What kind of conditioning was this?
Minister Kordell was convinced sothing had gone terribly wrong with him. Because now, every single ti that literally bright child’s head snapped in his direction, he would jolt in his seat like he had been struck by lightning
When he ca to, he found himself slumped in his chair, blinking at the strange sight of bidders actually standing from their seats.
Apparently, whatever item was being showcased on stage was powerful enough to make even the masters rise from their resting places six feet below the ground. The entire auction hall was stirring, gasps rising like waves.
But Minister Kordell Nox couldn’t care less if the entire crowd downstairs started pulling at each other’s wigs.
Because right now, the problem was those big golden eyes staring at him worriedly.
"My Lady! Look! I think the Minister is finally awake!" Ollie exclaid, his voice pitched with relief.
Evelyn Nox let out a quiet sigh. Her lips curved into the kind of smile one only wore when surrender was the only option. "Darling, how could you just pass out from that? Imagine if soone finds out that this is how to weaken you?" Her voice was light, teasing.
But even as she teased her husband, she knew in her heart how close she herself had been to toppling over. If not for the cadet’s pitiful face snapping her back into reality, she might have been sprawled on the floor herself. She had nearly choked, holding her laughter in as the boy panicked over them.
It was strange. The child looked utterly pitiful, wilting like a flower in drought. Yet at the sa ti, he carried an odd charm that made her want to laugh despite herself.
__
Earlier, when they both stumbled back, the trembling blonde even shifted toward her as though ready to help. Evelyn shook herself back into composure and turned to check on her husband. Thankfully, he had only fainted. Alive, if humiliated.
"Thank the stars," Ollie whispered, his hands fumbling. He had even been prepared to take out a revive pill, so worried was he for the Minister’s condition.
But Evelyn raised her hand gently. "Sit down, child. He just needs a mont." She guided her husband into a more comfortable position, smoothing the wrinkles from his suit with calm grace.
Silence followed.
It stretched awkwardly between them.
Ollie sat stiff as a board, his lips twitching with words unsaid. He didn’t know if speaking would make things worse after watching Kyle’s father crumple like that. His chest ached with guilt.
Was he not supposed to say anything?
Before he could spiral, Evelyn’s voice cut through, calm but weary.
"I’d like to apologize for today," she said, massaging her temples as if the headache of the century was pressing in. "We didn’t an for any of this to happen just because we were looking for our children."
Her gaze softened as it fell on the blonde. "And I’d like to apologize for being presumptuous and assuming things without asking first. So we ended up showing you sothing unsightly in our first eting."
Ollie’s eyes widened. His whole body jolted as he flailed. "N-no, My Lady, I should be the one apologizing! I misunderstood! I said far too many unnecessary things! I-I’m really sorry!"
Apparently, they hadn’t been there to interrogate him about Kyle’s love life at all.
Ollie’s face flushed crimson, his ears practically glowing. If there had ever been a ti for the floor to open and swallow him whole, it was now.
But Evelyn only gave a small shrug. "No matter. At least we’ve learned sothing important today."
"Important?" Ollie’s heart nearly stopped.
He pouted faintly, looking like a boy who had utterly ruined everything. His voice was small, desperate. "My Lady, I’m really sorry about this. I also would have preferred to greet you better, so I understand if you’re disappointed or angry. But... Kyle, I can’t possibly leave him..."
Evelyn inhaled deeply, her hand pressing briefly against her chest before she spoke again. "I’m not angry at you. And by the way, you ntioned your parents, that ans you’ve introduced Kyle to them, yes? So in this case, you haven’t been hiding him from your family, right?"
Ollie froze.
Oh.
Well, he wanted to say, not exactly, but because his parents now knew, they really weren’t actively hiding anything. It’s just that his other siblings still didn’t know.
However, the little mop nodded so hard that his hair antenna bobbed along in agreent, because their relationship was even known all over the school. It was just that so people didn’t think it was true!
