at the ceiling. Whether it turned out to be love or not, he was determined to give it a chance and see where this path would lead him.

 Chapter 490 DISAPPOINTMENT OR RELIEVED?

    ¡°WOW, isn¡¯t this more food that usual?¡± Kiran commented while looking at all the food Astrid took out.


    Snow also nodded in agreement.


    The three of them were in their usual lunch hangout. The moment they sat down, Astrid just took out all these dishes.


    ¡°Well, I made a little more than I used to this morning,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    The truth was, he made breakfast for two people and since he planned to pack the leftovers to eat for lunch; he made a lot. Why did he make breakfast for two people? It¡¯s because he thought Wulfric would come barging in and asked to have breakfast with him. Knowing the other, it was definitely possible. Especially since Wulfric was just a few floors above.


    But surprisingly, he didn¡¯t see the shadow of the other until he left the apartment building to go to school. This surprised him slightly. Because it was unlike Wulfric at all. On the other hand, he wasn¡¯t sure if he should be disappointed or relieved by the other¡¯s ¡®no-show¡¯.


    Disappointed because Wulfric wasn¡¯t able to eat the food he cooked and relieved because he didn¡¯t have to deal with the outcome of the conversation they had last night. It would give him more time to sort out his thoughts and feelings. It would also be better for the other to come to terms with his own feelings.


    It would be good if their conversation could actually give Wulfric some enlightenment. Astrid was not just sure what that would entail for their relationship.


    Would it move to another level, or would it stagnate and then slowly fizzle out?


    At this point in time, of course, he hoped that it would be the former. Since he had already admitted honestly to himself that Wulfric had become an important existence for him, it¡¯s only natural to want to see where it would lead him. Well, at least for him, that was the case.


    It was not something that he feared. It¡¯s something that he welcomed, actually.


    Astrid had never experienced being in a romantic relationship before in his past life. Not that he didn¡¯t want to, his situation just didn¡¯t allow him. He was an actor in an almost non-inclusive society. Just a whiff of him being gay could end his career.


    At that point in his life, his career was much more important that anything else. Because it was all he had. Even when he became interested in someone, he would stop himself before it could even become deeper. He became instinctively too strict with himself, especially when it came to having a relationship.


    To the point that he died a pure virgin.


    But this era was different. Being in a relationship with the same sex was no longer frowned upon, it was just the norm. Even if he had a relationship with someone, it wouldn¡¯t affect his career to the point that he had to retire from acting.


    He was free to fall in love here. That¡¯s why he more than welcomed these emotions he¡¯s feeling. If what he felt for Wulfric was ¡®love¡¯, then it¡¯s not something to be afraid of. It should be celebrated. After all, falling in love with someone was a wonderful thing and not everyone could just experience it. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    But first, before that, he should make sure first if he was indeed in love with a certain white Wulf. And this ¡®in love¡¯ was not just the kind when one felt tingly all over, it was the kind when one felt that they wanted to be with the other person for the rest of their lives.


    Of course, one might say that nothing was truly permanent. You might feel like that one moment, and then not the next. But in Astrid¡¯s opinion, if the feeling of ¡®love¡¯ could easily be changed like that, could that still be called ¡®love¡¯?


    ¡°Can we finish all this?¡±


    Snow¡¯s voice brought Astrid¡¯s thoughts back to the present.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t, can I take some back to my apartment?¡± Kiran asked.


    Astrid nodded and smiled. ¡°Sure.¡±


    The three then started eating.


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯m already done composing the songs Polaris commissioned me,¡± Kiran stared. ¡°I also just received my full payment. Can I take the two of you out for lunch this weekend?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Who would refuse free lunch?¡± Astrid quickly agreed.


    ¡°Same,¡± Snow seconded.


    Kiran grinned, clearly happy that he could treat his two friends.


    ¡°I also have a good news,¡± Snow said after clearing his throat. ¡°Polaris offered me a contract.¡±


    There was silence for a few seconds before both Astrid and Kiran showed excitement and happiness for the news that Snow gave.


    ¡°Congratulations!¡± both said almost at the same time.


    ¡°That¡¯s great, Snow!¡± Kiran said, clearly very happy for the other. ¡°Polaris is definitely a good agency.¡±


    ¡°I knew it¡¯s only a matter of time before you would get an offer,¡± Astrid said with certainty. ¡°You¡¯re too good not to receive one.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Snow said with a shy smile. ¡°They must have liked my performance in [Youth Avenue].¡±


    ¡°Have you decided to sign with them?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°My father said to have a lawyer check the contract first before I make any decision. But I¡¯m already thinking of signing regardless,¡± Snow answered.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll be in the same agency,¡± Astrid said with a bright smile, truly happy at that fact.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m starting to feel tempted to have an exclusive contract with Polaris,¡± Kiran grumbled, looking at them with envy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. Just think of all the money you¡¯ll make if you can freely work with all the entertainment agencies out there,¡± Astrid reminded the other.


    ¡°It would also showcase your talent more,¡± Snow seconded.


    Kiran chuckled, delighted by their comments. ¡°True enough.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After his classes in the afternoon ended, he went straight back home since he didn¡¯t have any schedule. Ellis wanted to pick him up, but he refused since he could just call an AI driven taxi. It didn¡¯t take long before he arrived at his apartment building.


    He was walking to his apartment room when he saw a familiar figure standing by his door. It¡¯s like a replay of what happened last night.

 Chapter 491 THAT I’M...

    WULFRIC had been agitated all day. Thinking of a lot of things, no, not really a lot, just one person, he wasn¡¯t able to fall asleep. It was probably near morning when he actually did. By the time he woke up, the sun was already shining brightly in the sky.


    He planned to talk to Aster early in the morning before the other went to school. Since he couldn¡¯t sleep, he thought it would be better to just stay awake and then go to Aster¡¯s apartment early in the morning. But who would have thought that he would actually succumb to sleep?


    This was all because of non-stop space travel for consecutive days. No matter how much of a high-level physique a person had, if they traveled without rest and went through a number of space warps, their body would definitely get tired. It seemed like he was no different.


    Since he wasn¡¯t able to meet with Aster in the morning, Wulfric spent the rest of the day mulling over the state of their relationship. Which almost drove him nuts. He was more of a doer than a talker kind of guy. So, not being able to do anything just made him feel antsy and agitated.


    He wanted to stay and wait for Aster beside his apartment door until the other returned, but that would just pull unnecessary attention. He got lucky last night that none of Aster¡¯s neighbors saw him. But he couldn¡¯t say the same thing would happen today, especially if he waited all day there.


    Even if he did some disguise, if he continued to stand in front of Aster¡¯s apartment door for the whole day, he would surely be reported for stalking. So, his only choice was to wait at his suite until the end of Aster¡¯s class and then go down once he thought that it was time for the other to return.


    Of course, he had to search for the usual schedule of freshman in the acting department of Redwood Academy. Then calculate the time it would take for someone to travel from Redwood to this apartment building. And it paid off.


    He went down to Aster¡¯s apartment floor just a few minutes before the other arrived. And now, he was watching as the other walked towards his apartment room.


    Seeing Aster, Wulfric felt his heart suddenly beating really fast and really hard. He wasn¡¯t even sure if it was because of excitement or nervousness. As the other took one step at a time in this direction, his heart also beat faster and faster. To the point that it felt like it would actually jump out of his body.


    When Aster stood in front of him, before he could say anything, the other passed by him and opened the door of the apartment instead.


    Wulfric¡¯s heart sank at that moment. A lot of negative thoughts crossed his mind. Like, was Aster angry with him? Would he not want to interact with him anymore? Was this the end? How should he fix this? Should he kneel down and apologize? Or should he just imprison him somewhere until he forgave him?


    He shook his head sharply. What the fuck was that last thought?


    Amidst the growing darkness that was slowly seeping into his heart, Aster glanced back and said;


    ¡°What are you still standing there for, Wulf? Aren¡¯t you going to come in?¡±


    The moment Aster said that, Wulfric felt like the dark clouds over his head cleared and sunlight came rushing through. Bathed by the warm light, all the negative thoughts in his heart vanished in an instant.


    To have an effect on his emotional state to this extent. If it was any other, he would have already done something to deal with that person. If someone existed in this universe who could easily change his decisions or actions, that person should be eliminated as quickly as possible.


    He hated things that could affect him in such a way. He already had no control of his emotions most of the time. How much worse could it be when someone could actually affect him simply by existing?


    But surprisingly enough, he didn¡¯t hate this feeling. And he knew why. Because the person responsible was none other than Aster. Didn¡¯t that already speak volumes? The answer was already in front of him, and yet he was too blind and stupid to see it.


    Wulfric clenched and unclenched his fists. It was not in his nature to procrastinate, especially after he just had a massive realization. Because just like he said, he was more of a doer, rather than a talker.


    Astrid looked at Wulfric. He wondered why the other was still frozen there, just standing like some statue. Was he shocked by something? But what could he possibly be shocked about?


    He thought back to his actions a while ago. The only thing that stood up was him not greeting the other. Was that really so shocking? If that was so, he didn¡¯t know if he should be amused or also be shocked. Because wouldn¡¯t that just confirm Wulfric¡¯s degree of feelings for him?


    Wulfric saw Aster tilting his head, probably wondering why he still wasn¡¯t coming in.


    He smiled unconsciously. He hurried over and closed the door behind him. Standing before Aster, he already had made up his mind.


    ¡°You asked me last night why I was going this far for you and told me to think really, really hard for the answer why,¡± he started.


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect that Wulfric would go straight to this topic as soon as they met. Saying that he wasn¡¯t prepared for it would be a gross understatement. But at the same time, there was excitement stirring within him.


    Because he already had a hunch about what the other would say. He was looking forward to it. But at the same time, a small part of him was also dreading it. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    ¡°And what answer did you come up with?¡± he asked at the end.


    Wulfric stared straight at him and reached for his hands, holding it tight. ¡°That I¡¯m in love with you.¡±

 Chapter 492 UNTIL IT BECOMES A TWO-WAY STREET

    ASTRID¡¯S breath hitched as Wulfric¡¯s straightforward confession hung in the air, casting a soft glow over the room. A kaleidoscope of emotions washed over him, swirling in gentle waves of uncertainty. Wulfric¡¯s words seeped into the depths of his being, igniting a spark of awareness that had remained dormant until just recently. No, saying that it was totally dormant was not completely correct. It¡¯s more accurate to say that it was semi-awakened.


    Astrid¡¯s mind raced, replaying memories they shared together since they met, searching for clues to decipher the troubles of his own heart. In the midst of this emotional whirlwind, he couldn¡¯t deny the unique bond he shared with Wulfric, but the elusive definition of ¡°love¡± was still just beyond his grasp, making him unsure of what to do at the moment.


    As he gazed into Wulfric¡¯s eyes, he couldn¡¯t deny the undeniable bond that had grown between them. The way Wulfric had been trying to secretly protect and support him, in the guise of a fan account, no less, or the way he would do these amusing antics that would put a smile on him every time.


    This probably wouldn¡¯t fit Wulfric¡¯s image, but somehow, the other¡¯s presence had slowly felt like a comforting embrace. Being with Wulfric would bring him that unprecedented warmth that he would have never expected that the other could actually make him feel.


    But amidst this newfound realization, there was a still lingering uncertainty within him, like a delicate flower on the cusp of blooming. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    Astrid longed to explore the depths of his emotions, to decipher what was truly inside his heart. He wanted to unravel the enigma that Wulfric represented to him, to understand the profound impact their connection had on his very being. But still, he was uncertain if what he truly felt was that profound and mystical feeling of love or if he was simply infatuated. The fact that he still couldn¡¯t tell was already telling enough.


    He raised his head and stared at Wulfric¡¯s handsome face. The other had a slight frown. He could even read the anxiety in those pair of golden eyes. He must be very nervous waiting for his answer.


    To say that his confession did not surprise him was simply an understatement. In fact, he was so surprised that his brain didn¡¯t function properly for the first five seconds. His words of ¡®I¡¯m in love with you¡¯ kept echoing in his mind. He must admit, this confession was very Wulfric-like.


    His first reaction was probably should be asking him if he was sure of his feelings. But that would just be very insulting to Wulfric. He knew the other well enough to understand that he wouldn¡¯t confess like this if he wasn¡¯t completely sure of his feelings.


    For it to be the first thing he said after the discussion they had last night must mean that it must be the only thing he had thought of since then. Showing just how serious he was. So, how could he reciprocate that with doubt?


    At the end, the only thing that Astrid could think of saying was;


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Wulfric blinked, then a bitter smile crossed his lips. ¡°Is this your reply?¡±


    ¡°No¨C!¡± Astrid quickly said, thinking that the other might have thought that he was rejecting him. ¡°It¡¯s just, receiving love from someone was something that one should be thankful for. So, I¡¯m thankful.¡±


    Wulfric seemed relieved hearing that. ¡°Was that all you felt, just thankful? Aren¡¯t you doubting what I said? After all, I can¡¯t even answer your question last night and now I¡¯m suddenly professing my love to you. Don¡¯t you find it suspicious?¡±


    Astrid looked at the other with a bit of a helpless feeling. This kind of straightforwardness could really make people speechless. But it¡¯s also one of the things he liked about him.


    He smiled and shook his head. ¡°No. Because I know you¡¯re not the type to joke about that. Besides, the fact that the word ¡®love¡¯ even came out of your mouth already felt like some kind of miracle. How could I doubt you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should be glad or be offended,¡± Wulfric said with a wry smile. ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t you at least ask me how I reached this conclusion?¡±


    Astrid suddenly felt like this was a very weird ¡®after-confession¡¯. He should be the one asking the things Wulfric was asking. This unconventional turn of events made him light-hearted, as if the burden he¡¯s carrying had been lifted. It¡¯s like the fog covering his eyes had cleared and he could finally see the road in front of him.


    He smiled. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s not as long as an essay, then I wouldn¡¯t mind hearing about it,¡± he said in a joking tone.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it probably wouldn¡¯t even be as long as a paragraph,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°I actually just had an epiphany. It¡¯s like being struck by lightning. When you walked passed me earlier, only one thought filled my mind, ¡®ah, I¡¯m in love this person¡¯. I could probably say a lot of things to back that up. But all those words would just pale in comparison to the feelings I have for you. At the end, the best way I could convey this feeling was to say ¡®I¡¯m in love with you¡¯.¡±


    Astrid felt his heart skipped a beat. He could even feel his face heating up. Really, he couldn¡¯t tell if Wulfric lacked a romantic bone in his body or if he was just a natural born romantic. Because how could these direct to the point words sound as romantic as it did when he said it?


    ¡°Can I hear your answer to my confession?¡± Wulfric asked right after. ¡°Just so you know, it¡¯s alright to reject me. So, tell me your answer honestly.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. ¡°You won¡¯t get mad?¡±


    ¡°Why would I get mad? It¡¯s your prerogative to reject me. After all, I¡¯m the one who confessed,¡± Wulfric responded. ¡°Besides, I won¡¯t give with just that. I will try my best and exhaust everything in me until this love becomes a two-way street.¡±


    Astrid blinked and then chuckled. ¡°Then please try your very best to do just that.¡±

 Chapter 493 ANOTHER SLEEPLESS NIGHT

    WULFRIC had been surfing the StarNet for hours now. He had been searching on the same topic since he entered his suite.


    [How to win someone¡¯s heart], [Tips to make someone like you romantically], [Ways to create a deeper emotional connection], [How to express feelings of attraction without being pushy], [Fostering trust and intimacy with someone special]¡ªthese were the things he¡¯s been searching.


    The results he got were mostly articles on building trust and emotional connection, tips on being a good listener, different romantic gestures and gift ideas, and other similar things. It didn¡¯t really help him. Because all of it just seemed so artificial. Probably because the articles were made with a certain purpose and not really for giving genuine advice that could help people with love troubles.


    Like him.


    So, why was our dear Wulf doing this? Let¡¯s go back a couple of hours ago. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    =====


    Wulfric blinked, slowly understanding what Aster just said. When it finally registered in his brain, his eyes widened and he was just filled with unexpected joy.


    ¡°You mean¡­ you¡¯re giving me a chance?¡± he asked, just to make sure.


    Aster nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if this is the only answer I can give right now.¡±


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s more than enough,¡± Wulfric quickly said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize for something you can¡¯t control. Besides, from here on out, it¡¯s my job to change your mind until your answer matched mine.¡±


    Aster seemed to find that amusing because of how his eyes crinkled like a crescent moon. ¡°What if it would take years for that to happen?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We have plenty of that, a few hundred of years more, in fact.¡±


    ¡°Even if you have to wait for a hundred of years?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said, with no hesitation. ¡°I won¡¯t stop waiting. Of course, I will also put in every effort I can to make you fall for me while I do that.¡±


    Aster chuckled. His obsidian black eyes softening as he gazed at him. ¡°I look forward to it.¡± The other raised his hand and pinched his cheek. ¡°Surprise me, okay?¡±


    ¡°You can definitely look forward to it,¡± Wulfric said, his eyes brimming with determination.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will,¡± Aster said. ¡°So, want to eat dinner with me?¡±


    =====


    After Aster¡¯s invitation, Wulfric tried to help him prepare dinner. But that only ended up with him breaking some plates. When they finished eating, he volunteered to clean the dishes, but he forgot that almost all households had a dishwasher that could do that for them.


    His first try to impress Aster had immediately gone awry. He truly wanted to bury himself at that moment. But it was a good thing that he had thick skin, so he was still able to stay to have tea.


    Now that he¡¯s back at his suite, the first thing he did was to search the StarNet for advice. Not the smartest thing to do, but he didn¡¯t really have any choice. Because his only other choice was Hildred. And he kind of had enough of that guy¡¯s advice.


    Knowing the other, he would definitely just make fun of him. Since they already had that talk yesterday, he would have probably guessed that he was actually talking about himself and not some imaginary ¡®friend¡¯, if he hadn¡¯t already guessed it.


    If Wulfric asked him some relationship advice, it would be like giving the other the green light to tease him. And he didn¡¯t really need that right now.


    So, this was the next best thing. Asking online for advice. Lame, yes, but what else could he do? He¡¯s in a bit of a desperate situation.


    Since he couldn¡¯t find anything directly on the StarNet, he decided to visit an anonymous forum site and ask there.


    [How to make my friend fall in love with me?]¨CHe typed that as a title and then followed it with the description of his situation. Like how Aster was willing to give him a chance. It didn¡¯t take long for replies to roll in under his post.


    [Now that this friend of yours is open to giving it a shot, just be yourself and let the relationship grow naturally. Don¡¯t force anything!]


    [Remember, they already like you enough to give you a chance. Be genuine, and just let the characteristics that they liked shine through.]


    [LOL asking something like this here, you¡¯re probably some loser. Are you sure the other person really gave you a chance or was it just your delusion?]


    -? [Shut up! You¡¯re the loser here for commenting like that.]


    -? [Right? This is an anonymous site where people who didn¡¯t have anyone to ask about asked their questions. If you¡¯re calling the original poster a loser, you being here also means that you¡¯re one.]


    [Build on the friendship you already have and let the romance bloom naturally.]


    [Congrats on the green light! Be patient and understanding, and let this relationship evolve at its own pace.]


    Wulfric furrowed his brows when he read the replies. Everyone was just telling him essentially the same thing¡ªto let things flow as naturally as possible. Which would also directly translate to not doing anything.


    But how could he not do anything? He was all for the natural thing, but nothing would also change if he became passive. Besides, if he¡¯s passive, how exactly could he surprise Aster?


    He sighed and was just about to leave the site when a new reply caught his attention.


    [I¡¯m also a doofus when it came to romance. So, I suggest you read a lot of romance novels. People might say it¡¯s stupid. But based on experience, they¡¯re really not. I got plenty of good advice from reading romance novels. And with their help, I¡¯m now in a relationship with my special someone.]


    Wulfric read that. He felt that it was indeed stupid, reading romance novels. But even as he thought that, he found himself replying under that comment.


    [Can you give me recommendations?]


    It seemed that this would be another sleepless night for our dear Wulf.

 Chapter 494 AN UNEXPECTED SITUATION

    REAS got out of the taxi and walked into the apartment building. He felt a bit lethargic because of the intensity of the training this past week. It¡¯s actually advisable to just stay in the dorms, but Reas couldn¡¯t do it. Because he could only meet his brother during the weekends. He didn¡¯t want to give up the chance to meet his brother regularly just so he could have more rest.


    But because he was really particularly tired, he woke up a bit late today. He didn¡¯t even manage to do his usual morning workout because he quickly left the academy. That¡¯s why it¡¯s already nearing lunch when he arrived here at his brother¡¯s apartment.


    When the elevator he was on stopped, he walked out and went straight to his brother¡¯s apartment. Since the security on the door recognized his biometrics, he was able to enter the apartment quickly.


    Reas heard movements in the kitchen as soon as he entered. He thought that Astrid must be making lunch. But when he turned in the direction of the kitchen, his whole body froze because of what he¡¯s seeing.


    There, in the kitchen, a tall man with white hair and golden eyes was holding a knife and wearing an apron. It looked like a scene straight from a horror movie.


    Reas started to question his sanity at that moment. Because was he really seeing the General of the Fenris Squad in the kitchen of his brother¡¯s apartment? Or was this just a visual hallucination?


    The other, seeing him, also showed a surprised expression. But he seemed to quickly come back to his senses and greeted him; n0????????????????????????.????0????


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here, little brother-in-law.¡±


    ¡°What the fu¡ª¡±


    Now, he¡¯s not only having a visual hallucination, but an auditory one as well?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Then can I stay here to wait for you?¡± Wulfric said before he could finish what he was saying. ¡°Promise, I¡¯ll behave.¡±


    Before Astrid could give an answer, or even think of what answer to give, his Terminal rang again. It showed that it was Ellis calling.


    =====


    At the end, he agreed to Wulfric¡¯s request just so he could quickly go down to meet Ellis before she decided to go up. When he got into Ellis¡¯ car, it was only then that he remembered that Reas would go back home today.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You seem to be a bit antsy since earlier.¡±


    Ellis¡¯ comment brought Astrid¡¯s focus back to the present. He had just finished his make-up and styling and was waiting for the shoot to start in his assigned waiting room.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing,¡± he said, trying to show that nothing was indeed wrong.


    But deep inside, he was kind of panicking.


    It¡¯s because his brother still hadn¡¯t replied to the message he sent him. In fact, the other hadn¡¯t even read the message he sent. Which was not really surprising, especially if Reas had put his Terminal notification sound to silent. Something that the other would do whenever he¡¯s busy. And by busy, he meant when he¡¯s at school.


    Reas probably forgot to change his Terminal settings. If he considered the fact that the other didn¡¯t get back home at the usual time, then it meant Reas probably woke up late and went straight to his apartment, forgetting to turn on his Terminal notification sound.


    There was a knock on the door and a staff peered inside and told them that the shooting would start.


    Astrid stood up and let out a deep sigh.


    He just hoped that when he came back, his apartment would still be intact.

 Chapter 495 WHY ARE YOU HERE?

    REAS narrowed his eyes at the man wearing an apron and was brewing tea. He didn¡¯t know which one should shock him more¡ªthe fact that the general was here or that the other looked so at home in his brother¡¯s apartment. No, it¡¯s definitely not just because of those. If he combined those two with the visual shock of the other wearing an apron, then the answer was pretty much obvious.


    He truly couldn¡¯t understand why this guy was here right now. That was the first thing he asked when he saw the other, by the way. But the general just asked him if he wanted tea instead of answering him. And oh, the way he offered that was like this was his own home and Reas was the guest.


    Reas couldn¡¯t even find the time to be infuriated because the general just went and prepared tea for him. He could only sit down at the table and watch the other¡¯s every movement.


    It was then that he remembered his Terminal. He had forgotten to turn on its sound notification, which he turned off last night so he could have a better sleep. This would explain why he didn¡¯t receive prior warning about this. Well, maybe he did, and he just wasn¡¯t able to read it. Because there¡¯s no way Astrid didn¡¯t contact him to tell him about this¡­ situation.


    He quickly turned on his Terminal and sure enough, the first thing he saw were unread messages and missed calls on the screen. All of which were from his brother. He immediately read the messages.


    [Reas, Wulfric is in the apartment right now. Please don¡¯t be too surprised if you see him. He was there to visit me, but because of my sudden schedule, I had to leave. Wulf asked if he could stay and I agreed. Don¡¯t be mad and attack him, okay? Call me once you read this message.] n0????????????????????????.????0????


    [Since you¡¯re not calling and also haven¡¯t read my message, you probably turned off your sound notification again. Anyway, just try not to do anything violent, okay?]


    [Reas, remember, no violence?]


    The same message of ¡®no violence¡¯ appeared for a couple of times more. Reas couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows the more he read it. Did Astrid really think violence was his first reaction after seeing the general here?


    Well, if it was before, that would probably be true. But after experiencing that special training under the Fenris Squad, and also with Astrid forgiving the other, his opinion of the general had already alleviated from the bottom. His first reaction towards him was no longer violence.


    It was now only a close second.


    Although despite saying that, he still wasn¡¯t sure how to react to this or what emotions he should feel. Of course, there¡¯s confusion and annoyance, maybe even a bit of anger. In short, it¡¯s complicated.


    Now, he didn¡¯t know what to do with these complicated feelings. It¡¯s like wanting to punch the other, but since he knew that he shouldn¡¯t, it only felt like there¡¯s something crawling under his skin. Making him uncomfortable. That kind of feeling.


    Reas thoughts were cut off when a teacup was placed in front of him. He raised his head and saw the general sitting down after he set the teacup. He looked at the tea, then at the man now sitting in front of him.


    He had a lot of questions in his mind, but for some reason, the first words that came out of his mouth was;


    ¡°Why are you wearing an apron?¡±


    The two blinked at each other after that question was asked. Reas quickly felt awkward, wanting to slap himself for asking that out of all the things he could have asked.


    Wulfric seemed unfazed though and answered honestly, ¡°I¡¯m making lunch for Aster.¡±


    Although he seemed like he wasn¡¯t affected on the outside, Wulfric was panicking a bit on the inside.


    After following that advice about reading romance novels, he did his homework and downloaded a ton of romance novels to read. He hadn¡¯t put them into action yet since he hadn¡¯t finished all of them. But it seemed that he had to search for pertinent information related to this kind of situation.


    The moment he saw Reas walking in, two novels quickly came to his mind¡ª[My Overprotective Brother] and [The Princess Pampered by All].


    Obviously, Aster was very much loved by his family. As how he had observed when they first met. Not to mention, this guy here, Reas, definitely had a huge brother complex.


    According to those novels, if he didn¡¯t want a tumultuous road to love, he had to be on the good side of his soon-to-be brother-in-law. Because this guy would definitely be the first one who would get in his way. The second ones would probably be his mother-in-law and father-in-law. But that¡¯s another problem he had to deal with later. What he should deal with now was Reas.


    That¡¯s why he had been very welcoming since earlier. He even brew the other tea. That¡¯s huge, since he had never brewed tea for anyone before. Not even Aster.


    Should he inform Reas of that? Maybe it would be a plus point and the other would look at him favorably.


    ¡°Does the general know how to cook?¡± Reas asked, disbelief written all over his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m learning.¡±


    There was this one romance novel where the male lead was a cold, domineering CEO. He cooked for the person he¡¯s pursuing and it surprisingly had a very good effect. That¡¯s why he decided to also learn how to cook. Not to mention, he also wanted to let Aster taste his cooking.


    Reas did not respond and just drank the tea. The moment he did, bitterness spread in his mouth. He grimaced and almost spit out the tea. It took him a few seconds to even swallow it all.


    ¡°If we go by this tea, I suggest we just have food deliver,¡± he said honestly.


    ¡°That bad, huh?¡±


    Reas nodded. And then asked something he should have asked when he first saw the general here. ¡°What are you doing here, General?¡±

 Chapter 496 TIT FOR TAT

    WULFRIC picked up the teacup in front of him. Because he felt a bit nervous by the question, he forgot that the tea he brewed didn¡¯t exactly taste great. So, when he drank it, the bitterness that filled his mouth almost choked him. Causing him to cough uncontrollably.


    ¡°Damn, that tastes like shit,¡± he blurted, almost wanting to throw the teacup to the wall. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that this teacup was owned by Aster, he probably would have already done that.


    Reas only looked at him as if saying, ¡®I told you so¡¯.


    Wulfric cleared his throat. He should have shown a more dignified appearance. This was a very sensitive time period. After all, he was at the stage where he was still trying to get Aster to like him. Having his future brother-in-law approved of him would definitely be a must. But how could he do that if he only showed his lame side to the other?


    Now, he even missed the perfect timing to answer Reas¡¯ question. He was planning to act all cool and honestly tell the other about his feelings for Aster. But saying that now, after he just almost choked on the tea he brewed, would only feel like a joke.


    ¡°I¡¯m visiting him,¡± he could only say at the end.


    Reas frowned, seemingly not liking his answer. ¡°The General must be busy with work. Did you go all the way here to the capital just to visit my brother, despite your busy schedule?¡±


    Wulfric felt like what the other was really saying was ¡®so, instead of doing your job properly, you came here running to my brother to disturb him?¡¯. Because of that, he suddenly felt like he should explain himself.


    He cleared his throat once again before speaking. ¡°I just finished a very dangerous and highly classified mission. So, I¡¯m on a break right now.¡±


    In short, he just finished doing good deeds for the Empire, so he deserved this break.


    ¡°I see. But isn¡¯t there a better place to go on vacation than the capital?¡± Reas said with a hint of sarcasm. ¡°I mean, surely, the General could relax more on some recreational planet than in my brother¡¯s small apartment, right?¡±


    The other¡¯s question was like him directly saying ¡®why are you hanging here in my brother¡¯s place instead?¡¯. Which would take them back to Reas¡¯ original question of what was he doing here.


    If Wulfric didn¡¯t answer that now, their conversation would not go anywhere. This was probably the right moment to tell the other what he was planning to say earlier.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not just here simply for vacation. The main reason why I travelled here to the capital was Aster. I wanted to see him. But when I got here, that simple reasoning had now evolved into something else. Something much deeper.¡±


    Reas frowned, not really liking where this was going. But he didn¡¯t interrupt the general and just let the other speak.


    ¡°You see, your brother and I had a conversation. Which led to me having this life-changing realization. I discovered that¡­¡± Wulfric stopped, taking a deep breath inwardly, before he continued, ¡°I¡¯m in love with him.¡±


    Reas felt like there was a loud gong ringing directly beside him when he heard what the other had just said. It was ringing so loudly that he couldn¡¯t hear or see anything else. It made him unable to react. So, he could only sit there and let the other continue to talk.


    ¡°And I¡¯m here to make Aster fall for me.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Okay, cut!¡±


    At the shout of the director, Astrid¡¯s expression returned to his usual ¡®business face¡¯. Which was primarily just a gentle smile with a slight tilt at the corner of his lips.


    ¡°Good job, Astrid,¡± the director praised. ¡°I didn¡¯t think we would actually get everything in just one take.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s because the director directed me well. That¡¯s why everything went smoothly,¡± Astrid said generously.


    But deep inside, he just wanted to quickly go back home. That¡¯s why he did his best to finish this commercial shoot in one take. Thankfully, the director was not too fuzzy and let everything passed easily. The other changing the schedule at the last minute probably helped. He probably felt guilty doing that and didn¡¯t want to make things hard for Astrid.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that Astrid¡¯s performance was not up to standard. Despite him wanting to finish this shoot as quickly as possible, he wouldn¡¯t just jeopardize his performance. A good actor should always know how to separate personal from professional matter.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry again for rescheduling like this,¡± the director apologized a second time. He apologized the first time when he arrived earlier.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Director. I understand,¡± Astrid said.


    After a few more conversations, the shoot officially ended.


    Astrid and Ellis said goodbye to the staffs and walked directly to the parking lot.


    ¡°Since the shoot had been moved ahead of schedule, it would most likely air ahead of schedule as well,¡± Ellis said as they walked.


    This commercial was for a new smart cookware set produced by a pretty famous brand known for being family-friendly and user-friendly. Once this commercial aired, Astrid would have an approachable image that could appeal to the general public. It would balance out the elegant and noble-like image he had that was propelled by his EMMA advertisement. n0?????????????????????.????0????


    This would only be advantageous for Astrid¡¯s overall image. It¡¯s one of the reasons why Ellis chose this brand¡¯s product. Not only because of their good reputation but also because of how popular it was to the general public. Like at least seven out of 10 households had their cookware sets.


    The fact that they chose Astrid to promote their new cookware set was a testament to his newly gained popularity.


    Ellis was about to praise the other for another job well done, but before she could, she noticed that Astrid was no longer walking beside her. Confused, she looked ahead and saw the other was already numerous pace away from her.


    He was walking, no, striding, as if an axe murderer was running after him.

 Chapter 497 WHERE ARE THOSE TWO?

    ASTRID stopped in front of his apartment door. Before he opened it, he took a deep breath and calmed his mind. It wouldn¡¯t help if he panicked in front of them. He had to be the calm and rational one.


    But the fact that he couldn¡¯t contact either Reas or Wulfric made that difficult.


    He sent them a message as soon as he got into Ellis¡¯ car. But after a few minutes, he still hadn¡¯t received a reply. The messages he sent even went unread. Seeing that, how could he stay calm?


    They wouldn¡¯t really be fighting, would they? His apartment wouldn¡¯t be in shambles now, right? Right?


    The more he thought about it, the more he panicked. He wanted to call the two of them and tell them not to cause any incident, especially one that involved destroying private property. But he couldn¡¯t. Because Ellis was in the car with him. Unless he was prepared to tell Ellis about Wulfric, which he wasn¡¯t.


    At least not now, when he didn¡¯t know if Wulfric and Reas were arguing and making a mess of his apartment.


    So when he arrived at his apartment building, he ran as fast as his body would allow. To the point that it almost felt like he was teleporting from the entrance of the building to the elevator because of how fast he was.


    And now he was finally there.


    After another deep breath, he finally opened the door.


    He had expected the worst, but what he saw was a clean apartment, just like the one he had left in the morning. But most importantly, there was no one inside.


    [Huh¡­ where are those two?]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The answer to Astrid¡¯s question was upstairs. Yes, that¡¯s right. Wulfric and Reas were in the former¡¯s suite. More specifically, in the room that contained two virtual pods.


    Why were they there, you asked?


    Well, we had to go back a few hours.


    =====


    Reas, who had just heard the most absurd thing, was slowly recovering from the shock. The General, no, that guy, had just admitted to him that he was in love with Astrid. If the one involved was not his brother, he might have thought it was a joke and laughed it off. After all, the word ¡®love¡¯ was the last thing on anyone¡¯s mind when they saw or heard of Wulfric de Lunaris.


    But since the one the other had fallen in love with was Astrid, it didn¡¯t seem like a joke. After all, his brother was someone who was easy to fall in love with. It¡¯s understandable that even the most feared general in the Empire fell for Astrid¡¯s charm and personality,


    Besides, it wasn¡¯t as if there hadn¡¯t been a predecessor. The General had shown his interest in Astrid on several occasions. So the other falling in love was just the next step.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that Reas could just accept everything with all his heart. Even though his impression of the General had improved a lot compared to when they first met, accepting that the other was in love with his brother was another thing entirely. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    Just thinking about the two of them being a ¡®couple¡¯, he could already foresee the countless problems and troubles it could bring to his brother. For one, as a newcomer to the entertainment industry, being associated with the prince of the empire was more of a disadvantage than an advantage.


    People would only see his brother as the person in a relationship with the prince, rather than a talented actor who was good at his job. Something Astrid would definitely not like.


    Then there¡¯s the question of their parents¡¯ real identity. That¡¯s another problem altogether.


    Wulfric watched the expression on Reas¡¯ face change by the second. Frankly, he thought the other¡¯s first reaction to this confession would be to attack him. He was even prepared to defend himself. He had not expected the other to be so calm.


    Wait ¨C was it possible that what he said did not register in his brain? Like someone who was still in denial? That¡¯s quite possible, wasn¡¯t it? So he decided to say it again.


    ¡°Ahem, I¡¯m not sure if you heard it, but if you didn¡¯t, I¡¯ll say it again,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m in¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop. I heard you loud and clear the first time, General,¡± Reas said, raising his hand to stop the other.


    The General looked at him with an expression that said ¡®if you heard, why don¡¯t you say something?¡¯. The anger he had felt the first time rose again. This guy should be grateful that he still kept his cool and was able to remain calm in this situation.


    ¡°What kind of reaction does the General want me to show?¡± he asked instead.


    ¡°Well, you happily support my wooing of your brother?¡±


    Reas just gave the other a look as if asking if he was crazy. ¡°Please don¡¯t push it. The fact that I can stay this calm is already the extent of any positive feelings I can give you right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. I¡¯m even ready to get hit,¡± the General said in a nonchalant tone, as if he wouldn¡¯t mind if Reas really did that.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re still in the realm of reality,¡± he said in a dry tone, which was just him saying that he was glad the other one wasn¡¯t too delusional.


    Wulfric stood up. They wouldn¡¯t be accomplishing anything if they just sat here exchanging sarcastic comments. They should do what military men should do at this moment.


    ¡°You want to do a Mecha battle?¡±


    Reas raised his eyebrows. ¡°A real one or in VirtualNet?¡±


    ¡°In VirtualNet. That way you can go all out to your heart¡¯s content.¡±


    Reas was very interested in this suggestion. ¡°There¡¯s only one virtual pod here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I have two at my apartment,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°It¡¯s just upstairs, so we can do it right away.¡±


    Hearing that last comment, Reas¡¯ expression immediately crumpled. ¡°You have a suite upstairs?¡±


    Hearing this, Wulfric looked at Reas and saw the other glaring at him coldly. Hmm¡­ did he just make things worse?


    =====


    And now, these two were currently battling it out in the Mecha Hall.

 Chapter 498 HAVING... FUN?

    REAS¡¯ Mecha collided with the laser barricade around the ring. If this was a Mecha battle that happened in reality, the Mecha would have already suffered from electrocution from the laser barricade. But since this was inside the VirtualNet, the health gauge of his Mecha only decreased. Like a situation in a game.


    In fact, with how his Mecha had been repeatedly trounced since the start of battle, he, the pilot, would have already been sent to the hospital if this was a real-life battle. But Reas didn¡¯t feel any pain at all. This was not only because they were inside VirtualNet, but because the pain setting of his avatar was set to zero.


    This was not Reas¡¯ usual avatar setting. As an aspiring soldier, training in the virtual world using that kind of setting wouldn¡¯t help him at all. It would only give the illusion that he was invulnerable to pain, which would then lower his guard and make him reckless. Traits that a soldier should never have.


    So, why was his current avatar setting like this?


    It all started when he and the general entered the Mecha Hall. n0????????????????????????.????0????


    =====


    Reas couldn¡¯t help but stare at the huge, black Mecha in front of him. As much as he didn¡¯t want to, he couldn¡¯t stop his admiration. How could he not? The Shadow Striker was in front of him. It¡¯s like seeing one¡¯s favorite artist or something.


    Shadow Striker was the number one Mecha on the Mecha Hall. It had set a record that hadn¡¯t been broken for 15 years. Well, technically, it wasn¡¯t the Mecha that was on top of the list, but its pilot¡¯s name. But all the videos of the Mecha fights he had watched only showed the Mechas and not the pilots. So, it¡¯s natural that his admiration fell on the Mecha.


    Although, he must admit that before he personally met Wulfric, that admiration was still on the pilot. But after that disastrous first meeting, as a way to cope, he simply transferred all that admiration to the Mecha.


    Kind of lame, but that¡¯s his coping mechanism. Kind of hard to throw that admiration away when he thought of the other as the best Mecha pilot in the Empire. Especially more so since he also aspired to be the best Mecha pilot out there.


    ¡°Try?¡±


    ¡°Well, you know you can¡¯t beat me. Unless I allow you, of course. But that would be an insult for you, so I won¡¯t. Instead, I will put my pain setting to the maximum. So I would feel all the hits you¡¯ll be able to land to the maximum degree. Of course, you should set your pain setting to zero. Because you¡¯ll be beaten up a lot if we battled it out.¡±


    ¡°Okay. That¡¯s it. Let¡¯s do it, let¡¯s fight.¡±


    A silvery white Mecha appeared. Reas transported himself to the cockpit of the Mecha. He might not be able to beat the other, but he sure as hell would make sure he would land a couple of hits.


    Ensuring that the other person experienced pain would certainly provide an outlet for the built-up anger, irritation, and vexation he had been harboring since earlier.


    =====


    However, after over an hour of fighting, Reas still hadn¡¯t yet landed a single solid hit on the other.


    It should have made Reas even more frustrated, but weirdly enough, it didn¡¯t. He wasn¡¯t even angry. He was glad that the other wasn¡¯t taking it easy on him. If he did, then that would be worthy of anger.


    Probably because, as they fought, he could feel his skills increasing in real time. It¡¯s definitely the effect of fighting with someone like this guy. As much as he didn¡¯t want to admit it, the general was definitely the current best Mecha pilot right now. And fighting him like this was like having a one on one tutorial lesson with a master.


    Surprisingly enough, he discovered something as they fought. That he was actually having¡­ fun?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    While the two were having ¡®fun¡¯ fighting, Astrid was anxiously waiting at his apartment, wandering where they were.

 Chapter 499 SOMETHING UNREAL

    499  SOMETHING UNREAL


    AFTER trying to call the two for a couple of times and failed to connect, Astrid decided to just cook lunch. If he continued to fret, he would just stress himself out. Surely, the two would come back here sometime later. The fact that they didn¡¯t make a mess out of his apartment was satisfactory enough. Because it meant that the two didn¡¯t fight. n,????.????????????)????(????)????)¨C????-????.????


    That was more than enough.


    He took a deep breath once more, fully calming himself down. After he was relieved of his anxieties, he went to his room to change into more comfortable clothing before going to the kitchen and cooking.


    He decided to cook for three people. Since the two would probably return in a while. They could have lunch together then. Of course, after he gave them a good bit of tongue-lashing.


    Astrid put down the knife he¡¯s holding with a bit more force than normal, cutting the cabbage in front of him cleanly in half.


    Because those two definitely deserved it.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric suddenly felt a chill behind his back. It¡¯s like what one would feel when they had a bad feeling about something. He had never felt this way before, even during a dangerous mission.


    Wait- could this be related to Aster? Did something happen to him?


    Before he could fully think about that, he felt a pain under his chin and then he found himself being knocked back. Or more accurately, the Mecha he¡¯s piloting was knocked back.


    Because the pain setting of his avatar was at the maximum, the pain he felt from that attack was almost at the threshold of what he could handle. But it¡¯s still not something that could make him groan. That¡¯s why he still managed to spin his Mecha mid-air and gently landed on the ground.


    But before he could stay balanced, he saw a Mecha leg about to hit the side of his face. His fast reflexes allowed him to hold the leg before it could hit him. Then he pulled the leg and punched the Mecha in front of him.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you two seemed to be getting along,¡± he said.


    Although he said that in a sarcastic manner, he was kind of relieved that the two looked like they were indeed getting along. Just the fact that they walked to the apartment peacefully was evidence enough of that. A far cry from the fighting he initially imagined.


    ¡°Aster! You¡¯re back! I was hoping I could cook lunch for you,¡± Wulfric said, looking genuinely disappointed.


    ¡°I suggest you never try his cooking,¡± Reas said.


    ¡°Hey, I thought the two of us are getting along?¡±


    ¡°First, we¡¯re not. Second, the General couldn¡¯t even brew a tea. Do you really want Aster to experience food poisoning?¡±


    ¡°You do know you¡¯re being rude, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like the General can do anything about it.¡±


    Astrid narrowed his eyes at the two. They were bickering. Not in that ¡®I hate you, you¡¯re my enemy¡¯ kind of way, but in a rather friendly way. This was not the scene he¡¯s expecting. In fact, if someone told him earlier that his brother and Wulfric would be having a friendly bickering like this, he would tell that person that they must be crazy.


    But it¡¯s happening right in front of him now. So, it¡¯s either he¡¯s having hallucination right now, or it¡¯s really happening.


    ¡°Okay. I want to be mad because the two of you ignored all my calls and are now acting all friendly like this. But that would seem like I don¡¯t like seeing the two of you get along. And although I feel like I¡¯m in a Twilight zone and having some kind of hallucination seeing the two of you right now, I still want to know how this¡­¡± He gestured between the two. ¡°Came to be.¡±


    ¡°Aster, you called? I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t ignore you on purpose,¡± Wulfric quickly said. ¡°I told Reas that I love you. He seemed to be angry about that, so I suggested we do some Mecha fighting so he could release some tension. I beat him a couple of times, and we kind of lose track of time.¡±


    As Astrid listened to Wulfric, he only felt like being bombarded by unreal information.

 Chapter 500 SPECIAL CHAPTER THEM, TEN YEARS AGO

    500  SPECIAL CHAPTER: THEM, TEN YEARS AGO


    A boy who looked to be about seven or eight years old leisurely flipped the book he was reading. Sitting at one corner of the library, the light coming through the floor to ceiling window shone at the boy. A halo seemed to form at the top of his soft, black hair. His black eyes seemed to be shining, like a black diamond.


    Everyone in the library couldn¡¯t help but glance in the direction where the boy was sitting. It¡¯s hard for people there to ignore the presence of the boy. Not only because most of them were kids of a similar age and couldn¡¯t control their admiration, but mostly because the boy just had that kind of aura. Something that made people unable to take their eyes off him.


    Many wanted to go up to him and talk. Many would think that since children were very honest with their feelings, it¡¯s only natural for them to approach the boy without any reservations. But surprisingly enough, none of the children in the library dared to do that.


    Not because they were adhering to the ¡®silence policy¡¯ of the library. Children their age wouldn¡¯t really be stopped by something like that, but because of another boy sitting in front of the black-haired boy.


    This boy had ice-blue hair and a pair of teal-gray eyes. Even though the other looked bored, almost everyone there knew that if they attempted to talk to the black-haired boy, those teal-gray eyes would turn sharp and stare at them as if trying to scan their whole body from inside out. For children like them, it¡¯s definitely chilling. And scary.


    ¡°Aster, how long will we stay here? I¡¯m bored.¡±


    Astrid raised his head from the book he¡¯s reading and looked at his twin brother. ¡°Only until the school airship arrived. If Reas is bored, you can go play football with the other kids.¡±


    They were in the school¡¯s library. This was Astrid¡¯s favorite place in the school. It¡¯s small and cozy, but the most important thing was, they had real books. Something very rare in this era. It was also the main reason why he wanted to attend this school.


    Although it¡¯s already been eight years since he reincarnated in this era, there were still things from his past life that he missed. The food would be one, but that could be quickly remedied. But some things like books were pretty hard to come by. The biggest and only library he¡¯d been to was Uncle Leigh¡¯s.


    But Uncle Leigh¡¯s place was not somewhere he could just go to anytime he missed reading. So, the school library was very convenient.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to. If I go off somewhere and play, you¡¯ll be surrounded by other kids again. What if one of them kidnaps you?¡± Reas said in a voice full of seriousness.


    Astrid almost burst out laughing because of the righteous expression on his brother¡¯s face right now. ¡°Did you hear that from Dad?¡± n????.????????????????????????)????.????-????


    Reas crossed his arms in front of his small chest and huffed. ¡°Dad said that there might be people wanting to kidnap you because of how pretty you are. As your older brother, I should protect you.¡±


    Astrid chuckled. Because of how mature Reas act sometimes, he forgot that the other was still only eight-years-old.


    ¡°First, children our age couldn¡¯t possibly have the skills to kidnap me. And second, I¡¯m the older brother. So, I should be the one protecting Reas.¡±


    Reas pouted. ¡°I¡¯m still stronger than Aster, though. So, I should still be the one protecting you.¡±


    ¡°Aw, here.¡±


    The soldiers started sending Hildred money via their Terminals for losing the bet.


    ¡°Hey, you conman, can you stop using me to make money?¡± Wulfric said in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°You¡¯re making it sound like I¡¯m a pimp.¡± When Wulfric coldly glared at him, Hildred only raised his hands in surrender. ¡°I¡¯m just saying you worded that wrong.¡±


    Wulfric rolled his eyes and just walked passed the other, going to the nearby stream to take a dip. Hildred followed him.


    ¡°By the way, I heard you¡¯re planning to make a squad. Can I recommend some people? I just met this pretty smart rookie from another platoon, and there¡¯s also this fighting maniac. Of course, I¡¯m also volunteering for your squad. Since you like me, you¡¯ll also like them.¡±


    Wulfric just gave the other a sideway glance, but didn¡¯t really rejected the idea. As much as he thought the other was annoying, he was also the only one he could tolerate in this dump.


    ¡°As long as they¡¯re not trash.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll be useful,¡± Hildred said with a hippy smile. ¡°So¡­ I heard the reason you ran to the army was because the Emperor planned to arrange a marriage for you. Is it true?¡±


    Wulfric stopped in his tracks and coldly glanced at the other. ¡°Another word about that, and you can forget about joining my squad.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Hildred said, doing a zipping motion of his mouth.


    Wulfric continued walking. Thinking of how the first thing Cynric wanted to do just after he took over the throne was to marry him off simply made him want to beat someone.


    What the fuck was marriage? He didn¡¯t need something like that.


    What our Wulf didn¡¯t know was that 10 years from now, he would meet someone he would want to marry and swallow those words himself.


    A special chapter! Sorry, if I was late again for updating. Once again, thank you to everyone who¡¯s still here despite my updates being so slow. I really want to update more frequently, but it¡¯s really hard to do that now. But don¡¯t worry, no matter how slow my updates are, I would definitely finish this story.


    Anyways, HAPPY 500TH!!! (??¥î?)?*:??


    Tyramisu

 Chapter 501 "YES." "NO."

    501  ¡°YES.¡± ¡°NO.¡±


    SILENCE continued to fill the air. Both Wulfric and Reas were standing like children about to be scolded, while Astrid was looking at the two with arms crossed and a raised brow.


    This silent stand-off only stopped when a loud rumble echoed in the apartment. Both twins glanced at the source of the sound and landed on Wulfric¡¯s stomach.


    Wulfric let out an awkward laugh. ¡°Sorry, the smell of the food is making me hungry.¡±


    Astrid sighed. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s eat lunch first.¡±


    Wulfric and Reas, as if given pardon, quickly walked towards the table. As Wulfric was about to sit down, Reas stopped him.


    ¡°That¡¯s my seat.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    As if to answer that, Reas promptly sat down on the said seat. ¡°Seriously.¡±


    Wulfric clicked his tongue as he sat in another seat.


    ¡°How old are you again?¡± he asked, indirectly telling the other that he was being childish.


    ¡°I¡¯m 18,¡± Reas said. Then he added with a smile that seemed to be mocking Wulfric. ¡°My brother is too, just so you know.¡±


    Wulfric looked like he swallowed a blowfly after hearing that comment.


    Watching the two bickering like this, Astrid felt like he was in a limbo. He shook his head. If he continued questioning the ¡®realness¡¯ of this situation, he would just have a headache. So, he decided to just get over lunch first.


    Lauren, on the other, was definitely still busy with the shooting of his new movie. So inviting him was out of the question.


    As he was pondering over what plans he should make, he heard the sound of glass breaking from behind. He looked back and saw a broken glass on the floor. When he raised his head, Reas and Wulfric seemed to have turned into statues, frozen in place. The two looked nervously at him, obviously worried that this would make him angry. Then they glanced at each other.


    With just that look, Astrid could already tell that the two would start another round of bickering, probably blaming each other. Before that could start, he spoke first as pre-emptive measure.


    ¡°Do clean that up as well. Before, you know, I get really angry.¡±


    The two immediately moved and cleaned up the mess they made. They moved so quickly that they finished cleaning everything up in just a minute. Of course, the dishwasher was doing all the cleaning. But it¡¯s still a bit impressive.


    Then they sat in front of him, looking like children waiting to be scolded.


    Astrid sighed, seeing them like that. Even the slight bit of anger he felt earlier had already simmered down.


    ¡°I won¡¯t scold you, so relax,¡± he said, no longer in the mood to give the two a talking down. Especially when both looked like a pair of poor puppies right now. ¡°Just tell me how all this came to be.¡±


    ¡°Let me do the explaining,¡± Wulfric volunteered. ¡°When you left this morning, Reas arrived not long after. We had a conversation. I told him that I confessed to you. I felt like he didn¡¯t take it too well, so I suggested that we fight it out in the Mecha Hall. Just like how hot-blooded soldiers would. Our fight lasted quite a while, so we didn¡¯t have a chance to check our Terminals. That¡¯s why we couldn¡¯t answer your calls and reply to you.¡±


    Astrid raised a brow after hearing that explanation. ¡°Well, I guess the Mecha fight is very effective. Seeing as how you two are getting along now.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Wulfric and Reas said respectively, almost at the same time.

 Chapter 502 IF HE COULDNT WAIT THAT LONG

    502  IF HE COULDN¡¯T WAIT THAT LONG


    THE two looked at each other. Reas¡¯ expression was like saying, ¡®who gets along with who?¡¯. While Wulfric¡¯s expression was like, ¡®stop being childish and just admit it¡¯.


    Seeing the war of nerves of the two, Astrid didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry. In the end, he just decided to think of this as an amusing phenomenon he could laugh about. That¡¯s better than being stressed about how things ended up in this manner.


    Besides, he was truly glad that this was the end result. It was rather peaceful compared to what he had imagined. Especially since Wulfric actually went ahead and told Reas about his confession. Things could have definitely been worse. This was already the best possible outcome there could be.


    ¡°Regardless, I¡¯m happy that it did not come into a bloodbath,¡± Astrid said honestly.


    ¡°How could I let it come to that?¡± Wulfric said. ¡°Since he¡¯s Aster¡¯s precious younger brother, there¡¯s no way I would beat him up to that point. Unless he deserves it, of course.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for being so generous, General,¡± Reas said sarcastically.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t mind the sarcasm and only gave Reas a toothy grin. ¡°It¡¯s only natural to be generous to my brother-in-law.¡±


    ¡°Hah! The General really has quite the imagination. Dreaming in broad daylight like this, maybe you should have a doctor check in you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a dream,¡± Wulfric said with a shrug, before turning to Aster. ¡°I will definitely make it come true.¡±


    Astrid felt his heart surprisingly skipped a beat because of that sudden declaration that was obviously meant for him. Seriously, the way the other just straightforwardly bulldozed through everything was worth praise. Both in a good and bad sense. He just didn¡¯t expect that the other would also take the same approach when it came to love.


    Well, he probably should be thankful for that. At least with Wulfric, he didn¡¯t have to wonder where he stood. Because the other would definitely be honest enough to let him know his feelings. A misunderstanding would hardly happen if that were the case.


    Wulfric stood up, feeling that it was probably time for him to leave. He hadn¡¯t contacted Leland since he got here. That guy was most likely cursing him right now. So, before his lieutenant considered resigning, he should probably do his job as a General.


    ¡°Thank you again for lunch, Aster. It¡¯s really, really delicious,¡± he said first. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two alone, since you probably have a lot to discuss. But can I come back for dinner?¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°You do know me, little brother.¡±


    ¡°So? What is it? Are you also in love with the general?¡±


    Astrid leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Honestly? I¡¯m not sure myself.¡±


    ¡°Now, that¡¯s unlike you.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± Astrid chuckled. ¡°I do like Wulf. 80% of that is probably from a romantic angle. But I can¡¯t straightforwardly say that I¡¯m in love with him. A far cry from Wulf¡¯s confidence.¡± He turned to his brother. ¡°I also want to be that confident. But unfortunately, the me right now isn¡¯t on that level yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you want the General to help you reach the same level of feelings?¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Is it weird?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s actually pretty reasonable. You¡¯re still too young to even think of things like this. In my opinion, it¡¯s just right to make the General wait for 10 more years.¡±


    Astrid laughed when he heard that. ¡°If Wulf heard you, there will definitely be violence.¡±


    ¡°If he couldn¡¯t wait that long, then he doesn¡¯t deserve you,¡± Reas said indignantly.


    Mini-theater:


    Reas: The General should wait for 10 more years. (£þ¥Ø£þ)


    Wulf: (¨s¡ã¡õ¡ã£©¨s¦à ©ß©¥©ß

 Chapter 503 AFTER A WEEK

    ASTRID was making popcorn. Tonight¡¯s episode of [The Great War] would be the first episode that would truly show his acting talent. Not that he didn¡¯t show any of that in the previous episodes, but his acting in those episodes was like just a drop in a bucket. While in this episode, it¡¯s the full bucket.


    In this episode, his character, Luan Escanor, had just been ordained to a Bishop. It¡¯s his first ordination after he became a priest. Some might say that it¡¯s a bit fast, considering that it¡¯s only the seventh episode, but considering how the source material has more than 500 chapters, and there¡¯s only 35 episodes, this kind of pacing was just right.


    As the popcorn was cooking, he started making iced tea. When the popcorn stopped popping, he was about to pour it into a big bowl, but someone took the bowl from him.


    ¡°Let me do it.¡±


    Astrid raised his head and saw Wulfric pouring the popcorn in the bowl.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the tea,¡± Reas said on the side, picking up the pitcher and putting it on a tray alongside four glasses. Bringing them to the living room.


    Wulfric followed with the huge bowl of popcorn.


    Astrid watched the two. Nothing had really changed after a week. The two still bickered incessantly. Which was understandable, since they had never really met during the weekdays. Especially considering that Reas had school.


    Yes, it had been a week since then. Surprisingly enough, Wulfric didn¡¯t spend that whole week attached to Astrid. Which Astrid definitely preferred. Probably because he not only had school but also a work schedule that the other couldn¡¯t just follow. Wulfric was probably also busy with his own things. Because no matter how free he looked, he¡¯s still a General of the Empire.


    The two of them mostly spent their time together eating meals, breakfasts and dinners, to be exact. He did all the cooking, of course. While Wulfric provided a lot of high-quality ingredients.


    ¡°Aster, did the General spend most of his time here during the weekdays?¡± Reas suddenly asked.


    ¡°You can just ask me that. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m not going to answer you,¡± Wulfric said, shaking his head.


    ¡°Who knew if the General will answer me honestly?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± Astrid said in response to Reas¡¯ earlier question. He felt like if he didn¡¯t answer immediately, the two would start bickering again. ¡°Wulf is also very busy. How can he spend the majority of his day with me? Right, Wulf?¡±


    Wulfric cleared his throat. ¡°Right.¡±


    But in truth, he actually wanted to do just that ¨C spend most of his time with Aster. He couldn¡¯t do that, though. No, actually, he could. It would just make him look like a stalker if he did. So, he could only reluctantly do some reports that Leland had sent him. And, on the side, he started attending a cooking lesson in the VirtualNet.


    It was a good use of his time. He was confident that by next week, he could finally cook for Aster.


    ¡°By the way, Aster, why did you prepare four glasses? Is one of your friends coming?¡± he asked, not only because he wanted to change the subject, but because he was also very curious about the answer.


    ¡°Ah, yes. It¡¯s my agent. I invited her over. I was thinking that the two of you could meet. Is it alright?¡± Aster asked, looking a bit hesitant.


    Wulfric was a bit surprised at first, but he quickly understood why Aster wanted him to meet his agent. If he continued to hang around Aster, it would be inevitable for him to meet the other. So, it would be better to introduce himself now than later.


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll be happy to meet her.¡±


    Hopefully, the other wouldn¡¯t be too surprised seeing him.

 Chapter 504 HOPELESSLY IN LOVE...

    ELLIS parked her car and then contacted Astrid, telling the other that she was already here. She immediately received a reply.


    [Just go up, Sister Ellis. And, ahm, I have another guest here. Please don¡¯t be too surprised when you see him.]


    Ellis¡¯ brows furrowed a bit when she read that. Why would she be surprised? She thought of people that had some connection to Astrid. She couldn¡¯t think of anyone who could surprise her. Well, except for one. Lord Cassius Grimaldi. But that would be too far-fetched, right?


    Well, anyway, whoever it was, if they were a friend of Astrid¡¯s, they probably wouldn¡¯t be that bad.


    She picked up the box of pastry she bought before getting off the car and walked to the entrance. Her biometrics were already registered to the building, so as soon as she stood there, the entrance opened.


    As she walked towards the elevator, she started to wonder why Astrid suddenly invited her to watch this episode of [The Great War]. As she was with the other during filming, she knew that this episode would be important for the character that Astrid was playing. Could it be because of that? So, he could get her opinion regarding his performance? But she had already seen it, live even.


    She shook her head. Well, it didn¡¯t really matter since she¡¯s already here.


    She got into the elevator and quickly reached the floor of Astrid¡¯s apartment. Shen walked over there and pressed the doorbell. It didn¡¯t take long for the door to open and Astrid, wearing comfortable home clothes, welcomed her.


    ¡°Come in, Sister Ellis. Let me carry that,¡± he said, taking the pastry box. ¡°And, ahm, about my guest, please, don¡¯t be too surprised seeing him.¡±


    Now, Ellis was becoming more and more curious about this ¡®guest¡¯. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    When she walked inside, the first person she saw was the tall man who suddenly stood up. The man had white hair and a pair of golden eyes. Features that were probably very familiar to all the people in the Empire. Because when seeing this combination, they could only think of one person.


    The prince of the Empire.


    Wulfric de Lunaris.


    ¡°The¡­ Butcher?¡±


    When she saw how he raised a brow, Ellis realized that she just said that out loud. She almost raised his hand to cover her mouth. It was only due to her strong self-control that she was able to stop herself from doing so. It was the same reason why she managed not to scream at this moment.


    But deep inside, she was already panicking. Astrid told her not to be surprised. But this was something that couldn¡¯t even be considered in the realm of ¡®surprise¡¯. This was something that should be considered as ¡®terrifying¡¯ instead.


    In the split second that she saw the butcher- no, the prince, millions of thoughts had already entered her mind. What was the prince doing here? Was he the guest Astrid was referring to? If so, then how the hell did they know each other? Were they friends? But how could that be possible with two people with vastly different backgrounds? ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    Then, the next thing that came to her mind was, was this safe? The prince was known to be a bit unstable and prone to violence. No matter what the connection between the two were, was it safe for Astrid?


    The other could be considered as second in rank in the Empire when it came to power and influence. The power imbalance between him and Astrid was just so great that he could do anything to the latter and no one could probably stop him. He wouldn¡¯t even be accountable if he did something bad to Astrid.


    At that, Ellis¡¯ chaotic mind finally settled. Her only thought at the moment was to protect Astrid from whatever this was.


    ¡°Greetings, Your Highness,¡± she greeted first with a slight bow, since the other was still a prince and therefore was in a much higher social standing. It was expected of her to greet the other first.


    The other¡¯s calm reaction slightly surprised Wulfric. Aside from the slight widening of the eyes, Aster¡¯s agent didn¡¯t show the reaction he was expecting. He thought there would be more, like finger pointing or something, but there was surprisingly none of that.


    ¡°Hi. It¡¯s great to finally meet you,¡± he greeted back. He stretched out his hand, obviously asking for a handshake.


    Ellis was startled by this. Never in her life would she have imagined that the prince, this prince, would offer her a handshake. Although she was a bit afraid that the other would crush her hand, she really wasn¡¯t in any position to refuse it. What if this guy thought that she was being disrespectful and just lost his temper here?


    She quickly walked forward and shook the other¡¯s hand. Despite her worries and fear, there was something that she must do. And that¡¯s to protect Astrid.


    ¡°Excuse me, Your Highness, but may I ask what¡¯s your relationship with Astrid?¡±


    This was another surprise for Wulfric. He didn¡¯t expect that this agent would be so straightforward without feeling fear. Or perhaps she did feel fear. She just chose to ignore it to put Aster¡¯s well-being first. Just look at her. She¡¯s like some mother hen protecting her chick.


    He suddenly had a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Remembering how it was when he met Aster¡¯s mother.


    This was good, though. At least, he didn¡¯t have to worry that Aster¡¯s agent didn¡¯t have his best interest at heart. If she didn¡¯t care about Aster, and thought of exploiting his relationship with the other instead, Wulfric would make sure that she would no longer be Aster¡¯s agent the next day. But she passed the test with flying colors instead.


    ¡°I¡¯m Aster¡¯s friend,¡± he said. And then added with a grin, ¡°Who¡¯s also hopelessly in love with him.¡±


    Ellis felt like there¡¯s a ringing in her ear. Did the prince of the Empire, the Butcher of Orus, say that he¡¯s in love with Astrid? Did she really just hear that or did she have momentary auditory hallucination?

 Chapter 505 ANOTHER DECLARATION

    ELLIS felt like she needed to be pinched just to check if she¡¯s not inside a dream right now. No, a slap would probably be better.


    ¡°Astrid, can you slap me? I think I¡¯m inside a dream. I need to wake up.¡±


    Astrid blinked at this. And then he had to stop himself from laughing. He didn¡¯t expect that out of all things, this would be Ellis¡¯ reaction. The other was such a realist that he truly thought that even in the face of such a situation, she would still calmly face it.


    At first, that was indeed the case. She handled meeting Wulfric very well. She was very calm and composed, as if meeting the prince of the Empire was not such a big deal. But after Wulfric made that declaration about being in love with him, it seemed that Ellis finally lost it.


    Not that he could blame her, really. Even he was surprised that Wulfric would just straight up say it. Well, that¡¯s very like him. Astrid would probably be even more surprised if he didn¡¯t do such a thing. He honestly didn¡¯t know if he should find this funny or moving.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for a slap, Sister Ellis,¡± he could only say. ¡°You¡¯re very much awake right now.¡±


    ¡°Please excuse this weird- no, I mean, the General. He just has the habit of constantly announcing to everyone that he¡¯s in love with my brother,¡± Reas added.


    Ellis¡¯ first reaction when she heard that was horror. What did he mean the other had the habit of telling people he¡¯s in love with Astrid? If that¡¯s the case, then wouldn¡¯t everyone in the Empire soon know about this? What would happen to Astrid¡¯s acting career then?


    If this thing got out, Astrid would just be forever known as the person the prince was in love with. No matter if they had a relationship or not in the future, he would only be known as that. His talent would be overshadowed greatly. Especially since this was the prince they were talking about. Someone who seemed like he didn¡¯t have a beating heart.


    Being the person who managed to capture the heart of such a guy, it would give Astrid a different kind of infamy. Something that would be detrimental to his career rather than helpful. ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    ¡°Your Highness, please tell me you haven¡¯t told this to anyone else,¡± she asked, hoping that that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°Oh, I think only the people in this room know about it.¡±


    Before Ellis could breathe a sigh of relief, the prince added.


    ¡°One of my captains probably knows,¡± Wulfric said, pertaining to Hildred. He thought that maybe Leland also had guessed it.


    After he finally admitted to himself that he was in love with Astrid, it¡¯s like the fog covering his eyes had been lifted. He noticed things that he didn¡¯t notice before. So, he knew, Leland, being such an observant guy, would have probably already noticed just how much special Astrid was to him.


    Ellis¡¯ heart sank. So, someone else already knew about this. But she quickly got over that. Since, according to the other, it¡¯s his captain. So, he could probably stop that person from spreading that information to everyone, right?


    ¡°Does this captain like to gossip?¡± she asked, wishing that the prince would say ¡®no¡¯.


    Wulfric thought of Hildred. ¡°Yeah, kind of.¡±


    After he answered that, he noticed that the agent¡¯s face paled. He tilted his head, wondering why. After a few seconds, he finally realized why. The other was afraid that this information would spread and might affect Aster¡¯s career. Once again, he was glad that this woman was Aster¡¯s agent.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t spread this to just everyone,¡± he said to reassure the other. ¡°And unlike what my brother-in-law just said¨C¡±


    ¡°Not your brother-in-law,¡± Reas cut off. ¡°General.¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°Anyway, as I was about to say, I also don¡¯t just announce that I¡¯m in love with Aster to just everyone. I said it to you because you¡¯re an integral part of Aster¡¯s life. Even if I didn¡¯t say it, you¡¯ll probably learn it sooner or later, since you¡¯ll probably see me much more often from now.¡±


    Ellis didn¡¯t know if she should feel relieved or if she should worry. No, why did she even have to wonder about that? It¡¯s definitely the latter. What did he mean by they would be seeing him more often from now on?


    ¡°May I ask Your Highness what do you mean by that?¡± she asked, just to make sure.


    ¡°Well, I will be trying to make Aster fall for me, so I have to be by his side to do that,¡± Wulfric explained. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t try to follow him everywhere. That would be stalking. And I also would be leaving the capital from time to time for my work, so you probably wouldn¡¯t really be seeing me that often.¡±


    Did the prince wanted her to say ¡®thank you, I appreciate it¡¯? Did he seriously not know how many problems there were in that? Or did he seriously not think about it?


    There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask. Things she wanted to be clear about. But really, at this point, there¡¯s only one question she wanted, no, needed to ask first.


    ¡°Your Highness, may I ask you something? And please don¡¯t be offended.¡±


    ¡°Of course, go ahead,¡± Wulfric said generously. ¡°I won¡¯t get offended. Despite how people think, I¡¯m very broad-minded.¡±


    Reas scoffed at that, which earned him a raised eyebrow from Astrid.


    Ellis cleared her throat before seriously looking straight at the prince. ¡°Is Your Highness serious about Astrid, or is this just a passing fancy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± Wulfric answered without missing a single beat. He turned to Aster. ¡°I love him. This feeling won¡¯t probably change unless I was killed in action or died of old age.¡±


    This new declaration shocked Ellis. That was¡­ intense. He didn¡¯t expect that the prince would actually say that. Wasn¡¯t the other practically saying that his feelings wouldn¡¯t change unless he died?


    ¡°The episode is starting,¡± Reas said, cutting through the sudden silence.

 Chapter 506 EPISODE 7 (I)

    ¡°YOUR Highness, may I speak to you in private after this?¡± Ellis asked.


    Astrid wasn¡¯t really that surprised when the other requested that. So, he didn¡¯t say anything. He just went ahead and sat down on the couch. Putting down the box of pastries beside the big bowl of popcorn.


    Wulfric also understood why Aster¡¯s agent would want to talk to him, so he didn¡¯t ask much and just nodded.


    Both of them then sat down on the couch as well.


    Wulfric tried to sit beside Aster, but the agent lady beat him to it. If this was a normal circumstance, he might have complained. But since he¡¯s trying to show that he¡¯s a mature and rational. Complaining because he didn¡¯t get the spot he wanted was definitely the height of immaturity.


    So, he calmly sat beside Reas. In which the other gave him a side glance. As if asking ¡®why are you sitting there?¡¯. He ignored it, of course, and just looked at the screen.


    Soon, the episode began.


    ¡ª¨C


    The episode began with the main character, Caesar Warwick, facing another problem. At this point in the story, he had already built a small, dedicated group that would be supporting him on his perilous journey.


    At episode five, Caesar had already met Oscar Ashelad, played by Yujin Wells. They were now at the stage where they were starting to build trust with each other. In this episode, their partnership would finally solidify.


    The progression of their relationship was one of the main points of this episode. But the other main point was Luan Escanor being ordained as a Bishop. He would be the youngest priest to ever be ordained in the history of the Church of Jaya.


    This was all because of his charity works, not to mention his unbending will to help others. He embodied all the teachings of the church. And everyone in the main church knew about that. So, even if some were jealous, they couldn¡¯t really say anything about it. Especially when one of the archbishops was backing him up.


    Every ordination ceremony usually had a bit of grandness in them. But Luan requested just a simple ceremony. So, the only ones there were the other bishops involved in his ordination and some of the priests that had been close to him.


    =====


    As Luan approached the cathedral¡¯s grand entrance, he could hear the faint echoes of hymns and prayers from within. The sound filled him with a sense of both anticipation and humility. He took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy wooden doors.


    Everyone inside looked in his direction, and some of them gasped at the absolute beauty they¡¯re seeing.


    The consecrating bishops, dressed in their flowing robes, awaited him at the altar. Luan walked down the long aisle, his footsteps reverberating through the hallowed space. He felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, but also the joy of fulfilling his divine calling.


    Reaching the altar, Luan knelt before the primary consecrator, a venerable bishop known for his wisdom and piety. The co-consecrators stood alongside, their hands extended in prayerful support.


    The primary consecrator began the ancient liturgy, his voice resonating through the cathedral¡¯s arches. He invoked the presence of god, asking for guidance and consecration for Luan¡¯s sacred journey.


    As the prayers continued, Luan felt a profound sense of connection with god and the rich history of his faith. The bishops then laid their hands on his head, one by one, in a solemn gesture that signified the apostolic succession, passing on the authority of the church.


    The fragrance of the incense intensified as the moment of anointment approached. A small silver vessel held the holy oil, a symbol of god¡¯s blessing and consecration. The primary consecrator dipped his thumb into the oil, then gently traced the sign of the cross on Luan¡¯s forehead.


    Luan felt the cool touch of the oil, a tangible sign of the grace he was receiving. It was a moment of divine connection, as if god¡¯s love and guidance were flowing through that simple gesture.


    =====


    This scene looked so holy that it felt like they were watching an angel that was about to fly to heaven and meet god.


    The stark contrast to this scene and to the next one was so big that one might think that the one involved was not the same person.


    It was the scene after the ordination.


    Luan decided to listen to confessions from the believers visiting the church. Many priests praised him for his dedication.


    As the sun was about to set, the last confessor of the day walked inside the confessional.


    =====


    Luan looked through the screen. It was a woman covered from head to toe. She was even wearing a veil, as if she¡¯s afraid of being seen.


    ¡°Welcome, may the peace of the holy lord be with you,¡± he said in a gentle tone. ¡°How may I assist you today?¡±


    ¡°Father, forgive me, for I carry a heavy burden upon my soul,¡± the woman said in a trembling voice.


    Tears welled up in the woman¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s my husband¡­ he¡¯s- he¡¯s been hitting me and our children. The beating has gotten worse as the day passed by. I fear for our safety every day. I know that marriage is sacred, that we made a vow. But I couldn¡¯t- I really can¡¯t take it anymore. ¡±


    Luan was silent for a moment. ¡°My child, marriage is indeed sacred, but life is even more so. If you truly felt that you and your children are in danger, then you should make the best decision for yourself and for your children.¡± ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    ¡°If we leave, he- he will definitely come after us. And¡­ and¡­ oh!¡± the woman burst out crying.


    The veil she was wearing fell, revealing her face. It was swollen and discolored. Her eyes were reduced to mere slits, surrounded by shades of deep purples and angry reds. The left cheek, puffed and mottled with various shades of black and blue, seemed to bear the brunt of the assault. The nose, now misshapen and crooked, hinted at the force of a devastating blow.


    A flash of darkness crossed in Luan¡¯s eyes, cold emanated from his whole body.

 Chapter 507 EPISODE 7 (II)

    507  EPISODE 7 (II)


    THE change in Luan¡¯s attitude was so subtle and yet people who were watching this scene from the screen could visibly feel it.


    In a gentle tone, Luan said, ¡°My child, a mother¡¯s love knows no bounds. Our mighty god also understood this. No matter what action you took, if it¡¯s for your children, our god will definitely not forsake you.¡±


    The woman¡¯s sob stopped. ¡°The mighty god won¡¯t forsake me no matter what I do?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s for the sake of your children, I assure you, he won¡¯t. Our god is understanding and full of love for his children. But he was also righteous. He condemns evil. Any forms of evil.¡±


    Luan paused before continuing in his gentle voice.


    ¡°To be rid of evil in this land is our god¡¯s greatest wish.¡±


    The woman went silent for a while. Then, she started muttering, ¡°Right¡­ right¡­ god will not forsake me if I get rid of evil. I shall do that, yes.¡± The woman raised her head and looked through the screen, as if trying to see the face of the priest on the other side. ¡°Thank you, Father, for giving me enlightenment.¡±


    Luan smiled and his voice still remained gentle. ¡°I¡¯m happy to help any way I can, as god commands me.¡±


    After the woman finished thanking him, Luan watched her as she left the confessional. ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    He gazed down, and the gentle smile on his face slowly disappeared. The light in his eyes started to turn darker and darker, as if a whirlpool of darkness was swirling in them. And in a low voice, devoid of any gentleness, he said;


    ¡°Yes, all evil must be vanquished.¡±


    =====


    After episode seven of [The Great War] aired, it quickly became a trending topic on [Cyberspace]. Of course, this was not an unusual occurrence. Because of the already existing fandom from the original source material, every episode of [The Great War] had always trended.


    [Have you seen the latest episode of <The Great War>? It¡¯s amazing as usual. I¡¯m glad the quality hasn¡¯t dropped. I hope they continue on like this until the last episode.]


    [I really enjoyed the interaction between Miguel and Yujin. It¡¯s like how I imagined Caesar and Oscar would interact. Now I¡¯m getting excited how it will be once Caesar and Luan finally meet again.]


    [Speaking of Luan, isn¡¯t Astrid¡¯s acting in this episode great?]


    ¨C [I know, right? Especially on that last scene. It gave me goosebumps because of how creepy it was.]


    ¨C [It¡¯s like he was truly spreading the word of god instead of giving permission to kill.]


    ¨C [That¡¯s probably the first time I¡¯ve seen someone gently telling another person it¡¯s alright to kill another person.]


    ¨C [And he did it so subtly too! If I was that woman, I will truly believe every word he said.]


    [I read the novel, so I already knew how Luan has a bit of a skewed sense of justice, but seeing it interpreted like this was nothing short of amazing.]


    ¨C [Luan in the novel always classifies people as either good or evil. There was no middle ground for him. So far, in the series, we have only seen him as a dedicated and kind priest. This was our first glimpse of his ¡®dark¡¯ side, and Astrid did a good job in portraying that complexity.]


    ¨C [It showed that he really did his assignment. There¡¯s no way he could have acted like that if he didn¡¯t truly understand Luan¡¯s character.]


    ¨C [It¡¯s not just that. He¡¯s simply that good at acting.]


    ¨C [That scene is so creepy and brilliant at the same time.]


    [This is the first show I¡¯ve watched with Astrid Townsend in it. I only saw him in the EMMA ad. I found him really pretty there and thought that his acting was okay, but I didn¡¯t think he would actually be this great.]


    ¨C [Aster is very talented. I can suggest some shows he had been in.]


    There were a lot of these types of positive comments. But, of course, negative comments would also float around. Because trolls would be trolls.


    [You call that great acting? He¡¯s just smiling and then not smiling. Does someone even need talent to do that?]


    [LOL why are you all pandering over this Astrid guy?]


    [Did Polaris pay someone to market this guy extensively? They¡¯re really portraying him as some kind of genius.]


    Although there were some negative comments, the majority of comments were still very positive. But these negative comments summoned Astrid¡¯s number one fan.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Wasn¡¯t Aster just amazing in this episode? The way he delivered his lines and the way he acted in that scene was just chef¡¯s kiss. Anyone who says otherwise are either pretending to hate it just so they could be the troll that they are or they¡¯re simply stupid. Or maybe they¡¯re both. I don¡¯t really care. Because whatever they say, it won¡¯t change the fact that Aster is an amazing actor. He will just continue to improve more in the future until he becomes the best there is. And I will be here to witness that.]


    =====


    That was the first comment Astrid read after the episode ended. Not because he immediately checked [Cyberspace], but because of the notification he received. A notification solely for posts or comments made by his number one fan.


    After reading that, he subtly glanced at Wulfric. The other seemed to be looking at somewhere in front of him, obviously the screen of his Terminal. Which was most likely in private mode.


    Astrid chuckled a bit, feeling both moved and amused. Really, this guy could be quite adorable sometimes.


    ¡°Wow. I think you can play quite the convincing psycho killer.¡±


    Reas¡¯ comment pulled back Astrid¡¯s attention. He turned to his brother and said, ¡°If there¡¯s a good script, maybe I will.¡±


    ¡°I will take that into account,¡± Ellis followed. But that scene was really good. Although she was there when it was filmed, watching the final product like this still had a different effect.


    She then glanced at the prince. Well then, it¡¯s probably time for their talk now, wasn¡¯t it?

 Chapter 508 WULFRIC AND ELLIS TALK

    508  WULFRIC AND ELLIS¡¯ TALK


    ELLIS looked around the wide suite room.


    After the episode ended and she asked the prince if they could have that talk now, the other suggested they go some place else. She readily agreed. Because she knew that there were a lot of things that they might not be able to propely discuss with Astrid¡¯s presence.


    The prince took the lead. She thought the other would bring her to some cafe with good privacy, but no, they just boarded the elevator and went to the upper floor. Confused, she just assumed that they would go to the rooftop.


    So, when the elevator door opened and they walked to a suite, Ellis was beyond surprise. No, horrified was the more accurate term. Because this suite was obviously a place owned by the prince. If it¡¯s not, then how could they just waltz in here?


    But she still had to make sure and asked, ¡°Is this place yours, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Wulfric answered a bit nonchalantly. ¡°I actually own the whole building. Do you want a drink? Oh, you can go and sit anywhere.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t need a drink¡­¡± Ellis felt like her brain was going on an information overload.


    Did she hear it right, that the prince owned the building? Wait- wouldn¡¯t that mean that he and Astrid were practically neighbors? No, before that, could he be the one that suggested to Astrid to live here? Because he owned the building? So, he could monitor what¡¯s happening to Astrid?


    No, that¡¯s a bit of a huge jump right there. She should probably ask directly before jumping to conclusion.


    ¡°Since Your Highness owned the building, did you recommend this apartment building to Astrid?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Ah no. I brought the place away after that. Probably after the second time I visited Aster.¡±


    Oh, then her guess was wrong? That¡¯s a relief- no! What relief? Wasn¡¯t this much worse? Didn¡¯t this mean that this prince was literally stalking Astrid? What should she do? Wasn¡¯t this truly dangerous?


    As Astrid¡¯s agent, she should protect him. Even if her opponent was the prince of the Empire. She clenched her fists. It¡¯s not just her being his agent. She liked the kid. Like a talented nephew one couldn¡¯t help but dote on. No, a nephew was a bit too much. It¡¯s making her too old. Maybe a little brother instead?


    Anyway, she liked the kid. So, she couldn¡¯t let anything happen to him. Not on her watch.


    Wulfric, who sat on a couch, finally noticed the agent lady¡¯s expression. She was looking at him as if he¡¯s some kind of criminal. He blinked, wondering why the other was looking at him like that. So, he thought back to the things he said. After piecing up everything, he finally realized what the problem was.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea. I¡¯m not a stalker,¡± Wulfric quickly said. The agent lady only gave him a look of distrust. ¡°Let me clarify. While I openly acknowledge my desire to be with Aster and may occasionally feel a sense of possessiveness, it doesn¡¯t translate into an obsessive fixation where I¡¯d confine him to a room and limit his interactions to only me.¡±


    Ellis was still apprehensive, but her worry lessened a bit. At least it seemed true that the other wasn¡¯t Astrid¡¯s stalker. That¡¯s a start.


    ¡°Then, let me ask Your Highness a question.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, ask.¡±


    ¡°You said that your feelings for Astrid won¡¯t change until you¡¯re, well, not in this world anymore. How true is that?¡±


    ¡°As true as the gravity pulling us to the ground.¡± ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    That¡¯s a weird metaphor. But she guessed it¡¯s effective enough? Especially if he said it with that look on his face, as if he was ready to go to war with her.


    ¡°Then I want to know how would Your Highness proceed from now on?¡± she asked. ¡°Will you follow Astrid around? Will you interfere with his career? Giving him all the resources he needed, protecting him from everything, things like that? What exactly is Your Highness¡¯ plan?¡±


    Wulfric shook his head. ¡°I won¡¯t do such things. Giving resources to Aster is useless. With his talent, all kinds of resources will naturally drop on his lap. I will only offer protection if it¡¯s absolutely necessary. Because I know Aster won¡¯t like it if I meddle too much.¡±


    Although he said that, he would still fight against the trolls online. But there¡¯s no need to tell that to this agent lady.


    ¡°You can handle Aster¡¯s career as you see fit. But just know this, if you ever let him do something that he doesn¡¯t want to, then be prepared to be my enemy.¡±


    After the prince said that, Ellis felt goosebumps all over. It¡¯s not just the way he said it, it¡¯s the way he looked at her as he did. As if he would really kill her the moment she deviated from what he expected from her. And he would probably really do that without hesitation.


    This was the crazy guy she heard about. She actually had forgotten it for a second because of how normal he seemed since she met him. But the one in front of him was the real White Wolf of Alluna.


    This also showed just how important Astrid was to him. Which also kind of proved his feelings for the other.


    Weirdly enough, despite being threatened, she finally felt relieved. As if the worry that had been digging into her was slowly melting away. Because if he was this sincere, then it meant that he truly wouldn¡¯t easily give up his feelings for Astrid.


    It might be good in some case, but it could also be really bad. For now, she should make sure it wouldn¡¯t be the latter.


    ¡°What you¡¯re worrying won¡¯t happen. But I want Your Highness to promise me two things,¡± she said. ¡°First, don¡¯t ever get in the way of Astrid¡¯s career. And second, don¡¯t do anything drastic if ever your feelings are not reciprocated.¡±


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s a given,¡± Wulfric said with a grin. ¡°And you don¡¯t have to worry about my feelings. Because I won¡¯t give up until it¡¯s reciprocated.¡±

 Chapter 509 A FREE RIDE

    509 A FREE RIDE


    ASTRID checked himself in the mirror. He was wearing simple, comfortable clothes, as well as a brown wig with long fringe that could cover his eyes. It¡¯s a simple disguise that he prepared for today¡¯s outing.


    He would meet up with Kiran and Snow for lunch. Kiran planned to treat Astrid and Snow to lunch to celebrate the other successfully finishing the songs that Polaris had commissioned him.


    This lunch date was supposed to happen last weekend. But his commercial shoot was suddenly moved, and then the next day, Snow had a schedule of his own. So, the three of them had to reschedule the next weekend. And that was today.


    He checked his disguise once more. Satisfied, he finally walked out of his room.


    He¡¯s probably one of the few newcomers out there that disguised himself so tightly whenever he went out for personal reasons. It¡¯s not just because, among the newcomers who debuted around the same time, he was probably the most popular. And that¡¯s not just his ego talking. Just look at his [Cyberspace] followers.


    With more than 12 million followers, he could hardly strut around the capital without being recognized by at least one or two people. Especially when his billboard ads for EMMA were still hanging around the capital.


    This did not mean that he¡¯s afraid to be mobbed. Which would probably not happen, anyway. He¡¯s popularity was still not at that level yet. He just wanted to spend time with his friends without others gawking at him. Aside from that, he also didn¡¯t want to be photographed with Snow and Kiran.


    Both of them were now technically in the same industry. If he was photographed with them, and people found out that one was a rookie actor and the other a budding composer, the first thing people would do was to associate them with him instead of thinking of their talents.


    And he didn¡¯t want that. He wanted Snow and Kiran to be known for their amazing talents and not because they were his friends. They deserved that much.


    As soon as he walked out of his room, the door of the apartment opened. Surprisingly, or maybe unsurprisingly, Reas walked inside, followed by Wulfric. The two did some morning exercise together at the personal gym in Wulfric¡¯s suite. Considering how it took them this long, they also probably fought some virtual Mecha battle.


    And yet, they still insisted that they¡¯re not getting alone.


    ¡°Aster, are you going somewhere?¡± Wulfric asked when he noticed how Astrid was dressed.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m having lunch with my friends,¡± he answered. ¡°I already cook lunch, so you two can just heat it up.¡±


    ¡°Let me drive you, then,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°It will be much faster and safer than calling a taxi.¡±


    Since Aster didn¡¯t have a car of his own, he knew that the other would usually ride AI driven taxi whenever he had to go to places that had nothing to do with his job. He couldn¡¯t help but feel worried about that. Although AI taxis were proven to be safe, there were still some things that one couldn¡¯t control. Like AI malfunction, for example. Which was not a common occurrence. But that that didn¡¯t mean that it couldn¡¯t happen. ?????????????????????????xt.????????????


    It¡¯s even more dangerous since Aster was usually travelling alone whenever he had to ride on an AI taxi. If a malfunctioned somehow happened, then things could get really dangerous for him.


    Because of that, he thought, countless times, of buying the other a car. But he knew Aster wouldn¡¯t accept it, since it would be too expensive. Which wasn¡¯t really that much, in his opinion.


    Maybe he should talk to that agent lady so their agency could assign a personal driver to Aster. What was the term for that? Ah, a road manager!


    If they couldn¡¯t provide him one, then should he apply?


    As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he quickly erased it. As much as he wanted to, he shouldn¡¯t. Aside from the fact that Leland would nag him endlessly if he did, the other might even resign for all he knew. Doing this would just make him a step away from being a true stalker.


    Besides, Aster would also not be happy with that. Maybe the other would even think that he¡¯s too irresponsible for doing such a thing. After all, he was still a general of the Empire. If he didn¡¯t do his job properly, knowing Aster, the other would definitely have a much lower opinion of himself.


    In fact, right now, he was already walking a fine line by staying here for this long, instead of going back to Beowulf. It was only because they had just finished a huge operation that he was allowed to stay away this long. He probably still had two weeks left before Leland nag him to go back.


    If he stayed more than that, Leland would definitely come here himself and drag him back. Not that he¡¯s afraid of that, he¡¯s just worried that the other would threaten him with resignation. As much as he hated to admit it, the Fenris Army wouldn¡¯t work without Leland taking care of the administrative aspect of it.


    So, with that thought, Wulfric decided to get the best out of his last two weeks¡¯ stay here. Hopefully, before he left, he would be a bit nearer in Aster¡¯s heart than he was now.


    ¡°General, you¡¯re not offering Aster a ride to join in later with him and his friends, right?¡± Reas asked, cutting off Wulfric¡¯s wandering thoughts.


    Wulfric glanced at Reas, and said in a dry voice, ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t. What do you think of me?¡±


    ¡°Someone who always wanted to be by my brother¡¯s side 24/7?¡±


    Wulfric was about to retort back, but couldn¡¯t really think of anything to say. Because it was the truth. He truly wanted to be by Aster¡¯s side all the damn time.


    ¡°That might be true. But that didn¡¯t mean that I would just insert myself in a situation where I¡¯m obviously not a part of,¡± he said indignantly.


    Only for Reas to look at him with an expression that¡¯s like saying ¡®yeah, right¡¯.


    Seeing this, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Then he turned to Wulfric. ¡°I don¡¯t mind a free ride.¡±

 Chapter 510 FOR A LONG, LONG TIME TO COME

    510  FOR A LONG, LONG TIME TO COME


    ASTRID glanced at Wulfric, who was driving full of focus. The way the other¡¯s brows furrowed was funny, but in an adorable kind of way. Since the two of them were alone now, he could finally ask the other about the thing he had been curious about since last night.


    ¡°So, how did your talk with Sister Ellis go?¡± he asked.


    Honestly, he couldn¡¯t ask Ellis. It was already embarrassing enough that he put her in that kind of situation without giving the other the time to prepare. If he even pry to her conversation with Wulfric, that would be a bit shameless of him. So, asking Wulfric was the next best thing.


    ¡°It went well,¡± Wulfric answered. ¡°She asked how sincere I am with you, and, of course, I showed him my sincerity. Then she also gave me a few warnings, which were all for your sake. I accepted them all generously, as I should. And then, I also gave a few warnings of my own. Overall, it¡¯s a very productive conversation.¡± ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    Astrid didn¡¯t know exactly how to react to that. Probably because he didn¡¯t expect Wulfric¡¯s candid answer at all. He thought the other would ponder for a while what answer to give him. But Wulfric unexpectedly answered quickly. And it seemed like he didn¡¯t embellish anything and just told him straight what happened.


    Well, that¡¯s very Wulfric, so he shouldn¡¯t really be that surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad it went well.¡±


    And he was truly glad that the conversation of the two went smoothly and that it didn¡¯t go in a weird direction. He didn¡¯t really need to ask what kind of warnings they gave to each other. Knowing the two, it wasn¡¯t that hard to guess. The fact that it went as peacefully as that was good enough.


    Not that he was expecting Ellis to be ballistic, it was more of a concern whether Wulfric would be able to control his temper. Which he most likely did.


    In fact, over the past week, Astrid witnessed just how much self-control the other had. Something that he initially thought was non-existent. Just look at how much patient he had with Reas. One would think that he would go off with the way Reas had been sarcastic and borderline disrespectful towards him. But no, he was very chill about it.


    And Astrid didn¡¯t think that it was because the other was being considerate towards him. No, Wulfric genuinely looked like he was enjoying the bickering. Like someone who found a little brother he could argue with.


    He was glad that the two were now getting along. One of his worries when Wulfric confessed to him was how would Reas react. With how overprotective his brother was, he had already assumed the worst possible outcome. But surprisingly, none of his imagined result happened.


    In fact, it went totally in the opposite direction. Which he was extremely glad for. He was not sure if that was due to Wulfric¡¯s own effort to get along with Reas or if the two just simply clicked together without them knowing or even expecting it.


    He felt a bit envious, though.


    Astrid quickly stopped when that thought crossed his mind. Envious? Why would he feel envious, even if it¡¯s just a tad bit? Because the two were getting along? Shouldn¡¯t he be all happy instead?


    He was indeed happy about this kind of improvement between the relationship of the two. But surprisingly, a small part of him actually felt envious of that. He chuckled inwardly at that realization.


    It seemed that his feelings for Wulfric were much deeper than he initially thought. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t take that long for his feelings to be on the same level as the other. Although it would probably take quite a lot of effort on Wulfric¡¯s part for his feelings to reach that level.


    He would excitedly wait for any more surprise that the other would give.


    ¡°She¡¯s a good agent.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s comment brought Astrid back from his deep thought.


    He nodded and said, ¡°Yes. I am lucky to have her as my agent.¡±


    ¡°What luck? Aster only deserves the best. Besides, your agent is luckier to have you, the future number one actor in the Empire.¡±


    Astrid laughed when he heard that. ¡°Don¡¯t think too far ahead or you might just jinxed me.¡±


    ¡°Jinx is no match for our Aster¡¯s heavenly talent,¡± Wulfric said with a very proud expression.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but laugh once again. Because what he said was something that his father would probably say.


    ¡ª¨C


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at their destination.


    It was a restaurant called [Cabin in the City]. When he looked outside the car window and saw the restaurant, he immediately understood why it had that name.


    It was a three-story building with a ¡®cabin in the woods¡¯ kind of design. From the architecture to the small garden at the front, as well as the picket fences, it¡¯s like travelling to back in time to some 19th century European cottage. And the most novel thing about this was, it¡¯s smack dab in the middle of the city.


    It kind of reminded him of [Bliss], the boutique he went to get styling when he attended the EMMA event. Was this kind of retro style actually in demand?


    ¡°Once you¡¯re done, you can call me so I can pick you up,¡± Wulfric said. ¡°That is, if your friends won¡¯t offer you a ride home.¡±


    Astrid glanced back at the other, pondering about something. Once he finally made up his mind, he said, ¡°Do you want to come up with me and meet my friends?¡±


    Wulfric stopped and then blinked, as if he was surprised that he would suggest that. Frankly speaking, he was very surprised himself that he would ponder over that idea and even directly suggest it to Wulfric.


    It¡¯s just that, since the other already met Ellis, what¡¯s the harm of him meeting his friends? Besides, it¡¯s not like Snow and Kiran would go around telling people that they had met the prince of the Empire. He knew their character enough that he was confident they wouldn¡¯t do this.


    But what Astrid didn¡¯t realize was, by doing this, he was unconsciously already thinking that Wulfric would be in his life for a long, long time to come.

 Chapter 511 [CABIN IN THE CITY]

    511  [CABIN IN THE CITY]


    WULFRIC was surprised when he heard Aster¡¯s suggestion. Truthfully, it never crossed his mind that the other would invite him to meet his friends. It wasn¡¯t even his goal to get invited when he offered him a ride. But that didn¡¯t mean he would decline his invitation.


    ¡°Is it alright if I meet them?¡±


    Of course, he wanted to meet them. Aster was not the type who would just casually befriend people. If he became friends with someone, they would be part of his life in the long run. Unless some problems occurred in the middle. Which was highly doubtful. Because if they were Aster¡¯s friends, then they were most likely stand-up people.


    If he would be part of Aster¡¯s life, then he would meet them sooner or later. So, what difference would it make if he met them now?


    But he still had to ask Aster. It¡¯s better to make it clear. He didn¡¯t want to impose himself when the other might just be asking out of politeness.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Okay. And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go once I¡¯m done introducing myself,¡± Wulfric assured the other.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°At least drink tea.¡±


    The corner of Wulfric¡¯s lips turned up. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°But first, you need a disguise.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do have a mask and cap here,¡± Wulfric said, taking out the two items from the space stone of his ring. ¡°Not that I came prepared or anything.¡±


    Astrid took the cap and put it on Wulfric. ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Kiran was waiting at the table he reserved at [Cabin in the City]. The table was on the third floor, inside a cute little nook. He picked this spot so it could at least give them a bit of privacy.


    The nook was nestled against one of the rustic wooden walls, creating a sense of intimacy and seclusion. Above, a vintage-style pendant light with a warm, soft glow hung down, casting a gentle light on the table below.


    The table itself was made of rich, dark wood with an ornate design, evoking a sense of old-world elegance. A lace tablecloth draped gracefully over the table, adding a touch of vintage charm. At the center was a vase with fresh flowers.


    The inside of the nook had carved vines and flowers, painted in a very lively color, making them look real. It continued on to the windowsill, giving a certain magical charm to the nook.


    The whole restaurant had the same kind of vibe. That¡¯s why when he saw this place for the first time, he immediately liked it.


    He knew the place because of Miss Rose. She asked him for a favor one night if he could play at this restaurant for a night. There¡¯s a special event in the restaurant and they needed live pianist. The one they hired suddenly had an emergency and couldn¡¯t come. So, the owner asked Miss Rose if she knew someone. And Miss Rose, in turn, asked him.


    Kiran couldn¡¯t reject her. Not after how kind she had been to him. And that¡¯s how he got to this place.


    His first thought after playing music here for a night and tasting their food was to invite Astrid and Snow here. He was sure that they would like the place just as much as he did.


    He had planned to invite the two as soon as he could. But they had been all busy, with their schedules not really lining up. When he received his paycheck from Polaris, he thought that maybe they could finally go here. Especially since their schedules had not been that hectic as of late.


    But they still ended up rescheduling. Anyway, the important thing was they were finally able to have the same free day. He hoped that both Astrid and Snow like the place.


    As he thought that, he saw Snow coming up the third floor, following a waiter. The waiter led him to the nook. When his eyes met with Snow, he immediately waved his hand. The other also gave him a small smile.


    Snow sat down beside him as soon as he arrived at the nook.


    ¡°This is a pretty place,¡± Snow said while looking around.


    ¡°Right? And the food is also just as great,¡± Kiran followed. ¡°But is it alright for you not to wear a disguise? People might recognize you.¡± ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    ¡°No, they won¡¯t,¡± Snow said with a little chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m not yet in that level of fame.¡±


    ¡°Well, people will still stare at you because you¡¯re too good-looking,¡± Kiran said matter-of-factly.


    Snow laughed. If he didn¡¯t know any better, he might think that the other was flirting with him. But he did know better. And he knew Kiran didn¡¯t mean anything by it. He was just stating it as it was.


    Just then, they both received a message from Astrid. Telling them that he was in front of the restaurant and that he brought a friend to introduce to them. And that this friend would leave after.


    ¡°A friend?¡± Kiran asked, confused. ¡°Do you know who could it be?¡±


    Snow shook his head, wondering as well who this ¡®friend¡¯ might be.


    It didn¡¯t take long before they found the answer.


    They saw Astrid, with disguise and all, being led by another waiter. Behind him was a tall man with a very imposing aura. The man was wearing a cap and a mask, covering most of his face. They couldn¡¯t even see the man¡¯s eyes.


    Snow and Kiran both had the same thought when they saw the other ¨C ¡®is this the friend?¡¯.


    Astrid waved at them and walked towards the nook. The imposing man followed.


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m not late, am I?¡± Astrid apologized as he sat down on the opposite seat.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re just in time,¡± Kiran said, before not-so discreetly glancing at the man.


    ¡°I also just arrived,¡± Snow said, as he also did the same, just more discreetly.


    The man sat down beside Astrid. Then, the other pulled down his mask a bit and slowly raised his head to face them.


    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Wulfric.¡±

 Chapter 512 A GOOD MAN

    512  A GOOD MAN ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    ASTRID almost face-palmed when he heard Wulfric directly introducing himself. The only saving grace was him not saying his royal surname. Although it didn¡¯t really change anything, considering that the golden eyes and the strands of his white hair that showed when he raised his head and lowered his mask a bit completely revealed his identity.


    He looked at his two friends and saw that both had frozen. Even after Wulfric put back his mask to cover the lower half of his face, the two still remained frozen.


    It took Kiran a while to recognize the man in front of him. At first, he only felt that he was familiar. Thinking that he might have seen him on the StarNet or on a TV series or something. Since he was friends with Astrid, he might also be an actor. But when the other introduced himself, he finally managed to put a finger on who he was.


    Wulfric de Lunaris.


    The Butcher of Orus!


    And he completely froze after that.


    Snow, on the other hand, quickly recognized the man the moment he saw that pair of golden eyes. The prince of the Empire.


    It¡¯s not because he was an aristocrat, it¡¯s because of Ash. He knew that Ash¡¯s brother was the second-in-command of the Fenris Squad. And that the general leading them was Wulfric de Lunaris. Besides, there was that kidnapping incident the last time when he woke up at the military base.


    From what his father had told him, it was a member of the Fenris Squad who saved him. So, the memory was still fresh in his mind. That¡¯s why he quickly connected things.


    But despite that, his shock was no less than Kiran.


    Both of them had the same thoughts swirling in their mind. What the hell was Astrid doing with the prince? Was Astrid in trouble? Was he being blackmailed?


    With all of those thoughts, they both knew they couldn¡¯t just freeze here. They both still had to respond.


    Snow was the first one to get back to his senses. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Snow Campbell. It¡¯s an honor to meet Your Highness.¡±


    After Kiran heard that, he started to panic a bit. Should he also introduce himself? How? What if he got tongue-tied? What if this guy, who he heard a lot of crazy stories about, got annoyed at him and sent him to some barren planet?


    At the end, he just robotically said, ¡°K-Kiran Hope. Nice to- I mean, your honor.¡± He stopped, realizing that he looked really foolish right now. Then, he took a deep breath and said what he had to properly, ¡°Your Highness, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to meet you two as well,¡± the prince said, acting like he really didn¡¯t mind their awkwardness. ¡°Thank you for being a good friend to Aster. I hope you¡¯ll continue to be a good friend to him.¡±


    The curiosity and awkwardness they¡¯re feeling somewhat vanished when they heard what the prince said. It¡¯s not the content of what he said, it¡¯s the way he said it. Like a parent thanking the friends of his child. Only that he was obviously not Astrid¡¯s parent. Making it even weirder and transforming his parent-like tone into something¡­ else.


    As if he was meeting his lover¡¯s friends and entrusting his lover to them.


    A very dangerous and weird notion. But then again, wasn¡¯t the fact that Astrid was actually friends with the prince already in the realm of impossibility? And yet here they were, sitting side by side in front of them. So, suspending their disbelief was really not conducive.


    The only thing they could do right now to move the situation along was to accept that this was really happening.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re more than glad to do that,¡± Snow said in response to what the prince had said.


    ¡°Right, right,¡± Kiran could only add.


    A small smile crossed Wulfric¡¯s lips behind the mask. He could see that the two young men were very much nervous right now. But they managed to get ahold of themselves and not let that nervousness control them.


    If the ones in front of him were any other people, they would have probably already been hysterical. So, for that, he could only commend them.


    With that, it¡¯s probably right to just go now. If he continued to stay here, these two would definitely not be able to relax. Since he had already introduced himself, there¡¯s no need for him to overstay his presence.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go.¡± He stood up and turned to Aster. ¡°Call me or message me if you need a ride back.¡± Seeing Aster nod, he turned to his two friends. ¡°Nice to meet you two.¡±


    Then he turned around and left.


    Snow and Kiran both watched the other¡¯s back. They didn¡¯t speak until they were sure that the other had thoroughly left the restaurant. When they could no longer see the prince¡¯s back, and after a few minutes had passed, they were finally able to let out the breath they had been holding.


    The first thing they did was to turn to their friend, the ¡®culprit¡¯ of the heart-attack they had almost suffered.


    ¡°What was that, Aster? Did you really just bring the butcher here?¡± Kiran said in a hushed tone to make sure none of the other people in the same floor could hear it.


    ¡°Yes. I also like to know how that happened,¡± Snow added.


    ¡°Well, first let¡¯s not call him ¡®the butcher¡¯. I know Wulf¡¯s reputation is not that stellar, but he¡¯s really not a bad person. He had his¡­ faults. Maybe even a lot of them. But he¡¯s a good man.¡±


    Astrid was surprised that he found himself saying that. And it was not something he said just for the heck of it, he truly meant it. Saying it without even thinking twice showed how much his perception of Wulfric changed from when they first met. From only an obnoxious guy to someone he honestly considered a good man.


    ¡°Okay, am I in a dream right now or is our friend really in a nickname basis with the but- sorry, the prince?¡± Kiran asked, looking scandalized.


    ¡°Since I heard the same thing, I doubt it,¡± Snow said.

 Chapter 513 STILL ’SLICE OF LIFE’

    513 STILL ¡®SLICE OF LIFE¡¯


    ASTRID looked at his two friends, staring at him with a mixture of curiosity, amazement, and worry. He sighed.


    ¡°How the two of us became friends is kind of long story,¡± he said.


    ¡°I think we have plenty of time to hear about it,¡± Kiran said before turning to Snow. ¡°Right, Snow?¡±


    Snow nodded. ¡°We can talk about it over food.¡±


    They ordered lunch, and Astrid told them how he met Wulfric and how their relationship progressed. Of course, not including the fact that Wulfric confessed to him. Not that he was embarrassed about it. It just felt like he would be bragging if he did. Like saying, ¡®look, the rank two of the Empire confessed his love to me, aren¡¯t I amazing?¡¯.


    Although he knew Snow and Kiran wouldn¡¯t think that way, it¡¯s just felt shameless to say it himself. On that part, Wulfric was definitely much better. And yes, this was just him saying the other was shameless.


    By the time he finished, they were on their dessert.


    There was silence for a good minute, as if the two were digesting the things he had said. Kiran took a spoonful of the vanilla parfait in front of him, and Snow took a sip of his milk tea.


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s¡­ kind of incredible,¡± Kiran said. ¡°Almost like a plot of a movie.¡±


    ¡°The question is, what¡¯s the genre?¡± Snow added, looking at Astrid with concern. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not romance. Because that could quickly turn into a thriller.¡±


    From what Astrid had told them, the prince had obviously shown a weird fixation over the other from the moment they first met. Although Astrid had managed to thwart that, the two met again here at the capital. The prince miraculously apologized for the things he had done. And then, friendship just somehow bloomed between them after that.


    Knowing Astrid, he probably had already toned down the events that happened between him and the prince. Yet, despite that, Snow could still sense the undeniable fixation the prince had with Astrid. And it¡¯s not just at the start of the other¡¯s story.


    The fact that the prince, known for his eccentric and unpredictable nature, sincerely apologized and actively worked hard to strengthen his relationship with someone, spoke volumes about just how special Astrid was to him.


    That¡¯s why Snow said what he said earlier.


    No matter which angle he looked, the prince¡¯s feelings for Astrid were definitely not just platonic. Not with how he gazed at Astrid. That sticky gaze couldn¡¯t just be for a friend.


    The prince might be acting like some responsible and docile friend now, but who knew how he would be in the future? Like he said, this ¡®romance¡¯ could easily turn into a ¡®thriller¡¯. And Astrid would be the only victim.


    As his friend, how could he just watch as this train wreck that was just waiting to happen became Astrid¡¯s future? He had to at least make sure there¡¯s a safety net here.


    Kiran showed a confused look when he heard what Snow said. But Astrid was different. He quickly understood what the other meant.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but smile. Because it would be the same analogy, he would make if Wulfric didn¡¯t change.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s still ¡®slice-of-life¡¯ for now. The decision of whether it would be a ¡®romance¡¯ or a ¡®thriller¡¯ in the future is mostly in my hands. So there¡¯s nothing to worry about,¡± he said to assure Snow. ¡°And as I¡¯ve said, Wulf is a good man. One just has to look within the somewhat crazy exterior to see it.¡±


    Snow was also quick on the uptake and understood what Astrid was trying to say. He let out a sigh of relief. Because it didn¡¯t seem like the other said that just to reassure them. With how there wasn¡¯t even a hint of hesitation in his voice. Astrid truly believed that what he¡¯s worrying about wouldn¡¯t happen.


    This was definitely not Astrid being na?ve. ¡®Naivety¡¯ was the last word he would describe the other. Which meant that he was confident that he could prevent such an outcome. And that¡¯s enough assurance for Snow.


    ¡°Wait a minute- can you two stop talking in metaphors?¡± Kiran interrupted. ¡°Pity the clueless guy here.¡±


    Astrid and Snow looked at each other and both chuckled at Kiran¡¯s adorableness. And then they both explained to him what they were talking about. When they did, Kiran¡¯s eyes widened as big as saucers.


    ¡°You-you mean that butcher is in love with Aster?¡± Kiran sharply turned towards Astrid. ¡°Are you really alright? You¡¯re not really being blackmailed, are you?¡±


    Astrid laughed. ¡°No, Kiran. I¡¯m not. And just like I said, Wulf is not really that bad. Maybe we should all hang out together, so the two of you can get to know him more?¡±


    Kiran visibly shivered. ¡°Now that¡¯s a frightening thought. Can I just trust your judgment of our prince¡¯s outstanding character?¡±


    Snow also let out a small laugh after he heard that. ¡°I think hanging out with the prince is still a bit too soon for us.¡±


    ¡°Then maybe once you¡¯re ready, we can all have some kind of triple date,¡± Astrid said in a joking manner.


    Snow raised a brow at that little statement. He wasn¡¯t sure if Astrid was aware of it, but by just saying that, the other was inadvertently admitting that he was interested in the prince in that manner.


    ¡°Then you have to wait for a long time,¡± Kiran said. ¡°Because dating is the farthest thing from my mind right now. I don¡¯t even have anyone to consider.¡±


    ¡°How about that rookie singer I met on Polaris when I visited you?¡± Astrid asked in a teasing tone, referring to Mirabelle Carter.


    Kiran¡¯s face immediately crumpled, as if remembering the person Astrid referred to. ¡°That girl? Absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°Why? I thought the two of you have some chemistry going on there. You even blushed and all.¡± ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    ¡°Oh? Now, I¡¯d like to hear this,¡± Snow added, looking amused and interested.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll blush! The girl was sticking too close. I- I never had that kind of skinship before. It¡¯s only a natural bodily reaction. It certainly didn¡¯t mean anything,¡± Kiran explained rather enthusiastically.

 Chapter 514 IDEAL TYPE

    514 IDEAL TYPE


    WHEN Kiran said that and Astrid gave him a look as if saying ¡®yes, yes, I believe you¡¯, while Snow only tilted his head, probably wondering why he was protesting so loudly, he suddenly felt frustrated. The need to explain welled up inside him even more. But he knew that if he explained the way he did earlier, it would just look like he was vehemently denying something that was true.


    So, he took a deep breath and explained to them what he wanted to say as calmly as possible.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel that way towards Mirabelle. Although I don¡¯t know much about romance and love, I still know myself well. If there¡¯s a chance that I like someone in that way, I would have at least a bit of awareness,¡± he said. ¡°And Mirabelle also doesn¡¯t feel that way towards me. She¡¯s just a weird¡ª I mean, an eccentric girl who doesn¡¯t know the meaning of personal space.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow when he heard that. Looking at Kiran, the other certainly didn¡¯t look like he was just saying that because he was embarrassed to admit his true feelings. It seemed that he didn¡¯t really feel that way towards Mirabelle.


    Hmm¡­ was his hunch wrong? Astrid truly thought Kiran was developing a little crush for Mirabelle. But maybe he was just too hasty in making that conclusion. He just purely based it on the other¡¯s reaction and expression at that time and didn¡¯t think that Kiran was just uncomfortable from all the skinship that he was not used to.


    Astrid should have not jumped into conclusions. But he guessed he did because he was looking at the situation from the perspective of an uncle who saw his little nephew blushing in the presence of a girl.


    Even if he and Kiran were around the same age, mentally, he was much older. So, when he saw the two, the old guy in him just assumed things and quickly went into teasing mode. Yes, it¡¯s weird. But things like that happened from time to time, even if only rarely. ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for jumping to conclusions,¡± he said honestly.


    ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m just glad I cleared up that misunderstanding,¡± Kiran said, waving his hand, looking very relieved. And then he added, looking very shy, ¡°Besides, I have an ideal type. Someone like Shir Atkins.¡±


    Now that was a surprise. Looking at Kiran¡¯s bashful expression, it seemed that that was truly the case. Remembering the number 2 artist in the [Star List], all Astrid could think of was the other¡¯s beautiful appearance, straightforward attitude, and, of course, his incredible music talent.


    ¡°I never thought you¡¯re a fan of him,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°All musicians worth their salt should be a fan of him,¡± Kiran said in an indignant manner. ¡°All his songs, even those he did not sing and only composed, are amazing. It¡¯s like his music could resonate with people¡¯s soul.¡±


    And that was not an exaggeration.


    His journey through life was filled with numerous challenges and hardships, but amidst it all, Shir Atkins¡¯ music remained a constant source of inspiration. Whether facing personal struggles or navigating the complexities of the world, he could always turn to the other¡¯s melodies to find a sense of solace and courage.


    The evocative tunes and heartfelt lyrics served as a guiding light, helping him persevere through the darkest of moments and ultimately emerge stronger. It was in these songs that he found a reflection of his own experiences, a reminder that he was not alone in his trials, and a testament to the enduring power of music to uplift the human spirit.


    And it was also because of him that he became interested in music himself.


    If he could, he also wanted to be like him. Now that he was on the same road, maybe he could do it as long as he worked hard. And then, one day, he could meet his idol and tell him how much his music inspired and helped him.


    ¡°I met him once.¡±


    Kiran turned to Astrid when he heard that. ¡°Really? When? No, it must be when you appeared in Miria Lane¡¯s music video. I knew Shir Atkins composed that song, I should have made the connection. So, how was he? Is he as beautiful in person as he is in his pictures and videos?¡±


    Seeing Kiran¡¯s excited reaction, he must really like Shir Atkins. Astrid said in response, ¡°Well, he is beautiful. Objectively the most beautiful person I¡¯ve seen. And he¡¯s¡­ unique, to say the least.¡±


    Kiran didn¡¯t pick up the nuance behind Astrid¡¯s words. His eyes just brightened, looking very excited to hear even a simple story about his idol. ¡°Can you tell me how that meeting went?¡±


    Snow picked up his milk tea and took a sip. ¡°I don¡¯t mind hearing it as well.¡±


    Astrid chuckled and told them what happened when he met Shir Atkins. When he was done, Kiran¡¯s bright eyes did not dim at all, they shined even brighter.


    ¡°He¡¯s so cool!¡±


    ¡°He is indeed unique,¡± Snow agreed with Astrid¡¯s description.


    ¡°I hope I can also meet him,¡± Kiran said in a wistful tone.


    ¡°With your talent, you definitely will,¡± Snow said.


    Which was true. As long as Kiran continued to compose and release wonderful music, his path would definitely cross with this Shir Atkins.


    ¡°Maybe one day he will even sing one of your songs,¡± Astrid added.


    A shy smile crossed Kiran¡¯s lips. ¡°Yeah, that would be cool, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Hey, be confident and claim that dream,¡± Astrid said. ¡°You have the talent to back it up. A great talent at that. Maybe one day, you will even take the throne from him.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s too much. I¡¯ll be happy if he could just sing my song,¡± Kiran said, now feeling all embarrassed. To alleviate that, he changed the topic and turned to Snow. ¡°How about you, Snow?¡±


    Snow, feeling confused, asked, ¡°Me? Are you asking if I also want to meet Shir Atkins?¡±


    ¡°No, I mean, what¡¯s your ideal type?¡±


    Snow stopped his action of picking up his milk tea. And his mind just blanked out after hearing Kiran¡¯s question.

 Chapter 515 COMFORT OF FRIENDS

    515  COMFORT OF FRIENDS


    THE first, and only, person who flashed in Snow¡¯s mind was a young man with long gray hair and light green eyes. Assil Brewer. His childhood friend who turned into his sweetheart. And now, a complete stranger. At least for Assil, right now, he was only that. A stranger.


    Thinking that, he felt his chest tightened. As if he wouldn¡¯t be able to breathe in a few seconds. To prevent that, he took a deep breath and tried his best to calm his mind.


    As he was doing that, Astrid quickly noticed that something was wrong. Snow just froze, and the hand holding the cup of milk tea was shaking. The other only showed this kind of reaction after Kiran asked if he had an ideal type. So, it¡¯s safe to assume that his state now had something to do with that.


    It took Astrid back to the strange reaction Snow had when he met Ash. Outside, Snow might have looked like he didn¡¯t like Ash because of how cold and stiff he was acting in front of the other. But Astrid didn¡¯t think so.


    Although Snow was not that cheerful or friendly, he certainly wouldn¡¯t act that way towards someone he just met. In Astrid¡¯s eyes, it¡¯s more like the other was forcing himself to act that way.


    Now, seeing Snow reacting like this, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it had something to do with Ash. But if it was, the question would be ¡®why?¡¯. Anyway, that¡¯s only speculation on his part. It¡¯s better to ask Snow directly, rather than speculating like this.


    So, he asked, ¡°Are you alright, Snow?¡±


    Snow turned to Astrid mechanically when he heard the question. He saw the other¡¯s worried look. Somehow, there seemed to also be something hidden in his gaze. As if he knew what was bothering Snow. With how perceptive Astrid was, that was certainly possible.


    He didn¡¯t know what to say. Honestly, he wanted to share this secret he¡¯d been hiding, but he didn¡¯t know where to start or even what to say. As he was mulling over that, Kiran suddenly spoke;


    ¡°Is it your stomach? Are you having indigestion? Should I buy medicine?¡±


    Snow blinked and then turned to Kiran. The other had the same worried look as Astrid. But unlike Astrid, who had probably guessed what¡¯s bothering him, Kiran was the exact opposite. He looked like he genuinely believed that he was having indigestion issue.


    Was it because he ate more than he usually did? Well, it was mostly because he was concentrating on listening to Astrid¡¯s story that he ended up eating more than usual. If that¡¯s the reason, and then add that to Kiran¡¯s reaction, things just made sense. And it also became a lot funnier.


    He and Astrid probably had the same thoughts because both of them laughed at the same time. The slight awkwardness that appeared because of him disappeared in an instant.


    It also made Snow much braver, and the hesitation he was having regarding whether he should tell them about his secret had completely vanished.


    Kiran pouted. ¡°Why are you both laughing?¡±


    ¡°Because Kiran is adorable,¡± Astrid said.


    Snow smiled at that. He fell silent again for a moment, and then he spoke, ¡°I- I don¡¯t exactly have an ideal type. But¡­¡± He paused for a few seconds before managing to continue, ¡°I have someone I like. No, it¡¯s probably more than just ¡®like¡¯. Something that¡¯s most likely similar to ¡®love¡¯. So, maybe you can consider him as my ideal type.¡±


    Astrid¡¯s eyes slightly widened at the sudden declaration. Meanwhile, Kiran¡¯s eyes literally turned as wide as a saucer. Showing just how much shock he got from what Snow just said.


    ¡°You- you¡¯re in love with someone? Who? Is it someone from the acting department of Redwood? Or someone you meet at work? Maybe another noble?¡± Kiran asked one question after another.


    He seriously didn¡¯t expect that Snow already had someone he liked in that romantic kind of way. He thought that out of the three of them, he would be the last one to actually fall in love. The other just didn¡¯t seem like the type who would easily fall for someone. He didn¡¯t even look like he would be interested in that.


    But lo-and-behold, he was actually the first one of them to experience love. In a way, this was more surprising than the prince being in love with Astrid. Okay, maybe not that much. But still. The surprise factor was that big.


    That¡¯s why Kiran couldn¡¯t help but be curious. Just who was this guy that Snow fell for?


    Snow shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s none of those. He- we met when we were kids. He was my first friend. And that friendship slowly bloomed into something like young love.¡±


    He paused and then looked outside the window with a nostalgic look, as if he was reminiscing of a time in the past that was so special to him. And the words just naturally flowed out his mouth. Telling his two friends about Assil. He didn¡¯t stop until he could get everything out that¡¯s pressing down on his chest.


    When he was done, he felt lighthearted. Something he hadn¡¯t felt in a long while. And then, he suddenly felt a pair of arms surrounding him, as if giving him comfort.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s okay, Snow. Everything is going to be okay,¡± Kiran said as he was patting him on the back.


    And then he felt his hand on the table being held firmly. He looked up to see Astrid smiling reassuringly at him. The other didn¡¯t say anything, but that smile was more than enough. ?????????????????????????xt.????????????


    Feeling the comfort of both his friends, it was only then that he felt the tears flowing down his cheeks. He wanted to laugh at himself for not even realizing that. But instead of laughter, more tears just came out.


    ¡°I¡­ I just really, really want to go up to him and tell him that I¡¯m Snow,¡± his voice broke. ¡°His Snow.¡±


    I apologized for the late update. I was writing this chapter for the past two days, but irl work just got in the way. Sorry. (???¦ä???)


    Tyramisu

 Chapter 516 CHILDISH, AND EVEN A BIT STUPID

    516  CHILDISH, AND EVEN A BIT STUPID


    ¡°YOU can tell him!¡± Kiran said. ¡°Is there really a need to keep that kind of unfair promise?¡± he added indignantly.


    When he first heard Snow¡¯s story, he was surprised at first. Because he thought the other grew up without experiencing any hardship. He¡¯s a noble, after all. Anyone would have thought the same. That¡¯s like a common misconception anyone would have had.


    Who would have thought that there would be an evil stepmother and stepbrothers trying to kill Snow? Kiran was glad that Snow at least had his father. Not to mention, this ¡®Assil¡¯ guy, who was not only Snow¡¯s friend but also his childhood sweetheart. But the gratitude Kiran felt for Snow¡¯s father was short-lived.


    After he heard of that absurd deal, he was like, ¡®what?¡¯. One would think that after not being able to be with the one you really love and being forced into a marriage he didn¡¯t want, Snow¡¯s father would be more understanding. But no, he instead proposed that stupid deal, making it harder for Snow.


    Snow shook his head while wiping away his tears. ¡°I can¡¯t. I know that my father would give in if I insisted with all my might. But¡­ but¡­¡±


    ¡°You want Ash to recognize you,¡± Astrid finished what he wanted to say.


    He smiled bitterly. As expected, Astrid had already put two and two together, realizing that the Assil he was talking about was the same ¡®Ash¡¯ who was friends with Reas. This made it even more embarrassing. Crying himself silly, only to say that he didn¡¯t want to do the easiest way to solve his problem.


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s stupid. Forcing myself to go through all these hardships, when I could easily stop it by just talking to my father,¡± Snow said, his voice already a bit hoarse from the crying. ¡°But when I met Assil again after a year of not seeing each other, and he just walked passed by me without even sparing a single glance, I just¡­ the need for him to recognize me in this appearance intensified. It¡¯s childish and stupid, but I couldn¡¯t help myself.¡±


    ¡°Ahm, well, I want to say that that wasn¡¯t the case, but I would be lying if I did,¡± Kiran said with a complicated expression on his face, clearly not getting why Snow was making this kind of decision.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s childish, even a bit stupid. But it¡¯s what you wanted, is it not?¡± Astrid asked, in which Snow could only nod. ¡°If that is so, then we will support you.¡±


    Frankly, Astrid could also not understand this roundabout way of doing things. But he could sympathize with it. From Snow¡¯s perspective, it must be a matter of pride. And maybe a part of him also wanted to test Ash. Something along the lines of ¡®if you can¡¯t even recognize me, then how can you be certain that you¡¯re in really in love with me¡¯.


    Snow probably hadn¡¯t realized that himself. As evidence of how he couldn¡¯t even give them a proper explanation. Some might think that it¡¯s unfair to Ash. After all, in all angles, Snow was the one deceiving the other, not the other way around.


    But that accidental meeting, after not seeing each other for a year, must have left a great impact on Snow. If things hadn¡¯t gone the way it did, he probably would have not made this decision. Given enough time, he would have probably given in and ask his father to change his mind or at least change the content of the deal.


    Anyway, as he said, this was Snow¡¯s decision. Since he seemed to be very determined to do this, needlessly shoving their opinion on him would just be useless and might even have a negative impact. It¡¯s better to watch over for now. ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    ¡°But wait, you said you already met this Assil guy again. When did that happen?¡± Kiran asked, looking confused.


    ¡°If I remember correctly, it would be the same night you and I met him,¡± Astrid said in a cryptic tone.


    Kiran¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°We also met him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. We even had dinner together,¡± Astrid continued.


    Kiran¡¯s face was completely filled with confusion upon hearing that. Which got a small chuckle from both Astrid and Snow.


    ¡°He¡¯s tall and has long gray hair and a pair of light green eyes,¡± Snow said to help the other remember.


    ¡°Reas¡¯ friend from the military academy,¡± Astrid added.


    As if a lightbulb turned on inside his head, Kiran exclaimed, ¡°Ah! That guy, Ash!¡±


    Then Kiran¡¯s expression slowly changed as he looked at Snow. As if saying, ¡®is that guy worthy of your tears?¡¯. Astrid almost laughed seeing the other¡¯s expression.


    ¡ª¨C


    After the very productive lunch, the three left the restaurant. They decided to just go home after, since they still had things they had to do. Snow offered a ride to both of them. Kiran readily accepted, but Astrid didn¡¯t immediately say ¡®yes¡¯. Mostly because he remembered Wulfric offering him a ride back home.


    After a bit of struggle, he declined Snow¡¯s offer and instead sent a message to Wulfric, asking the other if he could pick him up.


    As he watched the car, where Snow and Kiran were, drove away. He wondered where he could sit down to wait for Wulfric. It would probably be at least 15 minutes before the other arrived.


    But before he could decide whether he should just stay here or go to a nearby cafe to wait, a familiar car stopped in front of him.


    Wulfric got out of the car and opened the passenger door for him. Even in his confusion, he still went inside the car and sat down. It didn¡¯t take long for the other to open the other door and sit in the driver¡¯s seat.


    Astrid turned to Wulfric, narrowing his eyes at the other. ¡°Did you not leave at all?¡±


    That¡¯s the only explanation how the other could get here so fast. Him just staying at his car after he left the restaurant.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Wulfric gave a dry laugh while scratching his cheek. ¡°Yeah.¡±

 Chapter 517 TO BE RECOGNIZED

    517  TO BE RECOGNIZED


    ASTRID smiled helplessly. ¡°So, you waited until we leave the restaurant? What if I decided to go back with my friends?¡±


    Wulfric shrugged as he started the car. ¡°It didn¡¯t matter. At least if I saw you leave with your friends, I know that you would safely go back home.¡±


    With one of Aster¡¯s friends being the favorite son of Viscount Campbell, there¡¯s no way their security would be lacking. But he still stayed outside and waited just in case Aster didn¡¯t go back with them. And it seemed that his decision was correct.


    But what our sometimes clueless prince didn¡¯t know was Astrid purposely didn¡¯t leave with Snow and Kiran because he had a feeling that he might be waiting for him. And Astrid was indeed correct.


    So, in a way, it¡¯s just two people having a silent agreement to meet each other without the other knowing. It¡¯s amazing, in a sense. Because it seemed like their minds were perfectly in synced. Or perhaps it just showed how they were both thinking of one another.


    Of course, at this point in time, none of the two had realized it yet.


    Astrid chuckled at that response, feeling a sweet warmth in his heart. In the end, he could only say, ¡°Thank you for waiting.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s for you, then I don¡¯t mind waiting,¡± Wulfric said in a nonchalant manner, as if it was something very natural.


    Astrid was amused by that. So, he asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    Wulfric turned to him and looked straight into his eyes. ¡°Because it will always be worth it.¡±


    Astrid blinked, his heart skipping a beat. When the other gazed so deeply into his eyes while saying those things, it¡¯s only natural for his heart to make a loud thump. It¡¯s like he was being pulled by those golden eyes, trapping him, making him unable to move. The only thing he could do was to stare back and let his heart beat faster and faster by the second.


    Those simple words he said were like telling him that whatever might happen in the future, he would always be worth it. That was more than just a simple boost in his self-esteem. It made him feel¡­ loved.


    Astrid lowered his gaze as he felt his face heating up. Really, Wulfric had a way with his words that could make one¡¯s heart flutter. He bet no one would think the other was capable of even saying half of the things he had said to him.


    ¡°Wulf is really natural at this,¡± he couldn¡¯t help but say.


    Wulfric tilted his head, not understanding what he meant. This made Astrid chuckle.


    Sure that he was no longer blushing, he turned to the other and said in a teasing voice, ¡°I¡¯m saying that Wulf is a natural flirt.¡±


    Wulfric seemed shocked by that. ¡°I- I¡¯m not a flirt!¡±


    Astrid raised a brow and continued to tease the other. ¡°Just think back to all the things you said to me since you confessed. I believe even the most skilled Casanova would pale in comparison to you.¡±


    Wulfric blushed. ¡°But I only said those things because it¡¯s you! No way would I say it to another person. And it¡¯s not like I rehearsed them. It came from the heart! And although many would say that this heart is black, when it came to love, it¡¯s very pure.¡±


    Astrid laughed, not only from amusement but also from the absolute joy those words brought him. He raised his hand and pinched Wulfric¡¯s cheek. ¡°I know. And for giving me that pure love, I¡¯m more than thankful.¡±


    Wulfric pouted. ¡°Then I¡¯d rather you give me a kiss on the cheek, rather than a pinch.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t count your luck too much,¡± Astrid said, further pinching the other¡¯s cheek. ¡°We¡¯re not on that stage yet. Although, a hug would probably not be an issue.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s ears practically perked up like a puppy when he heard that. ¡°Can we hug now?¡±


    Astrid had to stop himself from laughing at that. ¡°Here? But isn¡¯t it uncomfortable? Don¡¯t you want to hug while we¡¯re both standing?¡±


    As if he liked the idea of that, Wulfric quickly agreed. ¡°No taking that back now, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Astrid said before the other could even ask him to cross their little fingers together. ????????????????????????????xt.????????????


    Wulfric radiated with visible happiness after that. Astrid could only shake his head. Who would have thought that the prince of the Empire would react like this just for the promise of one hug? He¡¯s like a kid giddily awaiting a treat.


    As he stared at the other, he couldn¡¯t help but think back to the things Snow had told him and Kiran earlier at the restaurant. About that whole thing with Ash.


    Since Ash¡¯s older brother was Wulfric¡¯s lieutenant, the other could probably do something about that situation if he asked. But Astrid wouldn¡¯t do that. Aside from the fact that it¡¯s something Snow didn¡¯t want, the situation might just get worse if they meddled unceremoniously.


    But thinking about that whole situation, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but wonder about something.


    ¡°Wulf, can I ask you something?¡±


    ¡°You can ask me anything.¡±


    ¡°If my appearance and my voice change, will you still be able to recognize me?¡±


    Wulfric seemed to be puzzled why he was asking this question, but he answered without hesitation, ¡°Of course. Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°The question is, why are you so certain you would?¡±


    ¡°On our first date¡ª no, I mean when we first went out to have lunch and things, when you disguised yourself in that fluffy brown hair, I immediately knew it was you. Even your disguise now. If I hadn¡¯t met you today and suddenly saw you walking on the street, I will immediately know it¡¯s you.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just your appearance that¡¯s attractive. You have this kind of unique atmosphere around you. Besides, would I even have the right to say that I love you if I couldn¡¯t even recognize you in disguised? Heck, I could even recognize you by your back alone.¡±


    Astrid¡¯s heart suddenly felt full when he heard that. Now, he could understand a bit why Snow wanted Ash to recognize him without him telling the other who he was.


    At least he could, right at this moment.

 Chapter 518 SHAMELESS PRINCE

    WULFRIC was browsing a grocery channel to order fresh produced. The grocery was not only for Aster, a portion of it was for him. So he could practice cooking. He had been practicing for more than a week now and he felt like he was truly making progressed. At least he could now fry an egg without burning the egg or the pan.


    Now, he was going for a more difficult one. Fried sausage!


    He had been doing that since morning and so far, it had all been a failure. He seriously didn¡¯t know what he was doing wrong. If he couldn¡¯t get over this, how the hell could he even go to the next level? Like making a stew or something?


    No, he shouldn¡¯t lose hope. Didn¡¯t he not even know how to boil an egg a week ago? Now, he not only knew how to boil, he could even fry one. Surely, with more practice, he could even make a delicious steak.


    Maybe, one day, he could even cook a full-course meal for Aster. It would be better if he could do that before he left the capital and return to Alluna. Although he wondered if he had enough time to do it.


    Wulfric decided not to think much about that and just concentrate on cooking. Or at least his version of it.


    It was past lunch when he received a video call from Leland. Normally, he would just ignore it. But since he had been ignoring the other¡¯s call a number of times now, if he ignored this once again, Leland might flow directly to the capital and he would find himself being chained to a spacecraft and flown back to Alluna.


    He reluctantly put down the knife he¡¯s holding and answered the call. Leland¡¯s face quickly appeared on the virtual screen.


    ¡°Your Highness,¡± Leland greeted first. He seemed to want to say something, but when he noticed the things around Wulfric, he changed what he¡¯s about to say. ¡°What¡­ are you doing right now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m cooking.¡±


    Leland only raised his brow at that simple answer. He made a quick glance around the prince and saw burnt pans. There were also questionable things on plates that almost looked like burnt fat worms. But he decided not to question it since the prince¡¯s failure in cooking wasn¡¯t really his problem. So, he just went straight to why he called the other.


    ¡°I apologize for interrupting Your Highness¡¯¡­ cooking time,¡± he first started. ¡°But when will you go back to Alluna?¡±


    The prince was silent for a second. ¡°Do I need to go back?¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, may I remind you that you¡¯re a General? You have a lot of work pile up here, and they will keep piling up the longer you¡¯re away. And it¡¯s not as if Your Highness is on vacation right now. So, I respectfully ask Your Highness to go back to work.¡±


    There was another silence before the prince answered, ¡°Then I will take a vacation now.¡±


    ¡°Asking for a vacation now is a bit too late,¡± Leland said with no room for argument. ¡°And if Your Highness will say that I should just send all the documents you need to review, and you can work there on your own, then please erase that thought. I hate to remind you, Your Highness, but you need me to review these documents with you. And no, I won¡¯t do it on my own.¡± He smiled. ¡°I¡¯m only a lieutenant, after all.¡±


    When Leland thought he said everything that the prince could think of as an excuse, the other still defied his expectations.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just promote you,¡± the prince said shamelessly. ¡°You can be the General from now on.¡±


    Leland only felt a vein on his forehead throbbing after hearing that.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After the afternoon classes, both Astrid and Snow went to Polaris. Snow had a meeting with his agent, while Astrid planned to do some acting practice. Since he didn¡¯t have any filming gigs currently, practicing in the agency was the next best thing to hone his talent instead of doing nothing.


    If the casting of [Serendipitous Summer] was going well, then there would be more than two weeks left before the start of the filming. If not, then it probably would be a month. He hoped it¡¯s the former. Not only because he¡¯s itching to film again, but it would be better for the whole production if the schedule was not pushed back because of casting problems.


    Astrid spent two hours practicing. He was planning to spend an hour more, but then he remembered that there was a certain prince waiting for his home-cooked dinner. That sounded absolutely domestic. As if the two of them were already a pair of old couple.


    Despite realizing that he was having this weird idea, he still ended his practice and planned to go back to his apartment. But as soon as he got out of the practice room, he received a message from Ellis, asking him if they could meet at her office after his practice.


    All agents on Polaris had their own office. So, of course, Ellis also had her own office here as well. The road managers, on the other hand, didn¡¯t have their own office like agents did. Theirs were more like an office departmental room, where each one had their own desk and stuff.


    After replying that he was done with practice, he walked straight to the elevator. Wondering what Ellis wanted to talk about.


    Arriving at the other¡¯s office, he knocked first, and when he heard he could go it, he went inside.


    They greeted each other, and Astrid sat down on the seat in front of Ellis¡¯ desk.


    ¡°I just got a call from Director Hale,¡± Ellis started. ¡°It seems they¡¯re having a problem with the casting of one of the characters.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow at that. ¡°Which character?¡±


    ¡°Abby¡¯s older brother.¡±


    Astrid frowned a bit. ¡°Isn¡¯t he a pretty important character?¡±


    Ellis nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why Director Hale was having trouble right now. She even asked if I could recommend someone.¡±


    A sudden idea popped inside Astrid¡¯s head when he heard that.

 Chapter 519 TELL ME HONESTLY...

    ¡°WHY not let Snow audition for the role?¡± Astrid suggested.


    He did not only say that because the other was his friend. He truly believed that Snow¡¯s image fit the role. Although the role¡¯s screen time was not that long, his impact to the story as a whole was enormous. In simple terms, it¡¯s like his role in [The Sleeping God].


    He wouldn¡¯t suggest it if he didn¡¯t have confidence with Snow¡¯s acting ability. If the other was given the chance to audition for the role, he¡¯s confident that he would nail it. At least, he was certain that Snow would do his best to get the role.


    Ellis was silent for a moment, seemingly pondering over Astrid¡¯s suggestion. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to his agent and discuss it.¡±


    Astrid nodded. That was almost a confirmation. This was a good opportunity for a rookie actor. A good agent would never pass that up. Not to mention, Snow would definitely agree to audition. Now, there was only one problem left.


    ¡°Will Director Hale hold an audition for that role, though?¡± he asked.


    All of this planning wouldn¡¯t mean much if there wouldn¡¯t be any audition. Since [Serendipitous Summer] was originally a novel, the original author had a huge say on the casting.


    Of course, there were also times when original authors weren¡¯t given that much opportunity to spread their influence in the film production. This situation often happened when the decision making was in the hands of investors or executive producers.


    But that wasn¡¯t the case in this situation.


    Him getting the role of ¡®Jace¡¯ was enough evidence of that. The major reason he got this role in the first place was because the original author, One Leaf, thought that he suited the image of that character the best.


    For that matter, he was sure that One Leaf also had a solid image in her heart of what her other characters should look like in real life. Maybe she also had suggested other actors and actresses for the roles of those characters. The acting and interpretation of some could have passed both Director Hale and One Leaf¡¯s standard, and some might have not. Maybe the role of Abby¡¯s older brother was the latter.


    If so, then holding an audition would be the next step. It¡¯s the best way to solve the problem.


    ¡°I believe she would,¡± Ellis said, answering his question. ¡°Since there isn¡¯t really much time left before the scheduled start of production, the audition would probably be held within the next two weeks. It will probably not just be for that particular role, but also for the other roles that haven¡¯t been cast yet.¡±


    Some might say that the time was too short, actors who wanted to audition would have less time to prepare. Therefore, the number of actors auditioning wouldn¡¯t be that many. But Ellis didn¡¯t think so.


    The IP was huge enough that there¡¯s no way actors wouldn¡¯t be interested in auditioning. Especially those who were only starting out their career, or even those who were still looking for a way to get their name out there.


    ¡°Were most of the major roles been cast?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Most of the important ones. Like Abby¡¯s role,¡± Ellis answered. ¡°She¡¯s going to be played by Charlotte Anderson.¡±


    Astrid scoured his memory, searching if he had watched anything played by the mentioned actress. But a minuted had passed and he still couldn¡¯t think of anything. Ellis seemed to have read what he¡¯s thinking because she added;


    ¡°She¡¯s a rookie that also debuted this year. Probably just two months earlier than you. She had been appearing in TV shows since her debut, some as an extra, mostly as a guest of the week kind of thing. One Leaf apparently saw one of the shows she appeared and she liked Charlotte Anderson¡¯s acting and energy. I guessed Director Hale agreed with One Leaf since the role went to Charlotte.¡±


    Constantly appearing in TV shows like that, not even caring if their role was just an extra, meant that the other had ambition and drive. That¡¯s a good trait in an actor. If one wanted to succeed in this line of work, they at least have to want it. Astrid was relieved after hearing that.


    Since he would be working closely with this Charlotte Anderson, he¡¯d rather work with someone dedicated and enthusiastic than someone lazy. At least he¡¯s sure that the other would not be that bad at acting. But he should probably still watch the shows she appeared in just to check and make sure.


    ¡°I hope we¡¯ll get along,¡± he said.


    Since [Serendipitous Summer] was technically a youthful love drama, it would be bad if the two of them didn¡¯t even have a shred of chemistry.


    ¡°I have looked into her after I found out she would be playing Abby. There¡¯s no negative rumors about her so far. So, the two of you would probably get along well enough,¡± Ellis assured him.


    ¡°I sure hope so.¡±


    Because it would be pretty damn hard to develop a chemistry with someone who you disliked and vice versa.


    ¡°By the way, is¡­ is the prince still in your apartment building?¡± Ellis asked tentatively after a while.


    ¡°Yes, he is.¡±


    After hearing that, Ellis looked like she wanted to say something, but didn¡¯t know how, so she ended up not saying anything at all.


    Astrid smiled helplessly and helped out the other. Because he already had an idea of what Ellis wanted to say. ¡°He hasn¡¯t yet done anything to jeopardize my career, if that¡¯s what Sister Ellis is worried about. And I have confidence that Wulf wouldn¡¯t do anything of the sort in the future.¡±


    Ellis still couldn¡¯t get used to that familiar way Astrid addressed the prince. Even the other¡¯s seemingly unfounded confidence felt too surreal.


    The reason she called him here was actually not only to talk about [Serendipitous Summer] but also to ask him about something she wasn¡¯t able to ask the last time because of all the other things that occupied her mind.


    ¡°Astrid, tell me honestly, do you like the prince the same way he likes you?¡±

 Chapter 520 SLOWLY BUT SURELY

    AT Ellis¡¯ not so unexpected question, Astrid was momentarily silenced. Mostly because he didn¡¯t really know how to answer. As he was pondering over what to say, a certain memory suddenly flashed in his mind. It was something that happened three days ago. Not the lunch he had with Snow and Kiran, but the thing that happened after that.


    His mind quickly traveled right at that time.


    =====


    Astrid glanced at Wulfric, who was currently very focused on driving. Flying cars like this usually only needed an address to be inputted in the GPS system and it would fly its passengers to their desired destination. It¡¯s rare for people to actually drive on their own.


    Wulfric driving like this only meant that he wanted to get to his destination as fast as he could. There¡¯s only one reason, really. Because of the little ¡®promise¡¯ Astrid made earlier. That he would hug the other as soon as they arrived at their apartment building.


    Thinking that Wulfric was acting like this because of that, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but smile helplessly inside. Just by this, he could easily feel the other¡¯s pure and unadulterated affection for him.


    It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive at their apartment building. Wulfric parked his car on the rooftop. Since he now owned the building, he could now freely parked his car here.


    Wulfric quickly got out of the car and opened the door of the passenger seat for Astrid. As soon as Astrid climbed down of the car and raised his head, he saw Wulfric standing just a few steps away from him with an expectant expression on his face.


    The other spread his arms, as if silently telling him, ¡®come and hug me¡¯. With such action, one would think any form of shyness had already left his body. But the reddening of his cheeks completely betrayed that.


    Wulfric¡¯s bold action, completely opposite of his blushing face, made Astrid laughed. Of course, without any malice. All he thought right now was how adorable the other was. So, he quickly took a large step forward and hugged the other¡¯s waist.


    He felt his body stiffened for a moment, and then he relaxed and hugged him back. Wulfric¡¯s arms tightened around him, as if he wanted to melt his whole body into his.


    Being surrounded by the other¡¯s warmth, Astrid felt joy and confusion at the same time. It was a complicated feeling. He couldn¡¯t even explain it properly. It¡¯s like basking under the sun, enjoying its warmth, and then suddenly feeling drops of rain falling on one¡¯s face. The sun was still shining brightly, but the rain continued to fall. It was that kind of feeling.


