Pah—!
A gnarly sound of a slap resounded in the room.
Many assud that Liebert would have a problem with Rex, but to their surprise, his hand landed across Aksa’s face. It wasn’t a courtesy slap, either. It was a hard one. And that slap caused one side of Aksa’s face to beco puffy. Bruised.
"Eh...?" Aksa reached for his burning cheek and slowly turned to Liebert. "What are yo—?"
Pah—!
Another slap hamred across his face, doing the sa to his other side.
In the next mont, Liebert increased the intensity. He kept rcilessly slapping Aksa on the face. He didn’t say a single word despite Aksa demanding an explanation. Even as Aksa began to falter back, he advanced and kept going.
And when Aksa fell to the ground, Liebert started stomping without a care in the world.
Aksa was practically begging for him to stop. Squealing in pain. But Liebert didn’t heed any of that.
Because of one spoiled brat, the High Lord’s reputation was tainted, and he couldn’t forgive that.
Only when Aksa was beaten back and blue did he finally stop and adjust his shirt collar—feeling hot from the anger burning inside. "You’ve disrespected the High Lord’s guest," He looked down at Aksa with plain contempt. "There will be consequences, and we’ll see how your father will respond when he knows it was his son who cost him an arm."
Every color from Aksa’s face lted.
He couldn’t possibly anticipate that he was dealing with a guest of the High Lord.
But regret always ca too late.
"I don’t want to hear or see whatever you’re doing to him," Rex picked his ear nonchalantly. He ca to et up with the new group of friends, Davina and Lilliana, not this. "Bring him away or sothing. It’s disturbing ."
"Yes, I understand," Liebert bowed a little.
His bracelet, made up of beautiful deep blue beads that seed to contain stars, glowed.
And with a flick, one bead shot out and swallowed Aksa whole.
Just like that, Aksa was gone. Teleported away.
"I, on behalf of the city, apologize for this unfortunate situation—Sir Rex," Liebert apologized, and it sounded genuine. "I will make sure this won’t happen again, and also make sure that the kid will be punished accordingly.
"Do you need anything?" He asked.
"Since you asked, as you can see—I’m in the middle of sothing," Rex gestured towards Lilliana and then to the new group of friends. "I would really appreciate it if you could tell your people to stop watching for a second. It’s... unnerving."
Of course, Rex wasn’t talking about himself.
He was talking about his new, agitated friends who were still in shock at what happened.
Liebert didn’t react.
Anyone even remotely competent would know that they were being watched, so this was normal.
"As you wish," He nodded. "In that case, I’ll get out of your hair."
Once the situation was resolved, Liebert waved his hand, returning the second floor to its previous state. Behind, the cityscape blinked back into view. Only seconds earlier, the glass do had been filled with nothing but a violent churn of bright and deep blues.
A formless, disorienting void.
Now, the familiar skyline of Larta City lay before them again.
He then turned and went down the staircase.
Rex cleared his throat and turned towards the security guard and waiter.
Just earlier, they had been certain that supporting Rex would bring them nothing but trouble. Now, relief washed over them—they had made the right choice after all. Both had chosen his side out of sheer spite, yet it had sohow beco the wisest decision of their lives.
Who could have anticipated that this unassuming man was personally connected to the High Lord?
"I’ll return to my duties," the security guard cleared his throat and scurried away.
"Ah, I’ll go to the kitchen to prepare for you to dine," the waiter smiled sheepishly and turned. "Free of charge, of course."
Rex watched him also rush down the staircase before turning back to the new group of friends.
He sized them up for a few seconds and then focused on Lilliana, who already sat down on the chair.
Even though several minutes had already passed, she remained trapped in her rage. He walked over to help her once more. As the Alpha, his presence alone would make any Beta go timid, and that’ll help Lilliana regulate her rage.
But then, he halted, turning to the group.
"I’m going to take care of this first." He motioned toward Lilliana. "You don’t mind, do you?"
"Of course," Bellana was the one who answered. "Our plan for tonight was to eat here anyway."
Rex nodded and got to work.
Not too long after, Davina erged from the staircase. She had been staying on the first floor, watching the entrance in case of the worst. If Lilliana lost control and attempted to escape when confronted, she would be there to stop her.
But it seed everything went well.
And after another five minutes, Lilliana finally cald down.
Her canines retracted. Her eyes returned to normal. And her body relaxes.
Huh... Sha that I didn’t have this passive skill back then.
Rex shook his head.
Had he gained this passive skill, then it would be harder for him to lose control.
It’ll help him avoid many troubles, but that’s all in the past.
At least now he knew that Lilliana would be very reliable during the full moon or other kinds of stressful situations. Right on ti, several waiters brought the customary appetizers before asking them all what they wanted to order.
Tension was present on the table.
Aaran and the others were worried that Rex would hold a grudge against them for staying silent.
Being silent is the sa as going against him, so it’s understandable for them to be worried.
