Vincent supported Rory as they walked down the stairs together. He leaned close and spoke softly by her ear, his tone gentle but firm.
"From now on, whatever you want to do, just tell . I’ll do it for you. You gave so much blood last night. Your body is very weak right now—you need to rest properly."
"I rember," Rory replied helplessly.
She looked at Vincent with a faint smile. He had already repeated these words several tis.
"Don’t worry. I definitely won’t do anything today. If I want sothing done, I’ll let you do it."
She knew he was worried because her complexion didn’t look good. And Rory wasn’t the kind of person who forced herself to endure hardship. She cherished her own body just fine.
Only then did Vincent nod in satisfaction and continue helping her downstairs.
"Female Master, you’re up—" Nix stopped halfway through his sentence.
The mont he sensed the aura radiating from Vincent, his eyes widened in shock. "Female Master, you... you and Prince Vincent bonded?"
Wasn’t it agreed that Jasper would be first, and Vincent second?
Jasper, who had just returned after a sleepless night, stepped through the door and imdiately heard Nix’s words.
He lifted his head sharply and looked toward Rory and Vincent standing on the stairs.
"I—" Rory was about to explain when Vincent spoke gently instead.
"Rory, let explain." She turned to him. Seeing how calm and composed he was, she nodded.
Vincent helped Rory to the sofa and settled her comfortably.
Then he slowly swept his gaze across Jasper, Nix, and Yuel. At the sa ti, the pressure of a Rank Eleven powerhouse spread instantly, enveloping the entire estate.
Nix and Jasper stared at Vincent in disbelief. "You... you’re Rank Eleven?"
Nix had heard before that Vincent was at the peak of Rank Ten. He hadn’t expected him to break through.
The Empire had gained yet another Rank Eleven beast.
Only Yuel, seated on the sofa, showed no sign of surprise at all—as if he had already known.
"My successful breakthrough is thanks to Rory," Vincent said calmly. "We’ll talk about that later. Right now, let’s address the matter of my bonding with Rory. The Firebird Clan has a special bonding thod. I believe you’re all aware of it, so I won’t go into detail."
As he spoke, Vincent’s gaze settled on Jasper. "Jasper is about to advance in rank. Rory will need to soothe him, and Rank Four is far too dangerous.
"That’s why I used this thod to bond with her—to raise her rank."
"Why didn’t I think of using another thod to bond with the Female Master earlier?" Nix suddenly felt incredibly stupid.
Yuel sat down beside Rory and glanced at Nix. "Other than the dragon clan and the Firebird Clan, no other clan has this kind of special bonding thod. Even if you’d thought of it earlier, it wouldn’t have helped."
This was the Beast God’s favor toward dragons and firebirds. Jealousy was pointless.
Nix was unhappy—very unhappy. He didn’t dare look at Vincent and instead leaned toward Yuel, whispering, "So... from now on, do we have to listen to him?"
Yuel smiled. "You don’t have to."
Nix: "..."
He didn’t dare.
Vincent ignored their small exchange and turned back to Jasper.
"Jasper, has everything regarding the Violet Serpent Clan been handled?"
Jasper nodded and replied seriously.
"Yes. Everything has been dealt with. Ethan Gabriel and Senior Matt Slade returned early due to matters within their clans."
As he spoke, he took out a space ring and walked up to Rory.
"Rory, these are items I brought back for you from the Violet Serpent Clan. Take a look—see if you like them."
Rory accepted the ring. Seeing the dark circles beneath his eyes, her heart ached. "Thank you, Jasper. I don’t even need to look—I know anything you bring back will be sothing I like."
She pulled him to sit beside her. "Lean on and rest for a while. I’ll soothe you later."
Jasper obediently rested his head against her shoulder. Breathing in the faint, pleasant scent on her, his entire body gradually relaxed.
Seeing this, Nix felt even more dejected. Vincent had beco the unquestioned leader, and Jasper alone enjoyed the Female Master’s closeness.
Was there even going to be room left for him and Yuel in this household?