    This hug was vastly different from that sudden hug Wulfric gave him when he returned to the capital. That one was mostly done out of impulse. But this one, this one was completely different.


    Because now, they were both aware of Wulfric¡¯s feelings for him. So, it put a different kind of meaning to this hug.


    As he was pondering over that, he felt something hard pressing against his upper thigh. It took a second for him to realize what it was. But before he could react, Wulfric suddenly jumped back, like a puppy whose tail had been stepped on.


    Astrid stared at the other. Wulfric¡¯s face was even redder than it was before. If he looked like a ripe tomato earlier, then now, he¡¯s like a juicy, red apple.


    ¡°I- I think I need to take a cold shower,¡± ¨C was the first thing that came out of Wulfric¡¯s mouth.


    Astrid blinked when he heard that, and then he outright laughed out loud.


    =====


    Astrid chuckled when he remembered that. When he saw Ellis raised an eyebrow at him, he apologized. ¡°Sorry, I just thought of something.¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s related to the prince.¡±


    ¡°It was, in fact,¡± Astrid readily admitted. ¡°And as for Sister Ellis¡¯ question, I do have feelings for Wulf. But as of this moment, it¡¯s still not on the same level as what he feels for me. If we put it in numbers, it would be like this. His is 100 and mine is, well, let¡¯s just say, about 70.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s already quite a high number,¡± Ellis commented.


    Which meant that there was a chance, a pretty high one at that, that Astrid would return the prince¡¯s feelings. Maybe not today, but definitely someday. She should probably prepare now for that time. Because once it was revealed that the two were in a relationship, it would be one of the worst PR nightmare in the history of the entertainment world.


    As a competent agent, she should be ready once that happened.


    ¡°Yes. It is, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Astrid was actually quite surprised, because he only realized that now. If not for what happened three days ago, he probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to give an accurate ¡®number¡¯ just like how he did now.


    ¡°Just give me a heads up once, you know, you finally agreed to have that kind of relationship with the prince,¡± Ellis said in a rather helpless tone, as if she had already realized persuading him to do otherwise would not really change much.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sister Ellis, it would take quite a while for that to happen.¡±


    ¡°But it will happen,¡± Ellis said, not a question but a statement.


    ¡°Well, it will all depend on Wulf¡¯s performance,¡± Astrid said with a smile. ¡°After all, it¡¯s him who needed to work hard to make me fall for him.¡±


    Ellis shook her head. She still couldn¡¯t believe that they were actually having this conversation about the prince right now. But the fact that Astrid could even speak like this about that prince, the same prince who was thought of by many as crazy and unhinged, was even more amazing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should commend you for your bravery, or simply be worried about the future,¡± she could only say.


    ¡°I shall appreciate a compliment,¡± Astrid responded with a playful grin.


    Right now, one thing was for certain, though. That his feelings for Wulfric were actually slowly, but surely, catching up with the other.

 Chapter 521 WULFRIC’S LITTLE PREDICAMENT

    WEEKEND came and a certain prince was having a serious predicament. He had been putting it off as long as he could, but he really had to go back to Alluna. If he stayed here a week more, he was sure that Leland would definitely fly here to bring him back himself.


    In his reluctance, he was even considering transferring their base of operation here in the capital. If only that wouldn¡¯t encroach over the jurisdiction of Aegis Army, he would have already done that.


    Besides that, he was certain his brother had already gotten wind of him being here in the capital. Since Wulfric didn¡¯t like staying at the capital unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary, him being here for more than two weeks now was definitely suspicious. Especially when there¡¯s no work-related reason for him to be here.


    If he stayed any longer, that would only lead to Cynric investigating the reason he¡¯s here. Which would then lead the other to Aster. The only reason why that hadn¡¯t happened yet was because Cynric knew how much he hated being investigated for no reason. But that didn¡¯t mean the other wouldn¡¯t do that at all.


    These past two weeks were simply a buffer period. If he continued to stay here at the capital, not visiting the palace and showing his face to his brother, telling the other the main reason he¡¯s here, then Cynric would definitely take that as a sign that he could investigate and find out the reason for himself.


    That guy was sly like that.


    Once the other found out about his connection to Aster, that guy would definitely do everything to ensure that he and Aster would marry by the end of the year. Yes, Cynric was fully capable of doing something like that. It wouldn¡¯t even be out of character if he handed out an imperial order, telling Aster to marry Wulfric. That¡¯s just how much that guy wanted to marry him off.


    The main reason for this was because Cynric wanted him to have a child as soon as possible. A child who could continue on the Lunaris family line. Something that Cynric had no plan of doing. Simply because he didn¡¯t want his genes to transfer on to the next generation.


    Wulfric knew why his brother had that kind of mentality. It¡¯s something psychological that¡¯s related to their shithead of a father. So it would be pretty hard to change Cynric¡¯s mind.


    It¡¯s the main reason why he also tried to avoid staying here in the capital. Because everytime he did, his brother would definitely hound him to get married. But it¡¯s different now. Aster was here. How could he avoid the place where Aster was?


    Anyway, if he didn¡¯t want Cynric to interfere with his relationship with Aster, he should leave by tomorrow or the day after that.


    But he couldn¡¯t help but feel unwilling. If he left now, how long would it take to come back and spend time with Aster? Yes, he could message and call the other, but would that even match spending time with Aster physically? Of course not.


    Besides, he hadn¡¯t even made any progress in advancing their relationship. The only advancement he had was now being able to fry an egg and sausage.


    Wulfric let out a deep sigh. It¡¯s not like he had any other choice right now. It¡¯s not just Cynric who was the problem, there¡¯s also his position as a general. No matter how much he joked with Leland about retiring and appointing the other as the new general, he wouldn¡¯t do it. Because he loved his job.


    It¡¯s not just about beating shitty people up legally. The adventure of going around from galaxy to galaxy, planet to planet was also a part of it. Being able to help people on the side was just an added bonus.


    He let out another sigh and finally made a decision.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Tonight, as usual, Astrid was having dinner with his brother and Wulfric. This was how it had been during the weekends since Wulfric started living in this apartment building.


    Usually, it would have been a very noisy dinner, with Wulfric and Reas bickering like children. But surprisingly, tonight, it was very quiet. This was mostly due to Wulfric not really saying anything much and just eating quietly.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit worried. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but the other might not want to say it with Reas around. So, he just decided to ask after dinner. Reas seemed to also understand that, because after dinner, he informed them that he¡¯s going to go out for a night run.


    So, at the end, Astrid and Wulfric were left alone in the apartment.


    If this had happened a month ago, and someone told Astrid that Reas would voluntarily leave him with Wulfric, he might have just laughed it off. But it was really happening now.


    This just showed how much the relationship between the two had improved. Reas was probably now on the level of trusting Wulfric that the other wouldn¡¯t do anything ¡®bad¡¯ to Astrid even if they were left alone. And the fact that Wulfric didn¡¯t seem like himself during dinner also helped in that.


    No matter the reason, Astrid was glad for this development.


    He picked up a tray with teacups and teapot and walked to the living room where Wulfric was sitting. The other seemed to have woken up from whatever he was pondering about when he saw him walking with the tray. Wulfric quickly stood up and took the tray from him, putting it down on the center table.


    After thanking the other, Astrid poured tea for both of them. ¡°Here, have some tea.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Wulfric said, picking up the teacup and taking a sip. The delicious tea quickly helped to calm him down.


    ¡°Is there something wrong, Wulf?¡± Astrid asked, not bothering to wait and just went straight ahead. ¡°You seem to be troubled about something. If you don¡¯t mind, I could lend you an ear.¡±

 Chapter 522 HIDING THE DUMPLINGS

    AFTER Astrid brushed his teeth and washed his face, then he changed out of his pajamas into a comfortable home clothes. He glanced at his brother, who was still sleeping before going out of the room. He then started making breakfast.


    He didn¡¯t make much since Reas would be the only one eating. But he did extra dumplings and soup. He was planning to bring it to Wulfric¡¯s suite just in case, you know, the breakfast the other made was not, well, that palatable.


    Yes, that¡¯s right. He¡¯s going to eat the breakfast Wulfric cooked. How did that happen exactly? Well, we had to go back to last night to know that.


    =====


    After Astrid asked Wulfric if there was something troubling him, the other was silent at first. Then he raised his head and looked at him.


    ¡°There is indeed something troubling me,¡± the other admitted. ¡°Can- can I talk to you about it tomorrow? During breakfast?¡±


    Astrid was a bit confused by the sudden turn of conversation. He actually wanted to ask why Wulfric couldn¡¯t just tell him now. Why wait until tomorrow? And why breakfast specifically?


    But looking at the earnest expression on the other¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask that. So, at the end, he could only say, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s talk about tomorrow at breakfast.¡±


    A bright smile finally crossed Wulfric¡¯s lips. The first one since dinner started. ¡°Can you come to the suite? I plan to cook breakfast for you, if that¡¯s okay.¡±


    He said the last part while scratching the back of his head. That little action, plus the uncertain smile, showed that he was a tad bit embarrassed.


    ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t mind,¡± Astrid said, feeling amused. ¡°But are you sure you¡¯re up to it?¡±


    Wulfric pounded his chest, showing his confidence. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to cook a breakfast you will find delicious. Trust me.¡±


    Although Astrid wasn¡¯t sure how much trust he could put in this ¡®delicious breakfast¡¯, he nodded nonetheless. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°But would it be alright if it¡¯s just the two of us?¡±


    Astrid chucked when he heard that. ¡°Yes, I think it would be alright.¡±


    Considering how Reas left them on his own accord earlier, the other would probably wouldn¡¯t mind if he had breakfast alone with Wulfric tomorrow.


    And that¡¯s how the two of them scheduled a breakfast date, if one should call it.


    =====


    When Astrid was done cooking breakfast, he put the extra dumplings and the soup into two separate containers. Then he arranged the dishes on the table and covered them, so Reas only needed to eat once he woke up.


    Xiao Lan then came up to him and rubbed against his leg. He chuckled and crouched down, playing with the cat.


    ¡°Xiao Lan, tell Reas when he wakes up that I¡¯m upstairs.¡±


    He had already told his brother when he returned from his run last night that he would be having breakfast today with Wulfric. Alone. The other showed an annoyed expression. But in the end, he didn¡¯t say anything else. Just mumbling something under his breath, along the lines of, ¡®it¡¯s the last time, anyway¡¯.


    ¡°Yes, Master,¡± the cat said in its slightly robotic voice.


    Astrid then picked up the food containers and walked out of his apartment.


    He actually already had an idea of what Wulfric was planning to tell him today. The other probably had to leave the capital soon. Maybe tomorrow, or maybe next week. But he had to leave, nonetheless.


    Reas had probably already guessed that. That¡¯s why he mumbled those words last night. His brother was probably thinking that this would be the last time they could be alone together. Well, not really ¡®last time¡¯ in the true sense of it. He probably just meant that it would take a long while before they could be alone again. That¡¯s why Reas had been so generous and understanding last night.


    Astrid honestly didn¡¯t know what to feel about Wulfric leaving. There was a part of him that hoped that Wulfric could stay a bit longer. But there was also a part of him that didn¡¯t want to get in the way of his job. Yes, his job as a general. If there was one reason why the other had to leave, it could only be because of his duties.


    Frankly, if Wulfric decided to stay here and neglect his duties, Astrid would be the first one to kick him back to Alluna. Wooing him was all fine and good, but if he did it at the expense of his duty, then, no thanks.


    But despite that, he couldn¡¯t really honestly say that he was happy about this.


    Astrid sighed. Truly, when it came to Wulfric, his feelings were always in a complicated state.


    Before he knew it, he had already arrived in front of the suite. He was about to press the doorbell, but before he could, it already opened.


    ¡°Aster,¡± Wulfric greeted with a bright smile. When he noticed the food containers Astrid was carrying, he quickly took them from him. ¡°Let me hold that. Come in.¡±


    Astrid walked inside and instinctively looked around. He had been inside this suite a few times. The minimalist design and the spacious interior were in line with that of a bachelor living alone.


    He turned to where Wulfric was. The other was already standing beside the glass table, putting down the food containers. He walked over and saw that the table was already set.


    There were two plates with sunny side up eggs, sausages, and a toast with sliced avocado on top. There was also a glass of orange juice beside the plates.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t hide his surprise. Those actually looked¡­ appetizing. If these actually tasted good, there¡¯s probably no need for his dumplings, right?


    ¡°But what¡¯s in these containers?¡± Wulfric asked.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a soup I made. Should I serve us some to add to our breakfast?¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t wait for Wulfric to answer and quickly picked up the containers. While walking towards the kitchen, he stealthily put the container with dumplings in it inside his space ring.


    If Wulfric knew he made extra dumplings because he¡¯s afraid the food the other cooked wouldn¡¯t be delicious, it might seriously hurt his feelings.


    It¡¯s better this way.

 Chapter 523 A NICE DREAM

    ASTRID first took a bite of the toast. The creamy richness of perfectly ripe avocado slices enhanced the simple, toasted bread, creating a delectable blend of textures and flavors. He then ate a bite of the egg and the sausage.


    The sunny side up egg, with its silky yolk and slightly crispy edges, paired perfectly with the savory sausage, adding a burst of flavors to each bite. Together, they created a balanced and satisfying breakfast, where the egg¡¯s richness and the sausage¡¯s savory notes played harmoniously with the toasted bread.


    He was thoroughly surprised. This was¡­ definitely unexpected.


    Even when he saw how good the dish looked earlier, he still had his reservation. He thought, what if it only looked good on the outside but actually tasted, well, not so good? Thank goodness that wasn¡¯t the case.


    When he raised his head, he saw Wulfric looking at him with anticipation and even a bit of nervousness. The other must be really anxious. Astrid really wanted to tease Wulfric, but because he felt a bit guilty about doubting the other¡¯s cooking skills, he decided not to and just chose to be honest.


    Besides, if his guess was right and Wulfric was really planning to tell him that he would have to leave soon, teasing him at this moment could be quite a blow for the other.


    ¡°It¡¯s delicious, Wulf,¡± he said with a genuine smile.


    Wulfric¡¯s face visibly brightened when he heard that. But then, it also slowly dimmed. As if he couldn¡¯t believe Astrid¡¯s praise.


    ¡°Really?¡± the other asked hesitantly. ¡°You¡¯re not just being kind, right?¡±


    Astrid chuckled at that. ¡°If I said that it did not taste good, then that would be me teasing and lying to you.¡± Then he changed his expression and acted as if he was offended. ¡°Or are you saying that I am in the habit of lying?¡±


    Wulfric quickly panicked. ¡°No, no, of course not. If you say it¡¯s delicious, then it must be delicious!¡±


    Astrid finally couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Because it is. Just try it and you¡¯ll know.¡±


    After saying that, he continued eating.


    Seeing Aster, looking like he was really enjoying the breakfast, Wulfric finally let down the stone weighing in his heart. But he still couldn¡¯t feel totally relieved.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    A helpless smile crossed Aster¡¯s lips. ¡°Really. I believe with just a bit more dedicated practice, you can be a master chef.¡±


    Although those words were probably laced with a bit of exaggeration, it still made Wulfric feel gratified. He finally took a bite of the toast and was also a bit surprised to find that it was quite delicious. Knowing that he actually cooked everything perfectly, he finally felt relieved.


    He finally could eat breakfast with peace of mind.


    But as they continued to eat, Wulfric felt more and more nervous. Because the time for him to tell the other that he had to leave was also coming closer. That¡¯s why as the food on the table diminished, his mood also plummeted. By the time they finished, he was feeling completely melancholy.


    ¡°Wulf, there¡¯s no need to look so glum. It¡¯s not like we won¡¯t see each other again.¡±


    Wulfric turned sharply towards Aster. It¡¯s like all the thoughts swirling in his mind at this moment completely disappeared and all he could think of was, ¡®does Aster know?¡¯.


    ¡°You¡¯re planning to tell me that you have to leave soon, right?¡± the other asked, as if confirming.


    Wulfric tried to calm down and at the end could only say, ¡°Yes.¡±


    He looked down. The thought that he would soon leave Aster made him dejected again.


    Looking at Wulfric, who was visibly saddened by this, Astrid didn¡¯t know whether to feel amused or also be sad. But he did know that he had to cheer up the other. So, he no longer hesitated and stood up. Wulfric didn¡¯t even notice it and just continued looking down.


    The fact that the other didn¡¯t even notice that he moved showed just how low his mood was right now. So, this little cheer-up method should at least energized him, right?


    Astrid stood behind Wulfric and hugged him. Since the other was still sitting, he leaned over him, his arms wrapped around the other¡¯s shoulders, offering a heartfelt embrace.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, Wulf. As I said, it¡¯s not like we won¡¯t see each other again. Besides that, we can still call each other and exhange messages. So, cheer up, okay?¡±


    After he said that, it was only then that he felt how stiff Wulfric¡¯s body was. It was like he suddenly freeze on the spot. Much like when he hugged him a week ago. And since his face was just beside the other, he could clearly see how red his ear tip was. A smile crossed his lips. This guy could really be adorable sometimes.


    When he thought that Wulfric would continue to remain frozen, he was planning to ler go, but the other said something that made him freeze for a second.


    ¡°If you give me a kiss, I think I¡¯ll feel much better.¡±


    Astrid let go of Wulfric and instead pinched both his cheeks. He also didn¡¯t hold back his strength. ¡°Nice try.¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t mind though, and finally smiled. ¡°A man can dream, you know?¡±


    Astrid was relieved seeing that Wulfric seemed to have really cheered up. He let go of the other¡¯s cheeks and sat beside the other. ¡°So, when will you leave?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow.¡±


    This surprised Astrid. He knew that Wulfric had to leave soon, but not this soon. Now, he was the one feeling a bit down. Especially since tomorrow was a school day. ¡°I might not be able to see you off.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. As long as we can eat together the rest of the day today, it will be enough for me.¡±


    Astrid could see that Wulfric was trying hard to smile, but he was obviously struggling. Showing his current true feelings. He stared at the other and decided to cheer him up some more.


    He put his hand on Wulfric¡¯s lips and slowly leaned over. Then he kissed the back of that hand. ¡°This should be a nice dream, right?¡±

 Chapter 524 WHAT I SAID MEANT JUST THAT

    WULFRIC woke up early. Well, he really didn¡¯t get much sleep. It felt like he just closed his eyes for a moment and it was already dawn. The main reason for his sleepless night was because of the thought that he had to leave today. The other one was because of Aster¡¯s unusual ¡®cheering¡¯ method.


    Despite it happening yesterday morning, that back hug and that pseudo-kiss lingered in his mind until the day ended. Even when he was about to sleep, they were still the only thing on his mind.


    He kept on imagining how good it would have felt if there was no barrier between their lips, if Aster had truly kissed him without putting his hand on his lips. His imagination even had gone to a point where he suffered a nosebleed and he had to take a cold shower to calm down a certain part of his body.


    He had never considered himself as, you know, a person with high libido. But it turned out that when it came to Aster, that side of him just came alive. With a vengeance, if he might add.


    Wulfric finished bathing and changed into comfortable clothes suited for interstellar travel. After that, he left his suite.


    He planned to leave the capital early. He was afraid that if he procrastinated and waited until Aster returned from school so the other could see him off, his resolve would wane and he would just end up not leaving.


    He walked towards the private elevator that only went up to the rooftop and down to his suite floor. He was the only one who could access this. It was made like this so he would be the only one who could go to the rooftop. His car and small spacecraft were parked there, so he had to make sure that none of the residents could just go there and mess with his things.


    Of course, Aster was allowed in this elevator. He gave the other the access code so he could use it.


    The rooftop had a built-in garage where he could park his vehicles. He personally had it built when the top floor was being reconstructed to a suite. It was so he could have a private space to store his vehicles.


    Wulfric was about to walk to the garage when an unexpected call stopped his steps.


    ¡°Wulf!¡±


    With wide eyes, he turned back. He saw Aster running towards him. He stood in place, unsure if he was hallucinating or if Aster was really here. After all, the other had been the only one in his mind for the rest of the night. It wouldn¡¯t be that weird if he actually imagined the other appearing here to say goodbye to him. His brain was very much capable of doing just that.


    But once Aster stood right in front of him, he immediately knew he wasn¡¯t just imagining things. Aster was really here.


    ¡°Aster, you, how did you¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still here, thankfully,¡± Astrid said, a bit breathless.


    He had a feeling that Wulfric would try to leave early in the morning. Maybe even before the sun rose in the sky. So, he tried to wake up early to check if he was right. And he was indeed correct.


    ¡°Are you here to see me off?¡± Wulfric asked after finally gaining some of her bearings.


    ¡°Of course I am. It¡¯s very naughty of you to leave without saying goodbye,¡± Astrid said, pretending to scold the other.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just that, if I see you before I leave, I feel like I won¡¯t be able to really leave,¡± Wulfric said honestly.


    Astrid smiled helplessly. ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I came here on my own accord. I also have a lot of things to give you.¡± He took out five food containers and three boxes of tea leaves from their farm. ¡°Here, food for your journey.¡±


    Wulfric quickly took the food containers and tea boxes from Aster. Then put them in his own space ring.


    Warmth filled his heart at Aster¡¯s thoughtfulness. For the other to think of cooking food for him to take on his journey showed that he cared for him, right? And that¡¯s what made him feel soft and all gooey inside.


    ¡°You know, Aster, if you treat me so kindly like this, I might get the wrong idea.¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. ¡°And what wrong idea would that be?¡±


    ¡°That you feel for me as I feel for you.¡±


    Wulfric was hesitant to say that at first. But if he didn¡¯t say that now, it might take a while before he could have a chance to do so. Of course, he wasn¡¯t expecting any positive answer. He was just hoping, that¡¯s all.


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect that Wulfric would say something along those lines. But maybe he should have, considering how straightforward the other was. He didn¡¯t know what to say at first. But seeing as how Wulfric was looking straight at him without turning away, he felt like he had to at least be honest.


    Wulfric deserved that much.


    ¡°I do feel something. If not, I won¡¯t even initiate skin contact with you,¡± Astrid admitted. ¡°But the intensity of these feelings, it¡¯s not yet on the same level as yours. And I don¡¯t think we should enter into a relationship when our feelings don¡¯t match yet. It would be very unfair for you. If we ever become lovers, I want us to be in the same standing. At least in terms of feelings, that is. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t respond immediately. His face was even blank. There was not even a shred of emotion on his face. He thought the other didn¡¯t like the explanation he gave him.


    As he was thinking of what to say next, his body was suddenly enveloped in a warm and tight embrace.


    ¡°Can I take this to mean that I have a chance?¡±


    Astrid blinked, surprised by this sudden turn. And then he couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing. ¡°I think what I said meant just that.¡±

 Chapter 525 ’ROMANCE OF THE CENTURY’

    ¡°GREAT! That¡¯s great! Now look to the left!¡±


    Astrid followed the instruction of the photographer and looked to the left. Then he struck a pose.


    He was currently doing a photoshoot for a magazine called [The Etoile]. It¡¯s currently one of the bestselling entertainment magazine in the Empire. Unlike other entertainment magazines, they only released an issue once every three months. And every time they did, it would be part of the bestseller¡¯s list for that month.


    Because of their not so frequent publication, they eventually built an image of ¡®luxury¡¯. Giving the impression that only an ¡®A-lister¡¯ celebrity could be featured in them. Naturally, being part of the ensemble for the said magazine could boost an artist¡¯s fame. Especially one who¡¯s only starting in their career.


    Something like that was actually unheard of in the history of [The Etoile]. In fact, it was still uncertain whether Astrid would indeed appear on the next issue. Why? It¡¯s because the next issue would be released by the end of this month. With such a schedule, the contents of this upcoming issue was, of course, long been shot and edited. Probably a month or two back.


    So, again, why was he doing this photoshoot, then?


    First, one must know that the release of [The Etoile] coincided with the release of [Star List]. It¡¯s another one of the magazine¡¯s strategy to catch the public¡¯s attention.


    Now, let¡¯s go back to the reason he¡¯s doing this shoot.


    [The Etoile]¡¯s year-end issue had a column dedicated to newcomers who debuted that year and placed high on any of the four [Star List] released the same year. The high ranking mentioned here must be at least in the top 300.


    One might think that top 300 wasn¡¯t exactly that high. But with as many celebrities in the Empire as there were stars in the sky, being in the top 300 was already a big deal. Much more if one made it in their first year on the job.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s uncertain whether Astrid would be part of this upcoming issue. After all, it¡¯s also not yet certain whether he would be part of the top 300. But [The Etoile] had a custom of taking photoshoots of prospective rookies who could be on the top 300 of the [Star List].


    They only did it, though, during the last month of the year. Mainly because they had to wait until the end of the year to properly evaluate whom among the rookies had the possibility to be at the top 300 of the [Star List]. They would pick the most likely candidates and do a photoshoot with them.


    This kind of custom could never work in his past life. Because of the cost, for one. But since everything was now digital in this era, even magazines were released digitally, the cost of a photoshoot like this wasn¡¯t really that much.


    The publishing company of [The Etoile] didn¡¯t even have to pay these rookie actors. Because, normally, they wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to appear in such a magazine. So, it¡¯s their honor to even be considered as a part of the next issue.


    It¡¯s kind of condescending in Astrid¡¯s opinion. Still, he didn¡¯t reject it when the offer came to his agency. Because it really would be helpful in his career. Especially after learning that the front cover would be Valentine Davis.


    The current number one being the front cover of a magazine would ensure a huge sale. Which meant many people would read it. And therefore would see him. This would get him attention that could only boost his popularity.


    Why was he talking about as if he would appear on it? Well, let¡¯s just say that he¡¯s confident. After all, his goal was not the top 300, but the top 100 instead.


    ¡°Good, good, now look in front!¡±


    The photographer¡¯s booming voice cut through Astrid¡¯s thoughts. He followed the other¡¯s instruction and started to pose once again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After an hour of photoshoot, Astrid and Ellis were on their way back to the agency. If this was a normal photoshoot, it would definitely take much longer than that. But since they were on a strict schedule and he wasn¡¯t the only one being photographed that day, they had to finish everything in an hour.


    ¡°Are you confident that you¡¯re going to appear on the next issue of [The Etoile]?¡± Ellis asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt about it.¡±


    Ellis nodded. This was what she liked about Astrid. A confidence that didn¡¯t come from arrogance, but from his belief of his own ability. And he had reasons to be confident. Because he really did have the ability to do so.


    ¡°By the way, I heard that Snow would most likely get that part in [Serendipitous Summer].¡±


    Astrid¡¯s sleepiness vanished when he heard that. ¡°Is it already decided?¡±


    ¡°More or less, yeah.¡±


    Astrid grinned. He wasn¡¯t really that surprised. Because he believed right from the start that Snow would get the part. With that, it¡¯s now confirmed that the two of them would work together in this movie.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good news.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Ellis said. ¡°Ah, by the way, are you still in contact with¡­ him?¡±


    Astrid chuckled at Ellis¡¯ sudden question. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Wulf, then yes.¡±


    It had been five days now since Wulfric left the capital. Since then, the two of them were constantly communicating. Of course, except during the times that Astrid had classes or work. Conveniently enough, Wulfric never called whenever he¡¯s busy. As if the other was already familiar with his schedule.


    Since Wulfric had now left the capital, Astrid¡¯s number one fan was also now back to his usual antics. Reading Wulfric¡¯s posts and comments on [Cyberspace] after knowing the other¡¯s feelings for him definitely felt magical and refreshing.


    Ellis signed and mumbled, ¡°It seems I really need to prepare now for that future scandal.¡±


    ¡°Sister Ellis, if Wulf and I developed that kind of relationship, it won¡¯t be a scandal,¡± Astrid said and then smiled sweetly. ¡°It will be called the ¡®romance of the century¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 526 BACK AT ALLUNA

    WULFRIC slowly landed his spacecraft on the open runway of his mansion. After more than a week of space travel, he finally arrived at Alluna. If this was as usual, he would probably feel relieved to be back. After all, this planet was not only a place he owned, this was also his home.


    But right now, that sense of relief was not here. There¡¯s really only one reason for that, because Aster was not here.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that there would come a day when his sense of belonging would depend on one person. How far had he fallen? Not that he was complaining. He actually liked this feeling of being chained down by someone.


    Was that a bit masochistic? He shrugged. He really didn¡¯t care.


    Wulfric let out a long sigh as he got down off the spacecraft. He had already finished eating all the dishes Aster had prepared him. He actually wanted to eat as few as he could, so it could last for a long time, but it had been such a hard task. Mainly because the food was so good that he couldn¡¯t stop eating once he started.


    The only consolation he had was that he still had a lot of tea bags remaining. But even those would run out in no time. Should he send someone to Aster¡¯s family¡¯s farm to buy a couple of crates?


    Before he could fully consider that option, a familiar voice called out to him.


    ¡°Welcome back, Your Highness.¡±


    If Wulfric¡¯s senses were not as developed as they were, he would have been startled. Why? Because it was already close to midnight. Even if his mansion was close to the military base, most people would still be sleeping at this time of the night. But his lieutenant was actually here.


    Was this guy waiting for him here? Knowing Leland, that was certainly possible.


    He turned around and looked at Leland. The other was standing just a few steps away from where he landed the spacecraft. He looked like a drill soldier, standing there with his hands behind his back and with perfect posture to boot.


    ¡°Please tell me you have not been standing there the whole night,¡± he said in a dry voice.


    ¡°Of course not. If Your Highness had forgotten, let me remind you that the GPS system of your spacecraft is connected to the main system of our military base. Just like all the other spacecrafts in our army. And being the lieutenant of the said army, I have access to the main system. So I have a rough idea at the time of your return,¡± Leland responded in an equally dry voice.


    ¡°There¡¯s really no need to welcome me like this,¡± Wulfric said, walking passed by the other. ¡°I¡¯m already here. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to run away or something.¡±


    ¡°Well, with Your Highness¡¯ temper, one could really not know,¡± Leland said, following behind.


    ¡°Why do you sound so prickly?¡± Wulfric asked while entering his mansion.


    Although Leland could be sarcastic at times, he still maintained a level of decorum. But now, the other was openly being low-key antagonistic.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe the mountain of work left behind to me made me a bit prickly, as Your Highness put it.¡±


    Wulfric removed his coat and lazily sat down on the nearest couch. ¡°I¡¯m already here, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Maybe you are. But as I¡¯ve said, Your Highness has always been¡­ capricious, to say the least. Who knows when you¡¯ll be hit by another bout of lovesickness and ran off to the capital?¡±


    ¡®Bout of lovesickness¡¯? Wulfric liked the sound of that. The corner of his lips turned up at that.


    Leland watched as the prince smiled after he literally called him a ¡®lovesick fool¡¯. He shook his head. It seemed like he really was on the point of no return. He sighed.


    He went here to meet the prince so he could blurt out his dissatisfaction with the things he had to deal with while the other was away at the capital, frolicking about. If he waited until morning to say it, the anger that had been accumulating might lessen and he wouldn¡¯t be able to voice out his complaints.


    And now, he only ended up seeing this side of his highness. Which he would really rather not?


    He sighed once again and just said, ¡°In case Your Highness wants to know, thanks to Hildred¡¯s diligent interrogation, we got a major lead to the human trafficking case.¡±


    ¡°Are the Lancasters connected?¡± Wulfric asked, his voice a bit more serious.


    ¡°Unfortunately, their name didn¡¯t come up,¡± Leland said. ¡°Although, a certain person¡¯s name did come up. And they may or may not be connected with the Lancasters.¡±


    Wulfric raised his head and looked at Leland. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°So, when will the two of you start filming?¡± Kiran asked, referring to the movie Astrid and Snow would be part of.


    The three of them were in the greenhouse where they usually had lunch.


    ¡°In a week¡¯s time, maybe,¡± Astrid answered.


    Kiran was quite surprised when he heard that. ¡°That soon already?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s been scheduled long before. It only seemed rush because of some problems that occured during casting,¡± Astrid explained. Then he turned to Snow. ¡°Once again, I¡¯m so glad you got the part, Snow.¡±


    A small smiled appeared on Snow¡¯s lips. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m also very glad I got it.¡±


    When his agent told him about the audition, he didn¡¯t hesitate to take it. He didn¡¯t know about the original source material. So, he could only audition based on the part of the script given to him. Thankfully, he managed to pass.


    And only then did he discover that Astrid would also be part of the movie he auditioned for. He was so happy when he found out.


    He was just thinking before that how good it would be if the two of them could act on the same project at least once. He had practiced with Astrid a few times in Polaris¡¯ practice room. Acting with the other was¡­ overwhelming, to say the least. How more would it be if they acted in an official setting?


    Just thinking about it already made Snow very excited. He had a feeling his acting would vastly improve after he finished filming this movie.


    ¡°I envy you two. I wish I could also work together with you,¡± Kiran said with a slight pout.


    ¡°Who said you can¡¯t? There might come a day when you will compose or sing the OST of the film or show we¡¯re appearing in,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°Now that would be the dream,¡± Kiran said in an excited voice.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be just a dream. It¡¯s definitely going to happen, maybe not now, but certainly in the near future,¡± Snow agreed.


    Kiran seemed to be very flattered by that. ¡°Oh, you two, no need to compliment me like that.¡±


    Astrid and Snow chuckled, obviously both amused by Kiran.


    They talked more about the movie the two were going to appear in. And then the conversation led to Astrid possibly appearing in [The Etoile]. Which, of course, led to the topic of the [Star List].


    A list that would be released by the end of this week.

 Chapter 527 [STAR LIST]

    527 [STAR LIST]


    IT¡¯S almost nearing midnight, but Astrid was still not asleep. He was on the rooftop of his apartment building, staring at the numerous stars scattered in the vast night sky.


    If the other residents of the apartment building saw him here, they would probably wonder how he got here. Because after Wulfric became the owner of the building, the rooftop had become unavailable to the other residents. There would probably have been a lot of complaints if not for the upgrade in the building¡¯s security.


    The upgrade in security overshadowed the fact that they could no longer parked their flying car on the rooftop of the building. And now, the only one who could access this place were him and Wulfric.


    Wulfric actually offered that he could stay at his suite while he wasn¡¯t there. But Astrid refused. Although the other¡¯s suite was luxurious, he still preferred the comfort of his own apartment.


    He glanced at the time on his Terminal. There were 10 minutes left before midnight. The reason why he was still awake at this time and was here on the rooftop was because he was waiting for the release of the [Star List], which would happen exactly at midnight.


    [Star List] was being released quarterly. So, since his debut, this would be his first [Star List]. It sounded like he was confident he would be part of it. But it really wasn¡¯t that. He just knew that he would.


    The activities he did for the past three months supported that. Not to mention, each one of those ¡®activities¡¯ had been very successful. As evidence of the number of his followers on [Cyberspace], which had now reached 13 million. A very high number for a rookie.


    And if a rookie succeeded to debut on the [Star List] just more than three months after he debuted, it would be such big news. What more if he ranked very high on the list? His fame would skyrocket even more.


    [Star List] had 500 names on it. This included actors/actresses, singers, models, streamers of any kind, and just about anyone who could be considered working in the entertainment industry. Of course, that excluded those working mostly in the background like directors, designers, composers, script writers, playwrights, etc. It also didn¡¯t include writers, both fiction and non-fiction. Because their books had their own rankings.


    Despite that, the numbers of actors alone were staggering enough. So, being one of these 500 could already be considered a big achievement. Especially if one was just a newcomer starting off in their career.


    Astrid opened [Cyberspace] to check posts relating to [Star List]. It¡¯s not hard to find them since the topic was already trending. As he was scanning through the posts, a particular one caught his attention.


    [Who among the rookies will be part of this quarter¡¯s <Star List>?]


    ¨C [Since Yujin Wells was already part of last quarter¡¯s <Star List>, I guess he¡¯ll be part of this one as well.]


    ¨C [Of course, he would. Are there other rookies who could be part of the <Star List>?]


    ¨C [There was that new singer from Sonare. Her debut album did pretty well on different music charts. And there was that game streamer as well.]


    ¨C [Astrid Townsend is definitely the number one contender. I mean, who else could say that they became the ambassador of a luxury brand just a few months after their debut?]


    ¨C [Ah yes, Astrid Townsend. He would definitely be part of this quarter¡¯s <Star List>.]


    ¨C [All the things he had appeared in were all big hits. Even if he¡¯s not the main character in those projects, his impact on them was definitely undeniable.]


    ¨C [I¡¯m an avid watcher of <The Great War>. And I must say that his performance was one of the best of the bunch, even with the low number of screen time he had. He definitely knew how to make the most of the time he was given.]


    ¨C [The real question here is what rank he would have, not if he would be part of the <Star List>. Since it¡¯s already a given that he would be.]


    ¨C [I think he would be in the 400s.]


    ¨C [I think 300s is just right. And that¡¯s me being generous.]


    ¨C [No, he would definitely be in the 200s. I heard he had a photoshoot in the <The Etoile>. Which meant the higher-ups in that magazine believed he had what it takes to be in the top 300.]


    ¨C [Top 300? LOL. Aren¡¯t you just reaching? How could someone who hadn¡¯t even been in the industry for half a year reach such a ranking?]


    ¨C [Right? One might think that Astrid Townsend was some kind of genius in the way these people are talking about him. When, really, he had just been lucky.]


    ¨C [If anyone was given the same opportunity as the ones given to him, they would also be just as popular. Maybe even more so.]


    There were a lot of other comments disparaging Astrid¡¯s achievements after that, saying that he would probably barely be part of the top 500. Of course, there were also some that tries to defend him. But the one comment with the most emotions in them was from a certain number one fan.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [You lot are insufferable. All these talks about Aster barely making it to the <Star List>, your insecurities were surely leaking from light-years away. You say if another actor was given the same opportunities as Aster, they would do much better? Hah! What a load of bullshit! Those roles became a big hit because Aster was the one who played them, not the other way around. If you think otherwise, then you¡¯re either an idiot or a troll. Mark my words, Aster will not only be part of <Star List>, he would also be in the top 100!]


    After reading that, Astrid burst out laughing. ¡°Oh Wulfric¡­ how adorable you are.¡±


    Then midnight came and the [Star List] account in [Cyberspace] finally updated.


    Astrid clicked on the post and scrolled down. When he saw his name, a triumphant smile crossed his lips.


    [Star List v: Top 500 for the fourth quarter of Year 3000 AW.


    1. Valentine Davis.


    2. Shir Atkins.


    .


    .


    45. Lauren Watts.


    .


    .


    .


    99. Yujin Wells.


    100. Astrid Townsend.

 Chapter 528 PREPARING FOR THE LUNCHEON

    528 PREPARING FOR THE LUNCHEON


    DESPITE sleeping rather late, Astrid still managed to wake up early. It¡¯s because he was about to prepare a large meal for lunch that could feed a group of people.


    Just barely after midnight, after the release of [Star List], his friends sent congratulatory messages to him. As if they were also waiting for the release of the list. His conversation with them led to the talk about doing some sort of celebration.


    Since he had entered the top 100 the first time he became part of the [Star List], both Kiran and Snow thought that they should celebrate. Snow even volunteered to reserve a whole restaurant where they could hold the celebration.


    Astrid declined. Although he¡¯s not averse to celebrating, reserving a whole restaurant for it would be just a bit too much. So, he told the two that they could just celebrate here, in his apartment building. He would like it more if he could cook for them.


    Besides, he was also planning to invite Lauren. It would be better to do it in a more private setting.


    The other had also congratulated him last night, just shortly after he finished talking to Snow and Kiran. Of course, he did the same. That¡¯s when he invited Lauren. The other readily agreed. It¡¯s just that he was only available for lunch. Which was not really a big problem. They could just do the celebration at lunch.


    And that¡¯s why Astrid was here in the kitchen, doing some cooking. It would be a meal for six people ¨C him, Reas, Lauren, Snow, Kiran, and Ellis. Since it would have to obviously be a large meal, he started doing prep three hours before lunch.


    ¡°Haa¡­ I wish I extended my stay there,¡± said a voice full of regret, and even a bit of annoyance and frustration.


    Astrid raised his head and looked at the screen of his Terminal. There, Wulfric¡¯s handsome face was reflected. The other was very much pouting. The two of them were currently having a video call.


    ¡°Now, I couldn¡¯t even celebrate you debuting so high up on that list. Much less eat the food you¡¯re cooking,¡± Wulfric continued.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Are you disappointed that you can¡¯t celebrate with me or that you can¡¯t eat my cooking?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s because I can¡¯t celebrate with you! Especially on such a momentous occasion. And, well, not being able to eat your cooking is always a big loss.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll cook you a big meal when we meet again,¡± he said, assuring the other. ¡°And even if you¡¯re not physically here, your presence can still be felt.¡±


    And he didn¡¯t just mean that metaphorically, but literally as well.


    It¡¯s because he¡¯s cooking at Wulfric¡¯s suite. He¡¯s not only cooking here, the small celebration party would also be held here.


    After he agreed to do a small celebration party, he worried where they could hold it. His apartment room, for one, was too small for all six people to have a comfortable luncheon. So, after pondering over it for a while, Wulfric¡¯s suite came to mind.


    owner in love with him.


    15:50


    He then called the other and asked for permission if he could use his suite. Wulfric naturally agreed. That¡¯s why he had been here since morning after breakfast.


    Under normal circumstance, it would be hard to access the suite with the owner not being physically here. But thankfully, Wulfric had already registered his biometrics in the suite. Something that he had only found out then. So, he had free access to the suite. One of the perks of having the building owner in love with him.


    ¡°Still, it would have been much better if I could be there,¡± Wulfric said, obviously still sulking. ¡°Haa¡­ don¡¯t mind me, I just really want to be with you, especially on momentous occassions like this one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I think Wulf like this is also adorable. And besides, maybe you¡¯re not here in the literal sense of it, but emotionally¡­¡± Astrid looked at Wulfric on the virtual screen, then he smiled and put his hand on his chest before continuing, ¡°Aren¡¯t you already here?¡±


    Wulfric blinked and then said without embarrassment, ¡°You mean I¡¯m already in your heart?¡±


    Astrid stopped what he¡¯s doing and just laughed out loud. ¡°Well, maybe in a very small corner, you are.¡±


    Wulfric grinned. ¡°As long as I¡¯m there, I don¡¯t mind if I¡¯m just in a small corner.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid put the last dish on the round glass table. He was just waiting for the others to arrive. Reas was waiting outside the building to meet them. Since it would just be faster to accompany them. He also didn¡¯t lock the door to the suite, so Reas and the others could just easily enter.


    After a while, the door opened and Reas walked in. Behind him, Snow, Kiran, Lauren, and Ellis followed along. Astrid was a bit surprise because they all arrived at the same time. He thought they would arrive one after another. But it¡¯s probably better this way. At least Reas wouldn¡¯t have to go back and forth.


    ¡°Wow, Aster, did you move?¡± Lauren commented, while looking around the suite.


    ¡°No, this belonged to the building owner. I asked for permission if we can use it for today,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°What a nice building owner,¡± Lauren reacted, obviously amazed.


    ¡°Right? Maybe I should also buy a unit here once I have enough money,¡± Kiran followed.


    ¡°The security also seemed to be top-notch,¡± Snow also gave his opinion.


    Reas and Ellis, who knew the truth, decided to just stay silent.


    ¡°By the way, congratulations again on ranking 45th on the [Star List],¡± Astrid said to Lauren so they could move along from the topic of the suite.


    Although he had already introduced Wulfric to Snow and Kiran, the two still didn¡¯t know that Wulfric didn¡¯t only own this suite, he also owned this whole building. And there¡¯s also Lauren, who didn¡¯t even know about Wulfric.


    It¡¯s not like he planned to keep it a secret or that he¡¯s afraid the information would be leaked. The timing to tell them about it just hadn¡¯t come.


    I know I said this will be the last chapter for this volume, but I didn¡¯t expect Aster and Wulf¡¯s little conversation to be that long. LOL. Anyways, have you seen the new cover? I hope you like it.~


    Tyramisu

 Chapter 529 CHEERS!

    529 CHEERS!


    AFTER the initial greetings, everyone sat down around the table. And everyone¡¯s attention was quickly transferred to the dishes. If people from Astrid¡¯s past life could see the dishes, they would immediately recognize them.


    There was hot and sour soup, fried dumplings, kung pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables, Yangzhou fried rice, and cold sesame noodles. As for drinks, there were two pitchers of juice ¨C one was plum flavored, and the other was lychee flavored.


    Although Astrid¡¯s guests didn¡¯t know what these dishes were called, they were certain that all must taste delicious. For one, the aroma wafting in the air was enough to make them salivate. Not to mention, everything just looked mouth-watering.


    ¡°These all look very delicious. But can we finish all of these?¡± Ellis asked while looking at the dishes on the table and visibly gulping.


    ¡°With how delicious Aster¡¯s cooking is, I¡¯m sure we can finish it all,¡± Kiran responded.


    ¡°And if there are leftovers, you can just take it all home,¡± Astrid added.


    ¡°Oh, I like the sound of that. I can eat it later for dinner,¡± Lauren said.


    With that, they started eating.


    Since all the dishes were laid out on the table, everyone could pick all the dishes they wanted. Despite everyone picking almost different dishes, they all had the same reaction when they took their first bite.


    Their eyes widened in sheer delight, and an involuntary smile crept across their face. A subtle yet unmistakable expression of pure satisfaction emerged, accompanied by a contented sigh.


    Astrid smiled at seeing that. It made him very happy to see other people enjoying the food he cooked. Especially since they were people he considered as important friends.


    ¡°Really, every time I eat Aster¡¯s cooking, I always feel like I ascended to heaven,¡± Kiran praised.


    Snow nodded in agreement, his cheeks bulging. He looked like an adorable squirrel. So unlike his usual ¡®flower on top of a snowy mountain¡¯ image.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not your agent and I don¡¯t know how good your acting talent is, I would honestly recommend you to be a chef,¡± Ellis said with a contented sigh as she ate the food.


    ¡°I know, right? Really, this cooking talent is such a big loss to the culinary industry,¡± Lauren added.


    Reas didn¡¯t really comment much since he had been eating his brother¡¯s cooking since he was a child. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s taking this for granted. It¡¯s just that Astrid already knew how much he loved his cooking, so there¡¯s really no need for him to say anything more.


    Instead, he was putting pieces of his favorite dishes on Lauren¡¯s plate. Since the two of them were sitting together, it just came off as natural. Every time he put food in his mouth, he would put food on Lauren¡¯s plate.


    Lauren, on the other hand, was busy chatting with the others as he ate. So, it took a while before he noticed that the food on his plate seemed to not disappear. When he looked down, it was just in time to see another person¡¯s spoon putting food on his plate.


    He looked to the side and stared at Reas. The other didn¡¯t have much expression. As if he wasn¡¯t the one who just put food on his plate. As if it was simply the natural thing to do.


    Before he could react, or say anything for that matter, he heard Kiran commenting;


    ¡°You both seem really close.¡±


    The other said it in a way like a child would describe something, filled with innocence and just pure observation. So, Lauren knew that Kiran was only stating something he only observed, and not being sarcastic or mocking.


    Lauren glanced sideways at Reas. He thought that the other might deny it. But no, Reas just continued eating silently. That silence was more than enough of an answer. Because it was almost the equivalent of him admitting that they were indeed close.


    For some reason, his face heated up at the thought. Before his brain could start assuming a lot of things, he had to remind himself that it was not as if that wasn¡¯t true. Ever since they went out on a date- no! That¡¯s not the d-word. It was just an outing between friends. Yes, that¡¯s right, just an outing.


    Anyway, ever since then, he and Reas had been talking a lot more. Well, not really in the literal sense of it. But just them messaging each other. In fact, the number of times he messaged Reas was a lot more than the number of times he messaged Astrid. So, yeah, one could say that they were really close.


    Yes, he and Reas were close friends.


    Just friends.


    Lauren tried hard to smile in the most natural way. ¡°Yes, we are,¡± he responded to what Kiran had said.


    Ellis, who inadvertently witnessed the spectrum of emotions that appeared on Lauren¡¯s face, raised her brow. But in the end, she decided to just ignore it. Eating Astrid¡¯s cooking was more of a priority right now for her.


    And Astrid, who was also a witness to everything, just smiled inwardly.


    Lauren then cleared his throat. And as if wanting to change the topic, he said, raising a glass of plum juice, ¡°I would like to propose a toast to Aster for successfully debuting at the top 100 of [Star List]. May you only continue to rise from now on.¡±


    ¡°And also to Lauren for ranking 45th,¡± Reas added, raising his glass.


    ¡°And here¡¯s a toast for everyone, hoping that we can all succeed and reach the top of the field we chose,¡± Astrid said, also raising his glass. ¡°Cheers!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    After the successful and very enjoyable luncheon, time passed, and it was evening once again at the capital star.


    Astrid was about to sleep when he received a notification. It was the notification sound for when a certain number one fan posted something on [Cyberspace]. He opened [Cyberspace] and his eyes widened when he saw what the other posted.


    It was a video of a drone show in outer space. The words the drone slowly formed were;


    [Congtulations Aster! You are, and always will be, my number one star!]


    [END OF VOLUME TWO.]


    It¡¯s the end of volume 2! Thank you to everyone who¡¯s still here and reading. Hopefully, you¡¯ll still be here for the next volume. Thank you!~

 Chapter 530 START OF THE NEW YEAR

    530 START OF THE NEW YEAR


    ASTRID woke up feeling refreshed. Today was an important day. That¡¯s why he slept early to make sure he would feel energized for today¡¯s schedule. Because today was the first script reading of [Serendipitous Summer].


    This would not only be the first script reading for the movie, it would also be his first script reading after being reincarnated in this era. Which was only natural since the roles he¡¯d been given until now didn¡¯t need him to participate in any script reading.


    In [The Sleeping God], he was only a late addition that didn¡¯t have that much screen time. In [Blind Justice], he was only a guest for an episode. And with [The Great War], even though he had a pretty big supporting role, Director Scott didn¡¯t require them to have a script reading.


    Probably because the series was 35 episodes long, which was unusually long for a limited series of this era. Director Scott was known to not waste time during production. Maybe he considered the time they would spend doing script reading a waste. Something that could be spent filming instead.


    That¡¯s why this would be Astrid¡¯s first script reading. It¡¯s not only because of that. There was also the fact that this movie would be his first leading role. So, of course, he would want everything to proceed in the best way possible. He didn¡¯t want for there to be any complications.


    Today, he would know if there was a sign of any complication arising. After all, he would meet all the cast members today. So, he could observe them and then see if any of them could be a problem. If there was someone, or some people, who would fit the bill, he could make advance preparation just in case they became a pain in the ass later on.


    It would have been better if he could immediately kick them out of the production. Just like that old adage, ¡®prevention is better than cure¡¯. But, alas, he didn¡¯t really have that kind of influence in this film. Moreover, kicking a cast member before the production even started meant that it would be delayed again because the crew would have to cast another actor to replace the who got kicked out.


    At the end, he could only hope that none of what he¡¯s worrying about would happen. And the people he would work with in this movie would have a certain degree of professionalism.


    Astrid got up and took a bath. After bathing, he changed to the clothes he had prepared last night. A navy blazer over white button down shirt that was tucked in dark jeans. He finished it off with a pair of white sneakers. It¡¯s a comfortable yet neat look.


    Although fashion in this era tended to be more elaborate and colorful, he still preferred simple and muted colors.


    He just finished styling his hair when a message notification from his Terminal sounded. He quickly opened the message, which was from Ellis.


    [I¡¯m already downstairs.]


    He replied, saying he would be down in a moment.


    Then he walked out of his room.


    ¡°Xiao Lan, please take care of the house while I¡¯m gone,¡± he said as he passed by the AI robot cat.


    ¡°Yes, master. Don¡¯t worry. And have a wonderful day at work,¡± the little cat said.


    Astrid smiled and ruffled the cat¡¯s head before leaving.


    He got on the elevator, and it quickly arrived on the ground floor. Walking out of the building, he immediately saw a vehicle that looked like a mix between a small trailer and an SUV.


    This vehicle was often called a ¡®celebrity car¡¯ in this era. Most actors who usually had a pack shooting schedule often used this kind of vehicle to at least have a bit of comfort in between filming.


    As soon as he walked beside the vehicle, the side door opened almost automatically. He got inside, greeting Ellis, sitting there.


    Hopping inside, the interior of the car again amazed him. Just like he said, it¡¯s like a mixture of a trailer and an SUV, so there were a lot of things that could be put inside.


    Of course, there was the driver¡¯s seat and the passenger¡¯s seat. A table on the left side of the car with benches on opposite sides. There was a pantry and a refrigerator that were stealthily hidden. One had to push some buttons in order for them to appear. There was also a closet where he could put his clothes. At the end of the car was a couch that could be turned into a small bed. The only thing missing was a bathroom and one could live here.


    The company provided this amazing car for him. One would think that Polaris was being too generous to a rookie actor. But it just turned out that this rookie actor had debuted rank 100th on the [Star List]. An amazing feat that¡¯s deserving of the company¡¯s investment.


    Astrid sat opposite of Ellis, who was sitting on one of the benches. As soon as he did, the car started. Obviously, it was already programmed to do so as soon as he arrived.


    ¡°Are you ready for today?¡± Ellis asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m always ready,¡± Astrid assured the other.


    Ellis nodded. She knew that Astrid would be ready, but as the other¡¯s agent, she still had to ask. ¡°By the way, are you still receiving threatening messages?¡±


    After the release of [Star List] a week ago, the [StarNet] was abuzz. Because a rookie of three months made it to the top 100. A surprise even to her. But a very pleasant one.


    She remembered how Astrid made an announcement when she had just became his agent. That he would be at the top 100 once the [Star List] was released at the end of the year. And that announcement did happen. Remarkably so.


    But there were also negative consequences of that. The hate comments Astrid received after that were enormous. It even trended on [Cyberspace] for a whole day. Not only that, he also started receiving death threats.


    It had been very chaotic since.


    We¡¯re in the new volume! Yey!~


    Tyramisu

 Chapter 531 EFFECT

    531 EFFECT


    [IS this for real? Astrid Townsend really entered the top 100 of <Star List> on his first try? Wow! Is the entertainment industry okay?]


    [How can a kid who just debuted three months ago enter the top 100? It just doesn¡¯t make sense. Unless there are some shady things happening in the background.]


    [There¡¯s definitely something shady here. I can understand if he¡¯s in the top 300. But quickly jumping to the top 100? Just make it make sense.]


    [Did Polaris bribe members of ESRA for them to give a rookie such a high rank?]


    ESRA, short for Empire Star Rank Association, was an organization made up of members from different sectors of the entertainment industry. Like film directors, fashion magazine editors, mostly people working behind the scenes.


    Members of ESRA could be counted to thousands. As long as one was working or had some sort of connection to the industry, they had the qualification to be members of ESRA.


    So, how did an organization with thousands of members decided who would be on the [Star List]? Every quarter, 100 members would be chosen through random lottery. The random selection was to ensure that there wouldn¡¯t be any bias and that absolute fairness would be exercised.


    These 100 members would then pick 500 celebrities and evaluate them based on certain criteria. Like overall popularity, the works they had done for the past three months, and a lot of other things combined together. Even one¡¯s reputation was also taken into account.


    This intensive selection would last for a week. By the end of it, 500 names of celebrities would be posted on ESRA¡¯s official account.


    And the latest [Star List] had just been posted a week ago.


    The most controversial had been Astrid¡¯s ranking.


    Comments like the ones before were the most common. In fact, those comments were already the tamest. The rest were just hate comments so low, one would think if it came out of the gutter.


    There were those saying that he slept with some high-ranking noble and that noble was sponsoring him. Some also said that he was whoring himself to important figures in the entertainment industry. That¡¯s why he could get so many opportunities, even though he was only a rookie. #BoycottAstrid, #DirtyESRA, #UnfairStarList, even trended in [Cyberspace] for about an hour. Not to mention the private messages he received in [Cyberspace] telling him to kill himself.


    If he didn¡¯t have a strong mentality, he really would have been affected.


    But Astrid had already expected this kind of reaction to some extent. When he told Ellis before that he wanted to be on the top 100 on his first [Star List], he knew the reaction of the people once it really happened wouldn¡¯t be all positive.


    Most humans were inherently jealous in nature. When they saw a young, successful person accomplishing things they couldn¡¯t accomplish at that age, the first thing they would feel was not admiration, but envy. And this envy would lead to them questioning that accomplishment, which would then slowly escalate to something extreme. Like death threats, for one.


    Of course, he¡¯s not saying that everyone was like that. His fans were genuinely happy for him. Those fans even started to trend #CongratulationsOurStarAstrid and #top100Astrid on [Cyberspace] just to drown all the negative comments.


    Because of this situation, his number of followers reverted back to 10 million. But that didn¡¯t matter much to Astrid. With this, he was confident that those who stayed were truly his fans. It¡¯s a good way to have a fandom cleanse. Now, his core fans would be much stronger than before.


    Besides his fans, there was also the unwavering support of his friends and family.


    His parents didn¡¯t know much about how important the [Star List] was, but they still put a 50% discount on all the products on their farm for three days. He didn¡¯t tell them that there¡¯s no need since that much wouldn¡¯t bankrupt their farm. Besides, it¡¯s their way of showing support, so how could he stop them?


    But when the hate comments started to bombard Astrid, he had to stop his parents from doing anything reckless. Seriously, if he didn¡¯t, he had a feeling the two would really wage war against everyone who said anything vile against him.


    The other one, who had a very strong reaction to the hate comments, was none other than Wulfric. The other had been fighting against haters and trollers for the past week. Astrid wondered where Wulfric could even find the time to do that. But he did. Not only that, he was even scolding Polaris for not doing their job and protecting me properly.


    Astrid believed that, if it wouldn¡¯t be over the top, Wulfric would have already sent everyone who had ever posted anything disgusting about him to prison. Knowing the other, he probably had already considered doing so. Maybe his rational lieutenant stopped from doing just that.


    Wulfric could be adorable that way. Just thinking of all the interesting comments he made this past week could easily put a smile on Astrid¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Astrid?¡± Ellis¡¯ call pulled back Astrid¡¯s thoughts to the present.


    ¡°I turned off my message notification on [Cyberspace], so I don¡¯t know,¡± he said in response to Ellis¡¯ question earlier.


    Ellis sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t worry, Polaris will soon post a notice in response to all this. It will be a joint statement together with ESRA. The meeting between the two regarding how to deal with this situation took quite a while. That¡¯s why this statement could only be posted now. I¡¯m sorry if it¡¯s a bit too late.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sister Ellis,¡± Astrid said, assuring the other.


    He really didn¡¯t care if it took a week for that. Because he knew that Polaris would not neglect him. It probably took this long because they had to make sure it would be fool-proof.


    ¡°On a good note, remember how the company made a poll on the official site, as well on [Cyberspace]¡¯s official account, about your fandom name?¡± Ellis asked, changing the subject. ¡°Well, the voting is now over and one name won by a landslide.¡±

 Chapter 532 FANDOM NAME

    532 FANDOM NAME


    ASTRID¡¯S ears perked up when he heard that. After the released of the latest [Star List], Polaris made a poll about his possible fandom name. This fandom name would then be the name of the fan club.


    This was actually something that¡¯s not common in this era. The people in the industry thought that it¡¯s an outdated custom. Even the general public didn¡¯t think much of it. Of course, fan clubs still existed. It¡¯s just that people only referred to them as [celebrity name]¡¯s fan club.


    Polaris didn¡¯t think the same as the majority. They believed that a fandom with a name would make that fandom have their own identity. Which would also make them closer to the artist they¡¯re supporting.


    But they also knew that not every artist under them would want that. So, they would give an option whether their artist would want to have a fandom name or not. Of course, they only offer this once the artist reached a certain recognition. After all, what¡¯s the point of having a fandom when there were no fans at all?


    One of the celebrities of Polaris who agreed to that was Lauren. His fandom name was called ¡®Laurels¡¯.


    Even the current number one on the [Star List], Valentine Davis, had a fandom name. Funnily enough, Valentine¡¯s company did not make this fandom name nor by himself. His fans were the ones who made it.


    When he started to become number one on the list for three consecutive years, his fans jokingly referred to him as the ¡¯emperor¡¯. It stuck and then the fans just naturally called themselves as his loyal ¡®knights¡¯. And so, his fandom name just naturally became that. The Knights.


    Astrid shared the same opinion as Polaris, that¡¯s why he also agreed to have a fandom name. An artist and their fans were like a storyteller and their audience. What¡¯s the point of a storyteller telling their stories if there was no audience? In this line of work, one should always value the people supporting them.


    ¡°Which one won?¡± he asked.


    He avoided looking at the poll, so he didn¡¯t know the names that were in it. He did that because he didn¡¯t want to unintentionally like one name more than the others. This way, he wouldn¡¯t feel disappointed if the name he liked was not chosen.


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Starlight¡¯. It won by a landslide,¡± Ellis answered.


    ¡°Starlight¡­¡± Astrid tested saying the name. ¡°I like it.¡± And he was not just saying that for the sake of it. He truly liked how the name sounded. ¡°But does it have any special meaning? Or did the company only select it because it has the word ¡®star¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It has one. Actually, all the names they listed on the poll had meanings behind them. The company really put a lot of effort into it.¡±


    ¡°So, what does ¡®Starlight¡¯ mean?¡±


    ¡°It meant you¡¯re the ¡®star¡¯ and they are the ¡®lights¡¯ that will help you shine even brighter.¡±


    Astrid was a bit surprised after hearing that. He didn¡¯t expect that it would have a very idol-like meaning. He could imagine any idol group from his past life having this as a fandom name. It¡¯s pretty though.


    ¡°Since the fandom name was already decided, it will be added to Polaris¡¯ official fan community. There, you can interact with your fans, at a very minimal level, of course. Your fans can also interact with each other. It will make it easier for them to organize special events for you, things like that. Posting photos there from time to time could be a small reward to your fans, so please do so.¡±


    Astrid nodded. He was familiar with such things. Giving fan-service like that to fans was only natural.


    ¡°The fan club will need a president who will communicate with the fan site manager assigned by the company,¡± Ellis continued. ¡°But since your fandom is still relatively young, it will probably take a while for your fans to organize things by themselves and decide on who would be the president.¡±


    At the mention of the fan club president, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but remember a comment/s he had seen before. They were comments teasing Wulfric¡¯s fan account about him being the president of his fan club.


    Surely, no matter how irrational Wulfric could get when it came to him, the other wouldn¡¯t lobby to become the club president, right?


    Right?


    Astrid shook his head at that bad premonition. To get his mind off that possibility, he just posted something on [Cyberspace].


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    A certain number one fan was reading a new post from his favorite actor.


    Astrid Townsend v: The voting pole for the fandom name has just ended. Thank you to everyone who participated! Your continued encouragement means a lot to me. I hope we can be together for a long, long time, my Starlights! ^^


    Without even thinking, he quickly posted a reply.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [We will be together forever! #StarlightswithAsterForever]


    Wulfric smiled in satisfaction. Starlight ¨C he was glad that this was the fandom name that won. He also voted for this choice. Thankfully, Aster¡¯s other fans also had taste and chose it.


    Their fandom needed to be more organized and unified. Especially after the hate bombardment Aster experienced this past week. Because of those damn haters, the time he spent this past week scouring [Cyberspace] and putting the damn bastards in their shitty place was probably much longer than what he spent doing actual work.


    He didn¡¯t only have verbal battles with them, he also made sure that their [Cyberspace] account would be suspended. Seriously, if it was only up to him, he would have already sent those trash to prison. But alas, that would be abused of authority.


    Of course, if someone really dared to cross the line and hurt Aster in a physical manner, he would make that person¡¯s life hell.


    Wulfric honestly couldn¡¯t understand why these people would be mad at Aster for something that he accomplished fair and square. He shook his head. Really, what jobless behavior.


    He read the comments under Aster¡¯s post and his eye twitched when he saw trolls commenting under it. And so, he started another round of reporting those accounts and making sure they will be suspended.

 Chapter 533 SCRIPT READING (I)

    533 SCRIPT READING (I)


    ASTRID and Ellis walked inside the building of Streamline Film. It¡¯s the production company that would produce [Serendipitous Summer]. They mainly produced movies that were based on novels or comics. In short, it¡¯s a production company known for their love action films.


    They couldn¡¯t be said to be on par with the huge production companies that were considered true giants in the industry, but they had a good reputation and track record. Film they produced seldom flopped to the point that it couldn¡¯t even reach the breakeven point. Although it¡¯s also true that their films didn¡¯t usually become super box office hit.


    In simpler term, the result of their movies was always neither super bad nor super good. They could be said to be super above average.


    But that wasn¡¯t really what¡¯s important to Astrid. It¡¯s more important to him that the production company was clean. And when he meant ¡®clean¡¯, he meant no corruption and no hocus pocus happening behind the scene. Thankfully, Streamline Film fit the bill.


    With a good production crew, he could focus more on filming. Which would then result in a much better performance. Not to mention a good environment for everyone to film.


    Of course, unexpected incidents could still occur. But at least, the very basic was ensured. This was his first leading role and movie, after all. He wanted to make sure that things would proceed as smoothly as possible.


    When they entered the building, an AI robot led them to a conference room where the script reading would happen. As soon as they walked inside, Astrid was surprised to see that there was already someone there.


    One should know that he and Ellis left his apartment building very early. Even if he¡¯s one of the leading role in this movie, he¡¯s still a rookie, so it¡¯s only right to arrive first. Besides, because of the [Star List], there might be some who would openly show their dissatisfaction to him. So, he should not show anything that could easily be picked on by the others.


    But obviously, someone had arrived here faster than him. And it¡¯s even someone he knew very well.


    It was none other than Snow.


    Snow also saw him. His cold expression quickly cracked and a small smile appeared on his face. Astrid wanted to quickly go to the other, but he refrained from doing so. There were already production staffs there. So, he should greet them first.


    He first gave a small wave to Snow. Then he walked around the room, greeting all the staffs with a smile. Telling them ¡®good morning¡¯ and ¡®good work today¡¯. The staffs seemed to be very surprised by this, seeing as how they didn¡¯t immediately respond to him. Astrid didn¡¯t mind and just continued to where Snow was seating.


    Ellis, who was following behind Astrid, was also quite surprised seeing the other greeting the staffs. This was not something they talked about before going here. It might just come off naturally for him. Or, it was a calculated action to gain the goodwill of the staffs. Either way, it was a good move.


    What Ellis didn¡¯t know was Astrid just did it out of habit. He was used to greeting the staffs in his past life. Since he started at the very bottom of the industry, with no advantages, whatsoever, showing a good attitude to everyone he worked with regardless of their job description. That¡¯s how he survived the grueling world of the entertainment industry.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that he was just a kind pushover who would just let everything slide for the sake of ¡®world peace¡¯. If he had to fight back, he would. And if his ¡®enemy¡¯ was someone he couldn¡¯t easily touch, he would find a roundabout way to do that.


    That habit had continued on in this life.


    Well, being polite was just basic human decency. Aside from that, even if he had experienced some annoying things after he officially started his career as an actor in this era, they were situations that were resolved rather quickly. Mostly with the help of his number one fan.


    He didn¡¯t mind that, though. For him, it¡¯s not a blow to his pride or a sign that he couldn¡¯t fight his own battles. He had fought enough battles in his past life, from childhood to adulthood, until he reached a point where he could confidently say that he succeeded in life. Only for everything to be ruined by those damn grapes.


    But at least he was reincarnated in this life in a loving family. His parents and brother gave the love he hadn¡¯t experienced in his past life in a thousandth fold.


    That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t mind Wulfric taking care of those things for him. For one, it saved him the trouble of doing it himself, and two, he liked the feeling of being taken care of.


    Thankfully enough, Wulfric didn¡¯t go too far in his methods. Maybe because the other knew, deep down, that he wouldn¡¯t appreciate it.


    When his thoughts veered towards Wulfric, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It had already been three weeks since the other left the capital. And although they had been in constant contact, there were moments when he truly missed the other¡¯s presence beside him.


    Astrid shook his head. This was hardly the time to think about that. He should focus on today¡¯s script reading instead of thinking about these things.


    He finally arrived where Snow was sitting. He first greeted the other and then asked, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to come so early. Have you been here for a while now?¡±


    Snow shook his head. ¡°No, I arrived just a few minutes before you. It¡¯s better to be early than to be late, right?¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°True. But where¡¯s your manager?¡±


    Snow was assigned to an agent who was currently handling five artists. In cases like that, a dedicated manager would be assigned to the artist to take care of them. Astrid didn¡¯t have to worry about such things, since he was the only artist being handled by Ellis.


    But before Snow could respond, the door to the conference room suddenly opened and a young woman with a cold expression walked in.

 Chapter 534 SCRIPT READING (II)

    534  SCRIPT READING (II)


    THE woman had caramel brown hair styled in a short bob. Her green eyes didn¡¯t have much emotions in them. Her expression contrasted with the cute, pink dress and pink beret she was wearing. But when she saw them, a smile appeared on her face.


    Astrid quickly noticed how that smile didn¡¯t even reach her eyes. But it wasn¡¯t as if it¡¯s a smile that could offend anyone. To him, it just looked like a well practiced smile. As if she had tried to do that in front of the mirror countless of times until she got it right.


    He didn¡¯t mind, though. There¡¯s no rule saying that one should always have a genuine smile for anyone they met. The important thing was the intent behind the smile. Whether it was mockery, goodwill, or indifference.


    For someone like him who¡¯s adept at reading people¡¯s emotion just based on their expression, it was easy for him to see the meaning behind a person¡¯s smile. In his view, her smile carried no negative implications. And that was enough.


    Besides, the other was his leading lady in this movie. He should at least give her the benefit of the doubt and not judge her just based on one smile.


    Yes, that¡¯s right. The young woman would be playing the role of Abby. Her name was Charlotte Anderson. She also debuted last year, just a few months earlier than Astrid.


    From what Ellis had told him, Charlotte was very diligent in her job. Appearing constantly in various TV series, not caring if her role was just that of an extra. When he heard that, he thought that the other must have really liked acting.


    When he found out that Charlotte would be acting opposite him, he searched for a few clips of her acting. He was very satisfied by what he saw. It¡¯s not just because the other had talent, it was more due to the fact that she was giving her all in every role she played, no matter how small that role might be.


    Just that was enough to ease Astrid¡¯s mind. At least, he didn¡¯t have to worry that the other would not do her best.


    But seeing Charlotte Anderson in person, he still felt a bit surprised. From the clips he had watched, he was expecting the other to be a bright-eyed, lively young woman. The type who would energetically greet everyone with a smile. But her real personality seemed to be more on the reserved side.


    The fact that she was able to make him think this way just showed her talent for acting. Which only made Astrid more satisfied.


    Charlotte Anderson walked towards them. The woman walking behind her, who appeared to be her manager, went to the seats on the side designated for agents and managers. Ellis was already sitting there.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Charlotte Anderson and I¡¯ll be playing the role of Abby,¡± she said, introducing herself when she arrived in front of them.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Astrid Townsend, playing the role of Jace,¡± Astrid said, also introducing himself. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡±


    His warm response seemed to make her uncomfortable, because she awkwardly answered, ¡°Ah, yes. Me as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Snow Bell. Nice to meet you, Miss Anderson,¡± Snow introduced himself.


    He did not use his real surname because the company decided that it would be better for his career if the public didn¡¯t know that his father was a viscount. That way, people wouldn¡¯t just casually label him as some kind of Nepo baby. It¡¯s better to be known for his talent than his family background. And Snow completely agreed.


    After the short greeting, Charlotte went to her designated seat, which was near the end of the table. There were names floating above the chairs, so one could immediately know where they should seat. Astrid¡¯s designated seat was opposite the Charlotte.


    Since the other actors weren¡¯t there yet, he decided to chat with Snow for a bit. Even though the other didn¡¯t show it, he could tell from the tense muscles on his face that he must be feeling nervous right now. He should help Snow relax before the script reading started.


    As they chatted, Snow¡¯s manager returned, giving him a canned drink. Then the manager went to where Ellis was, sitting down beside her.


    A few more minutes passed and actors arrived one after another. Astrid had left Snow¡¯s side and sat down on his designated seat.


    As actors and actresses continued to fill the room, Astrid also dilligently greeted all of them. He didn¡¯t know if it was because of his influence, but Snow also did the same. With them doing that, Charlotte must have felt that it wouldn¡¯t look good if she just sat in her seat, doing nothing, when she was also a rookie like them. So, she also greeted the other actors as soon as they entered the conference room.


    Those around the same age range gave a lukewarm response. Some were even downright indifferent to Astrid. He didn¡¯t mind though, since he already expected something like that to some extent.


    After all, his current rank on the [Star List] could easily make him a target for jealousy. Especially to those who were just a few years older than him. Thankfully, the older actors seemed to appreciate their greetings, praising them for being polite kids.


    When all the actors arrived, it didn¡¯t take long before Director Hale also walked into the room. Following her were two women. Astrid was slightly surprised when he recognized one of the two.


    It was the author, One Leaf.


    Knowing the other¡¯s shy personality, he thought she wouldn¡¯t attend the script reading. Even if she didn¡¯t, no one would think badly of her. After all, the original author of the book a movie or series was based on was not obligated to do such a thing. Maybe One Leaf just wanted to make sure that the actors chosen were really the perfect fit for their roles.


    Director Hale sat at one end of the table, while the two women sat on each side of her. ¡°Alright. Shall we begin by introducing ourselves?¡±

 Chapter 535 SCRIPT READING (III)

    535  SCRIPT READING (III)


    AFTER everyone introduced themselves, the script reading finally began.


    The first scene of the movie started with the panoramic view of the coastal town, Harborview. Then there would be a voice over, narrated by the character of Abby.


    ¡°In the enchanting embrace of summer, in the place where the sea meets the sky, a boy entered my world, weaving magic into my life.¡±


    Charlotte read that line, with just enough hint of mystery, joy, and love. Anyone who heard it would want to know exactly what she meant.


    Astrid slightly raised his brow. That was a good line delivery. The fact that she didn¡¯t just say it and put the appropriate emotions to it just showed how seriously he was taking this. It made him look at Charlotte Anderson more closely. Astrid¡¯s competitive spirit was suddenly aroused.


    As the other main lead, he couldn¡¯t just lag behind, right?


    Charlotte, who was concentrating on the script in front of her, suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body. She instinctively looked up and met the gaze of the person sitting opposite her.


    Astrid Townsend smiled at him. But that wasn¡¯t what startled Charlotte. It was the fire in those obsidian eyes. As if he was saying ¡®I won¡¯t lose¡¯. It was similar and yet dissimilar to the looks she had received from people she acted with until now. Similar in the sense that they didn¡¯t want to lose and dissimilar because, unlike those gazes, Astrid was not glaring at her as if he wanted to stab her repeatedly.


    She had never really understood what those looks meant. She didn¡¯t care enough to find out. As long as they didn¡¯t get in the way of her acting, then she didn¡¯t mind, even if they looked at her like she was some kind of trash.


    She turned her gaze back to her script. The first scene where Abby and Jace were about to meet was coming. She had to concentrate.


    And so, once again, Charlotte immersed herself in the script. As if everything written there was happening right at this moment. In her mind, the surroundings slowly changed.


    She was no longer sitting inside a conference room, instead, she was inside a seaside cafe. She was sitting on a table beside the floor to ceiling window where one could immediately see the vast ocean. In her hands was a thick book, something already considered as uncommon in this era.


    At that moment, she was no longer Charlotte. She was now Abby, a reserved and introspective teenager who had a heavy burden she secretly carried in her heart.


    ***


    Abby turned the page of the book she¡¯s reading. Many people actually preferred 15:43


    reading on their Terminal. That¡¯s the norm in today¡¯s age. Physical books were just Abby turned the page of the book she¡¯s reading. Many people actually preferred reading on their Terminal. That¡¯s the norm in today¡¯s age. Physical books were just bulky things that take up space. But even with such an unusual sight, no one in the cafe was giving her weird looks.


    That¡¯s because they were already used to seeing her there. It¡¯s not because they didn¡¯t find her weird, but because they had gotten used to seeing her doing such a thing.


    Abby continued on reading. Unexpectedly, when she raised her head to look out of the window, she saw a motorcycle stopping in front of the cafe. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t give that a second glance and would just go back to reading. But just like her book, that motorcycle was not something one could usually see in this era.


    Most travelling vehicles used levitating technology, so wheels were already a thing of the past. But surprisingly, a person suddenly appeared in this town riding such a motorcycle.


    Abby couldn¡¯t help but be curious and looked at the person driving the motorcycle. Based on their physique, they seemed to be a man. The other got off the motorcycle and removed their helmet.


    The person was indeed a man, no rather, he was more like a boy the same age as her. He had black hair that appeared to be sweaty and a pair of black eyes that seemed to be twinkling. The people who saw the boy couldn¡¯t help but stare at him. It¡¯s not only because he looked undeniably good, but because he just had that aura that pulled people in.


    And unknowingly, Abby was one of the people being pulled in.


    The boy walked into the cafe. He looked around as if searching for a place to sit. But then his gaze landed on where Abby was sitting. She panicked for a moment until she realized that the other wasn¡¯t looking at her but at the book she¡¯s holding. She suddenly felt like an idiot, thinking for a moment that this boy would be interested in her.


    Then he started walking in her direction. Abby began to panic again.


    When the boy was almost at her table, a waiter who was walking the opposite direction seemed to have his attention taken by the boy. He was so captivated that he unexpectedly tripped on his own feet, making the drinks he was holding on a tray flew up. And their destination was the booth where Abby was sitting.


    Seeing the drinks about to be poured on her, Abby completely froze and could only close her eyes. Waiting for the mixture of cold and hot water to come raining down on her. But after a few seconds, she still didn¡¯t feel anything.


    That¡¯s when she opened her eyes to take a peek. But her eyes completely widened when he saw the boy in front of her. There was liquid and cream dripping on top of his head. Obviously, those drinks landed on him instead of her.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked. His voice had a playful and lazy cadence to it, but one could still feel the gentleness hidden within.


    Abby blinked. She felt like she was being sucked in by the pair of obsidian eyes looking at her. She could hardly think and could only stammer, ¡°Y-yes.¡±


    ***


    That¡¯s the first meeting between Abby and Jace. In the script reading, the two actors playing them only exchanged one line. And yet, to the people there, they felt like they saw that scene directly played out in front of them.

 Chapter 536 DIRECTOR HALE’S THOUGHTS

    536 DIRECTOR HALE¡¯S THOUGHTS


    THE script reading took about three hours to end. Even though the running time of the movie was only one hour and 45 minutes. This was because the director needed to correct some line deliveries of the actors. Which was a common thing. To finish the script reading the exact duration of the running time would be close to a miracle.


    Director Harper Hale was very satisfied with this. She was glad that the actors she and author One Leaf picked, as well as those who passed the audition, did not disappoint them.


    Since this movie didn¡¯t really need a high budget, there¡¯s no need to placate any high-ranking investors by putting in actors that they would recommend. The production company could easily cover the cost of investment. That¡¯s why when Streamline Film approached her for this project, she didn¡¯t refuse.


    It was not only because they were known for live action adaptations, but mostly because of how they approached productions. As long as there weren¡¯t any major problems, they would mostly not meddle with how the film was made. They would simply give the director everything they needed during pre and post production.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that they were overly trusting. They only worked with directors who were dilligent and unproblematic. Probably to make sure that they would work hard on the film. That rule had its advantages and disadvantages.


    It¡¯s advantageous because a peaceful filming environment could be mostly ensured. The disadvantageous part was, well, because they mostly chose directors based on their personality rather than their talent, the resulting film was almost always mediocre, to say the least.


    Despite that, people still flocked to watch their movies. This was mostly because the original material which the movie was based on was already pretty famous on its own. So, it¡¯s only natural for the fans of the original material to watch the movie. The movies produced by Streamline were satisfactory enough that not many complained about their adaptations.


    But Harper was not simply aiming for ¡®satisfactory¡¯. This was the first movie she would direct. ¡®Satisfactory¡¯ just wouldn¡¯t be enough. She wanted to make a movie that wouldn¡¯t just be appreciated by fans of the original work but also by the general public. A movie that wouldn¡¯t just reach the break-even point, but would enter the box-office list.


    It was an ambitious statement. But if she didn¡¯t set her goal higher, then wouldn¡¯t that mean she didn¡¯t believe in herself and the actors she picked? And she had absolute confidence in her abilities. Not to mention, the cast of this movie also couldn¡¯t just be dismissed.


    Although most of the younger roles were going to be played by rookie actors, Harper didn¡¯t worry much. All of them passed a rigorous audition process. Both main leads were also very exceptional. In fact, one of them was so exceptional he even entered the top 100 of the [Star List] just three months after his debut.


    This popularity would undoubtedly help in the box office of the movie. It¡¯s also reassuring that his acting skills were directly proportional to his fame. No, if she was being honest, Astrid¡¯s talent was definitely greater than his current fame. If he continued to pick good projects from now in two-three years¡¯ time, his fame would definitely be able to catch up with that enormous talent.


    Right now, Harper was just glad that they managed to sign a contract with Astrid for this movie before the recent [Star List] was released. It¡¯s not only the question of his talent fee increasing, other much bigger productions would probably have approached him by now. Between this movie and a bigger production, a good agent would definitely choose the latter.


    She had already expected Astrid to be good, but the other lead, Charlotte Anderson, was a pleasant revelation. The other was recommended by the author, One Leaf.


    Harper had her reservations at first since she hadn¡¯t heard of the name, but she couldn¡¯t just ignore what One Leaf wanted. It took a long time to convince the author to do this adaptation. She didn¡¯t want to push the other away by not giving a chance to the actors she recommended.


    So, she searched for projects Charlotte had appeared on. Since the other was only a rookie, most of her roles were either extra or super minor supporting roles. And the way she acted in those small roles satisfied Harper. Enough to agree to casting the other.


    With this script reading, Charlotte proved herself enough that Harper wouldn¡¯t have to regret her decision to cast her.


    She suddenly felt energized and determined. With this cast, she would definitely make not just a good movie, but a great one.


    ¡ª¨C


    Charlotte was walking in the parking lot with her manager beside her. Since the script reading already ended, and she had no more schedule for the day, she planned to go to the company to do some acting practice.


    Originally, she would have decided to go home instead, but that script reading made her itchy to do some acting practice. And she knew the reason for that was Astrid Townsend.


    When they exchanged lines earlier, she felt like there¡¯s a beast in front of her. If she didn¡¯t do her best, she would be completely devoured.


    It was the first time she felt like another¡¯s acting would sweep her away if she didn¡¯t stay alert. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time.


    She was scared that the audience watching them might not even look at her and only look at Astrid Townsend. But as much as she was scared, she was also very excited. Because since she started acting, she finally felt like she could give everything without worrying that the person she¡¯s acting with would not be able to keep up.


    ¡°Miss Anderson, please wait a moment!¡± a somewhat familiar voice called from behind.


    Charlotte looked back and saw Astrid Townsend walking in their direction. Following behind him were one of the supporting actors, and also two people who seemed to be agents or managers. She and her manager stopped walking and waited for the other.

 Chapter 537 CHARLOTTE ANDERSON

    537 CHARLOTTE ANDERSON


    AFTER the script reading ended, Astrid, Ellis, Snow, and David ¨C Snow¡¯s manager, decided to eat lunch together. They just arrived in the parking lot when Astrid saw a familiar figure walking ahead of them.


    It was Charlotte Anderson.


    Seeing the other¡¯s back, he couldn¡¯t help but remember the script reading they just had. It was a very enjoyable first script reading for him. Probably because exchanging lines with Charlotte was pretty fun.


    Even if it¡¯s only a script reading, she showed the right emotion her character would be feeling at that moment when she read her lines. That commitment and intensity was very commendable. And Astrid liked that very much. He couldn¡¯t wait for filming to start because he knew Charlotte would be even more amazing.


    Filled with confidence in his own ability to excel in the role, he found reassurance after the script reading as he witnessed the equally impressive performance of the other main lead. With both of them at the helm, the assurance grew that they would undoubtedly do justice to the original material.


    It¡¯s probably too arrogant of him to say that, but he was just that confident of his skills. The skills of the other actors in the movie also added to the confidence he had for the project.


    He shook his head to return his thoughts to the present.


    Seeing that Charlotte and her manager still hadn¡¯t gone far, he told his companions, ¡°Can we also invite Miss Anderson to lunch?¡±


    David had no opinion and just nodded. Ellis also approved, thinking that this could help to improve their rapport as the two main leads. On the other hand, a complicated glint flashed in Snow¡¯s eyes. But he quickly covered it up.


    It¡¯s not that he had a negative opinion of Charlotte Anderson. He just felt awkward around her. He knew that¡¯s unreasonable, considering that the only interaction they had was that brief greeting and that short exchanging of lines during the script reading. He couldn¡¯t really explain it, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t say that to Astrid.


    So, he could only nod at the end.


    Astrid smiled brightly and then called Charlotte Anderson.


    ¡°Miss Anderson!¡±


    Charlotte and her manager stopped walking and turned in their direction. Astrid quickly walked towards them.


    ¡°Is there something you need, Astrid Townsend?¡± Charlotte asked in a blunt tone.


    Her manager cleared her throat. Charlotte blinked, as if she was reminded of something when she heard her manager clear her throat. And that was true in a way.


    It¡¯s because that was a little signal between them. Whenever Charlotte behaved in a way that¡¯s not ¡®conventional¡¯, her manager would clear her throat to remind her to correct her attitude.


    It was the same with what¡¯s happening now.


    Charlotte smiled and repeated what she said. ¡°Do you need something, Mr. Townsend?¡±


    Astrid almost raised his brow. The way the other did a complete 180 without even batting an eye was¡­ surprising. She asked bluntly at first, and then she smiled and asked the same question again, as if she realized that her first approach was not right.


    She didn¡¯t have to worry though, since he¡¯s not really offended or anything. But since he didn¡¯t approach her to discuss her attitude, he¡¯s here to invite her to lunch.


    ¡°Would you like to join us for lunch?¡± he asked with a friendly smile.


    ¡ª¨C


    Charlotte was questioning life at this very moment. She was sitting at a table inside a private room of a restaurant together with Astrid Townsend and Snow Bell. Yes, the three of them were alone because their managers were in another private room.


    When Astrid invited her to lunch, she honestly didn¡¯t know how to answer. Because it¡¯s the first time someone actually invited her to eat out. Good thing she had her manager with her, so the other was able to answer for her. She just didn¡¯t expect that her manager would agree. Much more so that she would leave her alone here.


    Krysta, her manager, never left her alone with people Charlotte barely knew, which was basically everyone, by the way. It¡¯s not just because Krysta was worried about her, but it was mostly to prevent her from making any mistakes.


    Charlotte was very bad at understanding social cues. So Krysta was there to help her navigate through things. That¡¯s why she couldn¡¯t understand why Krysta agreed to leave her here.


    the other might be asking, his friendly expression lowered her guard and she could 15:45


    Then she remembered how the other looked at Astrid¡¯s manager, or maybe that was his agent. Krysta looked at Astrid¡¯s manager/agent like she had seen her idol or something. Maybe that¡¯s why? Anyway, what happened already happened and there¡¯s really nothing she could do to change this situation. So, she just had to deal with it.


    ¡°Shall we order?¡± Astrid asked.


    Both Snow and Charlotte nodded. They entered their order on the virtual screen floating on the table.


    As they were waiting for their order to arrive, Astrid finally couldn¡¯t help but ask what he had been wanting to ask since earlier.


    ¡°Miss Anderson, may I ask you something?¡±


    Charlotte raised her head and looked at Astrid. Although she was confused as to what the other might be asking, his friendly expression lowered her guard and she could only nod.


    ¡°How long have you been acting?¡±


    Charlotte didn¡¯t expect such a question. If it¡¯s only that, though, then it¡¯s easy to answer.


    ¡°Since I was a child.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you must really love acting,¡± Astrid commented, seemingly happy by her answer.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I like it now.¡±


    Astrid tilted his head. ¡°So¡­ you didn¡¯t like it before?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was more of a necessity,¡± Charlotte said with a shrug. ¡°My doctor said that acting could help me become more human.¡±


    Both Astrid and Snow were startled hearing that answer. Charlotte didn¡¯t notice it though and just continued.


    ¡°My family agreed, and they enrolled me in various acting classes. My manager saw me acting in one of my classes last year and she introduced me to an agent, then my professional acting career started.¡±


    When she finished speaking and she didn¡¯t hear any response, she looked at the two and they were looking at her in a peculiar way.


    Did she say something wrong?


    Sorry for the super late update! (¨i_¨i)


    Tyramisu

 Chapter 538 END OF LUNCH

    538 END OF LUNCH


    CHARLOTTE tilted her head. Was there really something wrong with what she said? At times like this, she should rely on the list Krysta gave her. It was a list of instructions on what she should do in situations she couldn¡¯t understand. After quickly going through it in her head, there¡¯s only one thing that came to mind.


    Smile and change the subject.


    So she did, and asked Astrid, ¡°How about you? How long have you been acting?¡±


    Astrid was startled at first by the sudden change in topic. Normally, something like this wouldn¡¯t faze him. But after hearing the reason Charlotte started to get into acting, it¡¯s only natural to be a bit surprised by this sudden shift.


    She started acting so she could become more human.


    This was the strangest yet saddest reason he¡¯d ever heard for someone diving into acting. He had already noticed that there was something ¡®odd¡¯ about Charlotte. He couldn¡¯t really pinpoint it at first. But in this brief conversation, he easily realized what it was.


    Charlotte Anderson was socially inept. She most likely found it challenging to interpret and respond appropriately to the emotions of others or navigate social situations with ease. That¡¯s why her actions appeared so¡­ disjointed.


    Her ability to perform at such a high level in acting became even more remarkable, considering her limited grasp of basic human emotions. Despite this deficiency, she skillfully conveyed the appropriate emotions required for the roles assigned to her.


    Or maybe acting had simply become her gateway to experience those emotions. That¡¯s why she was able to give everything in every role.


    Really, what an interesting girl.


    Remembering that the other asked him something, Astrid also smiled and answered.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve been acting most of my life.¡±


    Which was not exactly a lie. If he combined his previous life with this life, most of it was still spent in acting.


    Charlotte tilted her head, seemingly confused by his statement. She looked like she wanted to ask more. But before she could, their orders arrived.


    The three of them had a rather subdued lunch. Without Astrid initiating conversation, their private room would have been eerily quiet. Charlotte was trying her best at first to keep up with the conversation. But she obviously struggled. By the end, she gave up and just focus on the food.


    Snow was also unnaturally quiet. Well, he wasn¡¯t really that talkative to begin with. But he was even quieter than before. It didn¡¯t look like it was because he was refusing to speak with Charlotte or anything. More than that, it looked more like he was in deep thought and couldn¡¯t be bothered to join the conversation.


    So, the lunch ended on a bit of a low note.


    ¡ª¨C


    ¡°Thank you for the lunch. I¡¯ll see you on the first day of filming,¡± Charlotte said with that practiced smile of hers.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll see you there,¡± Astrid replied with the same gentle smile.


    Snow also nodded as a sign of acquiesce.


    Charlotte bid goodbye and walked out of the private room first. When the door closed after she left, Astrid turned to Snow. But before he could ask what he had been meaning to ask since earlier, the other had already spoken ahead of him.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, and no, I don¡¯t dislike Miss Anderson.¡±


    And that was the truth. Snow didn¡¯t really dislike Charlotte Anderson. The reason he had been very quiet during lunch was mainly because he was too shock by the other¡¯s small ¡®revelation¡¯.


    The strange feeling he got while interacting with the other was all because of her inability to naturally show emotions in reality outside of the script. The way she could bring out different intense emotions during the script reading just added to this contradiction.


    Snow initially couldn¡¯t understand how someone could lack something so fundamental. That¡¯s what he had been pondering during lunch that he couldn¡¯t properly listen to the conversation at all.


    But in the end, he just gave up thinking about it altogether. What¡¯s the point of analyzing such things? No matter how advance the technology of fertility labs across the Empire was, it didn¡¯t mean that every baby that was born there were perfect existence.


    Just like how he¡¯s not perfect, Charlotte was also the same. Besides, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s crazy or anything. She¡¯s just a bit¡­ unique. More than that, as long as she did her job properly and had a good attitude towards filming, then that was all that mattered. Right?


    Having come to terms with that, Snow realized how rude he might have looked earlier because of his attitude. No wonder Astrid was looking worriedly at him.


    ¡°I will do better to get along with her next time,¡± he said, not only to reassure Astrid, but also to be a reminder that he really did poorly today.


    Astrid was glad when he heard that. He truly thought that Snow might have developed a dislike towards Charlotte. At least, he was now sure that wasn¡¯t the case. Snow was probably just unsure of how to act around her. Which was natural, considering that any decent, observant person could tell that her actions and speech were full of contradiction.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. After all, you¡¯re going to play as her older brother. Your interaction wouldn¡¯t appear natural if you feel awkward around her,¡± Astrid advised, which Snow also took into heart.


    After that, the two of them met with Ellis and David. Then they separated and went to different destinations.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    That night, during Astrid and Wulfric¡¯s ¡®nightly¡¯ video call, most of the conversation revolved around Charlotte Anderson. Which a certain wolf was not very happy about.


    ¡°Really, Charlotte is very interesting.¡±


    ¡°Hmp. What¡¯s so interesting about a woman like that? I bet even my toe is much more interesting than her.¡±


    Wulfric mumbled those words, but Astrid still heard them loud and clear. He looked at the other across the screen and almost laughed out loud because of his obvious pouting expression.


    He could almost smell the vinegar from here.

 Chapter 539 FUN VIDEO CALL

    539 FUN VIDEO CALL


    ¡°DO I hear jealousy from your voice?¡± Astrid asked in a teasing tone.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m jealous. Who would want to hear the person they like talk about another person? And with so much interest too!¡± Wulfric said very indignantly, as if Astrid wronged him too much.


    Astrid raised his brow. He didn¡¯t expect the other to admit it so blatantly. He thought he would at least be embarrassed. Who would have thought he would react so refreshingly? No, Astrid should have probably expected this kind of reaction from Wulfric. Wasn¡¯t this the guy who would straightforwardly admit to anyone who asked that he¡¯s in love with him?


    ¡°Well, what can I do? The girl is really interesting,¡± he said with a shrug, acting like he didn¡¯t notice the other sulking.


    After he said that, Wulfric¡¯s pout became more pronounced. He even muttered, ¡°Hmp. There¡¯s no way she could be more interesting than me.¡±


    This time, Astrid no longer held back his laughter. ¡°My dear prince, there¡¯s absolutely nothing for you to worry about. I just met her today. Do you think I would suddenly develop feelings for her just because I found her interesting?¡±


    ¡°I know. But I just couldn¡¯t help it. When it comes to you, I couldn¡¯t help being possessive. I know it¡¯s not a good trait to have. I promise I will try my best to tone it down.¡± As Wulfric said that last part, he looked like even he himself was not convinced that he could do it. ¡°No, I will definitely do it,¡± he added with a bit more determination.


    From the romance novels he had read, a lot of the male leads were usually possessive and obsessive. To the point that they would rather imprison the one they loved than to let them interact or be seen by others.


    Although Wulfric also had those kinds of thoughts, he at least knew that it was bad. It was easy for him to do, especially since he had all the means to make that happen. But if he really did that, Astrid would never forgive him, much less love him.


    If he and Astrid continued on like this, he knew that sooner or later he could make him truly fall for him. Didn¡¯t Astrid also admit that his feelings were almost on the same level as his? Well, probably not almost, but it¡¯s the same gist. So, why would he jeopardize that for these ugly thoughts that crawled inside his head from time to time?


    Unaware of what Wulfric was currently thinking, Astrid chuckled, finding the other very cute. It¡¯s good that Wulfric was very self-aware. At least he didn¡¯t have to worry about being imprisoned in the future.


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve read some of the comments on [Cyberspace]. Those jobless and insecure people were saying the nastiest shit. Why is your company staying silent? They should have sued all those trash by now.¡±


    Wulfric said that at first to change the subject, but as he continued to speak, his anger rushed up again. Thinking back to those comments, he couldn¡¯t stop the urge to assassinate those trolls. He took a deep breath to calm himself. If he didn¡¯t calm down, he might just really order a hit on those people.


    ¡°Ah, that. It¡¯s fine. Polaris will release a joint statement with ESRA to address the situation. The company is not neglecting me. They¡¯re just making sure that they had gathered all the necessary information before releasing a statement. That way, people who questioned my eligibility wouldn¡¯t be able to question my rank on the [Star List].¡±


    Although Astrid was sure that those who didn¡¯t like him would just believe whatever they wanted, regardless of the evidence. But at least his fans would have something to throw at those people whenever they bring up the topic of his ¡®unfair¡¯ [Star List] placement.


    Wulfric scoffed, seemingly still dissatisfied. ¡°And they took a week to do all that? If it was me, it wouldn¡¯t even take three days. Should I just establish an entertainment company for you? I bet I could do a better job than your current company.¡±


    Astrid blinked for a second, and then just laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t think one of the esteemed generals of our Empire has the time to make an entertainment company and look after my career. But just in case you really plan to do so, please don¡¯t. Or else your lieutenant might really come after me with an axe.¡±


    Wulfric wanted to say that Leland wouldn¡¯t do that, but then promptly stopped himself. Although Leland was the most stable among his subordinates, he could be very unpredictable. Even more so that Hildred. And that already said a lot.


    ¡°Then your company should do a better job,¡± he could only say at the end.


    To stop Wulfric from thinking about building his own entertainment company, Astrid promptly changed the topic. ¡°But Wulf, have you finally created your own [Cyberspace] account? Or did you see those comments because of one of your captains, perhaps Hildred?¡±


    He said that in a curious tone, but deep inside, he was already laughing. This was probably the third time he asked this question to the other. The first two times, Wulfric gave the same excuse ¨C that he saw the news about Astrid from Hildred browsing the [Cyberspace].


    As expected, panic flashed across Wulfric¡¯s eyes. But he quickly hid it and even answered calmly. ¡°Yes. Hil told it to me that¡¯s why I found out about it.¡±


    Look at this guy pretending. If Astrid didn¡¯t yet know that the other was White Wolf ¨C his self-proclaimed number one fan ¨C he would have probably believed him. He wondered what Wulfric¡¯s expression would be once he found out that he already knew about his ¡®secret¡¯.


    That would certainly be amusing.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re so busy, how could you have time browsing [Cyberspace]?¡± he said while


    nodding, acting as if he believed the other.


    Wulfric looked guilty for a moment, which only made Astrid smile inwardly.


    Really, it would truly be so much fun once this ¡®truth¡¯ was revealed.

 Chapter 540 POLARIS’ STATEMENT

    540 POLARIS¡¯ STATEMENT


    Polaris v: [It has come to our attention that there are disparaging comments circulating regarding Mr. Astrid Townsend, an artist under our management, who has recently ranked on the prestigious <Star List>.


    Mr. Townsend¡¯s recognition is a result of his unwavering dedication to artistic excellence, innate talent, and the steadfast support of his growing fans. Any attempts to undermine or cast doubt upon Mr. Townsend¡¯s well-deserved accomplishment were also questioning the decision of ESRA.


    ESRA is a respected organization filled with professionals and experts in the entertainment industry. How they ranked artists on the <Star List> had always been transparent. Everything is available in the public if one would just take the time to search it. But if you didn¡¯t have the time to do so, then you can just click on this <link>. The staffs of ESRA¡¯s official site arranged everything in a neat and detailed manner so everyone could see how and why Mr. Townsend made it to the top 100.


    Polaris Entertainment strictly discourages derogatory comments, unfounded claims, or attempts to disparage our artists. Please be aware that malicious comments and attempts to harm the reputation of our artists may have legal consequences. Polaris Entertainment reserves the right to take appropriate legal action against those engaging in online harassment or spreading false information.


    We appreciate your cooperation in fostering positive discourse that celebrates the achievements of our artists. Your constructive engagement is crucial in creating an atmosphere conducive to artistic growth and excellence.


    We implore everyone to unite against unwarranted negativity. Should you encounter instances of online harassment, we rely on your diligence in reporting such behavior.


    Polaris Entertainment expresses profound gratitude for the continued support of the people supporting our artists. We remain steadfast in our commitment to cultivating an atmosphere that celebrates artistic accomplishments with the utmost dignity.


    Thank you for your attention and understanding.]


    Polaris issued a statement in the middle of the night a week after [Star List] was released. And a few minutes later, ESRA¡¯s official account reposted it with the caption ¨C [Congratulation, Mr. Astrid Townsend! We, at ESRA, are looking forward to your brilliant future.]


    It didn¡¯t even take an hour before that entered the trending topic list. Astrid¡¯s fans were in an uproar after that.


    [Wow, Polaris finally woke up. I thought they will never post anything to defend Aster.]


    [LOL I screenshot all those malicious comments. Dear trolls, please be ready to get sued. ^^]


    ¨C [I also did the same. Polaris, please sue all those people. Hohoho!]


    [It¡¯s finally over for those losers. Although Polaris might seem like a pretty chill agency, when it came to their artists, they¡¯re not exactly one too fool around.]


    [This is what I¡¯ve been saying! <Star List> assessment is literally a public record on ESRA¡¯s official site. One just has to search to see it. Although not all the details are there, at least all the important ones are. That¡¯s the first thing I did when I saw Aster¡¯s name on the <Star List>. So, why can¡¯t others do the same?]


    ¨C [Right? I also did that as well. And boy, Aster really deserved to be there.]


    ¨C [They probably forgot that the <Star List> is a quarterly thing. Meaning, it all depended on what an artist did for the past three months. If those people just put aside for a moment their prejudice, they would be able to immediately see why Aster ranked so high.]


    [Well, at least this incident weed out the people following Aster just for the hype. Now all the ones that were left are his real fans.]


    There were still comments disagreeing with Polaris¡¯ announcement, even some that were disparaging Astrid, but they were all drowned out by the positive ones.


    Of course, this wouldn¡¯t end without a comment from Astrid¡¯s number one fan.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Hmp, it took you (Polaris) long enough to make a statement. I¡¯ll give you 7 points for that. If you want a perfect 10, then take action much faster next time something like this happened. And to my dear Aster, don¡¯t worry, as soon as I see anyone crossing the line, I will definitely send a detailed report to Polaris. So, Polaris, don¡¯t forget to sue them, hmm?]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After the whole [Star List] situation ended, a few days had passed, and it¡¯s now time for the start of filming for [Serendipitous Summer].


    The shooting location would be at FS11. It was a filming studio planet known for its many islands. Some islands had built in villages, some had towns and cities. Basically, if one wanted to film on an island, this film studio planet would be their go-to.


    Astrid and Ellis left the capital just after breakfast. Which was pretty early, considering their call time was still in the afternoon. But they both wanted to get used to the island first.


    After all, they would be spending at least a month there to film the movie. It¡¯s better to familiarize themselves first. Especially since they heard that the hotel they would be staying in was also on the island. The place also had all the important amenities. Which meant that they wouldn¡¯t be leaving the island for a month.


    Astrid read the messages on their friend group chat that he wasn¡¯t able to check earlier. Originally, it was only him, Kiran, and Snow. But after that celebration dinner, the two finally got close to Lauren, and they added him in.


    Kiran: [Aster, you¡¯ll be gone for a month, right? I¡¯ll miss you! Please don¡¯t forget me! *crying sticker*]


    Snow: ?


    Lauren: [Are you filming the new movie? Snow is also part of that movie, right? Do you think it would be alright if I appear as a cameo?]


    Astrid chuckled after. If the names of the three weren¡¯t written there, he could still tell who¡¯s who. He replied and then closed his Terminal since they were already nearing their destination.


    As if on cue, he heard Ellis say;


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    He looked out of the window and the first thing he saw was a wide expanse of sea. They finally arrived at FS11.

 Chapter 527 [STAR LIST]

    527  [STAR LIST]


    IT¡¯S almost nearing midnight, but Astrid was still not asleep. He was on the rooftop of his apartment building, staring at the numerous stars scattered in the vast night sky.


    If the other residents of the apartment building saw him here, they would probably wonder how he got here. Because after Wulfric became the owner of the building, the rooftop had become unavailable to the other residents. There would probably have been a lot of complaints if not for the upgrade in the building¡¯s security.


    The upgrade in security overshadowed the fact that they could no longer parked their flying car on the rooftop of the building. And now, the only one who could access this place were him and Wulfric.


    Wulfric actually offered that he could stay at his suite while he wasn¡¯t there. But Astrid refused. Although the other¡¯s suite was luxurious, he still preferred the comfort of his own apartment.


    He glanced at the time on his Terminal. There were 10 minutes left before midnight. The reason why he was still awake at this time and was here on the rooftop was because he was waiting for the release of the [Star List], which would happen exactly at midnight.  Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Star List] was being released quarterly. So, since his debut, this would be his first [Star List]. It sounded like he was confident he would be part of it. But it really wasn¡¯t that. He just knew that he would.


    The activities he did for the past three months supported that. Not to mention, each one of those ¡®activities¡¯ had been very successful. As evidence of the number of his followers on [Cyberspace], which had now reached 13 million. A very high number for a rookie.


    And if a rookie succeeded to debut on the [Star List] just more than three months after he debuted, it would be such big news. What more if he ranked very high on the list? His fame would skyrocket even more.


    [Star List] had 500 names on it. This included actors/actresses, singers, models, streamers of any kind, and just about anyone who could be considered working in the entertainment industry. Of course, that excluded those working mostly in the background like directors, designers, composers, script writers, playwrights, etc. It also didn¡¯t include writers, both fiction and non-fiction. Because their books had their own rankings.


    Despite that, the numbers of actors alone were staggering enough. So, being one of these 500 could already be considered a big achievement. Especially if one was just a newcomer starting off in their career.


    Astrid opened [Cyberspace] to check posts relating to [Star List]. It¡¯s not hard to find them since the topic was already trending. As he was scanning through the posts, a particular one caught his attention.


    [Who among the rookies will be part of this quarter¡¯s <Star List>?]


    ¨C [Since Yujin Wells was already part of last quarter¡¯s <Star List>, I guess he¡¯ll be part of this one as well.]


    ¨C [Of course, he would. Are there other rookies who could be part of the <Star List>?]


    ¨C [There was that new singer from Sonare. Her debut album did pretty well on different music charts. And there was that game streamer as well.]


    ¨C [Astrid Townsend is definitely the number one contender. I mean, who else could say that they became the ambassador of a luxury brand just a few months after their debut?]


    ¨C [Ah yes, Astrid Townsend. He would definitely be part of this quarter¡¯s <Star List>.]


    ¨C [All the things he had appeared in were all big hits. Even if he¡¯s not the main character in those projects, his impact on them was definitely undeniable.]


    ¨C [I¡¯m an avid watcher of <The Great War>. And I must say that his performance was one of the best of the bunch, even with the low number of screen time he had. He definitely knew how to make the most of the time he was given.]


    ¨C [The real question here is what rank he would have, not if he would be part of the <Star List>. Since it¡¯s already a given that he would be.]


    ¨C [I think he would be in the 400s.]


    ¨C [I think 300s is just right. And that¡¯s me being generous.]


    ¨C [No, he would definitely be in the 200s. I heard he had a photoshoot in the <The Etoile>. Which meant the higher-ups in that magazine believed he had what it takes to be in the top 300.]


    ¨C [Top 300? LOL. Aren¡¯t you just reaching? How could someone who hadn¡¯t even been in the industry for half a year reach such a ranking?]


    ¨C [Right? One might think that Astrid Townsend was some kind of genius in the way these people are talking about him. When, really, he had just been lucky.]


    ¨C [If anyone was given the same opportunity as the ones given to him, they would also be just as popular. Maybe even more so.]


    There were a lot of other comments disparaging Astrid¡¯s achievements after that, saying that he would probably barely be part of the top 500. Of course, there were also some that tries to defend him. But the one comment with the most emotions in them was from a certain number one fan.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [You lot are insufferable. All these talks about Aster barely making it to the <Star List>, your insecurities were surely leaking from light-years away. You say if another actor was given the same opportunities as Aster, they would do much better? Hah! What a load of bullshit! Those roles became a big hit because Aster was the one who played them, not the other way around. If you think otherwise, then you¡¯re either an idiot or a troll. Mark my words, Aster will not only be part of <Star List>, he would also be in the top 100!]


    After reading that, Astrid burst out laughing. ¡°Oh Wulfric¡­ how adorable you are.¡±


    Then midnight came and the [Star List] account in [Cyberspace] finally updated.


    Astrid clicked on the post and scrolled down. When he saw his name, a triumphant smile crossed his lips.


    [Star List v: Top 500 for the fourth quarter of Year 3000 AW.


    1. Valentine Davis.


    2. Shir Atkins.


    .


    .


    45. Lauren Watts.


    .


    .


    .


    99. Yujin Wells.


    100. Astrid Townsend.


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 Chapter 528 PREPARING FOR THE LUNCHEON

    528  PREPARING FOR THE LUNCHEON


    DESPITE sleeping rather late, Astrid still managed to wake up early. It¡¯s because he was about to prepare a large meal for lunch that could feed a group of people.


    Just barely after midnight, after the release of [Star List], his friends sent congratulatory messages to him. As if they were also waiting for the release of the list. His conversation with them led to the talk about doing some sort of celebration.


    Since he had entered the top 100 the first time he became part of the [Star List], both Kiran and Snow thought that they should celebrate. Snow even volunteered to reserve a whole restaurant where they could hold the celebration.


    Astrid declined. Although he¡¯s not averse to celebrating, reserving a whole restaurant for it would be just a bit too much. So, he told the two that they could just celebrate here, in his apartment building. He would like it more if he could cook for them.


    Besides, he was also planning to invite Lauren. It would be better to do it in a more private setting.


    The other had also congratulated him last night, just shortly after he finished talking to Snow and Kiran. Of course, he did the same. That¡¯s when he invited Lauren. The other readily agreed. It¡¯s just that he was only available for lunch. Which was not really a big problem. They could just do the celebration at lunch.


    And that¡¯s why Astrid was here in the kitchen, doing some cooking. It would be a meal for six people ¨C him, Reas, Lauren, Snow, Kiran, and Ellis. Since it would have to obviously be a large meal, he started doing prep three hours before lunch.  sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Haa¡­ I wish I extended my stay there,¡± said a voice full of regret, and even a bit of annoyance and frustration.


    Astrid raised his head and looked at the screen of his Terminal. There, Wulfric¡¯s handsome face was reflected. The other was very much pouting. The two of them were currently having a video call.


    ¡°Now, I couldn¡¯t even celebrate you debuting so high up on that list. Much less eat the food you¡¯re cooking,¡± Wulfric continued.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Are you disappointed that you can¡¯t celebrate with me or that you can¡¯t eat my cooking?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s because I can¡¯t celebrate with you! Especially on such a momentous occasion. And, well, not being able to eat your cooking is always a big loss.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll cook you a big meal when we meet again,¡± he said, assuring the other. ¡°And even if you¡¯re not physically here, your presence can still be felt.¡±


    And he didn¡¯t just mean that metaphorically, but literally as well.


    It¡¯s because he¡¯s cooking at Wulfric¡¯s suite. He¡¯s not only cooking here, the small celebration party would also be held here.


    After he agreed to do a small celebration party, he worried where they could hold it. His apartment room, for one, was too small for all six people to have a comfortable luncheon. So, after pondering over it for a while, Wulfric¡¯s suite came to mind.


    owner in love with him.


    15:50


    He then called the other and asked for permission if he could use his suite. Wulfric naturally agreed. That¡¯s why he had been here since morning after breakfast.


    Under normal circumstance, it would be hard to access the suite with the owner not being physically here. But thankfully, Wulfric had already registered his biometrics in the suite. Something that he had only found out then. So, he had free access to the suite. One of the perks of having the building owner in love with him.


    ¡°Still, it would have been much better if I could be there,¡± Wulfric said, obviously still sulking. ¡°Haa¡­ don¡¯t mind me, I just really want to be with you, especially on momentous occassions like this one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I think Wulf like this is also adorable. And besides, maybe you¡¯re not here in the literal sense of it, but emotionally¡­¡± Astrid looked at Wulfric on the virtual screen, then he smiled and put his hand on his chest before continuing, ¡°Aren¡¯t you already here?¡±


    Wulfric blinked and then said without embarrassment, ¡°You mean I¡¯m already in your heart?¡±


    Astrid stopped what he¡¯s doing and just laughed out loud. ¡°Well, maybe in a very small corner, you are.¡±


    Wulfric grinned. ¡°As long as I¡¯m there, I don¡¯t mind if I¡¯m just in a small corner.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid put the last dish on the round glass table. He was just waiting for the others to arrive. Reas was waiting outside the building to meet them. Since it would just be faster to accompany them. He also didn¡¯t lock the door to the suite, so Reas and the others could just easily enter.


    After a while, the door opened and Reas walked in. Behind him, Snow, Kiran, Lauren, and Ellis followed along. Astrid was a bit surprise because they all arrived at the same time. He thought they would arrive one after another. But it¡¯s probably better this way. At least Reas wouldn¡¯t have to go back and forth.


    ¡°Wow, Aster, did you move?¡± Lauren commented, while looking around the suite.


    ¡°No, this belonged to the building owner. I asked for permission if we can use it for today,¡± Astrid said.


    ¡°What a nice building owner,¡± Lauren reacted, obviously amazed.


    ¡°Right? Maybe I should also buy a unit here once I have enough money,¡± Kiran followed.


    ¡°The security also seemed to be top-notch,¡± Snow also gave his opinion.


    Reas and Ellis, who knew the truth, decided to just stay silent.


    ¡°By the way, congratulations again on ranking 45th on the [Star List],¡± Astrid said to Lauren so they could move along from the topic of the suite.


    Although he had already introduced Wulfric to Snow and Kiran, the two still didn¡¯t know that Wulfric didn¡¯t only own this suite, he also owned this whole building. And there¡¯s also Lauren, who didn¡¯t even know about Wulfric.


    It¡¯s not like he planned to keep it a secret or that he¡¯s afraid the information would be leaked. The timing to tell them about it just hadn¡¯t come.


    I know I said this will be the last chapter for this volume, but I didn¡¯t expect Aster and Wulf¡¯s little conversation to be that long. LOL. Anyways, have you seen the new cover? I hope you like it.~


    Tyramisu


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 Chapter 529 CHEERS!

    529  CHEERS!


    AFTER the initial greetings, everyone sat down around the table. And everyone¡¯s attention was quickly transferred to the dishes. If people from Astrid¡¯s past life could see the dishes, they would immediately recognize them.


    There was hot and sour soup, fried dumplings, kung pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, steamed fish, stir-fried vegetables, Yangzhou fried rice, and cold sesame noodles. As for drinks, there were two pitchers of juice ¨C one was plum flavored, and the other was lychee flavored.


    Although Astrid¡¯s guests didn¡¯t know what these dishes were called, they were certain that all must taste delicious. For one, the aroma wafting in the air was enough to make them salivate. Not to mention, everything just looked mouth-watering.


    ¡°These all look very delicious. But can we finish all of these?¡± Ellis asked while looking at the dishes on the table and visibly gulping.


    ¡°With how delicious Aster¡¯s cooking is, I¡¯m sure we can finish it all,¡± Kiran responded.


    ¡°And if there are leftovers, you can just take it all home,¡± Astrid added.


    ¡°Oh, I like the sound of that. I can eat it later for dinner,¡± Lauren said.


    With that, they started eating.  Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since all the dishes were laid out on the table, everyone could pick all the dishes they wanted. Despite everyone picking almost different dishes, they all had the same reaction when they took their first bite.


    Their eyes widened in sheer delight, and an involuntary smile crept across their face. A subtle yet unmistakable expression of pure satisfaction emerged, accompanied by a contented sigh.


    Astrid smiled at seeing that. It made him very happy to see other people enjoying the food he cooked. Especially since they were people he considered as important friends.


    ¡°Really, every time I eat Aster¡¯s cooking, I always feel like I ascended to heaven,¡± Kiran praised.


    Snow nodded in agreement, his cheeks bulging. He looked like an adorable squirrel. So unlike his usual ¡®flower on top of a snowy mountain¡¯ image.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not your agent and I don¡¯t know how good your acting talent is, I would honestly recommend you to be a chef,¡± Ellis said with a contented sigh as she ate the food.


    ¡°I know, right? Really, this cooking talent is such a big loss to the culinary industry,¡± Lauren added.


    Reas didn¡¯t really comment much since he had been eating his brother¡¯s cooking since he was a child. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s taking this for granted. It¡¯s just that Astrid already knew how much he loved his cooking, so there¡¯s really no need for him to say anything more.


    Instead, he was putting pieces of his favorite dishes on Lauren¡¯s plate. Since the two of them were sitting together, it just came off as natural. Every time he put food in his mouth, he would put food on Lauren¡¯s plate.


    Lauren, on the other hand, was busy chatting with the others as he ate. So, it took a while before he noticed that the food on his plate seemed to not disappear. When he looked down, it was just in time to see another person¡¯s spoon putting food on his plate.


    He looked to the side and stared at Reas. The other didn¡¯t have much expression. As if he wasn¡¯t the one who just put food on his plate. As if it was simply the natural thing to do.


    Before he could react, or say anything for that matter, he heard Kiran commenting;


    ¡°You both seem really close.¡±


    The other said it in a way like a child would describe something, filled with innocence and just pure observation. So, Lauren knew that Kiran was only stating something he only observed, and not being sarcastic or mocking.


    Lauren glanced sideways at Reas. He thought that the other might deny it. But no, Reas just continued eating silently. That silence was more than enough of an answer. Because it was almost the equivalent of him admitting that they were indeed close.


    For some reason, his face heated up at the thought. Before his brain could start assuming a lot of things, he had to remind himself that it was not as if that wasn¡¯t true. Ever since they went out on a date- no! That¡¯s not the d-word. It was just an outing between friends. Yes, that¡¯s right, just an outing.


    Anyway, ever since then, he and Reas had been talking a lot more. Well, not really in the literal sense of it. But just them messaging each other. In fact, the number of times he messaged Reas was a lot more than the number of times he messaged Astrid. So, yeah, one could say that they were really close.


    Yes, he and Reas were close friends.


    Just friends.


    Lauren tried hard to smile in the most natural way. ¡°Yes, we are,¡± he responded to what Kiran had said.


    Ellis, who inadvertently witnessed the spectrum of emotions that appeared on Lauren¡¯s face, raised her brow. But in the end, she decided to just ignore it. Eating Astrid¡¯s cooking was more of a priority right now for her.


    And Astrid, who was also a witness to everything, just smiled inwardly.


    Lauren then cleared his throat. And as if wanting to change the topic, he said, raising a glass of plum juice, ¡°I would like to propose a toast to Aster for successfully debuting at the top 100 of [Star List]. May you only continue to rise from now on.¡±


    ¡°And also to Lauren for ranking 45th,¡± Reas added, raising his glass.


    ¡°And here¡¯s a toast for everyone, hoping that we can all succeed and reach the top of the field we chose,¡± Astrid said, also raising his glass. ¡°Cheers!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    After the successful and very enjoyable luncheon, time passed, and it was evening once again at the capital star.


    Astrid was about to sleep when he received a notification. It was the notification sound for when a certain number one fan posted something on [Cyberspace]. He opened [Cyberspace] and his eyes widened when he saw what the other posted.


    It was a video of a drone show in outer space. The words the drone slowly formed were;


    [Congtulations Aster! You are, and always will be, my number one star!]


    [END OF VOLUME TWO.]


    It¡¯s the end of volume 2! Thank you to everyone who¡¯s still here and reading. Hopefully, you¡¯ll still be here for the next volume. Thank you!~


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 Chapter 530 START OF THE NEW YEAR

    530  START OF THE NEW YEAR


    ASTRID woke up feeling refreshed. Today was an important day. That¡¯s why he slept early to make sure he would feel energized for today¡¯s schedule. Because today was the first script reading of [Serendipitous Summer].


    This would not only be the first script reading for the movie, it would also be his first script reading after being reincarnated in this era. Which was only natural since the roles he¡¯d been given until now didn¡¯t need him to participate in any script reading.


    In [The Sleeping God], he was only a late addition that didn¡¯t have that much screen time. In [Blind Justice], he was only a guest for an episode. And with [The Great War], even though he had a pretty big supporting role, Director Scott didn¡¯t require them to have a script reading.


    Probably because the series was 35 episodes long, which was unusually long for a limited series of this era. Director Scott was known to not waste time during production. Maybe he considered the time they would spend doing script reading a waste. Something that could be spent filming instead.


    That¡¯s why this would be Astrid¡¯s first script reading. It¡¯s not only because of that. There was also the fact that this movie would be his first leading role. So, of course, he would want everything to proceed in the best way possible. He didn¡¯t want for there to be any complications.


    Today, he would know if there was a sign of any complication arising. After all, he would meet all the cast members today. So, he could observe them and then see if any of them could be a problem. If there was someone, or some people, who would fit the bill, he could make advance preparation just in case they became a pain in the ass later on.


    It would have been better if he could immediately kick them out of the production. Just like that old adage, ¡®prevention is better than cure¡¯. But, alas, he didn¡¯t really have that kind of influence in this film. Moreover, kicking a cast member before the production even started meant that it would be delayed again because the crew would have to cast another actor to replace the who got kicked out.


    At the end, he could only hope that none of what he¡¯s worrying about would happen. And the people he would work with in this movie would have a certain degree of professionalism.


    Astrid got up and took a bath. After bathing, he changed to the clothes he had prepared last night. A navy blazer over white button down shirt that was tucked in dark jeans. He finished it off with a pair of white sneakers. It¡¯s a comfortable yet neat look.


    Although fashion in this era tended to be more elaborate and colorful, he still preferred simple and muted colors.


    He just finished styling his hair when a message notification from his Terminal sounded. He quickly opened the message, which was from Ellis.


    [I¡¯m already downstairs.]


    He replied, saying he would be down in a moment.


    Then he walked out of his room.


    ¡°Xiao Lan, please take care of the house while I¡¯m gone,¡± he said as he passed by the AI robot cat.


    ¡°Yes, master. Don¡¯t worry. And have a wonderful day at work,¡± the little cat said.


    Astrid smiled and ruffled the cat¡¯s head before leaving.


    He got on the elevator, and it quickly arrived on the ground floor. Walking out of the building, he immediately saw a vehicle that looked like a mix between a small trailer and an SUV.


    This vehicle was often called a ¡®celebrity car¡¯ in this era. Most actors who usually had a pack shooting schedule often used this kind of vehicle to at least have a bit of comfort in between filming.


    As soon as he walked beside the vehicle, the side door opened almost automatically. He got inside, greeting Ellis, sitting there.


    Hopping inside, the interior of the car again amazed him. Just like he said, it¡¯s like a mixture of a trailer and an SUV, so there were a lot of things that could be put inside.


    Of course, there was the driver¡¯s seat and the passenger¡¯s seat. A table on the left side of the car with benches on opposite sides. There was a pantry and a refrigerator that were stealthily hidden. One had to push some buttons in order for them to appear. There was also a closet where he could put his clothes. At the end of the car was a couch that could be turned into a small bed. The only thing missing was a bathroom and one could live here.


    The company provided this amazing car for him. One would think that Polaris was being too generous to a rookie actor. But it just turned out that this rookie actor had debuted rank 100th on the [Star List]. An amazing feat that¡¯s deserving of the company¡¯s investment.


    Astrid sat opposite of Ellis, who was sitting on one of the benches. As soon as he did, the car started. Obviously, it was already programmed to do so as soon as he arrived.


    ¡°Are you ready for today?¡± Ellis asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m always ready,¡± Astrid assured the other.


    Ellis nodded. She knew that Astrid would be ready, but as the other¡¯s agent, she still had to ask. ¡°By the way, are you still receiving threatening messages?¡±


    After the release of [Star List] a week ago, the [StarNet] was abuzz. Because a rookie of three months made it to the top 100. A surprise even to her. But a very pleasant one.


    She remembered how Astrid made an announcement when she had just became his agent. That he would be at the top 100 once the [Star List] was released at the end of the year. And that announcement did happen. Remarkably so.


    But there were also negative consequences of that. The hate comments Astrid received after that were enormous. It even trended on [Cyberspace] for a whole day. Not only that, he also started receiving death threats.


    It had been very chaotic since.


    We¡¯re in the new volume! Yey!~


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 Chapter 531 EFFECT

    531  EFFECT


    [IS this for real? Astrid Townsend really entered the top 100 of <Star List> on his first try? Wow! Is the entertainment industry okay?]


    [How can a kid who just debuted three months ago enter the top 100? It just doesn¡¯t make sense. Unless there are some shady things happening in the background.]


    [There¡¯s definitely something shady here. I can understand if he¡¯s in the top 300. But quickly jumping to the top 100? Just make it make sense.]


    [Did Polaris bribe members of ESRA for them to give a rookie such a high rank?]


    ESRA, short for Empire Star Rank Association, was an organization made up of members from different sectors of the entertainment industry. Like film directors, fashion magazine editors, mostly people working behind the scenes.


    Members of ESRA could be counted to thousands. As long as one was working or had some sort of connection to the industry, they had the qualification to be members of ESRA.


    So, how did an organization with thousands of members decided who would be on the [Star List]? Every quarter, 100 members would be chosen through random lottery. The random selection was to ensure that there wouldn¡¯t be any bias and that absolute fairness would be exercised.


    These 100 members would then pick 500 celebrities and evaluate them based on certain criteria. Like overall popularity, the works they had done for the past three months, and a lot of other things combined together. Even one¡¯s reputation was also taken into account.


    This intensive selection would last for a week. By the end of it, 500 names of celebrities would be posted on ESRA¡¯s official account.


    And the latest [Star List] had just been posted a week ago.


    The most controversial had been Astrid¡¯s ranking.


    Comments like the ones before were the most common. In fact, those comments were already the tamest. The rest were just hate comments so low, one would think if it came out of the gutter.


    There were those saying that he slept with some high-ranking noble and that noble was sponsoring him. Some also said that he was whoring himself to important figures in the entertainment industry. That¡¯s why he could get so many opportunities, even though he was only a rookie. #BoycottAstrid, #DirtyESRA, #UnfairStarList, even trended in [Cyberspace] for about an hour. Not to mention the private messages he received in [Cyberspace] telling him to kill himself.


    If he didn¡¯t have a strong mentality, he really would have been affected.


    But Astrid had already expected this kind of reaction to some extent. When he told Ellis before that he wanted to be on the top 100 on his first [Star List], he knew the reaction of the people once it really happened wouldn¡¯t be all positive.


    Most humans were inherently jealous in nature. When they saw a young, successful person accomplishing things they couldn¡¯t accomplish at that age, the first thing they would feel was not admiration, but envy. And this envy would lead to them questioning that accomplishment, which would then slowly escalate to something extreme. Like death threats, for one.


    Of course, he¡¯s not saying that everyone was like that. His fans were genuinely happy for him. Those fans even started to trend #CongratulationsOurStarAstrid and #top100Astrid on [Cyberspace] just to drown all the negative comments.


    Because of this situation, his number of followers reverted back to 10 million. But that didn¡¯t matter much to Astrid. With this, he was confident that those who stayed were truly his fans. It¡¯s a good way to have a fandom cleanse. Now, his core fans would be much stronger than before.


    Besides his fans, there was also the unwavering support of his friends and family.


    His parents didn¡¯t know much about how important the [Star List] was, but they still put a 50% discount on all the products on their farm for three days. He didn¡¯t tell them that there¡¯s no need since that much wouldn¡¯t bankrupt their farm. Besides, it¡¯s their way of showing support, so how could he stop them?


    But when the hate comments started to bombard Astrid, he had to stop his parents from doing anything reckless. Seriously, if he didn¡¯t, he had a feeling the two would really wage war against everyone who said anything vile against him.


    The other one, who had a very strong reaction to the hate comments, was none other than Wulfric. The other had been fighting against haters and trollers for the past week. Astrid wondered where Wulfric could even find the time to do that. But he did. Not only that, he was even scolding Polaris for not doing their job and protecting me properly.  S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid believed that, if it wouldn¡¯t be over the top, Wulfric would have already sent everyone who had ever posted anything disgusting about him to prison. Knowing the other, he probably had already considered doing so. Maybe his rational lieutenant stopped from doing just that.


    Wulfric could be adorable that way. Just thinking of all the interesting comments he made this past week could easily put a smile on Astrid¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Astrid?¡± Ellis¡¯ call pulled back Astrid¡¯s thoughts to the present.


    ¡°I turned off my message notification on [Cyberspace], so I don¡¯t know,¡± he said in response to Ellis¡¯ question earlier.


    Ellis sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t worry, Polaris will soon post a notice in response to all this. It will be a joint statement together with ESRA. The meeting between the two regarding how to deal with this situation took quite a while. That¡¯s why this statement could only be posted now. I¡¯m sorry if it¡¯s a bit too late.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Sister Ellis,¡± Astrid said, assuring the other.


    He really didn¡¯t care if it took a week for that. Because he knew that Polaris would not neglect him. It probably took this long because they had to make sure it would be fool-proof.


    ¡°On a good note, remember how the company made a poll on the official site, as well on [Cyberspace]¡¯s official account, about your fandom name?¡± Ellis asked, changing the subject. ¡°Well, the voting is now over and one name won by a landslide.¡±


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 Chapter 532 FANDOM NAME

    532  FANDOM NAME


    ASTRID¡¯S ears perked up when he heard that. After the released of the latest [Star List], Polaris made a poll about his possible fandom name. This fandom name would then be the name of the fan club.


    This was actually something that¡¯s not common in this era. The people in the industry thought that it¡¯s an outdated custom. Even the general public didn¡¯t think much of it. Of course, fan clubs still existed. It¡¯s just that people only referred to them as [celebrity name]¡¯s fan club.


    Polaris didn¡¯t think the same as the majority. They believed that a fandom with a name would make that fandom have their own identity. Which would also make them closer to the artist they¡¯re supporting.


    But they also knew that not every artist under them would want that. So, they would give an option whether their artist would want to have a fandom name or not. Of course, they only offer this once the artist reached a certain recognition. After all, what¡¯s the point of having a fandom when there were no fans at all?


    One of the celebrities of Polaris who agreed to that was Lauren. His fandom name was called ¡®Laurels¡¯.


    Even the current number one on the [Star List], Valentine Davis, had a fandom name. Funnily enough, Valentine¡¯s company did not make this fandom name nor by himself. His fans were the ones who made it.


    When he started to become number one on the list for three consecutive years, his fans jokingly referred to him as the ¡¯emperor¡¯. It stuck and then the fans just naturally called themselves as his loyal ¡®knights¡¯. And so, his fandom name just naturally became that. The Knights.


    Astrid shared the same opinion as Polaris, that¡¯s why he also agreed to have a fandom name. An artist and their fans were like a storyteller and their audience. What¡¯s the point of a storyteller telling their stories if there was no audience? In this line of work, one should always value the people supporting them.


    ¡°Which one won?¡± he asked.


    He avoided looking at the poll, so he didn¡¯t know the names that were in it. He did that because he didn¡¯t want to unintentionally like one name more than the others. This way, he wouldn¡¯t feel disappointed if the name he liked was not chosen.


    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Starlight¡¯. It won by a landslide,¡± Ellis answered.


    ¡°Starlight¡­¡± Astrid tested saying the name. ¡°I like it.¡± And he was not just saying that for the sake of it. He truly liked how the name sounded. ¡°But does it have any special meaning? Or did the company only select it because it has the word ¡®star¡¯?¡±


    ¡°It has one. Actually, all the names they listed on the poll had meanings behind them. The company really put a lot of effort into it.¡±


    ¡°So, what does ¡®Starlight¡¯ mean?¡±


    ¡°It meant you¡¯re the ¡®star¡¯ and they are the ¡®lights¡¯ that will help you shine even brighter.¡±


    Astrid was a bit surprised after hearing that. He didn¡¯t expect that it would have a very idol-like meaning. He could imagine any idol group from his past life having this as a fandom name. It¡¯s pretty though.


    ¡°Since the fandom name was already decided, it will be added to Polaris¡¯ official fan community. There, you can interact with your fans, at a very minimal level, of course. Your fans can also interact with each other. It will make it easier for them to organize special events for you, things like that. Posting photos there from time to time could be a small reward to your fans, so please do so.¡±


    Astrid nodded. He was familiar with such things. Giving fan-service like that to fans was only natural.


    ¡°The fan club will need a president who will communicate with the fan site manager assigned by the company,¡± Ellis continued. ¡°But since your fandom is still relatively young, it will probably take a while for your fans to organize things by themselves and decide on who would be the president.¡±


    At the mention of the fan club president, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but remember a comment/s he had seen before. They were comments teasing Wulfric¡¯s fan account about him being the president of his fan club.


    Surely, no matter how irrational Wulfric could get when it came to him, the other wouldn¡¯t lobby to become the club president, right?  S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Right?


    Astrid shook his head at that bad premonition. To get his mind off that possibility, he just posted something on [Cyberspace].


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    A certain number one fan was reading a new post from his favorite actor.


    Astrid Townsend v: The voting pole for the fandom name has just ended. Thank you to everyone who participated! Your continued encouragement means a lot to me. I hope we can be together for a long, long time, my Starlights! ^^


    Without even thinking, he quickly posted a reply.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [We will be together forever! #StarlightswithAsterForever]


    Wulfric smiled in satisfaction. Starlight ¨C he was glad that this was the fandom name that won. He also voted for this choice. Thankfully, Aster¡¯s other fans also had taste and chose it.


    Their fandom needed to be more organized and unified. Especially after the hate bombardment Aster experienced this past week. Because of those damn haters, the time he spent this past week scouring [Cyberspace] and putting the damn bastards in their shitty place was probably much longer than what he spent doing actual work.


    He didn¡¯t only have verbal battles with them, he also made sure that their [Cyberspace] account would be suspended. Seriously, if it was only up to him, he would have already sent those trash to prison. But alas, that would be abused of authority.


    Of course, if someone really dared to cross the line and hurt Aster in a physical manner, he would make that person¡¯s life hell.


    Wulfric honestly couldn¡¯t understand why these people would be mad at Aster for something that he accomplished fair and square. He shook his head. Really, what jobless behavior.


    He read the comments under Aster¡¯s post and his eye twitched when he saw trolls commenting under it. And so, he started another round of reporting those accounts and making sure they will be suspended.


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 Chapter 533 SCRIPT READING (I)

    533  SCRIPT READING (I)


    ASTRID and Ellis walked inside the building of Streamline Film. It¡¯s the production company that would produce [Serendipitous Summer]. They mainly produced movies that were based on novels or comics. In short, it¡¯s a production company known for their love action films.


    They couldn¡¯t be said to be on par with the huge production companies that were considered true giants in the industry, but they had a good reputation and track record. Film they produced seldom flopped to the point that it couldn¡¯t even reach the breakeven point. Although it¡¯s also true that their films didn¡¯t usually become super box office hit.


    In simpler term, the result of their movies was always neither super bad nor super good. They could be said to be super above average.


    But that wasn¡¯t really what¡¯s important to Astrid. It¡¯s more important to him that the production company was clean. And when he meant ¡®clean¡¯, he meant no corruption and no hocus pocus happening behind the scene. Thankfully, Streamline Film fit the bill.


    With a good production crew, he could focus more on filming. Which would then result in a much better performance. Not to mention a good environment for everyone to film.


    Of course, unexpected incidents could still occur. But at least, the very basic was ensured. This was his first leading role and movie, after all. He wanted to make sure that things would proceed as smoothly as possible.


    When they entered the building, an AI robot led them to a conference room where the script reading would happen. As soon as they walked inside, Astrid was surprised to see that there was already someone there.


    One should know that he and Ellis left his apartment building very early. Even if he¡¯s one of the leading role in this movie, he¡¯s still a rookie, so it¡¯s only right to arrive first. Besides, because of the [Star List], there might be some who would openly show their dissatisfaction to him. So, he should not show anything that could easily be picked on by the others.


    But obviously, someone had arrived here faster than him. And it¡¯s even someone he knew very well.


    It was none other than Snow.


    Snow also saw him. His cold expression quickly cracked and a small smile appeared on his face. Astrid wanted to quickly go to the other, but he refrained from doing so. There were already production staffs there. So, he should greet them first.


    He first gave a small wave to Snow. Then he walked around the room, greeting all the staffs with a smile. Telling them ¡®good morning¡¯ and ¡®good work today¡¯. The staffs seemed to be very surprised by this, seeing as how they didn¡¯t immediately respond to him. Astrid didn¡¯t mind and just continued to where Snow was seating.


    Ellis, who was following behind Astrid, was also quite surprised seeing the other greeting the staffs. This was not something they talked about before going here. It might just come off naturally for him. Or, it was a calculated action to gain the goodwill of the staffs. Either way, it was a good move.


    What Ellis didn¡¯t know was Astrid just did it out of habit. He was used to greeting the staffs in his past life. Since he started at the very bottom of the industry, with no advantages, whatsoever, showing a good attitude to everyone he worked with regardless of their job description. That¡¯s how he survived the grueling world of the entertainment industry.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that he was just a kind pushover who would just let everything slide for the sake of ¡®world peace¡¯. If he had to fight back, he would. And if his ¡®enemy¡¯ was someone he couldn¡¯t easily touch, he would find a roundabout way to do that.


    That habit had continued on in this life.  Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, being polite was just basic human decency. Aside from that, even if he had experienced some annoying things after he officially started his career as an actor in this era, they were situations that were resolved rather quickly. Mostly with the help of his number one fan.


    He didn¡¯t mind that, though. For him, it¡¯s not a blow to his pride or a sign that he couldn¡¯t fight his own battles. He had fought enough battles in his past life, from childhood to adulthood, until he reached a point where he could confidently say that he succeeded in life. Only for everything to be ruined by those damn grapes.


    But at least he was reincarnated in this life in a loving family. His parents and brother gave the love he hadn¡¯t experienced in his past life in a thousandth fold.


    That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t mind Wulfric taking care of those things for him. For one, it saved him the trouble of doing it himself, and two, he liked the feeling of being taken care of.


    Thankfully enough, Wulfric didn¡¯t go too far in his methods. Maybe because the other knew, deep down, that he wouldn¡¯t appreciate it.


    When his thoughts veered towards Wulfric, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It had already been three weeks since the other left the capital. And although they had been in constant contact, there were moments when he truly missed the other¡¯s presence beside him.


    Astrid shook his head. This was hardly the time to think about that. He should focus on today¡¯s script reading instead of thinking about these things.


    He finally arrived where Snow was sitting. He first greeted the other and then asked, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to come so early. Have you been here for a while now?¡±


    Snow shook his head. ¡°No, I arrived just a few minutes before you. It¡¯s better to be early than to be late, right?¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°True. But where¡¯s your manager?¡±


    Snow was assigned to an agent who was currently handling five artists. In cases like that, a dedicated manager would be assigned to the artist to take care of them. Astrid didn¡¯t have to worry about such things, since he was the only artist being handled by Ellis.


    But before Snow could respond, the door to the conference room suddenly opened and a young woman with a cold expression walked in.


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 Chapter 534 SCRIPT READING (II)

    534  SCRIPT READING (II)


    THE woman had caramel brown hair styled in a short bob. Her green eyes didn¡¯t have much emotions in them. Her expression contrasted with the cute, pink dress and pink beret she was wearing. But when she saw them, a smile appeared on her face.


    Astrid quickly noticed how that smile didn¡¯t even reach her eyes. But it wasn¡¯t as if it¡¯s a smile that could offend anyone. To him, it just looked like a well practiced smile. As if she had tried to do that in front of the mirror countless of times until she got it right.


    He didn¡¯t mind, though. There¡¯s no rule saying that one should always have a genuine smile for anyone they met. The important thing was the intent behind the smile. Whether it was mockery, goodwill, or indifference.


    For someone like him who¡¯s adept at reading people¡¯s emotion just based on their expression, it was easy for him to see the meaning behind a person¡¯s smile. In his view, her smile carried no negative implications. And that was enough.


    Besides, the other was his leading lady in this movie. He should at least give her the benefit of the doubt and not judge her just based on one smile.


    Yes, that¡¯s right. The young woman would be playing the role of Abby. Her name was Charlotte Anderson. She also debuted last year, just a few months earlier than Astrid.


    From what Ellis had told him, Charlotte was very diligent in her job. Appearing constantly in various TV series, not caring if her role was just that of an extra. When he heard that, he thought that the other must have really liked acting.


    When he found out that Charlotte would be acting opposite him, he searched for a few clips of her acting. He was very satisfied by what he saw. It¡¯s not just because the other had talent, it was more due to the fact that she was giving her all in every role she played, no matter how small that role might be.


    Just that was enough to ease Astrid¡¯s mind. At least, he didn¡¯t have to worry that the other would not do her best.


    But seeing Charlotte Anderson in person, he still felt a bit surprised. From the clips he had watched, he was expecting the other to be a bright-eyed, lively young woman. The type who would energetically greet everyone with a smile. But her real personality seemed to be more on the reserved side.


    The fact that she was able to make him think this way just showed her talent for acting. Which only made Astrid more satisfied.


    Charlotte Anderson walked towards them. The woman walking behind her, who appeared to be her manager, went to the seats on the side designated for agents and managers. Ellis was already sitting there.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Charlotte Anderson and I¡¯ll be playing the role of Abby,¡± she said, introducing herself when she arrived in front of them.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Astrid Townsend, playing the role of Jace,¡± Astrid said, also introducing himself. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡±


    His warm response seemed to make her uncomfortable, because she awkwardly answered, ¡°Ah, yes. Me as well.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Snow Bell. Nice to meet you, Miss Anderson,¡± Snow introduced himself.


    He did not use his real surname because the company decided that it would be better for his career if the public didn¡¯t know that his father was a viscount. That way, people wouldn¡¯t just casually label him as some kind of Nepo baby. It¡¯s better to be known for his talent than his family background. And Snow completely agreed.


    After the short greeting, Charlotte went to her designated seat, which was near the end of the table. There were names floating above the chairs, so one could immediately know where they should seat. Astrid¡¯s designated seat was opposite the Charlotte.


    Since the other actors weren¡¯t there yet, he decided to chat with Snow for a bit. Even though the other didn¡¯t show it, he could tell from the tense muscles on his face that he must be feeling nervous right now. He should help Snow relax before the script reading started.


    As they chatted, Snow¡¯s manager returned, giving him a canned drink. Then the manager went to where Ellis was, sitting down beside her.


    A few more minutes passed and actors arrived one after another. Astrid had left Snow¡¯s side and sat down on his designated seat.  sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As actors and actresses continued to fill the room, Astrid also dilligently greeted all of them. He didn¡¯t know if it was because of his influence, but Snow also did the same. With them doing that, Charlotte must have felt that it wouldn¡¯t look good if she just sat in her seat, doing nothing, when she was also a rookie like them. So, she also greeted the other actors as soon as they entered the conference room.


    Those around the same age range gave a lukewarm response. Some were even downright indifferent to Astrid. He didn¡¯t mind though, since he already expected something like that to some extent.


    After all, his current rank on the [Star List] could easily make him a target for jealousy. Especially to those who were just a few years older than him. Thankfully, the older actors seemed to appreciate their greetings, praising them for being polite kids.


    When all the actors arrived, it didn¡¯t take long before Director Hale also walked into the room. Following her were two women. Astrid was slightly surprised when he recognized one of the two.


    It was the author, One Leaf.


    Knowing the other¡¯s shy personality, he thought she wouldn¡¯t attend the script reading. Even if she didn¡¯t, no one would think badly of her. After all, the original author of the book a movie or series was based on was not obligated to do such a thing. Maybe One Leaf just wanted to make sure that the actors chosen were really the perfect fit for their roles.


    Director Hale sat at one end of the table, while the two women sat on each side of her. ¡°Alright. Shall we begin by introducing ourselves?¡±


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 Chapter 535 SCRIPT READING (III)

    535  SCRIPT READING (III)


    AFTER everyone introduced themselves, the script reading finally began.


    The first scene of the movie started with the panoramic view of the coastal town, Harborview. Then there would be a voice over, narrated by the character of Abby.


    ¡°In the enchanting embrace of summer, in the place where the sea meets the sky, a boy entered my world, weaving magic into my life.¡±


    Charlotte read that line, with just enough hint of mystery, joy, and love. Anyone who heard it would want to know exactly what she meant.