However, contrary to their thoughts, Rex didn’t care at all.
From the beginning, he hadn’t anticipated any assistance from them. It was practically impossible to be disappointed when he’d held no expectations to begin with. And—because he had known things would be resolved swiftly, neither he nor Lilliana had ever been in real danger.
So, he held no such grudge.
Rex knew that the spies were following him closely.
Even when the second floor was placed into another dinsion, he could still feel their eyes.
Considering their direct ties to High Lord Rashal, who in turn works directly for the overseer, it wasn’t surprising for them to be able to perceive him still, even through dinsional barriers. And he also knew that at least one of them was going to intervene.
Liebert is the spy who walked on the street across from the penthouse.
No matter what, Rex had never told the System to stop scanning his surroundings, so he knew.
And that’s the reason he knew there wouldn’t be any real problem.
"I know people like him exist—and are out there, but don’t you find this odd?" Davina leaned toward him; her voice barely above a whisper. "Maybe I’m being paranoid, but this feels staged. This is not a low-class establishnt. I can’t imagine their usual being as... embarrassing as him."
Davina had been around powerful people.
Even if one of them was shad in public, they would simply not make a commotion on the sport.
Instead, their anger would be completely channeled to taking down the one who offended them—from the shadows. There are nobles or rich people who acted rashly, but they were mostly young and were most certainly within their own territory.
But this place was Larta City.
Aksa ca from an incredible background, but this city was owned by the High Lord.
It’s not his territory, so it’s odd for him to act overbearing like this.
"It’s a test," Rex answered as he put a crab cake bite into his mouth. "It’s all an act."
"An act...?"
"Yes. I’m quite certain."
Throughout the entire ordeal, Rex could see that the status section on Aksa’s stats window showed that he was nervous. It didn’t matter if Aksa was posturing, taking a beating, or excited to see Liebert walk in, whom he thought to be his saviour initially.
Rex could tell instantly that Aksa was acting the part.
And he decided to play along to see what they were aiming for.
"At least now I know representing the High Lord involved in fighting," Rex added without a care.
Just then, Bellana leaned in, deciding to be the one to break the ice.
"Rex, I hope you don’t hold what happened earlier against us." She smiled—though it didn’t reach her eyes. "The truth is, we can’t afford to offend Aksa. Even if we wanted to step in, and believe , all of us wanted to, but we couldn’t. Not without implicating everyone else around us."
"None taken," Rex assured, returning the smile. "I also wouldn’t want you being implicated."
Only when he said that did the tension break.
The others can finally breathe easily, except for Aaran, who doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.
"Just that, so it’s clear that there’s no bad feeling between us," Bellana chuckled.
"As I said, he may seem an—but he’s only that way when soone tests him." Davina wove her arm around his, her expression almost proud. "It’s just his nature. And I’m sure you, as fellow Demigods, can understand that a person’s upbringing shapes who they beco."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
All of them are rivals in the path of power, so all of them knew how hard it was to reach this point.
And naturally, bad things have happened to them in the past.
One that scarred them and changed them into who they are right this mont.
"In any case, since when have the two of you been engaged?" Bellana asked, changing the topic to make the mood more comfortable. "Frankly, I can’t imagine that soone like him would get on one knee— and propose."
"He didn’t." Davina giggled, her deanor softening in the social setting. "And you are right—romance isn’t really his style. Instead, he put his life on the line to convince to marry him. It was stupid, but... in a strange way, it was also romantic."
Bellana and the other girl of the group leaned forward in interest.
Both of their eyes sparkled, agreeing with Davina that it was indeed romantic.
"And what’s your relationship with Lilliana?" Aaran intervened.
He drew everyone’s attention towards him.
And without pausing, he pointed at Lilliana, who was now leaning her head against Rex’s shoulder.
Rex paused for a second.
It looked like he was calm, but inside, he was utterly surprised as he didn’t realize that Lilliana’s head was against his shoulder. Not to ntion, she looked comfortable in that position, like it was normal. And her hand placent was also... intimate.
Suggesting more than an in-law.
Before Rex could think of an answer, Davina already laughed.
"That’s a funny question, Aaran. What else could it be?" She said with humor. "He said he wanted to get close to my family mbers, specifically Lilliana, since they don’t start off really well. Seems like his effort is now paying off."
She patted Rex’s shoulders, but the gentleness made Rex gulp and forced out a smile. "Isn’t he sweet?"
And while keeping a smile on her face, a mask for her gritting teeth, Davina pinched Rex’s back.
Hard.
"I also heard what you said to that guy." Her voice was very light, only audible to Rex. So strained as it was forced through gritted teeth. "Sothing about Lilliana and being your won?" She pinched even harder. "Don’t think I didn’t hear that, dear fiancé. Once we get back, you and I are going to have a talk."
She smiled brightly at the others. Rex’s soul left his body.
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