Chapter 147
Just what had she been saying for the couple to react like this…? Now sweat began to bead on Cassius’s forehead for an entirely different reason.
“And you need to reflect on yourself a bit. How could you suddenly bring home a boyfriend, and an archmage at that. Ah, of course, I don’t mean to put you on the spot, Lord Cassius.”
“…Yes.”
“More than anything, Eki, you should have apologized to us first, before Lord Cassius stepped up and did it himself.”
“I told you I really just went to nurse him. I didn’t know Master would suddenly collapse, and in the first place we lived together at the Thousand Tower for seven years already, so why make a fuss now…”
“That’s exactly why we’re even angrier!”
Eki looked aggrieved in her own way.
Because her family circumstances had never been particularly comfortable, she had grown up closer to a commoner than a noble lady, so Eki had never cared much about ladylike propriety, and she thought her parents were the same.
She knew that staying at an unrelated man’s estate before marriage was considered improper, but she thought it had nothing to do with her. She argued again that at twenty seven years old, being scolded over spending the night out was too much.
In the end, Randy grew angry again and snapped at Eki, and even Hera poured scolding words onto her daughter.
Cassius stood up to try to stop them, but he only flinched helplessly, unable to do anything.
He didn’t know what to do. He had never subdued anyone when he wasn’t the one in the dominant position. Usually, a single ‘Shut up and stay put’ was enough to resolve things. But he couldn’t say that to Hera and Randy.
In the end, Cassius timidly grabbed Eki and murmured “Please stop…” before getting exhausted and collapsing back onto the sofa. He almost snapped his fingers out of habit to summon his pipe, but belatedly suppressed the urge to smoke and only rubbed his forehead.
‘Is this what a normal family is like?’
Having lost his parents when he was young, Cassius didn’t really understand what family was. There had been a time when he desperately longed for it, but that too was in the past now. At this point, Eki alone was enough for him.
“Be honest with us. It’s because of his face, isn’t it. You were always complaining about how hard it was to work every day, and now you suddenly say you’re dating your master. Do you expect us not to be shocked?”
“How many times have I told you not to judge people by their looks!”
“But Mom, you said you married Dad because of his face!”
“That was…! …Yes. I did. Your father was handsome.”
“Hera…”
“But look at him now. Good looks don’t last. They fade sooner or later!”
Hera raised her voice and pointed at Randy. Randy, who was nothing more than an ordinary middle aged man, wore a wounded expression. After hesitating only briefly, Eki stood Cassius up, grabbed his hand tightly, and shouted.
“Master is different!”
“E-Eki.”
“Just look at him. Even if he gets wrinkles or goes bald, Master will still be handsome no matter what.”
“……”
“……”
Heat rushed up Cassius’s face in a flash. He whispered for her to stop, but the fire in Eki’s eyes refused to die. It seemed she had no intention of giving up until she finished preaching this eternal truth.
And fortunately, Cassius’s entire body did not end up flushed with embarrassment. It was because Hera and Randy, who were staring intently at his face, ended up agreeing.
“That’s true.”
“Our daughter does have good taste.”
…Damn it.
Cassius scrubbed his face and swallowed a sigh.
❖ ❖ ❖
The argument between the Provanet couple and Eki ended with Cassius’s looks. Along with that, the reason Eki ended up dating her master was also explained away by his striking face. Cassius was dumbfounded.
As Eki’s parents, Hera and Randy knew their daughter well. They found it believable that after being bullied by her master for seven years, she could fall for him over nothing more than his face.
“But that wouldn’t be the case for you, Lord Cassius, would it.”
After barely getting through afternoon tea and finishing dinner, Cassius stepped out onto the balcony to smoke his pipe, only to run into Hera. He quickly hid the pipe.
“Why did you choose our Eki?”
He parted his lips, then awkwardly averted his gaze.
He wasn’t foolish enough to tell Eki’s mother that things had progressed thanks to the effects of a super strength luck potion. Naturally, Cassius hesitated to answer, and Hera narrowed her eyes. In the end, he slowly revealed feelings he had never told anyone.
“Eki…”
For some reason, his lips felt terribly dry. Cassius swallowed and continued carefully.
“Because Eki taught me how to live.”
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