    Astrid slightly raised his brow. That was a good line delivery. The fact that she didn¡¯t just say it and put the appropriate emotions to it just showed how seriously he was taking this. It made him look at Charlotte Anderson more closely. Astrid¡¯s competitive spirit was suddenly aroused.


    As the other main lead, he couldn¡¯t just lag behind, right?


    Charlotte, who was concentrating on the script in front of her, suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body. She instinctively looked up and met the gaze of the person sitting opposite her.


    Astrid Townsend smiled at him. But that wasn¡¯t what startled Charlotte. It was the fire in those obsidian eyes. As if he was saying ¡®I won¡¯t lose¡¯. It was similar and yet dissimilar to the looks she had received from people she acted with until now. Similar in the sense that they didn¡¯t want to lose and dissimilar because, unlike those gazes, Astrid was not glaring at her as if he wanted to stab her repeatedly.


    She had never really understood what those looks meant. She didn¡¯t care enough to find out. As long as they didn¡¯t get in the way of her acting, then she didn¡¯t mind, even if they looked at her like she was some kind of trash.


    She turned her gaze back to her script. The first scene where Abby and Jace were about to meet was coming. She had to concentrate.


    And so, once again, Charlotte immersed herself in the script. As if everything written there was happening right at this moment. In her mind, the surroundings slowly changed.


    She was no longer sitting inside a conference room, instead, she was inside a seaside cafe. She was sitting on a table beside the floor to ceiling window where one could immediately see the vast ocean. In her hands was a thick book, something already considered as uncommon in this era.  Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, she was no longer Charlotte. She was now Abby, a reserved and introspective teenager who had a heavy burden she secretly carried in her heart.


    ***


    Abby turned the page of the book she¡¯s reading. Many people actually preferred 15:43


    reading on their Terminal. That¡¯s the norm in today¡¯s age. Physical books were just Abby turned the page of the book she¡¯s reading. Many people actually preferred reading on their Terminal. That¡¯s the norm in today¡¯s age. Physical books were just bulky things that take up space. But even with such an unusual sight, no one in the cafe was giving her weird looks.


    That¡¯s because they were already used to seeing her there. It¡¯s not because they didn¡¯t find her weird, but because they had gotten used to seeing her doing such a thing.


    Abby continued on reading. Unexpectedly, when she raised her head to look out of the window, she saw a motorcycle stopping in front of the cafe. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t give that a second glance and would just go back to reading. But just like her book, that motorcycle was not something one could usually see in this era.


    Most travelling vehicles used levitating technology, so wheels were already a thing of the past. But surprisingly, a person suddenly appeared in this town riding such a motorcycle.


    Abby couldn¡¯t help but be curious and looked at the person driving the motorcycle. Based on their physique, they seemed to be a man. The other got off the motorcycle and removed their helmet.


    The person was indeed a man, no rather, he was more like a boy the same age as her. He had black hair that appeared to be sweaty and a pair of black eyes that seemed to be twinkling. The people who saw the boy couldn¡¯t help but stare at him. It¡¯s not only because he looked undeniably good, but because he just had that aura that pulled people in.


    And unknowingly, Abby was one of the people being pulled in.


    The boy walked into the cafe. He looked around as if searching for a place to sit. But then his gaze landed on where Abby was sitting. She panicked for a moment until she realized that the other wasn¡¯t looking at her but at the book she¡¯s holding. She suddenly felt like an idiot, thinking for a moment that this boy would be interested in her.


    Then he started walking in her direction. Abby began to panic again.


    When the boy was almost at her table, a waiter who was walking the opposite direction seemed to have his attention taken by the boy. He was so captivated that he unexpectedly tripped on his own feet, making the drinks he was holding on a tray flew up. And their destination was the booth where Abby was sitting.


    Seeing the drinks about to be poured on her, Abby completely froze and could only close her eyes. Waiting for the mixture of cold and hot water to come raining down on her. But after a few seconds, she still didn¡¯t feel anything.


    That¡¯s when she opened her eyes to take a peek. But her eyes completely widened when he saw the boy in front of her. There was liquid and cream dripping on top of his head. Obviously, those drinks landed on him instead of her.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked. His voice had a playful and lazy cadence to it, but one could still feel the gentleness hidden within.


    Abby blinked. She felt like she was being sucked in by the pair of obsidian eyes looking at her. She could hardly think and could only stammer, ¡°Y-yes.¡±


    ***


    That¡¯s the first meeting between Abby and Jace. In the script reading, the two actors playing them only exchanged one line. And yet, to the people there, they felt like they saw that scene directly played out in front of them.


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 Chapter 536 DIRECTOR HALES THOUGHTS

    536  DIRECTOR HALE¡¯S THOUGHTS


    THE script reading took about three hours to end. Even though the running time of the movie was only one hour and 45 minutes. This was because the director needed to correct some line deliveries of the actors. Which was a common thing. To finish the script reading the exact duration of the running time would be close to a miracle.


    Director Harper Hale was very satisfied with this. She was glad that the actors she and author One Leaf picked, as well as those who passed the audition, did not disappoint them.


    Since this movie didn¡¯t really need a high budget, there¡¯s no need to placate any high-ranking investors by putting in actors that they would recommend. The production company could easily cover the cost of investment. That¡¯s why when Streamline Film approached her for this project, she didn¡¯t refuse.


    It was not only because they were known for live action adaptations, but mostly because of how they approached productions. As long as there weren¡¯t any major problems, they would mostly not meddle with how the film was made. They would simply give the director everything they needed during pre and post production.  Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that they were overly trusting. They only worked with directors who were dilligent and unproblematic. Probably to make sure that they would work hard on the film. That rule had its advantages and disadvantages.


    It¡¯s advantageous because a peaceful filming environment could be mostly ensured. The disadvantageous part was, well, because they mostly chose directors based on their personality rather than their talent, the resulting film was almost always mediocre, to say the least.


    Despite that, people still flocked to watch their movies. This was mostly because the original material which the movie was based on was already pretty famous on its own. So, it¡¯s only natural for the fans of the original material to watch the movie. The movies produced by Streamline were satisfactory enough that not many complained about their adaptations.


    But Harper was not simply aiming for ¡®satisfactory¡¯. This was the first movie she would direct. ¡®Satisfactory¡¯ just wouldn¡¯t be enough. She wanted to make a movie that wouldn¡¯t just be appreciated by fans of the original work but also by the general public. A movie that wouldn¡¯t just reach the break-even point, but would enter the box-office list.


    It was an ambitious statement. But if she didn¡¯t set her goal higher, then wouldn¡¯t that mean she didn¡¯t believe in herself and the actors she picked? And she had absolute confidence in her abilities. Not to mention, the cast of this movie also couldn¡¯t just be dismissed.


    Although most of the younger roles were going to be played by rookie actors, Harper didn¡¯t worry much. All of them passed a rigorous audition process. Both main leads were also very exceptional. In fact, one of them was so exceptional he even entered the top 100 of the [Star List] just three months after his debut.


    This popularity would undoubtedly help in the box office of the movie. It¡¯s also reassuring that his acting skills were directly proportional to his fame. No, if she was being honest, Astrid¡¯s talent was definitely greater than his current fame. If he continued to pick good projects from now in two-three years¡¯ time, his fame would definitely be able to catch up with that enormous talent.


    Right now, Harper was just glad that they managed to sign a contract with Astrid for this movie before the recent [Star List] was released. It¡¯s not only the question of his talent fee increasing, other much bigger productions would probably have approached him by now. Between this movie and a bigger production, a good agent would definitely choose the latter.


    She had already expected Astrid to be good, but the other lead, Charlotte Anderson, was a pleasant revelation. The other was recommended by the author, One Leaf.


    Harper had her reservations at first since she hadn¡¯t heard of the name, but she couldn¡¯t just ignore what One Leaf wanted. It took a long time to convince the author to do this adaptation. She didn¡¯t want to push the other away by not giving a chance to the actors she recommended.


    So, she searched for projects Charlotte had appeared on. Since the other was only a rookie, most of her roles were either extra or super minor supporting roles. And the way she acted in those small roles satisfied Harper. Enough to agree to casting the other.


    With this script reading, Charlotte proved herself enough that Harper wouldn¡¯t have to regret her decision to cast her.


    She suddenly felt energized and determined. With this cast, she would definitely make not just a good movie, but a great one.


    ¡ª¨C


    Charlotte was walking in the parking lot with her manager beside her. Since the script reading already ended, and she had no more schedule for the day, she planned to go to the company to do some acting practice.


    Originally, she would have decided to go home instead, but that script reading made her itchy to do some acting practice. And she knew the reason for that was Astrid Townsend.


    When they exchanged lines earlier, she felt like there¡¯s a beast in front of her. If she didn¡¯t do her best, she would be completely devoured.


    It was the first time she felt like another¡¯s acting would sweep her away if she didn¡¯t stay alert. It was scary and exhilarating at the same time.


    She was scared that the audience watching them might not even look at her and only look at Astrid Townsend. But as much as she was scared, she was also very excited. Because since she started acting, she finally felt like she could give everything without worrying that the person she¡¯s acting with would not be able to keep up.


    ¡°Miss Anderson, please wait a moment!¡± a somewhat familiar voice called from behind.


    Charlotte looked back and saw Astrid Townsend walking in their direction. Following behind him were one of the supporting actors, and also two people who seemed to be agents or managers. She and her manager stopped walking and waited for the other.


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 Chapter 537 CHARLOTTE ANDERSON

    537  CHARLOTTE ANDERSON


    AFTER the script reading ended, Astrid, Ellis, Snow, and David ¨C Snow¡¯s manager, decided to eat lunch together. They just arrived in the parking lot when Astrid saw a familiar figure walking ahead of them.


    It was Charlotte Anderson.


    Seeing the other¡¯s back, he couldn¡¯t help but remember the script reading they just had. It was a very enjoyable first script reading for him. Probably because exchanging lines with Charlotte was pretty fun.


    Even if it¡¯s only a script reading, she showed the right emotion her character would be feeling at that moment when she read her lines. That commitment and intensity was very commendable. And Astrid liked that very much. He couldn¡¯t wait for filming to start because he knew Charlotte would be even more amazing.


    Filled with confidence in his own ability to excel in the role, he found reassurance after the script reading as he witnessed the equally impressive performance of the other main lead. With both of them at the helm, the assurance grew that they would undoubtedly do justice to the original material.


    It¡¯s probably too arrogant of him to say that, but he was just that confident of his skills. The skills of the other actors in the movie also added to the confidence he had for the project.


    He shook his head to return his thoughts to the present.


    Seeing that Charlotte and her manager still hadn¡¯t gone far, he told his companions, ¡°Can we also invite Miss Anderson to lunch?¡±


    David had no opinion and just nodded. Ellis also approved, thinking that this could help to improve their rapport as the two main leads. On the other hand, a complicated glint flashed in Snow¡¯s eyes. But he quickly covered it up.


    It¡¯s not that he had a negative opinion of Charlotte Anderson. He just felt awkward around her. He knew that¡¯s unreasonable, considering that the only interaction they had was that brief greeting and that short exchanging of lines during the script reading. He couldn¡¯t really explain it, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t say that to Astrid.


    So, he could only nod at the end.


    Astrid smiled brightly and then called Charlotte Anderson.


    ¡°Miss Anderson!¡±


    Charlotte and her manager stopped walking and turned in their direction. Astrid quickly walked towards them.


    ¡°Is there something you need, Astrid Townsend?¡± Charlotte asked in a blunt tone.


    Her manager cleared her throat. Charlotte blinked, as if she was reminded of something when she heard her manager clear her throat. And that was true in a way.


    It¡¯s because that was a little signal between them. Whenever Charlotte behaved in a way that¡¯s not ¡®conventional¡¯, her manager would clear her throat to remind her to correct her attitude.


    It was the same with what¡¯s happening now.


    Charlotte smiled and repeated what she said. ¡°Do you need something, Mr. Townsend?¡±


    Astrid almost raised his brow. The way the other did a complete 180 without even batting an eye was¡­ surprising. She asked bluntly at first, and then she smiled and asked the same question again, as if she realized that her first approach was not right.


    She didn¡¯t have to worry though, since he¡¯s not really offended or anything. But since he didn¡¯t approach her to discuss her attitude, he¡¯s here to invite her to lunch.


    ¡°Would you like to join us for lunch?¡± he asked with a friendly smile.


    ¡ª¨C


    Charlotte was questioning life at this very moment. She was sitting at a table inside a private room of a restaurant together with Astrid Townsend and Snow Bell. Yes, the three of them were alone because their managers were in another private room.


    When Astrid invited her to lunch, she honestly didn¡¯t know how to answer. Because it¡¯s the first time someone actually invited her to eat out. Good thing she had her manager with her, so the other was able to answer for her. She just didn¡¯t expect that her manager would agree. Much more so that she would leave her alone here.


    Krysta, her manager, never left her alone with people Charlotte barely knew, which was basically everyone, by the way. It¡¯s not just because Krysta was worried about her, but it was mostly to prevent her from making any mistakes.


    Charlotte was very bad at understanding social cues. So Krysta was there to help her navigate through things. That¡¯s why she couldn¡¯t understand why Krysta agreed to leave her here.


    the other might be asking, his friendly expression lowered her guard and she could 15:45


    Then she remembered how the other looked at Astrid¡¯s manager, or maybe that was his agent. Krysta looked at Astrid¡¯s manager/agent like she had seen her idol or something. Maybe that¡¯s why? Anyway, what happened already happened and there¡¯s really nothing she could do to change this situation. So, she just had to deal with it.


    ¡°Shall we order?¡± Astrid asked.


    Both Snow and Charlotte nodded. They entered their order on the virtual screen floating on the table.


    As they were waiting for their order to arrive, Astrid finally couldn¡¯t help but ask what he had been wanting to ask since earlier.


    ¡°Miss Anderson, may I ask you something?¡±


    Charlotte raised her head and looked at Astrid. Although she was confused as to what the other might be asking, his friendly expression lowered her guard and she could only nod.


    ¡°How long have you been acting?¡±


    Charlotte didn¡¯t expect such a question. If it¡¯s only that, though, then it¡¯s easy to answer.


    ¡°Since I was a child.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you must really love acting,¡± Astrid commented, seemingly happy by her answer.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I like it now.¡±


    Astrid tilted his head. ¡°So¡­ you didn¡¯t like it before?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was more of a necessity,¡± Charlotte said with a shrug. ¡°My doctor said that acting could help me become more human.¡±


    Both Astrid and Snow were startled hearing that answer. Charlotte didn¡¯t notice it though and just continued.  S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°My family agreed, and they enrolled me in various acting classes. My manager saw me acting in one of my classes last year and she introduced me to an agent, then my professional acting career started.¡±


    When she finished speaking and she didn¡¯t hear any response, she looked at the two and they were looking at her in a peculiar way.


    Did she say something wrong?


    Sorry for the super late update! (¨i_¨i)


    Tyramisu


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 Chapter 538 END OF LUNCH

    538  END OF LUNCH


    CHARLOTTE tilted her head. Was there really something wrong with what she said? At times like this, she should rely on the list Krysta gave her. It was a list of instructions on what she should do in situations she couldn¡¯t understand. After quickly going through it in her head, there¡¯s only one thing that came to mind.


    Smile and change the subject.


    So she did, and asked Astrid, ¡°How about you? How long have you been acting?¡±


    Astrid was startled at first by the sudden change in topic. Normally, something like this wouldn¡¯t faze him. But after hearing the reason Charlotte started to get into acting, it¡¯s only natural to be a bit surprised by this sudden shift.


    She started acting so she could become more human.


    This was the strangest yet saddest reason he¡¯d ever heard for someone diving into acting. He had already noticed that there was something ¡®odd¡¯ about Charlotte. He couldn¡¯t really pinpoint it at first. But in this brief conversation, he easily realized what it was.


    Charlotte Anderson was socially inept. She most likely found it challenging to interpret and respond appropriately to the emotions of others or navigate social situations with ease. That¡¯s why her actions appeared so¡­ disjointed.


    Her ability to perform at such a high level in acting became even more remarkable, considering her limited grasp of basic human emotions. Despite this deficiency, she skillfully conveyed the appropriate emotions required for the roles assigned to her.


    Or maybe acting had simply become her gateway to experience those emotions. That¡¯s why she was able to give everything in every role.


    Really, what an interesting girl.


    Remembering that the other asked him something, Astrid also smiled and answered.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve been acting most of my life.¡±


    Which was not exactly a lie. If he combined his previous life with this life, most of it was still spent in acting.


    Charlotte tilted her head, seemingly confused by his statement. She looked like she wanted to ask more. But before she could, their orders arrived.


    The three of them had a rather subdued lunch. Without Astrid initiating conversation, their private room would have been eerily quiet. Charlotte was trying her best at first to keep up with the conversation. But she obviously struggled. By the end, she gave up and just focus on the food.


    Snow was also unnaturally quiet. Well, he wasn¡¯t really that talkative to begin with. But he was even quieter than before. It didn¡¯t look like it was because he was refusing to speak with Charlotte or anything. More than that, it looked more like he was in deep thought and couldn¡¯t be bothered to join the conversation.


    So, the lunch ended on a bit of a low note.


    ¡ª¨C  S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Thank you for the lunch. I¡¯ll see you on the first day of filming,¡± Charlotte said with that practiced smile of hers.


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll see you there,¡± Astrid replied with the same gentle smile.


    Snow also nodded as a sign of acquiesce.


    Charlotte bid goodbye and walked out of the private room first. When the door closed after she left, Astrid turned to Snow. But before he could ask what he had been meaning to ask since earlier, the other had already spoken ahead of him.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, and no, I don¡¯t dislike Miss Anderson.¡±


    And that was the truth. Snow didn¡¯t really dislike Charlotte Anderson. The reason he had been very quiet during lunch was mainly because he was too shock by the other¡¯s small ¡®revelation¡¯.


    The strange feeling he got while interacting with the other was all because of her inability to naturally show emotions in reality outside of the script. The way she could bring out different intense emotions during the script reading just added to this contradiction.


    Snow initially couldn¡¯t understand how someone could lack something so fundamental. That¡¯s what he had been pondering during lunch that he couldn¡¯t properly listen to the conversation at all.


    But in the end, he just gave up thinking about it altogether. What¡¯s the point of analyzing such things? No matter how advance the technology of fertility labs across the Empire was, it didn¡¯t mean that every baby that was born there were perfect existence.


    Just like how he¡¯s not perfect, Charlotte was also the same. Besides, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s crazy or anything. She¡¯s just a bit¡­ unique. More than that, as long as she did her job properly and had a good attitude towards filming, then that was all that mattered. Right?


    Having come to terms with that, Snow realized how rude he might have looked earlier because of his attitude. No wonder Astrid was looking worriedly at him.


    ¡°I will do better to get along with her next time,¡± he said, not only to reassure Astrid, but also to be a reminder that he really did poorly today.


    Astrid was glad when he heard that. He truly thought that Snow might have developed a dislike towards Charlotte. At least, he was now sure that wasn¡¯t the case. Snow was probably just unsure of how to act around her. Which was natural, considering that any decent, observant person could tell that her actions and speech were full of contradiction.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. After all, you¡¯re going to play as her older brother. Your interaction wouldn¡¯t appear natural if you feel awkward around her,¡± Astrid advised, which Snow also took into heart.


    After that, the two of them met with Ellis and David. Then they separated and went to different destinations.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    That night, during Astrid and Wulfric¡¯s ¡®nightly¡¯ video call, most of the conversation revolved around Charlotte Anderson. Which a certain wolf was not very happy about.


    ¡°Really, Charlotte is very interesting.¡±


    ¡°Hmp. What¡¯s so interesting about a woman like that? I bet even my toe is much more interesting than her.¡±


    Wulfric mumbled those words, but Astrid still heard them loud and clear. He looked at the other across the screen and almost laughed out loud because of his obvious pouting expression.


    He could almost smell the vinegar from here.


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 Chapter 539 FUN VIDEO CALL

    539  FUN VIDEO CALL


    ¡°DO I hear jealousy from your voice?¡± Astrid asked in a teasing tone.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m jealous. Who would want to hear the person they like talk about another person? And with so much interest too!¡± Wulfric said very indignantly, as if Astrid wronged him too much.


    Astrid raised his brow. He didn¡¯t expect the other to admit it so blatantly. He thought he would at least be embarrassed. Who would have thought he would react so refreshingly? No, Astrid should have probably expected this kind of reaction from Wulfric. Wasn¡¯t this the guy who would straightforwardly admit to anyone who asked that he¡¯s in love with him?


    ¡°Well, what can I do? The girl is really interesting,¡± he said with a shrug, acting like he didn¡¯t notice the other sulking.


    After he said that, Wulfric¡¯s pout became more pronounced. He even muttered, ¡°Hmp. There¡¯s no way she could be more interesting than me.¡±


    This time, Astrid no longer held back his laughter. ¡°My dear prince, there¡¯s absolutely nothing for you to worry about. I just met her today. Do you think I would suddenly develop feelings for her just because I found her interesting?¡±


    ¡°I know. But I just couldn¡¯t help it. When it comes to you, I couldn¡¯t help being possessive. I know it¡¯s not a good trait to have. I promise I will try my best to tone it down.¡± As Wulfric said that last part, he looked like even he himself was not convinced that he could do it. ¡°No, I will definitely do it,¡± he added with a bit more determination.


    From the romance novels he had read, a lot of the male leads were usually possessive and obsessive. To the point that they would rather imprison the one they loved than to let them interact or be seen by others.


    Although Wulfric also had those kinds of thoughts, he at least knew that it was bad. It was easy for him to do, especially since he had all the means to make that happen. But if he really did that, Astrid would never forgive him, much less love him.


    If he and Astrid continued on like this, he knew that sooner or later he could make him truly fall for him. Didn¡¯t Astrid also admit that his feelings were almost on the same level as his? Well, probably not almost, but it¡¯s the same gist. So, why would he jeopardize that for these ugly thoughts that crawled inside his head from time to time?


    Unaware of what Wulfric was currently thinking, Astrid chuckled, finding the other very cute. It¡¯s good that Wulfric was very self-aware. At least he didn¡¯t have to worry about being imprisoned in the future.


    ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve read some of the comments on [Cyberspace]. Those jobless and insecure people were saying the nastiest shit. Why is your company staying silent? They should have sued all those trash by now.¡±


    Wulfric said that at first to change the subject, but as he continued to speak, his anger rushed up again. Thinking back to those comments, he couldn¡¯t stop the urge to assassinate those trolls. He took a deep breath to calm himself. If he didn¡¯t calm down, he might just really order a hit on those people.


    ¡°Ah, that. It¡¯s fine. Polaris will release a joint statement with ESRA to address the situation. The company is not neglecting me. They¡¯re just making sure that they had gathered all the necessary information before releasing a statement. That way, people who questioned my eligibility wouldn¡¯t be able to question my rank on the [Star List].¡±


    Although Astrid was sure that those who didn¡¯t like him would just believe whatever they wanted, regardless of the evidence. But at least his fans would have something to throw at those people whenever they bring up the topic of his ¡®unfair¡¯ [Star List] placement.


    Wulfric scoffed, seemingly still dissatisfied. ¡°And they took a week to do all that? If it was me, it wouldn¡¯t even take three days. Should I just establish an entertainment company for you? I bet I could do a better job than your current company.¡±


    Astrid blinked for a second, and then just laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t think one of the esteemed generals of our Empire has the time to make an entertainment company and look after my career. But just in case you really plan to do so, please don¡¯t. Or else your lieutenant might really come after me with an axe.¡±


    Wulfric wanted to say that Leland wouldn¡¯t do that, but then promptly stopped himself. Although Leland was the most stable among his subordinates, he could be very unpredictable. Even more so that Hildred. And that already said a lot.


    ¡°Then your company should do a better job,¡± he could only say at the end.


    To stop Wulfric from thinking about building his own entertainment company, Astrid promptly changed the topic. ¡°But Wulf, have you finally created your own [Cyberspace] account? Or did you see those comments because of one of your captains, perhaps Hildred?¡±  S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He said that in a curious tone, but deep inside, he was already laughing. This was probably the third time he asked this question to the other. The first two times, Wulfric gave the same excuse ¨C that he saw the news about Astrid from Hildred browsing the [Cyberspace].


    As expected, panic flashed across Wulfric¡¯s eyes. But he quickly hid it and even answered calmly. ¡°Yes. Hil told it to me that¡¯s why I found out about it.¡±


    Look at this guy pretending. If Astrid didn¡¯t yet know that the other was White Wolf ¨C his self-proclaimed number one fan ¨C he would have probably believed him. He wondered what Wulfric¡¯s expression would be once he found out that he already knew about his ¡®secret¡¯.


    That would certainly be amusing.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re so busy, how could you have time browsing [Cyberspace]?¡± he said while


    nodding, acting as if he believed the other.


    Wulfric looked guilty for a moment, which only made Astrid smile inwardly.


    Really, it would truly be so much fun once this ¡®truth¡¯ was revealed.


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 Chapter 540 POLARIS STATEMENT

    540  POLARIS¡¯ STATEMENT


    Polaris v: [It has come to our attention that there are disparaging comments circulating regarding Mr. Astrid Townsend, an artist under our management, who has recently ranked on the prestigious <Star List>.


    Mr. Townsend¡¯s recognition is a result of his unwavering dedication to artistic excellence, innate talent, and the steadfast support of his growing fans. Any attempts to undermine or cast doubt upon Mr. Townsend¡¯s well-deserved accomplishment were also questioning the decision of ESRA.


    ESRA is a respected organization filled with professionals and experts in the entertainment industry. How they ranked artists on the <Star List> had always been transparent. Everything is available in the public if one would just take the time to search it. But if you didn¡¯t have the time to do so, then you can just click on this <link>. The staffs of ESRA¡¯s official site arranged everything in a neat and detailed manner so everyone could see how and why Mr. Townsend made it to the top 100.


    Polaris Entertainment strictly discourages derogatory comments, unfounded claims, or attempts to disparage our artists. Please be aware that malicious comments and attempts to harm the reputation of our artists may have legal consequences. Polaris Entertainment reserves the right to take appropriate legal action against those engaging in online harassment or spreading false information.


    We appreciate your cooperation in fostering positive discourse that celebrates the achievements of our artists. Your constructive engagement is crucial in creating an atmosphere conducive to artistic growth and excellence.


    We implore everyone to unite against unwarranted negativity. Should you encounter instances of online harassment, we rely on your diligence in reporting such behavior.


    Polaris Entertainment expresses profound gratitude for the continued support of the people supporting our artists. We remain steadfast in our commitment to cultivating an atmosphere that celebrates artistic accomplishments with the utmost dignity.


    Thank you for your attention and understanding.]


    Polaris issued a statement in the middle of the night a week after [Star List] was released. And a few minutes later, ESRA¡¯s official account reposted it with the caption ¨C [Congratulation, Mr. Astrid Townsend! We, at ESRA, are looking forward to your brilliant future.]


    It didn¡¯t even take an hour before that entered the trending topic list. Astrid¡¯s fans were in an uproar after that.


    [Wow, Polaris finally woke up. I thought they will never post anything to defend Aster.]


    [LOL I screenshot all those malicious comments. Dear trolls, please be ready to get sued. ^^]


    ¨C [I also did the same. Polaris, please sue all those people. Hohoho!]


    [It¡¯s finally over for those losers. Although Polaris might seem like a pretty chill agency, when it came to their artists, they¡¯re not exactly one too fool around.]


    [This is what I¡¯ve been saying! <Star List> assessment is literally a public record on ESRA¡¯s official site. One just has to search to see it. Although not all the details are there, at least all the important ones are. That¡¯s the first thing I did when I saw Aster¡¯s name on the <Star List>. So, why can¡¯t others do the same?]


    ¨C [Right? I also did that as well. And boy, Aster really deserved to be there.]


    ¨C [They probably forgot that the <Star List> is a quarterly thing. Meaning, it all depended on what an artist did for the past three months. If those people just put aside for a moment their prejudice, they would be able to immediately see why Aster ranked so high.]


    [Well, at least this incident weed out the people following Aster just for the hype. Now all the ones that were left are his real fans.]


    There were still comments disagreeing with Polaris¡¯ announcement, even some that were disparaging Astrid, but they were all drowned out by the positive ones.


    Of course, this wouldn¡¯t end without a comment from Astrid¡¯s number one fan.  S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Hmp, it took you (Polaris) long enough to make a statement. I¡¯ll give you 7 points for that. If you want a perfect 10, then take action much faster next time something like this happened. And to my dear Aster, don¡¯t worry, as soon as I see anyone crossing the line, I will definitely send a detailed report to Polaris. So, Polaris, don¡¯t forget to sue them, hmm?]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After the whole [Star List] situation ended, a few days had passed, and it¡¯s now time for the start of filming for [Serendipitous Summer].


    The shooting location would be at FS11. It was a filming studio planet known for its many islands. Some islands had built in villages, some had towns and cities. Basically, if one wanted to film on an island, this film studio planet would be their go-to.


    Astrid and Ellis left the capital just after breakfast. Which was pretty early, considering their call time was still in the afternoon. But they both wanted to get used to the island first.


    After all, they would be spending at least a month there to film the movie. It¡¯s better to familiarize themselves first. Especially since they heard that the hotel they would be staying in was also on the island. The place also had all the important amenities. Which meant that they wouldn¡¯t be leaving the island for a month.


    Astrid read the messages on their friend group chat that he wasn¡¯t able to check earlier. Originally, it was only him, Kiran, and Snow. But after that celebration dinner, the two finally got close to Lauren, and they added him in.


    Kiran: [Aster, you¡¯ll be gone for a month, right? I¡¯ll miss you! Please don¡¯t forget me! *crying sticker*]


    Snow: ?


    Lauren: [Are you filming the new movie? Snow is also part of that movie, right? Do you think it would be alright if I appear as a cameo?]


    Astrid chuckled after. If the names of the three weren¡¯t written there, he could still tell who¡¯s who. He replied and then closed his Terminal since they were already nearing their destination.


    As if on cue, he heard Ellis say;


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    He looked out of the window and the first thing he saw was a wide expanse of sea. They finally arrived at FS11.


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 Chapter 541: AN INVITE TO LUNCH

    ASTRID and Ellis spent the morning touring around the island they would be filming in. Although he kind of expected it, seeing all the facilities on the island still came off as a surprise for Astrid.


    The island really looked like a coastal town. There was a small market where one could buy groceries and other amenities while staying here. There¡¯s only one hotel, but it¡¯s enough to accommodate one filming crew. The hotel also served food, so there¡¯s no problem on that part.


    From what he heard from Ellis, not every island in FS11 had these kinds of amenities. That¡¯s why most of the crew filming here stayed at the one known as the Central Island, which is literally like a small city. Which meant they had to travel every day to the island where they were filming. Good thing their crew didn¡¯t have to do that.


    Following their brief tour, Astrid and Ellis returned to the hotel for lunch. As they entered, they encountered some of the actors slated for today¡¯s filming. Not every cast member was set to arrive today; some were scheduled for tomorrow, while others were expected to join next week.


    Snow was scheduled to come here much later. He didn¡¯t have much scenes to film, so it would be unproductive for him to be here on the very first day. Especially since he¡¯s a student as well. After all, Redwood Academy only recognized official schedules as what they called ¡®artistic leave¡¯.


    It¡¯s when students had to skip class because they had a job. Of course, only jobs related to the entertainment industry, like filming a movie or a show. The number of days they were working would count as attendance. They¡¯re flexible that way.


    It¡¯s one of the reasons Astrid chose Redwood. Because he already planned to work while still in Redwood. He wanted to graduate on time. His goal was to graduate on time, and he had no intention of prolonging his college tenure merely due to insufficient attendance.


    Anyway, Snow would probably come here in about two weeks or so. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When he and Ellis entered the elevator, Astrid was momentarily surprised when he saw the two figures standing inside. It was Charlotte and her manager. The other seemed to be also a bit startled seeing him.


    He smiled and greeted the two. Ellis also did the same. The manager greeted them back, while Charlotte gave them that ¡®business smile¡¯ of hers.


    ¡°Have you been well, Miss Anderson?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± There was a pause, then, as if she realized that she should ask back, Charlotte added, ¡°How about you, Mr. Townsend?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing good. Thank you for asking.¡±


    Silence filled the elevator as it ascended. This silence made Astrid wonder if this would how their interaction would be for the rest of the filming. That¡¯s definitely not very ideal in his opinion.


    In this film, they were portraying a pair of youth experiencing the innocence of first love. No matter how good the both of them were in acting, it wouldn¡¯t matter if they didn¡¯t have an ounce of chemistry.


    Although there were actors who just had that natural chemistry on-screen, those who couldn¡¯t stand each other but could still make their audience believe that they were hopelessly in love, Astrid believed, he and Charlotte didn¡¯t belong to this category. If that was the case, then they should at least cultivate it. But how could they do that if Charlotte was feeling awkward around him?


    He should break this invisible wall between them, so the other could at least be comfortable in his presence. And he knew the best way to do that.


    ¡°Have you eaten lunch?¡± he asked.


    Charlotte looked like she didn¡¯t expect he would ask such a question. ¡°We haven¡¯t yet.¡±


    ¡°Then how about eating lunch with us?¡± Astrid asked with an inviting smile.


    Before Charlotte could answer, the first one to respond was her manager.


    ¡°Yes!¡± The manager glanced at Ellis before clearing her throat, as if trying to calm herself. ¡°Ehem, I mean, we would love to.¡±


    Her manager¡¯s behavior obviously confused Charlotte. But in the end, she could only nod in agreement.


    ¡ª¨C


    On the rooftop of the hotel, four people were sitting inside the pavilion-like structure there.


    Charlotte looked at all the dishes in front of her. She wasn¡¯t familiar with any of the food, but they all looked appetizing. Not to mention the delicious scent that could make anyone¡¯s mouth water. As evidence, she heard Krysta gulping a few times already.


    She sighed a bit and looked around. From here, they had a good view of the sea. When Astrid asked them if they wanted to have lunch, she thought they would be going to the cafeteria. She didn¡¯t expect that the other would bring them here.


    ¡°It¡¯s a beautiful view, right?¡± Astrid said. ¡°When I saw this earlier, I thought it was a good place to eat lunch. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Charlotte said almost subconsciously.


    ¡°Thank you for inviting us. But where did you buy these dishes? They must be from some high-end restaurant, right? Just one look and anyone could tell they¡¯re not ordinary food,¡± Krysta said.


    ¡°They¡¯re home-cooked,¡± Ellis answered.


    Krysta appeared shocked for a moment, and then she looked at Ellis with shining eyes. ¡°Did you make them?¡±


    ¡°No, Astrid did.¡±


    Astrid wasn¡¯t sure if it was his imagination, but the manager looked disappointed when she heard that. Did she want to eat Ellis¡¯ home-cooked meals that much? He glanced at Ellis and then at Krysta who kept on staring at the former. Then he suddenly remembered Yujin¡¯s agent. He shook his head, thinking that Ellis really was such a woman attractor.


    ¡°Shall we eat?¡± he said.


    Everyone picked up their spoon and fork and started eating.


    Astrid kept his attention on Charlotte. At first, the other didn¡¯t have much reaction, but when she put a piece of braised pork in her mouth, her eyes visibly widened. And then she picked another one, and another, and another.


    He smiled secretly seeing that. As expected, food was the best way to make friends.


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 Chapter 542: FUN FILMING

    THE moon hung low in the sky, casting a silvery glow upon the Harborview beach. The rhythmic lull of the waves created a serene backdrop as Jace and Abby strolled along the shoreline, their footsteps leaving imprints in the damp sand.


    Jace, usually brimming with exuberance, felt exceptionally calm in Abby¡¯s presence. Something that had always been the case ever since the two of them met. She just had that kind of effect on him. Maybe that¡¯s why he¡¯d been enjoying this little journey across this town with her.


    They walked in companionable silence, the only sounds being the whispers of the ocean and the soft rustle of the night breeze.


    As they reached a secluded cove, Jace couldn¡¯t help but steal glances at Abby. The moonlight caught the subtle play of emotions on her face as she gazed out at the horizon. Her eyes held a depth¡ªa reservoir of unspoken stories and silent dreams. Something that he had long noticed since the moment he laid eyes on her.


    As he gazed at her, he felt drawn and captivated. Her vulnerability, masked by her reserved demeanor, captivated him. It was as if the moonlight had unveiled the layers of her soul, and Jace found himself drawn to the mystery that lingered beneath.


    Without breaking the tranquility of the night, Jace found himself gently reaching for Abby¡¯s hand. He felt nervous, afraid that the other would push him away. But still, he held on, hoping that she would do the opposite.


    And she did.


    Abby looked at him in surprised but she did not show any discomfort. Instead, a lovely blush appeared on her cheeks. It made Jace¡¯s heart beat like crazy.


    Their fingers intertwined. The simple act of connection spoke volumes, the warmth of their clasped hands echoing the unspoken emotions in the air.


    Jace felt a subtle shift within him, a realization crystallizing in the hushed symphony of the night. The way Abby¡¯s eyes reflected the moonlit sea, the softness of her smile, the melody of her voice carried by the breeze¡ªit all wove a spell around him. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In that quiet moment, under the vast canvas of the night sky, Jace fell in love. It wasn¡¯t a grand proclamation or a dramatic revelation. Instead, it was a gentle recognition, like the waves that kissed the shore with unwavering devotion.


    ***


    ¡°And cut!¡±


    After the Director Hale¡¯s shout, both Astrid and Charlotte let go of each other¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Should we see how that scene turned out?¡± Astrid asked Charlotte.


    Charlotte nodded, and they both walked to where the director was. Director Hale also knew why they approached and quickly played the scene they filmed just now. As they all watched that, all of them had a satisfied expression on their faces.


    One might think that it was just a simple scene, with two people walking on the beach, not saying anything to each other. But it was not.


    The fact that the scene depended mostly on the emotions on Astrid and Charlotte¡¯s faces and their small gestures proved just how hard this scene was. If they did some things excessively, it wouldn¡¯t come off as good, or even believable. It should appear as natural as possible.


    Not only that, when people watched this scene, they should feel the sweetness and innocence of first love. For that to successfully be executed, the actors involved should at least have some level of chemistry.


    And thankfully, Astrid and Charlotte had it.


    ¡°We did well, right?¡± Astrid asked as he glanced at Charlotte beside him.


    ¡°Yes, it really felt like watching Jace fall in love with Abby,¡± Charlotte agreed. She turned to Astrid and gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Good job.¡±


    Astrid chuckled at that. Truthfully, such a scene was only possible because he and Charlotte had finally gotten close. That awkward barrier between them had now disappeared and they could now honestly consider each other as friends.


    It all started with that simple lunch two weeks ago. Since then, he noticed how Charlotte became less ¡®scripted¡¯ in her actions whenever she interacted with him. So, Astrid just continued to approach the other and talk to her to ease the relationship. And as one could see, he had been very successful with that.


    Now, Charlotte no longer talked to him as if she was following some kind of ¡®to-do list¡¯. Even her smile had become much more natural. And thus, this scene became possible.


    ¡°The both of you did a wonderful job,¡± Director Hale said. ¡°If there was even one of you lacking, we wouldn¡¯t be able to get this scene in one take. Great job, you two.¡±


    After thanking the director, they got ready for the next scene to be shot.


    ¡ª¨C


    The shooting for the day ended at about 10 in the evening. Astrid felt very tired, but also very fulfilled. He always felt that way during a day of good filming.


    After returning to his hotel room, he took a quick shower and changed into his pajamas. He sat on his bed and reviewed his script. It had been two weeks since they started filming. Everything had been great so far. It¡¯s not just about the actors doing their job properly, but also the peaceful atmosphere and environment.


    Since everyone was just focused on filming, no one was making unnecessary trouble. Thus, filming went smoothly. If they continued on like this, they would be able to wrap up in two weeks.


    Speaking of, Snow would arrive here tomorrow. Although the character he¡¯s playing only had a short screentime, the role had a big impact on the overall story. Especially on Charlotte¡¯s character, Abby. One of the heaviest scene in the movie was between the two. Hopefully, they would be able to film that with no problem.


    As Astrid was reading his script, a notification at the upper corner of his Terminal showed that someone was requesting a video call. He clicked that and a smile automatically crossed his lips when he saw who it was.


    He answered the call, feeling that his tiredness was already melting away.


    And the handsome face of Wulfric appeared on the screen.


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 Chapter 543: WONDERFUL NEWS

    SNOW looked around the island he¡¯d be staying on for the next few days. It was a small island that looked exactly like a coastal town. If he didn¡¯t know that they were on a filming studio planet, he might have really thought that way.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Snow,¡± his manager, David, called to him.


    He nodded, and they got into the land vehicle that would bring them to the hotel.


    Today would be Snow¡¯s first filming for this movie. Although his role was not that big, he was determined to make the best out of it. He would play this role to the best of his ability. If he did, he believed that good opportunities would come his way after this movie was released.


    But first, he had to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t be ¡®devoured¡¯ by Charlotte Anderson once the two of them began acting together.


    Although both of them were newcomers to this industry, he¡¯s not embarrassed to admit that the other was much better than him in terms of acting. It¡¯s not just because the other had more experience, he just instantly felt it when they exchanged lines during the script reading.


    If he didn¡¯t give his best during their scene together, he would be led along by her. The result would probably be acceptable. But only solely because of Charlotte. The general public would probably not be able to notice that, but anyone with a good eye would be able to see that the scene was only good because Charlotte¡¯s acting was great.


    Snow hoped that it would not come to that. That¡¯s why he had been spending more time practicing the past two weeks. After school, he would go to Polaris to receive lessons. Then once he returned home, he would do individual practice. He just hoped that his hard work was enough.


    Arriving at the hotel, just as they entered the building, two familiar figures walked out of the elevator exactly at the same time. One was a beautiful young man with black hair and black eyes, and the other was a young woman with a listless expression, as if she hadn¡¯t fully woken up yet.


    When Snow saw them, the two also happened to glance in his direction.


    Astrid smiled brightly when he saw him and waved. ¡°Snow!¡±


    A small smile also appeared on Snow¡¯s lips. He raised his hand and also waved.


    He moved forward with his manager, and the other two also walked in their direction. The four of them met mid-way.


    ¡°Why are you here so early? I thought your filming schedule is still in the afternoon,¡± Astrid started.


    ¡°It¡¯s better to be early than late,¡± Snow only said. ¡°Besides, I also want to watch the morning shooting.¡±


    ¡°Then, have you two eaten breakfast?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°If not, then join us. We¡¯re on our way to the cafeteria.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the mention of that, Snow finally turned his gaze to Charlotte. The other looked like she was still not completely awake, as evidence of the big yawn she just made.


    Thinking of how he decided to get along well with Charlotte, having breakfast with her would definitely be a good start. But he should make sure first that he wasn¡¯t intruding.


    ¡°Is it alright if we join you?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Astrid said before turning to Charlotte. ¡°It¡¯s fine, right?¡±


    Charlotte yawned and then nodded. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°You three go on ahead,¡± David said.


    ¡°Are you sure? You also haven¡¯t eaten breakfast yet, right?¡± Snow asked his manager. Since they left the capital pretty early, he knew the other also hadn¡¯t eaten anything.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯d rather take a short nap. I can just drink a nutrient solution later,¡± David said. Then he suddenly turned to Astrid. ¡°But where is Miss Ellis?¡±


    Astrid let out an awkward laugh, especially because of the message he read in the manager¡¯s eyes. It¡¯s like the other was silently saying, ¡®Surely, you¡¯re not planning to eat alone with a female celebrity? What would you have done if we didn¡¯t appear at this moment?¡¯. His gaze certainly felt like that.


    ¡°She¡¯s already at the cafeteria,¡± he answered.


    Ellis went ahead of them to avoid Charlotte¡¯s manager, Krysta. Although the latter would surely join them later, for Ellis, it¡¯s still a win if she could decrease her interaction with her.


    It¡¯s not that Krysta was annoying. Ellis probably just couldn¡¯t handle the blatant admiration the other had for her. And when he said ¡®blatant¡¯, it¡¯s to the point that she looked like she would want to stick to Ellis¡¯ side 24/7 if she¡¯s not working as Charlotte¡¯s manager.


    Unfortunately for her, Ellis didn¡¯t share the same feelings.


    For everyone¡¯s sake, hopefully it wouldn¡¯t escalate further.


    David nodded, seemingly telling himself, ¡®as expected, there¡¯s no way Miss Ellis would make a rookie mistake like that¡¯.


    Astrid truly wanted to correct his misunderstanding. Even if he and Charlotte ended up having breakfast alone, the possibility of a controversy arising because of that was very low. And even if, on the off-chance, a controversy did arise, it could easily be proven wrong. After all, it¡¯s not true.


    Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, a relationship rumor between him and Charlotte would actually be good publicity. Although a certain white wolf would definitely make a fuss about it.


    As David walked to the elevator, the three of them walked in the direction of the cafeteria.


    Arriving there, Astrid quickly looked for Ellis. He easily spotted the other and walked to the table where she was. Snow and Charlotte followed along.


    Astrid purposely sat beside Ellis. That way, Snow and Charlotte could sit beside each other. Maybe sitting close to each other would close the distance between them.


    ¡°Have you already ordered, Sister Ellis?¡± he asked.


    Ellis was about to say no when a message notification sounded on her Terminal. When she saw that it was a message from Grant ¨C the president of Polaris, she quickly opened it.


    Reading the content of the message, her eyes widened in surprise. She raised her head and looked at Astrid.


    ¡°Astrid, you¡ª you¡¯ve been shortlisted for the Rookie of the Year Award at the Silver Moon Awards.¡±


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 Chapter 544: AWARD GIVING BODIES

    THERE were many film and television awards in the entertainment industry. If one added those purely for music, plays and musicals, then it would account for almost a hundred. But only less than 10 out of those could be considered truly noteworthy.


    And the Silver Moon Awards was one of them.


    It was one of the three most famous film awards in the entertainment industry, along with Riviera Excellence Film Awards and Gilded Choice Awards. But among the three, one could say that Silver Moon had the lowest prestige.


    Riviera Excellence Awards celebrated the pinnacle of artistic expression in cinema, placing a spotlight on films that transcended conventional boundaries and exemplified unparalleled creativity.


    Embracing the spirit of artistic innovation and storytelling prowess, this award sought to honor the cinematic achievements that resonated deeply with audiences and showcased the beauty and depth of the art form.


    Gilded Choice Awards, on the other hand, distinguished itself as a beacon for film critics and connoisseurs, emphasizing the discerning eye of the industry¡¯s most insightful observers.


    Recognizing films based on meticulous critique and expert analysis, Gilded Choice Awards highlighted cinematic brilliance that resonated with the critical community, acknowledging outstanding achievements in storytelling, direction, and performance.


    Silver Moon Awards took a different approach, shining a light on films that captivated the hearts of audiences worldwide. Focused on popularity and box-office success, Silver Moon Awards recognized the cinematic achievements that not only entertained but also connected with a broad spectrum of viewers.


    This award acknowledged the impact of films on the realm of public appreciation and commercial success.


    With these differences, one could easily understand why it was considered the least prestigious among the three. After all, it¡¯s an award mostly focused on popularity rather than talent.


    But that didn¡¯t mean it was less important than the other two. Bagging an award from Silver Moon was just a huge symbol of an actor¡¯s relevance and bankability. To some who only cared for popularity, getting a Silver Moon would be more than good enough.


    Astrid getting shortlisted for the Rookie of the Year Award was a testament to his soaring popularity. Although it¡¯s only a shortlist and not yet an official nomination, it¡¯s already considered a big achievement. Especially if one realized that he had only been in the industry for a little more than four months. And that he got shortlisted for a movie where his screentime didn¡¯t even pass 10 minutes.


    For one to be nominated in a film award, they should first appear in a movie. And the only movie he appeared in last year was [The Sleeping God]. If he thought about it, that movie really opened a lot of doors for him.


    Yes, he would eventually achieve what he had achieved today, even if he didn¡¯t appear there. But it surely wouldn¡¯t be this fast.


    He should definitely send a gift to the casting director that cast him. If not for him, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to audition for the role. No, wait, if we¡¯re talking about strictly cause and effect, should he thank that kidnapper/suicide bomber first?


    Astrid shook his head, amused by his own thoughts.


    Anyway, he was slightly surprised that he would be shortlisted. Mostly because he hadn¡¯t really thought about it. His focus was solely on filming that he had forgotten it was award season for movies and films.


    Most movies and film awards happened during the first quarter of the year. They honored movies that were released the year before. Since [The Sleeping God] was released last year, and was such a huge hit, it was not weird for someone part of it to be nominated.


    On the other hand, awards for TV series, streaming platforms, web series, and other shows were usually held at the last quarter of the year.


    Since he didn¡¯t really have any big or significant role in a show last year, aside from his role in [The Great War] ¨C which started at the middle of the last quarter of the year and still hadn¡¯t ended yet ¨C it¡¯s only natural that he didn¡¯t get nominated in anything.


    With how successful [The Great War] was, Astrid was certain he would at least be nominated in one of those award shows at the end of this year.


    But that¡¯s for later. He should focus right now on the very welcoming news Ellis delivered.


    ¡°Congratulations, Astrid,¡± Snow said after hearing what Ellis said. The curve of his eyes and the tilt of his mouth showed just how happy he was for his friend.


    He was actually surprised at first. But then he thought, it¡¯s only natural for Astrid to get such a nomination. Like, if he wasn¡¯t nominated for Rookie of the Year, then who else should be?


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± Charlotte also added. Despite her almost static voice, if one listened carefully, they could hear the hidden joy in it. Happiness for the achievement of a friend. ¡°It¡¯s for [The Sleeping God], right? You were really amazing there. No wonder you¡¯re nominated.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said with a light chuckle. ¡°But I¡¯m still on the shortlist. I may not end up being nominated at all.¡±


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t being pessimistic. In fact, he was quite positive about this. He just didn¡¯t want to jinx himself. A lot of things could happen, and a lot of factors could come into play. So it¡¯s better to ground himself so as not to be disappointed later on in case his prediction didn¡¯t come true.


    ¡°There¡¯s still a week for the final deliberation. Then Silver Moon¡¯s official account will release all the nominees,¡± Ellis said. ¡°Just as you said, it¡¯s better not to get excited until there¡¯s an official statement.¡±


    This was why he liked Astrid. Despite all his talents and all the opportunities that came his way, he still worked hard and didn¡¯t let any of the fame get in his head. Hopefully, this attitude would continue even if he reached the top.


    She had no doubt that Astrid would someday definitely reached that place. Maybe it would take a long time, maybe it would just take a few years. But no matter what, he would be at the top of this industry.


    A new king that would topple the current king, Valentine Davis.


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 Chapter 545: FILMING AGAIN

    THE beach was shrouded in a veil of quiet sorrow; the moon casting a ghostly glow over the forlorn sands. Abby stood alone, her heart echoing the mournful cadence of the waves. Because she knew this was a dream. The place where her brother often brought her to play.


    Since this was a dream, she had often hoped that she would see him. But only the silent sea welcomed her. As if mocking her. Telling her that she didn¡¯t deserve to see her brother, even in her dreams.


    At this point, she would have already wept bitterly. But somehow, she felt like there was something different in today¡¯s dream. For one, there was a moon shining above the sky that was always covered with clouds. There were even abundant stars scattered in the usually dark sky. Which then made the sea glimmer, as if there were thousands of jewels in them.


    When Abby looked around, she noticed a familiar figure emerging from the shadows. As the light from the moon and stars fell on that familiar figure, her body started to shake. And when that person¡¯s face finally appeared, she felt like her heart was slowly breaking apart.


    ¡°Hey, sis. Missed me?¡± Danny¡¯s cheerful voice wrapped around Abby, stirring emotions long buried.


    Abby nodded instinctively, a tear escaping the corner of her eye, as if the ocean within her sought release.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been carrying this weight for too long, Abby,¡± Danny¡¯s words, laden with understanding, as he wiped away the single tear that escaped her eye, hung in the air like a haunting melody.


    But Abby immediately understood what he meant. She knew this was just a dream. But she couldn¡¯t help but be affected. She couldn¡¯t help but think that her older brother was really standing in front of her right now and saying these things.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to let it go, Danny. It¡¯s already a part of me,¡± Abby confessed, her voice a fragile echo on the desolate shore.


    Danny gestured for her to sit beside him.


    ¡°Listen, what happened that day was not your fault. I made a choice out of love,¡± Danny spoke with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m your older brother. Protecting you was like second nature to me.


    Abby stared at her brother. He still looked the same as he did eight years ago. Like a bright teenage boy full of playfulness. While she had already reached the age he had.


    His time stopped at the age of 18, and her time continued on until she reached the same age. But in some way, her time was also stuck at that time. No matter how much she wanted to move forward, she couldn¡¯t. It¡¯s like her feet were stuck in a quicksand. The more she tried to move, the faster she sank beneath.


    ¡°But I could¡¯ve¡ª¡± Abby began, her words choked by the anguish that clutched at her throat.


    ¡°No ¡®buts.¡¯ Life takes unexpected turns, and we can¡¯t control everything. Blaming yourself won¡¯t change the past,¡± Danny interrupted.


    Abby met Danny¡¯s gaze, her vulnerability laid bare in the shimmering tears. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t seek for my forgiveness, Abby. Because there¡¯s nothing to forgive. So it¡¯s time you forgive yourself,¡± Danny said, his touch a gentle caress, wiping away the tear-streaked memories.


    ¡°I want you to be happy. It¡¯s what I¡¯ve always wanted for you,¡± he continued, his words an echo of love in the empty expanse.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can¡­¡± Abby confessed, her voice trembling with the weight of unreleased sorrow.


    ¡°You can. You¡¯re stronger than you think. Let go of the guilt, Abby. Live your life. Find happiness,¡± Danny urged, his voice a tender melody, a whisper of encouragement amidst the cries of her wounded heart.


    Abby¡¯s tears flowed freely now, a torrential release of pent-up emotion. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t promise that, Danny,¡± she sobbed, the grief pouring forth like a storm that refused to be contained.


    ***


    ¡°And cut!¡±


    As Director Hale shouted that, the staffs finally let out a sigh of relief. It was because this scene had been taken for five times already. One would probably think that five takes were not that much and were still within the tolerable range. But the problem was, the director wanted to successfully get this scene while the moon and the stars were visible.


    Even if this was an artificial planet, the day and night were still scheduled in a very prompt manner. Which meant that the moon above could potentially move and its position might not be in the desired position the director wanted.


    Yes, they could just edit it with special effects. But the director didn¡¯t want that. She preferred the movie to look more natural. It¡¯s not only for the aesthetic but also for the overall atmosphere of the movie.


    If they didn¡¯t get the scene right tonight, they would have to take this scene again tomorrow. Which would mess up the schedule. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t have to worry about that.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Snow asked Charlotte in a hesitant voice.


    Even though the other no longer had any expression on her face, her tears were still flowing continuously.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine,¡± Charlotte said as she wiped the tears away with a tissue she took out from the space ring she¡¯s wearing. ¡°Good job, by the way.¡±


    ¡°You too.¡±


    Just like Snow had thought, the other¡¯s acting almost devoured him. It was the reason why it took them five takes to finish this scene. Because he couldn¡¯t keep up with Charlotte. Good thing at the end, he was still able to give the performance the director wanted.


    ¡°Actually, the scene wouldn¡¯t be the same if not for Miss Anderson,¡± he continued honestly.


    Charlotte tilted her head and stared at him, as if observing him. ¡°Interesting. You really feel that way and yet you don¡¯t think of it as something negative.¡±


    ¡°Ahm, yeah?¡± Wasn¡¯t that only natural?


    Charlotte nodded. ¡°You¡¯re good, so don¡¯t put down yourself too much. And you can just call me Charlotte. Can I call you Snow?¡±


    Snow was a bit confused by the sudden jump of topics. But he still nodded at the end.


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 Chapter 546: THE EVER PROTECTIVE FAN

    ASTRID was watching on the side as Snow filmed his ¡®death¡¯ scene. It was the scene where his character, Danny, met his unfortunate demise.


    It¡¯s started like any ordinary day. The 10-year-old Abby was throwing a tantrum because her mother wouldn¡¯t allow her to go to the beach. She said there¡¯s an earthquake warning and everyone was advised to stay indoors. But she really had to finish her painting. The weather was so good, how could an earthquake happen? This was a perfect weather to finish her painting.


    Abby could only stomp her feet and pout. There¡¯s been a lot of earthquakes warning before, and yet none of them really caused any damage. So, in Abby¡¯s young mind, earthquake warning was not really dangerous.


    But no matter how much she sulked, her mother wasn¡¯t moved and still didn¡¯t allow her to leave. So, she could only hide in her room and cry. But not long after, her older brother knocked on the door of her room and told her he could take her to the beach for a few minutes. But after that, they should return and she should stop crying.


    With that, one could already imagine what had happened next.


    The earthquake happened, and a very strong at that. Since this was an island in the middle of the sea, the earthquake caused a huge tsunami that hit the coastal town. As the siblings were on the beach when it happened, they were, of course, the first one to be hit by the waves.


    The scene being filmed right now depicted how Danny protected Abby throughout the tsunami and how it became the biggest shackle in the latter¡¯s life.


    As the filming started, they changed the weather of the island to something resembling a storm. It¡¯s one of the advantages of filming on a filming studio planet. A lot of things, including the weather, could be controlled. The only thing beyond control was night and day. That¡¯s something involving the whole planet. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unless a film had an enormous budget and could rent a whole filming studio planet, then yes, there wouldn¡¯t be any problem to have that adjusted. But that hardly ever happened. Because it would only be a big waste of money.


    Since the current weather was almost like a storm, there were a lot of tents put up around the filming site to protect the staffs. Astrid was also in one of these tents. Charlotte was also with him. They were the only actors who decided to watch this filming.


    The environment for this shooting was very uncomfortable for observing scenes. Even Ellis and Charlotte¡¯s manager decided to opt out and stayed at the hotel. But Astrid chose to stay and observe. Not only for learning purposes, but also for additional support to Snow. After all, this scene was very physically demanding.


    Knowing that one person was there to support him could be reassuring and boost his confidence. And Astrid was not alone. Charlotte was also here.


    After their first filming the other day, the two somehow started to get along. Which was good. With them getting along, their rapport became better and there were much fewer mistakes during filming their scenes together. That¡¯s why in just three days, Snow was able to finish all his scenes.


    Astrid stared at the virtual screen that was monitoring the scene. Watching Snow readying himself to go into the sea once again.


    ¡°Fighting, Snow.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    After Snow filmed his last scene, he went back to the capital the day after. Astrid felt that it would have been better if he could continue to stay.


    Actually, from what Snow had told him, he did plan to stay for a few more days since the leave he took from school was one week. But his agent managed to get him a TV show gig, so he had to return to the capital after he¡¯s done filming here.


    Now it¡¯s already been four days since the other left. Filming continued on the island. They had already shot the majority of the film. In a week or so, they would be mostly done.


    Since this movie didn¡¯t really need that much of a special effects, post-production would probably last for a month. Marketing and promotion would be next. With that, the movie would probably be released in two months.


    Yes, that¡¯s a bit fast. But that¡¯s just the normal speed of film production in this era. With technology so advance, it¡¯s only natural. That¡¯s why the number of movies being released in a year had also increased by a thousandth fold compared to his past life.


    After another tiring and fulfilling day, Astrid went back to his hotel room. He decided to just call on room service since he really wanted to quickly take a shower.


    Feeling refreshed after a quick shower, he changed into comfortable pajamas before calling room service. As he was waiting for his dinner, he decided to browse [Cyberspace].


    Surprisingly enough, he saw some comments mentioning him. And not even on a positive note.


    Since it¡¯s awards seasons, many had been speculating if he would be nominated in any important award giving bodies. This discourse started because of his high rank in the recently released [Star List]. Many said that if he didn¡¯t get nominated in one of the more important award shows, then what¡¯s the use of his ranking?


    Which was a very stupid train of logic, in his opinion.


    [@astridsnumber1fan: Are you people truly stupid? There are only three awards that you people consider ¡®important¡¯, and Aster only has a chance of being nominated in one. And that for a movie where his screentime didn¡¯t even last 10 minutes. With those odds, you lot are really planning to mock him if he¡¯s not nominated? Sigh.


    As time passed, you people only continue to prove just how brainless you all are.]


    Astrid stopped for a moment reading that, and then he just burst out laughing. Ah, really. His number one fan was truly the most adorable fan in the whole Empire.


    Thinking of Wulfric, he immediately sent a video call request to the other.


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 Chapter 547: CUTE (HOT?) VIDEO CALL

    WULFRIC was in the middle of taking a shower when he heard the special alert tone from his Terminal. It was the dedicated ring tone for Aster. His Terminal ringing now meant that the other was requesting a video call to him. Before he could think, his body had already moved.


    He walked out of the shower stall and picked up his Terminal that was on the countertop. Seeing Aster¡¯s name on the virtual screen, he quickly answered the call.


    Astrid, in another galaxy, was about to greet Wulfric when the other answered his call, but stopped as soon as an unexpected image appeared on the virtual screen. What he saw was not Wulfric¡¯s handsome face, but another thing altogether.


    It was a pair of pectoral muscles amidst a wide expanse of healthy, tanned skin. Droplets of water glistened on the contours of those well-defined pectoral muscles. The cascading water highlighted the sculpted curves, tracing a path down his chest. A single, glistening drop navigated its way through the delineated grooves, descending with precision over the rippling landscape of his eight-pack abs.


    The moisture on his chest highlighted the defined muscles, showcasing strength in each chiseled contour.


    Astrid blinked. Then he felt heat slowly rising up to his face. He quickly averted his gaze. Obviously, the other was probably in the middle of taking a shower before answering his call. Now he suddenly felt like a pervert, peeking at something he shouldn¡¯t.


    ¡°Aster?¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s call brought Astrid back to his senses. He cleared his throat, still trying his best not to look at the other.


    ¡°Can you at least put on a bathrobe first?¡±


    When Wulfric heard that, he finally realized that he was, well, naked. His whole face immediately heated up. Did he just answer the call while naked? Was he crazy? No wonder Aster looked away as soon as he saw him.


    ¡°Wa-wait a second.¡± He put down his Terminal and grabbed a bathrobe nearby. The moment he was sufficiently clothed, he quickly explained to Aster, ¡°I- I didn¡¯t do that on purpose! I was showering, and I heard your call. I was so excited that I just answered it before I could make myself presentable. It¡¯s absolutely not on purpose!¡±


    He had to explain since he didn¡¯t want Aster to think that he¡¯s some kind of pervert that had a habit of talking to someone naked. The only consolation in this was that the virtual screen didn¡¯t capture his whole body. Or else, he might be really labeled as some kind of exhibitionist.


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s fine. Just be careful next time.¡±


    Wulfric let out a sigh of relief when he heard that. Then he noticed that Aster was fanning himself. There was even a tinge of red on his cheeks. He tilted his head and asked;


    ¡°Is it hot on the location where you¡¯re filming?¡±


    Astrid stopped fanning himself and was momentarily confused as to why Wulfric would ask that question. It didn¡¯t really take that long for him to realize why. His face was probably red, along with him fanning himself, which quickly led Wulfric to conclude that he was feeling hot because of the high temperature where he was.


    He let out a soft laugh. That was really the first thing that came to Wulfric¡¯s mind, instead of thinking that he might be feeling shy and embarrassed because he saw his naked upper body. He didn¡¯t know if the other was just clueless and dense, or if he really didn¡¯t think that his body could have such an effect on other people. Maybe it¡¯s a mixture of both.


    He could have used this to tease him, or better yet, flirt with him. And yet, here he was, worrying if he was feeling hot because of the temperature.


    Really, how could the fearsome general of the Empire be this dense and innocent at the same time? Two words that people would never associate with Wulfric de Lunaris. If anyone heard him describe the White Wolf of Alluna like that, people would probably think of him as crazy.


    But in situations like this, those two words fit Wulfric perfectly. Which only made the other much more adorable, in his opinion.


    Astrid didn¡¯t remind Wulfric that even if the island where they¡¯re filming was hot, he was staying in a hotel and not in a tent outside. Which meant that he could control the temperature in his hotel room to make him comfortable. So, there¡¯s no way he would be hot or cold.


    In any case, that wasn¡¯t the reason he called the other. Hence, he decided to promptly change the topic. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If you¡¯re in the middle of showering, you can finish first. I¡¯ll just call you later.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m already almost done anyway,¡± Wulfric said with a wave of his hand. ¡°By the way, I just heard that you might be nominated for an award. Congratulations!¡±


    ¡°Have you heard that from Hildred?¡± Astrid asked in a teasing tone. Because that¡¯s the excuse the other always used, when in fact he most likely read it on [Cyberspace] while using his fan account.


    Wulfric only gave an awkward laugh while scratching his cheek. ¡°Haha¡­ yeah, sort of.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, but it¡¯s not yet official. I was only shortlisted. Maybe I won¡¯t even be officially nominated.¡±


    ¡°How can that be when you¡¯re the best out of all the rookies out there?¡± Wulfric said, as if appalled by that possibility.


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not being biased because of your feelings for me?¡±


    ¡°Well, maybe there¡¯s a bit of that. But even if that wasn¡¯t the case, I will still have the same opinion,¡± Wulfric said indignantly. ¡°You¡¯re just that talented.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have feelings for me, I don¡¯t think you would even be interested in the entertainment industry,¡± Astrid said in a joking tone.


    Wulfric was about to respond, but then saw a notification on the side of the virtual screen. It was from [Cyberspace], a post that was related to Aster. The moment he read it, his eyes widened slightly.


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 Chapter 548: OUR CHANGE

    Silver Moon Awards v: [We¡¯re pleased to announce the nominees for the Rookie of the Year Award. Recognizing exceptional newcomers in the world of cinema. Check out the contenders for this prestigious honor. Who do you think deserves to take home the title?]


    And under that post were the names of the nominees, along with a short clip of their appearance on the movie they were in.


    There were five names. Wulfric bypassed the first four and din¡¯t even bother to look at them. His gazed just zeroed in on the fifth name.


    [Astrid Townsend (The Sleeping God)]


    He almost jumped up in joy when he read Aster¡¯s name. But he resisted the urge, since he was still on a video call with Aster. Instead, he looked at the other and shared the good news.


    ¡°Aster, it¡¯s already official. You¡¯re nominated for Rookie of the Year at that Silver Moon Awards!¡±


    Astrid was slightly surprised at first, mainly because he didn¡¯t expect that that would be Wulfric¡¯s next words with the way their conversation was going. Then he remembered how the other paused for a while earlier, as if reading something. That must be the announcement from the Silver Moon Awards.


    Although he had already somewhat expected that he might indeed be nominated, knowing that it was now official still made him very happy. But perhaps not as much as a certain prince.


    Wulfric¡¯s eyes sparkled with sheer delight. A wide, infectious grin stretched across their face, radiating pure happiness. It¡¯s as if he was the one who got nominated and not him. No, even if he was, let¡¯s say, about to be given a medal of honor, he probably still wouldn¡¯t be as happy as he was now.


    Simply because this award was for Astrid, that¡¯s why he was so genuinely happy.


    Looking at Wulfric now, what a stark difference it was when they first met. Back then, the other only cared for what would be amusing or interesting to him. Not even caring about the feelings of others.


    But look at him now. He looked so giddy with happiness just because Astrid was nominated for an award. It¡¯s like a complete 180. Not that he¡¯s complaining. The fact that Wulfric was changing was a sign that there was progress.


    Speaking of first meeting¡­


    For some reason, no, maybe fueled by the earlier incident, an image of Wulfric naked¡¯s body flashed in his mind. That tanned body sculpted like a Greek statue, from his biceps, to his pectoral muscles, to those eight-packs abs, and¡­ that long and big eggplant. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He stopped. He once again felt his face heating up. That eggplant was probably the only thing on Wulfric¡¯s body different from a standard Greek statue. No, stop thinking about that, you perv!


    The fact that he¡¯s reacting like this when he wasn¡¯t even affected the first time he saw it was proof that, just like Wulfric, he¡¯s also changing. At least when it came to his feelings for the other, that was definitely the case.


    ¡°Aster?¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s call once again pulled Astrid back from his own thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just a bit surprised about the nomination,¡± he said, making up an excuse.


    Wulfric nodded in understanding. It¡¯s natural to be surprised. The blush on Aster¡¯s face must be from excitement because of this news.


    ¡°Congratulations, Aster. What did I say? I knew you will definitely get nominated,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s no doubt in my mind that you will get this award.¡±


    Astrid chuckled when he heard that. ¡°Thank you for your confidence in me, but let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves. Yes, it would be great if I won, but it¡¯s also fine if I don¡¯t. Being nominated was already a huge recognition.¡±


    And he¡¯s not just saying that for lip service. Of course, it would be nice to win. Especially since, out of the three major movie awards, Silver Moon was the only one giving Rookie of the Year award. But since it¡¯s not an acting award, he wasn¡¯t very fixated on it.


    Now, if this was an award for the best actor or supporting actor, that would be a different matter altogether.


    ¡°What are you saying? You will definitely win,¡± Wulfric said, seemingly offended that he was lacking ¡®fighting spirit¡¯. ¡°If you don¡¯t, then that means that this Silver Moon is rigged. Because that¡¯s the only way you could lose.¡±


    That almost made Astrid burst into laughter. He didn¡¯t know if the other was just too blinded by his love for him that he probably considered him the best actor in the whole Empire, or if he was just that confident in him.


    ¡°But what if I still lose?¡± he asked in a teasing manner.


    ¡°Then I will order an investigation and have the organizers of that rigged award show jailed.¡±


    Wulfric said that in such a righteous tone that one would believe he was talking about sending heinous criminals to prison.


    This time, Astrid finally couldn¡¯t hold back and just laughed out loud.


    ¡ª¨C


    After the announcement of his nomination, Astrid received congratulatory calls and messages from his family and friends.


    As always, his parents were very up to date about the things happening to him in the industry. It¡¯s probably the result of his mother¡¯s efforts. She¡¯s making sure that they stayed up to date to any news related to him. Even Reas, who¡¯s not very interested in things like this, was also keeping up with his news.


    Just by that simple thing, Astrid once again felt how lucky he was having them as a family. Because those were the things he had never experienced in his past life.


    Aside from his good news, there was another piece of good news that the official account of Silver Moon had posted. One of his friends was also nominated for another category.


    [Congratulations on your best supporting actor nomination!]


    He typed that and sent it to Lauren.


    That¡¯s right. The other was also nominated for his role in [The Sleeping God].


    Astrid wondered if that brother of his at least called Lauren to congratulate the other.


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 Chapter 549: AFTER A BATH

    LAUREN was having a relaxing bath when the news of him being nominated for Silver Moon Awards was released. Since he didn¡¯t have the habit of bringing his Terminal to the bathroom, he had no idea about this. Right now, he was still lounging in his bathtub, drinking wine.


    After an exhausting day, indulging in a long bath was truly the best. Lauren could feel the tiredness in his muscles slowly melting away. He wanted to thank whoever invented the therapeutic salt bath. Compared to ordinary salt baths, it had more benefits, and the effect was also a hundred times better.


    He put down the glass of wine on the side, leaned back, and closed his eyes. He had been so busy at the start of this year that he hardly had any break.


    After entering the top 50 of the [Star List], a lot of offers came and his agent accepted all of it. He knew that the other did that so he could easily retain his current rank. After all, the easiest way to do it was to stay relevant. None of the offers were also bad, so he didn¡¯t make a fuss about it. But that didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t exhausting.


    He was so busy, he barely had time to go out and have fun. The only time he did was when Astrid invited him for a little celebration dinner at his apartment building. And that¡¯s just for a few hours!


    He couldn¡¯t even have a proper talk with Reas.


    No- wait, that¡¯s not really the point.


    Was it? ¨C heart.


    Of course, you stupid heart! ¨C brain.


    Lauren shook his head. Why was he making up conversation between his organs? DId he have too much wine?


    He decided to finish his bath and quickly go to sleep. He¡¯s obviously too tired to think cohesively. It¡¯s better to just rest.


    So, after a few more minutes of soaking, he stood up and had himself dried. Wearing a soft bathrobe, he walked out of the bathroom. The first thing he noticed when he did was the notification of his Terminal going off.


    His brows furrowed. Did something happen? Was someone sent to the hospital or something? Thinking so, he quickly picked up his Terminal and saw the dozens of messages flashing on the virtual screen.


    But for some reason, her gaze immediately zeroed in on Reas¡¯ name that was on the very bottom. Before his brain could think further, his hand had already moved and clicked on the name. Then Reas¡¯ message appeared on the screen.


    [Congratulations on being nominated! I don¡¯t really know much about things like this, but this must be something big, right? Aster is also nominated in another category. Wishing hard for the both of you to win. Congrats again!]


    Lauren was momentarily confused by all the information in that message. Nominated? In what, exactly? And Astrid was also nominated in another category?


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to realize the possible answer to that. But to make sure, he quickly opened Chris¡¯ message, or rather, messages.


    [Lauren, you did it! You¡¯re nominated for the best supporting category at Silver Moon Awards!]


    [Why aren¡¯t you replying? I¡¯ve been calling you. Are you still taking a bath?]


    [Lauren, once you read my message, call me immediately.]


    Lauren¡¯s head was blank for a second. A nomination at the Silver Moon Awards? And for the best supporting actor category? He was astonished at first. But that didn¡¯t last long because excitement quickly replaced it.


    He had been told by his agent that he was shortlisted for the best supporting actor. But he didn¡¯t really expect too much from it. After all, only five people could be nominated, and there were probably 10 or more other movies which had been as successful in the box office as [The Sleeping God]. But who would have thought he would be one of those five?


    Anyway, this was the first time he was nominated for an acting award in one of the three major film awards. Although he had been nominated and also won some awards before. But all of those were from minor award-giving bodies. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He¡¯s definitely not downplaying all those awards he had won. He¡¯s thankful for each and every one of them. He¡¯s just simply pointing out that being nominated and winning at one of the three major film awards was of a different magnitude.


    Even if the Silver Moon Awards was the least focused on acting among the three major film awards, winning there would still be a great boost for one¡¯s career. Not to mention, a validation for one¡¯s own effort.


    After calming down a bit, he decided to call Chris to get more details. But before he could, someone called him first. The moment he saw who it was, he forgot that he was about to call Chris and just found himself answering the call first.


    Then a man with ice blue hair and teal-gray eyes appeared on his virtual screen.


    ¡°Lauren, congrats¨C¡°


    Reas was about to congratulate Lauren when he noticed that the other was wearing a bathrobe. Although Lauren was fully covered, he somehow felt awkward all of a sudden. Similar to the feeling of seeing something he shouldn¡¯t have seen. Which was very stupid. Because there¡¯s absolutely nothing in front of him that should make him feel embarrassed. And yet, here he was.


    Blushing over a bathrobe.


    He averted his gaze and cleared his throat. ¡°Congratulations on being nominated.¡±


    Because of too much excitement and happiness, Lauren didn¡¯t notice anything weird and just grinned. ¡°Thank you. Ah, right, you said Aster is also nominated, right? I just came out of the bath, so I haven¡¯t really read any posts or articles yet. But was it for rookie of the year?¡±


    Reas, who tried to get his mind out of the gutter at the mention of ¡®bath¡¯, nodded with a serious expression.


    Once again, Lauren didn¡¯t notice anything and just said, ¡°Our pairing must have been really well received if both of us were nominated.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just because of that,¡± Reas said indignantly, as if he didn¡¯t agree. ¡°It¡¯s because both of you did a great job in your roles.¡±


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 Chapter 550: REAS CONVINCING HIMSELF

    AND Reas was not just saying that because one was his brother and the other was a friend. It was because their acting was so effective that they were able to give justice to the role. To the point that many people thought they would make a great couple.


    Of course, chemistry might have something to do with it. But he didn¡¯t want Lauren to only attribute it to that. It definitely wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want the other to think that his pairing with Astrid was special.


    Yes, it¡¯s not because of that.


    As he was busily convincing himself, Lauren, on the other hand, was already feeling moved by Reas¡¯ words.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°But seriously, a part of why my character in [The Sleeping God] was received that well was because of Aster. If the one who played the role of ¡®god¡¯ was someone else, it probably wouldn¡¯t have the same effect. That¡¯s why this nomination would not be possible without him.¡±


    Well, if Lauren thought so, it would be weird if Reas insisted that that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°Ah, right. I haven¡¯t congratulated Aster yet,¡± Lauren said, as if only remembering about it. ¡°You probably have already congratulated him.¡±


    Reas scratched his cheek awkwardly. Although he did send a message to his brother, congratulating him for being nominated, Lauren was actually the one he called first.


    No, he actually tried to call Astrid first. But he thought the other must be busy answering calls from their parents, as well as the general. So, he thought it would be okay to call Lauren first.


    Yes, that¡¯s definitely the reason and not because he couldn¡¯t wait to congratulate the other.


    He just chose not to respond to that comment just to be on the safe side.


    ¡°Hey, Reas, if I win this award, shouldn¡¯t you treat me to a meal?¡± Lauren suddenly said with a teasing grin. ¡°If I lost, then I¡¯ll treat you instead.¡±


    Reas raised a brow. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a bit unfair?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s an unfair in that?¡± Lauren pouted. ¡°If I win, you¡¯ll treat me to a meal. If I lose, then I will treat you. Isn¡¯t that very fair?¡±


    ¡°How is that fair when it¡¯s almost certain that you will win?¡±


    Lauren stopped and then burst out laughing. ¡°Certain? Are you planning to bribe the judges to let me win?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to do that. With how great you are in that role, only a blind judge will not choose you as the winner.¡±


    Reas stated it with such unwavering confidence that even Lauren found himself starting to believe in his inevitable victory. A smile crept across his face, and a warmth spread in his heart. This guy had a way of saying things that unexpectedly made him feel fuzzy and giddy.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be expecting you to treat me to a pretty good meal,¡± he could only say at the end. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The announcement of the Silver Moon Awards regarding the nominees for this year was met with different reactions. There were those who agreed, those who didn¡¯t, and those who simply congratulated everyone who was nominated.


    It¡¯s natural for there to be a difference in opinion. After all, everyone wanted their own favorites to be on that nomination list. That¡¯s why it¡¯s also natural that there were some who didn¡¯t agree with Astrid¡¯s nomination. What was surprising was that they weren¡¯t that many sharing the same opinion. Most of them were simply from haters and trolls.


    This was probably because of Astrid¡¯s ranking on the [Star List]. Being in the top 100 after just three months of debut was enough qualification to be nominated in the Rookie of the Year category of the Silver Moon Awards. Logical people would think that if they questioned that, they would also be questioning ESRA for ranking him so high.


    And so, after the Silver Moon Awards¡¯ announcement, time passed by swiftly. Before anyone knew, it had already been 10 days since then.


    Time moved for everyone. And the same was true for the cast and crew of [Serendipitous Summer].


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°And cut!¡±


    After Director Hale shouted that, everyone in the scene applauded. Not only because it was a perfectly shot scene but also because it marked the conclusion of filming for the movie. Yes, that was the last scene to be filmed.


    And with that, the movie¡¯s production officially ended.


    Astrid did not forget to go around and thanked the staffs for all their help and hard work this past month. Following him, Charlotte also did the same.


    When he arrived in front of the director, he said with a sincere smile, ¡°Thank you, Director Hale. Filming this past month has been very fun. It¡¯s been incredible working with everyone.¡±


    ¡°Thanks to the director¡¯s guidance, I was able to act better,¡± Charlotte added. ¡°I hope we can all work together again.¡±


    Director Hale gave out a light laugh. ¡°What are you saying? If there¡¯s someone who should be thanking anyone here, it¡¯s me. Because of you two, we were able to film everything smoothly and quickly. As a director, it¡¯s the best when the actors I¡¯m working with perfectly deliver the performance I¡¯m imagining in my head. For that, thank you.¡±


    And that was the truth. She was really lucky that in her debut film, these two were the main actors she worked with.


    ¡°And oh, don¡¯t forget to attend the wrap-up party tonight, okay?¡± she added, before walking away with the camera crew.


    ¡°Wrap-up party¡­ it will be my first time attending one,¡± Charlotte commented on the side. She glanced at Astrid. ¡°How about you?¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be my first. I attended one when I filmed [The Sleeping God],¡± Astrid responded. Then he noticed that Charlotte looked worried. She¡¯s probably thinking she¡¯s the only ¡®newbie¡¯ at wrap-up parties. ¡°Relax. We¡¯re just a small filming crew.


    The wrap-up party will definitely be more on the informal side. So, you don¡¯t have to worry about how you should act. Just be your normal self.¡±


    Charlotte visibly let out a sigh of relief. ¡°If Astrid said so, then I shall believe it.¡±


    Astrid just chuckled in amusement because of the other¡¯s reaction.


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 Chapter 551: THE DAY BEFORE

    TIME continued to flow and ebb. With this passage of time, it was already the day before the Silver Moon Awards.


    Befitting of a major film award, there were a lot of speculations online about who would win this and that award. Most of the discussion centered on the major award categories, like the best actor, best actress, etc. But surprisingly, there was a small amount that was debating who would get the Rookie of the Year award.


    [I think it will definitely be Ethan Kim. He has the most seniority among all the nominees.]


    ¨C [Does debuting a few years ahead a requirement for one to win Rookie of the Year? Like winning this late in a category with the word ¡®rookie¡¯ in it when they had been in the industry for that long is just ironic.]


    ¨C [Hey, upstairs, no debut year shaming! What does it matter if Ethan is only nominated now? This was his first movie, and that¡¯s all that mattered!]


    [Isn¡¯t Mia Rossi the most probable one to win? She¡¯s the only one who had a lead role in all the nominees. Her acting was also no joke. My bet is on her.]


    ¨C [I think so too. She deserves it.]


    ¨C [Yes, she¡¯s the lead role. But the movie she starred in was a rom-com that didn¡¯t really need that much of acting talent.]


    ¨C [That¡¯s not all. Among the five nominees, her movie earned the least in the box-office. Have you all forgotten what kind of award Silver Moon is?]


    [Stop with all the debate. It would obviously be Astrid Townsend. One, he has the highest ranking on the <Star List>. Two, <The Sleeping God> earned way, way more than all the movies nominated this year. And three, well, he acted the best out of the five. So¡­


    yeah, he¡¯ll be the winner.]


    That arrogant post attracted a lot of aggro. Which then lead to Astrid getting a ton of hate from the fans of the other four nominees. Of course, his fans wouldn¡¯t just stand still as he got battered by hate.


    Astrid¡¯s core fans were now pretty solid. And with his number one fan leading the way, it¡¯s no longer easy to drag his name around.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [Please don¡¯t use Aster¡¯s name to attract aggro. Even if you¡¯re just stating the obvious, those with fragile sensibilities will obviously react negatively to it. So, it¡¯s better to just shut up for now, and be arrogant later once Aster wins. After all, only the victors have the right to be arrogant.]


    This post was even more arrogant than the one who was obviously just attracting aggro. But somehow, this post didn¡¯t really make that many people angry. Probably because a lot of Astrid¡¯s fans were commenting jokingly under the post that the comments of others who were really mad just got buried.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid chuckled when he read Wulfric¡¯s post on [Cyberspace]. Really, every time this guy posted something, it always made him laugh.


    It had been over two weeks since he finished filming [Serendipitous Summer]. His schedule had been pretty lax since then. He didn¡¯t have any work and just went to school. Which could be considered as a mini-vacation. And that¡¯s fine. Since [The Great War] was still ongoing, and receiving a lot of good response, his public awareness hadn¡¯t decreased, even with the lack of public appearances.


    So, he spent these past two weeks pretty much relaxed. That¡¯s why he had more time browsing [Cyberspace]. Every time he read a post or a comment from ¡®White Wolf¡¯ ¨C his self-proclaimed number one fan, it wouldn¡¯t fail to make him laugh and smile. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although, he sometimes did wonder how come the other had time to ¡®fanboy¡¯ when he was already so busy. He shouldn¡¯t be slacking, right?


    ¡°Astrid, are you listening?¡±


    Ellis¡¯ question pulled Astrid out of his own thoughts. He gave the other an apologetic smile.


    ¡°Sorry, I was just looking at something.¡± After he said that, he promptly closed his Terminal.


    They were currently in Ellis¡¯ office in the Polaris¡¯ building. Ellis was showing him photos of clothes Aurora Bliss sent. There were a bunch of them and Aurora wanted him to choose at least three sets that he liked the best. That way, when he went to [Bliss] tomorrow, the time it would take to ¡®dress him up¡¯ would be significantly less.


    Although Aurora wasn¡¯t his official stylist, when Ellis asked if the other could style Astrid for the Silver Moon Awards, she readily accepted the commission. The other most likely really enjoyed styling him the first time. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t hesitate to agree.


    Which Astrid was very thankful for. Since tomorrow would be his first red-carpet event for a film award, it¡¯s important that he looked presentable. There would be a lot of press there tomorrow. Articles about the best and worst dressed would definitely appear. He didn¡¯t mind not being one of the former, but at least he didn¡¯t want to be part of the latter.


    With Aurora around, he would definitely be able to avoid that happening.


    ¡°So, which one of these do you prefer?¡± Ellis asked as she showed different sets of clothes on the virtual board.


    Astrid looked at each one seriously. It took him about 15 minutes before he decided on the three sets he liked the most. One was deep blue, the other wine red, and the last one was charcoal gray.


    Ellis looked at the sets of clothes he chose and nodded her head.


    ¡°These colors really do suit you. Then, I¡¯ll send them to Miss Bliss.¡± After sending the cloth samples to Aurora Bliss, she continued, ¡°We will go to [Bliss] in the afternoon tomorrow. So, there¡¯s no need for you to wake up early. Get a good night¡¯s sleep and make sure to do proper skincare. You need to look your best tomorrow.


    So, even those people who don¡¯t like you would have no choice but to think, ¡®ah, this actor is really good-looking¡¯. Okay?¡±


    Astrid laughed a little at that, but still nodded and agreed. After all, Ellis didn¡¯t say anything wrong.


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 Chapter 552: DILLIGENT WULF

    WULFRIC finished signing the last document, just in time for Leland to enter his office. Before the other could speak, he beat him to it.


    ¡°I already finished my work for today. I refuse to do any overtime.¡±


    Leland raised a brow. ¡°Okay? I¡¯m just here to remind Your Highness about the tactical drill tomorrow. In case you forget about it.¡± S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wulfric stopped and then cleared his throat. ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t forget that.¡±


    In truth, he really had forgotten about the drill. It¡¯s because the only thing that¡¯s in his mind for the past few days was that Silver Moon Awards. Aside from fighting against trolls online, there was also this particular ¡®thing¡¯ that boggled him for quite a while.


    Three days ago, his fan account in [Cyberspace] received a private message from a person proclaiming themselves as someone from the PR department of Polaris. They asked if he would be willing to be the president of Aster¡¯s fan club ¨C Starlight.


    He was skeptical at first. So, he had someone from the technical team check the identity of the person who sent him the message. And it was proven that the other was telling the truth. Which meant that they were really asking him to be the president of the fan club.


    He was actually thrilled and excited at first. Because wouldn¡¯t being the president of the fan club meant that he was indeed the number one fan of Aster. But his brain worked at the right time and he quickly realized that he couldn¡¯t just readily agree.


    Even if he¡¯s not familiar with how a fan club worked and such, he understood that it required a lot of time and attention, especially from those who held positions in the club. Although it seemed like he had a lot of free time because of how much he spent arguing with people online, he was actually doing that during his short breaks.


    He simply learned how to use that time to reply to as many trolls as possible.


    But being the president of the fan club was different. He had to do a lot more than his short breaks would allow. After all, it would not just include supervising the other members and providing leadership, he might also have to organize and coordinate fan club events and maybe even manage the club¡¯s [Cyberspace] account. All of which he didn¡¯t have the time to do.


    Despite that, Wulfric didn¡¯t want to relinquish this position to anyone else. If some other fellow became the club president, what if they didn¡¯t do a good job and give a bad reputation to Aster¡¯s fandom? But more importantly, being the club president meant that they would have a chance to personally contact Aster. What if they developed feelings and became a stalker? That definitely wouldn¡¯t do.


    You see, he was in a complete bind. He wanted to do it and yet he couldn¡¯t. Unless he could separate himself into two. One doing his job as a general, and the other just spending his time as a fanboy. But how could that be possible?


    No, there might actually be another way. But¡­


    He should stop for now. He still had some time left before he was required to give a final decision. Right now, he should focus on what¡¯s more important.


    That¡¯s right. The Silver Moon Awards where Aster was nominated.


    With that, he stood up. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll leave.¡±


    Leland wasn¡¯t even able to give a proper response because the prince dashed out of the office, quite literally. Seeing the prince¡¯s disappearing back, he could only attribute this weird behavior to Astrid Townsend.


    Why? Because whenever the prince started acting out of the norm, it¡¯s always related to that young man. At least that had been the case since the two met.


    Leland shook his head. Well, it really didn¡¯t matter as long as the prince did his job properly. And if things started to get out of control, then he just had to step up and prevent things from spiraling.


    After Wulfric left the base, he quickly drove back to his house.


    From what he had found out, there would be a two hour red carpet event before the main award show. That¡¯s why he made sure to finish everything early today. So, he could watch the live stream of the red carpet until the award show. Or at least, until Aster¡¯s name was called as the winner of the Rookie of the Year award.


    As his flying car was moving to its destination, Wulfric sent a message to Aster. Because he didn¡¯t have much time the whole day, this would be his first message to the other today.


    [Aster, just wanted to drop a quick note to say how incredibly excited I am for you tonight! Your talent is undeniable, and no matter what happens, you¡¯re a star in my eyes. Take it all in, enjoy every second, and know that I¡¯m cheering you on from afar. Break a leg and have a blast at the award show!]


    After he sent that, he waited for Aster¡¯s reply. But it didn¡¯t come immediately. The ¡®read¡¯ sign didn¡¯t even appear on his message.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t mind. Since it¡¯s almost time for the red carpet event, Aster was probably very busy right now. He might not even have time to check his Terminal.


    Arriving at his house, he parked the car and then walked inside. He went straight to the home theater, which was a new addition to his house. He had already set up everything in the morning. All he had to do was turn the thing on and it would be on the live stream of the red carpet event.


    Before turning it on, he fixed himself a popcorn and a drink. Then he sat down and turned the projector on. It was just in time for the event to start.


    The emcee for the red carpet event started saying something and interviewing people walking on the red carpet. Wulfric didn¡¯t really care for any of them and just ate his popcorn.


    But just as he was about to eat another kernel, someone appeared on the virtual screen, making him drop the bucket he¡¯s holding.


    ¡°¡­Aster?¡±


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 Chapter 553: FIRST RED CARPET (I)

    ¡°GET ready, you two. We¡¯re almost at the venue,¡± Chris, Lauren¡¯s agent, excitedly said.


    The reason for his excitement was not only because his artist was nominated for a major award in Silver Moon, but also because he was finally sitting beside his idol, Ellis Payne.


    He, Ellis, and their artists ¨C Lauren and Astrid ¨C were sitting in a black flying sedan limousine, and were on their way to Celestial Plaza. It¡¯s the venue for the Silver Moon Awards. Actually, even though it was called a ¡®plaza¡¯, it was actually more of an auditorium. It¡¯s the grandest auditorium in the capital and many kinds of events were held there.


    Since both Lauren and Astrid were nominated, and for the same movie even, it was quickly decided that they walked the red carpet together. So, from the company, they travelled to Celestial Plaza together.


    The two were sitting together on the other seat, while Chris was sitting with Ellis. There was also a designated driver in the front.


    Since both of them were busy, even if they were working at the same company, Chris wasn¡¯t able to have a proper conversation with Ellis. Now that they¡¯re attending the same award show, maybe he could finally ask for some advice from the other on how to be a great agent.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready since earlier,¡± Lauren said. ¡°Although I¡¯m a bit afraid people won¡¯t notice me because I¡¯ll be walking with someone so pretty,¡± he added with a bit of dramatic flair.


    Astrid chuckled and glanced at Lauren.


    The other was wearing a tailored charcoal gray tuxedo with satin lapels. The tuxedo jacket accentuated his frame, while the charcoal gray trousers provide a sleek and timeless look. Paired with a crisp white dress shirt and a sapphire brooch at the colar, the ensemble exuded classic elegance with a modern twist.


    His dark blonde hair was styled in a slick, side-parted manner, showing off the silver flower ear cuffs on his left ear. Subtle and well-executed makeup enhanced his features, emphasizing a clean and polished appearance.


    ¡°How is that possible, given how attractive Lauren looks?¡± he said.


    ¡°Well, I do am attractive. But I¡¯m still no match for you, especially now that you¡¯re all dolled up.¡± Lauren then started fake crying. ¡°Ah, can you give mercy to us ordinary handsome guys?¡±


    Astrid gave out a light laugh. ¡°If you¡¯re ordinary, then there would be no ordinary people in the world.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Aw, I didn¡¯t think Aster would think so highly of my looks. Now I¡¯m feeling all shy.¡±


    ¡°Okay, both of you look good. So, stop this ¡®complimenting game¡¯ or I¡¯ll be the one feeling bad for not being as handsome,¡± Chris said with a helpless shake of his head.


    ¡°Oh? But I think Mr. Taylor doesn¡¯t look too bad,¡± Ellis said on the side without really much thought.


    But in Chris¡¯ mind, ¡®doesn¡¯t look too bad¡¯ meant he looked good. He suddenly felt heat rising up to his face. With cheeks blushing, he said shyly, ¡°Thank you for thinking so. And please, just call me Chris. Can I also call you E- Ellis?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± Ellis said with a shrug.


    Chris blushed even more, showing how happy he was with that.


    Seeing this, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but raised a brow. It seemed that Ellis¡¯ charm not only worked on women. Or maybe it¡¯s an ¡®agent¡¯ thing? People in the same line of work just couldn¡¯t help but be attracted to Ellis? Oh well, it¡¯s true that his agent was very charming without even trying.


    After a few more minutes, they finally arrived at Celestial Plaza.


    Because of the red carpet event, the artists attending had to follow a certain order to walk on the red carpet. Which meant the car they were in also had to follow that order.


    Since [The Sleeping God] had the most nominations, most of the artists part of the movie were scheduled to appear last. That¡¯s why, even though Astrid was still a rookie, he was able to walk in the last group.


    He and Lauren would walk first, then wait for the other nominated cast members, as well as the director at the end, then they would all pose in front of the reporters invited for the event.


    Their car stopped as their turn finally arrived.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, you two,¡± Chris said. ¡°Be sure to smile brightly in front of the cameras.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be watching in the backstage lounge,¡± Ellis said.


    Both Astrid and Lauren nodded.


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll go,¡± Astrid said.


    He was about to open the car door, but Lauren stopped him.


    ¡°Let me go first. I¡¯m your escort, after all,¡± he said, winking playfully at him.


    Before Astrid could say anything, Lauren had already opened the door of the car. He could only helplessly smile and wait for the other to open the door for him.


    ¡ª¨C


    ¡°It¡¯s finally the turn of the cast of [The Sleeping God],¡± the female emcee said. ¡°[The Sleeping God] is one of the most successful movies in the box-office last year. Maintaining its spot at the top of the box-office list for a month, showing just how much love it receives from the public. It¡¯s no wonder that it received the most nominations for this year¡¯s Silver Moon Awards.¡±


    The camera for the live stream then focused on the sedan limousine that had just stopped. Soon enough, Lauren Watts stepped out of the car, looking dashing in his charcoal gray tuxedo.


    The cameras flashed and the fans that were allowed to watch the red carpet event in person cheered as they saw Lauren.


    ¡°It¡¯s Lauren! Lauren, please look here!¡±


    ¡°Lauren, you¡¯re so handsome!¡±


    ¡°Please marry me!¡±


    Lauren smiled and waved at the fans. Then he opened the door of the car and stretched out his hand. A hand with long, white fingers appeared and held Lauren¡¯s outstretched hand.


    Then, as if in slow motion, a young man walked out of the car. Everyone watching momentarily stopped when they saw him. It was like a scene in a movie when the main character appeared and took everyone¡¯s attention away.


    Astrid Townsend finally arrived at Silver Moon Awards.


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 Chapter 554: FIRST RED CARPET (II)

    EVERYONE present stared at the young man with bated breath. They simply couldn¡¯t take their eyes off him as he walked on the red carpet.


    He wore a wide, ankle-length coat in a vibrant red shade. The coat featured a clean and contemporary design, devoid of intricate details. It had a broad silhouette, gracefully draping around him. The fabric, a combination of silk and a structured material, gave the coat a luxurious yet modern feel. It lacked traditional closures, relying on the natural flow of the fabric for a sophisticated look.


    Beneath the coat, he donned simple black pants, tailored to fit but without embellishments. The undershirt was a basic, form-fitting black garment. The choice of black for the pants and the undershirt created a balanced contrast, allowing the coat to be the focal point of the outfit. It provided a clean and minimalist foundation, letting the red coat to stand out without distraction.


    His hair, a deep black, framed his face perfectly. The sleek, glossy strands fell in a carefully disheveled manner, evoking a sense of effortless chic. There were no elaborate hairstyles or intricate accessories; instead, the simplicity of the dark, lustrous locks added to the overall aesthetic.


    The absence of excessive adornments highlighted the deliberate minimalism, allowing his natural features and the striking red coat to take center stage.


    His eyes, dark and intense, were outlined with a subtle smudge of black eyeliner. Against his naturally fair complexion, the makeup accentuated the whiteness of his skin. The touch of red lipstick added a bold pop of color, harmonizing with the red coat.


    The overall look made the already beautiful Astrid even more beautiful.


    After the initial surprise, the reporters finally came back to their senses and started taking photos once again. Letting their small cameras fly to take photos of the two actors walking on the red carpet at every angle.


    Although most of them tried to take photos of the two equally, some of them couldn¡¯t resist the urge to take more photos of Astrid Townsend. These reporters were mostly photographers at heart. So, they couldn¡¯t help but take photos of a beautiful subject.


    The fans on the scene were not as restrained as the reporters. Almost everyone screamed in excitement. Even though who were not Astrid¡¯s fans and were there to support other actors. In fact, the number of Astrid¡¯s fans on the scene were not that many. And yet, with the screams echoing around, one would think the place was filled with his fans.


    ¡°Astrid! You¡¯re so pretty!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be your fan from now on!¡±


    ¡°Aster, I love you!¡±


    ¡°Aster, you¡¯re definitely going to win!


    Astrid smiled and waved at the people present, which only intensified the screams.


    ¡°I told you, you¡¯re going to get all the spotlight.¡±


    Although Lauren said that, there was no grievance in his voice. Instead, he sounded happy for him. This showed just how confident he was of himself. If the one walking with Astrid right now was a person who lacked that confidence, there¡¯s a chance they might feel insecure, or jealous even.


    He¡¯s not saying that because he¡¯s being narcissistic or anything. It¡¯s just something that could easily happen in such a situation. After all, jealousy and envy were things very prevalent in this industry. It¡¯s the same then, and it¡¯s the same now.


    Having found friends who were not affected by such things was already a great blessing for him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, once you won the best supporting actor award, you won¡¯t only get the spotlight, you will even be a trending topic on [Cyberspace].¡±


    He said that with a bit of teasing, but he truly believed that Lauren would get that award.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t jinx me like that,¡± Lauren said with a pout.


    Astrid only chuckled at that.


    The emcee up ahead started to introduce Astrid and Lauren to the audience of the live stream. By the time the two arrived for a short interview, the emcee had already finished her introduction.


    ¡°Welcome, you two,¡± she said. ¡°This will be the first Silver Moon Award nominations for the both of you, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why we¡¯re both very nervous,¡± Lauren answered.


    ¡°No way, it doesn¡¯t really show,¡± the emcee said.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. Both of us had jitters before we even arrived here,¡± Astrid added.


    ¡°Hey, Aster, don¡¯t tell them that. It will ruin my cool image.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know it¡¯s not already ruined.¡±


    The emcee chuckled at their little tit-for-tat. ¡°It seems the two of you are really close.¡±


    ¡°Of course we are. We¡¯re friends, after all,¡± Lauren said that in a very natural way that no one would probably give any other meaning to it.


    ¡°I¡¯m very grateful for the friendship, by the way,¡± Astrid said with a cheeky grin.


    ¡°As you should,¡± Lauren responded with an equally cheeky grin.


    The emcee let out another chuckle seeing that. ¡°Then can you tell us about your outfit for tonight? Since both of you look very dashing, I¡¯m sure many of our viewers would want to know about what you¡¯re wearing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m wearing a custom tuxedo by Velour¨¦.¡± Lauren then proceeded to talk about the clothes he¡¯s wearing.


    Then it was Astrid¡¯s turn.


    ¡°My whole attire is from EMMA. They¡¯re generous enough to let me wear clothes from their next collection.¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yes, these clothes hadn¡¯t been released to the public yet. Actually, he wasn¡¯t supposed to wear these clothes. But Casey contacted him last night and told him EMMA would be willing to sponsor his clothes for today. He said it would be like endorsing their new collection. So, he would be compensated generously.


    He passed the decision making to Ellis and let her decide. At the end, she and Casey reached an agreement. Although Aurora Bliss was a bit annoyed at first because of the sudden change of plans. But after seeing this red coat, that annoyance quickly disappeared.


    ¡°Now, can you please pose for our viewers,¡± the emcee said at the end of their interview.


    Lauren looked at him, as if asking silently, ¡®are we going to do that thing?¡¯. Of course, Astrid nodded.


    Then the both of them held up one hand in the shape of half a heart and put them together. With the two hands forming a whole heart, they smiled brightly in front of the camera.


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 Chapter 555: ENTERING THE VENUE

    ¡°I think the picture of us with the ¡®heart pose¡¯ would definitely get a good reaction,¡± Lauren said as they waited at the end of the red carpet for the rest of the cast attending the award show. ¡°Maybe it would get its own expression pack, like that video of you doing the ¡®fighting pose¡¯.¡±


    Astrid only gave a helpless smile. Lauren was talking about that time the two of them and Miria appeared on a variety show for the promotion of [The Sleeping God]. He did the ¡®fighting!¡¯ gesture there, and it somehow gone viral in a way.


    Many people created expression packs, which were like memes and emojis combined, and used it while chatting with someone or even when commenting and replying under a post on [Cyberspace].


    Astrid had seen that a couple of times, but didn¡¯t really think much about it. Or more precisely, he didn¡¯t really feel the extent of its effect. Mostly because he hardly sent messages and preferred video calls more. He¡¯s not also chronically online, so he only saw his fans using those expression packs. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The way Lauren talked about it, it seemed like it had a bigger effect than he initially thought? Maybe it even added to his popularity. Well, anyway, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s bad if his photo got turned into another expression pack. It might even be advantageous to him in some way.


    His thoughts were cut off when he saw the other cast members of [The Sleeping God] appearing on the red carpet.


    The first one to appear was Miria. The song she sang as the OST of the movie was nominated for Best Original Song.


    Although the ones who would get it if it ever won were the composer and the lyricist involved in producing the song ¨C which in this case was Shir Atkins, Miria still attended because she would also be the latter¡¯s representative for tonight and would go up to receive the award if it ever won. Since Shir Atkins couldn¡¯t attend because of his busy schedule.


    Not to mention, she also had to perform the song tonight, along with the other singers whose songs were nominated.


    Then the next ones who came were Sienna Rose and Stephen Tomlinson, who were nominated for best actress and best actor, respectively. The last one to appear was Director Trevane, who was, of course, nominated for best director.


    [The Sleeping God] was also nominated for other technical awards, so those nominees also worked on the red carpet. They had walked ahead of the cast and were just waiting ahead, together with Astrid and Lauren.


    After everyone was assembled, the reporters started taking pictures of them as a group.


    And with that, the cast and crew of [The Sleeping God] finally entered Celestial Plaza.


    ¡ª¨C


    At the Silver Moon Awards, attendees were seated at round tables accommodating a varying number of people, typically between 8 to 12 individuals. Nominees, cast members, directors, and producers were distributed across these tables, with key figures placed at prominent positions, often closer to the stage.


    Seating arrangements were designed to optimize both visual appeal and logistical considerations, allowing participants to enjoy the event while maintaining an organized and functional setting.


    The stage set of the award show was a breathtaking display of extravagance and opulence. A grand central stage, resplendent with ornate podiums and lavish seating arrangements, commanded attention. The backdrop, adorned with cascading drapes and intricate silver accents, showcased the iconic Silver Moon logo in a display of radiant brilliance.


    Elaborate lighting arrangements bathed the entire venue in a soft, ethereal glow, casting a spell of glamour. Expansive, virtual screens flanking the stage displayed captivating visuals. The meticulously designed space, exuding luxury and grandeur, created a mesmerizing backdrop for the star-studded proceedings.


    [So this is Silver Moon Awards.] ¨C Astrid thought as he looked around in his seat.


    This was more like a VIP event instead of an award show. This was the difference between Silver Moon and the other two major film awards. It showed the glamorous side of the entertainment industry. Which was probably why it¡¯s very attractive to the general public.


    Even if it¡¯s an award which was only based on popularity and the box-office, no one could deny its impact.


    ¡°Astrid, I really like your coat. You said it¡¯s sponsored by EMMA, right? When will they release it? I would like a pink one,¡± Sienna Rose commented.


    Miria nodded on the side. ¡°I want something light blue.¡±


    The nominated cast members, together with the director, cinematographer, and the scriptwriter, weer all seated on the same table. The rest of the crews were seated at a table nearby.


    He smiled at Sienna and Miria. ¡°It will be on their next collection, which will be released in April. I will contact you if I have more information.¡±


    Ellis said that she had worked some deal with EMMA, or more precisely, with Casey. Since the deal was still unofficial, she hadn¡¯t yet discuss the entirety of it with Astrid. She just assured him that it would be good for his career.


    Even if he hadn¡¯t yet learned about what it was, he could already feel another ambassadorship incoming. Ellis was probably still trying to negotiate for as much money as she could. That¡¯s why she told him it would take a while before things become ¡®official¡¯.


    Ellis would make sure to get a hefty deal. Especially after that whole fiasco with EMMA¡¯s new perfume line. Well, he would be cheering her on then.


    With that addition, his ¡®wealth¡¯ would probably now be enough to buy the apartment unit he¡¯s living in right now. Maybe he could also buy the two units beside it and do some renovations. That way, the space would be much wider and Reas would also have his own room.


    There would probably be no problems buying those units, as well as renovating them. Since he¡¯s quite close to the building owner.


    Astrid smiled inwardly, thinking of Wulfric, his self-proclaimed number one fan.


    He wondered if the other was watching the live stream of the award show right now.


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 Chapter 556: AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

    NO need to wonder, because Wulfric was not only watching the livestream, he had already taken over a hundred screenshot of Astrid as he was walking on the red carpet. Of course, as he did that, he cut out the people who happened to be accidentally included in the photos while he was taking the screenshots.


    While he was waiting for the award show to start, he saved all the screenshots he took on a folder and named it [Aster¡¯s First Award Show]. He had other folders like this one. All were arranged alphabetically.


    All these folders were saved in what he called the ¡®Aster Vault¡¯. It contained photos and videos of Aster. From the shows and the movie he appeared in, to his commercials and advertisements. Whenever he missed Aster, he would just open this digital vault. He would open a photo or a video, then glanced at it while he was working.


    It might sound weird, but his work speed increased by tenfold whenever he did that.


    One might say that he¡¯s almost like a stalker, or maybe a crazy fan, with the way he¡¯s behaving. But Wulfric didn¡¯t see it that way. For him, this was just him being in love.


    As he was browsing through the red carpet photos he took, he felt disappointed that he hadn¡¯t managed to take more. Like a hundred wasn¡¯t enough. But he cheered up quickly. Once the award show started, he would take more.


    But what Wulfric didn¡¯t expect was that once the award show began, the camera barely captured Aster! They only focused on the people nominated for the categories being awarded.


    The set of awards that were given first were all technical awards. Like for cinematography, film editing, production design, etc., etc. He didn¡¯t really care for any of them. After all, he was only watching this award show because of Aster.


    The only time he saw Aster was when [The Sleeping God] won Best Cinematography. And it was barely a glimpse!


    He wasn¡¯t certain if these shows had a director, but if they did, that person wasn¡¯t making smart decisions. If they did, they would have captured Aster on camera as many times as possible. Then their viewership would have skyrocketed. After all, everyone would enjoy watching someone as beautiful as Aster. This was definitely not him being biased or anything.


    Amidst the annoyance he felt for not seeing Aster as often as he thought, the one award he had been waiting for finally arrived.


    It¡¯s now time for the Rookie of the Year Award!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Now it¡¯s time to award the actor or actress who made the best performance in their first film appearance!¡± the male emcee, who was a famous TV show host, said. ¡°Please welcome our presenter.¡±


    When he heard that, Astrid felt his heart jumped. Which surprised him. He thought he was already past the stage of nervousness. Considering that he had attended a lot of award shows in his past life. But he guessed the first award show in this life had a different effect on him more than he imagined.


    The emcee had already slid to the side to give way to the presenter ¨C the last year¡¯s winner of Rookie of the Year Award. A handsome man wearing a classic black tuxedo.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, every year, the world of cinema welcomes new talents, and tonight, we have the honor of celebrating exceptional promise in the film industry. The category we¡¯re about to delve into recognizes outstanding achievements by a newcomer, a rising star who has left an indelible mark on the screen. This is the moment we acknowledge the Rookie of the Year.


    These individuals bring a fresh perspective, creativity, and unparalleled dedication to their craft. So, without further ado, let¡¯s unveil the name of the cinematic trailblazer who has earned the title of Rookie of the Year.¡±


    Then the presenter started to call the nominees for the Rookie of the Year category. Every time a name was called, they would appear on one of the virtual screen and on the other virtual screen, a snippet of their scene on the movie they were nominated for appeared. And each time, the audience in the hall applauded.


    Astrid was the fourth one to be called. When his name was called, he showed a brilliant smile on the camera. This smile caused a slight lag in reaction from the audience. Clapping in such situations should have been automatic. But that lag of five seconds showed just how surprise the audience was with that smile.


    Even the presenter was momentarily stunned. But being an actor, he quickly came back to his senses and called the name of the last nominee. After all the nominees were called, it was finally time to announce the winner.


    ¡°And the Rookie of the Year goes to¡­¡±


    The presenter opened the gilded envelope he was holding. Most award shows usually used paper at times like this. Since paper was a kind of rare commodity, the winners would also receive the envelope along with the trophy.


    ¡°Astrid Townsend! Congratulations!¡±


    This time, there was no delay. Everyone in the audience clapped.


    Even though Astrid wasn¡¯t really expecting anything, this still surprised him. And then, after the surprise, happiness quickly filled his heart.


    As soon as he stood up, Lauren on his left hugged him happily. ¡°Congtratulations, Aster!¡±


    Miria on his right also gave him a quick hug, congratulating him. Sienna also did the same. Even though he¡¯s not close with Stephen Tomlinson, the other still stood up and congratulated him. Director Trevane also had a big smile on his face.


    Astrid thanked everyone before walking towards the stage. Every step he took felt like he was walking on cloud nine. When he arrived at the center of the stage, the presenter gave him the trophy, as well as the envelope, congratulating him throughout the process. He thanked him before looking at his trophy.


    It was a crystal trophy in the shape of a crescent moon. His name was written on the base of the trophy. It was only then that it registered that he really won.


    He took a deep breath and then walked towards the mic. His heart was still pounding, but his mind was unexpectedly clear. He looked at the camera and started his speech. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 557: ANOTHER WINNER

    WULFRIC almost jumped up in his seat when he heard the presenter called Aster¡¯s name. If he hadn¡¯t already anticipated this outcome, he might have already done that. But the bubbling happiness he felt for the other didn¡¯t diminish. He was so happy; he didn¡¯t even mind that so many people hugged Aster.


    He watched as Aster walked towards the stage. It was a good thing that he had already programmed the projector while waiting for the award show to start to take screenshots of Aster every time he appeared on the screen. This way, he could solely focus on watching Aster.


    The smile on the other¡¯s face as he accepted the trophy and stood in front of the mic was one of genuine happiness. It was one of his true smiles which was not comparable to her ¡®business smile¡¯ ¨C the one he often showed to work-related events and stuffs. Which just showed how happy he was right now.


    Knowing this, Wulfric also became much happier.


    Aster started to give his speech, and Wulfric listened with apt attention.


    ¡°I am deeply honored and incredibly grateful to the Silver Moon Awards for this extraordinary recognition. My heartfelt thanks to Mr. Mark Rogers, the casting director who saw potential in me and to Director Trevane, who trusted me with this role, and to the cast and crew whose talent and dedication brought this project to life.


    ¡°To my family and friends, your unwavering support has been my anchor. This achievement wouldn¡¯t be possible without you. And to my Starlights¡­¡± he paused and then look at the camera with a soft smile, ¡°My number one fan, thank you for your constant encouragement. This award is as much yours as it is mine. I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you!¡±


    Wulfric blinked. Although Aster did not mention him, why did it feel like he was talking to him when he said ¡®my number one fan¡¯? Was he perhaps referring to his fan account? Did Aster know it was him?


    He quickly denied that. How could Aster know it was him? He was very stealthy and hadn¡¯t given any indication that he was ¡®White Wolf¡¯ or that he even had a [Cyberspace] account. So, really, unless Aster had the ability to read minds. Which was very doubtful.


    Although both of them had SSS mental strength, he would still be able to feel if Aster ever used his mental power on him. Which thankfully, he never did. He couldn¡¯t say the same about him, though.


    Since when they first met, he tried to use his mental power on Aster. Which was the main reason he was able to find out that the other had that level of mental strength. Being reminded of how much of an asshole he was back then, he once again thanked all the gods, if there ever was one, that Aster gave him a second chance.


    He¡¯s still a work in progress, though.


    Although this progress was exclusively for Aster, a progress was still a progress.


    Wulfric watched as Aster walked behind the stage. As the other gave a final smile to the camera, a smile also appeared on Wulfric¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Congratulations, Aster.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Before getting back to his seat, Astrid met with Ellis backstage. The other was, of course, very happy for his win. As evident from the big grin on her face. She then took the trophy and the envelope from him. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He actually planned to just put both in his space ring, but Ellis stopped him. Telling him that the trophy might get scratched if it was put together with other items. Since this was his first award, he should make sure that wouldn¡¯t happen. What else could he say after that?


    When Astrid got back in his seat, it was just in time for Miria¡¯s performance. The other had changed into a different dress. He guessed that while he was making his speech, the other had already gone backstage to change clothes and get ready for this number.


    Soon, a serene melody echoed throughout the auditorium. Then it was followed by Miria¡¯s sweet voice. Despite the natural softness and sweetness of her voice, she was able to convey the melancholy and longing that were the prevailing theme of the song.


    Listening to it once again, Astrid was reminded of how good this song was. No wonder it won the Best Original Song. Yes, the Best Original Song category had already been awarded earlier, and Shir Atkins was the winner.


    After this song number, the major awards would be next. Starting with Best Supporting Actor and Actress.


    He glanced at Lauren. The other was watching Miria¡¯s performance with the same happy-go-lucky expression. But if one looked down, they could easily see his fists clenched tightly on his lap. It seemed that Lauren was also feeling nervous right now. Well, that¡¯s only natural, since this was the other¡¯s first acting nomination from one of the three major film awards.


    Astrid wanted to cheer up the other, but that might only backfire. Putting focus on that when he¡¯s trying his best not to appear nervous would definitely not help him. So, it¡¯s better to just act like he didn¡¯t see anything.


    After a while, Miria¡¯s performance ended and a 10 minute break ensued. To those watching the livestream, some commercials would probably appear on their screen.


    Miria managed to come back to their table right before the break ended.


    ¡°Good job back there,¡± Astrid told Miria when she sat down.


    A small smile appeared on the other¡¯s lips. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    And soon, it was time to announce the winner for the best supporting actor category. Just like in the Rookie of the Year award, the presenter was the winner of the best supporting actor category last year.


    After a short monologue, he started to call the names of the nominees. After all five nominees were called, it was finally time to announce the winner.


    ¡°And the Silver Moon for Best Supporting Actor goes to¡­¡± The presenter opened the envelope and continued, ¡°Lauren Watts for [The Sleeping God]!¡±


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 Chapter 558: AFTER PARTY (I)

    THIS had been a very successful night for the cast and crew of [The Sleeping God]. Winning eight awards, including three major awards ¨C best supporting actor, best director, and best picture. That¡¯s probably why the cast who attended the after party were the focused of the people.


    Lauren wasn¡¯t actually in the mood to attend the after party. He just wanted to go home, take a bath, and bask in his win. But since Astrid was attending, he felt like he had to as well to look after the other.


    After all, with him winning the Rookie of the Year award, add that to his beautiful appearance, there would surely be a lot of flies who would flock around the other. Who knew if some toad would put some kind of drug on his drinks or something? As a friend and a senior in the same company, he should look out for him.


    Even if Astrid¡¯s agent was there as well, he felt like he still had to keep an eye on the other. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But to his surprise, Astrid managed to deflect all the advances coming his way. Either by politely declining any unnecessary invitation or by deflecting the conversation that the person he¡¯s speaking to didn¡¯t even notice it. But those who couldn¡¯t be handled by simple words would, weirdly enough, suddenly puke or leave on their own because they¡¯re feeling dizzy.


    After 15 minutes of observing, Lauren came to the conclusion that Astrid could protect himself rather skillfully. Maybe even better than him. So, with peace of mind, he sat down on one of the couches in the corner and finally opened his Terminal.


    He had been wanting to do that since winning the best supporting actor award. Heck, he actually still couldn¡¯t believe that he won. He went to this award show with the mindset that it wouldn¡¯t matter even if he lose. But when it was time to announce the winner, a corner of his mind hoped that he could win.


    And when he did, he was almost beside himself. In fact, he almost tripped on his feet when he was walking towards the stage because of the overwhelming emotion he felt. He thought he would be able to remain calm, but he underestimated his own emotions. He didn¡¯t think that winning this award would bring him that much happiness.


    One thing was certain, though, this was a win that he would forever remember.


    When Lauren opened his Terminal, out of all the messages he received, his gaze zeroed in on one particular message. The moment he saw Reas¡¯ name, he quickly opened the other¡¯s message.


    [Congratulations! I told you, you will win. Just tell me what weekend you¡¯re available, and I¡¯ll take you out for a meal. Again, congratulations. You deserve it.]


    It¡¯s a simple and short message. But for some reason, it made him feel giddy with happiness. He replied before he could even check his schedule.


    [Thank you. Winning this award, I guess my acting skills is better than I thought. LOL. Anyway, let¡¯s meet next Saturday. Just tell me where and what time.]


    He received a reply almost immediately. [Okay. Can I call you later? When you¡¯re no longer busy?]


    Reading that, the corner of Lauren¡¯s lips subconsciously turned up. That giddiness he¡¯s feeling seemed to bubble, like a freshly opened soda bottle, popping and fizzling inside him.


    [Of course, you can.]


    Astrid, who happened to glance at that moment, saw the expression on Lauren¡¯s face. He raised his brow in curiosity, wondering what could have made the other show that expression. Like a teenager in love reading a message from their crush. The answer came immediately to him, though.


    It must be from Reas.


    Or at least, he hoped it was. Because if there¡¯s some other person who could make Lauren show that kind of expression, then his brother should be nervous.


    Astrid took back his gaze and get back to his conversation with Sienna. He was talking earlier with Miria but the other was pulled by her agent, probably to introduce her to some music producer who also attended the after party. After all, one of the main purpose of this after party was to network.


    In fact, Ellis was doing just the same right now. The only difference was, she firmly believed that there was no need to drag him along and parade him like some kind of item for sale. That it was an agent¡¯s job to do the networking, and not the artist¡¯s.


    ¡°By the way, I heard that you¡¯re friends with the young pianist working at Lapillus,¡± Sienna said, as if she suddenly just remembered it.


    At the mention of ¡®Lapillus¡¯, Astrid thought of the piano lounge where Kiran worked as a pianist. Even though Kiran was now earning much more as a composer, especially now that the songs, yes, not just one, he composed had been slowly climbing up the music charts, he still continued to work at the said piano lounge.


    According to Kiran, it was to show his gratitude to the owner of the establishment, who did not hesitate to hire him despite him looking so ¡®shabby¡¯ when he first applied.


    ¡°Yes, why do you ask?¡± Astrid admitted, feeling a bit curious. He wondered if Sienna had heard that Polaris had commissioned Kiran to compose songs for one of the company¡¯s singers.


    ¡°I met him last time when I went to the lounge. He¡¯s such a wonderful pianist. My older sister introduced him to me, and then he asked if the two of us were friends since we appeared in the same movie. Then I found out that you and him are actually good friends,¡± Sienna explained. ¡°Oh right, my older sister is the owner of Lapillus. That¡¯s why I go there whenever I have the time.¡±


    That last part actually surprised Astrid quite a bit. ¡°Wow. What a small world.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±


    As they were talking, a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.


    ¡°Excuse me, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that the two most captivating people in the room happened to be standing right here. Mind if I join you?¡±


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 Chapter 559: AFTER PARTY (II)

    ASTRID thought it was another person who was trying to flirt with him. He¡¯s not being narcissistic, but since earlier, there had been quite a number of people who had been hitting on him. So, he thought this person was also the same. He even thought that the other must be pretty gutsy, considering that he was not only trying to flirt with him, but also with Sienna.


    But when he turned towards the direction of the voice, he was surprise to find that the other was actually the actor who won the best actor award tonight.


    Caleb Pretorius.


    He stood tall with a sturdy figure. His dark brown, curly hair cascaded long enough for a ponytail, yet a few strands playfully escaped, framing his face. The mischief danced in his green eyes, lending a perpetual air of trouble. His skin, akin to expensive ebony, added to his striking presence.


    The man was indeed very handsome. Astrid just didn¡¯t expect that the other would be the type to go around flirting with other actors. Then he suddenly remembered that Caleb Pretorius had quite the reputation ¨C that he was a bit of a playboy.


    It was not as bad as that of Lance Reid. Since he was not going around targeting newcomers. But there¡¯s always a paparazzi photo being released every month of him interacting closely with another man or a woman.


    They were not scandalous photos, just him standing close with the other person or something similar. But because he never clarified anything, people just tend to imagine what they wanted. And sometimes, it would be the worst one could think of.


    Astrid never really took those kinds of gossip seriously. For one, he hadn¡¯t really heard anything bad about the other. And second, he¡¯s also an artist under Polaris. Surely, the company wouldn¡¯t sign anyone problematic.


    Just look at Lauren. That friend of his was also embroiled in a lot of scandals. But it turned out that it was just because the other was too friendly. He thought it might be the same with Caleb Pretorius. But thinking of that cheesy pickup line he just said, maybe that wasn¡¯t the case?


    No, Astrid should still give him the benefit of the doubt. What if that¡¯s just his way of speaking? He shouldn¡¯t be too judgemental.


    He was about to greet the other, but Sienna did it first. And in a not so conventional way at that.


    ¡°Oh my, I never thought Caleb thought of me as captivating.¡±


    Although Sienna was smiling, it was not the same sweet and gentle smile she usually had. Even her words had some thorns in it.


    Caleb didn¡¯t let himself be defeated and retorted, ¡°My bad. Your back is facing me, so I didn¡¯t actually see your face. I thought you were Miria Lane.¡±


    The other said that with a careless smile, obviously mocking Sienna.


    Astrid looked back and forth between the two. What¡¯s with this atmosphere? Was there some bad blood between them? Since both of them were from Polaris, maybe it¡¯s just some kind of friendly bickering?


    But he obviously spoke too soon because the conversation between the two just escalated further.


    ¡°Really? Should you go to the hospital then? I didn¡¯t think your eyesight is that bad,¡± Sienna said with a worried look on her face. ¡°But how could that be? Don¡¯t you have an S class physique? Maybe you lied and you¡¯re actually just Z level.¡±


    A vein on Caleb¡¯s forehead throbbed. ¡°There¡¯s no Z level physique. Are your sure you finished your primary education?¡±


    Sienna laughed. ¡°Sorry, I just chose the very last letter in the alphabet. Since you look so¡­ weak.¡±


    Astrid, who was trapped between the two, didn¡¯t know how to react. Should he mediate? Was this even a serious fight that needed someone to step in? It seemed like bickering between close friends, and at the same time, it also seemed like it didn¡¯t.


    Before he could decide on what to do, someone had pulled him from behind. He looked back and saw Lauren. The other shook his head while gesturing at the two, as if silently telling him to just ignore them. And then, he was pulled by Lauren away from the two who were still bickering and didn¡¯t even notice that he was gone.


    ¡°Is it okay to leave those two alone?¡± he asked, a bit worried. ¡°There are reporters around. Won¡¯t they get into a controversy if some reporter took a video of them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. That¡¯s how they had been since their rookie days at Polaris. Even their fans knew that¡¯s just their way of getting along,¡± Lauren said with a wave of his hand. ¡°Since they¡¯re like that and their fans didn¡¯t really mind that they¡¯re like that, those reporters wouldn¡¯t even bother to make an article about it. It¡¯s not considered a controversy, after all.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡±


    That¡¯s the only reaction Astrid could give. That whole conversation between Sienna and Caleb made his impression of the latter go up and down like a roller coaster. But it¡¯s a good thing to know that that¡¯s how the two usually get along. That¡¯s definitely better than finding out that Caleb was actually just a rude asshole.


    ¡°But if you asked me,¡± Lauren leaned into him and whispered as if he was about to impart some great secret. ¡°I think those two are secretly into each other.¡±


    That statement amused Astrid. ¡°Why do you think so?¡±


    ¡°Because they only act like that towards each other. I even bet Caleb approached the two of you on purpose because he saw Sienna alone with you,¡± Lauren said with a shrug. ¡°And there¡¯s that saying, ¡®The more you tease, the more you please.¡¯ Doesn¡¯t that perfectly apply to them?¡±


    Astrid looked back at Sienna and Caleb, who were still bickering. ¡°Hmm¡­ you do have a point.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±


    He turned to Lauren. ¡°They kind of remind me of you and Reas when you first met.¡±


    As soon as he said that, Lauren¡¯s whole face turned red. Then the other just blurted out, most likely without thinking;


    ¡°We¡¯re not into each other!¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 560: THE DAY AFTER THE WIN

    ASTRID woke up rather later than he was used to. It was because he left the after party with Ellis nearing midnight. It¡¯s not just because of tiredness or lack of sleep, the alcohol he drank also played a role.


    He got up from the bed while letting out a yawn. He left the room after washing his face. The moment he did, he immediately smelled the delicious scent of food.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Reas voice called from the kitchen.


    Astrid raised his head and looked in that direction. He raised his brow when he saw his brother wearing an apron and was putting a small pot on the table. Not only that, there were also other simple dishes on the table, like scallion pancakes and fried dumplings.


    No wonder he smelled something delicious. It turned out that Reas was cooking.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat breakfast,¡± his brother continued.


    Astrid walked over and sat down in his usual seat. He looked at the small pot of congee and asked, ¡°How come you suddenly thought of cooking?¡±


    Reas had once asked him to teach him how to cook when they just entered secondary school. It was because he wanted to prepare something for their parents. It¡¯s a time when their family¡¯s farm successfully expanded their trading route outside of the planet.


    His brother wanted to congratulate their parents for such a big milestone. And the idea he came up with was to cook for them himself. Since it was something he had never done before.


    Reas was pretty good at following instructions, so it was easy to teach him. But maybe because the other was not really into cooking, he didn¡¯t really try learning complicated dishes and was satisfied with simple ones.


    And since Astrid was most confident in Chinese dishes, he decided to teach him those. Because of that, Reas only knew how to make Chinese food.


    ¡°I want to congratulate you for winning Rookie of the Year award,¡± Reas said, answering his question earlier. ¡°Since I know you will definitely appreciate this more than some expensive gift or something.¡±


    Astrid smiled at that. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t deny that. After all, Reas¡¯ cooking always makes me happy.¡±


    Reas only grunted. The tips of his ears turning red a bit, showing his awkwardness. He removed his apron and sat down in front of Astrid.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡±


    After saying that, he picked a small bowl and scooped congee for Astrid.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but smile once again. He took the small bowl and started eating. After eating a spoonful, he took a bite of the scallion pancake. As expected, Reas¡¯ cooking was also really good.


    ¡°I bet if you cook for Lauren like this, he would definitely be overjoyed,¡± he just thought of saying.


    Reas suddenly coughed violently because of that. Astrid raised his head and his brother just looked like he just choked on his congee. He quickly gave the other a glass of water. It was a good thing it was the congee and not the dumplings. Or else his grape trauma might just be triggered.


    Reas drank small sips of the water to clear out the bits of rice that lodged in his throat. After his breathing returned to normal, he glared accusingly at his brother.


    ¡°Why did you have to mention that?¡±


    Astrid looked at Reas, whose face was now flushed red. He didn¡¯t know if it was because of his continuous coughing earlier, or if he was just shy at the thought of cooking for Lauren. Maybe it¡¯s a bit of both.


    ¡°I just thought about it.¡± He shrugged. ¡°After all, I attended the award show with him last night and the two of you have some sort of thing going on.¡±


    Reas almost choked again when he heard the last part his brother said. Initially, he thought Lauren might have informed Astrid about their plans to meet the following Saturday, leading to Astrid¡¯s teasing remark. But it seemed that that wasn¡¯t the case and the other just wanted to tease him.


    Astrid bit on a dumpling, his expression filled with amusement. ¡°Look at you. You¡¯re not even denying what I said. Are you finally admitting that there¡¯s something going on between you?¡±


    Reas wisely decided not to comment on that and just continued eating.


    But at the back of his mind, he was thing ¨C would it really be good if he cooked for Lauren?


    ¡ª¨C


    After breakfast, Astrid started checking on his messages. He didn¡¯t have much time yesterday because of how hectic it was. And when he arrived back home, he just went straight to sleep.


    He first opened the messages from his parents. They congratulated him for winning the Rookie of the Year award and how proud they were of him. Instead of replying, he directly called the two.


    Their conversation lasted for almost half an hour. Mostly, it involved his father enthusiastically praising him, while his mother offered maternal advice, reminding him always to look after himself, and similar sentiments.


    After that call, he checked his other messages. He read the ones from his friends and replied to them. Casey also sent a congratulatory message, saying that Nicol was also very happy about his win. He sent a very polite message back.


    And then, finally, he read Wulfric¡¯s message.


    [Aster! Congratulations on winning! I knew you will get that award. I mean, is there even another rookie as great as you out there? Man, I wish I was there so I could personally congratulate you. Anyway, I¡¯m so happy that you won.


    PS. Hopefully, amidst the numerous best actor awards you¡¯ll secure in the future, there will be one that allows me to proudly declare to the world that you¡¯re mine. And, in return, you can confidently affirm that I¡¯m yours as well.]


    A smile subconsciously appeared on Astrid¡¯s lips as he read that. The message was just filled with excitement and happiness. As well as Wulfric¡¯s hope for the future.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe it will indeed happen,¡± he mumbled to himself.


    He just chuckled at that thought, and then decided to call Wulfric. But the moment Wulfric¡¯s handsome face appeared on the screen, he noticed something.


    The other seemed to be¡­ sulking?


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 Chapter 561: PETTY BUT ADORABLE

    ASTRID stared at Wulfric¡¯s face. He was looking at the side, the tip of of his lips slightly protruding. As if¡­ pouting.


    This seemed to be unlike him. Usually, as soon as he called, the other would show him the brightest of smile. Or, at least, the brightest one he could manage.


    No matter the reason for this unusual behavior, it certainly had something to do with him. Because there¡¯s no way Wulfric would be acting like this because of work. If that was so, then what could have happened for the other to act like this? He couldn¡¯t remember anything he had done, or anything that could have happened recently that could elicit such a reaction, though.


    Well, there¡¯s no use mulling over it when he could just ask the other.


    ¡°Wulf, is there something wrong?¡± he asked straightforwardly. ¡°Why are you sulking?¡±


    That last question turned Wulfric¡¯s gaze back to him. With a red face, he stammered, ¡°Wh-who¡¯s sulking?¡±


    ¡°You are,¡± Astrid said, blinking innocently.


    ¡°I¨C¡± Wulfric stopped, his face fully blushing like an overly ripe tomato. ¡°Fine! Maybe I am sulking.¡±


    Astrid almost chuckled. But he stopped himself and asked, acting all confuse. ¡°Why though?¡±


    When the other didn¡¯t answer, he felt like he had to use his secret weapon.


    In no time, tears started to well in his eyes. ¡°Is- is it because of me? Did I do something wrong? Was it because I didn¡¯t mention you in my award speech last night?¡±


    When Wulfric saw those unshed tears, he felt his heart beat skip. He was immediately filled with self-blame.


    So, quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s not it! I¡¯m not that shallow, you know? It¡¯s because of¡ª never mind. Maybe what I will say would be just as shallow. And even petty to boot. It¡¯s not your fault.


    It¡¯s because I¡¯m still too narrow-minded.¡±


    Of course, Astrid knew that it¡¯s not because of what he just said. It never even crossed his mind. He just said it to get the right reaction from the other. And that¡¯s to have a clue as to why Wulfric was acting like this.


    Since the other had already started to talk, there¡¯s no reason to continue acting. His tears quickly dried up.


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s petty, then it must be related to me,¡± he said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what it is?¡±


    Wulfric seemed to have come back to his senses when he saw Astrid quickly changing his expression.


    ¡°You¨C¡± An almost helpless sigh escaped him. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t really use your acting skills on me. You know how I¡¯m easily affected by your actions. One of these days, you might even become the cause of my heart failure.¡±


    ¡°I hate for that to happen,¡± Astrid said in all seriousness. ¡°And I¡¯m sorry for using my acting skills against you. But in my defense, I just really want to know what you¡¯re sulking about. You don¡¯t want to escalate it to a real problem, right? Or a big misunderstanding, for that matter.¡±


    Wulfric was silent for a moment. Then he finally let out a sigh of defeat. ¡°I should warn you, it¡¯s very petty.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m already used to your shenanigans. So¡­¡± S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I feel like I should be offended. But because it was you said it, I can¡¯t even muster the energy to take offense.¡±


    Astrid only smiled at that. ¡°So, what is it, then? What¡¯s the reason of you being so pouty?¡±


    Wulfric gazed down, and then, as if finally getting the courage to talk, he raised his head and said, ¡°There¡¯s a photo of you with that¡­ dark chocolate fondue circling around [Cybernet]. The comments on it just upset me.¡±


    Astrid tilted his head. His brain seriously had to do some weird gymnastics just so he could figure out who this ¡®dark chocolate fondue¡¯ Wulfric was talking about.


    When he finally did realize who it was, he no longer stopped the laugh he had been holding in since earlier. This was not only because his reason for sulking was truly, well, petty. It was because of the description he used to describe the other person ¨C dark chocolate fondue.


    Did he realize that¡¯s hardly an insult? In fact, it¡¯s more of a compliment. After all, chocolate fondue was delicious. It¡¯s like he¡¯s saying, in a rather roundabout way, that the other person was hot.


    ¡°Are you talking about Caleb Pretorius?¡± he asked, still wheezing a bit.


    ¡°See? You¡¯re laughing. I knew you¡¯ll think I¡¯m petty,¡± Wulfric grumbled.


    ¡°Hey, give me some benefit of the doubt here,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I¡¯m laughing because I think you¡¯re absolutely adorable.¡±


    Wulfric was obviously taken aback by this comment. It seemed that he hadn¡¯t expected Astrid to say that.


    ¡°A-adorable? Me?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Astrid smiled. ¡°Wulf might not be aware of this, but sometimes, you would act in this manner that I just find¡­ very adorable. Just like now.¡±


    Wulfric cleared his throat, feeling all embarrassed. As evidence of the blush on his face. ¡°If I can earn brownie points by acting silly, then, I guess, it¡¯s fine by me. If it¡¯s for you, I can act silly for the rest of my life.¡±


    That automatically brought a smile to Astrid¡¯s lips. ¡°That¡¯s a very long lifetime, then.¡±


    ¡°If I can spend my whole life with you, no matter how long it might be, it wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡±


    That statement almost made Astrid¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Maybe it did. That¡¯s why it was beating so hard and so fast right now.


    Because what Wulfric said was almost like a proposal. And based on the other¡¯s expression right now, he didn¡¯t seem aware of it. Like he just mentioned the weather.


    This made Astrid a bit helpless, and maybe a tad bit frustrated. Mostly because he honestly didn¡¯t know how he should react. Should he delve in deeper by teasing Wulfric about it, or should he just change the subject and move on?


    At the end, Astrid chose the latter. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s running away. He¡¯s just not ready to talk about something so serious when his feelings for Wulfric were still probably not on the same level as his.


    He¡¯s getting there, though.


    So, maybe they could talk about this freely in the future.


    But not now. At least, not at this moment.


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 Chapter 562: ON THE WAY TO ANOTHER PHOTOSHOOT

    AFTER Astrid¡¯s successful night at the Silver Moon Awards, a lot of positive things had happened. For one, his followers on [Cyberspace] had reverted back to the numbers before the whole [Star List] debacle. In fact, it even slightly increased to more than 15 million.


    Not only that, he also received a lot of interview invites. From magazines to interview programs and talk shows. There were also variety programs and guesting in currently airing TV series. But Ellis decided not to pick any of those and just chose one magazine and one interview program.


    According to her, there was no need for that since he would be able to appear to a number of them once the promotion for [Serendipitous Summer] started. [The Great War] still had four episodes left before it ended, so there really wasn¡¯t a need for any TV show guesting.


    Although there were a lot of magazines and talk show invitations, there was no need to appear in every single one of them. He just had to appear in the most reputable one. It didn¡¯t need to be the most popular, it just needed to have a good reputation amongst the public. Especially if he wanted to maintain his ¡®expensive yet approachable¡¯ image.


    That might sound a bit¡­ utilitarian. But that¡¯s just how things worked in this industry. Creating an image for the public. That didn¡¯t mean he¡¯s not treating his fans genuinely. He had worked long enough in the entertainment industry in his past life to know that not treating your fans right would just lead to the destruction of one¡¯s career.


    After all, the support of fans was crucial for an artist¡¯s success.


    Astrid was currently with Ellis. They were in the car on their way to the photoshoot location for the magazine [Vivique]. It¡¯s a fashion magazine that often collaborated with high-end brands. Featuring them, not only for the promoting the brand but also the people wearing them.


    The photoshoot he would do today would be for the next month¡¯s issue. And it¡¯s a collaboration with EMMA. He would be wearing clothes for EMMA¡¯s Chrome Collection. It¡¯s the name of the new collection EMMA would be releasing next month. The red coat he wore in the Silver Moon Awards was part of it.


    And yes, Ellis was finally able to reach a consensus with EMMA just two days ago. She negotiated to the best of her abilities, which ended with the addition of a lot of zeros in his bank account. Let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s almost ten times of what they paid him for the perfume campaign.


    One might say that it¡¯s too much. But that pay was for a three-year ambassadorship. He was confident that his ¡®value¡¯ by next year would definitely not be the same as it was now. It would be much, much higher. So, there was no loss, even if they gave him that much money to be their ambassador.


    Of course, there was an additional clause. That if his reputation suffered any setbacks, they would have to pay for the damages it would cause to the brand. Which was a natural course of action.


    It¡¯s not a cause for worry though. Since he was confident that he could keep his reputation squeaky clean. It wasn¡¯t really that hard to do. As long as he didn¡¯t do something that¡¯s considered morally wrong, then it should be fine.


    It wouldn¡¯t even matter if others create a scandal about him. Because that¡¯s just it ¨C a made-up thing that could easily be proven as untrue. So, there was no need to worry about it.


    Anyway, since he already had enough money, more than enough actually, he could probably start the renovation of his apartment. Before that, he had to talk about it with the building owner first.


    He just hoped Wulfric wouldn¡¯t actually give the apartment rooms he needed for free. Knowing the other, it would certainly be possible for him to do exactly that. As the voice of reason between the two of them, he should prevent that from happening. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re here.¡±


    Ellis¡¯ voice pulled him from his own thoughts. When he heard what the other said, he instinctively glanced out of the window. There, at a distance, was a manor.


    It stood proudly amidst vast open fields. Its exterior, crafted from warm-toned bricks, echoed a rustic charm that seamlessly blended with the surrounding countryside. Nestled against a backdrop of rolling hills, the manor emanated a serene and unassuming grandeur.


    As there was no imposing gate, the landscape unfolded freely, allowing the manor to coexist harmoniously with the endless expanse of greenery. A gravel pathway led to the entrance, lined with age-old trees that swayed gently in the breeze. The manor¡¯s charm lay not only in its simplicity but also in the seamless integration with the natural beauty that enveloped it.


    And this manor was one of the many that belonged to the Grimaldi family.


    Yes, you heard that right. It¡¯s a place that was owned by the Grimaldis.


    When the negotiation for this contract was done, he was told by Ellis that the location for the photoshoot would be on one of the manor¡¯s of Grimaldi family here in the capital star. It¡¯s located very far from the city center. Which could be considered a countryside in this era.


    There¡¯s really nothing Astrid could do about it since it had already been decided. He should probably be grateful that it would take place in a Grimaldi manor, and not at their main mansion. At least he wouldn¡¯t have to meet the duke here.


    Although they had met at that party, he still didn¡¯t feel comfortable around the other. How could he when he knew how the other had treated his mother? Unless something happened to change his mind, it would be difficult for him to be comfortable around the other.


    Ellis stared at the manor at a distance and couldn¡¯t help but let out a whistle of admiration. ¡°With that beautiful manor, this photoshoot will definitely turn out amazing.¡±


    Astrid returned his gaze back at the manor. ¡°Yes, I do hope it would.¡±


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 Chapter 563: PHOTOSHOOT AT THE MANOR

    WHEN they walked into the manor, Astrid was once again amazed when he saw the interior.


    Upon entering through intricately crafted double doors, one would see a spacious foyer boasting polished marble floors and simple yet tasteful tapestries. A grand staircase, carved from rich mahogany, connected the levels of the manor with a subtle majesty. The walls were adorned with portraits and paintings.


    The light came from classic chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings, casting a warm glow on the subtle, muted colors of the interior.


    Anyone who stepped foot here could immediately tell that it belonged to a noble family.


    As Astrid looked around, he wondered if his mother had stayed here. Considering how she spent the first half of her life as a Grimaldi, maybe she had run around in this manor as a child.


    He could have asked his mother when he was informed that the photoshoot location was one of the manors of the Grimaldis. But he chose not to. If his question could bring her pain, then he¡¯d rather not ask at all.


    He and Ellis hadn¡¯t walked that far yet, when a woman wearing a colorful floral dress approached them. She introduced herself as the creative director, Miss Turner.


    ¡°As you know, we will be using this wonderful manor as the location for this photoshoot,¡± she started as they walked. ¡°I¡¯ve inspected the whole place and there¡¯s a lot of areas we can use. Oh, I can already see how beautiful the end result will be. Especially with you as the model.¡±


    The creative director chattered away as she led them to the room that would be used as the dressing room.


    ¡°Our model is here!¡± Miss Turner announced to the people inside.


    There were two women ¨C one was tall and the other petite ¨C which were most likely the make-up artist and the hairstylist. Since Astrid was the only one who would be the model for this photoshoot, one of each was enough.


    ¡°Hello. I¡¯ll be in your care for today,¡± Astrid greeted the two with a warm smile.


    The petite woman, who had frozen upon seeing him, suddenly screamed and rushed up to him.


    ¡°Oh, my god! I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m really seeing Aster right now,¡± she said, her eyes shining brightly. ¡°I¡¯m Janey, by the way. I will be your make-up artist for today. And I¡¯m also a huge Starlight.¡±


    She said that last part with a proud smile on her face. Her smile was so infectious that it even brought a genuine smile to Astrid¡¯s smile.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Janey,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s always a pleasure meeting a Starlight.¡±


    Although it probably sounded cringey to anyone who¡¯s not a fan, that wasn¡¯t the case for Astrid. Because just like he said, meeting a fan was always a pleasure. Especially a genuine fan. They¡¯re always welcome. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Janey squealed as if she couldn¡¯t believe that Astrid just spoke to her.