Yuel saw Jasper leaning against Rory and imdiately leaned over as well. "Rory, my injuries aren’t healed yet either. I’m very tired."
Rory knew he was pretending, but she didn’t expose him. She let him lean on her.
Nix: "..."
He wanted to lean over too. Could he sit in the Female Master’s arms? Before he could act, Vincent called his na again.
"Nix. Rory has decided to settle permanently at the Hunter Alliance headquarters. In ten days, we’ll return to A-49. Over the next few days, pack up your laboratory and prepare to move with us."
"I’ll notify them to start packing right away," Nix said imdiately.
"You’ll go yourself," Vincent said calmly. "Your lab is too important. Letting others handle it would be too slow. You’ll handle it personally. Ten days is enough, yes?"
That ant he’d be stuck in the lab for the next ten days.
No. Absolutely not. Nix tried to bargain.
"If they pack it, it’ll just be a few days slower. That shouldn’t matter, right?"
Vincent nodded thoughtfully. "That’s fine. If you’re not in a hurry, then I’ll have the military assign the next batch of warship orders to you. You can finish those as well before moving to A-49."
"No." Nix shook his head instantly. "I’ll go pack it myself. I guarantee it’ll be done within ten days."
He turned to Rory imdiately. "Rory, I’m heading to pack up the lab now. I’ll co back to keep you company in a few days."
Without even changing his clothes, Nix rushed out the door. He was afraid that if he hesitated for even a second, Vincent would dump a pile of orders on him.
Those orders were not sothing he could accept—not even a little.
After dealing with Nix, Vincent turned his gaze to Yuel, who was still leaning against Rory. "You shouldn’t be idle either. The war on the outer battlefield has ended, and we both disappeared at the sa ti. There’s a lot to deal with. You, as commander, should return as well."
Yuel opened his eyes reluctantly and kissed Rory on the cheek. "Rory, I might not have much ti to stay with you over the next few days. But if you miss , you can contact anyti through the light-brain—or co find whenever you want."
Rory doubted she’d have ti to miss him. She was more worried about his injuries.
"How are your injuries? Will it be all right for you to go now?"
Yuel shook his head gently. "Don’t worry. I know you’re always concerned about . If I’m tired, I’ll rest properly."
"Then take good care of yourself. Contact imdiately if anything happens." Rory reminded him, still uneasy.
She couldn’t stop Yuel from working. After all, as a commander, he handled matters tied directly to the Empire’s safety.
"All right," Yuel agreed.
He stood up and pressed a kiss to Rory’s brow. "Rory, I’ll be leaving first. Rember to ssage . I want to know what you’re doing at all tis."
"Mm," Rory nodded. "I know."
Only after she agreed did Yuel finally leave, reluctantly.
He’d known it—Vincent wasn’t going to let any of them stay idle.
Once Yuel had gone, Vincent turned his attention to Jasper. Seeing how exhausted Jasper looked, Rory spoke up softly.
"Vincent, Jasper is very tired. Can you let him rest first?"
Vincent smiled gently at her. "Rory, I wasn’t planning to make him do anything. There are just a few things I want to discuss with him privately."
Jasper had already opened his eyes. He straightened and said to Rory, "Rory, I also have things I want to say to Prince Vincent alone.
"I’m fine—don’t worry." Since they wanted to speak privately, Rory didn’t interfere.
She had already more or less guessed what the two of them needed to discuss.
Bonding had turned out quite different from what she’d imagined. She had thought that as long as Jasper was first, Vincent using another thod wouldn’t be a big issue.
In the end, they were all family.
But after Vincent explained things to her, she realized she’d been too simplistic. She had been thinking all along about how to explain this to Jasper.
Now that the two of them wanted to resolve it themselves... Sotis, not seeing and not hearing was the best way to be head of a household.
Rory decided to pretend she knew nothing.
"All right, you talk. I’m going to prepare so breakfast. Vincent, co help once you’re done. And Jasper—after you finish talking, go rest. You haven’t chosen a room yet. You can stay in my room for now—my room is on the third floor."
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