Chapter 24 – What the Hell Just Happened?
"Poor Leon."
That's what everyone was thinking.
After what happened last night—watching me wreck his sister, hearing her moans of devotion, getting dragged out of my room like a dog—I figured he'd be furious today.
Or, at the very least, avoiding me.
But no.
The bastard walked into the hall smiling.
Fresh.
Happy.
Like last night never even happened.
And then, before I could even process the sight of Leon-the-cuck acting normal, he sat down and casually said:
"First of all—congratulations, Edric."
…What?
"You will be marrying my sister in the future, after all."
The entire room fell silent.
I glanced around.
My mother? Stunned.
My father? Raising a brow.
The hero's party? Confused as hell.
Safina? Blushing.
And me? About to choke on my damn drink.
"What?" I blurted out.
Leon just smiled and continued,
"I also want to apologize to you."
Now that got my attention.
"I got caught up in my emotions," he admitted. "I was too harsh on you. I'm sorry for attacking you."
What the hell? Where was the rage? The hostility?
"Safina explained everything to me," he added, turning to his sister with a soft look.
"She loves you. She's happy to be with you. And as her brother, I want her to be happy."
Then, without any hesitation, he bowed his head to me.
Bowed.
To me.
What.
The.
Fuck.
I turned to my parents, expecting them to be as confused as I was.
But nope.
They looked pleased.
And that left me.
Well, if everyone else was accepting his apology, who was I to refuse?
I sighed. "It's fine. I'm happy you realized your mistake."
Leon nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'm just a little sensitive when it comes to my sister."
A little?
Brother, you tried to kill me.
But whatever.
Then he dropped another bomb.
"That's why, as her future husband, I need to test you."
I frowned. "Test me?"
"I need to see if you're qualified to protect Safina."
Now I was annoyed. "I am the sole heir of House Ainsworth. What more proof do you need?"
Before Leon could argue, my father spoke up.
"That sounds like a good plan."
Huh?!
Then my mother nodded.
"You children should have fun on this adventure. Go, solve the mystery."
WHAT?!
I was about to argue when Talia suddenly entered the room.
"Edric will be coming with you," she announced, gracefully sitting beside me.
And just like that, all eyes locked onto her.
Especially the hero's party.
They were stunned.
Even Leon's cool, silent party member—the one whose name I never bothered remembering—stared at her and muttered,
"Beautiful."
The girls in his party weren't any better.
Leon himself frowned and asked, "Who is this?"
I rolled my eyes. *"Are you blind? She has fox ears and a fox tail."
Except… she didn't.
I blinked.
Wait… where were her fox ears?
Where was her tail?
What the hell?!
Talia leaned close and whispered in my ear,
"My identity is far more dangerous than the hero's abilities. That's why I use illusion magic to hide myself."
…Okay.
I wasn't even going to question that.
Leon, still staring, asked, "So, who is she?"
Talia smirked.
"I'm his teacher."
Leon sighed.
"Lucky you. I wish I had a beautiful teacher like her."
Pinch.
Two of his female party members pinched him hard.
But one girl, Iris Emberflame, didn't react at all.
Instead, she turned to look at me.
Our eyes met.
For a second, neither of us looked away.
Then, she broke eye contact and focused back on her food.
…Interesting.
But I had bigger problems right now.
Like how I just got forced into an adventure with the hero's party.
Goddammit.