    ¡°Janey, let¡¯s not embarrassed ourselves,¡± the tall woman said, pulling Janey back. Then she smiled apologetically at Astrid. ¡°Sorry, she¡¯s just too excited.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I don¡¯t mind,¡± Astrid said.


    Miss Turner clapped her hands to get their attention. ¡°Okay, okay. let¡¯s start dolling up our model, shall we? We have a long day ahead of us.¡±


    After that, both Janey and the hair stylist started prepping him up.


    ¡ª¨C


    The first photo was taken at the grand staircase.


    Astrid was wearing a bright purple coat that almost looked like a cape because of how it trailed back.


    He stood near the top of the grand staircase. His presence as he stood there was nothing short of captivating. He struck a pose that exuded confidence and elegance. With one hand casually resting on the ornate railing, he arched his back slightly, allowing the bright purple coat to cascade elegantly down the stairs, creating a dramatic and visually striking effect.


    His makeup was artfully done to enhance his features without overshadowing the bold choice of the coat. A subtle smoky eye accentuated his eyes, framed by long, voluminous lashes. Astrid¡¯s lips were adorned with a deep plum shade, complementing the regality of the purple coat.


    The makeup artist had skillfully achieved a balance, ensuring Astrid¡¯s natural beauty shone through while harmonizing with the overall aesthetic.


    The photographer was very happy with this and couldn¡¯t help but take more and more photos.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, that¡¯s it! Look to left and raise one of your arms.¡±


    After the grand staircase, the next photo would be taken at the library. Of course, Astrid had to change into a new set of clothes. All the clothes in this new collection were bright and colorful, thus the name ¨C Chrome Collection.


    The clothes he next changed into were a structured blazer in a bold tangerine hue, paired with tailored culottes in a deep turquoise. They also added a pair of glasses as an accessory, probably to add a touch of ¡®studiousness¡¯ to him.


    The whole ensemble might have come off as over the top because of the bold colors. But Astrid made it work and made it look expensive.


    After the library, they moved next to the garden.


    The clothes he¡¯s wearing now was a knee-length, A-line shirt dress in a lively coral blue shade. A belt that looked like green vines was tied around his slim waist. The hem of the dress shirt was also etched with beautiful floral embroidery. Underneath, he was wearing loose-fitting trousers.


    They all moved into the garden. Astrid stood at the center of a pink rosebush. As he was waiting for the photographer to signal the start, his gaze landed on a gardener tending on some blue flowers at a distance. It seemed to be roses, but he wasn¡¯t sure.


    He was about to take back his gaze when the gardener stood up and he was able to see the other¡¯s face. When he did, his eyes widened like saucers.


    The ¡®gardener¡¯, wearing overalls and even a strawhat, happened to look so much like Duke Grimaldi.


    When their gazes met ¨C sapphire blue eyes meeting black ones ¨C Astrid was more than certain at that moment that the other was Anthony Grimaldi.


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 Chapter 564: THE DUKE AND HIS GARDENS

    ASTRID almost received a whiplash upon seeing the face of the duke. Because he was unsure how to react, he wasn¡¯t able to look away as quickly. Now he couldn¡¯t even pretend he didn¡¯t see anything. His reaction made it quite obvious that he had seen the other, after all.


    If the duke had a high-level physique, which he most probably had, then he would have seen his even minute reaction. Which meant Astrid couldn¡¯t pretend he didn¡¯t see the other even if he wanted to.


    After a few seconds, he managed to calm down. He smiled at the duke and made a polite bow before turning his gaze away. Just in time, the photographer finally began the photoshoot.


    He emptied his mind and did his job.


    Marvelously, if he might say so.


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    Anthony put down his gardening tools and looked at the young man wearing some kind of dress. Strangely enough, it didn¡¯t look out of sorts. As if the clothes were perfectly tailored for him.


    He only found out this morning that some kind of photoshoot was about to be held today. Cassius didn¡¯t know he would be here today. That¡¯s probably why he chose this day to schedule this photoshoot.


    And he couldn¡¯t blame him for that. Because none of the members of their family went here that often. It¡¯s one of the manors that were¡­ not usually visited by any of them.


    There was one reason for that, really. Because they were the favorite manors of his deceased wife.


    His wife¡¯s passing left a huge hole in their family. So big that it tore them apart. Although, his own actions were the real reason why they ended up like this. He was so consumed by anger and revenge that he pushed away all the treasures that his wife left behind. No amount of forgiveness could ever atone for all the hurt and pain he had given them.


    When Nicol was born a few years back, Anthony started to visit all these manors. He immediately noticed all the gardens being utterly neglected. The gardens had always been his wife¡¯s favorite part of these manors. He remembered how they always seemed to be in bloom.


    And so, starting from then, he decided to personally tend to these gardens, to bring them back to their former glory.


    It took two years for all the gardens to come back to life. Even after they regained their former beauty, he didn¡¯t stop tending to them. He would come back every three months to maintain them.


    And yesterday was his scheduled visit to this manor. He planned to stay here for the next three days. It just so happened that it overlapped with this photoshoot.


    Cassius had no idea about his schedule. If he did, he would probably not pick this manor as the site for this photoshoot. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t berate him for this. He had every right to use this manor as he pleased.


    Anthony brought his gaze back to the photoshoot happening at the distance.


    Amidst a flourishing pink rose bush, a beautiful young man was captured while modeling the clothes he wore. With striking black hair, deep black eyes, and an almost pearl-like complexion, he stood out against the delicate backdrop of blooming roses. The natural setting served as a serene stage for the elegance he exuded, showcasing the clothes with understated charm.


    Anthony knew that the young man, Astrid Townsend, was wearing clothes from EMMA. The clothing brand that his wife left behind and named after their daughter ¨C Emmaline.


    A pang of indescribable pain filled his heart when he thought of Emmaline, the daughter he failed in all possible ways imaginable.


    He closed his eyes tightly and emptied out his mind. If he continued to think about her, the urge to look for her current whereabouts would definitely overwhelmed him.


    When she left over 20 years ago, she made it quite clear that she didn¡¯t want anything to do with the Grimaldi family. To announce her death to everyone and to act like she had already departed in this world. She didn¡¯t even allow Cassius, the brother she was closest to, to know that she was still alive.


    That¡¯s when he knew that his daughter wanted a clean break. A break from the life of a noble. A break from her family.


    He gave one last look at Astrid before walking in the direction of the manor.


    As he did, he suddenly thought of his grandson, Nicol. He remembered how much the child adored Astrid Townsend. To the point that he would be standing in front of the screen projector every weekend to watch that show the other was in.


    Nicol didn¡¯t have a class in the afternoon. Maybe he could ask someone to bring him here so he could meet this big brother he liked so much.


    ¡ª¨C


    After the photoshoot in the garden, Astrid glanced back at the spot where the duke was. The other was no longer there. And yet, he couldn¡¯t breathe a sigh of relief. Because it wouldn¡¯t change the fact that the duke was in the manor.


    Casey must have not known that the other was here. If he knew, he would definitely not use this manor as the set location for this photoshoot.


    But anyway, since the other was already here, there¡¯s nothing he could do about it. It¡¯s not like he could ask the owner of the manor to leave. He just had to do what he came here for. Nothing more, nothing less.


    And with that, he focused all his attention on the photoshoot.


    The photoshoot ended just nearing lunch. Because of how much focused Astrid was, everything ended much faster. Every photo the photographer had taken was almost editorial ready.


    In fact, the photographer showed a look of disappointment when the photoshoot ended early. His face showing just how much he wanted to continue. Good thing the creative director stopped him from suggesting that.


    Astrid was about to return to the dressing room to change clothes when he heard a familiar voice calling to him.


    ¡°Brother Aster!¡±


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 Chapter 565: A RATHER FAMILIAR SITUATION

    BEFORE Astrid could even turn around. Someone had already hugged him from behind. The person behind threw his body at him with so much force that it almost felt like a cannon ball had hit him.


    He didn¡¯t have to fully turn around to see the person behind. He just had to turn his gaze down a bit to know who it was.


    What he first saw was a head full of silver hair. The eight-year-old boy raised his head and his sapphire blue eyes twinkled as he looked at him.


    ¡°Brother Aster, I missed you!¡±


    Astrid unknowingly smiled. Although he quickly noticed the gaze of the people around focusing on them, and they would most likely recognized, or at least have a clue as to which family he was from, in a minute or so, he didn¡¯t care as much as he should have.


    He crouched down a bit and gave the boy a quick, tight hug. ¡°It¡¯s been too long, Nikki.¡± He let go of the other and he acted like he was measuring his height. ¡°Did you get taller?¡±


    Nicol seemed to be very pleased when he heard that, as evidence of the huge grin that appeared on his face. ¡°Yes. After all, I¡¯m eight years old now.¡±


    Ah yes, the practice of adding a year to one¡¯s age with the onset of each new year was the way of counting age in this era. Similar to how some Asian countries in his past life did.


    But the reason for that was because most of the people in this era were ¡®born¡¯ in a lab. So, technically, no ¡®birthing¡¯ was happening. The day the parents picked up their child in the lab would be the date of their official birthday. It would be the one put on official documents.


    That¡¯s why celebrating one¡¯s birthday was not really a big deal in this era. Although most nobles did do parties and stuff, it¡¯s not really for the sake of celebrating one¡¯s birth but rather just another reason to show their family¡¯s opulence to other noble families.


    So, technically, to other people, he and Reas were both 19-year-olds now since a new year had already passed. But they were still 18 in their parents¡¯ eyes. After all, ever since they were born, their parents hadn¡¯t missed celebrating their birthday.


    Their birthday had always been a special day for the family. A small party full of love and warmth. And good food, of course.


    But since both he and Reas were in the capital now, they might not be able to celebrate their birthday together this year.


    Astrid turned his focus back to the boy in front of him. ¡°Now that I see it, you¡¯re really starting to look like a little gentleman.¡±


    Nikki raised his chin and puffed up his chest, showing how proud he was. He then ran around Astrid.


    ¡°Grandpa said that your pictures are being taken here while you¡¯re modelling the clothes for Uncle Casey¡¯s company. Is this one of the clothes? You look really pretty in it!¡±


    Astrid quickly understood how Nicol suddenly appeared here. It was likely the duke who had someone brought the kid over.


    And then, he suddenly felt the gaze of the people around more intently. If they now realized which family Nicol belonged to, then it would be easy to infer that the ¡®grandpa¡¯ and ¡®Uncle Casey¡¯ he was referring to, could possibly be Duke Grimaldi and Cassius Grimaldi.


    He wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some of the people here assumed that he was from some collateral line of the Grimaldi family. Then they would talk about it with people they knew who most likely also worked in the entertainment industry. After that, a rumor would start to float around that he¡¯s some Nepo baby who relied on his family to reach his current success.


    That kind of rumor would be just a level better than people finding out that the Empire¡¯s prince was in love with him.


    Astrid could already feel a headache coming. Even if this rumor didn¡¯t make it to the public, since the Grimaldi family¡¯s PR team would definitely not allow their name to be dragged to the gossip mill, it could still spread in the entertainment industry like wildfire.


    The funny thing was, he¡¯s not from some collateral branch, but a direct like. The duke being his grandfather and all.


    He¡¯s not blaming Nicol though. He¡¯s a kid. He¡¯s just excited to see a big brother he liked very much. Besides, how could he even think how his words could potentially affect him?


    Although he couldn¡¯t help but remember that one instance during the launch party of EMMA¡¯s new perfume line. This situation was almost a copy of that.


    Before he could think of how to do some damage control, a voice that¡¯s not too loud and yet still carried authority echoed in the manor¡¯s lobby.


    ¡°Nikki, you should not hound Mr. Townsend. He¡¯s still at work.¡±


    Astrid turned his gaze to the duke. The other was no longer wearing the overalls he was wearing earlier, but rather a comfortable, but still obviously high-end shirt and slacks. With his silver hair not styled, he didn¡¯t look much like a grandfather of three.


    Sometimes, Astrid couldn¡¯t really get used to how people in this era who were the same age as the other could look like they were in their early 30s or something. It¡¯s like being in a twilight zone or something.


    The duke walked in their direction. The staffs who were still loitering around immediately felt intimidated as he walked passed by them. Even if they hadn¡¯t seen a picture of him online, with how he carried himself and that intimidating atmosphere, surely they would recognize who he was. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing as how they didn¡¯t know whether to bow or what, it¡¯s already clear that they had recognized him.


    ¡°My apologies, Mr. Townsend, for my grandson¡¯s overenthusiasm. You know how much he likes you,¡± the duke said. ¡°That last time at the launch party, I wasn¡¯t able to properly thank you. It¡¯s a good thing that Cassius arranged this. Now I can finally say thank you.¡± He looked straight at Astrid, his eyes softening.


    ¡°Thank you for saving my grandson.¡±


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 Chapter 566: HES DEFINITELY A FAN

    ¡°THE worst of things could have happened if not for you and your brother,¡± the duke continued. ¡°That¡¯s why the Grimaldi family will forever be grateful to the two of you.¡±


    And then he gave a swift glance to the people around who were secretly whispering to themselves. That one glance made the others froze in place.


    ¡°And please, don¡¯t be mistaken that the opportunities you got had something to do with the favor we owe you. If it did, you would have already starred as the main character of a number of big productions. You got it all because of your ability. And the success you¡¯re experiencing now is all on you, not on anyone else. So, don¡¯t ever let other people think otherwise.¡±


    Astrid blinked, feeling very surprised by the duke¡¯s sudden statement. Because of how the other acted during the launch party, he expected that he would do the same here. But surprisingly, he was actually trying to salvage the situation. And his method was quite good.


    In his way, the duke told all the people here that the reason he was close to Nicol was because he saved the other. And then he followed that by saying that the success he had now was not because of the Grimaldi family, but because of his own abilities. That part, he made it quite clear to the others.


    Although they might still gossip about this, at least it would not be the same as he was worrying earlier. Now, they would not think that he¡¯s a member of the Grimaldi family. But instead, they would just think of him as someone who¡¯s lucky enough to save a member of the said renowned family.


    Once some of these people asked him about it later, which he was sure they would, then he¡¯d just tell them some of the important details. And that one post of him that went momentarily viral last year would easily back this. That could be easily searched on [Cyberspace]. Then they would know that what the duke said was true.


    Astrid smiled at the duke. ¡°Thank you for your high opinion of me, Your Grace. But I believe anyone in our position would do the same.¡± He looked down at the boy, who was just silently listening to the conversation, and ruffled the other¡¯s hair. ¡°Especially since anyone could see how special Nikki is.¡±


    Nicol grinned happily hearing that, which also made Astrid smile.


    Anthony was surprised to see the young man¡¯s smile. Not because it was the first time he saw it, but because the difference between the smile he gave him and the one he gave Nicol was almost night and day.


    If the one he gave Nicol was full of pure joy. Then the one he gave him was like a business smile. Like they were in a professional setting and the other was just smiling to be polite.


    For some reason, Anthony felt a bit of gloom in his heart. It was a strange emotion to feel, especially when Astrid was just a stranger. No matter how the other saved his grandson, it wouldn¡¯t explain why he felt this way.


    He shook his head. There¡¯s only one reason he could think of, really. Because of watching that series, [The Great War], with his grandson every weekend, he became, what would they call, a fan. Not of the show per se, but of Astrid specifically.


    The young man was an amazing actor. When he played a part, he became that character completely, almost like he erased himself. All you could see was the character he was acting, and that¡¯s what the audience focused on.


    In fact, he admired his acting skills so much, he even found that series he guested and that one movie he appeared in. And he was magnificent in both. He was even waiting patiently for the next project the other would appear on.


    If he was looking at this from the perspective of a fan, it would be understandable why he felt a bit sad that the other seemed to treat him in such a polite manner. He wouldn¡¯t probably feel this way if it¡¯s just that. It¡¯s mainly because he could feel that the young man was clearly putting a solid wall between them. It¡¯s like he¡¯s saying ¡®there¡¯s a line here and you shouldn¡¯t cross it¡¯.


    It¡¯s probably weird for an old man like him (although people his age would probably disagree with him calling himself that) to feel this way. No, it was most definitely weird. But it¡¯s just something he couldn¡¯t help.


    Anthony sighed. Old people like him should really not dwell on this. So, he just said;


    ¡°Please do join us for a cup of tea after you¡¯re done changing.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect such an invitation. He almost showed an awkward expression. Good thing he had good control over his facial muscles. So, he was able to show an apologetic expression instead.


    He was about to refuse the invitation in a very, very polite way, but before he could, Nicol suddenly held his hand. He gazed down and saw the boy looking at him with hopeful eyes.


    ¡°Join us, Brother Aster. Please, please?¡±


    The words of refusal automatically got stuck in his throat. He could only show a helpless smile at the end.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    At the main headquarters of EMMA.


    Casey was busy reading and signing documents. On the side, his secretary was telling him about his schedule for the next day. While he was multi-tasking like this, he received a sudden video call request.


    He opened his Terminal and furrowed his brows when he saw the name of his older brother. He really didn¡¯t want to answer. But then, he thought it might have something to do with Nikki. So. he had no choice but to answer.


    He accepted the request and Tommy¡¯s face appeared on the virtual screen.


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of busy here, so if you have something to say, please be quick with it,¡± he started.


    Tommy didn¡¯t show signs that he minded his almost rude greeting. Instead, he said, ¡°Do you know why Father sent for Nicol in the manor being used by your company as a set location?¡± S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 567: TEA PARTY (I)

    CASEY was about to say ¡®how should I know?¡¯ when he remembered something. There¡¯s only one photoshoot being held in their family¡¯s manor today ¨C the one for their Chrome Collection. The one where Astrid was the new model.


    After the huge success of the newly launched perfume line, they held a meeting and almost everyone agreed that they should continue to use Astrid as their ambassador.


    Seeing that all executives had a much softer attitude towards Astrid, Casey saw it as a chance to suggest something that he had been thinking from the very beginning. To make Astrid the face of their upcoming collection.


    This suggestion did not meet much opposition. And so, they proceeded to make a contract. The only thing that¡¯s unexpected was Astrid¡¯s agent¡¯s ability to negotiate. That one made sure to squeeze every last bit of star coin she could squeeze from them.


    Not that Casey minded. Even in his opinion, Astrid deserved that much. Rather, he was glad that there¡¯s someone on the young man¡¯s side who thought of his well-being like that. Having a reliable person like that would surely help to make his talent, and fame, grow even more.


    No, wait- this was currently not the point now. He should be focused on the fact that the duke was most likely in the manor where Astrid¡¯s photoshoot was taking place. Because why else would he suddenly sent for Nicol like that? Today was probably the day he was scheduled to go to that manor to do his usual ¡®gardening¡¯.


    The duke probably wanted to keep that a secret, but Casey accidentally found out about it. Not that he wanted to in the first place. It happened about two years ago.


    He just finished with a business trip and was about to return to the capital, but his personal spaceship suddenly encountered a problem. They had to land on the nearest planet. It just so happened that the Grimaldi family had a manor on that planet, and it was also quite close to where the spaceship was hovering. So, the pilot decided to have their emergency landing there.


    And it was at that manor that he saw the duke. Tending to the garden, of all things.


    He didn¡¯t ask, and the other also didn¡¯t explain. They both knew the reason, so what¡¯s the point of explaining?


    It annoyed Casey, though. Which he knew was not the right thing to feel. But what could he do? Whenever the duke did something that¡¯s related to his mother, it just annoyed the hell out of him. Maybe because it reminded him of the past. Of how consumed the duke was with his revenge that he let the whole family fell apart.


    He shook his head. This was barely the time to think about that. He had to remind himself that he was still having a video call with Tommy.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably to meet Astrid,¡± he said to answer the other¡¯s earlier question. ¡°He has a photoshoot on that manor you just mentioned. The duke probably arrived there yesterday, which I had no prior knowledge by the way, and met Astrid today.¡±


    Tommy furrowed his brows. It¡¯s either he didn¡¯t like the way he referred to their father, or that the said father suddenly sent for his son without his permission.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Nikki will be fine,¡± Casey said. Although he and Tommy hadn¡¯t been in the best of terms since, well, years now, he wouldn¡¯t make a sarcastic comment regarding his nephew. ¡°I¡¯ll go there later to check on things. I¡¯ll message you if you want.¡±


    ¡°No need. I¡¯ll go there myself.¡±


    Casey raised a brow but didn¡¯t say anything. Then the two ended the call. He then called for his secretary, who had left earlier in a very discreet manner so he could have a private conversation with Tommy.


    He told the other to make sure all the staff in the manor would leave as soon as the photoshoot ended. He didn¡¯t want any audience in their ¡®family drama¡¯, just in case some drama did happen.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid picked the teacup in front of him and took a sip. The sweetness, with a tiny hint of bitterness, spread in his mouth. Then he slightly raised his head and looked at the man sitting in front of him. The duke was elegantly sipping his tea. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He almost let out a sigh. Who would have thought that when he left his apartment this morning, he would actually end up having tea with the duke? Honestly, if he had known, he would have done everything to postpone today¡¯s photoshoot.


    Okay, maybe not. He¡¯s a professional, after all. And since he was a professional, he should get past this, like a pro.


    He took a deep breath and looked around. They were in the pavilion in the garden. There was a trolley of sweets on the side, and the butler standing not that far nor that close to them. Just enough so he could quickly attend to them if needed.


    Since he was here, having a tea party, Ellis had to wait for him. She¡¯s probably the only one, aside from the servants, in the manor right now. All the staffs, from the creative director to the photographer, had already left. Which was good, in a way. At least he didn¡¯t have to see them gossiping about him.


    Although their little misunderstanding had already been cleared, he was sure that some of them still had opinions about him. Not that he cared. At least with the misunderstanding cleared about him being related to the Grimaldis, there wouldn¡¯t be any more spiraling rumors about him.


    His train of thought was cut off when he saw a plate of cupcake that was beautifully decorated in front of him. When he raised his head, he saw the duke taking back his hand. Obviously, he was the one who put the plate of cupcake in front of him.


    The duke cleared his throat and avoided his gaze, as if he was being¡­ shy?


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 Chapter 568: TEA PARTY (II)

    BEFORE Astrid could really check if that was the case, the duke had already picked another cupcake and put it on Nicol¡¯s plate. So, he just assumed that the other must not be used to doing such things for strangers. That¡¯s why he appeared awkward and all.


    Astrid just shrugged and looked at the cupcake in front of him. It had a white frosting with colorful little flowers on the side. At least it didn¡¯t have small circular toppings on it, like some kind of berry or something. He didn¡¯t want to appear rude and picky by removing those.


    Without much thought, he picked up the cupcake, twisted it in half, and then put the bottom part on top of the frosting. Making some sort of cupcake sandwich. Then he bit into it.


    He was about to take a bite for the second time when he felt the stinging gaze coming in front of him. He looked at the duke and saw that the other was staring intently at him. He couldn¡¯t read the emotions in the duke¡¯s gaze, because they were a combination of a lot of things. Shock, confusion, sadness, and even¡­ longing?


    Before he could think more of that, Nicol¡¯s voice suddenly rang beside him.


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s a fun way to eat a cupcake,¡± the boy said while looking at his cupcake ¡®sandwich¡¯ with bright eyes. ¡°I want to do it too!¡±


    With his attention taken by Nicol, he had no time to think more of the duke¡¯s reaction. So, he just smiled at Nicol. ¡°Do you want me to do it for you?¡±


    Nicol seemed to ponder over that. But at the end, he shook his head and said with determination, ¡°No, I can do it.¡±


    Then, he copied what Astrid did ¨C twisting the cupcake in two and then putting the bottom part at the top to make a sandwich. When he did it with no problem, he excitedly turned to Astrid.


    ¡°I did it, Brother Aster!¡±


    This also made Astrid smile. ¡°Yes, and you did it perfectly, too.¡±


    Nicol grinned and ate the cupcake sandwich. As soon as he did, his eyes widened. ¡°Why does this taste better compared to when I eat it normally?¡±


    ¡°Right? My mother said eating a cupcake like this stimulates the tastebuds better,¡± Astrid said as he finished eating the cupcake.


    It was a little habit his mother did whenever she ate a cupcake. Since he and Reas had seen it since childhood, they kind of ¡®inherited¡¯ this habit as well. And just like what Nicol had said, the cupcake somehow tasted better eating it this way.


    ¡°¡­Your mother?¡±


    The duke¡¯s deep, low voice pulled Astrid back from his thoughts. Turning to the other and seeing his expression, Astrid completely froze. The duke was still looking at him intently, but this time, he could finally understand the emotions in those sapphire blue eyes.


    Shit.


    Shit. Shit. Shit.


    Astrid made a terrible mistake. A very big terrible mistake.


    Doing his mother¡¯s habit in front of the duke, how could he be so careless?


    Did he subconsciously lower his guard? Or was it because he thought the duke wouldn¡¯t notice such a thing? It¡¯s probably a bit of both. And then the rest was just his stupidity.


    No matter how negligent of a father the other was, surely, he would have seen his mother eat a cupcake in this manner at least once or twice. With how things ended up with them, if the other was not a total asshole, he would have felt guilty for the things he did.


    Nostalgia was definitely a big part of guilt. It would make every memory of the person they felt guilty about would appear crystal clear in their mind, as if it had only happened just yesterday.


    If the duke was a psychopath who didn¡¯t even feel the slightest bit of remorse for what he put his daughter through, then he would have not shown such an expression. But he did. Which spoke a lot.


    Not that it would make Astrid sympathized with the other. Whatever pain he¡¯s feeling now was well-deserved.


    Anyway, that¡¯s not the current issue. The duke, and maybe his eldest son, Thomas, knew that Astrid¡¯s parents were still alive and living somewhere in the Empire. He¡¯s not sure about Casey, though. He suspected at first, since he was the closest with his mother. But then, the fact that his mother had no idea about Nicol¡¯s existence proved that she didn¡¯t have any contact whatsoever with any Grimaldis.


    Seeing as how the duke didn¡¯t have any particular reaction when he first met him, the same for Thomas when the other met him and Reas, showed that they didn¡¯t monitor his mother¡¯s whereabouts and truly just left her and his father alone.


    But now, because of Astrid¡¯s action, the duke might connect him with his mother.


    No, he should calm down first. If he appeared panicked or anything remotely similar, it would just make him more suspicious. The best way to handle this was to appear nonchalant. To act like this ¡®cupcake sandwich¡¯ was more common than one thought.


    It was a good thing that the expression on his face remained the same despite the things going through his head.


    ¡°Yes, Your Grace. My mother said he saw a woman do it in a spaceship she¡¯s travelling in about 20 years ago. And it just stuck to her,¡± he answered with a calm smile, at the same time giving an excuse as naturally as he could. ¡°My brother and I saw her eat her cupcakes this way so many times that it also kind of rubbed off on us.¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The duke didn¡¯t say anything and just continued to stare at him, as if gauging if he was telling the truth.


    Astrid acted confused, and then a hint of worry appeared on his face. Like a model student worrying if he was in trouble or something. ¡°Is something the matter, Your Grace?¡±


    Nicol also glanced at the duke. ¡°Grandpa?¡±


    The duke seemed to have finally realized that he was acting weird. He lowered his gaze. And when he raised his head, his expression was already back to normal.


    He showed a small smile, mainly to Nicol. ¡°Nothing. It¡¯s nothing.¡±


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 Chapter 569: TEA PARTY (III)

    SEEING that expression, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but be nervous for no reason. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that something had gone wrong at this very moment. He clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to calm himself down. Telling himself that he was thinking too much.


    Logically, how could one think after seeing someone eat a cupcake the same way as their daughter that that person was related to the said daughter? Wasn¡¯t that just too much of a leap? Even great detectives wouldn¡¯t simply jump to conclusions like that.


    If he continued to worry like this, the other might notice that something was wrong. And then, that jump to conclusion might not seem to be impossible anymore. That¡¯s why he had to act as normally as he could.


    So, to appear less suspicious, he picked up another cupcake and eat it the same way again. Nicol quickly copied him.


    The duke, looking at them like that, gazed down. Hiding the expression on his face.


    ¡°By the way, Brother Aster, can you tell me what will happen to Luan in [The Great War]? I mean, there are only four episodes left. Caesar seemed to be going dark side, what, with all the violence and killings. Luan is definitely going to be the next Pope. If Caesar continued to carry on as he was, Luan would definitely wage a war against him in the name of justice. But they¡¯re friends.


    They haven¡¯t even met yet. Don¡¯t tell me their reunion after so many years would be on the battlefield? Wouldn¡¯t that be too sad?¡±


    Nicol¡¯s sudden question pulled Astrid¡¯s attention from his current predicament. He turned to the boy and a soft smile automatically appeared on his lips.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you too young to watch that?¡± he asked with a raised brow.


    ¡°I¡¯m watching the censored version. And Grandpa is always with me whenever I watched it, so there¡¯s a parental guidance,¡± Nicol said.


    Astrid was surprised that the duke would actually watch the series with Nicol. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he had infinite patience with his grandson, or if he just loved him that much. It¡¯s probably both.


    ¡°So, what will happen next, Brother Aster?¡± Nicol asked again.


    Astrid tapped the boy¡¯s nose. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t give you any spoilers.¡±


    Nicol pouted. ¡°Even a little bit?¡±


    ¡°Nope. If I give you one, then you won¡¯t be surprised anymore once you watched the remaining episodes,¡± he said.


    Nicol sighed as if he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. ¡°Okay. I understand.¡±


    Astrid poured the other tea. He couldn¡¯t tell the other what would happen in the last four episodes, not only because he didn¡¯t want to share spoilers, but mostly because of the fate of his character, Luan. If Nicol knew what would happen to his character, the boy might suddenly cry here.


    As he and Nicol continued to talk, he noticed a servant walked up to the butler in a rush. He tilted his head, wondering if something had happened. But soon, he found out what it was about.


    The butler walked to the table and announced, ¡°Your Grace, Lord Thomas and Lord Cassius are here.¡±


    Astrid blinked. Okay. What¡¯s this, some kind of family reunion?


    ¡°Daddy and Uncle are here?¡± Nicol asked, looking pretty excited.


    As if to answer his question, Thomas and Cassius Grimaldi were seen walking in the direction of the pavilion. It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive. Nicol rushed to his father and the other quickly hugged him up.


    ¡°What are you doing here, Dad?¡± Nicol asked.


    ¡°To get you, of course.¡±


    ¡°Are we going home? But I¡¯m still talking to Brother Aster. And Grandpa is still here,¡± Nicol said with a pout.


    Casey ruffled Nicol¡¯s hair as if amused.


    Astrid, on the other hand, stood up and politely greeted the two. ¡°Lord Thomas, Lord Cassius.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so formal, Aster. Didn¡¯t I say you can just call me ¡®Uncle Casey¡¯?¡± Casey said as he sat down on one of the chairs there.


    Thomas also sat down, letting Nicol sit on the seat beside him.


    Astrid only smiled. He didn¡¯t really want to call him that in front of the other Grimaldis, especially after his slip-up in front of the duke just now. If he called Casey ¡®uncle¡¯, that might give the duke some weird idea.


    ¡°So, how was the photoshoot? Surely, Nikki didn¡¯t bother you, right?¡± Casey asked, glancing at the duke when he said the last part. As if he¡¯s truly asking if the duke didn¡¯t bother him.


    ¡°No, I think the photoshoot went really well,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I hope.¡±


    ¡°And I didn¡¯t bother Brother Aster!¡± Nicol quickly added. ¡°Grandpa said not to approach him until his work was over. So, that¡¯s what I did.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Well, at least you still have common sense,¡± Casey mumbled. Although he didn¡¯t make it obvious, he was definitely referring to the duke when he said that. Then he smiled brightly at Astrid. ¡°I¡¯m sure the photoshoot result will be great.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already nearing evening,¡± the duke said. ¡°Will you stay for dinner? Your agent can also join us.¡±


    Astrid almost raised his head to look at the bright sky. He¡¯s pretty sure it¡¯s still a few hours before evening came. But he couldn¡¯t exactly say that to a duke, right?


    Before he could answer or even make an excuse, Nicol jumped to his side. ¡°Please say yes, Brother Aster. Please?¡±


    This was just like when the duke asked him to join them for tea earlier. It¡¯s like the other was using Nicol as some sort of ¡®special weapon¡¯ to make sure he wouldn¡¯t be able to say ¡®no¡¯.


    Well, that was a pretty good strategy. Because just one look at those big, sapphire blue eyes, it would be hard for anyone to refuse him.


    He secretly glanced at both Thomas and Casey, hoping that at least one of them would refute the duke or something. But both didn¡¯t speak, as if silently agreeing that he should have dinner with them.


    Astrid took a deep breath before smiling and saying, ¡°Thank you for the invitation. I would be more than happy to join you for dinner.¡±


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 Chapter 570: AT DINNER

    THE dining room was just as exquisite as the other rooms in the mansion. Its tastefully decorated walls featured subtle touches of luxury, such as fine wood paneling and discreet gold accents. Soft ambient lighting created a warm and inviting atmosphere, enhancing the room¡¯s serene ambiance.


    A long, impeccably crafted wooden table sits at the center, complemented by plush upholstered chairs that offer comfort without compromising style. The table was adorned with sleek white dishes, shiny silver utensils, and clear glass cups, creating an atmosphere of understated luxury.


    The servants were lined up on the side, ready to deliver the dinner prepared for this evening.


    The duke was sitting at the head of the table. Thomas was sitting on his right while Cassius was sitting on his left. Nicol was supposed to sit beside his father, but he insisted on sitting beside Astrid. So the kid ended up sitting between Astrid and Cassius. Which forced Ellis to sit beside Thomas.


    After all, it would be weird if there were four people on the left side, while there¡¯s only one on the right. So, to balance it out, Ellis had no choice but to sit beside Thomas. Aside from the previous reason, she felt like it would be too insulting to the eldest son of the duke if she was to sit beside Astrid. It¡¯s like silently saying, ¡®no, I don¡¯t want to sit with you¡¯.


    Even if that¡¯s how she really felt, she still had to fake appearances.


    Inwardly, Ellis really wanted to let out a deep sigh. When Astrid told her that the duke invited them to have dinner here, her first thought was ¡®do we have to?¡¯. But even if no one answered her, the answer was already pretty obvious. There¡¯s no way they could just ignore an invitation from a duke.


    Besides, it was quite obvious that Astrid didn¡¯t want to eat dinner here and was mostly forced by the circumstance. If she showed that she¡¯d also rather not be here at all, it might affect Astrid¡¯s mentality and the other might be unable to show such calmness as he was showing now.


    And so, they ended up having dinner here under such circumstance.


    Soon, the servants brought in the appetizer, which was seared scallops on a bed of micro greens with a citrus vinaigrette. As expected of a ducal household staff, even if this was not the main house, the food was still extremely good.


    Since this dinner was already unavoidable, Astrid decided to just enjoy the food.


    ¡°Is the food to your liking?¡± Casey asked with a smile.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s quite delicious,¡± Astrid answered honestly.


    Ellis also said the same thing.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Casey said, with an expression as if relieved. Then he turned to his nephew. ¡°Did you see that, Nikki? Your Brother Aster is eating his vegetables without complaining. You should do the same.¡±


    Nicol, who was just about to put the greens on his plate to the side and pretend it wasn¡¯t there, stopped his movements. He glanced at his Brother Aster just in time to see the other eating those unpalatable vegetables. The other also glanced at him. Brother Aster smiled. He seemed to be encouraging him to do the same.


    He pouted and wanted to grumble that it¡¯s not really tasty. But he didn¡¯t want to appear like a picky eater in front of Brother Aster. So, he held his breath and, with a heart full of determination, he ate the vegetables in front of him.


    Despite the bad taste filling his mouth, he did his best to swallow them all. When he was done, he looked back at Brother Aster. His expression was like saying ¡®please praise me!¡¯.


    Astrid almost chuckled at the sight. He didn¡¯t fail the kid and silently mouthed, ¡®Good job.¡¯


    This small interaction did not escape Thomas. He raised his brow, feeling a bit astonished. Because he knew for a fact how hard it was to make his son eat vegetables. And yet this young man did it with just a smile? What kind of sorcery was this?


    He shook his head at his own absurd thoughts. This all just boiled down to the fact that his son liked the young man too much.


    After the appetizer, next was the soup course. Seeing the lobster bisque being served, Astrid only now realized that they would be having a full course meal. Was this the norm in noble households? Anyway, with this, it only meant that this dinner would be much longer than he expected.


    ¡°So, Aster, do you have another series being released after [The Great War]?¡± Casey asked, starting another topic. ¡°Nikki and I really enjoy watching that show, by the way. You¡¯re really great in it.¡±


    Nicol nodded enthusiastically, as if to agree.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I don¡¯t have an upcoming series, but there¡¯s a movie that will be released next month.¡±


    ¡°Really? I will definitely watch it!¡± Nicol quickly said.


    Astrid chuckled at the kid¡¯s enthusiastic response. ¡°Then you have my advance gratitude.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. It will just be in time for the release of the Chrome Collection. It will be a good publicity for you and the movie,¡± Casey said, then turned to Ellis. ¡°I will ask someone from EMMA to coordinate with you, so the release of the magazine photoshoot will align with the release of the movie.¡±


    This slightly surprised Ellis. She didn¡¯t expect such a level of consideration from the other. But then again, this family had shown their favorability towards Astrid quite a number of times already. So, this probably shouldn¡¯t come off as a surprise.


    She was uncertain whether the current situation was favorable. However, when weighed against the prince¡¯s affection for Astrid and the possibility of their future as a couple, she realized that no other concern could be more troubling.


    So, she readily agreed with Cassius¡¯ suggestion. ¡°That would be great, thank you, Lord Cassius.¡±


    The dinner continued on peacefully and ended without much problem. But Astrid couldn¡¯t help but notice that throughout the whole dinner, the duke remained silent and didn¡¯t say a single word. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As if he was seriously pondering over something. And that greatly worried Astrid.


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 Chapter 571: WHAT COULD HE DO ABOUT IT?

    ¡°WELL, that dinner went better than expected,¡± Ellis said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Astrid said, looking out of the car¡¯s window. He hoped it did.


    The two of them were on their way back to his apartment. The Grimaldis actually told them they could stay for the night at the manor, but he refused. And he tried his best not to be swayed. Eating dinner was fine, but staying over for the night was a bit¡­ Good thing he had school tomorrow, so was able to come up with a believable excuse.


    Besides, there was still that weird atmosphere around the duke. He didn¡¯t like how the other had been so quiet since dinner started. No, more accurately, the other started acting that way since he saw him eat the cupcake.


    He pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn¡¯t believe that things might get complicated just because of a freaking cupcake. Really, what a stupid mistake on his part. He shouldn¡¯t have let his guard down. If he had his guard up, he wouldn¡¯t have made that mistake. But because he was so comfortable around Nicol, he completely disregarded the presence of the duke, and just did what he would normally do.


    And now, this was the situation. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He just hoped that he was simply thinking too much and nothing of what he was imagining would happen.


    ¡°Honestly, it was a bit uncomfortable,¡± Ellis said.


    She thought Duke Grimaldi would be a bit more stern. But it turned out the other was probably just quiet and reserve. The same could be said for his eldest son. Thankfully, Lord Cassius was there to lighten up the atmosphere.


    She secretly glanced at Astrid, who was still looking out of the car window. Normally, if there was an awkward situation, Astrid would try to ease the situation with his characteristic gentle smile. But this time, the other didn¡¯t even try.


    She had noticed this before, but Astrid seemed very uncomfortable interacting with the Grimaldis. Well, except for the young master. But that was probably just because the other was a kid. She thought at first that it might be because Astrid was uncomfortable around nobles.


    But if that was the case, then how could he act so informally around the prince ¨C someone who¡¯s literally at the top of the nobility pyramid, if there ever was one.


    Then, the reason definitely lay with the Grimaldis.


    Hmm¡­ she wondered what that reason could be? There could be a deep reason behind, or it was just one of those things where a person simply wasn¡¯t compatible with another. Either way, it¡¯s not something she should pry about. Especially if the reason was something personal.


    Well, as long as it¡¯s not along the lines of Astrid being the illegitimate son of the duke, then everything else would probably be fine.


    If Astrid had heard what she¡¯s thinking right now, he would definitely smile and say ¡®oh, if you only know¡¯. But thankfully, she kept that opinion to herself, so she was temporarily saved from having to constantly worry about another potential ¡®career-ending¡¯ situation.


    ¡°But at least we got something out of that dinner,¡± she continued, referring to what Cassius had said about timing the release of the magazine photoshoot with the release of [Serendipitous Summer].


    ¡°Yeah, it will be a good promotional tactic,¡± Astrid replied without much thought. He just said what¡¯s at the top of his head just so Ellis wouldn¡¯t notice that he was acting weird.


    Even as the conversation continued, his mind was still filled with thoughts about the duke and all kinds of worst-case scenario.


    That didn¡¯t stop until he return to his apartment.


    ¡ª¨C


    After returning, Astrid first took a quick shower and changed into a pair of pajamas. Then, he messaged his brother, telling him to video call once he¡¯s free. What happened today was something that the other should definitely know.


    But since Reas was making the call from the military academy, Astrid asked him to find a secluded place where he could be alone and ensure their conversation wouldn¡¯t be overheard.


    After about 20 minutes of waiting, Reas finally requested a video call. Astrid quickly accepted it.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± Reas immediately asked.


    Astrid wasn¡¯t surprised that Reas asked that. His brother most likely felt from his message that something must have happened.


    ¡°Yes, something big has happened¡­¡±


    And he proceeded on telling Reas all the details that happened in the manor. From accidentally meeting the duke, to making a mistake with that damn cupcake, and how the duke acted during dinner.


    After he finished speaking, Reas was completely silent. As if he didn¡¯t know how he would react.


    ¡°So, do you think the duke, you know, suspects anything?¡± Astrid asked.


    Reas seemed to ponder for a moment, before answering, ¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡±


    At his brother¡¯s dry reaction, Astrid raised his brow. ¡°You think I¡¯m overreacting, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No. Although I do think you¡¯re overthinking.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to overthink than be nonchalant about this whole situation?¡±


    ¡°I mean, yes, there¡¯s a minute possibility that the duke successfully deduced that you¡¯re Mom¡¯s kid because of the way you ate a cupcake. But the possibility of that not being the case was even greater,¡± Reas reasoned. ¡°And even if he finds out that we¡¯re his grandchild, so what? What could he even do about it?


    Considering all the things he had done, he would be all kinds of shameless if he go to us and demanded we treat him as our grandfather.¡±


    When Astrid heard that, it was his turn to be silent. Then a soft laugh escaped his lips. Yes, Reas was right. What did it matter if the duke found out they¡¯re his grandsons? What could he do about it? It¡¯s not like he could announce it to the world or anything.


    He shook his head. Now he just felt silly for worrying.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Is it done?¡± Anthony asked as he stood by the floor to ceiling window and stared at the starry night sky.


    His answered aide answered, ¡°Yes, Your Grace. We will receive the result of the gene matching tomorrow at the latest.¡±


    Anthony lowered his gaze. ¡°Make it by midnight.¡±


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 Chapter 572: GETTING BACK HIS CLARITY

    AFTER Astrid ended his call with Reas, his jumbled mind had now become clearer. With the help of his brother¡¯s logical reasoning, all the worry he felt just vanished. Maybe because he was there when it all happened, that¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t able to think straight like he normally would. And his first reaction was to worry and panic.


    But just like what Reas had said, there¡¯s no need for him to feel that way. Because even if the duke found out the truth, there¡¯s nothing he could do about it.


    For one, he wouldn¡¯t be able to announce it to the world. If he did, then people would know that Emmaline Grimaldi, who was presumed dead, was actually alive. Not only that, she also married a ¡®wanted¡¯ man and had kids with him. And two, he had no right to meddle in the twins¡¯ lives just because he was their biological grandfather.


    Not just because he was an ass to their mother, but from a legal perspective, he really didn¡¯t have that right.


    Because, legally, they were not related to him. Or any of the Grimaldis, for that matter.


    Now that his brain was finally thinking properly, Astrid had returned to his usual calmness.


    After his conversation with Reas, he thought of telling their parents about what happened today. But he quickly changed his mind. There¡¯s no need to worry them about something that hadn¡¯t been proved yet. For all he knew, he was simply overreacting and nothing of what he had speculated would happen.


    Anyway, he shouldn¡¯t be thinking of that now. Since he now had finished filming [Serendipitous Summer], he should consider what to do next. Ellis told him that he could choose to do another movie, or he could pick a TV series.


    Because of his currently rising fame and reputation, a lot of scripts had been sent to their company, hoping that he could star in these projects. He hadn¡¯t yet checked all the scripts, but he had read some of them.


    Most of the scripts he had read were youth dramas. Which was understandable, considering his age and youthful appearance. But after doing [Serendipitous Summer], he didn¡¯t want to film a project that had a similar genre. Even if he could be the main lead, he still didn¡¯t want to.


    If he consecutively played characters that had the same image as one another, the public¡¯s image of him might be stuck in that. It¡¯s better to have diversity. That¡¯s why he still hadn¡¯t decided yet what his next project would be.


    Ellis said that the company would take into account his opinion of choosing his next project. So, if a script caught his attention, he should tell her. This was quite an unprecedented privilege given to a rookie like him. It¡¯s not that the company was giving him special treatment. It¡¯s simply because the artists¡¯ welfare in Polaris was just that good.


    Once again, he was glad that he picked Polaris. No, should he say that he was glad Ellis ¡®chose¡¯ him? Like, if the other didn¡¯t show interest in him, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to be part of Polaris that fast. Either way, he doubted he would have enjoyed this level of freedom had he signed with a different company.


    With that thought in mind, he opened the folder in his Terminal named ¡®SCRIPTS¡¯. He saved all the scripts the company sent him there. As he picked a script to read, he couldn¡¯t help but think about how he¡¯s still not used to reading scripts in this manner.


    Frankly speaking, he still preferred the old school way of reading scripts. Printed in a paper he could hold. But at this age, when everything was digitalized, even money, using paper seemed to be a luxury.


    Astrid read one script after another. He was so focused that he didn¡¯t even notice the passage of time. When he glanced at the time displayed at the upper right corner of his Terminal, he was a bit surprised to see that it was already nearing midnight.


    ¡°It¡¯s this late already¡­?¡±


    He was about to close his Terminal and go to sleep when the title of the next script he was supposed to read caught his attention.


    ¡°¡­The Shadow Within (tentative)?¡±


    The title was intriguing enough. So, instead of closing his Terminal, he proceeded to read the script. He didn¡¯t have any thoughts at first when he started reading it. But as he continued, he became so engrossed that he didn¡¯t stop until he finished.


    ¡°This is it!¡± he mumbled to himself. His dark eyes were almost shining because of excitement and enthusiasm.


    He was so overwhelmed with excitement that the events of today faded almost entirely from his mind.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Unlike Astrid, a certain duke had his mind fully preoccupied with thoughts of him. Or rather, the thought of who he could possibly be.


    Many might think that Anthony was grasping at straws. Basing all of these from the manner the young man ate his cupcake. If Thomas heard that he ordered a gene matching test just because of that, he would have definitely thought that he was losing his mind.


    But Anthony just couldn¡¯t let go of the feeling that this was not just him ¡®grasping at straws¡¯, that he was really onto something here. It¡¯s not just because of how Astrid ate his cupcake. It¡¯s because of this closeness he felt towards the other. Something that he had never felt for any stranger he had met.


    He kept on wondering why that was. At first he thought Nicol¡¯s liking affected him towards the other. Then, he even assumed it was because he became a fan. But after seeing him eat that cupcake, an unthinkable hunch spread in his mind. And once it took root, he couldn¡¯t easily ignore it. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So, he had to take action. Whether he was mistaken or not, ordering a gene matching test wouldn¡¯t result in any loss for him. For the sake of his peace of mind, it was wise to dispel all the suspicions he had once and for all instead of worrying about it over and over again.


    Anthony took a deep breath and with a shaking hand, he opened the result of the gene matching.


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 Chapter 573: GENE MATCHING RESULT

    IN the early hours of the morning, before the sun even rose high in the sky, Thomas was suddenly called by his father to the study. He had just woken up when the butler came to his room and informed him that his father wanted to talk to him. Despite feeling a bit confused, he didn¡¯t ask much and just went there.


    He walked down the corridor of the manor. Because of eating dinner here yesterday, they decided to stay for the night. Cassius planned to leave after dinner, but Nicol insisted that he stayed. Probably because Astrid Townsend had already rejected the invitation of staying overnight, Cassius couldn¡¯t bear to disappoint Nicol any further, and thus, he agreed.


    It had been a while since the four of them stayed in the same house for the night. Well, it might not have mattered much, since the manor was so big that it would be easy to avoid people if they just wanted to. It¡¯s probably also one of the reasons why Cassius agreed to stay.


    Because with a house this big, the other could just avoid meeting with their father. Or even Thomas, for that matter. Which he was sure Cassius would do. As evidence of how, whenever his younger brother visited the main mansion, he could still find ways not to meet their father.


    Not that he could blame Cassius. If he was in his position, he would probably do the same. But since he was the same sinner as their father, acting all high and mighty now, after all he had done, would just be too hypocritical. Maintaining this kind of status quo was enough.


    Thomas¡¯ thoughts then wandered back to why his father suddenly called him this early in the morning. Could there be something wrong with one of their territories? Or did those blasted Lancasters up to no good again? Either way, it¡¯s probably something serious if his father couldn¡¯t even wait for them to have breakfast before telling him.


    Soon, he arrived in front of the study. He knocked on the door. ¡°Father, it¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    Thomas furrowed his brows. It¡¯s because his father¡¯s voice sounded very grave. Did something serious really happen? He shook his head. Instead of wondering about here, it¡¯s better to just ask his father directly.


    He opened the door and walked in. There, he saw his father standing in front of the floor to ceiling window with his back to him. He couldn¡¯t see the other¡¯s expression, so he couldn¡¯t tell directly what was wrong.


    ¡°You called me?¡± he started.


    ¡°I will send a file to you,¡± his father said instead of telling him directly why he was called here in this early hours of the morning. ¡°Read it.¡±


    A file? Before Thomas could ask what he meant by that, his Terminal rang. The notification sound indicating that he received the said ¡®file¡¯. Full of confusion and curiosity, he opened the file and read it.


    Gene Matching Test Result


    Testing Company: Grimaldi Genetics Lab


    Test Type: Parentage DNA Test


    ¡ª


    Participants:


    ¨C Sample ID: Mother-001


    ¨C Name: [Emmaline Beatrix Grimaldi] S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¨C Sample ID: Grandson-001


    ¨C Name: [Astrid Townsend]


    ¡ª


    Thomas¡¯ face immediately crumpled when he read the first part. Why would his father order a gene matching test for Emmaline and Astrid? What would prompt him to even do this? No, obviously, this meant that he suspected Astrid was Emmaline¡¯s son. But how could that be possible?


    Just from appearance alone, no one would suspect those two were related. Especially if one considered that Emmaline ended up marrying that soldier.


    And where did he even get a sample of Astrid¡¯s DNA? The answer quickly appeared in his mind. The dinner last night. With the cutlery Astrid used, it was easy to extract his DNA. This made him frown even more. Wasn¡¯t this an obvious violation of privacy?


    Why would his father do this? Did the guilt of what he did to Emmaline become so overwhelming that it drove him slightly crazy?


    As if knowing what he was thinking, the other¡¯s voice sounded in front.


    ¡°Stop analyzing things for a second and just continue reading.¡±


    Reluctance rose from his heart, but Thomas still continued reading.


    ¡ª


    Results:


    The DNA analysis conducted at Grimaldi Genetics Lab has determined the genetic relationship between the individuals listed above. Based on the comparison of their DNA profiles, the following findings have been obtained:


    ¨C Probability of Parentage: [99.9%]


    ¨C The probability that Emmaline Grimaldi is the biological mother of Astrid Townsend is 99.9%.


    ¨C This result indicates a high likelihood of a biological relationship between the tested individuals.


    ¡ª


    Thomas¡¯ whole body shook when he read the result. He once again looked at the number ¨C 99.9%. How could this happen? Could there have been a mistake? But he immediately denied that. This was done in their family¡¯s genetics lab.


    There was no way it could be a mistake.


    Then what did that mean?


    That Astrid was really Emmaline¡¯s son? Then he remembered that Astrid had a twin brother. So, the two were Emmaline¡¯s children?


    No matter how much he wanted to deny it, the result in front of him was telling him otherwise.


    He raised his head to look at his father. ¡°Why did Father order this gene matching test?¡± he asked, not even realizing that his voice was shaking.


    ¡°¡­It was a hunch,¡± his father answered, still not turning his back. ¡°I just didn¡¯t expect it to be true.¡±


    A hunch? Because of a hunch he ordered a gene matching test? This was not something the father he knew would do. But the fact that he did this mean that he felt a certain connection towards Astrid, to the point that he would even suspect that the other might be Emmaline¡¯s son.


    Was this what people call ¡®blood connection¡¯? Because even he felt an inexplicable fondness for the twins when he first met them.


    Thomas took a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself. ¡°Knowing that they¡¯re Emmaline¡¯s children, what do you plan to do now?¡±


    After he asked that question, the door to the study suddenly opened. Thomas looked back and saw Cassius. The other¡¯s expression was full of confusion, but also underlying anger.


    ¡°¡®Emmaline¡¯s children¡¯, what do you mean by that, Tommy?¡±


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 Chapter 574: FINDING OUT THE TRUTH (I)

    CASEY woke up early. He planned to leave as fast as he could before Nicol woke up. Because if he waited until that nephew of his woke up to leave, he would definitely be forced to have breakfast with the duke.


    As he walked out of his room, he contemplated whether to say goodbye to Tommy. In the end, he decided that he should. Because if he did, he could also leave a message for Nicol. But when he went to the other¡¯s room, he found out that Tommy was called by the duke to the study.


    His first thought when he heard that from the butler was, ¡®why?¡¯.


    Was there a need to call Tommy over this early in the morning?


    And then he felt curious. Knowing that the duke, he wouldn¡¯t have done this unless there was some serious problem. More likely involving the family. Was that why the other was overly silent during dinner last night?


    Casey scoffed. Those two were doing their usual ¡®partners-in-crime¡¯ stint again. Probably making decisions for the sake of ¡®family¡¯. Just like how they had always done. Thinking of what happened more than 20 years ago, he was filled with indignation. Before the anger could rise, he took a deep breath and calmed himself.


    But even if he managed to calm himself, he was still curious about what the two could be discussing. If he didn¡¯t know about this ¡®morning meeting¡¯, he probably wouldn¡¯t care. But since he already did, his curiosity was just piqued to the extreme.


    Ah, whatever. He could just go and ask them whatever this was about. If he¡¯s wrong, then good. But if he¡¯s right, then he would judge whether this ¡®family problem¡¯ was something he should worry about. He had to know what it was first, though.


    Finally decided on what to do first, Casey walked towards the study.


    Arriving in front of the door, he noticed that it was slightly ajar. He was about to just walk in when he heard Tommy¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Knowing that they¡¯re Emmaline¡¯s children, what do you plan to do now?¡±


    Casey felt like his world tilt on his axis when he heard that. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he heard it right. The words ¡®Emmaline¡¯s children¡¯ just kept on echoing in his ears. Emmaline who? Which Emmaline was it?


    No matter how much he thought about it, there¡¯s only one person whose name Tommy would call that way.


    Emmy¡­


    Before he could think, he already walked inside the room.


    ¡°¡®Emmaline¡¯s children¡¯, what do you mean by that, Tommy?¡± he asked in a shaking voice.


    Thomas turned around. He couldn¡¯t hide the shock on his face when he saw his younger brother. He first wondered if the other heard everything that he and their father had talked about just now. And then he wondered how they didn¡¯t even hear Cassius entering the room. Heck, he didn¡¯t even hear him walk near the study. With both him and their father¡¯s physique level, they should have heard it.


    No, this was only natural. It would even be weirder if they did notice, considering how heavy the topic of their conversation was.


    ¡°Tommy!¡± Casey shouted. Not only was his voice trembling, even his whole body was shaking. ¡°Answer me! What do you mean by what you just said? You¡¯re talking about Emmy, right? Right?¡±


    Thomas didn¡¯t know what to say or how to answer. He looked at their father, hoping that he could give an answer instead. But the other was still just standing there with his back to them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at him! Damn it, Tommy! Don¡¯t you have a brain of your own? Can¡¯t you answer a simple question without asking for that guy¡¯s opinion? Are you sure you¡¯re a human and not a puppet whose sole existence is to do that guy¡¯s every bidding?¡± Casey raged. He didn¡¯t even know what he just said.


    He just wanted answers.


    ¡°Cassius!¡± Thomas also raised his voice. But there was no anger on his face, just¡­ pain and sadness. ¡°Don¡¯t- No matter what had happened in the past, he¡¯s still our father. So, don¡¯t speak of him like he¡¯s a stranger.¡±


    ¡°Father? Ha! Oh please, spare me the bullshit. He has never been a father to us since Mom died. For him, you¡¯re just a subordinate. Emmy was just a tool.


    And me? Well, let¡¯s just say I¡¯m the unwanted baggage,¡± Casey said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°So, don¡¯t lecture me. Because I¡¯m not like you. I¡¯m not a robot who only follows orders and do as he was told.¡±


    ¡°Enough,¡± the duke finally spoke.


    Casey wanted to retort, but when the other turned around and he saw his expression, all the words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat. The duke¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. His face dimmed with a trace of sadness and self-blame. His lips were pressed into a thin line, jaw tensing with an underlying frustration. Even the corner of his eyes seemed to be a bit red. As if he had just been crying.


    Crying? Yeah, right. Casey almost laughed at his overactive imagination. This man had no tears and blood. How could he cry?


    ¡°Then answer my question. Why are you talking about Emmy having children? You wouldn¡¯t have been saying that unless¨C¡°


    ¡°Unless she¡¯s alive?¡± the duke cut off his sentence. The other looked straight into his eyes. ¡°Yes, Cassius, Emmaline is alive.¡± S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Casey froze, his eyes widening in disbelief. His breath caught in his throat, and his hands trembled as he struggled to process what he had just heard. A whirlwind of emotions churned within him, leaving him feeling disoriented and overwhelmed. He felt a rush of conflicting feelings ¡ª astonishment, confusion, and a flicker of hope ¡ª all jumbled together in a chaotic mess.


    It was as if the ground had shifted beneath his feet, leaving him unsteady and unsure of how to proceed.


    ¡°¡­What did you just say?¡±


    The duke repeated what he said. ¡°Emmaline is alive. She did not die 21 years ago. We- we helped her faked her death. And, and just now, I discovered that she has children. A pair of twins, to be exact.¡±


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 Chapter 575: FINDING OUT THE TRUTH (II)

    CASEY felt like his head was about to explode. He couldn¡¯t comprehend the things the duke was saying. He understood the words one by one, but when combined together, it felt like he was hearing some alien language.


    Emmy was alive and always had been? They faked her death? Emmy had twins?


    Each one of those was like a fantasy, a lie the duke concocted. He wanted to retort, tell the other how much of a liar he was, but when he raised his head and saw the duke¡¯s expression, he knew the other was not lying. That everything he said was the truth.


    What did that mean?


    Hundreds of thoughts swirled in his mind. But all he could focus on was one thing ¨C that Emmy was alive. His sister was alive!


    Upon that realization, he should have felt happy. But the only thing that filled him at this moment was anger. Blind, hot rage that filled every cell and every fiber of his being.


    ¡°You¡­ faked her death? And you didn¡¯t bother to tell me about it? Ha¡­ ha.. hahaha!


    Hahahaha!¡±


    A low laugh escaped his lips, then it gradually grew louder and louder. He didn¡¯t even notice the tears that were streaming down his face.


    Thomas looked at his younger brother, who was laughing while crying at the same time. He closed his eyes tightly. It pained him to see Cassius like this. The other had always had a sunny and playful disposition. He was never confrontational. Instead, he would just give sarcastic remarks that would hit his opponent right where it hurt.


    The fact that Cassius was so overcome with emotion right now proved just how angry he was. Maybe this was the pent up anger he had been suppressing inside him all these years. Which pained Thomas even more.


    Because they were the ones who did this to his brother. Cassius was suffering right now because of him and their father.


    Casey stopped laughing and said in an almost lifeless voice. ¡°Not even bothering to tell me about it, I guess I really am just a baggage in this family.¡±


    ¡°Cassius, that¡¯s not¨C¡°


    Thomas wasn¡¯t able to finish what he was saying, because Cassius¡¯ face, that seemed to have calmed down, suddenly contorted.


    ¡°But I deserve to know about it. Emmy is my sister, my family! You don¡¯t have the right to keep this away from me!¡± Cassius shouted, almost like a guttural cry of a wounded animal. ¡°You let me mourn her death! How can you do that? How can¡­¡±


    As if he had lost all strength in his body, Cassius collapsed and kneeled on the floor. As he cried, he kept on mumbling the words ¡®you have no right¡¯ and ¡®how dare you¡¯.


    Thomas quickly tried to support the other, but was pushed away. The force almost made him stumbled over. He would probably only make things worse if he insisted on approaching Cassius, so he could only stay where he was and watch his brother wallow in his pain and anger. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anthony watched his son fell apart like this and he felt like thousand of knives were cutting at his heart. He knew that any reason he would give would only sound like an excuse to Cassius. So, he could only stay silent.


    Telling the other that he was too young to know everything back then, or that it was the best decision they could come up with at that time, might only trigger a negative reaction from the other. Even more so if he said that was what Emmaline wanted. It would only sound like he was shifting the blame on her.


    And that would be wrong on so many levels. Because the only one at fault here was him. Everything started with him. The reason their family became like this was because of his desire for revenge. Ironically, when he accomplished this revenge, he realized that it¡¯s really not worth it.


    But the damage had already been done. The broken bonds could not be easily mended.


    And now, he was seeing the toll it had on his youngest.


    He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. Drops of blood fell on the carpeted floor. But he didn¡¯t feel any pain. How dare he complain of pain when his son was the one who¡¯s really suffering?


    Casey was in so much pain that he could hardly breathe. He felt like he would have a heart attack at any second. But he knew that was not the case. His heart was simply weighed down by so much sadness, anger, and pain that it could hardly beat properly.


    He understood that he shouldn¡¯t be wallowing in his own emotions at a time like this. He just found out that his sister was alive. He should be asking where she was! But he also understood deep down that one of the reasons they didn¡¯t tell him about her was because they knew he would do this.


    There must still be people from the Lancaster¡¯s side who were watching their family. If he went to Emmy, he might just end up exposing her to danger. But even if he understood that, it didn¡¯t mean that the anger he¡¯s feeling would subside.


    These two probably didn¡¯t know where Emmy was, anyway. Knowing the duke, he would definitely make a clean cut to make sure that this truth wouldn¡¯t be exposed in the future.


    There¡¯s another important fact that Casey should focus on right now. Something that he almost neglected because the news of Emmy being alive was just too overwhelming.


    He wiped away the tears on his cheeks and slowly stood up.


    ¡°Emmy¡¯s children, the twins you mentioned, who are they?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    At this time, Astrid had just woken up, still feeling sleepy. He slept very late last night reading the script of [The Shadow Within]. He was so excited analyzing it that he lost track of time.


    He forced himself to get up and prepare for school. While brushing his teeth, little did he know that a storm named Cassius Grimaldi was already headed his way.


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 Chapter 576: DECISION (I)

    AFTER morning class ended, Astrid ate lunch as usual at the greenhouse. Kiran was the only one there with him since Snow had a filming schedule today. It was for a youth drama in which Snow managed to successfully get the role of the second male lead through audition.


    That drama would probably air next month. Maybe just a week or so after the premier of [Serendipitous Summer]. He was confident that Snow would get a lot of good attention from the movie. After all, he was there and saw the other¡¯s performance during filming.


    As long as the youth drama he¡¯s filming now had a good script and cast, then the probability of it having a good reception amongst the public would be high. Assuming that the movie would be a success, then it would definitely be a big boost to Snow¡¯s popularity.


    Astrid had really hoped that would be the case. Not just for Snow, but also for him. It¡¯s his first starring movie after all. If it didn¡¯t do well in the box office, producers might think that he¡¯s not bankable enough to be leading a movie.


    But honestly, he¡¯s not really that worried about it. He had confidence with Director Hale and the rest of the production crew. He firmly believed that the post-production would only make the movie better.


    Actually, there¡¯s only one thing that¡¯s worrying him right now. And no, it¡¯s not whether he could play the role he wanted in the script he read last night. It actually had something to do with the message he received this morning. Just remembering it was already making his head hurt.


    [Aster, can I meet you today? Any time is fine. Just¡­ I hope we can meet, just the two of us. Preferably in a more private setting?]


    [I didn¡¯t mean anything weird by that. I promise. There¡¯s just something I wanted to talk to you about.]


    [You can send me the time and place.]


    [Please, I hope you will grant this request.]


    [I beg you.]


    Those were the messages that Casey had sent him. Astrid hadn¡¯t yet replied to any of them. Reading those messages and thinking of what happened yesterday at the manor, he could only think of one reason the other wanted to meet with him.


    That his hunch was right and that the duke really did suspect that he was related to them.


    The fact that Casey sent those messages in such a tone meant that it was no longer a suspicion, but more of a fact. Because why else would he be acting like that? Surely it wouldn¡¯t just be because of something related to EMMA. The other could just let someone working for him to deal with things like that.


    But no, he sent those cryptic messages instead, sounding very desperate. What else would Astrid think?


    It was already noon, and he didn¡¯t really know how to answer the other. Because if he was right and the Grimaldis now knew that he and Reas were related to them, he genuinely didn¡¯t know what to do next.


    He could just ignore it and act like he didn¡¯t know anything. But things would end with just that? If he was indeed right and Cassius wanted to meet him because he found out that he was his nephew, then no. It wouldn¡¯t end so easily by pretending to be ignorant. Maybe it would even escalate. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Surprisingly enough, even after realizing that possibility, he didn¡¯t feel panicked at all. He was only worried about what his next action would be, but he wasn¡¯t that overly concerned about the consequence of it.


    Probably because he knew that even if he Grimaldis knew about Astrid and Reas¡¯ true identities, they couldn¡¯t do anything drastic. Unless, of course, they wanted to expose their mother to danger.


    If they suddenly became overly enthusiastic over a pair of twins ¡®not related¡¯ to them, it would only arouse suspicion. Which would then alert the Lancasters. Even if the Grimaldis had the power to go toe to toe with them, it would still cause a bloodbath. After all, even if the Lancasters¡¯ influence had dwindled over the past two decades, their military might had not diminished in the slightest.


    It even had the trend of growing even more, especially after the new Emperor was enthroned.


    The situation could probably be broken if another power intervened and sided with either one of the two.


    Astrid suddenly thought of Wulfric. He knew that if he just asked, the other would not hesitate to help. He would probably even waged a war against the Lancasters just to make sure no harm would come to him.


    But Astrid didn¡¯t want things to reach that point. Putting Wulfric in such a dangerous situation when it had nothing to do with him just didn¡¯t sit right with Astrid. Because it felt like he was taking advantage of the other. And their relationship shouldn¡¯t be like that.


    ¡°Aster, you¡¯re barely eating. Is there anything worrying you?¡± Kiran¡¯s call temporarily cut off the thoughts running through Astrid¡¯s mind.


    He looked at the other and smiled. ¡°No, it¡¯s noth¨C¡± he stopped. No, maybe a third party¡¯s opinion was what he needed right now. Maybe Kiran could give him a new perspective that he couldn¡¯t see as the person involved. ¡°Actually, there is one.¡±


    Kiran put down the spoon he¡¯s holding and with a serious expression, he said, ¡°You can tell me. Maybe I might not be able to help you solve it, but at the very least, I could help to ease your burden.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s like this¡­ my mother cut off her ties with her family a long time ago. And now, her younger brother is trying to contact me. I kind of don¡¯t know what to do about it.¡±


    Kiran¡¯s eyes widened, as if he didn¡¯t expect such a serious situation. Then his expression calmed down and he appeared like he was seriously thinking of an advice to give him.


    ¡°This is just me, but, well, I think you should ask your mother what she thinks first.¡±


    Astrid felt like he just received enlightenment when he heard that.


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 Chapter 577: DECISION (II)

    He looked at Kiran. ¡°Thank you, Kiran! I know what to do now.¡±


    Kiran scratched his cheek, feeling awkward by the sudden gratitude. ¡°No, I just said my opinion. If it helped you, then I¡¯m glad.¡±


    He was genuinely concerned that anything he said might exacerbate the situation. Considering it was a significant issue involving Astrid¡¯s family, he worried that offering the wrong advice, as an outsider, could only harm Astrid further. That¡¯s why he¡¯s relieved he could offer help.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll excuse myself for a moment,¡± Astrid said before standing up.


    After Kiran nodded, telling him to ¡®go ahead¡¯, Astrid walked further inside the greenhouse, where no one would be able to hear any conversation he might have had. He took a deep breath first before dialing his mother¡¯s number.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Casey stared intently at the door of the private room in the restaurant where he was. After he sent those messages early in the morning, asking to meet the other, he didn¡¯t receive a reply. At least well into the afternoon.


    [Hello. Sorry if my reply is late. I don¡¯t really know where we can talk in a private setting. So, I think it would be better for Uncle Casey to set the place. I¡¯ll go and meet you after my afternoon class is over.]


    Casey did not waste any time and quickly reserved a whole restaurant. He was not worried that the staffs here would talk. Because they were required to sign NDA agreements to not spread whatever they saw or heard in this place. Although that only applied to their VVIP customers. In which Casey was one.


    He knew how much it would affect Astrid¡¯s career if a rumor spread about him meeting Casey in such a private setting. He didn¡¯t want to bring that kind of problem to the other. That¡¯s why he chose this place.


    He opened his Terminal and once again read Astrid¡¯s reply. His eyes particularly focused on the words ¡®Uncle Casey¡¯. This address only had meaning when said by Nicol before. But now, it was different. Now, he not only had one but two full grown nephews!


    The image of Astrid and Andreas flashed in his mind. Two people with very different physical feautures were actually twins.


    Casey didn¡¯t think much of it before. But after finding out that they were his nephew, he couldn¡¯t help but think of the reason why the two were twins, despite looking so different from one another.


    One should know that in this day and age, not many parents would consider having twins. Even if they did, they would pick a pair of male and female instead of the same gender. After all, who would want to have an exact copy of one¡¯s self? Because that¡¯s how it would appear for same-gendered twins.


    Twins of the same gender were composed of the same DNA material that was simply divided into two to form two babies. It¡¯s like having a clone. Which no one would like.


    But that was not the case at all with Astrid and Andreas. The two couldn¡¯t be any more different. From physique to appearance, everything was different.


    Which could only mean one thing. That Emmy gave birth to them instead of having them in a fertility lab.


    All people knew how hard and dangerous it was for a woman to give birth naturally. But he understood that Emmy and her partner probably didn¡¯t have a choice. If they went to a fertility lab, they had to give their DNA, which would then reveal their real identities. So, if they wanted to have children, natural birth was the only way.


    Casey couldn¡¯t imagine the kind of hardship and suffering his sister had to experience. Just thinking about it was like stabbing his own heart a thousand times. His sister, with her identity, could have lived her whole life in comfort. But instead, she threw away her identity to live the life she wanted. At least, that¡¯s what Casey wanted to believe.


    He wanted to believe that Emmy was happy. Because if that was the case, then what happened to her would be a bit more acceptable.


    But he really couldn¡¯t know that, could he?


    Truthfully, he just wanted to go to where she was right now. To stand in front of her and just give her a tight hug. To tell her how sorry he was that he couldn¡¯t help her. And to just¡­ ask her how she had been doing these past two decades.


    There were so many things that he wanted to do. But he knew that he couldn¡¯t. If he wanted to keep Emmy safe, then he shouldn¡¯t.


    So, he could only do what he could right now. And that was to meet his nephews.


    It would be hard to meet Andreas today since the other was in the military academy. The only one he could meet right now was Astrid. If his meeting with Astrid went well today, perhaps he could arrange to meet the two of them tomorrow.


    At the thought that he would meet Astrid any minute now, he suddenly felt very nervous.


    How could he explain to the other that he was his uncle? What if he didn¡¯t believe him? He should have given a better impression when they first met. There was also that incident when Astrid was first appointed as the brand ambassador of EMMA¡¯s new perfume line. He really didn¡¯t handle that well. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In Astrid¡¯s mind, he was probably just a flighty, unserious person whom one could hardly rely on.


    Just the thought of Astrid having that opinion about him was enough to turn his stomach. But there was something even worse than that.


    That Astrid knew who he was, who the whole Grimaldi family was, and he just didn¡¯t care.


    Before Casey could delve on that thought, the door of the private room finally opened.


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 Chapter 578: DECISION (III)

    He understood, though. Casey must have taken into account his position as a rookie actor. That¡¯s probably why he rented out this whole place.


    As he entered, a staff quickly approached him and led him to where Casey was. Following the other, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but remember the conversation he had with his mother earlier.


    =====


    When his video call connected, his mother appeared on the virtual screen. She was wearing an overall and a wide-brimmed hat ¨C this was her usual ¡®farming battle suit¡¯. Which meant that she was in the middle of planting or harvesting.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to call you at this hour, Mom. You¡¯re probably busy,¡± he immediately apologized.


    His mother waved her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll gladly accept a call from my children, even if I¡¯m in the middle of taking a bath. So, there¡¯s no need to apologize.¡±


    Astrid smiled at that. And then, he pondered how he should tell his mother about this whole situation with the Grimaldi family. The other must have noticed that he was worrying about something, because she quickly asked;


    ¡°Is there a problem, Astrid?¡±


    Astrid hesitated a bit. Mostly because he didn¡¯t know where to start.


    ¡°If there¡¯s a problem, you must have called me to tell me, right? If that was the case, then don¡¯t hesitate. Just tell it to me directly and I will listen,¡± she added, as if reading his thoughts.


    Astrid stopped. If he continued to hesitate here, he would only waste his mother¡¯s time. Since there was really no good way to tell his mother about this, he should just go for it. And so, after taking a deep breath, he told his mother everything in one go.


    When he finished, his mother had a blank expression on her face.


    ¡°Mom?¡± he called. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± His mother closed her eyes tightly, and when she opened them, she managed to get back a semblance of calmness. ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s just a lot to take in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mom. It¡¯s my fault. I should have been more careful.¡±


    His mother¡¯s brow furrowed as she promptly rebuked him. ¡°What are you saying? None of this is your fault. Ever since you and Reas encountered Casey, along with Tommy¡¯s child, this outcome was inevitable. It just happened much earlier than expected.¡±


    Astrid knew his mother would say that. But he still felt a tinge of guilt since this situation had developed to this point because of him.


    ¡°Son, again, this is not your fault. If you¡¯re worried that this might affect me and your father, I assure you, it won¡¯t. As long as the duke still has a functioning brain, he wouldn¡¯t do anything that could compromise our location. So, even if he and the others really did know that you and Reas are my children, they wouldn¡¯t do anything that could harm you or us.¡±


    Astrid almost chuckled. Because it¡¯s the same thing that Reas had said. But there¡¯s one thing that they hadn¡¯t taken into account. Something that he only realized when he received Casey¡¯s messages this morning.


    ¡°How about Uncle Casey? Would he also do the same?¡± he asked.


    His mother paused. She probably also realized that her brother might be overcome by emotion and might do something that could affect all of them. After all, he just found out that his supposedly deceased sister was actually alive, and he even had two additional nephews. That would overwhelm anyone.


    Of course, this was all under the speculation that the Grimaldis really now knew about him and Reas.


    When his mother didn¡¯t give an immediate answer, Astrid quickly followed it up.


    ¡°He sent me a couple of messages. He wants to talk. There¡¯s a chance that he might confront me about, well, everything. Should I¡­ go and meet him?¡±


    =====


    Going here, his mother¡¯s answer was already quite obvious. After a long silence, she finally said that he could go and meet Casey. And if, on the off-chance that he asked to talk to her¡­


    Astrid¡¯s thoughts halted when the staff stopped in front of the door of a private room.


    ¡°Lord Cassius is waiting inside, sir,¡± the other said, opening the door for him and gesturing for him to go in.


    Astrid nodded to the staff before walking inside.


    Casey quickly got up from his seat when he saw him. ¡°Aster, hello.¡±


    Astrid could see the other fidgeting, obviously very nervous. Casey walked towards the opposite seat and pulled it for him. ¡°Please sit.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said, sitting down.


    Casey went back to his seat. ¡°Are you hungry? Should we order food?¡±


    ¡°No, thank you,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Uncle Casey, you said you wanted to talk to me. Can you tell me what it¡¯s about?¡±


    Casey¡¯s body seemed to tremble when he called him ¡®uncle¡¯. Just by that reaction, Astrid could already tell that the chance of his speculation being correct was almost 100%. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Aster, I know this might sound weird. You might even think I¡¯m crazy, but whatever I will say next was nothing but the truth. I even have scientific evidence,¡± Casey started, his fingers fidgeting on the table. ¡°I¡­ I am actually your uncle. I¡¯m your mother¡¯s, Emmy¡¯s younger brother.¡±


    Astrid gazed down. He clenched his fists on his lap. There, what Casey said confirmed his speculation. The Grimaldis really found out about him and Reas. There¡¯s no denying that now. Mentioning scientific evidence, they probably did a gene matching test.


    He raised his head and looked at Casey. The other had this earnestness and hope in his sapphire blue gaze. But deep within that gaze, he could also see¡­ fear.


    At that moment, the only thing he could say was;


    ¡°I know.¡±


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 Chapter 579: DO YOU... HATE US?

    What did those two words ¡®I know¡¯ mean? It meant that Astrid, and most likely even Andreas, knew who they were. But despite that, they still acted like they didn¡¯t know them.


    His thoughts ran back to the time he first met the twins. During that hostage taking situation when the two saved Nicol. When he first introduced himself, there was a flash of something in the eyes of the two. But that was only for a second, and then their gazes quickly returned to normal. That¡¯s why Casey didn¡¯t notice anything back then.


    Even when they had dinner with Tommy, the twins¡¯ body language was also a bit strange. As if they were trying their best to put up a wall. The only time they ever let their guard down was when they were interacting with Nicol. This was especially noticeable with Astrid. Since, between the twins, Astrid was the one who mostly came in contact with the other members of the Grimaldi family.


    Casey only began to realize that Astrid was subtly drawing a boundary between him and the three older Grimaldis. It was as if he was silently conveying, ¡®This is a line you shouldn¡¯t cross.¡¯


    Casey thought at first that it was just the other being careful. After all, he was an actor. Many aspects of that job depended on one¡¯s reputation. That¡¯s why he thought he was drawing a line, so potential rumors connecting him to the Grimaldis wouldn¡¯t tarnish his reputation.


    As it turned out, he was drawing a line because he probably just didn¡¯t like them. Maybe he even hated them. Or worse, he felt nothing towards them. The last one being particularly unsettling in his opinion. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because that would mean indifference. For Casey, that was even worse. In his opinion, indifference was the exact opposite of love, not hate. At least, with hate, the other party still felt something for you, no matter how negative that emotion might be. But with indifference, there was¡­ nothing.


    Being nothing to someone you cared about was much scarier than being hated by them.


    A pang of dread shot through him, his heart squeezing tight in his chest at that thought. Anxiety coiled in his stomach, his mind filling with nothing but fear and dread. He didn¡¯t know what to do next. He just sat there, completely frozen.


    ¡°Uncle Casey? Are you¡­ alright?¡±


    Astrid¡¯s call seemed to force a semblance of calmness into Casey. He didn¡¯t know if it was just his imagination, or his delusion talking, but he felt a trace of worry in the other¡¯s voice. He raised his head, hoping to see that worry on Astrid¡¯s face. But the other¡¯s expression was the same as usual.


    But unlike earlier, Casey didn¡¯t wilt like a withered aspen tree. Because he quickly understood the truth that if he just wallow in his self-pity at this moment, nothing will change.


    Instead of answering Astrid¡¯s question, because he was far from ¡®alright¡¯ and he didn¡¯t want to lie to the other by saying that he was, he asked;


    ¡°How- how long have you known?¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. He had seen a variety of emotions from Casey, not even five minutes since Astrid entered the room. From nervousness to hesitation, then devastation, followed by sadness, and now, determination. It¡¯s like the other had undergone the five stages of grief in just a minute or so.


    But he was glad that Casey didn¡¯t try to act pitiful to gain his sympathy. Because if that had happened, his opinion of the other might just plummet. At least he was showing his strength to move forward, instead of just acting like a victim and thinking how unfair the situation was for him.


    ¡°Mom told us all about it before Reas and I went to the capital,¡± he honestly answered.


    Hearing that answer, Casey was a bit surprised. So, it wasn¡¯t that long. From what he knew, the twins had only arrived in the capital seven months ago. He met them just right after they arrived at the capital.


    Negative thoughts swirled in his mind once again. But he quickly got a hold of himself. Nothing would be done if he continued with this behavior.


    ¡°You- You and Andreas, do you¡­ hate us?¡±


    As he asked that, his gaze continued to drift downward. He was afraid to see Astrid¡¯s expression. He knew it was cowardly of him to do this, but what could he do? This was the only way he wouldn¡¯t self-destruct.


    He waited for the other¡¯s answer, like a sinner that had his head on the guillotine. Just waiting for the blade to cut his neck.


    ¡°I can¡¯t speak for Reas¡¯ opinion. But if you only asked for mine, then I will say honestly that I hated how the duke handled the situation back then. I hate how he used my mom, his daughter, for his revenge. And I hate how Lord Thomas was an accomplice to all that.


    ¡°But if you¡¯re talking about how I feel about the people themselves, I¡¯m not really sure. Hate is such a strong word to use on an individual, and I don¡¯t think I feel such a strong emotion for the duke or Lord Thomas. If I have to describe my feelings for them, then it¡¯s much closer to ¡®dislike¡¯, I guess?¡±


    What Astrid said was understandable. What he got from what the other said was that he hated the actions of the individual, rather than the individual themselves. Which was quite surprising for Casey. This answer showed Astrid¡¯s maturity and wisdom beyond his years. He felt proud and also sad at the same time.


    And then he realized that the other didn¡¯t say anything about him. This made him nervous. What if it was because he didn¡¯t feel anything for him?


    As if reading his mind, Astrid continued;


    ¡°As for Uncle Casey, I actually quite like you.¡±


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 Chapter 580: MORE THAN GLAD

    So, with a trembling voice, he asked, ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t hate me?¡±


    Astrid shook his head. ¡°Why should I? You¡¯re as much a victim here as my mother. Besides, you were not even an adult yet when all that happened. It¡¯s natural for you to not know what was happening. Especially when you¡¯re intentionally kept in the dark.


    If I hated you when you didn¡¯t do anything wrong, what would that make me? And as I¡¯ve said, I quite like you.¡±


    When Casey heard Astrid¡¯s answer, he was finally convinced that what he heard the first time was not just his illusion. He blinked, and he felt something fell from his eyes down to his cheeks. When he raised his hand to his cheek, the wet feeling could be clearly felt.


    He was crying.


    Upon that realization, he quickly wiped away the tears that had already fallen. ¡°Sorry, letting you see a grown man cry like this.¡±


    Astrid stared at Casey. The other person was wiping away tears that he likely hadn¡¯t even realized had fallen. Seeing him like that, Astrid felt a twinge in his heart. He suddenly remembered what his mother had said about Casey before. That the other was a sweet and soft-hearted kid. Two decades later, that probably still hadn¡¯t changed.


    Astrid reached out his hand over the table and held Casey¡¯s hand that was placed there. ¡°No need to apologize. There¡¯s absolutely nothing wrong with a grown man crying.¡±


    Casey finally couldn¡¯t help but chuckle hearing that. Then he looked at the fair, slender hand on top of his. He put his other hand on top of that hand.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ for not hating me. No, for not hating any of us,¡± he said, almost in a choked sob.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me for that,¡± Astrid said as he took back his hand, but not before squeezing Casey¡¯s hand one last time. ¡°And I still dislike the duke and Lord Thomas, by the way.¡±


    That made Casey laugh a little. ¡°I hope Andreas will be as welcoming to me as you have been.¡±


    Astrid thought of his brother. He still hadn¡¯t told the other that he was meeting Casey today. But knowing Reas, he could already imagine what the other¡¯s reaction would be to this little uncle of theirs.


    ¡°Well, he probably wouldn¡¯t react negatively. Just don¡¯t expect warm hugs and kisses. My brother isn¡¯t too much into that stuff. And just call him Reas. He very much prefers that,¡± he said, giving Casey some advice.


    Casey nodded, remembering the tall young man he had met before. Andreas, or rather, Reas, definitely did not look the type who would enjoy that type of close contact. Or even this kind of emotional conversation. He might even think it¡¯s cringe. What if the other thought he was uncool or something?


    No, his determination shouldn¡¯t weaken just because of that. The important thing now was to get closer to his two nephews. He would be the best uncle to them. Just like how he was with Nicol.


    ¡°Do you think he would agree to meet me tomorrow?¡± he asked tentatively, thinking how cadets of the military academy didn¡¯t have any class during weekends. ¡°If not, I can meet him anytime he¡¯s ready.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell him today. I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t mind meeting you tomorrow,¡± Astrid said. ¡°Just go to my apartment. But do try to be very stealthy about it. You know, we wouldn¡¯t want a scandal to circle around about a certain noble lord visiting the apartment of some rookie actor.¡±


    Although Astrid said that last part in a joking tone, Casey understood that the other was quite serious about it. Since they couldn¡¯t just announce to everyone that they were related, they wouldn¡¯t be able to give a viable reason why he would be visiting Astrid¡¯s apartment in case someone did manage to capture him on camera by doing just that. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thinking that he couldn¡¯t even tell anyone about how he had nephews who were a talented actor, and a genius Mecha pilot, the anger in his heart surged once again.


    This was all because of those damn Lancasters! Just when would they leave their family alone?


    Then that anger quickly shifted to the duke. Instead of solving the problem, he was much more interested in tending their manors¡¯ gardens. He had two decades to do something, and yet he didn¡¯t. Did the other not even think of recognizing any possible children of Emmy in the future?


    Casey felt his blood-pressure rising just thinking of that. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He didn¡¯t want to show an angry expression in front of Astrid.


    He smiled and responded to what Astrid said earlier, ¡°Of course I will not let anyone see me.¡±


    Astrid nodded. Then he suddenly remembered what his mother had told him when he called her earlier. About when if Casey asked to meet her. He thought that was the first thing Casey would ask him. But surprisingly, the other hadn¡¯t asked him any information about his mother. Casey hadn¡¯t even asked yet how his mother had been.


    He looked meaningfully at the other. Maybe Casey was just being considerate, and he didn¡¯t want to put him in a difficult situation. After all, meeting him and Reas secretly was definitely not the same as meeting their mother. The other also definitely knew that, so he was trying his best not to bring her up.


    He smiled inwardly at that. He no longer hesitated and just asked, ¡°Uncle Casey, do you want to talk to Mom?¡±


    Casey visibly froze when he asked that question. He obviously wanted to say ¡®yes¡¯, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to. So Astrid decided to make things easier for the other.


    ¡°You can use my Terminal and video call her,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be more than glad to see you.¡±

 Chapter 581: ITS SO DAMN HARD!

    He knew himself too much. That¡¯s why he told himself before this meeting that he would only focus on getting Astrid¡¯s forgiveness. He hadn¡¯t thought there would be none to seek. He didn¡¯t even have to plead. Astrid just very easily told him that he liked him.


    And now, the other was telling him that he could call Emmy. He lowered his gaze, biting his lower lip. He wanted to say ¡®no need¡¯, but he couldn¡¯t. How could he, when deep down all he wanted was to hear his sister¡¯s voice again?


    Astrid was giving him that opportunity now.


    He went here with just the simple thought of getting forgiveness and nothing more. How could he ask for more in his position? That would be too shameless. He might be thick skinned at times, but this was not that time.


    But who knew that Astrid would actually give him so much more than what he¡¯s asking? Giving him such a big gift? S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After asking that question, the other didn¡¯t say anything more. As if waiting for him to make his decision.


    His internal struggle didn¡¯t last long. He raised his head, his eyes brimming with determination and maybe a bit of anticipation. But there was also fear hidden beneath all of that.


    ¡°If- if you¡¯re sure, then I want to speak with Emmy.¡±


    Astrid smiled at that. He thought Casey would refuse. If the other did just that, he was prepared to convince him. After all, even if his mother didn¡¯t say anything when he talked to her earlier, it was obvious that she also wanted to speak with Casey. As evidence of how his mother told him to video call her again if Casey asked if he could speak with her.


    He took off his Terminal before opening it. He swiped on the virtual screen until his mother¡¯s Terminal number appeared. Then he turned his Terminal around so the screen would be facing Casey.


    ¡°If you¡¯re ready, just click on the call button,¡± he said before standing up. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡±


    Casey suddenly panicked. ¡°Wait¨C!¡±


    Astrid stopped his action of opening the door. He turned to look at Casey.


    ¡°Can you stay?¡± the other asked. ¡°Please?¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. He thought the other would prefer to talk to his mother in private. It¡¯s their two decade long reunion, after all. Even if it was just through a video call. But surprisingly, Casey wanted him here. He could only conclude that the other was too nervous to talk to his mother alone, and he needed some kind of mental support.


    That¡¯s why he wanted him to stay.


    Astrid nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Casey visibly sighed with relief when he saw Astrid sat down opposite him again. Then he looked at the virtual screen in front of him, particularly at the profile picture with the name ¡®Mom¡¯ underneath it.


    It was just a small profile picture, but he couldn¡¯t take his eyes off of it. A woman with ice-blue hair was smiling happily at the camera. Her sapphire blue eyes crinkled like a crescent moon. One could see how happy she was when that picture was taken.


    Had he ever seen Emmy this happy before? The answer was no. Maybe when their mother was still alive. But Casey was still too young back then to remember it.


    He suddenly felt uncertain. Was this really the right decision? What if his presence disturbed Emmy¡¯s current peaceful life? Then, should he really do this?


    Seeing Casey¡¯s sudden hesitation, Astrid decided to give the other a little push. ¡°Go on, Uncle Casey. As I¡¯ve said earlier, Mom would also be glad if she could speak to you. So, don¡¯t think of anything unnecessary. Just think about what you really want to do at this moment.¡±


    Casey didn¡¯t expect for Astrid to encourage him like that. A sweet pang suddenly hit his heart. Really, what a good kid. Because of his nephew¡¯s words, he felt a bit confident and his hesitation disappeared a little.


    Taking a deep breath, he finally pushed the ¡®call¡¯ button.


    One¡­ two¡­ three¨C


    The call was connected and the person he most want to see this past two decades finally appeared on the virtual screen.


    Emmy¡¯s ice-blue hair was tied in a loose bun. She was also wearing some kind of hat that seemed like one of those worn by farmers. There was even a bit of dirt on her cheek. Her current appearance was far from the glamorous young lady she once had been. But she looked very healthy. And more importantly, happy.


    As Casey was observing Emmy, Emmy was also doing the same.


    She looked at her grown brother. The silver hair and sapphire blue eyes were still the same as she remembered. But the image of the person on the virtual screen was very different from the one in her memory. In her mind, Casey was still that mischievous boy who had a lot of energy. But now, now¡­


    ¡°You¡¯ve become really handsome,¡± she said in a hoarse voice. ¡°Casey.¡±


    The frozen Casey who could only stare at the virtual screen finally came back to his senses.


    ¡°E-Emmy,¡± he called back. The tears that he had been holding back since earlier finally fell down. ¡°I- I miss you.¡±


    After he said that, it¡¯s like a dam had been opened. All the emotions he had been keeping to himself just poured out.


    ¡°I miss you so much. When- when they told me that you¡¯re gone, it¡¯s like- it¡¯s like the ground I¡¯m stepping on just caved in. I didn¡¯t know what to do with myself. Everything is just so painful. Waking up felt like a chore. I just want everything to end.


    It¡¯s so hard. It¡¯s so damn hard!¡±


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 Chapter 582: BROTHER AND SISTER CHAT

    Tears welled up in her eyes. But she tried her best not to let them fall. If she also broke down here, it would only aggravate the sadness that Casey was feeling. As the older sister, she should not fall apart and make her younger brother feel even worse than he did now. But it¡¯s taking everything in her not to do just that.


    In the more than 20 years that they had been separated, she had thought countless of times how the other was doing. If he was eating well, if he was sleeping at night with no problems, if he was growing up properly, all kinds of thoughts that had always filled her mind.


    The sadness of not knowing the answers to that was only covered up by the love she received from her husband and children. Because of her new family, she was able to be happy.


    But what about Casey?


    If he knew what their father and older brother had done, he would definitely feel angry and even more alone than he already did. The loneliness could have easily eaten away at him, bit by bit, until none of his former self remained.


    But thankfully, Emmy could see that, in some way, Casey was still the same Casey she knew. This showed how much tenacity he had. With the things he had experienced, he could have easily gone on the wrong path. But from the things Astrid had told her, as well as what she¡¯s seeing now, she could tell that Casey had grown up into a well-adjusted adult.


    She clenched her fists, and she tried to smile as best as she could. ¡°I miss you too, Casey.¡±


    Casey sobbed even more. He couldn¡¯t even properly articulate the words he wanted to say. He could only cry silently.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Casey. I¡¯m sorry for not being there for you. I¡¯m sorry for making you think that I was gone. I¡¯m just¡­ really sorry about everything,¡± she said, trying hard not to let the tears welling up in her eyes from falling.


    Casey shook his head. ¡°No, no, Emmy didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± He wiped away his tears and looked straight at his sister. ¡°In this family, you¡¯re the last person who should feel the need to apologize.¡±


    A helpless smile crossed Emmy¡¯s lips. Really, even at this point, he was still thinking of her.


    ¡°Maybe in the overall scheme of things, but when it came to you, an apology is definitely long overdue. As an older sister, I should have done better. I was so overwhelmed by all the things happening back then that I wasn¡¯t able to think of a plan that could have made things less hard for you. I will forever regret that.¡± Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What could Emmy have done? You barely made it out of that situation alive. I¡¯m not so petty that I will blame you for what happened. You did the best you could. For me, you being alive is more than enough,¡± Casey said in a bit of a chiding tone.


    A soft laugh escaped Emmy¡¯s lips. ¡°Oh Casey, you really are the sweetest. How I wish I could hug you right now.¡±


    ¡°¡­Me too,¡± Casey responded in an almost soft mumble. ¡°I wish I could hug you as well.¡±


    Both of them fell silent. Because they knew, with the danger of the Lancasters still hanging around them, Casey couldn¡¯t just go to where Emmy was.


    ¡°How have you been all these years?¡± Casey asked after a while, promptly changing the subject.


    ¡°Well, I think you already know, but I got married. His name is Gage. He¡¯s a very wonderful man. We built a farm and we¡¯ve been expanding it for the past 20 years. Can you believe it? Me, a farm girl?¡±


    It indeed surprised Casey. He didn¡¯t expect that Emmy would actually farm. He could still remember how the other couldn¡¯t even properly fold her clothes. He couldn¡¯t imagine her actually planting some crops. But the thing that he noticed more was the soft light that flashed in Emmy¡¯s eyes when she mentioned the name of her husband.


    Gage. That was the name of the wanted soldier whom the Lancasters blamed for what happened back then. So Emmy really did end up marrying the guy. He felt a bit complicated. After all, he really didn¡¯t know the guy on a personal level. So, he couldn¡¯t form any opinion about the other without sounding very prejudiced.


    That¡¯s why he could only ask;


    ¡°Is he good to you?¡±


    Emmy seemed to be surprised by the question. Then she smiled. ¡°Very. He¡¯s a foolish man who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to dig out his heart and give it to me if it was physically possible. He loves me and our children. There¡¯s nothing to worry about on that note.¡±


    Casey was relieved when he heard that. As long as his sister was happy and loved, then that¡¯s enough for him. ¡°You have raised two lovely kids.¡±


    ¡°They are indeed lovely. But they could also be a big pain in my ass sometimes. I still wouldn¡¯t trade them for the world, though,¡± Emmy said. ¡°I¡¯m sure they will be glad to have an uncle like you.¡±


    Casey smiled a bit, hoping that would indeed be the case.


    ¡°How about you? I heard you¡¯ve taken over EMMA?¡± Emmy asked. She had been holding back from asking how the other had been doing these past 20 years or so.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been good, for the most part.¡± Except during days that he couldn¡¯t help but wallow in his own melancholy. He didn¡¯t want to tell that to Emmy, though. That one outburst was enough. He didn¡¯t want this semi-reunion to be ruined by sad memories. ¡°As for EMMA¡­¡±


    Astrid, on the opposite chair, silently stood up and walked out of the private room. He should give them their privacy. As he stood outside, he was thinking about how he could help the two meet without any complications.


    And the only answer he could come up with was Wulfric.

 Chapter 583: CONTEMPLATION

    The Lancasters were probably just monitoring any big movements that the Grimaldis would make. For example, big decisions involving the whole family, or a member leaving the capital.


    If Casey headed to Delryria in the Palioxis Galaxy, where Astrid grew up, it would surely catch the Lancasters¡¯ attention. Even if Casey tried to keep it low-key, there¡¯s no guarantee the Lancasters wouldn¡¯t notice. And if they did, they¡¯d definitely wonder why Casey was being sneaky about it, which would make them curious to find out the reason behind it.


    Astrid could only think of one way on how Casey would be able to go to Delryria without getting the attention of the Lancasters. And that¡¯s with the help of Wulfric and his army.


    He knew that if he asked for help, Wulfric would give it to him in a heartbeat. He¡¯s just not sure if he should. It felt like he was taking advantage of the other, dragging Wulfric into a troublesome situation he shouldn¡¯t be involved in. Once Wulfric got involved, he was sure the other wouldn¡¯t stop with just that.


    For Astrid, it would feel like exploiting Wulfric¡¯s feelings for him. He knew Wulfric wouldn¡¯t feel that way. He would even feel happy to be of help. But Astrid¡¯s conscience just couldn¡¯t.


    He let out a deep, long sigh. This not only concerned him, but his whole family. So, he should definitely ask their opinion before making any decision. Which meant they had to inform them about his connection to Wulfric.


    Yes, he still hadn¡¯t told his parents that he reconnected with Wulfric. Much less how the other had confessed to him. He feared it would only bring forth a new wave of problems.


    Anyway, he¡¯d think about it later. No, scratch that, let him think about it tomorrow. His brain had been working overtime since last night. He should at least let it rest.


    ¡ª¨C


    Casey talked to Emmy for almost two hours. He actually wanted to talk more, but when he realized that he was actually using his nephew¡¯s Terminal, he felt a bit embarrassed.


    Emmy must have felt that too because the other told him to prepare a disposable Terminal and then asked Astrid to give him her Terminal number. Casey immediately understood what she was trying to say.


    Although the Lancasters probably hadn¡¯t yet devolved to the point of monitoring the Grimaldis¡¯ calls and messages, it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry. Of course, Casey agreed. Because he wanted to talk to his sister more.


    After his conversation with Emmy, he and Astrid separated. He actually wanted to escort Astrid back to his apartment, but the other politely rejected the offer. Since he had been getting a lot of attention lately, there were one or two paparazzi loitering around his apartment building. Someone might snap a photo of them together.


    Although Casey was happy that his nephew¡¯s popularity was skyrocketing, it kind of bothered him that the other¡¯s privacy was being invaded like that.


    Anyway, he and Astrid separated into the restaurant. He actually wanted to hug the other, but he felt that Astrid might feel awkward if he did. If he asked, the other, with his kind heart, would definitely agree. But that didn¡¯t mean Astrid would be comfortable about it.


    So Casey held back. Maybe once they got closer, he could ask that in a more natural manner.


    Just as he had talked with Astrid, he planned to visit the other¡¯s apartment the following morning to meet with Reas. He hoped that his discussion with his other nephew would also go smoothly, as it had with Astrid.


    With a renewed hope and determination, Casey drove back to his house.


    He parked his car in the rooftop garage. When he got out, he immediately noticed the extra car parked there. He narrowed his eyes. Because he could immediately tell that it was Tommy¡¯s car. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He glanced at the sky, tinted with hues of red-orange as the sun began to set. Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath. As he reopened them, his gaze was noticeably more resolute than before.


    Casey walked inside his house and, just like he guessed, one of the servants informed him that his brother was waiting for him in the study. He didn¡¯t waste time and walked towards there.


    As he opened the door, his brother, standing near the window, caught his immediate attention. He walked inside and closed the door.


    Tommy turned to him almost immediately. He stared at his face, as if trying to observe something. After seemingly finding an answer, he spoke;


    ¡°Did you talk to Astrid?¡±


    Instead of answering, Casey walked over to the small bar and poured himself a glass of hard liquor. Tommy seemed to not mind and just waited until he drank the whole glass.


    ¡°Yes, I talked to him,¡± Casey said after pouring himself another glass. He felt like the bitterness of the alcohol was washing away all the stress he felt since morning.


    ¡°Did you tell him who you are, who we are?¡±


    Casey wanted to laugh a bit when he heard that. The nerve-wracking emotions he felt when he first talked to Astrid came back to him again.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have to. He and Reas knew who we were. Emmy told them about us.¡±


    Tommy looked as shocked as he did when he first found that out. ¡°¡­How did they feel about us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about Reas, but Aster said he dislikes you and the duke,¡± Casey said honestly, then he smirked. ¡°Thankfully, he likes me.¡±


    Tommy¡¯s pupils trembled upon hearing that, clearly deeply affected by what Casey had said. He walked towards the bar and also poured himself a drink.

 Chapter 584: BROTHERS CHAT

    The anger he felt in the morning had already subsided a lot. Mostly because of talking to Astrid, and definitely being able to talk and see Emmy again after so long. This day was such a roller-coaster for him, but he was glad it ended it on such a high note.


    He couldn¡¯t believe that, just this morning, he was thinking of not seeing Tommy and the duke ever again. But now, he could look at Tommy calmly. Most of the anger he felt for the other had now turned to pity.


    Yes, pity. Because, unlike him, it would not be easy for Tommy to connect to the twins. After all, the two had already had a preconceived opinion of Tommy. And they weren¡¯t exactly children who easily be swayed. If Tommy wanted to get close to the two, it would take a lot of effort.


    Not only that, there was also Emmy. Because of what happened back then, Emmy¡¯s relationship with Tommy was tumultuous, to say the least. It would not be easy for him to try to reconnect with their sister. It would take more than a simple effort to do that.


    He wouldn¡¯t even dare to mention the duke. That old man required a whole new level of groveling to earn forgiveness.


    Tommy sat down in front of him. Neither of them spoke for a while.


    ¡°¡­Will you also meet with Andreas?¡± Thomas asked after a few minutes of silence.


    He was sure that the answer would be ¡®yes¡¯. This was Cassius. He wouldn¡¯t just stop after meeting one of their nephews. But Thomas still needed to ask.


    ¡°Yes, tomorrow,¡± Casey responded, not trying to hide it.


    Thomas whipped his head up. Tomorrow? That fast? But his surprise didn¡¯t last long. Maybe because he had already expected it. He just didn¡¯t expect that Cassius wouldn¡¯t really waste any time.


    But then again, this was Cassius. He had always been more of a doer rather than a thinker.


    There was another long silence after that.


    The next moment Thomas spoke, he asked in an almost in an almost inaudible voice;


    ¡°Can I go with you?¡±


    Casey raised his brow, not really expecting for the other to ask that. ¡°Let me ask them first. If they agreed, then you can accompany me.¡±


    Thomas nodded, understanding it well. It would be thoughtless of Cassius if he just brought him there without even informing the twins.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send you a message later if they agreed or not. If you have nothing else to say, please go. I want to rest,¡± Casey said before standing up. ¡°You can see yourself out.¡±


    Thomas also stood up. He didn¡¯t wait for the other to leave the study and said what he wanted to say since this morning. No, maybe he wanted to tell this to Cassius from long before.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cassius. I¡¯m sorry for being a useless older brother. I¡¯m sorry for not properly being there for you. I¡¯m sorry for letting you down in all ways possible. I¡¯m sorry for letting you experienced so much heartache. Just¡­


    I¡¯m sorry for everything.¡±


    This was something he should have done long ago. He simply took for granted the fact that Cassius never said anything. But this morning, he saw just how much in pain the other was. He had just been hiding it in his careless smile and sarcastic remarks.


    The fact that Cassius chose to keep all those emotions in for so long instead of letting it all out highlighted the lack of trust and dependability he felt towards him and their father. It was a testament to the emotional barriers that had been built over time. And he could only blame him and their father for that.


    The fact that Thomas could only say this now confirmed his failure as an older brother.


    This sudden apology took Casey aback. He didn¡¯t know how to react at first. But he must admit that some of his hurt and pain was pacified by that. One might say that he was too soft-hearted, but he¡¯s generally just a simple guy. If one apologized sincerely and from the bottom of their heart, he would feel compelled to forgive them.


    Of course, it still depended on the severity of the wrong done to him. If it¡¯s to the level of murder or something similar, forgiveness would be out of the question. And even if he forgave someone, he would never forget. That person would never be allowed near him again.


    But the situation within a family was different. No matter how much pain and sadness they caused him, they were still his family. So, it might be weird to say this, but forgiving them was easier and harder at the same time.


    Casey stared at Tommy and then sighed. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know how to respond to that. So, let¡¯s put that off for now.¡±


    Thomas almost smiled when he heard that. Because it¡¯s such a very Cassius-like answer. ¡°I understand. It¡¯s fine. You still talking to me was already more than what I could ask for.¡±


    He would just try to be better from now on. Not just for Cassius, but also for Emmaline and her children.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    On a certain part of a city center, another pair of brothers were also having a serious conversation.


    Astrid just finished making dinner when Reas arrived. Before they ate, he decided to tell Reas everything that had happened today. After he finished, Reas was silent for a few seconds before letting out a crisp curse.


    ¡°Damn. The duke really moved fast. But I must say, Cassius moved even faster.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your only reaction?¡± Astrid asked amusedly.


    ¡°Well, my brain is actually still processing everything and I¡¯m just telling you my current initial reaction,¡± Reas said with a shrug. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Uncle Casey wants to meet you tomorrow, by the way. Is it alright?¡±


    Upon hearing that, Reas¡¯s initial thought, albeit inappropriate for the situation, was: he had plans with Lauren tomorrow.

 Chapter 585: HANDLED EVERYTHING

    ¡°Cassius, just speak up if you¡¯ve got something on your mind. No need to keep giving me side glances like that,¡± Tommy suddenly said. If one did not listen clearly, they probably would miss the helpless tone in his voice.


    ¡°Is it really alright for us if we go to Aster¡¯s apartment without any disguise?¡± Casey asked with a bit of worry. ¡°I promised him we will go there as stealthily as possible.¡±


    Thomas understood his brother¡¯s worry. It¡¯s not only the Lancasters, but they also had to worry about not affecting Astrid¡¯s career. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve handled everything.¡±


    Cassius narrowed his eyes at him. ¡°How exactly did you handle ¡®everything¡¯?¡±


    ¡°As you know, the Lancasters are keeping an eye on us, but it should be taken into account that we are also doing the same. Both sides couldn¡¯t do blatant monitoring of each other because it could easily be used against one another. That¡¯s why small movements of each family couldn¡¯t easily be detected.


    ¡°On the other hand, big actions like entering a space warp and going to another planet could easily be traced and reported. This is how the situation between the two families had been on a standstill for the past two decades, creating a balance that neither of the two wanted. Neither of us could really move against one another without breaking this delicate balance. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If news of Emmaline being alive were to surface, the Lancasters would happily break this balance in a heartbeat. The family is prepared to fight them. The only thing we¡¯re not sure about is if we could ensure Emmaline¡¯s safety 100%. It¡¯s tough to guarantee we can keep her out of harm¡¯s way in the middle of the feud between the two families.


    We know the Lancasters would go after her first, along with her husband and children.


    ¡°That¡¯s why Father had been very reluctant to break the current situation. It¡¯s not solely about Emmaline¡¯s safety, but also about preserving the life she¡¯s built for herself. If her survival became public knowledge, the happiness she¡¯s worked so hard for would vanish. The least thing Father and I could do after everything that had happened was to prevent that from happening.¡±


    Casey became silent after hearing that long explanation. He understood it on a basic level, but that didn¡¯t mean he could agree with it. The way Tommy and the duke handled things were too extreme. He bet the two didn¡¯t even try to search for Emmy, just in case her location might be leaked to the Lancasters.


    ¡°How could you be so sure that Emmy is living a happy life? What if she actually needed our help?¡± he couldn¡¯t help but asked.


    Tommy looked out of the window, his lips curving into a sad smile. ¡°Because she said so. On the last video message she sent to us, she said she would live her life fully from now on. That it would only be filled with nothing but love and happiness. So, we shouldn¡¯t try to go look for her and just think that she was living happily somewhere.¡±


    Casey felt that that was such a weak reasoning. But it also felt very much like Emmy. Remembering his video call with her yesterday, he could see that she really had lived a very full and happy life. He was truly glad for that.


    ¡°And regarding the possibility of being photographed, I put people around the vicinity of Astrid¡¯s apartment building. They will make sure that no picture of us going inside the building will be taken today,¡± Tommy added, referring to Casey¡¯s other concern.


    Well, it seemed that the other really had handled ¡®everything¡¯.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    In Astrid¡¯s apartment, both brothers were in the living room, doing their own thing.


    Astrid was talking with Ellis regarding the script of [The Shadow Within]. Despite all the things happening to him right now, he still didn¡¯t forget his main job. Since he really liked that script, he quickly asked Ellis if there was an audition, or just the general plan for it. The other told him that she would check about it. And now, she was telling him of the result of his inquiry.


    ¡°It was a script written by a new director named Jimmy McCann. And I say ¡®new¡¯ very relatively,¡± Ellis said. ¡°He¡¯s a fresh graduate, very young and inexperienced. Aside from some short films he did while studying, he didn¡¯t have any work under his belt. This script, [The Shadow Within], would probably be his first work. If it ever gets a green light, that is.


    Do you still want to do it despite knowing that?¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t hesitate to nod. ¡°I really like his script. With the right directing and acting, it will definitely be a big hit.¡±


    While Astrid was having that conversation, Reas was exchanging messages with Lauren.


    [I¡¯m sorry if we have to move our plans to tomorrow.]


    Reas sent that, apologizing to the other. It didn¡¯t take long for Lauren to reply.


    [It¡¯s fine. Didn¡¯t you say it¡¯s a sudden family situation? Then it can¡¯t be helped.]


    Reas let out a sigh of relief when he read that. He understood it was strange to be more concerned about his plans with Lauren than the fact that the Grimaldis were now aware of him and Astrid. But he couldn¡¯t help it. Maybe because subconsciously, he felt that even if the Grimaldis knew about them, nothing would change much.


    [Just make sure it won¡¯t happen again tomorrow. Or I might suspect you just actually don¡¯t want to treat me to a meal.]


    Reas laughed a little when he read Lauren¡¯s new message. He knew that the other was just joking, but he still played along and replied;


    [There¡¯s no way that will happen.]


    It was then that Astrid received a message from Casey, telling him that he and Tommy were already in front of the apartment building.

 Chapter 586: ARRIVING AT THE LITTLE APARTMENT

    Casey looked around. This was definitely a single-room apartment. Although everything that was needed was here, like the kitchen, and the dining and living area, it was all on a small scale.


    He now wondered if there wasn¡¯t enough money to get a better apartment. But then he remembered that EMMA paid Astrid a hefty amount for being their first perfume line¡¯s ambassador. Not to mention the money paid for being the ambassador of their new collection, which was much larger than the former. Should he have paid more?


    Wait- could Astrid¡¯s agency actually not giving him the money he earned? And here he thought that agent was trustworthy. Should he do a comprehensive background check on the entertainment company Astrid signed in to?


    As Casey was having delusions on his own, Thomas was also feeling very uncomfortable. Because the whole apartment wasn¡¯t even as big as the smallest bathroom in their mansion. The place only had one bedroom. Even if Andreas spent the weekday at the military academy, this place was still hardly adequate for two growing boys to live in.


    Thomas felt truly uncomfortable at the thought that Emmaline¡¯s family might not have the money to even afford a two-bedroom apartment. But he couldn¡¯t say anything here. Since the two hadn¡¯t recognized him as an ¡®uncle¡¯, it would already be a miracle if they would. He didn¡¯t have the right to say anything about this matter.


    ¡°Please, sit. I¡¯ll go and prepare tea and some snacks,¡± Astrid said.


    Casey wanted to say that there¡¯s no need, but before he could, Astrid had already walked towards the small kitchen. So, he could only walk towards where Reas was and sat opposite the other. Tommy followed him and sat beside him.


    He looked at the teenager sitting before him. The other was observing him and Tommy, as if pondering what kind of judgment he would pass on to them. Casey attempted a friendly smile, but his facial muscles felt stiff, making the gesture come across as awkward.


    ¡°Hello, Reas,¡± he greeted.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Andreas,¡± Tommy followed with his usual monotonous voice.


    Reas stared at them for a few seconds before nodding his head. Seeing that, Casey breath a sigh of relief. At least the other accepted their greetings and weren¡¯t entirely antagonistic.


    ¡°Ahm, thank you for meeting us today,¡± he started. ¡°You must have already heard from Aster about the whole situation. May I- may we ask your opinion about it?¡±


    Reas looked at Casey, whose eyes looked like they were begging for him to not be angry or harbor too much hatred. In fact, the other was almost silently shouting it. If that even made sense. The one beside him, Thomas, was also looking at Reas with an intense gaze. As if he was about to go to war or something.


    Reas could only sigh inwardly and decided to just be honest. He didn¡¯t want to make things too complicated, so it¡¯s better to just straightforwardly say his thoughts about all this. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Honestly? I hate how you handled my mother¡¯s situation. Except you, of course,¡± he directed the last part towards Casey. ¡°I can¡¯t comprehend what¡¯s going through the duke¡¯s mind, using her as some sort of bait. It¡¯s either he¡¯s lost his mind or he simply didn¡¯t care about Mom. Other than that, I don¡¯t have strong feelings towards the Grimaldis.


    We might share DNA, but that doesn¡¯t make us family. At least not to me. As long as you don¡¯t interfere with how my family and I live our lives, then we won¡¯t have any problems. That¡¯s it. That¡¯s my whole opinion of the matter.¡±


    Silence filled the air after that.


    Casey was left speechless by what he heard and struggled to find words in response. It¡¯s like Reas just laid it all down, not waiting for them to give any ¡®counter-arguments¡¯. It¡¯s like if they said more, it would only annoy him. More than being surprised, he just felt sad.


    Because what Reas said just showed that he didn¡¯t have any interest in being a family with them. Rather than the strong emotion of ¡®hate¡¯, what he¡¯s giving them was indifference. Something that Casey had been afraid of since he found out about the twins.


    Thomas was also just as lost as Casey. He was unsure how to respond or whether he should even speak. His emotions were a chaotic whirlwind¡ªsadness, frustration, regret, and pain all blending together into an overwhelming weight on his chest, making it difficult to breathe.


    But he also understood that he had to say something. If he just left it as it was, not only Andreas, but even Astrid would only treat them as nothing more but a passing acquaintance. Maybe Cassius would be in a much better position, as well as Nicol. But the twins would still have some reservations for even those two. And because of that, deep inside, they wouldn¡¯t truly feel like they¡¯re family.


    But for things to at least not reach that point, the twins needed to understand their grandfather¡¯s perspective. And that was something even Thomas might not be able to accomplish.


    So, where could he go from there?


    As the strange silence continued, Astrid was finally done with making tea. He put them on a tray together with a plate of sesame balls. Before he could lift the tray, Reas had already stood up and walked to his side, carrying the tray for him.


    He glanced at his brother. Of course, he also heard what he said to Casey and Thomas. He gave the other a raised brow, as if saying ¡®do you really need to be that direct?¡¯. Reas, in turn, just shrugged. Which was almost equivalent to him saying, ¡®why shouldn¡¯t I?¡¯.


    Astrid could only shake his head helplessly as he followed Reas, who had already placed the tray on the center table. He sat beside the other and poured tea for Casey and Thomas.


    ¡°Please, have some tea. It¡¯s from our farm, so I can assure you of its quality.¡±


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 Chapter 587: PROMOTING THE FARM

    Because the tea was really good!


    The taste of the tea was smooth and soothing, with a clean and refreshing quality that gently spread across the palate. There was a subtle complexity that emerged gradually, revealing layers of natural flavor without any harshness. The aftertaste was delicate and pleasant, leaving a lingering sweetness on the tongue.


    This tea tasted even better than any high-grade tea they ever had. And they weren¡¯t just saying that because they knew that it was a tea grown on the farm of their sister.


    ¡°Aster, where can we buy this tea?¡± Casey asked. ¡°Is your farm distributing in the capital?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, our farm only distributes our products, including this tea, within the Palioxis Galaxy,¡± Astrid said with an expression of regret. ¡°But you can order this tea through me or Reas. And once it arrived here, I would have it delivered to your houses.¡±


    Starting from the last quarter of last year, their farm had increased the production of tea. So, it would be alright if Casey or Thomas ordered 10 boxes each.


    Reas glanced at his brother. He couldn¡¯t believe that at this stifling situation, Astrid was actually trying to promote their farm. Should he applaud him for having his priorities straight?


    Casey felt disappointed at first when he heard that they¡¯re not distributing here in the capital. He could tell that Tommy was also disappointed, as evidence of how the corners of his mouth slightly turned down. But when Astrid said they could order through him, that disappointment immediately disappeared.


    ¡°Then, I want to order a hundred box!¡±


    ¡°Me as well. And if possible, I also want to order all of your other produced,¡± Tommy added. ¡°A crate for everything would be good.¡±


    ¡°Then me too! And you don¡¯t have to worry about the transfer fee from Delryria to here. We will pay for that as well,¡± Casey continued.


    Astrid blinked. The smile on his face almost turned crooked. What 100 boxes? What crates? Did these two think their farm was as big as an agricultural planet? If he really agreed to their request, then their farm wouldn¡¯t be able to supply the distributors that were contracted to their farm.


    As he was wondering how to solve their misconception, he heard a sudden sound from right beside him.


    ¡°Pfft¨C!¡±


    Astrid turned to Reas and saw the other trying his best not to laugh. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re enjoying this situation.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first time I saw you with that expression. You should be thankful I didn¡¯t outright laugh,¡± Reas responded with a grin.


    The other two brothers were staring at their nephews¡¯ interaction. They couldn¡¯t understand why they were having that conversation. It felt like the two were in their own world. A world they couldn¡¯t easily enter, even if they wanted to.


    This only made Casey even more sad. He didn¡¯t like this feeling of exclusion. But he also understood that he was not in the right place to demand to be ¡®included¡¯. No, he nor Tommy or the duke didn¡¯t have any right to demand anything from the twins. Still, he wanted to be part of their lives.


    For that to happen, he had to make an effort to get closer. And staying still like this was not the answer. He just had to know when to be shameless and when not to cross the line. At least until he was allowed to.


    So, he asked, putting a worried expression on his face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did we say something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, but your order is a bit too large for what our farm can handle at the moment. The farm should be able to supply 10 boxes of tea for each of you. As for the other products, it would be more feasible to provide one kilogram of each,¡± Astrid explained. ¡°A crate is a bit¡­¡±


    Hearing that, both Casey and Thomas finally understood why the twins had that reaction earlier. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I apologize. We should have taken that into account,¡± Thomas said with the same serious expression.


    Casey also nodded continuously, showing that he also felt the same way.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. So, will you still be ordering?¡± Astrid didn¡¯t forget to ask. That¡¯s the most important part here.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Casey quickly said. ¡°Just 10 boxes of tea and a kilogram of each of your farm¡¯s products.¡±


    ¡°The same as him,¡± Thomas added after. ¡°Should we send the payment to your bank account?¡±


    ¡°Sure. Just make sure it won¡¯t be traced by any kinds of pests, noble or otherwise,¡± Astrid said, adding the last part meaningfully.


    The two understood what he meant and promised that there wouldn¡¯t be any problems on that front.


    ¡°Please ensure you pay only the required amount. There¡¯s no need to add any extra,¡± Reas added on the side.


    As if he was enlightened, Astrid showed a look of understanding. ¡°That¡¯s right. If you send any additional money, I won¡¯t just send it back, I will also not let you order from our farm again.¡±


    Casey and Thomas both showed an awkward expression. It¡¯s obvious that they were thinking of doing just that. Good thing, Reas reminded him. Or else, he might just wake up tomorrow with having additional millions of star coins in his bank account.


    After that was solved, he pushed the plate of sesame balls towards the two. ¡°Please have some of this as well. I just made it this morning, so it¡¯s still a bit fresh.¡±


    The two looked at the plate in front of them. It was filled with what seemed like a small round dough coated in sesame. This was the first time they had seen something like this. Although they were concerned about how it would taste like, they still picked one each without hesitation.


    How could they hesitate when Astrid was the one who made it? And so, they took a bite and their eyes immediately widened when they did.


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 Chapter 588: PLANS FOR LUNCH

    Casey looked at Astrid in surprise. ¡°You really made this? It¡¯s so delicious!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, and yes, I made it,¡± Astrid answered.


    Even Thomas made a comment. ¡°You can be a professional pastry chef with this level of skill.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! If you had your own bakery, I¡¯d be there every day buying everything,¡± Casey exclaimed enthusiastically. ¡°But what do you call this? There¡¯s something sweet inside. What is it?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re called sesame balls,¡± Astrid answered. ¡°I used red-bean paste as fillings. But savory fillings can also be used, like ground meat.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the first I heard of this kind of snack. Did you, perhaps, invent it?¡± Thomas asked, as he took another sesame ball from the plate.


    ¡°Oh no. I just found it in an old recipe book,¡± Astrid said. He didn¡¯t dare take credit for this.


    ¡°Aster knows a lot of unknown recipes and they all tasted delicious. He isn¡¯t just skilled at making snacks; he¡¯s an all-around great cook,¡± Reas remarked, his voice tinged with pride.


    Casey didn¡¯t doubt what Reas said. If Aster could turn something as unusual-looking as that round dough into such a delicious treat, his cooking skills must truly be exceptional.


    ¡°Now, I suddenly want to eat your cooking.¡±


    Although he said it jokingly, deep down, he was completely serious. How amazing it would be to eat Astrid¡¯s cooking?


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re not that busy, you can stay for lunch,¡± Astrid said, not really thinking much of it.


    Although he didn¡¯t mean anything by it, for Casey and Thomas, it was a huge deal. To get an invitation like this meant another chance to get closer to their nephews. So, how could they refuse it?


    Casey was very excited. He wanted to quickly say ¡®yes¡¯. After all, this chance might not come again so soon. But before he could, Tommy, sitting beside him, suddenly stood up.


    Thomas was actually also very excited at the thought of eating his nephew¡¯s home-cooked meal. But to just agree here without saying anything was just too shameless. He hadn¡¯t even said what he really came here to say. Could he, in good conscience, really eat the food prepared by Astrid like that?


    As soon as he stood up, he bowed deeply, almost creating a 90 degrees angle.


    ¡°I want to express my deepest apologies for my actions 21 years ago and for the things I should have done but didn¡¯t. I understand that any explanation may come across as an excuse, so I offer this apology with the utmost sincerity and humility. You¡¯re probably thinking that the one who should be receiving this apology is your mother, and I agree wholeheartedly.


    ¡°I plan to do just that once a chance present itself. But that didn¡¯t mean the two of you didn¡¯t deserve any apology. That¡¯s why I¡¯m apologizing like this. There¡¯s no need for you to accept this apology or even forgive me. I simply hope for a chance¡ªa chance to demonstrate that you can rely on the Grimaldi family.


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t see us as family, that¡¯s okay. Just know that we¡¯re here now and we¡¯re here to stay. We¡¯ll provide you with all the support you need. Of course, we¡¯ll do our best to respect boundaries. We¡¯ll stay in our lane as long as that¡¯s what you want. But if you ever face danger or a problem that¡¯s too much to handle alone, we¡¯ll step in to help in any way we can.¡±


    After he said all he wanted to say, Thomas remained silent. But he didn¡¯t lift his head. He stayed in that pose, unmoving. Like a criminal waiting for judgment.


    Casey was surprised to see Tommy like this. That¡¯s probably the longest speech the other had ever given. If Tommy hadn¡¯t apologized to him last night, he might have been left with his jaw hanging open right now.


    He had never thought he would see the other like this. But even though Tommy¡¯s voice sounded like it didn¡¯t have any emotions in them, as someone who had grown up with him, Casey could tell that Tommy was very sincere. What he said truly came from the heart.


    He glanced at their nephews, wondering if that sincerity had reached them. Despite his own anger towards Tommy and the duke, he still wished for them to have a relationship with the twins.


    But when he did, he saw the twins looking at each other instead.


    Unbeknownst to Casey, Astrid and Reas were doing some ¡®eye conversation¡¯.


    Astrid: Should we let him off the hook?


    Reas: I don¡¯t really care, so you decide.


    Astrid: Hmm¡­ I¡¯m still not keen on treating him like he¡¯s our uncle.


    Reas: Who is? Just do what¡¯s comfortable.


    Astrid: Then, let¡¯s just be civil.


    After that silent conversation, which only lasted for a few seconds in reality, Astrid finally spoke;


    ¡°Please, lift your head, ahm, Uncle Thomas, can we call you that?¡±


    Thomas lifted his head with a bit of force when he heard the other call him ¡®uncle¡¯. Although he knew it probably didn¡¯t mean anything and it was just the other making things less formal, it still made him happy. If they wanted to let him be their uncle, in the familial sense of the word, they would call him ¡®Uncle Tommy¡¯ instead. Just like how they addressed Cassius as ¡®Uncle Casey¡¯. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But this was fine. He wouldn¡¯t be any more greedy than this.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he could only say, his voice sounding hoarse.


    ¡°So, will you be staying for lunch?¡± Astrid asked instead.


    ¡°Yes, we will!¡± Casey quickly said before he was interrupted again.


    ¡°Ah, can I arrange for Nicol to be brought here, so he could join us?¡± Thomas suddenly asked.


    Astrid smiled, clearly liking that suggestion. ¡°Sure.¡±

 Chapter 589: SMALL TALK

    But still, Casey felt it was unfair of him to just sit here and wait for lunch to be prepared. After all, he¡¯s not some customer at a restaurant. The one cooking over there was one of his newly recognized nephews. As an uncle, shouldn¡¯t he at least help?


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll only get in the way if you insisted on helping,¡± Reas suddenly said, as if reading what¡¯s on Casey¡¯s mind.


    He looked at his other nephew, who had a bored expression on his face. The two of them were the only ones in the small living room. Tommy went out to wait for Nicol¡¯s arrival. So, he was alone with Reas now.


    The two of them hadn¡¯t really talked properly since he and Tommy had arrived here. This would probably be the only chance he could talk to the other, so he should take this chance to start a conversation rather than stay silent.


    ¡°Ahm, so¡­ how is the academy?¡± he started.


    Reas lifted his head. Casey thought that the other would just ignore him, but surprisingly, he responded.


    ¡°It¡¯s fun in its own way.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re in the Mecha Department, right? Have you always been interested in Mechas?¡±


    ¡°I guess so?¡±


    ¡°I heard you¡¯re at the top of your class. You must be a really great Mecha pilot.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do put in a lot of effort. So, that only mirrored my performance in class.¡±


    After that answer, silence prevailed once again. Casey scratched his cheek in an awkward manner. He, unsure of how to proceed, felt a growing sense of awkwardness and disconnect, like trying to navigate a conversation in a dense fog where every attempt to connect was met with an elusive barrier.


    He truly wanted to have a proper conversation with Reas, but it was quite obvious that the other didn¡¯t feel the same. Maybe he even felt annoyed by Casey¡¯s attempt at normal conversation. Argh. He wanted to be the cool uncle, not the annoying one.


    Seeing Casey¡¯s gloomy expression was like watching a balloon slowly deflate, the initial excitement and color fading away, leaving behind a sense of deflation and disappointment. Reas sighed at the sight. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It¡¯s not that he was responding that way because he didn¡¯t like the other person. It¡¯s more like he didn¡¯t know how to engage in small talk. He was never a good conversationalist. Luckily for him, the people he mostly interacted with were all the exact opposite. Like his brother, or his roommate, and there was also Lauren.


    But even then, the main reason he could have proper conversation with those people was because he was comfortable with them. The same couldn¡¯t be said about Casey.


    It¡¯s not about liking the other or not. Maybe if they spent more time together, that would gradually change. But it certainly wouldn¡¯t change at this moment.


    ¡°Ah, Uncle Casey? I¡¯m not giving you these short replies because I don¡¯t want to talk to you. I¡¯m just¨C¡°


    ¡°He¡¯s not good at small talk, Uncle Casey,¡± Astrid said from the kitchen, obviously listening to their conversation while preparing lunch. ¡°It¡¯s not because he doesn¡¯t like you, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Reas glanced at his brother. The other only raised his brow as if saying ¡®What? Did I say anything wrong?¡¯. He sighed once more and turned to Casey. ¡°What he said.¡±


    Casey blinked. So, Reas¡¯ manner of speaking was mainly due to that reason and not because he simply disliked him? After comprehending Astrid¡¯s explanation, he visibly relaxed with relief.


    ¡°That¡¯s why there¡¯s no need to try so hard to make conversations like how you did earlier,¡± Reas added. ¡°If you want to get closer to Aster and me, just let it happen naturally. Don¡¯t force yourself to act a certain way. Allow time to do its work.¡±


    ¡°I second that,¡± Astrid showed his agreement while chopping vegetables.


    Casey fell silent for a moment. Truth be told, he was really thinking of just acting according to what the two liked. Because he felt like that¡¯s the fastest way to get closer to them. But according to his two nephews, that wasn¡¯t the right method. He felt like he was hit at the back of his head and was now totally awake.


    ¡®Allow time to do its work.¡¯


    A smile crossed Casey¡¯s lips. ¡°Thank you, I will try my best to follow that advice wholeheartedly.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    Just before Astrid finished cooking, Thomas returned to the apartment with Nicol. The first the kid after he walked inside was to run in Astrid¡¯s direction and hugging him. Astrid was sauteing vegetables then. He had to step back from the stove so any stray cooking oil wouldn¡¯t hit Nicol.


    ¡°Nicol, that was too reckless,¡± Thomas quickly chided his son.


    Nicol, who seemed to not hear what his father said, just raised his head and looked at Astrid with shining eyes. ¡°Dad said that Brother Aster is the son of my aunt. Does that mean that Brother Aster is really brother?¡±


    Before Astrid could answer, Reas snorted. ¡°What kind of brother? He¡¯s your cousin, that¡¯s different.¡±


    Nicol, looking annoyed, turned to Reas. ¡°We¡¯re still related, so it¡¯s the same thing!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re talking that way, then shouldn¡¯t I also be your brother?¡± Then Reas smirked, obviously trying to annoy Nicol on purpose. ¡°After all, I¡¯m Aster¡¯s twin ¡®brother¡¯.¡±


    Nicol¡¯s eyes widened in shock, as if a sudden realization had just dawned on him. He then nervously bit his lower lip, the reluctance evident on his young face. ¡°Fine. Then you can also be my brother.¡±


    Everyone looked at each other after hearing that. And then they just burst into laughter.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After finishing work, Wulfric was now in his study reviewing surveillance footage of the entrance of Aster¡¯s apartment building, a routine check he did as the owner to ensure no unauthorized individuals entered.


    It¡¯s for Aster¡¯s safety, after all.

 Chapter 590: A SUDDEN CALL

    ¡°What the f¡ª!¡±


    He paused the video and then zoomed in. Standing there were Thomas and Cassius Grimaldi.


    How did this happen? The only answer he could think of was because they had found out who Aster (and Reas) was.


    A lot of questions flashed in his mind. But mostly, he couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty because he wasn¡¯t able to stop this from happening. How useless was he that he couldn¡¯t even keep his promise to help Aster regarding this matter?


    After his internal panicking and self-blaming, he quickly called Aster.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After spending half a day with Casey, Thomas, and Nicol, Astrid felt inexplicably drained. It wasn¡¯t that he had exerted much effort entertaining them; rather, it seemed as though today¡¯s meeting had consumed a week¡¯s worth of emotional energy.


    Which was rather ironic, considering he was an actor¡ªa profession that thrived on channeling emotions into performances.


    Anyway, this meeting ended pretty well. Casey had calmed down because of his talk with Reas. Astrid had noticed that Casey was trying a bit too hard. But because of what Reas had said, he saw how the other visibly relaxed. As if the weight in his shoulders had been lifted.


    Having Nicol over for lunch was also a nice addition. The kid certainly brightened the atmosphere. He cutely promised that, even though he really wanted to, he wouldn¡¯t tell anyone that Astrid was his cousin, once again very conveniently forgetting that Reas was also his cousin.


    Both Casey and Thomas assured them that they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about Nicol telling others about their connection. He¡¯s a very precocious kid who understood clearly what he should and shouldn¡¯t do.


    Thomas was a bit of a surprise. The other seemed so serious and set in his ways, so he didn¡¯t expect him to apologize so straightforwardly like that. It¡¯s a good sign. At least he knew he was in the wrong and he didn¡¯t try to shirk his responsibility by saying it was all the duke¡¯s fault.


    Because of his apology, the time during lunch was much better than he thought it would be. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but think back to that.


    =====


    ¡°This is really good,¡± Casey said as he was munching on the sweet and sour pork and fried rice. ¡°How can this be so good?¡±


    Thomas also nodded in agreement. His personal favorite must be the fried dumplings, since he had already eaten quite a few.


    Nicol bit on an egg roll before looking at Astrid with shining eyes. ¡°Brother Aster, how can you cook like this? Even the vegetables are tasty. Did you actually use magic?¡±


    Astrid chuckled at everyone¡¯s reaction. ¡°Thank you. Cooking is actually my hobby, so I¡¯m glad everyone likes it.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way we wouldn¡¯t like it!¡± Casey said. ¡°But now, you completely ruin us. How can we possibly eat other food when we have already tasted your heavenly cooking skills?¡±


    ¡°True!¡± Nicol quickly seconded.


    Reas only shook his head and looked at them as if thinking that the two had the same brain waves, despite one being an adult and the other being a kid.


    Lunch continued on in such a bright atmosphere.


    ¡°By the way, Aster, if you need any help in your career, just tell me. If you need any investment for a movie or a series, I¡¯m just one call away,¡± Casey said after a while. The expression on his face looked like it was something he had been meaning to say since earlier. ¡°No, maybe I should just make you the lifetime ambassador of EMMA.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Casey, calm down,¡± Astrid said before the other thought of something even more outrageous than that. Especially since Thomas looked like he would also do something similar if he agreed to Casey¡¯s proposal. ¡°Haven¡¯t you already forgotten what Reas said earlier?¡±


    The overly excited Casey seemed to have calmed down after hearing that. ¡°Right, I¡¯m sorry. I just want to help you reach the top. If there¡¯s anyone who deserves it, it¡¯s you. Even Reas, I also want to help you be the best Mecha pilot in the whole Empire. So, if you need a new Mecha¨C¡°


    ¡°Stop,¡± Reas said, cutting off what Casey was about to say. ¡°Please don¡¯t involve me in this conversation. I know you mean well, but helping in this way is not needed.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Reas,¡± Astrid followed. ¡°If I allow you to help me in that way, if one day it was revealed that I¡¯m your nephew, it would only have a negative effect on me. Many people would think I only got to such a high position because of your help and not because of my talent. So, again, please don¡¯t do anything unnecessary. This is a request not only for Uncle Casey but also for Uncle Thomas.¡±


    He said the last part while looking at the two back and forth. The two seemed to be disappointed that they couldn¡¯t help their nephews advanced on their respective careers, but they still nodded in agreement.


    The lunch then continued. And then the harmonious atmosphere was broken again when Nicol asked something that made them all speechless.


    ¡°But why wasn¡¯t Grandpa invited to this lunch? I also want to let him taste Brother Aster¡¯s cooking.¡±


    =====


    After that, it took Casey and Thomas quite a while to make up excuses that could answer Nicol¡¯s question. Since Nicol was pretty close to the duke, they probably didn¡¯t want to tarnish the image of the latter. Nicol was still a child, after all. At his age, there¡¯s no need for him to hear all the negative things that had happened.


    Astrid stood up and was planning to take a bath before sleeping when his Terminal rang.


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 Chapter 591: SOMETHING BETTER TO SAY

    ¡°Aster, I¡¯m going out for a run!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Astrid answered automatically.


    When he heard the front door opening and closing, he clicked the ¡®accept¡¯ button on his Terminal screen. Wulfric¡¯s handsome face appeared. Before he could greet him, Wulfric beat him to it.


    ¡°Aster, are you okay?¡± he asked in a tight voice. His brows furrowed, his mouth drawn into a tense line, and his eyes wide with fear, he wore the expression of someone deeply worried.


    Astrid was startled by the strong reaction Wulfric was showing right now. If others would see Wulfric in this state, they would think Astrid was in a mortal danger or something.


    When he didn¡¯t answer immediately, Wulfric seemed to have made his own conclusion. His troubled expression slowly changed. His eyes narrowed, his jaw tightened, and his face turned red. The worry faded into growing frustration and anger.


    ¡°Did the Grimaldis do something? Did they force you into anything?¡±


    Ah, so it was that ¨C Astrid thought as he looked at Wulfric¡¯s expression. A helpless smile appeared on his lips.


    ¡°No such thing happened,¡± he said. Then a realization struck him. There was a question that he should have asked the moment Wulfric asked him that question. ¡°But how did you know they were here?¡±


    The anger on Wulfric¡¯s face transformed into a sheepish smile, like a little boy caught doing something mischievous. ¡°Ah, as the owner, I receive daily surveillance video recordings of the front of the apartment building. It¡¯s sort of an additional security measure, you know? This way, I can ensure that no dangerous individuals entered the place.¡± sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wulfric emphasized the words ¡®security¡¯ and ¡®dangerous individuals,¡¯ as if trying to assure Astrid that his actions were purely for safety reasons. However, his phrasing only made it sound more suspicious. Making it seemed like he had a hidden motive on why he was doing that.


    Of course, Astrid could immediately see that it¡¯s bull. It was quite obvious that Wulfric was doing it because of him. While it was true that it was for security reasons, it wasn¡¯t for the security of all the residents of the building¡ªjust Astrid¡¯s security.


    Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t really feel bad about it. Maybe because Wulfric was only monitoring the front of the apartment building. If he put a surveillance camera in his room, or even at the door of his apartment, then Astrid¡¯s reaction would definitely not be the same. Wulfric should prepare for war if he had done something like that. Perhaps the other also knew it. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t try to do so.


    ¡°Ahm, Aster, you¡¯re not mad, right?¡± Wulfric asked tentatively, looking like a puppy with its ears drooping.


    ¡°No. Wulf is doing it for ¡®security reasons¡¯. You¡¯re just being a responsible building owner. How could I be mad?¡± Astrid said in a tone as if he was pacifying a kid.


    Wulfric seemed oblivious to that. His sole focus was on the fact that Aster was not angry. If earlier, he resembled a puppy with drooping ears; now, he appeared like a puppy wagging its tail in excitement.


    Cute.


    If Wulfric could read Astrid¡¯s mind now, his face would probably flush red before smiling happily. After all, it was a compliment from Astrid. Even if it¡¯s a word that didn¡¯t suit him at all, if Astrid said it, then it must be true.


    ¡°But why did Thomas and Cassius Grimaldi go to your apartment?¡± Wulfric asked after he recovered from the relief of knowing that Aster was not angry with his actions. ¡°Was it because they already knew that you and Reas are their nephews?¡±


    He had already assumed that it might be the case. But he was still hoping that there might be another reason for it. Sadly, Aster¡¯s answer quickly dashed that hope.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Even though I told you that I will help keep your identity a secret, I wasn¡¯t able to prevent this from happening.¡±


    The other¡¯s sudden apology slightly surprised Astrid. Then he chuckled. ¡°Hey, why are you apologizing? This is not your fault at all. I¡¯ve been told that they did the gene matching test in a private lab owned by the Grimaldi family. Aside from the fact that you couldn¡¯t have tampered with the results, there¡¯s no way you would have known about the test in the first place.¡±


    Wulfric knew that. But still. A promise was a promise. And he wasn¡¯t able to keep it.


    Looking at Wulfric¡¯s expression that was still lined with guilt, Astrid added, ¡°To tell you the truth, it was actually my fault.¡±


    Then he began to recount what happened during the photoshoot he did at one of the Grimaldi¡¯s manors. From the unexpected meeting with the duke, to the ¡®cupcake incident¡¯, and the part where he talked to Casey and found out that the Grimaldis already knew about him and Reas.


    ¡°So, you see, if there¡¯s someone to blame in this situation, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Wulfric listened attentively to everything Aster had said. After the other finished, he finally understood how things had developed into his situation. Should he say that it was one hell of a coincidence?


    Out of all the manors that Aster had to do a photoshoot, it really just had to be the manor where Duke Grimaldi was. Of course, this coincidence led to the discovery of Aster¡¯s (and Reas) identity.


    Wulfric wanted to say that Aster was not at fault and that it¡¯s better to just blame him. But if he did that, it felt like he was making this whole situation about him when it¡¯s hardly the case. This was about Aster and his family. If he kept insisting that he was at fault, then he would be no different from a narcissist who always wanted to make everything about them.


    Especially since there was something better he could say at this moment.


    ¡°Aster, is there any way I could help?¡±

 Chapter 592: TO BE RENDERED SPEECHLESS

    If before, he was hesitating whether to ask Wulfric for help, now, that hesitation was slightly wavering. How could it not when the other was offering it himself? As if it was the most natural thing to do.


    ¡°Actually, there is one. I¡¯m just not sure if I should involve you in all this,¡± he said honestly.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can involve me all you want. I don¡¯t mind,¡± Wulfric quickly said. There was not even a hint of hesitation in his voice.


    A helpless smile appeared on Astrid¡¯s lips. ¡°You being like this is the reason I can¡¯t. It would feel too much like I¡¯m taking advantage of you.¡±


    Wulfric tilted his head, looking like he couldn¡¯t understand Astrid¡¯s response. ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with that? I¡¯m very willing to be taken advantage of. In fact, you can take advantage of me all you want. I, the person involved, would never, ever complain.¡±


    Wulfric rendered Astrid speechless once more. Although he had already expected this level of ¡®dedication¡¯ from the other, hearing him say those things still felt a bit unbelievable.


    If his hesitation had been weakening earlier, now he was completely tempted. If he could just use Wulfric, many of his problems related to the Lancasters would be solved. But as soon as he had that thought, he almost slapped himself. No, how could he even think that? He felt like a scum who took advantage of people¡¯s affection and used them.


    As he had already decided, his relationship with Wulfric wouldn¡¯t just be the other continuously giving to him. Because if the other just kept on giving, and he was just here, accepting everything, the balance of their relationship would completely tilt towards him. And he didn¡¯t want that.


    He needed Wulfric to understand that first. He felt like if he didn¡¯t say anything now, this kind of dynamic would continue on in the future. Maybe, at one point, this kind of devoted affection would even suffocate Astrid. So, it¡¯s better to make things clear now.


    Astrid looked at Wulfric. The smile on his face was gone and a serious expression replaced it.


    ¡°Wulf, I know you meant everything you said, and I appreciate that. But I don¡¯t want our relationship to be like this. For you to give me everything I wanted, and for me to rely on you whenever I have a problem. That¡¯s not the kind of relationship I wanted between us. I want Wulf to feel appreciated and valued, not taken advantage of.


    ¡°You might think it¡¯s okay now. But sooner or later, you will probably get tired of it. Of me. And how about me? I will definitely feel suffocated by all the favors you¡¯ve given me. Then where would that leave us?


    Ultimately, we might just end up hating each other. And I don¡¯t want that.


    ¡°The two of us, we might have started off on the wrong foot, but we found common ground and slowly built a connection from there. What we have now is something I greatly treasure. I want this connection to flourish, not degrade into something unrecognizable. I hope Wulf will agree with me as well.¡±


    After saying such a long tirade, Wulfric just stared at Astrid with an expression of shock, disbelief and, well, something close to the emotion of happiness. So, the end product was the other looking like he was constipated.