"Then in that case," Marquise Evelyn said evenly, "since it won’t really be your responsibility to force him to et us, I believe it’s not your fault."
"Nonetheless, those two still have explaining to do."
Her smile sharpened just enough to make Ollie sit straighter, his back stiff as a board.
"But they’re not the ones in front of now," she continued. "So we should take this ti to talk, don’t you think?"
"Hup!"
Ollie sucked in a deep breath just as sothing clattered loudly from the auction below—a wild cane flying across the floor. His body braced instinctively for the worst, shoulders trembling, but instead of scolding him, the Marquise rely tilted her head and asked:
"Oliver, may I know what your views are on work?"
"?!"
Ollie’s mind stuttered. Of all the questions—that?
He had been waiting for interrogations, such as "Whydoyouthinkyou’regoodenoughforourson?Whatcanyouofferhim?Whyshouldweacceptyou?" or maybe even the dreaded line about Kyle needing concubines to "compensate" for anything he could possibly lack.
But work?
He sagged a little, deflating like a punctured balloon. Then his golden eyes blinked wide. "My Lady, did you ask about my views on... work???"
"Yes," Evelyn replied serenely. "What do you think about work, working, or work ethics?"
So he hadn’t misheard. She really had asked that.
Ollie’s brain scrambled, racing through possibilities. He could answer like Luca, saying work was about joy, discovery, and opportunity. Or he could answer like Xavier, that work was service, done for the benefit of his wife and the Empire. Or maybe like Kyle and Killian, who were basically inseparable from their jobs. Kyle, especially, was terrifyingly good at everything because of sheer competence stacked on competence.
But none of those views were his.
And if he were honest—
"My Lady..." His voice ca out soft, almost small. "I think work is... great. In a sense."
Evelyn’s brow arched. Great in a sense?
But before she could ask, Ollie suddenly raised his head, face blazing red as he practically shouted:
"B-but I personally don’t like it!"
"???"
"!!!"
He launched forward, his knees scraping the floor as his hands waved wildly in emphasis.
"I don’t really like work because it’s tedious! It steals precious ti and energy from other, more important things! And just when you think you’re finally done, there’s always more waiting for you! Or sothing new that starts an entirely different chain of work!"
Work just never ends! Even if I hide really well, it just cos after !
His voice wobbled as he clutched his chest, collapsing halfway as though the very mory of construction work had physically struck him.
"It’s awful! Sotis you work so much you don’t even have ti to eat, or see the people you actually want to see. And when the people around work too much, they always end up exhausted, so even when I’m free, they’re not! I hate that!"
He dropped to his side in a faint, then bounced back up to kneel again, his antenna drooping pitifully as he continued, "But! Even though I don’t like it, I understand why it’s necessary! If we work now, tomorrow can be better! If we finish work, more people can be helped! If we work, we’ll have food, a house, and even a way to buy more space buttons for snacks!"
His hands flailed in the air before landing on his knees again, trembling. "S-so even if I don’t want to work, if I have to, I will! I’ll work as fast as possible, so I can deserve to rest beside Kyle and everyone else who worked hard! And—and even if it’s really hard, I’ll still do it, because soone with a family cannot afford to be negligent!"
He leaned forward desperately, practically crawling closer, his eyes watery and his pout trembling.
"B-but, Marquise Evelyn, I can’t lie to you about liking work. I know the House of Nox is full of competent and talented people who shine at everything they do. And while I can achieve good results, I can’t promise I’ll ever work harder than Kyle! That’s impossible! He’s a monster!"
He slapped the ground once for emphasis, tears threatening to spill. "But I swear—even if I can’t outwork Kyle—I’m really good at making money! There would be no need for concubines because I swear I can earn as much as five of them!"
"..."
The booth went utterly silent before a roar of laughter could be heard, which was definitely far from the threats of duels below their floor.
Huh???
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