    In fact, Wulfric was bubbling with happiness right now. But the shock he felt was also overwhelming. He couldn¡¯t even believe that what he heard was real and not just his own delusion. That¡¯s why his expression ended up that way.


    How could he not be happy when everything that Aster said was only advantageous for him? The fact that Aster wanted him to feel valued and appreciated, the acknowledgment of how much he treasured their relationship, and his wish for it to flourish¡ªall of this brought him extraordinary joy.


    Especially the last one. Because if Aster wanted that, then wouldn¡¯t it mean that he wanted a future with him? Wulfric desperately hoped so.


    But he also understood what Aster was trying to convey to him. That his attitude of just giving whatever to Aster without asking anything in return might prove detrimental in the long run.


    Wulfric never thought of that, though. Because for him, this feeling of wanting to help Aster and make life easier for him would never change. It¡¯s probably too early to say this. After all, nothing could be set in stone. Especially considering how long a human¡¯s life span was.


    But still¡­


    ¡°I still want to help you,¡± he subconsciously said that out loud. When he realized what he did, instead of being embarrassed, he decided to continue what he wanted to say. ¡°You know that I¡¯m in love with you, right? How can someone see the person they¡¯re in love with having a hard time and just watch and do nothing?¡±


    Astrid suddenly felt his face heating up because of the very honest confession. He was thinking how to respond to that. But he didn¡¯t have to because Wulfric continued; S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Aster should know by now that I¡¯m a very emotionally driven person. Even if I have a brain that¡¯s capable of critical thinking, sometimes, no, most of the times, my emotion always won over. It¡¯s the same in this situation. I want to help you because I love you. I never thought of any consequences of that.


    ¡°Aster might think that it¡¯s unfair to me, but that¡¯s never the case. I am the only prince of the Empire. I possess both an SSS-level physique and mental strength. I can literally do anything I want. If you consider it from that perspective, then wouldn¡¯t I be the one who has the upper hand in this relationship?


    ¡°Have you ever thought it¡¯s unfair to you? No, right? And it¡¯s the same for me. If you view it in that light, wouldn¡¯t it mean that this relationship is actually very balanced?¡±


    Astrid, for the nth time, was once again rendered speechless.

 Chapter 593: JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

    If he continued to argue with the other and insist on what he thought was the right thing to do, he would only seem like a stubborn guy who simply didn¡¯t want Wulfric¡¯s help. All the things he said would only sound like excuses.


    ¡°You really are quite tenacious.¡±


    Wulfric shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s my only virtue, so I might as well use it properly.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s your only good point.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s ears perked up and then asked like a puppy waiting to be praised, ¡°What else do you like about me?¡±


    Astrid raised a brow. How come the ¡®good point¡¯ he mentioned turned into things he liked about him? But since Wulfric surprised him in a lot of ways today, he might as well indulged the other.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ if I were to choose, then it would be your willingness to change,¡± he said. ¡°I know it took a lot of willpower and determination for you to do that. But you did it anyway. So, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s for you. So, it¡¯s not really that hard,¡± Wulfric said, a hint of red appearing on his cheeks.


    Astrid almost laughed again when he saw that. After straightforwardly telling him his feelings, he would suddenly feel shy about something like this. The contrast made Wulfric even more adorable.


    ¡°And, to be honest, I haven¡¯t really changed that much,¡± Wulfric added. ¡°I¡¯m still the same jerk I¡¯ve always been to others. You¡¯re the only exception.¡±


    Astrid had already expected as much. But he really didn¡¯t care. The fact that Wulfric was willing to change for him already meant a great deal. ¡°Then I¡¯m honored.¡±


    Wulfric scratched his cheek while showing what seemed to be a shy smile. Then he cleared his throat. As if only now realizing that it¡¯s not time for him to act love-struck.


    ¡°So, have you already decided?¡± Wulfric asked, changing the topic. ¡°About the help I¡¯m offering, I mean.¡±


    Astrid fell silent once more and then sighed with a helpless smile on his lips. ¡°Okay. Please, help me.¡±


    Wulfric grinned. ¡°Of course I will. So, where shall we start? Should I destroy the Lancasters first? Although I still lacked evidence that could incriminate them, maybe it¡¯s time I take matters in my owns hands and just¨C¡°


    ¡°Wait, stop!¡± Astrid interrupted Wulfric before he could propose anything drastic, like assassinating Duke Lancaster. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to do anything illegal. Moreover, I¡¯ve heard that the Emperor supports the Lancasters. That¡¯s how they managed to regain some of the power the former Emperor had taken away. If you go against the Lancasters, won¡¯t you end up on the Emperor¡¯s bad side?¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s expression darkened, clearly understanding what Astrid said.


    ¡°Those bastards have damaging information about Cynric.¡±


    It took a while for Astrid to realize that the ¡®Cynric¡¯ Wulfric mentioned was none other than the Emperor. Of course, he knew the name of the Emperor. It¡¯s just that he hadn¡¯t encountered anyone who directly called the other by his name.


    When that finally registered in his brain, his first thought was; ¡®is it really okay for him to know about this?¡¯. But even though that crossed his mind, he still couldn¡¯t help but asked;


    ¡°They¡¯re blackmailing him- I mean, His Majesty?¡±


    Wulfric nodded with a grave expression. ¡°It¡¯s the reason I want to destroy that family.¡±


    Astrid didn¡¯t expect such a reaction from Wulfric. Because he thought that he and the Emperor were not close. After all, the other hardly ever mentioned the Emperor whenever they talked. Anyway, more than that, he couldn¡¯t believe that the Lancasters actually had the guts to blackmail the ruler of this gigantic Empire.


    The information they had against the Emperor must be truly detrimental if the other could support the Lancasters to this extent. Now, this just made things much more complicated.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been trying for years to obtain evidence of what they have against Cynric, but it has all been in vain. We suspect they didn¡¯t keep it digitally; instead, they have a physical copy,¡± Wulfric continued. ¡°As long as those bastards have that, it¡¯s hard for us to do anything. So, what I said earlier was mostly bravado. But if you insist on wanting to assassinate¨C¡°


    ¡°Okay, stop. I never insisted on anything like that,¡± Astrid said, cutting off what Wulfric was saying.


    He then fell into deep thought. Based on what Wulfric had said, as long as the Lancasters held that blackmail material, they were essentially untouchable. After all, they had the Emperor as their backing. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He wondered what could the Emperor have done that was so damning that he could be blackmailed to this extent. But Astrid had no plans to ask. He would be overstepping too much if he did that.


    He decided to just go back to what they were originally talking about.


    ¡°Regarding the help you¡¯re offering, I will be very satisfied if you can help the Grimaldis to meet my parents without alarming the Lancasters.¡±


    Wulfric was a bit surprised by the sudden change in topic. He thought Aster would ask more about Cynric being blackmailed by the Lancasters. But then again, this reaction was also very much like Aster. Besides, it¡¯s not like he could tell him about it even if he asked. It¡¯s Cynric¡¯s traumatizing past, after all. Wulfric had no business telling others about it.


    Even if that person was Aster.


    ¡°I can help with that,¡± he said in response to what Aster had said. ¡°But I need to talk to both parties so we could coordinate everything easily. Have you¡­ told them about me? I mean, about us specifically?¡±


    Astrid subconsciously winced. ¡°About that¡­ let¡¯s just say, it¡¯s on the works?¡±


    He just had no idea how he would go about it. He probably wouldn¡¯t have trouble telling this to the Grimaldis. No matter what their reaction might be, he wouldn¡¯t be that affected. The real problem was how he would tell it to his parents.


    Just thinking about it was already giving him a headache.


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 Chapter 594: ARE YOU AND LAUREN...

    It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t like what happened. In fact, he was actually glad that the Grimaldis had now found out about him and Reas. At least that¡¯s out of the way now. He no longer had to worry about whether they would find out the truth or not.


    But now another problem arose. If he wanted to help his mother reunite with the Grimaldis, he needed Wulfric¡¯s help. That was, if he wanted to ensure that the Lancasters wouldn¡¯t get a hint of what was happening. And that¡¯s where the problem lay.


    To facilitate all that, both the Grimaldis and his parents needed to be made aware of his relationship with Wulfric. As long as he hadn¡¯t informed them about it, this plan wouldn¡¯t proceed. He just didn¡¯t know how he would go about doing that.


    He could handle the reaction of the Grimaldis. No matter how much they hated it, they probably wouldn¡¯t show their dissatisfaction to him. After all, they were still trying to be really careful around him and Reas. There was no way they would say or do anything that could potentially make him and his brother dislike them.


    But the same couldn¡¯t be said for his parents. And that¡¯s what really worried him. Just imagining their reaction was already sending shivers down his spine, like some kind of instinctive fear.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid for himself because, at most, he would receive a harsh scolding. He was actually afraid for Wulfric. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that his father might buy a Mecha and fly directly to Alluna to beat the crap out of Wulfric. And then there was his mother; she might ask Uncle Leigh for some undetectable poison and join his father in the plan to take down Wulfric.


    Astrid let out a long sigh and just stared at the ceiling of his room.


    He suddenly remembered Reas, who had left earlier. His brother had carefully picked out his clothes and even styled his hair. Without asking, Astrid knew immediately why Reas was dressing up like that¡ªit was obvious he had an appointment with Lauren.


    Although he¡¯s happy that the two had time to meet like that, he also felt a bit unfair. Why was he the only one who was having a headache over this situation? If he remembered correctly, wasn¡¯t Reas also part of this family?


    He laughed at himself for his silly thoughts. It¡¯s only natural that he was the one bearing the brunt of the problem. After all, the reason Wulfric was willing to help was because of him, not because of Reas. To expect Reas to also carry this frustration would be what people would consider as ¡®unfair¡¯.


    To make up for his unnecessary thoughts, he sincerely wished that Reas¡¯s date with Lauren would go well.


    ¡°Go for it, little brother.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reas was in the backseat of a flying car heading to Lauren¡¯s villa. After much deliberation, they had decided to meet there. This way, Lauren wouldn¡¯t have to spend time putting on a disguise, and they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being seen. They could just enjoy their time together comfortably.


    But since he should be treating him today, he decided to use his limited cooking skills to cook for the other. He even brought the ingredients with him, which were, of course, in his space ring.


    Honestly, it would have been better if he could invite Lauren to his own place. But sadly, he currently didn¡¯t have one. Although he was sharing an apartment with Astrid, ever since his brother started earning his own money, he insisted on not letting him pay his share of the rent. So, right now, he¡¯s basically freeloading. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, Astrid would not think that. For his brother, it¡¯s only a natural thing. But, from time to time, Reas wondered if it would also be better if he had his own place. That¡¯s only wishful thinking right now, though.


    It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t have his own money. Besides the allowance given to him by his parents every month, he also had some savings from winning matches at the Mecha Hall. But getting a place of his own when he spent most days of the week in the military academy¡¯s dormitory just wasn¡¯t practical.


    ¡°Excuse me, but can I ask you a question?¡±


    A voice from the front interrupted his thoughts. It was only then that Reas remembered that he wasn¡¯t alone in the car. Lauren¡¯s agent ¨C Christopher Taylor ¨C was there. The other was the one who picked him up.


    ¡°Of course,¡± he said, not really minding it.


    Chris looked at the young man¡¯s reflection on the rearview mirror. He still couldn¡¯t believe when Lauren suddenly asked him to pick up Reas and bring him to his villa, saying that he was the only one he could trust with this request.


    At first, he thought it was just a joke, but when Lauren continued talking in such a serious tone, he began to worry that maybe it wasn¡¯t. And now that he¡¯s in the same car with Reas, he had no choice but to finally believe that this was all real.


    He started to scold Lauren internally. What was that brat up to now? What kind of trouble was he brewing? And did it really have to involve Astrid¡¯s brother? Wait, when did the two even get close?


    Chris closed his eyes tightly before turning to the young man and narrowing his gaze. ¡°Are you and Lauren involved¡­ romantically?¡±


    Search the NovelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 595: ALONE TIME WITH MR. AGENT

    Looking at the other¡¯s very serious expression, Reas honestly said, ¡°We¡¯re friends.¡±


    And that¡¯s the truth: their relationship could only be called ¡®friends¡¯¡ªat least for now.


    He saw the agent let out a visible sigh of relief after he said that.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for asking you such a weird question. It¡¯s just that, you know how big of a scandal attractor Lauren is. If someone saw you going to his private villa, they would definitely assume you¡¯re his latest fling. The media always misunderstand Lauren¡¯s friendliness as him being a flirt.


    Even though I know that he¡¯s just being friendly most of the time, as his agent, I still have to make sure, just in case. Especially since this is the first time he has invited a friend to his private villa. I just had to ask to clear any potential misunderstanding.¡±


    After hearing Chris¡¯ long winded explanation, the only thing that stuck to Reas was the fact that he was the first friend to be invited to Lauren¡¯s private villa. His heart skipped a beat for a second at the thought that he might be someone special to Lauren.


    ¡°But Lauren has so many friends. Am I really the first one?¡± he asked, showing no extra expression on his face. As if he just asked the most mundane thing in the world. ¡°Surely, he had some friends over for a small gathering or something.¡±


    ¡°Ah, for those types, he would just invite them to his apartment suite at the city center,¡± Chris said. ¡°His private villa is more like a sanctuary for him. That¡¯s why I was very surprised when he invited you there. He must consider you a very close friend.¡±


    It took everything in Reas to stop the corner of his lips from turning up. ¡°Yes, I think of him the same way.¡±


    Chris looked at the young man, who seemed like he wouldn¡¯t be fazed by anything. Although the other said that he and Lauren were only friends, there¡¯s still a lingering doubt in his mind. If he was correct, then things might lead to an even bigger problem later on. But if he was wrong, then he had to clear the misunderstanding he¡¯s having now.


    ¡°Can I ask you another question? I just really have to get it out so I could stop overthinking things,¡± he started.


    Reas raised a brow, but still nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Are you perhaps being romantically pursued by Lauren?¡±


    Reas blinked, as if he couldn¡¯t understand the question. And then, for the first time since their conversation started, he laughed.


    Chris felt a bit embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That probably sounded like such a big joke to you.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s a good question, actually.¡± With a boyish grin still on his face, Reas added, ¡°Can¡¯t it be the other way around, though?¡±


    ¡°¡­What?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t I be the one romantically pursuing Lauren?¡±


    Now it was Chris¡¯s turn to be left speechless. He felt as if he were living out one of those memes where the brain explodes in disbelief.


    What did Reas mean by that? Was he saying that he was the one who liked Lauren in that way? Or that he was planning to pursue Lauren in the future? But wasn¡¯t he only 18? No, he¡¯s already 19 since the year had passed. Nevertheless, he was still at the age where he¡¯s still being supported by his parents.


    And he was saying that he would pursue someone who¡¯s already an established actor and years older than him?


    Although the age gap between them was relatively small given the longer lifespans of this era, they were currently in very different stages of their lives. One was still studying to achieve their goals, while the other was already living theirs. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Chris was ready to lecture the young man about that, to make him understand that pursuing Lauren right now would be a big folly, but before he could, the other continued;


    ¡°Relax, it¡¯s just a joke.¡±


    Although Reas said that with a smile, it didn¡¯t really reach his eyes. It¡¯s like he only said that to pacify him and not because it was indeed just a joke.


    Chris¡¯s concerns deepened even further.


    ¡ª¨C


    After an hour of travel, they finally reached Lauren¡¯s private villa. It was located quite a few miles away from the city center. It was in a mountainous area, with the surroundings filled with trees and flowers.


    The villa¡¯s exterior, though simple, exuded a timeless beauty that harmonized perfectly with its natural surroundings. It had a porch adorned with vibrant flowers, and a well-maintained garden that added a splash of color to the tranquil landscape. The villa¡¯s pristine white walls, bathed in the golden glow of sunlight, reflected a sense of elegance and serenity.


    Large windows framed by ornate shutters offered glimpses of the inviting interior, while a graceful arched doorway hinted at the warmth and comfort awaiting within. A stone pathway meandered through the lush greenery, effortlessly guiding any visitors to the entrance.


    It was a simple yet very charming place. Much like Lauren.


    He was about to walk forward when he noticed that Chris still hadn¡¯t left. He turned to the other.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to leave, Mr. Taylor?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I was thinking of just joining you two,¡± Chris said, his smile tinged with awkwardness. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be livelier with a few more people?¡±


    Reas barely managed to control himself from frowning. Did the other took what he said seriously and was now hellbent not to let him and Lauren be alone together? Then he had a great instinct. Because it¡¯s not like he was lying. But that didn¡¯t mean he would let the other intrude on his rare alone time with Lauren.


    Should he just knock him out?

 Chapter 596: WHAT DO YOU THINK I WILL DO?

    So, he simply stared and enjoyed the view.


    Of course, Chris didn¡¯t miss this, and the suspicion circling in his mind only strengthened. His desire to stay and accompany the two grew even stronger.


    ¡°Why are you just standing there and not pressing the doorbell?¡± Lauren asked Reas, obviously not noticing the undercurrent in the air.


    ¡°Well, I was waiting for Mr. Taylor to leave,¡± Reas responded, remembering that he had to make this third wheel leave them alone. ¡°But he said something weird, like wanting to accompany us or something. Maybe he¡¯s worried you¡¯ll do something to me.¡±


    Chris sharply turned his head towards Reas. What was this kid up to? When did he say anything like that? But because Reas said it in such a monotonous manner, without a change in his expression, it only appeared much more believable. Because that¡¯s just the normal way the other talked. Did Astrid teach this brother of his to act?


    No, instead of ¡®act¡¯ the words ¡®lying naturally¡¯ would be more apt. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He looked at Lauren, and sure enough, the other¡¯s brows were furrowed.


    ¡°No, Lauren, that¡¯s not it. I¡¯m more worried about¨C¡± ¡®him doing something to you¡¯.


    But Chris wasn¡¯t able to finish what he was saying because Lauren cut him off.


    ¡°Brother Chris, do you really have such little faith in me?¡±


    ¡°No! I told you, that¡¯s not¨C¡°


    ¡°Still, you can¡¯t accompany us here,¡± Lauren continued. ¡°Did you forget that you have to accompany Gwen today for a very important audition?¡±


    Chris wanted to argue more, but at the mention of one of the artist he¡¯s handling, he had no choice but to give up. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go. Just¡­ be careful, okay?¡±


    He gave Reas, who still had the same ¡®I don¡¯t really care, I¡¯m just here to hang out¡¯ expression, one last glance before getting into his flying car. That guy was definitely not some naive kid who didn¡¯t know anything. He¡¯s a wolf, through and through. Maybe if given a chance, he would not hesitate to ¡®eat¡¯ Lauren whole.


    If Reas heard his thoughts now, he would definitely argue about being compared to a ¡®wolf¡¯. He would welcome the comparison to any kind of beasts, just not one that sounded the same as the general¡¯s name.


    Chris just shook his head. Honestly, if he wasn¡¯t certain that the kid was not the type to force himself on someone, he wouldn¡¯t leave the two alone no matter what Lauren might say. But since he could still tell that Reas had an upright character, he only have Lauren a warning. Which the other would most likely not take seriously.


    With one last sigh, he started the car and drove off.


    Lauren watched the car leave before turning to Reas. ¡°I apologize for Brother Chris, he¡¯s just such a big worry-wart. Probably because of all the troubles I caused him throughout the years.¡±


    He opened the door of the villa and gestured for Reas to follow. Reas did that, and as soon as he entered, the door behind automatically closed.


    ¡°No need to apologize since he¡¯s just doing his job,¡± he said as he looked around the villa.


    The interior of the villa exuded a simple yet captivating charm, with its open floor plan bathed in natural light from the large, airy windows. The whitewashed walls and exposed wooden beams created a cozy, rustic feel, while the polished hardwood floors added warmth to the space.


    Comfortable, minimalist furnitures in neutral tones were accented with vibrant, handwoven rugs and cushions, giving the rooms a touch of color and personality. A stone fireplace served as the focal point of the living area. The kitchen, though modest, was beautifully designed with sleek, modern appliances and open shelving displaying an array of dishware.


    Just looking at the interior, one could see that this looked very much like a home, instead of just a house.


    ¡°But seriously, I don¡¯t understand why he¡¯s so worried,¡± Lauren continued. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to attack you or anything.¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s not worried about that.¡±


    Lauren stopped walking and turned around to look at Reas. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I lied earlier,¡± Reas started, walking towards Lauren and stopping just a step away from the other. ¡°Your agent is actually not worried that you will do something to me.¡±


    Lauren automatically looked up. With them this close, he only now truly realized how tall Reas was. He subconsciously gulped. ¡°T-then what is he worried about?¡±


    Reas gazed down. Looking at Lauren¡¯s bare face without any shred of make-up, his natural beauty just struck him. The absence of any artificial enhancements made Lauren¡¯s features appear even more delicate.


    For a moment, Reas was just captivated. It made him say and do something he wouldn¡¯t say or do if he was in the right state of mind.


    ¡°He¡¯s worried that I will do something to you.¡±


    Lauren blinked, and then he felt his whole face heating up. ¡°Y-you¡ª what do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Maybe something like this?¡±


    Lauren¡¯s eyes widened when he saw Reas slowly closing the gap between them. For some reason, he closed his eyes tightly just as quick. As if even his brain was expecting Reas to do¡­ something.


    But what he was expecting did not happen. Instead, he felt a slight squeeze on his cheek. That made his eyes automatically opened. Then he saw Reas smiling amusedly at him. His gaze was like that of someone looking at some adorable creature.


    ¡°Silly. What do you think I will do?¡± Then he let go of his cheek and walked towards the kitchen. ¡°Let me use your kitchen for a while. I¡¯ll make us lunch.¡±


    Lauren could only stand there stupidly and looked at Reas¡¯ back.

 Chapter 597: NOT JUST SOMEONE

    He couldn¡¯t believe that he actually said and did what he just said and did. It¡¯s something that he probably wouldn¡¯t think of doing if he was in his usual state of mind. One could say he was affected by that little conversation he had with Lauren¡¯s agent at the car.


    Not that he regretted that he acted in such a way. Seeing Lauren¡¯s red face was definitely worth it.


    Reas took out the groceries he bought and then put on the apron that was hung on the side. Since the kitchen had an open shelf design, he could immediately see where the pots, pans, and other utensils were. So, he was able to take whatever he needed.


    He first started preparing the ingredients.


    As he started, he couldn¡¯t help but think back to the conversation he had with Astrid about the ¡®three questions¡¯ in regards to his relationship with Lauren.


    The first question: Does he think of Lauren as an ordinary friend or a special friend? The second question: Does he consider him as a special friend or someone much more than that? And finally, the third question: If he thought of Lauren as someone more than a special friend, what does he want him to be in his life?


    If, before, Reas could barely manage to answer the first question, now, he could confidently answer the second question. And yes, he considered Lauren as more than a special friend. Now, the only question he had to explore was what kind of presence he wanted Lauren to be in his life.


    He believed, in time, he would be able to give a concrete answer to that. Just like how he did with the second question. It¡¯s not like he was in a race where he needed to give the answer as soon as he could.


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    The only problem he could think of by taking his time was if Lauren suddenly fell in love with someone and decided that he didn¡¯t want to meet with him anymore. Which probably wouldn¡¯t happen anytime soon, considering how busy Lauren was with his career.


    No matter how much the media painted him as a hopeless ¡®flirt¡¯, Lauren was just an overly friendly guy who¡¯s very serious with his job. He wouldn¡¯t go around falling in love with someone that easily.


    Besides¡­


    He remembered Lauren¡¯s reaction to what he did earlier.


    No matter how many people tried to seduce the other, he probably had a much bigger chance than them. But that didn¡¯t mean he should be complacent. It only meant that he should put in much more effort to keep Lauren¡¯s interest.


    Since it might take a while before they could have an alone time like this again, he should do his best today to impress Lauren. With that, he should focus his attention now on cooking.


    Lauren, after recovering from that small ¡®incident¡¯ earlier, walked towards the kitchen bar counter and sat down to watch what Reas was doing. He was still feeling a bit miffed by the fact that he reacted uncharacteristically to what the other did, or didn¡¯t do, earlier.


    What was that, anyway? Was Reas practicing his flirting skills on him? If so, it¡¯s very effective. But why would Reas practice something like that? Did he meet someone whom he wanted to use that skill on? Thinking of that possibility, Lauren couldn¡¯t help but pout.


    He looked at Reas as he sat down on the bar stool. The other was chopping vegetables with a very focus expression on his face. Thinking of the conclusion he just came up to earlier, his brows furrowed a bit.


    [Hmph! How can this guy look so good while wearing an apron?]


    ¡°If you continue staring like that, I might melt,¡± Reas said without taking his eyes off the vegetables he¡¯s chopping.


    If Lauren was drinking something at this moment, he might have choked after hearing that. He then thought again of his conclusion. And the annoyance he¡¯s feeling finally reached a new height.


    ¡°You¨C! Are you practicing flirting with me right now? That¡¯s why you¡¯ve been acting weird since earlier?¡± he finally couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking. After all, he had never been the type to keep things to himself. Especially once he¡¯s annoyed.


    Reas stopped his chopping movement and turned to him. ¡°Practicing?¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah! You must be interested in some guy or girl and you¡¯re using me as practice so you can better flirt with them,¡± Lauren answered, raising his chin. ¡°Why else would you be acting like this?¡±


    Reas put down the knife he¡¯s holding and sighed. Then he walked towards Lauren and stopped when they were about to touch. He extended his arms on both sides of Lauren, caging him in.


    ¡°W-what?¡± Lauren asked, gazing away and not really knowing where to look.


    ¡°Let¡¯s clear your misunderstandings. First, I¡¯m not using you as a ¡®flirting exercise¡¯, as you so bluntly put it. Second, the guy I¡¯m interested in is not just ¡®someone¡¯. And third,¡± Reas suddenly leaned closer. ¡°That guy just happened to be you. And clearly, you¡¯re not just ¡®someone¡¯, at least to me, that is.¡±


    Lauren, whose heart was already beating so fast, felt like it quickly stopped when he heard that. He lifted his head, almost whipping it at a very fast speed. As soon as he did, he saw that Reas¡¯ expression was the same as usual.


    But before he could assume that the other might just be joking, he noticed that despite Reas¡¯ calm expression, there was a hint of redness on both his cheeks.


    Boom.


    Boom.


    BOOM!


    What was that sound? Wait- was that his heart? Yes, it was his heart. It was now beating so loudly that he felt like it would come out of his chest at any second. Then his whole body started to tremble.


    What the heck? What the heck? What the heck was happening?

 Chapter 598: BEING HONEST

    ¡°You- you¡ª what are you doing?¡±


    Reas put his hands in his pockets and answered nonchalantly, ¡°I¡¯m just clearing up your misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°B-but you said¨C¡°


    ¡°That I¡¯m interested¨C¡°


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    Lauren quickly shouted before Reas could finish that. If he repeated that sentence again, he might just go into shock.


    He glared at Reas and became even more annoyed because of his expression. Here he was, almost at his wit¡¯s end, and the other still looked like what had just happened had nothing to do with him. When, in fact, he was the source of it all!


    As he continued to glare at the other, a startling realization dawned on him. What if this guy was doing this just to tease him? It was the most plausible explanation. With this thought, his heart finally began to calm, and he even felt his blood cool down.


    He didn¡¯t waste time and just ask directly, ¡°Is this a new form of teasing? Because if it is, I will throw you out and I will not be polite about it.¡±


    Reas raised an eyebrow before a dry laugh escaped his lips. ¡°How did you come up with that? Honestly, I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re genuinely innocent or just completely oblivious.¡±


    Lauren frowned. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Ask yourself this: in all the time you¡¯ve known me, have I ever been the type to tease you like this?¡± Reas countered.


    Hearing that, Lauren tried to say ¡®yes¡¯ but the word wouldn¡¯t come out. Because even his stupid mouth knew that the answer was ¡®no¡¯. He felt a bit embarrassed. But if he was wrong, then what¡¯s the reason behind Reas¡¯ action? Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then why are you doing this?¡± he asked straightforwardly.


    Reas stared at him, as if searching for something in his expression. Then he sighed. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already explain? I wanted to clear up your misunderstanding. I hadn¡¯t planned on saying any of this today, but your weird assumptions forced me to confess my true feelings just so you wouldn¡¯t get the wrong idea. So, essentially, this was your fault.


    But now, you¡¯re acting as if it¡¯s mine. And now, it¡¯s just making me feel really shitty.¡±


    Lauren wanted to say, ¡°How is that my fault?¡± but his mind fixated on one part of what Reas had said¡ªthe part about confessing his true feelings.


    ¡°Y-you¨C are you telling me that you l-li- like¨C¡°


    ¡°That I like you?¡± Reas finished what Lauren seemed to be unable to say completely. ¡°I do. I¡¯m just in the initial stage, though. No, maybe I¡¯m more than halfway there. What I wanted to say is, even though I do like you, I¡¯m still not sure how deep these feelings are. But I know for sure that you¡¯re very special to me, and that probably won¡¯t change for a long, long time.¡±


    Lauren blinked. Reas¡¯ expression still didn¡¯t change. It still felt like he was announcing the weather or something similar. And yet Lauren could still feel the sincerity in his words. Probably because his gaze never left him as he said those things.


    Being stared at by the other like that, as if he was the only one he could see, as if he was the center of his universe, Lauren¡¯s whole face heated up. And it¡¯s not the normal rising of his temperature that¡¯s causing that. He could literally feel all the blood in his body flowing to his face. Maybe steam would even rise on the top of his head any minute now.


    He didn¡¯t wait for that to happen. He turned around and just ran straight to his room without responding to what Reas just said.


    Reas watched as Lauren ran like he was being chased by some axe murderer.


    At first, he was dumbfounded, then he burst out laughing. If the media saw him like this, they would definitely be thrown for a loop. After all, this was the actor they had labeled as a playboy. Yet, his first reaction to being confessed to was to blush profusely and then run away.


    Just with that, one might think that he had never been confessed to once in his life. With those looks, and being a popular actor as well, there¡¯s no way that could be true. Thinking that only his confession had this kind of effect on Lauren made Reas quite happy. Because it meant that he was also special to Lauren in some way.


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    Maybe being honest with his feelings was not that bad of an idea. Should he do this more often?


    Truthfully, just like what he said earlier, he had no plans to confess anything today. But hearing Lauren accusing him of liking some unknown person just made him snap. And before he knew it, he had already said what he said.


    Since he had already done it, might as well go straight ahead instead of going in circles, which could lead to even more misunderstandings. It¡¯s always better to be direct and clear rather than fabricating lies to avoid saying things he didn¡¯t want to reveal.


    Although he did feel a bit regretful. Because he¡¯s still not sure about the level of his feelings for Lauren. It would have been much nicer if he could straightforwardly say that he loved the other. A different venue with a more romantic atmosphere would also be better.


    But what¡¯s done was done. Since he had already taken this step, he should make sure that he wouldn¡¯t do anything that he would regret later on.


    Reas glanced in the direction where Lauren had disappeared to. The other probably locked himself in his room or some other room. He walked back to the vegetable he¡¯s chopping.


    Since Lauren wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere anyway, he should finish cooking. He still owed Lauren a meal, after all.

 Chapter 599: LAURENS INTROSPECTION

    Everything that had just happened a moment ago still felt so surreal to him. No matter how much he questioned himself, wondering if it indeed happened, the answer was still the same. The fact that he came rushing into his room to hide like some kid proved just how real it was.


    So¡­ Reas really¡­


    Like him?


    At that thought, he felt his whole face burning. Metaphorically, of course. But considering how hot it was, it might as well be really on fire. It¡¯s all Reas¡¯ fault for throwing him such a curveball.


    He thought that he would just spend today leisurely with the other. Eating and sharing stories about the things that happened to them in the time they hadn¡¯t seen each other.


    That¡¯s why he chose this villa, instead of his apartment suite at the city center. Here, they could relax while looking outside the wide windows and just appreciating nature.


    But now, because of that sudden confession, there¡¯s no relaxing happening today for sure. How could he even think of relaxing when his heart was still beating like it¡¯s being chased by a psycho murderer?


    Lauren groaned in frustration and just buried his face on the pillows once again. Maybe he should have just let Chris stay. Then none of this would have happened. And he would still have his relaxing day.


    But did he really want that? Did he truly wish that today¡¯s events would vanish into oblivion? After a quick introspection, the answer was a hard ¡®no¡¯.


    Although he was flustered by the sudden confession, he didn¡¯t feel bad about it. In fact, he felt unprecedented¡­ excitement. His mind raced, and he couldn¡¯t help but replay the moment over and over.


    A warm, unfamiliar sensation spread through him, a mix of nervousness and exhilaration. It was as if a spark had ignited something deep within him, something he hadn¡¯t realized was there. Every glance, every word from that confession, seemed to echo in his mind, filling him with a sense of wonder.


    Did this mean he shared the same feelings as Reas? That he liked him in that way? Honestly, he couldn¡¯t say ¡®yes¡¯ with certainty. What he did know was that he couldn¡¯t simply categorize Reas as just a friend.


    They started off on the wrong foot. But they still managed to understand each other¡¯s differences and become friends. As time passed and they got to know more of each other, Reas slowly became more than just a friend. But now the boundaries of that relationship seemed to blur.


    When his heart began to slowly calm down and Lauren¡¯s mind became much clearer, he realized at this moment was that what he needed most was time. The time to fully process everything. He had to explore what these feelings truly meant without rushing to conclusions. Because that¡¯s the respectful thing to do. For both his and Reas¡¯ sake. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Besides, didn¡¯t Reas also say that he¡¯s still not fully in love with him? That he was somehow halfway there? At least, that¡¯s what he understood from what the other had said earlier.


    Thinking back, wasn¡¯t there a big problem with that statement?


    Lauren sat up, his mind now completely clear and focused. After feeling all the sweetness and warmth of Reas¡¯ confession, now he had to douse himself with cold water. Shouldn¡¯t he feel more unsettled when someone admitted they were halfway in love with him? But his stomach was filled with butterflies instead. Was it just a problem with his comprehension, or was he simply that easy?


    Admitting that it¡¯s the former meant that he¡¯s stupid, but admitting that it¡¯s the latter was simply not an option.


    He frowned and just stood up. Since this all started because Reas wanted to clear his misunderstandings, then there should be no problem with him clearing a bit more.


    He walked out of his room, ready to confront Reas. But his walk, that was full of determination, slowed down the closer he got to the kitchen. It¡¯s because of the wonderful smell that¡¯s wafting from there.


    A delightful aroma filled the air, emanating from the pots and pans bubbling on the stove. The scent was warm and inviting, carrying with it hints of savory spices and fresh herbs. The comforting fragrance enveloped him. With each inhalation, he could almost taste the richness of the food simmering just beyond reach, enticing him further into the kitchen.


    Before he knew it, he was already standing just a few steps away from Reas.


    The other must have already heard his footsteps, because he said without looking back;


    ¡°Have you calmed down? Perfect timing. I¡¯m nearly finished cooking.¡±


    Hearing Reas¡¯ calm tone irritated Lauren. His calmness returned once again. He didn¡¯t respond to the other and just sat down on one of the bar stools. Then he waited until Reas finished cooking.


    He didn¡¯t have to wait long and after just a few minutes, Reas had turned off the stove and turned around. Now the two of them were facing each other.


    Reas seemed to read something in his expression, because he asked, ¡°Do you have any questions for me?¡±


    ¡°I do, in fact.¡±


    Reas removed the apron he¡¯s wearing and walked forward to sit beside Lauren. ¡°Then I¡¯ll try my best to answer it.¡±


    Lauren tried his best not to lean back. It would be too embarrassing if he ended up falling from his seat after he set such a serious atmosphere. He cleared his throat and looked at the other.


    Find the latest on m.v.l.e.m.p.y.r


    ¡°You mentioned your feelings are halfway there, suggesting they¡¯re not fully developed yet. What would you do if that¡¯s the extent of your feelings for me? And what if I end up falling for you much more deeply than you do for me? That¡¯s what I wanted to know. Please give me an honest response.¡±


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 Chapter 600: FINE. LETS...

    Although he understood, he also felt a pang of bitterness. Not towards Lauren, of course. But because he realized once again his mistake. The way he confessed his feelings made it seem like they were only fleeting, as if he wouldn¡¯t be around for the long run. It was understandable for Lauren to feel worried and uncertain.


    Yet a part of him felt a bit happy. Lauren asking this meant he was considering a future with him, suggesting that his feelings were likely reciprocated. After all, Lauren wouldn¡¯t be thinking about these things if he didn¡¯t feel anything for him.


    This was not the time to feel happy, though. As the person responsible for this situation, he should do everything he could to reassure Lauren and to help him lessen the anxiety he¡¯s feeling.


    ¡°I know my confession earlier might have seemed pretty half-hearted, and it¡¯s entirely my fault if it came off that way to you. But Lauren, my feelings for you are genuine. While I¡¯m still figuring everything out, there¡¯s one thing I am sure of: I care about you deeply. I¡¯m not planning on going anywhere. What we have means a lot to me, and I want to see where it can go.


    ¡°You deserve honesty and commitment, and I¡¯m here to give you both. I don¡¯t have all the answers right now. That¡¯s why I want to further explore this relationship with you. Let¡¯s take things one step at a time and see how we can grow together. Maybe, sooner or later, both of us could arrive at the same answer. I just hope you can give me a chance. Discover more content on m-vl-em-pyr


    No, give us a chance. Please.¡±


    After saying everything in one go, Reas observed Lauren¡¯s reaction. From the start, he hadn¡¯t taken his eyes off of him. So, he knew how the other reacted to every word he said.


    From seriousness, to confusion, to embarrassment, and then back to confusion once again. Honestly, Reas couldn¡¯t really tell what Lauren was feeling when he had those expressions. Of course, he could assume that the emotions he felt were the same as the expressions he had shown. But could it really be that straightforward? Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The good thing here was, knowing Lauren, he would definitely not hesitate to voice out his opinion. And that meant he didn¡¯t have to play a guessing game with the other.


    The confusion on Lauren¡¯s face slowly turned into¡­ something else. Like a combination of embarrassment and shyness. As if it was only now that he¡¯s starting to register what Reas had said.


    And that was indeed the case.


    When Lauren asked Reas, he was only expecting a simple answer. Like, ¡®You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s just forget that I confess to you.¡¯ or ¡®I can¡¯t give you an answer right now, I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ Things like that. What he didn¡¯t expect was a second round of confession.


    Reas really laid it out bare, expressing his genuine feelings and intentions with a clarity that left him momentarily speechless. Instead of the dismissive or uncertain response he had anticipated, Lauren received a heartfelt explanation of Reas¡¯s thoughts and emotions.


    Reas admitted his initial confession might have seemed half-hearted, but reassured Lauren of his deep care and commitment. He spoke of his desire to explore their relationship step by step, ensuring Lauren understood his sincerity and dedication. This unexpected but earnest confession left him feeling a mix of relief and hope.


    Wait¡ª why would he be feeling that way? Lauren almost slapped himself at the stupid question. Although he was very flustered right now, it didn¡¯t mean that his IQ also plummeted.


    The answer was really simple.


    In response to Reas¡¯s heartfelt words, Lauren reached for his hand and held it tightly. He knew Reas could probably feel how fast his heart was beating from the pulse in his wrist, but that no longer mattered. If Reas didn¡¯t hesitate to bare his heart, Lauren felt he should do the same. Gathering his courage, he looked straight into Reas¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it,¡± he finally said. ¡°Let¡¯s give us a chance.¡±


    Reas¡¯ eyes widened when he heard that. ¡°Truly?¡±


    ¡°Do you really think I will be joking at this moment?¡± Lauren asked back with a raised brow.


    A big, bright smile appeared on Reas¡¯s face, and it was probably the first time Lauren had seen him smile like that. Who would have thought someone could become even more handsome just by smiling so widely? Unknowingly, a smile also spread across Lauren¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for giving us a chance,¡± Reas said, looking completely relieved and grateful. And then, as if he just remembered an important problem, he asked, ¡°Then what does that make us now? Are we¡­ dating?¡±


    Lauren¡¯s face immediately turned red at the question. Then he quickly took back his hand. ¡°Y-you¨C! We¡¯re only talking about giving each other a chance. Why are you suddenly jumping into ¡®dating¡¯?¡±


    ¡°But we already established that we like each other, right? Doesn¡¯t that mean that we¡¯re dating?¡±


    Lauren wanted to say, ¡®When did I say I like you?¡¯ But he couldn¡¯t, because the truth was, he did like Reas. He wouldn¡¯t have started this conversation if he didn¡¯t feel at least somewhat the same as the other. And Reas, being smart and all, knew that.


    But then again, Lauren really disliked complicated situations. That¡¯s why he made sure that he would get a clear answer from Reas. Following that logic, it was better for their relationship to have a label rather than having it remain undefined. Especially since both of them had decided to explore this relationship more. They couldn¡¯t exactly properly do that as friends, could they?


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s date.¡±


    As soon as he said that, Reas suddenly hugged him, and Lauren felt a deep warmth spread through his entire body, making his heart race once again.


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 Chapter 601: UNEXPECTED NEWS FROM LITTLE BROTHER

    ASTRID looked at his brother suspiciously. Since Reas returned from his date with Lauren a couple of hours ago, he had been acting weird. For one, the corners of his lips had been up since he came back, and there was even a light bounce in his steps. All of this showed his good mood right now.


    He¡¯s not saying that Reas had no right to be in a good mood. It¡¯s just that the whole situation seemed suspicious. Reas was obviously acting this way unconsciously, which made it even more intriguing. Normally, Reas didn¡¯t have much expressions on his face, so seeing him this cheerful and lighthearted was unusual. It made Astrid wonder what had really happened during that date with Lauren.


    Because, obviously, his brother¡¯s good mood right now could only be related to Lauren. Especially considering that Reas had just returned from a date with the other.


    Ah, the curiosity was truly almost unbearable. But Astrid tried his best to appear like he didn¡¯t notice anything. This situation continued until they finished dinner. Now the both of them were sitting in the living room, waiting for the episode of [The Great War] that would air today.


    It was the third to the last episode of the whole series. Not only that, it was also the last episode where Astrid¡¯s character ¡®Luan Escanor¡¯ would appear. That¡¯s why he and Reas had decided to watch it together.


    If that wasn¡¯t the case, maybe this brother of his would still be with Lauren.


    While waiting for the episode to air, Astrid¡¯s curiosity was about to reach its peak. So, finally, he no longer held back and just asked;


    ¡°Reas, did something happen between you and Lauren?¡±


    His brother turned to him, obviously not expecting that question. ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°Well, in case you haven¡¯t noticed, you¡¯ve been smiling ever since you came back from your date with him,¡± Astrid started. Correction 2: ¡°Even you should be aware that it¡¯s not the norm, at least for you.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Reas was surprised when he heard that. Was he really smiling so much that Astrid suspected that something had happened? Well, how could he stop himself from smiling when he was this happy?


    ¡°Anyone who hears you will think I¡¯m some emotionless bastard who didn¡¯t know how to smile,¡± he only said while shaking his head.


    Astrid only raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s besides the point, right? So, did something happen between the two of you?¡±


    A look of consternation flashed on Reas¡¯ face, as if he was pondering whether to tell him or not. At the end, he could only sigh, looking like he had already made a decision. Experience the best from m|v|l|e|mp|y|r


    ¡°Lauren and I¡­ we decided to date.¡±


    Astrid tilted his head. ¡°You mean you decided to go on another date?¡±


    Reas looked at his brother, wondering where the other¡¯s usual perceptiveness had gone? Or was it because it never crossed Astrid¡¯s mind that the reason he was so happy right now was because he and Lauren were now dating? Then, as a good brother, he could only clear his misunderstanding.


    ¡°No, I mean, we¡¯re in a relationship now. So, we¡¯re dating.¡±


    It was very satisfactory to see the look of surprise on Astrid¡¯s face. When had there even been a time when he has seen him with such an expression? So he couldn¡¯t resist the urge to take a photo as a commemoration.


    ¡°You and Lauren¡­ are dating?¡± Astrid repeated just to make sure he had heard Reas correctly.


    Reas nodded as a confirmation.


    Astrid almost stood up from his seat. His little brother was now in a romantic relationship? The shock he felt was so great that his mind went blank for a couple of seconds.


    Reas and Lauren¡­ were now together?


    He probably had to say that a couple of times in his mind before it finally registered in his brain. He looked at his brother in surprise. He thought, when Reas left today, that he would just spend some quality time with Lauren. Who would have thought he would come back telling him that he and Lauren were now dating?


    That possibility certainly didn¡¯t cross his mind.


    Many questions swirled in Astrid¡¯s mind. For one, how did it happen? Who confessed to whom first? Was it a spontaneous moment or carefully planned? Things like that.


    But before he could ask, the episode of the [The Great War] finally started.


    So, Astrid could only say, ¡°We will continue this talk after this episode.¡±


    Looking at his brother¡¯s gaze shining with curiosity, Reas could only show a helpless smile. ¡°Yes, yes, we will.¡±


    =====


    The screen faded in from black, revealing a vast battlefield bathed in the dim, early morning light. The air was thick with tension, charged with the anticipation of the impending clash. On one side stood the formidable army of Crevalon, its soldiers clad in gleaming armor bearing the insignia of their newly proclaimed empire.


    Banners fluttered in the wind, each emblazoned with the symbol of Emperor Caesar Warwick, a stark reminder of his iron will and unyielding ambition. The soldiers¡¯ faces were set in grim determination, their eyes fixed on the horizon where their enemies awaited.


    Opposite them, the holy warriors of Evitria prepared for battle. Their armor, though simpler, carried an aura of sanctity, and their expressions were a mix of resolve and solemn duty. The Pope, Luan Escanor, stood at the forefront, leading his troops with a serene yet unwavering presence.


    The sacred spires of Evitria loomed in the background, casting long shadows over the battlefield, symbolizing the spiritual weight of the conflict about to unfold.


    As the camera panned across the scene, Caesar himself came into view, a figure of imposing authority, mounted on a warhorse. He and the Pope faced each other from opposite sides of the battlefield. Caesar¡¯s eyes shone with a manic glint, as if completely consumed by his ambition. Across from him, Luan stood with a saintly composure, exuding an aura of righteousness and unwavering faith.


    The contrast between them was stark, encapsulating the profound ideological divide that fueled the conflict.


    And then Caesar finally raised his sword, its blade catching the first rays of sunlight, signaling the commencement of the attack.


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 Chapter 602: LUAN AND CAESAR

    The Pope, Luan Escanor, took in the grim scene with a measured gaze. His expression remained calm, almost serene. He turned away from the impending chaos and walked back toward the grand church building that stood behind the front lines. As he entered the hallowed halls, the sacred quiet of the church contrasted sharply with the turmoil outside, offering a brief moment of peace before the storm.


    ¡°Is it done?¡± Luan asked in his gentle voice.


    A man wearing all black suddenly appeared behind him, kneeling down. ¡°Everything is ready, Your Holiness.¡± S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Good. Start everything the moment the tyrant emperor move.¡± When the man in black didn¡¯t respond, Luan looked back at him. ¡°Is something the matter?¡±


    The man in black hesitated at first, but still ended up asking, ¡°Is this really the only way, Your Holiness?¡±


    ¡°You know that we can¡¯t win this war. It¡¯s hard for me to admit this, but we¡¯re solely lacking in terms of strength and manpower. Our holy warriors are simply not fit for war. So, yes, this is the only way.¡± Luan smiled gently at the mad in black. ¡°Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done so far.¡±


    The man in black seemed to want to say something more, but he just lowered his head.


    Outside, the battlefield erupted into chaos. The clash of swords and the thunder of hooves grew louder, a cacophony of war cries and shouts of pain. Dust and smoke began to obscure the sun, casting a shadow over the combatants as they fought with increasing ferocity.


    Soldiers fell, and the ground became slick with blood. Amidst this, Caesar¡¯s figure remained visible, a beacon of relentless ambition driving his men forward. The intensity of the battle grew with each passing moment, signaling that the conflict had only just begun.


    Caesar slashed the body of an incoming soldier from Evitria. The other¡¯s blood splashed on him, but the expression on his face showed just how much he didn¡¯t care. As if he had been used to it.


    As he kept cutting down enemies, Caesar finally noticed that the Pope was not anywhere on the battlefield. The realization struck him like a bolt, and his eyes narrowed. He turned to his second-in-command, the only general who supported his decision to conquer Evitria.


    ¡°General, take charge of the army,¡± Caesar commanded, his voice cutting through the din of battle. ¡°Hold the line and press forward. I have another matter to attend to.¡±


    The general nodded sharply, understanding the gravity in Caesar¡¯s tone. ¡°As you command, Your Majesty!¡± he replied, immediately moving to rally the troops and continue the assault.


    Without another word, Caesar spurred his horse toward the direction of the grand church building. The only place the Pope could finally go to in this chaos. His path cut through the battlefield, each stride of his warhorse carrying him closer to his goal. The sounds of clashing steel and cries of the wounded faded into the background as he continued forward.


    Once he approached the church, the imposing structure loomed larger, its towering spires reaching toward the sky. Caesar dismounted and strode purposefully toward the entrance, his eyes burning with different unnamed emotions. He pushed open the heavy wooden doors.


    Inside, the dim light filtered through stained glass windows, casting colorful patterns on the stone floor. And his gaze quickly landed on the man standing at the middle.


    The Pope, with his pristine white robe, looked very serene. As if no war was happening outside this church right now. Caesar found that hilarious and hypocritical at the same time.


    ¡°Are you finally regretting your choice, Luan?¡± he asked. Though his voice remained emotionless, his eyes betrayed the storm of emotions he was struggling to contain. ¡°If you kneel in front of me right now and promise to become part of my Empire, I will stop this war.¡± Continue the journey on m|vl-em,py-r


    Luan Escanor didn¡¯t bother to look at him, but instead said, ¡°Evitria is a land of freedom, a sanctuary for the believers of Jaya. And it shall remain so.¡±


    ¡°Freedom? That¡¯s only the illusion of the weak clinging to their delusions,¡± Caesar scoffed. ¡°Your so-called sanctuary is nothing but a refuge for those too afraid to face reality. It will all crumble under the weight of true power.¡±


    His voice was dripping with contempt as he approached the altar where Luan stood.


    Luan turned to face Caesar, his expression calm and unwavering. ¡°Caesar,¡± he began, his voice soft yet resolute, ¡°this war, this bloodshed, it will lead only to ruin. But perhaps that is the path you have chosen. A path full of nothing but destruction. How pitiful that the kind child I knew had turned into what you are now.¡±


    Caesar¡¯s grip tightened on his sword. ¡°Save your sanctimonious words. Your holy land is now nothing but an obstacle to my empire.¡±


    Luan stepped closer, unflinching. ¡°Then do what you came here to do, Emperor of ash and carnage. End this charade.¡±


    For a moment, Caesar hesitated, taken aback by the Pope¡¯s unyielding gaze. But his anger quickly overpowered any doubt. With a fierce roar, he plunged his sword into Luan¡¯s chest.


    As the blade pierced him, Luan gasped, his eyes widening briefly before settling into a tranquil acceptance. At the same instant, Caesar felt a sharp, burning pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a small dagger lodged in his abdomen, just in the gap below his breastplate. The hilt of the dagger clutched in the Pope¡¯s hand.


    Shock and confusion filled Caesar¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¨C?¡±


    And at that very moment, the church began to tremble; the walls cracking and debris falling from the ceiling. Explosions erupted around them, consuming the sacred space in fire and destruction. Slowly turning this sanctuary into a hellish inferno.


    Through the rising flames and crumbling stone, Luan managed a faint, almost peaceful smile. ¡°You may have killed me, Caesar,¡± he whispered, his voice barely audible over the noise of the explosion. ¡°But in the end, I have won.¡±


    As his eyes closed, a single teardrop fell from the corner of his right eye.


    In his mind that was slowly fading, images of two boys emerged amidst the rustic charm of a small village. Their laughter echoed joyously through the tranquil surroundings as they played in the meadows, their innocent smiles illuminated by the warm sunlight.


    Together, they chased each other through fields of wildflowers, their carefree spirits dancing in harmony with the gentle breeze. Little did they know that their futures would be marred by betrayal and bloodshed, their innocent laughter replaced by the echoes of conflict and war.


    The screen began to fade to black. The last image that was seen was that of Luan¡¯s serene face amidst the destruction, a stark contrast to Caesar¡¯s expression of shock and pain.

 Chapter 603: LATEST EPISODES ONLINE REACTION

    [Even though I already knew what¡¯s going to happen, seeing Luan die was still painful. T^T]


    ¨C I know, right? Luan might be extreme when it comes to his beliefs and justice, but he¡¯s not a bad guy. He didn¡¯t deserve to die like that.


    ¨C I actually cried buckets watching that scene. Like, Caesar, why do you have to do that to my Luan???


    ¨C At least, he died still upholding those beliefs. That¡¯s a small win, right?


    [How can someone still look so beautiful while dying? *attached short vid of Astrid¡¯s dying scene*]


    ¨C Right?? That scene where he slowly closed his eyes while a single teardrop fell was just perfect.


    ¨C The camera work was just superb on that part.


    ¨C Maybe the director knew that he had to capture Astrid¡¯s beautiful dying face that¡¯s why he worked extra hard. LOL.


    ¨C Hahaha beautiful dying face, that¡¯s new.


    [I haven¡¯t read the novel, but did Caesar really die with Luan?]


    ¨C Do you want spoilers?


    ¨C Let¡¯s not spoil people, but no, he¡¯s still alive.


    ¨C LOL he¡¯s the male lead and there are still two episodes left. Of course, he¡¯s still alive.


    ¨C But how can he survive that? Didn¡¯t he burn? How about the stab wound?


    ¨C He did burn. But someone saved him it time. Plot armor, I guess. His skin was covered in burn scars, though. So, he had to wear a mask.¡±


    ¨C Please put spoiler alert in every spoiler post!


    [But Astrid Townsend and Miguel Estrada really did a good job for this scene. Thumbs up to those two.]


    ¨C I wonder if Aster could win an award for his role here.


    ©¸ Whoa. I haven¡¯t thought of that, but it¡¯s possible, right? Maybe he¡¯ll get the best new actor award, like he did in Silver Moon.


    ©¸ What best new actor? He deserves the best supporting actor for his role here! Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [I cried so hard during their childhood montage scene. How can those two babies really end up like that?]


    [Caesar is truly a very flawed protagonist. But I guess that¡¯s why the novel is such a big hit; readers are following the journey of someone who feels like a real human being.]


    ¨C It¡¯s the same for all the characters though. Especially Luan.


    ¨C This is why <The Great War> is still on the best-seller list.


    @astridsnumber1fan: [I¡¯m not familiar with the novel, and only watching the show because of Aster, so let me just say what the #@%*?! How can you kill Luan like that? And I read somewhere that the bastard Caesar is still alive? How is that fair? After all Luan¡¯s planning, it didn¡¯t even affect Caesar in the slightest? What kind of shit was that?


    Did you just kill Aster for no reason?]


    ¨C Brother White is here!


    ¨C I¡¯ve been waiting for your comment. As expected, Brother White is still the best!


    ¨C Brother White, do you want spoilers?


    ©¸ astridsnumber1fan: Yes, give me all spoilers you can. Since Aster will no longer appear in the show, I won¡¯t watch it anymore, so just spoil me.


    Read captivating tales at m v l e mpyr


    ©¸ Wow. Brother White is really different.


    ©¸ Is this the essence of a true fan?


    ©¸ astridsnumber1fan: Stop saying nonsense and just give me spoilers.


    ©¸ Yes, boss. After Luan¡¯s death and Caesar almost being burned alive, a rumor started to spread across the continent about the tyrant emperor¡¯s invasion of the holy land. The rumor was, to say the least, much more gruesome than what really happened. Of course, the reaction of the people, who were mostly believers of Jaya, could be easily imagined. Rebellions erupted from all corners of the continent.


    With Caesar still in a weakened state, he couldn¡¯t stop them in time. The unrest grew larger and larger, eventually becoming the last major threat to Caesar¡¯s plan of unifying the whole continent into one big empire. This was all part of Luan¡¯s plan. He knew he would die at Caesar¡¯s hands, so he prepared this scheme beforehand. In a way, he indeed won against Caesar.


    ©¸ astridsnumber1fan: As expected of Aster.


    ©¸ Wait, shouldn¡¯t it be Luan and not Aster?


    ©¸ astridsnumber1fan: What are you saying? Luan is merely Aster in another form, so all of his accomplishments are actually thanks to Aster.


    ©¸ LOL that¡¯s a new way to look at it.


    ¨C But Brother White, I just visited Aster¡¯s fan community site and saw an announcement about the fan club president. Why isn¡¯t your name there?


    ©¸ That¡¯s right! Who even is Muscled Bubblegum? How can they be the president when the fans are not even aware of who they are?


    ©¸ Oh, I know them! They¡¯re pretty new to the fandom, but they¡¯ve been very vocal about how they like Aster.


    ©¸ A new guy? How the hell did they became the president?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric read that last comment and sighed. After being offered the position of the fan club president, he truly wanted to accept it. But with the things he had to do as a general, it would be hard to do his best as the fan club president. And Aster deserved nothing less.


    So, the solution he thought of was to hire someone. Of course, he didn¡¯t just hire anyone. He made sure they were a trustworthy person who would do the job well and would not just blab about Wulfric¡¯s identity to anyone. Most importantly, it must be someone who also genuinely liked Aster ¨C only as an actor, of course.


    After searching for days, not only in Alluna¡¯s military base but also in the nearby area, he finally found someone who fit the bill.


    His housekeeper.


    That¡¯s right. The person in charge of cleaning and maintaining his mansion. The other¡¯s name was Samuel Lewis. It was only an accident that he found out that he¡¯s a big fan of Aster.


    It happened exactly last week. As he was about to enter the mansion, he heard the other exclaiming Aster¡¯s name. Samuel was in the middle of mowing the lawn when he heard him. When he turned in the other¡¯s direction, he immediately saw that he was watching a compilation video of Aster on [Cyberspace].


    After that, he investigated the other and found out that he was a new Starlight with a handle name @muscledbubblegum.


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 Chapter 604: FAN CLUB PRESIDENT

    Since the other managed to become his housekeeper, it meant that Leland did a thorough background check on the other. Just passing Leland¡¯s standard showed that the other not only didn¡¯t have any criminal record, he also had a good personality. That already checked the first requirement Wulfric was looking for. After all, the president of Aster¡¯s fan club shouldn¡¯t have a shitty personality.


    The next one was making sure that the other was a genuine fan of Aster. That one was easy to check. After looking at Samuel¡¯s [Cyberspace] account, he found out that other only started being a fan of Aster after the Silver Moon Awards. All his posts after that were all about Aster.


    They were all positive, mostly praising how beautiful Aster was and how good he was at acting. Not only that, Samuel also made a lot of good edits. From Aster¡¯s appearance in [The Sleeping God] to his scenes in [The Great War], even the one where he only guested for an episode. There were also edits of his variety show appearances, interviews, and advertisements that he took part in.


    Because of how good those edits were, Wulfric even downloaded all of them. One of his favorites was the EMMA perfume ad that Aster did. The edit Samuel did of that turned out so pretty that Wulfric had to make it his Terminal¡¯s wallpaper.


    Having crossed two items off his checklist, the only thing left was to confirm whether Samuel could be trusted with the role of Aster¡¯s fan club president. And the best way to do that was to speak to him. Not through [Cyberspace], but in person.


    He could still remember that conversation. Not because it was very memorable, just because it was about Aster.


    =====


    Wulfric looked at the big man standing in front of him. After much deliberation, he finally called the other to his study. At a quick glance, Samuel Lewis seemed very at ease. As if he wasn¡¯t worried about why his boss had called him. But if one looked at him closely, they would see the trembling of his fingertips. Showing that he wasn¡¯t as calm as he wanted to appear. Find additional tales at m,vl-em,py-r


    He had to hand it to him for trying, though. Well, if he had been his housekeeper for three years, that meant he had guts at least. That¡¯s the longest a housekeeper had stayed without getting fired or directly resigning.


    ¡°May I ask why you called me, General?¡± the other asked. He would give him another point for addressing him as ¡®general¡¯, not as ¡®your highness¡¯. ¡°Did I perhaps do something wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, your handle name in [Cyberspace] is @muscledbubblegum, correct?¡±


    Samuel¡¯s face showed confusion, as if he didn¡¯t understand what Wulfric was asking. Or how did he even know about that. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re also a fan of Aster, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Wulfric frowned. ¡°Why do you always answer with just ¡®yes¡¯? Is that the only word you know?¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry!¡± Samuel quickly apologized. But after bowing his head, he still raised it and asked tentatively, ¡°But General, I¡¯m really confused right now. So, I can only say ¡®yes¡¯. Can you perhaps tell me what this is all about? And if you¡¯re talking about the actor, Astrid Townsend, yes, I¡¯m a big fan.¡±


    Wulfric raised an eyebrow. He thought the other would immediately grovel and ask for forgiveness. But to quickly recover like this, that¡¯s a good sign.


    ¡°Then let me get straight to the point,¡± he said. ¡°What I¡¯m about to tell you next should forever remain in this room.¡±


    He saw Samuel gulp. ¡°Yes, General! I swear on my life, I won¡¯t tell anyone about this, ever!¡±


    ¡°Good. Then, listen carefully.¡± Wulfric looked at the other with the most serious expression and continued, ¡°I have a [Cyberspace] account with the name ¡®White Wolf¡¯, and my handle is @astridsnumber1fan.¡±


    Samuel initially looked confused by what he said. But when it finally registered, his eyes widened to the extreme, his mouth hung open, and his entire expression became almost cartoonishly exaggerated.


    ¡°WHAT???¡±


    =====


    After the initial ¡®mental breakdown¡¯ that Samuel Lewis had, the two of them were finally able to talk about the real purpose of calling the other to the study. At first, Samuel seemed to be still in shock, and he couldn¡¯t understand what Wulfric was saying. They were only able to really talk after the other got over the shock.


    And then Wulfric spent the next hour convincing the other to become the president of Aster¡¯s fan club. It took that long because Samuel didn¡¯t think that he deserved such a position. But with Wulfric¡¯s convincing (forceful) power, the other finally agreed. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the other agreed, they then discussed how Samuel would do his job as the club president. First, he should update Wulfric on everything that happened in the club, from activities and events to member feedback and any issues that would arise.


    Of course, he would compensate him for all the work he would do. The other declined at first, but Wulfric insisted. So, Samuel couldn¡¯t really do anything but agree.


    After some manipulation here and there, Wulfric was finally able to put Samuel as the president of the fan club.


    However, at the moment, the fan club issue was not his main concern. His sole focus right now was figuring out how to help Aster.


    Wulfric couldn¡¯t help Aster until Aster informed his parents and the Grimaldis about him, so it would likely be awhile before he could truly offer his assistance.


    He could understand Aster¡¯s position, though. With Wulfric¡¯s bad reputation, it was no wonder that Aster was having trouble telling his family about him.


    If before, he didn¡¯t really care about how others thought of him, but being in love with Aster was slowly changing that. Of course, it only applied to the people important to Aster.


    The rest? He still didn¡¯t give a damn.

 Chapter 605: AFTER THE STORMY WEEKEND

    They decided to meet at the Polaris office building. Ellis had suggested a good private restaurant, but Jimmy McCann preferred an official setting, so they arranged the meeting at Polaris. Experience the best from m|v|l|e|mp|y|r


    This meant there was a high chance that he was positively considering working with Astrid on the film. It should have made Astrid excited since he really want to do this movie. Because of all the things happening over the weekend, he just didn¡¯t have enough energy to show his excitement.


    Apart from the whole Grimaldi situation, he also had the headache of figuring out how to tell his parents about Wulfric, and then there was the bombshell that Reas dropped last night. All of this prevented him from feeling excited when he heard this morning that the director had agreed to meet today.


    Instead, his mind kept circling back to his conversation with Reas.


    =====


    ¡°So, how did you and Lauren start dating?¡± Astrid asked after the episode of [The Great War] they had just watched ended.


    Since he had already said that they should talk about that after the episode, he didn¡¯t waste time and just ask directly.


    ¡°I was trying to be bolder with my actions, since it might take a while before we could meet again. But that only backfired, since Lauren misunderstood my actions. To clear that misunderstanding, one thing just led to another, and then the two of us just ended confessing our feelings to each other. And thus, we decided to date.¡±


    That was Reas whole explanation of how things happened with Lauren.


    Based on his lack of expression, one might think he wasn¡¯t very happy. But the subtle rise of the corners of his lips and the sparkle in his eyes showed the complete opposite.


    ¡°Are you now completely sure of your feelings for Lauren, then?¡± Astrid asked in a very serious manner.


    That¡¯s the most important part, after all. He didn¡¯t want his brother to enter a relationship on a whim. And as Lauren¡¯s friend, he didn¡¯t want that for him, either.


    ¡°I know I like him. I just don¡¯t know to what extent,¡± Reas answered honestly. ¡°I feel like being in a relationship would provide us a chance to explore those feelings in more depth. If we just stopped at knowing we like each other, we would simply be on a standstill. At least, if we commit to each other, we would have a direction in which to move forward.


    That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t hesitate to take the next step and ask if we could date.¡±


    =====


    Reas¡¯ words left a deep impact on him. Even the next morning, he was still thinking about it. He hadn¡¯t been able to contact Lauren to congratulate him; instead, Lauren contacted him first, telling him about his relationship with Reas and even asking if he was okay with them being together.


    What could he say? It was Reas¡¯ decision, so who was he to interfere? He could only offer his support. That¡¯s what brothers should do. Besides, he knew Lauren was a good person and wouldn¡¯t be a bad influence on Reas. The possibility of Lauren knowingly hurting Reas was very low.


    If that weren¡¯t the case, he would probably have had a much different reaction.


    Back to Reas¡¯ words. It kind of really resonated with Astrid. Because it could also be applied to the situation between him and Wulfric.


    Wulfric was very sure of his feelings for him. If he could, he would probably not hesitate to announce to the whole Empire that he was in love with him. On the other hand, Astrid was still on the fence about his own feelings. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was, somewhat, in the same situation as Reas. He liked Wulfric. He just didn¡¯t know how much. But unlike his brother, his approach was to take his time to understand his feelings more without committing to anything. Which was the exact opposite of what Reas did.


    He said it was to have a direction in which to move forward. Astrid could understand that. It meant that the two decided to understand their feelings together and not by themselves. But it¡¯s hard to apply the same thing to Astrid and Wulfric¡¯s situation.


    For one, Wulfric¡¯s feelings for him didn¡¯t need any exploration. He was completely certain about his love for Astrid, and showed it in every way possible. His actions and words consistently demonstrated his commitment and affection, leaving no room for doubt. Unlike Astrid, who was still figuring out his own feelings, Wulfric knew exactly what he wanted and wasn¡¯t afraid to let it be known.


    For others, this might not have been a complicated thing. If someone loved you deeply and was so dedicated that they wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to go to war for you, what else was there to question? You should have quickly been in a relationship with that person.


    But for Astrid, it wasn¡¯t so simple as that. It¡¯s probably annoying to have this kind of thorough mindset. But what could he do? That¡¯s just who he was. So, he even though he¡¯s a bit jealous of Reas¡¯ decisiveness, he still chose to move at his own pace.


    ¡°By the way, Astrid, have you checked your fan club site? A club president has already been chosen, did you know?¡±


    Ellis¡¯ question quickly pulled Astrid from his own thoughts. He turned to the other. ¡°Really? Some things happened over the weekend and I haven¡¯t checked it. So, who is it? Could it be¡­


    White Wolf?¡±


    Honestly, Astrid was already readying himself to accept the possibility of Wulfric being his fan club president. Although it would definitely be super awkward once everything was revealed, he¡¯s not that against it.


    ¡°Ah, you mean your self-proclaimed number one fan?¡± Ellis asked with a chuckle. ¡°No, it¡¯s actually someone named Samuel Lewis.¡±


    Astrid blinked. ¡°¡­Who?¡±

 Chapter 606: DIE-HARD FAN

    Why did he even assume that it would automatically be Wulfric? Just because he¡¯s too active in [Cyberspace] as his fan? Or that because the other was in love with him? Amidst all that, he had forgotten the most important thing. That Wulfric was a general of the Empire.


    No matter how active he was on the social platform [Cyberspace], there was no way he could have the time to be the president of a fan club. Although it¡¯s not a formal job with pay, it¡¯s almost similar to a part-time job, requiring a significant time commitment. The person involved must spend a lot of their time to fulfill this role. Time that Wulfric obviously didn¡¯t have.


    If he had been his usual logical self, he would have easily realized that. Missing such an obvious detail showed just how inflated his ego had become. In his defense, having the only prince of the Empire fall for him could be a significant ego booster.


    ¡°I heard from the PR team that they asked your self-proclaimed number one fan if he wanted to be the fan club president. Considering how active he is on [Cyberspace], always defending you and such, I also thought he would accept. But it seems this White Wolf is a very busy individual. He responded that he wanted to do it but couldn¡¯t because of his job, or so he says.¡±


    Hearing that, Astrid felt even more embarrassed. He shook his head, thinking of how silly he was, fully believing that Wulfric would take on that role.


    Should he say it¡¯s a good thing that Wulfric didn¡¯t know that he knew about him being ¡®White Wolf¡¯? If the other knew he was aware of his ¡®online persona¡¯, the conversation about the fan club president would definitely come up. And then he would just embarrass himself because of his presumptuousness.


    Astrid decided to just put that away for now, and asked, ¡°So, how did the PR team pick this Samuel Lewis as the fan club president?¡±


    ¡°They actually had four options after White Wolf. One of them was Samuel Lewis. Since they couldn¡¯t decide, they made a poll on you fan website. And Samuel Lewis won by a landslide.¡±


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    Astrid tilted his head. ¡°If he¡¯s so popular among the fans, why haven¡¯t I heard of him?¡±


    ¡°I thought that too at first. But then I found out that he¡¯s a new Starlight,¡± Ellis said. ¡°I think the reason he was voted the most was because of his video edits of you. Many people have seen and reposted them. And they really are pretty well made. Like a work of a professional.


    You should see one and you will immediately understand.¡±


    Astrid nodded, understanding a bit. Anyway, since the president of his fan club had already been chosen, he should at least recognize the other, right?


    ¡°What¡¯s his handle name on [Cyberspace]?¡± he asked Ellis.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ @muscledbubblegum.¡± Ellis said that with a straight face, but anyone could tell that she¡¯d rather not say it. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, it was quite indeed an unusual handle name.


    So, while the car was travelling to the Polaris¡¯ building, he opened his Terminal and searched for Samuel Lewis on [Cyberspace]. Arriving at the other¡¯s profile page, the first thing he saw was the pinned post.


    @muscledbubblegum: [Just finished a new video edit of Aster as Luan Escanor in <The Great War>! The intensity and depth he brings to the character is unmatched.


    Check it out and let me know what you think!


    #AstridTownsend #LuanEscanor #TheGreatWar #FanEdit


    <video attached>]


    Astrid clicked on the video and watched it.


    The fan edit highlighted Luan Escanor¡¯s journey from a humble young priest to a revered young pope in [The Great War]. It captured his intense emotions, struggles, and unwavering faith, showing key moments from his rise to power and his tragic death. The video was beautifully edited with dramatic music and powerful scenes, making any fan of Astrid love it.


    Astrid raised his brow. He must say, this was really impressive. No wonder this Samuel Lewis was voted the most by other Starlights.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that Wulfric had a hand in Samuel Lewis winning the votes. There¡¯s only one word to describe it: manipulation. However, that wasn¡¯t important right now, so there was no need to elaborate.


    Astrid liked the post and reposted it.


    Astrid Townsend v: [This is such a cool edit. Thank you @muscledbubblegum! ^^ PS. Congratulations on being appointed as the fan club president! Welcome to the family!]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Samuel had not had a full night¡¯s sleep for a few days. It wasn¡¯t because he was too busy juggling his housekeeping job with his appointment as the president of Aster¡¯s fan club. Nothing had really changed much in his everyday life since becoming fan club president, mainly because he had been fanboying quite hard even before that. The reason for his lack of sleep was his employer¡¯s revelation.


    Who would have thought that the other was actually ¡®White Wolf¡¯?


    If anyone else had said this, Samuel might not have been this shocked. But no, it was told to him by none other than Wulfric de Lunaris¡ªthe Empire¡¯s crazy prince, the bloodthirsty general, and the butcher of Orus.


    If not for his need for money, he wouldn¡¯t have accepted this job. But after three years of working here, he realized that the general was not as crazy as the rest of the Empire painted him to be. As long as Samuel did his job well, he didn¡¯t have to worry about being thrown onto a barren planet somewhere.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that the general was all right in the head.


    He still had a crazy side that made it kind of hard for Samuel to remain calm when the other was at home. Who would have thought that this same general was actually a secret fan of Astrid Townsend? And not just an ordinary fan, but a very die-hard one.


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 Chapter 607: FAN CLUB PRESIDENT, SAMUEL LEWIS

    Any newcomer to the fandom would have likely come across at least one of his posts. It was safe to say that entering the fandom without knowing about ¡®White Wolf¡¯ was nearly impossible.


    So, imagine his surprise when he found out that ¡®White Wolf¡¯ was actually the general? When he first heard the general admit that he was ¡®White Wolf¡¯, he was confused. He even wondered if he was just having a hallucination. But when a few minutes had passed, and the general was still talking about Aster, he had to admit that everything that was happening at that moment was real.


    He actually almost passed from the shock. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was his fear of the general. He couldn¡¯t even remember much about what happened after that.


    From being just a simple housekeeper, to suddenly discovering the general¡¯s secret, and now, working for the other to maintain Aster¡¯s fandom.


    He let out a long sigh. Well, it would probably be fine as long as he did his job properly. Which was not that hard, considering that he was really a fan of Aster. He felt like what harder here was keeping the secret that the general was actually Aster¡¯s fanboy.


    In fact, he wondered if the general actually liked Aster in a romantic manner. Because a normal fan wouldn¡¯t go to the lengths, the general had gone just for the star they admired. What else was this if not love? Or at least, the general¡¯s own version of it.


    Wouldn¡¯t Aster be scared of the general? After all, most people in the Empire were. Samuel had felt the same way. But after working for the general for three years, he now knew that the general wasn¡¯t as bad as people made him out to be. He¡¯s still scary though.


    But if he was right, and the general had really fallen in love with Aster, maybe it wouldn¡¯t be so bad. Perhaps Aster could be a good influence on him, helping him mellow out a bit. However, that would only be possible if Aster didn¡¯t run away at the first sight of the general.


    Then suddenly, an idea flashed through Samuel¡¯s mind. What if he wrote a fanfiction about the two?


    Aside from doing video edits of stars he¡¯s a fan of, he¡¯s also secretly an AU writer. He often wrote about characters in TV shows or movies that he liked and felt that would be good as a couple. But he had never tried writing about real life people.


    Should he create one? And then make it popular? That way, if the general really pursued Aster, the latter wouldn¡¯t be so surprised. The same would apply to the public. It would be a way to desensitize people to the possibility of the general being with Aster.


    As Samuel was thinking that, he received a notification from his Terminal. He opened it and almost jumped when he saw that Aster actually reposted one of his fan edits and congratulated him for being the president of his fan club.


    Although he was very happy being noticed by a celebrity he really liked, he also felt a tad guilty. Mostly because he knew he didn¡¯t get the position of president because of his own efforts. Find hidden gems at m-vl-em-pyr


    He clenched his fists, his heart filling with determination. Since he had obtained this position unfairly, he resolved to become the best fan club president he could be.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    As they neared the Polaris building, Ellis told Astrid that she had received a message saying that Jimmy McCann was already there. Astrid nodded. There were still 30 minutes until the meeting time. The new director arriving this early probably meant that he must want this meeting to work.


    That¡¯s a good sign. Because he also wanted the same. He really liked the script. He felt like it would really test his acting skills. If they reached an agreement today, and they could make this film, it would really help elevate his career. Because it would show the public how much range he had as an actor.


    After a few minutes, they finally arrived at Polaris. As Astrid got off the car, his Terminal suddenly rang. It was the notification sound of an incoming video call. He opened his Terminal and saw that it was a call from Nicol.


    Knowing his Terminal setting was in private, he wasn¡¯t worried about answering the call. No one except him could see or hear the person he was talking to, anyway.


    ¡°Brother Aster!¡± Nicol greeted when Astrid clicked the accept button.


    ¡°Hi, Nikki,¡± he smiled and greeted back.


    ¡°Brother Aster, you¡¯re done with school for today, right? Can you eat dinner with us? Please? Please? Please?¡±


    Astrid could only blink at the unexpected invitation. Because he didn¡¯t immediately answer, Nicol showed an aggrieved expression, probably thinking that he planned to decline the invitation.


    ¡°Is Brother Aster busy? I¡­ I really just want to spend time with Brother Aster. I just felt so sad after watching what happened to Luan last night and I want to talk to Brother Aster about it.¡± Nicol stopped, and then looked down, as if he was trying to stop himself from crying. ¡°But if you¡¯re busy, it¡¯s fine. We can just have dinner another day.¡±


    How could Astrid reject the kid after seeing that? ¡°I have a meeting today. But if it ends early, I will message you, so we can have dinner together.¡±


    Nicol lifted his head, his expression turning bright. ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll be waiting for you, Brother!¡±


    After ending the call, Astrid had a sudden thought. If it¡¯s dinner, the other Grimaldis would probably be there, right? Including the duke. He still had very complicated feelings for the other. But anyway, if all of them would be there, maybe he should start with them. You know, telling them about his relationship with Wulfric. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It would be like practice.


    Nothing would go wrong, right?

 Chapter 608: MEETING JIMMY MCCANN

    Astrid immediately saw the man, who quickly stood up after seeing them enter. He appeared to be in his mid-20s, with shaggy brown hair that partially covered his eyes. His clothes hung loosely on his thin frame, giving him a somewhat disheveled appearance.


    His hands fidgeted at his sides as he attempted to maintain a composed demeanor. Despite his visible nervousness, he made an effort to stand tall and meet their gaze, revealing a brave attempt to appear confident in the face of his anxiety.


    So, this was Jimmy McCann.


    Although he looked quite young, from what Astrid had heard from Ellis, the new director was actually in his late 30s already. But considering the life span in this era was, that was still on the younger side.


    Anyway, considering his age, one would think that he shouldn¡¯t be just a fresh graduate director. However, Ellis explained that he initially pursued scriptwriting before transitioning into directing.


    Based on the script Astrid read, Jimmy McCann clearly had a talent for writing. He could definitely make a living just from that. Considering she had never heard his name before, it meant that he hadn¡¯t tried to sell his scripts to any film studios. Given the quality of his work, he would likely have already been popular if he had. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The fact that he didn¡¯t and continued to study filmmaking instead showed great dedication.


    It meant that he wanted to adapt the script he wrote himself.


    When Astrid found out about that, the image he had of the new director was that of someone who was a bit proud and very confident. But the person he¡¯s looking at now didn¡¯t have that image at all. Instead, it was the complete opposite.


    ¡°Hello, Director McCann. Sorry we¡¯re late,¡± Ellis said, walking towards the other, offering her hand. ¡°I¡¯m Ellis Payne.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t wait that long,¡± Jimmy said, quickly accepting Ellis¡¯ hand and shaking it. ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Payne.¡±


    Astrid heard the other¡¯s voice shake a bit, clearly showing his nervousness. But the fact that he managed to speak without stuttering showed a commendable level of composure and determination. It was evident that, despite his anxiety, he was striving to present himself confidently.


    That¡¯s very commendable in Astrid¡¯s opinion.


    He walked towards the other and also offered his hand. ¡°Hello, Director. This is Astrid Townsend.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, hi.¡± The director also immediately shook Astrid¡¯s hand.


    Ellis gestured for the director to sit down. The three of them took their seats on the sofas designated for visitors in the office. Jimmy sat on one sofa, and Ellis and Astrid sat on the opposite.


    ¡°Ahm, you called me about my script, [The Shadow Within],¡± the director started. ¡°May I ask if Polaris has plans to buy it? Because I have to be honest, I have no intention of selling it to any entertainment company or film studio.¡±


    His voice, in that last part, was much firmer compared to how he spoke initially. Astrid raised an eyebrow at that, not out of criticism, but in appreciation of how clearly the other knew what he wanted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Director McCann, we have no plans for that whatsoever,¡± Ellis assured him. ¡°I contacted you because our Astrid here wants to act in the script you wrote ¡ª [The Shadow Within].¡±


    The director showed a surprised expression, and then shortly, a complicated one. ¡°May I ask which character?¡±


    This time, it was Astrid who answered, ¡°The doctor.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    ¡°Has the mansion been clean thoroughly? How about the food? Are the ingredients all fresh?¡± Anthony asked the steward of the Grimaldi family¡¯s main mansion.


    ¡°Yes, Your Grace, everything is in order,¡± the steward replied.


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    ¡°Tell the chefs that I want this dinner to be absolutely delicious, and they should prepare the dishes from the list I gave them.¡±


    After a few more reminders, Anthony finally let the steward to go out of his office.


    He then stood up and walked to the window, gazing out of it. After a while, he let out a long sigh. He didn¡¯t know if it was from nervousness, excitement, or maybe even both.


    Anthony knew that his sons had met the twins. From the little Thomas had shared, it seemed the twins didn¡¯t harbor any resentment towards them. However, that wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing, as their feelings appeared to be rooted in indifference.


    Being hated would have at least meant the twins felt something toward them, but indifference indicated they didn¡¯t think much of them at all. Or maybe they only felt that way towards him and Thomas? More so for him. Because from what he heard, the twins were very welcoming towards Cassius and Nicol.


    That was better than them being completely on guard against the rest of them.


    Anthony actually wanted to meet the two as well. But he felt like he didn¡¯t have the right to.


    To stand in front of them and ask for their forgiveness felt like the height of shamelessness. But to not do anything would be to carry the burden of overwhelming guilt, a weight heavier than any shame.


    He was thinking of the right timing to do it, but before he could, Nicol suddenly informed him earlier that Astrid would be coming here to have dinner with them. That¡¯s why Anthony immediately called the steward to ask him to prepare the mansion thoroughly to welcome a very important guest.


    He also planned to send someone to pick up Astrid directly, but Nicol informed him that Astrid had sent a message saying his agent would drive him here. As if he was seemingly aware that someone here would try to arrange for him to be picked up.


    Looking at the sky already turning orange-red, Anthony was filled with all kinds of emotions. In just an hour or so, he would meet Astrid. It would not be the same as when he met him during the launch party, or during his photoshoot.


    This time, they would meet knowing that one was the grandfather and the other the grandson.


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 Chapter 609: DIRECTORS THOUGHTS

    Their discussion about filming [The Shadow Within] had been going well. Jimmy was initially apprehensive when he heard that Astrid Townsend, one of the hottest new actors recently, wanted a role in his script. His first thought was that Astrid wanted to play the protagonist.


    As someone who planned to work in this industry, Jimmy, of course, knew who Astrid Townsend was. A rookie who immediately placed in the top 100 of the [Star List] just a few months after his debut. He thought someone like that would definitely want to play the main character. Especially since Jimmy¡¯s script, if adapted, would likely be a small production.


    That¡¯s why he felt complicated. Since Astrid didn¡¯t fit the image of the protagonist in [The Shadow Within]. In his mind, the protagonist was someone with a large frame, a very manly face, and had a bit of a rough attitude. Although the latter could be solved by great acting, the former, well¡­ No matter how much he looked at Astrid, he was simply too pretty.


    So hearing him say that he wanted to play the doctor, it was very surprising, to say the least. But then again, if one read the script in-depth, it was easy to see that the one who had the most importance in the whole story was none other than the doctor.


    According to Ellis Payne, the reason she contacted him was because Astrid liked his script. With that and the fact that he wished to play the role of the doctor, it could be seen that Astrid must have read and analyzed the script thoroughly.


    As the one who wrote it, of course Jimmy felt very happy. Maybe that¡¯s why he had been easily swept up in the discussion that followed. Before he knew it, they were already talking about which film production might want to work on the film.


    Ellis suggested that she could help look into that. But Jimmy refused. As the scriptwriter and also the director, this should be his responsibility. Besides, he had already been talking to a film studio known to produce high-quality indie films.


    The thing about that film studio, though, was that funding still depended on the director. Which meant that the quality of their work would solely depend on the fund that the director managed to gather. Something that was still a problem for Jimmy right now.


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    Since he was contacted by Polaris, he was thinking of maybe they could help him with that in some way. But that was under the assumption that Polaris was not trying to buy out his script. Thankfully, that wasn¡¯t the case.


    But before he could ask them about that, his curiosity won and he couldn¡¯t help but ask Astrid on why he chose the role of the doctor.


    Astrid smiled and responded without hesitation, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°May I ask why?¡± Jimmy asked tentatively. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s a supporting role. For someone on the rise like you, I thought you would prefer to play the protagonist from now on.¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen of the short film you made, the director has quite a talent for directing. Combined with your wonderful script, I have a feeling this film will be a big hit. And if that happens, aren¡¯t you planning to make a sequel?¡± Astrid smiled and continued, ¡°With the doctor as the protagonist?¡±


    Jimmy was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped.


    ¡°How did you¡­?¡±


    ¡°I just felt that¡¯s the director¡¯s intention. It seemed that I guessed correctly.¡±


    Although Astrid said that in a light tone, like a child pleased with answering an adult¡¯s question, Jimmy felt that Astrid was underestimating his own comprehension. Because clearly, the other understood more than what he was letting on. Unless he had read the whole script and had a great understanding of all its details.


    Jimmy couldn¡¯t help but be amazed and a little proud. It meant his script was truly good. Since he wrote it, his opinion was inevitably biased. Seeing someone else appreciate his writing so much gave him a sense of validation. Especially after all the condescending rejection he had received from different film studios and entertainment companies for months now.


    After graduating from film school, the first thing he did was send one of his scripts to every possible place he could. At first, he received a positive response. They were all interested in his script. The problem was, they were not interested in him as a director. Meaning they only wanted his script, and not him.


    When he refused, he received scoffs and snide remarks. Telling him that he would just waste his script by insisting that he direct it. That he needed more experience as a director before he could be trusted to direct such a script. When he continued to be stubborn, some became even downright mean and cruel. There were even those who continued to harass him.


    So, when Jimmy received Ellis¡¯ call and agreed to this meeting, he didn¡¯t have much hope. That was until he met and talked with Astrid.


    He looked at the other and said with determination, ¡°I will do my best to make this a great film.¡±


    ¡°You definitely will, director,¡± Astrid said with equal conviction. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a few more discussions about production, casting, and film budget, the three finally ended their meeting with everyone satisfied with the result.


    Jimmy came to Polaris with a heart full of apprehension, but he left with a heart full of hope.


    Astrid was also very happy with how the meeting went. That¡¯s probably why he was not feeling so complicated at the thought that he would have to have dinner with the Grimaldis later.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, can you drive me somewhere?¡±


    Ellis turned to him. ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°At the Grimaldi¡¯s main mansion.¡±


    Ellis showed a slightly surprised expression at that. Then, as if understanding something, she said, ¡°Is it because of that young master Grimaldi?¡±


    Astrid only smiled. ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡±


    And he should leave it at that. At least for the moment. Unless he wanted to shock Ellis to the point of fainting.


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 Chapter 610: AT THE GRIMALDI MANSION (I)

    ¡°Astrid, do you really think it¡¯s wise to be close to the Grimaldis? I understand that young master Grimaldi feels a special attachment to you because you and Reas saved him. That might even be a major reason why EMMA chose you as their ambassador. While it has certainly boosted your career, getting too close to such a prominent noble family could also backfire.¡±


    Astrid turned to Ellis. He understood her concern, but it wasn¡¯t as if he could simply cut ties with the Grimaldis, especially now that they knew who he and Reas were. The real issue was that he couldn¡¯t explain this to Ellis¡ªat least, not right now.


    He planned to first tell the Grimaldis about Wulfric, and then followed by his parents. After that was done, then he would tell Ellis about his connection with the Grimaldis.


    Although some might say that he was just procrastinating by doing this, and maybe he was in some way, but he still would rather do it this way. He didn¡¯t want to be overwhelmed by everyone¡¯s reactions, which he surely would be if he made all these ¡®confessions¡¯ in a single day.


    ¡°There¡¯s actually a reason why I couldn¡¯t just cut them off, and no, it has nothing to do with me being an ambassador of EMMA,¡± he said in response to Ellis. ¡°I¡¯ll explain everything to Sister Ellis once I¡¯ve taken care of some¡­ matters.¡± sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That answer just confused Ellis even more. Then she suddenly thought of her guess before ¨C that Astrid and Reas might be the illegitimate children of one of the duke¡¯s sons. She knew the twins¡¯ parents were on planet Delryria. But what if those parents were just guardians that their real father hired to take care of them?


    She furrowed his brows, then shook her head. Why was she making up things in her head like this? Who would have thought she would have this kind of overactive imagination? But who could blame her, really? After that fiasco with the prince, thinking of the worse case scenario was a natural course of action.


    Ellis let out a sigh. ¡°Fine. But be sure to explain everything to me when you¡¯re ready.¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°I promise.¡±


    Soon, they arrived at the Grimaldi family mansion. Since their arrival was expected, there was no hassle entering the premises.


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    Astrid stared at the mansion from a distance. It stood tall and imposing, resembling a grand palace. The walls were adorned with intricate carvings and large, arched windows framed by decorative moldings. A sweeping staircase led up to a majestic entrance adorned with ornate columns. The roof was adorned with dormer windows and elegant chimneys.


    Surrounding the mansion, a sprawling garden spread out, featuring meticulously manicured lawns, vibrant flower beds, and paths lined with neatly trimmed hedges. A big marble fountain at the very center added a touch of elegance to the place.


    Astrid almost whistled seeing the grandness of the place. But since this was the main mansion of the Grimaldi family in the capital, it¡¯s only natural for it to be this grand.


    When Ellis parked the car, he said goodbye to her and got out. Then he stood there and waited until Ellis drove off.


    He was just about to turn around and climb the stairs to the entrance when he heard a young voice calling to him.


    ¡°Brother Aster!¡±


    Astrid turned and looked up. He saw Nicol running down towards him. Worried that Nicol might fall, he quickly climbed the stairs to meet him halfway.


    ¡°Nikki, don¡¯t run like that. You might hurt yourself,¡± he chastised the other.


    Nicol only laughed happily and then hugged Astrid. ¡°Sorry, Brother Aster. I¡¯m just too excited seeing you again.¡±


    Astrid smiled helplessly. This kid, apologizing while laughing like that, it¡¯s obvious that he didn¡¯t mean it. Astrid could only shake his head and ruffled Nicol¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Nikki, let your Brother Aster come inside the house first,¡± ¨C another familiar voice said.


    Astrid looked up and saw Casey. He was a bit surprised to see him because he knew Casey didn¡¯t live in this mansion; he had his own house. Well, on second thought, it shouldn¡¯t be that surprising. Casey probably heard he would be having dinner here and decided to join them.


    ¡°Good evening, Uncle Casey,¡± he greeted the other.


    Casey smiled brightly, as if he really liked hearing Astrid call him ¡®uncle¡¯. ¡°Good evening, Aster. And welcome to Grimaldi mansion.¡±


    The three of them finally walked into the mansion. The moment they entered, Astrid saw the duke and Thomas waiting inside.


    ¡°Uncle Thomas, Your Grace,¡± he greeted the two.


    Thomas¡¯ expression didn¡¯t change much, but anyone who knew him enough would know that he was very happy right now. On the other hand, the duke¡¯s expression became even stiffer as soon as Astrid referred to him as ¡®Your Grace¡¯. But he didn¡¯t say anything and just nodded to acknowledge Astrid¡¯s greeting.


    ¡°Thank you for accepting Nicol¡¯s invitation,¡± Thomas said. ¡°I hope it wasn¡¯t a bother.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s not a bother at all. I also wanted to see Nikki, so it worked out well,¡± Astrid said, putting his hand on Nicol¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Does Brother Aster miss me?¡± Nicol asked, looking up at Astrid with his big sapphire blue eyes seemingly twinkling. ¡°I also miss Brother Aster. I wish you can just live here.¡± Then he suddenly turned to the duke. ¡°Grandpa, can Brother Aster live with us from now on?¡±


    Cracks seemed to have formed on the duke¡¯s expressionless face because of Nicol¡¯s question.


    Anthony wasn¡¯t sure how he should respond, so an awkward silence suddenly filled the air.


    Casey was the one who broke the silence. He suddenly clapped his hands and said, ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s go and eat dinner before the food turns cold.¡±


    The duke cleared his throat as if trying to blow away the awkward atmosphere. Then he turned around and lead the way towards the dining room. The four people behind followed shortly .


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 Chapter 611: AT THE GRIMALDI MANSION (II)

    ¡°I hope that the food is to your liking,¡± the duke suddenly said.


    Astrid turned to the other and said with a polite smile, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very delicious.¡±


    ¡°I think Brother Aster¡¯s cooking is still the most delicious,¡± Nicol commented while putting the vegetables on his plate on the side.


    ¡°Nicol, eat your vegetables,¡± Thomas said.


    ¡°Listen to your Dad, Nikki,¡± Casey said, adding more vegetables to Nicol¡¯s plate. Then he turned to Astrid. ¡°But Aster¡¯s cooking is truly unmatched. If you ever open a restaurant later, I¡¯ll be your number one customer.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be number two!¡± Nicol quickly added, raising his hand.


    ¡°Can I be number three?¡± Thomas asked while also rasing his hand a little.


    Astrid chuckled, feeling amused by their antics.


    Anthony watched in silence, feeling completely isolated. Although they were in the same room, he felt as if he were in an entirely different world. He looked down at his plate, sliced a piece of meat, and ate it. The food was tasteless to him, but he continued to eat, anyway.


    Being surrounded by family, yet feeling utterly alone, was the perfect punishment for a sinner like him.


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    As the dinner continued, Nicol began to talk about the episode of [The Great War] that aired last night.


    ¡°It¡¯s so unfair for Luan to end up like that,¡± Nicol said with a sad expression. Then added with anger, ¡°If Caesar has a happy ending, I will send protest to the people who made the show.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Nikki. I will help you send one ¨C a big protest billboard in front of the house of the director,¡± Casey followed.


    ¡°Cassius, don¡¯t put strange ideas in Nicol¡¯s head,¡± Thomas said. Before turning to Astrid. ¡°Your performance in last night¡¯s episode was very splendid, by the way.¡±


    ¡°Right? I literally cried during that scene between you and Caesar,¡± Casey added with a nod.


    ¡°Brother Aster, do you have another series coming up?¡± Nicol asked eagerly. ¡°Can you tell us about it? I¡¯ll definitely watch!¡±


    ¡°I have one. It¡¯s not a series though, but a movie,¡± Astrid answered. ¡°It will be released sometime next month.¡±


    Nicol visibly became excited when he heard that. No, not only Nicol but also Casey and Thomas. Then the next conversation revolved around how they should reserve a whole theater, so everyone could watch it together. And from that, the next conversation revolved around how good it would be if, in their next dinner together, Reas could also join them.


    As they were discussing various things, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but glance at the duke, who had remained silent until now. He had been eating quietly, not joining the conversation. From the duke¡¯s demeanor, Astrid sensed a profound loneliness in the other. Somehow, seeing him like that was just¡­ sad.


    Astrid gazed down and continued eating.


    It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t want to make the duke feel better, but honestly, it wasn¡¯t his responsibility. The effort should come from the duke, not the other way around. Clearly, the duke was more interested in wallowing in self-pity than trying to improve the situation.


    So, whatever sadness or loneliness the duke was feeling, that¡¯s on him, not on Astrid.


    After they finished dinner, Astrid was asked if he could stay for tea. Since he had another purpose for agreeing to this dinner, he thought it was time to discuss it.


    ¡°Your Grace, Uncle Thomas, Uncle Casey, may I speak with the three of you?¡± he asked. ¡°In a more private setting, if possible.¡±


    Before any of the three could reply, Nicol spoke first. ¡°How about me?¡±


    Astrid smiled at Nicol and gently rubbed his head. ¡°This is something I need to discuss with the adults. I¡¯m sorry if I can¡¯t tell Nikki about it.¡±


    Nicol pouted, clearly sulking because of Astrid¡¯s response. But he still nodded at the end. ¡°I understand. But Brother Aster has to play with me later, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay, I promise,¡± Astrid said with a helpless smile.


    When Nicol left them, the duke finally spoke;


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my study.¡±


    Astrid and his two uncles followed the duke to the study. When they entered, the duke sat behind his desk, while Astrid and his uncles took seats in the plush armchairs arranged in front of it.


    The three Grimaldis all turned their attention to Astrid, clearly waiting for him to speak. Seeing no reason to beat around the bush, Astrid decided to get straight to the point and said what he needed to say.


    ¡°I know a way for you to meet my mother without the Lancasters finding out.¡±


    After he said that, the three men displayed a range of reactions¡ªdisbelief, agitation, and hope. It was somewhat amusing to see these emotions play out on their faces, one after another.


    ¡°Can you elaborate on that?¡± the duke asked. Despite his calm voice, it was obvious he was anything but.


    ¡°I know someone who can help,¡± Astrid said. ¡°He can ensure that your meeting with my mother will remain under the radar.¡±


    The three men wore expressions that seemed to say it was hard to believe what he had just said. It wasn¡¯t out of distrust, but more along the lines of, ¡°How could you know someone who can do something we couldn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°May we know the name of this person?¡± Thomas asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Casey seconded.


    They both looked as though they would only decide if this person could truly be useful after hearing their name. The duke also only stared at Astrid, as if waiting for his answer.


    Astrid looked at them before taking a deep breath. He was already readying himself for the explosive reaction they would surely have. And then he said the name.


    ¡°It¡¯s His Highness, General Wulfric de Lunaris.¡±


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 Chapter 612: AT THE GRIMALDI MANSION (III)

    To dispel their ¡®misunderstanding¡¯ that they were collectively experiencing an auditory hallucination, Astrid repeated, ¡°His Highness, Wulfric de Lunaris, is offering his help to us.¡±


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    Finally, realization dawned on them. Astrid really just mentioned the lunatic prince.


    ¡°Wait- how- I mean, why would that guy, I mean the prince, offer his help?¡± Casey asked, clearly very confused.


    Both the duke and Thomas had their gazes fixated on him, showing how focused they were on whatever he would say next.


    ¡°I met him by accident last year in Delryria. And¡­ we became friends,¡± Astrid could only say without explaining further.


    Because further explanation meant revealing his exact relationship with Wulfric. Although it¡¯s true that they were currently just ¡®friends,¡¯ what he and Wulfric had couldn¡¯t be confined to that one singular term.


    All three men furrowed their brows exactly at the same time as soon as he said that.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Aster. But I just find it hard to believe that you¡¯re talking about the prince whom we know,¡± Casey said. ¡°I mean, no offense to the prince, but I don¡¯t think that guy has any friends.¡±


    Astrid felt the corner of his eye twitch. What Casey said kind of annoyed him, so he responded without thinking, ¡°I think Wulf is very friendly with his captains, as well as his lieutenant.¡±


    It was too late by the time he realized that he had said more than he should. His simple statement contained a lot of unspoken implications and hinted at a deeper familiarity with Wulfric than he had intended to reveal.


    Sure enough, the three men immediately caught the underlying implications in his words. Casey looked shocked, while both Thomas and the duke furrowed their brows even further. Astrid could almost see the questions forming in their minds, and he knew that an explanation would be inevitable.


    He braced himself for the barrage of inquiries that was sure to follow, wishing he had been more careful with his words.


    But what could he do? When he heard Casey talk as if Wulfric was the lowest of the low, someone no one would dare be friends with, he felt an overwhelming urge to defend him. Wulfric might not be perfect, but he certainly wasn¡¯t that bad.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know which one I should be more shocked by: the fact that you know the prince¡¯s captains and lieutenant, or that you¡¯re calling him by his nickname,¡± Casey said, pressing his temple as if trying to ward off an incoming migraine.


    ¡°I think we can all agree that the two of you seem to be more than casual acquaintances,¡± Thomas said, obviously trying to remain calm, but the strain in his voice, especially on the word ¡®acquaintances,¡¯ proved otherwise. ¡°May I ask how did that come about?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I very much want to know the answer to that as well,¡± Casey added.


    Astrid looked at the three and sighed. It seemed that as long as he didn¡¯t provide a viable reason why Wulfric would help them, they would continue to doubt his intentions. The only way to put a stop to their questioning was to tell them the truth about their relationship. But that would just lead to another round of inquiries that he didn¡¯t care to answer.


    As he was thinking about how to go about this, the duke, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.


    ¡°What are the prince¡¯s intentions towards you?¡±


    That single question stopped all three who heard it. Casey and Thomas didn¡¯t really think in that direction at first. But after hearing their father, they finally realized that it¡¯s the most plausible direction they should have thought of first.


    Astrid, on the other hand, was simply surprised that the duke would ask that directly. Because of this, he became momentarily speechless. However, his silence took on another meaning to the three Grimaldis looking at him.


    ¡°Oh my god, how dare that bastard have designs on my nephew?¡± Casey blurted out angrily.


    ¡°Cassius, calm down,¡± Thomas said, trying to be the voice of reason. However, the vein popping out on his forehead showed that he wasn¡¯t as calm as he wanted to appear. ¡°Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding, right, Astrid?¡±


    The duke simply stared at Astrid. Though he hadn¡¯t added anything to his earlier question, the expression on his face more than conveyed how much he also disliked the idea of Wulfric having ¡®designs¡¯ on him, as Casey put it.


    Once again, a long sigh escaped Astrid¡¯s lips. There were two ways he could approach this. First, he could lie and make up some excuse. Or second, he could simply tell the truth.


    Doing the first one would be the easy way out at the moment. But then, once they agreed to Wulfric¡¯s help and they met him, just one word from Wulfric and they would be able to immediately tell the ¡®truth¡¯.


    So, in the long run, it would still be better to just reveal the truth now. It might complicate things at this moment, but at least they would avoid any misunderstandings or mistrust later on.


    It would have been better if things didn¡¯t get to this point. But it was his fault for being unable to stop himself from defending Wulfric. Which was probably the reason why the duke caught on and had this suspicion.


    But once Astrid revealed to them his real relationship with Wulfric, it would definitely get ugly. He took a deep breath and decided to just go with it. Knowing he couldn¡¯t change the situation, it was best to just address it head-on. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He looked at his two uncles, who seemed to be hoping that it was just a misunderstanding, and the duke, who seemed to be trying his best to rein in his temper. He clenched and unclenched his fists before saying it all at once;


    ¡°Yes, Wulf is in love with me.¡±

 Chapter 613: HES REALLY NOT AS BAD

    When the initial shock faded, the first one to show reaction was, of course, Casey. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± he said, his tone a mix of disbelief and anger. ¡°That crazy bastard is¡­? No! Absolutely not! I don¡¯t care what his feelings are, he¡¯s no good for you!


    He¡¯s volatile and violent, not to mention, crazy! He¡¯s like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. You deserve someone who will treat you with respect and care, not someone who brings chaos wherever they go!¡±


    ¡°Cassius, calm down first,¡± Thomas said, once again trying to be the voice of reason. And once again, failing. Because he kind of said those words through gritted teeth.


    ¡°No! How could I calm down? Have you heard what our nephew said? The Butcher of Orus is in love with him!¡±


    ¡°I heard! But will shouting change anything?¡± Thomas argued back, his voice also rising up a notch.


    ¡°Enough.¡±


    That one short word from the duke stopped the two brothers from arguing further. Which what would have happened if they didn¡¯t. Then the duke lifted his gaze and stared straight at Astrid.


    ¡°Can you tell us how you became¡­ friends with His Highness? And how he¡­ fell in love with you?¡± the duke asked in a gentle voice, or at least the gentlest he could probably muster.


    Astrid looked at the three and sighed once again. He knew that if they didn¡¯t get the hows, the whys, and the when, these three would continue to ask questions, and maybe Thomas and Casey would really end up fighting.


    If this was how it was going to be, he should have just said straight up to them that Wulfric was in love with him and they had a special relationship. That¡¯s why the other was being generous and offering his help. But he knew the reason why he didn¡¯t do that in the first place.


    No matter how much he reasoned and told himself that he didn¡¯t care much about their opinions, deep inside, he knew that wasn¡¯t really the case. If he truly didn¡¯t care, he would have just told them directly about what¡¯s going on with him and Wulfric.


    So, yes, despite trying to act nonchalant about the situation, a small part of him still wanted the Grimaldis to have a good opinion of Wulfric and his potential relationship with him.


    Astrid looked at the three. To hell with it, he should just be upfront and tell everything. Or else there would be no end to this. He still had to go back to his apartment and sleep.


    ¡°As I¡¯ve said, we met accidentally in Delryria. It was not the best of meetings. My impression of him was the worst. I even orchestrated a scheme so he would leave me alone. When he left the planet, I thought that would be the end of it. But we met again during the first music video photoshoot I took.


    To be honest, the first thought I had back then was, ¡®not again¡¯.


    ¡°But then he apologized for the disastrous first meeting we had. You might think, so what, right? A single apology shouldn¡¯t change my opinion of him that quickly. But, you see, this was, as you put it, the ¡®Butcher of Orus.¡¯ You know he¡¯s not someone who would apologize. But he did. He apologized awkwardly, like a bumbling puppy unsure of how to go about it.


    ¡°For the life of me, I found that adorable. It¡¯s probably why I softened and accepted the apology. We became friends after that. A lot happened in between. We grew closer, and he eventually confessed his feelings to me. And if I¡¯m being honest, I¡¯m considering his confession positively.¡±


    After his long statement, the three stood there, utterly shell-shocked. Their eyes widened in disbelief, and their mouths hung slightly open as they tried to process what they had just heard. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thomas blinked rapidly, as if hoping to dispel an illusion, while Casey looked like he was hoping that this was a joke. The duke ran a hand through his hair in a very un-aristocratic like manner. His expression was a mix of confusion and astonishment, as if an unexpected tidal wave of information had hit him. Continue your journey with m.vl-em,py-r


    Before they could voice their opinions about his feelings being misguided or how unsuitable Wulfric was for him, Astrid intervened and spoke up first.


    ¡°I just want to remind you that we¡¯re not here to discuss here about my love life. We¡¯re here to discuss the help Wulf is offering. I very much suggest that you, no, we accept his help.¡±


    Casey looked like he was about to protest, but Astrid added quickly.


    ¡°Surely, meeting my mother again is much more important than my love life, right?¡±


    That made the three speechless once more. They must know that if they wanted to meet his mother in the fastest and safest way possible, then accepting Wulfric¡¯s help would be the best choice.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll contact Wulf and ask him to contact you so you could all work out the details.¡± Astrid continued when the three didn¡¯t speak. ¡°And try not to be too hard on him. He¡¯s really not as bad as you think he is.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    As soon as Astrid left the study, the first one to break the silence was Casey. ¡°Oh, that bastard¡­ that crazy son of a¨C¡°


    ¡°Cassius,¡± Thomas stopped his brother before the other could flip the table. He could understand the feeling because he was also on the verge of breaking something.


    Astrid and the prince¡­ he still couldn¡¯t believe it. It¡¯s like a fever dream. A bad fever dream, for that matter. But no matter how much they hated this situation, it¡¯s a fact that the prince would really be a big help.


    Still. This was the Butcher of Orus.


    ¡°We will speak with the prince,¡± their father said suddenly, his voice grave. ¡°And it will be a very, very thorough discussion.¡±

 Chapter 614: JUST BE YOURSELF

    That conversation he had with the three Grimaldis certainly almost drained him. He knew their reaction to Wulfric wouldn¡¯t be all that positive. The only reason that they probably didn¡¯t react as violently was because he managed to remind them what their priority should be.


    Since their priority right now was meeting his mother, that superseded their worry for him. If not for that, he would probably be forced to stay overnight there, where the three would lecture him about how bad a relationship with Wulfric would be.


    Anyway, at least that was over now. The next part would be the really hard one, because it¡¯s where he had to talk to his parents. But before that, he needed to inform Wulfric about his conversation with the Grimaldis. After all, Wulfric needed to talk with them too, so they could coordinate how the Grimaldis would travel to Delryria stealthily and unnoticed.


    He had to wait until he got back to his apartment before he could call the other. It¡¯s not like he could call him while in the Grimaldi mansion or while in the car. It was better to contact him here in his apartment, where he could be sure of the privacy.


    Astrid opened his Terminal and send a video call request to Wulfric. He didn¡¯t even have to wait a second before the call was accepted. Wulfric¡¯s handsome face popped up on the screen.


    ¡°Good evening, Wulf,¡± he greeted first. ¡°I¡¯m not disturbing you, am I?¡±


    ¡°No, how can you disturb me? You are and always will be a welcome distraction,¡± Wulfric said rather straightforwardly.


    Now that made Astrid smile. ¡°I talked to them, the Grimaldis. They agreed, well, sort of, to work with you to meet my mother. I told them that you will contact them later so you can coordinate the details.¡±


    Wulfric looked surprised at first, but then his expression turned serious. ¡°I¡¯ll do that later. So, how was it, your conversation with them?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, as well as it could be, I guess?¡± Astrid said. ¡°They really have a bad impression of you, though.¡±


    ¡°Everyone has a bad impression of me,¡± Wulfric responded, trying to appear nonchalant. But his next question revealed that he cared more than he let on. ¡°So, how bad was their impression, exactly?¡±


    ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t really get into the details, as I made them focus on what should be the priority right now,¡± Astrid said. ¡°But the few things they did mention weren¡¯t exactly in your favor.¡±


    A look of worry flashed across Wulfric¡¯s handsome face. He seemed to want to ask something, but hesitated. Astrid could easily see what was going on in the other¡¯s mind. So, to help him ease his worry, he said;


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my opinion of you is pretty much formed at this point. No matter what others say, it won¡¯t change easily¡ªunless, of course, you do something to change it yourself.¡±


    ¡°Is your opinion of me very positive?¡± Wulfric asked in a tentative manner.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that if it¡¯s not, we won¡¯t be having this conversation at all.¡±


    That put a wide grin on Wulfric¡¯s face. ¡°Really? How positive is it?¡±


    Astrid raised his brow. ¡°Ask again, and I might think you¡¯re just fishing for compliments.¡±


    ¡°One or two compliments wouldn¡¯t be too bad,¡± Wulfric said with a playful smirk. ¡°But I won¡¯t force you, since I¡¯m feeling very generous right now.¡±


    ¡°Why, thank you.¡±


    The two looked at each other and both just laughed.


    ¡°Do you have any advice on what I should or shouldn¡¯t do when I speak to the Grimaldis?¡± Wulfric asked after a while. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No, actually. It¡¯s enough to be yourself. It¡¯s not like their opinion of you would immediately change if you try to impress them. And it might even have a negative effect, since they will know you¡¯re only doing that because you have a hidden motive.¡±


    ¡°How will they know that I have a hidden motive?¡±


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    Ah, right. Astrid forgot to tell Wulfric that he told the Grimaldis about his ¡®intentions¡¯. So, he told Wulfric about it and how it came about. After he spoke, Wulfric only blinked, looking very speechless.


    ¡°You¡¯re not mad, right?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Wulfric quickly said. ¡°How could I be mad at you for that? It¡¯s not like you said anything untrue.¡±


    Even though Astrid already knew that Wulfric would say that, he still let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, you can see why there¡¯s really no need for you to try to impress them, as it might just backfire on you. So, being yourself would be the best course of action.¡±


    ¡°That certainly wouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡±


    The two of them talked a bit more before ending the call.


    Astrid closed his Terminal and muttered softly, ¡°Good luck, Wulf.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric let out a long sigh. Although he tried to show a carefree attitude in front of Aster, he was actually very worried.


    Under normal circumstances, he would not care much about how the Grimaldis saw him. But if these people managed to gain Aster¡¯s mother¡¯s forgiveness, then they would become a permanent fixture in Aster¡¯s life. That meant Wulfric would be seeing them more often than he cared to. Perhaps their opinion would even start to matter to Aster in the near future.


    So, even if he wanted to just be himself, it would be difficult not to feel compelled to act otherwise.


    But things had already reached this point, so he just had to face it head-on. If they saw how sincere his feelings were towards Aster, surely, they would view it in a positive light.


    Right?


    With that determination, Wulfric started a plan on how he would go about this. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn¡¯t really think of anything.


    So, he decided to just wing it and proceeded to establish a private line to contact Duke Grimaldi.


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 Chapter 615: DISCUSSION WITH THE GRIMALDIS

    The large virtual screen in front lit up. It didn¡¯t take long before the call connected, and three men appeared on the screen. All of them wore the same expression. With their similar features, it was almost like he was looking at a trio of triplets.


    ¡°Good evening, Your Highness.¡±


    The duke was the first one to speak. Although it seemed like he was greeting Wulfric in a very polite manner, the way he said it and his expression while saying it showed otherwise. There was a coldness in his eyes, and a subtle curl to his lips that belied his courteous words.


    Wulfric immediately knew that this was not going to be an easy conversation. He could sense the underlying hostility, the hidden barbs in the duke¡¯s seemingly harmless greeting.


    ¡®Ah, this is going to be a long night.¡¯


    Even though he told himself that he would try to be in his best behavior during this conversation, it might be quite hard to do just that.


    He¡¯s not the most patient of men. It¡¯s easy to trigger his annoyance. He wanted to be a better person for Aster. But some things were just ingrained in him. Like a bad habit he couldn¡¯t shed just because he wanted to. So, maybe, the best approach here was just to be himself.


    Just like what Aster had said.


    He should probably ready himself to be disliked even more.


    ¡°Good evening,¡± he responded back. ¡°Aster mentioned that he had talked to you about meeting his parents. I¡¯m calling to coordinate how we should proceed.¡±


    ¡°¡®Aster¡¯, huh,¡± Cassius Grimaldi mumbled as he narrowed his eyes at Wulfric.


    ¡°Yes, Aster said I can call him that.¡±


    After Wulfric said that, the expressions of the three men seemed to turn even grimmer. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is Your Highness really willing to help us?¡± Thomas Grimaldi asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Wulfric almost added that he wouldn¡¯t be making this call if he wasn¡¯t. But that would sound too sarcastic and might worsen their impression of him.


    ¡°What would it be for you?¡± Cassius continued. ¡°Surely, the distinguished prince of our Empire is not doing this for free.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m doing this for free,¡± Wulfric replied calmly. ¡°But if you¡¯re suggesting that I¡¯m blackmailing Aster for this, then you¡¯re insinuating he would risk his honor just to help you reconnect with his mother.¡± His eyes narrowed slightly, his voice growing firmer. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we will have a problem. Read exciting tales at m_vl_em_p_yr


    You can say all the bad things you want about me, but I won¡¯t allow you to disparage Aster by suggesting that I¡¯m only doing this because he agreed to give me something I want.¡±


    Cassius¡¯ whole face turned red. From anger or embarrassment, it¡¯s hard to tell. ¡°I never said that!¡±


    ¡°Cassius,¡± Thomas stopped him. Then he looked at Wulfric, and said through gritted teeth, ¡°We apologized for my brother¡¯s behavior. But I assure you, we¡¯re not insinuating anything. Much less about our nephew¡¯s honor. But you should also understand why we are reacting this way.¡±


    ¡°Of course. I would actually think less of you if you didn¡¯t react violently to my connection to Aster,¡± Wulfric stated calmly.


    ¡°Connection, my ass,¡± Cassius grumbled. But he no longer added anything to that.


    ¡°Let us first discuss how to coordinate the travel plans,¡± the duke said. ¡°Your Highness, are you absolutely certain that we can go to where Emmaline is without the Lancasters noticing?¡±


    Wulfric only looked at him, wondering if he¡¯s joking. But when no ¡®just kidding¡¯ followed, he realized that the other was actually serious.


    ¡°You do know who I am, right? Even if we don¡¯t take into account that I¡¯m royalty, I¡¯m the general of the Fenris Squad¡ªthe one that eliminated all those bastards at Orus without them even noticing our arrival,¡± Wulfric reminded them. ¡°A little unnoticed spaceship travel would not be a problem.¡±


    Cassius scoffed, as if finding him arrogant. Thomas¡¯s expression tightened, his eyes narrowing. The duke, however, remained impassive, his face a mask of calm neutrality, though a slight tension around his mouth hinted at his concern. But none of them said anything to contradict him.


    ¡°Then let us establish a plan,¡± the duke finally said.


    After an hour of intense discussion, they finally established the when and the how. They agreed that the departure would take place this coming weekend, under the cover of night to minimize detection. Wulfric would arrange for a stealth spaceship, equipped with the latest cloaking technology, to transport them to their destination.


    The travel route was meticulously planned to avoid the Lancaster¡¯s eyes. Wulfric would personally oversee the operation, ensuring that every detail was flawless. They decided to rendezvous at a secluded spaceport outside the city area, where the spaceship would be waiting.


    Of course, there were many more complicated details than that, but there¡¯s no need to go into them one by one now. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t just him who would be involved in this ¡®operation.¡¯ He had to get the core members of his army involved. He just hoped Leland wouldn¡¯t be a party pooper and put a stop to it.


    Which he would likely do. Saying how they shouldn¡¯t get involved in the problems of the two families. But what could Wulfric do? The Grimaldis would most likely be his in-laws in the future. Besides, he might as get a lot of brownie points from Aster¡¯s parents if he helped in this matter. Something that he greatly needed after the bad first impression he gave.


    ¡°Now that we have finished discussing that, let¡¯s talk about another important matter,¡± the duke said. Through the virtual screen, he looked straight at Wulfric. ¡°Astrid told us that you¡¯re in love with him. I don¡¯t want to question your feelings, but is this just a passing fancy? Something that you will get over in a few months, years? Or are you truly serious about my grand¡ªno, about Astrid?¡±

 Chapter 616: I EXPECT NOTHING LESS

    He¡¯d rather be interrogated and questioned than not at all. At least, he would be sure that these people cared enough to want to know more about his intentions and actions. Silence would have been far more concerning, indicating indifference or, worse, disinterest in the well-being of Aster. Wulfric met the duke¡¯s gaze steadily, his expression calm and composed.


    ¡°My feelings for Aster is very real. This is not a passing fancy. From the moment I met him, I knew there was something special about him. I found myself immediately transfixed and intrigued. To the point that even though Aster tried his best to make me lose that interest, I still couldn¡¯t stop thinking about him.


    ¡°As fate would have it, we met again. So, I did everything I could to get his forgiveness. I was even willing to kneel if that¡¯s what it would take for Aster to forgive my actions during our first meeting. Thankfully, I was forgiven, and we became friends. As time passed by, my feelings for Aster just only grew. And it didn¡¯t take long for me to realize what those feelings are.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in love with him. Madly, deeply, unequivocally.¡± He paused, ensuring his words conveyed his sincerity. ¡°I understand your concern and your desire to protect Aster. I assure you, my intentions are honorable. I am committed to standing by Aster¡¯s side, supporting and loving him for as long as I am able.


    This is not something I will ever get over; it is a bond I intend to honor and nurture for the rest of my life.


    ¡°I may be a lot of things, but one thing I can promise you without hesitation is that I will never hurt Aster or make him cry, for that matter. If I ever do, I give you full permission to shoot me, and I won¡¯t dodge.¡±


    The serious atmosphere when he started to speak suddenly turned awkward because of that last part. Wulfric didn¡¯t find anything wrong with what he said, though. Because in his mind, he was only stating facts, nothing more, nothing less.


    But to the three Grimaldi men, it was not as simple as that.


    Casey was teetering on the edge of annoyance, frustration, anger, and, yes, awe. His first thought upon learning that the crazy prince was interested in Astrid was disbelief. Not because he doubted his nephew¡¯s ability to attract the prince, but because, in his mind, there was no conceivable way the crazy prince could be interested in anyone.


    He shouldn¡¯t have underestimated his nephew¡¯s overflowing charm. Look, he even managed to take down this person, who, by all accounts, was considered by many to be heartless. And yet, looked at this crazy guy now. Saying these love-struck words as if it was the most natural thing in the world.


    That¡¯s why he felt in awe. It didn¡¯t even feel right to feel that. What he should be feeling right now was annoyance. After all, this guy was making moves on his nephew. But really, who could blame him when the notorious prince was being so shamelessly lovesick? It was definitely remarkable in its own way.


    Although Casey seriously wanted to get angry, he couldn¡¯t even find it in him to do so. Not just because of the way the prince was acting, but also because of the fact that even if he wanted to get in the way of whatever relationship Astrid and the prince had, he would only be the one ending up on his nephew¡¯s bad side.


    It was obvious with the conversation they had with Astrid that he wouldn¡¯t appreciate any intervention from them in regards to his relationship with the prince. Casey had a feeling that if they did intervene, the only goodwill that Astrid had for them might just vaporize into thin air.


    At the end, Casey could only let out a deep and long sigh.


    Thomas was feeling the same way. He was very conflicted with the prince¡¯s ¡®confession¡¯. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to agree with¡­ all of these. But at the same time, he also knew that he wasn¡¯t in a position to do anything about it. The only silver lining here was the fact that the prince seemed very serious about Astrid.


    But he wasn¡¯t even sure if that¡¯s something they should be glad about.


    Despite his high social standing, the prince wasn¡¯t exactly a desirable marriage prospect. There were more disadvantages than advantages. And he definitely didn¡¯t want his nephew to be subjected to that.


    But at the end of the day, the decision was still in Astrid¡¯s hands. That¡¯s why Thomas didn¡¯t say anything and just remained silent.


    Of course, the things the two brothers had considered, the duke also thought about. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anthony was not very thrilled at the idea of a potential marriage connection between a member of the royal family and one of his grandsons. The cons of that outweighed the ¡®prestige¡¯ of such a marriage.


    He also considered how this whole thing might affect Astrid¡¯s acting career. From what he had seen from the things Astrid acted in since he debuted, it was obvious how much he loved acting. If his relationship with the prince was revealed, especially when Astrid was only a rookie, calling it a big scandal would be an understatement. And that would put a dent to whatever dream Astrid had.


    But just like what his sons had thought, there¡¯s nothing he could do about it now. He hadn¡¯t even earned his daughter¡¯s forgiveness. What gave him the right to get in the way of Astrid¡¯s relationships?


    However, even if he couldn¡¯t do anything right now, that didn¡¯t mean that he would just stand still even in the future.


    Anthony looked straight at the Empire¡¯s infamous prince.


    ¡°If you ever hurt him or make him cry, just know that I will take you up on your offer and personally fire a laser gun at you.¡±


    Wulfric grinned. ¡°I expect nothing less.¡± Discover more stories at m v l e mpyr


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 Chapter 617: A LOT OF LUCK

    ===


    It was late at night, and Astrid still hadn¡¯t slept because he kept on thinking about how the conversation between Wulfric and the Grimaldis had gone. That¡¯s why when he received a message from Wulfric, telling him that he would call him tomorrow to tell him what happened.


    The other probably thought that he was already sleeping. So, in consideration of him, he just sent a message instead. But since Astrid was still awake, he just sat up from bed and call the other. It¡¯s not like he could immediately go to sleep, anyway. Especially since he was certain he would just be thinking about how that conversation went.


    He pressed the call button, and it didn¡¯t take long for Wulfric to accept it. When his face appeared on the virtual screen, Astrid didn¡¯t wait long and immediately asked;


    ¡°How did it go?¡±


    ¡°It went well. We came to an understanding,¡± Wulfric said in a proud tone.


    Astrid raised his brow. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not just your imagination?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Wulfric answered and added with a pout, ¡°I¡¯m not that delusional, you know?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Astrid could only say.


    His expression must be full of skepticism because Wulfric quickly said as a defense;


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I was polite and honest, lay out everything in the open, and we came to an understanding.¡±


    Astrid looked at Wulfric, looking at his expression, he seemed to be really saying the truth. It¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t believe him. It¡¯s just that, Wulfric¡¯s ¡®honesty¡¯ could rub people the wrong way. Considering that the ones he had a conversation with were the Grimaldis, who currently were still feeling guilty because of the family situation, and thus, could be a bit overprotective.


    So, it¡¯s hard to imagine that they wouldn¡¯t have a negative reaction to Wulfric straightforwardly saying his feelings for Astrid. Which, he had no doubt that Wulfric would have done. The only reason he could think of why the Grimaldis wouldn¡¯t have the negative reaction he was thinking was because they must have felt that they had no right to interfere.


    That wasn¡¯t entirely impossible, especially after his conversation with them earlier. They must have sensed from his words that he wouldn¡¯t appreciate any interference in his relationship with Wulfric. That¡¯s why they chose to remain passive.


    At least, that was the case for now.


    Well, anyway, Astrid was glad they were actually being thoughtful. Since them being angry at Wulfric wouldn¡¯t help in the current situation. Right now, the best course of action was to cooperate with Wulfric instead of antagonizing him. It¡¯s good that the Grimaldis understood that.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sorry for doubting you,¡± he said, to pacify Wulfric. ¡°I just have to make sure.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I forgive you,¡± Wulfric said, like some taciturn child acting like he was being generous.


    His reaction made Astrid chuckle. ¡°So, what plans did you make?¡±


    ¡°It will happen this weekend. Everything will be arranged in a very stealthy manner. I will lead the operation myself, so you have nothing to worry about.¡±


    Astrid nodded. He knew there were a lot more details than that, but he didn¡¯t press for further information. He had no doubt in his mind that Wulfric would handle everything thoroughly.


    ¡°Will it be a problem if Reas and I tag along?¡±


    That was really his only concern. Since it was a family reunion, of sorts, it was only right for him and Reas to be there. But if their presence would complicate things for Wulfric, he wouldn¡¯t insist on going. Wulfric was already doing them a favor; he wouldn¡¯t intentionally make it harder for him.


    Wulfric went silent for a second. And then said in a serious tone, ¡°It¡¯s my job to make sure it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    That certainly made Astrid smile.


    ===


    As he was taking a shower, Astrid was contemplating what he should do next. No, actually, he knew what he should do ¨C to talk to his parents and come clean. If things were about to start rolling on Saturday, then he had to explain to his parents as soon as possible.


    But let¡¯s wait until later today. It had been a really long five days. The exhaustion was starting to get into him. He actually wanted to just rest for a day and do nothing. But he had class. And he also couldn¡¯t push off talking to his parents anymore.


    So, he would have to be satisfied with just a few hours of reprieve.


    He would have to talk to Reas first and inform him of what had just happened.


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    Astrid got out of the bathroom and put on the clothes he had prepared. It was still a bit early, so his brother¡¯s class probably hadn¡¯t started yet. He opened his Terminal and called Reas.


    It took more than a minute before the video call requested. His brother¡¯s face appeared on the virtual screen. He looked like he just got out of the shower.


    ¡°Sorry. I just finished showering,¡± Reas said, confirming what Astrid thought.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± he said. ¡°I have some news for you.¡±


    Reas furrowed his brows. ¡°News? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°Something happened. But not something bad.¡±


    Then he told him about his conversation with the Grimaldis, Wulfric¡¯s conversation with them, and his conversation with Wulfric.


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s a lot of information,¡± Reas commented after a while.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a minute to take it all in.¡±


    After a full minute, Reas spoke again, ¡°I guess we¡¯re going back home this weekend.¡±


    ¡°That we are.¡±


    ¡°Have you told Mom and Dad, you know, about the general?¡± Reas asked.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I will, later, after school.¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I wish you good luck, then.¡±


    A helpless smile crossed Astrid¡¯s lips. He really needed that. And a lot of it too.

 Chapter 618: THE NAME

    Because of the success of Kiran¡¯s previous work, he received many offers from different music labels and entertainment companies. But he still chose to work with Polaris once again.


    This decision became the topic of their conversation as they ate dinner. Before going about their separate ways, they had decided to have dinner together once they were done with what they had to do at the company. Instead of going to a restaurant, they chose to eat at the company cafeteria.


    ¡°It¡¯s mainly because Polaris is the only one who offered me to do a single song,¡± Kiran answered when Astrid asked why he chose to work with Polaris once again. ¡°All the others wanted me to do a full album. Right now, I don¡¯t have enough artistic juice to do that. But since I couldn¡¯t pass up a chance to earn good money, I picked Polaris.¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid nodded. He could understand that. Kiran just finished composing and producing an album for a singer and even an additional song for another. Doing another album this soon would definitely put a toll on him. Maybe even resulting to a subpar result. So, even if he could earn more money doing another album, he still chose to do a single song.


    ¡°Besides, I also like working here,¡± Kiran added. ¡°They give me a lot of room to work. I¡¯m pretty much in charge of everything. I don¡¯t think I could have that level of independence at another label.¡±


    Honestly, if the singers he could work with weren¡¯t limited, he would work exclusively with Polaris. But he wanted to work with a diverse range of musicians. Doing so would also help him hone his talent more.


    He believed that working with different artists would challenge him in new ways and push his creative boundaries. Each collaboration could bring fresh perspectives and unique styles, allowing him to grow as a musician. By experiencing various genres and approaches, he hoped to refine his skills and develop a richer, more versatile sound.


    This variety was essential for his artistic growth, something he felt he couldn¡¯t achieve by staying within the confines of a single label or company, no matter how supportive it was.


    ¡°That¡¯s great to hear. It must be rewarding to have that level of autonomy,¡± Astrid responded to what Kiran said earlier.


    ¡°It is,¡± Kiran said. ¡°I hope that in the future I could establish my own studio.¡±


    ¡°With your talent, I have no doubt you will.¡±


    That drew a shy smile from Kiran.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid headed home after finishing dinner with Kiran. It¡¯s finally time to face his current ¡®problem¡¯.


    But he took a shower first and change into his favorite pajamas to feel comfortable. He stared at his Terminal for quite some time. After a few minutes, he sighed and just clicked on the call button.


    As he was waiting for the call to be answered, Astrid felt his heart pounding uncontrollably. You know, just how a child would feel when they knew they were about to get scolded by their parents.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the call to connect. His mother¡¯s face appeared on the virtual screen. A smile quickly crossed her lips when she saw him, an automatic response whenever she saw her children. But this time, that smile didn¡¯t last long and was quickly replaced by a worried expression.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, baby? Did something happen?¡± she asked, and then, as if she realized something, she added with a frown, ¡°Was it the Grimaldis?¡±


    Astrid blinked, and then couldn¡¯t help but let out a helpless smile. His mother might have noticed his expression, that¡¯s why she asked that first instead of her usual greetings. Was this the famous mother¡¯s instincts?


    ¡°No, they didn¡¯t do anything. But it is related to them,¡± he said. ¡°Mom, can you call Dad? I have something to tell to the both of you.¡±


    His mother stared at him for a few seconds, as if scrutinizing his every expression. Then she nodded and called his father. After a while, his father appeared on the screen beside his mother.


    ¡°What is it? Does Aster miss his dad?¡±


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at his father¡¯s greeting. ¡°Yes, Dad, I miss you and Mom. But I¡¯m actually calling for a different reason.¡±


    ¡°Did something happen? Is it the Grimaldis?¡±


    That was Gage¡¯s first thought. Given the recent events, he couldn¡¯t imagine anything that might cause worry for his son other than that.


    ¡°As I told Mom, they didn¡¯t do anything, but I¡¯m calling because it¡¯s related to them,¡± Astrid clarified. ¡°I know they wanted to meet Mom but couldn¡¯t because of various reasons, the main one being our safety. However, I know a way to make it possible for everyone to meet safely without worrying about the Lancasters.¡±


    Both his parents showed a confuse expression.


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    ¡°Aster, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust your words, but how can you possibly do that?¡± his father asked. He looked like he didn¡¯t want to sound offensive, but the skepticism on his face was also clearly visible.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. But I know someone who can,¡± Astrid said. ¡°He might not make the best impression at first. And once you know who he is, you¡¯ll probably get angry and might even want to send me back to Delryria. But I trust him. So, I hope Mom and Dad can also give him a chance.


    Just like I did. Please.¡±


    His father looked like he was about to say something, but his mother spoke first. Her expression was completely serious. ¡°May we know the name of this person we¡¯re supposed to give a chance to?¡±


    As soon as Astrid heard that, he knew that the moment of truth was coming. He took a deep breath and finally said;


    ¡°Wulfric de Lunaris.¡±


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 Chapter 619: REACTION OF MOM AND DAD

    His mother mirrored his father¡¯s confusion, her eyes narrowing in disbelief. She crossed her arms tightly, her whole body rigid with tension. Her jaw set, and her lips pressed into a thin, hard line. She took a deep breath, as if trying to steady herself, but her posture remained stiff and unyielding.


    The atmosphere was charged with their unspoken disapproval. Neither of them spoke, but the silence was heavy with their anger and confusion.


    Astrid could feel the weight of their stares through the screen. He had expected this kind of reaction, but seeing it firsthand was still nerve-wracking. He wondered how he would even proceed with telling them about his relationship with Wulfric if this was already their reaction to just mentioning his name.


    ¡°May I ask why the name of the prince suddenly appeared in this conversation?¡± his mother asked in a very calm voice that it¡¯s almost scary. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid took a deep breath. Answering that question felt more challenging than any audition he had ever faced. But he had to. This conversation wouldn¡¯t progress unless he revealed the full truth about why Wulfric was willing to help them.


    ¡°It all began when we met by coincidence almost half a year ago,¡± Astrid began, his voice steady despite the tension.


    Then he began to recount everything that had happened. He described how they met again during the music video shoot, how Wulfric apologized for their initial encounter, and how he had accepted the apology. He detailed how they became friends, how their bond grew stronger over time, and finally, how Wulfric confessed his feelings for him. Astrid didn¡¯t leave out a single detail.


    As he finished his story, he anxiously studied his parents¡¯ faces on the virtual screen.


    His father¡¯s expression hardened, the initial confusion now replaced by a mix of anger and disbelief. His eyes narrowed, and his lips pressed into a thin, disapproving line. It was clear that he was struggling to process the idea that this ¡°lunatic prince¡± had not only befriended his son, but had also fallen in love with him.


    His mother¡¯s reaction was equally intense. Her face was a storm of emotions¡ªshock, anger, and a deep-seated mistrust. She shook her head slowly, as if refusing to believe what she had just heard. Her arms remained tightly crossed, her body language screaming how much she¡¯s rejecting this idea.


    The silence that followed was deafening, filled with their unspoken objections and the weight of their worst impressions of Wulfric. Astrid could feel the intensity of their disapproval through the screen, and it made his heart pound with anxiety.


    He had already expected that it wouldn¡¯t be easy. But seeing his parents struggle to hold back their anger, knowing that he was the only person they could direct it at right now, was even harder than he anticipated.


    The first to break the silence was his father. ¡°No, absolutely not. I don¡¯t approve of this!¡± His voice was firm, but it trembled with barely contained anger. ¡°There¡¯s no need to get help from that¡­ that¡­ prince!


    If he offered to help, and if he¡¯s in love with you, what if he expects something in return? What if he forces you to be with him? No! I won¡¯t allow that to happen!¡±


    His face flushed with emotion, his fists clenched as he struggled to keep his composure, the fear and protective instinct for his son clearly evident in his eyes.


    ¡°Dad, Wulf¨C¡°


    ¡°Wulf? You¡¯re even on a nickname basis?!¡± his father exclaimed, his voice rising sharply.


    ¡°Okay. Gage, calm down a bit,¡± his mother cut off what his father was about to say further.


    ¡°Emmy¨C¡°


    A single look from his mother made his father quickly close his mouth. Then she turned to Astrid.


    ¡°Were you about to say that the prince isn¡¯t doing this for something in return?¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°I swear, Wulf won¡¯t do something like that.¡±


    His father scoffed at that comment.


    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± his mother asked, her tone filled with skepticism and concern.


    Astrid took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. ¡°Because I¡¯ve seen who he really is, beyond all the rumors and the stories. He cares about me, genuinely.¡±


    His mother shook her head slowly, still not convinced. ¡°But Astrid, people don¡¯t change overnight. How do you know he¡¯s not just manipulating you? How can you trust him?¡±


    Astrid¡¯s gaze was steady as he replied, ¡°He didn¡¯t exactly change overnight. It was more gradual. And, not to sound narcissistic, but most of the change he has experienced over the past few months is because of me. With others, he can still be the same difficult person, but when it comes to me, he is incredibly understanding and patient. He can be thoughtful, kind, and even sweet.


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    So, I know, fundamentally, he¡¯s not the monster everyone makes him out to be.¡±


    ¡°Have you considered that he¡¯s just showing you what you want to see to gain your trust?¡± his mother asked.


    ¡°Mom, you¡¯ve talked to him. You know he¡¯s not capable of pretending like that. It wouldn¡¯t work on me, especially. Acting is my job¡ªI can tell when someone is putting on an act,¡± Astrid said. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe, but please, just give him a chance.¡±


    His father leaned back, his expression a mix of frustration and helplessness. ¡°This is so much to take in.¡±


    ¡°I know. But please, accept the help he¡¯s offering. At least, with his help, the current situation with the Grimaldis could be solved. Maybe this could even give everyone involved closure,¡± Astrid said, his tone full of pleading. ¡°Please, Mom, Dad.¡±


    His mother stared at him and then sighed. ¡°Tell me exactly what kind of help the prince is offering.¡±

 Chapter 620: ON MY WAY BACK

    ¡°Gage, I¡¯m just as angry as you. But destroying our house won¡¯t help,¡± she said in a calm tone.


    Gage inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, his fists clenching and unclenching in a steady rhythm. His shoulders rose and fell with each breath, and his jaw tightened as he focused on steadying his breathing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just¡­ I¡¯m angry and frustrated and I don¡¯t know where I should vent it,¡± Gage said.


    ¡°I understand. I feel the same way. But nothing would be solved if we let our emotions rule us.¡±


    Although Emmy spoke those words, she too felt the urge to pick something up and throw it across the room. However, with Gage already so upset, she knew someone had to be the voice of reason.


    ¡°What are we going to do? Are we just going to let that bastard have his way with our son?¡± Gage asked, his voice trembling with fury, his teeth clenched so tightly it seemed they might shatter.


    ¡°Although I don¡¯t like this any more than you do, do you really think Astrid would let the prince, or anyone else for that matter, have their way with him?¡± Emmy asked, raising an eyebrow.


    She still remembered how Astrid had handled the prince when he accidentally appeared here. Even then, the prince had shown an unusual interest in Astrid. But her son managed the situation perfectly, ensuring the prince would lose interest in him.


    At that time, it was obvious how Astrid did not welcome the prince¡¯s advances. But the way her son was talking about the prince earlier made it seem like he was talking about a completely different person.


    According to her son¡¯s story, the prince apologized to him, and from then on, the two became friends. It was probably more than just a simple apology if the prince managed to change Astrid¡¯s perception of him. Her son must have seen something in the prince that made him give him another chance.


    Their relationship had progressed to the point where the prince had confessed his feelings, and her son didn¡¯t seem entirely opposed to accepting that confession. It was evident that something significant had changed in Astrid¡¯s feelings toward the prince; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have entrusted him with such an important task involving their family.


    Emmy just couldn¡¯t grasp how the prince was able to do it. Remembering the brash prince who seemed to only move based on what interest him, she just couldn¡¯t imagine how the heck did he manage to win Astrid over.


    If she didn¡¯t know her own son, she would have suspected that he had been brainwashed. That was the only logical explanation she could think of at the moment. In her mind, the possibility of that happening was higher than the prince truly changing. But knowing how strong-willed Astrid was, she knew there was no chance of him being manipulated or gaslighted in any way.


    So, this was just her way of saying there was no way the prince could change.


    She sighed, feeling a headache coming on. This was the second bombshell Astrid had dropped in the past few days. Honestly, she didn¡¯t know which one surprised her more.


    Either way, the situation had already reached this point. They might as well take advantage of whatever opportunities came their way, even if it meant making a deal with the devil himself. They just had to make sure this devil wouldn¡¯t be able to take advantage of them in any way.


    ¡°So, what are we going to do now?¡± Gage asked. Discover stories on m-vl-em,pyr


    ¡°Let the prince help,¡± Emmy answered with a shrug. ¡°As much as I don¡¯t want to admit it, our son is right. We need closure. It¡¯s already been over two decades. It¡¯s time to face the past and find some resolution. No matter how much we try to live a normal life, a part of us is still living in the shadows of those events.


    That¡¯s especially true for me. It¡¯s time to move forward, even if it means accepting help from an unexpected source.¡±


    She thought back to the plan that Astrid had detailed to them earlier.


    ¡°Since a certain prince will also be coming here, we can just vent our dissatisfaction by then,¡± she added.


    For the first time since Astrid¡¯s call, Gage finally grinned. However, this grin had a distinctly bloodthirsty feel to it. ¡°I like that idea.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Astrid slumped down on the couch. That went about as well as he had expected.


    Although he managed to calm his parents, he knew they were still not fully convinced. The underlying tension and doubts were still there, lingering just beneath the surface. He had a feeling that everything would explode the moment they saw Wulfric in person.


    The reunion between the Grimaldis and his parents was probably not the only thing he should expect by the weekend. At best, there would be a tense confrontation between his parents and Wulfric. At worst, his father would challenge Wulfric to a Mecha fight and wouldn¡¯t stop until one of their Mechas was destroyed.


    He really hoped that the latter part wouldn¡¯t come into fruition.


    After a few minutes of rest, Astrid opened his Terminal again to video call Wulfric. Surprisingly, unlike usual, the other didn¡¯t answer right away. When it lasted for nearly 15 minutes, he was about to end the call and try again later, but the call suddenly connected. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Wulfric appeared on the screen, he noticed that the usual background that appeared whenever the other called from Alluna had changed. It now looked like the cockpit of a spaceship instead of a study.


    ¡°Sorry, Aster. We just passed through a space warp, so I couldn¡¯t answer your call immediately,¡± Wulfric apologized.


    That answer gave Astrid an idea of why the background had changed. But still, he had to make sure. ¡°A space warp?¡±


    ¡°Ah, right. I forgot to tell you,¡± Wulfric said, as if just realizing he hadn¡¯t informed Astrid of something important. ¡°I¡¯m already on my way back to the capital, along with some of my captains.¡±

 Chapter 621: JUICY DETAILS

    ¡°Well, if we want to reach the capital and implement the plan by Saturday, we have to leave Alluna this early,¡± Wulfric answered.


    Astrid nodded, realizing he had completely overlooked the logistics. Despite the advancements in space travel, with space warps significantly reducing travel time, journeying from one planet to another still required considerable time, especially when crossing different galaxies.


    On that note, he suddenly realized it would take days to travel from the capital to Delryria. He recalled the long journey he and Reas had experienced when they first left for the capital. With their departure set for Saturday, it was impossible to arrive by the next morning. Considering the time needed for the return trip, he and Reas would have to file for at least a week of leave from school.


    ¡°How long do you think it will take us to travel to Delryria and back?¡± he asked. ¡°Will it be more than a week?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be using a smaller vessel, which can move much faster. Additionally, we¡¯ll be traveling through space warps reserved exclusively for my army. No one will dare stop us for checkpoints, so we can reach our destination at the fastest speed possible,¡± Wulfric explained. ¡°So going back and forth will take five days at least.¡±


    Five days? Then he and Reas would have to miss three days of school. Astrid would be fine since Redwood was quite lax about attendance. However, he wasn¡¯t so sure about the Imperial Military Academy. There was a chance Reas might not be allowed to skip classes. His brother must have known that, but Reas hadn¡¯t mentioned any concerns about being unable to go.


    He must have a plan to ensure he could join them. Astrid just hoped it wouldn¡¯t affect his brother¡¯s academic record.


    Wulfric seemed to have read what he was thinking because he added;


    ¡°I can pull some strings to get Reas a three-day leave of absence.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You can do that?¡± Astrid asked, surprised.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Before Astrid could let out a sigh of relief, he suddenly realized potential problems. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s okay? Won¡¯t the teachers at the military academy think badly of Reas if you pull strings for him like that?¡±


    When Wulfric didn¡¯t answer immediately, Astrid knew that his worry was not unfounded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just tell Reas to file for a three-day leave of absence,¡± he said. ¡°With his good grades, I¡¯m sure it will be approved.¡±


    Wulfric scratched his cheek, a hint of embarrassment in his eyes. ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t be of more help.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not your job to handle things like this,¡± Astrid said, waving his hand dismissively. ¡°By the way, I already talked to my parents. They agreed with the plan.¡±


    ¡°¡­Oh. That¡¯s great,¡± Wulfric said after a delayed reaction. ¡°Have you¡­ told them about, you know?¡±


    Wulfric paused, his eyes widening slightly as he absorbed the information. He scratched the back of his head, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. ¡°Oh, I see. Well, that¡¯s¡­ good.¡±


    Astrid raised a brow. ¡°Is it really?¡±


    ¡°Of course! I mean, they will know soon enough. What difference does it make if they know about it sooner?¡± Wulfric said, trying to sound brave, though his nervousness was evident.


    Astrid chuckled, finding Wulfric¡¯s current expression both amusing and adorable. ¡°Good. Then you should brace yourself, because I think my dad will want nothing more than to beat you up. And my mom might want a piece of you, too. So, good luck.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric turned off his terminal after his call with Aster ended. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the impending headache. That last part of his conversation with Aster got to him a bit.


    He knew from the start that Aster¡¯s parents wouldn¡¯t have a positive reaction to, well, him. His reputation and their initial meeting had obliterated any chance of a favorable impression. Now he was beginning to regret his reckless and carefree past. If he hadn¡¯t lived so impulsively, perhaps Aster¡¯s parents wouldn¡¯t hold such a negative opinion of him.


    Now, once they arrived at Delryria, he had to worry when Aster¡¯s father would suddenly attack him. Maybe his mother would even put poison in his tea or something.


    A long sigh escaped his lips.


    ¡°What, trouble in paradise?¡±


    Wulfric turned to Hildred, who just spoke. ¡°There will be no trouble if I can help it.¡±


    ¡°So, is our prince admitting that you and Astrid Townsend finally reached paradise?¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t talk about Aster in that tone,¡± Wulfric said, his voice carrying a hint of warning.


    Hildred raised both hands in mock surrender, a teasing smile spreading across his face. ¡°But you did confess to him, right?¡±


    ¡°What, did you listen to my private conversation?¡± Wulfric asked, irritated.


    ¡°Wulf, it¡¯s not my fault you didn¡¯t click the private setting of your Terminal before answering the call. Besides, I¡¯m not the only one who heard it,¡± Hildred said, then turned to where Edmund and Slade were sitting. ¡°You heard it too, right?¡± Explore more adventures at m,v l¡¯-NovelFire


    ¡°I¡ªI¡¯ve suddenly gone deaf and didn¡¯t hear anything! Certainly nothing about any confession!¡± Edmund declared in his typical, Edmund-like fashion.


    Slade rolled his eyes at that. ¡°I heard it. And even if I¡¯m in a state of shock right now, I won¡¯t say anything. That¡¯s Captain¡¯s business, after all. Although I wouldn¡¯t mind hearing all the juicy details.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Wulf, tell us some juicy details,¡± Hildred added. ¡°I think we deserve to hear some of it after being pulled into your sweetheart¡¯s problem. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be satisfied with how you confess with Astrid. Right?¡±


    Slade laughed. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d be down with that.¡±


    ¡°I- I don¡¯t have any opinion!¡± Edmund said when Wulfric glanced at him.


    Wulfric looked at the three and sighed, feeling his headache intensify. He knew things would be chaotic with them around. If Leland weren¡¯t needed in Alluna, he would have preferred to take him along instead of these three.


    ¡°I confessed. If you want more details, you have to defeat me in a fight.¡±


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 Chapter 622: ANOTHER MEETING WITH THE DIRECTOR

    Speaking of his departure tomorrow, Astrid had already secured a three-day leave for next week. He wondered if Reas had also managed to do the same. The last time he called his brother to ask about his plans, Reas mentioned that he would request time off as well.


    Astrid suggested to his brother that he could call the military academy and give a sob story to get his leave approved easily, noting that a few tears would probably do the trick. Reas chuckled at the suggestion and assured Astrid that there was no need for theatrics. Given his stellar record, getting a three-day leave from the registrar¡¯s office wouldn¡¯t be difficult.


    Hopefully, that would really be the case.


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    ¡°You¡¯re going to be gone for five days, right?¡± Ellis asked suddenly. ¡°Is that enough time for you to get to Delryria and back?¡±


    When Astrid mentioned he was going home due to a family emergency, Ellis assumed he would need at least two weeks of leave. After all, Delryria was in another galaxy, far from the capital. So when she heard he would only be taking a five-day leave, she wondered how that could be possible.


    ¡°Wulf will help with transportation,¡± Astrid explained. ¡°We¡¯ll be using a spaceship from his army, along with their exclusive space warps. That will significantly reduce the travel time.¡±


    Ah, right. Ellis had almost forgotten that the prince was courting Astrid. The way Astrid casually mentioned using a spaceship from the prince¡¯s army made the situation suddenly feel much more real.


    ¡°Is the family emergency you mentioned not that serious?¡± she asked, shifting the subject. ¡°You know you can always ask for my help, right?¡±


    If the prince offered his help so Astrid and Reas could travel home faster, then this emergency had to be more than just a simple home visit.


    ¡°Thank you for the offer, but it¡¯s really just a simple family reunion,¡± Astrid assured her. ¡°It¡¯s important to our parents, so Reas and I need to be there.¡±


    Ellis nodded, no longer asking.


    ¡°When I return, I¡¯ll tell Sister Ellis all about the reunion,¡± Astrid said after a moment.


    Ellis turned to Astrid and saw him smiling innocently at her. Seeing that smile sent a chill down her spine. Surely, he wouldn¡¯t drop another bombshell on her, right?


    Right?


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    Upon arriving at the company, the receptionist informed them that Director McCann was already in Ellis¡¯s office, so they headed straight there.


    Entering the office, they saw Director McCann quickly stand up as soon as he saw them. He looked even more haggard than the last time they met, which was only four days ago. Dark circles underlined his eyes, and his clothes appeared rumpled, as if he hadn¡¯t slept or changed in days.


    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± the director said, looking visibly relieved at the sight of them.


    ¡°Please, sit down, Director. There¡¯s no need for formalities,¡± Ellis said as she and Astrid took their seats on the couch opposite the other. After the director sat down, she asked, ¡°You said when you called that there was a problem?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about the production cost,¡± the director began. ¡°The main investor I was counting on for this film suddenly backed out. His business experienced financial setbacks, so he can no longer finance the movie. I¡¯ve tried finding other investors, but I¡¯ve had no luck.¡± He paused, a sad and apologetic expression crossing his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.


    I know I said I would handle it, but here I am, four days later, already showing you how incompetent I am.¡±


    Ellis wasn¡¯t too surprised or disappointed. She already expected that something like this would happen. After all, Director McCann was still new in the industry. Gathering funds for a movie without the backing of a major entertainment company would definitely be hard.


    She was about to assure him that it didn¡¯t matter and that Polaris could assist, but before she could speak, Astrid beat her to it.


    ¡°Then I can be the main investor. To increase the budget, I¡¯ll forgo my talent fee and accept a running guarantee instead.¡±


    This meant that instead of receiving a fixed payment upfront for his role, Astrid would receive a percentage of the film¡¯s profits over time. By doing so, he not only provided immediate financial relief for the production, but also showed his confidence in the film¡¯s success. This arrangement would help free up more funds for the movie¡¯s production.


    Both Ellis and Director McCann looked at Astrid in surprise.


    ¡°Astrid, are you sure about this?¡± Ellis asked. ¡°Polaris can cover most of the production costs. I just need to talk to Grant¡ªI mean, the president¡ªand convince him that investing in this movie is worthwhile.¡±


    ¡°Miss Payne is right. I don¡¯t want to burden you with this,¡± the director said. ¡°As the director, it¡¯s my responsibility to gather the funds. Relying on one of my actors is, to say the least, quite embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I haven¡¯t spent much of the money I¡¯ve earned since I started working,¡± Astrid said, his voice steady and reassuring. ¡°A lot has accumulated, especially after I was hired as the ambassador for EMMA¡¯s next collection. We can use those funds. However, since the budget isn¡¯t limitless, you¡¯ll likely need to sign newcomers or lesser-known actors.


    I just hope the director will choose the right people for the remaining roles.¡±


    Director McCann¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, and a mixture of relief and gratitude washed over his face. He seemed momentarily speechless, clearly taken aback by Astrid¡¯s generosity. After a brief pause, he managed to compose himself, his expression softening with appreciation as he nodded.


    The tension in his shoulders eased, and it was clear that Astrid¡¯s offer had lifted a significant burden from him.


    ¡°Thank you. I will do my very best to make this film successful.¡±

 Chapter 623: ONE JOB

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. I don¡¯t have any other plans for my savings right now, so I might as well invest them in this movie,¡± Astrid replied with a nonchalant shrug.


    Although he had intended to use the money to renovate three or four units in his apartment building to create a larger space for himself and Reas, he figured he could proceed with those plans once the movie started generating profit.


    He was confident the movie would be profitable. He believed that as long as Director McCann did his job properly, everything would fall into place. This meant choosing the right actors for each role and directing the film with the same vision and precision outlined in the script.


    He knew that if Director McCann followed through, they would end up with a high-quality movie. And a well-made movie often led to box office success. Good movies attracted audiences, generated buzz, and ultimately brought in substantial revenue.


    With Astrid being the main investor and having a running guarantee, he would definitely get his money¡¯s worth. So, he wasn¡¯t too worried. Even if the movie flopped, it wouldn¡¯t lead to his financial ruin. While his career might face some setbacks, he was certain it was nothing he couldn¡¯t bounce back from.


    Ellis sighed hearing Astrid¡¯s response. Even though he sounded nonchalant, she felt like this just showed his confidence in this movie. She just hoped that everything would turn out as Astrid hoped he would.


    ¡°Are you going to be there for the audition next week?¡± she just asked instead.


    With Director McCann having secured the necessary funds, he could now approach IndieFlix Studios, the film studio he had discussed with them. Known for distributing independent films and supporting unique creative projects, Ellis agreed that IndieFlix Studios seemed like the ideal partner to help bring an independent film to life.


    Director McCann informed them that once the deal with IndieFlix was sealed, the studio would announce a public audition. If the announcement came solely from him, it might attract only a few hopefuls. However, with a reputable studio like IndieFlix behind it, the audition would likely draw many newcomers and aspiring actors eager for a chance.


    ¡°I will watch, but I will not participate with any decision making,¡± Astrid said.


    Even if he was now funding the movie, it didn¡¯t mean he would control everything that would happen in the production. That could lead to creative clashes and undermine the director¡¯s vision. Astrid understood the importance of allowing the creative team to work without undue interference. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He trusted Director McCann¡¯s expertise and knew that maintaining a collaborative environment was crucial to the film¡¯s success.


    Ellis nodded. ¡°Then I guess I will see you next week.¡±


    Astrid gazed down. ¡°Yes, next week.¡±


    He hoped this upcoming reunion would be a success. If everything went well, he could return on a much happier note.


    ¡ª¨C


    After the meeting with Director McCann, Astrid returned to his apartment, with Ellis driving him back. He thanked Ellis and said goodbye before entering the building. As soon as he stepped into the elevator, his Terminal pinged with a message notification.


    When he reached his floor, he walked towards his unit but stopped abruptly after just a few steps. Standing right next to his door was a very familiar figure. The scene of Astrid approaching his apartment unit and the other person standing by his door felt like d¨¦j¨¤ vu. The other raised his head and their gazes locked each other.


    Before he knew it, he was already rushing towards the other. ¡°Wulf!¡±


    Wulfric grinned and opened his arms, as if about to embrace Astrid. But then he hesitated, realizing perhaps he shouldn¡¯t. Astrid chuckled at Wulfric¡¯s reaction, recalling how tightly he had hugged him the first time he waited here for him. To save him from his dilemma, Astrid stepped forward and hugged him first. Then he let go just as quickly.


    Wulfric froze in place. Before he could react, the soft and warm embrace was gone. He immediately regretted not moving quickly enough to hug Aster back.


    ¡°I thought you were arriving tomorrow,¡± Astrid said.


    Wulfric cleared his throat. ¡°Well, we managed to get here as quickly as possible.¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°But why are you outside? Reas should have returned from school by now. Is he not in?¡±


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    ¡°No. I rang the doorbell, but no one answered.¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go inside first.¡±


    Astrid opened the door and walked inside, with Wulfric closely following. He looked around, and when he didn¡¯t see his brother, he took out his Terminal and sent a message to Reas, asking where he was.


    ¡°Have you eaten dinner?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll cook dinner for us.¡±


    Astrid went to the kitchen area and put on his apron. As he was taking ingredients from the pantry, he received a reply from Reas.


    [I¡¯m on my way back.]


    He raised an eyebrow. Just now? He wondered if it had anything to do with him requesting leave. Anyway, he would know once Reas got back. So, he replied;


    [Don¡¯t be too surprised when you return. Wulf is here.]


    After sending that, he closed his Terminal and started cooking. Then he remembered something.


    ¡°Wulf, you mentioned you came with your captains. Are they staying in your suite?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re at the three designated locations where they¡¯re going to pick up the Grimaldis,¡± Wulfric replied.


    According to the plan, the four members of the Grimaldi family would be picked up from three different locations and then taken to the spaceport, where the spaceship that would bring them to Delryria would be waiting.


    That¡¯s why he had to bring three people with him. As much as he didn¡¯t want to admit it, aside from Leland, those three were the only ones he could trust. With them handling the Grimaldis, it only left him with one job.


    Naturally, he would be the one accompanying Aster. Oh, and Reas as well.


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 Chapter 624: DINNER AND FATHER-SON BONDING

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to cook for them,¡± Wulfric grumbled.


    Astrid glanced back with a playful smile. ¡°Wulf, are you trying to keep my cooking all to yourself?¡±


    Wulfric pouted. ¡°No. It¡¯s not even possible to do that.¡±


    Judging by his pout, it was clear that if he could, he would want to keep Astrid¡¯s cooking all to himself. At least he was aware enough to admit that wasn¡¯t possible.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. So, don¡¯t sulk,¡± Astrid said with a grin. ¡°Especially since I¡¯ve already decided to cook for everyone for the entire trip.¡±


    Wulfric watched Aster¡¯s back as he continued to cook, feeling conflicted about him cooking for those three as well. But he knew he couldn¡¯t stop Aster from doing what he wanted. Trying to dictate Aster¡¯s actions would be the first crack in the foundation of their relationship, threatening everything they had built until now.


    Aster wasn¡¯t someone who would simply nod and comply when told what to do, especially by someone who wasn¡¯t his mother or father. He would likely find it offensive. Wulfric knew that trying to control Aster would only lead to tension and conflict. He had to let Aster make his own choices, respecting his independence.


    That¡¯s why Wulfric couldn¡¯t understand the romance novels he read, especially the ones with domineering male leads trying to control and imprison the main character. These leads were portrayed as possessive and obsessed, doing everything to claim the main character as their own¡ªeverything except compromising and showing respect.


    The most mind-boggling part was how they still managed to win the main character in the end, all because of some sob story that supposedly excused all their terrible behavior.


    In Wulfric¡¯s opinion, those main characters simply lacked self-respect. Like, who would go back to the person who caused you pain just because the said person cried a little and told you how horrible his childhood was?


    Thankfully, Aster was nothing like those fictional characters. Wulfric felt proud that the person he fell in love with was someone strong and independent.


    While Aster cooked, Wulfric continued to watch, cherishing the harmonious atmosphere and the quiet comfort of being together in silence.


    Of course, not until Reas returned home.


    ¡°You¡¯re back just in time. I¡¯m just finishing up dinner,¡± Astrid said as he saw his brother walk into the apartment.


    Reas stopped in his tracks when he saw the general sitting at their dining table as if he lived there. Although he had read his brother¡¯s message, seeing the general in their home was still a bit surprising.


    ¡°General,¡± he greeted, taking a seat across from the other.


    The general nodded back at him.


    ¡°Did you manage to get leave from school?¡± Astrid asked. ¡°There wasn¡¯t any problem, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and there were no issues,¡± Reas replied. ¡°Being a model student has its perks¡ªthey approved my leave with no hassle whatsoever.¡±


    Astrid breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that. He took off his apron and was about to set the table, but the two men quickly stood up to help him arrange the food. He smiled, watching the two work together so seamlessly.


    Once everything was set and the food was arranged, the three sat down and began to enjoy dinner.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    In the Grimaldi mansion¡­


    Thomas was tucking his son into bed. As he covered Nicol with the thick blanket, he said, ¡°Nicol, do you remember what we talked with grandfather earlier?¡±


    Nicol nodded. ¡°Yes. We will go on a secret mission tomorrow so we can meet Auntie Emmy.¡±


    The corner of Thomas¡¯ lips turned up at the way his son simplified it to that. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Nicol pulled the blanket up to cover the lower part of his face and blinked his big sapphire blue eyes at him. ¡°Dad, do you think Auntie Emmy will like me?¡±


    ¡°Knowing my sister, I¡¯m certain she would.¡±


    ¡°Then, if Auntie Emmy likes me, I¡¯ll help you and Grandpa make up with her,¡± Nicol said brightly.


    Thomas raised a brow. ¡°Who told you that?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Casey told me you and Grandpa did something bad in the past, and that¡¯s why Auntie Emmy is mad at you,¡± Nicol said, suddenly sitting up. ¡°What did you and Grandpa do to make Auntie Emmy so angry?¡±


    Thomas almost couldn¡¯t keep a straight face when he heard that. What had Cassius been telling his son? He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. Nicol was a smart kid, and with them about to meet Emmaline, he would soon understand or at least have an inkling of their family situation.


    At least he was sure Cassius¡¯s explanation would be gentler, maybe even playful, compared to what he would have said if Nicol had asked him directly.


    ¡°Yes, grandpa and I did something bad and we¡¯re going to where Aunt Emmy is to apologize to her,¡± he explained. Find more to read at m_v l|-NovelFire


    Nicol stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. ¡°Dad, you and Grandpa are old enough to know better than to do bad things.¡±


    Thomas almost let out a laugh at that. ¡°Yes, we know we are in the wrong. That¡¯s why we will do our best to earn your Aunt Emmy¡¯s forgiveness.¡±


    Nicol sighed like an old man. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll help you and Grandpa. Hopefully, Auntie Emmy will be won over by my cuteness.¡±


    This time, Thomas chuckled. ¡°Alright, my cute son, lie down and get some sleep. We¡¯ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.¡±


    After tucking his son back into bed, he waited for him to fall asleep before quietly leaving the room. Instead of returning to his own room, he went to the study, knowing his father would be there. He knocked and entered when he got permission.


    Thomas saw his father pouring a glass of wine.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally tomorrow,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Anthony downed the glass of wine in one swift motion. The time to reunite with his daughter, whom he hadn¡¯t seen in over two decades, was drawing closer.


    And fear and guilt gnawed at him as that meeting approached. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 625: BETTER AT CHASING PEOPLE

    Thomas and Nicol acted like they were going on an educational trip. Casey pretended he was going on vacation. And the duke just acted like he was going to one of the Grimaldi manors to tend to the garden.


    Of course, their destination wasn¡¯t merely a decoy. To maintain the illusion and avoid suspicion, the four Grimaldis would actually travel to their intended location. Upon arrival, one of the captains would be waiting in a vehicle to take them to the spaceport, where Wulfric¡¯s spaceship was waiting. All they had to do was get in the car.


    While that was happening, Astrid and Reas were also not idle.


    Astrid had prepared enough ingredients to last throughout their journey to Delryria. From fresh vegetables to various meats and a selection of condiments, he had brought everything he would need to prepare a good meal.


    Reas, on the other hand, was preoccupied with a different concern. He needed to explain to his boyfriend why, just a week after they started dating, he had to leave instead of spending time together, especially since his boyfriend had a free schedule.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I can¡¯t spend time with you tomorrow,¡± Reas apologized sincerely.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Since it¡¯s a family emergency, it couldn¡¯t be helped,¡± Lauren said, attempting to hide his disappointment.


    In truth, he felt a bit let down. After all, it was their first week anniversary, and he naturally wanted to spend it with his boyfriend. However, he didn¡¯t want to appear childish by showing his true feelings.


    ¡°But this family emergency, is it really nothing serious?¡± he asked, feeling a bit worried.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a life or death situation, so I guess not?¡±


    Lauren looked at his boyfriend, wondering if he was being serious or not. At the end, he could only sigh. ¡°Take care, okay? Call me when you arrive at Delryria.¡±


    ¡°Does that mean I can only call you when I¡¯m at Delryria? What if I want to hear your voice every day and every night?¡± Your journey continues with m v|l¨CNovelFire.net


    Lauren blushed. ¡°Call me then. Ahem. I might answer your call if I¡¯m not busy.¡±


    A soft smile spread across Reas¡¯ lips as he watched Lauren¡¯s adorable antics.


    Unbeknownst to the two lovebirds, Wulfric was watching the whole thing at a distance. Of course, he didn¡¯t see who Reas was talking to. But the sappy expression on his face made him curious.


    They were still in Aster¡¯s apartment. Just waiting for the two siblings to finish packing, and then they would make their way to his suite, where they could access the rooftop. So, because of the small area of Aster¡¯s apartment, Wulfric could hear and see everything, even if he didn¡¯t want to.


    In the end, he couldn¡¯t resist leaning in and whispering to Aster, ¡°Why does your brother look like a lovesick puppy?¡±


    Aster raised a brow and then glanced at Reas before whispering back. ¡°Maybe because he is.¡±


    ¡°A lovesick puppy?¡± he asked in confusion.


    Aster chuckled. ¡°He¡¯s talking to his boyfriend.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s jaw almost dropped when he heard that. ¡°¡­What?¡±


    Aster laughed, seeing his reaction. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯m done packing.¡±


    As they left the house and went to the top floor, Wulfric couldn¡¯t help but glanced at Reas.


    Did this brat have better skills in chasing people than him?


    Somehow, Wulfric felt defeated, even though there was no competition to begin with.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    After leaving the apartment building, they headed straight to the spaceport. According to Wulfric, this spaceport was exclusively used by his army, though few knew this. Publicly, it was a private spaceport owned by a wealthy businessman. So, Wulfric¡¯s army could use this spaceport whenever they had to go in and out of the capital secretly.


    Unlike the usual spaceports with vast open areas, this one was distinctly private and heavily secured. High walls surrounded the perimeter, and the entrance was guarded by personnel in plain uniforms, blending in as private security. The main gate, made of reinforced steel, required a special access code for entry.


    Inside, the layout was compact and efficient, with sleek, modern buildings and well-maintained landing pads. The entire facility was designed to be discreet, with minimal signage and no public access points, ensuring that ordinary people couldn¡¯t easily enter or even know of its existence. The atmosphere was quiet and controlled, a stark contrast to the bustling activity of typical spaceports.


    When Wulfric parked the car inside, he saw that three cars were already parked there. This meant that his three captains had already done their job. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The Grimaldis are probably on the spaceship by now. Let¡¯s hurry so we can depart quickly,¡± he said to the two brothers.


    Astrid looked at the only spaceship docked there. It was not as large as the typical transport spaceship; instead, it was about the same length as a private jet, but noticeably wider and bulkier. Reinforced plating complemented its sleek, streamlined design, giving it a sturdy and formidable appearance.


    The compact size suggested it was built for speed and maneuverability rather than carrying large numbers of passengers. The entrance ramp extended from the side, inviting them aboard.


    Wulfric was the first to board the spaceship, with Astrid and Reas quickly following behind.


    Walking inside, Astrid noticed the ship¡¯s refined interior. It was stylish and modern, with comfortable seating and advanced control panels illuminated by soft ambient lighting. The layout was both practical and elegant, featuring metallic details and interactive screens.


    A childish voice calling his name cut his observation short.


    ¡°Brother Aster!¡±


    He turned his gaze to the front and saw Nicol rushing toward him, clearly intent on giving him a hug. Before the boy could get close, Wulfric grabbed his back collar, stopping him in his tracks.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go charging at people like a cannonball, kid,¡± Wulfric warned. ¡°What if you hurt Aster?¡±


    But instead of being scared, Nicol just glared at him. ¡°Let go of me, you big bad wolf!¡±


    Astrid tried to suppress his laughter as he watched the scene unfold, but Reas couldn¡¯t hold back and let out a snort.


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 Chapter 626: INTO THE SPACESHIP

    Astrid chuckled and gently took Nicol from Wulfric, since the latter looked like he was on the verge of wanting to spank the kid. ¡°Why are you calling him a big bad wolf? Do you know who he is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know his name, but Uncle Casey said he¡¯s a big bad wolf trying to eat Brother Aster,¡± Nicol said, shooting a glare at Wulfric. He then hugged Astrid¡¯s waist tightly. ¡°Brother Aster, don¡¯t let that bad guy deceive you.¡±


    Wulfric felt a vein throbbing on his forehead at the brat¡¯s words. He couldn¡¯t decide who to be more annoyed with¡ªCassius Grimaldi, who had been filling his nephew¡¯s head with nonsense, or this brat for clinging to Aster like a sticky koala.


    Before he could decide what to do, he heard Aster speak. What Aster said instantly melted away all his negative emotions.


    ¡°Nikki, it¡¯s not right to judge someone quickly based on hearsay,¡± Astrid gently explained. ¡°And Uncle Casey shouldn¡¯t have told you such things, so I¡¯ll have a word with him later. This man here is a great general who protects our Empire from the real bad guys. Speaking about him like that is disrespectful. Do you understand?¡±


    Nicol¡¯s face flushed with a mix of guilt and reluctance. His grip on his brother¡¯s waist tightened as he glanced up at him, eyes wide and hesitant. He didn¡¯t like Wulfric, but he knew he couldn¡¯t say that out loud now.


    Although his words were influenced by what Uncle Casey had told him, Nicol¡¯s instant dislike for the man reinforced his belief that his uncle must be right. The moment he saw this bad guy, he felt an automatic aversion, convincing him that Uncle Casey¡¯s warnings were justified.


    He looked over at Wulfric. The other had a smug smile as if saying, ¡®See? Your Brother Aster likes me. What will you do now?¡¯ Which only made him even more unwilling to admit his mistake. But if he didn¡¯t, Brother Aster might dislike him. At the end, he could only bite his lip and surrender.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he mumbled, his gaze dropping to the floor.


    It was a bit petty, but Wulfric couldn¡¯t help but enjoy the downcast expression of the arrogant brat. It would have been perfect if the kid would just let go of Aster. As he contemplated ways to separate them, he noticed Aster looking at him with an expression that clearly urged him to accept the brat¡¯s apology.


    He cleared his throat to stifle the sigh that almost escaped. Then, adopting a mature tone, he said, ¡°As long as you understand.¡±


    With this incident behind them, the four of them proceeded to the cockpit.


    Unlike the cramped quarters of an airplane cockpit, this spaceship¡¯s command center was incredibly spacious. It was large enough to comfortably accommodate around fifteen people, allowing them to move around freely without any sense of confinement.


    The wide panoramic windows offered a clear view of the quiet spaceport outside, and the refined design was filled with advanced controls and displays that showcased the ship¡¯s cutting-edge technology.


    And there, Wulfric¡¯s three captains were waiting. Or rather, they were doing their own thing.


    The red-haired captain, Slade, was lounging in a chair reclined so far back it was nearly horizontal. With his eyes closed, he appeared to be fast asleep.


    Edmund, his hair now back to normal length, was engrossed in a game, his furrowed brow and frustrated expression revealing he wasn¡¯t doing well. He frequently glanced over his shoulder, seeking advice from the person behind him. Hildred, standing behind Edmund, would lean in closer to assist him, their proximity making it appear as though he was hugging Edmund from behind each time he offered help.


    Actually, it didn¡¯t just seem like it. With how close their bodies were, the only thing missing was Hildred completely encircling Edmund in his arms. Yet Edmund seemed oblivious to the situation, smiling like a silly golden retriever every time Hildred helped him.


    Hildred¡¯s amber eyes sparkled with mirth whenever Edmund smiled gratefully at him, clearly enjoying the situation. The expression on his face, a blend of amusement and greed, was at odds with his otherwise youthful appearance. Your next journey awaits at m v|l-e¡¯m,p| y- r


    Astrid raised an eyebrow as he observed the scene. It was like watching a predator stalking its prey in real-time. Even though he knew nothing about Edmund, he suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the guy. It was clear that Hildred had locked onto him, and there was probably no way he was letting go.


    ¡°Where are the Grimaldis?¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s question instantly drew the attention of the three captains. Slade opened his eyes and lazily sat up straight. Edmund quickly stopped playing the game he was playing, looking like a kid who was caught doing something he shouldn¡¯t. While Hildred just turned around, looking at them with interest.


    ¡°They¡¯re probably in the lounge area,¡± Slade answered. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hildred suddenly stepped in front of Astrid with a bright smile. ¡°Hello, Astrid! I¡¯m a huge fan. Could I get your autograph?¡±


    Astrid studied the man standing before him. Despite the smile, he could tell Hildred was lying. If he couldn¡¯t even pick up on that, he might as well give up his qualification as an actor. However, sensing no malice, he figured it was just an attempt to start a conversation.


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll make sure to give you one later.¡±


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m so happy!¡±


    Astrid smiled, doing his best to hide his skepticism. If he hadn¡¯t witnessed Hildred¡¯s behavior with Edmund earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to connect the man before him with that scene. If Hildred wasn¡¯t in the military, he would undoubtedly have a promising future in the entertainment industry.


    ¡°Brother Aster, let¡¯s go to the lounge area,¡± Nicol said, interrupting the conversation. Then he turned to Reas and said reluctantly. ¡°Brother Andreas should come too.¡±


    Reas chuckled to himself. Should he be grateful that the kid was at least calling him ¡®brother¡¯ now?


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 Chapter 627: IM YOUR...

    ¡°I did see that movie he was in,¡± Hildred remarked with a nonchalant shrug.


    ¡°That¡¯s only because I made all of you watch it,¡± Wulfric replied. ¡°Just promise me you won¡¯t pull your usual tricks on Aster, alright?¡±


    ¡°What? I¡¯m always on my best behavior,¡± Hildred protested, feigning offense. He then turned to Edmund, seeking support. ¡°Right, Ed?¡±


    Instead of answering, Edmund glanced between Hildred and Wulfric, his eyes darting nervously. He lowered his gaze and stammered, ¡°I- I have no opinion!¡±


    Seeing that, Slade laughed out loud. ¡°Hey Hil, stop teasing poor Ed so much. This is the reason why, up until now, you still couldn¡¯t get what you want.¡±


    Hildred turned to Slade with a sly, almost feral grin. ¡°And what makes you so sure this isn¡¯t exactly what I want?¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Slade smirked in response. ¡°Then you¡¯re quite the sadist, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Hildred only smiled sweetly as an answer.


    Edmund tilted his head, not understanding the conversation between the two. Meanwhile, Wulfric only sighed.


    ¡°Just try to behave for the duration of this journey,¡± Wulfric addressed the three captains, his tone firm. ¡°I¡¯m not just talking to Hildred¡ªthis goes for all of you. Cause me any trouble, and I¡¯ll make sure you spend a month on a mining planet.¡±


    Edmund visibly shivered after hearing that. As if the thought of spending a month on a mining planet had given him goosebumps. On the other hand, Slade just lazily nodded.


    And Hildred, well, being Hildred, he instead asked, ¡°Can you provide a list of what kind of ¡®trouble¡¯ we need to avoid doing?¡±


    Wulfric turned to the other. He knew that Hildred was definitely just being his annoying, playful self, but he decided to play along because that way, it would save him the trouble of having to remind them what they should and shouldn¡¯t do.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t do anything that could make this journey uncomfortable for Aster. And above all, don¡¯t do anything that would tarnish Aster¡¯s opinion of me,¡± he said, placing particular emphasis on the last part.


    Edmund nodded enthusiastically, showing that he agreed.


    ¡°Captain, this Aster really has quite the hold on you, doesn¡¯t he?¡± Slade remarked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to call him ¡®Aster¡¯,¡± Wulfric warned. Then, with a satisfied smile and a hint of pride in his eyes, he added, ¡°And yes, he has me in a chokehold.¡±


    Hildred laughed. ¡°You¡¯re a lost cost, Wulf.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    Reas looked ahead as he followed Astrid and the kid. More specifically, it was the kid leading them by pulling Astrid along. Since Nicol was the only one who knew where the lounge area was, they had no choice but to follow along.


    They would meet the other members of the Grimaldi family once they reached the lounge area, which meant Reas would finally meet his grandfather. He felt neither excited nor nervous about it. In truth, he wasn¡¯t sure exactly what to feel.


    Considering everything, his feelings for the other weren¡¯t entirely positive. But they weren¡¯t entirely negative either. Truth be told, the negative outweighed the positive, leaving him unsure of how to interact with the duke.


    Nevertheless, he decided to play it cool. Getting emotional wouldn¡¯t do him any good. Keeping a level head in this situation was always the right choice.


    And so, they finally arrived at the lounge area.


    The three Grimaldi men were sitting in different spots in the spaceship¡¯s lounge. The duke was seated in a plush armchair near the large viewing window, gazing out. Thomas sat upright on a sleek, modern sofa in the center of the room, intently focused on his Terminal. Casey, meanwhile, perched on a bar stool at the corner counter, idly stirring a drink.


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    When they entered, all their actions stopped and they all turned simultaneouly in their direction.


    ¡°Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, I brought Brother Aster,¡± Nicol announced. Then, as if suddenly recalling his other cousin, he added, ¡°And Brother Andreas too.¡±


    Casey stood up and quickly made his way toward them. ¡°Look at this, all my beautiful nephews standing together. Wait- I¡¯ll just quickly take a picture.¡±


    Then he opened his Terminal and took one.


    Reas tried to appear nonchalant, but his brows furrowed slightly. As he turned his head to the side, his gaze met the duke¡¯s. He couldn¡¯t decipher the emotions there, but it seemed like the duke was staring intently at him?


    Thomas also walked towards them. ¡°Astrid, Reas. I trust you had a safe journey.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s uneventful,¡± Astrid replied. ¡°I hope your journey here is also uneventful.¡±


    He was implying that he hoped no one had noticed them travelling here.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same for me. I actually almost fell asleep on the way here,¡± Casey said.


    Thomas nodded, silently indicating that he and Nicol also hadn¡¯t encountered any problems on their way here.


    As they were all engrossed in conversation, they didn¡¯t notice the Duke approaching. Well, except for Reas, who had been watching him from the corner of his eye. So, when the other suddenly appeared in front of them, he wasn¡¯t too surprised.


    The thing was, the Duke just stood there, like a lonely child wanting to join the circle of popular kids. Reas found himself getting annoyed by this, wondering why the Duke didn¡¯t just speak up or join the conversation instead of hovering awkwardly like that.


    It seemed he wasn¡¯t the only one who felt that way, as Casey suddenly spoke up. ¡°If you have something to say, just come over and say it.¡±


    Casey¡¯s remark made everyone turn their attention to the Duke.


    The duke embarrassingly cleared his throat. Then, as if he finally decided on something, he stepped forward. Specifically, in front of Reas.


    ¡°Hello, Andreas. I am¡­¡± He paused, seeming to contemplate his next words. After a moment, he seemed to finally made a decision and then he looked straight at Reas and continued, ¡°I¡¯m your grandfather.¡±

 Chapter 628: LOVE OF TEASING

    It was probably a blessing in disguise that he had already met the duke before the ¡®big reveal¡¯ happened. At least, he wouldn¡¯t be subjected to this ¡®I¡¯m your grandfather¡¯ announcement.


    Astrid glanced at Reas and, sure enough, noticed the muscles twitching on his brother¡¯s face. It was clear he was struggling to maintain a straight expression.


    He sighed inwardly. Just as he was about to change the subject to spare his brother from further awkwardness, someone else beat him to it.


    ¡°Of course, Brother Andreas knows you¡¯re his grandfather. It¡¯s silly to announce it like that, Grandpa,¡± Nicol said with the innocent candor only a child could muster. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Duke cleared his throat and didn¡¯t respond to Nicol¡¯s remark, but the slight hint of red on his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment.


    Casey laughed out loud at Nicol¡¯s comment. He ruffled his nephew¡¯s hair and said, ¡°You¡¯re a real treasure, Nikki. Don¡¯t ever change, even when you grow up.¡±


    Reas was also relieved that the kid had broken the awkward atmosphere. Honestly, he didn¡¯t know how he would have reacted. Perhaps he would have just ignored the duke, because what could he say? ¡°And I¡¯m your grandson¡±?


    Nicol, on the other hand, only tilted his head. His expression seemed to be asking, ¡®Did I say something wrong?¡¯


    At that moment, an announcement echoed throughout the lounge area.


    [Ahem. To our distinguished guests in the lounge area, we will be taking off soon. If you are standing, please find a seat in the center of the lounge area and make yourselves comfortable. Thank you.]


    Astrid quickly recognized the voice as Hildred. He seemed to be enjoying acting like a spaceport announcer.


    As instructed by the announcement, they quickly found seats in the center of the lounge area. The moment they sat down, seatbelts automatically secured them. This must have been why Hildred asked them to sit there¡ªthose seats were equipped with seatbelts.


    After a while, they felt the spaceship lift off. It didn¡¯t take long before they left the spaceport behind and were traveling through the sky. Astrid looked out the window from the lounge area, watching as they broke through the atmosphere of the capital star. Moments later, the vast expanse of space unfolded before his eyes.


    Finally, the journey back home had begun.


    ¡ª¨C


    As lunchtime approached, Astrid decided to prepare a meal for everyone. He temporarily bid farewell to the people in the lounge area and made his way to the cockpit to ask for directions to the kitchen.


    Wulfric noticed him and quickly got up from his seat, approaching with concern. ¡°Is everything alright, Aster? Do you need something?¡±


    Astrid shook his head. ¡°No, I just wanted to ask where the kitchen is. It¡¯s almost lunchtime, and I want to cook for everyone.¡± Continue your story on m,v|l-NovelFire.net


    Wulfric paused for a moment. He had almost forgotten that Aster had planned to cook for everyone during this trip. Perhaps it was because he was still a bit salty that everyone, especially his captains, would get to enjoy Aster¡¯s cooking. In his opinion, they needed to earn the right to deserve Aster¡¯s food.


    But he couldn¡¯t stop Aster from doing what he wanted. So, he planned to accompany him to the kitchen. Before he could, however, Hildred suddenly appeared beside him, once again being his usual extra self.


    ¡°Wow, do you know how to cook? I hope you don¡¯t set off any smoke alarms,¡± Hildred said with a playful grin.


    Wulfric frowned and aimed a kick at Hildred¡¯s leg, but Hildred swiftly dodged, as if he had already expected it.


    ¡°You¡¯re damn lucky you get to eat Aster¡¯s cooking at all,¡± Wulfric snapped.


    Hildred raised both hands in mock surrender. ¡°Chill, Wulf, I¡¯m just joking.¡± He then turned to Astrid. ¡°Sorry about that. I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I just can¡¯t help teasing people.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind a bit of teasing,¡± Astrid said with a smile. ¡°Just be careful not to go over the line or I might just tease you back.¡±


    Despite the sweet smile, anyone with discernment could tell it was a warning. Hildred raised an eyebrow at that. Instead of being offended, he was impressed. At least now he knew that the person Wulf was so obsessed with wasn¡¯t a pushover. Astrid would definitely need that kind of grit if he ever wanted to be with Wulf in the future.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll guide you to the kitchen,¡± Wulfric said. Before walking away, he turned to Hildred, his golden eyes clearly conveying a silent command: ¡°Behave.¡±


    Hildred only grinned at that.


    As the two disappeared, Hildred muttered, ¡°I hope he¡¯s really good at cooking. I¡¯d hate to have to give a false compliment.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Hil should worry about that. He, Mr. Townsend, he¡¯s really good,¡± Edmund said from behind.


    Hildred looked back at Edmund with interest, even Slade also glanced at the other.


    ¡°Really? How do you know?¡± Hildred asked.


    ¡°Remember when I was with the General and we accidentally landed in Delryria? That¡¯s where we met Mr. Townsend and his family,¡± Edmund said with a reminiscent smile. ¡°We ate the food he made there, and it was really, really good.¡±


    Hildred became intrigued after he heard that. ¡°It¡¯s really that good?¡±


    Edmund nodded like an excited puppy. ¡°It¡¯s the best home-cooked meal I¡¯ve eaten.¡±


    Because of what Edmund said, a spark of anticipation lit up in Hildred¡¯s eyes. He found himself genuinely looking forward to the meal. However, hearing Edmund praise someone so much left him slightly annoyed.


    Determined to have some fun, he walked over to Edmund, planning to tease him until lunchtime.

 Chapter 629: LUNCH IN SPACE

    The dining area on the spaceship wasn¡¯t very large, but it could comfortably seat around 15 people. He glanced around at everyone, noticing their expressions of amazement as they took in the dishes he had prepared. A satisfied smile spread across his lips.


    Hildred stared at the food on the table, amazed by what he saw. The dishes were laid out neatly, each one looking better than the last. The smell was incredible, filling the room with a mix of savory and rich aromas that made his stomach growl. He couldn¡¯t believe that Astrid had made all of this. He didn¡¯t recognize most of the dishes, but that only made it more amazing. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even though Ed had assured him that Astrid could cook, Hildred couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit apprehensive. After all, Ed was such a sweetheart that he wouldn¡¯t dare criticize anyone¡¯s cooking, no matter how bad it might be. And then there was Wulf, who seemed almost reluctant to let them try Astrid¡¯s food.


    At first glance, it might have seemed like Wulf was trying to keep all the deliciousness to himself, as if the food was too good to share. But the truth was, Wulf¡¯s behavior was more about his possessiveness¡ªhe had fallen for Astrid so deeply that even something as simple as his cooking felt personal to him.


    As he brought the fork to his mouth, Hildred braced himself, half-expecting the taste to fall short of the visual appeal. But the moment the chicken touched his tongue, his eyes widened in surprise. The flavors were incredible¡ªtender, succulent meat bathed in a sauce that was both tangy and subtly sweet, with just the right amount of spice.


    Hildred couldn¡¯t help but smile, realizing that Astrid¡¯s cooking wasn¡¯t just beautiful to look at¡ªit was truly delicious.


    ¡°This is amazing, Astrid,¡± he couldn¡¯t help but say.


    Astrid glanced at Hildred, recognizing that this was likely the first genuine compliment he had received from him since they met. A natural smile spread across his lips as he responded, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t just Hildred who was surprised by the delicious food¡ªAnthony, Astrid¡¯s estranged grandfather, was equally taken aback. As he tasted the first bite, his fork paused mid-air, and a wave of emotions flickered across his face. The flavors were rich and expertly balanced, far beyond what he had expected. But as he continued to eat, a tightness settled in his chest.


    The delight he felt was tinged with guilt, a pang of regret creeping in with each bite. Discover stories with m,v l¡¯e-NovelFire.net


    Although he was glad to finally taste his grandson¡¯s cooking, Anthony couldn¡¯t shake the unease that settled in the back of his mind. The food was undeniably delicious, a testament to Astrid¡¯s skill, but that only deepened his concern. What circumstances had led Astrid to develop such expertise? What challenges or hardships had he faced to hone this level of talent?


    As he savored each bite, these thoughts continued to linger.


    If Astrid could have read his thoughts, he might have looked at him with a touch of pity, and maybe even laugh a little, and said, ¡®No, Your Grace, we didn¡¯t suffer or live in hardship. I¡¯m a good cook because it¡¯s a skill I¡¯ve carried over from my previous life, much like my talent for acting.¡¯


    ¡°Brother Aster, your cooking is absolutely the best,¡± Nicol exclaimed, digging in with enthusiasm. ¡°Honestly, if you opened a restaurant, it would be an instant success.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Wulfric suddenly said.


    Nicol turned to Wulfric and glared. ¡°Why would you say that? You don¡¯t think Brother Aster is good enough to open his own restaurant?¡±


    Wulfric gave Nicol a look, as if he were a child who didn¡¯t quite understand the bigger picture¡ªwhich, in a way, he was. ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s too good,¡± Wulfric said, his tone serious. ¡°No chef out there could match him. If Aster isn¡¯t the one in the kitchen, the restaurant wouldn¡¯t be the same. So, what¡¯s the point?


    Or are you suggesting that Aster should give up his dream of being an actor just to become a chef?¡±


    Nicol¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as Wulfric¡¯s words sank in. It was only now that he realized Wulfric was right. He pursed his lips, clearly reluctant, before admitting, ¡°You have a point.¡± Turning to Astrid, he added apologetically, ¡°Sorry, Brother Aster, I didn¡¯t fully consider that.¡±


    Wulfric nodded, then turned to Aster with a look that clearly said, ¡®See? I¡¯m better than that kid.¡¯


    Astrid was both amused and slightly exasperated by the two. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but smile, shaking his head at their playful banter. Instead of responding, he picked up a piece of meat and placed one on Wulfric¡¯s plate and another on Nicol¡¯s.


    ¡°Just eat.¡±


    That simple gesture seemed to redirect their focus back to eating.


    Everyone at the table witnessed the exchange, but the only ones who reacted were the Grimaldi brothers.


    The others were either preoccupied or unfazed: the duke remained lost in his own thoughts, Edmund and Hildred were entirely focused on their food, Slade, who were surprised at first, didn¡¯t really care much to dwell on it, and Reas, already accustomed to such dynamics, didn¡¯t give it much thought.


    Wulfric¡¯s behavior mostly surprised Casey and Thomas. They hadn¡¯t expected him to be so at ease and playful around Astrid. The way he was acting was almost¡­ child-like.


    What they were witnessing was completely different from the image they had of the prince. Seeing him so relaxed and open made his earlier confession about falling in love with their nephew even more believable. They honestly weren¡¯t sure how to process it.


    ¡°Reas, is he, I mean, is the prince always like this?¡± Casey finally asked in a low voice, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer.


    Reas glanced at Wulfric before replying, not bothering to lower his voice, knowing the general¡¯s SSS physique meant he would hear it, anyway. ¡°Yeah, and sometimes he¡¯s even worse. You might as well get used to it.¡±


    Casey showed a slightly horrified expression at the thought that the prince¡¯s antics could get worse than this.

 Chapter 630: JUST LET ME KNOW

    Once satisfied with the arrangement, he turned his attention to another tray. On it, he set a tall, elegant pitcher filled with a cool, pale amber liquid, its surface dotted with delicate ice cubes. The drink, infused with subtle notes of jasmine and a touch of honey, was the perfect accompaniment to the dessert. He then added empty glasses to the tray.


    Before he could carry the trays, Wulfric had already arrived by his side and carried both. ¡°Where should I bring them, Aster?¡± Read chapters at m_v-l¡¯e|-NovelFire.net


    ¡°I also want to carry a tray!¡± Nicol declared on the side.


    Wulfric glanced down at Nicol and snickered. ¡°Try to go a few more centimeters and I might just let you carry one, shorty.¡±


    Nicol glared at Wulfric, his foot ready to kick out of frustration. But when he noticed the two trays Wulfric was carrying, he stopped himself. If he kicked Wulfric and the trays fell, all of Brother Aster¡¯s hard work would be ruined. Nicol couldn¡¯t let that happen. So, instead of lashing out, he just pouted, holding back his frustration.


    Astrid watched the two and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. It had been two days since they left the capital, and ever since, Wulfric and Nicol had been glued to his side whenever he was in the kitchen. Whether it was cooking or preparing something simple, they were always there, eager to help and constantly bickering over who would assist him.


    If he were a less patient man, it might have been annoying, but instead, he found their antics more amusing than bothersome. It was like watching a live comedy skit, and he couldn¡¯t help but be entertained by their endless bickering.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s serve everyone today¡¯s snack,¡± he said, stepping in to put an end to their squabble.


    They first went to the cockpit where Hildred and Edmund were. The moment they walked in, Hildred rushed forward and asked excitedly, ¡°Is that our snack for today?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Astrid replied with a smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand around¡ªgrab your portion,¡± Wulfric commanded.


    Edmund quickly stepped forward, grabbing two bowls of the dessert and pouring the drink into two glasses. He then placed them on a nearby elevated surface.


    Hildred picked up one of the bowls and took a small spoonful, letting the dessert melt on his tongue. The smooth, silky texture was perfectly balanced by the subtle sweetness of the jelly, which was infused with delicate flavors that lingered pleasantly. The fresh fruits added a burst of vibrant flavor, their natural sweetness complementing the lightness of the dessert.


    ¡°This is so good,¡± Hildred said with an expression that showed just how much he liked it. He turned to Astrid. ¡°If I don¡¯t already have someone in my heart, I might really be tempted to take Aster away.¡±


    Wulfric felt the corner of his eye twitch in irritation. This bastard. Ever since they finished their first lunch, Hildred had casually started calling Aster by his nickname, as if they¡¯d been close for ages. It grated on Wulfric¡¯s nerves. If he didn¡¯t sense that Hildred wasn¡¯t genuinely interested in Aster in that way, he might have already tossed him out of the spaceship.


    Astrid raised an eyebrow. ¡°And what, become your personal chef?¡±


    Hildred acted surprise. ¡°How did you know?¡±


    Astrid shook his head. When he saw how Edmund didn¡¯t even react to what Hildred had said and was just focused on eating, he felt a bit pity on Hildred and decided to just ignore his comment.


    Nicol suddenly scoffed. ¡°Ha! As if my brother would ever be your personal chef. Keep dreaming.¡±


    Wulfric glanced at Nicol with a nod of approval, clearly pleased with what he said.


    Astrid only shook his head when he saw this.


    They moved next to the lounge where the Grimaldis were gathered. With everyone seated together at one table, it was easy to set down the bowls of dessert and glasses of drink in front of them.


    Casey watched with a mix of disbelief and discomfort as Wulfric carefully set down the bowls and poured the drinks. No matter how many times he saw the prince behaving like a waiter, seemingly at his nephew¡¯s beck and call, it was something he just couldn¡¯t get used to. It still gave him goosebumps ¡ª definitely not the pleasant kind.


    Thomas, on the other hand, seemed to have accepted the situation without question. No matter how strange the scene appeared to him, he figured it was best to just pretend he hadn¡¯t seen anything. That way, he could maintain his peace of mind.


    ¡°Thank you for always making delicious food for us,¡± he just said to his nephew.


    The duke followed, ¡°Yes. Eating anything you make is always a blessing.¡±


    Casey shook off the goosebumps he¡¯s feeling and also quickly added, ¡°Yes, everything Aster makes is delicious!¡±


    Astrid chuckled softly. ¡°Thank you.¡± He then turned to Nicol. ¡°Nikki, do you want to stay here and eat with your Dad, Uncle, and Grandpa? I still need to bring snacks to your Brother Reas and Captain Slade as well. The two of them are probably sparring right now. I remember how Nikki doesn¡¯t like the smell of sweat.¡±


    He was saying that since the two were sparring, the place would definitely be filled with the smell of sweat.


    Nicol scrunched his nose as if he was imagining it. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Astrid nodded and set Nicol¡¯s bowl of snacks and glass of drink on the table. With that done, he and Wulfric headed to the spaceship¡¯s sparring room.


    Just as he had mentioned, his brother was sparring with Slade. But how did that come about? On their first night here, Reas overheard Slade asking Edmund to spar. When Edmund declined, Reas stepped in and volunteered to take his place. Surprisingly, after just one round, the two hit it off. Since then, they had been sparring whenever they get the chance.


    This development pleased him, knowing that sparring with Slade would give his brother the perfect opportunity to sharpen his fighting skills.


    Astrid glanced at Wulfric, still balancing the two trays. ¡°Here, let me take one of those,¡± he offered.


    Wulfric shook his head. ¡°No need. I¡¯ve got this¡ªit¡¯s no trouble at all.¡±


    ¡°If you say so.¡± Then Astrid suddenly thought of something. ¡°By the way, we¡¯re arriving in Delryria in a few hours, right?¡±


    They had been traveling at maximum speed, jumping from one space warp to the next. It was almost unbelievable how quickly they were covering such vast distances, crossing an entire galaxy in just a matter of days, as if it were nothing.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Wulfric confirmed with a nod. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Have you thought about what you¡¯ll say to my parents?¡± Astrid asked, the question suddenly coming to mind.


    ¡°¡­I prepared a speech,¡± Wulfric admitted with a slight sigh, ¡°but I doubt I¡¯ll be able to get through it all once I¡¯m standing in front of them.¡±


    Astrid noticed Wulfric¡¯s awkward expression, the slight frown and the way he pursed his lips, revealing a hint of unease. Seeing that, Astrid decided to offer some advice.


    ¡°If my father challenges you to a spar, just go with it. And if my mother poisons you,¡± Astrid added with a wry smile, ¡°Let me know. I probably have an antidote.¡±


    Wulfric nearly stumbled over his own feet when he heard that.

 Chapter 631: WELCOME TO DELRYRIA

    WULFRIC glanced at Aster and asked tentatively, ¡°Your mother, would she really¡­ poison me?¡± sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid glanced at Wulfric and noticed his intensely serious expression. Quiet amusement welled up inside him. Though his words had been in jest, the fact that Wulfric took them so earnestly was both amusing and strangely endearing. It made Astrid want to tease him even more.


    So, keeping his expression serious, Astrid pretended to thoughtfully consider Wulfric¡¯s question. ¡°We have this honorary uncle who¡¯s quite skilled at making poisons. We¡¯ve got a whole stash of his homemade concoctions at home. In fact, the drug we used to knock you out when we first met was one of his creations.


    If my mom ever decided you weren¡¯t good enough for me, she could easily use one of those poisons on you.¡±


    Wulfric subconsciously gulped. Aster¡¯s words confirmed his suspicion that he had indeed been drugged back then. The doctor on his ship hadn¡¯t been able to find any trace of it, leaving the mystery unsolved until now. He recalled how one moment he was at the Townsend¡¯s home, and the next, he woke up aboard the Beowulf. Despite his physique, he hadn¡¯t detected the drug, likely slipped into his drink.


    The thought that he could be served another drink laced with something far more deadly¡ªone that wouldn¡¯t just make him sleep but end his life¡ªsent a chill down his spine, raising goosebumps.


    ¡°What do you think I should do?¡± he asked, his tone steady but with a hint of unease, as if trying to mask his growing concern.


    Astrid pretended to give the question some serious thought. ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe if you drop to your knees the moment you see them, it might just change their impression of you?¡±


    ¡°Would it, really?¡± Wulfric asked earnestly, his eyes wide with genuine curiosity, as if he truly believed Astrid¡¯s suggestion might work.


    Seeing Wulfric¡¯s earnestness, Astrid couldn¡¯t hold back his laughter any longer. With a helpless smile, he gently pinched Wulfric¡¯s cheek. ¡°No, silly. I was just teasing you. Although my parents don¡¯t have the best opinion of you, they wouldn¡¯t resort to violence. At least, not initially.


    So, how they would act next will all depend on you. Surely, you won¡¯t go there just to antagonize my parents, right?¡±


    Wulfric barely registered that Aster had been teasing him, too focused on the last part of what he said. While he genuinely had no intention of antagonizing Aster¡¯s parents, he couldn¡¯t shake the worry that he might accidentally say or do something that would only worsen their opinion of him. After all, he often acted or spoke before his brain could catch up and tell him to stop.


    Maybe he should ask Hildred to stop him whenever he was about to say or do something that could potentially lowered Aster¡¯s parents¡¯ opinion of him. Although he wasn¡¯t sure if that guy would even do that properly. But what choice did Wulfric have? Slade was just as bad as him at reading social cues like that. And Edmund, well, it¡¯s Edmund. At the end, Hildred was his only choice.


    He sighed, exhaustion evident, but his gaze soon hardened with determination. There was no point in worrying now. He just needed to do his best and hope that his sincerity would win them over.


    Hopefully, right?


    ¡ª¨C


    After passing through another space warp, the spaceship finally arrived in the Palioxis Galaxy. With their destination close, everyone had gathered in the cockpit. And each one of them had different thoughts at the moment.


    Reas was eager to return home and see his parents after months away. In contrast, his twin brother was anxious about how their parents would react to seeing Wulfric.


    The Grimaldis, with the exception of Nicol, were also filled with concerns.


    Casey was excited to reunite with his sister after so long, but he couldn¡¯t help but worry that the years might have changed them completely, and that they might not be able to recover the closeness they once had. Thomas, on the other hand, was focused solely on asking for his sister¡¯s forgiveness. He knew there was a chance she might not forgive him, but that didn¡¯t matter.


    What mattered most was that he finally had the chance to apologize for all the wrongs he had done to her.


    Anthony¡¯s thoughts mirrored those of his eldest son. He, too, sought forgiveness from his daughter, but he knew that, unlike Thomas, his chances of being forgiven were nearly zero. No excuse could ever justify what he had done to Emmaline. So, he was already preparing himself for the likelihood that he might never be forgiven.


    No matter what the outcome, he was ready to accept it. He had decided he would never again try to force his daughter into anything against her will, even if that meant she would never forgive him¡ªwhich he knew he deserved after everything he had done. He just had to live with that. Just like the sinner that he was.


    ¡°Ahem. Everyone, we¡¯ll now enter Delryria¡¯s atmosphere. Please make sure your seatbelt is on,¡± Hildred¡¯s voice echoed in the cockpit, acting once again like some spaceport announcer.


    The hum of the ship intensified as it began its descent. Outside the windows, the distant stars blurred, giving way to the soft, vibrant colors of Delryria¡¯s sky. As they approached the planet, the deep indigo of space transitioned into a gradient of pale pinks and oranges, signaling the early morning. Experience tales at m v|l e¡¯-NovelFire.net


    The sky slowly brightened, with streaks of golden light piercing through the clouds as the sun began to rise. The ship shuddered slightly as it broke through the atmosphere, and the pilot¡¯s voice came through once more.


    Hildred¡¯s voice echoed once again.


    ¡°We¡¯re on our final approach. Welcome to Delryria.¡±


    Astrid gazed out at the breathtaking morning sky, captivated by the blend of colors that seemed to greet them. It was as if the planet itself was rolling out a warm welcome at their arrival.


    With everyone having different thoughts and feelings, they finally arrived at Delryria.

 Chapter 632: THE PRINCES LEVEL

    Emmy was currently occupied in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Earlier, they had received a message from Astrid, informing them that they were already nearing the planet. Emmy and Gage had expected their arrival around lunchtime, so they hadn¡¯t begun cooking yet. Fortunately, all the ingredients were prepped and ready, leaving Emmy with nothing more to do than to start cooking.


    Although she wasn¡¯t as skilled as her son, cooking alongside Astrid over the years had significantly improved her culinary abilities. She had even learned several new recipes from Astrid, dishes so unique that she didn¡¯t even know their names. When she asked her son where he had picked up these recipes, Astrid simply mentioned finding them in a cookbook while browsing the Cybernet.


    The book was filled with recipes from a country in the East on ancient Earth.


    Emmy didn¡¯t question it. Astrid had always been a curious child, constantly using his Terminal to explore all kinds of books, from history to general knowledge. It wasn¡¯t surprising that he stumbled upon a cookbook like that. Besides, there was no reason for him to lie about something so trivial. So why question it?


    Especially when their family had enjoyed so many new and delicious dishes because of it.


    ¡°Emmy, I just got a message from Aster¡ªthey¡¯ve already entered the planet,¡± Gage said as he walked into the kitchen to update his wife.


    Discover more content at m,v l¡¯e-NovelFire.net


    ¡°Hmm, perfect timing. I¡¯m almost finished here,¡± Emmy replied.


    Gage took a seat on one of the bar stools, watching his wife as she worked. After a moment, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Emmy, how are you feeling?¡±


    Emmy paused and glanced over at her husband. Seeing the concern etched on his face, a warm smile instantly crossed her lips. Because she knew exactly why Gage was asking that question.


    He was likely worried about the fact that, after more than two decades, she was finally going to meet her father and brothers. Truthfully, she wasn¡¯t entirely sure how she felt about it. Part of her was excited¡ªafter all, it had been over twenty years. But another part of her was reluctant, especially when it came to facing her father and older brother. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She was still unsure whether she had it in her to forgive them. What happened back then was simply not something she could brush off just because so many years had passed. Because no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn¡¯t understand why her father had to resort to such a tactic just so he could get rid of that psychopath ¨C Cecil Lancaster.


    Wasn¡¯t there a better way to do that without using her as bait? Was she so lacking in value that he could easily cast her aside? And to think Thomas even agreed to it. Sometimes, when she was in her lowest mood, she would ask herself, was she not their family at all?


    But the irony in all of it was that, in the end, it was she and Gage who killed that psychopath, not whatever plan her father had devised.


    Emmy shook her head. She should not think about that right now and ruin the rest of her day. Since she would be meeting them later anyway, she could just ask. Maybe they would have the decency to give her an answer.


    She smiled at her husband. ¡°I¡¯m fine, and I will be fine. How can I not when you¡¯re here with me? Not to mention that our children will also be here later. So, I will definitely be more than fine.¡±


    Gage¡¯s eyes softened with emotion. ¡°I really want to kiss you right now.¡±


    Emmy laughed, shaking her head. ¡°Later. I¡¯m in the middle of cooking, and I¡¯d hate to accidentally cut you with a knife.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    As the spaceship entered Delryria¡¯s atmosphere, it made a direct descent toward a clearing near Astreas Farm¡ªthe Townsend family¡¯s land. The landing was swift, thanks to Wulfric¡¯s meticulous planning, which ensured their approach was perfectly aligned with the farm¡¯s location. The ship was also cloaked in advanced stealth technology, making their descent invisible to prying eyes.


    Once the spaceship landed, they split into two groups, each boarding a flying car. Moments later, two sleek flying cars emerged from the ship, ready to make their way to the farm.


    One group consisted of Astrid, Wulfric, Casey, Nicol, and Slade, while the other included Reas, Thomas, Anthony, Hildred, and Edmund. Reas had wanted to ride with Astrid, but Astrid insisted he join Thomas and the duke, reasoning that Reas could answer any questions they might have about the farm and stuff. Left with little choice, Reas reluctantly agreed.


    With that, they made their way to the Townsend home.


    Nicol looked out of the car window, his eyes shining as he stared at the scenery outside. ¡°Brother Aster, are the lands outside part of your farm?¡±


    Astrid chuckled at the question. ¡°No, we¡¯ll actually pass by our house first before we get a glimpse of the farm.¡±


    ¡°Can we tour later?¡±


    Astrid ruffled Nicol¡¯s hair. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Wulfric, sitting beside him, cleared his throat. ¡°I would also like a tour.¡±


    Nicol looked over Wulfric¡¯s side and glared at him. ¡°Why are you copying me?¡±


    Wulfric shot back with a glare. ¡°Who¡¯s copying who? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being a bit too sensitive?¡±


    Sitting between the two, Astrid calmly placed his hands between them and said with a hint of amusement, ¡°Now, now, let¡¯s not fight.¡±


    The two shot each other one final glare before turning away with a quiet ¡°hmph.¡±


    Casey, sitting in the passenger seat, had initially wanted a tour as well. But after watching the prince bicker with his eight-year-old nephew, he quickly changed his mind. The thought of saying the same thing made him feel like he¡¯d be stooping to the prince¡¯s level, and his pride just wouldn¡¯t allow that.

 Chapter 633: MEETING ONCE AGAIN

    The cottage exuded a rustic charm, its weathered stone walls covered in creeping ivy that had grown thick over the years. Standing two stories tall, it had a steeply pitched roof with dark, aged shingles that contrasted against the soft hues of the stone. Flower boxes brimming with vibrant blooms adorned each of the windows. Your next read awaits at m v|l-e¡¯-NovelFire.net


    A narrow cobblestone path led from where the cars had landed to the front door.


    It might not rival the grand mansions and manors of the Grimaldi family, but Anthony could feel the love and care that had been poured into maintaining it. His sons seemed to share his thoughts, all of them thinking, ¡®So this is where Emmaline¡ªwhere Emmy¡ªhad lived for the past 20 years or so.¡¯


    The one who broke their silent appreciation was none other than Nicol.


    ¡°Wow! The house is so pretty!¡± he exclaimed, eyes wide with wonder. ¡°It looks like something out of a storybook!¡±


    ¡°I think so too,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    Wulfric gazed at Aster¡¯s smile, then shifted his attention to the house before them. When they first met, he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to this place. His mind was too preoccupied with getting under Aster¡¯s skin. But now, seeing the house clearly, he had to admit¡ªjust like the kid had said¡ªit was actually quite pretty.


    Aster¡¯s smile, filled with nostalgia and pride as he spoke about the house, revealed just how many happy memories he must have cherished here. It made Wulfric wonder if he should build a similar house in Alluna once they were married, creating a place where they could forge their own memories together.


    If everyone there heard what Wulfric was thinking, they would definitely think he was living up to his reputation as a crazy guy. What do you mean by ¡®marry¡¯? The two of you were not even in a relationship yet!


    ¡°Is this where Brother Aster grew up?¡± Nicol asked, looking up at Astrid with excitement sparkling in his eyes.


    Astrid nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, your Brother Reas and I both grew up here.¡±


    Nicol glanced at Reas with reluctance, as if he couldn¡¯t avoid admitting that Reas had also grown up alongside Astrid.


    This brat. Reas could only shake his head as he stepped forward toward the door. He didn¡¯t bother knocking; his parents never locked the door, anyway. Being the only house in the vicinity, they felt secure in their close-knit community and trusted their neighbors completely. Besides, if any stranger dared to break in, his father would have no trouble taking them down.


    And that wasn¡¯t even considering the security measures built into the house.


    Aside from his father, who was very serious about that kind of thing, to the point of transforming the house into some kind of fortress pretending to be a fairy tale cottage, Uncle Leigh also helped a little. And that ¡®little¡¯ help was already enough to completely transform this house into a safe place.


    The only reason Reas could easily open the door and enter was that the house¡¯s facial recognition system identified him as one of the owners. Since he was the first to enter, those following behind were automatically granted access as well. However, if the security system detected that he was being coerced into opening the door, gaining entry wouldn¡¯t have been so simple.


    ¡°Is it alright to just go inside?¡± Casey asked worriedly.


    Astrid responded with a reassuring smile. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll take you to the drawing room while Reas calls Mom and Dad.¡±


    The twins moved in perfect sync, as if they had planned their actions in advance. Astrid led the group to a drawing room, while Reas headed deeper into the house, likely to call their parents.


    Walking inside, this time, Anthony marveled at the house¡¯s interior.


    As Anthony stepped inside, he took in the house¡¯s interior. The whimsical charm of the exterior carried through into the drawing room, where the design was simple but welcoming. The walls were painted in soft, earthy tones, and large windows allowed natural light to fill the space.


    A comfortable sofa, along with a pair of armchairs, was arranged around a stone fireplace that looked like it had seen many evenings of warmth. A large, woven rug that added a touch of color to the room covered the wooden floor. On the mantel above the fireplace, there were a few family photos and small, meaningful objects, giving the room a personal touch.


    The room had a straightforward, lived-in feeling, making it clear that this was more than just a house¡ªit was a home.


    A home that his daughter had created for herself. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without them.


    Anthony closed his eyes tightly, trying to steady the storm of emotions swirling inside him. Facing his daughter like this wouldn¡¯t be wise.


    He took a deep breath, his hands trembling slightly as he tried to compose himself. It had been 20 long years since he last saw his daughter, and the weight of those years pressed heavily on his heart. The mistake he had made back then, the decision that tore them apart, haunted him every day.


    Now, standing just moments away from seeing her again, the fear of what she might say¡ªof how she might look at him¡ªwas almost too much to bear.


    But he knew he couldn¡¯t avoid this moment. He had to face her, to try to make amends for the pain he had caused. With one last deep breath, Anthony opened his eyes, determined to meet whatever came next with as much courage as he could muster.


    ¡°Please, everyone, take a seat,¡± Astrid told them.


    Just as everyone was about to sit down, the door to the drawing room opened once again. The first one to walk inside was Reas. And then followed by a tall man with shaggy brown hair. An eyepatch covered one of his eyes. Behind him walked in a petite woman with long ice-blue hair and a pair of sapphire blue eyes.


    At that moment, Anthony, Thomas, and Casey were rooted to the spot, their eyes fixed on her as if time itself had paused.

 Chapter 634: SUDDEN FREEZING POINT

    The years they were apart had left him with a heavy regret, and now, standing in front of her, all he wanted was to reach out and somehow repair what had been broken. His heart hurt with the need to reconnect, to somehow rebuild the relationship they had lost. He didn¡¯t even notice that his eyes were now filled with a silent plea, hoping for a chance to heal the deep wounds between them.


    Thomas, beside him, felt the crushing force of guilt bearing down on him. Every choice he hadn¡¯t made, every moment he hadn¡¯t stood up when it mattered, now flooded his mind with painful clarity. Seeing Emmaline again brought the full extent of what he did, or rather, what he didn¡¯t do, and the guilt was almost suffocating. He didn¡¯t know what he should do next.


    And so, he could only stand there and stare.


    Casey, on the other hand, felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Memories of his sister surfaced in his mind, bringing him a rush of joy and nervousness. His heart beat faster with the hope of rekindling the bond they had once shared, but there was also a small, nagging fear of how much might have changed. Still, his eyes lit up with genuine affection as he stared at Emmy.


    The different reactions of the three Grimaldi men were clear to everyone in the drawing room, but none of them said a word. They knew it wasn¡¯t their place to speak. Even Nicol, who would usually have said something by now, stayed quiet. He looked nervous, glancing between his family and the woman who was supposed to be his aunt.


    He had planned to greet her with a bright smile, ready to unleash his full charm. Uncle Casey always said that no one could resist his cuteness, and he was counting on that to soften his aunt¡¯s heart. If he could manage that, maybe she wouldn¡¯t be angry with his dad and grandpa anymore.


    But when he saw the way his dad and grandpa looked at his aunt, his eyes began to sting, and his throat tightened. He didn¡¯t understand why, but it made him feel like crying. All he could do was stare blankly, trying to make sense of the situation, confused by the serious expressions on their faces and the heavy feeling in the room.


    Then Nicol felt a gentle hand stroke his head. He looked up and saw his Brother Aster smiling down at him. It was a reassuring smile that seemed to say everything would be okay. Somehow, just seeing that smile made the heavy feeling in his chest begin to ease.


    Astrid glanced at his mother. Although she appeared calm, he could tell it was just a front. The fact that she wasn¡¯t even looking at the duke or Thomas made it clear that she was far from alright.


    To break the heavy atmosphere, he stepped forward and gave his mother a quick hug, then did the same with his father. ¡°I missed you, Mom, Dad.¡±


    ¡°Welcome home, Aster,¡± his father said, his voice soft and his gaze tender.


    His mother cupped his face in her hands. ¡°Look at you. Why do you seem thinner than before? You¡¯re not skipping meals just because you¡¯re busy, are you?¡±


    A helpless smile crossed Astrid¡¯s face. He glanced over at Reas, who wore the same expression, likely having heard the same concern from their mother before. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom. I¡¯m eating just fine,¡± Astrid reassured her gently.


    After the brief greeting and conversation, Casey couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. He rushed forward, stopping just a few steps away from Emmy.


    ¡°Hi,¡± he finally managed to say, after standing there, staring at his sister.


    Emmy turned to her younger brother. Although they had talked over video calls and she¡¯d seen him on screen, seeing him in person felt completely different. Seeing him up close, with all the little details she had forgotten, made her realize how much she had missed him.


    ¡°Casey,¡± she called, her voice a bit strained.


    Casey fiddled at the hem of his clothes, just like how he often did when he was a child whenever he was feeling nervous. ¡°Can I hug you?¡±


    Instead of replying, Emmy simply opened her arms and pulled her younger brother into a tight hug. ¡°I missed you, Casey,¡± she whispered.


    Casey froze for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Emmy, holding her tightly. ¡°Me too,¡± he murmured, ¡°so much, so very much.¡± Enjoy new chapters from m-v l¡¯-NovelFire.net


    Seeing Uncle Casey hug his aunt, Nicol thought this might be a good time to introduce himself. He glanced over at his dad and grandpa, noticing the envy in their eyes as they watched Uncle Casey and Aunt Emmy. Maybe if he showed his cuteness, his aunt would give his dad and grandpa a hug too.


    As soon as his uncle and aunt finished hugging, Nicol quickly walked over, a big smile on his face. ¡°Hi, Aunt Emmy! I¡¯m Nicol Grimaldi. But you can just call me Nikki. You might not know me, but I¡¯m your nephew. Can I have a hug, too, please?¡±


    Emmy looked down at the child. Astrid had mentioned that Tommy¡¯s son would be joining them, so this must be him. Nicol had the unmistakable Grimaldi hair and eyes, but, interestingly, he resembled Casey more than Tommy. Probably because of that big, bright smile he had. Even the way he spoke was cute. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She smiled and knelt down to wrap her arms around the boy. ¡°Welcome to our humble abode, Nikki.¡±


    Nicol hugged her back. ¡°I love your house! It¡¯s so pretty¡ªjust like you, Aunt Emmy.¡±


    Emmy chuckled at that. Was this cheerful kid really the son of the ever solemn Tommy?


    Casey and Nicol¡¯s actions inspired Wulfric, who had been silent for a while. So, he also stepped forward and bravely greeted Gage and Emmy.


    ¡°Hello, father-in-law, mother-in-law!¡±


    The air in the room seemed to turn to a freezing point after that greeting.

 Chapter 635: A GOOD SHOW

    Normally, he wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to laugh out loud. But given the seriousness of the situation and the emotions running high among most of the people here, he chose to be considerate and kept his laughter to himself. See how thoughtful he was? At least he had more discretion than Wulf.


    Because why would Wulf choose this moment to call Emmaline and Gage his in-laws, especially when the tension in the room was already so palpable? He clearly didn¡¯t grasp the sensitivity of the situation or how his words might affect those around him. Showing his lack of social awareness and emotional intelligence.


    But then again, it wouldn¡¯t be Wulf if he didn¡¯t pull something like this. At least Hildred could enjoy the spectacle, thanks to their ever ¡®reliable¡¯ prince. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hildred wasn¡¯t the only one struggling to hold back laughter. Slade had to frown to stop himself from laughing, but his expression was so forced it made him look almost constipated.


    Edmund, on the other hand, seemed more worried than amused. Everyone¡¯s expressions, even young Nicol¡¯s, looked like they were ready to strangle the general. The only ones who didn¡¯t seem angry were Astrid and his brother. Astrid had an expression as if he was looking at the general like an animal he wanted to pet. While Reas was looking at the general as if the latter was truly a hopeless case.


    The Grimaldis and the Townsend parents wouldn¡¯t just jump on the general, right? Should he prepare to defend?


    Just like what Edmund saw, the Grimaldis, as well as Emmy and Gage, all had expressions as if they wanted to beat up Wulfric.


    Anthony and Thomas, both lost in their own melancholy, had their sadness abruptly interrupted by the prince¡¯s careless greeting. In an instant, their expressions shifted to annoyance. They frowned almost simultaneously, their gazes narrowing at the prince. The similarity in their expressions was so striking that, under different circumstances, it might have been comical.


    Casey and Nicol were more direct in their reactions. They both shot Wulfric a glare, making no effort to hide their annoyance.


    ¡°Your Highness, you must be daydreaming,¡± Casey said, his voice laced with sarcasm. ¡°How can you call my sister and brother-in-law your mother-in-law and father-in-law? If I remembered correctly, you¡¯re not married to any of my nephews.¡± Explore stories at m,v l¡¯e-NovelFire.net


    ¡°No, Uncle Casey, he¡¯s not daydreaming¡ªhe¡¯s definitely hallucinating!¡± Nicol chimed in. Then, with a tilt of his head, as if struck by a new thought, he looked back at Wulfric. ¡°Or are you planning to marry Brother Andreas?¡±


    Several coughs echoed through the room after Nicol¡¯s comment, a mix of people stifling their laughter and others choking in surprise. A few had to cover their mouths to hide their smiles, while others cleared their throats, caught off guard by the unexpected remark. It was clear that Nicol¡¯s words had both amused and stunned them.


    Wulfric, unaware that his earlier words had caused a stir, was caught off guard by Nicol¡¯s comment. His eyes widened in surprise, and a vein throbbed on his forehead. The shock quickly gave way to irritation, his annoyance growing at the unexpected question.


    Before he could speak, though, Reas suddenly pinched the brat¡¯s cheek.


    Just like him, Reas was also annoyed by the question. How could he not? He was just minding his own business, and now this kid would suddenly involve him in this mess. Even insinuating that there was something between him and the general. Just the thought was giving him goosebumps.


    ¡°You brat, if you don¡¯t stop speaking nonsense, I will really spank you,¡± he warned.


    Nicol acted scared and hid behind Emmy. ¡°Aunt Emmy, look, Brother Andreas is threatening me!¡±


    Seeing this, Emmy chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sure your Brother Reas was just joking.¡± But her smile faded as her eyes shifted to Wulfric, then to her father and older brother. ¡°I know there¡¯s a lot we need to discuss, but first, let¡¯s go have breakfast.¡±


    ¡°My wife prepared quite a spread; we wouldn¡¯t want it to go cold, right?¡± Gage added, his gaze landing on Wulfric. ¡°And as for how Your Highness should address us¡ªwe¡¯ll have a very, very detailed discussion about that later.¡±


    For some reason, the way Aster¡¯s parents looked at him made Wulfric break into a cold sweat. Had he really made a mistake? Was it because he¡¯d called them mother-in-law and father-in-law? Should he have waited until he and Aster were actually married? But that could take a while. And calling them by their first names seemed far too disrespectful.


    Maybe he should have started with ¡®aunt¡¯ and ¡®uncle¡¯ first.


    He shook his head, finally beginning to realize he might have truly made a mistake. He shouldn¡¯t have let his excitement get the better of him and cloud his judgment. He should have taken a moment to think through his words before speaking. Now, he¡¯d already messed up his chance at making a good second impression.


    So, what should he do now?


    A pat on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see Hildred beside him, a teasing smile on his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Wulf. You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Hildred said with a grin. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can charm your way out of this one.¡±


    Then he walked out of the drawing room, dragging Edmund along, who kept glancing back at Wulfric with a worried expression, as if expecting him to be shot at any second. Slade, following behind, threw Wulfric a quick, encouraging gesture. But the grin on his face showed that he was clearly enjoying the situation.


    Wulfric felt another vein throb on his forehead. Were these three here to support him or to watch the fun?


    As everyone began to leave, Wulfric searched for Aster. He spotted him starting to walk his way, but then Aster¡¯s father gently pulled him back by the shoulder, not even giving them a chance to speak.


    Wulfric could only sigh seeing that.

 Chapter 636: NOT OLD ENOUGH

    Thin pancakes and rolls, lightly golden, were stacked in several tall piles, each accompanied by small dishes of various dipping sauces. Numerous smaller plates held crispy fried dough sticks, slightly twisted and still warm, ready to be shared. The table also featured teapots filled with different teas, as well as pitchers of milk, filling the air with a comforting aroma.


    ¡°I made sure to prepare plenty, so everyone can eat their fill,¡± Emmy said with a warm smile as they all took their seats.


    With 12 people to feed, the small dining room that could only accommodate six was out of the question. Instead, they decided to eat in the back garden. Gage, thinking ahead, had already set up a long table the day before, ensuring they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about seating arrangements today.


    Thomas and Casey stared at the array of dishes on the table, amazed that their sister had made them all. If this was still the sister they remembered, she would never have stepped foot in the kitchen. But now, not only could she create beautiful dishes, but she also seemed to embody the role of a homemaker¡ªa very happy and contented one, at that.


    When they heard from their sister¡¯s husband that she had prepared breakfast, they braced themselves to eat it all, even if it wasn¡¯t good, determined to make it seem like the most delicious food they¡¯d ever tasted. But now, seeing the impressive spread before them, it was clear they had nothing to worry about.


    They began eating, and just as expected, the food was delicious. It had a flavor profile that reminded them of the dishes Astrid had cooked for them. While Astrid¡¯s cooking might have been more refined, this meal felt infinitely better to them. How could it not, when it was prepared by the sister they had missed so dearly? S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As they ate, both of them felt their eyes well up with tears. The only thing keeping them from actually crying was their determination not to ruin the breakfast their sister had worked so hard to prepare.


    ¡°This is incredible, Emmy,¡± Casey said, unable to hold back his praise. ¡°No wonder Aster is so good at cooking¡ªhe must have gotten it from you.¡±


    Thomas also wanted to say something, but at the end, could only manage to say, ¡°It¡¯s very delicious.¡±


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    Emmy had expected Casey to say something like that, but she hadn¡¯t anticipated Tommy speaking up. She thought he and the duke would remain quiet until it was time to have a serious conversation with her. His brief remark caught her by surprise.


    Hearing praise from him, even a brief one, stirred up complicated feelings in her. She and Tommy had never been particularly close¡ªor at least, not since their mother died. There was a time when they were, but everything changed after that.


    Emmy looked down and could only mumble a small ¡®thank you¡¯.


    Anthony also wanted to mention how delicious he found the food, even though he couldn¡¯t actually taste anything at the moment. It wasn¡¯t because the food lacked flavor, but because his nerves were too frayed to allow him to enjoy it. It was a shame, really, since all the dishes looked and smelled incredible.


    But what could he do? He was too tense to taste anything properly. His mind kept drifting to the conversation they needed to have, and his stomach was tight with nerves. Every bite felt like an effort, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t focus on the flavors.


    He wanted to enjoy the breakfast his daughter had prepared, knowing how much effort she put into it, but the weight of what was to come kept him distracted, dulling his senses.


    Really, even at this moment, he was still a failure of a father.


    Unlike him, his youngest grandson had no qualms saying his thoughts.


    ¡°Aunt Emmy, everything is so delicious!¡±


    Although he still thought Brother Aster¡¯s cooking was better, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be wise to say so. After all, he wanted his newly discovered aunt to like him. A little flattery wouldn¡¯t hurt, right?


    Wulfric, hearing everyone praise Aster¡¯s mother, felt he should do the same. Truthfully, he was a bit annoyed that he couldn¡¯t sit next to Aster, thanks to Aster¡¯s father. As soon as they reached the long table in the back garden, Gage Townsend had quickly seated Aster between himself and Reas, leaving Wulfric with no opportunity to sit beside him.


    Still, that was no reason to be rude and not acknowledge the effort Aster¡¯s mother had put into the meal.


    Maybe this could make up for his earlier blunder. He might even earn some brownie points in the process.


    ¡°The food is really good,¡± he started. Then, thinking that he couldn¡¯t call the other ¡®mother-in-law¡¯, he added, ¡°Aunt Emmaline.¡±


    Emmy felt the muscles in her face twitch when she heard the prince call her ¡°aunt.¡± She looked up at him, a smile on her lips that didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m glad Your Highness enjoyed my cooking,¡± she said. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t dare accept the title of ¡®aunt¡¯ from you. After all, I¡¯m not old enough to be Your Highness¡¯s elder, so how could I let you address me that way?¡±


    In essence, she was politely making it clear that she wasn¡¯t old enough to be Wulfric¡¯s aunt¡ªor his mother-in-law. It was her subtle way of suggesting that he was too old for her son.


    Hildred, who had just taken a sip of tea, nearly spat it out when he heard Emmaline Townsend¡¯s words. Instead, he forced himself to swallow, causing the tea to go down the wrong pipe. He immediately started coughing uncontrollably.

 Chapter 637: WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

    Hildred forced himself to maintain a straight face. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡± He looked around at everyone seated at the table and quickly added, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just that the food is so delicious I was eager to clear my palate with the tea a bit too quickly so I can eat more.¡±


    Though it was an obvious lie, Hildred delivered it with such conviction that it almost sounded like the truth. After all, he couldn¡¯t exactly admit that he¡¯d nearly choked on his tea because he found Emmy¡¯s subtle jab at Wulf so amusing. He had to save some face for his general, after all.


    Edmund poured him a cup of water, his expression sympathetic, as if he genuinely believed Hildred¡¯s explanation¡ªthe food was, after all, quite delicious. Hildred almost chuckled at Edmund¡¯s naivety; he was likely the only one at the table who fell for the lie. Even the Grimaldi kid was eyeing him as if he had just uttered something completely absurd.


    Look, Wulf was also giving him his usual stinky eye.


    Hildred shook his head and just drank the water Ed gave him. ¡°Thank you, Ed.¡±


    He felt an urge to tease Ed a bit but knew this wasn¡¯t the time or place. Besides, with Wulf¡¯s recent string of blunders providing ample entertainment, he could be content with that and focus on enjoying the delicious breakfast. After all, nothing was quite as satisfying as savoring someone else¡¯s tea.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Wulfric to register what Aster¡¯s mother meant by what she said. He might be lacking in some social cues, but he¡¯s not stupid. It¡¯s not hard to understand that Aster¡¯s mother was basically telling him that he¡¯s too old for Aster.


    But he refused to accept it. How could he possibly be too old for Aster? He was only twelve years older than him! They were still in the same generation. If he were thirty or forty years older, then, sure, he could understand such a criticism.


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t voice his thoughts aloud; if he did, Aster¡¯s parents might just throw him out. So, he kept his silence, focusing on his meal while occasionally stealing glances at Aster. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid bit his inner cheek to keep the corners of his mouth from curling up. How could he not smile when Wulfric kept glancing at him like a child who¡¯d been bullied and was looking for an ally? It would be one thing if Nicol were acting this way, but seeing Wulfric do it was both amusing and, admittedly, quite adorable.


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t intervene. He knew that if he openly sided with Wulfric, his parents would likely become even harsher on him. For now, at least, their ¡®attacks¡¯ were limited to words.


    And so, the breakfast continued in a tense yet oddly amusing atmosphere.


    ¡ª¨C


    After breakfast, it was clear to everyone that the time had come to address the matters at hand. Once the dirty dishes were loaded into the dishwasher and the table in the back garden was cleared, Emmy finally turned her gaze to the duke for the first time since their arrival. Find your next read at m_v l|e-NovelFire.net


    ¡°I understand there¡¯s a lot you wish to talk about,¡± she began, her voice steady. ¡°Please, follow me,¡± she continued, addressing not just the duke but his two brothers as well.


    Emmy turned and headed toward the study. Anthony released a nervous breath before following his daughter. Thomas and Casey exchanged glances, then trailed after her as well.


    Gage watched his wife¡¯s retreating figure, concern etched on his face. Even though they had agreed yesterday that Emmy would handle the conversation with the Grimaldis on her own, it didn¡¯t stop him from wanting to be there for her. He had asked Emmy if he could stay with her, promising not to interfere¡ªhe just wanted to be by her side, offering his strength and support.


    However, Emmy didn¡¯t agree. She told him she needed to talk to her father and brothers on her own, a conversation she felt she had to face by herself. Gage, though reluctant, understood her need to handle this alone, even if it meant standing back like this.


    He composed himself and turned to his two sons. ¡°Aster, Reas, how about giving our guest a tour around the farm? Just make sure you¡¯re back before lunch.¡±


    Reas, however, wasn¡¯t particularly keen on going. But he couldn¡¯t just leave Astrid to manage not only their overly energetic cousin, but also the members of the Fenris Squad on his own. So, he reluctantly nodded at their father¡¯s request.


    At the mention of a ¡°tour,¡± Nicol, who had initially seemed eager to follow his grandpa, dad, uncle, and aunt, immediately shifted his focus. His eyes lit up with excitement as he turned to his Brother Aster. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Brother Aster!¡± he exclaimed eagerly.


    Astrid chuckled and ruffled Nicol¡¯s hair. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Wulfric felt a surge of excitement at the idea of a farm tour. Finally, he would have the chance to walk beside Aster¡ªsomething he hadn¡¯t been able to do since they arrived at the house. If anyone could read his thoughts right now, they might think it had been years since he last stood next to Aster, when in reality, it had only been about an hour.


    But before he could even take a step, a heavy arm landed on his shoulder. When he looked to the side, he saw Aster¡¯s father grinning at him.


    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going? You¡¯re staying right here,¡± he said, a hint of challenge in his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to have a serious, man-to-man talk with me?¡±


    Wulfric looked at Aster¡¯s father, who appeared to be smiling, but beneath that smile, he could sense a subtle bloodlust. Was it finally the time for him to get beat up?


    Wulfric had no desire to get into a fight with Aster¡¯s father¡ªor mother, for that matter. But he couldn¡¯t just refuse; if he did, would he still be a man? Besides, this could also serve as a testament to his feelings for Aster.


    So, in the end, he could only nod and mumble a brief, ¡°Okay.¡±

 Chapter 638: HOPING FOR IT ALL THE SAME

    AS they walked past the greenhouses, Astrid explained everything they were seeing. In one greenhouse, vegetables were planted in neat, orderly rows, their leaves a deep, healthy green. In another, patches of herbs, like basil and rosemary, filled the air with a strong, fresh scent. Outside, leafy greens swayed gently in the light breeze sweeping across the open fields.


    Astrid pointed out that everything was planted by hand, with each row carefully spaced to give the plants room to thrive.


    The group continued to walk past clusters of fruit trees, their branches heavy with ripe fruits. Vines of beans and peas climbed up simple wooden poles, their tendrils wrapped tightly around the supports. Straw covered the ground around the plants, keeping moisture in and weeds out.


    The people working on the farm moved slowly down the rows, their hands busy pruning, watering, and gently turning the soil with small tools. When they saw Astrid and Reas, they waved enthusiastically, some even crowding around them, clearly happy to see the twins¡ªespecially Astrid.


    They asked first how come their back and if they had a vacation. Then they chatted excitedly about how they had followed everything he had appeared in, praising his performances. They shared how they always knew he had something special and could easily see him becoming a big star in the future.


    Some of them even recounted their favorite scenes, while others mentioned how they felt proud every time they saw his face on a screen.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help the smile that crossed his lips. He felt a warmth spreading through his chest, genuinely touched by their words. He nodded and thanked them, his voice soft but sincere, grateful for their kindness and encouragement.


    After that, the group continued their tour. Some of the people they had met earlier had given them a basket of fresh fruit, which Nicol and Edmund were now happily munching on as they walked.


    Hildred wiped the fruit juice from the corner of Edmund¡¯s lips with his thumb, then brought it to his mouth and licked it. ¡°Sweet.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you, Hil,¡± Edmund said, laughing like a silly puppy, completely oblivious to Hildred¡¯s flirting.


    Astrid caught sight of the scene and couldn¡¯t help but shoot Hildred a pitying glance. At that moment, Hildred looked up and met Astrid¡¯s eyes. Their gazes locked briefly before Hildred raised an eyebrow and made his way over to him.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about Wulf spending time with your father?¡± he asked, the glint in his eyes showing just how amused he was by the whole situation.


    Astrid glanced at Hildred. Based on the other¡¯s expression, the idea of Wulfric trying to navigate his parents¡¯ disapproval was clearly very entertaining to him. If Astrid was in the mood, he would have teased Hildred about Edmund¡¯s lack of response. But sadly, he was not in the mood for that right now.


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried,¡± he said honestly.


    No matter how much he joked about his parents ¡®harming¡¯ Wulfric, he knew they would never actually do anything drastic. As long as Wulfric showed them how genuine his feelings were and how much he loved Astrid, they would eventually come around.


    Well, at least he hoped so.


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    Anyway, what concerned him more was his mother¡¯s conversation with the Grimaldis. He just hoped she wouldn¡¯t be hurt any more than she already had been.


    ¡ª¨C


    Inside the study, the silence was deafening, so still that it seemed to swallow every sound. Casey shifted uneasily in his seat. He wanted to break the silence, to ask his sister how she had been all these years, but the words wouldn¡¯t come. Something held him back, a feeling that it wasn¡¯t right for him to speak first.


    But this silence was really uncomfortable!


    Emmy stayed quiet, too. She had things she wanted to say, but she wasn¡¯t going to be the one to open that can of worms. Being the one wronged, she felt it wasn¡¯t up to her to start; she wanted to hear their side first. No matter how much she tried not to see herself as the victim, the reality was, she was one. So, she held back, determined to let the duke and Tommy speak first.


    Anthony sat still for a long moment, the weight of the silence pressing down on him. He finally took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the floor, unable to meet Emmaline¡¯s gaze. ¡°Emmaline¡± he began, his voice barely a whisper. ¡°I owe you an apology¡­for everything.¡±


    He paused, struggling to find the right words. ¡°I thought I was doing the right thing,¡± he continued, his voice trembling slightly. ¡°I was so consumed by the need to catch that bastard, Cecil Lancaster, to avenge your mother, that I didn¡¯t see how wrong my actions were. I used you, put you in danger. I thought I could control the situation, but I was wrong. I failed you in so many ways.¡±


    He finally lifted his eyes to look at her, his face etched with regret, pain, and sadness. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have had to go through any of it. You shouldn¡¯t have been the one to end it all, or to fake your own death just to escape the mess I created. I took so much from you, and I can never make that right. But I need you to know how deeply sorry I am.¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice broke. ¡°I realize now how much I¡¯ve hurt you, how much I¡¯ve lost because of my own blindness. I can¡¯t undo what happened, but I want to try to make amends, to earn back some part of your trust, if that¡¯s even possible.


    I know it¡¯s a lot to ask after everything, but I want to be there for you and your family, your kids, to support you, however you¡¯ll allow me. I just want a chance to show you that I can be better, that I can change.¡±


    The room fell silent again, his words hanging in the air, heavy with the pain of the past. Anthony¡¯s hands were trembling now, his heart laid bare, waiting for Emmaline¡¯s response, knowing he had no right to expect forgiveness but hoping for it all the same.

 Chapter 639: TO ASK FORGIVENESS

    Looking at Emmaline, he could see her face was calm, but he couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking. The uncertainty was unbearable. Tears began to fill his eyes, blurring his vision, and he blinked them away, feeling the sting of each unshed tear. He felt so small in that moment, so utterly broken by the thought of what he¡¯d done, of how much he¡¯d failed her.


    The memories of that time flooded back¡ªevery mistake, every moment he had pushed her aside, all the times his need for revenge had blinded him.


    He felt an ache deep in his chest, a hollow emptiness that seemed to swallow him whole. He wished, more than anything, that he could turn back time and change it all, but he knew he couldn¡¯t. He was afraid of losing her all over again, of having no chance to make things right. His voice, so strong just moments before, now felt small and weak in his own ears.


    He waited, hoping for a word, a sign, anything from her, feeling his heart break a little more with every second of silence that followed.


    Thomas stood off to the side, his heart heavy with guilt as he listened to his father¡¯s apology. Each word his father spoke felt like a knife twisting in his gut. He had been there through it all, had seen what was happening, and yet he did nothing. He had stood by, silent and complicit, as his father¡¯s plan unfolded, watching as Emmaline was put in danger, and did nothing to stop it.


    The weight of his inaction pressed down on him, and he felt ashamed¡ªashamed that he hadn¡¯t had the courage to speak up, to protect her when she needed it most. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He looked at Emmaline, seeing the calm on her face, but he knew she was hurting. He could see it in her eyes, the pain that lingered there, the pain that he had played a part in causing. His throat tightened as he thought about all the years that had passed, all the time they had lost because he hadn¡¯t done the right thing. Read new chapters at m_v-l¡¯e|-NovelFire.net


    He had been so focused on following his father, on trusting that his father knew what was best, that he never once considered the cost to Emmaline, or how deeply it would wound her.


    Taking a deep breath, Thomas stepped forward, his legs feeling like lead. His voice was shaky, filled with a mixture of regret and sorrow. ¡°Emmaline,¡± he began, struggling to keep his composure, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I should have done something. I should have said something¡­ anything. I was wrong to stand by and let it happen.


    I was a coward.¡±


    He paused, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. ¡°I can¡¯t change what I did, or rather, what I didn¡¯t do. I should have fought for you, protected you. But I didn¡¯t, and I will always regret that. I hope one day you can forgive me, but I understand if you can¡¯t. I just needed you to know how deeply sorry I am, how much I wish I had been stronger, braver, more like the brother you deserved.¡±


    His voice broke, and he swallowed hard, feeling the tears finally spill over. ¡°I let you down. I know I did, and I¡¯m so, so sorry, Emmaline. I hope¡­ I hope somehow, someday, you can find it in your heart to forgive me, even if I don¡¯t deserve it.¡±


    Thomas stood there, feeling the weight of his words hang in the air, his heart aching with the pain of his own failures. He looked at her, eyes filled with regret, hoping for a sign, any sign, that she could one day forgive him, even as he knew it would never undo the hurt he had caused.


    Casey stood quietly, listening to his father and Tommy, his emotions churning inside him. He hadn¡¯t known the full story until recently, and the shock of it all still weighed heavily on him. Hearing his father¡¯s apology, the regret in his voice, only stirred up more complicated feelings. There was still anger¡ªanger at the years he spent believing Emmy was dead, anger at being kept in the dark.


    But now, there was also a sense of loss, a deep sadness for the sister he thought he¡¯d never see again.


    His eyes flicked to Emmy, trying to gauge her reaction. She looked composed, but he knew that didn¡¯t mean she was fine. How could she be? The thought of what she had gone through, the danger she faced, and the life she had to leave behind tore at him. It was hard to fathom how much she had suffered, all because of choices that were made without her.


    He felt helpless, wishing he could have been there for her, wishing he could somehow make up for all the lost time and pain.


    He then felt a tear slide down his cheek, but he didn¡¯t wipe it away. He wasn¡¯t sure what he was supposed to feel right now or how to make sense of everything. A part of him wanted to scream, to demand answers, to lash out. But he stayed still, knowing this wasn¡¯t the time for that. All he knew was that he was here for Emmy, whatever she needed, however long it took.


    He stayed silent, feeling the weight of the room, and the weight of the years they¡¯d all lost, a heavy knot forming in his chest that wouldn¡¯t go away. He just wanted to be there for her, to do the things he wasn¡¯t able to do all those years ago.

 Chapter 640: REALIZATION AND ACCEPTANCE

    But as she listened to her father¡¯s voice crack with regret and Tommy¡¯s guilt-laden apology, she realized she wasn¡¯t as healed as she believed. There was still hurt, still wounds that hadn¡¯t fully closed. She had told herself that what had happened didn¡¯t matter anymore. She had a new life, a life she had fought to build, a life full of love and happiness.


    And yet, hearing the words she had longed for back then, she felt a deep, old ache resurface. The pain she thought had faded was still there, buried beneath layers of time.


    She glanced at her father. His face was heavy with guilt, etched with lines that told the story of a man who had lived with regret for far too long. She looked at Tommy, her brother, who had stood by and let it all happen. For so many years, she had waited for them to acknowledge what they had done, but when she walked away from that life, she thought she no longer needed it.


    Yet here it was, the closure she hadn¡¯t known she was missing.


    It wasn¡¯t anger that filled her now; that had long since burned out. But there was still sorrow¡ªa deep sense of loss for what could have been. For the years she spent apart from them, for the family that had shattered and never fully pieced itself back together. Their apologies didn¡¯t undo the past. They didn¡¯t erase the betrayal or the danger she had been placed in.


    They couldn¡¯t give back the time she lost. But in this moment, they gave her something she hadn¡¯t expected¡ªa way to finally let go. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As her father spoke, she realized that this conversation wasn¡¯t about forgiveness for them¡ªit was about peace for herself. She had been carrying the weight of that betrayal for so long, even when she thought she had let it go. Hearing them own their mistakes, hearing their regret, didn¡¯t erase the past, but it allowed her to face it.


    She wasn¡¯t sure if full forgiveness would come today, or even ever, but she knew one thing for certain: she didn¡¯t want to carry this hurt anymore. She had made a beautiful life, one filled with love, and that life deserved all of her. For years, a small part of her heart had been locked away with the pain of the past. Today, hearing their apologies, she could feel that lock begin to loosen.


    Emmy took a deep breath, feeling lighter, as if some of the burden she¡¯d carried for so long had been lifted. This wasn¡¯t about absolving them completely¡ªit was about allowing herself to be free. Free from the resentment, from the shadows of what happened. She could see the weight they carried too, and in that moment, she realized they were all just people trying to find a way forward.


    She wasn¡¯t ready to say everything was okay, because it wasn¡¯t. But she was ready to start moving past it for real this time. Not just because she had to, but because she wanted to. For herself, for her family, and for the future she had worked so hard to create.


    Emmy took a deep breath, her gaze soft but steady as she spoke. ¡°I can¡¯t forget what happened,¡± she began, her voice calm. ¡°But I think I¡¯m ready to move forward. And if you¡¯re ready too, maybe we can find a way to be part of each other¡¯s lives again.¡±


    As Emmaline¡¯s words hung in the air, Anthony¡¯s shoulders visibly sagged, a breath he didn¡¯t know he was holding finally escaping him. His eyes, still clouded with guilt, softened with a glimmer of hope. It wasn¡¯t complete forgiveness, but it was more than he ever thought he¡¯d receive. He gave a small nod, his lips pressed together, as if afraid to speak and break the moment.


    Thomas looked down, his hands fidgeting in his lap. He blinked a few times, trying to process what she had said. Relief washed over him, though it was still tinged with the lingering guilt. He swallowed hard, knowing they still had a long way to go, but feeling grateful for even the smallest step toward reconciliation.


    Casey, standing a little off to the side, had tears brimming in his eyes. Unlike the others, he didn¡¯t hold back. Emmy¡¯s words were what he¡¯d needed to hear¡ªwhat he¡¯d been waiting for without realizing it. Without a word, he walked over to her, his emotions spilling over as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. He buried his face in her shoulder, the tears finally falling freely.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad, so, so glad,¡± Casey whispered, his voice cracking. ¡°Thank you for being alive, Emmy. Truly.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    As the Grimaldi family made their peace, one particular pair remained anything but at peace.


    After Wulfric was pulled aside by Aster¡¯s father, he expected to be taken to a private room where the man would express his disapproval of his courtship with his son. Instead, he found himself led to a vast, open field.


    He looked around the open field, noticing the tall grass swaying lightly in the breeze. Wildflowers dotted the landscape, and a few distant trees stood alone under the clear blue sky. They were now quite a distance away from the Townsend¡¯s house.


    And Wulfric honestly had no idea what they were doing here. Find your next adventure on m_v l|e-NovelFire.net


    ¡°Um, Uncle, can I ask why we¡¯re here?¡± he finally couldn¡¯t resist asking.


    The other looked at Wulfric and smiled. A smile that definitely didn¡¯t reach his one good eye. Wulfric suddenly had a bad feeling after seeing that.


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 Chapter 641: HIS EMOTIONS ON HIS SLEEVE

    ¡°But you¡¯re not just anyone. You¡¯re Aster¡¯s parents,¡± Wulfric said almost without hesitation, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, not even worth a second thought. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This response, something the other clearly hadn¡¯t even paused to consider, took Gage by surprise. He hadn¡¯t expected such a genuine reply, delivered so naturally. It sounded so sincere that, for a moment, Gage almost believed he meant it. No¡ªmaybe he truly did.


    From what he had observed earlier, this guy wasn¡¯t exactly the thinking type. He was the kind who acted first and thought later¡ªsomeone driven more by instinct and emotions than by logic or reason.


    Honestly, Gage would have preferred if he were sly and scheming¡ªit would make him easier to dislike. But this guy wore his emotions on his sleeve, and as much as Gage hated to admit it, judging whether his feelings for Aster were genuine would be as simple as talking to him. And Gage didn¡¯t like where that might lead.


    So, before he had the chance to soften and decide this guy wasn¡¯t all that bad, Gage knew he needed to stick to his original plan and do what he¡¯d intended from the start.


    ¡°Your Highness, how about a match?¡± he suggested with a smirk. ¡°Sometimes, the best way for men to understand each other is by trading punches. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Wulfric had more or less expected Aster¡¯s father to, for lack of a better word, want to beat him up. But to actually suggest a match outright? That caught him off guard. He almost blurted out a refusal on instinct, but thankfully, he stopped himself just in time.


    If he declined without a good reason, he¡¯d definitely look bad in front of Aster¡¯s father¡ªand he¡¯d already shown enough of his foolish side to Aster¡¯s family since arriving on this planet. The last thing he wanted was to make a fool of himself again.


    So, before answering, he took a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Uncle. Yes, I know you don¡¯t want me to call you this, but there¡¯s really nothing else I could call you without being too disrespectful. Of course, Mr. Townsend is also a viable choice. But both Aster and Reas are Townsends as well. So, it would feel like I¡¯m calling them that as well.


    Which would be weird. And¡­ Sorry, I¡¯m rambling.


    ¡°The thing is, I can¡¯t fight you. With my physique, it¡¯s certain that I will win. And that¡¯s not me underestimating you, I¡¯m simply stating a fact. So, if you really want to hit me, go ahead. I¡¯ll stand here and take it. No need to worry about any consequences¡ªI¡¯m giving you full permission.


    Just let me know when you¡¯re ready.¡±


    ¡°Why, how generous of you, Your Highness,¡± Gage replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°You¡¯re not saying that just so you can play the victim in front of Aster later, are you? Then complain about how I beat you up unfairly?¡±


    Wulfric wanted to deny that, but he couldn¡¯t. Because a part of him was really planning to do just that. He imagined how good it would be if Aster started to fuss over him. Being discovered by Aster¡¯s father like this both felt embarrassing and also filled him with guilt.


    Seeing Wulfric¡¯s reaction, Gage let out a dry laugh. This guy. He wasn¡¯t sure whether to be annoyed or amused. It would have been easy for Wulfric to deny the accusation, to simply say, ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± But instead, his face gave everything away. It was almost comical¡ªjust as Gage had said, amusing in its own way.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Gage said, cracking his knuckles. ¡°I¡¯ll come at you, but you don¡¯t have to just stand there. Dodge my attacks for ten minutes. Then¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m off the hook?¡± Wulfric cut in, his voice laced with hope.


    Gage scoffed. ¡°You wish. This is what you get for being interested in my son. Starting to regret it yet?¡±


    ¡°No! Even if you asked me to walk through fire, I wouldn¡¯t regret it for a second,¡± Wulfric replied firmly.


    ¡°Alright, then. Let¡¯s get to it.¡±


    The moment Gage spoke, he didn¡¯t wait for Wulfric to respond. Without hesitation, he dashed forward, aiming his first strike.


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    Gage moved swiftly, his fist cutting through the air toward Wulfric¡¯s face. Wulfric stepped back just in time, feeling the rush of air as Gage¡¯s punch missed by inches. Without pause, Gage followed up with a quick jab aimed at Wulfric¡¯s side. Wulfric twisted his body, dodging to the right, his feet light as he shifted his weight.


    Gage pressed on, not letting Wulfric gain any distance. A heavy swing came toward Wulfric¡¯s shoulder, but he ducked low, the blow grazing the air above him. Wulfric straightened quickly, taking a few steps back, but Gage was relentless. He moved in again, aiming a sharp kick at Wulfric¡¯s legs. Wulfric hopped back, narrowly avoiding the sweep.


    For a moment, Gage paused, then charged again, this time with a rapid series of punches. Wulfric leaned left, right, dodging each one with careful precision. His breathing was steady, eyes locked on Gage¡¯s movements. Gage threw a hard punch toward his chest, but Wulfric sidestepped at the last second.


    Gage¡¯s attacks were fast and forceful, but Wulfric avoided each one with sharp, calculated movements, always keeping one step out of reach.


    Gage realized Wulfric had adapted to his attacks, so he decided to change his approach. He threw a quick punch toward Wulfric¡¯s chest, fully expecting him to dodge. As predicted, Wulfric shifted to the side, but Gage was already one step ahead.


    Instead of following through, Gage used the momentum to spin sharply on his heel. As Wulfric moved to what he thought was a safe position, Gage came around with a powerful backhand. Before Wulfric could react, Gage¡¯s fist had already connected cleanly with his cheek!


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 Chapter 642: BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT

    His body instinctively surged forward, ready to launch a counterattack, but he forced himself to halt just in time. The strain of stopping his momentum was immense, to the point that his veins bulged across his neck and arms as his every muscle tensed.


    The sheer effort drove his left foot deep into the ground, leaving cracks in the earth as his leg acted like an anchor, holding him back with raw power.


    Wulfric took a few deep breaths, his fists clenching and unclenching as he struggled to regain control. He forced himself to calm down, silently reminding himself over and over that the man standing before him was Aster¡¯s father.


    Gage raised an eyebrow, watching Wulfric¡¯s reaction. As a soldier, he knew just how hard it was to restrain oneself from striking back after being hit. A soldier¡¯s body was trained to respond instantly when attacked, with muscles ready to spring into action. But standing still and resisting the urge to retaliate required far more control than most would expect.


    Not to mention someone like the prince, with an SSS-level physique. For someone with a body like his, fighting back after being hit would be as natural as breathing. Yet, surprisingly, he was holding himself back with impressive restraint.


    And Gage knew exactly why the prince was even trying this hard. He wished he didn¡¯t, but he did.


    He shook his head, deciding this was the end of the test. Though he was tempted to push further, doing so would be overkill, especially since he had already found the answer he was looking for.


    ¡°Alright, Your Highness, that¡¯s the end of the match.¡±


    Wulfric snapped his head towards Aster¡¯s father. His eyes widened and he asked in disbelief, ¡°¡­Really?¡±


    ¡°Unless you want to get punched in the face again?¡±


    ¡°No, no! Definitely not!¡± Wulfric quickly replied. As much as he enjoyed a good fight, if the opponent was the father of the person he loved, he¡¯d rather avoid it. A few seconds later, a thought struck him. His eyes lit up as he blurted, ¡°Wait¡ªUncle, does this mean you approve¡ª¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves, Your Highness,¡± Gage cut the other off. ¡°And stop with the damn ¡®Uncle¡¯. I¡¯d rather be called by my name. This will be the last time I¡¯ll offer this to you. So you better take it before I change my mind. Because after this, your only option is to call me Mr.


    Townsend.¡±


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    Wulfric felt conflicted hearing that. Calling Aster¡¯s father by his first name felt strange, almost as if they were equals in age, which only emphasized the fact that he was older than Aster. Not that their age gap was significant, but still. On the other hand, opting for ¡°Mr. Townsend¡± felt even more awkward, if not worse. Either way, both were uncomfortable to him.


    But if he had to make a choice, then¡­


    ¡°Alright, Gage,¡± he said after much consideration.


    Aster¡¯s father raised an eyebrow at him before turning to leave. ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Wulfric called out before he could take another step. ¡°I just wanted to ask¡­ if you¡¯re okay with me pursuing your son.¡±


    Gage paused and glanced back. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m his father¡ªI¡¯ll never be completely okay with anyone pursuing him, especially someone like you. You¡¯re far from the ideal son-in-law, Your Highness. You¡¯re volatile and unpredictable. Who¡¯s to say you won¡¯t end up hurting my son?¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wulfric opened his mouth to defend himself, but before he could get a word out, Aster¡¯s father continued.


    ¡°As much as I hate to admit this, I can see that you genuinely like my son,¡± Gage went on, his gaze steady. ¡°More importantly, I¡¯ve been in love¡ªand still am¡ªso I know that look when I see it. And you have it. The look of someone in love. So, I¡¯ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But the moment my son says he wants you out of his life, you¡¯re gone.


    No questions. Understand?¡±


    With those words, Gage turned on his heel and resumed walking, not waiting for a response.


    Wulfric stood frozen, trying to process what had just happened. A mix of confusion and relief washed over him. He had expected a harsh rejection, maybe even another fight, but instead, he was given something he hadn¡¯t anticipated¡ªa chance. It wasn¡¯t exactly approval, but it wasn¡¯t outright refusal either. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should feel relieved or even more on edge.


    All he knew was that, for now, he had a chance to prove himself, and that was more than he had hoped for.


    Maybe, in time, Aster¡¯s parents would finally come to approve of him. Wulfric was determined to do whatever it took to make that happen. He had plenty of time to prove himself. Surely, over the next 10 or 20 years, they would see his sincerity and realize that he wasn¡¯t just a fleeting presence in Aster¡¯s life. He was in it for the long haul, and he would show them he was here to stay.


    After all, hadn¡¯t his sincerity already begun to chip away at Aster¡¯s father¡¯s defenses? The fact that he¡¯d gotten Gage to admit he could see his feelings for Aster was no small victory. That was a huge step forward. This had to be a positive sign, right?


    Wulfric ran forward to follow Aster¡¯s father. As soon as he stepped beside him, he said, ¡°Thank you, for giving me the benefit of the doubt.¡±


    Gage gave him a sideway glance. ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate yet. You haven¡¯t spoken to my wife yet. She probably would even chew me for letting you off easy.¡±


    Wulfric nearly stopped in his tracks. That was him going easy? Well, considering he¡¯d only been hit once and wasn¡¯t left bruised and battered, there might be some truth to that.


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 Chapter 643: JUST ONE PUNCH?

    Gage gave Wulfric a sideway glance. ¡°Don¡¯t push it, kid. I¡¯m already regretting the fact that I only punch you once. Don¡¯t make me regret my decision.¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t take offense. In fact, he felt oddly pleased by the exchange. Aster¡¯s father wasn¡¯t addressing him as ¡®Your Highness¡¯ with that biting sarcasm anymore. For once, their conversation felt almost¡­ normal. That had to be progress, right?


    ¡°Do you think she will also feel my sincerity?¡± he asked instead.


    ¡°No comment,¡± Gage said.


    Although he wanted to argue that he didn¡¯t actually feel the prince¡¯s sincerity, that would be a lie. So, it¡¯s better to stay silent rather than to inflate this guy¡¯s ego.


    Wulfric didn¡¯t press the issue. He had just started to get on Gage¡¯s good side, and the last thing he wanted was to be pushed off it just as quickly. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t here during your first ¡®visit,¡¯ but I heard you left quite the impression,¡± Gage said after a moment. ¡°You¡¯re such a piece of work that my wife is convinced you¡¯re nothing but a menace. So, brace yourself¡ªwinning her over is going to be way more difficult than the fight we just had.¡±


    Hearing that, Wulfric suddenly felt nervous. No, it wasn¡¯t really sudden. Let¡¯s just say that it only intensified what¡¯s already there.


    He knew dealing with Aster¡¯s mother would be tough. But being reminded again that one of the reasons she might oppose his potential relationship with Aster was because of his past actions only made him feel more uneasy.


    Surely, it wouldn¡¯t be a complete disaster, right? After all, his conversation with Aster¡¯s father had gone surprisingly well. That had to count for something. Maybe this was a sign he shouldn¡¯t be so pessimistic.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to change Aunt¡ª I mean, Mrs. Townsend¡¯s opinion of me,¡± Wulfric said, quickly correcting himself, but his sincerity was clear in every word.


    Gage only raised his brow at him. ¡°Good luck with that.¡±


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    ¡°By the way, is there a chance I could see some of Aster¡¯s childhood photos?¡± Wulfric asked, his tone a mix of hesitation and hope.


    It was something Wulfric had been looking forward to ever since he found out they were coming here. He¡¯d always been curious about what Aster looked like as a child, but never found the right moment to ask for a photo. Now that they were visiting Aster¡¯s home, he figured it was the perfect chance to finally catch a glimpse of at least one childhood picture.


    Gage glanced at Wulfric and noticed the hopeful look in his eyes. If it had been anyone else, he might have been tempted to pull out his Terminal and show a few of Astrid¡¯s childhood photos right then and there. But considering it was the prince, temptation was the last thing he felt. In fact, he wanted to punch the other once again. But he held himself back and said instead;


    ¡°So, how did you fall for Aster? Was it love at first sight?¡±


    It was something Gage had always been curious about. Given the prince¡¯s notorious reputation, it was hard to imagine him in connection with the word ¡®love.¡¯ Yet here he was, clearly head over heels for Astrid. Naturally, Gage couldn¡¯t help but wonder how it all happened.


    Wulfric hadn¡¯t expected Gage to ask such a question. But since it involved his feelings for Aster, he knew he needed to give a thoughtful and genuine response.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it was love at first sight. What I do know is that, somewhere along the way, it just happened. One day, I woke up and realized how much Aster meant to me¡ªhow he had become the most important person in my life. And from that moment, all I could think about was spending the rest of my life with him.¡±


    Gage had expected an answer along those lines, but it still caught him off guard. Maybe it was the way the prince said it so bluntly, without hesitation, or the fact that he didn¡¯t even flinch as he spoke. It was surprising how straightforward and certain he sounded.


    But maybe he shouldn¡¯t have really been surprised. With the way this guy seemed to forget half his intelligence when it came to Astrid, it made sense. It was like all logic went out the window whenever Astrid was involved.


    Though Gage appreciated the honesty, that didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t irritate him. They were talking about his son, after all. As a father, it was only natural to feel a bit annoyed at the person trying to steal his child away.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope Aster sees the light and tells you to piss off soon,¡± Gage said. His tone was serious, but if you listened closely, there was a hint of teasing beneath it.


    Wulfric wanted to argue, but in the end, he simply said, ¡°When Aster sees the light, it¡¯ll be the moment he finally accepts my feelings.¡±


    Gage looked at him for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. It was so exaggerated that Wulfric couldn¡¯t tell if it was real or fake.


    Gage¡¯s laughter cut off abruptly, his expression turning serious as he looked Wulfric dead in the eye. ¡°You¡¯re really making me want to punch you again.¡±


    ¡°You can punch me again. I promise not to dodge,¡± Wulfric said seriously.


    Gage only shook his head at that.


    Soon, they reached the house and headed for the back door. As they stepped inside, they were surprised to find Emmy standing right there. It looked like she had been on her way out, pausing mid-step when the door swung open.


    She looked at Gage, then at Wulfric. Particularly at the redness on Wulfric¡¯s cheek. Arching a brow, she turned to her husband and said;


    ¡°Just one punch?¡±

 Chapter 644: TEA

    WITH just one phrase, Wulfric felt his entire body freeze. It was as if Aster¡¯s mother was silently demanding, ¡®Why didn¡¯t you beat him senseless?¡¯ Was she really expecting Gage to leave him battered and bruised? No¡ªwhy was he even questioning it? The answer was glaringly obvious: of course, she did. She probably wanted him bloodied.


    That first impression must have completely shattered his image in her eyes. He regretted how he had acted back then¡ªlike a complete jerk, entitled and brash. If he¡¯d just behaved more like a decent person, maybe things would be different now. Maybe Aster¡¯s mother wouldn¡¯t be so fiercely against him.


    If he could go back, he¡¯d handle things with more care, show respect, and prove he wasn¡¯t the person she still thought he was.


    But there was no time machine, no way to undo the past. He could only lie in the bed he¡¯d made. Now, the best he could do was prove that he could be better, at least for Aster. Even if he couldn¡¯t change how he treated everyone else, he could honestly say he would be good to Aster¡ªand that had to count for something.


    Just as Wulfric was trying to fortify his resolve, he heard Gage say:


    ¡°Well, His Highness here dropped to his knees and swore his feelings for Aster were true and sincere. He even looked like he was about to cry like a baby. If I¡¯d kept punching him after that, it would¡¯ve felt like kicking a dog while it¡¯s down. What could I do? My soft heart just couldn¡¯t bring myself to hit him any more after that.¡±


    Wulfric felt lightheaded when he heard what Gage had said. It was like listening to a story about himself, but none of it was real. He couldn¡¯t understand why Gage would make something like that up.


    But when Gage glanced at him, Wulfric suddenly understood. In that single look, it was as if Gage was silently telling him, ¡®I just handed you a huge opportunity¡ªdon¡¯t waste it.¡¯


    And before he could even think it through, the words just tumbled out of his mouth: ¡°Yes, I got down on my knees like a dog and cried like a baby!¡±


    Gage nearly choked on his own spit when he heard the prince¡¯s words, staring at him in shock. What was this guy saying? When he looked at Wulfric earlier, all he meant to convey was, ¡®See how kind I am? I¡¯m even trying to make you look good in front of my wife.¡¯ He never expected the prince to willingly make a fool of himself, as if he¡¯d completely abandoned any sense of pride.


    In that moment, Gage finally believed the prince was truly sincere about his feelings for Aster. Because why else would he be able to say something so humiliating with a straight face, unless he genuinely loved him? S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, Gage didn¡¯t know if he should be annoyed or impressed.


    Emmy raised an eyebrow at the prince¡¯s words, clearly surprised. That was definitely not the reaction she had expected. She couldn¡¯t decide whether to commend him for saying it with a straight face or to throw something at him, simply because she felt irritated just by looking at him..


    In any case, that wasn¡¯t the issue right now. ¡°Please follow me, Your Highness. Let¡¯s have a talk.¡±


    She walked forward, passing by Wulfric and Gage, and exited through the back door.


    Wulfric watched her back, feeling complicated. Now that he would finally have to talk to Aster¡¯s mother, he suddenly remembered the ¡®precautions¡¯ that Aster mentioned before.


    He glanced at Gage and asked, ¡°Ahm, your wife wouldn¡¯t poison me, right?¡±


    Gage blinked, then nearly burst out laughing. Feeling generous after his earlier kindness, he couldn¡¯t resist teasing. ¡°Who knows, if she offers you tea, you¡¯d better be careful. But don¡¯t forget¡ªyou still have to drink it, or she¡¯ll be even madder.¡±


    Wulfric gulped and the nodded seriously. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Gage shook his head in amusement as he watched the prince follow his wife. Who would have thought that this so-called ¡®terrifying¡¯ prince was really just a fool¡ªa fool hopelessly in love with his son?


    He caught himself and clicked his tongue. Why did it feel like he was actually warming up to the guy? Tch. That couldn¡¯t be possible, right? Shaking off the thought, he turned around, deciding to go say ¡®hi¡¯ to his in-laws. If his wife was already here, that meant her talk with her father and brothers was over.


    Now, it was his turn to have a chat with them.


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    Wulfric came to an abrupt stop when he saw Aster¡¯s mother seated at a much smaller table than the one they had used for breakfast. His eyes landed on the teapot and cups arranged neatly on the table, and he instantly froze.


    A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind in that moment. Why was there a teapot and cups already set when Aster¡¯s mother had been waiting for them inside the house, not out here in the garden? Unless¡­ she had planned this in advance.


    Did that mean he was actually about to be poisoned? The thought sent a chill down his spine.


    Noticing him standing there frozen, Emmy glanced up and said, ¡°Your Highness, please have a seat.¡±


    Left with no choice, Wulfric took a deep breath and sat down opposite the other.


    Wulfric¡¯s body tensed as Aster¡¯s mother calmly poured him a cup of tea. When she gently pushed the cup toward him, he could only stare at it, hoping that if he looked long enough, the tea inside might magically vanish.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Your Highness? Don¡¯t you like tea?¡± Emmy asked, noticing how intensely the prince was staring at the cup, as if he could burn a hole through it with his gaze.


    ¡°No, no, I love tea!¡± Wulfric quickly said.


    He picked up the cup, not noticing the slight tremble in his fingers. After a brief pause, he slowly raised it to his mouth, his body tensed all over as he took a small sip.


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 Chapter 645: NOTHING WOULD EVER FEEL COMPLETE

    She picked up her cup and took a sip. Her eyes followed the prince as he lifted the cup to his lips. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t give much thought to how someone drank their tea, but something about the way he did it caught her attention. His brow creased ever so slightly, and his fingers trembled as they clutched the delicate porcelain, as if he were about to sip something far deadlier than mere tea.


    Like poison or something.


    Wait¡ª poison?


    A ridiculous, yet amusing thought suddenly crossed her mind. If she was wrong, no harm done. But if she was right, she might just have the chance to make this arrogant prince more uncomfortable than he¡¯d ever been in his life. And wouldn¡¯t that be worthwhile? That¡¯s a small price to pay for daring to covet her son.


    ¡°Is it the tea to your liking, Your Highness?¡± she asked in a gentle voice.


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±


    Frankly, Wulfric couldn¡¯t taste a thing. He wasn¡¯t even sure if he had actually sipped the tea or merely pretended to. The irrationality of his own anxiety left him bewildered¡ªwhy was he so on edge over the thought that Aster¡¯s mother might have poisoned his drink?


    If he were an ordinary person, it would make sense. But he wasn¡¯t. He was one of only two royals left in the Empire. Assassination attempts, including poisoned food, had been a part of his life since childhood. So why would the thought of a poisoned cup of tea unsettle him now?


    He could think of only one reason: her identity. And it wasn¡¯t about her being a Grimaldi¡ªit was because she was Aster¡¯s mother.


    Poisoning his drink was no different from trying to kill him. On the battlefield, two opposing forces trying to take each other¡¯s lives was understandable, even expected. But here, in a peaceful garden, sipping tea? Such an act was nothing short of an assassination attempt on a prince¡ªa crime punishable by death.


    The three captains he¡¯d brought with him, however unreliable they might seem, would be the first to eliminate any threat to Wulfric¡¯s life. The last thing he wanted was a standoff between them and Aster¡¯s family. Especially when he had only just managed to get into the good graces of Aster¡¯s father! Continue your journey with m|v-l¡¯-NovelFire.net


    If Emmy could read Wulfric¡¯s thoughts right now, she might have burst out laughing. Who would have guessed that the fearsome prince had such an overactive imagination?


    But since she couldn¡¯t read them, she could only proceed with her plan.


    ¡°Then, please feel free to drink all of it,¡± she continued with a smile. ¡°Every last drop.¡±


    Wulfric felt the hairs on his nape rise as Aster¡¯s mother spoke, her smile calm, but her words carried an undertone that concealed something far more unsettling. Sure enough, this tea was really poisoned!


    Yet despite knowing the truth, he couldn¡¯t simply refuse. If he did, wouldn¡¯t her opinion of him sink even lower? She might think his feelings for her son weren¡¯t genuine. To prove his sincerity, he had no choice but to drink the poisoned tea. After all, the one thing he couldn¡¯t allow was for anyone to question his feelings for Aster.


    So what if he was poisoned? With his strong constitution, he knew he wouldn¡¯t die so easily. He was confident that as long as he proved his sincerity to Aster¡¯s mother, she would eventually give him the antidote. After all, she wouldn¡¯t risk disrupting her peaceful life just to get rid of a future son-in-law she disapproved of.


    Without further ado, Wulfric picked up the cup and drained its contents in a single gulp. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He couldn¡¯t actually taste any poison in the tea, though that could easily have been his nerves dulling his senses. Yet even after finishing it, he didn¡¯t feel any different. Was it possible the poison was one of those slow-acting types?


    What Aster¡¯s mother said next answered his question.


    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯ve likely realized by now that I¡¯ve added something to your tea. It¡¯s tasteless and odorless, so I doubt you noticed. It will take effect in about ten minutes. In that time, I suggest you convince me that you¡¯re worthy of my son. If you fail to do so, well, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to endure some discomfort.


    Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t kill you¡ªyou¡¯ll just experience pain beyond anything you¡¯ve imagined. Surely, Your Highness doesn¡¯t mind that, right?¡±


    She delivered her words with a gentle smile, her tone light and almost casual, as if she were discussing something as mundane as the weather. Yet, beneath that warm exterior, there was an unmistakable edge, a quiet warning woven into every word. Her eyes gleamed with a steady assurance, making it clear that, despite the playful delivery, the threat was very real.


    Wulfric put down the cup. He had meticulously prepared a long speech in his mind, yet in the moment, not a single word came to him. Instead, he found himself speaking not from memory, but from the heart.


    He took a breath, his voice steady but filled with emotion. ¡°I know I¡¯ve made mistakes, and I know I¡¯m not perfect, but I love Aster more than I can put into words. He¡¯s changed me in ways I didn¡¯t even realize were possible. I¡¯ve never cared about being better, never felt the need to change for anyone. But with him, it¡¯s different.¡±


    He glanced down briefly, then looked back at Aster¡¯s mother. ¡°Aster makes me want to be better, but only for him. When I¡¯m around him, I¡¯m not the same person. I¡¯m not that entitled, reckless person who does what he pleases without thinking. Around him, I want to be someone who listens, who respects his boundaries, who sees the world the way he does.


    I¡¯m trying, not because I have to, but because I want to. Because he deserves that from me.¡±


    His voice softened, a hint of vulnerability creeping in. ¡°I know I didn¡¯t deserve him in the past, and maybe I still don¡¯t, but I¡¯m working to be better. He makes me see my flaws, but he also makes me want to fix them. Not for anyone else¡ªjust for him. When I¡¯m with Aster, I feel like I can be someone better, someone worthy of him. It¡¯s like he opens up a side of me that I didn¡¯t even know existed.


    If it¡¯s me in the past, I would have hated this. But surprisingly, I don¡¯t. All because it was Aster who brought this change.¡±


    He leaned forward slightly, his expression earnest. ¡°I love him, more than I¡¯ve ever loved anyone. I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to prove that, even if I have to keep showing it every day for the rest of my life. Aster is like the missing piece of my heart, the one that makes everything feel whole. Without him, nothing would ever feel complete.¡±


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 Chapter 646: THERES ALWAYS THE OPTION OF ASSASSINATION

    She truly hadn¡¯t expected this¡ªa confession so raw and honest. It unsettled her in ways she didn¡¯t want to admit. She had always thought of the prince as arrogant, reckless, and far too sure of himself. But now, listening to him speak about Astrid, she saw a side of him that made her uneasy, because she couldn¡¯t just dismiss it.


    The prince wasn¡¯t the man she had imagined, or at least, not entirely. He seemed¡­ different when he spoke about her son. It was clear he cared, more deeply than she¡¯d thought possible for someone like him. As much as she wanted to doubt his words, to hold on to the belief that he wasn¡¯t good enough for Astrid, she couldn¡¯t dismiss what he had said.


    Nor could she ignore how his expression only softened when he spoke about her son, a clear shift that wasn¡¯t there when he talked about anything else¡ªit didn¡¯t seem forced in the slightest.


    Emmy didn¡¯t want to believe it. She had been so ready to reject him, to protect Astrid from someone she was sure would only hurt him. But the more she listened, the harder it became to hold on to that certainty. This guy wasn¡¯t playing a part; no, he was laying himself bare, showing a vulnerability that surprised her.


    A part of her still wanted to resist, to tell him that he¡¯d never be good enough for her son. But, as much as it pained her to admit it, she could see that he did love Astrid. The stubbornness in her chest twisted with reluctance, but she couldn¡¯t deny it any longer.


    With a long, drawn-out sigh, Emmy leaned back slightly, crossing her arms as if bracing herself for what she was about to say.


    ¡°Fine,¡± she said, her tone grudging yet firm. ¡°I can see you care about him. I don¡¯t like it, and I¡¯m still not convinced you¡¯re the right one for Astrid. But¡­ I can¡¯t ignore what you just said. Just know this¡ªif you ever hurt my son, prince or not, you¡¯ll have to answer to me.¡±


    Wulfric secretly let out a quiet sigh of relief, feeling the tension in his chest finally begin to ease. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He had expected outright rejection, prepared himself for Emmy to shut him down entirely. But her begrudging acceptance, while not ideal, was a relief. It wasn¡¯t full approval, but it was something¡ªand that was enough for now.


    He knew this was only the beginning. He still had a long way to go to earn the trust of both of Aster¡¯s parents. But he was determined to prove that the chance they had given him today wouldn¡¯t be wasted. He would work hard, not just to show them he was worthy of their son, but to show them that he was capable of the kind of change Aster had already started to bring out in him.


    He stood up and gave a respectful bow toward Aster¡¯s mother. ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am. I promise I won¡¯t give you a reason to regret this.¡±


    Emmy raised an eyebrow. Ma¡¯am? This didn¡¯t sound like the same guy who had boldly called her ¡°mother-in-law¡± earlier. Still, she¡¯d much rather be addressed as ¡°ma¡¯am¡± than ¡°aunt¡± by him. He had a long way to go before she¡¯d ever be comfortable with that.


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    Unbeknownst to them¡ªor perhaps not entirely¡ªthere were others inside the house, quietly listening in on their conversation.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly intentional. All four men inside the house possessed heightened physical senses, and with the back garden not too far from the house, it was impossible for them not to overhear Emmy and the prince¡¯s conversation. So, of course, they heard everything.


    It was doubtful that Emmy didn¡¯t know they could hear. Choosing the back garden for this conversation almost seemed intentional, as if she wanted them to listen in. And the prince? He was certainly aware they were overhearing every word. The way he spoke, with such ease and confidence, without the slightest hint of hesitation, made it clear he wasn¡¯t embarrassed at all.


    In fact, knowing his personality, he was probably proud¡ªproud for everyone to know exactly how he felt about Astrid.


    Which made them feel very complicated. Especially after hearing Emmy¡¯s final verdict on the matter.


    ¡°Brother-in-law, are you¡­ also fine with this?¡± Casey asked Gage.


    After Emmy left the study, they remained behind, quietly processing the conversation they had just had with her. It was still hard for them to believe they were being given another chance to be part of her life. Grateful and relieved, they were simply thankful for the opportunity to make things right.


    A few minutes later, Emmy¡¯s husband entered the study. The initial greeting was awkward. With both his father and brother standing stiffly, Casey realized he had no choice but to take the initiative and strike up a conversation with his brother-in-law.


    Casey had never met Gage before, so he wasn¡¯t sure what to expect from him. But during breakfast, he got the impression that Gage was fairly easygoing. It was also clear that he was a devoted husband and father¡ªthe kind of man who would spoil his wife and children senseless.


    That was all that mattered to Casey, because it showed that his sister was truly loved and cared for.


    He had hoped to talk more with Gage, but when Emmy and the prince began their conversation, all four of them remained silent, deciding to quietly listen instead.


    And that brought them to Casey¡¯s question.


    Gage shrugged. ¡°¡®Fine¡¯ is not exactly the right word to describe it. More like both Emmy and I are probably in the ¡®wait and see¡¯ stage. If the prince proves his sincerity through his actions, then that¡¯s great. But if he fails and ends up hurting Aster¡­ well, there¡¯s always the option of assassination.¡±

 Chapter 647: ABOUT AS WELL AS IT COULD

    It wasn¡¯t as if their family lacked the power to carry out an assassination. Sure, they could lose most of their wealth in the process, and perhaps even become the Empire¡¯s most wanted. But what of it? The price would be worth paying. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t act unless the prince truly hurt Astrid.


    They exchanged glances, their eyes returning to Gage. This son-in-law/brother-in-law, was proving to be more reliable than they had anticipated.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Meanwhile, the group touring the farm had finished and was now heading back to the house, some of them carrying baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables. Edmund even held a box of eggs. These were gifts from the people they had met while walking around the farm.


    It was nearing lunchtime, and Astrid was planning to cook for everyone. The fresh vegetables they had just received would be perfect for the meal. Since it would be awhile before he had the chance to cook for his parents again, he wanted to make the most of this opportunity. With their departure set for the afternoon, he felt it was only right to prepare a meal for his parents before they left.


    He hoped the conversation between his mother and the Grimaldis had gone well. He didn¡¯t expect his mother to give full forgiveness¡ªhe knew the pain ran too deep for that. But more than anything, he hoped for healing. Not just for her, but for the Grimaldis as well. Both sides had been carrying the weight of past wounds for too long.


    Even if forgiveness wasn¡¯t possible yet, a step toward peace would be enough. It was time for those old scars to start healing, for everyone¡¯s sake.


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    And then, there¡¯s the other conversation.


    Astrid wondered how Wulfric¡¯s conversation with his father had gone. Did it go well at all? He hoped that, even if it hadn¡¯t, there was no violence¡ªor at least, it was kept to a minimum. Afterward, Astrid wondered if Wulfric had also spoken with his mother.


    Knowing her, there was no way she would have missed the chance to talk to him, especially since they were all leaving later that day and might not get another opportunity to talk this soon. Astrid was sure Wulfric would have wanted that conversation as well, no matter how difficult it might have been.


    Given Wulfric¡¯s straightforward nature, Astrid could only see the conversation going one of two ways. Either it would frustrate his parents to the point of raising their blood pressure, or they would simply give in, agreeing just to get him to stop talking.


    Of course, Astrid could be completely wrong, and maybe Wulfric had actually managed to sway his parents. Honestly, he hoped that was the case. It would be a relief not to feel like he was sneaking behind their backs every time he wanted to spend time with Wulfric.


    As they approached the house, the sound of voices drifted from the drawing room. It was clear that those who had stayed behind were gathered there.


    ¡°Brother Aster, I¡¯m going to tell Dad about our trip!¡± Nicol said, before dashing excitedly toward the drawing room.


    Astrid chuckled when he saw that. Anyone who saw the kid like that would think that they went on a grand adventure.


    ¡°Reas, let Mom and Dad know I¡¯ll be cooking lunch,¡± he said to his brother. Then he turned to Slade and Edmund. ¡°Captains, could I trouble you to bring the baskets to the kitchen?¡± S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Slade and Edmund, who were carrying the baskets of fresh eggs, vegetables, and fruits, nodded and followed Astrid to the kitchen. Reas headed toward the drawing room to relay the message as instructed. Left on his own, Hildred decided to join Reas, hoping to find Wulf there. He wanted to know how Wulf¡¯s conversation with Astrid¡¯s father had gone.


    Ah, he truly wished he was there when the two talked. How interesting that conversation would have been. He probably would have gotten a lot of laughs from it.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid scanned the fresh ingredients laid out before him, deciding what to use for the feast. He reached for the cabbage, its leaves crisp and perfect for stir-frying. Next, he picked up a knob of fresh ginger and a few cloves of garlic, setting them aside for chopping. Green onions followed, along with a handful of chili peppers that would add just the right amount of heat.


    He sorted through the vegetables, grabbing carrots and bell peppers, their bright colors promising a nice contrast in the dishes. The eggs, still fresh from the farm, were perfect for a light stir-fry. As he pulled out soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar from the pantry, he mentally pieced together the dishes he planned to make.


    Moving to the meat, he selected some fresh chicken and a slab of pork belly, imagining how each would pair with the vegetables and sauces. With everything set in front of him, Astrid was ready to begin.


    Just as he was about to start, the sound of footsteps caught his attention. Astrid turned to see his mother stepping into the kitchen. An automatic smile appeared on his face seeing her.


    ¡°Do you need any help?¡± his mother asked as she stepped closer.


    Astrid smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯d like to cook myself this time.¡±


    His mother didn¡¯t leave and sat down on one of the bar stools.


    ¡°How did your conversation with Uncle Casey and the others go?¡± Astrid asked while pulling out the pots and pans he needed.


    His mother sighed softly. ¡°About as well as it could, I suppose.¡±


    Astrid paused and turned to his mother. Though she had only said a few words, he actually got plenty from her response.


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 Chapter 648: YES, THERE IS

    But he was still glad that this was the decision his mother made in the end, as it would lead to personal healing. It meant that she was choosing herself¡ªher peace, her future¡ªover the pain of the past. And for that, Astrid felt a deep sense of relief and admiration for her strength.


    ¡°I¡¯m proud of you, Mom,¡± he could only say at the end. Because what else could he say?


    Words felt small in the face of everything she¡¯d been through, everything she¡¯d overcome. He wanted to say so much more¡ªto tell her how much her strength inspired him, how much he admired her resilience¡ªbut somehow, all of that seemed to fall short. So, he simply said those few words, hoping she understood what he meant.


    His mother paused for a moment, as if letting his words sink in. Then a radiant smile spread across her face. ¡°You¡­ shouldn¡¯t I be the one saying that?¡±


    Hearing his mother¡¯s playful response, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but grin. ¡°Oh? Are kids not allowed to be proud of their parents anymore?¡± he teased, his tone light but filled with warmth.


    They exchanged a glance and, as if on cue, burst into laughter together.


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    As Astrid began chopping the vegetables and meat, Emmy sat quietly, watching her son with a soft, thoughtful gaze.


    It had been nine months since her children left for the capital to pursue their dreams. Some might say it wasn¡¯t a long time, but for her and Gage, it felt like years. As parents, their concern never wavered, constantly wondering if their kids were safe, if they were eating well, or if they were happy in the path they had chosen.


    Every phone call and message reassured them, but it never completely silenced that quiet, lingering worry that only parents truly understand.


    In truth, between her two children, it was Reas she worried about the most. Astrid had always been the more mature and responsible one, while Reas, though he often appeared indifferent, had a far more fiery temper. She couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that if trouble were to find one of them, it would likely be him.


    Astrid had a way of handling things calmly, but Reas¡ªhe had a tendency to act before thinking, and that had made her constantly worry.


    But who would have thought that the one to bring trouble, not through his own actions but by attracting the attention of a prince, would be Astrid? Of course, Astrid wasn¡¯t to blame. How could it be his fault for being brilliant, talented, and undeniably beautiful? Honestly, it would have been more surprising if the prince hadn¡¯t been captivated by him.


    And so, here they were¡ªthe prince, standing in their home, boldly professing his love for her son without the slightest hesitation or stumble. He had even willingly downed an entire cup of what he believed to be poisoned tea, all to prove the depth of his love for her son. If Emmy hadn¡¯t been certain this was all unfolding in real time, she might have thought it was just a fever dream.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about how the conversations your dad and I each had with the prince went?¡± she asked curiously.


    Astrid had asked about her conversation with Casey and the others, but he hadn¡¯t mentioned the prince. That¡¯s why she wondered if Astrid was simply being considerate, thinking that asking about the prince might annoy her. Or he was simply confident that the conversation went well.


    Maybe it was a bit of both. Still, Emmy wanted to be sure. She needed to understand her son¡¯s true feelings toward the prince¡ªwhether it was merely a platonic connection that would never evolve, or if it had the potential to grow into something deeper.


    Regardless of the answer, she had already resolved to respect Astrid¡¯s decision. It certainly helped that the prince¡¯s feelings for her son seemed truly sincere. If that hadn¡¯t been the case, she would have been the first to tell Astrid to cut off all ties with him. Knowing her husband, she was certain that he also felt the same as her.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean the prince was out of the woods just yet. He was still very much under observation. If he continued to prove the sincerity of his feelings, then that would be wonderful. But if he changed somewhere along the way, and Astrid no longer held the same place in his heart, then she and Gage would do everything in their power to protect their son and distance him from the prince.


    After all, both of their children deserved nothing less than the best.


    Astrid stopped chopping and turned to his mother, his expression thoughtful for a moment. After a brief pause, he responded, ¡°Well, since he¡¯s still very much alive, I think it went well?¡±


    Emmy chuckled at that. ¡°Yes, considering your dad only gave him one punch, I¡¯d say it actually went quite well.¡±


    Astrid had anticipated there might be some ¡®violence¡¯ involved, but hearing that his father had actually punched Wulfric left him feeling conflicted. Surely, with his SSS-level physique, Wulfric wasn¡¯t seriously hurt, right? But still, a part of Astrid couldn¡¯t help but feel a twinge of concern. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The prince is fine. It barely scratched him,¡± his mother said, as if reading his thoughts. Then she looked at him, her expression turning thoughtful and knowing. ¡°So, is there a chance you might return the prince¡¯s feelings?¡±


    Astrid hadn¡¯t expected his mother to be so direct, and the question made him pause, blinking a few times in surprise. He knew this was something he needed to answer thoughtfully. He didn¡¯t want her to think his response was anything less than sincere. So, after a moment, he met her gaze and replied:


    ¡°Yes. Yes, there is.¡±


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 Chapter 649: HIL TO THE RESCUE

    The moment took her back to her earlier conversation with the prince. In terms of expressing their true feelings, the two were clearly on the same wavelength.


    This left Emmy with mixed emotions. She had anticipated Astrid having a favorable opinion of the prince, especially after he told her and Gage that the prince wasn¡¯t as bad as they had assumed. But hearing Astrid openly admit that he might actually have a future with the prince still came as a major shock. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Knowing her son, Emmy was certain Astrid had carefully thought this through. He must have spent countless days and nights analyzing his feelings before arriving at this conclusion. Should she be relieved that Astrid hadn¡¯t fully decided to be with the prince yet? If the two had announced today that they were officially together, not only Gage, but even she might have had a heart attack.


    Even though she had promised to support whatever decision Astrid made, Emmy knew she still needed to prepare her heart and mind for it. Especially when that decision concerned her son¡¯s future partner. And even more so when that potential partner was none other than the prince of the Empire.


    In the end, she could only sigh and say, ¡°If you ever face any problems in the future, remember you can always come to me and your father. We¡¯ll do whatever we can to help. Your uncles and grandfather are in the capital too, so don¡¯t hesitate to reach out to them. I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be more than happy to help you however they can.¡±


    Astrid paused, then smiled. His mother¡¯s words were her way of saying she would support his decision. At least for now, it seemed she wouldn¡¯t strongly oppose his relationship with Wulfric. And if his mother was on board, his father would likely be as well.


    ¡°I will.¡± He put down the knife and gave his mother a quick, tight hug. ¡°Thank you, Mom.¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    Wulfric quickly covered his mouth with his hand, hiding the wide grin spreading across his face. Aster had just said there was a chance they could be together in the future. The moment he heard it, he nearly jumped up in excitement, but with everyone around, he managed to restrain himself. Even now, he was struggling to contain the joy bubbling inside him.


    Most of the people in the study wouldn¡¯t be too pleased to see him so happy. They still weren¡¯t fully supportive of the idea of him being with Aster. He couldn¡¯t really blame them for that¡ªthey cared about Aster, and their concern was natural. Out of respect for them, he chose to keep his obvious happiness in check.


    Although that seemed to not be helpful at all, because Casey suddenly said;


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t hide that ear-splitting grin on our account, Your Highness. We know how happy you must be right now.¡±


    Wulfric instinctively turned to Casey and noticed the frown on his face. It was clear he was upset about Aster¡¯s response. But since he couldn¡¯t direct that frustration at Aster, his anger was focused on Wulfric¡ªthe ¡®source¡¯ of all the trouble.


    ¡°I think Wulf is just trying to be considerate. Can we all take a moment to appreciate what a miracle that is?¡± Hildred said in a calm, gentle tone. ¡°I hope everyone here can see the positive influence Astrid is having on our captain. Sure, he might not be the ideal son-in-law in most people¡¯s eyes, but don¡¯t let your biases convince you he¡¯s the worst person in all four galaxies of the Empire.¡±


    Wulfric, along with Slade and Edmund, were caught off guard by Hildred¡¯s sudden remark. It was so unlike him. Usually, Hildred preferred to sit back and quietly enjoy the spectacle from the sidelines, not step into the spotlight like this.


    Hildred, noticing their gaze, turned to them. ¡°What? Can¡¯t I give some moral support to Wulf?¡±


    In reality, Hildred was growing tired of the constant snide remarks aimed at Wulf that he¡¯d been hearing since the start of this journey. It had been entertaining at first, but over time, it became more irritating than amusing. As he¡¯d pointed out, Wulf wasn¡¯t the worst person out there. Sure, he had his flaws¡ªsome temper issues, and he could be a screw-up at times.


    But wasn¡¯t everyone flawed in one way or another? It didn¡¯t sit right with Hildred that they were treating Wulf like some common criminal.


    Especially after hearing the conversation between Astrid and Emmaline¡ªeveryone here had heard it. Astrid, the one they were all trying so hard to protect, had openly said there was a chance he could be with Wulf. So why were they still acting so antagonistic?


    The funny thing was, it¡¯s not even Astrid¡¯s parents, who were the most against this right now. It¡¯s Cassius Grimaldi! The uncle Astrid hadn¡¯t even known for that long. Yes, maybe this was a form of compensation. To show everyone that he was a good uncle. He could do that, sure.


    But in Hildred¡¯s opinion, he¡¯s overcompensating.


    Edmund, still not fully grasping the situation but eager to support Wulfric, chimed in, ¡°Hil is right! I mean, yeah, the general can be a bit¡­ rough around the edges. He¡¯s always shouting, scowling at people for no reason, and sometimes he¡¯s a little, uh, reckless. But he¡¯s also super reliable, always gets things done, and, well, he cares about the people close to him!


    That¡¯s gotta count for something, right?¡±


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    Everyone turned to Edmund after he finished, their expressions ranging from confusion to amusement. The general raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that seemed to sarcastically say, ¡®Thanks for the glowing endorsement.¡¯


    Meanwhile, Hildred burst into laughter. ¡°Oh, Ed. You really are adorable.¡±

 Chapter 650: PEACEFUL LUNCH

    AFTER Astrid finished cooking, the food looked incredible. The dishes were vibrant with color¡ªperfectly roasted vegetables, golden-brown meat, and steaming bowls of rice. The aroma filled the room, a mix of savory spices and fresh herbs that made everyone¡¯s stomachs growl. The table was laid out neatly, with each dish looking like it had been prepared with care.


    Compared to the earlier breakfast, which was filled with awkward silence and tension, the atmosphere at lunch was different. People were more relaxed, and the air felt lighter. There were no heavy pauses or uncomfortable glances, just a quiet sense of calm as everyone waited for the meal to begin. Whatever had weighed on them earlier seemed to have faded, leaving the room in a much more peaceful state.


    Wulfric couldn¡¯t have cared less about the change in mood. What mattered to him was finally sitting beside Aster. It hadn¡¯t been easy, either. He had to go head-to-head with Nicol, the kid who seemed just as eager to grab that spot. But after a short struggle, Wulfric¡¯s persistence paid off. He managed to outlast the brat and claim the seat on Aster¡¯s left, feeling very satisfied with his small victory.


    Of course, Nicol had been glaring at him since. But he didn¡¯t care. He was already used to being glared at by a member of the Grimaldi family. A little kid added to that made no difference to him.


    Now that he was sitting beside Aster, Wulfric could finally tend to him during the meal. As soon as lunch began, he started placing food on Aster¡¯s plate and pouring him tea, making sure everything was within reach. The way he was acting, one would think this was his home, and he was the one who cooked the meal instead of the other way around.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but be amused by Wulfric¡¯s attentiveness. A small smile tugged at his lips as he turned to him and said, ¡°Thanks, Wulf.¡±


    Wulfric simply grinned in response and then began eating as well.


    Seeing this, Gage and Emmy exchanged glances. In that brief moment, they both knew exactly what the other was thinking. It seemed there was no denying it now¡ªthe likelihood of the prince becoming their future son-in-law was looking higher than ever. Both of them could only sigh helplessly at the thought.


    The one likely feeling the most conflicted was Casey. He still struggled to accept the idea that his nephew might genuinely want to be with the prince. Yet, watching them sit side by side now was like a glaring neon sign, telling him it was time to face the reality. But he honestly didn¡¯t know how to.


    Maybe that captain from the prince¡¯s army had a point earlier¡ªCasey was letting his prejudice cloud his judgment. But it wasn¡¯t something he could just switch off. His bias wasn¡¯t only based on the prince¡¯s bad reputation, but also on a deep-rooted dislike of the royal family itself. The latter one was mostly because of how the current Emperor was slowly giving back power and influence to the Lancasters. Enjoy new adventures from m-v l¡¯e|-NovelFire.net


    On top of that, Casey was feeling especially overprotective of his nephews, particularly Astrid and Reas, whom he had only recently met. Having missed out on the first 19 years of their lives, he felt an overwhelming need to make up for lost time and protect them, even if it meant questioning their choices.


    He knew that if he kept this up, it was only a matter of time before his nephews started to dislike him. Shaking his head, Casey realized he needed to dial it back if he didn¡¯t want to earn the title of the ¡®annoying uncle.¡¯


    He glanced at the prince again. Maybe the first step was to ease up on his antagonistic attitude toward him.


    As lunch went on, small talk filled the table. The conversation flowed easily, from Reas¡¯ experiences at the military academy to the details of Astrid¡¯s upcoming movie premiere. Nicol joined in, becoming the center of attention as he animatedly shared stories about his school life and some funny events that had happened recently. His lively storytelling kept everyone entertained, particularly the elders, who seemed to enjoy his enthusiasm. Emmy, in particular, found his energy refreshing, a noticeable contrast to her stern older brother.


    She couldn¡¯t help but wonder where Nicol got this cheerful attitude. It certainly didn¡¯t seem to come from Tommy, her serious and often reserved brother. Perhaps it was something he inherited from his mother. Now that she thought about it, Emmy realized she hadn¡¯t heard much about Tommy¡¯s wife. It made her wonder whether everything was fine between them¡ªsurely, they weren¡¯t divorced, were they? She made a mental note to ask about it later.


    Once everyone had finished eating, Reas suddenly turned to his parents. ¡°Mom, Dad, could we take a walk outside? I have some news I¡¯d like to share with you.¡± sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid raised an eyebrow when he heard that. Looking at his brother¡¯s expression, he had a certain idea of what the other would talk about with their parents. It¡¯s probably about Lauren.


    Ah, he really wanted to see his parent¡¯s reaction once they found out that Reas now had a boyfriend. But he decided to just be a good supportive brother instead.


    ¡°Go ahead, Mom, Dad. I¡¯ll clean up here,¡± he said.


    Both Gage and Emmy were still a bit confused as to what Reas wanted to tell them. It was clear, though, that he didn¡¯t want others to hear it, because if that¡¯s not the case, then he wouldn¡¯t have asked them to take a walk outside. With Astrid telling them to go ahead, they exchanged a brief glance before standing up and following Reas, who was already heading toward the back door.


    ¡°We¡¯ll help out with the clean-up as well,¡± Anthony stood up and said.


    Astrid glanced at the duke. ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I got this¡­ Grandpa.¡±


    It felt a little strange to call him that, but since his mother had already chosen to move on, it didn¡¯t feel right to keep addressing him as ¡®Your Grace.¡¯

 Chapter 651: TO STAY INDEFINITELY

    WHEN Astrid glanced up, he saw the duke¡ªno, his grandfather¡ªstanding there, utterly still, as if time itself had paused. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments before the other turned away, but not before Astrid caught the unmistakable shimmer of tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.


    Now it was Astrid¡¯s turn to freeze. He wasn¡¯t oblivious¡ªhe knew exactly what those tears meant. His grandfather was likely overwhelmed because it was the first time Astrid had addressed him by that title. Still, he hadn¡¯t expected to see the old man cry. It seemed so unlike him, so out of character. The moment left Astrid feeling awkward, uncertain of what to say next.


    But his awkwardness didn¡¯t last long, as his grandfather was the first to break the silence.


    ¡°Well then,¡± his grandfather said, his voice steadying, ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll go take a look around the farm.¡±


    Anthony quickly turned away before the tears in his eyes could spill over. He hadn¡¯t expected to be so overwhelmed with emotion just because Astrid called him ¡®grandpa.¡¯ But here he was, on the verge of breaking down. Could anyone really blame him, though? He had resigned himself to the idea that it might take years¡ªif ever¡ªbefore Astrid or Reas would call him by that name. He wouldn¡¯t have been surprised, given the consequences of his past actions. He had no right to demand that they see him as their grandfather. And yet, Astrid had just called him ¡®grandpa.¡¯


    Of course, Anthony knew that Astrid might not truly be accepting him. This could simply be Astrid making a compromise. He had overheard the conversation between Astrid and Emmaline, and from that, he gathered that Astrid¡¯s gentler attitude was likely influenced by her reassurance that things between them were ¡°alright¡± now. Astrid must have decided to move forward because of that. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even if that were true, it didn¡¯t diminish the emotional weight of hearing Astrid finally call him ¡°grandpa.¡±


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    Casey looked at his father¡¯s back. He couldn¡¯t help but raised a brow. Remembering the expression the other had earlier, he felt a bit complicated. Because it¡¯s not like the father he knew at all. But then again, since Nicol was born, his father had been acting differently¡ªsofter, more caring, showing emotions Casey hadn¡¯t seen before. Yet, despite it all, Casey had chosen to ignore the change. His anger had blinded him, making it hard to believe his father could truly change.


    But after today, there was no way he could continue convincing himself of that.


    Yes, people could change for the better¡ªhis father was living proof of that. But Casey also knew that some people were beyond redemption, like the old duke of the Lancaster family.


    There¡¯s really only one question here. He glanced at the prince. Could this guy really change? As he watched the prince gaze at Astrid, as if he were the only person in the room, Casey felt foolish for even asking. Hadn¡¯t the prince already started to change?


    Though a twinge of guilt tugged at him for constantly judging the prince, it didn¡¯t mean Casey was ready to lower his guard. If the prince ever hurt Astrid, he would be the first to ensure he never got close to his nephew again.


    But for now, he was willing to give the prince the benefit of the doubt.


    ¡°Thomas, Cassius, aren¡¯t you two planning to take a look around the farm?¡±


    His father¡¯s voice snapped Casey out of his thoughts. He turned and realized, with some surprise, that his father was still in the dining room. He hadn¡¯t even noticed.


    The other was looking at him and Thomas as if he was trying to say something. But Casey was never really that good at deciphering what his father was thinking, so he could only stare at the other. Good thing there¡¯s Tommy, who immediately responded;


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll join you.¡±


    Their father nodded, seemingly satisfied, before turning to Nicol with a much softer expression. His voice grew gentler as he said, ¡°Nicol, why don¡¯t you stay here with your brother Aster? Maybe you can help him clean up?¡±


    Nicol eagerly nodded. ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll help Brother Aster clean up!¡±


    After that, the three Grimaldi men also left the dining room. Not long after, Hildred pulled Edmund away, stating that they would also take a little walk.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll also¡ª¡±


    Before Slade could finish, Wulfric cut him off.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this cleaned up.¡±


    Slade glanced at the captain, clearly bewildered. ¡°Wait, are you talking to me, Captain?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am,¡± the captain replied, giving him a look that seemed to ask why he¡¯d even bothered asking something so obvious. ¡°Or are you planning to sit back and let Aster and this kid handle all the cleanup on their own?¡±


    Slade almost pointed out that Aster and Nicol wouldn¡¯t be left to clean up alone, considering the captain was still there. But he knew better. If he said that, the captain would undoubtedly ¡®punish¡¯ him with extra sparring sessions once they returned to Alluna.


    At the end, he could only sigh and say, ¡°No, I¡¯ll help.¡±


    Wulfric nodded. ¡°Good.¡±


    Watching this scene, Aster couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. He wanted to say that there¡¯s really no need for them to help, but he knew Wulfric would still insist on doing so. Not to mention, Nicol. So, he could only silently apologize to Slade for being dragged into helping.


    ¡ª¨C


    As Casey walked, he glanced around. They were still close to the house, so there wasn¡¯t much to see yet. His father was walking ahead, and as Casey watched his back, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the man even knew where he was headed. Surely, they wouldn¡¯t get lost on the farm, right?


    Once they were far enough from the house to be out of earshot, his father suddenly stopped and turned to face him and Tommy.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be returning to the capital with you,¡± the other suddenly announced. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to stay here indefinitely.¡±


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 Chapter 652: TALKING SOME SENSE

    BOTH Casey and Thomas turned to their father the moment he announced that he would be staying here indefinitely. Thomas looked like he wasn¡¯t sure if he heard that correctly, while Casey did not hesitate to look at their father as if he had gone crazy. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Father, are you saying you¡¯ll be staying in Delryria, or on this farm specifically?¡± Thomas asked, needing to be certain.


    Their father didn¡¯t seem bothered by the question and calmly replied, ¡°On this farm.¡±


    ¡°Ha! Old man, have you truly gone senile?¡± Casey burst out, his voice rising sharply in anger. ¡°Emmy just forgave you two. She chose to be the bigger person and move on from whatever wrongs you did. And now, here you are, trying to force yourself back into her life. Did you even ask her permission? Or is this just another decision you made on your own, without considering anyone else involved? Seriously, have you learned nothing from your past mistakes?¡±


    After saying all that, Casey felt like he should thump his chest just to release the frustration building up inside him. He had genuinely believed the old man had changed, that he¡¯d learned from his mistakes. But now, seeing him pull something like this? It felt like a direct slap in the face.


    Under normal circumstances, Thomas would have already reprimanded Cassius for speaking so disrespectfully to their father. But this time, he had to agree with his brother. It was a reckless decision that reeked of selfishness.


    As Cassius had pointed out, Emmaline had only just forgiven them. Taking a step like this without asking for her permission¡ªor even her opinion¡ªcould undo all the progress they had made. How could Thomas allow that to happen?


    ¡°Father, you should rethink this decision,¡± he advised. ¡°I understand you want to be part of Emmaline¡¯s life again, but this isn¡¯t the way to go about it.¡±


    ¡°Tommy, stop sugarcoating it. Just call it what it is¡ªa terrible idea,¡± Casey scoffed.


    Anthony glanced at his two sons. One stared at him as if he was making the worst decision of his life, while the other looked at him like he¡¯d lost his mind. He couldn¡¯t blame them; they both had a point. But it wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t thought this through¡ªhe had a plan. Still, he had to admit to one unforgivable mistake: he hadn¡¯t asked for Emmaline¡¯s permission.


    As his sons pointed out, he was falling into the same old patterns, repeating his past mistakes. Without their reminder, he might have severed the fragile thread they had only just managed to mend. Stay connected with m-v l|e¡¯-NovelFire.net


    But there was one thing he needed to clarify. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to stay here on the farm,¡± he said firmly. ¡°I¡¯m planning to buy a house nearby so I can visit Emmaline from time to time.¡±


    Maybe he could even lend a hand with the farm work, hoping it would help rebuild their relationship. But as Thomas had pointed out, he was going about it all wrong. The most important thing was Emmaline¡¯s opinion. He had no right to make decisions like this without consulting her first. Acting on his own like this was nothing short of foolish.


    ¡°But I will ask for her permission first before I continued on with this plan,¡± he added.


    Thomas let out a sigh of relief hearing that, while Cassius scoffed once again as if saying ¡®you better¡¯.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s a good idea, though? Buying property on this planet could draw attention from the people in Lancaster who¡¯ve been keeping an eye on us,¡± Thomas said after a moment¡¯s pause.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Anthony said, a hint of reassurance in his voice. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about that. I plan to buy the property under a different name, with no direct connection to us. That way, it won¡¯t raise any red flags with the people from Lancaster. I¡¯ve already set up a few discreet channels to make sure the purchase goes unnoticed. They won¡¯t have a reason to suspect a thing.¡±


    Casey felt a wave of relief wash over him. If Emmy agreed, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the Lancasters showing up and discovering she was still alive. The last thing he wanted was for his sister¡¯s hard-won peace to be disrupted.


    Wait¡ªif Emmy agreed, and their father could stay nearby¡­ A certain idea crossed Casey¡¯s mind, but he quickly shook his head and decided against it. As much as he wanted to spend more time with his sister, there was still too much work waiting for him back in the capital, especially with EMMA¡¯s new collection launching next month. And with Astrid as the face of the collection, he definitely couldn¡¯t leave the capital at that time.


    If he left the collection in someone else¡¯s hands, there was a risk that some fool might think they could mess with Astrid. Just like that one executive who had tried to interfere when Casey first chose him as the ambassador for their perfume line.


    No, he had to make sure everything was perfect for his nephew. That meant it would be a while before he could truly spend more time with Emmy, but that was okay. Things weren¡¯t like they used to be; now he could call his sister anytime he wanted. For now, that would be enough.


    Thomas secretly wished he could stay here, too. But with their father leaving the capital, the responsibilities of the duke would inevitably fall on his shoulders. Besides, Nicol was still in school, and he couldn¡¯t just disrupt his son¡¯s life for his own selfish reasons.


    In the end, both brothers could only exchange a weary sigh.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    On the other side¡­


    Reas stopped in his tracks once he was sure they were far enough from the house to avoid being overheard. He then turned to face his parents, his expression serious.


    ¡°Dad, Mom, I need to tell you something,¡± Reas began, his voice steady but tinged with nervousness. He took a deep breath, glancing between the two of them before continuing. ¡°I¡¯m dating someone.¡±

 Chapter 653: THEIR INNOCENT SON

    GAGE and Emmy blinked, their surprise so clear it was as if they hadn¡¯t heard Reas properly. He¡¯d always been more interested in Mecha, spending his time immersed in the VirtualNet, playing fighting games. He even decided to be a soldier because he wanted to be a Mecha pilot. The thought of him dating someone was the last thing they expected. They exchanged a quick, puzzled glance, almost as if silently asking each other, ¡®Did he really just say that?¡¯


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    Reas noticed their expressions and felt an inward sigh escape him. He¡¯d been so nervous about telling them, and this was how they reacted¡ªstunned silence and confused glances. He wasn¡¯t sure whether to laugh or cry. Was it really that shocking that he was dating someone now? Did they honestly think he¡¯d stay single forever?


    ¡°Mom, Dad, did you hear me?¡± he finally said, breaking the silence. He needed to be sure they hadn¡¯t misheard or convinced themselves they¡¯d imagined it, just because the idea of him dating seemed so unlikely.


    ¡°Uh, just to be clear,¡± Gage said, still processing, ¡°you said you¡¯re dating someone, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Reas responded unhesitatingly.


    Without warning, his mother slapped his arm, and she didn¡¯t hold back. But with his solid build, it barely made an impact. It felt more like a nudge than anything else.


    ¡°You brat,¡± his mother snapped. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go to the capital to study? And now, just a few months in, you¡¯re already dating?¡± Now that the reality had sunk in, she wasted no time launching into her scolding.


    Gage let out a sudden laugh. ¡°Why¡¯s that a problem? This is a good thing,¡± he said, his tone light. ¡°Everyone should get a chance to date while they¡¯re young.¡±


    Emmy glared at her husband. ¡°Why is your reaction so different from Astrid potentially dating the prince? This is discrimination. You should treat your children equally!¡±


    Gage scratched the back of his head, an awkward grin spreading across his face. ¡°It¡¯s not that, honey. I¡¯m just relieved Reas is actually interested in dating,¡± he said. ¡°Honestly, I was starting to worry he¡¯d end up marrying a Mecha someday. So, this is a bit of a relief. At least now I know he¡¯s¡­ well, normal.¡±


    Emmy almost nodded in agreement. It did make sense, after all. Ever since Reas was a child, right up through his secondary school years, he¡¯d never been the type to socialize much with kids his age. If it hadn¡¯t been for Astrid always being around, he probably would have been just fine keeping to himself.


    Still, going from that to suddenly dating someone felt like a huge leap, and Emmy wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good thing or not. They didn¡¯t even know who this person was. What if Reas had gotten involved with someone who wasn¡¯t good for him? What would they do then?


    She shot her husband a glare, annoyed that she had almost agreed with him. She understood his reasoning, but she also knew it was mainly because he wasn¡¯t worried about Reas being taken advantage of. Gage had too much confidence in Reas¡¯ physical strength. But not all harm was physical¡ªsometimes, a wound to the heart could be far more painful.


    It seemed he had to give her husband a thorough lecture on that later.


    But first, she needed to find out who this person Reas was dating.


    ¡°Who is it, this person you¡¯re dating?¡± Emmy asked. They probably wouldn¡¯t know who the other person was, but she still had to ask. ¡°Are they another military student?¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Given how unlikely it was for Reas to socialize with strangers in unfamiliar places, the military academy was the only place she could imagine where he might have met this person he was dating.


    ¡°Or are they someone you met in the VirtualNet?¡± she added.


    That¡¯s also quite plausible. With how Reas enjoyed doing Mecha battle, he might have met someone there who shared the same interest and that¡¯s how they started dating.


    But Emmy didn¡¯t expect the answer Reas was about to give.


    ¡°He¡¯s neither both. You probably know him, or at least, of him,¡± Reas started. ¡°His name is Lauren Watts. The actor Aster starred with in his first movie, [The Sleeping God].¡±


    Emmy and Gage were dumbfounded once again. Lauren Watts? If he was the same actor from The Sleeping God, then he was the handsome guy who played the villain in the film. He even won the Best Supporting Actor award at the same ceremony where Astrid took home Rookie of the Year.


    But¡­ wasn¡¯t he a known playboy?


    Although neither of them was deeply familiar with the entertainment industry, they made a point of learning about the people Astrid worked with. That way, if anyone ever tried to harm their son, they¡¯d be ready to act. After all, they¡¯d come to realize that the entertainment world wasn¡¯t all glamour and glitz; it had its fair share of shady sides, too.


    From their research, they knew a few things about Lauren Watts, and at the top of the list was his reputation as a notorious playboy. And now, Reas was telling them that he was dating him?


    But how did the two of them even meet?


    No, wait. Reas must have accompanied Astrid to the filming of [The Sleeping God] movie. Since Astrid filmed it at the time when he still didn¡¯t have an agency, Reas would have definitely accompanied him. Because there¡¯s no way he would let Astrid go there on his own.


    Could it have started back then?


    Reas might be strong physically, and very mature for his age. Or at least, in some way, he was. But in terms of things like romance and relationships, he¡¯s still very much like a kid. So, how did he end up dating a playboy?


    Could Lauren Watts have actually seduced their son? That seemed like the only explanation. What if he wasn¡¯t just dating Reas, but was seeing other people at the same time? How would their son handle that?


    By now, Emmy and Gage had conveniently forgotten that Astrid once mentioned he became friends with Lauren and that the rumors about him being a playboy weren¡¯t true.


    At this very moment, all they could think was that their innocent son was being led on by a playboy actor who might be cheating on him.


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 Chapter 654: CLEARING THINGS UP

    EMMY and Gage didn¡¯t know how to tell their son that the person he was dating might not be sincere. The fact that Reas had confided in them about this relationship spoke volumes¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t have brought it up if it were just a passing fling. That made it even harder for them. They knew how serious he was, and they were afraid of hurting him, but they couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he was being taken advantage of. Finding the right words to warn him without crushing his feelings seemed almost impossible.


    The two exchanged a glance, silently communicating their shared worries.


    Emmy: What do we do?


    Gage: We have to tell him. You should start.


    Emmy: Why me? You¡¯re his father¡ªthis is your job.


    Gage: But you¡¯re better with words. You¡¯ll make it easier for him to hear. If I start, I¡¯ll probably mess it up and make things worse.


    Before they could decide what to do next, Reas suddenly spoke, breaking their quiet tension. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t do that silent thing where you talk with just your eyes. I can tell you have something to say, so just lay it on me. I promise, I will listen.¡±


    Emmy and Gage froze, exchanging another glance. This time, there was no time for silent conversation. Reas was looking at them expectantly, his expression serious but calm, waiting for whatever they had to say.


    Gage cleared his throat. But it was Emmy who finally spoke. ¡°Reas¡­ we¡¯re just worried about you. About this relationship.¡±


    Reas raised an eyebrow. What was there to be worried about? It wasn¡¯t like Lauren was anything like the general. So what problem could his parents have with him? He looked at them in confusion, then a sudden thought crossed his mind.


    Could it be¡­? No, that couldn¡¯t be it.


    Right?


    But he needed to be sure. Reas hesitated for a moment before asking, ¡°Are you worried that he¡¯s just toying with my feelings because of those rumors about him being a playboy?¡±


    Gage and Emmy almost said ¡°yes¡± instinctively, but then paused. If Reas was asking so directly, maybe he wasn¡¯t being played after all. Would he be this confident if Lauren really were toying with him? Could they have misjudged the situation?


    Reas looked at his parents with a helpless expression. If Lauren knew they were thinking this way about him, he¡¯d definitely be upset and might even tear up in frustration.


    As his boyfriend, it was his responsibility to clear up this misunderstanding. He couldn¡¯t let his parents continue with a bad impression of Lauren, could he?


    ¡°Mom, Dad, those are just rumors. They only started because Lauren is overly friendly,¡± Reas said, though he privately wished Lauren would tone that down a bit. ¡°If you asked Aster, he¡¯d tell you those rumors are nonsense. Besides, hasn¡¯t Aster already told you how he became friends with Lauren? Do you really think Aster would be close to him if he were some insatiable playboy?¡±


    Hearing that, Emmy and Gage both paused, realizing, ¡®That actually makes sense.¡¯ But was Lauren Watts really close with Astrid? As they thought back, fragments of conversations with Astrid came to mind¡ªstories about the friends he¡¯d made in the capital. And now it clicked: yes, Astrid had definitely mentioned Lauren Watts before.


    Both of them felt a wave of awkwardness. In the shock of learning that Reas was dating someone, they had pushed aside what Astrid had told them and immediately assumed the worst. It was just how parents tended to worry about their children, but now that they realized they¡¯d overreacted, it was more than a little embarrassing.


    Still, they needed to be certain and clear things up properly.


    ¡°Are those rumors really just rumors?¡± Emmy asked, her voice filled with concern.


    Gage also nodded, showing that he shared the same concern.


    Seeing their concern, Reas let out a quiet sigh. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure the rumors aren¡¯t true. Like I mentioned, Lauren¡¯s just overly friendly, and the media simply misinterpreted his actions. That¡¯s how those rumors started.¡±


    Emmy frowned. Overly friendly¡ªthose words again. If it was just part of Lauren¡¯s nature and not something he could control, would Reas really be okay with that? Having your partner be so familiar with others could easily lead to jealousy. Would her son be able to handle it?


    Gage seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he spoke up, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be alright with that? If his friendliness can easily be mistaken for flirting, it¡¯s probably more than just casual. Are you certain you won¡¯t get overwhelmed by jealousy?¡±


    Reas knew his father meant well and was only concerned for him, but the words still struck a nerve. Because deep down, he knew his father had a point. Lauren¡¯s overly friendly nature was exactly the kind of thing that could easily make him jealous.


    He had already been thinking about bringing this up with Lauren, but he knew he couldn¡¯t just demand him to change. Aside from the fact that it wouldn¡¯t be fair, Lauren¡¯s friendliness was part of who he was. Trying to change that would feel like trying to change a core part of him, and Reas didn¡¯t want that.


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    So, he should be the one to adjust.


    ¡°I can handle it,¡± he said in response to his father¡¯s question. ¡°Besides¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t help but smile, remembering the look on Lauren¡¯s face the day he confessed. ¡°Even if he¡¯s friendly with others, I¡¯m confident I¡¯m the only one who could make his heart flutter.¡±


    Both Emmy and Gage were caught off guard by Reas¡¯s confident declaration. Emmy couldn¡¯t resist stepping closer to her son and pinching his cheeks.


    ¡°Who is this charmer, and what did you do to my son?¡± Emmy said. ¡°Where did you even learn to be a smooth talker like that?¡±


    Gage cleared his throat. ¡°Ahem. I think we both know where he got it from.¡±


    Emmy shot him a look, rolling her eyes. ¡°If I remember correctly, you were pretty rude to me when we first met.¡±


    ¡°Only at first,¡± Gage replied with a grin. ¡°But I turned on the charm soon enough. Isn¡¯t that why you fell for me?¡±


    Reas could only shake his head, watching his parents banter. At least it seemed like things with Lauren were finally cleared up.


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 Chapter 655: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING

    ¡°BROTHER Aster! It¡¯s really pretty here!¡± Nicol called from the treehouse.


    Astrid only offered a quiet smile and a wave from below. After the dishes were finally cleaned up, he casually suggested visiting the treehouse, a place he revealed to Nicol as his and Reas¡¯ secret hideout. That, of course, instantly sparked the kid¡¯s curiosity. And so, here they were.


    The real reason behind Astrid¡¯s suggestion was to shift Nicol¡¯s focus elsewhere, giving him the opportunity to have a private conversation with Wulfric. It seemed Wulfric had picked up on his intention, as he casually instructed Slade to follow Nicol, pretending it was just to make sure the kid didn¡¯t get into any trouble.


    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve found a way into my parents¡¯ good graces,¡± Astrid remarked, his voice low enough for only Wulfric to hear. He glanced over at him with a slight smile. ¡°Well done.¡±


    Wulfric rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. ¡°I did give it my best shot, but I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m in the clear just yet. Feels more like your parents have decided to put up with me for now.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than nothing,¡± Astrid said, her voice a mix of relief and concern. ¡°Honestly, I expected you to be in far worse shape. The fact that you got away with just one punch feels like a miracle in itself.¡±


    Hearing his words, Wulfric suddenly recalled what Aster had warned him about¡ªthe likelihood of him getting beaten up. The fact that he walked away almost unscathed should have really felt like a miracle. But physical wounds weren¡¯t the only kind of damage, were they?


    ¡°Can I include psychological damage? Because your mother surely did a number on me.¡±


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    Thinking back to the tea incident, Wulfric had been utterly convinced that the tea he was drinking was poisoned. Yet, in that moment, it didn¡¯t matter. All he could focus on was proving his feelings for Aster. Without a second thought, he drank it, determined and unwavering. But the weight of the psychological strain was immense. It wasn¡¯t until he finished the entire cup that he realized the truth¡ªthe tea was harmless. Aster¡¯s mother had only been testing him.


    If anyone else had done that to him, Wulfric would have undoubtedly retaliated. But because it was the mother of the one he loved, he couldn¡¯t even bring himself to get mad.


    Besides, Wulfric knew that Aster¡¯s mother hadn¡¯t acted out of malice. She did it out of love and concern for her son. So, what else could he do?


    Astrid glanced at Wulfric when he said that. Psychological damage, huh? With his blunt, straightforward father, it was unlikely he was the cause. That left only his mother. That was definitely something she would have done. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he didn¡¯t feel the need to apologize for it. His parents¡¯ actions, though flawed, came from a place of love, and he didn¡¯t want to invalidate that. In the end, there was only one response he could give in that moment.


    ¡°How about I make it up to you?¡±


    Wulfric snapped his head toward him with such speed it was almost a blur, nearly causing Astrid to burst out laughing.


    ¡°How do you plan to make it up to me?¡± Wulfric asked, his golden eyes gleaming like that of a real wolf.


    Astrid raised a brow. ¡°What do you propose I do?¡±


    Wulfric stared at his face, his gaze lingering a moment too long on his lips before meeting his eyes again. There was a brief flicker of something unguarded in Wulfric¡¯s expression, and then the words slipped out, almost like he hadn¡¯t meant to say them. ¡°How about a kiss?¡±


    The other asked it in a soft voice, as though he wasn¡¯t fully aware of what he¡¯d just spoken.


    Astrid asked, his voice caught between disbelief and amusement, ¡°Do you even realize you just asked me for a kiss?¡±


    Wulfric blinked, his expression blank for a moment. Then, as Astrid¡¯s words hit him, his eyes widened. A flush started creeping up his neck, spreading quickly to his cheeks and ears until his entire face was bright red. His mouth opened as if to say something, but no words came out, just a stammered breath. He quickly looked away, clearly flustered.


    ¡°I¡ªI didn¡¯t mean it like that! I just¡­ I want¡ª¡±


    ¡°You want to kiss me?¡± Astrid cut in, his voice playful, a teasing smile tugging at his lips.


    ¡°Yes¡ªNo!¡± Wulfric blurted out, stumbling over his words. ¡°I mean¡­ no.¡±


    ¡°No, as in you don¡¯t want to kiss me, or no because you want me to kiss you instead?¡± Astrid asked, his tone light and teasing, a playful grin spreading on his lips.


    As Wulfric fumbled for a way to defend himself, his eyes caught Aster¡¯s expression. That playful grin said it all¡ªAster was clearly enjoying this. A sigh of defeat slipped from Wulfric¡¯s lips. Maybe it would be easier to just play along.


    ¡°Alright, fine,¡± Wulfric muttered, giving in with a small, resigned smile. ¡°I want a kiss from you.¡±


    Maybe, after saying this, Aster would finally stop teasing him.


    But Wulfric hadn¡¯t expected what Aster did next.


    He suddenly felt a quick, soft touch on his cheek, so fleeting that he almost doubted it had happened. But the warmth left behind was undeniable. Aster had kissed him¡ªjust a brief brush of lips against his skin, there and then gone in an instant. Yet, despite how fast it was, it left Wulfric¡¯s heart pounding, a rush of warmth spreading through him. It was so simple, so quick, but something about it felt strangely intimate, more romantic than he ever would have expected from such a brief kiss.


    The shock of it nearly made Wulfric stumble to his feet. His heart raced as he looked up, but Aster was already running toward the treehouse, laughter in his steps. Just before disappearing, Aster turned back, flashing a bright, carefree smile.


    For a moment, Wulfric just stood there, frozen, watching him. That smile¡ªsimple, effortless¡ªfelt like the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.


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 Chapter 656: GOODBYE DELRYRIA (FOR NOW)

    AFTER their conversation with Reas, the three headed back toward the house. Along the way, they crossed paths with the three Grimaldi men, who appeared to be returning to the house as well. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As soon as Anthony spotted Emmaline, he wasted no time. ¡°Emmaline,¡± he began, ¡°may I have a word with you? And with your husband as well?¡±


    Emmy raised a brow, curious by what the other might want to discuss. Before responding, she looked to her husband. Gage offered a subtle nod, signaling he didn¡¯t mind. Turning back to her father, she replied, ¡°Sure.¡±


    After Emmy agreed, Casey suddenly stepped up to Reas, draping an arm over his shoulders.


    ¡°My dear nephew,¡± he said with a grin, ¡°how about spending a little quality time with your uncles before we leave the planet?¡±


    Reas looked utterly bewildered as Casey pulled him along, leaving him no chance to protest. Thomas trailed behind the two, leaving only Emmy, Gage, and Anthony standing there.


    Emmy chuckled softly, easily recognizing Casey¡¯s intention; it was clear he¡¯d done it on purpose to give them some privacy.


    She looked up at her father and asked, ¡°So, what is it you wanted to discuss?¡±


    Her father took a deep breath, as though gathering the strength to voice what was on his mind. ¡°Would it be alright if I stayed here¡­ indefinitely?¡±


    Both Emmy and Gage went silent when they heard that. They exchanged a quick glance, processing what he had just asked, each clearly surprised and unsure of how to respond.


    When Anthony was met with silence, a flicker of panic crossed his face, and he quickly began to explain in more detail;


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking to stay here in your home. I¡¯m planning to buy a house on the planet. I just¡­ I just want to know if I could drop by now and then, and maybe¡­ maybe¡­¡± he paused, and then tried to be more clear with what he¡¯s saying. ¡°I won¡¯t intrude on the life you have now. I¡¯m just asking for permission to visit you and talk to you from time to time.¡±


    Emmy stared at her father. Though he kept his face composed, she could see the panic flickering beneath his calm exterior, like a man standing on the execution stage, bracing himself for the final verdict.


    She sighed, casting a glance at her husband. This wasn¡¯t a decision she could make on her own; Gage¡¯s opinion mattered just as much. After all, she wasn¡¯t the only one living here.


    Gage once again gave a slight nod. He was letting her know she had his full support to make the decision on her own. Emmy could only shake her head helplessly at that.


    She turned back to her father. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t buying property here be risky? The last thing I want is to wake up one day with Lancaster people showing up at my door.¡±


    Anthony took Emmaline¡¯s question as a positive sign and quickly launched into an explanation of how he intended to purchase property here without drawing any attention from the Lancasters.


    ¡°I¡¯ll even ask the prince for help if necessary,¡± he added earnestly. ¡°I¡¯ll do everything in my power to ensure that the life you¡¯ve built here remains undisturbed. I swear it.¡±


    Emmy studied her father¡¯s face. Seeing that determined look on his face, she felt like if he refused here, the other would accept it but be depressed about it. An image popped into her mind of him sitting in a corner, dejectedly drawing circles on the floor. She shook her head, nearly laughing at her own imagination.


    So, what should she do?


    The longer she hesitated, the sadness radiating from her father grew almost tangible, pressing around her until it felt like it might prick her skin. Finally, she sighed and said;


    ¡°As long as you can guarantee it¡¯ll be safe, then go ahead.¡±


    The heavy, somber atmosphere surrounding her father began to lift, almost as if a dark cloud had slowly dissolved. In its place, a warmth spread, filling the space between them. His expression softened, and a genuine smile broke through.


    ¡°Thank you. I will do my best to not cause you any trouble.¡±


    And that¡¯s how the duke¡¯s temporary stay at Delryria was decided.


    ¡ª¨C


    Once everyone had gathered back at the house, the moment for goodbyes had finally arrived. Since Astrid, Reas, and Nicol were all students, they couldn¡¯t stay on the planet for too long. They had to return to the capital by Wednesday night, at least.


    Emmy first hugged Astrid tightly. ¡°Take care of yourself, and don¡¯t forget to eat properly. And make sure to take time to relax, alright?¡±


    Then she moved to hug Reas. ¡°Just like I told your brother, take care of yourself. Don¡¯t push yourself too hard, alright?¡±


    Gage also went and hugged their sons. While her husband was saying goodbye to their sons, Emmy stepped over to her nephew, bending slightly to meet his gaze with a warm smile.


    ¡°It was wonderful meeting you, Nikki. I hope you¡¯ll come visit us again sometime.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll definitely come visit again!¡± Nicol replied enthusiastically.


    As soon as Emmy stood up, Casey stepped forward and wrapped her in a warm hug. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be back to visit, too,¡± he said with a grin. Then, in a much lower voice meant only for her, he added, ¡°And if that old man causes any trouble, don¡¯t hesitate to give him a punch or two.¡±


    Emmy chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll make sure to do that.¡±


    She glanced over at Tommy, who lingered a few steps back, looking hesitant to approach, as though unsure if he was welcome.


    She sighed helplessly and said to the other, ¡°Come visit with Nikki when you can.¡±


    That seemed to cheer up Tommy. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Amid the farewells, Wulfric spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ll see you again, too. And don¡¯t worry about Aster¡ªI¡¯ll make sure he stays safe,¡± he assured Emmy and Gage, then added, almost as an afterthought, ¡°Oh, and I¡¯ll keep an eye on Reas as well.¡±


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    Reas shot him a sideways glance that seemed to say, ¡®Yeah, right. No, thanks.¡¯


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 Chapter 657: FIRST AND OFFICIAL BOYFRIEND

    IN another galaxy, at the Capital Star.


    As the afternoon classes at Redwood Academy came to a close, Kiran headed toward the Acting Department to find Snow. Earlier at lunch, they had agreed to head to Polaris together, so it only made sense to meet up. Since Snow¡¯s final class was closer to the school gate, Kiran had suggested they meet up there, making it easier and quicker for them both.


    So why was he going to Polaris again? It¡¯s because the head of the company¡¯s music division had requested a meeting with him.


    He didn¡¯t need to be exceptionally perceptive to figure out the reason for the meeting. Given the success of the album he¡¯d produced, they were almost certainly planning to offer him another project. Yet, despite the likely opportunity, he felt a wave of reluctance.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to work with Polaris again. In fact, his experience with them had been excellent, and he wouldn¡¯t mind taking on another album project for them. He was genuinely grateful for the opportunity they¡¯d given him.


    Thanks to their belief in his talent, Kiran was now earning more than he¡¯d ever imagined¡ªcertainly more than he¡¯d expected at this stage in his career. His income had grown to the point that, even after sending half of his monthly royalties to the orphanage, he still had more than enough left for himself.


    The issue, however, was that Mirabelle¡¯s debut song still hadn¡¯t been released. If he took on another album with Polaris, people in the industry might start assuming he was working exclusively for them ¡ª even though that was not the case at all.


    Kiran didn¡¯t want to be confined to just one company, which was why he had turned down the exclusive contract Polaris had offered him. He envisioned working with a variety of artists, singers, and producers, expanding his creative horizons and building a diverse portfolio. He wanted his music to be known across the industry, to reach different audiences, and to make an impact beyond any single label¡¯s influence.


    To make that goal a reality, he needed an agent¡ªnot one tied to a specific entertainment company, but someone from a talent agency that specialized in representing composers and similar artists.


    The problem was, he had no idea where to even begin. Fortunately, there were people around him who were more than willing to help.


    His friends were one, as was Miss Rose, his boss at the piano lounge. Yet, despite all their suggestions, he still couldn¡¯t make up his mind about what to do.


    Miss Rose had mentioned just yesterday that she wanted to introduce him to someone who had recently founded a talent agency specializing in representing composers. Perhaps, if they met, they could find some common ground and explore how they might work together to support his career goals.


    She assured him that this person was trustworthy, and reminded him that if he wasn¡¯t satisfied with what they had to offer, he could simply decline.


    Kiran owed a lot to Miss Rose, so he couldn¡¯t refuse and agreed to the meeting. Hopefully, this person she wanted him to meet would be someone he could see himself working with¡ªand, if not, they would be able to handle rejection gracefully.


    Before long, he arrived at the lecture building where Snow¡¯s class was held and immediately spotted Snow waiting out front. Without hesitation, he made his way over.


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    ¡°Sorry, have you been waiting long?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No, my class just ended,¡± Snow answered. ¡°Shall we go?¡±


    Kiran nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lauren sat in the studio chair, focused on his Terminal screen as a makeup artist applied foundation to his face. He had a photoshoot today, but his attention kept drifting back to his Terminal. Even as the makeup artist meticulously worked, Lauren¡¯s gaze repeatedly returned to the screen.


    There was only one reason, really. Since that morning, when Reas had messaged saying they¡¯d arrived in Delryria, there hadn¡¯t been a single follow-up. The silence was starting to worry him.


    The sudden need for Reas and Astrid to return home before the school year ended suggested that something important had come up back at their home. Although galactic travel had advanced enough to allow journeys across galaxies in just a few days, it was still unusual to leave mid-term without a compelling reason. The fact that the twins were prepared to be away for five days implied that the matter was truly significant.


    Reas had mentioned it was a family emergency, but reassured him there was no need to worry. Still, the lack of communication since then¡ªyes, even just a couple of hours¡ªwas enough to make him feel increasingly uneasy.


    Since Reas had left for Delryria, he and Lauren had stayed in constant contact, whether through messages or video calls. So, going this long without a word from him was definitely concerning.


    Of course, it had nothing to do with him being a clingy boyfriend¡ªdefinitely not.


    Still, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of family emergency it might be. His imagination had been running wild, spinning up endless scenarios¡ªfrom a long-lost sibling suddenly appearing to one of Reas¡¯ parents being abducted by pirates.


    His overactive imagination was making it hard to think clearly. So, even though Reas had insisted it wasn¡¯t anything serious, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that it was.


    Lauren sighed deeply, admitting to himself that he was probably overthinking. He promised that when Reas finally contacted him, he wouldn¡¯t nag. He¡¯d just ask how he was and if something really did happen, he would try his best to comfort him.


    Just then, a message notification popped up on his Terminal. Without a second thought, he clicked on it at lightning speed, barely glancing to see who it was from.


    [I told my parents about us.]


    Lauren blinked, then blinked again, but the words on the message remained the same. Hoping he was mistaken, he checked the sender¡¯s name for confirmation.


    ¡®Reas¡¯.


    Sure enough, the message was from Reas¡ªhis first and recently-official boyfriend.


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 Chapter 658: LITTLE GREMLIN

    UPON reading it, Lauren stood up almost immediately. The timing couldn¡¯t have been worse; the make-up artist was just applying lip tint to his lips. His sudden movement jolted her hand, smearing a streak of color from the corner of his mouth down to his chin. She flinched in surprise, nearly letting out a yelp.


    ¡°Are¡­ are you alright?¡± she asked, her voice tinged with concern.


    She¡¯d worked with Lauren a few times before and knew he wouldn¡¯t react so suddenly without a reason. When she looked up at him, her suspicions were confirmed. His face was frozen in shock, eyes wide and unfocused, as if he¡¯d just been hit with earth-shattering news.


    Lauren snapped back to reality at the sound of the make-up artist¡¯s voice. He let out an awkward laugh and eased himself back into the chair. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. ¡°I just¡­ thought I forgot to turn off the stove at home. Guess I panicked for no reason.¡±


    The make-up artist simply nodded, though the excuse left her wondering. With advanced AI systems in nearly every home, even if someone forgot to turn off their stove, the built-in safety measures would handle it automatically. Did Lauren really live somewhere without those basic features? That didn¡¯t seem likely. Well, whatever the case, it wasn¡¯t her business. Shrugging off her curiosity, she went back to her work, carefully finishing the touch-ups.


    Lauren let out a quiet sigh of relief when the make-up artist didn¡¯t pry any further. He didn¡¯t have another excuse ready if she kept asking. It¡¯s not as if he could just say that his boyfriend had blindsided him with shocking news.


    It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to hide his relationship. In truth, he would love to tell everyone he knew about his boyfriend. But now just wasn¡¯t the right time. Reas was not a part of the industry. He¡¯s not only a private person, he¡¯s also a student. A future soldier, if he might even add. Then, there¡¯s also the fact that he¡¯s young. The media would definitely have a feast if their relationship became public.


    He wanted to shield Reas from all of it, to keep him far from the chaos and potential fallout. That¡¯s why he confided in only two people¡ªhis agent and, naturally, Astrid. They both needed to be in the loop. Astrid, because he wasn¡¯t just a friend, but Reas¡¯ brother. And his agent, because if things went sideways with the media or the public, Lauren knew Chris would handle it. Chris would do whatever it took to smooth things over, to protect them both from any backlash.


    That thought brought back the memory of Chris¡¯ reaction when he first confided in him about his relationship with Reas. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    =====


    ¡°Wait¡­ can you say that again? Sorry, I must¡¯ve misheard you,¡± Chris replied, his expression a mix of disbelief and confusion.


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    ¡°No, you heard it right,¡± Lauren said, keeping his voice steady. ¡°Reas and I are dating.¡±


    Chris looked as if a bomb had just gone off in front of him. His face gradually turned red, not from embarrassment but something closer to anger. He was like a kettle on the verge of boiling over.


    ¡°I knew it!¡±


    ¡°Chris, hold on¡ªyou¡¯re not blaming this on me, are you?¡± Lauren said, his tone edged with defensiveness. ¡°Just so we¡¯re clear, I did not seduce Reas. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Of course you didn¡¯t!¡± Chris interrupted before Lauren could finish. ¡°It¡¯s that¡­ that little gremlin¡¯s fault!¡± He threw his hands up, clearly exasperated. ¡°I should¡¯ve known he was up to something. It¡¯s always the quiet ones who turn out to be the freakiest.¡±


    Lauren blinked, his mind stumbling to catch up. He opened his mouth, then closed it, staring at Chris like he¡¯d just spoken a different language. This was definitely not the reaction he was expecting. What did he mean by calling Reas a little gremlin? And even calling him a freak? What¡¯s happening here?


    ¡°Wait¡ªwhat are you even saying, Chris? Are you¡­ are you having a meltdown right now?¡± he asked worriedly.


    Chris shot him a glare, his nostrils flaring, a clear sign of his frustration. But then he started taking slow, deep breaths, exhaling deliberately, over and over, like someone trying to calm themselves down with breathing exercises.


    ¡°Sorry for that outburst,¡± Chris said, his tone a bit more controlled now. He paused, folding his arms as he looked directly at Lauren, his gaze steady and serious. ¡°I won¡¯t meddle in your romantic relationship, but there¡¯s something I need to ask first before I can fully get on board with this.¡±


    ¡°Sure, what is it?¡±


    Though still confused by Chris¡¯ initial reaction, Lauren decided to let it go for now. He could ask about it later, anyway. Right now, he needed Chris¡¯s support. If his agent disapproved of his relationship with Reas, Lauren knew he¡¯d still help¡ªbut with a sense of reluctance. And Lauren didn¡¯t want that.


    ¡°Do you genuinely like Reas?¡± Chris asked while looking straight at his eyes, as if gauging his reaction. ¡°Are you sure you weren¡¯t pushed or manipulated into this?¡±


    Lauren¡¯s response was immediate, almost instinctive. ¡°Of course not! Do you really think I¡¯m the type to be manipulated like that?¡±


    Chris only looked at him as if silently saying, ¡®why do you think I asked if that¡¯s not the case?¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, I swear,¡± Lauren insisted. ¡°We¡¯re together because we love each other. No one is being manipulated or forced here.¡±


    Chris studied his expression carefully, and after a moment, let out a deep sigh, as if he¡¯d finally found the answer he was looking for. ¡°Alright, fine. I¡¯ll help keep this under wraps. That¡¯s what you want, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯re not planning to go public with your relationship with Reas just yet, right?¡±


    Lauren nodded, feeling relieved.


    And that¡¯s how that conversation ended


    =====


    Even now, Lauren still couldn¡¯t quite understand what Chris meant by calling Reas a ¡®gremlin.¡¯ How could Reas possibly fit that description when he was so quiet and indifferent most of the time?


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 Chapter 659: 100% (FINALLY OR MAYBE?)

    BUT that wasn¡¯t the main issue right now. What mattered was that Reas had told his parents about them. Again, it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want others to know about their relationship; it was the fact that he hadn¡¯t been there to introduce himself personally. What if Reas¡¯ parents didn¡¯t like him? Or, even worse, what if they¡¯d already judged him based on what they imagined, without actually meeting him?


    He would have preferred to personally introduce himself to them, to let them know that he was seriously dating their son. Especially since he was the older one¡ªit felt important to show them he was responsible, that he genuinely cared for Reas and had his best interests at heart.


    Lauren let out a long sigh. What was done was done. He couldn¡¯t really blame Reas for this. Knowing him, he¡¯d probably just wanted to be honest with his parents, not keep their relationship a secret. In a way, it showed how much Reas valued what they had together. So, even though this wasn¡¯t how Lauren had hoped to be introduced to his parents, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to be upset.


    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s done,¡± the make-up artist said.


    Lauren stood up. With his photoshoot about to start, he didn¡¯t have time for a proper conversation with Reas. All he could do was send a quick reply.


    [I¡¯ll call you later.]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Reas stared at Lauren¡¯s message for a full minute. It was far from the response he¡¯d expected. Did Lauren even read his message? He was probably busy right now, maybe too preoccupied to go through the entire thing, and had just sent a quick reply to let him know they¡¯d talk properly later.


    Knowing Lauren, his message would¡¯ve definitely made him panic. He¡¯d have scolded him, saying things like he should¡¯ve been there or that he should¡¯ve been the one to introduce himself. He¡¯s cute that way. Reas had almost been looking forward to that reaction and had even been ready to answer Lauren¡¯s video call. So, seeing this calm, brief response was more than a little disappointing.


    If Lauren was here and he could read what Reas was thinking now, then he would finally understand why Chris had called him a little gremlin.


    Reas didn¡¯t mind, though. He wasn¡¯t so immature that he¡¯d throw a fit just because his boyfriend hadn¡¯t sent a longer reply. So he simply responded,


    [Alright. I¡¯ll wait for your call.]


    When he turned off his Terminal, he saw Astrid looking at him with a teasing smile on his face.


    They had already left Delryria and were on their way back to the capital. Aside from the duke staying behind, their entourage was pretty much the same. As the spaceship took off, Reas searched for a quiet spot where he could talk to Lauren. But since Lauren was obviously busy at the moment, he¡¯d have to wait. Who would have thought Astrid would come looking for him? And with that smile on his face, it was obvious what he came for.


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    ¡°Are you exchanging messages with Lauren?¡± Astrid asked, sitting down beside him.


    ¡°Yeah. Just a short exchange.¡± Reas didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°But it seems he¡¯s currently busy.¡±


    ¡°So¡­¡± Astrid glanced at him, a teasing glint in his eyes. ¡°How did our parents react when you told them about you and Lauren?¡±


    The question did not surprise Reas because he¡¯d been expecting it. With his brother¡¯s intuition, it wasn¡¯t hard for Astrid to guess what he¡¯d discussed with their parents when he¡¯d asked for a private conversation earlier.


    ¡°It actually went better than I expected,¡± Reas admitted. ¡°There was a bit of a misunderstanding at first¡ªthey thought Lauren might just be toying with me. But once I cleared that up, they were a lot more accepting.¡±


    Astrid narrowed his eyes, then launched into an exaggerated performance. ¡°Why do you get off scot-free while Wulf had to go through so much? This is blatant discrimination!¡±


    Reas raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you seriously comparing how our parents treat me, their own son, to how they handled the infamous prince who was trying to date their other son?¡±


    Astrid laughed. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding.¡± He gave Reas a light nudge on the shoulder. ¡°But seriously¡ªcongrats on getting Mom and Dad¡¯s approval.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Though they¡¯re probably still a bit worried, it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± Reas looked at his brother, a hint of curiosity in his gaze. ¡°Do you also want Mom and Dad to approve of your relationship with the general?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Starting a relationship without the approval of the people you care about most feels like starting off on the wrong foot,¡± Astrid said honestly.


    Reas¡¯s eyes widened slightly¡ªnot so much at what Astrid had said, but at the implications behind it. ¡°You- are you finally admitting that you want to be together with the general?¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because that¡¯s basically what Astrid was alluding to by that answer.


    ¡°Did I ever say I didn¡¯t want to be with him?¡± Astrid replied, a meaningful smile on his lips. ¡°And the first time we met Wulf was an insufferable prick, so that time period doesn¡¯t count.¡±


    ¡°I was actually expecting you to say you¡¯re still about 80% sure or something,¡± Reas said, alluding to their conversation before about what Astrid felt for the general. ¡°So, are you at 100% now?¡±


    Astrid gazed out at the stars beyond the window, their light casting a faint, silvery glow across his face. For a moment, he seemed lost in thought, his expression softening as he took in the endless expanse of space. Something gentler replaced the hint of mischief in his eyes, making them look almost vulnerable.


    A small, knowing smile appeared on his lips.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± he replied, the single word carrying an unexpected weight.


    It wasn¡¯t a straightforward answer, but within that one word lay a world of possibility, a quiet acknowledgment of feelings he seldom revealed openly.


    The stars, cold and distant, mirrored in his gaze, but his smile suggested a warmth, a flicker of something real and steadfast.

 Chapter 660: THE ONLY ONE THAT MATTERED

    AFTER almost 48 exhausting hours of travel, they finally arrived at the capital star. Their first stop, as before, was the private spaceport owned by the Fenris Squad. But now, unlike their departure, they couldn¡¯t all leave together.


    Nicol clung to Astrid. ¡°Brother Aster, can you visit us over the weekend?¡± Then, as if only just remembering, he glanced over at Reas. ¡°You can come too, Brother Reas, if you want.¡±


    Reas rolled his eyes and replied dryly, ¡°Wow, thanks for the heartfelt invitation.¡±


    Astrid chuckled at their playful exchange, then reached over to ruffle Nicol¡¯s hair. ¡°Sorry, Nikki, I can¡¯t make it this weekend¡ªI¡¯ve already got something lined up. But as soon as my schedule clears, Reas and I will come visit, promise.¡±


    Nicol pouted, looking up at Astrid with hopeful eyes. ¡°Can¡¯t you just reschedule it?¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t.¡±


    The audition for [The Shadow Within] was scheduled for the weekend. Ellis had mentioned that the public audition notice went up two days ago, and the response had been overwhelmingly positive. She anticipated a large number of rookie actors would show up. Astrid had already committed to watching the auditions, and he couldn¡¯t just go back on his word now.


    ¡°Nicol, don¡¯t crowd your brother,¡± Thomas said, gently pulling his son back before Nicol decided he wanted to stay glued to Astrid. Then he gave his nephew an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Uncle,¡± Astrid replied, bending down to meet Nicol¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon, okay, Nikki?¡±


    Nicol reluctantly nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Casey gave both Astrid and Reas a quick hug.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you at the launch of the new collection,¡± he said to Astrid. ¡°I¡¯ll contact you if there are any important changes to be made.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Casey, you don¡¯t have to handle that yourself. Just have your assistant take care of it,¡± Astrid said with a smile.


    Casey spoke with a warm smile, his tone steady. ¡°How can I do that? This is your debut on the runway. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d leave it to anyone else¡ªI need to make sure everything¡¯s perfect.¡±


    Next month marked not only the release of EMMA¡¯s new collection but also the annual fashion week, where various designers and brands would showcase their work on the runway. Naturally, EMMA would be one of the featured names, strategically timing their collection launch to coincide with the event. As the ambassador for the new line, Astrid would be walking the runway¡ªa commitment he had already agreed to.


    A helpless smile crossed his lips and could only say, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Thomas and Nicol were the first to leave, with Casey following shortly after. Just as Astrid and Reas were about to depart in the same flying car Wulfric had used to bring them here five days earlier, Wulfric called out to Astrid, stopping him just as he was about to step into the vehicle.


    Wulfric glanced at the car behind Aster, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He¡¯d hoped to take them back to the apartment himself. But he knew all too well that if he did, he¡¯d likely linger another day¡ªa luxury he couldn¡¯t afford. He and the others needed to return to Alluna as quickly as possible, not only to avoid drawing attention to their absence, but also to prevent Leland from tracking them down here in the capital and dragging them back himself.


    Wulfric turned to Aster, his gaze lingering on his beautiful features, and he was suddenly pulled back to a few hours earlier¡ªto that moment before their spaceship had even entered the capital star¡¯s atmosphere.


    =====


    Wulfric wandered through the spaceship, searching for Aster. They were nearing the capital, and he needed to let him know. According to Reas, Aster had stepped away to take a call from his agent, likely heading somewhere private. Wulfric had first checked Aster¡¯s room, but after receiving no response when he knocked, he set off toward the small observation deck¡ªone of the few quiet spots on the ship. As he stepped onto the deck, he immediately spotted Aster standing by the transparent wall, framed against the vastness of space.


    He walked over to Aster, who was still on the call with his agent. Wulfric did his best to ignore the conversation, giving Aster his privacy, though he couldn¡¯t help but catch a mention of an audition schedule. By the time he reached Aster¡¯s side, the call had ended.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost at the capital,¡± he began.


    Aster nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll be arriving in the afternoon, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, give or take,¡± Wulfric replied.


    ¡°Are you and the others heading straight back to Alluna once you drop us off at the capital?¡± Aster asked casually, glancing over at Wulfric.


    ¡°Unfortunately, yes,¡± Wulfric replied, not bothering to hide his disappointment. ¡°I¡¯d have loved to stay in the capital a few more days¡ªwith you. But I have to remind myself I¡¯m a responsible adult with a job to do.¡±


    Aster chuckled at his response, but then an unexpected silence fell between them, catching Wulfric off guard. The quiet felt a bit unusual, and just as he was about to say something to fill it, Aster spoke up first.


    ¡°Wulf,¡± he called his name.


    Wulfric turned to Aster, their gazes meeting against the backdrop of space stretching out before them¡ªone pair of eyes, a fierce golden like a beast¡¯s, and the other, dark obsidian, mirroring the endless expanse of stars shining just beyond the glass.


    For some reason he couldn¡¯t quite explain, Wulfric¡¯s heart suddenly began to race. It felt like something very important was about to happen. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Once I win a Best Actor award, I¡¯ll give you the answer you¡¯ve been waiting for.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s breath caught for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as he processed Aster¡¯s words. But a whole minute had passed and his brain seemed to still not be able to register it. The answer¡­ he¡¯s been waiting for? He could only think of one at the moment. The only one that mattered, actually.


    Could it be¡­?


    Could it really be that?


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 Chapter 661 SEE YOU SOON, MY STAR

    ¡°WHAT you said earlier¡­ is it really what I think it is?¡± Wulfric asked, his voice low, with a trace of uncertainty.


    Earlier, he¡¯d been too stunned to respond, his thoughts moving too slowly to make sense of Aster¡¯s words. He¡¯d just stood there, stupid and silent. But now, with Aster about to leave, this was his last chance to clear things up. He stared intently at Aster, waiting for his answer.


    Aster held his gaze steadily, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his lips. ¡°And what exactly does Wulf think I meant by that?¡±


    ¡°I- I don¡¯t know, I mean, you know, that thing,¡± Wulfric didn¡¯t mean to, but he still stumbled in his words, making him feel embarrassed.


    Aster tilted his head, a playful glint dancing in his eyes as he repeated, ¡°That thing?¡±


    Wulfric felt an odd mix of exasperation and helplessness rise within him. Aster was clearly teasing, but there was little he could do about it. This was Aster, after all. Somehow, he couldn¡¯t muster even a shred of annoyance. It was as if there was a switch in his mind that refused to let him get angry with him, no matter how hard he tried. Really, what choice did he have?


    With a shrug, Wulfric decided to be as shameless as he pleased, interpreting things however he liked.


    ¡°Alright, then. I¡¯ll just assume it is what I think it is,¡± he said. ¡°You are definitely winning a Best Actor award soon. So, be prepared, because when that happens, I¡¯m not letting you back out of this promise.¡±


    Aster blinked, his long lashes casting delicate shadows against his pale skin. ¡°What makes you so sure I will win a Best Actor award soon?¡±


    Wulfric shot him a look that practically said, ¡®Why would you even ask that?¡¯. He sighed and replied, ¡°With your talent, the only way you¡¯re not getting a Best Actor award is if everyone involved in giving those awards is either blind or has a personal grudge against you. As long as you land a leading role, a nomination is as good as guaranteed. And if you¡¯re nominated, there¡¯s no way you won¡¯t win.¡±


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. Wulfric was probably talking about his lead role in [Serendipitous Summer]. Yes, he was the leading actor, and there was a slight chance he might win an award, but that didn¡¯t mean he would. Serendipitous Summer wasn¡¯t a high-budget production¡ªnot a big commercial movie, and not quite an art film either. The three major film awards weren¡¯t likely to consider it for a nomination.


    It wasn¡¯t that Astrid looked down on the movie¡ªof course not. This was his own project; why would he? He was just being realistic. [Serendipitous Summer] was a coming-of-age story, a teen romance, if one might add. It simply wasn¡¯t the kind of film the three major awards would have on their radar. But that didn¡¯t mean it was a bad movie. On the contrary, Astrid believed it would turn out well, possibly one of Streamline Film¡¯s best live-action adaptations. It just wasn¡¯t the sort of material that wins awards.


    Of course, it could still win awards from some of the smaller festivals. Those honors still held value, adding recognition in their own way, but they were a dime a dozen in the industry. Winning one wouldn¡¯t necessarily carry much weight for a career. So, while Astrid respected those awards, he hadn¡¯t given them much thought in this case.


    And he had to make that clear to this big wolf.


    ¡°That promise only stands if I win the Best Actor award at one of the three major film awards,¡± Astrid said with a subtle grin on his lips.


    Wulfric¡¯s expression looked exactly like someone who¡¯d just realized they¡¯d been scammed. Astrid nearly laughed out loud, but before Wulfric could say a word in response, he quickly got into the car. Since it was already programmed to drive to his own apartment building, and with Reas already inside, the car started moving the moment he settled in, smoothly pulling away from the spaceport.


    Wulfric had no choice but to just watch the car leave, standing there with a mix of disbelief and amusement. He shook his head, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he muttered to himself, ¡°That little charmer¡­¡±


    Then, with a sigh, he turned and headed back to the spaceship, still replaying Aster¡¯s teasing words in his mind. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A Best Actor win at one of the three major awards, huh? Wulfric recalled the time Aster was nominated for the Rookie of the Year Award at Silver Moon. Curious, he¡¯d done some research on acting awards and knew how prestigious the top three were. If anyone could win one, it was Aster. Maybe not now, but someday for sure.


    So, he wasn¡¯t really risking anything by agreeing to this condition. He just had to wait¡ªand he realized he was pretty good at that.


    As he climbed back onto the spaceship, he glanced once more in the direction the car had gone. A soft smile touched his lips as he murmured, ¡°See you soon, my star.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The next morning, with their leave over, Astrid and Reas each returned to their respective schools. Reas left early for the Imperial Military Academy, while Astrid took his time to go to Redwood.


    As he walked into the academy, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that it had been a while since he¡¯d last been there. It was strange, really, given that he¡¯d only taken three days off¡ªfar shorter than the leave he¡¯d taken whenever he had to film.


    Maybe it was because so much had happened in the past five days that it felt like he¡¯d been away for half a year. Unlike during filming, when time seemed to fly by.


    As Astrid walked on, he noticed a familiar figure ahead of him. Picking up his pace, he hurried to catch up.


    When he finally caught up, he immediately greeted the other. ¡°Good morning, Kiran!¡±


    To his surprise, Kiran almost stumbled at the sudden greeting.


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 Chapter 662 UNEXPECTED MEETING

    KIRAN walked into the school in a daze, still trying to process what had happened the night before. The experience had shaken him so much it felt like it had taken years off his life. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but he was just that shock.


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    Kiran was so lost in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t even notice someone approaching until a voice broke through.


    ¡°Good morning, Kiran!¡±


    The sudden greeting startled him so much that he almost tripped over his own feet. His breath hitched as he quickly steadied himself, blinking in surprise. It took him a moment to register what had just happened, his heart still pounding from being startled.


    He had already recognized the voice, so when he lifted his head and saw Astrid, it didn¡¯t surprise him as much as the suddenness of his greeting had.


    ¡°Good morning, Aster,¡± he said, attempting to salvage his embarrassing stumble earlier. ¡°When did you get back?¡±


    ¡°Just yesterday afternoon,¡± Astrid responded.


    When he returned to the apartment yesterday, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately, completely forgetting to message his friends to let them know he was back. And since he would see both Kiran and Snow at school, he thought he¡¯d just surprised them. He hadn¡¯t expected Kiran to be so startled by his sudden greeting, almost stumbling in surprise. Unless, of course, the other was deeply lost in thought about something.


    ¡°How was your short leave?¡± Kiran asked. ¡°Are your parents doing okay?¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Everything went as well as expected, and my parents are doing fine,¡± Astrid replied. ¡°But what about you? What got you so lost in thought?¡±


    Kiran scratched his cheek awkwardly, debating whether sharing what happened might help. But as he glanced around, he decided against it¡ªthis wasn¡¯t the place to talk, not with so many people nearby who could easily overhear.


    ¡°Later. I¡¯ll tell you and Snow later during lunch.¡±


    Astrid looked at Kiran, raising his brow. It seemed to be more serious than he thought?


    ¡°Okay,¡± he said.


    Soon, the two of them parted ways. As Kiran watched Astrid head toward the Acting Department, his mind drifted back to the events of the previous night.


    The night before, Kiran had met an acquaintance of Miss Rose, someone who had recently founded a talent agency. Miss Rose had arranged the meeting at Lapillus¡ªthe piano lounge she owned and where Kiran still performed once or twice a month. She had likely chosen the venue to put Kiran at ease, knowing it was a place he felt familiar with.


    When Kiran headed to Lapillus, his thoughts were simple. He was merely wondering if the person he was meeting would present a good offer, and if not, how he would politely decline.


    However, his mind went completely blank the moment he opened the door to the private room where he was supposed to meet the person.


    =====


    Kiran froze, unable to move, his gaze locked on the person seated inside.


    The man sitting inside had long, aquamarine hair that draped softly over his shoulder. His pale amethyst eyes were striking, like polished jewels, and his skin had a smooth, almost translucent quality. His lips were a deep, vivid red, contrasting sharply with his delicate complexion. His clothing was a perfect blend of masculine and feminine styles¡ªsleek trousers paired with a flowing, tailored top that blurred the lines between a blouse and a shirt. The neutral tones and minimalistic design further emphasized his beauty, making his appearance both sophisticated and captivating.


    Shir Atkins!


    That¡¯s definitely Shir Atkins, right?


    Kiran rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not hallucinating, and he was truly seeing this generation¡¯s ¡®god of music¡¯. But no matter how much he rubbed his eyes, the man who looked exactly like Shir Atkins was still sitting inside.


    No, wait. Could it be he went and opened the wrong room?


    Thinking that was the case, he immediately bowed and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I must have walked into the wrong room.¡±


    ¡°If your name is Kiran Hope, then you¡¯re in the right room,¡± Shir Atkins said in a calm, almost lazy tone. ¡°Come in and close the door behind you.¡±


    Hearing his name spoken by the other, Kiran froze for a moment before stiffly stepping inside, almost like a robot, and quietly closing the door behind him.


    ¡°Do sit down.¡±


    At Shir Atkins¡¯ words, Kiran moved stiffly and sat down in the chair across from him, his movements awkward and uncertain.


    As he sat there, thousands of thoughts swirled in his mind. Why was Shir Atkins here? If he knew his name, could he be the ¡®acquaintance¡¯ Miss Rose mentioned? Was he the one who had recently founded a talent agency and was now considering recruiting him? These questions buzzed relentlessly, leaving Kiran struggling to make sense of the situation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too nervous. If you¡¯re going to be under my agency in the future, you can¡¯t always freeze in my presence,¡± Shir Atkins said in that same lazy tone.


    Kiran¡¯s head snapped up, and as he did, his gaze accidentally locked with Shir Atkins¡¯ amethyst eyes. The brief interaction sent a wave of heat rushing to Kiran¡¯s face. It was only in this moment that the reality fully sank in¡ªShir Atkins was truly sitting right in front of him!


    And he went back to what the other said, about the agency and all. Then he remembered the reason he was here. To meet Miss Rose¡¯s acquaintance who wanted to recruit him to his newly founded talent agency.


    So that person was Shir Atkins?


    At that thought, Kiran¡¯s heart began to race. If this was true, it meant he would be joining the agency Shir Atkins had founded. Did that also mean he would get to see him more often from now on?


    The thought of that possibility almost made him declare that he would sign the contract right there and then. Fortunately, a small part of him remained rational, allowing him to hold back and stop himself from doing just that.

 Chapter 663 BUTTERFLIES TAKING OFF

    ¡°MR. Atkins, sir,¡± Kiran began, carefully choosing his words to keep his nerves in check. ¡°Are you the person Miss Rose arranged for me to meet?¡± He didn¡¯t want to risk assuming the wrong thing¡ªthat would be far too embarrassing. Especially not in front of his idol.


    Of course, Kiran was a huge fan of Shir Atkins. It would be strange if he weren¡¯t. Shir Atkins wasn¡¯t just the most popular musician of this generation; he was the musician. Anyone aspiring to create popular music had no choice but to admire him. It wasn¡¯t just his stunning voice¡ªhis musicality was unmatched. On top of that, he produced and composed his own songs. Truly, a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.


    Shir Atkins had always been one of Kiran¡¯s biggest inspirations. He loved his music¡ªthe way every song felt alive, full of emotion, and perfectly crafted. He admired how the other could tell a story with just his voice and how every note seemed to come straight from the heart. For Kiran, Shir Atkins wasn¡¯t just a talented musician; he was the kind of artist he dreamed of becoming one day. He wanted to write songs that moved people the way Shir Atkins¡¯ songs moved him, to create music that left a lasting impression.


    And now, there was a chance that Kiran could end up in the same agency as Shir Atkins. Technically, since the other was the founder, it would mean working under him in some capacity. But to Kiran, it still felt like they would be connected in a meaningful way¡ªpart of the same creative family.


    That was exciting in and of itself.


    ¡°Yes. Christin told me that you were looking for a talent agency to handle your career,¡± Shir Atkins said, calling Miss Rose by her first name. ¡°After listening to the song you composed, I believe you¡¯d be an excellent fit for my agency.¡±


    Kiran took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. It was real¡ªShir Atkins truly wanted to recruit him. His chest felt tight, and his hands fidgeted on his lap as he worked to stay calm. He couldn¡¯t let his nerves get the better of him, not now.


    ¡°The agency is called Resonance,¡± Shir Atkins started explaining. His voice, although still had that lazy undertone, carried a sense of pride. ¡°It¡¯s a new venture I started, built specifically for composers, songwriters, and musicians who create their own music. People like you, Kiran Hope. For too long, I¡¯ve watched incredibly talented creators be overshadowed or undervalued in this industry. Resonance is my way of changing that.¡±


    He leaned back slightly, seemingly giving Kiran a moment to absorb his words. ¡°Right now, the agency is still new, and we don¡¯t have any artists yet. I¡¯m looking for people who have something real to say with their music, who take pride in their craft and want to build something meaningful. At Resonance, you won¡¯t just be another name in the roster. I¡¯ll make sure you get the respect and ownership you deserve for your work.


    ¡°If you join, you¡¯ll have the chance to shape not only your career but also the foundation of an agency dedicated to protecting creators like you. It¡¯s about more than business¡ªit¡¯s about standing up for what¡¯s right in the industry. And I¡¯d be honored if you¡¯d be one of the first to help build that legacy.¡±


    Kiran felt his heart tremble after hearing Shir Atkins talked about Resonance. He felt a mix of emotions. There was surprise, of course, but more than that, there was a sense of honor and excitement. The idea of being one of the first artists in an agency created by his idol felt almost too good to be true. Shir Atkins wasn¡¯t just offering him a place to grow; he was offering him the chance to be part of something meaningful.


    If his resolve were weaker, he might have agreed on the spot. But there was something he needed to know first. Find your next adventure on empire


    ¡°What does Mr. Atkins¡­ think of my music?¡±


    He knew it was ridiculous to bring this up now, in the middle of such an important discussion about his future. Yet here he was, asking a question that felt more like a child seeking reassurance from a parent. Even Shir Atkins raised an eyebrow, seeming puzzled by the unexpected question, as if wondering what had prompted it. But no matter how foolish it seemed, he couldn¡¯t stop himself.


    Kiran just wanted to know what Shir Atkins thought of his music. After all, Shir had said he¡¯d heard it, and it seemed to be the reason he decided to recruit him. That had to mean he liked it, right? But Kiran wanted to hear the words directly from him. Maybe it was a little childish, but he couldn¡¯t help it. He was just a fan, hoping for a small compliment from the musician he admired most.


    Shir Atkins nodded thoughtfully, taking a moment before responding. ¡°Your composition caught my attention. There¡¯s something in the way you structure your music, the way it flows¡ªit stands out. It¡¯s clear you¡¯ve got talent, and that¡¯s why I want you in Resonance. Your work has the potential to reach people, and that¡¯s the kind of music I like the most.¡±


    Like the most¡­ like the most¡­ like the most¡­


    The phrase kept echoing in Kiran¡¯s mind, over and over. It left him so dazed that the rest of the conversation became a blur. He couldn¡¯t clearly remember what happened after, only that he had accepted Shir Atkins¡¯ offer and they had scheduled another meeting for the weekend. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    =====


    Even now, the events of last night¡ªmeeting Shir Atkins and everything that followed¡ªstill left him feeling dazed. He still couldn¡¯t believe that Shir Atkins had said the music he created was the kind he liked most.


    Just remembering it sent a tingle down his spine¡ªthe good kind that came with a mix of excitement and pride. And there was something else too, a fluttering in his stomach, like a swarm of butterflies taking off all at once.


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 Chapter 664 CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS

    AT lunch, the three friends finally gathered in the greenhouse after a few weeks. They had all been busy with their careers, so it had been a while since they¡¯d last been together at school like this.


    Astrid took out the food containers from his space ring and placed them on the flat rock they used as a makeshift table. ¡°Shall we eat?¡±


    Both Snow and Kiran served themselves, carefully placing different dishes onto the plates they were holding.


    ¡°Ha, Aster, I really missed your cooking,¡± Kiran said with a satisfied sigh, savoring a bite of the meat he had just eaten.


    Snow nodded in agreement, his cheeks adorably puffed out as he ate.


    Astrid chuckled at the sight. ¡°So, how have you two been? Anything new happening in your lives lately?¡±


    ¡°Not much, really,¡± Snow said thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯ve been spending a lot of time practicing my acting at Polaris, and I feel like I¡¯ve made some real progress. I¡¯ve also been auditioning consistently and landing a few small roles here and there.¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid nodded with an approving smile. ¡°That¡¯s awesome, Snow.¡±


    Snow¡¯s lips tugged into a small, helpless smile. Just from Astrid¡¯s expression, he could tell he was genuinely happy for him¡ªit was so like Astrid to be that way. Still, if anyone deserved to be called ¡®awesome,¡¯ it was Astrid himself.


    Astrid turned to Kiran. ¡°What about you, Kiran? Didn¡¯t you mention earlier that you had something you wanted to share with us?¡±


    Kiran, in the middle of eating, finished chewing and swallowed his food. He took a sip of tea before speaking. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s something I wanted to talk about, and I could really use some advice.¡±


    With both Astrid and Snow now focused on him, Kiran began recounting the events of last night¡ªhow he met Shir Atkins and ended up agreeing to join the other¡¯s newly founded agency. Find more adventures on empire


    Kiran scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish look on his face. ¡°The problem is, I was so dazed at the time that I barely understood anything Mr. Atkins was explaining. I just sat there like some star-struck idiot. Do you think it¡¯s okay that I agreed to something when I wasn¡¯t really thinking straight?¡±


    Yes, this was another reason he¡¯d been so distracted since this morning. This was his future they were talking about, yet his foolish heart had been so caught up in the moment that his brain seemed to shut down completely, making him overlook the more important details.


    Astrid raised an eyebrow. So, this was what had been bothering Kiran? It was surprising enough that Shir Atkins was involved, but even more so that he could impact Kiran this much.


    He thought back to the first time he met Shir Atkins¡ªthe so-called ¡®god of music¡¯ of their generation, with his flowing aquamarine hair and striking amethyst eyes. In his opinion, Shir was still the most beautiful person he had ever seen. It was no surprise that Kiran had been completely dazed when they met.


    If he were a typical 19-year-old, without the soul of a man in his 30s, he probably would have reacted the same way.


    Considering Kiran¡¯s question and his own impression of Shir Atkins, Astrid replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think Shir Atkins would try to con you. He probably wanted to recruit you because he genuinely believes in your talent. That said, we can¡¯t be too sure since none of us really know him personally. If you want, I can ask Sister Ellis about him. She might have a better idea of what kind of person he is.¡±


    ¡°I can also have someone look into this ¡®Resonance¡¯ agency for you,¡± Snow offered. ¡°Just to make sure it¡¯s legitimate.¡±


    Kiran glanced at his two friends, feeling genuinely moved by their thoughtfulness. Although he could probably ask Miss Rose about it, he felt hesitant. Miss Rose and Shir Atkins were clearly friends, and he didn¡¯t want her to think he didn¡¯t trust her¡ªbecause he did. But just like he said, this was his future they were talking about, and he had to be absolutely sure he was making the right decision.


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯d really appreciate it if you could.¡±


    Both Astrid and Snow waved it off casually, assuring him it was no big deal.


    ¡°When will you meet again for the contract signing?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°This weekend,¡± Kiran answered.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll make sure to get you the results of our little ¡®investigation¡¯ before then,¡± Snow said. Then, with a genuinely puzzled expression, he asked, ¡°But why did you feel so dazed when you met this Shir Atkins?¡±


    Astrid also wondered about that. Surely, it wasn¡¯t just because the other¡¯s beauty mesmerized Kiran, right?


    Kiran felt his face heat up at Snow¡¯s question. He glanced left and right, as if searching for an escape, before letting out a helpless sigh. Why was he hesitating? These two were his friends¡ªif he couldn¡¯t share his troubles with them, then who could he possibly confide in?


    ¡°I¡ªI¡¯m a huge fan of Mr. Atkins. Like, a super-duper big fan,¡± Kiran admitted, his voice tinged with embarrassment. ¡°When I saw him, my mind just completely blanked out. And when he said he liked the kind of music I create, I totally lost it. It was like a fever dream. Before I knew it, everything had already happened, and it barely registered in my brain.¡±


    Snow couldn¡¯t quite relate to the idea of being star-struck by a celebrity. But when he thought about it in the context of suddenly meeting Assil, it started to make sense. It was the same way he had felt when he reunited with Assil after a long time of being apart.


    Astrid also understood it in a way. Being an actor in his past life, and also in the present, of course, there were actors he also admired. For example, in his past life, if he had met Meryl Streep, he might have had the same reaction. In this life, maybe it would be Valentine Davis.


    With Kiran¡¯s concerns addressed, the three friends resumed their lunch, enjoying the rest of their time together.


    The days flew by, and before they knew it, the weekend had arrived.

 Chapter 665 TO BELLMONT THEATRE

    ASTRID opened the door to the passenger¡¯s seat and sat down inside the car. Ellis, who was driving, immediately started the car, and with a low hum of the engine, they pulled away from the curb.


    Their destination for today was the Bellmont Theatre, a small venue known for hosting plays and musicals. With a small capacity of around 500 seats, it primarily showcased performances by amateur actors and aspiring artists just beginning their journey in the world of theater.


    Director McCann chose this venue for two main reasons. Firstly, it was significantly cheaper to rent than a larger venue. Secondly, given that the auditions were spread across two days, they anticipated a turnout that would comfortably remain under 500 people, making the theater¡¯s size ideal.


    ¡°How was your trip back home?¡± Ellis asked after a moment.


    Astrid glanced at Ellis and suddenly remembered his promise to himself: he needed to tell his agent about his family situation. As his representative, Ellis had a right to know about anything that might impact his career. And being a Grimaldi¡ªwith a mother presumed dead and a father on the most-wanted list¡ªwas definitely something that could have serious consequences for his career.


    But he decided it could wait until after the audition. It wasn¡¯t about putting it off¡ªhe just didn¡¯t want to overwhelm Ellis right now. They had enough to focus on, and bringing up something so serious would only complicate things. Yes, that was definitely the reason.


    Definitely.


    After convincing himself it was the right decision to wait, Astrid finally responded to Ellis¡¯s earlier question. ¡°It was¡­ quite fruitful.¡±


    Ellis arched a brow. ¡°That¡¯s a good thing, I assume?¡±


    Astrid thought back to his visit and everything that had happened. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    As their conversation carried on, it wasn¡¯t long before they reached their destination.


    Linden Row was a long street with all kinds of theaters. Some were large and modern, meant for big productions, while others were smaller and older, hosting less-known shows. The buildings were packed closely together, each with its own design, from simple brick fronts to more elaborate exteriors, with lights and signs displaying the titles of current plays.


    Ellis pulled into the parking lot of one of the smaller theaters, which appeared to be the Bellmont Theatre.


    As Astrid stepped out of the car, he glanced at the building. It was modest compared to the larger theaters on Linden Row, with a simple brick facade and a small sign above the entrance displaying its name. The windows were narrow and unadorned, and the doors looked well-worn, hinting at years of use. Despite its plain appearance, there was something charming about it.


    He and Ellis walked inside, the glass doors parting quietly as they stepped into the lobby. The space was modest but well-maintained, with walls made of smooth composite panels that gave off a soft, neutral glow. A small reception desk stood to one side, alongside a sleek digital display showing schedules and seat availability.


    They continued down a carpeted hallway lit by warm, energy-efficient wall sconces, which guided them toward the main theater. Inside, the seating was arranged in a classic tiered layout, but the chairs were modern, with soft, durable fabric and subtle touch panels for adjustable armrests. Minimalist black panels framed the stage, with hidden lighting strips that could shift color as needed. Above, a discreet array of projectors hinted at advanced visual capabilities, blending technology seamlessly with the traditional charm of the small performance space.


    Astrid immediately noticed Director McCann sitting behind a table positioned just in front of the stage. Beside him was a woman with sharp features and a no-nonsense demeanor. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and she wore a simple black suit. She sat with her hands clasped in front of her, her gaze steady and observant as she looked around.


    That must be the casting director ¨C Camilla Hughes. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aside from the two, another man was on the stage, adjusting the cameras. He was tall and lean, with a neatly trimmed beard and sharp eyes that scanned every detail. He was dressed in a black turtleneck and dark slacks. His full attention was on the equipment, ensuring every angle was exactly as it needed to be.


    The two behind the table finally noticed their arrival. Director McCann stood up and approached them quickly, with the casting director following close behind.


    ¡°Astrid, Miss Payne, welcome!¡± Director McCann greeted them warmly. ¡°The auditions don¡¯t start for another two hours¡ªwhat brings you here so early?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better to be early than late,¡± Astrid said with a polite smile. Truthfully, he also wanted to avoid arriving when a crowd had already formed outside for the auditions.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± McCann said, then gestured to the woman beside him. ¡°This is the casting director I mentioned earlier, Camilla Hughes.¡±


    ¡°Hello, it¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you both, Mr. Townsend and Miss Ellis,¡± Camilla said warmly. ¡°And thank you for trusting my friend and believing in his vision.¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°No need to thank me. After reading the Director¡¯s script, it was clear the story had something special. I just couldn¡¯t pass it up.¡±


    Director McCann¡¯s cheeks showed a faint blush, clearly embarrassed by the compliment. He cleared his throat. ¡°By the way, that¡¯s Joseph Hamilton, our director of photography,¡± he said, motioning toward the man adjusting the cameras. ¡°Hey, Joe! Say hi to our Dr. Stevens!¡±


    The man glanced in their direction, raised a hand in a casual wave, and offered a polite nod.


    Astrid acknowledged the gesture with a smile and a small wave in return.


    The four of them then walked towards the table in front of the stage.


    ¡°Astrid, I know you said you wouldn¡¯t interfere with our casting decisions,¡± Director McCann said, his tone thoughtful. ¡°However, I¡¯d still like to hear your opinion. It would be great if you could sit with us later during the auditions.¡±


    Astrid was a bit taken aback by the request, but seeing no reason to decline, he simply nodded and said, ¡°Sure.¡±


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 Chapter 666 [THE SHADOW WITHIN] AUDITION (I)

    RHETT ARCHER stood at the entrance of the Bellmont Theatre, knowing this audition might be his last chance. If he didn¡¯t succeed, he would have to seriously reconsider his future career path.


    He had been acting for the past seven years, but apart from a few extra roles and some minor gangster parts, he hadn¡¯t achieved much success. Some of his friends suggested he should soften his image and adjust his style if he wanted to secure more opportunities. According to them, these factors had significantly limited the number of roles he¡¯d been able to land over the years.


    But what could he do? He was born with slightly sharper features than most, making him come across as intense or unapproachable to many people. No matter how much he tried to soften his demeanor, first impressions always seemed to paint him as serious, stern, or even intimidating. This was exactly why, over the past seven years, the roles he landed were so limited¡ªcasting directors couldn¡¯t see him as anything but a certain type.


    His parents had been nagging him for months to come back home, insisting it was time to give up his childish dream of becoming a star. They urged him to start helping with the family business and focus on something more practical.


    He wanted to argue, but how could he when it was true that nothing had come of this ¡°dream¡± of his for seven years now? Lately, he had started feeling discouraged, wondering if his parents were right and if it was time to consider giving up.


    But just as he was starting to think about giving up, he came across an audition notice for an indie film. It was a public audition, open to anyone who wanted to try out. Given that it was an independent production, it was understood that only rookies and unknown actors would be competing for roles.


    Those who applied for the audition weren¡¯t given a script but were instead provided with scenarios. Rhett chose to audition using the scenario involving a police officer with a tough exterior but a caring and soft heart. He figured that if this was going to be his last audition, he might as well go all out. Even if the role seemed challenging, he wanted to give it everything he had and prove to himself that he could do more than just fit into typecast roles.


    And now he was here.


    Rhett took a deep breath and walked inside.


    ¡ª¨C


    Astrid sat at the table in front of the stage alongside Director McCann and the casting director, Camilla. Meanwhile, Ellis had taken a seat somewhere in the audience area, keeping a low profile. The director of photography, Joseph, had excused himself to work backstage, preferring to handle the camerawork there. He¡¯d mentioned he didn¡¯t enjoy being around large crowds.


    IndieFlix Studios had sent staff to manage the crowd of people going to audition. Outside the venue, they guided those who had registered for the first day, assigning numbers based on their online registration order. This system ensured that Director McCann and the rest of the judging panel during the audition could quickly access and review the profiles submitted during registration.


    Some of the people who came to audition were unhappy with the system, especially those who had arrived much earlier. Their dissatisfaction was partially eased when they were informed that, after receiving their number, they could go inside the theatre instead of waiting outside for those with lower numbers to show up. This arrangement made the wait slightly more bearable for them.


    Upon entering, they immediately noticed three people seated at a table in front of the stage. There was a stern-looking woman and two men. The man in the middle had a slightly disheveled appearance, while the man on the left wore a black cap that obscured the upper half of his face.


    They had a hunch that the man in the middle was the director. Since this was an indie film, they hadn¡¯t expected to recognize the director, so all they could do was guess who was who. One thing was clear, though¡ªthese were the people who would decide whether they passed the audition or not.


    It didn¡¯t take long for all 482 people who had registered for the first day of auditions to arrive. The turnout surprised Astrid; he hadn¡¯t expected the audition notice to attract such a large crowd. Then again, he reasoned, maybe this wasn¡¯t unusual. With so many aspiring actors desperate for a breakthrough, it wasn¡¯t entirely surprising to see this many people, even for a low-budget indie film.


    It was probably the norm, though he wouldn¡¯t know for sure. The only audition he had ever attended before this one was an invite-only audition, which had been much smaller and more controlled. He realized now that open auditions likely attracted far more people. Should he say that he had been very lucky in his career so far?


    Anyway, the audition finally started.


    The first person, whose number 1 was pinned to her shirt, stepped onto the stage. She was a woman with long, reddish-brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail, wearing a simple white blouse and black jeans. Her hands fidgeted nervously, and her wide eyes darted around the room as if searching for reassurance.


    Astrid glanced at his Terminal and clicked on the profile of the woman on stage. The profiles had been sent to him in advance, allowing him to review the information of each person. It also made it easy for him to jot down notes about their performance directly alongside their profiles if needed.


    The woman¡¯s name was Hazel Marlowe, and she was¡­ 54 years old? Astrid glanced at the woman on stage, who looked no older than her mid-20s, and couldn¡¯t help but marvel at how deceiving appearances were in this era. Even his grandfather barely looked older than 35. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hello, which scenario will you be performing for us today?¡± Director McCann.


    The woman appeared to be mustering her courage as she responded in a slightly shaky voice, ¡°S-scenario two.¡±


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 Chapter 667 [THE SHADOW WITHIN] AUDITION (II)

    THE scenario two that Hazel Marlowe mentioned was similar to the scene of death of the first victim. The death that started the movie.


    [The Shadow Within] was a psychological thriller centered on a series of unusual and disturbing murders. The story followed a police detective who led the investigation. Faced with the complexity of the case and the nature of the crimes, the detective decided to involve a psychologist as a consultant. Together, they worked to profile the killer and decipher the patterns behind the murders.


    The plot unfolded through a series of twists and turns, with the detective and the psychologist navigating a challenging web of clues and misdirections. Their professional relationship and combined efforts formed the backbone of the story, showcasing the intricate process of tracking a killer whose methods and motives remained elusive.


    The case ultimately led to the discovery of the killer, seemingly bringing a sense of closure. However, the story¡¯s standout moment was a shocking twist revealed after what seemed like the resolution, redefining its trajectory and would surely leave a powerful impression on the audience. This unexpected ending was the real highlight of the movie, ensuring that it would stand out in the psychological thriller genre.


    When Astrid first read the script, he dismissed it as just another clich¨¦d story typical of the genre. However, the unexpected plot twist completely changed his perspective. It was this twist that set the script apart and ultimately convinced him to choose it over all the others he had received.


    It was also the reason he felt confident that the movie would definitely not flop. While he didn¡¯t expect it to become a massive box office hit, he was certain it would at least break even¡ªand possibly turn a modest profit. With that assurance, he didn¡¯t hesitate to invest in the film.


    Astrid turned his attention back to Hazel Marlowe. As soon as Director McCann signaled her to start, the entire stage shifted, transforming into a dark alley with rain falling steadily. The theater was equipped with technology that generated virtual environments, a modern replacement for traditional backdrops and props in plays and musicals. These devices were also used during auditions, providing an immersive setting to help performers connect with the scene more effectively.


    Hazel Marlowe walked cautiously, her hands clutching her coat to shield herself from the simulated rain. Her eyes darted around with growing discomfort.


    ¡°Is someone there?¡± she called out.


    A faint shadow appeared on the wall behind her, moving closer with each passing second. Hazel turned sharply, her face filled with fear.


    ¡°Stay back!¡± she shouted, taking a step backward, her voice trembling but loud. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The virtual killer emerged, a blurry, ominous figure with a knife. Hazel¡¯s body stiffened as she stumbled against the alley wall.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t do this!¡± she begged, her arms raised in a defensive gesture.


    The killer moved closer, and Hazel let out a bloodcurdling scream as she fought back, her movements erratic and desperate. She twisted and struggled as the projection mimicked grabbing her, and with a swift motion, the blade struck. Hazel¡¯s body fell limp to the ground, her head tilting to one side, her expression frozen in terror. The rain continued to pour as she lay motionless.


    As the virtual rain and alley disappeared, the stage returned to its neutral state under brighter lights. Hazel pushed herself up from the floor, her breathing uneven. She glanced briefly at the director¡¯s table, her face pale and tense. As she stepped back toward her starting position, she nearly stumbled, catching herself just in time. Her hands fidgeted slightly, and her nervousness was evident as she stood waiting for feedback.


    The man sitting in the middle, who they presumed as the director nodded and offered a polite smile. ¡°Thank you. We¡¯ll review your performance and get back to you.¡± Your next chapter is on empire


    Hazel Marlowe looked momentarily disappointed by the brief feedback but quickly composed herself. She bowed her head slightly and replied, ¡°Y-yes, thank you!¡±


    As Hazel walked off the stage, Astrid noticed the slight hunch in her posture. She had likely been hoping for more detailed feedback. However, since this was a public audition where everyone could watch each other¡¯s performances, it was important to maintain impartiality. That was why they had decided that a simple ¡°thank you¡± would suffice.


    Astrid glanced down at his Terminal and added a note to Hazel Marlowe¡¯s profile.


    ¨C Amazing showcase of emotion and fear, particularly in her reactions to the killer.


    ¨C Struggled slightly with physical coordination during key moments, which disrupted the flow of the scene.


    The audition continued as the next performer stepped onto the stage. The virtual environment shifted to match the scenarios they had chosen, and the performer began acting the scenarios without hesitation. Each actor brought a unique style, making their performances stand out in different ways. Astrid and the other evaluators remained focused, taking notes and exchanging occasional glances. The process moved efficiently, with one performer leaving the stage as the next stepped forward, maintaining the steady rhythm of the auditions.


    Rhett Archer sat stiffly in his seat inside the theater, surrounded by the other auditioning actors. His eyes darted toward the stage every few moments, but he couldn¡¯t focus on the performances in front of him. Instead, his mind was fixated on his number, knowing it was getting closer to being called. He shifted uncomfortably, his foot tapping against the floor in an uneven rhythm. His palms felt damp, and he rubbed them against his thighs in a futile attempt to calm himself.


    Each time someone¡¯s number was announced, Rhett¡¯s stomach tightened. He glanced down at his hands, trying to keep them steady, but the tension was impossible to shake. When the person who had the number before him finally stood to head toward the stage, his heart raced, and he swallowed hard, bracing himself for his turn.


    When Rhett¡¯s number was called, his stomach dropped. He sat there for a second longer than he should have, then quickly stood up, almost knocking his knee against the chair in front of him. As he walked toward the stage, his steps felt heavier than usual, and he let out a quick breath, trying to calm himself before standing in the middle of the stage.

 Chapter 668 [THE SHADOW WITHIN] AUDITION (III)

    ¡°WHICH scenario will you be performing for us?¡± Director McCann asked, his gaze fixed on the man on the stage.


    Rhett Archer straightened his posture, his voice steady despite the tension coiled tightly within him. ¡°Scenario 8, sir.¡±


    Astrid raised a brow at the other¡¯s choice. Scenario 8 was no ordinary scene¡ªit was the emotional center of the story, focused completely on the main character. It showed the moment when the main character found out who the killer was and felt broken by the betrayal. The scene needed a perfect mix of emotions: shock, disbelief, anger, and sadness all at the same time.


    In Astrid¡¯s opinion, Scenario 8 was the hardest of all the options listed for the audition. The lack of context only made it worse, leaving the actor to figure out the feelings and stakes without a clear backstory. Doing such a deep and emotional performance needed a lot of skill. Astrid couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this actor knew what he was getting into.


    He glanced down at Rhett Archer¡¯s profile. The man was 29 years old, younger than he had expected. Despite having seven years of acting experience, the other hadn¡¯t landed any major roles. Every credit listed on his profile was either as a minor villain or a gangster extra.


    Astrid lifted his head, his gaze settling on Rhett Archer standing on stage. He was tall and muscular, with sharp features that gave him the look of a tough guy with a dangerous edge. It was easy to see why he had been typecast in villain roles¡ªhis presence practically radiated intimidation. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His build certainly matched the protagonist in [The Shadow Within], but the impression he gave didn¡¯t quite align. While the protagonist was described as a tough, rugged figure, there was an underlying gentleness to him¡ªsomething he couldn¡¯t fully conceal, no matter how hard he tried to hide it behind his rough exterior. Astrid couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Rhett Archer had the range to capture that subtle complexity.


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    Well, no matter. They would know soon enough once he began his performance.


    The stage shifted seamlessly into the dim confines of an abandoned warehouse. Crates and broken beams were scattered across the floor, and a single overhead light flickered weakly, casting jagged shadows. From the darkness, the killer emerged, their form a faceless silhouette.


    Rhett Archer stood still at first, his shoulders tense, his breath coming in shallow bursts. His wide-eyed stare lingered on the shadowy figure, disbelief etched into his expression. His lips parted as if to speak, but no sound came. Instead, his hand trembled slightly at his side before curling into a fist.


    He took a hesitant step forward, his brows furrowing as his expression shifted to confusion and then anger. His chest heaved as he inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself. ¡°Why?¡± he finally asked, his voice low and strained. ¡°Why did you do it?¡±


    The shadow didn¡¯t respond, and Rhett¡¯s jaw tightened, his teeth clenching. His gaze flickered to the ground for a moment before snapping back to the figure, his eyes brimming with restrained fury. ¡°You think this makes it right? That this makes it better?¡± he demanded, his voice breaking slightly on the last word.


    Rhett¡¯s body language told the rest of the story. His stance shifted, his weight moving forward as if he was ready to lunge, but he stopped himself, his hands shaking before he forced them to his sides. He exhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring as his expression shifted again, the anger giving way to something harder to name.


    He took another slow step forward, his movements deliberate but heavy, like the air around him had grown thicker. His gaze softened, though the tension in his jaw remained. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do this,¡± he said quietly, almost a whisper. ¡°You could¡¯ve stopped.¡±


    His hand hovered near his holster, but he didn¡¯t draw his weapon. Instead, he stood there, his shoulders rising and falling with his labored breath, his face a mix of frustration, sadness, and the faintest trace of regret. He glanced down for a moment, his expression briefly crumbling, before he quickly straightened again, his resolve returning.


    Rhett¡¯s silence spoke louder than any words as he stared down the shadow, his body rigid, his eyes locked on the figure as if searching for an answer he knew wouldn¡¯t come. Slowly, his hands stopped trembling, and he let out one last shaky breath.


    ¡°You¡¯re done,¡± he said firmly. His voice was now steady as he gazed hard at the shadow.


    The silence that followed was suffocating as Rhett stood there, his every emotion laid bare in his expression and movements.


    The stage shifted back to the bright theater, the illusion of the warehouse disappearing completely. Rhett Archer stood still for a moment, his breathing steadying as he let go of the emotions he had just portrayed. He straightened himself, glanced at the three people sitting in front of the stage, and gave them a small, polite bow before stepping back.


    Director McCann looked up from his notes. He had a composed expression, but a flicker of excitement still flashed in his eyes. He gave a small nod. ¡°Thank you for your performance. We¡¯ll review the auditions and contact you soon.¡± He paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on the actor on stage with a hint of approval before adding, ¡°You may step down now.¡±


    Astrid glanced at the director, noticing the subtle satisfaction in his expression. It was clear Rhett Archer¡¯s performance had impressed him. Astrid had to admit, he felt the same. He was glad to have been proven wrong, realizing that the other¡¯s acting range was far greater than he had originally assumed.


    He typed out his notes on Rhett Archer¡¯s profile, carefully documenting his thoughts on the performance.


    ¨C He captured the character¡¯s emotional complexity with authenticity, delivering a performance that was both compelling and layered.


    ¨C Some of his gestures felt a bit too restrained, as if he was hesitating whether he should do it or not, which limited the full impact of certain emotional moments.


    With that, the next performer stepped onto the stage, and the audition carried on.

 Chapter 669 A BIT OF REAS AND LAUREN

    while astrid was busy with the audition, reas was also busy in his own way.


    he was currently in lauren¡¯s private villa, preparing dinner. since lauren had given him access to the villa, they agreed it would be more convenient to meet here rather than somewhere else. of course, this access wasn¡¯t just verbal; during his last visit, lauren had added his biometrics to the villa¡¯s security system. now, all he had to do was show up and let the system recognize him to gain entry.


    lauren had said he¡¯d be back by dinner, so reas decided to get a head start in the kitchen. he stood at the stove, tossing a mix of vegetables and thin slices of meat in a pan, the savory aroma filling the air as the sauce thickened just right. on the next burner, a pot of soup was bubbling gently, its clear broth carrying the light scent of tofu and fresh greens. nearby, he flipped dumplings in a pan, their edges turning golden and crispy. a bamboo steamer sat on the counter, releasing wisps of steam from the soft buns inside. the kitchen felt warm and inviting, and as he worked, he couldn¡¯t help but hope lauren would appreciate the effort when he got home.


    once reas finished cooking, he set the table, placing each dish neatly in the center. just as he was adjusting one of the plates, he heard the front door open. he turned his head quickly toward the entrance and saw lauren stepping inside, looking relaxed with his jacket draped over one arm. their eyes met almost immediately, and for a moment, it felt as if everything else faded away, leaving just the two of them in the quiet stillness.


    it had been two weeks since they last met in person. although they had stayed connected through video calls, seeing each other in real life was an entirely different experience. more importantly, this was their first time meeting after officially confirming their relationship, which made the moment feel even more impactful.


    reas didn¡¯t hesitate and rushed forward, wrapping his arms tightly around lauren. he felt the slight stiffness in lauren¡¯s body at first, as if caught off guard. but after a moment, lauren¡¯s body softened in his embrace, and he slowly brought his arms up, returning the hug.


    ¡°i missed you,¡± reas said without a moment¡¯s hesitation.


    lauren, still in his arms, blushed furiously. ¡°i-i missed you too.¡±


    reas pulled back slightly, just enough to cup lauren¡¯s face gently in his hands. his thumbs brushed lightly against lauren¡¯s cheeks as he asked, ¡°can i kiss you?¡± s~ea??h the novel(f~)ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    lauren¡¯s face, already flushed, turned an even deeper shade of red. ¡°you¡ª!¡±


    before he could finish, reas closed the distance, his lips meeting lauren¡¯s in a soft, unspoken answer.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    the first day of auditions ended late in the evening, around 10 pm, which was understandable considering the large number of participants.


    astrid looked around the empty theatre. only a handful of people remained: ellis, director mccann, the casting director camilla, and joseph, the director of photography. the staff from indieflix studios had already left. the four of them were gathered around a table, while joseph worked alone on the stage, methodically taking down the cameras he had set up earlier.


    honestly, it had been an exhausting day. astrid didn¡¯t want to sound insensitive, especially since, unlike the people auditioning, all he had to do was sit and watch. still, sitting through countless auditions back-to-back for an entire day was incredibly tiring. he supposed he should be thankful that each scenario prepared by the director was short and they weren¡¯t required to give feedback to every participant. if they had, they might have been stuck here well past midnight. discover hidden tales at empire


    ¡°was there any performance that stood out to you, astrid?¡± director mccann asked.


    at the director¡¯s question, a certain man with sharp features came to astrid¡¯s mind. he had a rugged, almost intimidating presence that perfectly suited the role of a villainous gangster. astrid had doubted the man¡¯s ability to pull off the scenario he had chosen, but to his surprise, the man proved him wrong. and for that, astrid couldn¡¯t have been more pleased.


    ¡°personally, i think mr. archer gave an excellent performance,¡± he said. ¡°oh, and miss marlowe as well.¡±


    after saying the names of the two, he continued by mentioning several other individuals who had auditioned that day.


    jimmy hadn¡¯t expected astrid to directly name people. with over 400 people auditioning, it would have been perfectly reasonable if astrid didn¡¯t remember any of their names. in fact, jimmy had assumed that astrid would first consult his terminal to review the profiles of the actors who had auditioned today. that was exactly what jimmy had planned to do himself, as he had already marked the profiles of those who had delivered the best performances.


    ¡°do you remember everyone¡¯s name?¡± jimmy asked, his tone faintly skeptical.


    camilla shot her friend a look, as if he had just asked the most ridiculous question. ¡°how could that be possible? it¡¯s obviously because these people left such a strong impression on him. am i right, mr. townsend?¡±


    astrid just smiled and stayed silent. it was better to let them assume than to lie outright. of course, he didn¡¯t remember everyone. he only made an effort to recall the names of those who stood out, which wasn¡¯t difficult for him. with his sss-level mental strength, he could easily memorize the names of every single person who auditioned today if he wanted to. but why would he? what would be the point of remembering all those names? it would be like saving files he wouldn¡¯t use again.


    ¡°it¡¯s getting late,¡± ellis said gently, glancing at the others. ¡°why don¡¯t we wrap this up for now? you can go over everything in more detail after tomorrow¡¯s auditions are finished.¡±


    hearing ellis¡¯s suggestion, jimmy quickly shifted his attention away from his amazement at astrid¡¯s ability to recall the names of some of the auditionees. he nodded in agreement and said, ¡°yeah, let¡¯s call it a day and head home for now.¡±


    and that¡¯s how the first day of the public audition ended.

 Chapter 670 I MISS YOU TOO

    ASTRID closed the door to his apartment and sank onto the couch. Xiao Lan hopped onto his lap and greeted him. He stroked the cat¡¯s soft fur while opening his Terminal to check the messages he¡¯d missed during his busy day.


    The first thing that caught his attention was a message from Reas. He clicked it open and began to read.


    [Aster, I won¡¯t be home tonight. I¡¯ll be staying at Lauren¡¯s place. If all goes well, I might just head straight to school from here.]


    Astrid raised a brow as he read the message. He knew Reas was meeting Lauren today, but he didn¡¯t expect it would end with him staying at Lauren¡¯s place. And ¡®if all goes well¡¯? Was Reas suggesting that things might take a more¡­ personal turn?


    Was their relationship already at that stage? Astrid shook his head. It didn¡¯t matter either way. They were both consenting adults and free to handle their relationship however they wanted. Even if Reas was technically still a teenager, he carried himself with a maturity that often surpassed those older than him. Besides, if it came down to it, Astrid had no doubt that between Reas and Lauren, it would be the latter who was ¡®bullied¡¯¡ªregardless of their position in bed.


    So, he simply responded to his brother¡¯s message with a casual, [Have fun! ^_^].


    The next message was from Kiran.


    [Aster, I¡¯ve decided to sign with Mr. Atkins¡¯ agency. Miss Rose asked her lawyer friend to review the contract with me, and there were no issues at all. In fact, the lawyer said it¡¯s very advantageous for me. Mr. Atkins mentioned that he¡¯ll assign an agent to handle everything related to my career, so I can focus entirely on creating music. I¡¯m really excited to start this new chapter of my life!]


    Astrid felt genuinely happy for Kiran. Knowing Kiran¡¯s reluctance to be in the spotlight, it was a relief to see him embrace an opportunity that allowed him to focus on what he truly loved¡ªmaking music. There was something deeply satisfying about being able to make a living doing what you love. He could only hope that Shir Atkins would prove worthy of the trust Kiran was placing in him.


    He typed back with a smile: [That¡¯s amazing, Kiran. I¡¯m really happy for you. Just let me know if you ever need help or advice. I¡¯m rooting for you!]


    The next messages were from his uncles and Nicol. Thomas¡¯ message was straightforward, asking how he was and checking in as usual. Casey¡¯s, on the other hand, was more casual, venting about mistakes his employees at EMMA had made. Nicol¡¯s message was lighthearted, narrating his day and asking when they could meet again. Astrid took his time replying to each message one by one.


    Next, he opened his mother¡¯s message. It began with the usual questions about how he was doing, followed by an update about his grandfather.


    [Would you believe it? Your grandfather is actually taking to farm life¡ªand doing it well, no less. It¡¯s like he¡¯s been at it his whole life. He¡¯s even gone and made friends with the other farmers. Honestly, I¡¯m not sure how to feel about it.]


    Attached to the message was a picture of his grandfather, standing in the middle of the field, a snall smile on his face as he worked under the sun.


    It was understandable that his mother felt conflicted about his grandfather being there. While she had chosen to forgive him, that didn¡¯t mean she could simply forget everything that had happened. A part of her was likely still angry over the past. But forgiveness had been her way of moving forward with her life. Still, as the saying went, forgiving was one thing¡ªforgetting was something else entirely.


    Well, if his grandfather really wanted to be a part of his mother¡¯s life again, he¡¯d have to work hard to prove he deserved it.


    Astrid replied: [It sounds like he¡¯s settling in. How are you holding up with all this, Mom?]


    He didn¡¯t get an immediate reply, so his mother was probably asleep. With that in mind, he moved on to the next message, or rather, several messages, which were all from Wulfric.


    [Good morning, Aster! Have you had breakfast?]


    [You mentioned you¡¯d be observing auditions for your next film today, right? Don¡¯t overwork yourself, and make sure you eat on time.] Enjoy more content from empire


    [Are you busy? Of course, you must be. If you weren¡¯t, you¡¯d have replied to me by now.]


    [You still haven¡¯t read any of my messages. Is everything okay?]


    [Are you still at the auditions?]


    [It must be evening already in the capital, and you¡¯re still at the auditions?]


    [You really should ask that director for a raise¡ªhe¡¯s making you do work overtime!]


    [Aster, please tell me you¡¯ve eaten dinner. Don¡¯t forget to eat, okay?]


    [Aster¡­]


    [I miss you.]


    Astrid chuckled softly as he read through the messages. It felt like something a clingy boyfriend might send, yet instead of finding it annoying, he found it oddly endearing.


    It was definitely because they were from Wulfric. If anyone else had sent messages like this, he might have found them overbearing or even irritating. But coming from Wulfric, they felt different. There was a sincerity to them, a warmth that made Astrid smile instead of roll his eyes. It wasn¡¯t just the words¡ªit was knowing they came from someone who genuinely cared for him.


    He resisted the urge to call Wulfric, knowing exactly how the conversation would go. They¡¯d start talking about something simple, and before he knew it, hours would have passed. As much as he enjoyed their conversations, he couldn¡¯t let that happen tonight. There was another audition tomorrow, and he needed to get a full night¡¯s rest to be at his best for it. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So, he could only reply to his messages.


    [Don¡¯t worry, I ate on time. And I¡¯m not overworked, just busy with the auditions earlier. I¡¯m already back at my apartment and about to get some rest. Stop stressing so much. I¡¯m fine. (..???..)]


    He looked at his reply, and then added.


    [I miss you too.]

 Chapter 671 SHOULD HE JUST...?

    WULFRIC pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the tension building in his head. He had been working non-stop for two days, catching up on everything he missed during his sudden trip to Delryria. There was no time to go home; his office had essentially become his living quarters, with virtual screens hovering around him, displaying an endless stream of files and notifications. The strain of reviewing and approving them was starting to make him dizzy. He would much rather be out training his soldiers, anything to escape this monotony. But he knew if he even tried, Leland would show up before he could take a single step out the door.


    He had been meaning to discuss something with Samuel about the upcoming fan club activities. Aster¡¯s first movie as a main lead was set to release next month. Wulfric didn¡¯t know the exact date yet, but he wanted to plan something special to celebrate the milestone. It was a big moment, after all. Now that Samuel was the fan club president, Wulfric needed to coordinate with him so he could organize everything with the other members of the club.


    But Wulfric couldn¡¯t even get to that because of the overwhelming workload. He could only grit his teeth and force himself to finish it all as quickly as he could. His only consolation was that he could still send messages to Aster.


    Aster usually replied to his messages within a few minutes, but today, he hadn¡¯t responded to a single one. And Wulfric had sent plenty. None of them had even been read. Just as he was starting to feel worried, he remembered that Aster had mentioned observing a public audition for his next movie this weekend.


    Although he felt relieved, he still sent a few more messages reminding Aster not to forget to eat. And then finally, an hour before midnight, he received a reply from Aster.


    He eagerly opened it and read it.


    [Don¡¯t worry, I ate on time. And I¡¯m not overworked, just busy with the auditions earlier. I¡¯m already back at my apartment and about to get some rest. Stop stressing so much. I¡¯m fine. (..???..)]


    [I miss you too.]


    Wulfric blinked, staring at the last message. ¡®I miss you too.¡¯ The words seemed to grow larger, dominating his vision. They overwhelmed his mind, momentarily shutting down any ability to think.


    He closed his eyes, then opened them again, double-checking to make sure his mind wasn¡¯t playing tricks on him. But the words didn¡¯t vanish¡ªthey were still there, clear and unmistakable on his Terminal.


    Aster really had sent him a message saying he missed him too. Wulfric¡¯s eyes lit up, and a wide grin spread across his face. His heart raced with excitement, and he felt an almost childlike energy surge through him. He couldn¡¯t sit still, his hands fidgeting as he reread the message over and over, unable to stop the growing sense of happiness bubbling inside him.


    He reached for the video call button, but he stopped himself at the last moment. Aster had a long day and was likely exhausted. Wulfric frowned, realizing he might disturb him if he called now. What if Aster was resting? He didn¡¯t want to bother him when he deserved a break after such a busy day.


    So, all he could do was type out a reply instead.


    [Get some rest. Don¡¯t overwork yourself. I¡¯ll talk to you later. And¡­ I miss you more than you can imagine.] Read latest stories on empire


    After sending the message, his mood instantly lifted. It felt as if all the exhaustion from the day had vanished. Aster just had that kind of effect on him.


    As he thought about Aster¡¯s message, Wulfric couldn¡¯t help but recall what Aster had told him on the spaceship before they landed back in the capital. Aster had said he would give his answer to Wulfric¡¯s confession once he won best actor in one of the major awards shows. But with this ¡®I miss you too¡¯ message, didn¡¯t it mean that the answer he¡¯d eventually get would be a positive one?


    The thought of that possibility filled him with excitement again. For a moment, he even considered ensuring that Aster won every major award. But as soon as the idea crossed his mind, he immediately dismissed it. No, Aster would definitely hate it if he did something like that.


    He sighed. See how considerate he was? Anyway, when exactly were those awards shows supposed to happen again?


    Wulfric searched on his Terminal, and his eyes widened at the result. The awards for television series were usually scheduled late in the year, while those for movies were usually set in the first quarter of the year. That meant the earliest he could expect an answer was late in the year, and at the latest, early in the following year.


    Should he just create his own awards show? Something that could be held in the next two or three months, perhaps?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª- S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next day, Astrid and Ellis made their way to the Bellmont Theatre for the second day of the public auditions. Just like the first day, nearly 500 people had signed up to audition, making it another long and exhausting day. With so many participants, the process dragged on for hours. By the time they were finished, it was already late in the evening.


    ¡°We should set aside a full day to evaluate all the auditions,¡± Director McCann suggested, before turning to Astrid. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think you really need me for this. I trust your judgment,¡± Astrid said. ¡°But if you really want my input, I can just send you the top three candidates I think were the best for each role. Then you and Miss Hughes can make the final decision.¡±


    Director McCann initially rejected the idea, arguing that, as the film¡¯s major investor, he had the right to make the final decision. However, Astrid pushed back, reminding him that before being an investor, he was an actor. He emphasized that he didn¡¯t want to interfere with the director¡¯s creative decisions and believed the final call should rest with the other.


    The director couldn¡¯t argue any further after that.

 Chapter 672 THE WORST PR NIGHTMARE

    AFTER extensive discussion, it was decided that Astrid would take the coming week to review all the performances from the recently concluded auditions and submit his top three choices once he was done. The director and casting director would independently do the same. Once all three had finalized their selections, the final decision would rest with Director McCann, as Astrid had emphasized.


    Once everything was settled, Ellis drove Astrid back to his apartment.


    As they neared his apartment, Astrid stole a glance at Ellis. He had already decided he would tell her his family¡¯s ¡®secret¡¯ once the auditions were over. He could wait until tomorrow, but why procrastinate? If he convinced himself it was already too late tonight, he might find another excuse tomorrow¡ªand the day after that. Eventually, Ellis might hear the truth from someone else. No, it was better to get it over with and tell her now.


    ¡°Sister Ellis, would you mind coming up with me?¡± he asked as soon as she parked the car. ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡±


    Ellis glanced at Astrid, curious about what he wanted to discuss. But when she noticed the seriousness in his expression, she suddenly remembered¡ªhe had mentioned wanting to tell her something after his trip home. The chaos of the weekend had nearly made her forget about it.


    ¡°Alright,¡± she replied.


    Astrid smiled and stepped out of the car, with Ellis following close behind. As she watched his back, her curiosity grew. What could he possibly want to discuss? Surely, it couldn¡¯t be anything worse than him being courted by the prince. After all, what could be a bigger PR nightmare than that?


    A few minutes later, they reached Astrid¡¯s apartment unit.


    ¡°Make yourself comfortable, Sister Ellis. I¡¯ll prepare some tea for us,¡± Astrid said, heading straight to the small kitchen area.


    Ellis decided to sit at the dining table. Since they were going to have tea, it made more sense to sit there than to use the coffee table in the living room area.


    Astrid began preparing the tea, the soothing aroma of brewing leaves quickly filling the air. A few moments later, he carried a small tray with two cups and a teapot, setting them carefully on the dining table before taking a seat across from Ellis.


    ¡°So, what is it you wanted to discuss?¡± Ellis asked, accepting the cup of tea Astrid had just poured for her.


    Astrid took a deep breath, his posture straightening slightly, as if he was preparing himself to deliver bad news. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Do you remember when I told you that my brother and I had to go back home because of a situation involving our family?¡± Astrid began. ¡°Well, the truth is, it was about a major family secret.¡±


    The moment Ellis heard the words ¡®family secret¡¯, a bad feeling settled over her. She couldn¡¯t shake the thought that whatever Astrid was about to say might really be worse than the situation with him being courted by the prince.


    ¡°Just lay it on me and don¡¯t beat around the bush,¡± she said, adjusting her grip on the teacup. ¡°I won¡¯t interrupt you, so just say it all at once.¡±


    Astrid took another deep breath and really just went for it.


    ¡°Our mother¡¯s maiden name is Emmaline Grimaldi. Over 20 years ago, she faked her death due to some serious issues involving the Lancaster family. Because of that, our father also became one of the most wanted men in the Empire. They changed their identities and settled in Delryria, where Reas and I were born.


    ¡°A few weeks ago, Duke Grimaldi and his two sons discovered our existence¡ªthat we¡¯re the children of their daughter or sister. They wanted to meet our mother to apologize for everything that had happened in the past, which led to the current situation. To be fair, it was mostly Grandfather and Uncle Thomas who felt guilty. Uncle Casey didn¡¯t do anything wrong; he just wanted to see Mom because he¡¯d spent all these years thinking she was dead.


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    ¡°So, we all went to Delryria for a reunion. Things are¡­ okay now, I guess. That¡¯s about it.¡±


    Ellis blinked, her expression shifting between shock and disbelief. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it again, pressing her lips together tightly. For a moment, she simply stared at Astrid, then leaned back slightly, raising her eyebrows as if to silently ask, ¡®Are you serious?¡¯ Finally, she let out a small, incredulous laugh, rubbing her temples like she was trying to process the sheer absurdity of what she¡¯d just heard.


    She dropped her hands from her temples and let out a sharp exhale. ¡°So, let me get this straight. Your mother is the supposedly dead daughter of Duke Grimaldi, your father is on the Empire¡¯s most wanted list, and somehow they managed to get married and have you and Reas?¡± Her voice wavered slightly between shock and disbelief as she gestured vaguely. ¡°And now the Grimaldis have made peace with her, and you¡¯re all¡­ what? One big happy family now?¡±


    ¡°Well, technically, yes. But I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to call us ¡®one big happy family.¡¯ Let¡¯s just stick with ¡®family¡¯ for now.¡±


    Ellis felt her blood pressure shoot up so fast she half-expected to see stars. She stared at Astrid, her fingers twitching like they wanted to throttle the nearest pillow¡ªor maybe him.


    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± she muttered under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose like that might somehow lower the sudden spike in her stress levels.


    Then, she suddenly recalled the dinner at one of the Grimaldis¡¯ manors, the same day Astrid had done his photoshoot for the upcoming EMMA collection. She had noticed the strange atmosphere back then, even briefly wondering if Astrid might be some illegitimate son of the duke. But now, wasn¡¯t this revelation even more outrageous?


    This wasn¡¯t just about a noblewoman who faked her death and a wanted criminal¡ªit also involved two powerful noble families. And she had thought nothing could be worse than the prince liking Astrid. But this? This was on an entirely different level.


    No, this was the worst PR nightmare imaginable!

 Chapter 673 A GAMBLE IM MORE THAN WILLING TO TAKE

    ELLIS felt like a flying car had hit her¡ªexcept instead of bruises and wounds, it left her with a pounding headache and the sudden, irrational certainty that she was seconds away from cardiac arrest. She clutched the edge of the table, her grip so tight it could probably leave fingerprints on solid oak, while her eyes darted to the teapot like it was the only thing tethering her to sanity.


    Without thinking, she grabbed her teacup and started drinking. Sip. Sip. Sip. A brief pause. Sip. Was it helping? Not at all. But the thought of putting the cup down felt like admitting defeat, and she wasn¡¯t about to let a family scandal knock her out of commission. She poured herself another cup with shaky hands, muttering internally about needing to invest in a flask¡ªforget water; she was going to start carrying emergency tea for moments like these.


    She stared at Astrid across the table, her mind still swirling with disbelief. Was he serious? Of course, he was serious. No one dropped news like this as a joke. Still, she couldn¡¯t shake the mental image of herself flopping dramatically onto the floor like a character in a bad drama. Instead, she drained her second cup of tea and immediately poured a third. By the end of this, she might end up as caffeinated as a hummingbird, but at least she¡¯d be too jittery to focus on the world¡¯s most absurd PR crisis sitting across from her.


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    ¡°Sister Ellis?¡± Astrid said, his voice breaking the silence as he looked at his agent.


    He could see Ellis doing everything in her power to keep her cool. She kept fidgeting, tapping her fingers lightly on the table or adjusting her grip on the teacup as if the small movements could somehow distract her from the weight of what she¡¯d just heard. Every few seconds, she¡¯d take another sip of tea, like she was following a set routine to stop herself from spiraling. Her shoulders were stiff, and her breaths came a little too fast, almost like she was trying to regulate them but couldn¡¯t quite manage. Even her gaze seemed to wander, shifting between the table, the teapot, and anywhere but his face, as though looking at him might make her lose whatever grip she had left on her composure. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid wisely kept his mouth shut, giving Ellis the space to process everything. He had a strong suspicion that if he dared to ask what they should do next, she might grab the teacup in front of her and toss its contents directly at his face without a second thought.


    Ellis drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She repeated the process a few more times, each exhale seeming to chip away at the tension in her body. Eventually, her forced composure began to settle, and she finally managed to regain her calm.


    ¡°Alright,¡± she said after a moment, her tone steadying. ¡°Since you can¡¯t pick your family, we¡¯ll just have to play the hand we¡¯ve been dealt.¡±


    Astrid nodded, relieved that Ellis seemed to have settled down. ¡°Do you have any suggestions on how we handle this?¡±


    Ellis let out a dry laugh, shaking her head as she leaned back in her chair. ¡°Honestly? I¡¯ve got nothing right now,¡± she said, her voice tinged with exasperation. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even know where to start explaining this to someone without it sounding like the plot of a bad soap opera.¡±


    Astrid gave a faint, almost sheepish smile as he shrugged. ¡°If it¡¯s any consolation,¡± he said lightly, ¡°my relationship with Wulf will probably hit the headlines long before anyone digs up my family¡¯s secrets.¡±


    Ellis rolled her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s hardly any consolation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying this secret isn¡¯t something that would be exposed easily,¡± Astrid said. ¡°My grandfather and uncles will do whatever it takes to keep my mother safe. They won¡¯t let anything jeopardize her. And Wulf is there too¡ªif anything starts to surface, he¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s dealt with before it becomes an issue.¡±


    ¡°I understand the Grimaldis since they have a vested interest in this. But are you sure the prince will always be in your corner?¡± Ellis asked. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be harsh, but people¡¯s lives and priorities evolve¡ªthings happen, situations change. The prince might be sincere now, but no one can predict how he¡¯ll feel or act in a few years. Even a year from now, his focus could shift for any number of reasons. Trusting someone¡¯s feelings to stay the same over time, especially in something as sensitive as this, is a gamble you might not want to take.¡±


    Astrid could understand why Ellis would say that. Given her past experiences with love, it wasn¡¯t surprising that she¡¯d grown a little cynical. And she wasn¡¯t entirely wrong¡ªhumans could be incredibly fickle. Relationships often fell apart over the smallest things: a misunderstanding, a change in priorities, or even sheer boredom. He¡¯d seen friendships dissolve over petty arguments and marriages end because one partner suddenly decided they wanted something¡ªor someone¡ªelse.


    But he also knew that people weren¡¯t inherently like that. Humans could be faithful, loyal, and steadfast. His parents were proof of that. Despite everything they had endured¡ªchanging identities, living in hiding, and carrying the weight of their shared secrets¡ªthey had remained devoted to one another through it all.


    Most people would likely place Wulfric in the first category, but Astrid knew better¡ªhe belonged in the second. On the outside, Wulfric might seem rough, unfeeling, and self-centered, with a dash of aggression for good measure. And sure, those traits weren¡¯t entirely inaccurate. But he could also be surprisingly caring, deeply thoughtful, and fiercely protective. Granted, those qualities seemed to show only when it came to Astrid, but that just made it all the more obvious how much he truly mattered to Wulfric.


    Wulfric¡¯s behavior toward him was proof enough¡ªhe wasn¡¯t someone who gave his affection easily. The way he reserved all his gentleness and care for Astrid showed just how real and deep his feelings were.


    Astrid met Ellis¡¯ gaze, a confident smile playing on his lips. ¡°If it¡¯s Wulf, that¡¯s a gamble I¡¯m more than willing to take.¡±

 Chapter 674 ELLIS THOUGHTS

    ¡°SO, what¡¯s the deal with you showing up in the middle of the night and dragging me into a drink?¡± Grant said, filling Ellis¡¯s glass with another shot, his curiosity evident behind the casual tone.


    Ellis tipped the glass back, downing its contents in one smooth motion. ¡°It¡¯s been one hell of a night,¡± she muttered, her voice edged with exhaustion.


    Grant leaned back in his chair, watching as Ellis reached for the bottle and poured herself another drink. He didn¡¯t say anything at first, just observed. It wasn¡¯t often he saw her like this¡ªso out of sorts. Normally, Ellis had an uncanny knack for keeping it together, no matter what the universe threw her way. But tonight, she had that look about her, the one that reminded him of when she and Olivia Crane had called it quits. Back then, she hadn¡¯t cried or ranted, just grabbed a bottle of whiskey and declared it a ¡°cleansing ritual.¡± This wasn¡¯t quite the same, but the way she poured herself another drink without a word made him wonder just what kind of storm she¡¯d weathered this time.


    ¡°Rough night?¡± he remarked, taking a slow sip from his own glass, his tone casual but laced with curiosity.


    Ellis drowned another glass. ¡°You have no idea.¡±


    The things she¡¯d learned about Astrid earlier came rushing back, bringing with them another splitting headache. She¡¯d managed to appear calm and collected when she left his apartment, but it had been an act¡ªa performance meant to put both of them at ease. The truth was, she¡¯d been anything but fine. If she¡¯d let her panic show, let him see just how overwhelmed she really was, it might have added unnecessary tension to their already fragile situation.


    Though they¡¯d only known each other for a little over half a year, Ellis didn¡¯t see Astrid as just her artist. To her, he was more than a friend¡ªhe was like a younger brother. The news he¡¯d shared might have blindsided her, but that didn¡¯t change how she felt. No matter how shocking it was, she was determined to help him find a way to handle it. When the time came for it to go public, she¡¯d make sure it didn¡¯t derail his career.


    And she was certain it would¡ªsecrets like this had a way of coming to light, no matter how carefully they were hidden.


    Yes, the Grimaldi family was powerful¡ªpowerful enough, perhaps, to be the reason Astrid¡¯s parents¡¯ whereabouts had remained undiscovered all this time. They¡¯d managed to protect that secret for decades, but could they keep it buried for a century or more? Maybe. But then again, who could say for certain?


    Then there was the prince. According to Astrid, he was now part of the effort to safeguard this secret. Ellis found that even harder to believe. The prince wasn¡¯t exactly the embodiment of loyalty or trustworthiness¡ªhe was more like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. And yet, for reasons Ellis couldn¡¯t fathom, Astrid still trusted him.


    Maybe she did know the reason behind Astrid¡¯s trust; she was just refusing to accept it. His words from earlier lingered in her mind¡ªhow he was willing to take the gamble because it was the prince. The answer was right there, teetering on the edge of her thoughts, but she didn¡¯t want to acknowledge it. Doing so would only intensify her headache. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    That¡¯s why, instead of going home, she went to the one friend she knew wouldn¡¯t turn her away for showing up late at night and demanding a drink. And so, she found herself at Grant¡¯s penthouse.


    ¡°This is not about Olivia, right?¡±


    At Grant¡¯s sudden question, Ellis blinked, pausing mid-motion with the glass halfway to her lips. She turned to him, staring as if he¡¯d completely lost his mind. ¡°Gods, no. What on earth gave you that idea?¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s the only reason you ever drink,¡± Grant replied matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Was. She was,¡± Ellis corrected sharply. ¡°That part of my life is over. I¡¯ve moved on, and so has she.¡±


    ¡°Then what happened to make you drink like this?¡± Grant asked, his tone a mix of confusion and curiosity.


    Ellis glanced at her friend. Since Grant was the president of Polaris, it made sense to consult him about Astrid¡¯s unusual¡­ situation. But not tonight. What Astrid had told her was a closely guarded secret, one she couldn¡¯t share lightly¡ªnot even with someone like Grant.


    Although she trusted that Grant wouldn¡¯t share the secret with anyone and might even come up with ways to protect Astrid¡¯s career, it still wasn¡¯t her secret to tell.


    Knowing Astrid, he would probably tell Grant himself when the time was right¡ªlikely when the secret was on the verge of being exposed or something equally dramatic. For now, the only thing she could do was prepare. And she had a lot to prepare for. Not only did she need to brace herself for the inevitable PR nightmare this family secret would unleash, but she also had to be ready for the fallout when Astrid and the prince¡¯s relationship became public.


    Oh, she had no doubt there would be a relationship. The way Astrid trusted the prince said it all. If he was willing to take such a gamble, it was clear he felt something more than just a passing interest. Ellis could see it in the way Astrid spoke about him, the subtle shifts in his tone, the unspoken conviction in his words. Whether he realized it or not, his feelings were already deeper than he might admit.


    And to think the two being in a relationship wasn¡¯t the worst of it all.


    Ellis let out a long sigh, setting her glass down with a soft clink. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I learned some things I wasn¡¯t expecting,¡± she said carefully. ¡°Nothing bad¡ªjust¡­ complicated. The kind of stuff that makes your head spin if you think about it too much.¡±


    Grant raised a brow at that but didn¡¯t press further. He¡¯d never been the type to pry, especially since this was Ellis¡¯ private business. If she wanted to talk, she would¡ªeventually.


    So, he simply poured Ellis another glass. ¡°Well then, my friend, consider my alcohol stash at your disposal¡ªwhatever it takes to keep your head from spinning.¡±


    Ellis let out a chuckle. ¡°You might regret saying that.¡±

 Chapter 675 A COUPLE OF I MISS YOUS

    ASTRID stood and stretched, easing the tension from his body. After days of reviewing the performances from last weekend¡¯s auditions for [The Shadow Within], he had finally made his decisions. He had carefully selected the actors he believed were perfect for each role. To make the process faster and more efficient, Astrid had used a systematic method.


    Astrid¡¯s system was straightforward but effective. He created a table with two columns: one for the role and the other for the actor he deemed the best fit. Whenever he watched a promising performance, he jotted down the actor¡¯s name in the corresponding row. If another actor later outperformed them, he replaced the name with the new contender. He repeated this process meticulously, ensuring that each role was matched with the strongest performance by the time he finished reviewing all the auditions.


    And since he¡¯s now done, he quickly emailed the table he made to Director McCann. Now, the final decision of who would get the roles would be on him and the casting director.


    He left his room and headed to the kitchen to brew some tea. While the tea was brewing, a notification pinged on his Terminal. When he saw that it was from Ellis, he subconciously raised his brow.


    After their conversation over the weekend, during which he confided in her about his family¡¯s situation, Ellis had gone radio silent. This message was her first contact with him since then. The thought that she might have been scared by what he had shared had never occurred to Astrid. Surprised, perhaps. Shocked? Absolutely. But scared? That possibility had never crossed his mind.


    Ellis had always been steady and confident, the kind of person who faced challenges head-on without hesitation. That¡¯s why he never thought the secret he shared about his family might scare her. He assumed she would handle it the same way she handled everything else: calmly, logically, and with a clear plan in mind. The idea that she might react differently simply never occurred to him.


    After three days of silence, he was starting to wonder if he really had scared her away. The thought was disappointing, to say the least. But more than disappointment, it was simply sad. In the seven months he had known Ellis, she had become more than just his agent¡ªhe already considered her a close and important friend. Losing that connection would feel like losing something far more meaningful than professional support.


    But now that she had messaged him, it seemed his initial guess was right¡ªshe had simply been taking her time to process everything he¡¯d told her. And honestly, he couldn¡¯t blame her. The added pressure of his potential relationship with Wulfric only made things more complicated. It was no wonder she was feeling stressed.


    Shaking his head, Astrid clicked on the message and read it.


    [Astrid, don¡¯t forget to check out the trailer for <Serendipitous Summer>. It¡¯s going live tonight.]


    Ah, right. That was tonight. He had nearly forgotten, with everything that had been going on. Considering the movie was set to release next month, dropping the trailer now felt a bit last-minute. Well, at least, according to his past life¡¯s standard.


    In this era, where movies were churned out like instant meals, releasing a trailer just a month before the premiere had become the norm. With the trailer dropping tonight, it signaled the start of the movie¡¯s promotional campaign. And then there was [The Shadow Within] to think about. The next few weeks were going to be extremely busy for him.


    Not that he was complaining; in his line of work, staying busy was always a good thing.


    He responded to Ellis, assuring her he¡¯d make a point to watch the trailer. Then he added, clearly teasing; Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [I thought you¡¯d already forgotten about me and decided to run away.]


    Ellis replied almost instantly.


    [Funny. You know that¡¯ll never happen. You¡¯re my ticket to landing a number one star. How could I leave just because I found out your mother is the not-so-dead daughter of Duke Grimaldi and your father is a wanted man?]


    Astrid chuckled at the obvious dry humor. At least this confirmed that Ellis just needed time to process everything.


    After a few more exchanges, they wrapped up the conversation. Just as he was about to turn off his Terminal, a video call request from Wulfric popped up. He didn¡¯t hesitate and accepted it.


    Wulfric¡¯s handsome face appeared on the screen, his golden eyes sweeping over him with a gaze that felt almost hungry. The first thing he said was;


    ¡°I miss you.¡±


    Astrid felt a familiar warmth bloom in his chest, spreading like a quiet flame. His heart fluttered, not from surprise, but from the simple, undeniable pleasure of hearing those words from Wulfric again.


    Yes, again. Ever since he¡¯d responded to Wulfric¡¯s message with an ¡®I miss you too¡¯, those words had become Wulfric¡¯s customary greeting every time they video called. It was now a habit of his, almost like a ritual. And yet, for some reason, Astrid¡¯s heart still managed to skip a beat every time he heard it.


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    Of course, if he thought about it long enough, the reason wasn¡¯t exactly a mystery. But Astrid didn¡¯t want to dwell on it too deeply. He¡¯d already decided when he would respond to Wulfric¡¯s confession, and he was determined to stick to that plan. Besides, it would also serve as a good test of Wulfric¡¯s patience.


    If Wulfric could wait for him without pushing or pressuring him, while still showing him the same adoration and love, it would give Astrid the reassurance he needed. It wasn¡¯t that he doubted Wulfric¡¯s feelings¡ªfar from it. But taking his time to observe Wulfric¡¯s patience and steadfastness would confirm, beyond any shadow of a doubt, just how deep those feelings ran. For Astrid, this wasn¡¯t about mistrust; it was about making sure he could entrust his heart to someone who would truly cherish it.


    But for now, he simply smiled back at Wulfric, a smile he didn¡¯t realize was so bright it made Wulfric¡¯s breath hitch, and said, ¡°I miss you too.¡±

 Chapter 676 [SERENDIPITOUS SUMMER] TRAILER

    ASTRID could almost see Wulfric¡¯s imaginary wolf ears perk up at his words, as if his simple admission had unleashed a wave of unrestrained joy. If the video call had shown more than just his face, Astrid was certain he¡¯d spot an equally imaginary tail wagging with boundless excitement. The mental image made him smile, filling him with a mix of amusement and a strange, almost irresistible urge to reach out and ruffle Wulfric¡¯s hair¡ªif only to see how he¡¯d react.


    He cleared his throat, steering the conversation away before his thoughts could wander any further. ¡°So, how was your day?¡±


    Wulfric sighed, a note of annoyance evident in his tone. ¡°Same old¡ªendless virtual documents. Honestly, I¡¯d rather be out training the soldiers or sparring with someone.¡± Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire


    Astrid chuckled at the thought. He still couldn¡¯t quite picture Wulfric stuck behind a desk, wading through virtual documents. In his mind, Wulfric was meant to be free-spirited and untamed, doing whatever he pleased without restraint. Still, it was probably a good thing he had at least some sense of responsibility as a general of the Empire. Though, if Astrid had to guess, that so-called ¡®responsibility¡¯ was more likely the result of his straight-laced lieutenant¡¯s influence. Without Leland¡¯s watchful eye, Wulfric would probably have no qualms about skipping out on his duties entirely.


    ¡°And you? How was your day?¡± Wulfric asked, his golden eyes softening as his focus settled entirely on Astrid.


    ¡°Well, aside from the usual class, I reviewed the performances of those who auditioned last weekend and summarized my selections for the casting.¡± Astrid shrugged lightly.


    Wulfric¡¯s brows knitted together in a slight frown. ¡°Why are you handling that? Isn¡¯t it someone else¡¯s job? Or are the people in charge of your new movie so incompetent that they¡¯re making you pick up the slack?¡±


    Astrid found himself quietly amused by Wulfric¡¯s reaction. He could tell the other¡¯s words were driven by worry rather than genuine criticism, which only made it more endearing in its own way.


    He let out a soft laugh before explaining, ¡°Relax, it¡¯s not like that. The director just wanted my input since I¡¯m the main producer of the movie. He values my opinion on casting, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Wulfric grumbled, his tone carrying a mix of annoyance and concern. ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, it must have been a ton of work with how many people auditioned. As you said, you¡¯re the producer¡ªyou shouldn¡¯t be buried in that kind of grunt work. Isn¡¯t that what the casting team is for?¡±


    Astrid offered a small, easy smile. ¡°It really wasn¡¯t that much work. I had a system to keep things organized, and I actually enjoyed seeing how much effort everyone put into their auditions. Besides, the director trusts my perspective, so I didn¡¯t mind lending a hand.¡±


    Wulfric¡¯s frown lingered for a moment before he let out a quiet sigh, the tension in his posture softening just enough to signal his reluctant acceptance. Though his concern still lingered in the way his gaze briefly held Astrid¡¯s, he chose to let the matter rest. This showed his trust in Astrid¡¯s words, despite his misgivings.


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but appreciate the restraint Wulfric showed, a clear sign of how much he had grown since they¡¯d first gotten to know each other. If this had been the Wulfric of a year ago, he might have jumped to conclusions and found a way to confront the director, driven by his protective instincts and fiery temper. But now, there was a quiet trust in his reaction, a maturity that showed he was learning to balance his concern with respect for Astrid¡¯s decision. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The conversation shifted to lighter topics, flowing easily like it always did. They talked about random things, whatever that came to mind. It was familiar and easy, the kind of conversation they always fell into during their calls, where silence never felt awkward, and everything just felt right.


    In the middle of a conversation about random childhood memories, Astrid suddenly remembered that the trailer for [Serendipitous Summer] was about to be released. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he realized it would be any minute now.


    ¡°The trailer for [Serendipitous Summer] is about to go live. Do you want to watch it together?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Wulfric replied without hesitation, then quickly added, ¡°Where should I watch it?¡±


    Astrid chuckled and told him where to watch it. He then minimized the call window and opened [Cyberspace]. Navigating to the official page of the production studio releasing [Serendipitous Summer], he spotted their latest post with the two-minute trailer attached. Wasting no time, he clicked on the video.


    ***


    The trailer began with a sweeping view of a serene coastal town bathed in golden sunlight, waves rolling gently onto the shore. It cut to a girl with caramel brown hair and green eyes sitting on a wooden bench near the beach, her head buried in a book, oblivious to the world around her. The next scene showed a boy with black hair and piercing dark eyes riding a motorcycle through the cobblestone streets, his confident smirk unwavering as he weaved through the town with effortless ease.


    Soft, uplifting music played as glimpses of their story unfolded¡ªa chance encounter at a small seaside restaurant, where the boy, leaning casually against the counter, noticed the girl quietly reading at a table by the window. Their eyes met briefly before he walked over, his confidence a stark contrast to her shy hesitation as she looked up from her book. Quick flashes followed: the two of them exploring hidden corners of the town, him showing her a secret beach cove, her nervously laughing as he encouraged her to let go of her fears.


    The tone shifted briefly, showing her retreating into herself, clutching a book tightly, and him standing alone on a windy pier, staring out at the sea with a rare, serious expression. Then came moments of change¡ªher timid smile growing brighter as they talked by the bonfire, him reaching out to help her climb onto his motorcycle, and the two of them sitting on the edge of a cliff, the girl reading aloud as he leaned back, his confident demeanor softened by quiet admiration.


    The final shot lingered on them at the dock, the girl holding a book in her lap while the boy rested his arm casually across her shoulders. They shared a glance, her shy smile meeting his steady, assured one. The screen faded to black, and bold white letters appeared: [Serendipitous Summer], followed by the release date below it.


    ***


    Wulfric stared at the screen long after the video ended, a faint discomfort settling in his chest. The scenes of Aster with that woman lingered in his mind¡ªhow close they were, the way she smiled at him, and, worst of all, the way Aster looked at her, like she was something precious. The thought made the unease grow stronger, and he shifted in his seat, trying to shake it off.


    He knew, damn it, that Aster was only acting, but that didn¡¯t stop the jealousy from gnawing at him. If just the trailer had him feeling this way, how much worse was it going to be when he watched the whole movie?

 Chapter 677 ADORABLE JEALOUSY

    WULFRIC thought [The Sleeping God] with its hidden romantic subplot between Aster and Lauren¡¯s characters was bad enough. Hell, there was even that guest role Aster took in that one show where his character was a brief romantic interest for one of the leads¡ªthat was awful, too. But this? A full-blown movie where Aster was blatantly the other half of a love story? Wulfric had only watched a glimpse of the trailer, and he already felt like shit.


    He knew he shouldn¡¯t feel this way. Logically, he understood it was all just acting¡ªscripted lines, rehearsed gestures, and emotions that weren¡¯t real. It didn¡¯t mean anything. But knowing that didn¡¯t stop the sharp pang in his chest every time he saw Aster look at someone else like that, even if it was just for the cameras.


    It was infuriating, really¡ªthis jealousy that coiled in his gut like a wild animal he couldn¡¯t tame. He wasn¡¯t the kind of person who got hung up on things like this. Or at least, he used to think he wasn¡¯t. But then Aster had come along, turning his world upside down without even realizing it. Now, here he was, letting a damn movie trailer mess with his head.


    Wulfric leaned back in his chair, raking a hand through his hair as he let out a frustrated sigh. ¡°It¡¯s just a movie,¡± he muttered to himself, the words tasting hollow even as he said them. Because deep down, he knew the problem wasn¡¯t the movie¡ªit was him. And the fact that no matter how hard he tried to shove these feelings down, they kept clawing their way back to the surface, refusing to be ignored.


    He couldn¡¯t begin to imagine how much worse he¡¯d feel after watching the full movie, considering how much the trailer alone had already messed with his head. And the worst part? This wasn¡¯t going to be a one-time thing. Aster was a rising star¡ªthere¡¯d be plenty more roles like this in the future, plenty more love stories where he¡¯d be cast as someone¡¯s romantic partner, looking at them with the same tenderness Wulfric selfishly wished was meant only for him.


    How the hell was he supposed to handle that? Was he just going to sit there, torturing himself every time Aster played a role like this? How would he fare when it wasn¡¯t just a fleeting trailer but scene after scene of Aster wrapped up in some fictional romance, gazing at someone else like they were his whole world? Wulfric swallowed hard at the thought, his chest tightening. It wasn¡¯t a question of if it would happen again¡ªit was when. And the truth was, he didn¡¯t know if he could take it.


    He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the torrent of emotions threatening to overwhelm him. He knew he was being unreasonable¡ªchildish, even. But what could he do? He loved Aster that much. He knew, without a doubt, that he¡¯d never be able to love anyone else with the same intensity or fervor. Aster wasn¡¯t just someone to him. He was the one. The only one.


    But that didn¡¯t give him the right to interfere. It didn¡¯t give him the right to stop Aster from pursuing the thing he loved most¡ªacting. Wulfric knew how much that meant to him. And he knew, too, that Aster would never forgive him if he tried to get in the way of that just to soothe his own insecurities.


    So, where did that leave him? Completely and utterly screwed, that¡¯s where.


    ¡°Wulf?¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aster¡¯s voice pulled Wulfric from his own swirling thoughts.


    ¡°Yeah¡ªsorry,¡± he said quickly. ¡°I just¡­ got lost in thought for a second.¡±


    Aster raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. ¡°It looked more like you went to another place instead of just being lost.¡±


    When Wulfric stayed silent, offering no response, Aster pressed on.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s on your mind? Did the trailer we just watched have something to do with it?¡±


    Wulfric bit the inside of his cheek, weighing his options. Not answering would only make Aster more suspicious, but lying wasn¡¯t an option. Aster would see right through him anyway, and the thought of being dishonest with him didn¡¯t sit right. In the end, he decided to just man up and admit what he was thinking. Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just say it. I didn¡¯t like what I saw in the trailer. I know it¡¯s just acting. I know it¡¯s part of your job, but seeing you with someone else like that¡­ it got to me.¡±


    He paused, running a hand through his hair as he tried to gather his thoughts. ¡°I guess¡­ I¡¯m jealous. And I hate that I feel this way because I know it¡¯s unreasonable. But I can¡¯t help it, Aster. Watching that, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about how this won¡¯t be the only time. There¡¯ll be more movies like this, more roles where you¡¯re someone¡¯s love interest, and I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m supposed to handle it.¡±


    He swallowed hard, his voice lowering. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be that guy who can¡¯t handle watching the person he loves doing what they love. But sometimes, it just feels like I¡¯m fighting a losing battle with myself.¡± He paused, exhaling slowly. ¡°This is my problem. I¡¯ll deal with it, somehow. I don¡¯t know how yet, but I¡¯ll figure it out. I promise.¡±


    When Wulfric didn¡¯t hear a response, he lifted his head, glancing at the virtual screen. Aster was just sitting there, blinking and staring at him, seemingly at a loss for words.


    A faint, self-deprecating smile tugged at his lips. ¡°You probably think I¡¯m being ridiculous, don¡¯t you?¡±


    His question seemed to jolt Aster out of his stupor. Shaking his head, Aster replied, ¡°Actually, I think you¡¯re being kind of adorable.¡±


    Wulfric blinked, certain he must have heard wrong. He felt his face heat up, the warmth creeping across his cheeks and up to his ears. It took him a moment to regain his composure before he finally muttered, ¡°You really should stop calling me adorable. Didn¡¯t you get the memo? I¡¯m supposed to be the scariest general in the Empire.¡±

 Chapter 678 OH, WULF...

    ¡°NOT to me, though,¡± Astrid said, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Wulfric to openly rant about his jealousy. Sure, he had anticipated some jealousy¡ªit was only natural¡ªbut hearing Wulfric admit it so readily still caught him off guard. Then again, this was Wulfric. He had always been so unabashedly honest when it came to his feelings for him.


    It¡¯s one of the things Astrid liked about him. At least with Wulfric, he didn¡¯t have to guess how he was feeling or what he was thinking. Wulfric wore his heart on his sleeve, unafraid to be vulnerable, especially when it came to Astrid. It was refreshing, really¡ªcomforting in a way Astrid hadn¡¯t realized he needed. With Wulfric, there were no games, no hidden meanings to decipher. Just raw, unfiltered honesty.


    And though it sometimes caught him off guard, like now, it was also one of the reasons he found himself drawn to Wulfric again and again. It made him feel seen, valued, and cherished in a way he hadn¡¯t experienced with anyone else outside of his family.


    While his family¡¯s love had always been a steady and reassuring presence in his life, this was different. Wulfric¡¯s feelings weren¡¯t born out of obligation or familial bonds¡ªthey were a choice, freely given and deeply personal. It was a kind of love that stood on its own, unshaken and unwavering, and that made it all the more significant to Astrid.


    Now, he found himself regretting the decision to set a timeline for giving Wulfric an answer to his confession. Moments like this, when Wulfric was being so effortlessly adorable, made it hard not to give in to his impulses. He was tempted¡ªso very tempted¡ªto throw caution to the wind and say yes, to tell Wulfric he wanted to be with him right then and there.


    But he managed to rein himself in just in time. His self-control was too strong to let himself be completely swept away by his emotions. It was a trait that served him well in many ways, though he couldn¡¯t deny it could be frustrating¡ªboth for himself and, perhaps, for Wulfric.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one who thinks so,¡± Wulfric said, his voice tinged with a hint of a pout that was impossible to miss.


    That drew a chuckle from Astrid. See? Absolutely adorable.


    They talked a little more, the conversation slowing as the night grew later. Eventually, with a simple exchange of goodnights, the call ended.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The next morning, while getting ready for school, Astrid found himself scrolling through the online reactions to the [Serendipitous Summer] trailer.


    [Astrid¡¯s portrayal of Jace already looks so perfect! He¡¯s exactly how I imagined him from the novel!]


    [I wasn¡¯t sure about the casting at first, but Astrid and Charlotte look like they¡¯re going to bring Jace and Abby to life beautifully!]


    [The cinematography and the acting in the trailer are stunning! Astrid is definitely going to shine in this one.]


    [I don¡¯t recognize the actress playing Abby, but she holds her ground with Astrid. This movie might be her breakout!]


    [The trailer gave me chills! Astrid and Charlotte really embody the bittersweet vibe of the book.]


    [Astrid as Jace? Perfection. Charlotte as Abby? Can¡¯t wait to see how she pulls it off. This movie is going to be amazing!]


    Of course, alongside the positive comments, there were plenty of negative ones as well. But Astrid didn¡¯t bother to read them. He¡¯s just glad that majority of the comments were mostly positive. The trailer even trended for 15 minutes. Which was already a huge thing considering that [Serendipitous Summer] was not a huge production.


    Astrid figured they probably owed a lot of the trailer¡¯s attention to the dedicated fans of the novel. Their enthusiasm and excitement had clearly played a big part in boosting its visibility.


    That¡¯s why, as soon as the trailer was released last night, Astrid wasted no time reposting it. Along with his post, he made sure to thank the original author, One Leaf, and the devoted fans of the novel for their unwavering support and enthusiasm. One Leaf also shared his post, thanking him in return. The interaction subtly boosted Astrid¡¯s follower count, drawing even more attention to the trailer.


    As he continued to read through the comments, two particular ones attracted his attention.


    [Starlight For Aster @muscledbubblegum: We¡¯re excited to announce that we¡¯re organizing private viewing parties for [Serendipitous Summer] across selected locations in the Empire! Everyone is welcome to join, but there¡¯s a catch: you must be a registered member of Aster¡¯s fan club AND show proof that you¡¯ve reposted the trailer. Let¡¯s make this a celebration to remember for our dear Aster!]


    Astrid raised his brow at that. It seemed that @muscledbubblegum had changed their name in [Cyberspace] to ¡®Starlight For Aster¡¯. It was clear he was taking his job as the fan club president quite seriously.


    Astrid liked the post, a small smile tugging at his lips. Maybe he should reach out to @muscledbubblegum one of these days to personally thank him for his dedication. It might also be a good idea to plan a surprise appearance at one of the private viewing parties they were organizing¡ªhis fans would undoubtedly love it, and it felt like the perfect way to show his appreciation.


    His gaze then shifted to the second comment that had caught his attention.


    Find your next read at My Virtual Library Empire


    [@astridsnumberonefan: I¡¯ve watched this trailer so many times my Terminal is probably sick of me continuously replaying it. Does Aster even realize he¡¯s out here ruining lives with that face? Like, how am I supposed to function knowing he exists? Anyway, if the movie doesn¡¯t have at least 80% Aster screen time, I¡¯m rioting.]


    Astrid blinked at the comment. Then, a laugh burst out of him, louder than he expected. He rubbed the back of his neck, still chuckling. The sheer dramatic energy of the post was ridiculous, but he couldn¡¯t deny it was also kind of amusing. It wasn¡¯t every day someone claimed his existence was ruining lives¡ªin a good way, apparently.


    Oh, Wulf¡­ sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 679 FIRST QUARTER [STAR LIST]

    A week had passed since the trailer for [Serendipitous Summer] was released, and interest in the movie had been steadily growing. The promotional campaign had officially begun, further fueling the excitement. Just the other day, Astrid and Charlotte appeared on a live variety show, captivating audiences and adding to the film¡¯s buzz.


    The variety show was a casual, mid-tier program that featured a mix of lighthearted interviews, entertaining challenges, and quick games designed to let guests showcase their personalities. With a modest but steady viewership, it had carved out a niche as a comfortable platform for celebrities to connect with their audience in a relaxed, unscripted environment.


    The movie¡¯s production team had already discussed with Ellis what his schedule would be during this promotional campaign, taking into account the release of EMMA¡¯s new collection which he had no choice but to take part in since he was the collection¡¯s ambassador.


    The new collection was set to launch next week, right in the middle of the movie¡¯s promotional campaign. In a way, though, it served as an extension of the movie¡¯s promotion. The more frequently Astrid appeared in the public eye, the greater the curiosity about his upcoming film would grow.


    It was going to be a hectic time for Astrid. This week alone, he already had three guest appearances scheduled. He¡¯s already done with one, the variety show with Charlotte. The second one was scheduled for tomorrow. And the last one was for the release of this month¡¯s edition of [Vivique], the fashion magazine that collaborated with EMMA for the new collection.


    This was the same photoshoot he had done at one of the Grimaldi manors¡ªthe one that led to his grandfather discovering their connection. With the photoshoot being published this weekend, Astrid would also be doing a special interview as part of the promotion.


    He¡¯s not complaining, though. Astrid enjoyed the whirlwind of activities, seeing each appearance, interview, and photoshoot as an opportunity to connect with his fans. Their support and excitement were one of the things that fueled his passion, and he genuinely appreciated the chance to engage with them, even if only indirectly. The demanding schedule was tiring, sure, but it was also a reminder of how far he¡¯d come in such a short time.


    ¡°Aster!¡±


    Kiran¡¯s voice calling his name broke through his thoughts as he stepped out of the lecture hall after his final class of the day. He glanced toward the source of the voice and spotted Kiran weaving through the small crowd of students, running toward him with a familiar, energetic grin.


    ¡°Kiran, I thought we were meeting in front of the lecture building where your last class was?¡± Astrid asked with a slight smile as Kiran came to a stop in front of him. That building was closer to the school¡¯s main gate, which was why they had decided to meet there after class.


    ¡°My class ended early, so I thought I¡¯d just come here to meet you,¡± Kiran said with a grin. ¡°Shall we go?¡±


    Astrid let out a small, amused sigh and shook his head. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go,¡± he replied with a faint smile. The two of them then fell into step, making their way out of the building together.


    ¡°Any idea what time Snow will get to your apartment building?¡± Kiran asked after a moment. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    ¡°He said his schedule wraps up around six, so he¡¯ll probably get there by 6:30,¡± Astrid replied. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The three of them had planned to have dinner at his apartment, with Astrid, naturally, doing the cooking. The reason for the celebration? The release of the year¡¯s first-quarter [Star List]. Astrid had moved up two spots, now ranking at 98, and Snow had made it onto the list for the first time, securing a spot in the top 400.


    The list had been released last Sunday, just before the new month began. When Astrid saw Snow¡¯s name on it, he was so overjoyed that he completely forgot to check if his own name was there. Without hesitation, he called Snow to share the news and insisted they celebrate. Snow, however, sounded completely dazed on the other end of the line, as if he couldn¡¯t quite believe he¡¯d actually made the list. Later, Snow even called him back, just to confirm that they had made plans to celebrate and that it wasn¡¯t something he had dreamed up¡ªa clear sign of just how out of it he was.


    Truthfully, it was unexpected, but not entirely surprising. Astrid had witnessed firsthand how much effort Snow had poured into his craft since signing with Polaris. If Snow had landed a major role¡ªeven a prominent supporting one¡ªhe undoubtedly would have ranked much higher. Once [Serendipitous Summer] was released, Astrid was certain it would propel Snow¡¯s career forward. Perhaps not to the same heights that [The Sleeping God] had done for his own, but it would still be a significant leap in the right direction.


    Since the three of them had conflicting schedules, today was the only day they could finally celebrate. Snow even had work today, so they decided to keep it simple and plan a dinner at Astrid¡¯s apartment. That¡¯s why he and Kiran were on their way to his apartment, while Snow would join them later after finishing his job.


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s pretty amazing that Snow made it to the [Star List],¡± Kiran said, glancing at Astrid as they walked.


    Astrid nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. ¡°It is. He¡¯s worked so hard for it. Honestly, it was only a matter of time.¡±


    Kiran let out a low whistle. ¡°Really, both of you are so amazing.¡±


    Astrid chuckled. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t deny that. But I must add that you are as well. Just wait for the music award season. You¡¯ll definitely rack a lot of awards.¡±


    Kiran groaned. ¡°Argh¡­ please don¡¯t remind me of that. I want to eat with peace of mind later.¡±


    The two of them looked at each other and then both of them laughed.


    As they walked, Astrid couldn¡¯t help but reflect on this quarter¡¯s [Star List] again¡ªor more specifically, on the reactions of certain people who had called him immediately after its release.

 Chapter 680 TWO DIFFERENT AND VERY SIMILAR CONVERSATIONS

    LET¡¯S go back a bit in time, three days ago when this year¡¯s first quarter result of [Star List] was released.


    =====


    Astrid had just finished making dinner for himself and Reas when he received a message from Ellis informing him that the [Star List] had been updated. He sat down before opening his Terminal to check. And right off the bat, he saw Snow¡¯s name on the top 400.


    A smile tugged at his lips as a wave of satisfaction settled in. His chest felt warm, and an undeniable sense of joy filled him at the sight of Snow¡¯s name on the list. This was definitely a great accomplishment on his friend¡¯s part.


    He was about to call Snow to congratulate him when an incoming video call popped up on his screen. It was from Casey. Slightly puzzled, he accepted the call. The moment the screen lit up, he was met with Casey¡¯s frowning face, his brows drawn together in clear frustration. It was clear that he was in a bad mood.


    ¡°Uncle Casey, is something wrong?¡± Astrid asked.


    ¡°Yes, and it¡¯s a big problem,¡± Casey said, his tone serious, edged with a quiet but unmistakable anger.


    Astrid¡¯s breath hitched. A knot formed in his stomach as his mind raced. Was it the Lancasters? Had they discovered that his parents were still alive? His pulse quickened, and a cold unease crept over him.


    ¡°You only moved up two ranks since the last [Star List]!¡± Casey exclaimed, his expression dark with indignation. ¡°This is completely unacceptable!¡±


    The moment Astrid heard that, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. His shoulders loosened, and he let out a small breath. ¡°Oh, I thought it was something serious.¡±


    So, he was now ranked 98th, huh? He didn¡¯t see it as a bad rank. Since this was only his second time on the [Star List], he was just relieved that he hadn¡¯t dropped from the top 100. Not that he ever expected a major drop, given the award he recently won and the popularity of [The Great War].


    ¡°What are you saying, Aster? This is absolutely serious!¡± Casey huffed. ¡°How can you move up only two ranks after winning a Rookie of the Year award? Those people making this list are clearly underestimating you!¡±


    Astrid smiled helplessly. ¡°Uncle Casey, it¡¯s fine. Ranking 98th is not so bad.¡±


    Seemingly not hearing what he said, Casey continued his tirade, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Aster. I¡¯ll make sure the upcoming launch of EMMA¡¯s new collection is a massive success. By the end of the month, your face will be on every billboard across the Empire.¡±


    Astrid inwardly winced at the mental image. People might get tired of his face if that really happened. And he had no doubt Casey was truly capable of doing just that. He had to put a stop to it before it went too far.


    ¡°Uncle Casey¡ª¡± Astrid started, but before he could say another word, Casey cut him off.


    ¡°Alright, no time to chat! I¡¯ve got a lot of work to do to make this happen,¡± he said briskly. ¡°I¡¯ll give you update later.¡±


    And with that, the call ended before Astrid could even protest.


    Astrid blinked before letting out another sigh. It felt like a storm had swept in and disappeared within seconds.


    He was about to call Casey back before he could do something irreversible, but before he could even do that, another video call request popped up on his screen.


    This time it was from Wulfric. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the name, he instinctively clicked ¡®accept,¡¯ and in an instant, Wulfric¡¯s handsome face filled the screen.


    ¡°Aster, have you seen the [Star List]?¡± were the first words out of Wulfric¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Ahm, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Can you believe this?¡± Wulfric said, his tone sharp with disbelief. ¡°They only bumped you up by two ranks! You should be in the top 50 at the very least!¡±


    Astrid almost choked on his own saliva at Wulfric¡¯s words. It was a good thing he wasn¡¯t drinking anything, or he might have ended up spitting it out from sheer surprise.


    ¡°Wulf, I appreciate your confidence in me, but the top 50? It hasn¡¯t even been a year since I started my career,¡± Astrid said in a helpless tone. ¡°People would definitely think I bribed the ESRA members if that happened.¡±


    Some people had already suspected that Polaris had bribed the ESRA members when he made it into the top 100 last time. If he really jumped to the top 50, they might boycott Polaris entirely.


    Wulfric looked as if he genuinely couldn¡¯t comprehend what Astrid was saying, as though he truly believed he belonged in the top 50. That thought made Astrid laugh. It was both amusing and oddly endearing.


    ¡°But still¡ªonly two ranks?¡± Wulfric muttered, frowning. ¡°You should have moved up by at least 20. Maybe the people making this list were blind¡ªor completely incompetent. Should I pay them a visit to make them see reason?¡±


    Astrid couldn¡¯t help but recall his earlier conversation with Casey, and the thought brought a smile to his lips. Who would have guessed that the two of them would share the exact same train of thought?


    But just like with Casey earlier, he needed to stop Wulfric before he actually acted on his words. Knowing him, Astrid wouldn¡¯t put it past him to go after the ESRA members and ¡®make them see reason,¡¯ exactly as he had just threatened.


    ¡°My current rank is fine, Wulf,¡± he said firmly. ¡°Please don¡¯t do anything, or I¡¯ll seriously be angry with you.¡±


    Wulfric frowned, clearly reluctant, but under Astrid¡¯s firm gaze, he grudgingly nodded. Crossing his arms, he muttered like a sulking child, ¡°Fine.¡±


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    His brows knitted together as he tried to look serious, but to Astrid, the expression only made him seem even more unintentionally adorable.


    ¡°Do you promise?¡± Astrid asked softly.


    ¡°I promise,¡± Wulfric mumbled, avoiding his gaze. His arms were still crossed, and he looked every bit like a child reluctantly agreeing to something he didn¡¯t like.


    And that¡¯s how his call with Wulfric ended.


    =====


    Remembering the conversations he had with Casey and Wulfric, Astrid once again couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.

 Chapter 681 - 681: A LITTLE CELEBRATORY DINNER (I)

    WHEN they arrived at Astrid¡¯s apartment, he went straight to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Kiran followed and offered to help, so Astrid handed him a bowl of vegetables to wash. The sound of running water and the steady chop of a knife filled the space as they worked. Once Kiran was done, Astrid gave him a small smile and told him to just relax. Although he looked reluctant, he didn¡¯t argue and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, settling in to watch as Astrid worked. And soon, the scent of simmering spices filled the air.


    Astrid decided to make an Italian themed meal, starting with a fresh salad of ripe tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil drizzled with balsamic glaze. For the main course, he planned a hearty vegetable lasagna layered with roasted zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and a rich tomato sauce, all baked until bubbling with melted cheese. On the side, he would serve garlic bread, crisp and golden, perfect for soaking up the flavors. To finish, a classic tiramisu would be perfect.


    Yes, Astrid could cook a variety of dishes beyond Chinese cuisine, but his preference always leaned toward it due to its bold flavors and familiar comfort. However, he chose to go with Italian for tonight¡¯s dinner because he had noticed that Snow preferred milder flavors, unlike the strong, savory, and spicy flavors of the dishes Astrid often cooked. Both were delicious cuisines, but sometimes people just prefer one over the other.


    Since this dinner was meant to celebrate Snow¡¯s recent achievement, Astrid wanted to prepare something that suited the other¡¯s palate, ensuring the meal felt truly special and enjoyable for them.


    As Kiran watched Astrid move around the kitchen, a question he¡¯d been meaning to ask for a while suddenly came to mind.


    ¡°Aster, are there any available units left in this building?¡±


    Astrid paused and turned to Kiran. ¡°Are you thinking of renting here?¡±


    Kiran nodded. ¡°Since I¡¯m earning quite a bit now, I want to have my own place of sort.¡±


    He had been considering renting a place for a while now. Although he had the money, it wasn¡¯t enough to buy a house yet, so renting seemed like the best option for now. When the thought crossed his mind, the first place that came to him was Astrid¡¯s apartment building.


    He had been here several times and really liked the design of each unit. It wasn¡¯t particularly spacious, but it was more than enough for a single person. He could already picture how he would decorate the space to make it his own. More importantly, the building had top-notch security¡ªhow could it not, considering it was owned by the Butcher of Orus?


    No, he probably shouldn¡¯t refer to the prince that way¡ªespecially since there was a chance he and Astrid might actually end up together. The thought wasn¡¯t one Kiran wanted to dwell on right now. Regardless of what Astrid ultimately decided about that relationship, Kiran had already made up his mind to be supportive and just offer advice when needed. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    Anyway, what he liked most about the place was its excellent soundproofing. With the right setup, he could produce and create music without worrying about disturbing anyone.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if there¡¯s an available unit,¡± Astrid admitted.


    He hadn¡¯t interacted much with his neighbors, and most of them kept to themselves, so he didn¡¯t have any information about vacant units or anything like that.


    ¡°But I can ask Wulf,¡± he added.


    As the building owner, Wulfric would have the most accurate information. Astrid hoped there was an available unit for Kiran to rent¡ªit would be nice if they could go to school together whenever their schedules aligned.


    It took Kiran a full minute to realize who this ¡°Wulf¡± Astrid was talking about. And who could blame him? When people mentioned the prince of the Empire, their first thought wasn¡¯t his name¡ªit was all the crazy things he had done. But hearing Astrid call him by a nickname was surprising. It was clear their relationship had progressed further than Kiran had expected.


    ¡°Would that be alright?¡± Kiran asked hesitantly. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t want to bother the prince.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Wulf wouldn¡¯t mind,¡± Astrid said with certainty.


    Kiran raised a brow. ¡°That might be true¡ªbut only because I¡¯m your friend.¡±


    Astrid paused, considering the statement. Then, after a moment, he blinked. ¡°I want to deny that, but I just realized it¡¯s kind of hard to do so.¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They looked at each other before breaking into laughter, both feeling amused by the conversation.


    ¡ª¨C


    By six in the evening, Astrid had finished making dinner, the rich aroma filling the apartment. Kiran helped set the table, placing the plates, utensils, and glasses while Astrid brought the dishes over. Once everything was ready, Kiran took a step back, glancing at the spread before them. It wasn¡¯t anything extravagant, but it looked good¡ªwarm, inviting, and just right for a celebratory meal.


    ¡°Snow will probably be here soon, right?¡± Kiran asked, thinking of the message they just received from Snow telling them that he¡¯s near the apartment.


    As if in response to his question, the doorbell rang. Astrid immediately went to open it without checking first¡ªthere was no need. Only those registered in the security system by the residents could enter the building. Of course, not just anyone could be added. Wulfric had ensured a thorough screening process to prevent any dangerous individuals from being granted access. So, Astrid knew that the only person who would be ringing the doorbell at this time was most likely Snow.


    Astrid opened the door and, just as he expected, Snow was standing there with a small smile on his lips, holding a bottle of wine.


    ¡°I¡¯m not late, am I?¡± Snow asked, holding up the bottle of wine with a slight smile. ¡°I brought this as a peace offering, just in case.¡±


    Astrid smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right on time. But I¡¯ll never say no to a good bottle of wine.¡±


    They both chuckled before stepping inside the apartment, Snow following Astrid as the door closed behind them.

 Chapter 682 - 682: A LITTLE CELEBRATORY DINNER (II)

    DINNER was a relaxed and enjoyable affair, filled with warm conversation and the clinking of utensils against plates. The flavors of Astrid¡¯s carefully prepared dishes blended harmoniously, each bite rich and satisfying. Kiran, always appreciative of good food, eagerly complimented every dish, while Snow, though more reserved, showed his enjoyment through the way he savored each bite, occasionally nodding in approval.


    The lasagna was perfectly baked, the cheese golden and bubbling, while the fresh salad balanced the richness with its light, tangy dressing. The garlic bread disappeared quickly, and by the time they reached the tiramisu, all three were thoroughly content, laughter flowing freely between them.


    After dinner, they moved to the living room, where Astrid poured them each a glass of the wine Snow had brought. The wine was smooth, carrying a subtle sweetness that complemented the lingering flavors of their meal. Snow leaned back against the couch, his usual composed demeanor softened by the relaxed atmosphere. Kiran stretched his legs out, swirling his glass thoughtfully before taking a sip. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Wow, drinking a wine this expensive makes me feel like I¡¯ve just leveled up in life,¡± Kiran remarked with a playful grin. ¡°No, maybe my real level-up happened the moment I became friends with you two.¡±


    Astrid and Snow chuckled at Kiran¡¯s remark, amusement flickering in their eyes.


    ¡°It should be the other way around¡ªwe leveled up when we became friends with the future music god,¡± Astrid said, raising his glass in a playful toast.


    Snow nodded in agreement.


    Kiran¡¯s face flushed a deep red at the unexpected compliment. Flustered, he huffed, ¡°Oh, come on! Don¡¯t tell me a few sips of wine have already gone to your head¡ªthere¡¯s no other reason you¡¯d be spouting such nonsense.¡±


    Astrid chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°How could that be nonsense? You¡¯re incredibly talented, Kiran. You may be just starting out, but every song you¡¯ve composed and produced has already charted. And trust me, this is only the beginning¡ªyou¡¯re going to achieve even greater things in the future.¡±


    Snow took a slow sip of his wine before setting the glass down. ¡°And didn¡¯t the current ¡®god of music¡¯ already recognize your talent? That alone speaks volumes. You should have more confidence in yourself.¡±


    Kiran groaned, covering his face with one hand as if to shield himself from their praise. Flustered, he quickly downed the rest of his wine in one swift gulp, as if hoping to wash away his embarrassment. Setting the glass down with a small thud, he cleared his throat. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough¡ªlet¡¯s switch to a topic that¡¯s a little less likely to make me combust.¡±


    Astrid tilted his head slightly, amusement dancing in his eyes. ¡°Oh? And what topic do you have in mind?¡±


    Kiran shot a glance at Astrid, who seemed far too amused by his flustered state. Noticing that, a grin crept onto his face as an idea struck him. Leaning forward, he said casually, ¡°Alright, how about this¡ªwhy don¡¯t you give us an update on your relationship with the prince?¡±


    Snow raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? Now that sounds like an interesting topic.¡±


    This time, it was Astrid¡¯s turn to be caught off guard. But he quickly regained his composure. After all, he wasn¡¯t a real teenager who would get embarrassed or shy over a topic like this.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m getting there,¡± he said honestly.


    ¡°You¡¯re getting where?¡± Kiran asked, his brows furrowing in confusion. Astrid¡¯s response felt completely unrelated to the topic he had just brought up, leaving him wondering if he had missed something.


    ¡°Sorry, I should¡¯ve been more straightforward,¡± Astrid said with a soft chuckle. ¡°What I meant is¡ªI think I¡¯m on the verge of falling in love with Wulf. If I haven¡¯t already.¡±


    For a moment, both Snow and Kiran just stared at Astrid, their expressions completely blank as they processed his words.


    Snow was the first to react. He slowly set his wineglass down on the table in front of him. ¡°Well, that was certainly straightforward.¡±


    He had expected Astrid to admit some level of interest, but not something this deep. From what he knew of him, Astrid wasn¡¯t the type to entertain someone like the general unless there was at least a spark of attraction or interest. But for him to admit his feelings so openly and without hesitation¡ªthat was unexpected.


    Kiran¡¯s reaction was much more animated. He blinked rapidly, as if trying to make sure he had heard correctly, before leaning forward with wide eyes. ¡°Wait, hold on¡ªyou mean really fall in love? Like, head over heels, butterflies in the stomach, actual romance kind of love?¡±


    ¡°I said ¡®on the verge,¡¯ but yes,¡± Astrid admitted with a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s that kind of love.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Just¡­ wow.¡± Kiran stared at Astrid, his hands gesturing wildly. ¡°How can you just say that so casually? Shouldn¡¯t you at least be a little embarrassed? I mean, you¡¯re not even blushing!¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m not embarrassed about my feelings for him,¡± Astrid said simply, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.


    Snow stared at Astrid, a flicker of envy stirring within him. If only he could be that honest¡ªif only he had the same courage to face the truth head-on. Maybe then, he could go straight to Assil and finally tell him everything. But deep down, he knew that the deal he had made with his father wasn¡¯t the only thing holding him back.


    It was fear.


    Fear of Assil¡¯s reaction. Fear of seeing anger or disappointment in his eyes. Fear of what might happen once the truth was out.


    Maybe he could learn something from Astrid¡ªmaybe honesty was the path forward. But acknowledging that was one thing; acting on it was another. And for that, he needed a little more courage than he had right now.


    Kiran leaned back with a dramatic sigh, looking as if he had finally given up trying to make sense of it all. ¡°Great. Now I also have the urge to fall in love too.¡±


    And for some reason, the beautiful face of Shir Atkins suddenly flashed in his mind.

 Chapter 683 - 683: STAR SCRAMBLE

    ASTRID was waiting backstage with Charlotte and three other actors who played supporting roles in [Serendipitous Summer]. They were currently on a variety show called Star Scramble. It was Astrid¡¯s second schedule for this week. The show was a chaotic mess of unscripted games, absurd challenges, and over-the-top antics designed to make actors abandon any sense of dignity.


    It was a show that thrived on spontaneity, forcing its guests to react to whatever nonsense was thrown their way, whether it was answering ridiculous interview questions, competing in bizarre physical games, or, in tonight¡¯s case, performing dramatic readings of the most unhinged text the producers could find.


    Astrid had no problem making fun of himself¡ªit was part of the job. But he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little disappointed that Snow wasn¡¯t there with them. Not that Snow would have been able to say much about the movie, anyway. Director Hale had decided to keep him a secret, a surprise meant for fans of the novel. Snow¡¯s role was kind of a fan favorite. That¡¯s why the director didn¡¯t plan to reveal him this early.


    A crew member wearing a headset stepped into the backstage area, offering a polite but professional smile.


    ¡°Alright, everyone, we¡¯re starting soon. Please be ready to head out in a minute.¡±


    The bright stage lights flared to life as the upbeat theme music of Star Scramble blasted through the studio. The energy in the air was palpable, buzzing with anticipation.


    As the intro played on the massive screens overhead, the stage doors swung open, and the host strode in with effortless charisma. Dressed in a sharp yet slightly eccentric outfit that matched the show¡¯s chaotic spirit, he flashed a wide grin at the cameras before throwing his arms out theatrically.


    ¡°Welcome to Star Scramble!¡± he boomed, his voice effortlessly carrying over the noise.


    The live audience erupted into cheers and applause, some fans waving glow sticks and banners with the actors¡¯ names on them. The sound of excitement filled the space, setting the tone for the unpredictable madness about to unfold.


    The host waited for the cheers to die down just enough before flashing a playful grin at the camera.


    ¡°Tonight, we have a special treat for you all!¡± he announced, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. ¡°Joining us is the incredible cast of the upcoming film [Serendipitous Summer!]¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The audience erupted into another round of applause, some cheering louder at the mention of the film¡¯s title. The host gestured toward the backstage entrance with a flourish.


    ¡°Let¡¯s bring them out!¡±


    At the host¡¯s cue, the backstage curtains parted, and Astrid stepped out first, leading the way with an easy confidence. He lifted a hand in a casual wave, flashing a bright smile at the cheering audience.


    Charlotte followed a step behind, her expression composed but warm as she gave a small, polite wave. The remaining three cast members walked out in one after another, each reacting differently to the energy in the room¡ªone grinning widely, another nodding in acknowledgment, and the last offering a playful salute to the crowd.


    ¡°Alright, alright! What a warm welcome for our amazing guests tonight!¡± the host said, turning toward the cast with an exaggerated gesture. ¡°We have the stars of [Serendipitous Summer] here with us, and you know what that means¡ªtonight is going to be extra special!¡±


    The audience responded with another round of applause, and the host chuckled.


    ¡°So, let¡¯s not waste any time! We¡¯ve got games, surprises, and maybe even a little chaos waiting for them. But first¡ªlet¡¯s get to know them a little better, shall we?¡±


    With that, he turned back to the cast, ready to dive into the first segment.


    ¡ª¨C


    The recording of Star Scramble dragged on for hours, an exhausting blur of chaotic games, relentless laughter, and over-the-top antics. By the time they finally reached the last segment, it felt less like a milestone and more like a hard-earned relief. At least, for Astrid that¡¯s how it felt like.


    The stage lights dimmed slightly as the host stepped forward, flashing a mischievous grin.


    ¡°And now,¡± he announced dramatically, ¡°we¡¯ve finally reached the grand finale of Star Scramble!¡±


    The audience cheered, though the cast exchanged wary glances. After everything they had endured¡ªbizarre challenges, ridiculous Q&A sessions, and impromptu performances¡ªthere was no telling what the final segment would bring.


    The host turned to them with exaggerated enthusiasm. ¡°For our last game of the night, we¡¯re pulling out a classic! It¡¯s time for Dramatic Readings!¡±


    Laughter rippled through the crowd as a production assistant wheeled out a small table stacked with envelopes. The host picked one up and waved it in the air.


    ¡°Inside these envelopes are some of the most ridiculous, unhinged pieces of text we could find¡ªfrom internet debates to cheesy romance novel excerpts. Your job? Deliver them with the most intense, heartfelt performance possible.¡±


    Astrid let out a breath, already resigning himself to whatever nonsense was about to unfold. Charlotte, standing beside him, merely raised an eyebrow, while one of the other actors groaned.


    The host clapped his hands. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s see who goes first!¡±


    With a dramatic pause, he reached into a bowl and pulled out a name. He grinned as he read it aloud.


    ¡°Astrid!¡±


    The audience erupted into cheers, and Astrid exhaled sharply, shaking his head with a wry smile.


    The host handed him an envelope, barely containing his amusement. ¡°Go ahead, open it up, and let¡¯s hear some award-worthy acting.¡±


    Astrid tore the envelope open, unfolded the paper inside, and scanned the text. His expression went blank.


    Suppressing a groan, he cleared his throat, straightened his posture, and prepared to deliver what was about to be the most painfully dramatic reading of his life.


    He cleared his throat, and began reading the words in the envelope with as much emotion as he could muster.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hide it anymore. Every time I see you, my heart does backflips like an overexcited puppy. Your presence is like a thousand sunsets exploding inside my soul, blinding me with the sheer force of your beauty.


    ¡°When you speak, I don¡¯t just hear words¡ªI hear the melody of angels harmonizing in the distance, as if the universe itself is singing your praises.


    ¡°And your scent¡­ oh, your scent. Like freshly baked cookies mixed with the pages of a well-loved novel, wrapped in the warmth of a thousand childhood memories.


    ¡°I tremble in your presence, unable to contain the overwhelming truth¡ª¡±


    He closed his eyes, braced himself, and delivered the worst part.


    ¡°I am, and have always been¡­ your precious cinnamon roll.¡±


    The studio erupted with laughter. The host was practically doubled over, his exaggerated reaction perfectly in line with his job. The three supporting actors were snickering, barely holding themselves together. Even Charlotte, usually composed, had raised a hand to her lips in a futile attempt to hide her amusement.


    Astrid resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sure, what he had just read was undeniably cringeworthy, but was it really that funny? Maybe it was the way he delivered it that sent everyone over the edge. Even so, the sheer magnitude of their laughter felt excessive.


    He let out a silent sigh. Entertaining people was exhausting. More than anything, he just hoped Wulfric wouldn¡¯t watch this episode when it aired. Knowing that guy, there was no telling what kind of ridiculous thoughts he would have from Astrid¡¯s painfully fake cringe confession.

 Chapter 684 - 684: BROTHER WHITE STRIKES AGAIN

    ASTRID looked at what Wulfric just posted on [Cyberspace]. Well, technically, it was Wulfric¡ªbut under his online persona, White Wolf, aka @astridsnumberonefan.


    White Wolf @astridsnumberonefan: [You¡¯re definitely my precious cinnamon roll.]


    Attached was a short clip from Star Scramble¡ªthe scene where I pulled off that fake confession and said the line, ¡°I am, and have always been¡­ your precious cinnamon roll.¡±


    That episode of Star Scramble had just aired today, and this was the first thing Wulfric posted after watching it. Astrid had no doubt he did¡ªWulfric never missed anything he was in. And really, how else could he have posted something like this if he hadn¡¯t seen it himself?


    He closed his eyes for a moment, exhaling quietly. Seriously, did Wulfric ever think about how embarrassed he¡¯d be once everyone found out this was him? Because Astrid had no doubt that day would come. And when it did, he could already imagine Wulfric trying¡ªand failing¡ªto play it off, pretending he had no regrets while secretly dying inside. It was almost amusing to think about. Almost.


    He wondered what else Wulfric had thought about while watching that scene. Knowing his overactive imagination, it could be anything¡ªfrom picturing himself as the one being confessed to, to feeling jealous of the nonexistent person Astrid was pretending to confess to.


    Whatever the case, Astrid was sure it was something dramatic and downright comedic. Yes, quite fitting. But that was just how Wulfric was¡ªsometimes unintentionally over-the-top, yet always earnest in the way he felt and expressed things.


    That was one of the things Astrid actually liked about him. And he wouldn¡¯t change it for the world¡ªnor would he ever ask Wulfric to.


    He skimmed through the comments under Wulfric¡¯s post.


    ¨C Brother White is really something. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re brave or just shameless.


    ©¸ Of course, he¡¯s shameless! What ¡®you¡¯re my cinnamon roll¡¯? Aster is definitely not his!


    ©¸©¸ LOL, can¡¯t you let the guy dream?


    ©¸©¸ Honestly, I respect the dedication. Unwavering confidence.


    ©¸©¸ If delusion was a sport, Brother White would have a gold medal.


    ¨C The way he clipped that scene so fast¡­ does he have alerts for Aster or something?


    ¨C Brother White, reality is calling. You gonna pick up or keep living in your fantasy world?


    ¨C Man really watched one scene and decided it was a personal love confession.


    ©¸ Delulu levels off the charts. Scientists are in shock.


    ©¸©¸ Someone get him a reality check¡ªexpress delivery.


    ¨C This guy saw acting and went, ¡°This is real. This is about me.¡±


    ¨C If manifestation actually worked, Aster would¡¯ve married him five times over by now.


    ©¸ Too bad the universe isn¡¯t on his side.


    ¨C So, this was the reason he¡¯s so dedicated to Aster? Because he¡¯s obsessed with him? Talk about scary.


    ©¸ Lowkey, I¡¯ve been thinking the same thing. Dude¡¯s devotion is kinda intense.


    ©¸©¸ Right? It¡¯s giving stalker energy.


    ©¸©¸ He¡¯s been at this since the beginning. At what point does it stop being ¡°dedication¡± and start being creepy?


    ©¸ Y¡¯all are so dramatic. He¡¯s just a passionate fan. Let the guy have fun.


    ©¸©¸ Exactly! He¡¯s been supporting Aster since the beginning of his career. It¡¯s not that deep.


    ©¸©¸ Some of you have comfort characters and fictional crushes, but when Brother White does it, suddenly it¡¯s ¡°obsession.¡±


    ©¸©¸ He¡¯s not hurting anyone. Aster clearly knows about him and hasn¡¯t said anything, so what¡¯s the problem?


    ©¸ I mean¡­ yeah, he¡¯s extra, but he¡¯s been harmless so far.


    ©¸©¸ True, if Aster really had an issue with it, wouldn¡¯t he have said something by now?


    ©¸©¸ Let¡¯s be real, this fandom wouldn¡¯t be half as entertaining without him.


    Astrid read the last comment and frowned. While he found Wulfric¡¯s post amusing, he understood why others might not. In fact, if he didn¡¯t know that White Wolf was actually Wulfric, his own reaction would probably be very different. After all, his ¡®number one fan¡¯ had been loudly and unwaveringly supporting him since day one¡ªsomething that, without context, could easily come across as overwhelming.


    In this case, he was probably the only one who truly understood the context. So it was no surprise that others, especially some fans, might find it unsettling, to say the least.


    But still, Astrid didn¡¯t like it. He didn¡¯t like that some people see Wulfric that way. Even if they didn¡¯t know that it was Wulfric. The way they talked about him, dismissing him as delusional or even creepy, didn¡¯t sit right with Astrid.


    He was just glad that most of the fans came to Wulfric¡¯s defense, shutting down the harsher comments and reminding others that White Wolf had always been a loyal supporter. It reassured him to see that, despite the teasing, there were plenty who understood his dedication.


    Of course, if people ever found out that White Wolf and Wulfric were the same person, it would be an entirely different matter. Astrid could only hope that when that day came, people wouldn¡¯t see it in a negative light. Instead, he wanted them to find it adorable¡ªbecause really, who would have guessed that the prince, the man most people feared as the ¡®Butcher of Orus,¡¯ was the same person posting things like this on [Cyberspace]?


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    Ellis¡¯s voice snapped Astrid out of his thoughts.


    He glanced out the car window, taking in the building ahead. It was a TV station, where he was scheduled for a one-on-one interview¡ªhis final schedule for the week. The interview wasn¡¯t just for promoting [Serendipitous Summer], but also to highlight the release of this month¡¯s edition of [Vivique].


    The edition featuring EMMA¡¯s new collection, where he was the model, was finally being released today. And tomorrow, as Casey had told him, billboards of him would start appearing all over the capital and in major cities throughout the Empire. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although he thought it was a bit overkill, he was still grateful for Casey¡¯s decision. After all, [Serendipitous Summer] didn¡¯t have the budget for such large-scale promotion, and this kind of exposure would undoubtedly help boost its reach. If anything, he could only hope it would bring more attention to the movie.


    Astrid stepped out of the car, falling into stride with Ellis as they made their way toward the building.

 Chapter 685 - 685: MOMENTS LIKE THIS

    ASTRID leaned back in the chair, the bright studio lights casting a faint sheen on his face. The host flipped through her notes, signaling they were nearing the final questions. The atmosphere in the studio felt lighter now, the earlier tension of the interview easing as they approached the end. He adjusted his sleeve slightly, ready to wrap things up.


    The host leaned forward slightly. ¡°So, Astrid, let¡¯s talk about you being the latest ambassador for EMMA¡¯s next collection. How did that come about? I mean, you¡¯re already the face of their perfume line¡ªwhat made them choose you for this as well?¡±


    Astrid nodded. ¡°It¡¯s really thanks to the success of the perfume campaign. The response was incredible, and I think EMMA saw that as a sign to continue the partnership. When they approached me about the new collection, I was honored. It¡¯s a big step, and I¡¯m excited to be part of it.¡±


    Although, in truth, Astrid suspected that even if the perfume line hadn¡¯t been as successful, Casey would have still chosen him as the ambassador for the new collection. Still, he was grateful that the perfume campaign had been a success¡ªit made Casey¡¯s decision to appoint him as the face of the new collection much easier to justify to the board of directors.


    The host¡¯s eyes sparkled with interest. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! And the collection¡ªwhen will we get to see it? Is it still under wraps?¡±


    ¡°The official reveal is next week,¡± Astrid said, ¡°but if you want a sneak peek, you can check out this month¡¯s edition of [Vivique]. It¡¯s out today, and they¡¯ve featured some of the shots from the campaign. The collection is stunning¡ªvery modern but with a timeless feel. I think people are going to love it.¡±


    The host turned slightly toward the camera, her tone playful. ¡°Oh, we have to see this! Let¡¯s take a look at some of the photos from the magazine, shall we?¡±


    Behind them, the virtual screen lit up with the first image.


    The photo was taken in a sprawling garden, the greenery lush and vibrant under soft, natural light. Astrid stood in the center, dressed in a tailored coat with intricate embroidery, the fabric catching the sunlight just enough to highlight its texture. The backdrop of manicured hedges and blooming flowers gave the shot a sense of quiet elegance.


    The next image flashed on the screen, this one taken inside the manor. Astrid was seated on a grand velvet sofa, the room adorned with ornate mirrors and gilded frames. He wore a sleek, modern suit that contrasted beautifully with the classical decor, his posture relaxed but commanding. The interplay of old and new was striking, a perfect representation of the collection¡¯s theme.


    Finally, the screen shifted to the last photo¡ªa dramatic shot on a long, winding staircase. Astrid stood midway, one hand resting lightly on the polished banister, his gaze intense but calm. The staircase itself was a masterpiece, its curves and details accentuated by the soft lighting filtering through a nearby window. He wore a layered outfit with a long, flowing trail that cascaded down the steps behind him, the fabric pooling elegantly as it followed the staircase¡¯s descent. The deep, rich tones of the fabric contrasted with the pale marble of the stairs, creating a striking visual. Despite the stillness of the image, the outfit seemed alive, as if caught mid-motion, adding a sense of movement and grandeur to the scene.


    The host was momentarily silent for a moment, clearly stunned by the photos. Then she let out a soft laugh. ¡°Wow, Astrid, these are incredible. The styling, the lighting¡ªit¡¯s all so sharp. How was the experience shooting for this?¡±


    Astrid¡¯s lips curved into a small smile. ¡°It was a lot of fun, honestly. The team at EMMA is fantastic to work with, and they really brought their vision to life. I think the photos capture the essence of the collection perfectly. It¡¯s bold but elegant, which is what EMMA does best.¡±


    The host nodded with enthusiasm. ¡°I can see that! Well, I¡¯m sure your fans are going to be rushing to grab a copy of [Vivique] today. Thanks for giving us a little preview, Astrid. We¡¯re all looking forward to the full reveal next week!¡± Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Astrid inclined his head slightly and smiled. ¡°Thank you. I can¡¯t wait for everyone to see it.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Inside a study, nestled within the sprawling grounds of a mansion in Alluna¡­


    Wulfric sat at his desk in the quiet of his study, his gaze fixed intently on the photos from the latest edition of [Vivique]. The moment Aster¡¯s interview had ended, he¡¯d immediately pulled up the digital copy of the magazine on his Terminal. He¡¯d pre-ordered it weeks ago, the second he¡¯d learned it would feature EMMA¡¯s new collection with Aster as the sole model. As soon as the issue was released, the digital version had been delivered straight to him, and now he was poring over every image.


    He sat hunched over his desk, the glow of the virtual screen casting sharp shadows across his face. His eyes were locked on the images of Aster as if the rest of the world had faded into nothing. He didn¡¯t just look¡ªhe consumed. Every photo, every angle, every flicker of expression was etched into his mind.


    His fingers twitched, zooming in on Aster¡¯s face, tracing the lines of his jaw, the curve of his lips, the way his eyes seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words. Wulfric¡¯s breath hitched when he reached the shot of Aster on the staircase, the long trail of fabric flowing behind him like a shadow.


    He leaned in closer, his chest tightening. Feeling a sudden hunger¡ªa desperate, aching need to be near Aster, to hear his voice, to feel the warmth of his presence. But because of their distance, literal galaxies from each other, he couldn¡¯t just appear in front of Aster.


    Wulfric once again stared at the photos, and the need and the want inside him just intensified. Moments like this, he wished he could just teleport and enveloped Aster in his arms.

 Chapter 686 - 686: HE HAD TO HAVE SOME SELF-RESPECT

    WULFRIC found himself staring at the photos of Aster again. Somehow, Aster looked even more breathtaking than before¡ªsomething Wulfric hadn¡¯t thought possible. A small, satisfied smile tugged at his lips as he remembered pre-ordering every physical copy of the magazine. Just for this edition, of course. The thought of having them, of holding something tangible that captured Aster like this, was too good to pass up.


    These days, publications rarely released physical copies of books or magazines. Everything had shifted to digital, and [Vivique] was no exception. They only ever printed 100 physical copies per edition, making them rare and highly sought after. This time was no different. Wulfric, determined to have every single one, had made sure to secure all 100 copies. It was excessive, perhaps, but when it came to Aster, he didn¡¯t believe in half-measures. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 687 - 687: EMMA FASHION SHOW (I)

    TODAY was the release of EMMA¡¯s new collection, Chrome Collection, and the fashion show was being held at the Stellar Atrium, a massive floating structure in the heart of the Empire¡¯s capital. The Atrium hovered high above the city, its sleek, glass-paneled walls offering a panoramic view of the glittering skyline below.


    It was night, and the capital¡¯s lights shimmered like a sea of stars, blending seamlessly with the actual stars visible through the transparent ceiling. The runway, a long, glowing strip of light, stretched through the center of the venue, ready to showcase the collection to some of the Empire¡¯s elite.


    Backstage, Astrid sat in his own dressing room, a privilege afforded to him as the finale model. The show hadn¡¯t started yet, but the atmosphere was already charged with energy. Models moved about, adjusting their outfits, chatting with stylists, and running through last-minute rehearsals. Astrid, however, didn¡¯t need to join the pre-show chaos. He only had one role, to only walk at that final moment. So, he had the luxury of waiting here by himself.


    It wouldn¡¯t last long, though. A stylist and a makeup artist would likely be here any minute to prep him for the finale.


    Astrid glanced around the room one more time. The models and staff outside would definitely think he was getting special treatment¡ªand they wouldn¡¯t be entirely wrong. It was true he was receiving extra attention because he was the nephew of EMMA¡¯s owner, but that wasn¡¯t common knowledge. He hoped they¡¯d just assume it was because he was the ambassador for the new collection and not jump to¡­ other conclusions. Like Casey being his sugar daddy or something equally ridiculous. The thought made him cringe.


    As he waited for the stylist and makeup artist to arrive, Astrid decided to open his Terminal to check for any messages. He hadn¡¯t had a chance to look at anything since he¡¯d arrived, and the brief downtime seemed like a good opportunity to see what he¡¯d missed.


    He saw messages from his friends.


    Kiran: [Snow and I just got here together. The place looks amazing! Can¡¯t wait to see you kill it on the runway. Good luck, Aster! You¡¯ve got this.]


    Snow: [I¡¯ve arrived with Kiran. The venue is impressive. Good luck tonight.]


    Lauren: [Aster, I¡¯m here! I actually planned to go backstage and give you flowers, but Chris stopped me¡ªthat spoilsport. He said it would just cause rumors. Anyway, good luck tonight! I¡¯ll be cheering for you from the front row. *wink*]


    A smile automatically crossed Astrid¡¯s face as he read the messages. He began replying to them one by one.


    While typing a response to Kiran, he remembered that his friend would be moving into his apartment building next week. After their dinner, Astrid had asked Wulfric if there was an available unit, and Wulfric had mentioned one a floor below. Astrid passed the information on to Kiran, who wasted no time contacting the building manager. Now, Kiran was set to move in next week.


    It was a shame he wouldn¡¯t have time to help Kiran move in. With [Serendipitous Summer]¡¯s premiere also happening next week, his schedule was packed with promotions and appearances. Still, he made a mental note to plan a housewarming party for Kiran once things calmed down. This was the first place Kiran had gotten entirely on his own, and that deserved to be celebrated.


    Next, he replied to Snow. When Astrid had given them the invitations to the show, Snow had immediately suggested to Kiran that they go together. Astrid figured Snow probably knew Kiran might feel awkward or uneasy attending such a high-profile event alone. It was just like Snow to be so thoughtful, always considering how others might feel.


    After that, he replied to Lauren. It had been a while since they¡¯d last seen each other properly. After the small luncheon celebrating Astrid¡¯s debut on the [Star List], their schedules had kept them apart. Even when they crossed paths at Polaris, the most they could manage was a quick greeting. This show would likely be the first time in a while they¡¯d have a chance to spend some real time together. After the show, of course. Which would be the show after party.


    Aside from that, this would also be the first time they¡¯d meet in person since Lauren and Reas had become official. Astrid couldn¡¯t wait to tease Lauren about it. There was also the matter of telling Lauren about Wulfric. He still hadn¡¯t found the right moment to explain his connection to the infamous general, and he doubted Reas would have brought it up, either. Now that Ellis knew about Wulfric, it felt a little unfair to keep Lauren in the dark. Tonight, after the show, seemed like the perfect opportunity to fill him in.


    As soon as Astrid closed his Terminal, there was a knock at the door. Assuming it was the stylist and makeup artist, he stood up and opened it. But the moment he did, a small, energetic blur shot forward, slamming into him with surprising force. Astrid looked down to see Nicol, grinning up at him, his arms wrapped tightly around Astrid¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Brother Aster!¡±


    A smile instantly spread across Astrid¡¯s face. ¡°Hey, Nikki,¡± he said, ruffling the boy¡¯s hair.


    The boy was wearing a crisp, navy-blue suit tailored perfectly for his small frame, complete with a tiny bow tie that looked slightly askew. His silver hair, usually curly, had been neatly combed for the occasion, though a few strands were already starting to rebel. His sapphire blue eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked up at Astrid, clearly thrilled to be there. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Nicol, don¡¯t squeeze your brother so hard,¡± a voice chided gently from behind the boy.


    ¡°Oh, come on, Tommy,¡± another voice chimed in, this one lighter and more amused. ¡°Nikki¡¯s just excited to see Aster after so long.¡±


    Astrid looked up and saw his two uncles standing just behind Nicol. Both were strikingly handsome, their silver hair catching the light¡ªCasey¡¯s curls bouncing slightly as he moved, while Thomas¡¯s hair was neatly styled. The latter wore a tailored charcoal-gray suit that emphasized his broad shoulders, while the former was dressed in a deep navy blazer with a subtle pattern that added a touch of flair.


    He smiled and greeted the two.

 Chapter 688 - 688: EMMA FASHION SHOW (II)

    ASTRID accepted the bouquet of flowers from Casey, holding them gently as he stepped aside to let the three Grimaldis into his dressing room. ¡°Thank you for these,¡± he said, his voice warm. ¡°They¡¯re beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Only the best for you, my dear,¡± Casey said with a playful grin. He and Thomas sat on the empty couch, while Nicol stayed beside Astrid. Thankfully, the chair was spacious enough to comfortably fit both of them.


    Astrid only chuckled at that. Then he glanced at Thomas. ¡°Is it alright for you to come here, Uncle Thomas? You must be busy.¡±


    ¡°Not busy enough to miss my nephew¡¯s first runway show,¡± Thomas replied, his tone as serious as ever, but with a hint of warmth.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said sincerely. While he still wasn¡¯t as comfortable around Thomas as he was with Casey, he genuinely appreciated his uncle¡¯s support.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that Reas couldn¡¯t be here with us,¡± Casey said, sounding genuinely regretful.


    Thomas leaned back slightly, his expression as composed as ever. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. The military academy is strict about attendance. If Reas were to skip his classes because he attended a fashion show the night before, they might question his commitment. And that wouldn¡¯t reflect well on him.¡±


    ¡°You know, we could¡¯ve just sent a car for him and had it bring him back right after the show. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have to miss any classes,¡± Casey said, his tone casual but with a hint of regret.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Uncle Casey,¡± Astrid said quickly, before Casey could seriously consider the idea. ¡°Even if Reas isn¡¯t here, I know he¡¯s supporting me.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that Astrid didn¡¯t want his brother there¡ªhe just knew Reas wouldn¡¯t enjoy being in a place like this. In fact, he¡¯d probably spend the entire time glued to Lauren¡¯s side, and then Chris, Lauren¡¯s agent, would really have something to worry about.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right,¡± Casey said with a sigh, his tone softening. ¡°By the way, do your parents know about your first runway show today?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they video called me earlier,¡± Astrid replied, a small smile forming as he remembered the conversation. His mother had been calm but clearly excited, asking thoughtful questions about the show and how he was feeling. His father had chimed in with his usual dry humor, making a few teasing remarks about him being a model. ¡°Grandfather was there too. He seems to be adapting well to life on the farm.¡±


    ¡°Ha, maybe the old man will hand you the title, Tommy, and he¡¯ll switch to being a full-time farmer,¡± Casey said, his voice a mix of amusement and sarcasm.


    Thomas¡¯ brows furrowed, but did not respond to Casey¡¯s remark, obviously finding it very childish.


    ¡°Brother Aster,¡± Nicol said, tugging gently on Astrid¡¯s sleeve, his sapphire blue eyes wide and pleading. ¡°Will you come with us after the show? Please, please, please?¡±


    Astrid looked down at Nicol, the boy¡¯s big, pleading eyes blinking up at him. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to say no. ¡°Well, there¡¯s still an after-party after the show,¡± he began. ¡°But Nikki can¡¯t go because you have school tomorrow. So, I¡¯ll ask Uncle Casey to bring me to the Grimaldi mansion after the party. That way, when you wake up, I¡¯ll be there, and we can have breakfast together. How does that sound?¡±


    Nicol¡¯s face fell slightly when Astrid began explaining, but as he kept talking, the boy¡¯s expression gradually brightened. By the time Astrid finished, Nicol was grinning from ear to ear. ¡°I think it sounds great!¡±


    Casey and Thomas exchanged a glance, both smiling faintly as they watched the interaction between Astrid and Nicol.


    Soon, the stylist and makeup artist arrived, both visibly surprised to see the three Grimaldis in the room. However, being professionals, they quickly composed themselves and didn¡¯t comment.


    As the three prepared to leave, Casey realized he¡¯d forgotten to ask Astrid about that stalker, White Wolf. He needed confirmation on whether the person behind the handle was truly who he suspected. Surely, Astrid would know. But then, he thought it might be better to ask when Thomas wasn¡¯t around. The last thing he needed was his brother¡¯s judgmental stare if his suspicions turned out to be wrong.


    He decided to just ask Astrid later during the party.


    Astrid offered a polite smile to the stylist and makeup artist as they entered, and they responded with friendly nods. As he closed his eyes and let the makeup artist begin her work, his thoughts wandered to the conversation he¡¯d had with Wulfric earlier that day, just before leaving his apartment. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    =====


    ¡°Are you nervous about today?¡± Wulfric asked. Although he sounded casual, there was clearly a hint of concern in his golden eyes.


    ¡°Is it weird if I say no?¡± Astrid replied with a faint smile tugging at his lips.


    Wulfric stared at him for a moment, then chuckled softly. ¡°I should¡¯ve known something like walking a runway wouldn¡¯t make you nervous.¡±


    This time, Astrid smiled fully. ¡°Let¡¯s just say confidence comes easier when you¡¯re wearing a six-figure outfit.¡±


    Wulfric raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that have the opposite effect?¡±


    ¡°Well, clearly not on me,¡± Astrid said, his tone playful.


    For a moment, the two of them just looked at each other, and then they both burst into laughter.


    ¡°Damn, I wish I could be there right now,¡± Wulfric said after a while.


    Astrid stared at Wulfric through the screen. The other man¡¯s expression was soft, his eyes holding a quiet but unmistakable longing as he looked at Astrid. It was clear, even without words, that Wulfric would rather be there with him than stuck in Alluna at the moment.


    ¡°Even if you¡¯re not here, I know that you¡¯re supporting me from there. That¡¯s all that matters.¡±


    ¡°I wish that was enough for me,¡± Wulfric said, his voice low and earnest, ¡°but I really, really want to see you walk that runway in person.¡±


    Astrid chuckled lightly. ¡°The show¡¯s going to be streamed live, so you¡¯ll still get to see me.¡±


    Wulfric responded with a small, almost childish pout, which only made Astrid laugh again.

 Chapter 689 - 689: EMMA FASHION SHOW (III)

    THE runway for EMMA¡¯s Chrome Collection was a sleek, glowing strip of light cutting through the darkened venue, creating a stark contrast that drew all eyes to the models as they walked. The atmosphere was electric, with a steady, pulsating beat setting the rhythm for the show. The music, a mix of electronic and industrial tones, matched the sharp, confident strides of the models. The lighting was minimal but strategic, casting dramatic shadows and highlighting the clean lines of the outfits.


    The clothes themselves were a bold mix of vibrant colors, featuring deep blues, rich emeralds, striking silvers, and pops of fiery red. Structured blazers with exaggerated shoulders, tailored trousers with precise cuts, and flowing dresses with asymmetrical hemlines dominated the lineup. Each piece played with texture and shape, creating visual interest without relying on flashy details. Every outfit building on the last to create a narrative of bold elegance and power.


    Finally, it was time for the finale walk. The music shifted, the beat slowing to a deep, resonant pulse as the lights dimmed slightly, casting a soft glow over the runway. Then, Astrid Townsend appeared.


    His black hair, styled in loose waves, framed his face perfectly, contrasting sharply with his pale skin. His makeup was subtle but striking¡ªa touch of dark liner accentuating his black eyes, giving him an almost otherworldly gaze. The outfit he wore was the showstopper of the collection: a sleek, tailored suit in deep crimson, the fabric catching the light with every step. The long trail of the jacket flowed behind him like a river of fire, adding a dramatic, ethereal quality to his walk.


    Astrid moved with effortless grace. The combination of his striking yet soft features, the bold red of the suit, and the way the trail seemed to float behind him made him look less like a model and more like a celestial being stepping into the mortal world. The audience was spellbound, the silence broken only by the soft rustle of fabric and the faint echo of his footsteps.


    ¡°Wow, Brother Aster is so pretty¡­¡± Nicol murmured, his earlier restlessness completely forgotten as he stared at his cousin with wide, dreamy eyes. He¡¯d been close to complaining, ready to ask when they could leave, but now he was glad he¡¯d held back. Seeing his Brother Aster walk the runway made it all worth it.


    Thomas nodded in agreement when he heard his son¡¯s praise, his gaze fixed on Astrid as he walked the runway. For the first time, he felt a flicker of gratitude that the prince had taken an interest in his nephew. With a face like that, Astrid had always been bound to attract unwanted attention¡ªadvances from people who saw him as nothing more than a pretty face.


    Before they had that little family reunion, Astrid had been navigating the industry on his own, vulnerable to anyone who might have tried to take advantage of him. The prince¡¯s quiet protection, had likely acted as a shield, deterring those who might have otherwise seen Astrid as an easy target. Thomas still wasn¡¯t entirely comfortable with the idea of his nephew being romantically involved with the prince, but he couldn¡¯t deny that it might have been the very thing that had kept Astrid safe. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Casey, sitting on the other side of Nicol, wasn¡¯t overthinking anything. His focus was entirely on snapping photo after photo of Astrid, determined to keep his promise to Emmy by sending her as many as possible. Pride swelled in his chest as he watched his nephew glide down the runway with the confidence of someone who¡¯d been modeling for decades. Astrid moved with such ease and poise, it was hard to believe this was his first major show. Casey couldn¡¯t help but grin, his Terminal clicking away, capturing every moment of Astrid¡¯s flawless walk.


    On the opposite side of the venue, Lauren was also busy taking photos. He planned to send them to Reas, knowing how much his boyfriend would appreciate seeing Astrid¡¯s moment, even if he couldn¡¯t be there in person. Lauren couldn¡¯t help but wish Reas were beside him, sharing in the excitement. He missed him more than he cared to admit. Later, he¡¯d definitely complain to Astrid about it. After all, one of the perks of being friends with your boyfriend¡¯s brother was the right to vent a little.


    ¡°Lauren, don¡¯t make it too obvious that you¡¯re taking photos of Astrid,¡± Chris whisper-hissed, leaning closer to him.


    Lauren rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not for me, it¡¯s for Reas.¡±


    ¡°But the people here don¡¯t know that,¡± Chris countered. ¡°Just don¡¯t be obvious about it.¡±


    Lauren resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. Ever since he and Reas had started dating, Chris had become increasingly paranoid. It was as if he thought every person who glanced their way would somehow piece together that Lauren was in a relationship and start scrutinizing his every move. The overprotectiveness was starting to feel a bit excessive.


    He sighed. He couldn¡¯t really blame Chris¡ªhe knew the man was just worried about him. Chris wasn¡¯t just his agent; he was more like a big brother, always looking out for him. What Lauren couldn¡¯t understand was why Chris seemed to think Reas was the one taking advantage in their relationship, as if Lauren were somehow at a disadvantage. It was completely absurd. Lauren was a few years older than Reas and had far more life experience. If anything, he was the one who should be accused of taking advantage, not the other way around.


    Seriously, the three of them needed to sit down and have a proper talk soon¡ªjust to clear the air and set things straight.


    He turned his head to the left and spotted Snow and Kiran. The two were focused on Astrid¡¯s walk. Snow wore his usual cool, composed expression, but the slight tug at the corner of his lips betrayed how much he was enjoying the show. Kiran, on the other hand, was far more expressive. His face lit up with excitement as he watched Astrid, looking like he was barely holding himself back from clapping or cheering out loud.


    It had been a while since he¡¯d spent time with the two of them. The four of them¡ªLauren, Snow, Kiran, and Astrid¡ªreally needed to hang out later during the after party.

 Chapter 690 - 690: EMMA AFTER-PARTY (I)

    AS Astrid reached the end of the runway, he paused with a confident and elegant posture. Trying his best to exude an air of effortless grace. Just as he did, a cascade of delicate flower petals began to rain down from above, catching the light as they fell. For a brief moment, he was startled, but he quickly regained his composure, his expression remaining calm and collected.


    Turning smoothly, he began his walk back, the petals continuing to drift around him. He kept his gaze steady, careful not to let his focus shift to the petals¡ªthe height of the heels he wore made even the slightest distraction a potential hazard. Still, the faint, sweet scent of jasmine reached him, letting him know what kind of flowers they were without needing to look. The effect was mesmerizing, adding an ethereal touch to his already captivating walk.


    When Astrid reached the starting point, he turned gracefully and gestured to the side. A woman with vibrant, multicolored hair and bold, artistic makeup stepped onto the stage. Oleander Breeze, the chief designer of EMMA and the creative force behind this new collection, moved with an air of confidence that matched her striking appearance. Astrid had met her during one of the rehearsals for the show, and she¡¯d left quite an impression. Eccentric didn¡¯t even begin to cover it¡ªher fashion sense was as bold as her personality, and the way she carried herself was undeniably unique.


    Astrid began clapping as she arrived, and the audience quickly followed suit, filling the venue with applause. Oleander responded with a playful curtsy. She then took her place beside Astrid.


    ¡°Great work, kid,¡± she whispered. ¡°Remind me to thank Casey later for this surprise. The flower shower is definitely a nice touch.¡±


    Astrid raised an eyebrow. From her tone, it was clear she hadn¡¯t known about the flowers. He actually also didn¡¯t know about this. During rehearsals, he only had to walk once and then back, then that¡¯s it. He glanced up at the falling petals, the scent of jasmine filling the air. It reminded him of a particular memory¡ªone from the day he and Wulfric had first met.


    Wulfric had been such an ass back then¡ªpushy, arrogant, and so infuriating that Astrid had barely stopped himself from punching him in the face. But amidst all the annoyance, one thing had stuck with him: the moment Wulfric had leaned in, sniffed him, and casually remarked that he smelled like jasmine. It was such an odd, unexpected comment that it had somehow lodged itself in Astrid¡¯s memory, even though he¡¯d been too irritated to acknowledge it at the time.


    Who would have thought that memory would resurface now, of all times? What a coincidence that Casey had chosen jasmine for the finale walk. But it had to be just that¡ªa coincidence, right?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The after-party was held in the grand ballroom of the Stellar Atrium, its high ceilings adorned with shimmering chandeliers that cast a soft, golden glow over the room. The space was filled with a mix of celebrities, socialites, and even a few nobles, their conversations blending with the elegant strains of a live orchestra playing in the corner.


    Wait staff moved gracefully through the crowd, their trays laden with delicate finger foods¡ªminiature tarts, bite-sized canap¨¦s, and intricately designed hors d¡¯oeuvres. Champagne flutes sparkled as they were passed around, the bubbles catching the light as guests sipped and mingled.


    Astrid arrived at the after-party with Ellis by his side. Casey had wanted to accompany them, but Ellis had firmly disagreed, pointing out that Casey had already given Astrid more than enough attention tonight. To avoid any reporters spinning ludicrous stories about the two of them, it was better to keep their interactions within what was considered a ¡®professional¡¯ range. Casey had reluctantly agreed, though not without a few muttered complaints.


    After arriving, a stream of people immediately stopped Astrid, all eager to congratulate him and make small talk. He smiled and responded politely, though he could feel the strain in his facial muscles from all the forced smiling. Thankfully, Ellis noticed his discomfort and tactfully stepped in, guiding him to a quieter corner where Snow and Kiran were standing.


    He let out a quiet sigh of relief as he approached the two. ¡°Hey, guys.¡±


    Snow gave a small nod, his usual calm expression softening just slightly. ¡°You did well out there.¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kiran, on the other hand, was far more animated. ¡°Aster, you were amazing! I mean, the way you walked, the way the flowers just¡ªugh, it was perfect!¡±


    Astrid smiled at that. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave you kids here,¡± Ellis said, her tone light but with a hint of playfulness. ¡°Try not to get into trouble.¡±


    With a quick wink, she turned and walked off, disappearing into the crowd. She was likely off to network or chat with industry insiders¡ªher usual after-party routine.


    ¡°So, how¡¯s the moving plan going?¡± Astrid asked Kiran after a moment. ¡°Everything on track?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all good,¡± Kiran replied enthusiastically. ¡°I just signed the contract, so it¡¯s official. I don¡¯t have much to pack, honestly, but I¡¯m planning to buy some instruments and equipment this weekend to set up a mini studio in my new place.¡±


    ¡°Do you need help?¡± Snow asked. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything scheduled on your moving day, so I could drop by.¡±


    Kiran turned to Snow, a grateful smile spreading across his face. ¡°Thanks, Snow. I really appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t help with the move,¡± Astrid said, his voice tinged with regret.


    Kiran waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I know how busy you are, especially with the movie coming out next week.¡±


    ¡°Here you are,¡± said a familiar voice. They turned to see Lauren approaching, a casual smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you guys.¡±


    Then he stepped forward and gave each of them a quick, warm hug¡ªfirst Astrid, then Kiran, and finally Snow.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure your agent¡¯s going to scold you for that hug,¡± Astrid said with a chuckle.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be scolded for,¡± Lauren said with an exaggerated eye roll. ¡°I hugged all three of you. What are the reporters gonna say? That we¡¯re in some kind of foursome? Even I don¡¯t have that much stamina for that.¡±

 Chapter 691 - 691: EMMA AFTER-PARTY (II)

    KIRAN nearly choked on the canap¨¦ he¡¯d just eaten. His sudden coughing fit was obviously from what Lauren just said. Astrid quickly grabbed a glass of what looked like juice from a passing waiter and handed it to Kiran, who didn¡¯t hesitate to take a few gulps to calm himself down.


    ¡°You okay?¡± Astrid asked, his tone a mix of concern and amusement. Although he really dislike seeing someone choke, the reason behind this one made him smile a little.


    Kiran nodded, still catching his breath. ¡°Yeah, just¡­ wasn¡¯t expecting that,¡± he managed to say, shooting Lauren a mock glare.


    Lauren raised both hands in surrender, a playful grin on his face. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t blame me if you can¡¯t handle my brilliant sense of humor.¡±


    ¡°If by ¡®brilliant¡¯ you mean ¡®dirty,¡¯ then sure,¡± Kiran muttered under his breath, though the corner of his mouth twitched as if he were fighting a smile.


    ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t take you for such a prude, Kiran,¡± Lauren said, his tone exaggerated as he clutched his chest dramatically, pretending to be deeply offended.


    Both Astrid and Snow couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at Lauren¡¯s antics, and even Kiran let out a laugh.


    Lauren snagged a champagne flute from a passing waiter and took a sip before turning back to the group. ¡°So, my friends,¡± he began, ¡°what have you been up to lately? And I¡¯m not talking about your careers¡ªI already know you¡¯re all killing it. I mean, what¡¯s new in your lives?¡± S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Not much new for me,¡± Snow answered first, his tone as calm and matter-of-fact as ever. ¡°Aside from my schedule, I¡¯ve mostly been splitting my time between school and Polaris.¡±


    ¡°Same for me,¡± Astrid added.


    There was, of course, the whole situation with his family, but he couldn¡¯t exactly bring that up in such a public setting. Maybe soon, when they were all somewhere private and didn¡¯t have to worry about eavesdroppers, he¡¯d share more. At that thought, a certain idea popped in his mind.


    ¡°The only new thing for me is that I¡¯m moving into Aster¡¯s apartment building next week,¡± Kiran said, his tone bright with excitement.


    Lauren¡¯s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ¡°Really?¡±


    Kiran nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about moving off campus for a while now, and Aster¡¯s apartment building was my first choice.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a solid choice,¡± Lauren said, nodding in approval. ¡°The units might be a bit small for my taste, but the security there is top-notch.¡±


    ¡°And they have great soundproofing,¡± Kiran added in a satisfied tone. It was one of the main reasons he¡¯d chosen the place.


    ¡°How about you?¡± Snow asked, turning to Lauren. ¡°What have you been up to lately?¡±


    ¡°Oh, me?¡± Lauren said, a mischievous glint in his eye. ¡°There¡¯s one major thing that happened.¡±


    Astrid blinked. Surely, no matter how carefree Lauren was, he wouldn¡¯t just blurt out that he was now dating someone, right? Surely, he had more sense than that.


    Lauren leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper that only the four of them could hear. ¡°I¡¯m dating someone now.¡±


    Okay. So, he definitely didn¡¯t have more sense.


    Astrid shook his head, a mix of disbelief and helplessness on his face, while both Snow and Kiran¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    Kiran immediately glanced around, his expression turning nervous. ¡°Are you sure you should¡¯ve said that? What if someone heard you?¡±


    Lauren waved a hand dismissively, his tone light and confident. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Unless someone here has an SSS-level physique, they wouldn¡¯t have heard what I just said. And let¡¯s be real¡ªwhy would someone like that even be here, eavesdropping on us?¡±


    ¡°You never know,¡± Snow said as he took a sip of his champagne. ¡°It¡¯s always better to be careful.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Astrid seconded.


    Lauren raised an eyebrow, leaning in again and whispering, ¡°Then I take it you¡¯re not interested in knowing who I¡¯m dating?¡± His tone was teasing, but there was a clear challenge in his eyes.


    Astrid stayed silent, already knowing exactly who Lauren was talking about. But both Kiran and Snow couldn¡¯t hide their curiosity, especially Kiran. His expression shifted as he visibly debated whether to ask or not¡ªand it was clear the ¡°yes¡± was winning.


    To quell their curiosity and, more importantly, to stop Lauren from casually dropping his brother¡¯s name in the middle of the party, Astrid took matters into his own hands. He opened his Terminal and quickly created a group chat, adding Snow, Kiran, and Lauren.


    ¡°Check your messages,¡± he said.


    All three looked at him in confusion, but still opened their Terminals.


    Astrid: [Lauren here is dating Reas.]


    Kiran read the message several times, his eyes widening before he turned to Lauren in disbelief. ¡°Seriously?¡±


    Snow, ever composed, simply raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°Well, this is¡­ certainly unexpected.¡±


    Lauren pouted as he looked at Astrid. ¡°I was planning to say it myself, you know.¡±


    Astrid smiled, unfazed. ¡°I¡¯m sure you were. But it¡¯s better this way. At least you won¡¯t get scolded too badly by Chris when he finds out about this whole conversation.¡±


    ¡°If he finds out,¡± Lauren countered, a sly grin spreading across his face. ¡°But yes, what Aster sent you is true.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± Kiran said, his voice barely above a whisper. ¡°Just¡­ wow.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Lauren replied, his tone dramatic, as if he could fully relate to Kiran¡¯s shock. ¡°There are nights when I wonder why I even agreed to it. But I guess I¡¯m just a sucker for a pretty face. And a great body.¡±


    The last part¡ªsomething about the body¡ªwas mumbled so quietly that Astrid barely caught it. But he did, and it was enough to make him want to gag. There were some things about his brother he really didn¡¯t need to know.


    ¡°Okay, why don¡¯t we save the details for another time?¡± Astrid interjected.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± Snow said quickly, clearly eager to steer the conversation away to another topic.


    ¡°Since not all of us are free on the day Kiran moves, why don¡¯t we pick a date when everyone¡¯s available and throw a housewarming party for him?¡± Astrid suggested. ¡°It¡¯d be a good time for all of us to catch up properly.¡±

 Chapter 692 - 692: CAR RIDE WITH CASEY

    ¡°THAT sounds like a great idea,¡± Lauren said, his enthusiasm obvious.


    ¡°I think so as well,¡± Snow agreed with a nod.


    Kiran, however, looked hesitant. ¡°Are you sure? I mean, I know you¡¯re all busy, and I don¡¯t want to take up your time¡ª¡±


    ¡°Stop. Don¡¯t overthink it,¡± Astrid interrupted. ¡°A housewarming party is not taking up our time.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Lauren chimed in. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not every day one gets a place of their own for the first time. We¡¯re celebrating you, Kiran. Let us.¡±


    Kiran hesitated for a moment longer, then finally nodded, a small smile breaking crossing his lips. ¡°Okay, fine. But only if you¡¯re sure.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re sure,¡± Snow said simply.


    They quickly pulled up their schedules on their Terminals, comparing dates and times until they found a day that worked for everyone. After some back-and-forth, they settled on a date two weeks from now.


    Ellis approached the group with a polite smile, offering a quick apology for interrupting. She explained that Astrid needed to mingle with some of the guests. Astrid didn¡¯t resist¡ªhe knew this was part of the job and all that. He couldn¡¯t just refuse because he¡¯d rather spent time with his friends. After a brief exchange of goodbyes, he followed Ellis into the crowd.


    She introduced him to a group of executives and industry insiders. The conversations were polite but predictable¡ªcompliments on his walk, questions about his upcoming projects, and the occasional comment about how well the Chrome Collection had been received. Astrid smiled, nodded, and responded with the right amount of enthusiasm, keeping his answers professional but friendly enough.


    One executive in a tailored suit asked about his experience working with EMMA. Astrid gave a brief but thoughtful response, praising the team and the creative process. A woman mentioned how much she¡¯d enjoyed [The Great War]. Astrid thanked her a bit more sincerely.


    Ellis stayed close, occasionally stepping in to steer the conversation or introduce someone new. He shook hands and made small talk about the industry, all while keeping his smile intact.


    Their final stop was Casey and Oleander Breeze for a final photo op. Astrid joined them, posing naturally as cameras flashed.


    ¡°By the way, Cassius, that last touch with the flowers was genius,¡± Oleander said in an appreciative tone. ¡°Did you keep it a secret just to surprise me?¡±


    Astrid glanced at his uncle, curious to hear his response. But instead of the confident reply he expected, a flicker of confusion crossed Casey¡¯s face. It was gone almost instantly, replaced by a smooth smile.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Casey said, trying to sound casual.


    Astrid didn¡¯t miss the hesitation, though. Something about Casey¡¯s reaction didn¡¯t quite add up, and it brought back the possibility that had crossed his mind earlier.


    But surely not, right?


    ¡ª¨C


    The after-party wrapped up on a high note, the energy still buzzing even as things began to wind down. The show had been a success, and the night had gone exactly as planned.


    Astrid spent the final moments of the after-party chatting with his friends and thanking the EMMA team for their hard work. Once the formalities were over, Ellis discreetly guided him toward the exit. She kept him close, shielding him from view as they navigated through the remaining guests and staff.


    When they reached the parking lot, Ellis took a quick look around before signaling Astrid to follow. As they approached Casey¡¯s car, Ellis opened the door and practically nudged Astrid inside, her eyes still scanning the area to make sure no one noticed. Then, she waved her hand goodbye before walking towards the direction where her car was parked.


    Astrid smiled slightly as he watched Ellis walk away. She¡¯d been a good sport about the whole thing, which surprised him. He¡¯d expected her to push back, just like she had when Casey wanted to arrive at the after-party together. But this time, she¡¯d agreed without much fuss. Maybe it was because there were fewer people around now that the party was over. Most of the paparazzi had likely already left, and the remaining guests were too busy wrapping up to pay much attention.


    As the car started to move, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit like a spy. But it was necessary. If anyone saw him leaving with Casey, rumors about his uncle being his sugar daddy would spread like wildfire. And as ridiculous as that sounded, it was still the better option compared to the Lancasters catching wind of his connection to the Grimaldis.


    ¡°Does your agent know I¡¯m your uncle?¡± Casey asked after a moment.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Astrid said, a hint of guilt creeping into his voice. ¡°I told her about our family.¡±


    He probably should have checked with the rest of the family before telling Ellis, but Astrid trusted her. He was confident she wouldn¡¯t reveal their family¡¯s secret. It¡¯s just not in her character. Just look at how she¡¯d handled the situation with Olivia Crane. Despite everything that had happened between them, Ellis had never spoken badly about her, even though she could have. It¡¯s probably even right to say that she¡¯s entitled to it.


    Casey didn¡¯t scold him or react with anger. Instead, his expression shifted to one of concern. ¡°Do you trust her?¡±


    Astrid met Casey¡¯s gaze directly and didn¡¯t hesitate to say, ¡°I do.¡±


    Casey nodded, his expression thoughtful but accepting. ¡°If you trust her, then I will too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really okay with it?¡± Astrid asked, wanting to be sure.


    Casey shrugged. ¡°Well, her knowing that we¡¯re related is much better than her trying to pimp you to me.¡±


    Astrid blinked, then let out a laugh. ¡°True that.¡±


    Casey cleared his throat. ¡°Since we¡¯re on the topic of secrets, can I ask you something?¡±


    Astrid turned to his uncle, his expression curious. ¡°Sure. What is it?¡±


    ¡°That person named White Wolf,¡± Casey began, ¡°the one with the handle @astridsnumber1fan on [Cyberspace]. Do you know him personally?¡±


    If Astrid had been drinking or eating something at that moment, he might have choked from sheer surprise. He forced himself to stay calm before asking, ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    Casey hesitated for a moment before answering. ¡°I know this would sound strange, but I have a feeling I might know who he is.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 693 - 693: TURNED OUT BETTER THAN EXPECTED

    ASTRID felt slightly nervous at Casey¡¯s words. He hadn¡¯t expected the conversation to go in this direction. The idea that his uncle might already have an idea about White Wolf¡¯s identity caught him off guard. He kept his expression calm, but his mind started turning. Did Casey really know? And if he did, how would Astrid react to it? He wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready to dive into that topic, especially after such a long night. Still, he decided to play it cool and see where Casey was headed with this.


    ¡°Are you saying White Wolf isn¡¯t his real name?¡± he asked, maintaining an innocent expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s not his real name,¡± Casey answered despite the hint of uncertainty in his words. ¡°If I had to guess, White Wolf is probably just an online persona. And if I¡¯m right¡­¡± He paused, as if weighing what he was about to say next carefully. ¡°Well, the person behind it might be the only prince of the Empire.¡±


    Once again, Astrid silently thanked whatever cosmic force was watching over him that he wasn¡¯t drinking or eating anything at that moment. If he had been, he might have choked¡ªor worse, pulled a repeat of the embarrassing incident that had ended his last life. The memory of that moment still made him cringe, and he wasn¡¯t eager to relive it, even metaphorically.


    He put on his best shocked and confused expression, channeling every bit of acting skill he had to make it convincing. ¡°How could that be?¡± he asked, his voice laced with just the right amount of disbelief.


    Casey studied Astrid¡¯s expression carefully, his eyes narrowing slightly as if trying to gauge whether the reaction was genuine. After a moment, he let out a dry laugh, shaking his head. ¡°Yeah, right? It sounds crazy when I say it out loud. Forget I mentioned it.¡±


    Astrid forced a laugh, trying to sound as casual as possible even though he found nothing funny about the situation. ¡°It¡¯s probably because his name is White Wolf that you thought that. It does sound like a fake name. And it¡¯s the same as Wulf¡¯s infamous moniker. If it were really him, wouldn¡¯t he choose something less obvious? Something that couldn¡¯t be traced back to him so easily?¡± S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Casey considered Astrid¡¯s explanation and found it made sense. At first, he¡¯d seriously wondered if his nephew was trying to fool him, but Astrid¡¯s genuinely confused expression made him feel guilty for even suspecting it. Now, he just felt a little silly for bringing it up in the first place.


    Thinking back to all the post that this White Wolf had made since creating his [Cyberspace] account, he couldn¡¯t imagine the prince writing and posting any of it. Well, maybe he could to some level. That¡¯s why he even considered the possibility of him being this White Wolf. But still, no matter how obsessed Wulf might be with Astrid, Casey doubted he¡¯d go this far.


    Creating an entire alternate account just to gush about Astrid in every post was too much¡ªeven for someone as intense as the prince. Casey couldn¡¯t imagine the prince willingly putting himself in a position where, if discovered, it would become the most humiliating moment of his life. The thought alone was enough to make Casey dismiss the idea entirely.


    He laughed again, this time with a hint of self-deprecation. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re probably right.¡±


    Astrid decided it was time to steer the conversation elsewhere. ¡°By the way, Uncle,¡± he began, ¡°that flower shower at the finale walk¡ªwas that your idea?¡±


    The question seemed to do the trick, as Casey¡¯s attention shifted immediately. ¡°Ah, that,¡± he said, as thinking back to that moment. ¡°Despite what I told Oli earlier, it wasn¡¯t my idea. It was probably a last-minute addition by the show¡¯s director or someone on the team.¡±


    That made Astrid pause. The scent of jasmine seemed to linger in his memory, and if Casey hadn¡¯t been the one behind the flower shower, then¡­ He shook his head, pushing the thought aside. There was no point in overthinking it now. He could just ask Wulfric later.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    Wulfric poured himself a glass of whiskey, the rich amber liquid catching the light as he settled into his home theater. On the massive screen in front of him, Astrid¡¯s runway walk played in stunning high definition. He¡¯d already watched the livestream of the show, but that hadn¡¯t been enough. As soon as it ended, he¡¯d cut Astrid¡¯s part from the footage and now had it on repeat. Watching it on his Terminal wouldn¡¯t have done it justice¡ªhe wanted every detail to be larger than life. The home theater¡¯s surround sound and crystal-clear visuals made it feel almost like being there in person.


    He watched as Aster walked down the runway, his movements full of confidence and grace. The deep crimson suit he wore fit him perfectly, the fabric catching the light with every movement, making him look like he was glowing. The long trail flowed behind him like a river of fire, adding a dramatic flair to his walk.


    Aster¡¯s black hair, styled in loose waves, framed his face perfectly, contrasting sharply with his pale skin. His dark eyes, accentuated by subtle makeup, seemed to pierce through the screen, even from a distance. The way the light caught his features, highlighting the sharp lines of his jaw and the curve of his lips, made Wulfric¡¯s chest tighten.


    He leaned back in his seat, his glass of whiskey forgotten for the moment, his focus entirely on the screen. It didn¡¯t matter how many times he replayed it; he could watch Aster like this forever and never get tired of it.


    As Aster reached the end of the runway and paused, a cascade of flower petals began to rain down, catching the light as they fell. Wulfric¡¯s lips curved into a faint smile as he watched Aster¡¯s momentary surprise, followed by the way he effortlessly regained his composure. The petals added an ethereal quality to the scene, framing Aster in a way that made him look almost otherworldly.


    Wulfric took another sip of his whiskey, his satisfaction evident. Watching the petals fall, he thought to himself, That turned out even better than I expected.

 Chapter 694 - 694: HIS ROOM AT THE GRIMALDI MANSION

    ASTRID glanced around the room where Thomas had led him. The space blended timeless elegance with contemporary design. Its high ceilings were adorned with intricate moldings that hinted at its aristocratic roots. The walls were painted in a soft, neutral tone, accented by large windows framed with sleek, minimalist drapes that would probably let in natural light easily.


    The furniture was a mix of classic and modern styles. A soft velvet sofa sat next to a glass coffee table, while a vintage chandelier hung above, its crystals sparkling in the light. Against one wall was a large, four-poster bed with a simple, clean-lined frame. The dark wood stood out against the crisp white sheets and soft, neutral blankets. The room felt elegant but not overdone, blending old-world charm with modern simplicity.


    Astrid walked toward the window and brushed aside the drapes, looking up at the night sky. When he and Casey had arrived at the mansion earlier, Thomas was still awake, clearly waiting for them. Casey had suggested the three of them have a late-night drink, but Thomas had disagreed, pointing out that Astrid must be exhausted after the long day. Instead, he sent Casey to his room and then personally led Astrid to his. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thomas explained that this room and the one next to it had been redecorated specifically for Astrid and Reas to use whenever they visited the mansion. The rooms were theirs, and once they felt comfortable, they could consider the mansion a second home.


    The way Thomas spoke was very measured, like he was still figuring out how to navigate this new dynamic. There was a slight awkwardness in his words. It was clear he was trying¡ªto connect, to make Astrid feel welcome, to close the gap that years apart had created. He could see the effort, the genuine desire to get closer, not just to him but to Reas too.


    It would likely take time before Astrid and Reas could truly feel at ease around Thomas¡ªand their grandfather, for that matter. But at least everyone was making an effort, trying their best to create a genuine connection. That was a start, and for now, it was enough.


    Astrid walked to the bathroom. Thomas had told him it was fully stocked with clean towels, bathrobes, and toiletries. The closet was also filled with clothes¡ªsleepwear for the night and outfits for the next day. Everything he might need had already been prepared.


    He stepped into the bathroom, immediately struck by its clean, luxurious design. The walls were lined with smooth marble, and a large, freestanding bathtub sat in the center, surrounded by sleek fixtures. To one side was a spacious glass shower, and opposite it, a discreet door that would probably lead to the toilet. The double vanity was topped with polished stone, and modern touches like minimalist lighting and clean lines gave the space a balanced, functional feel.


    Astrid decided to take a bath instead of a shower because he wanted to relax after the long day he had. He walked over to the bathtub. On the side of the tub was a small control panel with options to set the water temperature and even add scents to the bath.


    He tapped the screen, adjusting the temperature to his liking, then paused when it came to selecting a scent. One option caught his attention¡ªsandalwood. It was a warm and earthy scent that felt both grounding and masculine. For a moment, he hesitated, his finger hovering over the panel. It¡¯s because the aroma reminded him of a certain someone with white hair and golden eyes. Choosing it almost felt like he wanted to smell the same as the other.


    The thought made him smile faintly. Yes, it wasn¡¯t just Wulfric who remembered a scent¡ªAstrid did, too. Though, unlike Wulfric, it wasn¡¯t something that had left a deep impression on him. The jasmine flowers earlier had stirred the memory of it, bringing back the way Wulfric¡¯s sandalwood scent had lingered in his mind. It wasn¡¯t something he thought about often, but for some reason, he couldn¡¯t push it aside at this moment.


    Finally, he no longer stopped himself and just selected it, letting the scent infuse into the water as the tub began to fill.


    Astrid quickly undressed and stepped into the tub, sinking into the warm water. The heat immediately began to ease the tension in his muscles, the sandalwood scent wrapping around him like a comforting blanket. He leaned back, letting the water cover him up to his shoulders, and closed his eyes. The stress of the day seemed to melt away with each passing second, the quiet of the room and the soothing warmth of the bath creating a perfect moment of calm. For the first time that night, he felt truly relaxed.


    Then he suddenly remembered there was something he wanted to ask Wulfric. But since he was already in the tub, relaxed and half-submerged in the warm water, he figured it could wait until later. As he sank deeper into the bath, a mischievous idea popped into his head.


    ¡ª¨C


    After about 30 minutes of soaking, Astrid finally got out of the tub, feeling like the fatigue in his body had been completely washed away. He dried off and wrapped himself in a soft bathrobe before heading to the closet. When he opened it, he was surprised to find it wasn¡¯t just a regular closet¡ªit was a walk-in one, spacious and neatly organized.


    He didn¡¯t have time to explore the walk-in closet fully, so he quickly picked out a comfortable pair of cotton pajamas. After getting dressed, he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out his Terminal, calling Wulfric.


    The call connected almost immediately, and Wulfric¡¯s handsome face appeared on the screen. His excitement was obvious in his expression.


    ¡°Aster!¡± Wulfric greeted, his voice brimming with enthusiasm. ¡°Are you back from the after-party? Oh, and I watched the livestream of the show, by the way. You were incredible. If you weren¡¯t an actor, you¡¯d probably put all those models out of a job.¡±


    Astrid blinked, then a soft laugh escaped his lips because of the barrage of compliments.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said, still smiling. ¡°But I think the models are safe for now.¡±

 Chapter 695 - 695: WAS THAT YOUR DOING?

    WULFRIC was ecstatic when he received Aster¡¯s call. He¡¯d assumed the other would be sleeping by now, especially after attending both the show and the after-party. That¡¯s why he hadn¡¯t tried calling earlier, even though he¡¯d been dying to. But who would¡¯ve thought Aster would call him first? It was a good thing Wulfric wasn¡¯t the type to sleep early¡ªhe would¡¯ve kicked himself if he¡¯d missed the call because he was asleep.


    ¡°Did you have fun?¡± Wulfric asked. More than the show¡¯s success, what mattered most to him was whether Aster had enjoyed himself.


    ¡°I did, actually,¡± Astrid answered.


    In his past life, he¡¯d never walked in a fashion show¡ªhis height wouldn¡¯t have made him model material. Tonight had been a good experience though, and a surprisingly enjoyable one at that. The venue itself had been impressive, and that flower shower at the end had been a nice touch.


    Speaking of the flower shower¡ªAstrid was just about to ask Wulfric the question he¡¯d been meaning to bring up when the other suddenly spoke first, cutting him off.


    ¡°Aster, are you not in your apartment?¡±


    Wulfric didn¡¯t notice it at first, but as he kept looking at Aster, something felt different that usual. The wallpaper behind him wasn¡¯t the same as the one in his apartment. Once Wulfric realized that, his mind just started racing. Was Aster in a hotel? It was late, so maybe he¡¯d decided to stay somewhere nearby after the event. Or maybe he was at his agent¡¯s place¡ªor even a friend¡¯s.


    The idea that Aster might be alone with someone else right now almost made Wulfric frown. The only reason he stopped himself was because he knew how irrational it would be to feel annoyed. After all, he¡¯d met all of Aster¡¯s closest friends¡ªexcept Lauren, but he didn¡¯t count since he was already dating Reas. And while he wouldn¡¯t say he fully trusted Kiran and Snow, he at least knew they were decent guys who cared about Aster.


    But still.


    So instead of driving himself crazy guessing, Wulfric decided to just ask directly.


    ¡°Ah, no,¡± Aster answered. ¡°I¡¯m at the Grimaldi main mansion. Nikki invited me, and I couldn¡¯t say no to him. So I ended up coming back with Uncle Casey.¡±


    Oh, that actually made sense. Wulfric had nearly forgotten EMMA was owned by Cassius Grimaldi. Of course, the other¡ªand that brat Nicol¡ªwould be there to watch Aster¡¯s runway debut. The realization settled his nerves immediately. Aster being at the Grimaldi mansion with family was infinitely better than any of the scenarios his mind had conjured up earlier.


    But Aster¡¯s answer raised another concern.


    ¡°Did you leave with Casey?¡± Wulfric asked, his voice tightening slightly. ¡°Were you careful not to be seen together?¡±


    If anyone spotted Aster leaving with a Grimaldi, it could spark dangerous rumors. The last thing they needed was those damn Lancasters catching wind of Aster¡¯s connection to the family ¨C they¡¯d be on him like vultures the moment they suspected anything.


    Ah, seriously. Maybe he should accelerate his plans to deal with the Lancasters. Not all of them, of course¡ªjust the truly rotten ones like the patriarch and that damned general. The family was like a basket of spoiled eggs, with a few still salvageable. Take that cadet in Reas¡¯s class, for instance. The kid wasn¡¯t half bad. With proper guidance, he might actually grow into a decent soldier and a proper human being. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That¡¯s why Wulfric had discreetly spoken to some instructors in the Mecha Division to keep a close eye on the Lancaster kid. He wanted to see if the cadet would pull anything like what he¡¯d done to Reas during Wulfric¡¯s one week teaching stint there. But according to the reports so far, the young Lancaster had been diligent and disciplined¡ªthough he still butted heads with Reas occasionally, their clashes seemed more like competitive rivalry than one originating from genuine malice.


    After they graduated, it would probably be best to request them be sent to the Fenris Army. And by them, he meant Reas, Leland¡¯s kid brother, and that Lancaster kid.


    Anyway, to speed up his plans for dealing with the Lancasters, he should probably bring Cynric in on it. To outsiders, it might seem like his brother favored the Lancasters, but in reality, no one in the Empire would enjoy their downfall more¡ªwell, except maybe the Grimaldis.


    But to have that conversation with Cynric, he¡¯d need to prepare carefully. It would mean reopening old wounds his brother would rather leave buried. Still, letting things continue like this would only make everything worse in the long run¡ªif it hadn¡¯t already. Cynric needed to face this head-on, once and for all.


    ¡°Yes, I left with Uncle Casey. And we were careful not to be seen together.¡±


    Aster¡¯s response snapped Wulfric¡¯s attention back to the present. The tension in his shoulders eased slightly¡ªif Aster said they¡¯d been cautious, he had no reason to doubt it.


    A faint smile tugged at Astrid¡¯s lips as he watched the visible relief wash over Wulfric¡¯s face. Then he remembered what he¡¯d meant to ask earlier.


    ¡°By the way, Wulf,¡± he began, ¡°can I ask you something?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Wulfric replied immediately. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°That shower of jasmine petals at the end of my runway walk¡ªwas that your doing?¡±


    As soon as Astrid asked that, Wulfric froze completely. His golden eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, he looked like a deer caught in headlights. ¡°Ah, I¡ªuhm¡­¡±


    Wulfric stammered, uncharacteristically flustered. Astrid immediately noticed how he was suddenly at a loss for words. His mind was most likely scrambling for a plausible explanation that wouldn¡¯t give him away entirely.


    Wulfric¡¯s frozen expression was all the confirmation Astrid needed. But he still wanted to hear the other admit it himself. Then he remembered what he did earlier in the bath. This was a good opportunity to use that.


    He tried to stop himself from sounding playful, then said, ¡°If you answer honestly, I¡¯ll give you a reward. And I promise you won¡¯t be disappointed.¡±

 Chapter 696 - 696: THE REWARD

    WULFRIC¡¯S heart thumped at Aster¡¯s mention of a ¡®reward¡¯. All the nervousness and anxiety he¡¯d felt about possibly being discovered as the one behind the shower of jasmine petals seemed to scatter instantly. Now he could only wonder: what exactly did Aster mean by a reward?


    Before his brain could fully process the thought, the words slipped out: ¡°What reward?¡±


    A small, secret smile tugged at Astrid¡¯s lips when Wulfric took the bait. The prince¡¯s curiosity had clearly overridden his self-preservation. Before Wulfric could reconsider, Astrid pressed on:


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out once you answer my question truthfully. So what¡¯s it going to be? Lie and get ignored for a week, or tell the truth and get your reward?¡±


    The choice was obvious. The moment Wulfric heard Aster might ignore him for lying, his decision was made¡ªthough it suspiciously felt like he¡¯d just walked into a cunningly made trap.


    He shook his head and sighed. Then he looked straight at Aster and answered truthfully, ¡°I did it.¡±


    Even though he was already expecting that answer, Astrid still felt a flicker of surprise. ¡°How did you pull it off?¡±


    If Casey hadn¡¯t known, that meant Wulfric had arranged it without even EMMA¡¯s owner noticing. That level of stealth had Aster genuinely curious¡ªhence, why it was his first question.


    Wulfric rubbed the back of his neck, a rare sheepish gesture. ¡°I may have¡­ called in a favor with the venue¡¯s head technician. The Stellar Atrium uses the same event coordinators as imperial palace functions. I just requested a ¡®special effect¡¯ be added to the finale.¡±


    Astrid raised a brow. While Wulfric¡¯s explanation sounded simple, he knew it couldn¡¯t have been that straightforward. It likely involved layers of complexity, yet Wulfric had pulled it off unnoticed. Astrid could only imagine the effort it must have taken¡ªall just to surprise him.


    A warmth spread through Astrid¡¯s chest at the realization. Wulfric had gone through all that trouble just for him. It was excessive, over the top, and so very Wulfric. He pressed his lips together, but the small smile breaking through gave him away¡ªhe was undeniably touched.


    And that¡¯s really all that mattered. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Astrid said, his voice softer than usual, the words carrying a quiet sincerity.


    Wulfric shifted awkwardly. When he¡¯d planned the surprise, he hadn¡¯t expected anything in return¡ªhe just wanted Aster to shine the most during his first runway show. But seeing Aster¡¯s genuine appreciation, that awkwardness melted into quiet pride and happiness.


    ¡°I¡¯d move stars if it meant seeing you smile like that.¡±


    He met Aster¡¯s gaze, the usual sharpness in his golden eyes replaced by something warmer. A faint smile tugged at his lips¡ªnot the confident smirk he usually wore, but something quieter, more sincere. He held Aster¡¯s eyes just a beat longer than necessary, letting the unspoken weight of his words settle between them.


    Astrid felt his ears grow warm, caught off guard by Wulfric¡¯s words. How could the prince say things like that so easily? Yet at the same time, it was so him¡ªblunt and unwavering. The sincerity of it made something flutter in Astrid¡¯s chest, equal parts exasperation and fondness.


    He looked away for a moment, clearing his throat before meeting Wulfric¡¯s gaze again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send your reward later,¡± he said, then added softly, ¡°And¡­ thank you. For the jasmine petals. I really liked it.¡± A faint smile touched his lips before he continued, ¡°Good night, Wulf.¡±


    Before Wulfric could respond, the call ended abruptly. He blinked¡ªhe hadn¡¯t even said goodnight yet. Then he remembered how Aster had looked away after his last words, and realization dawned. Was Aster actually shy?


    But just as he was about to savor that thought, a notification chimed on his Terminal. He checked it and saw that it was a message from Aster. His pulse quickened¡ªwas this the promised reward?


    Wulfric opened the message, and his entire body went still.


    The moving image captured Aster submerged in the bath, his inky black hair slicked back, water droplets gliding down his temples to trace the elegant line of his jaw before disappearing down his throat. Steam curled off his damp skin, giving his normally pale complexion a faint flush. His collarbones peeked above the bubbled surface, the hollows accentuated by the warm lighting. One arm draped lazily over the edge of the tub, fingers dangling with casual grace, while a single bare foot breached the foam, toes flexing slightly¡ªan unintentionally intimate detail.


    But it was his expression that truly undid Wulfric. Aster¡¯s lips parted just enough to reveal the barest hint of teeth as that familiar smirk played across his features, as if he could see exactly what this image would do to its recipient. The bubbles concealed just enough to tantalize, their slow pop and reform at the water¡¯s surface drawing attention to what they half-revealed with each subtle shift.


    Wulfric¡¯s heart hammered against his ribs, the sudden rush of heat making his pulse roar in his ears. His blood seemed to surge south all at once, leaving him lightheaded as a familiar, uncomfortable tightness strained against his pants. Just as he registered the warmth spreading through his face, a distinct, metallic tang hit his tongue¡ªfollowed by the slow, wet sensation of something dripping past his lips.


    He instinctively raised a hand to his face, fingers brushing his upper lip. When he pulled them away, his fingertips came back stained with red.


    He actually had a nosebleed!


    Wulfric stared at the photo again, his thumb hovering over the screen as if this scene were happening right in front of him. The image looped perfectly¡ªAster¡¯s wet hair, that slow, teasing smile, the way the bubbles clung just enough to suggest more. His breath hitched.


    ¡°Damn,¡± he muttered, voice rough. ¡°What a reward.¡±


    He would definitely have a sleepless night. That image of Aster would be seared into his mind for hours. Every time he closed his eyes, he¡¯d see it again, feel that same jolt of heat low in his gut. And with the photo still glowing on his Terminal, begging to be replayed, sleep was a lost cause.


    Wulfric exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. Yeah, he wasn¡¯t getting any rest tonight.

 Chapter 697 - 697: SCRUMPTIOUS BREAKFAST

    ASTRID woke up in a good mood. It wasn¡¯t just because of his successful runway show¡ªit was mostly due to last night¡¯s conversation with Wulfric. Even as he¡¯d tried to sleep, he couldn¡¯t stop imagining Wulfric¡¯s reaction to his ¡®reward¡¯. He was certain he¡¯d fallen asleep with a grin on his face because of that.


    After brushing his teeth and completing his morning skincare routine, he changed into comfortable clothes. Though he had no work schedule today, he still needed to attend school, so staying at the mansion all day wasn¡¯t an option. As he finger-combed his hair, he opened his Terminal to check for messages.


    There were messages from Reas and their parents, which he replied to quickly. He was mildly surprised to see one from his grandfather:


    [You were amazing at your first runway show. Congratulations.]


    It was a simple message¡ªhe could practically hear his grandfather¡¯s flat tone as he read it. With a quiet chuckle, he typed back a quick ¡°Thank you¡±.


    After scrolling through more messages, the last one was from Wulfric. Astrid smiled and opened it.


    [You¡¯re such a tease, Aster. Do you have any idea how much blood I lost over that photo? I nearly needed medical attention. I think it¡¯s fair I give you some payback.]


    Attached to the message were several photos¡ªeach one showing Wulfric in various states of undress.


    The photos captured Wulfric¡¯s bare upper body in all its powerful glory. His shoulders were broad and thickly muscled, the kind that could easily lift a person without strain. His chest was sculpted with well-defined pectorals that flexed subtly even at rest. The eight-pack abs were impossible to ignore ¨C each ridge sharply delineated, the deep cuts between them shadowed in the dim light.


    His arms were a testament to years of combat training; the biceps full and rounded, the forearms roped with thick veins running along dense muscle. A light sheen of sweat, or perhaps water from a recent shower, made his skin glisten, highlighting every contour of his battle-honed physique.


    Astrid stared at the photos, his brain momentarily short-circuiting. At first, he just took in the sheer physicality of it¡ªthe raw definition of Wulfric¡¯s muscles, the way his body looked both powerful and unreasonably attractive. Then his pulse kicked up, a steady thrum building in his ears as he kept staring. Heat crept up his neck, spreading across his face and down his chest, until even his fingers felt warm and he had to grip the bedside table just to steady himself.


    He let out a soft laugh. Payback indeed.


    He typed out a reply.


    [Thanks for breakfast. The dishes you sent were simply¡­ scrumptious.]


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to receive a reply.


    [Aster, you¡¯re killing me here. It¡¯s early morning. I just woke up and still have morning wood. And now, you just made it even harder. Do you really want me to have blue balls the entire day?]


    Astrid had to read what Wulfric sent twice before laughing out loud.


    ¡ª¨C


    ¡°Brother Aster, do you really have to leave?¡± Nicol whined.


    They had just finished breakfast when Astrid received a message from Ellis¡ªshe¡¯s already near the Grimaldi mansion, which meant she¡¯d be arriving any minute now.


    ¡°I have school today. Doesn¡¯t Nikki have classes too?¡± Astrid said, amusement obvious in his eyes.


    Nicol pouted. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Astrid ruffled his cousin¡¯s hair. ¡°Stop sulking. Once my schedule clears up, I¡¯ll visit again and we¡¯ll have the whole day together.¡±


    Nicol¡¯s face immediately brightened. ¡°Really? You promise?¡±


    ¡°Promise.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure I can¡¯t drive you to school?¡± Casey asked.


    ¡°If you¡¯re concerned about being seen with Cassius, I can arrange a driver instead,¡± Thomas added. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. Sister Ellis is already on her way.¡±


    Right on cue, Astrid received a message from Ellis¡ªshe was already at the mansion¡¯s front gate. Simultaneously, Thomas also got an alert from the mansion¡¯s security system requesting permission to grant Ellis entry within the mansion¡¯s premises. After checking that it was really Astrid¡¯s agent, he gave his permission to let the other enter.


    ¡°Miss Payne is here,¡± Thomas informed Astrid.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go meet her,¡± Astrid said with a nod. When he noticed the three Grimaldis moving to follow, he quickly added, ¡°No need to come with me. I¡¯ll just greet her and leave.¡±


    Before any protests could form, Astrid quickly pulled each of them into a brief hug¡ªfirst Nicol, who giggled and squeezed back, then Casey, who ruffled his hair affectionately. When he reached Thomas, the older man stiffened slightly under the unexpected contact, though he didn¡¯t push him away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon,¡± Astrid promised, already stepping back before darting out of the mansion.


    Astrid strode down the mansion¡¯s driveway to meet Ellis¡¯s car halfway, so she wouldn¡¯t need to park. He could see the vehicle approaching in the distance, its familiar shape growing larger as it navigated the tree-lined path. Rather than waiting at the entrance, he kept walking at a leisurely pace until the car rolled to a stop beside him. Without hesitation, he pulled open the passenger door and slid in before Ellis could come down and open the door for him herself.


    ¡°Good morning, Sister Ellis,¡± he greeted energetically.


    Ellis gave him a look that clearly questioned why he was so cheerful this early, but she only sighed and replied, ¡°Good morning to you, too.¡±


    Ellis started the flying car, the engines whirring softly as it lifted off. She turned it smoothly toward the gate and accelerated forward.


    ¡°I take it you had a good rest?¡± she asked.


    Astrid recalled last night¡¯s conversation with Wulfric¡ªand the photos sent that morning¡ªand his small smile widened. ¡°Yes. The bed was very comfortable, and the food was great.¡±


    Ellis only nodded. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re in a good mood.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also glad that the runway show went well,¡± Astrid added. ¡°The reaction online should be positive, right? I haven¡¯t really checked.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Most of the feedback online was positive,¡± Ellis reassured him. ¡°There were a few negative comments, but they¡¯re in the minority.¡±

 Chapter 698 - 698: ANOTHER NORMAL DAY

    ASTRID nodded. He¡¯d expected as much¡ªthere would always be negative comments, since no one could please everyone.


    But he still opened his Terminal to check the comments on [Cyberspace] about the runway show last night. He clicked on EMMA¡¯s official page and read the comments under the livestream video.


    ¨C EMMA¡¯s new collection is stunning. Exactly what you¡¯d expect from a top luxury brand.


    ©¸ Right? If I had the money, I¡¯d buy every single piece.


    ©¸©¸ Same! That crimson coat Aster wore? Perfection.


    ©¸©¸ The tailoring is insane. You can tell it¡¯s premium just from the photos.


    ©¸©¸ And the colors? Chef¡¯s kiss. That deep emerald piece lives in my mind rent-free.


    ¨C This year¡¯s EMMA collection absolutely blew me away!


    ©¸ Same! The designs were next-level. That asymmetrical emerald dress? Stunning.


    ©¸ The color palette was everything. So rich and vibrant without being overwhelming.


    ©¸ And the craftsmanship? Flawless. You can see the quality in every stitch.


    ¨C Can we all agree Astrid Townsend was the undisputed star of the show?


    ©¸ Obviously. That finale walk with the petal shower? Iconic.


    ©¸ He outshined every professional model there. That¡¯s our actor!


    ©¸ The way he carried that crimson suit like it was made for him¡­ Just magnificent.


    ©¸ Even the close-ups couldn¡¯t capture how unreal his presence was. Born for the spotlight. And to think this was his first runway show!


    ¨C There are models, and then there¡¯s our Aster. #ProudStarlight


    ©¸ +1


    ©¸ +2


    .


    .


    .


    + 100


    ¨C Oh please, the collection was decent at best. Stop acting like that actor single-handedly saved it.


    ©¸ Right? The designs were good, but let¡¯s not pretend Astrid did anything special. He just walked.


    ©¸©¸ Exactly. People are acting like he designed the clothes himself. Newsflash: he¡¯s just a model.


    ©¸©¸©¸ He¡¯s not even that. He¡¯s an actor, playing the role of a model. LOL.


    ©¸ The overhyping is ridiculous. EMMA¡¯s collections have always been stellar¡ªthis one¡¯s no exception, but it¡¯s not because of him.


    ©¸ Finally, some sanity. The cult-like worship for celebrities is exhausting.


    ¨C This collection was mediocre and overrated. Astrid Townsend¡¯s fanatics are delusional if they think his basic walk ¡®made¡¯ the show.


    ©¸ THANK YOU. He¡¯s just a pretty face wearing clothes he didn¡¯t design. Zero real contribution.


    ©¸ The petal gimmick was cringe. Try-hard ¡®ethereal¡¯ nonsense for his fans to scream over.


    ©¸ EMMA should¡¯ve hired real models instead of relying on actor hype. The clothes deserved better.


    ©¸ The way people obsess over him is pathetic. Go outside and inhale fresh air. Maybe that would clear your brain from all the fog.


    Astrid raised a brow. Just as expected¡ªplenty of praise, but no shortage of criticism too. He considered closing his Terminal, then remembered Wulfric. Instead, he navigated to his number one fan¡¯s [Cyberspace] account.


    White Wolf @astridsnumber1fan: [To the haters saying Aster ¡°just walked¡± in EMMA¡¯s show: EXCUSE YOU??? That wasn¡¯t a walk, that was a RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. The way he floated down that runway like a celestial being slumming it among mortals?? The way those jasmine petals wept at his beauty??? And you all DARE say he ¡°did nothing special¡±? I bet your eyes are just jealous they can¡¯t handle his magnificence. Stay mad, peasants. #AsterSupremacy #StayInYourLane]


    Astrid blinked at the post, momentarily stunned. Then, before he could stop himself, he burst out laughing¡ªa full, unrestrained sound that made Ellis glance at him sideways.


    Oh Wulf.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ellis asked.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Astrid said, shaking his head. ¡°Just read something funny.¡± And very endearing, he added silently. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°By the way, Astrid,¡± Ellis said suddenly, ¡°is it safe for us to be seen leaving the Grimaldi mansion?¡±


    Astrid glanced over and only then noticed the worried frown creasing Ellis¡¯s brow. He understood her concern¡ªshe knew about the Grimaldi-Lancaster feud. She likely assumed the Lancasters had people monitoring the Grimaldis¡¯ every move. And she would be right in a way.


    Astrid gave her a reassuring look. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This isn¡¯t just Grimaldi property¡ªit¡¯s their home. The security here rivals that of the imperial palace¡¯s. No Lancaster spy or lackey could snoop around here undetected. So, we¡¯re safe.¡±


    Ellis nodded, accepting his explanation.


    They had just passed through the mansion¡¯s gates when she added, as if remembering, ¡°Oh¡ªDirector McCann called earlier. They¡¯ve finalized the cast for [The Shadow Within]. I¡¯ll send you the file with the full list.¡±


    Astrid considered this¡ªthe casting was finally settled. He wondered who the director had chosen.


    ¡°I¡¯ll review the list after class,¡± he said.


    ***


    Astrid arrived at Redwood Academy to a mixed reception. Some classmates offered sincere congratulations, their smiles warm and voices enthusiastic as they praised his runway appearance. Others delivered hollow compliments, their words polite but their eyes disinterested ¨C the kind of obligatory praise common in their social circles.


    He didn¡¯t really care and simply smiled, whether the praise was genuine or just polite. The day passed with classes and idle chatter. When it ended, Ellis picked him up and drove him home.


    Astrid entered his apartment and opened the casting file Ellis had sent. When he saw the actor chosen to play Detective Lewis¡ªthe man¡¯s name and his profile picture staring back from the screen¡ªa smile tugged at his lips before he even realized it.


    The man in the photo had sharp, angular features¡ªa jawline that could cut glass, dark brows pulled low over piercing eyes. His expression was all coiled tension, the kind of face that warned keep your distance before he¡¯d even spoken. The perfect image for Detective Lewis.


    Rhett Archer.


    A quiet satisfaction settled in his chest as he studied Rhett Archer¡¯s profile. Director McCann had made the right choice¡ªnot that Astrid expected otherwise. After all, Rhett had been his personal recommendation for Detective Lewis from the beginning.


    Hazel Marlowe, the other actor Astrid had favored for the role of the first victim, had been chosen as well. The remaining cast selections were also equally satisfactory.


    Pleased with the selections, he sent Director McCann a brief confirmation of his approval. The reply arrived moments later, telling him that he was glad. With no further notes, he turned off his Terminal.


    ***


    The days flew by in a blur of promotional events¡ªuntil, at last, the premiere of [Serendipitous Summer] arrived.

 Chapter 699 - 699: ADVANCED SCREENING

    IT was standard for films to hold screenings before their official release. Advanced screenings typically welcomed invited fans, while press screenings catered to critics and media. For [Serendipitous Summer], the studio opted for a combined event¡ªhosting press, critics, and select fans together two days before the movie¡¯s official premiere.


    The screening was held in a medium-sized theater near the capital¡¯s center¡ªnot the grandest venue, but one with impeccable acoustics and a reputation for hosting prestigious film events. Right now, under the glow of camera flashes, the red carpet event was in full swing.


    The supporting cast had already made their entrance¡ªmen in tailored suits, women in flowing gowns. Now, only the leads and director remained. As murmurs of anticipation spread through the crowd, a black flying limousine glided to the carpet¡¯s edge, its doors parting with a near-silent hum.


    The limousine¡¯s passenger door slid open, and a young man stepped onto the carpet. His jet-black hair curled in soft waves, perfectly framing a face that seemed carved from moonlight. He wore EMMA¡¯s latest Chrome Collection¡ªa liquid-silver suit that draped like mercury over his shoulders.


    Astrid Townsend paused at the door, then turned back with effortless grace, offering his hand toward the still-open interior¡ªpalm up, as if waiting for someone to come down.


    A dainty, unmistakably feminine hand settled atop Astrid¡¯s. Charlotte Anderson emerged¡ªcaramel-brown hair spilling in loose waves over one shoulder, her emerald-green eyes bright under the flashing lights. She wore a backless midnight-blue gown, its silk skirt split to the thigh and embroidered with silver diamond-like gems.


    Astrid¡¯s fingers closed gently around hers as she stepped onto the carpet. The two of them paused for the cameras before moving forward together.


    ¡°So, this is it, huh,¡± Charlotte mumbled as she smiled at the cameras flashing at them.


    Astrid glanced down at Charlotte and noticed the faint tremor in her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he said. ¡°We made a good film¡ªthe results will prove it.¡±


    And he believed that¡ªtruly. It wasn¡¯t just bias as one of the film¡¯s stars, but hard-earned confidence in the work they¡¯d poured into it. With a cast that delivered, a production team that refused to cut corners, and Director Hale¡¯s sharp direction, failure wasn¡¯t just unlikely¡ªit was impossible.


    Of course, that wouldn¡¯t always translate to box-office success¡ªbut in this case, he wasn¡¯t worried. The film was based on a popular IP; the worst they could do was break even. Even then, it would still be considered a victory.


    Charlotte seemed to be energized by what he said, her hand finally stopped trembling. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡±


    They paused at the midpoint of the carpet just as another car arrived. Director Hale stepped out in a tailored navy suit. Astrid and Charlotte waited until she joined them. Without missing a beat, Astrid extended his free elbow, offering her his arm.


    ¡°Are you both ready?¡± Director Hale mouthed silently, glancing toward the cameras.


    ¡°As ready as we¡¯ll ever be,¡± Astrid replied. Charlotte nodded in agreement beside him.


    Director Hale grinned. ¡°Then, let¡¯s get this show started.¡±


    ***


    Before a screening could begin, a short Q&A was often held. Now, the cast and director of [Serendipitous Summer] sat onstage, waiting for the press to start their questions. This was Astrid¡¯s first screening, at least in this life, so he was slightly nervous. But more than that, he was excited.


    ¡°Director Hale, [Serendipitous Summer] is one of author One Leaf¡¯s most beloved works. Are you confident your adaptation will give justice to it?¡± a reporter asked.


    Okay. So, they¡¯re not pulling punches. Astrid thought. It¡¯s probably a good idea that One Leaf decided not to attend the screening. With the other¡¯s timid attitude and shy nature, this would probably be too much for her.


    Director Hale leaned into the microphone. ¡°Adaptations are never about replication¡ªthey¡¯re about translation. One Leaf entrusted us with her work because she believed we understood its soul. Our job was to honor it while making something that stands on its own.¡± She paused, glancing at her cast. ¡°Judge for yourself in twenty minutes.¡±


    A reporter asked, ¡°Miss Anderson, this is your first major role after just a year in the industry. How did you handle the challenge?¡±


    Charlotte met the question with measured focus. ¡°By respecting the process,¡± she said. ¡°I studied the script, collaborated with Director Hale on my character¡¯s journey, and learned from everyone on set.¡± Her tone softened slightly. ¡°I always believe that someone¡¯s first leading role is about growth. I¡¯m grateful mine was with people who grew alongside me.¡±


    A reporter leaned in, mic aimed. ¡°Astrid, you¡¯ve had an unprecedented streak¡ªRookie of the Year, Star List¡¯s Top 100, EMMA¡¯s luxury campaign¡ªall in under twelve months. How does it feel to dominate an industry most spend years trying to crack?¡±


    Astrid met the reporter¡¯s gaze thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s been a whirlwind, but none of those milestones feel like endpoints¡ªjust signposts,¡± he said. The genuine tone in his voice was there for anyone to hear. ¡°I¡¯m deeply grateful to everyone who¡¯s given me these chances. I believe the real work isn¡¯t landing opportunities; it¡¯s making sure you deserve them. That¡¯s why I always make sure to do my very best in every opportunity I¡¯m given.¡±


    The Q&A continued for another twenty minutes¡ªstandard questions about production challenges, fan expectations, and the occasional lighthearted anecdote from set. By the time the moderator signaled the end, the air buzzed with anticipation for the screening.


    The cast and director moved to their reserved seats as the theater lights gradually dimmed. A soft chime signaled the start of the screening. The PR team opt to use the 5D version of the movie for the screening instead of the VR one. So, those present didn¡¯t need a VR helmet to watch the movie. The screen then flickered to life, its glow cutting through the darkness as the first notes of the soundtrack filled the air.


    The screen filled with golden dawn light spilling over a sleepy coastal town¡ªcrumbling piers, pastel-painted storefronts, gulls wheeling above the bay. The camera swept down narrow streets, zooming in on a weathered restaurant. Through its salt-fogged windows, a girl sat curled in a booth, utterly absorbed in a book, her fingertips resting against the page. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 700 - 700: [SERENDIPITOUS SUMMER] (I)

    THE opening scene began with Abby sitting alone in a seaside caf¨¦, absorbed in a physical book ¨C a rare sight in this futuristic world where everyone used Terminals to read. The regular customers barely noticed her anymore; they¡¯d grown accustomed to her old-fashioned habit.


    Outside, the roar of a combustion engine broke the quiet morning ¨C an impossible sound in this age of hover vehicles. A black motorcycle with actual wheels pulled up, ridden by a young man about Abby¡¯s age. He removed his helmet, revealing sweaty black hair and striking features that immediately drew attention from everyone in the caf¨¦.


    As he entered, his eyes scanned the room before landing on Abby¡¯s book. He began walking toward her just as a distracted waiter, staring at the newcomer, tripped and sent a tray of drinks flying directly at Abby¡¯s booth. At the last second, the young man stepped in front of her, taking the full brunt of the spill.


    Now dripping with various beverages, he stood before a stunned Abby. Though soaked, he seemed unbothered as he studied her with an expression that was both playful and kind. Abby found herself unexpectedly captivated by this strange boy who had appeared so suddenly in her quiet world.


    The sticky mess of iced coffee, fruit smoothie, and whipped cream dripped from Jace¡¯s hair onto the caf¨¦ tiles. Abby stared at the caramel-colored puddle expanding near his boots before snapping to attention.


    ¡°I¡¯m Abby,¡± she blurted out before she could think properly, clutching her book to her chest. ¡°You¡ªyou can¡¯t stay like that. I have clothes at my house. Not that they¡¯d fit you, but¡­¡± She hesitated, her throat tightening. They were my brother¡¯s. The words lodged themselves behind her teeth. Her grip on the book turned white-knuckled for a second before she forced her voice steady. ¡°They¡¯re just¡­ spares. It¡¯s kind of far, though.¡± She gestured vaguely northeast, toward the cliffs.


    The moment the words left her mouth, Abby regretted them. Why was she inviting a complete stranger to her house? But he had saved her from getting drenched. Returning the favor was only fair¡ªwasn¡¯t it? Even as she reasoned with herself, the logic felt flimsy. Too late now. Taking it back would only make things more awkward.


    The other seemed to think the same as he looked at her with confusion and amusement. But as he wiped a glob of whipped cream from his eyebrow and flicked it away, he still introduced himself.


    ¡°I¡¯m Jace,¡± he said. ¡°And ¡®far¡¯ won¡¯t be a problem.¡± He tilted his head outside where his motorcycle waited, its chrome handlebars still gleaming despite the dust.


    Jace¡­ so, that¡¯s his name ¡ª Abby thought.


    When they stepped outside, the sea wind hit Abby¡¯s face, carrying the scent of salt. Jace crouched by his bike¡¯s rear compartment and unearthed a second helmet. He held it out, but Abby hesitated, eyeing the way his fingers left sticky prints on the visor.


    ¡°It¡¯s clean.¡± Which was an obvious lie. He even grinned when she grimaced. ¡°Mostly.¡±


    She took it, the helmet heavier than expected, and fumbled with the straps. Jace swung onto the bike in one fluid motion, kicking the stand up with his heel. The engine snarled to life beneath him.


    ¡°Well?¡± he called over the noise.


    Abby bit her lip. The seat looked impossibly small. She lifted one knee, aborted the movement, then finally climbed on, perching precariously at the very edge.


    Jace glanced over his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re gonna fall at the first turn,¡± he said. Before she could protest, he grabbed her wrists and yanked her forward until her chest pressed against his back. ¡°Hold on here.¡± He slapped her hands against his waist.


    Abby¡¯s entire face burned. She could feel the damp fabric of his shirt, the heat of his skin beneath it.


    ¡°Better,¡± Jace said, and then they were moving, the bike lurching forward so abruptly her arms locked around him in a death grip.


    And that was how Abby and Jace first met ¨C the beginning of a friendship between a girl who loved old books and a boy who rode an ancient motorcycle.


    ***


    The next day, Abby spotted the motorcycle first¡ªthat antique black thing with actual wheels, parked between two hover-bikes like it owned the place. When she pushed into the caf¨¦, there he was, slouched in her usual booth like he¡¯d been waiting.


    Jace looked up from his Terminal. ¡°Hey. The waiter told me this is your spot. Hope you don¡¯t mind me camping here.¡± He rubbed his neck. ¡°I¡¯ve been staring at this screen so long my eyes are crossing.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Abby hesitated before sitting across from him and asking, ¡°What are you working on?¡±


    ¡°Some comparative cultures paper. Had to pick a small town to profile¡ªsomewhere with ¡®distinct local character.''¡± He gestured to the caf¨¦¡¯s window, where Harborview¡¯s fishing boats floated under the orange sky. ¡°Found this place in the archives. Two space warp jumps from the capital, which means¡­¡± His voice trailed off for a second before he flashed a grin. ¡°No chance of my dad dropping by unannounced.¡±


    Abby didn¡¯t know what to make of that, so she stayed silent. Though he¡¯d said it playfully, something about the way he mentioned his father felt heavier than his tone suggested.


    ¡°Hey, Abby, are you busy this summer?¡± Jace suddenly asked.


    Abby shook her head. ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡°Then can you be my tour guide? I don¡¯t really know anything about this place, and you¡¯re the only one I know here. If you take me around the place, I have a feeling I could write my paper better.¡±


    When Abby didn¡¯t answer right away, Jace clasped his hands together like he was praying and fixed her with an earnest look. His big, dark eyes blinked rapidly¡ªlike a puppy begging for treats. The intensity of his gaze made Abby feel like she was being bombarded by tiny starlights, so bright she almost wanted to shut her eyes.


    Abby hesitated, then gave a small nod. Jace¡¯s face then lit up with a smile so bright it sent her pulse skittering¡ªher heart hammered against her ribs like it wanted to escape, traitorous and loud in the quiet caf¨¦. She immediately looked away, pretending to adjust her sleeve.

 Chapter 701 - 701: [SERENDIPITOUS SUMMER] (II)

    OVER the following week, Abby showed Jace every corner of Harborview¡ªfrom the salt-crusted market stalls to the abandoned observatory atop the northern cliffs. On Thursday, they trekked to the outskirts where a crumbling stone shrine stood half-swallowed by ivy. Its arched doorway, carved with fading constellations, led to a courtyard where wind chimes made of sea glass clinked softly.


    They were poking at moss-covered reliefs when a voice rasped behind them. ¡°You two lost?¡±


    An old caretaker emerged from the shadows, her apron stained with clay. She eyed Jace¡¯s motorcycle gloves. ¡°Tourists?¡±


    ¡°Just researching,¡± Jace said. ¡°For a paper.¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡± She wiped her hands on her apron. ¡°Well, you¡¯re standing in the only place in town the tide won¡¯t erase.¡± She nodded to the shrine¡¯s central mosaic¡ªa woman holding a lantern, her features worn smooth by time.


    Abby crouched, brushing grit from the tiles. ¡°Who is she?¡±


    The caretaker sighed. ¡°Captain Elara. Sank her own ship three centuries back during some prideful stunt. Now they say she haunts the bay, pulling sailors from storms.¡± She jabbed a thumb at the broken lantern fragments littering the shrine¡¯s base. ¡°Folks used to leave these as offerings. Asked her to forgive herself.¡±


    Though she was a local, Abby had never heard this story before¡ªsome fading legend slowly disappearing from the town¡¯s memory. There was no way she wouldn¡¯t have known about it otherwise.


    ¡°Did it work?¡± she asked before she could stop herself.


    The woman laughed. ¡°Doubt it. Guilt like that? It¡¯s a current, not an anchor. You either swim or drown.¡± She tossed a lantern shard into Abby¡¯s palm. ¡°But kids these days don¡¯t believe in ghosts¡ªor second chances.¡± sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Abby closed her fingers around the ceramic. It was still warm from the sun. Its heat seemed to pierce her heart, making it harder to breathe.


    ***


    The next afternoon, they found themselves in a cluttered boathouse where a grizzled man carved miniature ships. Jace picked up a delicate schooner, its sails thinner than paper.


    ¡°This is beautiful,¡± Jace commented. ¡°You made it so lifelike.¡±


    The grizzled man laughed. ¡°Well, with my experience, I say I should be good at it.¡±


    ¡°You mean you¡¯ve been doing it for a long time?¡± Jace asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s that. But I also used to build cargo haulers for a big company before. Made a fortune from it. Also made me miserable.¡± He pointed to a wall scribbled with miniature designs. ¡°Now I craft what I love. Even if it pays in peanuts.¡±


    Jace rotated the schooner in his hands. ¡°Your family didn¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°Oh, they disowned me.¡± The man grinned. ¡°But kid, you only get one life. Why spend it being someone else¡¯s idea of ¡®useful¡¯?¡±


    Abby watched Jace¡¯s expression shift¡ªlike he¡¯d been handed a key he didn¡¯t know he needed. That night, as they walked back, he stopped at the docks.


    ¡°I got into the Advanced Propulsion Engineering program,¡± he admitted suddenly. ¡°My dad¡¯s dream, not mine.¡± The sea wind nearly stole his next words. ¡°I think¡­ I¡¯d rather restore pre-war tech instead. Those old combustion engines, analog systems¡ªthings that actually have history in their gears.¡±


    Abby blinked. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty big detour.¡±


    Jace laughed, sharp and bright. ¡°Yeah. Maybe that¡¯s the point.¡±


    ***


    As the sun dipped below Harborview¡¯s skyline, the neon signs along the boardwalk flickered to life, casting a kaleidoscope of reflections on a diner¡¯s rain-streaked windows. Inside, Abby watched Jace¡¯s brow furrow at his holographic schematics¡ªthe same intense focus he¡¯d worn all week whenever antique tech was involved.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been staring at that engine schematic for an hour,¡± Abby said, nudging Jace¡¯s boot with hers. They sat on the patio of a harborside diner, his Terminal projecting a holographic diagram of a vintage fusion drive between their empty plates.


    Jace blinked, as if waking from a trance. ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s just¡ª¡± He zoomed in on a fuel regulator design. ¡°Look at this. No AI, no quantum calibration. Just pure mechanical intuition. They don¡¯t make them like this anymore.¡±


    Abby tilted her head. ¡°You get like this every time you talked about old tech.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well.¡± He shut off the display with a flick of his wrist. ¡°My dad calls it ¡®wasting my potential.''¡± The words came out sharper than he¡¯d intended.


    Abby studied him for a long moment. ¡°Come on,¡± she said suddenly, standing. ¡°I want to show you a place.¡±


    She pulled Jace along, the boy following with a helpless smile on his lips.


    By the time they reached the beach, the tide had pulled back, leaving behind a ribbon of wet sand that mirrored the star-streaked sky. Abby¡¯s sneakers left shallow impressions beside Jace¡¯s boot prints, two parallel trails cutting through the dark.


    The moon hung low as they walked along the shoreline, Abby leading Jace to a stretch of sand where the waves curled like liquid silver.


    ¡°You never told me why you really picked Harborview,¡± she said, nudging a shell with her toe.


    Jace exhaled, watching the waves. ¡°Same reason you always sit in that caf¨¦ corner, I guess. Some part of me needed a place that felt¡­ separate. Like it exists outside all the noise.¡±


    Abby halted. ¡°That¡¯s the most honest thing you¡¯ve said all week.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He turned, studying her. ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡±


    ¡°My what?¡±


    ¡°Your honest thing.¡±


    For once, Abby didn¡¯t deflect. ¡°I like how you notice things,¡± she said softly. ¡°The way you actually see people. Not just¡­ look at them.¡±


    The breeze carried her words between them. Jace felt something unravel in his chest.


    Then, then finally arrived at the cove Abby wanted to show Jace.


    The cove was smaller than Abby remembered, its crescent of pale sand half-hidden by jagged rocks. Moonlight pooled in the hollows between stones, turning the shallows into liquid mercury. Somewhere beyond the breakers, a buoy bell clanged¡ªa lone sound in the vast, salt-scented dark.


    As they watched the sea from the cove, Jace¡¯s fingers brushed hers.


    ¡°This okay?¡± Jace murmured, his pulse loud in his ears.


    She laced their fingers together in answer, her blush visible even in the moonlight.


    And that¡¯s when Jace realized it.


    He was falling for her. Not in some dramatic, world-ending way, but in the simple, stubborn manner of things that just are. And there¡¯s no point denying it now.

 Chapter 702 - 702: [SERENDIPITOUS SUMMER] (III)

    FOR the next few days, Jace stayed locked in his room at the Harborview Inn. He texted Abby, saying he had to focus on his paper and wouldn¡¯t be around much. But the truth was, he just needed time to sort out his thoughts. Every time he pictured Abby¡ªher hand in his, the way she¡¯d smiled at him¡ªhis chest got tight and his mind raced. He spent hours staring at his Terminal, not writing a single word, just trying to get his head straight before facing her again.


    What Jace didn¡¯t expect was that after three days of hiding out, he¡¯d have to leave the inn¡ªonly to stumble upon a secret Abby had been carrying alone. Something heavy, something that had been holding her back all this time without anyone realizing.


    ***


    A storm alert hit just as Jace was staring blankly at his Terminal for the third straight day. It was a harsh electronic beep that shattered the quiet of his room, followed by a robotic voice blaring from outside.


    [Coastal Storm Warning. Immediate evacuation required. Potential tsunami risk. All residents and visitors proceed to designated safe zones immediately.]


    Jace sat up straight, the alarm snapping him out of his thoughts. Outside, the wind had already started howling, rattling the windows of the inn. He moved quickly, stuffing his scattered clothes and notes into his bag before tapping his space ring and putting his bag inside.


    Downstairs, the innkeeper was shouting over the growing noise of the storm. ¡°Everyone, out now! Don¡¯t take anything you don¡¯t need¡ªjust get to the high ground!¡±


    Guests scrambled, some still half-dressed, others clutching small bags. A few looked terrified, especially the tourists who weren¡¯t used to Harborview¡¯s unpredictable weather.


    Jace put his motorcycle in his space ring before he joined the crowd spilling into the street. The rain hit hard, cold and sharp against his skin. The town was in motion¡ªfamilies rushing, shopkeepers locking doors, emergency workers directing people toward the mountain paths. While the ocean, usually a calm blue, churned dark and angry in the distance.


    The innkeeper led their group up the winding trail, the same one tourists used for sightseeing in better weather. Now, it was packed with evacuees, all moving as fast as they could. Jace kept his head down against the wind, his boots slipping on the wet stone.


    Halfway up, he finally looked back. From this height, he could see the storm rolling in¡ªa wall of black clouds swallowing the horizon. The waves were already crashing over the lower docks.


    And then, his stomach dropped.


    Where was Abby?


    He hoped that she was safe in her house with her parents. After all, her house was located fairly high up. But even as he thought that, the sinking feeling in his stomach still didn¡¯t vanish.


    The innkeeper yelled at him to keep moving. The safehouse wasn¡¯t far now¡ªa sturdy, windowless building dug into the mountainside. But as Jace turned back toward the path, he saw a familiar figure from a distance. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was Abby¡¯s mother. She moved through the crowd, speaking urgently to everyone she passed, her expression frantic. The sight of her just worsened the sinking feeling in Jace¡¯s stomach. Without hesitation, he pushed forward, shoving past evacuees until he reached her.


    Jace reached Abby¡¯s mother just as she stumbled away from another group of evacuees. Her face was pale, her eyes darting wildly across the crowd. When he touched her shoulder, she jumped before recognizing him.


    ¡°Mrs. Anderson? What¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°Jace!¡± Her hands came up to grip his arms, her fingers shaking. ¡°Abby¡¯s missing. She told me she was just going to the caf¨¦ this morning. Just for a little while, she said. She promised she¡¯d be back by noon.¡±


    The wind howled around them, nearly drowning out her words. Jace had to lean closer to hear.


    ¡°When the alarms went off, I called her Terminal immediately. But I couldn¡¯t connect.¡± Her breath came in short gasps. ¡°Then I saw Mr. Harlow, the caf¨¦ owner. He said Abby left right after breakfast. Hours before the alarms. She should have been home long before the evacuation started.¡±


    A particularly strong gust of wind made them both stagger. Mrs. Anderson didn¡¯t seem to notice.


    ¡°Her father took some neighbors to check the docks and the old market square. But with the storm coming in¡­¡± Her voice broke as if she could no longer contain all the emotions brewing inside her.


    Jace could feel her nails digging into his jacket sleeve through the fabric. The terror in her eyes was worse than the storm warnings.


    ¡°I¡¯ll look for her,¡± he said immediately.


    Mrs. Anderson¡¯s grip tightened. ¡°But the storm¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll be fine. I want to help look for Abby, too.¡± He gently pried her hands free. He was already stepping back, eyes scanning the storm-darkened streets below. ¡°Get back home, Mrs. Anderson. Please tell Mr. Anderson I¡¯m searching for Abby as well, and I will contact him once I saw her.¡±


    Before she could protest again, Jace turned and ran toward the evacuation route¡¯s fork¡ªwhere the main path climbed to safety, and a narrower trail snaked back down into danger.


    ***


    Jace¡¯s boots splashed through the flooded streets as he ran toward the harbor. The rain came down in sheets, stinging his face and blurring his vision. Every few steps, he raised his Terminal, shouting over the storm¡¯s roar.


    ¡°Abby!¡±


    But the call never connected.


    The docks were chaos¡ªwaves crashed over the wooden planks, sending spray high into the air. Fishing boats strained against their moorings, ropes snapping like gunshots. Jace shielded his eyes against the wind, scanning the area.


    ¡°ABBY!¡±


    No response. Just the howl of the storm and the groan of the docks under the assault of the waves.


    Jace gritted his teeth and turned toward the coastline, where the old boardwalk ran parallel to the beach. If she wasn¡¯t here, where else would she go?


    That was when he remembered the cove¡ªthe one they had visited together three nights before. Without hesitation, he turned and ran in its direction.